Cassandra fell back on her the pillows, exhausted. Who knew bringing a kitten into this world would be so much work? Jenny busied herself with cleaning the kit, and when the little creature was dry, Jenny handed the bundle to Cassandra.

"Oh my…"

It was the tiniest queen she'd ever seen. She mewed softly and snuggled closer to her mother, and Cassandra felt her heart melt. She looked up at Jenny, who was on the verge of tears.

"You're lucky," she said to the new mother. "Most premature kittens don't make it."

"She looks just like her daddy…" Cassandra watched the little queen with love in her eyes. She looked back up at Jenny. "Will you…?"

"I'll be back before you know it!" Jenny beamed, and bustled out of the den.

=^..^=

Alonzo had fallen asleep on my shoulder by the time Jenny emerged from the den. She smiled at the two of us, and I shrugged. I gently leaned the black and white tom against the wall and walked over to the Gumbie Cat.

"How is she?"

"Oh, they're both doing great!" Jenny wiped her paws on a towel.

I glanced at Alonzo. "He's not really going to like this,"

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, heading over to the tom.

"Isn't Tugger the father?" I frowned at her; she was shaking Alonzo awake.

"Cassandra just asked me to send you in," she said to Alonzo. He looked slightly dazed, but followed the Gumbie cat into the den. I lingered at the door, curious about what Jenny was up to. Cassandra beamed up at Alonzo, who had his eyes locked on the kitten in Cassandra's arms.

"Can I hold her?" He asked hesitantly. He held out his arms as Jenny picked up the bundle. Alonzo uncovered the little queen just enough for me to see. I gasped. She was almost an exact carbon copy of Alonzo, right down to the little black patch by her mouth.

"What should we name her?" Cassandra asked.

Alonzo shook his head, baffled. I smiled; of course, the moment I'd seen her, the kitten's name popped into my head, but I wanted to see if they could guess it. They sat together, toying with a few names, but none of them seemed right. Finally, Alonzo sighed.

"Kroova?" He looked at me expectantly. Both Cassandra and Jenny looked confused for a moment, but then realized he was talking to me. I smiled at them.

"Liebe," I said, "It means love."

=^..^=

Macavity waited patiently. He knew his top thief would be here soon; what burglar wasn't attracted to an easy steal? The pearls had been placed in the cabinet days before, and with the now unused cat flap in the door, it would be easy for any creature to get in and out. Finally, shadows were moving across the walls, and two cats acrobatically wound through the house. Macavity cringed. Of course he would bring his partner with him.

When the two stopped in front of the unlocked cabinet, Macavity jumped down, surprising them both.

"I though' we agreed you wouldn' drop in on our jobs?" Mungojerrie sat back and folded his arms, looking slightly bored.

Macavity narrowed his eyes. "Living with those Jellicles has made you bold, hasn't it?"

Rumpelteazer scoffed. "Th' livin's lots bettah than when we was livin' wiv you."

Snarling, Macavity shut both of them up. "Listen. I need you two to turn spy for me." Rumpelteazer narrowed her eyes, and Mungojerrie scowled. Macavity continued. "If you don't, you know what I'll do." He extended his sharpened claws and slashed at Rumpelteazer, making her yelp and leap back. Mungojerrie stood protectively in front of her while she inspected herself for scratches.

"There is a queen who is new to the tribe." He said, sitting back. "Her name is Kroova, and I have reason to believe she stole something from me. I want you two to watch her and report back to me if it shows up."

"Wha' exac'ly are we lookin' for?" Mungojerrie asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I think you will know when you see it," he assured them. "But it might be a while before she feels… obligated to bring it out in the open. Two months at the most."

Behind Jerrie, Rumpelteazer rolled her eyes. "We're on a job fo' two months? Ye've nevah done one tha' long before."

Macavity raised an eyebrow. "There's a first time for everything." He turned and headed for the cat flap in the door. "Oh, and I don't care if you keep the pearls. They were Griddlebone's anyway." With a flick of his tail, he was gone, leaving two very confused cat burglars behind.

[A/N] Ok, so this one is REALLY short… but whatever. I got what I wanted in!