A few months after the Jellicle Ball

I turned over to see the sun shining through my window blinds. The sound of Tugger's light snores were calming, and I burrowed myself deeper into his arms, warm and cozy. Tugger stirred in his sleep and woke up when I moved.

"Good morning," I whispered as Tugger stretched his body out.

"Good morning." He slumped over to his side to look at me. His mane was completely messy, but I didn't mind.

"How did you sleep?"

"Good. How about you?"

"Pretty good."

Tugger smiled and looked out the window. "Today's gonna be a warm day."

"Yep." Suddenly, I had a weird feeling in my stomach, and quickly got up.

Tugger sat up and released me from his arms. "Aliyah?"

I bolted out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, ran straight to the toilet, and began heaving my dinner into it. I flushed the toilet and sat against the bathtub when I was finished. A knock came at the door and I opened it to see a worried Tugger, now with a groomed mane.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Maybe dinner didn't agree with me this morning." We had gone to the Cat Café down the road last night with Misto, Victoria, Jerrie, and Bomba. Believe it or not, but Bomba has actually been pretty nice to me, especially after she lost Tugger to me.

"Ok," I could still see the worry in Tugger's eyes. "If you still don't feel well, I want you to see Jenny or Jelly."

I stood on my toes and reached up to kiss him; he really was a tall tom. "I will."

Every morning was the same. We would wake up, say good morning, and then I would run into our bathroom, sick.

"Aliyah, I really think it's time for you to see Jenny or Jelly," Tugger said one morning as I finished heaving.

"Tugger, I told you: I'm fine. Maybe I'm just eating bad food. It's probably just food poisoning."

"We've been eating the same stuff together, and I feel perfectly fine."

"Alright. If it will make you feel better, I'll go see them." Tugger nodded and I walked over to the nurse's den.

"Good morning dear," Jenny said as she watched me approach. She was knitting a sweater for Gus the theater cat. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes. Could I speak to you in private?"

"Of course!" Jenny led me inside and sat me down on her examination table. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, every morning I wake up sick. Tugger thinks something is wrong with me, and he notices that my scent smells different to him. I think it's just food poisoning."

"Hmm…" Jenny thought as she grabbed a clipboard and wrote down my symptoms. "I'll be right back."

She came back with a computer, a type of gel, and headphones. She ordered me to lie down and began rubbing the gel over my stomach. She rubbed a weird device over my stomach and listened to the headphones while staring at the computer. She then handed me a cup and told me that she needed a urine sample. Somewhat grossed out by this, I followed her orders.

"Alright. These tests will let me know what's going on by tomorrow. Then I'll call for you to some see me about the results."

"Ok. Thank you so much."

"Anytime." I hurried off to my den as I saw Tugger pacing back and forth inside our den.

"Well? How did it go?" He asked as soon as I came inside.

"I don't know. She'll let me know by tomorrow."

A knock came at the door early the next day as Tugger was rubbing my back as I leaned over the toilet. He got up to let Jenny inside.

"Aliyah, could you please follow me to my den?"

"Sure." We left my den and walked over to Jenny's.

"You may want to sit down." I hopped onto the examination table.

"So…what's up? Is it food poisoning?"

Jenny shook her head. "No. Your symptoms are fairly common for any queen and human. Just in case, I had you take those tests for a reason, just to be sure."

"Am I ok?"

"Yes, you and the little ones are perfectly healthy."

"…little ones?"

"Aliyah, my dear, you're pregnant."

"I'm…I'm…pregnant?" I stared in shock at Jenny, who was grinning broadly. A smile started to creep onto my face. "I'm going to be a mother?"

"Absolutely."

"And Tugger's a father?" Jenny nodded again. "Wow."

"So, let's go call him in and – "

"No! I mean, I want to surprise him."

"Alright," Jenny smiled.

"When…when can I see what they look like and hear their heartbeats?"

"In a week."

"Ok. Well, I'm going to go find a way to tell Tugger. Thank you again so much! Oh, and can we keep this a secret? Just until I tell him?"

"Yes, and you're welcome. Come back in a week, and make sure to bring him."

"I will!"

As I ran out the door, I couldn't help but think: "How will Tugger react?"


***Yay! Aliyah's pregnant! How will Tugger react to the exciting news?***