A/N: *Hasn't updated since June* I know, I made you guys a promise that this wouldn't happen again. And I'm afraid that this time, I have no excuse but my own laziness. Lately I've been pretty busy with lots of things (and I mean LOTS), but I'll admit that there was plenty of time this summer for me to get this done. My faithful readers, I love you all! Thanks for your understanding and patience.

-x-X-x-

The moment Macavity was gone, Demeter rushed out of the den and hurried over to her mate. "Munky! Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Munkustrap grumbled, crawling out of the mud puddle and eyeing his soaking fur in disgust. He lifted a mud-drenched forepaw and hesitantly licked it, immediately spitting a runny glob of mud back out. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he expressed his distaste.

Demeter sighed. "Let the rain wash it off," she suggested gently.

The tabby stood up, stepping away from the puddle. His tail hung down limply behind him, weighted down with water and sopping mud.

Alonzo came running up. The swelling around his eye had died down ever so slightly, but a whisker-thin blue slit was all that could be seen of the harlequin tom's iris. "That was a close one, huh?" he commented, examining his brother's brown-stained fur.

"A lot of help you were," Munkustrap spat, turning a glare on him.

Alonzo wilted. "Well, sorry," he mumbled. "I would've come in if he attacked you or something."

Munkustrap raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Hm. I'm sure."

The younger tom flattened his ears defensively. "But . . . what was I supposed to do?" he pointed out. "Stand there and watch you two argue?"

The tabby opened his mouth to let out a sharp retort, but Demeter quickly padded up to him. "Munky, please," she mewed. "Calm down."

He glanced at her, then at Alonzo, then at her again. He sighed half-irritably. Flicking one ear dismissively, he turned his back on his brother and began rubbing his paws together under the rain to wash off the mud.

After a moment, Alonzo's timid voice came again: "So, uh . . . what'd he say?"

Without turning around, Munkustrap replied with a growl carried on his voice, "Fight in three days." He shot a glance back at the other tom as he added, "One on one." Sensing the unspoken question Alonzo was about to ask, he threw in, "So you can go off and do whatever the hell you want."

"Munky . . ." Demeter gently chided, putting a paw on his shoulder.

By now, the silver tom's paws and forearms were clean, and the mud on his legs and tail had thinned to the point where the ink-colored tabby stripes were once again visible. Deciding that this was good enough, he shot a glance at his mate as he turned to the black-and-white tom and half-growled, "You can go." He watched as Alonzo scrambled away with a cold look in his eyes.

Gently rubbing his shoulders in attempt to calm him, Demeter stretched upward slightly to kiss him on the cheek. "Let's get you back inside," she suggested softly.

Munkustrap sighed. "All right . . ." he conceded, turning back towards their den. He cast one final wary glance around the clearing before following his mate and slipping back inside.

Demeter quickly busied herself with licking the rainwater out of her fur. Glancing at Munkustrap, she gently inquired, "What was it you wanted to tell me before . . ." She trailed off.

Munkustrap blinked. He had almost forgotten . . . and Macavity's threat had only added yet another unwanted burden to his mind. "I . . . well . . . never mind," he mumbled, deciding not to complicate things any more. He gazed at Demeter contemplatively, turning over her strange behavior from earlier that day in his mind. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

-x-X-x-

The golden queen froze. He had noticed . . . perhaps she should tell him now. In his current calm state, he seemed ready to handle the news; and besides, she asked herself, what was the point of putting it off if he was already suspicious? He was going to find out eventually, one way or another. Glancing around nervously, she drew in a breath, praying that the right words would come to her . . .

But she suddenly stopped herself a heartbeat before it came tumbling out. She knew there was something her mate wasn't telling her. It was obvious that the tabby had a lot on his mind; his behavior provided enough proof of that by itself. And if one thing was certain, it was that this news wasn't something to be taken lightly. She didn't want to worry him any more than he already was. The words were washed from her mouth with empty air as she exhaled. "No, nothing."

Her ears drooped slightly as he gave her a skeptical look; it felt as though a kind of indecisive compunction was wriggling around in her belly. After a long moment, however, her mate simply shrugged and focused on drying his fur.

Demeter gazed at him wordlessly, trying to look inconspicuous as a paw came to rest on her stomach again. There would be time to tell him, she assured herself. Not now, but there would definitely be time.

Shaking out a few remaining raindrops from his pelt, Munkustrap scooted over next to her. The look in his eyes told her that he knew something was going on; yet at the same time his expression clearly said that he wasn't going to pressure her. He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to hers. The two mates remained like that for a few moments; when they broke off, the tabby gazed into her eyes, brown to blue. "Demmy," he addressed her gently, "you know you can tell me anything. I love you . . . and if I can promise you anything, it's that that won't ever change."

Guilt clawed at the golden queen's heart, but she willed it away as she forced herself to hold his gaze. "I love you too," she replied quietly. "And . . . I know that I can trust you to tell me anything too."

She saw him wince. "I . . . I know," he murmured, studying the ground. After a pause, he mumbled, "It's just been . . . an unusual day . . ."

"For me as well," Demeter sighed, almost to herself. "But I'm sure that whatever's going on, it'll sort itself out in its own time." She hoped, however, that she sounded more convincing than she felt; looking back on that day's oddities, she found herself hardly believing her own words.

Munkustrap just nodded, still studying the ground. One last stray rumble of thunder growled outside before he looked back up. Demeter managed a small, gentle smile. She saw his lips begin to curl upward slightly, as if he was trying to smile back. Leaning forward, he kissed her again before taking her paws delicately in his. "Demmy, no matter what happens in three days' time . . . he won't take you. He can't. I'll make sure of that myself."

-x-X-x-

Behind the clouds, the sun set and the sun rose, peeking over a cloudless gray horizon. The pattern repeated twice more until dawn broke on the third day after the storm. Demeter woke in her mate's arms, snuggled up in his warm tabby fur. Gazing up at his face while he slept, she couldn't help but smile; he looked so calm and peaceful this way, as if no cares or worries plagued his mind. And for a brief, fleeting moment, the way his loving, protective warmth wreathed around her made it seem as if that was the way things really were. But a sudden dull pain in her belly quickly brought her back to reality. With a quiet sigh, she eased herself out of Munkustrap's grasp and rose into a sitting position. She still hadn't told him, and he still hadn't told her. From this perspective, it seemed fair, but at the same time, the gold-and-ebony queen wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her secret to herself.

She was still in the process of figuring out how and when to say it when Munkustrap began to stir. The tabby blinked open his eyes, his jaws gaping in a yawn. He glanced up and uttered a quick good morning to Demeter before rolling over and stretching. If he was still suspicious about anything, she thought, at least he was choosing to conceal it.

Once he had finished with his stretching, Munkustrap sat up, heaving a sigh, and shook out his tabby pelt. His fur was ruffled from sleep; some patches lay flat, while others were sticking up in matted clumps. With a jolt, Demeter noticed that he bore a startling resemblance to Macavity himself. Suddenly, the image of her mate faded away to be replaced by a vision of the ginger tom in the golden queen's mind. She drew in a gasp, her eyes widening in fright. The Monster's ears pricked, and he turned his massive, battle-scarred head to face her; she could see the revenge and lurid desire blazing in his eerie yellow eyes like fire, wanting only to kill and destroy and give nothing back . . . He opened his mouth, and Demeter cringed at the thought of what might come out . . .

"Dem, honey, what's wrong?"

Demeter blinked. She shook her head to clear it, and the image of Macavity was gone just as suddenly as it had come, leaving only Munkustrap looking at his mate in concern.

Realizing that she had been staring, the golden queen's ears ducked awkwardly. She blurted out the first excuse that came to her mind. "Nothing – just tired, that's all."

The tabby didn't look convinced. He opened his mouth as if to question her, but obviously decided against it as he closed it again with a small sigh.

Wanting to break the awkward silence, Demeter stretched forward to gently nuzzle him, forcing out a little purr. Seeming almost hesitant, he nuzzled back, though half-heartedly. Worry shrouded the tabby's behavior like a foggy, obstructing aura, and she could tell it wasn't just worry about her. Taking no more than a moment to smooth down his fur, he briskly and absently told her, "I should get ready . . . he never said what time of day he'd come by." Leaving it at that, he rose to his paws and ducked out of the den.

"Be careful," Demeter called after him, concern shining in her eyes. But if Munkustrap had heard, he made no acknowledgement of it.

He had left just in time, however. The very moment the tabby was gone, Demeter was shaken by a sudden – yet familiar – wave of nausea. Clamping a paw firmly over her mouth, she leapt to her paws and shot outside, heading around to the rear of the den with her cheeks bulging . . .

-x-X-x-

Munkustrap heaved a sigh as he stepped outside. The air was crisp and cool; there wasn't a cloud in sight. Not even a breeze rattled the branches on the trees, making everything seem eerily calm and quiet. But the tabby refused to let it fool him. Very little got in the way of Macavity when he was on the warpath.

He exhaled with a small huff, his breath billowing out in a small cloud in the brisk morning air. For a moment, he let his thoughts wander back to Demeter. Her recent behavior had been peculiar at best, but as far as he could tell, whatever she was hiding from him wasn't going to come out anytime soon. However, this hardly satiated his curiosity; the gold-and-ebony queen had never been the type to keep secrets, especially not from him. And there was still something different about her, something that seemed to grow only more noticeable as the days dragged on. But despite the fact that Munkustrap knew that whatever it was should have been blatantly obvious, it still lingered just outside of his range of perception like a mouse that hides under a prickly bush, scarcely out of reach of a cat's claws, but unattainable nonetheless.

Forcing himself out of his thinking, Munkustrap looked around again. Alonzo was anxiously padding around the perimeter of the junkyard, keeping watch. Every now and then a cat's head peeked out to take in the nothingness that was happening before withdrawing again. No kittens dared step out of the nursery; not even the sound of their childish laughter was audible.

Everything was still. Deserted. Lifeless.

The mouse wriggled slightly, easing ever father from the predator's claws. Why was he obsessing over the trivial little facts? He was never going to catch the rodent anyway. But then again, if he just reached a little farther, perhaps he would be able to grasp it, and one of his innumerable problems would finally be at rest.

No. He shook his head, shoving the analogy towards the back of his mind. There would be time for this contemplation later. Right now, there were much more important things that demanded his attention: surely a cat would abandon a mouse if a revenge-driven wolf was on its way. Brow furrowing as he concentrated on the happenings in the junkyard, the mouse skittered away and silence swallowed the tabby once more.

-x-X-x-

It may have been hours or only minutes since Munkustrap had left the den. The tension was palpable in the air, and it certainly didn't help Demeter knowing that she was the motive for the fight. She fidgeted uncomfortably as the dead silence boomed in her ears; she wished that whatever was going to happen would happen soon. And when it did, she prayed that herself and all of her family would be safe . . .

As the thought passed her mind, a realization struck her. Chilling, yes, but what if the battle took a turn for the worse? There was no point in denying that this was a serious possibility. There was never any way of knowing just how a battle with him would play out. If – Heaviside forbid – this was the last chance she had to speak to her mate in peace and safety, then he deserved to know. Decidedly, it was far from the most convenient time, but in retrospect, Demeter figured that she had no one to blame for putting it off but herself. It was now or never.

-x-X-x-

Munkustrap's ears snapped up, and he started as the sound of pawsteps came pounding towards him. He fluffed out his silver-and-black fur defensively, preparing to face the worst, but felt a wave of relief as he recognized his mate. But the relief quickly faded into concern. "Demmy? What are you . . ." He trailed off. Once he'd laid eyes on her, it was as if the elusive mouse came pattering back, practically leaping into his outstretched paws. Yes, that was it – Demeter's belly was noticeably larger! He grasped onto the mouse for the briefest of moments, but it only wriggled out of his grip again as the golden queen threw her arms around him, clinging onto him tightly.

"I'm sorry . . ." The words spilled out of her like water cascading over a waterfall; this was clearly something she'd been wanting to say for a while. "Oh, Munky, I'm sorry . . . I-I meant to tell you earlier . . . but I didn't want to trouble you . . . but . . . now I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner . . . you deserve to know and I don't think I can keep it to myself . . ." She was almost in hysterics.

"Shh, shh." He hushed her like a crying kitten, stroking her silky fur to comfort her. He was slightly irritated and more than a little confused as to why she had chosen such an inconvenient time to come to him, but remained calm and reassuring as he softly spoke to her. "It's okay, Demmy, you know you can tell me. What is it?"

Demeter took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. Then she finally looked up and met his gaze, blue to brown. "Munky . . . I'm pregnant!"