THE FAMILY IN RUTWELL FOREST

By Kthanid

With input from SerenaKtty

Chapter 19: The Gang’s All Here

Martin tucked his tail in around Karin, who smiled sleepily at him, and Tarin, who yawned prodigiously. Mik snuggled into his father’s lap and looked up through heavy eyelids.

“Don’ ferget about the rest of us, daddy”, he yawned.

“I’d never forget about any of you,” Martin smiled back at his son. “You are all very special to me and your mommies. Don’t ever forget that.”

Serena smiled and snuggled with Kevin and Tina, her own eyelids starting to droop. Monica shifted a little to better support Tim, who had fallen asleep, and Tina who battled sleep by vigorously sucking her thumb.

“Okay,” Martin said. “Well, as the night went on, our Guests made their ways home. Grammy and Grampy Mink stayed with us for the night and cleaned up after the guests while your mommies and I got to go to sleep…well almost…

Slowly but surely, the Mink family’s guest began to thin out. Their friends each congratulated Martin and Monica, held, fussed over and said their good-byes to the new kittens and looked in to pay their respects to Serena. Cleo remained at Serena’s bed side until she was satisfied that Serena was okay while Shiela was about cleaning up after the rather messy event. Once she was satisfied on that account she took Shiela out to the kitchen for some last minute instruction and tips on looking after the new kittens. Before she went home she gave the new arrivals one last going over to make sure they were all healthy.

Martin’s parent’s had arrived almost before Martin had set the phone down from calling them. Mrs. Mink was absolutely beside herself with exuberant joy. She fussed over each and every kitten, making plans out loud on how she was going to spoil them. When the kittens began to cry she helped Monica gather them up, literally prying the fluff tailed female off her daddy and took them in to Serena, closing the bedroom door behind them.

“Time to start being Mommies,” she smiled warmly as she handed the fluffy tailed female and the brown colored male to Serna then turned to help Monica with her shirt.

Monica was a little taken aback at first until Mrs. Mink smiled and explained that there were more kits than ‘places at Serena’s table’. Serena was trying awkwardly to position the two kittens she held while they cried and mewed piteously.

“H-how do I breast feed them again?” Serena asked Mrs. Mink in desperation.

“Just hold them against you low enough to put their heads near your nipples,” Mrs. Mink said with a warm, motherly smile.

Before Serena could put the advice to use, however, The Brown male took matters into his own paws, literally. He shifted in Serena’s arm and latched onto her breast with both hands and took her nipple in his mouth. Serena’s eyes popped open in surprise as the little male suckled hungrily. A moment later, the fluffy tailed female followed suit.

“Or you could just let nature take its course”, Mrs. Mink giggled.

Monica squeaked as the two kittens she held began to suckle. She adjusted her hold on them and got into the bed next to Serena, Snuggling up to her mate as they fed the kittens. Serena smiled and snuggled back. She felt all warm and fuzzy, happy beyond anything she had ever felt before. She purred softly and rocked her kittens gently. Monica also began rocking her charges.

“Just like Martin was,” Mrs. Mink noted.

“Like what?” Serena asked.

“Your kittens…They nurse just like Martin did. Like little vacuum cleaners.”

“Martin was like that?” Serena giggled, resisting the urge to comment that Martin still suckled like that.

“Oh yes,” Mrs. Mink chuckled. “Then of course, his teeth came in. THAT made breast feeding something of an adventure, let me tell you. He couldn’t make up his mind whether he was suckling or teething.”

“Oh, Joy,” Serena said, nervously contemplating that situation applied to her.

“H-he BIT you?!” Monica said, her eyes widening in alarm as she looked down at the kittens suckling at her breasts. “He bit you on the…I mean…Oh dear!”

Shelby Giggled from his post in Monica’s nest. Mrs. Mink turned and glared at him.

“You shouldn’t be oogling the new mothers young man,” She said sternly. “Now be a gentlefur and kindly avert your eyes until they are finished.”

Serena and Monica both giggled nervously. Shelby sulked back down into the nest. The kittens fed for about fifteen minutes before sleep gradually overtook them. Mrs. Mink smiled warmly as they snuggled in with the new kittens. She then hurried out and ushered Martin in urging him to get some sleep while he could. A little confused, Martin crawled into bed next to Monica and the family settled in to sleep.

The new parents were suddenly awakened by the sound of mewling and squawling kittens. Serena looked sleepily at the clock to find barely two hours had passed since they’d settled in to sleep. Monica looked more than a little concerned as she tried to calm her charges. Martin yawned and propped himself up on one arm.

“Wh-what’s the matter?” he asked. “Are th-they hungry again?”

Serena wrinkled her nose as she looked at the kittens.

“I don’t think that’s the problem,” She said. “Martin, be a dear and change them, would you?”

“Change them into what?” Martin asked, not quite fully awake yet. “OH! You mean…Ch-ch-change them?”

“No buts, Daddy,” Monica grinned as she started handing Martin kittens.

Martin got up and gathered up the mewling bundles of fur and trudged into the bathroom. Monica and Serena exchanged a mischievous look and snuck quietly over to the bathroom door to watch. Martin set three of the kits down on the counter, the fluff-tailed female refused steadfastly to be dislodged from his neck. He retrieved the disposable diapers. Taking the white furred male and laying him on his back, Martin took a deep breath and opened the kitten’s diapers. He began to sweat and his pupils shrank in his eyes as he stared at the revealed mess. Monica and Serena snickered quietly.

After gathering his courage, Martin slipped the diaper out from under his son and dropped in the toilet. After flushing, he wet a wash cloth and turned back to his son. It was then he realized that he had no idea how to go about cleaning up his son. He tried holding on to the kitten’s foot and wiping, but couldn’t actually bring himself to touch the kitten. Finally in desperation he rolled the kitten over, grasped his tail and looked away while he whipped the kitten’s bottom clean. The kitten mewed in protest. Serena and Monica chuckled softly but Serena suddenly looked concerned.

“Is that how you really do it?” She asked Monica in hushed tones.

“I sorta remembah me mum cleaning up me Bro’ an’ sis’”, Monica said, still grinning. “I think she held on to their feet, though.”

They looked back to Martin who had just finished sprinkling too much powder on to the kitten’s rump, causing him, the kitten and the female kitten around his neck to sneeze. Rolling the kitten to his back once more he put on a fresh diaper and held the kitten up to admire his handy work. The diaper promptly dropped off. Martin started to retrieve the diaper when the kitten chose that moment to relieve its bladder, catching Martin full in the face. The kitten around his neck giggled, thinking the whole thing funny. It was all Serena and Monica could do to keep from laughing out loud. Undaunted, Martin replaced the diaper, a bit more firmly this time and then quickly repeated the process with the other kittens…

…Until he got to the female around his neck. He got her cleaned up easily enough, once he’d pried her off his neck. Trying to get a new diaper on her was another story. The kitten giggled and kicked and squirmed, defeating her father’s efforts at every turn.

“Come on, Sweety,” Martin pleaded. “Be a good girl for daddy.”

The kitten looked up at him with her big, innocent eyes and Martin’s resolve melted away.

“Okay…you win,” he said.

He gathered up the kittens and headed for the bathroom door to find his mates waiting for him.

“You forgot one,” Serena said, folding her arms and smiling.

“She won’t let me put her diaper on,” Martin explained.

“She has to wear one, dear,” Serena said as she pried the little female off her father. “Unless you want to follow her around and clean up her little messes.”

The little female mewed piteously at being taken from her father.

“You can have him back in a minute,” Serena promised the kitten. “But only if you wear your diaper.”

Serena took the kitten to the counter, but had no easier time of it than Martin. In the end, though, her stubbornness won out. The kitten pouted and sucked her thumb as Serena handed her back to Martin.

Serena took two of the other kittens and Monica took a third and the family returned to bed.

The next morning, Shelby woke Martin for his shift with Monica’s eggs. Grumbling just a little Martin transferred himself to the ‘nest’ and settled in as the others awoke to the smell of Martin’s mother cooking in the kitchen.

Send me in something,” Martin asked as the others filed out.

Martin lay his big, plush tail over the eggs and curled himself around them. Suddenly, he heard a small, soft ‘crack’. His first panicked thought was that he had broken one of the eggs. He flipped his tail out of the way and to his horror found one of the eggs was indeed cracked. Then he saw the shell fracture a little more as if it were being pushed at from inside.

“H-h-h-hatching!” He tried to call out, though his voice was little more than a squeak. “Th-they’re hatching!!”

Martin’s eyes rolled up in his head and the overjoyed, over wrought mink passed out. Serena poked her head into the room a moment later to ask Martin what he wanted on his pancakes. She saw the situation and shouted joyfully to the rest of the house before rushing to the side of the nest. She knelt down, ignoring Martin, and cooed to the hatching platypus pup. In a flash, Monica was at her side. The rest of the household gathered at the door.

“Can we help them?” Serena asked Monica.

“No,” Monica said. “Me mum said that they have to come out on their own or they’ll grow up weak and sickly. Once they’re clear of their shell it’s okay to pick them up.”

The two mothers coaxed and encouraged the first pup as it struggled to hatch. Martin returned to consciousness just in time to see the white furred, duck billed she-pup with a wisp of yellow hair on its head crawl from her egg and onto his belly. He grinned ear to ear as Monica scooped up the wet little bundle of fur and cooed to her. A second egg began to crack and several moments later the third began to hatch. Shiela was giving the play by play to her and Monica’s parents over the phone. As the second pup, a blue grey male, hatched and crawled free of its shell, Monica nodded to Serena. Serena beamed happily and scooped up the pup.

“Welcome to the outside world, little one!” she cooed.

The third egg hatched, revealing a little blue-grey female. Martin cradled the pup on his chest grinning from ear to ear. The assembled family and houseguest congratulated the happy parents. Serena grinned, happier than she could ever remember being.

“Now,” she said, her voice filled with the joy that swelled in her heart. “Now our family is complete.”

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“And then we called all our neighbors again,” Martin said with a smile. “And they all came over to see you all. Then we sat down and named each of you and…”

Martin looked about. Each and every one of the kits was soundly sleeping. Monica and Serena smiled at him, Monica putting her finger to her bill and softly shushing him.

“But…I didn’t get to finish the story,” Martin said quietly.

“Let them sleep, dear,” Serena smiled. “There’s always tomorrow and besides, the story isn’t finished.”

“We add to it every day, my love,” Monica added.

Martin smiled and nodded in agreement before breaking into a long yawn. The three mates snuggled in with their kits and quickly fell into a happy blissful sleep.

END