Off in the far corner of the junkyard, the music of the ball could be heard only faintly. She knew Baskin had brought her out here for a reason. He was the most perceptive person she had ever met... he must have known she needed to talk to him. Then again, her eyes could usually tell him all he needed to know about her feelings at the time.

Baskin steered her gently to the outer reaches of the junkyard. She had something private to talk to him about, he could tell. She had looked uncomfortable all evening, and now with the Ball starting, he knew she should get it off her chest so she could enjoy the Ball. He danced with her for a little, enjoying being so close to her, and then spoke.

"What's bothering you, Jenna?"

She smiled. Of course he knew she needed to talk. She stopped dancing and sat down, making sure she was comfortable. The kittens were definitely getting ready to see the world. It was hard to find a comfortable enough position lately. She looked down, not sure how to begin.

"Baskin.... when you grew up with the Clan in the city... They taught the kittens from the very start about gender roles, right? One of the first things a queen learns is that she is always more lowly than a tom and the toms learn that queens are to be protected and shown what's best for them, because they can't do it for themselves?"

He moved next to her and held her paw, and brought her chin up with the other paw, so he could look into her eyes. He spent one moment admiring how deep and green they were.

"Yes, Jenna. In the city that is the first thing a kitten learns; their place in the Clan. For years and years, generations and generations it has been so. And see how it has worked! In my home, families are together. Mates stay together. There are next-to-no squabbles. Everyone knows their place."

She considered this for a moment, then continued.

"But it's not like that everywhere in the city. Only your Clan operated like that." She realised she was arguing with him, and that brought up another point in her mind.

"And you're not holding to the ideals of your Clan. Right now I'm arguing with you, contradicting what you say, giving you my opinion and imploring you to accept it! When I lived with you and the Clan, I was sometimes asked my opinion, but that was the only time I was ever allowed to state it, and most often it was dismissed by the toms."

He looked at her, and a smile slowly spread across his face. He was remembering why he loved her so much.

"I must admit, dear Jenna, that I have often questioned the ideals of 'my' Clan. Most of it is good, and we do seem to have peace in the Clan... but then I met you, Jenna. Queens of the outside are never allowed into the Clan. But you were Tyler's kin, and Track was Tyler's kin. Track took to life in the Clan faster than some of the ones born to it. We accepted you both. I was just out of kittenhood, barely a year old, and you were even younger, but you were beautiful. You were demure and obedient, but you had that outside quality to you that made me realise that you had a mind of your own. You were capable of making descisions in your own best interest, unlike the queens in the Clan, who were bred and brought up with the idea that queens could not manage such. Now that we are here, away from the Clan, I see no need to stick exactly to their restrictions. I believe you are capable of offering a valid opinion."

He grinned. "And if I would like to dismiss your opinions, I only have to do this." He brought his head down and kissed her full on the lips.

She felt a flutter in her stomach as he kissed her, and she kissed back. When it was over, she looked at him, grinning. It faded a little, though, as she remembered her second question.

"And our kittens? What will we teach them?"

"We will teach the queens that they can achieve anything they set their mind to, and to respect the toms because toms like to have someone to protect. We will teach the toms to always protect queens, but to respect them also for their talents." He looked at her. If he could combine the best of his old life and the best of this Junkyard into one parenting method, he'd end up with the best kittens in the Heavyside.. he hoped. He'd met Jenna's mother, and wondered how she could have raised a tom like T.L.... when the other siblings ended up like Jenna, even.

She smiled at him, but the fluttery feeling was still there. She put her paw over it and leaned her head on him.

"Sounds good to me." She answered.

He rubbed her back, then noticed her paw over the bulge that was her kittens.

"Are you all right?" He asked softly.

The fluttering was still there. She didn't want him concerned over her, she was sure it was just nerves... it was a really intense conversation they had just had, after all. She took a few deep breaths and it receded a little.

"Yes, Baskin. I'm fine."

"If you're sure." He said, and went back to rubbing her back. He didn't want anything to happen to his queen. What kind of a tom would he be then?

Jenna smiled at him to reassure him, though she felt like she needed reassurance herself. She was beginning to feel a little hot, and the funny feeling was still there. She ignored them the best she could.

"What was your mother's name?" she asked.

The question surprised him, it was so off-topic. He wondered if he had heard her correctly.

"Pardon?"

She forced herself to breathe slower. She had asked the first question that had come into her head to keep him from noticing that something was wrong. It would go away, she knew it would if she was patient.

"Oh, it's just that we've been mated for how long, and I don't even know what your mother's name was. I never met her." Baskin had said she died when he was younger.

He smiled from the memories evoked by the thought of his mother.

"Her name was Heather. My father used to call her by saying 'Come hither, Heather.'"

The feeling in her stomach came back even stronger than before, and her heart sped up with it. She put her paw on the bulge of life within her. She knew she couldn't deny it anymore.. it wasn't going to go away.

"Baskin.." She said desperately, almost inaudibly.

He was still remembering his mother when he thought he heard Jenna speak. It was so soft.. but the tone of it caught his attention and he looked at her. Her paw was over the kittens and her shoulders were hunched.

"What is it, Jenna? Are... are you sure you're all right?" He said, softly and urgently.

"No..." She said. "It's the kittens. They're coming. Now. I've been feeling the signs for a while, I just didn't want to acknowledge them. It's the Ball! I can't have kittens during the Jellicle Ball.

She pushed herself to her feet and started heading for the woods. "That's not what the Ball is for. We'll go into the woods. We won't be interrupting anything if we go into the woods." She said all of this very quickly, and made shaky but determined strides into the edge of the woods.

Baskin looked panicked for a second, but then regained his composure. His mate knew what she was doing.. he hoped. And she didn't want it to happen during the Ball... interrupting the ceremonies, with all those cats there. He helped her deeper into the woods, knowing that once she got to where she wanted he would have no idea how to help her further.

[and moving to the Traveller board]