Pinkie sat alone on part of the wooden playground that was set up in the park near the houses and buildings that set up hir home and the orphanage that hir parents ran. The two day trip back from Houston went well, and shi could admit that Aunt Casey's kids were fun to help look after, but it created the reinforcing issue that shi wanted hir own family's hugs. Shi came home to learn that not only had hir sither had sex, against their parent's rules, but had gotten pregnant. Pinkie was certain that Janice would be punished for breaking the rules, though that might end up waiting until after the baby was born, but that seemed to confirm to hir that Janice didn't like hir anymore. True shi knew that Janice and Snowflake loved each other, true shi knew that Luna and Lia had moved to France, and true shi knew Midnight had moved out of mom and dad's home and was going to be a mommy hirself, but those were all different. Shi and Janice were still kids.
Pinkie sniffled as shi looked to a photo of hir and Janice together when they were five. Janice was placing a wreath of flowers on Pinkie's head in the picture and "sisters forever" was sloppily written (and forever was misspelled) in pen on the back. Those days were gone now, and gone far too soon. Yes hir elder adoptive sithers weren't there as much anymore, but they were grownups. Grownups had their own lives to lead. Janice was still a kid, like Pinkie was, but Janice had taken a mate and was pregnant. Even after whatever punishment Charlie and Sally gave Janice when hir pregnancy ended was finished, Janice wouldn't do "sither" things with hir anymore. Even if mom and dad took the primary responsibility for their grandchildren, Pinkie knew that Janice would have to take over some "mommy" role. The picture didn't count for much anymore other than memories of a life that Pinkie was sure ended far too soon. Looking at at it again, Pinkie finally broke down and began to cry.
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Janice gave a hesitant wave to Snowflake headed back toward hir home, with Ronnie actually escorting hir. Shi then nervously looked to hir grandmother and who shi had been named for. They Hybrikat had a very firm look about hir.
"Do you hate me now, grandma?" Janice asked nervously.
"Hate you, no," Janace answered, "But you can bet your whiskers that I am angry with you."
Janice lowered hir ears and cringed.
"Both your parents told you they had a rule about no sex until you were eighteen," Janace answered, "They repeated it before we all left for the outbreak on the East Coast... and you had broken that rule probably before I even became a Kat, since the East Coast and Hawaiian outbreaks happened in direct connection with each other... or you broke their rule the instant we left."
"We..."
"Were rather childish," Janace cut hir grandchild off, "I can respect you being willing to take responsibility for your actions, but that doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't have committed the act in the first place... I can understand curiosity about your body... I can. It happens with everyone as they grow up. But most do not rush off to have sex to satisfy that curiosity."
"I'm sorry, grandma," Janice said weakly.
"I am not the ones you need to apologize to," Janace said sternly, "That would be Pinkie, your parents, and your younger siblings."
Janice only looked down. Janace the pointed toward the park.
"And Pinkie is at the playground in the park," Janace finished, "I found hir sulking there while looking after some of the orphanage children with Anubis, Sarah, and Trigger. I suggest you talk with your sither first."
"Yes, grandma," Janice answered and trotted off.
Janace sighed heavily and watched hir grandchild move off. Shi then turned and headed toward Sally and Charlie's home with a sigh. Some of what was going on was a huge downside for the highly sexual nature that Kats had, and to a certain extent, it partially gave some relief that shi and Anubis had agreed to hold things off until there were no more outbreaks to be had. Partially because some of it scared hir. Adult Kats that had their mates were very willing to have sex when they felt the moment was right and shi knew that high libido was part of hir now. On some level it wasn't all that bad an idea, and shi was looking forward to hir first erection and mating with Anubis, but at the same time part of hir felt that these outbreaks had left all of the "Kat kids" exposed to a culture that very much enjoyed sex, but due to having to fight these outbreaks hadn't been able to fully make sure that their resulting children understood the importance of waiting until what was truly the right moment and the right time to join the adults.
Janace soon found some of that worry not being limited to hirself. Shi could hear a television showing a kid's cartoon as shi could hear someone talking to someone named "Twilight Sparkle" and shi assumed that was a kid's show. Television seemed to remain one of the top babysitting devices, provided the content shown was safe. The kids seemed to like the show. There were however a few kids that weren't watching the show, as shi found hirself being hugged by Reca and looking to a nervous looking Diamond, Mary, and Fluffy.
"Hello... what's up with you four?" Janace asked carefully.
"Mommy and daddy are sad," Recca said slowly, and Janace watched the rest of Charlie and Sally's children nod.
"We couldn't even make them smile," Fluffy said sadly.
Janace bent down and jugged each little Kat that had come to greet hir.
"Why don't you go watch television with the others," Janace gave a weak smile, "I'll see what I can do to help your parents."
"You'll get them to smile again?" Reca asked.
"Yes," Janace answered, "Go on now..."
The little ones then moved on, and Janace continued on until shi came to the kitchen where Sally and Charlie were seated and neither looked particularly cheerful. Despite their wombs which clearly showed that they were pregnant, which should demonstrate that they should by be very happy, Janace could hear their hearts nervously flutter. It didn't affect their unborn children but that didn't mean Charlie and Sally were doing well. They were clearly nervous about their oldest biological soughter and probably far too nervous to be angry.
"You two can relax a little," Janace announced, feeling every emotion in hir hearts being to hug Sally and hir mate and tell them everything would be okay. "Mina and Ronnie ran all their tests..."
"And?" Sally looked up and setting hir hand down.
"Well they are healthy, and for the moment shouldn't have any complications due to their young ages," Janace spoke carefully, "The babies will probably undersized in comparison to the babies you two will give birth to and it probably wouldn't surprise me if Mina and Ronnie decide to perform a c-section when it comes time... given how young they are, but those are not serious issues and won't kill them... so they will be okay."
Charlie and Sally visibly sighed. However, that didn't ease their worries.
"Were we good parents?" Sally asked to hir mother, "Did we do a good job? Or were we simply a couple of sex crazed Kats out to perpetuate our own perversion?"
"Did you raise Pinkie and Janice any different from how you raised Midnight and Luna?" Janace then asked, reaching out with hir hand to touch both Charlie and Sally's shoulders, "because they certainly turned out well have proven responsible, waiting to become adults before taking mates."
"We raised them all the same," Charlie said weakly, "to love them... to hug them... to care for them... show them what is right... teach them to love and not hate..."
"And you've both done a wonderful job at that," Janace assured them, "In that sense, I am extremely proud of you both as parents."
That didn't help all that much. Sally sighed a little and then looked down. Good parents didn't have kids who sex while they were kids. Good parents would encourage them to wait until they're adults and consciously understand the risks involved, as given that neither Snowflake nor Janice had admitted that they had even thought about the consequences. That made Sally certain that shi and Charlie had failed as parents. While Luna and Midnight turned out alright, neither really had the temptation to have sex prematurely. Yes, Sally and Charlie had their "no sex until you're eighteen," but few people lived in Janace when Luna was growing up and shi didn't meet hir true love until Sally set hir up with Lia in Sydney. And while Midnight met hir mate at a young age, Talia was old enough to be patient and was focused enough that it was likely that Talia wouldn't let Midnight succumb to curiosity. Janice had meanwhile grown up with Snowflake and everyone had noticed this and expected them to become mates when they grew up, yet the only efforts to prevent them from mating prematurely was to only repeat the expectation that Janice wasn't to mate until shi was eighteen.
"We still could have done more, educated hir better with regard what could happen... what the sensation feels like, why it should be saved until shi was older," Sally countered.
"Maybe, but you both have also had a lot of these outbreak issues that you've both been called to deal with at times, even with the breaks in between... you've been busy preparing for the next and have had fairly limited amounts of time to really do everything you feel you need to," Janace admitted, "but you've still tried. I've seen that in the short time I've been a Kat. You two wouldn't be as worried as you are if you weren't good parents."
Janace's eyes widened as shi saw some tears go down Sally's black fur.
"You really think so?" Sally asked.
That broke Janace and shi moved until shi got Sally seated right next to Charlie and then hugged them both. Shi hugged them and hoped hir children, both by blood and by marriage, could feel hir love.
"Yes," Janace spoke, "There is always more that anyone can do, but you both tried very hard... and while Janice was reckless and wasn't thinking... at least shi did this with someone shi loves and who clearly loves hir. In that sense shi at least had good taste. You're both good parents, Sally, Charlie. And things will be fine. Soon all these outbreaks will be over and we can put all our efforts into being parents and grandparents."
Charlie and Sally both hugged hir back.