"Hope, you're not going to believe this!" Scott exclaims, running i to the kitchen with a childish bounce in his step.

Hope looks up from her phone, placing it on the table in front of her. She looks at Scott, a brow raised.  "What?" She asks, sounding almost unamused, fairly used to her boyfriend's antics by now.

"A cat gave birth in the backyard!"

Hope blinks, brows raised. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Hope, I'm serious!" He says, pointing erratically towards the backdoor. "Come look!"

Hope sighs, but follows him back out. She doesn't see it immediately, but Scott quickly grabs her hand and drags her to the scene. Hope almost trips over her own feet.  He stops abruptly, Hope almost crashing into him. She stares in awe at what's in front of her.

"Look! Aren't they cute?!"

Hope nods, smiling. He's absolutely right. They really are. She bends down slightly, holding up her body by putting her hands on her knees. Scott seems like he can barely contain his excitement at the moment. Cassie's got that from him, definitely.  They don't seem to care about them watching. They don't acknowledge it at least.

"Does this make me like a dad or something?"

Hope deadpans. "Scott, you have a daughter," She reminds him. She sighs and rolls her eyes fondly at him. "Besides, someone might own them," She reminds him, watching him in the corner of her eye.

Scott visibly deflates at that. "Yeah, you're probably right," He says, nodding. "We should take them to the vet," He says, looking at her.

Hope nods as Scott runs into the house again, leaving Hope alone outside. She crouches down and watches them for a moment.

The mother licks one of the kittens while 3 others are eagerly drinking milk. Hope can't tell what breed it is so she assumes it's mixed. There's no collar, that she can see at least, holding within the thick black and white fur. There might be a chip or something like that though.

Hope never had a pet growing up. Her parents were busy and then her had mom "died". She was back now. It just never happened. Except for maybe all the huge ants that's been helping them lately.  Not that she would have minded having something like a cat or even just a little hamster.

Scott returns just a few minutes later with a box with a towel in it. He says it down next to hope and ponders for a while, unsure how to proceed.  He gets it done without much problem and before they know it Hope's carrying the box to the car while Scott quickly washes his hands. They head off towards the nearest vet clinic and arrive in no time.  It's relatively empty, to both of their surprise. Hope sits down in the waiting room, box of meowing, but seemingly content, kittens on her lap.

Her mom would love to hear about this later. She's sure. There's no doubt Cassie would. She'd be disappointed she wasn't there though.

Scott sits down next to her after talking to the receptionist and peeks down into the box, grinning. 

"Shouldn't take too long," He says, gently scratching the mother's head with his index finger. She closes her eyes and leans into the touch. "She wasn't scared of us so she probably has an owner though."

Hope nods, watching him quietly with a faint smile on her lips. She was to admit he's pretty cute looking at them like that.

Turns out they had an owner. Scott had almost looked sad at that, but was just happy they had a home at all. They were all healthy and well. When they knew the owner was coming to pick them up Scott and Hope left for lunch.

"You know," Hope mumbles, stirring around her strawberry milkshake with her straw. "You're an adult. If you want a cat you could always adopt one."

"Yeah, I guess," Scott replies. "Pretty sure Paxton is allergic anyway."

Hope snorts, accidentally spitting out her milkshake all over the table. Scott almost jumps out of his seat, eyes wide in shock. She clasps her hand over her mouth, giggling hysterically while Scott feverishly tries to wipe the table with their napkins.

"I'm sorry," She says between giggles, slightly muffled by her hand, awfully aware of the scene she's just made. She's pretty sure she's full in crying at this point too.

Scott laughs at that. And they don't stop giggling until they're back home.