Northstar Vale If we drop a stone in a pond, the ripples begin to move.

She let out a contented sigh when Maxim understood the assignment. Towhee pressed back into him, grumbling happy little notes when he began grooming the remaining moisture from her pelt.

Mmm gonna take a nap, she mumbled after riding out the latest contraction, but wake me up if I start giving birth in my sleep, okay?

She gave a little snort and let her body go limp. The contractions weren’t so bad that she couldn’t catch a few winks, though Towhee knew it was only a matter of time before the labor progressed, her water broke and the puppies arrived. And all jokes aside, there was no way she would sleep through that—or likely much at all over the coming weeks.