Other than needing to keep Darrell Cooper occupied, the short flight from California to Washington State was flawless.
But now that the cartoons had ended and Joan* had been advised by the stewardess that it would be necessary to resume her human form, Darrell finally took note of the situation.
"Mommy Joan not furry," he complained.
"No son. Not until we're in our new home," she said, hugging the child close to her.
"Where Mommy Fishy?" asked the child.
"Who?" inquired the stewardess.
"Alyssa Cooper," replied Joan, trying to keep from crying. "He's referring to seeing her in our pool in her Stage 3 form."
"Oh," said the stewardess, understanding.
"Which reminds me. Will our new place have a fresh water pool? Darrell will need it, especially as he grows older," said Joan.
"I'm sure arrangements are being made, but I was only part of the transportation equation," replied the stewardess. Then she moved closer and whispered in Joan's ear, "Listen, you're not in the best of positions right now, but here," she said, handing her a card. "That's my private cell number. If you ever want to talk, or... anything," the stewardess added with a smile.
"Thank you... Leslie," said Joan, reading the card before putting it in her purse. "You're right that it's way too soon at the moment, but maybe someday..." she said, before giving the lady a quick peck on the cheek before collecting Darrell, their things, and heading off the plane.
"So this is Moon Lake?" said Joan, taking a look around as she walked across the tarmac toward the only building in sight.
"No ma'am," said a man, approaching her. "This is just the closest private airport we could find. Moon Lake is still a half hour's drive from here because they don't have any kind of private airfield," he announced, taking some of her things while indicating a limo with tinted windows waiting for them.
"My name is John, and I'm the Alpha of the Mount Rainer chapter of the Luna Brotherhood, which is the next closest to Moon Lake after the Seattle unit. Please rest assured that not all werewolves, let alone all members of our order are like those who have brought shame upon us, and we shall never rest until not only have the sinners of the Seattle chapter been brought to justice, but that you and yours are at peace once more," he said, indicating both her and Darrell.
"Err, thank you," replied Joan. "I don't suppose you can tell me what to expect in Moon Lake, let alone what the town's like, can you? Neither of us have never been there."
"Really?" said John in disbelief. "The child I can understand, but..."
"No. I was born and raised in California to a nice pair of weretigers who... moved on before I met Alyssa."
"I'm sorry for your loss," said John, while putting the bags in the limo's trunk.
"No. I mean they split up and got divorced while I was still in high school," Joan clarified. "While I know the ins and outs of being a weretigress, let alone who I can and can't have s-e-x with," she added, spelling the one key word in case Darrell was actually listening while he was staring at the fancy car before them, "neither my parents nor any other were I know have ever mentioned Moon Lake's existence to me before in my life. All Alyssa ever said to me when she came up here was that she had business dealings in Seattle for the company she worked for. Nothing about being from Moon Lake or whatever might have taken her there from time to time."
"If you don't mind me asking, then where did you and Miss Cooper obtain your were birth control pills from?" wondered John.
"Mail order. But Alyssa always handled that," answered Joan.
"Well, my instructions are to take you and Mister Cooper directly to the Elders' Council building, but I'll explain what I can of the town and point out what sights I know on the way," said John, as he got into the passenger section with his charges before the chauffeur pulled out and started the journey.
MEANWHILE...
After Betty Van Rosenberg regained consciousness, Sheriff Douglas Cooper explained the situation to her.
"So, while you personally are not facing any charges since after all, you were only obeying the law concerning the Were Alert and didn't know what the Luna Brotherhood would do once the fugitive and Alyssa were in their custody, the Elders' would greatly appreciate it if you could come back to Moon Lake and testify."
"Sure. Just let me pack a bag, if you don't mind," said Betty, before going to her bedroom.
While she was doing so, she took out her cellphone and composed a text.
HEY OTTER BOY! AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO FEEL YOUR HOT COCK DEEP WITHIN ME AGAIN AND OFTEN, TOO MUCH GOING ON TO SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND. RAIN CHECK?
The fact that there was no immediate reply didn't bother Betty, thinking her paramour would respond sometime after school today. As long as my phone's silent, I'll just have to check for a reply whenever I'm alone, she thought, completely turning off the volume and not even putting the vibrate setting on.
The fact that the number she sent the text to was Brian Walker's new/secret cellphone and that he'd be unable to respond until he got home for the night and took it from the secret hiding place in his bedroom was unknown to her.
Once her place was secured and Betty was in the front seat of Sheriff Douglas Cooper's police cruiser, she tried talking to the man to pass the time. "Have funeral arrangements for Alyssa been made yet?"
"No. Her body is in the morgue of the local hospital, despite the fact the cause of death is pretty obvious. Just something else I'll have to take care of when I get back to Moon Lake," calmly announced the Sheriff, although he was still quite angry at a certain pack of werewolves right now.
"Well, you still have that reward money the Brotherhood gave me. I can't accept it in good conscious after finding out what happened," Betty reminded him.
"Technically, it's evidence right now, but I'll make sure it's put to good use later," promised Cooper. Then he dropped his second bombshell on the unsuspecting Betty Van Rosenberg. "Did you know Alyssa had a son?"
"WHAT?" shouted Betty, almost switching to her werecat fursona at the news. "Alyssa never said a word to me. Who? How?"
"A cute boy by the name of Darrell. About 5 years old. He and his caretaker are on their way to Moon Lake now," replied Cooper.
"Oh my..." began Betty, getting lost in thought for a bit. "Five years... Let's see... There were several long stretches between some of Alyssa's visits, but we always stayed in touch by phone. Yet she never said a word to me about being pregnant, let alone actually having a child."
"I see," was all the Sheriff would say. Then he looked to make sure they were on a long, straight empty stretch of road before he turned to his passenger and said, "Okay. Now let's you and me have a chat about you, my cousin, and Brian Walker," as he watched Betty Van Rosenberg's face turn pale.
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*I checked every previous Earth 2 episode, and Franknfurter69 has yet to give her a last name folks!—tmw.