Summer was often when young animals began maturing, but in Animalia it was actually when a large number of Animalian children were getting ready to be born. Some surprises, not the least that several grandparents of Animalians were showing up to see their future great-grandchildren included these:
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"You're looking great dear." Said Thomas Wesley as Julia returned from her latest post-pregnancy workout.
"Thanks, dear." Said Julie, touching her nose to his as a greeting, "I was actually surprised how I actually gained less weight than expected."
"Yeah, only 15 pounds." Answered Thomas, "But that's not all. Your parents are here." That got Julia's attention. Her Parents were first-generation immigrants from Russia, and had some strange "rituals", as she called it. That was when her mother Edna stepped into the living room.
"Hello, child." She said, her Russian accent rather thick, "Boris is dropping off our gift at that lab you have."
"Really?" Asked Julie, a little confused.
"It was a goat." Clarified Thomas.
"Really, mom?" Asked Julie, now somewhat surprised. "Oh, mom, you... shouldn't have."
"Nothing better for your children than goat's milk." Answered Edna, reminiscingly.
"Except baby yak." Said Julie's father, Boris, coming in through the door. "But you try finding good yak these days."
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"So you're having two boys and two girls?" Asked Richard, as Clara wheeled her wheelchair in from her latest obstetrician appointment.
"*Urf!* Yes, Rick." Replied Clara as one of the quads drop-kicked her stomach... again.
"I just got an e-mail from my parents in Duluth, Minn.." said Rick trying to keep Clara from thinking about her upcoming offspring. "They're coming out here to meet you."
"Really?" Asked Clara, glad for the subject change. "What do they do?"
"Dad works at a warehouse for Duluth Trading Company, while mom owns a pastry shop." Answered Richard, thinking back to living on the shores of Lake Superior. "But you should be aware that they can be odd at times?"
"Really?" Asked Clara, one ear showing her confusion.
"When I was six months old, mom made a cradle-sized croissant to take a picture for her advertising. I ended up smelling like butter for a week after that. While dad taught me to swim at my seventh birthday party by throwing me into Lake Superior with nothing but swimming trunks and a child's life preserver. I didn't really learn to swim until junior high."
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"So what did you want to show us, Peter?" Asked Mara, quietly, as the Green Glacier Adventure Clan made their way through the Maternity Ward of Horizon Light Hospital. They had to use new security cards to get in because of the upcoming IAC and the constant new arrivals.
"Something that mom and dad had been working on since Christmas." Peter said as they reached the Reptile Ward. After scanning the key, they were allowed in. Passing four incubators containing snake eggs, marked as belonging to Bazooka and Sabine, they came to three turtle eggs in incubators with Carl and Fran's names on them. They were perfectly spherical and slightly smaller than a volleyball.
"Oh, they're so cute!" Gushed Dela.
"Ours will be cuter." Said Mara in response.
"Why?" Asked Jerry.
"Because they will be ours." Said Mara, dreamily.
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There was big news on Mieni Atoll. Not only had a large number of aquatic Animalians from they Lyre Aquarium settled in nicely, a large number of female aquatic Animalians, including Gladys, Gaz, and Jane, had been confirmed pregnant, while Kirana had confirmed that she has laid her eggs only a week ago. Fortunately, with several sporting events of the IAC taking place on Mieni Atoll, the same forces that were at Lyre and Animalia were also present at Mieni Atoll. One surprising "addition" was the presence of a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier to help with security there, both with air patrols and serving as a base of sorts for the military presence there. Again priority guard targets were the research labs and the Maternity Wards, for the same reasons as they were in Animalia.
What seemed to irritate Tzan most was how Susan was "bouncing" from one male dolphin to another, trying to find a perfect "soulmate." But fortunately for her, Tzan managed to find a male hammerhead shark of her own species that was interested in her during a swim and uplifted him with no problems. Fortunately, again, this didn't seem to interfere with their showings of The Animalian Odd Couple. On the contrary, it seemed to make it more popular, prompting ABC to meet with them about a contract with them.
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There were many expectations for children in Animalia, and it prompted a forming of a babysitting business for many teenage Animalians. It was deemed necessary to not only care for the infants while their parents weren't there, but also to help "train" the employees for when they have their own children.