Martha quietly watched as Samantha and Frances made their way across the lawn and back to the Twist home, and in a way she couldn't help but smile. They had proven to be kind friends and did a lot that actually helped her get used to Moon Lake and all the things that made it stand out among towns in the United States. It was something that she liked, and thinking back on it, a part of her even figured that as she got more and more used to Moon Lake the more likely that she would have had her epiphany that she was bisexual and asked Samantha or Frances to turn her. The fact that William had gotten jumped and had being a were forced on him accelerated that decision and meant that Martha would HAVE to become a were if she remained with William.
She never expected both the Twists to give her her welcome to were society, but she wouldn't turn them down. And with her own transformation, there came the feeling that this little town in Washington State truly was home. She felt one with herself and actually felt welcome. Add to that William's bond to her as a werefox and all of the issues that had been weighing them down in Minnesota were gone. Martha knew that both she and William really owed that to kindness and friendship that the Twists offered, as while things between Samantha and William might be a bit edgy, given how William acted while incomplete, his later behavior and Martha's own happiness helped fix that... at least in the sense that the Andersons and Twists could get along.
And in all of that, Martha felt they owed their neighbors quite a lot. That was a major part of why she'd been so willing to take Samantha to the hospital for her reunion with Frances after the trials of the morning. She couldn't let a friend be unhappy or worried out of her mind, not after all Samantha had done for them. Seeing them together and seeming them happy brought some joy to Martha as she followed the two werecats as they made their way to and into their home. As the door shut on the Twist's house, Martha moved head into her own home and move on to other matters.
Martha entered the Anderson home to hear a couple of things. The first was the television on in the living room, which seemed to be putting something on about the African Savannah, though it also sounded like the show was winding down and was near its end credit sequence. She guessed that Eric had put it on as things related to science and science fiction was something he'd have interest in. That guess was soon reinforced by a complaint from Nate that Martha could overhear.
"Can we watch something else now?" came Nate's voice, "something with a little more action than a nature special..."
"There's action in nature specials," came Julie's voice in counter to Nate's, "the whole "circle of life" and all that. Predators hunt prey and prey fights off predators. Surely as a werewolf you're aware of that... right?"
"Actually... Alex and I haven't gone hunting," Nate answered, "Though... to some extent with all the stuff that's been exaggerated with regard to were behavior in horror movies, that really hasn't been a driving force for me."
"Just make sure you're with Alex when you do go," Julie advised, "Moon Lake has it all arranged with the various farms around the town that all of them will raise deer like most other ranchers would raise cattle, which would give the large predatory weres the opportunity to hunt and allows for Moon Lake to see to it that the wild population doesn't decline because of our presence. And it DOES take some doing... though... obviously as a weremer, Moon Lake's rules for deer hunting is not my forte."
"Right," Nate answered slowly.
At that point Martha decided to come around the front of the stairs in through the doorway into the living room. She found Eric, Julie, and Nate seated on the couch, in that order, watching television. Eric had his left arm around Julie's shoulders as holding her to him, in a way not to unlike the way William had held Martha when they were first dating way back when, while Nate had his hands in his lap though, Nate looked like he was also twiddling his thumbs.
"I'm home!" Martha announced as she came through the doorway and announcing her presence. That earned her some attention from the three teens on the couch and soon lead to an appearance of William in the doorway that lead into the kitchen.
"So what was up with Samantha and Frances, mom?" Eric asked, "Dad said something was up... but didn't quite know what."
"Well... Eric you remember the gun shots from this morning?" Martha asked to her younger son and waited till he nodded before she continued, "well, it'd apparently startled Frances a great deal in that the shots were fired fairly close to her home... thankfully, if there was any stray bullets, they only did damage to things and not to people."
"That's good to hear," Julie answered.
Martha nodded in agreement to that. The Twists had done a lot to help them "get used" to Moon Lake and the last thing she wanted to hear was that a friend of the family was in the hospital with a gun shot wound.
"The big thing was that the wife of the of the guy that was being arrested... and started the fight in the first place was heavily pregnant," Martha reported, quickly glancing to the three on the couch and to her husband in the doorway to the kitchen, "and it appears that the stress of seeing her husband get in a fight sent her into labor..."
"Is she okay?" William asked with concern evident in his voice.
"I'd think so," Martha answered, "Frances went with her as a "birth coach" and was there for the delivery. That's why she wasn't at home when Samantha got home. The baby seemed quite healthy when I got to see her. The maternity ward there in the hospital was quite nice."
"Scouting out for the future?" William asked as he approached Martha.
"Perhaps," Martha gave a smile.
"Wait...!" Nate exclaimed with wide eyes, "mom... are you... you can't... I mean..."
"I'm not pregnant right now, if THAT is your concern, Nate," Martha chuckled, "but your father and I had always hoped to give you a baby sister. And now that we have multi-century life spans as weres to live out... that IS in our long term plans. But that will wait until we're a bit more secure... When I have my certification again, you and Eric have your college degrees. That sort of thing."
"A prophecy dream, Mrs. Anderson?" Julie asked.
"No... just basic common sense," Martha answered, "Raising families can cost money..."
"And definitely costs time," William added, "right now we'd want to make sure that Nate and Eric get through college and are able to stand on their own when they're ready... and perhaps when WE'RE ready for them to be ready... and not do anything that would make them feel overwhelmed or neglected because of a new baby."
"So... I was supposed to be a girl?" Eric asked nervously, "Erica..."
"We'd hoped that you would be a girl," Martha answered, "but the fact that you are boy did not and does not mean we love you any less."
By now, William was standing beside his wife, smiled to her and then took a half step forward. He reached out with one hand and ruffled Eric's hair.
"Both of you are precious, and we're both glad to have you," William assured both of them, "and your mother and I would do anything we can to protect you and make you feel happy."
Eric blinked and looked up to his parents and managed a small smile. He remembered his father coming in to his Middle School in Minnesota after a group of kids he'd thought had been friends jumped him for not putting ALL his attention into baseball. The incident had been traumatizing and in many ways made Eric withdraw within himself to the point where relations with anyone outside his family had been rough, but he did remember his father coming in and giving an impassioned lecture to the Middle School principal, the other kids, their parents, and the middle school's office staff. William never made any threats, but he made it clear that no one was to hurt his son, and Eric did feel thankful for that. He eventually guessed that while his parents wanting to have a daughter was a surprise, there was nothing that really conflicted with the memory of the love his parents had for him. Shoot, not even the strains that had gone on between William and Martha had ever cast any shadow on their parental abilities.
"Thanks dad," Eric managed.
"So... what have you all been up to while I was helping our neighbors?" Martha asked.
"Julie and I finished our homework... and we've largely been watching National Geographic since we came downstairs," Eric answered.
"I hung out with Alex for the day and got home a little while ago," Nate spoke, "he has some ideas about things to do before Thanksgiving and so on... though I was hoping we could watch something else."
"Oh... and what's this thing for Thanksgiving?" William wondered.
"Football... Alex wants me to try out for this school scrimmage that they hold on Thanksgiving," Nate answered weakly, "He says sometimes it's upper class versus lower class and sometimes its predator versus prey... but the high school students that sign up play a football game against each other... and well... Alex talked me into it."
"Well, that's good, in a way," William answered, "Colleges tend to like students that have a record with extra curricular activities. Now... for Moon Lake, I'm sure being a were is more than enough... but there are other colleges and they may offer a better curriculum or better teachers that you'll want to learn from, Nate. It'd help balance things out."
"Just be safe," Martha added to her oldest son.
"I will..." Nate answered carefully.
Meanwhile, Martha turned to William. In terms of what she knew, that he would be working on getting the next week's lectures and activities ready and thought out, but that had been when they left the Local Diner after "brunch." William had to have finished with that by now, especially as Martha could hear some banging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen when she came in through the front door.
"Well... we have some sliced ham wrapped in plastic," William answered, "and it's still good... So I though I'd fry that up. It'd be something quick and easier to clean up from than anything else. Especially with all that went on... I didn't know when you'd be getting back and figured I'd get started."
Martha nodded, "and we have enough for five?"
"Five?" William blinked and then remembered Julie who was still sitting on the couch. "Oh... of course. I'm pretty sure we have enough. Julie, you're more than welcome to join us for dinner if that's okay with your folks."
"Thank you, Mr. Anderson," Julie answered, "and I probably will stay until they call... I... I think they were wanting to conceive a younger sibling for me and that's why they sent me over with Eric."
"Well... tell them congratulations when you see them," Martha smiled politely.
"I will..." Julie nodded, "thank you."