With more and more expectant parents, the maternity ward was becoming more and more important, especially of new data on Animalian pregnancies. There were many new discoveries to be made, especially of one couple's pregnancies.
---
"Good day to- whoa!" said the assigned doctor as she came into the room where Iphis, Ianthe, Ty, and Lily were waiting for their most recent appointment. The reason it was surprising was that all three/four of them were so swollen that they looked nearly full term, but were in fact only on their second month.
"Yeah, that's the most common reaction." said Iphis.
"I've heard that both the government and the Vatican are having a massive debate over whether or not we should be wed." said Ianthe, "Apparently they're so confused about us that they don't know what to do. The only one that have a definite answer is the Mormon Church, which is a definite 'yes'."
"We should tell them to just take it one step at a time and not rush things." said the doctor.
---
Because of the increased demand for breast pumps to deal with lactation, one relatively new inventor who had been suffering a bit of a mental block decided to help them out. His newest invention combined a standard, "human" breast pump with a milking machine, and included a new cream that both helped keep the milking cups on whatever they were applied to, prevented chafing, leaking, and infection, and helped 'douse the heat' that sometimes resulted. After he got his patent, he would end up a millionaire by the summer.
---
"Because of a rising number of aquatic Animalians, whether converted or uplifted," said the tour guide for Horizon Light during a student visit by WSA, "We've been having to update and expand our aquatic immersion birthing rooms."
"I know what grandma Edna would say if she saw this." said Sarah, switching to an old Russian woman's accent, "'She's having a baby, not a gefilte fish!'"
"Anyway, we've been exchanging data between our other colonies on aquatic births. The main one we've been getting is to not be surprised about breech births for those who are primarily air breathers. This kind of thing is done by certain aquatic species to prevent the infant from dying during birth due to breathing problems." continued the tour guide.
---
Because of the rise in demand for maternity clothing, and especially the new "sexy maternity" clothing, Miss Vivian's Intimacy Boutique was suddenly in the need of some new employees. Fortunately, Miss Vivian was able to find a newly wedded couple that disliked the Twilight Series as much as she did, especially of how werewolves were depicted in said series. It was their opinion that the better depiction of werewolves were the more "traditional" ones, NOT the Native American underwear models that the Twilight Series seemed to prefer (even though it was made clear that those were more like Native American shape shifters, and not true werewolves). Because of this, Miss Vivian was able to sponsor them for double-dosed conversion.
While the Feds were a little concerned when said couple went from a "trailer park" house to a decent sized manor in Animalia in a comparatively short time, Miss Vivian was able to explain it easily.
"Because of the rising demand for intimate apparel, bedroom costumes, and now Bedroom Roleplaying Kits, It's only natural to start paying new employees with extremely surprising amounts." said Miss Vivian.
"I see." said the IRS agent, "We were concerned because such upswings mean connections to the criminal underworld. Some of the most famous Prohibition mobsters were brought down by the newest members of the Bureau of Internal Revenue at the time. One notorious case of the 20th century was when a bank was robbed, but it was blown wide open when the culprit's two accomplices went from a trailer park home to a hilltop mansion in so short a time, and also filled it with really tacky collectibles that the Treasury Department got suspicious."
"And here I was thinking that stuff like that only happened in crime noir." said Miss Vivian.
"Agreed." said the IRS agent, "When lowlifes seek the high life, it's just not pretty. It ended with a victory for everyone: the FBI because they caught their culprit and his two accomplices; the Treasury Department because they found where the money went; and above all, it was a victory for good taste, because most of their ill-gotten treasures were just so tacky. Ugh!" he shuddered with disgust at the memory of how bad a taste those criminals had."
"I'll drink to that." said Miss Vivian, pulling a gothic-style hip flask out and taking a swig. At his confused look, she explained, "It's a Bloody Mary, O+."
"That's not-?" said the IRS Agent.
"Of course not." said Miss Vivian, reading him well, "I may be a vampire bat, but I'm a modern one. I get the blood I need from a bank."
"Oy!" said the IRS Agent, groaning at the pun made.