Across the country, Theodore and Marci Green settled back into their Washington DC apartment. The day had been reasonably long, complicated by the fact that by flying from Pacific to Eastern Time, they'd actually lost several hours in the day. At the same time there was also the memories and attraction that both had taken to Moon Lake. It was something that contrasted heavily with Washington DC with the sound of cars and car horns blaring through the night. It might not be as "bad" as New York City in that regard, but it was still vastly different from Moon Lake, with sounds and smells that were decidedly man made.
"Arrrg…." Theodore grumbled in some irritation, "How did you ever put up with all this background noise?"
Marci glanced to one of the windows as they lay in bed together, with one hand rolling down her husband's now well muscled chest, even in human form. The sound of cars driving by could be heard easily on the streets below the level of their apartment, and was something that she'd grown used to over the years, growing up with her parents on the East coast and living with Teddy as his wife while practicing law. Even in human form, her werecat hearing was still much better than a normal human's hearing, and thus many of those background noises were in a sense louder to her, and that had been something she'd long had to adapt to.
However, Teddy was a new were, at least in the sense that he'd only recently become one. Marci wasn't sure as to how old weretigers were as a were-species, though neither was she fully sure on how werecats/werewildcats were as were-species either, but that part wasn't something up for debate at the moment. Theodore was now adapting to having much sharper hearing than he'd ever had before and was thus hearing all the mechanical sounds of engines and pipes settling with a degree of sensitivity that he didn't have before he became a weretiger, and when compared to the more natural background noise in Moon Lake, that could be unsettling.
"I suppose I'm just used to it by now," Marci answered, "It can be distracting... especially when you're tired." And that would be regardless of whether or not you have a were's hearing."
"It's like everything is louder now," Theodore said slowly.
"The sound level probably hasn't changed," Marci gave a small smile, "it's just that your ears are now more sensitive now... You just need to relax and think calm thoughts. It may take a little time to adjust... but I know you can do it."
Theodore slowly nodded as he looked over to her, and saw the same loving face he'd always remembered her having. It was soft and kind, and she had a small smile. He managed a small smile back as she rolled onto her side to look to him.
"And besides, this could be some training for the future," Marci continued to smile, "as... now that YOU are a were, the werecat strain of the were-virus can't kill you... and we could well hear the pitter-patter of little feet."
Theodore managed a small nod at that. The vacation to Moon Lake had been a big thing for the Greens, and gave them the thing that they'd wanted for years, to truly be a married couple. To some extent it could well mean the possibility of Marci becoming pregnant and them having children, though that had also been something they'd discussed and wanted, but until Teddy could become a were, that was something they'd had to wait on. And after that happened, Theodore didn't think that Marci had been taking her werecat birth control pill.
"And babies can have the habit of odd sleeping hours," Marci reminded him, to which Teddy nodded, remembering his own parent's complaints about him as an infant keeping them up at night.
"I suppose you're right," Theodore mused and reached over to pull Marci into a hug. He was still rather tired and not quite up for anything more adventurous at the moment, but having Marci close to him was always good, and he'd always do his best to protect her. "And now... we'll get a shot at that."
Marci smiled and nodded in agreement as she moved to cuddle with her husband. His becoming a weretiger gave them what they'd always wanted and opened up the potential for a bright future ahead of them. There might be some hurdles with regard to respective careers and making sure that they retired out of places of intense public attention before it became too obvious that Teddy's lifespan was now much longer than it had been before they went on vacation to Moon Lake. Marci could longer, as the firm she worked for didn't require that much in the way of physical activity, but Theodore's work for the FBI wasn't as clear. With his present position, he'd have a lot of physical requirements that within the space of five years, a normal human his age would begin to become too old to adequately do the job.
A move to Moon Lake in that time, sounded reasonable, and both Greens had thoughts of Lila Carpenter go through their heads at that moment. Though, the biggest thing remained Moon Lake, itself. The quiet unassuming little town in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle, Washington. It gave them the future that they'd wanted and the happiness that both felt they deserved, and as a secret were sanctuary, there was the added fact that being "careful" was not as much of an issue as it was in Washington. But that would have to wait a little while, and as they lay in bed, with their arms around each other, they could take comfort in having each other and in the good future that they'd have.
"So... will you have any big cases coming up?" Theodore asked to her.
"For me, personally, no," Marci answered, "I'd actually just gotten through my last set of major cases before we went on vacation, and there seemed no likelihood to appeal the decision to a higher court... and there were no messages on our home answering machine on that. Though... there might be new potential cases coming up as well. I think the big thing for me tomorrow will be simply getting caught up on things that I missed while I was out..."
"I'd imagine I'd have a lot of the same," Theodore gave a yawn.
"But we can do it," Marci smiled to him and kissed his cheek, "as there is a bright future for both of us..."
And with that, the two finally did manage to drift off to sleep. They still had their arms around each other that was calm and comforting for both of them. It gave them confidence for something good, even in an uncertain future.