Myrtle's second pregnancy was both harder and easier than her first one. It was hard in that the first time, she was only pregnant with one child. As mice are such prolific breeders, it was no surprise that she was carrying four. But she was an Animalian and Animalians are stronger and more enduring than humans, even Animalians based on smaller animals.
She also had plenty of support, not just from her husband, Dave, but from her daughter. Myrtle has long since gotten accustomed to the fact that Milly was physically the same age as her now. She was not a child, but a grown woman, even if she didn't have as much experience as her mother. Over all, Mildred was everything Myrtle had hoped she would grow up to be, even if it happened far sooner than she had wanted. But sometimes she still couldn't believe that she was going to be a grandmother so soon. Myrtle knew that was inevitable when Milly married Lenny, but having them both be pregnant was so surreal.
But that part at least was over. Myrtle and Mildred spent so much of their pregnancy terms together, it was little shock that they both went into labor on the same day. The two mouse mothers-to-be were rushed to the hospital when they felt their first real contractions. Their husbands went with them, but only Lenny up staying with his wife. Dave was so stressed out that he was about to be both a grandfather and a father again that he just couldn't sit still. Eventually, the doctors asked him to wait outside as he was just making Myrtle more stressed with his stress.
Dave paced around the waiting room, his mind racing. A father and grandfather on the same day. How many other Animalians can claim that? Is everything going to be alright? Both Myrtle and Milly had looked so swollen with offspring. Will they be able to make? Would their babies? He knew Animalians were stronger, but everything had a limit. What would he do if one or any of them...
Eventually, a nurse came out and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Morrow? Your wife is ready to see you now."
Dave gave a sigh of relief and asked, "And how is my daughter?"
"Which one?" asked the nurse in an amused tone. But she became more serious and said, "Your daughter is still resting. It was...more effort than she expected. But she's going to be fine."
With that, Dave was let into the delivery room where his wife was. Myrtle looked tired from her ordeal, which was understandable since she was now holding four newborn mice. Dave felt his heart swell with love and pride. "Myrtle, they're so beautiful," said Dave.
Myrtle gave him a tired smile and said, "I intend to keep them cute for a long time."
"How many daughters do we have now?" asked Dave.
"Four..." said Myrtle, gasping a bit. Dave's eyes widened but then Myrtle took in another breath and said, "Four, including Mildred. One of these is a boy."
Dave looked down at the mouse she indicated. He was gray, unlike his lighter-colored sisters, though at least one little girl had patches of black. He knew mice came in a variety of colors, so it wasn't much of a surprise. "We finally have a son," he said happily.
"Before you hold any of them, could you see how Mildred's doing?" asked Myrtle.
"Oh, of course," said Dave before turning to the nurse, "Can I see her now?"
"I think Mrs. Tillman is ready to see you now," said the nurse. It was still strange to hear her daughter called that, but Dave was more concerned about how Milly was going.
In the next room, he saw Milly on the bed, looking exhausted, Lenny sitting next to her and holding her hand. She only had two babies, but it was obvious why her belly was so large and why she looked so drained. Both mice were almost twice as big as the ones Myrtle had given birth to, if not fully double their size. Milly gave Dave an exhausted grin and said, "Hey Dad, looks like you're a grandpa."
"And it looks like you have a big pair of..." said Dave before hesitating.
"Boys," said Lenny, "The doctors say they're most likely identical twins."
"And they've inherited your size," said Dave.
Lenny shrugged and said, "My mom could tell you stories about what it was like to be pregnant with me."
"Well, I've just had to do that times two," said Milly before turning to Dave, "How's Mom?"
"She's doing fine," said Dave, "You have three sisters and a brother."
Milly gave a happy sigh and said, "They better not grow up as fast as me."
"Definitely not," said Dave, "No double-dosing in our house. We'll be checking every carton of milk to see if it's safe to drink."
Milly looked at her boys and said, "I wonder what my new sibs will think of their nephews."
"I expect they'll see each other more as cousins," said Lenny.
"Well, these boys will get to see their mom win the Year of the Rat competition," said Milly.
"You're thinking of that now?" asked Lenny incredulously, "You just gave birth to two plus-size mice."
"Just give me a minute to catch my breath and I'll be on the treadmill in no time. Gotta lose the baby fat before the contest," said Milly as she started to sit up.
Lenny gently pushed her back down and said, "I don't think so. You need at least a few days to recover. I don't mind you competing, but you're not pushing yourself too far too fast."
"But I don't wanna lie around all day..." whined Milly.
"That's motherhood for you," said Dave pointedly. Turning to Lenny, he said, "I can see you're already going to be good father material."
"Thanks," said Lenny, "But isn't Myrtle competing too?"
"Myrtle has enough sense to rest and regain her strength before going back to the gym," said Dave.
"So I must get my drive from your side," said Milly.
Dave gave her a mildly annoyed look and said, "I'm going to assume that's the postnatal hormones talking."
"Yeah, I just hope that she won't do anything crazy," said Lenny.
"You should have known what you were getting into when you married her," said Dave with a shrug.
"But it was still worth it," said Lenny, giving Milly's hand a soft squeeze.
Dave nodded and said, "Yes, definitely worth it."