The five Animalian women stood a bit awkwardly in the maternity clinic. The five of them had originally been lesbians before their conversions, even if becoming Animalian has made them bisexual. Of the five of them, Annie was the one who embraced her new appreciation most, which is why she was currently carrying Stuart's child. Not that the other four were adverse to some male loving. Ella and Simone were also at the maternity clinic because they've been knocked up. And that left Arlene and Moxie...
"So..." said Arlene a bit awkwardly.
"Which one of you is pregnant?" asked Simone.
"Simone," admonished Ella.
"Hey, the three of us are pregnant, no point in hiding it," said Simone, "Why beat around the bush?"
Moxie sighed and said, "She's right. Not much point in hiding it."
"True," said Arlene, "I guess we're all pregnant."
"Ah," said Annie, "I guess it caught you by surprise."
"Not entirely," said Arlene, "Truthfully, we had talked about having kids before. Not just me and Moxie. Herman and Jason were thinking about starting a family too."
"I hope they took the news well," said Ella.
"Well, I'd think so," said Moxie.
==========
Arlene and Moxie weren't about to keep the news secret from Herman and Jason. Officially, the two couples were married in same-sex pairs. But their marriages were definitely more open than that. The two couples shared the same beds on many nights. In fact, it was more of a wonder than there hasn't been any pregnancies before. As such, telling the boys didn't cause as much of a shock.
"Huh...I wonder when exactly it happened?" asked Jason.
"You know, I was feeling a little more drawn to Arlene than normal," said Herman, "Must be some kind of fathering instinct."
"I'm a bit doubtful about that," said Arlene, "Orca mothers tend to raise their calves without the father's help. Of course, the fathers are typically from different pods."
"And sharks aren't much known for their parenting skills either," said Moxie, "I mean, the pups will stay with their mother for a while, but not too long."
"One of many ways Animalians have a better sense of community than natural animals," said Jason.
"So, how long before we can expect them?" asked Herman.
"Well, great whites and orcas have long gestation periods," said Arlene, "11 months and 15 months respectively. Though considering how Animalians round things down, I'd say we have 9 months."
"Then we better get started on getting a bigger house," said Herman.
"Wait, a bigger house?" asked Arlene.
"We're gonna need one for our families to live in," said Herman plainly.
"So we're just going to move in together just to raise the kids?" asked Moxie, "Doesn't sound much like a nuclear family to me."
"Nuclear is for power plants and bombs," said Jason dismissively. He thought it over and said, "Actually, scratch the bombs. But our families don't have to conform to that. This is the 21st century."
"Yes, this stuff wouldn't fly so easily 50 years ago," said Moxie.
"We wouldn't even be able to be sea animals 50 years ago," said Jason pointedly.
"And that might be the least strangest thing about us," said Herman jokingly.
"Hard to argue with that," said Arlene.
==========
"You already got a house picked out?" asked Ella.
"Still looking," said Moxie, "We might be moving closer to the sea."
"Which colony?" asked Simone.
"Not sure yet," said Arlene, "We could just as easily move to the Californian coast."
"Well, it'd be pretty easy to have your families there," said Annie. Massachusetts may have been the first state to legalize gay marriage, but California is where it really thrived. Though polygamy may not be quite as accepted. Annie considered herself lucky to have a simple relationship with Stuart. Even if she wanted to have fun with other women on occasion.
"I heard another orca couple is well-settled there," said Arlene.
"Even better for you then," agreed Annie.