It was about three fifteen when Richard and Rose Van Direstag emerged from Moon Lake's hospital. By now all the paperwork had been adjusted to take into account Rose's new status as a werelion and the fact that she was in heat and likely pregnant had fully sunk in on both of them. A lot of things had gone far faster than either could have expected, and for Richard something he hadn't wanted when he'd first come to Moon Lake, but what had happened had happened and he remained dedicated to his wife and family and even admitting that some of his tactics and methods before becoming a werelion were wrong. Now, though, things had moved even further in that Rose had also become a werelion and was likely pregnant. It'd be a day or two before they had a formal appointment with the local gynecologist and OB/GYN to confirm that, but Rose going into heat after becoming a werelion made that point likely.
The biggest thing now on their immediate list of things to do, was some discussions with their younger children, Rachal and Rob. It might be possible to hide things, but it wasn't likely. Rachel was too smart and paid too close attention to detail for Rose to be able to hide that she'd become a were, and even if they could, in time her pregnancy would become such that it couldn't be hidden. Informing them on the changes in the family was going to be critical, and probably necessary given how Richard and Rose had turned the morning's return from the hospital into hours of vigorous love making as weres. There would also be all potential situations that related to whether or not Rob or Rachel actually wanted to become weres themselves, as Rose really didn't want her youngest to end up in the sort of sexual positions that came with becoming a were.
"You don't need to be ashamed," Rose said after a moment when looking, "this was probably possible the moment I started transforming... and both of us knew it."
"Yes... but it wouldn't have happened at all if I had been thinking clearly," Richard said slowly, "I mean... it lead to my pretty much falling onto Sheila, scaring you... leading to you getting attacked, and now it's probable that your pregnant."
They quietly got into the minivan and bulked themselves in, though Richard didn't immediately start the engine as he sat there looking at the steering wheel for a few moments. Eventually he felt Rose's hand come to rest on his arm.
"I don't mind being pregnant," Rose told him, "shoot... given that we'll likely still be around three hundred years from now if we don't have some fatal accident... even if I wasn't in heat now, we'd likely have more kinds in the future. Even if Frank, Rachel, and Rob become weres on their own eventually."
"I still could have done things better," Richard answered as he finally started the minivan's engine.
Rose nodded as he backed the van up and they were soon on their way back home again, though now hopefully for the day. They'd handled their business with the city, with the Talbots, with regard to their clothes, and now with the lab appointment that informed them that it was likely that a little Van Direstag would be born in nine months, one who would be born a werelion.
"Perhaps," Rose answered, "but what happened has happened. We can't change that now. And as I said... once I was certain you still loved me...things were fine. Not perfect, but fine."
They began driving home and with Richard feeling a bit better. He'd probably hang onto the guilt for awhile, but with Rose feeling better, he felt better. The big thing that remained was then taking care of his family and obviously deal with letting Rachel and Rob know about what had happened during the day. Frank already knew about Rose becoming a werelion, but that sort of had to happen, given that Rose's entrance into were society interrupted the schedule in which Richard was supposed to pick him up the college. Things remained fairly quiet as they arrived at the driveway to the Van Direstag home and hopefully things hadn't been too wild while they were out.
"We'll still need to let Rachel and Rob know on what happened," Richard then pointed out.
"True," Rose nodded and then glanced at the van's clock and noted it now read three thirty, "and it'd best to be honest... though it won't be long."
Richard nodded as his eyes also noted the time. He unbuckled and then opened his door and climbed out. He heard the same clunking sound as Rose did the same. A part of him was a bit nervous as while Rose and Rob probably weren't home yet, it wouldn't be long before they did get home. Given everything, he hoped that they wouldn't be too surprised by Rose's transformation or that Rose was likely pregnant. But there wasn't much more that they could do about that beyond wait. With that in mind, Richard walked around the back of the van to join Rose on the other side where she was already collecting the bags from Moon Lake's Target. Rose smiled to him and they collected their bags. They hadn't bought too much, just some things that would fit them better for standard about the house things and some underwear. There would still be somethings they would need to wear to for work, but that would require a trip to Seattle for work clothes, but that wouldn't be needed until they had their shop open. For now, they collected their clothes and went in. They came in to find Frank coming down the stairs from his room.
"Hey guys... everything go well?" Frank asked.
"About as well as can be," Richard answered, "all our missions were handled... and... uh..."
"And mom is pregnant," Frank finished.
"Well... we don't know that for sur, yet," Rose told her oldest sun, "but we did get to see the lab, and they confirmed that I did go into heat when I transformed. Thus it is likely that I am pregnant."
"Would it be wrong to say congratulations?" Frank asked.
"No," Rose said quickly, "Though... we would like to be able to give that announcement to Rachel and Rob when they get home... along with the obvious point that I'm now a werelioness..."
"That's okay," Frank answered, "I'm sure they should be home soon, anyway."