Morgan was quite relieved to be back from Heiya Island. That vacation was not nearly as fun as it should have been, what with Joanne dragging her along just to force her into a wet T-shirt contest. That was a lot more embarrassing than Morgan was expecting it to be, even for an Animalian. Of course, she wasn't completely at ease when they came back home. That was only the first of four punishments. She wasn't sure she'd like the others.
Mother's Day filled with some dread. She had the feeling that if something bad was going to happen, it would be on that day. It wasn't like she was going to be celebrating it. Morgan had left Lars when Philip was still pretty young. She never received any Mother's Day gifts from Philip before, why should that change now that they live so close now? She at least hoped that Philip would respect her enough to not take part in whatever is going to happen.
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When Joanne said she wanted to introduce Morgan to an acquaintance of hers, Morgan certainly wasn't expect her to be a rat. Especially not such a huge rat. Morgan had the understanding that the size of an Animalian to reflect the kind of animal they were based off on, larger animals producing larger Animalians. She certainly wasn't expecting a rat to tower over her and have such a muscular, curvaceous body. Morgan soon learned that this was Mary Piper, matriarch of the Piper clan. Morgan recalled something about Mary kidnapping someone on Halloween. She wondered if the giant rat had also been forced to endure this four-punishment system.
But then Mary said something about Morgan having a guest appearance on her show. Morgan's vanity soon tuned out everything besides the fact that she was going to be on TV. Hopefully someone out there would take notice of this sexy rabbit. The only real details Morgan listened to was to come to Mary's house and dress casually. Morgan was too excited about being on a TV show to consider what she was getting into.
When she arrived at Mary's house, which was larger than Morgan expected, she saw Mary waiting at the front door along with several other rat Animalians. Most of them were women and shorter than Mary, though there was one male who was as big as her. "Ah, Morgan, glad you're here," said Mary, "I'd like to introduce you to some of my daughters. And this is my mate, Jack."
"Nice to meet you," said Morgan. She was a bit confused how Mary could have so many adult daughters. But then she had heard about how the Animalian virus can turn kids and teens into adults while restoring adults to their prime. Something along those lines must have happened, similar to Lars, Nicole, and their children.
"Now, me and my girls are going out to have some mother-daughter bonding time," said Mary, "You can look after the house and the little ones while we're gone."
"Little ones?" asked Morgan with growing dread.
Jack opened the front door which led into either an entrance hall or a large living room. And that room was packed with rats. Those rats ranged in age from small children to young teens. And quite a lot of them were doing a bit of roughhousing, with a chorus of excited squeaks, squeals, and screams.
"Are they...all yours?" asked Morgan a bit numbly.
"Some are mine, some of theirs. It got rather messy before the uplifting sorted everyone out," said Mary, "We just need someone to look after them while we're out."
"Wait a minute," said Morgan, "You told me this was going to be for your TV show."
"Oh, don't worry, there's plenty of cameras inside," said Mary, "We have to keep track of everyone somehow. We occasionally have a cameraman for when someone wants to do an interview or give a soliloquy. It's usually one of my sons doing that."
"Then why not get one of your sons to watch them all?" asked Morgan, "You can't expect me to babysit all of them."
"Oh, I'll step in when you need some explaining about how things go," said Jack, "But I doubt you'll need it. After all, someone with as much maternal experience as you should be able to handle some children, right?"
That was when Morgan realized that this was her second punishment, one specifically meant for her neglecting Philip and not helping Lars raise him all these years. And she couldn't back out of it. "How long will you be gone?" asked Morgan with resignation.
"Oh, probably for most of the afternoon," said Mary, "That won't be a problem, will it?"
"No, it's not like I've got anything else going on," said Morgan.
"Good, here's a list of what do," said Mary, handing Morgan a double-sided list, "I'm sure everyone's going to have fun. Come on, girls, it's quality time!" With that, the she-rats left, leaving Morgan with Jack who only gestured her towards the front door.
Morgan sighed and walked inside. The ratlings didn't notice her presence until Jack whistled loudly. With all those beady eyes looking at her, Morgan gulped. She struggled to put on a smile and said, "Ok, kiddies, your mommies are all out for the day. But you'll be on your best behavior for Auntie Morgan, right?"
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The women of the Piper clan returned from a very nice day out. The shopping spree had made a big dent at the stores and the spa struggled to see to all of them at once. But that's what happens when you're a big family. Mary was glad her mature daughters turned out the way they are, especially compared to what they were like when they had been little more than oversized feral rats. She was in a particularly good mood after the spa treatment. Maybe she'll have some quality time with Jack tonight. She didn't have to worry about more kids since she had gotten an IUD, which Jack agreed to much than the vasectomy suggestion.
When Mary saw Morgan, she struggled to keep a straight face. Morgan was, in a word, bedraggled. Actually, that didn't do enough to cover it. Her clothes were covered in plenty of food stains, torn at some spots. Her fur was also matted with some stains. Her hair looked like at least two stylists had a major political argument while working on it, leaving it tangled, gelled, wrapped in ribbons, and cut in a quite chaotic way. And Morgan's face looked like a clown had been testing makeup and was forgetting to wipe off some of it before doing the next layer. "So...how did it go?" asked Mary, once she managed to keep laughter from bursting out.
"They were...little...angels..." said Morgan through gritted teeth. There was probably a lot more she would have liked to say, but that would get her into serious trouble.
"Well, I'm glad we can rely on you if we're busy. Perhaps we can do it again sometime," said Mary.
"NO! I mean, no, I doubt I'll be able to find the time to see to them again," said Morgan, her eye twitching a little.
"Ok, you better head home now," said Mary, "Give Joanne my regards."
"I will..." said Morgan before stomping off. The Piper women had to wait a few minutes until Morgan's long ears were almost of range before they all burst out laughing. That should be enough to keep it ringing in her ears on her way back.
Mary wiped the tears from her eyes before going into the house. Despite Morgan's state, the house was newly cleaned. The younger Pipers were all waiting for her. "Well, I can see that Morgan definitely had a busy day," she said.
"We gave the bad bunny a hard time like you asked, gramma," said one of the younger ratlings.
"Yes, you did," said Mary warmly, "I want to hear all about it later. And you have definitely earned that ice cream cake."
The young rats cheered with delight. Eventually, they were sent outside to play and let loose the rest of their energy. But one of the younger teens remained behind. "Mom, as much fun as that was, I kinda wonder if that lady really deserved that," he said.
Mary sighed and said, "I didn't really plan to start this family the way it did. But I at least tried to raise you the best that I could. This woman, she didn't even try. She left her son alone and only decided to come back when she heard he was dating someone rich, someone she could probably get money from. Does that sound like a good mother to you?"
"I'm very lucky to have you as a mom," said the young rat.
"Yes, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about anything other than grandchildren now," said Mary, "I'm probably going to have great-grandchildren earlier than anyone in history."
"Not for a long while though," said the young rat.
"Yes, I've got plenty of time before that," agreed Mary, "So, what all did you get up to today?"