Molly and I finished our breakfast that Saturday morning and proceeded to go upstairs. We weren't tired or sleepy at the moment, and neither were we intending to do anything sexual. In fact, Molly's bouts of morning sickness was enough to confirm that there was no further sexual activity between us that was needed. We were both very confident that Molly was pregnant, and making sure we were successful in the past mating season. Molly picked up the cell-phone that was most commonly with her and began dialing the number of the Kalispell hospital.
Now, she didn't really need me there to make the appointment, but I wanted to go along with her. My reasoning was to be able to know when her appointment was in order to begin the work to trade in my Ford Ranger for a new vehicle that we would need. The choice that we had settled on was a modified Ford Transit that the company was modifying for Animal People. I might get a better deal swapping a Ford for a Ford, and I largely went that idea when it came to the decision to go "shopping" as it were. While I sat quietly on the bed, Molly called into the hospital.
"Hello, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, how may I help you?" I heard a receptionist answer on the other "line"... the term line being relative, since Molly was using a cell-phone.
"Yes, my name is Molly Rhoer-Wayne, I would like to make an appointment, please," Molly answered.
She used the same whispering tone that Molly and I used the most often. We had both learned that talking a perceived "normal" volume for us was far louder then it was when we were human. So we whispered, which to humans sounded like a normal talking voice.
"Yes, ma'am, may we inquire as to the purpose of this appointment, and have you used our center before?" the receptionist replied.
"I have not used your hospital before, and I'm asking to make an appointment because I believe I am pregnant," Molly answered.
"Okay, ma'am, you're seeking to see Doctor Wainwright?" the receptionist asked.
"I do not know the obstetrician's name," Molly answered, "I know that the Columbia Falls Clinic does not carry an obstetrician... this is also my FIRST pregnancy... if I am pregnant... and I'm also relatively new to the area."
"I see ma'am, and when did you move to Columbia Falls, for our records?"
"About two summers ago," Molly answered.
"Ah ha... well, you're in luck, Mrs. Rhoer-Wayne, Doctor Wainwright does have an opening with us today at one thirty, can you make it down from Columbia Falls by then?" the receptionist asked.
"I believe so," Molly answered.
"Okay, let me get online her to place your appointment in our system, please stay on the line as there are some other questions I will need to ask you," the receptionist instructed.
We waited quietly for a few moments.
"Okay now, do you have any medical insurance?"
"Yes," Molly said with a sigh, and began to give the receptionist the information for the insurance policy that the school gave her for medical costs when Mrs. Fitzpatrick was promoted to principal and Molly was promoted to replace Mrs. Fitzpatrick and received the certification to teach. After that, she also explained my status with he police and that the medical coverage I received would also cover her a bit. It wasn't much, but the two policies surely helped.
"Okay, ma'am," the receptionist responded, "Our policy will be to take what the Montana State Police Officer's Dependent's policy will cover and then the State of Montana Teacher's Medical Policy will cover. You will be responsible for the remainder."
"Of course," Molly answered.
"Please bring in all relevant insurance documents when you come in this afternoon," the receptionist instructed.
"I will," Molly nodded, and I checked a few mental boxes of what we'd need to bring.
"Okay now, I'm obligated to also ask few preliminary questions to brief Doctor Wainwright with, if you wouldn't mind?"
"I don't mind," Molly answered.
"Okay then," the receptionist replied, "Now, when was your last period? And when was the last time that you had sex?"
"My husband and I finished the mating part of it around December 25th of last year," Molly answered, with a somewhat puzzled look on her face, "and I haven't had a period in nearly two years."
Molly said that like she expected the receptionist to know she was a tiger. The receptionist responded as though she were talking to a human.
"Two years?!" I heard the receptionist gasp, "Ma'am are you sure this is your FIRST pregnancy?"
"Yes," Molly answered, "I'm a tigress... my hormones are not like they were when I was human. I was injected with the Animatrix Serum around two years ago... the last victim of Eugene Changes!"
"Oh... you're an Animal Person?"
"Yes," Molly answered.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realize that... could you please state your species, please?" the receptionist then asked.
"I am a Tiger, Bengal subspecies," Molly answered, "as is my husband and as our cubs will be."
"Okay then, ma'am, thank you for the information, basic heights and weights will be taken upon arrival," the receptionist answered, "for basic statistics and our files, you understand... please be here fifteen minutes early and have a nice day."
"Thank you," Molly said into the phone and then hung up, "She didn't know who I was! Just about everyone's recognized me from Changes' trial!"
"That was two years ago... practically," I answered, "they've probably forgotten about him."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Getting to Kalispell proved to be fairly easy. Molly's Uncle, Frank Rhoer was busy with various tasks around the ranch, but her cousin Meredeth was free. And so, she came up to our cabin and seemed more then happy to drive us. And so we climbed into the backseat of my Ranger and were soon on the road to Kalispell. Thankfully, by now the roads had been cleared and safe enough to drive on. Meredeth also seemed very excited about the appointment.
"So will you be able to see your cubs?" Meredeth wondered, "You'll have to forgive me... but Nessie and I have never been able to keep a man's attention for long. Either Beauregard had us working or he was not up to our specific standards..."
"Low lifes?" I wondered.
"Usually friends of Beauregard's who owed him favors," Meredeth answered, "their main interest was hoping we'd be able to buy off their debts."
"Ahh..." Molly and I mused, "worse then low lifes."
Meredeth only chuckled, "So, will you be able to see your cubs?"
"This is mostly to confirm that I am pregnant," Molly explained, "they probably won't do anything more until they are certain about it. And besides, I'm only one month along. From what we've heard from Jacki, while I'm likely to only be pregnant for about six months before giving birth... the cubs are still growing at the same rate as a human child would be... I'm not sure if their ultrasound machines would be able to see them at present."
"Oh," Meredeth sighed, "but surely this will be exciting, won't it?"
"Of course," I nodded, "Molly and I will have a family to raise and love."
Meredeth only nodded from the front seat and continued driving. And the road between Columbia Falls and Kalispell was largely clear, but we still did not drive at the full posted limit. Even before the big blizzard when the weather had been more mild, it was still cold and there had been a few occasional snow flurries. It hadn't been much, but it was still enough to make the dangers of winter driving present. And even after the blizzard, it was not as if temperatures in the mountains suddenly rose to their summer highs. The air temperature was still freezing. And even with the drifts cleared and gravel, salt, or some other substance to add traction placed on the roads after the blizzard, that did not mean that the possibility of hitting some ice was gone. Because of this, Meredeth drove a bit slower then the speed limit, though we had left early enough that that wouldn't be a problem.
And it wasn't. We arrived at the Kalispell Regional Medical Center a few minutes earlier then what the receptionist had urged us to arrive on the phone. Unlike the time when I had been here when Officer Barnes had been shot, when I followed the ambulance crew through the ER doors, we went in through the front doors. The area was still clean.
"I'll just wait in the waiting room," Meredeth said to us as we went in, "This is for you two."
Molly and I nodded, and then approached an open receptionists area. I held a small folder that held the various insurance policies that would be needed.
"Hello, I'm Molly Rhoer-Wayne," Molly introduced herself, "I have an appointment at one thirty with a Doctor Wainwright."
The receptionist looked up to us and then began clicking on the computer in front of him. He then glanced at me.
"This is my husband, George Wayne," Molly answered, "the father."
"We also have the insurance papers that were requested, although we will need to have them copied so we can keep the originals," I added.
"Ah-ha..." the receptionist nodded, "well, everything appears to be in order... though you won't need to worry about things related to your insurance papers until you're through with the appointment. Then you are to go through the main billing office."
Molly and I nodded in response.
"In the meantime, Mrs. Rhoer-Wayne, we have a series of forms for you to fill out to put your name and statistics into our database," the receptionist at the desk said while handing Molly a form and a clipboard, "please follow the instructions to the letter and leave the doctor's information blank. The nurse that will come to take you to Doctor Wainwright's area will fill in that area along the way."
Molly nodded again. We then made our way out into waiting area. Molly was able to sit down next to her cousin and worked on the form that she'd been given to fill out. I largely hung back, as I heard the springs on the couch that Molly had sat on groan slightly. They were able to support her muscle mass, but only just barely. Since I was even heavier then she was, I decided not to test the couch's strength. We waited patiently for a few moments while Molly filled out the form. After a relatively short wait, a nurse came out.
"Molly Wayne," she spoke. Molly then stood up. The nurse saw Molly move and then noticed me. "Mr. Wayne, you are welcome to come along to. If you two do indeed have cubs on the way, we will prefer you be present to know what things will need to be done to insure that you're wife's pregnancy is successful."
"So long as I'm not in the way," I commented.
"Don't worry," the nurse replied.
I then followed Molly as she followed the nurse.
"You will actually be the first Animal Person Doctor Wainwright has ever treated," the nurse explained as she lead us along, "and you say this is your first pregnancy?"
"If I am pregnant, yes," Molly nodded.
"Have you noticed any odd symptoms? Frequent urination? Nausea?" the nurse asked.
"I have noticed some morning sickness," Molly answered.
"And I trust you're up to date on all your vaccinations?" the nurse asked.
"Yes," Molly nodded, "I'm not due for my next set of boosters until closer to spring."
"Okay," the nurse nodded we then arrived at a fairly new looking scale that was fairly large in size and looked like it was made within the last year, "Mrs. Wayne if you could stand on the scale and we will get your weight."
Molly stepped onto the scale. The small digital screen then read: 392 ib.
"It's mostly muscle," Molly said weakly.
"I'm sure," the nurse nodded, glancing at one of Molly's biceps, "You have very good muscle tone."
"Thank you."
"Anyway... the height, however, I'm not sure how to do," the nursed sided, "Mr. Wayne, would you mind holding a measuring tape up so that it's equal to your wife's ear?"
The nurse began fumbling through her pockets before pulling out a tape measure more commonly used for carpentry then anything else. I was curious about that, but didn't say anything. Maybe they knew Molly was coming since she had told the receptionist on the phone she was a tiger-person and went got the only thing they could use. I took one end of the tape and held it as I was instructed to while the nurse took the rest of the measure to the ground.
"Nine feet even..." the nurse mused.
"When I got my first set of vaccinations in Peoria, when I was transformed, they also took my length," Molly spoke up, "Tip of nose to tip of tail. They measured that at nine feet as well."
The nurse nodded, "we'll go with that then. You both look to be mature adults, so I doubt any physical dimensions have changed... though if you are pregnant Mrs. Wayne, you can expect a much larger middle fairly soon."
"I'm looking forward to it actually," Molly answered, "George and I want a family... badly."
The nurse nodded and lead us along through another series of hallways. She eventually stopped at a door and motioned for us to go in.
"Doctor Wainwright will be with you in a few moments," the nurse explained.
The room we were left to wait in felt painfully small to me, and it wasn't just the fact that I had to hunch over to fit in the room. It was "decorated" with various posters that depicted the stages of development in human pregnancy and included various tips for women to stay healthy. While Molly observed these things, I found myself beginning to pace the room. My own instincts did not like the sensation of being cooped up in the small room and since the doctor wasn't there yet, pacing was about all I could do. There were magazines in the room to read, but they were all "pregnancy" magazines, seemingly aimed at human pregnancies rather then an Animal Person's... but then, there weren't that many Animal People in enough couples that could result in pregnancies. There had been some, but not many... though I was certain that would also change in time.
After about five minutes the door opened to reveal a slightly older looking man coming in. His arrival got me to stop pacing. He turned around and looked to Molly and I.
"Well, hello... and I suppose it's time to start with some firsts," the man replied, "Your first pregnancy and my first Animal Person patient! Now..." he looked to me... "You're Molly..." he looked to Molly... "and you're the father right?"
"I'm Molly," Molly corrected him.
"Oh dear, me... got everything backward," the man replied with a chuckle, indicating that he was joking, "I am Doctor Albert Wainwright... now, miss Molly, you say you believe you are pregnant?"
"Yes," Molly nodded.
"Well then... hopefully, I do a good job as your obstetrician," Doctor Wainwright replied, "I've got some colleagues in pediatrics that would just love to help out with a big cat's cubs..."
"Animal People?" I asked curiously.
"No, merely watch Big Cat Diary every chance they get," Doctor Wainwright shrugged, "of course, tigers are Asian and that BBC/Animal Planet series is focused entirely in Africa. Specifically in Kenya. Still... if I can get you through things safely, and you give birth to a healthy litter... you'll find your cubs will have doctors that will love them for being big cats alone... but first things first..."