"Confirming that you're pregnant Mrs. Wayne will require a basic blood and urine test," Doctor Wainwright spoke carefully as he pulled a very small looking laptop from inside the white "lab" coat he was wearing, "depending on the answers you give to my questions here... and they're questions I have to ask before I actually fill out any lab orders. Do you understand this?"
Molly nodded. We both understood the procedure that had to be followed. Everything had some sort of procedure that had to be followed. On patrol work, there was a lot of procedure that I had to follow as a police officer. Killing a suspect was always the last possible resort, and if that happened there were specific reports that would have to be filled out to report that. And in cases where a suspect could be brought in, different procedures had to be followed. The suspect had to be read his Miranda Rights before any formal questions that could be collected as evidence had to be asked. Anything asked and delivered before the Miranda Rights were read would be considered inadmissible, even if it was a full confession. I imagined that Doctor Wainwright had to follow a similar, if different, set of procedures.
So far though, he seemed to be a fairly friendly person, which came as a bit of a relief to me. Part of me had been very nervous that Doctor Wainwright would be very much like the ER doctor in Columbia Falls. When Megan had been brought in to see him, freshly transformed after receiving blood from Molly, and needing stitches for the wounds that the Mountain Lion had inflicted on her, the ER doctor and almost delightedly informed Officer Jenkins and Officer Barnes, that in saving Megan's life, Molly had doomed herself in the town. It had betrayed that ER doctor as a R.A.M. member and made me very nervous about seeing doctors that normally treated human patients. But, both Officer Barnes and Officer Jenkins had assured me that not every doctor was like that ER doctor. The physicians that had been seeing Megan as part of normal checkups hadn't been that way, and so far, Doctor Wainwright was not that way.
"Okay then, I'm going to skip questions on when your last period was, Mrs. Wayne, if you don't mind..."
"I don't mind," Molly gave a chuckle. This was repeating the questions that the receptionist on the phone had already asked her, but I supposed it had to be done.
"So, we'll start with when your last period of "heat" began and when it ended," Doctor Wainwright commented, "can you tell me that?"
"I came into heat about a weak before Christmas," Molly answered, "and instinctively, I believe George and I achieved conception on Christmas Day."
"Instinctively?"
"After that morning session, Molly began producing less and less of the mating pheromone," I explained, "we took that as an instinctive sign that Molly was pregnant. This is to insure that the pregnancy is treated and that we can confirm it."
"Ah ha," Doctor Wainwright nodded, "well, we'll do our best to make sure it's confirmed. Have you felt any symptoms of pregnancy? Nausea? Frequency of urination..."
He paused for a moment when he noticed my puzzled look.
"Normally in human pregnancies as the uterus grows with the child's corresponding growth, it puts added pressure on the bladder," Doctor Wainwright explained, "now, I'm not sure entirely as to whether or not a mundane tiger or even house cat would endure the same "pressure" but because you as Animal People are not strict quadrupeds and maintain a base form that is very human-like, some aspects of a human's pregnancy can not be taken away. Though for the moment, the pressure on your wife's bladder won't be as great until your cubs have grown a bit more then they are now."
I nodded to that. If Molly and I had been successful, Molly would now be in her second month of pregnancy. She might begin to show a little bit toward the end of the month, though, even there, in theory she could still disguise it so she didn't look pregnant.
"I haven't had to pee any more then normal, but I have been sick a bit in the mornings," Molly answered.
"I see," Doctor Wainwright nodded, "and that matches up with what the receptionist told me. Have you felt any pain in your abdomen? Or felt any odd texture, and this isn't a reference to your fur. More the texture of the muscle underneath."
"I haven't really felt my stomach," Molly commented, "but it hasn't hurt in any way."
"No pain? That's good," Doctor Wainwright nodded, "My I feel something?"
Molly glanced to me, and then nodded. Doctor Wainwright slowly approached her and gently pressed on her stomach. He didn't press in very much and he didn't move Molly's dress, and neither did he touch anything he wasn't supposed to.
"Stomach muscle wall is firm in the area near the uterus," Doctor Wainwright announced, "firmer then even a human woman's would be at this early stage... but I'd image you have a few more layers of muscle then they do, eh?"
"I suppose," Molly shrugged.
Doctor Wainwright returned to the laptop he had brought in and began typing at a few things on it. Molly and I waited as he did so. After a moment or two, he looked up.
"Well, based on what you've told me, I believe there will be enough evidence to justify a blood test to confirm the pregnancy," Doctor Wainwright announced, "though based on what you've told me on when you've last mated, we'll forgo any urine tests. My nurse will be by in a few minutes to take you to the lab. They'll draw the blood there and should have the lab order."
"When will you get the results?" I asked.
"Normally that takes about a week," Doctor Wainwright replied, "but because we'll need to send the sample to a lab better equipped to test for the more animal-like hormones that you are producing, Mrs. Wayne, that could take longer then normal. So, I'm not entirely sure, though from what we've discussed here so far, I'm fairly sure you are pregnant, Mrs. Wayne, and I look forward to seeing you again in one month... the receptionist will set up that appointment when your results come back from the lab."
"Thank you," Molly and I said to him.
"Don't mention it," Doctor Wainwright answered and went out the door.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A few moments after Doctor Wainwright left, his nurse returned to "collect" Molly and I. We quietly followed behind the nurse until we got to an area labeled "laboratory". She then gestured to a couple of chairs, though they didn't look strong enough to support my weight. They might support Molly's, but not mine.
"If you'll wait there, the lab physician will be with you shortly," the nursed instructed.
The nurse then turned and went back toward the area where she normally worked. While we waited, Molly slowly and tentatively sat in one of the chairs. It was one near the edge and did support her weight. I, meanwhile stood beside her quietly. I wasn't going to test the chair's strength. After a few moments, a younger man came from inside the lab area to the door to the hospital's lab, which was permanently kept open. He quickly turned to Molly as he made it to the door.
"Okay... you're Molly Wayne, right?" the lab physician asked.
"Yes," Molly answered as she stood up.
"Okay," the lab physician, "come on in and have a seat there... hopefully it's strong enough to support your weight..."
Molly nodded to that. I stayed where I was. The door was open and I could look in to see what the doctor was doing, and there was also no need for me to go in. The tests were to confirm Molly's pregnancy. I wasn't needed for that, and even if I was, testing my blood would only come back as negative for pregnancy and that I was male. And that wasn't the purpose of the test. So I watched as Molly went in and carefully sat in the chair. Again it held her weight, though it also groaned a little. Like Molly's muscle mass was right at the edge of the chair's ability to support.
"Phew," the lab physician breathed a sigh of relief, "it's close, but it looks like it'll hold you."
Molly nodded in response as the lab physician went to a different portion of the lab to get the equipment needed to draw a blood sample.
"So, according to the lab order, you're here for a pregnancy test," the lab physician spoke, trying to sound friendly and under control.
"Yes," Molly answered, "do you know how long it will take to test the blood sample?"
"Samples," the lab physician corrected, "one sample we'll run here under the normal tests for the hormones that a pregnant woman would produce. The other sample we'll send to the closest zoo or sanctuary in the area. They will run the tests that will be specifically looking for the hormones that a pregnant tiger would produce."
"Why two tests?" I asked aloud from where I was.
"Mostly to set up a control sample and to see how much your hormone production has been altered by the Animatrix Serum," the lab physician answered, "this is mostly things that Mr. Washburn has asked of various doctors to do to so he can figure out the full effects the Animatrix Serum has on people."
Molly and I couldn't argue with that. Getting these results would surely help increase the knowledge of the internal anatomy of Animal People. The lab physician then continued, to answer Molly's question as to when the results of these tests would come in.
"The test we run here will take about a week to figure out," the lab physician explained, "because we need to send the other sample out to a separate lab, we can expect a longer wait for that. Longer then one week, but probably not longer then two weeks. Though, if you are pregnant, Mrs. Wayne, your next obstetrician appointment will be based off of today's visit, not when the lab results come in."
"I see," Molly answered as the lab physician returned to where I could see him with various implements that were needed to draw blood.
He rapidly set about doing the work to draw the blood samples from Molly. She flinched a little when the needle went in, but overall she remained a good patient.
"So, I'd suppose you two are eager for the new series coming on on TV," the lab physician commented.
"New series?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's coming out on NBC with the premiere this coming Wednesday," the lab physician answered.
"I'm afraid outside of the news we do not watch all that much television," Molly answered.
"Probably a good thing, but you'll want to see this," the lab physician replied, "it should be a pretty interesting series."
"What is it?" I asked, now getting curious over what the man was talking about.
"Well, as I'm sure you both know, the Animatrix Serum has become a big thing among furry fans and those who really like animals and so forth... and well, it turns out that those taking the Serum aren't the only ones fascinated by it," the lab physician began.
Molly and I glanced at each other and shrugged. By the way he said that line, it sounded like he thought we were "furry fans" and had willingly taken the Animatrix Serum. We hadn't, Molly was transformed by Eugene Changes and my transformation was an accident because Molly and I didn't know the Serum in Molly's system would go to me when we had sex for the first time. But we didn't correct the man. While we weren't furry fans, we did know that furry fans were attracted to the Serum. And with other developments with the serum, such as the newer gender changing strain, there were other reasons that some people had to take it.
"So other people are fascinated by it?" Molly wondered.
"Yes, it would appear that Animal People are the latest celebrities that people want to document," the lab physician nodded as he finished drawing blood from Molly, "the struggles they've had... their reasons for taking the Serum... everything. You know, like dealing with lunatics who can't see that Animal People are people too... the guys like R.A.M. up in Columbia Falls, or that poor guy that got attacked in a reptile house because he was a snake. Battling against those racist things is a big thing."
That was a sign of progress, I supposed. Dealing with lunatics like Beauregard wasn't easy, but by the way things had gone, the struggle between "good" and "evil" was something that a lot of people liked to see. And for the most part they liked to see "good" win and "evil" being overcome. Though by the way he had mentioned it, it seemed as though the guy thought that Clemens would be one of the people they documented for this series. I wasn't quite sure as to how much Clemens would have liked someone filming him and asking what he thought of the attack that his own coworkers had engineered.
"So what are they calling this series?" I wondered.
"I think they're going to call it "Animal Tales" or "Tails"... or maybe "Animatrix Tails"... or "Tales", I'm not quite sure," the lab physician answered, "but the idea of the series sounds interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to have fur of scales, or whatever frogs and salamanders have for skin, but will be interesting to see the reasons some people have had for taking the Serum and how they've fared."
"Ah-ha."
"Could I ask...?"
"George and I didn't ask for the Serum," Molly answered, "I was grabbed by Eugene Changes right before he was ultimately caught and the effects and details of the serum he used revealed to the world... and in fact it was George here who saved me from him. Got me out of his "Fun House" and made sure that Changes was arrested... I still think he should have got life... but in eighteen years from now, I'd suppose he'd be too old to try anything like that again."
"Oh," the lab physician looked at Molly, his eyes widening in realization, and then glanced to me, "And you took if for your wife then?"
"In a way," I sighed, "If Molly and I had married and I stayed human after the honeymoon and she told me she wanted cubs... I probably would have ordered my own dose for her... but my transformation was actually caused by accident. We didn't know the Serum could be passed on through sexual contact, and on our honeymoon night... well... sparks flew and fur grew."
"Oh... maybe they'll dedicate an episode to the two of you then, or maybe one of the other people that Changes victimized," the lab physician spoke, "And good luck to you. Hopefully you have a happy family in nine months!"
Molly and I politely nodded and began to make our way out. The lab physician had also seemed fairly friendly, and even excited about this series. We didn't see any reason to tell him that Molly's pregnancy would likely only last six months and that she was already one month along, so even if she retained a human's gestation period of nine months, by now Molly would have eight months to wait.
"I wonder if Mr. Patten knows about them filming his cousin," I commented to Molly.
"Might be something to ask him on," Molly shrugged, "though I'm not entirely sure. Joseph tells me that they stay in relatively close contact. And being filmed like this would be a fairly big thing... of course, maybe they'd only just started filming so Clemens couldn't tell him, yet."