The next morning began early. Our alarm had to be reset so that I could get up in time for patrol duty, as the DARE work had meant that I didn't need to go in until about the time that the schools opened, and in pure theory I didn't even need to go in to the station. This had meant that I could sleep in a little and get up with Molly. That had been one of the plus sides of doing the DARE work, but since I was back on patrol duty I had to get up much earlier. It felt a little strange getting up earlier, after doing the DARE work, but I managed.
"Urrgh," Molly grunted from the bed as I began putting on my uniform.
"You don't need to get up," I said to her, "I'm just getting ready for my shift..."
"Yeah, I know," Molly said with a yawn, "but I'll oversleep if I go back to sleep. And I'm up anyway."
Molly shut off the alarm and got up, making her way toward the dresser to pick out her outfit for the day. As she slipped one of her silk dresses over her and began fitting her tail through the hole in the back, a different thought came to her. She also shared that thought with me.
"Besides," Molly commented, "I am pregnant... this will be training."
"For what?" I wondered.
"Two AM feedings," Molly gave a knowing smile, "all the same things our parents complained about when we were growing up."
"Their attitude on that has changed by now," I commented, thinking back to the couple of phone conversations I'd had with my parents recently, as well as a few emails from them.
"Well of course," Molly chuckled, "we're turning them into grandparents. They won't be raising our cubs. WE will."
"So long as they're healthy," I told her, "that's all that will matter."
"That's still not going to get me to go back to bed," Molly answered, "come on. We have breakfast and lunches to get ready."
I nodded and slowly followed her out. We then went about cooking our breakfasts and our lunches to pack to take in. We didn't always have to pack our own lunches, as the school generally served something that had meat in it and I had the options of going out to lunch. But that was a rare thing. Partially because the school's lunch plans were designed to feed the students plus a little extra for the staff, and if the staff didn't want any, they'd have seconds for the students or they'd throw out the excess. And for me, the fast food restaurants were largely geared to feed a human population. I could buy enough meat to feed myself, but that could be costly and was time consuming to eat as Molly and I had to take apart the meal served to get the food that we could digest. So, we largely packed our own lunches and at them at lunch time. And once that was done, we continued to go about our day.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The walk into the station was quit with no troubles. I ran into both Officer Barnes and Officer Jenkins as they made their way in in the morning.
"Ah... it's good to be back on the job," Officer Barnes said with a smile as he let Officer Jenkins in.
"We were never off the job," I told him, "we were just assigned different tasks."
"You know what I mean," Officer Barnes replied.
I nodded in response to that. It was no secret that Officer Barnes preferred to be on patrol duty. To a great extent, I preferred that too, but I didn't want to draw too much attention to that. It would come off as though I saw patrol duty as some sort of thrill, which wasn't really why I did it. It had its dangers that came with it, and I knew that Molly worried over those dangers from time to time. Particularly after the various incidents that I had had to deal with when I first started with the Columbia Falls PD. I'd been confronted by various armed criminals and attacked by at least one of them. That one had also severely wounded Officer Barnes at the time, and another criminal had attacked Officer Jenkins while she was filling in for Officer Barnes while he recuperated.
Those incidents had created an image that the area was full of violent crime and dangerous people. And to a certain extent that probably made Molly worry a bit. Some of that was justified, as just about anything could happen to an officer of the law. The more violent incidents that I'd had to deal with merely created the image that things were super dangerous. That part wasn't true. Most of R.A.M. members had merely been afraid of Molly and I and didn't understand that we hadn't lost our control over ourselves. Now that they had had time to learn that Molly and I weren't out to eat them, and that they had gotten to know us, we'd managed to get more supporters then haters. That hopefully meant that things would get easier and the potential for dealing with violent criminals would be about the same as any other officer.
"I'm not sure how much you two will like being back on patrol duty," Officer Jenkins quipped, "Things have been rather quiet since you two started with the DARE program. There may not be that much for you to do."
"Or something could happen that breaks the quietness," I commented.
"It could, I suppose, but I'd prefer to be optimistic," Officer Jenkins commented, "after all, R.A.M. is gone, and its holdouts are gone. Hireman's racism and nonsense are gone. I can be confident that Megan will be able to grow up without some idiot making her go above and beyond the call of normalcy to prove she's still Megan."
"Hopefully you're right there," I nodded, "as Molly's and my cubs won't be that far behind Megan."
"How is she doing? Have you guys have your next appointment yet?" Officer Jenkins wondered.
"Not yet," I answered as I clocked in for the day, "it's scheduled for this coming Thursday. I've already let Officer Howard know about that. I have that day off."
"How is her morning sickness?" Officer Jenkins asked, "my mom has a bunch of herbal remedies that helped me when I was pregnant with Megan."
"Not too bad... though it's obvious that she's had morning sickness... it isn't always in the morning, but that is usually when she has it," I sighed, "though I'm not sure how much your mother's remedies would help. Simply digesting plant matter and a lot of other things will be hit and miss. Most of it makes Molly and I sick."
"What about that snake-guy on Animal Tales?" Officer Jenkins commented, "Clemens, wasn't it? He said that he's been able to add some spices and things to what he eats."
"It is Clemens, yes," I nodded, "but he also said that is also hit and miss. Some things he can digest, and some things he can't... and at the moment I wouldn't want to gamble too much on that with Molly's health."
Officer Jenkins nodded, "Well, I don't have her remedies with me... I'll write the ingredients down. You can then test them one at a time."
"Okay," I sighed, "if it works, I'm sure Molly will thank you."
I figured that most of what these herbal remedy that Officer Jenkins was offering wouldn't work, but I figured I could also double check things with an email to Clemens on it. I didn't know if there were any differences between tigers and pythons when it came to how their digestive systems worked. Both were strict carnivores in nature, but as mammals, a tiger's method of eating was very different from a python's. But then again, because both were carnivores, there might not be. And even if there was, Clemens might have some experience for how the zoo's tigers were fed and what made up their diet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The patrol that Officer Barnes and I had been quiet. The worst thing we had were a couple of speeders trying to get to small feed tower in a pickup truck. The idea was fairly stupid as there was still plenty of snow and ice on the ground and at the speeds they had been going, they could have slid off the road and been killed. The man admitted it was, but repeated his fear of arriving after the feed silo closed, and he needed to buy some additional feed for his cattle. Both Officer Barnes and I reminded him that such driving would get him seriously hurt if not killed if he kept it up. And in the end, the man's speeding was unnecessary as he made to his destination with an hour to spare.
And much of the week went much the same way that first day back on patrol duty did. Quiet with no major incidents. Which was good. The quiet allowed Officer Barnes and I to get back into the business of running patrols without having to deal with anything too complicated. And with Molly's next obstetrician coming up, I didn't want to have to leave in the middle of some crisis.
"I think I'm starting to show a little," Molly commented.
It was a quiet Thursday morning and the day of Molly's second obstetrician appointment. We both had taken the day off to attend the appointment and finish the transaction for the Ford Transit that would be large enough us to drive. Because of that we had slept in a little and were in the process of getting ready. I had been pulling up my shorts when Molly had spoke. I looked up to find Molly over by dresser. She was finishing up buttoning the dress she was wearing and was looking down toward her midsection.
"Hm?" I wondered as I looked up.
"I think I'm starting to show a little," Molly said again, "Not much, but a little."
"How can you tell?" I wondered.
To me, she looked about the same as she always had after her transformation. Tall, muscular, furry, beautiful in a way that was all her own. If her pregnancy had begun to affect her figure, I was afraid I couldn't see it. It still seemed rather early for Molly's pregnancy to begin to become physically apparent. According to the guidebooks we'd read, a human's pregnancy wouldn't begin to become obviously apparent until a woman's second trimester, which was months four through six. Now, we were certain Molly's pregnancy would only be six months, based on Jacki's pregnancy, but according to what Jacki and Leon had said that the growth of their cubs wasn't all that different from the rate of growth that a human woman had. Which would mean that Molly would have a while yet before she would begin to show.
"The dress feels a little tight in the middle," Molly answered, "and it isn't a lot... nothing super visible unless you can tell a millimeter's worth of growth with your naked eye..."
"I might be able to see that if it happens over a short period of time," I commented, "over the past two months... I wouldn't."
"I'm not expecting you too," Molly nodded, "And it's only a little. It feels a little tight in the middle, but it still fits and I can still wear it... not to worry."
"So, we're talking only about a few millimeters of growth..."
Molly nodded.
"I don't we should be mentioning anything about "showing" until the growth is a little more obvious," I commented, "besides we're still needing to get ready before Meredeth arrives to drive us."
"Right," Molly nodded, "but it just makes me feel so happy... I'm pregnant... I'm going to have cubs... I'm going to be a mother!"
"I know," I got up and hugged her, "I'm happy about this too."