Meredeth arrived at the cabin at the exact time that was expected for her to arrive. We still had time to make to Kalispell for Molly's second obstetrician appointment. This time we were certain that Molly was pregnant. Instinctively and scientifically we were certain that by the arrival of summer, Molly would give birth a litter of cubs. The question that was left to be answered was how big was that litter. We were privately sure that Doctor Wainwright would have something scheduled that would allow us to see what our cubs presently looked like.
"So... big day today, eh?" Meredeth gave a chuckle.
"An exciting day," Molly countered, "Dr. Wainwright may do an ultrasound today and we'll get to see what our cubs look like right now."
"They probably won't look exactly like tigers right now," Meredeth commented, "it's still very early."
"I'm at the end of my second month of pregnancy," Molly answered, "and in the ninth week. All the books I've been reading on pregnancy... though they're for human pregnancies... say that the baby would have arms and legs by now. I'd like to see those little arms and legs, no matter how small they may be."
"It also may be big when it comes to counting the cubs that Molly is carrying," I added.
"Counting?" Meredeth wondered, "Isn't this one baby? Singular?"
"If I were human that would be the case, most likely," Molly told her, "Tigers, however give birth to litters. There could be as little as two and as many as four in there."
"And according to sources we've received on Animal Person pregnancies, is that those that have become species that typically give birth to multiples still do give birth to multiples," I added, "but the serum seems to cut the number off at at four. I can't remember for sure if they understand why the number cuts off at about four... but some of that may be related to the health of a human pregnancy... humans do give birth to multiples from time to time."
"The most that humans have is usually two," Meredeth commented, "and on occasion some have triplets. Quadruplets are extremely rare... and from what I've read, when you start to get into that range it comes more from artificial insemination practices. They release a fair number of fertilized eggs into the womb in the hopes of at least one taking..."
"And they end up with the octomom," Molly chuckled.
"Yep," Meredeth nodded.
"As I said, I don't they know why Animal Person litters are limited to four," I answered, "But they seem to be. And that would be a good thing..."
"Though I'd suppose for you and Molly the whole Animatrix thing isn't an issue since tigers give birth to litters up to four naturally," Meredeth commented.
Molly and I nodded as I opened up the garage door. Meredeth would again back out the Ranger and we would climb in to lay across the backseat, or me across the floor of the back seat. Once the truck had been backed out I shut the garage door. This would probably be the last time that Molly and I would need to ask her relatives or Dave and Tabby for a ride, as we would finish the transaction for the specially built Transit that would be big enough for Molly and I to drive. It would improve our situation for transport. It would ease our trips to Kalispell for various reasons. Doctors appointments, shopping when something came up that required us to go to the Walmart there, as well as the pharmaceutical visits we had to make for the various pills Molly and I required to keep our coats of fur healthy and repeal the various parasites that we could likely encounter. And that would likely make things easier for Molly's relatives our our friends in Columbia Falls as well as for us. And that was what made the day big, in addition to possibly learning how many cubs Molly was carrying within her.
"So, what will you two do if you have four cubs?" Meredeth wondered as I lowered the garage door after she'd backed the truck out, "You both work and you only have two hands."
"I'll probably be off for a little while while they're infants and being nursed," Molly answered, "after that... we'd probably have to find a good babysitter during the day."
"How would you keep track of four?" Meredeth wondered.
"It's a little early to wonder about how we'll manage that, isn't it?" Molly wondered, "I'm not really showing yet... at least not in any way that would make people think "pregnant"."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We arrived in Kalispell on time for the appointment. We checked in with one of the secretaries and where then ushered into the waiting area with Meredeth trailing behind. We waited quietly there and watched what they had on the television in the waiting area. The program was a soap opera on ABC which didn' hold my attention. There were a few other people there and I couldn't help but overhear their conversations. A couple were concerned over the appointments themselves, and one or two were talking about their plans for after the appointment. I did overheard one conversation on the Animal Tales series.
The show as still doing well, and Molly and I did our best see the series when it was on. We didn't know if Meredeth, Nessie, and Frank Rhoer had seen the series or not, but overhearing the conversation on it made me a bit curious. So, I turned my head to where Meredeth and Molly were seated. Molly was glancing through a magazine that was on parenting, probably curious on the conversation we had had before coming to Kalispell for the appointment. Meredeth was looking through a Newsweek magazine.
"Um... Meredeth..."
"Yes," she looked up, "did you want a magazine?"
She reached toward a small table that was nearby, on which the magazines were displayed.
"No, I merely have a question to ask, if you do not mind... or if I'm not disturbing you," I answered her.
"Oh, I do not mind," Meredeth spoke, "ask away... though, I must warn you I'm not an expert on pregnancy or parenthood."
"Don't worry, my question isn't on that," I chuckled, "it's more to do with the Animal Tales series."
That got Molly to look up, as I was sure she had overheard the same conversation I had.
"Mostly, I'm curious about what you think of the series," I finished my statement.
"Ah... well, I've found it to be interesting," Meredeth shrugged, "They've shared a lot of facts about things. And it's interesting to see what Animal People besides you an Molly. I mean... who thought a snake could have legs or a lizard could have boobs..."
That had to be references to the premiere episode with the the Rodriguezes and the episode with Clemens.
"Or that she'd be so large in her chest department," Meredeth finished, sounding a little jealous.
"Remember that her chest shrank to its present size," Molly informed her cousin.
"Still... she's big, bigger then Nessie and I are," Meredeth replied, "She might even be bigger then you are now Molly..."
"That I can't tell," Molly replied, "I don't know how much my breasts weigh now and they didn't didn't decide to weigh her breasts on the show so we can not compare them."
"What do you think, George?" Meredeth asked, sounding like she was trying to tease me a bit, or get me in trouble. One of those two.
"Molly's are better," I stated, "Though I don't think it would be appropriate fore me to compare my wife's chest to a Spanish Gila Monster's."
"Is it because Molly can still lactate?" Meredeth still teased.
I was sure my blush could be seen through my fur.
"There's no need for that Meredeth," Molly commented as she seemed to notice my embarrassment at Meredeth's teasing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Things did manage to quiet down by the time one of the nurses came to call for Molly to come back. As before, I followed Molly as she went back for the preliminary examination to see if there was any change between the previous obstetrician appointment and now. Molly had gained a little weight since then, but the weight could only be measured in ounces. Not enough that anyone would notice it. Not enough that one could even tell if the change in weight was related to our cubs growing inside her or from anything else. Once that was done we were lead to a clinic room where we would be waiting for Dr. Wainwright to come see us. He arrived in the room about five minutes later.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Wayne," Dr. Wainwright greeted us as he came into the room, "how are things with you both?"
"Going well," Molly answered, "Extremely happy that all the tests came back positive... excited that we're going to be parents."
"Looking forward to parenthood, eh?" Doctor Wainwright replied, "Very good for you."
Molly and I nodded. Molly's pregnancy was good for us.
Doctor Wainwright then followed with a series of physical exams and questions designed to see how things were developing with regard to Molly's pregnancy. Things went well and Doctor Wainwright assured Molly that her morning sickness would subside eventually. As he finished up those things, he began to close up a lot of the small computer things that he had brought with him.
"Okay," Doctor Wainwright said with a smile, "Everything looks good from what we can see here. All that is really left is to explain a few things to you and give you your first inside look."
"An ultrasound?" Molly asked.
Doctor Wainwright nodded, "Some of this is based off of some fact checking I've done since our last appointment."
Molly and I traded a series of looks.
"As I told you before, you two are my first Animal Person patients," Doctor Wainwright explained, "so, I've taken the liberty of doing a little outside research on these things, so you'll forgive me if I repeat anything you already know."
"Your the doctor," I shrugged.
"Just wait until I've explained things," Doctor Wainwright gave a nervous chuckle, "then you can decide if I've royally screwed up."
Molly and I glanced again. Doctor Wainwright meanwhile moved to cover what he had researched.
"As I'm sure you know, a mundane tiger's gestation period is between two and three months," Doctor Wainwright began, "which you likely won't have, Mrs. Wayne as you would be far more gravid then you are now if that were the case. This seems to reinforce all the reports that an Animal Person's rate of aging and development does not change."
"Which means we won't have our lifespan's shortened," I nodded.
"Right, and in theory it would mean, Mrs. Wayne that you should have a nine month pregnancy," Doctor Wainwright continued, "but based off of a few news reports on a few Animal People that have had children... and are animals that normally give birth before the nine month period... they actually give birth sooner then humans."
"Yes," Molly nodded, "I'd actually wanted to mention that. George and I are friends with Leon and Jacki Washburn. And Jacki's recently delivered a litter of cubs of her own. From what we've heard from them, the pregnancy was about six months... and well lions and tigers are fairly closely related..."
"And you expect your pregnancy to be about the same length?" Doctor Wainwright asked.
"Yes," Molly and I nodded.
"Then you're in expectation of what could happen with them being born pre-term?" Doctor Wainwright asked.
"We expect they'd be born blind and with their eyes squeezed shut until the eye is fully developed," I commented, "the way a mundane tiger cub is born."
"Yes," Doctor Wainwright nodded, "that is among the potential complications that could happen. Given that the Animatrix Serum is an untested factor in these things, and the fact that animals such as tigers naturally give birth premature are things in your favor. A human birth is only at fifty percent chance of survivability in week twenty four and wouldn't even be considered viable until week twenty seven. Yours may end up being viable much earlier..."
"That what we think," Molly spoke.
"I'm sure," Doctor Wainwright replied, "but we still must take all the possible precautions. I would advise you begin taking Lamaze classes together during your fourth and fifth months in preparation... if they interfere with parts of your schedule, I'd rearrange the schedule so that they don't interfere. There is a lot that must be done and because your pregnancy, Mrs. Wayne is likely to be three months short, there is less time to do it in."
Molly and I nodded.
"And at the same time, I would like our appointments to be weekly when you get to week twenty three, the beginning of your sixth month," Doctor Wainwright finished, "I mention this now just to make sure you can plan ahead. I've never had a miscarriage or stillbirth on my watch in all that I've practiced. I don't want to start. And I want to make sure that your cubs are born healthy."
Molly and I nodded again.
"And now that that is out of the way, let me go get the ultrasound equipment and monitor," Doctor Wainwright spoke, "I'd assume you'd like to see what they look like..."
He then left Molly and I in the room for the moment. I got some sense from Molly that she was feeling uneasy, and while Doctor Wainwright went to get the appropriate equipment, I moved to comfort her.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," I told her.
"I know," Molly sighed, "and he's just doing his job... which for the moment is to make sure that our cubs are born healthy."
I gave her paw a gentle squeeze to show that I did care for her. As I did so, Doctor Wainwright returned with a wheeled cart that carried various pieces of equipment, including one that had a screen on it.
"I trust you are wearing underwear, Mrs. Wayne?" Doctor Wainwright inquired.
"Yes, why?" Molly asked.
Doctor Wainwright chuckled and held up a small carton.
"I'm afraid that this can not be put on cloth and MUST be put on in order for this to work properly," Doctor Wainwright chuckled, "and I'm sorry but it'll probably feel a bit cold."
Molly nodded and began to undo the buttons to her dress between her breasts and her belly button and began going down toward where the last button was. It exposed the white fur of her belly and the reddish orange fur on the sides of her waist and the black stripes that wrapped around her. Once that was done, Doctor Wainwright turned on the equipment and began to apply some of the gel to the point on Molly's womb where he expected our cubs to be. Molly didn't shiver as he did so.
"I've also brought some moist towelettes to clean this off," Doctor Wainwright spoke, "your fur will still be wet, but there will be no gel on it."
Molly nodded. Doctor Wainwright then retrieved the sensor device that was attached to the rest of the equipment.
"Okay, now, all you need to do is look on the screen here," Doctor Wainwright spoke, "and hope I don't hit your kidney by accident... though if I do, I'll warn you that the kidney will look bigger then it is because the current settings will enlarge the image on the screen."
Molly and I shook our heads and chuckled as Doctor Wainwright applied the sensor. We watched screen as a series of fuzzy images appeared on it. It went along until what looked like a foot appeared on the screen.
"Here's one," Doctor Wainwright commented, and continued moving the sensor.
Molly and I watched the screen as he moved the sensor. He only moved it a few fractions of an inch or so and we were able see everything on the screen. The head and tail weren't fully formed, and the head didn't fully look like a tiger's head yet, but the image was still that of the offspring that Molly and I had created. Doctor Wainwright then continued moving the sensor, now mostly to see if he could find any more and determine what the size of Molly's litter was. In the end, he only found one other cub.
"Twins," Molly said slowly.
"On the low end of a tiger's litter size," I commented.
"Yes, but they're ours and besides, we only have two hands," Molly answered, "Two will be manageable. Two will be perfect."
"And hopefully, the two of you will have about plenty of happiness with them," Doctor Wainwright gave a smile.