Our joy at learning the exact size of the Molly's litter would become fairly obvious over the next few days. Either in us telling coworkers or people that we knew in Columbia Falls. After all, they did deserve to know. That didn't mean, however, that there were no other responsibilities that had to be done. Molly and I still had our jobs and we would have to return to them. And Molly also had her research mission to find out what she would need to do to either exchange her Illinois issued driver's license for a Montana issued driver's license. I didn't think she'd have to replace it until the license was close to its expiration date, but I supposed if she wanted to renew it now, that wouldn't be too big of a problem.
And it would help both of us out in the long run. I had been issued a specialized driver's license that cleared me to drive any police vehicle when I'd graduated from the academy, which also covered driving any vehicle that an average person would have. Now, it wasn't due to expire until 2017, but since it had been issued in Helena as part of my academy graduation, I didn't quite know where the "DMV" people would be in Columbia Falls and on what days they would be there. In Illinois, there were enough big cities that one office could operate in those big cities and people from the smaller towns or "rural" areas in Illinois went to those cities, as they would have so much business coming in from within the city itself that they couldn't travel to the few rural and small town areas in the state. I'd even heard from dad that Chicago had several DMV offices to cover all the people there effectively.
Montana, however was a different state. There were a few "big" towns in Helena, Missoula, Great Falls, and Billings, but the bulk of the state was dominated by rural and small town areas. That had been my reasoning for moving to the state. It gave Molly the opportunity to have some place where she could get away from human pressures that would aggravate her instincts and unwind without scaring people or accidentally hurting them. Now, of course, I'd never planned on gaining stripes too, but from that point of view the move had been very successful. Now, of course as we were dealing with more mundane problems then those we'd encountered at first, some of that openness was coming back to bite us.
Because Montana was a rural state, the system used by the DMV offices in Illinois wouldn't work. A rancher in Columbia Falls could not afford to drive an all day mission to Missoula or Helena or Great Falls to renew his/her driver's license. I knew that Montana ran a different system. They ran several DMV offices that moved between various smaller towns for a day or two. This allowed them to go around the state and shorten the distances people had to go to renew or get licenses for the first time as they needed it. Molly and I both knew that the DMV offices in the area did come to Columbia Falls. The problem for Molly and I to figure out was where in Columbia Falls did they go when they arrived, and on what days were they in Columbia Falls. I was certain that either one of the other officers at the station, or at least one of Molly's coworkers at the school knew where the DMV would set up shop.
And the day after Molly's second obstetrician appointment, I set out to accomplish that mission. Officer Barnes and Officer Jenkins had been in Columbia Falls long enough that I was sure they'd had to renew their licenses at least once. So they would have to know when and where one of the state's DMV offices came to Columbia Falls. And of course, I got the chance to ask them right off the bat as they were just getting out of their car as I arrived at the station.
"Good morning," I said in greeting to them as I arrived.
"Good morning," Officer Jenkins replied, "how did things go at the doctor's yesterday? I trust Molly is still healthy?"
"Yes, yes she is," I nodded, "very healthy with twins."
"Twins?" Officer Barnes wondered, "I thought you'd said Molly was likely to have a litter of cubs."
"She is," I sighed, "the number of cubs per litter for Bengal Tigers is between two and four. It's simply the case that Molly is on the low end of that ratio."
"It'd make things easier to look after them," Officer Jenkins commented, "You only have two hands."
"Hopefully," I shrugged, "Molly and I are very happy with the news."
"I'm sure," Officer Jenkins smiled, "You both have Fed's and my congratulations. And I'm sure Megan will have her "congratulations" to give Molly at school."
"I'm sure," I gave a slight smile, "although there are a few things we're presently looking into at the moment."
"Other things?" Officer Barnes wondered as he opened the main door to the station.
"I used to own a Ford Ranger, which obviously became too small for me when I transformed," I explained, "and with regular trips to Kalispell for Molly's obstetrician appointments to be made, Molly and I agreed to trade it in for Ford Transit... one of the new ones they've modified to big enough for Animal People to drive."
"So you can drive it yourself..." Officer Barnes nodded.
"Yes," I replied, "Of course, for the moment, it also means that we figure out where to go to deal with licenses and of course making sure it is insured. The insurance thing is well covered. I've talked with them already. All that is left on that front is call them and set the policy for the new vehicle. The big thing in that direction is DMV related."
"You don't know?" Officer Jenkins wondered.
"I know they come to Columbia Falls once a week, but I don't know what day of the week and exactly where in town they set up their operation," I answered, "when I transformed, I didn't know that the lawsuit against Leona would be made and the Animatrix Serum would go on the open market. And because the Animal Person population was so low at the time, I figured automotive companies wouldn't market time and money into something they'd only sell once... and so I figured we'd have to deal with needing rides if we needed to go beyond Columbia Falls, and accepted the prospect of never driving again."
"But then things have changed," Officer Barnes commented.
"Yes," I nodded, "I can drive again and so can Molly and as such there are things that we need to take care off and pay attention to..."
"Like the DMV," Officer Barnes commented.
"Yes, like the DMV," I nodded again.
"Well... when last had to renew my license, I did it at Community Hall," Officer Barnes commented, "I'm pretty sure they still use that area. It's right next to City Hall where the City Council meets. They're normally there on Tuesdays. Is your license close to expiring? Or is Molly's?"
"No, not really," I answered, "I got my present license when I graduated from the academy and it isn't due to expire for quite awhile. I don't think Molly's officially expires until March of next year... but she does want to double check some things related to getting a new license since hers was issued by the state of Illinois."
"I don't think she'll have any trouble until it expires," Officer Barnes commented, "I've never seen any regulation that says you have to have a license from this state to live or drive here..."
"Doing so would probably nail a bunch of people going to Glacier or the ski resorts north of Yellowstone," Officer Jenkins commented.
"Those guys are tourists," I replied, "we're wanting to make sure there aren't any regulations that a resident has to have a Montana issued license."
"Well... I don't think you should have to worry about that," Officer Barnes commented, "I've never seen a regulation that says one has to."
"The worst you'll likely run into is Molly having to take the driving test again," Officer Jenkins commented, "though that could depend on who is working there. When I first renewed my license after moving here from Spokane, Washington State, I had to deal with a tough as nails person that seemed to have a thing against anyone not born in Montana, and I had to retake the driving test again. However, she retired shortly after I renewed my license and when my mom had to renew her license, she met a much friendlier person and didn't have to retake the test. It's up to the employee you and Molly meet."
"I see," I commented and slowly made my way in.
I made my way to the cubby area in the front office where every officer commonly kept their time cards to clock in and out of their shifts. Officer Jenkins commonly kept hers in one of the drawers of the front desk, but that was understandable as she worked near where she kept her time card and had no need to keep it somewhere else. Officer Barnes was quick to clock in and then turn out to go to where our patrol car was parked at the station.
"You ready to go?" Officer Barnes asked.
"Pretty much," I answered, "I want to talk to Officer Howard about a few things before heading out."
"Spreading the good news?" Officer Barnes wondered.
"Among other things related to how long Molly's pregnancy will likely be," I nodded, "I shouldn't be too long."
"Okay then... I'll be waiting out front for you," Officer Barnes replied and then made his way out.
I meanwhile moved to the door to Officer Howard's office. I knocked on it as carefully as I could and waited for a response.
"Come in," was Officer Howard's response.
I came in fairly slowly.
"Ah, Officer Wayne, how did appointment go yesterday?" Officer Howard asked.
"It went well," I answered, "Molly is pregnant with twins as far as we can see... and that has us very happy."
"Congratulations," Officer Howard replied.
"Thank you, sir," I replied, "though there were some details that came up in the appointment that I thought you should know."
"This the day off for the next appointment?" Officer Howard questioned.
"That and things that will be coming up later," I nodded, "Based on Animal Person pregnancies that have occurred with species similar to tigers, we and our obstetrician are expecting Molly to give birth at the end of her sixth month of pregnancy."
"Six months... that's three months premature!?" Officer Howard looked up in surprise.
"Yes," I nodded, "by human standards it is. Though it's also about three months overdue for a mundane tiger. In nature, Tigers and a lot of predatory animals give birth prematurely to insure that the animal can still hunt, but the young are developed enough that they are not at serious risk of injury. They've found that Animal People still develop at the same rate as people, which is good for our respective lifespans, but it would also mean that when Molly's and my cubs are born they will be born premature by human standards... their eyes squeezed shut until the eyes fully develop."
Officer Howard gave a pained sigh, like he didn't know what to say, but felt he had to say something.
"Everything should be fine," I commented, "we have a good doctor and I'm sure he will make sure that our cubs are born healthy and develop into strong and healthy cubs, full of energy. Right now this is just a head's up over some things he will be requiring of Molly and I coming up. He wants Molly and I to attend Lamaze classes during her fourth and fifth months and probably rolling into her sixth month. I'd assume those classes will be in the evenings, so that shouldn't be a problem. The big ting is that once Molly gets to week twenty three, the beginning of her sixth month. That's just a head's up as we aren't that far along yet and those weekly appointments haven't been scheduled yet."
"I see, thank you for the head's up," Officer Howard replied, "you have plenty of vacation days to use so don't worry too much about that. Just let me know on which days they are ahead of time."
I nodded, "Thank you, sir."