Molly's third obstetrician went well and we left the Kalispell Medical Center in good spirits. True, we didn't yet know the genders of our cubs and I had the prospect of having to go to Washington State to be part of Grabar and Larceny's trial hanging over me, but the appointment had put both of us in fairly good spirits.
"Only three more months to go," Molly said with a smile as we made our way back out our Transit after our business in the hospital was concluded, "Three more months and then our babies will be here..."
"Halfway there," I nodded and gave her a soft nuzzle, "but we'll need to be patient. If we start counting days to your due date... we'll end up going through the longest three months of our lives."
Molly slowly nodded in agreement, "I'm still excited though."
"I know," I smiled, "I'm excited too."
We climbed into our van, with Molly taking the seat behind the wheel. With her drivers license issues solved, giving Molly a chance to drive seemed to be a good thing. Especially since she'd had to go without it for longer then I had. While we were in Kalispell, we also moved deal with our various pharmaceutical needs and to insure that our freezer was full. And as we left the hospital parking lot, Molly turned and began to drive toward the pets supply store in Kalispell which carried the various drugs that Doc Stimson had prescribed for Molly and I to insure that we wouldn't be easily plagued by fleas, ticks, worms, and other parasites that pets and wild animals commonly picked up.
Before Molly and I transformed, the idea that we would need to take medicines designed for pets had been an absurd proposition. But since then, we had both become exposed to the Animatrix Serum and needed those drugs to keep us safe. And by this point in our lives we accepted it. These various drugs were necessary and to not take them would leave us both at risk... particularly because Molly and I both had the opportunity to hunt and do the things that mundane tigers did. We weren't dependent on hunting, but during the appropriate season, we had bought tags and hunted... and would probably continue to do so. Because of that, we needed to take these drugs even more many other Animal People might, as we potentially exposed ourselves to the dangers of fleas, ticks, parasitic worms, mosquitoes, and just about anything else that was bad.
Before the civil lawsuit against Leon, then Leona, had made the Animatrix Serum something that could be sold over the counter those drugs were only accessible in pet stores and pet supply stores. Now that the Animatrix Serum was legally sold over the counter, things were changing. In some cases, some human pharmacies were beginning stock some of the pharmaceutical drugs that were normally given to pets or wild animals, depending on the species of the Animal Person. In others, the pet supply stores were changing and were expanding their business to include things geared to service pets and Animal People.
And it appeared that the pet supply store in Kalispell was going the route of the second option. When Molly and I entered, we found various things that were there and scaled up to a size that would be ludicrous for most mundane pets. It included a scratching post that was about as tall as Molly and as thick as my calf muscle. It was also wrapped in a heavy fibrous material. Looking at the tag, I found that it read, "Kevlar fibered oak scratching post... perfect for Animal People to keep claws sharp and clean."
"You never know what people will sell these days," I commented to Molly, bringing her attention to it.
"I suppose," Molly shrugged, "though we'll we may need something like that for our cubs eventually... unless you want them to be declawed."
I shook my head "no" to that. I'd read a couple of things on line that some people who had the idea to own lions or tigers had done that under the pretext of keeping the owner safe. I'd found out that the procedure actually made these pet lions and tigers MORE dangerous... as since their canines and claws were their chief weapons and deterrents, the loss of them made them potentially more aggressive to compensate for the loss of their natural weapons. And since Molly and I had learned that we could kill deer without sinking our canines into their flesh, was fairly sure that mundane tiger or lion that had lost his or her canines still had the jaw strength to kill a human, even without their chief killing weapons.
"No," I said, "making sure that they don't threaten anyone will be best done by example and by explanation. Not by "crippling" them."
Molly nodded.
"For the moment though, we don't need to buy that scratching post," I finished and we continued on.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next few days went quietly. Molly was halfway through her pregnancy and we were looking forward to her next obstetrician appointment when we would likely be able to learn the gender of our twin cubs. And of course, by knowing the genders, we could begin seriously considering names for them. And of course, now that Molly was entering what was normally the second trimester of a human woman's pregnancy, we would expect to see more in the way of growth in her womb as our cubs grew and developed within her. It would likely mean that Molly would soon need to buy some maternity wear... or at least clothing that would more comfortably fit her growing middle... as the other option would be to go naked, which would be illegal.
But the specter of Grabar and Larceny's burglaries still hung in the background. They had been caught and wouldn't be threatening anyone with burglary again... at least not for awhile. But their actions still cast a shadow over the area. Some of it was because of the injuries sustained by Larceny when he was apprehended. They day after Molly's obstetrician appointment, Agent Heer had returned to our station to update Officer Howard and the main officers involved in the case on the matter.
"The wreck that Grabar or Larceny drove the car into did a real number on Larceny's arm," Agent Heer explained to us, "the orthopedic surgeon in this part of the state had to do a lot of work to put all the bones back together and they want to keep him in the hospital there for a few days before he's moved..."
"I'd assume that they'd also want to put him through physical therapy of some sort?" Officer Howard asked.
"Of course, but those instructions can be carried out in Washington State, provided I do the right paperwork to get the appropriate therapists assigned to our offices and holding facilities and to insure that they're updated on the recommendations of the Kalispell officers," Agent Heer nodded, "It'll take a little while to do that... but it's doable. And I have to thank you for holding on to Grabar and the Kalispell officers for making sure Larceny doesn't escape."
"Can I inquire if you have a schedule for the trial of these two?" I asked.
"Not really," Agent Heer gave a sigh, "mostly because there is no schedule to inquire about yet. We'll need to get them back to Washington before that can be done... and as I said, we still can't drive them there for a few days."
"Is there anything we can do to help you, Agent?" Officer Barnes asked, "Find out where Grabar and Larceny pawned off their goods?"
"Your department has already been of invaluable help," Agent Heer answered, "but questioning Grabar and Larceny is my responsibility."
Officer Barnes and I both sighed at that. A lot of that answer came from the technicalities that were related to the differences in jurisdiction that went through law enforcement agencies. City police departments enforcing laws within a town or city's limits. County Sheriff's, State Troopers, and Highway Patrol enforcing laws on various highways and the rural areas within counties. State Troopers technically had a responsibility to the state as a whole, but were commonly assigned to specific counties for ease of operation. And all of them at this level could also take over operations within towns or cities that had become too small to pay for their own police force. And above them all was the FBI that was responsible for dealing with America's most wanted criminals and so forth. And of course there were other agencies as well, such as Border Patrol units that dealt with things crossing the country's borders and DEA agents responsible for dealing with illegal drugs.
But our present situation dealt with the cooperation between the Columbia Falls PD and the FBI. And it was the issue of Grabar and Larceny's actions that created some of the friction. The people who had been burglarized by the two Black Rat burglars had come to the station on occasion trying to find out if we had been able to recover some of the things that they had stolen that weren't cash or coins. They wanted to know if we had recovered the various pieces of jewelry, antiques, the small fireproof safe, and other things that Grabar and Larceny had taken. But, because the FBI retained jurisdiction on the case, all we could do is hold them. This meant that we didn't know where Grabar and Larceny had taken the items they'd stolen. And so, we'd informed them that they would have to get in touch with Agent Heer of the FBI for further information on that, as he was the one responsible in the case.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
These things persisted over the next three weeks. Even after Agent Heer had finished the paperwork to transfer Larceny's physical therapy to doctors that could be contracted by the FBI at one of their holding facilities in Washington State. Once Larceny was declared fit to travel, Agent Heer began the process of transferring them to Washington State. A specialized transport vehicle from Montana's FBI offices was delivered along with a driver and a couple of additional agents arrived and Grabar and Larceny were taken and were soon on their way back to where their latest crime wave began. Agent Heer promised to let us know when the trial was set to begin and if I would be required to participate in it. He had though, said that that was likely. We took that as a decent head's up.
And while things had largely quieted down again in Columbia Falls, Grabar and Larceny's victims still showed up on occasion to inquire about their belongings. The best we could tell them was that Agent Heer was doing his best to get a list of the pawn shops that Grabar and Larceny had used and was in the process of trying to recover as much as was possible. These former victims did not feel "excited" about that news as they wanted their things returned to them, but it was the best answer that our Police Department had. Officer Jenkins had told Officer Barnes and I that much of her work over those three weeks had been dealing with those sorts of questions. Meanwhile, for Officer Barnes and I, our work had been quiet with what was considered "routine" calls related to speeding, drunk driving, public intoxication, those sorts of things... though many of those cases could never truly be "routine".
The major bright spot of those three weeks was Molly and her pregnancy. Over the course of those three weeks, she'd commented that she was beginning to feel rather energized over those three weeks. And some of that I could see. On one day while Officer Barnes and I were on patrol we passed the Elementary School while they were out at recess. And from the backseat, I could see Molly engaging in a game of tag with several of the students, including Megan, dashing about like a giant orange and black striped kid. The sound of the kid's laughter mixing with Molly's made me smile.
And of course, her bouts of morning sickness rapidly disappeared over those three weeks. That made me feel greatly relieved... Molly did not sound good when her morning sickness was bothering her. And there was one other thing that was developing over those three weeks, and that was Molly's womb. It wasn't much, but over those three weeks, her womb began to push more and more forward. By the end of those three weeks, the beginnings of her "baby bump" were becoming obvious to the eye. Molly seemed to enjoy that the most.
"Can you feel them move?" I wondered.
It was a rather stupid question, as Doctor Wainwright had told Molly to expect to feel movement by our cubs in the coming months... but I had wanted to be a father as much as Molly wanted to be a mother, and since I couldn't get pregnant... I settled for talking with Molly about her pregnancy.
"A bit, but it's all still very early and very faint," Molly answered, "I don't know for sure if they'll even be strong enough to be able to push against me so that I'd feel it."
I glanced to her to where she was seated. She was seated calmly with one hand resting on her womb. While it was not heavily gravid, but judging by how it had begun to push forward, it could not be denied that Molly was pregnant. And because of that, we had come to Rathik and Mugha's silk shop. They had done fairly well with their business, and now Molly and were seeking out their services to produce some maternity wear that would fit her better. Her normal clothes were beginning to feel very tight on her, and with it being Saturday, and a day that was already scheduled as a day off for me, I had tagged along with Molly.
"And here is the family to be!" Mugha said as she came out from one of the offices while we waited in the front area where they had a few pieces of silk cloth that could be bought for private use by any local sewing circles that wanted to use silk as their medium, "Shanti and Kalamala have told us of your pregnancy, you have our congratulations! Both mine and Rathik's."
"Thank you," Molly gave a smile and a nod, "but for the moment, what we need is your services... how good are you and your husband at maternity wear?"
"Fairly good," Mugha said with a bright smile, "come on back, we'll get you measured and you can tell us about what sort of maternity wear you're looking for."
Molly nodded and followed Mugha into the office area that she and Rathik used to measure people for clothing that they would tailor for their clients. While there, she rapidly set to work on taking Molly's measurements while Molly began to describe what she wanted. Dresses were fine and preferable... though they would have to be formal enough that they would be appropriate for school. She also added that if they could make some larger shirts as well as skirts and shorts that would be able to work with her growing womb, Molly would like some of those for days that she wasn't required to go into school. Mugha quietly took down the information that Molly gave her and took Molly's measurements.
Once Molly had finished, Mugha began to ask a couple of questions that would satisfy her curiosity.
"So, have you two given any thought to names for your cub?" Mugha asked curiously.
"Cubs," Molly answered, "I'm having twins."
"Again, congratulations," Mugha replied.
"And anyway, we've looked at some potential names, but we do not know for sure yet," Molly explained, "as we do not know their gender yet."
"That'll be in this next appointment," I told her.
"Would you mind a suggestion on a possible name?" Mugha asked.
"We're fairly open," Molly answered, "the kid at school who's become a tiger cub has been very excited about my pregnancy... thinking that they will become playmates for her and so forth... and in her excitement, she's given George and I a whole list of names she wants us to use. Though some wouldn't be names most people would give outside of pets or on TV... but we're fairly open to suggestions."
Mugha nodded, "Well... my suggestion would probably only work for a daughter, but given your species it would be appropriate."
Molly and I looked on with some curiosity.
"Was there a tiger in a zoo you wanted us to name one of our cubs after?" I wondered, slightly curious.
"Not a zoo tiger," Mugha answered, "a wild tigress from Rathambore. She was the "queen" of Rathambore for many years."
That left Molly and even more curious. By terminology, among cats a "queen" was any female that had had kittens or cubs. It had no reference to dominance among cats. There could be a tigress in the wilds of India that was beat up by other tigers fairly frequently, but would be considered a queen because she had had cubs.
"She ruled over a large section of the park that a lot of documentary people have said has been the best part of the park," Mugha explained, "a queen in every sense of the word. She overcame countless difficulties and dangers and raised eleven litters in her life. Many of the documentaries made on the Bengal Tiger have focused on Rathambore and this "tiger queen"... and I figured that since you two have had to deal with so much... the name would be appropriate."
"And what is the name?" I wondered.
Mugha answered with only one word.
"Machli."