Bandhavgarh Cabin was quiet when my father and I returned to it. The vehicle used was the Transit that Molly and I had bought. It's size was there to allow us to sit up properly in it, which most normal cars, trucks, vans, and other vehicles wouldn't. My father, however, was a normal human. He was taller then a fair number people, but he was still within the average height range of a human male. As a result, he had to move the seat and alter its height greatly in order to reach the pedals and drive the vehicle effectively. But I wasn't entirely sure as to whether or not he had any real trouble reaching the pedals or not as I dozed off on the ride back to the cabin.
I assumed we hadn't when my dad was coming to a stop just outside the cabin that Molly and I owned. The cabin where we would raise our cubs, Machli and Michael. But just as Molly was extremely tired from being in labor, I was also fairly tired from being up more then twenty four hours straight. Starting with my work the day before and then staying by Molly's side as she went through all her labor pains. Delivering Machli and Michael was a real treat, but I knew I was tired.
"There's no one here," I said off hand as my father and I walked toward the front door.
"You expected visitors, son?" Jacob Wayne asked me.
"Well... I told everyone we knew that Molly had given birth," I commented, "Dave and Tabby will probably be taking Veronica down to see Molly tomorrow afternoon."
"And the others that you and Molly have made friends with?" my father inquired.
"That I'm not sure on," I sighed, "Molly's friends at the school can't just up and leave the building to visit Molly and may have other things to do after school... they could, but since I only talked to the secretaries on the phone, I don't know what they would plan to do. I'd tend to think that they wouldn't visit to see Molly or the cubs until after Molly comes home."
We then made our way into the cabin, and I moved straight for the stairs.
"And for me... the other officers at the station run fairly long days... which you know very well," I sighed, "Officer Howard can't have half of his officers taking a day off to visit Molly at the same time. My partner and his girlfriend might be willing... but because of work schedules, they will also probably wait until Molly and the cubs come home."
My father slowly nodded. The time taken off to visit a coworker in the hospital wasn't too much of an issue. My dad had told stories about some of his officers visiting Jacki after she gave birth to congratulate her and to look in on the three lion cubs she'd given birth to, but difference between the officers my father commanded visiting Jacki and officers that Officer Howard commanded visiting Molly would be distance. Peoria's hospital carried an obstetrician and all the appropriate nurses to care for pregnant women and deliver babies. As such, the officers under my father's command could visit Jacki while on duty, and if a call came in, they could respond and still be in their jurisdiction. It might take them a little while to return to their vehicle from inside the hospital, but they'd still be in their jurisdiction.
Molly's case was different. Columbia Falls had a small clinic that treated small emergencies and very basic family care, but it did not have the facilities to deal with more complicated medical matters. It was that very reason that Molly and I had had to go to Kalispell for her obstetrician appointments in the first place. Now the drive between the two towns/cities wasn't that great, but Kalispell was outside of Officer Howard's jurisdiction. If Officer Barnes and Jenkins decided to visit Molly, and a call came in for Officer Barnes while he was there, his response time would be lengthened by the time driving between Kalispell and Columbia Falls, allowing whatever incident that he was supposed to respond to, to either end or get worse.
"That doesn't mean an officer might decide to do so, officially or unofficially," Jacob Wayne finally said after a moment.
I could only nod a bit as I went up the stairs. The comment was a basic summery of the things my father had to deal with on an administrative level for police work in relation to officers visiting Jacki in the hospital. It could be possible that Officer Barnes and Jenkins could take time off to take Megan to visit Molly, but at the moment, I was just tired enough that I asn't going to think on that too hard.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I made the turn and headed into the bedroom that normally Molly and I shared. For the moment though, it was quiet and empty apart from me. Molly was still in Kalispell and probably still asleep. Machli and Michael were also likely asleep, and I probably would be fairly soon. I carefully took my uniform off and placed it over the back of the chair and secured my weapon in a fireproof safe and then locked it and then put the key back up on a nail that was high enough up that Machli and Michael wouldn't be able to reach until they were much older... or they figured out how to climb. As I did so, I noticed there was a message on our answering machine.
Despite feeling tired, I was curious about what the message was, and I pressed the "play" button. Shortly after, I heard Officer Howard's voice speak.
"Hello, Officer Wayne. I know you're not at home right now, as bigger things have been at had for you... First, I'd like to say, congratulations. Hopefully you kids turn out to be as good as their parents are. Second, and this is related to the birth of your kids... but I'm giving you time off until you can bring them home. We've all dealt with slave driver bosses from time to time... and some will probably tell you I am a slave driver boss... but after everything you've been through... I'd think you deserve it. Don't worry, Officer Barnes is doing okay, and I've also been given a message through the grapevine from little Megan Jenkins that she wants to befriend your kids... Anyway... enjoy your time off. And again, congratulations."
That made me smile a little bit and gave me a little relief. I then made my way over to my bed and laid down. I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next two days went rather quietly. Returning to the cabin and getting some sleep allowed me to recover from being up during the length of time that I had been awake. Knowing that I'd have time off until Molly and I could bring Machli and Michael home also helped me sleep fairly soundly. Of course, we'd need to figure out how long Machli and Michael were to stay in the postnatal care ward. Doctor Wainwright wanted them there a week, for observation and to insure that everything was okay, but that wasn't a requirement. And that meant that our cubs could come home when Molly was ready to come home. But, we'd need to talk it out before that could be done.
And that was mission for the next day. I felt invigorated when I got up and moved to start my own breakfast. It was about the time that I normally got up to go to work, and while I didn't have to go into work, there were a small handful of things that would need to be done in preparation. And parents were both more then willing to help with that sort of thing after they got up. My mother had returned to the cabin from the hospital later in evening. According to what I was told, Molly was still asleep when she left. Around ten o'clock, we all climbed into the Transit and were soon riding along to go back to Kalispell.
We returned to Molly's room in the hospital to see that some messages of "congratulations" had been delivered to her. Even before entering the room, I could smell the scent of roses coming from the room. I entered to see that there were two bouquets of roses with cards of congratulations on them on an end table next to the bed. Both cards looked like they'd been read already, and Molly was seated on the bed quietly reading from a magazine.
"I've apparently missed the boat," I commented off hand as I looked to the two sets of roses that had been delivered.
"They arrived about an hour ago," Molly answered and put down the magazine she was reading, "the white roses are from Mrs. Fitzpatrick and the red roses are from Joseph. There's apparently a florist company that delivers, and they called that company to deliver their congratulations."
"I see," I said slowly, "a shame they didn't send your favorites."
I then presented Molly with a small bouquet of tiger-lillies. I didn't fully know Molly's reason for liking the flower, but I did know that she liked them.
"Tiger-lillies!" Molly gave a smile and gently took them from my hand as I offered them to her, "thank you, George."
She sniffed the flowers and then carefully fit them into one of the other two bouquets of flowers that had already been delivered.
"No, Molly," I told her firmly, "thank you... for being the best thing that's ever happened to me."
I then knelt down to hug and nuzzle her. She returned my shows of affection.
"So, how are you feeling?" I asked.
"Better," Molly said after a moment, "still a bit tired, but better."
"That's good to hear," I nodded.
I then moved around the bed and let my parents say their hellos to Molly.
"And now the new adventure begins," I commented to Molly, "with its own paths and twists and turns and things to plan."
Molly nodded to that, "a lot of that will depend on when we can take Machli and Michael home."
"From what I've been told, that can be done when you're ready to go home," I told her, "Doctor Wainwright would like to be able to observe them for a week... but he won't hold them here for a week if you don't want to."
"We can take them home when I'm ready?" Molly asked.
"That's what I was told," I nodded, "I wanted to check with you first before making any decision though."
"I think you know what my decision is," Molly answered, "I go home tomorrow, and my cubs go with me."
I slowly nodded. I was leaning in that direction as well, but wanted to make sure that I'd run things through with Molly first.
"Will Doctor Wainwright approve?" Polly Wayne asked.
"I would," came the doctor's voice from the doorway.
We all looked to see that he had just arrived to catch the end of the conversation.
"I take it you wish to take your children home when you go home, Molly?" he asked as he approached.
"Yes," Molly nodded, "I know you want to observe them and make sure they're developing properly... but I want to take them home."
Doctor Wainwright took Molly's hand and patted it softly, "and that is your right as their mother. And so far they are doing quite well and seem to be fairly active when they're awake... even if the nurses can't always tell since their eyes are still shut... and from what I've heard their cries of "rah" for milk or to be changed has many in the nursing staff wanting to let them out early too, so, you aren't alone in wanting them to go home."
"Too much work?" I wondered.
"Mostly in calming the other newborns when two tiger cubs begin "rahing" for food or being changed and inevitably waking up the other newborns," Doctor Wainwright chuckled, "but it's not something that the staff can not handle."
"Still, we'd like to take Machli and Michael home," Molly said, "though I think I'll need another day to recuperate."
Doctor Wainwright nodded, "that's okay. The staff can manage one more day. However, I would request that you schedule some weekly appointments with one of the pediatric doctors here in Kalispell... at least until their eyes open and so forth. They can check to make sure they're developing well and are still healthy."
"Wouldn't we make the appointment with you?" Molly asked.
"I'm an obstetrician," Doctor Wainwright answered, "while thanks to my graduating medical school, I could do the job, but since I've specialized in obstetrics, once a baby is born, it technically goes beyond my specialty. Don't worry. As I told you when we first met, Molly the doctors I'll be referring you to will be all too happy to care for Machli and Michael. They'll do all they can to make sure that they grow up healthy and strong and that when their eyes open, their vision is perfect."
"Okay then, and thank you," Molly said politely.
"You're welcome," Doctor Wainwright smiled, "it was a pleasure to treat you, Molly. You were my first Animal Person patient, and you've been an excellent patient, regardless of species."
"Thank you," Molly replied.
Doctor Wainwright nodded, gave his congratulations and then left.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And the rest of the day went well. The hospital had made contact with a local restaurant service that cooked and served steak to various locations to serve Molly's meals, which made sense. The hospital's kitchen probably wasn't built to serve several pounds of meat to a 390 pound tigress on a routine basis. This other company probably wasn't fully equipped for it either, but they specialized in cooking steaks and were better prepared for it. And so they brought in the delivery at lunchtime for Molly to eat, while I ate some of the steaks that I had cooked at home and brought in a lunch box. My parents walked out to a local fast food restaurant for lunch.
Dave and his family did visit in the afternoon and gave Molly and I their congratulations in person. Molly also received a second round of hugs as Veronica was excited to give the "tiger-lady" her own congratulations. It got a little interesting from there when she asked Molly where she was hiding the babies, as they weren't resting with her. Apparently the young girl had expected Molly to keep them at her side. Molly and I explained that Machli and Michael were presently in a special ward while Molly was recuperating. It was at that time that I lead the Choir family to the window where the newborn children could be viewed. Machli and Michael were easily seen. At the time they appeared to be asleep as their only movement was the inflation and deflation of their tiny chests as they breathed in and out. Veronica then went on about how cute they were. I thanked her for that.
The Choir family didn't stay super long, but they did stay long enough to congratulate Molly again and for Veronica to give Molly another hug. And from there, the only thing that was to pass was time. My parents and I stayed with Molly for much of the day, but come early evening we had to return home for the night. I couldn't pack enough meat in my lunch box to eat dinner with Molly and had to return to Bandhavgarh to eat, as I didn't want to have to tax the hospital even further by asking them to specially order enough meat to feed two adult tigers. I did however promise that I'd be back in time to take Molly home the next day with our cubs. Molly nodded to that.
And that is what happened. I returned the next morning at nine AM with two carrying cases that were ready to carry the infant Machli and Michael home from the hospital. I came after making a couple of calls the night evening before and leaving my parents to coordinate things. As I returned, I found Molly fully dressed in clean clothes and holding Machli in her arms. The cub was awake and presently moving her head about and testing things for scents.
"They're both ready to go," Molly said as I came into the room, "the nurses haven't brought Michael in yet, though."
"I suppose they're only doing things at a one at a time basis," I shrugged and placed the carrying cases down on the bed, which had been remade, "which will allow us to get Machli ready."
Molly nodded and slowly placed Machli in the first carrying case. We then set to strap the newborn cub in the carrying case. As we did so, I softly rubbed my pinkie finger along the side of Machli's head. She turned toward it giving a short reply to it.
"rrr... rrrr..." Machli "said" slowly. It sounded similar to low rumbles that Molly and I gave when we tried to purr.
"A daddy's girl," Molly gave a soft chuckle as we finished strapping Machli into the carrier and then setting the shades over her to insure that Machli and Michael wouldn't be damaged by the sun's rays when the cases would be carried outside when we went out.
"Nothing wrong with that so long as she still loves her mother as she grows up.
Molly nodded. The nurses returned a few moments later with Michael a few moments later and the process of placing Michael in his carrier was done as well. The nurses also wished Molly and I the best of luck. Molly thanked them and took over the carrying of the two cases while I took over carrying the bouquets of flowers that had been sent to Molly the day after she'd given birth. We took care to schedule the appointments with the pediatricians that would help look after Machli and Michael's development until their eyes opened, and then we made our way out.
We carefully walked out and took our cubs to our Transit which was waiting. I set the flower's Molly had received in small plastic milk crate that my parents had given me when Molly and I first moved to Columbia Falls in the back portion of the van while Molly began securing the carrying cases in the middle set of seats. She worked the seat belts through the loops that secured the carrying cases and made sure that everything was ready.
"You don't want to sit up front?" I asked Molly when I noticed that Molly was also buckling herself in between the two carrying cases.
"I want to be with my cubs," Molly said quietly.
I gave a soft smile and gave Molly a loving nuzzle.
"And soon, they'll be home," I said to her.
And in no time at all, we were on the road back to Columbia Falls. We were bringing Machli and Michael home and bringing many things toward the "end" of one chapter and the start of another.