Author's Note: No true nudity... but certain parts are mentioned...
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The end of the trial went well, and five days before Sally, Jess, and Janice began to plan the triple wedding, Jake found Marsha waiting quietly outside the courtroom that was part of the UN building in Janace. It had been a long trip and one that hadn't been entirely expected, but Raul had made the call that it was preferable that the trial remain in Janace where the UN and the "Kat Kops" could keep an eye on them. Ultimately it wasn't too much of a problem as Jake and it gave hir the excuse to bring Marsha to see the other members of hir family.
"You did well, dear," Marsha said to hir politely and gave Jake a hug as shi approached.
"I only did what had to be done... surprised that Congress countered my choice by choosing me to be the judge... and I'm sure the "distinguished opposition" will call me an imperialist for it..." Jake commented.
"That's politics, my dear," Marsha reminded him.
"And glad I'm going to step down and will not run for President on my own," Jake replied, "finish out the term and retire..."
Marsha nodded and nuzzled hir muzzle to Jake's.
"So, did you sit in the gallery or did you tour the town while I was in there?" Jake answered.
"I mostly sat in the gallery and watched," Marsha answered, "I came with you, and I figured we could meet with the others before we have to go back to Washington."
Jake nodded and began to lead hir mate out. They wouldn't be able to stay in Janace for long, but they would be around long enough to meet with family members. The walk was fairly quiet, though Marsha had found the interactions with other Kats and even some humans on the streets to be very friendly. Shi'd remembered interactions with a Kat or two before shi decided to become one. They were always fairly friendly and respectful, but now it seemed even more so. Marsha privately wondered on where that came from. Were Kats instinctively communal and sought to be close to other Kats? If so, why were those that weren't influenced by the lust phase of the virus just as friendly with humans? A lot of that left hir with questions but for the moment, shi felt many of the same instincts. Shi found hirself responding to the other Kats and people in a manner just as friendly and cheerful as theirs and as the Kats shi remembered previously meeting. It was an odd thing, and as shi walked another thought came to hir.
When Jake had told hir about hir plan to resign and move to Janace, shi had initially been hesitant about coming to what shi called, "the Kat capital of America." Now, strangely shi found it to be... "home." It was nestled into the Rocky Mountains and was beautiful. Everyone was friendly, and shi'd have Jake with hir. Shi also looked over to see Jake's contented smile and figured that shi felt the same. It wasn't as though shi hated hir farm that shi and Jake had owned in Iowa, but shi felt a closeness that shi didn't feel otherwise in Janace.
They eventually made their way to a rather large complex that was connected to several other homes.
"What is this?" Marsha asked.
"This is the orphanage that Charlie and Sally run," Jake answered, "They've gotten a lot of support from the State of Colorado with regards to funding and have become sort of a state institution... though standard fees and paperwork still apply when people come in to adopt children, be they human or Kat..."
"Ah..." Marsha nodded as Jake rang the doorbell.
It was Charlie who answered the door a few moments later.
"Hello, Jake... and this must be the new Marsha... we heard you decided to become a Kat," Charlie greeted them with a smile.
"Yes, I did," Marsha answered, "to give my mate EVERYTHING shi needs."
There was a slightly sexual tone to what Marsha had said, but while Charlie noticed it, shi didn't mind it. Shi commonly made similar comments to Sally, hirself. Shi immediately gestured for Marsha and Jake to come in.
"Come on in," Charlie urged, "the kids are presently at school and and infants are down for their nap... but Sally is here..."
"Infants? There are babies that are in the orphanage?" Marsha gasped, hir tone filled with concern.
"There are some... though most of the infants are actually human babies that came into our care from child services when parents are caught being abusive or unfit," Charlie explained.
"But not baby Kats?" Marsha asked.
"We've found that when an infant was transformed in an outbreak... the mother was ALSO transformed, usually at the same time as the mother is trying to protect the infant from attack," Charlie explained, "the issues where Kat kids have come into our care because of rejection... largely due to the fear of infection with the Virus, is that the kid was away from hir parents when the outbreak came out..."
"And the kid got caught while the parent didn't," Jake answered.
Marsha felt hir hearts beat in earnest. Shi couldn't understand why parents would be cruel to children or why they'd be rejected. Shi'd always been a loving woman, though shi and Jake had never had the chance to have children of their own. Jake's work in politics and Marsha's own jobs and hobbies had always kept them busy, and while they had tried when they were younger... they always seemed to have the bad luck of not being able to time their time together with when "she" had been ovulating. Now, as a Kat, hirself, shi found hirself failing to understand how people could be cruel to children even less.
"Jake..." Marsha said slowly, "Let's adopt one..."
"Adopt...?" Jake asked.
"A baby, I don't care if it's human and we're Kats, we should give them the love they deserve," Marsha answered.
"You do understand that you can get pregnant and that neither of us was sterile," Jake reminded hir, "we don't need to adopt a baby..."
"I like babies... and when the term you're finishing ends... we can give him or her a younger sibling," Marsha said firmly.
"Okay, hun," Jake gave Marsha a smile, "but let's say hello to Sally first."
Marsha nodded and let Charlie lead them toward a different room where they found Sally seated at a desk in their den. On the desk were several papers and calenders, though most of them looked like wedding plan type material.
"Sally... we have guests," Charlie spoke, "Can you take a break from the wedding plans..."
"Yes," Sally sighed, "I suppose I can. Jess and I are going to meet this Saturday to discuss mom's wedding... especially with some of the complications..."
"Complications?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, Mom and Anubis are getting married and they've agreed to have a triple wedding with Casey Jones marrying Maurice's dad, Timothy, and your Sither is formally taking Elise and Kathy as hir mates," Sally stated as shi stood up, "so we're planning not just one wedding but three at once and... Auncle Marsha!"
"Auncle?" Marsha asked as Sally bounded forward and hugged hir.
"You are a Kat right? Not a Taur?" Sally asked.
"Yes, I'm a Kat," Marsha answered, "penis and everything..."
"So combine Uncle and Aunt... and you get Auncle to work with both genders that you now have," Sally smiled and hugged Marsha again, "that all us Kats have."
Marsha returned the hug readily. Charlie only smiled as shi watched hir mate hug hir auncle and aunt before Marsha became a Kat. Their close hug allowed Charlie to see that Sally's Kat form was based off of the leopard rather then the jaguar. Jake had said on the phone that Marsha had deliberately chosen a jaguar for the basis for hir Kat form. And now, the differences between the two was obvious. Both were the same height, but Sally was lithe and athletic with a longer tail while Marsha was stocky and powerful and had a shorter tail. Marsha's head and muzzle also seemed to be larger than Sally's. In addition there were differences in their spots, though Sally's were hard to see in hir solid black fur. Sally's spots were essentially a rosette circle except on hir legs, arms, and tail where the rosettes compressed into one spot. Marsha's spots were easier to see, as they sat on a golden orange coat behind it, and while they were rosettes like Sally's they were larger and had a spot inside the center of them.
"Though some of us seem to have more of things than others," Marsha commented, looking Charlie.
Sally looked to hir Manticore based Chakat. Charlie only had one male and one female reproductive organ, as any Kat did. But the part where it was clear that Charlie did have "double" was on hir chest. Even under a vest, it was clear that Charlie had four breasts.
"Why do you have four breasts? Are you trying to out bust the rest of us?" Marsha actually teased.
"I don't know the why... but they work great for feeding hungry infant Kats or even human babies that have come into our care," Charlie answered, "and if you think I have too many breasts... you don't want to meet Janace again..."
"Huh?" Marsha wondered.
"Mom has six," Sally gave a giggle.
Marsha was silent for a moment.
"We could talk with Maurice and Snowy if you want more, dear," Jake said to hir.
"No, I'm fine with two," Marsha answered, "and if I wish to play with additional breasts... I'll come to you."
Jake gave a happy smile at the prospect of being "played" with.
"You're looking good, Auncle Marsha," Sally commented, "How long do you two plan on staying in Janace?"
"We can't stay long, there's still a lot of work that I'm required to do," Jake spoke, "but we are counting the days until "my" term ends and we can come home."
"But we would like to adopt a little one before we go," Marsha spoke, "Give a child a loving home... maybe a baby..."
"A baby?" Sally asked.
"Well... I believe there are a couple of infants that came into our care," Sally answered, "They're all human, but they are adorable. Do you think you can manage?"
Marsha nodded, "and I'm also more than willing to fill out the paperwork."
"Then let's go upstairs, and you can meet them..." Sally said slowly.
Sally then turned and lead the way. Marsha was quick to follow, while Charlie and Jake brought up the rear.
"Are you ready for this?" Charlie asked to Jake, "you will both need to be involved in an infant's life and it takes a lot of patience... trust me... Sally and I have gained a lot of experience in raising babies since becoming Kats... each of us has been pregnant three times...and we're not about to stop having more children altogether in the future..."
"I may not be entirely ready... but I've found that it's best to make Marsha happy," Jake answered, "If shi is ready to be a mother... even if only by adoption, than I will be ready to be a father... even only by adoption."
Charlie nodded as they went upstairs and went into what was the nursery in Charlie and Sally's home. The room had several cribs in it, though only three seemed to be occupied. Charlie's and Sally's newborns weren't in this nursery. Charles III, Penelope, Bethany, and Zachius were in a crib in Charlie and Sally's room. Sally stood carefully positioned so that shi could then introduce Marsha to the infants in them.
"The first is a five month old that was brought to us when Child Services had determined that the birth mother was unable adequately care for him, and the mother did surrender the child, though also insisted that the child retain the birth name... Martin Max," Sally said pointing to the crib, "The second is only two months old and came to us when the birth mother was arrested on drug related charges. Her name is Mary Jameson. The third is nearly a year old who's entire family... mother, father, grandparents, and uncle were killed in a car crash... it's a miracle she even lived. Her name is Nancy Kurie."
Marsha stood there and felt hir heart bleed for these little ones. The eldest had lost her whole family to an accident while the youngest had to be taken due the poor decisions of the mother, and the middle infant was surrendered due to economic conditions. In hir heart shi wanted to adopt them all and show them that they would be loved, but shi knew that with Jake's work that they would only be able to handle one infant until "Jake's" term ended. Shi slowly came to each crib and looked in, and found them sleeping. Shi eventually settled on the youngest. All of them was deserving of love and attention, but middle child's mother's situation could improve and she could return. Such things did happen, and Marsha valued that the youngest, having come into Charlie and Sally's care, due poor decisions on the mother's part as more needing of a good home. Marsha slowly reached in and caressed the baby's cheek with a finger.
"Ehhhhh..." the baby cooed at the touch.
Marsha watched as little Mary Jameson opened her eyes and looked up at hir. The baby cooed again and Marsha soon found the baby attempting to suckle on hir finger. The baby was adorable and Marsha's heart melted.
"This one," Marsha said carefully.
"Do you have any baby bottles?" Charlie asked, "Or are you are Jake pregnant?"
"Neither of us are pregnant, but we'll be buying everything this one will need before going back to Washington," Marsha answered as shi lifted Mary Jameson into hir arms, "and in two years... since Jake won't be running for hir own outright term... we'll come here... maybe buy some more land and set up a farm."
Sally watched as the baby actually smiled to Marsha and snuggled against the Chakat's chest. That made Sally smile and shi looked to hir other Auncle.
"Would you agree to this?" Sally asked to Jake.
"If it makes Marsha happy, I'm more than agreeable to it," Jake answered.
"Then let's get to some paperwork and you can start with your family..." Sally than said with a smile.
Marsha also smiled. By the end of the day, Marsha did get to meet the other Kats in hir family. However, what warmed Marsha's the most as shi and Jake flew back to Washington DC was holding the human infant, Mary Jameson in hir arms, quietly suckling from a bottle that they had bought before they left. They'd agreed to wait until after Jake's term ended before they began having children of their own, but still they'd have their family and Mary Jameson would live with a family that would love her. That made Marsha smile.