Samantha returned quietly to her home, after one brief stop at the florist's, with a mix of cheer and frustration on her mind. The incident with Rick Plunkett hadn't been fully resolved when she left City Hall, but according to what the hospital was saying they believed he had a chance of making it and actually becoming the first male werecheetah. She wouldn't learn of the incidents that would occur in the evening that would lead to Rick truly becoming Rikki or the arrest of Dr. Henry Wendz until the next morning, but that was still a future discovery. She hoped things at the hospital were fine and that they would keep City Hall informed on the developments in that case. But in its own way, she was thankful for Julie's visit to her office as it did give her her feeling of cheer in truly seeing young love bloom between the young weremer and Eric Anderson. It was nice to see and left her with a warm fuzzy feeling that had nothing to do with her being a werecat. It also reminded her of all the joy she had shared with Frances in their own relationship and thus, the bouquet of roses she had bought and carried under her arm as she walked up to her front door.
"I'm home," Samantha announced as she came in through the door.
The response brought Frances' head out from around a corner that lead into the Twist's kitchen, and the first thing she noticed was the bouquet under Samantha's arms.
"Ohh.... roses!" Frances gasped as she approached and Samantha offered them to her. Neither of them really had a green thumb, but that didn't mean that neither of them liked flowers. Frances was quick to take the bouquet, its thin plastic wrapping crackling a little as she took them, and breathed in the flower's scent deeply. "They're lovely... but what brought this on? It's not Christmas, my birthday, or our wedding anniversary."
"I had a visitor today who had some problems that in a sense reminded me of when a young girl moved to town and swept me off my feet," Samantha purred to her wife, kissing Frances cheek.
"Oh? And what happened to her?" Frances asked.
"She became and grew up to be the most beautiful werecat in Moon Lake," Samantha answered and pulled Frances into a firm hug, "and I married her."
The two smiled and shared a brief kiss. After breaking apart, Frances turned and went into the kitchen to collect a vase to put the flowers in. Samantha followed and could tell that dinner wasn't too far away. She also noticed that Ben wasn't there at the moment.
"Where's Ben?" Samantha asked after a moment.
"At the moment in his room finishing his homework," Frances answered, "So... what was this meeting that got you reminiscing on how we met?"
"Eric apparently set up a meeting with the mayor to ask some questions about weremers... likely about what it's like to be a merman," Samantha answered.
"And Mr. Stovall would then be the logical person to ask," Frances nodded.
"I can't say on how their conversation went, but apparently he told Julie that he couldn't walk her home because of the meeting and she decided to follow him to City Hall," Samantha answered, "and was very concerned about what might happen if Eric became something other than a weremer... Which in a sense is a bit familiar, don't you think?"
"I suppose," Frances commented, "but then... between us... you had no reason to fear. We had already had sex, and been at it long enough that my transformation was completed, even if I didn't know it. I was a werecat..."
"I know, and I did tell Julie that," Samantha answered, "but I also told her that that didn't matter in the end. If you became a weredog... I would STILL love you with all my heart."
"And I would love you," Frances smiled back. She then placed the flowers in the vase that she had collected and filled it with water from the tap. As she set the vase down, she decided to see what else had gone on in her wife's day, "So... how did the morning emergency go? The supposed Sasquatch hunter?"
"He actually wasn't a problem," Samantha gave a sigh, "and actually seemed eager to join were society... though he never said anything about staying here. The problem came when he contacted the man who supposedly took the picture of the supposed Sasquatch... the man's werecheetah sister, not knowing that the man was already going to join were society and that he had promised not to reveal us, in a spectacular fit of not thinking attacked and scratched him in the hopes of frightening him into not revealing us. So... he's been in the hospital all afternoon while they try to save his life... Though thankfully the last reports we got would indicate that the he will survive."
"Well... that's good... and probably related to a request I got late in the afternoon," Frances answered, "the hospital wants me to talk with someone concerning their changes, but couldn't say any more... So... I have an appointment there tomorrow morning. I figure I'll talk with this person and then do Yvette's second secession for her evaluation."
"What did you find out with her?" Samantha asked, "Or is that confidential?"
"For the moment... I can say that the entire family is screwed up," Frances gave a sigh, "her mother may not have wanted Yvette to get into the sort of life that she had... but neither was she there to do so. It might have set her up for the mistakes she made."
Samantha only shook her head slowly as Ben arrived at that moment. He looked okay and he looked to both of his mothers and then to the vase of roses sitting on the counter next to them. He gave a smile and a small shrug, knowing full well that both parents had their romantic moments, which at times made him feel quite good to be part of a loving family.
"Hey... is dinner ready yet?" Ben asked, getting Frances and Samantha to snap out of things.
"Yeah..." Frances answered and turned to check on some other things in the kitchen, "beef stew with dumplings, carrots, and potatoes."
"It smells good," Samantha gave a smile and moved to walk around the counter toward her place at the table.
While Frances began serving dinner, the conversation left the subject of Yvette Smith, Rick/Rikki Plunkett, Jenny Harper and her wedding, and even Eric Anderson and Julie Stovall. It wasn't that Frances or Samantha didn't trust Ben with some of the details that related to their jobs and the issues that related to that, but they were more serious and something they didn't want create an issue where they would come of as gossip girls. Yvette and Rick/Rikki related to their respective jobs in one way or another to either diagnose one and help the other. Frances had her concerns with Jenny to help the new werevixen's psyche and Samantha had her concerns over the wedding and the potential risks that Jenny's parents likely posed, but that didn't relate to Ben. And thanks to the growing bond with Martha Anderson, both Twist women were beginning to see Eric as a sort of nephew. They wanted to do their best to make sure that Eric wasn't hurt and grew up to be a happy Moon Lake citizen, regardless of whether or not he became a were like the rest of his family. Though, based on what she'd seen the night before and from what she gathered from her talk with Julie, Samantha figured that Eric becoming a weremerman was the most likely fate in his future and that he would go through it with love for Julie in his heart. And Ben didn't relate to those things. At the same time, both Frances and Samantha had some curious questions to see on how Ben was doing. While they knew that Ben had found a new friend, there was some curious as if it would lead to something more than just friendship.
"So, Ben," Samantha asked to her adopted son as he sat down, "Are you going to be seeing your new friend any time soon?"
"I might go to see her after dinner," Ben answered slowly, "and she has been very friendly."
"Just how friendly?" Frances asked with a slightly teasing tone as she began serving dinner.
"Mooooooooooom," Ben gave a short groan with a bit of embarrassment.
"Come on, Ben," Samantha said to him, "You said she isn't a member of the Pack... so naturally we're curious."
"Curious as cats," Ben commented.
"Which for US," Frances commented, "is rather literal. You know we won't judge you... at least so long as you're respectful to her and making sure that she's on the were birth control pill."
"I know," Ben answered.
"And you know we want you to be happy, right?" Samantha asked him.
"Of course," Ben nodded, "and as far as I know she's on the were birth control pill..."
"Which is good, are you going to see her again?" Samantha asked.
"Yeah... after dinner," Ben answered, "at a spot in the woods that I think is becoming our spot."
"Well... just let us know if things become serious," Frances said to him, "and if things do become serious... we would like to meet her."
"Okay," Ben said slowly.