Welcome to Book 7! It's amazing this series has come this far, with the missteps and such. Let's reinstate some action again, shall we? As usual, the symbol rules and order for reading previous stories on my bio apply. Now let's get started, shall we?
CHAPTER 1 – Coming Soon
(P to me) Emily was once again sleeping in her bunk. Her energy got sapped again. I softly chuckled to myself, thinking the same thing had probably happened to Marlene when she was pregnant with Anna and Sam. Now Emily and I were going to have a child as well.
It had been over four months since Emily had gotten pregnant. As we had predicted beforehand, the fact of her being an Otter and my being human made her pregnancy last way longer than it usually is for Otters. We still didn't know how many children we were going to have, but since she was still growing, we suspected it was multiple.
The zoo had closed a little while ago and thankfully, due to me, Alice never got suspicious of where Emily had disappeared to for the last few months. She just shrugged it off every time.
We were glad that Alice wouldn't get suspicious of where she went because none of us had any idea what might happen if anyone discovered Emily was somehow pregnant without being in the breeding program. Especially for this long.
She started to stir again as the other family came back came back from a snack mission. The guys were still out doing whatever other mission Skipper had assigned for them. "Hello sleepyhead," I said to her, kissing her. "Hi honey," she said to me.
"How long was I sleeping?" she asked us. "Just a few hours sis," Marlene answered. Emily smiled. "I'm sleeping a lot, aren't I?" she asked us. "Yep," I answered. She laughed. "This sure is a lot of work. May I have some water?" she asked me. "Absolutely," I said, before summoning a bottle of water.
"Thanks honey," Emily said to me as I handed it so her. "You're welcome," I said to her as she drank the water. "Now I think I know how you felt sis," Emily said to Marlene. "Yes, but you've been pregnant for a lot longer than I was," Marlene said. "We were three months right?" Anna asked her mother.
"Yes sweetie," Marlene answered. "I wonder if it'll be the full nine months for you two or if the time will be right in the middle like it was for us," she said, speaking of herself and Skipper. "If it's right in the middle, then the baby will probably be coming soon," Emily said happily. "As soon as you feel anything major, we're immediately going to the park," I said to her.
She chuckled at me being very determined to make sure our child wouldn't go feral. "Yes, honey. We'll be executing the same plan they had," Emily said, speaking of Marlene and Skipper. "I came up with that," Skipper said proudly.
"Yes, after I nearly went feral on you," Marlene said. Her fur and Skipper's feathers bristled at that memory. * "Wait, if you went feral while you were pregnant with us Mom, how did that not get passed down?" Sam asked his mother.
"When some women get pregnant, they have mood swings," Marlene answered. "I'm glad I haven't had any. I just get tired all the time," Emily said. We all laughed at that. "Yes, I'm glad you haven't gone feral at anyone. It's a shame that you've been mostly been stuck in bed, though," I said to her. "Well, that's another thing we predicted might happen," Emily said, trying to sit up.
I helped give her some support by putting my flipper on her back as she sat up. That worked. "Thanks honey," she said to me. "No problem honey," I replied. Once again, we got lost in each other's eyes. I could see she was so excited, just as I was. But she was in a bit of pain, since she wasn't designed to be pregnant for over four months, just two.
"Are you alright honey? Do you want the topical cream again?" I asked Emily, knowing it would soothe her pain. ** She smiled. "I love how you can tell that. It's not much, but, yes, I would like some of the topical cream," Emily said. I summoned it and after making sure I didn't give her too much, rubbed it on her belly.
As I was doing so, I saw the bit of pain disappear from her eyes. "Thank you honey. I feel much better now," Emily said to me. After climbing up above her into my bunk, I poked my head out and she rewarded my help with a kiss.
"Marlene, can I have a quick break for a few minutes?" Emily asked her. Marlene chuckled. "I don't even remember why I agreed to that," she replied. Somehow, Emily had convinced Marlene to let them occasionally switch brains for a little bit a few weeks earlier. Emily sometimes wanted to move around, in a sense.
"Yet you did. So Skipper, fire up the brain switching machine please," Emily asked him. He got it and they both had their minds switched. "Whoa," Marlene simply said, from inside Emily's body. Emily laughed. "I know. The baby's getting really big in there," she said.
"Our family's really strange," Annabelle said, making us laugh. "It really is. Humans, Otter, Penguins, Pengotters, and soon Ottans. Who ever thought that would happen," I said. "I'd give you a kiss right now, but I'm not in my body," Emily said to me. "Same here Skipper," Marlene said to him.
"It's really nice though, that I can take a break for a few minutes," Emily said happily. "Tell that to me. I've already been through this. I can feel your child from the inside," Marlene said to her. "I really do appreciate this sis. But look at it this way. Soon, I won't be pregnant anymore. But can you give birth for me?" Emily asked her.
"Not a chance sis. You have to experience that yourself. But with the size of your belly, you're going to experience a lot more pain that I did when you have your child," Marlene replied. Emily frowned. "Thanks a lot for that saying, even though I know that's probably true," she said.
It was fun to see the sisters bicker about childbirth and pregnancy. Something only they would ever understand. "I'm glad Kowalski's math said that switching brains wouldn't hurt the baby," Emily said happily.
"Me too. The baby just has our DNA and it hasn't switched either, since it's head doesn't have a helmet on top," I said, making us chuckle. "I wonder if I were pregnant again, that it would switch," Marlene said.
"That would be interesting sis. But then we wouldn't know after they were born, whose child was whose. We'd have to guess," Emily said, making us laugh. "I will say this, it is interesting to technically be pregnant again. I'm just glad it's only temporary for me," Marlene said. "Speak for yourself. I've been pregnant for almost four and a half months," Emily said, making us laugh again.
"Well, are you good Emily? I'd like to return you to your duty of growing your own child, my little niece or nephew," Marlene said to her. Emily laughed. "I guess you're almost falling asleep huh?" she asked Marlene. She laughed and blushed in return. "Yeah, I kind've am," she said. Emily and Marlene placed the brain switching helmets back on their heads and switched back.
"It's great to move again," Marlene said happily, taking her helmet off. "Speak for yourself sis," Emily said to her, as I helped her remove the helmet and put it away. "One more thing Matthew," she said to me. "Yes?" I asked her.
She gave me a kiss. "And that's the kiss I promised you," Emily said happily. We shared a laugh before kissing again. But shortly after that, she fell asleep again. I chuckled to myself while I put the blanket back on her, happy she had been awake for a little while.
She shuffled under the blanket, getting herself comfortable. Unlike Marlene, Emily doesn't snore, but I could just tell that she was asleep after she stopped moving.
"I'm so lucky to have a wife like this," I thought to myself as we all climbed up the ladder so we could talk without disturbing her. After we got up, it was still really nice out. The evening sun felt great on my feathers.
I made a mental note to summon Emily up here on the next nice evening, in case she slept through it. Suddenly a paw tapped my shoulder, drawing me out of my thoughts.
I turned around to see who had done that and it was Marlene. "Thank you for helping my sister through this," she said with a smile. "You're welcome. After all, it's not just her that should have to go through this. She and our child are my responsibility as well," I replied. "I bet you're glad we spilled that substance on you two," Skipper said. I smiled. "Yes, I am. We both are. We owe you for that," I said to both Skipper and Marlene. ***
"So how many cousins will we have?" Anna asked me. "I don't know. We both want to keep it a fun surprise," I answered her. "And I can't tell, when I switch with your aunt," Marlene said to Anna. "Before your birthday, we didn't know we were going to have twins," Skipper added. "Pengotters are still awesome," Sam said.
We all chuckled. "Your cousin isn't even born yet and you're already starting a rivalry with them of Pengotters and Ottans?" I asked him. Both Sam and Anna laughed. "I guess we are. But it's all in good fun, right Uncle Matthew?" Anna asked me knowingly. "Yes, it is. But when your cousin is born, you'll be left out of the Stopwatch," I said to the kids.
"You have told us it would scar us mentally for awhile after that happens, so that's fine," Sam said. "You will be able to see them after we get back from the park though," I said to him and Anna. "What about your parents?" Skipper asked me. "Well, like as you did for them, I think we'll wait until our child can talk and is trained until they go to my world. And has their own Escape Suit," I answered.
"And Emily is fine with that?" Marlene asked me. "Yes. It was actually her idea. We can't just go to my world, because we don't know if the baby would switch back and forth like I do," I answered. "You two sound like you have it planned out," Skipper said. "We've had over four months to get ready. I wish I knew when we would become parents," I said, speaking of Emily and myself.
"You're only a few days away from the halfway point, so probably soon," Marlene said to me. That made me smile. "I sure hope so. I'm just glad we're having a baby at all," I said happily. "So do your parents know what's happening here Uncle Matthew?" Anna asked me.
"Yes. Emily and I keep checking in with them every week or so. They still are confused at how, though," I answered. We all laughed, since that always seemed to be the case with anyone but us. "They don't mind though. They're getting a grandchild earlier than they thought they would," I said happily.
Some instinct told me Emily was up again, so I went back down. "How long was I out this time?" Emily asked me. "Just a little over 15 minutes honey," I answered to her. "Interesting. And thank you for the blanket, again," she said. "You're welcome. When I first got you that, I didn't just summon it. I went out, as a human, and personally picked it up," I said.
Emily smiled. "I know. You've told me that before honey. It feels nicer, knowing you went out and got it," she said happily. I smiled as well. "I'm glad you like it," I said to Emily. We once again got lost in each other's eyes and suddenly I realized my flipper was on her belly. She didn't mind, as usual. We both suddenly felt a kick and smiled at each other before kissing.
"I always love when that happens," I said to her. "Our baby must know you're here, because that happens more often when you do that," Emily said happily. Everyone came down again as well. "Ah, you are up again sis," Marlene said. "You must have some kind of sixth sense for that Matthew," Skipper said to me. "I think its instincts. But I love that all the same," I said to him.
"It's still fun to ask this question. Sis, can I feel your belly?" Marlene asked Emily. "Of course. You're going to be an Aunt soon. And you've felt it on the inside too," Emily said, making us laugh. For some reason, even after Emily gave her approval, Marlene always looked to see if I approved as well. I always did with a silent nod, as they were sisters.
The kids and Skipper asked if they could also do that. "Sure. There's more than enough of me to go around," Emily said with a giggle, while also blushing. Once again, I gave them all an approving nod. It made Emily so happy to always get this attention, and it made me glad that she was happy. It was so exciting to the both of us, the idea of becoming parents soon.
I also walked over to Emily and just watched her sitting there, enjoying all the attention we were giving her. She had one of the biggest smiles on her face that I had ever seen. "Are you going to just stand there?" Emily asked me playfully, yet curiously.
"What do you want?" I asked her, curious. "I want to make sure the baby is ok," she said, with a smirk. When she said that, everyone stepped away so Emily and I could have this moment.
I placed a flipper on her belly and like before, the baby kicked Emily. And it wasn't just one kick, it was two! Emily suddenly got enough energy to sit all the way up and kissed me full on in one full swoop.
"Two! It was two!" Emily exclaimed happily. "I know. Do you think that means more than one?" I asked her. "I sure hope so. I really hope it's both a boy and a girl in there," Emily said, with her paws on her belly.
"Me too honey. I love the names we have picked out for if the baby is a boy or a girl," I said to her. "Me too. Julia if our baby is a girl and Dylan if our baby is a boy," Emily said happily. **** We tried to kiss, but that didn't work so I went up into my bunk above her again and poked my head into hers and that worked.
And as soon as we pulled apart, she fell asleep yet again. "How many times can someone sleep during a day?" I wondered to myself, shaking my head as I replaced the blanket again. We all went up again.
"So you did decide on names. How long ago?" Marlene asked me. "Uh, I can't remember. Hold on a second," I replied, indicating that I was thinking in script. After a minute, I finally remembered. "Ah, now I remember. That really comes in handy. It was about a month ago. After we broke your record, we came up with the names while you were all out," I answered.
"Did you tell your parents?" Anna asked me. "Always the curious one. Not yet. We want to figure out what we're having first. Though after they're born, we'll show them the baby over a video chat, and then once they're ready, they'll go there in person. Hmm, I wonder…" I said, trailing off to my thoughts.
"What do you wonder?" Skipper asked me. "Just if the baby will be an Otter, a Penguin, or a human here. After all, I'm just in a Penguin's body here. So technically it's three species for us," I answered.
"Well, what species…" Marlene asked me, before trailing off for Anna and Sam. "Well we were in my world, so humans," I answered. "Hi. We're lost again," Sam said, speaking of himself and Anna.
The three of us who knew laughed. "Well, that's good, as that's another thing that'll scar you," Skipper said. "How many things related to having a baby are there that will scar us?" Anna asked. "Quite a few. You'd have nightmares for a long time if we told you," Marlene said to her and Sam.
They both wiped their foreheads. "Well, good. I don't want nightmares," Sam said. "Good. So to get back to your thought Matthew, it's unknown what the baby could be here, but depending on when that worked, the ride back here could affect the result," Skipper said, also classifying that information from Anna and Sam.
"If it's only one baby though, that'll be a really big baby, based off the size of Emily's belly," I said. The instinct of knowing Emily was up again got awakened in my head. The sun was setting and I thought as long as Emily was awake, she should enjoy it. So I summoned a chair on the platform and she appeared in it, a moment later, wrapped in the blanket.
"Oh, I'm outside now. What a gorgeous sunset," Emily said happily, looking at it. "That's why I brought you up here," I said to her happily. She smiled. "You really do have some kind of sixth sense for me being awake," she said. "I'm glad I do. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to see the sunset," I said to her, kissing her.
"Oh, it's that time again. Can you summon the…" Emily started to say before I summoned the computer next to her. "Thanks honey," she said. "Sis, you're absolutely crazy with that bi-weekly blog for the fans," Marlene said to her. Emily laughed. "I know. But it's fun to see them go nuts over my pregnancy," Emily said happily.
"Even I still think you're nutty with that idea," I said to her playfully. She smiled. 'You wish you could do this," she said, typing while also pointing at her belly. You wish I wish I could do that," I said to her, kissing her.
She truly had gone nuts with this idea. It wasn't just typing, she also kept adding a picture of herself every week. But as she said, it was driving everyone nuts. And it was nice for my family to get updates through that as well. Of course, they always learned more through our weekly chats than the fans did through the blog.
After she was done, I put the computer back down below. And all of us as well. The guys eventually came back, as Skipper had sent them on a mission for some upgrades to the car. We all went to sleep after a little bit, with Emily first. She was so beautiful either when she was sleeping or awake. And then I went to sleep as well, wondering about our child.
And that's a wrap on this first chapter. Yay, a baby! Please rate and review this chapter. I've got a few notes today.
* Referencing Pengotter Pregnancy.
** Referencing "I Was A Penguin Zombie" from the show. Obviously, it was way less as Emily did not go loopy like Skipper did.
*** Referencing the end of Book 5.
**** I took the same careful approach with those names as I did for Annabelle, Samuel, and Emily.
