Professor Juniper's Pokemon Pregnancy
Chapter 11 – Inspection Day
On the morning of the inspection, Juniper did her best to quickly get ready. She wanted to get to the lab as fast as she could to make sure that everything was in good shape before the inspector arrived.
It wasn't easy with her nearly nine-month pregnant belly, but she moved as quickly as she could. She woke up at a decent hour, used the bathroom, ate a light breakfast, and started to get dressed. She decided to wear her typical work uniform: her white tanktop and green skirt. She felt that it was basically the most professional look she could pull off. Thankfully, her specially-made maternity clothes stretched to accommodate her rounded middle, and they felt quite comfortable today.
Just as she was about to head out the door, she ran to use the bathroom one last time. It was better to be safe than sorry.
Once she arrived at the lab, Juniper did a quick lap around the building to make sure everything was in order. Since all of her assistants were currently away on their research expedition, she knew that the success of this inspection relied solely on her. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
While she was working, Juniper heard someone walk through the front door of the lab. She heard a pair of footsteps approach her before she watched Hilda and Rosa walk through the door.
"Good morning, Professor!" the girls chimed.
"Morning girls," Juniper greeted them as she finished up organizing a desk. "Thanks for coming."
"Sure," said Hilda, casually walking over and leaning on a table. "So, you have a job for us?"
"Yes, if you don't mind," said Juniper, letting out a small puff of air as she used both hands to support her back and stand up straight.
"Of course," said Rosa with a smile. "What do you need?"
"It's nothing too difficult." Juniper started to waddle (she had long since given up on trying to walk normally) over to another desk. She grabbed a small package from the desk, and then waddled back to the girls. "This is a box full of recently updated Pokedexes. It needs to be taken to Castelia City so it can be shipped out to Professor Oak in the Kanto region."
Hilda took the box from her hands, relieving the professor of the weight. "Is that all?"
Juniper nodded. "Yes. It's not a very pressing task, but it is something I would like to have done before I go on maternity leave." Juniper gently rested a hand on her stomach as she felt the egg within her shift slightly. "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you…"
"Oh, don't worry about it, Professor!" Rosa replied quickly. "We don't mind helping you out, right Hilda?"
Hilda just smiled. "Yeah, this will be easy. Hardly an inconvenience."
Juniper returned their smiles as she rubbed her belly a bit. "Thank you. This is just something that I can't really do in my condition right now, and I don't have my assistants here either. Plus, with the inspection coming today, I really have my hands full."
"Oh right, the inspection's today," said Hilda, setting the box down taking a look around the room. "So that's why everything looks so spotless."
"It does look very organized," Rosa agreed.
"I can't help it," said Juniper. "I wanted to make sure that everything is in top shape for the inspection."
"I hope you're not taking it too far," said Hilda, sounding a little concerned. "You don't need to make it perfect, you know. Don't push yourself too hard."
Juniper just smirked at that. She soon went back to work moving things around on the next desk in line. "I'll be fine. A little cleaning and organizing won't hurt me."
"Are you worried about the inspector?" asked Rosa. "He's not mean and strict, is he?"
Juniper gave a soft laugh. "Not at all. I've met him before actually, and he's a nice man."
"You know him?" asked Hilda, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, his name is James. I believe he did our last inspection a few years ago, but I knew him even before then. We used to attend the same school, and what with both of us being Pokemon majors, we attended a lot of the same classes."
"Huh," said Rosa, surprised at this information. "Were the two of you friends?"
"Not really," said Juniper. "We were acquaintances mostly. There were a few times we had to work on projects together, but that was about it."
"Oh wow," said Hilda, snickering a little. "I didn't know you had a history with this guy, Professor…"
Juniper just halted her work for a moment so she could roll her eyes. "It's hardly a history, Hilda. Don't jump to conclusions."
Despite her words, Hilda kept a smug look on her face. Rosa just gave the professor an earnest smile. "Well, at least it sounds like he'll give you a fair inspection, so you probably don't have to worry too much."
"No, probably not," Juniper agreed.
"So when's this guy coming?" asked Hilda, crossing her arms.
Juniper took a look at the nearby clock and gasped a little. "Oh shoot, he'll be here soon actually. The time must have gotten away from me. I need to hurry up and finish."
"Is there anything you need help with?" Rosa asked.
"No thank you," Juniper replied. "I'm almost done. And I'd rather you two be gone when he gets here. I don't want it to seem like I wasn't expecting him and invited guests over."
"But you did invite us over," Hilda pointed out.
Juniper gave a sigh. "Yes, well, it would just be better if you weren't here so I could focus on the inspection. This is important, you know?"
Rosa just nodded. "We understand, Professor. We'll get out of your hair."
Hilda scooped up the box. "And we'll deliver your package for you."
Juniper gave them each a smile. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"Good luck, Professor!" Rosa called as the two girls started to make their exit.
Juniper just gave a small wave before getting back to work. It only took a few minutes to finish cleaning up the workspaces. Once she was satisfied, she felt the egg starting to roll near her bladder, so she made a quick trip to the restroom to relieve herself.
Once she was done and freshened up, she had a few minutes to spare. Juniper walked back to her own desk and donned the last piece of clothing she needed to appear completely professional: her white lab coat. She took a moment to look herself over in a nearby mirror. She looked good and ready to go.
Better get to the entrance she thought, waddling off.
Halfway there, Juniper's eyes widened, and she froze in place. Out of nowhere, a sudden squeezing pressure took hold of her body. Juniper placed a hand on her stomach while she placed another on the nearest desk. She then leaned into a bit of a squatting position as the pain swept over her lower body.
It was a contraction.
"Ugh," she groaned softly. It was not only a painful feeling, but an awkward one. It felt as if her whole body was pulsing inward, everything attempting to tighten.
It wasn't that unexpected though. With her due date on the horizon, Juniper had been experiencing contractions a lot more recently. Joy assured her that they were probably nothing to worry about unless they were coming in quick succession. It was only one of the ways in which her body was preparing for the upcoming delivery. A "test" of sorts.
As things stood, Juniper's contractions were really only occurring once or twice every day, so she followed Joy's advice and didn't pay them much mind. Although one thing she did note was that they seemed to be growing more intense as the days went by. It was only another sign of the upcoming birth.
While the contraction racked her body, Juniper started to breathe in and out in a slow and calm manner. She just had to wait for the pain to pass, and then she could continue with her day. It only took a few moments before the pain began to ebb and Juniper was able to rise up from her squatting position. Juniper just gently rubbed the underside of her stomach before she continued her waddle from before.
I hope you aren't too much trouble today she thought, projecting her feelings to the egg in her womb.
Juniper made her way to the lobby of the lab where she chose to stand and wait. It only took a few minutes before the inspector arrived.
"Ah, Professor Juniper," he called, giving a small wave as he walked through the door. As expected, it was James, the person she had once attended school with.
Juniper took a moment to look him up and down. He looked mostly the same as he did from when Juniper first met him, although a bit more mature. He had dark brown hair and glasses. He wore a collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, along with a pair of dark pants. At his side, he had a clipboard and pen in hand. To be honest, Juniper found his appearance to be a tad on the nerdy side, but it suited him just fine.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, James," she greeted him with a smile. "Please, come in and make yourself at home."
"It's a pleasure to see you too, Professor. Thank you." The man started walking in. Juniper noticed that he was taking her in as well, looking her up and down. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, how have you-"
James paused, and Juniper had a feeling as to why. She noticed that his eyes had stopped right on her belly that poked out of her lab coat.
"Oh wow, you…uh, you're pregnant?" he half stated, half questioned.
Juniper smiled a bit at his stunned expression. She could tell that he hadn't been expecting to see her like that, but it was a fair reaction. After all, she hadn't informed him of her condition beforehand.
"Yes, I am," she stated plainly, putting a hand on her stomach and placing her other on her back to help support her.
"Oh, wow…I mean, congratulations!" James said awkwardly. "That's amazing. I'm sure you and your husband must be very excited."
"Oh," said Juniper, her smile fading a bit. Now it was her turn to feel caught off guard. "Actually, I'm going to be a single parent," she said, returning to her soft smile by the end.
"Oh," James replied. It was yet again another unexpected answer. "Well…that's very admirable. I imagine it won't be easy, so, um…I respect your decision."
"Thank you," said Juniper, rubbing her stomach a bit.
A really awkward silence followed after that. James ended up coughing a bit.
"Well, I have to say, you look great," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "When are you due, if you don't mind me asking?"
"In a little over a week," Juniper explained. "I'm glad you were able to come today. I was worried I might have to go on maternity leave before we could complete the inspection."
"Of course, I'm happy to be here," said James with a smile.
The two of them continued to talk for a bit, catching up and asking about each other's lives. James asked about how Juniper's father was doing, and she explained how he had recently left to complete a research expedition, thus leaving the lab empty save for her.
"So you've been here all by yourself?" he questioned.
"Mostly," she nodded. "Sometimes I'll have one of the trainers available assist me with a task, but I can mostly manage by myself."
"And in your condition too? That's impressive."
Juniper smiled. "Well, I appreciate your words, but today I'm really hoping that you find our lab and its standards to be impressive, for the sake of our inspection."
James laughed a bit. "Of course. I'm sure everything will be up to par, but what do you say we get this inspection started?"
"Right," Juniper nodded. "Why don't we begin with a tour around the lab?"
"That sounds great," he said, lifting up his clipboard and pen.
"Then please, follow me. Oh, and I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me if my pace is too slow. The best I can do right now is this awkward waddle of sorts." She demonstrated her walk that consisted of spreading her legs out and rocking back and forth between them to propel herself forward.
"Oh, it's no problem at all," said James with a sheepish smile. "It's…kind of cute, actually."
Juniper felt a little embarrassed at his words. "You're too kind," she murmured. She then wobbled off, with him behind her.
From there, Juniper took James on a walk around the lab, showing him everything and explaining their daily procedures. She showed him their technology and equipment, their Pokemon managing systems, their recently updated Pokedexes, among other things. After that, the two of them went outside to check on the Pokemon that Juniper took care of for trainers currently out on their journeys. James inspected some of them to make sure that they were happy and healthy living at the lab. Once satisfied, they went back inside.
Juniper then went on to show off some of the starter Pokemon she had been raising to give away to new trainers. She was particularly proud of a Snivy that had been disobedient at first, but Juniper had trained to be more loving and sweet-natured. James also seemed satisfied with the results he showed her.
After that, Juniper led James back to a sitting area where there were a few comfortable chairs and couches waiting for them. "And that about brings us to the end of the tour," she said, waddling into the room.
"Excellent," said James, marking something down on his clipboard. "You should be proud, Professor. Things seem to be going very well here."
"I'm happy to hear you say that," she replied with a smile. "Now then, I assume you might have some questions and other things to go over. I figured we could do that in here. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."
James walked into the room. "You're very hospitable too; I'll make a note of that," he said, laughing a little. "Thank you, Professor."
Juniper laughed a little as well, but soon paused. She suddenly felt a familiar sensation creeping up on her. "Oh," she said, putting a hand to her side.
James quickly noticed her expression. "Is something wrong?" he asked, sounding a little concerned.
"No, everything is fine," she assured him. "The baby is just letting me know that I need to use the bathroom…Can you excuse me for a few minutes?"
James seemed surprised that she even had to ask. "Yes, of course, go ahead. You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine right here."
Juniper gave him a smile of gratitude. "I'll be right back then." And with that, she tottered off.
Juniper found her way to the nearest stall in the bathroom, and not a moment too soon. Like usual, she felt like the dam was about to burst. She quickly removed her lab coat and pulled down her skirt before plopping down on the toilet.
"Ah," she sighed, feeling the sweet relief of the pressure lessening. She soon made herself comfortable. She knew this might take a while.
However, it wasn't long before something caught Juniper's attention. She heard the door to the bathroom open, and heard someone walk in. Juniper stayed silent, her mind becoming puzzled. There were only two people currently in the building...
"James?" she called out tentatively, unsure of why he would have entered the bathroom.
No one responded. Instead, Juniper just heard footsteps slowly approaching her stall door. Now Juniper was getting a little scared. She placed a hand on her stomach. "Who's there?" she called.
Just then, the door swung open and a teenage girl jumped into the stall. "Surprise!" yelled Hilda, sticking her hands out in the air.
Juniper nearly jumped out of her seat (but she fortunately did not, since she was still in the middle of her tinkle). "Hilda!" she exclaimed. "What are you-!?"
Hilda just snickered. "Ha! Got you, Professor."
Juniper was still trying to process what was in front of her. She quickly grabbed her lab coat and started to cover her lower half with it. "I'm trying to use the bathroom! Can't I have some privacy!?"
Hilda just looked at her. "Why didn't you just lock the door?" she asked, casually pointing.
"I didn't think anyone else was going to come in here, and I was in a hurry!" Juniper stammered. She felt so flustered in this moment, and for good reason. "You shouldn't surprise me like that! You could have sent me into labor!"
This just made Hilda laugh some more. "So? Wouldn't that be a good thing? Then you could meet your new baby sooner."
"I don't want it to come out right this second! Not while I'm in the middle of my inspection!"
Just then, Rosa appeared within view. She had a disapproving frown on her face. "You really shouldn't have done that, Hilda. It was a little mean."
"It was just a prank," said Hilda with a shrug before smiling. "Did you see her jump?"
Juniper just ignored Hilda as she let her surprise take over. "Rosa? You're here too?"
"Hilda made me stick around," said Rosa sheepishly.
Juniper paused for a moment. "Wait, have you two been here this whole time?"
The two of them gave a nod.
"We wanted to see how the inspection was going," said Rosa.
"And we wanted to check out this guy too," said Hilda.
"So you've been spying on us?" Juniper asked with a scowl.
"Um…a little bit," admitted Rosa, smiling innocently.
Juniper just sighed. "Girls…"
"What?" asked Hilda. "It's not like we've ruined anything by being here."
"I told you I didn't want you around during the inspection. And what about that delivery I asked you to make?"
"We still have it. We'll be heading out shortly."
"Yeah," said Rosa. "We just wanted to stick around for a little bit and watch."
"Is this what you wanted to watch?" asked Juniper, gesturing to her form squatting on the toilet. She had finally finished her pee, and she was now trying to pull her skirt back on while keeping her lab coat in front to cover herself.
The two girls ended up turning away to give her the privacy she wanted. "Sorry Professor," they both mumbled.
Juniper sighed again. "It's fine. No harm done, I suppose." She soon waddled over to the sink to begin washing her hands.
It was quiet for a moment, save the sound of rushing water, before Rosa spoke up. "So…the inspection seems to be going well."
"Yeah, especially with this guy," said Hilda with a smirk.
"What are you saying?" asked Juniper.
Rosa just gave her a soft smile. "Professor, I think this guy kind of likes you."
Juniper felt a little taken aback. "What? James?"
Hilda gave a nod. "Yeah? Who else?"
Juniper laughed a little. "Don't be ridiculous. The two of us just get along, nothing more."
"I don't know, Professor," said Rosa. "We were watching and he seemed a bit interested in you."
"You think he's interested in me?" said Juniper, laughing a bit more. "With this huge stomach? Please."
"He said your waddle was cute!" said Rosa, sounding a little gleeful.
"He's been nothing but nice all day," said Hilda. "And, I've seen him keep his eyes on you a lot too."
Juniper turned back to face the girls and noticed the seriousness of their expressions. She placed her hands in her back and leaned back a bit. "He assumed I was married at first."
"And then you clarified that you weren't," Hilda quickly retorted. "He knows you're available."
Juniper paused for a moment to consider the thought. She then smiled and then looked away. "No, come on. You're making a big deal out of nothing. Stop it."
"It's all true, Professor," said Hilda, folding her arms confidently.
"Are you interested in him, Professor?" Rosa asked gently.
Juniper took a moment to consider the question. She hadn't really thought about it. "Well…I suppose I could be. He is a nice man, and we do get along and share a lot of the same interests when it comes to Pokemon topics…"
"Then you should ask him out!" said Hilda excitedly. "Go for it, Professor!"
"I'll bet he'd say yes!" said Rosa happily.
"I don't know," said Juniper slowly. "This is hardly the time to consider something like that. I'm in the middle of an important inspection, and I'm about to be a mother. I don't have time to worry about starting a relationship. There's just too much going on right now."
The girls were quick to retort, but Juniper was even quicker to shut them down. "I'm sorry, but this is my decision to make. Not yours."
The two girls were quiet for a while after that. "Are you really sure, Professor?" Rosa asked quietly. "This could be your best chance at starting a relationship…"
Juniper nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Now I really need to get back out there. I've kept him waiting long enough." She soon grabbed her lab coat and went to swing it over her shoulders.
"Wait," said Hilda, suddenly grabbing her arms. "You should leave your lab coat off when you go back out there."
Juniper just stared at her. "What?"
Hilda just stared back. Not at Juniper's face, but rather her bare arms that were exposed by her white tank top. "Take off the lab coat when you're with him. Trust me. You'll see just how interested he is."
Rosa seemed to nod in agreement. "Just something to think about," she hummed. She then turned to Hilda. "Come on, we should get going."
Hilda nodded back. "Yeah, let's go. Don't worry, Professor, we'll go take care of that delivery for you now!"
Juniper just watched in silence as they waved goodbye and walked out of the bathroom. She then heaved a final sigh before putting on her lab coat and walking out as well.
I made an original character for this chapter: the inspector, James. I want to clarify that he has no relation to the character of James from Team Rocket. I just gave him that name because it sounded rather plain.
I based his character off the type of man that I imagine Juniper would be interested in. Someone who is kind and awkward and perhaps a bit nerdy seems to suit her. I definitely feel like he can appeal to the "professor side" of Juniper, and she would appreciate that in a man.
Will the two of them possibly end up in a relationship together? I suppose you'll just have to keep reading to find out…