Welcome to chapter 8! Let's jump forward a bit in time, shall we? It's now mid-June 1995 here.

CHAPTER 8 – Family Beginnings

(P staying with Diana) Today sure was interesting. It was the two-month anniversary of our giant wedding day. It had been so beautiful. And for a few of us, today was beautiful as well.

Olivia and Charlotte had gotten pregnant, after the wedding. They had delivered their beautiful children into the world earlier today. I was miffed that I still wasn't pregnant, but hoped I would be soon. After all, Hannah was a month pregnant now. She was halfway there.

We had all tried to help Olivia and Charlotte, especially Charles and John. They were worrying, but helping the most. And when the children were born, I saw a love in their eyes that I hoped I would have someday. The love of a family. Now, we were all trying to relax.

"It really hurt, huh?" Hannah asked the two new mothers. "Yeah, it really did. But I love my little Sofia," Olivia said. "I love my little Ryan as well," Charlotte said. They were cuddling their children in their arms, with their husbands at their sides. They both said how much they loved their new child and how thankful they were to Olivia and Charlotte for doing this. It resulted in kisses.

"Aww," we all said. "I'm happy I'm the next one that gets to be a mommy," Hannah said, rubbing her belly. Alexander gave her a kiss. "I'll help you on the day our child is born as much as they helped each other," he said, speaking of the new parents. They shared another kiss.

"Speaking of that, I'm started to feel hungrier lately," Isabella said to David. "You are?" he asked her. "Yeah. It started yesterday. I wasn't entirely sure and I'm still not. But if I start to demand more food, then I think we'll be parents after them," she said, speaking of Hannah and Alexander. "I sure hope so," he said, before they kissed.

"So Sebastien, care to explain?" I asked him. He blushed. "Sorry honey, I don't know why I can't get you pregnant," he apologized. "It's alright. It's just that if Isabella is indeed pregnant, we're going to be last," I said, chuckling. "Don't worry Diana, soon you'll be a mother like us," Olivia said to me.

That cheered me up. "Thank you. I deeply envy all of you, with new families or one coming soon," I said, making sure to include Hannah. "Speaking of coming soon, could you get me some food honey?" Hannah asked Alexander. "Of course. What would you like?" he asked her. "Anything I can eat," she said happily, giving him a kiss. He went to go dig into the food supplies for her. *

Suddenly, little Sofia and Ryan began to cry. Their respective parents dotted over them, wondering what was wrong. After only a few moments, the problem was understood. The children were hungry again, so Olivia and Charlotte began to nurse for their children.

"What is that like? I'm going to have to do it the soonest," Hannah said. "I don't know how to explain it. It's just odd though. But I'm sure our parents thought the same for us," Charlotte explained. "I guess I'll have to wait to find out," Hannah said, with her paw on her belly. "Once again, we're envious," Isabella said, speaking of me and herself.

The mothers laughed. "Well you're allowed to be. We're mothers now," Olivia said happily, speaking of herself and Charlotte. "And I'll be one soon," Hannah happily said. "That didn't really help," I said, making us laugh again. Sofia and Ryan then finished and went back to sleeping. "That's adorable," Isabella said happily. "And we'll be doing it for the next few months," Charlotte happily said.

Just then Alexander came back with some fish for Hannah. "Thanks honey," she said to him, giving him a kiss. She then took the food and ate it for herself and her baby. "It's strange isn't it? The feeling of creating life?" Olivia said. "It does feel strange. But also beautiful. Eventually, we'll all have children of our very own," Hannah said happily. We all agreed with her.

"It is nice though, not having to do anything," Charlotte said. "It's biology. But even if it weren't, thank you so much for getting us food when we need it," Olivia said happily to Charles, but also including John and Alexander. All the families shared hugs.

"You'll do the same for me, right Sebastien?" I asked him. "Of course," he said to me, making us kiss. "Maybe you two should try again. Who knows, in two months you could wind up with a little one of your own," Hannah said, rubbing her belly. "Just like you will in a month," Isabella said to her. "I can't wait," Hannah said happily.

Suddenly Hannah looked at her belly in a curious manner. "What is it?" Alexander asked her. "I'm not sure," she said. "It was probably a kick. Around a month was when I was starting to feel kicks from Sofia," Olivia said. "Same for me and little Ryan," Charlotte said. "And now they're in your arms," Isabella said happily to them.

"I can't wait for that day. It's going to hurt, but we'll finally be able to meet my baby," Hannah said happily. Alexander gave her a kiss. "I love you," he said happily to her. "I love you too. Thank you for giving me a child," she said happily. They kissed again.

I stepped on Sebastien's foot. "What was that for?" he asked me. "I'm not pregnant," I simply said. "Well if you want to try, I'm all for it," he said. He and I both blushed as everyone looked at us. "It's alright you two, we don't care. We've all done it. We're all mothers or are going to be," Olivia said.

"True. I just wish our children would be able to meet their grandparents," Isabella said, speaking of all the children that were here or would soon be here. Sebastien and I shed a tear, deeply missing our families. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad," Isabella said.

"It's ok. It was just really traumatic. But we have the skills to keep us all safe. So our children will have us all," Sebastien said. I gave him a kiss. "I'm glad that I married you," I said happily to him. We shared another glorious kiss. I really hoped that soon he would help me produce a child. I wanted to be a mommy.

I looked over at the new and expecting mommies and was jealous. I wanted a child. Boy or girl, I didn't really care what I would have. I just wanted a child to love and nurture. Olivia and Charlotte were holding their children in their arms, Hannah was rubbing her belly, and Isabella was at the beginning stages. I was the only one not with a child or expecting.

We all continued to talk for the next hour, until the stresses of the day got to us. It hit Olivia and Charlotte first, since they had gone through a lot of stress and pain. We all decided to go to bed and sleep.

(P to two weeks later) Everything was going really well at the aquarium. Olivia and Charlotte loved their children, who were growing at a steady rate. Hannah was just a few weeks away from having her child and she couldn't be more excited. And, as she suspected, Isabella was pregnant. She was excited as well, now only a month away from having her baby.

I wasn't feeling anything yet in the last two weeks, but mysteriously I was getting hungrier. I was about to tell Sebastien while we were relaxing, but I was suddenly picked up by the aquarium staff. The keepers were married as well now, talking about their plans. I was happy for them.

I was apparently due for a checkup today. So they set me down and took a number of tests, including weight and things like that. "Hey, do you think like the others, she's pregnant?" the male keeper asked the female one. "You mean how we hope I will be soon?" she asked. "Yes," he said, making them kiss.

"Well we might as well check. They seem to be getting pregnant one after the other, so something must be happening to them. They are intelligent. Do you think they have a pact or something?" she asked him. "Nah. Well, actually, I don't know. That'd be funny if they were as smart as we were," he said.

"Oh, we most certainly are," I thought happily to myself. They made me lie down and used a bunch of equipment to see if I was pregnant. One of the tests was really annoying. But suddenly they smiled at me. "Congratulations Diana. It seems you and your mate Sebastien have a little miracle on the way," the male keeper said to me.

I looked at them curiously. That was a half-ruse. I was acting as if I didn't understand them, but really wondered if it was true. "Your miracle is so small. But you're about two weeks into your pregnancy. In just a month and a half, you'll have a child," the female one said to me.

I was barely containing my excitement. It was true! I finally was pregnant! Finally, I would have a little boy or a little girl of my very own. The keepers carried me back to the habitat, being extra careful. I was put right in front of Sebastien. As soon as they were out of sight, I gave him a big hug and kiss, which he returned.

"What is it Diana?" he asked me. "Sebastien, during the checkup they checked to see if I was pregnant," I said. "Are you?" he asked me. "Yes honey. I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father," I said happily to him. We shared another big hug and kiss. Soon, we would be parents. I couldn't wait.

That's the end of this chapter. Hooray for everybody! Now I know I have a lot of OCs, but I'm setting up the community. Please leave a review, as they mean a lot. And before you leave, please read my one note. Have a great day/night/whatever.

* Thank you Wikipedia, for instincts and other facts about Asian Otters.