(March 16, 2020, week 10 of pregnancy. Handshake Clinic)
4 people in absolute silence, 4 people studying 4 ultrasound in absolute silence.
Tension? Discomfort? Nerves? Bewilderment?
Words unable to even express what was being lived in the gynecology clinic number 2 of the medical wing of the main Handshake building. Slowly and without bothering to ask even the other,Addams was moving between ultrasound with the mouse, sometimes stopping at one and sometimes placing the 4 images one after the other.
While looking at ultrasound after ultrasound, the director of Handshake got up from his chair, walking around the room until he was in front of the huge digital screen that was reproducing the images. Taking a deep breath, the director took out his cigarette pocket from his back pocket, which quickly generated multiple reproach from Alanna and Theo. “They are dark chocolate! Jackson has given them to me to help me try to quit... jesus" The director growled as he unwrapped the tip of one, holding it in his mouth and even pretending to give it a drag.
“With Anne we let it go because she was simply much bigger than normal… but this? What we are seeing has to be the equivalent in biology when Bill Anders put a roll of film on his camera and began to take the first snapshots of our planet”
“It's… it's beautiful in a way. We are the first people to see something like this and I don't know how to take it” Theo added as he imitated his boss, standing by his side.
Alanna felt as overwhelmed as her two friends, clutching her huge wife's hands firmly to help her breathe. Each squeeze was followed by an inspiration, each caress of an exhalation. The Amazon- No. The vice president mini-giantess (as well as Addams had officially updated her medical record) was proud of her beloved, who cried in pure joy watching ultrasound. She herself also wanted to cry, enduring simply for not letting tears blur or prevent her from seeing the four wonders before her eyes.
“If there were only one way for all neohumans to grow up transformed inside her mothers instead of going through the terrible, and judging by all the fainting and tearing tears, extremely painful transformation once their lungs begin to receive oxygen directly would be all so easy” The director said to himself aloud, an act that made him turn and see the terrified faces of both mothers for hearing things as painful and terrible. To comfort them as he could, the director continued to pass ultrasound until the best four were placed one after another. “You said you had names, right?” Addams asked as he walked around the room until he lowered the blind, letting only the light from the screen illuminate the darkness. “We have passed the most dangerous part, so I think you deserve to introduce the little ones properly”
A smile from ear to ear crossed Alanna's face, which rose quickly trying to get Erika to follow her. Unfortunately, her wife's legs were still shaking too much for it, so neither short nor lazy Alanna used her enormous force to perform an act of power by pushing the bank without wheels that held her wife's 399 kilos (879,644 pounds) to take her to the center of the room facing the screen. "The names come from the list we agreed to when we chose Anne's, with the respective second, third, fourth and fifth options we had agreed upon" Alanna explained as she stood behind her wife's bench, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Come on honey, you choose who the second and fourth go to and I'll choose who owns the third and fifth names, okay?"
Erika nodded while still crying, staring at the ultrasounds. "Hali is a name that comes from the Greek and means 'From the sea'... we choose it if I remember correctly at the request of your grandmother, my love" Erika explained as she smiled remembering the Skype conversation with her political grandmother, who insisted hard until the moment of hanging that the name was of Hawaiian origin. "For that meaning the name can only be for her" Erika pointed to the second ultrasound, corresponding to her daughter more to the left. Little Hali was surely the least developed of the four, as long as her development was taken as it should be.
Addams had seen each and every one of the births and transformations of the neohuman children who had gone through them, so the director was not surprised that Hali's legs were combined in one. Of course one thing was to see the combination of both legs in a single tail and fin and another was to see it forming from the first moment.
"It's my turn to assign the name Anju to one of these three lucky ones, isn't it?" Alanna asked her wife jokingly, letting go and walking until she was right in front of the screen, one arm crossed under her gigantic chest and the other going through the neckline to bite the thumbnail. “Anju is the only one of the names on the list that doesn't come from a family member, coming instead from your brother Cascadio, Addams” The statement caught Addams by surprise, who quickly took it for granted knowing the passion for the rare names of his little brother (inherited directly from his mother).
"Really? ... I'm so sorry, girls"
"Don't worry! We really liked the name ... but I think that was because of the story of how he explained it. I remember how much Cascadio insisted that Anju comes from Japanese and literally means 'apricot tree' ... and Cascadio was super convinced of that until Elizabeth, who we still didn't know at that time, approached behind and whispered to Cascadio that the name comes of the Hindu and means 'One who lives in hearth' ... they were arguing for a while"
"And what was the right origin?" Theo asked taking advantage of the empty space next to Erika to sit.
“Both! Or at least that we investigate in the wikipedia!” Alanna exclaimed as she leaned forward with her hands resting on her hip, staring at the ultrasound below to the left, corresponding to the most normal of her daughters. (Which in a way was very similar to Anne's ultrasound with 9 weeks, only a smaller hair) “You, my little one, are the only one who is turning our back on us… it is making us look at what your ass will be. A cute ass like an apricot ... You are Anju, no doubt” Alanna took the trouble to take Addams' touch pen and separate the ultrasounds between them enough to be able to write the names under each one.
Director and employee looked at each other, perplexed by the logic and the mental path that Alanna's brain had to have followed until reaching that conclusion. They stared at each other without knowing what to say until Erika burst into laughter and laughter, crying even more with joy and laughter.
A laugh that her wife wanted to hear more than ever in the world. “I can't… I can't wait to see that red and cute little ass!” Erika shouted as she rubbed her face with both hands, so loud that everyone in the waiting room heard the phrase out of context. "Hali and Anju, we can't leave you waiting much longer to meet your sisters, right?" With the help of her wife to get up without the hospital gown (rather, the two hospital gowns sewn to make the dress) unveiled nothing but her finally prominent belly, Erika took the touch pen and placed herself next to the screen. “Hali, Anju… Now, if I'm not mistaken, it's Elysia's turn. I remember that name came from my father-in-law Roland, and I would swear that its origins are from Latin...-”
“Elysia comes from Elysium which is the name of the home of the blessed in mythology. In the West we know it more commonly as Elysian Fields, which is also the name of the main avenue in Paris” Addams explained quickly, receiving in return surprised looks that bothered him much more than he would like to admit. "Popular culture, guys ... Alanna, you are European, you should know those things"
“Sweden, Canada, Spain and the United States, that's all the places I've been for more than 2 days. Assume that because I am European I must know the main avenue of the capital of a country where I have only been transhipment is to be a little ... better shut up" The mini-giantess mother bit her lips returning to what really mattered, that they were the two ultrasounds of her remaining little ones. Curiously, even when they were on opposite sides of the belly, they were the ones that most resemble each other, both presenting the formation of the ears at the top of the head and the tail that grew just in what would be its coccyx.
The only differences in the moment between them were the thickness of the tail, hands and feet, slightly larger in the one in the center left of her belly. "How big is the avenue is that you mentioned, Addams?"
"What a question ..." Addams growled as he finished chewing the cigarette, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I was there on my honeymoon and I think there were 8 lanes, but that was more than twenty years ago. Wait, are you asking about the lanes or the length of the avenue-"
“It isn't on the top of the longest avenues in the world. Can you believe that living in California I have never been to Sunset Boulevard?” Alanna said quickly, keeping her phone between her breasts so she won't be looking for her jacket.
"Perfect" Erika smiled as she wrote Elysia under the ultrasound corresponding to the little one to the right of her belly. "You my dear will be Elysia"
And with three of the names awarded, only one option and one possible name remained. Turning behind her wife, Alanna took the digital pen from her hands after a courtesy kiss on the back of her hand. “My precious Makenna, your name comes from the Hawaiian and comes from the word Mak’ke which means all gathered… I think. I know that the gathered part is true, but my knowledge of Hawaiian is limited to what your great grandmother yells at me and to Hawaii 5.0. Anyway Makenna has always been a name that has been in my mother's family, your great-great grandmother was also called Makenna... and now it is yours, as are each name of you 4.
If you want them you should leave well healthy and strong!” Alanna laughed as she leaned down to hug and place her ear on her wife's belly, disappointing a little when she noticed nothing but Erika's stomach movements.
"I am glad to see that you are more motivated and that you are regaining your spirits, Erika and Alanna" Addams said as he rose from the bench, returning to the window to raise the blind. “We shouldn't overconfident now that we are on the right track. We have passed the first great risk barrier, but the one of 15 weeks and 25 weeks is still missing”
"Exact" Theo continued to leave the bench back to the marriage, sitting on the armchair at his table. “On the one hand I want you to continue taking the antidepressant treatment and go every 3 days to the psychologist here, Erika. On the other hand we will continue to maintain the medication and the current diet, which although your body has managed to cope with this entire phase, now the fetal phase begins and all that entails multiplied by 4” The two wives nodded very concentrated, holding hands while Alanna was taking notes quickly with her phone. “This week we were able to hear for the first time the beat of their little hearts and catch some of their movements, so hopefully the next one we might be able to see their stretching. It's now more than ever that you should try to sleep well and as much as you need, Erika. The last thing we need is that with the work overload that comes to your kidneys you are also in need of rest”
Slapping when all the medical documents were finished, Addams ended the visit, a gesture that Erika and Alanna understood instantly, getting up while Addams put everything in Erika's folder except for an envelope he left on the table. “You will remember it perfectly from Anne's pregnancy, girls, but now in the fetal stage comes one of the moments in which Erika's body will feel more uncomfortable than ever, and knowing how I know you the lack of being able to exercise is killing you, right?” Embarrassed for no reason Erika nodded looking at her feet, stretching her fingers through the flipflops clearly too small bought last September that the marriage had taken out of the closet for as long as the Amazonian mother was testing after trial. "Seeing that the medication we send you is being especially effective and that you are recovering your mind correctly, I think we can let you jog at least a few weeks before they grow-" The director didn't give him time to say anything else since Erika had started to hug him, raising him like a child being hugged by his mother. “Light jog and always with enough water on top to rest periodically! Light jog I said!”
“I'll go walking if necessary! I need some excuse to leave the house anyway, since you won't let me take the car!”
"That's for your own good, my love ..." Alanna looked aside remembering the episode a few days ago, where a pretty sleepy Erika had tried to leave the garage without opening the door. Thank heaven that she hadn't gotten to push the throttle too much, because everything could have been much worse.
"I already know it! That's why I didn't complain! But if in a few months I will have to make absolute rest I need at least to move something now” Erika defended herself while Addams and Theo stood laughing, the image of the huge Erika swelling the skunk in a hospital gown was as bizarre as it was fun. The Amazonian mother said nothing, laughing at her own appearance before turning back to her gynecologist and her friend. “Can you go outside? I would like to recover my dignity by dressing as much as possible… sometimes I feel that I have a lot more belly than it really is”
Theo and Addams nodded collecting their things, Theo leaving the room to his adjoining office while Addams went straight to the waiting room, where Roland and the children waited patiently. (In a no less funny scene, since Alanna's father was folded with his eyes closed waiting in silence, with Anne sitting on the floor imitating her grandfather)
"It's over?!" Fraje jumped up, throwing his phone to the floor of the reaction so exaggerated to see the director and scaring his grandfather and sisters in the process. "You have taken too long!-"
"Mr. Addams, please" Roland pleaded, losing all his serenity of serenity, to the point of sweating slightly as his bright bald spot indicated. "Tell me everything went well"
Addams smiled as he opened the envelope in his arm, crouching down so that Anne could see as well. Roland, Nellie and Fraje followed the example of Addams, squatting around Anne who applauded and laughed happily that so many people surrounded her. “Don't tell Alanna and Erika until you're in the car, okay? I haven't told them yet that I have printed this for you” The director asked while grandfather and grandchildren nodded completely serious.
"I introduce you to Anju, Hali, Elysia and Makenna ... your little sisters," Addams whispered as he turned the ultrasound out.
The reactions were completely different from one end of the group to the other, with Nellie and Roland crying with happiness, Fraje enduring the urge to scream hitting the ground and with Anne looking confused at the images. The director gently took the five-foot-five-inch-tall toddler's hand, placing it on the ultrasound.
“Anju, Hali, Elysia and Makenna. Anne, these are your little sisters, who are super healthy and eager to meet you”
The word little sister slowly began to click on the brain of the 3-year-old girl, who looked up at her brothers. "Lilla... syster?" Anne asked thinking she understood what Uncle Addams was saying, pointing to herself to try to clarify her message.
"Exactly, little sunshine" Roland smiled taking her granddaughter by the shoulders and kissing her forehead. “They are your four-” The grandfather was silent for a second, shaking his head at his two older grandchildren. Quickly and easily Nellie and Fraje whispered the right word to their grandfather, who pretended to continue the sentence as if nothing happened. "They are your Små systrar... your little sisters"
If there was something Anne knew, it is that little brothers are loved very much and should be taken care of because they are small, so the toddler told herself that she now had to take care of her friends and her Små systrar.
Not surprisingly, that is the duty of an older sister.
(Same time, roof of the main Handshake building)
"Your treatment works, you bastard"
It is often said that to foolish words sticks and stones, a popular saying that as much as Alexander would like to apply it was impossible to have such words literally on him. The mouse nodded proudly of hearing the good condition of the quadruplets, turning off the holographic screen connected to the building's surveillance circuit. “It's what you have to work hard, Iron-fail. That with effort and perseverance even a pregnancy of such risk can be overlooked”
Cascadio wished with all his strength to be able to deny and bother him a little more, but for misfortune and joy, his friend's good state of health made him too happy to bother the moment. Instead he decided to opt for a much more direct conversation about goals. "What are you going to do now, bastard?-"
"What kind of question is that?! Keep working on my treatment! I can't give girls more space, so I have to make sure Erika's body can provide them with all the necessary nutrients before the inevitable premature birth! How can you handle so much technology asking such idiotic questions?”
"As I told you, Bastarderry-" Cascadio growled, punching him right in front of the mouse with too much anger, which caused him to end up using too much force from his suit causing superficial damage to the air outlet where they were supported. “I am muscles and determination and decision making. Technology and control of the suit is the job of my assistant Shy Skull”
The mouse chisto the lips frustrated of not being able to move away from the imbecile of the day, whether Bartolomeo or now The Painted Tin Man, opting to ignore the screams so loud that they could be heard from inside the hull of the Hunger Skull, making him fall to the floor of his ass and writhe in pain. Deciding to take the pain of his despicable known as a small victory, the mouse put the holographic projector in his backpack, jumping and climbing until he was on top of the duct.
"I am a little worried about the lack of vitamin D but I suppose the dome isn't so advanced to be able to project sunlight... I will have to vary a little the treatment a couple of days to alleviate that" Cascadio got up slowly still holding his ears, trying to hold on without taking off his helmet in the presence of the mouse.
"More components in the treatment? Would it not be possible to alleviate that lack of vitamin in a way that does not involve increasing the amount of medicines that you will administer to her body? I thank you for your effort to help the person who, a few months ago, you and your bastard Master tried to kidnap her daughter, but I don't know to what extent so much daily treatment can be not harmful to her body ... and it is clear that I have no idea what I mean. I'm just transmitting to you what my assistant is asking"
“This lack of vitamin is not something that I can solve more, no more than what the city council is already doing. The entire city has prescriptions for vitamin D supplements due to the lack of direct sunlight that the dome causes, including Iron-idiot yourself. Unfortunately the dome also plays an essential role in maintaining stable temperatures so that all species of neohumans can live peacefully so saying of removing it isn't an option either” The mouse whispered looking down at his hated colleague, trying not to burst out laughing with the three ornaments Skull badly placed on shoulders and breasts. “Aren't you supposed to be a real comic book hero? Do something for your city! Give them sunrays!”
"Of course, and you and your Master could be real scientists and stop playing an imaginary crusade" Cascadio growled annoyed, taking a small chuckle at the mouse.
“Okay okay… that has been a cruel thing. I don't know where you got the material for that suit or the technology, but I shouldn't laugh at one's dreams as fanciful as they may seem to me-”
“Are you looking for a fight?! I've done a great favor by bringing you here, you know!?”
"I could go back alone without a problem, I have technology and a body small enough not to be seen ... of course the problem would be the whole new surveillance system ... even so I didn't want to look for any kind of fight, I can assure you. I'm really sorry about that, I didn't want to make fun of you more than necessary, marked skull”
"First is Hunger Skull, not Marked Skull. And don't worry!" Cascadio shouted, turning around and shrugging, walking until he was some distance from the mouse. “I understand that a sad and lonely mouse like you can only laugh at the dreams of others to try to cope with being a simple experiment with no purpose other than helping an aspiring genocidal! I can't even imagine how much time you have to invent insulting motives between depressive thinking for being an abomination of nature and a thought of hate and envy to all those who cling to dreams that for you are just fantasy impossible to achieve!”
Alexander didn't answer by giving the victory to Cascadio, who celebrated it by bumping the five with himself while arguing with his assistant to have him do it too. The reality is that more than giving him the victory of the small verbal encounter, the mouse couldn't answer because he was really hurt by the words of the masked man.
The emotional stab attempt had hit the spot that had been around the mouse's mind for weeks, his words had hit just the same issues that terrified him so much. "Well, I really have work to do so if everything is ready we should go back" Cascadio announces approaching the mouse again, who nodded without looking at him while the masked man grabbed him with both hands, covering him completely.
With a quick command of Elizabeth, the suit activated its optical camouflage and its thrusters, allowing Cascadio to head to the roof of the Barlow Holm family home without being seen.
Erika's stomach was growing and the days passed quietly, neither a sign of Gyeseung nor a bad ultrasound in sight that clouded the good recovery and pregnancy of the mini-giantess mother. Of course depression isn't something that heals overnight, Erika still suffering from depressive episodes from time to time. Luckily her friends and families turned to help her every step of the way.
The rest of the Barlow Holm family enjoyed the preparations for the quadruplets while the calendar continued to advance until the fateful visit in the 30th week of pregnancy, where it would be decided whether it was necessary to force the birth or not. The growth didn't stop for them, so Alanna decided to put the weight on her back and begin to prepare everything necessary for the day of birth... including the greatest difficulty that the family had given itself to face:
Outgrow the furniture
(April 10, week 13 of pregnancy. Bright Side Industries)
"Good morning, Mrs. Barlow Holm!" The reception staff shouted politely, rising to dedicate a small bow (completely voluntary) to the company's vice president.Alanna smiled taking off her sunglasses and keeping them in her cleavage, walking as elegantly as a natural 8.1-foot-tall (2 meters and 46 centimeters) woman and almost 2 feet from hips could walk. Her new suit dazzled while surprising that hse was able to contain the entire body of the mini giantess, her 5-inch heels totally unnecessary helping to incentivize her size even more than it should be legally possible. Behind her were her two oldest children, the brothers Fraje and Nellie, each following what their heart dictated to them:
While Nellie was maintaining her composure in an attempt to do nothing that could embarrass her mother, Fraje opted for a much more direct approach approaching everyone to greet them personally.
Of course the first impressions were somewhat hard, meeting a boy of 2 meters and 5 centimeters (6 feet 9 inches) and a girl of 2 meters and 12 centimeters (6 feet 11 inches) with bodies not yet too adult was something shocking. (Although for Fraje's misfortune and envy Nellie'was beginning to form more curves every day, curves combined with her growing muscles as a result of investing all the free time she had achieved after being expelled from the basketball team to train at her mother's orders and Williams)
And of course the building employees had quickly become accustomed to the two Amazonian teenagers, fiddling with them if time and their jobs allowed.
Today wasn't one of those days, because as the employees quickly read through the young elegant custom clothes the family had an especially important meeting. The three climbed into Alanna's special elevator without wasting any time, going straight up to the 19th floor where her office was. (Private elevator not for pleasure but for necessity, since both the elevator and the loading system had to be reinforced to cope with the growing size of the vice president)
Alanna's secretary was nowhere in sight, so the trio entered the office directly without waiting to see if there was an important call or message. The first part of Alanna's office could go through a typical office simply scaled to the size of her, shelves full of decoration books and photographs and a large desk with two computers, one laptop and one desktop, full of end-to-end papers. And of course, none of the three paid even the slightest attention to paperwork, opting to directly push the false bookcase that led to the other part of the office:
A living room with a bed for the nights when mini-giantess vice-president couldn't go home, a huge smart tv occupying almost a whole wall and a dining table surrounded by the largest and most comfortable couchs (besides being all covered with photographs of her family) that Alanna had personally found, all focused on disconnecting as much as possible before returning to work. The trio sat on the biggest couch of all, Alanna taking out the wireless keyboard and mouse that controlled the smart tv.
"Let's continue where we left yesterday, my children" The mother said in her most serious and stoic tone as she started the digital presentation. “We cannot stay 3 days in a row without deciding the least”
"It's your fault, mamma!" Fraje growled as he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge under the table, taking the mouse from his mother to start selecting colors. “I jade green, Nellie azure blue, Anne cyber yellow, my older sister's and you room honey orange and the quadruple room combining imperial red, bumblebee yellow, jungle green and baby blue! Easy, simple and clean for the whole family!” the amazon teenager (who didn't enjoy too much use an adjective from a word of such intrinsic feminine origins) was looking for the samples of the furniture selected by his mother and sister, coloring them with his color scheme in an attempt to convince them.
Unfortunately for him neither of the two women seemed too convinced. "Following a scheme based on the same color for each room is a bit..." Nellie tried to explain herself without much success, winding with her hand looking for a word that would serve what she wanted to express.
“But what are you saying?! Is a great idea! More and more designers are betting on decorations based on a specific tone and their closest variants to generate a sense of cohesion and union! Our case is especially ideal since all our furniture will be handmade! We must take this opportunity to put our house at the head of the world of interior design!” Fraje shouted, jumping up and waving his arms trying to emphasize his words.
"I begin to think that Cascadio may not be such a good influence for you ..." Alanna said quietly, checking how her son's expression went from absolute joy to absolute pain.
"What?! Don't you dare! Cascadio is the best, you can't get me away from him! You can't, mamma!-” The amazon teenager threw himself to the ground clutching at his mother's legs pretending to cry.
"I have never said anything about going away from Cascadio. Jesus, Fraje... don't be so exaggerated, you're in my office. Imagine if someone entered right now...- No this! If we start to get distracted again we will end up like yesterday! Concentrate guys, we need to decide if the decorating idea we have in hand is viable! Do you see yourself using furniture of similar colors at least until we return to outgrow it?”
“How long would that be? It's not like we're going to grow much more, right?” Nellie asked, clutching her mother's arm, a part of her already knowing the question.
Alanna sighed, searching her phone for Addams forecasts. “The production team that I have hired-”
“Ikea, mamma. You can say it without problem. That Swedes turn to Ikea to decorate their house is no cliché that bothers us” Her two children said at the same time, bringing her another reason to sigh.
“Bright Side Industries doesn't have its own furniture subdivision as such and the fact that they have offered to collaborate with us because your mother and you are swedish is a detail that they will take advantage of perfectly as advertising… whatever. We are going to order furniture built for people fromt 10 feet to 13 feet tall using the 'Barlow Holm growth formula', which is how Addams has called the equation that they have been using to measure predict our weight and height and that for now has 87% success in height and 79% in weight.
We don't have to think about things like this, but if everything goes on long enough -which may not- by 2022/23 we will have to renew all the furniture...”
The three sighed again, none of them wanting to get to the point that furniture for 10-foot people is too small for them. This synchrony between mother and children was interrupted when the thought of growing brought all three to the same point, which Nellie decided to express out loud. “One month left for Mamma Eri's birthday”
As if it were a bomb, Alanna leaned forward, gripping her forehead with both hands. "Don't remind me that! Do you know how hard it is to deal with a pregnant woman and get her birthday present right? I do because I was one of them and almost ruined the whole party! And Erika isn't just any pregnant, no sir, she is a quadruple pregnant!”
"It shouldn't be too difficult, shouldn't it?" Fraje asked as he continued to fiddle with the wireless controller. “My older sister likes sports, healthy living and order on the one hand and video games, megaman and anime on the other. It's the perfect combination between runner and indoor! With appealing to one of both-”
"You're a good little brother, my son." Alanna sighed, grabbing her son's head by the neck. “You really know your sister. But it is not your sister who we are talking about! She is your sister PREGNANT WITH QUADRUPLETS! You will have already noticed that her mood is beginning to change ... more. And God knows that I remember that phase of pregnancy well: Anne altered my mood so much that I ended up one day screaming at a woman in the street for throwing a paper on the floor.
Pregnancy transform innocent women like us in monsters… I know because I was one of them”
The two children swallowed at the same time, not wanting to even imagine what a quadruplely pregnant Erika would end up becoming. Nor is it necessary to imagine it much ... because that transformation was going to arrive sooner than later.