A Cup of Tea, a Cookie, And You

(A Clean Non-sexual Pillow Pregnancy Story)

*************************************************************

Wallaroo is saddled with 3 little ladies who chose to role-play as mothers-to-be in their biology class, but the nightmares of a past incident long ago on Earth has him on edge...

(This story is non-canon and non-sexual, as well as clean. 
Now with that said, don't get in an uproar about it, Alright?)

*************************************************************

-Prologue-

Wallaroo Blacke had problems. The kind of problem that was either in his face, at his back, coming from every direction, laying in wait, or just ready to go off like a time bomb.

But today, of any given day, his troubles would come in threes...

#######################################################

-Chapter One-
"Do you remember…?"

It was a sunny and cool spring Friday morning on the planet of Arrebnac Commons, where everyone was getting ready for work.

Along with a certain flyer who was seeking a job that day.

"WALLY!" Lovey called from the kitchen, holding her cell phone, covering the receiver.

She was a kangaroo humanoid 5' 10", thanks to her being part Eastern Gray mixed in with Red kangaroo, both with prodigious height. Her body fur was shade of ivory-white, and her head-fur was as pink as the inside of a conch shell. 

Lovey was dressed as though she was ready for a job in the business district, wearing a white blouse, a long tight navy-blue skirt with a matching suit coat that outlined her generous hips and equally generous bosom. 

Her husband was dressing as fast as he could, trying his best not to keep his bride waiting too long. 

He arrived to the kitchen as fast as he could: He was a 5' 8" kangaroo-like humanoid with dark brown fur, and head fur that was like an Afro. His muzzle whiskers hung over his upper lip like a bushy, wild, and untrimmed moustache. He was clad in a dingy iron-grey T-shirt and slightly-faded blue jeans.

Lovey chuckled when Wally skidded in, and fell down on his butt. 

  His wife said, "I'm surprised you got here so fast! I thought you'd be still asleep. I've got three girls coming here from the local private school for their school project they're engaged in. 

"Oh, by the way, Wally... Peggy Dustclaw is one of them. You DO remember Peggy, do you?"

 How could he NOT forget her?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wally remembered little Peggy from Earth: she was a black-tailed prairie dog, 8-and-a-half, 2'8", tan fur, brown eyes, and buck teeth peeking out under her upper lip. Her auburn-colored head-fur was coifed in a pageboy hairdo fell to her shoulders, topped off with a big pink bow that matched her pink jumper with a long-sleeved blouse, frilled socks and pink Mary Janes.

Peggy had made friends with Marigold Pine's son, Zachary during the blizzard that she and her mom, Penelope Dustclaw, were rescued from before it had hit really hard and intense. It was during the time that their previous home was taken from them by an unscrupulous developer.

Penelope and her daughter had moved away to a neighborhood close by afterward, but when Wally had visited the area, Peggy had now became enamored with him in a very innocent schoolgirl crush, and begged him to come to a tea party that she had prepared. 

It was there, little Peggy had introduced Wally to her two "sons", Ethan and Sawyer, two gently-loved plush chipmunk dolls she had bought and "adopted" from a garage sale. 

On that same day, Lovey , returning from her home planet, and her tomboy sister, Pepper, had walked in, and seen Peggy playing "House" together with Wally as a semi-reluctant, semi-enthusiastic "husband and father" of sorts to the precocious little prairie dog girl who played the role of a loving mother to her equally cute dolls. 

Wally was loudly laughed into total embarrassment by Pepper, despite his act of kindness and good intentions with spending his time with the little girl, but he made sure that she was not going to get the last laugh. 

However, some time later in the year, before Peggy started going to a private school on Arrebnac: an terrible incident that involved and embroiled both herself and Wally, one which would scare anyone to near-heart attack proportions, had the individual was in the kangaroo‘s paw-prints. 

It was enough to force him stay away from Penelope and Peggy's home, if not the ENTIRE COMMUNITY that the prairie dog family on his home planet of Earth until it had been completely forgotten by all...

If not forever.

#######################################################

-Chapter Two-
"Memories of a Babysitter"

Wally answered, "Uhmmm... yeah, I remember Peggy and that tea party. And Ethan and Sawyer, too."

Lovey hugged Wallaroo and kissed his cheek.

 "It's good to remember your friends!" she said before asking. "I was wondering why you didn't visit her lately. Did something come up to keep you away?"

"Well," Wallaroo started to say. "I paid Penelope and Peg a visit a couple of years ago, but..."

"Oh my goodness!" Lovey interrupted as she looked at her wrist-set chronometer and gasped. "I'm running late! Better tell me after work! Hopefully, I can get the full story from you then." 

Before he knew it, his wife had already dashed through the living room and out of the front door to the bus stop, leaving him quietly perplexed. 

He never had that chance to tell Lovey about why he had not made a return visit to Peggy's home. 

He wanted to, but he knew it would have to wait. 

“Why interrupt that job interview that she wanted and waited to for nearly six months?" he thought. 

All he could do now was get a bowl of oatmeal ready for himself. 

He put some water in a bowl, threw into it a mixture of chopped dried cranberries, chopped dates, raisins, and chopped pecans, and gave the batch a good nuking, being mindful enough to remember about the water A-D-E when it came to rehydrating any dried fruit:

·Absorption- how much water is needed for the dried fruit to soften;

·Displacement- how much water is needed to make sure that everything goes right;

·Evaporation- how much water is lost in the cooking process.

As the microwave was going, Wallaroo measured out a small portion of steel-cut oatmeal; he had gotten that type of oatmeal, mistaking it for the usual rolled oats. 

He poured the finely chopped oatmeal into the water the fruit sitting in, and let it set to soak up the water like tiny little sponges. After doing that, he took two slices of bread from its package, slapped on the corners and middle with a dab of butter on each, and set it aside before turning around to nuke the batch of oatmeal for three to five minutes. 

As he made his toast, he had some quiet consolation given about the coffee. Lovey made her coffee quite strong, but his coffee, when Wally had prepared it, had way too much of a bite from his heavy amount of coffee grounds, meaning it was way too strong for anyone, that is, except for himself and anyone who were either night-owls, riding the "red-eye", or had a cast-iron stomach to gulp the high-octane, caffeine-loaded drink.

After breakfast, Wally had settled down on the couch, and begun watching "Marcus Wallaby, M.D.",  which came on before "The Arf-vengers". 

Halfway through "The Arf-vengers", he slowly began to drift off to sleep, remembering about that super-huge recliner chair in Penelope's living room...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Mr. Wally... can I sit with you until mom comes back?" 

Wallaroo heard Peggy's sweet words ring inside of his head. 

He had remembered scooting himself over to let the little prairie dog girl sit beside him in that gigantic recliner, waiting for her mom to return from wherever she went to, watching cartoons, and sometimes giving them the Mystery Science Theatre 3000-treatment, and making jokes about them. 

It wasn’t but an hour or more later when her mom would come in, seeing her daughter, as well as her babysitter, slumped against each other, sleeping like college students after an all-night cram session for final exams.

"Looks like someone's finally had gotten her nap!" Penelope said softly, chuckling as Wally awoke with a slow start. The roo looked down as the little 8-year-old clutched him like a big teddy bear. 

He couldn’t help but smile at the way the girl innocently hung onto him, as if HE were her father. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But it wasn't that which scared him away to Arrebnac Commons ...

#######################################################

-Chapter Three-
"A Big Kiss Hello"

The clock rang 12 pm. 

Wally was already up to get ready for Lovey, Peggy, and any possible guests that the prairie dog girl had brought along with her. 

He started pacing the floor a bit, but stopped when he saw through an opening in the curtains a dusty-grey SUV pull up in front of the house. 

Out of it came a stocky yet cuddly figure: a 4' 3" pleasantly-plump red-headed prairie dog with big square-shaped glasses that highlighted her dark chocolate brown eyes. Her coiffure was like her own daughter's pageboy, but much lighter, no thanks to the passage of time. 

The lady also wore a loose-fitting heather purple sweater, but it did very little to hide her large 44F-cup breasts, and a long grayish-purple skirt that came down to her boot-shod feet. 

Up the steps she came, followed by a knock on the door. 

Penelope Dustclaw, Peggy's mother, was at the stoop.

The moment Wallaroo had opened the door, she immediately hopped up to him, and embraced him, her big motherly breasts pressing against his chest, rubbing and sliding against it under her sweater, thanks to the silky-soft brassiere that lovingly cradled those luscious mammary glands. 

But he was surprised even more so when the prairie dog lady pressed her lips to his in a big, love-filled kiss, as if she were greeting her long lost love from so many years ago. She gently released the kangaroo, and looked up at him, her eyes being big and dewy. 

Just then, Wally remembered: Prairie dogs always greeted their friends with kisses. 

"Mrs. Dustclaw!" the roo gasped as his ears were flushed from that sudden reunion and equally sudden kiss. "How in the universe did you find me way  out here on Arrebnac Commons?!"

 "Well," Penelope blushed bashfully as she smiled, "for starters, Lovey gave me the address. Secondly, I so desperately wanted to apologize on my behalf for my nosy neighbors who not only acted like you were a home invader and a SEX OFFENDER, but they started a huge riot as they were chasing you off! At the price of being safe, they only made my life, as well as Peggy's life miserable because of the whole thing. 

"All because of that old nut job uncle of the judge, Mr. Baines."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Wally remembered that day, feeling like he was a fugitive, hunted down by a crazed throng of people, both human and anthropomorphic, as they threw rocks, stones, and hateful words after him. Even though he escaped them, he still had bruises, wounds, and scars, both physical and mental, from that harrowing incident. 

 And then there was the assault by the police that followed after...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wally stepped aside and lead the motherly earth burrower come in to rest her feet in the living room.

 All the roo can say in reply was, "It’s sad that prejudice warps the minds of those who embrace it. Even worse when someone on the outside, who has no business poking their nose into anybody’s lives, eggs them on into chasing out a supposed bad apple. Not because of the way prairie dogs greet one another and their closest friends, but because some odd duck, eccentric,  or someone they just don‘t know visited their neighborhood. It wasn't your fault, nor was it Peggy's.

"But still, I stayed away from that neighborhood regardless", Wally said as he sat in his chair at the kitchen table. "I certainly won't ask THEM for any apologies any time soon. Not that I'd GET any at all. And it’s no sense going back there anyway, even in an armored car, much less a Sherman tank."
 
"I know. Can't blame you about that, either. That, and how they wrote you off and behaved afterwards," Penelope finished before she sighed and shook her head. 

"After that riot was sparked because of those so-called would-be protectors, I had Peggy checked in at the local clinic. The doctor had confirmed what I had thought, and gave her a stabilization hormone to keep her estrus in check until it had passed. After moving out, I had to straighten my place out, and asked your friend Marigold lent a paw in doing so. 

"The crazy thing about it was Peggy wanting to play 'House' with you again," Mrs. Dustclaw then said, chuckling as she thought about what happened before the riot. 

"Except, I should have known from the very start when Peggy took out that big dress that her Aunt Flora had given her three years prior. My sister Flora assumed that Peggy was gonna be like how I was as a kid: FAT. But I kept that dress to make alterations in it for a decent Sunday outfit for my young daughter, just to spite that stuck-up sister of mine." 

Penelope laughed as she mused on that moment. 

"What I didn't expect was Peggy taking one of my throw pillows, and stuffing it under her dress! She looked JUST LIKE how big I was at the time when I was pregnant with HER! She was big as a house, looking like she was about to pop, but at half my height! 

"To be honest with you, when I was pregnant with Peggy, my own belly stuck out like the front end of a submarine in those last two months! Peggy's pillow 'pregnancy' not only filled that dress out, it REALLY HAD made her look like she was ACTUALLY pregnant! With twins, at that! No wonder those people assumed and were so ready to accuse you of siring my supposed “grandchildren”. My little one reminded me about myself at that time THAT much, dressed like so!." 

She then smiled. "Well, folks say that our kids are a reflection of ourselves!"

Wallaroo finally spoke up and asked, "Uhmmm... Why is Peggy coming here with her friends?"

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me!" Penelope exclaimed. "She and her friends are involved in a class project."

"Uh... What kind of project?" the mustachioed macropod queried.

"A cat named Deeta, a skunk named Violet, and herself volunteered to wear a Preg-Prop for a full week in their biology class", Mrs. Dustclaw replied. "They are just going to be visiting today. Peggy just thought she'd get to play 'House' with you and her friends once again before the whole week was out."

Wallaroo had started sweating bullets after Penelope finished what she had to say.

The nightmare he thought he had escaped from once had begun anew. 

AGAIN.

#######################################################

-Chapter Four-
"The Accused"

For Wallaroo, just remembering what had occurred four years ago was just plain terrifying. 

It was as if he had been thrust into the very shoes of Dr. Richard Kimble himself from both the 1993 movie and the 1963 TV show "The Fugitive", and at the same time, hearing in the background, "After Me" by the rock group Saliva blaring in the stereo of his mind at the same time, cranked at Volume Level 11.

All because of a horrible crime that he had been ACCUSED of committing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Penelope had invited Wally back to her house for another tea party at her daughter‘s request, and just had just dropped him off at her house before she had went to her grocery shopping. 

She told Wally that he could earn some extra cash for raking the leaves in her back yard long before the winter weather and heavy snows blew in. 

Peggy pouted about her adult friend having to do outside chores before the tea party could ever take place, even though it was in her mom's own living room. 

Still, she had prepared for him to finish his duties, ready to play "House" with her much older friend.

In the neighborhood, however, an old man was spending his time wandering about: He was a 4' 6" Caucasian human, wore horn-rimmed glasses, an old beat-up fedora, and an old wrinkled suit. 

Though he was bent over from age, he acted as though he had earned all of the authority in his whole person that came with it. He was as spiteful as a gadfly to anyone to whom he had deemed worthless, even if they didn't rightfully deserve to be wrote off like that. 

He was like Eustace T. Bagg from "Courage the Cowardly Dog", but in a different setting, and, just to top it all off, he also had a filthy attitude.

As soon as Penelope drove away, he squinted at Wally cleaning up the back yard, and started yelling at him, filling the air with many hateful words.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?! GET YOUR CRAZY ASS OUT OF THOSE PEOPLE'S BACK YARD, YOU LOUSY SON OF A BITCH!! GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Wallaroo, irritated by the man screaming at him, started toward the house. Again, the old man started yelling his head off.

"HEY! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! GET AWAY FROM THOSE PEOPLE'S HOUSE, YOU MOTHER-FUCKING BASTARD!!"

Wally wasted no time getting inside, locked the door behind himself, and headed into the bathroom. While he was gathering his wits, he grabbed a bar of soap, and turned the hot water valve despite his own angry fuming. 

"Peggy?" he called out to her. "Who is that old man, and why is he yelling at me like that?!"

"That's Mister Baines", Peggy called back in reply. "He's a really mean and nasty old man."

"I was told by your mom to clean up the backyard", Wally said as he was washing his hands furiously. "But how can I clean it up when that decrepit old fart is screaming at me like it were HIS YARD?"

"Like I said, he's a meany", the young girl answered outside the bathroom door.

"I was almost two steps away from punching him in the face so hard, he'd crap his false teeth 48 hours later!" Wally snarled as he dried his hands, and took a few deep breaths to calm down enough to keep from blowing his own top in front anyone. 

Especially in front of Peggy. 

"Sorry about that," the roo said, apologetically. "I should not be so angry around good friends, especially you, Peggy. And I shouldn't be saying things like that, too."  

A much-calmer Wally had just stepped out of the bathroom, and saw Peggy: She was wearing it was a beautiful blue A-line floral print float dress that had short puffed sleeves, and the skirt of it was wide but baggy. It was the kind of dress that relative of hers had given to her, thinking their niece could fill it out by packing on the pounds like their sister Penelope. 

Not only it was three sizes too big, it came past her knees, almost overtaking her shins. 

But that wasn’t ALL that he noticed.

"Uhmmm... Peggy?" Wallaroo asked, his voice hinting of worry to it as his eyes fell upon her.

"Yes, Mr. Roo?" she replied innocently.

"Uhmmm... What's... that?" he gulped, pointing to Peggy's tummy as it rounded out the front of her dress, almost as if the little girl looked like she REALLY WAS going through a very real pregnancy. 

With full-sized twins.

Realizing what he was asking, Peggy looked down at her bulging belly, looked back up at Wally, and cheerfully exclaimed, "Oh! Well, I felt we should give Ethan and Sawyer a beautiful baby brother or a baby sister soon! Or maybe BOTH!" 

Peggy then smiled sweetly as she rubbed her right hand over the pregnant protrusion as she cooed, "If you don't mind being the daddy, and mom doesn't mind me using one of her throw pillows from her sofa!" 

Then, as if to play at the role even more dramatically, Peggy put her hands to her lower back, pushing her "belly" forward, as if her back was really aching from it all.

It was, beyond any shadow of any doubt, a very convincing act indeed.

"Uhmmm... I know you mean well and all with your playing 'House', but just to play it safe, I think you'd better stay out of sight, Peggy,"  Wally said timidly, surprised that such a little girl like her could take her role-playing to such an extremely serious and believably real degree. 

"That old nutcase of a man could be lurking about, and looking about."

The moment he stepped into the living room, Wally knew that he was right as he saw the old creep peeking into the window, busy yelling his head off at him.

"GET OUT OF THAT HOUSE, YOU THIEF! GET OUT OF THERE!!!"

Wally grabbed the ring of the window shade and pulled it down over the old louse's ugly face, and ran to do the same to the other windows, making sure that he wasn't able to spy in on either Peggy or himself. 

But before he could get the last two shades in the living room pulled down, Peggy had walked into the room, bulging as if she were ready to go into labor. 

The old coot had already scooted to an unobstructed window, and when his astigmatic eyes fell upon the little girl, he started screaming even louder, the accusatory words vomiting forth from his nearly-toothless mouth. 

"YOU HORRIBLE BASTARD! YOU GOT THAT LITTLE GIRL PREGNANT!! YOU SICKENING SON OF A BITCH! YOU RAPED THAT POOR CHILD, YOU DIRTY EVIL SHIT-STAIN!!!"

The noise Mr. Baines was creating had people of all kinds, some human and some anthropomorphic, to actually step out of their own houses, out of curiosity, to see what was going on, . 

The wretched old nut hobbled toward the one of the people who would actually listen to him, and pointed in the direction of the Dustclaw residence. 

Wallaroo stepped out of the house to see what was going on, and the old man pointed and yelled.

"THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE UNGODLY FUCKER THAT RAPED THAT POOR LITTLE GIRL AND GOTTEN HER PREGNANT!"

And as if a bad situation could not become worse, Peggy, pillow and all, came out of the house to see what the noise was all about.

"Oh my god, look! That old man was right!! That guy DID knock her up!" shouted one of people.

Then someone else shouted the very two words that spurred the other people to rush toward the house, both human and anthropomorphics alike, picking up rocks and stones out of someone's rock garden, as well as glass bottles from the street, and throwing them in Wally's direction.

"GET HIM!!!"

It was like a scene from the Twilight Zone episode, “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” in its last five minutes before the real cause of ruckus was seen by the viewer.

Except the mob had “found” their “monster” within their midst.

Wallaroo hurriedly moved the little prairie dog girl behind the front door. 

"Peggy! Lock the door and stay down!!" he huffed, fearing the worst. 

A rock about the size of a coffee mug slammed into the door frame above his head, just missing it. 

"HIDE! NOW!!" he said with urgency to the scared little girl. 

Peggy slammed the door as the barrage of rocks were thrown by the maddened crowd of citizens turned vigilantes, determined to split Wallaroo's skull wide open, but the roo quickly hopped away as fast as he could. 

Another rock zipped past him, but a softball-sized stone hit in squarely in the right shoulder, the blinding and shattering pain causing him to stumble, but still, he kept going in a redoubled effort to escape from the would-be vigilantes rushing in. 

Behind him, people screamed, shouted, all baying for his blood in their heated rage, hell-bent to spill it:

"KILL THE MOTHER-FUCKER! GET SOME GUNS AND KILL HIM!"
 
"GET THAT BABY-RAPING SON OF A BITCH!!"

"GET THE SWAT TEAM AFTER THAT MISERABLE BASTARD AND TELL THEM TO SHOOT HIM ON SIGHT!!!"

"WHEN WE CATCH HIM, WE’LL STRING HIM UP!"

"SOMEBODY SHOOT HIM!!!"

"GET A CAR AND RUN HIM DOWN! HE‘LL DIE TONIGHT FOR WHAT HE‘S DONE!!!"

Wallaroo knew he had to outdistance that angry lynch mob, but the open streets would only increase his chances of being killed by them, especially so, if they had gotten hold of a gun or a car. 

He swiftly changed direction toward one of the houses, and hopped over one fence, then cut through another backyard. 

As he jumped through another backyard, Wallaroo was nearly bitten by a human owner's chained up pit bull before he hopped another fence, and finally escaped into a heavily wooded area near a park. He hopped as fast as he could, despite sliding on leaves and stumbling from fallen tree branches on the forest floor.

Wally had just emerged out of the other side of the forest when he spotted a passing police cruiser, stepped to the edge of the road, and flagged it down. 

When it stopped, he gasped, "Oh, thank heavens! I need your help! I..."

Wally was cut off by one of the officers: A heavyset yet very muscular anthropomorphic bull who had just stepped out of the cruiser, and without saying anything at all, he punched Wallaroo in the face with enough force 
to send him flying before falling to the ground, dizzied with blood seeping out of his face and nose. 

“I have no compunction about knocking the fuck out of a pedophile, you miserable piece of shit,” the officer said at the fallen kangaroo, the bull‘s voice sounding like that of a redneck male. “Looks like he’s not gonna be a problem for us to throw into the cruiser. Get him up.”

Despite being semiconscious, he was read his Miranda Rights. As they did, he was rolled over on his stomach, handcuffed, shoved into the cruiser, and hauled away. 

After being fingerprinted and his mug shots were taken, Wally sat in a jail cell, dazed and bloodied from what happened earlier, slipping in and out of consciousness as he stayed there. 

He heard a myriad of voices within the station, some people wanting to throw the book at him, some wanting to put him underneath the nearest Super-Max High Security Penitentiary, and others who wanted him lynched outright on the spot. 

As his vision blurred and slowly grew dim from the head injury he had received from the bull cop, some of the voices Wally heard were growing louder, but more distorted, as were the shadows and faces that appeared in front of him when the cell door opened.

"Hey you, 'Tank Girl' reject!" said the gruff, redneck male voice. "You free to go. You're made bail."

A female voice said to Wallaroo, "Hey... are you okay...?”

The female’s voice turned to someone that was with her.

“He doesn't look too good..."

The male voice then scoffed, "He's just trying to play on your sympathy. Been like that since I had to use.. Heh… 'reasonable force' against him."

"WHAT?!" another voice, male, had shouted. "ODETTE, CHECK ON THAT PRISONER!!"

A bright and blinding light shined into the roo's face as someone held his head. Two words were heard loud and clear, noting that something was seriously wrong with their incarcerated “felon“.

"OH, FUCK!"

Then, as spots were in Wally's eyes, the female's voice tore into her partner like the fury and wrath of an angry virago. 

"DO YOU THINK HIS PUPILS CAN LOOK UNEVEN IF HE WERE FAKING?!? YOUR STUPID FUCKING ASS IS IN SO MUCH DEEP SHIT THAT YOU'LL THINK YOU'RE A FUCKING HAMSTER TRAPPED WITHIN A F5 TORNADO THAT’S INSIDE OF AN MASSIVE-ASSED OIL REFINERY FIRE! WE ALREADY HAVE THE GODDAMNED INTERNAL AFFAIRS ALL OVER OUR COLLECTIVE ASSES ABOUT THAT REPORT OF THE MANY BULLSHIT INCIDENTS INVOLVING THAT DICK-WAVING UNCLE OF THE JUDGE, AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T NEED THIS FUCKING SHIT RIGHT ALONG WITH IT!!"

Before Wally lost consciousness completely, someone else shouted as he fell over onto his face.

"SHIT!!! Get an ambulance, ON THE DOUBLE!"

====================================================

Wallaroo's eyes snapped open in terror as he gasped, rose a little, and looked around. 

He wasn't in the cell that he was thrown into, but he was in the sterile, antiseptic environment of the hospital. Noticing that he wasn't able to move his right arm, Wallaroo looked down, and he saw that it was in a sling, and a nasal that tube ran from his face, bandaged to his nose.

"Welcome back to the land of the living", said a female voice close by. 

The wounded roo jumped back in fear from in his bed, scrambling as if he were trying to escape, fearing for his life.

"Easy, easy!" the voice said, trying to calm Wally down. "Don't be afraid. You're safe now. Nobody‘s going to hurt you in here."

"W-w-who are you?" stammered Wally as he whispered as he slowly stopped panting. "What happened?"

"I'm Detective Odette O'dour of the police department", she said, walking around the bed to be fully seen.

 She was a 5' 6" young lady skunk in either her late-20s or mid-30s, slim and trim, her face was covered with white fur, and her white head-fur was short yet stylish. She wore an outfit of a plain-clothes officer, dark green leggings and top, her chest covered with a Kevlar BPV, and a beige long coat. 

She reached into her pocket, pulled out her wallet containing her officer’s identification, and showed it. 

"I sat with you because one of the arresting officers had used excessive force on you. Penelope, Marigold, and her husband Hugh chipped in to get you out, but your head injury earlier from the unnecessary assault proved to be a better 'Get-Out-Of-Jail-Card' than any. Your right shoulder blade had suffered a hairline fracture, along with the bridge of your nose when that officer punched you in the face, along with the concussion."

Wally asked softly. "What happened to Peggy and Penelope?"

"They're okay", Odette spoke. "But I doubt they'd want to stay in that neighborhood after this. Old Mr. Baines tried to get a lynch mob after you, and now he's facing charges for inciting a riot. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he tries to cuss the judge out for letting YOU go."

Wally didn't care about that decrepit old fart, he was worried that Peggy might be taken away from her mother by Child Protective Services, whose ham-handed tactics left many families torn apart behind false allegations:

 Some people, especially the unscrupulous ones seeking revenge on other families, just out of petty vindictiveness and spite, did so without a care afterward. 

That is, until the report was found out to be fraudulent, and the instigator was incarcerated.

"Penelope came home with groceries just when you decided to hop over the fences. She and her daughter told the authorities all about everything", Odette had continued. 

"With what went on, and the people that was involved in the riot, I'm surprised CPS dropped the charges against Penelope due to their lack of evidence. All behind some addle-pated old fart whose ego-swollen entitlement and stroke-plagued mind stirred up a pack of lies, and people gullibly ate it up like free raspberry tarts. 

"Now THEY are the ones looking like fools, and facing attempted assault charges, all because someone thought you were a criminal awhen you were really the babysitter who was trying to clean up Penelope's backyard, and Peggy almost gotten taken from her mother because she played 'House' with some realism in mind."

"Yeah," Wally said rather gloomily, looking at his free hand. "But I'm still under arrest, huh?"

"Nope," Odette said in reassurance. "The charges were dropped, but some folks wanted to keep you away from the girl or any other children, thinking YOU MIGHT be another sexual predator, just like that 22-year-old man who married that 13-year-old girl, or that man who abducted that poor 11-year-old girl and kept her for nearly twenty years.

"I checked your records for any priors. Not even a charge for jaywalking, not that you even dared to. Heh. Pretty good that you have behaved yourself for that long. Keep it up, man. I just wish more folks were like you these days, even if it does reduce the workload for us."

"Then you guys would be bored to tears about the lack of work going on in the city!" Wally chuckled weakly before the phrase "it only hurts when I laugh" took on a more literal meaning.

"Well, you're right", Odette plainly said. "But there will always be someone to commit a crime, despite how peaceful the environment that they are living in. It's sad but true, but that's the nature of some of these people nowadays. 

“Even though I’m a skunk, what clearly stinks to me is the more self-serving people like Mr. Baines, and other heavy-handed control-freaks who are always trying to look for just about ANY REASON, invalid or not at all, to sic the police on ANYONE like trained attack dogs. 

Just so they can do as THEY please, feeling like they’ve got the power to control society, thinking they can get rid of any, if not ALL of the people that THEY consider as freaks and weirdos out of their neighborhood and their communities while people like YOU get incarcerated for anything they could think of.

“WE also get a bad rap for doing it, making the cases of those whose fear and disgust for police in their reference to us as 'Storm troopers for the Establishment and the Rich', just like those hippies of long ago had complained about.

"And then there are police officers like the one that committed that needless assault upon you or anyone like you," Odette indignantly sighed afterward. "Officers like that one give us the biggest black eye in any police department anywhere in the known galaxy. 

“I saw those old Dragnet episodes from your home planet, and how Sgt. Friday described them made plenty of sense. I liked that show. Too bad no one has that kind of decorum, cool-headed intelligence, common sense, the know-how or  the level-headedness and tact that Jack Webb's character had, not that they either care or can ever measure up in that area."

"You do", Wally could only reply, sympathizing with her, "but as you had said, it's sad but true."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Wally?" Penelope asked as she nudged him back to reality, worried about her friend and the whole terrible ordeal he was afraid of reliving. "Will everything be all right after Peggy and her friends get here?"

"Oh! Oh, yes," Wally responded as her turned to Penelope. "But, you might have to stay a while. After all, it still has to be a supervised visit, even after what that dumb-ass judge said back on Earth."

"Okay, Wally", Penelope replied. "But I still don't see why he had to sentence YOU concerning supervised visitation rights. He had no right to do that to you, even if it WAS his uncle’s fault."

"I know," Wally replied. "He’s the type of person that likes lording over folks with his power. That judge must've thought kids' role-play was something condemnable, thinking that I had purposely orchestrated and perpetrated in getting Peggy and grooming her to playing that part. 

“Just like a person called Pat Pulling, who, long ago, blamed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and Gary Gygyx, creator of that game, for the death of her son,” Wallaroo added.

“But I ADMIT this on my part," Mrs. Dustclaw snarled. "If I could, I would VOTE him out of office when election day comes on Earth! He doesn't have the good sense that the Good Lord gave him!"

"Probably a bachelor for life," snarked Wallaroo. "And hates kids, regardless of gender or age."

The door opened, and a sigh was heard by both. 

Penelope and Wally turned to see Lovey, looking bedraggled and worn out from her forays in a job interview and public transit. Her hair and clothes a rumpled mess, and a look on her face that said she was totally exhausted. 

She uttered just one word to denote how her day had went.

"Damn".

#######################################################

-Chapter Five-
"Girl Talk"

After a pot of coffee had been perked, followed by Penelope having told of Wally's terrible tale of what occurred back on Erath before The Big Move. 

Lovey was shocked about what had happened to her husband and the chaos that was wrought upon him long ago.

It was reason enough to tell her; she was off the planet at the time when all of it had taken place.

"I can't believe that sort of thing happened to you!" Lovey exclaimed softly. "All because you did something innocent as playing 'House' with Peggy, and they thought YOU were a sex offender! Even if she DID take her pretending a touch more toward realism. The nerve of some people! They act like any kind of children's play is a bad thing, let alone anything else!

"But, you know," she giggled, her voice becoming lightly teasing. "She must've been crushing on you super-hard, Wally. To be honest, in a way, I actually ENVY her somehow."

"Why do you envy her, Lovey?" Wally asked out of curiosity. 

Lovey giggled as she looked at her husband. "Even if you ARE married to me, Peggy was very bold to admit she wanted you for her husband! Enough that she even wanted to have YOUR babies!"

Wallaroo swallowed hard at the memory of Peggy pretending her pregnancy before all hell had broke loose.

Penelope laughed out loud. "It's the honest-to-goodness truth! She wanted to be MARRIED TO YOU, Wally! Isn't that sweet? Almost got ME wanting you to marry her when she turns twenty!"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Wally exclaimed in a worried voice. "That's what almost got me strung up like a side of beef with that lynch mob back then! Pardon my saying this, I know it‘s nice gesture, if not flattering, but, I'd rather be friends of a platonic nature with Peggy than to stoop to robbing the cradle… and giving those bloodthirsty cretins the excuse needed to execute me on the spot!"

"Well, you are going to be dealing with Peggy AND her friends with Lovey and myself, supervising everything, so STOP WORRYING," Penelope said nicely, but it switched to an authoritarian voice that NOBODY could neither misunderstand or mistake as she got up and faced Wallaroo. 

"The girls will be on their BEST behavior, and I already KNOW that YOU will be, too. That CREAKY, CREEPY, LOUDMOUTHED LOW-DOWN MISERABLE old fart that started all of that trouble on Erath will NOT be anywhere in sight to do that again. 

“Lovey and I will see to that! So, PUT ON your big-boy pants, AND DRINK TEA!!" she said, poking Wally's chest with a stiffened finger to underscore each and every stressed word that was said with a painful jab given each time she did. 

Adding to the fact that Penelope happened to have strong, semi-sharp claws, the more that she jabbed at his chest, the more intense was the pain!

"OW! OW! OW! Okay, okay! I'll get ready," he whimpered as he backed up, rubbing the sore part of his chest where Mrs. Dustclaw had jabbed her finger into with his right hand and holding out his left in a yielding manner. 

Penelope's voice immediately softened as she put her hand on his shoulder. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that", she said apologetically, blushing profusely. "I guess I liked doing tea parties as much as Peggy, not that I'd had any chance to. I’m sorry if my teasing about you and Peggy got under your skin, along with my nails."

Lovey smiled. "I think I would like to be in on it, too. I want to see what it's like, myself!"

"As long as Pepper isn't in on it", Wally grumbled. "I thought I'd NEVER hear the end of it from that tomboy sister of yours, Lovey. Always riding my tail about that from the last time she saw me playing with Peggy at a tea party."

"Now, Wally!" Lovey said, being her turn to be authoritarian, a scowl was etched on her sweet beautiful face, threatening like a violent, sudden thunderstorm that came with a 100% chance of lightning, hail, and a possible chance of a tornado along with it. 

"You WILL NOT bring THAT up EVER AGAIN! She's not going to be there, YOU ARE! And IF you chicken out, you can BET that I WON’T FORGET about THIS!!!"

Wally knew that whenever Lovey got mad, she was impossible to talk to, reason with, or, in some cases, live with. 

Nearly. 

Especially when she had the PMS of their species, Painful Marsupium Syndrome, when her pouch was super-sensitive before she came into her own estrus. 

But nevertheless, that was one serious ultimatum that Lovey has ever MADE to Wallaroo. 

He knew he was over a barrel this time, and he knew that no amount of begging, pleading, or bargaining could bail him out of THIS jam, especially when there were two people who wanted to see the whole thing through. 

Swallowing hard and choking slightly, he had no other choice BUT to surrender.

Weakly, the mustached kangaroo said, "Okay. I'll get ready. But I hope we have Equinox Herbal Lemongrass or Red Hibiscus, because I don't know if the girls like Earl Grey. The bergamot can be strong to some. I think I‘ll add some cookies and cupcakes if there need to be any."

Lovey smiled in satisfaction, then hugged Wally and nuzzled at his ear as she cooed tenderly into it, "That's my boomer."

But on the bright side, he thought, at least there is no Pepper to taunt him and give him grief about it. 

Neither or a certain old creep to raise Cain over there, either.

#######################################################

-Chapter Six-
"Three Little ‘Expectant’ Maids from School"

A few minutes later, Penelope was on her way to pick up Peggy and her friends from the private school they attended across town. Wally was busy bathing, washing his hair, applying deodorant, and putting on his best clothes. It was all he could do to be at the tea party. 

Either that or end up with an angry wife giving him no end of resentment. 

Compared to what he endured from Pepper, Wallaroo would rather not see the meaner side of Lovey. 

He would rather face a lynch mob the size of the ENTIRE population of Rhode Island, let alone the ENTIRE planet of Earth than to scorn her. 

"WALLY!" Lovey called with enthusiasm from the kitchen as she was busy cutting whole sandwiches into finger sandwiches. "Are you dressed yet?!"

Wally walked out, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a long sleeve shirt. A clip-on tie was at his neck. His hair and moustache, despite it being unruly, was combed neatly and trimmed down.

"Aw!" Lovey purred. "I'd love to have you like this ALL of the time!" 

After saying this, she affectionately licked Wally's right ear as she hugged him. 

"I hope Peggy doesn't get jealous, and put you through the wringer about you and me, like I did a moment ago."

"Well, you can never tell," the cleaned-up roo said. "A girl's first love is always vaunted and revered. I don't want to break her heart, and neither  yours, for that matter."

"In all honesty, Penelope said that Peggy wanted a father figure to look up to. She wants someone like that in you, Wally", Lovey assessed as she cooed into Wally's face. "Maybe that's why she's had such a innocent crush on you. Even if it was just for a while, she really DOES love you."

Wally's mouth dropped open as he started staring into Lovey's face.

"Really?!" he asked, shocked at truth.

Lovey nodded.

"SERIOUSLY!?!" Wallaroo said with a whisper, still stumped at it all.

Lovey nodded again.

"Aw damn," Wally said softly in a state of shock as hung his head in shame, feeling like a fool because he failed to see Peggy's true intentions. 

"I had never realized that. Maybe that probably was why Peggy wanted me, and liked me so much. I had been such a stupid dummy for not seeing that. Now, I really feel like a total loser for letting those incidents with Pepper and that old man get to me."

Lovey lifted her husband's chopfallen face. "Awww, don't feel so bad. I'm sure Peggy still loves being with you. And I'M more than happy to vouch for you, Wally!" she smiled before kissing him on the nose.

Within 35 minutes, Penelope returned with her passengers in tow. Lovey wasn't hesitant on opening the door for the approaching guests as they stepped out of the van. 

Wallaroo watched the girls file in from behind the kitchen door, backpacks and Preg-Prop bellies strapped to their bodies, waddling toward the front door as though they were at full term from a VERY REAL pregnancy:

·Deeta Mewler- a beige kitten, 12-and-a-half, 3'7", tan fur, big jade green eyes, and a long bushy tail. Her blonde head-fur was styled in a long ponytail tied back with a purple scrunchie matching her light purple T-shirt with pink sleeves and shorts.

·Violet- a skunk kit, 11, 3'4", black with white stripes, baby blue eyes, and a big bushy tail. Her white head-fur was tinted light purple, and styled in twin ponytails tied with purple bows, while her face and throat melded with the white under fur. She wore a short-sleeved baby-blue leotard, baby-blue wrap skirt, white tights, and matching baby-blue ballet slippers.

·Peggy- a black-tailed prairie dog, 12, 3'5", tan fur, brown eyes, and buck teeth peeking out under her upper lip. Her head-fur was an auburn colored pageboy hairdo, topped with a big pink bow. She wore a light blue A-line dress with little white polka-dots, short puffed sleeves, a square bibbed collar, and lace trimming the collar and sleeves. 

Wally noticed something was different about Peggy this time around, but he could not place his finger on it, no matter how hard he tried. Out of good manners and politeness, he did not stare, as he walked toward the kitchen sink.

"MR. WALLY!!!" cried a familiar voice. He turned around to see Peggy, cheerful, despite what happened back then. 

Wally bent forward. "Hey! How are you--"

Before he could finish, Peggy quickly jumped up into Wally's arms, and kissed him on the lips in true prairie dog fashion as her belly prop pressed at his stomach. The roo's cheeks and inner ears blushed from the sudden smooch, leaving him temporarily in quite a loss for words.

#######################################################

-Chapter Seven-
"Wally… Meet Peggy, Deeta, and Violet!"

He quickly gathered his wits and asked politely, "So... how are things with you, Peggy?"

Peggy replied excited. "I missed you so much! Between school, homework, and this project, things had really been complicated. I barely have time to play with Ethan and Sawyer because every time I look at them..."

Peggy stopped momentarily, looked down, and resumed talking.

"... I was scared when that lady tried to have me taken away from Mom. I heard that the police had hurt you badly..."

It was all too obvious that Peggy was about to cry at any moment as she was remembering the terrible things that took place on that day for her friend. 

And herself.

Wally sat down on his tail, and let Peggy hold him tight in her arms, tears streaming down her plump furry cheeks.

"It's all right, it‘s all right," Wally said, hugging her tenderly as he began wiping the tears from her face. "Those people went overboard when they did that to me. All because they were too suspicious, over-protective, and too busy taking the word of some old rabble-rouser. 

"Peggy," the roo said looking into Peggy‘s big brown eyes. "Everything is alright now, and I’m happy to see you, too! Besides, a tea party is supposed to be a happy occasion with the best of friends and company. Let's not have the horrible events from our past sour and spoil our good day today."

And without any more to say, Wally kissed Peggy on her nose, and hugged her tight as if she were his own daughter, making the little prairie dog girl giggle happily.

"Oh! I almost forgotten!" smiled Peggy. "I had not introduced you to my friends from school! They were my lab partners, and good company!"

She then ran off into the living room, but before he could follow Peggy, there was a knock at the door. Wally opened it, and found Odette O'dour there, dressed in her street clothes, causing him to jump back.

"Whoa! Easy, now!" she chuckled. "It's just a social call. I'm here with Violet, my niece."

"You are?" Wally asked in surprise. "Well, I'll let you know right now that I have been on my best behavior."

"Yes, he has!" Peggy said politely in the defense of her friend as she came back into the kitchen. "Wait a minute! I remember you! You're that lady that helped me and my Mom! How are you, Ms. Odette?"

"I'm doing alright, Peggy," the skunk smiled as she looked down on the prairie dog's bulging prop belly before kneeling down and giving it a gentle rub. "What's that on you? Are you getting an early jump on motherhood? You look like you're just about ready to pop, Peggy!"

"Well, I volunteered to wear this thing for a week“, Peggy grinned. "Luckily for me, I have clothes sent from my Aunt Flora  to wear over it. And I got some more to share with Violet and Deeta who are in this class project with me, too!"

Deeta and Violet walked in as Peggy was talking to Odette. 

"Auntie!" the leotard-clad skunk kit exclaimed excitedly as she hugged her. 

"So, Violet," Odette said as she knelt down and rubbed the pregnancy prop pillow her niece wore over her ballet outfit. 

"You're in on this, too, huh?"

"Yeah," Violet pouted as she held her pseudo-tummy. "It's hard to stand on my toes while wearing this thing. I keep falling over when I try to do so in dance class. It‘s so heavy!"

"Well, Violet," Odette said in a reasoning voice. "That’s because a mom-to-be's body is heavier that way, due to the baby growing inside of her belly. Aside from that bit of info, when's the party for you and your friends?"

The roo simply replied, "Any minute now."

Deeta briefly stared at Wally and hesitantly asked, "You're Peggy's friend, right?"

"Yep," Wally answered warily. "Is there anything wrong?"

The kitten said in a suspicious yet wary tone, "You're kinda... old."

"Well, yeah," Wally said plainly and unperturbed. "So I am." Then he shrugged.

"Deeta", Peggy chided to her friend. "Don't be rude! He's my friend."

"Friend as in buds or friend as in boyfriend?" the cat girl asked warily.

"It's... 95% bud - 5% boyfriend, not sure really, but he's an honest, okay guy to be around", Peggy said.

Wally was surprised to hear this, but kept it to himself, relieved that Peggy regarded him as a best friend.

"I think he's a VERY GOOD person to be friends with," said Odette reassuringly. "I sat with him in the hospital a while back."

"Okay," Deeta responded warily. "If you say so."

"Deeta..." 

Penelope's voice was heard in the living room.

"... Your cell phone's ringing!"

"Ooo! Excuse me! Gotta answer that!" Deeta said, rushing back to the living room, with Peggy and Violet following her, leaving Odette and Wally alone in the kitchen. 

After some unbearable quiet had passed, Wally turned toward Odette and finally spoke.

"Sounds like Deeta has trust issues," he whispered cautiously.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Odette said seriously. "She's been that way since she and a few other girls were abducted from that summer camp by a crazy cult a year-and-a-half ago before their Big Move from Earth to the Commons. 

"Even more shocking, Deeta gave birth to a son, just like some of those girls who were impregnated there. The creep who abducted them is now serving at least TEN LIFE SENTENCES, one for each girl that he violated to feed his twisted appetite.

"Now I ask you: could you trust someone, who once was an authority figure who was SUPPOSED to be trusted by every parent to care for your children and someone else’s children, when said individual follows a sinister cult and chose to kidnap and violate said children out his or her own free will?" Odette asked in a serious tone.

Though he did have silent sympathy for the victims and Deeta, Wally could not say one single word. 

Not one for retort or reply, as the unbearable quiet started slowly returning…

#######################################################

-Chapter Eight-
"Hello, Mrs. Mewler"

Then, Wallaroo finally spoke.

"I can't say I blame Deeta for being wary, Odette,  where she is concerned," he said, trying to wrap his head around what had happened to the juvenile beige kitten that went from scared child to reluctant-but-plucky mother. 

"I wouldn’t be surprised if she was afraid of ME, of all people."

"Please, don’t feel sorry for me, okay?" a voice piped up flatly.

Wally and Odette turned to see Deeta standing at the kitchen doorway.

"Mom and Dad said 'Out of bad situations, sometimes the good ones come'", she said, before pointing to the prop belly she wore and rubbing it, as if she were really pregnant. 

"I chose to wear this prop to remember what it was like being pregnant, but, in this case, in a BETTER setting. I’m sorry if I was hard on you, Mr. Roo. Don‘t be afraid of me because of what happened."

"I won't worry about it, and neither should you," Wally said. "I'd be lying if I said that I understood, because, really, in all honesty and respect, I don't. But, aside from that, let’s be friends. You can call me Wally."

"Yeah!" Deeta smiled. "It's very... complicated. Especially when it's too scary to bring up."

"Yeah," Wally said with careful consideration. "I'd rather make sandwiches than pry any further in THAT direction. It'd be better that way."

"Now, sandwiches," Deeta grinned. "THAT I can completely understand!"

"Not to be intrusive, but," Wally started asking. "How's your family doing?" 

"Dad's landed a new job in the repair of a theatre, and little Aaron is still nursing." Deeta held her right breast tenderly as if . "Mom said that weaning is tough. Ow, I can see why."

Then a knock was heard at the door behind Odette. 

Wally went to it, opened it, and saw Deeta's mother: She was a 5' 5" beige cat with a short sweeping blond hairdo, feet being digitigrade, she was almost taller than Wally, and having a beautiful hourglass figure, but not in an exaggerated, cartoonish way. 

On her left hip she held a smaller kitten, clad in foot pajamas, clinging on to her light yellow shirt and light green slacks as tight as he could with its tiny claws as he mewed softly and plaintively.

"Hello there!" she said cheerfully, sounding almost like Dexter‘s Mom. "Is my daughter and Penelope in here?"

Before either Odette or Wally could answer, Deeta said, "Oh, Mom! She's in the living room! Has Aaron been giving you any grief while I was busy at school?"

"Yes, Deeta," the mother cat said exhaustedly to her daughter as she gave Deeta her child. "He wouldn't take the bottle of formula after he had finished napping. After finally feeding, burping, and changing him before coming over, I was also thinking about continuing the home schooling program for you if this continues to keeps up."

"You are?" Deeta asked. "Yeah, I agree. I can’t run home to check on Aaron while at the private school. Especially when I need to pump my milk into bottles for him."

"That may be a possible conclusion", the mother cat said before she noticed Wally. 

"Oh! I am SO sorry! My name is Mellissa Mewler! How are you?"

Wally stuck his hand out to shake her hand. "Doing fine. How are you?"

Mellissa replied with a chuckle as she took his hand. "Exhausted! Between working part-time at the grocery check-out and babysitting, I think that babysitting is whole lot better! No people acting like jackasses, and no overbearing blowhard boss being around to get my blood pressure up. At least Aaron is lot easier to please.

"Even if he does misbehaves sometimes," Mellissa blissfully smiled as she watched her daughter in the living room, soothing her son as she cradled him close to her bosom, remembering what it was like, not so long ago with herself and Deeta.

#######################################################

-Chapter Nine-
"Wally feels the pinch"

"You’re home-schooling Deeta?" Wallaroo asked. 

"Yep," Mellissa chirped. 

"How long have you been at it?"

"Right from the start after Deeta had her C-section and was slowly recovering from that psycho's twisted idea of a community and family. I had helped with some of her schooling, as well as my husband, Mason, when he hadn't any contract construction work. Honest to say, I am especially glad that Deeta is okay."

Then she heaved a very heavy sigh.

"But I can’t lie to you: she still has nightmares from being trapped in that compound. The things that was done to her and those other poor little girls..."

"Looks like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder plays its hand," Odette said. "It seems that those girls will never escape that nightmare. But, hopefully... they will. Eventually"

"Yeah," Mrs. Mewler agreed. "Almost anything will make those terrible memories come back." 

"You mean those girls are dealing with... THAT!?" Wallaroo whispered as he asked, aghast of the occurrence. 

Both Mellissa and Odette solemnly nodded.

"Man," the roo replied. "Even if those girls did get the much-needed help to get over that ordeal, something is bound to trigger those buried memories. 

“I don't want to think about what happens to that guy for what he had done. It'd probably be the Marquis De Sade's wet dream seeing him getting his just desserts."

"Yeah, but with his fellow inmates, it's either ostracism," Odette pointed out, "or having that person relive the very torture he had dished out. Some would be bold enough to either mutilate him or even kill that type of person in their midst. Some of those things would make what you've went through with that riot seem like a Sunday picnic in comparison."

Wally didn't have to think too hard about it much to make him shudder. 

He then turned to Mellissa, and asked, "Has Deeta testified against her abductor?"

"Yes, she did", Mellissa nodded. "At first, she was afraid to, no thanks to his lawyer. That is, until the judge dressed that guy down for verbally attacking Deeta and others that testified on the witness stand as he cross-examined them."

"That's where the ten life sentences come in," Odette added. 

"I cannot say that I feel sorry for him," Wallaroo said. "But I do feel bad for his parents, though."

"We all cannot make a Johnny Gnu Knight Tex or an Ursa L. Land Thrush in our kids, but we try to raise them right the best that we can", Mellissa said to Wally, patting his paw reassuringly. 

"Hopefully, you'll be blessed with kids of your own someday, and raise them to be good people."

"Aw dang it!" Wally exclaimed. "I almost forgot to make the cookies and get that water for the Lemon Grass tea ready!"

Mellissa and Odette chuckled as Wally grabbed a cookie sheet, a knife, a tempered glass cutting board, a roll of frozen sugar cookie dough from the freezer, and then preheated the oven before finally turning to Odette and asking, "Does Violet have any kind of allergies to chocolate?"

"Yes, she does", she replied. "Thanks for asking. I brought her Derma-Pen just in case."

"Okay," the roo said as sliced out discs of the tube of frozen cookie dough. "Sugar cookies it is. By the way, Mrs. Mewler---"

"Call me Mellissa," she smiled.

"Okay. Before you came in", Wallaroo queried, "Deeta mentioned some-thing about weaning her baby was tough. Is she...?"

Mellissa nodded. "After the baby was born, she had to swap out her training bra for a nursing bra. Little Aaron is now teething, which, obviously, has been very painful for her."

The Afro-haired roo winced in sympathy. "Ouch. Sorry I asked."

"Don't be! Curiosity will have some surprising answers, but at least THAT ONE won't kill you!" Mellissa chuckled. "Tell me: are you for or against breast-feeding?"

"I'm all for it", Wally said, stopping at mid-slice. "But I'm not going to comment on about it being done in public. That's one issue I'm truly steering clear from."

"Why is that?" Odette asked in a curious. 

"Too worried about giving the wrong answer in front of other people who are against that sort of thing because it's either indecent or immoral, disgusting or unlawful," Wallaroo admitted.

Then he muttered, "But some of those who complain about things like that aren't above living the life of Caligula. On top of that, I'm too worried about being beat up by the baby's daddy or the baby's mother, or worse, BOTH OF THEM! Especially on accusation of ogling, at that! Let alone a casual glance.

"That is one hot-button topic of debate that is either too hot for me to handle or outright dangerous to touch upon."

Then Wally realized what he had just said, set the knife down, stepped back, and immediately face-palmed, his hand making a loud, resounding slap.

"Aw, DAMN IT!" he grumbled as his hand loudly clapped upon his forehead. "Why don't I just shove BOTH FEET into that huge gaping mouth of mine?"

Mellissa chuckled again, but Odette smiled. 

"We didn't say anything", the police skunk said. "Why the big fuss?"

"I said 'hot-button', 'touch' and 'handle' in the same sentence!" Wally confessed.

"It's not like you said anything dirty!" Mellissa laughed as she playfully cupped her breasts. "We know breasts are called 'buttons', but we aren't gonna kill you for saying that! At least you weren’t being vulgar and tasteless about it! Seriously, you gotta relax, or end up with an ulcer before the day is through!"

"It's hard to do so when you're as nervous as I am today", fretted the roo. "But I won't lie to you, if I were a drinking man, you'd see me swigging that bottle of Tequila right down to the worm. But I'm not one, so I won't. Give me coffee any day."

"Ah! Better to have a case of the caffeine jitters than to be engaged in public drunkenness!" Odette snickered. "Good choice. Not so on your heart, kidneys, or your bladder, but a SMART choice when you’re around kids."

#######################################################

-Chapter Ten-
"More Girl Talk"

Lovey, Peggy and Penelope walked into the kitchen, dressed for the tea party: 

Lovey was dressed in a pink blouse with short puffy sleeves and a denim jumper, while Penelope was dressed casually in a apple-green T-shirt and jeans.

Peggy, however, was dressed in a cute A-line pink polka-dot print apron dress, three sizes too big, just like before, but with the Preg-Prop belly underneath it, making her look about almost ready to give birth to a set of twins, if not triplets. 

She walked toward the bathroom door, where Deeta and Violet were at as they dressed inside, pushing her "belly" out as she held her back .

"Are you two dressed yet?" she called out to them.

Deeta called back. "Almost! Pardon my saying this, but your aunt sure got your measurements all wrong! What was she trying to do, make designer party tents?"

"Those are clothes that I was supposed to grow into, and she got carried away," Peggy called back. "Plus, my aunt thinks I'm gonna gain a ton of weight like mom." 

Then the prairie dog girl giggled. "Or have a baby!"

Violet called out. "She should make clothes for some of the girls at school that have to do this stuff, and the ones that really are pregnant, too! On the bright side, these outfits are good and comfy."

"Yeah, Peggy," Deeta said, opening the door before cupping her hands over her pseudo-belly. "We may LOOK the part, but it feels nice. I kinda wish I had this outfit when I was pregnant with Aaron AFTER getting out of that horrible place."

Peggy giggled. "Even though I missed that chance, I wish I could marry Wally, though!"

Violet leaned forward. "WHAT?!" the skunk kit exclaimed. "But he's almost as old as my uncle!"

"I know! It was just a thought!" Peggy replied shyly. "I just wish..."

Deeta perked up. "Wish what?"

The prairie dog girl paused for a moment, and then she said with a frown, "I wish that riot back then on Earth never DID happen."

"What happened?" Violet and Deeta queried as they leaned forward to listen.

"Do you remember Old Mr. Baines back on planet Earth?" Peggy asked as she entered the bathroom with other girls, and shut the door softly.

"That old crackpot?" Deeta sneered. "I hope that I NEVER run into that crazy old fart!"

"You've seen him?" Violet asked Deeta.

"Yeah," Deeta said. "When mom and dad were taking me to the clinic for Aaron's checkup back on Earth, and as we passed him by, he was all mad and screaming at a guy who wasn't even NEAR HIM! And boy, does HE has a face for radio! He'd bust a mirror if he looked into it!"

"Yeah, ugly enough to break the TV camera!" chirped Peggy. "Would you believe that he's the uncle of the judge, and the dummy who started that riot long ago and tried to send Wally up the river on a trumped-up charge?"

"WHOA! He did?!" both skunk kit and kitten said together, shocked surprised at the revelation as Peggy nodded.

"Why should that mean old buzzard act like he's an extension of the law when he's not?" Deeta continued to sneer. "Nobody voted him into office!"

"Somebody's gonna kick his old butt out someday!" snapped Violet. "Him and the judge both!"

"If the judge gets voted out of office or thrown out, it'll be his own fault for letting that loudmouthed uncle of his trying to run everyone else's business but his own, as well as throwing his weight around!" Peggy said angrily. "Mom said she'd vote for anyone to kick him out if we were living back on Earth. I wish I was old enough to vote."

"Yeah!" Deeta and Violet said in agreement.

"I've been thinking," Violet cooed, lost in thought as she rubbed her Preg-Prop belly, gazing at herself in the mirror.

"What?" Deeta asked.

"I wish that I really was pregnant!" Violet answered softly as she smiled, rubbing her belly dreamily in the mirror as if she were really an expectant mother-to-be.

"Oh, but no!" Deeta said in a warning voice. "Better keep that wish on the back burner until you're older and much wiser!"

"Why?!" retorted the skunk-kit. "YOU had a baby yourself!"

"But I had no kind of choice in the matter!" Deeta said, feeling uneasy at what she remembered, chills swept over her body as she shuddered. 

"He FORCED himself on me to bear his child! I didn't know what the guy did was able to get me pregnant, but what he did to me and those other girls in that wretched place was about as wrong as when he took us. 

"Though Aaron IS my baby through him, my mom and dad adopted him before I gave birth. I don't want you to go through what I had experienced. What happened to me and those other girls was scary, especially for those who are not ready to have babies, physically or mentally. 

“No girl should go through what I did back at that place,” Deeta said in a wavering voice as the tears began to sting in her eyes. “Nor any woman, for that matter, in that kind of a situation. I don't want you go through that! Not that way, and not so soon, like I did!"

Deeta bent over, and with tears flowing, looked into Violet's eyes. 

"Caring for a baby is no picnic, either, I can vouch about that. That was the whole point about learning sex education: to understand the whole point about sex, both good sides and bad sides to it. 

“Whether you are an only child like Peggy or with many brothers and sisters, I don't want you to give up your own childhood by being a mom at your age, even if it is just a wish."

Violet hugged Deeta, weeping and sniffling from the tears welling up in her own eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Deeta! I didn't mean to make you cry! I didn't mean to! Honest!" the skunk-kit sobbed.

Deeta rubbed Violet's back and cooed into her ear as young cat embraced her. 

"I know, Violet. It still hurts when I think about it." Deeta said as she leaned back to look at the skunk-kit as she held her. "I'm not being mean when I said that, but it doesn't hurt to know that. You totally understand that sometimes, some things are not as rosy as they seem. This is why you got to make smart choices, especially when some things are just too good to be true. At least, that way, any mistakes we make will be little ones!"

Deeta pulled back a bit, then wiped away Violet's tears and her own that they had both shed. 

"It doesn't hurt to just pretend, though!" the beige kitten smiled. 

Then Deeta and Violet looked down and saw that their pillow-bellies were pressed against each other, then they laughed at the surprising moment.

"Oh, look!" Violet giggled. "Our 'babies' are next-door neighbors now!" 

Peggy then pressed her own baby-bump pillow against Deeta's and Violet's,
Joining them in a moment of silliness.

"Now all our babies are next-door neighbors!" Violet smiled as all three happily embraced each other in a close, sisterly manner.

#######################################################

-Chapter Eleven-
"Stone and Ship"

Despite the past events of what occurred four years ago, the hours before for Wally, Peggy, and the other guests with their own pasts sometime before, the tea party, was finally about to start.

At that moment, a knock on the living room door was heard. 

"I got this", Wally said as he opened the door.

In the doorway stood a 6' 3" light brown tomcat with steel-toed boots, grimy jeans, a sweat-soaked steel-grey T-shirt and a dirty reflective road worker's vest. It was all too obvious that he was in construction work and he had JUST came home from a hard-day’s work.

"Pardon me, fella," he said in a jovial yet polite manner. "But, have you seen my wife, daughter, and grandson here?"

"Mason!" called Mellissa as she entered into the kitchen. "Glad that you've made it! 

Wallaroo stepped aside as he let Melissa's husband in, Lovey following around the corner and into the living room out of curiosity.

"Has the repair job at the theatre slowed things down for you?" Melissa asked as she embraced her spouse closely.

"Yeah, dear! The guys found the cracks in the sidewalks were a bigger mess underneath than the owner had thought, and one room needed to be closed off because of heavy asbestos decay. No one is setting foot into that place until we get space suits to go do THAT job."

"Oh, darling!" Mellissa purred tenderly. "There's no problem at all, as long as you're okay. Oh! I want you to meet Wallaroo and Lovey!" 

She then turned to the pair of roos before her. "This fellow is Wally, and this is his wife, Lovey. Lovey, Wally, this is my burly hubby, Mason." 

As she introduced her husband, Mellissa hugged him tightly.

Wallaroo politely put his hand forth to shake before Mason gripped it firmly and shook it.

"Hey! you can call me 'Shakey', if you want to!" he said with a chuckle.

"Shakey"?" Lovey queried.

"He's a jackhammer operator!" Deeta giggled.

"Yep! Jackhammer operator and part-time home-school teacher, all in one. Easy to do when contract work is done or during the rain delays that happen every now and then", Mason said. 

"Our daughter is getting a better chance for an education, and we’ve both got the jump on teaching Aaron a thing or two before he goes into Pre-K!"

"Yeah," Deeta smiled as she cuddled her baby. "Dad and I are trying to teach him his ABC's."

Another knocking was heard at the living room door, but louder and heavier. 

Wally went to the door, and opened it, looking up to the figure that was standing at 7' 3" tall, dressed in full Arrebnaccian Space Navy attire at the door. 

Admiral Rufus Gray. 

Lovey's father.

His smoke-grey beard was neatly trimmed as it trailed down from his chin to his chest. Even though his whiskers nearly covered his lower lip, his voice was clearly heard nonetheless.

"Good afternoon, Wallaroo," he said. "I heard from Lovey that she and yourself are entertaining company. May I come in?"

Obediently, Wally let his father-in-law inside without any further delay.

#######################################################

 -Chapter Twelve-
"Unwanted Last-minute Party-Crashers"

After the introductions were made, the Admiral spoke openly to Wally, along with the others.

"Wallaroo, Lovey, guests, we picked up an irregularity in the last gateway entrance of passengers and tourists: the judge of your former home planet of Earth has managed get in past security, and entered illegally onto the Commons. The local police force are searching for his DNA signature, along with one other person, his uncle."

"WHAT?!" Wally nearly shouted, remembering what happened on Earth at that time. "I cannot believe the gall of that..." 

He bit back the foulest obscene adjectives to keep himself from shocking his immediate company and his wife with those words. 

"... Idiot! He has some NERVE to come after me here, despite the court saying that I was innocent!"

"I know, Wally," the sagely boomer said as he stood over his son-in-law. "I have tracked their movements to this area for some time. They have been hiding out, but they didn't go unnoticed. Our low-orbit drones have kept them under closest surveillance, and they will be trapped soon." 

The Admiral reached into his left sleeve cuff, then pulled out an odd-looking brooch-like object, scratched at the wall opposite of the door, and slid a hidden panel open. He pressed the object into its holder before it snapped into place, followed by a low humming sound. 

"Nowadays, these homes have an alarm system that have containment fields ready to be used in a moment's notice, and be activated in case of robberies, riots and home invasions. I had this house installed with one, as well," the Admiral stated. "It extends as far from the kitchen door to the end of the counters three feet from where the stove is at.” 

Admiral Gray then turned toward the guests and his family.

"Lovey, Wally, everyone," he said in a kind voice. "Shall we go into the parlor to enjoy our tea? If I am not too late."

At once, the tea party then started in earnest. 

Peggy brought Ethan and Sawyer, her two plush toys from her home on Earth, while her mom snapped photos of her and them in comedic poses with a digital camera. 

Deeta showed her son's baby pictures to everyone, from the moment Aaron was brought home from the hospital, to the most current photo with his grandparents.

Odette made perfectly sure that no photos were ever posted online because of individuals like the judge and many others whose campaigns of spite-mongering opinions were rigidly like his.

Violet told of her uncle, an explorer upon the Commons, who was helping in finding ruins of lost civilizations, and after a change of clothing, as well as shedding her prop belly for a moment, showed off her latest steps from her dance class. 

She had just finished her dance, had taken her bow, and was applauded, an alarm began to sound, followed by the sound of the kitchen door slamming shut. 

"Oh, dang it. I had forgotten the cookies are in the oven! Excuse me for a moment," Wally said as he hurried toward the kitchen, but he knew that there was something wrong in there.

When he entered, he saw the very two people that had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS being in the same room with him, let alone on the SAME PLANET where he was. 

Especially after what they had done to ruin his life without any reason or rhyme on Earth.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS PLACE, YOU MISERABLE FREAK?!" the old man started in.

"Funny", Wally said with a calm yet with a stinging repartee. "I was going to ask you the SAME thing!"

#######################################################
 
-Chapter Thirteen-
"FREEZE!!!"

"Calm down, Uncle, I was looking for him," said Judge Jacques Baines to his uncle before turning to Wally. 

He was a 5’ 5" stocky, slightly balding Caucasian human with a bulbous nose, piggish-looking eyes, and a double chin. He looked a little like Boss Hogg from TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard", except his suit and coat was made with grey tweed, and like his uncle, wore a matching Fedora.

"Now, I heard that you have guests in this house that do not belong here. Like a certain prairie dog girl, along with her mama, both of which you were kinda sweet on. The one that I had placed a restraining order on you to keep away from? Well, I am here to make absolutely sure that you didn't have either of them in your house! Now, step aside while I search it!"

"Last I recall", Wally said with nonchalance, "you need a search warrant to go though anyone's house. Do you actually HAVE ONE?"

"WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN' SEARCH WARRANT!" shouted the old man. "STEP ASIDE!"

Wally did step aside, but he grabbed a couple of oven mitts, and opened the oven to take the cookies out of it.

"Seems to me you have been busy making preparations for a party or something," Jacques snarked. "What a sissified notion, if not a stupid one." 

Wally ignored the judge's disparaging comments, took off the oven mitts, and headed back to the parlor down the hall.

"Hey!" The judge shouted and started after him angrily. "Don't move! Stay right where you are!"

When both of the two men started after Wallaroo, a bright flash flooded the room. Wally turned around to face them, and immediately saw that they were frozen in their tracks, held in place by some mysterious blue light. 

The Admiral walked out of the parlor, noticing the overreaching official and his uncle.

"I see that the Paralysis Field Trap has caught our illegal aliens, just as it was meant to be for any intruder", the military macropod spoke. "It subdues any burglar or home invader on a synaptic level. They fall into forced paralysis throughout their body, with the exception of their brain, lungs, and heart."

At that moment, yet another knock on the front door was heard.

"Come in!" the Admiral called out. "But do watch yourselves! The Paralysis Field is up in the kitchen!"

The door was flung open, and into the home stormed the Arrebnac Commons Police in their uniforms, their rifles drawn, surrounding the two Earth men, more than ready to capture them once the Paralysis field was down.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As it turned out, Judge Jacques Baines was impeached by the investigators for the families of those he had railroaded and wrongly prosecuted, and exposed him on having committed judicial collusion as well as corruption on Wally's former home planet. 

The pair had snuck through the portal using falsified ID chips, but when the chips failed to be of ANY origin whatsoever, they panicked, resulting in the manhunt afterwards.

Jacques and his uncle was placed under arrest for impersonation an officer of the law, criminal trespass, falsified ID chips, inciting a riot, and evading arrest on both planets.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Admiral had made sure that the home-invading judge and his uncle were sent back to Earth to stand trial. 

Despite the ruckus that had occurred, after a momentary delay, the party ended on a happy note.

Later, as he washed the dishes, Wally was happy to know that Peggy and her mother Penelope were doing okay, as well as his meeting with the families that were living nearby.

Finally, after dealing with the paperwork, the Admiral spoke. 

"Wallaroo", he said, his voice filled with deep concern, said, "I'm afraid that you have a lot of upkeep ahead of you. You need to upgrade the living quarters extensively, plus, there is the problem about making sure that the pantries of your home are well-stocked. But..."

Wallaroo waited patiently as his father-in-law paused, worried that he may say something that can cast any doubts about his abilities or anything that held him under judgment.

"... Once you get a good-paying job, and Lovey gets enrolled with stocking and staging the hydroponics gardens' sensor array, Lovey's income, combined with yours from your own job, would be more than enough to help you both. There is an auction that is going to take place next Monday that may help you with such means. But, that can be easily handled, in due time. Also, it is very good of you to have made time with friends and families here in the Commons."

Wally couldn't help feeling confused about the comment made by his father-in-law, but in a way, he was right. 

At least it was worth seeing how happy Peggy was to visit him and Lovey.

"However, I have a question," Adm. Gray asked in a confused manner. "Why were those girls dressed in those strange props for? They looked like they were heavy with child and about ready to give birth!"

"It was for Sex Education at their educational center," Wally replied. "They were understanding all about the consequences of premature sex interaction at their age, pregnancy, and raising a child." 

Then he sighed. "I don't know if I'll be ready to be a parent myself at MY AGE."

"No one ever is, Mr. Wallaroo," The Admiral said as he leaned against the counter. "I wasn't when Cassiopeia and I became parents, especially when we were halfway in our tour of duty together. We had to stay at the medical frigate for the duration. 

"But, as hectic as it was, it was all well worth it," he said in sagely way. "I hope that, when you come to cross that bridge one day, that you and Lovey will do your best to raise your own children right. I have confidence in the both of you to keep things shipshape to do so."

Inside, Wallaroo wanted to do the happy dance and do a fist-pump in reaction of his father-in-law's words of praise, but he decided to forgo such an over-the-top display. 

He turned to the direction of the Admiral, and with a small smile and a nod, said only two words:

"Thank you."

#######################################################
 
-Chapter Fourteen-
"A Reunion of Sorts"

Two months later...

Wally was relaxing in the porch swing when Lovey leaned over him, giving him a good view of her big breasts as she handed a note with directions on it. It was a print out of a map to a place he had to travel to.  

"Ho-o-on-e-e-e-e-y, wake up! Penelope wants you to visit near the Oasis Plateau Area, north-northwest from here. This request from her is urgent, and I think you WILL need assistance to get there."

He could only make a responsible reply as he yawned and stretched. "Since it is urgent, yes... I do."

Wally didn't waste any time driving his car 35 miles to the Oasis Plateau Area: a haven for burrowing animals of placental, marsupial, reptilian, and avian origin, filled with yawning underground caverns, and fortified cities that not only stretched to the roof of the caverns, some of them supported the interiors like pillars and posts. 

But he wasn't going underground: he was going to a small area nearby. A place with a community full of prairie dogs, just like Penelope and Peggy, except the 10-foot high by 20-foot wide dome-shaped houses lead to bigger living areas underground. 

Wally had to ask around to find which house that the Dustclaws lived in, so he had to ask the prairie dog town's guard for directions. 

Where the guard had pointed out for him to go to, was an area that looked like a farmer's uncultivated back forty. 

Except, it was pristine, filled with grasses, wildflowers, and laden with vegetables behind the dome, to which, Penelope and Peggy were occupying. 

He hesitated, then knocked on the door. 

The door slid open, and there stood Penelope, dressed in khaki shorts, a pair of gardening gloves, and a beige polo shirt that was stretched over those huge breasts, offering to those taller a view of her bountiful cleavage. 

A fine layer of silt covered over her glasses, but not enough to impair them as she tiptoed to give her friend a hug and a kiss hello.

"Oh, Wally! You made it!" she smiled. "But before we get started, how's everything on the home front?"

"Well, the both of us are doing quite fine", answered Wallaroo, 
"I have gotten a job as a taxi driver, but the car I got from the public auction is still being upgraded for safety standards. Lovey's busy getting the hydroponics gardens' sensor arrays installed in every level. Everyone will have fresh vegetables and fruit growing non-stop in every season. So, how are you and Peggy doing?" 

Peggy peeked in the living room, then walked forward. She wore a long-sleeved pink dress that reached above her knees. 

Then Wally noticed there WAS something different about Peggy: Despite her diminutive size, she was now nearly as tall as Penelope's forearm, and her own curves were almost like her mother's, her maturing body becoming a bit more shapely as time will allow. 

But it was all too obvious: the girl was slowly becoming a woman. 

So much so, he blushed at the sight of her.

"Keep looking at me like that, and I just MIGHT HAVE to marry you!" chirped Peggy in a teasing manner with a smile on her face before kissing Wally on his nose.

It was revealed at that time that Penelope and Peggy were about to get into painting and decorating her room, and it was going be a three-person job to do it. 

As the trio painted, they talked about everything and anything. Wally told of his job,  and his training for work as a taxi driver. Penelope told of the goings-on and of things that happened within the neighborhood. 

And Peggy, told of things that occurred at her school, mentioned of a boy who was interested in her, and how Violet and Deeta were getting along. 

By the time he was finished painting the girl's bedroom, he had to lay down tarp to cover the Mega-Recliner before sitting in it, and then falling fast asleep almost immediately afterward. 

Unbeknownst to Wally as he slept, Peggy placed Ethan beside him while she held Sawyer on the other side of him, then kissed his cheek as Penelope snapped a picture of them both with her holo-cam as he napped.

"I hope that Lovey won't be jealous!" laughed Penelope as she uploaded the image to his phone to post into the family's holographic photo album.

As he walked back to his car, the neighbors in the area noticed the paint on Wally, and some of them laughed. 

"Hey, buddy!" called out one of the prairie dogs named Raymond, sometimes called Ray-Ray, who also trained at the taxi service. "How was the paint job?"

"Well, painting Peggy's room was a new one for me, Ray-Ray, They needed a guy with some height advantage to catch the higher parts and the ceiling, too!"

"Yeah, that's Penelope for you, she knew JUST WHO to look for! Especially when she works the Odd Jobs Directory, when she's not being mom to that cute-as-a-button kid of hers!" replied Ray-Ray.

"Yeah, she's one busy bee alright," Wally concurred. He seen her in action, and she truly was not a slouch. NO mother would be, and neither was Peggy. 

It was 7:30 pm when he arrived back at home, the dried flecks of paint still stuck to his fur and hair. 

Lovey was waiting for him on the front porch. 

"I hope that I didn't leave the wrong impression for you when Penelope needed you to paint Peggy's room today," she smiled as Wally staggered up the front steps.

"No problem, Lovey," he said wearily as he waved hello. "I might have to do our bedroom or something like that soon ourselves."

"♫OH, WALLY!♫" Lovey called out in a sing-song manner, giggling as she saw the newly-posted pic to her holographic photo album collection. "I think somebody STILL thinks you should become a daddy!"

Wally looked at Lovey's photo album and winced as he face-palmed, then smiled. He then looked down at the bottom and saw a caption that read: 

“To Wally, a good friend, and a good sport. 
I hope someday you will be a WONDERFUL daddy 
to your own family! 
Love, Peggy and Penelope Dustclaw."

That made him see that both Penelope and Peggy were still happy to have him as a good friend.

"Wally?" Lovey smiled. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Wally closed his eyes and chuckled. 

"Couldn't be better, Love. Couldn't be better."

The End