Swelling with love chapter nine: Felicitations

 

Created Saturday, April 19, 2008
Last Updated Wednesday, July 09, 2008


 

  
In which Susan Richards has the best and worst day of her life.
"Ready girl?"  Susan Storm had been a lot of things over the last few months: superheroine, lover, homemaker to name three at random, and of course she looked forward to being a few more things fairly soon, bride, wife, and mother of six to name another three at random.  

Then there was what she happened to be right now, and the many ways she could look at the question.  So for example if you wanted to go by the very simplest answer, she was a sphere of blue flesh that was about the size of a basket ball.  She had also ended up being a mother, or at least something like it, much sooner then she'd expected to be, even after finding herself pregnant with six children even before getting married had made her move forward her estimations once already.  

Her "daughter" Gale the Dragon Woman was originally a statue of an evolutionary could have been that somehow come to life through means even her brilliant fiancee Reed Richards was at a lost to explain.  But she had, and she'd ended up imprinting on Susan, who for her part had to admit there was a certain charm to the situation.  

Probably because of the absurdity of it, there had been lots and lots of absurdity in her life recently, so growing to like it was probably some sort of defence mechanism.  Besides the entire giant monster bonding with a beautiful woman seemed to be one of those stories that you heard so many times that it just had to have come true in real life at one point or another, even if Susan was much more capable of looking after herself (even while pregnant) than Fey Ray.  

Gale let loose with a minor chirp of acknowledgment and if Susan had a head to nod in her current situation that's just what she would have done.  "Okay then, fetch!"  Gale had hands that even if they only had four digits, were still human enough to grasp and hurl Susan's current form which she did with considerable strength.  

The room which belonged to the Fantastic Four's newest guest had originally been a hanger for the Fantasticar and their other vehicles.  Which meant that it was quite spacious, and thus gave the two plenty of room to play with.  Susan bounced across the floor and a moment later, Gale broke into a four legged run, flapping her wings as she chased after Susan's bouncing body.  

But not for nothing had Susan been a superheroine for the last ten months of her life.  It might not have sounded like much, but with each passing week (if not each passing day) she'd been perfecting how to use her powers, and seen marked improvements.  Bounce faster, stretch farther, make herself thinner (what woman didn't want to be able to perfect her ability to do that?), be able to lift more with her elastic limbs, the whole 'we can rebuild her better faster stronger" spiel.  

The long and short of which was that she was able to keep once bounce ahead of Gale up until the point that she reached the wall.  At which point she decided to simply aim her bounce so that she should be able to hit the wall and ricoche right over Gale's head.  That was her plan at least, but Gale had her own plans.  

She slammed her wings together at just the right moment to sandwich Susan between them.  Susan slid lazily out of that makeshift prison resuming her human shape and flowing right into Gale's waiting hands, with her claws retracted this time around unlike when they'd originally met.  

"Good girl, you got me."  Gale managed to give what amounted to a fairly good smile despite how many fangs there were in her mouth.  Then she opened her mouth and proceeded to run her large tongue along Susan's body from her feet up to her hair like an over affectionate (not to mention oversized) puppy.  "Hey watch the hair, I just finished getting it the way I wanted."  

Gale gave a sort of pathetic whine in apology.  In response, Susan oozed out of those larger hands, reforming herself so that she stood before Gale pregnant belly and all for a moment before she started extending her neck so that their eyes were level.  "Hey, hey, hey, you know I'm just joking with you right?  Now come on, why don't we play another round?"  The question asked, Susan quickly curled her entire body into a sphere again, and bounced into Gale's waiting hands.

----

Susan grabbed a towel with an elongated arm, pulled it back to her body, used it to give her saliva soaked hair a quick wipe down, gave it an equally quick shake, and she didn't need a mirror to see the results.  When your hair was elastic, you could always style it exactly the way you wanted every single time.  That wasn't exactly the kind of thing that would help you save the world, but it was a connivent little side perk.  

"You know, for twelve foot tall dragon, Gale really has a way of growing on a girl."  Reed spun his chair around and said some words in a much more clam tone of voice then Susan cared to hear them.  "You know you can't keep her, right?"  Susan placed her hands on her hips and glowered at him.  "Why not?  I mean I know she's not exactly a lost puppy we found on our doorstep, but by the same token I'm not some nieve little girl.  I know it's got to be expensive to take care of her, but it isn't that expensive, is it?"  

Reed got up out of his chair, and walked over to one of countless levers (not to mention the switches, and buttons) that all looked more or less exactly the same and happened to populate his lab.  He pulled it, and a section of the wall moved to the side and a bed slid out.  He made his way over to the bed and motioned for Susan to join her, which she consented to, since apparently it was going to be a long, or at least longish conversation.  "Susan it's not the material cost that I'm worried about, the Fantastic Four is still solidly in the black even though feeding Gale requires several dozen pounds of meet a day.  It's the more time requirement.  

At the moment it might seem like a round peg into a round hole situation, since it gives you something to do while I'm busy in the lab, but a few months down the line.....  Do you think you think we'll be able to find time to look after her and our children?"  There was a very long pause while Susan worked over that largely metaphorical question before she finally bit the bullet and admitted what so many people had done so many times, Reed Richards was right.  

"Damn, it's no fair.  I know it's only been two weeks, but I already feel like she's a member of the family.  Hell she's been more obedient on average then Johnny is.  I don't suppose we can keep Gale if I'm willing to give him up?"  The two shared looks, and then Susan sighed.  "I'm guessing that's a 'no', okay you're right, I probably won't have time for her, but what should we do with her?  We can't exactly leave her in a box on some street corner, or take her to the pound."  

Susan saw that look in Reed's eyes and he knew what the gist of his next sentence would be, regardless of what exactly what form it took.  "Well, I wouldn't have brought it your attention if I hadn't already formulated at least a preliminary plan on how to deal with the problem us giving her up presents.  Basically I've spent a fair amount of time over the course of the last week touching base with various people who I thought might be able to look after her.  

The end result of which was that I more or less got lucky.  It turns out that a college friend of mine named Nicholas, though of course even back then he preferred 'Nick', Fury is now in charge of a governmental agency that may be able to help us with this problem.  It's called SHEILD which stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage, Logistic Directorate, and all things considered I'm surprised that we haven't already been tripping over their toes since apparently they exist deal with the kind of crime that your average police officer, or even intelligence agent would be in over their head if they went up against.  

Anyway, as it turns out, they apparently have a location known as the 'The Farm' which serves as a safe haven for various animals that were created by supervillians that while not themselves malicious, couldn't be released into the wild without throwing a serious monkey wrench into the environment.  Which seems to more or less fit Gale to a 'T' all things considered.  

It also was also was quite obviously the best way of dealing with this particular conundrum."  Susan had to admit that it did sound rather ideal.  "Okay that could work, but just one thing....."  Reed leaned forward intently.  "What?"  "Before I could even think about sending Gale off, I want her to know that I am unequivocally the happiest woman on the face of the planet.  

That way she won't have to worry about how I'm doing without her.  You know what I'm talking about, right?"  "Our wedding?"  Susan didn't remember stretching herself, and yet somehow she'd ended up with her torso and neck wrapped around Reed's.  "Yeah.  By the way, do you think that we could, bring her to the wedding?"  Reed gave her exactly the kind of answer she was expecting.  

"So you're suggesting that in addition to the press, other superheroes, and what not, we should bring along have a fire breathing dragon at our wedding?  You do realize that when you make requests like that, I wonder if wouldn't have be a more efficient use of our time to just burn the place down ourselves and call it a day?"  Susan didn't consider herself Reed's equal when it came to words, but she had picked up a few of his tricks.  "I notice that when you say that, you aren't actually telling me we can't do it."  

Reed nodded.  "It'd certainly be keeping with the theme of the event, which seems to be 'look how many oddities we can manage to fit into one place', personally if it wasn't for my face I'm sure I'd feel like my own normality would make me effectively abnormal."  Susan sighed, snickered, and then laughed.

"Yeah we might as well make some kind of artificial looking glass or rabbit hole to have our guests enter through."  "Well if you insist on it...."   Susan pressed a finger to Reed's lips.  "That, I was kidding about.  So how quickly do you think we can manage to get all this together?"  Susan felt Reed leaning backwards slightly and adjusted her posture and body to support his.  

"Well, barring any supervillian attacks a week more or less.  Nick Fury himself is going to be paying us a visit tomorrow to inspect Gale and make sure that SHEILD sends the correct type of equipment to transport her when the time comes, we've already got the unstable molecule bridal gown you wanted, so it'll just be a matter of sending out invitations.  Of course doing it on such short notice seems rather unprofessional."  

Susan shrugged with her entire body. "Well if anyone asks why, we can always tell them that a we felt it wouldn't have been fair to make the press stew in the juices for any longer then a week.  For example if we'd given them a month to prepare then fist fights might have started breaking out between various new crews as they jockeyed for the exact right spot to set up their cameras.  

You've got time to squeeze in a visit to with that team of plastic surgeons you've been assembling right?"  As she spoke, she ran a hand along that fake face that while essentially human, was just a little too bland upon third or fourth glance being completely lacking in any of the normal human imperfections that you would normally find in a face.  "I'm planning to visit them the day before, though I plan to continue wearing this face directly after the surgery.  

That way, when we're at the alter I can lift up your veil with one hand, and take off my mask with the other, that way we'll both get a good view of each other's faces at the same time."  Susan had to admit that was a romantic idea, and coming from Reed Richards it was an INCREDIBLY romantic idea.  

"That' sounds lovely."  Susan couldn't help but notice that Reed was doing it again, he wasn't going limp in her grasp, he was actively leaning backwards.  It was like he was trying to fall backwards onto the bed, and drag her down on top of him.   Which would mean...  "Reed are you..."  

He leaned forward this time, and gingerly licked one of the curls of her hair.  "Trying to start something besides a conversation?  I spend a lot of time in my lab, you spend a lot of time with Gale, so when we get back together you're surprised that sparks fly?"  In all fairness she wasn't, it was just that he hadn't made the first move in a while, not mention how he'd done it.  "Okay, but licking my hair it works better for me as a bit of giant dragon to human mother bonding then husband to wife foreplay.  If you wanted to, all you had to do was ask."  "Can we talk for a while for?"  

Susan nodded kindly running a hand through the strand of hair that Reed had licked.  "Sure, let me guess, you're going to try and literally charm he pants off me, or at least get them off without needing to use your hands?"  Granted Reed had already managed that particular feat not so long ago, telekinesis required more of his concentration then he could muster during the main event unlike her elasticity, but it still could make for a very interesting opening act.  

"You know you're not the only one who has worries about our children's futures."  Susan's eyes went wide in surprise.  "What are you worried about?  I thought we agreed that last month that you'd more or less figured out every single aspect of what we'd need to look after them."  

Susan unwarped herself from around Reed and laid down on her side.  He did the same, his right hand, tracing lazy circles around her belly.  "I said I'd figured out everything about how to look after them, not every detail of how to raise them.  And that's what I'm worried about.  

I mean I've always thought of you as one of the most maternal women I've ever the met, and your time with Gale has only led further evidence to the validity of that theory, but what kind of father do you think I'll be?  There are so many different projects that even now only exists as ideas in my mind, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep myself from bringing them to fruition.  

Victor's armor alone, not even upgrading but just working on replicating what  he made, that could keep me busy for months from dusk to dawn, and if I'm spending all my time in the lab, I won't have any time for the most important people in my life."  Susan chuckled, smiled broadly, and then opened her mouth letting her tongue grow long enough that she could use it to lick some of Reed's black hairs before she returned it to its normal length.  

"You know, its so cute when you're all self conscious.  Listen Reed, after you got out of college and before we started dating, what did your daily schedule consist of?"  Reed gingerly felt the hairs that his fiancee's saliva had dampened, apparently he hadn't expected her to give him tit for tat.  

"Wake up, go to work, go to sleep, attend basic bodily needs between the three, and repeat the process.  The sad thing I wasn't even accomplishing all that much because I was busy working on too many things at he same time.  Then eventually Ben dropped in and told me that he'd seen albinos who had better skin tone then I did, said that I could either leave with him, or leave with him after leaving imprints of  my fingers in whatever part of the lab I cared try and hold onto.  

Which was how I ran into you again, and considering the last time I'd seen you you'd been living with your Aunt, so you'd..."  "Become legal to hit and grown a pair of breasts, hips, and ass worthy of hitting.  Well more hips and ass at least, the breasts are still a work in progress."  Reed used his free hand to gently feel out his fiancee's bosom.  "Personally I don't think there's anything 'in development' about that particular portion of your anatomy, I like them just fine the way they are."  Susan leaned forward slightly pressing her belly and breasts up against Reed's body.  

"Really?  Well I've got some bad news on that front.  You're the one who's suppose to know everything about pregnancy, but even I know that with me still in the second trimester, my rack is only gonna get for the next few months.  That's what these things are for after all.  My body knows I've got so many buns in my oven that there are bakeries who wonder if they could make use of my services, and subsequently by the time my body is done getting ready for them I'll probably be getting calls from dairy farms that wonder if could work for them part time.  Suffice to say, by the time I'm eight and a half months along, you'll be able to use my belly for a water bed, and a my breasts for pillows."

Reed took a moment to size up Susan's endowments with his eyes before commenting in a tone utterly devoid of emotion.  "Well I can already use them for that if I wanted to."  Susan tilted her neck down and sighed emphatically.  "Okay fair enough, but like I said, they'll get bigger.  They're probably going to stay bigger to, though I hear directly nursing can help with that, but one way or another they typically end up being larger by the time the whole process is over and done with.

But I suppose you'll just have to live with the fact that your wife has a remarkably ample matronly bosom.  Which is a shame because all I ever hear from Johnny is how much the compact look is in this season, and here I am with my stuck with the family sized model."  The two of them shared a laugh, conventional wisdom said that there were certain parts of the male and female anatomy that couldn't possibly be 'too large' and a woman's breasts happened to be one of them.  

Unsurpringly Reed stopped laughing first.  "Like I was saying Susan, it was because of seeing you again, wanting to impress you that I realized I'd have to seriously focus on one task at a time if I wanted to get anything impressive done.  So first I banged about half a dozen patents that I could count on to take care of my financial needs, and after that for about a week I just sat around wondering what I could make that would impress you.  

At first I just worked on narrowing down a list of what I'd need the idea to be like regardless of its exact nature: it should be something that we could share, something that wouldn't just make me rich and respected in academic circles, but the kind of person that even someone like Ben would read and hear about.  

In the end, it was nothing more then blind luck, I was fed up with thinking of and rejecting so many ideas, so I went for a walk outside to clear my head.  There was a full moon that night, a glistening silver orb that hung like a giant pearl in the middle of an ocean of black.  

That was when it hit me, I'm not sure wear I'd heard it, weather it was actual valid testimony, or just some line from a movie or book, but somewhere out of somewhere the phrase 'there is no more beautiful sight then being able to see the entire world at once' echoed through my head.  Because if something as completely void of life as the moon could seem beautiful when seen from earth, what would a blue orb as full of life as the Earth look like if someone could somehow manage to see it all at once?"  

Susan couldn't help it, she snickered and placed her hands upon her belly.  "Funny you should mention blue orbs filled with life...  yeah I know, poor joke, but I couldn't help myself, you can keep going."  Keep going was just what Reed did.  "Well I think you know how the story turned out from there.  

I was determined to become famous by being the man behind the first civilian flight to the moon.  I got Ben to fly it, and of course wanted you to come along from the start so that you could see the entire Earth at once."  There long pause as Susan closed her eyes, and then slowly opened them.  "I did see it, and it was beautiful.  Of course that viewing port that I saw it through was probably how the cosmic rays that made it through our shields got inside the ship itself and were able to play havoc with our DNA, which I suppose makes that window a double win depending on how you keep score."

The two just laid there for almost a minute straight before Reed spoke up.  "And?"  Susan twisted her neck to a conventionally impossible degree.  "And what?"  "Well you're the one who started this particular conversation on the subject of how I shouldn't be worried about my parental skills."  

Susan twisted her head even further, shook it slightly, then realized he was correct.  "Whoops, I guess this conversation got even more twisted up then I usually do.  Anyway, my point Reed is that over the before the accident you tended to more or less work completely and utterly around the clock.  But now, you always manage to find enough time for me one way or another.  

As far as I'm concerned, the truest difference between Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom, is that Victor let his work control him, and when you get down to the wire you control your work, weather or not you realize it."  Reed looked like he wanted to believe her but wasn't quite sure.  "What makes you so confident?  Victor got that orrigional scar because he pressed on with a scientific experiment that I told him was dangerous, and yet I saw no problem with proceeding with the flight, even when Ben told me I ought to be worried about the unusually strong presence of cosmic rays in our neck of the galaxy at the time.

If anything, that would seem to make me twice the fool because I failed to learn from Victor's mistake."  Susan pressed herself even more firmly against Reed's body.  "First off, as I understand the story it goes like this.  Victor refused to take advice from you, Reed Richards, on the subject of mathematics.  I don't care how smart you say he was, to me doing something like that sounds like a great way to get in the running for a Darwin Award.  But he went ahead, and it failed in EXACTLY the way you told him it would fail.  

Yes Ben said we should be more worried about cosmic rays then you were, but in all fairness to him, who was he to tell you how to design a spaceship?  Yes he got a degree in engineering, but you got one in engineering as well and, well basically just about every other hard science I can think of.  Besides, Ben's always been the 'slow and steady' type, and it works for him, heck it works for most of us who would probably be better off if we weren't playing around with the kinds of thing you work with in here.  

You did what you felt right, and sometimes the only way to make progress is to do things that seem stupid in retrospect.  Flying a kite in a thunderstorm with a key attached to it sounds a lot like the eighteenth century version of 'why don't we just take this ship into space and see what happens' to me.  

I mean isn't that what science is supposedly all about?  Deciding to go ahead and try something that 'd never been done or at least not done in a certain way before, so that people can find out what happens?"  Reed nodded, though only with half his usual enthusiasm.  

"Yes, but also one should take in mind the possible danger to human life, or else you can end up crossing the line between science and sadism.  There's a reason that they decided to detonate the first atomic bomb in Los Alimos where they could be sure there wouldn't be any civilians who were harmed by it, and even then a blind woman who was miles away still claimed to have been able to see it.  

Though I suppose I should consider myself lucky that the cosmic ray storm happened during our ship's maiden voyage rather then the theoretical second one to which I was planning on inviting prominent members of he press along for."  Susan burst into another helpless gale of laughter.  

"Yeah, I can agree with you a hundred percent.  I've had more then enough of dealing with members of the press when I've got superpowers and they don't, facing them on even footing would probably drive me up a wall.  Can you imagine what would happen if one of them decided to use their powers for evil, well more evil?  'Run in fear mortals, or else I the Red Pen will cross you 'write' out of existence!'  

But to bring the story back on to its original track, Reed ever since you became Mr. Fantastic, you've always been able to make time for me.  And when our kids are born I'm confident that you'll always be able to make time for them.  I mean until my mother's accident...... my dad was almost always busy from nine to five working as a doctor, but I never felt...."  

As a result of what she was quite sure was completely a matter of pregnancy hormones getting the better of her, Susan suddenly felt herself tearing up and momentarily reducing any attempt she made at speech to nothing more then a high pitched sob.  Reed held her gently and eventually it passed..  

Once she felt confident in her ability to speak clearly, Susan wiped a tear from her own eyes, and managed a weak smile.  "Okay, sorry about that.  Anyway, the moral of the story is that just cause we have children, doesn't mean you have to spend every moment of you're day with them, that's my job as their mother."  

She followed that comment up with a quick chuckle to show that she wasn't completely serious.  "Anyway, I'm sure our kids will be just fine if you spend eight hours a day in the lab, eight hours of family activity, and eight of sleep, barring supervillians that need to be dealt with.  Well okay, maybe seven hours of sleep, and one addition hour of activities with just me that are deffinently not 'family oriented' so to speak.  

Yeah you'll have less time to work in your lab then you do right now, but marriage and parenthood are all about compromise.  In this case I'll agree to put my trust in you when it comes to matters of the head, and you can trust me when it comes to matters of the heart, speaking of which..."  "You're ready?"  "More then.  Why don't we have some fun and see if we can't discover what other compromises we can reach tonight?"


-----

"And this is the subject in question."  Susan began to uncoil herself from little bit of play wrestling that she and Gale had been taking part in their two visitor's arrived so that she could stand on her own two legs and face them.  Seeing Nick Fury side by side with Reed almost triggered a tiny bit of unintentional deja vu.  

If she hadn't known better and had seen the standing side by side when Reed had his original body she could have fairly easily believed that they were older and younger brother.  Nick had that exact same hairstyle that Reed used to have, brown hair worn short, with the brown giving way to streaks of white on either side.  He also was wearing a black eyepatch over his right eye, and a dark blue uniform that had several white belts attached to it which where probably meant to hold the kind of gadgetry a super super secret agent would want to have on him at all times.  

There were also three different (obvious) holsters, one at shoulder height, one by his chest, and one strapped to his right ankle, though he'd been gracious enough to lave them empty, unless of corse he had some kind of invisible guns in them which if not exactly being a smart money bet wasn't too implausible sounding either.

 It was at this point that Susan proceeded to act on instinct and make what was probably not the best impression.  She stretched out an arm and used it to create an air tight seal around the tip of the lit cigarette that Nick Fury had been smoking.  She held it for a couple of moments as she waddled her way over and by the time she was pulled it back her arm only had to go about a foot or so, and her face was starting to turn a reddish hue.  

"You'll have to excuse me Mr. Fury, but though Reed's got a list as long as my arms about all the stuff that I don't have to worry about that most pregnant woman do, second hand smoke is on the much shorter list of things I still need to avoid."  Nick took the extinguished cigarette out of his mouth, looked at it for a few moments, and then after doing a perfunctionary check of the hanger and seeing that here weren't any conveniently placed trash cans, decided tucking the cigarette behind his ear would be more appropriate then tossing it on the floor.  

"Perfectly understandable, if I'd been thinking far enough ahead I would have gotten rid of it before Reed even opened the door.  Besides I'm trying to cut back anyway.  I take it your Susan Storm also known as Ultra Woman?"  "The one and only."  

The two exchanged handshakes, much like Benjamin Grimm Nick Fury had a firm and to the point handshake, it was probably the kind of thing the military had certain protocols for like saluting.  Then Nick turned his attention to the other female occupant of the hanger.  

"Just for the record you didn't make this thing right Reed?  Because Uncle Sam has better things to do with his money then pick up the bill when an otherwise law abiding citizen intentionally creates life and then gets tired of looking after it."  Reed shook his head, he was also going more or less unarmed dressed only in a full body unstable molecule uniform and he synthetic facemask.  

"She isn't, if you checked those files I sent you regarding Professor Gilbert's statements..."  Nick waved Reed off before he could go any further.  "I did, I just wanted to hear you say it again face to face, which I suppose is another idea I could have thought through a bit more thoroughly.  

I take it since you let these two girls hang out together the one we're going to think about taking off you're hands is fairly docile?"  As if understanding that she was the subject of the conversation (or perhaps just upset about having her and Susan's play time interrupted) Gale paced over to the other three, carefully examining this man she had never met before.  

"Well she certainly seems to have become more docile since she moved in into the Baxter Building.  As for letting her hang around, she and Susan have a unique bond to say the least the details of which I assessed...."  "In the file I know.  Apparently gaining superpowers haven't done anything to affect your thoroughness which is I suppose I should be thankful for good thing.  

Though now I understand why I can distinctly remember one of our professors claiming he'd either need a forklift or a hernia operation after he got your term paper."  Susan snickered, that was a new story to her and one that sounded incredibly likely.  "Well I'd think that a man in your profession would appreciate thoroughness and I figured at worst you'd just delegate it to one of your subordinates.  So where does your current opinion stand on he Dragon Woman situation?"  

Gale drew in a very deep breath through her nose, apparently sampling Nick's scent.  "Well I must admit, she does fall pretty much smack dab in the  middle of what's 'normal' for The Farm.  She also seems fairly good natured, certainly next to Simba at least.  He's a genetically engineered white liger that HYDRA apparently had plans to mass produce to serve as shock troops, instruments of chaos or perhaps something even more twisted for all I know.  

He weighs a solid ton, so suffice to say, it took more then a whip and a chair to get his attention."  "Liger?"  Just like Susan expected, Reed didn't miss an opportunity to explain.  "They're what you get when you cross a male lion and a female tiger, as opposed to the results of a female lion and a male tiger which is known as a tigon.  Liger's are the largest feline in the world, and doubtlessly one of the largest land predators, I believe that they can natural weigh close to half a ton.  

It'd be unpleasant to say the least to run into one which was hungry enough to consider eating human flesh.  Though I'd never heard of one being bred with the 'white' fur coloring found among tigers, but it'd probably be doable."  Nick just nodded along calmly but then he'd probably already heard all of this beforehand.  

"Moral of the story, Simba and Gale aren't the only 'monsters' that we look after and study at The Farm, humanely of course!"  He added that last clause after seeing the magnificent scowl that Susan's face turned into a few moments after he mentioned the word "study" to them.  

"By the way Nick, jus for reference where exactly does SHIELD and the government in general stand on the Fantastic Four just in case I need to feel it might be a good idea to contact you again?"  Nick's fingers twitched towards a certain pouch of one of his belts, and Susan couldn't help but guess that its contense was probably several mates of the item currently tucked behind his ear.  

"Officially the United States government doesn't appreciate it when it's citizens decide to punish criminals without so much as asking what we think of the idea, let alone waiting to hear our answer.  

Needless to say, you can expect us to make this displeasure evident the very moment that the president gets back from his executive ski trip to hell.  Because the politicians in Washington would have to commit political suicide on a level you normally only see among lemmings before they decide to start spending the taxpayers money on dealing with people who are actively saving the taxpayers money by the truckload.  

Not to mention unlike your run of the mill super powered vigilantes you four spare us the headache that crops up when secret identities and masks are involved, since it means we can get in touch with you any time we want to.  With the added weight of the fact that you're Reed Richards, and when that 100 MPH engine that you recently submitted to the US patent office goes into mass production there are probably going to be people who want to turn your birthday into a national holiday.   

And the final cherry on top is that from what I've seen so far, while this building is no Helicarrier, it still seems like the kind of place that literally a handful of people could hold off an entire army.   The only way that I would even think about attacking it would be to dig a tunnel underneath it, plant explosives and try to bring the whole shebang down from the ground floor.  Trying to actually take and hold it?  Unpleasant is the only word I'm going to use to describe it while there's a lady in the room."

Reed chuckled and smiled at Nick.  "That wouldn't work by the way.  After we ran into the Moleman I realized that there was a distinct possibility that we might have foes who would attempt a subterranean approach to attacking the Baxter Building.  I've got sensors working round the clock that'll go off if they detect any sort of serious underground movement.  

I theorize that it'll also be quite useful for detecting earthquakes in advance, but that's only speculation at the moment."  Nick looked down at the floor, and sighed.  "Somehow that doesn't really surprise me  Reed you've got our numbers and if you feel the situation calls for you, then I'll probably agree with you.  You've certainly earned a fair amount of credit with SHEILD considering that every time you deal with alien invaders through a hands on application is about a couple million dollars and several hundred man hours that we can focus on the far to prevalent number of humans working to kill off massive numbers of other humans.  

You scratch our back, we scratch yours, and because a fair portion of the city considers you the greatest thing since sliced bread and politicians are always to hook their wagons to a rising star I won't have to worry about taking too much flack form the powers that be."  

Susan knew an opportunity when she saw one so she jumped into the conversation.  "Does that include the possibilities of me visiting her?"  Nick looked down at the floor for a moment before meeting her eyes.  "That I'm afraid is going to be impossible, Reed is an old friend but I'm only willing to bend, not break regulations and letting civilians see where The Farm is, and what kind of creatures we keep there is right out of the question."  

Susan's face fell, but luckily Nick wasn't finished speaking.  "However, taking her to you and back while probably unpleasantly expensive would at least not violate national security.  Besides, as long as you folks are saving us more money then it costs pull the round trip off, it counts as a win cost wise.  Just make sure to bring the issue to our attention about, six months in advance, but then that's government efficiency for you.  I'm supposedly in charge of the SHEILD, and the only one way I could attend your wedding, was to point out that's there is a distinct chance that something might go rather horribly wrong and set it up as a mission since I can't arrange a vacation day with only a week's notice.  

Moments like that make a man long to be a field agent again, but if I wasn't in charge of SHEILD then someone else would in my place and probably screwing up left and right.  We've all got our own little burdens, you go put yourselves on the line because you feel its the right thing to do, I've got to deal with beurcrates, red tape, and budgets.

If I' had my choice I'd rather be dealing directly with the evil villains, but at this point I'm just arguing myself in circles aren't I?"  This statment was greeted with a pair of nods to which he responded with a simple shrug.  "Well like the song says 'a policeman's life is not a happy one' and its true today as it was back when it was written.  Still doesn't mean there aren't good parts to life, like seeing what you've done with  your life.  

Though it's a bit weird find myself dealing with a Reed Richards who's taller then I am, not to mention one who could make the kind of mistakes in foresight that would lead to his current situation."  "Are you referring to how we got our superpowers, or my current 'delicate' condition.  Since with a certain amount of retrospect both of them could be considered mistakes which lead to happy, if unintended consequences."  Nick looked down at her pregnant belly and then up at her face and the giant dragon that was silently leaning over shoulder.  "Well why don' you tell me?"  

-----


"This is rather awkward."  Since they were going to be getting married in a week Reed and Susan had decided that unless the world was suddenly in danger again, they'd use the time to get some practice dancing.  Sadly Susan's swollen midsection was making things a bit more difficult then they otherwise might have been.  But all the same she approached the task with good humor, and was more then willing to use her powers for all they were worth.  At the moment her arms were stretched long enough to let Reed hold them without worrying about bumping into her belly.

Of course because they were already elongated Reed was slightly afraid that if he pulled on them too hard they'd end up turning into long limp blue noodles, or he'd end up unbalancing her to such a degree that she fell forward.  Which meant that Susan had to summon up her own momentum to move in one direction or another, which in turn meant that she fairly quickly fell several steps behind him.

"You know, if you'd let me lead then we wouldn't be having this problem."  Reed just smiled at Susan as the two prepared for another try.  "Susan, there are a great many differences between the dance floor and the bedroom, for example in the former the man always leads."

Susan hung her head slightly (stretching it in the process) before twisting it to look at Reed and smiling.  "Well I guess the waltz isn't really my style any more.  So why don't we try something a little spicier...?"  Susan's arms went from only being slightly stretched to a pair of blue pythons that wrapped themselves around Reed's back, and pulled forward.

Reed was yanked forward into Susan who let gravity take its course with both their bodies which laid to her laying on the floor looking up at Reed and smiling..  "Like the horizontal tango?  After all, when it comes to that dance I already know all the moves, and how to work around the fact that I'm pregnant."

Reed of course knew better then to waste energy struggling, instead he just settled for speaking in a calm firm voice.  "Susan, if we can't manage to dance in our unstable molecule uniforms we're never going to be able to pull it off with you in a dress."  Susan's pouted cutely and batted her eye lashes, her sky blue eyes seeming to grow slightly larger.  "Please Reed?  Susy horny!"

As if to prove her point the various extension so of Susan's body began to writhe and thrash about.  But Reed didn't let it throw him.  "We've both got to learn to waltz before we can tango."  Susan pout turned went from seductive to actually depressed and her body went limp.  "Dam, we're not even married yet and already you're tired of having sex with me.  You men are all the same, a couple fun romps to ill my body with your kids and then all you want to do is dance and talk about astrophysics...

I'll need a moment to get myself in order, and if its not too much to ask try and meet me halfway on this Reed, at the moment it certainly feels like I'm the only one who is using their powers for our benefit."

Susan pulled her limbs back to normal then preformed a very impressive stretching routine that managed to get her once again standing on her own two legs, something that Reed achieved much more easily.  As he once again took Susan's outstretched arms, he directed his gaze at Susan's belly before returning it to his face.  "All right then, let give this a try."

Reed clenched his teeth slightly as he started to generate a pair of telekentic hands that pushed up on Susan's belly.  "There, what do you think of that?"  Susan stroked her belly for a moment as if making sure that it was still there.  "That actually feels really good, okay let's take another shot at this..."

Without Susan's belly pressing down on her, she proved much more capable of keeping up with Reed.  That said it was still there, still affecting her body's moment.  Which was why one a bit too exuberant spin later the two were once again laying horizontally on the floor, though this time it was Susan on top of Reed instead of the other way around.

"You know Doctor Richards the way this is going a girl could rather easily get the wrong impression don't you think?"  Reed just smiled, Susan was of course heavier then she used to be, but her pregnant belly distributed the weight in such a way that having it on top of him wasn't crushing him, not that he'd like to try and be intermit with her in his current position.

"Really?  A girl might get the impression that I'm not out of my mind in love with her?"  There was a sparkle in Susan's blue eyes.  "Well then I guess I might have been wrong about that.  Since you were the one who messed up this time around, now can we head off some place private and let me do the dance of the five circles?"  

Reed was genuinely intrigued.  "Dance of the five circles?"  "Sort of like the dance of the seven veils except the five circles refer to, well one is my head , the next two are my breasts, the fourth is my belly and the fifth is my..."  "I do believe I can guess.  And I don't see how I can argue with an offer like that.  Although I'm a bit surprised that you're not worried about looking foolish at your wedding."

Susan rolled herself off Reed and went back to stroking her belly.  "I think no mater what I do unless I'm using my powers to hide this thing, which I can't say I feel like doing, I'm going to end up looking ridiculous one way or another.  But there are two times when a woman can always count on people being willing to tell her she's beautiful: when she's in her wedding dress, and when she's pregnant.  I figure no matter what I do I'll only get complimented.


------


Days continuned to pass, Reed went in for his plastic surgery and came back.  Susan had a very strange dream that night on the eve of her wedding.  For one thing, it was a painfully realistic dream.  

Wake up, get dressed, go to her wedding and at first it seemed like everything was going fine, up until, "if anyone has reason why these two should not be wed let them speak now or forever hold their peace" and then it happened.  A section of the floor collapsed, and the Moleman and several of his pet monsters climbed up into the church.  Then a spaceship crashed through the roof and a skrull strike team climbed out.  Then Namor arrived riding a miniature tidal wave into the church, determined to wash the Moleman and his army back below the depths where they had come from rather then let them come between Susan and the man she loved, even if it wasn't him.  

At which point the archvillians of the superheroes who had been invited to the wedding stared bursting into the place as well.  The dream ended up with her on Gale's shoulder charging into the churning melee in her unstable molecule bridal gown, at which point it all sort of devolved into one huge spiral of colors, sounds and other general bric a brac and chaos.  

Which made sense, since there really wasn't much that could have happened that would have been more absurd than a pregnant woman in a bridal gown riding a draconic steed into battle.  She opened her eyes found herself looking up a the ceiling, and sighed.  "For the record, today is our wedding day, right?"  

Apparently Reed was already awake because his answer came at once.  "Of course it is Susan."  She drew in a very deep breath as she subconsciously started counting the number of tiles in the ceiling.  "Did you by any chance have a weird dream that involved basically all of old foes showing up at our wedding?"  Reed reached over and gently rubbed her belly.  

"Can't say I did Susan.  Truth be told, I had a somewhat indecent dream about what happens tonight after we've actually said our 'I do's to each other."  For some reason that reassured her quite a bit.  Maybe it was because while she was thinking about all the things that could go wrong and he was thinking about all the things that could go right, it was probably a clear sign that she was just having a crazy (probably pregnancy hormone induced) dream.

After all, considering the number of superheroes who were going to be present, and the fact that people usually became supervillians because they didn't get along well with others.  Gather a whole bunch of them together in one place with the intent of making them cooperate together?  Whatever plan they tried to pull off would probably crash the moment it got off the ground, and it didn't, well then Susan would just have to work her way up onto Gale's shoulders and the two would make sure it went down in flames.

-----

As it turned out, she was only half, a quarter, well at most an eight right.  Namor did indeed show up even though he hadn't been invited, but he hadn't brought any of his subjects with him.  He was dressed in a simple tuxedo, and for the most part just stood their with eyes that were cold as glacier daring anyone to try and eject him from the premises.  

He even bowed politely to them offered to kiss the back of Susans hand and congratulated Reed on achieving what he could only dream of doing.  To his credit he made absolutely no comments on the subject of Gale who took one sniff and then began to glare right back at him.  That was doubtlessly in his favor, since it was a situation which to Susan's mind was rife with possible commends made about pets, leashes, collars, and other double entendres.  

But that was it, if any supervillians made an attempt to disrupt their wedding then Nick Fury's men evidently gave them the bum's rush before Susan realized they had entered the premises.  So it all went along smooth as clockwork and eventually they reached that all encompassing moment.  

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."  Reed lifted up Susan's veil with one hand and took off mask with the other.  What Susan saw was so startling that she more or less just stood there while and Reed had to do all the leaning in for their kiss.  That wasn't how they had planned it, but they made do, and something told her that would be the story of their entire marriage, well there were worse stories out there.  

As if sensing the importance of the event Gale chose that moment to draw in a large breath and let it out as a blast of flame.  Luckily it was aimed straight up, and at least it was hot enough to cause a clean burn so they didn't have to worry about falling debris.  So the good news was that the big hole in the ceiling was the only result of Gale's exuberance, the down side was, well the big hole in the ceiling.  When their lips eventually parted, Susan had could only say one thing.  "We're going to have to pay for that aren't we?"   


-----

"Wow, I'm still in shock.  I mean, well look at you."  Reed nodded.  Underneath the mask had been his face.  Literally his face.  It was exactly the same way that she remembered it, which after not having seen it for around ten months now meant it doubtlessly qualified as a sight for sore eyes.  

Well okay it wasn't his face exactly as she remembered it, his hair was still black, but everything else fell perfectly in place, or at least well enough that Susan couldn't tell the difference with nothing but her memories to compare it against.  "Well the doctors said it wasn't too difficult a job since they had plenty of pictures of what they were trying to achieve.  The eyes are something of a cheat of course, colored contacts, but I thought you'd appreciate the effort."  

Susan found herself laughing.  "So for the record, synthetic face masks, plastic surgery, eye color changing contact lenses, all these your good with.  But you draw the line at hair dye when it comes to altering your appearance?"  Reed's eyes suddenly went wide.  "In retrospect, yes I probably should have thought of that."  Susan just smiled at her husband.  

"Well I've got a pretty extensive knowledge of hair care products, so I'll help you find the right shade and properly apply the stuff.  Though sadly I don't think there's much you can do about how it grows and what style it takes, that varies from person to person and nothing can change it."

Reed slowly removed his left hand form Susan's and began to run it through his black hair.  "If it's all the same to you, that sounds like more work then its worth, so maybe I'll just keep my hair the way it is."  Susan elongated the fingers of her free hands, and stroked Reed's hair as well.  "Seems fair enough to me.  Besides, no reason to start a habit we're going to have to give up, and if people see me with my blond tresses, and you with brown hair, but our children already have a mix of black and blond hair then some people might get the wrong impression."  

No sooner were the words out of her mouth then she felt another impression being made upon her.  "Reed!"  At once he let go of her other hand to place both hands on her shoulders.  "Is something wrong?"  A wide smile split Susan's face as she retracted her left arm and used her right hand to point a rather predominant part of her anatomy south of  where Reed was holding her.  

"No, I'm fine.  It's just that I think I felt my kids move for the first time, that's normal right?"  Reed lowered his hands so that they now rested across the apex of Susan's belly.  "Of course it is.  Movements tends to intensify during the third trimester, but they start during the second around four or five months.  

So you're right on target, it is just your body's way of letting you know that your placenta is now fully functioning."  Susan just staired at him for a moment, and sighed.  "Okay then, wow talk about two seperate important events that I never planned to have happen on the same day."  

Reed slowly offered Susan the chance to take his hands once again and she accepted it.  "Seems like a bit much to have it all happen so close together I guess..."  Susan shook her head and smiled.  "Maybe to you, but right now, I already know for sure I'm never going to forget my wedding, and that's just the way I wanted it."



-----


"Here goes nothing."  Susan opened the door to Gale's room.  Her draconic daughter was evidently glad to see her back in a Fantastic Four outfit instead of that weird white thing and at once made her way over to playfully rub the crest of her ridge up against Susan's belly emitting a trill of joy.  Susan for her part stretched out her arms around Gale's neck returning the gesture of affection.  "Yeah, always good to see you too girl.  It's just that I came here to warn you that we aren't going to be together much longer."  

Gale let out a whimper of discontent cocking her head an angle to show incomprehension.  "Yeah I know, I don't like it either, it's just he way it's got to be."  Gale took a few steps forward, then sat down apparently trying to protectively curl her body in a complete 360 degree circle around her minuscule mother.  Susan momentarily gave up trying to explain the complexities of the matter, and just stretched out an arm to scratch Gale's ears, a trick that as usual lead to her letting out a cry of delight.  

"This would be so much easier if I actually knew how much English you understood, and what exactly you're trying to say back..."  "I might be able to help with that Susan."  Susan looked over at her husband who had of course come along with her to say good bye to their somewhat peculiar charge.  

"If you're just getting ideas about some invention to make right now then I doubt you'll be able to build it in time.  Of course if you're about to surprise me with some kind of ready  made talk to dragons helmet as a post wedding gift, then after all this is over I will not stop laying you until you tell me to or I literally start to see bits of brain start to ooze out your ears."  

Reed slowly walked towards the two, clearly expecting the slight growl Gale threw in his direction.  "It's not exactly an invention Susan, just an extension of my powers that I think might work.  I've never attempted it before, but I think if should in theory be able to generate what amounts to a direct telepathic phoneline between the two of you.  

Of course it'd only stay open as long as I concentred, and I'll need physical contact to open it.  Granted even considering all that, it is still a much simpler solution then directly trying to overcome the difference between Gale's vocal chords and a normal human's.  I'll give it a try if you think you can get her to hold still long enough."  

Susan began to slowly rub her hands along the back of Gale's neck speaking as soothing a voice as she could muster.  "You heard daddy, right?  He's going to do what he does best, figure out solutions to problems, and then we're going to be able to actually understand each other.  All you have to do is hold still, and you can do that for mommy can't you?'  

Gale nodded slowly and Reed rolled up his sleaves, first touching a finger to the center of Susan's head, then to the center of the Gale's, at which point he took several steps back.  "That should do it, discuss."  Susan who had more experience with psychic communication decided that she should try to take the first proverbial step.  /Gale, can you hear me?\  A might scaled tail slapped the ground in obvious recognition of her words.  /No, don't answer me like that..\  

A piteous whimper let Gale's reptilian jaws and Susan quickly returned to massaging that scaly neck.  /Mommy isn't mad at you girl, she knows its your first time trying this.  Listen, I want you to try and think about me, and think about what you want to say really intently.  Can you do that?\  There was complete and utter silence for a few moments, and then it happened.  /Yeah, at least I think I can....\

Susan just about jumped out of her skin with joy.  "Reed, she did it!"  She stretched out her arms  to entwine him,  but Reed just smiled at Susan's overly dramatic embrace.  "Darling, you and I have the rest of our lives to be husband and wife, but you've only got about another 24 hours for you and Gale to be mother and daughter."  

Susan was just about dumbstruck by that as well.  After all, how many men were out there in the world who would be willing to let their wives spend their wedding nights with a giant lizard in the literal sense of the phrase.  "Okay, I'm going to have to think up some new kind of extra special sex jus so that I can give it to you, good thing I've got so much experience in that area."  /Ewww mommy I'm right here....\  

Susan blushed beat red, and redirected her attention back to her original purpose in coming here.  /Oh yeah, so I guess you understand English a little bit better then I ever suspected.\  The tail rose up, but it settled gently back down to the ground.  /I've understand most of the stuff you've said mommy, but umm are you sure daddy speaks he same language you do?\  Susan couldn't help it, she chuckled and then proceeded to rub that huge chin.

/Believe me, you're not the only one that has that reaction to him.\  Of course Susan's mirth quickly subsided as she remembered the purpose of her visit.  /But like I was saying, I'm afraid we're gonna have to go our seperate ways.\  Another low piteous moan left Gale's throat.  /Why mommy?  Did I do something wrong?  I wana stay here!\  

Susan stretched out her arms a little more and started to calmly stroke Gale's ears, the last thing any of them needed right now was for a rampaging Dragon Woman.   /Gale, if it was my choice then you wouldn't have to leave.  But there are some things that even I can't control.\  Gale's head rose up directing a scaly glare straight at Reed.  /It's because of him isn't it?\  

Susan thought about quickly forming a leash out of her arms around Gale's neck before she could do anything foolish, but decided against it.  For one thing it would only be sending a message that she didn't trust her, and for another once Gale did start moving all Susan would achieve was getting dragged along like a chiwawa tethered to a great dane.  

/In part, but he's also the person responsible for finally letting us, well finally letting me understand you.  Besides, it isn't about him, it's about this.\  Susan patted her pregnant belly, and sure enough Gale turned away from Reed, her temper mellowing slightly.  /How do they come into this?\  

Susan tried to think very shallowly for a few moments before she started thinking very deeply.  /You're strong aren't you?\  Gale flapped her wings and let loose with a mighty roar.  /Strong enough to make anyone who tries to keep us apart regret it mommy!\  Luckily she didn't try to do anything other then that, so Susan just waited until she was done flaunting her strength before commenting  

/Well that is exactly my point.  You're very strong Gale, and of course I'm very strong, and so is daddy.  But, there are people out there who use the fact that they're very strong to take advantage of others who aren't, and one of the things that your parents pride themselves on is making people who think like that regret it.  

More importantly, before too long I'm going to have a bunch of children of my own, except unlike you they won't be very strong, certainly not a first, in fact at first they'll be very weak.  So when that time comes, those kids will need me to look after them infinitely more then  you ever did.  So while me looking after you here, and us being together takes up a lot of time, in the right situation you could look after yourself just fine.  So while neither of us like it, that'd be what is best for a lot more people then just me and you.\  

Gale's body relaxed, her head drooping downwards and filled with melancholy.  /I understand.  You look after me so well that I don't suppose I could expect you no to do the same for others who need it./  Susan nodded, slowly and sadly.  She really was going to miss Gale, not only had she helped Susan take her maternal instincts for a test drive, but Susan was going to miss the her various chirps, trills and other cries, finding out that she was smart enough to truly communicate with her (even if not vocally) was just one more bitter pill to swallow.   

    /Yep.  Duty before pleasure.  But the good news is that we're not gonna have to part ways just yet.\  Gale chuffed slightly, bringing her tail forward so that Susan could rest her belly on it.  /So tell me mommy, what is this place I'm going to going to be like?\  Susan sighed casting her eyes in Reed's direction for a moment, wishing she had fewer gaps in her knowledge, but then returning her attention to more pressing matters.  

/I don't know myself because I've never been there, but if what I've heard is correct then everyone there will be like you.  Well not in the sense of wings, flies, breathes fire, but in the sense of something out of the ordinary.  For all I know, you'll find some hansom dragon swain and next time we meet you'll be the one with the bludging belly or maybe even your own culch of eggs to look after.\  

That thought apparently cheered Gale up some.  /So well get to see each other again?\  Susan playfully rubbed the great beast's jaw with an elongated arm.  /Darn skippy we will!  I'm gonna make sure all my kids are happy, and that includes you.  It is just that unlike the other kids I'm going to have soon, you don't need me to be happy, just to be happier.  

So while I can't make promises about how often we'll get to see each other, you can be sure that it will happen.  And when I have my kids, you'll get to see your brothers, sisters, or whatever arrangement of those two phrases I've got inside my body.\  There was a deep rumble from within Gale's body.  /You won't look the same once they're outside....\  

Susan wasn't quite sure if Gale had said that wistfully, or jus as a statement of fact.  /Well my face will be he same, I just won't have this belly.  And it's not exactly like it's been a constant, as I'm sure you've noticed its been getting bigger a little at a time every day.\  Gale just nuzzled her playfully.  /Not really, you're so small that its only the big things that I notice.\  

Susan couldn't help but smile.  It really was amazing, the way that this giant 'monster' that had to be close to twice her height and several times her weight looked up to her more or less hanging on her every word.  /Listen, if it turns out to be a problem I can just stretch my body to look like whatever you want.  I could even do the entire trick where I stretched myself out to look like you do.\  

Gale gave a wordless murmur of approval.  /So we can go flying then mommmy?\  Susan sighed and decided that now felt like as good a time as any to take some weight off her legs by laying back against Gale, after all as she had pointed out the weight of Susan's body (even her pregnant body) wasn't much more then a footnote to the mighty Dragon Woman.  /Well not really the most I can manage using my powers is a glide.  But I'll always be glad to perch myself between your wings and then you can take me for a flight sometime.\  

/Thanks mommy.  So do you think that maybe some day I could come back here to stay?  I promise I'll be good...\  The creature's huge eyes only made it look all that much more pitiable.  /Sure, eventually.  But you're gonna need to wait a long time, luckily Reed says that you've got a natural lifespan that's measured in centuries.  So sooner or later you can be an official member of the family.  

Like they say, all things come to he, or in this case she, who waits.  So till then I guess we're both just gonna have to do a lot of waiting.  Though I suppose for tonight we should take advantage of the unique opportunity and do a lot of talking.\  Gale shifted letting loose with a trill of surprise.  /About what?  I've talked about everything I care about.\  

Susan took another moment to carefully study Gale's eyes, she was clearly more intelligent then any other naturally occurring animal, if not quite as intelligent as your average fully grown human.  But then she was only about a month old, so  how much of that was a lack of experience and how much of that was a the limits of her own intelligence?  Susan decided that she probably wouldn't know the answer until she met Gale after the two being apart for a few months or so.

/I don't really know either, but we aren't going to have that much time together so we might as well make good use of it.  Tell you what, why don't you talk to me about when you first came alive?  Not even Reed is sure about how that happened, I don't suppose you know?\  

Gale's entire body shook slightly.  /Nahh, it just sort of happened.  All of a sudden my eyes were open and I was so alone, and hen suddenly I remembered you mommy and I knew that if I could just get you to myself you'd look after me.\  That was more or less exactly what Susan had expected Gale's thought process to be, but it was nice to know for certain.  

She patted Gale's head with one arm and scratched her chin with other.  /Well you could have done worse girl, you could have done worse.\  Gale let out a snuffle that sounded like something vaguely apologetic.  /Well yeah, though all things considered I think there were better ways to achieve what I was aiming for then the one I went with.\

Susan's arms shifted so that either one held one of Gale's arms.  /Listen to your mommy Gale... I've never had the misfortune to get dropped in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people who's language I couldn't speak a word of, and I'm pretty sure its no an experience I'd enjoy.  So cut yourself some slack, you did the best that you could.\

-----

So with the next morning's light the two parted ways, Susan giving Gale one last pat on the nose, Gale gave Susan one last lick and pressed her head to Susan's belly, then Gale allowed herself to be lead of by the SHEILD agents.  Susan for her part walked away even more slowly then current state of pregnancy normally would have made her move.

Unsurpringly she grabbed the first box of kleenex she could find and headed for the hanger, sitting down in the middle of it and pondering how she had never notice exactly how large and empty it was.  This was the condition that Reed found her in, and he quickly joined her on the floor.  "Pregnancy hormones?"

Susan blew her nose, wiped, her eyes, and shook her head.  "Nope.  This one I'm woman enough to own up to.  I'm probably going to be like this for another couples hours.  And in bed tonight I'm probably going to want to just lay there and go to sleep."  Reed placed one hand on her right shoulder and the other on her belly.  "Should I reschedule our plans to spend the next weekend some place private as nothing but husband and wife?"

Susan shook her head firmly.  "Don't worry about it, you know me, big strong superheroine, I'll be good to go by tomorrow.  Today though, today is just gonna sorta suck."  Reed leaned against his wife comfortingly.  Worried that your kids are gonna do the same thing?"  A slight 'sniffle' left Susan's mouth and she nodded.  "Yep.  Knew her for less than a month, only had one real conversation, and still,,,"

Reed shifted about and placed both hands on Susan's belly.  "Well for once you'll be able to say that one of your pets well and truly did go to live happily on a harm."  Susan shook her head firmly.  "Reed, I realize you're trying to make me feel better, but for once you've got your metaphors thoroughly crossed.  To me this wasn't about having to give up a pet because in the future I won't have the time to look after it.  

This was about watching my scaled daughter go off to college.  I've raised her to the point that she should be able to look after herself, and now she's off to bigger and better things, and while she's busy doing them we'll only get to see each other every so often.  Probably take after her father, four years regular college and then four ears of graduate school at least.  Eight years doesn't sound like such a long time when I think about it like that.  And by the our kids are eight years old then well be able to have Gale move back in again right?  Heck by that point we could probably consider her less of a liability and more of security device.

Gale's like way stronger then Johnny, so at the moment I can't think of anyone who comes anywhere near close to trustworthy when it comes to looking after my kids as she would be."    Reed smiled and chuckled before responding.  "I think you'll need to ask  Gale about that when the time comes."  Susan had her own chuckle at that prospect.  "Something tells me that won't be a problem.  

Gale liked to play lots of games with me because of the fact that my elastic body couldn't be harmed by her muscles despite the fact that she'd be able to chew through concrete girders with ease.  So a chance for Gale to play games with six little mes?  The only thing she'll be upset about is how hard it is to figure out what direction she wants to be looking in!  As for our kids, I think by the time they're eight they won't mind the prospect of having a dragon for a nanny and or playmate.  Heck for all we know that'll seem downright normal to them growing up around here.  Sound like a good idea?"

"Sounds like an excellent one, and Susan, if you could bring yourself to care about someone that much, that quickly, just because they depended on you, think about how it'll feel to have six someone's depending on you."  Susan began to rub her own belly, which by this point wasn't so much taking up her lap, as actually forming a new lap on top of her old one.

"Yeah, though part of me wishes they'd hurry up and just get born already, I certainly feel like I'm pregnant enough."  Reed gave her a quick smile and momentarily raised up the lower portion of Susan's outfit to inspect something she'd have trouble seeing without using her power or a mirror before returning his gaze to her eyes.  

"I've got some bad news then Sue.  Your husband didn't see your belly button's shadow, so you're going to have to put up with around another four months of pregnancy."  Susan chuckled at Reed's unique way of saying that she was still 'an innie' as the terminology went.

She leaned her head back for a moment, and thought about what she'd look like when her belly button finally did pop outwards like that little tab on a turkey when it was done cooking.  Somehow she felt like the giant belly she'd doubtlessly have by then, would be the much more noticeable change.

"Four more months.  Thank goodness for superpowers because if my body wasn't elastic no matter how much I love you, you'd probably be very grateful for the fact that you'd always be able to outrun me when I waddled angrily after you for inflicting my current condition on me."

Reed just shrugged.  "You wouldn't be the first pregnant woman to  have sentiments along those lines.  The part about waddling after their husbands at least, not the part about having superpowers."  Susan looked down at her belly for a moment and then her stretched over, wrapping itself around Reed's.

"Yeah, I guess I'm sorta unique like that  We're the first pair of superpowered people who have managed to knock each other up."  Reed smiled and ran a hand through her hair before continuing to run it along her neck as well.  "You're unique in plenty of other ways Susan.  For example did you know that your skin has become different since the accident?"  

Susan's raised her eyebrows.  "Good different, or bad different?"  Reed reached out and grabbed hold of as much of her body as he could hold.  "Fantastically different.  I'll admit that it took me a little bit of time to get used to it, but now that I have, I love it.  Your skin is always amazingly smooth and just a little cooler than normal human flesh, sort of like being caressed by latex.

I love that feeling, because every single time I feel it, it reminds me that I've got a body again, you're in love with me.  Also there's the added bonus that I could pick you out by touch alone in a dark room filled with other women."  Susan eyebrows went up again with a slightly different slant to them.  "So what exactly am I doing in this dark room filled with other women?"

"I was simply being metaphorical darling."  Susan lowered her eyebrows, and smiled.  "All right then.  Tell you what Reed then why don't you hold me, or at least as much of me as you can."  At which point Susan transformed her entire body into one large blue blob and Reed began to slowly pick up one handful after another like he was trying to build one giant snowball out of all the white dust upon his lawn.  But Reed Richards was not a man easily daunted by great tasks.