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Kyle walked out of the open exam room, looking out at the small waiting area of the Burrows Women's Birth Center. The fine floral print of the wallpaper complimented the gentle scent of perfume and cleaner in an overall flowery clean smell - strangely soothing in comparison to the harsh smell of hospitals. The waiting area was nicely adorned with comfortable, easily cleanable seating - empty save one patient, which was to be expected for the middle of the day. "Madeline? Ms. Higgins?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes yes, I'm coming. Hold on a minute" as the largish raccoon woman eased up from her seat, her pregnant middle definitely hindering her movement as she straightened her denim overalls. Madeline shifted from foot to foot, trying to work the kink from her lower back before waddling toward Mr. Waltman. She looked at him as she said, "You know...it feels like I am getting heavier and heavier every time I come for a visit...oh. Wait. That's because I would be, wouldn't I?"

"I'd be worried if you weren't gaining weight, Madeline. But your on the home stretch now. How's the restaurant holding up? I know the Twin Cities can be a little fickle when it comes to eating establishments..." Kyle mentioned before he let himself trail off at the end. He didn't want to give her more concerns, but there was something about her that told him that if anyone could keep a restaurant going in the uncertain culinary climate of Minnesota, it would be this woman.

"Doing good, working like I mean it - hard to be as quick these days but I work with very talented people - they pick up the slack where I can't move as fast. Besides, I'm the boss - I could just sit on my ample butt and direct the action from the office... not that I'd do that, mind you. I like cooking too much. Besides, its amusing to see the patrons who haven't seen me in a while go all bug-eyed." the raccoon grinned to him from behind a pair of square-framed glasses, waddling past him into the exam room, putting her small purse down on the nearby table as Kyle changed the small door sign on door frame from 'Available' to 'Occupied' before entering himself, and closing the door behind him.

"You aren't going to need to do all that internal stuff again, are you? If I wanted a hand in my parts, I'd put my own hand in there..." Madeline mentioned, blushing and looking uncomfortable.

Kyle managed a sad smile, as he explained, "Sadly, internal exams are an occasional part of midwifery care. At this point, we'd be wanting to ascertain if you are effacing or dilating - something that does happen as you get closer to the big day. I've always aimed to be very gentle in such cases, as I know internal examinations are not a favorite part of a visit to the midwife or OB/GYN. I don't like making my clients uncomfortable."

Madeline nodded, "I know...trust me...I know. I can't imagine you'd get your jollies from sticking your hand into x number of people's crotches a day... not to mention when you are delivering babies and the like. I suppose I should drop my drawers and we can get it over with..." as she put her right hand under the strap of her overalls, prepared to pull them down before Kyle stopped her.

"Actually, I would like to get a weight, blood pressure, as well as talk with you about how your last week has gone first. We can leave the uncomfortable internal stuff for the end of the appointment. I like to save that until after we measure growth and listen to the little bugger's heart too - parts of the visit a lot of mothers look forward to. The heartbeat-listening-to part, anyway... not the reminder of how much they've grown, that I'm sure they know already..." Kyle rambled a little before the matronly raccoon nodded, waddling over to the large platform scale in the corner of the exam room, slipping off her flats in preparation.

Kyle made sure the scale was powered up, as his patient stepped up onto the platform softly. After a few moments, the scale read out a weight in pounds - which Kyle recorded on his small chart. As with other patients, he tended to use paper charts - even if they were printed up for that one visit. He could never figure out why he had a certain...destructive way with the tablet PCs that the others used. Perhaps he wasn't careful enough with them - in any case, he found himself using paper for his day-to-day work with his patients. Looking up from his chart, Madeline's profile elicited a small smile from Kyle. The raccoon's maternal figure was a stark contrast to how she looked when she first visited him, slim but curvy at the hips. Now, her ponderous belly pushed against her overalls largely - the denim material betraying the small shape of a protruding navel. While his medical training told him that there was a number of reasons for that change in a woman, he personally took it as a sign that there was far fewer days ahead in this pregnancy than the days that lay behind - experienced with their little victories and defeats remembered or summarily forgotten.

"Well, a little less than a whale, I'd assume. Not MUCH less from how my feet feel... I am SO glad that I've got reasons to wear flats and sneakers at work. If I had to wear the torture devices some women do on their feet, I'd be so hurting right now" Madeline remarked, looking at the scale's display with a slight frown.

"I know you mentioned that you've kicked your snacking habit at work - and cut sweets down, but I am concerned just a little bit that you've gained almost three pounds since last week. That's pretty unusual past the growth spurt most pregnant women experience during the five and six month - especially considering how active you are in your career at this point." Kyle mentioned, pulling his attention away from her middle, and toward her face.

"We've been trying to introduce a new dessert at work, been trying recipes... means eating a spoonful here, a spoonful there. Cream, sugar, cocoa... you know, the stuff patrons rave about" Madeline offered, her cheeks showing a touch of blushing - her paws finding their way to her belly as she rubs her enlarged abdomen. "...plus I've been working odd hours, not getting to the gym in my building regularly."

Kyle nodded, before he asked, "You've been getting enough nutrition in other ways though, right? Keeping up with sufficient hydration? Don't have any problems with thirst?"

"Not really... do need to go pee a bit more than usual, but someone has been helping me out with that, pressing their head into my bladder... at least, I hope that's their head, and not their ass... else we're gonna have words" Madeline mentioned to her belly, poking her belly button with a finger as if to scold the little child within her.

Kyle nodded, noting on the chart before he mentioned, "I'd like to take a blood glucose reading on you if you wouldn't mind. Not invasive, it's one of the tests I can actually run on you myself - relatively painless and I don't have to send you to the lab people since the results are read out on a small meter we have.

"Woah! I am not diabetic. I know what those things are..." Madeline spoke up defensively, "You have to use one of those jabby finger thingies on me - that's NOT painless!" her eyes widened in reaction to his statement.

Kyle sighed, looking to her for a moment before he spoke, "Its my job to make sure you both are healthy. Even the most healthy people when they aren't pregnant can develop issues when they are pregnant - almost all of which usually go away once they aren't pregnant anymore. But they can cause problems for them, and their babies - problems I want to avoid. Knowing how your blood sugar levels over the next week or two will allow me to see if we need to perhaps hammer out a dietary change temporarily - until the little bandit is born. Your previously measured levels were well within normal values, so if they are still within normal values when we retest - then we can be sure to rule out something like gestational diabetes."

"Gestational diabetes? There is more than one kind?! I thought you get diabetes, then you take insulin until they have to chop your limbs off" Madeline stated, before pantomiming a crude chopping action with her right paw in mid-air as the other paw remained on her large belly.

"Oh heavens no! There are a few types, and not all are treated with insulin therapy. Someone in internal medicine would have much more knowledge about the disorder than I would - but gestational diabetes is usually caused by the mother's body either not making enough insulin or not utilizing the insulin they are making - which leaves too much glucose in her system. The baby, being the little hoover it is, sucks up all that glucose and does what little babies do when in their mommies - they grow. Sometimes the slamdance of hormones during pregnancy can throw mom's system for a whacky ride, hence the sugar problem. Big babies are harder to deliver, and in some cases - can't be born vaginally at all. Once baby is delivered, gestational diabetes usually cures itself - though your primary care physician might insist on screening you for the onset of diabetes for a while just to be sure you aren't having any problems. As for the limb chopping - they generally don't have to do that as much as they used to because of the advances in care for those who are affected by diabetes." Kyle explained.

"Grand. Still need to jab my finger with a bulletin board thumb-tack though." Madeline crossed her arms under her bosom with a disapproving expression on her face.

"I *could* use a thumb-tack if you really want, but I've got a lancet that's much smaller. The newer meter doesn't need all that much blood," Kyle offered, removing the small kit from the desk drawer before returning to the raccoon, still poised on the weighing scale. He continued, "...but how about we get your blood pressure? No poking involved with that, just listening to your heart and squeezing your arm."

"I'm sure my blood pressure and pulse will be sky high now, thanks to the mention of needles and the like. I just love hospital conversations, getting stabbed for this, poked for that, and tested for the other thing, its the reason I came to you guys - to avoid that happy horseshit." Madeline wryly mentioned, clearly a bit irritated.

Kyle pondered on her words for a moment before he explained, "I am sorry that I've upset you - that was not my intention at all. I merely felt it prudent to test in case your blood sugar was abnormally high. You know I am your advocate, your guide in this motherly journey, right?" as he waited for her answer.

She nodded softly, "I know... I just...things have been so whacked lately... I don't need this to be all wrong right now. So much stuff all going on at the same time, I don't need for something to go wrong like this." she stated.

Kyle offered a seat next to the desk, "Come, sit down, talk to me. Tell me what's going on. Perhaps I can help?" he offered.

She sighed before the rounded raccoon waddled off the scale, slipped her shoes on again, and took the seat next to the desk as offered by Mr. Waltman. "It's Chris..." she stated plainly, before even being asked.

"Chris? The man you are dating...or were dating...or still are?" Kyle floundered. Relationships were not a strong suit for him - giving advice or practical application were equally poor in his own track record.

"...Dating currently, still dating, yes. That Chris. You know... I hear about men being afraid of commitment... dated a few that were totally not serious... and I meet Chris... being already pregnant allows relationships to get into the 'not-casual-but-not-serious-enough' territory pretty quick. I mean, he couldn't get me pregnant again..." Madeline explained.

Kyle listened to her explain, his facial expression remaining neutral.

"...anyway, he is eager to jump into the whole family and kid thing with both feet. He wants to come to appointments, he wants to help with the baby nursery, he wants to go shopping with me for baby items..." Madeline ranted a little, shaking her head with her statements as she listed them off, before she reached, "...he wants to be there when I deliver..." with which, she went silent - as her expression changed to more of an apprehensive fearful one.

"The other things aren't really a large problem...its the last item on that list that is more troublesome than all the others. Am I right?" asked the red fox. In his own mind, all the other things she mentioned sounded delightful, even fun - but when he wanted to be there for her labor and delivery, that changed the whole concept of their relationship. Friends can go shopping, friends can date casually, friends (with benefits, as he's been told) can even sleep together sometimes... being ring-side to watch the greatest miracle of life unfold...then it wasn't just a friendship or casual dating anything. It was a serious relationship or nothing, no in-between, and no going back.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, before she changed her answer, "No!" which caused her to pause, then revise her statement with, "...well, its all fucked up! I mean, who wants to do that with someone they're dating?! I mean...its one thing to screw or fool around in the nude... but I won't be doing ANY of those things, and he wants to see that?!" as her arms waved a little in expressive shock.

"Exactly. Shopping, dining, foreplay, even sex - your relationship can end after all of those things and you're not really all that worse off than before you started dating. Its implied that your relationship might not work out. Him being present at the birth of your child, to be involved in this pinnacle moment in your life means it has to swim or sink - there is no 'ooops, I guess it didn't work out, see you in the funny papers'" Kyle explained, as Madeline's expression changed from exasperation to quizzical confusion. He continued, "...He doesn't have a personal stake in the proceedings, I mean - he's not the biological father... at least, I'm assuming thats the case?" as he looked to Madeline, who vigorously shook her head.

"No. Nononononono, I made sure that I chose someone who wouldn't want a relationship of any kind to be the father of my child. Someone who would be fine with the idea of not having any involvement in our lives once this was done. Chris is someone I met while working at the restaurant, he asked ME out - despite being pregnant as a prize cow. Now he wants THIS from me? That's too much!" Madeline exclaimed, adopting her previous shocked and slightly angry expression.

"Yeah, that's too much to ask. Did he just inject himself into the proposed moment?" he started to ask the raccoon before she interjected.

"No. He didn't ask... I...mentioned that...it was coming up, and he stated that....he...would...be honored if I wanted him there. I...freaked out from there." the pregnant raccoon lady explained, looking a little sheepish. She continued, "...and before he could clarify... I...kicked him out of my house. I fucked this up...didn't I?"

Kyle had been in the center of a few emotional whirlwinds when dealing with pregnant patients. Hormones can cloud judgement and perfectly rational people can get stark raving bonkers when they have a little one kicking their ribcage and a head pressing down on their bladder, reminding them of this delicate dance they were doing and the hormonal state of their entire being. He thought for a moment before he spoke, "...I can see how you would feel this...being on display...being exposed...would be upsetting. It isn't like he wanted to be at the opening of your new restaurant in Vegas. It isn't like he wanted front row tickets to your show at the Guthrie before you went to Broadway. This wasn't just some moment that you have amongst many other people in your adult professional life - this is the birth of your child, an intimate time where you....will need to be you...be ready...be open to all sorts of things that aren't the public you." Kyle paused, thought, then continued, "People scream, they cry, they moan, they lose control of themselves and its something you don't just subject a casual date to - people are afraid of what their husband will think of them after seeing the spectacle of them giving birth to another person."

Madeline listened to him, rubbing her hands over her belly softly, her brow and entire expression changed to a thoughtful reflective state.

"So...he...offered to be there. Your mind 'went there' and you freaked. I can totally see that happening to any other person. Perhaps...and this is just the man me talking here... perhaps he cares about you and wants to offer some sort of support...for the women he has feelings for... but he isn't sure of his role in all of this. So he took your mention of labor being in the near future and ran with it - offered to be in on something that...he might not really want to do... or he does, and he...just hasn't worked up to that with you yet. Is that something he could be forgiven for - leaping to an incorrect assumption?" asked Kyle.

She sighed, then responded, "I suppose so. I mean... I like him... I really really like him... he's sweet, kind, gentle... sophisticated... we just mesh in so many ways... I guess I did just kind of go off the emotional cliff there... would it be weird to have him come to an appointment....you know... get a feel how serious he is about being...there for me...wanting to do the whole father part of this strange relationship we're building...?"

Kyle said, "No more weird than having any other boyfriend be there for their girlfriend, or people who want their kids to be present" which made the raccoon's expression perk up.

"No way, people don't have their kids be there!?" exclaimed Madeline.

"Yes way, they have been and do want to bring them - though I am careful to advise my patients that children need to be coached and prepared for the event way more than an adult would be, since there is a lot of scary things going on - and their mommy is generally going to be pretty busy to answer questions. They need someone, not the Dad, to be there for them in case it all gets to be too much for them so they can be escorted to a more...relaxing environment...to wait things out, or to get away from all the excitement." Kyle explained. He had personal experience with children being present, as he remembered back to a Halloween a few years ago when he delivered the baby of a mom dressed as a rather pregnant princess, and her other children watched on as various dwarf miners while the prince helped the princess with this important job. One Halloween forever changed for one family - but they would have had it no other way.

Madeline giggled uncontrollably, her large denim-clad belly bouncing slightly as she managed, "...that....that is more than I could do....kids...seeing that...feeling like I am abusing them by letting them....see that..." before breaking into more giggling.

Kyle waited for her to calm down from her giggle fit before stating, "So, no - I would not have a problem if you want to bring Chris to your next appointment. After all, not that many left before the big day... might want to see how he handles being given the chance to audition for the 'Daddy' role." as he retrieved the blood pressure cuff from the desk drawer, hooked it up to the readout, and slipped the cuff around Madeline's right arm softly, letting her help him if she was so inclined.

Madeline straightened up in her seat, putting her feet flatly on the ground and lay her right arm on the desk quietly as Mr. Waltman slipped his stethoscope into his ears and began to take her blood pressure.

His method was more old-school than his colleagues, but he reassured himself if there was any strange or abnormal in his 'old school methods' then he could rely on a more modern approach. Conversely, if the modern approach wasn't working properly, he could rely on his skills in order to achieve the same results - something Alice taught him, the trademark of a 'truly great midwife' versus just a competent one. He could hear her pulse as he inflated the cuff, until he reached the point that the cuff had cut off circulation. Noting the number in his mind and in a practiced, smooth motion - he manipulated the cuff valve so that it would deflate slowly. He watched the pressure decrease on the readout until he could, once again, hear her pulse through the stethoscope's earpieces.

Having completed this, he withdraw the stethoscope from her arm, removed the cuff, and removed the stethoscope from his ears before he jotted the information down on the paper chart. He remarked, "Looking pretty good. Normal range for both blood pressure and heart rate." as he returned the blood pressure cuff to the desk drawer, removing the blood sugar testing kit before closing the drawer. He could see the fur on Madeline's neck stand up a little as her tail bristled. "Now... I know you aren't a fan of this... but its not as bad as you think." he started to explain.

"I know. We've talked about it. Not going to like it, but have to do it, right? For the baby?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, to make sure you and baby are healthy" Kyle confidently answered.

Madeline held out her right paw, "Do your worse" as she cringed.

Kyle reached over and felt her paw with his fingers, "I think setting two should work, no need to dominate this by dialing it to eleven" he mentioned before adjusting the small pen in the kit by turning the dial encompassing the tip and then twisting the pen in the middle until a firm 'click' could be heard.

"Eleven?! It goes up that high?!" Madeline cried out in surprise.

"No, it only goes up to five. Any higher, I'd use a larger lancet - this one uses itty bitty needle tips. A setting of eleven would break the needle, I'd imagine." Kyle offered with a smile. He paused, letting her think of what he said before he mentioned further, "Most people who don't do heavy work with their hands use a setting of two. Only time I've ever used a setting of one with a lancet is on a baby and that was back in my OB rotation in college."

Madeline smiled meekly, managing a strained chuckle.

Kyle swabbed her index finger of her right hand with a small alcohol swab before he brought the lancet device to her finger, "Now, when I count to three - I will push the button."

Madeline nodded, and her mind began to race to all the painful experiences she'd ever had in her life up to that point.

Kyle counted, "One...T" before he casually pressed the lancet's spring-loaded button, which sounded with a metallic plastic 'plink' as the raccoon blinked, looking confused. He withdrew the lancet, swiftly grabbing the nearby meter on the desk, loading a strip into the device, and then he brought the strip to the small drop of blood that appeared slowly at the tip of her finger.

"Hey! What...?! I..." Madeline stammered, still confused as he quickly used the meter, putting it aside before swabbing her finger with the alcohol swab.

"I know...I'm sorry, but the way you were starting to tense up - by the time I counted to three, you would have been half-ready to ram a railroad spike through your paw - complete with screaming and flinching." Kyle explained, with a look of sympathy.

"...that...really didn't hurt that much, I guess. Of course... kinda feeling hurt you didn't trust me.... but I suppose I might have been expecting it to be a lot worse than that..." Madeline started to explain before the meter on the desk beeped and displayed a number.

"One hundred thirty. Normal range is seventy to one hundred ten so....a little bit higher than I'd like... but I didn't ask you to fast before you came in, so if you've eaten in the last three hours, its gonna be a little off." Kyle stated, pulling the strip out, disposing of it into the wall-mounted container, and starts to put the items away into the kit.

"So... not good to tell you I had a chocolate sundae with hot fudge and brownie pieces before I come to my appointment then?" Madeline offered meagerly.

Kyle looked at her with a plain expression, "...not exactly on the foods I'd approve of... but as long as that's not a permanent staple of your diet... then I can ask. Please - in moderation, okay?" he asked.

She nodded softly, "Promise. Just....felt like I really needed chocolate. And brownies. And hot fudge."

"How about if you hop up on the exam table, slip your blouse up to just under your bosom, and slip your overalls down so I can get a good measure of how much things have grown. See how the little one is situated too" Kyle offered, as he looked to move the visit onward. He did like to converse with his patients, but he knows that the clinic's owner would like visits kept within a certain semblance of a normal timeframe.

"I know last time she was head down... butt and heels near my ribs. Been kicking there ever since...at least, pretty sure that's her feet...." Madeline mentioned with a slight smile, easing up from the chair near the desk, waddling over to the exam table, slipping her overall straps down as she sat down on the edge.

"She, huh? The ultrasound tech told you, then?" asked Kyle.

"No, just guessing. Feels like a girl, I guess. Strange, just keep imagining having a little girl. Okay, NOT so little girl. Oh, you know what I mean" Madeline started before she paused and disrobed a bit further. She pulled her light blue blouse up, and shifted her overalls down to reveal her large pregnant abdomen. Her fur pattern was stretched by her ponderous size, light grey fur failing to hide a pink navel poking out proudly as she situated her clothing and laid back on the exam table - her navel remaining protruding despite her position change.

Kyle stood up from the desk, turned to look at the raccoon laid out on the exam table, a small smile crept onto his red fox face.

"I look like a whale, a big masked whale" muttered Madeline, looking at her belly over her bosom, which she kept in place with her paws.

"You...look like a very pregnant mother to be, about ready to change in that big ol' belly for a new baby - and all the work that it will take to get her out of there." smiled Kyle, as he retrieved a measuring tape, a portable doppler ultrasound and some transducer gel from another drawer in the desk before approaching with the measuring tape.

"Good survival instinct. Must serve you well when working with wall-to-wall pregnant women" Madeline smiled to him as he approached the exam table.

Kyle held the measuring tape between his thumb and forefinger of his right paw as he very tenderly feels for the top of the pelvic rim before loosely taking the measure in his other paw, and while letting it slip between his thumb and forefinger of his left paw, he swept his hand over her tummy very lightly, as he pressed carefully down with the left paw to feel where the top of her womb could be felt. He looked at the measure, noting the number mentally before he turned to the paper notes to record his findings. In another case of technology versus the old ways, he found he preferred to use physical contact with his patients to determine growth and position of the baby. Granted, he could use ultrasound to determine these, but he felt that something was lost in the use of technology - the reassuring nature of a caregiver making contact with their charge. It made more sense to him than fuzzy, blurry images on an ultrasound screen; it seemed more like a baby to feel it move beneath his paws during an exam than seeing it move on the screen or even kick at the transducer in the hands of a skilled ultrasound technician. He replied to her statement, "I am not one to disrespect my patients. Hard thing to grow a life, I've heard. Gotta find the positives in it"

"Suppose so... I mean, don't get me wrong - I've had some real magical moments... with the heartburn, the swollen ankles, the outtie navel rubbing on my clothes, having to pee every five minutes it seems... hemorrhoids..." Madeline stated, blushing profusely with the last part before she continued, "...makes it hard to sit down. Stand, my ankles get puffy, I sit, my ass hurts, I lay down, I get heartburn, I can't win"

Kyle listened quietly to her before he suggested, "Warm baths can help with the...behind problem... and if you are having persistent problems with heartburn, you can take calcium carbonate based antacids - just don't exceed the recommended dose and please use sparingly. They are pretty safe when used as directed, but I am hesitant to recommend any use of drugs during pregnancy, even presumably safe ones. You know the ankle solution, and the navel I'd imagine has gotten a lot less sensitive since it sprung out on you, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has - just...worried it might not go back after I have this kid, you know? It sticks out quite largely... can't wear anything light as it shows through as a big bump" Madeline offered.

"It very well should go back to your pre-pregnancy state - if not, then your regular primary care physician can certainly look into if you've herniated it or if surgery would be an option to correct it." he mentioned to her, noting a few things on the paper chart before he returned to her side. He gently placed his right hand back at the base of her belly as well as his left hand on the upper slope of her abdomen, taking the briefest moment before he gently felt with his right hand's finger - pressing them into her fur and depressing into her skin shallowly. He could feel a familiar rounded shape, partly tucked into Madeline's pelvis - feeling rather large and engaged into the void behind the rim he left with his pinky finger. Her whole abdomen felt full, as what his fingers displaced here was pushed out in round fullness elsewhere - almost like a large water balloon. It was one commonality between all the patients he had tended to, how pregnancy changed their bodies, grew life within, and how he could feel it grow from an indistinct shape to a being with arms, legs, heads, rumps, knees, elbows. Some little ones would almost revolt at being gently handled through mom's abdomen - kicking her legs and flailing their little arms to lash out at their large perceived aggressor. Others would merely lay almost motionless during his gentle examinations, only twitching if their mother coughed or if they got particularly bored. Madeline's baby was a fighter, he felt a strong set of legs kick in the region of her ribs with his left hand and he could feel the large rounded shape squirm back and forth frustratedly with his right - he smirked a little in response.

"Okay, you can smirk - she's kicking the shit out of me. I think someone's going to get soccer lessons when they are older" Madeline mentioned, moving a hand to her belly to try to calm her baby, "Shhhhh, shhhh, you don't need to fight so..."

Kyle chuckled, "Looking great, she's head down, in a great position for things to kick off when its all ready. You be sure to let me know if she tries her hands at acrobatics... babies should come into the world head first... not butt first"