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The waiting room was uncomfortably empty and the air conditioning was turned up too high for that time of year. Even Cora, raised originally in Scotland, was becoming uncomfortable by the cold air. It wasn't the kind she was used to. It felt sterile, artificial, like she was sealed inside of a test tube. She crossed her legs underneath her black dress, trying to retain some warmth without any thicker clothing. She rolled her eyes, blaming herself and her ego for not leaving the house in something warmer.

Cora was the first patient to arrive that morning, even standing outside the clinic doors and waiting for the opening nurses to unlock it. They filtered past groggily, clutching cups of coffee, their fur still frizzed out with bed-hair. Cora wasn't exactly chipper, but getting up in the morning was no great leap for her. She'd grown up working on her parent's farm, after all. As much as she despised the morning work, it was one of her few pleasures at home to stand outside among the morning dew and watch the sun slowly rise. It was something she could barely replicate standing on her apartment roof in the morning, but not fully replace. New York City was a big change from the rolling green fields she'd grown up with.

The young cow was jerked out of her memories by a rustling movement behind the reception counter. She glanced up to see one of the grumpy nurses, a gray rabbit with her ears tied back into a makeshift ponytail, setting up paperwork on the front desk. She glanced up, meeting Cora's eyes, then shook her head before walking off. The staff was at least nice enough to let her inside, but the clinic wasn't officially open for another half hour. It left Cora alone with her thoughts, which she both dreaded and was thankful for.

She sat next to the coffee table of magazines and absentmindedly grabbed one, wringing it together in her powerful hands without even bothering to open it. She considered briefly whether a stress ball would be a good investment. The reason Cora was at the fertility clinic so early in the morning was because she was being inseminated in a few hours. It was a hell of a thing to think about, that she'd be coming into the clinic at 7:30 in the morning and leaving pregnant at 8:30.

What bothered Cora more than anything else was how often her thoughts and feelings seemed to clash with one another. While part of her was anxious of her decision to be a surrogate once more, another part of her eagerly looked forward to experiencing the satisfaction of pregnancy again. Part of her wanted to get up and run back home and forget she'd even considered the program, but another part of her wanted to knock on the clinic door and tell the nurses to hurry up so she could start carrying as soon as possible. None of these thoughts seemed quite 'right' to her, which left her more unsure than she would have been otherwise. She wondered if her anxiety would be enough for the nurses to send her home, which would be both a relief and a disappointment.

While she was making ends meet working as a barista during the morning and a waitress during the weekends, Cora wasn't making the kind of money she expected to after moving to the city. The minimum wage was higher and the business was steady, but it only equaled enough to barely cover her rent and food expenses. She had finally gotten into the trade school she wanted, but wouldn't be able to start classes until the next semester. Until then, she had roughly six months to figure out how to pay for it.

In a panic a few weeks ago, she found herself idly searching through the website of a local surrogacy service. She'd carried for a friend a few years ago back home in Scotland. She remembered enjoying the experience and having an easy time with the pregnancy, but the reaction from her parents and the teasing she got from her friends was enough for her to never consider it again. But now, thousands of miles away, in an anonymous city where no one knew her name, it was starting to look like the best option.

But was it? While at least Cora's mother was accepting to see her daughter doing something so 'womanly' for once, it was her father's reaction that affected her the most. It was one of the only times he shouted at her for being so reckless. While he later calmed down and accepted her decision, he remained confused and bothered why his tough, tomboy, working-girl daughter would 'tie her apron high' for somebody else. It shook her confidence for her father to not be on her side for once and it was partially the reason she worked on the farm for an extra year before moving to New York.

She sighed, shaking her head to cast aside her thoughts and focus instead on the old magazine she was in the process of destroying.

After sitting in more silence for nearly fifteen minutes, right after the air conditioning finally turned off, the front door of the clinic swung open, the dying electronic 'bing-bong'drawing her attention. She jumped at the sound as it pulled her so quickly out of her ownthoughts. She stopped rolling the magazine up on itself and unfolded it on her lap like she was reading it. Backing through the open door was a skinny,copper-red squirrel girl, her enormous fluffy tailappearing around the door frame first. She woresweatpants, a faded blue tank top, and a Yankee's cap pulled low over her head, her round ears sticking through the fabric. She held a Starbucks cup in one hand and her phone in the other, using her paw to shut the door behind herwith afamiliarity like she'd been there every day of her life.

Without even looking up from her phone, she crossed across the room and dropped into the chair on the other side of the coffee table, effectively right next to Cora. She settled around her tail, the hair wreathingher like she was saton a throne of fur. Cora glanced away from her awkwardly, looking down at her own clothes with embarrassment. She was badly over-dressed. In an attempt to make herself feel more feminine at the clinic for her insemination, she wanted to show up looking the part in the only dress she owned that fit her. Of course, it didn't help that her muscular arms bulged uncovered out of the sides or that her powerful legs were even more visible. Cora looked like she ate steroid cereal every morning.

In an effort to look even just a little less conspicuous, she flipped over the magazine and thumbed the inside to turn to a random page. Before she could, she caught a glimpse of the cover. A barely-clothed, disgustinglythin jaguar woman posed on the cover of the issue of Cosmopolitan,beside the words 'LIFT A TAIL: 102 SEX TIPS TO MAKE HIM GO WILD' in block capitals. She dropped it almost immediately, the shallownessof it nearly making her sick.Grabbing another magazine, she flipped it over to find herself reading an issue of Men's Fitness instead. She groaned quietly, finding themuscle-bound egotism of the magazine as maddening as the _Cosmo_and wondering why there was even an issue of it in a fertility clinic of all places. Cora turned quickly past an article titled 'HORNS: THE NEW SYMBOL OF MALE POTENCY,'hoping to at least find some diet tips.

The squirrel in the seat next to her tapped her screen impatientlyas her phone lost signal in the isolated waiting room,freezing in the middle of her Twitter feed. She dropped it into her lap and sighed, making an idle chittering sound as she scanned the room for something to occupy herself with. She glanced at Cora, her eyes traveling down the cow's bicepsand ending on the magazine between her hands. Cora noticed the girl's eyes on her and simply pretended not to notice.

"Don't bother with the weight training," the squirrel said with a heavy lisp, leaning back and slinging a leg over her chair. "I don't, anyway. They're toofocuthedonguyth." She clicked her tongue and pointed at the magazine. "The cardio workoutth are tholid, though. Thome of that agility training will kick the shit outta you."

Cora nodded quietly, not feeling up for much conversation.

"I like to get the issueth around bathketball theason," the squirrel nodded, talking mostly to herself. "_Tonth_of agility workoutth.Thothe are my favorite."She gestured toward Cora, drawing her attention. "What'th your routine?"

"I don't have one," Cora said shortly, staring intently at an ad for cologne featuring a famous bull football star she would never admit she had a crush on.

"No shit?" The squirrel said, raising an eyebrow. "Thothe are thick gainsthough. You thupplement?"

"No," said Cora.

"No fuckin way," she said, shaking her head. "You tellin me that'th all-natural? I don't goddamn believe it. What gym you go to? I gotta thee what you're doin."

"I don't work out," Cora said, coldly, thinking that was the end of the conversation.

"...What?" The squirrel said, chuckling. "Are you theriouth? You're cut like a fuckin Greek God over here and you're tellin me you don't even work out?"

"No, I don't." Cora sighed, having to explain it for the hundredth time to someone. "I just naturally build a lot of muscle. It's how I'm built."

"For real?" The squirrel asked.She whistled somehow from behind her massive teeth. "Damn, where can I get geneth like that?" She laughed, shaking her head before flexing one of her deceptively muscular arms. "Nah,I'm fuckin around. I like workin out too much. It'th my fuckin drug, yknow? I even like workin off the baby weight after I get knocked up. It'th a good challenge and I'll get extra hormoneth to bounce back."

Cora blinked, looking up from the magazine before turning her head to the squirrel. As they stared at one another head-on, the squirrel furrowed her brow and cocked her head curiously. She pulled the chair away from the wall and set it facing Cora, sitting hunched over with her hands dangling between her knees. The girl squinted, as if trying to remember something.

"You look hella familiar," she said, frowning. "...You go to high thchool up nearAstoria?"

"No..." Cora said, feeling the same familiarity. "I'm...not from around here. I just moved last year."

"You uthe Meetup?" she asked. "The webthite, yknow?"

"I don't know about it..."

"Hmm...shit..."The squirrel's tail twitched above her as she thought,surprising Cora at how something so huge could move so quickly.She gasped and smacked her forehead beneath her baseball cap. "Oh, fuckin duh! Your profile! At Heartbeats!"she exclaimed, referring to the surrogacy service Cora had signed up for just a couple weeks ago. "You jutht thigned up, right?"

"I did...wait," Cora set down the magazine on the table and looked the boyish squirrel up and down. "You're a surrogate?"

"Hell yeah I'm a thurrogate!" the girl said, sitting back and slapping her flat stomach. "I'm goddamn thuper-womb_over here!" She laughed at her own joke and sat forward again, taking off her hat and shaking free her messy, short hair. "Nah, I'm fuckin around. I'vebeen with _Hearbeats a long time now." She extended an arm to shake. Cora took it and found an unexpectedly strong grip in the squirrel's fingers. "Name'th Daph. Short for Daphodille, but only my friendth know that." Daph winked.

"Cora,"she said. "Cora O' Reilly."

"'O' Reilly?'" Daph repeated. "That Irish?"

"Scottish,actually." She explained. "My parents and I come from around Dalry, a little bit south of Glas-

"Oh!Oh!" Daph pointed excitedly at Cora, her eyes lighting up. "You've got an accent!I can hear it! That'th fuckin awethome!"

"It's...It's not that great," Cora mumbled. She already stood out enough in the city as a six foot tall, muscle-bound cow,so she played down her accent most of the time totry to fit in at least a little more.

"Yeah it ith!" Daph said, sitting back. "I wish I had an accent thometimeth."

"Um,"said Cora, not sure if it would be wise to point out Daph's obviousNew York cadence.

"I got a buddy from Ireland, but you probably don'tknow her, then." Daph added

"Probably not."

"Bummer,"Daph said, sniffing nonchalantly. "Tho, Cora! You getting the 'thquirt' today?"

"Uh...the 'squirt?"

"Yeah! I know, I ain't tho good with 'etheth'...'etheth." She stuck out her tounge and shook her head. "Essess.I been goin to thpeech therapy for a bit, but it'th like, people can already underthtand me fine, yknow?"

"Oh sure, sure," Cora nodded. "But uh...what's the 'squirt?'"

"Oh! Oh fuck," Daph laughed and slapped her knee. "It'th a joke from the forums...the 'thquirt!' Like, yknow,"She held up a hand to mimemasturbation. "Baby batter!...You getting_intheminated_ today?"

"O-oh..." Cora swallowed, blushing but nevertheless smiling at Daph's crude metaphor. It was very American, if nothing else. "I-I am but...I hope it isn't that...uhm...invasive."

_"_No! No no no, it ithn't," Daph shook her head. "That'th jutht a...dirty joke I made up.No, it'th thuper professional. Which doctor do you have?"

"I...um," Cora dug in the tiny pocket her dress had and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "...Dr. Mankiewicz?"

"No fuckin way!" Daph shouted in the small waiting room, far louder than necessary. "Me too! And_I'm getting knocked up today! And I'll fuckin _bet we've got the thame checkup schedule!" She slapped Cora affectionately on the arm, grinning behind her overbite. "I never get the thame schedule ath another thurrogate! We're gonna be fuckin belly buddieth!"

"'Belly buddies...'" Cora repeated, incredulously. The thought of seeing the excitable squirrel at every checkup was making her tired already, but the thought of going through the surrogacy with someone else did give her a small amount of comfort.

"Thtick with me," Daph said. "I've been puttin my uteruth up for hire _five timeth_now. Thith ith fuckin routine for me by now."

"Five?" Cora exclaimed. She instinctively looked Daph up and down. Aside from her relatively wide hips, the squirrel didn't look like she'd ever had even _one_baby. Daph laughed, but still nodded proudly.

"Well not like, right away_or anything. It wath over a few yearth, yknow?" She pulled up her phone and started to scroll through her social networking apps. "There'th a buncha pictureth on Facebook. I got fuckin _huge with the latht one, you wouldn't even believe it." She frowned, tapped her phone a couple times, then groaned and put it away. "Ohhhhhh, right. The reception thucks in here."

"How do you even manage that?"Cora breathed. "Go through _five_pregnancies-"

"Four," Daph added, holding up four fingers. "Thith one ith my fifth."

"But how? You look like...um..." Corahesitated, trying to find the right way to word her thoughts. "...You're in very good shape."

"Thankth for noticing," Daph grinned, flexing. "But I'm...I dunno." She shrugged. "I'm jutht _good at it_yknow? I thinkI'm built for baby-makin. My body bounceth back really quick. Pluth I like to exercithe after the birth to work off the baby weight. It'th a perthonal challenge. It feelth good!" Daph sat forward in her chair and nodded to Cora. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Cora responded, probably a tad too defensively.

"How'd you like it? Bein all knocked up?"

"Uh...um..."Cora stammered. She wasn't what Daph meant by it, but the question was far more personal than the squirrel probably knew. "W-well...I suppose-"

"Wait." Daph said, holding up a hand and sitting back. "Thorry,I didn't wanna make you uncomfortable." She smiled with her buck teeth and slapped Cora on the arm again. "No reathon to get all fuckinemotional before we're even pregnant, eh?"

Behind them, the door next to the reception desk opened, revealing awhite-furredfox nurse holding a clipboard.

"O' Reilly?" She called, looking at the two of them.

"Yeth, I'm Mrs. O' Reilly" Daph called over her shoulder, grinning. The nurse shook her head and sighed.

"It's too early for this, Daph."

"Lighten up, Felicia," Daph said, shaking her head. She turned back to Cora and put a hand on her knee. "Don't thweat it, Cora, it'th a piece of cake. You're gonna be fine."

"...A-alright," stammered Cora. She hadn't noticed how tight her hands felt and how much she was shaking.

"The Doc'th gonna be with you every thtep of the way and tho am I. And if you don't think you're up for it, later on...you can alwayth put it to a thtop."

"No," Cora said, glancing horrified at Daph. She shook her head emphatically. "No, I wouldn't do that."

"That'th what I like to hear," Daph nodded, clapping Cora on the shoulder. "I don't ever thtart thomething I ain't gonna finish."

"Miss O' Reilly," the nurse Felicia said, impatiently.

"Don't thweat it," Daph said, looking Cora straightin the eye. "Thith ith easier than you think."

Cora nodded, finding the comforting words of a stranger she had met ten minutes ago to be surprisingly calming. She swallowed, then stood up, smoothing her dress over her legs. As she crossed the room to the nurse, Daph called out behind her from the waiting room.

"Tell the Doc that if he's gonna get you pregnant, he should at leatht have the decency to buy you dinner!" Daph snorted laughter at her own joke right as the nurse shut the door.

"She says that every time," Felicia sighed. "Right this way, Miss O' Reilly.

If nothing else, Daph was right about one thing; the procedure was clean, professional, and as non-invasive as possible. Dr.Mankiewicz was soft-spoken and calm, but as experienced as he seemed. He sent Cora home feeling slightly queasy from nerves, but overall much more at ease. He warned her not to take any medications or engage in any sex for the next few days to ensure conception. On the way out through the waiting room, Daph was nowhere to be seen, apparently already going through with her own insemination.

On the subway back to her apartment, Cora let one hand grip the railing to keep steady, while the other stayed glued to her lower stomach. She tried to swallow the idea that she was pregnant, but found it too much to wrap her head around. Impregnated. Fertilized. Knocked up. In the Family Way. Every syllable and euphemism she could think of raced through her mind like passing lights on the highway, each one blinding her. In a nearly-empty subway car in one of the biggest cities in the world, Cora felt more exposed than ever before.

After leaving the subway andwalking a few blocks, her phone exploded in a flurry of notifications from inside the dress's small pocket. Pulling it out, she found friend requestsand follower alerts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, 4square, Skype, Google Hangouts, and a few more accounts she had but never used. Every single request had a different account picture, but were all named some variation of 'Daph-o-ILL Westinfold.'Cora smiled a little, happy for an ally in the same struggle as her, even if she did come on a little too strong at times.

A couple months later, Cora found herself back at the fertility clinic. It wasn't quite as early as herfirst visit, so the waiting room wasn't entirely empty. A few couples sat togetheralong the walls with some scattered individual women reading magazines and checking their phones. Cora quietly entered, trying to soften the sound of her thickhooves upon the thin carpet. She had to duck slightly to get under the door frame, which a few other patients took noticed up, despite her embarrassment. She was dressed more comfortably in a large jacket andslightly-too-tight blue jeans, but that was mostly an attempt to hide her body from passers by.

She crossed the room and settled back into the same chair as last time,next to the magazine table.Cora buried her hands into the front pockets of her jacket and gazed inattentively at the ground. It wasn't a particularly cold day, nor did Cora get cold very easily in the first place. She wore it mostly so she could discreetly put hands on her stomach without getting strange looks.

There it was. A few inches below her navel. If the two months of intermittent vomiting and muscle soreness hadn't been clear enough signs, the firm little bump in her stomach, beneath a soft coating of curly fur and slight chub, was enough to prove she was pregnant. Sheidentifiedit faster than the first time, where she hadn't truly noticed much until the calves were already kicking. Perhaps it was just the benefit of hindsight, buther surrogacy was going to be a much more observable change in her body. Cora wasn't quite sure why this excited her, but sheanticipated the baby's growthall the same.

Anotherdigital tone sounded as the door opened to the lobby. Cora and the other patients glanced up automatically at the sound to see two female cats walk inside. The rest of the room glanced away absentmindedly, but Cora found herself transfixed on the couple. The gray striped feline lumbered in first, wearing a bright yellow, floral sun dress that was precariously draped over her full-term belly, ready to drop at a moment's notice. She waddled carefully inside, stepping gently on the carpet with her softpawsand being helped along by her blackand white-spotted companion,who wore a loose pair of bell-bottoms, striped shirt, and bright red glasses.

The black cat carefully led her hugely pregnant friend inside, with a peck on the cheek revealing they were a bit more than just friends.She put a hand on the bottom of the gray cat's belly as if to lift heroff the ground, only to beplayfully swatted away by her lover's paw. They crossed the waiting room slowly enough for Cora to continue watching them, wide-eyed, as they settled into the seats directly across from her. The black cat leaned on the shoulder of the other, the two of them settling their hands on the gray cat's belly as they shared a moment feeling their unborn kittens squirm inside.

"Yo."

Cora jumped out of her mesmerized gaze on the feline couple as a red mass of bushy fur passed in front of her vision. Daph dropped into the chair opposite Cora with a thwump,popping the topof a can of Sprite. While the two hadn't seen each other since their insemination, they'd kept up communication through Facebook, with Daph posting the odd article or self-help guide to morning sickness on Cora'swall, along with videos of French parkour runners on her own.Daphtook a sip of her drink, sighed, then raised a coy eyebrow at Cora.

"It ain't polite to thtare,"Daph said with a smirk.

"O-oh...Um...I...I was..." Cora spluttered. She hunched her shoulders, trying to bury herself in her jacket. "...Was it that obvious?"

"Kinda," Daph shrugged, glancing at the couple across from them. "But they're cute ath fuck. I'd thtare."

Cora looked up from herself to glance at the cats. The two of them were giggling at the bouncing kicks from inside the gray cat's womb, poking and prodding their kitten to encourage it along. Suddenly, the black cat glanced up, meeting Cora's gaze. She nudged the other with her elbow, who looked up from her belly to find both Daph and Cora staring at them. They glanced at one another before giving an awkward, simultaneous wave. While Cora wanted to burrow inside her own torso to escape embarrassment, Daph instead flashed a toothy grin and waved back.

"Congrath," she said. "When ya due?"

"Ten days," the gray cat said in a dreamy voice, smoothing the dress creases over her belly and smiling.

"You look about done," Daph nodded. "You uthe a donor?"

"Um..."the gray cat glanced at her girlfriend, confusedly. "...Yes?"

"How would we not use a donor?" the black cat asked, incredulously.

Daph paused, then started to laugh.

"...Oh! Right. Ha ha.Well I don't know your life, yknow?"Daph grinned. "Name one after me, kay?"

"Oh, uh...we already have names picked-" the black cat began.

"Name'thDaph. Short for Daphodille."

The gray cat turned wide-eyed to her girlfriend and shook her arm excitedly.

"Sasha!" She hissed. "Sasha, that's cute!"

"We're good on names, thanks."

The reception desk door swung open, revealing a petie bear nurse Cora hadn't seen before.

"ElizabethYoungwood?" she called, staring at a clipboard.

The black cat stood up first, helping the gray one to her feet with a stiff groan. As they walked back, the pregnant feline turned over her shoulder and waved back at the two of them excitedly while her girlfriend hurried her along.

"Fuck, that'th cute," Daph said, after they'd left. "'Hashtag: Goals,' right?"

"Y-yeah," Cora said, not quite sure what she was comfortable to admit.

"I can't wait til I get that big again," Daph sighed, twirling a finger around her stomach. "You?"

"Oh...well um..." She glanced up at Daph, who waswatching her expectantly.Cora sighed, deciding to let her guard down a little bit. "...Me either." She sighed, smiling quietly as she looked down at her baggy jacket that hid the tiny baby bump underneath it. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"That'th what I like to hear," Daph said, punching Cora's shoulder encouragingly. She pointed to Cora's hands buried under her jacket. "I know what you're doin under there. C'mon, stand up, lemme thee it."

"Wh-what?" Cora said, inching away from Daph in horror.

"It'th baby bump show and tell today, dude," Daph said, motioning forherto rise. "C'mon! Show it off! I wanna thee!"She bounced in her chair like a toddler, excitedly pulling Cora to her feet. After realizing Daph was ready to put up even more of a commotion if she resisted, Cora sighed and stood up.

"Holy fuck," Daph said, craning up to look at her face. "...Were you alwayth tho god damn tall?"

"Were you always so little?" Cora shot back.

"Yeah," Daph said, grinning. "I'm itty-bitty. Now c'mon!" She tugged on Cora's jacket. "Show me, show meeeee!"

Finally relenting, Cora stepped to the side and unzipped her jacket, revealing the simple gray shirt she wore underneath. She pulled it back, as tight as she could, to show Daph the roundedlittle dome right at the bottom of her belly. Daph chittered excitedly and scooted up to the edge of her chair, reaching up to feel.

"HAH!"_Daph laughed once, loudly enough to cause the rest of the patients to jump at the sound. "Thith big at two months? Fuck, Cora, I thought I was jealouth _before."

"Is...is it big?" Cora stammered, twitching as Daph's fingers tickled her stomach. "I wouldn't know."

"I'll fuckin thay," Daph said. She poked at the bump, pressing through the layer of fat to feel the hard center of Cora's womb. She squirmed uncomfortably.

"Do you have to do that?" Cora asked.

"No," Daph said, looking up. "But I wanna."

In a quick motion, Daph pulled up the bottom of Cora's shirt to run her hand over her fur.

"Oh! Hey!" Cora protested, but it was too late. Daph was already exploring the size of her growing bump while feeling her curly fur.

"Heehehehehe," Daph giggled. "You're tho thoft! Like a carpet!" She scratched Cora's belly, making her squirm again, before patting it. "Yep. There'th a bun in that oven. No doubt."

"Can I sit down now?" Cora asked.

"Hang on, one more time," Daph said. She raised Cora's shirt again and gave her a quick belly rub over her sensitive navel. "Okay, now you can thit down."

Cora lowered herself carefully into the chair, having had previous experience with breaking them under her weight. She couldn't imagine it supporting her weight once she was full-term. Her mood fell slightly at the idea, herfar hand gripping one of her lovehandles as she quietly sighed.

"My turn!" Daph said. She set down her drink and hopped up to her feet, tossing her running jacket aside. She stretched exagerattedly, shaking out her strong legs. Cora had to agree, Daph was far shorter that she looked while sitting down, with her gigantic tail adding to the illusion.Turning to the side, she pulled down her tanktop undershirt tight against her stomach and smoothed out the fabric around her own bump. Daph didn't have Cora's natural body fat, so her growth was far more obvious. A lumpy, round bump was starting to form from her pelvis up barely into her sternum.She pulled up her shirt to expose her lighter-furred belly, smoothing the fur down with the palm of her hand.

"Impressive," Cora nodded.

"Fuck yeah it ith," Daph agreed, circling it with her fingers. "I hope it'th twinth again. I'll bet it'th fuckin twinth again. That'd be fuckin awethome."

"Can I..." Cora extended a hand, before drawing it back. "I'm sorry, that's-"

"Of courthe you fuckin can!" Daph said. She pulled Cora's hand over her belly, pressing her wide palm into her fur. "It'th only fair, right?"

"I guess it is," Cora nodded, still feeling the afterimage of Daph's rough prodding. What little belly there was fit fully under Cora's palm. She felt self-conscious about her wide, masculine hands over Daph's soft fur, so she pulled away, quietly embarrassed.

"What'thup?" Daph asked. "You can feel longer than that, if you want to, yknow."

"I know, I just didn't..." Cora looked down at her beefy fingers, so much better suited to pulling a fence post out of the ground than holding a baby. She flexed her fingers, sighing.

"Oh come on," Daph said, forcibly pulling Cora's hand back over and planting it flat over her belly. "Thith ith about the only time you're gonna thee me thith little." She guided Cora'shand over her stomach, letting her feel as much of her bump as she could. Cora had never felt a belly other than her own before. It was unexpectedly intimate for Daph to be so open to her, so easily vulnerable. She imagined the tinysquirrel somewhere beneath the furry stomach, asequally small as the growing calf beneath her own. She wondered if they'd meet one day, like the women carrying them.After a moment, Daphlaid her own palm flat against Cora's, comparing their fingers and somehow whistling through her teeth.

"God damn, Cora. You could fuck up a coconut with thothe hands."

And there it was. Stuck with shame and a shock of embarrassment,Cora frowned and immediately pulled her hand back, settling both of them back in her pockets and turning away from Daph. The squirrel stood there dimly, her undershirt still hiked up over her belly. She pulled it down and sat quietly back in her chair.

"...Thorry," Daph said, quietly. "Did...did I thay thomthing?"

Corastayed silent.

"I mean...I like, I talk a lot, yknow? And thometimeth I thay a lotta dumb shit thatI don't mean to and like...I don't wanna hurt your feelingth or nothin." Daph paused, tapping her fingers together. "...Wath it about your handth? I didn't mean anything by it, yknow? I wasjutht...I dunno, I'm thtupid I guess and thaid what wath on my mind. I didn't know youwere...Um...thenthitive about it." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, her tail fluttering. "I'm thorry."

After a moment, Cora finally sighed, looking down at her hands. It wasn't fair to take out her own insecurities on Daph, whoup to then had been nothing but friendly, if a little on-the-nose. Cora turned back to Daph, forcing herself to smile.

"No, it's alright. You didn't know...I have some issues about...my body, I suppose."She looked down at herself and tried not to pay attention to her most hated problem areas. Instead she, slipped one of her hands under her jacket and shirt to softly rub against her belly. "I'd...I'd like if we dropped the subject, if you don't mind."

"No fuckin problem," Daph said, giving a thumbs up and a toothy grin. She was obviously relieved to have not offended her new friend. "Tho you got any kidth?" Daph asked, changing the subject. She scratched her petite bump absentmindedly and cupped her hand around it, as if protecting it.

"Noooo...no no no," Cora shook her head emphatically. "I wouldn't know the first thing about raising a baby."

"No kidding?" Daph said, raising her eyebrow. "_Heartbeats_doesn't let you into the program if you haven't carried to term before. I kinda athumed you had a baby of your own or thomething."

"Not me," Cora shook her head. "At least not yet. Right after high school, back home in Scotland, I carried calves for a family friend who couldn't conceive." Cora laughed to herself and shook her head. "Funny enough, she ended up pregnant at the same time I did, so they've got three little bulls running around their farm. How they manage, I can't imagine."

"Hey, I did the thame thing!" Daph said excitedly. She pulled out her phone and keyed in the unlock code. "'Cept she never wound up having kidth of her own. I jutht gave birth to their second kidabout a year ago now. It wath through _Heartbeats,_but the firtht baby wath totally off the bookth." Daph leaned over and handed the phone over to Cora. "I thaved the phototh ahead of time to show you!"

Cora took it and was met with a small photograph of a brightly grinning Daphodille with longer hair and visibly a few years younger, arm-in-arm with another blonde squirrel woman.It was a mirror-selfie taken in the bathroomat some kind of restaurant. The two of them beamed happily under the flourescent lights. Daph was enormously pregnant, her stomach spilling out of her tight shirt into the hands of her friend. The blonde squirrel had her hands over Daph's belly, as if holding it up, while Daph herself took the photo from her cell phone. Along the bottom of the photo, in block capitals, read "MAMA+ BABY + BABYMAMA."

"I got fuckin huge, right?" Daph said, proudly. "And that wath only my first time."

"I'll say," Cora agreed, eyes falling over Daph's belly in the photo with something strangely resembling envy. Daph reached over with her finger and swiped left, pulling up a more composed photograph of her at full-term, flanked on either side bythe blonde squirrel on her left and a tall, dark-furred, vaguely muscular male squirrel on her right.

"Thothe are the parentth. She's Georgia and he'th Darwin. He's a thweet guy and she's been my bestie thince fuckin kindergarten.Couple yearth ago, they hit me up, thay they're afraid Georgia can't conceive, right? They think about a thurrogate, but don't want it to be thome broad they don't know. Tho they call me up, invite me over on one of my heat cycleth and thee if I wanna get all fuckin knocked up for them. I thay yeah, obviouthly, we go into bedroom, one thing leadth to another and..." Daph makes a popping sound with her tongue and gives a thumbs-up motion. "I walk outta there with a bun in the oven."

"Um...wow,"Cora said, setting the phone down. "So...you just...he..." She glanced at the photo, then back at Daph, then at the photo again. "You mean...your friend, Georgia, she just...she just _let_him have sex with you?"

"Pfft," Daph blew a raspberry and waved a hand. "_Let_nothin, she _wanted_him to. We had to convince him to go through with it in the firtht place. He felt a lot better about it once Georgia was there, of courthe."

"So...so_she_was...'part of it?'" Cora whispered, her eyes wide.

"Oh hell yeah, there wath no way in hell we coulda kept Gerogia outta the room, even if we wanted to." Daph held up three fingers and entwined them together. "The three of uth had kind of a 'thing' goin on when they were in college.It wathn't weird or anything."

"But he just...Darwin...he just fucked you...naturally?"Cora said again, her head reeling.

"Well yeah!" Daph said, raising an eyebrow. "What elthe were we suppothed to do? I'd never had a baby before, tho we had to do it 'off the bookth.' What about you?"

"We went to the doctor's office..." Coramumbled. Glancing down at the picture, she stared at the nice, smilingcouple and sighed. "I'm suddenly feeling very far away from home."

"It all went okay, though!" Daph said, defensively, sitting up straight. "They took good care of me up to the birthand every time after that wath legit!"

"Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, then," Cora mumbled.

"Oh c'mon," Daph rolled her eyes. "You ain't 'old-fashioned,' Cora.You're younger than I am!" Daph reached over and plucked the phone back,slippingit back into her bag. "You jutht need to loothen up, yknow? Thith ith New York, dude. If you ain't flexible, the city'th gonna break you."

The next second, one of the nurses came to the door, the turning handle drawing the attention of everyone in the room. She cleared her throat and held up her clipboard.

"Saldez?"She called out. With a movement to the right of the main entrance, a pair of young otters stood up, excitedly holding hands as they scurried into the back with the nurse.

"Not yet," Daph said absentmindedly. She turned back to Cora and shrugged. "What brought you into the city, anyways?"

"School, mostly," Cora said, shrugging herself. "Change of scenery, too.I just wanted to get away from the farm at home."

"Never been on a farm," Daph said. "What'th it like?"

"Flat," Cora said. "Green sometimes. Brown most of the time. Always falling apart. Never enough hours in the day to do anything about it."

"Yuck," Daph remarked, sticking her tongue out. "What you going to thchool for? Gynecology, I'll bet." She reached over and gave Cora's tummy another firm pat. "Gettin in thome first-hand experience?"

"...Small engine repair, actually," Cora said. Daph blinked, looking up at her with a moment's surprise.

"...Huh.Alright, rad." Daph said, pulling away. "Didn't really expect that."

"Nobody does," Cora sighed. "The only thing I liked doing on the farm was fixing the equipment. I loved taking it all apart and putting it back together."

"That doethn't thound very 'ladylike,'" Daph teased. Cora furrowed her brow and shot her an angry look.Daph threw up her hands and chuckled. "I'm kidding! I'm fuckin around!Do I look like a goddamn 'lady' to you?"

Cora blinked, then sighed, relaxing her shoulders and laughing a little herself. She made a mental note to not be so defensive.

"...Sorry," Cora nodded. "That's just something my...nevermind. Sorry."

"No prob," Daph said. "That'th cool ath fuck, though. I don't know any girl mechanicth. You ain't ever gonna go hungry, that'th for sure.Ethpecially if you keep poppin out calves in the meantime."

"Well, I'm mostly doing this just to cover the tuition," Cora said, rubbing her stomach. "I spent most of my savings just getting across the water and finding an apartment."

"That can be fuckin killer," Daph nodded. She leaned forward and looked slyly at Cora. "But that ain't the _only_reason, right?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"...I don't follow."

"Look, motht girlth who do the whole thurrogacy thing only do it like onceand never again. It'th a weird job, yknow? You have to kinda _like it_to wanna do it more than once, right?"

"That's a bit of a stretch, Daphodille," Cora frowned.

"I been knocked up five timeth now, and only one of 'em wath jutht for the money. Thith ain't a job you jutht do. Not if you ain't into it."

"What, like...sexually?" Cora said, frowning incredulously.

"Nah, not like that. I mean, for _thome_people, yeah. I got a friend in the programwho...well..."Daph trailed off and shook her head, whistling through her teeth. "But it'th not alwayth a sex thing, yknow? It ithn't for me. Not really, anyway."

"Well..."Cora looked down at herself, her hands over her belly. "...I don't really know...The first time was aneasy pregnancy, but...I never really thought much about it."

"Well you got about eight more months to think about it again,"Daph said, stretching in her chair. Before she could continue the conversation, the door opened, with the same nurse from before stepping out with a clipboard.

"Westinfold,"she said, looking straight at Daph.

"You know who I am, Felicia!" Daph called over her shoulder, grinning.

"Please," the nurse said, in a flat and unamused voice, "call me 'Nurse.'"

"You know you love me, too!" Daph responded. She leaned over and patted a short drumbeat on Cora's thigh beforegetting in one more belly rub. "I'm 'bout to slaythis motherfuckin ultrathound,dude."She stood and stretched, her shirt riding up over the fur of her baby bump, cupping one hand around it. "I'm hittin the gym after thith, tho I probably won't thee you. Hit me up if you wanna chill, though. Later!"

Daph spun on her pawand jogged to the doorway, holding up a hand to high-five Felicia, who very deliberately ignored it. Once she was gone and Cora was once again blessed with silence, she glanced down at her hands, still absentmindedly cupped around her tummy. Holding them up, she took another look at her broad palms, thick fingers, solid knuckles, and thick calluses from years of working on the farm.

They weren't very ladylike, Cora thought, but did they have to be?