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Joy approached the nurse's station, her scrubs remaining as clean as they were when she came into work the night before to attend to a delivery - a feat that came through experience and a little bit of luck. She tapped away on the small tablet computer before putting it down on the desk when she arrived. Behind the nurse station, Kyle waited patiently. Behind Joy, near the nurse's station was the patient whiteboard, affectionately known as the 'Birth Board' which listed all patients in the clinic who had been checked in, what room they were in, as well as who was assigned to be their caregivers. The board showed only one patient, which Joy updated as 'DLVD' to indicate that the baby, a little girl, had arrived safe and sound.

"Wow! Its pretty sl..." Andrea started to say from one of the exam rooms, where she had sat to read a book more than an hour ago, before Joy interrupted her.

"Never say those words! Old midwife adage - never say 'your bored', 'its slow', or 'can't we get more excitement?'. It taunts fate, and I've learned - never ever do it" Joy scolded, entirely serious in her expression.

Kyle said, "Office visits were yesterday, Mrs. Reynolds came in last night, you delivered her about twenty minutes ago. We haven't seen a soul since, the phone is quiet. I've read every..." as he paused, holding up a rather torn up copy of a 'Parent' magazine, "...EVERY copy of this magazine we have. I feel like I am ready for every breastfeeding or diaper dilemma for the next twenty years" as he dropped the magazine into the nearby basket.

"Sounds like Waltman is looking for something to do." Carla grinned as she approached from the other room, having freshly showered and changed into a new set of scrubs. As Joy was skilled at keeping herself clean, Carla seemed to have a talent for getting icky - some manner of bodily fluid ending up on her scrubs, if only a large enough spot to warrant a change of wardrobe. This time, Joy escaped the mess that was Mrs. Reynolds' water breaking despite being in the 'flood zone' only seconds earlier, Carla got the brunt of it, soaking her pants down to her socks. By some luck, it did not hit her shoes or her scrubs above the waist - but by the time the baby arrived, Carla's outfit has soaked up most of the mess. Luckily, Pleasant had the forethought of having the clinic built with a staff changing room as well as a good shower to get clean - as well as laundry services for soiled linens and uniforms. Carla utilized this service more often than most, but it also meant that she was never more than 8 hours from a shower.

Joy said, "I know - we can figure out how to get Kyle a wife. I don't see a ring on his finger yet." as Carla and Andrea agreed with firm nods of their heads.

Kyle immediately blushed and said, "Red light, ladies..." trailing off as Joy looked at Carla, a smile creeping across her face. Kyle looked at Carla, then Andrea - who approached the nurse station with rapt interest as well. He felt a bit like the small rabbit, being circled by the hungry predators he failed to notice when he poked his head out of the warren of magazines which had kept him silent and protected for most of the morning. He had been noticed, and was it was only a matter of time before they struck.

"Don't look at me, no siblings... and I don't have any kids I could set him up with - what about you, Andrea?" Carla said, leaning on the nurse station.

"I think my daughter's fiancee would be pretty pissed if I played matchmaker. She's also my only child." Andrea shrugged. Sarah, the older fennec nurse always seen as the mature second-hand to Joy, came out from the supply room - walking straight into Joy's next question.

"What about you, Sarah - a daughter for Kyle to date?" Joy asked, pointing to Kyle - who looked ready to flee the room with embarrassment.

Sarah looked over at Kyle as one ear drooped into an awkward ear splay, "Oh...yeah...totally game. They'd have a blast, then my husband would have to kill him. After I brought him back to life, Kyle would get registered as a sex offender. My daughter is all of twelve, Joy. My oldest two are boys, remember?" dropping a clipboard on the nurse station desk, looking at the hippo with a serious expression. Kyle nearly fell out of his chair, as he couldn't speak before Joy piped in with her response.

"These are grim days indeed in the kingdom... Patty is married, so Portia it is." Joy responded, looking like she had given the whole matter serious thought, settling on this last course of action. She then looked to Kyle, who looked in utter shock with his mouth hanging wide open, as she continued, "She'll love you, she digs kids, you guys will have half-a-dozen before you even know it. She knows what you do for a living, so that is one conversation you don't even need to have."

"What th... WAIT! Don't I get a say in ANY OF THIS?!" Kyle sputtered, looking a cross between embarrassed and a touch bit insulted at the presumption that his bachelorhood was something in such dire need of fixing that a round-table discussion be held and a solution be nominated for him without his say, or even his vote.

Sarah knocked once on the nurse's desk with a paw, looking at Kyle, "Nope, you had your chance - Mr. Terminal Bachelorhood. This requires action and you can thank us later." she stated, eying the inventory she'd just finished taking briefly before looking back to Joy, who smiled like a mad scientist.

"What the FRENCH, TOAST?!" Kyle blurted out, having learned a while back to correct his profanity in mid-announcement - a skill highly useful in the medical field. He couldn't believe the expedient nature of the whole affair as Joy dug out her cell phone from her purse and started dialing with a song on her lips, almost to the tune of the touch tones.

Andrea said, "You see, Kyle - this is what you get when you work with women who are mostly past having kids of their own, but have the desire...for grandkids. Simple law of efficient mothering - why have one when you can have twelve crazy older ladies who catch babies for a living, all trying to plan your future. Portia is nice, you'll like her, I think she's only three years younger...?" with a perverse grin, something Kyle found seriously unsettling.

Kyle stated, "More like ten... like...a generational difference." as he watched Joy dial her phone, his posture becoming more resigned as the phone began to ring. Please don't answer, please don't answer, please don't answer, please don't answer he found himself wishing, only to hear a voice on the line, dashing those hopes.

"Portia? Yeah, it's Mom-mom. Hey, I met someone I think you should meet" as Joy gets an answer, and started to talk - grinning like a bubbly teenager. She sighed, "No, he's out of college. No piercings..." as she listened to the voice on the phone for a moment, before she continued, "...no, didn't meet him at the organic food market. No, he has his own car. Mr. Waltman, you remember him? Alright, I'll have him call you" before hanging up on the protesting voice with a pleasant 'boop'.

* * *

Kyle watched as Portia forcefully stabbed at her salad, the tines of her fork violently piercing through the lettuce with almost a quiet rage as he looked about at the fellow restaurant patrons, blissfully unaware of the contempt he could feel just radiate from the hippo. He looked at his food for a moment as he adjusted his shirt. It seemed like forever before he managed, "...you....seem rather....unpleased. D...did I choose a good place for dinner?"

Portia stabbed her salad before she looked up, "...what? Errr, no. I mean...yeah... I mean... Dinner is fine. You look very handsome... I...am mad at my mother, not you," she replied, a small blush showing on her cheeks and the insides of her ears. She prodded at her salad for a moment before she noticed that Kyle had not resumed eating. She sighed, and continued, "She basically ambushed me... as I imagine she might have done to you?"

"I guess. Basically, she noticed that I hadn't dated in a while - decided that I needed to get match-made, and decided that we kind of knew each other so it had to be a good fit. Barring that, if I broke your heart or hurt your feelings - she'd rip my arms and legs off" Kyle explained.

Portia sighed as she stabbed her fork into the salad like a final killing blow in a drawn out battle, "THAT is what I am talking about. Its not really fair because if you don't like me, my mom wants to rip your limbs off. If I don't like you, she'll assume you did something to instigate it and...you guessed it, limb removal time. There is not a winning upside to that."

Kyle frowned, his ears splayed a little, "Yeah... I noticed that. Besides dating the daughter of my supervisor is super, super awkward. You look very nice, as I lead with the awful segue. I've got a talent, I guess."

She chuckles, "Thank you, I get the scatterbrain - I get that way when I get frustrated as well." as she puts down the fork, if only in an attempt to look a little less menacing. She looked a touch in thought when she stated, "I wonder..."

Kyle studied her expression for a moment before he asked, "...wonder?"

"My mother disregards the idea that I have a type... you are not quite my type. I mean, you seem nice enough, but I'd imagine I am not quite your type either?" Portia offered.

Kyle shrugged, "I don't know, I've dated a few people - I suppose as I've gotten older, my 'type' has broadened quite a bit...of course, that makes me sound desperate - I guess I am just a sucker for possibility, really."

She chuckles, "I suppose that could be a bit romantic... I guess what they say is somewhat true, little girls want to meet and marry their Dads. Big and strong, kind... someone who makes me want to settle down with them. I'd imagine that's not quite that adventurous - but stick with what works?" as she picks up the fork in a more gentle fashion.

Kyle nodded, "I guess I can understand that. I either meet people who hear that I am a midwife and they jump out of a moving car, or they think I am secretly gay as if straight men would not want to be involved in midwifery care. I wear pink, sure, but come on... I don't know who plays 3rd base for the Dallas Cowboys or races cars on metal rims without tires in Formula 1, but that..." as he gets interrupted by the hippo's loud laughing.

Portia couldn't help but laugh and the more she tried to stifle it - the louder she laughed. She laughed for a few seconds before she snorted, which caused her to pause embarrassedly. She managed, "You don't say..." before she chuckled a little more quietly.