by Lauren Wood
They were going to get through this.
They would be just fine.
At least, that’s what she hoped.
***
Nicole got back to her apartment around six in the evening. She carried the groceries up the stairs, unlocked the door and pushed it open. After putting everything away, she started cooking some dinner. Normally she would be satisfied with a half-hour of cooking some spaghetti or meatloaf, but tonight it was going to be some microwavable corn dogs.
Nicole stood watching the food turning around when she remembered how the microwave could radiate some things to give her cancer, and jumped away. She covered up her belly with her arms almost instinctively, and then slowly let them fall to her side. She lifted her shirt and rubbed her belly. She knew that the child wasn’t far enough along that they’d start kicking back yet, but there was still something developing in there. A week ago, she didn’t realize how much her world was changing. Nicole recalled how stunned she had been when she had missed her period after a few months. She had scheduled a doctor’s appointment as quickly as she could. They did their tests, and then they came back and gave her the news.
But they never told her that the child she held was going to be half-human. She was already going to need to seek some advice for how to be a mother and she doubted they had self-help books on her current situation. What would it even look like when she gave birth to the child? Would it slide out like a baby, or maybe claw its way out with bear paws.
There may be a lot to this that she would have to ask Gregory when she saw him.
***
The drive the next day felt nerve-wracking. Never in her life did Nicole expect to have the discussion that she was about to have, and yet there were questions that were absolutely key to what her future was going to hold.
She knocked as confidently on the door as she could. Gregory opened it. There were evident bags under his eyes and his clothing seemed pretty ruffled. Despite this, he was smiling like everything was alright.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hey.”
“I appreciate you coming over as quickly as you did.”
“Of course. I know this is important to you, and it’s rather important to me considering…”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you like to come inside?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Gregory stood to the side as Nicole walked in. The two headed to Gregory’s room, which looked slightly better than Gregory did. The bed well-made and the carpet looked almost brand new as well.
Gregory headed over to the bed, Nicole following close behind.
“You can set your bags down by the nightstand.”
Nicole did as she was instructed, and then taking a spot on the bed opposite of Gregory after she was done.
“I’ll go first.” Said Gregory, “I feel that since I’ve told you about me being half-bear, that you’ve been very put-off with me. I get that this was big news and you can’t be expected to process this almost immediately, but this is more than just you and me. You’re pregnant and I don’t want you having to carry around this child if you don’t want to. So I need to know what you’re thinking about all of this. Please don’t be afraid to be honest to me, even if it’s not what I want to hear.”
“Gregory I…I just don’t know. I mean, half-bear? I don’t know if that makes you someone in serious need of psychiatric help, if this is just “who you are”, or if you’re some dangerous monster. I just, how do you expect this to work? Is this child going to be part bear?”
“I told you Nicole, I don’t know! I’m the only person I know who deals with this! I don’t know beyond what people tell me!”
“What people?!”
“My roommates. They came out a few nights and just watched me when I got the urge. I mean, they are very weirded out by this, but they aren’t going to rat me out. They say I’m harmless.”
“They have seen you turn into a bear?”
“Yeah.”
“So if I go out and talk to them, they’ll say they followed you somewhere-“
“To a park.”
“To a park, ok. They’ll say they saw you out there and that you turned from a man into a bear and back into a man?”
“Yes!”
“Do your friends bring any sort of drugs along when they experience this?”
“You don’t believe me!”
“Do you take drugs before you turn into this “bear”?”
Gregory got to his feet, “This is a pointless conversation if you are just going to deny everything being told to you.”
“Gregory, I don’t want to believe it.”
“So why did you come then, huh Nicole? You have no respect for me or who I am, so why bother even coming here?”
Tears began to form in Nicole’s eyes, “I mean I don’t want to believe that the love of my life can turn into this animal from time-to-time. I don’t want to believe that the child, the child that is supposed to be the light of our lives, is possibly going to go through the same things too. I don’t want to believe that out of all the faults that you could have, it is one that I can’t possibly hope to understand.”
Gregory seemed to look very unsure, watching as this supposed “accuser” was slowly making her way on her knees over to him.
“I want to understand Gregory. I want to know all that makes you tick and love every inch of you. I want to love your body. I want to love your soul. I want to love the features that this creation of ours will have from each of us, but I just can’t. I want to understand. I want…I want to see this.”
“See what?”
“Show me the transformation.”
“Why would you want to see it?”
“Because I will always be wondering about it if we find a way to stick together. Not knowing this side of you will haunt me always if I don’t see this. Gregory, I need to see this thing of yours.”
“Fine. If it will help with this whole thing.”
Nicole’s whole body seemed to ease itself up. She collapsed on the bed with a sigh of exhaustion. She scooted a little to the side as Gregory took a seat down. She curled up beside him, slipping her hand in his. He tightened his grip on her hand ever so slightly, stroking her fingers with his.
“I really do want this to work out Gregory. I really do.”
“I know Nicole.”
“So, when is the next time this urge of yours is supposed to happen?”
“I don’t. It comes at odd moments, but I know when it happens when right around the time that I get a really strong feeling.”
“A strong feeling?”
“Like if I’m really angry, sad or happy. You know, when I’m feeling an extreme emotion.”
“Extreme emotion huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok then.”
Nicole began to fiddling with Gregory’s zipper. Gregory, caught by surprise, struggled at first.
“What are you doing?”
“Just relax Gregory. I’ll get you ready.”
Gregory eased himself back as Nicole began stripping away his pants. She pulled his underpants around his ankles and wrapped her mouth over his cock. She began to suck on it, her tongue stroking it in unison. Gregory’s hands clenched his bedsheets tightly, his back arched back so his eyes were gazing upward. His breathing came in gasps for breath and pleasured moans. As he came into her mouth, Nicole raised her head, swallowed, and then went back for a second go at it. Gregory felt his cock growing harder again and began muttering the names of several Gods, Judeo-Christian and otherwise.
As Nicole raised her head again, He lunged forward and pushed Nicole onto the bed like a cat pouncing on a mouse. She gave a smile as he removed her clothing one by one, tossing them off the bed with hardly a thought. He thrust his cock into her and began moving back and forth on her. Nicole screamed with glee as the two of them hit their synchronized stride. She put her hands around his lower hips, teasing the ends of her f
ingers against his ass, while he put his hands on her breasts and began to lightly rub them with his fingertips. They locked eyes with each other, both grinning like crazy, young kids discovering love for the first time. The two of them continued to move as one, sweat dripping down their bodies and moans escaping their lips.
Suddenly, Gregory’s moan began turning into a very low growl. He began to stop, Nicole ceasing a moment after.
“Gregory?”
“It’s time.”
“The urge?”
“Yeah. We need to get me out of here. Fast”
The two of them sprang out of bed, pulling on clothes as fast as they can. They rushed out the door as they could, drawing the stares of the other roommates.
“Where you guys off to?” Lewis asked.
“Gregory’s got an urge. I have to see him turn.”
The roommates sprang up after them.
“We’ll take our car.” Lewis said, grabbing keys off the counter.
The five of them leapt out of the apartment and dove into the van waiting outside. They were speeding off before everyone had a chance to fully get their seatbelt.
***
“Why did you get him on his urge right now?” asked Lewis from the passenger seat.
“I wanted to see this so I could understand who he is, so we had sex and-“
“I do NOT need to know that. My point is that he changes pretty fricking quickly after he gets his urge.”
Nicole looked at Gregory, who looked as if he was trying to hold something in. His teeth were grit tightly. His eyeballs seeming to bulge out of the sockets. There was also a lot of hair on his hands, but Nicole could not recall if that amount had always been normal or if it was more than usual.
“How far away is the park?”
“A bit farther.”
Gregory let out an angry roar, causing the person driving to almost swerve the van into oncoming traffic.
“Hurry up you guys!”
“You know, it’s not our fault we’re in such a time crunch.”
***
They soon made it to the park. Nicole reached over and undid the seatbelt on Gregory. Lewis opened the door, to which Gregory came barreling out of the van and ran off into the trees in the center of the park. Within seconds, he disappeared from view. Nicole ran to chase after him, but Lewis grabbed her and held her back.
“He’ll be right back. Trust me, you aren’t missing too much with the transformation. It’s pretty nasty to watch, speaking from first-hand experience.”
Nicole looked off into the trees, trying to get a glimpse of anything at all. The only way she was able to tell that Gregory was somewhere in there was the sound of his roaring. It was becoming more and more primal, until it stopped. Then there was silence. The roommates began to walk forward, Nicole following close behind them. As they descended into the tree line, they began to turn on their flashlights and slowly shine them around. Nicole was handed a flashlight, which she darted the light around trying to find Gregory. Lewis steadied her hand.
“You wave your light around like that, you’ll spook him.”
Nicole wrestled her arm away from him and shone her light on the ground. They kept walking, out of the trees and onto the other side of the park.
And there was Gregory, or at least a giant grizzly bear. Nicole offered a short yelp, covering her mouth in an attempt to not spook him. She began raising her flashlight to get a better look
“Don’t shine it near his face. That scares him.”
Nicole angled her flashlight to go over the body of what was supposed to be her boyfriend. It looked like just a normal grizzly bear. No a thing indicated that this was Gregory. And yet, Nicole felt completely safe around this bear, not the slightest thought of being attacked.
“He just wanders around the park mostly. Most chilled bear I’ve ever seen.”
Nicole turned to see one of the roommates, Seth, looking out at the bear.
“It was so weird, the first time he transformed. We thought he was choking or something, what with all the growling and such. So we’re in the middle of giving him the Heimlich when he starts turning into the bear. We were freaking out, hiding behind couches and trying to not look at him. He just wandered through the house, chewing on anything he could get his teeth into. We had to replace almost everything, and we were so angry at him, but he had the most apologetic look in his eyes. We just forgave him and just went out to a movie.”
Nicole gave a small smile and laughed.
“Deep down though, I think he hates this about himself.”
Nicole’s smile died almost instantly.
“I mean, some people have acne, some people have an ugly family, but this guy turns into an animal every once in a while. I mean, he is so scared about telling people this because he’s afraid they will judge him. He really needs a support system.”
“So if you’re going to do something that splits the two of you apart,” Lewis said, turning to face Nicole, “You better get it over with so he doesn’t get led on.”
Nicole looked back to Gregory, a tight knot forming in her stomach. She took a step forward to him, then another one, and then another one.
“Nicole, no!”
Keeping her eye on Gregory in case he suddenly turned around, Nicole slowly walked over to her boyfriend. Her mind was screaming for her to stop and turn back now, but her heart pulled her forward, telling her to go to him.
She could hear the snap of a branch underneath her foot. She froze mid-step, looking at Gregory. He slowly turned his head and looked at her. Lewis and the other roommates prepared to run and grab Nicole away should things go south. They weren’t quite sure how Gregory reacted when he noticed other people around him. If he was anything like a normal Grizzly Bear when he turned, then they imagined they never wanted to see what happens.
Nicole and Gregory looked at each other eye-to-eye, neither one hesitating. When she looked into those eyes, Nicole swore they looked almost like his eyes. They seemed to be filled with such kindness and concern, not a primal curiosity like a normal bear.
Taking a deep breath, Nicole took a few steps more towards Gregory. He gave a mild roar in response. Lewis and the others made a move to help her, but Nicole waved them away. She turned back to face Gregory, taking a few more steps. He roared again, taking a few steps back.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Nicole said.
Gregory stopped, looking at her.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
She raised her hand as she kept moving forward.
“She’s crazy.” Seth said.
“Yes she is,” Lewis said, “but you’d have to be crazy to make this thing of theirs work.”
Nicole approached Gregory, who was watching her intently, her hand still upraised. Slowly, she lowered it until it was right under his nose. She held it there, looking back into her boyfriend’s eyes. A few seconds passed before she could feel his nose sniffing her finger. Once he stopped, Nicole slowly raised her hand and began petting him. She dug her hands into the fur as she rubbed them against Gregory’s sides. She could feel his tight, muscular shoulders rippling under the brown, scruffy fur. She massaged his sides, hearing a very satisfied growl omitting from Gregory’s lips. Nicole wrapper her arms around his big, muscular body, rubbing her body up and down his side. She could feel him rubbing up against her too, a low hum escaping his lips.
The roommates watched this scene with looks of uncertainty.
“Maybe we should go wait in the car.” Said Lewis.
“Yeah,” said Seth, “Not sure I want to see how this goes.”
The three quietly walked away, leaving the two lovers to, once again, express their love for each other.
***
An hour later, Nicole and Gregory, now back in human form, lay side-by-side in the grass, smiling and gazing into each other’s eyes.
“I love you” said Gregory.
“I love you too. That was…wonderful.”
“Was it?”
“It’s strange, I won’t lie, but I think that I will be able to live with that.”
“And what if the baby turns out being like me?”
Nicole turned away and looked up into the night sky.
“Well then that will have to be something that you have to teach him or her about. I mean, I only saw you once in that form. I have no idea how it all works.”
Gregory reached over and grabbed Nicole’s side, pulling her back to facing her.
“I can’t believe how accepting you are of this. I…I am so lucky I found you.”
“It…It’s nothing Gregory.”
“No Nicole, it’s not. This has been such a big secret for me. I mean, it took a lot of courage to tell you that.”
“Well, you probably wouldn’t have told me if I wasn’t pregnant with your child.”
It was Gregory’s turn to roll over and face the sky, “Yeah. I guess so.”
Nicole reached over and squeezed his shoulder, “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, this baby was a blessing for us.”
“Was it?”
“Yes. It brought us together as a couple. We’re stronger because of it.”
“But what about the child?”
“What about it?”
Gregory turned to face her, “What happens during its first transformation? What if we aren’t there when it happens? They will be ostracized, if not taken away and experimented on by scientists. One slip up, and this child’s life will be ruined forever.”
“Well when did you change first?”
“I was twenty-one, already living on my own. I didn’t have any family around who could be ashamed of or worry about me.”
“And what about your family now? What do they think?”
“They haven’t heard from me in a while. It’s better that for the both of us if they don’t even know that I’m still alive.”
“But Gregory…”
Gregory stood up and turned to face her, extending his hand.
“Come on. Let’s get back to the car. I’m sure my roommates have been waiting for a bit too long now.”
Nicole took his hand and allowed herself to be helped up. The two began walking back to the car, Nicole casting glances at Gregory. He had on a look of hurt, one that she felt she would be seeing from time-to-time for the rest of her life if she chose to spend it with him.
