Dr Baker left, and with Bill playing on the other side of the country, Dan, Val, and Dana had a Saturday afternoon free. Val suggested that they rent a movie, or play a board game, and those ideas sounded good, until Dana grabbed the cordless phone and went into her room. Mom and Dad looked at each other. Matt won out.

So they sat on the sofa and rented a movie anyway. Dan cooked popcorn, and made Val a cup of tea. The smell of coffee had been getting to her, as did the taste. 

Once the movie was over, Dan asked Val how much longer she wanted to work. It wasn't just her pregnancy that would dictate when she stopped, but also her growth. He was sure that her office wasn't set up for someone her size, and the bigger her belly got, the more likely her back would start to hurt, and that would make sitting down very uncomfortable.

Val told him that she would like to work a few more weeks, but knew that the ceiling would be too low for her. She thought about it, and suggested maybe one more week. She would have to talk with Bertha, and arrange for work that she could do from home.

Around 4, the phone rang. It was Bill. Val answered, then a concerned look came over her face. He was still upset about the game. He vented about that for a good twenty minutes, then moved on to more bad news. 

There had been a surge of cases on campus. The college was shutting down in person learning and sending students home for virtual classes. That meant the rest of the football season was cancelled. That almost made Bill cry. His last game would be a loss, and his last play the interception.

He also complained that he was supposed to go out with Donna later, but now they were flying back to school that night. He told his mom that the school was providing transportation for the students to get home, no matter where they lived, free of charge. And they would ship their things from the dorm room free of charge. It meant that he wouldn't be able to see Donna, as she lived in the Midwest. 

Bill sounded really depressed. He had fallen in love with Donna, and now wouldn't see her for a lengthy period of time. Val almost cried for him, and casually mentioned that it was too bad she couldn't stay at their house. Bill said that her parents probably wouldn't let her. Val suggested that he ask her, pointing out that she was 18, and legally an adult and could make her own decisions.

Bill was quiet, and said he would. Val felt naughty about encouraging Bill to ask Donna to disobey her parents. But Bill was her baby boy, and it upset her that he felt terrible. 

Bill had to go. They had to pack to get to the airport. Val told him that she loved him, and would see him the following day. They hung up, and she sat back down on the sofa and explained to Dan the entirety of the conversation.

Dan was incredulous. Val had wanted Donna to potentially cause a rift with her parents. That upset him. Even though he knew it would never happen, what would they do if Matt encouraged Dana to go against their wishes. How would they feel? He understood why his wife did it. Her son was upset, and she wanted to cheer him up. But now, this would probably cause her parents to dislike Bill through no fault of his own.

Val could see how upset Dan was, and started to cry. She knew he was right. She allowed her emotions to cloud her judgement. He saw that she was crying and rubbed her feet, telling her that he loved her. And then he asked what if her parents said yes? Val suddenly became worried. Where would she sleep? 

Dan mentioned that he had got an extra large sofa bed that he had in the spare bedroom. She could stay there, until she made her way to Bill’s room. He laughed at the idea, knowing that would probably be the case. 

Val felt a little better. Dan pulled his cell phone out and ordered 4 large pizzas for dinner. One for Val, one for Dana, one for them to split, and one for him. Their increased size also meant an increased appetite. 

After dinner, and their coffee and tea, Val’s mood improved. It really improved after Dana went to her room earlier than usual. She looked at Dan with an expression that he was very familiar with. He stood up, held out his hand, watched as hers swallowed his, and gently led his wife towards the bedroom. If anyone would have seen what was happening, they would have thought it was a child leading their mother to the toy section of a department store. Dan’s head didn't even come up to her breasts. This let her know that she would have to be extra careful with him, as with increased size she could easily hurt him.

But just as they reached the door, Val’s cell phone rang. It was Bill, calling from the plane. He sounded in a much better mood. He told his mom that Donna called her parents. They initially objected to what she wanted to do, until she pointed out that Bill’s mom and sister were experiencing the same side effects as she was, and they could offer advice on how to handle the situation. She promised to fly home once a month to see them, for as long as she could. 

The only thing was that her parents wanted to do a video call with his parents the next day. So at some point in the morning, they were to expect a call. Val was so happy for her son. As low as he felt just a couple of hours earlier, he was equally sky high at the moment. Mother and son chatted until he needed to hang up as the plane was about to land.

Saying goodbye, Val was definitely in a great mood, until she walked into the bedroom and saw that Dan couldn't stay awake. Another missed opportunity, but this time it was because of good news. She put on her PJs, and curled up next to her husband, giving him a kiss on the cheek. 

Val woke up early. She didn't want to disturb Dan by tossing and turning in bed, so she put on her robe and went to the sofa in the living room, and wondered how the upcoming conversation with Donna's parents would turn out. 

By then, Dan had come out of the bedroom. Although she tried her best not to disturb him, her much larger frame made it impossible. So he woke up just as she left the room.

Seeing her husband walk into the living room, Val held out her hand and Dan came over. She guided him to a position on top of her lap, and just wrapped her arms around him as he laid against her chest. She explained to him about what Bill had told her. Her voice was giddy with happiness.

They just sat there talking, until they heard the door to Dana's room open. She came out to the living room, and thought she was seeing things. She cleared her eyes, and saw what she thought she saw. Her father was sitting on the lap of her mother. And it looked totally natural. She sat down on the other end of the sofa, and that was when they told her that Bill would be coming home, and Donna would be coming with him.

Dana was confused, until Val explained the situation. This really excited the young girl. Donna would instantly become sort of an older sister. It would be a awesome situation. She couldn't wait. 

Dan and Val both looked at the clock on the table. Nearly 9:00am. They didn't know what time Donna's parents would call, so the thought it would be best to get dressed, and maybe have a quick breakfast. They just hoped that the Mills would be ok with the situation.

Bill woke up being held by Donna. He looked around and remembered that he had spent the night in her dorm room, while Lily spent the night with her boyfriend Ted,  and Ray and Shirley used his room. 

He got her going while he quickly dressed, gave her a kiss, and told her he would meet her back there in an hour. He just wanted to make sure that he had everything that he was bringing back home packed and ready to go for the 9am trip.

Once Bill was sure, he made his way back to Donna's room. By then, Ray and Shirley had arrived, followed shortly after by Lily and Ted. 

The six of them were extremely subdued, a combination of having to get up early, and the fact that they wouldn't see each other for months, at least. Ray, Shirley, Donna and Bill had grown pretty close over the previous month. 

They all promised to do video calls with each at least once a week or every two weeks. They gave each other hugs, made sure phone numbers were correct, and headed out to the parking lot to await rides back home.

Dan, Valerie, and Dana got up off the sofa, each taking a shower and getting dressed. It was almost 10:30, and they were expecting Donna’s parents to contact them soon.

When Valerie was finished getting ready, she found a text on her phone. It was from Linda Mills introducing herself and contained a link for a video meeting on the computer. She had asked Dan to get his laptop set up, which he put on the kitchen table. 

Once she was ready, Val texted Linda, and accessed the link that was sent. Within minutes, a couple of faces appeared on the computer screen. Paul and Linda Mills formally introduced themselves. Val did the same. Dan decided to let his wife handle the chat, thinking that maybe a feminine touch would help.

Val started off first, telling Linda and Paul about her marriage, his career, her career, Bill’s football dreams, and their youngest, Dana. Linda asked how old was her daughter, and Val said 12.

Linda and Paul explained their life together, and gave some background about Donna. She was an only child, and wanted her to be able to succeed on her own without having to be dependent on other people. 

But it upset them when they went to visit her, and saw that she had grown without explanation. Her parents couldn’t understand how it was possible, as they had never heard of any such occurrence, or even knew that was a possible side effect of the vaccine.

Val said it was real, and she and her daughter were experiencing that type of reaction. The Mills looked at her like they thought she was pulling their leg. But Val asked both Dan and Dana to come into the kitchen. Once they were there, she stood up next to her daughter, with her husband in front, and offered that as evidence. 

The Mills were absolutely stunned at what they just saw. And to reinforce it, Dan held up his driver’s license for them to see. It clearly stated that he was 6’. 

Once Val sat back down, Linda, noticing the prominent baby bump visible around her belly, asked if she indeed was pregnant. Valerie beamed a smile, and said yes. Donna’s parents said congratulations, and the Mills asked questions about the house, which Val described everything that Dan had done. The Mills were impressed. They realized that they would never be able to afford having a house custom built, or even having their current one renovated to accommodate Donna. 

They knew they would miss her, but after talking to Val, and seeing for themselves that Donna wouldn’t be going through it alone, left them with a good feeling. Although both realized right then that they would have to visit their daughter, as she wouldn’t be able to fit on an airplane for much longer.

The Mills and Valerie said their goodbyes, with her telling them that she would soon be working from home, probably in the next day or two, and that if they ever wanted to talk, or had questions, they were to feel free and call anytime. They promised they would. 

Val was relieved. The chat went better than she expected. Now all they had to do was wait for Bill and Donna to arrive home.

Valerie’s mood was as bright as it had been in a while. The conversation with Donna’s parents went better than she could have hoped for, and Bill was on his way home. 

She and Dan started to make lunch when there was a knock on the door. Val asked if anyone had unlocked the front door, and both father and daughter looked at each other and said oops. 

Dana went out to answer the door, and Val and Dan knew that it was Bill and Donna, especially after they heard Dana laughing. 

The young girl led both into the kitchen. This was the first time Bill had been in the house since they moved. 

As soon as the three of them entered the kitchen, Dan was amazed that his 6’3” 200lb son’s entire body disappeared when Val hugged him. It reminded him of when Bill was 3 or 4, and ran to give his mom a hug. 

Dan gave Donna a hug, welcoming her to the house. He told her to consider it hers for as long as she stayed, and never had to ask if she wanted anything. He asked Dana to show her to the spare bedroom, while Val gave Bill a tour of the house. Val was elated. Her family was together, and that was all she cared about.