He had barely gotten his clothes off and put on an oversized bathrobe when he heard someone at his door. Stepping out of his bedroom he saw his mate just closing his apartment door. A feeling of relief flowed over him. Shere might be a pain in the tail at times with his over protective streak, but he had a way of soothing Feral's discomforts with his talented paws.
"Shere, why didn't you call and let me know you'd arrived." He said warmly waddling up to his mate.
"I wanted to surprise you but it seems you have a bigger surprise for me." Shere said staring in shock at Ulysses' enormous belly. "You aren't that far along, my love. Are we expecting more than one?" He asked taking his mate in his arms and hugging him gently.
"I'm afraid so. Just had an ultrasound today. It's triplets." Ulysses sighed as he leaned most of his weight against his mate. He was soo tired and Shere felt soo good. Maybe he would get some sleep after all.
"Triplets?" Shere blurted in shock. He was by turns pleased and scared. Pleased because his need for heirs had a windfall and scared, because carrying that many kittens had to be dangerous for his mate. He realized after trying to absorb his mate's news that Uly seemed to be leaning rather heavily against him. Looking down he could see Ulysses was exhausted and was nearly asleep on his feet.
"Here let me help you to bed, my love. You look far too tired to be standing." He said tenderly as he gently helped his mate back to his bedroom. He helped Ulysses pull off the robe and eased him into bed. Ulysses moaned, pressing a paw to his back in distress while he tried unsuccessfully to find a comfortable position.
"Oh love, back trouble has started?" Shere asked anxiously.
"Crud! Yes!. I can't get comfortable in any position. Standing, sitting and laying down are all painful." Feral sighed in tired defeat.
"Just a moment, I think I might be able to help." Shere said as he went to the closet to get extra pillows. Coming back to the bed, he strategically placed the pillows under and between certain parts of Ulysses torso. "Alright, I want you to roll just a little forward and try to concentrate on relaxing those muscles while I do a little massage."
Feral tried to ease the tension in his body though the nagging pain in his lower back made it difficult. Shere got on his knees behind Ulysses and began to rub firmly into the muscles of his mates upper back gradually working his way down to Uly's lower back and buttocks. As he did this, he could feel Uly begin to finally relax. His mate moaned gratefully as the pain finally eased off.
"Seems I didn't get here too soon. I'll not be leaving at all until you deliver. Did the doctor say if the delivery date has changed, Uly?" Shere asked as he continued to massage his mate.
In a drowsy voice, Ulysses brought his mate up to date. "He thinks I'll deliver in about a month and a half. The last three weeks he's ordered complete bed rest to prevent premature labor and give the kittens as much time as we can to get bigger. Course, if they get any bigger I'll never be able to move."
"Seeing you now, I would think you should be off your feet from now until you deliver. I don't see how you expect to try and work when you tire so easily and your back plagues you so." Shere said, unhappy Uly still insisted on working when clearly he shouldn't.
"I have too many important investigations going on, Shere, to just drop them. I'm trying to find officers who can handle them but that takes time." Uly told his mate firmly.
"Then why don't you have it brought to the penthouse where you can stay comfortable and be able to rest when you need to. I'm certain Felina will be very happy to be a runner for you and your other officers shouldn't object too much." Shere insisted, offering a perfectly reasonable solution.
Sighing, Feral feared he was right. It did exhaust him to go to work and try to sit in his chair much less go to meetings. He'd already discovered the difficulties of getting out of a chair without help and the thought of having to ask Steele again made him cringe. He was soo tempted but right now he was just too tired to think about it now. His stomach chose that moment to rumble angrily reminding him he still hadn't eaten.
"Sounds as if you hadn't had a chance to eat yet, my love?" Shere inquired gently.
"Yeah, I'd just got in when you arrived. Had Felina pick up some take out. It's in the kitchen." Ulysses said wearily. "Let's just put this work thing on hold for now, please. I'm just too tired to deal with it now. All I want to do is eat and sleep." He pleaded.
"Of course, love. Later will be soon enough. Let me go get you food before you fall asleep on an empty stomach." Shere leaned down and gave Uly a warm kiss, climbed off the bed then headed to the kitchen. As quick as he could, Shere fixed up a tray and carried it back to his mate. Uly was nearly asleep when he placed the tray on a small table nearby.
"I know you're exhausted but let's see if you can get some food in you now." Shere coaxed as he helped Uly get a little more upright to eat comfortably. He stayed by his mate's side until most of the food was gone. Ulysses signaled he couldn't eat any more and struggled to sink back down into a more comfortable position. Shere moved pillows around to maximize the support Uly needed for various parts of his body.
"Now get some sleep love." Shere said tenderly as he pulled the covers up and tucked his mate in. He would join him when he'd cleaned the apartment, dishes, and made some business calls. He wanted Uly moved quickly and settled into their new home. The hot tub would help Uly's back tremendously, though they would soon have to reduce the temperature level very soon since a pregnant person was not supposed to be exposed to high temps. Perhaps he better check with Uly's doctor to see if lower temps were necessary now. Making a note to himself, he puttered around the apartment.
Finished, he prepared for bed a few hours later. As he prepared to slip into the bed behind Uly, his mate moaned and attempted to get up.
"You should be sleeping love. What do you need?" He asked quietly.
Moaning and struggling to get out of the pillows and blankets he muttered about needing the bathroom. Quickly going around the bed, Shere untangled his mate from the bedding and helped him to the toilet. After he was done, the tiger tenderly repeated tucking his mate into bed once more. Uly sighed happily when he felt Shere's warm heat against his back. Sleep came quickly after that to his intense relief.
Waking to the morning's light, Ulysses felt better than he'd had in some time. Stretching carefully, he worked his way out of the nest Shere had placed him in and waddled to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. As he was turning on the shower, he realized he hadn't seen Shere in the bed with him. Shrugging, he guessed the tiger had already gotten up and was either eating breakfast or already making business calls or both.
His back didn't hurt as yet and the shower felt wonderful. It took him some time to dry and get dressed. None of his clothes really fit well now. Sighing, he really didn't want to have his uniforms taken out again. Perhaps it was time to get some kind of larger, comfortable clothing to wear now. He mused as he tried to get his boots on and realized he couldn't reach his feet. In disgust he carried his shoes out to the living area.
Following his nose, he found his mate at the kitchen table. A small buffet of various breakfast items were arrayed on it as well as fresh coffee. Sitting down heavily, he grabbed a plate and loaded up. He stared at the coffee in sad dismay. The doctor had firmly told him he could no longer have his brew. Sighing in regret, he had a glass of milk instead.
"You look much more rested this morning my love." Shere said smiling at his mate's much improved demeanor.
"Yes, thanks to you. I don't know how long my back will hold up but I'm grateful for any break from the nearly constant ache." Ulysses smiled warmly at his mate as he stuffed some more eggs into his mouth.
"Then have you thought more about my suggestion?" Shere asked hopefully.
Sighing as he drank some of his milk, he glanced over the top of his glass at his concerned mate. "Yes. But I can't do that right now. I'll compromise however." He said before his mate could object. "While I'm still able, I'll work the mornings and leave by the afternoon. That's when I become the most tired anyway. I'll focus only on those projects/reports that require someone to monitor and, most importantly, find somewhere to get rid of Steele to." He finished with a grimace.
"This would be your present second in command?" Shere asked.
"Not for long if I can just find another place to send him." Uly said fervently.
"Perhaps I might find a likely place for him. Somewhere he'll not get into too much trouble and perhaps teach him something as well. Let me look into it love. You focus on those projects you need to delegate. Though I'd prefer you didn't go in at all, I'll bow to your wishes for now." Shere said quietly as he prepared to leave. "Do not trouble yourself with clearing the table. I have someone to do that for you and your belongings are to be moved today. So plan on going to our new home this evening."
"I'm going to miss this place. I've been here soo many years." Ulysses sighed wistfully, then wiggled his bare feet. "Oh, by the way, Shere, could you please put my boots on. I can no longer reach the floor." Uly said grimacing in annoyance.
"Of course, love, here let me have your foot." With casual ease, Shere slipped his mate's shoes on one by one.
Pleasantly stuffed and finally fully dressed, Uly was ready for work as well. Leading the way, Shere guided his mate to his limo and took him to work. Not letting his chauffeur do it, Shere got out at Enforcer Headquarters and helped his mate lever himself out of the car and firmly gain his feet. Giving him a parting kiss, the tiger got back in and signaled the driver to go on to Shere's new officer complex.