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A ndy’s phone rang, jarring the moment as he was snuggling with the love of his life, glad he was off for a few more days to spend an almost pre-honeymoon with Monica.

He and Monica groaned. He pulled the phone off the bedside table, saw it was work, and knew it couldn’t be good news. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“You need to come in to fill in for two troopers with the flu.”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll be right in.” Andy climbed out of bed, wishing he hadn’t had to leave Monica alone for the day. “Sorry, hon. A couple of the guys are sick, and I need to help cover for them.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll straighten up and break down the rest of the packing boxes. It drives me crazy when boxes are stacked all over the rooms. When you get home, everything will be neat and orderly.” She stretched lazily on the bed, her naked breasts on display.

She was all his. He leaned down and kissed her mouth, then each of her breasts. “It will be a long day.”

She cupped his face and pulled him down for a penetrating kiss. “That’s okay. I’ll visit with the ladies if I can arrange it. I’ll keep busy.”

“No going after Pierre on your own.” Andy feared she would try to track him down. Though she didn’t have a car here to go after him.

“Nope.” She climbed out of bed in all her naked glory and hugged him. “You are my backup, always.”

He hugged her back, wishing they could return to bed. But he had to get going. Then she pulled out her clothes while he hurried to dress.

They made breakfast together: oatmeal topped with flax seed, bananas, and brown sugar, eggs over easy, pork sausage, and coffee. She made him a hot thermos of coffee while he set the table, glancing at her, wondering how he’d ever gotten so lucky to meet up with her again.

Before long, he was bundled up, kissing her goodbye, knowing that returning home would be a delight when he saw her, and not that he would return to a cold, empty house. What a wonderful difference she had made in his life. She had turned his life around into something extra special.

“Stay safe.” She hugged him as if she were in her bear coat.

He gave her one that was even firmer. “Call Roger, the family, anyone, if Pierre tries to get hold of you while I’m gone.”

“I will.”

“Maybe I should have Craig or Rob drop by and stay with you.”

“Absolutely not. I will see if I can visit with the ladies, which means no guys.”

He smiled. “All right. I’ll keep in touch.”

“You had better.”

Feeling some apprehension at leaving Monica alone while the situation with Pierre was unresolved, Andy had to get his mind on the game and waved goodbye, hoping he wouldn’t get into trouble while on patrol!

Once Andy left, Monica cleaned up the breakfast dishes and was in a quandary about whom to contact to get together. Margo was childless, so it would probably be a more restful day. Alicia had two-year-old toddlers, and Robyn had her six-year-old twins and seven-month-old twins.

Yet Monica didn’t want to exclude anyone. Some or none of them might be able to meet for an impromptu play date, either, so she decided to hold a conference call with all the ladies.

“Hey, it’s me, Monica. Andy got called in for duty, so depending on your schedules, maybe we can get together and have brunch or lunch today at Andy’s house?

” That would give Monica time to finish unpacking and clearing the house, make a large lunch, and just enjoy the ladies and their children’s company for a few hours.

“Yes!” Garrett and Bryan said in the background.

The older boys seemed to like her or wanted to leave their house for a while.

“Yes, that works well for me,” Robyn said immediately. “We can take the kids out to play in the snow after the meal, give them some exercise, and then I’ll take mine home to nap. I needed to have something to do for them today.”

“Me, too,” Alicia said. “I have the same routine with my kiddos.”

“Well, I would love to. What do you want us to bring?” Margot asked.

Monica was delighted that everyone could do this on such short notice. “How does shrimp salad sound? Maybe crescent rolls and something to drink?”

“I’ll bring some hot dogs for the finicky kids,” Robyn said.

Monica realized that she would have to learn to adjust to eating meals somewhat when she had children.

“I’ll bring cheese and crackers,” Alicia said.

“I’ll make us a refreshing hot beverage. The kids like apple juice and milk,” Margot said. “What’s the best time for us to drop by?”

“Eleven,” Robyn and Alicia chimed in.

“Then the kids can play and nap afterward,” Robyn said.

Once everyone agreed, they ended the call.

Monica felt so lighthearted and excited to have a play date with everyone.

Back home, she hadn’t had any real polar bear friends because she was such a workaholic as an FBI agent, didn’t have a husband, and had no kids.

So, she was glad she seemed to fit in with the family.

Being with Andy was heaven, but having girlfriends was just as important. Of course, she expected fussy kids at times, and they still may be shy around her, but this was a great opportunity for her to get to know them better.

After a morning of unpacking the rest of her things and trying to find nooks and crannies to put everything away, Monica was exhausted. She realized she would need a nap as much as the kids did after lunch and playtime.

When everyone arrived with kids in tow, Monica began making shrimp salad. The older boys, already starving, soon helped set the table. Monica was making mental notes about how to raise her babies should she and Andy be lucky enough to have some.

Before long, the little ones were in highchairs that Andy had stored in a closet for when he took care of them.

She thought the world of him for being a bachelor and helping with the kids.

The older boys even put little polar bibs on all the babies, got them apple sauce packages, and then sat down to eat.

“Boy, you are helpful,” Monica praised Garrett and Bryan.

They beamed at her.

Moms cut up deconstructed hot dogs, cheese, and buns into finger-size bites for the little ones.

“They were thrilled to have a couple more brothers,” Robyn said.

“And cousins,” Bryan hurried to say.

“Yeah,” his brother agreed.

“So your house is up for sale,” Robyn said to Monica.

“Yes, and the way my mom sells homes, it’ll be sold before I know it.”

“That’s good. I hear the market in the suburbs of Anchorage is excellent for selling homes.” Margot took another bite of shrimp salad. “Just delicious. This is even better than how I make it. You’ll have to share your recipe.”

“I sure will. And yes, the market is just great for selling a home.” Monica took another sip of her hot tea. “This is delicious.”

“Cherry vanilla tea, my specialty,” Margot said. “Something special for the winter months, and the notion spring is on its way, and perfect for any celebration.”

Everyone agreed Monica’s shrimp salad was the best, wanted her recipe, and loved Margot’s tea.

“If you’re all right with it, we’ll share your shrimp recipe with Genevive, and they’ll most likely add it to their menu,” Alicia said.

“Oh, wow, what an honor. My grandmother made it for us, and I always made it the same way.”

After lunch, they straightened up the kitchen, cleaned up the younger kids, and Monica asked, “Should we go as bears or?—”

“Bears!” Garrett and Bryan shouted at once and started to remove their clothes.

“There’s our answer.” Alicia removed Jenny’s clothes while Margot helped remove Daniel’s clothes.

Since the babies couldn’t shift independently until they were five or older, sometimes younger or older, depending on the child's development, they would only shift when their mother did.

Monica undressed Lucas while Robyn stripped off Sawyer’s clothes. Then the ladies hurried to remove their clothes and shift and went outside. Monica stopped to shift back, shut the door, and turned back into her polar bear.

The boys ran straight for the snow cave, making Monica think about how she and Andy had gotten all hot with each other as bears. Her cheeks warmed a bit.

The boys were play-fighting, snarling, and biting, being little boys. They were no longer on sibling duty. Likewise, the toddlers were stumbling around, nipping and tackling each other, and falling over without any effort.

The seven-month-olds were watching the others, poking noses into snow holes, pawing as if trying to make their own snow caves, and bumping into each other as if they didn’t quite have control over their cub legs.

All the ladies watched to make sure that no one wandered off, and after about forty-five minutes of rigorous outdoor play, the older boys didn’t seem to be wearing down much.

But the seven-month-olds were lying down on the snow, snuggling together, observing the wild older boys, tackling, biting each other, snarling, and growling.

The toddlers were sitting or lying on the snow next to the younger ones, looking worn out.

Then Robyn grunted, and the women all ushered the little ones inside. Monica feared they’d have to carry the youngest ones inside; they were moving so slowly. But they were too heavy to lift as polar bears at this age.

Once inside, all the ladies, Garrett, and Bryan shifted and dressed. Then it was time for fresh diapers for the little ones and dressing them. The ladies and older boys hugged Monica before they took the half-asleep babies and toddlers out to their respective vans, and then they drove home.

Now it was time for Monica to take a nap. She would make a nice dinner for Andy and make love to him if he wasn’t too worn out. First, a call to him, though. She looked at her phone and saw he had called her several times while they had been out in the snow.

She quickly called him and headed for the bedroom. “Hey, you, is everything all right?”

He laughed. “My brothers and cousins told me you have a ladies' and kids’ day out. Are you all right?”