Page 54 of Fall

She ran over, her eyes taking in Lenna’spale, perspiring face and Rone’s supportive arm around her. “Baby here?”

“Baby here,” Lenna gasped.

Mara made a few tsking sounds and tookLenna’s arm, leading her into the cave. Rone followed without a word.

Two contractions hit Lenna on the shortwalk into the cave, a sign which evidently gave Mara all she needed to knowabout when the baby was coming.

She shooed away a couple of younger womenwho’d been working in the cave, and then Mara turned to Rone. “Rone leave.”

Rone frowned, looking in concern betweenLenna and Mara. “Rone stay.”

Mara shook her head. “Rone man. Baby womanjob. Rone leave.”

Lenna was dealing with another contractionso she couldn’t, at the moment, contribute to the conversation. Instead, shereached out to take Rone’s hand.

Rone made a grunt as he squeezed herstightly. “No. Rone stay. Support Lenna.”

He gave her a quick look, as if affirmingthat he’d used the word correctly.

He’d used it exactly right. When herbreath returned, Lenna gave him a wobbly smile. “Rone stay,” she said. “Lennaneed Mara and Rone.”

This evidently was enough of anexplanation to cause Mara to give up the argument. She looked a little rattledat Rone’s presence in a situation that men in this tribe weren’t supposed to beinvolved in, but she led Lenna over to an area in the back of the cave wherethere weren’t any beds.

Since Lenna had been part of the tribe,two women had given birth. The first had been the stillborn baby, and thesecond had been healthy. She basically knew the procedure here, so she didn’tquestion or complain as Mara helped her into the birthing position—which was avery undignified squat.

She’d walked for so long that there wasn’tany extra time. She almost immediately felt the intense desire to push, and sothat was what she did.

It hurt horribly, but Lenna was in astrange intense daze where she couldn’t really process specific sensations oractions. It didn’t take very much time at all before the baby was crowning—andthen was far enough out for Mara to pull out all the way.

The baby was a girl.

The baby was healthy—she knew this fromthe smiles on Mara’s and Rone’s faces as they cleaned her up before handing herto Lenna.

The baby was hers. Hers and Rone’s. Shereally had no idea how it had happened.

She’d fallen to this planet less than sixteenmonths ago, completely independent, completely alone in the world.

And now she had a family.

***

Two weeks later, she was propped up in their bed,nursing her baby.

The infant was pink and loud and biggerthan Lenna had expected. She’d been born healthy, and she’d taken to nursingreally well. There was no reason to assume she wouldn’t survive.

Lenna loved her daughter more than she’dever known was possible.

She and Rone would have to figure out aname soon. The Kroo waited two weeks before they named their children, and bynow Lenna understood why. After two weeks, you could be at least reasonablyconfident that the baby had a decent chance of surviving.

Her daughter had made it that far. She andRone could name her.

She was a greedy little thing, her tinymouth suckling eagerly and occasionally dribbling milk down her chin.

She must take after Rone.

Out of the blue, Lenna wondered how Halland Kyla were doing, whether they would ever have a baby. She couldn’t reallypicture Hall as a father, but no one would ever have imagined Lenna having ababy either.

People could change.