Alice and Chingachgook laid in their respective beds in the wigwam while Uncas collected some extra firewood outside. They rarely had long or deep conversations with one another.

"Mary says all is well?"

"Yes," she said distractedly.

She stared into the fire as if in a trance.

"Thank you for killing Magua, " she said blankly. "I know you did it because you thought he had killed Uncas, but thank you."

"Why do you wish to see him dead?"

"I saw him kill my father."

"Does my son know?"

"No."

"Are you struggling?"

"I do not think so."

"You are struggling. You need to tell Uncas. He has a generous soul and he will give as much of it as he can to help yours heal."

Uncas had already started to help her heal, though he did not realize it. The day Alice watched her father's heart being carved out of his chest was the day she decided she would live according to her own heart from that point forward. She had already stepped over the boundaries of polite society when she spent the night with Uncas, but now she would cast it aside completely. She would do as her heart bid. Follow where it led. And it led her back into Uncas's arms.

She knew Chingachgook spoke the truth, and he was wise to know that she needed to speak to Uncas in order to heal. She would tell him soon.

Uncas returned then and fed the fire before climbing into bed with Alice. He reached for his canteen and handed it to her.

"One more drink before bed."

"Uncas, I can feel the water sloshing around in my stomach. I do not need more."

"One more," he stated in a commanding way that still managed to come out sounding gentle and soothing.

"I cannot bear it."

"Just, one more. Please."

"Nooo."

"Alice, do you know how terrified I was when I saw you laying on the ground? I could not bare it if that happened again and you actually got hurt."

She did not argue further, and appeased him with a small sip. He noticed how small the sip was, but it was better than nothing.

He put his canteen down, laid down behind Alice, and gathered her into his arms. He had spent so many nights wishing to hold her when he could not. Now that they were married, he basked in the new ability to clutch her in his arms every night.

The next morning, despite sharing some alone time before Uncas began chores and Alice began breakfast, Nathaniel and Cora were the ones to show up late to breakfast. Uncas had done his brother's chores when he did not show up. As Cora and Nathaniel sat down to the table, Alice placed a large skillet before everyone with a concoction of fried potatoes, bacon, mushrooms, onions, eggs, and cheese. The bread and butter had already been set out, as had a hot cereal of ground wheat and maple syrup. Alice thought she detected that her sister was trying very hard to hide a smile. It was plain to all that Nathaniel made no effort to hide anything. He had a look of accomplishment and pride on his face. Uncas let out a snort in spite of himself, relatively certain he knew what this meant. Had Nathaniel finally deciphered the mystery of his wife? Alice thought her talk with Cora may have had a positive impact.

Alice suddenly jumped as the baby kicked her harder than it ever had before. This one actually hurt.

"Alice, is everything okay?" Cora asked.

"Yes," Alice reassured. "The baby is just kicking up a storm. You have not felt him kick yet."

Alice took her sister's hand and placed it on her belly. Cora smiled sweetly when she felt the first kick.

"Yours will be doing the same in a few months," Alice reminded her sister, who looked forward to the experience of feeling her own child move inside of her.

Alice gestured for Chingachgook to come and feel as well.

"Come and see how strong your grandson is."

Chingachgook timidly approached and she placed his hand on her belly. Uncas looked on with pride as he saw his father smile in reaction to the kicks of their first child. He could see that his father already had love in his eyes for the baby within Alice.

Over the next month, Cora took well to the cooking lessons Alice gave her. Nathaniel was pleased to see her truly master some skills in the kitchen, such as rearranging embers to adjust the temperatures for the various pots on the stove. She had also learned to knead bread, churn butter, and even start a fresh batch of clabber each week. Today she wished to make a meal entirely on her own. She loved her husband, and wanted to make him proud. She would plan the main meal and do as much of it as she could without help. She relied on Alice only for advice and basic instructions.

Chicken and dumplings simmered away in one pot, while cherry pound cake rose in the bake pot. She had also spent the morning stewing applesauce and preparing a cheese tray. When it came time to serve, everyone gathered around the table, Uncas at Alice's side as usual to help her into her seat. He filled her mug with fresh water, which she knew she would have to finish by the end of the meal. Cora proudly brought each dish and set them on wooden trivets. With a flourish, she removed the lids from her two most prized dishes and a sudden look of perplexity came over her. Nathaniel feared another outburst was upon them when he saw the look on her face. Alice appraised the two dishes, knowing what they were meant to be. Uncas noticed as she bit her lip in an attempt not to laugh.

"Cora, I'm sure we can figure out... oh dear, I don't think this can be remedied."

The men looked on in bewilderment.

"Uh, what is it supposed to be?" Nathaniel asked.

"Chicken and dumplings and cherry poundcake," Cora stated with a look of profound disappointment.

"It looks like you put the peas in the pound cake," said Uncas.

"And overcooked the chicken and dumplings," finished Chingachgook, as he noted the chicken looked like leather, the sauce had evaporated into nothingness, and the dumplings looked like black coals. One even glowed.

"Yes, I can see what I have done," she snapped back. "I must have been distracted."

Uncas, known for being willing to eat pretty much anything, could see how the finished product was not what she intended, but he thought the chicken and dumplings would at least taste as it should, though it may be difficult to chew. And how could any cake go unappreciated? There was no sense in wasting any of it. He began to help himself to Cora's meal, and ate hungrily from his full plate. The poundcake was a bit odd, but he poored the applesauce over it and the flavor was improved greatly. He looked up with a full mouth to find the others staring at him questioningly, and he paused.

"How is it?" asked Nathaniel.

Uncas had to swallow what was in his mouth before he could answer. This took some time, given the leathery nature of the chicken.

"It is...different...but, not bad."

He answered carefully, as Alice had told him all morning of Cora's efforts, and he knew he would have a very angry wife on his hands tonight if he upset her sister.

Not wanting to disappoint Cora, Nathaniel was next to serve himself and he kicked his father under the table to tell him to do so as well. The men ate in silence and managed to spit out compliments instead of the food.

"Alice, you're not eating," Uncas noted as he watched her contemplate her next move.

He took her plate and filled it with each of Cora's dishes. He gave her a sly grin and she sneered at him.

"Go on, tell us what you think."

Alice picked through the chicken and dumplings. She took a bite and found it to be palatable at best, once the burnt parts were scraped off. She thought she could get it all down, though the cake she was very unsure of.

"Well, Cora, it seems that this is not as bad as some mistakes you have made in the past. And look how much Uncas enjoys it."

"Uncas eats Beaver tail," Cora spitefully retorted.

This was true, but so did many in the colonies.

Cora stormed outside in frustration and embarrassment and Alice followed.

Cora hoped Alice would present her with a secretly prepared back-up meal. No such meal existed.

"Cora, the meal did not go over as planned but all is not lost. I have learned more from my mistakes than my successes. And there have been many mistakes."

"I have never seen you make one such as this. I only wished to make Nathaniel happy."

"Cora, you have made a great deal of progress in a short amount of time. And, I see the way he looks at you. You are making him happy."

The men came out then, Nathaniel and Chingachgook still looking befuddled, Uncas rubbing his belly in satisfaction.

Alice nudged Cora back inside so they could salvage the remainder of dinner and think of something else for supper.

Shortly thereafter, Uncas poked his head inside.

"Alice, don't forget to drink your water."

"Uncas, why must we wait?"

Alice placed kisses up and down his neck, sometimes gently sucking in between. She had taken full advantage of matrimony over the past two months by luring Uncas to the wigwam each afternoon. She made no apologies or excuses when the two disappeared halfway through each day for a considerable period of time. She did not care for discretion if it came between her and her husband. Uncas never had the strength to resist temptation. He would never grow tired of being with Alice, or serving her body with his.

"Alice, do you have any idea how lucky you are that two minutes is all you have to wait?"

"No, please do explain," she answered sarcastically.

"Most men can not do it again for quite a while, some for several hours."

"Why?" she asked in astonishment.

"Because, that is how long it takes for their bodies to recover and to become hard again."

Alice had not heard of such a phenomenon.

"Women have to wait that long to do it again?"

"Some. Every man is different, but given your nature, you are very lucky that it takes me so little time."

"My nature?"

"Uncas looked at her in a way that said she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I did not realize. Do you think me ungrateful?"

"No, just inexperienced. Which, I am glad for. I could not bear the thought of you being with another."

"But, I must bear it."

"They meant nothing."

"Well, we can do other things while we wait."

"We have always spent much time in between doing other things. Why are you so impatient today?"

"I am sorry. I am just trying to distract myself. I am trying to keep my mind off of something."

"What?"

Worry came over Uncas's face. Alice was not ready for this conversation, though the thoughts and memories that plagued her had become increasingly intrusive. She figured two minutes was up and ran her fingers up Uncas's inner thigh. His body responded as she hoped.

"I always knew I was lucky Uncas, but now I see this even more so."

When Uncas was ready to return to the never ending work outside, and Alice was ready to release him from his marital duties, he quickly dressed and placed a kiss on her lips, whispered in her ear of his endless love for her, then leaned down to her belly and said with a gentle kiss "and, I love you, too," before retreating from the wigwam. He would let Alice rest for as long as she needed, her almost eight month pregnant body having been taxed by her every duty throughout the day.

Alice sighed, knowing she could not lay here forever, though her body begged for a nap. She must get up before she fell asleep and neglected the rest of her work for the day. She tried to sit up so she could swing her legs over the platform on which they slept, but her body did not respond as instructed. She tried again, and found that she could not sit up at all. How was she to get out of bed? Usually, Uncas was there to help. The platform was low to the ground, so maybe she could roll off. She gradually rotated her body and eased it to the ground. She now laid on the ground in the same position she had started out in. Again, she tried to sit up, but could not. There was very little room for her to maneuver, though she attempted several times to at least get on her hands and knees. She finally gave up and laid back down on her back in exhaustion and defeat.

"Uncas!"

His keen ears picked up her call right away.

'She can't possibly want to do it again, already.'

"Uncas!"

"Your wife is calling for you," Nathaniel said with a laugh.

An exacerbated Uncas, carving a kitchen garden out of the ground per Alice's instructions, put his shovel down. It was almost April and Alice would soon begin sewing seeds. Uncas went to answer to his wife's needs. When he entered the wigwam he found her on the ground, naked other than a blanket she had pulled over her.

He rushed to her thinking she had fallen.

"Are you okay? Is anything hurt?"

"I did not fall, Uncas. I rolled off, because I could not sit up. I still can not sit up. I am stuck."

Uncas sat back and looked at her precarious situation and could not help himself when he pictured her rolling off of the platform. He let out a laugh, which earned himself a rather fierce glare.

"Would you like to take over for the next month?" she asked him with scorn.

"I'm sorry," he said between laughs, "I know it is not funny." He burst out laughing again.

"Uncas, please, I need your help."

Uncas gently eased her to her feet, careful not to lift with his back, as she had become rather heavy. He helped her dress and even placed a braid in her hair.

"We cannot stay in here any longer, Alice."

"What do you mean?"

"The platform is too low and the wigwam is cramped. We will move into the room in the cabin until you have the baby. After that... we will see."

Uncas had to admit that the bed in the cabin was far more comfortable, especially when Cora was not sitting on him. It was also larger, not that they needed the space given how close they held each other every night. Life in the cabin certainly was less cramped. He had failed to talk his father into leaving the wigwam and sleeping in a bed in the main room.

"I finally get to sleep naked, again," Chingachgook had explained.

Uncas had acclimated to cabin life rather quickly. He often gazed in admiration at his wife in the evenings as she completed preparation of their supper.

Tonight, corn, beans, and pumpkin combined in Uncas's mouth to create a unique flavor. It reminded him of his first home. The home where he was nurtured in spirit by the love of his mother and in body by the bounties of the land. Now, his wife nurtured him in both spirit and body, with more diversity than the simple love and attention that a child required. She nurtured him in spirit by falling asleep and waking up with him ever day and night, praising him when his male ego needed a boost, supporting his decisions, listening thoughtfully when he had concerns, encouraging him when he was disheartened, carrying his child in her body, and making love to him when he felt the need for a deep connection. She nurtured him in body by serving his rather high requirement for sustenance each day, washing and mending his clothes, massaging his sinewy form, and letting him take her body in which ever manner he pleased when he was feeling libidinous.

"Uncas, how do you not get fat?" Nathaniel interrupted Uncas's thoughts in feigned irritation as Uncas reached for a third serving of Alice's version of succotash.

Uncas froze and looked around to see if anyone truly minded. Alice laughed.

"Uncas, there is plenty. I learned a long time ago to cook for six instead of five when you are here."

She pondered that his body was rather remarkable in the many ways it defied the rules of nature. He ate whatever he wanted and remained mostly built of solid muscle, he fell from a cliff and survived, he traversed New York Harbor faster than anyone else could have to save her from being swept out to sea, and, as he had explained several days before, he had an uncommonly short refractory period. She watched as he continued to partake of the meal she had prepared more for him than anyone else, and felt glad that she could provide in this way for her rather exceptional husband. She knew she was lucky to have him, despite the risks and sacrifices that came with the forbidden nature of their love.

She pondered her own body, and found it to be rather less remarkable as of late. She felt almost as big as the cabin they now slept in with just six weeks until the baby would be born. Her breasts leaked, she could not see her feet, her belly button stuck out in a strange manner, and she peed every half hour.

Uncas had taken to these changes with great kindness and tenderness. He rubbed her feet every night, as well as her legs when they cramped. He leaned his head on her belly as they lay in bed together and spoke lovingly to their growing child. He helped her put on her leggings and boots everyday. He also fashioned for her a chair in which he placed a chamber pot as soon as they moved into the cabin, so her frequent excursions to relieve her bladder would not be so taxing. Nathaniel followed suit and constructed something similar for Cora.

Despite the challenges of continuing to work while being with child, Alice never complained. She carried on with her work daily. Tonight, after supper, she worked to complete the plan for the garden, which she would begin to execute the next day. Uncas had just finished turning the soil over for her and he had obtained all of the seeds she needed when he and Nathaniel visited a nearby settlement days earlier. There was something else he had gotten for her, but he waited for the perfect moment to present it to her. A bathing tub waited patiently in the barn to be brought in and would be used by the light of their small bedroom fire.