Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter; I had a very cheerful weekend thanks to you. Let me confess, once again, to kidnapping Tamora Pierce's characters and keeping their lives "interesting".
Neal gave a sigh of relief as he cut the umbilical cord. "She's beautiful," he told Kel as he cleaned the infant and made sure she was healthy. "May I congratulate you on what I believe to have been one of the most straightforward births in the history of human kind?" he said.
"Remind me never to have a complicated birth," said Kel shakily.
The baby was big, blue-eyed, and in perfect health. She seemed intent upon demonstrating the health of her lungs by screaming loudly. Neal wrapped the baby in a blanket and passed her to Kel. He smiled at both of them before leaving Kel to the care of one of the refugee midwives while he went to change clothes and find food. It was, after all, nearly lunchtime.
Kel roused herself from her drowsy contentment and tore her eyes away from the baby sleeping in her arms when Neal came back in. She sniffed with interest at the tray he was carrying.
"Thanks for everything," she said, as he set the tray on a table and settled himself in a chair beside her.
"You did all the real work," he told her. "Though it was nice of you to let me beat you at chess." He handed her a mug of broth. "Drink," he ordered.
Neither of them had gotten any breakfast and they quickly consumed all of the food on the heavily laden tray. Kel fell back into thoughtful drowsiness once she had finished. She leaned back against the pillows and watched the tiny motions of her daughter's breath.
"She needs a name," Kel said finally. Her voice was so low it was almost a whisper.
"Maybe that can wait a day or so till Dom gets here," Neal said absent-mindedly. He too was staring at Kel's baby, wondering what his own child looked like.
Kel gave a slight gasp and fixed Neal with a piercing stare. "And how would you know that Dom will be here so soon?"
Neal's eyes widened and he glanced about the room as though searching for a reasonable explanation. He flung his hands into the air and slid from his chair so that he was kneeling before Kel.
"I have a confession to make, Lady Knight," he said gravely. " This morning, I very nearly brought the land of Tortall to the brink of civil war."
Kel blinked at him.
"You see Kel; I'd sworn a number of secret oaths to a number of important people that I'd contact them as soon as I knew the baby was coming. So I did. I told Lady Alanna and I told Lord Wyldon and he told Raoul and Dom as soon as they reached Fort Steadfast this morning. And if anything had happened to you or the baby, anything at all, they'd all have converged upon this spot and fought over the privilege of killing me. Why the King's Champion and the Commander of the Own might have finished each other off and then Tortall would have been left utterly defenseless."
Kel gave a mildly hysterical giggle which evolved into an uncontrollable sobbing laugh. Then she forced herself to stop and take deep breaths; if she let herself get started while she was this tired it was likely she'd experience a full blown breakdown complete with laughter, tears, and mad raving. She wouldn't mind sharing a hysterical fit with Neal—it would probably do both of them some good—but she was afraid of damaging her dignity as a commanding officer if Merric or any of the refugees found out.
"Neal, I don't know what to say," Kel stammered finally. "I'm not sure whether I want to thank you for bringing Raoul and Alanna or yell at you for going behind my back about it." She paused suddenly as more of what Neal had told her registered. "You contacted Lord Wyldon this morning?"
Neal nodded. "I think the Old Stump'll have mushrooms growing on him any day now, he's certainly getting soft enough for it."
"He has spent a lot of time standing around in damp weather," Kel remarked thoughtfully. Then she bit her lip as the rest of Neal's speech got up with her.
"Dom's coming?" She'd taken it for granted when Neal spoke but now the fact registered completely. "Oh, Mithros," she whispered when he nodded. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this."
"Kel?" Neal reached forward and gripped her shoulder.
"He's going to try to propose again," Kel explained miserably. Neal blinked at her. She made a hiccupping sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. "And I'm so tired I don't think I'll be able to say know this time. I love him so much and I'm so overwhelmed and…"
"So, say yes," Neal told her.
"I can't."
Neal hesitated. "What if the law were changed? What if he could marry you and stay in the Own?"
"But the law isn't changed," Kel protested. "It's not that I'd ever consider marrying anyone else—part of me wants to marry him tomorrow."
"Well, then imagine that the law is changed."
"You've always told me I have no imagination,"
"I also thought you were immune to hysterics," Neal remarked.
Kel sighed heavily. "I'm still not sure," she told him. "I don't think I'm ready to be Dom's wife—I'm still trying to figure out what it means to be Lady Knight Keladry and to command a refugee camp." Kel's daughter stirred in her arms and gave a soft yawn. "And what it means to be a mother," she added in a whisper.
"Tell him that, then," Neal said gently, "I think he'll understand". He stood and carried the tray of dirty dishes to the door. "Or maybe talk to Alanna about it; she understands that sort of thing." He walked back to Kel's bed. "You should get some sleep now," he told her laying a hand on her forehead. There was a flickering of green fire across her face. "You'll want to be rested for when everyone comes," he murmured as her eyes drifted shut.
Kel's baby's eyelids fluttered momentarily. Neal smiled at the infant. "Let's not mention that sleep spell to your Ma when she wakes up," he whispered as the baby sighed and sank back into a deep sleep.
Neal was suddenly very sleepy himself. I'll just close my eyes for a moment, he told himself, as he lay down on a neighboring cot. He was snoring within moments.
Footsteps and a knock at the infirmary door woke him, hours later. He sat up suddenly and grimaced with disgust as he wiped a gob of drool from his face. He glanced at the widow on his way to the door and realized that is was late afternoon, nearly sunset. He flung the door open and had to step out of the way quickly as the Lioness bounded into the room.
"They're both fine," he assured her. "I thought it would be best if she rested for a few hours."
Alanna nodded. "Did you tell her we were coming?"
"Only a few minutes ago," Kel murmured, still only half-awake.
The baby woke upon hearing voices and began squalling loudly. Neal took advantage of the sudden commotion to slip from the room. I'll just give Kel and Alanna some time to chat, he told himself.
"I'm confused," Kel confessed, as soon as the baby was settled, nursing quietly.
"Motherhood does that to a knight," Alanna said quietly.
"No, I mean I'm not sure what to tell Dom when he comes and proposes again. And he will propose again after he sees the baby."
"It would be very difficult for him not to," agreed Alanna. "But also very difficult for you to say no, even though you don't feel ready to say yes" she continued, "is that your problem?"
Kel nodded, beginning to seriously consider Neal's claims that the Lioness was capable of mind reading. "I just need more time to understand what I really want to do with the mess of made of things, and be just myself independently." Kel paused and glanced at her baby. "Well," she amended, "as independently as possible at this point—just for a little while longer."
"Sometimes," said Alanna as she removed Kel's baby from her arms and changed her diaper with startling competence, "when you spend years working towards a single goal—like earning your shield—then, after you reach that goal, you feel a bit anchorless and unguided until you settle on what you next goal should be."
"You didn't marry and start a family when you were nineteen," Kel said. Both women pretended that this remark was completely unrelated to Alanna's comment.
"Well, having a husband does make raising children considerably easier," Alanna said, "but then you've always preferred to do things the hard way." She sighed loudly and then said, in a more cheerful voice, "but I think that George and Dom have a lot in common: they're both smart enough to know what's worth waiting patiently for."
Kel gave her a watery chuckle.
"I'll have a word with Dom before he sees you," she said. "Just promise me you won't make him—or this darling little daughter of yours—wait too long." She kissed the baby's forehead, whispered "Goddess bless," and passed her back into Kel's arms.
Kel grinned and was about to reply when the door burst open. It was Neal, carrying a protesting Tobe over one shoulder and tickling him mercilessly.
"I found this young troublemaker climbing up on your horse like he was planning to ride away with him," he told Alanna as he set Tobe's feet on the floor. "Little ragamuffin hadn't even bothered with a saddle."
"What exactly do you have against saddles, youngling?" Alanna asked cheerfully. "I saw you galloping around on Peachblossom without one earlier."
"Peachblossom and Darkmoon are smart old horses," Tobe told her once he had caught his breath. "The saddle an' reins just get in the way of my thinkin' where we should be headed." Neal and Alanna stared at him, flabbergasted. Apparently being gazed at by two knights was an unnerving experience, for Tobe quickly tried to change the subject. "Can I see the baby?" he asked eagerly.
"Wash your hands first," Kel and Alanna chorused.
Neal watched as Tobe walked down the hallway to the washbasin. "Peachblossom," he mouthed and "bareback."
"So Keladry, as if raising a baby while commanding a refugee camp wasn't enough of a challenge and you're now finding yourself responsible for a young wild mage whose powers are rapidly growing," Alanna remarked gravely.
"Kel, when the Lioness is concerned for your mental well-being there's definitely cause for worry," Nel said, only half-joking.
Kel sighed. "What can I say? I like doing things in threes, it keeps life interesting," she said as Tobe tiptoed to her side and seated himself on the edge of the bed.
Alanna stepped over and, very carefully, lifted the baby from Kel's arms to Tobe's. Tobe sat very still and looked down at the baby with a reverent expression. Kel looked over at Neal and grinned; he winked back at her.
"She's got pretty eyes," Tobe said as he passed the baby back to Kel. "What are you going to name her?"
Reasons to go a to a women's college:
It's grammatically pleasing: "Each student should pick up her homework from the history department." (No awkward his or her)
You get to be called a First Year—like in Harry Potter!—instead of a Freshman
Don't worry: I do have a name for Kel's baby and I promise the baby will be named in the next chapter. I had way too much fun flipping through a baby name book to find it. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow and I'd love to frighten the dental hygiene assistants with my toothy lunatic grin so reviews would be very much appreciated.