Chapter Fourteen
She was starting to show, their child was growing within her and Nathaniel knew before long it would not be something they could hide. In fact he was looking forward to being open about it. But Alicia wasn't ready for that.
He knew she was excited, more often than not he caught her little moments of distraction when her hand trailed down over her belly, she paused at the mirror in the morning and turned to the side; or his favorite the way she looked longingly at some of the baby things in the market but was unwilling to go over and check them out. Nathaniel didn't care, he'd drag Shannon along with him and torture the man while silently evaluating what he needed to buy. Shannon's daughter was to wed soon and the man was not looking forward to grand children just yet.
He had already decided to have a swing made for their patch of yard and a rocker for the spare bedroom. He could remember when he was preparing for Lucas' birth his own mother showed up to inspect the nursery and declared every new parent needed a rocker to soothe the baby. Ayani had protested and he had shipped out, when he was next home there had been this tiny bundle of life that he couldn't stop staring at. He'd spent hours pacing the floor with his son, sometimes studying him in awe and others trying to soothe him; a rocker would have done wonders.
Nathaniel climbed the stairs to his office, he had left his wife in bed this morning; ordering her to stay there until the nausea passed. She hadn't caught a break and had been sick nearly since the day they learned they were expecting. She didn't complain about it but would snarl when he suggest she go to Elisabeth. Her stance on that confused him just a little, the women were close and the pregnancy was not unexpected; he could only remind himself it was her body going through the changes and it would be her secret as long as she needed.
Yet many of the women in the Seagoing camp seemed to know, they had unofficially made Alicia the contact for that group as they had trusted her easily. And he suspected it was on that trust they tried to be kind to the guards that ran patrol; it was evident that their equipment and weapons were intimidating to the people. None had set foot inside the colony, he either had Alicia address them or went out to the camp himself whenever it was necessary to meet with them.
His wife had given her permission for them to build a permanent settlement along the river, inside the low outer wall that the colony was constructing. And when he had gone out and agreed, speaking to the men about it they began to see the preparations being made, logs piled up in various places, stones piled high and tents moving about almost daily. More than one of his craftsmen climbed up to the towers almost every day to watch the methods they used and the supplies they gathered.
A few had ventured out to navigate a conversation about their plans and how they intended to build the village. The section of stone wall from the river's bank around to the main gate had been finished, the work crew was rounding the other side of the colony towards the agricultural gate now and would continue until they reached the river bank again. As he saw it take shape he was sure it was a good defensive move. Now they could work their fields, and protect their crops without predators lurking or the risk of an attack. There were only two ways in and out of the outer wall, a third was secret with only a handful of people aware of it and it would only be used if their defenses were going to fall. Those access points could be monitored at all times, the threat of someone slipping through the slats of the fence had been greatly reduced.
He felt that the colony was in a good place, after all they had come through in the last two years, from suspecting something sinister was coming to an open attack and nearly losing everything until now. They had good allies in the Seafarers and more cautious ones with the Sixers, he had been in the military long enough to accept the threat living on their horizon for what it was. They would have more skirmishes there but the threat of an outright war dropped with passing time.
One anniversary that had come and gone had been important to the Sixers and yet another eased closer; it was one he hesitated to face. Everything around him had shifted, and a part of that was because of Lucas' death; a threat neutralized. It hurt him to remember that this world was better without his son. It was an anniversary the colony would ignore and it shamed him to think it was one that he wanted to ignore as well.
The harm that had been done and the threat introduced through his son's action could not be erased. It was only the past that made him fear for the child he and Alicia were bringing into this world. Yes Lucas had been influenced by his experiences but what of his DNA; DNA Nathaniel was passing forward again?
The memory of his son was difficult, tomorrow if he went out to memorial fields Alicia would want to come with him and somehow that was worse. His wife's body had been scarred and nearly broken by his son and though he would always find her beautiful sometimes he saw the scars and felt sickness roll inside him. Alicia should not mourn the man who would have murdered her, he hardly wanted to and yet couldn't quite let go; maybe next year he could.
But the thought of Alicia making that walk with him was enough for him to decide. He would walk out today, he would face the memories now and then he would go home to his wife and when this time came next year he would spend it with their little family and he would begin to forget.
He left the Command Center and headed for the gates, he would face this now before he spent his entire day on it. There was always a great deal to do in the colony and today was no different. Informing the tower of his intentions he walked out through the gates and past the outer wall that had been newly constructed. The longer he walked the more he was glad he was alone.
….
Alicia spent the first few hours of her mornings at home, hiding the nausea she couldn't seem to escape. But the time proved useful, she drafted patrol and outpost rotations, inventoried the supply records and filled out necessary paperwork for the unit of soldiers she oversaw. She had turned running drills and physical training over to the newly promoted Sargent Reynolds as her time was largely spent forging relationships with their new neighbors.
Somehow Alicia was almost more comfortable in that camp then within the colony on many days. With the changes to their lifestyle becoming more evident and the passing time adding a permanence to it things were becoming more difficult for her. Being pregnant in the colony was to be treated like a breakable doll, women didn't work to hard or exert too much energy after becoming pregnant. Every little illness or injury was a cause for great concern and no matter the weather it was not good to be carrying a child.
Alicia could not live like that, it would make the coming months feel like years and the excitement of this become misery. She wanted a baby but she would not give up her own way of life unless she had tangible proof that it would harm her child. As far as she could see the women who took pregnancy as a cause to be come hypochondriacs suffered more than necessary and while well meaning medical professionals only encouraged the idea.
Elisabeth was a good friend but if she had her way the doctor would also be the last to know, she knew enough about medicine to manage and Storme offered frequent advice. Pregnancy, along with many other things were viewed differently in the Seagoing camp. There her news could be spread far and wide but none tried to stop her from working with the women. The people there saw that it took strength to bear a child, and none of them treated her any differently than before they knew.
The first hours of her morning were spent with paperwork, this morning it was requisitions, and once her stomach seemed to settle she had a little food and left for the day. Shutting Boxer in yard Nathaniel had fenced in to hold her pet Alicia headed for the gate. She had yet to convince any member of that camp to set foot inside the colony, she knew the differences between their ways of life still made many of the people wary.
She was hardly out of the colony when Shannon's voice crackled on the radio, wanting to know when the next shipment of rock was coming. The Sixers were keeping them supplied but laying the slabs of rock was much faster than quarrying them; even with a team from the colony for support. But that was Shannon's domain no matter how much he tried to get out of dealing with the work crews it was something he was good at; and there wasn't a lot of crime around lately.
Alicia arrived as a row of canoes on shore were being loaded, the village buzzed with activity. She wandered through, nodding to people she knew, and recognized the group of hunters who had only returned a few days ago. Heading towards the newly build smokehouse she found Storme, the woman worked with a few others preparing the field dressed carcasses for smoking.
"They are heading up to our old settlement to bring down the harvest. Next year we will plant on the other side of the river." The tribe matriarch explained as they watched all of the young people push away from the shore in the wide deep canoes.
"What about building homes?" Alicia asked, harvest for the colony was done three times a year and took nearly a month each time, not to mention the fruits that grew nearly year round.
"The rains will ruin our harvest, our tents are good for now." The woman's English was improving rapidly. "Once the meat is up we will continue moving the stones."
These women worked hard, they had lived hard, raised children and worked to keep their families clothed and fed; she wondered if the colony recognized that was their future. The conveniences they had were temporary, and fading fast. But she remembered when they first came through, starting with nothing, it was fitting that they learned to make do with only what they had. It was just another mark of distance between them and their past.
Alicia worked with the women, first preparing the meat for smoking and then in hauling stones from the piles and stacking them together as one woman smeared clay into the cracks. Stone by stone the foundation of the huts were rising from the earth. The stone base rose about five feet from the earth, nearly a dozen of the foundations had already been finished. On top of this a wooden structure would be built creating a loft, the upper level being a sleeping area and the lower for living. Structures far more permanent than any they'd had.
As they worked the cloudy sky darkened and Alicia looked up at the overcast cover as the first fat rain drops fell. Work was over as the drops started to come down steadily, Alicia began to turn towards the gates as the women hurried to the tents. Within moments the storm broke and wind roared, she slipped into the colony. Alicia climbed to the guard tower and looked out in time to see the wind toss several tents into the stone wall.
Biting back a growl she turned and slid down the ladder, she understood their pride but most of the camp was on the water heading up for the harvest; but a handful of old women could not stay in that camp alone. Not in this weather. She tapped her com and called for a covered rover. When it rolled up she took over the wheel and rolled slowly out into the camp, rain pounded down and reducing visibility to nothing as the wind tried to buffet the rover aside and the wall was already sheltering them from the worst of it.
Sliding from the seat Alicia shifted her arm to try and block the icy water dousing her, pulling open the first collapsed shelter, and then another; looking for the women she had been working with only a few moments before. In a nearly collapsed tent she found the women, she pulled them towards the rover; aware that they hesitated because they feared the vehicle. But they didn't have an option, not until this storm blew through.