The ving women frustrated Rose and me no end. She shook her head and sat back heavily on a table behind her. Rose looked absolutely vexed as she spoke.


    “Kana and Rysell have tried to talk to the men, but no one will listen,” she said woefully. “They even expressed their concern to Hassar and Reed. The camp’s Administrators want to respect the men’s beliefs. They won’t do anything proactive about it. The men want the women here so they can witness how healthy the freedom is. If the ving women weren’t allowed here, it would be insulting to the men and they won’t take away their choices…”


    “The men should stay close to camp and close to the free women,” I told Rose for the hundredth time. “They can’t just run around like there isn’t anymore danger.”


    Rose agreed, just like she had all the other times we’d had this discussion. Our men, just like all the men, had no fear of ving women. They came and went as they pleased. The only danger they believed existed was aliens.


    A deep ache settled in my lower back and I paced back and forth as I spoke.


    “I feel like we’re watching a train crash in slow motion,” I panted trying to stretch out the cramp.


    “It’s just going to have to happen,” Rose said irritably. “Basin and his Brothers are as hard headed as the rest. They won’t hear of my difort with this…”


    A horn sounded indicating an end to running and the boys bolted back to us. We couldn’t talk about this around them. They were confused by ourck of belief in The Spirit’s power. Edas and his family, as they bonded to Basin’s family, were bing as stalwart as the rest of the men. Mycah and his Brothers were the same way. Rose and I put on smiles and just walked the children to their next activity.


    As the afternoon went on the cramps in my back came and went. I tried to sit when I could and drank plenty of water. If it was time for the girls to be born that was fine, but I did not want to make theme early. There was still an alien presence fighting on this world and the potential conflict with the vers made me very uneasy. I wasn’t really ready to be a new mother right now.


    By nightfall, I was exhausted. I went to bed long before anyone else. The men wished me a good sleep and spent their time in themunal living space. The cramps had stopped during dinner, but I still felt worn. Hopefully sleep would make me feel better again.


    Our bed had be less of a private space, but sharing it with our extended family felt right. As I curled into my ce I wondered when it would be that the women would excavate more rooms for us. Perhaps they could dig a second bedroom that entered into our small living space. I wanted to keep the family all close. I fell to sleep thinking about that.


    It was Kein’s worried voice that jostled me from sleep in the middle of the night. I’d been dreaming of a deep canyon. The wind whipped and howled through it, making a mournful sound. The noise still echoed in my ears as I woke up. Kein stroked my arm as he whispered my name. I was groggy as I turned my head to look at his face peering over my shoulder.


    “Mama?” a small voice asked from in front of me and I turned my head to see Mycah’s family lined up and watching me over Rynal’s body.


    The little boys were wide awake and obviously confused about something. My groggy mind couldn’t decide what it was. All thought left me a momentter as the pain gripped my lower back and shot down into my stomach. Panting and writhing on the bed I realized the howling canyon must have been me, moaning in my sleep.


    “You are in pain, wife, it will be soon,” Kein said as he rubbed my lower back.


    Our babies would not wait much longer.


    “We don’t understand,” Hodlen said quietly, directing thement to Damien.


    He and his Brothers were awake and quietly watching our unfolding drama.


    “There is cramping,” Damien exined, “to push the new lives out of Ciara’s body. The cramps are painful for her.”


    Our extended family had never seen their mates during this time and didn’t know if the same was true of Paterian women. The Paterian women released the new life and brought their offspring to the men, but only after the child had fed the first time. Hodlen’s family had never asked how the actual birth happened. It just wasn’t done that way.


    “I need to walk,” I said as I pushed myself to a sitting position. The men’s conversation was not interesting to me at this point.


    Kein put my boots on my feet and Bane pulled me to stand. Pacing had always helped move thebor along in the past.


    “Where are you going, Mama?” Mycah asked trying to follow me.


    Hodlen held him back as his family restrained the rest of the little boys. It was too early for the them to be wandering around.


    “I have to walk,” I told them gently. “Sleep with your male breeders. It is still night.”


    The men didn’t stop me as I moved toward our main room and then into themunity room. The fire pits were almost out and the space was quiet. I began to pace along the wall and found Kein strolling beside me. He seemed utterly content to walk with me, which I found odd. Damien’s family liked their schedule and now was time for sleep. This was off schedule.


    “You can’t sleep?” I asked him, keeping my voice low.


    His wide grin told me all I needed to know. Damien’s family was too excited to sleep. We wouldbor together.


    The night moved slowly. I talked to my family and let the contractions happen. After a while Kein was reced by Christof and so forth. When I leaned over with a cramp, whoever was with me would rub my lower back and make sure I didn’t fall. My Husbands were gentle and attentiveThis belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?.


    My men were happy, very happy. For the first time we would have our child with no Nu-reeh to scare us during the delivery. I couldy on our bed and the children would be born to their family. It would be better than it ever had been before.


    I tried to be calm as I paced the interior of themunity room, but I was feeling anxious. A twin birth was not something I had done before. I was worried something would go wrong. Damien and his Brothers had witnessed three births, but they were hardly experts. In case of an emergency, there was no one to help my offspring.


    “Women are the only experts on birth,” Bane stated as he walked with a hand on my back.


    “Not on humans, though,” I panted as another contraction faded. “The women don’t know anything about humans. The Healers from thepounds know about humans. The children are trapped inside of me. Healers might know more about what to do if something bad happened.”