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Raven woke quickly, with perfect mental clarity and full recall of what had happened. She pushed aside the blanket and was able to see OWN’s handiwork. She had a new leg, but the skin on it was a brighter blue than the rest of her body. It would take a day or two to fade and blend.
She turned her head to look at the bed beside her and saw Leith sleeping. Alarmed, she quickly assessed his vitals and discovered they were within normal range. Whatever had brought him there—whether it was his planned procedure, or he’d been injured by the synthetics too—he was stable now.
Relief swept through her as Raven completely freed herself from the blanket draped over her and slid off the table to walk over to Leith. Her new leg was a teeny bit wobbly, but she soon adjusted, and it would strengthen within minutes.
When she reached his bedside, she took Leith’s hand and leaned forward to brush hair off his forehead. His normally spiky cut was damp and plastered to his skin.
She looked up at the sound of someone entering, immediately recognizing NKI’s steps, since the footfall was lighter than OWN’s would have been. She turned her head to smile at her and was caught off guard by a wobble of her lips and tears flooding her eyes. “How is he, NKI?”
“His surgery was a success. I was just coming to check on the progress.” As she spoke, NKI bustled closer and pressed a button on the side of the bed. Slowly, Leith’s body turned, and Raven was forced to release his hand as he rotated away from her. A moment later, he was face-down on the special bed, and the clear panel that supported his back retracted.
As NKI checked his integration with the cybernetic parts, Raven admired OWN’s handiwork. She could clearly see luminescent network of circuits intertwined around Leith spine, and his spinal cord pulsed with the same luminescent blue. Only a small swath of his skin all the way down his back was now the same bright blue as her new leg, and the rest was the skin he was born with. It was difficult to believe such a tiny area of his body had been capable of keeping him from walking all those years.
Raven trailed her finger down his back, careful to avoid the new cyborg skin and spinal column in case he was still sensitive, though he appeared to still be deeply under the effects of anesthesia. “When will he wake up?”
“It’ll be at least another day or so. OWN is keeping him deliberately sedated so he can’t move and risk injuring himself or damaging the new spinal column until it has a chance to fully integrate.”
“What about his leg muscles? Will he be able to walk?”
NKI press the button and turned Leith slowly over again. She didn’t answer until he was on his back. “The muscles have atrophied, so he couldn’t use them just yet, but that’s part of the treatment he’ll receive while he’s still unconscious, and we’ll continue sessions for at least a week after he wakes. We’ll put him in sleeves that will stimulate his muscles to strengthen and grow, and by the time he wakes up, he should have limited use of his legs. It will take a little while before the muscles have fully regenerated, but he’ll be mobile tomorrow or the next day—whenever OWN decides to wake him up.”
She nodded, a new wave of relief flooding her. “Thank you, NKI.”
NKI smiled. “Why don’t you call me Nikki? That’s what Carrie has taken to calling me since she’s been coming in regularly for...” She trailed off, hastily averting her gaze. “Anyway, I like Nikki.”
“Nikki it is then.”
“OWN said you could leave soon as you wake up.”
Nikki’s hastily ended statement had piqued her curiosity, and she was anxious to see Carrie, but she didn’t want to leave Leith. She took his hand again. “I’ll stay with him for a while longer.”
“There’s no point,” said Nikki briskly. “He’s going to be asleep for the next day or two, and you need your rest as well. Go get something to eat and take some time to relax. You can visit him again later, but I want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself too.”
Raven considered protesting again, but her stomach growled at that moment, helping her make the decision. She reluctantly released his hand to brush her hand down his cheek before leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his mouth. Nikki seemed unsurprised by the gesture of affection, so she must have already inferred Leith was Raven’s mate.
She left the medical bay with her new leg still a bit unsteady, but it had adjusted to how it should be by the time she reached the mess hall. It was in between meals, but she was able to scrounge from the kitchen an adequate amount to fill her stomach. Then she decided to find Carrie, both to see if her friend was okay and to distract herself from her worry for Leith. He was unlikely to have any complications, especially since the surgery had already been performed, but she was still concerned about him and hated them being apart.
She made her way down the corridor to the general’s quarters, where she would also find Carrie. She pressed the button, and the door opened a moment later with Carrie standing on the other side. Raven slipped inside and hugged her friend before taking a step back. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been looking for an explanation of why Carrie was visiting the infirmary on a regular basis, but she quickly detected two heartbeats—one significantly faster than the other. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and her gaze moved to Carrie’s belly. “You’re pregnant.”
Carrie nodded, looking somewhere between worried and ecstatic. “Dammit, I guess Davis was right.”
“About what?” asked Raven, tipping her head slightly as she examined Carrie for any external signs of pregnancy and found none.
“He said it was a secret we wouldn’t be able to keep once the heartbeat was detectable. You damn cyborgs and your ability to check temperature and hear heartbeats.” Carrie laughed as she said it, though she was clearly on the edge of crying.
Raven moved forward again, offering her friend another hug. “It will be okay, Carrie.”
Tears streaked on Carrie’s face. “I don’t know if it will be. You guys don’t reproduce, and I’ve technically broken the law...rule...mandate. Whatever! I didn’t do it alone, but...” She trailed off as she wiped at her cheeks. “I just don’t know how everyone’s going to react, so I’ve been hiding here in my quarters, except when I slip out to see Nikki and Owen.”
“Don’t worry about how everyone will react. Just focus on staying healthy for you and your baby. I’ll bet Davis is thrilled, isn’t he?”
Carrie blushed, and the human skin on her face turned red. The cybernetic side darkened slightly, but it was only a subtle difference. “He says he is, but I know he’s worried too. How will everyone take the news?”
Raven grinned. “Penny and her babies have been a hit on the base, so I imagine everybody will be just as excited, if not more so, at the prospect of you and the general having a baby. Your baby’s even more exciting than Penny’s puppies.”
Carrie giggled. “I certainly hope so. There’re still cyborgs who don’t like me here, even though I’m technically one of you now. There’s such a resistance to bringing new generations into this messy world that I’m afraid of how the others will greet our news. What if they want me to not be pregnant?” Her eyes were haunted as she said it.
“It doesn’t matter what they want. The choice is yours and Davis’s. You know he won’t let anyone hurt you, and that includes emotionally. Whether or not other people are happy about this addition to the base isn’t your problem. You just focus on growing a healthy baby. For every cyborg who’s annoyed by your news, I’ll bet there’ll be twenty who are thrilled by it. Maybe it will mean we can finally ease the ban on having babies.”
As she spoke, Raven imagined holding her own baby in her arms, and of course Leith was right beside her. The image brought a warm sensation to her chest, and she had to clear her throat to avoid the urge to cry that suddenly swept over her. It was strange that just the thought of having his baby sent elation through her.
“Davis plans to make the announcement soon. I told him there was no reason to yet, but with the heartbeat...” she trailed off with a shrug. “I guess I can’t keep it quiet. In my time, most people didn’t tell anybody about their pregnancy until after the first twelve weeks or so, when the first trimester was over and the risk of miscarriage had dropped significantly. I was hoping to have at least that much time.”
“How far along are you?”
“Almost seven weeks. Davis said the heartbeat has been detectable to him for the last five days, and that coincides with what Nikki and Owen said too.”
Raven frowned. “So you haven’t been out of your quarters in five days except to go to the medical bay?”
Carrie nodded. “It just seemed like the prudent thing to do.”
“As soon as Davis makes the announcement, we’re going to get you out of here for a while. Maybe we can go crochet in the atrium.” It would be a welcome respite from her own anxiety for Leith as well. Suddenly, she chuckled, earning a surprised look from Carrie. “I was just imagining all the baby blankets and booties your little one will have with the number of cyborg crocheters at your command.”
Carrie laughed, though her eyes still looked watery. “That’s true. You’re all much faster than me, and more precise. My baby will have the best layette ever.”
Raven stayed with Carrie a while longer, until the general arrived with her dinner tray. At that point, Raven excused herself and went back to the medical bay to check on Leith.
He was still sleeping, as expected, but there was a new addition. Flexible transparent tubes encased his legs, and they made a rhythmic hissing sound as they contracted and expanded, stimulating his muscles to strengthen and grow. She held his hand as she sat at his bedside. Her eyes started to feel heavy, and she laid her head on the bed beside him, still holding his hand.
“It’s time for you to go to bed, Raven.”
She was startled by OWN’s voice, and sat up quickly. “I’m fine.”
“You’re exhausted. Go get some rest, and you’ll be able to see Leith again tomorrow. We might be able to wake him up in the evening, or perhaps the next morning. He’s doing extremely well, and his body is easily accepting the cybernetic parts. There’s nothing you can do for him tonight, so get some rest so that you’re refreshed and ready to be by his side when he is awake.”
The healer’s words made sense, but it was still difficult to tear herself away from him. He was resting peacefully, and that was what enabled her to let go of his hand slowly and leave the infirmary to head back to her quarters.
***
SHE WAS BACK IN THE medical bay early the next morning, practically as soon as she had woken, dressed for the day, and grabbed a quick breakfast in the mess hall. She spent the day by his side, and neither Nikki nor OWN tried to encourage her to leave. Apparently, they read the resolve in her expression—or there was no reason for her not to stay. She preferred to think it was because they recognized that they wouldn’t be able to displace her from his side.
Disappointment swept through her that evening when OWN deemed Leith still not ready to wake up. She forced herself to leave him to have dinner before collapsing into her bed by herself, where she had hoped Leith would be instead. He consumed her thoughts, but she eventually managed to fall asleep with the promise that perhaps—no, almost certainly—he would be awake the next morning.