Banished Pt. 09

"Do you still feel nothing though?" she asked.

"I feel excited. We're having a baby," I said, and she folded her hands.

"Well, duh. I mean, that's a big deal... but are you excited that it's with me?"

"Of course, dummy."

"But you'd be excited no matter who it was with, wouldn't you?"

"To an extent, maybe?" I replied, "But... you would be too, you know? I mean, what if the kid was Nolan's?"

"Ugh, no way!"

"Fine... what about some hot celebrity or something; someone you like! If he was kind? Treated you well~?"

She folded her hands.

"I guess... but, I'm really, really glad that it's with you."

"I am too," I replied, teasing her nose a little with my fingers. "So, what's wrong?"

"If Francesca was having your baby, would you be just as happy?" she asked, and I laughed.

"No. She's too young," I replied, and she rolled her eyes, as she turned away from me.

"So, is her age the only problem there?"

I scooted close to her, and rested my chin tentatively on her shoulder.

"No... I genuinely like you," I said. "I might not feel the same kind of sentimental feelings that people in love feel in relationships, but I really enjoy being with you."

She let out a sigh.

"Aren't you worried at all though? Even if the baby is healthy, we're bringing it into a world full of death."

"We left a world that was just that; it just did a better job of hiding it," I countered, and she frowned.

"I wouldn't have had a child in that world, either," she said, shifting a little.

"Really? And not just because of the sex thing?" I asked.

She bit her lip.

"The man who abused me was the one who raised me," she said, "and the thing that scares me most is that almost everyone who knew him still thought he was a saint. I mean, I told people before... and no one believed me. It made me realize that I needed to be sure that I wasn't going to bring a daughter into the world to have that experience. So, every time I met someone, I'd try to figure out if I knew that they would never do that, and I've never once felt sure... like there'd always be doubt in the back of my mind."

"Do you think I fall into that category?" I asked, and she quickly shook her head.

"I didn't know what it meant to feel completely safe until you held me."

"But, what if that's just the hypnosis?" I asked, and she sighed, but as I trailed my fingers across her stomach, she shook her head.

"You're right. I have no way of knowing for certain... but everything inside of me wants you to be what I need you to be... and whether I can know for sure or not, I guess I kind of just decided that I'm going to trust you."

"Blind faith?" I asked, and she nodded, as she climbed on top of me.

She kissed me, and I rolled her onto her back, and kissed her, petting her stomach lovingly as I did.

"You know, you don't need to just trust me blindly."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Where was your mom... when the abuse happened?"

She let out a sigh.

"She left us when I was a kid... I dunno what happened to her, honestly."

"Do you think it would have been different? If she was around?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Maybe? Who knows? Maybe it would have been worse..."

"Do you think it would have been different if you were the mother, and the child, your own?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Fucking hell be damned if I would let someone do that to my kid," she shot, and I smiled.

I turned to her stomach, then planted a gentle kiss on it, before addressing our unborn child.

"Hey there. I'm your father; Nathan. And I may be an asshole; your mommy isn't really sure yet... but you don't need to worry your pretty little mind, because even if I am, she would never let a single thing happen to you," I said, and Cameron studied me, smiling.

"That's cute, but could you not swear in front of my kid?" she joked, and I snickered a little, as I climbed on top of her.

"That kid better shut its ears or something, because mommy's about to make some dirty sounds."

As our lips met, and we began to kiss, Cameron broke away, and cast a tentative look around.

"Are you sure we have time?" she asked.

"I fought off an army of monsters last night. I doubt anyone's gonna mind if I take a moment to be with the woman I love."

"You love me? What happened to the 'unable to feel'?" she asked, and I snickered.

"I dunno. Maybe I think I'm in love, when I'm not... but I definitely can't say that what I feel for you is nothing anymore."

I leaned in to kiss her again, and Cameron cooed into my mouth.

"What if I asked for exclusivity?" she asked.

"I'm sort of engaged to a princess," I replied. "I can offer you 'first wife' privileges?"

Cameron snickered at my counter offer.

"Oh, I don't care about that. I was just making sure the Nate I fell for was still in there."

"How would you know if he wasn't?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I dunno. Maybe I wouldn't? But about these first wife privileges... don't I have to be your wife first?"

There was a teasing look in her eyes, and I studied her with interest.

"Do you want to be my wife?" I asked, and she put a finger to her lips, as if pondering the suggestion.

"I dunno. I'm a young, energetic, fetching lass. Maybe I need to play the field a little, before settling down."

I studied her as she tried to keep a straight face as if giving serious consideration to her options, until I lunged in with my fingers in an attempt to tickle her, and she quickly gave up the charade, as she giggled and squirmed in my grasp.

"I'm just kidding. If you actually take a wife, half of this group is going to riot," she said. "Besides, that status wouldn't actually mean anything. You're spending all of the time with me that you can... so, nothing would change, really."

I frowned.

"I always wanted a wife, though," I said.

"You always wanted closeness, and you have it. What difference does it make what word we use?"

I shrugged.

"Wife has a nice ring to it."

"It does, when you say it," Cameron concurred, and she leaned up to kiss me again.

"Come make love to your wife," she said, as she pulled me down onto her, and I cooed into her mouth as we kissed.

My hand reached under her shirt, and up to one of her breasts, and I squeezed the fatty mound in my grasp.

"Do you think they'll get bigger?" she asked, and I snickered a little.

"Maybe. Although, I must admit, I find them to be absolutely perfect as they are."

"Flattery?" she asked, and I shook my head, as I leaned down to kiss and suck them.

They were just as large as Evie's, but rather than that pear-shaped look, Cameron's were round, and firmer to the touch, and her areolas not as wide.

Maybe they weren't quite as perfect as Eradne's; but she did seem to have a few years of maturity on Cameron, so maybe that's what Cameron's would look like after childbirth?

"Where is your mind right now?" Cameron asked, and I realized I had probably taken on a bit of a pensive look, as I appraised all of the breasts I'd recently held and sucked.

"Somewhere bad," I admitted, and Cameron snickered a little.

"Come here," she said. "You know, you never came to me... after the Emily thing. Is that still on your mind?"

I shook my head.

"I've decided to ignore that," I replied, and she studied me.

"Ignore it?"

"Psychopath superpower. If I don't want to feel something, I just switch it off, and ignore it."

She frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"Is that what you'd do if you lost me?"

"I dunno... probably. Would you want me to feel sad?" I asked.

"Maybe a little," she said, and I snickered, as I leaned down to kiss her.

"Then I will," I said, and she sighed.

"I'm trying not to let this bother me... but you know, you could come to me when you need someone, too. This arrangement doesn't need to work only when I want you."

"I know; but I don't want to. When I'm with you, I'm in a world that starts and ends right here," I said, drawing a little circle around Cameron's form. "Everything else can stay outside. And I like being in this little world; with you, me... and this."

I leaned down as I spoke, and planted a little kiss on her shoulder.

She made a content little sound, before frowning.

"I know you said we could have the time, but I get the feeling that someone is going to come calling you where you're needed."

I nodded, a little dejectedly, and she shook her head, before quickly going for the straps on my armor.

I slipped off my shirt, while she quickly undid the clasp around my belt-plate and hurriedly fished out my slightly stiffened cock from my pants.

"I don't think you need to rush," I began, when-

Nate? Where are you?

-Casey's voice spoke into my mind.

Cameron caught the momentary inflection in my speech, and frowned.

"Casey?" she asked, and as I nodded, she licked her lips, as she stroked me. "Fine. Let her wait; I'll be quick."

She took a deep breath, before leaning in, and planting a kiss on the soft underside of my cock, as she held it straight up.

"Mmh," I moaned in response.

"You know... I've never willingly given a blowjob in my entire life," she said, and I placed a hand against her cheek, as she nuzzled my part affectionately.

"You don't have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable," I reminded her, but she shook her head.

"I've always wanted to," she said, as she looked up at me, while leaning in, and taking one of my balls into her mouth.

She sucked on it gently, and ended it with a sucking kiss, before planting her lips against the spot again, and trailing up from the loose sack, to the smooth, long shaft that pointed straight up.

I moaned again at the pleasurable sensation, and she smiled.

Nate. I'm not seeing you around. Where are you? Casey's voice called again, and I frowned.

"Fine," Cameron said, "I'll let you go. But can we have some time tonight?"

"It's a date," I promised, caressing her face gently and giving one final kiss, before she quickly retrieved my armor, and helped me dress.

I held her close, and gave her another gentle kiss, before we made our way around the little bushy area, and back to the main body of the camp.

Casey shot me a slightly annoyed look, and Cameron went off to check on Nolan.

"We should talk," I said, as she yawned.

"You can do whatever you want, you know," she said, nodding subtly in Cameron's direction. "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to bed, so if you need to find out anything, now's the time."

I nodded.

"Is there anything I need to know?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Can't think of anything, but I'm running on empty here, so I might be forgetting something."

"It's fine, but before you go..."

I pulled her aside, before continuing, in a low whisper.

"Cameron's showing a little bump," I explained, and Casey frowned.

"It's been, what? Six days?"

I nodded.

She sighed, then stooped down, and got a little stone, and began doing some math on the earth.

"Nine months on earth is... about two hundred and seventy days. In hours, that's..."

"Six thousand, four hundred and eighty," I answered, and Casey frowned.

"Right- forgot I had the numbers wizz, here. Any chance you can convert that to Kepler-days?"

"Two hundred and sixteen," I offered, after a moment, and she frowned again.

"I kind of hate you. So, normally, first time mothers don't show until sixteen weeks or so, but that's because their bodies are stretching to accommodate the change; our bodies will do that much more effectively, so let's say, twelve weeks in earth time? Do that conversion in your head, math nerd."

"Sixty-seven days," I replied, and she frowned again.

"Seriously, fuck you. So, she compressed sixty-seven days into six? Fuck, Nate... at this rate she'll have that baby in-"

"Fourteen days," I breathed, my mouth slightly agape.

I slumped down to the floor, and Casey studied me, before resting a hand on my shoulder.

Ever since we first got here, everything seemed to be moving at a whirlwind pace, but even by that metric this was ridiculous.

Two weeks...

Could I even guarantee the child's safety in that time?

I wasn't sure.

"Where's the kid?" I said, looking around as I climbed to my feet and shook my misgivings aside.

"Over by the supply cart with Evie," Casey answered, as she studied me.

"If I put her in armor, will she learn the abilities? Like speed-one?"

Casey nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but you'd need a way to keep an eye on her core or-"

"I've got it," I said. "New ability, remember?"

"You know, you never told me how you got that ability..."

"Maybe later, when you're rested. For now, just get some sleep," I said.

Casey studied me a bit longer, then nodded, but I felt her eyes on me as I moved over to the supply cart.

"Saddle up, kid. Let's go," I said.

Evie folded her hands in protest, and frowned.

"You know, she's been at work on those cores all day. How about you give her a break," she said.

I turned to the kid.

"Do you want to rest?" I asked, and the girl shook her head.

"She's a child; she doesn't understand her limits yet," Evie pleaded, as I began to browse through the stuff in the supply cart.

There were a few scattered pieces, and I scanned the collection of slivers looking for a pair of greaves, and a breastplate, preferring the low-grade T-one stuff.

"It's fine; I can see her limits with a skill," I explained.

"By limits, you mean before she passes out?" Evie asked, and I nodded.

"It's not like working until you're tired. She has a core, and it'll probably deplete quickly when in use," I explained, but Evie still seemed unhappy, so I decided to try a compromise.

"Look; maybe the kid is pushing herself because this is her way of dealing with her dad's death. If that's the case, I'll let her quit the second she asks to, and then you can spend all the time you want with her helping her work it out. But until then, I'm giving her the shot to do the things that she wants to accomplish, okay?"

Evie frowned, but nodded, her concerns evidently assuaged by my argument, and I smiled.

I turned around, then picked the kid up and headed off.

After running with her in my arms for a bit, the discomfort of running while holding her like that began to annoy me, so I paused.

"Can you hold onto my back or something?" I asked, and the girl nodded, as I helped her over my shoulder.

She placed her hands onto the neckline of my armor, and held on, but rather than wrapping her feet around me, she climbed onto my shoulder, and balanced herself there in a crouching like position, as she held on.

She tapped me on the head, letting me know she was ready, so I decided to run, and see if she would really be able to hold on like that.

To my surprise, the arrangement worked quite well, and before long, we came to the first of the geisterung corpses.

I let her climb down from my back, and she scanned the creature for a bit, before indicating a spot over its stomach.

I made the incision, then retrieved the object, before moving to the other creature.

"Your 'life-bringer'. What was his name?" I asked.

"Tomas," she said.

We finished up the other two in silence, before moving to the next set.

Again, Lucia worked in silence, and after we'd collected the twenty or so orbs, I let out a tired stretch.

"I'm not sure if it's the daylight, but the blight seems to be fading from this place, isn't it?"

"Ja," she replied, and I smiled a little.

"Well then. I guess it's time for us to take a little run."

I retrieved the armor from my satchel, and she studied the armor warily.

"I'm not sure what you've been told, but it won't kill you," I promised, and she nodded, as I summoned the armors from their sliver forms.

The breastplate was almost as big as she was, but as I fastened the straps, the armor began to fold in, quickly adjusting itself to her small stature, and she studied the process with an expression of awe.

As soon as the arm-guard was in place however, she seemed to quickly compose herself, and she shot me a determined look.

"Ready?" I asked, and she nodded, so we took off.

I made sure that she was beside me as we sprinted off, but she quickly began to pull ahead, and I smirked a little.

You're a feisty little one, aren't you? I thought, and I snickered a little, as she seemed to be quite annoyed by how easily I matched her pace.

"Ngg," she grunted, as she put her head down and really started to sprint, but the explosion of speed was short lived as she began to slow down a bit, and I noted that she was breathing pretty heavily.

I slowed a bit, and signaled to her to do the same, but despite how out of breath she was, she seemed pretty annoyed at me.

"What? Evie was right, you know. You need to learn your limits, or else you'll just burn yourself out with nothing to show for it."

She wore a confused expression on her face, and I snickered, as I realized that the sentence was probably too complex for her translation ability to really pick up the meaning.

"Restraint," I said, and she nodded slowly.

I offered her a little sip of water from my waterskin, and she nodded, as we got ready to run again.

This time, we kept to a quick jog, and as she maintained the speed, I kept my focus on her, and noted that her core was almost completely depleted.

That was quick! I thought, as we'd been running for no more than fifteen minutes.

On the one hand, if she needed to sleep every time we did this, it would take some time to develop her skills, but I quickly noted that, even as a child, her core's total capacity wasn't as meagre as I had originally imagined, and if it drained from use of our armor at a quicker rate without an implant to regulate it's usage, then that technically meant that I would be able to build up her total core capacity much more quickly than I could with Bianca.

We ran for a bit longer, when her steps faltered a little, and as I caught her, I could see her struggling to keep her eyes open.

I quickly stripped away her armor as she collapsed, and as I scooped her up, she fell fast asleep, or perhaps straight unconscious, in my arms.

I carried her back to the camp at a walk, and as I got there, an angry looking Bianca was on hand to receive me.

"Well, lookey who. Mr. 'I'm here when you need me, except I run off with little green girls all day'," she shot, as she put her hands on her hip.

"Experiment X-1, meet experiment X-2," I said, and she frowned.

"She's a super soldier candidate?" Bianca asked, suddenly a little bit worried.

She came over and began to inspect the child, furrowing her brow as she did.

"She doesn't look like much," she shot, and I snickered at her.

"Lemme just put her to bed, and then we'll see about your training," I said.

Bianca followed me, a scowling look on her face, and as I lay Lucia to rest beside Casey, who apparently, was already fast asleep, I shot her a curious look.

"What?" I asked.

"I worked really hard. All day! I skinned like twenty of those things," she complained, and I moved forward and patted her on the head.

"Did you now? You did well," I said, and she folded her hands, and stomped on the floor.

"I demand to be spoiled," she said, and I rubbed my chin.

"You're right... you do deserve a little spoiling," I said, as she did indeed work quite hard at her assigned task.

"Well. You decide something, and we'll do it," I offered, but she frowned.

"Ugh, never mind! I smell like... meat," she said, and I suddenly remembered the stream.

Would that be enough?

I mean, the flow of water was really weak, so it was really only good for a sponge bath, unless you could gather up some of the water there, and have a proper wash.

As I rubbed my chin, however, I suddenly thought of the waterfall Eradne had taken me to.