Adaptation: book I

  “Take him?”

  “He has to come now.”

  “But we have another month. Will he be okay?”

  His eyebrows drew together. “He may, but you won’t if we wait another month. You will not make it.”

  Carmella saw the tension around his eyes and mouth. Had it always been there? Why hadn’t she noticed that he was hiding his fear? “But can’t you do something?”

  “I stopped the bleeding inside, but as soon as you move, you will begin to bleed again. You are splitting open from the inside. Every time he moves and every time you move a wound opens. Your body cannot accommodate this pregnancy any longer.”

  “But … but what about people who have multiple births? Hell, I remember this lady called the Octomom who—”

  “But our child is not completely human,” Bilal interrupted. “In three weeks he will weigh approximately seven thousand grams.”

  “Grams? What the hell is a gram?”

  “He will weigh over fifteen pounds.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What if the baby comes early? What’s going to happen to him?”

  “He will have difficulty breathing.”

  “Then we can’t do it,” she said.

  Bilal shook his head. “I didn’t give you this child to replace you.”

  “But you did give him to me, and I say he stays in my belly!”

  Bilal stood and sat on the bed beside her. He reached over and pulled her covers over her partially nude body. “There is a way. The mother ship can fix you.”

  “The mother ship? I’m not getting on any alien ship! You’re not taking me to fake Earth.”

  “Carmella.” He rubbed a gentle circle on her belly. “I won’t take you there. Please calm down.”

  “You fixed me and you saved Wolf.”

  He looked at his human hands. “I can’t fix you with these. I can’t do what I need to do. I don’t have enough sensors.” Before he could have linked with her in several places, but now he could only use the stunted sensors in his tongue. He needed to connect to her spinal column to stop the pain completely but couldn’t unless he pressed his mouth against her back. And how could he help deliver the child if he was connected to her back? This was such an ill-conceived idea. He hadn’t considered any of the problems that she might face giving birth. He rubbed her belly again.

  “Bilal, you can do this. I’ll stay in bed. I won’t do anything until the baby’s lungs are stronger.”

  “It will not be easy,” Bilal said. “You are not good at doing nothing.”

  “Trust me,” Carmella said. “I promise to do nothing. And you can fix any tears that might happen along the way.”

  “And when the baby comes? Do you trust that I will repair any damage that his birth might cause?”

  “Of course.” And she meant it.

  But Bilal knew that if they did it her way, there would be much damage to repair.

  ~***~

  “Bilal, look.”

  Bilal could tell by the tone of her voice that she was okay, but he stopped everything to see what had caught her attention. This was week two of her bed rest, and he had been running the entire house. He was in the kitchen preparing the bread. He’d seen her do it often enough, but his bread never turned out as good as hers did. “I’m coming,” he shouted, and he dashed up the stairs.

  Wolf lay outside her bedroom door, his head raised and his ears tilted forward.

  Bilal met Wolf’s eyes and regarded him warily as he stepped over his prone body. There was still no trust between them, but they had developed a grudging acceptance. Once inside the room, he saw Carmella propped up with pillows in bed, a beatific smile on her face. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at the sight of it.

  He loved her.

  He couldn’t tell her, of course, because she would misunderstand and think that he wanted to covet her. He didn’t. He only wanted to love her and to appreciate the hard life she had decided to live on her own terms.

  “I can’t believe this. Watch.”

  He moved to the bed and sat beside her.

  Carmella was dressed in something she referred to as a “moo moo,” and it was hiked up to expose her swollen belly. Blankets kept her discreetly covered below the mound because it was too difficult to get in and out of undergarments.

  She placed her fingertips along the top of her belly at one side and ran them across to the other side. Bilal could see the impression pushing back and following the path of her finger. She beamed at him, and Bilal laughed. The baby was playing with her! “You try it,” she said.

  He reached out and ran his finger along the same path, and the baby followed the movement. They both started laughing.

  “He’s so smart,” she said.

  “He is. He is my son.”

  “Mine, too.” Carmella smiled. “You’re proud of him.”

  “I am, and I love him and … I’m not exactly sure why. I guess it’s because he is a part of me and you and Raj and of course, himself.”

  “Raj is the friend you look like, right?” She knew that he had used Raj’s preserved sperm, though she didn’t want to know where Bilal got it. “Isn’t he?”

  Bilal didn’t respond. He’d spoken of Lawrence and Raj in passing, but it made him sad to think of how badly he had betrayed them by stealing their DNA for his own purposes. It wasn’t that he looked like Raj or had Lawrence’s height. He was part Raj and part Lawrence, and his son was as much Raj’s son as it was his and Carmella’s.

  “You miss them,” she said.

  Bilal nodded. “Bilal, would you like to name the baby after Raj?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Is Raj an Asian name?”

  “His name is Roger. Roger Jeung. He told me that his parents were from North Korea but they immigrated to America. He and I were able to become such good friends because he was a mixture of cultures but identified with the world in which he was raised. We are both similar in that way.”

  It sometimes amazed her at how good-looking Bilal was. He was at least 6-3 and extremely muscular. She wondered if that was the influence of Raj or the other friend, Lawrence. What did Lawrence look like? He wasn’t African American, and that was for sure.

  She sighed. “I don’t care for the name Roger, but I rather like the name Raj.”

  “I do, too. It would give me great pleasure to call our son Raj. But I have one request. I would like it if he had my last name—Akunyili.”

  She tested the name a few times. Raj Akunyili. It didn’t matter to her, so she agreed. She remembered a time when movie stars and singers named their children after countries and primary colors. Giving the baby the name Raj Akunyili was a good way to show Bilal how much she appreciated his kindness over the last two weeks and hopefully beyond.

  Bilal didn’t understand why Carmella wanted his input in naming the child, but he was happy about it. After he got her settled again, he finished the bread and returned with a tray containing a breakfast of cheese omelets, toast, fresh milk, and hot tea. He had learned that she preferred eating in his presence, and he preferred it as well.

  They sat and talked long after they finished their meals, and Carmella looked forward to his visits.

  After breakfast she needed to use the slop bucket, and he helped steady her as she relieved herself. She always became embarrassed, but he didn’t understand why. Wolf didn’t become embarrassed when he relieved himself, and neither did the chickens or the cows—and neither did he.

  He then spent half an hour linked to her bellybutton, searching for tears and injuries. It was taking longer and longer to repair them as the weakened areas tore with little or no stress. He studied the infant thoroughly, marveling at how quickly he developed. He withdrew his sensors and smiled. “Carmella, would you like your son to be born today?”

  Her eyes widened. “How are his lungs?”

  “Healthy enough for him to be able to breathe unassisted. If we do this now, he may still fit through your cana
l. If we wait much longer, it will be harder for you.”

  “I don’t care about that.”

  “I do. I don’t want to cut you unless I have to.”

  Carmella rubbed her face. No, she didn’t want to be filleted like a fish. She searched his eyes. “Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”

  Bilal didn’t waste time. He gathered several sanitized razors, boiled water, and made sure the waterproof mat covering the mattress was in place.

  He reached for her hand and held it, feeling the slight wetness that denoted her fear. Her face remained calm, but he knew that she had to be afraid, if not for herself and the prospect of the pain but for the baby and the unknown.

  “We talked about this. I’m going to have you lay on your side so I can connect to your spinal column and block the pain. The effects won’t last for long, but when the pain grows I’ll do it again. Then I’ll connect through your belly button and trigger the contractions. I’ll need you to relax and let the baby move through your canal, and then I’ll disconnect from you and deliver him. Okay?”

  He made it seem easy. Could it be that easy? She nodded. “Okay.”

  She grimaced when she rolled to her side and Bilal removed the pillows. Instead of lying beside her, Bilal hurried to the door and opened it.

  Wolf looked at him and rose to his feet, sniffing the air before padding into the room.

  Carmella smiled and reached out for Wolf. “You’re about to be an uncle.”

  Wolf settled at her bedside.

  “Are you sure you want Wolf in here?” Carmella asked.

  “If you sound as if I’m hurting you, then I fear Wolf might attack me once I open the door, especially if I have your blood on me.”

  “Ah, gotcha.”

  Bilal removed his shirt and settled behind her. The swell of her naked rear created a brief diversion, but he put it out of his mind. He pressed his body against her, his face close to the small of her back, and latched onto her with his lips, letting his tongue rest against her spinal column. A moment later his sensors burrowed into her flesh.

  Five minutes later, Carmella sighed. “Wow, Bilal, I don’t feel any pain. How did you do that?”

  He placed his hands around her belly from behind. Raj was awake and pressed back against his hand wanting to play. He communicated to his son that today was the day that they had discussed and that it was time for them to meet.

  Raj stretched and Bilal felt Carmella tense.

  Careful, Little one.

  Bilal felt satisfied that Carmella would remain pain-free for at least an hour and moved to her front. He met her eyes. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her belly button. Raj was eager, and Bilal had to calm him when he rolled and wrapped the umbilical cord twice around his neck. Though the cord didn’t squeeze Raj’s neck, Bilal knew he had to unwind it as soon as possible and before he traveled down the birth canal.

  Carmella was amazed that the pain had completely disappeared. Bilal was better than a spinal block. She thought about her baby. Raj. Raj Akunyili. Her heartbeat sped up. What would he look like? She realized that she didn’t care.

  Bilal sat up. “I want you to get comfortable now and get into position for the baby to move down.” He helped to prop her pillows until she looked comfortable and then lay down a towel beneath her hips, her legs splayed widely. It seemed strange having Bilal crouched between her legs. She didn’t like it because it seemed intensely sexual, and even though sex was far from her mind, the image wouldn’t leave her.

  Bilal used a sheet to cover her legs then placed his hand on her belly. He pressed lightly, and she felt a strange pressure. It wasn’t painful, but it made her feel as if she might pop.

  ~***~

  Bilal had to block Carmella’s nerves through the connection he created on her back three times. Each time gave her an hour’s relief. As the minutes turned to hours, Carmella worried that she would need to pee again.

  Then she heard the sound of water spilling.

  Bilal sighed as the liquid began to gush from her body.

  That was a lot of water, Carmella thought.

  Within minutes that strange pressure grew. “What’s happening?” Carmella asked.

  “I can see the head,” Bilal said.

  “Is there hair?” she asked.

  “Yes. Black and curly.”

  Carmella chuckled. She didn’t mind when the pain returned in small degrees because it was still manageable. She watched Bilal as he peered between her legs and had a moment when she wanted to giggle. It wasn’t so long ago that she had hunted him through the woods, and now she was spread-eagled beneath him with her ass hanging out!

  “Carmella, you’re going to need to start pushing.”

  “Wow, I can barely tell.”

  “Push only when I say to.”

  A moment later he gave the command and she pushed with all of her might.

  But the baby didn’t progress any further.

  He was stuck.

  Chapter 20

  ~Baby Makes Three~

  “Bilal, it’s starting to hurt really bad now.” Carmella squirmed in the bed. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying not to let the pain overwhelm her. When his magical “nerve pinch” ended, it ceased completely, and the pain was incredible.

  “Carmella, I’m going to have to put you asleep this time.”

  “Asleep? But why?”

  “Because I’m going to have to take the baby.”

  Her mouth dropped. “But, I wanted to do it naturally.”

  “He is stuck behind your pelvic bone. I can’t break it, and he can’t squeeze through it, so there is only one other choice.”

  Carmella sucked in a breath as another stabbing pain hit her.

  Bilal rubbed her belly. “Trust me.”

  “And you know how to do this? Because you’ve never given a woman a Cesarean section before.”

  “Carmella, look at me.”

  She stared at him.

  “I created a new life form. Of course I know how to do this. But I need to put you to sleep, and I need to do it quickly because Raj is tired.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Do it. Don’t let my baby suffer.”

  Bilal nodded and eased her onto her side.

  Wolf sensed something different because he whined and placed his head on the bed where he looked at his mother with knowing eyes.

  Carmella spared him a quick stroke of his nose before the pain ripped through her and she screeched. Something had pulled inside, and this time she could feel the tearing. The pain was horrible, and she tensed and squeezed the bed sheets in her fists as she felt warm sticky fluid running from her body.

  “Please!” she cried out.

  Bilal was in position behind her, his tongue pressed against the small of her back and his sensors burrowing through to her nerves. He was searching for the nerves that would block the pain, and then he would make her sleep. He was going to use the sanitized razors, and he couldn’t allow her to remain awake while he cut her. He wished he was still a Centaurian who had tentacles that could breach her skin without making incisions.

  He shuddered at the damage he would have to cause to her.

  While connected, he took a moment to check the baby, who was trying to push forward even though the way was blocked. He soothed him, and a few moments later both mother and son were calm and no longer struggling. When he withdrew his sensors, Carmella was in an induced sleep.

  It made him sad that he would have to take her uterus along with their child. It was too damaged to retain, and he did not have the capacity to do major repairs in his current state. This was his fault. He was about to take away her ability to have a child with a human should she chose to do so in the future. And if she returned to hating him again because of it, then it would be perfectly understandable.

  He had ruined her life.

  ~***~

  Carmella felt tired but refreshe
d though her limbs were heavy and it was hard to move. She opened her eyes slightly and groaned as the small aches returned, but at least she didn’t feel the terrible pain of before. She opened her eyes completely and saw Bilal pacing back and forth near the window.

  He held a bundle in his arms, and his attention was on it fully.

  For a moment she couldn’t move as she watched him. She’d seen Jody look at Micah in the same way, and it was obvious that this man loved his son. She had to swallow her longing, not for sexual intimacy but for missed companionship. As she watched him, she pressed her hand to her empty belly, marveling that she missed the feeling of carrying her baby.

  “Bilal?”

  He tore his eyes from the face of his child and smiled. “He’s healthy and beautiful.” He walked carefully to the bed.

  Wolf followed closely on Bilal’s heels, and Carmella took a second to think how strange that was.

  She swallowed, afraid and anxious and happy, as Bilal placed the heavy bundle into her arms.

  “Oh my God,” she murmured as she stared down at her child. The light brown baby had awakened in her arms. Black silky curls covered his head like a halo, and slanted eyes did little to conceal dark brown eyes that watched her. Pressed against his little pink lips was a tiny little fist that he tried to suckle. His eyes eventually closed as he drifted back to sleep. Carmella couldn’t take her eyes off him. “He’s perfect.” She looked at Bilal. “He’s okay?”

  He nodded and smiled. “Ten fingers and ten toes. Oh, and one penis.” He chuckled.

  Carmella unwrapped the blanket and saw plump tan legs, a perfect torso, and a perfectly formed penis. He was perfect. Perfect. She looked at Bilal in awe. “He’s brown.”

  “Yes. He is brown like his mother.”

  She peered at Raj. “And Asian like his other father. But he is Centaurian, too, like you.” She rewrapped him so that he wouldn’t grow cold.

  Bilal sat beside her and carefully pushed aside the blanket. Raj started and woke but began sucking his fist until he went back to sleep. Bilal gently touched a patch of goose pimples on Raj’s side.