Chuckling, she pulled him close, her heartbeat pounding against his chest. Her human, imperfect beats intertwined with his steady, artificial tempo. “Yes.” She exhaled shakily. “You really are.”
Chapter fifty-six
Atlas
Sunlight moved through the curtains as Atlas sat in the front room, Rose by his side. His daughter cooed, smiling at him. He was being silly, moving one of Tilly’s dolls in time with a melody. The same mashed-up rendition of twinkle, twinkle that Anna always hummed.
Rose was tired; she’d woken up a lot for Nora, unsettled in the barn. But after she ate from a bottle, she refused to close her eyes and rest.
He shook the doll. “Did you miss us, Rosie?”
The baby kicked her legs.
Luckily, Atlas knew many songs. An entire history’s worth of melodies. And he finally had a reason to put them to good use.
He could tell when Anna woke up by the changes in her breathing, but didn’t rush in. Having a baby always meant being on someone else’s timeline. And after last night, he knew she was sore and tired. His body heated.I’ll need to see how she feelsfor later.That was a hunger he had no intention of backing away from again.
“Atlas?” She called from the bedroom. “Are you playing music?”
“Yes.” He scooped Rose up, walking into the bedroom. Anna’s face was rumpled from sleep, looking as disheveled as the bed. Atlas’s purple sweater still lay crumpled on the floor.
“Good morning, both of you!” Anna smiled seeing them. “Hi baby girl. I missed you.”
“Morning.” Atlas cradled Rose. “I gave her a bottle already, but I bet she would prefer nursing more.”
“Yeah.” Anna pulled herself up slowly. “Just achy and sore.” Then she reached out her arms for Rose.
He handed the baby over. Mild concern crossed his sensors. “Was I . . .”
She shook her head, laughing. “No. You were perfect. The good kind of ache.”
The good kind.That settled him. He ached for more, actually. Who knew those kinds of feelings were lying underneath the surface for him all these years? But a sweeter love washed through him at watching Anna care for their daughter. He committed the scene to his memories. Already his memory was more full than he knew what to do with. But he kept recording anyway.
These memories were really the only ones that mattered.
Anna traced Rose’s cheek. “How was she for Nora?”
“Relatively good. But woke up a lot. She’s tired, but is fighting sleep.”
“Yeah. Nursing usually puts her to sleep. Did Nora already get the cows?” She turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. “Oh. I overslept.” Then she laughed. “I’ve gone from not sleeping enough to too much!”
Atlas touched her leg. “Nora and Simon already took care of everything this morning. We can do the afternoon rotation.”
“Alright, yes.”
Slowly, the baby’s eyes drooped. And then she lay back, finally sleeping. As delicately as she could, Anna transferred her to the bedside bassinet. Then they both tiptoed out of the room.
Once outside, Anna stretched and gave him a sly grin. “I’m stiff.”
Atlas chuckled, tugging her to the loveseat in the front room facing the window. She sank into his arms. Outside. through the glass, cows moved in the pasture, eating mouthfuls of grass under the Martian sun.
“Here.” He handed her half a cookie from the side table. “You need your energy.”
Anna took the cookie, laughing. “Wait a minute. I made these and took them to the barn earlier. You stole this from Nora, didn’t you?”
He just grinned, tracing the stretch lines on her stomach where her shirt rode up while sitting. He bent forward, kissing under her ear, still tracing. The day stretched out in front of him. Time did, really. That and possibilities. He picked up a cookie, eating it slowly.
Anna had more, many more, baked goods on the counter. But not all of them had cumin in them like this one did. And, oddly enough, the taste had grown on him. Everything had grown on him, until he needed his little family more than anything back at the facility.
