“Which spice?”
Anna unfolded yellow fingers. “It started with a T.”
“Oh yes.” He blinked. “Turmeric. That would do it. Okay, follow me.”
Atlas walked ahead, entering the medical room first. The room was inadequate to fit all of them, and he had to move some more of his plants to the side. And then even more, as not only Anna came, but Simon, Nora, and Tilly as well.I forgot humans like to be together.
The equipment began warming up while Simon and Nora filed in to sit next to Tilly, who had already pulled a chair up close.
Atlas hummed as he delicately moved his cherry tree, pushing it to the side to wheel the ultrasound machine closer. “This ultrasound was easy to fix. No parts had been repurposed, thankfully.”
Anna watched his steady hands. “How old is the machine?”
“Many years. At least a hundred.” His lips tightened into a clinical smile. “We always hoped to have humans around us again one day. That’s why I think it was left to sit there for so long.”
“Oh. Well, we get to use it now.” Anna put a few strands of hair behind her ears. “Is it going to hurt?”
“Not at all.” He turned back toward Anna and held up a wand. “I need to press this to your stomach and then we can see. Can you lift your shirt a little?”
Anna shrank back, but her hands lifted her shirt anyway, showing her exposed, very pregnant midsection. She mumbled, “I feel like cookies being watched in the oven with all of you here.”
“What?” Atlas’s eyebrows pulled tight in confusion.
“That saying, right?” Anna glanced to the side. “Simon? You know. Like I’m baking something and everyone is gathered around to watch.”
“Bun in the oven.” Simon was trying not to laugh. “That’s what you’re trying to say, Anna.”
Anna squirmed in the chair.“Cookies sound better than a bun.”
“Oh.” Atlas continued frowning. Then it clicked, and he chuckled. “You’re making a joke.”
“Yeah.” Anna’s cheeks heated. “But it’s not a very good one.”
Still smiling, he focused on the monitor. Testing and analyzing were what he was made for, after all. Caring for them satisfied an itch that he sometimes didn’t know he carried.Which is why Sterling is still so hands-on I think. Maybe I’ve been missing something by keeping my distance.
But also, a part of him didn’t like that he enjoyed this. Enjoyed doing what he was designed and created to do. The enjoyment felt artificial as much as it was satisfying since it wasn’t always freely chosen. Regardless, he focused, reaching for a place within himself where math and biology intersected. With a few adjustments from the wand pressed on Anna’s stomach, ten fingers and ten perfect toes lit up the grayscale screen. He grinned wider. “There we go.”
Even Tilly was quiet, looking at the images on the screen.
“Is that real?” Anna drew a deep breath in. Silence, other than the humming of the machines, surrounded them.
“It’s real.”
“Wow. You’re really good at all of this.”
Praise?That felt unfamiliar. Atlas deflected, adjusting the view. “I’ve had lots of practice.” Then he said wryly, “And what you have in there is not cookies. Or a bun.”
The baby kicked in real time as he held the wand steady. Under thick brown hair, his hazel eyes were glued to the monitor.It’s been many years, but . . .“Do you want to know the sex?”
Anna nodded, lightning fast. “Yes.”
He moved the wand, confirming. “This baby is a female.”
A moment of shocked silence followed.
Then Nora leapt from her chair and shook Anna’s hand. “A girl. Anna! I mean a boy would be fine, but . . .”
“But this is better. Right.” Anna let out a shaky breath. “More like me than Paul.”
