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“Carly?”
Justin found her in the nursery, and a dart of alarm struck him when he saw the tears on her cheeks. But she smiled at him, and her eyes were bright.
“I think you’re wrong,” she said. “I don’t think humans were supposed to die out during the Infection. And I think those of us who survived have a duty to protect the next generation. We’re starting over, Justin. We’re rebuilding the world. And this time, we’re going to make it even better.”
Justin saw it in his mind, his fate written as clear as day. Carly would have a little girl with her beautiful eyes and caramel hair, and she would only have to smile to wrap her father around her little finger. And Justin would go crazy when she started dating. No man would ever be good enough for her, especially guys like him. Or the child would be a boy, with dark eyes that sparkled with mischief, and he’d give his father heart attacks with the adventures he would get into. But just like the little girl in his vision, all his son would have to do is give that wicked little grin and he would get away with anything.
Doomed, he thought, but it made him smile.
Justin went over to her and knelt down by the rocking chair. “I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but I want to make sure you understand all of the risks.”
Carly nodded. “I had girlfriends who’d had kids. I know a lot about it, and I saw some of the things they went through that modern medicine could fix, but if it happened to me... Yes, Justin, I know what I’m facing and what could happen, but I truly believe this is what we’re supposed to do.” She took one of his hands in hers. “And I know what you’re facing, too. This can’t be easy for you.”
She had no idea. The thought of losing her sent Justin into a blind panic. But he forced himself to remain calm. Carly was young and healthy. Statistically speaking, even without modern medicine, her chances were good. He would just have to keep repeating that to himself. But she was so small, and she’d lost way too much weight over the past few weeks. The thought cheered him a little. Here was a problem he could solve. He’d find a way to fatten her up. His mind started racing, and he thought about french fries, chocolate, and all of her favorites he could somehow find for her.
“Justin, are you at least a little bit happy?” she asked with a timorous little smile.
“Oh, Carly, honey.” He squeezed her hand. “Yes, I’m happy.” And he was. The idea of a baby to love, to raise and protect, a part of himself and Carly, delighted him. His practicality nagged but couldn’t gain a foothold in his mind. He would think of the problems and fears later. For the moment, he wanted to concentrate on the woman he loved and the tiny life within her.
They were both uncharacteristically quiet as they traveled. They were both occupied with thoughts of the baby, as Justin revealed when he would suddenly mention something they needed to get for her or the baby. Carly was vacillating between excitement, worry, happiness, and fear. She wasn’t as confident in her maternal nature as Justin was. She needed to get some books—books on pregnancy and how to care for a baby. Maybe she could even find a book on pediatric medicine somewhere. Justin had training in adult medicine, but he probably wouldn’t know how to treat a sick baby.
Carly didn’t feel very well, but she tried to conceal it from Justin as much as possible. She didn’t know if it was the residual hormones from the pills causing it or the pregnancy. Morning sickness isn’t supposed to last all day, is it?
For lunch, Justin made her some rice with powdered milk and sugar, something he said was supposed to be inoffensive to the stomach, but Carly could only force down a couple of bites. She tried, God help her, she tried. She knew Justin was worried she wasn’t eating enough, but she just couldn’t do it. It smelled like powdered milk, a stink that made Carly nauseous most times, let alone while pregnant. He offered to remake it using canned milk, but Carly didn’t think it would be any better.
“Is there anything you want?” he asked. “Anything that sounds good at all? Aren’t pregnant women supposed to crave things?”
Carly thought hard, going through every food she could think of, and then found one she thought she could keep down. “I want a baked potato.”
After that, Justin was a man on a mission. He stopped at every house they passed and searched gardens for potato vines. Shadowfax thought he was finding gardens for her to plunder and was just about as happy as a horse could be. He found some potatoes that evening, and they set up their camp right beside the garden. Justin dug up the whole bed of them, stacking them on one of the tarps. Shadowfax headed over to nibble on the pile and was crushed to discover he wasn’t unearthing them for her. She consoled herself with cabbage.
Justin washed the potatoes carefully, and then stored the extras inside a pillowcase. He wrapped a few in tinfoil and put them in the embers at the edge of the fire to bake. Carly dozed off while he was working on setting up the camp, and she woke with a guilty start when he said her name softly. He held one of the plates out to her, and there was a big, fluffy baked potato on it. “I didn’t know if you wanted butter,” he said.
The powdered butter was a bit more palatable than the powdered milk, but Carly declined. She took an experimental bite, and her stomach considered the matter. Success! She ate the potato with a sense of relief. Finally, they’d found something her stomach didn’t object to outright. Justin looked relieved as well and offered her a second. Carly declined that, deciding not to push her luck.
She scraped up the last bite and laid her fork on her empty plate. “Justin?”
“Mmm?”
“Do you think the baby will be immune to the Infection?” Faith wasn’t easy, she reflected. Though she believed everything would work out as it should, thoughts like those still niggled at the edges of her mind.
It was a moment before he answered. “I believe so. If we’re carriers, as I suspect, the baby has already been exposed to the virus. If we’re not, it’s possible we passed down some genetic resistance since we’re both immune. And the baby will get antibodies from your breast milk.”
She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
He took her plate to wash, and Carly dozed off in her chair. She woke when Justin picked her up to carry her into the tent.
“Mmm, I like this.”
Justin smiled down at her. “Being carried?”
“Yes, like a heroine in a romance novel. Are you carrying me off to your bed to ravish me?”
“You’re feeling well enough to be ravished?” Justin asked with a faintly surprised lift of his brow.
He laid her on the sleeping bag and stretched out beside her. He’d taken his T-shirt off at some point during the evening, and Carly traced her fingertip over his tattoos. “I think I could be convinced. And a thought has occurred to me...”
“What’s that?”
