They stayed there for a while, in each other’s arms, as day made way to the dark night.
“We should get back. Dinner will be served in a few moments,” he suggested.
“Yes. I have to give mom the news. She will be thrilled,” she said, with a slight scowl.
“Do you think she’ll disapprove?” he hadn't thought of that.
“Of course not. She’ll be thrilled, believe me. She has been asking me to give her grandchildren ever since I finished college,” she assured him.
When they returned to the cave, it was apparent the rumor of Ophelia’s pregnancy had spread like fire on a prairie.
Marisa was waiting for them in the main room with Sandra at her side.
“Is it true? You’re expecting a child?” she asked her daughter, sounding anxious.
“Who told you?” Ophelia asked, with a frown. She had wanted to tell her mother about it.
“Sandra came to me when she heard the rumor,” her mother explained. “Then, it’s true? You’re having a baby?”
“Yes, I am.”
Her mother threw herself into her arms and hugged her tight. “Oh God, this is wonderful, I can’t believe this moment has finally arrived,” she mumbled, with tears in her eyes.
“Mom,” Ophelia protested.
“It’s the truth, and you know it. I’ve been asking you to make me a grandmother for years, now,” she cupped her daughter’s face and kissed her cheeks, with a broad smile.
“It’s only been three years, mother,” she grumbled, but she was as happy as her mother.
Sandra, on the other hand, didn’t look that happy. “The baby is yours, Bretdon?” she asked, clearly struggling to keep her concern out of her tone.
“Yes, it’s mine. She’s around ten weeks pregnant.” He informed, taking a step closer to Ophelia and wrapped his arms around her.
“So, she’s halfway there.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, we believe so.”
“What do you mean by that?” Marisa asked, in shock.
“Cyborg babies develop a lot faster than human ones. Ophelia’s baby will be mostly cyborg,” Sandra explained.
“You don’t sound surprised, Sandra. Have you ever heard of another case like ours?” Bretdon asked, suspicious.
The woman nodded. “Yes, I have, though I’m not in the liberty to explain the details, or reveal the name of the woman involved.”
“Was she able to complete the pregnancy without any problem?” he asked, eager to know more details.
“Yes, she was. Her baby took a bit longer to be born, but not much more,” she explained, with a faint smile.
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Why don’t we get some dinner? I’m starving,” he said, changing the subject.
He needed more information from Sandra, but he didn’t want Ophelia to hear it. He could tell she was a bit nervous and he didn’t want that.
The others agreed, and they headed to the tables. Dinner was served, and the main topic was Ophelia’s pregnancy.
Kirkcal and the other two cyborgs were extremely curious about it. Like Bretdon, they had been told it was impossible for cyborgs to breed naturally.
“I’m as surprised as you are,” he assured his friends.
“I’ve been with women before, and as far as I know, they never got pregnant,” Tyrcale pointed out. “I had serious wounds when I got to the camp where you found me and I had been there for a few months,” he explained.
“I was part of the breeding program, and I never got any of those women pregnant, either. But, according to Sandra, it’s not the first time it has happened,” he added, shrugging. “I’m sure it has to do with the nanocybots, but no idea what it is.”
“It doesn’t matter what it is. This means there is hope for us, that cyborgs won’t disappear once we perish,” Kirkcal pointed out. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find out how it happens.”
Bretdon nodded, smiling. His friend was right. Ophelia’s pregnancy meant cyborgs had a real future in Arcadia or wherever they decided to live.
After dinner, he left Ophelia chatting with her mother, Marian, and a few other women, while he went looking for Sandra. He wanted more information from her.
She sighed when she saw him coming. “I knew you would come looking for me,” she said, with a faint smile, as she invited him into her office.
“I need more information, you know that,” he said in a stern tone, taking a seat in front of the woman’s desk. She was already sitting in her chair.
“Yes, I do. But I don’t have all the answers. The woman involved kept a lot of her story to herself. She only came to me for help when the doctor seeing her at the hospital showed surprise with the baby’s fast development,” she explained. “Afraid he would call the authorities, she disappeared, and I took her in.”
“Was she able to give birth to the baby?” he asked, though he feared the answer.
“We didn’t try. When she went into labor, the doctors decided to deliver the baby via a C-section. The baby was very big, and they were afraid the delivery would endanger them both.”
“At the breeding program, they tried to have some women carry baby cyborgs, and it was a total failure. The nutritional demands of the baby killed some of the surrogate mothers, and they were forced to end some of the pregnancies,” he told her, expressing his biggest fear.
“Yes, I had heard about that, and I was very worried about her, but that didn’t happen with her. She was perfectly fine with the normal vitamin supplements for pregnant women.”
He let out a loud sigh of relief. “Let’s hope with Ophelia things go as fine as with your friend.”
“We’ll keep her under medical surveillance, to avoid any kind of surprise. I’ll call in the doctors that helped my friend. They currently live in one of our hideouts, not far from here,”
“Thank you, I would appreciate that.”
“We’re here to help each other,” she assured him before she changed the subject. “I thought you would like to know Jeffrey was removed from the council and the rest of us decided to wipe Jonathan’s memory and take him to one of the freedom camps,” she said, with a faint smile. “We believe that will be punishment enough.”
Bretdon nodded. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“Have you decided to stay with us, for now?” she asked, in a soft tone.
“Yes, we’re staying. We had decided to stay even before we knew Ophelia was pregnant. Staying seems to be the best decision. We can be of mutual help.”
“Yes, of course, we can. With your presence here, we’ll be a lot safer, and we can help a lot more people to escape the freedom camps,” she said, with relief in every word.
“Now that we have four cyborgs here, we could consider sending Tyrcale and Marzac to another of your camps. They would be more helpful there than here,” he suggested.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Do you think they wouldn’t mind leaving?” she asked, with a hopeful smile.
“I’m sure they won’t. How many camps do you people have?” he asked, curious.
“Six, with this one. We could send one of you to each camp.”
“I don’t think Kirkcal would appreciate being sent away from here. He seems to be courting Marian,” Bretdon explained, with a naughty grin.
Sandra smiled. “Perhaps, we can convince her to move out with him. She has been here for a while now, I’m sure she would appreciate the change.”
Bretdon nodded. “I’ll leave that up to you. Tomorrow morning, I’ll discuss this with my friends, but I’m sure they will be more than pleased to help you and your people.”
“Thank you, Bretdon. I’m really glad you decided to stay with us. I know we were wrong believing in Jonathan just because Jeffrey vouched for him, but I assure you that it won’t happen again.”
“That’s all I can ask. Now, if you don’t mind, I will take Ophelia to bed. She needs to get some rest,” he said, getting up.
“Let her enjoy her pregnancy. It will be very short, and the last thing she needs is to stress over it,” she advised him.
“I know, and I’ll do all in my power to make sure nothing happens to her.”
He couldn’t let that happen. His life depended on it. Ophelia had become the most important thing in his life, and he couldn’t even consider the possibility of losing her.
Despite his jealousy when he discovered her pregnancy, he knew he would have accepted her even if the baby wasn’t his. He would accept anything, just to have her in his arms forever.
Sandra nodded and walked him to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The following weeks went by in a haze. Ophelia insisted on continuing working on the transmitters, and though it didn’t make him happy, Bretdon was forced to agree with it.
Kirkcal and the other cyborgs left for the nearest camps after he convinced Marian to accompany him. Ophelia wasn’t pleased with her friend’s departure, but she knew she would have done exactly the same if she had been in the other girl’s place.
Staying away from their cyborgs was too painful.
Marisa quickly got used to the life in the caves, and soon she was the same woman she had always been. She started working with another group of women on what she did best: matching people.
Ophelia’s pregnancy soon was visible and the doctors followed it with interest, scanning her at least once a week. She often complained that they were treating her like some lab rat, but Bretdon didn’t indulge her complaints. He wanted the doctors to be on top of her pregnancy as much as possible to avoid any surprises.