‘’What is that?’’ Clarisse asked. It had only been a few weeks since she had last seen Tatiana. It had been three years for her. Time travel was weird. In her girlfriend’s arms was a baby. It couldn’t have been much than a few months old. The kid nursed from Tatiana, unfortunately sounding adorable.
‘’It’s a baby,’’ Tatiana said plainly. Her battle-hardened girlfriend was playing Nursemaid. Then again, Tatiana was always good with kids. Maybe it had to do with her being a daughter of Demeter. It was sweet seeing her like this. This was the kind of life she had secretly imagined for them, years down the line.
‘’I know that, but how did you get one?’’ She asked, ‘’Not running around on me, are you?’’ That was meant as a joke, Tatiana glared at her. She took the baby off her breasts placing it in the cradle. She pulled her shirt down, leaning back in the chair. Her face was drawn in a frown.
‘’Do you think I would get pregnant on purpose? Or even sleep with a guy? As if.’’ She started to rock the cradle, putting the baby to sleep. Clarisse knelt, looking at the baby. The kid was cute. The baby slept in furs, its skin pale as the snow outside. White hair made a crown on their head. She wondered what color the eyes were.
‘’You sound like Thalia.’’ Clarisse ran a finger lightly on the child’s cheek. Tatiana finally smiled.
‘’No, her mother died.’’ Tatiana took a deep breath. ‘’Her mother was one of the raiders. She died giving birth to Freya. Kratos and I delivered her.’’ Clarisse nodded grimly. She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. Tatiana, like her mother, wanted to be a midwife. Before everything transpired, she started shadowing Hadassah at the hospital where she worked. Tatiana knew the basics of midwifery, but to deliver the baby in these conditions? Then to watch the mother die…
‘’Her name is Freya?’’ Tatiana nodded. The cabin was empty save for her, Tatiana, and the baby. The rest were out hunting. She was surprised that even Demeter went with them. Her girlfriend got up from the chair, moved to a shelf, and gathered tea leaves in her hand.
‘’Yeah, Freya Clarisse.’’ Clarisses’ heart stopped for a moment. Did she give the kid her name? Tatiana went over the bucket of water in the corner of the cabin, filling the small caldron.
‘’You named her after me?’’ Tears pricked at her eyes. She did not deserve such an honor. Tatiana giggled, putting the caldron over the fire, and letting the water boil.
‘’No, I named her after you and Freya.’’ Tatiana gathered baby Freya in her arms. The baby was still asleep. Clarisse reached to hold her. Tatiana seemed all too eager to pass Freya along to her.
‘’Still. That’s… I don’t even know what to say.’’ She chuckled, putting her head on the table. There was a look of weariness in her eyes. Freya seemed to be healthy enough, even if a little chubby for her age.
‘’Kratos and Atreus aren’t helping?’’ In the little time that she knew father and son, they didn’t seem like the type to shove responsibility onto one person. Tatiana shook her head, laughing.
‘’Kratos does most of the work. Cleaning, cooking’’ Here she paused, ‘’Atreus and I pitched in, but Kratos knows more about raising kids. I just feed her.’’ Speaking of which…
‘’How are you nursing her? I thought..’’ Clarisse’s eyes drifted down to Tatiana’s chest. Her breasts looked fuller than before. She had always been petite, a small reedy girl. Maybe like 100 pounds soaking wet. Now she looked, more like a mother maybe. Her hips had rounded out, giving her a fuller waist that seemed to make her stomach look more prominent as well.
Tatiana felt self-conscious suddenly, ‘’Well’’ - and she blushed hard - ‘’it’s not that complicated. I learned a few things from mom’s books, and.. Well, it’s possible to feed a baby without being pregnant.’’
‘’Hey, no shame. You did what you had to do.’’ She smirked at Tatiana, ‘’I mean if you ever want to…’’ Her girlfriend tossed a towel at her.
‘’Get those thoughts out of your head right now Clarisse!’’ She let out a hearty chuckle. Her laughter filled up the room.
‘’Only if you want to!’’ The baby started to wake up. The startling blue eyes made Clarisse take a step back. The only kids she knew that clear blue eyes were Apollo’s kids. Even then that varied from time to time. Baby Freya lifted her tiny hand toward Clarisse. Acting on instinct, she reached for the baby’s hand. How tiny Freya was! How had been this tiny once?
‘’Hey Freya, it’s your other mama.’’ the baby’s grip was strong, ‘’Look at you my, girl. My future warrior. ‘’ Tatiana was surprised at Clarisse’s words. Back home, when she was just sixteen the talk of children or marriage never came up. They were still young. She always believed that they would get married. Children… well they had time to think about that. Until now.
‘’You’re okay with this?’’ She asked quietly. She watched how Clarisse interacted with Freya, cooing and bouncing her up and down. Clarisse often stayed away from the younger campers. She was tough on the campers, working them to the bone. To see her like this, well this was new. Freya started to cry, her face turning red.
‘’Oh, I need to feed her again.’’ Clarisse handed the baby back to her. Freya latched onto Tatiana drinking from her again. She leaned back in the chair watching Freya.
‘’Of course. It’s… a lot to take in. It’s only been three… maybe four weeks for me. It’s been three years for you. If raising Freya is what you want, then I’ll be there for you.’’ Tatiana smiled, hugging her girlfriend. She put the baby in the crib. She kissed Clarisse deeply before sitting down on the edge of their bed and taking Clarisse’s hand, their fingers intertwining.
‘’I love you so much.’’
‘’Me too Flower Girl. Me too.’’