Page 55 of Phoenix's Fire

"No..." Meri breathed.

"It's okay," I hurried to assure her. "Naomi's here. We'll make it okay."

"Meri," Naomi said, "if your baby is born too soon, it might not make it."

"But I don't want to die!"

"I will make sure you don't," she promised. "I just need to know what matters more to you. Do you want to save this child or have more children later? If we have to choose, Meri, I need you to know which you'd pick."

"I just want to live!" Meri insisted. "I don't want Gideon to kill me! That's why I came here. It's why Callah got me out, and why I did all of that. I lied! I knew I shouldn't have, but - "

"Shh..." Naomi breathed. "We're going to take good care of you, Meri. I'm just worried about your baby right now, okay?"

Meri nodded. "Don't name it Gideon? Or Merienne? I don't want that. If I can't - "

"No," Jeera said, pushing in so Meri could see her. "We will take care of you, okay?" Then she glanced over. "Mom, what's the issue?"

"The baby is breech, small, and her cervix is softening. I can't be sure, but I wouldn't be surprised at premature labor."

"What's that?" Meri asked.

"If you have cramps, at any time, you send someone to get me," Naomi told her. "If your water breaks - do you know what that is?"

"No," Meri whispered.

"Like you pee on yourself, but didn't. A lot of fluid will rush out. If that happens, then do not wait. Come here if you can walk, or have me come to your house. Meri, I'm worried your baby is going to come soon. Too soon."

Meri's face drained of color. "Will it turn the right way?"

"Probably." Naomi patted her knee. "If not, we'll have to do surgery." She gestured along the bottom of her belly. "We make a cut here, using medicine so youcan't feel it. This is what I do, Meri. I help people have babies. Other doctors handle things like broken bones or getting sick. I specialize in helping women. So if there's a problem, we will take care of both of you, but I'd like you to think about your choices - and let us hope you do not have to make one."

"What if she bleeds?" I asked, unable to help myself.

Naomi dipped her head as if I'd made a good point. "Then we find out why and make it stop. Girls, in the last ten years, no mother in Lorsa has died from having a baby, and I do not intend to break that record. Zasen told me that's not true with the Moles, but it is here. In all that time, one woman had twins, and there were a lot of problems. We saved her, but couldn't fix her womb, so she won't have any more."

"And?" I asked.

"No, that's the worst complication I've had in the last decade," Naomi said. "I know childbirth is dangerous down underground, but up here, we've learned how to take care of our women." She looked at Meri. "I don't like how thin you are, so I need you to eat as much as you can. It will make this easier, okay?"

"I will," Meri promised.

"Good protein will help you build the muscles necessary to push the baby out," Naomi told her. "So will walking and other gentle exercise. Now, Jeera and Brielle know what's safe, so if you aren't sure, you can ask them."

"But it hurts, right?" Meri asked weakly.

"What hurts?" Jeera asked.

"Having the baby," Meri almost whimpered.

Naomi made a soothing sound. "It feels like bad cramps. If you have someone get me when they start, we can put medicine in your back that numbs all of it. Labor takes longer, but it's more time for your friends to pamper you. I have a feeling Ayla will be more than happy to do a lot of pampering too."

"I will," I assured her.

"Wait." Meri's head was whipping between us. "There's a way to lessen the pain?"

Naomi chuckled, smiling at her. "Labor isn't comfortable, but God gave us minds to solve problems. Our priests said the suffering of women counted as a problem that needed to be solved. So while I won't tell you there's no pain, I believe both of you ladies could survive it. I did, and I've done it three times. Now, I'll want to see you again next week, just so we can check on the little one and see if the baby has decided to cooperate."

"We'll be here," Jeera promised.