The Girl Without a Name

by Rachel Burns

“I think that would be best.” I smiled to myself. Daddy was right. Tristan wouldn’t let anyone talk to him the way I was. He even put Daddy in his place, but I could scold Tristan and make him nervous. That meant that he loved me.

  I cuddled against his chest. He gave an audible sigh, letting me know that he was glad that I wasn’t mad.

  Then I thought about what he had said. “What do you think would happen if I read the book and was alone without you?” I didn’t understand his worry.

  “You would need me to satisfy you, and I wouldn’t be here. Then you would be in a very bad mood because you’d be frustrated. I don’t want your father to have an excuse to punish you.”

  “Only you get to do that?” I asked him sarcastically.

  “That’s right. You seem to need it.” He grinned at me.

  “No, I don’t,” I protested, looking back at him.

  Then he gave me a warning look, proving that I didn’t have him wrapped around my little finger as I thought I had. I could only do that when he let me.

  I liked that he wouldn’t let me play games with him. I had tested the boundaries, and he showed me where they were. That made me feel safe with him. He was perfect for me.

  Chapter 24

  Tristan and I spent the next couple days together, visiting his parents and taking long walks and talking about everything that we could think of.

  I confessed that I had been a baby hatch child, and that it bothered me that I never got to celebrate a birthday.

  Tristan told me that he wanted to have children, a few of them so our child wouldn’t be an only child. He hated being an only child. He liked coming over to our house so he could be with other children.

  The wedding we were invited to had been lovely. It was nicer than ours because the couple already knew each other and liked each other. The couple only left for an hour to be alone. It reminded me of our wedding. We had been gone two hours. Tristan had been as kind as he could be. He had taken his time with me.

  I watched him across the room, talking to a few members of his crew. They were extremely respectful of him. He caught me looking at him and grabbed two glasses of wine and walked over to me and gave me a glass. “Have you made friends yet?” he asked me.

  “No. They were afraid to say something to the captain’s wife that might hurt their husbands.”

  He nodded. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s probably difficult for you to make friends,” I stated.

  He shrugged. “I have you.”

  “Are you saying that you’re my friend?” I was smiling so widely that I must have looked silly. But he returned my huge smile with a goofy one of his own.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. You’re my best friend. The other captains are my friends, but you’re the person I feel closest to.”

  “I feel the same way about you,” I told him, meaning every word of it.

  ~

  The next day, I was packed and ready to go with my husband on his airship. I would be the only woman on board.

  Tristan told me I could be his co-pilot, as if that were something wonderful. “Or I could drive to Galexit, and you could rest up,” I suggested, getting into the pilot’s seat and going through the checklist without really thinking about it. I flew so often that I could fly in my sleep.

  “What are you doing?” he asked me.

  “I’m Brandon Reeves’ daughter. I’ve been flying since he adopted me. To answer your next question, I was twelve when I learned how.”

  Tristan huffed and sat down.

  “Don’t pout, honey. You get to be my co-pilot.” I reached over and patted his knee.

  “Seriously, I think we should change spots.” Tristan didn’t feel comfortable with this.

  “Yes, I understand that the idea of a woman flying is a big step for you. But in my family, everyone flies. Even Charlotte can fly. She likes to go to Galexit to go shopping. She picked out my entire wardrobe. Without her, I wouldn’t know what to wear. She picked out my wedding dress for me.” I was already in space. Tristan was holding onto his seat as if he were about to die.

  “We’ll be there in twenty minutes. I’m guessing you want me to pretend that you were the one who flew over?” His airship was faster than Daddy’s. I liked that.

  Tristan cleared his throat. He was trying to pretend to be cool about it. “I think that might be best.”

  “Daddy says that I’m better than Douglas.”

  “Really? Douglas is the second best airship captain that we have.” Tristan was surprised.

  “I know. That means that you’re my only competition.”

  “Do you want to have a race or something?” he asked me, suddenly showing interest.

  “Not really. I’m a girl. That means that I don’t need to know who is the best. I can live with not knowing. How about you?”

  “No race. You could get hurt. It isn’t worth the risk.” He relaxed into his seat and got out his assignment and studied it. I was quiet so he could work. It was a great advantage to have a wife who could fly.

  ~

  I landed on Tristan’s spot and walked out on Tristan’s arm. No one was the wiser. The navigators at the flight tower were used to the Reeves girls flying here. I had cleared my landing with them. The only thing that surprised them was that I didn’t arrive by one of my father’s air ships, and I didn’t park in one of his spots.

  Tristan walked me over to the hanger where his crew was gathered. They lined up when they saw him. I watched his face change as he walked up and down, talking to them and making certain that everyone was here with their correct papers, and that everyone had everything along that they needed. He told them about their assignment in a remote area of the galaxy. He made it clear that this was an easy assignment.

  “As you can see, I brought a lovely woman along with me. This is my wife, Sophia Stephanie O’Brian, née Reeves. Perhaps you’ve seen her on TV? She’s the smartest woman in the universe.” Tristan was bragging, and that made me feel uncomfortable. “She also knows her way around an airship. Don’t talk down to her,” he warned them. “She is capable of doing your job, even mine. All aboard.”

  The men hurried on board, scrambling to obey him. It was weird seeing Tristan so strict. His men had taken our luggage in for us.

  Tristan walked over to me and took my hand. “Welcome aboard, Mrs. O’Brian. Allow me to show you to your cabin.” He brought me on board and gave me a short tour. He didn’t bring me to his room. Instead, he brought me to a seat and kissed my hand. Then he sat down at the head of the airship. I watched him getting ready for the take off. He was concentrated and did his job so well. I felt incredibly proud of him.

  Once we were on course, he stood and brought me to his cabin.

  “Is this where you keep the book?” I teased him, feeling a little nervous.

  “As a matter of fact, it is.” He pushed me against the wall and began to thoroughly kiss me.

  “Captain O’Brian, you are needed on the bridge.” A voice came on over the intercom, interrupting us.

  “They can’t be serious. If this is a joke, heads are going to roll.” He gave me another kiss and left. I hope whatever his men needed from him that it was important.

  Tristan was gone for hours. I stayed put, reading the book that Tristan didn’t want me to read as I lay in his bed. His bed was bigger and more comfortable than I thought it would be.

  When the intercom called the first half of the crew to come eat, I got up and went, hoping that I would see my husband. I didn’t. Something must have happened.

  The men were very considerate and sweet to me. They talked to me and asked me about Tristan. I told them that we had the same home planet and had known each other for years. They thought that was romantic.

  One of his men asked me if Tristan was strict with me at home. “Because I’m his only wife, I don’t have to line up,” I joked. I didn’t tell them any private details about our life. That was none of their business. No one needed to know that
Tristan was a good and sweet husband who would force me over his knee if he felt it was necessary. That was our secret.

  I stayed in the cafeteria, thinking that Tristan would eat with the second group, but he didn’t come in. I asked the men if there was a problem, and they insisted that the airship must have a malfunction. I was told not to worry about it. I was so used to being treated as an equal because that was what I knew from home, that it was a surprise to be treated like a mere woman. They had patted my hand and told me not to worry. At home, it would have been my job to solve the problem.

  I returned to our cabin and waited for my husband. When I got tired, I changed into my warm pajamas and got into his bed. Soon, I fell asleep.

  ~

  I woke when Tristan entered the room. The light from the hall spilled in blinding me.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he told me.

  “What was wrong?” I asked him.

  “The computer seems to think that we have a stowaway on board. My men searched every square inch, and we didn’t find anyone.” Tristan shed his clothes and hung them up carefully on a hanger. I wasn’t used to that. He tossed them aside when we were at home.

  He hung his clothing outside of his door. That he did that completely naked made my jaw drop. “Are you an exhibitionist?” I scolded him.

  “No, but it’s only us guys on board. No one cares what I look like.” He thought I was funny.

  “What are you doing anyway?” I asked him.

  “Someone will come by and clean my clothes. This is how my ship works.” He explained.

  “Why don’t you clean your own clothes?”

  “Because I work more hours than everyone else and because I’m constantly on call, like you saw today.”

  I caught myself staring at his penis. When he noticed that I was doing it, it started to grow. “Were you reading my book?” he asked me.

  “I read the whole thing. Should I show you what I learned?” I asked him, sitting up in bed.

  His penis bounced when I said that, making me giggle. “You’re a very brazen,” he told me.

  “Well, we are trying to have a baby.” I laid my hands over my tummy.

  Tristan froze. He pointed at me and then up at the ceiling.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked him.

  “No, I don’t think so.” He sat down on the bed beside me. I was about to grab onto his penis when he took my wrists and pinned them over my head. “Computer,” he called out loudly and clearly.

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “How many people are in my cabin?”

  “Three, Captain.”

  “Three? Is someone in here with us?” A shiver went down my spine.

  “Yes, there is.” He leaned down and kissed my belly. “Someone very small is with us. But he or she has a heartbeat or certain life signs that the computer was able to pick up. You’re pregnant.”

  “I am?” Could the computer be able to tell so soon?

  “Yes. You snuck a stowaway on board.” He grinned from ear to ear.

  “What if I lose the baby again?” I tugged my hands out of his grasp and covered my baby with my hands, trying to protect the little thing. “The last baby didn’t think that I was good enough to be a mother,” I whispered to him so no one else could hear me.

  Immediately, a dark cloud covered his face. “Are you saying that you think our baby committed suicide so you wouldn’t be his mother?” His hand reached under me. His fingers pinched into the flesh of my rump.

  “The baby was completely healthy the day before.”

  Tristan released his hold and took me in his arms. “That wasn’t the problem. I’ll bet our baby felt lucky to have you for as long as he could. I also think that this is the same baby. He’s come back to us, but this time in a stronger body so he can stay. I’m going to be very careful with you. You are only allowed to breathe from now on. Everything else will be done for you. This time our baby will be born. I promise you.”

  “You can’t promise something like that.”

  “I just did.” He stood up and went to his half of the bed and wrapped me in his arms again. “Computer,” he called out.

  “Yes, Captain,” it replied.

  “Inform the bridge that the stowaway has been located and welcomed on board.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  I stared at him wondering what he would want to say or do next.

  “We’re going to have a baby,” he told me.

  “Yes, it looks as if we are.” I was thrilled and worried all in one.

  He gave me a kiss and turned the light off. “What? You mean that’s it?” I asked him. I thought that we were about to make love. After all, we had something to celebrate.

  “Sophia,” he sighed. “It broke my heart to see you cry after we lost the baby.”

  “You cried too.” I reminded him.

  “I know, and we don’t want to cry again.” He held me close to him like I used to hold my elephant to my heart after Daddy spanked me. “I’ll take care of you.” He promised.

  Chapter 25

  Tristan brought me home and told Daddy the funny story of how we found out that we were going to be parents. Everyone thought that was very funny.

  I wasn’t in a good mood. Tristan was still refusing to make love to me. Somehow a lack of sex was throwing me off balance. What I had feared so terribly not so long ago had become something that I desperately needed.

  Tristan remained steadfast. He hugged and kissed me constantly, but there was a line he drew in his mind that he refused to cross.

  The doctor would be here soon. Tristan was waiting to see the baby. I was going to ask the doctor about sex. I hoped that Tristan would take me up to my room and give it to me good after the doctor told us that there was no reason to abstain.

  When the doctor arrived, Tristan turned very serious. He helped me walk into the medical room as if I wasn’t capable of walking on my own. I socked him in the shoulder when the doctor wasn’t looking. He responded with a confused look. There was absolutely no come back, not in the form of a pinch to my backside or a wait-until-we’re-alone look. This wasn’t healthy.

  Tristan held my hand when the doctor showed us the tiny reflection of our precious baby. It looked smaller than what our first baby did. I reached out and tried to hold the image. My fingers only grasped thin air.

  Tristan took hold of my hand and tenderly kissed my cheek. It was an incredibly emotional moment. We both feared that this would be the only time we would see our child. Tristan asked the doctor to come by every week and check on the child. He told him that he knew it wasn’t standard, but we needed to hear that our baby was healthy.

  The doctor promised to check me over that often. He also said that he would come whenever Tristan was home so he could see the baby too.

  Tristan thanked him wholeheartedly.

  “Do I have any restrictions?” I asked the doctor, not wanting to come out and ask about sex.

  “I’m giving you every restriction that I can think of. No training, running, crawling through the mud, or fencing or whatever else your father has you do. You may take short walks close to the house and of course swimming. That’s it.” The doctor shook his head as he spoke. He didn’t want me doing anything.

  “But exercise is important so both the baby and I will be healthy,” I protested.

  “Not in this case. You already lost one child. We don’t want a repeat of that.” The doctor was being so strict.

  “I don’t understand.” I truly didn’t.

  Tristan smiled at me. “This is a precaution. I know you don’t like training. This is a chance for you to relax and read lots of books. That sounds like a wonderful vacation to me. I’m envious.” He was beaming at me like a salesman trying to sell something that everyone knew was junk.

  “Surely, there are some physical activities that I can do?” I looked at the doctor.

  “Walking and swimming are ideal in your condition,” he replied.
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br />   “What about sex?” I asked, losing my patience.

  “Sophia,” Tristan scolded me, completely shocked by my question.

  “The risk is too great. Your baby is too important to lose. From a genetic standpoint, you two are the best our universe has to offer, both in intelligence and physical strength. Your parents had the presence of mind to marry you two. This child has the potential to be the smartest person in the universe. He or she will be strong and fast. Both of you have better than normal eyesight and hearing. You respond faster than others. We aren’t going to do anything to risk losing this very important child.”

  I started to cry. I sat up and buried my face in my hands and bawled.

  “Sophia, what’s wrong?” Tristan tried to pull my hands away from my face.

  “This is perfectly normal,” the doctor assured him. “It’s going to be difficult for her to control her emotions. It’s a hormone thing. She needs extra portions of love and understanding.” The doctor smiled at Tristan.

  ~

  Love and understanding, that was exactly what I got from my husband. He often came home and checked on me. We went on very short walks, and we went swimming, but he barely touched me. He was being so nice to me that I wanted to choke him.

  Tristan and Daddy talked about the war. It wasn’t officially a war yet. But the Aliens attacked our airships daily. Lots of lives were being lost.

  My language lessons had stopped because my teacher was trying to negotiate with the Aliens. They claimed that these were isolated incidents that they deeply regretted. But the sheer number of attacks made that hard to believe.

  Kyle was on TV. He spoke of losing his parents to the Aliens. It was an indirect call to war.

  Kyle said that the Aliens needed to take their people in hand. If they didn’t, then we humans would. He stared straight into the camera and told the Aliens that they were picking on the wrong people. Attacking families flying around was an act of cowardliness. If they wanted to test their strength against a true opponent, then he was ready and waiting to take them on.

  His words had been applauded by humans everywhere. Other famous people went on record, saying that they would fight alongside Kyle. Charlotte’s husband had been the first to pledge his alliance.