Hal chuckled with pleasure. 'My father will be the proudest grandfather alive!' He drew in a deep breath and kissed her some more. 'I love you, Karen. I love you so much I can hardly bear to be parted from you even for a little while, but I was supposed to ring for a nurse when you woke up.'
'It can wait. I love you too, Hal. I've been wanting to say it for so long, it needs a lot of saying.' Some considerable time later a nurse popped her head into the room, and after a few theatrical coughs, proceeded to chide both of them for acting irregularly. Not standard procedure at all. But very satisfactory, Hal remarked, completely unabashed.
Dr Grayson was called, and Karen underwent another examination. A nurse brought her dinner, and Hal urged her to eat more than she had appetite for. She was given another injection to her make her sleep comfortably. She made Hal promise to go home and get a proper rest and not to worry about her any more. Her last thought before she fell asleep again was about the roses whose scent had sweetened her awakening. They had been red roses-dark, velvety red. For love.
Karen felt brilliantly alive the next day. The pain of childbirth was completely forgotten. The twins were brought to her room, snuggled together in a special cot. Professor Bellamy accompanied them and happily expounded all his theories to Karen.
'They must be allowed to sleep together until such time as they choose to have separate beds. Now that they're named, always try to get their identities right. Confusion will distress them.'
Karen smiled and the Professor laughed. 'Well, you can't remember back to infancy, can you?'
'No, I was just remembering what Kirsty and I used to do when our parents called us by our wrong names.'
'Ah yes. Stubborn little mules, I recall your mother saying. And wouldn't wear name tags when you went to school. What was it you said?'
'We know who we are and it's up to everyone else to find out." Karen laughed as the Professor shook his head at her.
'You just wait, young lady! That's what's in store for you.'
He rambled on until the babies' feeding time, then supervised the handling of the twins. Kirsten had to be cradled in Karen's left arm, while a nurse cradled Rowena in her right arm. It was fascinating to watch them suck so knowingly. When they were once more tucked into their cot Professor Bellamy beamed approval and took his leave.
Hal arrived with Owen and David on his heels.
David was jumping out of his skin with excitement, as fascinated by his baby sisters as everyone else was. Owen was glowing with pride. He gave Karen a warm hug and a kiss, declared she looked more beautiful than ever, said she had picked splendid names, and Hal was the luckiest man alive.
With which Hal agreed. He sat on the bed, holding her hand, his eyes so eloquently expressing his love that warm tingles ran around Karen's veins. She felt lucky too, as if she had just won the best and biggest lottery that life could ever offer. She had Hal and David and Kirsten and Rowena ... a beautiful family circle of love. And Owen standing behind them in all his benevolence.
And Kirsty slid into Karen's mind ... Kirsty giving her David, the baby Karen had longed for ... Kirsty giving her Hal with her dying breath ... Kirsty, knowing it all and suffering her private pain until at the end she could smile, having given away everything. And Karen closed her eyes and sent out a message with all her concentrated will-power ...
If you can hear me, Kirsty, thank you. I understand it all now, and you'll always be with us, alive, loved, part of all of us. As one with me as you always were and always will be, my beloved sister. Thank you.