Shadow of the giant

can sleep through anything. Julian
and Petra and Ramon are in the other room. They need it dimmer. But if you wake
them, it's not a problem. All their cribs have the sides down because they
climb out anyway."
    "They're walking?"
    "Running. Climbing. Falling off things. They're more
than a year old, Petra! They're normal children!"
    It almost set her off, because it reminded her of the
children who weren't normal. But that wasn't what Mrs. Delphiki meant, and
there was no reason to punish her for a chance remark by bursting into tears.
    So the two who bore the names of the children she grieved
for most were sharing a room. She had courage enough to face this. She went
there first.
    Nothing about these babies reminded her of the ones who were
gone. They were so big. Toddlers, not babies now. And, true to reputation,
Andrew's eyes were already open. He turned to look at her.
    She smiled at him.
    He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
    Well, let him retreat and decide what he thinks of me. I'm
not going to demand that they love me when they don't even know me.
    She walked to Bella's crib. She was sleeping hard, her black
curls tight and wet against her head. The Delphiki genetic heritage was so
complicated. Bella really showed Bean's African roots. Whereas Andrew looked
Armenian, period.
    She touched one of Bella's curls and the girl didn't stir.
Her cheek was hot and damp.
    She's mine, thought Petra.
    She turned and saw that Andrew was sitting up in bed,
regarding her soberly. "Hello, Mama," he said.
    It took her breath away.
    "How did you know me?"
    "Picture," he said.
    "Do you want to get up?"
    He looked at the clock on the top of the dresser. "Not
time."
    These were normal children?
    How would Mrs. Delphiki know what normal was, anyway?
Nikolai wasn't exactly stupid.
    Though they weren't so brilliant. They were both wearing
diapers.
    Petra walked over to Andrew and held out her hand. What do I
think he is, a dog that I give my hand to sniff?
    Andrew took hold of a couple of her fingers, just for a
moment, as if to make sure she was real. "Hello, Mama."
    "May I kiss you?"
    He lifted his face and puckered up. She leaned down and
kissed him.
    The touch of his hands. The feel of his little kiss. The
curl on Bella's cheek. What had she been waiting for? Why had she been afraid?
Fool. I'm a fool.
    Andrew lay back down and closed his eyes. As Mrs. Delphiki
had warned, it was completely unbelievable. She could see the whites of his
eyes through the partly-open slits.
    "I love you," she whispered.
    "Loveyoutoo," murmured Andrew.
    Petra was glad that someone had said those words to him so
often that the answer came by rote.
    She crossed the hall into the other room. It was much
darker. She couldn't see well enough to dare to cross the room. It took a few
moments for her eyes to grow used to the dark and make out the three beds.
    Would she know Ramon when she saw him?
    Someone moved to her left. She was startled, and she was a
soldier. In a moment she was in a defensive crouch, ready to spring.
    "Only me," whispered Peter Wiggin.
    "You didn't have to come and—"
    He held a finger to his lips. He walked over to the farthest
crib. "Ramon," he whispered.
    She came and stood over the crib.
    Peter reached down and flipped something. A paper.
    "What is it?" she asked. In a whisper.
    He shrugged.
    If he didn't know what it was, why had he pointed it out to
her?
    She pulled it out from under Ramon. It was an envelope, but
it didn't contain much.
    Peter took her gently by the elbow and guided her out the
door. Once they were in the hall, he said softly, "You can't read in that
light. And when Ramon wakes up, he's going to look for it and be very upset if
it isn't there."
    "What is it?"
    "Ramon's paper," said Peter. "Petra, Bean put
it there before he left. I mean, not there. It was in Rotterdam. But he tucked
it under Ramon's diaper as he was lying asleep in bed. He meant you to find it
there. So it's been there every night of his life. It's only been peed on
twice."
    "From Bean."
    The emotion she could deal with best was anger. "You
knew he had written this and—"
    Peter kept the both of them moving out of the hall and into
the parlor. "He didn't give it to me or anyone else to deliver. Unless you
count Ramon. He gave it to Ramon's butt."
    "But to make me wait a year before—"
    "Nobody thought it would be a year, Petra." He
said it very gently, but the truth of it stung. He always had the power to
sting her, and yet he never