With Ruby's guidance, I cut and tied the umbilical cord, and handed her the little girl. She smiled down into the little face, laughing when the baby yawned.

"I could use a nap, too," she said.

I used a washcloth to wipe down the baby and to clean Ruby. Then I laid gently on the bed while as Ruby nursed.

I smiled down at her. "You made a beautiful baby," I said. "She's perfect, despite James' genes."

Ruby laughed, her small vibrations shaking the baby. She turned to stare at her daughter.

"She's a blessing," I said, "sent to us when we needed her the most. She was born by the grace of God to restore my faith that things will be okay."

Ruby turned to look at me, a wide smile on her face. "I think you might have picked the perfect name for her," she said. I furrowed my brows. "Gracie."

I smiled. "It's a beautiful name, but could we really subject an innocent baby to a name that sounds so much like the city we loathe so much."

"In a way, it feels as though giving her the name will undo some of the suffering this place has caused. Because how could something so perfect be a sign of so much pain?" She turned to look at the baby and cooed. "Gracie Charlotte Moberly. It's perfect."

Tears pricked at my eyes, and I laid my head on Ruby's shoulder, gazing at the baby. "Yes it is," I said. "Thank you." I knew Charlotte was smiling down on this baby, that she would be honored this little girl would be her namesake.

We laid in each other's arms the rest of the day, staring down at the little miracle who'd saved us both. Ruby held Gracie for a while and nursed her until she fell asleep exhausted from the hours of labor and delivery. Then I would ease the baby from her arms, holding her close as I ran my fingers over her little nose, caressing her soft skin, watching in amazement as she wrapped her tiny hand around my index finger.

For a little while, we were happy in our small, safe bubble, just the three of us holding one another and sharing our love. But that was short-lived. When we heard the front door open and close indicating that James was home, we knew our time together was coming to a close.

"Help me up," Ruby said, swinging her legs gently over the side of the bed.

"You just gave birth, Ruby. You need to rest," I said, hoping she would lie back.

She shook her head. "I'll rest later. For now, we have to make James believe you were the one who had this baby." She grinned. "This might be our best performance yet."

I settled into the bed, keeping close to Ruby- who insisted on remaining standing- in case she fell. A few minutes passed before James threw open my bedroom door and came bursting inside.

"There you are!" he said, stomping to Ruby's side and grabbing her by the arm. "Why is my dinner not ready?"

I could see the anger flashing in his eyes as he held her arm, the fire that flickered right before he was about to become violent. She winced at his touch, and before he could do anything to hurt her further, I cleared my throat.

He turned to look at me, and I indicated the newborn baby swaddled in a towel in my arms. "Would you like to meet your daughter, James?"

His eyes widened with surprise as he took in the tiny baby nestled up against my chest. He released Ruby and came to my side to get a better look.

"Is this...?" he mumbled.

"Yes," I said with a forced smile. "She was born this morning. Thank the Lord the No Name woman was here; there's no way we could have made it to Dr. Winthrop's office in time."

James sat on the edge of the bed, his anger about dinner forgotten. He reached out for the baby, and though it made my heart ache to see him holding her, I placed her gently into his arms.

James cooed at her and rocked Gracie back and forth. She stirred and whimpered for a moment, before falling back to sleep. It felt wrong seeing such an innocent child in his arms, but at least he was temporarily calm. After everything Ruby had endured, the last thing she needed was James smacking her around.

After a few minutes, James placed her in my arms and went to call Dr. Winthrop to make a house visit and make sure the baby and myself were doing okay. He arrived about thirty minutes later and James let him to my room.

"Come," James said to Ruby. "Let the doctor examine her."

Ruby's eyes met mine as she made her way to the door. "Actually, I was hoping she could stay," I said. James eyed me curiously. "The No Name woman was such a help during the delivery process. She might be able to fill in some of the blanks for Dr. Winthrop."

James nodded, seemingly appeased, before leaving the room. Dr. Winthrop came to stand at the side of the bed, staring down at Gracie with furrowed brows, trying to put the pieces together.

"Please lie back, Mrs. Moberly," Dr. Winthrop said, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. "I'll need to exam you."

"Actually," I said, getting to my feet and clasping Ruby by the elbow. "This is who you will need to examine."

Dr. Winthrop's mouth fell agape as he realized what had happened.

Ruby looks at me with fearful eyes and I give her a reassuring nod. "It's okay," I said. "We can trust him."

I hold the baby while Dr. Winthrop examined Ruby, putting in a few stitches, but otherwise giving her a clean bill of health. Once she was finished, he moved on to making sure Gracie was okay.

"I take it Mr. Moberly is unaware of your... situation," he said, placing a stethoscope on Gracie's chest. She cried and shimmied beneath the cool metal of the chest piece.

"No," I said, "and we'd prefer to keep it that way."

He nodded, sensing the implication in my words. "Well, you got lucky Mrs. Moberly. Your beautiful baby has a clean bill of health. Congratulations on your new daughter."

Ruby met my eyes and we smiled, looking down at the daughter that felt like ours.

***************

After Ruby gave birth, I decided to take over all of the household responsibilities when James was away. Ruby tried to argue, but I wouldn't hear of it- she needed to rest. It was the only time she had ever agreed to let me help, which spoke volumes as to just how much of a toil her body had endured.

Being in the kitchen made me feel useful for a change. I had spent my entire life learning to cook with my mother in preparation for the day I became a wife. Of course at the time we had no idea I would have someone in the house who did all of the cooking and cleaning for me. But now, while Ruby was recovering and nursing Gracie, I was able to put those skills to use again.

"I think I might have gone overboard," I said one afternoon as I looked at the cornucopia of food spread before us. Ruby's eyes widened as she took in the platters of banana nut muffins, lemon poppy cake, frittatas, and spinach quiches.

"I should let you cook more often," Ruby joked, poppy a blueberry in her mouth.

Once I had the household chores out of the way, the rest of the day was reserved for us to spend time with Gracie. Holding the little girl close to my chest, I experienced a form of love unlike anything I'd felt before. No, this wasn't my baby by blood, and she wasn't conceived in the most conventional manner, but it felt like she was mine. Mine and Ruby's, like the two of us alone were responsible for this little girl's future. When she was in my arms, I knew I could never let harm befall her. I would protect her at all costs.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the possibility of having to protect Gracie from seeming likely. The night she was born, James had gone to the bar with a group of his work friends to celebrate. Things had only progressed from there. His sobriety had been short lived, as the one night of festivity had caused him to fall off of the bandwagon. Now, his addiction was worse than it was before Gracie was born.

Along with the drinking, James' volatile behavior returned. Now that I was no longer pregnant, I was once again a target for his deep-seeded anger. He sent me to bed on more than a few occasions with blooded lips or discolored cheeks. Ruby had also fallen victim to his fists, receiving a few injuries of her own when his coffee wasn't fresh enough, or his shirts hadn't been ironed to perfection.

James was always gentle with Gracie, but I continued to keep a close eye on him when he held her, waiting and watching for any signs of an outburst. It kept me on pins and needles to think that, one day, he might snap on her too.

"We can't take the risk," Ruby murmured one day as James napped on the couch with Gracie on his chest. "You and I both know it's just a matter of time before she does something that makes him angry and he lashes out at her."

"I know," I said with a deep sigh. "But what are we supposed to do? He's her father."

She looked deep into my eyes. "Run away with me, Mia," she whispered, grasping my hand in hers.

"Run away with me, Mia."

An involuntary chill went up and down my spine. The words sounded so much like the ones that Charlotte had said so long ago, just days before her untimely death.

"We tried that once before, remember?" I reminded her. "We didn't make it far."

"We also didn't try very hard. We didn't want to leave Charlotte behind."

"I don't know, Ruby," I said, shaking my head. "It's not just the two of us anymore. We have Gracie to think about."

"I am thinking about Gracie," she said fervently. "When she grows up, she will have one of two options for her future. She can either become a No Name woman like myself," she said, pointing at her chest. "Or she can become a wife. I'm not sure about you, but I would prefer she not follow in my footsteps."

"No, you're right," I said.

"Then let's get out of this place before those become her only choices. Let's leave behind these people who don't respect us and refuse to let the two of us be together. So what if there is only wastelands beyond Grayson? I would rather take my chances out there than live in this prison any longer," she spit.

"Let's go create a life together where we don't have to hide in the shadows, hoping we don't get caught. We'll build a library for you even more extensive than James'. We'll teach Gracie to read so she can be as smart as any man. And at night, we can fall asleep in each other's arms without every little sound sending us scurrying about like mice."

Maybe Ruby was right; perhaps we could find a place where we could be together without having to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, watching and waiting for those who wished to harm us. Maybe we could find a place where we could be together without fear. To love without inhibitions would be the greatest blessing of all.

"That's a beautiful picture," I said with a small smile. "But I need to think about it. It's a big decision."

Ruby nodded, knowing that I wasn't convinced. I still thought leaving Grayson was an unnecessarily big risk. Though our lives were still less than ideal here, things had improved tremendously since Gracie was born. It was almost tolerable being married to James now and enduring his wrath when I knew I could look forward to rocking her to sleep at night. I didn't know if I wanted to chance risking the stability and love we'd formed on the off chance there could be a better life elsewhere, no matter how perfect the picture Ruby had painted may seem.

***************

The next morning, I was exhausted. Gracie was teething and had been up all night, crying. It broke my heart that we couldn't do much to relieve her pain. She was still screaming when I brought her downstairs, her cheeks red from exertion and her cries becoming hoarse. I rocked her and let her suck on frozen rags, but nothing seemed to help.

James was nursing one of his hangovers over a strong cup of coffee. He held his temples, trying to drown out the crying, but was becoming increasingly irritable the longer Gracie cried. All of a sudden, James brings his fist down on the counter, sending his coffee splattering, startling us all. He jumped to his feet and was an inch from my face, so close that I could smell the liquor that was still on his breath.

"Damn it, Mia, shut that baby up!" He yelled.

"I'm trying," I murmured, bouncing her on my knee, wrapping my arm around her to shield her from James. "She's in pain."

"Well unless she wants to know real pain, you better find a way to quiet her! Some of us have to work around here and need sleep!"

The sound of James' raised voice intensified Gracie's cries. He ripped at his hair like a madman and let out a groan. "If you don't find a way to shut her up by the time I get home, I'll shut her up for you."

With a final snarl, he grabbed his jacket and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

I let out a shaky breath and turned toward Ruby, who was glaring at the door.

"If he ever touched a hair on her head..."

"He won't," I interrupted. "We won't let him."

James' threat had been the last straw. I couldn't let him hurt Gracie the way he had hurt me so many times.

"You're right. We need to get out of Grayson," I said, my voice grave.

Ruby furrowed her brows. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, staring down at the little girl in my arms who I would do anything to protect. I had to think about now what was best for her now. I couldn't sit idly by and watch her endure her father's wrath, or forced to undergo her own Awakening Ceremony where she would be left to the whims of some man who would take away her freedom, same as my husband had done to me.

"I know it's dangerous, but if it's the only way to keep her safe, I'm willing to take that chance."

Ruby sensed my trepidations. She smiled and draped her arm over my shoulder in a comforting embrace. "I'll keep you safe. Both of you. I swear it."

I smiled, but my stomach was in knots. I rubbed the tattoo around my ring finger, a constant reminder that even when I'm alone, that even if I managed to flee Grayson, that there would always be a part of James that was still with me. In a way, I would always belong to him, like I was some inanimate object that he could possess.

The idea of fleeing still made me nervous, but we didn't have a choice now. And who knew? Perhaps we would actually make it out of Grayson and could make a warm, safe home where Ruby and I could raise our daughter together. I wanted my little girl to know what it meant to be truly free, even if I had to die to get her there.