Kal, Male, 37

	- Narrator, disaster survivor and castaway

	- 6'1, 190lbs, straight, shoulder-length dark-brown hair

Kate, Female, 36

	- Pre-disaster wife of Kal

	- 5'8, 150lbs, pale skin, shoulder-length curly red hair

Nina, Female, 26

	- Pre-disaster triad with Kate and Kal

	- 5'4, 115lbs, light-brown tanned skin, straight shoulder-length brown hair

Bailey, Female, 14

	- Disaster survivor and castaway

	- 5'4, 125lbs, golden-brown tanned skin, shoulder-length light yellow-brown sun-streaked hair

Keekah, Female, 15

	- daughter of Manu, sister of Hakee and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'5, 135lbs, mocha-brown skin, waist-length mostly-straight black hair

Gale, Female, 43

	- Survivor on Isla Gale

	- 5'5, 130lbs, dark tanned skin, waist-length dark reddish-brown hair

Manu, Female, 32

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, mother of Keekah, Hakee, and Mie, aunt of Poln

	- 5'5, 150lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Hakee, Female, 18
 
	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'9, 150lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Mie, Female, 12

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Hakee, cousin of Poln

	- 4'8, 90lbs, mocha-brown skin, shoulder-length wavy black hair

Poln, Male, 10

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, nephew of Manu, cousin of Keekah, Hakee, and Mie

	- 4'8, 105lbs, mocha-brown skin, short, wavy dark-brown hair

Hona, Female, 29

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, friend of Manu

	- 5'2, 155lbs, dark-brown skin, shoulder-length wavy dark-brown hair

Tok, Male, 35

	- Survivor from Hahonoko, friend of Manu

	- 6'3, 205lbs, brown skin, shoulder-length wavy dark-brown hair

Amy, Female, 16

	- Stowaway from California

	- 5'6, 120lbs, pale skin, shoulder-length straight black hair

It took me only a couple of hours to really feel at home again that morning. The busy work which kept us alive involved all the typical activities: cutting and carrying firewood to the seasoning pile, bringing dried wood back to the pile closer to the pit, gathering berries and mushrooms, tending to the snails, fixing leaks in the water pump, shoring up the diverted stream's shallow banks, and naturally, fishing, crabbing, and clamming.

Hakee had the drying racks covered with fish before noon as Gale gave Kate and Nina a tour of our home turf, taking them off to see the tree garden (the first trees should be delivering a small orange-like fruit in the next month or so), as well as showing them the leaves they needed to chew to take a trek into the interior.

Poln and I joined Tok and Amy at the water to fish and crab and chat. Bailey joined us a few times. I couldn't stop smiling every time she walked up, usually with Katie in the sling over her shoulder, often feeding our daughter from her tit. Despite needing to care for the child, Bailey stayed rather busy, as well, tending the fire when Katie was down for a nap, helping Hakee pull dried fish from the racks and store them, and assisting Manu as she took inventory of the supplies that had been brought from Papeete.

While Tok showed Poln a way to tie two hooks onto the same fishing line, Amy and I slid out to the East with a bucket and worked our hands and feet around under the water, looking for shellfish. She watched me watching Bailey near the storage container, a smile that wouldn't go away stuck on my face.

Amy said warmly, “so happy you're back, Kal. I missed you so much. Bailey was worse, though. Seeing her today... she's a different person with you around again. I wondered if she could ever smile after we lost you. She wanted so badly for you to meet Katie... I think it crushed her to know you never would.”

I gazed at Bailey, saw her eyes light up when she noticed me smiling at her. She smiled and waved before jotting down something in the notebook Gale, and now Manu, used for tracking our supplies. “I can't believe I'm back, Amy. I can't believe I'm here. And Katie... I don't know how to describe seeing Katie. She's wonderful.”

Amy smiled, “looks like you a bit. More like Bailey, I think.”

I turned back to the task at hand, ask, “how was it, Amy? The childbirth...”

“Painful. Once her labor started, it took about six hours before Katie was born. She... she cried out for you several times. It broke my heart... but there wasn't anything we could do. Manu knew what she was doing, Hakee assisted her. Katie came out crying and latched on to Bailey's breast soon after she was cleaned up and the cord was tied off. Bailey looked happy for a while, but I knew she was also very sad that you were gone.”

I felt sorrow for being absent during that difficult time. I knew I'd do everything I could to make it up to her. “I'd have given anything to be here for her... anything... I tried for weeks to get back. I stole a boat at one point... tried to paddle my way to the island...”

“A paddle, Kal?” Amy snorted. “Well, I can't say I don't appreciate that... Was it... hard, being away? Was it hard... being out there?”

“Yes. My family was here, excluding Kate and Nina... The only thing which mattered to me was on this island. I was miserable, not myself, scared for Bailey, for everyone...”

Amy looked thoughtful as she dumped two clams into the bucket. “What's going on out there, Kal? What's the rest of the world like? Was there... any news of my parents?”

I shook my head. “I told Kate about your mom and dad... There are a lot of people on that island, Amy, lots more scattered around, a bigger population in New Zealand, Australia... Sorry... I don't know what happened to them.”

She looked a bit sad but tried to smile. “Had to ask...”

“The world is... crazy out there... I don't really know much. Maybe over dinner, Kate and Nina can help me fill in everyone, I suspect that's something they would all want to hear about, as well.” I kissed Amy, brought a warmer smile back to her face. I changed the subject, though not a pleasant one “have the bugs come back since I left?”

Amy said, “no, thankfully. But we're prepared for them if they do. All the huts have stores of water and food and acorns... no one wants to have to go back to that awful cave...”

“It saved our lives... but, yeah... Good.”

“We reinforced the doors and screens, anywhere they might get in. Tok wants to fully connect everything together, like a couple of the buildings have now. Better to move around in case we have to lock ourselves in. We ran water into all of them... and the stream feeds the underground storage tank better than it ever did before. We don't have to fill it by hand these days. Still get some dirt and such in there, Tok and Manu are devising a way to improve the filtering so that it doesn't get stopped up.”

“How is the garden up North?”

“Thriving. I was just up there a week ago. Lots of rain while you were gone. Gale has said several times that this summer has been the mildest and wettest since she's been here. The crops are loving it.”

“Good...” I watched Bailey from afar, Katie no longer hung against her chest. “Other than... missing me... has Bailey been... okay?”

Amy gave a somewhat positive shrug. “Yeah... the birthing was kinda difficult on her, but yeah. She's kept going. Katie was everything to her. Even when Bailey was at her lowest, she always made sure Katie got all her attention. Just been the last week or so that she's been able to start helping more around camp.” Amy dumped another clam into the bucket. “Never really thought about what having a baby would do to you until all this.”

“What do you mean?”

Amy shrugged again, “I dunno. I mean... look at her boobs.” I did just that, noted how they were still somewhat small but clearly larger than before I left, heavier, more full. “And... you know... down there... it was hard to watch... I'd licked Bailey's pussy so many times, was hard to watch what happened when she gave birth...” She shivered, smiled.

“She ok... uh... down there? Any problems?”

“No... no... just what you'd expect I guess. I mean... she passed something bigger than even Tok's cock through there... not quite the same after, you know... swollen kinda... Not that she's been able to do anything, even if she had felt like it... Only been a few short weeks... Thinking about it, aren't you, Kal?”

“I can't help but think about it.”

“Wishing you could fuck her like you did me and Keekah?”

“Absolutely. 'Make love' to her was more what I was thinking... but yeah. I want that desperately. She and I were lovers for so long... I want her to feel that love again.”

Amy giggled, “give her time, Kal... Manu said it can take six weeks or so before it is safe to try again... she still needs to recover. Katie was small, said Manu, but still bigger than anything Bailey's body was ready for, she's was so small down there...”

“Yeah, I know... Just... can't help thinking about her...”

Amy kissed me as our bucket was finally full. “In due time, sweet Kal...” She looked into my eyes, bright eagerness within, “in due time... Hope you'll have more time for me soon, too... I'm so glad you returned... I knew I loved you... but you being away... I just love you so much, Kal.”

She wrapped her arms around me and I kissed her cheek. I noticed how much Amy's skin had bronzed. She still wasn't as dark as Bailey, being much more pale to begin with, but the half-Asian teen's flesh took on an almond tone which was so beautiful, so warm. I realized something.

“I missed your birthday... so sorry, Love...”

She smiled, said, “it's ok... Tok... gave me a special treat that night...”

I grinned, “oh, I bet he did... so, you and Tok...”

“Just for pleasure, not like what we have. Oh, I suppose I love him in the same way I love Manu and the little ones, but he's been a rock for us, Kal. A rock. And I don't just mean that long cock that always seems to hit the right spots...” Amy purred, shivered. “You ok with that?”

I kissed her. “Absolutely. I wouldn't want it any other way. Everyone needs to be loved, in more than just the platonic sense. I'm sure Tok was more than happy to share that pleasure with you.”

“He's a good man, Kal... We're really lucky he's here.”

- - -

Gale came back from giving Nina and Kate a tour of the lower island after noon. Cloud cover had come in thick and heavy. I could smell rain on the way. Manu was cooking up an early supper in the likely event that we were going to get a downpour.

Nina sat next to me, Kate in the hut with Bailey and Katie. She smiled, “this place is amazing, Kal. The people, too... I can see why you wanted to come back. It's paradise...”

I kissed her deeply, sincere joy on my face. “I can't believe I can share this with you. I missed you and Kate so much... Having you here... I don't think I could ask for more...”

Keekah was dishing out broiled filets of fish while Hakee steamed shellfish nearby.

Nina asked, “so, they're sisters?”

“Yeah. Hakee's eighteen, Keekah's fifteen. Mie is their youngest sister, she's twelve now. “

Nina stared at where the twelve-year old sat naked, kicking her legs, laughing as Karana wiggled on her back in the sand, tongue hanging out of her mouth. The girl scratched the dog's belly and threw a stick, the canine letting out a yelp as she flipped onto her feet and raced off to retrieve it.

Nina shook her head. “What you told me about Mie... I don't know what to say about that, Kal... she's so young...”

“I know... I'm still conflicted... but... Look at us here, Nina. We're all alone here, and the culture, the traditions the Hahonokoans brought with them are very different. There's no shame in being sexual, even around children. They don't teach their kids to hide their interests, their curiosities... and when they are old enough to ask, to want to experiment, they believe it is better for it to start in a safe, loving environment than with a stranger or someone who cares less about their lives.”

“Incest...”

“Yes, often...”

“Wow...”

“I know... I know... but it's so normal to them... When I first watched Keekah and Hakee, or Manu and her daughters... I could see the love... see how much they cared about each other... I told you about the stone phallus tradition. Think about that... what if your parents had seen that you got a gift like that.”

Nina shuddered, made a silly, disgusted face. “No... Not my parents. I don't even want to think about that.”

“Exactly. You and I were raised to think of something like that as gross. Harmful. A violation of privacy, encouraging a teenager to masturbate was not 'normal' to us. But the Hahonokoans... Just look at the way they are so comfortable around each other. They hide very little from each other. If it's abusive... I don't see it. Mie's a happy preteen who has experienced love, and pleasure, and... I've been lucky to see her with her mom and sisters... had the privilege of helping give her pleasure and making her feel special. I don't regret it at all, though I understand how uncomfortable that must be to you.”

Nina nodded. “Gonna take a lot of getting used to, I guess.” She pecked my cheek. “I love you, Kal. I don't say it enough, but I'm thrilled to be here with you and your family.”

“Our family.”

She smiled took the steaming plate of food from Keekah as she passed by. “Our family.”

- - -

Gale gave us an update on the tree garden, said the fruits on two of the citrus trees were growing. Some of the others were starting to thrive, though it would be months or years before most of them bore fruit.

Everyone but Bailey and Katie had joined us. They napped in our hut.

Manu gave a rundown of all the supplies. It was an impressive list. Freya and Kelv had left us with weeks worth of food. There were cooking supplies, including several new pots as well as storage containers that Hakee said would be perfect for storing some of our dried and smoked meats. There were several cases of medical supplies which Manu had been thrilled to find.

There was clothing, items we rarely wore on the island. Mostly, we covered only to avoid sunburn in the middle of a bright day or to avoid scratches and stray bites when venturing into the interior of the island. They would be useful in those instances and to serve as material for patching blankets and other fabrics.

The guns sat in a crate by themselves. Manu had done nothing more than note them in the list. There was a whole separate crate containing boxes of ammunition and extra magazines. I explained why they'd brought them. “Last time someone showed up here... I ended up half-dead and lost from you for weeks. I hope we never have to use them. Never. But... like Tok that night, we shouldn't hesitate to protect ourselves if we have to. This is our home. This is our family. I want all of us to learn how to use both the rifles and the pistols as soon as possible. We'll keep them in the huts, spread out so they can be used.”

“What about the children?” Gale asked.

“They need to learn, too. For their own safety, they need to understand how dangerous guns can be, that they aren't toys. They'll learn to shoot, too. All of us will. Nina has some experience on both weapons, I understand.” She nodded. “Perhaps she'll give us some lessons. There's ample ammo for practice, so long as we save a few magazines worth for each weapon.”

Everyone seemed to accept that, and Manu continued with her inventory notes.

Lots of items for Katie were included: clothing, lotions, wipes, cloth diapers, medicines, including a round of immunization shots which had been packed in ice and needed to be used soon.

There were also toys, a few board games which I knew Mie and Poln might enjoy, a great assortment of books for both adults and children. Supplies for everyday use, such as work gloves, toothbrushes, and combs were left with us, many more were read from Manu's list.

I was missing Bailey, wished she was with us. I was about to go join her in the hut, see if she wanted some food, when Amy asked me about the rest of the world.

I paused a moment, recognized that I had less of a grasp on the details than I should have. Kate and Nina saved me, going over what they knew about what was going on. They described the initial attacks, including the one on the cruise ship that the two of them, Bailey, and I were on. The followup attacks, military-style assaults, the crashing of larger and larger armies and navies. It was assumed that most of the world's population was dead, and outside of a few exceptions, most of the governments of the world were destroyed as the bugs had spread around the globe.

They described Papeete and Tahiti, how life there was often dull but comfortable. “It's...” Kate's voice broke a moment. “It's going to take some getting used to, here. I keep wishing for a cup of ice.”

I laughed, said, “Outside of you and Nina, the only thing I missed desperately living here was ice. Don't think we've solved that one yet. But I'm sure Manu and Tok and Hakee are working on it. Those three are sharp. Hona and Gale and everyone else, too. I can't believe the progress here since I was taken. I'm so proud of you all.”

Lots of smiles spread quickly, and Nina picked up from where Kate left off. She described the growth of settlements in Australia and New Zealand. The bugs had been there, too, but the swarms were less dense and the birds which ate them often drove them off very quickly. As a result, covered settlements like Papeete had sprung up along the northern coast of Australia, many more on the North Island of New Zealand.

Nina went on to describe the fight between Great Society and Progress United, the two major military powers in the Pacific Theater, the latter being the largest remnant of what used to be the United States and the UK, as well as many former allies.

It was a lot to take in, even for me. I knew all those details, but hearing it again was troubling. I'd only been back on the island a very short time, but it had already made me feel insulated against that sort of reality. I swallowed hard, excused myself, and made my way to the hut.

Bailey was snoring quietly on the bed, covered by a thin blanket. Katie slept in the crib next to her. I slid in behind the fourteen-year old, wrapped my arm over her, kissed her shoulder. The girl stirred, turned her head back towards me, smiled sleepily. “Hey... Kal... mmm... I thought you were just a dream...”

“If I am, I never want you to wake up from it.”

“Mmm... hold me...”

I tightened myself around her, tucked an arm under her head, cradled her body against mine. One hand drifted lazily over her swollen breasts. Her nipples hardened at the touch. “Mmm... I've missed this so much, Kal...”

“Me too, Kitten. Thinking about you kept me sane all those weeks. I don't know what I'd have done without that. I'd have done anything to get back to you.”

Bailey moved her hips gently against my groin, softly laughed, said, “and I've missed that, too...” My penis was rising on its own, pressing against Bailey's soft ass.

“I wish we could make love, Bailey. I can't wait for that.”

She turned her head again, love clear in her sleepy face. “Manu checked me out earlier. She thinks that if we go easy, we could try.”

I shivered as her warm body melted into mine. “I'll be very gentle. Oh, Bailey... I've needed you so badly...”

I let my cock slide slowly through her ass crack, softly rubbing it along the cleft, my body tingling in anticipation. Bailey reached between us and wrapped her fingers around my cock. I heard her moan as she positioned it against her labia. “Oh, Kal...”

Bailey held me there a moment. I let her do all the work, afraid I might thrust too hard or too deeply. I'd wanted to make love to Bailey for so long, been so far from ever doing so again, that I felt like a nervous teenager. It was like a second first time.

Her body moved, and I felt my dick wrapped in heat and wetness. Bailey moaned and I did as well. My penis swelled at the contact, finally back where it always wanted to be. She held still a moment, didn't move as we panted softly together.

“I love you, Bailey.”

“I love you, Kal... ooohh...”

She moved back again, took me deeper inside her swollen pussy, held again. I kissed her neck and shoulders, fondled her heavy, small breasts, nipples tight, fluid leaking from them to coat my fingers.

Bailey shifted, moved her hips away and back against me. I groaned. She moved again, very slowly, just a couple of inches carefully ridden. I knew I wouldn't last long. Slowly, slowly she rode my on her side, soft, sweet moans from her lips, her pussy a hot sheath around my penis.

It was instinct which drew my hand back to my lips. I tasted Bailey's milk. As the warm fluid slid onto my tongue, I shivered, the flavor sweet and very creamy. It was almost like drinking diluted condensed milk, perhaps a bit more rich. I cleaned my fingers and returned them to Bailey's tits.

Bailey panted, said softly, “would you like to suck my breasts, Kal?”

“Yesss...” I purred.

She moved against me a few more short, slow strokes, then pulled off and turned onto her back. I saw the golden smile on her face as she slid her hands under her boobs and offered her leaking nipples to me.

I sucked on her breast carefully as she watched with her eyes half-open, her mouth in a small oval. Warm milk began to run into my mouth as I ran my tongue around her teat, the sweet, buttery flavor was heavenly. I caressed one tit while I sucked the other, moaning against Bailey's chest. My cock throbbed against her leg.

It was a wonderful moment. Bailey's muscles were relaxed, her arm cradling my head. She was giving me nourishment from her body, and I thought I saw a very motherly-love in her eyes. I sucked gently, so in love with the fourteen-year old, loved that she loved me, that she would share her milk with me.

Her nipples were tender, and not just against my tongue. She was sensitive after a few moments. I could see in her face that she must be sore, Katie feeding regularly and having less concern for her mother's raw nipples.

I pulled off, looked at Bailey with love, and kissed her, my mouth full of her breast milk. She moaned as she tasted herself, our tongues spreading the creamy liquid sloppily, the milk dripping out of our mouths and over Bailey's neck and chest.

She turned back onto her side, and in seconds took me inside her pussy once more. She returned to her slow, careful shallow strokes. I groaned into her ear, said, “I'm cumming, Bailey... I'm cumming inside you.”

She moaned, pressed back fully against my groin, my cock fully embedded in her vagina. Bailey slid forward, then back, still careful strokes, but deeper. Three more out and in movements had me pulsing. I held Bailey's leaking breasts, pressed my lips to her neck, and ejaculated in a long, rushing flow, like I was pissing cum into the fourteen-year old's recently pregnant pussy.

“Ooohh... Bailey... Bailey... Bai-Leeeey... oooohhh...”

I emptied myself over several seconds, the last of my semen rushing out with intense swelling of my penis. I wished I had a gallon of cum to unload inside the teen's cunt, it felt so fucking good. I pulsed with pleasure, my body tight against Bailey's, my penis throbbing and leaking sperm into the girl's wonderful vagina.

I rested against her, neither of us willing to unlock our bodies. Despite my powerful orgasm, my cock stayed hard inside her body as if it, too, wanted to stay connected forever.

Katie began to cry in the crib. Bailey hesitate only a second, slowly slid herself off my cock, turned to me and kissed my lips. “I love you, Kal... I needed that so much.” Katie cried again.

“Can I give you an orgasm after you care for Katie?”

Bailey stood on shaky legs, semen running down her thigh, her swollen labia leaking my cum freely. She shook her head, “don't think I can cum yet. When I can, believe me, you'll be the first to know.”

I laid back and let my body relax, sweaty and warm on the bed. Katie was latched onto Bailey's tit where only moments before I'd been the one suckling from my young wife. Katie smiled as she sucked, the shocks of red hair so beautiful, so much like the woman who had inspired her name.

Bailey sat and I leaned up, held her to me as our child drank from her breast.

It was only then that I thought about how fucking Bailey had changed. At the time, I thought nothing about the comparisons. I was so thrilled to be inside her body, so excited to share myself with her that way again, I didn't consciously think about it.

She'd been looser, to be sure, no longer the tight young teen she was before. I found I loved the change, to be honest. Before, even when Bailey started puberty and her genitals started to look more mature, she'd always been very small, tight. Her labia were thin, her pussy looked like a younger girl's, even after dark hairs had grown in to cover her there.

I had yet to look closely at them, but the way Bailey's pussy felt on my cock was more 'mature.' Something about the way childbirth had changed her down there made her genitals feel comfortable, welcoming. Not that she hadn't been either of those things before, but now she was experienced. A woman, no longer a young girl. I chuckled to myself.

Bailey turned back to me, smiling, “what's so funny.”

“I just realized I'm sleeping with a MILF.”

“A what?”

“MILF. Means 'Mother I'd Like to Fuck.'”

She laughed, “oh, right.”

I couldn't help telling her how I felt. “I love you, Bailey. Thank you for being you, for having our baby. I want to help however I can. I guess I can't breastfeed her, but I'm sure I can handle other things. Show me what to do, ok?”

“I will. I'm ok for now. But I'll show you. Glad you want to be a part of it, Kal. I wasn't sure... Last night... I wasn't sure how you felt about this, really. I mean... I know you love me, love Katie, but... I dunno... you were gone so long, so much has changed, I just...” She trailed off.

“Afraid I'd changed how I felt about you?”

“Maybe...”

“I have, but not in the way you feared. Bailey, I admit... for a lot of our relationship, it could be hard not to think about your age, you know? Even when we'd been here a year together, it was always there. Part of it... was that your body was so... I dunno... like a girl's. Don't get me wrong, I love your body, however it is, and I was always turned on by you. But in the back of my mind, your young body just reinforced your age, and... I guess there were times I struggled with that a bit.

“Now... you've had our child. Your breasts have swelled... You feel like a woman in my arms... and I love that feeling. I wish I could just hold you forever.”

Bailey had her head against my chest as Katie started to fidget. She said, “I know... and I... I had some struggles, too... Everything I knew about what we were doing said it was wrong, that you were taking advantage of me. But... the longer we were together, the less I felt that way. I just kinda started to accept it, right? I knew you loved me, so how could what we were doing be wrong? I love loving you, Kal. I'll never regret any of it.”

I kissed her head, swept the bangs out of her face, found a fiber braid nearby and pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. Katie fidgeted again, and Bailey had to stand, putting the infant over her shoulder, singing to her softly as she gently slapped the girl's back.

I could only lay there, marveling at the beautiful young woman, enchanted by our child. I knew then that I had to find a way to let Kate see this. Perhaps she was already ahead of me. She had spent a lot of time with Bailey that day, and some moments the day before, had even let Katie suckle on her full but milk-empty breasts. Perhaps Kate was already going in the right direction.

I hoped so, I knew that although she'd agreed to stay and seemed to be taking it quite well so far, the reality was still new and surely hadn't sunken in yet. I knew it hadn't for me, and I wasn't a stranger here. We'd see over the coming days and weeks how well Kate could adjust, what she'd accept. She was a strong, smart woman, and I know she cared deeply for me.

I never much worried about Nina once she got over the initial rejection of my relationship with Bailey and the other young women on the island. She'd always been pretty easy to get along with, very open to new things. Hell, she'd come into a relationship where Kate and I already had a bond between us. She knew that, in some senses, she was second. Not inferior, nor anything but amazing, but part of my relationship with Kate and a key piece of our agreement to have an open marriage was that the two of us were always the priority.

I can't say it was easy, but once we found Nina, it all clicked. Kate loved her as much as I did, and Nina returned those affections. She was still young, certainly younger than us, and I knew it was possible, perhaps likely, that Nina would feel a pull to see what else was out there, perhaps be a primary in her own relationship. We talked about that, but during our time together, she always said she loved us and was happy, and our time with her had never given us reason to doubt.

Nina seemed to be adapting quickly, already forming bonds with the girls, and I'd seen her talking to almost everyone else at some point that day. While Kate stuck close to Bailey and only tended to engage with someone if they spoke first, Nina was comfortably getting to know the islanders.

I wanted to talk with Kate, see how her first full day on the island was going. I rose, asked Bailey, “hungry?”

“Starving.” Katie burped over Bailey's shoulder.

“Coming out or should I bring you a plate?”

“I come out. Hey, can you hand me that sling?”

I passed it to her and watched her slip Katie inside, securing the infant carefully against her chest. I took her hand and walked out to join the others around the fire.