Nuworld: Claiming Tara (24 page)

give up. “They follow you blindly.”
Darius turned
from her
and walked
toward
the
groundmobile. He wasn’t going to argue the obvious.
“I’ll issue an order,” he said slowly, mulling over how he
would word it.
Darius decided to worry about that later. His thoughts
shifted to what was more important at the moment. He
scrutinized Tara. She still looked tired, but she was clean
and there was more color in her face. Her eyes glowed, and
she seemed pleased with her victory, but he was looking
deeper. He wanted to see excitement about her becoming a
mama. He knew she loved the life of a warrior. Would she
love being a mama as well? He wanted her to…desperately.
The thought of her raising their child kept him going in this
dreary and tiresome war, a war he wished would end.
“When’s your next doctor’s visit?”
“As soon as I get home.”
“Good. I expect a raving report.” He kissed her, wishing
he had time to do more. “The Sea People are showing signs
of weakening. This war will be over soon.”
Tara was glad he approved her plan. She would have
implemented it even if he had said no; she’d already made
her mind up about that. It wouldn’t have been hard to tell
the people he’d given a command. They wouldn’t have
found out otherwise, not until the deed had been done. But
going behind Darius’ back wasn’t how she wanted to do
things. The two of them needed to be a team, not working
against each other.
Balbo agreed to send his daughter to town; several other
Runners agreed as well. That was the easy part. Back in
town, Tara took Torgo’s suggestions on which houses to
approach.
The
women who
answered
the
doors were
reluctant at first, but when they were told Lord Darius
ordered it, they also agreed. Most of the women looked at
her as if she were crazy. A few questioned if she told them
the truth. It stabbed at her pride when Torgo, a child,
assured them that he’d heard his brother agree to let
teenage girls do the work. That’s when they agreed. The
next morning, the young people would meet downtown and
begin cleaning up Bryton.
Reena was ready for her the moment they returned
home and scooted Torgo out of the house. She wouldn’t
have a man under the roof while examining a woman.
“Now then, I am going to see if your cervix is softening, I
am.” Reena waited as Tara got comfortable on her bed and
Hilda looked on.
The examination was uncomfortable but, regardless of
what any doctor may say, there’s no way to examine female
organs without some discomfort. Tara put all her attention
into keeping her face expressionless. She’d handled laser
wounds, broken bones and other injuries with dignity, but
the unusual pressure she felt as Reena probed with her
fingers made Tara want to yell and slap at her to stop.
Reena poked and prodded and pushed on Tara’s tummy.
She would stand back and look at Tara and then continue
with the prodding.
“That’s interesting,” she said once. “Well, I’ll be,” was
another response.
Tara watched her and strained her neck to see what
Reena was doing, although it was difficult with her big
tummy in the
way.
Finally,
Reena seemed
done
and
washed her hands.
Hilda handed Reena a dry towel and studied her friend’s
face, then turned and patted Tara’s shoulder.
“Do you want anything, Tara-girl?” Reena asked, using
Patha’s term of endearment.
“No.” Tara put her legs together and started trying to sit.
Reena pushed her back until Tara was flat on her back.
“Stay there then. I’ll be right back.”
Hilda followed Reena out of the room. Tara strained to
hear their words as they walked down the hall.
“Why?” Hilda asked.
Tara thought Reena sounded irritated. But then all she
heard were the two women descending the stairs.
She must have drifted to sleep, because Tara awakened
to the sound of voices in her room. But they sounded so far
away…she was content to ignore them. Slowly, she opened
her eyes and was rather surprised to see Dr. Digo standing
there looking at her with Reena and Hilda at his side.
“You needed that sleep.” Reena smiled at her daughter.
“How long was I out?” Tara tried to sit up, but a cramp
slowed her down.
“Not long, dear.” Reena’s hand fluttered toward Tara but
her attention was on Dr Digo. “Just long enough for me to
call in a second opinion about a small matter.”
“I’d hardly say Lord Darius’ heir-” Hilda began.
Reena made a fierce clucking sound. “Enough out of
you, old woman.”
Dr. Digo stepped in front of both women as if they
weren’t there. He pressed his large palm on the middle of
Tara’s belly. Instantly, both women peered around him,
their eyes wide and their mouths pressed in thin lines. If
Tara hadn’t picked up on the tension and wanted to know
what was going on, she would have found the scene
comical.
“Do you cramp often?” he asked.
“I guess so. I don’t give it much thought.”
He lifted a suitcase she hadn’t noticed until then and
opened it to display a portable landlink.
“How can I help?” Reena looked at the foreign
equipment.
“A bowl of very hot water might help. This ointment is
always cold for some reason. It would be better for Tara if
we warmed it up.”
Hilda rushed out of the room before Reena could. It was
obvious she
was bothered
about
something and that
alerted Tara.
“What’s going on, Doc?”
“I’m going to do a sonogram. Ever had one of those?”
Tara allowed Reena to adjust the sheets so just Tara’s
protruding belly showed.
“No, but I’ve heard of them. Can you tell me if my baby
is a boy or a girl?” Tara wasn’t sure why Reena sent for Dr.
Digo, but she looked worried. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m sure everything is fine, but we’ll take a look to make
sure. If you want, while we’re checking, I can tell if you are
going to have a son or daughter.” He smiled at her and
accepted the hot water when Hilda returned, then placed a
tube of ointment in it.
After setting up to the sonogram machine, Dr. Digo
spread the ointment over Tara’s tummy. The women
watched as he turned on the machine and placed a flat
disc on Tara’s stomach.
“That won’t hurt the baby, will it?” Hilda looked more
nervous than a cat.
“Goodness, no, ma’am.” Dr. Digo tried not to smile at the
ignorance of the question. “Look at the monitor, and you’ll
be able to see what’s inside Tara’s uterus.”
“For Gothman’s sake,” Hilda breathed.
Tara couldn’t tell if Hilda’s response was a result of the
extraordinary equipment or at the doctor mentioning a
female reproductive organ so casually.
“I can’t tell what I’m looking at.” Tara watched the
movement of the black and white picture on the screen.
“You were right,” Dr. Digo told Reena.
“I was?” Reena clapped her hands to her mouth. “But
what does it mean?”
“Knew what?” Tara looked at each adult hovering over
her, confusion and fear settling hard in her gut. “What does
what mean? What’s wrong?”
It hadn’t crossed her mind until that moment that
something might go wrong with the pregnancy. She’d seen
her fair share of pregnant women in the clan. Other than
getting bigger, they never acted any different and continued
with their lives just as before.
“I’m not sure anything is wrong,” Dr. Digo said slowly.
“What I can say now is that Reena discovered you are
carrying two babies.”
“Twins?” Tara let her head drop to the pillow in disbelief.
“Are you sure?”
There’s only one heartbeat,” Reena blurted out. “Two
babies and one heart.”
Tara forgot to breathe. She began stroking her belly and
felt the life inside her respond to her touch. “One of them is
dead?” she whispered, choking out the words.
“No. No!” Dr. Digo repeated, pointing a finger at Reena,
then the monitor next to Tara’s bed. “There are two very
active babies inside her.”
Reena and Hilda looked at the monitor. Tara did, too.
After a minute it was easier to pick out arms and legs.
Twins? How would she handle two babies?
“Maybe they have the same heartbeat,” she mused.
“Each baby has their own heart. We should hear two
heartbeats. I’ve heard twins in the womb before,” Reena
said. She crossed her thin arms over her small chest and
shot Dr. Digo a side glance.
He looked at her at the same time. “Each baby has their
own heart.” He nodded and was silent.
“Then I have happy, healthy twins.” Tara was still trying
to get it all to sink in. “You scared me for a minute.”
“And for some reason their hearts are beating as one,”
Dr. Digo said, his voice sounding oddly strained.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Reena murmured.
“Dr. Digo sighed. “Me either.” He patted Tara’s knee.
“You’ve got a unique situation here.”
Tara looked into his clear focused eyes. “What is
different about my babies? Maybe we are hearing two
heartbeats and they are just the same.”
Dr. Digo smiled but looked concerned.
“It’s just mighty strange,” Reena muttered, speaking
before Dr. Digo said anything. “Their heartbeats should be
overlapping each other. Two babies don’t have heartbeats
that beat in unison that strongly together.”
“Apparently mine do.” Tara said defensively, holding her
belly and the very active lives inside her. “And none of you
will speak of my babies as if there is a problem. You just
said they are fine. My babies are happy and healthy and
that is all you will say.”
“Carrying two babies is a lot harder than carrying one.”
Dr. Digo turned his attention to Reena and Hilda. “She is
going to need to keep her activities to a bare minimum from
here on out.”
“Oh no! I can’t do that.” Tara tried to sit up and cursed
when her large belly stopped her, not only with its size, but
with shooting pains that stole her breath momentarily.
Reena noticed the look of defiance she’d grown
accustomed to seeing. “Now we know that your babies are
fine and you’ll not go anywhere until they are born.” Reena
let her daughter see where she got some of that wilfulness.
Tara opened her mouth to rebut.
Reena lifted her hand to make it final. “Her cervix is a lot
thinner than I expected it to be. She shows all signs of a
woman preparing for birth in a cycle. But I’m thinking we
don’t want those babies coming before they are done.”
Reena spoke to the doctor, but caressed her daughter’s
head, letting Tara hear the reality of what could happen if
she disobeyed this order to rest. Reena might be conferring
with the doctor, but she still watched him warily. She
wasn’t comfortable with him being
here.
The
twins’
situation had been unique enough, and Reena cared that
much to have brought him here.
“Well, these babies are not ready to be born yet. We need
to do everything we can to keep them in her for at least
another cycle and a half. The longer, the better. “Dr. Digo
leaned back against the dresser, aware of the fact that he
would not be able to do an internal exam with the two old
ladies present. “Tara, you’re not going to like this, but I
want you to stay in bed as much as you can. If you move
out of that bed, it should be to a chair. Do as little walking
as possible. The more you move, the more those babies will
move around in you, and the thinner that cervix will get.
Now they haven’t turned yet, and that’s a good sign.”
Tara groaned. Her babies were okay, but staying put for
the next cycle and a half? She’d never heard of other
women having to do that. But then apparently her twins
were unique. Already she knew this was knowledge that
would never be public. Darius would agree with her. Her
babies would rule nations and Nuworld would know them
as perfect.
One of her babies was a boy, but Dr. Digo said the other
was being bashful and he couldn’t tell its sex. As Dr. Digo
packed up, the women stood anxiously watching him and
helping to
organize
his things. Tara knew they were
anxious to share the most exciting piece of gossip they’d
come by in quite awhile. She was sure every soul in town
would know Lord Darius’s claim carried twins before the
day was out.
“Not a word to anyone about their heartbeats,” Tara
instructed the three of them. “I mean it. Gossip all you
want about them being twins. But you will say they are
healthy and happy. Am I clear?”
“And can’t wait to greet Nuworld and claim their
birthright, “Hilda added clutching her pudgy hands
together and nodding in agreement.
“There are always private family matters that no
honorable Gothman woman gossips about,” Reena
explained.
“The Lord of Gothman will have twins. One of them is
said to be a boy.” Hilda was inching toward the door.
“And you’ll stay in bed so those babies remain healthy,”
Dr. Digo insisted. “You may move to a chair, but that’s it.”
After assuring all three parties she would stay put and
call if she needed anything, Tara found herself alone. She
slowly got up and moved over to her desk and her landlink.
The homing device was surprisingly still on the back of
Darius’ neck, and she was able to locate him without
difficulty. He was at Patha’s trailer. She reached for her
comm to see if he’d respond.
“Darius?”
No answer.
She resorted to the landlink and sent him a message to
see if he was on one of the transmissions.
Patha answered the message and told her Darius was in
the shower.
She told her papa to send him at once indicating it was
very important. Patha said he would send him.
Tara logged off. She stared out the window, not seeing
the beautiful view. She’d grown accustomed to the thought
of having a baby by the new winter, which was still two
cycles away. She was familiar with the amount of work
involved. She’d helped with the younger children in her
clan. But two babies…double the work…she’d not once
entertained that thought. It was so overwhelming. The
cruel bite of fear started the contractions all over again.
She needed to hear Darius tell her he’d help her with the