Nuworld: Claiming Tara

by Fitzgerald, Laurie

  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

  babies. She’d known in her mind all along that when the

  baby came she’d do most of the raising. The thought hadn’t

  bothered her too much. He would rule the nation with her

  guidance, and she would raise the child with his guidance.

  By the time she became ruler of the Runner clans, this

  child—her children—would be much older.

  Darius would help feed them, change them, and get up

  when they cried at night. But she didn’t want anyone else

  to assume responsibility of her armies. Tara had worked

  hard to gain Patha’s respect—herpapa’s respect—so that

  he would give her all the responsibility she now had. Her

  days already were full with overseeing all the commanders,

  not to mention the tasks that she would need to undertake

  once this war ended. How could she possibly handle

  working all day with her clan and being the mama to two

  babies? Tara let her thoughts absorb her and after a bit

  laid her head down on the desk and started to cry. “Tara?”

  Tara lifted her head at the sound of his voice and smiled

  at Darius, then wiped her eyes to clear her blurred vision. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered and pushed

  herself to her feet before falling into his arms when he

  moved across the room. “I’ve just found out that we’re

  going to have twins, Darius. How are we going to handle

  two babies?”

  “We’re going to have twins?” Darius’ dace instantly lit

  with pleasure.

  Tara looked up at him and frowned. “That isn’t good

  news,” Tara said and pushed away. “That means twice as

  much work. I’ve got responsibilities, and so do you. How

  will we handle twins?”

  “Together, my lady.” Darius pulled her to him again. “We

  will handle them together. I’m not that ignorant to the

  raising of a child. You forget that Torgo came along when I

  was old enough to help. Papa didn’t have much of a hand

  in raising him, but I did.”

  “You helped with Torgo when he was a baby?” Tara’s

  voice cracked through her tears, and she walked over to

  her dresser and pulled out one of her handkerchiefs, then

  blew her nose.

  “Yes, my lady. My papa wasn’t around too much, and

  the lad often put my mama at her wit’s end.” Darius sat on her bed, and patted the spot next to him. “I know my share about changing diapers and feeding time. You and I will do

  just fine.”

  Tara smiled and hugged him. The man said exactly what

  she needed to hear, and now she felt like crying again,

  because she was so lucky to have him.

  “It doesn’t seem right that it takes two people to make

  the baby,” he stroked her blotchy cheeks, smiling gently,

  “but just one is expected to raise the baby.”

  “I can’t believe you just said that,” she whispered as he

  pulled her close. “Do you really mean it?”

  “Having you in my life has brought out what I already

  knew was in my soul.” He pulled away far enough to look

  at her with penetrating gray eyes of his. “We can’t have you

  all upset like this, now can we? You’ll rest now. That’s an

  order, my beautiful warrior.”

  Had he truly meant all those things he’d just said? She

  knew only time would tell—and she hated that she would

  have to wait and see Darius in action to find out if he spoke

  the truth.

  “There’s more,” Tara began.

  “More?” He raised an eyebrow. “I doubt you can make

  me happier than I already am.”

  Tara told him about the heartbeat, and how the twins’

  hearts seemed to beat as one. “It’s as if their hearts are in

  perfect unison with each other.”

  Darius stared at h
er large belly. “And this is odd?” “Apparently not for out babies.” She held his gaze when

  he gave her a quick look. “Our babies will rule nations, my

  lord,” she whispered. “All of Nuworld must know that these

  twins are perfect.”

  His gray eyes sharpened and narrowed. “Who knows of

  this identical heartbeat?”

  Tara told him.

  “None of them will say a word,” he said with a fierce

  finality.

  Darius closed her bedroom door after Tara fell asleep. It

  was time to hire servants. He thought about what Tara had

  just told him. Pulling out his comm he fixed it around his

  ear and tapped the bottom to turn it on.

  “Dr. Digo,” he said. If his children were unique, he’d

  know everything about them before they were born. The next cycle moved along uneventfully. Tara moved

  from room to room, changing her environment, so she

  wouldn’t go stir crazy. She went outside a few times—

  although the oncoming winter made it easier to stay inside.

  She wasn’t exactly bored. There was plenty to think about.

  Especially since Reena had returned from town a few days

  before with news. Rumors in town claimed the war was all

  but over.

  “We finished clearing the last of the rubble today.” Torgo

  joined Tara at the table, carrying a hot bowl of soup he’d

  brought from the kitchen. “The women are going to have a

  gathering for everyone who helped.”

  “That sounds great.” Tara sipped at her own soup and

  smiled when Torgo offered her a slice of bread from the

  platter in the center of the table. He’d smeared butter on it,

  and she took a bite.

  “I think some of the Runner kids are going to be there.”

  He wasn’t sure why, but he decided not to mention his

  friendship with Syra. He’d never hung out with a girl

  before, but she was cool.

  “You’re experiencing history in the making.” Tara smiled

  in between bites. “Already our cultures are accepting each

  other.”

  Torgo slurped his soup just as Hilda entered the room. She slapped the back of his head. “Reena should be here

  soon.” Hilda sat at the opposite end of the table from Tara

  and placed a large cloth bag in front of her so Tara couldn’t

  see her face. “I wanted to show you some of the material we

  will use on the baby quilts.”

  Tara had seen so many different materials for the quilts;