Quills: the Rise of the Northern Matriarch-Chapter 98: When it Rains

"Mmm, it is coming down." Nora said. She had been napping on and off all morning. The hard pattering on the window awoke her. She looked out the window at the rain cascading down the windows. The rainy season had just begun. She watched the leaves sway. A typhoon was approaching the shores of the city. Out in the distance she could see the trees bending. She was fascinated, as the buildings could be sealed as watertight and withstand strong storms. She has not done much these days other than finishing courses in educational programs and writing code. Talan had been working with her on teaching her advanced operating system coding and kept her company most days. She could see some guilt in his actions. She did not know why he felt this way.

"You are awake. Are you hungry?" Talan asked.

"No I am alright." Nora said. Other than being constantly tired and sluggish. She was fine. He had been on edge recently as she was put on bed rest by Janel. They thought she was suffering, but she could not have been happier. She wanted to have a lot of children anyway. Now that Monil had proven himself more effective than Nora, she decided to promote him into her own position. It turned out Nora wanted to take on more of a creative role and Monil wanted to manage and bring their joined visions to life. She was much happier with her schedule. She was done with her work hours ago. Her interface hung over her wrist in non-invasive mode, she must have fallen asleep with it open. Nora closed it.

"Can you help me get up?" Nora asked. She wanted to see the children. It had been two hours since she saw them. She also wanted to go to the bathroom. Talan closed his interface, stretched and yawned before he got up. He helped her up carefully, mindful of Janel's instructions. She was not as tired last time. He was worried. He heard that Fiona and Ivy had to be removed surgically. He treated her with caution. She started to waddle towards the bathroom and disappeared inside. After coming out, Talan was waiting for her at the door.

"You do not have to wait for me dear. I know you are busy." Nora said, slightly annoyed.

"No. It is not that, it's almost time for your appointment with Janel. You have a scan today?" Talan looked at her bemused. She was having memory problems like she did in her last month with Kelly.

"Oh. I am sorry. Alright, let's go." Nora said and laughed the awkwardness away. She did not know what was up with her mood and mind these days.

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on freёwebnoѵel.com.

"Do you want to put on a dress instead of your sleepwear?" Talan said, looking at Nora. Nora's cheeks flushed, she looked down. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and flopped around.

"Back into the bathroom." Talan pointed. Nora stripped off her sleep wear as Talan started up the spigot. He went to the tub area and grabbed the stool and her soap. He sat them down. "Here, sweetie." Talan said, as he got everything ready for her quickly. She looked really exhausted, tired and pale. When he heard the spigot turn off, he brought in a towel and began to wipe her down quickly and then helped her to her feet. Nora waddled with him to the bedroom as he helped her slip into a simple tie-up dress, he fastened her hair into a bun on top of her hair and put on a braided, wood-beaded necklace that Janel had made for her. Nora felt exhausted and terribly anxious. She looked into the mirror in the room. He did a nice job, she just felt really upset for no reason. Talan hugged her.

"What is going on?" Nora said in a daze.

"You look like you need this. Are you feeling alright?" Talan said and gave her a nervous smile. Nora did not know what was wrong with her. She straightened herself out as he hugged her and took a deep calming breath. She still felt anxious, she could feel her heartbeat in her eyes and was starting to get a terrible headache.

"Yeah, I. I guess I am just tired." Nora admitted. She was starting to get flustered with herself.

"Are you ready to see if they are growing big and strong?" Talan said as he gave her his hand to pull up. "Slowly. Alright." Talan said. She waddled uncomfortably to the door of their room. Janel was waiting for them outside in the hallway with a wheelchair. Talan was caught off guard and his spine straightened.

"Jesus, you surprised me." Nora said, looking even more confused.

"Nora, your vitals and your vitals are looking troublesome. Sit down, before you fall down. I need to get you in a scanner immediately." Janel said with a worried look on his face, trying to keep his tone calm. Nora sat down in the chair as she felt her legs starting to give out.

"I am so glad you have been watching so closely," Nora said weakly. She started crying for no reason. Nora's eyes widened in fear as an alert tone started to chime in her ear. Talan felt anxiety start to surface as the alert went off in his own ear. He grabbed the handles of the chair and raced out through their home and out the door to the rest of the facility.

"Have you notified the others?" Talan asked Janel. Janel gave a nod as the young man stepped up his pace. Nora's vision was blurring as they rolled down the hall. Janel heard another warning chime go off.

"Faster. Talan. It is getting worse." Janel said as he started to run while he opened his Interface. Talan started to run behind Janel. Janel opened up his interface as he ran to call their staff to their clinic for the emergency.

Over the speakers in the facility, a double long beep was heard, and an automated voice spoke over the speaker. "All medical staff to Quill Clinic, Code White, Repeat all medical staff please report to Quill Clinic, Code White."

"Janel." Talan asked breathlessly. "Hurry," Janel said, picking up his pace, his face contorting briefly looking at the statistics on the screen hovering in his lower field of vision. Talan picked up his pace, matching Janel's pace. He felt like his heart was in his throat as he panicked. His recent nightmares were coming true. He was frightened to lose all of them in one foul swoop. He tried to calm himself. He saw Kadir and Kai at the front door of the clinic when they finally reached their destination. Medical staff filed into the unit as they caught their breaths at the door.

"What is wrong with her?" Kai asked in a pleading tone, wrought with worry.

"I have no time to explain what is going on. I need you to wait here. Back off! Get me a bed. Now!" Janel yelled as they approached the clinic. Kai and Kadir were already at the door. Four doctors came out with a bed to transfer her into. They easily picked up the sweaty, flushed Nora out of the chair and laid her on the bed. "Prepare a tray with everything for the surgery. Jarrad, you will assist." Janel barked out orders. He tied his hair back and followed his staff into the unit. The three of them looked on in shock as Liem and Cerez sped down the hall. Kadir embraced Talan in a big hug. Talan shook.

"She just seemed tired, and then she just seemed to seem dazed," Talan said. He shook again.

'I should have been watching, she is wearing the film.' Talan thought, full of guilt. He was so close to finishing his work and he got much too focused on it.

"You have to be strong for her and them, Talan. You can do this." Kadir said and pat his back reassuringly.

"Who is watching the children?" Liem inquired.

"My family was visiting today. They are with the Halid." Cerez said, full of anxiety. Tears ran down Kai's face. They filed inside the reception area. After a few minutes, Janel came out.

"Talan, you can come in, you'll need to pass through the decontaminator to go through to the operating room. We need to perform surgery immediately," Janel said.

"Nora has gestational hypertension and the placenta is detaching according to the scan we just completed. We have already sedated her. I do not have time to address your questions. I have to go now." Janel said, turning around, following Talan through the door. Janel tied his hair back and went through the decontaminator, he put on his gloves and gown and walked into the room. He grabbed a cylinder he prepared for Talan's anxiety and handed it to him off the tray.

"I know that this might be scary for you, you deserve to be here, she needs you. If you find yourself losing control, use this. Please stay out of our way as we work." Janel said as they began to quickly work on her.

"I will be fine." Talan said and went and stroked her hair. It was slick with sweat. He felt so much guilt. Why could it not be him having to go through this? He watched the doctors briskly worked in front of him. He felt guilt when he turned away. The first to come out was his daughter. She had a crop of red hair just like Nora. She was taken quickly to another small bed as doctors attended to her. Next was their son, who had a crop of red hair. The doctors quickly grabbed him and started to furiously work on him. He watched the doctors inject him with a cylinder. His son finally started to breathe. He heard a small cry come out of his son which relieved him. The doctors quickly inserted a tiny oxygen tube into the infant's nostrils as they suctioned out his mouth. He had a heart rate monitor attached to him and received cylinder after cylinder of medication. Talan watched as if paralyzed as they worked on his son. They finally laid him in a cradle and began infusions to help with his growth. His tiny daughter was swaddled, she too had oxygen and the same infusion running to assist with her postnatal growth. Talan stood rooted watching the flurry of activity. His eyes drifted to Nora. The two doctors worked very hard.