A machine's beeping.
Soft talking.
These were the first sounds Noble heard when she felt her consciousness return. The noises were garbled at first like she was coming up from being underwater. But soon the chatter came into focus.
Two voices near her feet were in deep discussion.
"And she just popped out of the gate like an egg out of a chicken?" A high-pitched voice whispered.
"That's what I heard…" a second woman answered.
The people gossiped idly.
'If they are talking like that, I must not be in any danger…'
"Does it take two nurses to check vitals?!" A familiar healer asked as the door opened.
"No, Ma'am," the nurses answered in unison.
"Then shoo! Let Noble rest without your gossip!"
"Umbei!" Noble rasped the healer's name.
"You see? You've woken her. Shoo! Go get the doctor!"
Noble felt a warm hand clasp around hers.
"I'm here, Noble. I know you are going to want to move quickly, but there's no rush. Take your time." Umbei's voice and touch were soothing.
Opening her eyes slowly, Noble looked down and saw the woman's friendly face.
Floating in the air, Noble was being held in place by a series of medical cords that were never meant for such a purpose.
Her eyes flicked around the sterile room, and Umbei answered her unspoken question.
"You are at the Academy Hospital. Awakened Jeremy would not leave until he was sure you were in good hands." The healer reached for a cup of water by the bed. "Drink something."
Trying to sit up, Noble lowered herself closer to the bed to get the needed length on the cords. Accepting the water, she took a small sip.
How long had it been since she last took a drink?
"Where's Fort?" Noble looked around the room for him in vain.
She instinctively used essence to search for her husband. To her shock, her sense not only moved more quickly through the hospital, it reached much farther than it ever could before. It felt like she could check the entire Academy and then some for any person she knew.
But her husband was nowhere to be found.
"We can talk to Director Fort as soon as you get a little more water in you. Now drink!" Umbei's free hand came to her patient's wrist as she ran two fingers along a vein.
A cooling sensation seeped into Noble's body, releasing the last of the pain that clung to her soul. Along with the healer's soothing voice, it worked to make Noble's worry melt away.
"How did you manage to cause yourself so much damage right after becoming a Master? I knew you were an overachiever but sheesh!" Umbei quirked an eyebrow.
"I came back through the gate as it closed. I didn't have my Memory to pass through it nicely like I did on the way in." Noble clenched her jaw as she remembered the pain.
Sensing her patient's angst, Umbei stopped her line of questioning. "If you will lower yourself the rest of the way, I will release you from the bed. I appreciate you not destroying it the moment you awoke."
"Does that happen often?" Noble lowered herself to her usual hover less than a millimeter from the bed. She could have easily broken her bonds, but that would have been a gross waste of resources.
"You'd be surprised... or maybe you wouldn't." Umbei untied the last strap. "Now let me see the water cup."
Noble held up the empty container.
"Let me get you some food," Umbei stood. "I will send someone to keep you company while I am gone. The doctor–" The door flew open.
"Noble! You are alright! I was so worried!" Sarai burst into the room, flooded with relief.
The fire-wielder no longer wore the face of the temperamental Queen Emira. She looked just like the bubbly baker that Noble knew and loved. The energy coming from her was as overwhelming as it was delightful.
The floating woman couldn't help but smile. "I am happy to see you too, Sarai."
The women hugged, and the beeping machine suddenly flatlined.
Umbei rushed across the room to turn off the monitor. She picked up the communicator hanging from her waist.
"False alarm in room twenty-three." Umbei graced Noble with a longsuffering glare. "You are going to give someone a real heart attack with that nonsense!"
She set about disconnecting the rest of the electrodes with a small smile.
"I came as soon as I could. You are all over the news channels. 'Woman spat out of gate!' Look!" Sarai pulled out her communicator and showed Noble the screen.
Frey had been hard at work. In only an hour or so, he had managed to not only report all he knew but had gotten an interview with Jeremy about his feelings on the event.
Noble chuckled softly about the 'unnamed woman' that came out of an 'errant gate before destroying it.'
"It is probably the best that they didn't say your name," Sarai shrugged.
"I am sure Fort made sure to keep the mentions of me out of the press," Noble smiled as she handed back the device. "Where is Fort? Is he on his way?"
Sarai winced.
Umbei cleared her throat. "I will go get that food. You must be starving. I will also see what is keeping the doctor so we can clear you for discharge."
Sensing both their moods shift, Noble's smile faded. The opened door slammed shut before Umbei could escape into the hall.
Noble's eyes swirled. She spoke slowly. "Where is my husband?"
Umbei looked at Sarai, who nodded. "Go and get the doctor so Noble can be discharged. I'll handle this."
"I'll be back shortly." The healer tentatively touched the doorknob and then slipped out into the corridor so the ladies could speak.
The beautiful baker smiled brightly. "That door thing was pretty neat!" Sarai looked at the opening. "And quite dramatic. Is that part of your new Ability? You'll never guess what mine is!"
"Sarai..."
The redhead nodded. "You want to know about Fort. Unfortunately, there is not much to tell. The government is being very tightlipped, but I think he is in a meeting. The agent I spoke to said they had had too many false alarms and he could not disturb the director unless it was an emergency. I told him it was but..."
They both fell silent as something crashed outside. Hurrying to the window, the ladies found a PTV had collided with the pole outside the medical facility. The driver was already gone.
Perhaps they had been in distress and needed help that badly? But PTVs weren't even allowed on the Academy grounds except in special circumstances.
'It must have really been an emergency to make an exception.'
Whatever had happened, Noble hoped the people were alright.
A moment later, shouting in the hall erupted as the turmoil from outside spilled into the hospital. Noble wasn't sure whether to intervene or keep her nose out of the brewing drama.
That was until she heard a voice speak over the nurses that sounded as deep as thunder.
"I don't care what protocol is. I am going to see my wife!"
That's when Noble realized.
The emergency that had caused the accident outside...
Was her.