Liem, Kadir and Cerez looked at each other nervously as the scan finished. It was a shock to find out that they had conceived so quickly in their new relationship. It was very lucky, natural conception could take many cycles if it happened at all. That is the reason for multiple partners. There was a low percentage of conceptions among fertile matriarchs. Three days into their union, Nora had started her formal Matriarch lessons with Allurai and came back excited about the conception notification. Liem was happy, because he had time to build a relationship with her. Kadir was surprised, he knew it was possible but the odds were low of it happening. Cerez believed it was due to her being removed from hundreds of years of genetic alteration. He believed she was cured.
'She has been in such an awful mood, just angry. I do not understand why she would want to keep something like this so private? Most women would be happily gloating now to their friends and family. It is surprising. She was happy this morning to go out. Once she found out that she was in the Forums, her mood changed. I am glad I asked her. Maybe that is why we are getting along better than the others?' Cerez thought as he silently waited. It felt like there was a lump in his throat from his nerves. He dry swallowed. He was glad to have left the Allari building. She was not a fan of the attention she had received.
"Poor Nora. I do not blame her, she is a private person. Allurai understood that, yet she decided to leak the news.' Kadir stroked her palm. Her prenatal care started with early pregnancy stabilization and a nutritional regime. It had become difficult for her to keep things down. She laid on the bed like a wilted vegetable. She had been so excited to leave, but she had been caught in the hall on their way out of their residences by Allurai and Reye and her mood worsened.
'Any idea of keeping this private and waiting to release the news was completely thrown out the windows by her, and now she wants to know exactly how this appointment went, and she wants a copy of the imaging? This is my child.' Nora thought. The decision was taken away from her when Allurai spread the news before she could object. Nora was pissed off when she found out that she was being talked about in the media. She felt exhausted by the attention.
'She is still very mad. Should I have told her about the Forums earlier? I have never heard her so angry.' Liem thought. The translation tool was gone, but what she said in her own language contained some of the profanities he had learned, he would not tell Allurai any part of what she said when she was walking off to the transport. She might be more foul-mouthed than those he had fought with and maybe Kai. At least she had watched what she said around his mother this way.
'I was even surprised about the Forums, and bothered. If Liem does not understand now, he will eventually. Luckily, he's the one she is most displeased with right now. He would not even talk to his mother in the hall before we left about it.' Kadir thought to himself. He looked sympathetically at Nora. At least he had not sent anything to his mother like Cerez advised him. He enjoyed the opening that Liem gave him to gain more favor with Nora. Amrita had been so surprised to hear that she sent a mountain of gifts to their home before Kadir had contacted her. They had arrived this morning. He was puzzled how she had heard until they left that morning. Perhaps Allurai had spoken to her about it. She was thrilled that her son had overcome his aversion and could possibly be the biological father of this child. If not in the future. Kadir was even sent gifts.
'The advice and warnings about being gentle with Nora from Father were humiliating. I would have been gentle with her regardless. I am not a beast.' Kadir thought. He had been hesitant to do that with her now, the reality and weight of the situation were a heavy weight on him. Her condition helped deepen their bond. She had brought him out of a very long state of hopelessness and resentment. He would take care of her through her morning nausea. Soon, he found her curled up against him in the morning in bed instead of Liem. She fit so perfectly in his embrace, he felt like a shield.
'At least she loved the Calming necklace she received this morning. She is even wearing it.' Cerez thought as the doctor quietly worked. Vida had sent a beautiful necklace to Nora, that she claimed would soothe her. Vida had also directly taken over fulfilling their food shipments from Allari. Nora would now have the best vegetables, fruit and meat before the rest of Callor. Cerez was doing well in his mission to win her heart. He felt guilt that he suspected her and felt like he lost out on bonding like the others had. She was a little more distant from him. He would prepare her meals for her. However, she had been very miserable lately due to the nausea that pregnancy brought with it. She preferred sweet fruit in the morning now that it came back up. She had lost a concerning amount of weight in her face and was getting most of the required nutrients through shots. If it got any worse, she would have to drink high calorie drinks, which could be hard for her to get down. They were very sweet to taste.
The scanner was attached to a bed platform in which a single beam held a Horizontal Imaging Device or HID. There a pair of HID that came out of the side of the platform and one on the platform below that would take imaging simultaneously forming a multidimensional image of the patient. Nora watched stunned as a perfect light version of her body appeared after the scan without her hair or clothes. The doctor approached the image and enlarged her pelvis and zoomed in. Nora watched as the Doctor moved layer by layer to her. She wanted to puke seeing her insides in this manner. The doctor checked her fallopian tubes first. This was to ensure that there were no problems after implantation that could harm the mother's health like an ectopic pregnancy. Nora was stunned by the capability of the scanner. It was finely detailed due to the implants. The Doctor seemed to be flipping between two images.
"What is wrong?" Nora asked. Kadir reached for her hand and tenderly held it to soothe her.
"There are two here, they are from different ovum from what I can discern so far. They appear to be very healthy. Congratulations." the Doctor explained with a smile. He knew she was a famous patient. This was the Northerner pregnant a cycle after her first binding ceremony with two. He was surprised himself. He could not risk losing social credit by telling anyone. This would make him briefly popular. But pain and the loss of a bigger living space in the Light Estates were the best motivators for him to follow the privacy laws.
"Two?" Nora said nervously. It was her first time. It would be statistically even more improbable on this version of Earth. She looked at her spouse nervously, looking for a supportive look back.
"I am a twin. You were too," Liem reminded her in a soothing voice. She remembered her sister.
"I guess it is more common than I thought," Nora said. She had been so alone since her mother and sister died. They comforted their young spouse.
"The odds are pretty low, especially in natural births", The young doctor said in a quiet, informative voice to Matriarch Quill as he prepared to leave the room. He smiled and ducked out of the room, to give the room their privacy. Kadir pulled Nora in his lap and hugged her.