Fragile 2

"I need to place this on your lower belly," Janel said, feeling a little awkward. The device, made of a thin nanomaterial, was non-intrusive and meant to be applied to Nora's skin before being easily removed. Nora then loosened the dress she had on, revealing a camisole and soft shorts. Sliding the device down, she exposed her lower abdomen. Janel noticed her well-cared-for skin, free from any marks or discoloration caused by her growing womb. Carefully, Janel attached the device, and soon they could hear three heartbeats and see Nora's blood pressure and other vital signs on the monitor. Excitedly, Nora tapped on the hearts representing their heartbeats and could hear them clearly.

"It's breathtaking to hear their heartbeats," Nora said through her tears. Janel's eyes filled with joy for his friend. Kadir, Liem, and Cerez were stunned by the sight of the two little girls on the screen. Nora, unfazed, was filled with happiness. She gazed at the device and decided she would wear it throughout her next pregnancy. It clung to her like a temporary tattoo.

 "Is it okay to take a bath with this?" Nora said curiously. 

"Pfft!" Janel chuckled, stopping himself from crying. "Yes, it is perfectly fine." Janel was amazed by Nora's childlike excitement about technology. Nora pulled up her shorts over her expanding belly, stood up, and felt relieved that she could still enjoy her usual baths. As she tried to adjust her dress, her hands unexpectedly met with Cerez's. Cerez laughed and helped her fasten her dress from behind, then gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Why are we closely monitoring my pregnancy?" Nora asked. She felt reassured in her health and her babies' health due to her youth and her mother's own mothers healthy twin pregnancy at a young age. 

Janel explained, "Your health is good, but twin pregnancies have higher risks of premature birth, especially for female fetuses." She emphasized the need to avoid stress, engage in light exercises, and adhere to proper maternity positions. Janel then turned to address Kadir, Cerez, and Liem.

"You will find the information in the Interface. I suggest sticking to it and being very mindful of her condition." Janel seemed to lecture the young men, he started to feel very protective of Nora, like she was his own daughter. Nora flushed behind her friend's back; as she was the one that kept trying to rope the men into being more vigorous with her. 

"Wait, there is information available?" Nora asked. She would have to go through the Interface and study this section as well to see how much she could push it. Her ears pricked as she heard a group of people bustling outside in the hall. Nora paled, she was hoping to keep this moment as a treasured memory. It could not be. Nora flinched as soon as she heard the door engage, why did her private moments have to be interrupted? The door opened and Allurai stepped into the room.

 "Well, tell me the news," Allurai said in a sing-song voice, three of her spouses were with her, crowding the room. She looked at the group and noticed Liem had a nervous look on his face. Nora tried to hide her disgust with the situation. Calloran's were overly nosey. Even her own spouses.

 "What is wrong, my son? Is there a problem?" Allurai said as she walked up to get a closer look at the display. She looked at the screen and her grandchildren's images hung on the screen. They looked healthy enough from her experience. She squinted. 

"Are they both really female?" Allurai's words hitched in her throat. 

"Yes, they are both female. They are dizygotic." Janel advised his employer in a monotonous voice. 

"Just like you and Leilanna. I bet one of those is an Allari." Allurai peppered in delight and did not seem to notice that she was spoiling the surrounding mood. Allurai's mind flooded with concern as her eyes widened, remembering how touch and go her pregnancy was with Leilanna and Liem. Nora would have to stop being so active and be extremely mindful of her condition. Allurai looked at Janel concerned. 

"How are they?" Allurai asked. "They are both very healthy, as per routine we will be closely monitoring them and Nora's condition. She is very healthy, and she has been instructed to move to light activities. There is no need for further precautions." Janel advised Allurai. Trying to break her tension. 

"Allurai, you look great. How are you doing?" Nora asked, looking at her mother-in-law. She was five weeks ahead of Nora. Nora was worried about Allurai over reacting and limiting her activities. She had to distract her before she asked for any more information. She enjoyed dining with the family three times a week. Allurai was genuinely warm to her now, any resentment had dissipated since they got to know each other. Spending time with Allurai was refreshing, she needed more social contact with people other than her spouses.

 "I am doing really well. So is she" Allurai answered with a smile. She knew the young woman must be getting nervous. "Liem and Leilanna were my first pregnancy, I was the same age as you. You will need to follow all the care instructions. I do not want to hear that you are cooking in your kitchen anymore, or I will have it removed." Allurai said and started giving advice out of worry. She had over exerted herself during her pregnancy and did not want to wish bed rest on anyone. Nora cringed. 

"Should she stop exercising. She runs every morning?" Allurai asked. She mostly ran around the gardens in the Clan residential complex. "Exercise is healthy, but she should lessen the intensity of her running. Saatvi is low intensity and should be healthy enough to continue." Janel said. Nora sighed sadly and hung her head. Just as she thought her boredom was going to be relieved by Janel, activities that helped her not feel as trapped and got rid of her anxiety were gone. It felt horrible. 

"What about travelling? She has plans to go to the country to visit Halid, or to go to banquets?" Allurai asked. Nora felt her heart rise into her chest.

"Traveling and walking should be fine. However, I would recommend staying close to home or Sacred Tree. Going to the countryside might be inadvisable," Janel answered.Her plans next week to see the research and development lab in the Sedai industries were safe. However, her trips out to the Halid farms, food production facilities and to her experiments to refine cane syrup in a test kitchen would soon be canceled. Exercising helped with the enormous amounts of time she had and to channel her stress, there was nothing to entertain her that she could understand culturally yet or found entertaining. Other than that, there were entertainment channels that talked about celebrities. She was a common topic, it gave her anxiety, so she did not watch it.

Nora sighed. At least she still had 'Yoga'. The next twenty-four weeks would be exceedingly tedious. She did not know how Leilanna was content doing absolutely nothing at home. Lying around. Nora had just found more joy in life other than learning. She began to slowly crave sharing new experiences and exercising. Nora pouted to her mother-in-law.

 "They are doing very well, Mother. I will pay attention to your advice and stay out of the kitchen." Nora added the term of endearment to try to ease the severity of her impending confinement to the house. "I will be very mindful and ask for help with anything else." Nora said and she embraced Allurai. "Please do not worry much. I have these three here to help me and a hospital a few floors up. I cannot have you stressing out either." Nora said sweetly to Allurai. Allurai's eyes misted up.

"I just do not want you to suffer like I did," Allurai said. "I had to spend three cycles in bed or hardly doing anything. No friends or events. Be careful." Allurai said, filled with concern. Nora felt her attempt to curry favor failed. "You will all make sure she does not over exert herself." Allurai looked at the young men as she addressed them seriously. Kadir agreed. She was going to hate that they were going to have to cancel their trip to the Halid Complex. So he would have to think of something to occupy her so she did not take the risks of traveling too far away from the capital or much at all. He will bring this up tonight. He hoped she did not get angry, she would either go to bed or go very quiet. He really disliked it.

"How about you join the family for a meal tonight?" Allurai said. They would forgo the stress of events now because of Nora's health.