J.T. and Jacqueline were both with Tala by the time I got there. She had a death-grip on Phelan’s hand and he looked like he was feeling every ounce of her strength bearing down on that hand. I tried to avoid looking at what Jacqueline and J.T. were up to as I circled the fire.
“I’m here,” I said as I knelt down on the other side of Tala. She leaned against a set of shelves, pillows shoved behind her for comfort. Sweat was already beading at her hairline as I reached to push her hair back from her face. Her gaze flicked toward me and he sagged slightly in relief.
“Mar,” she whispered. “Mar, it’s too soon. They’re too early. What are we going to do?”
I caught her hand and squeezed hard. “Everything’s going to be okay,” I told her even as her expression tightened as another contraction hit. “I promise. We’re all here to help you.”
Jacqueline glanced up toward us, giving me a grim, tight smile. “Early or not, they’re coming fast. We’re going to need you to start pushing after the next one, Tala.”
Tala swallowed, looking at Phelan and then at me. “I’m scared.”
“It’s okay,” I told her, holding her hand. “You don’t have to be scared. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Did you see it?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I did. I’ve seen them playing in the arboretum and out on the golf course playing with my son and Neve and Cameron’s kids with Angie making sure they don’t fall into the ravine or get lost. I’ve seen it, Tala. Everything’s going to be fine.”
I could almost feel Ériu’s smile. She was near, I could tell from the quick glance up that J.T. gave, the way his eyes widened slightly before he looked down again. She was hovering behind me, watching over Tala the same as Phelan and I.
“You wouldn’t lie to me about that, right?” Tala asked in a whisper.
“No,” I promised, squeezing her hand again. “I would never lie to you about that.”
“Get ready to push, Tala.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard, nodding. “Thanks, Mar.”
“Push now.”
She squeezed my hand so hard I was sure my hand would break, but I squeezed her hand back just as hard, hoping to give her something else to concentrate on rather than how much it must have hurt. She didn’t scream, only swore in a hoarse whisper, swearing in the German she’d learned in high school, the Latin she’d learned here at the university. I understood some of the words but didn’t listen to them.
I was too busy watching something she couldn’t see, something no one else could see.
Gods and monsters and bloody hell.
Bloody hell.
I couldn’t breathe and squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the image would go away.
Unfortunately, my visions have never, ever worked that way.
It had me and wasn’t going to let me go.
uh uh…. now what?
Thanks for the update. I appreciate your efforts and really awed by your talents.