Reknitting the yarn of Time

A Beat of a soul

He struggled to move.

To laugh...

To see..

It felt like he was choking on darkness...

His Soul Hurt...

Oh no.. please no...

Please, tell him the Soulings were alright.

Umbra could not wake up.

-----

Searcher was pacing while he was waiting for the results of his husband's diagnosis...

Most of the staff in the hospital were keeping an eye on the strange skeleton that was wearing formal clothing straight out of the history of Japan, with a hooded haori over it... He had arrived carrying his husband, followed by their children...

Idrytís gritted his teeth as he kept his powers under control, as he paced back and forth... Everything was going to be okay.

"Mr.... Idrytís?" A Nurse said, looking at a clip board. "Doctor Sans will see you now."

Idrytís nodded at the nurse, and he went into the room to talk to Doctor Sans.

"I'm sorry for the wait Mr Idrytís, we had to do a few more tests to be sure." The local Sans of the Au said seriously, with a frown on his face.

"Tests?" Idrytís had a worried look on his face. "What's wrong with my husband?"

"Now, it.s not life threatening, but still, it is serious enough to be a danger to your husband, and your Soulings. Its a Soul illness that the carrier in the relationship can get, sometimes, after multiple pregnancies, your spouse will need a lot of rest and he will be bed bound during most of it, or he could loose the Soulings, even in their final stages. He will have bouts of illness until the babies are born, but thankfully, this type of illness does clear up a few months after giving birth, but I would suggest no more children, for five years, at least, so his Soul can recover." Doctor Sans said, passing him papers that had medical information on the illness.

He looked at the papers, and he frowned. "I was afraid that something like this could happen... That's why I've been looking for a way to switch things around so that, for once, I would carry the Soulings, and give him a chance to recover from the pregnancies..."

"I hate to tell you this, but in skeleton/skeleton pregnancies, it takes a lot for that switch to happen once one of the pairing conceives. It's part of our internal magic, for in ancient times, one would carry and raise the children, and the other would hunt. We evolved so that the hunter in the relationship would rarely carry, because the original carrier, back then, would not have developed the skills, or received the training that they needed, to hunt like the original sire." Doctor Sans explained to him.

"Fuck..." Idrytís hissed. "And after everything that we've been through, those roles are set in stone..."

"Not exactly, but it's very hard and rare. I can give you some lists for books if you'd like that." The doctor offered.

"I would like that... It would give me something to do while I look after my husband... Most of our kids have moved out of the home... Only one of them lives with us permanently, the rest of them split their time between their own homes, and our home... And my job has slowed down to the point where most of the tasks that I have to do, can be done from home, with the occasional visit to where I work to check on things."

"Now, I am going to give you a list of medicines that he will need until about two months after he gives birth, he cannot skip any of them, and I have instructions for his future care. Your spouse will have to stay in the hospital for at least a few days, to a week, at most, for observation. We had to place him in deep asleep so he wouldn't wake up, because stress at this stage is not what he needs. I will allow you to stay the nights, but only you and one person can visit him, during visiting hours, to not over stress him." The Doctor said, with a smile that said the instructions had better be followed, or else.

Idrytís nodded his head... He understood what the Doctor was telling him. "Okay... But I'm afraid that our oldest child will have to stay too... He's the kid that looks like a five year old... And he's a total hell child when his mother isn't around... They have a very close bond, and it will stress him out if he has to stay away from his mom."

The doctor looked thoughtful and he peered out the window of the office, Solas could be seen, just drooping like a dying houseplant. "The little one wearing the white jacket?" He asked.

Idrytís nodded his head.

"If he stays the night, he won't be allowed any guests but you two," Doctor sans pointed out.

"I know, and I understand.. The rest of the kids will probably rent rooms in a hotel, or go home for the night. I can tell them to set up a rota where they can meet me and Solas outside his hospital room, to get upgrades on their Mother."

"Just remember, he sleeps till the tests say its safe for him to wake," the doctor said with a glare.

Idrytís nodded his head, again.

"Right, let me lead you to the room he's in so we can get everything set up." Doctor Sans said opening the door, he sweated a bit seeing Nurse Toriel with a load of paperwork down the hallway.

"Okay." Idrytís stepped out of the room, and he gently called to Solas. "Solas, the Doctor says that you and me can stay with your Mother. The rest of you will have to rent a room, or go home for the night. I need you guys to set up a rota for who's going to visit me in the corridor outside of your Mother's room, and you have to be quiet.... He's going to be sleeping until the Doctor says that it's safe for him to wake up."

"This way," Sans said leading the way.

Idrytís picked Solas up and he followed the Doctor.

-----

His body felt as if weights had attached to them, slowly eye lights dulled by illness opened to a rather hazy world.

Shades was having a hard time focusing, and rather confused.

Why was he asleep?

He only slept when pregnant to support the children's unborn magic, and to sleep cuddle with Ser or Solas.

This wasn't home, to bright.

"Searcher...?" he called out still hazy and confused, and feeling exhausted. His voice was hoarse, and slurred.

Someone was holding his hand.

"Ser..." he cried worried.

"Mama?" A tiny voice called out to him.

"Solas..." Shades whispered weakly.

"Mama!" Something gently hugged him. "The Doctor said that you need to rest! Papa spent most of the night watching over you, and he just passed out."

"Last thing I remember.. I think.. we were having dinner," Shades whispered confused.

"You fainted! I couldn't feel you through our Bond!"

"Sorry... so tired...." Shades whispered, feeling exhaustion claiming him. Thankfully he could feel Solas still, and fell asleep again.

Solas smiled, and he gently snuggled closer to his Mama. Mama was going to be okay!