Legends of Amacia Return of the Beowulf

Rebecca’s Pregnancy

Arriving in the infirmary a few minutes after leaving Jessica and Nemesis, Hannibal found Lola busy with some of the other patients. Rachel and Crystal were sitting on the bed talking and giggling like two eight-year-old friends would. Lola immediately noticed his arrival and rushed over to him, asking, “How’s Jesse? Is she going to be all right?”

Hannibal nodded, saying, “Yes. She’s going to be fine. We caught it in time. In a day or so, she’ll be back up and around.”

Lola threw her arms around Hannibal’s neck and kissed him on his cheek, crying, “Thank you! Jesse’s my best friend in the whole world. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

Hannibal hugged her as a sister, saying after he pushed her back, “You’re welcome, Lola. I don’t know if anyone has said anything to you but we really do appreciate how you’ve helped out. And thank you for watching Rachel.” He looked over at Rachel and Crystal and saw how well they were getting along. “Looks like they are doing fairly well,” he stated pleasantly.

“Yes. They have been like that since you left,” Lola stated. “I’ve never seen two children bond so quickly. It’s amazing.”

“That it is,” Hannibal returned as he started toward them. “How are Jacob and Rebecca doing?”

“Arabella says they are doing very well,” Lola reported. “Their injuries are all but healed, though they still have no strength in them.” They stopped in front of the three beds, looking down at them.

“Daddy, is everything all right?” Rachel asked. “Is that nice lady going to be okay?”

“Yes, sweetie,” Hannibal replied to Rachel. “Do you like your new friend?”

Rachel was all smiles as she said, “Oh, yes! We have a lot in common. We like the same things.”

Hannibal looked down at them with a pleasant smile, saying, “That’s good, very good. It’s good to have friends. Don’t ever take them for granted.” He glanced at Lola as he said it. She smiled and Hannibal turned to Rebecca, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She was covered with a blanket up to the chest. Her arms and shoulders were uncovered, showing she wore a plain gray nightgown. Her chestnut brown hair was disheveled, partially covered her face. He pushed her hair out of her face. As he did, she moaned and stirred before opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was Hannibal looking down at her. “How are you doing?” he asked gently.

Rebecca yawned and touched Hannibal on the hand with hers saying, “Weak. I don’t have any feeling in my legs. It’s like they aren’t there.” She gripped Hannibal’s hand as tears rose. “Why did this have to happen? Will I ever walk again?” she asked fearfully.

Hannibal held her hand, saying confidently, “Yes. You shall walk again in time. The machine healed your back but seems to have stopped short of completely restoring your spinal cord. Do you have any feeling at all below the break?”

Rebecca wept softly as she said, “My back tingles about half way up, but I am completely numb at my hips and below.”

Hannibal released her hand and asked as he grabbed the blankets, “May I take a look?” Rebecca nodded and he rose enough to push the blanket back from the edge of the bed. He uncovered her partially, just enough so he could see her leg, hips, and abdomen partially. She was wearing a nightgown that reached to her knees. He looked down at her with compassion and asked, “Can you show me where you cease to have any feeling?”

Rebecca laid her hand six inches above her waist, saying, “From here down, there is nothing. I cannot feel anything, much less move them.”

Hannibal rubbed his chin as he considered her. “I’m going to try something,” he said as he took his hand and pressed on her side just below her chest, slightly pinching her. “Do you feel that?” he asked as he gently pinched her.

“Yes,” Rebecca blurted out. “What are you doing?”

“Be still. You’ll see. I’m not going to hurt you,” Hannibal replied softly as he moved down her side below the break and pinched her again. “What about there?” he asked.

Rebecca nodded, saying, “Just barely. I can feel the pressure, but no pain, just tingling.”

Hannibal moved down to her hip and repeated the procedure, asking again, “What about there?”

Rebecca shook her head, saying, “Nothing. I feel absolutely nothing there.”

Hannibal rubbed his chin again with a sigh as he began to wonder himself what he was doing. Suddenly, he reached out and gently placed his hand on her belly. This move caused her to become uncomfortable as she demanded, “What are you doing?”

Hannibal pressed down gently as he replied, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.” As he held his hand there, applying slight amount of pressure, he asked, “Do you feel the pressure I’m applying?”

Rebecca was becoming mystified and a bit anxious as she answered, “Yes.”

Suddenly, Hannibal felt movement as he stared at his hand and her belly. Then something happened he never expected. He was able to see into her womb as if he was looking at an X-ray picture. His mouth fell open as he saw and felt a fetus moving. “Oh, my God; tell me you felt that,” he cried out in astonishment.

Rebecca did feel something move and said, “I did. What is it?” Hannibal lifted his hand as Arabella and Emma walked up, back from decontaminating according to Nemesis’ instructions.

“What is going on here?” Arabella asked.

Hannibal held up his hand in a wait gesture as he looked Rebecca in the eye, saying, “You’re pregnant, Rebecca. You’re carrying a boy, I think.”

Rebecca’s eyes grew big as saucers as she declared, “How did you know? I haven’t told anyone!”

Arabella was equally as adamant in wanting an explanation. “Yes. How is it that you know that when she’s told no one,” she asked.

Hannibal looked at Emma and asked, “Could you bring Nemesis here? I need him to look to be sure.” Emma nodded and raced away as Hannibal turned to Rebecca, Arabella, and Lola, saying, “I don’t know how, but after touching you and applying some pressure, I first felt the fetus move, and then I somehow saw it.” He shook his head, saying, “This is really weird. I’ve never had something like this happen before. But I know that you are carrying a child and he or she seems to be unaffected by your injuries.”

Rebecca began to weep softly as Hannibal covered her back up, saying, “We will know for sure as soon as Nemesis gets here. With his help, we should be able to tell whose child it is.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell anyone,” Rebecca sobbed softly. “I didn’t know whose child it was.”

Hannibal took her by the hand, saying, “Regardless of whose child it is, we will help you in every way we can. Trust me.” As he finished speaking, Emma returned with Nemesis and Hannibal rose to greet him as they approached.

“What do you need, Hannibal,” Nemesis asked. “Is there a complication with Miss Rebecca’s condition?”

“It’s not so much a complication as a confirmation,” Hannibal stated. “I need you to confirm something. Is Rebecca pregnant?”

Nemesis looked at him with some surprise. “How did you know?” he demanded.

“It seems that the Almighty showed me while I was trying to determine the extent of her paralysis,” Hannibal replied plainly. “The question I have is if you knew, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Nemesis tucked his head, knowing that he’d been caught. “You know that I have a latent telepathic ability, though it’s nowhere near as potent as yours,” he stated, “When I scanned Rebecca at the accident sight, I sensed that she wanted to keep it quiet so I didn’t say anything. It is what you wanted, right Rebecca?”

Rebecca nodded and Crystal chimed in, asking, “You say that mom’s going to have a baby?”

Rebecca called out to Crystal in reply, saying, “That’s right honey. It looks like it.”

Hannibal was stung a little by the deception and he looked at Rebecca, saying, “Oh, Rebecca. You should have trusted me. I would have never gone against your wishes. You didn’t have to keep it a secret, not from us.”

Rebecca grasped his hand as he sat on the edge of her bed, apologizing, “I’m so sorry, Hannibal. I was scared and didn’t know what to do.”

Hannibal smiled warmly, saying, “I understand why you did what you did. It’s okay. Now that it’s in the open, we can deal with it. Nemesis, scan the fetus and see if there is any damage. Then tell us whose it is, whether it’s Jacob’s or one of those fiends that raped her in Arionath.”

Nemesis leaned over her and opened his cybernetic eye, scanning her. As he did, Hannibal added, “While you are doing that, check her spinal injuries and see what is going on there too.”

Nemesis scanned for a few moments, and then smiled as he straightened up. “All is well,” he declared. “The fetus is healthy and uninjured, which I can’t see how after the severity of the injuries she received.”

Rebecca sighed a deep sigh of relief as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Is it a boy or girl?” she asked.

Nemesis looked down into Rebecca’s face and smiled, holding her in suspense for a few moments. “Well?” she asked insistently.

“Jacob has a son, milady,” Nemesis reported, smiling. “I saw his genetic material in the fetus. You are going to have a son of him.”

Rebecca’s sorrow for her plight vanished and she cried in joy, “I’m going to have Jacob’s son! I’m going to have his son! You hear that honey, you’re going to have a little brother!”

Crystal became as excited as her mother was. “A brother, momma,” she asked. “I’m going to have a brother?” Crystal ignored Arabella’s orders and rose from her bed, going to her mother. Lola intercepted her at Arabella’s behest and helped Crystal to her mother’s bed. Hannibal rose and let Crystal sit on the bed and hug her mother.

Hannibal turned to Nemesis while this was going on and asked softly, “What about her back? How’s the injury?”

“The bones are healed perfectly but the spinal cord has healed very little and appears to not be healing up like it should,” Nemesis reported in a low tone. “It seems to me that unless something changes drastically, she will not walk again.”

“I was afraid of that,” Hannibal replied in a low tone. “The Healer is not operating at its full potential. This proves it. Something is holding it back. Keep this to yourself. I’m going to have to do some research to find out why it’s not working properly. It seems to have been doing that consistently.” Nemesis nodded and noticed that Jacob was stirring. He nodded to Hannibal about Jacob and Hannibal said, “Check his back too.”

Nemesis and Hannibal moved over to Jacob’s bed and Nemesis scanned him as he stirred again. “He’s going to walk out of here. His injuries are completely healed,” Nemesis told Hannibal. “Even the spinal cord has been restored. All he needs is time to rebuild his strength.”

Hannibal smiled as they looked down at Jacob. Jacob yawned and opened his eyes, seeing Hannibal and Nemesis hovering over him and hearing Rebecca, Lola, Arabella and Crystal talking about something he couldn’t quite hear though it sounded good. “Hello there, young man,” Nemesis said pleasantly.

Jacob stretched and moved a bit. “How are you feeling, Jacob?” Hannibal asked.

Jacob rubbed the sleep out of his eyes saying, “Strange. From my waist down, everything is tingling and I have no strength to speak of at the moment.”

Hannibal smiled, saying “Very good. So you have some feeling in your legs then?”

Jacob nodded as he stretched again. “It’s weird. My legs feel like a thousand needles are pricking them,” he said as he propped himself up on his elbows.

This pleased Hannibal greatly. “That’s a very good sign. It means that you should have full use of your legs shortly. When your legs stop tingling and feel normal, you should be able to walk again,” he said as Jacob flopped back down on his back. Jacob looked over at Rebecca, seeing her and Crystal lying together and in very high spirits.

“How are they?” Jacob asked as Hannibal sat on the edge of the bed.

“They’re getting better by the day. Crystal should be walking around in a day or two,” Hannibal said as Emma walked to the other side of Jacob’s bed.

“What about Rebecca?” Jacob asked.

Hannibal sighed slightly as he said, “She is stronger than you think. But as of now, she cannot walk. Her spinal cord hasn’t healed up to the point that it will let her walk.” Jacob’s face fell a bit as he heard. “But,” Hannibal continued. “There’s something that you should be aware of.”

Puzzlement crossed Jacob’s face as Emma kneeled down beside him. “What would that be?” Jacob asked.

Hannibal glanced first at Emma with a telling smile, then back at Rebecca and Crystal, and then to Jacob as Emma said, “Congratulations, Jacob. She’s carrying your child.”

The news hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks. His mouth fell open and his eyes lit up with astonishment as he breathed, “You mean she is pregnant and it’s mine?”

Nemesis nodded with a smile, saying, “Yes, young man. She carries your son.”

Jacob mouthed the words, “I’m going to have a son?”

Hannibal smiled pleasantly, saying, “Yes, Jacob. You have a son on the way. And the miraculous thing is that the boy wasn’t hurt in the fall. He’s perfectly healthy.”

“Why didn’t she say anything?” Jacob asked in astonishment.

“She thought it wasn’t yours,” Hannibal answered. “That’s why. She didn’t want to hurt you. She, at first, believed it was a result of the abuse she received at the hands of the traitors we sent away. But Nemesis was able to, with his special machine abilities, able to determine that the child was yours.”

“I’m going to have a son,” Jacob breathed as it finally began to sink in on him. Suddenly, he reached out to Hannibal and ordered, “Help me up.” Both Hannibal and Emma helped him sit up. Hannibal pulled Jacob’s legs over the edge of the bed and held him steady with one hand as he looked over at Rebecca and Crystal. “Rebecca,” Jacob called out and she immediately looked over to him. He had a soft smile on his face. Her whole face lit up with excitement and anticipation as he asked, “Is it true? Are you carrying my son?”

Rebecca reached out to him but was unable to move from her bed, saying, “Yes, Jacob. I am.”

Jacob reached out to her and began to rise. Hannibal immediately put an arm around him and lifted him up, carrying him to her. He sat Jacob down beside her and he immediately embraced her. Hannibal stood back as Nemesis, Emma, Arabella, and Lola watched.

Hannibal turned aside to Arabella, asking, “They have been here long enough, haven’t they?”

Arabella nodded, saying, “I think so. But Rebecca is going to need some care.”

Hannibal didn’t hesitate for an instant as he asked Emma, “Do you have some rooms open near mine?”

Emma nodded, saying, “Yes. There is one just down the corridor from you just beyond where your people are staying.”

Hannibal looked at Emma, saying, “Make it happen. They need to be alone.” Emma nodded and Hannibal turned to Nemesis, saying, “Thanks for coming, my friend. I’m sure you were involved in something important. Forgive us for interrupting you.”

Nemesis patted Hannibal on the shoulder, saying “Not really. After you left, I did a quick diagnostic on Jessica to make sure everything was okay, which it was. Then I went to help Elias down in the portal chamber. I wanted to check on the assembly of the Emperor’s army. We have to keep a close eye on it because troops from Kartoom are reinforcing it every hour. I wanted to see what was happening before we started planning our attack on Kartoom. We ignore the army massing in Elar to our peril.”

Hannibal grunted, saying, “I’d say that was important. Can I get you to do something for me?”

Nemesis nodded, asking “What?”

“Do you remember the craftsman we met on the way back here after Jacob’s fall?” Hannibal asked. Nemesis nodded and Hannibal continued, “Go get him and bring him to the living room. I have just thought of a job for him. But you don’t need to rush. I have some things I need to take care of first. Could you get him in say, three and a half to four hours?”

Nemesis nodded, saying, “All right. No problem.”

Hannibal smiled, saying, “Good. I’ll see you then.” Nemesis bowed slightly and left. Hannibal then turned back to Jacob, to see him with his arms around Rebecca, letting her lay her head in his lap. Crystal was right next to him, clinging to his arms. He was gently stroking Rebecca’s hair and Hannibal suddenly remembered something important.

“Jacob, there’s something else that you need to know,” Hannibal declared.

Jacob looked up at Hannibal, asking, “What is it?”

Hannibal replied with a sober face and with all seriousness, “It has to do with Crystal. One thing is that she and Rachel are friends. I’d like them to spend time together, if that is all right with you.” Jacob thought for a moment as Hannibal nodded to Rachel sitting on the bed with Lola, who had just sat down after noticing Rachel was beginning to look like she was being ignored. “Rachel is in sore need of a real friend,” Hannibal added.

Jacob looked at Rachel and smiled, saying, “Of course. She is welcome any time.”

Hannibal grinned slightly, and then returned to his sober expression as he said, “There’s one more thing about Crystal that you should know. She’s gifted. She’s a telepathic seer...a dreamer of dreams. Crystal can see the past, present, or future in dreams. Both the telepathy and the dreams are part of the same gift. If she tells you a dream that’s really strange, do not dismiss it. Bring it to my attention. I found out that she dreamed your fall the night before and you thought it just unjustified fear. Please do not ignore it next time.”

Both Jacob’s and Rebecca’s mouths fell open in stupefaction. They had no idea that Crystal was gifted in such a manner. “How can you know for sure?” Jacob asked bluntly.

Hannibal smiled in an almost mischievous way as he said, “You seem to forget that I’m telepathic too. I came here to see all three of you and brought Rachel along because I remembered that Crystal was her age, and wanted them to meet. While you were asleep, Crystal told me about it, and I touched her mind telepathically to verify it. I lie not when I say that she is a telepathic seer. I’ve seen it. She has great potential and with your permission, we will help her and train her to be able to deal with and use her gifts properly.”

Both Jacob and Rebecca looked at Crystal. She looked at them sheepishly and somewhat fearfully. “Is it true?” Jacob asked her. Crystal nodded and Jacob said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you, Crystal. Please, forgive me. Come here.” He reached out to her and drew her in. Both he and Rebecca put their arms around her and kissed her. She responded after she realized that she wasn’t in trouble.

“How long have you had it?” Rebecca asked.

“Since we had to leave home,” Crystal replied softly. “I miss our house.”

“So do we,” Jacob replied.

Hannibal rubbed his chin as he realized that her gift was triggered by their flight from Kaal Bek. “Well, anyway, we will teach her to use it properly, if that is all right with you,” he offered.

Jacob looked at Hannibal, and then at Crystal. “Do you want to learn how to use your gift?” he asked.

Crystal nodded saying, “Yes, dad. I do. I want to learn how to cut off the voices that I hear constantly in my head. It scares me not to be able to shut them out.”

Jacob squeezed her, saying, “All right then. You can learn of them.”

“Thank you, dad,” Crystal replied gratefully, hugging Jacob.

“Now that is out of the way, we’re going to get you out of here and into a real room close to mine,” Hannibal stated.

Rebecca smiled, as did Jacob. “Thank you, Hannibal,” Rebecca replied happily. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

Hannibal squatted down beside the bed and looked her in the eye, saying, “I’m sure you are.” He looked deep into her eyes and added gently, “I know why you still can’t feel your legs. Nemesis saw it and told me. Even though the bones in your back are healed perfectly, your spinal cord hasn’t healed sufficiently. That’s why you are still paralyzed. For some strange reason, the Healer has never operated at full power here. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. But that’s why you are not feeling anything below your belly.” He paused, knowing that it was going to be bad news but knew it had to be said. She waited in anticipation, with fear slowly rising in her heart. “I’m so sorry that I have to tell you this. I know how active you were. Until we find what is holding the Healer back, you’re going to remain this way,” he stated grimly. “You will not walk again until we find the answer. But I promise you, we will find the answer eventually. It’s very possible the Nano-Chamber may be able to mend your severed spinal cord, but we’re still working on repairing its various functions, which includes limb replacement and nerve regeneration. So if you can, please be patient with us. Until we get that machine working properly, we’ll do everything we can to help you have as normal a life as possible until then.”

Rebecca’s face fell dramatically as her hopes of walking again were shattered into a million pieces. Her heart sank as despair began to fill it. It was obvious on her face as she said nothing. Then she looked at Hannibal’s face and saw the pain and heartbreak on his face at his inability to do anything for her. “I’m so sorry. But I swear to you by the living God, we will find the answers and you will walk again. It’s just going to take longer than we anticipated,” he said with tears of grief. Suddenly, she realized he was more hurt by is inability to do anything for her than she was for not being able to walk.

Rebecca reached out to him and took his hand as he looked down at the bed. To her amazement, she had an amazing peace about her situation. It didn’t matter to her whether she would ever walk again. She squeezed his hand, saying, “Hannibal, milord.” He looked up at her because she had called him milord. “Milord; it’s all right,” she said softly. “Granted, I was devastated when you said I had to remain in this condition. But I have come to realize that it doesn’t matter in the long run whether I walk, run, jump, or remain crippled for the rest of my life. You have done the impossible with the power of your God. You not only saved my life, but also the life of my little girl, and the life of my unborn child. But even greater than that, you saved my husband. You raised him from the dead by the power of your God. I know what happened. I saw his broken and crushed body that day. You raised him from the dead. I am eternally grateful and will always believe in you and your God. If it is not in your God’s will that I ever walk again, so be it. I will not blame you or your God. He is the one that sets our fates. So, I will just learn to be content with what I have. I have a loving family, that is fixing to get bigger, and friends who really care about us. If there is anything I can do to help you out in any way, just let me know.”

Tears of joy dripped down Hannibal’s cheeks. The Almighty had touched Rebecca’s spirit and soul to the core, and she believed right down to the soles of her numbed feet.

“Rebecca. You have made it,” Hannibal said softly, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I’ve never seen such pure love and faith coming from someone in your position. It would have been so easy to blame the Almighty and me for this but you didn’t. Our God is with you, sister. It does my soul good to see such faith. You have found your place with Him. Don’t let anyone push you out of it. It is your place.”

Rebecca smiled and kissed Hannibal’s hand, saying humbly, “You honor me, Milord Hannibal. I know you asked me to call you Hannibal, but at this point, I cannot. You are our King. You deserve the honor and respect that title demands.”

Hannibal looked down again and said, “You humble me by saying that. Just remember that the Almighty is the real King. I’m just standing in for him. But I promise you, once the Nano-Chamber is fully repaired, you to walk again. I know it’s the answer to your paralysis.”

Rebecca bowed her head, saying, “Thank you, milord. Now you should be going. I know you have much more important things to do than to hang around us.”

Hannibal scolded her mildly, saying, “Nonsense. My friends are my top priority and you are my friends. But you are right. I have much to take care of. Number one, I have to get something to eat. My belly thinks my throat is cut.” Just then, as if on cue, Hannibal’s belly rumbled loudly. Crystal heard it and laughed. “See,” Hannibal said pleasantly. “Arabella, Emma, could you...?”

Emma nodded, saying, “Of course, Hannibal. We’ll get them some dinner too.”

Hannibal rose and bowed to them, saying, “Now if you will excuse us, Rachel and I have a date at the dinner table.” He went and picked up Rachel, who immediately latched on to him. “Say bye to them, Rachel,” Hannibal told her sweetly.

“Bye Crystal,” Rachel replied. “Maybe we can play some more later.”

“I’d like that, Rachel,” Crystal said, smiling broadly.

Hannibal left the infirmary with Rachel, heading for the kitchen.