Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 366: Mother, I Need Help

Chapter 366: Mother, I Need Help

"Okay," I said with a sigh. I looked around the amazing room, trying to find somewhere to sit. The kitchen cabinets were a dark color, practically black, with a wooden butcher block countertop. While all of the walls seemed to be black as well, one entire wall was nothing but windows.

My mind trailed away from what I was talking about, and I walked toward the bright light. Lifting up my hand, I pressed it against the cold glass as I stared out of the window and straight at... a mountain range.

There were five peaks stretched out in front of me, creating a solid line of rock as far as the eye could see. I had never seen snow-capped peaks like this before, the jagged rocks pointing up to the sky as little puffs of cloud floated around.

I wanted to say that it looked like the Rockies back in Canada, but that couldn’t be it... right? There was no way I was back home. Right?

It was official. I was fucked. I had no idea where I was and no idea how to get back to my guys.

Fine. It was time to make a new plan. I needed to make nice with the crazy people, and maybe they would send me home. Clearly, there was no way for me to be able to get back on my own.

I needed this to be like any other medical appointment; I needed to be professional.

Still staring outside at the small flock of birds as they glided through the sky, I cleared my throat. "From what I can see, the twins are in very good condition, but they are a bit small."

Someone yelled out behind me, but my eyes were stuck on the outside world. "All twins are small," I continued, "It comes from sharing the same space for so long. All the nutrients that Li Dai Lu gives to the children need to be split, while most babies get everything for themselves when they are alone in the womb. But all that aside, they are healthy, and that is what is most important."

The five people behind me were silent as I continued.

"Braxton Hicks contractions are nothing more than the uterus contracting and relaxing. They can start as early as six weeks gestation but are normally not felt until later in the third trimester. Most don’t report them as painful, but we all know that pressure is pain, so that is pretty much bullshit."

"You’re telling me that it is going to be worse?" asked Li Dai Lu, walking over until she was standing beside me.

"You aren’t considered to be in active labor until your cervix widens to at least 6 cm and your contractions are consistent and about 3 minutes apart," I replied. Then, I realized that I was doing everything backward.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, turning around to look at the woman who saved me.

"Fine," she replied with a shrug. "I mean, these Braxton Hicks contractions are a bitch, but otherwise, this pregnancy has been going fine."

"No swelling of your ankles or hands? Nothing like that?" I continued, looking her up and down. Honestly, from the back, you would have never thought that she was pregnant, but she was short, like me, and having her belly distended that much in front couldn’t be easy for her.

"No," she answered.

"Then, honestly, there is nothing I can do."

It sucked, and no one wanted their doctor to say that, but it was true.

"How about you help me make some butter and we can talk about what has been going on with you? I probably also should introduce you to the guys since I don’t think you have ever formally met."

With a strained smile, I nodded my head. Let’s just hope that my guys weren’t throwing an absolute conniption right now.

-----

Bai Long Qiang stared out of the window at the lake in front of him. He and the rest of the guys had searched all over the place for his Kitten and there was not a single sign of her. It was like she had disappeared into thin air.

The strawberries she had left on the kitchen counter were still there, and Cheng Bo Jing had to spend the past hour consoling their son that his snack had not actually caused his mother to disappear.

And now he was refusing to eat.

Rip paced back and forth inside the massive living room while Bin An Sha sat on one of the couches, his cheek resting on the knuckles of his hand. Ye Yao Zu was stilling at the other end of the couch, and Fan Teng Fei stood silently like a centennial in the corner of the room.

He was so still, in fact, that he seemed to have completely disappeared into the shadows. The only sound he made was the occasional clattering of the rings on his monk’s staff as he twirled it between his fingers. It was a new habit he developed as a way to calm down, but by the agitated sound, it wasn’t working so well.

Si Dong had gone upstairs with Cheng Bo Jing and Wang Chang Ming, hoping to distract the boy long enough to calm down.

"There might be a way to find her," said Bin An Sha after a second. His entire body remained still as he spoke, his eyes closed.

"Then let’s do it," replied Rip without hesitation.

"I can’t guarantee that it would work. And it might bring about a few repercussions that we don’t expect," warned Bin An Sha, opening his eyes to stare at the Reaver. The two had forged a tight bond, not unlike what Bai Long Qiang and the rest of the guys had once had.

"We can deal with all that when it comes," Rip shrugged, coming to a stop in front of the assassin. "But the most important part is to find her. And fast."

"Keep in mind, we don’t know for sure that it is the Alpha that has taken her," pointed out Ye Yao Zu as he stared at his hands. "We are just assuming that it is him."

"And just who else can it be? He has already kidnapped her twice," replied Bai Long Qiang, turning to look at his teammate. "It’s not like Kitten has a habit of going around pissing people off. Even when she is upset, she still bites her tongue to maintain the peace."

"I think you are forgetting about Liu Hao Yu," reminded Ya Yao Zu gently. "She hasn’t pissed him off, seeing as he made her his heir, but that doesn’t mean that something didn’t come up and he took off with her."

Bai Long Qiang raised an eyebrow at that statement. Was it possible? Yes, almost anything was possible. Was it probable? He really didn’t think so.

Liu Hao Yu would have at least left a note or yelled out that he was taking her. He knew the guys well enough for a basic level of friendship to have emerged.

No, it wasn’t Liu Hao Yu.

"What about that void?" Fan Teng Fei offered. "Could his wife have had a relapse, and he took my Treasure to cure her?"

"No, when Firefly heals someone, they tend to stay healed," said Bin An Sha with a shake of his head. Letting out a long sigh, he tilted his head back and looked up at the cabin’s ceiling.

He really didn’t want to do this, and a huge part of him didn’t even think that it would work. But she had come to him once, a long time ago, claiming to be his mother and wanting a relationship with him. He had quickly shot her down and she hadn’t appeared in front of him again that he knew of.

He would also have to accept the idea that gods walked the earth and that he was the son of one.

He would have to accept the idea that he had a mother and probably a father and that they still abandoned him to his fate as a child. Growing up under the tutelage of a master assassin, along with maybe a hundred other children, was not easy.

He often dreamed about what it would be like to have a normal family like the ones he saw in the outside world, to be able to cry for his mother when he was hurt and have her come help him.

But not once had that happened. He needed her as a child, and he had thought that now, as a grown-ass man, he wouldn’t need to depend on someone who only came into his life when it was convenient for her.

However, if she was right, and if she really was a goddess, she could bring him to his Firefly. And that was worth putting aside his pride and asking for help.

Rip was right. Whatever consequences came as a result, they would deal with them then. Right now, they needed to concentrate on what was most important.

And that was their woman.

"Mother," Bin An Sha called out, the word lodging in his throat, causing him to choke. "Mother, I need help."