In a mid-sized town a days ride from the capital, two men were waiting with barely concealed anxiety. At this moment, the two who had been companions for nearly eighteen years were enduring a strained silence together as they strained their ears for the sound of footsteps desperate for good news.
Thud, Thud, THUD. Finally the door opened and a woman stood there with a tired look upon her face. As she set eyes on the two of them she smiled and asked "Xia Jembai?" The larger of the two men stood up with a stiff, jerky motion. She faced toward him and said, "your wife and son are waiting, come right this way." The anxiety fell from his face like a mask. He grinned and shouted.
"A son, can you believe it, Touma, I have a son." The second man gave a strained smile not willing to rain on Xia's parade.
"Congratulations, Jembai, now you can start making plans for how to start training him." Xia froze at his companions words then apologized.
"Sorry, Touma, I forgot temporarily about your situation, please forgive m-" before he could finish Touma held his hand up and stopped him.
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"Just go, it is more important right now for you to be there than here, I'll be fine, go see to your wife and child." Without another word Jembai followed the woman out of the room to see his wife.
An hour later Touma could wait no longer and as he was getting up foot steps sounded behind the door again. The door opened and a man dressed in white splattered with a touch of blood stepped in. "Sir Chen Touma this way please." Still anxious Touma followed behind and asked the man, "Doctor please tell it to me straight, I can't bear not knowing anymore, how is she?"
The doctor paused and said, "I'm not going to lie, her wounds were severe, any later and we may have lost her. Even now it is still hard to give a definite answer. The delivery was successful but there may yet be complications. We are running some tests now and should know more by morning. For now she is stable so I suggest you put on a strong face and spend some time with your wife and offspring." The doctor began walking again. "In fact, she has a little surprise in store for you so when you go in be prepared to have your hands full." the doctor smiled at what was to come.
They opened the door to the room and when Touma walked in he was shocked at what he saw. Before him two women were smiling at him, one holding a boy and the other a girl. A woman lying in the bed smiled up at him and whispered, "you are a father to twins, Touma."