<USS Avalon> Blessings and a bit of Vice

**guest starring Joshua Garrity & Patrick 'Mac' McEntire
 
Despite the generally tense atmosphere on the ship, Vilya couldn't lose the  
feeling of general happiness she felt.  Life, one from her and Ming, was  
growing inside her.  Even with the worry of side effects from that damned  
Romulan's virus, she couldn't help but feel blessed. Neither of them forgot  
where 
their blessing came from and Vilya's prayers before meals included not  just 
thanks for the nourishment but thanks for the life she carried.    The child 
was 
wanted and loved already, even it was unexpected.  
 
It.  That was an ongoing argument she and Ming had been having.   He referred 
to the baby as 'she' and she herself kept referring to the baby as  'he'.  It 
had become an ongoing joke with them, a cocoon of happiness that  sheltered 
them, if only a little, from reality.  Vilya would be on duty  down in 
Engineering and Josh would walk silently by and hand her a PADD with a  message 
on it 
from Ming, who had finally figured out how to send text messages  on the 
ship's net.  There would be a suggestion for a girl's name that Ming  had 
mulled 
over while he was studying.  She would counter with a boy's  name.  The list 
had 
become something of an ongoing entertainment down in  Engineering, with her 
fellow engineers commenting on the names she and Ming kept  tossing back and 
forth.  The entertainment value grew beyond their  department, though, with the 
creation of a pool by Mac.
 
"You're asking people to engage in a particularly bad vice on my child's  
behalf?" Ming asked when Mac brought the idea up to him.  
 
Mac had thought Ming had a better sense of humor but the other man was  
looking particularly sober right about then,  "Ah, maybe I should just  forget 
it 
if it makes you uncomfortable..."
 
Ming couldn't hold the laughter in any longer.  "Come on, Mac, I was  just 
joking.  It isn't as though we're talking about games of chance.   This is 
something that's already ordained.  Well, at least part of it  is.  This is my 
daughter," he said brightly as he settled a gentle hand on  Vilya's midsection.
 
If anybody didn't know her very well, they wouldn't have noticed that Vilya  
had begun to show, if only a little.  As Ming rested his hand on her, she  
could swear she felt the utter warmth and strength of his pagh, even just  
through his hand.  But as he touched her, Vilya felt a small ripple.   She 
looked up 
at Ming and saw that he'd felt it, too.
 
"No, Patrick Kabuki, that is your son.  He's saying hello to you  already," 
she said softly.  
 
She could see Mac's smile as he realized what Ming felt.  She could  even 
sense a flicker of...something...in Josh's eyes but it was hard to  tell.  The 
friendship and welcoming they'd received from both men pleased  her.  So far 
away from both their families, Vilya and Ming knew that their  friends were 
going 
to be part of their child's life.  This is another  blessing from the 
Prophets she thought.
 
"Come closer, Uncle Mac...Uncle Joshua.  Say hello to your nephew,"  she said 
simply, her smile glowing.

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