<USS Avalon> =/\= Two For The Road =/\=

=/\= Two For The Road =/\=
by Kaera Ashayu and El-Kainah Ngaio
 
 
Amid the hubbub of evacuation, Kaera made her way to her assigned place on  
the Captain's Yacht. The assignments were made based on rank, specialty,  
subspecialties, and who-knows-what other factors, so of course Cam was  
elsewhere. 
Kaera's back ached by the time she logged into her assignment, and  all she 
wanted to do was curl up somewhere alone. Fortunately, the large shuttle  that 
served as the Captain's Yacht was spacious enough that, even under  evacuation 
protocols, there were a number of private nooks and crannies. Kaera  found 
one, and sat rocking, trying to ease the cramping in her lower back as the  
vessel left the ship's docking bay.
 
El was nervous. He had never had to abandon ship before. Not even when the  
Breen attacked the transport ship he and his mother took to the camp. He worked 
 off some of the nervous energy checking and rechecking his medical kit and 
the  medical supplies found on the shuttle. As he was checking, he noticed the  
young Cardassian woman he knew to be Miri's supervisor in the Library find a  
cozy corner and curl up. And between his telepathic abilities and his medical 
 training, it didn't take much for him to surmise that she was in some  
discomfort. He decided to go over to her.
 
She couldn't help being aware of someone approaching her, but Kaera wanted  
nothing more than to be left alone. To hide. To creep into some snug, dark 
cave,  and... That was when she realized what this desire to be alone really 
was.  
Instinct! She was craving solitude to give birth. The irony of it struck her, 
 and she laughed wryly.
 
"I haven't even said anything yet," El said with a smile. "Do I look that  
funny?"
 
The Cardassian woman looked up, shaking her head in an almost universal  
negative. "No," she said, wincing as her lower back spasmed again. "I was just  
finding it odd that my children should choose this time to be born. Here, away  
from Dr. Anna, away from Sickbay..." Her voice dropped, "Away from their  
father."
 
"Children can often choose the most inopportune time to be born," he  agreed, 
trying to keep her mood light. "But I might be able to help," he  offered.
 
Nodding to the young physician, Kaera struggled to her feet, grimacing  
against the pain. "There must be something like a Sickbay on this vessel," she  
noted.
 
"There is a small medbay, down this way, that will offer you some privacy.  I 
just need to get your records from the computer... before we go too much  
further," he said. "My name is El-Kainah, by the way. El-Kainah Ngaio." He  
turned and went to a console quickly and got the records that had been saved as 
 an 
automatic backup, some hours earlier, from the Avalon's computer. Once they  
were on the console he downloaded them into a PADD and went back to her.
 
"I know," said Kaera. Like most Cardassians, she had a near-perfect memory  
for faces and names, although -- unlike most of her people -- her memory  could 
be faulty in other areas. "You examined me months ago, when I first  
discovered I was expecting..." She followed him, slowly, toward the shuttle's  
small 
medbay.
 
"Oh of course," he said. "I remember now," he said as he looked at her  
again. He hadn't pulled out his tricorder yet to see what it told him, but he  
did 
a visual appraisal of her. And her stance told him... "Your lower back?" he  
asked as he watched her walk gingerly. 
 
"Terrible cramping there," she agreed.
 
He nodded. "I can give you a hypospray that should help if you wish," he  
offered. "Or, I can do something that my people have discovered helps just as  
much. Of course, it is mostly used when the father of the children is  present."
 
"He promised he would be with me," Kaera murmured, wincing again. Though of  
course it certainly wasn't Cam's fault that this evacuation had happened. They 
 reached the shuttle's medbay, and she stood placing both hands on a bed 
surface,  arching forward to try and stretch her back. It was difficult, with 
so 
much  belly full of babies in the way.
 
"Well I'd rather he were here, too," El agreed. "And I'm sure he would  
prefer it as well." He came around and took a hold of her arm. "Here, let me  
help 
you up," he offered.
 
Her clothing would soon be in the way... "Is there an appropriate garment I  
can put on?" asked Kaera, nodding toward the little washroom at one end of the 
 area.
 
El nodded. "Of course," he said and went to the drawer. "I believe this  will 
do," he said as he pulled a gown out of the drawer. He brought it back to  
her and helped her to the washroom. "I'll get a few things ready," he told her. 
 
"If you need any help, just call for me," he said.
 
"I'll be fine," she assured him, and she was. It only took a few minutes to  
change into the gown -- one that pulled over her head, and didn't leave  her 
backside hanging out for all the world to see -- and then she waddled back  to 
the biobed.
 
While she had been changing, El worked and set out some things he would  
need. If it had been a full sickbay, aboard the Avalon, there would have been 
OB  
specific scanners and a more extensive database for him to consult, but he 
would  have to make do with what he had available here. 
 
When she came back he smile at her. "Well, we need to get a few scans," he  
said. "Find out how far along you are in the process. He quickly consulted her  
records and did a quick calculation. "It's been one week since your last  
examination? Is that right?" he asked as he helped her to the bed.
 
Kaera nodded. "Yes, I was scheduled for an appointment today... and of  
course, here I am." She lay back on the bed, but it made the backache worse, so 
 
she carefully turned on her side.
 
"You must have read my mind," he said with a smile as he came around to the  
side she was facing. "I was just going to suggest that you lie on your side," 
he  said. 
 
He talked gently with her to try to keep her calm and to help her focus on  
something other than the discomfort she was feeling as he ran his tricorder 
over  her. After he had finished, he said, "Looks like early stages of labour," 
he  told her. "I hate to tell you this but it looks like you could be doing 
this a  while." 
 
"This backache is horrid," she complained. "How long is a while?"
 
"You're barely dilated," he answered. "Here," he said as he came around  
behind her. "I would usually have the father do this but since he isn't 
here..."  
he trailed off as he placed the heel of his hand against the small of her 
back.  He began massaging in small concentric circles. "Does that help or make 
it  
worse?" he asked.
 
At first it made it worse, but only for a few seconds. Then the tension  
eased, and Kaera sighed with relief. "It helps," she murmured. She, too, wished 
 
Cam was with her. But it couldn't be helped.
 
"Some times it makes it worse," he said. "If it starts to make you  nauseous, 
let me know. We'll change directions," he told her. "I've got a few  monitors 
here that can show you the progress of your babies if you like," he  said.
 
"I should have studied this more," Kaera muttered, more to herself than to  
the doctor. "I ought to know what to expect."
 
El smiled. "Well, from what I have read," he started. "Simulations are one  
thing, the actual birthing process doesn't always go to plan," he said.
 
"I just... ohhhh," she groaned, feeling her abdominal muscles tighten in a  
genuine contraction. "Not funny," she grunted, arching against the pain.
 
He came around and ran the tricorder over her. "You're doing fine Kaera,"  he 
told her. "The labour is progressing nicely," he added. "Your back about the  
same, or is it getting better?" he asked.
 
"I feel like they are going to explode out of me," she  complained.
 
El nodded. "It's going to be at least another three hours," he said. "I can  
give you a hypospray. It should numb some of the pain," he told her.
 
Kaera tried not to whine, really she did. But... "Three  hours?!"
 
"I'm sorry. I know it's a long time, but there really isn't anything I can  
do to speed it up," he said. 
 
"Sorry," she apologized. "It just... hurts. I suppose I should take that  
hypo."
 
"I'll warn you," he cautioned as he took the hypospray off the table  nearby. 
"Some patients don't like to use the hypo. They say it diminishes the  
birthing experience."
 
If Cam had been with her, Kaera probably would have braved it out. But she  
wasn't brave enough, or calm enough, to manage this without him. Not this much  
pain. Not the fear of having to raise their children alone, if anything 
should  happen to him. "It hurts," she repeated.
 
El smiled. "Of course, it does. You're trying to force two life forms out  of 
your body. Two life forms that weigh several kilograms each."
 
He leaned down. "I'll give you the hypospray," he told her and pressed it  
into her neck. "That should help in a few minutes."
 
And it did. The incredible tightness in her back and belly became a  
non-issue, and after a while, Kaera slept.
 
El watched her a moment and then scanned her. The spray he gave her  
shouldn't have caused her to loose consciousness, just dull the pain. He was  
getting 
nervous again, and was about to wake her, when he realized that she  hadn't 
lost consciousness. She had fallen asleep. He laughed lightly at himself. 
 
When Kaera woke, it was to the most incredible pressure. She groaned,  
feeling a tremendous urge to counter the pressure by pushing with her abdominal 
 
muscles. "Cam..." she whimpered.
 
El saw her stirring and felt the call for her children's father. "It's all  
right," he told her gently. He scanned her again. "You're fully dilated," he  
told her. "You ready to start pushing?" he asked. 
 
She nodded. The pressure rippled through her, and she pushed. Breathed, and  
pushed some more.
 
"Good... " he told her and moved around to the foot of the table. "Keep  
breathing," he reminded her. "You're doing fine," he went on. He looked beneath 
 
the gown. Even with twenty-fourth century technology, some things were just  bet
ter observed the old fashioned way. He looked back above the gown and went to 
 her midsection. He felt her abdomen for a moment and nodded. "Just double  
checking to make sure they had turned. Everything is on schedule," he told her. 
 
Another push, and Kaera felt something moving. A baby, pushing into the  
outside world, with her help. She grunted and pushed again, crying out  
involuntarily.
 
El smiled. "That's it," he told her. He looked under her gown again.  "You're 
almost there," he told her. "I can see the top of your child's head," he  
told her. "I need you to push really hard with the next contraction," he told  
her. "You ready to be a mother?" he asked with a practiced smile.
 
She wasn't, not without Cam by her side, but she didn't say so, just  groaned 
and pushed... and felt the baby slide out. Without the painkiller, she  
thought, it might have been unbearable. But this was tolerable, if  
uncomfortable. 
And tears came to her eyes as she heard the child's thin wailing  cry.
 
El nodded. "Good," he said and began to get a few initial readings. "You  
should have a few minutes to... well, relax, I guess, is the way to phrase it.  
The other baby should be making an appearance in a few minutes," he told her. 
 
It didn't feel that way, though. Slick with perspiration, Kaera felt she  
barely had time to breathe before the hard contractions struck her again. "Boy  
or girl?" she gasped, resisting the urge to push too soon.
 
El looked over to her. "I'm sorry. I should have said so before. You have a  
beautiful baby boy," he told her. 
 
He heard her gasp again. "Well, as I said... the simulations aren't always  
completely accurate. It seems this one is being impatient," he joked. He 
quickly  placed the boy in an isolette and returned to Kaera. 
 
He scanned her again quickly. "Ready to ride again?" he asked. "Because  this 
one is coming right now," he told her.
 
Her reply was to push, moaning with the effort. But that was all it took --  
one long push, and her daughter, too, was born.
 
"A girl, this time," he told her. "But I suspect you already knew that," he  
said as he went to get some initial scans of the girl now. He cleaned her up a 
 little as he went and her color was looking just as it should. He finished 
his  scans and took both babies over to her. He placed the isolettes in eye 
sight of  Kaera. "I just need to do a little checking on you," he told her.
 
She was exhausted, limp from her efforts. "They're so little," she  murmured. 
She couldn't recall having seen newborn babies before.
 
"Twins are often smaller at birth, to make up for the fact that the womb  
isn't really designed to carry more than one baby at a time," he told her. "I'd 
 
say they're a little small if they were single birth children, but as a set of 
 twins, they are fine. Their lungs are completely formed, and are fit and 
ready  for love," he said. He ran his tricorder over her. "You're fine, too. 
Some 
 slight tearing but that is to be expected. It should heal in a few days on 
its  own."
 
"Cam should be here to see them," Kaera whispered. They were clearly his  
children -- they had his coloring, along with a hint of her ridges.
 
El frowned slightly, concerned over her response. "I think we can contact  
the shuttle he was assigned to," he suggested. "To let him know that his  
children have been born."
 
"Can you do that...?" She was tired, so tired.
 
"Sure," he said. "I'm sure the Captain would allow it. These are rather  
special circumstances," he said with a smile. "Do they have names?" he  asked.
 
"Tell Cam he needs to decide..." and Kaera was asleep, not only from the  
exhaustion of giving birth, but also from the stress of being separated from 
her  
mate.
 
El raised a brow slightly and went to make arrangements with the Captain to  
inform Cam of the birth of his children.
 
=/\=

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