<USS Avalon> =/\= Two For The Road =/\=
- From: KaeraAshayu@xxxxxxx
- To: avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 00:17:40 EST
=/\= 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.
=/\=
Other related posts:
- » <USS Avalon> =/\= Two For The Road =/\=
