“Shh, it’s alright sweetie. Just go to sleep. Daddy is right here.”

I’d just fed her, and burped her. Her diaper had recently been changed. Her tiny cries made my heart break in two. I ran a large hand over her tiny head. She just wouldn’t stop crying. Beverly came over to the heated basinet and carefully picked her up.

“What is it sweetheart?”

Laura just kept crying. I was almost at a loss as to comfort her. Q flashed into existence right in front of my eyes.

“Not now Q!”

Q only pretended to cover his ears and grimace at Laura’s cries.

“Can’t you stop her squawking?  For looking like an Arronian Chicken Wing, she has some powerful set of lungs. Those beady eyes are a bit frightening though. I suppose I could make the child bigger. Would this suffice?”

Q waved a hand over Laura’s bawling form and she fit the entire length of Beverly’s arm. Alyssa scanned Laura with a medical tricorder. Astonished, she spoke up.

“Incredible doctor. Laura’s weight and height have almost tripled. She now weigh’s 2.72 kilos.”

Laura’s little bottom lip began to tremble as she continued to cry. She looked completely healthy, but I knew that this wasn’t right. Laura had to grow the right way. I was about to protest what was happening, when Deanna stepped in. Her petite form shaking with anger.

“Q! Don’t you even think about touching my baby! Get out! You so much as touch a hair on Laura’s head, and there isn’t a place on this ship you’ll be able to hide from me.”

I could feel her anger, but I sat in silence and watched the scene in front of me unfold.

“Well, well, counselor, this is a rare sight. You getting angry. You have my word as me being generous, I’ll revert your daughter back to what she was.”

Deanna tugged on Q’s arm momentarily her eyes filled with annoyance.

“You call Laura an Arronian Chicken wing again and I’m sure that the Q would agree with me to some extent that you are going too far with your little games.”

That got Q to swallow hard and wave his hand over Laura who turned back to what she was.

“You wouldn’t dare Counselor.”

Deanna nodded her head seriously.

“I would Q. You’ve harassed us more than enough times. Its time you leave us alone. Your games are getting on my nerves. Now leave!”

It was the first time I’d ever seen Q’s face pale. In a flash, he was gone. Deanna looked a bit flustered, I didn’t blame her. I saw her sway on her feet a little and steadied her. Leading her over to a bio-bed, I had her sit down on it.

“I’m ok, it’s just Q makes me mad sometimes.”

I nodded my head in agreement. Laura’s tiny arms flailed a little as Beverly tried rocking her. She turned to us and spoke.

“Well, she’s not hungry, and Will, you just changed her. She could be just tired and cold. Deanna, why don’t you try holding her under a blanket?”

Beverly carefully placed Laura into Deanna’s arms, and she saw tears begin to form in her eyes. I put a hand on the small of her back and rubbed it. Laura seemed to notice the warmth of Deanna. Her little fingers trying to grab pieces of Deanna’s hair. I placed a blanket over her shoulder and listened to Laura’s tiny murmurs of happiness.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, just go to sleep. Mommy’s got you. There nice and warm.”

I cherished every moment of this. It would still be three more months until Laura would be able to go back home. The stress of the last few days was finally beginning to sink in. I sunk down on a bio-bed next to the one Deanna was sitting on.

“I’m beat, I think I’ll have a nap. Wake me if anything happens Imzadi.”

Deanna nodded and rocked back and forth with Laura in her arms. My eyes drifted closed, and soon I was in a semi-deep slumber.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

We’d managed to send the soldiers and the doctors back to the 21st century, which was exactly the way it was supposed to be, a one way trip. All except for Wallens. He’d placed a request with Captain Picard to remain in the future and on the Enterprise. So, he was under the tutelage of Beverly, who graciously took him under her wing. I’d been in Sickbay for a few minutes and was in a chair next to Laura’s heated basinet. She was fast asleep. Wallens came up next to me and smiled.

“Scary isn’t it?”

I placed a hand on Laura’s tiny head. She had a monitor on her forehead and her chest.

“Yes, but she’s already proven that she’s not giving up. She’s a daddy’s girl.”

Wallens pulled up a chair next to me and cast his gaze down at Laura’s breathing form.

“I heard about her harrowing birth. Deanna had a water-birth and she gave birth to Laura in a bathtub?”

I nodded my head but kept my eyes on Laura.

“How is my personal life becoming an open book lately?”

Wallens folded his hands on his lap and gave me an apologetic look.

“Sorry commander. I meant no disrespect. This Sickbay has been such a magnificent wonder. Medicine has advanced so much in the past three centuries. Is it true that you’ve done away with catheters and breathing tubes?”

I nodded my head and my breath suddenly caught in my throat as Laura struggled for breath. I reached out a hand and it almost encompassed the entire length of Laura’s body. I held back the tears and tried giving encouraging words.

“Come on baby. Breathe. Breathe for daddy Laura.”

Beverly came over towards the two of us, all business.

“What happened?”

I shook my head and stroked Laura’s head.

“She just went to take a breath, and she couldn’t seem to catch it. Should we up her oxygen to 15 percent?”

Beverly placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Yes, and Will, is that you talking or the doctor who no longer holds his license?”

I did my best not to purse my lips, but I was faltering the whole way. I saw the lights on the stimulator light up on Laura’s chest. The stimulator was so big, it nearly covered her entire chest.

“Both I suppose. But I can’t let happen to her like what happened to Megan, or Hope for that matter.”

Wallens looked at me quizzically and furrowed his brown bushy eyebrows.

“Wait, you were a doctor? And who were Megan and Hope?”

I grabbed another medical tricorder from the table next to the basinet when Beverly stopped me.

“No Will, unfortunately, I cannot let you help me with this. Your license is expired and it needs to be renewed through the Board of Medicine at Starfleet Medical.”

I suddenly grew angry, with myself and with the situation that was unfolding in front of me.

“Screw the Board of Medicine doctor! They don’t have a 31-weeker here on the verge of death!”

I didn’t like feeling helpless.

“Commander, look at me, Doctor Wallens will help me stabilize Laura. You just need to sit back and try to relax.”

I knew that she was right, but I guess I just needed someone else to blame, besides myself.

“You are letting a doctor from the 21st century help my little girl? No offense Wallens. His next suggestion would be to stick an iv needle in her arm with liquid Saline for hydration and intubate her until she could breathe on her own.”

A flash of light blinded me momentarily and when it disappeared, Q was standing right in front of the basinet. Defensively I got to my feet.

“Ew, I fixed Counselor Troi’s incubator so that she could give birth to that? She looks like an Arronian Chicken wing. Scrawny arms, beady eyes, with the mewling of a Klingon cat from their homeworld.”

My temper, now flaring, I stayed on my feet.

“Q get out! Laura is not an Arronian Chicken wing!”

Q smirked and then snorted.

“Very well, Riker, I certainly hope she turns into someone that resembles a human.”

I sneered at Q one more time.

“Q leave now! I’m not asking nicely anymore! Get out!”

Q pretended to sulk and disappeared in a flash. My attention was back on Laura, my hands on the edge of the heated basinet. Deanna came into the room, panic written on her face. Her thoughts seemed to slam into me as she approached the three of us.

‘Imzadi! What happened to Laura? What’s wrong with her?’

I pulled her into my arms momentarily, and then held her at arm’s length.

“She’s alright sweetheart. Beverly and Wallens are taking care of her. She’s just having a little trouble catching her breath, but we’re upping her oxygen intake to 15 percent.”

A monitor-screen began to beep, and Deanna’s eyes began to widen in horror. Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head, and her body falling like a sack of potatoes. I caught her before she hit the carpeted deck floor.

“I’ve got you Imzadi, I’ve got you.”

My aching back screamed at me as Deanna became dead-weight in my arms. Doctor Selar and a couple of nurses helped me move her towards the bed. I tried to send her some of my thoughts to rouse her from her from her unconscious state.

‘Come on Imzadi, please wake up. Open your eyes for me.’

Her eyes fluttered open and blinked several times to try and focus on me just as the monitor-screen stopped beeping rapidly and evened out. Momentarily, I tore my gaze from Deanna to Laura, whom, with the help of the stimulator on her chest was breathing normally. An audible sigh of relief washed over me as my gaze went back to Deanna. She had a frown on her face and tears were spilling from her eyes, down her cheeks.

“She’s gone isn’t she?”

I shook my head no. Doctor Selar and two of the nurses left us so that we could have a moment.

‘No sweetheart, she’s right here. See?’

I took her face in my hands and stroked the tears away with the pads of my thumbs. I carefully rolled the heated incubator over to the side of the bed so that Deanna could see Laura. A delicate smile spread across Deanna’s face.

“Hello little one. Mommy’s here for you. So is daddy.”

It was the first time Deanna had been in contact with Laura since her trying entrance into the world in our bathtub. I sat down next to her and placed a hand over her still-growing baby belly.

“Beverly told me about Gracie.”

The smile stayed plastered on Deanna’s face as she looked me in the eye.

“I knew that something was different as soon as Laura came out of me. I can’t explain it. Beverly found Gracie’s foot, and now we have a set of twins.”

Deanna tried getting up, but Beverly came over and pushed her gently back down.

“You need rest Deanna. Staying calm is what you need. I can’t stress enough that you need to take it easy. I know it’s only been a few days since Laura’s birth, but you need to start thinking about Gracie now.”

I could tell Deanna was tired of resting though. She shook her head and placed a hand on Laura’s head.

“I’m not leaving my daughter.”

I knew that when Deanna had the final say in things, she meant it. She wasn’t leaving Laura.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

I groaned a little and woke to a buzzing sound by my left ear. Opening my eyes, I found the face of Nurse Ogawa. She smiled and went back to whatever she had aimed at my head.

“Good to see you awake Commander Riker. I think congratulations are in order, but I’ll let Doctor Crusher tell you. Doctor, Commander Riker is awake.”

I listened to the sound of Beverly’s light footfalls coming towards the bed. A smile was plastered on her face and she held a holographic image of a baby in her hands. The holographic image shuddered a little and then resumed its soft humming as the picture remained unchanged.

“I don’t understand doctor, why are you showing me a scan of Laura?”

My brows knit in confusion more as she shook her head.

“This isn’t Laura. This is Gracie. Her twin sister. Deanna decided to name her now rather than later. I don’t understand why our medical equipment didn’t register her.”

I stared at the holographic image.

“How did you know?”

Beverly closed the gap between us and whispered.

“After a medical team took you away, Deanna said she felt strange. I told her that it was just her body getting used to not having a baby inside her womb anymore. She just shook her head and said something didn’t feel right. I went to scan her, and my tricorder could find nothing unusual going on. So I had to go in. When I found a foot, I knew that something was going on. It was a few minutes before I could get my tricorder working again, and sure enough, that’s when I found Gracie. Deanna’s still not sure what to think of all this, but she’s taking everything in stride.”

I raised my eyebrow at Beverly.

“You mean to say that Gracie was hiding from your medical tricorder for the last 8 months? Look at that, she’s even covering her eyes with her tiny hands. So answer me this Beverly, why was Laura pushed out and not Gracie?”

Beverly shook her head and placed the holographic disc in my hands.

“To be honest Will we’re not entirely sure. Sometimes twins get cramped up in there. Usually when the first of multiples is born, the other’s follow. But in the case of Gracie, she didn’t. There have only been a dozen or so cases of this happening to women of all different species.”

I chuckled a little, though I don’t know what for.

“So you’re telling me that Gracie ‘pushed’ her sister out because she didn’t like having cramped quarters?”

Beverly laughed a little at my comment.

“Maybe, but I don’t think that would be possible. Laura was in her own amniotic sac. Sounds like Gracie already has your attitude Will. You might want to watch out.”

I smiled and shook my head, still entranced by the image in front of me. I could see all the wrinkles on Gracie’s little hands.

“Why were you hiding from mommy and daddy Gracie? You already are like daddy if you like surprises.”

Beverly came back into my direct line of vision with another piece of equipment and aimed it at my head.

“Hold still Will. I want to see if using this instrument will help your eyesight. You have a flesh-eating parasite in the part of your brain that controls your eyesight. This should kill it and restore your sight. Now hold still.”

I sat still and marveled at Gracie’s dark hair on her head. Even if it was just a holographic image of what was to come, it was strikingly accurate, down to the very last detail of fingernails. A smile spread across my face.

“I can’t tell whose hair she has, mine or Deanna’s.”

A small smiled adorned Beverly’s face.

“Now that I look at it, she has your hair Will. Laura already has Deanna’s hair. But I think they’ll both have your attitude. Your temper. There all finished. How do you feel?”

I held up a shaky hand and opened my mouth. I felt a little disoriented.

“I’m ok, just a little dizzy.”

Beverly nodded her head seriously at first.

“That’s just your brain trying to readjust from having a virus in it. How’s your eyesight?”

I looked to the side of me, to my left, and saw Beverly clearly for the first time in hours it seemed.

“I can see everything. I can actually see things in my peripheral vision. Things I wasn’t able to see out of the corner of my eye because of the parasite. I’ve been wanting to ask this since my eyes started going bad, how is Gracie? Is she doing ok?”

Beverly’s smile was wide now, and she turned her attention to the monitor she’d turned into a view screen.

“32 weeks and doing well. Heartbeat at 142, and good respiratory movements. I can’t stress this enough Will, Deanna needs to keep her Magnesium levels up. If there is any and I mean any kind of hip joint discomfort, bring her in. I correlated my findings of that with some physicians on Betazed, and they said that is a sign of premature labor.”

I swallowed but pulled down on my uniform shirt. My attention turned back to a whimpering Laura and the heated basinet. Her little bottom lip was trembling. I wanted to pick her up but I looked to Beverly for approval.

“So am I ok now? Clean bill of health and all? I want to hold Laura.”

Beverly smiled and scanned me one last time.

“Fit as a fiddle Will. I want to see Deanna back here in sickbay in a week. I’ll need to perform another prenatal exam. Who would’ve thought a big strong man like you would faint at something as natural as seeing the birth of his own child?”

My face turned a little red, but I quickly quelled it as I turned my attention back to Laura’s tiny form in the heated basinet. Picking her up and cradling her in the crook of my left arm, I smiled down at her.

“I don’t exactly know how to explain it Beverly, it’s different when they are a stranger’s child. But when it comes to your own children, sometimes even the slightest things that you could normally handle, you crumble like a cookie. In my case, that’s what happened. Are you sure it wasn’t the parasite in my head?”

Beverly looked down at Laura in my arms and shook her head no.

“That was only part of it. Don’t be embarrassed. She’s cold. I would put a blanket over your shoulder and cover Laura with it. The blanket mixed with your body heat should help her feel like she’s back inside the womb again.”

Alyssa got me a blanket and Beverly draped it over me. Laura’s tiny whimpers caught my attention as her little arms flailed. She was so tiny and red. Her fragile looking body was quivering.

“Can Laura hear me?”

Beverly nodded her head yes and pulled back the blanket and scanned her again.

“Yes, but to her it might sound garbled. I think she may be hungry Will. She’s trying to make a meal out of your uniform shirt.”

I momentarily turned red, and then looked around the room. Laura’s tiny mouth was desperately trying to grab at pieces of my uniform shirt.

“Do you think she’ll take a bottle?”

Beverly’s smile made me wary for a moment.

“She thinks that you are the bottle Will. You see, sometimes in extreme circumstances when women aren’t producing enough breast milk, the men can. Usually the husband.”

My face became beet red, taking a deep breath, I felt the heat from my face subside. Letting out somewhat of a nervous laugh, I decided to crack a joke.

“Well, Beverly, if you haven’t noticed I’m not exactly lactating at the moment.”

Shaking her head and laughing, she handed me an equally tiny bottle. She pulled back the blanket a little more and watched as I did my best to put the nipple of the bottle up to Laura’s mouth.

“Mind her head Will. Help guide her mouth to the bottle, that’s it. Watch for her little jaw to start moving, there we go. Huh, I wouldn’t have expected her to start suckling so early.”

Laura was hungry. It wasn’t long before she was whining from an upset stomach. Alyssa took the bottle from me and Beverly helped me put Laura up to my shoulder so that I could burp her.

“Pat her back slowly Will, and lightly. She’s almost half the size she’s supposed to be.”

I nodded my head slowly and lightly patted her back until I heard air escape. A smile spread across my face and Beverly took her from my arms, placing her back into the heated basinet.

“Beverly, she’s so tiny, when can Deanna and I take her home?”

Beverly shook her head no and gave half a smile.

“Not for a while Will. Remember, Laura was born at 31 weeks, she’ll be here for another three months before she is able to go home. She is strong and is already showing signs that she’s a lot farther along in her development than we thought. But just because she was able to suckle on the bottle once, doesn’t mean she’s ready to be breastfed yet.”

I nodded my head and placed my seemingly giant hand on top of Laura’s tiny head filled with dark hair. She was a fighter, and more like me every day.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

“Don’t move.”

There was something pointed at the back of my neck. I put my hands up. Deanna was still flat on her back on the towel on the bathroom floor. The hard floor wasn’t doing her body any justice of comfort. She held her hands up, but she looked at me with tears in her eyes.

‘Imzadi, I’m scared. What if he shoots one of us?’

I looked into her eyes and tried to reassure her.

‘Who is it that’s holding us captive Imzadi?’

Deanna’s nostrils flared as I heard the click of a safety being disabled on the gun pointed at the back of my neck.

‘It’s Sargent Tarnson Will.’

Swallowing my abject fear, I managed to elbow Tarnson in the rubs making him drop his gun, but not before it went off. My face paled, and the world around me seemed to freeze in place. Then I realized that the bullet hadn’t hit Deanna, but was lodged in the wall instead. Security was pouring into our quarters, and two restrained Tarnson, while a third picked up his gun. Deanna was doing her best to sit up, but it was causing her too much pain. I gently helped her lie back down again.

“Lie down sweetheart. Lie down. That’s it. What’s wrong?”

She gripped my hand and started crying more. The whole situation of what had just happened, was finally getting to her.

“Will the baby’s coming!”

All I could think of, was the situation and the scare from the bullet whizzing past her head had caused premature labor. There were two choices to choose here, try and make it to sickbay, which was 3 decks above us, or stay here and have Beverly monitor Deanna, and the baby be born in the bathtub. The bathtub idea was sounding better by the minute. The warm water would relax her body. It would be much easier on the baby and Deanna. Laura would just go from the watery confines of the amniotic sac to the water in the bathtub.

“Alright sweetheart, let’s get you into the bathtub.”

She gave me a puzzled look for a moment, as if unsure what was going on. I’d forgotten about the last security officer behind me. I turned to see his face was beet red with embarrassment.

“S-sir, wouldn’t you like me to contact Doctor Crusher for you? This idea sounds dangerous.”

I nodded my head but gave him a warning look.

“It’s natural ensign, and two, it’s really none of your business.”

Ensigns Connors raised his eyebrows at me but acknowledged the situation in front of him.

“Ay sir. I’ll be outside standing guard if you need me. I hope you don’t mind, I used the comm panel by the door to contact Doctor Crusher. She’s on her way.”

I waited to say something until it was just the two of us, and the doors to our quarters closed behind Ensign Connors.

“Let’s get you undressed and into the tub.”

My mind was on autopilot, so much so that I forgot about one very important thing.

“You forgot one important detail Will, you need to fill the tub with warm water.”

I put a hand over my face and ran it over my beard.

“Right. Is the water warm enough for you?”

I momentarily helped her sit up so that she could put a hand under the facet with warm water flowing out of it.

“Yes, it’s nice and warm. I don’t know how much longer this baby is going to wait. Why now Will? It’s too soon!”

I was almost at a loss to explain it to her. I did my best to pull her into my arms. The tub was almost halfway full of water.

“I’m not exactly sure Imzadi. Some babies come early, or on time. Others come rather late. Sometimes Mother Nature’s clock gets messed up.”

She buried her face in the crook of my neck and kept it there as a contraction seemed to bite through her. I’d wrapped the towel from the floor around her, to keep her warm. I could feel her nails beginning to dig into my back, but I ignored it and tried my best to soothe her.

“Shh Imzadi, I’m right here. It’s ok. I know it hurts, I’ll ask Beverly to get you something for the pain when she gets here.”

I felt Deanna relax just as Beverly entered our quarters.

“Will, Deanna? Where are you?”

I called out to her shifting Deanna’s weight a little.

“We’re in the bathroom doctor.”

I heard three sets of quick footsteps on the carpet and hurriedly into the bathroom. Beverly was accompanied by two nurses. She looked at me seriously and put a hand on my shoulder.

“You sure you want to do this Will?”

I nodded my head yes and watched her hand reach up to Deanna’s face.

“Yes Beverly, this’ll be easier on the both of them. Besides, water births tend to be a little less traumatic for both mother and child. Laura will be going from one liquid substance to another. How are we going to proceed? Our bathtub isn’t that big.”

She brushed a long strand of dark hair from Deanna’s face.

“Beverly? When did you get here?”

A quiet smile adorned Beverly’s face.

“I just got here, and don’t worry, you’re in good hands. Thanks to your husband.”

The smile slipped from Deanna’s face and I felt her nails digging into my back once again. I suppressed a grunt that was threatening to come out of my mouth.

“…Will make it stop… It really hurts…”

My eyes wandered to Beverly who scanned Deanna. I kept the towel draped over her. I’d specifically requested that there be women nurses present for the birth of our daughter.

“She’s dilated six centimeters, only four more to go before hard labor really starts to settle in. Let’s get her into the bathtub and comfortable. Alyssa, could you place a towel under her lower back? We need to support her hips as we get her into the water. That’s it. There we go.”

Beverly pressed a hypospray against Deanna’s neck that held an Epidural. I carefully lowered her into the water. I heard her gasp and then speak up.

“Will you’re getting your uniform all wet. The water’s a little too warm.”

I shook my head and smoothed her hair back with my water-soaked hand.

“Don’t worry about my uniform. It’ll dry. Water’s too hot? I’ll turn down the temperature. Better?”

Deanna shook her head yes at me and smiled, the contraction had subsided, for now. She was still breathing heavily though. I watched as she caught her breath.

“…Much better… Will she’s going to be so tiny!”

She brought her hands up to her face and covered it and began to cry more.

“Laura will be just fine Imzadi, she’s a fighter. She’s more like you every day. I think she has my temper though.”

Truth be told, I was afraid. In fact, terrified. My mind suddenly went to Hope. The memory was overwhelming.

‘Doctor Carnon, we have to do something for Hope! Doctor Sartos? Are the two of you going to help me or not? I can’t get her out by myself, she’s breech…’

Beverly came into my line of vision and placed a hand onto my left shoulder.

“Will, what’s wrong?”

I shook my head and cleared my throat.

“Nothing, just a bad memory. She’s looking a little dehydrated, we should get her some ice chips.”

Beverly made her way over to the replicator in the living area and queried the computer.

“Computer, ice chips in a cup please.”

The computer gave three beeps and queried her.

“Please specify shape and size. Cubed or flat.”

Beverly gave a frustrated sigh.

“I don’t have time for this! Computer give me 40 flat ice chips in a plastic cup please.”

The light and energy of the replicator went off, and a cup of ice chips appeared in the food slot. Carrying the chips over us, she handed the cup to me. I tried giving Deanna the ice chip in her mouth, but she pushed my hands away.

“No Will, I don’t want ice chips, I want water.”

Beverly put a hand on Deanna’s shoulder.

“You shouldn’t be feeling anymore pain from the waist down. Should help your hip joints a little. Which is more comfortable for you? Putting your feet up on the edges of the tub or leaving your legs towards you?”

Deanna motioned at Beverly.

“I think I’m more comfortable with putting my feet on the edge of the tub. How’s Laura doing Beverly? Is she alright?”

Looking down at her medical tricorder and then back up at the both of us, she gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

“Laura’s heart is keeping steady at 137 and she’s breathing on her own. Won’t be long. Another thirty minutes, maybe less.”

I knit my eyebrows together. Nodding our heads in understanding, I squeezed Deanna’s hand and spoke.

“9 centimeters. She should be at the peak of hard labor. Which means that her contractions should almost be 30 seconds apart.”

I’d been watching Deanna for the past three or four hours, Laura was impatient, but was also taking a little time to show herself. Deanna was gripping the sides of the bathtub. She nodded her head at me and grabbed for my hand in a death-grip. I’d positioned myself behind her and the bathtub. She looked at Beverly, with a look of fear on her face. But Beverly did her best to assuage her fears.

“Beverly, its time. I’m frightened.”

Beverly put a hand on Deanna’s left ankle which was resting on the edge of the tub.

“I know you’re scared Deanna, but Laura is in good hands. Ok, now do you feel an uncontrollable urge to push? Yes?”

Deanna nodded her head and waved her hand in the air towards at Beverly.

“Beverly, you are getting your pants all wet.”

She shook her head at Deanna and smiled at her, concentrating on what she was going on in front of her.

“Don’t worry about that. I want you to push. Good girl. Easy. Easy. That’s a girl. You are doing a great job. Keep going. Easy. That’s it…”

From my spot behind the tub I could see everything. The water was beginning to turn from clear to red. I knew that there was a lot of blood that came with giving birth, but it was different when it was your own child. I took a deep breath to center and steady myself. I shook my head, I was feeling dizzy. I blinked my eyes a few times and rubbed at them with my free hand. The dizziness was spreading, but I was doing my best to keep it at bay as I saw more blood enter the tub. I suddenly felt so dizzy, I lost my balance, and one of the nurses caught me.

“Commander!”

It was dark, but I could hear faint crying coming from the direction of the tub, and the voice of a very concerned Deanna.

“Will!”

Her voice was more than concerned, it was frantic. I began to hear splashing coming from the tub. Beverly’s voice was so loud, I felt like I was listening to the COMM system and my eardrums were about to go.

“Deanna stay in the tub. Will, its Beverly, can you hear me?”

Oh I could hear you alright! How about turn the volume down on your voice! There was a nurse to the left of me somewhere, her voice was a little quieter.

“I don’t understand this doctor, his blood pressure just keeps falling. His coloring isn’t good either. Yet, despite the readings from the tricorder, I can’t find anything wrong with him.”

I winced inwardly when I felt pain in my chest. Beverly’s voice was a little quieter this time.

“He’s not responding to pain stimuli. His lymph nodes don’t seem to be compromised. Let’s get a team in here with an anti-grav stretcher. We’ll take him back to Sickbay to run some more tests. I think this may be a bit more than a fainting spell.” ——————————————————————————————————————— “Will, its Beverly, can you open your eyes for me?”

A slight ray of light entered my eyes and I opened them a little. Closing them again, I groaned. Trying again, I noticed that I could open them, but my vision seemed to be a narrow field in front of me. I cleared my throat and coughed.

“Laura?”

Beverly came into my direct line of narrow vision. It seemed everything else off to the side of me was dark.

“She’s in the heated incubation unit next to you. Can you see?”

Concern was starting to give way to worry. I shook my head and tried sitting up, but Beverly pushed me back down gently.

“Doctor, I can only see a narrow field of things about 2 meters in front of me. I’ll prove it. Move next to me.”

Since everything was dark next to me, there was no way to tell if she was standing there or not. I listened to the sound of her voice.

“Can you see me?”

I shook my head no.

“No, everything off to the side of me is dark. As black as midnight, and you are standing on my right side. What happened?”

She came back into my direct line of vision and began to scan me.

“At first I thought you’d just lost consciousness from seeing all that blood. But when Alyssa said that your blood pressure just kept falling, I had to wonder if it was something else. Our medical equipment can’t make heads or tails what’s wrong with you. As for your eyesight, I’d like to run another test. You could’ve take a blow to the head that we don’t know about.”

Slowly, with Beverly’s help, I sat up and turned so that Laura was in my sight. She was so tiny. Tiny and delicate arms and legs. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and tears were welling up in my eyes.

“Deanna did well during delivery Will. You should be proud of her. There was very little blood loss. I know you’ll want to hold Laura Will, but until we find out what’s wrong with you, I’ll ask that you hold off on that for just a little while. I know, it’s a lot to ask since you want to hold her.”

I sighed, this was turning into another nightmare.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

“Could this night get any duller than it already is?”

The nightshift on the bridge was always relatively quiet. Deanna had joined me on the bridge because she was experiencing her ‘second wind’. She was wide awake and full of energy.

“Well I’m certainly enjoying this ‘downtime’ compared to what we experienced in the last four months. At least Laura is getting her sleep. But we both know that won’t last long, she only seems to sleep every couple of hours. It’s like she’s already testing her limits, and she’s not even out here in the world yet.”

I put a hand on hers, a smile spread across my face, but there was worry there.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I won’t tell the captain you were on the bridge without your shoes. Your ankles are swollen again. You should put your legs up on something.”

Deanna glanced over at me and smiled.

‘Already done Imzadi, brought the small Ottoman from the living area of our quarters.’

I chuckled for a moment and then the smile on my face faded as Lieutenant Selsnon behind me spoke up.

“Sir, I’m getting intruder alerts on decks 15, 7, 8, 36, 2, and 1 the bridge. They have temporal signatures to them sir.”

The Borg came to mind and my guard was instantly up.

“Red alert!”

The space in front of me began to waver and suddenly, 50 soldiers in camo with guns came through. A smirking Doctor Sartos and Doctor Jacobson trailing behind them.

“Wasn’t too hard to figure out that you Mr. Riker, Deanna and the good Doctor Howard came from the future. We just had to figure out the right temporal frequency to open up an aperture.  So, this is the starship Enterprise?”

I planted myself in front of Deanna to block her view of the soldiers, even though I knew that their bullets could very well kill me. Swallowing, I tugged down on my uniform shirt. Holding my head high, I looked at the jet black haired man with the steely gray eyes.

“Commander William T. Riker of the Starship Enterprise. This is the 24th century and you are not supposed to be here.”

The man with the jet-black hair and the steely gray eyes let out a humorless laugh and grabbed Deanna’s arm. With her right, she wrapped it around my waist. I found the barrel of a hand gun up against the back of my neck. I looked at her and projected a thought rather than saying it out loud.

‘It’s alright Imzadi, everything’s going to be just fine.’

Deanna reluctantly let go of her grip from around my waist and stood up tall. She winced, I knew that her legs and feet were swollen from Edema. Security converged onto the bridge, phasers drawn, though it would prove little use against all these guns. Selsnon had already contacted the captain by the push of a button on the security console above my head. It was Doctor Sartos that began to speak up again before steely-eyed jet black hair man could.

“Deanna, you should be in bed, and off your feet.”

We were lucky there were only human’s on the bridge with the exceptions of Deanna and Data. Wallens, the soldier that had helped us so many times while we were in the past, getting us extra food and other things, stepped towards Data in fascination.

“What are you?”

Data pushed aside the Conn console and swiveled the chair towards him.

“I am an Android sir. An Artificial Life Form. Lieutenant Commander Data. All Pleasantries aside sir, I must ask that you put aside your fire arm. You are quite safe here.”

Wallens put his gun back in his holster and looked around. But it was an as-of-yet nameless General who stepped towards me and pushed aside the black hair steely-eyed soldier.

“Move Tarnson. Commander, if I may, I would like to speak with your captain.”

The man’s tone was curt and impatient, but I held my cool and pulled down on my uniform shirt once more.

“Of course General…? He’s on his way to the bridge now…”

The general in front of me fixed his six bars insignia stripe on his uniform jacket.

“General Raymond Argonson. U.S. Air Force. Fine ship this is commander. What branch of the military does she belong to? Air Force? The Army? The Navy?”

The Navy? Air Force? The Army? What was he talking about? I did my best to stifle a smile, but it threatened to come through anyways.

“Sir, I think I’d better let the captain explain.”

Inwardly I sighed in relief as Captain Picard came onto the bridge.

“Captain on the bridge.”

All the Air Force soldiers stood at attention and saluted Captain Picard. General Argonson raised an eyebrow at me.

“Boy, don’t you know you are supposed to salute respectfully to your commanding officer?”

I stood at attention, but didn’t salute. Captain Picard stepped forward and introduced himself, though cautiously.

“Gentlemen. As you were. I’m Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise. A question if I may, how did you come aboard my ship?”

General Argonson still stood at attention and put his left hand out for Captain Picard to shake.

“We traced two temporal distortion signatures in one of the hangar bays back at the base. Do the words Beta Tli System mean anything to you?”

I shook my head. They must have heard me talking about the ship in the hangar bay.

“We… passed through that system a couple of years ago. You must’ve heard me say that over the video camera feed…”

I was generally curious about the other temporal distortion General Argonson mentioned. Tarnson, the jet-black haired steely gray eyed soldier that had grabbed for Deanna’s arm shoved her into the chair. I caught her before she hit the chair. I glared up at Tarnson. I looked up at Selsnon and nodded my head at him.

“Lieutenant Selsnon, take Sergeant Tarnson to the Brig for assaulting a Starfleet officer. And confiscate his gun.”

I helped Deanna sit down in the chair. She looked into my eyes and gave a smile.

“I’m ok Will.”

It was Doctor Sartos that gave the strange smile.

“The second temporal distortion we followed came from the tracking device we planted in you Deanna. We did it to monitor your daughter’s progress.”

My face paled. So they were the ones that implanted that tracking disc inside her. My fists curled into balled fists.

“Our daughter is not a science experiment, a pin cushion or anything else you might think prudent to your investigation. She is a living, breathing being.”

The strange smile disappeared from her face and replaced with sympathy.

“Don’t you mean a living and breathing human being? I would say that since she is still inside the womb she needs to be monitored.”

I narrowed my eyes at Doctor Sartos.

“You still believe you are in control of the situation in front of you. We spent four months at a secret military installation called Area 51 which is now a museum, undergoing tests and medical procedures at your own discretion. None of you have that authority here.”

The captain put his hand up to stop me from talking.

“That’s enough for now number one. General Argonson, I assure you, there is no need for your weapons on this ship. This is not a ship of war. This is a ship of exploration. The Earth that you know, is now a part of history. Earth no longer has an Army, Navy, or Air Force. Those branches of the military flamed out of existence in the late 21st century. We have facets of all three. Earth is now part of an organization called the United Federation of Planets. I’ll be happy to show you around, but first I must insist that you lower your weapons. You are perfectly safe on the Enterprise.”

General Argonson put his hand up and all the soldiers put down their weapons. Each of the security officers confiscated their weapons, making a massive pile on the floor. We’d have to give them to the computer to recycle them. I leaned in and whispered to the captain.

“For now sir, I suggest we don’t reveal too much until we’ve gained their trust and they’ve gained ours. Until they’ve let their guard down a little.”

Captain Picard nodded his head yes and turned his attention back to General Argonson. All the soldiers followed and General Argonson followed Captain Picard up to the turbolift. They would have to go in shifts.

“Now gentlemen, if you would so kindly follow me, we want to make sure you are all in good health, so I want to have our doctor examine you and your soldiers.”

General Argonson nodded his head in approval and waited for the turbolift to open. Wallens nodded his head at Argonson and spoke

“General Argonson, sir, if I may, I’d like to remain here and explore.”

He nodded his head in approval at Wallens and entered the turbolift with the last of the soldiers, accompanied by security. A smile spread across his face as the turbolift closed, and he made his way towards Deanna and I.

“Wow, Deanna you are getting so big. You must be excited.”

A light shade of red appeared to spread across Deanna’s face.

“You mean excited for the second time? I never expected to give birth to the same baby twice. Those four months being held captive taught me to not trust anything around me. I’ve still got track marks in my arms from the iv needles and a large scar on my right arm from having so many blood transfusions. This little girl, our baby, Laura isn’t a science project as Will mentioned.”

She pointed to her stomach for emphasis and placed her hands over it, rubbing gently. I placed my own hands over hers. Wallens sighed and hung his head.

“Well you have my assurances that I do not follow any of what Doctor’s Sartos and Jacobson were doing to you Deanna. Some of it was bordering on inhumane. Believe me, I’ve seen some crazy things. Two tours in Iraq and it begins to mess with your unconscious mind. A lot of bad dreams. I had just graduated from John’s Hopkins when I was called to duty. I was going start my own practice. The first thing doctors learn is the saying: do no harm. We are held by that very oath. 35 weeks now is it? Only a month to go.”

The both of us nodded our heads in unison. But shook our heads no at the last sentence.

“Actually, I still have two months to go. Ten weeks to go until I make it to 45 weeks.”

Deanna projected her thoughts to me suddenly, causing me to fidget in my seat.

‘Mr. Wallens feelings are genuine Will. He’s trustworthy. He’s also trying to figure out a way to stay here on the Enterprise. He doesn’t want to go back to 21st century Earth. Or to the Air Force base that is Area 51.’

I nodded my head at Deanna and listened as she spoke to Wallens.

“I’m from a planet called Betazed. All these people in this room are from Earth, except for Mr. Data of course, he was built on a planet called Omicron Theta. My father was human. There are many other species on this ship. I’ll talk to the captain if you’d like, see if we can let you stay.”

Wallens raised his eyebrows at Deanna. I cleared my throat.

“I don’t think he’s quite ready for your ability yet sweetheart.”

Deanna only shook her head and the two of them smiled at each other. His smile grew into amazement.

“Wow. You can really read my thoughts? Like a Telepath?”

Deanna shook her head no and propped her feet back up on the ottoman.

“Actually, I have what one would call an Empathic sense. I sense and usually feel what others are feeling. I can’t usually read what someone is thinking. I can only hear people’s thoughts with others of my kind on my planet. With the exception of my husband of course. But that’s been 18 years in the making.”

Wallens hung his head low once again and reached for Deanna’s hand.

“It was wrong for Doctor Sartos and Doctor Jacobson to take away your baby after her birth. They had no right. You are right, your daughter isn’t a science project, and I don’t pretend that she is. You are free to sue us if you’d like…”

I raised my eyebrows at Wallens. Huh?

“With all due respect, Doctor Wallens, we have no intention of doing such a thing. In this century, we’ve moved beyond petty bickering. I would not wish what the two of us went through on anyone, not even my worst enemy.”

He nodded his head and stood tall. My attention momentarily averted from Wallens to the view screen. The stars whizzing by always calmed me. I looked Wallens in the eyes and spoke again.

“Have a seat doctor. Captain Picard should be back in a few minutes.”

It had already been an hour. I saw Deanna yawn in the seat next to me. She could barely keep her eyes open. I patted her hand to wake her up. She shook her head and gave me a tired smile.

“I think I’ll go back to our quarters, soak in a hot bath and climb into bed.”

I nodded my head but noticed she was having trouble standing up. I clasped both of her hands and helped pull her to her feet. As we made it up to the turbolift, I saw her take a sharp breath in and let it out quickly. As we waited for the turbolift doors to open, I watched her shift her weight.

“Hip joints bothering you Imzadi?”

She nodded her head and leaned into me.

“Yes, which means it’s going to make it a little difficult to get in and out of the bathtub. The hot water should at least relieve a little bit of the pressure.”

I nodded my head as the turbolift doors opened up. As we stepped inside I nodded to Data.

“You have the bridge Mr. Data. Let the captain know that I’m dealing with a family emergency.”

Data nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“Ay sir.”

Deanna kept leaning into me as we waited for the turbolift to reach deck 8. When the lift doors opened up on deck 8, we slowly exited. We were barely past the first bulkhead when she told me to stop.

“Will, I need to stop.”

I nodded my head and instead of letting her stop, I scooped her up into my arms and grunted my way the 2 meters to our quarters. Once the doors to our quarters opened up, I found my legs were starting to shake under the weight, my muscles beginning to scream with intolerance. Now in the bathroom, I set her down on the floor on top of a towel. I felt something in the back of my neck.

“Don’t move.”

Deanna was wincing on the floor, but held up her hands, and so did I. We were still in trouble.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

“How did they get ahold of my medical tricorder…?”

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Beverly in confusion.

“A temporal distortion in this room? Maybe?”

Her eyes locked onto the tricorder on the table top. I saw her reach out for it and open it up.

“Heh, it still works! Laura seems to be doing well. Lungs and heart sound good. Good reflexes. Auditory functions intact. Laura is healthy. On to the other four. Hmm… Just as I thought, Jessica does have Ryerson Syndrome, but instead of being diagnosed with it at 2 years and 3 weeks, she is diagnosed with it at 4 weeks old. Megan’s got a heart valve problem. Not showing any signs of Congestive Heart Failure… Yet. They’ve got her on oxygen and a heart monitor, but there isn’t much to do right now. Hope is the one whom is worse off than Megan or Jessica. They’ve got her on presser’s. All these machines are keeping her alive. The tiny tubing running from her nose to that machine in the corner over there is keeping her lungs functioning. She’s going to have a scar in her arm from the needle that’s giving her Saline.”

Beverly shut the tricorder and placed it back onto the table. Her right hand grazed the top of Hope’s tiny head. With the left on Megan’s. Shaking her head, she sighed.

“Only two healthy babies out of five. They should all be healthy.”

Hope began to cry in the basinet on the far right. I’d never heard her cry before. Her tiny bottom lip was trembling. Beverly quickly scooped her up and sat down on a stool next to the plastic basinet.

“Will, she’s cold, can you hand me that blanket over there?”

I nodded my head and quickly got the blanket for Beverly. She carefully draped it over her shoulder and Hope.

“What are you doing?”

A smile spread across her face.

“I’m using my body heat and the blanket to warm her up.”

I nodded my head and looked at Jessica who was staring up and smiling at me. She knew who I was. It was hard to believe that she was actually here. Turning my attention towards Deanna, I saw Laura begin to cry. She clucked her tongue against her teeth at Laura and carefully placed her into my arms.

“It’s alright sweetheart, here, go with daddy. Hold her head up. There you go. It seems she wanted to be held by daddy. She’s going to be a daddy’s girl.”

Smiling down at Laura, I watched her open and close her mouth in a large ‘O’ like yawn. She was cooing as I held her.

“That’s my girl. Look at that tiny nose, I can’t tell if it’s your nose or mine…”

I basked in the moment and saw that Laura’s left arm had snaked its way out of her blanket and her tiny hand wrapped around my index finger. She had a good strong grip already. My smile stayed on my face as I looked to Beverly. She was doing her best to get Hope off to sleep.

“Shh, it’s alright Hope. Just go to sleep now. I’ve got you.”

She kept crying. I’d never heard a baby give a strange cry like that before. A concerned look on my face, I took a step closer to Beverly.

“Why is she crying like that?”

Beverly took the blanket that was draped over her and placed it onto the counter next to her. Shaking her head, she wrapped Hope up in a blanket that was just her size.

“She sounds like she’s going through some sort of withdrawal from something…”

Furrowing my eyebrows, I became more confused.

“Drugs? But her mother was clean. She would never have subjected herself or her children to such barbarity. Could it be something else that’s bothering her?”

She shook her head once more, and tried rocking her to sleep.

“Could be something that they are giving her. She’s in a lot of pain. I don’t know what I can do for her.”

Hope suddenly stopped crying. Beverly checked her femoral pulse.

“She’s asleep. It’s so disheartening to hear a newborn cry like that. Drug dependence in mothers is a rarity in the 24th century, but in this time frame, there are many. I just don’t understand why a woman would want to expose her child to something so harmful. What’s worse is, no amount of soothing, diaper changes or feedings will abate that cry. If we were back home, I could slowly get whatever it was out of her system, problem is, in our time she was never alive to begin with. There isn’t anything we can do for her.”

Sighing once again, I looked down at Laura, who was also fast asleep.

“Like you said Beverly, we cannot interfere with the course their lives are taking. Temporal Prime Directive. No matter how much it pains me that two of my children that have been gone for a little more than a year are right in front of me. Let’s get out of here. The doctors will be back any minute…”

Beverly had placed Hope back into the plastic basinet. I gave Jessica and Erica kisses on their foreheads.

“Daddy loves both of you.”

Turning on my heel, I noticed Deanna holding onto the metal table next to her while the other held her thinning stomach.

“Deanna look at me, what’s wrong?”

Her face was pale, and sweat was starting to pour down her face. She was having trouble standing now. Beverly quickly grabbed for her tricorder on the same table. Opening it, she scanned her. Worry began to settle in and a pit was forming in my stomach. Closing the tricorder she put it back on the table.

“She needs to be in surgery now! She’s bleeding internally. If you want more children, we’ll have to act fast.”

It dawned on me what was happening.

“Delayed onset of uterine hemorrhaging. God, why didn’t I see the signs? How many blood transfusions do you think she will need?”

There was a stretcher nearby and Beverly helped Deanna lie down on it.

“Will, you have to pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You are the Architect remember? I’m the doctor here…”

I was frustrated, but I nodded my head. The two doctors entered the room just then, and soldiers piled into the room, their guns drawn on us. I only held Laura closer, trying to protect her from these arrogant, paranoid soldiers. The soldier with the jet black hair and the steely gray eyes glared me down.

“Set the child down Mr. Riker. Doctor Stevens and Doctor Carnonson are taking very good care of her. We also know that Laura isn’t your first.”

I kept Laura close and did my best to keep her in my arms. But Doctor Carnonson all but ripped her from my arms. My futile attempts at protecting her had failed. The soldier continued.

“…We took blood samples from Jessica and Erica. It seems they are also yours. What happened to their mother?”

I had to keep playing this role down, even though my patience was paper thin, like rice paper now. I had to make something up.

“Their mother died in a car accident. Look we’re wasting time, Doctor Howard says my wife needs surgery. She’s bleeding internally.”

The arrogant soldier in front of me gave me a smug smile.

“So you say that Jessica and Erica’s mother died in a car accident. Did she give birth before or after the accident?”

I let out a humorless laugh. Who did this man think he was anyways?

“The paramedics managed to get her out, and she went into labor as they got her out of the car. Jessica and Erica came just after an hour of labor, and she died of internal bleeding and other injuries.”

The soldier seemed to buy my story, but he seemed eager to rip into me.

“Alright, and your wife will get the best care possible.”

I didn’t see any more after that, because I felt a piercing red hot feeling in the back of my neck.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

“Will come on, wake up. Open your eyes for me, that’s it.”

My eyes fluttered open as I heard the sound of Beverly’s voice. I heard the constant long beeping of a machine coming from the side of Deanna’s bed. I tried to clear the fuzzy feeling from my brain and managed to sit up with a groan. Coughing, I cleared my throat.

“What’s going on?”

Beverly was already attending to Deanna on the bed.

“Deanna can you hear me? Open your eyes for me Deanna. Come on. No pain response. No breath sounds and no heartbeat.”

My mind went blank for a moment as everything around me seemed to freeze. My eyes followed Beverly as she rolled a portable machine over to the bed.

“What’s that?”

Beverly looked at me for a second as she turned on the machine. There was a whirring sound.

“A crude version of a cortical stimulator. It’s a Defibrillator and it gets the heart beating again. Clear!”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I saw Deanna’s still form jump slightly in the bed from the electrical shock. The heart monitor she was hooked up to started beeping again, and the lines on the machine went up and down, registering her heartbeat. I managed to get to my feet and over to Deanna. Sinking down into the chair next to the bed, I reached a hand up to her cheek and rested it there.

“You had us worried there for a second Imzadi. Welcome back.”

The smile disappeared from her face and she turned away from me, rolling up in a fetal position as much as she could and began to cry again. Turning over so that she was facing me, she sat up in the bed and wiped her tears from her face with a tissue.

“Nothing and no one is going to stop me from getting Laura back. Let’s go get her. Coming you two?”

Deanna had managed to get out of bed. I didn’t argue with her. She had every right to be angry.

“Imzadi sweetheart, would you like to change into some clothes first before we go looking for our daughter?”

———————————————————————————————————————

This facility is bigger than I thought. Bigger than we all thought. It was enormous! We’d gone from room to room searching for clues. We hid behind an unlocked door when we heard the voices of two doctors coming down the hallway.

“See if you can figure out what kind of respiratory illness Jessica Riker has. Examine her again, there may be something we missed.”

My breath caught in my throat. Jessica? It couldn’t be… I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and continued forward as the two doctors disappeared down the hallway. Coming to the door they’d come out of, we found that the room was empty, except for several babies in basinets. Beverly pushed the door open and the three of us went inside. All the basinets had names on them. Laura was in the first. Beverly picked her up and placed her into Deanna’s arms. Laura seemed to know right away whom her mother was.

“Hello little one. I’m your mommy.”

Laura seemed content in Deanna’s arms, she let out a rather loud yawn and snuggled closer to her. I looked into the second basinet and looked at the tiny baby lying in it. The eyebrows are mine, the nose, even the mouth. This really is my Jessica. Tears began to form at the corners of my eyes.

“Jessica, sweetheart, what in the world are you doing here?”

I carefully picked her up and a smile spread across her face. She couldn’t have been more than a month old. I’d never held Jessica as a baby before. Just my ‘brother’ Thomas did. He’d been created in a freak transporter accident, resulting in two of me. I shut my eyes and held Jessica close for a few minutes.

“She already has Ryerson Syndrome, and so young…”

A memory passed through my mind as I set her back in the basinet. ‘Catch me daddy!’ A smile spread across my face as I rubbed Jessica’s tiny tummy.

“Daddy did catch you sweetheart.”

I knew that I couldn’t mess with the course her life was taking. It would alter events in the timeline. I couldn’t do that, however painful it was for me. The third basinet held Erica. Her squirming form suggested she was at least 2 or three months older than Jessica, which meant that they were snatched from different time periods. I felt Beverly’s hand on my shoulder and listened as she spoke.

“With the exception of Laura, Will, all four of these little girls are at the mercy of time itself. We already know what happens to each of them. Jessica and Erica are caught in the middle of a Cardassian raid, Megan dies of Congestive Heart Failure, and Hope, well, we know what happened to her. What’s strange though is, why are they here to begin with? There must be some sort of temporal distortion field somewhere around here…”

At least I’d have a little more time with all three of my girls, and maybe right two accidents while working as an intern at Starfleet Medical.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

August 15th, 2011

Area 51: Secret Medical Facility

“She’s been in the bathroom for a really long time, I should check on her.”

Beverly followed me to the bathroom door and I knocked.

“Deanna it’s me, you alright in there?”

The door to the bathroom opened up and Deanna’s face was devoid of any color. Her right hand gripped the porcelain countertop while the left rested under her enormous baby belly. I could tell she’d been crying. Beverly jumped into the conversation.

“Ok, everybody relax. How far apart are your contractions Deanna?”

Deanna shook her head and grabbed for my hand as I helped her towards the bed.

“I don’t know, that was my first one.”

Her dark eyes locked onto my blue ones and I tucked the blankets around her. A smile spread across my face.

“We are each other’s support beams. Laura is a miracle.”

It was true, Laura was our miracle. We’d had trouble conceiving the last couple of years, and after two miscarriages, we’d lost almost all hope, until we found out about Laura.

Kissing her forehead, I wiped away her stray tears.

“All I want for her is to be healthy. My mind keeps going over and over what happened to the other two…”

I pulled her into my arms and into a hug.

“Shh. Enough talk about that. That’s all past us now. We have Laura to think about. She needs every ounce of strength her mother can give to bring her into this world.”

Deanna nodded her head and gripped my hand. Beverly sat on the other side of the bed and timed the contraction.

“Coming down now, remember to breathe Deanna. That’s a girl. Contractions almost up to a full minute. We’ll have to wait until the contractions are at least 20 minutes apart before we can give you something for the pain.”

I shook my head and looked Beverly in the eye.

“This would be so much easier if we were on the Enterprise. A hypospray would do wonders.”

Beverly nodded in agreement and wiped the sweat away from Deanna’s forehead.

“If only I had my tricorder with me. It would be easy for me to tell how many centimeters dilated you are. But everything in this century is done the hard and uncomfortable way. I’ll be discreet I promise.”

I distracted myself with looking at Deanna straight in the eye.

“You are doing a wonderful job Imzadi. Just think, when this is all over, however long it takes, we’ll have Laura here with us.”

A smile graced her face, and then we both looked at Beverly expectantly.

“4 centimeters. Only 6 more to go before delivery and 2 to go before the beginning stages of hard labor. When you get to 6 we’ll get you some local and an Epidural.”

I sat in the chair on the right side of the bed and kept my hand in Deanna’s.

“I have a feeling Laura will either be fashionably late, some women are, or she’ll come quickly. I guess we’ll have to wait and let nature take its course.”

Deanna nodded her head and winced. She moved in the bed to get comfortable again.

“I think the pressure in my hips just increased ten-fold. I wish it were gone already.”

Beverly shook her head and squeezed Deanna’s hand.

“Don’t worry, once the baby is delivered, the pain will disappear.”

I stifled a yawn and smoothed the hair from Deanna’s forehead once more. She licked her dry lips.

“I’m thirsty. Can I have some water?”

As I began to pour a glass of water, Beverly shook her head no at me.

“I’m sorry Will, she can’t have water right now. Only ice chips.”

I knit my forehead in confusion. Huh?

“I’m not sure I follow. Why only ice chips? Why not water?”

Beverly sighed, she didn’t look pleased with the idea either.

“The ice chips will help keep her cool. With water, her bladder will get full, and she may have an accident during hard labor.”

I nodded my head, but wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“Well I guess if your body can’t control it… Another question for you Beverly, how come her water hasn’t broken yet?”

Beverly rubbed Deanna’s back for a moment as a strong contraction showed up.

“Don’t forget to breathe Deanna. When she gets to 6 centimeters her water should break. I’m not too worried, everything is progressing along nicely and as it should. This is all about time, and letting Mother Nature take its course.”

Deanna was holding onto me in a vice-like grip and almost looked as if she feared letting go. She was crying, and I could tell she was in a lot of pain.

“Shh, everything’s going to be alright. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

She shook her head no and wrapped her arms around me.

“No Will, you don’t understand, it hurts, it really hurts!”

Tears began to form in my eyes, and two actually made it down my face.

“Doctor, get her something for the pain now please…”

Beverly nodded her head and went towards the door and opened it, looking at the soldier standing just outside.

“Could you get the Anesthesiologist down here please? The patient is in labor and is in need of pain medication.”

The soldier that was in front of Beverly nodded his head seriously, but his eyes held pity. Deanna’s expression changed suddenly, and she gasped. I looked at her as I put a hand up to her cheek.

“What is it Imzadi?”

Relief washed over her momentarily.

“My water just broke.”

Beverly shut the door and came over to us in three quick steps. A warm smile adorned her face.

“Won’t be long now, another hour or two at the most. The Anesthesiologist is on their way here. Just try and relax alright?”

I slipped an ice chip into Deanna’s mouth as Beverly pulled back her covers just enough to expose her stomach. Pulling back the hospital gown a little, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“What is this? Where did you get this from?”

Now it was Deanna’s turn to be confused.

“I’m not quite sure. It wasn’t there three days ago.”

There was a spidery-looking bruise marking her stomach just to the left of her belly button.

“Judging by the markings of this and the pattern, you were connected to some sort of machine. Now for what, I can’t be sure. Come to think of it, there are 6 hours from yesterday neither Will nor I can account for. It’s as if our memories have be erased.”

My guard was instantly up as Beverly pulled the gown back over Deanna’s stomach. I gritted my teeth when I saw Q come into the room with a tray. On it were a couple of syringes.

“The Pain Management Specialist is here to make all your requests become reality. Now shall we get started?”

All three of us glared at Q. Beverly and I shielded Deanna from Q’s direct vision. He gave an almost sincere smile as he waved a hand over the metal tray and a hypospray appeared in place of the two syringes. He looked straight at Beverly.

“Isn’t this what you were looking for Doctor Crusher? 24th Century tech at your fingertips. Catch. Oh, too bad, guess you’ll have to stick with this century’s technology and the hypospray will have to return to the 24th century. Now where was I? Oh yes, let’s get started.”

The two of us didn’t budge. I was out of patience and I felt my anger boiling over. Then it exploded like a volcano.

“Get out Q! If you so much as try to touch her, you’ll regret it!”

Q only laughed and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Come Riker you know you can’t hurt me. What does this remind me of? Oh yes, the time several years ago when you tried to choke me in Ten-Forward and you accused me not of knowing what it was like to lose a child? What were their names? Those two little girls you were so fond of?”

He’d struck a raw nerve in me and I restrained myself from going after him like before.

“Their names were Jessica and Erica. Don’t you ever forget what you cost me. Now get out Q!”

Q looked rather bored instead of hurt. He stifled a fake yawn and rubbed his nails against his shoulder.

“Oh very well Riker, but I am enjoying this game, and it’s about to get a lot worse before I send you back to your precious Enterprise.”

Q disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced by the real Anesthesiologist. She looked a little confused at first, but then squared her shoulders and gave Deanna a sympathetic smile.

“I heard someone in here needed an Epidural. I’ll give you the local anesthetic first, and once that kicks in I’ll give you the Epidural. This might pinch a little. Feel free to scream if you’d like. From personal experience I did the same. Now make your back nice and round for me.”

I threaded my arms under Deanna’s armpits and around her upper back. She lay her head on my shoulder and buried her face in my neck like a small child. I did my best to reassure her.

“Shh. It’s alright sweetheart. I’m right here. It’ll be over soon.”

Soon, her sobs became quiet and I’m not sure if it was all the emotional shifting that was going on but suddenly she became angry. Not at me, but at Q.

“I want out of this place now! I want to go home! I want to wring my hands around Q’s neck! He thinks this game is funny! Well I don’t!”

Her whole body tensed against my embrace. The Anesthesiologist at her backside stopped for a minute and waited.

“Deanna I can’t give you the Epidural unless you relax.”

She nodded her head and buried her face in my neck and sobbed once more, trying to stifle a scream. I rubbed her upper back in large sweeping circles to try and keep her relaxed and focused on me.

“Shh, I’m right here. You’ll feel better before you know it. Everything’s going to be alright. I’ve got you.”

It was twenty minutes before she was completely relaxed. Then I realized by her even-toned breathing that she was asleep. The Anesthesiologist was now gone, and it was just the three of us again. Beverly and I carefully helped Deanna lean back against the pillows.

“Women really went through this with multiple children?”

Beverly nodded her head somberly and shifted Deanna a little.

“Epidurals in syringe-form were the standard practice of the time. At least you two are having one for now. I remember reading somewhere while I was in medical school, a woman went into labor with a set of Septuplets. The doctors had insisted that she have a scheduled C-Section. She refused saying: ‘I want to deliver my babies naturally. I have that right as a woman.’ The doctors didn’t argue with her, but advised against it. In a 96 hour time period of hard labor, she delivered 7 healthy girls. All naturally.”

I sat back for a moment, feeling a little dumbfounded.

“She must’ve been a very strong woman to go through that. What did her husband think?”

Beverly shook her head.

“Single mother. Her husband left her when they ran into fertility issues. That was 15 years ago… Deanna should sleep a little. At least in between contractions. Hard labor is going to drain her. She’s not feeling anymore pain from the contractions at least, but she will feel the pressure and the need to push very soon.”

I nodded my head thoughtfully and wiped more sweat from Deanna’s brow. I fixed the oxygen in her nose. Beverly looked under the sheet at the needle in Deanna’s back.

“She’s not in any more pain?”

Beverly shook her head no and gave me a smile.

“No, she’s not. That’s a good thing. Hard labor without drugs can be extremely painful as you’ve already seen. Interesting, she placed the Epidural strategically into the muscle. The Anesthesiologist.”

There was nothing Beverly or I could do but wait. It was another hour before Deanna opened up her eyes wide and she looked from me, to Beverly and then back to me again.

“What? What is it? Do you feel the need to push?”

Deanna nodded her head at Beverly and grabbed for my hands. The four nameless doctors and Doctor Sartos burst into the room suddenly.

“Times up Doctor Howard, you’ve been holding the reins on this situation long enough. My turn. Help her scoot to the edge of the bed. Well come on, this baby is coming like a freight train, we don’t have all day!”

The two of us noticed a complete change in Doctor Sartos. She’d become more irritated, and on edge as of late. Beverly did as she was told, but narrowed her eyes at Doctor Sartos.

“Your bedside manner needs some work Doctor Sartos. The way you treat me is your business, but you treat the patient with respect and care. She is your number one priority. You have two lives hanging in the balance here.”

Doctor Sartos hardened her eyes at Beverly, and I could feel a fight coming on, but nothing happened. Instead, turning to the business at hand she assumed her position in front of Deanna on the edge of the bed.

“Give me six strong pushes and your baby will be out. Big push now. That’s it! Keep going. Keep going. Three, almost there, here come the shoulders. Three more. Come on, you can do this. One more. That’s it! It’s a girl! Interesting, she looks like a human.”

I was irritated by the fact that there were soldiers parading the room as if this were nothing. She cut the umbilical cord with a pair of surgical scissors and handed Laura off to a nurse.

“Take her down the hall. Take a blood sample from her and get her hooked up on monitors. Warm her up and give her a bath.”

Deanna was quiet, but I could see the tears streaming down her face, like her whole world had just fallen apart. I tried going after the nurse, but a soldier by the door hit me over the head with the butt of his rifle and I fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I don’t know how long I sat lying on the floor, but Doctor Sartos and the other doctors had left the room, now having delivered the afterbirth. Beverly had placed the sheet back over Deanna’s legs and helped free them from the stirrups. Through blurred vision, I saw her pulled Deanna into a hug. Her sobs ripped through my soul like a jagged knife. Beverly’s voice was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

“Shh. We’ll get Laura back Deanna. They have no right to keep her.”

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

“How is this possible? How do the people of Earth in this century have an alien from the Beta Tli system?”

Huh. The Beta Tli System. I ran a hand over the round-looking ship. It was held in place and upright by some sort of docking clamps. Deanna had her arms crossed just over her belly and was shaking her head.

“Will did you even bother to read the signs on the door clearly marked: ‘Restricted Area: Keep Out. Air Force Personnel Only’? I know you are looking for some sort of panel to open the hatch on this. I’d advise against that.”

I turned around and looked at Deanna and gave a smile.

“This is a piece of history Imzadi. We’ve never seen one of these ships up close before.”

I was interrupted by Beverly just behind Deanna.

“She’s right Will. In our century since this place is a museum, they’ve removed the alien’s body. In this century, the government can’t even figure out how to open the hatch. The body of that alien has been inside this ship since 1947. Let’s go Will. Deanna needs to be back in her room. Three weeks to go and she needs to be off her feet.”

Sighing, I stepped away from the ship. An alarm started to go off, and a red light began to flash. Helping Deanna back into the wheelchair the three of us quickly found a door and exited the room housing the alien ship. Now just a few short steps away from our room, I looked around the corner to make sure there were no soldiers parading the hallway. Looking back at Beverly and Deanna around the corner, I motioned for them to file into our room.

“All the soldiers must be converging on the room where the alien ship is. You know, that white lab coat doesn’t look too bad on you Beverly.”

She was helping Deanna back into bed and placing the fetal heart monitor back around her stomach. I watched as they laughed a little. But it was Beverly’s voice that spoke first.

“Look at that foot testing out the space. Not that there is much space in there. Someone is probably pretty eager to come out.”

I shut my eyes and tried not to grit my teeth as Doctor Sartos came into the room with four other doctors trailing behind her.

“We’ve waited long enough Doctor Howard. We need to induce labor today. Within the next 20 minutes. The baby is more than large enough now to be delivered.”

Beverly only shook her head.

“You don’t understand, I keep telling you, inducing labor would only be detrimental to the both of them.”

Doctor Sartos and Beverly both had tempers, but Beverly could get quite loud when she was fighting for the safety and health of a patient.

“How is that detrimental Doctor Howard? She’s 41 weeks. One week over-due. Is there something else the three of you aren’t telling me?”

I kept my mouth closed until a nurse got a fresh catheter out of one of the drawers. I went on the right side of Deanna and Beverly on the left.

“Don’t touch her.”

The nurse stopped what she was doing and Doctor Sartos kept the frown on her face.

“Excuse me but you do realize that by leaving this baby inside the womb for longer than necessary can do more harm than not. We need to induce labor, now.”

It was Beverly’s turn to argue.

“I am her attending Physician, and you are not hearing me! Inducing labor would be harmful for the baby. Believe me when I say, the baby isn’t ready to greet the world yet. Three weeks, that’s all I’m asking.”

I saw Deanna shaking her head as both Beverly and Doctor Sartos kept arguing. Throwing her hands up, she then crossed them over her chest.

“Nobody bothered to ask me what I want? What’s best for me?”

The silence in the room began, and it was deafening.

“Deanna I really think that we should induce labor, if you don’t have any objections?”

I shook my head no and watched as Deanna pulled her legs towards herself.

“I’ve about had it with all of you! For the last three and a half months we’ve put up with all the poking and prodding and needle sticks. We’re done.”

The nurse tried to go back to what she was doing with the catheter.

“Don’t touch me. You just keep going with what you’re doing. You didn’t ask me what I wanted, whether I wanted to go through with this or not. The answer is no. I’m not ready yet, and neither is my baby.”

Doctor Sartos tried to regain our trust, but it wasn’t going to be that easy. My guard up, I listened to what she said.

“That baby, your baby has human DNA, but also that of an alien not of this world. Don’t you see what we are trying to accomplish here? It is imperative that you cooperate with us, we promise that no harm will come to you or your baby. Get her started on some Magnesium.”

The four doctors, including Doctor Sartos left the room, once the last nurse left, Beverly shook her head in disgust.

“Magnesium? Ugh, that stuff makes a woman feel like crap, to use their term for it. I remember, I was on it while I was carrying Wesley. You can’t keep food down, and you are constantly vomiting all the time.”

I ran a hand through Deanna’s dark curls.

“Well I’m not going to stand for this, you told me that her Magnesium levels were where they should be when we were aboard the Enterprise. Can you take the needle out before the Magnesium starts to affect her system?”

Beverly sat down and carefully tried to figure out a way to get the needle out. Shaking her head, she took her hands away from the needle in Deanna’s arm.

“The problem with this picture is that they’ve got it mixed in with the liquid saline flowing through her veins. Maybe I can find a way to extract the Magnesium from the saline solution.”

She dug through a couple of drawers trying to find something to extract the Magnesium. I put a hand in Deanna’s and watched as she knit her forehead in confusion.

“Will, Beverly, I don’t feel well… There’s a strange taste in the back of my throat, and there’s pain in my chest…”

Beverly began going through drawers looking for something else. I saw Deanna’s eyes begin to shut and I patted her hand to make her open her eyes.

“Deanna, look at me Imzadi, open your eyes for me.”

Beverly had turned and was now holding two capped syringes in her left hand.

“She’s having an allergic reaction to the Magnesium. When I count to three Will, I want you to place the cotton ball on the area where the needle was. I’m going to pull it out. 1-2-3. Put pressure at the elbow crease.”

I put the cotton ball on top of the point where the needle had been.

“What’s the smaller syringe for?”

Beverly uncapped the syringe and inserted it into the vein on Deanna’s left arm.

“Epinephrine. It’ll help her lungs and her throat open up, but she’ll still need oxygen for at least another 20 minutes before she acclimates to room air.”

I watched as Deanna gasped for breath and waited for the oxygen in her nose to take effect. Beverly added one more thing before Deanna spoke.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to use the Adrenaline. That was the bigger of the two syringes.”

Deanna looked exhausted, I didn’t blame her. I wiped the sweat from her brow.

“I don’t think I can take this much longer, we get thrown in the past, and I’m the pin cushion. Our baby being the focal point of all this secret under wraps alien testing that is going on in this government facility. What happened to me?”

Beverly sat down on the left hand side of Deanna’s bed.

“You had an allergic reaction to the Magnesium Deanna, but you’re alright now. I promise I’ll buy you more time. I won’t let them induce labor on you. Inducing labor would cause the baby respiratory distress and heart palpitations. The baby simply needs three more weeks.”

We both nodded our heads in seriousness. My hand went over Deanna’s on top of her baby belly.

“What would’ve happened if Deanna had stopped breathing for several minutes?”

Beverly put her hand on top of Deanna’s.

“Will, the baby’s heart rate would drop below 80 and then a C-section would be absolutely necessary. She would have to be in an incubator for at least a week before her lungs were strong enough to endure room air.”

I saw Beverly shake her head with a small smile on her face.

“Sometimes, I can’t keep my mouth closed.”

A smile erupted on my face.

“So, we are having a girl. Laura Jane Riker-Troi it is then.”

Deanna and I both smiled at each other and went in for a kiss. This day had gone from bad to a calm and normal moment being stuck in this century. Beverly had gone back to her room next door while I got under the covers with Deanna. She moved to try and get comfortable.

“Why are these beds so lumpy? And hard? I think the only thing that’s cushioning me right now is the cushion under my hips.”

I ran a hand over her forehead and kissed it.

“Well, as soon as Q is done with his little game here, we’ll go back to Enterprise and be able to be in our nice big King-sized bed. Hopefully, you can give birth on the Enterprise.  Something just doesn’t feel right about this Imzadi.”

Deanna nodded her head and kept her hand on top of her baby belly.

“I’ve had that same feeling for the last three days. Is it just me or is Doctor Sartos sizing me up for something? She said and I quote: ‘no harm will come to you or your baby. We promise.’ She wasn’t exactly being truthful.”

My hand still over hers, I gave her a smile.

“Not to worry, I won’t let anything happen to you or Laura. You’re safe with me.”

I found it strange that we had a long and rectangular mirror, window-like on the other side of the room, and little did I know, Doctor Sartos and a few other doctors were watching us from the other side.

To Be Continued…

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]