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…
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