Shock and Awe

Posted on 04 May 2017 @ 2:29am by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commander Jayla Kij

1,278 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 1 || 1630 Hours

With the ship officially underway, Joey took the first chance she had to vacate the bridge and head to sickbay as she'd told Harvey she would. There was something off with the Lieutenant, and it was more than time to figure out what it was. With any luck, she'd be able to get a hypospray with something to fix everything, then she'd feel like herself again. That was her hope, at any rate.

Stepping inside, she glanced around, taking in the sights that of the new sickbay. It was quite impressive, and Joey found herself wondering how Jayla felt about it. She'd have the chance to ask her as that was who she wished to see, and found herself looking for her among the personnel.

Jayla spotted Joey enter Sick Bay and resisted her first inclination to hide. She couldn't keep avoiding people. So, with a deep breath to brace herself, she approached with a strained smile plastered on her face. "Hello, Lieutenant Corwin," she said, inadvertently formal. "How can I help you?"

"Your new sickbay is quite impressive, Doctor, and I hope you've been well over the past couple months," Joey said, offering Jayla a genuine smile. It didn't go unnoticed that the Trill woman's smile was strained, and she found herself wondering what happened between them for that to happen. "I need a physical. I haven't been feeling well lately. It's probably nothing, but I spent time on Earth, and think I picked something up."

Jayla frowned. "The ship's bio filters should have filtered anything out," she said. "But, come right over here and I'll give you a once over." She lead Corwin to a bio bed and took out her tricorder. "What are your symptoms?" she asked as she began scans.

"Fatigue, nausea, my emotions are out of whack, just to name a few," the taller woman replied as she settled down on the biobed. "I think it might be stress."

"Mm," said Jayla noncommittally as her brow wrinkled. She had her suspicions on that one, but told herself to take it slow and do a thorough examination. After all, she could be mistaken. "When did this start?" she asked.

Joey looked thoughtful for a minute. "A week... maybe a little longer."

Jayla nodded and proceeded with all the usual checks. No fever, no known pathogen detected, nothing unknown or unusual detected. But her she showed showed elevated levels of hCG and progestrone. She looked at Joey, attempting to keep the pain out of her eyes. "When was your last menstrual cycle?" she asked.

"I..." Joey said as her brow furrowed trying to remember. "I don't remember, to be honest. What's wrong with me?"

"That depends on your definition of 'wrong.'" Jayla replied, keeping her voice carefully neutral. "Nothing, if you want to be a mother. You're pregnant, Joey."

Joey blinked. Of all the things she could hear, that hadn't even crossed her mind. The blood drained from her face, leaving her incredibly pale despite her sun kissed skin. "Wh... what?" she asked unable to hide the shock in her voice. "Pregnant?"

Jayla nodded, looking like she was struggling with some sort of internal emotion. She was. Children on the Black Hawk. No. Her mind wouldn't accept it. Not after what had happened only two months ago. "Get it off the ship," she begged, tears coming into her eyes. "Please. You can't have a baby here. What would... what would he do if- if- if...." She choked on the words and gave up on speaking them. "Take it away, Joey. Please. Don't keep it here. It's too dangerous."

The taller woman blinked again, not at all expecting anything like that. She was still trying to come to terms with the fact she was pregnant, which was going to take time. "Baby, Jayla... not an it," she said with a frown, feeling a wave of emotions wash over her. "I've only just found out, and haven't made any decisions aside from the fact that I'll be a mother. Please, don't lay all of this on me right now."

Jayla's jaw clenched as she closed her eyes. No, don't let them in, she thought. Don't let them see. She took a moment to compose herself, carefully wiping all expression off her face. Once she was satisfied that nothing remained, she opened her eyes. "I apologize," she said, her voice sounding oddly Vulcan. "Would you like to know how old the baby is?"

"Yes," the Intel Chief replied simply. There was no bad blood between the two women before that she was aware of, but the way Jayla was acting toward her now suggested that flew right out the airlock.

Without a word, Jayla took out another instrument out of a nearby drawer and pointed it at the Lieutenant's abdomen. She picked up the heartbeat almost immediately. "There is a heartbeat," she said, still in that dispassionate voice. "Would you like to hear it?"

Joey swallowed back a lump in her throat as tears welled in her eyes. There was a little heartbeat already? Not trusting her voice, she nodded her head and braced herself for what she was about to hear. That sound would make this all real... it would solidify the fact she was going to be a mother.

Jayla turned in a monitor and routed the baby's heard beat to it, turning up the volume slightly so Joey could hear it. Despite her resolve, her eyes filled with tears again. "It looks like she's about 8 weeks," she said, her voice remarkably steady. "She's got facial features developing. Oh, that doesn't mean it's a girl," she clarified. "It's just the grammatically correct term for a baby at this stage."

Corwin looked toward the monitor, and though she couldn't see anything, she still heard the rhythmic beating of the baby's heartbeat. Tears welled in her eyes, but there was nothing she could do to keep them at bay as they rolled down her cheeks. There it was... proof that Joey did indeed have a little life growing inside of her. "Th... thank you, Jayla," she said softy as her voice cracked.

Startled out of her reverie by Joey's voice, Jayla took a sudden deep breath and blinked the tears away. "You're welcome," she said, voice still sounding oddly calm. "You'll be happy to know that she's healthy. You seem to be doing well, too," she added reassuringly.

"That's definitely a good thing," Joey said, feeling a bit guilty about going without medical treatment for so long. "Is there anything I need to do?"

"For now, take it easy," Jayla replied. "You can still work out, but low impact only. No caffeine, no alcohol, keep the sugar to a minimum. Get lots of fiber. And I'll schedule regular check ups for you. Do not miss any," she added, half stern, half caring. She readied a hypospray with prenatal vitamins. "These will help, too, to ensure your health and the baby's," she said, reaching to press the hypospray against Joey's neck.

Joey pulled the collar of her uniform down to give Jayla access to her neck. "I promise I won't miss any," she said. "I'll take the vitamins as they're prescribed."

Jayla gave her a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Good," she said. "We'll make sure the baby is healthy. If there's nothing else, I'll let you get back to work. Or, better yet, to rest."

"I won't complain," Corwin said with a smile. "I'll see you soon." With that, she rose to her feet and made her way out of sickbay trying to take it all in.

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