Double Checking

Posted on 22 Jul 2018 @ 4:23pm by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commander Jayla Kij

1,618 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Search Begins
Location: Medical
Timeline: MD 03 || 1300 Hours

After leaving the Ready Room, Joey made her way to sickbay and stepped inside, but rather than stop to talk to anyone, she made her way straight back to Jayla's office where she pressed the sensor for the chime. Was she being completely insane by wanting to do this? She didn't really think so since it was something that stuck out in her mind... almost as if seeing a Klingon naked would. And now, there was that mental image she didn't want, but on the flip side she wasn't dwelling on her nightmare, which was a plus.

Would Jayla think she was crazy? There was really only one way to find that out, and as soon as she was granted entry, she'd know.

Oh, good, thought Jayla. A distraction from reports. She hated doing reports; it was, quite probably, her least favorite part of her job. So, of course, any excuse to put it off was welcome. "Come in," she called cheerfully.

The Intel Chief made her way into the office and allowed the door to close behind her. She hadn't seen Jayla since their trip to Vargass Station the day before, and hoped she was handling things okay. "Hey, Doc. How are you holding up after yesterday?" she asked, moving over to the desk. This was serving two purposes for her. One, she really wanted to know if her friend was okay and not suffering any flashbacks from Razmena, and two, it helped her ease into the real reason she was here. A reason that could land her in a padded room somewhere.

"I'm all right," Jayla answered, sitting back in her chair with a sigh. "It was a bit stressful, but I'm learning to roll with it. How about you?"

"I'm doing well," the taller woman replied, then shook her head. "No, I'm not." A frown formed as she settled down across from Jayla. "It's not because of the away mission yesterday, though, but something else entirely. I had a pretty nasty nightmare last night, and it's bothering me more than I should let it. Is there any way you can do an ultrasound or something? So we can make sure they're not lizards?" It sounded irrational, yes, but it was important to her. Something that needed to be done to ease her mind.

Jayla bit her lips to prevent herself from grinning, but it didn't work. "They didn't look like lizards the last time," she pointed out, "but, if it'll make you feel better, we can take a look at them again."

"It will make me feel better," she said, trying to keep herself from freaking out. No, they didn't look like lizards the last time, but things could change, couldn't they? At least, that's what Joey kept thinking in her mind. "I know I sound completely crazy."

"You're not the first expectant mother to worry about her unborn child," Jayla assured her. "Although, I will admit that lizards is a new one. When I was an intern, there was a young ensign who was absolutely certain about every other week that she was not pregnant with a baby, but instead, only a working human heart was in her uterus. We stopped arguing with her after her third visit and just took a new ultrasound. Pregnancy wreaks havok on the hormones, which can, in turn, give you weird ideas and make you worry about every eventuality. Anyway, come on," she added, standing. "We'll take a new ultrasound and you can see your babies for yourself."

Joey rose to her feet and followed Jayla out. "So, I'm not the only one who has irrational fears about scales, glowing red eyes and deformities?" she asked.

"Deformities, no," Jayla answered, making her way to the ultrasound machine and powering it up. "Scales and glowing eyes, well, you may just be the first. But, I've heard of stranger things."

"Logically, I know there aren't any scales or glowing eyes, but that nightmare just seemed so real. I was eating the crew, and Harvey was helping me do it," Joey said, giving a full body shudder as she thought about it again. It wasn't something that happened to get often, but she'd read in one of those books that pregnancy caused weird dreams. Was this what they were talking about? "Turned out the babies were lizard babies, and they were the reason I was doing it."

It wasn't often that Jayla winced at a patient's description of symptoms- or dreams- but she did now. "Me saying you ate a man probably didn't help much, did it?" she replied. "Well, anyway, hop up here and we'll take a look at them."

"It might have had something to do with it," the taller woman admitted. "But, rest assured, it was a combination of things. When we didn't have our memories, I thought I had lizards implanted, so that definitely had something to do with it, too."

"That's okay," said Jayla with a grin, positioning the equipment to get a good picture of the twins. "I thought I had some sort of disease until we ran into another Trill. These spots are incredibly strange, after all. If you really think about it."

"You wouldn't be you without them," Joey said with a smile as she watched Jayla get the equipment ready. Part of her was afraid at what she might see, but she had to know for sure. "Has it ever bothered you having the memories of so many others?" It was a question she'd been pondering for some time, but was only getting the chance to ask it.

"Sometimes," Jayla replied, firing up the machine and repositioning it for a better view while simultaneously making adjustments to the monitor. "Belar Kij's rose-colored memories of Liara Pol have ruined many potential relationships. Come to think of it, it's usually Belar who drives me up the wall."

"I couldn't even imagine what something like that must be like," she said. "If I get too personal, just let me know and I'll back off."

"Nah, it's okay," Jayla replied with a gentle smile. "A Trill should know these answers, so of course that would be annoying, but most other species are just genuinely curious. A Klingon once asked who was in charge- me or Kij. I answered yes. He was very confused."

Joey offered Jayla a smile, then turned her attention toward the monitor. She was anxious and nervous at the same time. Would there be any changes since the last time she'd seen them? "Believe it or not, that answer doesn't confuse me, though I can see how it did him. In a way, you're both in charge. Does it ever get confusing for you?"

"It did at first, before I started listening to my mentor," she replied. "I'd forget who I was or where I was. I was a mess. But not so much anymore. There are the odd flashes when I'm startled and react without thinking or when I'm jolted out of a deep sleep. But, that's normal. Ah, here we are," she added, turning to the monitor so Joey could see it better. "Two lovely, healthy babies. And they're human."

Not that she didn't believe Jayla, after all she was a doctor and knew what she was talking about, but Joey found herself leaning in to give both babies a closer look. They definitely looked human, and that caused her to breathe a mental sigh of relief. Of course, would an ultrasound actually be able to pick up scales and glowing red eyes? She seriously doubted that. "Are you sure their eyes and skin are good?"

"All the scans show normal," Jayla answered. "Meaning human. I'm assuming that includes their eyes and skin. Anything abnormal would show up."

"I trust you, but I suppose my fears won't be eased completely until they're born," she said, looking back toward Jayla.

"They rarely are," admitted Jayla. "According to my mother, she never stopped worrying, even after I was born. She still worries. It's normal, I think."

A lifetime of worry? That was definitely a given. "Thank you for humoring my insanity, Jayla. It means a lot to me, and I definitely know this all sounded incredibly crazy."

"Like I said, it's totally fine," replied Jayla. "After all, I may not be a mother-" the hint of a dark shadow marred her features for half a second before disappearing and leaving no trace of sadness on her normally cheerful face "-but I understand enough about pregnancy to know that there's a lot to think about and worry comes up often enough for those of us who aren't responsible for another human being, so it must be at least triple for you. Best to just show you the truth as often as you need it."

"I'm grateful for that, and thank you again," she said, slipping off of the biobed. "I'll try not to come in here a thousand times a week. I won't make any promises, but I will definitely try very hard." Was Joey being completely ridiculous? Yes. Even she knew that, but this was her first (and last) pregnancy. Concerns were going to pop up.

"It's fine," Jayla assured her. "Don't worry about pestering me; I don't mind in the least. In fact, that's what I'm here for."

Joey slipped off of the biobed and hugged Jayla. She was grateful the Trill woman didn't think she was crazy for having such insane ideas. "Thanks again, Jayla," she said with a smile. "I'll let you get back to work." With that, she gave her a gentle squeeze, then turned to head back out of sickbay.

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