Fresh Light In A Dark World

Posted on 30 Dec 2019 @ 8:03pm by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Captain Harvey Geisler & Commander Jayla Kij
Edited on on 13 Jan 2020 @ 4:49pm

3,326 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Epilogue
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 15 || 1920 hours

The pressure was unlike anything she'd ever felt before in her entire life, and only the sound of steady thumping of twin heartbeats from the monitor above her head kept her from going absolutely crazy. Joey had her eyes closed and focused on her breathing, repeating the steps in her head like a mantra. In through the nose... out through the mouth. She prayed for an out of body experience. Something to make the incredibly uncomfortable sensation go away, but nothing short of pushing would make that happen.

Was it about that time?

Joey didn't know for sure, but was now reaching a state of panic. Once the pushing started, there was nothing to stop the twins from making their grand entrance. She'd be a mother. A mother of two. It was definitely too late to turn back now, and there was one major regret she had. That regret was that her husband wasn't with her. He was doing his part to save the ship and her crew, and she understood that, but the selfish part of her wanted him there.

She clenched her teeth when the pressure increased, the monitor above her head showing her contractions were nearly on top of one another now. Joey shook her head and opened her eyes. "I have to push," she panted, tossing the covers off of herself and assuming the position. She only hoped that someone would be quick enough to catch, though, she was doing her best to resist.

Nurse Jude wrung her hands in distress. "But... the doctor-"

"Is right here," finished Jayla, hurrying into the room and swiftly settling herself onto the stool at the foot of the birthing table. "How's her dilation?"

"Full," answered Jude in relief. "Sorry. I've never done this before and I didn't know what to do!"

"It's okay," answered Jayla. "How long has she been fully dilated?"

"Only a few minutes."

Jayla nodded. "Okay, I need a- holy crow, she's crowning!" she said. "Okay, Joey, when you feel a contraction coming, I need you to push, okay?"

Joey didn't need to be told twice. The second she felt her contraction start to build again, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then held it as she pushed. She knew she needed to hold it for ten seconds (thanks to the books she'd been reading), but she was exhausted. After six seconds, she fell back on the bed and shook her head. "I... I can't."

In the midst of it all, a familiar sound came from above them both, the distinctive intercomm chirp, followed by, "Geisler to Doctor Kij. What's the situation down in sickbay?" Harvey did indeed want to check on his wife, but with communications back in play, at least on a limited front, he needed to know how the efforts to retake the ship were proceeding, and that those already saved were purely out of danger now.

“Slowing down, sir,” Jayla replied. “I’m with Joey. She’s in hard labor. You’d better get down here quick if you want to catch!”

She cried out, the pressure almost too much to bear. All Joey wanted was for it to stop, and there was one way to make that happen. By sheer will alone, her hands found their way to the backs of her knees. Sadly, she couldn't feel herself from about mid-back down, so her upper body was doing most of the work. "The baby wants out," she panted, pulling her legs toward the head of the bed and curling herself around her abdomen to start pushing again.

Harvey had heard the screams loud and clear. He didn't need his medical background to know that the time for parenthood had at last arrived. "On my way!" he shouted over the comms, followed by the channel closing.

In what could be amounted as a total abuse of privilege, a blue transporter beam deposited Captain Geisler in sickbay's reception area. Pockets of Dolmoqour still existed on the Black Hawk, and though those were being systematically taken down, Harvey couldn't risk accidentally running into one. Thankfully, the overwhelmed sickbay staff knew what was happening in its backrooms, and quickly escorted the Captain to where his wife was giving birth.

He rushed inside the room, arguably looking worse for wear. His uniform had been dirtied more since he'd seen her, and his now-sleeveless jacket had been reduced to tatters. He stopped himself just before rushing over to her and removed both his jacket and his vest, leaving his red turtleneck which was partially unzipped as well.

His face looked as bad as his jacket, brandishing new wounds on both the undamaged and the burned sides. Even his white eye patch had been stained by pus and grease. At some point, he would need medical attention himself, but his focus had to be elsewhere. "I'm here!" he exclaimed, rushing to Joey's side of the bed. He placed one of his hands over hers, and the other at the back of the bed. "Did I miss much?"

After her mental ten count, Joey laid back against the bed to take a much needed breath. She glanced at her husband, grateful he was there, but was truly seeing him for the first time. He'd never looked as bad as he did at that moment, at least, not since she'd known him. "He needs medical attention," she panted. And, he needed it fast. Like her, her husband was quite stubborn, and she knew he'd put it off until their babies were both safely delivered, but as much as she wanted to rush it for his sake, she couldn't.

Joey took another breath and pushed again, squeezing her eyes closed while her face went red. It wasn't long before the first baby's head was out. She paused in her pushing, knowing the airways needed to be suctioned before she could get back to delivering.

"He can wait for attention," Harvey interjected, knowing where the medical staff's focus needed to be. "My injuries are cosmetic. Mostly."

"Someone scan him," Jayla ordered as she cleared the first baby's airways efficiently.

"On it," replied Dr. Road, who had followed the captain into the birthing room, seeing the state he was in. "He really should see someone immediately, but none of his wounds will kill him if we let them go for a couple of hours," she admitted grudgingly. "You can stay, but as soon as those babies are out, I want you in main sick bay, understood?" she ordered the Captain.

"And I thought Dr. Kij was protective," muttered nurse Jude.

Harvey only nodded to Doctor Road as his attention was focused on his wife and children that were coming a lot more quickly than he would have thought.

After the first baby's airways were cleared, Joey took a breath and held it, then pushed again. This time, she was determined to get baby A out. She let out a pained sound as the shoulders passed, paving the way for the baby girl to ease into Jayla's hands with little trouble. The little girl, with a head full of dark hair, let out an unhappy sounding wail. She was on the smaller side, but despite her size, she already had a lot of attitude in her if her cries were any indication.

Joey laid back on the bed briefly. She was going to have to start round two shortly, but she wanted to see the first baby before she was undoubtedly whisked away to be cleaned up and hooked to monitors, along with other things that would help her develop a bit more. Exhaustion was an understatement, but she found her tenth wind as she tried to get a look at the squirming little bundle. "Boy? Girl? Are all the fingers and toes there? No appendages growing out of the forehead?" She asked, trying not to panic herself too much.

Harvey stepped forward to sneak a peek at the little one who was now starting to cry. He smiled as he saw their new daughter. "It's Alison," he said, glancing back at Joey with an assuring smile. "She's beautiful. Doesn't have scales either."

“Not a scale in sight,” laughed Jayla as she handed the girl off to a nurse and prepared to catch their son. “Every finger and toe is in place. Well let you hold them both once they’re cleaned up a bit and weighed. Right now, though, we need to get ready for the other.”

At the mention of there being no scales on the baby girl, Joey breathed a mental sigh of relief. Ever since she'd had that dream some months back, lizard babies had always been a concern, and to hear that she had all her fingers and toes brought even more relief to the new mother. She was still very much concerned about them being born five weeks earlier than expected. If only she could have held on for another month or so, maybe that anxiety wouldn't have been so bad. "Is she okay?" Joey asked, wondering if she should she have taken maternity leave earlier? Perhaps. Was there something she could have done that would have resulted in a different outcome? Probably.

Joey's thoughts were interrupted when she felt the second baby shift. An uncomfortable groan left her slightly parted lips. She'd been shot, suffered a fractured shoulder, as well as other injuries during her career, but nothing could have prepared her for this. She felt things, and that gave her a newfound respect for her own mother.

As much as Joey wanted to wait for an answer to her question, she felt another contraction that aided the little boy into position. As much discomfort as it caused her, it was time for her to aid the little boy on his journey into the world. Like before, she took a breath and began to bear down once again. Perhaps, her epidural was beginning to wear off, or maybe it was because she'd already delivered one baby, but the burning pain was intense. Joey couldn't help but cry out once again, however, all she could do was push through it.

“That’s it,” Jayla encouraged Joey. “Your daughter is fine. Let’s worry about your son. He’s coming fast! I can already see the top of his head.”

Joey leaned back against the bed. She was so tired, and felt like she'd be able to sleep for a week if given the chance, but that seemed like it was a long ways off. Eighteen years, at the very least. The Intel Chief took a few breaths and looked toward Harvey. He needed medical attention, but wouldn't seek it until both babies were born. "I can do this. I can do this," she said before repeating it over and over in her head. She took in a deep breath and held it, then began pushing again. If Jayla was able to see the baby's head, then that meant she'd be able to take a quick break while his airway was cleared.

"That's it, the head's almost free! One more good push!" Jayla encouraged.

At Jayla's encouragement, Joey relaxed, but only for a second, then took another deep breath to push. She still didn't know what was going on outside of her birthing room, but assumed things were going in their favor given her husband's presence. She'd have to ask him about it once they both had the chance to truly breathe. When that moment would come, Joey wasn't sure, but there did seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Keep going, Joey!" Harvey said, his tone filled with excitement for the first time in days. This day had been among the longest and most eventful he ever experienced. He couldn't ignore the fact that nearly forty crew had perished today, but he could rejoice that the circle of life was completed today with two lives replacing what the universe had lost. "Almost there!" He could still hear Alison's crying as she was being cleaned by a nurse, but he had to focus on Jameson now.

"Got his head," said Jayla finally, holding out a hand. Before she could even ask for suction, the device was slapped into her hand. In a matter of seconds, she had the boy's airways cleared. "Okay, just a bit more, Joey. We're almost there!"

Joey took a moment to catch her breath. With all of the pushing, she felt like her blood pressure was through the roof, but based on the monitor above her head, that wasn't the case. Just a little more, then Jameson would be joining his sister. That was all she needed to give another good push, holding it for as long as she was able to.

“That’s it,” Jayla encourages as more of their son was exposed to the air. “One more good push like that and we’ll have him. My goodness he’s big!”

It was almost over. Well... the delivering babies part, at least. Joey wanted to hold them, but knew a few things needed to be done before she'd get the chance to. After inhaling once more, she held it and gave Jayla the last good push she wanted. And, just like that Jameson Harvey Geisler joined his sister in the world. Much like his sister, he was letting those present know just how upset he was, too, and that his lungs were in fairly good shape based on the sounds of his cries. "Does he have all his fingers and toes?" Joey asked as she fell back against the bed. "Are they both okay? Can I hold them?"

Harvey peered over to see Jameson, bald as could be, crying in Jayla's hands. "Fingers, toes, and again," Harvey looked back at Joey. "No scales. No hair either."

"Let us get them cleaned up and checked over," Jayla insisted as a nurse took Jameson from her.

"Actually, your daughter is ready," said Mitchy with the universe's largest smile as she brought the now weighed and measured daughter to Joey. "And she's very eager to meet her mommy."

"Gimme, gimme, gimme," Joey said, straightening up a little with her arms out. She hadn't seen either baby yet, and was beyond ready to remedy that.

Mitchy's grin widened to one that could rival the CMO's as she laid the baby in the mother's arms. It was the first time she had attended a delivery and it had been even more magical than she had imagined.

Meanwhile, the other nurses were busy weighing and measuring the boy. Both babies were a good size, especially given that they were early and twins.

"I'll probably keep all three of you here for a few days," Jayla said as she scanned both mother and daughter. "They seem very healthy, but as a precaution, I'd rather have you all where I can keep an eye on you."

Harvey smiled, remaining at Joey's side despite the urge to hover over the nurses. Looking through eye was starting to become troublesome, especially since it seemed he could only look in one direction without the benefit of aid from peripheral vision. "That's all right," Harvey plainly stated. "This ship doesn't have anywhere to go for now anyway." Sooner or later, that was something he was going to have to deal with too, figuring out what to do next with the Black Hawk, and start picking up the pieces from today's events.

Joey held baby Alison in her arms with a smile a mile wide. "Whatever you think is necessary, we'll do it without complain," she said, taking in the little girl's features. Since she didn't get a good look at her before, the new mother was making up for it now.

Harvey smiled at Joey before looking up to the rest of the medical staff. They had everything well in hand now, and it was time for Harvey to finally do something about his disfigured face. "Let's get this over with, Doctor Road."

"Gladly!" replied Abbey, activating the dermal regenerator and getting to work on the Captain's face right then and there.

Only a few moments later and Mitchy was carrying Jameson over to Joey. "Think you can handle both of them at once?" she asked.

Harvey chuckled, likely disrupting Abbey's efforts to repair his face. Whether Harvey believed Joey could or couldn't handle both at once didn't matter. All he knew was that nothing would stop Joey from trying.

Very carefully, Joey shifted Alison to one are so she could hold her little boy in the other. "I've never held two babies at once, but I'm a pretty quick learner," she said, feeling a bit antsy. This would be the first time she'd be holding both tiny little beings at once, and it was a moment that felt like it took a lifetime to get to.

Another huge grin spread across Mitchy's face. "And I'll be right here if you need me," she replied, carefully setting the boy into Joey's free arm. She expertly slid her arm out from under his head and gently settled him against his mother.

"Smooth," commented Jayla appreciatively. "Are you sure this is your first live birth?"

"Yeah," said Mitchy. "Well, I have eight younger brothers and sisters, so I have a lot of practice."

Joey's eyes went wide as she looked toward Mitchy, unable to keep the look of shock off of her face. "Eight brothers and sisters? Your mother went through this nine times? Voluntarily?"

"Seven, actually," replied Mitchy. "She had triplets when I was eight."

"Trip..." Joey trailed off. Twins were hard enough to carry, but triplets? Mitchy's mother had just become her hero. Any woman who could raise that many children and not go completely insane deserved an award... as well as a vacation.

"The babies are just as healthy as can be," Jayla announced. "Perfect little humans. And mum is just fine as well. How's dad?" she asked Abbey.

"On the mend," announced Dr. Road, carefully waving a dermal regenerator across the captain's face. "I'll have him patched up in a jiffy."

Harvey smiled, though it quickly disappeared as a twinge of pain scolded him for trying to use muscles that were still being repaired. "I can't wait to see using both eyes again. Not having proper depth perception has been a challenge the last few hours."

Joey couldn't wait for him to be back to normal, either. He'd been through hell recently. Probably more than anyone else given that she and the rest of the crew wanted to kill him. Thankfully, no one had succeeded. "You'll be back to normal in no time."

Having scanned the eye earlier, Abbey knew it was time to tackle that. "We might have to go out to main Sick Bay," she said. "Your cornea is scratched pretty badly and there's some damage to the conjuctiva. Missed the sclera entirely, though, so that's good. I should be able to patch it up, but I need some more delicate equipment. And also, I'd like to have our Ophthalmologist have a look at it."

The new father sighed. He'd suspected that having to have waited so long for proper treatment would have rather negative repercussions, and he was right. "Understood," he simply told Doctor Road. Glancing over to Joey, he smiled at her and beheld the sight of her with their two newborn children. When this was all over, he couldn't wait to sit with her and hold at least one of those two miracles. He reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'll be back soon," he told her.

"We'll be here," Joey told him, curling her fingertips around his to give a squeeze of her own. She knew one thing for certain. Today was definitely going to go down as one of the most eventful days in her entire career.

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