Not Long Now

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 2:45am by Lieutenant Alexandra Alves MD & Chief Petty Officer Renora Jassim & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:36pm

Mission: Death in Paradise

A Mission Post by Emilie Temple & Lieutenant Alexandra Alves M.D. & Chief Petty Officer Renora Jassim
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Sickbay
Timeline:

Emilie Temple waddled her way through the ship, a journey that she used to be able to cover with quick strides. But now it was a lot more difficult with the large bowling ball she had for a stomach. Though nearing the end of her seventh month, the time had seemed to have lasted far longer than 30 days, and she wasn’t quite looking forward to getting bigger and more fatigued as she neared the due date.

Still, as she constantly reminded herself, it would all be worth it soon. Not long from now, she would have a bouncing baby boy or girl. She was soothed by this thought as she entered Sickbay for her next check up.

Nurse Renora was on duty in sickbay, when she heard someone walking in, and rushed to see if she could help the person. She immediately recognized her. It was Ms. Temple, who usually attended here for her regular checkups. She seemed frail and fatigued, looking more exhausted with each step. "Ms. Temple.", she greeted her calmly, and took her hand to help her move, directing her towards a biobed, "Please. The doctor will be here in a second."

Emilie was relieved to be off her feet. Long gone were the days where she could spend hours on her feet with no problem; now she needed regular rest stops. She slid herself onto the bio-bed and patiently waited, noticing her stomach seemed to get larger whenever she was on her back. She realised she had forgotten her support pillow and frowned.

"Can I get you a glass of water?", the nurse asked gently.

"Yes, thank you." Emilie replied to Renora with a grateful smile.

In that moment, Alexandra rushed in. Her mind was apparently elsewhere - lamenting on what she's recently heard at the senior staff meeting regarding the murder and the matters between the station staff and the Pandora. It took her a second to notice Emilie and the head nurse at the biobed.

"Ah, Ms. Temple.", she turned around and walked towards the two, "How's the baby today?"

"Hello again, Doctor. Baby's quiet at the moment." Emilie smiled, "Baby seems to do all it's kicking right when I'm trying to sleep."

"They tend to do that, the little rascals.", the doctor sighed with a smile, "Veronica frequently kept me awake all night.", she said, as she picked up a tricorder.

Emilie nodded as she leaned back into the bio bed, having gotten quite used to the regularly check-ups in the past several months. "My first was a dream. Unbelievable, I know. But she was relaxed, didn't kick too hard, no weird cravings. I tell you, it was an evil scheme. Lulled us into a false sense of security, thinking we were going to have an easy baby. Bah! As if."

"Each baby is a whole different experience.", Alex explained, "Some of them can be so peaceful and quiet inside there, while others think of your womb as a dance club. In fact, if he starts kicking during the night, that's often because he can't feel your movements, and worries that he's alone.", she grinned, "But don't worry. It's nothing abnormal, on the contrary."

"Ah, well that makes sense." Emilie replied with a smile. "My mother in law recommended a vibrating pillow, apparently it helps to calm the baby at night?"

"That can be help indeed.", the doctor nodded in agreement, "Your mother-in-law seems to be a wise person.", she smiled. She hovered over Emilie's belly with her tricorder. "The little one appears to be perfectly fine.", she said with a positive vibe, "Have you experienced any pain or sickness besides those little night moves?"

"As she often tells me she is." Emilie remarked with a raised eyebrow. She waited paitently while the Doctor performed her tests. "No pain, just general fatigue. I find it harder to get through the day without a couple of naps."

"I see.", Alex nodded, then came up with a suggestion, "I can give you a compound injection which helps you to stay less tired, if you'd like."

Emilie frowned, "Would it harm the baby? I don't like taking medications unless absolutely necessary. I guess I just figured it was part of the process."

"It won't harm the baby.", the doctor replied, "But it's entirely up to you if you want", she said with an understanding nod.

There came a shrug from the expectant mother. "Well it's good to know it's an option at least. If things get unbearable, I'll know where to come." She gave a warm smile at that thought; it was truly a relief to know she had the choice still - even if her fears for the baby remained. "Also, I don't know if it was noted in the previous Doctor's notes, but Nyx and I haven't learnt the baby's gender."

"Indeed.", she smiled. She was glad to offer help to Ms. Temple, but she wouldn't force anything on her except if it'd truly concern her and the baby's health, which, of course, was not the case. It was her decision. "Ahh, I see.", she smiled with a playful grin, "And... you still don't want to know?"

Emilie mused on the question, tempted to find out the answer, before finally shaking her head. "No. I'd want Nyx to find out at the same time and he's not here. It'll have to stay a surprise."

"In this case, my lips are sealed.", Alex smiled, then diverted the conversation to another topic, "Anyways, I wanted to ask... How's Veronica doing at school? It seems, that she's finally beginning to accept her new home."

"Okay, I belive." Emilie replied after a slight pause. "Her integration with the other students has been slow, as expected, but her teacher believes she'll be able to pick up their current lesson plan. And she seems to reserve most, if not all, of her enthusiasm for the Physical Activity periods."

"Good to hear that.", the doctor nodded, with some disappointment in her voice. "Veronica is quite active, and she also tends to be very open for new things. And she has a talent for maths. I'm sure, she'll do better in time."

"Ah, I'll be sure to pass that on." Emilie smiled, "It always helps to find topics that the students are interested in and build a lesson plan around it. The benefit of not having a normal class is that we can tailor the school program more." She took a deep breath and smiled. "We'll find out what works."

"Yes, yes, hopefully we will.", Alex nodded with a faint smile, "I truly hope Veronica will soon get back to her old self.", she said, not sure if that was the right expression.

"It'll take time." Emilie shrugged, "You may want to have a chat with Counsellor Kaleri too. Not that I think Veronica needs counselling. Definitely not. She's going through a big transition, you expect some push back. But Kaleri may help with some techniques to help her settle in?"

"That's a good idea.", she said in agreement with the teacher, "I remember when I was her age, and we moved to a distant colony with my family. It wasn't the best period of my life."

Emilie gave a wry smile. "I know that feeling, too. Sometimes I think all we do is move around the galaxy these days." She gave a deep sigh. "Well, I should get to my office. I don't have long left to get everything in order before maternity leave begins."

"Right. Sometimes I wonder if I should've chosen to work in a nice little hospital somewhere in a cozy little town instead.", Alex smiled, "But I bet life wouldn't be so exciting and challening that case.", she added, then nodded, "Right. If you need anything, just call me."

"Thank you, Doctor." Emilie replied gratefully. She decided to give herself a few minutes before making the trek back to her office.

OFF