Of Mice and Mindo

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:39am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Alexandra Alves MD & Chief Petty Officer Renora Jassim & Lieutenant Commander Greep & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:56pm

Mission: The Evils Within
Location: Deck 4 - Turbo Lift
Timeline: After "Oh No"

ON:

It was an uneventful day in sickbay. The medical department has been preparing for the mission ahead in the past few days, and Alexandra finally felt everything is ready. Nothing to worry about, at least until we haven't reached our destination. She was filling some reports in her office and reading through some of Veronica's school reports, when suddenly her combadge chirped.

=/\= "Mindo to Sickbay," said Mindo's voice over the communicator. "I have an emergency in the turbolift. Mrs. Temple has gone into labor and we are stuck between Decks 4 and 5. I need assistance!"

=/\= "Alves here." the doctor replied. Mindo's voice sounded understandably desperate. "We're on our way! Just keep on!" she said, and rushed out of her office with the speed of a trail runner and a cheetah combined. "Nurse, please accompany me. And bring a type-3 medkit." she turned to Renora on the way out. "It's an emergency situation. I'll explain everything on the way." The young Bajoran didn't understand anything, but complied and followed her boss, trying to keep up the pace.

=/\= "Mindo to Captain Temple: Your wife is in labor and we are stuck in the damaged turbolift. I'm working on repairing the lift, but it will take some time. She told me to contact you."

Meanwhile, Alexandra and the nurse arrived to Deck 5, to stand by at the nearest turbolift entrance. As they learned on the way, Ms. Temple can't be transported out, and they can't beam in. The best they can do is to stand by, and get ready to assist whenever the elevator gets operational again. Meanwhile, Mr. Mindo will have to perform whatever is necessary.

=/\= "Alves to Mindo." the doctor tapped her combadge. "We're on Deck 5. How's Ms. Temple?" she asked, kinda worried. "We're here to assist you. Just don't worry, and tell us exactly what's happening." she said, then spoke to the soon-to-be-mother, trying to calm her. "Emilie, don't worry. I know, it's not exactly how you imagined the big event, but... it'll be alright. Nothing will go wrong. Trust me."

Mindo nodded. "Thanks doctor. Emilie is currently laying against the wall. She's breathing heavily and there's, um... liquid on the floor. Lots of it." He looked back down at Emilie. "Last week I successfully defused a Breen bomb while people fired phasers at me," he said in a reassuring voice. "This should be a little less complicated."

On the floor, a heavily panting Emilie interjected, “I’d... prefer not to be compared to a bomb.... thank you!”

"I helped the village doctor deliver a baby on a wheat field when I was 13." Renora said with a playful smile. "A turbolift can't be worse. The Prophets guide you, Mr. Mindo."

"Well, you get a little guidance from me as well." Alex added with a grin. "Don't worry. You can do it." She smiled, when Mindo mentioned the Breen bomb as a comparison to delivering a baby. "Okay. So the amniotic sac has broken. Emilie, can you hear me?"

“Yes, Doctor.” Emilie said through sharp breaths. "This wasn't the plan, you know!" She was relieved that medical help had arrived but knew from her body that the baby was coming fast. Having spent longer than necessary inside, he or she was in sudden hurry to get out. Maybe it was the relaxants Emilie received from Sickbay or the heavy jolts of the malfunctioning turbo lift but either way, this baby was definitely on the move now.

At that moment, a series of blue lights swirled around in the corridor and soon Captain Temple appeared. He looked around and was immediately annoyed. “No computer! I said in the lift!”

Rushing over to Alves and Jassim, Nyx’s face was a mix of concern and hyperactive. “What’s happening?!” He ask-shouted.

The doctor and the nurse looked at their commanding officer, who suddenly materialized out of thin air in their vicinity. However, before they could answer, the chief engineer spoke up.

Mindo's voice came over the comm. "This is Mindo. Emilie and I are stuck in the turbolift and Emilie is giving birth, and I'm really glad I brought gloves."

“Nyx?” Emilie called from the lift, her face turning into a smile as she recognised his voice.

“I’m here!” Nyx shouted down, feeling ridiculous to be talking to a metal roof instead of his wife. “Are you ok?”

“Well... except for the whole stuck in a lift thing.... and the giving birth thing...” Emilie answered, as jokingly as her situation would allow. She gasped a little as another contraction pain hit; this one a lot sooner than before.

"This wasn't the plan, darling." Nyx said half-jokingly, trying to ease the tension.

"I know it's not!" She groaned in response. "I don't want our baby born in a lift! I don't want to give birth in a lift!"

"It's okay, we're all here to help you." Nyx was staying positive. "How's she doing, Mr. Mindo?" He then asked, a question he never thought would occur.

"She's doing fine," Mindo responded. "Um, Mrs. Temple, I think we should probably remove your pants... I mean no disrespect."

In the corridor, Nyx shook his head; despite the seriousness of the situation he had found this amusing. "Is there no one onboard he hasn't said that too?" He commented. The others didn't respond.

"Alright." Emilie said in between deep breaths. She followed through with the request, mentally trying to prepare herself for the task at hand. Though she had been through giving birth before, it didn't make the situation any easier. And, being stuck in a turbo lift absent of any medical equipment with only a Chief Engineer to help deliver the baby, was persistently fraying her nerves. "What now?" She asked once she was ready.

"Labour has just started." Alexandra explained, both to the Captain, his wife, and Mr. Mindo. "Emilie, you need to concentrate on pushing. Contractions can be severe, but you need to clean your mind and concentrate on that one thing. Imagine that you're in a beautiful place, safe and quiet... and push!" She took a few seconds pause. "Mindo... You need to be sure to get Ms. Temple into a comfortable position. It also encourages labour if she changes positions. Help her, please." she explained. "You can ease her pain by giving her a massage. And also... if you have access to water... it's important that she'd drink some."

"All I have is Scotch. Can she have that?" Mindo said, referring to the flask he'd just taken out of his leather toolkit, which he gently placed under Emilie's head.

Emilie was reclined back against the wall, as it gave her the most comfort at the moment, though her face was already red and drenched in sweat. "Later. Check the panel!" She said, pointing to a hatch next to the lift's control screen.

"The emergency cabinet?" said Mindo. "But that's just for instances like if you're trapped in the lift for an extended period of... oh, I see. Right, time to open that up."

Mindo jerked the cabinet open and found a small container of water, a thermal blanket, another toolkit, and an emergency hypospray. He removed the water and the blanket, opened the small jug of water and handed it to Emilie, then unfolded the blanket and scooted it underneath her body and wrapping her gently into it. He had noticed it was getting cold in there, and would only get colder. He relayed what he was doing to the Doctor and Captain as he did this.

"Thank you Mindo! You're amazing!" Nyx called down to the lift. It certainly wasn't the ideal situation but he was sure glad that Mindo was there to help his wife through this. "Are you doing okay, honey?"

"This wasn't the plan. This wasn't the plan!" Emilie complained.

"You can do it!" Nyx shouted down.

"I... know..." She sighed, leaning back after another contraction and enjoying those moments where the pain was persistently constant but not horribly intense. "I'm so glad you're here, Mindo." She said, echoing her husband's thoughts, with as much of a smile as she could muster.

"Doctor, is there anything in the emergency hypospray that may be of use?" Mindo asked.

"Yes, of course!" Alex said, a bit disturbed by the fact that she can't see inside the turbolift to actually see what was going on. But that emergency package was literally a life saving invention. Whoever came up with the idea to have it inside the lifts was a true genius. "If I'm not mistaken, those emergency packs contain some simple, but quite useful drugs." the doctor explained. "Can you see a vial with a yellow tag, marked Th-Xc12?" she asked the engineer. "Put it in the hypospray and inject Ms. Temple with it." she said.

"Terakine is not exactly..." the nurse interrupted, but was cut short by her boss.

"It's a potent analgesic." Alex interrupted. "I know, not exactly for this kind of pain, but it will work just fine. Trust me."

Mindo found the yellow tag and put the small vial into the hypospray. He then injected the spray into Emilie's neck. "How are you feeling, Mrs. Temple?" he asked his patient.

Emilie gave a waned smile, "Much better." On queue, her body told her to push again and she did so with a grimace. Though the hypospray was taking effect and she was starting to feel relief from the immediate pain; it couldn't fully erode the intense pressure in her body. She was going to be fully conscious and aware of every moment of this birth.

Outside, a crew of Engineers led by Greep ran down the corridor from the other end, having receiving notification to respond to the crisis occurring. Nyx greeted them with a pat on the back each as they arrived. "They're stuck between decks." He explained, looking down the shaft and pointing to the halted cabin a few metres below. "The lift is in emergency shut down and won't accept overrides."

"We have located the source of the problem," Greep said. "Fortunately we can fix it from here, but it may take some time."

=/\= Greep," said Mindo. "You'll have to relaunch the security program in order to unlock the automatic brake."

"I know what I'm doing, Chief," said Greep. "Right now you need to worry about the Captain's wife. We've got this part under control."

=/\= You're the best, Greep," Mindo replied.

Inside the lift, Emilie was pushing again, following Doctor Alves' instructions while trying to ignore the commotion surrounding the birth and lift repairs. After a particularly long and painful push, she leaned back against the wall, clearly exhausted. She drank heavily from the water pack found in the emergency kit and breathed heavily for a few minutes. "Mindo... I think you'll need to check how far along the baby is."

"OK," said Mindo, checking on Emilie's progress. "Oh wow!" he exclaimed. "I can see the head!"

"Good! That's good!" the doctor grinned in excitement. "That means we're on the right track, getting there." she explained. "Just continue, try to push. You should feel it more intensively now. You're almost there."

"I can't... not here!" Emilie complained through panted breaths.

"Honey, you're almost there." Nyx said, raising his voice above the hubbub around them.

"No!" She groaned. "I... can... wait. Right? It's not too late... I'll wait."

Nyx gave a wry frown to the Doctor and Nurse but he already knew the answer. They couldn't stop now. "You can do this, Ems! Just a few more big pushes and you can do it!"

Alexandra gave an assuring and calming smile to the Captain. "She's doing it great."

Emilie let out a guttural scream as she pushed once more, and Nyx felt increasingly anxious that he couldn't be there to help. He looked to Greep with an impatient stare, "How's it going?" He demanded more than asked.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Greep replied.

"Mindo, grab the blanket!" Emilie said, feeling the pressure building up once more. "You'll have to... catch."

Though her emotions were wanting her to stop and wait, out of panic and fear, her body knew the time had come. There would be no waiting; the baby was almost out, and they were really going to be born in this turbo lift. Feeling the tension reach a crescendo that she could not ignore, Emilie suddenly grabbed a hold of Mindo and squeezed with all her strength. She could feel the final moments coming and she needed to reach out to him to help her through. She locked eyes with the Lieutenant and gave another shrieking scream, baring down for the big push.

Mindo was just as freaked out, wide-eyed, and near panic as the head emerged. He'd removed his gray and black tunic and had it in his hands, ready for the "catch."

The doctor and the nurse stood by, listening closely to the happenings inside. Alexandra galnced at the Captain, waiting even more impatiently, and the engineering crew, working to get the elevator moving. Be fast, guys, be fast, she thought.

After what felt like another hour, though likely wasn't, the lift started to slowly rise again. Emilie was still crying out as sweat dripped down her face, nails digging into Lieutenant Mindo. The final squeeze was the hardest and longest of them all, but she was determined to see it through. Luckily the engineering crew had fixed the fault right on time and the lift doors opened just as the baby arrived into Mindo's waiting arms. Emilie collapsed backwards against the wall again, exhausted from the exertion she had just been under.

"Ems!" Nyx cried as he entered the lift with the others.

Mindo looked down at the healthy, screaming baby, as emotions flooded the gates of his own stone heart. This had been the most stressful, terrifying, and beautiful experience in his entire life. This was more than just saving the ship from enemy attacks, core breaches, renegade AI, or reversed polarity. For the first time in his life, Mindo, an engineering "miracle worker," had finally experienced a miracle. "It's... beautiful," he managed to say, wiping the tears from his eyes and gazing down at the new life that lay cradled in his jacket. He held it up and handed the baby to Captain Temple. "Congratulations Captain. You have a new baby boy."

Alex and Renora quickly rushed to the turbolift, to check on the newborn baby. "Please, Captain... Just a minute..." the doctor asked Nyx, who was quite understandably moved by this wonderful event, to stand back slightly. "Emilie! He is wonderful! A wonderful boy!" she smiled, as she looked at the baby. The miracle of birth - the greatest moment which can occur in a doctor's life.

"A boy?" Emilie cried, tears welling, her face red with exertion. The baby's cries were all that could be heard for a moment, and Emilie knew he was alright.

Nyx was staring at the little bundle in his arms, their new baby boy. "Yes." He replied breathlessly, looking at the tiny face, with his tiny mouth and nose. It seemed impossible, but at the same time entirely perfect.

The nurse opened up the medkit, and picked up some tools to cut the umbilical chord, then to inject the baby with a vitamin complex. She was just as moved by this moment as the others. "Wonderful child! Thank the Prophets!" the young Bajoran smiled. Meanwhile, Alexandra picked up a hypospray and injected Emilie with a vitamin shot and an analgesic. "How do you feel?" she asked gently. "You've done wonderfully. Everything's fine." She glanced at the Captain, and decided it was time to let the proud father back to his wife and baby.

Emilie was overcome with tears, and so was Nyx, as he went to Emilie's side and placed their son into her arms. Emilie smiled through her tears, "Oh! Hello!" Nyx gently kissed her forehead and the parents looked down to their baby. Emilie looked to Nyx and they started crying all over again, "Look at our baby." She cooed.

Nyx kissed her again. "You did wonderful, Ems!" He said, then looked over to Mindo, "You too! Thank you so much, Mindo! And Alves! And... nurse!" He was rambling as he gushed with a mix of joy, pride, and excitement.

There was a clicking noise before Greep squawked, "I fixed the lift, but don't everyone thank me at once."

"Thanks Greep, you did great," said Mindo.

"Thank you!" Nyx shouted, a little too loudly, overcome with emotion.

"Captain," Greep squawked. "I've never seen a baby human before. Do you mind if I get a closer look?"

Nyx could barely register anyone else, he was staring at his child in amazement. "Sure." He commented without thinking.

I'm just doing my job, Alexandra thought with a small, gentle smile. She felt happy and joyful, just by looking at the awesomely cute baby boy and his proud parents. This was indeed the best part of a doctor's work.

"Whaat?" Renora looked at the weird-looking engineer with strict eyes. Get a closer look? "Ahh..." she just shrugged it off. Weird people all around...

Greep leaned in a little closer, but not so much that he was crowding everyone. He made a small buzzing noise and said, "I find your baby's appearance satisfactory. He looks very... 'cute.'"

"High praise coming from an Ontarion," Mindo said. He couldn't help but grin at Greep's assessment. "What are you going to name him?" he asked the Captain and Emilie.

Emilie looked down at the baby then back to Nyx, a sheepish expression on both the parent's faces. Because they hadn't known the baby's gender, they hadn't completely settled on a name as yet. "We have a short list. But no definite answers."

"He looks like a William." Nyx said, promoting his preferred choice.

Emilie frowned, "He looks like a newborn." She replied, and the baby stirred a little. "Maybe we'll be able to see better when he's cleaned up." She cast a faint smile over to the Medical crew. "I'd very much like to get out of this elevator now."

"Of course, of course!" Alexandra smiled, and tapped her combadge. "Aeryn, get ready to receive our newest crewmember and his proud mother in sickbay."

Not long after, mother, father, and baby, were returned to the Sickbay where Emilie recovered and received more post-natal care. Katrine was brought in as soon as possible to meet her new brother and the Temple family - all four members - were gathered together around a bio-bed, no one really speaking, just enjoying the moment.

OFF