Keen to Meet the New Arrival pt 2

Posted on Thu Jul 23rd, 2015 @ 12:53am by Chief Petty Officer Adriana Keen & Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen & Lieutenant Jensen Foster & Lieutenant JG Heather Quinn

1,814 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: A Civil Act
Location: Sickbay

OLD:

Jensen tried to calm both husband and wife before answering them. Which was a bit hard to do, what with him feeling Adriana's pain and fear as well as Morai's slight frustration and worry, but he continued forward anyway. "You've developed a complex network of blood vessels in your womb. This is a normal part of Bajoran pregnancies, but considering that you're human, it shouldn't be possible." He gazed quickly from one to the other just to make sure they understood. When he was assured of that he continued, "And yet, you have developed them. The only way to safely remove your baby is to perform emergency surgery where Dr. Quinn and I will work to sever the blood vessels connecting you to your baby."

NEW:

"Surgery? But- Little One-" Adriana sputtered. She gripped Morai's hand tightly and turned a frightened look to him.

"T-this is just like what the humans call a 'C-Section' style birth right?" Keen supposed. "Inter racial births are... unique to each mother." Keen could not fall apart now no matter how he felt, he might not hide the concern but he could ease the tensions by showing he had 'knowledge' and seemed more calm with that. "We knew it might be complicated but the Doctor seems to know what he is doing, so I am not totally worried." He agreed.

"Once the connecting tissue has been taken care of we should be able to safely birth the baby." Jensen looked from one to the other, waiting to see if they had any more concerns or questions.

"Am I able to be in there or will she be totally under sedation?" He asked.

Adriana threw a pleading look at both of them. "Don't leave us," she asked. "Please, let him stay with us-" She ground her teeth together and moaned as the pain hit again. Every muscle in her body said it was time to PUSH- every instinct she had said to push. But she couldn't. Not yet.

Instead she clung to her husband's hand and pulled him closer, trying to focus on that connection to him rather than what her body was telling her to do.

Unfortunately before Jensen could articulate a reply, he got socked, hard, in the gut with just how much pain Adriana was experiencing. The sensation itself was strong enough to send him doubling over, causing alarmed responses from the Keens and causing Dr. Quinn to call out his name. Unsure if he could stand at the moment, he looked up at Dr. Quinn's concerned face. "I... I seem to be having a bit of trouble controlling my empathic abilities. As much as I want to help the Keens during this time, I'm afraid you're going to have to take over." Jensen's eyes pleaded with Dr. Quinn to help the Keens. She knew just as much as he did concerning the pregnancy and what was going on now.

Heather nodded her head in affirmation and motioned for one of the nurses to help Jensen to one of the other biobeds in Sickbay. Once he was laying down, with the nurse watching over him, Heather turned her gaze to the Keens, her dark eyes gazing softly at the two of them. "I feel I must apologize for Lieutenant Foster. He's been having a rather difficult time with his empathic sense since the last mission. I am more than capable of performing the surgery required to help your baby. Concerning your inquiry a few moments ago, Adriana, yes your husband can stay. I'd rather you had someone here with you to calm you during the procedure."

"I would prefer not to leave her alone at this point." Keen said without taking his hand from hers. "I will not leave you K-Adriana." He assured. "You and Little One will have me right here.

Adriana smiled weakly at him. "You always take care of us. Nothing bad can happen while you're with us."

"Love tends to give that result." Keen kissed her forehead. "I am just glad the Prophets support me in that ." He winked.

After listening to the Keens for a moment, Heather said, "Normally this procedure can be done with the mother awake, but seeing as how you're in some discomfort, would you like me to give you a mild sedative? Nothing that shall put you under, but it shall numb the pain enough that I can work to remove the tissue and then to have you birth the baby comfortably."

Keen did not say a word as he just waited for Kitten to make her decision; he just kept hold of her hand and smiled to her assuring his confidence in the Doctor ready to help bring their baby into the universe.

Adriana shook her head. "No sedative. Might hurt Little One. Just a local? Will that work? Would be better for the baby, right?"

"I was just about to suggest that as an alternate choice," Heather replied, smiling at the worried soon-to-be mother. She then turned to the other on-duty medical officer and said, "Ensign Rehema could please prep the hypospray? And call Ensign Edwards in here, we're going to need the extra hands." Turning back to the Keens Heather said, "I'm going to check on Dr. Foster for a moment. Ms. Rehema will take prep you in the meantime." She smiled, patting the couple's free hands, before heading over to the other taken biobed.

Adriana nodded and turned to her husband. “We- we’ll be alright. One or two prayers to your Prophets might… not be out of place, though,” she said, revealing just how scared she was. She didn’t believe in The Prophets as anything other than the Wormhole Aliens; powerful entities, sort of like the Q, but not gods.

"May the Prophets guide the hands and knowledge to assure the doctors act in the best interests of Little one and My beloved, special note that they both be healthy and ..." He grinned. "None the worst for this and the Little One come out happy and with the same sparkle as the Mother's on a bright day." Keen ended.

Ensign Rehema bustled up to Adriana’s side with professional efficiency. “Here you are. This will help you relax a bit. Just let it do its job.” She pressed the hypo into a nerve bundle near Adriana’s hips, delivering a mild local anesthetic. Adriana would still be able to feel the contractions when she needed to, but it would almost completely counteract the pain from the abnormal blood vessels getting pulled on. “You’re doing fine, both of you. Just keep calm as you can; it’ll make it easier for us to do what we need to do.”

"Everything is progressing, Love." Keen assured. "To say this is a blessed event is understating the facts and how well you have been in the process is a testament to your family raising a loving motherly type." He wiped her forehead. "This is just a little process to bring Little One to us safely. Your caring for Little One so far has made this possible.

It took only a few seconds for the hypo to take effect, dulling the pain, making it feel like… it was far away. She still felt it. She felt the unnatural pulling and knew it was as dangerous and wrong as she’d first thought, but it didn’t really HURT anymore. Now she was scared more than anything else. Scared for Little One mostly, but also scared that… she might leave her husband and baby all alone if…

"Just a few moments and this will pass." Keep placed a kiss on her forehead before wiping it again with a cool cloth.

Being a Vedek had come into great use here as his emotions were so far over the board that he had no real control if not for his being with the Prophets and all. His beloved was being cut and he had to remain calm for both of them, right now his being the Stone Vedek meant he could be a stone of sorts she could anchor to in times of trouble. While not that man of stone, the strength that came from that part of him helped; Keen found he could be calm enough to reassure his wife no matter how bad things could get.

Still feeling as if he his abdomen was going to tear apart at any second, Jensen was barely aware of Dr. Quinn's presence. It was only when Ensign Sito softly spoke his name that Jensen made the effort to look. "Heather..." he gasped out, clutching at his stomach, a grimace of pain contorting his handsome face.

She laid a hand over his own and said, "Once Ensign Edwards arrives, I'll begin the procedure on Adriana. I'm a little concerned with how you might react, so I was wondering if it would be alright with you if I give you a sedative?"

Jensen merely blinked at the dark-skinned woman, his mind too busy with how to shut out the pain and emotions and he was feeling. A small part of his brain knew that his empathic sense had been a bit out of control since the last mission and it was only getting worse.

Feeling his body spasm in response to Adriana's pain, he barely got out a nod of affirmation.

Heather nodded quietly and then asked Ensign Sito to get a hypospray prepped with 30 ccs of Melorazine. Once the sedative had been administered, Heather prayed silently that it would be enough. Even so, she said, "Sito, make sure to monitor him closely. If at any moment during the surgery or birth he begins to show signs of alertness, I want you to give him another dose."

"Yes, ma'am."

Heather smiled as best as she could and then turned away as the doors to Sickbay opened. Turning away, she saw Ensign Edwards. "Glad to see you're not late, ensign."

The young man looked at Heather with an almost angry look on his face. "I'm not about to miss helping the Keens during this delicate stage of the pregnancy, ma'am."

Sighing Heather spoke, "Yes, I'm sorry. It's just been rather intense in here for the last few minutes. Please, get the surgery gowns. We need to start." With that she watched Edwards walk into the adjacent area of Sickbay and she herself walked back to the Keens.

Watching them converse for a moment, Heather didn't want to interrupt, but she knew she had to; after all time was of the essence.

"Morai? Adriana?" The couple turned to look at her, their eyes reflecting mixed emotions of fear, pain, trust, and happiness.

"I'm going to start the procedure soon, once Ensign Edwards comes back with the surgical gowns. Do you have any other questions before I begin?

To Be Continued:

 

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