Confused feelings
Posted on 21 Sep 2021 @ 1:42pm by Staff Sergeant Lilliana Hawksley & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair MD, DVM
1,328 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
General Sim Postings
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Day after ‘checking on you’
[ON]
Lilli sat in the small office of the marine medical bay pregnancy test in hand, she’d been feeling off colour for a few days and now the small test was verifying her suspicions. She sighed as she put it in the disposal unit along with the previous test she’d done. She was going to have to talk with a doctor so she headed for Sickbay.
As she walked through the doors Lilli saw a woman she hadn’t yet met, making her way over to her she offered a polite smile. “Hi, I err... I need to talk to someone preferably in private.”
It was later in the evening, and Dr. Cahill was already off duty. Dr. Jane Sinclair was overseeing sickbay when the door opened and the brunette in a Marine uniform came in.
“Of course, Sergeant,” she said. She directed her patient to the CMO’s office, presently vacant. “We can talk in here. I’m Doctor Sinclair. Take a seat, and tell me what’s happening.”
Lilli nodded and took a seat. “Actually it’s this...” she handed over the results of both pregnancy tests. “I’m the marine medic so I know these tests rarely lie, I just did two to be sure.” She offered Jane a brief smile. “I’ve been feeling off colour for the last few days, plus my period is late. I’m estimating around 4 weeks.”
Jane nodded. She took out a medical tricorder and began scanning Lilli. “What’s your name, Sergeant? I’ll want to open the right file.”
“It’s Lilliana Vail” Lilli offered a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Vail,” Jane said as she continued scanning. “May I ask what your birth control regimen was?”
Lilli nodded. “I elected to go for a hypo, mainly because at the time I wasn’t seeing anyone. Since then I’ve met someone I care very much about. I think... no, I know this is my fault! I missed taking my hypo.”
By this point, Jane had her file open and skimmed it. “Yes, I see. The last time you took it was ten weeks ago. You should have had them six and two weeks ago.” She looked away from the screen and kept scanning. “I suppose that’s the problem with the hypo. It can be forgotten so easily, especially without reminders. Condoms or other barriers need to be used every time. Withdrawal requires accuracy in a time of heated passion. And I suspect the form of birth control I use wouldn’t work for you.”
“Oh? What kind of birth control is that?” Lilli looked at Jane curiously.
“Homosexuality,” Jane joked. “A little hard to get pregnant when you only have sex with other women.” She grinned at her patient.
Lilli smiled. “That’s very true!”
“I can confirm the accuracy of the test,” Jane said, the mood in the room relaxed a bit by her joke. “My estimate is four weeks and two days. We’ll get you in for more detailed scans tomorrow. What kind of symptoms are you experiencing now?”
Lilli sighed. “I’ve been feeling pretty queasy in the mornings, so far I haven’t actually had to rush off to the bathroom. I’ve eaten little and often, having ginger tea and everything we Medical professionals tend to tell patients!” She offered a smile. “I’ve noticed my appetite has increased as well.”
“Makes sense,” Jane said. “I can give you an anti-nauseant that’s safe to take during pregnancy. I can also send a note to your superior officer, suggesting a work plan that decreases physical workload over time.”
Lilli looked at Jane. “I need to keep this between us, for now at least. I just need some time to think.”
Jane closed her tricorder and nodded. “I won’t do anything without your consent. I can offer you options and medical advice, but it’s your body and your decision on how and when to proceed.”
Lilli nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Feel free to write that note but I won’t present it to my superiors just yet, don’t get me wrong I’m not unhappy about this... I just need some time to wrap my head around things. If there’s one thing I know about this ship it’s that there’s no children onboard, I’m going to have to find alternate care for my baby when I’m aboard ship.”
“Yes you are,” Jane said, “but you have time. And I can put you in touch with some of the services that Starfleet offers. Do you have any specific concerns at this stage?”
“Right now...” Lilli paused. “I don’t think so, though... I’m a hybrid and given that hybrid pregnancies can be risky should I be concerned? I’m half Betazoid and half Romulan, my boyfriend is Human. Does that complicate things?”
“It absolutely does,” Jane answered. “I’ll need to do more research for specifics, but hybrids are always a bit complicated. Let me look into that and get back to you.”
Lilli nodded. “I know my mother’s pregnancy was complicated by the fact that I have green blood due to my Romulan genetics, I hope it won’t cause problems for my baby.”
“In most pairings between humans and Vulcans, the child defaulted to Vulcanoid blood,” Jane explained. “It appears to be a dominant genetic trait. As a person, you have two copies of every gene, one set from mum and one set from dad. But you’re only giving one set to your baby. If the genes related to haemoglobin synthesis come from your father’s Romulan heritage, that will be dominant in your baby. If not, then your child will have a fundamentally different blood type than you, which will complicate the pregnancy, as it did for your mother.”
Lilli nodded. “So how soon will we know which one my baby has?”
“A fetus develops its circulatory system quite quickly,” Jane answered. “I’ve scheduled a detailed scan for tomorrow. I should be able to tell then.”
Lilli nodded. “Okay great, can we do the scan in private? I don’t want anyone to see me. I know it’s silly but I’d rather Leland find out from me not the ship’s grapevine.”
“Absolutely,” Jane said. She checked the schedule on the computer screen. “No one will be here when you come tomorrow at 1030 hours, and we’ll put up a privacy screen over bed 3 in case of walk-ins.”
Lilli nodded. “I’ll be here, thank you so much.” She offered a smile.
“Of course,” Jane replied. “Now, is there anything else bothering you before I let you go?”
Lilli shook her head. “No, nothing” she offered a smile. “Ohh is there anything I can take for morning sickness if I need it?”
Jane nodded and went to the medical replicator. After a few keystrokes, a hypospray materialized, which she brought to Lilli.
“This is pyridoxine. It will help relieve minor nausea and vomiting without risk to the baby. If it gets worse, we’ll use something more intense. You can request it yourself from the replicator in your quarters under the name ‘Medication Vail-one’.”
Lilli nodded and smiled as she took the hypospray. “That’s great, thank you. I guess I should be getting home, Leland will probably be home soon.”
“If he needs to talk to me, after you tell him, he’s more than welcome to,” Jane assured her patient.
Lilli smiled and nodded. “I appreciate that, once I figure out how to tell him I’ll let him know that.” She started towards the door. “Thanks again Doctor.”
“Any time.” Jane waved and put the equipment away as her patient headed out the door.
[OFF]
Lieutenant jg Jane Sinclair, MD, DVM
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Tomcat
Staff Sergeant Lilliana Vail
Combat Medic/Counsellor
USS Tomcat
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