Ready To Pop

Posted on Mon Jan 30, 2017 @ 11:53pm by Ashley Baker & Lieutenant Phen Caticasse & Ensign Jonathan Baker

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 3 || 1900 Hours

Ashley was a bit nervous to meet the new doctor. She'd heard nothing but good things about the man and his bedside manner when she began doing some research that morning, then decided to schedule a little time to speak with him. Her appointment was set for shortly after her husband got off duty, and now that that was mere minutes away, she found herself settled on a biobed waiting for Jon and Doctor Caticasse to arrive.

The young woman felt fine except for the minor aches and pains that came this late in pregnancy, but she had a few questions to ask and just wanted to check up on the well-being of her baby. Not only that, though, but she was nosy and wanted to meet the Triumphant's new Chief Medical Officer for herself. She was a big people person, and made it a point to try to get to know everyone. Sadly, with as many people as they had on the ship, it was next to impossible, but that wasn't going to keep her from trying.

She shifted around and leaned back on her hand in an attempt to try to give herself a little relief, then placed her free one on the lower part of her abdomen. Since the baby was beginning to run out of room to move around, things were getting a bit uncomfortable for her. Still... she'd do it a million times over if it meant bringing a happy and healthy little one their floating world.

Jon came hustling in a few minutes later with a sheen of sweat on his brow but the young man wasn't out of breath. "You know," he said as he came up to the biobed where she was and leaned over to kiss her. "Climbing nine decks through the access tunnels is really good for cardio. How are you feeling?"

Ashley returned her husband's kiss and offered him a smile. "I feel okay, but it's been a really boring day. It's tough not having anything to do all day. Maybe I should try climbing some of those access tunnels. It would give me something to do."

"No, that would be a bad idea in your current state," Jon said. "One slip and you could fall and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you did. Have you already seen the doctor?"

"I was kidding," she said. A huge part of her loved how protective he was. At his question about seeing the doctor, she shook her head. "No, not yet. You beat him here, but I'm sure he'll be showing up soon enough. I'm actually looking forward to meeting him. A few people I know have had to see him for some things, and not one of them had anything bad to say about him."

"He's probably want to give me a physical while we're here," Jon said. "Not that I need one. It's only been four months since my last one and I'm as fit as a Klingon."

"And about as fertile as one, too," Ashley said with a grin. "You haven't needed to get your contraception shot for the last eight and a half months, either. Which reminds me that I need to ask him about how long it will be before we can be intimate again. I hope he doesn't mind the personal stuff like this."

Jon laughed. "I'll have to get one of those as as for the rest, with the medical equipment on this flying city, I don't see why it won't be the same night."

"The same night?" Ashley asked, finding that a little hard to believe.

"I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker," Phen's voice came from nearby as he approached. He gave a smirk as he peaked around the corner of the area they were waiting in, "Sorry, couldn't help that one - probably not a good choice for a first meeting." He said, with a little grin "Doctor Phen Caticasse, but most people just call me Finn." He quickly added, "I'm very sorry about the wait. I'm sure you know how many crew members we have here - and, if I can give a piece of free advice," He said clapping his hands together a bit. "Check if your species can ingest the food of another species before trying a new food. Now," He took a breath and offered a hand. "What can I do for you today?"

Jon spun on one heel and then stopped at the appearance of the Chief Medical Officer. "Doctor Caticasse....Finn. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir. I'm Jon Baker and this is my wife, Ashley," he said by way of introduction and stepped aside from his defensive stance of her.

Ashley couldn't help but laugh. She'd only just met the man, and his bedside manner was amazing. Hopefully, things would keep going in the right direction. "As my husband told you, I'm Ashley, and it's nice to meet you, Doctor Caticasse," she said. Despite him saying most people called him Finn, she felt it was only right to refer to him as what he was. He hadn't gone through years of training for nothing. "I ate an entire watermelon, and was hoping you'd be able to help me get it out."

Of course, the young woman was joking. "Actually, I'm eight and a half months pregnant, and I was hoping you'd be willing to give me a check up along with answer a few questions for me."

"And a pleasure to meet both you." Finn said with a quick nod, pulling his tricorder out of his scrub pocket. "Well, you look like you are doing alright." He flipped it on, "Go ahead, what questions do you have?" He quickly gave an addendum, "I'll just do some cursory scans of you and the little one while you ask."

"Have you ever delivered a baby before?" she asked, wanting to get the more important question out of the way before jumping into the others.

"Yes, I have. My first one was as a paramedic in the Lorillian Merchant Marine. Since then, most have been a bit calmer." He tilted his head. "They wouldn't let me deliver my daughter, though." He quickly added, "But, we have a great team here as well. An incredibly skilled OBGYN, and even a dedicated Midwife. So, you and yours are in safe hands."

As he spoke, Ashley seemed to visibly relax more, and it even showed on his scans as he took them. "I'm sorry you couldn't deliver your daughter," she said, offering him a sympathetic smile. If she were a doctor, she'd do her best to try and deliver her own baby the best she could, but since she wasn't, it was best to leave something as important as this to the professionals. "It makes me feel a lot better to know you've delivered babies, though."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My next question... and I think it's one my husband is quite interested in... how soon after the baby arrives do we have to wait before we can be intimate again?"

"Medically speaking, your species generally takes between four to six weeks to recover from birth. A lot of factors play into that - natural or assisted birth, complications, post-partum complications..." He gave a sigh, and took a little breath. "So, medically. You'll have a check up or two after and then I, or the doctor you are with, will give you a better estimate." He tilted his head, "Perhaps more importantly, mentally... its a bit more of a gray area. You might not feel desire return immediately. It may take longer than you like. And, it might not be you that has the issue with it." He glanced to Jon, "Sometimes men can have issues returning to intimacy after birth as well." He glanced down at the scans for a moment before adding. "My advice, wait until your ready, then give it another few days after that."

Jon has just been listening up to that point, nodding on occasion and looking at his wife or the doctor. Finally he spoke up. "Actually, what Ashley feels is what is important to me," he said. "Right now, she has sore feet, back pains and I finally convinced her to take time off from running her salon."

Finn nodded, "That's actually pretty normal. But you are right." He pointed to the tricorder, "If I had just scanned you without any information, I would have guessed you closer to nine months than eight and a half, so," He gave a smile and a nod, "I'd suggest taking off and preparing." He added, "I'm Lorillian, so our traditions are a bit different - but I think some of the same things apply. You need to be sure you're getting the right nutrition, plenty of rest, fluids... and of course preparing mentally." He paused, "Of course, I can provide pain killers and anti-inflammatory medicine in small doses to help with those symptoms. I'd suggest alternative methods." He nodded his head towards Jon a bit, "Warm baths, massages, aroma-therapy."

Ashley glanced over at her husband with a loving smile, then looked back toward the Doctor. "He's got that covered. He spoils me rotten lately, and I don't have any complaints, either," she said, leaning back on her other hand as well. Her level of being uncomfortable was reaching a level that was definitely becoming impossible to ignore. "I haven't even really started preparing for the baby's arrival because I've been so busy. That would be something to focus on so I won't feel as stir crazy."

"I think I'll pass on pain killers, but maybe an anti-inflammatory might not be such a bad idea," she commented. "My next question... do you know of any ways I might be able to induce labor at home? I don't think I'm going to make it another two weeks. My whole body hurts, and I know it's normal, but from what I've read I'm considered to be full term now."

"At home?" Jon asked, surprised. "Why, when we have nearly two full decks of Medical facilities to make things easier. What if I'm on duty or somewhere?"

"By home... I mean our quarters," she clarified, looking toward her husband again. "I'd rather try natural methods before I go the medical route. If you're on duty, I can contact you or have someone do it for me."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Ash," Jon said. "Not for our first child. There's far too many things that could go wrong and I don't know the first thing about delivering a child."

"I'd never do anything to risk the baby's life, and I think you misunderstood me, honey. When I say induce labor at home, I'm just talking about getting the process started," she said, slipping a hand into his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Once it starts, I plan to come straight here to let the professionals handle things. When I said I'd contact you, or have someone else do it, I was talking about Doctor Caticasse or another member of his personnel. I have no plans of having our baby in our quarters."

"We can induce at home, and we'll have a nurse on standby. I'd like you to wait a bit, longer, of course." Finn piped in. "Also, if there was an emergency - we have very accurate, dedicated medical transporter systems."

"I can wait a bit longer, I think. I've only got a couple more weeks to go, and that will give me the time I need to start getting ready," the young woman said. "Though... if we did have to actually induce should I go past my due date, I think I'd rather be here. That being said, if you're willing, I'd like for you to be my doctor."

"Absolutely, I'd love to be your doctor," Finn said with a quick nod. "We can discuss the ways to induce soon. But, medically, you still might need a bit." He waved the tricorder a bit. "Scans seem good - by the way. Healthy, developing normally."

The young woman smiled. "I'm glad, because your bedside manner is amazing, and I don't think I want anyone else delivering me when the time comes," she said. "Do you think you can tell us if we're having a little boy? We never actually found out, but we just feel like we're having a little boy."

Finn didn't give away anything at first, he just tilted his head to one side. "Well, I'm honored," He gave a grin, and a nod, "So, a belated congratulations." He paused, "I can do a better scan and give you all a look, if you'd like. Actually, could take the DNA and give you a holo, even."

Ashley lit up. "You can really do that?" She asked, unable to hide her excitement as she looked to her husband, then back to the doctor. "As long as it's not dangerous, I'd like to do it."

"We can! Actually, most sickbays can show you a good estimate." He gave a quick nod, "But I was always fascinated as a kid..." He smirked, "Try to stay still please," He said as he moved around to turn on one of the more detailed scanners located above the biobed. "...Anyway, I was fascinated with holograms. So, I studied them in the Academy. And, a doctor much more intelligent than me had already done the imaging technique... so," He gave a moment, and then the scan was done. "I just put it together. So," He gave a moment, "Computer, on the Bakers mark, would you please display the holograph of their daughter, age two months, on the biobed."

"A daughter?" Jon whispered. "We're having a little girl..." He looked at Ashley, completely forgetting everything else.

Ashley blinked, looking over at Jon with tears in her eyes. They weren't tears of sadness at the knowledge of having a little girl, but at the thought of how her husband would be with their little girl. Her heart melted, and she found herself falling in love with the father of their daughter all over again. "A daughter," she whispered, taking his hand and placing it against the swell of her abdomen. "We're going to have a little girl."

"Show us," Jon said as he placed his hand on Ashley's stomach. "Show us what she'll look like."

"Please," the young woman said, slipping her hand over her husband's.

"All yours," Finn said with a nod, giving a tap of his padd to set up the holographic system, rather than doing it verbally. "I'll give you two a bit of time - and I'll be nearby if you need anything." He said before the holographic image of a swaddled child appeared on the biobed. It wasn't just based on their DNA scans, but rather a complex representation of the child's likely growth based on the scans of her. Of course, it was only to the age of a few months, but, it was surely better than a simple description or image. As the image appeared though, he left them to themselves, taking the time to step away and go over their scans.

Ashley turned her attention to the little bundle as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Never in a million years did she think she'd be able to see her baby before she was even born. "That's our little girl...." she said softly.

"She's beautiful," Jon said as he looked at the holographic projection. "What should we name her?"

"Andi, of course," the young woman replied with a sniffle, unable to take her gaze off of the tiny little person that was half her and half her wonderful husband. "With an 'I'."

Jon smiled. "I love it," he said. "Little Andi...she's going to look just like you."

Ashley leaned over to kiss him with a smile. "I think she's going to be a perfect mix of both of us," she said softly.

Jon returned the kiss. "She will be," he said. "Are you ready to get what the Doctor has to offer, then get some rest?"

"I'm always ready to get some rest," she answered with a grin. The young woman and their bed had become quite close over the last few weeks. "I can't wait to be able to hold our little girl." She looked to the holographic baby once again.

"We will soon enough," Jon said as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Let's go find Finn."

With his help, Ashley slipped off of the biobed. "I'm really grateful he agreed to be my doctor. I like him."

"So do I," Jon said. "Doctor Finn! We're ready to see you now," he called out as he helped her off the biobed.

Finn was back a few seconds after the call, "Everything alright?" He asked before glancing around. "Enjoy the sneak preview?" He said with a light clap of his hands, before quickly adding. "I looked over all of your scans. Just quickly, a few things before I get side tracked. You all seem healthy enough. Any more questions or concerns?"

"I don't have any, do you Ashley?" Jon asked her.

"No, except when you'd like to see me again," Ashley answered, turning her attention to the doctor.

"Try to drop by Sickbay in a couple weeks at the latest. That'll be about to the point where you're at the final stretch - and we'll want to make sure everything is going like it should. Otherwise," Finn said with a quick nod, "You can reach me on Comms anytime you need anything. Or, most of the time, I'll be right here."

"Thank you," Jon said and looked at Ashley. "Are you ready to go, beautiful?"

"Thank you, Doctor Caticasse. I'll see you again in a couple weeks unless I start to feel odd," Ashley said, offering the man a smile before she looked toward her husband. As sweet as she found the doctor to be, she couldn't wait to get home and settle down for the evening. "I am very ready, and so is our daughter."