Katianna held Laurissa as she drifted to sleep in her arms. Her head of auburn hair matched Kat's own. Gently she traced her daughter's spots that reminded her so much of Arturus. She sighed as she held back tears of her own. Memories of Jovo crashed into her mind. She remembered the gentle touch of his hands, his kiss... and then the cold stab of the words he... No, not him, but that darkness in him had spoken to her. But still... Was her Jovo gone? Was he still there? But would she have to kill him to kill this evil? She caressed her daughter's face again as she stirred and whimpered. Kat stilled her mind for a moment and allowed herself to probe Laurissa's. She needed to know if Laurissa was picking up her emotions. As she found her answer, she found a dream... a nightmare... about what she had seen. Tears again sprang to her eyes and an anger welled up in her heart.
Suddenly Kara appeared. Her neck had been bruised from her encounter with Kalimar, but she had been healed relatively quickly. For all of them the emotional scars would take the longest to heal.
"Would you like me to take her to bed now?" she asked.
Katianna tried to smile. "That's all right, I'll do it myself tonight."
Kara nodded and went to walk away.
"How are you feeling?" Kat asked.
Kara stopped and turned around. Tears sprang to her eyes. "My outer wounds are healed," she replied. "But my inner wounds are very much raw... What I do not understand is... what is that thing that claims to be Mr. Kalimar... That is not your friend..."
A tear escaped Kat's own eye, as she looked at the nanny that had become her friend. "It's evil," was all she managed to say.
"And you will have his child?" Kara asked curiously.
"This child is Jovo's, before this happened... I have to believe something good has to come out of this... especially if I'm force to..." She stopped short. "Never mind, Kara. I'm sure it will be okay..."
"I have noticed you are already showing as if you are in your third month," she replied. "Soon others will start to ask questions."
Kat nodded. "I need to delay that... at least for now..."
Kara nodded. "I am glad we're together once again. Laurissa and I have both missed you."
"Likewise..." Kat said with a gentle smile. She then looked down into her daughter's face once again.
Later that evening, Katianna had booked time at Holo Pursuits. She needed it since she couldn't get the confrontation with Kalimar out of her mind, and she was sure that was who she had dealt with. And there was the anger and rage at the betrayal of the Order of the Light... and she had to face it... Jovo's betrayal as Kalimar as well... and the fact she was pregnant and alone... And the big question was WHAT was she pregnant with? She wanted the baby to be like Jovo was before this, if anything. But would the child retain any of this darkness? How was she to know for sure? Dr. Cherrin would only be able to tell her the physiology... That wouldn't be enough...
As she started the program, she tried to focus her mind. It was a very intensive defensive program. She had skipped the portion of releasing the hostages and gotten right to the nitty gritty. The releasing of the hostages just hit too close to home at the moment, and what she wanted was to kick some ass. As it began, she was rushed by three individuals. She quickly, jumped and dodged them with ease, then as she landed, she began taking them out. One by one, she brought them down. The knife she had brought with her was the only weapon she used. She was use to being able to shape-shift in the program, but now that she was pregnant, she couldn't. However, she had been without the ability before and this was a good way to keep her other skills sharp. She slit one man's throat, snapped another's neck with a well placed kick and the third she threw her knife at and got him in the neck. As she moved on, she was attacked again. This time by two men. As they ran at her with knives ready, she dodged them, grabbed their wrists swiftly and pulled them into each other, their heads smacking together in obvious pain. In their disorientation, she landed a jumpkick to one's head and the other, she landed a sidekick to his neck. They both fell down. According to the program, they were out of the game, so she moved on. This continued until she took out all 30 of the bad guys.
As she finished, she sat down on the simulated earth beneath her feet and leaned up against a tree. She was sweating and hot. She also suddenly felt very nauseated. She wasn't angry at the moment. She just felt empty. Like there was this deep void inside her that was filled with pain, and it would start to hurt if she looked at it for too long. She took a drink of the water she had brought, hoping that might quell her stomach, but instead, it came right back up. Suddenly, she just broke down and cried...
After that, Kat walked into Sickbay and checked on Jovo once again. Toren Len was the medic on duty. If anything serious came in, he was to let Dr. Cherrin know.
"Good evening, Commander," he said.
She nodded. "Has there been any change?" she asked, motioning to Jovo.
"No, no change..." he said, suddenly, he noticed the way her uniform sat on her frame around her abdomen. "I'm sure this is something you should be taking up with Dr. Cherrin, but... are you expecting?" he asked.
She was surprised at the question. She didn't think anyone would notice yet. She fought back the tears that stung at her eyes. "Yes, but I haven't told anyone yet. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
"If you'll tell Dr. Cherrin tomorrow," he said. "It's important to have regular check-ups while you're pregnant, for your health and that of your baby's."
"I know," she replied.
"Do you mind me asking who the father is?"
With a sad sigh and tears she could no longer hold back, she replied quietly, "Him..." She looked to Jovo, wishing desperately she had him back the way he was... How would she reconcile the fact she may have to kill her child's father? With a sad smile, she took one more look at Jovo and left sickbay.
As she entered her quarters everything was quiet. Laurissa was still asleep, Kara has probably also gone to bed. But to her surprise, sitting on the coffee table was a tray of what looked like a tray of freshly baked gingerbread cookies, a couple of candy canes and a cup of hot cocoa.
"Kara?" she called. But there was no answer.
She went to the mug and picked it up. It was still very hot. She was curious, but too weary to object or examine this treat. She sat down on the couch, took a cookie and sipped a the cocoa, wishing that her life was somehow different.