Kira took one last look at the tricorder information in front of him before
he closed the device and looked at the person he was scanning. He paused a moment
to gather his thoughts before speaking to his patient.
"Well, Karissa, it looks like everything is OK." Said Kira to Karissa Bentara, the chief counselor aboard the USS Ronin.
"Really?" asked Karissa, as she nudged herself up on her elbows trying to sit up in the medical bio-bed in Sickbay. "They're OK?"
"Outside of the fact that they're a little ahead of the normal developmental pattern for humans, they're perfect."
Karissa gave Kira a rather pained look, but knew that Kira was only being honest with her.
"How's your other patient doing?" asked Karissa as she shifted her weight so that she was able to sit upright and dangle her legs from the foot of the bed.
"Well, other than some singed fur nothing much happened to him." Said Kira as he walked over to check on Torasu, his other patient in Sickbay.
Torasu was lying on a bed adjacent to Karissa's and was looking none the worse for wear at the moment. Earlier, however, was an entirely different story. Somehow, beyond anyone's comprehension, Torasu had managed to get himself caught in circuitry leading from a neural gel pack that carried information throughout the ship for the computer systems. The crux of the problem was that he was on one of the sections of the ship that was supposed to be off limits to his roaming.
"What happened to him? I've only picked up random pieces of information from the local rumor mill myself." Said Karissa.
"Well, it depends on whose version you listen to, but the best I can figure is that he somehow managed to get into the wiring around one of the bio-neural gel packs that interfaced with certain computer systems. Tyran and Chief Talmsin found him, but they couldn't get him out. Tyran had him beamed to his quarters, but when he got a look at Torasu he knew that he needed to be looked at by medical." At this Kira looked quizzically at Torasu for a moment and then continued, "More than anything he was just scared. After all that mess, it was decided that further measures would be necessary to keep him under control and out of harm's way."
Karissa moved over to Torasu's bed and began to stroke the fur on his back. Other than Kira and Nige, Torasu seemed to only like the affection of Karissa and Dinara.
"Silly thing, you were just bored, weren't you?" said Karissa, as she continued to stroke Torasu's head.
"Well, his boredom has cost him more than he realizes. Singed fur only being part of it." Said Kira as he organized some of the instruments on a nearby tray.
"Well, you're always welcome in my quarters, little one." Said Karissa to Torasu.
"Not to change the subject so abruptly, but have Ming and Ciara found anything out about your situation yet?" said Kira.
Karissa let out a sigh as she mustered up the courage to answer the Commander. "No, they haven't found anything out yet, but now that Dr. Tierro is helping Ming, they are making some significant progress. But, to change the subject again, Commander," and at this Karissa looked up and smiled at Kira and continued, "How are you doing with your new duties?"
"Well," Kira said, "It's not the bridge, but it works."
Karissa was aware of the fact that Kira was going to be temporarily reassigned to fill in the gaps for Dr. Tierro while she was helping Lt. Wang figure out her origins.
"Are you all right with that change, Commander?" asked Karissa, assuming her counseling tone.
"Hmm?" said Kira as he continued to busy himself about the medical bay, "Well, I don't know what to think to tell the truth, but I do recognize the rationale behind the decision. Too many commanders spoil the chain of command. But, this temporary reassignment came as a personal request from the Captain himself."
"What?" said Karissa as she stopped petting Torasu in mid stroke as she turned to face Kira with more of her attention.
"Oh he didn't tell you that
bit of information, did he?" said Kira with a smile. "Well, the main
reason why I accepted this change was that Ryan asked me to specifically look
after you and your children." At this
comment Karissa arched her brows in a look of surprise.
Noticing her expression Kira quickly added, "Not to slight Dr. Tierro in any way, but I do have a bit more medical experience than she does. Plus, I happen to have a rather extensive background in, amongst other things, comparative zoology. Considering your rather interesting genetic make-up, Ryan asked me to take over your care as a personal favor to him for your safety, and the safety of your children."
"I didn't know he did that." Said Karissa as she once again started to pet Torasu in a rather absent-minded manner.
"And you call yourself a telepath!"
"Well," said Karissa with a funny grin on her face, "I did promise him that I wouldn't pry into his mind unless he asked me to."
"If I were you, I'd re-nig on
that promise." Said Kira with a broad smile as he moved towards Karissa
to give her some of the anti-nausea medication that Dr. Tierro had prescribed.
"Here, continue taking
these, as they seem to be helping you with controlling the nausea. I've noticed
that you're a little low in serum calcium levels, but it's nothing to be worried
about at this stage. I've also included an oral
calcium supplement for you to be taken twice a day with meals. And, just to
be on the safe side, I've also prescribed a multivitamin regimen for you. I've
also noticed that you're a little low in both serum iron, and
bound hemoglobin. Normally I'd give you a shot of erythropoietin to stimulate
more red blood cells, but with the babies on board," at this Kira gave
Karissa's shoulder a little squeeze, "we don't want to chance giving them
anything like that, so instead you'll also have iron supplements that need to
be taken three times a day."
"Is this everything?" asked Karissa as she hopped off the biobed.
"Almost, since you're still a bit low in hemoglobin, you're probably going to notice that you don't have a lot of extra energy. If you experience any dizziness, or lightheadedness immediately take it easy and don't push yourself. Remember, you're breathing for three people now, and until your bone marrow catches up by making extra red blood cells for your system, fatigue is sure to happen."
At this comment Karissa blushed a bit, but tried to remain composed in front of the doctor. She and Ryan had failed to mention any details of their "vacation" to one of the uncharted planets in the system they had just left.
Kira didn't seem to notice her reaction
though, as he had turned to pick up a PADD containing some information on Karissa's
follow-up appointments. By the time he turned back around to face her again,
Karissa had managed to control her physiological responses.
"And finally, here is a list of your pre-natal appointments for the next month." Said Kira as he handed her the PADD.
As she took the PADD from Kira she
scanned the information rather quickly and then asked in a rather surprised
tone, "Are you sure about this schedule, it looks like I'm supposed to
follow up with you at least
twice a week?"
"Yup, I'm sure," said Kira as he gave the Lt. Commander a warm smile, "I want to monitor every aspect of the children's development to make sure that nothing goes awry. This way if I notice anything out of the ordinary we'll be able to fix it before it becomes permanent."
"Oh," said Karissa as she
looked at her follow up schedule once again, this time with a look of relief
versus suspicion, "then that is perfectly fine." Karissa put down
the PADD and looked directly at Kira
and said in a rather serious tone, "Thanks for doing this for Ryan and
I, Kira."
"Hey, I'm trying to get godfather status out of this." Said Kira with a laugh.
"Well, you're going to have to talk with Tyran about that one. But, seeing as it's going to be twins, maybe you and Tyran can share the title." Replied Karissa as she gathered up her prescriptions, gave Torasu one last pat on the head, and headed for the medical bay exit.