Karissa had finally passed the six month mark for the babies, so Will had discontinued the medication to keep her contractions under control. That had been two days ago and nothing had happened. Like a good girl, Karissa had been resting as much as possible, though she found herself bored a lot of the time. However, Ryan had been with her the whole time. Living together had been a new experience though. She had to get use to being with someone all the time. It was different, but not a bad feeling. In fact, it was wonderful to have him there beside her. At night, feeling him beside her was reassuring that she wasn't alone as she worried about the babies.
On this night, she had had a difficult time drifting to sleep. For some reason her mind just didn't want to calm down. She found herself tossing and turning. On more than one occasion she had disturbed Ryan, but she couldn't seem to help it. Suddenly, just as she was beginning to drift back to sleep, she felt something. Her water had broke, she realized as the bed began getting soaked. Gently, she touched Ryan, she was excited but nervous as well. As his eyes opened, she smiled softly in the darkness.
"It's time," she said, as she felt a mild contraction.
He yawned and sat up "Time for what?" he asked. Barely managing to stay awake.
"The babies... They're on their way," she said as her smile grew just a bit. She took a deep breath out of sheer anxiousness and pushed some hair away from her face.
Suddenly, he was completely awake. "Captain to sickbay. It's time"
[Acknowledged. We'll send a team now to get her here]
The contractions started to get a bit stronger. Though Karissa has read everything and thought she was prepared for everything, she knew that she wasn't like any species described in the books. Anything could happen. Anything could go wrong, and that was putting a bit of a scare into her.
"I wonder just how long they'll take to come into this universe," she said, trying to mask her fears.
"Who knows," said Ryan. He pulled on some trousers and went and kneeled by her. "But their finally on their way," he smiled.
"Yeah..." she said, with a smile. "They are. I just want them to be healthy. I want them to be okay..." This time she couldn't hide the emotions in her eyes.
"They will be," he said reassuringly. As he spoke, Will and Ciara entered the bedroom.
Ciara did a scan of Karissa. "She's dilated to 3 centimeters, and she's about 75 % effaced," she said as she looked to Will, who was doing a scan of his own.
Will nodded. "Okay, both children are head down. That means if you chose to, they can both come out naturally. The choice is yours, Karissa."
"Well... Is there going to be any sort of problems for the babies if I do this?" she asked.
"None," Will assured her. "They are full term and look completely healthy."
"Okay... Then I suppose we let nature take its course," Karissa replied looking at Ryan.
"The next question is can you walk... I don't think you want them born here, do you?" he asked.
She looked around and shook her head. She would feel better if she delivered in sickbay... just in case something happened.
"Let's walk. We'll monitor you as we go," Will said. "The walking will help progress your labor."
She nodded and slowly stood up, a bit shaky from the excitement.
"Everything'll be all right," Ryan said as he held her arm to help steady her.
She smiled and was so thankful to have him by her side and Will and Ciara watching over her. She knew how many things could go wrong now, especially with her altered DNA in the way. After all, her creators had rigged her to die if she ever got pregnant, so what's to say they didn't build something else in, she worried. But she took a deep breath, held onto Ryan and kept holding onto the hope that everything would be all right, and that their children would be born and that they would be born healthy.
As they began the walk, she tried to think of other things. "I suppose it's a good thing we finally replicated that other bassinet the other day," she smiled.
Ryan smiled. "We finished the babies' room just in time, I'd say."
Suddenly, she was hit by a contraction that was stronger than the others. She actually grunted a bit and gripped Ryan's hand a bit harder. She stopped walking and took a couple of very deep breaths. As the contraction died down, they continued to walk. Soon they were in sickbay and she was on a bio bed. She laid down on her side just as another contraction hit. They were growing in intensity very quickly.
"Dr. Hancock, she's already dilated to 4," Ciara said as she looked at the scans she did.
"Would you like something for the pain?" he asked.
Karissa nodded. "That would be wonderful," she replied.
He disappeared for a moment and came back with a hypospray. He administered the hypospray to the base of Karissa's spine, then watched as Karissa began to relax. "Thanks so much!" she said, projecting her feeling of relief to everyone in the room.
Just then, a call on Hancock's communicator: <Dr. Hancock! Lieutenant Wang is back!>
*He had to pick now to return to the living?* Will thought. "Okay, I'm on my way. Ciara, take over here, inform me if there are any problems. Hancock to Security -- I need a detail to meet me outside Sickbay." He ordered the last just as a precaution as he removed his surgical gloves and left the room.
"How do you feel?" Ryan asked.
Karissa smiled and gently caressed his face as she laid on her side facing him. "I feel much better now," she said. "I am a little cold though..."
"Ciara, do you think we could get a blanket?" he asked.
"No problem," she smiled, as she completed another scan and then walked away. She returned a minute later with a blanket and placed it over Karissa.
"Thank you," Karissa replied. "You know, I hardly believe it's finally happening."
"I know," Ryan replied. Gently he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
She could tell he was happy, but anxious. New father with new concerns. Would he be a good father? "You'll be wonderful as a father, you know..."
As their eyes met, he smirked.
Ming and Hancock entered the birthing room, both walking with much more vigor than before. "Okay, we've had one happy ending today! Let's see if we can get a hat trick!"
Everyone else in the room smiled as they shared the sentiment. Except for Karissa, who was now completely oblivious to anything around her due to the pain medication she'd received. Ryan sat next to her, holding her hand. "You can do it, honey, you can do it!"
"I know I can do it," she giggled softly.
Ryan looked to Will. "Is she suppose to be like this? She wasn't like this a moment ago... Well, not this... relaxed... Is this all right for the babies?"
"Oh, hello, Ming," Karissa almost sang gently.
"Hello, Karissa," Ming said, still a bit unsteady. "You're in good hands here! Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked Hancock.
The doctor handed Ming a tricorder. "Monitor her blood and neural chemistry. You know more about it than anyone here. If you see a problem, let me know immediately!"
"I feel sleepy..." Karissa said as her eyes began to close.
"She might as well get her rest now," Ciara replied. "She's at 5 centimeters. She is progressing very fast... I wouldn't be surprised at this point if she's ready to push in an hour... This is very quick..."
"Could it have something to do with her genetic engineering?" Ryan asked hesitantly.
Ciara looked to Ming for the answer.
"It's possible. I've noticed a dip in her acetylcholinesterase levels. You might want to give her a booster shot, so she can continue contracting at a normal rate. Her feline side is burning out her human side!"
Ciara replicated the necessary vial, inserted it into the hypospray, and injected Karissa at the carotid artery. Karissa almost immediately became more aware.
"Okay, what was that?" she asked, suddenly very alert. "The babies, are they all right?" Though she could feel them squirming even against the tightening of her abdomen. She was thankful she wasn't feeling more than the tightening, though she knew that probably wasn't going to last.
"The babies are just fine," Hancock said, checking his tricorder. "Their vitals are good."
Karissa sighed with relief.
"Everything's going to be fine," Ryan said again, as if the continual reassurance would someone make it true. That is would assuage both of their concerns.
The hour had passed relatively quietly. Karissa had eaten some ice chips, they had all talked to keep her mind on other things, but suddenly, she felt a sharp twinge. Ciara immediately scanned her.
"Dr. Hancock, she's 100% effaced and fully dilated! And the first twin is already at a +2 station! She's ready to start pushing!" Ciara announced, her aqua-colored eyes dancing with excitement. It wasn't every day they got to deliver babies.
"Okay, this is what we practiced!" Ryan said. "Push! Push!"
Karissa bore down with the effort. Even through the pain medication her strain was showing.
"All right, here comes the next contraction," Will said again, "Push will all your might, Karissa. You can do it!"
She took a deep breath and pushed for everything she was worth. She stopped only long enough to get another breath and bore down again until the contraction ended.
"You're doing very well," Will said.
Ryan held her hand and kissed her. "Okay, here's another contraction," he said as he saw Ciara nod to him. "Push! !-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10" She paused to take a breath and pushed again.
They did this for twenty minutes, when suddenly Will announced, "All right, Karissa, one of the babies is almost out," he said. "Do you feel that pressure?" he asked. She nodded trying to catch her breath. "That's the baby's head. One more big push and she'll be out... All right?" he asked. Karissa nodded. "Okay, and here is the contraction!"
"Push, Kari," Ryan whispered as he held her hand. "You can do this."
"The head is out!" Will announced with a smile as he cleaned off the face, and the baby wailed defiantly.
Karissa and Ryan smiled and laughed.
"One more big push and this one will be out completely."
And as soon as the contraction came, Karissa pushed and the first twin was out.
"It's a girl!" Will said, as Ciara handed him a blanket to clean her off with and another to wrap her in.
Ming scanned the newborn girl with his tricorder, then turned to Dr. Hancock. "Congratulations, Doctor," he said with a smile. If there were any lingering apprehensions from the night on which this whole saga began, they weren't seen in Ming.
'Well... uh... thank you, Ming..." He said, as he looked into his daughter's face. She was still crying a bit, but not as badly. "She's beautiful, Karissa..." he said, as he brought the baby over to her.
Karissa looked at her daughter with a head of dark hair and smiled with tears in her eyes. "She is beautiful..." Tenderly she took her in her arms and gently touched her face. As the baby opened her eyes to try to look out, Karissa laughed softly. "Maya Amber-Marie..."
"I can't believe it," Ryan replied. "She is gorgeous... Just like her mother."
Suddenly, Karissa felt a twinge and handed the baby to Ryan. "You need to take her. I think baby number two is arriving..." she said.
"Yes, actually, baby number two is arriving," Ciara said. "This one might only take a few minutes now that sister has cleared the way."
"Lets hope," Karissa replied as she bore down with a contraction.
"Let me take the baby," Ming offered. "You need to help Karissa."
Ryan nodded and handed the bundle over the him.
Karissa's pushing continued for another ten minutes. "Okay, here comes the next baby," Will said. "The head is almost out."
Ryan kissed Karissa's hand as she smiled and began pushing when cued. Suddenly, there was another wail heard throughout sickbay.
"One more push," Ryan encourage. "You're almost there."
Karissa, who was obviously growing weary nodded and with a finally effort gave it her all.
"Karissa, Captain," Will said, as he cleaned off the baby and wrapped it in a nice, clean blanket. "You have a son..." With that, he brought the baby over and placed it in Karissa's arms.
Karissa almost cried. "Luc Ryan..." she said in just above a whisper as she looked at the dark-haired baby boy.
"We have son..." Ryan echoed with a smile, as he looked at the little bundle. Tenderly, he took the bundle from Karissa as she smiled. She seemed contended, but very tired.
Will finished up some last minute procedures and cleaned up. He then went to Ming and held his daughter. As he walked over to Karissa and Ryan, he looked over at Ciara. "How's Karissa doing?" He was concerened. It seemed as if everything had gone too smoothly. But maybe they had been granted a miracle.
"Everything seems to be normal... The babies will need some time in the isolets to regulate their body heat," she said.
"Of course," he replied with a bit of relief. "And mother should have a chance to rest."
"How long will she have to stay here?" Ryan asked.
"At least 48 hours," he said. "It's to make sure there aren't any complications."
"I understand," Ryan replied. "And the babies?"
"They can leave when she does," he replied.
"Let me see Maya," Karissa intoned.
Will immediately place her in her mother's arms. As Karissa looked at her two newborns, she wanted to cry. She never thought she could ever be so happy.
"My life has never been so happy as it is this moment," she said, as she looked up at Ryan. "I love you."
Gently he caressed her face and then leaned over and kissed her. "I love you too."
Everyone watched as the new family took in the moment, looking over the infants, touching, kissing and speaking softly to them, smiling at each other. The time was priceless and they were enjoying to the fullest. It was as if they created a world of their own. Will wasn't sure how to feel. He was elated that his daughter was born, and yet, there was something else... He looked at Ryan and Karissa and sighed.
"Congratulations," he said as he smiled bittersweetly.
Karissa turned her gaze from the babies and Ryan and gazed at Will. Suddenly, she knew. "Thank you..." she replied. "Would you like to hold Maya again?" she offered.
His smile grew. "I think I'd like that."
As he took Maya, Ming and Ciara watched with a smile of their own. It was an unconventional family, but that is what they all were, wasn't it? He thought. As if reading his mind, she sneaked an arm around him and squeezed. As he looked at her, she smiled and winked.