Nine Weeks to Go (Part 2)

Posted on Sun Dec 29th, 2024 @ 11:28pm by Captain Maho Takahashi & Commander Keisuke Takahashi 'K.T.' & Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott M.D.
Edited on on Sun Dec 29th, 2024 @ 11:28pm

1,579 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Captains and Contraband
Location: Sickbay, Deck 5
Timeline: After 'Nine Weeks to Go (Part 1)'

Previously, on Star Trek: Myogi:

Bree nearly snorted with laughter when she heard Maho reference pushing her daughter out her "hoo-hah." She wasn't expecting such frankness and lightheartedness from the woman she usually experienced as cooly professional.

Scott was in agreement with Victor, of course, but fearing Maho may take his comment the wrong way, she offered, "I'm sure you'll do all you need to do to bond with your daughter while juggling the responsibilities of being a commanding officer, it's just important to know you don't have to juggle all of these responsibilities alone, and no one who truly matters will think less of you for taking the time you need to recover and adjust to these new responsibilities. It may be best to keep your plans open-ended, so you can give yourself all the time you need to get the lay of the land, so to speak. In that vein, actually, while I don't wish to get too far ahead of why you're here today," Bree continued, "I'd love to arrange a time to meet to help give you both tools for the big day as well as discuss your options, assuming everyone would be amenable?"

And now, the continuation:

"I'd be down." Keisuke said. "I suppose I've been burying myself in work to keep the thoughts of me becoming a father very soon out of my head, but perhaps it's time I finally pay them some attention so I'm not caught off guard."

Scott nodded. "It would be good to meet with both of you at the same time at least a few times to get on the same page, but I'd be happy to work around your schedule. It could be equally beneficial to meet with the Captain alone a few times as well. I can always make sure the information we discuss is given to you for review and practice."

Keisuke nodded.

"Are you going to be needing to meet with just me at any point?" He asked.

"I would welcome that actually" Victor said softly. "Lets say next week when ever your schedule allows it."

"I would like to see you as well," Scott added in response to the father to be. "I know you have a lot on your plate and we can certainly work around your meeting with Dr. Delling."

Keisuke nodded to both the doctors' requests to meet with him before turning back to his wife to see what was happening with the ultrasound.

Victor saved the screen where they could see the features of the little girl, with her thumb firmly set in her mouth. The ghost of a smile touched his lips as he saw that, it was a sweet little thing. "You can display that now if you want, it's saved in your personal file."

Maho and Keisuke also smiled at the precious moment.

"That will certainly be going in the ultrasound collage." Maho said.

Maho and Keisuke had been discussing having notable pictures from the various ultrasounds being placed in a photo collage to display in the baby girl's nursery as a reminder of how much she had grown while in Maho's belly, and they were in talks about doing some kind of post-birth growth tracker, though they hadn't decided what they were going to do just yet.

"We do have some time to figure out the precise details." His eyes moved from Maho to Keisuke and back again "You are allowed to want different things for the birth experience, so it's important for you to talk about it. For example, if everything goes perfectly, would you like Keisuke to catch his daughter?"

"Ewww, gross." Keisuke cringed. "No thanks, I'll take a pass."

"Coward." Maho quipped with a smirk.

"Look, not when she's all slimy and gross." Keisuke responded. "Besides, with something that slippery, I'd fumble the catch and drop her."

"Oh, sure; the man who dominated the Kanto region is afraid that his daughter will slip right out of his hands and onto the floor." Maho remarked. "When the mighty fall, they sure fall far."

"Look, I'm not going to do it, or be guilted into doing it." Keisuke said, looking to Victor. "No, just... No."

"Alright, no to that one. Is there any additional persons you want in the delivery room with you?" Victor made a small note in his PADD.

"Birth is messy," Bree acknowledged with a chuckle. "It's OK to leave that to us." She couldn't blame the father to be for being nervous about possibly catching his daughter as she came into the world. That moment was likely to come after a lengthier labor and the emotional roller coaster it typically involved. "May I ask, Doctor," Scott said, referring to Delling, "Is an out of sickbay birth, such as thee holodeck or personal quarters a medically safe possibility? I ask because if it is safe, it might be an attractive option in terms of added privacy and familiarity. Assuming you see no reason to immediately disqualify that as a potential option, I have some experience with births in these types of locations and can offer strategies that won't compromise safety."

"Perhaps that can be an option we can look into." Maho agreed. "Provided an in-quarters birth can be sanitary, as that is probably one of the reasons why I would prefer to give birth in a medicated environment as opposed to 'at home,' as it were."

"A couple of centuries ago it was a lot harder to keep things sanitary, but I think if in this day and age we can clean our skin with mere sonic vibration, I don't expect keeping your quarters sanitary will be too big of a challenge," Scott replied. "Anything strictly medical we need can be either brought with us or replicated fairly easily, I would think, and in the event of complications, which I don't anticipate given how things are going, a simple medical transport should take care of it. To be clear, I'm not advocating for anyone location over another, I was just thinking because your quarters are familiar to the two of you, you might feel more relaxed, which can make the whole process easier."

"We'll be sure to take it into consideration, doctor." Maho nodded. "In the meantime, is everything else looking alright? Anything that we should be concerned about?"

Bree took a moment to consult her readings and review what she was seeing on the screen. "All looks well. She's measuring right on track, there's plenty of amniotic fluid surrounding her and your placenta is not too close to the exit, so to speak. If they haven't begun already, you should soon start to experience what are called Braxton Hicks contractions. These will be short tightenings of your belly that shouldn't be terribly painful or regular, but are your body's way of preparing for labor. Most of the time, these stop when you change position, but the closer you get to the big day, the more you want to pay attention to any of these contractions, especially if they get longer, stronger and closer together. Obviously, also reach out if you think your water has broken."

"So, about when should I start paying closer attention to the contractions?" Maho asked. "Like, closer to around 40 weeks or so?

"It's not a question so much of weeks," Bree answered. "It's more about paying attention to symptoms at any point in your pregnancy. If you start to experience tightenings in your belly or back that don't go away and get closer together, start to last longer, and become more painful, it's possible it's the beginning of labor. If you have those symptoms accompanied with any sort of trickle or gush of fluid, let me know. There's several possible explanations for you to spring a leak that don't necessarily mean anything is wrong or labor is imminent, but if your water has broken, we want to know that as soon as possible so we can get labor going if it hasn't already started. You're technically considered full term at 37 weeks, but babies can come anytime. First time mothers tend to go into labor after their due date because their bodies haven't done this before."

"Alright, I'll be sure to be aware of the signs." Maho said. "Was there anything else I need to be aware of?"

The counselor and physician looked down at her notes on the computer and mentally reviewed everything before returning and offering, "I think we've covered all the key bases for now. Do you have any more questions for me?"

"If we have any, we'll be sure to send them your way." Maho nodded, with Keisuke doing the same.

"Great," Bree answered brightly. "If either of you need anything, I'm just a comm call away."

As Maho and Keisuke left sickbay, the two of them had a discussion about the performance of the medical officers:

"You know, Delling kinda took a backseat there about halfway through:" Maho noted. "Is it just me, or has he been a lot more 'hands off' as of late?"

"Definitely not just you:" Keisuke remarked. "I recently received a complaint from nurse Ichihara that he's getting increasingly more difficult to work with. I think it might be time to reach out to Starfleet Command and Starfleet Medical about this..."

Posting by

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer

Commander Keisuke Takahashi
Second Officer

Commander Victor Delling
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott
Chief Counselor

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