Expecting the Unexpected
Swain shined the pen light into her eyes, flicking in one and then flicking it in the other, Kate raising her left eyebrow in response.
"Have you got any pain, a headache?" He asked, flicking the pen light off and putting it back into his first aid kit.
"I have..." Kate paused a second to draw a breath in. "A slight headache." She replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she tilted her head slightly to the left, her eyes flicking to Mike's momentarily, before meeting back with Swain's as he continued his questioning.
"What day of the week is it?" He asked, watching her face for a reaction.
"It's a trick question," she said, tilting her head to the left. "it's Tuesday." Sarcasm laced her tone as her eyes once again flickered to Mike's. Mike had a half smirk on his face at her reply. That was definitely his Kate.
"Mmmm... Pupils are a bit sluggish." He started, getting cut off by Kate once again.
"What, they're sluggish?" She growled sarcasticly, narrowing her eyes at Swain.
Swain looked up at Mike, "Um, possible concussion, she'll need a CT scan when we get back to port." He explained, looking back at Kate, he saw the flicker of panic cross her eyes as her face fell.
"I don't need a CT scan, I'm not having one!" She said, a slight panic rising in her voice.
Swain looked at her oddly, "I'm afraid it's mandatory, Ma'am." he said, noting the slight panic in her voice.
"You don't understand Swain, I CAN'T have a CT scan." She plead, looking at Mike.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just-" Swain was cut off by a frustrated sigh from Kate.
"I can't have a CT scan because I… I think I'm pregnant." She said, looking into Mike's eyes before adding, "I haven't taken a test yet, but I'm… um… I'm late." the last part came out as almost a whisper as she sat there, glancing from Swain's face to Mike's and back again, wringing her hands in her lap.
Swain's face lit up in understanding as he started rummaging around in the first aid kit before pulling out a small pink and white box. Kate's facial expression was somewhere between embarrassed and 'what the hell?'.
Swain shrugged his shoulders, "I figured that sooner or later we might need it." He said, handing the box to Kate.
Kate looked down at the small box in her hands, the pink of it staring up at her. She looked up at Swain, slightly embarrassed at not exactly knowing how to use it.
Swain gently took the box from her hands, broke the plastic wrap and opened it, emptying the contents onto the table.
The box contained a small foil bag, obviously the test, and a folded sheet of paper, instructions. "No reason to be embarrassed, Ma'am," he said, Kate butting in.
"Kate." she said, sick of being called Ma'am.
"Kate," he said, looking up at her as she fiddled with her hands. Swain explained to her how to use the test, showing her the diagrams on the instruction leaflet, before handing the foil wrapped test to her.
Kate got up, slipping the test into her fatigues pants pocket, and walked out of the Ward Room and towards her own cabin.
Reaching the door, she opened it, walking in before entering the small space that she called a bathroom.
Closing the door, she took the test kit out of her pocket and looked at it before putting it down on the sink as she slowly undid her belt and the zip on her pants.
Her hand shook as she lowered herself to the seat, squatting over the rim of the toilet bowl. Was she really about to do this, resigning herself to fate? She held the test in the stream just as Swain had explained; checking to make sure the small tab was saturated. She re-capped the item and set it upon the lip of her vanity, chewing her lip and praying that the time would pass quickly.
There was a knock at her cabin door. "X, are you in here?" She swallowed the lump in her throat, pulled her bottoms up, refastening the zipper and clasp, and poked her head out of the bathroom door.
"In here, Mike." She said, opening the door further as she went back over and put her hands on either side of the sink and lent forward, looking down at the test.
Mike hovered at the doorway, looking at Kate as she hovered over the test.
Kate drew in a deep breath as she opened her eyes.
Two blue lines stared back at her. She gasped, pushing back off the counter. Mike was by her side in a flash, an arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder.
"Kate?" He asked gently, looking at her eyes as they filled with tears.
Wiping furiously at her eyes, refusing to let the tears fall, she rested a hand on her stomach. She was surprised. 'God this was really going to happen,' she thought, a small smile playing on her lips.
Mike looked at her as she rested a hand on her stomach, a smile on her face. His face broke into a broad grin realizing the meaning behind her actions.
"Is it?" He asked, indicating towards the test.
"Two blue lines, a positive." She grinned, taking his larger hand in her own smaller one and placing it on her stomach before looking up into his eyes, seeing the love and admiration harboured there.
Mike's eyes brimmed with tears, he couldn't believe this, he couldn't believe that nine months from now he would be welcoming his new born child into the world. Bending slightly, he lowered his lips to Kate's and kissed her gently, before resting his forehead on hers and whispering to her.
"I love you, Katie," he whispered, brushing a thumb across her cheek as a lone tear fell down it. "And I won't leave you, or our child."
"Not even midnight wake ups?" She said, looking straight into his eyes.
"Not even midnight wakes ups." He chuckled.
"Or nappy duty." She laughed.
"I might draw the line at nappy duty." He mock threatened, getting a slap on the chest.
"Ok, ok, ok! I'll do nappy duty!" He laughed as Kate stopped hitting him, laughing herself.