B'Elanna screamed out as pain tore through her abdomen. The agony forced her to sit upright on the biobed she was currently occupying in Sick bay and she clenched her stomach. "Doctor, what the hell is happening to me?" This was way beyond the upset stomach she thought Neelix's food had provoked.
"Your baby is trying to put in an early appearance," the EMH replied calmly as he ran a tricorder over the lower half of her body.
"Then why the hell does it hurt so much? Klingons should be able to give birth on the battlefield without drawing attention to their position," the brunette grated out, the tendons in her neck standing out as she braced her body against the pain.
"Because you're half-Klingon," the EMH pointed out reasonably. He frowned as he examined the results of the scan.
B'Elanna picked up on his change of mood instantly. "What's wrong?" She looked at Seven anxiously.
"The placenta is breaking away from the uterine wall prematurely. It's why you're in so much pain," the Doctor told her. He started to move more speedily. "I'm going to have to do an emergency transfer."
"Do you want Mr Paris in attendance?" Seven asked B'Elanna.
"What for?" B'Elanna was confused.
"He has some interest in the birth of your child," the blonde stated.
"Unless I've been in here a lot longer than it already feels, the last time I looked, Tom was more than halfway to getting completely drunk."
"I am sure he would sober when he is told of the situation," Seven speculated.
B'Elanna grunted as pain tore through her abdomen again. "Doc, what's taking so long? Is my baby okay?"
"I'm just setting up the procedure. It shouldn't be too much longer," the hologram assured her.
"If you want Mr Paris present, I must contact him now," Seven reminded her gently.
"I'd rather have you here," the engineer gasped. She looked steadily at Seven and held her gaze. A small smile graced B'Elanna's lips when she saw the blonde nod acquiescence.
"If you're staying, you can help." The EMH broke the mood instantly.
"How may I be of assistance?" Seven was immediately attentive.
"The transporter is having difficulty separating the baby from B'Elanna," the Doctor explained, gesturing to his console.
Seven looked at the readings briefly before making a series of computations, her long slender fingers gracefully floating over the console. She looked up at B'Elanna, her face carefully schooled into a mask of concern and reassurance. "This will take a few moments," she stated.
"I'd offer to help, but I'm not sure I can concentrate for any length of time," the Klingon groaned. She wiped away the sweat from her face distractedly, her eyes never leaving her companions.
The EMH and Seven continued to work swiftly as they tried to solve the problem of transporting the baby out of B'Elanna's womb safely. The Doctor broke off on several occasions to re-examine his patient and administer analgesia. B'Elanna was still clearly in pain, and she looked exhausted and drawn, her normally tan features pale.
"What's taking so long?"
"The sensors will not recognise your baby as a separate entity," the EMH answered.
"I know that! Why's it taking so long to resolve?" B'Elanna's patience, never in abundance under normal circumstances, was dangerously worn.
"I am working on their reconfiguration, but standard methods are not resolving the problem," Seven replied, not looking up from the workstation.
B'Elanna struggled to sit up and get off the bio-bed.
"What do you think you're doing?" The Doctor's voice rose incredulously.
"Trying to get up," the engineer replied tersely.
"Well don't, you could aggravate your condition."
"I'm telling you Doc, I can't imagine feeling any more aggravated than I do now. I'm gonna see if I can sort out this sensor problem," B'Elanna told them. As she put her feet onto the floor, she swayed.
"Get back on the bed," the EMH ordered, hovering over her.
"Doc," she protested, even as she swallowed down her nausea.
"Lieutenant, if you remain standing, your blood pressure will drop and you will lose consciousness. Your decreased blood pressure can potentially harm your baby. You are in no fit state to help."
"Well, not much is getting done at the moment!" B'Elanna growled back, her patience finally gone. She clutched the side of the bed suddenly as the room started to spin.
Knowing that he risked only B'Elanna's pride, the Doctor swooped down, lifted her up and placed her gently onto the biobed. His concern grew when she made no protest whatsoever. Hurriedly, he ran a tricorder over the hybrid. "You're haemorrhaging internally," he told her. "I have to operate now."
"The transporter is not functioning adequately for the procedure," Seven reminded him, even as she tried another method of recalibration.
"I'm not talking about an emergency transport. I need to do a caesarean," the EMH replied curtly. "Is Mr Paris available to assist?"
Seven raised an enhanced eyebrow, surprised that the Doctor had missed her earlier exchange with B'Elanna. "I believe he may have consumed alcohol and his judgement could be impaired."
The tall bald medic grimaced. "My damned party. Every one with an ounce of medical training is there." He looked at the Astrometrics officer speculatively. "Well, scrub up Seven. Looks like you're going to add nurse' to your list of duties."
"I am not qualified to assist you," Seven protested, still furiously working on the transporter.
"You're a quick study." The EMH returned his attention to the woman reclining on the biobed. "B'Elanna, I need to sedate you. I haven't got time to anaesthetise just your lower body. Your baby wants to make an appearance, and we don't have time to wait."
"Doctor, you're scaring me," B'Elanna admitted candidly.
Showing a keen insight, the EMH continued, keeping his tone low and sympathetic. "I know it's unusual to do this procedure, but Seven is staying right here to help me. I need you to remain calm. I'll explain everything as I go."
B'Elanna blinked suddenly, feeling the burn of tears in her eyes. "Am I going to lose my baby?" she asked in a small voice.
"Not if I can help it."
The engineer swallowed and nodded hesitantly. "Go on then," she invited.
The EMH smiled and nodded kindly before pressing a hypospray against B'Elanna's neck and administering the sedative.
"Doctor, I have looked at the procedure you cited. Is it your intention to cut the foetus from B'Elanna's uterus?" Seven sounded incredulous.
"I am aware that it sounds barbaric. But I can think of no other procedure that will save both the baby and Lieutenant Torres at this time," the EMH replied perfunctorily.
"B'Elanna is also in danger?" Seven wanted the last statement confirmed.
"At the moment, I'm more concerned for her welfare than the baby." He paused, noting the stricken look on the ex-drone. "Seven, we have to work quickly. The baby is showing no signs of distress yet, but B'Elanna is going into hypovolaemic shock. As the placenta breaks away from the uterine wall however, the baby will be denied a blood supply, and B'Elanna will continue to haemorrhage internally. I have to get the foetus out and repair the vascular damage."
"But the placenta is designed to break away after birth," Seven pointed out reasonably.
"Quite right, but when the baby is born, hormones are triggered to reduce the size of the womb rapidly and vaso-constriction also takes place. As the baby is still in situ, none of this is happening."
Seven stared at B'Elanna for a moment. "What do you need me to do?" she asked finally.
The baby squalled noisily as she squirmed in the crib she had been placed in. Her cries accompanied the sounds of medical equipment beeping regularly and the movements of the two people working feverishly around a bio-bed.
"Her blood pressure is falling again," Seven intoned neutrally.
"Increase epinephrine push another 2mg," the Doctor reacted automatically as he continued surgery.
Seven complied and looked at B'Elanna anxiously, waiting for the next direction from the EMH.
They had been working for over three hours. The Doctor had managed to deliver the baby safely within a few minutes of starting the procedure. Despite being only ¼ Klingon, the baby had remained resolutely quiet, giving credence to the legends of childbirth on the battlefields.
Seven had placed the baby gently into a neo-natal chamber and run a set of diagnostics to ensure her health while the Doctor continued his surgery on B'Elanna. As soon as she was satisfied that the baby was stable, she returned to assist the EMH.
Methodically, the Doctor repaired the vascular damage to B'Elanna's uterus. Fortunately, Seven was indeed a quick learner and her assistance was invaluable, enabling him to work without interruption. However, as he continued, he realised that there had been far more damage than he first thought and it had taken him almost three hours to stop the haemorrhaging. As the time drew on, the baby woke and began to cry. Knowing that the baby was just hungry, she was ignored while they stabilised her mother.
Eventually the Doctor stood back and straightened. "That's it. She just needs time to recover," he declared, satisfied that the procedure was over.
"How long will it take for B'Elanna to recover?" Seven asked, looking at the crying infant.
"Difficult to say at this stage," the EMH admitted honestly. He finished setting up the monitoring equipment for the engineer. "It will take approximately two hours for the anaesthetic to wear off." He shrugged as he continued contemplating the situation. "And another two or three days for her to recover well enough for her to leave sick bay."
Seven raised an adorned eyebrow speculatively. "Will you be turning Sick bay into a nursery until then?" She asked, looking over at the crying infant.
"I don't think I have much choice. B'Elanna certainly won't want to be separated from her."
Seven moved over to the crib and picked the crying baby up. "She is in need of nutritional supplements," the blonde declared.
The EMH agreed, and hurried over to the replicator. He came back with a small feeding bottle and held it out for Seven to take.
"Why are you handing that to me?" she asked nervously.
"She's hungry and needs feeding," the bald man told her.
"You want me to feed her?" the ex-drone wanted clarification.
"Well you are holding her. And from what I've seen recently, I rather suspect B'Elanna would want you to look after her while she can't."
For a fraction, Seven's normally cool façade cracked and she looked panic-stricken. "I am not sure that I can," she faltered.
"Well, now's the perfect time to find out. I need to clean up," the Doctor stated cheerfully, and walked away from the tall blonde.
Seven held the bottle inertly for a few seconds, before B'Elanna's baby put renewed effort into her crying. Quickly, she looked at the infant and then put the bottle to its intended use.
The change was instant. The baby relaxed in Seven's arms and sucked noisily. The feed was accompanied with contended sighs, and Seven could not help but smile. Perhaps this enforced assignment might not be so bad after all.