Souvenir
Endgame Redux
A Star Trek: Voyager fanfiction
by
CanonAntithesis
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
"I think my water just broke," she whispered, disbelief in her voice.
Chapter 10
"Maybe you should lie down," Owen suggested cautiously.
Instead she stood and started to pace, albeit quite slowly.
"I can't have a baby here. We need to get out."
She looked panicked, more so than when she was an ensign and they had just been captured by the Cardassians. Janeway walked over to the door panel and tried to open it. Nothing happened.
"Calm down, Katie," Owen soothed. "First babies take an extraordinarily long amount of time to come. I'm sure they'll have the door open before too long."
She whirled on him. "You don't understand, Admiral. I have a plan and this isn't part of it. I'm going to have my baby with my sister, Phoebe, in attendance.
"In a BATHTUB,
"with candles,
"and soft music.
"It's all planned and it's going to be beautiful and perfect."
Her voice was shaking and she was nearly in tears by the time she finished explaining her ideal scenario, but her voice hardened when she added,
"And it's not going to happen here!"
####
"I really think you should sit down," suggested Owen for the tenth time. She was making him tired just watching her.
Kathryn had been slowly walking the perimeter of the room for the past three hours, stopping only briefly when she would squeeze her eyes shut, hum to herself, and grip the nearest chair until her knuckles turned white.
She had finally agreed to remove her wet leggings about two hours ago. Her dress was long, so losing the pants caused no embarrassment. Plus, if this went on much longer, embarrassment would be the least of her problems.
"Alright, Kathryn, try this," Jake read from the medkit PADD from his prone position on the floor. "Can you get onto your knees?" At her terse nod, he continued, "Good. Get on all fours and arch your back."
Their eyes met and Owen thought for a moment she was going to berate Robinson for his suggestion, like she had for the other five ideas he had read to her in the last two hours. Instead, her eyes suddenly closed and she grimaced as another contraction hit her.
After about a minute, her features relaxed and she replied in a breathy voice, "Okay, I'll try anything."
As she arched her back, she sighed. This time in relief.
"This is actually helping."
"You're experiencing back labor," Robinson said as he scanned for more information on the PADD. "It's supposed to be the most painful kind."
"Wonderful."
"Now, Admiral Paris, you need to massage her lower back … sir," Robinson added when he saw the uncomfortable look Owen was giving him.
Owen slowly eased himself down to the floor and started to tentatively rub Kathryn's back.
"That feels good. Don't stop, please."
"It says we should distract her, like talk about other things to keep her mind off the pain."
Kathryn looked over at Robinson from her unprofessional position on the floor. "Maybe it would be more effective if you hadn't just told her your brilliant plan for helping…" Before she could scold him further, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Oh God! This hurts." She dropped down to her elbows with a grunt.
"Keep breathing, Kathryn," Robinson encouraged. "Nice and slow, in and out."
"Shut up!" she growled back at him when she could talk again. "I know how to breath."
Owen backed away from the laboring woman. He remembered that much from his own wife's labors. They could be vicious when they were in pain.
"I need to lie down. My arms … are tired." She flopped down onto her side, facing away from the admiral and toward Robinson.
"Katie, dear. Let me give you some tripdecederine for the pain."
She glanced over at Robinson before answering quietly. "You know I can't do that, Admiral. There's barely enough for Jake. I can make do. He can't."
Owen sighed, but knew there was no arguing with her.
Slowly, he placed his hand on her back again. "Is this okay, Katie?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Do you know what it is? A boy or a girl?"
"I'm having a boy." Kathryn managed a proud smile. "Y'know, for a man who's experienced this three times, you're pretty lousy at it," she grunted.
Owen chuckled. "That was over thirty years ago. One's mind tends to block out the really traumatizing events in one's life. Too bad Tom isn't here."
She tensed and he thought another contraction had started, but her back wasn't arched like before, so he relaxed and continued. "I mean he went through labor with B'Elanna, right?"
"Actually, no. He was piloting Voyager through that Borg transwarp conduit. He missed it. Guess that was my fault," she bemoaned.
"Funny how things come full circle. I wasn't there for Tom's birth either. Starfleet obligations."
"Figures. I'm glad I quit."
"Don't tell anyone I said this, Katie, but I think it'll be good for you and your child to not be in Starfleet. I'm glad Tom resigned too."
"Tom resigned?" she asked, disbelief in her voice, and then, "And you're happy about it? When did the world turn on its axis, Admiral?"
"I've been doing a lot of thinking since I've become a grandfather. It has a way of putting things into perspective. I've been too hard on Tom, put too much pressure on him."
Paris almost went on to explain how rough life had been for his only son with a new baby in the house, especially since his wife left to go on some fool's errand to find her dead, not dead, mother. After a single shameful night of drunken idiocy, and some unkind words on Owen's part, Tom had pulled the tattered remnants of his life together for the sake of little Miral.
He decided to resign his commission soon after B'Elanna left. Now that he was facing divorce and child custody, Owen had no idea how Tom was holding up. The custody mediation was happened right now and he was anxious to hear how it turned out.
It seemed to Owen that his son was immensely sad, from more than just losing his wife, but he refused to discuss it with him. Of course, Owen didn't have such a great track record of being able to talk to his son in the best of times.
Owen decided against telling Katie all these distressing details. He didn't want her to worry about Tom at a time like this since he knew how much she cared for her former crew.
"But he's okay? Tom, I mean. He's happy?" Kathryn rolled onto her back so she could see Owen's face.
"Never better," Owen lied, but then countered with the absolute truth. "He loves Miral very much."
She nodded slightly and closed her eyes. Owen was afraid another contraction had started, but instead her face relaxed and he heard her whisper to herself, "She was right and I did promise."
####
That was how they spent the next few hours. Owen told Kathryn tales of Miral, about her eating her first solid foods, learning to crawl, trying and failing to walk, and the inevitable temper tantrums thereof. He told her about how overprotective Tom was, placing foam protectors on every hard surface in the house. And the fact that he never mentioned B'Elanna in any of his narrative never came up.
"I swear that boy would cushion the entire universe if he could."
Jake Robinson read the PADD to them on what to expect until Kathryn finally screamed at him to just shut up.
Kathryn, for her part, alternated between demanding a back massage and cursing the admiral's existence for touching her.
Finally, Owen ran the tricorder over Kathryn's abdomen and announced that it was time to push.
With Robinson positioned behind her with Kathryn leaning against his chest, but well away from his injured arm, Owen reluctantly took his position at her covered and bent knees.
"Kathryn…" His reluctance was audible.
"Oh hell, Admiral, I have no modesty left. Do what you need to do. I just want it to be over."
Robinson, who had spent the past few hours memorizing the birthing procedure, issued his instructions to the layman obstetrician. "Alright, Admiral,..."
Owen interrupted, "I think you should both call me Owen in anticipation of what's about to happen. We're familiar enough for first names." He removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves in preparation.
"Alright, Owen…" Robinson smirked a little, "you should watch for a head to appear when she pushes."
"A head?" Owen reluctantly pushed Kathryn's dress up over her knees. "Oh, Lord."
"That's right. It should look like a hairy coconut. And Kathryn, now's your chance. I know you've been wanting to push, so when the next contraction starts, bear down with all your might."
"Oh, God…" Kathryn screamed as she pushed for all she was worth.
After a dozen or more contractions, Owen called out, "I-I see it!" He looked astonished and then immediately disappointed, "but it's gone now. It went back up." His face clearly showed panic.
"That's normal. Each time she pushes it'll come down a little more until it crowns."
"Aarrrgh!"
Countless contractions, screams, tears and curses later, Robinson announced from his position at Kathryn's head, that she should only require one final push. Owen had no idea how the man could make such an announcement considering he was the one who could actually see what was happening and it wasn't pretty.
Why on earth a woman would do this more than once was beyond him. But he was sure of one thing after today's experience: when he got back home he was going to tell his wife, Julia, how much he loved her and appreciated her. He hadn't done that enough in his life.
"Alright, Kathryn, you've got to trust me," Owen said with false confidence.
She was sagging against Robinson's chest and he had his good arm braced in front of her, pressing her to him. Owen could see the angry red half-moons cut into the man's arm where she had dug her nails into his skin. Kathryn looked completely exhausted with her hair sweat-plastered against her red face.
"Promise me this is the last one."
The admiral looked to Robinson for confirmation and he nodded, so Owen went with it. "I promise, now come on, one last big push…"
"Auggghhh!" she screamed like a wounded animal as she bore down, her face bright red with the effort.
"That's wonderful, Kathryn. Now do that same thing again." This advice came from Robinson who looked like he was enduring his own share of pain.
"You lied! Damn you!" Kathryn sobbed.
"One more."
"You said that the last time!" she spat and then pushed with all her might.
"The head's out!" Owen shouted. "Robinson! What the hell do I do now?"
"Kathryn, stop pushing." She instantly collapsed back against Robinson's chest, completely limp. "Owen, if his head's fully out, ease his shoulders out slowly, one at a time."
"Okay, I can do that." Owen was sweating almost as much as Kathryn.
He could only see the back of the head as the baby was facing down. Using both hands, he pulled gently and this bloody reedy thing slid out of his mother's body.
Owen was hit with an emotion, so strong, it threatened to completely overwhelm him. He must be getting soft in his old age because he couldn't remember these feelings when his daughters were delivered. He was happy, of course, but it wasn't with this all consuming intensity.
He carefully turned the little body over with all the reverence he could muster and baby Janeway looked up at the old man with the largest, most startled eyes he had ever seen.
"Oh, Kathryn, he's gorgeous."
Just before the tears in Owen's own eyes threatened to cloud his vision, he thought to himself, I know you.
Just then, the newborn let out his first thready wail.
"Oh…Oh, my," Kathryn sat up to see her son, her exhaustion forgotten. "Please…"
She held her hands out for the baby. Owen wrapped the squirming bloody little guy, still attached to his umbilical cord, in his discarded jacket.
As he placed the baby in his mother's arms, Janeway gasped, "Oh, God, he's perfect." Her hands were shaking as she gently stroked his head.
"You did good Kathryn," Robertson crooned, his eyes glistening with happy tears.
Before the admiral could offer his own congratulations, the door burst open and a security detail announced that the crisis was over; the base had been secured. Kathryn and son were immediately beamed to the sickbay on board the USS Discovery where the placenta could be delivered and the newest member of the Janeway family properly examined.
TBC
Author's Note:
Well, at least she didn't give birth in a turbolift or a shuttlecraft.
Again, please notice that this whole chapter was from Owen's POV.
Finally… and I'd like credit for this one, please. The Doctor DID NOT deliver this baby, nor did Drs. Bashir, Crusher or even, Pulanski. Am I the only one who's noticed that there are only four medical doctors in all of Starfleet?
And, of course, Bones, but he's retired and over 100 years old.