A few minutes later another visitor arrived and we all grinned as Darren walked into the tent and clocked us all immediately in the corner of the room as the medic cleaned up the mess and headed out the tent with my thanks; he frowned and nodded to the Commander as he drank the bottle of water Sam passed him and started to strip off his TAC gear and weapons to ease up his shoulders.
"Report Commander?" Gabriel asked quietly.
"Neutralized Sir," he replied.
Gabriel nodded and motioned for him to hit the couch and rest up for a little bit, Sam passed me the bag of apples and crackers and passed Darren the MRE box which he opened with glee and started to heat up the bags as he added the water; the smell was making me nauseous, must be fried breakfast in the pack he had chosen? My stomach rolled and I leaned my head on the table and groaned quietly, Sam looked over at me and chuckled as he passed me the water and rubbed my shoulders.
"You feeling alright Mac, you didn't look well on the trip over here this morning!" Darren asks.
I raise my thumb at him and I can hear him munch into his meal, I plug my nose and chew on an apple which helps settle my stomach, typical healthy baby, why couldn't I have a craving for vanilla ice cream and sweet chilli syrup and cherries? I looked up and wondered where the hell that came from? Sam looked down at me concerned and raised an eyebrow.
"You alright, you went spaced out for a moment?" he inquired gently.
"Vanilla ice cream with sweet chilli sauce and cherries?" I whispered.
He looked down at me and then burst out laughing, startling both of the other men in the tent and making me join him as he realised what I was talking about; Gabriel walked over and raised an eyebrow so I told him and he joined in and sat on the other chair. By this time Darren must have thought we had caught the sun and fried our brains since we were laughing at nothing and he was becoming paranoid.
"Am I missing a universal joke here?" he inquired moving towards us.
I managed to stop laughing and calm down again, I still had to tell Darren the news so he could help prepare the convoy route and requirements and protection details once we were ready to go; the two other men nodded and they moved away from us so I could let him know what was going on and why we were acting like kids.
"My medical test results came back with a very surprising result, let's just say it took us all by shock and we are due to leave here by midnight tonight and be airborne by 0100hrs." I started to explain.
"Are you sick, did the results show illness or infection?" he demanded going into protective mode again.
I shook my head and smiled, he was looking at me and then a wave of understanding went across his face as his eyes roamed across my body checking for signs of illness or infection he thought I had picked up during transport. His eyes snapped up to mine and he was doing a great goldfish impression as his brain processed the facts his eyes had clearly seen and he was trying to get his brain to kick in so he could speak.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?" he demanded.
I nodded and flinched at the same time as I saw his facial expression go from shock to anger back to shock, it was quite a picture and I was half ready to hide – you don't piss off a navy seal and expect to survive with all your limbs attached. He paced the tent for a moment as I sat back on the desk trying to get comfortable; I really was noticing the small aches and pains now that the doctor warned me about – seems those tests were a little more thorough than first thought?
"Scarlatti knocked you up and then allowed you to come across to an active combat zone?" he half shouted.
"Darren calm down!" Gabriel shouted.
The men just looked at each other and Darren went back to his pacing as I held back stupid tears, I knew he was just shocked but that was a low blow about Spike; I let it go through, he had just come back from a show down with a small faction of enemy and his adrenaline would be sky high, he needed to relax and calm down before I told him any more news. Sam and Gabriel sensed the same thing and Sam took Darren to the mess tent and armoury while Gabriel stayed with me and helped me up.
"That sucked!" I whispered.
Gabriel nodded but chuckled.
"He's always been protective of you since I introduced you both all those years ago at Skapa, he's only six years older than you and I always thought there was a spark between you both – apparently he is very happy with someone though, any ideas who?" he inquired.
I nodded and grinned.
"Winnie Camden our dispatcher who works with us, they were introduced on the day he turned up to help me qualify the team as divers; they hit it off and look pretty serious. He contacts me through channels if he is called away and I pass messages to Winnie and give her news if needed – they make a good match!" I replied.
Gabriel nodded and smiled as I stretched my back and yawned.
I took a couple of steps forward to go get my bottle of water from beside the couch and the next thing I know is I am looking up at the tents roof and a concerned Gabriel who is radioing for medical help in his office, I look up at him and try and figure out why I am lying on the ground with my legs propped up? He moves and I feel him press his fingers into my wrist and start to count my pulse; I look up and see two medics run into the tent and kneel down beside me as Gabriel tells them what happened – I know the minute that he tells them I am pregnant and how far along, the look on their faces tells me everything. One medic checks my vitals and does a blood glucose check while the other hooks up some oxygen as he notices the o2 stats are in the eighties and looks for the BP numbers.
"Has she had something to eat and drink?" the medic asks.
"Yes but she has been sick a few times today and has rehydrated as much as possible after the doctor checked her out – what's going on with her?" Gabriel demanded.
"Her o2 stats are lower than liked and her BP is low, looks like she is dehydrated and being pregnant in this environment and heat is not helping, especially being so far advanced in her pregnancy! We need to get her to the hospital tent for observation and fluids!" he replied.
Ten minutes later I was being brought into the hospital unit again and Captain Mitchell immediately got to business and started to strip me of my gear and clothes, leaving me only in my underwear; she helped me into scrub bottoms due to the elastic waist and a thin cotton tank top – she noticed the red skin at the back of my neck and realised that I was suffering from heat exhaustion due to the hormonal flushes and the 50 degree weather outside – there was little wind today so the heat just built up and caused me to pass out quickly and suddenly. She noticed I was a little more lucid now since they had started an IV of fluids wide open for me, she smiled as I blinked a couple of times and then realised where I was. She calmed me immediately and I took in my surroundings and closed my eyes for a moment to make an internal checklist.
"Corporal Fraser, how are you feeling now?" she inquired gently.
"Lousy, it happened so quickly and I was on the ground before I knew it!" I replied.
She nodded and wrapped the ECG leads off the unit and stuck them onto my chest before raising my feet again and covering me with a cooling blanket that felt wonderful.
"Your blood pressure bottomed out due to heat exhaustion, we have you on a Isotonic IV wide open and some Stemetil that should take the edge off the queasiness, we just need to get your temperature down and then you should start feeling like a normal human being again and not a baked potato! The baby is fine before you ask, we have you on a monitor so don't roll onto your side or you'll pop it out of place!"
I smiled at the joke and nodded as I leaned back and relaxed under the cooling sheet, it bubbled slightly due to the water being circulated through it but it worked wonders and I was thankful for it being there; a sharp tap on the table had Mitchell head over to the divider and a voice called to me, I nodded for him to be allowed in. Darren walked over to me and looked down as I lay on the stretcher, he was worried and had ran from the mess tent when he heard the gossip about a pregnant female soldier being taken to the medical tent – of course the rumours were already around – my day was getting better. He took my hand and soothed my hair out of my face and leaned in to kiss my forehead, he had been for those impressive three minute navy showers and must have been eating garlic as his breath was howling.
"How do you feel, do you need anything – either of you?" he whispered.
I shook my head and patted my stomach under the blanket, he nodded and sat on the chair beside me as he checked the BP monitor and heard the faint beep of the foetal heartbeat that was going loud and proud. I knew he had questions and I poked him in the side and raised an eyebrow, we were always honest – it was the best policy.
"Did you know before you came across?" he whispered quickly.
I shook my head and mouthed that I didn't.
"No, I was two months late but the tests were negative, urine test was negative earlier on too and they had to do the blood and ultrasound to confirm the results, one hell of a shocker as I thought it was just stress induced." I replied.
"How far along are you?" he whispered.
I looked down at my small bump and breathed as I felt the baby somersault slightly.
"Between four and five months, can't be more than that and they need me home to get a more accurate reading," I replied.
He looked shocked and slightly horrified, he pressed gently on my stomach and only felt the tiny bump and a look of sheer panic went across his face – I think he was expecting a huge bump for how far along I was – typical male not realising that everyone is different.
"Everything looks really good Darren, the way the baby is inside me is nearly vertical so I don't show much, that will change though as I progress – they expect me to have expanded by next week since they develop fast in the second trimester."
He blew out a breath and I put his hand over my belly button and told him to curve his hand slightly, a few moments later he got an almighty kick and he laughed.
"That's the Scottish half there, do you know what you are having – is it more than one?" he asks suddenly.
I shake my head.
"Only one and I didn't want to know yet," I replied honestly.
He chuckled as he got another swift kick and I saw his fingers move from the force of the kick, I wished Spike to be here – I wanted home! Darren noticed my eyes tearing up and squeezed my hand and planted another kiss onto my cheek.
"I've got a meeting with Gabriel in twenty minutes and we are going to get you home, we are all flying back to Toronto together, Gabriel can get us to Kabul and then head back via chopper once the orders are lifted. Sam is outside; he's worried and will stay with you until I am back alright?"
I nod and he kisses me on the cheek and heads away, passing company duty to Sam who comes in and shakes his head at the state of me.