New chapter up. This one is kinda cutesy, but I like it. Enjoy.
Dr. Ozzin sat in her small office off to the side of her examination room, pulling together her notes for her next appointment. She wasn't overly active medically, at the moment, with only two pregnant women using her as their primary doctor. One half human, half mirialan and her one eighth zabrak. It was the later case that was going to be the most interesting.
A pregnant one eighth zabrak Jedi master was not something you saw everyday. It was the first chance she'd ever had to study the impact of the Force on both the pregnancy and the child itself. She made a note to ask Kia if the father was Force sensitive. With any luck, she'd also be able to learn who the father was and if he'd agree to be scanned. The pieces would fall together easier if she could get both parental bioscans.
Dr. Ozzin finished compiling everything onto a datapad just as the front door slid open. With a smile, she picked up the pad and headed into the main lab. Kia was right on time for her appointment.
"Good Morning, Kia. How are you feeling today?" She asked, still looking at the datapad. When she did look up, she stopped in her tracks.
"Supreme Commander?" She asked, seeing Jace Malcom standing next to Kia.
Kia smiled at the doctor. "You did recommend I bring someone with me to my appointments. I figured the baby's father would be the best choice."
Dr. Ozzin somehow managed to keep her jaw from dropping. "Well, okay. Perfect." She began to type in the datapad. "So father is fully human, reasonably healthy, significant age difference from mother…" She looked up at him. "...not Force sensitive, correct?"
"Correct." Jace replied.
"You are not who I expected to walk in with Master Wryn, but hey, in the medical field, stranger things have happened. Would you allow me to do a full bioscan on you?" Dr. Ozzin asked.
"If it will help with keeping the baby and Kia healthy, you can do whatever you need to." Jace said.
"Wonderful!" Ozzen said, excited. "But first, let's take a look at Kia. As I asked before, how are you feeling? Are your headaches getting any better?"
"Everything is going well, except the headaches. Most of what I've tried has only managed to dull the pain, not take it away. I still have a few things on the list you gave me to try and I've recently been given some advice about overdoing my Force abilities, so hopefully, I'll find the right solution soon. I have not used the drug you compounded for me, yet."
As they spoke, Ozzin led them into the exam room. "Sounds good." She looked over at Jace quickly, then back to Kia. "Considering new information, I'd recommend trying ALL of the things on my list before turning to the drug."
Kia nodded in reply, understanding what the doctor was implying, since she no doubt figured if Jace was the father and was here with her, he'd be available to help out with the sex option of pain relief.
Jace gave Kia a confused look, but didn't press.
"Okay, hop up on the table and let's see what we can see." Dr. Ozzin said, taking a seat at her desk.
Kia laid back on the table and Jace stood next to her, holding her hand. Kia was happy Jace was calm and collected. It turned out he could turn his nerves off just as well during non-combat situations, as he did when he was in the field.
"While the scan is running, I'll run the quick bioscan on you, Commander." She stood, approaching with a handheld device. "Just hold still. So, how much of an age difference is there between you?" She asked.
"Twenty eight years." Kia answered.
"And how long have you been together? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Dr. Ozzin backpedaled, realizing that the question wasn't actually relevant to her research. "Assuming you are together, that is. You don't need to be in any kind of committed relationship to have a baby."
"We've been together for over ten years." Kia said.
"Impressive." Dr. Ozzin said, finishing her scan on Jace. "I've seen conventional couples have a hard time finding the one year mark. I'd ask if there were any issues with the age gap, but after ten years, I'm guessing you've probably worked through them all."
"Our conflicts have always been more about philosophical differences, rather than literal ones." Jace said.
Ozzin laughed. "I can see how a senior level soldier and a Jedi master might have a few differences of opinion. It's nice to see you've made it work. This pregnancy will be much easier on Kia having your support. Not to mention the baby will have a fully intact family. With all the war orphans, it's nice to see a child with both his or her biological parents."
Kia smiled, but her mind was racing. Dr. Ozzin was right. There were so many children out there who lost one or both of their parents during the wars. This baby had a chance to live with, and be raised by both parents. How could Kia deny the baby this chance? The question she needed to answer was, could she be happy with Jace? Her conflicted feelings for him were fading, which was good, but would she be willing to risk another outburst of hate? What if next time, it was in front of their child?
She was beginning to think she was overthinking the whole situation entirely. Everyone had a right to their opinion. Jace had been fighting this war for a very long time, longer than she'd even been alive. Could she really blame him for feeling like total eradication would be the only option to end the war? If it came right down to it, would he pull the trigger or have a change of heart? Just because you felt one thing, didn't mean you'd act on it, if the time came. Feeling is one thing, doing is something totally different. Jace had a good heart, Kia knew this, even if it was buried under a hardened soldier exterior. Would he not jump at a chance for peace, once the future of his own child was considered?
"Kia? Are you even listening?" Dr. Ozzin asked.
Kia was snapped out of your pondering. "Oh, I'm sorry. My mind just wandered off for a second."
Dr. Ozzen gave her a reassuring smile. "That's perfectly okay. I'm sure you have a great deal on your mind. As I was saying, everything looks good. If I had to guess, the fetus is growing more along the lines of a zabrak than a human, so as of right now, I'm leaning towards a longer pregnancy. I might change my mind later, but for now, I'd recommend preparing for a longer haul."
Kia nodded. "I had a feeling. When will you be able to determine gender?"
"Let's see...I'd say in probably a month or two. Gender determination is not an exact science, even with very good scanners." Dr. Ozzin said. "I'm going to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins and you should lighten your workload. I'm not sure what the Jedi council has you doing, but you should try not to overdo anything. You should definitely hang up your lightsaber for the foreseeable future."
"Not to worry, Doc. I'm officially on sabbatical until after the baby is born."
"Well, in that case, I'll also give you a guide to follow for exercise. What to do, what not to do, how much you should do at varying times, that sorta thing. I don't want you overdoing it, but I also don't want you too inactive. If there are complications later, you might need to limit yourself, but we'll see how things go." Dr. Ozzin said. She looked Jace. "I want you to read all this material, too, Commander. You should help make sure she's doing what she should. I haven't worked with many Jedi, but I hear they can be stubborn."
Jace laughed. "You have no idea, Doc."
Kia swatted Jace lightly on the arm, but was smiling. It was nice to have him joking around. She still had quite a bit to think about, but Jace was making it easier and easier to forgive him.
To Be Continued...
