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Chapter 33 – Chapter 33 – To the Med Bay

They transported directly to the transporter room on the Doctor's ship, hand in hand. Karen was wearing a beautiful dark blue dress and her hair was down. Samuel had put back on his jacket over his t-shirt with his jeans.

He quickly jumped off the platform and went to a panel. In his excitement, he typed in a number without looking at it.

Friday spoke. "Incorrect pass code."

"Ah!" Samuel groaned. He turned to look at the panel. He carefully typed back in the number.

Friday spoke. "Welcome back, Doctor Samuel and Karen."

Karen pointed up. "That is really neat."

He took her hand and they walked together to the med bay. Once they got there, Samuel took Karen into one of the examination rooms and pat the top of the examination table. Karen sat on it and looked around the room.

"Is this going to hurt?" She asked nervously.

He stopped and looked surprised back at her. "No."

She rubbed her hands together.

"Are you cold?" He asked, taking his jacket off of himself and wrapping it around her.

She put her arms in the sleeves and smiled, "No. I'm alright."

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. "I would never hurt you. Okay? You're safe."

She nodded. "I'm so nervous."

He held both of her hands. "There's no reason to be. You're with me."

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Right."

He kissed her again. "In fact. I have just what you need."

He sat on a stool and rolled over to a drawer. He opened it up and took out a lollipop. "And that will help."

She put it in her mouth and began to feel better. "What is this?"

He opened a drawer and looked around for what he needed, "Just a sweet. You haven't ate anything in a few hours. It lowers your blood sugar. That will help you feel better. You said you had been sick?"

"Yeah. But that was because I hadn't slept much."

"I think it was morning sickness. Or, in English. Baby is moving around and your body isn't used to it." He grinned at her. "They haven't figured that out yet. Well, a mix of that and hormones changing. There's a lot of factors."

She nodded. "You sound like a Doctor-"

"Oh geez. I wonder why?" He grinned. "Take off your knickers."

She rose her eyebrow. "My knickers?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'll hold them. Hand them to me."

She stood up with the lollypop in her mouth. "Alright, Samuel."

He watched her pull her knickers off and sat back on the table. She spun them on her finger and smiled. "Knickers?"

"What do you call them?" He grinned.

She smiled, "Panties."

He mocked her accent and took them from her. "Panties. I'll put them in my pocket."

She relaxed and laughed. "Knickers. I thought that was socks."

He took a small tube from a drawer and shook his head. "No. Socks are just socks. Why would knickers be socks?"

She giggled.

"Okay, hand me your finger. This won't hurt."

She held out her finger to him. He held the thin tube to her finger and blood began to pour into it. He took the tube off of her finger and ran his finger across hers to heal the tiny hole. Admittedly, she never felt a prick of any needle.

"Okay?" He asked and kissed her finger.

She smiled, "It didn't hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt you, Karen."

She giggled. "Thank you."

He pushed his chair on wheels back and put the tube of blood into a shelf. The tube disappeared into the wall. "Friday. Start a new file."

Friday asked. "Yes, Doctor Samuel. What is the patient's name?"

Samuel rolled back to her and took her hands in his. "Karen Bennett. I need a Heritage Test and, just a general work up."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Pass code that to my voice, only." He told Friday.

"Of course."

Karen looked at him. "Your Dad?"

"Anyone. The best fights me and Dad have ever had, was over how I practice medicine."

She nodded. "Arles told me about that. He said you wanted to leave and live someplace else."

He shook his head. "I don't want to do that anymore."

"Because of me?"

"You. And this is just a different place here. No one knows me. I'm not the famous, Samuel Smith. Oh, I hate that."

She nodded. He pushed the chair back and flipped on the screen on the wall. He rejoined her and put his hand on her chest.

"Do I need to take off my dress?"

"Nah. You know, on Earth. You have an ultrasound done, vaginally. But, I don't do that."

"No?"

"Well, that just sounds uncomfortable to me."

"Me, too."

"And this works even better." He told her as he put a small black disc on her stomach. She could see inside of her body on the screen.

Her eyes grew large. "That's me?"

He turned and looked at the screen. "That's you."

"But, it's not inside of me, is it?"

"No. It's a…complex thing. But, it's just on the outside of the skin. Hang on, I'll get to the interesting bit."

He tapped something and the camera went deeper. She saw a circle of something red. A spiral of something twisted around it.

Samuel pointed. "See there. There's the brain. The heart. That line is all somites. That will reduce to 35-37 in a few months, and there's the umbilical cord."

She shook her head. "That doesn't look like a baby, Samuel."

He looked back at her. "Of course it does! It is a baby! It's really early. That's what they look like!"

She crossed her arms. "Why do you want this to be true so badly?"

"Why wouldn't I? Don't you want children?"

"Well, yes. But, I thought it would be a while before I had them." She held her hand out to the screen. "And Samuel, I think you're just, wishing this to be so."

"It's right there! In front of you! How can you deny it?"

She shook her head. "Samuel-"

"I've got it. Friday. Can you run a pregnancy test on that blood sample that I gave you?"

Friday replied, "Certainly."

Samuel crossed his arms. "If I'm right, I get a girl."

"You are completely crazy. That's not how it works."

"No pressure. But, if I'm wrong, you get a boy."

"If you're wrong, there's no baby!"

"Oh. That's true." He agreed. "But, I'm not wrong."

She laughed and shook her head. "This is not how I thought a conversation like this would go."

The screen changed and the results showed a very complicated diagram. In the corner, Samuel pointed to a display that stated, "Pregnancy Results – Positive."

He shot out of the chair and cheered. "YES! See!"

Karen covered her mouth and tears flowed from her eyes. "It's true!"

He danced in a goofy way. Karen laughed through her tears. "Samuel."

He wrapped his arms around her and laughed. "Oh! This is brilliant!"

He leaned back and looked at her. "Now, do you believe me?"

She shook her head. "I just….ugh. One day, when we're telling this story to this child, please don't put the bit in about me telling you that you were crazy. Tell the story as if I was happy from the beginning."

He smiled, "Of course. Are you happy?"

"I think it's rather soon-"

"Well, yeah."

She sighed. "I thought it just being us for a while."

He sat back on the stool and looked at her. "You're not happy about this."

She wiped her eyes. "I want to be. I should be. I just got you back, and now I feel like… this is stupid." She covered her eyes and started to cry.

He stood up and held her. "It's alright. I'm here."

She cried for a bit. Samuel held her and ran his hand through her hair. "Karen, everything is going to be alright."

She shook her head and asked for a tissue. He grabbed one and sat down next to her on the table.

"Why did you take my panties?" She realized.

He grinned. "It made you relax. Do you want them back?"

She rolled her eyes as she wiped her nose.

He reached in his pocket and pulled them out. "Here, I'll help you back on with them."

He put them back on her legs and pulled them back on her as she stood up in front of him. "Until that moment, you saw me as a Doctor. As soon as they were off, I was back to being your Samuel." He wrapped his arms around her. "Karen, it is okay to be upset about this-"

"It's not. I've never heard of any mother finding out about a baby and crying. Is there something wrong with me?"

He smiled at her. "Not at all. It's a lot to ask of anyone. Growing a baby?"

"Oh God. Labor, finding a Doctor all of that stuff. Ugh." She groaned.

He pointed at himself and scuffed, "I am a Doctor!"

She smiled and wiped her eyes.

He sat down beside of her. "I can do this."

"Yeah? How many babies have you delivered?" She asked.

"Counting this one, fifteen. No sixteen. And two….horses. I count those. That was….dramatic."

She looked back at him and smiled. "Sixteen?"

He took her hand in his. "Yeah. Dad and I, really just didn't get on. I decided to leave, and Arles talked me into just going to the colony that Legate's brother is at for a while. They needed a Doctor, probably still do. That's where I delivered so many children."

"You and your Dad seem to get along rather well."

"This Dad and I do. The other one….I think he still sees me as the baby that is here. I don't know. Plus, this Dad doesn't have the years of disappointment and….whatever."

"Samuel. I'm sure your Dad isn't disappointed with you."

He looked back at her. "This one isn't. It's pretty clear the other one is."

She took his hand.

"There are things that I've promised myself I'll do differently. Dad is…very old - I know he doesn't appear that way – but he is. I think, he was too old to have any children. That's just…what I think."

"Samuel, that's so sad. No wonder you don't want to go back."

"You're not there. Why would I want to? This is where I want to be. With you. And our baby."

She smiled. "So, you'll be the Doctor?"

He grinned, "If you want."

"Should I ask about the horses?"

He rubbed his eyebrow, "Yeah. Uncle Howie and his damn horses. Dad had me help with that when I was thirteen. Oh, I'd rather be a people Doctor."

She giggled and held his hand tighter. "I'm so sorry I cried."

"Don't be."

"I should have believed you."

"It's alright." He smiled and kissed her hand. "Something about me that you need to know. I'll never lie to you. In fact, I really don't lie to anyone but my sister. She can tell when people are lying, except for me. So, it's like a game with us."

She smiled.

"I need you to know you can trust me. With anything. This will never work, if you don't believe that. Alright?"

"I know. You're right. Gosh, I'm sorry. I just felt that you are still recovering and …."

"Was confused?" He asked. "That makes sense."

She sighed, "When will she start looking like a baby?"

He smiled, "She. She's a she. Well, maybe a he. I'll be happy with either one. It will be a few weeks. Most people don't find out this early."

She shook her head. "The entire thing is so unbelievable. It would have to have happened when you came back or sometime in New York."

He smiled. "And it was good? Because I have no memory of any of that."

She laughed under her breath and nodded. "It was amazing, Samuel. Never worry about that."

He smiled and kissed her hand. "So. We're pregnant. I suppose you want to tell your Mum?"

"No. Not yet."

He nodded. "Sure, Baby. Whatever you want to do."

"Mom would flip."

"She knows we're engaged."

She covered her mouth. "Everyone will think that's why! Damn it."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares? Well, hang on. Do you think you're Dad will shoot me?"

She smiled and looked back at him. "Let's just keep it to ourselves for now. I mean, seriously. Don't go get yourself kidnapped and name someone else her 'One' or something."

He laughed. "Okay."

She shook her head. "I will need to be….prepared….when your parents find out. Particularly your Dad. Geez. He was…crazy when he first met me."

"Was I there?"

She shook her head and held his hand in her lap. "No. Arles took me to meet him the day that Licis found you. We found out he had you and Tony just minutes after I got there. He told me he was nervous to meet me, and then Rose walked in the room and hugged me. Told me to make myself at home. Then your Dad….he told everyone to be completely still. Arles stopped walking and stood on one foot. It was comical."

Samuel looked surprised, "Then what did he do?"

"He was….so happy. He hugged me and smiled like a lunatic."

"I bet he did." Samuel groaned.

"He grabbed Tony, your Uncle Tony, and drug him out of the room. Then he returned and told us that the madness was contagious."

Samuel shook his head. "Damn it. So he knows, too. Dad and that….ugh."

"What do you mean he knows?"

Samuel looked back at her. "Ah. Never min-"

"No." She insisted. "You're going to tell me."

He sighed, "Dad can feel the world spin under him. Like me. You were standing in the sitting room, right?"

"Yes."

"That's on a giant slab. One piece of earth. He can feel the tiniest thing there. He would have felt the baby's heartbeat."

"From a week ago?"

"Oh yes." He chuckled. "He's much better at that than I am. He's tried to train me to notice it, and I can feel people moving near me, or yards away. But, it's not something I'm really sensitive to."

"He told your Uncle."

"And my Mum. Oh, you can believe it. Damn it. Probably Pepper, too. And Papa. And he may have told Lance, who told Jane, who has told baby Arles."

She laughed at his grumbling. "I don't mind if baby Arles knows."

He smiled and looked back at her. "Yeah, he'll find out anyway."

"So, what should we do?"

"Well, they don't think we know yet, so we just will go along with our original plan of keeping it to ourselves until we agree to announce it. I'll give you something that will help with the nausea. If you are already getting sick, it will only get worse without medicine. Don't get hungry. Always have a snack. Keep something in your stomach."

"So, I have something to throw up."

He nodded, "See, we're on the same page."

"Samuel. I'm so ashamed."

He smiled at her and rose her chin up so he could see in her eyes. "Don't be. It's been a hell of a few weeks. Just know, I'm so happy about this. And if I have to be happy enough for the two of us for a while, I can do that."

She relaxed as a tear ran down her cheek. She whispered, "Thank you."

He kissed her lips quickly and stood up. "And medicine! Friday, I need to know if Karen is allergic to anything. Work that up while you're cooking."

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'm not allergic to anything." Karen told him and continued to eat her lollipop.

"Everyone is allergic to something in the universe. There's just too many variables." He mumbled as he looked at some bottles in the cabinet. He pulled out one and nodded. "That will work."

"What are you allergic to?"

"Aspirin. I can't have it. Rosemary makes me sneeze."

She grinned. "I think Rosemary makes everyone sneeze."

He looked up at her, "Ask my Uncle Tony about a bee. He tells it like a war story."

She laughed.

The screen read out a list of stuff. Samuel pointed at it. "See that? That's what you shouldn't have. Long list for 'nothing.'" He looked down at the bottle he held. "Damn it. Can't use that."

He looked in the cabinet again and pulled out two different bottles. "Oh! Did you get the grant?"

She smiled, "You asked me about that already."

He looked confused, "I did? Have I forgotten something else?"

"No." She insisted.

He nodded, "Good. That worried me for a minute. Umm… so, grant?"

She explained as he mixed up some medicine for her. "Your Uncle decided to fund it, and then your Dad argued with him and he's funding it. Then Pete got involved. It was insane. Then some wine company got involved, I still don't know how that happened."

Samuel grinned, "Pepper owns that wine company. But, no one knows about that."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. She grew up there. It's a beautiful place in Napa. Have you ever been to Napa?"

"No." She smiled.

"We should go there. It's lovely. I'll talk to Pepper."

"Well, you can't drink when you're pregnant."

He grinned. "One glass a day. See, that's from your Doctor."

She took a deep breath. "I need a drink after getting this news."

He turned back to her and smiled, "It's a simple injector."

"Like the ones you are using?"

He nodded, "Yes. It doesn't hurt. But, you need to take it twice a day."

"Like your medicine. We'll just take it at the same time."

"I'm going to go ahead and give you some now. Okay?"

She nodded.

He stood up and sprayed it into the side of her neck.

"Samuel? I might have forgotten it, but I really think I did tell you that I got those grants when you were sick."

He crossed his arms. "Really? When did you tell me?"

"That night you got so sick."

He thought. "When we took a shower on the ship?"

"Yes. Are you alright?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "My head was full of medicine. I think I'm fine. Umm… did you explain it?"

"Baby, it might have been when you had just woken up."

"Well, if it was anywhere close to me sleeping, it's normal I forgot."

"How is that dig even going to work now? With my big, pregnant belly?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Hire people to dig for you. Indiana Jones didn't dig. I've seen the movies."

"Yes, he did!"

"Nah. He didn't. Just came in at the end. I'll fund this. Tell UCLA to kiss your ass."

She sighed. "That is exactly what your Uncle Tony said. Samuel. That's not what I was aiming for."

"Well, if Dad, Grandfather and Uncle Tony are all funding this, I have to. Besides, I need to talk to Grandfather about our project."

Her eyes lit up. "The stocks. You remember that?"

He grinned. "I've told you about that?"

"Not really."

"How not really?"

She stood up and took his hand. "We need to probably let you rest before we go to Mom and Dad's."

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Then I'm going to rest before we go to Mom and Dad's." She told him.

"Okay." He told her. "Damn. We were having a good chat here."

She stood up and took his hand. "Friday, let me know when everything is done."

"Yes, Doctor." She told him as they walked out of the room.

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