BABYLON 5 names, characters and all related indicia are the property of J. Michael Straczynski, TNT and Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company. All rights reserved.
"Fatal distraction" part 2
by Vidja
"Your lady companion is right, you know", doctor Kallo said.
Mariel rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed. "Somehow, it doesn't come as a surprise to me", she replied, cocking an eyebrow. "Isn't she always?"
Selira opened her mouth to form a protest, but the young Centauri doctor cut her off, in his most expansive manner: "If she is, then you are a very lucky woman, my lady. Such a trustworty and skilled servant is worth a treasure… indeed, Lady Mariel, I seriously doubt that anybody else would have been able to detect your pregnancy".
He nodded to the old woman, then turned to bestow his full attention upon his beautiful patient.
Mariel laughed and chatted and flirted with the doctor through the whole session, until she was positive about his looking at her with something more than just a clinical eye… which was exactly what she had wanted.
After all, she wasn't a rich woman any more…
…that was why she had instructed Selira to call for a young, male doctor in the first place.
The gorgeous Centauri woman shot a quick glance at the doctor, and smiled to herself. He wasn't that bad, all things considered…
He was tall and muscular, and his hazel eyes were quite remarkable. He was fair-haired, and happened to be a supporter of the latest fashion, since he proudly sported a moustache and an exotically trimmed beard. His hair stood up at a respectable middle height - which would have been far below Mariel's minimum requirements normally, but looked just fine given the circumstances.
Mariel actually giggled with expectation while looking at Kallo's hands… a surgeon's hands for sure, so long and elegant they were!
The young physician saw her reaction, and misunderstood it entirely.
"Well, my lady… I am pleased to see that you're not upset at the prospect of becoming a mother soon", he said with a kind smile. "May I assume that, despite your pregnancy was not… programmed…" He glanced meekly at his patient, who nodded encouragingly. "..it is your intention to carry it through?"
"Oh, absolutely, yes!", she said warmly, flapping her eyelashes in mock confusion. "I mean, since both you and my skilled and trustworthy lady companion agree that having a baby would add to what little beauty I might posses…" and she lowered her gleaming eyes, while playing with her silky braid, "it would be silly of me to turn down this opportunity, now wouldn't it?"
Kallo chuckled softly at this, but didn't forget his manners: "Your beauty is so radiant that you couldn't possibly add to it, however slightly, without blinding us, mere mortals, with its light", he declaimed, clearly meaning every word of it.
The young woman shot a triumphant smile at Selira, who was frowning deeply - Mariel couldn't say if it was because of her pointed remark, or if the old bore didn't agree with her plans for the future. Probably both.
"You flatterer", she shot back at the doctor, with a silvery laughter.
Kallo seemed actually hurt. "I hope, my lady, that you didn't resent my boldness?"
"I didn't", she whispered, in her most alluring way. "But I really do resent your insistence in calling me 'my lady'… I mean, since you'll probably be spending much of your time inspecting my body", she said reasonably, rejoicing inwardly at the sight of the physician blushing like a teenager, "it would be far more easy for you to simply call me Mariel. Wouldn't you agree…?"
The Centauri male panicked slightly, but he succeded in regaining his composture.
"Tar. It's my name", he added, quite awkwardly.
Mariel nodded, still smiling sweetly. "Wouldn't you agree, Tar?", she repeated.
"Of course I do… Mariel", he said, a first hint of perspiration appearing on his flushed face.
"Good!", she cheerfully exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I suppose that I'll see you very soon, then?"
"Tomorrow morning, if it pleases you, my- Mariel", he quickly amended. "I'll have a room prepared for you at the hospital, so that I will be able to follow your progress 24 hours a day. You can dispose for your personal items to be sent to you later, and-"
"That… would be quite… inacceptable. I'm sorry", Mariel said, slowly. "I'm not going anywhere".
Doctor Kallo blinked in undisguised surprise. "I… beg your pardon?"
"I will NOT leave this place", she confirmed. "I'll give birth to my offspring here, at home… like it used to be in the old days of the Centauri Republic", she joked, unconsciously recycling her former husband's favourite cliché.
Tar Kallo tried hard to avoid sounding harsh, but his barely restrained annoyance was plainly evident by the way his blond crest was trembling upon his head.
"Now, my dear Mariel, just try to be reasonable", he said, patiently. "You can't really mean to go through it all without proper medical care! You'll need a suitable environment, and all the comforts you can get. Moreover, how am I supposed to run your tests without any equipment at all?"
The beautiful young woman sighed. "I'm sorry, Tar. I appreciate your concerns, I really do", she said, but her uplifted chin and her stubborn expression said other things, too… for example, they said that if the doctor was not going to change his mind quickly, then she was going to change her doctor without a moment's thought. "But, you see… I have my reasons. I don't want my- I don't want someone to know about my condition", she cautiously explained. "I'd rather die".
The Centauri physician lifted his hands. "Then so be it. But you'll follow my instructions to the letter, and let Selira be your supervisor when I'm not here", he said, sternly. "If you're willing to give me your word, then we have a deal".
The lady Mariel shrugged. "Are you telling me that I'll be forced to put up with my servant's whims? What a novelty!", she snickered.
"Good, I see we understand each other. And, you will obviously restrain from attending balls, parties and any kind of stressful events. As much as I hate to keep you away from the social whirl, you can see by yourself how potentially dangerous it can be for a woman in your conditions… why, your fashionable corsets would be more than enough to-"
He trailed off in mid-sentence, since his patient had waved him off with… well, impatience.
"You know, Tar… I won't mind staying away from the Court for a while. And it is unlikely that they would miss me, too… those vipers will simply have to choose a new victim to spit their venom at".
Doctor Kallo tried to utter something, but was silenced again.
"Please, do not pity me. I still have friends, you know. Very dear friends, who still care for me, despite my being an ambassadorial discard", she spat, bitterly. Then, with sudden trepidation, she took his hand into hers and whispered, "May I count you among my friends, Tar?"
"Of… of course you can. I would be… honoured to serve you", he managed to utter, fighting to keep his tentacles from reacting at her sudden vicinity. "I'd better go back to the hospital now… I'll be back tomorrow, with some sleeping pills and a list of foods you should better avoid", he said, gently disentangling his fingers from hers, and heading for the door.
"Are you in such a hurry to leave us, Tar?", Mariel teased, tilting her head slightly to the right. "Oh, but wouldn't it be sloppy professional behaviour for you to go away without taking even a glance at the other room? Since, you know, you'll have to see me in there pretty often, when I'll be so swollen that I won't be able to receive you properly any more…"
Mariel took hold of his hand again, and practically dragged him into her bedroom.
* * * *