Hidden Child

Chapter 2: Rose's Story

Rose loved the stars until 26 years ago . . .

Rose had received honors at Starfleet Academy in Stellar Cartography. When she had learned she would be the main Stellar Cartographer on board the U. S. S. Taurus she was overcome with joy, this was everything Rose had dreamed. After a year on board the Taurus she had been given a promotion to Lieutenant for her work mapping a way out of an uncharted asteroid field which could have destroyed them.

Rose's life couldn't be any better. She had a husband David who was based at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth and her career was taking her through the stars she was so fascinated by. David was very supportive of Rose in this choice of career and since they were planning to start a family in five or six years, he felt she should pursue her dream now. Rose was only twenty-one, and they both felt if they worked hard and gave themselves the chance to pursue their dreams, Rose would be able to stay home with their children with no regrets while David continued to work. It was a wonderful arrangement. However, something was about to happen to change their perfect plans.

The crew of the Taurus had been assigned to confirm mapping of the constellations in the Neutral Zone. Rose was excited about the mission and had high hopes of being able to find a new star. She was also worried about being so close to Romulan space. She knew the Romulans hated the Federation passionately, and they wanted nothing more than to conquer Earth and use them all as slaves.

One day as Rose was having breakfast in her quarters she looked out at the stars and noticed a 'shimmer'. She was trying to remember if there was anything in her books of astronomy which covered this so called 'shimmer' when she saw a bright light in her quarters. Then everything went dark.

Rose tried to get up, she had been stunned, she knew this feelings of utter helplessness. They had made all the cadets go through being stunned in the academy by all weapons know to the Federation, she never liked it. She couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. She was becoming more alert and as she did, she could heard her captures speaking. "We shouldn't have stunned them, they are Earth women, they are more fragile than Romulan women. We could have beamed them over and started the experiments immediately, now we have to wait."

Rose didn't like the sound of this and she tried again to slightly lift her head. She saw her fellow crewmates and was shocked to see that the Romulans had only taken the women from the Taurus. Rose wondered what had become of the men. "Will they find this cloaked ship and try to rescue us, or have they been destroyed along with the Taurus?"

As the rest of the women woke up, many of them became frightened and turned to Rose for guidance. Rose remembered her friend Kathryn--so strong and focused, always knowing what to do in difficult situations--and Rose tried to emulate her for the sake of her fellow crewmates. "We need to remember our basic survival training, if we do, we will escape." She said the words with as much confidence as she could. "If you are asked questions about Starfleet's mission, remember only to give you name, rank, and serial number. There will be pain, and you will want to talk. The Romulans chose the women of our crew thinking we were the weaker sex, but remember for all of Earth we can not divulge our mission or anything about Earth." After Rose had reminded the women of their duty, she somehow felt Kathryn had been the one talking. She started to have hope of seeing David again.

The female crew members had been taken from the cell one at a time until Rose was the only one left. Rose had been unable to find any means of escape from her captures and was worried about her fellow crewmates who had already been taken.

Rose's turn finally came and as she walked out of the cell with the Romulan guard. A sudden urge to flee came to her, but she thought better of reacting impulsively and went with the guard.

After being in a lab for four hours of questioning, she crumbled and started answering questions about the female anatomy and reproduction customs of Earth. The Romulans didn't care about their mission, or Earth defenses, they were scientists seeking knowledge. Rose couldn't understand why they used the women for their answers when they could have scanned the computers on the Taurus, or even asked the Captain for information. Cultural customs weren't anything Starfleet would have deemed confidential, in fact it could have been the start of an alliance had the Romulans proceeded correctly in their quest.

When the Romulans finished interrogating Rose, they told her about their mission to find a cure to a disease known on Earth as Myasthenia gravis. They explained the disease to Rose as an inability to control the muscles in the face. Women on Earth didn't have a fatal reaction when exposed to it and it had become a rare disease. Romulan women weren't so lucky, in fact it caused suffocation and death.

The Romulans told Rose they had hoped to find a genetic marker in the women's DNA which could help find a cure, but they were unsuccessful.

They apologized to Rose for the subterfuge, but explained that they had no clearance from the Praetor to engage with the Federation in a quest for this knowledge. They told Rose it was considered an internal affair and outsiders were not permitted to know of their plight.

Rose thought that by learning this information they had meant to kill her, but they didn't. She was returned to the Taurus sickbay. The doctor gave her a full examination and deemed her fit for duty.

Later in the day, the captain requested all the women to gather for a debriefing. The meeting was for them to relay their stories of what had taken place. Rose told them all about the Romulan's plight. As she looked over to the captain she saw him give her a look of total astonishment.

A few weeks later Rose and the other women of the crew became ill. The doctor treated some of them for the flu and told the captain it must have been something viral from their encounter with the Romulans, something which didn't show up on his initial scans.

Rose waited a week after the doctor said she had the flu also, but she wasn't any better. She went back to the doctor again and he did a much more through exam. When the exam was concluded the doctor told her she was pregnant. The doctor didn't seem very concerned about this revelation, but Rose knew David wasn't the father. She knew that somehow her oppressors had done this to her.

Rose walked dazedly back to her quarters. Upon reaching them she broke down and started to cry. "How could such a violation take place without her feeling it?" Rose contemplated what she should do and wondered if she should even carry this Romulan child. She decided to contact her friend Kathryn for advice before talking with David or making her decision.

"Rose, what is wrong?" Kathryn asked. "You've been crying, are you hurt?"

Rose explained the whole mission to Kathryn and told her about the pregnancy. She explained that she didn't know if she could face David because she knew she must be carrying a Romulan child.

Kathryn looked at her friend. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Starfleet never explained to the women that this could be a possibility, or even how they were to proceed if it did happen. "Rose, first you need to calm down and decide what you are going to do about the child. Then when you've made the decision, we will discuss the next step." Kathryn ended the communication with her friend and wondered what she would decide.

Seven months later Rose stepped off the shuttle into Starfleet Headquarters. Kathryn awaited her arrival and upon noticing Rose's glowing face and plump belly she smiled. "So are you ready to see David?" Kathryn asked.

"I'm afraid of what he'll say Kathryn. What if he rejects me because the baby is Romulan'?! Rose said quietly.

Kathryn worried about her friend. She didn't let Rose know about the intercepted information Starfleet had received. All crews had been ordered out of the neutral zone for now and were put on alert. The crew of Taurus wasn't the first crew to be abducted by the Romulans. Other women from other ships had died trying to give birth to the infants they carried. This concerned Kathryn because she knew her friend would have her child soon.

"I'm sure David will want to keep you." Kathryn said smiling. " He will be shocked, he will wonder why you waited to tell him in person, but he is aware of the dangers of being in space. He will think that having you and the baby is better than losing you altogether."

They reached the home of the Clearwater's. David walked out of the house to meet them, halfway down the walk He looked up at Rose and a funny expression came over his face. "You're pregnant Rose? Starfleet told me you had been abducted by the Romulans, but no one told me of your condition. Why didn't you call me?" David sounded really hurt and Rose wasn't quite sure what she should do. She looked at Kathryn, but Kathryn had turned away.

As Kathryn turned back towards the Clearwaters she said: "Why don't I leave the two of you alone so that you can work this all out. David, I'll see you at Starfleet Headquarters tomorrow." Kathryn gave Rose one more sympathetic look and got into the shuttle.

David and Rose talked all through the night. Rose told David she couldn't explain why she had decided to keep the baby. She also told David she had put in for a discharge from the Taurus to stay home. She said if she never went back into the stars again it would be a blessing.

David pondered everything Rose had told him and proclaimed his love was even stronger for her. "What you did was very brave and trying to emulate Kathryn for the other women was a brilliant stroke of genius on your part. We will do right by this baby and give him/her the love every baby deserves whether he/she is Romulan or not . We will raise him/her as though we are his/her true parents. With the correct upbringing, who knows maybe he or she will grow up join Starfleet and give us a Captain in the family." David tried to make the last statement sound like a lighthearted attempt at humor, but Rose didn't think it was funny.

"David, it would be wonderful if he/she could join Starfleet as we have, but I really don't want our baby to go away from Earth. What if there is something more to him or her than we know? The child could become a liability if taken into Romulan territory."

David pondered this and told Rose he understood her concerns, but they couldn't shelter the child either. Rose wasn't wanting to budge on the issue and David promised that until the child was grown he or she would stay hidden on Earth and live as much of a normal life as they could give him or her.

David and Rose prepared their home for their new child. Rose became obsessed with having all the right equipment, bedding, and clothing for her child. They had found out by ultrasound that they were having a son and that he was healthy.

One morning in the early hours Rose woke David up. She was having contractions. David knew this was not a good sign. Rose was to have the baby by cesarean section. When David had been informed by Starfleet about the other women dying during natural childbirth, he became even more determined not to lose Rose or the baby like that. David got up and made sure Rose had all of her necessities for the hospital. He called for a shuttle craft and they headed to Starfleet Medical hoping it wasn't too late.

Rose had a cesarean section and her son was born in the late afternoon on a warm fall day . The Clearwater's had picked the name Lee in honor of Rose's father's whose name had been Timothy Lee. Since Rose was his only daughter she felt she could keep her family name alive by giving it to her son. When the doctors had finished measuring, weighing, and testing Lee, they brought him back to Rose.

A little bit later the doctor came in looking quite confused. "Rose, I know you said this baby was a result of your encounter with the Romulans, but we find no trace of Romulan DNA. In fact, the only DNA we can detect is yours." The doctor didn't tell her the reason they couldn't detect the other marker in the DNA strand because they were somehow cloaked. He reported his findings to Starfleet Intelligence instead. "You and your baby will get to go home in a couple of days." He said turning to leave the room.

Rose looked at David and smiled. "Our baby isn't Romulan, that should make everything much easier. He'll lead a normal life and be able to do normal childhood things." She said.

As days turned into years Lee grew up to be a fine young man. He held a 4.0 grade point average during his schooling and was Valedictorian of his high school class. He was accepted into Starfleet Academy and after completing 4 years, graduated with the rank of Ensign. Now he was on his first away mission and Rose's only reprieve was knowing that Kathryn was there to protect her son.