CHAPTER THREE
* * * *
Negotiations between the Earthlings and the Turians lasted late into the afternoon. Long gray shadows had fallen across the desert before it seemed they were finally coming to a sort of mutual understanding of each other. Vay had been relieved when the grand councilwoman had dismissed her from the proceedings. Stressful as the day had been, it was not over yet, and the young woman knew she would be needed again. Until then, she decided to go back to her room and rest. On her way down to the women's dormitories, she passed by Dr. Haanlaan, who insisted on giving her a follow-up examination.
"What now?" she demanded coolly. "Didn't get your dirty fingers far enough up my kwazuunga the last time?"
Dr. Haanlaan looked scandalized by this remark. "Really, now, Agent Pleakley! That is quite uncalled for! My sole purpose on this mission is to ensure the health and safety of both you and your baby, and so far you have made it way more difficult than it needs to be! I would think that you of all people would find your baby to be a top priority, and certainly not to be joked about or brushed off with vulgarities."
"My baby IS my top priority, and don't you dare try to imply that I don't care, because you couldn't be further from the truth. I just don't see the necessity of a follow-up exam, especially when things have been going so smoothly since we landed. Now if you'll excuse me, Dr. Haanlaan, I was just on my way to my dorm to follow your earlier suggestion and get some rest."
The doctor sighed as she brushed past him. "Your baby may not be as healthy as you think, Agent Pleakley," he said quietly.
Vay spun around and looked at him questioningly.
"What do you mean?" she demanded. "You said everything appeared to be fine!"
"Well, yes, but -"
"And now you're trying to tell me it's not?"
The doctor cringed slightly from the anger in her tone.
"Well, yes and no. You see, during the examination, I noticed some - abnormalities. I didn't want to say anything earlier because I was hoping that they were merely side effects from the landing trauma. I'm praying that's all they are, because these same abnormalities may also be symptoms of something serious, something that could easily threaten the life of your baby. That's why I wanted to do a follow-up; to make sure everything's all right."
Startled by this news, Vay cast her eye to the floor, silent in thought. Once again her delicate hands slid tenderly over her middle, as if to give comfort to the life within. For a long moment she remained speechless, although her mind was a roaring ocean of thoughts and prayers and curses and concerns. No, no, no. My baby HAS to be okay! I've been careful. I've done everything I'm supposed to do during pregnancy. It can't go wrong now. It just can't. I love my baby already, and I WON'T let anything happen to it! She looked up at Dr. Haanlaan and nodded.
"Okay, Doc. Let's go make sure."
* * * *
For the second time that day, Vay lay on her back on the examination table, taking deep, calming breaths as the doctor's hands and various monitoring equipment wandered over her. After nearly half an hour, the physical was completed. Vay jumped down from the table to redress while Dr. Haanlaan reviewed the final results of the exam. His silence bothered her, as did the expression on his face. It was unreadable. He appeared so immersed in his thoughts that he did not even notice her standing in front of him. She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. When he finally looked up at her, she tensed, suddenly afraid to hear the results. As if in answer to her unasked question, Dr. Haanlaan uttered a single word:
"Inconclusive."
"What?"
"The results are inconclusive. While I continue to see the abnormalities - irregular heartbeats, underdevelopment of the garvoplixxus gland, rudosulphitassium deficiency, the palaglibmus duvius functioning at only 75% capacity - I cannot make a definite diagnosis at this point. These problems are all borderline - they are not immediately life-threatening. However, once this baby is born, it will be needing constant medical attention and hormone treatments for the first several months of its life, or else -"
Unwilling to finish his sentence, Dr. Haanlaan glanced dejectedly at the floor. Vay's eye widened in horror at the implication of losing her baby. She racked her mind frantically for something to say to fill in the ugly silence that followed.
"But - she'll be okay then, won't she? After the treatments?"
"Most likely, but the first year is going to be very perilous. If it survives to see its first birthday, then I've no doubt it will be on its way to living a normal and productive life."
"But what about right now? She's alright for now, isn't she?"
"Oh, yes," the doctor said, sounding a bit more confident. "Your baby should be fine for the rest of the pregnancy. Your body is still doing most of the work, but once it's born, its system is going to have to start fully working for itself. But with the various abnormalities I noted, it's going to need a lot of help, probably starting immediately after birth. You are planning to have this baby in an appropriate birthing facility, I assume?"
Vay nodded.
"Good. As long as you don't go into labor while we're stuck on this planet, then you two are all set."
Vay smiled. "Well, seeing as I have nearly three weeks left to go, that's not very likely to happen." She patted her stomach affectionately. "Although she's been squirming around a lot lately like she can't wait to come out. She must be awfully cramped in there, poor thing. But she's just going to have to wait."
Dr. Haanlaan gave her a crooked smile. "You keep calling it a she. Are you really sure it's a girl? From what I've seen, I don't think it is, though sometimes it's hard to tell."
"Well, I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling it is. It's hard to explain, but it has a sort of feminine feel to it. I'm pretty sure it's a girl, but I won't know until it's born. Of course, I don't care what it is, as long as it's healthy, but I'll be very surprised if it turns out to be a boy."