Chapter
Three
Janeway alone is walking down the corridor to Sickbay
thinking of both the pros and
cons of the surgery. Pro: She
could possibly conceive Con: The probable concept of
going
through months of excruciating pain and sickness. Pro: She and
Chakotay
would have baby Con: She wouldn't be able to take
care of it for the first few weeks of
its life. Pro: A baby
Con: She would have to step down her command for the
whole
nine months. Pro: She would have a baby. One idea kept
crawling in on Janeway's
thoughts. Definitely, what she wants to
do no matter what pain she will endure. As
Sickbay's doors hiss
open in front of her, she finally realizes that whatever the
Doctor
has to do this is what she needs.
"Hello
Captain how can I help you today. I hope you aren't ill but if you
are you know
that I am the best physician on the ship. I'm the
only physician so I guess that, that
would make me the
best."
"Doctor remember months ago after I loss my
baby on the planet you told Chakotay
that I would never be able to
have another baby unless I have some really delicate
surgery?"
"Why
yes of course I do, you didn't want anything to do with the surgery,
if I
remember correctly you said you wouldn't want surgery if your
life depended on it.
Have you changed your mind?"
"I
know I was terrible at the beginning but I needed to find out why God
took my
daughter away from her parents. Months went by, I didn't
find an answer yesterday
Chakotay took me to the holodeck, and we
sat on the beach and discussed it. I want
this surgery but I want
to find out all of the details before I make such a
decision,
Chakotay is on the bridge but we decided it was going to
happen I was concerned I
wasn't ready. Doctor do you think I am
ready to take such a gigantic step in my life so
soon after the
death of my baby?"
"I think you are ready but you
must understand the risks that are involved in this
delicate
surgery. I have to make an incision just below the umbilical line it
will be
about 3-7 inches in diameter, there will be scarring. Then
I have to cut into your uterus
remove the scared tissue with a
laser scalpel. I then have to suture up the incisions in
your
uterus, which again will have scarring, but not as severe as it is
now. Then I have
to move up into your ovaries to inject them with
a female hormone, progesterone so
they may again release an egg.
Again, I will have to repair the damaged tissue.
Finally, I will
have to close the incision in the uterus, ovaries, and below
you
umbilicus. It takes a great deal of time and patience and you
will be in a great deal of
pain for three months."
"I
understand that but it's something Chakotay and I want to do. He told
me that he
would be there for me and help me through and I think I
can make it. I want a baby
now more than ever and I know that you
can help me."
"I told you that it is possible that
you will become pregnant and there is also the
possibility that
you may not. I don't want you to get your hopes and dreams up. You
must understand the risks."
"I understand them and I
still want to do it. Can you just tell me how you are going
to do
this surgery and when you will do it. I want it done right away the
sooner the
better."
"I can start tomorrow morning
at 0800 hours. I want Chakotay here when you are
sedated it helps
the patient go under with ease and comfort. You will also be under
for
several hours he needs to be there for you in case we start to
loose you while we are
performing the surgery and after the
surgery he can help you come out. It is proven in
Earth's past
that someone that is close to the patient can hear the ones they love
and
come out of the sedative."
"That sounds
risky. But we have talked about this we want to do this I will
contact
Tuvok to see if he can man the bridge while I undergo
surgery."
"Can I ask you something off
record?"
"Sure."
"Have Chakotay and
you really thought about this surgery or have you only talked
about
this surgery."
"Yes, we want it."
"Do
you both want it or just you?"
"I guess me more than
anything, Chakotay is worried that I haven't let enough time
go by
and he also worries that it won't happen. You know, that I get
pregnant and
it doesn't want me to go through the surgery unless I
am sure I can live with it if I can't
get pregnant."
"Can
you live with it if you don't or can you live with it if you do?
These questions,
Physicians ask all the time. I can perform the
surgery and do my best to correct the
problem the only thing you
need to do is to recover."
"I want to do it for
myself as well as Chakotay."
"Alright I will see you
both tomorrow at 0800 hours make sure Chakotay come he is
the key
part in the surgery. I will have Lieutenant Paris as an assistant but
I want you
to give me the okay before."
"He can
assist without him I wouldn't even have had the chance to see my baby
even
if she wasn't alive. I want to thank him for everything he
did to help me through that
difficult time."
"Okay,
come here about 0730 so we can run the pre-op tests and exams that
way we
don't have to delay the surgery any longer than we
expect."
"Thank you Doctor, for everything."
"That's
my job. I'll see you both here tomorrow."
The next
morning Janeway is up at 0700 hours getting prepared for what lays
ahead in
the surgery. Although slightly nervous, she knows that
the Doctor is the best
physician in the quadrant. Chakotay is in
the bathroom getting ready while Janeway
kneels down to pray for a
successful treatment.
Fifteen minutes later her and Chakotay
enter Sickbay the doctor and Tom have
already set up the pre-op
equipment all they need is the patient and at least 6 hours for
the
surgery.
"Hello Captain, Commander I am glad you could
come."
Paris is off in the corner cleaning some utensils
Janeway sees this and excuses herself
while the doctor and
Chakotay discuss the details of the surgery and Chakotay gets
over
his last moments of jitters.
"Tom, I'm glad you are here
I couldn't imagine going through surgery without you by
the
doctor's side. I know you are uncomfortable here since the last time
you performed
surgery it was quite an emergency."
"I
know that I couldn't help your baby and I just feel that if only you
were home on
VOYAGER that baby would still be alive and probably
out of Sickbay's incubators.
I'm sorry I couldn't do anything more
or ease the pain I know you were in."
"It's okay Tom
you did the best you could and if anyone else was there they
would
have not known what to do. I'm glad you were
there."
"Thanks, we had better get you in a gown and
set up for some pre-op tests. Here is a
gown use this sheet to
cover up from the waist down leave this open in the front the
doctor
can get to you navel easier."
"Thanks."
Janeway
smiles and moves to a room on the side of sickbay's surgical bay.
Closing the
door behind her, she takes a deep breath and exhales
as she removes her clothing and
places a gown on. Soon she exits
the room and Paris assists her onto the bio-bed,
drawing several
samples of blood and hormones.
Thirty minutes later, a curtain
drapes above Janeway's chest the sheet on her lower
half of her
body and Chakotay holding her hand as the Doctor inserts a hypo
into
Janeway's carotid artery.
"I love you Chakotay
always."
"And I love you to."
"I
need you to count down from 100 when I know you are completely out I
will begin
the surgery. Now start counting now."
"100
99 98 9sev"
Soon she is out and the Doctor looks at his
patient, her husband, and his assistant. The doctor withdraws the
cover over her stomach.
"Laser scalpel "
The
steady humming crosses her scar and soon we see the muscles in her
abdomen.
The doctor cuts through every layer of her abdomen
carefully and perfectly soon he
reaches her uterus.
"Retractors"
We can see the scarring leaving masses of tissues in bundles
still healing after the
first incision. Chakotay strokes her hand
and looks on as the doctor begins to carefully
reconstruct her
scars to almost minimal.
After a very tiring and complicated
seven-hour surgery, Janeway is now in the
recovery room. Chakotay
is still by his wife's side stroking her hand and talking with
her
as though she was fully awake. Soon a brief mumble catches Chakotay's
attention
as Janeway slowly opens her groggy eyes. Blurred vision
blocks her from seeing the
individual next to her but the outline
of his tattoo brings Janeway to a smile.
"Hey Chakotay
how did it go? Can I get pregnant now?"
"I'll go get
the Doctor he can explain it better than I can. Doctor she's awake
and has
some questions."
"I'll try and answer
them as quickly as I can."
The doctor moves over to the
recovery bed that Janeway is laying on and smiles
Janeway is
nodding of occasionally.
"How are you feeling Captain are
you in any pain?"
"No I feel sleepy, potent stuff
you gave me there I can't feel anything from the
waist
down."
"That's just the sedative when it
starts to were off you will be able to feel some pain
just let me
know. I have a prescription hypospray that will give you some
ease."
"So can I get pregnant?"
"Well
we removed the scarring around and on your uterus one ovary was
removed
because there was to much damage I couldn't repair it so
you will only get your cycle
every other month. However, other
than that you came through the surgery well aside
from a few scary
moments. I believe that after your check-up three months from now
you
can start and try to have a family."
"Thank you
doctor, when can I go home?"
"I would like to keep
you here overnight for observation you lost a lot of blood during
the
surgery and see how your incisions are healing. But you don't have to
worry about
Chakotay I will have a bed set up next to yours so he
can spend the night here with
you."
"Thanks
doctor."
Janeway stifles a yawn.
"Your
sedative is beginning to take affect you need your rest."
"Thanks
Doctor and thank you Tom for everything."
"Your
welcome."
Janeway drifts off into a long sleep as
Chakotay looks on to his wife. She looked so
weak but beautiful to
him. After he is sure she is asleep, he leaves his wife and moves
to
talk to the doctor.
"How much pain will she be in for the
next three months Doctor?"
"We did a lot of pulling
and tugging so she will have a lot of pain in her abdomen. She
will
not be able to sit up by herself for a least three week and will need
constant care.
The anesthesia will start to wear off and she may
become nauseous or even suffer
severe nausea so make sure there is
some type of container nearby in case she becomes
ill. If her
incisions seemed to become infected call me immediately or if she
become
disoriented."
"I can ask Tuvok to take
some extra hours until she is comfortable enough for another
person
to look after her. I'm sure that B'Elanna will come and stay with her
while I go
on duty. I think that she will like to have B'Elanna
come by and visit."
"Okay."
In the
middle of the night Chakotay awakens at the sound of a grunt of pain
knowing
it is probably Janeway he rushes over to her side. Janeway
is in a lot of pain and
Chakotay can tell by the expression of
pain written across her face. Chakotay take
her hand and tries to
sooth the hurt with comfort.
"Do you want me to activate
the Doctor to give you some pain medication? I 'm sure
he'd want
to know if you were feeling any pain even if it was mild."
"No
Chakotay I'm alright, I have to go to the bathroom and I don't know
how to do it
since I can't sit up."
"The Doctor
put a catheter in for the next three months he will come by and
change it
every day."
"I have to pee that's all
for now but I am sure that I will need to do the other sooner
or
later I'm glad you'll be there to do that."
"Are
you in any pain?"
"No whatever drug he gave me for
the surgery hasn't worn off yet I wonder if I can get
some for
headache instead of that generic stuff he always gives me. It makes
me sick."
"I'm sure it has a morphine base so he
won't prescribe it to you. Instead, he prescribed
you "Naproxen
Sodium" he says you are supposed to take it with food or a glass
of
milk to prevent nausea and bleeding in your stomach. Are you
sure you are okay?"
"Not really I feel sick to my
stomach but don't worry I won't toss my cookies I don't
have
anything in my stomach to toss."
"Maybe we should
activate the doctor he can give you something for that so you can
get
back to sleep."
"No really I am fine just lay down
with me."
"We both won't fit on the bed but I bet I
can move this cot over next to you so we
will be laying with each
other just not on the same bed."
"I don't care
Chakotay just be with me."
Chakotay moves his bed over
next to Janeway and hold her hand as she slowly but
surely drifts
into slumber. Chakotay stay awake a few minutes later trying to find
out
a way he can move her sleep in the same bed with her that
won't cause her any serious
pain. He couldn't deal with lying in a
different bed.
The next morning Chakotay activates the Doctor
when he awakens the Janeway
gasping in pain. Frightened he
panicked and activated the Doctor without even
thinking.
"Please
state the nature of the medical emergency."
The Doctor
sees a panicked Chakotay hovering over Janeway like a wounded
animal.
He can hear brief cries escaping Janeway's pursed
lips.
"I see the drug has finally worn off. Apparently,
your body used the pain medication
longer than I anticipated so we
will have to remember that next time you have surgery
to give you
of the original dose. Now what can I do for you today?"
"Doctor!
She's in a lot of pain just look at her she's hurting she can hardly
breathe."
"I told you this surgery was going to
cause a great deal of pain. Here s a painkiller it
will cause
drowsiness I want to examine her before I allow you to take her back
to your
quarters. This painkiller will numb her from the waist
down so you can carry her to
your quarters, and she won't feel a
thing. Be careful with her for the next few hours is
her pain
comes back or gets worse call me right away and I will be there in a
snap."
"Okay Doctor now can you give her the pain
medication so I can take her home. She
wants to go home."
"I
need to examine her before you take her home"
Chakotay
nods and Janeway is given the painkiller it take effect almost
immediately
as Janeway slowly drifts into another sleep.
"This
medication should keep her out for at least three hours but when she
wake up
again she will need another hypospray. Now lets see her
incisions."
Chakotay lowers the covers from her chest
down and the Doctor opens the lower half
of Janeway's gown. There
is some redness and bruising but no sign of infection. The
doctor
is pleased and covers her up again.
"She's coming along
better than I expected. The Captain has a remarkable healing
time.
She is asleep so you can take her back to your quarters call me the
minute she
wakes up so I can check on her again. Change the
dressing every 2-4 hours as needed
to prevent the swelling from
getting worse give her an ice pack for 15 minutes and a
heating
pad for an additional 15 minutes as needed to minimize the bruising.
Try to
get her to each something when she gets up even if it is
Chicken broth. I will contact
Neelix and he will bring up some
soup and tea don't worry Chakotay I will let him
know not to put
in any spices she needs bland food because of the surgery."
"Thank
you Doctor I want to take her home now if you are finished. I want to
put her
down in bed and change her out of this gown. She would be
happy if she woke up to
her own quarter rather than staring up
into the lights in Sickbay. No offense I assure
you."
"It's
alright Commander I have heard worse. Go on I am finished examining
her be
careful when you pick her up I don't want her to start
bleeding where the incision
was."
The Doctor nods and Chakotay gently and affectionately takes Janeway in his arms
and walk out of Sickbay. The Doctor smiles at his milestone and hopes that in the
next few years, the surgery will be a success and they will be welcoming their first
child.
A few hours later while Chakotay's eating his lunch Janeway awakens to darkness
and some pain in her middle. She calls Chakotay's name and he comes rushing in.
"What's wrong are you in any pain? Do you need to use the bathroom?"
"Chakotay honey relax, I am just fine a little sore but other than that just fine. How
did I get in here without knowing? Did the doctor beam me here or something?"
"No, I carried you here after the painkiller took effect. I thought you would rather
wake up in here than staring into Sickbay's bright lights."
"You are very smart I didn't want to wakeup to Sickbay's light I have been in there
long enough. Besides, I wanted to be home with my husband even if we couldn't make
love like I want too. But don't worry after these three months are over with I will make
it up to you."
"I know you will but for right now just concentrate on getting well and resting you are
officially on leave until December by orders from the Doctor. I'll go back to the bridge
tomorrow but don't worry B'Elanna will be here to take care of you if you need
anything."
"Thanks Chakotay, now go get Neelix so I can get something into my stomach before
I shrivel up like an old lady."
"Okay, Chakotay to Neelix please bring what the Doctor has given you for Captain
Janeway's stomach. Try and remember she needs something very bland if you add
those spices you always add she will be sick all night and I don't want to deal with
that."
"Yes, Sir I will be right there."
A few minutes later Neelix comes to their quarters with a bowl of chicken broth as
bland as it can be. With a smile, he's greeted at the door with Chakotay. Janeway is
on the bed reading some ship information. However, is overcome by a wave of pain
and cries out. Neelix hears this and grabs a hypospray nearby. Chakotay moves over
to the bed as Janeway was arching her back as the pain overtakes her and tears begin
to spill from her closed eyes. She tries not to let Neelix see but can't do it the pain
was controlling her entire body. Chakotay administers the painkiller and slowly the
pain is controlled. Janeway wipes away her tears as Neelix approaches the bed and
sets her soup down on the night stand nearby.
"Are you alright Captain, you had me worried when I heard you cry out in pain. The
whole crew is rooting for your quick recovery so you can return to us."
"I won't be doing much socializing for the next few months I have to stay on my back
and off my feet until December. I am sorry I will miss Prixin this year."
"That's alright, we will bring Prixin to you I'm sure that the crew will feel better once
you start to recover."
"Thank you Neelix, I hope you come to see me besides just bringing my meals to me. I
hope you also bring by Naomi to see me."
"Oh I will no need to worry she would be glad to help you out with some of the things
you need her to do. She is the Captain's Assistant after all I will have her come by
after her studies are complete with the Doctor. I am sure that Samantha won't mind."
"Thank you Neelix."
"Well I had better go I have 130 individuals who are waiting to taste some of my
Gavnion stew brewing on the stove. I will see you at dinner Captain get well soon we
all miss you."
"I will try."
Later that night Chakotay climbs onto the bed per Janeway's request to sleep next to
her husband. Not that they could do anything even the slightest jostle would make
Janeway cringe and cry out in pain. Chakotay tried hard not to move the bed too much
but even the slightest movement would cause tremendous pain. It was going to be a
very long three months but at least the surgery would bring up their chances to have
children. Chakotay lay gently down on the bed and closed his eyes. Unconsciously he
moves his hand to trace the creases of her forehead and pull away stray strands of her
hair. Slowly they drift off into a hopeful to uneventful night. There was still a long
way before Janeway would fully recovered from her ordeal but it was worth it.
TBC...