Neelix
Neelix slowly backed into Sickbay with a cart of food for the ailing engineer. Without turning around he called out, "Who's ready for some more tajaberries? I've cooked them so – "
The Doctor's hand clamped around Neelix's mouth.
"Mr. Neelix, I'm afraid I'll have to insist that you keep your voice down! My patient needs her beauty sleep, and you certainly aren't helping." A wounded look crossed Neelix's face. He had often heard others describe it as a puppy-dog look. According to Mr. Paris, it made him look sad and would often win him battles. He said it was a good skill to have. Neelix had no intention of using it as a weapon; rather, he actually felt bad. Who would take advantage of people in such a manner?
"But, Doctor, I've prepared B'Elanna some food. I heard she was down here, and I wouldn't want to let a crew member go without food." He tried the face again. The Doctor's eyes bored into his. For a second, he looked like he was going to let up. Neelix turned and started pulling the cart in further…
"Mr. Neelix, that's enough! I know you care about B'Elanna, but she needs rest right now!" The Doctor stepped in front of Neelix's path. Instead of running into him, the little Talaxian abandoned the food and sidestepped around the Doctor, stopping at B'Elanna's bio bed.
She was deathly pale, causing the ridges on her forehead to look dark in contrast. The minimal lighting in the room caused the ridges to cast a shadow over the desert that had been her face. Her chest rose peacefully, but underneath the eyelids, B'Elanna's eyes darted back and forth, round and round. The absence of baby Miral in her arms could have explained the frantic searching of B'Elanna's closed eyes. Glancing past the sleeping woman, he saw a small cradle with a tiny fist raised in the air. With his fears of the child assuaged, Neelix turned back to the chief engineer.
"She's been like this for a few hours now," the Doctor said. He came up behind the Talaxian and, rather uncharacteristically, put a holographic hand on his shoulder. "When she came in, she was talking about visions, hallucinations. It was all I could do to calm her down so she wouldn't hurt her daughter. I eventually had to take away Miral and sedate her."
"Will…will she be okay?" Neelix managed to squeak out, wringing his hands.
"I'm sure she'll be just fine. I think this pregnancy in such a strange place as created some unwanted stress. The Captain told me she had been in her cabin a few moments before B'Elanna came to me, talking about the recent contact with these new aliens. Nevertheless, I took blood samples and all, just to be sure." The Doctor traveled to the other side of the room where he was performing his experiments. "In another 15 minutes, these samples should be ready to look at." He met Neelix's gaze. "It'll be alright, Neelix."
Neelix looked from the Doctor to the sleeping form. Would it be all right? He had never doubted the Doctor's abilities, but here…with a sigh, Neelix turned back to the bio bed, hands clasped in front of him. Steadying his breath, Neelix prayed for B'Elanna. It had been a while since he had prayed. Religion hadn't exactly been on the top of his list since the destruction of Rinax. How could the gods do that to their people…?
What seemed like eternity later, Neelix heard the Doctor focusing a microscope, separating samples, checking and rechecking figures. It was all gibberish to Neelix, so he simply let the Doctor do his job.
Neelix's legs had become tired, so he retreated to a nearby chair. Slowly, as to not make any noise, he set himself down. No sooner had he done that then Miral let out a lusty wail; she was hungry.
"Um…Doctor…?"
Without looking up, the Doctor pointed to a small fridge.
"Over there, Mr. Neelix," he said in an offhanded manner. Taking his lead, Neelix opened the door and found several bottles of what he assumed was milk. Picking up the nearest one, he shut the door quietly and picked up the small child out of her crib. Adjusting her the way Samantha Wildman had taught him, Neelix placed the tip of the bottle in the child's mouth. Not to be deterred from her crying spree, Miral continued to cry with all her might. Anxious, Neelix forced the bottle into her parted mouth again. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that B'Elanna was still sleeping. How could she not wake?
"Mr. Neelix, could you please quiet her down? I'm trying to work!" the Doctor snapped.
"I'm trying, Doctor."
He tried bouncing her around for a few minutes, which seemed to reduce her to sobs. Then, carefully sitting back down, he threaded the bottle into her closed lips. After a moment, she started suckling. Breathing a sigh of relief, Neelix, settled himself back and let her drink from the bottle, tipping it as she needed. With a final gurgle, she emptied the contents of the bottle, and Neelix set it on the ground. Adjusting Miral to a more comfortable position, she started to sleep again. Content to let her do so, Neelix let himself doze off.
No more than 15 minutes had gone by before he heard voices approaching the cabin. Rather loudly, too. How rude. He tried to protect Miral's ears in hope that she wouldn't wake up from her hard earned sleep. And he was largely successful, until Tom Paris nearly broke down the door with the Captain trailing behind them. Mr. Paris looked very red in the face, while the Captain looked strained. She wasn't getting enough sleep. He would need to change that.
"Captain, B'Elanna will be okay. Why don't you go get some rest? Staying up this late will only harm your baby and – "
"Neelix, it's okay. I called them here." The Doctor stepped out from the shadows of the corner. He held a PADD in his hand tentatively. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he started talking. "I'm afraid I have some bad – "
As if she knew what was coming, as if she was the messiah that the stranded Klingon's had foreseen, Miral let out a final battle cry in her mother's name.