A/N: I have never done this before but I am dedicating this chapter to "excessively perky" – who reads all my fics and always lets me know what worked and what didn't ring true. It's appreciated!
Chapter Nine.
Beverley had remained calm as she explained the situation to Theich and to Will who had stayed with Theich whilst they waited. She had been professional as she explained that she had done as much as she could and now it was up to the unconscious signals in the bodies of Jean-luc and the baby. She had reattached the placenta, but the baby was obviously in minor distress. Nothing she did could bring the heartbeat back to a normal rhythm and if it didn't even out soon then she would have to deliver the baby by c-section and try to keep it alive.
As soon as Will and Theich went onto the ward to perform this ritual of theirs, she had switched the glass panels of her office to frosted and taken a moment to allow herself a few frustrated tears. She shook her red hair to put the gray mood in its place as she moved to prepare infant hyposprays of anything which they might need in the event of having to deliver early: a drug to stimulate lung development, another to inhibit internal bleeding, vitamin K, premature baby doses of adrenaline in case they needed to resuscitate. She collected an impress array, prepared for anything. Anything except not being able to save this child.
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Deanna arrived in Sickbay expecting to have to comfort either a furious man or one in the midst of emotional collapse. She had not expected to find Will assisting in the preparation of a ritual. For a moment she was bemused by the ways in which people of any race manage to distract themselves from the immensity of some situations, but she rapidly became concerned as she recalled all that she had read about Nashiran religious practice.
"Theich, what exactly are you preparing to do?"
"I am preparing to lead my child on after death, if the worst happens."
Deanna was truly alarmed.
"Theich, I am familiar with some of your planet's customs. This is not in anyone's best interests. Doctor Crusher will do all she can to help Jean-luc and your baby. Even if the baby has to be delivered early, there is a lot that she can do to help and give it the best possible chance of survival. Jean-luc needs you now. He needs you to be strong for him as well as for your child. If the baby did die and you did this, you would be leaving him to mourn both of you; it would destroy him."
"Oh For F…… if you are going to read, at least finish the book. I am not planning on killing myself. That custom relates to a parent making amends, doing what should have been done earlier. It is very rare that such a situation would occur, it usually only applies to abortions, which, as breeding is a bit of a problem, would be damn stupid not to mention morally reprehensible. This is the Tahl Monat not the Tahl Mehit. It's just chanting, to set up the guiding vibrations."
Deanna felt her heartbeat settle; she tried to concentrate on helping others, dwelling on the possibilities and probabilities wouldn't help anyone.
"I am sorry Theich, I misunderstood. Is there anything that I can do to help?"
"Just don't let anyone interrupt me."
"I'll do my best."
She raised her eyebrows to Will, who quickly moved around to stand by her as Theich began a deep reverberating chant. The component sounds and syllables were so drawn out that it was difficult to hear what the words were. Will found himself straining to make them out, even though he did not understand Nashiran. Deanna tapped him on the arm and pointed to a panel mounted on a side wall; it clearly indicated that the Universal Translator was on. She pulled him down to her level and whispered.
"He said vibrations; I think these are holy sounds. Their religion is nature based and sound has a lot to do with it, religious songs are not composed of words but sounds which emulate the sounds of nature. The sounds are supposed to be holier than language because they are natural and not created by Nashirankind."
Will and Deanna sectioned off the intensive care ward to only allow those with the code to enter, that way Theich would not be disturbed. There was nothing they could do now but wait.
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Jean-luc awoke in early hours of the morning. Beverley had chosen not to wake him artificially, so that his body could unconsciously do what it must before the repressive fields of fear and panic could interfere.
He recognised the numb feeling that follows surgery and tried to clamp down on the fear that gurgled its way up through his nerves and thoughts. He managed to lift his head and in the dim glow of the night lighting he made out the figure of his lover sat cross-legged on the floor by his side. He was humming.
He tried to speak, but his throat was incredibly dry and he was worried by the croaking rasp that seemed to emit from him.
"Theich?"
There was no response from the man, who seemed deep in some kind of meditation. Jean-luc noticed a shadow passing across the foot of the bed.
"Hello Jean-luc, welcome back. Here, drink some water!"
"What happened?"
"You were injured on the bridge when the space-well collapsed. The impact ripped the placenta away from your womb. I have reattached the placenta, but there are still problems. Jean-luc, I am really sorry, I can't sugar-coat this for you. My last scan showed that the placenta has nearly stopped working. Soon the toxicity levels in the baby's blood stream will begin to rise. We are going to have to deliver the baby. I will do everything I can to ensure that all is well."
Jean-luc just nodded, feeling somewhat numb. He now recognised what Theich was doing, he had seen him perform a similar ritual on one of the pack animals that they had used on the dig. He was expecting the baby to die, or at least preparing for it. Some part of him understood that Theich was doing what he needed to do but he couldn't help but feel a little resentful. He had never felt so helpless and alone. He tried to reach out with their bond; he knew that it was clumsy and inaccurate but he hoped that he could reach his mate.
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"Crusher to Troi"
"Troi here. How is the Captain?"
"He's awake. Deanna, there are more problems. I am going to have to deliver the baby. I have explained things to the Captain but Theich is still performing his ritual and I don't think that he should be alone for this. Can you come to Sickbay and be with him?"
"I'll be there in a few minutes. Troi out."
Beverley concentrated on prepping her staff. There was an unusual mood amongst the nurses and doctors. All procedures and operations were important, some were life and death, some were the life or death of friends. This procedure had a different feel to it though, it felt bigger than most of what had happened before in this Sickbay. Obviously, that feeling was partly because this moment was the one which they were living in. It was also because this was their Captain, they had never had to deal with the idea of the Captain's family before and now it was in their hands.
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Theich raised his eyes to meet his lover's, he continued chanting.
"I am here Jean-luc. I'm sorry but I have to do this. I am here though."
"Theich, I need you."
"I'm here."
"In my head. I'm sorry, I know why you are doing this but the part of me that's about to collapse just wants you to hold me."
Theich despaired at the sight of his mate's tears. He had to resist the physical urge to stand up and go to him but this was bigger than their pain. He needed to ensure that he did the best he could for their child. This could well be the only action he would ever take as a Redidg.
Again the night lighting blurred the lines of those still awake. The shadow stopped shortly before the foot of the biobed, his head casting darkness across Jean-luc's feet.
"How's this for omniscience ?"
Jean-luc peered at the man as he moved around to his left side, standing directly opposite Theich's position. He recognised that there were many emotions that he should be feeling about the presence of the entity but he couldn't seem to care.
"Not pleased to see me Jean-luc?"
"Q. This is not the time."
"The time? You are usually so much more eloquent; that was incredibly non-specific. The time for what? A chat? A nice bowl of hot chocolate? You see, I was thinking that it was exactly "the time" – there really is no other."
"Q…"
"Shhhh. You say I cause you nothing but grief. You have surprised me often enough; I find that it is time for payback."
Q held his hands over Jean-luc's stomach. He could easily snap his fingers but he was nothing if not a showman. He considered making his hands glow but the fear and desperation rolling off Jean-luc was too much. He enjoyed the game; he didn't actually want to win, just to continue. He busily convinced himself that this was all about getting Jean-luc back into action so that they could continue their fencing match as he gently placed his palms against the thin sheet covering his playmate. Reaching out with his consciousness, he restored the function of the placenta and smoothed all evidence of the earlier rupture and operation. It took less than a second to repair the damage and a fraction more to remove all toxins from their bodies. As he withdrew his hands, he applied a skill that he had previously kept in check and modified the melatonin levels in Jean-luc's brain and then in the baby's. As the man slipped calmly into sleep, Q leaned over and whispered "Sleep well my friend.". Jean-luc was already asleep but the tired Nashiran at his side was wide awake and had stopped chanting.
"What did you do?"
"I fixed him."
"What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what I said. Everything that was wrong is now fixed."
Theich reached out with the bond and felt Jean-luc's mind respond. He was asleep but seemed to be physically and mentally sound. Turning back to the entity, who had been portrayed to him as a malevolent presence, he couldn't help but wonder what the game plan was.
"Why? I mean, you have my gratitude. All of it, every ounce of gratitude that I could possibly muster up, but I have to wonder why."
"Well, I am nothing if not an enigma. Why do set mazes for my little lab rats? Why do I cause them grief? Why do they always learn something from our encounters? Why have I helped them at times? Why did I flag their existence to the Borg? It is not for me to answer. The mystifying is always frustrating, but it is usually also rewarding."
Theich shook his head.
"Are you the same Q that usually comes visiting?"
"I am"
"You aren't a bit like I expected. Yesterday too, you were helping us."
"Perhaps it's just your perspective. Ask another crewman and I am sure they will blame me for the existence of the space-well. In fact, there are three hundred and seventy eight crewpersons who specifically believe that I created the well in order to be a nuisance. Two hundred and forty three of those believe that I did it to annoy their Captain in particular."
"So you are saying that I see you differently because I didn't experience these previous encounters?"
"Well, yes obviously that is true. Everything they have said about me is true, in fact, but they are missing many pieces of the puzzle. They come close to understanding at times, but they only grasp it in small chunks which they attribute to specific incidents and not to the bigger picture. I am "the meddler" but they fail to see why I am the meddler. Meddling is bad, everyone should have the free and equal right to stumble forth on shaky legs without guidance, without the lessons which others have learnt from being imposed upon them against their will because woe betide one should get in the way of them making all the mistakes for themselves. There is always a lesson in what I do and the human race is one of the few in the universe which truly learns and appreciates that learning. They might not appreciate the teaching methods and they might resent the enforced nature of it and miss half of the point, but they do respond."
"So you set lessons – there's no lesson here."
"No, but nor is it contrary to my previous behaviour. Jean-luc and I have had a similar encounter to this before. He was dying, in the line of duty and all that, but dying nonetheless. I put a lesson in there, but not allowing him to die was an intervention of a similar nature. I do not explain 'why' I would do such things or what they mean and I do not usually talk to the humans as I am talking to you now. I have no intention of opening up to you; I merely want you to trust that everything will be alright now."
"Shouldn't you be saying all this to Jean-luc?"
"Oh now that really would spoil all the fun wouldn't it."
There was the ghost of a smile on his fabricated lips and then suddenly and strangely silently the figure was gone and Theich rose to take a seat by his mate. He took one hand in his own, stroking Jean-luc's fingers with his thumb in a mindless calming action and placed his other hand on the swell of his mate's stomach. Trust? Trust worked when all was well and it did exist somewhere amidst Theich's gratitude, but would it hold any meaning when things got rough again? Theich blinked and laid his head on Jean-luc's shoulder. He only had to stay awake until Beverley returned, he could tell her what had happened and then get some sleep. He wasn't going anywhere though, he would stay right here, right by Jean-luc.