Two
Life aboard a Starship was never easy work. Doctors Matthew and Selene Hayes had known this going into their assignment aboard the USS Atlantis. Both doctors were gifted in their field of expertise, with Matthew being the leading physician aboard the ship. Selene was the head scientist in her department, often developing new strategies and scenarios that the crew would handle during an intense situation. Their work had become legendary among the Fleet, to the point where they were well-renowned. Because of their line of work, they rarely had time to pursue a real relationship. They were always professional with each other inside and outside of work. Neither expected the turn of events that Selene hadn't been prepared for during their first week in space.
Over the last few weeks Selene had been experiencing morning sickness every few days. She rarely got sick even while on Earth. It was simply impossible for one who spent so many hours working. Then to make matters worse, her temper had also begun flaring up every now and then. She knew her hormones were beginning to spike as a result, which led to several confrontations throughout the ship. Her husband hadn't gotten wind of his wife's emotional outbursts, but she knew it wouldn't be long before he figured out the telltale signs. She wasn't ready for the consequences that would follow. She was well aware of the signs that led to her ultimate decision for an appointment. Yet that didn't stop her stomach from twisting in a worried knot. Matthew would not take the news well if her discovery was accurate. He was already agitated enough with the recent workloads they had been given recently. This would only fuel the fire already brewing.
She let out a sigh of frustration as she sat on a biobed while waiting for the results of the scans that were just taken. She made an appointment hoping to avoid her nosy husband. The last thing she wanted or needed was for him to discover the reason behind her latest appointment. He was already suspicious enough after seeing her race for the bathroom the other morning. Neither of them were ready to start a family like others in their position. She had a whole life and career to look forward to. Matthew had made it perfectly clear that they would not have the time nor the patience to deal with a newborn while working aboard a busy and dangerous ship. She'd agreed fullheartedly to his warning. So she silently hoped that the anomalies she picked up were nothing more than that - an anomaly.
The doctor who had been reading her scans frowned as he began picking up a signal that was different from the rest. Selene's heart all-but-sank as she guessed the reason behind said signal.
It wasn't all that uncommon for families to begin on a Starship. Long-lasting missions with married couples involved usually resulted in the beginning of a new family. Selene had heard enough stories floating around to know the risks involved. The child could be lost to stress or to some accident occurring on the ship. Her own life could be at risk depending on how the unborn child developed or was delivered. Either results didn't sound all that appealing to her. She wasn't in any hurry to see what that sort of life was like. Yet the moment she caught the doctor's eyes flickering between the scans and herself, she knew that a decision had already been made for her. He finally cleared his throat to catch her attention, and she glanced at him nervously.
"You've mentioned that you were experiencing unusual sickness in the morning along with emotional outbursts recently, correct?" he asked carefully. Selene gave a reluctant nod in response. She was almost afraid to speak out, knowing that he already had the answer before going into detail. "From what the scans have told me and from what you've told me, the anomaly here appears to be a developing fetus. You're barely a month into your term."
Selene let out a sharp breath of air as she studied the results herself. She didn't know what to say when she saw the image for the first time. It was tiny. It barely looked like the size of a peanut, yet she could tell from there that it was in fact a fetus. A living, breathing form was slowly developing within her. She couldn't bring herself to speak even if she wanted to.
Though the news was something she had been bracing herself for, it was still a shock to receive it in the first place. She and Matthew rarely had time for intimacy. They'd never actually tried conceiving a child even when they first got married. The question rising within her was how the fetus was created in the first place. As a scientist, it went against everything she believed in. And that left her worrying over how Matthew would take the news. He wouldn't respond well to it.
"It is impossible to conceive without being sexually active," she pointed out after handing the results back. "We haven't been active since working on this ship."
And that had been two months ago. The fetus itself was barely a month old, yet she was already displaying the signs of being well into her pregnancy. The whole situation was confusing enough. She knew that if the fetus was really developing the way the doctor mentioned, she would be in trouble in the near future.
"I'm not sure how this could happen myself," the doctor shook his head warily. "I can run tests and scans to see how this happened, but the science behind it is too new."
Her brows furrowed together as she nodded in agreement to those terms. She knew Matthew would want to know how the fetus had developed in the first place. He was the only man she had ever been with on the ship. Her loyalty to him had never wavered, even if he was rough around the edges and had a terrible bedside manner.
Once that was established, Selene stood up and left the room to catch her own breath. The only thoughts running through her mind was how she would tell Matthew. He would more than likely want nothing to do with said news. And a small part of her was okay with that. She just hoped that he didn't take his frustration out on her in the process.
.
.
"The strangest part of this fetus is the energy it seems to be giving off," the doctor said as he inspected the developing fetus more closely.
Barely a week had gone by since her most recent discovery. Selene kept quiet for the most part. Matthew was thankfully unaware of the news, giving her time to figure out how the fetus had developed in the first place. She became more aware of the fact that it would be impossible to hide such a development for long. Nothing stayed secret on the ship for too long. The only reason the doctor hadn't released her transcripts was because it would go against her HIPPA, which she was suddenly grateful for. She didn't want Matthew to know until she had a better idea as to how the fetus came to be.
That was what led to spending long hours in the lab without his knowledge. She and the doctor had agreed to meet up and run scans on the fetus. Not only was it a major breakthrough in their research, but it would also give her the chance to figure out how the fetus developed. It could also provide knowledge as to how certain species reproduced in the near future as well.
"That's impossible," she breathed out while checking his own readings. Sure enough, the energy levels were off the charts. Selene's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed it seemed to grow and shrink with each passing second. What surprised her even more was that it did so whenever she rested her hand on her belly. It was almost as if the fetus was responding to her touch, like it was somehow aware. "There's not a chance that this is something entirely different, is there?"
"As far as I'm aware, this is still a fetus that is shaped and formed like a human being," the doctor explained with a shake of his head. "Outside of that realm, there is a chance that it is alien in nature. There's plenty of humanoid species living on this ship, after all."
Selene couldn't help but frown at the thought of this fetus not being human. It was like a parasite. Though it didn't feed off of her own flesh like other parasites would, there was something unnerving about it. She couldn't shake off the feeling that nothing good would come out of this new discovery. Worst still was that she wouldn't likely have the chance to defend it if Matthew discovered that bit of information.
She tried pushing aside the uneasy thoughts aside. One discovery led to another. The fetus itself was human, of that she could tell. While it was alien in nature and appeared to give off it's own source of energy, the fetus itself was entirely human. It gave her the small chance to defend their unborn child if Matthew decided to attack it. Though she couldn't shake off the feeling that he would likely do so anyways once he found out the truth.
When she finally found the chance to tell him, two months had gone by. Since then she had begun to notice that the fetus seemed to have a mind of it's own. Any time she tried reaching him the fetus would seem to protest, almost as if it knew that something was off. Matthew had also begun to notice her strange behavior. He was getting more irritated by the day when he saw her change with the fetus. Eventually she was finally forced to share the truth when she had another bout of morning sickness, this one worse than before.
"I've been trying to figure out how this happened in the first place," she explained once they had the chance to sit and talk. He was of course furious. Selene hadn't missed how red his face got after telling him that she was pregnant, almost as if he was embarrassed by the news. "Nothing came up so far in my research aside from the fact that it seems to give off it's own energy."
"You realize that once word gets out we'll never be left alone, right?" he groaned after realizing what she meant by that. "This baby is going to destroy our careers!"
She was well aware of the risks involved with raising a baby on the ship, let alone one as strange as the one developing within her. Yet that didn't stop her from wondering at the fact that she was expecting in the first place. She realized with a start that she wanted this baby. Despite the chaos it would bring and the rift it would cause between them, she'd already developed some strange bond with the unborn child. Selene knew in the bottom of her heart that giving it up was wrong. More so when she knew that was what Matthew wanted.
"I know what it's going to do," she let out a quiet sigh and looked him firmly in the eye. "I'm well aware that it could risk my career. But I'm also willing to take that risk."
The sheer determination in her voice was enough for his gut to twist with renewed anger. Matthew's eyes narrowed with annoyance as he finally closed the distance between them. She braced herself for whatever punishment would follow; she could already feel the fetus shrinking back along with her, almost as if it knew the dangers they were in.
"Keeping that thing is a mistake, Selene," he reminded her with a steely-eyed glare. "Why can't you see that?"
"This thing is a living, breathing fetus," she snapped without missing a beat. Her own eyes narrowed with fury when she realized what he was implying. Despite her earlier misgivings, she knew this unborn child was special. Knowing that much gave her the courage to stand up to him; she was not about to back down from a challenge. "Whether you like it or not, having an abortion on a ship is still considered illegal. I'm not about to stoop to those levels."
His face twisted into an ugly scowl when he realized she was willing to take those risks. She was willing to ruin everything by allowing that unborn child to grow. And he realized with a start that he hated that thing now more than ever. Because it was going to ruin everything... their marriage, their careers, and possibly their lives.
He didn't bother arguing with her though when he understood the weight of her words. She refused to stoop down to a level where killing an innocent life was a good thing. That would only crush her soul, something she wasn't prepared to handle. Even he knew better than to stoop down to those levels, even if it was better than having to go through with the consequences that followed.
So, it became a waiting game for them as signs of her pregnancy became more obvious. Within the next few months, she experienced all the signs of someone expecting a child for the first time. And soon she was moved from their quarters and eventually to the medical bay.
Her labor had been hard and difficult. It lasted for nearly a full day and night. By the time the baby arrived, Selene was utterly exhausted. The shrill cry of a baby echoed throughout medical bay, and Selene let her head drop against the pillow as exhaustion crashed over her. She was surprised at how angry the baby sounded when the doctors rushed to clean it off and wrap it in warm blankets. There was also a hint of grief in the baby's shrill cry as it echoed through the room.
A shiver of unease swept through her at the thought. But she tried pushing it aside when the nurses finished cleaning the baby.
"Congratulations, it's a girl," one of the nurses announced after handing the baby over.
Selene couldn't help but eye the newborn baby with awe as she held it for the first time. But as she looked at the baby wrapped in pink blankets, she noticed with a start that the baby was looking directly at her. Alarm swept through her as she realized that babies weren't technically supposed to be aware of their surroundings.
"She needs a name," she whispered after trying to push the uneasy thoughts aside.
Instinct kicked in faster than she thought possible. Gently, she lifted her finger to get a better look at the baby girl. She was surprised at how much the baby looked like her. Only, she didn't. There was something off about it. Selene couldn't pinpoint why that was exactly; maybe it was the soft glow that seemed to emanate from the baby. Still, she didn't let that stop her from observing beautiful downy light blond hair or baby blue eyes looking back at her.
She almost smiled upon seeing the baby staring back at her absentmindedly. The face of innocence was something she would always find herself admiring, no matter what her husband said. But the look written across his face told her that he wanted nothing to do with the baby. He scowled as he continued cleaning the utensils that had been used to cut the cord.
"That mistake doesn't deserve a name," he grunted after putting the knife on the counter. "All that thing is ever going to do is make our lives miserable."
The golden-blond pursed her lips together as she understood the double meaning behind his cruel words. Selene knew in the back of her mind that Matthew would never accept the baby girl for what she was. Because of that, she would always have a life of hardship. But, that didn't stop Selene from looking at the baby thoughtfully.
She couldn't just brush off the affection that swelled within her upon seeing those soft baby blue eyes looking back at her. The baby made a cooing noise, as if she understood what her father had said. Selene offered a faint smile, knowing full-well that she couldn't just push the baby away.
Even if the baby had been nothing more than a surprise for both of them, she was already beginning to feel her maternal instincts kick in. To her, Starfleet had been everything. But the moment she found out she was expecting, that all changed. Being a doctor and a scientist had taken a toll on their relationship, and she doubted Matthew would recover from the shock of finding out that he was a father. For now she would focus on raising the baby and hope for the best.
"Don't listen to him," she whispered once he was out of hearing range. The baby only cooed in response, and Selene couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm going to name you Emily… Emily Grace Hayes."
As she said those words, it suddenly felt as if a weight of responsibility had been placed on her shoulders. Emily simply stared at her in response, as if she was able to figure out what she was saying.
Selene shivered at the thought that Emily was capable of understanding what she said right away. Babies didn't have the mentality to understand what adults were saying. She'd grown up firmly believing that. But there was something almost compelling about the way Emily kept looking at her that told Selene something wasn't quite right.
She quickly pushed the thoughts aside, knowing that if she ever said anything to her husband, he would see it as a sign to get rid of Emily. The last thing she wanted was for anything tragic to happen to the baby girl, especially since she'd done nothing to deserve such cruel treatment.
AN: Here's second chapter, finally after nearly a year of posting the first. Hopefully everything looks relatively fine. The story may start off slowly, but I'm building it up for future plots. Again, please let me know what you thought; the next chapter should be coming soon.