Stardate 2260.74
Dagny's stomach churned as she brushed her teeth and spit into the sink. She'd never eaten soup for breakfast until that morning. The plameek broth—or whatever it was he'd called it—had been bland but generally edible. Dr. Voris had explained it was a customary Vulcan breakfast and she supposed she could get used to it. She couldn't imagine food being much worse than the barka mark soup from the night before. Or was it barka malak? Whatever it had been, she had a hard time believing it was food.
There was a gentle tapping on the door. "Have you finished your morning hygiene ritual?"
She almost laughed when she saw the reflection of her involuntary facial expression in the small mirror above the sink. Dr. Voris always had a way of putting things in the strangest, most formal way imaginable, which often had the effect of making her feel intimidated and uneducated.
She packed her toothbrush into her small blue hygiene bag, opened the door, and replied, "Yes. I'm sorry if I took too long."
"It was not my intention to rush you," he replied. "But our transportation will arrive in approximately nine minutes."
Dagny was accustomed to being hurried along in the washroom. Peaceful moments in the lavatory aboard the Albret had been almost non-existent with so many Skjeggestads vying for time and space.
"I'll get my shoes on," she said, offering him a small smile.
His features remained smooth. He nodded his head and retreated down the hallway toward the front room without another word. She had imagined settling in with Dr. Voris would have its awkward moments but after the past twenty-four hours, she wondered if there would ever be any normal moments.
She shuffled back to his bedroom on heavy, aching legs and slumped down on the bed. She'd taken extra care that morning to remake it the way it had been by tucking the corners of the blanket at crisp ninety-degree angles, but it didn't look right.
She sighed and reached for her shoes, thinking it was probably a bad sign if she was already tired. He'd given her another dose of tri-ox compound that morning to help her adjust to the planet's punishing climate but there was no compound known to science that could make the feeling of suddenly doubling in body weight any less exhausting. She wasn't sure what the actual gravity on New Vulcan was, but it was brutal.
Dr. Voris said something from the other room and she was about to respond when she realized he was speaking in his native language. She held her breath and listened, not because she understood a word of what was being said, but because she was trying to intuit his tone.
Monotone speech was a way of life for Vulcans, but last night, she'd been trying to sleep when she'd overheard him speaking to someone in a surprisingly harsh tone. Harsh for a Vulcan, anyway. They had also been speaking in Vuhlkansu so she had no idea what the conversation was about, but Dr. Voris had seemed angry. She knew that probably hadn't been the case—Vulcans repressed their emotions, after all—but she'd sensed fleeting moments of irritation and anger that felt so real and so uncharacteristic of Vulcans.
Dagny mustered the strength to get back on her feet and trudge down the hallway. She found him waiting for her by the entry and pushing away her usual feelings of awkwardness, tried to hurry. He opened the door and she took a deep breath. Despite being early in the morning, it was already quite warm outside.
They made their way down the stairs to the curb and moments later, a vehicle came to a stop in front of them. She didn't immediately understand that it had stopped to pick them up: she had been expecting to take the train like yesterday. It was spacious inside and there was no driver or pilot of any kind. Dr. Voris went around the other side of the vehicle, programmed something into the computer in the front, took a seat next to her, and pulled out his PADD and sent a message.
As the car shot forward, she turned to gaze out the expansive side windows at her surroundings. She had wanted to do this yesterday on the train but she'd felt so sick and woozy she could barely keep her eyes open. The morning sun was still low on the horizon, but everything had a reddish brown tint. It was far more organized than Aldebaran had been—the streets were neat, even little rows and the buildings almost seemed arranged according to height. It was incredible to think they'd built all this in only two years.
"Are the environmental settings adequately adjusted for your comfort?"
She glanced over her shoulder at the doctor and nodded. Dagny was a little on the warm side, but it was much more tolerable than it had been the day before on the train and she supposed she was going to have to get used to it. This was her new home, after all.
They continued on in silence for a time, both of them facing away from each other and watching the scenery from their respective windows. When the city abruptly came to an end and the car pushed forward into the open desert, she turned to look at him. "Where are we going?"
"To the Kanunsh'es district hospital to meet with Dr. Govorski."
"I know, but isn't the city back there?" she asked, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.
"I live in the Va'ashiv district," he explained. "The Kanunsh'es district is fifteen kilometers north of it."
"How many people live on New Vulcan?"
"As of last month's census, I believe 34,248."
Dagny thought of the 2,896 people the Albret had saved from Vulcan's destruction. It was a number that had been seared in her memory since the first time she'd read Dr. Sevek's records. Before her mind could linger too long on the Albret, the vehicle passed a dilapidated settlement on the right. She saw two humans and a Vulcan boy dispassionately kicking a ball between them. Behind them, she could see other humans and a few Vulcans milling around between buildings with FESA labels printed on the sides.
"What is this place?" she asked without turning to look at Dr. Voris.
"It is the Komihn k'tur settlement."
"What is that? It looks like it's mostly humans."
"There is no exact translation, but Komihn k'tur loosely translates to others with logic," he explained. "They are non-Vulcans who follow Surak's teachings."
"Why do they live out here?" she asked, thinking the run-down settlement stood in stark contrast to the modern, pristine city center they'd just left.
"Many of the Komihn k'tur arrived on New Vulcan at its founding to assist with building and urban planning efforts. This was the site of temporary lodging for the Federation Emergency Services Agency workers."
"So they came and never left?"
"Most returned to their respective home worlds but the ones you see now are those who chose to remain; a handful of others who joined then later. Some stayed because they inter-married into the Vulcan population, others simply embraced Vulcan philosophies."
"These buildings look like they're falling apart."
"New Vulcan experiences frequent electrical and dust storms that have not been kind to these temporary shelters."
"But why wouldn't they move into the cities they helped build? Why stay here?"
"I am not well informed on the situation, but I believe they continue to live here because their citizenship is contested. They wish to be recognized as citizens of New Vulcan because they helped build it, yet they are not Vulcan."
"You said some of them married Vulcans though. Doesn't that count for something?"
"Under Vulcan's former constitution, those who married Vulcan citizens would have been granted automatic citizenship without the need to apply, but New Vulcan is currently governed by a transition charter that makes no mention of citizenship. This charter will expire after the upcoming elections, and whichever party gains a majority vote will draft a new constitution and decide the fate of the Komihn k'tur and other groups whose right to remain on the planet is in dispute."
"Like me?" she asked, thinking of her visa that was now only good for forty-eight more days.
"Yes, among others. There are several off-world corporations that wish to establish settlements on the planet and their right to do so will also be determined by the elections that are due to take place in eighteen days."
"And what's your opinion?"
"Clarify."
"What's your opinion on these Komihn k'tur?" she said, slurring over the Vulcan word because her tongue was too inexact to form it correctly.
"I am the only physician on New Vulcan with expertise in interspecies emergency medicine and as a result, I have treated many of them at the Va'ashiv district hospital. I believe them to be good people and their interest in Surak's teachings appears genuine."
"It sounds like you think people should only get to live here if they follow Surak's teachings."
"Your assumption is incorrect and based on faulty logic."
His flat tone made his words sound like a cold rebuke. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she turned to stare out the window again. They had already passed the Komihn k'tur settlement and she could see a city growing on the horizon.
"Will you permit me a personal query?"
"Hmmm?" she mumbled, sneaking a look at him.
"Will you allow me to ask a question that may have an answer that some would consider private?"
"You don't have to ask if you can ask," she responded, craning her neck to look him in the eye. "Just ask. We should probably try to get to know each other anyway, given the circumstances."
He gave a small nod of his head and after a brief pause asked, "You said you had not read Surak's teachings, but did you mean you had never read them, or that you had not read them in the original Vuhlkansu because you do not speak the language?"
"I've never read them in any language." She bit her lip, praying he wasn't trying to convert her to his religion, if logic really could be considered a religion. "Why do you ask?"
"When you were brought aboard the Sekla, you had a copy of The Teachings of Surak in your pocket."
She closed her eyes, remembering the immediate hours after regaining consciousness on the Vulcan ship that had rescued her. She'd spent a long time thumbing through the worn pages, staring at the loopy script and wishing she could find some meaning for the loss of her friends and family.
"The book was- it was- someone gave it to me. A Vulcan man named Tolik. He was reading it the first time I met him."
She glanced at Dr. Voris, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. He continued to watch her, almost as if he were expecting her to finish the story.
"I don't know why I used to carry it around sometimes," she sighed. "I'm sure you'd say that carrying a book you can't read is illogical and it probably is, but feeling its weight, sometimes it… it's hard to explain. I can't even really explain it to myself. Aside from the clothes on his back, I think that book was the only thing Tolik had left. He gave it to me before killed himself."
She touched the aquamarine necklace at her throat, wondering if there would ever be a day when she didn't feel like crying because she missed her family. That book had been the only thing remaining from Tolik's previous life, and now that book and Erik's necklace were the only things she had from her life on the Albret. She'd never thought about the psychology of why she carried Tolik's book in the front pocket of her medical smock, but she hadn't touched it ever since the Sekla had dropped her off on Valder Station.
"I grieve with thee," Dr. Voris said.
"I'm sorry to get emotional." Her voice started to crack as she finished her sentence. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"It was not my intention to cause you emotional distress."
"I know."
Why did every conversation with him feel so forced and awkward? Probably because they were both in a forced and awkward situation. She'd spent the last weeks on autopilot, surviving one day at a time, as Laura used to say. Her future had been up in the air, but now that it was starting to take shape, it was so terrifying and overwhelming. This planet, this place, and this man sitting next to her were all so alien in every sense of the word, and it had been hard to sleep the night before, knowing that this was her life now.
The vehicle dropped them off under a carriage porch of a multi-story building in a city that looked identical to the one they'd just left. She dreaded having to get back on her feet and move in the planet's impossible gravity, but she managed. She followed him to a desk halfway down a long hall, moving as quickly as she could manage but sensing he was slowing his pace dramatically for her.
A Vulcan woman behind the desk handed Dagny a PADD and directed her to take a seat in a nearby waiting room. Thankfully the form was in Standard and she had no problem answering the initial basic questions about herself and her medical history. When she got to a part where she was supposed to list any major illnesses and surgeries, she realized had little idea what procedures Dr. Voris had performed aboard the Sekla.
"Can you help me?" she whispered. "I don't really know how to answer some of this."
He cocked his head and studied the form. "Would you prefer I filled that portion out?"
She pursed her lips and nodded. It would be easier than having him recount in vivid detail how he'd treated her gruesome radiation sickness, bloody vomit and diarrhea and all, to a room full of Vulcan strangers. Mostly Vulcan, anyway.
There was a human woman with dark skin and a swollen belly sitting next to an older Vulcan man. Dagny had thought she and Dr. Voris must look like a strange couple, but these two were in a league of their own. The man looked old enough to be the woman's grandfather, and given the average Vulcan lifespan, he was probably literally old enough to be her great-grandfather. Surely they weren't married and having a baby together? When she saw them touch their first two fingers together in the most loving way, Dagny decided they must be.
The woman seemed to sense they were being watched and glanced in her direction, but Dagny was too slow to look away. Their eyes locked. Her face was so kind and radiated an unusual expression and for a half second, Dagny felt a connection to this stranger.
"Dagny Skjeggestad?" called a monotone female voice.
She looked around and saw a Vulcan nurse waiting by a set of double doors. She and Dr. Voris rose to their feet but the nurse stopped him. "Males are not permitted in these exam rooms."
Dagny wasn't sure what to say. A small part of her wanted him there—not only was he the father, he was a doctor and could probably ask better questions than she could—but a bigger part of her was grateful for this policy. What if she was asked to get undressed or undergo an internal examination? While there was very little of her that Dr. Voris hadn't seen on different occasions, it still felt weird.
Dagny shot him a nervous look. He seemed prepared to argue until the nurse added, "Dr. Govorski can meet with both of you in her office to answer any questions you may have once the exam is complete."
He gave a slight bow of his head, handed Dagny the PADD with her medical questionnaire, and resumed his seat. She followed the nurse through the double doors and into a dimly lit exam room.
After the nurse checked her vitals and transferred the data from her PADD to the hospital's computer, she handed her a thin black gown and said, "Completely undress and put this on. You may set your clothes in this bin. Dr. Govorski will be with you shortly."
Several minutes later, a human woman came in and shook her hand, introducing herself as Dr. Janice Govorski. She looked to be in her early fifties with hair caught between blond and gray and patient gray-blue eyes.
"Dr. Voris forwarded me your medical history the other day," she murmured. "I can see you've been through the ringer lately. I'm very sorry."
Dagny chewed her bottom lip and nodded. "Thank you."
"Well, let's get down to it. I see from your file that you sustained severe radiation poisoning and have received treatment and naturally conceived a Vulcan hybrid five days following exposure."
"That sounds about right." Dagny wondered what the woman must have been thinking, but everything about her was so placid and free of judgment.
"Did the doctors on Aldebaran perform a chromosomal scan on the embryo?"
"No," she replied. "They didn't have the equipment to do one so early in the pregnancy, but Dr. Knox explained there was a moderate chance something could be wrong."
Dr. Govorski offered a reassuring smile and rested her hand on Dagny's left shoulder. "I won't lie to you—there is a higher chance for chromosomal abnormalities in a natural conception and given the radiation exposure, I'd say it's an even better chance, but… we've come a long way in treating these things in utero and because you're so early into this pregnancy, we have a lot more options. Even if we do find something wrong, there's also a chance we can get it fixed and you can go on to have a healthy baby."
Tears of relief sprung from nowhere and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Dr. Govorski handed her a tissue from a box on the wall. "It seems like you've been under a lot of stress."
"I don't even know where to begin," Dagny choked, blowing her nose into the tissue. "Every day I wake up thinking things can't possibly get any worse or weirder and they always do. I just want to hear some good news for a change."
"I can appreciate that. So will you let me do this chromosomal scan and we can go from there?"
Dagny nodded and blew her nose again.
"Now I need you to scoot back and put your feet in these stirrups," she said, unfolding two long metal rods from the end of the biobed. "I'm going to insert this needle into your uterus through the vagina and collect about ten embryonic cells. Does that sound ok?"
Dagny wasn't entirely sure. She'd figured something like this might be coming, but she'd never had to submit to a pelvic exam. All of Dr. Knox's scans had been external and no one on the Albret had been qualified to do one. But she figured if everything turned out fine with the pregnancy, she'd have to find a way to get over her crippling modesty eventually.
She laid back, closed her eyes, and after a quick pinch and about thirty seconds of holding her breath, it was done. Dr. Govorski sent the sample for analysis and continued with a routine examination. The Vulcan nurse returned and took a set of blood samples and a urine sample and left.
"163 centimeters tall and only forty-six kilograms?" Dr. Govorski mused. "You're underweight, my dear. What is your diet like?"
"Regular, I guess? But maybe not anymore. Vulcans really seem to like soup."
Dr. Govorski laughed. "That they do. And they like it bland. I've lived with Vulcans for going on twenty years and I still have to add salt and pepper to most things."
"You've lived with Vulcans for that long?"
"I married a Vulcan healer right out of medical school."
"Have you seen a lot of cases like mine?" she asked, looking down at her knees and fumbling with her hands.
"I don't know exactly what you mean by 'a case like yours,' but the past two years have been like nothing I've ever seen. I've worked in interspecies obstetrics for most of my career and have cared for more human/Vulcan hybrid mothers in the past two years on New Vulcan than I did in twenty years of practice on Vulcan. I blame a lot of it on pon farr."
Dagny blinked and looked up. "Dr. Voris said people don't talk about that."
"Vulcans don't talk about it: I'm not Vulcan. I'm a human obstetrician who's up to her elbows in caring for the consequences of pon farr every day. I never understood the point in being so hush hush about a perfectly natural process."
"That's what happened," Dagny said, her voice hardly rising above a whisper. "Pon farr I mean. I barely know him and now I'm having a baby with him."
Dr. Govorski offered a solemn nod. "I'm much better with medical advice than I am with personal advice, but no matter what, you can confide in me, if there's something you think I should know or maybe something you're too embarrassed to talk about."
"He thought he raped me," she blurted, unsure why she was confessing these things to someone she'd only met ten minutes earlier, but Dr. Govorski's grandmotherly eyes made her feel safe. "But it wasn't like that at all. He saved my life and I came to him. He didn't want to but I begged him. And he's so kind, but…"
"It's scary having a baby under any circumstances," Dr. Govorski interrupted gently. "You can report anything to me that you like, you know. I want to put that out there, just in case you didn't know."
"I don't have anything to report. We were both going through a very bad time and now we're having a baby together and I'm scared and feel alone and I don't know what to do."
"As someone who's lived in this culture half my life, I can appreciate the unique challenges that come with it," the doctor replied. "I know sometimes it feels good to get things off your chest, but unfortunately, there really aren't a lot of resources available for you on this planet. That's another drawback to Vulcans—most of them think problems can be meditated away. It works well enough for them most of the time, but we're not Vulcans."
The Vulcan nurse returned with the results of Dagny's tests. She searched the woman's face for some clue of how everything had turned out, but her expression was completely Vulcan and neutral. Dr. Govorski skimmed the data on the PADD, nodding and smiling to herself.
"Would you like to know the baby's sex?"
"I was really hoping you could just tell me the baby's going to be ok."
"Everything looks fine from the chromosome scan. You're a different story. You're still a bit anemic and your yam'tan levels haven't come down as low as I would like, but these are easily treatable issues."
A faint ringing began in her ears as she tried to process the news. "So the baby's fine?"
"The baby's chromosomes look normal. I'm not going to lie to you—hybrid pregnancies in general tend to be a hard road and human/Vulcan pregnancies are some of the worst. You and baby aren't out of the woods yet, but this is a very promising start."
Dagny exhaled loudly. She started to laugh but clasped her hand over her mouth.
"So was that a yes or no to learning the sex?"
Her mother had always been superstitious about knowing the sex beforehand. Thinking it would be nice to honor her mother's traditions, she shook her head and said, "No. Whether it's a boy or girl, I'm just happy to know it has a chance."
"Well, we still have a lot to discuss. It's going to be a few weeks until we can pick up a heartbeat—that's the next big milestone for us. I'd like to see you every two weeks for the next three months to monitor your hormone levels. It's going to get a bit trickier after that, I'm afraid. Then there's-"
"Um, would it be possible for Dr. Voris to be part of this discussion?"
Dr. Govorski gave her an odd look. "I know Dr. Voris. He has a lot of experience in interspecies medicine, but he's not an obstetrician, which is why he referred you to me, but if you'd like to seek a second opinion-"
"I don't want him here as a doctor," she muttered. "He's um- he's the father."
The strange look on Dr. Govorski's face briefly transformed into one of shock. "Oh."
"He wanted to come back here with me but the nurse wouldn't let him, but she said he could meet with you in your office. I think it would make him feel better—not that he probably feels any way about it—but I think it would give him peace of mind, maybe? You know, discussing it with you?"
"Knowing Dr. Voris as I do, I think you're probably right. Why don't you get dressed and then let's go get him, shall we?"
Voris followed the nurse down the left hallway and found Dagny sitting hunched in a chair across from Dr. Govorski's desk. She looked up when he entered the room, but he already had a sense that she'd received welcome news. Her face bore signs of unmistakable relief, which he could also vaguely sense through their bond if he focused his thoughts on it.
"Everything's ok," she breathed, biting down on her lower lip. "The baby's chromosomes are normal."
"Hello, Dr. Voris," Dr. Govorski murmured, motioning for him to sit.
"Dr. Govorski," he nodded, taking a seat in the hard chair next to Dagny.
"As Dagny has already told you, the results from the chromosomal scan look good."
"May I see them for myself?"
"I thought you might ask," she answered, giving him a smile and holding out a PADD.
He scoured the results of the digital array for a full minute and noting no obvious anomalies in chromosome number or major deletions, duplications, or translocations, he started examining Dagny's blood work. "The levels of human pregnancy-associated plasma protein A appear to be low," he mused.
"They are on the low side of normal, but that's unsurprising because of the persistence of yam'tan."
"From my research, low levels of this protein may indicate and increased the risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth."
"What?" Dagny gasped.
Dr. Govorski glanced at Dagny. "Studies have gone back and forth on that for years and all of the data we have comes from typical human pregnancies. Dagny's levels are a bit low, but still in the normal range. I intend to increase her dose of lentrazole to decrease the Vulcan pregnancy hormones and we'll see if things improve."
He scanned through Dr. Govorski's notes. "Will not increasing the daily dosage of lentrazole to 250 ccs put her at greater risk of hypertension?"
"It will, which is why I'm also sending her home with a daily dose of apropamine to keep her blood pressure in check."
"And I see her hemoglobin levels are only 10.5 grams per deciliter, which is also low."
"Given the recent radiation sickness, I'd say those numbers are actually pretty good. I've already talked with Dagny about gaining weight, but I'm going to prescribe a daily prenatal injection that's formulated with an extra dose of iron to combat this anemia." She glanced over at Dagny. "You're going to have to get used to shots, I'm afraid."
"When do you intend to start a regimen of immunosuppressants and which ones do you plan to prescribe? I read in a recent Rigelian medical journal that sixth generation corticosteroids may have detrimental effects on fetuses or lead to preterm labor when administered too early in the pregnancy."
"I had read that too and although the data was inconclusive, I tend to prescribe nalaproline at around three months anyway,' Dr. Govorski explained.
He saw Dagny move out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see her rising to her feet.
"Is anything the matter?" he asked.
"I'm just going to the lavatory. Don't mind me."
Voris turned back to Dr. Govorski and started to ask about which prenatal vitamins she planned to prescribe, but the moment the door closed behind Dagny, she raised her hand to cut him off. "Dr. Voris, I realize that it's easy for the doctor in us to come out in times like these, but you referred Dagny to me. Maybe this is none of my business, but I think you could make it easier on her if you treated her more like a partner than a patient. You're talking about her like she isn't even in the room."
"I am merely trying to ensure I am adequately informed with the latest research," he argued.
"I understand, but I think you're needlessly scaring her, throwing out terms like spontaneous abortion and stillbirth."
"Both of which are possible even in typical pregnancies," he replied. "It is logical to consider these potential negative outcomes."
"Logical, maybe. But from where I'm sitting, it's only logical to consider if there's something she can do to prevent these things from happening and in most cases, there isn't. These pregnancies are difficult and a lot of it is sitting and waiting for something to go wrong. She already has a lot to worry about—I don't want to make it any worse."
"I would argue there are things she can do which may have a greater chance of providing a more optimal outcome," he countered. "She suffered from radiation poisoning and poor nutrition just prior to conception and-"
"Believe it or not, despite the prior radiation sickness, I'd actually categorize her as pretty low-risk, relatively speaking," Dr. Govorski interrupted. "Hers is one of the best chromosomal scans I've seen in a hybrid pregnancy in a while and that's including artificially conceived embryos. Dagny may not be in ideal shape at the moment, but the embryo looks pretty good and she's got plenty of time to put on a few kilograms and get her iron levels up before this pregnancy starts getting trickier."
Voris nodded and glanced down at the PADD in his hands.
"If you want my advice, the absolute best thing you could do to increase the chances of getting through this with a healthy mom and baby would be to get off this planet. I don't know if that's possible, but as her pregnancy progresses, the heat and gravity here make things really complicated."
"Yet you are located here and are widely regarded as the leading expert in human/Vulcanoid hybrid pregnancies."
"Thank you," she smiled. "But believe it or not, about half of my patients aren't on New Vulcan. I get calls and messages for consults at all hours of the day from all over the Federation. I know you've done your research and I know you know that after the fifth month of her pregnancy, her body temperature is going to have to be closely monitored. If she overheats, the fetus will almost certainly die and stands a good chance of taking her with it."
Voris nodded and set the PADD on the edge of Dr. Govorski's desk. "I had intended keep the environmental settings in my home at an adequate level for her physiology."
"Use some of that logic your people are famous for, Dr. Voris. We've come a long way in two years, but the power grid still has occasional failures. Remember the electrical storms last year? No power for six days."
Voris remembered quite well. The hospital had been chaos and he had been forced to perform an emergency appendectomy on a human patient using a portable headlamp and a laser scalpel. "Where do you recommend she go?"
"Somewhere she won't be confined to a house and dependent on environmental controls to keep her body temperature down. Aside from being good for her physically, it would probably be good for her sanity too. Anywhere with a reasonably cool climate should do fine. Andoria might be a little extreme, but some of the cooler regions of Earth, Rigel VII, Deneva, the lunar colonies… There are a lot of possibilities."
"I shall investigate options and confer with her."
"There's no rush. You have a few months before this will become an issue but in the meantime, you have the list of everything I'm prescribing to her. I can give them to you as autoinjectors or hypospray canisters: whichever is easier. I was going to have the nurse show her how to inject herself, just in case you're not always around."
"She's a paramedic," he replied.
"Oh, she didn't mention it," Dr. Govorski frowned. "Either way, we'll go through this list of prescriptions with her in detail so she knows what to expect."
Dagny returned a moment later, her face slightly red. He detected a momentary sense of embarrassment as she returned to her seat. Dr. Govorski spent the next half hour going through the medications Dagny would need to take and what she should expect as the pregnancy progressed. He continued to experience her fleeting emotions of anxiety, relief, and frustration.
It was early afternoon by the time they left the Kanunsh'es district hospital. Voris carried a box of hypospray canisters with Dagny's prescriptions and attempted to be mindful of his pace. She moved so slowly, but he knew the gravity and her mild anemia were causing her to be easily fatigued.
He called for another automated taxi and they waited quietly in the lobby for it to arrive. She sat in the corner and closed her eyes and he sat next to her to begin researching planets with optimal climates to relocate to. Earth would be the most suitable location, as he'd previously lived there and could easily continue practicing medicine.
"Excuse me," said the high-pitched voice of a child.
He glanced up to see a Vulcan boy of about ten addressing Dagny. She opened her eyes and sat up more straightly. "Yes?"
"I remember you. You fixed my broken arm. My mother has told me of the loss of your ship and I am very sorry. I grieve with thee."
The look on Dagny's face was difficult to identify and her emotions were suddenly powerful and chaotic. Voris struggled to suppress the feelings flowing into his consciousness from her, but he noticed she seemed to be making a valiant effort to do this for herself.
"Thank you," she said to the boy, giving him a small nod.
"Live long and prosper," replied the boy, showing her the ta'al.
She returned the gesture and nodded. Voris could see her chin quivering and the first drops of moisture welling in the corners of her eyes. As the boy turned to resume his seat, she erupted into a fit of tears. Many people in the front lobby turned to identify the source of the outburst. Voris had not seen her cry this way since he'd told her of the Albret's fate.
"Dagny?" he murmured, setting the hypospray canisters on a nearby chair. "Dagny, please."
He gripped her hands but she pulled away. She continued to look away into the corner and sob, and amid her overpowering feelings of sadness, loneliness, and fear, he detected incredible embarrassment. He took her hands again and began tracing his fingers over hers.
Ozh'esta was a practice only performed between bonded mates. She wasn't his mate in any formal sense, but they did share a telepathic mating bond and he was unsure of any other method of calming her. It took her nearly a minute to for her to regain her composure, but as her sadness started to fade, the feelings of embarrassment only grew.
Fortunately their transportation arrived quickly and he ushered her into the back of the taxi without further incident. She leaned her head against the interior panel of the door and closed her eyes. He received an incoming transmission on his PADD but silenced it before it could disturb her.
"It was not my intention to frighten you in Dr. Govorski's office," he said.
"I know," she replied without opening her eyes. "You were asking good questions; I'm glad you were there."
He turned his attentions to the passing scenery. The forward monitor indicated the outside temperature was forty-eight degrees Celsius and he once again considered Dr. Govorski's recommendation to relocate to a cooler climate. Earth was the most logical choice, but it occurred to him he ought to ask Dagny where she wished to go. She hadn't been enthusiastic when Earth had been mentioned before. He turned to her but before he could speak, she said, "I'm really sorry I caused a scene. I'm really overwhelmed with all of this."
"That is… understandable."
"I'm so relieved and afraid and sad and tired and out of place all at the same time."
"I know."
He decided to postpone the discussion of relocating for a time when she was less emotional. Dagny slept for the final fifteen minutes of their drive and was slow to wake when he shook her on the shoulder as the vehicle pulled into his housing complex. He theorized she was growing dehydrated and was overdue for a midday meal; Voris decided to rectify those things the moment they got indoors.
The instant he opened the door for her, the heat seemed to sap the last reserves of her energy, but she refused all offers of assistance. They were halfway up the stairs to his apartment when he caught sight of a man standing by his front door studying something on a PADD.
Dagny noticed him too and whispered, "Who is that?"
"That is my father, Silek."