Stardate 2260.83

Dagny blinked her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit transporter room. She heard a gasp and saw someone move straight ahead, but she couldn't quite make out a face.

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

A pained smile instinctively appeared on Dagny's face. She would recognize Ann Svendsen's voice anywhere. She stepped down from the transporter pad into a warm embrace and soon, both of them were wiping away the beginnings of tears.

"How have you been?" Ann asked.

Dagny bit her lip.

"Oh, that's a stupid question, if I ever asked one," Ann sighed, wringing her hands together. "What I meant to ask is, how are you getting on?"

Dagny sensed Voris standing just behind her and turned to look at him. The three of them exchanged awkward looks and it occurred to Dagny that Ann probably didn't know about the entire situation with the Vulcan doctor. She doubted if Voris would have said anything; Vulcans were so private, after all. She would have to tell Ann about the baby eventually, but it hardly seemed the time or place. There was a human man standing behind the transporter controls that Dagny didn't know and she wasn't eager to start spilling the whole uncomfortable story right then and there.

"Well, I'm alive and I'm here," Dagny finally said.

"That you are." Ann let go of Dagny and turned to Voris. "And it's good to see you again, doctor. You have no idea how much the colony needs you. Needs you both."

"It is our honor to serve."

Dagny craned her neck to look at Voris. It was such an odd thing to say, a very Vulcan thing to say, but it also seemed to fit the moment quite well.

"We have some catching up to do," Ann said, shifting her focus back to Dagny.

"Perhaps I should excuse myself," Voris said, moving in the direction of their five trunks.

"Nonsense. Let's get you settled into your quarters first. We still have the bunk set up in the back of the makeshift clinic." She turned to Dagny and added, "You know how it is: not much privacy on cargo ships."

Dagny winced. She'd wondered what kind of sleeping arrangements she would be walking into. It certainly seemed like Ann thought they were partners, but she wasn't sure if that bothered her or not, because she wasn't sure if it was true or not.

Voris and the human man loaded the five crates onto a gravity jack and they followed Ann down the darkened narrow corridor to the upper deck where they stopped in front of a small door. The Oglethorpe was small for a cargo vessel, only about a third of the size of the Albret and sported eight designated sleeping compartments, meaning the crew and passengers were already sleeping three and four to a room.

Their home for the next month turned out to be a retrofitted storage compartment, probably no bigger than nine square meters with a bunk bed in the corner and what looked like makeshift cots and blankets piled along the opposite wall.

"This was our temporary emergency clinic, along with the lockers across the way," Ann explained, waving her hand around the tiny space. "Dr. Voris could tell you, it was chaos. Touch and go. But we got through it, like we always do. Lost two people though."

"I'm sorry," Dagny replied.

"It is what it is," Ann grimaced. "But thank you just the same."

Dagny glanced at the bunk bed and then snuck a look at Voris. She'd slept in bunks her entire life and was used to the sounds and sensations of people fidgeting and snoring above and below, but she wasn't accustomed to sharing a space with him. His face remained motionless so she couldn't even begin to guess what his opinion on the sleeping situation was.

"Now, there's no replicator in here. There aren't replicators in any of the quarters, but we have a proper mess on the deck below. I'm happy to give you a tour or perhaps the good doctor can show you what's what."

"What additional duties have we been assigned?"

"No need to worry about any of that," Ann laughed. "Just do what you've always done and see to the medical side of things."

"I don't mind. I really wouldn't feel right-"

"You're your father's daughter, through and through," Ann sighed. "Never wanting a free ride." The mention of her father stung in a way she hadn't expected. Ann must have seen something in Dagny's face, because she added, "Trust me, you'll have your work cut out for you at Bergeron colony. Enjoy the downtime while you can. If you really get bored, I suppose there are always injectors to scrub."

"I should check up on some of my previous patients," Voris announced from behind her. "Is Captain Diels available?"

"He is. He's on the bridge," Ann replied.

"If you will both excuse me."

Dagny glanced down at her feet. The moment the door slid shut behind him, Ann asked, "So how are you really?"

She would have preferred to lead up to it, but she didn't really see the point in dancing around the issue. "I'm having a baby."

Ann didn't immediately react, but after several seconds she crossed her arms and uttered a slow sigh. "Congratulations?"

Dagny barked an almost bitter laugh. "I think you're the first person who's said that."

"I've known you ever since you were born," Ann replied. "I know you're all grown up now and it's your own life, and I certainly don't want to pry, but-"

"It's his baby. Voris, I mean."

"Oh. Wow."

"I know."

"He seems like a good enough man."

"He is."

"And he treats you well?"

"He does, but we're not- we're not married or together or anything. We're just having a baby together."

Ann's eyes shifted uncomfortably. Words started falling from Dagny's mouth and she rambled for fifteen minutes, doing her best to explain the situation as delicately as she could, leaving out the more technical aspects like pon farr, and by the end she was sobbing. She and Ann sat down on the edge of the bed and Ann rubbed her back and listened.

"I don't know what to do," Dagny choked. "Every morning for the last month I've woken up and it all feels so surreal. Like this is happening to someone else."

"Oh, now," Ann whispered. "You're no stranger to hard times or strange circumstances. If there's anything I know about you, it's that you'll do what you know is right in your heart."

"Do you think my family would be disappointed in me?"

"Not for a second. Your parents loved you and your brothers and sisters so much. Your mother was younger than you and not married to your father when she came down with Aksel."

"But I don't know that I want to marry Voris. I don't know that he wants to marry me."

"And that's all well enough, just as long as you both take care of that little one. There's no right way to be, Dagny."

"I've tried to imagine how they would react when I told them and I can almost see papa crying."

"He might well have done. He knew how much you wanted to go to school. If he were going to be disappointed about anything, it would be that having a baby would set you back. But he wouldn't be angry. He wouldn't hate his first grandchild. Your mother and father would love you no matter what, probably even if you killed someone."

"I miss them so much," Dagny cried, hugging Ann tighter. Ann hugged her right back and replied with a shaking voice, "I know. I do too."

They sat that way for several minutes, with fresh tears occasionally springing up between them. For the first time since losing her family, she felt like she was talking to someone who understood exactly what she'd lost.

"You're not alone, Dagny," Ann finally said, seemingly reading her mind. She dabbed the corners of her eyes with her index fingers. "Me and Jon will help you any way we can."

Dagny took several deep breaths. "You don't know how much it means to hear you say that."

"I know I'm a poor substitute for your mother, but I still care about you. I'm sorry we haven't spoken in so long."

Dagny wiped her nose on her sleeve and nodded briskly. "I still wonder what mama would say about all this."

"It's an odd situation, no question about it, but I think it goes without saying your mother loved babies. She had fourteen of them. She never thought she'd get any grandchildren out of you—you were always so set on going to school and being a doctor. So, I imagine she'd be overjoyed."

"I doubt she thought she'd have any non-human grandkids."

Ann laughed. "She was never the type of person to care about something like that. Your mother was sold on anything she could cradle in her arms that would look up at her with innocent wonder. That baby could have scales and tentacles and razor-sharp fangs and she would have still loved it to bits. Your father too."

Dagny massaged her forehead and sinuses and looked around the cramped compartment for something to use to blow her nose. Seeing what she intended, Ann pulled a small purse from her pocket and offered her a tissue.

"I take it you still get nosebleeds?" Dagny asked.

"The dry recirculated air in these cabins will be the death of me one day."

"And how's your blood pressure? Still high?"

"Who's supposed to be looking after who now?" Ann teased. "I'm a picture of health as of a few days ago, according to the Vulcan doctor."

"I don't know much about him, but he is a good doctor," Dagny agreed, her voice hollow and monotone. "I would be dead right now if it wasn't for him."

"Well, it sounds like I owe Dr. Voris more than I thought I did."

"Yeah," Dagny sniffed.

"Are you ok?"

"No, not really," Dagny admitted. "But I think I will be. Someday."

"Right then. Are you ok with bunking with him? He said you were living together so I sort of assumed you were partners, but-"

"It'll be fine. I don't want to put anyone else out."

"You wouldn't be. Me and Nicolas are sharing a cabin. I could move Nicolas in here with Dr. Voris and you could come stay with me, or-"

"It's ok, really. I should be getting to know him anyway. We're having a baby together."

"You're sure?"

"Am I sure I'm having a baby?"

Ann rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah, I do. This compartment is fine and I'll be alright in here with Voris."

"Right then, I should be getting back down to engineering," Ann sighed, slapping her knees and rising to her feet. "Are you ok for now?"

"I am."

"We'll be breaking orbit soon. It'll be four days to Nausicaa and another twenty-one days back to Cestus III from there."

"Yes, I know. Will I see you in the mess later?"

"I take my breakfast at around 0630 hours. Hope to see you. And Voris. I'd like to get to know him better."

After Ann left, Dagny released Harold from his temporary prison and he raced in circles around the small room. She was physically tired but she didn't feel capable of sleeping. It wasn't even 0100 hours, so the lights around the ship were currently only at thirty percent to keep the crew and passengers on a standard night/day cycle. She had missed living on a ship.

She started going through the trunks to find her personal effects, but the first one revealed standard medical supplies. She shut the lid and tried to lift it so as to get at the trunk underneath, but it was impossibly heavy. She could find someone who could lend her a gravity jack—an unlikely proposition at that hour of the day—or she could wait for Voris to come back and help her.

She scowled. She hated relying on him for everything. She decided accessing her clothes wasn't an emergency, so she popped the lid on the top trunk back open and stared at the medical supplies. Taking up much of the left corner was a chemical analyzer, far more sophisticated than anything Dagny had ever seen. She would love to learn to use it, and thought of Voris' offer to tutor her. She wanted to be a doctor and he was willing to help her achieve that goal, but that just meant one more occasion where she would be dependent upon him.

On the right side was a standard medical kit and she lifted the lid for no reason in particular. The moment she caught sight of the tricorder, she began dueling with a powerful impulse.

She wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat. All tricorders came equipped with acoustic enhancers to amplify internal body sounds and this one was certainly sensitive enough to detect a fetal heartbeat. She just wanted to know everything was ok.

She suddenly felt queasy. The logical side of her brain knew she was setting herself up for disappointment. She was only at four weeks gestation, which put the fetal age at about two weeks. The absolute earliest she could find a heartbeat wouldn't be for another week or so. Even still, she pulled the tricorder out and gently fingered the settings on the front.

The whooshing sound of the door behind her made her jump. She spun around to see Voris standing in the threshold. She wasn't sure why she felt like she'd been caught red-handed, but she quickly put the tricorder back in its case and asked, "How are your patients?"

"Many of them are off-duty and asleep. I will have to wait until morning to check up on them."

"Ah."

"What are you doing?"

"I was uh- I was just looking through some of your equipment."

"It is your equipment also."

"Not really," she laughed. "You're the one who bought it and I don't know how to use most of it."

He cocked his head. "Would you like to learn how to use it?"

Dagny chewed the inside of her cheek, wishing the wave of anxious nausea would pass. "Honestly? Yes."

"Then let's begin."

"Right now?"

"Did you have a prior engagement?"

"No, I just… it's really late and I don't think you've slept since you got back."

"Vulcans do not require as much rest as humans."

"Ok, but still: you're not a machine. You still have to sleep sometime."

"And I intend to, later this evening," he replied. "Do you require rest at this time?"

"No," she mumbled, looking at the bunk bed. "And I wanted to ask you earlier but I didn't want to make things weird in front of Ann but… um, are you ok with sleeping in here with me?"

"I would prefer to give you your privacy, but I understand concessions must be made with limited available space. Should you desire I sleep elsewhere, I-"

"No," she interrupted. "I'm fine with it if you are. Do you want to be up top or on bottom?"

"I would advise you to sleep below, in the event of an emergency."

She almost laughed and was about to tell him she'd slept on top bunks for most of her life and wasn't exactly prone to falling out of them, but decided she didn't really care where she slept so there was no point in possibly starting an argument over it.

Voris moved the trunks around and they set to unpacking, spreading their linens over the bunks and hanging clothing on high bars mounted on the ceiling. Dagny set the case with her medications underneath her bed so she'd have access to it and after she fed Harold a quick meal, Voris pulled out the chemical analyzer and started showing her the inner machinery the theories behind how it worked. He showed her how to calibrate and perform maintenance on it and eventually he showed her how to test compounds. She had thought he would be a boring teacher, but he was supportive and patient with her questions, so patient in fact that four hours flew by before Dagny thought to look at the time. They tested a number of compounds for content and purity, everything from a few strands of Harold's fur to some of her medications.

It was the longest conversation they'd ever had, and also the easiest and most relaxed. It was purely professional and unrelated to the circumstances that had brought them together. It was nice. At around 0615 hours, Dagny was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, but remembering her promise to Ann, followed Voris in the direction of the ship's mess. She trailed behind him for a few meters but he stopped in the middle of the corridor.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I was simply waiting for you. I am content to walk at your pace."

She wasn't sure why, but it made her smile.

Stardate 2260.109

Voris' ears detected a soft groan, causing his eyes to flick open. He'd been dozing but he wasn't sure how long he'd been between states of consciousness. He sat forward on the trunk and peered at Dagny. She was asleep and lying on her belly on the lower bunk, her right cheek half on the bed and half hanging in a tall bucket. The acrid smell of stomach acid hung in the air.

She had been nauseated for most of their journey and had vomited every single day for the past nineteen days. It grew worse in the evenings and throughout the night but waned somewhat in the late mornings and afternoons. He gave her anti-emetics, but they only provided limited relief. Four days ago, he'd been forced to administer intravenous fluids to keep her hydrated but since then, she'd been able to keep the majority of her recent meals down. Still, he continued to monitor her closely, checking the hormone and iron levels in her blood once daily and performing qualitative exams to check her hydration levels as needed.

He knew nausea and vomiting were common in the early stages of human pregnancy due to hormonal changes in the body but he'd still sent a subspace consult to Dr. Govorski, asking if there were alterations he could make to Dagny's medications to ease her discomfort. Unfortunately, Dr. Govorksi had no suggestions to offer, other than the same anti-emetics he'd already prescribed and countless natural remedies such as peppermint tea and carbonated water.

He sat up and caught his PADD just before it slipped from his lap. He'd been researching foods human females could tolerate during the early stages of pregnancy. Several times she'd woken up and either vomited or gagged and though he was a poor substitute for a proper nurse, he'd fetched her water to rinse her mouth or cool, wet cloths for her face despite her protests.

The current time was 0645 and the customary period of first meal was underway on the Oglethorpe. She had only been asleep for an hour but she needed to eat and could return to bed once she was finished. He stood and gently touched her shoulder.

She didn't move, so he knelt down and nudged her more insistently. She uttered a low moan and rolled onto her back.

"Dagny?"

"Hmmm?" Her eyes remained closed.

"It is time to take your breakfast."

"No," she muttered.

"Yes."

"I can't," she replied, taking a few breaths. "There's no way I can hold it down."

"You did not eat end meal, nor did you retain the majority of your midday meal from yesterday."

She smacked her lips and grimaced, but still she did not open her eyes. He waited several more seconds until she began a series of soft snores.

"Dagny?"

"I'm up," she grunted. Despite her statement, she did not actually sit up. She did not do anything.

"Will you come eat?"

"I'm so tired."

"If I bring food back to the cabin, will you make an attempt to eat it?"

"Ok," she sighed. Her head rolled over on the pillow and she scratched her stomach. She did not appear to be fully conscious, but that was unsurprising. In addition to nausea, fatigue was also common in early human pregnancies and she hadn't been sleeping regularly because she was so often sick at night.

"I shall return within the half hour," he said, but it was evident she was already asleep. He passed Ann and her son Nicolas leaving the mess as he entered it.

"How is Dagny doing?" Ann asked.

He didn't prefer to discuss her condition with others on the ship out of respect for her privacy, but Ann was a distant relative and she and Dagny were quite fond of each other, so he replied, "She remains unwell, but neither she nor the child are in danger."

"Good news, bad news then. I've got to hurry along to engineering, but would it be alright if I stopped in and saw her this evening?"

"I am sure she would welcome you."

"Dr. Voris?" someone called from behind him.

Voris turned to see Captain Diels striding in his direction. "Good morning, captain."

Ann and Nicolas exchanged quick pleasantries with the captain before disappearing down the corridor. As they left, Diels turned to Voris and said, "I was heading up for breakfast and figured I see you here. The comms chief received a message on subspace for you a few hours ago. I was actually sent over two weeks ago, but it got hung up on a faulty relay beacon and we only just now got it." He offered Voris a small glass PADD.

"Thank you."

"Are you on your way in to breakfast?" Diels asked, gesturing to the mess.

"I am."

"Mind if I join you? Haven't gotten to talk to you much since we broke orbit of New Vulcan. Unless you want to read your message, of course…"

"As you said, it has waited for more than two weeks to reach me. I am uncertain twenty additional minutes would matter," Voris replied, glancing at the header on the screen and seeing the message came from First Minister Sarek.

He suspected the message contained news of the elections on New Vulcan and while was curious about the outcome, he was no longer living on New Vulcan and the election results no longer directly impacted his life.

"So we'll be at the colony in thirty-four hours," Diels announced, crossing his arms. "You got everything packed up?"

"I do. We are prepared to disembark."

They entered the mess. "I wanted to catch up with you to say congratulations. Word is your wife's got a bun in the oven," Diels grinned, walking over to one of the two replicators on the far wall.

"I do not understand," Voris said, following him to the neighboring replicator. "We do not have an oven aboard this ship. And I am not married to Dagny."

"Oh, um, I meant Dagny is expecting a baby."

"She is." Voris did not understand the human need to fawn over biological processes like reproduction. Pregnancy and childbirth were both natural things, but Vulcans considered it impolite to discuss such things outside of family circles.

"My wife is due within the month," Diels said, collecting two bowls from the dispenser tray. "If this one survives, it'll be our first."

Voris raised an eyebrow and perused the familiar selection. He decided to forgo collecting food for Dagny until it was time to leave and ordered himself a bowl of porridge and fruit. It was not a traditional Vulcan breakfast, but it was adequate enough. He took a seat across from the captain at one of the small metal tables by the door.

"I'm so thankful you've agreed to come," Diels said, scooping a heap of grains and dried fruit soaked in milk onto a spoon. "Khel lost two babies already. Aisla works as a nurse, but she's Orion and doesn't have a lot of experience working with other species."

He sensed the captain expected him to converse during their meal. Voris was not exceptionally skilled in the human art of talking small, but he had a fair amount of practice from his tenure at an Earth hospital. Though Voris was a physician, this was not a professional situation and it was inappropriate for two males to discuss matters of female biology, particularly as it pertained to their mates.

He analyzed the information Diels had revealed and selected the least intrusive item upon which to comment. "You say the colony has a nurse—does it have other individuals with any medical training?"

"We have some people who know some basic first aid," Diels admitted. "But no one is really qualified to do more than patch up a scraped knee. In this day and age, we shouldn't be losing people to sickness and childbirth, but it's happened a few times since Dr. Velara died. It's hard."

"I understand."

"Do you have a lot of experience… you know, caring for hybrid babies and their mothers and such?"

"No," Voris admitted. "But I am trained in interspecies medicine."

Diels' brow furrowed and he took a large bite of his food. "My wife, Khel, she's Romulan. It seems like there are a lot of similarities between your species, but I don't really know."

"There are."

"So you think you'll be able to help her?"

"I cannot make that determination until I examine her."

"She's just been through so much. We all have. We're so grateful to you."

"I come to serve. I will do what I can for her, as well as the other colonists."

"And I also wanted to thank you, you know, for not saying anything about Rhaal."

Voris nodded. He'd disliked falsifying his reports. There was no logic in lying, but neither was there logic in persecuting a dead man. Sunayana, the woman with the wild hair who had stayed with Rhaal until he died had remained behind on Nausicaa, presumably to finish his quest to retrieve his children from the Romulan Star Empire.

Voris and Diels sat in silence for the rest of their short meal and when they were finished, the captain returned to the bridge and Voris turned his attention to the clear glass PADD. It was a short and uncomplicated communique.

Dr. Voris—

The elections have passed and boded well for the Storilayar party. I have been elected First Minister, and your father, Minister of State. May your new life on Cestus III be both long and prosperous.

—Sarek

Voris considered the news. The possible success of the conservative Ba'taklar party had been a minor factor into his decision to relocate, but this development changed very little. His father still wanted nothing to do with him, Dagny, or the child, the planet's climate was still harsh, and there were still few opportunities on New Vulcan for Dagny. He decided he would meditate on the matter when he was able.

He made his way back to the replicator to select the most balanced meal for Dagny that he believed her upset stomach would tolerate based on his research. Unfortunately, most information in the databases was anecdotal—if some females reported craving one food, others would report vomiting at the mere thought of it.

Dagny's experimental diet had been largely trial and error over the past week and she'd had little success in finding suitable foods that she could retain. The few foods she'd successfully kept down, russet potatoes and cucumbers, were lacking in substantial nutritional value.

He carried a meal of toast with almond butter, dried bananas, orange slices, and lemon tea back to their quarters. It took some coaxing to rouse her from her sleep but she eventually sat up and nibbled at the toast. After a few bites, she offered him a thin-lipped smile. "Thank you so much for this."

"Your gratitude is unnecessary. It is my duty."

"Your duty?"

"Yes." He leaned over to pick up the emesis bucket by her bedside.

She took a small sip of the tea and waved him away. "Oh, you don't have to do that. I'll clean it up."

"You are eating and I am momentarily unoccupied. It is only logical."

"Voris, please. You've taken really good care of me, but please, just let me do that."

Her request was quite illogical but he acquiesced rather than argue over such a trivial thing. She ate slowly but managed to consume everything he'd brought for her. When she was finished, she set her dish to the side and checked her iron and hormone levels.

Her eyes scanned the tricorder screen. "Everything looks good."

"And your nausea?" he asked.

"A constant companion, but not as bad as it has been. The trick seems to be to eat a lot of small snacks: never stay too hungry or too full."

"My research has indicated human females who report nausea and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy are seventy-three percent less likely to miscarry."

Dagny swallowed hard and smiled. "I've always heard that but had never read any studies on it."

Several seconds of silence passed and Voris was contemplating excusing himself to one of the deserted cargo bays to meditate when she asked, "Do you wonder what our baby will look like? What it will be like?"

"Studies of interspecies genetics indicate the child will heavily favor many of my traits."

"I figured as much. Ambassador Spock is half human but I wouldn't have known that just by looking at him."

"Ambassador Spock is only one example. While his features are exceptionally Vulcan, not all hybrids between our species present a predominantly Vulcan appearance."

She crossed her legs on the bed and turned to face him. "How so?"

"The chromosomal scans from the embryo show typical Vulcan pattern development. The reason many naturally conceived hybrids fail to develop beyond the early weeks is due to chromosomal mismatches involving physiological structures. As you are aware, both of our species possess organs that the other lacks and the placement of shared organs differs in some cases. There are also considerable differences in the composition of the brain, with Vulcans having a far more developed midbrain. The only hybrids that have survived are those that have inherited Vulcan characteristics, either by chance or engineering."

"So our baby will look like you."

"Internally, yes. But there are a number of less vital human traits that can appear in hybrid offspring."

"Like what?"

"Skin color, eye color, hair color and texture-"

"Are you saying we could have a redheaded Vulcan baby?" she laughed.

"It is extremely unlikely, as hair color presents in a typical dominant and recessive pattern and there are no members of my family with light-colored hair going back many generations."

"Oh."

"But there is a possibility it could inherit your hair texture. My father's hair is straight, but my forefather possessed thicker, wavy hair, as does my Uncle Sarek. Furthermore, my mother and my sister T'Liri had blue eyes; it is possible our child could also."

She offered a genuine smile for the first time in days. "Interesting."

"There are other traits that are controlled by multiple genes that reflect polygenic inheritance and can be expressed in an additive or subtractive fashion. For example, the arched ariculae found in Vulcan ears is controlled by four known genes and depending upon genetic composition, they may be longer and more arched or shorter and less arched. My ear shape is fairly intermediate and resembles the ear shape of the vast majority of the Vulcan population, but because human ear shape is less variable, it is likely our child will have less arched ears than I do and there is a small yet distinct possibility it might develop ears that do not greatly differ from your own in phenotypic expression."

"So we could have a Vulcan baby with round human ears?"

"It is unlikely, but it is possible."

"Is there any way to tell from looking at the chromosomal scan?"

He reached into his breast pocket, extracted his personal PADD, found the files Dr. Govorski had sent him relating to Dagny, and opened the embryo's scan. "As you can see here, this is the overview of the child's twenty-three chromosome pairs. It only shows there are no severe abnormalities in chromosome number, shape, pairing, or fusion that would be incompatible with life."

"I had thought it was more concrete than that," she replied, frowning. "Dr. Govorski said it had a good chance of being born healthy."

He switched over to the long report, showing her the computer analysis of the embryo's genetic code. "Detailed analysis of each chromosome pair shows fairly typical arrangements in the genetic material. The embryo does not differ very significantly from non-hybrid Vulcans, thus indicating the likelihood for survival is very high indeed. Ninety-four percent, according to this report."

She uttered a heavy sigh and nodded. "Can I see it? I don't really know what I'm looking at, but I'm just curious."

"Genetics is not my field, but I can attempt to explain anything you wish to understand."

She moved her body so that she was sitting next to him and held the PADD out so they could both see it. On days when her nausea had subsided enough for her to function, he had taught her how to use the pharmaceutical synthesizer, the chemical analysis unit, and the large tissue regenerator he had brought with them. It had required many remedial lessons in biochemistry and physics, but though she was poorly and haphazardly educated, she was extremely intelligent and most importantly, willing to learn.

"So if the scan can determine that this is an acceptable combination of our genetic material, why can it not also give some indications about certain traits?"

"There are programs that can extrapolate genetic sequences and approximate many features, but it is still an approximation. Many physical qualities have highly complex inheritance patterns that involve multiple genes and environmental effects. Height is a frequently cited example. It is impossible for a person to determine such things simply by looking at the data contained in a preliminary scan."

"I guess we'll just have to be surprised then," she said, chewing her bottom lip. "The truth is, I care more that it's healthy than anything else."

"There are some characteristics that can be determined from this scan," he clarified, switching over to the chromosomal images. "For example, the sex is determined by the length of the last pair of chromosomes. The child is-"

"I don't want to know," she yelped, clapping her hands over her ears.

"I had believed you wanted more information about our child's genetics. Sex is the most easily identifiable piece of information available on a chromosomal scan."

"So you know the sex of our baby?"

"I do."

She made a face. "If you know, I feel like I should know too."

"Then will you permit me to tell you?"

"Uh… sure? Wait, no. I don't know. No."

"Which is it? Once I tell you, you cannot un-know what you have been told."

"No, I don't want to know."

"May I inquire as to why?"

"It's probably an illogical human superstition. There are blood tests you can give later in pregnancy that can detect the biological sex of a child, so long as there's not more than one fetus. I always wanted to try doing one on my mother, but she always refused. She was very patient that way. I never was." Dagny wrinkled her brow and looked down at the PADD.

"If you wish to honor your mother's tradition, I respect your decision."

She thought to herself for a moment. "I do but I don't. I'm going to guess you would say it's illogical to refuse to know something."

"Knowledge of the child's biological sex has no bearing on your health. It is a trivial fact and one that will not alter the care you or the child receive. Therefore, it is not illogical to remain ignorant if you so choose, particularly because you will learn the truth eventually regardless of your decision."

"Good thing Vulcans are good at keeping secrets then," she replied with a smile. She rose to her feet, paused, and clapping her hand over her mouth.

He suspected she was about to be sick again, but she took a slow breath and picked up the emesis bucket. "I'm going to go rinse this in the lavatory. Thank you for letting me get it."

He nodded. "I would like to meditate for a time in one of the empty cargo bays. Will you require anything of me within the next three hours?"

"No. I'm grateful for anything and everything you do. I think I'm going to try and get a little more sleep while I can since we'll be at the colony tomorrow night."

He left her alone and found his way to the cargo bay, where he spent several hours in deep meditation, reflecting upon news of his father and uncle's success in the New Vulcan elections and his growing partnership with Dagny. Each day that she remained pregnant, the likelihood of her giving birth to a healthy child increased. Looking at the embryo's chromosomal scan, he had nearly felt an emotion he could not identify. Hope? Anxiety? He wasn't sure.

But the reality was there was a strong possibility that in eight months' time, he would be a father, responsible for the care, protection, and development of another sentient creature. The feeling would have overwhelmed him were it not for the serenity that logic afforded.

He returned to their quarters to find Dagny asleep and he took the opportunity to rest also. They slept through their midday meal, but were awoken at 1800 hours by Ann Svendsen, who had come by to check on Dagny. They shared end meal in the mess with Ann and her son Nicolas, but by the late evening, Dagny had become quite ill again, so they returned to their cabin so she could lie down.

"Do you require anything?" he asked, watching her pull the emesis bucket to her bedside and ease herself onto the bottom bunk. "Can I get you some water?"

"What I need is for you to get some sleep," she groaned. "There's nothing you can do for me. I appreciate that you're trying, but there's no reason for both of us to be miserable."

"You are certain?"

"Voris-" She clenched her jaw and shook her head. "Thank you so much, but yes, I'm certain."

He climbed up on the top bunk and stretched out. He could easily sense her discomfort, not only through their poorly formed mating bond, but also through the grunts and groans and fidgeting on the bed down below. He was completely responsible for her present state and he disliked it very much.

Though he didn't feel particularly tired, he fell asleep anyway. When he awoke, the room was completely dark, excepting faint red and white lights trailing up the wall from the bed below. He didn't know what time it was but he could sense from Dagny's breathing that she was awake. He rolled over and peered over the side of the bed and found her huddled against the wall, fiddling with the settings on a tricorder.

"Are you well?"

She jumped. "Did I wake you up?"

He wasn't certain what had disturbed his sleep, but he did not believe she was to blame. "No. May I ask what you're doing?"

"It's nothing."

"Then what is the purpose of the tricorder?"

She hesitated. "I just thought… after our discussion and everything… I just wanted to see if I could find the baby's heartbeat."

"And have you?" he asked, suddenly very curious.

Several seconds of silence passed before she replied, "No." Though it was a single syllable, her voice cracked when making it.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and leapt to the floor. "It is still quite early-"

"I know, but the tricorder is supposed to be sensitive enough and…"

"Will you permit me to make an attempt?"

She gazed at the instrument in her hands and offered it to him without another word. He checked the settings, narrowed some of the frequency bands, and sat on the edge of the bed. He had never attempted to find a fetal heartbeat before, but the principles were no different than attempting to diagnose an intestinal blockage or a slight heart murmur through acoustic means.

"Please lie back."

She laid back on the bed and covered her mouth with her hand. He traced the device over her lower abdomen and heard nothing. Seconds ticked by, but there was no evidence of any sound beyond the expected background sounds of her bladder and intestines. After a minute of scanning, he checked the settings on the tricorder again. Dagny whimpered.

After broadening the frequency, he made a second attempt and almost immediately, the tricorder emitted a loud and steady swooshing sound, startling them both. Dagny yelped and sat up on her elbows, causing the sound to become briefly distorted. Voris adjusted the position of the tricorder and the swooshing sound continued as before. It was a wondrous and constant melody, the beating of their child's tiny and underdeveloped heart.

He had never seen her smile like she smiled in that moment. "Can you measure the heart rate?"

He switched through several screens on the device and after about fifteen seconds replied, "109 beats per minute."

She pushed off her elbows, leaned forward, and threw her arms around his neck to pull him into a deep embrace. He would have enjoyed listening to the embryo's heartbeat for a while longer, but he was surprised to discover he didn't mind this display of affection either. She had hugged him before, right before he had unconsciously forced a mating bond upon her, and the fact that she was willing to do it again intrigued him.

"Thank you," she whispered as she pulled herself back.

"You have nothing for which to thank me."

"I don't care. Thank you."

She took several gulping breaths and then lurched forward to vomit into the bucket on the floor. Though earlier in the evening she had insisted she didn't want any water, he fetched some for her anyway and she drank it without complaint.

He was unable to return to sleep. In the morning, the ship surged to life in preparation for their arrival at Bergeron colony. Ann Svendsen came by to give them instructions for taking their belongings down to the transporter room, and at 1715 hours, he and Dagny stood in the transporter room with Harold and three other humans, waiting to beam down to the surface of the planet.

"Standby. Transport in ten seconds," said the man at the control panel.

He saw Dagny move out of the corner of his eye and turned to find her looking at him. Her complexion was gray from the nausea and her eyes seemed to be seeking some reassurance. He nodded at her and she nodded back and soon he heard the transport compensators hum to life. He didn't know what awaited them on Bergeron colony, but he found himself looking forward to finding out.