The quiet Sickbay roared to life as the CMO rushed in beside the barely conscious Captain.
"He's over dosed on Morphodexiren." Dr. Picard yelled at her medical staff. "He's taken twice the dosage. Heart Rate 53, respirations 3 per minute. He's semi conscious but not answering questions. Prepare neuroblocks on my call. Start heart and lung stimulation." She broke away, turning her attention back to Deanna.
"I can barely sense him." The Betazoid whispered softly, her pale features shaking slightly. Jean Luc seemed to be holding her up.
"Listen to me" Beverly told her firmly. "I'm going to have to give him stimulants Deanna. We'll have to break the link."
"I.."
"Deanna, we need to admit you. Monitor you and the baby as well." She drilled her eyes into her friends. "I'm going to have Alyssa get you settled while I take care of Will"
The familiar nurse was instantly by the small woman's side helping Picard guide her to the bio-bed.
"Elizabeth!" She shouted suddenly.
"Dr. Picard sent a nurse to stay with her." Alyssa told her softly easing her back onto the bed.
"Deanna I'm going to give him neuroblockers now." Beverly yelled over towards her. "I don't have a choice. I'm sorry."
The Counselor nodded at her, her teeth coming to rest on her bottom lip as Selar handed the small piece of equipment to her boss.
"Hold on." She warned her friend just before Deanna's body stiffened with the onslaught of pain her husband had been shielding her from. "Alyssa?"
"Her heart rates 190, the baby looks fine."
"Watch her blood pressure Alyssa." Beverly called. "Come on Will help me out here." She muttered to her patient.
"Heart rates climbing doctor 68, 72." Selar narrated mechanically.
"I.. Wha.." Will Riker's muttering became more coherent.
"Will?" Beverly called gently, rubbing her hand over his chest. "Will can you hear me?"
"Beverly.." He breathed, slowly meeting her eyes just as his went wide. "Deanna.."
"It's alright. I had to use a neuro-blocker. Just for a while until you're more stable." She smoothed her hand across his clammy face.
"Deanna.." He called again.
"She's holding her own, Will. She's okay."
"She can't do it alone. Not for very long.." He implored as his voice drifted off.
"Will you can't worry about her right now." She whispered. "Hey. Stay with me Captain." His eyes lulled back open.
"What hap-?"
"You took too much."
"Same as always.." He shook his head.
"No." She looked at Selar. "Increase his oxygen to forty percent." She dropped her gaze to Riker. "You took 40cc."
Will shook his head.
"Only one to Two hypos.." He recited, his mind hearing Ree's warning voice.
"Dr." Beverly looked at her Vulcan counterpart. The woman turned the hypospray recovered from the Captain's quarters in her hand. "I think I know what happened. The Enterprise's standard dose hyposprays are default calibrated to 20cc sprays. When Doctor Ree refilled the chambers he must have used a hypo from our sickbay. He didn't think to recalibrate and the Captain never checked."
"That's another reason we don't self medicate on my ship." Beverly narrowed her eyes at Selar.
"Bev.. Deanna.." Her patient pleaded. The red haired doctor looked towards her friends readouts.
"Alyssa?"
"Her pressure is rising." The nurse reported.
"Damn it." She looked at Selar. "Stay with him."
Beverly made her way across the room to her friend. Softly brushing the woman's hair off of her face.
"Deanna?" The Betaziod's hand trembled as she raised it to hers. Beverly took it gently. "It's time to have this baby."
"It's too soon." She managed to choke out between raged breaths
"Not for a human baby." She shook her head. "And that's what this one mostly is."
"I can't be induced." Tears sprung to the woman's eyes.
"Not medically no. But we can use some old fashioned methods. Selar can rupture your membranes, and use some natural methods to thin your cervix."
"Beverly.."
"You and Will can't do this alone anymore." She whispered. "Let me help you?" Beverly wiped the beads of sweat from her friends forehead. "Please Deanna let me help you." The two women stared at each other for a moment until Deanna's eyes closed and she nodded slightly.
"Okay." She smiled at her. "Let me take care of Will."
Deanna nodded quickly her eyes following the doctor back over to her husband.
"Take it easy." Jean Luc Picard warned as he helped Will Riker into the hover-chair. "You're no help to her passed out on the floor."
"It's unnerving not having a sense of her." He growled as his friend pushed him towards the private room Deanna had been moved to.
"You'll have your senses overloaded with her momentarily." Picard warned as the doors hissed open and Deanna's screams filled the air around him.
Will winced when he saw her.
"You're doing fine." Beverly assured her, pressing firmly on both of the petite woman's shoulders as she struggled to sit up. "Just try to keep breathing Deanna."
"I can't do it." She cried. "I can't. I'm going to die!"
"No you are not." Beverly told her sharply. "It's all going to be over soon. I promise."
"Deanna." Will reached out and grasped her hand in his.
"Will!" She cried. "I can't .. Please help me. ."
He shot Beverly a pleading look.
"Not yet." She answered quickly.
"Dr." He started to protest.
"She's got a while to go still. She'll need you more towards the end Will and you have to conserve your strength." Beverly exhaled slowly trying to calm her own mind. "Focus on me. Come on Deanna you can do this! Just focus on me."
"Keep watching her blood pressure." Beverly reminded her nurse before running her gaze over the baby's specks. "We're doing okay here."
She turned her attention to Will and the small screen on the hover chair that told her what she needed to know about his wellbeing.
"He's not going to be strong enough." She told Selar. "Even if we remove the block we won't be able to give him any more medication."
The Vulcan regarded them for a few seconds before turning back to Picard.
"His absence in her mind is unsettling for her," She explained. Beverly nodded, moving across the room and carefully dialing down the small metallic square on Will's forehead. His eyes closed immediately as his face screwed up in pain.
"Easy..Captain." Beverly warned.
"She's at 8cm's Doctor." Alyssa announced.
"Almost there." She encouraged, clasping Will's shoulder as Deanna calmed a little.
She let the familiar touch of her husband wash over her before the pain swallowed her again.
"Her blood pressures still climbing Doctor." Selar reported , turning her eyes to Beverly. The CMO cursed again.
"We can't do anything else." She shook her head.
"I can." The Vulcan said softly looking across the bed at Will Riker. He sat up quickly, his eyes coaxing hers.
"Are you suggesting-?" Beverly shook her head.
"We're going to loose her." Selar said quickly. "She can't take much more."
The two doctor's studied each other fore a long moment before Beverly nodded slightly and Selar pressed her fingers against Deanna Riker's temples and absorbed as much of the other woman's pain as she could hold.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.. Come on Deanna don't stop… five.. Four.. I can see the head… three , two, one.. Rest. Good!" Beverly laid her palms on her best friends knees. "Almost there. Two or three more pushes." Deanna studied her face for an instant before gasping again as her eyes filled with fear. "It's okay." Beverly promised. "Deep Breath.. Ten, nine.."
Will tried to muster every ounce of strength he had left and send it to his wife. He could feel her shake with in his arms. He could feel the fear that raced through her as the urge to push overwhelmed her body. He could also feel Selar across the link. Standing stiffly her eyes shut as she worked on concentrating Deanna's effort.
"Will!" His eye shot open again with Beverly's call. "Three two one. Will look!" He turned his gaze towards her hands. "Come on Deanna! Deep breath the baby's right here! Push!" A strangled scream came from his wife's throat as she pushed again and Will watched the baby slide gently into Beverly's waiting hands. "Baby's out!" She yelled.
"I need a kit and a clamp. Give her 20cc of demorantin. Selar pull yourself back!"
"Beverly.." Came Deanna's breathless voice.
"It's a boy." Beverly said softly. "Alyssa prepare for stimulation. Finley administer the Demoratin."
"Is he alright?" Will rasped.
"He looks good." Beverly said hurried as she clamed and cut the cord.
"I want to see him." Deanna begged as one of the assisting doctors injected her. "Please."
She could feel her grip on consciousness fading as the pain that had been coursing though her for so long slipped unceremoniously away. "Please.. Will.."
Beverly swept the baby up quickly towards his mother before hurrying him off to be cared for. Deanna felt Will's lips brush her temple as her body went limp and the room faded to black.
Will looked at her bio-readouts before turning his attention to Alyssa who was quickly extracting as much from his son's umbilical cord as she could.
"Beverly?" Will called weakly towards where the doctor and her nurse had hurried the baby towards. She turned quickly to face him.
"He's perfect." She exhaled, blinking the tears out of her eyes. "He's fine."
She gathered up the baby in a blanket and handed him to his father. For a moment Will Riker forgot how to breath again. He felt Jean Luc's hand clap down on his shoulder as he let out a chuckle of relief. Will just looked at the dark haired boy in amazement.
"Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Little One." He choked out as the baby's bright blue eyes opened to regard his father's voice.
He watched her face twitch as he traced his finger down the side of her jaw.
"Deanna." He called softly, pressing his lips against her forehead.
Tired.
It's time to wake up now.
I don't want to.
Your son needs to be fed.
Her eyebrow quirked up as the words registered in her conscious mind. That and the kitten like cries of her newborn.
"My son.." She repeated groggily as her eyes started to blink open.
"Yes. Your son." Will teased, brushing his hand across her cheek and into her hair. "And he's getting quiet loud about it."
"Will.." She breathed as her husband lifted the small baby effortlessly into her arms. "He's alright?"
"He's perfect." Will assured her slipping the side of her gown open. "Just hungry."
"Hungry?" She muttered still trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Yes." The baby had stopped squealing now and was busy nursing. She watched him with mild interest. "And my head still hurts."
Her hand unconsciously swept across his temple in concern, he caught it and kissed it.
"Is she awake?" Beverly asked softly coming into the small room.
"Beverly," Deanna's voice was warm.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than I have in a long time." She answered honestly.
"You're going to feel tired for a while." Dr. Picard explained softly. "but you shouldn't feel any pain. If you do let me know and we'll give you something."
Deanna nodded her eyes dropping back to the baby.
"Lucky." Wills eyes lifted playfully. "I'm in rehab. No more hypos for me."
"That's right." Beverly admonished.
"You're sure he's alright?" Deanna whispered, tracing her fingertip over her sons face.
"The baby? Perfect." Beverly told her honestly. "Does he have a name?"
Deanna looked at her husband and smiled, giving him a gentle nod.
"Luc Thomas." He told her proudly.
"Lizzie." Deanna asked quickly.
"Jean Luc went to get her. They should be here soon." Beverly told her.
"She's going to be so excited." Will smiled again.
"What about my husband Beverly?" Deanna said quickly. "Have we caused any permanent damage?"
"No." Beverly said sternly. "But he will go through withdrawal and it probably won't be fun."
"It was worth it." Will whispered, stroking his sons foot between his thumb and index finger.
The outer doors of sickbay hissed open and Deanna and Will's faces both lit up.
Jean Luc made his way through the doors and deposited Elizabeth Kestra Riker on the end of her mothers bed.
"I believe this belongs to you." He said seriously as Lizzie giggled.
"Oh thank you Sir. We seemed to have misplaced her again!" Will teased scooping her effortlessly into his arms and settling her in for a view of her brother. "Here he is."
"A boy?" The little girls voice held only a touch of disappointment.
"Elizabeth some of my favorite people are boys." Deanna reminded her daughter cheekily. "Daddy is, in fact, a boy."
Lizzie sighed, looking back at her father who nodded.
"Luc." She announced, looking at the baby again. "You are my brother, Luc."
Will could feel the rush of Picard's emotions at Lizzie's proclamation. He looked at Deanna who had her eyes locked on their former Captain.
"Luc Thomas." Deanna whispered with a nod and Jean Luc Picard cleared his suddenly tight throat.
"It's a good name." He croaked, fighting down the emotion. "Sturdy. An officers name."
"It's a family name." Will told him honestly, his own words coming out in a rasp. He could suddenly feel the thick walls that Deanna and Beverly had erected begin to dissolve. He looked at the Doctor as she smiled, leaning her head against her husband's chest. The cool calmness of his own relief reflected back at him through his wife's mind.
This was how it was supposed to be
.