Chapter Eight: Not A Bundle of Joy
The transponder on the back of Athena's head was suddenly linking her to the injured Talyn and her mind became overwhelmed by the Leviathan's thoughts and sensations. She might have collapsed face down on the deck if Apollo and Carter hadn't been there to catch her. The Leviathan was in great pain, his outer hull scorched and several of his internal and external systems either down or disrupted. The unfortunate Colonial felt it all.
As she fought Talyn's pain, Athena remembered Jolinar's suggestion and started looking for one thought from Talyn to concentrate on and only one. Something simple and pleasant. At least something that didn't involve pain. When she found something that didn't scream 'pain', she latched on to it and blocked everything else out. At first she didn't know what she had found, but it was something unique from Talyn's memory core. It wasn't an image or words. Athena blinked. It was an emotion. It was. Love.
Athena focused on it and discovered it wasn't from Talyn. It was from Aeryn Sun, and it was her love for John Crichton. Aeryn had tried to show Talyn what it was like to need someone. The young Leviathan had tried to kill Crichton over a yahren ago because he didn't trust the Human. Crichton was not a Peacekeeper and Talyn had thought he was protecting Aeryn and the others. In the end, Aeryn saved Crichton by showing.by teaching Talyn what it was like to need and love someone. Talyn had never felt anything like it before and immediately realized that he would be hurting Aeryn. Ashamed of himself and his actions, Talyn spared Crichton.
Athena sensed there was more. Talyn also felt affection towards Aeryn and the Colonial became saddened.
Talyn truly missed Aeryn Sun.
Slowly, the link between Athena and the Leviathan stabilized and the Colonial finally gained better control over the transponder. She sent her first 'thought' message to the Leviathan gunship.
"It's okay Talyn. All of us here have lost someone dear to us at one time or another," Athena projected her thoughts carefully to the Leviathan. "I lost my brother Zack, my mother, even my world. There's no shame in being sad."
Talyn answered with simplicity: Thank you.
With her internal struggle finished she was able to focus on the outside world and soon heard her brother Apollo and Carter arguing as they held her in their arms. Athena still had her right hand clutching the transponder. Apollo was trying to reach for it to remove it, but Carter was stopping him.
"We have to get this thing off of her!" Apollo shouted.
"No, just give her another minute!" Carter shouted back.
"It's killing her!"
"Just wait!"
"Enough with the yelling," Athena sighed as she slowly raised herself up onto her knees. "You two are giving me more of a headache than the transponder!"
"Athena?" Apollo looked at her questioningly, making sure she was indeed okay.
"I'm fine," Athena assured him. "And I have access to most of Talyn's systems."
"Can you get the DRDs up and running?" Carter wondered.
Athena glanced over to the sleeping DRD and 'willed' it to awaken. Immediately, the DRD sensor light flashed on and it rolled into action, extending its tools to begin repairing Talyn's damaged systems.
"Not a problem," a confident Athena smiled.
***
Crais slowly awakened to find himself in Talyn's medical chamber. He remembered the attack on the Cylon warship and Talyn being caught in the explosion. Crais immediately checked the Leviathan's condition through his transponder and discovered that most of his systems were either operational or already under repair. Full power had been restored over half an arn ago.
It was then he sensed someone else was also linked to the gunship.
"Athena..." the ex-Peacekeeper captain whispered with a smile. Again, he was impressed with the Colonial and grateful that Talyn was in very capable hands.
"No," came a voice, and Crais eyes flashed open again. The ever-smiling blond Colonial doctor was standing over him. "It's Cassiopeia."
"Doctor," Crais said. "It is good to see that I am under you care."
"I'm glad to see you're awake. Athena was checking in ever micron to see if your condition had changed." Cassiopeia said. "Now I can tell her that you're awake."
"She already knows, doctor," Crais replied, pointing to the transponder on the back of his neck.
"Interesting," Cassiopeia said, curious. "What's it like having one of those things on you?"
"Imagine if you will, sharing not just your thoughts but, if you should choose, your most intimate memories and feelings," Crais answered. "That's what it is like for me and Talyn."
"And now for Athena," Cassiopeia said guardedly.
Crais nodded. "Not to worry, Athena is strong willed and Talyn and myself especially respect her. She has become our conscience, if I dare say."
And perhaps even more, Cassiopeia mused to herself, sensing a note of fondness in Crais voice for the raven haired Colonial.
Crais looked past the Colonial doctor and saw Chiana in a far corner of the medical chamber, curled up in a ball on a bed, her back towards them. The Leviathan Captain became concerned for the Nebari.
"Chiana, is she also injured?"
Cassiopeia nodded. "She's fine. She took a hit on the head."
Crais saw something else in the doctor's eyes. There was something that she was not saying.
"But what?" he pressed.
"I can't say."
Cassiopeia started to turn away, but Crais took hold of her arm, stopping her.
He kept his voice low and polite. "Need I remind you that I am the Captain of this ship and the welfare of all who are on it is my personal concern? Now, please respect my position and tell me what's wrong with her."
From across the room, Chiana spoke, but did not move to look at them. "Tell him. If he wants to know, tell him.. What's the difference.?"
Crais listened and it sounded like the Nebari was crying. Confused, he turned his attention to Cassiopeia who hesitated for a moment before telling him softly.
"I did some basic medical scans, just looking for any internal injuries, and that's when I discovered that she's pregnant. The fetus is only a few Earth days old and DNA tests show it to be Human and Nebari."
"The child is healthy?" An astonished Crais asked.
"Initial examination shows the fetus to be in good health and so is the mother.
"I don't understand. If the mother and the baby are healthy, then what is the problem?"
"She's not taking the news well." Cassiopeia sadly glanced over her shoulder towards Chiana who was still tightly curled up into a little ball, weeping quietly.
"This can't be happening." Chiana whispered to herself, tears steaming down her face.
***
Carter stepped into the medical chamber. "You wanted to see me doctor?"
A very relieved Cassiopeia greeted the Tok'ra. "Yes, and thank you for coming so quickly. It's about Chiana."
Carter suddenly became worried. "I thought you told Daniel that she was alright?"
"Yes, she's fine, but I discovered something that I didn't want to mention to anyone else until I had talked to her first. She's pregnant with Daniel's child."
"Holy shi---Hanna! This is good news, right?" Carter said excitedly.
Cassiopeia shook her head. "Chiana disagrees. When I told her, she acted like I had just informed her that she had a week to live. She insisted that I had to be wrong in my diagnosis, that she had taken all the necessary precautions to avoid this. Honestly, I think she's just plain scared and could use a friend and she wants to see you."
Surprised, Carter pointed to herself. "She wants to see me? I think she would prefer Crichton or someone else."
"No, she wants to see you. You might have been her friend for only a short time, but obviously she feels comfortable with you and most importantly, with you being a woman, you can relate to her."
"Oh, no pressure." Carter muttered nervously. "Does Daniel know?"
"Not yet. Before I broke the news to her, I cleared everyone out including him by telling them that Chiana needed to rest. She's in the next chamber."
"Okay, I'll talk to her."
Tentatively, Carter stepped into the neighbouring chamber and found Chiana resting on a bed under a red blanket. She was lying on her side, staring aimlessly at the far wall away from Carter. The Tok'ra quietly approached to the side of the bed, before calling softly, "Chiana?"
Slowly, the Nebari rolled over to stare up at her. Carter could see that she was crying and it almost broke her heart to see the young woman in such a state. Chiana might act tough, but under it all, she was a woman filled with so many insecurities.
"Hey." Carter sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Chiana's hand into hers. "What's with all these tears?"
"Did she tell you? I'm pregnant," Chiana whimpered before softly squeezing Carter's hand between hers. "It's not possible. I."
"You took precautions," Carter finished for her.
Chiana nodded, her voice still barely above a whisper. "It's also supposed to be nearly impossible for a non-Nebari to breed with my species."
Carter reached out with her free hand to wipe a few of the tears from Chiana's cheeks and lightly brushed the hair away from her face. "You're worried how Daniel might react?"
Chiana nodded.
"Then don't be," Carter said confidently. "He'll be so ecstatic that we might have to pad over the ceiling because of all the bouncing around that Daniel will be doing."
"Maybe."
"He will be," Carter reassured her. "I know him and I know that he loves you dearly and he'll love the child you are carrying just as much."
When Carter saw doubt still lingering in her eyes, she softly added, "You have nothing to be afraid of."
"I do," a terrified Chiana breathed. "Look at me! Can you honestly say that I'm mother material? I had zombies for parents who wouldn't even give me so much as a hug when I was a child, and if it wasn't for my brother, I might have died long ago when we escaped from our world. He looked after me and protected me! Afterwards, I spend a good part of that life being nothing but a thief and frelling tralk while on the run. I'm not fit to raise a child!"
Carter kept her eyes firmly locked with Chiana's and squeezed the hand she still held. "I don't see that person you just described, Chiana. You are capable of being so much more than you're giving yourself credit for and you're forgetting another thing. Everyone is here for you, including me."
Chiana stared at her. Fresh tears welled in her eyes and her voice trembled when she said, "I'm scared."
Carter leaned down a bit closer, softly stroking Chiana's hair with her hand. Doing her best to comfort the young woman, she said, "I know."
"Then please tell me what to do?" Chiana was still gripping Carter's other hand between hers, begging for an easy solution.
Carter smiled calmly and shook her head. "I can't decide this for you. That decision ultimately has to be yours."
"What does Jolinar have to say?"
Carter closed her eyes for a moment and when they reopened, Jolinar spoke. "I agree. The final decision has to be yours, but you must tell Daniel before anything is done."
Chiana shook her head fiercely. "No, I can't tell him, not now. He's worried enough that I'm on this mission, if he finds out that I'm pregnant with his baby he. He can't find out!"
"You can't hide this from him."
"I don't need him worrying anymore about me than he already is. He'll get himself killed by watching my back instead of his. No, I'll tell him later when this is all over. Promise me that you or Carter won't tell him."
"We won't," Jolinar conceded, hoping that this was indeed for the best. "Do you know the sex of your child?"
The question almost immediately brightened Chiana's mood. "Yeah, she said it's a girl, a girl!" Chiana then said sadly in a low voice, "I just hope she doesn't grow up to be anything like me."
"Why is that so bad? She'll be a tough, loyal friend and possess a good, caring heart," Jolinar smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "With stunning beauty and a swift knee for defence."
Chiana finally laughed and it felt good. She sat up, throwing her arms about Jolinar, tightly embracing the Tok'ra. She rested her chin on her right shoulder, whispering in her ear appreciatively, "Thank you, Jolly Sam. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You are most welcome, Chiana. However, there were others you could have approached for assistance," Jolinar said, gently patting her back. "Like Crichton."
"I know." Chiana pulled away slightly to look at the Tok'ra. "And it's a forgone conclusion that he adopted me as his kid sister, but I feel more comfortable discussing certain things with you than with him. Uh, like being pregnant. I look up to Carter as my big sister and it's nice. Also, strange as it might sound, you Jolinar. I." Chiana hesitated for a second, looking away, unsure of herself.
"What?" Jolinar asked softly, placing her hands on Chiana's shoulders. "You can talk to me."
Slowly, the Nebari glimpsed back into the eyes of the Tok'ra. "Well, maybe because of the way you look out for me, knowing so much and trying to keep me out of trouble. You're the type of person I would have wanted for a mother."
A mother? Jolinar's eyes widened and for the first time, the she was rendered speechless.
Although the Symbiont knew about motherhood from some of her previous host's experiences, Jolinar had no first hand knowledge in being a. mother.
Being a Tok'ra had nothing to do with raising a family or needing maternal instincts. All of their energy and time was put to use in waging a war, into toppling the System Lords. Jolinar had lost count of the number of Jaffa and Goa'uld she had killed over the centuries, but they were many. Perhaps numbering in the hundreds or maybe even thousands. Dealing out death was her specialty and she was very efficient in the practice. Only her time with her now-deceased mate, Martouf, gave Jolinar a stable existence from the war against the Goa'uld.
Sadly, at one time, the Tok'ra were a passionate race. They loved, laughed and even shed tears, but the conflict against the Goa'uld had hardened them. They grew cold and calculating with little regard for anything, even towards each other. They did what they had to do to win. Jolinar hated what she had become and her blending with Carter showed her what she had been missing. A sense of normalcy and the opportunity to be something else, but it also scared her a little. Could she become something other than a warrior or a mere lover? Or more simply put, could she build something rather than destroy it. Like being a mother figure to the young woman who was looking at her right now for simple guidance and support?
Jolinar heard Carter's mental voice saying happily, She thinks of me as a sister and you as a mother! That's very sweet!
This wasn't my intention, an astonished Jolinar confessed to Carter. I do enjoy Chiana's company, but I never wanted to be a. a parent to her.
It's not like Chiana is asking you to adopt her, maybe she just wants you to fill a void in her life. Face it, you are over five hundred years old, you and I have so much to pass on to her. If it'll help her get through this, then lets be a sister and a 'mother'.
After a long moment of silence from Jolinar, Chiana looked away, regretting admitting her feelings to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
Jolinar finally reacted and reached up, touching Chiana's face, turning her attention back to her. The Tok'ra slowly leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "That's not the worst thing I had ever heard. For as long as you need me. 'Us', we will be here for you."
Now smiling happily, Chiana couldn't help but hug the Tok'ra, squeezing her for all she was worth. Resting her head on Jolinar's shoulder, everything felt a little less overwhelming and terrifying for the Nebari mother-to-be. For Jolinar, it felt wonderful to be needed by someone. The Tok'ra slowly slipped her arms about Chiana and held her.
***
Somewhere else on Talyn, Starbuck had most of his upper body buried inside an open panel along one of the Leviathan's winding corridors. Not far away, Sheba was also working in an open panel as the two laboured to help restore Talyn's vital systems.
"Frack!" Starbuck cursed as a connection he was working on sprung a leak and he couldn't stop it. "This ship doesn't need a technician, he needs a surgeon! This neural thing or whatever the connection is called is leaking and the seals won't hold."
Starbuck was used to ships that were entirely made from metal, with wiring and circuitry. He wasn't used to a ship that could bleed and actually react in pain when it was damaged.
Sheba got up and walked over to kneel down beside him. "Just stay with it Starbuck." She reached into a nearby tool kit and handed him a small flashlight shaped device. "Use this regenerator and wave it over the troubled area. It'll speed up the bonding between the links."
Starbuck took the device and switched it on. Waving the now glowing instrument over the connection, he watched as the leaking slowed to a trickle until it stopped.
"That did it," Starbuck said cheerfully as he pulled himself out to sit up. "How do you know so much about Leviathans?"
"I spent a quarter of a yahren on one, remember?"
"Yeah," Starbuck said before adding apologetically. "I'm sorry for thinking that you were actually hurting D'Argo."
"Well, you didn't know and if the situation was reversed, I would have thought the same thing," Sheba replied truthfully. "I remember when I had to do it the first time to save D'Argo - I almost threw up afterwards. The idea of punching a wound to make it heal does sound insane."
"So, what was it like on Moya?" Starbuck asked. "You don't really talk much about it."
"Well," Sheba started slowly, "this region of space can be just as unforgiving as the one we left behind. I tasted how Crichton and the others on Moya existed for a short time, on the run from Peacekeepers and any hostile alien who wanted to turn us into their plaything."
"It couldn't be any worse than having the Cylons chasing after us."
"It can be, considering on Moya, we had no turbo laser cannons, no squadron of Vipers ready to be launched, no army of Colonial warriors to back us up. Just us and no one else to depend on."
"You got me there," Starbuck admitted. "It really sounds like you had it rough."
"It was, but I couldn't have picked a better ship or friends to be with. I learned so much about them and myself."
Starbuck heard the way she spoke affectionately for the crew of Moya. "What did you learn?"
"If it came to it, they would die for each other and it didn't take long for me to feel the same way towards them," Sheba smiled. "They became my new crew and family."
***
Up on the command area, everyone was still busy repairing Talyn's systems. Crichton had the top part of a control panel pulled off, patching several damaged components back together. Daniel was assisting him as best as he could with the strange alien technology, but Crichton could see that his mind was elsewhere, wishing he were down in the medical chamber with Chiana. Daniel managed to focus on the task at hand to get Talyn immediately functional. Propulsion was almost restored and external sensors were nearly back online.
Everyone was pitching in, including Adama. Crichton never would have thought it from first appearance, but the Colonial Commander was not afraid to get his hands dirty. Which was good, because they needed every available hand and that meant everyone.
"Uh, Crichton?" a confused O'Neill called over from a small opened wall panel, holding a small cylindrical component in his hand. "Did you say that this 'thingumabob' goes into the 'whatchacallit'?"
Crichton walked over to take a look, nodding, "Yeah, except you're holding it backwards."
"Oh!" O'Neill gave a shrug before turning it around and slipping it into place and locking the part down.
When Crichton turned, he spotted D'Argo walking in. The human smiled to his Luxan friend. "Hey, Big D. How's the shoulder?"
"It's healing," D'Argo answered before continuing, "Propulsion is restored and once we get sensors we should be on our way again."
"Good, flying blindfolded is not my favourite way to travel," Crichton replied.
Behind them, Daniel was packing away some tools when he noticed something outside the view ports of the command chamber. He cleared his throat, saying, "Uh, guys? We have some company."
***
Crais was walking back to command after leaving the medical chamber. Cassiopeia tried to insist that he stay for a while longer to be sure he was well enough to go, but he would have none of it. Talyn needed him more than he needed time and besides, he felt that Chiana needed to be alone with Carter.
"Captain!"
The Leviathan Captain turned to see Athena hurrying to catch up with him. He was ready to greet her with a polite bow, but Athena surprised him when she came right up and wrapped her arms about his shoulders and neck, holding him close.
"You gave me quite a scare," she said softly in his ear. "Please don't do that again."
Caught off guard by Athena's actions and the genuine emotion in her voice, Crais slowly returned her warm embrace with a smile. "I shall endeavour to try, Lieutenant," he promised.
***
Gathered about the view port, Crichton, O'Neill, D'Argo and Daniel stared outside at the group of five Leviathans gathered about Talyn. They circled lazily about him, as if they wanted to play.
"I guess these must be the Leviathans that Talyn saved from the Cylons," Crichton suggested.
"What are they doing?" O'Neill asked.
"Maybe they're checking to see if Talyn is okay and to render aid," Daniel said. "He did help to save them. They might be returning the favor."
D'Argo continued to watch. "They're moving in an odd fashion, the larger one appears to be pushing the smaller Leviathans away."
"Why would he do that?" Daniel asked.
From behind, Athena and Crais entered command.
"The 'he' you are referring to is actually a 'she'," Athena explained. "They are females, all of them."
The four men looked at Athena for a moment, then to the view port and the Leviathans outside and back again.
Crais, for his part, smiled faintly, saying, "They are here to help, but they are also interested in other things."
Other things?!! a shocked O'Neill thought, but then he had to laugh. "Oh, for crying out loud! You mean we were all watching the Nature Channel for Leviathans?"
---------------------------------