Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to Fameanon (and your characters), Caren Rose, T'Sara, mvw, SadaraLochlan, and Wildblume for reviewing!
Roxanne wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet, grabbing some toilet paper to wipe her eyes. She closed her eyes as she clamored to her feet, swaying a little as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Solok was waiting outside the stall, and she felt something trembling within her: worry, but it was tempered with calm. Like a battle within her, calm, then worry, serenity, then turmoil. She wondered where it was coming from, but more pressing was the reason she was throwing up all the time. Ever since school started, she had to visit the bathroom once or twice a day, and she avoided the cafeteria like the plague. Solok got her what she wanted, and she wondered if she was developing some sort of strange sensitivity to food and the smell of cooking meat. She hardly ever ate meat anymore; it made her stomach feel like it was trying to learn gymnastics. Mild fish, on the other hand, wasn't as bad. She also found that grilled tofu and certain alien legumes were wonderful meat substitutes.
She unlatched the stall and stepped out, tossing the tear-stained toilet paper into the garbage chute. She sniffed, then pulled her toothbrush from her bag.
She stood in front of the mirror and brushed her teeth, and she watched Solok through the mirror. He was pensive, his face calm, but somehow she knew he was not as calm as he looked. She paused in her hygiene routine.
"You ok, sweetheart?" she murmured. He looked up at her and nodded.
"Simply contemplating this problem."
"Right," she said, and continued brushing her teeth.
"Roxanne, I think you should see a doctor. I am...concerned for you. This cannot be healthy."
"Solok, I feel fine. It's probably just a stomach bug."
"That is still not healthy. Especially considering your condition."
She turned around and glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean? Because I'm human or something?"
He looked confused. "Not at all. I was referring to your pregnancy."
She stared at him, her heart stopping for a few seconds. "What?" she breathed. There was no way...
"You are pregnant, Roxanne," he said clearly. "The night we spent together? We created a child. I can smell it on you."
She laughed nervously. "Ok, you're...engaging in some sort of prank or something. I am not pregnant! And since when did your nose become a tricorder?"
His expression did not change. "I assure you, you are with my child. It is an instinctive biological response. I cannot ignore that smell, or the urges it gives me."
"What sort of urges?" she asked, leaning casually against the sink counter. He was probably joking with her...but he didn't joke as of late...he was always sincere...even before they had gotten together, he was sincere, even if he was a jerk.
"The urge to protect you," he growled, and she was taken aback. She stared at him, still in denial, and she felt strangely cold.
"Are you sure?" she squeaked. He stepped forward and stuck his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply.
"I am certain of this," he purred, taking another deep breath of her scent. "You smell even better than you usually do."
She felt her face get hot, and he lifted her chin, gazing proudly down at her. "You turn the most endearing color when you blush, thy'la," he said, his voice deepening to dulcet tones. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of tears. "There is no shame in this. You and I are bonded, and my katra is stirred by your presence. You called to me, even when I was too stubborn to admit it. From the moment you jumped into that argument with Sisko, I have desired you."
She gasped as tears started streaming down her face. Solok frowned, but took her into his arms and rocked her back and forth as she cried into his shirt.
"Solok, do you understand what this could mean for our careers?"
He shook his head. "Telsu, there is no regulation that states that two Academy students cannot engage in sexual relations with each other. Starfleet is rigorous in its training, and I am uncomfortable with your current focus as a security officer in training...but it is not my place to hold back your career. Whatever you wish to accomplish, I will support."
She sniffed and hugged him tighter. "I don't want to be a security officer," she whimpered. "I always loved studying the stars and the planets. I want to explore, but I don't want to be on the vessel that gets shot at all the time. I'd rather be an astrophysicist."
He stroked her hair. "I have no say in your career...but I must admit, I like that option far more than you being in security. You would have made a fine officer either way, but I am pleased you are deciding to take this new step."
She shook her head. "I just don't know yet."
He pushed her onto the counter and wiped her tears with his thumb. "All will be well, ashaya," he assured her. "We will endure this together. My mother will be quite pleased that she will soon have a daughter-in-law and a grandchild."
She smiled weakly. "My father's going to flip cheese. My mom will probably be ok with it, though. Maybe a bit disappointed that it's happening now, but she'll be ok."
She turned when she heard knocking at the door. "Roxanne?" she heard a male voice say. It was Benjamin. "Are you in there?"
Solok strode to the door and answered it, and Sisko took a step back, his expression contorting into anger and suspicion.
"What the hell are you doing in a girl's bathroom, Solok?" he growled, and Roxanne rolled her eyes.
"I am looking after she who is my telsu," the Vulcan replied smoothly. "You are not needed."
"Solok, hold your horses. What's up, Ben?"
"Sicily says you came in here twenty minutes ago and haven't come out. Are you ok?"
New tears welled in her eyes, and Solok immediately came to her side. "Not really, but I will be."
"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping inside and letting the door close.
"I've just been puking my guts out," she said honestly. "I'm tired as hell, I'm having a life crises here and I'm just imagining the look on my daddy's face when I tell this to him."
Ben frowned. "Why are you puking? Are you sick?"
"No, Ben," she said, then sighed. "Sisko-son...I think I'm pregnant."
"You are pregnant," Solok insisted, and she pressed her hand to her forehead.
"This one apparently has a tricorder up his nose. He says he can smell it on me."
"Because I can. Didn't you say your roommate was in medical sciences?"
"Yeah," she said. "I guess you'll be wanting proof. You're not the only one."
"Hold on, hold on," Sisko said, his eyes flicking between the two of them. "You think you're pregnant?"
"Yeah," Roxanne said blandly. "That's what I just said."
Ben shook his head. "You're pregnant..."
"Are you hard of hearing, or do you think that by repeating what she has told you, it will sink in better? Allow me to tell you once again. She is pregnant with my child."
"With his child?" Sisko said, his eyes blowing wide. "You slept with him?"
"No," she said with a straight face. "It's hard to explain, but it involved a beaker, two armadillos and a turkey baster." She waited a moment. "Yes, Sisko-son, I screwed him."
Solok frowned, but his lips curled slightly upward in a smirk. "Your humor is quite unusual, ashaya."
"So is your tricorder nose."
Sisko laughed at that, and she nodded to him. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week."
Ben rolled his eyes, then sobered. "You're sure you're pregnant?"
"No," she said honestly, just as Solok said 'yes'.
"Wasn't asking you, Solok," Sisko said, his voice deepening to a growl. He turned his eyes on Roxanne. "Sicily can take you to the medical bay."
"Ben, you realize I'm probably going to have to drop out of Starfleet? I don't want this on my record, at least not yet."
Solok shook his head. "You will not have to do such a thing. If we arrange our schedules correctly, this should not be an issue. It will be unusual to raise a child during school, but if I understand your history, you will not be the first to do so."
She sighed. "Solok, thank you for the reassurance, but I'm not even sure if Starfleet is the correct decision for me. For my career. Which you just said you wouldn't hinder. There are other schools besides the high and mighty Starfleet, you know."
"True," he admitted. "I will do research into any Vulcan academies that might accept your application-"
"Solok, there are human schools that teach astrophysics."
Sisko smirked, but she glared at him. "Ok, first off, you two will settle your differences right here and now. I know you two don't get along, but if I could set aside my previous opinions and make love to the man, you can become his friend. Or at least an ally. For my sake, both of you please...make your peace or don't talk to each other."
The two of them stared at each other for two minutes, apparently sizing each other up. But then Sisko stepped forward and held out his hand. Solok looked down at it, then took it. They shook hands.
"You take care of her," Sisko growled. "Or I will hunt you down and kick your ass."
Solok's eyes darkened, but he nodded. "I would expect no less if I lost my senses so. I assure you, she is in good hands."
"Wonderful," Roxanne said after a moment of silence. "Now if only my father could take the news so well."
Sisko nodded, but Solok looked confused. "Why would your father not rejoice with you? You are bringing new life into the world. It is a momentous occasion."
"In human culture, rejoicing often depends on exactly when one has a child, and with whom, and only under certain circumstances. She will probably face a certain stigma if she stays here, especially from us humans."
"All the more reason for me to leave and consider other options."
Solok sighed, then nodded. "I am loathe for you to leave me, but whatever decision you come to, I will support. But only if you agree to meet my parents. I plan to contact them as soon as possible and tell them the good news."
"If your father isn't happy with this, and I can understand him being a bit...upset, he'll get over it. But I feel he probably will be more angry with Solok than you."
"Well, he can forget it. It's my life, and I'm going to be responsible and raise this kid."
"We are going to raise this child, thy'la," Solok insisted, and Roxanne rolled her eyes, a grin spreading across her face.
"Yes, Solok, you and I will raise this kid together."
She stopped and felt a new wave of tears, but she sucked them up and slid off the counter. "Well, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me."
She ran back to the stall she had been in and threw up a second time, and she heard the door creak open. A warm hand brushed back her hair, and she gasped for breath as she clutched the sides of the toilet, bracing herself for another wave.
"How I wish I could take this pain from you," she heard him whisper, and she felt a tear stream down her cheek as she prepared for another wave. Fear gripped her heart as the future sunk in, but it was pushed away by another wave of vomit.
"You could get me some water. And some avocados. I really want some avocados right now."
"Then you will have them," he said, but waited until she was done before flushing for her and carrying her out of the stall. He allowed her to brush her teeth again and wash out her mouth, but then he set her on her feet and led her out of the bathroom. Sisko stopped them at the door.
"Remember what I said, Vulcan," he said coldly, then patted Roxanne on the back. "You hang in there, Roxie. We're here for you."
She nodded and followed Solok, and he stopped by the caf so he could fetch her some of the soft green fruit and the water she wanted, and they sat underneath her favorite tree as she ate.
"You still need to see a doctor," he insisted. "There could be unforeseen health problems, but of all the cases I have studied, any problems that do arise usually occur in the third trimester."
"Well then, we have time to prepare for that, don't we?"
"Indeed," he agreed, stroking her fingers. "Do you feel better?"
"Sort of," she said, sighing. "But it'll be ok. We'll be ok."