The next day,Wick came in to visit her after the work day, and Abby had propped her up with blankets and pillows so that she didn't have to look up at him. She had kept down a bowl of soup that day, which was an accomplishment, but was still hopelessly weak and pale. There was an IV pumping fluids into her, and one of the medical staff came in to check her vitals every hour.
"How are you feeling today, wrench monkey?"
"Tired."
"Hmm. Well, I brought something that might cheer you up."
"That can wait, Kyle. I need to tell you something."
He could see that below the girl's tired exterior, she was terrified.
"Okay…" he said slowly, "What is it?"
"I haven't been… Well, I'm not really sick. I mean I am, but that's not the main issue."
"What are you talking about?"
"Kyle… I'm- I'm pregnant."
He stared at her for a long time, not saying anything
"Wick?"
"Is it mine?"
"Of course it is. Whose else would it be?"
"I don't know, I'm just trying to process this. So… pregnant?"
"Yeah."
"Is it normal that you're this sick?"
"I have really bad morning sickness. Abby says I'm at risk to lose the baby if I can't keep more food down."
Wick stood and moved to kneel beside her. He kissed her on the forehead. "We're going to get you better"
"You're not mad?" Raven asked quietly.
"Of course not. I'm still kind of processing it, but I'm also really happy."
Raven smiled, closing her eyes sleepily, and Wick let her drift off to sleep.
A few hours later, Raven awoke gagging and quickly grabbed the bucket beside her, spending several minutes releasing the contents of her stomach, which was mostly bile.
"Wow, that's bad," said Wick, once it was finally over.
Raven allowed herself a tiny nod. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to rub away the headache that had taken over two weeks before.
"Do you want some water?"
She nodded, and he stood, grabbing a flask from a table and unscrewing the top. He put it to her lips, and she took a small sip. She winced, and all of a sudden flailed and grabbed for the bucket again, spending several more minutes heaving over it. Her whole body seemed to ache. Her joints were stiff and sore. When she was finally done, she let out a shaky sigh, looking dejected.
"Hey, come here. It's okay." Wick sat down on her bed and pulled her into his arms. He held her for a long time, not saying anything; feeling her breathe against him. He gently touched her face, which was grey and clammy.
"Kyle, what were you going to show me to cheer me up?"
"Huh? Oh yeah! I brought you a miniature version of our space heaters. It must be getting pretty cold in here at night." She nodded. He pulled out a small metal box with a grate, then flipped a switch, and warm air began to blow out from it.
"Thanks Wick," she said, resting her head against his chest. Eventually, she fell asleep as he stroked her hair. He knew she wouldn't be nearly this snuggly and open and kind if she wasn't so sick. This concerned him, but he also decided to take advantage of it while he could.
Abby walked in and saw Wick and Raven snuggled together on the bed.
"So she told you?" She whispered.
He nodded.
"Why is she so sick? I've seen lots of pregnant people, and none of them were like this."
"She has hyperemesis gravidarum. It's basically morning sickness from hell. She's having trouble keeping any food down."
"Yeah, she's supposed to be getting fatter. How much weight has she lost?"
"Too much. Our only hope is to try to get her eating a little more, and supplementing with other means. I'm hoping to give her either a PICC line or a feeding tube in the next few days, which will help.."
He looked down at her, holding her a little tighter.
"She has a real chance, but she needs our support."
He nodded.
Raven slept and slept. It was the next day that she woke up, and found Wick sketching something.
"Another design for me to crap on?"
He looked up.
"You're awake. Good." He picked up a bowl of soup and brought it toward her.
She groaned.
"Come on, Wrench Monkey. You've gotta eat."
Sighing, she allowed Wick to help her to a sitting position. He handed her the spoon, and she carefully sipped some of the liquid. She took a shaky breath, making sure her stomach wouldn't reject the food. After a moment, she took another sip.
"How's that?"
"Fine."
"How are you feeling?"
"Great."
"Really? Great?"
She sighed.
"You can be honest with me, Raven."
"I feel like shit, Wick. Is that what you want to hear?"
"I just want to hear the truth."
"The truth is, I'm exhausted."
He stared at her, not saying anything. She continued to carefully sip at her soup, and finally finished the bowl.
"Hey, good job!"
The woman glared at him for patronizing her, then fell asleep.
"Raven, wake up."
Octavia was above her with a mug of tea. She took a sip of it, then realized she needed to pee. She shifted slightly and noticed with alarm that Wick was gone.
"Where's-"
"He's just taking a rest. He hasn't abandoned you or anything."
She gave a little nod. Since when was she so dependant? Hopefully it was just the hormones. She sat up, wincing at the black spots in her vision. Her body was hopelessly fragile.
"Raven, sit back and drink your tea." Octavia looked a bit haggard, but Raven decided not to mention it.
"No, I've gotta pee. Can you hand me my brace?"
She picked it up off the ground and helped her slide it onto her leg. Raven fastened it, then slowly stood.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay," Octavia said, unbelieving.
She started walking toward the door, but stopped partway there, swaying.
"Raven?"
Octavia quickly moved across the room to catch her as she fell.
"Raven? Raven, wake up. Help! Someone help!"
Abby came in moments later, and checked the girl's pulse.
"No pulse!" she yelled, and a few moments after, Jackson came in and helped Abby carry the girl into another room. Octavia was left sitting on the floor of the sickroom, shaking.
4 hours later, Abby left the operating room, looking exhausted. Wick was sitting outside, desperate for news.
"Is she..."
"She'll survive. We restarted her heart, and I gave her a nasojejunal tube, through which she'll get fluids and nutrition support. It gives her and the baby a much better chance. I considered giving her a PICC line, which is similar to an IV, but there are fewer risks with the nj tube, and I think he deserves as little risk as possible. I'm also putting her on a heart medication. I don't know if she ever mentioned her heart condition… It was pretty minor, but with the stress that has been put on her heart recently, it just couldn't keep up. The medication should help her. For the next few weeks, we're going to have her rest, and after that-if she's feeling better-she can start working again."
"Can I see her?"
"She won't be up for a while."
"I still want to see her."
The doctor nodded.
He went in and saw the sickly-looking woman laying motionless. She had a tube going into her nose, taped onto her face. It lead to a bag of white liquid. Her IV had been taken out. Sitting down next to her, he grabbed one of her hands and held it. He noticed someone outside the plastic flaps that served as the door.
"Octavia?"
She came in, staying near the exit. "I'm sorry," she said in a haunted voice. She was looking almost as grey as Raven.
"For what?"
"It's my fault her heart stopped. I shouldn't have let her move around without me helping her."
"It's not your fault."
"But-"
"No, you're not going to blame yourself. She had heart issues to begin with. And she's fine now. So don't blame yourself, okay? She's fine, and you're fine and we're all just… fine."
She nodded hesitantly and drew a bit closer to the unconscious mechanic.
"What's that… thing?" She asked, pointing toward her own nose.
"A feeding tube. Abby says it'll help."
"Raven's not going to be happy about another thing that gets in the way."
"She'll get over it."
Octavia stayed there for a few hours, then had to leave to help make supper. All the children and teens above the age of 7 took shifts helping with various jobs around camp, one of which was kitchen duty.
Raven awoke, feeling ill. She groaned.
"Raven?"
She opened her eyes, squinting and blinking. Her eyes were watering, and Wick wiped tears from her cheeks.
"Hi." His fingers lingered on her face.
"What happened?" She asked distantly.
"Your heart stopped. Abby had to revive you and give you some sort of feeding tube in your nose."
She sniffed slightly, then reached up and gently touched the tube and tape.
"Is it going to help?"
"Abby thinks so."
"I feel like I got hit by a truck."
"I'm sorry."
"Wait, why did my heart stop?"
"Abby said it had something to do with a preexisting heart condition."
"Oh. Shit, I forgot..."
"You knew about it?"
"Yeah. That was why I didn't get picked for the program back on the Arc. They were afraid I was going to kick it if I was in Zero-G."
"Oh. Well, Abby put you on a heart medication, so hopefully you'll be feeling great in no time."
"Yeah, hopefully," Raven said, putting a hand on her still-flat stomach and rubbing her thumb across it.
"We'll feel great in no time," she said softly, continuing to rub her belly.
To those of you who have been writing reviews, thank you so much! I love getting feedback on my work, and would love to hear from anyone and everyone who is reading this story!
What are your predictions? What do you want to happen? Let me know, and I might just use your ideas!