CH33 (112)
Kate and Elena were laying in their bunk beds on the Sun Rises a couple of hours before dinner. "Mom? …. Thanks."
Kate got out of bed and got down on her knees in front of Elena and stroked her hair. "You don't have to thank me honey. You're my daughter. Of course I'm going to help you.
And I'm going to kick your doctor's ass when we get back. Provided your father doesn't beat me to it" Kate was still mad the doctor had told Elena but not told her parents.
Rick had gone ballistic when he found out the jerk had told his daughter and not told him or his wife.
Rick had helped Kate pack for the trip, told her not to worry he would handle everything at home while they were gone.
Alexis had done the same for Elena, crying the entire time. Which only got Elena to cry with her.
Emily was willing to stay without a fight; however Kali had wanted to go with Elena. Besides she would get to see her baby brother if she got to go. However they both had school. "Athos has schools." Was the only card Kali played.
"Mags will fix this, you'll see." Kate kisses Elena's head and gets back into her bunk bed. One more month to go.
"Lucy call Madison." Rick asks of her.
"Hi Rick." Madison is soon up on the monitor.
"Kate and Elena should have broken orbit by now, they're one month out from getting to you. … Have you gotten her records yet?" Rick was still pissed and Madison could hear it in his voice and didn't take it personal.
"Nothing yet." Madison was forced to tell him.
"That does it! I'm going to break both his legs, take the files and send them to you. I'll get back to you in a few hours." And Rick ended the transmission just as Madison was going to say something.
"Lucy, find the girls and have them meet me on the shuttle pad. We have somewhere to go." Rick strides for the shuttle and waits.
Alexis shows up with the girls." Where are we going dad?"
"We're going to go find Elena's doctor and break every bone in his body, and find her medical records and get them sent to Madison." Rick was furious.
Alexis with the girls followed Rick into medical and watched him blow right past the lady at reception.
"I'm sorry but you can't go back there. …. I'm calling security." The receptionist calls out.
"My mother IS security!" Alexis informs her. Her dad was mad and she was going to support her dad.
"Castle." The lady whispered out.
"You and your doctor have screwed with the wrong family." Alexis informs her and she sits quietly.
Alexis and the girls however can hear their father yelling at someone, just can't make out what he is saying.
A little later Rick comes out with hard copies and a digital disk with all of Elena's medical history on them. "Let's go girls." Rick was still furious, but had what he wanted. "And don't give me or my wife reason to come back here." Rick knew he was pushing things, however he also knew there were other doctors on the planet.
Rick and the girls were home standing in front of one of the monitors. "Lucy call Madison for me."
"Rick?" Madison is soon on the monitor.
"I've got her records." And Rick plugs the chip into the monitor. "I also have the hard copies."
"I'll look them over and get back to you. And Rick, … Keep the hard copies handy somewhere, just in case. And if you can have Lucy scan them and send them too." Madison tells him.
"Thanks Madison." Rick started to cool down.
"I'll start reading and get back to you. … I'll do what I can girls." Madison smiles at them as they stand behind Rick watching. And Madison ends the call.
"Can you take these to Lucy and scan them; I'm going to start lunch." Rick hands the files over to Alexis.
Rick waits until Alexis is gone and he sends the girls to wash up. "Lucy I need you to do one more thing for me. … Elena was seeing a doctor Josh Davidson. I need you to do two things. Inform Kate of that after Madison has had a chance at seeing Elena, and I need you to send a message to Tellus. I want that ass hole off this planet. Him and his broken nose." Rick asks of her.
"Kate is going to blow a fuse when she finds out it was Josh that did this." Lucy knows what Kate thinks of Josh.
"I know, that's why I want you to wait until Madison has had a chance at looking at Elena." Rick was hoping it was all a lie and Elena was fine.
Rick didn't hear from Madison till morning after the girls had gone to school. Alexis took a message with her from Rick about Elena. Alexis was curious but didn't peek.
"Hi Madison, find anything?" Rick was hoping nothing was wrong with her.
"Yes and no. …. The hard copy you sent is from her doctor on Tellus. I want Lucy to examine them for authenticity. …. They don't match the digital chip records you sent. I want Lucy to compare the two and send me a list of the differences she finds." Madison informs him.
"He's falsifying records?" Rick asks shocked. Would he really go that far?
"I can't tell, that's part of why I need Lucy. If it is I would suggest you report him. He needs his license removed." Madison informs him.
"I should have broken more than his nose." Rick was pissed all over again.
"Becks is going to be pissed Rick. I know what she thinks of this guy." Madison knew she was going to hear it from Kate when she found out.
"Keep it to yourself for now Madison. I want you to have seen Elena before you or Lucy tell Kate about Josh." Rick asks of her.
"You're playing with fire Rick." Madison warns him.
"I'm hoping you have good news to soften the blow." Rick was praying, for Kate and Elena.
"Madison I have concluded my review of her medical records. What you have asked for is compiled and listed. I'm sending it now." Lucy tells them.
"Thanks Lucy, I'll start reading it straight away. I'll let you know what I find after I see Elena, Rick." Madison ends the call.
It was one month later:
Madison, Shawn and Matt were waiting for the shuttle to land and open up. "BECKS!" Madison ran for Kate the second she was out.
"Hi Mags." Kate hugs her back. Every couple of days on a phone was one thing, having Kate here was another.
Madison switches to Elena. "Hi honey, I know this is scary for you, but we're going to fix all that."
"Hi Kate, how's Ariel?" Shawn comes forward with Matt.
"I love Ariel! It has changed so much in the 3 years we were gone. But it'll be good to come here next summer." Kate was looking forward to seeing their ship.
"Your ship is down near my submarine pen, so I get to see it almost every day. It looks amazing Kate, it really does." Shawn was impressed. "They say they'll be ready in time."
"Hi Matt, you've grown." Kate bends down to his level.
"He's been expecting Kali to show up with you ever since he found out you were coming." Shawn tells Kate.
"Kali has school honey, she had to stay home. But she'll come with me next time, I promise." Kate smiles at him and hugs him.
"Come on let's get you two settled. … You'll be staying with us in our dome. Your old dome already has tenants. …. Shawn and I have a space in the new tower that is south of here by the coast. It and the tower are not completed yet.
I'll show you the plans. It's not your home on the island, but we like it." Madison tells them.
They escort Kate and Shawn to their dome, not like Kate doesn't know the way already.
"We'll let you two get unpacked. You're also just in time for dinner. I'm not convinced that it's as good as Rick's cooking, but it is pretty good.
I'll take Elena with me to medical tomorrow. We were thinking you could go with Shawn and Matt and go see your ship. … I've been drooling all over it waiting for next summer." Madison was convinced it was going to be fun.
Kate thought Madison was right about dinner. It wasn't on par with what Rick could cook, but she thought it was better than most of what she cooked. Not that anyone complained.
"I see the monitors still work." Kate saw there was something on it.
"It's not Lucy but it's ok. Mostly Shawn and I use our pads." Madison explained.
Come morning they all boarded the same GETS train. "The new bigger and better medical center is in the city tower. We've got a year yet till our space is ready. All the floors are constructed and the tower is enclosed by glass/solar power panels or solar hot water panels.
Elena and I get off here while Shawn will take you to see your ship. Give us a few hours and I'll call you when we are done." Madison tells Kate.
"Hop up here honey and let's get started." Madison tells her after they are inside.
Kate meanwhile has made it to the dry dock where her ship is located. Shawn has remained behind since the contractor would not allow Matt on the site.
Kate with hard hat in place is close. "WOW!" It was bigger in person than Kate ever dreamed.
"Can I help you ma'am?" Someone stopped Kate.
"I'm Katherine Castle and I came to take a peek." Kate tells him looking to get a little closer.
"Mrs. Castle! …. This is yours than. She's already beauty, I'm looking forward to see her when we're done. … Come on I'll give you a tour." Kate is offered.
"As you can see she's not painted yet, that will be the last thing we do." He helps Kate up onto deck.
"The mechanical systems are complete. …. As you can see we have a lot of wiring still to do. It's all optical cable. …. A lot of the finishes are not in yet though some are. …. The masts house the sails that are deployed or brought in using the computer interface on the bridge, up there." And he points. "Come on inside.
This is the main living room and is almost complete. The galley is back this way. … All the equipment is in, we're just making final connections now."
He showed Kate most of the bedrooms and the bathrooms. Library area, dining room, entertainment area. The bridge was really filled with workers as they installed equipment. Kate instantly recognized all of the displays they were installing since they looked just like the ones they were all using Lucy to train with.
It was three hours later when Kate left, thanking the guy for the tour of her ship. It really was big!
Shawn was going to meet her at medical after she was done with her tour.
Kate stepped into medical and got slammed into by Matt. "Hi sweet boy, where's your dad?" Watching Shawn walk up to her.
"What did you think?" Shawn wanted to see her reaction.
"It's big!" Kate was still amazed.
"It should be a blast Kate. … Madison says she's ready for you." And he takes Kate to see Madison.
In Madison's office was Elena already who got up and stepped into Kate's embrace. "Have we got something?" Kate wanted answers, praying it was all good news.
"Have a seat." Madison offered while Madison remained standing, and then leaned back against her desk.
"Rick sent your medical history and Lucy and I found that your hard copy and the recorded records do not match. I have a suspicion as to how that could happen.
First let's start with what got you here. You're doctor told you a partial truth but also an outright lie. I've used Lucy to file a complaint with the medical board.
I've found 2 things. Elena's levels of estrogen are a little low. While this isn't something to worry about it can come into play when or if she decides to get pregnant. … I also found an unusual number of antibodies in her system.
These two problems combined have caused the wall of her uterus to be unusually thin. Only 1mm to be precise in most areas. 2mm would be better.
Under normal conditions and in response to estrogen - naturally produced in the body - the uterine lining grows about 1-2mm every other day. Ideally, at the time of ovulation, the endometrium would be about 8mm in thickness. If there is a failure in the development of a normal uterine lining, the chances of a fertilized egg becoming implanted is threatened.
There are several factors which can affect the normal growth of the uterine lining. Such things as infection, scarring from D&Cs, low estrogen levels, poor uterine blood supply or endometrial antibodies can all make an impact.
Elena's naturally thin wall means as she reaches a time of ovulation, meaning an egg is released and can be fertilized by semen.
If her wall remains too thin the chances of her becoming pregnant are greatly diminished. Even if the fertilized egg does attach to the wall, it is likely that it could not be sustained and she would have a miscarriage." Madison pauses to let them all absorb it.
"That's the bad news, now for the good news.
We can easily increase the amount of estrogen in Elena's system. This over time should help increase the normal thickness of her uterus. Also when she decides to try to be pregnant we can attempt to alter the number of antibodies in her system.
When we find out she is pregnant we will give her hormones in addition to her normal vitamins that she would be taking." Madison concludes her analysis and waits for questions.
"Elena can get pregnant and create her own family?" Kate tries to simple it out. (Keep it KISS stupid)
"Most definitely with just a little work on our part." Madison was grinning.
"But the doctor said, …." Elena was lost. One doctor said no and one says yes.
"Yeah about that." Madison suddenly looked nervous.
"Mags?" Kate had spotted it.
"Rick found your doctor honey and took your medical records from him. … After he confronted him and broke his nose." Madison scrunches, convinced Kate was going to lose it soon.
"Rick, … my Rick broke his nose? …. Why?" Kate didn't get it. Rick was the most kindest, gentlest and thoughtful man she had ever met. What could possibly make him violent?
"Elena's doctor, who told her she couldn't have children was, … Josh Davidson." Madison scrunched her face and got ready to get out of reach of Kate.
Kate was silent for about half a second. "WHAT?" Kate shot up out of her chair. "I'LL KILL HIM! …. No killing him is too good for him. …. I'll skin him alive, before I break every bone in his pathetic excuse of a body!" Kate wanted to punch something, anything. Something had to pay the price.
Josh was screwing with her family!
"Phone, where's my phone?" Kate pulls out her phone.
"Rick, you knew it was Josh and you didn't call me?" Kate was still mad and Rick was going to take the brunt of it for the moment.
"I broke his nose, filed a complaint with the medical board and have arranged for him to get shipped back to Tellus. … I was waiting to tell you after you had news on Elena." Rick defended himself.
"Has Madison had a chance to see Elena?" Rick was dying to hear good news since finding out Josh was involved.
"Madison says she can have a family with just a little help and some careful planning." Kate tells him. Then hugs Madison and turns to Elena while not hanging up her phone to hug Elena and start crying.
"Thank you, thank you, and thank you." They can hear Rick's response over Kate's phone.
Rick can hear his wife and daughter crying on the phone.
"We'll be home on the next ship." Kate tells Rick. "Tell Alexis and tell the girls we're all fine."
Kate turns back to Madison and hugs her again. "Thanks Mags, we owe you."
"You can pay me back by showing up this summer. I'm dying to be on that ship of yours." Madison hugs Kate back, happy that she could help.
"I can give you a choice honey. I can either send you home with estrogen as a shot that you can give yourself or as a pill that you place under your tongue.
The shots are a little better and more powerful and you only need them once a week. You inject it into one of your leg muscles. I can teach you how.
The pills you will need to take daily, possibly for the rest of your life. And even if you decide on shots now, we will be changing it to pills later.
Your choice." Madison offers Elena.