Notes:
This story will be a long one, though I only have three chapters written, this I can guarantee. For the longest time I wanted to wait until this story was complete to share any of it. However, it's been a long time since I started working on this and it's clear my progress will be slow, and I didn't want to wait until sharing what I have written anymore, however incomplete it may be. I might make small edits to this chapter and other early chapters in the future as I continue working on this story, just as a head's up!
There will be some semi-graphic descriptions of medical procedures in this, and I will add any other warnings I can think of as they arise.
I hope you enjoy what I've done so far!
P.S. - Dax is not in this chapter, but she will definitely show up in the next and be a prominent character from there.
A remarkably boring day, by anyone's standards, was set before Kira.
Travel, wait, work, rest. Wake up, repeat. Though she didn't leave the station all that often anymore these days, most of her time had become occupied by this predictable routine she had fallen into. Wake, work, wait. Rest, wake, repeat.
Some days she couldn't find a moment to rest. Days when the station seemed like it was falling apart, days when the station was falling apart. Days where she couldn't stop to catch her breath, couldn't stop at all. And some days, she felt that she did nothing but wait. Wait for reports. Wait for meetings. Wait for that damn Cardassian tailor to stop talking to her. Wait for damage reports and casualty reports and wait for the voices crackling in over combadges to tell her if her friends and coworkers were still alive. To carry her own voice back to them and promise, yes, me too, I'm alive, I'm here.
Today would undoubtedly involve a lot of waiting as well. But the company could be far worse, the trip wouldn't be too long, and maybe she'd have a few moments to meditate to pass the time. If nothing else, such boring days tended to be less chaotic, externally at least, which afforded her the calm environment needed for a meditative state.
The last of the equipment had been loaded back onto the small runabout that had carried Kira and the others to this far away planet; all that was left now was to prepare for departure. Sipping at the thermos full of raktajino that the replicator had just provided her, Kira stepped into the cockpit of the runabout and began working through the take off procedures to get their journey home underway. Soon after, the runabout was lifting off the ground and putting rapid distance between them and the surface of Torad V. She watched, quiet contemplation playing out across her features, as the trees beneath them faded into smudges of green, then disappeared into the overall turquoise hue of the planet's surface visible from the upper atmosphere.
Torad V gradually became smaller, and as they climbed further into the stars, Kira felt a familiar closeness to the Prophets. She wasn't looking at Bajor, nor were they near the wormhole where the Prophet's temple resided yet, but the view presented upon the initial launch from a planet's surface for the surrounding vacuum of space never failed to amaze Kira. Like viscerally zooming out of an image on a screen before her, she felt as though everything was brought into perspective, as though the universe was hers to behold.
Inside the more confined world of the runabout, occasional monitor beeps and updates from the computer filled the cabin among the companionable silence that the occupants had found themselves in. Kira watched kilometers of space fly by peacefully from her seat at the helm as she tinkered now and again with the flight controls where necessary. In a few hours, they would be nearing the wormhole and arriving at the station on the other side. A mountain of work would be waiting for her when she returned, no doubt, but she decided to put the headache's worth of data padds and forms likely to be accumulating on her console in the main operations deck out of her mind, and instead turned her focus to her shipmates.
Near the back of the cabin, Bashir was sitting before a console that he was paying no mind to, eyes closed and his folded hands resting over his stomach. Keiko sat with her nose buried in a padd, likely poring over the data she had collected from their trip, judging by her delighted yet concentrated expression. Kira smiled at them and decided against any effort to strike up a conversation at the moment. They were both content, and she had no desire nor need to bother them. Especially Keiko, given that she appeared to be distracted enough by whatever was on the padd to not be too troubled by the lower back pain that had been bothering her throughout the whole excursion.
Truthfully, Kira's presence hadn't been necessary on this trip. Not for the mission involved at least. The first officer of the Bajoran militia, and the second in command overall of a crucial Starfleet deep space installment, was hardly a required presence on a low-risk, scientific expedition to gather botanical data. Plenty of people on Deep Space 9 were qualified to fly the Volga, and to offer some protection for a civilian scientist on an away mission. But when Chief O'Brien had approached Kira, anxious and frustrated that Keiko was insisting on venturing and repelling - "Repelling, Kira!" - through the dense rainforests of a planet on the other side of the galaxy, and asked her to go along with his wife to keep her and the baby safe, she'd had a hard time refusing. She understood the desire to protect loved ones, and if she could offer that solace to the chief, then the station could do without her for a few days. She wasn't surprised Bashir had gotten sucked in too. Collecting plant specimens certainly didn't necessitate the chief medical officer of the entire station either, yet he'd come along anyways.
An uncountable number of stars stretched out infinitely in front of the viewscreen as Kira turned her attention outside the runabout once more. The quiet serenity of the moment wasn't lost on her, far more peaceful than she had expected to encounter that day, and she decided to take the opportunity to meditate as she'd hoped for earlier. She let her eyes fall closed, inhaling deeply, and brought her hands up, palms open toward herself. She exhaled, then took in another deep breath, and let her practiced mind wander to a state of clarity. Another breath in, another breath out. She felt a sense of calm settle over her tense frame. The tension wouldn't melt away, it never really did, but it did ease. Another breath in, and out. Her thoughts flowed gently, and she let them pass through her mind. Another breath in, and out.
A series of loud monitor chirps pulled her out of her trance. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to check the readout for the cause of the disturbance. Bashir didn't stir, but Keiko must have been drawn from her data by the noise. She rose from her previous spot and sat in the copilot seat beside Kira, beckoned by her curiosity.
"Anything interesting?" She asked, peering over to the monitor that had gone off and was still emitting periodic beeps. She couldn't quite read the screen from her seat, not without leaning over Kira, so she settled further and rested a hand on the small, round swell of her stomach.
"Nothing too exciting, just some anomalous bioscans originating on a planetoid not too far from here." Kira replied as she flicked through the information that the computer was providing to scan for any sign of danger from the readings. Nothing seemed to be too out of place, but she did take note of an asteroid field that the sensors had also picked up not far from the planetoid.
Keiko's intrigue piqued as she leaned toward Kira and the monitor screen again. "Anomalous how?"
All Kira could offer was a shrug; she didn't know much beyond what the computer was telling her. "It doesn't seem to be much of anything, just some minor spatial distortions combined with these unfamiliar bio signs. But there aren't any distress signals, and what we are picking up seems to be only just barely enough to blip our scans. It's probably nothing."
"Could I take a look?"
Kira cast a quick glance at Keiko from the corner of her eye, and a small but fond smirk reached her lips. She wasn't surprised at Keiko's excited reaction. She'd come to understand from her time on Deep Space 9 that the possibility of a new discovery was very hard for a Starfleet scientist to pass up, even if she didn't quite see the appeal herself. She nodded, and transferred the information to the monitor in front of Keiko's seat, then gestured to the screen for her to go ahead. Keiko immediately began digging into the data with the same focus she'd paid to the data from Torad V before.
Kira glanced out the viewscreen again, impatient to just be back at the station. After three days in the Torad rainforest, she was more than ready for a shower and a hot meal. She mused on this strange new version of herself, so used to common comforts her past had never afforded her that only three days seemed a long while to go without a shower and hot food. What was once luxury was now expected. Unaware of Kira's introspection, Keiko continued to read and Bashir continued to doze.
Despite her pensive state, the serenity Kira had found before had disappeared, jostled back into reality. She doubted she'd be able to meditate effectively with Keiko's sporadic murmuring to her right as she looked through the readings, but she was uninterested in continuing to navel-gaze any further. She decided to busy her hands by adjusting some of the controls on the console in front of her, looking at their flight progress, and estimating the time left until they reached the wormhole. This only killed so much time, however, and she began checking various systems operations next despite the fact that everything was functioning as designed, well within normal parameters.
A sharp gasp from Keiko drew her from her unnecessary task shortly after she'd begun. Kira looked over to the other woman as she reached out to rest her hand on Kira's arm without raising her eyes from the monitor.
"Major, we have to go take a look at this." Keiko said, the excitement in her voice rising. She was still immersed in the data readout as she spoke, but now she was almost tugging at Kira's sleeve to beckon her attention.
Fighting back a tired groan at the thought of any diversion to their course, Kira leaned over to take a look at what Keiko was seeing and asked, "Why? What did you find?"
Keiko's expression lit up even more as she launched into an explanation of the data. "There's a protein pattern showing up that I've never seen before, but this is definitely a scan of plant matter. This could be a whole new category of botanical life that Starfleet has never encountered until now. Please, we need to go investigate this."
"Ordinarily I'd say there's no harm in sending out a probe," she replied, "but we're not quite in range for that, and in order to get in range, I'd have to bring us closer to that asteroid field than I'd like." As she spoke, Kira pulled up the readings on the asteroid field that she'd noted before for Keiko to see.
Keiko bowed her head toward the screen once again, but she paid this data far less focused attention before looking back up and asking, "Is there a way around the field?"
Attempting to surmise just how intent Keiko was on going toward the source of the scans, Kira cast a measuring gaze in the other woman's direction. The look in Keiko's eyes as she pleaded for the chance to research was as determined as ever, and Kira could tell she wasn't prepared to let this idea go easily. She sighed as she answered, "I could try to maneuver us around it, but because we've been maintaining our distance, we don't have a full reading of its size. It extends past our scanners, that much is clear."
Unsurprisingly, Keiko persisted. "Not being able to scan the further perimeter of the field doesn't mean much in the Volga. It's old and it's needed a sensor update for ages." She ignored the skeptical narrowing of Kira's eyes and plowed forward. "Please, can we at least give it a try? If it looks too dangerous when we get closer, then we can turn around, but this could be an invaluable discovery, we've got to at least try to get some more data."
"I don't know." Kira was hedging. She ran her hand through her short hair, and ran her mind through the tactical options she had at her disposal should she agree to do this. Her instincts screamed at her that this was a bad idea, but Keiko would know far better than her if this plant species were really all that remarkable. Still, unusual protein patterns seemed hardly worth risking their shuttle for. Not to mention their safety. She leaned to one side of her chair and rested her jaw on her fingertips as she considered the request a moment longer. She looked back to the information on the asteroid field that their sensors had given them, then back to Keiko a moment later. Remembering the presence of another on the runabout, she turned and called, "Bashir, you've been quiet, are you asleep over there?"
"Not entirely," came the drowsy response.
"Have you been listening to what Keiko and I were talking about?"
"Sort of." He yawned, and stretched his arms above his head as he continued to say, "There are some plants on a planet. And some asteroids."
"Well that's the long and short of it I suppose," she said, unsure if she was more unimpressed or amused with his cavalier reply. A little of both was fine with her, but he wasn't exactly providing the second opinion she'd been hoping for.
Rather than acknowledging the current topic, Bashir cocked his head and with an inquisitive furrow to his brow, he asked, "Sisko?"
"What?"
"The turn of phrase 'long and short.' It's very human. Where did you hear it?" His question made sense then, and though his curiosity was genuine and benign, she rolled her eyes. She'd become better friends with Bashir over the years, but still found him tiresome on occasion.
"The chief," she replied, then promptly returned to the original point of engaging him in conversation, "Do you have any objections to going to check out these plants?"
"It won't take too long!" Keiko added quickly, too close to what she wanted to give up the sell now.
Bashir shrugged. "It's fine with me," he answered, and his eyes drifted closed again as a good natured, sleepy smile grew on his face. "More time for me to nap."
Biting back another obvious sigh, Kira turned to Keiko again and said, "Okay, to the planetoid I guess."
A beatific smile spread across Keiko's face. "Thank you, Major, you won't regret this. It'll be incredible."
Kira returned the smile as earnestly as she could; she knew Keiko believed what she was saying. She hoped Keiko was right, and that she was merely suffering from an overabundance of caution. Rationally, there was no reason to suspect there would be any serious trouble. They should be able to skirt around the asteroid field without having to get too close, and they could resume their course for the wormhole shortly after sending out a probe. The task should be easy.
Many things in life were supposed to be easy, though. And Kira knew all too well how infrequent true ease was. Shoulders squared with determination, she entered the new coordinates to direct their runabout toward the planetoid, and set a flight path that should give them a generous berth around the asteroid field lingering not far from their destination. Meanwhile, Keiko had reimmersed herself in the anomalous scans, presumably looking for even more clues as to what they were about to find, and Bashir's eyes were closed again.
Though their companionable silence had returned, the peace that Kira found before had not. Instead, she felt herself growing more on edge. The many different ways this could go wrong played out in her mind, but meditation to quiet her thoughts was out of the question now. She needed to be alert in case this venture went awry, and rather than trying to still her mind, she harnessed the anxious energy inside her to use to her advantage with practiced ease. She took steady, measured breaths and drew her shoulders up, posture at attention as though she were waiting for the appearance of an enemy patrol instead of collecting scientific data.
Military training and years spent in the Bajoran resistance guided her; calm, calculated, precise; as she closely monitored the consoles and the viewscreen for signs of danger. Full meditation might not have been possible, but that didn't mean she couldn't draw from the mind-centering practice. When she was younger, smaller but still big enough to hold a phaser rifle, she'd found that incorporating some of her meditative techniques in moments of combat enabled her to stay clear minded while preparing for a raid. Waiting for the start, through the chaos, the bombs exploding, screams and barked orders, bodies clashing and weapons firing. Through the even harsher silence that followed. Breath control, this was her secret. A simple solution to a violent question. She took in a deep breath, counted to four, then let the air out. Another deep breath in, four seconds, then out. Another deep breath in.
A startled gasp left her with sharp force as she was thrown forward by the jolt of a sudden impact. Her knees hit the floor of the cabin in front of her seat as the shuttle shook violently, and her forward inertia carried her out of her seat. Adrenaline rushed through her, and she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her knees as she did so.
"Your nap's going to have to wait, Doctor," Kira shouted. He was already on his feet, holding the back of the chair he'd been sleeping in moments ago to steady himself. Eyes wide, she scanned both the expanse of space before their runabout and the readouts on the console, trying to figure out what was happening, what had hit them.
The computer was uselessly silent, but the impact had thrown them slightly from their path, knocking the shuttle into a position that revealed the collection of large asteroids that were coming into visual range. With horror, she realized that the asteroid field had inexplicably migrated closer to them, and the computer had failed to notify them. Judging by their position, the multitude of asteroids had been nearing the port side of the shuttle, unbeknownst to its occupants, outside the view of the main screen and undetected by their scans somehow.
Another jolt tossed the shuttle again, and Kira had to throw her hands out to brace herself against the edge of the console to prevent falling face first into the array of computers as she was whipped forward again. She glanced to her right, checking on her pregnant friend. Keiko, though clearly frightened, appeared to be in one piece. She was still in her seat, holding the armrest in a white knuckled grip with one hand while her other arm wrapped tightly around her abdomen, doing what she could to protect her unborn son.
"What's happened?" Bashir asked, making his way toward Kira and Keiko at the front of the shuttle. He gave them both a quick once over, presumably to assess if they needed any medical attention, then turned to the screen. His jaw went slack and his mouth fell open slightly as he saw the large masses of rock swirling around them. "This is not good," he whispered.
"I don't know how, but the computers missed this." Kira said, voice tight and body tense. She was already back at the helm, furiously keying in instructions and course corrections for the shuttle. "Sorry, Keiko, those bioscans will have to wait for another day. I'm getting us out of here."
Keiko didn't speak, she just nodded her understanding. The color had drained from her face at the first impact, and Kira could see the paralyzing grip that terror held on her. Steeling her resolve, she dedicated herself to her task with the intense determination of keeping her promise. She would protect Keiko and the baby, she would get them all safely back to the station.
"Bashir, what's our shield status?" she called without diverting her attention from the helm controls and the forward viewscreen.
"Shields are holding at eighty-three percent for now."
Kira nodded sharply, uncaring if Bashir saw her nonverbal response or not as she concentrated on navigation and evasive maneuvers to avoid the majority of the asteroids that drifted near them. Occasionally, the edge of one would scrape against part of their shields, jostling them all and causing Kira to clench her jaw a little tighter each time. Each scrape also caused minor amounts of damage that were adding up.
"Shields?" She barked out to Bashir again, banking the shuttle hard to the right to avoid yet another collision, and tossing them all along with the motion.
"Forty-six percent! And the deflectors are failing!" He shouted back, meeting the tension inside the shuttle with the raised volume of his voice. He gripped the console for dear life as Kira had to make another sudden turn.
She glanced at the sensor readouts and prayed that the readings were accurate as they showed their position near clearing the asteroid field. She was so close to escaping this, to leading them out of danger, rattled and a little bruised, but alive and in one piece. The shrill alarm of the computer went off yet again, and Kira had just enough time to look to the console readouts and see the massive asteroid, easily three times the size of any of the others, rapidly approaching their port side. Just enough time to hear Bashir shouting and Keiko screaming, to watch the helm's control panel fly up to meet her face at an incredible speed. Not enough time to react, however.
Everything went black.
Black, completely black, but her mind was coming alive again. Sounds were filtering in. They made no sense. Sleep called her. She tried to fight the pull; something was wrong. She knew something was wrong. But the blackness invited her back, pulled her back, and she slipped away again.
Grey, blurry grey, and her head was throbbing. Lights were filtering in, and her vision was returning to her. Vicious pain seized her skull in a vise. Someone called her. She wanted to ignore the voice; the sound hurt. She heard them call again. She needed to respond, to tell them to be quiet, to go away, to let her sleep.
"Kira!"
The voice was so far away. Or maybe she was under water. She wasn't sure. How did they know her name? Again, the voice called. Louder this time, closer maybe.
"Major!"
Her eyes flew open. She gasped in a deep breath, as if returning to the surface of a lake after a deep dive. Maybe she really had been under water after all. One thing she knew for certain was that she hurt. She blinked a few times, trying to make herself understand where she was, how she ended up like this. She was slumped on the deck of the runabout, staring at the corner of a viewscreen and a wall of computers that chirped occasionally. In the distance, she could see a giant asteroid floating calmly through space.
"Oh Prophets," she whispered in horrified shock as she remembered exactly where she was and what had happened. Gripping at her head, she groaned as a fresh wave of pain claimed her when her fingers made contact with the tender, bruised flesh at her temple. She pulled her hand away and looked at her fingers, relieved when she saw no blood. The dizzying throb inside her skull was probably indicative of a concussion, but at least she didn't have to worry about blood loss. She pushed herself into a sitting position, forcing her way through the surge of nausea that roiled in her with the motion, and began assessing the situation.
Sparks were flying from the console to her left, but their secondary shields were still holding, and there was no hull breach. Slowly, painfully, she hauled herself back to the helm, pulling herself up with great effort to stand on her feet once more. If she thought sitting up before was taxing, standing was nothing short of punishing. She almost blacked out again, becoming so lightheaded her legs weakened. She choked slightly on the bile that rose in her throat, and coughed as she expelled what little of her raktajino she'd been able to drink before they had decided to go on this ridiculous side mission.
She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and forced her eyes to focus on the forward viewscreen first, then to make sense of the computer's display next. Though the impact had nearly killed them in the process, the last asteroid to strike had propelled them outside of the field. The ship's engines, despite being badly damaged, were continuing to put distance between their small shuttle and the field of gigantic asteroids.
Motion drew her eye to Bashir; he was scrabbling across the floor toward something. Toward Keiko, who lay crumpled on the deck, against the bulkhead. She had a nasty gash on her forehead, and blood was flowing steadily from it. Bashir must have been the one calling her name before, but upon seeing Keiko's more severe condition, and Kira returning to her feet, he must have then altered his triage priorities.
Kira stumbled on unsteady feet over to Keiko and Bashir. "What's happening to her?" She asked as she dropped to her knees with little grace, and a great deal more pain than she expected.
"Massive internal bleeding, broken ribs, cerebral trauma, we need to stabilize her condition now." Bashir spoke as he continued scanning Keiko with his tricorder.
She wondered if she might vomit again. "How can I help?"
"Grab that secondary medkit."
She did so, hefting her small, battered body up onto her feet again, knees still shrieking in pain, and reached for the kit with additional medical supplies to bring over to where Bashir remained hunched over Keiko.
"Julian, the baby?" A pit of dread formed in her stomach around the question as she opened the kit in her hands and half crouched, half slouched on the deck next to Keiko, opposite Bashir. Keiko was moaning a low, pained whine as she began to regain partial consciousness.
"He's in distress," he said with a deeply disconcerting urgency.
"Is it bad?" Kira whispered.
Bashir looked up at her then, a grave set to his jaw and worry in his eyes. "Yes."
"Julian, don't…" Keiko swallowed thickly, trying to force the words through her pain and haze. They fought their way from her mouth, slow and agonized, "I don't... just save him."
"Helping you will be the best way to help the baby, Keiko," Bashir said softly, never stopping his work as he reassured her. "Once we stabilize you, it should help the baby's condition as well."
Keiko nodded feebly, and her eyes drifted half closed again. Silently but rapidly, Bashir worked over her body. Kira took Keiko's hand in hers, though the woman was only half conscious, because the gesture was something she could do. Something she could contribute to this effort, no matter how small. She clung to Keiko's hand as she passed Bashir the tools and vials of medicine he requested, pressed bandages to the open, bleeding wound on Keiko's forehead, and watched; waiting, waiting, waiting.
After several long moments, Bashir released a deep breath, and the flurry of his hands slowed as the tricorder began reporting more stable vital signs from Keiko. The respite didn't last long, however. He continued his scans, examining the baby's status, and the flurry resumed. Kira passed him more tools she couldn't name, watching with rapt attention, and despite providing assistance, feeling thoroughly helpless.
"Damn it." Bashir's sudden, furtive curse caught her off guard, and she whipped her startled attention from Keiko's still bleeding forehead back to him. "His vital signs are still falling, he's experiencing rapid decelerations to his heart rate."
But the hastened pace of his work did not recommence. Instead, he stared at the tricorder with a deep frown, scanning for something Kira couldn't guess. She watched, and waited, biting at the inside of her cheek until finally Bashir spoke again.
"There isn't anything else I can do for Keiko, not here, she needs surgery, but she'll make it until we can get back to the station."
"Will the baby?"
He threw Kira a quick glance, and though there was something awful and unsaid hanging in the air around them, he didn't mince his words. "Not like this. He isn't getting enough blood and oxygen, his autonomic functions are declining."
"Please, Julian, please," Keiko pleaded. Her voice was so weak, pushed out through a pained gust of breath."You have to save him,"
"So, what there's just nothing we can do?" Kira's own voice was laced with a venomous incredulity as she glared at him. Anger stirred in her- at Bashir, at herself, at the damn asteroids, everything. She was supposed to be protecting Keiko and the baby, yet here they were bleeding and dying in front of her. She couldn't stop their pain; she should have prevented the accident. She was useless, and she was so, so tired of watching friends bleeding and dying before her eyes. "We have to sit here and watch him-" her words cut off sharply, and she felt her anger disappear over the same precipice that stole her feet out from under her at the thought of the unspoken end to her sentence.
Bashir spoke with firm intensity, but did not rise to meet Kira in her anger. "No, I'm not saying we give up. There's one thing left that could work, potentially."
"Well then why aren't we already trying it?" Her vigor renewed, and the spark of temper flared inside her again.
"Because it's extreme, Kira. It's an option, but-"
"Who cares!" She cried, not giving him a chance to finish his sentence, and Keiko squeezed her hand with as much strength as she could muster, urging her, save him. She flicked her glance to the eyes of a desperate mother, and opened her mouth to continue yelling at Bashir, but he didn't allow her to start again.
He leveled Kira with a piercing stare as he explained, "The only thing left now that can help the baby is to transfer him to another womb, in a healthy body."
She blinked, her jaw going slack as the meaning of his words sank into her. She and Bashir were the only two other humanoid life forms nearby; the only two options. Kira, as far as she knew, was the only one of the two with a womb at all; the only option. She placed a hand on her flat abdomen, and gripped subconsciously at the fabric of her uniform.
"Mine," she stated, voice steady and quiet.
"Nerys, I could never, would never, try to pressure you into surrendering your body in this way. If we did this, there would be no reversing it. You would have to carry him to term, give birth to him. It would be physically and emotionally demanding; it would be high-risk. This has to be your choice."
She looked down over her trim, petite form, unable to imagine fully the presence of a growing child there, let alone giving birth to that child. She wasn't sure what she had expected Bashir to say. She certainly hadn't expected to return from this away mission pregnant, hadn't planned to become pregnant any time soon, if ever. But the heavy import of this crossroads was bearing down on her, with little time to decide. The sharp, aching pain in her head pounded unrelenting against her skull, making concentration even more difficult. One thing remained clear and unchanging, however.
"If we don't do something, and now, he's going to die." A statement, not a question, though she still waited for an answer.
"Yes." Another simple reply. Bashir offered only stark truth.
She met his fierce gaze with equal force, and knew. She could not let this baby die. Not if it was within her power to save him.
"Do it."
"Are you sure?" he asked. Not to change her mind, but, ever ethical, to give her a last chance to back out.
"Yes. You have my full consent," she said, determined. There would be time to think about this later.
He turned to Keiko, who had been valiantly clinging to consciousness through this exchange for the sake of her son. "Keiko?"
"Yes. Please, please, just save him," she whispered.
Bashir nodded, determination set in his eyes, and resumed his work with redoubled efforts. "Kira, sit down next to Keiko please. Lay back against the wall."
She complied immediately, and squeezed Keiko's hand again. She turned to the other woman and promised, "I will protect him with my life, Keiko."
Keiko offered a weak smile in response, having no more energy to speak, but the gratitude shining in her eyes was immense. Bashir was scanning Kira now and he came to the quick conclusion that, despite her injuries, she was in good enough health to proceed with the procedure. She watched as he began pulling numerous tools out of his personal medical kit, and some from the secondary kit, adding to the ones he'd already drawn earlier. He arranged them swiftly then leaned back towards the two women.
In a quiet voice, he said, "I apologize, Kira. I need to ask you to pull your pants and underwear down, just a bit. Keiko, I'm going to have to do the same for you." He had the decency to at least acknowledge with his expression of empathy that what he was asking was personally invasive, even if necessary.
"I guess they won't be fitting me in a minute anyways," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. She unbuckled her belt clip, and hastily shifted her pants and undergarments off her hips, stopping at about mid thigh. While Bashir was gently helping Keiko into a similar state of undress, Kira kept her legs close together and placed her hands over her groin to try to maintain a modicum of privacy. Keiko's eyes had drooped closed, her hand limp on the deck next to Kira's leg, and she didn't react as Bashir administered more unknown medications through a hypospray pressed to her neck. Kira hoped Keiko could sleep through the rest of her pain.
"These are designed for the transfer of organs in the field," Bashir explained as he placed two small, silver devices on Keiko's body - one on her lower abdomen, and one centered between her legs. "Definitely not the environment I would choose to perform an organ transplant in, though, sometimes, it's necessary." He sighed, and added, "Clearly." Pushing aside his quiet concern, he continued, "They're much more easily carried than a full medical transporter, obviously, but this sacrifices much of their range. They can be used for fetal transfer as well, but they need to be placed over the internal organic tissue to be transferred, directly on the skin. Especially given the high degree of accuracy needed for such a delicate procedure. Even more so for a fetal transfer."
He turned to Kira next, but instead of picking up two more of the devices, he reached for a hypospray and several more vials containing different drugs. With a gentle smile that belied the urgency of their predicament, he explained, "The medications I've given Keiko should buy the baby a little more time. Enough that we can get you prepped, but we do need to move quickly." He held up the first vial and said, "This will help with the discomfort from the transfer." He pressed the pain relieving medication to her neck and dispersed the hypospray. The next vial he held up to her was of a different color, and he explained, "This is to stimulate your estrogen and progesterone production to help your body accommodate to suddenly being four months pregnant. It will also help your body accept the fetus." Next were steroids, to combat inflammation in her and the baby; a mild, local anesthetic, to make her even more comfortable; and high doses of hormones, to hold her over until the previous medication kicked in and she started producing more of her own. He pressed one last vial to her neck in the hypospray and said, "This is a muscle relaxer, it will help your uterus and abdominal muscles to soften and stretch during the transfer."
He then finally picked up two more of the silver transplant devices, and gave her another apologetic look. Reluctantly, Kira let her legs fall open, and pulled back her hands so he could place the devices on her body. She resisted the urge to squirm as the cold metal made contact with the sensitive skin between her legs.
Though her cheeks burned and heat flushed down her neck and chest at the exposed position she was in, Bashir's resolute professionalism and technical precision helped to alleviate some of her embarrassment and discomfort. He was unfazed by the anatomy before him, allowing Kira to more easily pretend he was just her doctor, not her friend and junior officer, not someone who's overzealous attempts at flirting she'd overheard and rolled her eyes at numerous times. "I'm going to start now," he said, and she appreciated his calm and steady voice talking her through each step he took, letting her know what to expect.
"I'm going to start with just saline, in gradually increasing amounts, to help your uterus expand before it needs to accommodate an entire amniotic sack."
"Does the baby have time for that?" All of the drugs in Kira's system combined with her injuries, the adrenaline, and the dire situation made her feel ready to claw out of her own skin. She didn't want to wait; she wanted this to be over.
"He'll be alright for the short time it takes to finish getting you prepared," he replied, bearing no irritation at the need to repeat himself. Bashir glanced at his tricorder readouts of the baby's vitals as if to confirm after the fact, but he spoke with confidence and Kira didn't doubt him, despite her agitation. He added, "I won't disregard your well-being just to attend to another's."
She'd had this conversation with Bashir before; she knew he disapproved of her more reckless tendencies concerning her own safety but she had never fretted much over his opinion. Now certainly would not be the time that she'd start, regardless of the light admonition to his tone. He didn't press the matter, though. He just continued with the rapid pace of his work. "Alright, I'm beginning with the saline. You'll feel some pressure."
Jaw clenched tight, Kira braced herself for the imminent discomfort. Pressure was an incomplete but apt enough description. She had no better word to describe the slow, bloating distension of her abdomen, though she had no interest in finding one. A small roundness was just starting to become noticeable with each increment of saline, and she closed her eyes, disturbed by the oddness of it all.
Before much longer, Bashir shifted more medical supplies in front of him, pushing the empty saline bag away, and looked Kira in the eye again. "I'm starting the transfer now. It shouldn't be terribly painful, but it will be uncomfortable. You'll likely experience some cramping, and a warm, prickling or tingling sensation."
Kira nodded, and took a deep breath in. She reached for Keiko's hand again and held on firmly, even though the other woman was unconscious, while saying a silent prayer for Keiko and the baby, asking the prophets to watch over them all. The quiet but high-pitched hum of a medical instrument coming to life sounded, and she took another steadying breath.
Bashir hadn't lied; the pain wasn't immense, especially not compared to the pain in her head even with the cocktail of drugs he'd given her, but the feeling was more intense than she had anticipated. The cramping was there and she grimaced, knowing her uterus was expanding rather than contracting. The tingling sensation was more than warm, however, burning in the layers of her skin and the fibers of her abdominal muscles as they too stretched and grew around the baby.
"Nerys, please remember to breathe," Bashir prompted in a soft voice.
She inhaled sharply through her nose, not realizing she'd been holding her breath. The sight of her abdomen growing before her eyes was unsettling to watch, even if she knew exactly what was causing the change in shape. She forced herself to take even breaths and swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. This was becoming more and more real by the second as her belly swelled rounder. Another deep breath in.
Finally, the burning, prickling, and cramping subsided, leaving behind a deep, dull ache. Kira stared down at her abdomen and the small baby bump now protruding there, unsure how to begin processing what had just happened. From start to end the procedure had only lasted a few minutes, but the change was drastic. Bashir was scanning both her and Keiko with his tricorder, and she was relieved to see a small smile appearing on his face.
"Julian?" she asked, voice raspy with fatigue and emotion that she had no idea how to identify.
"We did it. There was no tear to the placenta, the fetus was successfully transferred to your uterus without any damage. Keiko is still stable, so are you, and the baby's vitals are improving." His smile was brightening and a cautiously hopeful look gleamed in his eyes, though his excitement was tempered with his next words. "But you have a concussion, Kira, and a hairline fracture on both patellas."
"Well that would explain the knee pain and headache," she replied dryly.
"Indeed." He pulled out one more vial to place in the hypospray, and explained yet again what he was injecting into Kira's system. "Tesokine. This will enable the baby to metabolize Bajoran nutrients from your body. It might add to your soreness for a short while, unfortunately. Don't be surprised if the cramping continues on and off. I can give you some more pain medication in a little while. And if the pain gets very bad or you start to feel confused, which tesokine can also cause, let me know immediately, okay?"
Kira nodded, a slight dip of her chin; she was far too tired to put together a coherent thought and she hurt far too much to move her head more than a centimeter or two. With the transfer complete and everyone safe, she could finally allow herself to acknowledge the pain. The feeling rolled over her like a slow, sickly warm wave, drawing aches from muscles she didn't know she had and raising bile in her throat once more.
Assured that all three of his patients were stable for the time being, Bashir wasted no time in removing the silver devices from Kira and Keiko's bodies, then pulling two blankets from the emergency supplies of the medkit. He deftly unfolded the thin, shiny, sheets of metallic foil which had been compacted into small packaging, and used them to cover first Kira, then Keiko, restoring them the privacy they'd had to sacrifice for a short while. He stood then, and went to the helm to check their bearings.
Despite being grateful for the cover, Kira pulled the sheet down enough to expose her abdomen again. Her fitted uniform was straining, ready to split at the seams with the sudden expansion. She unfastened the jacket, freeing herself of the restrictive material, and stared at the round belly poking out from her undershirt which had ridden up during the procedure. Stretch marks made jagged, dark lines across the skin. Skin which felt oddly taut, drawn too tightly over her body. She was dumbstruck. She had volunteered, had known exactly what she was doing, and was well aware that this was indeed her body, yet still she was having trouble believing she was looking at her own midsection.
"We're not too far from the wormhole now," Bashir said, "a little more than a half hour" He looked over his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile. "The port engine is in rough shape. It looks like a fuel pod exploded, but we'll be home soon."
Kira offered another minute nod, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. Her mind was spinning, and her head felt as though it weighed twenty kilos while her neck stiffened with tension as supreme exhaustion crept in on the tails of the adrenaline rush of the past hour and a half.
"Kira, you have a pretty serious concussion, I need you to try to stay awake." Bashir's voice was closer again, and she felt his hand resting on her shoulder. She was vaguely aware of him fussing with something around her head and kneecaps in turn. The pain in both areas eased somewhat, but the fog behind her eyes remained. She heard his voice again, still nearby. "Do you think you can stay awake?"
Her tongue felt thick and sticky as she replied, "I don't know." She wanted to sleep so desperately all of a sudden.
He shook her gently, and said, "You need to try. Tell me a story? The one about the three brothers?"
Kira snorted as she remembered the time she sat with her commanding officer on the deck of another badly damaged ship, in Bashir's position, trying to keep the concussed captain awake. She would have rolled her eyes if they weren't burning, begging to stay closed, and grumbled, "I'm the one with the concussion this time. You tell me a story."
He chuckled, and acquiesced. "Alright. Do you know the one about Little Red Riding Hood?"
She mumbled a reply in the negative, and he began the story. His soft, lilted voice carried on next to her, forcing her to respond to a question every so often, and she did everything she could to keep her eyes open, to focus on that voice as he continued on to another Terran story. Occasional cramps still pulled at her abdomen in random intervals, and the sharp bursts of pain were likely doing a better job at keeping her alert than Julian's stories but she appreciated the effort nonetheless.
Eventually the computer spoke once again, interrupting Bashir's recounting of a third tale, a ridiculous one about house-eating children and children-eating witches. Whatever a witch was. The robotic voice announced to the harried group inside the cockpit that they were approaching the wormhole. The seemingly empty expanse of space stretched out before them one moment, only to be filled with a brilliant blue-white burst of color and light in the next as the wormhole opened. At the helm again, Bashir guided the Volga into the wormhole, and the light spilled over all of them inside the vessel. Kira was struck once again by the intense spirituality she always felt inside the wormhole, the connection to the celestial beings who guided her people and resided within. She gazed at her rounded stomach, contemplating the life that she now held within. Soon, they were overwhelmed with the light of the wormhole, unable to see anything but pure energy. Kira brought her hands up to rest against her abdomen and as the energy overtook all of her senses, she felt a soft thump from inside of her. A little message from the unborn child she'd promised to protect. I'm here, I'm alive.