It was quiet and dim in the hospital room, with not much light except for a bit of early morning sunlight streaming through the window. Ty Parsec was the only one awake in the room; his wife Ozma was asleep in the small hospital bed next to the chair he was sitting in, his three-year-old son Samuel on the sofa opposite the bed, and the newest addition to the family - his newborn daughter - wrapped in a soft pink blanket in his arms.
Though Ty and Ozma did want to have a second child, they were hoping it wouldn't be until Sam had started school, or at least until he was four. The boy was a handful, as most toddlers were, and had the habit of disappearing without warning, especially at gatherings with friends. Sam would always be located and returned to his parents by a concerned friend, but it was still chaotic enough keeping tracking of him without also having to look after a helpless, needy baby.
But of course the universe had other plans, as it always did. Almost as soon as the family's new house on Karn was finished and ready to be moved into, Ozma found herself spending most of the morning - and sometimes half the night - vomiting into the toilet again!
At least the universe was kind enough to wait until Sam was toilet-trained! Ty thought.
Every time the gentle sound of the new baby's breathing reached his ears, reminding him she was still alive and doing well, Ty felt more relaxed. The event of the previous night had to have been one of the most stressful and chaotic of his entire life. Though he wasn't the one who'd gone through the actual task of giving birth, the night of his daughter's birth still left its mark on him.
He remembered the look of horror on the nurse's face when she couldn't locate the baby's heartbeat.
He remembered the urgency in the doctor's voice as she yelled at Ozma to push.
He remembered his newborn child's deathly pale skin.
He remembered the fear in Ozma's eyes as her gaze met his own.
And he remembered how immensely relieved they both were when their baby's first cries reached their ears. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but to them it felt like an eternity.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Parsec," the doctor said as she handed the still wailing infant to her mother. "You have a beautiful baby girl."
The two-time parents exchanged proud victory smiles before turning their attention to their newborn. By now her crying had turned into soft cooing, and her skin had gained a healthy dose of rosiness. The little one continued to keep her eyes shut as she waved her tiny fists in the air as if in search of the source of those strange but familiar voices she was now hearing.
"Well, hello there, baby girl," Ozma whispered. "Do you know who we are? We're your mommy and daddy." Still smiling, she looked at her husband. "Just look at her, Ty. She's absoloutely gorgeous."
"I know, Ozma," Ty responded, his voice cracking a little. He placed one arm around his wife's shoulders while reaching to embrace his daughter with the other. As soon as her father's fingertips brushed against her cheek the baby squirmed a little as she opened her eyes, wondering who'd just touched her.
"Ty, she's looking at you," Ozma said.
Her husband chuckled softly in response as he carefully shifted his hand so that his palm cradled the baby's head. "Aww, I'm sorry; did I wake you, sweetheart?" Father and daughter continued to gaze into each other's eyes. "You know, you gave us quite a scare a little while ago, but we're both so happy you're ... alive, and ... okay ..."
Ty's voice trailed off and his smile faded into a blank stare as the realization of what had just happened and what might have been slowly sank in.
She almost didn't make it ...
She ... our own child ... could have died ...
We almost ... lost her ...!
Suddenly, everything Ty Parsec had been through as a Space Ranger - the flesh-eating drill wasp, the brain-ticks of Betahard-4, the chest-bursting vipers of Motzroth, even the infamous Wirewolf - seemed like a mere moonwalk in comparison with this!
"Ty, are you alright?"
Ty gasped sharply as Ozma's concerned voice brought him out of his thoughts and back into the chair at her bedside.
"What? Oh, I, um ..." A bright crimson blush crept across the Space Ranger's normally rugged face as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing, Ozma. Just lost in my thoughts, is all."
"Are you sure? Your breathing sounded a little off; maybe we should call a nurse ..."
"No!" With a lightning-quick reflex Ty grabbed Ozma's hand before it could touch the bright red call button. "I mean, um ..." Realizing he was gripping her hand tighter than he'd intended, he slowly loosened his hold and pulled his hand back. "Really, Ozma, it's nothing. I'm fine."
Ozma was still confused by her husband's odd behavior, but she believed him. Nothing more was said on the subject.
"So," Ty cooed slyly once he regained his composure, "is there any chance I can still talk you into choosing a different name for our daughter? Like, say, Miranda?"
Ozma chuckled. "Not a chance, Ty-boy Fly-boy. Her name's Megan, and that's that."
The name Megan had been suggested as a joke - an obvious pun on the word "megaparsec" - by Ty's old Ranger Academy friend Buzz Lightyear. Ty had at first objected to Buzz's suggestion, insisting that other kids might bully his child with a name like that. Ozma, however, loved the idea of having a daughter named Megan, despite the joke behind the name. Ty had tried suggesting other names - like Miranda, in honor of his late mother, Space Ranger Miranda Vega - but Ozma wouldn't budge.
"Which reminds me," Ty muttered, "I still need to get back at Buzz for that!"
Seeing how disappointed her husband was that her mind was made up, Ozma quickly added, "Tell you what, though. Since Miranda was your mom's name, we'll make it her middle name. How does that sound?"
"What? Are you serious right n-?" Ty immediately paused his outburst once the name started to repeat itself in his mind. Megan Miranda Parsec. Come to think of it, it sounded much better than he thought it would; had a nice ring to it, too.
"Megan Miranda Parsec," Ty said the name aloud as he gazed lovingly at the newborn in her mother's arms. "I love it!"
Ozma nodded happily. "Alright, then. Megan Miranda it is!" She once again reached for the call button. "Now why don't we get Sam up here to meet his new little sister?"
Megan's sudden wail brought Ty back into the present. Now that the sun was higher in the sky, more light was shining in through the window, making the room brighter. More activity could be heard in the hallway outside the room as well. Ozma and Sam still remained fast asleep.
"What's the matter, Meggie?" cooed Ty as he carefully unwrapped his daughter from her blanket, taking care to make sure her fragile little head had support. "Are you hungry? Or do you need your diaper changed?" Though he hated to wake Ozma, he was hoping for the former; but unfortunately for him, Megan's damp backside comfirmed the latter.
Craters! Why is it always the one you least hope for? the sleep-deprived father wondered, placing his squirming, whining baby on the small changing table the hospital had provided before retrieving a clean diaper, a box of wipes, and a bottle of baby powder from one of the shelves beneath the table. Considering it had been almost a year since the last time he'd had to change a diaper, he hoped he remembered how it was done.
Luckily Ty's memory served him well. The task was a little different than he remembered - obviously because he was changing a girl instead of a boy this time around - but it was still easier than he'd expected. He did have a little trouble opening the bottle of powder; and once he did manage to get the darned thing open, he didn't realize until too late that the opening was facing him, and the powder got all over his face, hair, and the front of his shirt.
At least Buzz and Rocket weren't here to see this; they'd never let me forget it!
As soon as he'd managed to brush most of the powder off himself, Ty finished putting the clean diaper on Megan and proceeded to dress her in a soft light blue sleeper decorated with stars and a crescent moon on the front. Once she was dressed he lifted her from the table and held her against his shoulder as he carried her back to his chair, massaging her back all the while.
"There we go," Ty said once he was seated in his chair again. "That feels much better, doesn't it?" Megan's only response was a satisfied coo as she rested her head on her dad's shoulder.
"I take it that's a yes, then."
"Huh?" Ty's head whipped to the left to find Ozma awake and smiling, though still in bed. "Ozma? How long have you -?"
"Just long enough to see how you got all powdery," his wife said, giggling when her husband blushed in response. "Also, you're adorable when you blush."
Ty rolled his eyes as he sighed in annoyance. "I was just being a good father, Ozma. I thought I'd let you sleep in while I changed Megan's diaper, is all. But now that I know you were awake this whole time, I just might think twice before doing you a favor like that again."
Ozma quickly looked away, eyes downcast as a blush of shame crept across her face. "Oh my gosh; I'm sorry, Ty. You're right; that wasn't nice of me at all. I promise I won't do that again. Can you for-?" She immediately fell silent in confusion when she heard Ty snickering. "Wait, what's so funny?"
Ty lifted his hand from his face as he looked at his wife, his face bearing his trademark smirk.
"You're adorable when you blush, you know that?"
"Why, you-!" Ozma playfully smacked Ty's arm, being carefully not to disturb Megan. "If you weren't holding our new baby daughter right now, I'd pummel you good!"
Ty held up his hand in playful surrender. "Okay, okay; I forgive you!" His smile faded as he regained composure. "But in all seriousness, please don't do that again."
Ozma chuckled softly in response. "Alright; I won't."
"Mama?"
Sam, having been awakened by his parents' banter, was now standing in front of them, rubbing his eye with one hand while holding his favorite stuffed turtle with the other.
"Hey there, Sammy," said Ozma as she reached for her son, who climbed into her lap. "We're sorry; did we wake you, sweetheart?"
Sam just looked at his feet, as if thinking about what he wanted to say next.
"I'm hungry," he said simply.
Both parents chuckled at their son's response. Their laughter unintentionally disturbed Megan, who started to fuss.
"Looks like someone else is hungry, too," Ozma remarked. "Sam, could you please scoot over to the side there, so I can feed your sister?"
"'Kay," said Sam, who immediately obeyed as Ty handed Megan to Ozma.
"Come to think of it," Ty remarked, "I could use something to eat myself. How about I head out to Auntie Gravity's across the street and grab us some breakfast?" Looking down at his shirt, which still had some streaks of powder on it, he quickly added, "Once I wash the rest of this powder off me and put on a clean shirt, of course."
Ozma smiled. "Sounds great, Ty. You do that."