Chapter 20: Worth the Wait
Things are looking up for Hunk and Pidge as Hunk finally gets promoted. Though their world is quickly turned upside down when they discover that their family isn't as complete as they thought it was.
October 14th, 2338 (2.75ish years later)
Katie had known it was coming, but only because her father hadn't been able to completely keep the secret. So, she was not at all surprised, though incredibly enthusiastic, when she met up with Hunk at the end of his shift and practically dragged him into a storage pantry for a passionate kiss. "Congratulations, Commander," she grinned. "Those stripes look good on you."
Hunk flushed with pleasure as he held her close, leaning against the closed door, which would keep anyone from accidentally stumbling in on them. "Thanks, Pidge. Did you know?"
"Only since this morning. I'm so proud of you!" It wasn't just the additional stripes on the shoulders that looked good on him either. That morning, she had convinced him to try on one of his older uniforms that had been tucked in the back of their closet for nearly six years. It had taken a few years of constant effort, but he'd succeeded in making the alternate goal. "We should celebrate. Dad told me Mom wants to have a dinner for you tomorrow night when she's back from her Botany conference, but that doesn't mean we can't do something else tonight, too."
"We could do something totally unexpected for a week night and take the kids to a movie," Hunk suggested.
Katie grinned. "You want to take them to the new Phantasm Universe movie, don't you?" Not that she wasn't also insanely curious as to what they would do with the Killbot Phantasm universe as an animated family-friendly movie. If nothing else, it should be an excellent fantasy epic.
"That obvious, huh?"
"Well I want to see it too, and this sounds like the perfect opportunity. If that's how you want to spend this evening, I'm all for it."
Hunk couldn't have had a better couple of days. He had been grateful that the adjusted goal he had been offered a few years back had been honored, and he was no longer On Report. He had no idea if he was going to get much more off, but he felt confident about maintaining the expectations needed now. Then this morning, he had been called in and given his—very overdue—promotion.
Spending the evening doing something fun with his kids and Katie was the perfect ending to the day. As soon as they got home, they collected the kids from Colleen, and headed into town for dinner at one of Hunk's favorite Central American restaurants. After that it was off to the movie, where they sat with the two kids between them. Since neither of them had ever played the video game series yet, they had no idea what they were in for outside of the fact they had thought the commercials looked like fun.
Hunk just hoped they didn't ruin the game franchise with the movie, or he'd never hear the end of it from Katie.
It was almost as entertaining to watch the kids as it was to watch the movie. They had come to the theater before, but only occasionally, and so the newness of the experience had not worn off, and just sitting in the velvety cushioned seats, with popcorn and drinks, was exciting to both of his kids. Hunk decided to ignore the fact that no one in his family besides himself had ordered a soda. Katie and Kale had both gone with waters, and Caitlin had chosen a small lemonade.
From the moment the movie started, they were enthralled, and Hunk found himself getting sucked into the story. The animation style heightened the experience beyond that of the video game, but the brightly saturated colors, and fantasy story elements were all there. It wasn't all that unlike if someone had made a movie out of a Monsters and Mana session either. Which made it a classically amusing and dramatic video game inspired movie. While the plot was not all that twisty or surprising, the acting was good, and the soundtrack and art were excellent. Whoever had staged the choreography for all the fight sequences had clearly studied their craft and given the animators good visuals to work from. They were some of the more believable epic fights Hunk had ever seen in a movie, and he figured he was expert enough to know.
They stayed through the end of the credits, letting the theatre empty out so they weren't pushing through crowds trying to leave. Then they headed home. Caitlin and Kale babbled in the back seat all the way home about the movie, and through a more-rushed-than-usual evening bath time. There was no story tonight since they had just watched an entire movie, but neither of them complained. Instead, they went to sleep willingly and with lots of wishes expressed to see another movie again soon.
Once the children were both in bed, he and Katie slipped downstairs where they could talk without keeping the children awake. As they cuddled on the couch, Hunk asked a dangerous question. "So, what did you really think of the movie?"
Katie grinned wickedly. "Do you really want my opinion? This could take all night."
"I don't have anywhere I'd rather be."
"Well, you asked for it." With that, she launched into a detailed analysis of all the different elements they had pulled from the lore of the many previous games, and how they had woven them into this story, set well in the future from the last game. The introduction of new characters had left a lot of hints and unanswered questions about the ancestry of at least half the characters, even though the others were clearly known. There were compliments about some elements of the story, and plenty of complaints, but overall, Katie had enjoyed it and looked forward to seeing what might come of a sequel. Given how many games there had been, she couldn't imagine there wouldn't be a run of movies. The gabbing only slowed down when Katie yawned. "We should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow's still a weekday."
"We should," Hunk agreed. It had gotten very late while they weren't paying attention, but it had also been a long time since they had stayed up late just debating the qualities and flaws of a game or movie. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
October 15, 2338
Perhaps the only downside to changing up the weeknight evening routine, was that the next morning was a little chaotic as Hunk rolled out of bed a little late, rushed his shower, and then dragged Caitlin and Kale out of bed to get ready for school. He had them both dressed, done in the bathroom, and downstairs eating a fast cheater breakfast of bowls of cereal, and fresh bananas, before he went back upstairs to see how close Katie was to being ready to leave.
When he went into the bedroom she was out of bed, but the bathroom door was still closed. Hunk knocked on the door. "Katie? You almost done in there?" He didn't hear water running, though a moment later he heard the toilet flush.
The door opened, and Katie looked up at him with a bleary, anxious expression. "Do I look almost done?" She held out her hand.
Hunk stared at the object she held. "You're kidding?"
His wife glared at him from the open bathroom door. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"But… How?!" Hunk blinked a few times, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Katie was unexpectedly pregnant… again. "You haven't been on any antibiotics recently, right? Or…" He wracked his brain. Of course, he knew how it had happened…
Katie shook her head. Her face flushed. "No, I haven't. But I ah… I might have missed my last shot."
"Wait… completely?" Normally she was obsessively careful about making sure to get it on time. There was a schedule, and there should have been a call from the Garrison medical office to remind her of the appointment.
Katie nodded; her expression resigned. "I was supposed to get it the week I left for the MFE test-run mission on the new upgrades. No one on the Atlas would have had record of the appointment and I was so busy I…think I just forgot."
She looked so embarrassed that he didn't have the heart to tease her. Hunk shrugged, stuffed down his panic, and smiled sympathetically. Now was not the time to freak out. Though he surprised himself by not immediately feeling the need to do so. "Well, I guess that makes a lot more sense than me having some kind of incredible fertility-related super powers."
Katie threw the pregnancy test at his face, though he dodged, catching it in his hand instead. "If your family has some kind of unnatural level of fecundity you should have warned me before we got married." Then she turned as green as her old lion, and vanished back into the bathroom.
Hunk risked more things being thrown at his head by stepping into the bathroom doorway. "Is there anything I can do right now that will help?" While she had gone through bouts of nausea with Caitlin, they hadn't started quite this early. He didn't remember her vomiting much the first few weeks with Kale either, though he had no idea if that had happened more after she disappeared. It had not featured in most of her stories. Of course, he also didn't know how long she had been pregnant. The MFE tests had been a couple of months ago, but if she had missed a shot, that could have messed up more than a month of scheduling. Given the nature of that particular birth control a later shot wouldn't have impacted an already existing early pregnancy.
Katie was hunched over the toilet, so it took her another minute to answer. "Can you get Caitlin and Kale to school without me?"
Not the type of request he had been expecting, but certainly doable. "Sure…. Will you be okay?" He didn't want to leave her alone in this condition.
"When I can keep something down… it might be a bit."
It felt like utter abandonment to leave her, but Hunk did as she requested. She had done almost all of her second pregnancy without him, after all. If she said that was what she needed, he would handle it and make her life easier.
"Is mommy sick?" Caitlin asked as Hunk hit the bottom of the stairs.
"A little," Hunk replied, wondering how much Caitlin had heard. He stood there for a moment in the dining area, which wasn't far from the master suite bathroom, being almost below it. He could just hear the sound of vomiting. "But she'll be okay with a little rest."
Caitlin seemed to accept that answer. It was usually what happened when she didn't feel well after all. Sleep fixed everything in a child's world. "See, Mom's okay," she told Kale, who had apparently also been worried.
"Will we get sick?" Kale asked, looking concerned.
"No. You'll be fine," Hunk assured his son with a smile. "It's not contagious. Now let's get you two to school. I'll take care of Mommy."
By the time both children had finished eating and were ready to go out the door, Hunk had also made both kids lunches to take to school, and made sure both children had everything they were planning to take with them for the day. Not that Caitlin needed much checking. At almost nine, she was really good at making sure she had her backpack packed the night before, and her clothes laid out. Kale did a valiant job, but he was likely to forget something because he got distracted by a book.
After dropping them both at the elementary school, Hunk headed back to the house to see Katie was feeling better. He also knew if he didn't, she would insist later that she had been fine to go to work and mad at him for not coming back for her. So, home it was.
Katie had made it out of the bathroom at least. He found her in the kitchen, making toast and sipping from a cup of water. "How are you feeling?" he asked, not daring to presume she felt better.
"Empty."
Hunk kissed her forehead. "Go sit down. I'll make you some lemon ginger tea and bring you your toast when it's ready. Butter?"
"A little." It was a sign of how she felt that she didn't argue. Instead, she retreated to the couch.
Hunk tried not to be too worried as he finished making the tea and toast. At least they were on Earth, and Katie could call her regular gynecologist and get an appointment and they would see where things stood then. "Here you go," he sat down beside her, offering the plate and mug.
Katie took the mug first, taking several sips of the steaming golden liquid before setting it down and accepting the toast, which she took down in small, nibbled bites. Once it was gone, she finished the tea, then leaned into Hunk's side. "Thank you."
"Anytime." Hunk put his arm around her gently. "You going to make it through today?" "I'll survive." Katie's eyes closed. "I should go in, but I might do the smart thing and go back to bed for a while. I'll go see doctor Rhys this afternoon, and get some answers… and drugs I hope."
"It'll pass." Hunk rubbed her arm lightly. "Did you have a lot of nausea with Kale?"
"No worse than with Caitlin. It was slightly better, actually. Something in the local food, and all the fresh air."
"Well, maybe I need to do an intergalactic grocery run, then," Hunk commented, only half joking. He was fairly certain he could get someone to bring them the produce. There might even be some in the Atlas' kitchens. "Do you want anything else?"
She shook her head. "Not right now. Don't want to risk it."
"Whatever you say. Is there anything else I can do?" A different question. He just wanted to be able to help her, even if it was something small.
"Just…don't move for a few minutes. This is good." Still leaning against him, she closed her eyes.
Hunk smiled. "Always happy to be your heated pillow."
Katie didn't realize she had passed out on the couch until she woke to find that Hunk was no longer sitting beside her, and she was tucked in under a blanket. From the light coming through the windows, a decent amount of time had passed. She wasn't sure how much, but she felt slightly less dead. Sitting up slowly, she was relieved her stomach didn't immediately lurch. "Hunk?"
He appeared immediately, coming from the kitchen. "Hey. Feeling better?"
"Did you stay home?"
"No, I'm really at work right now. This is a hologram."
Katie sighed. "You should have gone in." He was barely twenty-four hours into his promotion and he wasn't at the Garrison. What would people think… what had he told them?
"Not and leave you like this. I called in, and I called doctor Rhys' office and got you an appointment for one o'clock."
"What time is it now? And what did you tell them?"
"Eleven-thirty, and that you'd come down with a bug so I was taking care of you. I only told Ryu, so hopefully your folks haven't heard yet. Or at least, I assume they haven't because Colleen hasn't called."
"Wow." She was more wiped than she'd realized. At least she had time to take a shower before going in. Then I can see the look on Emily's face when she finds out I'm there because I forgot an appointment. Not that Emily Rhys would laugh at her. If she had been that type, Katie would have found someone else. Still… pregnant… again. "Do I have time to shower before lunch?" From the scents coming from the kitchen, Hunk was mixing up some kind of culinary masterpiece aimed at her sensitive constitution.
"Just." Hunk nodded. "It's not incredibly time sensitive though. Take as much time as you need."
He was being incredibly solicitous today. If Katie hadn't known better, she would have thought that the idea of an impending third child didn't even faze him. It had to be an act, designed to keep her from stressing out more than she already was. She had to admit, it was preferable to Hunk in panic mode. She didn't have the energy for that at the moment.
A brief but hot shower and comfortable clean clothes later, Katie felt a bit more human, and her stomach settled enough for a real meal. When she returned to the dining table, she found that Hunk had prepared food with her condition specifically in mind. High protein, whole grains, but all lightly seasoned and easy on the digestive system. There was also a side of freshly chopped pineapple. He had remembered her particular most common fruit craving. "Thank you." She sat down, and he joined her. "This looks incredible."
"Can't have you wasting away to nothing," Hunk teased gently "I ah… guess we can stop debating if we want to try for a third one."
"You think?" Katie snapped irritably, then sighed. "Sorry. I'm kind of a tired mess this morning."
"Hey, growl all you want if it makes you feel better," Hunk replied, clearly unbothered. "I promise not to take it personally, unless you want me to."
"You're being far too calm about this." Katie voiced her earlier thought.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll have a nice little panic attack later," Hunk promised. "After we get you looked at and find out how much or how little time we have to prepare the house for another family member, and figure out when and how we want to tell Caitlin and Kale. I wasn't able to be there for you for almost all of the last time you went through this, and I'm not going to let you suffer unnecessarily now. I mean, if you tell me not to spoil you, and make all your favorite foods, I'll stop."
"No, no… spoiling me is an excellent idea," Katie shook her head. "Presuming I can keep it down." After her last pregnancy, the idea of lounging around the house in her pajamas eating anything her heart desired for nine months sounded pretty indulgent, but very tempting. Not that it would ever work. As soon as she got past the worst of the nausea, she'd be bored senseless and want to be in her lab. There was a lot going on right now, and she really didn't want to miss it.
As it turned out, she had no problem devouring everything on her plate now that it would stay down. Feeling a bit more settled, she was ready to face her appointment.
It wasn't a long trip over to her OBGYN's office. Dr. Rhys was ready for her, and started with the usual vampiric taking of the samples, and basic tests. Katie waited with Hunk, who sat right beside her, squeezing her hand every so often.
Emily Rhys smiled reassuringly at them as she entered. "You know, from looking at the two of you you'd think this was your first time in here."
"It's been a morning," Katie replied. "So, what can you tell me?"
Emily nodded. She was long used to Katie's give-it-to-me-straight-and-get-on-with-it preference for information, even when she wasn't pregnant. "Based on test results you're right at ten weeks pregnant. All your bloodwork looks good so far, so I don't think we need to worry immediately about anemia or blood sugar issues."
Ten weeks. Well, then maybe her sudden bought of morning sickness hadn't been all that odd after all. The last two times she knew with at least a little warning before it set in, but it had been about that far along in the process. "Well, that's good."
"I will be prescribing you something as-needed for the nausea. Your hormone levels are a bit higher than last time, so that's probably what's aggravating it if it seems worse than either of your last ones." Not that she had gotten to actually be there for much of either of Katie's pregnancies, given Caitlin's had been almost entirely on the Atlas, and Kale's another planet.
"Why would hormone levels be higher?" Hunk asked.
"Oh, there's a variety of reasons. They vary from one pregnancy to the next, and with the age of the mother. They're also higher with multiples."
Katie felt Hunk freeze beside her, and she had to admit that thought hadn't even crossed her mind. "But it's not multiples…is it? Can you even tell that from blood work?"
Emily continued to smile calmly. "It's unlikely, and the initial DNA testing doesn't indicate that there's more than one, unless they're the same."
"Can you tell?" At ten weeks, there might be enough differentiation to tell, she realized. While she had known Caitlin was a girl well before her birth, Kale had been a complete mystery. After doing both, Katie definitely preferred knowing. It was just how her brain worked. It would also help them decide who might be sharing their room long-term with their new sibling. Unless they decided to unearth the fourth bedroom from its life as a storage closet. Though that might be the best option, it would be a lot of work.
"I do," Emily nodded. "If you both want to know."
Katie looked at Hunk, who nodded. Not that he was likely to be in a disagreeable mood at the moment. "Tell us."
"Statistically, based on testing, it's a girl."
Another girl, at least biologically. Not that she wouldn't have been happy with any outcome. Katie smiled. "And it's just the one?"
"Probably. If you'd like, I'd like to do a quick ultrasound and just verify that we are correct on gestational age, and then we can just see for ourselves."
"Yes please." Even the possibility of twins—or more—was terrifying, however unlikely. Katie was reasonably certain there was no genetic propensity for twins in either of their families. But anomalies could happen.
They moved to the ultrasound room and in short order Katie was gooped up and hooked up. "There's our little lady," Emily commented as the fetus appeared on screen. "Not that we can get a visual on that yet. Heartbeat looks great, and yes, measuring just at ten weeks." She moved the wand around for another couple of minutes. "And she does seem to be all alone in here." Hunk's sigh of relief was loud in the quiet room.
Katie chuckled. She looked down the length of her torso at her stomach, and briefly wondered how caught up in her work she had been not to notice her stomach starting to round out already. Laying at this angle, the little bulge seemed painfully obvious. I thought I was eating too much of Hunk's cooking, she admitted to herself. She had noticed her uniform getting a little snug at the waist, she just hadn't given it much thought other than she needed to find more time to hit the gym a little more often.
Except it looked like that wasn't going to work.
They left the office with prenatal vitamins and nausea medication, and the usual list of early pregnancy information and instructions. None of it was new information.
"Well, now we know," Hunk commented as they walked back to the car.
"We do." Another thirty weeks of being pregnant. Another baby. Not that Katie didn't adore her children. They were amazing little people, but this had been her least favorite part of having both of them. She couldn't say she was looking forward to going back to diapers either, even though she knew she would love this kid as much as the others. It was just a lot to take in.
Hunk slid one arm protectively around her shoulders as they walked. "When do you want to tell everyone?"
That was another loaded question. "There's not really any point in trying to keep it to ourselves, is there?" she asked, more rhetorically than anything else. Everything was fine. The doctor saw no reason to deem it a high-risk pregnancy. She was already well into the first trimester. And if this morning was any indication, her fight to control nausea and exhaustion was going to make it obvious to anyone who knew her before much longer anyway. "We can tell family, and friends. We might as well tell mine tonight at your congratulatory dinner—which we'd better call and make sure Mom doesn't cancel—And… I guess I have to report it to my commanding officer." Always a fun time. "There's no point in pretending all of the Garrison won't know within a few days."
"Does that bother you?"
"No, not really. I just don't look forward to being bombarded with… well, anything. Good wishes, snarky comments. I expect a good amount of both, some of them from the same people." At least she wasn't likely to get suggestions of parenting advice this late in the game. Of all of their friends, they had the most experience.
For a few steps, Hunk was quiet. "Pidge… are you happy about this?"
The question hurt, but only for a moment. It was a very fair question. So far, they were now two-of-three for unplanned offspring, and her initial reaction to her pregnancy with Caitlin had been… complicated, to say the least. "I'm happy about the idea of another child," Katie answered carefully. "Caitlin and Kale are old enough they can help out, and I don't think they'll object to another sibling. I love our kids… but I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to being nauseated and achy for the next thirty weeks or, you know, labor. It's a good thing it's worth it."
"And this time you'll have me around to cater to your every need," Hunk promised.
"That does make it a lot better," Katie acknowledged. "Are you happy about this?" He had said very little about his own feelings today.
"Now that I'm over the shock from this morning… yes, I am very happy about this. We have great kids, and it's not like we hadn't discussed the possibility of one more. So… here we are. After this though, we should probably call it good."
"Then you wouldn't objected to being neutered?"
Hunk cringed. "It's not exactly neutering you know."
"I know. I just like seeing you make that face."
"I'll let you get away with it this time, but no, I'm not opposed. With our luck, we'll need it."
Katie was glad tonight's dinner was all about celebrating Hunk and his accomplishments, and also that the only people there besides the four of them, were her parents. The Athena wouldn't be back from its latest mission until next week, so Matt and Veronica were still off planet. Having survived the day by spending most of the afternoon until the kids got off from school napping, she felt marginally more human, even though she knew it would all repeat tomorrow.
Dinner was delicious. Her mother had made Hunk's favorite recipes out of the traditional Holt family recipe pile. Nothing fancy, but all great. Katie would have said it was the best her mother had ever made them, but she suspected that was the hormones talking.
"Are you, all right?" Colleen finally asked as she passed a bowl of buttered peas across the table. "You didn't report to work today. Something about a bug?"
Katie glanced at her father. He must have heard from Ryu or someone. "I'm fine now. It was just a rough morning." She took the peas and started loading her plate. "Turns out I'm pregnant."
At least she had the satisfaction of watching mouths drop open at the bomb she dropped at the table. Then her father smiled. "That's great news, Katie."
Perhaps the best face was her fourth-grade daughter's as she exclaimed, "You're what?!" Mouth wide open she was staring at her mother.
Kale looked confused. "What does that mean?"
"It means you get to have a baby sister," Katie smiled at her son.
Understanding blossomed on the five-year-old's face. "Oh! I get to be the big brother. That's cool."
"Well, thank you for your approval." Katie looked over at her mother, who hadn't spoken yet. "You're oddly quiet."
"Just surprised," Colleen admitted, though she smiled. "I didn't know you were planning on more. If you were planning on it."
"We were discussing it," Katie admitted, "But we hadn't really made a decision. This little one decided she wasn't going to wait for us to make up our minds."
"I see." Obviously, her mother knew that was code for unplanned but not unhappy about it.
"Well, congratulations to you both. And to you two," she looked at Caitlin and Kale. "You'll have a new sister to help take care of soon."
From there the conversation diverted for a time away from Hunk to the inevitable questions about due dates, and plans for preparing the house. Katie was glad they had kept a lot of Caitlin's baby things in storage, or at least the larger items like furniture. It meant they wouldn't be buying everything new. Though Katie suspected she wouldn't have to buy much of anything once Hunk's family also knew. Gifts from family would probably fill in any gaps in what they had long before the baby was due in mid-May.
There was also the inevitable chatter of curious children with a million questions about when their new sister would be coming, and how did they even know it was a sister, and whose room would it be living in, that Katie and Hunk handled, she felt, with reasonable aplomb. Fortunately, they both seemed excited by the idea. It would have been a very different conversation if either of them had declared they didn't want a little sister.
After dinner, the children vacated the table to play with the dogs, and Hunk and her father vanished into the kitchen with the dishes, insisting the ladies just sit and relax. Katie wasn't sure she felt like having a relaxing conversation with her mother, but it was that, or do dishes.
"Three is going to be quite the adventure," her mother commented over tea as they sat on the couch.
Katie leaned back, sinking into the plush cushions. "Yes, it is. I've only known for a few hours, and I'm already wondering if we're crazy."
"Hunk seems surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing."
"I know, right? It's weird, but in a nice way. He stayed home and took care of me all day. I think, maybe he's looking forward to it because he can make up for not being there last time. Though if I even suggest setting foot off-planet in the next thirty weeks he'll probably tie me to a bulkhead."
"Oh, I wouldn't do that," Hunk countered as he joined them from the kitchen. "I'll just make it clear that if anyone assigns you to any off-planet missions in the next few months crisped chicken livers and creamed spinach will be all anyone eats for the next decade."
Katie stuck her tongue out. "Eww… that's a pretty good threat. Don't worry. I'm looking forward to an uneventful pregnancy on Earth. It'll be a unique experience."
December 18th, 2338
No one in the family had been looking forward to the kids' winter break more than Katie. She had arranged to take both weeks off from the Garrison, and that meant no dragging herself out of bed early enough to get the kids to school and get to work in the mornings, no uniform, no helping with homework. It also meant family downtime.
The first weekend involved a much-needed day trip out to the McClain farm, with Matt and Veronica, for some warm and relaxed lounging. The temperatures being in the high seventies and low eighties were about perfect to Katie, especially as much heat as her body was generating at the moment.
"I should scold you two about keeping your hands off each other," Lance teased as he hugged them both on arrival. "Somehow, I don't think it would do any good."
"Probably not," Katie agreed. "But it won't matter as much after this one. Hunk agreed to get fixed."
Lance blinked, then caught on, and chuckled. "Probably a good idea." Then he turned his attention to his sister.
"Beach first?" Caitlin asked with wide hopeful eyes.
"Yes, we're going to the beach. Let's go in and get changed," Katie gestured to the house. Both kids ran on ahead.
"You don't look thrilled," Hunk commented softly as they followed the kids.
"Oh, I'm looking forward to the beach," Katie assured him. "Just not the swimsuit." It had taken her forever to find one she didn't hate in maternity. Most of them had horrid ruffles, or cutesy patterns, or vibrant shades of pink. All she wanted was something basic and functional that wasn't a bikini, and would fit for a few months. While it might have been easier to match sizes that way, burning her stomach was not on her list of things to do this weekend.
"I thought it looked cute."
"You saw it in a bag," Katie pointed out. "Not on me."
"I think you're cute too."
I'm pretty sure that's how we got into this. Nineteen weeks in, she was glad to be almost half-way through this pregnancy. The worst of the nausea was gone, and it was definitely much nicer being home, with her nice soft bed, and kitchen and personal chef. "I'll see you in a few minutes."
Katie ducked into a bathroom to change as the family scattered to dress in private. It had the benefits of having a toilet, and a mirror to make sure everything was adjusted properly since she couldn't actually see everything to tell if anything was twisted or awkward.
The swimsuit really wasn't that bad. It was a dark, midnight blue, with solid straps and built-in support. It was also in two pieces, but it covered everything. The top was more of a fitted shirt, with plenty of room for expanding if she did a lot of swimming, and an over layer that draped a little instead of just sticking to the curve of her stomach so she looked vaguely less like a ball. Though she privately felt that was a losing battle. Her body had gone oh we're doing this again, and having been stretched so much before, just started giving way to the inevitable.
The bottom of the suit, which rode mostly below her belly, was a pair of actual shorts made out of swim material. Given how much swimming helped her back, she might want to start making regular use of the pool in the Garrison gymnasium. Presuming the suit survived a beach test run. She put on a white linen throw-over and a hat to help block more sun, and headed out.
The only person in the hall when she came out was Veronica, also already changed into one of her swimsuits. This one was a deep burgundy single piece. Katie found herself momentarily envious—a rare occurrence—of Veronica's tall, lean, not-pregnant form.
Veronica smiled. "I like the new suit."
Katie refrained from making a face. "Thanks. It was the least unflattering thing they had."
"I think it's cute," Veronica replied as her expression softened a little. "I'm a little jealous."
"You're kidding, right?" Katie responded, startled.
Veronica shrugged. "Matt and I have been… trying, for a little while, but we haven't managed to succeed yet."
"Oh." Ooooh. Katie felt a twinge of guilt for her response. "How long, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I wouldn't have mentioned it if I did. Almost a year. With as big as my family is, I never thought it would be this hard."
"Do you know why?"
"Multiple factors, on both sides. None of them particularly detrimental after conception just… they line up to make our chances for success lower." Veronica turned towards the stairs, and Katie followed. "It'll happen when it happens."
"Well, good luck." It was going to take her a moment to wrap her mind around the idea of Matt as a parent. Not that he probably wouldn't be a good one, but he was just as obsessed with his work as she was… and much goofier. Okay, that was a sister's biased opinion. She had no doubts Veronica would be a great mother.
"Thanks. I'll take all we can get."
They caught up with the others downstairs. Matt, Hunk, and Lance had all of the supplies well in hand. A cooler full of drinks, a picnic lunch, sunblock, towels. Caitlin had Juni, who was on a long leash so she could play on the beach but wasn't in danger of being pulled out to sea. Kale had his towel. There was nothing left for Katie and Veronica to carry.
Part of her wanted to complain that she could more than handle her own stuff, but the smarter part wasn't going to argue with them wanting to carry it all. She was just going to enjoy not having to work hard.
It was a beautiful day, and the walk to the beach never took very long. The beach umbrellas, and a few other large items, were stored in a shed next to the one permanent pavilion down at the beach. It was nice not to have to carry those too.
The juniberries weren't in bloom at the moment, but even in winter the plants were green and healthy. The day was nice and warm, with a few fluffy clouds drifting across a sky so blue it dyed the ocean. The scattered shade and the breeze kept it from being too hot.
It was the perfect day to take a long, lazy nap under a beach umbrella with a cold glass of lemonade.
"Come on, Mommy!" Kale waved eagerly. "Let's go swimming!"
Or… she could spend time with her kids… and then take a nap.
"All right," she called back, taking off her hat and throw-over and left them on a covered chair. "Just let me get some more sunblock on first."
"Need a hand with that?" Hunk asked, grinning.
"Yes," Katie replied simply. She could have made some flirtatious or snide remark about him wanting to get his hands on her, but she just wasn't up for it. There was no way she was reaching her back… or a good chunk of her legs.
Hunk made short work of it, thankfully.
The first order of business was just that, general floating and swimming in the quiet surf. The waves weren't quite right yet, apparently, for actual surfing, though she knew Caitlin was dying to work on that some more with Lance, as always. So, they played games, tossing a ball, and splashing around. Kale and Caitlin both started learning new strokes. In Kale's case it was breaststroke, and Caitlin was just starting butterfly. While it was probably easier in a pool, they were having fun.
Katie tired out well before either of the kids. She retreated to her beach chair as Hunk and the kids started working on a sand castle that looked suspiciously like the Castle of Lions. The level of accuracy was uncanny. "I had no idea your engineering expertise included sand as architectural material."
Hunk laughed. "Nice to know there's something about me you didn't know."
The Sand-Castle of Lions took over an hour to complete. By then, the tide was coming in enough that the surf was up, and Caitlin abandoned him and Kale for a surfing lesson with Lance. Not that Hunk minded. He returned to the shade of the umbrellas and helped Kale re-apply sunscreen and get a drink. Hydration was very important even when the weather didn't feel as hot.
Matt had gone out with Lance and Caitlin.
"Does he even know how to surf?" Hunk asked Veronica, who was lounging in a chair, reading a book.
Veronica smiled. "Nope. This will be his first time, but I'm sure he'll have fun."
"I was just thinking maybe we should record it…for posterity," Hunk chuckled. "And so Katie doesn't miss it."
His wife had passed out cold while they were making the sand castle, almost as soon as she had finished her lemonade. He was glad she was in the deep shade of the large umbrella where she wouldn't burn.
"An excellent point," Veronica agreed. "It would be a shame for her to miss the potential of her own brother's possible total embarrassment." She set down her book and reached for her communicator. "It really should be recorded for all time. And while I'm at it, I can get the brilliance of Caitlin's skills. She's really good."
"She practices enough." Hunk was proud though. Over the past few years, she had definitely improved, even when she could only practice on visits to Lance's, or to her grandparents' house in Samoa. There, they would go out to the resort, where she had plenty of family members who could also instruct her. It was not something Hunk had ever been great at, or particularly interested in improving his skills, but he loved that Caitlin loved it, and anything else outdoorsy she tried. Her favorite thing besides all-things-water-sports, was horses: another activity that could not be done in their own back yard.
While Caitlin was out on the water, Juni was now dozing up in the shade as well, next to Katie's chair, romped out from chasing the kids around for hours.
Kale yawned, and rubbed his eyes.
"Need a nap?" Hunk asked, grateful that he didn't have kids who fought about taking naps if they were tired.
Kale nodded. "I'm sleepy. I'm gonna sleep with Juni." With that he went over to the dog on her towel, and curled up. Juni yawned, and woke up long enough to lick his face, then passed out again.
"Okay, that's adorable."
Hunk nodded, looking at the sleeping tableau of boy, puppy, and Katie just above them. "Completely."
February 4th, 2339
Hunk enjoyed work days like this one, when everything turned out delicious, the food got lots of compliments, and his kitchen crew had a good time. No one made any major mistakes, not even the newest chefs in training. There was still over a month until his next major diplomatic dinner to cook for, which gave him lots of time to perfect new recipes. This afternoon's experiment, an herb-sauced roasted meat dish made from an animal from the planet Rillan that had a rabbit-ish flavor and texture. If it turned out he fully intended to take a bit home to his family tonight. He had a feeling Katie would like the flavor.
He was just finishing the final garnish when he heard feet almost running down the corridor behind the kitchen. He looked up, ready to discipline whoever it was who thought they were going to run into a kitchen, when a junior officer appeared, panting in the doorway, looking concerned.
"What's wrong?" Hunk asked instead.
The girl straightened up, saluting. "Commander Garrett. I have an important message for you from Commander Jemison."
Jemison was the medical officer on duty. "Why wouldn't she just call me on the intercom?" Hunk moved towards her with a bad feeling.
"She wants you to take it privately."
Hunk nodded. "All right." He moved into the back kitchen office and closed the door. His immediate thought was something's wrong with Katie. He tapped in the code for the medical office, and Jemison appeared almost immediately. "What's going on?" he blurted out.
Jemison did not look happy. "Commander Holt-Garrett is currently on an emergency medical transport to the local hospital."
"What? Why?!"
"Commander!" she spoke firmly. "She came in to see me complaining of lower pelvic pressure, and possible early contractions. Her physician, Dr. Rhys, has already been contacted and is waiting at the hospital."
"I'm leaving now. Thank you." Hunk didn't wait for more; he ended the call and left the room. Outside, the junior officer was still waiting. "Thank you," he told her. "You can go." He turned to his sous-chef on duty. "There's been an emergency. I need to go."
He didn't have to say anything else. The other man's face blanched. "I've got things here."
Hunk didn't think he'd ever made it back to the car faster in his life. It was all he could do not to speed back into town, but arriving safely mattered too. Katie would never forgive him if he had a wreck on the way to the hospital. She was in the best hands possible, but this… this was not good. Not at only twenty-six weeks gestation.
His heart was pounding and panic rose and fell within him as he fought it. The drive back to town had never seemed so long.
When he arrived, Hunk went straight in through the emergency door and up to the desk. "I'm looking for Katie Garrett."
The receptionist nodded, not looking at all surprised that he had barged up. "They've taken her up to the Fourth Floor, room Fifteen."
"Thanks." Hunk bolted straight for the stairs. He didn't care how many flights that was, he wasn't waiting at the line for the elevator. He didn't think he had ever cleared stairs that fast either. The adrenaline carried up him upward, bringing him out in the fourth-floor lobby. A nurse saw him, and before he could say a thing, pointed down a hall. Hunk nodded and forced himself to bring his speed back to a brisk stride as he hurried to the room and right through the open door.
Katie was lying in a hospital bed, leaning against the slanted back pillows. She looked up the moment he entered, her expression turning to one of mild relief. "You made it."
"Are you alright?" he asked, crossing the room in two strides.
Dr. Emily Rhys cleared her throat. "We were just discussing that. I've already completed an examination."
Hunk sat down in the chair by the bedside. The least he could do was not loom over the woman. "And?"
Katie reached out and squeezed his hand. "Go on, Emily."
She nodded. "You have an incompetent cervix."
Katie frowned. "Excuse me? Explain that. That's the first time ever any part of me has been called incompetent."
"It means the pressure on it is making it hard to keep it closed."
"At only twenty-six weeks?" Hunk interrupted again. "Is that common? Why would that happen?"
"It's probably from strain and possible damage from your first two labors," Rhys continued to direct her statements at Katie. "Your records show that in both cases you barely avoided needing surgery to get them out, and they were both big enough that they came before their due dates." Rhys nodded. "It's not unheard of, but it is something we need to address now to keep you from going into labor too early."
"Please tell me I'm not going to be stuck in a bed for the next fourteen weeks."
Hunk could hear the fear in her voice. Katie would go bonkers.
"No. Bedrest hasn't been prescribed in over a century, but you will need to limit your movements. You can go to the bathroom, and take short walks, but avoid strenuous activity. No house chores, no lifting anything over twenty pounds. No work that can't be done from your bed or your couch. Avoid stress. If your water breaks before 36 weeks we'll be hospitalizing you until delivery."
It was almost as bad. Short walks did not describe anywhere on the Garrison base, which meant there was no way she would be cleared for duty. "Will that be enough?"
"I will also be doing a simple procedure to manually keep your cervix closed until closer to your due date. They used to use sutures, centuries ago, but thanks to modern medical technology we've assimilated from other cultures, I have a better method. That said, it can't keep your water from breaking. You will have to take it easy and get plenty of rest. Once you get to thirty-six weeks, if you haven't gone into labor, we'll remove the closures and let things run their course."
If someone had asked her yesterday, Katie would have said weeks at home would have been a welcome vacation, but that was because she wouldn't have been expecting it, and because she had a list of projects longer than the lines in the mess hall on taco day. There was plenty that still needed to be done before their new little girl joined them in the outside world. The restrictions wouldn't permit her to do most of them herself.
At least they weren't going to force her to stay in bed, or hospitalize her, for the next few months. "All right," she said finally with a resigned sigh. Arguing would get her nowhere. What mattered was keeping her daughter safe until she was ready to be born. "When do you want to do the procedure?"
"It's not complicated. We'll do it today, and if everything looks good, we'll discharge you tomorrow morning."
When Rhys left to prepare for the procedure, Katie looked at Hunk, who had that expression that said he was terribly worried, but manfully trying not to look terribly worried because he didn't want to cause her any additional stress. "I… I don't know what to say," she finally admitted, fighting to come up with the words. "I'm scared."
Hunk squeezed her hand. "So am I. But then, I'm always scared, but you heard her. She can treat this, and as long as you take it easy for a few weeks, everything will be fine."
"I'm not exactly good at taking it easy."
"Think of it as a chance to practice having patience."
"I'm in pretty short supply of that, too."
"Fine. Think of it as an opportunity for the kids to pick up more of the house chores." Hunk leaned over and kissed her gently. "We've gotten through worse. We'll get through this, too… all of us." He placed one hand gently on top of her belly, where their daughter had been twitching and nudging around ever since she lay down on the hospital bed. "I can take care of this, and of you, and we've got plenty of friends to help finish getting her room ready. So, you don't have to stress about any of those things."
"But what about my work?" She couldn't help lamenting.
"You can yell at engineers by video call," Hunk reminded her with an amused smile. "She said you could still do some work from home, so figure out which things you can do and focus on those projects for a few weeks."
She knew he was afraid, but he was doing his best to rein it in to make her feel better. As if she wouldn't remember the panic on his face just a couple of minutes ago. "You're right," she replied, since he was, and it was what they both needed to hear. "I just wish I knew how to explain this to the kids."
"I'll handle it," Hunk promised.
Emily Rhys came back into the room. "Are you ready?"
To have someone practically sew her shut? Oh yeah…. totally…not. Katie nodded anyway. "Yeah. Let's get this done." What mattered was that their daughter stayed in there long enough to finish developing. She would do whatever was necessary to protect any of her children. Right now, this one needed her most.
February 5th, 2339
Katie was very quiet as Hunk walked her out of the hospital the next afternoon, and drove her home. He tried not to worry about that, but it was in his nature. As he had promised, he had explained the situation to Caitlin and Kale the night before, and he hadn't sugar coated it, but he had kept the explanation simple. It was easy for them to understand that Mommy had to rest and not move around a lot to make sure their little sister didn't come before she was ready. They were both going to be okay, but he was going to need Caitlin and Kale to help out a little more around the house than normal, and not make Mommy work too hard. They had promised to be on their best behavior and not be too rowdy. At nine and six, they were self-sufficient enough that they shouldn't need to ask Katie for many things since they could do a lot for themselves.
Hunk pulled up in the driveway, and turned off the car. "You okay?" he asked gently.
"She's staying put, if that's what you mean," Katie replied.
"I mean up here." Hunk tapped her temple with one finger, then kissed the spot. "But that's good, too."
"I'm frustrated, and I feel like somehow this is my fault," she admitted then. "Even though that's ridiculous. There's nothing I could have done to keep this from happening. And it wasn't Caitlin and Kale's fault they were big babies, with a small mom."
"If you need to blame someone for that, blame me," Hunk offered. "Or at least, my genetics."
"That's not fair to you, either." Katie sighed. "I just can't help wondering if pushing myself on Taklis is part of this."
"You wouldn't have laid around in that tree doing nothing either," Hunk disagreed. "Look forward, not back. There's nothing to be done about the past, and it was what was best for you and Kale. We've got this. Now, let's get inside."
"Are you going to let me walk in there on my own two feet?"
"I thought I'd carry you over the threshold," Hunk shrugged, "But then I thought you might not like that, and I don't need to be the cause of more stress for you."
"Thank you. I would prefer to hold on to some of my dignity. Let's go in."
Hunk got out and went around, opening the door and helping Katie to her feet. Then, fighting his instincts, he let her go to walk into the house on her own.
Inside, Colleen and Sam were waiting with Caitlin and Kale. Hunk entered behind, leaving them free to hug her first, though she wasn't mobbed. Hunk watched Colleen holding herself back as Caitlin and Kale ran up, but then hesitated before hugging her gently.
Katie hugged them back.
"I missed you, Mommy," Kale spoke first.
"I missed you, too," Katie replied. "The house looks amazing."
"We cleaned it!" Caitlin beamed. "Well, Grandma Colleen helped."
"Only a little." Colleen chuckled, then came forward, folding her daughter in her arms. "Don't scare me like that," she scolded.
"That wasn't the plan."
"Are you tired?" Sam asked. "Do you need anything?"
"Just a comfortable place to sit, and something to eat would be nice. Hospital food is the worst."
"Fortunately for you, dinner is ready." Colleen smiled. "Why don't you get comfortable on the couch, and I'll serve."
Katie looked like she was going to object to the idea of not sitting at the table, but then she nodded. "Sounds great."
Hunk relaxed just a little. He knew how hard this was for Katie, but he also knew she was determined to be careful. It was just a few weeks. Surely, they could do this. They had to.
March 12th, 2339 (Five Weeks Later)
Katie was fairly certain she would never achieve true patience, despite as much practice as she'd had over the years. However, the past few weeks had definitely given her a chance to get back into a living day-to-day mindset. If she didn't think about how long she had left to wait, it was a little less torturous to spend her days in relative sedentation. It was still irritating that the longest walk she was allowed to take was over to her parents and back. Once she came down the stairs in the morning, she was only permitted to go back up them at night.
Not that she was permitted to do anything resembling house chores. Forget lifting things up to twenty pounds, Hunk wouldn't let her carry anything heavier than a dinner plate, or a towel. Thankfully, the kids weren't big whiners, because they were now having to do a lot more work around the house, under Hunk or her mother's supervision.
It would have been easier if she didn't feel so perfectly normal. Or at least, as normal as she ever felt mid-pregnancy. Dr. Rhys' procedure had certainly worked, and most of that feeling of added pressure was gone. She hadn't had any more contractions—false or otherwise—in weeks. Given what she had been doing at this point in her pregnancy with Kale, it seemed horribly unfair that she felt fine, but was only fine because she was doing practically nothing.
Well, perhaps not quite nothing. She was still monitoring all of the projects in her department at the Garrison, from her computer on her couch. Hunk and her father had brought some of her projects—the ones unlikely to explode—back to the house, and installed them in the basement, or the living room. While the kids were at school, she had time to work on a variety of things, but with her feet up. Her mother would drop by around lunch each day to check in, chat for a while, and help out with anything that needed doing before Hunk got home. Then Colleen would go pick up the children from school, and take them over to her house for part of the afternoon. Katie supposed that was supposed to make it easier on her, but she would rather have had them home, and so after a few weeks of that, she had said as much. Caitlin and Kale were more than happy to be at home after school, so Colleen started dropping them off at home instead, unless they went over to a friend's house to play after school.
Some days, the kids went home with Shiro's kids, and occasionally with Keith's son too. Caitlin had a dozen or more other friends who always wanted to hang out, several of whom lived in the neighborhood. So, she was often with them too, as long as her homework got done. Kale was also friends with the little boy two doors down in the other direction from her mother's house, and so sometimes he would play there, or he would come over here and they would play in the back yard. His mother would come and they would make small talk over snacks for an hour or two.
This afternoon was not one of those afternoons. Both children had come home with homework, and Caitlin had a science project due in a few days, so Katie's mother dropped them straight home, and Katie spent the afternoon supervising kindergarten reading and writing practice, and fourth grade science. Though she had to shoo her mother out because Caitlin had decided that for her project, she wanted to try hydroponics, and had set up plants growing in their back window on the wide sill, but without soil. Colleen had helped her purchase the supplies, and Katie suspected her mother could not have been happier taking her granddaughter for a plant-obsessive day at the nearest flower nursery.
Caitlin had chosen to grow herbs, which was a great choice because they would be able to cook with them after the project was done. Hunk had also approved her choice to try and grow oregano, basil, and thyme. Fortunately, they were all thriving alongside Caitlin's Juniberry flowers. He had even suggested if she wanted to continue, he would put a small greenhouse in the back yard, and they could expand the garden.
Once upon a time, Katie would have found that weird, but now she thought it was a great idea. Caitlin certainly seemed to have inherited her grandmother's way with plants.
By the time everyone had finished their homework, it was getting close to time to start dinner. Or it would be, if Katie were allowed to stand in the kitchen long enough to make something. "I guess we'll have to wait for your father to get home."
Caitlin turned from her plants. "I can make dinner, Mom."
"Oh?" Katie smiled. She had no doubt Caitlin was dead serious. She helped Hunk in the kitchen all the time. "What were you going to make?"
"Daddy said we have the ingredients for tacos. I can make those. All we have to do is chop up some of the toppings and brown the beef. Everything else comes out of the refrigerator."
"I can help too," Kale insisted. "I can get things out and put them away when Caitlin doesn't need them."
Well, that would make everyone's lives a little easier. "Sure," Katie agreed. "Can I watch?" She seriously doubted Caitlin required careful supervision, but if she was going to brown meat, Katie would be more comfortable being nearby while her nine-year-old used the stove top and knives.
Caitlin nodded. "Sure. But you have to sit!"
Katie smiled. "Yes, ma'am." She pulled out one of the tall stools that stood on the far side of the island, and settled herself into it.
As it turned out, Hunk had taught her well. Caitlin knew exactly what needed to be done and she and Kale pulled out all the ingredients and toppings. Then Kale stood well away from the stove while Caitlin put the meat and seasonings in a pan, and browned it carefully, using mitts and a long wooden spoon to keep from burning herself. She was just tall enough now to be able to handle items at the stove top properly without standing on a stool.
Then she diced up an onion and a large tomato. She put Kale to work pulling the cilantro leaves off the stems, so it would be less bitter. By the time he finished that, she had also grated cheese and was carefully chopping up the lettuce to fit properly on the tacos. Kale got out the sour cream, and the container of store-bought guacamole. Katie had been a little surprised when Hunk purchased it instead of making it fresh, but even he admitted that sometimes he was too busy to make everything from scratch, even if it was better that way.
Everything was just about done when Katie heard the front door open and close, and Hunk's solid footsteps on the hardwood floor. She turned around in time to watch his expression turn to one of bemused pleasure. "So, what do we have here?"
"We're making dinner!" Kale proclaimed proudly.
"I see that. It smells great."
"They've done everything themselves," Katie told him. "I have done absolutely nothing to assist."
"I'm very proud of you." Hunk bent over and kissed her forehead. "That must have been hard."
He wasn't being patronizing, but he was definitely amused.
Katie smiled. "Excruciating. But really, they didn't need me."
"All that's left is to set the table," Caitlin said. "Daddy, can you do that please?"
"Absolutely." Hunk headed for the plate cabinet.
Dinner was delicious, and it was nice to sit at the table instead of the couch, even if it was just long enough to devour four tacos loaded with toppings. She hadn't meant to eat four, but apparently baby three really wanted tacos.
After dinner, Hunk and the kids cleaned up the kitchen, and they all watched a short family movie before it was time for the nightly bed time routine. Tonight, was bath night, so there was a good bit of chaos upstairs. Only when it quieted down did Katie made her slow way up the stairs for the night. They all piled onto her bed for a bedtime story before Hunk tucked both kids in to bed.
"Well, we have the rest of the evening to ourselves," Hunk smiled as he closed the door behind him upon returning.
"If I can stay awake for it." Katie smiled, but there was a bit of resignation. As much as she would like to stay up a bit and maybe watch a movie, or play a game, or talk, there was just as likely a chance that she would pass out in the next few minutes.
"I was thinking you might like a shower?" Hunk suggested. "I can get all the places you can't reach, and afterwards I can give you a back and leg massage."
"Which is almost everything, but that does sound really good." It would be nice to be fully clean before bed, and the hot water always helped loosen muscles. A massage sounded amazing too.
Hunk went into the bathroom to turn on the water and adjust the temperature. Katie waited for him to return, and then undressed, using his assistance as needed to remove her loose sweatpants and her shirt and underwear. He kept a hand out for her to balance as she stepped into the huge shower, before joining her.
The water was the perfect temperature. Hot and cleansing, but not scalding. Katie reveled in it as she shampooed and rinsed her hair and washed her face. From there, she let Hunk take-over, not so much because she couldn't have washed a good bit of her top half, but because it felt so good to let Hunk do it—and given sex was currently forbidden because of her condition, it was about as much pleasure as either of them got. Hunk lathered up a wash sponge and massaged her from the neck down, and then moved around the front, slowly and methodically washing her swollen breasts, and moving down and around the curvature of her belly. With his front pressed against her back to reach around that far, the fact that she couldn't do anything else with him tonight seemed absolutely unfair. Stupid hormones… stupid cervix.
She began to suspect, and firmly believed, before he was done that Hunk's unspoken goal had been to give her a little of the pleasure they were both denied. It certainly worked.
Afterwards, he helped her dry off, before quickly finishing his own shower, and then they both settled back on the bed. He pulled out her favorite skin hydrating lotion, and went to work massaging all the parts of her body that felt tight, or stretched. Once again, he started with her shoulders and worked down her back, removing knots with his magic hands.
"How do you do that?" she asked, with a little gasp of relief as a particularly tight knot in the center of her lower back released.
"It's not that difficult," Hunk replied without stopping. "It's not all that different from kneading bread."
"That's some lucky bread."
"Let's not make this weird." Hunk chuckled.
"I think it's a little late for that."
When Hunk had moisturized the stretched skin on her stomach and chest, and then massaged her legs from thigh to ankle, he helped Katie into her nightgown. "How was that?"
"Very relaxing," Katie assured him as she leaned back into her nest of pillows, rolling onto her side and wedging everything in until she was comfortable.
"Good." Hunk kissed her briefly, before pulling the covers over them both. "Get some sleep."
Katie yawned, her jaw cracking. "You don't have to tell me twice."
When Hunk turned out the lights, she felt him settle in next to her, his warmth spreading throughout the covers, near, reassuring, safe.
Insider her, the baby rolled and stretched.
You sleep too, kiddo. Mommy could really use a quiet night.
April 2nd, 2339 (Three Weeks Later)
If it had been one day earlier, Katie would have accused the universe of pulling some kind of joke, but it wasn't. Or maybe it was anyway. If so, it wasn't funny, Katie thought as she sat in a wheelchair and was taken up to the labor and delivery wing on the fourth floor of the hospital.
She had awakened Hunk only when she realized, having gotten up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, that her water had broken early, and she was feeling inconsistent but distinct contractions at thirty-four weeks.
Hunk had called her mother, since it was only three in the morning and the kids were asleep, and waited until she arrived to get Katie in the car. He had driven her over a bit faster than was probably legal, but not un-safely.
Now he walked behind her and the nurse pushing the chair. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was worried. So was she. They might be having their baby tonight. If so, she would almost certainly be spending a couple of weeks in the NICU.
Katie was startled to see Emily Rhys walking towards them as she was wheeled into a room. "You're already here?"
"I'm almost always here," Rhys smiled tiredly. "I've got another patient in labor down the hall."
Katie felt a certain amount of relief, having her own doctor there. She had been expecting whoever happened to be on duty tonight. "Well, I'm afraid your night just got busier," she quipped dryly.
"Let's find out just how much."
Katie cooperated as the nurse helped her into the room, out of the chair, helped her remove her loose pajama pants, and settle on the bed for an examination.
With the nurse out of the way Hunk crowded in to get up to the head of the bed. He wasn't even trying to hide his tension now.
Katie tried to focus on anything other than the feeling of being inspected, until Rhys straightened up and came back into view. With too many questions she wanted answers to, Katie just waited for the answers.
"I've removed the closure. Your water is definitely broken and there are contractions, but you're less than an inch dilated."
"So, we're not having her this morning." Somehow Katie wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was better to keep her in longer, but her body was telling her it was time, and that was frustrating.
"Not unless we have to. We'll get you hooked up to an IV and start that and intravenous antibiotics. Then we'll go from there."
For a minute, they were left alone.
Katie looked up at Hunk, who was clutching her right hand.
He gave her a weak smile she was sure was meant to be reassuring, despite the fear in his eyes. "It's going to be okay," he said.
Katie squeezed his hand. "I think that's my line."
It had been a long time since Hunk's stress had spiked so high. The waiting was agony as first they waited for Rhys to get everything started, and then to see if the drugs were able to halt this labor that had come too early. That waiting game would determine the fate of their daughter in a way he would never have thought to consider a few months ago.
Minutes passed into hours. Morning came and went. The intermittent contractions slowed, but there was still the fact that they weren't going to let Katie go home. Not now that her water had broken. Her readings and the baby's were both steady, so neither of them was in any immediate danger, but only if they stayed here. Rhys wanted her to stay, and try and get to thirty-six weeks. If the baby came early anyway, they were prepared to take care of her, but she would spend a couple of weeks in intensive care.
It didn't make Hunk feel better that the best-case scenario was that Katie spent the next two weeks in the hospital.
Which, as it turned out, was the plan.
"I'm going to go bonkers in here," Katie confessed in a moment they were alone.
"I'll bring you plenty of things to keep you busy, and your favorite treats. I have permission," Hunk promised. "You won't have to live entirely off hospital food."
"What about the kids?"
"I can handle it," Hunk assured her. "Caitlin and I managed. She can help me with Kale, and your folks are right down the street. I'll bring them over every day, too." He had a feeling he would have a mutiny in the house if he didn't.
Katie's frustration bubbled over. "Stop pretending this is okay."
Hunk's smile softened and he pulled her into a very delicate hug. "I can't lose you. Either one of you. I know, this situation sucks. But as long as you're both here, it's temporary. If there's any emergencies, you're right here and they can handle it. And if she still comes early, she'll have the best care immediately." He rested his hand very gently over her stomach. "But for now… she's got to finish baking."
Katie rolled her eyes. "Our daughter is not a loaf of bread."
"Run with the metaphor, okay?" Hunk kissed her. "I don't have a better one."
April 9th, 2339
The first week was possibly the most bored Katie had ever been. Being at home the past few weeks suddenly seemed like a world of freedom. Now she was stuck with the IV—literally—every hour of every day. They let her get up to go to the bathroom, but only with assistance. Her alternative to being in bed was the one stuffed chair by the window. There was a television in the room, but most daytime television already bored her.
The major time marker was the regular visits from the nurses, and occasionally Emily Rhys, to bring her meals, help her go to the restroom, and check her. The highlights of her day were afternoon and evening visitors. Hunk was doing partial days at work, then getting home in time to pick up the kids himself, and bring them over for an hour. Caitlin and Kale brightened an otherwise miserable stay. They told her everything about their day, and she read them stories or they read her stories. Hunk always brought her something delicious, as promised. Then Hunk would take them home for their homework and dinner. In the late evening, after the kids were in bed, her mother would go stay at her house so Hunk could come back for another hour or two. So far, he had managed it almost every night.
Her mother came by almost every day around lunch, and her father dropped by every couple of days on his way home from the Garrison if he could. Just that morning, she had gotten a pleasant surprise visitor: Hunk's mother. Of course, she had called multiple times to check in, but those had mostly gone to Hunk, as Rhys had not allowed him to bring Katie's computer into the hospital. No work was the mandate. No games or conversational buddies was the reality.
Hunk's mother had brought a potential solution.
One that had Hunk looking at her funny when he arrived for his second visit later that evening. "Are you… knitting?"
Katie looked up from her project. "Crochet… in theory. Your Mom brought it over so I thought I'd give it a try… since she was nice enough. It's supposed to be a blanket. Right now, it's more like an amoeba of yarn."
Hunk shrugged. "It's a… very nice amoeba of yarn."
"That's probably the nicest thing that can be said about it, so I'll take it."
"Did you have a good chat with Mom?" Hunk asked as he sat down beside her, and pulled out a small covered plate that turned out to hold a thick slice of caramel cheesecake.
Katie tucked the amoeba out of the way and reached eagerly for dessert. "Yeah. It was nice to see her." She picked up the fork and dug in. "Ohhhhhh that's good." The baby wriggled in apparent agreement, even though there was no way she had gotten any of it yet. "You're spoiling me."
"You deserve to be spoiled."
"But I'm going to regret it later." Not that she wasn't going to finish this slice of cheesecake.
"If you don't want it, I can finish it for you," Hunk offered, cracking a smile.
Katie shook her head. "Absolutely not. I'm eating every bite of this. Besides, I'm sure you've already had your fair share."
Hunk shrugged. "That would be an accurate statement."
"I knew it. No getting yourself put back on report, you hear me?" She kept her tone playful, but she was dead serious. "I don't need to be worrying about you while I'm stuck in here."
"You'll be out soon enough… for good behavior."
"More like no behavior."
April 13th, 2339
Hunk hadn't meant to get back quite so late from the hospital, but today had been exceptionally challenging. It was the third time Katie's body had tried to go into active labor, but then stalled out this time, even without medical intervention. While that was a good sign, really, it had been a stressful afternoon and evening. He was grateful Colleen had been able to stay in the house until he got home.
It didn't matter that it was nearly one in the morning, and his body was exhausted, his mind simply would not sleep. He changed into pajamas, and lay in bed staring at the ceiling trying to ignore his growling stomach, until he finally caved. It wasn't as if he'd had much dinner.
Downstairs, he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted. It was a bit late to cook, so something he could throw together quickly was probably the best choice. He stuck his nose in the freezer, and spotted the fresh new container of triple-cookie-dough-fudge ice cream…
He had no idea anyone else was awake until Caitlin's voice came out of the darkness. "Daddy, what are you doing?"
Startled, Hunk almost dropped the scoop. He looked up to see his daughter standing in the kitchen doorway rubbing her eyes, wearing her yellow pajamas covered in pink and orange tropical fruit. "Caitlin, what are you doing up?"
"I had to go to the bathroom. Then I heard noises down here."
"What if I was a burglar?"
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Then Juni would be going crazy."
"Fair point." His kids were both too smart for their own good. But then, they came by it honestly.
Caitlin focused, and looked at the counter. "Are you eating ice cream after midnight?"
Busted. "Maybe."
"Grandma says eating sweets late at night is bad for you."
"Which Grandma said that?"
Caitlin shrugged. "Both of them."
Betrayed by both mothers. "Well, they're both incredibly smart. So, they're probably right."
"Is Mommy okay?"
Too smart, and too perceptive. "Mommy's fine," he replied honestly. "But your little sister keeps trying to come out early. The good news, is in just a few days, she'll be big enough that the doctors will let her come out when she wants to, and then they can both come home."
Caitlin looked at him thoughtfully, as if determining how much she believed. Hunk had never lied to her, and Caitlin had always trusted him implicitly. So, it wasn't his integrity he suspected she was contemplating, but rather the veracity of the statements themselves. "I want them home soon, too. I'm going back to sleep. Good night, Daddy." She came over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug that still barely reached his stomach.
Hunk set down the scoop and hugged her back. "Good night, Caitlin. Love you."
"Love you, too." Then she smiled, and left.
What kid saw ice cream open and didn't ask for some? His daughter, apparently. Hunk finished scooping his serving into a bowl, then put the rest of the container away in the freezer through sheer force of will.
He took it to the dining table, so he wouldn't get caught up in something on the television and end up staying up all night. Eat, then go to bed. He wasn't sure if he would get any actual sleep, but he would go to bed.
April 20th, 2339
Katie had a feeling her third child was going to spend her entire life being ironic and unpredictable. Not only did she make it to thirty-six weeks, but she settled down and made it five days further almost to thirty-seven before she decided to make her appearance for real, and Emily Rhys declared that it was best to let her come.
It was also the shortest labor she had ever had and, while her belly was bigger already even than when she had Kale, this one proved to be the smallest baby. Of course, seeing as she was over a week earlier than both of her siblings, who had also been early themselves, it was logical. Still, it seemed far less work to be in active labor for only ten hours, and to push her out without concern of her not fitting.
When it was done, it was a relief to hold her little one and know they would both be going home in the next few days.
"She's perfect," Hunk spoke in quiet awe.
"She is," Katie agreed, relieved to be in this moment, with her baby safe and alive in the outside world. "Though she's so pale."
Hunk chuckled. "She's still got darker skin than you do."
"Everyone has darker skin than I do," Katie retorted. "I just mean, even at birth, Caitlin and Kale were both darker than this, hair too. Their hair came in dark from the start. Kailani's is so light, it's harder to see."
"Well, maybe it'll stay that way, and she'll look even more like you." Hunk reached out one finger, gently brushing their daughter's soft cheek. Beside his large, dark hands, it was even more noticeable.
"The statistical probability is awfully low, but I wouldn't mind." Katie thought her children were beautiful and perfect exactly as they were. They were all fortunate to have gotten more of Hunk's complexion. It meant they didn't burn at the mere thought of the outdoors like she had at their age. It was only a little better now. "She's so small."
"She'll grow." Hunk pulled his hand back. "I'm going to go call our folks and let them know. Is it all right if I tell them that we'll be up for visitors tomorrow morning? The kids are going to be nuts to meet her."
"Late morning," Katie agreed, glancing at the clock. How was it already nine at night? Not that she expected to get a good night's solid sleep with a newborn, but she would like a shower and some sleep before she had to entertain family members at her bedside. "I'm looking forward to being allowed to stand up and shower by myself."
"It will be amazing having you home."
"Absolutely." Katie grinned wickedly. "I believe you owe me an entire infancy's worth of diaper changes."