Baby Bumps

Posted on 14 Nov 2014 @ 7:17am by Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 18 Nov 2014 @ 9:06am

1,872 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 4 Corridor, T'Vanna's Quarters, Deck 2, 0806 SO
Timeline: MD -20: 1425 Hours

[ON]

Not having had a whole lot of time before to explore the small Nova class vessel, T'Vanna now had ample opportunity. The ship on it's way to starbase and she didn't have any duties to attend to just yet, just a baby to care for. Having Emma swadled securely in the mei-tai, the half-Vulcan woman was now taking a casual stroll across the ship.

So far she hadn't really been out to meet and greet any of her new crewmates, but she was very eager to get out of her quarters now. Being stuck with a roommate who apparently was afraid of babies, was rather depressing, and her daily trips to sickbay only got her so far too.

Though Emma was secure, she still held one hand under the child's bottom, the other keeping her tiny head secure against her chest. She loved her little girl, even if how she had gotten to be was not a pleasant memory. Sometimes, she wondered if she should let the father know, but as soon as she remembered what an ass he was, she dismissed the thought almost immediately.

Thundering down the corridor with a stack of data PADDs held against her bosom, Norvi Stace was equally balancing her work and her footing at the same time. She could barely see over the PADDs but just enough to know that she was negotiating successfully. Almost.

As she turned the corridor on deck 4, the vision of T'Vanna and something cradled in her arms, startled her. She turned, closing her eyes out of utter fear, and lost her balance. She out-stretched her right arm to cushion herself from the carpeted decked flooring now rapidly rising up to meet her face, and the data PADDS went careering out, about and over T'Vanna's feet as she now lay slumped on the floor on top of them.

"I'm... Ouch. I'm so sorry," she stumbled, placing down both hands to lift herself up. "I didn't..." and as she applied pressure to her right wrist, a pang of electric pain shot through her arm and into her shoulder. She fell almost like a dead weight, smashing her freckled complexion against a molehill of PADD casings.

Peering past the cradled bundle against her chest, T'Vanna reached out towards the fallen woman. "Are you alright?" she asked, concern spreading across her olive features. Carefully, she crouched down, trying not to jostle her sleeping baby. "Commander?" she added, spotting the pips on the woman's collar.

Stace pressed down on her splayed right hand again and the shock of pain flooded up through her again. "Ah, I think it's broken..." she said, more to herself than to T'Vanna. "I know that you've got your hands full but could you possibly help me up?"

Gripping on to the half Vulcan with her left hand, she heaved herself up, noticing as she did, that her left ankle was also sprained. She quickly hopped onto her right. "Not that I think a site-to-site transport is necessary, but you might need to help me to sickbay if you could."

T'Vanna nodded, craping the woman's arm around her neck, while holding her up with her own arm across her waist. "Careful," she suggested, sensing the woman's pain though their touch. "Someone will notice these PADDs and bring them to their proper location, I will take you to sickbay." She paused briefly. "I am Ensign T'Vanna Murray," she finally introduced herself, "and this is my daughter Emmaline."

"What a beautiful name," Stace said softly, now walking in a hobbled step with the ensign. With her fractured arm she brushed the gentle hair of the infant and winced with each step. "Ensign Murray, I'm Commander Stace," she then added, thanking her with a forced smile. "It's nice to meet you. I've seen you about the corridors and the mess but have never introduced myself. For such a small ship sometimes I don't think I know half the crew as much as I should like.

"But, thank you, Ensign. I appreciate your help."

T'Vanna smiled back at her. "I feel exactly the same, I went for a walk to meet people and here we are." She gestured as they made it towards sickbay. "Will you make it from here on your own? I've ah...seen a bit enough of sickbay lately..."

"I'll manage," the Trill replied and made her way off.

== T'Vanna's Quarters, Deck 2, 0806 ==

Stace left her quarters and walked the twenty seconds down the corridor to T'Vanna's. She had, in all honesty, had to look them up on the ship's manifest and was surprised to find that she was just down the corridor. She pressed the chime a little less po-faced and awaited her invitation.

"Come in!" T'Vanna called, while placing her daughter on a large fluffy plaid on the floor.

Walking into the officer's quarters, she quickly relieved herself of the bunch of flowers that she had replicated and was carrying in her newly knitted hand. "I just wanted to say thank you for assisting me in the corridor earlier. A slight fracture and a sprained ankle but I'm all better now."

The intelligence officer stood quickly, in time to catch the bunch of flowers. "Oh wow, thank you." She smiled brightly. "Who told you I love flowers?"

"You're not the only officer around here that has more than a passing interest in Intelligence, Ensign," Stace lied, brandishing a smile to cover her guess. In truth, she didn't know anymore than the next man that T'Vanna enjoyed the subtle delight that flowers tended to bring the universe, but was happy to let the woman think that. "May I come in and visit for a while?"

"Of course come on in, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good, thanks," Stace replied with a beaming smile, walking into her quarters. "I just thought that I'd come by and see how you were. That comment about seeing the inside of sickbay a little too much lately struck me. How is everything?" Stace had been a mother once, and a father once, and knew a thing or two about the first stages of welcoming someone new and different into your life forever. It was scary and exciting; overwhelming and treacherous. And she wanted to extend an experienced hand out to T'Vanna.

"Well it's going well so far, and I've a few people who offered to help out too. Especially when I go back to duty. It seems...at least to me, that a baby is something special, and a lot of people want you know, a piece of the experience. To me, it's scary but I think I'm managing so far. It's not like I planned to be a mother this young."

"My first two weren't planned," Norvi confessed. "In fact, I didn't selfishly want them. I'm glad that I had them, and I do wonder what kind of father I would have made had I not died so young. But it was an experience while it lasted. And a memory that I hold to this day, if not twice removed. But you're in the right place for support."

T'Vanna blinked at those words, arching an eyebrow, then realised she was talking to a joined Trill. "Your symbiont's prior hosts," she acknowledged, "but what about yourself? Your current ah...joining?"

"I don't have any real maternal instincts of my own, if I'm honest," Norvi replied. "It's difficult, especially with my new promotion, to find time to dedicate to ones personal life. And currently I'm content with my lot. But it still doesn't mean that I can't marvel in its wonder still." She cast T'Vanna an affectionate wink.

"The key is to find a balance," T'Vanna observed, "as I'm discovering
now. Personal life is important too, perhaps just as important as
duty. If not more."

"I don't disagree with you there, Ensign," Stace remarked warmly. "It's just that at the moment I'm happy with the balance I have. And trust me," she indicted to her belly, "I'm not afraid of change. So if that one day does alter, then I am happy make the shift."

"Out of curiosity, if you don't mind..." the half Vulcan hesitated, not wanting to pry. "How does that work with female Trill and being joined? Doesn't the symbiont get squashed?"

"We're biologically very resourceful," Stace jested with a beaming smile. "Like with anything," she then continue, more seriously, "everything adapts. You could say the same concerning humans. 'Such a big, alien lifeform swelling up and expanding in such a small, delicate space', but we make do and our bodies adapt. What about yourself?" she then asked, genuinely. "Half human and half Vulcan? What about this little thing?" She indicated to Emmaline with a tilt of her head.

"Her father is Betazoid, so likely her telepathic skill will exceed
mine. But for now I'm trying not to worry about it too much. He's not
involved and he doesn't know."

"Now, that is a mix of cultures," Norvi replied affectionately, looking over to the beautiful wonder that lay next to them. "And how did you decide on such a beautiful name?"

"It popped up on a list of names that I researched and I just liked the sound of it. Also...the name 'Emma' I came across in some royal lines on Earth, and to me..she's a little princess." T'Vanna smiled, observing her guest. "You can hold her, if you like."

"I'd be honoured," the Trill beamed with a motherly smile, and moved closer to her to accept her. In Emmaline's blanket, Stace cradled her to her heart as she quietly settled back to sleep. The soft, delicate breathing made her instinctively smile as her fragrance flooded up to her face. "She is utterly adorable, T'Vanna. You should be so proud."

"I am." The Vulcan woman smiled back at her guest. "And I'll worry about the future when it arrives, right now I'm all about enjoying her, and learning how to deal with a baby."

Stroking the baby's head again, Stace cooed and then handed her back. "I daren't hold her for too long. I'm a little clumsy."

"I doubt that. You said it yourself, you've been a parent. I always thought that maternal instinct was somewhat of a fable, but now I know I'd do anything to keep her safe. And I'm quite sure you wouldn't let something happen to her either."

"It's funny how something so small can remind you of something so big in your life," Stace returned with a smile."I mean, look at her. Something so delicate and little. And yet what she reminds me of, lifetimes ago, still resonates deeply within me. I might not want one of my own now, but I can remember what it's like. And that memory is so strong and clear. I'm sure that you'll find the same when Emmaline gets older."

"Who knows," T'Vanna smiled, easing the baby back into her crib. "For now, I'm just enjoying her as she is, as much as I can."

OFF:

Ensign T'Vanna Murray
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Emmaline Murray
T'Vanna's Daughter

AND

Lieutenant Commander Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer & Second Officer
USS Galileo

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