New Arrivals

Posted on Thu Nov 28th, 2019 @ 6:21am by Lieutenant Olivia O’Riley

4,009 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 101 - Peace During War
Location: Various
Timeline: MD02 1600 hrs

~ Transport enroute to Starbase 400 ~

Olivia was sitting smiling at her two wonderful tiny twins, both were sleeping peacefully. She was heading on to Starbase 400, TJ would be joining her as soon as he’d finished helping with the decommissioning of their previous Starbase home. As she relaxed in her seat she couldn’t help but think back to the day the twins were born.


~ 10 months earlier, Enroute back to Heyerdahl Station. ~

Olivia was sitting trying to be comfortable, her mother had decided to visit but didn't want to divert her ship to the station so glad agreed to have the ship meet a runabout part way between its destination & the station but right now the runabout was in trouble. Main power had failed and along with navigation & communications the runabout was adrift with no way of contacting anyone. "How are you getting along TJ?" She called trying not to sound worried.

Tim shook his head, “ I’ve been trying to reroute power and to try and put together some sort of distress signal together but no matter what I do nothing is working.” Sighing TJ said, “Hopefully when the station realizes we are overdue they’ll send out a search party.”

She took a deep breath she still had a couple of months left to go on her pregnancy but now here they were stuck in the middle space and the one thing she hadn't told TJ was that her water had broken over two hours earlier. She faked a smile as he arrived back to look at the runabout read outs.

Tim reached over to hold her hand, he could sense something was wrong but he could really put his finger on it yet. “Are you ok.”

"I'm fine..." moments later she took a deep breath and almost bent over double as she had a contraction, "At least...I would be....if I wasn't....in labour!!" she looked at him concernedly, "my water broke two hours ago" she relaxed as the contraction wore off again, "It's too early for the twins to be born TJ....I've still got two months left! we need to get home!!"

Turning a bit white Tim returned to trying to fix the runabout. He wasn’t ready to deliver his children and while he had some battle field medic training delivering children wasn’t one of them. Time was running out and the power they did have wouldn’t last for long. Going over to where Olivia was he took off his jacket and put it behind her so she could lay back and relax more.

"What are we going to do TJ?!" she looked at him, taking several deep breaths as the pain of a contraction made her squeeze the arm of her chair. "I don't know....how long we have TJ, my contractions aren't that close together yet but they're getting stronger! I can't give birth here I need Doctor Fisher!!"

Tim grabbed her hand, “I’m working on getting us home, I’ve almost finished building a makeshift transponder, that should allow me to send a distress signal so any vessel near by could hear it and come to our assistance.”

She offered a smile "I trust you, you know I do I'm just scared" she shook her head, "Hell I wish my mother's ship wasn't so far away, at least we'd have some help!" She took several deep breaths as yet another contraction came & went. “TJ...the babies won’t even have turned yet! babies are supposed to turn.” She was afraid, very afraid of something going horribly wrong.

Tim could feel her pain, “Everything is going to be ok, help will come and I’ll get us home safely.”

TJ look at me” she waited for him to turn and look at her, “If it comes to a choice...between me & our babies....save them.” She could see he wanted to say no. “Promise me! If it comes to it that you’ll get our babies out safe even if it means you have to open me up to do it!!”

Looking at her as he tried to control his own emotions, Tim said, “I promise but it’s not going to come down to that things will work out.”

( Sometime Later )

Tim had finally managed to get the shuttle limping along slowly, as for Olivia she had got to her feet and had been pacing trying to feel comfortable not that it was doing her any good. She stopped walking and bent over double crying out in pain as she had the latest of a set of much stronger and longer contractions. "We're out of time!!" she was breathing heavily as she looked towards TJ, "Our babies are coming whether we want them to or not TJ!! I can't....hold on anymore!!!" she gritted her teeth as she got the urge to push trying not to give in to it waiting until it passed to sit down in an area set up for her by Tim.

Her attention was distracted as she saw Heyerdahl in the windows of the shuttle, “We made it!” She smiled just a little but her smile didn’t last long before she screamed in pain again. She was trying her best to hold on as they finally made it back aboard the station her mother was going to have to wait.

Tim could feel her pain, “Everything is going to be ok, help will come and I’ll get us home safely.”
TJ look at me” she waited for him to turn and look at her, “If it comes to a choice...between me & our babies....save them.” She could see he wanted to say no. “Promise me! If it comes to it that you’ll get our babies out safe even if it means you have to open me up to do it!!”

Looking at her as he tried to control his own emotions, Tim said, “I promise but it’s not going to come down to that things will work out.”

( Sometime Later )

Tim had finally managed to get the shuttle limping along slowly, as for Olivia she had got to her feet and had been pacing trying to feel comfortable not that it was doing her any good. She stopped walking and bent over double crying out in pain as she had the latest of a set of much stronger and longer contractions. "We're out of time!!" she was breathing heavily as she looked towards TJ, "Our babies are coming whether we want them to or not TJ!! I can't....hold on anymore!!!" she gritted her teeth as she got the urge to push trying not to give in to it waiting until it passed to sit down in an area set up for her by Tim.

Her attention was distracted as she saw Heyerdahl in the windows of the shuttle, “We made it!” She smiled just a little but her smile didn’t last long before she screamed in pain again. She was trying her best to hold on as they finally made it back aboard the station her mother was going to have to wait.


( Infirmary )

".. so if she can just remember the difference it wont happen again." Scott said, grinning to Ezra as he completed a tale.

Moments later the infirmary peace was shattered as an incoming emergency transport turned out to be Olivia & Tim. Olivia was trying not to squeeze Tim’s hand off as another contraction made her cry out.

"Now here's a young lady who knows how to make an entrance," Ezra said with a smile, as he added, softly to the nearest nurse, 'delivery one." Scanning her, his brows shot up in disbelief.
"Looks like they've decided it's check-out time. Congratulations," He nodded to the orderlies to go ahead and roll them into the designated delivery bay. "Now on the next contraction, I want you to focus on breathing, because right now what you're doing is the opposite and your little ones aren't liking that. They need that oxygen, mom, and all that screaming and carrying on means they're not getting it. Here it comes. breathe with me," he started out showing her how he needed her to breathe, designating one of the nurses to do the same, then nodding. "Good. Just like that. Keep on breathing with Helen, here, and let's get these beauties out here to meet you both face to face."

Olivia did as Ezra instructed concentrating on her breathing with Helen as best as she could until the next contraction made her want to push. "I just....want this over with!!!" she was squeezing poor Tim's hand so hard.

"Alright now, none of that," Ezra told her. "I know you want to push, but you can't yet, and squeezing his hand tenses muscles instead of relaxing, which is what I want you do try to do. Counter-intuitive, but necessary, so it's where we are," to Sally, he said, "get those scanners set for each of them individually, I need to know exactly what's going on with each."

Turning his attention back to Olivia, he told her, "You're almost there, dialated to an eight, so you still need to hold on for them. No pushing, no tensing. Just focus on Helen and breathe with her. Tim, I got you something right over there, that tennis ball, see it? When she's focused on breathing I want you to just roll it along her lower back, just like this," rolls it on his hand." No softer no harder, it'll help ease the pain and help loosen it, got it?" He waited for the nod, then went on, directing what he needed as far as clamps, sutures, and emergency equipment.

Olivia was doing her best to focus on her breathing, beads of perspiration were trickling down her forehead making her hair damp. She relaxed a little as she felt TJ doing as Ezra had instructed with the tennis ball it was actually helping for the moment. She started breathing deeply again as another stronger contraction made her want to push but she held it back.

Linc continued to monitor for the next sixteen minutes, urging them gently to continue as they'd been directed until she was finally dilated enough.

"Okay, Olivia. On the next one, I want you to just take a deep breath and push as hard as you can manage, got it? Tim, you and Helen are going to help her. Are we ready? Here it comes..." Linc began counting as the contractions continued. "That's it, that's it that's it, pushpushpushpushpush and... okay, relax and breathe. That was good. Nice deep breaths and we're going again, here we go...."

Two pushes later and Linc held the most perfect little boy ever conceived - or, at least, the most perfect he'd ever delivered there - in his hands. "Good job, mama, your little man is here. Take a minute to breathe, because your little girl isn't in any less of a hurry, ready?"

Olivia nodded but moments later she screamed in pain as a different sensation to anything she'd had so far radiated across her body. "There's....something...wrong!!" she looked at Lincoln, "It hurts!!" she lay her head back trying not to push as it made the pain ten times worse. "I... can't..." she wasn't conscious for long as she slid into unconsciousness.

"Son-of-a..." Ezra growled before addressing the nurse as the bleeding started in earnest, "Helen, I need two liters, crossed and matched, fluids wide open, then tell Scott to get me some of that fancy new tech ready and meet me in surgical suite one. Have someone get baby number one to the nursery and escort Dad to the waiting area." To Olivia he added, "Don't worry, mama, we've got you." then initiated the emergency site to site. The real work had just begun.

Tim watched as they continued to work on Olivia refusing to move from where he was he needed to be here with her. Watching as they prepared her for surgery, Tim said, ” I'm not leaving her I'll go crazy waiting in the waiting area, please tell me what's happening and how I can help.”

"You can help by trying to stay calm and waiting like I asked you, Tim." Ezra informed him gently as he as he cut through the fabric, exposing her entire abdomen as well as the birthing. "It's only gonna get uglier and scarier from here and I don't have time to hold your hand or calm you down. Site to site emergency transport notified Scott automatically, so there'll be me and him and we'll all be bustling about and you do not want to be in our way slowing us down and making it harder to do our jobs." He reached up and pushed the button, sanitizing the area then turned on a monitor that showed what was happening inside her. Finally, he took a clamp kneeled down and reached his long arm and hand inside, placing it to stop the bleeding. Realizing Tim really wasn't leaving he nodded toward a set of chairs just outside the surgical field. "Sit over there out of the way." he directed, his arm still where it had been, this time trying to manipulate the baby into position. "Watch her vitals, Helen."

"This is not good." Scott said reading off the streams of information.
"Linc we need C section 'now' shes got a uterine rupture you haven't got time for that. Helen preps.”

"That's what I was afraid of. She's coming apart faster than I can close her back up in here." Withdrawing his bloody arm, he carefully laser-scalpelled her open, picked up the perfect little girl and handed her off to Helen, "clean her up and take both over to see their daddy." Linc ordered, leaving her to understand the unspoken order to keep daddy occupied with the babies so they could work, positioning himself to assist.

Helen did as she was bid, expertly seeing to the baby which, luckily, had taken TJs attention at her first cry.

"She's tiny but perfect." Helen said she wrapped a pink blanket firmly around his daughter. "Have you thought of a name?" she asked all the time listening to the two doctors.
She knew what they were doing and how dangerous it was and took a moment to call for a second nurse as Tim took a hold of the precious pink bundle.

Tim looked at her a little confused. ”Whats a EPH and what does that mean.”

"Its an Emergency Peripartum Hysterectomy." Helen said. " They need to do it because she's losing too much blood. Please...take the babies and go with the nurse....she'll take you to the nursery."

Tim nodded as he looked back at Olivia he wanted to stay but the doctors were right. Tim followed the nurse to the nursery were he waited for word on how Olivia was doing. He mind was with her not on naming their babies yet. He wanted them to do it together.

Ezra worked intuitively alongside Scott as if the two had never been apart, suctioning and resecting until at last it was done. She would live. She would see her beautiful babies grow up by the side of the side of the man she loved. But at a terrible cost.

Helen, who had returned from the nursery to assist was clearing the remains of the op away as Ezra made final checks more to satisfy himself than because something remained incomplete.

"I'll talk to Dad." Scott said laying a hand on his colleagues shoulder.

"I'll get her cleaned up and settled," Ezra replied. "Room five. Give us ten minutes."

In side the nursery the latest arrivals were in the small cribs side by side, their father standing between them. Scott paused in the doorway before approaching him silently indicating with a tilt of his head to the nursery nurse that he'd like her to leave them for a few moments. He read every worry on TJs face as he turned at Scotts arrival.

Tim watched Scott as he approached him, “Scott, how is Olivia, Is she going to be ok, and when can I see her?” Tim was sorry to be so impatient but he needed to see her and could not wait to much longer. Tim tried to read his colleagues expression, and could tell that the ordeal they had been through to save her life.

"She's ok..you can go and see her in a moment but......because of the situation..she was haemorrhaging...losing too much blood. We had no option other than to perform a Hysterectomy. It was either that or leave these babies without a mother."

Nodding TJ said, “So we can’t have anymore children.” Tim looked away for a few minutes his wife was alive and he was thankful for that. Turning to Scott he said, “ Thank you so much for what you and your team did. It means so much to me.”

( Sometime Later )

Olivia slowly started to stir, at first it was like she was in a dream world like nothing had happened & she'd been dreaming everything before her senses became more alert and told her that her babies weren't there anymore. She opened her eyes to see TJ sitting in a chair at the side of her bed, "TJ..." she whispered his name her mouth was dry, so much so it was like she hadn't had a drink in forever. "The...twins? where are....the twins?"

Tim reached over to hold her hand, “The twins are in the nursery, being taken care of by one of the nurses.” Tim looked at her and smiled a bit, “ I thought I was going to loose you, thankfully the doctors were able to deliver our babies and stabilize you. When you're up to it we can name the twins, but I need you to regain your strength.”

Olivia smiled as she held Tim's hand, "What...happened? I remember giving birth to our son but nothing else." She looked across the room as the door opened again.

Scott entered the room taking in the scene of the new parents holding hands, Olivia still with a smile as she looked at her husband.

"So..." he said, smiling too "..Congratulations Mum and Dad."
He quickly read the bio-monitors state as he approached the bed and was satisfied at the current levels.

Olivia looked at Scott “Thank you Scott...what happened? I don’t remember anything after I gave birth to our son.”

"You have a beautiful baby daughter too." he replied. "Both babies are well. They're being monitored ofcourse because they're small but there's nothing to be concerned about at all and just below five pounds for your son and four and a half for your little girl arent poor weights anyway.
How are you feeling?"

"Tired" she offered a smile as she looked at Tim then back at Scott.

"Ok..that's allowed." Scott replied. He glanced around for a chair and collected one from near to the door way, placing it on the opposite side of the bed to Tims and sitting down upon it obviously prepared to be there for a while.

"Has Tim explained whats happened?" he asked.

Ezra had joined them by that time, and explained what had occurred and why, monitoring Olivia's reactions carefully.

"... there was no other option at that point. Attempts to clamp and repair failed, and you were continuing bleed out. We made the decision, at that point, to perform an emergency hysterectomy." He paused, making sure she understood what that meant.

Olivia lay quiet for a moment but she was squeezing Tim's hand, she relaxed her grip as she realised what she was doing. "A hysterectomy.....so that means we..." she looked at Tim, "Can't have anymore children" she didn't know how to feel. "I....don't know how to feel but I do know that I have two babies to love & you both saved my life....Thank you."

Scott simply gave a single nod in return. He wasnt entirely sure she understood everything and that she, like many patients when given information, hadnt taken everything in but grasped a few words here and there. "If you have any questions later then give one of us a call." he told her then got to his feet.
"Now you're fully awake and aware what about getting the babies in to meet their mother?

"Yes, please" she winced a little as she tried to sit herself up, she was a little sore and didn't have much strength back yet either.

"I'll get the nursery nurses to bring them.....just a short visit so that you can reassure yourself they're fine, give them a cuddle then have a good rest ok?"

Olivia nodded, "Agreed" she smiled at Tim grateful to have him by her side. "I'm sorry... I should have said when my water broke on the shuttle, I was scared...I didn't know what to do."

Squeezing her hand, he said, “It’s ok, the babies are doing good, and we didn’t loose you either, all we need to do now it to name the babies.”

Scott waited until the nurses arrived with the two cribs.
"Dont let mother get tired ok?" he said as they passed him. He waited at the door for just a few moments, long enough to see Olivias expression as she held her daughter for the first time.

Olivia was in awe of her two tiny bundles, her mouth quite literally dropped open before she smiled the biggest smile she'd ever smiled tears coming to her eyes as well. "They're beautiful" she looked at Tim, "How do we choose names? do you have any you like?" she gently cradled both babies one in each arm giving them equal amounts of hugs and kisses. She couldn’t take her eyes off the two precious bundles, both so tiny they almost didn’t seem real even though she knew they were. She was starting to feel tired but she didn’t want to be parted from them at least not until they had names, she could see the nurse returning ready to take the twins back to the nursery. “Just a little longer...please!” She looked at TJ, “What do we choose?”

Tim looked at the twins and smiled, ” I'm not sure, I was thinking maybe Emily for our daughter and for our son I'm not really sure. What would you like to name him.”

“I...I’m not sure” she paused for a moment, “What about Joseph? Joe for short, if you like it?” She looked up at him as the nurse finally came to take the twins.

Smiling Tim said, ”Joseph, I like it. Emily and Joseph the names are perfect.” Tim watched as the nurse took the twins away before turning back to Olivia, ”You need your rest you've been through a lot.”

“TJ...” she held out her hand, “You...heard what they said, we can’t....have anymore children.” She paused for a moment, “Are you okay with that? I’ll understand if you’re not!” tears came to her eyes as the reality of the situation sunk in.

Holding her hand Tim said, ” I heard what the doctors said, but it was either that or we lost you and the Twins need their mother as well. I'm ok with only the two as long as you are still with us. You mean so much to me and I didn't want to lose you.”

Olivia held Tim's hand tightly until she eventually drifted off to sleep.


~ Current Time ~

As the transport docked at Starbase 400 Olivia made her way across with the twins. First things first she needed to head to security to organise getting into their assigned family Quarters before feeding the twins and getting ready to report in. Hopefully TJ wouldn’t be too long before he too arrived onboard the station.

[OFF]

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