Stargazing

Posted on Fri Feb 14th, 2020 @ 1:28pm by Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Corrigan MD & Commander Hades,MD

2,090 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 104 - A Glimmer of Hope...
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: MD1, 0200 hours

{ON}

Wrapped up in a soft knitted blanket, Carolyn sat by the window and stared up at the night sky.  The unfamiliar constellations of stars another reminder of how far from home she was.  Not a single cloud was visible, while moonlight bathed the world outside the window in a soft, calming glow.  Everything here was calming, from the waterfall a short distance away to the brook which ran adjacent to the back of the house all the way to the hypnotic dance of the fire which kept the room comfortably warm even on those nights when a storm was raging outside.  

Most of her days here had been a haze, immersed in an unfamiliar culture as she recovered under the Harris' watchful eye. While he encouraged rest, he never once pushed the matter. Far to familiar with her stubbornness. Instead he had stayed beside her for every treatment, allowed her space when all she wanted to do was be alone with her thoughts and came to her side every time a nightmare had her screaming in the night.

He never grew impatient when she wanted to go for walks, even when her stubbornness couldn't hide the tiredness in her legs. Often they sat after dinner to watch the sunset before talking for hours on end under those same stars.

She missed those nights.

She missed him.

She smiled sadly as she held the pendant on her necklace between her fingers, a gift from Harris. Settling further down into the chair, she returned to her stargazing, eyes growing heavy as she thought of the time they had shared on the colony.  Of Adari and all she and Harris had done...

One Month Prior, Erebus Medical Facility

"...experiencing symptoms?"

Seated in Adari's office, a spacious room which was so like the owner it was startling.  Decorated in a way that felt warm and welcoming, dashes of colour here and there were the same shade as her hair.  A flower on the edge of the desk directly in front of Carolyn seemed to posses some form of bioluminescence, the edges of each life seeming to glimmer brightly.  She had been studying it closely while Harris and Adari talked.  At least until she realised the room had fallen silent.

"I'm so sorry," she apologised as she sat back.  "I'm not usually so... easily distracted.  It must seem rude.  What was the question?"

Adari smiled, "This is all a little hard to get used to. I was much like you when I arrived. This planet had been empty for so long that when the First Federation gifted it to the people here we had no idea how Eden like the colony could be. I was asking about your symptoms. Tell me a little about them."

Harris placed a gentle hand on Carolyn's own hand. He tried to convey support and love.

Carolyn gripped his hand tightly, offering him a grateful smile. “When I first woke in sickbay, I had amnesia, almost two years worth of memories. And then the first hallucinations kicked in. I don't remember much about that, only the pain which felt incredibly real... Then I woke up in the shuttle with you,” she said as she looked at Harris. “Which isn't much help I suppose. Since then, mostly headaches and some hallucinations. Nothing as bad as the first. My memories are mostly back but some are disjointed, like parts are missing. I should confess, the hallucinations are getting more frequent.”

Adari gave a nod. "Alright. If you will permit it I would like to run a detailed scan to start. Our scanners are.... a little more sophisticated then Starfleet. They will not harm the baby." She looked at Harris. "Does she know?"

Harris didn't even have to answer. Adari sighed. "Let's start with the scan and then we'll talk about the baby."

"Anything you need," Carolyn assured her. As Adari stood, she followed her lead. She badly wanted to ask about the baby, while also not wanting to know. The way she had lost her first baby was bad enough and the fear that it would be so cruel as to make her lose another...

Adari led them to an adjacent room. It had a little platform and a bio bed. "If I can have you stand on the platform." She motioned.

Harris gave Carolyn his hand to help her up. "You'll feel the scan. It scans every cell in your body. It's not painful but like a warm heat." What he didn't tell her was the scan was colourful and it was like her whole body would glow a rainbow of colours. He loved to watch the wonder in her eyes so he kept that tidbit to himself.

Standing on the platform she gave a nod, "I'm ready."

At the nearby workstation she could see Adari manipulate the controls before a soft blue light seemed to fill the air directly around the platform. A second later, it was followed by a soft almost melodic hum as she felt the warmth in the air. It wasn't unpleasant, and as Harris promised it wasn't painful.

After a few seconds the air seemed to shimmer, the pale blue light beginning to take on different colours and hues, mapping her body in intricate detail. She grinned, watching in amazement as the scan built up a detailed scan, all of her scars small streaks of dark blue. Even those which had all but faded. And recreated in a beautiful pale shade of pink was...

"Harris, our baby!" she breathed, fighting the urge to touch the holographic image for fear it would mess up the scan. "So tiny..."

Harris smiled his eyes holding a surprising sheen to them. As the light faded he helped Carolyn down and to the bio bed.

Adari approached carrying a cube. "For you. An image of your little one. It's connected to you so as your baby grows the scan will update. This way you can see your baby when you wish."

"Thank you," Carolyn grinned as she took the tiny silver cube, glancing up at Harris. Leaning into him she nudged him gently in the ribs, whispering, "you got something in your eyes, Harris?"

"Dust." He said turning away and swiping at his eyes before turning back to her.

"Thought so," she smiled, taking his hand as she looked back at Adari, "what did the scan show? I mean the scars I knew about, obviously..."

"There are some unusual readings in the mind. I will have our cerebral team work on it. Also there are some elevated levels of the sedative you were given." She looked at Harris. "We'll need to detox that completely." She turned back to Carolyn. "I want to start you on daily treatments but only after the sedative flush. I can block the hallucinations and give you something that will be a non interfearant for sleep."

Carolyn listened in silence, taking in what she was saying with a certain sense of detachment. "I will try anything, to make this stop," she told Adari. "I feel like I'm going insane and it is harder and harder to know what is real and what is just some memory... but first, the baby... please. From the scans, do you think you can heal the tissue damage so I can have this baby?"

She held on tighter to Harris' hand, afraid of the answer. What if she said no? "What is it?" she asked as she caught the shared look between Harris and Adari.

Adari sighed. "That is a different matter." She drew up a chair. "Harris' people, have been altered genetically. In the history of his people very few children who are a product of the union of someone who is genetically modified and who is not carry to term."

“Harris...?” Carolyn glanced up, seeing the confirmation she dreaded to see in his eyes. Looking back at Adari she frowned, “is there anything...”

She saw the panic in Carolyn's eyes. "That being said." She held up her hand. "I have been working on this for a long time to assist other couples and I have been able to ensure that the baby can be carried for six months safely. Now. The scars...they can be fixed but I would like a specialist to look at these scans. For now I would say I will give you something to stop the hallucinations, to flush your system and well begin treating to ensure the baby is safe. I would like a cerebral specialist to see your scans as well."

Carolyn nodded. “Thank you...” she looked up at Harris. Six months. And after that? She gripped his hand tighter, “we can do this.”

Adari smiled, "It will be well. You must trust me. I will do everything to ensure you are alright."

Carolyn nodded, “I know. When can we start?”

"We start by flushing your system. Then giving you something to block the hallucinations until we figure out the root cause."

“Sounds perfect,” she replied. “Can I speak to Harris alone for a minute please?”

She gave a nod. "Of course. I must go prepare the doses." She gave Carolyn's shoulder a squeeze and left.

“I need to ask you something... I’ve been scared to. Adari mentioned sedatives and on the shuttle you said there was enough to kill me and the baby. Did I...?” She cleared her throat, taking a deep breath before being able to blurt out her question. “Did I take them?”

"No! There is no way. Hades thinks you were injected and that it has something to do with your Grandmother." He wouldn't lie to her.

“Oh...” a look of relief was quickly followed by confusion. “Why would she...?“

She fell into silence, deep in thought before she peered up at Harris. “You know this will probably take a little while, why don’t you get some rest? I’ll be okay for a little while, promise. I do have one more question though ...”

He wasn't going anywhere but he didn't say that. "Sure."

“Hades obviously knows about the baby if he’s seen my medical records,” Carolyn pointed out. “But you don’t look like you had a near death experience... he was okay about us? He’s okay full stop?”

He laughed, "Okay... is perhaps too strong a word but he did insist we get married." He grinned, "For once, just once, I love his idea."

Carolyn opened her mouth to say something just as Adari came back. At the physician's direction, she lay down, still digesting that little revelation. She paid little attention as the woman did whatever she needed to do, Harris assisting as needed. For her part, Carolyn's attention was on a familiar sound, faint at first but growing more persistent.

Eventually she was able to pinpoint the source, her gaze drawn to the corner of the room where a woman sat staring at something Carolyn could not see, her fiery red hair tied up in a messy bun as she sang quietly to herself. "Mam," she breathed, a smile playing at her lips. This was how she always wished to remember her mother, young, carefree, healthy... happy.

There was a brush of something cold brush against her neck, and a soft hiss. In the same moment, Adari passed across her field of vision and by the time Carolyn could look back to the corner, it was empty. She closed her eyes, trying to keep that little memory with her just a little longer. But she felt tired at the effort and it was an even greater effort to open her eyes. When she did, the lights in the room had been dimmed low.

"... try to sleep while the sedative is eliminated completely," Adari was saying as she left the room again. By the time the door had closed, Carolyn was fighting a losing battle trying to stay awake.

"Go sleep... I'll be fine," she murmured to Harris when she felt his hand in hers. How long had he been awake? She had no idea.

"I'm right where I need to be."

"Harris?" she whispered.

"Yes, love." He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead.

"I think I might love his idea too..."

He smiled and bent down placing a kiss on her forehead. "Good. We'll let him have this one then." He chuckled and settled in for the night.

"Just this one," she said softly, asleep almost before the words could leave her mouth.

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