Samantha Richards, Lt JG Roy Bancroft and LTCMDR Nathan Richards - The Delivery (And Other Catastrophes),[Part two]
Samantha Richards
(( ICU Suites – Deck 7, USS Artemis-A ))
The doors to the ICU suite whispered open – and the transition was instant.
They weren’t even fully inside the anteroom that led to the three ICU rooms before another nurse in a sterile gown stepped forward, sliding into Roy’s place next to Sam with practiced grace.
Teeda: Hi Sam, I’m Nurse Teeda. I’ll be assisting Dr. Bancroft today. ::gently taking her arm and guiding her toward ICU 3:: You’re in great hands, and we’ve got everything ready. The moment you’re on the bed, we’ll get a fetal positioning scan going and start warming up the neonatal cradles.
Slowly, Sam nodded and felt an anxious pit form in her stomach- not a contraction- but a heavy weight that she was about to be a mom. The tears began to sting her eyes as she tried to blink them away.
Teeda flashed a reassuring smile as she guided Sam through the door and into ICU 3, her hands steady and her voice calm – a practiced rhythm honed over countless trauma cases.
Teeda: Dr. Bancroft will be scrubbed in, gowned up, and back with us in just a moment. We don’t want him bringing any of his germs to the party. You focus on breathing – we’ll take care of the rest.
The door to ICU 3 hissed shut behind the pair – then slid open again to admit Roy Bancroft, gowned and gloved, hands held aloft in the practiced posture of a surgeon fresh from the sanitizing station.
The next moments flew by in a blur of tears, yelling and some poorly misguided words of pain.
S. Richards: ::Loudly:: I am pushing! If you tell me to breathe one more time I will rip that stupid mustache off your face!
Bancroft: ::grinning:: In that case, get better at pushing. My mustache is an innocent bystander in all of this.
Some more yelling, a handful more insults and one exhausted scientist later, the slew of bad words and loud yells were now replaced with a quiet serenity.
Two beautiful babies were gently placed in Sam’s arms.
Her son made his appearance first. His light brown hair lay across his forehead, the same way Talos’ did. The green in his eyes matched Sam’s almost perfectly. He was bigger than his sister, not by much, but enough for Sam to notice. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before taking in the sight of her daughter.
Small and feisty that one was. Her eyes held the noticeable Betazoid blackness that Sam loved. They looked intense against her pale skin and red wispy hair.
They were both such wonderful mixtures of Sam and Talos. She couldn’t wait for him to come home and meet them. The two perfect, chubby cheeked babies were nothing short of incredible.
S. Richards: ::Looking up at Bancroft and smiling sheepishly:: I’m sorry I called your mustache stupid…
Bancroft: ::winking:: Don’t apologize to me. ::gesturing at his mustache:: Apologize to him.
Without giving his response much thought, her attention was quickly brought back to the small faces in her embrace.
S. Richards: Look how perfect they are. I- I just can’t believe they are here. They’re real.
There was a moment for her, where every responsibility and every thought of the future, tilted on its axis. No longer was she just Sam. She was a mother. A protector. A woman opening the page to not just a new chapter, but a new book entirely.
Bancroft: ::softly:: Two brand new sentient beings – created with nothing more than love and a mildly terrifying amount of shouting. During the delivery, I mean, not the concep–
He was interrupted, blessedly, by the chirp of his commbadge.
Jorgenson: Jorgenson to Doctor Bancroft, uh… ::muffled angry words in the background:: Captain Hook here is getting a little– ::sounds of mild scuffle:: –restless. Am I allowed to sedate him?
S. Richards: ::Glancing towards the door:: We should probably let uncle Nathan come in here. He’s probably chomping at the bit to get in.
Bancroft: ::pretending to grimace:: Brace for impact.
S. Richards: ::Pulling the twins closer:: Buckle up little ones, he’s going to be obsessed with you.
Very little time had gone by before Nathan was making his entrance.
S. Richards: Nathan. I’d like you to meet your niece and nephew.
A smile grew on Nathan’s face as he looked at the two bundles nestled in Sam’s arms.
N. Richards: The little Beta-Beans. In the flesh!
Bancroft: ::muttering:: Beta-Beans? ::whispering:: Teeda, update the chart to reflect Twin #1 as ‘Garbanzo’ and Twin #2 as ‘Pinto.’
A smile formed across her face as she gestured for Nathan to come closer.
S. Richards: Here they are. ::Lifting the girl up a bit:: Leera Bex Dakora. And ::Lifting the boy up a bit:: Aven Nathan Dakora.
After a couple of steps forward, Nathan stopped at the mention of the names.
N. Richards: Did…did you say Nathan? You named one after me?
S. Richards: ::Nodding softly:: We wanted to name them after people who were important and meant something… But we went with you instead.
Nathan pursed his lips and sniffled ever so slightly. He wasn’t gonna cry. He’s not crying. You’re crying.
N. Richards: ::Softly:: Sammy…
S. Richards: Don’t you dare start crying Nathan. If you cry, I’m going to cry and then Mustache over here is going to cry and I bet he’s an ugly crier.
Bancroft: ::feigned outrage:: I’ll have you know that my crying is both beautiful and masculine.
If Nathan's eyes could roll any further, they would have ended up on the floor.
N. Richards: I’ll cry if I want to cry.
Bancroft: ::pointing at Nathan:: He gets it.
Sam gestured to the chair in the room. Ignoring the blossoming bromance happening in the room.
S. Richards: If you sit down, you can hold them.
N. Richards: You’re damn right I’m gonna hold those babies.
Nathan almost threw himself into the chair that sat next to the bed, almost toppling it over.
N. Richards: I better get to hold both of them.
S. Richards: Yes. Both of them you big buffoon. ::Looking over at Roy:: Can you hand them over to him? I uh… am not ready to stand up just yet.
Bancroft: ::dryly:: Nor should you be. If something like that came out of me, I’d want a medal, a nap, and a stiff drink – not necessarily in that order.
His arms suddenly outstretched, his hands waving ever so slightly towards the mustache man, Nathan awaited his chance to hold his niece and nephew.
N. Richards: Gimme them babies!
S. Richards: Settle down, if you make either one of them cry, I’ll make you cry.
Bancroft: ::passing the twins gently:: Be warned: they come with no user manual, no off switch, and highly sensitive vocal alarms. ::beat:: Careful now; don’t spill the Beans.
With two Beta-Beans now in his arms, Nathan carefully leaned back in the chair and let out a careful breath. Two, brand new little creatures nestled in his arms. Felt somewhat surreal. It made him think about the fact that at some point, in some alternate future, he had sat in a chair not too dissimilar to the one he was in and held his very own daughter.
N. Richards: Ya done good, Sammy.
S. Richards: Thank you. ::Staring at the babies:: I don’t know how I’m partially responsible for two such perfect little things.
Bancroft: I think… in a galaxy full of chaos, anomalies, and unexplained phenomena – this right here is the only miracle that doesn’t need any sort of investigation.
They were finally there. Alive. Perfect. Beautiful. And… healthy? Sam quickly recalled one of her recent check ups with Roy and looked at him with panic.
S. Richards: What about Leera? Have you checked and made sure all of her bones are… normal?
N. Richards: ::Looking incredulously at his sister:: You mean she has weird bones? Like wood? plastic?
Sam shook her head and waved a dismissive hand towards Nathan.
S. Richards: No, not like that. ::Turning back to Roy:: The density problem you found last time? Is it better?
Bancroft: It’s… a little worse than we hoped. Her bone density, at least in that leg, isn’t fantastic. ::scratching the back of his head:: Structurally, it isn’t far off from the inside of a tree that’s seen better days – like one that’s had some overenthusiastic tenants living in it for a while.
Suddenly she felt the need to take both babies back from Nathan and hold onto them for dear life. Like whatever the doctor had to say she could protect them from.
S. Richards: ::Holding her hand out toward Nathan:: I need her back.
N. Richards: ::Obviously not knowing when to not make jokes:: Wooden boned baby…that’s a new one.
The look she gave Nathan was enough for him to know she wasn’t kidding, Doctor Bancroft must have felt it too because without a word he scooped up Leera and handed her back to Sam. Once her daughter was back in her arms, she unwrapped the blanket from around the small baby and watched as her arms and one leg began to move around. Sam frowned as her hand picked up the small unmoving leg and let it go, watching as it fell back down without hesitation.
S. Richards: ::Looking up at Roy:: What do we do now? Is this permanent? Will she ever be able to walk? ::Furrowing her brow:: You said she would be okay…
Roy placed a hand gently on Sam’s shoulder. A risky move, considering she’d bitten people for less – metaphorically and, he strongly suspected, literally.
Still, it felt like the right gesture.
He inhaled through his nose – slow, deliberate – and held it for a moment. Not so much for himself, but hoping she would mirror him. Breathing was a decent first-line treatment for most things. Panic. Shock. The occasional bout of existential dread for your newly born child.
Bancroft: ::evenly, with quiet assurance:: She is fine, Sam. There’s a small issue with her leg, yes – but she’s stable, she’s happy, and every system that really matters is humming along beautifully.
He glanced toward the sleeping infant, then let his gaze flick to Nathan’s golden prosthetic – a silent reminder that miracles came in many forms.
Bancroft: In truth? Kids are basically ambulatory bags of regenerative potential. Infants even more so. There are options – cellular therapies, the whole alphabet soup of modern medicine. And if those don’t get us where we want to go… ::softly, with a nod toward Nathan:: …the technology we have today is lightyears ahead of where we were even a decade ago.
He locked eyes with her once again. She knew what he was implying and a deep aching dread set in.
Bancroft: One way or another, she’ll run. You have my word on that – you’ll be back in here in about two years begging me to slow her down somehow.
S. Richards: ::Quietly as she held her daughter close:: I sure hope you’re right…
END
Samantha Richards
Civilian Scientist
((OOC RANK: Lieutenant JG))
USS ARTEMIS-A
A240103SR3
&
Lieutenant JG Roy Bancroft
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205RB1
&
Lieutenant Commander Nathan Richards
Chief Of Engineering
USS Shelby
A239905NR1