Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Kobliad- The Point of No Return

(snip)

A couple hours later, the chime at her apartment door forced Sair off the sofa reluctantly. Opening the door, Vir was standing there looking worried. “You should have told me,” he said softly.

Sair wanted to be angry at Mar, but instead she found herself crying again. Vir stepped in, gently picked her up and carried her to her bed. Tucking her in, he simply lay down beside her and stroked her short blond hair determined to see her through this. They weren’t a couple and none of this had been planned or expected, but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about being responsible.

Later, they would talk about the possibilities of what might have been and Sair would end their casual relationship not willing to take the risk again. Three months later, Vir completed his internship and took a job at a hospital in a different province.

2392

“I don’t like this Sair. You’ll just torture yourself!”

Moving over to the main desk, Sair handed the chart to the nurse and gazed at her mother. “No, I won’t. This is exciting work and I want to be a part of it.”

“Sair…”

The doctor looked at the woman with a resigned sort of expression, studying Kel’s features. “I’m fine, really.”

Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a busy ward, Kel came to stand before Sair and placed a hand on each side of her face. “I love you. It’s just hard, as a parent. I…” Kel fell silent and shook her head.

But Sair just smiled. “I know. Why do you think I’m doing this? This isn’t for us, it’s for the next ones. And there will not only be next ones, but they will be the first to taste true freedom and have their own children who will also never have to worry about injections and supply and compatibility.”

With a sigh, Kel leaned forward and touched her forehead to her daughter’s before wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace. “You are so much braver than me,” she whispered.

Sair forced a laugh to emerge, rather than tears. Pulling back she grinned at Kel. “You gave birth to a Super-Celler. I have to put it to good use somehow, now don’t I?”

“Dr. Songz, Kal is ready for you,” a nurse said as he approached. “Kel! What are you doing up on this floor?” he asked his fellow nurse.

“Being an overprotective mother.”

“Oh, so the usual.”

Sair laughed at them. “I have to go see my patient.”

“And I have patients to go check on as well. Will you be at the concert tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Sair said with a beaming smile. “Tell that father of mine I’ll be in the front row with you.”

“He’ll be thrilled.”

A few minutes later with a chart in hand, Sair walked into the room of her extra special patient. Kal Darvaana was only three years younger than Sair, but her high metabolic rate meant that this was a high-risk situation. It had been Sair who advocated for Kal to have the treatment in the first place and she offered to be the woman’s doctor through this exciting, if frightening time.

“Good morning, Kal, how are we feeling today?” Songz asked, looking over the the readouts from the monitor.

“Tired. She’s not though. Bouncing around like crazy!” Darvaana said with exasperation.

Sair couldn’t help but smile as she donned some gloves and began to examine the constantly expanding belly of the pregnant woman. “Position is good and she’s reacting well. I’m just waiting for your labs to come back, but we’ll have those in a few minutes. How’s your appetite?” she asked as she watched the monitor.

“Not great. Aren’t I supposed to be eating everything in sight?” Kal said with a roll of her eyes.

The doctor studied her patient for a moment. “Usually. But this is not a usual circumstance and every pregnancy is different to begin with.”

“Dr. Songz,” an intern said, stepping into the room. “Labs should be up now.”

“Thank you, Mira.” Removing her gloves, Sair touched a few keys on her display device and read through the readings, doing her best to keep her features neutral for the patient.

“Well?”

Sair looked at Kal and for a moment and wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hi, Dr. Songz!” a man said cheerfully, slipping into the room.

“Hello, Tol,” Sair greeted Kal’s partner more neutrally.

“She was just about to tell us the bad news,” Kal said knowingly.

“Bad news?”

“Test results. You might as well just tell us.”

With a sigh, Sair pulled a chair over and sat with them. “Kal, the baby is doing fine but your metabolic rate is dropping.”

“But that’s good, right? I’ll need less dueridium, less frequently.”

Taking a slow and deep breath, Sair shook her head. “Not exactly. What’s happening is a common occurrence in more mature pregnancies. Your age means that your body is less tolerant of all the changes that come with pregnancy. Some people manage just fine, but your cells are having a harder time functioning.”

“So, what are you saying? Am I going to die?! Is the baby going to die?!”

Sair grabbed Kal’s hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to calm the panicking woman. “It is possible, but there is a lot we can do to shift things. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you both make it.”

“You have to save her! She’s the first Dr. Songz. The first to be free of this damned madness. You have to save her! Even if I don’t make it, she has to!”

“Kal,” Tol said, fighting back tears.

“Hey! Listen, both of you,” Sair said sharply. For a trained former officer like Kal, it did the trick of reminding them who was in charge. “It’s a setback and it’s a problem, but it’s a problem we’re going to deal with. We’ll start you on a regimen of medicines that will bolster your metabolic rate and contrary to what you might be expecting, we’re actually going to increase your deuridium supply, since the drop in rate is a symptom of the need for more. We’re looking to keep things level.” She put a hand on the woman’s swollen belly. “Never doubt for a second that I won’t do everything in my power to keep you both safe. We’ve all waited too long for this and it’s going to happen. But you need to stay positive Kal, for her. You need to believe that everything will be okay. I can’t do that for you. If you want to save her, believe in her and you and we’ll fight for this, okay?”

Kal nodded through her tears and Tol gripped her hand.

“I’ll be back soon and we’ll get an infusion line started. Good thoughts,” Sair said with a wink, rising to her feet.

“Thank you, Dr. Songz,” Tol said.

Sair offered him a smile. “Hey, I didn’t sit in a lab for weeks with a bunch of cells and a cure trying to figure out how to make it work for nothing. We’re in this together.”

Out in the hall, Sair took a deep breath to quell her sudden urge to vomit. This had to work! They couldn’t die, she wouldn’t allow it! Sure, there were other women who were younger and with better fertility rates, but Kal had risked everything, including her own life to seek out the Amrayans to ask about a cure. If anyone deserved to have a bit of happiness it was her. If the woman wanted a baby, Sair was determined to make sure she had one.

Three weeks later

She shook her head and sighed. They had run out of time.

“It’s early but not too early that the baby won’t survive,” the head of the neonatal department said.

“Even another week would make such a huge difference,” Sair lamented.

Tem pointed to the scans. “Much longer and we risk placental abruption. Darvaana will definitely not survive that much haemorrhaging. If the baby comes out now, I can do something. If we wait, I can’t guarantee anything.”

Sair nodded. “Alright, I’ll go tell Kal.” Leaving the room Sair felt her heart sink. It wasn’t just Kal and this baby, it was more than that, but she couldn’t say it to Tem. She couldn’t say to anyone that if Kal Darvaana could have a baby, then maybe she still could too.

To be continued…

~Sair Songz, CNS (and maybe I’ll remember to change my sign-off, oops!)