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

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

(snip)

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.

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.

“Push Kal! You’re almost there. Then you get to hold her,” Sair said firmly.

Kal sobbed through the pain. “I can’t. It’s too early. She can’t be born yet.”

“Yes, you can. She’s viable and she will make it, now push!”

Thirty minutes later, wails sounded throughout the room and Sair held the blood and fluid covered infant a brief moment before placing her on her mother’s chest. “She needs to go with Dr. Jarovern, Kal. But you can have a moment.” Looking around the room, Sair shook her head. Everyone, including herself was crying. This was an extraordinary moment and they all knew it. Not only was both mother and child alive, but this little girl was the first born after the genetic treatment was given to her parents. History had been made. Or at least she’d feel more confident about the their success after they tested the baby. But for a moment, watching Kal and the tiny creature she held made up for every patient she had lost. Given how many she had lost over her career, that was no small thing.

Three days later:

Kal sat in a wheelchair at the incubator, with Tol beside her and the new parents just watched as their tiny baby’s chest rose and fell.

In a lab on another floor, Sair was personally running the test. Scanning the cells, she manipulated the data to focus on what it was she needed to see. She felt nervous for many reasons, but it was the realization that this was about to impact an entire world.

“Well?” Hil Welkorenn, the Chief of Medicine asked feeling apprehensive.

She exhaled and stepped to the side. “Take a look.”

He peered into the microscope for a few moments before pulling back. Hil started laughing and then turn to Sair, sweeping her up into a hug, which made her laugh. “This is incredible!”

“I know,” she replied with a grin. “I’m going to go tell our lucky parents.”

Down in the NICU, Sair walked in and found little Tai and her parents. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face if she tried.

“Is it?” Kal asked, daring not to get her hopes up.

Sair nodded. “Her cells are clear. She is going to grow up healthy and free of the need for dueridium.”

The resulting celebration on the ward made the original birth seem like a footnote. At last the Kobliad people had hope- real hope, not just the illusion of it.

At one point, Kal pulled Sair to the side. “Thank you, for everything.”

“My pleasure, really,” Songz said with a wide smile.

“So, when are you going to take the leap yourself? You got the treatment too.”

Sair hesitated, remembering the pain of that failed pregnancy. “I don’t know. I want to, it’s just… I mean, it’s not like I have a partner or anything.”

“Oh, please,” Darvaana said. “Tol is my best friend but it’s not like we were in love when he offered to help me have a baby. The future of our people was way too important worry about traditional family arrangements. You’ve got like 4 times the metabolism I do. If I was you, I’d be out having as many babies as I could. Well, sort of. You do have to raise them. Craziness that that is all on its own.”

She laughed. “You’re right and I have thought about it many times. I just didn’t see anything changing while I was doing this job. The hours, the stress, the constant death.”

“So do something else. I think you’ve paid your dues enough already. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be doing something no one else has,” Kal said with a smirk.

“Did you love it? Being in Starfleet, I mean.”

Kal nodded. “I made bad personal choices at times, but the work was… different. I don’t regret going, though staying here has been nice. It’s feels like it’s home again.”

Six Months Later

“So, on this auspicious occasion, it seems appropriate to remind everyone that she was the one who sang that terrible song at the staff party.” Everyone laughed.

“Hey, at least I can carry a tune!” Sair objected, throwing her hands on her hips, despite the grin on her face.

Kel shook her head. “My daughter has always pushed ahead through any difficulty, and even when her personal life was going through upheaval she always found a smile and words of encouragement for her patients, knowing that they were often the last they heard. That kind of enormous compassion isn’t something you can be taught, but something you are born with. When she decided to become a doctor, I was terribly worried for her. As a nurse I have dealt with the difficult side of patient care for so long and I didn’t want her to lose that wonderful spark of hers. But I’ve never been more happy to be wrong. And though she is leaving here and her father and I will miss her terribly, we know she’s going to do wonderful things.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Mar said, playfully nudging Kel out of the way. “Sair’s great, we all know that. I for one hated her when I first met her. Uggh, I mean, all that cheery nonsense.” Tekellon shuddered, making everyone laugh, including Sair. “But as I got to know her better, I understood what she was doing and I got to see beneath the surface. You don’t work day in and day out in the emergency ward for four years and not get to see people for who they really are. I thought my new posting here to Hopa would be dismal, but Sair helped me see the good side of it. And somewhere in the last couple years we became friends. How she tolerates me, I’ll never know, but I’m glad she does. And now, I know we’re all going to miss her bright presence here. But on the plus side, she’s going out there to learn and see and do new things, and we’ll all be the better for it when she one day returns.”

Mar turned to face Sair. “Go make your mark. And when you’re famous and have accomplished incredible things, don’t forget us ordinary people who gave you a hard time and kept you humble.” Sair laughed and hugged her friend. “Your turn, Super-C.”

Taking a deep breath, Sair faced her friends and colleagues at the Hopa Critical Care Centre. “Thank you all for this wonderful evening. Can’t say I’ve been to too many parties before, but I’m honoured to have such a lovely send-off.”

“I’m still a bit in shock that they picked me for the exchange program, But I’m really excited. I’ve been a doctor for eight years and it’s only been in the last two that I’ve really been amazed. So much is changing, for all of us. And while some things, some realities won’t, we have a duty to the next generation to make the future a hopeful one. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can’t wait to go out there and see.”

In the back of her mind, Kal’s words repeated themselves and she knew that she owed it to herself to be open to whatever comes her way. It was time for Sair Songz to dream again and follow those dreams wherever they may take her.

To be continued…

~Sair Songz, CNS