Mothers To Be (Part 1)

Posted on Mon Jun 3rd, 2024 @ 3:04am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Amu Hinamori M.D. & Lieutenant Talia Johnson & Captain Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling

1,440 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Starship Graveyard
Location: Conference Room, Deck 1, USS Tokyo

As suggested by Counsellor Johnson, Taiga had organised a group meeting of the expecting officers on the ship. The idea was to support each other through their pregnancies. It was a good idea considering their current situation being stuck on the planet.

Taiga had chosen the conference room to act as the setting. The table had been pushed aside and was now against one of the walls. With the new Borg Power nodes providing power to the ship's systems, the replicators were now fully operational again. Taiga had replicated an assortment of snacks and refreshments for their 'mothers meeting'.

Large bean bags and comfy chairs were arranged in the center of the room providing a comfortable place to sit and chat. Taiga had also stated that this was totally informal and just between them. They were all new mothers to be, and this support group could help them discuss and talk about their problems together. Alternatively, Taiga suspected it would end up turning into 'girl talk' or 'baby talk'.

Ever since finding out she was pregnant, Liz had been feeling sick in more ways than one. The nausea had refused to let up (though mercifully, it was allowing her to vomit), her breasts hurt, and when she wasn't racing to the toilet to puke, she felt too lethargic to move.

However, part of what was contributing to Liz's lethargy had nothing to do with her morning sickness: It was her inability to look Chiyo in the eye after everything she had done. And rightfully so, as she had slept with her sister in arms' betrothed, and now she was pregnant with his child. It was as if she was being punished for her sins.

All the more surprising that Liz had been invited to an informal get together with the other expecting officers, including the captain. She thought for sure that even fellow pregnant women would have rejected her, given what she had done.

So, sucking on a nicotine lozenge (to cut down on the amount of cigarettes she was smoking), Liz made her way to the conference room. However, as the doors swooshed open, the scents of all the various snacks and refreshments met Liz's nostrils, and she was quickly overstimulated. Before she even knew what was happening-!

"BLEEEUUURGGH!!!"

Liz didn't even have time to get to a receptacle, and the nicotine lozenge fell from her mouth as she lost her breakfast all over the briefing room carpet.

Talia entered through the doors a few minutes later to find the ship’s cleaning bots busy cleaning a large patch of the carpet. “Do I even want to know what happened here?” She offered a wry smile. Now she was 12 weeks her morning sickness had finally subsided, she was, as Thomas had put it, practically glowing with the glow that pregnant mothers were said to give off.

Taiga who had been trying to hold back a slight smirk looked up at the counsellor. "It appears that our marine exec wasn't too fond of the colour of the carpet." she said.

At that moment Amu entered the room, following Talia. She was fourteen weeks and was now sporting a noticable 'baby bump'. "Evening all..." she said with a smile.

"If I'd known you'd put out snacks, I wouldn't have eaten." Liz muttered. "I'm probably going to have to be tested for HG, because this is getting ridiculous..."

“Morning sickness is something that can last a pregnancy, generally it eases off around 3 months, I’m glad to have gotten rid of mine!” Talia smiled. “A trip to Sickbay would benefit you, go and see what they can do to help.”

"I would, if I had the energy to..." Liz muttered. "The only time I've not been too sore to move is when I'm on my way to the toilet to lose whatever meal I've recently eaten."

Liz grabbed another nicotine lozenge from her pocket and popped it into her mouth.

"It doesn't help that these nicotine lozenges that are apparently supposed to help me quit smoking are absolutely disgusting." She complained. "Yep, I'm definitely being punished for betraying my sister in arms' trust..."

Talia offered an understanding smile. “There are always house calls, I don’t think the doctor would mind given the circumstances. We all need to stay in good health, especially while we’re stranded here.”

"I wonder if house calls include abortion services..." Liz muttered. "I mean, am I wrong for considering getting one? I'm sure all of your unborn children were planned, but mine? Mine was created through a breaking of trust, and I know that if I carry this baby to term, Chiyo will never be able to look me in the eye again..."

Amu smiled. "Well, mine wasn't planned," she said in response. "It just kind of... happened..."

Talia gave Liz a caring smile. "Liz, as much as there are those who'd say abortion is wrong, if it's something you seriously want to consider I'd suggest you consider all your options. Once done it's not something that can be undone."

Taiga looked downright mortified at the idea of abortion. "In my opinion the child you have inside is innocent. What you did was... stupid yes. But in the end, do you run from your mistakes or kearn from them?" Taiga asked.

A moment of silence fell upon the room. "Anyways, a lighter topic!" Taiga said changing the mood. "Amu, I see you're bump is starting to show!"

"Yeah, but probably because I'm such a tiny woman like you Taiga," Amu replied as she ran a hand across her noticable bump.

Talia smiled. “We’ll all be comparing baby bumps soon enough, to be honest I’m not looking forward to an aching back and swollen ankles!”

Liz stood there for a moment as Taiga's words rang in her ears:

The child inside is innocent? She wondered, her hand moving to her belly.

"I can deal with the ankles. Its my back I'm worried about the most." Taiga replied to Talia. "But I'm excited though, we've been looking forward to this for years," she added as she beamed at them.

Talia smiled. “Tom and I hadn’t planned this, hell we only just married after a whirlwind romance. It seems fate has other ideas, he’s happy about it and so am I.” She didn’t say that she was worried about it putting pressure on their relationship so early into the marriage.

"You're not the only one with an unplanned pregnancy, counsellor." Liz finally spoke up. "I'm sure I don't need to go into detail as to how this little one was conceived, as I'd just be retreading old water if I did."

“Of course” Talia nodded. “We all need a support mechanism, our loved ones and our friends. Plus we have each other, we’re all in the same mothers to be club after all.” She offered a smile.

"Ryuuji is being really good in that respect. But he's a bit... overprotective at times," Taiga said. "He's been wanting a family for years. After I lost my first... we had just come around to the idea it might never happen."



Talia nodded. “Which makes your pregnancy all the more precious for both of you. It’s no wonder Ryuuji is over protective. To be honest I’m just hoping that having a baby so soon after marrying Thomas won’t put pressure on our relationship. It’s all been a whirlwind so far.”

"You two did get together quickly didn't you?" Taiga asked giving her a curious smirk. "Did he sweep you off your feet or something?"

Talia couldn’t help but smile. “You could say that, Tom won my heart the minute I set eyes on him. I have no regrets.”

Taiga smiled. "It took Ryuuji a while. He's the reason I even graduated the Academy." She said. "We've been together ever since. I can't imagine life without him now." She couldn't help it, the smile on her face was genuine and she could feel a warmth in her chest. "I ran away to Starfleet to escape my own demons, and in it I found an angel."

Talia smiled feeling the emotions pouring off Taiga. “We’re both very lucky women.” She paused before changing the subject. “So what happens if we don’t manage to escape this hell hole?”

"We will escape," Taiga said. She placed both hands on her belly. "I have no intent of raising my child here." She added with a determined smile. "What about you three, what are your plans?"

To be continued...

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