Is there something in the water?

Posted on Sat Apr 22nd, 2023 @ 12:31am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Talia Johnson

1,120 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Descent
Location: Counsellor’s office

With the news that Febin had given her Talia had decided it best to let Taiga know her news. A pregnancy wasn’t something you could hide for long, so better now than later on. She tapped her comm badge. “Johnson to Captain Aisaka, can I see you in my office please Captain?”

Taiga who had been wondering when the counsellor would be in touch tapped her comm badge. "On my way Counsellor" she stated simply. She rose from her chair in her ready room, straightened her uniform and headed down towards the medical section of the ship.

A few moments later she arrived outside the Counsellors door. She reached out and rang the chime.

Talia greeted Taiga at the door, “Captain, thank you for coming so quickly. Please come in and make yourself at home.”

Taiga walked in and took a seat on the couch. "I'm guessing that Dr Febin had asked you to see me?" She asked.

“Actually...” Talia paused to pick up a PADD and check her messages, “Yes, he has but I’ve only just seen the message. I actually called you here to tell you that I’m pregnant” she offered a wry smile. “Three weeks, so I guess it’s a surprise for us both.”

"Well yeah..." Taiga said in response. "I guess that puts you about a week ahead of myself..."

Talia nodded. “So it would seem Captain, puts it at the first night Tom and I spent together. To be honest it worries me what he’ll think, I know he believes in going with what chances life throws at you, but we’re still pretty new to each other.”

"Yeah, I understand you got married pretty quickly after meeting. I've known Ryuuji since the Academy, we've been together for fifteen years now" she told her simply as she sat back. "And trying to have a child for the last five or so"

“Then this must feel like a miracle for both of you?” Talia smiled as she switched into Counsellor mode.

"Yeah. Especially since we lost the first one..." Taiga responded her tone of voice becoming more melancholy.

“I’m sorry to hear that Captain” Talia offered a gentle smile. “I can only imagine what that must have been like.”

"Physically, it didn't feel like anything. It was the emotional pain that hit me. We lost the baby when I was shot mid-transport during an away mission." Taiga told her. "That was one of my first missions aboard this ship as its commanding officer. I didn't even know I was pregnant when it happened."

Talia nodded as she listened. “So being pregnant now must be more worrying for you, after your previous loss and having waited for so long.”

"Very worrying. There was a chance I'd never conceive again, so it's a little bit of a miracle," Taiga explained. "I'll admit, it scares me that I might end up losing it again."

“Has the Doctor said there’s a possibility of that?” Talia looked at Taiga concernedly.

"Yeah" Taiga replied sadly. "Its higher than usual unfortunately. But I'm trying to remain optimistic," she paused for a few moments. "All I ever wanted was a family of my own Counsellor. I had a rough upbringing, and I fully intend for my children to never suffer through what I did."

Talia smiled and nodded. “It’s good that you’re optimistic, don’t let your fears control what you can’t control yourself. This is a miracle for you, one that’s meant to be or it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. As for your upbringing you’ve gotten past that, you’ve made yourself who you are, and what you are today. You should be proud of what you’ve achieved.”

"I have many fears" Taiga said. "I just don't show them." She paused for a brief moment. "As for what I've achieved, I'm not proud of that at all. Yes I'm a Starfleet Captain, but having four rank pips on my chest is all I have really achieved. Half of the time it seems that the Tokyo and its Captain are nothing but trouble for Starfleet. Its probably why they are sending us to the middle of butt-fuck nowhere..."

“The perfect chance to show that this ship, her Captain and crew, are ready to prove Starfleet wrong!” Talia smiled. “We can blow their expectations out of the water!”

"I hope so" Taiga sighed. "Plus, I guess we both have something more important to protect now too" she gave the counsellor a small smile. "I will admit though, I will still need to talk to you often. I have a lot of past demons I want to get out and rid of before they become a burden on my child" she told her.

Talia nodded. “By all means Captain, how’s about we meet in my office tomorrow? I’ll send you my availability and you can drop in when you’ve got time.”

Taiga nodded. "That sounds like a good place to start" she told her as she rose to her feet. "Oh, also. Congratulations. I have a funny feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other throughout the next nine months" she added giving her a smile.

“Indeed we will” Talia grinned. “We can do the whole maternity and baby shopping thing together. I’m intending to enjoy every moment of this.”

"I'd like that" Taiga replied. A little bit of her 'girly side' breaking through her hard Starfleet Captain exterior. "It'll be nice to have someone else going through the same experience. I've never had anything like that before, so it should help us both... I've been looking forward to this for as long as I can remember. Even before I met Ryuuji, I always knew that I wanted my own children one day."

“Snap!” Talia grinned. “I’ve always wanted to have children, I’ve been a natural around kids all my life.”

Taiga simply smiled. "I guess that both our dreams will come true in just under nine months or so..." she replied. "I best get back to the bridge, there's still a small mountain of PADDS waiting for me" she sighed.

Talia nodded. “Actually for me it’s 9-10 months depending on when the baby decides its time.” She grinned as she stood up. “It’s been nice talking with you Captain, my door is always open if you need it.”

"Same here" Taiga responded as she made her way towards the door. She gave the counsellor another brief smile before proceeding through the doors and down the corridor.

{OFF}

Posting by:

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Talia Johnson
Chief Counsellor

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