The hardest decision

Posted on Tue Dec 19th, 2023 @ 2:32pm by Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & Lieutenant Alison Haldeman & Lieutenant Thomas Haldeman & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson

Mission: Halloween
Location: Sickbay

{ON}

The doors to Sickbay swished open as a severely oxygen deprived, & poorly Alison was brought into Sickbay. Her possession by the energy beings had depleted her system, plus being stunned whilst heavily pregnant hadn’t helped with her current condition. Both she and her son’s lives were now in Sarah’s hands.

Tom followed behind Alie as she was brought into Sickbay. To say he felt guilty was a huge understatement. He had stunned Alie while she was possessed by an energy creature. Now her life and the life of their unborn son were in the hands of Sarah and the Sunfire medical team. All he could do now was wait and pray. Pray very hard that Alie and their son would both live and be alright.

Aurora was in Sickbay having been checked over by Sarah to make sure she was none the worse for wear, she was offering support to those who needed it, and right now she could see and sense that Thomas needed it.

“Thomas” She offered a gentle smile. “I can sense you feel guilty, but this isn’t your fault. Alison and your baby are in good hands.”

Tom nodded wordlessly; his eyes were haunted. "I shot Alie, Sarah. I shot her to get that creature out her and now look at her. I know you and your staff are doing all you can, and I am extremely grateful." He stopped as he felt he was rambling.

Aurora offered solace. “You did what you felt you had to do, besides given what those...things did to people, I don’t think this was your fault.” She looked at Sarah hoping she agreed.

Sarah looked from Ali to Tom and over to Aurora as she worked, stabilising her patients and getting started on the rehabilitation.

"We all did some pretty sketchy stuff for the greater good over the little while" Sarah said gently as she started nutrient supplements and carefully monitored Alison's blood chemistry.

Aurora nodded. “I wasn’t possessed as such, I was controlled but I felt their intentions. They would have killed us all, sucked the energy right out of us. That’s what they were doing to Alison and your baby.”

Tom smiled, gratefully at Aurora and Sarah. "I appreciate what you both are saying, I really do but I was the one who pulled the trigger to stun her. Now she and the baby are fighting for their lives."

"We're not at the 'fighting for lives' stage yet" Sarah replied with a smile. She frowned as some of the readings on the biobeds fluctuated slightly. "Hrm, I need to adjust some of the medication we're giving you, your body isn't tolerating it as well as expected" the CMO spoke calmly to Alison. "Just relax, we'll make sure everything is fine"

Tom nodded at Sarah. "You are right Sarah. I misspoke please forgive me. I just want Alie and the baby to be alright and get this all behind us."

"She'll be fine - we have the latest medical technology and a highly specialised team here in sickbay. Every contingency will be taken care of" Sarah soothed as she adjusted some of the medications again and frowned at the readouts.

Aurora stepped up alongside Sarah, keeping her voice at a lower level. “Is there a problem?"

"Some of the medications aren't having the feet they should. It could be a combination of the stun and severe hypoxia. But still, this should be working to restore your blood chemistry" Sarah frowned again and looked worriedly at the readouts.

Tom was occupied looking at Alie and didn't notice Aurora move to Sarah's side and ask her question.

Aurora nodded as Sarah answered her question. “In that case I’ll get out of your way and let you work. I’ll support Thomas as best as I can.”

Tom turned his head from Alie and saw Aurora and Sarah in a quiet but intense conversation. "What? What is it?" He asked worriedly.

"Ali's system isn't responding as we would expect it, which means there's something else going on we don't know about. I need to do some more details tests" Sarah's tone had changed from friendly to professional in an instant.

Aurora offered Thomas her support, all she could do was be there at his side while Sarah did her work.

"Ali, I need to give you a mild sedative to make sure you remain perfectly still. I need to run a few delicate scans, they'll take a few minutes each." Sarah placed a reassuring hand on Ali's shoulder. "We'll do everything we can to make sure you're both okay"

Tom stood there feeling very lost, he looked to Sarah and then to Aurora. " Are Ali and the baby going to be alright?" His concern for Alie and the baby obvious.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure they're ok" Sarah replied as she adjusted a few pieces of diagnostic equipment. She administered the hypo that would make Ali drowsy but not put her completely under then began running the tests.

Tom nodded and stood out of the way o let Sarah and the medical staff to their job. All he could do was wait and pray.

Aurora offered gentle support as she stood at Thomas’ side, seeing Alison looking so helpless made her worry about her herself and her baby, as it would any pregnant woman. “I’m not going anywhere Thomas, I’ll be right here with you.”

It took Sarah a few minutes to run the tests, then a other few more to interpret the results. Everything was pointing to a conclusion that wasn't ideal.

"Ali, the damage on your body has caused part of your placenta to start to die. We need to deliver your baby. Im going to perform a foetal transport and then place him in an incubator until his lungs are fully developed. " The CMO explained as gently as she could. "You shouldn't feel any pain, and I can stimulate your hormones so that your body thinks you've just delivered naturally."

"Sarah? Is there no option?" Tom asked worriedly.

"Not if we want them both to survive. We don't perform these procedures unless there is no other option available. The baby will need continual care until it comes to term and can breath then feed on its own. " Sarah explained as she started setting out equipment. "I will need to perform minor surgery after the transport to cauterise the blood vessels within Ali's uterus to avoid her bleeding internally." She bustled around and called a number of her team over to assist.

"Ali, do you want to be awake for the procedure? It's completely up to you. I will need to give you more medication to keep you immobile if you choose to do so" Sarah turned her attention to the woman on the biobeds before her. "Your baby is going to be fine, just a little earlier than we thought. He won't cry, and he won't be able to breathe on his own for a while yet until his lungs finish forming."

Alison gave a frightened look to her husband, she’d understood what Sarah had said but this hadn’t been the plan. She managed a brief shake of her head to say she didn’t want to be awake as a few stray tears ran down her face, holding her hand out for Thomas to hold.

Tom took Alie's hand and held it gently. He saw her tears and with his free hand, he wiped them away before speaking to Sarah. "Sarah. It would best if you put Alie under when you perform the operation. A question however. How long will Alie need to stay here once you have performed the surgery."

Sarah quickly prepared the hypo she would need and began to send staff and equipment into the nearby surgical suite.

"Over night would be ideal..it will give us a chance to carefully monitor her and the baby to ensure there are no complications. The last few months have been hard on everyone so I'm sure a little rest won't go astray"

Once her team were ready and in place she motioned to Tom then spoke directly to Ali.

"I know you're not ready for this, but we need to do this now to ensure your baby is healthy. I'm going to put you under, ok?"

“Okay” Ali nodded still holding Tom’s hand.

"No, I agree Sarah. Overnight is fine and if it needs to be longer to ensure Alie's health that is fine as well." Tom replied in a steady voice, it was clear the news had shaken him but he was handling it well. He bent down and kissed Alie softly. "Everything is going to be okay darling. You are in good hands with Sarah and her team."

Ali returned his kiss, keeping hold of Tom’s hand whilst still awake.

“Don’t worry Alison, I’m here for you both” Aurora offered a warm smile as she stood alongside Thomas, before nodding to Sarah that they were ready.

Tom smile down at Alie. "You're in good hands Alie. Just relax and let Sarah do her job." Tom said quietly. He turned to Aurora and whispered, "Thank you for being here Aurora."

The team moved Ali into surgery and began their work, emerging half an hour later with a small baby in the clear plexiglas of a humidicrib.

"Tom, would you like to meet your son?" The nurse asked as Sarah finished up the surgery. "I'm sorry you can't hold him for a while, but you can put your hands through the portals to touch him"

Aurora’s mouth practically dropped open at the sight of the tiny baby inside the crib. “Ohh my...he’s so tiny!” She gave Thomas a misty eyed look. “Congratulations Thomas!”

Seeing the small baby, his and Aurora's son. Tom smiled a megawatt smile. "He's beautiful! Simply beautiful! I can't wait for Alie and Mandy to see him." He babbled as he looked at Aurora. "Thank you, Aurora. Thank you very much." Tom looked at the nurse. "Alie. How is Alie? Is she alright?"

"The Doc is just finishing up now. Everything went as planned, she should be back on her feet tomorrow. We'll keep her here for tonight though to make sure she's doing ok" the nurse smiled at them. "We've set up a private room for you all to get acquainted"

Tom's face relaxed at hearing Alie was okay and her stay in Sickbay was going to be a short one. "That would be perfect. thank you so much." He told the nurse. Grateful that Alie and the baby were both alright.

Aurora smiled warmly. “I’ll leave you to go spend time with your family. You know where to find me if you need me. Ohh and Congratulations!”

A few minutes later Ali was transferred to the private room and Tom was allowed in. The baby's humidicrib was also in there, however there were a number of monitors set up to allow the staff to monitor his condition without intruding too much on the families time.

Tom gave Aurora a grateful smile. "Thank you, Aurora, for being here to support and provide a calming influence, not only for me but for Alie as well. I know I certainly needed it." Tom answered as he entered the room to spend some quality with Alie and to bond with their son.

Smiling Aurora watched Tom go, right now she was going to head to her office, and see what awaited her there.

Tom entered the room and moved directly to Alie's bed. He looked down at her as he took her hand in his. "Hiya sweetie. You rest. You and the baby are doing fine, just fine. He's in the room with you." He whispered to her. With his other hand he caressed her cheek.

Alison slowly stirred, her hand gripping Tom’s. She wearily turned her head to look at him, still drowsy from the sedation. “Our son...he’s here?”

Tom nodded and then turned and wordlessly pushed the biocrib up and alongside Alie's bed. "He is and now you can see him ant talk to him Alie."

Sarah quietly exited the room and allowed the family their privacy. She was looking forward to some downtime herself.

Alison looked towards her son, he looked so fragile and tiny in the biocrib, the monitors monitoring his vitals. “He’s...so tiny!” She so wanted to touch him, but she was so tired all she could manage to do was look at him before she started to drift back to sleep.

"He is tiny now Alie but he'll grow and become a fine boy and later a fine man." Tom answered as he stood next to Alie, gently holding her hand. "I love you Alison. I love you so very much."

Alison managed a brief nod in her struggle to stay awake, but was soon sleeping peacefully with the knowledge that her son would live.

{OFF}