[Gregory Ellis - Kitchen, Private Quarters]



Greg stepped out of his home office - the very room that would soon be sacrificed for the baby once old enough - and let himself be drawn toward the kitchen, where the delicious smell of his wife's cooking would make his stomach growl. Brooke was trying a curry, an old Earth home remedy to try and encourage some movement from the baby, and he was very keen to try it.

His hunger was forgotten when he clocked the white-knuckle grip on the counter. His eyes travelled the length of her, taking in the stiffness and the shifting from foot to foot; the physical signs of her epic discomfort. He hated it, he truly did. He did not know how she'd managed these last nine months. Morning sickness, fatigue and tiredness, almost zero range of normal movement, then the extra strain on her as she grew bigger. He'd decided pretty quickly that he would not want her to endure this ever again. He had yet to discuss that with Brooke herself, mostly due to the fact that he did not want to cause any undue upset that a passionate discussion about their future could trigger.

Greg had been so grateful that he'd made the decision to leave his commission and stay on the Station. He'd been able to be there for Brooke and support her, but the flipside of that was that he'd felt powerless and deeply troubled by just how much stress she was shouldering. And her pregnancy had been fairly run of the mill, all things considered, he had no clue how others dealt with this and then complications on top of it.

"Hey, sweetheart," he stepped into the kitchen area and when he reached her, he moved to wrap an arm around her. "B.H. again?"

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Tag: Leanna Mazal

[Gregory Ellis - Kitchen, Private Quarters]

His arm around her tightened a little, mostly to provide her with some physical support but also partly to comfort himself. Outwardly he was as calm and collected as ever, but inside, when she mentioned that the Braxton Hicks contractions were lasting longer than they did normally, there was a flicker of panic.

"Do you want to give Dr. Paawin a call?" Greg asked, reaching up with his other hand to move a lock of hair that had become free away from her face. He tucked it snugly behind her ear and continued, "It's still early, so we won't be disturbing him." His wife was considerate, it was one of the many things he loved about her, so he knew she wouldn't want to feel as though she was bothering anyone. But they were passed the due date and on high alert.

"No harm in checking."

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Tag: Leanna Mazal (Brooke)

[Gregory Ellis - Private Quarters]

Watching the signs of pain on her face, Greg's jaw clenched. But he said nothing, just keeping a hold of her while she fought through. He was pleased that she readily agreed to contact the doctor, but simultaneously concerned, as he'd been expecting more of a fight. He took it to mean that there was indeed something more to these contractions.

"Okay, let's go sit on the sofa," he suggested, bypassing the stools at the breakfast bar of their kitchen for the cosy living area. "I've got you." Together, they moved to sit. =/\= "Computer, open up a channel to Dr. Paawin. Request consultation." =/\=

While they waited, he fussed over Brooke by arranging and then re-arranging the cushions on the couch in a vain effort to make things more comfortable.

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Tags: Leanna Mazal , Jovireh Velal (Riyo)

[Brooke - Personal Quarters]

Sitting down had felt like the most logical thing to do. However despite Greg's efforts to make her more comfortable. It was taking every ounce of strength not to cry. Partly because she didn't want to look as though she couldn't handle it. As up until now she had, even to the point of being used to every little ache, pain and braxton hicks. Okay the first time had terrified her but now this was something else entirely.

For the last couple of weeks, Brooke had thought she was ready, thinking that the birth would be easy. Preparing, organising and looking forward to holding their baby. But if this was it and not some false alarm, then maybe all of her preparation had gone out of the airlock. The pain was unbearable and couldn't understand how Lea had gone through it twice already.

That's when Brooke realised that she had to stop worrying, although still held onto Greg tightly as Riyo answered Greg's request. =/\= Doctor it's Brooke.. Greg is here with me.. and =/\ =

Her sentence was cut off as a much stronger and more painful contraction consumed her attention, leaving her almost doubled over.

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Tag Felicity Ellis Jovireh Velal

[Lt. Paawin Riyo - Front Ear - Personal Quarters]

The pain in Brooke's voice was obvious, even before her sentence cut off and Greg finished the explanation. It was possible the woman was finally in labor, but regardless if this was different from what she'd experienced before then it was best to get a proper examine in. "I'll head over to Sickbay," he told them decisively. Quickly taking a drink from his coffee, he set the mug down before moving towards the bedroom to get his uniform. "I'll authorize an emergency transport when I get there." If Brooke wasn't able to talk through the pain, then it probably wasn't a good idea to make her walk from their quarters to Sickbay.

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Tag Leanna Mazal Felicity Ellis

[Gregory Ellis - Private Quarters]

It didn't take any more by way of convincing to get Dr. Paawin moving, and for that Greg was grateful. He had worked with doctors and CMOs in the past that through their experience, were less inclined to listen to or rely on their patients to give them the information needed to diagnose. The Bajoran seemed to be more inclined to trust them, which was a nice change.

Also, Brooke was actually overdue, and even though the stories went that first pregnancies often were, it still made sense to...

His thought trailed off as his eyes flew to the trail of wet moving down Brooke's leg.

"Honey?"

Greg nodded toward the trickle of fluid that was fast becoming a small puddle at her feet. "Looks like your water broke." And it looked like their transport to Sickbay would not be a temporary one. "You stay right here. I'll go and get your go-bag."

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Tags: Leanna Mazal , Jovireh Velal (Riyo)

[Brooke - Private Quarters]

Even as the sensation of something wet continued to trickle down her leg. Brooke's mind was elsewhere, trying to breath through pain until Greg managed to get her attention. Looking to where he was indicating, Brooke's first thought was had she wet herself?. That had happened the other day much to her embarrassment. Thankfully she was spared from completely reliving that moment as her brain caught up with Greg telling her that it looked like her waters had broken.

" I think so too" she replied, her terror ramping up a notch, before her husband suggested that she stay put whilst he grabbed the go bag. " Okay... just hurry".

Nothing had truly prepared her for this, despite reading and watching everything about it. Now it was very real... the rest of her thought was cut off as Riyo alerted them to prepare for transport.

[Sickbay]

A few minutes later and Brooke appeared in a private room, barely having time to adjust, before the rest of her waters broke.

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Tag Felicity Ellis Jovireh Velal