Summary: B'Elanna has the baby.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the Star Trek Universe. I own my story. Thanks: I would like to thank Jenn for her proofing and beta reading.
She's here Copyright by Jan Monroe, August 6, 1999
Computer Begin log:
She's here, eight pound, nine ounces--a huge bundle of joy. I know that pain is supposed to be part of childbirth but I don't think that the husband is supposed to bear so much of it.
I was in engineering when the real hard labor started. Joe was helping me to sickbay when I accidentally tightened my hand with a contraction. I didn't mean to break his arm. It just happened. I *had* to go in labor the one day a month that the transporters are taken off line for standard maintenance.
Things went from bad to worse in sickbay. Doc was so...annoying is the only word that I can think of but it doesn't cover just how he made the whole experience worse. He kept talking about the joys of childbirth and how I would forget about the pain. I was about to turn off his program when Tom got there.
Tom came out of sickbay with more bruises than I did. He managed to get Doc distracted. It probably saved his program. Tom coached me through the breathing and it helped, a little. Basically, I think it just gave me something to think about while my body was being controlled by sadistic aliens.
Luckily, she was born quickly, in less than four hours. According to Doc, all those back aches I've been having for the last week were actually labor.
We named her after Tom's mom and the Captain. Mary Kathryn Paris has a nice ring to it.
Tom fell in love with her about ten seconds after Doc handed her to him. I wish I had a picture of his face. He looked so amazed that she was real and really here. Before she was so abstract, a part of our reality, but separate.
We all spent the night learning about the joys of feedings every two hour. According to all the child development books, this phase should pass in a couple of weeks but until then sleep deprivation is going to be the norm for us.
Computer, End Log.