Morning sickness, Nappies and a Suspected Crush?

Posted on Sat Jul 6th, 2024 @ 3:32pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux

Mission: Remnant
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: 403
2608 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Mercy bit back a yawn, her jaw cracked slightly as she made her way to the Captain's ready room. There were darks smudges under her eyes, and her hair had barely been brushed, pulled into a messy bun that just passed for grooming. She signalled her arrival once there. If she hadn't been so tired she might have stood anxiously outside but she still had the fog of a late night settled over her. "Good morning Captain, is now a good time for me to update you on the search?" She asked, poking her head around the door, before taking a cautious step inside. She double checked the zipper on her uniform was done up correctly, adjusting it when she realised she had left it mostly undone.

Beth was stood heaving over the toilet frustrated by her inability to stop being sick that morning. It was hard on a normal day but this morning with the stress of the search, it was hard to focus her mind anywhere else. She had rushed into her ready room leaving the door open so it was no surprise when she heard a friendly voice speaking from the doorway. "One minute Ensign." She called.

Mercy winced in sympathy when she heard the Captain heaving. Having three younger siblings she was quite familiar with the pitfalls of pregnancy. “Yes of course Captain, no rush.” She called out. She didn’t attempt to join the Captain in the small restroom, feeling like that might be an invasion. Instead she quickly grabbed the woman a glass of water, leaving it discretely on her desk with some tissues. She didn’t have access to any of her home remedies, like mint tea or ginger, so she would have to settle this. She looked around the ready room while she waited with a critical eye. It would do for now, but as the Captain’s pregnancy progressed it would need a few extra comforts. A foot rest, a pillow for her lower back, she made a mental note to start talking to some of the other women. She was sure she would have plenty of volunteers to help put together a pregnancy care package. Perhaps she could ask someone who was closer to the Captain to give it to her, or leave it as a surprise on her desk.

Beth took much longer than a minute but soon came out with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail and sat heavily in the chair. She looked at the water and nodded relieved as she took several sips of it and sat back. “Apologises Ensign.” The woman apologised. “I thought it was going to be Lieutenant Darru here? Has he sent you because of some problem?”

“Nothing to apologise for Captain. Lieutenant Darru had a personal issue he needed to attend to, so he sent me in his place to update you on our search.” She hesitated slightly, making eye contact with the Captain and offering her a small smile. “If that’s okay with you ma’am, I can always come back later if now is not a good time? I’m… if this is out of line please feel free to stop me Captain, but are you sure you are okay?”

Beth made a noise that she was not at all worried that the woman was there she just wanted to know that everything was okay. She would catch up with the man later on to check properly but it must be simple enough if he had sent the woman along. "It is fine. And no right now is okay I do not think any time is perfect at the moment." Who knew a baby would make the Captain so unwell sometimes?

Mercy made a small noise of sympathy. “Very well Captain. Although if you need me to pause at any moment please do say. Our search is proceeding on schedule. At the moment we are identifying possible sources of Deuterium in the sector. Our next stage will be to begin to narrow these down and provide a series of coordinates to the helm so they are able to create an efficient flight plan so we can get closer to each of our most likely sources. All non-essential work has been paused in order to direct our attention to this as a priority piece of work. We have also closed down the additional science lab and are all working from one. Space is… a little tight Captain but I think most are happy to make do knowing it is a temporary measure.”

Mercy hesitated a moment longer. “Uhm mint or ginger tea Captain.” Then she realised she had offered that with no context, so she carried on. “I am not sure if hydroponics grow either of those, but my mother swore by it when she was suffering with terrible morning sickness with my youngest two siblings. Said the anti-nausea medication she was prescribed didn’t seem to help, but a cup or two of that first thing and she was at least able to keep her meals down better. If hydroponics are not able to provide any we could look for plants with similar properties should we go planet side to extract the deuterium?”

Beth raised an eyebrow at the offer before breaking into a smile at the offer and nodded. "I would appreciate anything that did not sap our medical supplies," Beth assured as she brought up the report that Darru had sent earlier in the day to read against the information that Mercy offered her now. "I believe tight working spaces are better than sleeping arrangements," Beth noted thinking of how tight it could get if they were living and working together.

“I’ll make a note to ask Ensign Madelyn Moore ma’am. If she’s growing any I’m sure she won’t mind sending some up.” Mercy then got back to business. “Yes ma’am, and everyone understands it’s necessary so really they are trying to make the best of it. It’s taken a little juggling with the extra shifts we are running too. Lots of people are stepping forward to offer free time they might normally spend on their own projects to help with this instead. It’s not sustainable for long, but at the moment it seems to be helping for people to have a common goal.” Mercy shrugged a little. “Although I am trying to make sure everyone still takes breaks and eats. Scientists can be an obsessive sort Captain, especially when there is a tangible problem to solve.”

"I am sure if Moore is not available ask Crewman Jones. It was his project for a long time before everyone could be spared to go back." Beth reminded gently not wanting the man to be left out of discussions when he had put in so much work in the hydroponic bay. "Common goals are good for morale even when the cause of it is not so good." Situations like fuel issues had always brought her crew together, it was one of the many reasons why she was proud of them.

“Yes of course, Crewman Jones knows better than anyone what’s in there. When I have a moment I’ll head down and enquire ma’am.” Mercy mentally added it to her already overburdened list, but frankly, fussing over people was one of the things that she did to keep her own stress at bay so she would find a way to fit it all in. “Exactly that Captain. Everyone is pulling together for the moment, as well as sharing desks and supplies where they must. Was there anything else you needed to know from our department ma’am?”

Beth was not sure that she needed anything more if she was honest. "Not really between your comments and the daily reports from Lieutenant Darru I believe I have everything I need," Beth commented scrolling through the PADD thoughtfully looking at the changes from the previous days report. "How are you enjoying having Leutienant Darru as department head?"

Mercy hesitated for a moment. “Permission to speak freely Captain?” A question like that, asked of her by the Captain felt loaded, but she knew Captain Laroux wanted to know from a sincere and caring place.

Uh oh, Beth thought as she sat up a little straighter and nodded. "Completely Ensign." The woman assured wondering what could be needed to be discussed so freely.

“I think he’s wonderful. He’s kind, considerate. He works hard and expects a high level of work from those around him, but doesn’t set unreasonable expectations of anyone at all. He listens to suggestions and gives everyone’s words equal weight whether they are a commander or a crewman. I don’t think I have ever had such an excellent commanding officer ma’am. My only concern is he’s…” this was clearly what Mercy had been worrying about sharing, and even with permission to speak freely she chose her words very carefully. “He’s alone. He’s the only Vulcan in a crew made up almost entirely of humans. He makes every effort to adjust to our needs and our customs. He has even adopted certain vernacular and although I am not certain, I suspect he does it to make the junior officers more comfortable around him.” It also seemed Mercy had been quietly observing her commanding officer attentively. “I just wonder if we could be doing more to make him feel comfortable. To be honest ma’am I feel quite ashamed that I don’t know more about Vulcan culture to offer any useful suggestions, but I feel like he deserves the same care he has shown us to be returned to him.”

Beth felt a smirk cross her face for a moment before she hid it behind a nod. She was wondering if the woman had a slight crush but she was not going to push that with the woman as that was her own issue and she might not even be aware of it yet. "We have as senior officer over the last year but he also does not want a fuss made. O'Connery has tried to celebrate Vulcan events and he seems more fascinated with human customs and us generally. I do not believe he joined the ship purely at the request of the Vulcan science council.”

“Oh, I see. I mean, of course, you will have tried to make sure he...” Mercy bit her lip feeling a bit deflated. Darru was a tough nut for her to crack. With most of her team, she could find ways to make them feel special, little things she could do. But with the Lieutenant, he was more of an enigma. She thinks back to the other night, the moment where he seemed almost lost to his own thoughts. But she wasn’t the sort to gossip. “Yes of course ma’am, I am sure we all have our reasons for being where we are now. If there is any way I can… uhm if you think of anything I can do to help the Lieutenant, and the wider science department as a whole of course, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She shrugged and went back to standing at an awkward sort of attention, with her hands behind her back. “I just want to make sure all my colleagues are looked after.” The thought of being able to do something like that for Darru made her stomach clench, but she pushed the feeling aside as if it was simply nerves for being in front of the Captain.

“Same for you ma’am, if there is anything you need, you just ask. I have… I basically helped raise my younger siblings so nappies, babysitting, you can count on me.” She gives the woman a small nod. She wasn’t sure if the Captain would take her up on the offer but she felt it was important to make sure the expectant mother knew help was there if she did need it.

Beth looked at the woman carefully as she rose and did the same in a lot less graceful way as she was not quite showing through the uniform but her centre gravity was shifting slightly. "If you want to help Leutientant Darru maybe have a look into Vulcan customs and traditions int the database. It has normally assisted me when I have had those thoughts myself." Beth had mostly considered the chief medical officer in those thoughts as Darru had always seemed well adjusted but maybe she was incorrect around that. "Nappies..." it was such a strange Earth standard word but it was something she had not considered. "I had no consider that," Beth admitted. She was advising looking in the ships data for Vulcans but she was thinking she was going to need to look there for herself and bringing a child up.

Mercy sensed a shift in the Captain, and the Ensign’s Big Sister complex kicked in hard. “I will do that, thank you for the advice ma’am. Uh, if it would help, could I perhaps make a list of useful things we could help gather for you before the baby arrives? I am sure the crew would welcome a chance to all help you, but I don’t want to overstep if you have already got some plans in place. But things like nappies, blankets, baby clothes, bottles, steriliser…” She trailed off suddenly realising that the list she was ticking off her fingers might actually be a little overwhelming. “Feel free to dismiss me if I am just making you nervous.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s hard enough having a baby, but under these circumstances I imagine it can all be quite overwhelming at times. You are handling with much more grace than I think I would manage.”

Beth bit her lip hard thinking that if it was anyone else other than Mercy, Lexi or Calanthe she would have gotten offended but the woman was truly trying to help her out and settle her nervousness. "I would appreciate that Ensign. And I am thinking of the ship and our fuel issue more than my own pregnancy."

Mercy let out a small breath of relief, glad that the offer had not been seen as impudence. “It’s no trouble, Captain. You would do the same if any of us were in your position so it’s a pleasure to be able to help a little.” Mercy had already started thinking of how to turn a spare uniform into a little Starfleet baby grow in her head. She then gave herself a quick shake and snapped back to attention. “Ah yes, apologies the fuel crisis. So as I said I think we are on track to find something soon, everyone has deprioritised non-essential… uhm.. I already told you that… so any questions ma’am?”

"There is nothing more Ensign. You have been quite through with what you have let me know today." Beth offered a nod as she sat back down to consider more options for her day to keep going with the issues they had going on.

“Thank you, Captain, I try my best. With your permission then I will return to the lab and carry on with the task at hand.” Mercy smiled gently and then waited patiently to be dismissed.

Beth nodded with a quick smile and watched the woman leave the room with a smile on her face. Well, that had been interesting to say the least.