A Change of Venue, Part 2

Posted on Fri Jan 8th, 2021 @ 6:29am by Lieutenant Tate Sullivan Ph.D.

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
2165 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

With another look at the monitors, Tate looked up at her most experienced intern. "Hey, Lys, you ever deliver a baby before?"

Alysa's eyes widened in surprise. "Sure. Once. In training."

Sullivan nodded but she was already moving. "I need you to do this. Now. We'll help."

Thankfully, Alysa knew better than to protest and although clearly unexpected, she took Sullivan's place at the foot of the bed between the girl's narrow hips. "The baby's retreated some, but he's almost crowning."

"Hear that?" Tate said, looking to the fatigued girl. "Your baby needs you to be brave, and together, we're going to show the little one how." Sullivan helped the girl sit up some, and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders to support her, while she offered the girl her other hand. "When you feel the next one, I want you to squeeze my hand and push."

The young woman studied Tate sidelong and curiously, then asked, "I thought you were in charge? Aren't you supposed to be...down there?"

Tate shrugged. "You're the one holding up the show. Unless you do your part to push this baby out, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. Alysa can deliver a baby, but apparently, she's no good for motivation. Time for the big guns."

"And," she surmised breathlessly, "that would be you?"

" 'fraid so," replied Tate. "There's no trick or con here, hon. We're not going to hurt you, not like those men, not like the father of your child. Just let the pain come and know it's ok to cry or scream. We won't tell."

The girl continued watching her suspiciously, still wary of the strangers setting out to help her. But, much to Tate's surprise, the young woman cracked a wiry smile and nodded. "Then...let's do this." And with a fount of unexpected vigor, the girl clasped Tate's hand, squeezed, and pushed with all her might.

"Good girl," Tate praised as she wiped the girl's forehead. "You're doing very well."

"The head's out," called Alysa, her voice a mixture of fear and wonder. She was already reaching for the bulb to suction the child's nose and mouth.

With a calm certainty, Tate replied, "On the next contraction, she's going to push and you're going to gently guide the baby out. Don't be afraid to ask for what you need, Lys."

"The baby," Tate's patient panted, trying to look down between her legs for the child. "Is it-- Can I see her soon?"

Tate hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether the mother to be was planning to keep her child. "Of course. If you want to see him or her once he or she is born, you can."

"I do," the girl whispered. "I do very much." And overwhelmed again by the pain, she cried out then again began pushing until she was red in the face.

"That's it," Tate crooned, "you're doing it!" Sullivan managed to see that Alysa was guiding the baby out with kid gloves. One second the baby was fighting to be free and the next moment, the baby was in her arms, starting to whimper.

Sullivan could tell Alysa was shocked at the suddenness of it all, but she managed to call out, "It's a girl!" while reaching for the bulb to clear the newborn's lungs.

"A-A girl?" the mother managed between breaths. She had collapsed onto the mattress in exhaustion, and despite it, the young woman tried to rise onto her elbows and view her child. "Is she here? Why-- Why can't I hear her?"

"You will," Tate replied, "just as soon as Alysa clears her nose and throat and cuts the cord." It took a few minutes, mostly, Tate surmised, because Alysa was nervous, but she managed to cut the cord and clear the baby's breathing passages. It didn't take long before the baby began to wail.

Wrapping the newborn in a blanket, Alysa handed the new mother her daughter.

She was hesitant and cradled the child awkwardly, but the wonderment experienced by the girl as she stared at her baby was not in doubt. "She's...I can't believe she actually came from me," the young woman whispered in awe. "I did this?"

"You did," replied Tate, trying hard to keep the emotion from her voice. Sullivan still had no idea what was going to happen to the little girl or her mother, and she knew that she could not influence the girl's decision. So she returned to what she knew best. "How are you feeling, physically?"

"I'm tired," she answered absently. "But...but I want to look at her some more." Looking up at Tate, the young woman asked expectantly, "Can I?"

"Of course," Tate answered, nodding to Alysa to keep an eye on the girl. "Just don't overtax yourself and let us know when you get tired. You'll need to start nursing her soon. Babies get a lot of benefits from their mothers especially early on."

One of the disadvantages of the clinic was that it wasn't set up to be a place for long-term care. They had no separate nursery, nor any private wards. Any patient whom required extensive long-term care was to be stabilized in the clinic and then transferred elsewhere. The only problem was often people either didn't trust others to take care of them and bolted, or hospitals were reluctant to take people who wouldn’t follow medical advice.

Tate wasn't about to kick this girl and her child out so soon after the girl had given birth, however. Sullivan looked to the girl's monitor to make sure her vitals were stable and then began staunching the bleeding. "Another minute and then Alysa will take your daughter and make sure she's ok. We'll get you cleaned up, and when you're up for it, I'm going to have you moved to a bed farther from the door where you'll have more privacy. Don't worry, you can be with your baby if you like."

"My baby..." The girl chuckled bitterly. "She won't be mine for long. How the hell am I supposed to take care of something so small and fragile...." Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper and a glistening droplet of water splattered onto the baby's cheek from her mother's eye. "I...I can't keep her. I can't."

Like the professional she was expected to be, Tate placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and asked her the dreaded questions. "Do you have any family? Someone who could help you raise her? A boyfriend?"

She shook her head sullenly. "I have no one." Raising her head abruptly, a glimmer of hope shone in her wide eyes. "Can't you keep her? I bet you'd make a good mother and she'd never be hungry or sad or cold... Won't you do it? Please...for her?"

Tate smiled gently and somehow the words tumbled from her without her heart ever feeling their sting. "I wish I could, hon, but I work too much to raise a child right now. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to care for her as she deserves to be cared for. I want you to take some time before you decide. There are shelters, places you can go, or adoption agencies that can find your daughter a good home. But there's plenty of time for all that. Will you tell me a little of yourself?"

"There's nothing to tell," she explained with a shrug. Her attention reverted to her baby girl, now resting silently in her arms. The sight of the tiny child seemed to cast off any of the girl's shields. "I...I'm Taylor. That's all I know about who I am." So soft was her voice, Tate had to lean in closer to hear. "I started out there last year, when...when I arrived here. I had nothing then, either." She chuckled weakly, bitterly. "I'm just a whore, Nurse, and I got a baby, now...but at the same time, I don't have anything. I can't keep her. I can't even get a job. How'm I supposed to feed her? How'm I supposed to keep her from turning into me?"

Tate didn't realize how determined she was to save this girl until she heard the sense of urgency in her own voice. "I will help you find a good and safe place to live, Taylor. Social services will have a safe place for you to go, I'll make sure of it. You can go to school, find a better and safer job. If you need to find a home for your daughter, they will help you find a good home."

"No they won't," Taylor told her resentfully. "They've never done a thing to help me yet. They're gonna help me now because I've got a little baby? Is that how it works?" She shook her head firmly, rustling her damp, tangled locks. "I don't want help from those hypo-- hypaco--" Taylor stumbled on the word and frowned momentarily as she searched her mind for it. She gave up with a growl of frustration, startling her child, who whimpered sulkily. Taylor quickly and instinctively lowered her lips to the girl's brow and whispered soothingly. The baby silenced almost instantly.

"You went to them before," asked Sullivan, noting that the girl seemed to have good maternal instincts despite her fear.

She shrugged. "I...I tried, but I was too intimidated. I don't need people like that judging me. I get enough of it from jerks I pass on the streets."

Tate wasn't always thrilled with bureaucracies either, but she knew most people did their best with tough situations, just as she was trying to do now. "You shouldn't have to do this on your own Taylor. What if I went with you to the social welfare office? They wouldn't dare give you a hard time with me there."

"Then what?" Taylor asked harshly. "Once you're gone, they'll go right back to treating me like dung. It won't work, lady! It never does. People don't want to help us. They want us to roll over and die."

"I wanted to help, and I bet you didn't expect that, did you? Taylor, you'll always have me as an ally. I will make sure you know how to reach me. If people try to hurt you or treat you like dung, they'll have me to deal with. I haven't let you down thus far, have I?"

The girl smiled in disbelief. "I hardly know you. Why the hells would you want to help me and Sara?" With a sad, bashful shrug, she explained, "It's...it's what I thought I'd name her.... It's a good name, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," Sullivan replied, nodding firmly. "It's the name her mother gave her. And to answer your question, I want to help you because I'm a nurse and that's what nurses do.”

"How do I know you're not just saying that to get me to trust you?"

"You don't," replied Tate honestly, "But then again, I have no reason to need your trust. You have and always have had, the right to do as you wish. I just know how scary it is out there."

"I...I don't know," she sighed, and gazed down fondly at her sleeping girl. "I just... I'm a little tired. And so much has happened.... Can I think about things for a while?"

"Absolutely," replied Tate, reaching over to pat the girl on the arm. "As a matter of fact, I'll need to take Sara and check her out to make sure she's ok. We'll bathe her and record her vitals, and then after you wake, I'll show you how to nurse her. I'd like you to stay here at least a day so I can monitor you."

Taylor smiled at Tate noncommittally and after bestowing her daughter with a tender kiss, she handed the girl over to Tate. "Take care of her, Tate," Taylor whispered. "She's...everything to me."

Sullivan cradled the newborn in her arms and smiled down at her before bestowing a grin on Taylor. "I will. Now, you get some rest, Taylor. I'll be in to check on you in a little while."

She turned to go, but turned back and said, "It's important that you rest and receive good post-natal care. Infection and bleeding are real concerns. Let us know if you need anything or anything changes."

The girl nodded, smiling weakly. "Thank you for everything. Truly," she whispered, and finally closed her weary eyes to seek out some deserved rest.

As Tate offered a small exhale, she watched as Taylor, the clinic staff and the clinic’s surroundings were replaced with the yellow and black grid of the holodeck and the computer intoned. “Multi-cultural obstetrical nursing simulation number 20 complete. Your scores have been tabulated and sent. You can review them now.”

“Computer, list scores and their breakdowns,” Tate requested. It was time to see if her intentions could become reality.