ET, Phone Home! ;)

Posted on Thu Jun 9, 2016 @ 11:47am by Commander Caden Aldrex & Commander Amia Telamon M.D.

1,291 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Interlude - Day 1
Location: XO/CMO's Quarters
Timeline: 1300

[ON]

Cade and Amia sat side by side in front of the small desk monitor in their quarters. The word HAILING blinked on and off on the screen. It seemed to go on for so long that Cade mumbled, "Maybe no one's home?" As soon as he said the words his father answered.

"I got it!" Torvin Telamon yelled over his shoulder. He was in the kitchen of the Telamon household on Trillius Prime. Through the windows behind him Cade and Amia could see Nilani Telamon watering her flowers in the outside garden. "Oh, hey! How are you, son? How are you, Amia? You look lovely today." He grinned his delight at seeing them. Before they could answer he yelled again over his shoulder. "Nil! It's Caden and Amia calling from their space station! Come inside!"

"Thank you Tor, you're much too kind to me, as always. I know it's where your son gets his charm and his magnetic appeal." Amia responded to the compliment giving Nilani time to rush inside and join them. "Hello Nilani, I'm so sorry to interrupt your gardening unannounced." she added, addressing her mother-in-law as soon as she approached the monitor at the other end of their call.

"So good to hear from you kids," Nilani Telamon said, beaming. "Just the other day I was telling Torvin 'Why don't they ever open a channel? We're usually here!'" Her smile faded and she added, "Is everything okay?"

Cade nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, Ma. Everything is fine. Just a lot going on here lately. Never a boring day on this station. Oh, and we both got promoted." He turned slightly to show off the three pips on his collar that matched Amia's.

"Great! Fantastic!" Torvin said, intermingling with his wife's exclamation of "Wonderful!"

"Yeah!" their son agreed, flashing his patented grin. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Amia. "Well, who tells them the next part. You or me?"

"It wasn't the only promotion we got." Amia smiled and then left the completion of the concept to her husband. These were his parents after all and although they had accepted her into the family with open arms and a kindness she could never repay, she still felt he had a priority here and wanted him to be the one to tell them the news.

Cade didn't know how to put it except give it to them straight. "We're expecting," he said.

"Expecting what?" his dad said. Next to him Nilani put her hands over her mouth and squealed.

Cade laughed. "A baby, dad. We made one." He pointed to Amia. "Her and I."

Torvin Telamon's face brightened even as his wife punched him in the arm. "Ohhh! I see! Well, congratulations!"

"It's the best news ever!" Nilani said. "The girls are going to go euphoric when they find out. How far along, Amia?"

"Nearly six weeks" Amia answered, blushing at the revelation that they'd left it so long to speak up. "We went to our old base for a wedding so the confirmation and news have been delayed" she explained.

"I hope the girls will be happy to become aunties!" she added, excited to hear from her sisters-in-law who, as young as they might be, were very important to her. She had never had sisters of her own but Cade's sisters had accepted and adopted her in the most charming and loving way and it had meant so much to her.

As if on cue Cade's two sisters, both very young and still living at home, appeared in the background. Seeing who their parents were talking to they ran to the screen, squealing all the way. "CADEN! AMIA!" They muscled their way in between their parents. The two elder Telamons were pushed to the edges of the screen until only half their faces showed. "Girls, please!" Nilani admonished them.

"Hey, you two! Staying out of trouble?" Cade asked.

Janel and Kell nodded in unison. "Are you coming to visit?" Janel asked.

"Not soon, I'm afraid," Cade said. "We only called to share some good news."

Little Kellinor piped in, "You look pretty, Amia. I miss you."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you Kelli, I miss you too!" Amia replied, moved. "We both miss all of you!"

The girls had apparently not heard the news so Cade repeated it. "So, Janel, Kell, we were wondering how you both feel about becoming aunties?"

Both girl's jaws dropped simultaneously. "You're having a baby?" Janel asked.

"Yup."

"Are you going to beam it out?" Kell asked, a look of concern on her face.

On their end Cade traded a quizzical look with his wife and said, "Beam it out? No, why?"

Kell explained. "My friend Releya's mother was having a baby, but she was having trouble so the doctors had to beam it into an artificial room."

Cade didn't understand. "Artificial room?"

"Womb," Janel corrected her younger sister. "Artificial womb."

Kell continued. "The baby was very sick. It almost died."

"Girls, let's not discuss such an upsetting topic with Cade and Amia," Torvin Telamon said gently. "Let's focus on the happy news."

"Sorry, Amia," Kell said, accepting the reprimand.

"It's not a problem Kell." Amia reassured her. "Don't worry. Sometimes some mothers do have trouble with their babies' health even in this day and age. I should know what *might* happen, but I'll watch for any signs of anything wrong, I promise."

It was actually closer to the line than any of the Telamons might know because one of Amia's most difficult problems was going to be the metaphasic radiation moderator that she had implanted in her system. A moderator that *might* or *might not* affect a Trill infant differently to the way it would a Ba'ku and it was all going to be about the mix of genetics that their own baby had inherited.

Amia knew she was going to have to have a long talk with Mai'ya about that very soon and had already planned to get one step ahead of any complications before they might manifest but she wasn't going to worry Cade or his family about it, at least not until and even IF, it showed itself as a real possibility.

"Trust me, I'm a doctor" she laughed, quoting a much maligned age-old adage.

"Well, if you can't get out here then maybe we'll come see you," Cade's mother said, casting a hopeful glance at her husband. "Not now, of course, but perhaps when you get closer to delivery."

That earned a shrug from Torvin. "No objection from me, but don't you think we ought to give them some space until they say they're ready for guests? We don't want to add to their concerns."

Nilani's reply was full of yearning. "Oh, of course we don't want to be a bother, but it's our first grandchild. If I can't be there to meet this baby when it arrives then my heart will break. We'll stay out of your way, we promise," she said to Cade and Amia.

"Ma, of course you're welcome here," Cade promised her.

"I'd love to have you here to help me, if you're willing. That would be amazing!" Amia enthused.

"Can I come too, Amia?" Janel asked.

"Me too! Me too!" Kell said, hopping up and down.

"Of course!" Amia's smile widened into a grin. "That'd be even better"

"I'll arrange quarters for you," Cade said. The grin on his face matched the one on his father's.

"We'll send you our itinerary once we get some things sorted out here," his mother replied.

"I can't wait! Safe journey everyone!" Amia said, clapping her hands in delight.

[OFF]


A JP Between:

Commander Caden Aldrex
XO

and

Commander Amia Telamon
CMO - DS5

 

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