How Come I Didn't Know This?

Posted on Thu Jul 14, 2016 @ 1:06pm by Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Commander Amia Telamon M.D.

2,496 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Interlude - Day 1
Location: CMO's office
Timeline: MD3 16:00

ON:

He hadn't seen Amia for a little while but Liam knew there was something different about her. In fact he could hazard a guess. Her emotions were there and something else. Not fully formed yet. Something small, perfect and innocent. He had suspected anyway from Cade's recent behaviour and had known this would not be long coming. Grinning, he wondered if she would tell him. "Coffee?" he asked as it was her usual go too.

"Decaf latte please" she answered. Fortunately that wasn't unusual for her so it didn't tell any tales. She hugged him as they met and, as they were such good friends, they didn't go into any formalities other than that so the conversation flowed just as if they were half a sentence on from the last time they were speaking.

"So you old reprobate, what have you been up to that you've been so busy?" she grinned, teasing. "Lots of ladies all lined up and pining to see you again?" Little did she know but then that was the whole point of having a gossip catch up.

"Bit of a sore subject," Liam sighed as he handed her a cup. "I take it Cade filled you in about Sigrun and me going out?" He asked.

"Um... no.... you and Sig!??! Wait til I see that woman! How dare she not call me the very next morning!!!!!!!!!!!" Amia was shocked and very offended. Well, she put that much on at least although she was actually quite genuinely hurt but she sensed from Liam's face that it hadn't gone well so she assumed that might be why she hadn't heard. "And Cade's been keeping me in the dark too!?! Wait til I see that big Lug!!" she huffed and puffed but she was smiling too. If Liam didn't want to talk about this, she was giving him plenty of outs, with which to ditch the subject if he liked.

Liam shook his head. "It didn't go well. I don't think either of us are each other's type and she's not over her husband." That much was clear. "Then there's Tera. Gorgeous. We went out once. It was good. Very good," he blushed. She's Stuck in a bad situation. Oh and Jon has landed. I think your now up to speed."

"Woh!" she puffed. "That's a lot of goings on, going on!"

Grinning at him she accepted the coffee he had brought and put it down on the table, blowing on it to cool it and catching her breath and thoughts.

"And here all I have to offer is one small piece of future possibilities. I feel completely put into the shade by comparison to your very exciting social whirl!" she smirked, the edges of her lips curling ever so slightly upwards and her eyes showing a bright sparkle that gave away the understated importance of what she was introducing into the conversation.

"So this Tera.... Gorgeous you say? Surely not as gorgeous as me?" she teased. "Tell me more about this raven haired Jezabel that I must destroy in order to retrieve your lost heart and restore you to your friends?"

Liam laughed and played along. One of the good points of his and Amia's friendship was the ability to be overly theatrical around each other and just have a dam good laugh at the silliness. He placed his coffee on the table and moved round kneeing down like a knight of old pledging allegiance raising his hand to her. "You know a part of my heart will always belong to you my queen. I will fight for you, I would die for you but I must be allowed to love free another maiden."

Amia joined him in the laughter. "Oh really fine Sir? So you say but you men are all the same....half a dozen lain down lives and you're off to the Box of Delights with a Waitress. I know your kind!"

"She is the women who owns the shop I got your wedding present from," He told her. "I took her out to dinner as a thank you for helping a clueless shopper."

"A-HA! A few quick deaths and then off to the Box with a shifty shopkeeper then?" she giggled and kept up the joke.

"Before I know it, you'll have married her and have 14 kids on the way...." she stopped, looked confused and then corrected herself, "Well, 13 and one more on the way.... or 2 if its twins" She had blown it and the whole pantomime dissolved, as the two of them did, into nonsensical peals of laughter and the pure joy of being relaxed and silly with dear friends.

When they both got a little more sensible, which took a while, Amia looked a little bit coy and began to blush a slight pink spot on her cheeks. "Er..... on the subject of 13 kids..... I'm ahead of you on the count.... at least I think..... unless you have one on the way already, with this delightful Tera? Or secreted in your nefarious past?" the humour hadn't completely evaporated, even now that she was telling him something serious, albeit in a light way. She winked at him and grinned, the blush spreading and a hot flush of a mixture of happiness, pride, awkwardness and anticipation of the sharing that she felt sure he would do, in hers and Cade's wonderful news.

Liam nodded. "I kind of had an inkling," he admitted before standing up again and walking round to her. He leant in and kissed her on the cheek. "Amazing news. Congratulations. So does this mean I get to be uncle Liam?" He asked with a smile.

Amia returned his hug with a very big one back. "Yes, but it also means you get to be Godfather Liam too and that doesn't give you licence to wear big cotton wool pads inside your cheeks!" she laughed, quoting an ancient adage that referred back to an iconic "film" which was an old form of entertainment from centuries ago.

He had no idea what she was referring too about the cotton wool but he nodded enthusiastically. "I would be honoured."

"Just be sure to act surprised when Cade asks you!" Amia winked and giggled with delight at the look on Liam's face when he saw how conspiratorial her own expression was.

"Oh I see," Liam grinned. "I have to pretend he spoke to me first?"

"Of course? Unless you want this poor child to have a father who divorced his mother?!" she shrugged matter of factly as if this was a totally obvious outcome.

"Well I cannot have that on my shoulders," Liam replied back seriously.

Amia laughed and gave him a playful shove. "Well it's not like you two *ever* get each other into any trouble, right?"

"Us??" Liam said playfully. "Never!"

"Lee...." she said, suddenly serious. "This Godfather thing..... if anything were to happen to me.... you'd be there for Cade I know, it's written in stone that one, but my baby.... please be there for my little one?" She felt herself well up suddenly and inexplicably. She wondered where that had come from and decided it must be her condition but it deepened. "I... I dream.... a lot..... I've talked to the Counsellor... she says it's nothing to worry about. That it's natural but I dream that something terrible happens to Cade. And then I'm like Sig when Riley was gone..... " Here it was. At last. That question Amia had been searching with Bennet to try to identify. Why was she so afraid Cade would go away. "It was Riley. Nothing to do with my father after all." she murmoured as the revelation delivered itself like a metaphoric flying brick.

"It all makes sense now" she told Liam, who could have NO idea at all what she was on about.

"Mei mei," Liam said confused slightly. "It's okay. Of course I'll be there for your baby. If anything ever happens to Cade I would be there for you too. Noelles right. And you know better than anyone that a pregnant women has so many hormones and changes going on. What your going through is perfectly normal. You will never be alone Amia."

Amia hugged him. "Thank you sweetness" she said gratefully. "It's not really possible to lose a joined Trill anyway. If the symbiont lives so do they and somehow, having shared them all your time together. Did you know, I met someone else who was a joined-Trill's spouse. He said his dying mate's last thoughts were of the symbiont, not himself or their child.... isn't that sad?"

She knew she probably wasn't making sense but she hoped that perhaps that was a good thing as she was suddenly afraid she might have just committed the ultimate Doctors' sin by revealing something that a patient had said in confidence. She could only pray that the person wasn't apparent by his situation so that Liam could guess who she was talking about. Her stomach lurched to think she could have just blurted out some sensitive personal data that might be recognised. Fortunately that lurch started her into a rush for the sink and a typical pregnant emptying of her stomach contents which was very distracting for both of them.

Liam felt Amia feel something akin to worry and regret at mentioning part of what she just said to him. He didn't ask any further questions, well he certainly didn't have time too as she suddenly then went queasy and ran for the bathroom. He sighed and walked back to the replicator. "Water room temperature and some ginger tea," he told it and placed both glasses down on the table for when she got back.

"Here," he indicated them both. "Gran and Mother both swore by ginger tea for the nausea."

"Thanks" Amia was pale but steady again now. She sat and composed herself before sipping the tea with trepidation but true to his (and his Gran and Mother's words) it was surprisingly soothing. "They were right. As usual" she smiled.

Liam nodded and then his face dropped. He missed both of them. He should subspace his gran. He had gone silent in his annoyance leaving Betazed but now Jon had found him anyway it was time to make things up. Well he couldn't with his mother until she stopped this ridiculous "mourning" but he would speak to his gran he decided. "They usually are," he said slowly.

"Oh dear" Amia said gently. "Does that sad expression mean they predicted something that's coming true.... other than the ginger beer?"

"No it just means we haven't talked for awhile," Liam said.

Amia knew better than to press that reply just in case it wasn't the whole story. She hadn't yet heard that Jon was on the station so she took Liam's retrospective tone at "face value" so to speak.

"How *are* things at home for you?" she tested the water regarding his Mother and Grandmother.

"Mother remarried," Liam told her. "I'm literally dead to her for 1 year. Its beyond stupid. She's following some ridiculously old tradition. I have a new step father I haven't even spoken too. And I certainly wouldn't have picked him either."

"Oh dear. I'm sorry Liam. It sounds rough for you right now. I hope she'll come around. About the year thing..... Is she including your twin in this or is it only you?" Amia sympathised.

"Just me," Liam sighed. "Jon is ALWAYS the golden boy."

"Grrr!" Amia leapt to the defence of her friend. "I don't think his reputation fits the man!" she said with an edge. "But I shouldn't diss your brother I suppose. What's the new wicked step father about? You wouldn't have chosen him? Because?......"

"He's a social climber. He's also a bit full of himself. Actually, oh crap ..... I hadn't even realised it until now. I also have 2 new half sisters now," he said suddenly. "I hope we get off to a better start than me and Declan."

"Your family is complicated Liam." she laughed gently. "I suppose it's better than having no family at all though."

She looked pensive again and then said. "The Counsellor mentioned my dad. I don't have any idea how to find him..... if he's still alive..... but I'd like to, just so that the little princess could have at least one person other than me on her maternal side. I mean, even if he's dead, there could be a story to tell her. Like what he looked like, who he was? Stuff like that. I'd kinda like to know myself but I guess that's life."

"Not sure its a girl Mei mei," Liam said softly. It was too early for his senses to determine a sex. "But can't you contact your home planet and make enquiries?" he asked.

"I can't imagine there would be anyone there who could possibly know......" Amia suddenly thought about that aspect of where she might start, in a totally new light suddenly, and wondered why she hadn't thought of it before herself.

"You're a genius!!" she leaped as fast as she could managed to hug Liam and then regretted the sudden movement and ended up back at the sink again.

"Sorry" she apologised after she regained her dignity and cleaned herself up. "This many female hormones and it's a girl, lovely friend" she pulled a 24th Century advance in early detection out of the deck and trumped Liam's telepathy with a scan and a blood test that she'd already done, cheating but then again, if a Doctor couldn't cheat with a medical matter such as this, who could?

Liam held his hands up in surrender. "I never argue with a pregnant woman."

"You're a wise man, my lovely friend!" Amia laughed. It was a light, relaxed laugh and it felt so good to be at so much ease with a friend.

"Lee, I love you. You know that, right!?" she chuckled. "It's been a bit stressy to be me lately and I just really appreciate having someone around who just magics that all away." she hugged him for good measure.

"I will have to notch things up to overdrive then, you don't need stress, especially in your condition," he told her seriously. Amia had a tendancy to keep things in and stay in her head worrying.

An alarm went off on his PADD. "Oh I have to go. I have a ..... " he looked at the reminder. "I have a ceremony thing with the Qualion party onboard. Oh eck it says wear fireproof clothing," he shot Amia a worried look clenching his teeth.

"Might be seeing you later in sickbay," he quipped getting up and heading for the door.

"Oh Mei mei, if you want any help trying to track your dad down. I'm here," he told her with a soft smile before disappearing.

OFF:

A JP Between


Lieutenant Liam Reynolds
CDO - DS5


and

Cmdr Amia Telamon
CMO - DS5

 

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