We Have a Baby

Posted on Wed Oct 29th, 2025 @ 12:36am by Dr. Izriel "Jaxx" Lonn & Captain Rueben Gregnol & Jeassaho Kea (*)

Mission: Shackles
Location: Sickbay, SS Mary Rose
3164 words - 6.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Jeassaho stepped into sickbay and glanced around at the low lighting and calmness that had now taken over the compartment. She had spent the last few hours trying to sort out the chaos from the Orion spacecraft and the fact the crew on the surface had faced the consequences of some of the crew getting down there. She slowly approached the office where she felt the man she was looking for, her appearance would be no surprise to him as she approached. “Now this feels familiar.” She admitted as she leaned against the door and saw the doctor holding a baby. If she did not know better she would have thought she was in the future.

As far as scenes went, it was one of the more peaceful in recent memory. It had taken several attempts to fashion a suitable sling but, after a little trial and error, it had been surprisingly easy for Jaxx to strap the newborn to his chest and go about at least a reduced amount of tasks unhindered. Now, as the crew took a collective deep breath and tried to sink into some sort of equilibrium again, there wasn't a lot of need for medical expertise and so he had been spending the last hour or so on fruitless research. The difficulty with pre-warp civilisations was that they were generally unknown quantities. Life-signs were easy to detect from orbit but that was about it and there was about as much chance of finding the wee one's homeworld in the database as if he took out a starmap and just threw a dart at it.

The voice at the doorway earned a glance upwards, though it was fair to say Izriel was prone to not making it easy to interpret his state of mind. It took a moment for him to switch into Jeassaho's meaning, and which point he offered only a faint huff of fairly humourless laughter and returned his attention to the screen in front of him. "The universe does seem to have some sort of fascination with presenting me with children."

Jeassaho came further into the room and offered a sad smile to him. "Because you are a good dad and the universe needs good fathers to make good souls to keep the universe going," Jeassaho commented as she joined him, standing beside him glancing at him and not the screen or the newborn.

For a telepath, he's never been particularly easy to read. The kind of man to weave emotions into such intricate layers that what was perceived was a whole tapestry in one single frame. It had made him frustrating when they were younger, impossible to really tell what he was thinking unless he chose to speak up, which was rare. Age and experience had only made him more adept at perfecting a surface-level that didn't falter often; calm, measured, kind and yet reserved. Insular.

It was unusual, therefore, to find Izriel's mind so blatantly present. Even more unexpected, though only because Jeassaho had yet to meet his son or really witness this version of her friend in his paternal role, was how focused he was on the infant currently asleep against his chest. The placement of self sat further forward, agile and dexterous as it caught the errant flares of a young mind's agitation and soothed it, just as the stroke of a hand might seek to do the same. It was a tiring vigilance but it wasn't as if he hadn't done it all before.

"I don't even know where to begin with finding her family. No idea what her species is, we barely know what sector she was stolen from."

Jaxx's gaze dropped to consider the fuzz of white hair beneath his chin.

"I don't even know what they would have named her."

“And that is not your fault.” Jeassaho said kindly reaching and gently took his free hand in her own. She squeezed his hand reassuringly or at least trying to offer him some physical comfort as her mind wrapped around him trying to help. “This is not your fault, Jaxx. Leiddem is currently asleep at a security console mid search but he is attempting to download damaged navigation files from the ship.”

"We weren't the ones who stole them from their home."

His quiet tone accepted the burden of blame as being the bulk of someone else's responsibility. Still, there was the grief of failure, no matter how inevitable.

"She had been haemoragging for some time. I don't know how the group were able to cater for her, or if she even tried to alert them. In the confusion of our arrival, perhaps she..." Izriel sighed, the fingertips of his free hand moving to trace a gentle line through the baby's silky-fine hair. "If it had progressed, without intervention, it would probably have taken them both." These were solid facts, he'd been over it already with Reynolds, and repeating them was an important part of moving towards acceptance. It still stung; she'd been right *there* and he'd still let her slip away. "It doesn't matter." Weary, he finally looked towards Jeassaho and hauled himself back away from the threat of despair because there really wasn't the luxury for feeling sorry for himself. "What matters now is that we make sure this little one gets home."

"Then we are lucky that Leiddem and Delaney are nosey and looked into more things and found the woman, so that we have that chance." Jeassaho soothed softly. "She seems very calm. She is very dainty. I do not believe even Alexis was this tiny. Do not worry sweetheart, we will find your home." Jeassaho commented, moving a little to look at the baby a little more. She rarely mentioned her son but this moment seemed apt.

As withdrawn as he could be, even Izriel knew when compassion was warranted. Mourning amongst Betazoids tended to be as communal as every other aspect of the culture and, as such, it was an additional hardship that Jeassaho had been left to endure the loss of a child in relative solitude. Their recent brush with an alternative timeline had created a different kind of absence; that child, as far as either of them knew, had survived. But she wasn't here, and would never been here, and so the sense of loss was just about equal. Glancing down at the tiny little lobeless ears that sat flat in an elongated upsweep, he used a gentle fingertip to smooth down a tuft of gossamer hair and quietly rose from his chair.

"Would you like to hold her?"

Jeassaho took several steps back as he rose from the desk and raised an eyebrow at his thoughts about her mourning. She had not ventured into thinking properly about Alexis for close to a decade now but she was thankful for his compassion. Reuben had not been there and had never met the child so his loss for the babe was different but Jeassaho had sometimes in moments like this her mind sweatpants back to the victory. “Yes. I would love to.” Jeassaho said pulling her thoughts back to the there and then.

"She's a snuggler," Izriel pointed out, rather unnecessarily given the way the newborn had bundled herself into the makeshift coccoon. Turning so that Jeassaho could unhitch the fabric, he gently cradled their wee passenger whilst the sling was put aside and then transferred her to the woman's waiting arms. "She seems to be touch-sensitive too," he warned, a psionic capacity far closer to Vulcan than Betazoid, though so far the child had demonstrated impressive sensitivity to proximinal connection as well.

“That’s okay. My nieces were the same at this age.” Jeassaho smiled softly down at the Abby as she gathered her in her arms. It was a moment of confusion before Jeassaho relaxed. “She is quite powerful. No wonder Leiddem wanted to keep holding her.” She laughed smiling up at the man.

"Survival instinct, most likely. She's been through something catastrophic, we've only just managed to find a setting that seems to keep her settled."

As he spoke, Izriel took the opportunity to gently touch the small transmitter attached to the infant's temple, and then picked up a scanning wand to inspect the current readings. A faint frown pinched his brow but cleared almost immediately; so far, everything was educated best-guess and though the baby's brain activity seemed prone to fluctuation, the fact she was calm and not exhibiting signs of distress had to serve as a decent indication of progress.

"Evelyn's calculated the best nutritional supplement we can hazard a guess at. She's about due, if you want to feed her."

Picking up a padd with Reynold's work, Jaxx programmed the sequence into the replica and gently shook the small feeding bottle once it appeared.

"She's a little fussy," he warned, handing it over. "Don't let her fool you, she'll take it once she stops being cranky you woke her up."

Jeassaho just smoked and watched as the baby protested for mere moments before she took the bottle and started gulping it down. “How are you keeping her settled?” She wondered quietly looking at the tiny device attached to her temple.

"It's regulating, not inhibiting," the doctor reassured. "Just a buffer between her and the rest of us until she adjusts. Otherwise, I've just been going through what they taught us when Oryn was born. She responds surprisingly well to resonance imprinting, she's already showing signs of recognition. Starting tomorrow, I'll give her some time unplugged and work on scaffolding. With any luck, her Proto-Cognitive Barrier will develop over the next couple of weeks and we can wean her off the regulator entirely."

“Alexis was half human I was never taught any of this.” She said fondly as she looked down at the baby who carried on suckling. This baby might be bringing up painful memories for her but it was nice to share things. “Recognition is good. Have you thought about what we are going to do if we cannot find her family.” Jeassaho said looking up from the baby to the man.

"No." The admission was a quiet one. "Tomorrow's job is to make inquiries about our legal responsibilities moving forward. She has no Federation citizenship, no legally-appointed guardians, we don't even know what her mother wanted to name her. The longer she's with anyone, the more she's going to bond with them and separation for a second time may not be in her best interest."

As he spoke, Izriel regarded the pair, having picked up on the wisp of melancholy. Despite the burden of his concerns, his expression softened. "We can always work together if you'd like to learn. As long as she keeps responding well, then I don't see a reason not to follow Betazed conditioning. The first few days would normally be mother and child, with father present, but we don't really have the luxury of that kind of isolation. The faster she acclimates to a larger group, the better equipped she'll be for whatever comes next."

The woman looked over at him and nodded. “Happily assist.” Jeassaho said quietly as she looked back at the little girl as she slowed her suckling. She leaned out for the cloth and lay it over her shoulder and slowly started to burp her. “Speak to Ledeya Ehestri if you can get ahold of the Cosmos. She owes me favours and she’ll be disgusted by this situation.” The Commodore was known to bend rules and regulations for the greater good.

A dip of his head was Jaxx's only concession. It was sound advice but the entire process wasn't something he wanted to ponder in-depth tonight. Instead, he watched the pair through tired eyes and, eventually, offered a faint smile as he reached out to brush the back of his index finger along the baby's bare foot. He had been, for the most part, fairly conservative about sharing his experiences in alternate timestreams, consenting mostly to Reynold's insistence of a thorough medical examination to rule out any detrimental effects from prolonged exposure, but otherwise opting to keep a lot of what he'd encountered to himself. It didn't stop him thinking about it, particularly the children who bore his eyes that he'd never actually watch grow up.

"You think you'll ever try again?"

A quiet question, laden with a decent empathy for the situation.

Jeassaho took in a deep breath as she thought about the question before she glanced up at him. There were very few onboard the ship who knew about Alexis and even fewer who wanted to considered children onboard. “I must do at some point.” She commented softly with a shrug.

Instantly, Jaxx's smile faded into faint concern. "That's no way to look at it," he chided gently. "This is your life, Jea, you make the decisions that are best for you, not based on some version we got fed. Trust me," he added, delving briefly into his own experience for once without elaborating, "I saw plenty of conflicting possibilities. There's no way for all of it to be true." Up to and including the death of her husband, and the resulting change in their dynamic as a result. He likewise hadn't told a soul about his other daughter, that didn't seem like a conversation that was particularly easy to strike up with a woman he really didn't know that well. It didn't even really count as avoiding, and Kali likewise wouldn't have thought twice if she'd caught a whiff of the reluctance anyway. Of all the reasons for him to keep to himself, the prospect of dying and leaving her to raise a child alone didn't seem top of the list.

"I know there are many possibilities, but in at least 2, I do make that choice." She said quietly with a shrug as she rubbed the baby's back to help her expel the gas. "I was not being flippant or anything, but this life right now, I do not think it would be okay to bring a child up. I would hate to leave a child like this little one." She said sadly. "Life used to be simple. I saw myself and Reu with our baby continuing to do what we did in Starfleet, but now I do not know, but I do know I must at least consider it in the future."

"Life has a funny way of never staying the way you think it will." With his arms now free, Izriel folded them across his chest and leaned against the desk. "I didn't imagine any of this when we decided to fall pregnant with Oryn, and that's probably for the best because we likely would have talked ourselves out of it. I always figured I'd be there to put him to bed every night." The hunch of a shoulder was quietly circumspect. "I probably should have known better but I don't regret my son. I doubt you'd regret it either, even if meant changing everything."

“I regret that shuttle trip that separated me and Reuben and … killed Alexis but I do not regret any other step I have taken.” The woman admitted her mind becoming a whirl as she replayed that day and the choas of the Orion slavers coming onboard the shuttle. The men and women who were on the archeological team getting stunned and then herself as Reuben offered to come with them if he left everyone else behind. She shivered and looked up. “Sorry.”

"For what, having feelings?"

A wry smile, coupled with the rub of a hand against her arm, softened the gentle tease.

"Maybe you've forgotten but I was there a few times when you definitely got something in your eye. Pretty sure I got pushed around for suggesting otherwise too." Izriel laughed, a soft, tired sound but otherwise fond. "You don't always have to be the strong one, you know. Getting kicked in the teeth by life hurts like hell."

“I have been telling her that.” A soft voice called as Gregnol strode into the sickbay and headed for the lit office. The man leaned over to press a kiss to Jeassaho’s head as he surveyed the baby. “She’s a cute little thing.” He said glancing up. “How are you?” He demanded off the doctor.

It was a subtle retreat, the quiet return to his seat as a means of creating space. As much as it accommodated a three-way conversation far better, there was no disguising the fact that it was also just an easier vantage for the visibly tired doctor. "There is nothing wrong with me, Rueben." The pair of them had an odd dynamic, one that had dipped a little further into awkwardness since their time-hopping, but Jaxx had invested a good deal of intent into ensuring it was never strained. That occasionally meant meeting the human head-on despite a preference otherwise. "This little one is our concern now."

“Nothing right either.” The human commented squeezing his wife’s shoulder before he gave the doctor his full attention. “And she seems okay?” Rueben wondered amused that the man was one of the few people onboard that called him by his first name and not his surname.

"Health-wise, she's fine as far as well can tell. We'll need to watch her nutritional intake and make sure she gains weight with what we've formulated for her, but it's her telepathic development that concerns me the most." It was, Jaxx knew, the biggest hurdle in all of this; convincing Gregnol that his ship was a fit place for a newborn, even in the short-term. "Her attachment is not unlike Betazoid children, which means that she is mostly stable because Leiddem and I were present when her mother passed. She cannot be placed at random," the doctor drove home. "Not without at least one of us going with her."

Gregnol sighed as he pressed a kiss to Jeassaho’s hair and watched the baby. He was not about to see the babe become unwell when he could fix something even if hurt his wife and bring up bad memories of her. “I see you. So this one is going to be onboard for a little bit hmm?” He wondered. “I am hoping more than you and Leiddem are capable of looking after her?”

"Well, when it comes to telepathic infants, their overall well-being is usually a communal effort."

Though he was answering her husband, Jaxx focused his attention on Jeassaho. She'd never needed permission for anything in her entire life, but this; a little poke in the right direction wouldn't hurt. He suddenly held back the twitch of a smirk.

"I'll give you both first rostering choice. Just be warned," he nodded towards the babe, close enough done with her bottle that she was well on the way towards milk-coma. "She's not always this quiet."