Another Check-Up

Writers: Avery, Miriah
Date Posted: 5th March 2014

Characters: Bahji, Riveenata
Description: Bahji's suspicions are confirmed
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 4 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: K'lvin, E'rae

Bahji sat and waited in the infirmary, her foot twitching madly. She
had to see Riveenata, or any other healer. What she suspected just was
not possible. She had been taking her teas, just like she had been
told to. Perhaps just the busy few sevendays could account for the
lateness. She shifted on her seat. She hadn't been paying attention to
her cycles. **That was stupid of you, Bahji** She rose in the waiting
room and began pacing, unable to keep still. If it was as she
suspected, if the soreness of her breasts and the mild bloating was
anything to go by...she was going to have a problem and a thoroughly
humiliating one that she had never believed she would have to even
think about.

Riveenata hadn't expected to see Bahji back in the Infirmary. Had her
collarbone not healed correctly?

"Hey there, lady. How're you feeling?"

Recognizing the voice immediately, Bahji turned to face Riveenata with
relief. She swallowed and moved in the direction of the healer, hands
wringing. "Can I ask you something? Privately?" Her voice dropped to
a whisper. "Can the teas fail?"

"Sure. Want to step aside into a cubicle? It's just a couple feet to
the left..." Between her words and Bahji's firelizard, Riven was
pretty sure her friend could Better privacy that way.

She pondered the question. "Sometimes they can. If it's mixed
improperly, or if the dose isn't quite right for your body's
metabolism. Some women need more for it to work."

Bahji nodded and stepped inside where Riveenata led her. Nervousness
laced her expression and she chewed on her lower lip until it was
nearly raw. "I need to know. I have symptoms...familiar. I can't be
pregnant right now. It would..." Her face flushed. "I wouldn't know
who to tell."

And Bahji had just lost the last child... She contemplated the
possibility. "I can do a physical exam to check. As for the
other...are you doing okay?"

"Yes. The rest is fine. Great even. Not even sore anymore." She moved
carefully to get onto the exam cot. **Please tell me I'm wrong.
Please. I'm not ready for this again.**

Riven washed up with redwort and tried to be as gentle as possible.
She didn't want to cause her friend any more worry than she already
had. But the examination concurred with what Bahji suspected.

"It very well could be pregnancy," she finally said.

Bahji took an indrawn breath and laid back her head, a shaking hand
falling to rest on her abdomen. "Is it certain?"

"It can be harder to tell in the first few weeks...but I'm pretty
sure." She reached out and touched Bahji's other hand. "You should
start thinking about what you want to do."

Bahji sat up and pressed both of her hands to her abdomen. "I was so
careful. I took my teas every morning, just in case. " There was
another child. But...she had been so distracted that she hadn't even
noticed... How was she going to tell either of them? How could she not
know who was the father? She had never ever thought that she would be
in a predicament like this! She turned her head towards Riveenata.
"What else can I do? I'll just be careful this time. No stairs."

She wasn't sure what Bahji knew about how rider and weyr women handled
being pregnant. "You know you don't have to keep it, right? There are
options for ending a pregnancy, especially a risky one."

"Risky?" Bahji's hand clutched on her stomach. "How could I not keep
it? It's a child." She sat up straighter. She may have not been
prepared, but she had wanted the last child badly. She could want this
one too. "The weyr needs children."

"Yes, but not at the cost of their mothers. Your recent injuries were
to the hips," Riven explained. "That could provide labor
complications."

She paled and her arms went around her stomach. "You don't think I
should have it?" Her voice was soft. "But I'm healed. I can walk. I
should be okay."

"I think you should talk to a Master," Riven hedged. "I just wouldn't
want you to suffer serious complications from carrying a child now,
when you're young, you can have more once you're healed up and
healthy."

She sucked in her lower lip, her hands still pressing to her abdomen.
"I'll...I'll see about that." She nodded. She couldn't give up a
child. Even if she didn't know who the father might be. It was a
child. The thought of... She inwardly shuddered.

"If you decide to do anything, talk to me. I know the options and I
would stay with you, if you wanted." She paused, searching. "Is your
home life doing okay?"

Bahji nodded, still in a whirl of emotions. "Yeah..it's fine." She
rubbed at her belly slowly. **I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant. There's
another baby. Sweet Faranth...** The look on her face remained in a
state of stunned shock. "I'm fine. It's all fine. Really."

It didn't sound fine, but Riven didn't want to press. "You should stop
taking the tea now," she reminded. "And be sure to come in for regular
check-ups."

She nodded, her hands not leaving her stomach. "How am I going to tell
them that I don't know? Riveenata? How will I tell them?"

"The possible fathers? Well...are they Weyrbred?" That made a
difference, in her opinion; weyr children were used to the possibility
of multiple fathers.

"E'rae isn't." She admitted, her voice soft." But I don't know about
K'lvin. He never said." She sucked in her lower lip. "I don't even
know if they want more children."

"I would hope dragonriders would understand." But if she'd already
been having trouble with E'rae... "You've some time to figure out what
to say and how they'd feel."

Bahji nodded slowly. "I...I have a lot to think about."

"Talk to me about it. Any time."

Her lower lip quivered slightly. "I'm afraid."

"Oh, sweetie." Riven settled next to Bahji and rested a hand on her
shoulder. "Of the pregnancy?"

"I was excited before...with the last. I was ready to be a mother and
I was happy. " Her hand clenched over her stomach. "I dont know what
to do now. I can't...I can't just rid of it. But I scared. I'm scared
I'll get excited again and something will happen. What if neither of
them want this baby?"

"There's a lot to unpack there," Riven told her. "The big question is
if you want it, and if you'll want it if they don't. Having and
raising a child alone is a legitimate choice in the Weyr, if you want
it. If you don't want to do it..." Her voice trailed off, she knew
Bahji wanted to keep it. She just wanted her friend to be ready. "Do
you need them to want it?"

And she had said it was risky. That was a frightening thought as well,
but she couldn't imagine choosing to end her pregnancy, even with the
risk. That was just abhorrently wrong to her and against everything
she was raised to believe in. She sucked in her lower lip. "I don't
know." She didn't want to feel smothered with protection. She didn't
want to feel like she couldn't raise a child. What if K'lvin felt the
same way about her when he found out? That she couldn't do it? What if
he and E'rae wanted her to get rid of it? K'lvin was busy now and
E'rae...they weren't even speaking. She turned to Riveenata and
clutched at her hand. "You won't tell them, will you? You won't say a
thing?"

"Healers are sworn to keep private patient information confidential,"
Riven said. "I promise both as a Healer, and as a friend, that a word
won't escape my lips."

"But I'll have to come back and talk with a Master, won't I?" She bit
her lower lip. "They...they can't make me get rid of it, can they?"

"They can tell you if it might be a course of action that will
endanger your life, but it's your choice."

"And you think it possibly could." Bahji replied, intently listening
to her friend's voice, for any note or tone that might clue her in to
anything that the healer might not be saying.

Riven pondered how she could explain her misgivings in an
understandable way. "Your body has resources, like a stockpile of
wood. Carrying a baby takes more stock then usual. Recovering from
injuries like the ones you've had recently also takes more stock. So
when you're still recovering from those injuries, adding a pregnancy
on top of it creates even more stress."

Bahji sighed softly. "It's a risk I'll have to take. I can't kill it. I won't."

It was her choice, and Riven was determined to support her friend
through it. "Then we should schedule you regular checkups. And you can
come find me any time with questions or worries."

"Okay. I can do that." Bahji nodded. "Thank you."

Last updated on the March 6th 2014

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Another Check-Up