something to do (Pavel Chekov)

36

They stay kissing for a while and Eadie plays with the hem of Pavel's shirt. She starts pulling it up slowly to test the waters and he puts his arms up for her. She can still see the bruising and scarring from the time in the cell together and she sits up a little, wondering if he'd be game enough to take off hers. He does, though he hesitates first. She smiles as she lifts her arms up and he's biting the inside of his lip.

"It's okay to look," Eadie laughs softly, noticing he's averting his gaze. "You've seen me in a swimsuit. It's barely any different."

"It's different somehow," he whispers, finally looking up. He has a soft smile and she places a kiss on his cheek. He cuddles up close to her and smiles at the warmth their bodies produce together. His hands are on her hips and his forehead is pressed against hers. She flinches and he asks what's wrong. She doesn't answer, just getting up and running into the bathroom. She doesn't close the door and he can hear her throwing up into the toilet.

"Eadie?" He says softly, kneeling down beside her.

She rubs her stomach and sighs. She throws up again and Pavel tries not to make a face as her stomach lurches. She stands up and asks him to take her to medbay. He passes her back her shirt and he puts on his own, walking with her hand in his.

McCoy isn't around but another doctor is and Eadie seems to recognise her. She goes over Eadie's vitals and calls over Doctor Vessa and he pulls out a small purple tricorder. He asks if she's bled at all recently and she shakes her head.

"It's perhaps a little early to be showing any signs of pregnancy," Doctor Vessa notes. "It's more likely you've eaten something that has upset your stomach. Or it could be stress induced... Have you been feeling stressed in the last few days?"

"No, I haven't. I've been feeling quite well."

Doctor Vessa pulls out a different scanner and hovers over her stomach with it. He has his PADD in one hand and Pavel watches his facial expression. Doctor Vessa frowns and his lips suddenly tighten. Eadie asks what's wrong and he doesn't say anything. Pavel takes her hand and she asks again, a little louder.

"It's... I just have to confirm something. I'll be back in a few moments. Excuse me."

Pavel can see the fear in Eadie's eyes and she shakes her head.

"We don't need to worry about it yet," he says softly. "It mightn't be anything at all."

Doctor Vessa comes back after half an hour with McCoy and they seem to be arguing before they approach. Eadie squeezes Pavel's hand and the doctors both go quiet before approaching. McCoy asks Eadie to lift her shirt up a little and he pulls some sort of screen over her abdomen. McCoy presses a few buttons on it and watches his PADD, Doctor Vessa right beside him.

"Have you had any other sorts of symptoms? Just nausea or anything else?"

"Nothing else," Eadie mutters, waiting for them to tell her something more.

The doctors look at one another and then back to the scan. Doctor McCoy swallows. "At this point in time, your baby has only just reached the point where we can consider it 'conceived'. It should be about the size of a poppy seed or something but..."

"But?"

"It's far larder than it should be. It's about the size of a plum," McCoy mutters, holding up his fingers to indicate the size. "It shouldn't be that big until week 10 or something. We're concerned at the accelerated growth. In the interest of your medical health, we want to abort the foetus immediately."

Eadie breaks out into tears and her breathing gets heavy. She looks at McCoy and puts a hand on her stomach, swallowing uncomfortably. She tries to say something to express what's running through her mind but she can't form any words and she wipes her eyes.

"Eadie," Pavel whispers. "It's okay. They'll look after you. I'll look after you."

"I'm so scared," she says, in Romanian. "Why is it growing so fast?"

"She wants to know why it's growing so fast," Pavel relays, looking to Doctor McCoy, who seems to be a little uncertain how to answer.

"The honest answer is that we don't know," Doctor Vessa says flatly. "It hasn't happened with any of the other girls I've met. You were presenting all the same symptoms as them, but perhaps you were given different treatment. We need some time to look at blood results and try and figure out what's contributing to this. Regardless, it's still in your best interest to abort the foetus. Its growth is unpredictable, and we worry about leaving it in there any longer than necessary. With your permission, we'd like to do the procedure in a few hours' time."

Eadie just nods, not having anything else to say. McCoy gives her something for stress and another tablet to get her body ready for the procedure. She keeps crying, though she says nothing. She takes Pavel's hand and squeezes it.

"I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"My body. I don't know what it's doing. I just want to... I just..." She breaks into sobs and Pavel holds her tightly. Her chest heaves and she can't seem to catch her breath. He brushes her hair from her eyes and passes her a few tissues. She takes them and holds them against her eyes. She feels sick just thinking about the next few hours ahead and Pavel takes a seat next to her.

She looks over to him and his bright eyes are focused on her. He takes her hand again and for a moment she just breathes a sigh. She knows he's going to sit right there by her side and stay with her. She knows he's not going to get any sleep until she's alright again and she thinks of all the time in the cell he spent watching over her. She takes his hand and dries her eyes a little. He's there with her, and she tells herself that's all that matters.