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My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.
– Elaine Maxwell
It was Katrina’s twenty-ninth birthday and she was pacing nervously in her bathroom; Gabriel was supposed to be over any minute to take her out for her birthday.
That, however, was not why she was nervous.
The reason for her anxiety sat on the counter of the sink: a positive pregnancy test. The tricorder blinked its results at her periodically. It was almost like it was taunting her.
Then her door buzzed.
Taking a deep breath, she told the computer “Enter.”
“Happy birthday!” she heard Gabriel calling into the apartment. Followed by “Kat, where are you?” Grudgingly, she walked into the living area. Gabriel smiled broadly when he saw her and she couldn’t help returning the smile.
He’d only gotten more handsome over the years they’d known one another. And she knew he was a good man, even if things weren’t serious between them. He was back in San Francisco temporarily for the command training program. She was a resident at Starfleet Medical. There were challenges, but she was sure that if she wanted to, they could make this work. She could take a break from school. He could request a permanent transfer to San Francisco. Even if they didn’t commit to each other romantically, she was sure that he would be an excellent co-parent. They could make this work.
The only problem was that she didn’t want to.
Katrina returned the smile weakly. “Hey.” She reached out and he took her hand. “There’s something I need to talk to you about before we leave.”
Gabriel’s brows drew together, but he sat down next to her without question.
“I—I’m pregnant. And… I haven’t been with anyone else recently, so it’s definitely yours.”
Gabriel’s face went through several different iterations of surprise and bewilderment before he spoke. “But… I used-- and you?”
She nodded. “After I got the results, I called Starfleet Medical. They think the inoculation they developed for the Crestian flu that was going around when I was doing practicals on Aldebaran III may have interacted with our contraception. Even with that, the likelihood of this happening is low. But technically it can happen. And apparently it did.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow.” Gabriel reached out for her hand and gave it a squeeze. Katrina squeezed back. “The abortion is scheduled for tomorrow.”
Gabriel nodded slowly. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Katrina smiled in relief. She hadn’t quite realized until that moment just how much of a difference it made to have a little support. “Yes. Thanks.”
Gabriel smiled and squeezed her hand again “Anytime. Do you still want to go out?”
“I… don’t know. It’s been on odd day. I guess… grappling with the possibility of our lives changing so fundamentally has put me in an unusually contemplative mood.” They both chuckled. Gabriel’s original description of their plans had included phrases like ‘future Starfleet cadets will tell stories of this day’ and it ‘would make a Vulcan blush.’ “I’m not sure I’d be good company.”
“Kat,” he said, squeezing her hand again, “I’m here to spend time with you. If you want to do something different, that’s perfectly alright with me.”
Katrina smiled gratefully and squeezed back. “Thanks.”
They spent the rest of the evening on Katrina’s couch, eating birthday cake and watching old movies. She laid back against his chest, warm and comfortable, and she finally let herself relax. When it got late, she drifted off to sleep to the soft thump of his heartbeat, and he had to nudge her awake.
“Come on, Kat,” he whispered. “Let’s get you to bed.”
She shuffled to the bed and climbed in, and Gabriel crawled in behind her, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.
In the morning, as she lay on the biobed, waiting for the procedure to be over, Gabriel was there, his hand clenched in hers.