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Kaidan felt lost. Third time in his life, and all of them revolved around Allison Shepard. Alchera, London, and now on the Citadel. Huerta was the best hospital on the Citadel, damn near the best hospital anywhere, and they’d been with him and Allison throughout the whole event. Near-on thirty-five weeks of pregnancy, and close enough to six months of prep and care beforehand that they’d started joking that Allison was going through a fifteen-month pregnancy, not nine.
Then Allison had noticed some bleeding. Continued contractions. Pain and tenderness. Hurried call to Doctor Salant. Emergency admission to Huerta. Quick diagnosis of placental abruption, foetal distress, maternal tachycardia, emergency c-section booked in. Barely any time to register before Allison was taken away, only the briefest of kisses and mere seconds for Kaidan to tell Allison he loved her, he’d be waiting, before he was barred in the waiting area.
He had a knot in his stomach, the kind of fear he’d only experienced in the field. He’d sent a cumulative email to everyone – very brief, barely more than a note. In Huerta. Pregnancy complications, Shepard’s in for an emergency delivery. Will know more later.
He’d silenced his omni-tool after that, logically knowing he wouldn’t be bombarded with messages when he couldn’t say anything more than he already had, but not wanting to see mail offering comfort when the sender was half a galaxy away.
“Kaidan. How’re you holding up?” Garrus’ flanged voice carried exceedingly well across the lobby. Kaidan had moved there when the bustle of the waiting area had become too much, his worry increasing with every medical person he saw.
Kaidan moved to answer, but the haggard look on his face and the hand that swept messily through his hair was more than enough. Garrus moved to one of the seats looking out onto the Presidium; after a short while, Kaidan joined him.
“She’ll be fine, Kaidan. You know how much Shepard’s pulled through. Hell, the Reapers killed her once and tried to do a second time and it hasn’t slowed her down.”
Kaidan glared at Garrus. While he knew Garrus was right, the memory of both times still stung – almost six years for one, a bit over two years for the other.
“C'mon, I had a bet with Vega about this and you’re making me lose.”
Kaidan snorted. “What did you have riding on it?”
“A case of mescal. Not that I can drink it, but I was going to give it to you. For her eighteenth birthday.”
Kaidan snorted again, this time out of amusement. “I don’t think it’d last that long.”
“Well, how about as a toast to the new parents? I’m sure Vega wouldn’t mind drinking with someone else’s credits.”
Kaidan moved to answer when an asari in scrubs walked through the doors leading to the main area of the hospital. Moving with purposeful strides, she scanned around the lobby before her gaze fell on Kaidan. He stood up as the asari approached them, barely noticing when Garrus stood as well.
“Good to meet you, Kaidan Alenko. I’m Elatiana Novos.” Elatiana took Kaidan’s hand in a strong grip and gave him a firm handshake. “Everything went smoothly – Allison Shepard’s in the ICU for the time being while we keep her under observation, and your daughter is in the NICU. They’re both fine, stats running within the typical range.”
“I guess you want me to disappear,” Garrus said quietly. “I’ll send everyone an update,” he added, placing a hand on Kaidan’s shoulder.
“Thanks,” Kaidan muttered distractedly. Elatiana waited for Garrus to move away before indicating for Kaidan to follow. The general consultation rooms and OBGYN areas were exceedingly well-known to Kaidan, though getting into one of the elevators and descending a few floors was a new experience.
The doors opened and Elatiana moved out quickly, clearing the way for a few other hospital staff. Kaidan manoeuvred his way through, turning right and following Elatiana further down . They passed by the more general baby unit, Kaidan only getting the briefest of glances through the glass partition.
Elatiana nodded at the staff on shift, activating her omni-tool and bypassing the lock on the NICU. She stood back and beckoned Kaidan in first.
The lights were low in the NICU, and only a few of the incubators were occupied. The low lighting gave everything a gloomy feel, only heightening Kaidan’s anxiety, and the quiet did him no favours either. A couple of the incubators had asari babies in, but the majority were human babies. All children of people of importance, councillors and politicians, and nestled near the back, the daughter of the first two human Spectres.
Elatiana unclipped the casing on the incubator, gently pulling the side down. A soft bleep sounded, but a quick load-up of her omni-tool and a few button presses silenced it. She moved to grab the small bundle, careful not to dislodge any wires, and turned back to Kaidan.
“You’ll want to sit down,” she said, inclining her head to one of the chairs in the room. Kaidan moved over and settled down, soon finding a tiny bundle swathed in a huge blanket placed in his arms. He looked at Elatiana, uncertain of what to do.
“Relax. You’re too worried. Here.” Elatiana moved Kaidan’s arms slightly, ensuring he was still holding onto the baby but in a far more relaxed position. As Elatiana stepped away, Kaidan finally afforded himself a look down.
The baby had her eyes scrunched up, forehead wrinkled, with a tuft of black hair on her head. She seemed to be asleep, and the steady breathing gave credence to that thought. Kaidan moved his right arm, leaving his left to cradle the baby as he stroked a gentle finger across her cheek. That action woke her, and she squirmed in her blanket, forehead screwing up even more.
Gradually, Kaidan relaxed and the baby slept some more. Elatiana busied around the other occupied incubators, checking on the residents and noting down things on her omni-tool. Once done, she moved back over to where Kaidan was sitting.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t have time to ask during the surgery, and Shepard’s currently under sedation. Did you have a name that we can put into our records?”
“Elena Aurora Shepard.” No hesitation in Kaidan’s voice, and he gave a lopsided smile. “We’d decided that long ago.”
Elatiana smiled back and inputted the information into her omni-tool. A moment later she took Elena into her own arms and placed her back into the incubator. “Would you like to see Shepard?”
“I would.”