D Day
By Deanna Kranz

Disclaimer: Characters, ships, and jargon belong to Paramount.

D Day obviously refers to "delivery day" so the baby gets here in this chapter.

"Calm down and breathe. Everything is going just fine."

"No! This can't be right!"

Beverly gave her a sympathetic smile, a reassuring smile.

"Here," she told Elise as she pressed a hypospray into her neck. "This will make some of the discomfort and pain go away. I'll give you something stronger once you're almost ready to push."

"It's going to get worst?!" asked Wesley with shock and concern.

"Wes, she's barely begun dilating and her contractions are still pretty far apart. At the rate she's making progress it will be another two to three hours until this baby finally arrives. We'll keep her as comfortable as possible and keep the pain to a minimum."

"Wes," Elise added, "I already feel much better."

"I'm going to go check in with the other staff. Some procedures are a little different from what I'm used to. If you need anything just call the nurses' station. They'll know to call me."

Dr. Crusher left the young couple alone. She knew they were both nervous at what was happening. They were about to become parents. The couple looked at each other with uncertainty. Wesley took Elise's hand in his, trying to reassure her. He had full confidence in his mother's abilities to safely deliver their baby, but the hospital setting made him nervous. They had discussed the possibility of a home birth, but being a doctor, Beverly preferred a fully equipped medical facility for the minute chance that something wasn't perfect. After giving all her professional reasons why she preferred a medical facility she gave them the most compelling reason: human births are messy and having a fully equipped medical facility nearby there was no way she was going to be cleaning up the blood and fluid stains that were guaranteed with a birth. Wesley had been cleaning up Elise's morning sickness, which was not confined to morning or the first trimester, for the past nine months. He had quickly grown tired of it and cleaning up copious amounts of blood and body fluids, even if they were his wife's and from giving birth to his child, was NOT going to happen if there was someone else willing to do it. Elise didn't like the thought of Wesley, her sister, or best friend having to clean up such a mess. So the decision was made to have her give birth in the hospital. Beverly had checked with the hospital and was very pleased with their delivery ward.

The young couple began talking about the past, their lives before they were married, and everything they could think of that was not the baby. They were both still very nervous.

"Girls, go get some lunch. There are still a couple of hours before the baby arrives."

"Alright, mom," answered Bevy.

"Would you like us to bring you something?" Gabrielle asked both Beverly and Jean-Luc.

"No, thank you," Jean-Luc answered for both of them. Both girls smiled and left the delivery ward for the hospital cafeteria, which served the same food as the campus cafeteria. They knew that a good meal awaited them. Once they were out of sight Beverly sat down next to Jean-Luc.

"How are they doing?" he asked.

"As expected," she answered. "They are both very nervous. I don't expect any complications, which would only worsen their emotional state."

Taking her hand in his, he asked, "And how are you doing?"

Beverly couldn't contain her smile. "I'm very excited. I'm going to be a grandmother. And I get to deliver my grandson. I couldn't ask for anything else."

"I'm sure you could," he said and he brought her fingers within his hand to his lips for a kiss. She moved her eyes away from his as she shook her head, denying what he was implying. Though he was right, she wanted one more of her own, she felt it was selfish since she already had two and she had given one up.

"I'm glad you're here. I don't know what I'd do while I wait. I'd be intruding if I stayed in there with them the whole time."

"I'm here for you," he told her, dropping the subject for the moment. She wanted company and he was more than willing to provide it.

There weren't too many people in the cafeteria and the two teenagers sat at a table in a corner where they could talk privately. They had known each other for most of their lives, Elise and Gabrielle had begun studying at Clairmont Academy when they were seven years old and Bevy had been five. Wanting to keep the twins together, the only house that had two open rooms had five boys and three free rooms. Not wanting the girls to feel uncomfortable with only boys, they moved Bevy to the house as well since, being an orphan, they didn't have to go through the process of asking her parents if a young child could be moved to a house with much older children or explain to them why. Being the only girls in a house full of boys, the three of them quickly became friends. Even so, Gabrielle's private and "keep busy" personality resulted in Elise and Bevy becoming much closer than Gabrielle and Bevy. Elise and Bevy also developed many of the same interests, and the twins were more than happy to be seen as completely different people. However, since they now shared a room and neither one could relate to Elise's new life as a wife and soon to be mom, both girls had become much closer than before, for the first time telling each other things they wouldn't tell anyone else.

"Are you going to tell your mother?" asked Gabrielle.

"I don't know," answered Bevy. "I don't know how she will react. I don't want to make her mad anymore. I'm glad I can talk to you about it because I don't think Elise or Wes would care."

"I never told Elise I had a boyfriend. We were together for almost two years and she never found out. But then again, my friends don't really talk to her or her friends. I didn't tell my mom either because I didn't know how she would react. She wasn't mad when Elise told her she had a boyfriend so I guess she wouldn't have gotten mad. Now I wouldn't tell her because I know she would think I would end up pregnant like Elise."

"Can you believe we're going to be aunts?!" Bevy asked excitedly

"I know they seem happy, but I wouldn't want that, to be married and having a baby. Not right now, anyway. I still worry about how they're going to make it."

"Yeah, makes you want to be extra careful. Not that Tristan and I are anywhere near wanting to... you know." Gabrielle nodded, letting Bevy know she understood what she meant. "But still," she continued, "like Whitney says, it's not something you sit down and plan out in detail. It always starts with just a kiss. And if a kiss can end up in a baby, then I really rather not kiss, know what I mean?"

"Yup. That's part of the reason why I haven't given Jason too much attention. I know he likes me and he is so great. I'd love to give it a try with him, but since Elise ended up pregnant I don't want to have a boyfriend. We're twins! If it happened to her it can happen to me. I don't know how she does it. I'm 18, I don't want a husband or a baby. So I rather not risk it at all."

"I love Elise and my brother, but it really makes the whole 'wait until you're married' thing really make sense. Curiosity killed the cat, and they lost all nine lives in one night!"

Both girls laughed hysterically at Bevy's joke. As their laughter subsided, Gabrielle said, "I kinda feel bad talking about them like this. Making fun of them."

"Yeah, but who else can we talk to about this? At least we're family. Having just a wall between our room and theirs makes me uncomfortable bringing any of this up at home."

"And it's been much harder to make time to talk since we started classes, since you're still at the Academy and I'm at the University."

"We're going to have to make time or we'll go crazy! I can't joke like this with anyone else. And I don't feel comfortable talking about boys and those sorts of things with anyone else. I would be talking to Elise about this if she wasn't upstairs about to have a baby. I would like to be able to talk to my mother about these things but she's been so busy with Wesley and Elise and I don't want her to think I'm going to end up pregnant too."

Even though no one was close enough to hear what they were talking about, Gabrielle lowered her head closer to Bevy and in a soft voice asked, "Don't you ever get mad at them? For taking your mom? I mean, you've never had your mother. Wes has had her his whole life. Instead of you two spending time together and bonding she spends all her time with Wes and Elise."

"Yeah," she answered softly. "But don't you dare tell anyone! It would be so messy if someone found out." She was silent for a while before continuing. "And it will only get worst once they come home with the baby. She will be with three people instead of two. I know that Wesley and Elise will be staying, they both want to go to University here. Sometimes I feel like asking them to take me with them. They have a school on their ship and I could always do courses remotely through Academy here. I don't even get to spend time with my father since if he's not busy with mom he's with Wesley or working on something. He's not even Wesley's father."

"I'd miss you."

"Me too."

"Oh my gosh, what just happened?!" Elise asked with shock. "I'm wet!"

"I don't know!" Wesley said with panic. "Did it hurt? Are you in pain? Is the baby coming?"

Elise reached over to the call button next to her bed and tapped it. "What are you doing?" asked Wesley.

"Nurses' station. Do you need something?" came a friendly female voice over the comm. system.

"I think my water broke," Elise said with uncertainty.

"I'll go get your doctor. Don't worry, it's completely normal," the nurse said before closing the comm.

"Beverly said to call the nurses' station if I needed anything. I need help," Elise answered Wesley's previous question.

"Oh," was all he could say, not being able to turn his eyes away from the bed sheets that were now wet. Within a minute Beverly came in with a nurse, both smiling reassuringly.

Her tricorder already open, Beverly began scanning her. "Your water has broken," she said calmly. "This is nurse Nancy, she is going to change your sheets and get you a clean gown," she continued as the nurse smiled and began pulling and tugging at the wet sheets, trying to be as gentle as possible. "How have the contractions been feeling?" she asked.

"A bit painful, but not as bad as before you gave me the pain killer. They're also more frequent, but I haven't been keeping track."

"That's alright, the monitor has. They are about five minutes apart. You are completely effaced and 9cm dilated. He's going to be here very soon."

"Really? I thought the contractions would be much worse."

"You probably just have a low tolerance for pain killers and it's still working. Let me know when you need something stronger. You are doing great," she said looking more closely at the monitor readings. Since it was not the system used on board Federation vessels and medical facilities, she had to actually read through all the information instead of instinctively glancing at the areas containing the information she wanted to know. "Everything looks normal," she reassured her.

"That's always good to hear," Elise said. She was about to say something when she began feeling another contraction. This time it was much stronger than before and she took a couple of deep breaths to help her get through it. Beverly grabbed her hand as she kept her eyes on the monitor. She felt Elise hold on tightly to it, loosening her grip once the contraction began to subside.

"You did great," Beverly reassured her with a smile.

"They weren't this painful before," she said, still breathing heavily from the shock of the unexpected increase in pain.

"The closer you get to pushing, the stronger they will get. Would you like something for the pain now?"

"Yeah."

Beverly went to get her hypospray and when she turned back to face Elise again she noticed her son for the first time. He was simply standing there, staring at the nurse going about cleaning.

"Wes?" she asked. "Are you ok?" He turned to face her and to her surprise his face was pale.

"She's... ummm.... having a, uh, baby," was all he managed to say. Beverly pressed the hypospray onto Elise's neck and put down the hypo before walking around the bed and to her son.

"Yes, Wesley," she said as she took his hands in hers. "We've been waiting for this baby for quite some time."

A monitor began beeping and Beverly left her son to go check on the monitor. "What's wrong?" asked Elise with a bit of panic. However, before Beverly could respond she began having another contraction. "I'm having a contraction. Oh, wow, I can feel a lot of pressure... but it doesn't hurt."

"Just breathe the way we practiced," Beverly told her as she walked back to Elise. As the contraction subsided Elise looked at Beverly and asked again, "What's wrong? Why did it beep?"

"It was letting me know you're fully dilated. Everything still looks good so whenever you feel like you need to push, let me know and we'll begin."

"Push?" asked Wesley softly.

"Yes, Wes," Beverly said, now feeling concerned for her son. "We talked about how this was going to happen, remember?"

Without saying a word and without looking at anyone, Wesley walked around the bed and out the door.

"Where is he going?!" Elise asked in a panic. "I can't have the baby without him! Beverly, I need him here!"

"I'll go talk to him. Just stay calm, ok?"

She simply nodded and Beverly walked out the door and towards the same direction Wesley had gone. As she turned down to another hallway she saw Jean-Luc standing in front of Wesley about half way down the hall. As she approached she heard Jean-Luc's concerned voice.

"Wesley, what is going on? Did something happen? Is Elise and the baby in any danger?"

"No, everything is just fine," Beverly said as she approached. "Wes, what's wrong? Elise needs you right now. She's going to start pushing very soon."

"She could die," he said softly.

"What?! Wesley, there is nothing that would indicate any sort of complication, much less endangerment to her life."

"What's going on?" came the concerned voice of Bevy.

"She could die," Wesley repeated.

Both girls went pale, not being able to form words. Picard was the one that stepped in, "No, no, nothing is wrong with Elise," he reassured both girls.

"Wesley," began Beverly in a slightly angry tone, "Everything is happening just as it should. I couldn't ask for a more perfect situation, other than to have my mother-to-be be calmer and more content under the circumstances. This is not the time for you to panic, Wesley! She needs you for support! Now go back in there, take her hand, and at least pretend to be excited and supportive!"

Wesley stared at his mother, confusion very evident in his expression. Beverly was becoming angry at what, to her, felt like selfish behaviour. She had made sure they were both as ready as possible for what lay ahead of them. She took them both through the process of labour and delivery and answered all their questions. She assured them and reassured them over and over again, hoping for an average delivery. Now her daughter in law, her patient, and his wife was panicking and stressed when there was absolutely no need for it. There was nothing wrong with her or her baby and everything was going swell. What was causing her distress was her husband's sudden, irrational behaviour.

"So there is nothing wrong with Elise?" asked Gabrielle after a moment of silence.

"And the baby is coming?" asked Bevy before anyone could answer Gabrielle, a bit of excitement in her voice. Beverly was about to answer both of them despite her anger when nurse Nancy interrupted her.

"Dr. Crusher. Elise says she feels the urge to bear down."

"We're coming," Beverly answered and the nurse simply nodded and walked back towards the room. "Wesley, now!" she said as she grabbed him and pulled him back down the hall. Wesley, however resisted.

"I, I can't," he said.

Beverly's temper was evident in her bright red face. Jean-Luc was the one who interfered.

"Let me," he told her and took Wesley's hand from hers. "He will be there in a second," he reassured her. Angrily, she gave Wesley her disappointed look and left. Bevy and Gabrielle approached Wesley and Picard and Bevy asked, "Wes, what's wrong?"

Before he could answer Picard told them, "Why don't you give me a moment to talk to him?" They nodded and headed back to sit at some chairs in the hallway. As they sat down Bevy whispered to Gabrielle, "Do you think that maybe he's Wes's father too and they're not saying anything because they got away with it?" Gabrielle simply giggled and shrugged.

Several feet away, Picard began. "Wesley, your wife needs you right now. She needs your support."

"But what if something goes wrong? I feel so hopeless in there. I can't do anything but stand there!"

"But that is what she needs the most. She needs to know that you support her and that you are grateful for what she is about to do." Wesley shifted his weight nervously and Picard continued. "Wesley, I was very fortunate and honoured to be able to witness your birth. It is the most miraculous thing I've ever been privileged to witness. For you, it will be much more special since it is your wife giving birth to your son. Come," Picard told Wesley and pulled him lightly by the arm. Reluctantly, Wesley began to walk back to Elise's room. Once outside the door

Picard told him, "Just be there for her. Your mother and her will do the rest." He opened the door and Wesley went inside and Picard went back to sit.

"That was excellent," Beverly told Elise as Wesley entered the room. She was standing between Elise's legs, coaching her through the birth, as Elise's latest contraction began subsiding.

"Wesley," Elise said a little out of breath. He smiled at her as he went to her and took her hand, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"Sorry," he told her.

"Please don't leave," she pleaded with a touch of fear in her voice.

"I won't," he assured her.

"Another contraction is beginning," Beverly said.

"Yes," answered Elise as she took a deep breathed in preparation to push.

Outside the delivery room, several feet down the hall, sat Picard with the two girls. There was a nervous silence between them as they waited for the baby to arrive. None of them knew quite what should be said or done as they waited and Wesley's strange behaviour had made both girls quite uneasy.

"What was wrong with Wes?" Bevy finally asked.

Picard sighed and smiled at her. "He was simply nervous."

"But why did he say Elise could die?" she asked.

"Well," he began, "long ago, several thousand years ago, it was common for women to die during childbirth. Fortunately, with better medical facilities and better knowledge of how the birthing process works, it is no longer true. Something might have triggered that knowledge in his head and he simply made a connection in his nervousness."

"Why is he so nervous?" asked Gabrielle. "He's not the one giving birth."

Picard smiled even broader because this was something he knew too well. Not from experience at being next to someone while they were giving birth, the only birth he had ever witnessed was Wesley's. But from countless situations in which he had no control.

"It is easy to understand what is happening and why it's happening. However, it is a very unsettling experience to simply be a support to someone you care about deeply while they go through something as momentous as giving birth. This helplessness that you, personally, can't do anything to help other than be there is very troublesome."

"Have you ever been in that kind of situation?" Bevy asked.

"Oh, yes. There have been many times in which the situation is out of my hands and all I can do is simply wait as I watch others work tirelessly to remedy the situation. My training and experience, however, has taught me not to react the way Wesley did. Instead of freezing in panic, I've learned to accept the fact that the situation is out of my hands and let those that are able to do something do what they need to do. However, the feelings of uncertainty are still there."

"That's why you knew what to tell him to get him to go back and be with Elise," said Bevy.

"Yes, in part. I was also there when Wesley was born and his father was very nervous as well. Though he didn't react quite like Wesley did, he kept telling me about the feelings of helplessness at not being able to do anything we would consider productive. But Jack was much older than Wesley is and he had his Academy training and several years of active duty experience to help him cope with the situation."

"You were there when Wesley was born?" Gabrielle asked surprised.

"Yes," Jean-Luc said with a smile. Both girls looked at each other and giggled, remembering Bevy's recent comment about Jean-Luc possibly being Wesley's father. "Is there something amusing?" he asked the giggling girls. They simply shook their heads.

"Why were you there?" asked Bevy. "I thought you didn't like children."

"I have never said that I don't like children," he said defensively. "They make me uncomfortable. I was there to support Jack and Beverly. He was my best friend for many years before he met your mother and I considered them both like family. They asked me to be there and I couldn't say no. You never say no to a woman about to give birth," he stated with a grin.

Silence fell once again since no one had anything to add. Their thoughts were wandering from subject to subject simply trying to make time pass as they waited for the baby to be born. Time passed but none of them were actually aware of it. Forty minutes later Beverly came down the hall with a smile. The three of them stood when they saw her coming.

"We have a healthy boy," Beverly said with a proud smile as she neared them. "He weighed in at 3 ½ kilos." Jean-Luc closed the remaining space between them and pulled her into a hug. "Congratulations," he whispered in her ear.

"Can we see the baby?" Gabrielle asked excitedly.

"They're waiting to see you," Beverly answered as she began walking back to the room.

"Is Elise ok?" asked Bevy as they approached the room.

"She's doing fine for someone who just gave birth," Beverly answered as she opened the door. Gabrielle was the first one in, followed by Bevy, Jean-Luc and Beverly. They immediately went to the bed where Elise was holding her tightly wrapped baby in her arms and Wesley was standing next to her. The baby's eyes were wide open and looking intently at his mother.

"Congratulations," Gabrielle and Bevy said in unison and they hugged Elise and the baby.

"He's so cute!" Bevy told her.

"Thank you," she answered.

"Have you finally decided on a name?" Gabrielle asked.

"We agreed on Robert," Wesley told them.

"I almost forgot!" Gabrielle said as she dug into one of her pockets and pulled out a small device. "I need to take a picture." She held up the holo-imager and took a picture of Elise holding the baby and Wesley by her side. "I'll go send a message to mom and dad right now."

"Yeah," Elise answered softly. "Let them know I will contact them as soon as I feel up to it."

"I'm sure they will understand," Beverly reassured her.

"Ok," Gabrielle said and left the room. Beverly approached Elise and asked, "May I?" as she reached for the baby. Elise rose her arms and handed her baby to Beverly. Beverly took the baby to Jean-Luc and handed him the baby. He took the baby with a little uncertainty but when he looked down at the baby he could not suppress a smile. He looked up to meet Beverly's eyes again which were full of joy.

"Déjà vu," he said and Beverly nodded.

"What do you mean?" Wesley asked. Jean-Luc walked over to Elise and Wesley and looked at the baby in his arms once more before handing him over to Wesley.

"About twenty one years ago," he began as he put an arm around Beverly. "Your father took you from your mother's arms as she sat on bed just like this," he said looking at Elise, "and handed you to me with pride. You looked just like your son."

"Does that mean he will look like Wesley when he's older?" Bevy asked.

"Not necessarily," Beverly answered. "But right now I'm getting an incredible sense of nostalgia. He looks just like Wesley did."

There was silence as they simply looked at the baby. This small little being had already touched and changed many lives and had brought about joy as well as uncertainty. How great an impact he would have on all of them, no one knew for certain. But at that moment they were all glad he had finally arrived and Robert Crusher was there stay.