25. Proslo
25
PROSLO
“ I t’s fine, Betty,” the twins’ K-4 teacher, Pok, assured her. “They can have lunch with the regular Kindergartners and then join me for the afternoon K-4 class. I’ll just offer that class the alternate enrichment worksheet and coloring pages for today’s alphabet work. That way, they won’t get the same ones twice today.”
“Are you sure?” Betty asked her.
“I’m positive.”
“It really will be okay,” I promised her.
“We get to stay and play all day?” Mo-mo asked, looking excited. “And have lunch with the big kids?”
‘You sure do, honey,” she told him.
“Woohoo!” Maui cheered.
She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. “Okay, you guys have an extra fun day and listen to Ms. Pok, okay?”
“Yes, Mommy!” they chorused and I reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Akoni will pick them up,” I informed Pok.
The female’s face beamed. “Sure thing. And we’re all rooting for Kaia. She’s in the best of hands, so I just know she’ll be fine.”
I smiled warmly in response as Betty murmured, “Thanks.”
We stood and watched the twins follow the rest of their class into the elementary school wing.
“Come on,” I told her. “We don’t want to be late.”
“We need to let Akoni know to pick them up after school.
I tapped out a message on my kunnarskyn to the junior high school’s secretary.
“There, they’ll let him know.”
“Tell me again how this won’t go wrong.”
I kissed her temple as I led her to the bank of elevators.
“The chance of anything going wrong is so infinitesimal that it’s all but nonexistent.”
“Oh,” one of the parents said, “Is that today?”
I inclined my head.
“We’re all thinking of you,” the female continued. “I know how difficult this must be for you. She’ll be fine, but that doesn’t stop you from being eaten alive with worry.”
“It’s the parents’ burden, always worrying over our children,” another commented.
I was glad when we were able to get off on the next floor and walk to Sickbay.
“Hello, Mom and Dad,” one of the trainee medics, Travis, greeted us brightly. “Follow me to the conference room and I’ll seat you where you can observe everything.”
“Thank you,” Betty said. “I know it’s not what’s done usually, but -”
“But it’s your kid and observing is part of your training anyway,” Travis finished for her. “Trust me, if I was in your shoes, I’d fight tooth and nail to be observing as well.”
We took a seat and Travis asked Xeranos to patch us into the sterile surgical unit. Kaia reclined on the table’s padded surface.
“Look, Kaia, there’s your Mom and Dad,” Lithir told her and she looked back at us, waving.
I squeezed Betty’s hand, needing her to comfort me just as I was her. My head knew she would come out of this whole and healthy, ready in mere days to ride the new bicycle we had hidden in our study. Emotionally, I was a mess, however. I had been ever since the day the kids became ours and we discovered her plight. The closer today’s date came, the more I felt compelled to do something, anything, to ease my anxiety. Despite everything, it all came down to this - having to wait to see that the impossible hadn’t come to fruition despite all of the odds. After all, .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000132 of a percent was not zero.
I’m going to take a nap now,” our brave little young said, eyes shining, “and when I wake up, I’ll have my new heart and not even have a scar, just like magic!”
“Say goodnight now,” Lithir told her softly, reclining the head of the table down.
“Goo-” she didn’t get to even finish her sentence as Lithir placed her into stasis.
“Xeranos, activate medical protocol two,” Michik ordered.
“That turns off the viewscreen on their side so they won’t be distracted by our presence,” I informed my bride.
“So we can see and hear them but they can’t see us.”
“Correct.
“Injecting the first dose of nanites.” Michik took a hypospray from the surgical tray and pressed it against our daughter’s neck. Within moments, the nanites had mapped out her heart and the surrounding muscle and a hologram display above her prone form showed their work as they began the delicate task of disconnecting her heart. At last, Xeranos spoke. “The organ is ready for retrieval. Deactivating the nanites.” the hologram winked out.
Michik held a gloved hand out and Lithir passed him the laser scalpel. Michik made quick work, Betty whimpered as he pulled our daughter’s chest open, glancing away for a moment to try to compose herself. I forced myself to keep watching as the pair worked efficiently, removing the damaged organ and placing it in a container to be disposed of. A senior trainee medic whisked it away and Lithik removed the newly grown one from a sealed stasis unit.
“Such a small thing between life and death,” Betty said, looking once more.
Michik placed it within her chest, carefully positioning before removing his hand.
“Xeranos, reactivate nanites.”
Another hologram appeared, this time showing in detail the veins and tissue growing together.
“That is amazing,” Betty whispered.
“Inject the second set of nanites,” Michik told Lithik, who obliged.
“Those are to boost her immune system and help repair any other body damage she might have as a result of her weakened heart.”
“Then one more for her teeth,” she said.
“And her bones,” I confirmed.
“Organ replacement complete,” Xeranos said.
“Inject the third,” Michik said. Before our eyes, her ribs knit back together.
“It does look rather like sorcery,” Betty said as the skin began to heal over the now repaired ribcage.
“Activate medical protocol seven. The heart only.”
“Protocol seven activated.”
The hologram showed us her heart as blood began to move through it.
Everything looks normal,” Michik said, reading the reports scrolling along the hologram image. “Remove the rest of the stasis field.”
“Heartbeat and blood pressure normal,” Xeranos reported.
Michik removed his mask and smiled. “Another success. We’ll move her to a recovery room and let her wake up on her own.”
“Thank you,” Betty said tearfully.
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “You have my eternal gratitude.”
“She’ll be in Recovery room 3-B in the pediatric wing. You can come see her as soon as we have her situated,” Lithik replied brightly.
Our viewscreen returned to its normal bare wall state.
“Our baby girl is whole,” Betty sobbed.
“Whole and healthy and will live a very long time.” Tears rolled down my own face. “Come, let us go. We can see her for ourselves now.”