Sunday Snippet: Morning Sickness

Weird weather week with sun followed by a huge middle finger FU from Mother Nature with snow and rain. At least I got a lot of stuff done around the house and had time to get a good bit of writing in also.

Decent week for television. I caught another episode of Picard and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved getting some additional background on Chris. I'm honestly not completely sure how I feel about the Romulans but I love the intrigue of everything that's going on.

Watched another episode of Chicago Med and also loved getting more background about Rhodes. I'm a fan of the actor and I'm a total sucker for characters who have dad issues.

Since it snowed this week, I watched a Passionflix holiday Quickie. A Holiday Lift ended up being pretty fun. I love the whole stuck in an elevator trope.

Ended up watching a complete episode of Blue Heelers and started another one. I love stumbling across actors who got their start on this show. A favorite from City Homicide guest starred in one of the episodes.

Finished up the second part of Silent Witness and it went in a direction I didn't expect. I love it when shows do that.

Caught another episode of No Offence. Again, the show went in a direction I completely didn't expect it to go in. Excellent stuff!

Watched a full arc of Classic Who. I ended up getting annoyed with Four again. Sometimes he's just a bit too full of himself.

Enjoyed another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. This one focused on possible earth landings and linked several ancient cultures to the mythology. Very fun episode.

Caught two more episodes of The Muppet Show. I'm almost finished with the first season and really enjoyed Ethel Merman's stint as a guest star.

Last, but not least, I watched another episode of Peak Practice. I'm not quite finished with it yet but it's going to have a sad ending so I'm putting it off. LOL

That's it for life and television updates this week. Tonight's post is from Morning Sickness, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Dava Whales has all the classic signs of pregnancy, except she can't possibly be with child—she's a solider in the middle of a war and religiously takes her mandatory birth control shots. When Warren Carter suggests Dava get checked out, the pricklier than usual officer goes ballistic—especially since Warren is the other half of the parental equation.

And a sneaky peek…

Dava's fingers gripped and released the side of the gurney. "What the hell is taking so long?" Koffman had drawn blood over an hour ago.

At least she'd made it past the queasy stage, which meant she'd be fine the rest of the day. If everything played out the way it had the past few days. She'd throw up in the morning, get something to eat then spend the rest of the day like normal.

With one exception. "I never used to have the urge to bone Warren all the time." Occasionally, yes. That's how friends with benefits works. Or is supposed to.

"Whales, do you ever do anything the normal way?" Dr. Koffman ducked into the alcove brandishing her chart.

Dava's stomach dropped. "Um, is that rhetorical? Depends on the day, I guess." How could she be joking when her entire life depended on what Koffman told her?

He flipped through several pages. "Today's not your day." He snapped the pen off the top holder and withdrew a sheet of paper.

Her mouth went dry. "Does that mean—" She broke off, unable to actually voice the question.

Koffman's gaze flashed to hers. "What? Oh, no. You're not pregnant." He scribbled several things and checked a bunch of boxes.

Dava almost fell over with relief. "Then what the hell is wrong with me?" If she didn't have a kid on the way, why did she have so many symptoms?

Abe sent her a raised-eyebrow look. "Apart from the usual?" He crossed his arms over his chest, tucking the chart under his shoulder. "You, Dava, are one of the three percent of the entire population that has a very specific reaction to the updated birth control shots." His mouth twisted in a wry smirk. "Your body thinks it's pregnant and is exhibiting all the symptoms for that reason."

Dava gripped the gurney again. "For how long? I mean, this isn't gonna be a permanent thing, is it?" She couldn't imagine heaving her guts up every single day.

Koffman tilted his head back and forth. "Well, I'm not sure how long it'll take but we'll start you on the previous version as soon as we can get some sent out." He flipped to another page in the chart. "In about three months." He grimaced.

Dava jumped off the cot. "Three months? I'll be throwing up every day for three months?" She didn't miss the irony of the time span, which equaled a trimester.

Didn't mean she liked the situation one bit.

Dr. Koffman waved a hand. "No, we'll give you something for the nausea. Should stop any mad dashes to the head." He handed her a bottle of tablets. "Everything else though? Mood swings, sensitivity, whatever else you've been experiencing, you'll have to tough those out." He grasped her shoulder. "I'd do more if I could, but I don't have a lot of information to share with you. I'll consult with some colleagues and see if I can narrow the window on how long to expect your hormones to balance out."

Dava exhaled slowly. "Appreciate it." She shook the container of pills. "And thanks for this. I didn't know what I was going to do when I started first watch rotation next week." She started to head out of the alcove. "Am I clear for duty?"

Koffman gave a nod. "Yeah." He handed her a half sheet of paper. "Take this to the CAG and I'll file my copy with the commanding officer."

Dava lifted her chin and left the curtained-off space. "At least I've got an excuse to see Warren." Not that she needed one, but the clearance would give her something to break the ice with while she tried to filter through the words to tell him he wouldn't be a dad anytime soon.

That's a good thing, right?

Right.

So why did a ripple of disappointment roll through her?

I gotta say, this story is so much fun to write. Dava and Warren are in the clear as far as being parents, but they're definitely not out of the woods where their feelings are concerned. So much fun!

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye