Smugglers Cove (Love2write and Silence)

The explanation was almost comical. At least Killian thought so. "My little Star glows." Snickering a little he shoved a piece of waffle into his mouth before he had the urge to say anything else. Even if Star wasn't saying it out right he was getting the idea that she enjoyed her stay with them. "Yah, Frank's a good man. One of the few that actually did what I ordered him to when I was in the prison getting them out." For the most part Killian had kept an eye on those fellows and the ones that kept the few ships for the rest of them to escape in. Those were the kind of men that he wanted to keep close.

Wiping one hand off on a napkin he about reached for the glass of water when suddenly Star was pressing his hand to her stomach. The first natural response was to recoil when he felt something rolling around in her stomach. "Oh..." Frowning a little waited for a few seconds and then let his hand glide to follow the little motions inside of her stomach. Slowly the frown turned to a confused looking grin. "How often does the baby do that?" About time he started to talk the baby began kicking like a wild thing. "What's that all about?" Chuckling a little he pulled his hand away.

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After breakfast Killian took himself to the bedroom to get into some clothes. His stomach was still sore and he hated to wear a belt. It was half tempting to just let his pants hang half way off his rear end. Grunting a little he tightened the belt just enough to keep his pants from falling off and slipped into a t-shirt. Pulling a vest over was good enough and he took himself to the first ship. Each house he would count out the credits and make a little mark in his book. All of them except the ones that had gone on the mission. Those on the mission had received their pay first.

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Lisa almost gaped when she saw the ring. "It's expensive." There were a few thoughts running through her head. Part of her wondered if Killian stole it or bought the ring with credits from the stolen goods they sold. Either way it was almost the same. A somewhat funny thought. Wrapping Star into a hug she chuckled. "I'm glad. It is a rare thing to find one you can both love and respect." Walking over with Star to the table she sat down. Lisa grinned broadly. "I've been waiting for Frank to say something. Tell me how he proposed."

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Killian made his last stop Frank and Lisa's. "I got your pay here." Dealing out the money he took the time to explain where the rest of the funds went and let them look at the books like everyone else. Neither of them seemed to have anything to complain about. Tucking the book under his arm and carrying the empty box he went back to the ship. Shoving the box into the safe and sliding the book into the slot above it he sighed.

"I'm home." Wandering back to the bedroom he started to pull his shirt off with the intent of putting more of the cream on his stomach which was turning a nasty black and blue. At least it looked somewhat better than it had the night before.
 
"How often does the baby do that?" About time he started to talk the baby began kicking like a wild thing. "What's that all about?"
"I don't know...but it happens once or twice a day now. Sometimes at night to." Star's hands rested over her belly, a happy smile on her face. She looked up at him. "I'm a little past four months now...we really should start thinking about names. One for a boy, one for a girl." She blinked. "Wow...only five more months. Five more months and we're going to be parents, Killian."
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Star sat with Lisa at the table and retold the story of him pulling out the pink fuzzy blanket then the ring box and proposing. "It was so simple...but it was all I needed." She holds her hand and ring to her chest. "I just needed that commitment, you know? Like...I know he's committed...but somehow...him being married to me...me having his last name, the baby having his last name...it just mean so much more...you know?"
She smiles at Lisa. "I'm sure he'll say something soon. And if he doesn't...then you'll just have to say something. You know it was me who first asked to him be my boyfriend. That man is hopelessly unromantic, but I don't care." Perhaps it was just the hormones talking...but she felt like she loved him more now than ever before.
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Star was resting on the bed with snacks and her pink blanket stretched out, a thin nightgown on just for him. But when she saw him take off her shirt she sat up and immediately reached for the bruise cream, her forehead creased in concern for him. "You really should call up Kato and have him take a look. He may be able to determine if its just your stomach that's bruised or if any of your internal organs were damaged."
 
"Only five more months..." That little phrase kept running through his head over and over. Wasn't very long and he was still scared. He didn't know what a father was supposed to be like and he didn't want to disappoint Star. She had such high hopes and he didn't even know the first thing about this. Seemed like all the training with Kato was for nothing. Somehow he hadn't seen Star laying on the bed. For the time he was hoping to keep it all as low key as possible. A little bit of ruffling on the bed made him look up.

Star was leaning across the bed to get to her cream. Killian nodded. "What am I going to do? Tell him I got a giant bruise that hurts." It hurt a little more since he ate. As much as he hated to admit it he probably did need to call Kato. "Fine I'll call him in and you can watch the call so you know I did it." When they smeared the cream on his stomach he winced a few times. It wasn't really feeling that much better after he'd walked around. The skin felt especially hot and he was tender. The call to Kato didn't seem to result in much. Just a bruise and he needed to ice it for the next two days to help with some of the pain and swelling. Then for two days after that they would do some warm wet towels on his stomach to speed the healing. Of course if it wasn't just bruising Kato had to warn against fevers, infections, and possibly dying before he could get to their planet so it was advisable to find another doctor closer by if he developed any other symptoms."

After the call Killian glanced at Star. "We can put the ice pack on later. I'm fine. Would rather see what's under your clothes." Gingerly he moved to lean over Star and kiss her. "What do you say to that plan?"

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Now that they were done with the first few days of treatment Killian had felt that he sufficiently proved to Star that he wasn't going to die. It was just a big nasty bruise that hurt. "You know." Rolling over in the bed he ran his fingers up and down her back. It was the last lazy day with the excuse of the injury, but it didn't stop his brain from thinking and working full time. "I was thinking about having a faster way to get to Kato and Star. What if we put up vortex gates? Pretty sure we could get a few engineers and data guys to do it. Just need a team on either side and then we'll have to build the gate outside of the jurisdiction of Anna's planet. We could put up controls on our end and one on theirs that would only allow certain ships to through. Basically you would have to ping a signal and then the end you want to use will have to accept the signal. So if I would want to use this end to travel to their end in maybe a few hours I would ping and the station here would accept. Go into the vortex and ping again. Their side answers and we only have about 24-36 hours of travel." Vortex was something he had been thinking of setting up. Besides if they could do it he was sure that it would be much better.

"Then tomorrow I need to get out and start framing in more of the house." The idea of a house was still somewhat foreign to him. "Got a base laid for a four bedroom house, big kitchen..." Killian started to rub her back while he talked to her. "You should come out and see what a mess I made of it."
 
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Star relaxed as he rubbed her back, barely hearing what he was saying about the vortex gates. "Sound like a good plan. A one to two day trip sounds much more efficient than a 3 week one." She yawned, guiding his hand to massage her lower back. It had begun to ache on a daily basis. Her eyes lit up as he began to talk about the house. "Ohh, large kitchen huh? Four bedrooms? How many kids are you expecting Killian." She chuckles, kissing his lips tenderly. "I'd love to..." She stops suddenly as another cramp hits her. She sits up and clutches her stomach, wincing. From the research she'd done, cramps this bad weren't normal this early in the pregnancy. She hoped it truly was just a natural side-effect of carrying a child with chippequoti blood...but there was a lingering fear that it wasn't. There was also the fear if the cramps were this strong now...how much more so come labor?

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Star wandered around the foundation and partial framing of the house Killian was building for them. Looking at his blueprints, it looked like it was going to be incredible. A home...a real home. She smiles up at Killian and leans close to him. "So we'll be living in the ship part time...and the house part time? Huh?"
 
Killian couldn't help getting worried about Star's cramping. He didn't know what was normal and even if she told him it was a common problem with the Chippequoti women he was still thinking it had to be wrong. Maybe he would have to make a phone call to Kato if she complained about it more. The next day he took her out to the house. Somehow Star didn't seem to think that it looked bad. "Well the blue prints look fine and then I try to build it." While he could draw anything it was becoming increasingly frustrating to find that he was terribly inept at putting his drawings into life plans.

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The frame to the house was finished and Killian was doing his best to lay in the pipes and work in a sewer system that was going to work with gravity. Once more he could draw and figure the angles. When it came to the craftsmanship it was another story entirely. Killian was entirely irritated that he hadn't got to much more than the pipes and roof with some bare frame work in the house. At least it would keep weather out. Still had to finish the inside and he only had a week before he needed to take Star. It was going to be such a waste of time to sit on the ship for 3 weeks and let the men here on the planet go crazy. They would too.

Sitting in the ship that night he sighed. "I think we might end up living in the ship for a few weeks when we get back." Killian would have gladly paid someone to finish the house but, he didn't have any money to pay them so he would have to finish it himself or go do some smuggling on the way to the doctor or maybe on the way back. There were a few ways to get some money on the side.

For the last two days before he tinkered around on the ship which was much happier work. First of all he was closer to Star and then he could work on familiar machinery. Something that he could actually fix and get to a condition that he could run by himself. He didn't need Mike for this one and Mike wanted to stay behind. "So you think you've got everything you need?" Smirking a little Killian knew she did. Wasn't like he was ready for her to move anything into the house just yet.
 
Home. It was nearly complete and yet still so far from it. Killian had worked so hard to get it done in time but craftsmanship just wasn’t his forte. She could tell by his sigh and his comment about living on the ship for a few more weeks that he was frustrated by his progress. She simply smiled and assured him she was alright with that.
For the past several months she frequently watched him from a seat near the window of the ship or from Lisa’s house as they caught up and became closer friends. Lisa had already promised to help her with the cooking and whatever else she might need after the baby came. It was a relief off her mind to know she would have a constant friend there to help supplement Killian’s availability to be there.

Star was double checking her list, making sure everything was good, as Killian came in with a smirking question. “As sure as I can be.” She smirks back and sits down on the bed with a quiet groan. If her belly grew anymore she felt like she would pop. Despite still being a little over a month away from her due date, she felt like she could birth anytime. The braxton hicks had become more frequent and painful in the last few months. Killian kept giving her those worried looks every time she had one.

She’d been putting off showing him the birthing videos not wanting him to stay up worrying or panicking but it felt the right time now to show him what they were both in for. She’d learned quickly throughout the course of her pregnancy that he was absolutely one hundred percent ignorant on anything having to do with pregnancy, birth or babies. She began to wonder if he even knew this was going to take up to several hours, not to mention be extremely unpleasant.

Star pulls the datapad from her drawer, feeling sorry for the both of them. “Hun...can you uh...sit for a minute.” She took his hand as he did. “So...I have been putting this off as long as possible...but you...my poor ignorant father-to-be...you need to be informed on what’s about to happen in three weeks. She hands him the datapad with the video. It was milder than most...but enough to give him the basics.
 
It was late enough in the evening that Killian hadn't planned anymore work for the day. He was about to go get a data pad to make more drawings and ideas for the inside of the house. Instead Star caught his hand. Shuffling over to the edge of the bed he sat down next to her. Instantly a sick feeling settled into his stomach. Star was going to show him a video about babies. All that stuff just made him nervous. "Ok I'll lay down then."

Getting up he walked himself to his side of the bed and flopped out on the bed. At first he frowned at the beginning view of the doctor stepping into the room to check on the woman. Whatever this was all about he wasn't sure he wanted to know more. The doctor had a little slide show talking about the different phases of child birthing, measuring dilation, and managing breathing during the contractions and instructing the mother to push. From there the video changed scenes back to the room with the patient and the doctor lifted the woman's hospital gown to check. Shifting on the bed he took a deep breath and almost immediately bolted up. His eyes got wide and he looked over at Star. The doctor on the video said something about crowning and any of the terminology went in one ear and out the other.

Killian could feel his ears turning red and it traveled across his cheek bones. Squirming a little he turned his head to the side momentarily. He didn't want to see anymore. With a nearly sick groan he returned his gaze to the video. By the end of it he had to take a few extra breaths. Without looking at Star he handed the pad back to her. Thank god he didn't have to be the one delivering the babies. Normally he didn't like Kato doing check ups or putting his hands down there on Star. This was one time that Killian really didn't mind if the doctor did his job.

Just the fact that this was going to happen in a few weeks made him even more nervous. "Um...." Looking at Star he swallowed hard. "I uh...." The red on his cheeks only grew and he looked at her stomach bashfully. "Do I have to be in the room when that happens?" Just thinking about it gave him the shudders. "Ugh...." Turning even redder he nodded. "Ok." Rolling to his stomach Killian pulled the pillow over his head. "I can't eat after seeing that. Think I'll just go to sleep."

Sleeping didn't fix the problem either. Instead he kept having dreams about having to be the doctor and Star giving birth. Each time he woke up and then tried to go back to sleep with a different dream and it didn't work.

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Each morning after they took off Killian would check on the navigations to see how close they were. He knew that they weren't to Kato yet, but that was becoming a more urgent need. They were still going to be a few weeks before she was due and it wasn't early enough. Killian went back to the bedroom to check on Star. She had slept the best that he'd noticed in the last several weeks. Almost through the night except for the times that she had to get up and use the bathroom.

Leaning over he kissed her on the lips gently. "Hey how you feeling this morning?" Cramping still made him nervous. "Well tell me if it gets any worse. Want me to try making some breakfast?"
 
Star had never seen Killian so flustered or embarrassed as he was watching the videos. She would have felt bad for him except for the fact he'd made her pregnant and she was the one doing all the hard work. "Yes you have to be there! You're my husband! That's what husbands do." Star scoffed, then she smirked and patted his back, unable to resist one last quip. "Don't worry...it'll only last 10 to 14 hours."
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The cramps had started to become more frequent as of two hours ago and it was making her nervous. They were still a week away from Kato and having to give birth here, on the ship...with only Killian as her mid-wife would not be optimal. She looked up at Killian as he kissed her and offered to make breakfast. She chuckled teasingly, "We both know your cooking skills are less than optimal. I've got it."

20 minutes later she was up and dressed, walking to the kitchen. Another cramp stopped her in her tracks and moving wasn't helping go away. "Just stop already...." She grumbled at her body. The baby kicked in response. "Very funny...torturing me in return for my housing you. Well, guess what...jokes on you, bud. You're getting evicted soon." The kicks stopped. "Yeah...thats what I thought."

Star was in the process of cooking enough pancakes for the crew aboard the ship. Aside from her and Killian, there were four other men to help with the upkeep and running of the ship. "What's this? Breakfast isn't done yet?" One of the men teased her as he sat at the table. "It's not like you're doing anything other than sitting around."
"Yeah? Well, you try growing a baby for nine months and call that doing nothing." Star retorts. She lifted the batter to move it closer to the stove when a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. She gasped from the shock of it, dropping the batter all over the floor. The crewmember jumped to his feet. "Are you alright? Should I get Killian?"
She shook her head, trying to assure him she was fine while she waited for the cramp to fade. Her pants were soaking wet and she looked down to see how much batter had gotten on her from the spill. Her eyes widen in panic as she realized that she didn't have any on her. "Get killian." She says suddenly. "The baby is coming."
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The hot bath wasn't helping Star relax as much as she wanted to. She was trying to stay calm for Killian's sake but secretly she was terrified. She'd never given birth before, Killian's complete experience was a video that he could barely handle. Not too mention this baby was part chippequoti and was coming a full month early. What if there were complications? What if she needed a c-section? Kato could only help so much over video call.

She splashed the warm water on her face, trying not to cry from the extreme stress she was under. Telling herself everything was going to be fine wasn't helping. Less than a day, it'll be over. Less than a day...i can do this...i have to do this.
 
The man's eyes grew wide when she said the baby was coming. She wasn't supposed to be giving birth yet. Racing for the doorway he almost slipped from the batter on the floor. Grabbing on the door jam he swung around the edge and raced all the way to the navigations cabin to find that the captain wasn't there. "Damn it!" Slamming an open palm on the door he started down toward the engine room. There were only so many places that Killian could have gone. Still he would rather have the captain go take care of his woman. "Killian!" Yelling the whole way to the engine room he pulled the door open just as the captain was reaching for the knob. "She's..." Gasping for air the man pointed to the kitchen. "Baby..."

Before he could finish Killian pushed past and ran for the kitchen. Whatever this was couldn't be good. In the kitchen he saw a puddle of water on the floor and bunch of batter. "Star?" Wandering inside he checked the open pantry and then started out for their room. Bursting through the door Killian left the bedroom door open and went straight to the bathroom. The door was closed and he assumed that meant Star was in there. When he stepped inside she was sitting in the tub with a red face. "Are you sure it's coming?"

One of the crew members had run to the medical bay to get the emergency baby kit. They had one just in case and it seemed that they were going to need it. They weren't even close enough to any of the other systems or planets to stop at a hospital or clinic.

Star thought that the baby was coming and Killian's eyes got wider. "Ok...I'll go get the kit." Turning a little pale he started for the bathroom door. He barely made it out the door and he started to weave. It was blurry with a few black spots. Somehow it felt like he couldn't get enough air and then he didn't remember anything else. Evan rushed into the room with the medical kit and threw it on the bed. Rolling Killian to his side he checked the pulse and lowered his head to see if the captain was even breathing.

Killian woke up feeling a little dazed. His shoulder hurt a little where he'd managed to fall on it. "What?"

The crew member shook his head. "You passed out. I'm not delivering that baby so you'd better pull yourself together and get in there."

Suddenly it struck Killian that Star was still in the bathroom waiting for help. "How long was I out?!" Sounded like it had only been a minute or two. Nodding a little scrambled off the floor and held onto the edge of the bed. He was still feeling light headed. "I'll be fine." Weakly grinning he reached for the bag and he felt the other man put a hand on his arm.

"Breath or you'll pass out again!" Evan was completely sincere that he didn't want to do anything with the birthing process. "I'll just be outside the door if you need anything extra for the delivery give a yell and remember to breathe for goodness sake!"

Giving the man an irritable growl, Killian snatched the bag from the bed and started into the bathroom. "Got the medical kit here." Pulling the toilet lid down he sat on it and rested his head in his hands. "I'll check when you think its about time." For the time he was still trying to regulate his own breathing and he had a slightly grayish complexion.
 
Star up in the tub, startled as Killian fell outside the door. She'd never seen him faint...it was almost comical...almost. Ethan closed the door to give her privacy and a few minutes later she heard him trying to give Killian a pep talk.

He came back in with the bag, looking sick...his face an odd color. Star reached a hand out to him as he sat on the toilet. "Tell me you're going to be ok. That we'll all be ok." She pleaded.

She relaxed a little as he tries to reassure her. "My contractions are still nearly 15 minutes apart. It'll be several hours before I'm bed ridden. We should take this time to make a comfortable area on the bed. You'll probably want to cover the blankets with a sheet of plastic and a blanket you don't mind getting ruined." She gripped his hand tightly. "And I need you to take this time to do whatever you need to get calm and prepare yourself to be my mid-wife. I'm scared as it is...i really need you to be the strong calm one right now."
 
It was impossible not to feel badly when her sopping wet little hand patted his arm. "Uh huh. We'll be just fine." Taking another deep breath he tried not to think about the situation too deeply. At least not for now. Killian turned his head so he could look at her. 15 minutes? Was that a good thing or bad? He didn't know what that meant until she specified he still had a few hours. That was good.

Star's wet hand gripped his and he nodded. "Yeah, yeah I know." As desperately as he was trying to be calm his brain just kept right on racing. "I'll go take care of that and you uh..." Standing up he grabbed a towel and set it on the toilet seat. "Just take care of yourself for a few minutes while I get the room ready." Going back to the medical bay Killian collected a few sheets and the plastic to cover the bed with. For the last he got her a few blankets to get comfy with. They needed to keep the baby warm so he gathered a blanket for the kid too.

Returning to the room he laid the plastic over everything except the pillows. Putting down the sheets he made a second layer to the bed and then went to the bathroom to help Star if she wasn't already out of the tub.

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It had been a few hours and he reviewed as many of the procedures as possible with Star. She read and he peered into the kit to make sure he knew where to find all the stuff. Pulling it out to practice wasn't a good idea. They needed it to stay as clean and sterile as possible. Finally it was the first check that they determined had to be done. Going into the bathroom Killian washed his hands and all the way up to his elbows. At the end of the bed he lifted the blankets and quickly lowered them again. "Nothing yet." Somehow she wanted him to look again and he took a little longer look this. "Still nothing."
 
"Nothing!?" Star sighs deeply, knowing it would probably still be several hours before the real labor began. She was only at 4 centimeters and already sick and tired of the contractions. She pats the spot beside her on the bed so she could snuggle into him. "You know...we still haven't decided on a name yet. I'm thinking Clarissa, Claire for short if its a girl and maybe Liam or Owen for a boy. What do you think? Any names you think of that sound good?"
Killian was more than happy to be asked to step around to the other side of the bed. Sitting next to her he sighed, "Oh I don't know. Let me think for a minute."I like the name Rynn for a boy and Sierra for a girl." He wasn't trying to be onstinate, but he grew up with different kinds of names and he liked those ones better. "Claire is alright for a girl."
"Rynn...I actually like that alot." Star chuckles and weaves her fingers into his, resting her head on his chest. "Sierra though...not so much. How about, Kali? Kinda like, Killian....but better." She smirks.
Shaking his head he grinned. "Too confusing to have a Kali and Killian in the same space. Why not Isla or Daveen?" Those were unfortunately the names of girls that he knew when he was younger. However, there wasn't a whole lot except experience to draw from.
"We could just stick with Claire." It wouldn't hurt to throw that option out there again.
“Ew, no….definetly no. Yeah, Claire is good.” Star tenses suddenly and whimpers as another contraction starts. Her fingers squeezed his hand tightly for the next minute, trying to breath the way she’d learned...but it was hard when all she could think about was the pain. Finally it abates and she relaxes back in his arms catching her breath while she looked at the stop watch. “9 minutes apart. Ugh. Childbearing sucks!”
It was surprising to have her wrap her fingers around his hand tightly. Tensing a little he straightened his back and studied her face. Still she wasn't quite there and he was starting to think that it was taking way too long. "Oh..." Frowning a little he laid back on the bed. "We might as well try to sleep till it's time.
"You go ahead...I'm not going to able to, though." She pats his arm. "If you need to go into another room to rest for a bit that's ok. Just...hurry back.
"Mmmhmmm...I'll just stay here cause if I fall asleep I won't wake up again unless somebody tries to get me up." Rolling to his side he adjusted his grip on her hand and held it gently while he tried to get comfortable. Sitting around in here all day stressing out wasn't really doing much for his energy level.
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10 centimeters. Star agonized through yet another contraction and looked down at the stopwatch as it passed. "Three minutes..." She says between heavy breaths. "You should be able to see the head....anytime now." She lay in the pillows as he checked. She'd never been so tired and she still had to go through the process of actually pushing the baby out. She pulled a wet washcloth out of a clean bowl of water and wiped her face and neck with a trembling hand. "Anything?"
 
Killian was woke by a hand pushing gently on his shoulder. "Hmmm?" At first he was a little foggy and then he remembered the circumstance they were in. Tumbling out of the bed he ran to the bathroom to wash his hands up to his arms again and he came back. Star was wanting him to check. No matter how badly it scared him Killian knew he had to do this. Taking a deep breath he nodded. "Ok..." Lifting the edge of the blanket he squinted and pulled it up a little further. "Oh shit... Yeah you got something down there."

Walking over to the bag of stuff he pulled it open and put on the gloves, delivering gown, and set the tools out along the side of the bed. "Uh...Ok give me a minute. He figured that he could think for just a second. Pulling the blanket a little further back he winced. "Ugh." His guts were involuntarily clenching and churning at the very prospect of the delivery. Bracing his knees against the bed he bent them slightly and looked under the edge of her gown again. "Its slimy." Cautiously he put his hand next to her body and momentarily looked away. "Just do whatever it is a lady's got to do." As the baby's head came a little further out he almost gagged. Gingerly resting his hand against her underside he felt the baby begin to slide onto his hand. Holding the baby's head he waited for another push and it seemed the shoulders were taking a moment longer. Finally the baby seemed to slide out way faster than it started. "Holy crap!" Immediately Killian had to put his other hand in there to prevent himself from dropping the baby even if it would have been on the bed.

"Clamps." Grabbing one he clamped the first one a few inches from the umbilical cord on the baby and then clamped the next one about an inch up from that and snipped it between the clamps. Then Killian turned the baby onto its stomach and cradled its body on his hand and lower arm. With the baby's mouth and nose with space between two of his fingers he gave the baby one good slap on the back to loosen any mucus and then turned the baby to its back and used the suction to pull any extra goobers out of its nose first and then mouth.

There was a little delivering blanket in the kit that he had forgot to pull out, but it was close to Star. "Hey give me the blanket." Taking the blanket he wiped the baby off and wrapped it up. While the baby wasn't really sticky anymore Killian didn't want to hold it for the moment. There was still the icky part of waiting for the rest of the afterbirth to come out and then he could start cleaning everything else up and give the baby a bath.
 
Star writhed as another painful contraction ran its course. Tears streamed down her face as the head began to breech. A series of expletives ran through her mind but all her energy was on breathing and pushing. A screaming wail echoed through the ship as she continued to push. Killian said something about the head being through but she barely heard him, heaving into a nearby pan from the nausea caused by the pain.

She wanted to give up and just die right there. How in the world were there so many kids with this much agony involved. Another agonized wail and push saw the shoulders safely out. Killian's startled cry freaked her out but she managed to push the rest of body out. She collapsed into the pillows, utterly exhausted. He asked for the blanket and she passed it to him with a trembling hand. "Claire or Rynn?" She asked weakly.
 
Killian almost shakily handed the baby to her. "I didn't look." Pausing for a moment he unwrapped the blankets. "Claire, I guess." The baby was a little red figure with wrinkled pruny skin. Still she was kinda pretty and a mewl sounded from her. "I'll take care of the other stuff and...You need anything?" Before he started the clean up Killian wanted to be sure that she was alright.

They didn't really have anything for the baby for now because he had planned on picking the rest of it up when they landed. A blanket and Star were all he had. That meant that they would have to do the potty training that required holding the baby at all times so you could feel when the baby's muscles began to contract. Looking down at the baby he studied its face and then Star's for a moment before starting to get things picked up.

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By later that evening Killian had the room cleaned and he brought a little tub of warm water and some gentle soap to wash the baby with. Pulling the night stand over in view of the bed he carefully started to wash the baby with the washcloth and soap. Of course she cried and made her tiny mewling sounds the whole time. As soon as he finished Killian held her to his chest with one hand while he carried the tub with the other back to the bathroom to dump it out. The baby was almost completely covered with his one hand. Wandering back over to the bed he checked on Star. "Are you ok?" She had some discomfort and he could only imagine. Pushing something this size out of your body had to hurt.
 
Killian handed their new baby to her and she broke down into tears as she saw the face of the precious life she'd been carrying these last eight months. She held the babe close to her chest, not carrying about the mess over both of them. It was such a relief to have the tiny thing out of her and in her arms finally. To think a little body like this could cause so much pain and joy at the same time. "Welcome to the world, Claire." She whispers.
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Star drifted in and out of sleep as Killian cleaned her, the room and their new babe. She heard him speak and looked up, smiling softly at Claire who was nearly swallowed by his one hand. She nods. "Aching quite a bit...and a little hungry." She seemed to drift off again but opened her eyes a moment later. "How does it feel...being a real dad now?"
 
Nodding he glanced from her to the baby and then decided to give Claire to Star. "I'll go get something if you hold her." Killian barely set foot out of the door and Evan was still there waiting along with the rest of the crew. "She's hungry." That was the only thing on Killian's mind for the moment and the guys made way for him to walk to the kitchen.

"We've got some leftovers for both of you." T.J. Pulled two plates out of the oven. "Still hot, but I could put it in a pan and you could carry that into the room with some silverware." Now that the captain was out of the room they were all starting to drift toward the kitchen and hover around him.

Finally on the way out of the kitchen he noticed the constant hovering from the others. "You guys want something?"

"How is Star and the baby?"

Killian shrugged. "They're alright. I'll check to see if she'll let you all in to see her and Claire." Pushing the door open to the room he took the tray to the bed. "Guys want to see you and the baby. Up for it?"
 
Star held her new little girl gently as she rested against her chest. The babe squirmed and whimpered. "If I'm hungry, you must be too." She lowers the blanket and holds Claire closer to her stomach. It felt so natural, as if her body automatically knew what to do. She smiled tenderly as the little mouth began to feed. Her fingers brushed the soft black hair that speckled Claire's head. She was so soft. Everything was so little. Her ears...and nose and those tiny little fingers. She chuckled again as she remember how massive Killian's hand had looked covering her.

Star looked up as Killian came back with the food. "After she's done feeding...sure." She smiled back down at Claire, fully enthralled by her little snuffles and lip movements. "Isn't she so precious, Killian?"
 
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Killian closed the door behind himself and he sat down on the bed with the tray. Looking at the baby he glanced up at Star and frowned slightly. "Yeah." It was strange feeling to know that he was entirely responsible for this little baby. Grabbing the plate for himself he started to shovel it into his mouth. After a long day he was hungry. Occasionally he would look at Star and then the baby.

It wasn't long after Claire fell asleep that Star finally covered herself up and she handed the baby off. Killian took the little fuzzy blanket that they used for the baby now that she was clean and wrapped her in it. Chances were it wouldn't be quite warm enough so he held her again with the one hand. At least he could remember that Kato had said to have the baby's neck supported at all times. Star was getting her chance to eat now and Killian slowed down since he only had one hand now to eat with. A little knock sounded at the door. Obviously the guys couldn't wait. "Come in!" Calling over his shoulder he gave the permission without thinking that he was holding the baby and it might not like that much noise.

A little whimper sounded and he cringed. "Ooooh." Patting the baby's back he slowly got up from the bed and started toward the doorway. About that time the 4 other men from the crew opened the door and piled in to see the baby first and then Star. Evan was grinning almost ear to ear and one of the frowned a little and walked out after he was sure that everyone was alright.

Killian wasn't too upset by any grins or cooing sounds that the others made. It was almost half hour before they were done and he could send them out with the tray. Over the next day or so the baby wanted to sleep, but Killian couldn't let Claire be. Whenever he could he would take her after feedings to the navigation room. "I'm gonna take her with me so you can sleep." Snatching the baby again he grinned at Star. At least that was the excuse for wanting to hold Claire. He couldn't afford to appear to like the baby that much.
 
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Star smiled lightly as the men came over one by one to congratulate her and coo about the baby. All but one, a red-headed lad named Luke. He glanced at her and Claire and promptly left with a frown. What was that about? For the next two days Star slept almost as much as the baby only getting out of the bed to use the restroom or soak her sore body in the bath. She smiled as Killian took her once again right after another feeding. He was completely infatuated. He didn't say it, but she could see the gleam of proud fatherhood in his eyes and in the way he held her every second he could. "Don't forget to burp her...and put a towel on your shirt incase she throws-up." Star reminds him.

It wasn't until the next morning that Star actually had the strength to move around for an extended period of time. Killian had Claire again in Navigation, no doubt starting the ship-flying lessons early. She chuckles as she gives him a kiss sits by him in the spare chair, completely unashamed by her unkempt hair or large sweats. "Not sure Claire is quite ready for ship navigation yet, Killian." Star says smiling lightly at him. "You know, you're going to make an amazing father."
 
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