xp_logs | Hank, Dani, Saturday

Two logs, 14 hours apart....

First thing Saturday morning, Hank goes in search of more food, after having breakfast with Maddie, and encounters Dani. They talk about the trials of the day before, and those still to come.

Hank headed into the kitchen, yawning. Breakfast with Madelyn had been delightful, but after fretting most of the night he was still peckish. He would find a little something more to hold him before he went to sleep.

He saw Dani to late to avoid the kitchen, and sighed. Damn. This probably wasn't the best time or place, but he wasn't sure he could avoid the talk now that he was in her range. "Good morning, Danielle," he said, keeping his voice neutral and trying to shield his disappointment and disapproval as much as he could. He probably couldn't actually hide it from her, but he could try to keep it from being overwhelming.

Dani didn't look at Dr. McCoy as she mixed pancake batter. She knew exactly why he was upset at her and she didn't quite blame him for it. It was amazing what some perspective and some time away from the cacophony of emotions could do to clear your head. "Morning, Dr. McCoy," she replied cordially, not wanting to get into an arguement if she could avoid it. "How many you want?"

"How many do you have?" Hank leaned back against the counter. "We should talk about yesterday, I think," he said quietly. "Why didn't you come to me, Dani? I could have provided you with an inhibitor... or loaned you my car." He had to wonder how well the adoption would work out, if she didn't trust him enough to come to him when she had a problem... and did trust Manuel.

"I went straight to the box on Thursday, was there all night. I went out for a little bit on Friday...was not a good idea. I went back in and stayed there until Mr. Summers suggested we leave campus. I was trying to catch up on homework," she explained awkwardly. "I can always make more batter if you eat this batch."

"That doesn't answer the question of why you didn't come to me... or email me, if you didn't want to leave the Box. I would have helped as much as I could - well, after I woke up. I admit I did sleep through a lot of yesterday's events thank to the night-shifts." Hank sighed. He might as well say it, or it would just keep hanging over their heads "It also doesn't explain why you not only agreed to Manuel's obscene threats, but actively encouraged him to carry them out."

Sighing, Dani abandoned the batter and went to the table to sit down. She knew this was going to come up and there really wasn't much of an excuse. "That was stupid," she acknowledged quickly. She had realized it once she had had a chance to calm down, "I replied to that post right after I left the box to get some stuff...and once I had a chance to cool off I stopped posting. Just because I'm not being influenced by other emotions don't mean I ain't still affected by them. They don't just turn on and off."

"I know." Hank nodded and sighed, relaxing a bit. He'd expected yet another round of 'you're a stupid adult and I'm right and I'm not going to listen to a word you say'. "And I'm sorry I wasn't around, but even I can't stay awake twenty-four-seven." He sat down on one of the larger chairs, a little way away. "Just... please don't do that again? Aside from the fact that there are people in this mansion who have every reason to be terrified of empathic manipulation, wanting to subject everyone in the mansion to the same emotional invasion that you were facing, but intentionally rather than by accident of proximity... I trust I don't have to explain to you how wrong that would be."

"You were asleep, I ain't gonna wake you up when I got other options - like the box," Dani replied, gesturing vaguely to the lower levels of the school, "You work hard enough as it is. You don't gotta explain it, Dr. McCoy, I know. For a brief moment, it sounded like a good idea...but it ain't. I just don't like being controlled either...and I am and noone else can stop their emotions. But that's okay, because it's me that can't control my powers, ain't their fault I can't. Manuel at least, understands that, even if I don't agree with his ethics."

Hank nodded. Personally he doubted that Manuel understood any such thing... his outrage whenever someone's emotions intruded on his argued that he felt that control was their job, not his... but he was glad that Danielle, at least, though so. "Psionic powers are... difficult," he agreed quietly. "And it is vastly unfair that you have to deal with the emotional fallout every time someone is upset. But your control will improve with time and practice... I've never known a psi who didn't." Tentatively, he reached out to touch her hand lightly. "And Dani... wake me up next time? We are, I hope, friends at least... and soon to be co-parents. I'd rather miss some sleep than not be there when you need me."

Dani sniffed, not realizing she had begun crying and internally cursed the damn hormones, "I didn't want to hurt or kill the baby. I tried so hard not to hurt myself, but I wanted to so badly!"

"Oh, Dani..." Hank said sympathetically, reaching out to put an arm around her shoulders, offering her a handkerchief. "I'm sure the baby is fine, but we can check later, if you like. And, just so you know? If a situation like this happens again - and it probably will, given the number of emotionally tempestuous youngsters in the building - you're free to use my car, if you want to. Just get away from everything for a while. You don't need to ask, I'll understand."

"Thanks Dr. McCoy, but as soon as I have the baby I want to get my powers under control. Won't have the damn hormones and whatever interfering." she declined the offer with a smile, "Everything will be better."

"It will." Hank nodded. "It will take time, mind you - it always does - but you'll get them under control." He smiled ruefully. "Your optimism in supposing that the next blow-up won't be until after you have the baby may be unwarrented, though, so the offer stands."

Slowly her smile faded as she realized that he could very well be correct. "Shit." Eyes widening, she clapped her hands over her mouth shocked, "I'm sorry!" she spluttered, wishing she could take that back, "I don't...I just...I didn't mean...I better make the pancakes!"

Hank laughed, suddenly and heartily. "My dear, avoid coffee, raw fish and emotional turmoil you must, but I promise you, swearing is perfectly fine," he said with mock-solemnity. "It won't do the baby any harm at all - at least, not until he or she begins talking."

Dani hadn't thought she could move as fast as she did to end up across the kitchen and stirring the batter and turning the griddle down. "I...You aren't upset? I don't normally say things like that, I just don't know if I can handle finals and maybe going into labour and everything else and you say it might happen AGAIN!?"

"No, I'm not upset. I've even been known to swear myself, now and then." Hank smiled, watching her fuss with the pancakes. "It's a relatively very benign way of letting off emotional steam, so any time you want to scream a few curses and kick a cushion across the room, go ahead - you can vent emotional stress without doing yourself or the baby any harm. Also, labour is a fine excuse for delaying finals, and I promise I'll write you a doctor's note if you need one."

"Here you go...as many pancakes as I had batter," she placed a stack of pancakes on the table in front of the large doctor, "Butter and syrup are on the table."

Hank beamed. "Thank you, my dear," he said happily. Then he yawned. "And as soon as they are stowed away, it's bedtime for me. If the mansion catches fire, wake me."

Smiling, Dani poured two glasses of apple juice, drinking hers greedily. Apple juice was good and it didn't give her heartburn. "Sure. No problem."

* * *

And late Saturday night, Dani has to rush to the Medlab.

"Dr. McCoy!" Dani yelled, practically running into the medlab. She held her stomach with one hand and the wall with the other, gasping for breath. "I think it's time! " she looked much more dishevled than normal in her pajamas.

Hank blinked, bouncing to his feet and abandoning his tinkering with one of the inhibitors. "You're having labour pains?" he asked, hustling her gently over to the nearest exam table. She needed to sit down before she fell down. "Have your waters broken?"

"Nooo...but I've been having lower back spasms for days now, but this time they've been consistant." Now that she had sat down she felt better, "10 minutes apart, I started timing them."

Hank nodded, patting her shoulder gently. "Okay. First, take some deep breaths... ten minutes apart means we have plenty of time." He tried to project soothing calm, resting a gentle hand on her back.

Nodding, she tried to calm down. "Should we call Forge?" she asked, trying to think of everything the lamaze class had said to do and coming up blan

"Not yet. For now, I want you to practice your breathing, okay? Just like in class." He firmly pushed nervousness away. He hadn't attended a delivery for a while, but he had done it... and for people, even. He grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders... he wasn't sure if the shivering was from tension or from cold, but he tended to turn the thermostat down when he was in the Medlab alone, his fur keeping him comfortably warm - without fur, she was probably chilly.

"Breathing, right," she muttered, clutching the blanket and breathing rhythmically. She watched as Dr. McCoy skittered around the medlab arranging and coordinating things he thought he might need.

Hank made himself stop fiddling nervously, grabbed a stopwatch, and headed back over to the bed. "If you're at ten minutes, and you came down here right after the last one, the next one should come shortly," he said, smiling encouragingly at her. "We'll time the duration, and I want you to tell me how intense it is, okay?"

"How intense?" she repeated somewhat stupidly, "It hurts! Badly! I wouldn't have come down if I liked it!"

Hank nodded. "I know it does... but I want you to tell me how much, where, and for how long." He kept projecting soothing calm, as best he could. "You haven't had any watery or bloody discharge, I assume? Just the pain?"

"No!" she bit back as the contraction began. Scrunching her face up she bit her lip until it passed. Relaxing again, she tried to indicate where it was. "Lower back...here," she placed her hand on her back, "That's where it is."

The contraction had only lasted approximately eighteen seconds, Hank noted. He nodded, touching her lower back gently. Tense as all hell... "Was it as intense as the last few, more so, or less so?" he asked. Pain concentrated in the lower back, brief contraction.... could be false labour.

"About the same," she said, wishing he'd stop poking her back where it hurt. "It hurt."

"So they haven't increased in intensity?" She shook her head. Another sign. Okay. He reached for his stethoscope. "I'm going to check the baby's heartbeat," he told her, hitching up her pyjama top a little bit. The baby was big enough now that it wasn't changing position too much, and around the middle of the right side of her impressive bulge had been the best place to hear it last time...
DarkLadyMo: "Everything okay?" Dani asked, worried, "I mean...the baby's okay, right?"

Hank found the soft, fast heartbeat, and listened for a moment, counting. Normal... well, normal for this baby, who was just a beat or two faster than the average. "Everything's fine," he said gently. "Dani... You spent most of yesterday in the Box or at the library, right? Which would have restricted the times you could eat or drink?"

"Uh...yeah. I had some frybread in the box before I had to leave it and get some more and then had coffee and a pastry at the library. Why?" Now Dani was even more confused, how was when she ate connected to being in labour? Why wasn't more happening like on those medical TV shows she'd found?

He smiled, putting the stethoscope down. "I think you're having what's called 'false labour'," he said reassuringly. "It can be brought about by stress and dehydration. The pains should fade of their own accord...drinking water usually helps, and a warm bath or rest back in your bed might too."

"If this is false labour, I don't want the real thing," Dani told him, pulling her hair off her shoulders, "I didn't think it was this bad!"

Hank nodded. "You have my utmost sympathies," he said sincerely. "Labour is definitely no walk in the park. And a false labour of this intensity... you're probably going to have the real thing fairly soon." Time to kick the preparations into high gear - the nursery had to be painted and finished, a bed put in there for Danielle if she wanted to stay near the baby at night....

"But I got finals! And - " Dani protested pausing to count on her fingers, "Four weeks left! I can't have the baby until after finals!"

"As I said this morning, I'll write you a note for the finals if I have to," Hank smiled ruefully. "But you're not going to be holding out for another four weeks, I'm sure of it." She whimpered, and he patted her shoulder gently. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." He hoped...