Don't need no fortune teller...

Aside from their initial visit, the rest of the visits Alison and Longshot had made to see Dr. Crusher had been exciting and pleasant. Tiny heartbeats and surprise twins. Things had always gone well and been fairly painless.

This one promised to be somewhat less appealing. Not baby-wise, of course. The twins were still growing healthy and strong. Alison had felt no pain or discomfort so far -- aside from a little morning sickness. The tea the jonin had given her was helping. She was anxious to see another ultrasound to see how big they'd grown.

But, this would also be the day that Longshot allowed the doctor to give him deeper brain scans to test the depth of the damage Mojo's constant mind wiping had caused. Her husband had been anxious about it for the last two days leading up to the visit. Alison had done her best to keep him occupied and not thinking about it. Her new habit of narrating everything she was doing for the benefit of the tiny lives growing inside her had been a constant source of amusement for the household. If the books said they could hear sounds, then she would give them sounds, darnit.

She had to sleep, though. And she kept waking to a husband with haunted eyes. If there was something she could do to ease his pain and fear, she would gladly do it. But, all she could offer was support.

They'd arrived to the visit with a portable DVD player borrowed from Lisa and a stack of new films neither of them had seen. Alison also brought some children's books to read to him so that they could pick out favorites to read to the babies. It was all she could think of to do for him.

Two weeks later, as arranged, Alison and Longshot were back in Dr. Crusher's office in the Nexus. Alison was anxious to hear what the doctor's scans and tests had concluded. She was hoping with the technology Dr. Crusher had that the doctor would be able to tell them definitively whether or not her previous miscarriage had just been a tragic combination of stress and environment as she had always thought. Or if the situation was much worse and her DNA was not compatible with her husband's. Alison would be inconsolable if that were the case.

Now, she waited -- as patiently as possible -- as Dr. Crusher set up her medical files and gathered her information for their visit. She sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Longshot was beside her in the other chair and she had a tight hold on his hand. Her thumb rubbed restlessly against the back of his hand.

There had to be good news. She needed good news.

Alison was never sure if the weather in the Nexus park was pleasant because of some meteorological reasons, or just because she liked it to be. She'd only seen it rain once and that had been for Star's benefit. Whatever the cause, the sun was shining warm and bright despite the slight chill in the breeze. Just the kind of weather that was perfect for a stroll outside.

She held Longshot's hand and absently rubbed her thumb against his as they walked the path and she looked around for the doctor she'd met in the Nexus. Part of her wanted to think it was crazy to ask for help in such an unreliable forum. The rest of her was just relieved to have found someone to help.

"I'm not sure what time we were supposed to be here. I guess if we're too early, we can feed the ducks or something..."