Chapter 14 – The Birth of Jill Marie Yutaka
The doctor on the planet Quantum placed the tiny girl child on the belly of her mother, and then spread a warm towel over the child’s body. The child’s cries instantly stilled as her mother began to sing to her.
Hush, little darling, don’t you cry
Mama’s going to keep you warm tonight
If you wake and need to feed
Mama’s going to let you fill your need
When your diaper needs a change
Mama’s going to wash you nice and clean
If the dreams, you dream tonight
Wake you up and give you fright
Mama’s going to hold you nice and tight
Hush, little darling, this song is for you
Hush, little darling, Mama loves you
Hush, little darling, papa loves you
Hush, little darling, The Empress loves you
Hush, little darling, this loves for you
Hush, little darling, don’t you cry
The doctor continued to work on Angela, but quietly watched how she stilled and loved her newborn child. The doctor had never seen a newborn so easily calmed and comforted by her mother’s voice as this child. This child simply sucked her thumb as Angela began to sing to her. The doctor delivered the afterbirth and carefully placed stitches where needed. Ronnie asked Angela if the song she sang was a new one, or one learned from her mother. Angela said she made it up while she pushed her tiny child from her belly. Angela said she needed to fight the pain, and her mother’s voice spoke to her, told her to be brave and then helped her compose the song. Angela suddenly grabbed the front of her husband’s flight suit as the doctor inserted two tiny stitches: Angela did not yell out in pain, instead, she asked Ronnie, “My husband, shall we name our child after your mother; Jill Marie Yutaka?” Ronnie felt a tear in his eye, and said he loved that name and his mother would have been proud to share it with her grandchild. Ronnie and Angela now had a daughter, a daughter to express their love, a daughter to share their love, a daughter to hear their love, a daughter from their love.
Before they left the hospital, a nurse entered Angela’s room and said, “Before we give you Misenall to teleport home, we need to collect some breast milk for Jill. The child cannot breastfeed for twenty-four hours after you take adult strength Misenall. If we collect some milk now, Jill will have safe milk to drink, and you will be able to take the medicine you require to comfortably teleport home.”
As they prepared to leave the hospital, the doctor gave the girl child named Jill a tiny dose of the Misenall medicine to insure she would not suffer from teleportation sickness as her mother did, and then gave Angela a full dose. After the doctor was certain Jill had tolerated the drug with no side effects, he let them teleport home to begin their lives with their girl child. When they were aboard The Empress, the first thing Angela did was introduce baby Jill to the computer.
She stripped the tiny child naked and held her up in front of the travel computers monitor. The child puckered up and cried: cried over the insult of her mother stripping her naked, holding her in the air like a sack of potatoes; to feel the chill of the air, while her mother displayed her like a trophy. Angela said, “Computer, this tiny child is the direct result of your friendship towards me from the first moment I stepped aboard this vessel; and the love I have shared with this man I call husband, my friend, my lover. I am proud to present this girl child for your approval and acceptance, and asked that you allow her to live out her life here aboard The Empress. She will certainly be an inconvenience to you from time to time, she certainly will test everyone’s patience, you may have to turn on the lights for her when she has a bad dream, and she certainly will puke and stink from time to time, but I believe you will love her as her father and I do. Computer, please meet, Jill Marie Yutaka.”
The girl child wailed for her mother to warm and hold her close. Angela did exactly that. She wrapped her daughter in a warm towel until she fell asleep in her mother’s arms.
Ronnie had made a tiny crib for Jill. Angela put Jill down in the crib on the soft blanket lining the crib and then covered her with a second blanket; the blankets were a gift from Janet and the girls. When Jill continued to shake and scream, her mother began softly singing to her. Jill was immediately comforted and began to settle down and settle herself in her new environment, her new home. Within a minute or so, baby Jill was sound asleep.
Angela undressed and crawled under the warm covers of her bed to rest her very sore and tired body. When she was under the covers, Ronnie brought her water, then heated her some soup. As he brought the soup into her room and sat with her while she ate, Angela began to cry. Ronnie took the soup and sat it down on the table beside her, then held Angela’s hand and talked to her to find the reason she was upset. He soon realized that she was not upset at all, but was just emotional, very proud of the child she had delivered and very happy with her life. Ronnie began to understand that Angela seemed to cry for no real reason lately; sometimes she just needed a good cry to settle her emotions.
As Angela finished her soup, Jill begun to squirm around and suck her hand while lying in her crib. When she woke and obviously wanted milk, Ronnie picked her up and hugged her close. He then moved her tiny body away from him, held her arm’s length, carried her to the bathroom and changed her poopy diaper. When she was clean again and smelled like a little girl instead of a farm animal, Ronnie placed her in bed with her mother and headed to the kitchen to warm a bottle of breast milk. As Angela fed her child, Ronnie watched Jill begin to smile. When Ronnie commented that her supper seemed to please her, Angela said Jill had just tasted the chocolate pudding the hospital had fed her mother, before they pumped the breast milk. Ronnie had forgotten that what a mother eats, the child who nurses also eats. Ronnie decided he would make certain he fed Angela very healthy foods while she nursed this child. As Angela tended to Jill, Ronnie sat and talked to her.
He asked if she would like to spend a week or so with Janet and the girls while she recuperated from the delivery. Angela said she would be fine right here at The Empress for a couple of days, but she certainly would like to spend some time with Janet and the girls after that. Ronnie explained that it was summer recess for the girls from school, and Janet was not overly busy right now so it would work out pretty well if she wanted to go. Angela asked if the teleportation would make Jill sick and Ronnie said the doctor had given him two more tablets of the same medicine he gave Jill to teleport here. The only catch was that Angela could not nurse Jill for twenty-four hours after she had taken her own Misenall. Angela thought about that for a moment and said she could work around that problem by storing enough milk for Jill before she took her own Misenall, as she did at the hospital. Angela said that by the time they were to return to The Empress, she should have Jill on baby formula instead of breast milk.
Ronnie asked what equipment she would need to store the extra milk and Angela explained the process to him. Ronnie said that in the morning he would place The Empress in an orbit around Quantum, then teleport down to the pharmacy and pickup the supplies they needed. When Jill’s tiny belly was very full, Ronnie picked her up and slowly walked with her and patted her back until she burped like a drunken sailor. Ronnie looked at Angela and laughed. By the time Ronnie put Jill into her crib, both Angela and Jill were sound asleep. Ronnie walked out of the room, asked to computer to begin turning down the light level in the room until he said to stop. As the lights dimmed, Ronnie said stop when the lights were where Angela would be comfortable if she woke, and she could see Jill if she needed to comfort her until the computer could tell him that Angela needed his assistance.
Angela was not going to let Ronnie hover over her, but she also realized she needed his help for a couple of days and would allow Ronnie to help with Jill’s care until then. Angela had told him that she would insist that he help bathe Jill, change her diapers, feed her and spend quality time
with her to insure they bonded very early. Angela said the daughter to Father bonding was very important in a young girl’s upbringing, and that bonding is what had saved her sanity after her own kidnapping, rape, and isolation as a child. Ronnie said he understood the parent to child relationship and would insure he and Jill bonded early.
When Angela woke in the morning, she could smell coffee brewing and quietly got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. She sat at the table with Ronnie and sipped just a tiny bit of coffee. She had fed Jill an hour earlier and she would not need feeding again for three or four hours, so Angela would enjoy a few sips of Ronnie’s fresh perked coffee. Ronnie cooked Angela a couple of hens’ eggs, charred bread and a glass of goats’ milk. Angela showered and dressed, then Ronnie teleported down to the pharmacy on the planet Quantum. When he had all the supplies he needed and had filled a prescription for Jill’s Misenall, he stopped into Janet’s house to talk with her for a few minutes.
Janet had today off work, but the girls were in school so Ronnie and his sister could talk for a few minutes. Janet showed Ronnie the room that she, Frederica, and Monica had prepared for Angela and Jill’s visit. Ronnie explained that he needed to supply two of his customers and would not be staying with them during most of the visit, but would spend the weekend with them. Janet asked how Angela was doing sleeping in the dark, and if she needed to provide any special lighting to insure that Angela slept through the nights without having nightmares. Ronnie explained that a lamp in one corner of the room was all Angela would need for lighting. As Ronnie talked with his sister, he checked with the computer on The Empress (using his travel watch) to see if Angela and Jill were okay. The computer said that Angela had just fed Jill again and she was now sleeping. Angela was reading in her recliner and would soon fall asleep if Jill remained quiet a little longer.
When Ronnie finished talking to the computer, Janet smiled and said, “I guess the computer keeps track of everything that happens on The Empress. A woman could not even pleasure herself without the computer knowing about it.” Ronnie chuckled at his sister’s comment, but understood the implication. Ronnie told Janet that Angela needed to trust him and feel confident that her husband would not ask those questions of the computer, and would allow her to have her own privacy without him spying on her. He also said that he had given Angela passwords to use to personalize her interaction with the computer, and she could easily block any access to the computer she wished, as long as there was no security or operational issues. Ronnie then said, “Besides, I think the computer is in love with Angela and would never allow anything or anyone to jeopardize Angela or Jill’s privacy.” Ronnie explained that when she and the girls were on board, he had asked the computer to insure that he did not embarrass himself or his guests and the computer had done just that. Janet hugged him, said that he was a good brother, and a great husband and Father.
Ronnie returned to The Empress about an hour later, and when he stabilized in the ready room, the computer greeted him and said that Angela and Jill were taking a bath. Ronnie asked the computer if he could peek into the bathroom and the computer said, “I think the girls would like you to join them in the tub, not just peek into the bathroom.” Ronnie walked to Angela’s bedroom door and spoke to Angela before entering. She said, “Come in and join us.” Ronnie walked in and Angela invited him into the tub with her and Jill, who was splashing and giggling. Ronnie did not realize that newborn babies would like the warm water in the tub like this. Jill was very excited, and as Ronnie talked to her, she giggled even more. Angela said they had been in the tub for almost thirty minutes now and Jill wanted no part of getting out of the water. Angela passed Jill to Ronnie and as her butt felt the cool air of the bathroom, she peed down the front of Ronnie. Ronnie just rinsed himself off and sat Jill back down into the water where she started splashing again. Angela stilled her giggles long enough to say, “Oh, I forgot to tell you about the peeing part.” Ronnie carefully leaned forward, at the same time that Angela did, and he kissed her.
When they were all out of bed the following morning, Angela pumped and stored a two-day supply of milk for Jill; then gave Jill two drops of liquid Misenall under her tongue. The new prescription of liquid Misenall was much easier to administer than trying to get Jill to swallow a crushed up pill, even with milk. Angela put some of the still warm milk she had pumped into a bottle and offered it to Jill. At first, Jill wanted no part of the small bottle with the nipple on it, but soon decided it was better than no milk at all. Angela smiled at Ronnie and said that maybe getting Jill weaned to the bottles would be easier than she first thought. Ronnie told Angela it was easy with the breast milk, but what would Jill think about formula. Angela, said, “Husband, I will confuse her by mixing smaller and smaller amounts of breast milk with the formula until she only likes the formula.” Ronnie kissed Angela on the forehead and said, “That’s why you are the Mother instead of me. We would all have been miserable when I tried to force pure formula onto the child and had to deal with her crying and upset tummy.” Angela just smiled and said, “Husband, you would have found the answer and corrected the problem just fine. You underestimate your parenting skills.”
Angela took her own Misenall tablet, waited the five minutes, and then stepped up close to Ronnie. Jill made certain she had a firm grip on Jill as Ronnie pressed the green button on his travel watch. When they stabilized on Janet’s front porch, Angela stood very still for a moment to be sure her stomach was okay, handed Jill to Ronnie and moved to the bushes beside the porch. Ronnie stepped up close to her to steady her, but she soon sat in the chair beside her and said, “I am okay now; my stomach just had a moment of uncertainty.” She stood up beside Ronnie and said, “Would you carry Jill for a few minutes until I am certain I am really okay?”
Ronnie offered Angela his arm, and they walked back to Janet’s front door. Ronnie spoke Janet’s name and she walked to the door with a huge smile on her face. When she looked at Angela, she quickly took Angela’s arm and escorted her to a comfortable chair. She kneeled down in front of Angela, talked to her and made sure she was all right. Angela’s face was very white, but she said she was okay now. Janet got Angela a glass of water, then moved to her brother and put her hands out; wanting the tiny child he held in his arms. When she had Jill in her arms, she turned her face away from Ronnie. Angela realized Janet was crying. Angela spoke to Janet and said that she had felt the same way when the doctor had placed Jill into her arms right after she was born.
Janet held Jill for the next hour, and when Ronnie said he would hold Jill again if her arms were getting tired, Janet stepped away from him, smiled and said, “Mine.” Ronnie made tea for them and fixed a bottle of blended formula and milk that Angela felt would not upset Jill’s tummy. When the bottle was just the right temperature, Ronnie placed a towel under Jill and handed Janet the bottle. Ronnie kissed his sister on the forehead and walked away to let Janet mother the tiny child in her arms. Ronnie spoke to Janet and told her, “Sister, I do expect to get this child back when this week is up, you do realize that don’t you?” Janet’s answer made Angela giggle, “We will see about that, brother.”
When Janet had fed and burped Jill, she suddenly stood up, walked over to Ronnie and carefully passed Jill to him. When she stepped back, she said, “Brother, I have horded this child long enough, it is your turn to love her.” Ronnie instantly knew that the smell was not from his sister, and that his child smelled like a barn animal once again. Ronnie held the child out in front of him and walked her to the bathroom. Angela instantly began laughing, and she leaned back in her chair, wanting, needing to stop laughing, because parts of her body hurt very badly, but she could not quit laughing. Angela’s mind now had a permanent picture of the look on Ronnie’s face as his sister placed his stinky child into his arms. Janet told Angela when Ronnie was out of hearing range, “I hope I did not make Ronnie mad handing him a stinky little girl.” Angela told Janet that Ronnie had changed many dirty diapers and he was just f
ine with it. Angela said, someone has taught him very well, because he does a perfect job. Janet said, “That would have been our foster mother who taught him, because our parents died shortly after Ronnie’s birth.” Angela said, “I am sorry Janet, Ronnie never got around to telling me much about his parents. I knew they were both dead, but did not know how or when they died.”
Ronnie walked back into the room and placed Jill back into Janet’s arms. Janet said, “Angela, I will fill you in on all the details and family pictures this week while I hug and love this tiny child.” Janet asked if Angela and Ronnie would like lunch since Jill was now asleep in her arms. Ronnie retrieved a blanket, and Janet placed Jill into the back of the recliner chair where she could not roll out, and then covered her with the blanket. They could watch Jill sleep while they fixed lunch and ate at the kitchen counter. Janet asked Ronnie how long he could stay with them before he had to visit his customer. Ronnie said he would leave tomorrow afternoon, and return in four days. He put his arm around his sister and said, “Just long enough for you to spoil my child rotten and tell my wife every secret I ever told you.” Janet wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck and said, “I promise you that I will in fact spoil your child rotten; I will now look you directly in the eyes and promise you that I would never tell your secrets to anyone, especially the woman you love so dearly. I will only tell Angela the tales that she needs to hear so that she knows whom she has married.” Ronnie kissed Janet’s forehead and said, “Fair enough.”
Just then, the girls appeared in the living area, home from school. They both instantly got quiet, walked to the recliner where Jill was sleeping, and squatted down beside her. Jill seemed to know her family was close, and began to wiggle, then opened her eyes. She looked at Monica and smiled. When she was awake a little more, Angela went to her, picked her up, motioned for Monica to sit in the chair and placed Jill in her arms. Frederica snuggled up close to Angela, did not say one word, but simply watched Jill rub her eyes in Monica’s arms.
Within a couple minutes, Monica spoke to her sister. Frederica leaned down and carefully picked up Jill and cuddled her into her arms. Frederica leaned down and kissed Jill’s forehead and then Angela realized Frederica had tears dripping down her cheeks that were dripping onto Jill’s tiny cheeks. Each teardrop that fell on Jill’s tiny cheek made her blink. Angela wiped Frederica’s eyes with a tissue and went back to the kitchen to let the three girls bond.
Very soon, Monica was standing real close to Ronnie, and Angela asked if she wanted to give Jill some milk to drink. Monica’s face instantly had a smile from ear to ear, so Angela prepared another bottle of milk and warmed it. She sat Monica down in the chair, and helped her find a comfortable position to let Jill drink. When Monica said Jill had quit drinking, Frederica walked into the room, helped her sister put Jill on her shoulder and get the air bubble out of her stomach. Then Jill finished her bottle. Ronnie reached across the counter, squeezed Angela’s hand and said, “I think you are going to have some very capable help with Jill this week.” Janet said, “We will see when the first poopy diaper appears and Frederica is elected to handle the situation.” Angela said, “I will make certain Frederica receives plenty of help the first few times until she is comfortable with the task.” Janet smiled and said, “Frederica may be only thirteen, but she sometimes acts like she is twenty.”
When Janet went to help her girls with their homework in the den, Ronnie talked to Angela to make sure she had everything she needed, and that she was comfortable spending this week with Janet and the girls. Angela said she was very comfortable and that Janet and the girls had fixed up the bedroom quite nicely. They had created a tiny room, by moving everything out of the large closet and putting the crib and baby stuff in it. The door could be propped part way open or closed as needed to keep the light out of Jill’s eyes when her mother needed to have the lights on in the main bedroom. The bedroom was set up with a small desk and a recliner that rocked.
Angela knew she would be comfortable here. The den had a complete library of wonderful books and magazines, and the backyard was a wonderful place to walk and comfort Jill if she would not sleep. Angela snuggled up close to Ronnie and said, “I will have everything I need except for you, and you will be back in a few days. Jill and I will be very comfortable here.”
Ronnie sat Angela down on the sofa, and asked her if she understood the operation of his travel watch and was comfortable to operate one if she had her own. Angela said, “Ronnie, I have worked with the computer on The Empress for months making sure that I completely understand every detail and setting. I can also contact The Empress and ask any questions I may have, anytime I need assistance.” Ronnie then explained to Angela that he would like to replace her travel watch (the one placed on her wrist shortly after her birth by the IFTT) with a new one, created by him specifically for The Empress. This new travel watch would link her to The Empress, to him, and keep them in constant contact every second of their lives.
Ronnie then explained that it was also time to consider installing a travel watch on Jill so she would be in constant contact with her parents and The Empress every second of her life. Ronnie put his hand on Angela cheek and said, “Angela, you probably would not have been kidnapped if you had been equipped with a travel watch like the one I wear. I would like to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening to Jill.” Angela asked if the watches would be permanent and automatically adjust to the proper size as her own watch had done since the IFTT installed it on her wrist as a growing child. Ronnie assured her that the cold fusion bands would grow and be just as comfortable as the watch she currently wore.
Angela quickly agreed, so Ronnie walked into the bedroom, picked up his briefcase and returned to the sofa. He removed two new travel watches from the briefcase; one had a much smaller band. He placed the new watch around Angela’s wrist, and then pressed two buttons at the same time on her watch. Ronnie explained that the new watch was contacting the IFTT and they would release the cold fusion band on her old watch so she could remove it. Then she would have twenty seconds to place the new travel watch on her wrist in the correct place where she wished to wear it. After the twenty-second delay had timed out, the new watchband would cold fuse and the watch would be permanent. As they waited, the old watch on Angela’s wrist began to buzz, and then the band separated at the point where it connected to the watch. Ronnie removed the old watch, placed the new one where it needed to be, and then let Angela get it exactly where she wanted it. Twenty seconds later, the band slowly began to cold fuse where the ends touched, and the new watch became permanent.
The computer on The Empress spoke to Angela, “Welcome Angela, you are now in constant contact with me and I will always be waiting to help you or follow your commands. If you ever wish private time, you need simply to ask and I will insure that nothing you say or do will be recorded or repeated. Your personal files, passwords and Galax accounts will remain just as you created them.” Angela looked up at Ronnie and smiled a smile that told Ronnie she loved being a member of The Empress and entrusted with it secrets.
Angela stood up and walked into the bedroom, then returned with Jill, who fell back asleep within seconds on her mother’s shoulder. Angela walked into the living room and sat down in the recliner. Ronnie placed the travel watch with the tiny wristband around Jill’s arm, and then pressed two buttons at the same time. The new watch began to buzz. Ronnie carefully insured the travel watch was in exactly the correct position and waited. Suddenly, the watchband began to cold fuse at the joint where the ends touched.
Within seconds, the process was complete and the computer on The Empress spoke to Angela. “Angela, I am proud to have Jill as a member of The Empress. I will be in constant contact with her and will only allow persons you have specified to touch her. As each new person touches her, I will ask you for your consent. If I do not get your consent by verbal password within five seconds, I will alert you and Ronnie with verbal warnings about Jill’s safety.
If I find she is in imminent danger, I will immediately teleport the child to the ready room where I can protect her. Angela do you have any questions for me at this time?”
Angela thanked the computer for its help and said they would talk more after Ronnie had teleported. Angela said, “Let’s try out this security system right now.” She walked to Janet and placed Jill into Janet’s arms. Almost instantly her watch beeped and the computer asked who was holding Jill and if this action was allowed. Angela spoke to the computer and said, “Please allow Janet to care for Jill at any time, she is authorized.” The computer chirped three times, announcing its acceptance of her answer. Ronnie spoke to the computer and gave permission to add his sister Janet to the list of humans that could approve a caregiver for Jill through her personal IFTT travel watch. The computer asked Janet to speak into her travel watch so it could route her voice signature signal from the IFTT computer, into The Empress. Janet talked into her travel watch and soon the computer stated that the signature was complete. Ronnie kissed Angela hard on the lips; kissed Jill on the forehead, kissed his sister on the cheek, then walked out onto the porch, and was gone.
As Angela and Janet sat and talked in the living room, Jill began to fuss. Angela picked her up, sat down in the recliner and hugged her close. She was about to feed Jill, but decided to fix her a bottle mixed with formula instead. The sooner she got Jill weaned off breast milk the better. Angela wanted to get her body back into shape as soon as she could and until her milk dried up, there was little hope for that.