Subj: Kate ch 26
Date: 5/16/00 2:02:12 AM Central Daylight Time
From: Karen
"Hey, Kate, wake up!" Stephen’s voice somehow got through. Kate shook herself and looked up.
"Man, did I do it again?" she asked, stretching.
"This is the third time this morning, kiddo! What is going on with you?" Stephen’s concern was evident in his voice. "I think you ought to go see the doctor today, Kate. You aren’t sleeping at night, you’re cranky all the time, girlfriend, you need to see someone."
Kate looked at Stephen and glared. "How do you know I don’t sleep, Smarty?" she asked. Kate should have know better than to ask.
"I know because I read the communications you send me at 3 a.m., that’s how I know! Kate, please see the doctor, okay?" Stephen pleaded.
Ryan walked in the room and put his hands on Kate’s shoulders, massaging her neck. Since Kate came back from 1969, Ryan was a new man. No more cravings for blood, no more sleeping during the day, it was great!
"Katie, sweetie, we love you and we hate to see you do this to yourself. You don’t want me to call Gramps and Non, now do you?" Ryan said in a mock threatening tone. "You know what will happen. Nonnie will get into her 21st century grandma routine and you’ll never hear the end of it!" he said.
Stephen laughed. "Yeah, and we will never hear the end of it either. And I know she is baking sugar cookies this weekend just for me. I won’t get a single, solitary crumb if she hears we have been neglecting her little girl. Contact your doctor now!" Stephen said.
"Okay, okay, message received. No one wants to incur the wrath of the grandmother. I’ll call, I’ll call. Now go away so I can call in private, okay?" Kate said, laughing.
As Ryan and Stephen left the room, Ryan turned back and said, "I will check up on the appointment, Katie, so do it!"
Kate took a deep breath and pushed her computer screen. A menu came up of communication numbers with names next to them. She pushed Dr. Matthews’ number and got his receptionist.
"Hi, Kate," Susie said. "What can we do for you?"
"I need to make an appointment before Stephen and Ryan sic my grandmother on me. Got anything for today?" Kate asked.
"Let me check." Susie consulted another screen. "Yup, I have a cancellation for three. Can you make it?" she asked.
"I’ll see you at three, Suz. Bye!" Kate pressed another button to terminate the conversation. It was 2:15. Maybe I can get a quick nap in before I leave, she thought. Kate lay her head on the desk and fell fast asleep.
The ‘Pastoral Theme" played in Kate’s ear, effectively waking her up. She looked at the clock: 2:45. She would have to jet to get to her appointment on time.
Kate rushed out of the building that housed the company Stephen, Ryan and she ran. The automatic doors whooshed open as she ran up to it. Calling for her car, it was there almost before she was. The doors opened and Kate jumped in. The door shut and the car hovered a foot off the ground. A voice came from the dashboard.
"Where to, Kate?" the voice asked.
"Take me to Dr. Matthews’ office, okay, Stanley?" Kate replied. The car rose straight up fifty feet and turned to the left. Its sensors checking for traffic, the car sped into a lane and headed for the Medical Center.
Arriving in record time, Stanley pulled in front of the center and let Kate out. "Pick you up, when?" Stanley said.
"I’ll call you, okay? Just park somewhere and find some of your friends. Ill let you know when I am ready to go. See ya!" Kate called. Stanley is the best car I have ever had, she thought. A lot better than Harold. He was way too bossy for her taste.
Kate walked into the center and headed towards Dr. Matthews’ office. Susie greeted her and asked Kate to sit down for a moment.
After a wait of about three minutes, Neddie, Dr. Matthews’ nurse, showed her in an examining room. After taking Kate’s vitals, Neddie asked why she was here.
"Stephen and Ryan are worried about me." Kate said. "I guess I am not sleeping at night, cranky, and I tend to fall asleep at my monitor. I guess that’s it." As Neddie typed the information into Kate’s chart, Kate thought of something else. "Oh, and I have trouble fitting into my clothes. I don’t think I have eaten a lot, but I had to buy a bigger size last week. I don’t know what is going on with that!" Kate laughed.
Neddie looked at her closely. "I will have the doctor check it out for you, Kate. You have gained about 6 pounds since the last time we saw you. She’ll take a look at you in a few minutes." Neddie left the room.
Kate sat looking at the posters on the walls. Dr. Sheila Matthews loved antique medical posters and her walls were plastered with them. The room Kate was in was called the ‘Chamber of Horrors’. There were posters of 19th and 20th century medical instruments on the walls. The instruments looked so bulky compared to the instruments of the 22nd century. Thank goodness women did not have to endure that nasty looking speculum anymore! It looked more like a torture device than an instrument of healing, Kate always thought.
Sheila Matthews knocked on the door and entered when Kate said to come in. Sheila was a pretty woman with red hair and green eyes. Suddenly Kate started. She looks like Julia, thought Kate. I didn’t realize it until just now. Could Sheila be related somehow?
Kate’s thoughts were interrupted by Sheila’s voice.
"Kate, you look startled, are you all right?" Sheila asked.
"Yes, I’m alright. I just never noticed how you look like someone I once knew, that’s all." Kate said.
"If you’re sure that’s it... Now let’s get down to business. What brings you here?" Dr. Matthews asked.
Kate described the symptoms that she had been experiencing. Dr. Matthews checked Kate over thoroughly with her scope.
After 20 minutes of probing, Sheila said, "Aha! That’s why you feel so irritable. Congrats, my friend, you are pregnant!"