Suddenly there are preparations….
The next morning brought a physical exam. Dr. Abby was thorough as usual. When she was done she had Donna sit on the table.
“We have an interesting situation.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“Maybe. Can I assume you and your husband are mutually sexually active?”
Donna stared. “Is that a valid concern for the crew medical officer?”
“It is if one of those two crew persons is a fertile female and the other is a male capable of impregnating her.”
“Well.”
“My records show no surgeries to prevent conception.”
“That is right. I’ve had an IUD for three years. They are good for two years. I had it replaced two weeks ago in case.”
“This indicates you believe there is a risk of pregnancy.”
“That is true.”
“And your use of the IUD is an indication you may at some time wish to have children?”
“Yes. At some time.”
“When?”
“We had thought if we didn’t go up on this flight we would take it out and try to get pregnant.”
“Can I assume that with going up those plans have changed?”
“We will wait till we are back.”
Two weeks later they were in space. The first eleven months was busy but they passed without incident. The workload was heavy but it was like a honeymoon for the couple. Space station duty is intense work periods with times of little activity. Her dad was a ham radio operator. She was licensed when she was twelve and did contesting with him. By the time she was fifteen she held the highest amateur radio license and the commercial radio license. Jason took and passed his amateur radio license test shortly after they started dating. A lot of the dead time on the station was spent operating the station’s amateur radio equipment. Jason held the general class license, one grade below Donna’s Extra which allowed her to utilize frequencies he was forbidden to use. Other dead time was spent together.
With six weeks in their tour they got a call from NASA. When they got on the call they were told the shuttle launch would be delayed three months.
Not: Donna is a work in progress. If you like this and want to see when I post more, go to mysite and subscribe to the RSS feed. You will be notified of new chapters.
My site Ralph Brandt
Other novels
The Night Sniper Chapter 1: on the Beat
Karen: Chapter 1 – The Attack May 9, 2008
Alpha Four Chapter 01: Two Autopsies Mar 11, 2008
Laura Chapter 1 Jan 23, 2008
Jan Chapter 01: School Days Mar 6, 2008
Denise Chapter 01: Success in Hollywood Feb 29, 2008
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