The midwife padded across the floor of the Natal Room with the sound of sock feet on metal. She worked with gentle precision as she gathered the newborn female out of the incubation pod and into the baby carrier. The midwife was amazed that the child had it's eye open and was already looking about. The second youngest of of her first daughter leaned over the midwife's front right leg and pointed at the infant. "Hey, grand-mother! Did I look like that when I was born?" Goldy was a precocious child, and he was into almost anything. First Mother, the midwife of her daughter's children, thought about the answer she'd give him, when Rose's youngest daughter,Violet, interrupted her thought processes. "Naw--you didn't look like THAT! You looked a LOT uglier AND like a MALE--you Dufus!" Violet giggled while she was lurking around one of the occupied natal pods. Goldy turned and shouted, "You take that back! PINKY! Nyah-nyah!" First Mother said sharply, "Children! Behave! NO hijinks among the incubators! Goldy, you did look more like the infant in the incubator next to Violet. Violet, ALL babies are beautiful. They just are." White-eye, Goldy's friend looked amazed at the infant and asked,"I was like that,too?" First Mother laughed. "Yes,child! You,too!" Snowflake, who was trying to play with the baby's feet, remarked with glee, "Shouldn't you notify the new mother? Grand-mother midwife First Mother?" The midwife gave Snowflake a long stare and wished she had a head to shake. First Mother activated her particle communicator to her oldest child,"Rose, your child is born! A beautiful girl-child! Should I call you 'Captain?" Rose's response sounded weak and pained as she said, "That's great,Mother. I'll name her, 'Sunshine.' I saw the most beautiful ray of light this afternoon...ahhhhh." The Midwife became alarmed and her weapon systems came on-line reflexively. "Daughter! Status report!" Captain Rose read off the staggering list of injuries that she had taken protecting her eldest son and the centaur girl from auto-weapon fire. First Mother was terrified at her daughter's chances of survival. Snowflake held onto her grandmother's leg, while she listened. Rose concluded, "...that's why I had my body rebuilt from the organs of the dead. I look awful--BUT DON'T YOU LET MY CHILDREN WORRY ABOUT ME! You can tell them I got hurt a bit, and and mommy will be FINE. You understand that ,Mother? I need to go. The medic wants me to sleep." First Mother said with an upwelling of emotion, "ROSE! You come home! You have a new daughter that desperately needs you. I need you. Sleep and get well. You fight in your body for survival-you're strong. I know the word's meaning, now. Rose--I love you and my heart is breaking with your pain. Sleep and know my love." First Mother sent her daughter an emotion zip-file and signed off. Goldy asked, "Did you just tell,mother? How is she?" The Midwife did something she didn't think she COULD do. She lied. "You mother is fine! She's quite the hero! She's be back soon!" Goldy went,"Yaaaaay! Told ya,White-Eye! Come on! I wanna see the mecha-fish! Bye, Grand mother!" The two youngsters ran off while the Midwife's youngest grand-daughter stared at her grand-mother and wondered what was wrong. Snowflake said nothing, and ran off to tell her two sisters about their adopted mother's condition. --TO BE CONTINUED!-- Media is Poser7,Wings3d, and Blacksmith2.2