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They belong to Paramount, but the regular characters are mine

"I don't believe this," Kathryn said as she paced her quarters, reading a PADD. 
"Believe what?" Chakotay's voice drifted in from the bathroom 
"The doctor's report," she said, then interrupted herself to take a swig of coffee. "Another crew member is pregnant. That's five in the last seven weeks." 
"Who is it?" he asked, poking his head out the door. 
"Doesn't say, but I suspect we'll find out soon," she said. 
He chuckled as he came into the sitting room, where he caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His hair was still wet, and she could feel its dampness as he nuzzled her neck. 
"You didn't start breakfast without me?" he teased. 
She leaned back to kiss him. "Nope, just coffee - and that doesn't count." 
Eight months now ... eight months since he'd visited her after the accident on Trinian Prime ... and never left. He'd quietly moved into her heart - and her quarters . Now, she couldn't imagine not having him here in the mornings. Or next to her at night. And couldn't remember why she'd held him off in the first place. 
'You know," he teased, "I told you once we'd need replacement crew." 
"Wasn't planning on being out here that long," she retorted, sitting down at the table. "Seriously, Chakotay, this is going to be a scheduling nightmare. Five crew members off duty ... and that includes B'Elanna." 
He nodded. "I guess we we'll have to cut their family leave. By the way, have she and Tom set the date?" 
She shook her head between bites of bagel. "No, but I have two other requests to officiate. Maybe we could do a triple ceremony." 
He chuckled and shook his head as she stared at the PADD. "How are we going to do this? How are we going to take care of five more children?" she asked. 
"The usual," he replied. "We'll juggle schedules and stretch supplies. Actually, Sam Wildman had a good idea. She suggests building a play area in one of the cargo bays. The children will need a place to blow off steam, and we can't always run the holodecks for them." 
She gave him a half smile. "That is a good idea, " she said, her voice trailing off. 
"But?" 
"Hm?" She looked up in surprise. "Sorry. This bothers me. I can't believe that five women would get careless, or plan to have babies at the same time." 
"What are you getting at?" 
"Not sure," she answered, "But I think I'll see the doctor." She stood up, and drained her cup, only to spit the liquid back in the cup. 
"Bleah! That tastes awful. " She put the cup down, then leaned over the table to kiss him. "And while I'm at it, I’ll have engineering look at the replicator." 


It had been one of those days. Just a steady stream of minor disputes and problems that left her feeling more exhausted than usual. She and Chakotay were halfway to the mess hall when she realized she'd never gotten around to seeing the doctor. 
"Come on Kathryn, it can wait." Chakotay said as she reversed course and headed toward sickbay. 
She shook her head. "No... I'd like to get some answers. Go ahead and eat without me." 
"Nope, " he said, catching up with her. "If I go, at least you'll have a chance of getting out before Alpha shift begins again." 
The Doctor was at his desk, reading a PADD when they entered. "Captain! I was about to hail you," he said. "Is there a problem?" 
She couldn't help it; she gave him her usual annoyed look. "It's not personal. Actually, I wanted to talk with you about this little population boom we're having. Is it possible that something has happened to the birth control vaccines?" 
Chakotay managed to suppress a smile. So that's why she'd been so anxious to talk with the doctor. 
The Doctor shook his head. "No, the vaccines are fine ... that's what I wanted to talk with you about." he said, looking at the floor. "Unfortunately, there is something that I missed in my research." 
"Go on ..." Kathryn urged him. 
"Well, it started with that outbreak of Fredonian flu about eight weeks ago..." 
Kathryn and Chakotay looked at each other. They both had caught it at the same time, and had spent a very uncomfortable 24 hours running to and from the bathroom...  
"It seems," the doctor continued," that the anti-viral medication I developed had the unfortunate side effect of nullifying the effects of the contraceptives. In fact," he grimaced," it had the effect of increasing fertility for a week afterward. So, anyone who had sexual relations in that period is more likely to conceive. " 
Kathryn's eyes widened in horror. She tried to answer the doctor, but nothing came out. 
From the corner of her eye, she could see the shock on Chakotay's face ... being rapidly replaced by the goofiest grin she'd ever seen. 
Their reaction wasn't lost on the hologram. 
"I take it you fall into that category, Captain?" he asked. All Kathryn could do was glare at him, but that, and the flush that was rising on her cheeks gave her away. 
The doctor grabbed a tricorder. "I think I'd better run some preliminary tests." 
Kathryn felt totally out of control. This had to be a bad joke. A baby? She couldn't. 
Then again, in her heart, she knew she wanted children.. Didn't she tell Q that once? 
But not here. Not in this god-forsaken quadrant. 
Chakotay, she noted, didn't appear to be concerned. He was still just standing there with that idiotic grin on his face. 
The doctor stepped back and looked up from the tricorder. "Well, Captain, there's going to be another baby aboard Voyager. Congratulations. It's a boy." 
The look she gave him could have vaporized the hull. "Are you sure?" she growled. 
"I'm afraid so," he said, grabbing a hypospray and shoving it into her neck. "That's a vitamin supplement. Now, I expect you back here on Friday for your first checkup. And Commander," he said, turning to Chakotay, "see if you can improve her eating habits. It's important for the baby. Now, if you'll excuse me..." 
And with that, the hologram fled to his office. 
Curiosity, however, got the better of him. So he peeked around the. corner to see an incredible sight. The Commander was on his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around the Captain's midsection .... and his face buried in her stomach. 


Chakotay paced his quarters, asking the computer for the thousandth time to determine Kathryn's whereabouts. 
Still on the holodeck. Same place she'd been for the last three hours. 
Damn. This wasn't good. His stomach tied in knots again. 
She'd been quiet after the doctor's pronouncement. Too quiet. They'd walked to their quarters in silence, and once inside, she let him hold her and babble about how much he loved her ... how he'd take care of her and their son. She'd held on to him, and returned his kisses, but when he tried to move her toward the bedroom; to celebrate with lovemaking, she'd stopped him. 
"Love, I'm sorry ... I really need some time to think. I need to take a walk." Before he could stop her, she was out the door. 
He stood at the holodeck door, debating. Hell, the privacy lock wasn't on; might as well go in. 
It was night on Lake George. It made sense, this was one of her favorite places. She was sitting on the dock, her head resting against a post, just listening to the waves. 
"Hey," he said, sitting beside her. She smiled tiredly and reached for his hand. "I figured you'd be by eventually," she whispered. 
He took her hand into both of his and kissed it, not sure how to begin. Finally, he sighed. "Kathryn, do you want this baby?" 
She smiled at him again, her blue eyes gleaming. "Part of me wants it very much. I can't think of anything more wonderful." 
"But?" 
"But part of me is scared to death. I thought five children were going to be a problem. This one will cause more trouble than all of them together." 
"Our son won't lack for playmates, that's for sure," he deadpanned. 
The joke brought a chuckle, but her eyes darkened again. "Chakotay, how in the gods are we going to run a ship and care for an infant? And how can we bring a child into this environment? God knows what we'll face next...what if these children had been here when the Kazon took the ship, or the Hirogen overran us? Or the Borg?" 
He grabbed her other hand and pulled her into his lap. "I might remind you, Captain, that Naomi was with us when those things happened, and she wasn't hurt." 
"But ..." 
"And," he said, cutting her off, "as for the Borg ... Children died at Wolf 359. And they were in the Alpha Quadrant, surrounded by the best that Starfleet had to offer. There's no guarantee against loss, Kathryn. Not here, not at home. All we can do is live life to the fullest while we have it." 
"I know," she sighed, looking away from him. "I guess I'm also angry that the choice wasn't ours. Once again this damn quadrant has changed our lives against our will." 
"Well," he murmured into her hair. "that's not all bad. Where would we be if none of this had happened ... and don't answer that." 
She knew, though. Chakotay would be in jail - or dead. She'd be playing part-time partner with Mark and a house full of dogs. And she would have missed the love of her life. 
She settled against him and sighed. "So, Commander, how are we going to do this? 
The knots in his stomach melted. It was going to be all right. 
"I don't have a manual for this," he teased. "Seriously, I heard from Tuvok. He's been combing the database, looking up protocols for Galaxy-class ships, space stations, any place families are stationed. He says he has some ideas. 
"As for us," he said, anticipating her, " it will be hectic, but I have some ideas. Maybe we could talk about them over dinner?" 
"All right," she laughed, and climbed out of his lap. "You win. We do have a lot to talk about." 
"Yup," he said as he rose to his feet. "Baby names ... a wedding." 
She stopped and looked at him, her head tilted to one side, her expression guarded. 
"Chakotay, did you just propose?" she asked, as if she didn't quite believe it. 
Suddenly, he felt like an awkward schoolboy. "Well, yes. I could get down on one knee..." 
She laughed then, and threw herself into his arms. "Silly... Yes ... I'll marry you," she said before his mouth found hers. 
When they broke the kiss, she groaned. "Oh, no ... that's something else. How are we going to do that?" 
"Come on, " he said, pulling her to the door. "I have an idea about that, too." 
-fin- 
            
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