Captain Kathryn Janeway was walking down the halls of Voyager, with her Assistant, Naomi Wildman. She didn’t get much time to spend with the young Katarian girl, so she took every chance she could. They were going to go over supplies in the cargo bay, yes that was something for the lower ranks to do, but she enjoyed doing some of this work sometimes.
Naomi had a padd in hand and was rattling off their plan of action, but the Captains mind was elsewhere. She was lost in memory, memory of the previous night. She and Chakotay had been going over reports, when she had a sudden craving for Coffee ice cream. She replicated herself a bowl, and sat down next to Chakotay. She didn’t know what prompted her next move, but, after enjoying a couple bites herself, she began to feed him some. Before she could even think about her next move she found the bowl on the floor and she, underneath him, and she did not want to stop him.
“Captain, did you hear me?”
“Oh Naomi, I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
“Well, I was asking about these supplies, What if we are running out of them? Are we going to have to find someone to trade with?”
“Yes we will. Hopefully soon, but don’t worry I think we have plenty. This is just routine, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for you to learn some more of command.” She bent down close to the little girl; “These are some of the things a starship Captain should be aware of.”
The little girl smiled back, “Aye captain.”
************
They arrived at their destination, cargo bay 1; both noticing that the air seemed slightly charged when they entered, “Computer adjust environmental controls, add 1 percent humidity” that should take care of that, “well Naomi, lets get to work.”
The two of them worked side by side happily logging in the contents of the barrels. Kathryn had to admit she enjoyed doing this on occasion. It brought her back down to reality, which she needed. She at times felt she was losing herself, and swore a while ago, she would not let that happen again. Chakotay was the first to help, and boy did he. Naomi was the second, watching the little girl, Kathryn couldn’t help but feel that she did want children someday, funny how she never felt that before with Mark, but now that she let Chakotay in, the feeling was slowly creeping in.
A couple hours had passed when Kathryn noticed Naomi had stopped and was rubbing her arms, “hey, you feel alright?”
“Yes Captain, I’m fine sorry.” The little girl lied.
“You know Naomi, it’s not nice to lie to your Captain.”
She looked at her apologetically then admitted, “well, my arms feel achy.”
“Achy, hmm. Maybe we should take a little break and go let the doctor take a look.”
“No that’s ok, I’m just not used to this kind of work.”
“Well if you’re sure, but if it begins to feel worse, than you have to tell me. Ok.”
“Aye captain, I will.”
***************
Chakotay smiled to
himself on the bridge, the thoughts of the previous day still fresh on
his mind. More so, the thoughts of the morning were actually more prominent.
The night before, all of his dreams had come true; he and Kathryn had made
love. But in the morning, instead of her trying to make an excuse, she
just snuggled into him, making a comment about not wanting to get up.
She said, she loved him, and she wasn’t going back. It was everything he
had hoped for, and then some. For the first time in a long time, he could
see future, a peaceful future with Kathryn at his side.
*************
Another hour passed, when Kathryn paused to observe Naomi, she was once again rubbing her arms. She put her hands on her hips, ready to give the young girl her best captain’s stance, and as she did so she noticed that her pants felt tight, in fact, quite tight. Her hands made her way around her waste line, and stopped at her stomach, something was not right. She lifted her jacket up and noticed her stomach was slightly swollen. “Naomi, I think maybe we should leave, and go pay a visit to the doctor, your arms are still bothering you, aren’t they?”
“Yes Captain, they are a little, and now so are my legs.”
“Alright, we can come back later and finish checking the supplies, ok?”
They made there way to the door, but it did not open for them, she punched a few buttons, still nothing. Then she reached for the manual release that would not budge them. “Janeway to the bridge” she said into the air, as she slapped her Comm badge.
She heard nothing back; she tried the Comm system once more and still got nothing. “Well Naomi, how about we try the jefferies tube, are you in the mood for a good crawl?”
“Yes ma’am.” Answered Naomi enthusiastically.
The Captain grabbed the manual release and tried to open the door to the jefferies tube, it opened with ease, but as soon as her hand reached forward, she received a shock that sent her flying back. Naomi screamed, and Kathryn lay on the floor slightly dazed.
“Captain, are you alright?”
“Ooh, yeah I’m fine. I don’t think we are going to be able to leave just yet, Naomi.”
“What is going on Captain?” Naomi sounded frightened.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, we’ll be fine. I think we should take a seat over there and rest a bit, while we think of what we can do.” Kathryn was still a bit shaken by the shock she received and thought she should sit down, before she fell down, she just didn’t want to tell Naomi that.
************
Kathryn woke up with a shock, and startled the sleeping Naomi who was in her lap, she glanced at the chronometer, they had been asleep for several hours now. God, her stomach hurt something awful, she realized the pain was coming from her pants, cutting into her skin. She had Naomi scoot off her lap, and she struggled to get up. She reached down, and gasped, her belly was even larger, her pants no longer fit right. She did the only thing she could, undo them, yet kept them on. She rubbed her belly, trying to remember what exactly woke her up, when movement inside of her stopped her cold.
“Captain, what has happened to your stomach?” Naomi asked curiously, reaching out to touch it.
Kathryn unconsciously stepped back, “I don’t know Naomi.” she lied, she was beginning to get the idea of what was going on, and wasn’t sure she should tell the little girl. She looked up at Naomi, “Your hair, … it’s longer.” She said, reaching out to touch it. She remembered the charge to the room, when they first walked in, Naomi’s aching muscles, and her growing stomach. Along with the few other problems that had been happening, such as, the food, they had actually found some food that had went bad. That along with the fact that nothing responded in this room. She was wondering if time was moving faster in here that could mean a temporal anomaly of some sorts. If this was true, they had to get out of here, fast. If Kathryn’s conclusions were right, she was pregnant, and at the rate this pregnancy was going, she would be delivering, by tomorrow at the latest.
“Captain, I can tell something is wrong, I’m not stupid you know. I know everyone tries to protect me, but maybe I can help.” Pleaded Naomi.
Kathryn sighed, She didn’t want to scare her, but she had to tell her something. “Naomi, I’m not sure I have a proper explanation right now, but I have a theory.”
“Ok, what is it?” the child asked with curiosity.
“Well, remember when we walked into the room.”
“Yeah, you changed the environmental controls, cause the room felt funny.”
“Well, we never paid attention to why the room felt funny. I’m wondering if we didn’t walk through a…how do I say this? A temporal anomaly.”
“A temporal anomaly captain? What is that?”
“Well, lets see how I can explain this. A temporal Anomaly is an area of space that doesn’t work the same way the rest of space does. It has it’s own rules.”
“I don’t think I’ve learned about all of that yet, it sounds a little confusing to me.”
“Well, don’t worry, it confuses me too.” Laughed Kathryn.
“So, what your trying to tell me is that a temporal anomaly is here, in this room? So what does that mean, for us?”
“Well, it means that I think we are stuck in one of those anomaly, possibly other areas of the ship are too, we have no way of knowing. And if Voyager doesn’t move away from it, then we’ll continue to experience a time differential until they do. I don’t know if they even realize it’s happening.”
“Captain, could we get real old before they realize it?”
“Oh Naomi, don’t worry. We have already been in here for a long time. They aren’t going to let us stay in here much longer. In fact, I would bet that they already tried to get to us. We just have to wait. OK? We are not necessarily aging here, with an anomaly, there are no rules, parts of us can age, or all of us can. Really honey, I’m sure they are doing there best to get us out of here.” she was trying her best to reassure the little girl.
“Ok Captain. I know they’re going to try. But I still don’t understand why that would make your stomach get bigger.” She laughed, “ you look like the pictures of mommy, when I was still in her belly.”
Damn, she was perceptive. “Well, you definitely are one smart little girl. I’m not going to lie to you Naomi. I think I am pregnant.”
Naomi’s eyes got very wide, “you mean you are going to have a baby?”
“I think so.” She answered. Hoping it would be enough.
“But did you know that you were pregnant?”
Oh Kathryn, you know where this is leading, she thought to herself. “No, I didn’t. Listen, this isn’t exactly a conversation I was planning on having with someone as young as your self. I would like to best explain that this is not a complete shock to me, it is very possible. If time weren’t going faster for us, then I probably wouldn’t know for a few more months. Ok?”
“So, is the baby the Commanders?” Naomi asked with a smile.
“Umm, yes it is.” Kathryn had no reason to lie, but it felt a bit strange that the first one to know about the change in her and Chakotay's relationship was Naomi.
Naomi laughed, “He sure is going to be surprised isn’t he?”
Kathryn joined her laughter, “yes Naomi, he sure is.”
“So, we just have to wait for them to come, right?”
“Yes, now we just wait.”
*************
Wait, yes that’s all she could do was wait, and think. How in the world was she going to explain this? First, she gives in to the feelings that she hid for so long. She loved Chakotay, loved him for a long time, but protocol would not allow her to be in a relationship with someone from her crew. She fought him off for the longest time, pushing him away. But finally the loneliness became too much, and she decided that Starfleet would just have to live with the choice she made. And she chose to let Chakotay know just how much she loved him.
It had been a magical night, one that she would not soon forget. They had made love through out the night, each time they came together, more passionate than the previous. Chakotay was an amazing lover, taking time to pleasure her before taking pleasure himself.
Now, she was pregnant, and going to have a baby anytime now. She suddenly realized that she wasn’t even sure if Chakotay wanted to have any children. They had conversations in the past about children, but he never really gave her his point of view on the subject. What if this wasn’t what he wanted at all? Would she be able to do this by herself? Oh she knew she could, but it was still a little scary thinking about it. She had always assumed having a child would be a conscious decision her and the one she loved would make, not something that would happen in only a matter of a couple of days.
Well, what could she do? In a matter of hours, she was going to be a mother, and she had no choice but to face it. One night, it took one night to conceive this child, what are the chances of that. She was a grown woman, she knew the consequences of having sex, but her boosters should have prevented that. It probably has something to do with whatever has them trapped here. Her scientific mind knew it was an anomaly of some sorts, she just hated feeling so helpless, and so trapped.
*************
“Captain?”
“Yes Naomi?”
“Can you feel it?” Kathryn was doing her best to keep Naomi busy, but curiosity got the best of her.
“The baby? Yes, as a matter of fact, I have been able to feel it a lot in the past hour.” She answered, wondering where their rescuers were.
“Does it hurt?” she asked curiously
“Well my stomach is a little achy, from all the stretching, but the kicks don’t hurt.” She explained.
Naomi sat on the floor, and began chewing on her lower lip. “Alright, what’s bothering you?” Asked Kathryn.
“Well I’ve been thinking. Are you going to be ok? I mean, you aren’t suppose to have a baby this fast, I just wondered if you will be ok?” the little girl was obviously worried.
“I think I will be fine, don’t worry, they will get us out of here before it becomes a problem, ok?”
“What if they don’t? Will I have to help you deliver the baby? Because, I haven’t ever learned something like that. I don’t know if I will know how.” She cried.
“Naomi, don’t worry. I may need some help, but not much,” she lied. “ And I will be able to tell you everything I need you to do.” She pulled the little girl into her arms, doing her best to reassure her.
“Alright.” She said solemnly, it was obvious she didn’t believe her.
***********
“Alright people, I want answers and I want them now.” Barked Chakotay to he crew seated around the conference room table. The senior officers of the starship Voyager had been sitting in this very spot for the past two hours, throwing out one idea after another. They discovered three hours ago the sub space pockets containing the time differentials, and brought Voyager to a complete stop.
“Well, we’ve gone over the data. There is no explanation for it. It certainly wasn’t here before we arrived; I’ve double checked the scans. It showed up when we arrived. It is only in the cargo bay, no where else.”
“So have you been able to determine if the Captain and Naomi are being affected by the anomaly?” asked Chakotay
“I’m going to assume there is going to be some affect, but sensors cannot penetrate it. It’s a temporal anomaly, it has no rules. The entire room could be ‘aging’ or just certain parts, we won’t know until we can get in there”
“And we can’t get in there until we get out of the anomaly. Great!” Chakotay slammed his fist onto the table; he hated being so helpless.
“I know I’m just the pilot here, but if flying into it caused the temporal anomaly, why not fly out of it?” asked Tom.
“Because Tom, it could harm the Captain, we can not take the risk.” Added B’Elanna.
“They are in harm right now, if we leave them in there, they might not survive. Flying out of this area of space seems like the most logical thing to do.” Tom added back.
“Indeed. I do have to agree with Mr. Paris. We should attempt to fly out of this area of space, and have the doctor stand by, to provide assistance.”
“If I may interrupt. I have been attempting to monitor the Captain and Naomi’s life signs. I can’t get much, just that they are indeed alive; I can’t even distinguish between the two of them. But I can tell you one of them could possibly be in distress, if we are going to do something, we need to do it now.” The doctor glanced back at the monitor, not liking what he was seeing.
“Fine, Tom, take the helm, fly us out of here. Doctor let’s get down to the cargo bay, prepare for what ever we find.” Chakotay barked out a few more orders and then followed the doctor out of the room.
**************
The baby had been quite active for the past couple of hours, which was a feeling Kathryn was finding hard to get used to. She had no way to calculate just how far along she was, but with her size now, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be much longer. She almost wanted to laugh, everytime she looked at Naomi, Naomi quickly turned away. “It’s alright you know, to look.”
Naomi looked a little stunned, “I’m sorry Captain, it just looks so … weird.”
Kathryn laughed, “oh it sure does, it feels a little weird too. Want to feel?”
“Can I really?” she asked, taking a step closer.
“Of course, here put your hand right here.” She directed Naomi where the most activity was taking place.
Naomi gently placed her hand on the Captains swollen belly, and jerked it back away when she felt a kick. “Wow, you really have a baby in there.” She said, almost like she didn’t believe it before.
“Yes, I sure do.”
“How much longer before it comes Captain?”
“Well, I’m not really sure. We have no way to tell for sure until we get out of here. I’m going to guess that I’m pretty close to the end. I don’t know exactly how fast time is going here, I’ve lost track of time to tell the truth.” Kathryn suddenly felt a strong pain, rip across her stomach. She tried not to show the pain, but it was so strong. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. She wanted to scream but seeing Naomi from the corner of her eye helped her to swallow the cry
“Captain?”
“Oh boy, I think the baby is coming.” Kathryn groaned.
“What should I do?” Sounding a little panicked.
“Its ok… I think I need to sit down.” The contraction seemed to stop, but then started up only minutes later. “Oh god… this is going much faster than it should.”
“Captain, please? What do I do?”
“I’m sorry honey.” She tried her best to reassure the little girl, “It’ll be ok.” Kathryn made it to the floor, and leaned against the bulkhead, readying herself for the next assault. She breathed through the next contraction, and then looked up to meet Naomi’s eye’s, “look, Naomi, I may need your help here.”
Naomi gulped, “Me? Why me?”
“You’re the only one here, look, I’ll tell you what to do. I should be able to do most, but not all, ok.”
Naomi took a deep breath, pushing her fears aside, “OK, just tell me.”
“Well, first of all, look for a med. kit, we will need it when the baby is born. The blanket, and ohhhh….” She was practically panting; she did her best to control her breathing through this one. “I shouldn’t need much help until its time for the baby to come, you may have to help guide the baby out. When it comes wrap it up in the blanket and give it to me. We’ll figure everything else out from there. Here Naomi, I have to get my pants off, I think I need your help.” Kathryn didn’t like putting Naomi in this position, but she really had no choice.
“I hope we have help by then.” Stated Naomi, as she started helping the Captain, pull of her pants. She never imagined doing this when she woke up this morning.
“I hope so too.”
************
Kathryn looked up
at the little girl standing next to her; this wasn’t fair to put her through
this. This wasn’t fair that she had to go through this so quickly. What
was Chakotay reaction really going to be? She knew he loved her, there
was no doubt about that, but did he want a family? Did she, really? Between
each contraction the thought came back to the same thought, were they ready
to be parents, just days after first consummating there relationship? Yes,
at least she was. She would be ok, they all would be ok, they had to be.
************
Naomi’s eyes suddenly grew wide, “Captain, what is it?”
“I think I have to push.” She explained through each breath.
“Does that mean the baby is coming?”
“Ohhh god. Yes honey it does.” She felt like she was being split in two, As each contraction hit, she gave as strong as push as she could. All the while Naomi stood back, part in excitement, part in fear, and watched. “Naomi, I need you to look and see if you see the head. Can you do that for me?”
“Umm, you want me to look, is it ok to look there?” she asked a little uncertain.
Kathryn wanted to laugh; Naomi was such a precious child. “ It’s ok to look there right now, I need you to see how far I’m progressing.” The contraction hit again, and she bore down.
“Captain, I see the baby, wow, I really see the baby.” She said excitedly.
As soon as she caught her breath she asked, “The head, or the feet?” Oh god this hurt. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She should've been in the sickbay, with Chakotay and EMH and a lot of painkillers
“Well, that has to be the head, there’s a lot of dark hair.”
“Ok, at the next contraction, I’ll push real hard, and hopefully I can get the head out, you’ll have to help, ok? Gently hold the baby’s head, and help support it as the rest comes out ok?” Kathryn explained breathy.
“Ok, I’m ready.” Naomi said, nervously kneeling between Kathryn legs.
Kathryn bore down hard, and managed to get the head out, Naomi quickly grabbed the baby’s head, cradling it between her small hands. Kathryn once again bore down hard, but found it harder to get the rest out. She leaned back against the bulkhead, gasping for breath.
“Come on, the baby is almost here, you can do it, you can do anything.” Coached Naomi.
Tears came to Kathryn eyes, this child was so young, and yet handling the situation with such grace. The next contraction hit, and Kathryn leaned forward and bore down. With that strong push, the baby slid its way into the world.
Naomi stared in wonder at the baby now laying in her arms, “Captain, it’s a girl and boy is she messy!!" Kathryn almost laughed out loud.
Kathryn was still doing her best to catch her breath, “Naomi, wrap the blanket around her, and hand her to me.”
Naomi did as ordered, carefully wrapping the baby up, “What do we do about this? It’s the umbilical cord, isn’t it?”
“We need something to tie it off with, then cut it.”
“Cut it, can we do that? I mean, there’s a lot of blood in there.”
“It’s just fi…” she didn’t have to finish, the cargo bay doors opened, and Chakotay and the Doctor rushed in, only to come to a complete stop.
“Kathryn?” Chakotay said, completely bewildered.
Kathryn looked up and wanted to laugh, Chakotay’s expression was completely priceless, she didn’t know what to say to him, so she said the first thing that came to mind, “Surprise?”
“Naomi,” said the doctor, “you did all this?” he was amazed the little girl could handle all of it.
“Uh-uh, the commander put her in there, I just helped her get out.” She commented, sending roars of laughter throughout the cargo bay.
**********
The doctor wasted no time, he made sure the trio were stable, then rushed them all off to sickbay, on their way, he called Tom Paris to come assist.
Chakotay hadn’t said a word, he still looked to be in complete shock, but the grin on his face still hadn’t left. He helped Kathryn onto the bio bed, and leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips.
Kathryn was busy inspecting her from head to toe, picking up the tiny hand, and caressing the little fingers. She reached for the little foot, pulling it out of the blanket, but it quickly shrank back in. “We have to think of a name for her.”
“Hmmm, what do you look like little one?” Chakotay asked his newborn daughter, quickly getting used to that idea, “A name means everything, it becomes a part of who you are.”
“We never had any time to think about this. I’ve always loved the name Emily, how about Emily Rose?”
“It’s perfect, hello Emily Rose, I’m your daddy.”
“Doctor, when can I feed her?” asked Kathryn.
“Do you plan on breastfeeding?”
“Well, I never gave the idea much thought, but I think I would at least like to try it.” She answered honestly.
“Well then, I would suggest trying it now. Now daddy, I think you have an announcement to make.”
Chakotay grinned from ear to ear, “Kathryn, do you mind?”
“Of course not, the honor is yours.” She smiled back at him.
Tom came in, just before the announcement, and just stood in the doorway, mouth gaping open.
“Is there a problem Mr. Paris, I need you to check Naomi over.” Said the doctor.
“Where did the baby come from?” he asked, stunned.
“I delivered her.” Naomi said proudly.
Chakotay just shrugged his shoulders, his big hands caressing the baby’s cheek, “if you haven’t figured that out by now Tom, I’m not going to tell you.”
“But… never mind, make your announcement commander.” He laughed, knowing he would get an explanation later. He turned to Naomi, to make sure she was all right.
Chakotay opened the shipwide channel, and let the whole ship know about the new addition. “Attention all hands, I know this will come to a shock to all of you, but I would like to announce the arrival of my daughter, Emily Rose Janeway, four pounds 3 ounces, and just as beautiful as her mother. Both mother and daughter are doing fine.”
He could almost here the cheers throughout the ship; he turned back to Kathryn, to find her crying. “Hey, are you ok?”
“I didn’t know I would feel like this, it’s so over whelming.”
“It sure is, a new life, our daughter, never had I imagined getting this chance. And definitely not in a matter of a couple days.” He added.
“Chakotay, this isn’t fair to you! I can’t expect you….”
“Now stop right there Kathryn. We both made the choice to get in bed together, and by doing that we made a commitment together. I, for one, am prepared to spend a lifetime with you. And I was hoping it would someday include children. Just because we didn’t have a chance to discuss this first, doesn’t mean I will love her any less.”
“Chakotay, what did I do to deserve you? You have been so patient with me all these years. This isn’t going to be easy you know.”
“Kathryn, it wouldn’t be easy if we planned this, so we don’t have time to prepare, we will make do.”
“What about the crew? What are they going to think?”
Chakotay smiled, “I think that they are going to think that we have the most beautiful little girl in the delta quadrant. Don’t worry love, it’ll be ok.”
*********
Kathryn sat on the biobed, feeding Emily. The doctor had just given her the latest test results. She had him check, make sure Emily was ok, due to the shock she received in the cargo bay. Also to why she got pregnant in the first place, she was on the birth control boosters, it should have never happened. Not that she minded anymore, no, she fell in love with Emily the moment she laid eyes on her, maybe even before. But she was a scientist, and she wanted an explanation.
“Well Captain, as far as your daughter goes, she is perfectly healthy. I see no ill effects or none possible in the future. As far as the birth control goes, there is no sign of the booster I gave you. The best explanation I can give you is that the anomaly completely dissipated it.”
She sighed, looking down at her daughter, “It’s all so much to deal with, try to figure out.”
“Does it really matter, Captain?” asked the doctor.
“No, I guess it really doesn’t. I love her, and wouldn’t change a thing.” She said with all of her heart.
“Well then, I think you are both fine, and are ready to be released back to your quarters.”
“Thank you doctor.” Kathryn leaned back onto the bio bed, to wait for Chakotay, cradling her daughter to her breast. “Doctor, so Naomi is ok?”
“She’s just fine, a couple inches taller maybe, but otherwise fine.”
Naomi approached the biobed; “Can I hold her when she’s done?” She asked.
“Well, as soon as the commander gets here, I was heading back to my quarters, you can come with us, and hold her there, ok?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Just then, Chakotay entered, “Hello Naomi, So how are my beautiful girls?” he asked as he approached Kathryn.
“We are just about done eating, ah change that, we are done. Here, would you hold her while I get out of this awful gown? You know, at least I didn’t have to wear that awful maternity uniform.” She laughed as she headed off to change.
He carefully lifted the now sleeping infant from Kathryn’s arms, “hey my little rosebud, how are you today?” Kathryn smiled, and headed off to change.
*********
Kathryn entered her quarters and gasped, Chakotay had been busy. There was now a crib in the corner of the room, with a mobile hanging above it. On the couch, was a pile of clothing, “that is from the crew, they thought we should have something to start with.”
“I don’t believe it, I can’t believe they did all of this.” Kathryn commented, sitting on the couch. She began going through all of the little outfits, trying to find one to put on Emily. “Hmm, what about this one?” she asked. It was white eyelet, with roses for buttons going down the front.
“That one is from Tom and B’Elanna. Cute, isn’t it?” laughed Chakotay.
“Oh it’s beautiful.” She changed the infant into the outfit, and lifted her up. Naomi was patiently sitting on the chair, waiting her turn with the baby. “Ok, careful now, make sure you support the head.” She cautioned as she laid the baby in Naomi’s arms.
“I know Captain, I’ll be careful.” Naomi said proudly. “Captain?”
“Yes Naomi?”
“What are you going to tell her, when she get’s older?” She asked.
“As in?” Kathryn asked back.
“Well, about all of this, her birth and all. It is a little weird.” Naomi said honestly.
“It is, but in the end it doesn’t make a difference, I love commander Chakotay. I do believe we would have eventually decided to have children, and the circumstances of Emily’s birth don’t make a difference in the long run!” Kathryn stated. “And, we have to let her know who her doctor was.”
Naomi smiled, “Me? Yeah, I guess it was me.”
“I am so proud of you Naomi, you did a wonderful job helping me out in there. I don’t think I could have done it with out you.” Kathryn praised the little girl.
“It’s part of my job Captain, I’m the Captain’s assistant, remember.”
“You were sure surprised, weren’t you commander?” laughed Naomi.
*************
*************
*************
Naomi sat on the couch listening to Emily. She was clearly upset by her parent’s latest fight. “Hey, parents fight all the time, you know this.”
“I know, but it’s been two days. What if he isn’t planning on coming back this time?” Emily had tears brimming in her eyes.
“Your dad loves your mom, you should know that. He’ll come back.” Naomi wanted to reassure her the best she could. Everyone knew that the former Captain and Commander clashed on more than one occasion. "Tom Paris always said that they would have to be careful in the type of house they buy, because the way the sparks flew when they got together, they’re liable to burn down a typical wood house.”
Emily couldn’t help but laugh through each sniffle, “Ok, so your right there. They always get into arguments, and sometimes dad does go off for a while. But he always came back by the end of the night, and they always made up. It’s been a long time now, Mom is always crying, Kol is being a real pain, and I’m going crazy.”
“Emily, you know all about how you came into this world.”
“Yes, Dr. Naomi, I do. Mom and Dad told me all about it long ago.” Explained Emily.
“I guess I want you to realize that, despite their love for you, it was hard on them. Neither of them had any time to adjust to the fact that you were there all of a sudden. They loved you, that is for sure, but no one talks about the time in-between. I didn’t understand then, but I do now.”
“Like what?”
“Emily, come on. You’re a smart girl. Could you imagine making love to a man one night, and the next your almost ready to deliver his baby?”
“I’m fifteen Naomi, I don’t even want to think about kissing a boy, let alone… but no, I guess I can’t. So are you saying that if I didn’t happen that maybe mom and dad wouldn’t have stayed together?”
Naomi thought a minute, “No that’s not what I’m saying at all. I was young and yet I was old enough to understand why your mom held your dad off for so long. I wanted to be the Captains assistant; I read all that I could. So I knew all about protocol, it clearly stated that your mom could not get involved with a member of her crew. She gave in one night, with possibly the promise of more, and wham! You were there.”
“Yeah, I guess your right, talk about speeding up a relationship.”
“Don’t get me wrong Em, they love each other, there is no doubt about that, but you can’t really expect that it was all easy. You know, maybe you should have this conversation with your mom or dad.”
“We don’t even know where my dad is.”
“I’m sure your mom does, go talk to her. Find out the problem, and see if you can help. I’ll even come with you, you’ll see, it’ll be ok.”
Emily smiled, she had found through life that she could always turn to Naomi when she needed to. The two girls shared a bond that went beyond friendship; she got up to hug Naomi, “Thanks doc, your great.”
***********
Emily opened the door to her family home and allowed Naomi to enter first, the first thing they both noticed was the playful sounds coming from the kitchen. Emily rounded the corner to peek into the kitchen, to see her mom leaning into her dad, he was nuzzling her neck, “You know, we’re not going to get dinner cooked at this rate.”
“The kids are gone Chakotay, we have time.” She whispered seductively.
Despite the fact that she was happy to see her dad home, she didn’t want to see the spectacle that was about to happen. Emily cleared her throat to let her presence be known.
“Hello rosebud.” Chakotay said cheerfully.
“Hi daddy, your home!” she sounded surprise.
“Of course I am. I don’t think I could have survived any longer away from your mom.” He laughed, kissing Kathryn on the neck.
“I would have killed him, and still will if he doesn’t get dinner going.”
Kathryn walked out of the kitchen, watching the expression on her daughter’s face, “Honey, what is it?”
“I thought he wouldn’t come back.” She whispered to her mother.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to affect you so much. We had a fight, and I told him to leave, but he knew we just needed to cool off.”
“So where have you been, Daddy?”
“At the paris’ trying to drive them crazy, I hate fighting with your mother, but we sometimes just clash. I guess we always have.” Chakotay knew that to be the truth, it was part of what attracted him to Kathryn. She was like a ball of fire, who burned a path straight to his heart.
“I just thought…” Kathryn put her arm around her daughter.
“You thought what honey?”
“Well, I guess I’ve been wondering, if I didn’t happen, if you would be together at all? Did my being her force you two to stay together?” Emily was almost crying.
“Emily, is that the impression we have gave you?” asked Chakotay, concerned. “I love your mom, I had for a long time before we got together. Yes it is true that you may have not come if it wasn’t for that spatial anomaly. But I guarantee you that it only means you would have come a couple years later.”
“Honey, you were a surprise yes! But a very loved one! The problems me and your father have is nothing to do with you.” Kathryn smiled at her daughter; “It has to do with my temper, and your father’s stubbornness. Two traits that you have too, so your future husband is in for one hell of a ride too.”
“Future husband, mom I’m fifteen, please.” Laughed Emily.
“And don’t think I haven’t noticed you eyeing that boy down the street, you can’t fool your mother you know.”
“Yeah mom, I heard her tell Naomi that she wants to kiss him.” Kol just came home and managed to sneak into the conversation.
“Kol, shut up, I did not. I’m going upstairs with Naomi, to get away from him.” She said sticking her tongue out at her brother, then shoving Naomi towards the stairs. He laughed, then ran out the door.
Just as Emily reached the stairs, she looked back towards the kitchen, and smiled at the sight. Her mom, in her dads arms, he gently kissing her. She should have known there was nothing to worry about, the love her family had, surpassed it all!
END