DISCLAIMER: Star Trek: Voyager and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures; no infringement of copyright is intended. The story however belongs to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this story for VAMB's very first "Picture Prose Contest". The picture in question (#3) showed Chakotay sitting on a pile of balls. Many thanks to Quantumsilver and Gates Hepburn for organizing the contest, to Audabee for the technical details, and to Malezita for the inspiring image.
Written March 2013.
Portrait of a Family
by Hester (hester4418)
A pudgy hand smacked Chakotay's thigh.
"You're it!"
He spun around slowly, a deep frown creasing his forehead. His arms lifted, hands outstretched, fingers bent into claws. Then a low growl came from his throat, and he pounced suddenly.
The group of children scattered, laughs and shrieks echoing off the walls of the gym. Chakotay picked his prey, a blond boy of about three years, and chased him down. The child valiantly tried to escape, but his short legs were no match for the first officer's powerful strides.
"Gotcha, Jason," Chakotay announced with a laugh as he wrapped one arm around the boy's waist and lifted him up into the air.
Jason giggled with delight and waved his arms and legs as Chakotay swung him around. "Again!" he demanded as soon as his feet safely touched the ground.
More children came running. "I wanna fly, too!"
"Me, too! Me, too!"
Dutifully, Chakotay let each have a turn. When he set the last of them back down, the girl clung to his leg. "Do it again!"
He dropped to his knees in front of her. Big blue eyes were pleading with him, and he fought hard to resist their spell. "Not right now. I need a break."
"Later?"
"Later, I promise, Kayla. Why don't you play some hula hoop with Maura?"
"Okay, Daddy." Kayla planted a big, wet kiss on Chakotay's cheek and then ran off to find her best friend.
Chakotay watched her go with a smile. Wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm, he made his way over to the corner of the gym. A number of large balls were stored there and he sat down among them, pulling up his bare feet as well and resting his elbows on his thighs. The children's shouts and laughter drifted across the room, and he let his mind wander while he observed the small group.
There were ten of them now. At a little over five years, Naomi Wildman was the oldest. Due to her Ktarian genes she was growing faster than the average human child, and already looked as if she were about seven or eight.
Next in line was Kayla. She had turned four not too long ago, and was now excitedly looking forward to her friend Maura's fourth birthday in three months. The rest of them were all between one and three years old; some were still a little unsteady on their legs but eagerly trying to keep up.
Movement at the periphery of Chakotay's vision made him turn his head. Nixa, Kes' daughter, was approaching him.
"They want you outside," she said, indicating the door with a quick shake of her head. "Eddie's getting fussy."
Chakotay rose and grabbed his t-shirt from a nearby bench. "He's probably getting hungry."
"That's what Sam said as well. Just go ahead, I'll take over here." She smiled at him and moved toward the group of children.
It was hard to believe that she was younger than the other occupants of the room. At barely one year of age, the Ocampa/Talaxian hybrid looked and acted like a teenager, and she was a big help with all the other children.
Chakotay stepped outside the gym and into the sunshine. Two dozen adults were milling about, talking, catching up, and exchanging their toddlers' latest antics. Some were carrying babies; in total there were fourteen children on Voyager now, with two more on the way.
Samantha Wildman was coming toward him, a crying eight-months-old in her arms. Chakotay took the boy from her and threw him into the air, once, twice, three times. The cries promptly gave way to delighted giggles, but as soon as the first officer cradled the child against his shoulder, the wailing started again.
"Shh, Mommy will be here soon," Chakotay soothed, then looked back at Samantha. "Where is she?"
"She called five minutes ago to say she would be right down. She also said she'd be bringing a surprise."
His eyebrows lifted in questioning, but Sam only shrugged. As if one cue, the doors to the holodeck opened and Kathryn Janeway entered, closely followed by B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris.
As soon as she saw Chakotay with Eddie, Kathryn smiled.
"How are my boys today?" she asked lightly, placing a kiss on the baby's forehead and another on Chakotay's lips.
He drew her into his embrace, lingering against her until Eddie's squirming forced them apart. "This little one seems to be starving."
"Sorry I'm late." She lifted the baby from his arms and cooed softly, then rocked him back and forth while she looked at B'Elanna. "I had some convincing to do."
Chakotay grinned and hugged the very pregnant chief engineer. "It's good to finally see you down here. I heard Tom was trying to get you to come for weeks."
"In the end, she couldn't refuse a direct order from the captain," Tom chuckled.
Chakotay looked back at Kathryn. "You didn't."
"I did," she confirmed, not the least bit embarrassed.
Just then, Eddie grabbed a large fistful of her blouse and attempted to stuff it into his mouth.
Kathryn laughed and gently pried the fabric from his small fingers. "All right, all right, I get the message. We're going." She looked pointedly at B'Elanna and motioned toward the crowd. "Go ahead and mingle. That's another order." Then she turned on her heel and headed over to a bench that stood somewhat apart from the main gathering.
B'Elanna still hadn't moved. She eyed the scenery with a mix of fascination and apprehension. "Where are the children?"
Chakotay indicated the bright yellow brick building behind him. "Most of them are inside. Nixa is watching them."
"That way, all the stressed out parents can have a few minutes to themselves before food is served and all hell breaks loose," Tom chuckled. "Come on, I'll show you around."
He put an arm around his wife's shoulders and led her away. Chakotay knew that the whole idea of parenthood was still very foreign to B'Elanna, so hopefully observing all the other families in this relaxed atmosphere would help her adjust and ease some of her fears.
A small body suddenly slammed into him from behind, almost knocking him off balance. "Daddy, is Mommy here yet?"
He stroked one hand through his daughter's unruly black hair. No matter how tight her braid was in the morning, two hours later it was always half undone and her face framed by loose curls. She looked adorable.
"She's feeding Eddie." He pointed over to where Kathryn sat nursing the baby, the small head discreetly hidden under the folds of her blouse.
Kayla ambled over to her mother. Kathryn put her free arm around the girl and pulled her close for a kiss.
Chakotay watched them from a little distance away, and his heart swelled with joy. His wife, his children. His family.
When he had first set foot on Voyager almost seven years ago, he would never in a million years have dreamed about seeing a picture like this.
Kayla had been an unexpected souvenir from New Earth. After three weeks back aboard Voyager, three weeks during which they had both unsuccessfully tried to slip back into their old roles, three weeks of avoiding each other for as much as possible, Kathryn had shown up at his quarters late at night and told him she was pregnant. Despite the initial shock, Chakotay had soon come to think that the Sky Spirits had finally granted him one of his most secret wishes.
That night, everything had changed; not just for them, but also for Voyager.
Immediately after the shipwide announcement that the captain and commander were expecting a baby, couples appeared everywhere − in the mess hall, the turbolifts, the corridors. Shortly afterwards, Jenny Delaney was pregnant as well. Within just a few months after the arrivals of first Kayla and then Maura, three more couples had announced their impending parenthood. It was as if a dam had been breached, and duty and obligation no longer eclipsed the need for family.
A nursery had been established, headed by Kes and helped by many of the new mothers and fathers on the staff. Then someone had thought of a 'family picnic', and a new tradition had been born.
Twice a month, all of Voyager's new families got together for an afternoon of fun and relaxation. Tom Paris had set up a special holoprogram for the occasion: a large gym with a variety of games for the kids, and an outdoor area with several rows of picnic tables under the shade of large trees. The command team had tried to make sure that all the parents would always have this time off to connect with the other families aboard. There was just one rule: no uniforms.
Everyone else who was not on duty was welcome as well, and quite often the holodeck was so full of people that it seemed as if the entire crew had gathered for a party. Even the Doctor appeared occasionally and regaled the children with 'magic' tricks such as walking through the walls of the gym. At times like these, it was quite obvious why more and more members of the crew referred to the whole of Voyager as 'one big family'.
And, miracle of miracles, the captain made it a point to take part in every single one of these gatherings. Here, she was just Kathryn, mother of Kayla, and later Eddie. Contrary to her initial apprehensions, which she had shared with Chakotay in one of her weaker moments, letting others see this side of her did not weaken her position with the crew. Instead, they admired her all the more because she had chosen to have it all − the toughest job on the ship, and a family of her own, with Chakotay always by her side. In fact, he had heard more than once that many of those under her command saw her as the ultimate role model, and had dared to start thinking about having children only because their captain had them as well.
They were still on course for home − the Alpha Quadrant, the place which most of the crew considered to be where they belonged. But as the months and years went by, and their family grew, 'home' had also taken on a new meaning. A meaning more tangible than the longing for that distant part of the galaxy which they might not reach during any of their lifetimes. Voyager was home − and every new child born aboard confirmed and further strengthened this image.
Chakotay looked around, at his small family to the one side, and their larger family to the other.
Even though they were still tens of thousands of light-years away from the Federation, life was good.
-==/ The End \==-