A/N: This started as a one shot I wanted to do for Christmas. Seeing as this time of year isn't really associated with good memories for me these days, I wanted to write and read something that was just simply happy. Seems to take place in the R&D universe and while I had been thinking of a second series already, I hadn't planned on starting it this way. Best laid plans, right?

PS: Oh so you know how hard it was to find a translation for "sister" in Klingon? I had to practically learn the language and put it together myself. "be'nI" is what I came up with for 'sister'; "Duy mach" hopefully translates into 'little angel'; "SoS" is 'mother'; "SoSoy" is 'mommy'; "Bang'wI" is 'beloved'; "jIH muSHa' SoH" is 'I love you'.


Research and Development: Family

Part 1

The door to their quarters opened and a short blue blur flew into the room, colliding with her mother who had been attempting for the umpteenth time to paint her toe nails; an act she had never partaken of before getting married. Who knew ex-Borg had a thing for cute pink-painted toes?

"Ompff!" Even superhuman reflexes can only prepare someone so much for the ball of energy spawned of B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine.

"Evelyn Veya Torres! What have your mother and I told you about jumping on either of us? And where is your big sister?" B'Elanna had just enough time to put the cap on her nail polish before catching her five-year-old spitfire. Her incredible reflexes, speed and agility were only matched by her wife although it was beginning to become obvious that their youngest daughter would likely challenge them both in each category soon enough.

"That I could if you are not working? Sia is still in class with Commander Tuvok." B'Elanna just rolled her eyes and smiled at the innocent look and doe eyes that were so similar to her mother's that her little girl already had her under their power. She also knew to speak without contractions when she wanted to manipulate her momma.

Eve was carried by B'Elanna and shared both hers and Seven's DNA- Seven had done the implantation herself with her tubules during a night of passion between the two lovers during an anniversary- which one B'Elanna was never quite sure, it was Seven who kept an almost unhealthy track of all their 'firsts' and demanded they celebrate them. B'Elanna never once argued against it knowing just how many things Seven missed out on when she lost her childhood. Besides, she loved how much effort Seven put into reminding her of their wonderful relationship.

Eve had her mother's blue eyes but B'Elanna's dark hair and four soft forehead ridges. Her skin was a mild compromise between both her mothers' two differing shades. Currently, she was wearing a blue play dress and was curled up in her momma's lap snuggling and giggling as her momma began tickling and kissing her mercilessly. Her bare legs and feet flailed wildly as she began to squirm in her B'Elanna's strong grip. The little girl did not like to wear shoes and ran around the ship barefoot as much as she could. It was probably due to the fact that the rest of the women in the Torres household went barefoot in their quarters almost exclusively.

"Sorry Lieutenant, once she heard from Neelix that Christmas was coming, she bolted from the mess hall to find you." Standing out of breath in the doorway was what appeared to be an 18 year old Naomi Wildman- Cadet Wildman- with her strawberry blonde hair tied back in a regulation bun and wearing her science blue uniform accented with the gold stripes of her secondary training in engineering. While technically only aged 14, her rapid development and life on Voyager had earned her entrance to Cadet training a year before. Janeway had made a teasing melodramatic production of losing the "Federation's greatest Captain's Assistant" but Naomi had shrugged and innocently pointed out that Evelyn was ready and able to step into the role. Janeway had blanched and told her that no amount of coffee would allow her to ever keep up with the little fireball and besides, she had her own little one to deal with. With Voyager now being essentially a generational ship with currently roughly ten years to go before they reached Earth, Janeway had lifted the ban on having children but had restricted families to one child if they wished so long as they understood and accepted the dangers of doing so and the fact that the ship would begin to get more crowded. B'Elanna and Seven were the only current exception to this rule due to Sia's unique situation.

"That's quite alright Spikes, I'll take it from here; you're now free from EVT guard duty." B'Elanna gave the young woman a playful salute and a nod as Naomi just laughed and headed back to the Mess Hall. Despite Eve being the second oldest of the 'new' kids on Voyager, she was the most genetically advanced due to her parentage AND the most mischievous- even more so in the presence of her older sister. However, when defending her actions to the Captain, B'Elanna and Seven preferred the term 'curious'.

"Momma, is it true? Santa will be coming soon?" A genius already at five, Evelyn already spoke very well, in part due to Seven's strict literary regimen she'd already had planned out and was using on Sia before Eve was even born. She could already speak fluent Federation English, as well as being semi-fluent in Klingon and knowing several words and phrases in Vulcan. Some of the more guttural Klingon sounds were hard for her to produce but it never stopped being adorable to B'Elanna and Seven when she tried. Eve and Sia had also seemed to have their own language that often left them in giggles whenever they had a conversation. B'Elanna suspected she and Seven should learn the language if for nothing else than ship's safety.

B'Elanna made an exaggerated face as she tapped a finger in thought on her chin. "Hmmm, that depends on whether or not you've been good this year. Sia hasn't gotten in trouble all year… much."

"I have! I've been good momma!" Her daughter practically bounced off her lap in glee losing her proper speech as she grew more excited.

"Is that so? What about the time you 'improved' the Captain's coffee replicator pattern?" By age four, she had already figured out- with the help of her sister of course- how to bypass the lockouts on the replicators. Seven had to put Borg encryption codes in their personal replicator in their quarters after they had come home one day to find Neelix asleep on the couch and the floor covered in half-eaten replicated sweets. Evelyn and Sia were on sugar highs and were busy re-arranging… well, everything in their quarters. Sia had been trying to make things more symmetrical and Eve had been trying to make things more 'pretty'.

The little treasure on B'Elanna's lap scrunched up her cute little nose in a look of pure *yuk*. "Aunt Janey shouldn't drink the gross black stuff, it isn't pretty. She should have the sweet pink stuff to drink!" One day while she had been studying with 'Aunt Janey', the Captain had been called to the bridge for one reason or another and Evelyn took the opportunity to change the colour and taste of the Captain's coffee as she thought the bright pink colour and added sugar would greatly improve what she believed was a pungent taste based on what she could smell from the coffee itself.

"Well, your valid opinions about coffee aside, it's never wise to come between the Captain and her coffee. Only her wife ever dares to do that, and only because she's absolutely fearless. However, your SoS and I do think you've been rather good this year so maybe we'll contact Santa and see if he can put you on his 'Nice' list for presents." B'Elanna laid her child's fears to rest with her soft words and bountiful kisses all over her face and forehead.

Eve giggled some more as she squirmed in her momma's arms before pushing back briefly with a look of sudden realization. "Is Santa a Q?"

B'Elanna laughed. "What? Why do you think that?"

"Mr. Neelix says Santa lives in the North Pole on Earth and he flies in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. If he does that and can get here, he must be a Q, right? Sia says it is 'unlikely'."

"Not a bad theory Evie, it actually wouldn't be much at all for a Q to be Santa. Actually sounds like something one of them would do for a few thousand years just for kicks. Don't worry about your be'nI, she likes the idea of Santa but is a bit less imaginative than you. I prefer to simply believe that Santa is just pure magic and is powered by the thoughts and good nature of those people who want to believe in him. Kind of like how we say that Kahless or any other God works 'in mysterious ways'. What do you think?" She and Seven had discussed it and had not directly told their girls neither that Santa existed nor that he was simply made up. They wanted them to be able to enjoy the magic of their imagination as long as they could. B'Elanna felt the familiar warming sensation in the back of her mind get stronger.

"Maybe he's from the place where wishes go?" It was adorable how Eve's young mind could move from logical deduction into an awe-inspired imagination. B'Elanna loved that while both their daughters came into their lives in different ways, they were not forced to be hardened in life for one reason or another and thanked any deities who might listen daily for it.

"And where do wishes go, Duy mach?" Voyager's tall blonde First Officer had just stepped inside the door to their quarters having heard the bulk of the conversation on her way from the turbolift. Holding her right hand was their seven year-old daughter Marisia Anabelle Torres, fresh from her afternoon classes. Two years older and ten centimetres taller than Eve, Marisia "Sia" Torres was originally a member of species 125, very similar to Humans, and had long dark hair tied into a neat bun reminiscent of her blonde mother. Her golden eyes were both unique and highly expressive. She also bore the reminders of her heritage in the form of a few Borg implants that she chose to keep after several discussions with her mothers over the years.

Having sensed her wife and daughter's impending arrival, B'Elanna relaxed her hold on their youngest just before Seven's "Little Angel" turned to her other mother with glee and again demonstrated her near limitless youthful energy by springing into her arms. This was B'Elanna's favourite part of the day.

"SoSoy! Be'nI! jIH muSHa' SoH!" The little blue blur said with excitement once she was in her mother's arms. This was the first part of their routine. Seven smiled while dipping her head into their daughter's neck and inhaled her calming scent before kissing all of her soft forehead ridges. "And your momma, sister and I love you very much." By this time, B'Elanna had moved to join her three favourite girls as Seven shifted Evelyn to her right hip and accepted her wife into her with her left arm. B'Elanna's left arm encircled their eldest daughter after giving her a kiss on her temple just above the silver implant adorning right cheek as her right hand wrapped around her tall wife's shoulder and neck symbolically completing their family. Seven turned to her shorter wife and the two of them repeated the process they had begun long ago that they never tired of.

Their scent was inhaled for a moment and a brief nip of the neck was given before each woman's head slid back, their cheeks rubbing softly against one another until the tips of their noses briefly touched. Looking deeply into each other's eyes they touched foreheads briefly before moving in for the kiss that always said so much more than words ever needed to. Sia leaned into B'Elanna and Evelyn just laid her head on her mother's shoulder and closed her eyes in contentment. This was their Omega.

"Missed you, Blue." B'Elanna reluctantly untangled herself- a little- from her wife and their daughters and led them to the couch so they could all sit together before supper.

"I can tell, you painted your toes… mostly." She grinned and raised a metallic brow in question as she sat down, Evelyn on her lap, B'Elanna and Sia on either side of her.

"May I paint my toes as well?" the normally quiet Sia finally spoke; she'd never tried it before thinking it to be a confusing exercise but over time her curiosity about her momma's nail polish got the better of her. "Me too!" said Evelyn, always wanting to do anything her older sister did.

"We'll do everyone's together later little ones. As for why mine aren't finished Bang'wI, I was interrupted by an extremely excited Evelyn Veya Torres. Neelix let it slip that Christmas was coming so she just HAD to come and make sure she's been a good girl this year." B'Elanna drawled out 'extremely' while looking mischievously at their daughter.

"Our daughters have been good girls this year." Seven said as if any idea to the contrary was simply absurd and wondering if she may need to exact some Klingon/Borg-style vengeance upon anyone who would dare even think such a thing. There have been those who have faced her wrath already. Seven 'Annika' Torres was nothing if not fiercely protective of those she loved most dearly.

B'Elanna just chuckled before kissing Seven on the cheek and got off the couch to take off her wife's boots and give her feet a massage. Seven loved how B'Elanna could always sense when she was in discomfort and immediately moved to try and alleviate it. Lieutenant Myles teased B'Elanna endlessly about being 'whipped' to which B'Elanna would simply shrug and say: "Happy wife, happy life."

B'Elanna began to massage her wife's feet in content silence as Seven and their two daughters talked up a storm about Seven's latest away mission and their family's plans for Christmas.

End Part 1