MAY 8th, 7:56 PM

Kathryn sighed happily in her bath while her Hawaiian Paradise bath bomb fizzed away.

Chakotay came in to brush his teeth, though he looked a little worse for wear. Unlike her mother, Kaya wasn't a big fan of bath time. That wasn't entirely true. Most of the battle was just getting her in the tub. Oftentimes, initial attempts to bathe the girl ended with the three-year-old streaking through the house, and now at nearly eight and a half months pregnant, Kathryn couldn't even help wrangle her.

Fortunately, once she was in the tub, it was like she'd entered a water park. She could stay in there playing with a mere washcloth until her fingers wrinkled into prunes. Which she had done tonight. Chakotay was just thankful that she was pretty good about going to bed after bath time, and tonight was no exception.

"Remind me to thank B'Elanna for these bath bombs. They're wonderful to soak this achy-breaky back in," Kathryn said.

Chakotay smiled at her, and knelt next to the tub, "I keep forgetting."

"Just like I keep forgetting to thank B'Elanna," she chuckled, "but I have an excuse. I have baby brain. What's your excuse mister?"

"Couvade Syndrome?"

"Sympathetic pregnancy?" she laughed, and patted his stomach, "So that's why you're getting paunchy!"

"Rats. I was hoping you didn't know what Couvade Syndrome was. You don't actually think I'm getting paunchy, though, do you?"

"Of course not. I'm just teasing. You've had to chase Kaya around too much the last few months to get paunchy."

"And Onyx, don't forget about Onyx."

"And Onyx," she added, "but for now, would you help me out of the tub?"

He helped her out, and after helping her dry off, she put her pajamas on.

"Thankfully, I don't think this'll last too much longer," she commented.

"Have you had any contractions?"

"No, not yet. Just twinges. But we both know what that means."

Chakotay laughed. He certainly did. Kathryn had started having twinges three days before she actually went into labor with Kaya. At the time Gretchen had calmly assured him that it had been similar when she had Kathryn and Phoebe. Though, he still had remained somewhat on edge until Kaya had been born. He would probably be calmer this time, but she still expected he would be on edge.

MAY 11th, 8:39 PM

Since she had told him of the twinges, he asked her to spend days at her mother's since he would be busy getting final grades in for the semester before the twins actually came. That's where she was tonight while he sat doing grades. It was rather dull and tedious, but in Indiana, Kathryn's contractions had finally started a couple hours earlier. Unfortunately, by the time he got home at nearly midnight, she'd progressed far enough to go to the hospital.

He watched the comm from Gretchen and found himself frustrated that they hadn't just transported back to San Francisco when her contractions first began. Of course, if they had, Chakotay would've had to ask Tom finish up many of these grades, leaving essays to Chakotay. At least this way, Chakotay had managed to finish all of his grades. It also meant Tom wouldn't have tell B'Elanna, which wouldn't lead to Kaya finding out, since Tom and B'Elanna had graciously, and crazily agreed to having the three year old over for three nights.

Looked like she might be staying a couple more nights. Strangely, though, they never seemed have any of the problems with Kaya that they did. She was always well behaved for Aunt B'Elanna and Uncle Tom. The little stinker. Then again, bath time at their house meant playing Barge of the Dead with Miral. But Chakotay knew that once Kaya found out the twins were coming, she'd start driving Tom and B'Elanna crazy. Mostly because her excitement would cause Miral to ask for a baby brother and sister, too. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about Onyx, since Phoebe was taking care of him.

He sent them a text message, and headed to Starfleet Medical to pick up the EMH. It wasn't that Chakotay doubted the abilities of the doctors at Bloomington General, but they just didn't have the same resources available. Having the Doctor there would ease his mind, especially since the Doctor could issue an immediate site-to-site transport to Starfleet Medical if need be. Unless that happened, Kathryn wasn't going to be allowed to transport anywhere until after the twins were born.

Thankfully, the doctors at Bloomington General didn't anticipate any problems and neither did the Doctor. Chakotay was inclined to disagree, though. When he got there, he was greeted by a resounding, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" from both Janeway women. He was just glad Phoebe wasn't there, too. Apparently, they'd tried to contact him at the Academy, but the message never got through to him.

MAY 12th, 2:00 AM

By 2 AM, Kathryn had been up for the past eighteen hours, and in labor for eight of those hours. She was tired and had only been able to get a couple of short naps in. She'd gone this whole pregnancy without so much as a whiff of coffee. She wanted coffee. And she wanted it NOW.

Of course, the Doctor had spouted off something about it only serving to dehydrate her when she needed to remain hydrated. "You photonic sadist! I ought to have your program examined!" She would've continued her diatribe, but was cut off by another contraction. He provided her with some ice chips that she begrudgingly accepted.

Fortunately, it wasn't much later that Dr. Jessup, one of the residents at Bloomington General, informed them that their birthing suite was equipped with a birthing tub, and since things were progressing well, they had the option to use it. Kathryn jumped at the opportunity. At least, she would've if she could've. Her bed had been reasonably comfortable when she and she mother first arrived. But every two hours the nurses came in with instructions to have Kathryn walk around the nurse's station at least twice. She'd done it couple of times before Chakotay arrived, and both times, her bed had become increasingly uncomfortable. After the third time, it was now horridly uncomfortable.

Finally being able to get in the tub was a saving grace. Chakotay, already standing in the tub helped her in while the Doctor and Gretchen helped her over to the tub. Chakotay eased himself down along with her so that she would sit between his legs with her back to his chest. The water was warm, though not too warm; overall, she found the experience rather soothing. Not to mention, there was a whole different level intimacy she was getting to share with her husband.

She wished it had been more like this when Kaya had been born. That labor had been eighteen hours, ten of which were spent at Starfleet Medical. But Starfleet Medical was designed to hold as many patients as possible in the event of an emergency. Rooms were equipped with only the necessary equipment for their purpose. Birthing tubs weren't a strict necessity, so Starfleet Medical didn't have them. The upside was that Starfleet Medical had access to more effective painkillers and fetal transporters. Those were things local hospitals like Bloomington General didn't always have access to.

But this environment was so much more calming. Even Chakotay was finding himself preferring it to Starfleet Medical. 5:46 saw Kathryn beginning to push, and at 6:13, Shannon was born, followed by Kole at 6:27. They stayed in the a little longer, but both of them agreed, this was best bath they'd ever had.

AUTHORS NOTE

Okay, I'm not a mom, so I can't say this whether this is all terribly accurate. It's probably a bit more idealistic than realistic, but for the sake of storytelling and fun, just go with it. Initially, I was going to have this be a very short humor piece that ended at the point where Kathryn put her pjs. But it just seemed fitting to have it start with a bath and end with one that saw the arrival the twins. Plus, it just kind of makes sense to me that Kathryn Janeway would choose have her children this way because a bath is her "favorite way to relax." Anyway, hope you guys like this one!

~Dr. Amelia Donna