Thanks to mistyfur, Jenetri, and Steph7085 for your kind reviews!
Rating still remains a T for this chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Charming Prince
They reached sickbay in record time to find B'Elanna standing beside the Captain. She had her hand resting uneasily on the Captain's still hand. She had never been very good with this kind of thing. She had always blamed her Klingon heritage; but, truth be told, she found non-sexual contact – especially with another woman – very unsettling. It was as if she was opening herself to feel and allow friendship and caring to invade the walls she had built up over the years to protect herself from being hurt and disappointed. Nonetheless, her Captain had been there for her when times were difficult; and, she knew how important touch was to Kathryn…so she would be there for her in return.
She was startled as Chakotay practically knocked her down in his attempt to get close to the Captain. B'Elanna moved back to stand beside Tom. What they saw developing in front of their very eyes left them both speechless. This, for Tom and B'Elanna, was a rare event!
Chakotay gently caressed Kathryn's face with his hands. It was almost reverent the way he touched her. His hands drifted down to her neck, shoulder, and arm to finally claim the hand that B'Elanna had been holding only a few seconds before. He had forgotten all about protocol and the other nonsense Kathryn continually reminded him about. All that existed in his world right now was the woman laying there with her eyes closed, looking as pale as death itself. He kissed the hand that he had captured; and then held it near his mouth as he began to murmur words of encouragement softly to her.
The Doctor had already completed his preliminary scans of the Captain. He knew exactly what was "wrong" with her; he just wasn't sure how he was going to tell both of them. Additionally, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain to them how it happened (the obvious reasons aside!) He decided that the direct approach had always worked, somewhat, in the past for him; so he decided to use it now.
He walked over to the biobed and cleared his throat to bring the Commander out of his reverie. At the same time, he placed a hypospray to the Captain's neck to bring her back to the world of the conscious. He had already started providing her with some nutrition supplements; but, he knew that it would be a few more doses before her color began to return.
When he had both of their attention, he began.
"Captain, Commander – I have something I would like to show you that, I believe, will shed some light onto the Captain's condition."
Chakotay looked frightened. "Please, Doctor, let's see it."
The Doctor pushed a few buttons and a screen arose out of the biobed and covered Kathryn's midsection. He pushed a few more buttons and then directed their attention to the monitor.
Everyone was silent as the reality of the situation sank in. Since no one said anything, the Doctor assumed that they did not understand. So he explained, "Captain Janeway – you are going to be a mother in approximately 6 months."
Chakotay hit the floor with a thud.
Upon hearing Chakotay hit the floor, Kathryn turned on the bed to make sure he was ok. The sight that greeted her caused her to break out in a large smile and then into a fit of giggles. Chakotay was lying, however unceremoniously, on the floor with a huge grin covering his face. She looked back up to the Doctor; and, once she contained her giggles, said, "I certainly hope he handles the birth a little better."
The Doctor raised one eyebrow and replied back, "Let's certainly hope so. Shall I wake our charming prince?"
Having settled back onto the biobed, Kathryn replied, "Yes. Thank you, Doctor." Once the Doctor had successfully brought Chakotay back to the world of the living, he remembered that Tom and B'Elanna had been witness to this whole exchange. He decided it was time to excuse them (and hope the Captain and Commander were not too angry at him for sharing this with other's in the room). He figured they would need some time alone as well.
He glanced at the Captain and Commander, amazed at what he saw before him. Chakotay was once again at Kathryn's side. He was holding her hand and had this look of pure admiration on his face. Kathryn's face still registered some shock; but, had a look of motherly love and concern radiating from her face as she asked Chakotay if he was alright. It will be interesting, he thought, to see what transpires next between this increasingly complex couple.
"Mr. Paris, Lt. Torres, I believe it is time for you two to make a hasty exit. I need to speak with the Captain and Commander in private…which is what I should have been doing all along." The Doctor instructed firmly in his no-nonsense voice.
They both surveyed the Doctor and then the Captain and Commander's faces and knew that this was no time for argument. They turned stating they would check back on both later. As they began to walk towards the doors to sickbay, Tom leaned toward B'Elanna and was just about to whisper, "Wait 'til the crew hears about this!" He was interrupted by a commanding voice.
"Mr. Paris." He stopped in mid-sentence and turned.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I trust that you will keep this matter in the strictest of confidence until I tell you otherwise. Is that understood?" Janeway's tone of voice – though still weak – left no room for misunderstanding.
Tom reluctantly agreed, "Yes, ma'am."
B'Elanna smiled up at him realizing that keeping this a secret for more than one minute could possibly kill the young pilot. She also knew, as did the Captain, that he would honor her trust and not tell a soul until she gave him permission to do so.
Locking arms and smiling at each other with the secret they now possessed, Tom and B'Elanna left sickbay.
Once they were alone, the Doctor waited for the inquisition to begin.
Janeway propped herself up, with Chakotay's help, and then looked directly at the Doctor when she spoke, "Aside from the obvious explanation, Doctor, how in the hell did this happen? We both have been very regular in taking our fertility suppressors. I don't understand."
"I assure you, Captain, that I will do everything in my power to determine what error caused this incident."
Smiling, Kathryn responded, "It's not an incident, Doctor…it's a baby." She stopped for a second and looked lovingly at Chakotay. Taking his hand, she continued, "Our baby."
Chakotay thought his heart would swell from pride. He had been waiting with bated breath for her decision on what to do. He could only hope that this meant…he had to find out. "Does this mean you are agreeing to keep it?"
"Oh, Chakotay…how could I, in good conscious, seek any other alternative?" At that moment, all protocol forgotten, he embraced her. They tightened their embrace as if they were the life forces needed to sustain each other.
Finally, the Doctor could stand no more of this public display of affection. He cleared his throat and spoke, "Excuse me. I stand corrected – the child will no longer be referred to as an…incident. However, as the physician in charge of suppressing the fertility of other crew members, I feel it necessary to conduct an investigation. If I may proceed?"
Smiling up at him as she broke from Chakotay's embrace, "Of course, Doctor."
Just as the Doctor was beginning to scan Kathryn and Chakotay, a bright light appeared; and, with it, Q.
All three together replied, "Q!"
"Well, I see I've not been forgotten since my last visit. Nice to see you again, Kathy; and, I guess you too Chuckles." Q began in that irritating, condescending tone of his.
Chakotay started toward him; but was quickly thwarted when he felt Kathryn's hand on his arm.
"It's alright, Chakotay. What do you want, Q?"
"Well, I thought I'd save the Doc here a little stress. I'm responsible for Kathy's impregnation."
"What the…" Chakotay started toward him again. Even Kathryn began to panic as she digested what she thought he was trying to say.
Q quickly snapped his fingers and caused everyone to freeze. "Now, that's better. If you all would chill…no pun intended…I will be happy to explain. First, Kathy, it is not my child you are pregnant with. Chuckles here is responsible for that. Although for the life of me, I still can't understand why you would choose him over me, but…Oh sorry, I digress. I am responsible, of course, for providing the catalyst that brought the two of you together; and, to continue my appreciation for your help with the Continuum, I reversed the effects of your suppression boosters. In other words, Kathy, those boosters were so ineffective that you're lucky you didn't get pregnant until now – especially with the way you two have gone at it!" Having completed his explanation, he snapped his fingers to allow them to resume normal activity again.
The Doctor was the first to recover, "Well, at least that explains that. I trust, Q that you have not 'tampered' with any other medical supplies in sickbay?"
"No, Doc, I haven't. Kathy and Chuckles here are the only ones that need that kind of help. Although, I must admit, that it might be fun to play around with that engineer and pilot some – now there's an interesting pair."
"Q!" Janeway and Chakotay shouted in unison.
"Alright, alright. All I can say is…I got you this far, Chuckles – you are in for a wild ride for the next six months or so." And, with that, he snapped his fingers and was gone as quickly as he arrived.
The Doctor was the next to speak, "Captain, I'm prepared to release you with some conditions."
"Why did I know you were going to say that?" Kathryn replied sarcastically.
"Captain, I trust that since your body now provides a home for your and the Commander's child, that you will exhibit a little more concern for your welfare than you have in the past. I expect you here on a monthly basis for a checkup. As the gestation period nears the end, the visits must be more frequent. Is that understood?" The Doctor's voice, this time, left no room for misunderstanding.
Chakotay didn't even give Kathryn an opportunity to respond, "You don't have to worry, Doctor, I'll be personally responsible for both her and the child's welfare."
Kathryn opened her mouth, as if to protest, but then shut it again quickly. She did, however, shoot the Commander that 'this conversation isn't over yet' look before she jumped off the biobed. "I'll see you in four weeks then Doctor, as agreed."
The Captain and Commander strode out of sickbay on their way to her quarters for what they both knew would be a very interesting conversation.