Disclaimer: I own nothing except the ridiculousness of my muse.

Author's Note: Amelia asked if this story could be J/C and I laughed, mostly because it was J/C from the start. Here's the next chapter, which I hope satisfies the J/C cravings! This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own.


She leaves Sickbay after the Doctor wakes her up. She makes him promise to keep what he saw to himself and makes it back to her quarters just after alpha shift ends. The door slides open on her approach which means Chakotay's already home and it makes Kathryn smile; they've lived together for two years now and it's still a novelty to have someone to come home to. Mark's 'Dear John' letter, sent across the Hirogen relay network, released her from the responsibility she felt to staying faithful to him.

Looking back, she can't pinpoint the moment she fell in love with Chakotay but she'd always kept herself apart from him with thoughts of her fiance back home. She loves Mark, even still, and knows that she always will; he was a childhood friend first, a lover second, and a source of comfort and stability third. His letter alleviated her guilt over her feelings for her first officer and gave her the freedom to have a relationship with Chakotay.

"Chakotay?" she calls out, looking around the darkened quarters with a confused frown. There's a sound from the bedroom and a moment later he emerges, a towel around his waist and his hair wet from the shower. Kathryn smiles, crossing over and kissing him lightly as her arms slip around him. "How was the rest of the shift?"

"Spectacularly uneventful," he replies, kissing her nose with a smile. "How's our littlest crew member?"

She glances up at him with a crooked grin, swatting at him playfully as she asks, "Am I that transparent?"

"Only to me, Beloved. The Doctor contacted the bridge to let me know you wouldn't be coming back in light of recent developments with the Borg baby," he explains while guiding her over to the sofa. They sit, his arm around her shoulders and her resting against his chest, and she sighs.

"She's human," she says and she feels his surprise in the way he stiffens. Looking up at him, she nods. "I know, I was shocked too. The Doctor ran the tests three times just to make sure but there's no doubt about it; she's fully human, aside from the Borg implants."

"Wow. I don't know what to say," he says, squeezing her shoulders gently. "Is the Doctor removing her implants?"

"Yes, he said he'll remove them tomorrow morning." He looks down at her and she glances up at him, shaking her head. "That's not even the worst of it. Not only was she removed from her mother when the Borg assimilated her, Seven said the baby was going to replace the current Queen when she finished maturing." His expression is one of pure horror and she nods, sighing heavily as she leans back into his embrace again. "She'll need a caregiver after the surgery. I told the Doctor I'd find one."

"Spirits," he says softly. "I can't begin to comprehend the depth of the Borg's cruelty. Volunteers are going to line up to offer that little girl a home."

She goes quiet, her mind reeling at his words. She's known that someone's going to take care of the infant but she's getting a sick feeling in her stomach and she's starting to realize why; some part of her, the part that forgets she's the captain of a lost starship in a hostile area of space, wants to keep the child. She wants to take care of her after the surgery and then keep her, giving her a home and two parents who love her unconditionally. The surge of emotion is unsettling and Kathryn stands suddenly, wringing her hands as she paces a few steps from the sofa.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay asks, concern in his voice. She keeps pacing until he intercepts her, grabbing her shoulders and bending a little to catch her eye. "What's wrong?"

"I know I shouldn't," she whispers, her voice weighed down with her unshed tears. "I know it's ridiculous and completely out of the question. Being Voyager's captain takes every free second I have and it's preposterous to even think about but-"

"You want to take her."

She looks up at Chakotay and nods, her tears finally falling as she stares at him and silently begs him to understand. He just smiles at her, compassion in his eyes and support in his embrace when he pulls her to him. She rests her head against his chest and cries - both for the travesty of what that little girl's gone through in such a short life and the emotional upheaval Kathryn finds herself in now. Chakotay says nothing, rubbing her back slowly and holding her close as if to shelter her from the pain of life. When she's cried as many tears as she can cry, she sighs softly.

"I can't even believe I'm thinking about it," she says. "I'm so busy as captain and it'd be so unfair to her, having me as a mother. I'm always stressed and overworked and I can't cook to save my life and I'm definitely not mother material and I-" He cuts her off with a kiss, pulling her close, and it's effective; she kisses him for a long moment until her mental breakdown is averted. Smiling up at him, she lifts an eyebrow. "That was unexpected."

"I had to stop you somehow," he laughs, shrugging. "I figured you'd prefer that over a hand covering your mouth." He looks down at her, his face going serious. "Let's do it."

"Do what?" she asks as she pulls away from, moving to the replicator to order a coffee and tea.

"Let's adopt her," he answers. She turns slowly to look at him, needing to judge his sincerity. He just smiles. "We can do this, Kathryn. I can take the bridge for a few extra hours each day, freeing up your time. Or we can split shifts so that I'm home with her when you're not. We can make this work, you know."

"It's not that simple," she says as she shakes her head, biting her lip to stop the tears that are building again. "It's a huge commitment."

"Then let's at least be her caregivers after her surgery - a trial run, if you will - and if that doesn't work, we'll find someone to adopt her. Let's just try this, Beloved."

She nods silently, hiccuping as she loses the fight with her tears. Blinking rapidly, she marvels at the capricious nature of life; she'd given up hope of having a child, knowing that captaining a lost starship through hostile space isn't a lifestyle conducive to being pregnant and now she's about to become a mother. She's no fool, and she knows Chakotay isn't either; once the baby is with them, there's no giving her up. They're adopting the child, whether or not she's willing to vocalize that just yet.