Just a really short chapter, Life happens!

Chakotay stormed down the corridor, not knowing where he was heading. That look they gave each other, ugh! How could she do this? For so long he thought it was her responsibilities that kept them apart. Her need to maintain her professionalism, protocol, her image as a leader; he had accepted these as the things that kept them from loving each other. Now, he wondered, had she had just strung him along as she made "playthings" out of other crewmembers? No, he couldn't believe that, could he? After a little while he realized he had been walking aimlessly. He needed to pull himself together and return to the bridge.

As he entered the bridge headed directly for his chair "Commander Chakotay, were you not going to give that report to the captain?" asked Tuvok. Looking down he noticed he still had the PADD with the systems reports in his hand.

Damnit!

The conversation with B'Elanna had not come easy for Kathryn. It had been a long time since she had spoken about personal matters with another female. She had some girlfriends, but as she rose through the ranks they become few and far between, and out here in the Delta Quadrant, she had none.

"B'Elanna I need to tell you something, but you have to keep it to yourself. Nobody but you and Tom will know, and I'll need you to keep it that way."

"Sure Captain." B'Elanna waited for Captain Janeway to go on. She took her time and B'Elanna could see how uncomfortable she was, and the difficulty she was having in finding words.

"Captain…"

"B'Elanna, I'm pregnant."

"Oh Captain, congratulations, that's ..." B'Elanna's stopped in the middle of her excitment when she saw her Captain's eyes fill with tears. "Captain, are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Captain Janeway was always "fine".

"Commander Chakotay's I presume?" B'Elanna made it sound like a question, but she really didn't need Kathryn to give her an answer.

"Yes." She said softly.

"The two of you haven't been getting along to well lately, is it because of the pregnancy?" B'Elanna's questions were getting personal and Kathryn showed her discomfort by looking away, but she remained calm.

"No, he doesn't know" then turning back to B'Elanna she spoke more forcefully, "and you are NOT going to tell him,
understood?" It was her command voice she was using now.

"Of course, it is your place to tell him not mine." B'Elanna affirmed, then more softly asked, "So are you two together now?"

"Not anymore, didn't last long." B'Elanna wanted to ease the tension, but didn't know how, so she resorted to a wise crack she thought Tom might use.

"That's too bad; I always thought the old man would have some stamina." She said in a dry manner that was still an obvious attempt at humor. Kathryn was caught off guard, realizing it was a joke, but not expecting one, she laughed. She knew she shouldn't, and normally she wouldn't, but the events of the day seemed to require a little comic relief; she didn't know why but the laugh was exactly what she needed, so she laughed.

The rest of the conversation was a little easier. Once the laughter died down she sadly explained the situation to B'Elanna.

"Chakotay and I became romantically involved on New Earth. The whole relationship only lasted a little under eight hours."

"Why Captain? What happened?" B'Elanna was genuinely concerned.

"Voyager happened; she was returning for us." The lieutenant was trying to decipher what Kathryn's emotions were regarding the rescue, but the Captain was not about to let those feelings show.

"What I need, B'Elanna, is to make sure no one knows about this, not even the Doctor, even with doctor patient confidentiality programed in he still finds a way to tell everyone's secrets! I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this yet and I just want some time to figure out my approach. Can I count on you to keep this to yourself?"

"Of course, Captain, and I'm here for you if you need anything at all." With that B'Elanna gave Janeway a supportive hug, which actually surprised both women, as B'Elanna wasn't the touchy-feely type and Kathryn hadn't counted on B'Elanna offering her emotional support.

Surprised and touched Kathryn simply said "Thank you."

B'Elanna suddenly pulled away and asked, "Captain how are we going to get you prenatal care without the Doctor finding out?"