Moaning, she slowly pushed herself a sitting position and looked down. Her belly had grown slightly overnight or so she believed.
And she was hungry again so that was what she would go do.
As she finally pushed herself to her feet, an unfamiliar sensation stopped her cold. Fluttering within her belly was unlike anything she had ever experienced and she was transfixed. The baby was moving within her and now she understood. Her hand drifted to the obvious swell of her belly and she smiled.
It had been a long time since Kathryn Janeway had felt this reflective. Impending motherhood was changing her and part of her wasn t afraid anymore.
Good morning, sweetie. She murmured as she made her way to her replicator.
Multigrain cereal, hot.
As usual, her replicator made it super-hot, so she left in on the replicator to cool a bit. She changed out of her nightgown into loose casual clothes that would still fit despite her current condition.
It was weird. Here she was, captain of an advanced starship, qualified engineer and scientist in awe of what was happening to her. Despite the strange circumstances of her pregnancy and the fact she had only been with child for a day, she fell in love with the baby and was determined to make it work.
If anyone could balance command with motherhood, it was Kathryn Janeway.
She only wished that her mother was there to help. But no matter, Kathryn would tell her that her career oriented daughter was giving her a grandchild in the next data stream.
As she finally sat to enjoy her breakfast, the buzzer sounded.
Rolling her eyes, she figured it was the EMH coming to check on her progress.
Enter.
And she was correct.
Good morning, Captain.
The hologram took out his tricorder and began scanning her.
How are you feeling? Any complaints?
I m fine just the usual complaints stemming from an accelerated pregnancy. My back hurts and I m tired and hungry all the time.
That s to be expected. Your body has had to make some major adjustments in a short matter of time. Speaking of adjustments, any surprises this morning?
Like what? She paused. I feel movement if that s what you mean?
And?
And what? What am I supposed to say? That I have changed my mind about the baby? She took a bite. Okay, I have. I m human, how can I not fall in love with this? Call it a maternal instinct, but I have accepted that I am a mother now.
Well, that s good. The hologram paused. I am pleased to report that the baby is developing properly No genetic issues to report. The child is healthy. He stopped for a moment. Would you like to know what you re having?
Kathryn paused for a moment. Up until this point, it was the child, the baby. She got used to used gender neutral pronouns that she forgot that her child had one. Did she really care what the child s gender was? Not really, because she would love it the same. But at the same time, she was curious. She also wondered what the baby looked like since she didn t know what genetic features the alien DNA imparted. Whatever they were, they weren t negatively affecting her besides accelerating the gestational period of the baby. And she would have been sorely disappointed that she didn t get to be pregnant for 9 months if she wasn t the captain.
A child in under a week. That had to set some records at Starfleet.
Captain?
She snapped out of her thoughts to find the hologram rescanning her.
Oh, I was just thinking. She took the last bite of her cereal. Sure, I would like to know.
You are having a boy. He paused. An energetic one at that.
A son. She murmured as she again felt movement from within. Can you show me what he ll look like?
Yes, Captain. He paused. It will only be an extrapolation based on DNA markers. She nodded.
The hologram entered a few commands into his tricorder, connected it to her computer terminal and brought the terminal to her dinette.
The image of a newborn filled the screen causing Kathryn to cry out of happiness.
He s adorable, Captain. The Doctor said simply. He looks like you.
She couldn t stop crying. Hormones were scrambling her mind. But she was the captain, she had to control her emotions and be strong for everyone. She had to extremely careful not to let her crew see her tears.
She closed her eyes and attempted to focus her mushy mind to control her emotions. Darn hormones.
And if the hologram said anything, she didn t register it. Control, she thought, she had to be in control. And what was happening to her was no excuse.
Finally, Kathryn had control. The tears had stopped.
Thank you, Doctor. She said simply. This checkup was to be concluded. She was fine, the baby was fine. Now, she should do some work.
The hologram removed his tricorder and simply nodded.
Call if you need anything. He said as he left her quarters.
Kathryn knew that her current physical condition precluded her from Bridge duty and that making her usual ship wide inspections were probably not a wise activity today, so she would catch up on her paperwork here in her quarters.
She was relieved of duty, but not of command. As long as she was Voyager s captain, it was still her responsibility to make sure her ship operated in peak efficiency and it was her prerogative to run her ship from wherever she chose.
Cloistering herself in her quarters insured a level of privacy so that only a select few of her crew would know about her surprise pregnancy. Although she wasn t na ve in that rumors spread rampant aboard Voyager, she wanted this to remain private as much as possible.
The Doctor was gossipier than she liked, but she hoped that even he saw the need to keep her condition private with doctor-patient confidentiality. Chakotay usually understood that her personal details had to stay between them.
She relocated herself and her terminal back to her desk. She was due to record a personal log entry, but not sure how to enter what happened to her into the log.
She decided it was wise to mention her pregnancy as objectively as possible in the log. But she had to explain it especially if Starfleet wanted to know why she now had a child. Captains usually didn t stay on active duty when starting a family so her training told her that questions would be asked. But she still didn t have an explanation on how she came to be pregnant. She didn t have relations with anyone, nor was she consciously assaulted. The only thing she could think of as a scientist was that an unexplained alien force breached Voyager s defenses without setting off any alarms and impregnated her and two other crewmembers when they slept. And that their medical science couldn t explain why the fetuses was developing in an ultra-accelerated rate nor explain why the pregnancies couldn t be terminated.
Voyager would have three new crewmembers in a matter of days. So, keeping with their custom, Kathryn and her crew would accept these new lives into their group, their community. Especially her son.
Now, on to the sensor data from the fateful night. She had to understand what had happened to her and her crew. She had to understand why her life changed so drastically in less than 48 hours.
The sensor data was largely unremarkable that night. Standard sensors didn t pick up anything, but she knew that Voyager s sensors weren t able to pick up everything. Time and time again, some alien ships proved to be impervious to their sensors. Work arounds tended to only be temporary and if they didn t know what to look for, alien ships could pass undetected.
So, she focused on the almost undetectable disruption of the shield bubble that only showed up for a fraction of a section. Was the disruption an indication of a transporter of some sort? If so, how did the aliens not show up on internal sensors? As a Starfleet officer, she had to know.
So she used every algorithm she knew to filter the sensor data. And one by one, no answer, no answer, no answer.
Until a long shot entered her mind. It would not help her find an energy signature of the alien ship or narrow down a transporter signature, but it might confirm the alien intrusion and it would be a start.
The alien DNA was partially in their database from the fetal scans made by the EMH. Her pregnancy was the answer. She could extrapolate the alien bio signature from her son s fetal scans. Just subtract her DNA pattern from her son s DNA pattern and she should have something to look for in the sensors.
Just then a kick caught her attention. Her hand went to her swollen abdomen and rubbed it.
Hey kiddo, your mama is about to find some answers.
The hologram wasn t kidding. The unborn child was very energetic so she was glad she wasn t trying to sleep because she wouldn t be able to.
She pulled up the fetal scans taken only hours before then pulled up her own DNA records kept within the crew manifest.
She then created a filter algorithm which analyzed and removed the human genetic code to reveal the alien genome.
Computer, load Janeway algorithm theta two four, list any sensor data during the past 48 hours that matches the parameters.
While she waited, Kathryn closed her eyes and let her mind wonder. She imagined her son at various ages growing up aboard her vessel. What would her days look like? She knew that extended Bridge duty was out of the question as a single mother, but how would that affect her style of command? But she knew that her son would bring out a part of herself she never let anyone see before not even herself. He would bring her enormous joy and happiness in his development. She would now understand her own parents pleasure over her accomplishments.
Sensor data found. The voice of the computer interrupted her musings.
Display data.
As she scrolled through the figures on the terminal, her eyes widened. Yes, intruders did come aboard her ship. And they were very deliberate in how it was done so she surmised that they scanned Voyager at some point to determine their transport coordinates.
They chose the quarters of three female officers. Were the officers chosen at random, or did they specifically target her and the two others? The data just wasn t specific enough.
All she knew from the raw data was that some alien transported to her sleeping quarters in the middle of the night and transported out only moments later. They must have some sort of medical device that could impregnate someone. The only aliens previous encountered that had that capability were the Vidians. But that was several years ago.
What use was this data except to answer the burning question on how she became pregnant. But it didn t answer why. Why did these aliens do this to Voyager? To procreate?
And will those aliens come back once her son was born to take him back? She vowed not to let that happen. Nobody would take their children away. No one had the right. She would fight them with every ounce of her being if necessary if these aliens tried to take away her son.
In her mind, the aliens were only sperm donors who gave Kathryn and her crew children to nurture and protect. She felt that she could kill for her son if the aliens tried anything.
Her son was important to her now. And although she didn t expect to have children in this part of her life, she would not take it back. Her maternal instinct was strong.
Her stomach growled. She was hungry. Lunchtime.
Normally she could go all day without eating, but baby changed that.
But she found the process of standing a bit more uncomfortable. Her center of gravity had changed and her first step was unsteady.
Nature didn t intend for these changes to occur so quickly so she had to take her movements slowly until she learned how to balance her awkward shape. And she was grateful that no one saw her stumble.
Computer, Neelix two five one.
A noodle soup that their resident Talaxian concocted was actually delicious so she asked him to program it into the replicators. The soup reminded her of comfort food.
And it smelled good. She smiled as she took the bowl back to her desk since there was still work to do.
She found it slightly easier to sit back down than to stand in her present condition, but it was tiring to do either so she rested for a few moments before turning her attention back to her terminal.
Now she would catch herself up on ship s business. Duty or not, she was the captain.
Sensor analyses, department reports even personnel reports should keep her feeling engaged. And she often enjoyed the various writing styles her officers used on their reports and logs and her favorite, although she would never admit to anyone, was Tuvok s security reports. Concise and logical, he was the best tactical officer Starfleet could have assigned her. Scratch that, she requested that Tuvok be assigned to Voyager after finding his logical way of doing things refreshing albeit contrasting to her own.
Chakotay s reports were also concise, but at the same time insulatory. He didn t always give her all the facts on personnel issues possibly thinking that as captain, it wasn t important for her to know. He would protect her not just from dangerous situations, but from personnel issues that she might be a tad more impartial towards than her first officer. Regulations did state that as captain, she didn t have to concern herself with crew matters. But she wasn t an average captain, nor was Chakotay a Starfleet officer with good standing. He had resigned to join the Maquis. She chose to grant him a field commission once their crews combined to a lieutenant commander based on the intelligence reports she still had archived in her personal database. It did take some time for her to relax her guard around him and a little longer before she called him friend. Of course, Kathryn would never admit to it, but there were certain formalities she chose to keep based on the past. However, the Maquis crewmembers were her crew now. Solidarity.
B Ellana s engineering reports were very technical and the young engineer always made her recommendations very clear. But Kathryn thought highly of her chief engineer and her abilities. She could figure out just about any engine or computer core which has been very helpful in their years in the Delta Quadrant. The engineer managed to figure out Voyager s state of the art systems faster than most of her Starfleet officers originally assigned to Voyager. This young woman was a prodigy yet Kathryn knew she would not ever have imagined meeting her if circumstances didn t go the way they did. If B Ellana hadn t been on Chakotay s Maquis ship, she would not know her talent or given her a chance to prove herself.
The conn report was always an interesting read. Very insightful given Tom Paris s knack for frivolousness recreational habits he shared off duty. He was actually a gifted pilot and did seem to understand the capabilities of her ship. Not to mention he was the son of her mentor and Starfleet advisor. He had grown up so much since she gave him the responsibility of the conn. She knew that Admiral Paris would be proud of him, and her for giving the younger Paris a chance for redemption. Tom understood the nuances of piloting such a large vessel and didn t seem fazed when Kathryn ordered a complex maneuver.
The operations report read quite differently than her other senior officer s reports. Harry Kim was bright and inventive, but despite the years aboard her ship, he still seemed inexperienced in how he reported relevant information. She knew that he was fresh out of Starfleet Academy when she selected him for Voyager s operations post, but she liked his enthusiasm and willingness to learn. And he was very smart having graduated top of his class and still being a well-rounded young man. He also played the clarinet in a youth orchestra. To Kathryn, he would always be that idealistic young man that she felt the need to protect and mentor. He wasn t that green young officer anymore, she had to remind herself. But she needed to let him grow, experience life and be the officer she knew he was. She just hoped that he would have the chance to grow within Starfleet since she couldn t yet justify promoting him to lieutenant. Another captain might have a different perspective and do what she couldn t.
Kathryn chose to read the astrometrics report next. Seven s report was as concise as Tuvok s but a little more idealistic. Having been a drone for so long had a huge impact on Seven of Nine influencing her decisions, needs, wants. Kathryn was proud on how far she had come since Seven was disconnected from the Borg and knew that the young woman would never fully let the Collective s influence go, never completely embrace her original human identity. Seven would never be comfortable going by her human name, Annika Hansen, even though it would be better when they reach Earth. Kathryn also hoped that her guidance, her mentorship was being fully appreciated by the former drone. She also hoped that there was a day when Seven stopped referring to the Borg in some capacity. But Kathryn wasn t na ve to reject a Borg solution or perspective when it could get Voyager out of a jam. Starfleet policies were written for a far different part of space, the Delta Quadrant necessitated other ways of thinking.
Finally, the medical report. The EMH was also very matter of fact in his reporting. He also was very direct in his requests for supplies, subroutines and occasionally holographic rights. Touchy subject which necessitated her to brush up on Federation law. She acknowledged that through his massive amounts of subroutines, he had developed something that resembled sentience, but she didn t feel qualified to make the determination. As captain, he was a piece of technology, part of her ship programmed by some of the best minds in Starfleet with the databases containing the knowledge of the best doctors in the Alpha Quadrant. Sweet Kes helped her see how the Ocampan saw the hologram, as a sensitive man with feelings. And his reports didn t read like a computer written report so Kathryn was willing to consider that maybe holograms could attain sentience. After all, she knew an android who successfully argued sentience. She had met him in her youth. Data did make an impression on her as the first artificial intelligence to graduate Starfleet Academy.
The hologram did do one thing right. He did not disclose her or the other crewmembers conditions in his reports. At least his ethical subroutines were working properly.
Kathryn was satisfied. She finally felt caught up on Voyager s official status and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. As Captain, she had to know what was happening on her ship regardless of her current condition. It was something that helped her feel useful.
The baby kicked again and this time it was a bit stronger. Her hand drifted to her belly to soothe the unborn child. She had gotten bigger in the hours she was working or so she imagined.
The pregnancy would soon get to a point where she wasn t comfortable in her own skin. When moving about her quarters would be a chore, but she hoped it wasn t for a day or so. But she didn t know how much longer this would last nor when she should expect the onslaught of labor pains.
Hey kiddo, mama can t wait to meet you.
Bridge to Janeway. A call from the Bridge interrupted her reflections. Damn, didn t the hologram didn t flag her status as off duty for medical reasons.
Janeway here.
You are needed on the Bridge.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Bridge duty absolutely not something she wanted to do in her present condition.
I am currently unavailable, Tuvok. Please handle the situation. Jane
Captain?
Janeway, out.
Irritated, Kathryn closed the comm channel. Under normal circumstances she would have gone to the Bridge and handled the situation, but circumstances were hardly normal. The Vulcan was usually more trusting of her decisions, but to be fair, she probably through him a curve. So, she figured that Tuvok would most likely seek her out later to understand her reasoning. She would have to tell her oldest friend about her pregnancy sooner than later.
She also owed it to her crew to give them fair warning before popping out a baby. It wouldn t be right to give birth and expect her crew to accept the fact she now had a child to take care of along with her responsibilities as captain.
But how? Having a baby was an extremely personal change for her and as a private person, she just wasn t comfortable making it public. But as captain, it was necessary. Some things couldn t stay private given her rank and position as leader of a community. So, perhaps a visit from Tuvok would be helpful in her need to disclose her condition.
Perhaps telling her senior staff first and giving them the responsibility of informing the rest of the crew would be the easiest for her. The baby s movement while fascinating, was tiring. The accelerated nature of her pregnancy was beginning to take its toll on her. Humans were not meant to have babies this quickly. Then add her age into the equation and she knew her body was doing unusually well under the strain. If all her body needed was nutrition and rest under these conditions, then she was doing fine.
A bath would help, but there was too much to do first. And she doubted her stamina to do what she needed to tomorrow since she surmised that she would be on the tail end of her pregnancy.
So, now was the time to tell her senior staff. She needed to get them assembled together and get to them without being seen by the rest of the crew. A tall order, but hardly impossible.
The first thing she came up with was asking her staff to assemble in the briefing room then beaming in so that she wouldn t be seen by any other crewmember.
Computer, inform the senior officers that the captain will make an announcement in the briefing room at 17:30 hours.
Acknowledged.
Kathryn gave herself two hours to mentally prepare for the task at hand, and to rest a bit so she would have the strength to handle the announcement. The dreaded announcement. She hadn t felt this anxious in years, not since she was promoted to captain and not even that was as terrifying.
But she was Captain Kathryn Janeway, she could do it. And her crew was like family and she hoped like family, they should be supportive of her.
Her son was kicking and she found herself rubbing her swollen belly to soothe the active child.
What a sight she was, she mused. There was no mistaking her condition. Anyone looking at her could tell that she was with child. A pregnant captain was not something she had imagined herself becoming when she was trying to get Voyager home.
She tried to prepare herself for the stunned looks she would get from her crew. They all had seen her 48 hours earlier when she negotiated with the Balou. Thin, determined and not pregnant. At that time, she had no idea that she would find herself heavily with child before the end of the week. It was still strange for her to be having a son.
She had to quickly freshen herself up. Pregnant or not, she had to maintain a level of professionalism that included perfect makeup and hair. But what irritated her slightly was that her complexion had a pregnancy glow. Extra blood flow from her condition no doubt, which made it a little more difficult to achieve her normal appearance.
She shook her head. Nothing about her was normal, nor was there any semblance of normality since she was impregnated. She was confronted with a new normal since now she was a mother.
As she finished coiffing herself, she rehearsed what she would say to her officers. The simpler the better, she decided. She had to be careful not to fall into the trap of saying too much of which was entirely possible in her condition. Hormones were still in control of her mind causing some of her normal command instincts to be nonexistent. Instincts that she needed more than ever.
Time. She asked the computer.
17:29
So it was time. She called for the meeting and she would not stand up her crew. That was not something Starfleet officers did.
Computer, initiate site to site transport; briefing room. Energize.
As she felt the familiar tingling of her ship s transporter and saw her quarters dissolve, her nerves spiked. She instantly wished she hadn t initiated transport. She wasn t ready.
Too late. The familiar sights and sounds of the briefing room came into focus including the very surprised expressions and whispers of her senior officers with the exception of the hologram who was smiling.
Before anyone could speak, Kathryn held up her hand to keep everyone quiet.
Please, save your questions until I m finished. She paused and headed to her normal chair. Everyone was focused on her. As you can see, I am pregnant. Her hand went back up.
I will tell you what I know and what I don t. First, I didn t plan on having a child. Furthermore, I do not know the child s father. Second, I have only been pregnant since the night before last. That being said, the pregnancy has been accelerated due to reasons only those who saw it fit for me to have a baby would know. I figure that this baby will come in a few days. She paused. I don t know who did this to me, but due to circumstances out of my control, it was necessary for me to accept it. But for reasons that I hope are obvious, I abstained from duty, but I m still the captain. And I am pretty sure that whoever did this to me, and two others, will come back so we need to be ready whenever that is. She paused. I will try to answer any questions.
Silence momentarily washed over her officers who were obviously recovering from her bombshell announcement.
Captain, Harry began, I m sorry, I thought the sensor disruption was
It s okay, Ensign. I saw the same readings and would have come up with the same conclusion had this not happened. She gently replied as she placed her hand on her belly.
Congratulations, Captain. Neelix said simply.
Thank you, Neelix. She paused. Tuvok, Seven, I have compiled as much information I was able to gather about the aliens who did this. I need you to come up with a defense when they come back.
How did you reach that conclusion, Captain? Tuvok asked.
Call it a hunch. Why else would they impregnate women on a passing ship? She paused. I authorize you all to tell your departments about my condition and for personal reasons, I have chosen to remain in my quarters for the duration of my pregnancy which should only be for a few more days. She nodded to the hologram.
The captain s baby is developing extraordinarily fast and has taken a physical toll on the captain. What should take 40 weeks in humans is only taking about 4 days for her. Suffice it to say, the captain needs all the rest she can get before returning to duty.
Almost on cue, Kathryn stifled a yawn.
Are you okay? Both Chakotay and Tom Paris asked simultaneously.
I m fine, just tired. The baby doesn t always let me sleep.
So, boy or girl? The young Klingon engineer asked. Kathryn nodded.
Only for me to know right now. She replied as she found a sudden overwhelming wave of exhaustion take hold. She fought the urge to close her eyes right where she was.
And it wasn t lost on several of her officers.
Let s wrap this up. The captain needs her rest. Chakotay said stopping the conversation. What was said needed to soak in and Kathryn needed urgent rest. Even though she hid it well, he knew the pregnancy was rough on her.
Dismissed. Kathryn had barely enough energy to dismiss her officers but chose to remain in her chair in an attempt to get enough energy to transport back to her quarters.
She had no idea how powerful and sudden the fatigue would be in the latter part of her pregnancy. It wasn t easy to fight it.
She realized that two officers had remained. Chakotay and the hologram. She knew why the doctor had stayed, but wasn t sure why Chakotay did.
Commander, could you excuse us. Kathryn said only slightly above a whisper.
Call me if you need anything, Kathryn. He said before leaving the briefing room.
Doctor? She was barely tracking the hologram. Why do I feel like this? It s like someone unplugged what energy I had.
As the baby gets bigger, he demands more from your body.
Is that why I am now uncomfortable in my skin and hurt all over?
The doctor scanned her with a tricorder.
Yes. You will get past this. He paused. Although you re tired, Captain, I need you to eat before going to bed and I will send a vitamin hypospray to your replicator.
I ll try, Doctor.
Be sure you do. Nutrition will be the only way you ll be able to bounce back from this. If you don t, you will suffer from malnutrition once the baby is born and you may not be cleared for duty. You also risk fetal malnutrition.
All right, all right! Kathryn mustered up what little energy she had and pushed herself to her feet. I ll do it. Transport me back to my quarters.
Okay, but I m coming with you.
As you wish. Her voice was now a hoarse whisper. Computer, site to site transport to the captain s quarters; authorization Janeway lambda two.
Again, she felt the tingle of the transporter and the room dissolve around her.
As the familiar sight of her quarters formed around her, she realized that the hologram had somehow transported to her quarters with her.
As soon as the transport finished, she watched as the hologram went to her replicator and imputed a few commands.
Kathryn lowered herself into her reading chair and couldn t get comfortable. Between her back and pelvis, the growing baby just wouldn t have it. How she was going to survive the remaining pregnancy was a good question.
She moaned as she felt the EMH press a hypospray against her neck. Then the smell of Leola root assaulted her nose.
She knew why the hologram chose a Leola root dish for her to eat. Though it was highly nutritious, but she barely tolerated Leola root. She would only eat it if Neelix was watching so she wouldn t be accused of setting a bad example. The Talaxian wasn t afraid to confront her on an issue even though she was the captain. He didn t understand that you just didn t accuse a superior officer of something because you disagree with her. She learned to tolerate that too.
Leola root, Doctor? I thought you wanted me to eat?
I know Leola root isn t your favorite, but it s incredibly nutritious and right now, that s what you and your baby needs. The hologram said as he handed a bowl of Leola root stew to Kathryn. If she pretended it was chicken, maybe she could tolerate the meal so she could go to bed. Bed, that s what she really wanted to do.
How is it that you use my son as leverage to get me to comply? I certainly don t appreciate that. She forced herself to take a bite of the stew. Not bad tasting, but not that good either.
You have a history of ignoring your own needs, Captain; but if I remind you about your baby, you are more likely to take me serious. She rolled her eyes as she forced herself to take another bite. And I will stay until you finish the bowl.
I m not a child, Doctor! She snapped.
But you are as stubborn as one. That s why you are such a good commanding officer, but as your chief medical officer, it is my duty to keep this crew healthy including you and your child.
Fine. She mumbled as she forced herself to finish eating. It was difficult to do given just how exhausted she was. If she closed her eyes for a nanosecond, then she would be out cold and personal pride indicated that she wouldn t like the consequences.
All right, Doctor. She paused as she gave the empty bowl back to the hologram. Help me to bed.
She knew her legs would be mush and was uncertain just how swollen her feet were since her belly now obscured her view.
As the hologram helped her to her feet, she realized that she was at the tail end of her mobility. She was big and knew she d become larger before having the baby which threatened the self-sufficiency she was used to. She also worried that the baby would grow too large for her to carry and thus cause damage to her body. Could it kill her? She was just too tired to analyze it any further.
As soon as she laid down, she was out.
The hologram did his best to adjust her position so she wouldn t awake to discomfort before he left himself out of her quarters.