Please see disclaimer and author's notes on the first chapter.

Chakotay looked up from the ground where they had both been staring at a wet spot around her feet. "Kathryn, what do they have for medical resources here?"
She gestured in the direction she had been walking. "The hospital is just up the street."

"Can you make it that far?" He asked, looking around for some way to transport her. He caught her staring into his face and for a brief moment all the walls were down, and Chakotay could see the fear in her eyes. It took him a moment to realize that she had misunderstood his question. He wrapped his arm around her. "I'm not going to leave you, Kathryn. I just didn't know if you could walk all the way there."

She gave him a shaky laugh. "I can walk it. It's only a few blocks."

"Okay," he nodded, and they began moving again albeit slower. "Then what, Kathryn? Do any of these Perubians know how to deliver a human baby?"

"They don't have to," she told him and grinned a little. "The Doctor's here."

That surprised him. "Our Doctor? From Voyager?"

"The one and only."

He was impressed and relieved, "How did you manage that?"

"There are some advantages to being an admiral and an ambassador."

"I imagine being the Darling of the Delta Quadrant doesn't hurt either," he commented, holding the door open for her when they reached the building she indicated.

She made a noise of disgust. "That title makes it sound like I won a beauty pageant."

They entered a lift and she called for the desired floor.

Chakotay kept his hand on her back as the lift began to move upwards. "I think my favorite one was when that reporter called you "the bitch that defeated the Borg". You should've seen your face. I thought you were going to kill him."

"Well, my mother was standing right there." The lift deposited them on the designated floor. "Actually, I was trying not to laugh. It was only later that Mom told me she thought it was hysterical."

Chakotay just shook his head as they entered a rather large surgical bay. He immediately saw the doctor standing near a table studying something. The Doctor looked up at their entrance and smiled. He didn't look surprised to see them. "Admiral. Captain. Is it time?"

"I think my water broke."

"Well then, it certainly sounds like we're going to have an arrival today." He gestured to a screen. "Admiral, you'll find a gown behind there. Please change into it, and I'll evaluate how far along you are."

Chakotay watched Kathryn disappear behind the screen. He looked at the Doctor, "You don't seem surprised to see me here, Doc."

The Doctor sniffed and prepared a tray of instruments. "Should I be?"

"She was."

"Yes, well." The Doctor looked up from his tricorder. "You know she'll never ask you to stay."

"Should I stay?"

The Doctor regarded him. "Isn't that why you're here?"

Kathryn stepped out from behind the screen, loosely tying a belt. She looked up to see an empty medical bay. Swallowing hard, she grimly acknowledged to herself that she had wanted him to leave. She moved towards the medical bed and almost jumped when she saw movement in the corner of the room.

Chakotay was in the corner changing into scrubs. Kathryn smiled with relief. Despite their problems, she should've known he wouldn't leave her. He turned around and caught her smiling at him. He grinned at her, "I thought I should change out of my traveling clothes."

"The booties look good on you," she said and he wiggled his toes in the slippers he had put on. A frown creased her forehead and she leaned against the bed. "Guess those back cramps I've been having today were trying to tell me something."

"Admiral, if you'll let Chakotay help you onto the bed we can get started," the Doctor announced, coming out of his office.

Five hours later, the Doctor was practicing his opera while Kathryn and Chakotay walked laps around the medical bay. Kathryn, being the woman that she was, couldn't just sit and do nothing waiting for her cervix to dilate, so she had opted to walk around. Their conversation had been minimal but calm, with both of them trying to forget the things they had said to each other on the street. She kept her hand clamped onto his forearm for support, and he was very aware of every contraction she had.

Her hand began to tighten around his arm again and he looked down at her. "Breathe through it, Kathryn."

"Mmmm-hmmm," she nodded, breathing deeply. After a minute, she exhaled and gave him another nod to indicate she could move again.

"You know there's something I've been wondering about," Chakotay said as they began to walk again. "Your mother and Phoebe seemed very sure after viewing your message that you really were okay. They said something about you giving them a signal."

Kathryn nodded. "I had hoped they remembered."

"So what was it?"

She gave him a small smile. "I can't just give away the family secrets, Chakotay. Besides, I might need to use them one day around you."

"Kathryn," he said, stunned. "It's not like I'd ever take you hostage."

She stopped and stared at him arching an eyebrow.

"It was just the one time, Kathryn," he tried to defend himself. "And I was under mind control."

"Twice actually," she corrected him. "Don't forget the time you burned out my deflector dish."

"I thought you didn't remember that."

"Temporal Prime Directive," she said and gestured with her hand to dismiss the subject. When he looked as though he were going to pursue it she cut him off by answering his first question. "In the message, I called Phoebe by name. If I hadn't used her name or if I had called my Mom something other than Mom, they would've known something wasn't right."

"Something other than Mom?" He asked, intrigued.

"Yes, for instance I could have said 'Sis, let Gretchen know I'm okay'," she told him and he nodded his understanding. She watched his profile. "Earlier, you said the video made you think I was in trouble. What did I do to make you think that?"

"You referred to me as your first officer and not by my name," he told her.

"Oh, that," she said. "Yes, well sorry about that."

Her voice tapered off, and she didn't seem to intend on completing the thought. Chakotay waited for a moment and then urged her on, "Kathryn? What was that about?"

"I, uh," she cleared her throat. "I was trying not to think about you. It just, it hurt too much."

She didn't say anything further as another contraction began. Chakotay rubbed her back as they waited for it to pass. She shook her head after a minute, breathing hard, and they continued their slow pace around the room. After a few minutes had gone by without either of them speaking she asked quietly, "What happened between you and Seven?"

"She…well she dumped me," he answered her. He had heard the sadness in her voice when she asked the question and knew she wasn't bringing it up to hurt him. "She observed that I was in love with you and that my feelings for her were not the same."

"How did she 'observe' your feelings?" Kathryn asked and tensed up feeling another contraction starting. She signaled for him to answer her question while she continued to concentrate on her breathing.

"She pointed out that I don't sleep when you're in danger. She said that I become more aggressive, and that I make illogical decisions when it comes to your well-being," he laughed lightly as he felt Kathryn loosen her grip again. "It was all very efficient, really."

"I'd expect nothing less from her," Kathryn said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "These things are definitely getting worse."

"Let's head back that direction," he suggested, turning them around. "The thing is, Seven was right. I'm just sorry it took her pointing it out for me to realize."

As they got closer to the diagnostic bed she gave him a small confession, "I never slept when you were off the ship."

He didn't find that too strange. "Kathryn, you hardly slept at all."

"True, but I could usually get at least two or three hours," she admitted. "But anytime you were on an away mission, I couldn't even close my eyes. It was all I could do to make myself leave the bridge."

"I never knew that."

"I know."

Chakotay didn't know how to respond to her admission. The Doctor inadvertently saved him by halting the conversation with his arrival. "How are we doing, Admiral?"

"Definitely getting worse," she said as Chakotay helped her onto the bed.

The Doctor began scanning her. "How far apart are they?"

Kathryn gave him a blank look. Chakotay spoke up, "They're about every four minutes and they're lasting about a minute each."

"Hmmm, very good." The Doctor nodded. "You're almost there, Admiral. You're at seven centimeters. Possibly another hour."

Kathryn's head dropped back on the pillow. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You better hope this child of yours isn't as stubborn as you or it may take even longer than that," the Doctor commented happily.

Kathryn leveled her best glare at him and growled, "Doctor."

"Yes, well." He cleared his throat and began retreating. "I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Chakotay swallowed his grin as he was now the lone target available for Kathryn. He looked down at her. "Would you like to walk some more?"

She surprised him when she just shook her head. She continued to just stare up at the ceiling. He glanced up to check if anything was there and didn't see anything. He looked back at her and saw she had her arm tented over her face.

"Kathryn, are you alright?"

She shook her head and mumbled something he couldn't quite make out. He took her hand and moved her arm away from her face. He wasn't completely surprised to see tears on her face. "Talk to me, Kathryn. Please."

She blinked a few times and wiped her eyes. "I don't know how to do this, Chakotay."

She covered her mouth with her hand as if she had made a guilty confession. He smiled and took her hand in his. "Nobody ever does. You'll figure it out."

Her hand squeezed his and she started to say something, but all she managed was a slight moan. Chakotay regretted letting her squeeze his hand instead of his arm like before, but he remained quiet until the contraction passed and she relaxed.

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way," she said quietly when she was able to speak again. "I never imagined I'd be having a baby on my own at this age. What do I know about raising a child?"

"You'll do fine. You were practically the mother of one hundred and fifty kids while we were on Voyager. You took care of them alright," he said, trying to encourage her.

"That's not even remotely the same thing. They could feed themselves and dress themselves. I could usually leave them alone and not worry about them killing themselves. But this baby is going to expect me to take care of its every need. I can't even remember to feed myself half the time much less worry that someone else is eating properly."

"Kathryn, taking care of yourself and taking care of someone else are very different things. You have always been better at taking care of others. You'll do fine," he argued. "I don't know how many times I saw you order someone off the bridge to get some rest knowing you had been there before they arrived and knowing that you'd probably still be there when they got back."

"Maybe," she said, not convinced.

"You'll do fine," he insisted. "Besides, taking care of you is my job."

"But we aren't on Voyager anymore, Chakotay," she whispered as if to herself. Another contraction was starting, and he spoke softly encouraging her to breathe through it. She tightened her grasp on his hand and on the side of the bed, riding it out. After seconds that felt like hours, the pain began to ebb and she could breathe easily again as her body relaxed.

"You want to know the real reason I slept with that guy?" She asked, not meeting his eyes. "I was lonely. After seven years of dreaming and hoping, all I came home to was an empty house. I wanted to be happy for you and Seven, I really did. But that night…I saw the two of you on the dance floor, and it was like someone had ripped out my heart."

He held onto her hand stroking her palm with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Kathryn. I never meant to hurt you."

"It hurt. But I couldn't blame you. I wanted to." She gave him a small smile and shook her head. "I never let you in. Never gave you any indication. It wasn't right of me to think we'd be together when we got home, but I had my dreams, Chakotay."

She closed her eyes. "My God, Chakotay. How did we get like this?"

"It just seems to be the way we do things, Kathryn," he told her. "We take the long torturous road of our own making when all we should've done was read the signs and we could've found our way directly."

"We need to make some new traditions," she said then grimaced as another contraction started.

Twelve hours later, Kathryn struggled to get her eyes open. She was exhausted. In all the time in the Delta Quadrant, she could never remember feeling this bone tired. The Doctor's sarcastic comment from earlier had proven truer than any of them would've liked. It had taken another three hours before Kathryn's daughter graced the world with her presence. Kathryn had just woken up from a fatigue induced nap, and rolled her head to the side expecting to see her little girl in the medical bassinet near her bed. The bassinet was empty.

Kathryn was immediately alert and pushed herself up on her elbows. She grunted when her body reminded her just what it was she had been doing the past twenty-four hours.

"Take it easy, Kathryn," Chakotay scolded, from the foot of the bed. "Where were you trying to go in such a hurry?"

Kathryn sighed with relief. She could see Chakotay had the baby gently cradled in his arm. She let out a breath and slowly lowered herself back down on the bed.

"Did you see that?" Chakotay cooed to the baby, grinning at Kathryn. "Your Mama thought you'd run off. Isn't she silly?"

Kathryn scowled at him. "Not that silly."

He smiled at her. "And you thought you wouldn't be a good mother. I'd like to see someone try and come between you and your daughter."

Kathryn gave him a tired smile, and couldn't help but stare at the sight in front of her. Chakotay was holding a baby…her baby. She felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn't his baby. That realization didn't lessen her love for either of them. Kathryn blinked.

She still loved him. After all this time, after all these months of actively trying to repress her feelings, they had resurfaced as strong as ever in the blink of an eye. Stronger even.

"I think someone's hungry again," he said and raised the back of the bed before handing the baby to Kathryn. He pretended not to notice that her hands were shaking. He had never seen Kathryn look quite so uncomfortable. Her movements were unsure as she attempted to adjust herself and the baby into suitable positions. Seeing Kathryn Janeway hesitant and unsure was a sight he thought he'd never see.

"Kathryn, this little girl is made from you," he said, adding his hands to hers and guiding mother and child to comfortable positions. "She's not going to break from a little rough handling. Relax; she's made of sterner stuff."

Kathryn barely heard his words and didn't even notice his hands so near her breast. She was still enthralled at the idea that she was providing nourishment for this tiny little baby. It was an overwhelming feeling, and she felt tears rolling down her face.

"That's the most amazing thing I have ever seen," Chakotay said as he lightly brushed his fingertips over the baby's head.

"She's beautiful," Kathryn whispered, her voice filled with wonder. She tore her gaze away from the baby to look up at him. "How do you know so much about babies?"

"The way I lived growing up, I walked in on my mother, sisters, or cousins more times than I care to remember. I also did more than my fair share of babysitting." He explained, taking a seat on the chair next to the bed. "So, what's her name?"

"Kristin Nicole." She looked up to see his reaction.

"Sounds perfect."

Kathryn held his eye for a long moment. "Thank you, Chakotay. For…well, for everything."

"I never wanted you to be alone, Kathryn." He tugged on his ear self consciously. "I may have forgotten that for a short while, and I'm sorry. I'm glad I was here today. Thank you for letting me be here."

She rubbed the baby's back and let out a giggle when the baby burped. She immediately looked up to see if Chakotay had heard her. He laughed out loud. "Kathryn Janeway, did you just giggle?"

"No."

"Yes, you did. You giggled," Chakotay laughed. "No one will ever believe me."

"That's because you will never tell anyone," she said, trying to maintain a straight face.

Chakotay raised his hand in surrender. "What will you tell people about her?"

Kathryn raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to introduce people to my daughter. What more do I need to tell them?"

"People are going to ask who the father is, Kathryn."

"I know," she said, nodding. She shrugged. "Maybe I'll just tell them his name and leave it at that."

"What was his name?"

"You really want to know this?" She asked and received his nod. She took a steadying breath. "He told me his name was Charles Tate. Later, the ambassador referred to him as Logan. I doubt either was his true name."

"How do you feel about that?" He asked.

Kathryn shrugged. "How am I supposed to feel? I slept with a guy I hardly knew, and I got pregnant. And now, I have a beautiful baby girl."

She looked down at the baby in her arms. "I have a child, Chakotay. That's a dream I gave up on a long time ago, and now here I am. It's not exactly the way I ever imagined it happening, though."

"You seem very comfortable with this," he commented. "I admit I'm a little surprised."

"I wasn't at first," she admitted. "At first, I was extremely angry. Then I was ashamed."

"Is that why you didn't come back to Earth?" He asked.

"That was part of the reason."

"And the other part?"

She held his eye. "You."

He had been afraid of that. "And now?"

"Now? Mostly, I'm just scared now." She shook her head. "Who would've thought something this small could scare me? The 'bitch that defeated the Borg' is scared of a baby? Do you think they'd ever put that in the headlines?"

"Probably not, but that's not exactly what I meant," he told her.

"I know." She avoided his eye by fussing with the baby.

"Kathryn, I meant what I said. I love you. I came here to tell you that." He ventured on when she didn't speak. "I want you to come back to Earth with me."

She looked up. "Why?"

"Why? Because I want to be with you, Kathryn. I want us to be together. I've wanted it ever since I first met you," he said then added, "I'm sorry I lost sight of that recently."

"And what about her?" Kathryn looked down at the baby in her arms. "Twenty-four hours ago, you didn't know anything about her. You can't tell me that you're prepared for her to be part of your life, too."

"Kathryn, she's part of you." He stood up and gently placed his hand on the baby's chest. "How could I feel anything but love towards her?"

Kathryn watched as his hand moved up and down with the baby's breathing. The baby was moving up and down with every breath Kathryn took. For the first time in a long time she didn't feel alone.

Cont to Epilogue