Chapter 9
Three weeks later, Chakotay was on the bridge. It seemed the farther the ship got from the Imati, the more withdrawn and depressed he became. He did his job, but there was no heart in it. He was simply going through the motions.
"Commander?" Paris was asking him.
"Yes, Tom, I'm sorry. What is it?"
"I said Engineering is requesting an all stop so they can inspect the Warp Drive again."
"Again?" He complained. "I'm going down there. Mr. Tuvok?" Chakotay left the Captain's chair, which was instantly filled by Commander Tuvok. He walked to the turbolift and, after giving it instructions, rode in an angry silence all the way to engineering.
"B'Elanna, what the hell's going on down here?!" he barked.
She stood up in shock. Chakotay never spoke to people that way. "The Warp Drive is malfunctioning again. I need to have a look at it."
"It seems to me you've already had a look three times in the last three days!"
"I need another look," she said, quelling her anger and staring him down.
"Why can't you just buckle down and get it right?!"
"I'm doing my best, sir. We all are. Voyager needs a total refit, and as you know, there's no place to get one in the Delta Quadrant."
Chakotay's eyes scanned the interested crewmen around him. He took B'Elanna's arm and walked her a few steps away, where he lowered his voice. "I'll stop the ship, B'Elanna, but you'd better fix it this time."
Her anger got the best of her, but she remembered her crewmen and kept her voice low. "Maybe if you'd told me you were going to take a vacation on that planet I could have overhauled it then."
"In case you didn't hear, I nearly died down there."
"Yes, and then you found every excuse in the book to extend your stay," she countered.
"I'm putting you on report for insubordination."
"Whatever you say, Commander."
Suddenly, without warning, Chakotay swayed. He seemed to gasp for air, and would have fallen if it hadn't been for B'Elanna's strong arms catching him and guiding him to the floor. She tapped her comm badge. "This is Engineering, medical emergency! Beam commander Chakotay to sickbay!"
"What the hell's going on, Doctor?" Janeway demanded. Chakotay was on a biobed, resting quietly under a thin blue blanket.
"I'm afraid I can't divulge that without the Commander's permission," the Doctor replied.
"Fine. I'll just go get his permission." Aggravated, she stepped quickly to her first officer's side. "Well, Commander? Is this some kind of relapse or something?"
"Captain, we're… uh… not really sure."
She raised her eyebrow. "Oh?" With a glance back at the Doctor, she continued, "I was under the impression that the Doctor knew and just had an issue with confidentiality."
Chakotay's cheeks colored. "Captain… he… the Doctor thinks I'm… I'm pregnant."
Her jaw dropped. "What?" She turned to the doctor. "What? How is that even possible?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but just as quickly she stopped him. "Scratch that," Janeway said. "How do you know he's pregnant?" she asked.
"Well, in addition to elevated hormone levels and other chemical signs, there is a life-form gestating in his abdomen."
"A parasite?" She asked, looking back and forth between the two men. Chakotay looked away.
"I thought the same thing at first," said the doctor. "But look," he said. He pulled up a DNA analysis of the fetus and compared it to Chakotay's by overlaying it with his. "Half of the DNA is Chakotay's."
Livid, Janeway spun on her heel to face her first officer. "You mated with them?! You know the rules about—"
"I didn't, Captain."
"Don't lie to me Chakotay. You're telling me you conceived without-?" She spun back to the doctor. "They did it to him? Drugged him, impregnated him?"
The Doctor shrugged. "We don't know."
"But Mr. Paris didn't detect any of this, and he was monitoring Chakotay's health the whole time!"
"Not the last few nights," Chakotay said quietly. "My condition had improved, and I didn't let him."
"But how could they have done this to you?" She asked.
He was very quiet. "Kathryn," he began, "I may have… inadvertently…"
"What are you trying to say? That this was an accident? Were you under the influence of something? Drugged? Intoxicated?"
"No, Kathryn."
"Do me a favor and spit it out, Chakotay. I'm getting a headache." She rubbed her temples to illustrate her point.
"Captain, when I was ill, Sifa cared for me. She was very kind, and we had… a lot in common." He swallowed hard. "The Imati are very similar to humans… I guess I assumed we were the same."
"Are you coming to a point with this?"
"The night before we left, Captain… I only kissed her, I swear that's all I did! But she… They are different from us, after all."
"Are you saying you remember the event?" The Doctor asked. "I'll need you describe it in detail. I can compare your account with information on the various species we've encountered and perhaps…"
Janeway sighed heavily. "Okay. You've given me your explanation and I'm still courting the biggest headache of my life. What do you plan to do, Chakotay?" She ran her hands through her hair. She forced a smile and softened her voice. "You're with child. I suppose you plan to… go through with this."
Chakotay nodded. She knew him well. An abortion was out of the question.
"I have warned Commander Chakotay that to attempt to carry the fetus to term is reckless and incredibly dangerous, possibly even life-threatening." The Doctor was indignant.
Janeway frowned. "Doctor, give us a moment, would you?" She asked quietly. Angrily, the Doctor nodded and walked to his office. The Captain turned to her friend. "Chakotay, I know how you feel about… the child."
He nodded, even though he knew she had no idea how he felt. Already there was an overwhelming need to fiercely protect his child.
"But Chakotay, the Doctor has a point. What if humans and Imati are not so compatable? What if the only way the child can live is if you… die?"
"Human pregnancies are risky, too, Captain. And what if there are no complications? You're only considering the bad. What about the good?"
"Chakotay, human males don't carry a baby to term. You're simply not equipped to go through this without any complications."
"I trust the Doctor," Chakotay said. "He'll think of something."
With another sigh, she gave him her best effort at a smile. "Then I will trust him, too. Congratulations, Chakotay. You're going to be a father."
He finally smiled, and she broke into a huge grin. "Captain, this is… unusual… please, don't tell anyone? I'm not… ready for that, yet."
"Whatever you say."
A/N I'd love to hear some reviews! Please?
