AN: Here we are, another chapter here to move us along and set some things up.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

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Chakotay set the table for breakfast and replicated the meal as Kathryn requested. She was certain that her replicator held a grudge against her, and she wanted the meal to be nice for B'Elanna and Tom. While he'd done what she'd asked of him, she'd taken her time changing, dressing, and feeding their little ones—one at a time—to make sure that they were all as prepared as they could be for at least the first few minutes of breakfast. They wouldn't last too far beyond that before someone discovered a newly arising need.

With Belan's arrival to their quarters in the earliest hours of the morning, after the doctor cleared him post-feeding, to see how he adapted, Kathryn's mood had soared. Chakotay knew that she was exhausted, but she didn't seem to let it bother her. While she'd nursed babies and supplemented their feeding with bottles, she'd replicated things she needed to add the care of one more little one to the work she was already learning to handle quite well.

Now that they were waiting on B'Elanna and Tom, Kathryn was roaming back and forth between their bedroom and the living space with items that she needed to move. The swings, they'd discovered, were practically priceless to them and Belan already had one to call his own.

As swings were moved into place, content babies were buckled in and cranks were turned. The first in place was Lizzie and Kathryn spent several moments rearranging the long-armed stuffed monkey which, wrapped around her and pushed snuggly into her swing, tricked her into believing that she'd been passed from her mother's loving arms to the equally supportive and caring arms of some furry loved one. Phoebe came immediately after her sister and was buckled in with much less fussiness.

"Would you like my help, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked, following her back toward the bedroom when she went to get the last of their children from their beds—a temporary fix for a problem that was going to require a much greater solution.

"They'll be here any minute," Kathryn said.

"And breakfast is ready," Chakotay said. He reached and took Kol from her the moment that she lifted the infant from the bassinet. "Get Belan."

Kathryn didn't need to be told twice. She eased up the baby that was sleeping peacefully—probably from his own form of exhaustion—and followed Chakotay back toward the living area. Chakotay quickly found pacifiers, which they were already learning were wonderful helpers with their little ones, and bucked Kol into his swing. Immediately he offered his son the pacifier and watched as Kathryn buckled the last baby into his swing.

"He looks so tiny in there," Kathryn said.

"He looks so tiny anywhere," Chakotay said. "He was clearly the runt."

Kathryn frowned at him. The frown extended to every single inch of her facial features.

"They're not animals," Kathryn said. "I didn't have a litter."

Chakotay glanced at the swings—all lined up in a row—and back at Kathryn.

"Humans are animals—no matter their current form. I think we were reminded of that as soon as we saw your amphibious state. And a litter is a group of animals born at the same time. If you consider that, and you consider that there are four of them, not only did you have a litter, but it's a rather impressive litter."

Kathryn furrowed her brows a little more, but her frown softened.

"He wasn't the runt. Do you think he was the runt?"

"His weight is very low, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "That's why you're on strict orders to feed him any time he'll take anything at all."

"But it's because we left him," Kathryn said. "He was starving to death. He was hiding in the nest to stay safe. Just—hoping I was coming back for him."

"Or was he in the nest because you put him deep in there to keep him safe because he was the runt from the beginning?" Chakotay asked. "Maybe he never came out because he was weak even then and there."

Kathryn's only response was to step forward and somewhat rescue the sleeping baby from his swing—which didn't bother him in the slightest—and from the accusation that he had been a runt and had been buried deep in the sand by his mother who wished to protect him however she could.

She didn't realize that her instinctive move to protect him now and cover him from the impact of words he couldn't even understand only strengthened Chakotay's thoughts that he might be right.

"It doesn't matter," Chakotay offered. "He's already gained an ounce and he'll keep growing. Litters and runts—none of it matters now. It doesn't even matter why he was in the very bottom of the nest. All that matters is what happens from here out."

Kathryn had taken the baby to the couch and, since he'd woken in the short trip, she was already seated and nursing him, coaxing him to take even a small swallow of milk if he could be convinced to do so.

"He's living up to his name," Kathryn said. "Don't pick on him because he's small."

Chakotay laughed to himself. He walked over to where she was and she glared at him. He knew, well, the difference between a sincere glare and a teasing glare, though, and it didn't take long before her hard expression melted into a smile. Chakotay caught her chin and tipped her face upward before he bent down to press his lips to hers.

"I wouldn't pick on him," he assured her. "I wouldn't pick on any of them. They're all perfect, and they're all growing."

The door buzzed at almost the exact second that Chakotay straightened up.

"You better help them get settled until I can finish here," Kathryn said. "Do you think you could hand me that blanket?"

Chakotay handed Kathryn the blanket that she gestured toward so that she could cover herself and their son while he considered how much he might want to eat before his mother was even allowed to think about her own breakfast.

"Come in," Chakotay commanded. The computer opened the door to reveal both Tom and B'Elanna standing there. They both looked a little awkward. It wasn't every day that they were invited to Kathryn's quarters for breakfast. Chakotay smiled and waved them into the room. "We're so glad you could join us."

"We talked about it," B'Elanna said, "and we both agreed that we would have brought something, but we weren't sure what to bring."

"Champagne doesn't exactly go with breakfast and replicating a carton of milk seemed…" Tom continued.

"Odd," B'Elanna offered when Tom broke off.

"We told you not to bring anything because we didn't want you to bring anything," Chakotay said. "Won't you sit?" They accepted the invitation to sit, though somewhat rigidly. They still weren't certain why they'd been invited, but they would discover that in time. Chakotay walked over to the three babies rocking in swings—all of them in various stages of wakefulness. "You've both had the opportunity to briefly meet our little ones. To remind you, this is Lizzie and this is Phoebe. Over here is Kol."

"I don't know how you can tell them apart," Tom commented. "They look exactly alike."

"They're really quite different," Kathryn said, standing up from her spot on the couch. She'd already readjusted the outfit she was wearing—something nursing-friendly and not at all Starfleet issued for the time being, and she was carrying Belan who was, for the moment, awake and clearly immensely satisfied.

Neither Tom nor B'Elanna had spoken to her when they'd come through the door, and Chakotay was wondering if they'd just now noticed her presence. They were, perhaps, too overwhelmed to pick up on everything. They both stood when they saw her. She laughed to herself.

"At ease," she teased. "This is an informal breakfast. Nobody's on duty. In fact—Tom are you still on medical leave?"

"One more day," Tom said.

"Then so am I," Kathryn said.

Chakotay cleared his throat.

"I believe you have a few more days than Tom before the doctor allows you to be fully reinstated," Chakotay offered. Kathryn flicked her eyes in his direction—something like a silent warning—but she didn't respond. Chakotay knew that she was itching to be back on the bridge as soon as possible—four babies in tow if that's what it meant to be back in the captain's chair.

"My point is that we're not all back on the bridge yet, and we can all be casual and relaxed," Kathryn said.

Tom and B'Elanna accepted Kathryn's suggestion that they should sit, and this time they relaxed a little more into their seats than they had before. Kathryn approached them with Belan in her arms.

"I don't want your food to get cold," Kathryn said, "but I did want the opportunity to introduce you to our fourth little one."

She showed the baby to B'Elanna first, since she was closest, to get her approval. Kathryn withheld his name, but nobody seemed to notice. B'Elanna smiled over the little one and reached her hand up to stroke the top of his hand with her finger. She didn't say anything, but Kathryn didn't demand any words at the moment. She then showed the baby to Tom who nodded approvingly.

"He's tiny," Tom said as Kathryn took Belan to his swing to see how long he'd be content to rock with his siblings.

"They all are," B'Elanna offered.

"Individually, they're small," Chakotay said. "But if you consider the fact that—despite how brief the gestation might have been to us—Kathryn carried them to full term at once, they're not that small."

"They need to gain weight," Kathryn said. "But we're working on that with frequent feedings."

"How will you handle that when you go back to the bridge?" Tom asked.

"I can take nursing breaks," Kathryn said.

Chakotay laughed to himself. He pulled Kathryn's chair out for her and slid it in without much pomp and circumstance once she sat. He sat beside her.

"If she needs to, she'll feed on the bridge," Chakotay said. "There's no rule against a mother feeding her young in Starfleet."

"I didn't mean to suggest that," Tom said. "It's just…"

"Nobody's ever had a captain who was navigating the earliest stages of motherhood with four young children," Kathryn supplied. "But I suppose I'll manage."

"Of course you will," B'Elanna offered.

At Chakotay's silent urging, plates were being filled from the platters of Earth-offered breakfast food that he'd replicated and everyone was starting to eat before the replicated food was allowed to cool too much.

"Of course she will," Chakotay echoed. "And you won't do it all alone."

Kathryn didn't say anything, but she did reach a hand over and touch his arm. Especially since their relationship was very newly out in the open, it was a grand gesture. They were still testing the waters to see how affectionate they were comfortable being in the company of others. The agreement, so far, was that they would greatly limit their affections on the bridge, but they still hadn't reached an agreement about what was fine when they were off-duty. They were still testing the proverbial waters. Chakotay reached over and placed his hand over hers, rubbing her fingers for a moment before he released her.

"We'll all be here to help," B'Elanna offered. "We're just glad you—found all of them."

"And that you realized they weren't mine," Tom offered with a laugh. "I'm kidding. But—not really."

"They're not yours," Kathryn said lightly.

"Absolutely not," B'Elanna said. "To be honest Captain, I'm not even sure they're yours. But they're definitely Chakotay's."

Chakotay cleared his throat. He was already aware that Kathryn was struggling, just a little, with the fact that their offspring seemed to have inherited most of their already-distinguishable characteristics from him. He was more than a little anxious to change the subject.

"We're ready to introduce them to the crew," Chakotay said. "The doctor said it's safe. We started talking about ways to move them around easily, though, and, later, to keep them on the bridge. We thought, B'Elanna, that you might have some ideas for us."

"We could easily design something," B'Elanna said.

"We would appreciate if you would," Kathryn said. "To be honest, I'm sure that we could come up with something together, but we're too tired to think of anything."

"New parents," Tom said, clearly pleased at the thought.

"We're getting used to it," Chakotay said. "We're going to have to extend our quarters—design quarters for the little ones. We've got a lot on our plates."

"But we're taking it one day at a time," Kathryn said. "One thing at a time."

"And you don't have to solve everything today," B'Elanna said. "They look—happy. Like they've got everything they need. It looks like you've taken care of everything urgent."

"B'Elanna's right," Tom offered. "The rest of it will fall into place."

"You're right. And I guess it's time to tell you why we invited the two of you here personally," Kathryn said. "It wasn't just to remind you, Tom, that you're off the hook as the father or to ask you, B'Elanna, for your engineering expertise in designing ways to make our lives easier as we navigate being new parents to four little ones. Our main reason for inviting the two of you here was to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean, Captain?" B'Elanna asked.

"Please," Kathryn said, "Kathryn. We're not on duty and we're having breakfast as friends." She got a nod from each of the people across the table and Chakotay let her have the chance to share their news with them. When Phoebe woke suddenly and started to whimper—a precursor to actually fussing—Chakotay got up without saying anything, rescued the infant from her swing, and went straight to the replicator to replicate a bottle. Though Kathryn could feed her, she'd need to supplement her intake at any rate, and Chakotay could satisfy her for a bit before Kathryn took over. "We heard that the two of you were leading the campaign to give us the opportunity to go back to the planet. Without your persuasion, we might have never known that we left our son behind. We might have never gone back to get him."

"I think I can speak for us both when I say that there's no thanks needed," B'Elanna said. "We're just happy that he's alive and—is he doing well?"

"Very well," Kathryn said. "He needs to put on weight and build his strength, but…"

"He's quite the fighter," Chakotay offered, sitting down with Phoebe in his arms, sleepily sucking at her bottle.

Kathryn smiled at him and he caught her eyebrow quickly raising with her thoughts. She was offering him the opportunity to keep talking. She was offering him the chance to tell them about Belan's name and to ask them what they wanted to ask. She relaxed her features, though, when she realized that he wasn't going to say anything more. He fully intended to give this to her.

"He's a fighter," Kathryn said. "And for that—we've decided to name him Belan. It means warrior. It also—pays homage to a person that helped fight for him. Someone that—I hope—will continue to be an important person in his life. B'Elanna…I wanted to ask you if you'd be Belan's godmother."

B'Elanna looked at Kathryn and then looked at Chakotay. She was so clearly surprised that she looked almost terrified. Her fork was suspended in mid-air on the way to her mouth. She put it down rather than try to go through the motions of eating at the moment.

"I don't know what to say," she said. "I'm—flattered. Of course,…I'll help in whatever way I can."

"That's not all," Kathryn said, as soon as Tom turned to somewhat awkwardly congratulate B'Elanna for the honor. "His middle name is Thomas. To pay homage to someone else who made sure that he made it home. And, perhaps, had his own hand in making sure that he existed at all."

"I'm honored," Tom said. He cleared his throat. "But we agreed they're all Chakotay's, so I don't see what part I played in his existence."

"If you hadn't taken Kathryn to warp 10," Chakotay offered, "then we would have had twins. Two of our little ones may have never come to be. Who's to say which is the original and which is the copy?"

Kathryn cleared her throat.

"For my benefit, and theirs, let's agree that nobody is ever to refer to the babies in that manner again?"

"My apologies," Chakotay said. He leaned toward her and she brushed her hand over his leg, under the table, to indicate that she wasn't upset. It was true what he'd said, it just wasn't terribly nice to say.

"At any rate," Kathryn said, "I'm not accusing you of being the father. I am asking you, though, to be Belan's godfather."

"Captain…"

"Kathryn."

"Kathryn," Tom said, obviously with the word sticking in his throat. "I expected to be—demoted for the whole…kidnapping the captain thing."

"It can be arranged if you're disappointed," Kathryn offered.

Tom laughed to himself.

"I'm honored," he said.

"So you accept?" Kathryn asked.

"Of course," Tom said.

"Good," Chakotay said. "Then as long as we've got godparents onboard for Belan, we can start talking about ways to make life with four little ones easier.

"I've already got some ideas," B'Elanna offered. "But I would like the chance to sort of play around with a few of them."

"Take all the time you need," Kathryn said.

"But hurry," Chakotay said with a laugh. "I already know that I won't be able to keep Kathryn off the bridge and practically confined to quarters for long, and we're going to need some more practical ways of handling them all at once."

B'Elanna laughed.

"I'll probably have something by this evening—some ideas at least. Maybe even a prototype by tomorrow morning."

"Perfect," Kathryn said. "That'll mean that I rest just long enough to make Chakotay and the EMH happy."

"Maybe just a bit longer," Chakotay said. "But we can negotiate that. For now, let's talk about—other things. Anything. I'm afraid that—we've been a little consumed with babies for the past few days."

"I don't think anyone would expect anything different. But— if you don't mind my asking," Tom said, "if B'Elanna and I are godparents for Belan, who are the godparents for the other three?"

Kathryn smiled.

"Everyone will hear about that at the party this evening when they get to meet the little ones."