Chapter 11

Jill was sitting on their front porch watching Tom as he worked in the yard. He had brought home some mature lilac bushes, and was now planting them for her. She had said last week how much she had admired the lilac bush in his parents garden, and so he had gotten some for her as a surprise. She tried to get comfortable on the lounge, but was having trouble finding the right place. Being nine months pregnant wasn't helping either. She finally got comfortable and sighed. She watched as Tom took the last bush and pulled it from the pot and planted it in the ground, and began to cover it with the dirt. Once done, he watered this one too and then went to turn off the water. Jill laughed as she watched three cats follow him to the faucet. All the cats had attached themselves to Tom, who seemed to accept it without a second thought. He knelt to turn the water off, and gave all the cats an affectionate rub. The three of them just ate it up. They had given two of them away, a female to Harry and B'Elanna, and a male to Kathryn and Chakotay. Now they had Mama Cat and three of her babies left. Doc had even fixed them so they wouldn't be able to breed. She still remembered him grumbling

I'm a doctor... not a vet, but he had done it anyway, and the last female had gone to the doc. He had seemed taken with the runt of the litter, and they were more that happy to give her to Doc.

Tom joined her on the porch and sat down next to her. He wiped his forehead with his arm and said

"I got them all planted, and now I'm watering the garden. I'm glad we put in that sprinkler system. Makes it so much easier."

She smiled and said

"You have done so much work this morning. I made some lemonade. It's in the refrigerator, why don't you get two glasses of ice and the pitcher, and we can enjoy a cool drink...I'd get it myself, but I just got comfy."

He grinned and got up and went to get the lemonade, pausing to lean over her tummy to say to the baby

"Mom sure has me waiting on her hand and foot!"

She smiled sweetly and said

"You love it!"

He just grinned at her and went inside to get the lemonade.

He was back in a few minutes, and placed the pitcher down on the table between the chairs, and poured them each a tall glass of lemonade. Jill took a sip and leaned back and said

"That tastes good, I hope it's not too sweet for you?"

Tom had taken a large swig and had also leaned back in his chair

"Nope...It's just right."

He looked around and said

"I think it's going to be hot today...don't want you to stay out to long and get overheated..okay?"

He knew, that in her condition, she tended to get too hot, and he didn't want her to be uncomfortable at all. She grinned and said

"Don't worry, Tom, as soon as it gets too hot, I'll go inside and turn on that big fan in the living room."

He had replicated a large window fan to help with the heat. She had shook her head when he had set it up, but had to admit, it help a lot when she felt that the heat was too much. She knew that being nine months pregnant didn't help. The weather in Montana usually didn't get that hot, but this summer, it did get uncomfortable for Jill. She was glad it was almost time. She was tired of 'waddling' everywhere. Of course Tom just smiled when she complained and told her he thought she was beautiful. She would then look him in the eye and say how could he think she was beautiful being so big. He would always come back with the same answer...He liked her roundness, and if she was close enough he would lean down to her stomach and say...Isn't that so Mikey? They had picked the name for the baby...Micheal Thomas Paris. Micheal was Jill's father's name, and she had insisted on Thomas as a middle name, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to saddle him with it, but Jill had insisted it was a good name. So in the end he had given in to her. Now they were sitting and enjoying the morning.

Tom had taken some time off from the lab, as he wanted to be available for her if she needed him, as she was so close to her due date. He had decided that it would do no harm to be available for her, so he could make sure she got to Star Fleet Medical when the time came. He had been spending time puttering around the property for the last week. He had to repair a small break in the force field he had set up to keep the wild life out of the vicinity. He didn't want to wake up to find that a coyote or other predator had attacked the animals. He had been glad that the cats hadn't found the break. They had allowed ample space for them to wander around the property, and still be safe. He knew Jill would be upset if anything happened to any of their animals. He would to he had to admit. Those three cats loved following him around. In fact, he had barely got the force field fixed when they came bounding out at him. They never ran into the field, but sometimes came close. He had finally decided they could sense where it was and knew when to stop.

Now, as he relaxed, the black and white one jumped up to settle in his lap. He absently began petting him, and he could hear the cat begin purring. He wasn't sure where the other two were, but this one was never far away. They had named him Neelix, after the cook on Voyager, and the name seem to fit him. The cat was always trying to please his people. The other two were tabbies and Jill had named them Kirk and Spock after the famous Enterprise captain and first officer. Tom had asked her how she had come up with those names, and she just said that Kirk the cat always seemed to be in charge, and Spock the cat was always following in Kirk's steps. Tom had thought about it a moment and then just laughed, as it was so true. If you saw Kirk, Spock was right behind him.

Now, Jill struggled to rise, and Tom stood to help her up. Once on her feet, she motioned him to sit back down and said

"I'm okay, I just thought I'd go fire up the fan."

She turned and 'waddled' into the house. Tom just watched her and grinned. No matter how much she waddled, he still thought she was beautiful and he loved her with all his heart. He sat back down and leaned back again and it didn't take long to drift off to sleep.

Jill was lying on the couch enjoying the cool air that circulated from the fan. Again she realized the blessing it had been. She had seemed skeptical that one fan would help, but she had to admit it did. Now she was so glad he had replicated it. She had drifted off to sleep and now woke up with an uncomfortable feeling in her abdomen. She shifted and closed her eyes again. Within ten minutes, she again felt the same feeling. After it passed, she decided to sit up, hoping it would make her feel better. As she rose, she felt wetness and then she knew. It was time. Struggling to get up, she called out to Tom, hoping he was still on the porch, but when he didn't answer, she walked to the front door and went outside. She saw him returning from the barn, and she called out to him

"Tom...it's time."

He looked at her and then, when it sunk in, he came running to her

"Are you sure? I need to call the Doc...we need to get to Medical..."

She smiled and replied

"Tom, relax...we have time..now you get my bag, and then comm the Doctor. We have time."

Tom went into the house and got her bag and his comm badge. He also got the medical tricorder and when he came back out, he scanned his wife. Reading the information, he saw that she had indeed started labor. He tapped the badge and said

"Paris to the Doctor."

They heard the Doc's voice answer

"Yes, Mr. Paris, what can I do for you this lovely morning?"

"Doc, Jill had gone into labor and we are coming to Medical."

"I'll meet you both there...Doctor out."

Tom picked up the bag, and turned to his wife and smiled

"You ready for this? To be a mommy?"

She grinned at him as another contraction hit and said

"Only if you're ready to be a daddy."

"A daddy...a daddy...yeah, I think I am."

They walked slowly to the transporter and after stepping on the pad, they beamed to Medical.

Once there, Jill was taken to a birthing suite, with Tom following her. Once she was settled in bed, the Doc came to check on her.

"Ah, my two favorite patients."

He said as he looked at them and took his tricorder out to scan her. After looking at the readings, he commented

"You're doing fine. You are dilated to six centimeters."

He handed the tricorder to his once assistant and said

"When she gets to nine centimeters, call me."

Tom took the tricorder, and said

"Is everything alright...Jill?"

The Doc smiled at him and laid a hand on his shoulder and replied

"Everything is just fine, Mr. Paris, You and Jill will soon be the happy parents of a bouncing baby boy. Don't worry. Now I will see you later."

He smiled at them and turned to leave. Tom was still nervous and said

"You sure Doc? Nothing's wrong?"

The Doctor again placed a hand on Tom's shoulder and said

"Yes, Tom, everything is fine. Don't worry. Now go talk to your lovely wife, and call me when it's time."

The Doc walked out and left Tom and Jill alone. Tom came over to her and sat in the chair next to her bed. She could see he was worried, and she reached for his hand and said

"Maybe we ought to call your parents...I'm sure they would like to be here?"

Tom was silent for a moment then said

"Yeah... I'll comm them."

He tapped his badge and said

"Commander Paris to Admiral Paris."

A moment delay and they hear his dad's voice say

"Tom..What can I do for you?"

He was in his office and had been buried in paperwork most of the morning, so being interrupted was a blessing. He had a meeting with Admiral Janeway in half an hour, but welcomed the call from his son.

"Dad, we're at Medical. Jill has gone into labor, so can you get mom and come over?"

The voice on the other end sounded breathless as they heard

"Jill's in labor? Of course we can. I'll get your mom, and we'll be there soon."

The connection was broken and Tom knew that soon his parents would be here to share in the birth of a new grandson.

It wasn't thirty minutes later that both of Tom's parents were on hand along with Admiral Janeway, Captain Chakotay. Jill had gone fully dilated in the following hour, and the Doc had come back, and shooed all but Tom out of the room. Now they all waited in the waiting room for news of the baby. Finally, after a couple of hours, Tom came out to announce that Micheal Thomas Paris had made his appearance at 15:46 on June 17th 2372. He weighed seven pounds five ounces, and had his mother's hair and eye coloring.

The doc would only allow a short visit, so they were all allowed to see Jill and the baby. Jill was happy, but tired, and Tom had his son in his arms. Both his parents said that Micheal had his father's features, but Tom insisted that his son looked just like his mother. Jill had fallen asleep, so they tried to talk softly. His mother and father watched him rock his new son in his arms, a smile plastered on his face. He looked so natural cuddling his son, that his father knew he was going to be a better father than he had been to Tom. He regretted not spending more time with his only son, and he wanted to make up for that. He and Tom had made great strides in rectifying the past. Now, he had a new grandson to lavish love on and he intended to make up for his past mistakes.

Two weeks had past, and they were home. Tom was sitting in the rocking chair he had made and was rocking his son, who had woken up. Jill had been tired, so he had gotten up to care for Mikey. Now, he rocked and softly sang to his son, who had drifted back to sleep. As Tom looked down at the small life in his arms, he thought again how adorable he was. His hair was as soft as silk, just like his mom's and he always seemed to be curious of his surroundings. When he was awake, he would look at everything that caught his attention. Tom had always wondered, during Jill's pregnancy, if he would be a good father. Having his father tell him of their relationship, and his father's guilt over not being the father Tom had needed, had worried him. But Jill had comforted him and had assured him he would be. Now as he sang softly, he suddenly heard a very familiar voice say

"My, My, Tommy-boy...Don't you look adorable sitting in that rocking chair and singing to your son and you, wondering if you will be a good father. So touching"

Tom froze and looked up. He knew that voice...Q...

TBC