A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, starting with Angel's Fallen Knight who gives me so much encouragement she's become my favorite Left-tenant. Ha. Ha. I know it's a little juvenile to list all ya'll here, but I'm gonna. I rarely do that and it's because I really, really appreciate your encouragement. These stories take a LOT of time to write because of the science research part and it's nice of you to invest some time to say thanks by leaving a review. So thank you for making the process enjoyable: Misdirection, Traces_of_Being, MirandaMinerva, Nightwing 503, Hotandcoldwulf, Omega Hawkeye, Trackerpuppy, Twitrek23, Veritas 31, RedandBlonde, Ifuritka, Inditonk, Alex R. Bold, Sabriel99, Lurmez and Beaumont Santana.

Enjoy. I had a total blast writing this chapter. I hope you like it and the story so far.

Quantum of Chaos

Epilogue: Labor of Love

The morning watch flicked on, brightening the bedroom of Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine. Janeway turned awkwardly from the wall light, burrowing her face into Seven's back while nestling further under the covers.

"I believe every passing day it is increasingly difficult to wake you, Kathryn."

"I'm tired," she huffed in her gravelly morning voice.

"You have slept ten hours each night for the last twelve."

"Your baby likes to kick me."

Seven turned, pulling as close to Kathryn as her enormous belly would allow. She rubbed it, feeling a thud against her palm. "Ah, she kicks me as well."

"I almost wished she'd grow as fast in the womb as some of the kids grow after birth," Kathryn said. "Then I'd be done with this gestating business."

"The Doctor estimates another week."

"I could've smashed his holo-emitters."

When her wife didn't respond, Kathryn looked up, opening one eye. "I'm kidding, of course."

"Many of the crew believe your irascible nature of late is indicative of a much delayed delivery."

Kathryn frowned. "That's an old wives tale, or it better be at any rate," she hissed. "I'm not sure I can take much more of this."

"Thirty five women have delivered already. They have taken the full measure of pregnancy and survived," Seven reasoned. "Forty-four will be delivered—"

"That's a horrible thing to say," Kathryn said. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am on your side." Seven leaned in and kissed pouty, unresponsive lips.

"My back hurts."

"Shall I rub your back?"

"No, then I'd have to sit up and that would make my head hurt."

"Then your head will hurt in approximately—"

The alarm chimed a reminder that alpha shift would commence in seventy-five minutes.

Janeway kissed the meaty flesh just above Seven's breast and slowly rolled over. She sat up, swaying slightly because her center of gravity had shifted overnight it seemed. She sighed heavily and hauled herself up.

Her belly was of normal circumference for someone who was thirty-nine weeks pregnant. But Kathryn was sure that no one had ever been this big, except the Delaney sisters who'd each given birth to a set of twins only a month ago. The two sets were now walking, talking rugrats nearly a meter high.

Janeway leaned back, scratching her protrusion and waddled to the ensuite. She emerged sometime later cursing the tunic that would not zip. "I could zip this damn thing yesterday," she hissed.

Seven raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, you required the use of my Borg appendage to cinch the front closed in order to zip it."

Janeway frowned and then suddenly hurled the jacket at the wall. The satisfaction of abusing it was quickly replaced by panic when she heard her pips ping around the room.

Seven watched one pip bounce against a wall and fall to the center of the now-made bed. She reached for it, proffering it to Kathryn. "Perhaps you would allow me to replicate a new, larger tunic."

Seven watched Kathryn's features harden. "I knew you were going to say that!"

"Most, if not all, women will have their midsection amplified at least two or three times their average volume during pregnancy."

Kathryn closed her eyes. "The facts do not make me feel better, Seven."

Seven unmercifully gripped her own wrist behind her back. She looked around the room and then at her fractious partner. "Then please enlighten me as to what will assist you prepare for your duty shift."

Janeway froze in the middle of backing up to look under the bed. "I've never known you to be sarcastic. Why start now?"

"I have not," Seven replied. "I merely inquired—"

"I'm pregnant, not deaf!"

Seven resisted the temptation to respond, merely tipping her head hoping it would be a sufficiently vague response that Kathryn could mistake it for acquiescence. She did.

"Can you at least get the three other pips that rolled under the bed?"

Seven almost said, "My pleasure." But decided it would be misconstrued. She easily retrieved the pips. She rose from her knees to find Kathryn wearing her unzipped, one-pipped tunic.

"I'm wearing the damn thing this way!" she snapped, flapping each side.

"I believe I did not comment on your attire," Seven said, holding the pips out and waiting for Kathryn to tell her what to do.

"You gave me that haughty Borg look!"

Seven raised her ocular implant, but wisely remained mute.

"There it is again!"

"I apologize if my natural expressions are mis…." Seven pressed her lips together, using the opportunity to change strategies. "I apologize."

Kathryn finally noticed the pips in her hand. "Can you please put them on me? My jacket is too tigh—never mind that." Kathryn tipped her head, giving her spouse access to the right side of her tunic collar.

Seven took each one and lovingly applied them to the perfect spot. Then she tipped her own head crossways and kissed the sinew that stretched the elegant length of Kathryn's neck.

Kathryn sighed, reaching up her hand pat Seven's star-bursted cheek. "I'm sorry, darling," she whispered. "However do you put up with me?"

Seven held herself immobile. The dangers of the Kobiyashi Maru test crystallized. Any answer she provided to her spouse in her present condition would be incorrect, regardless of the quantity of caveats. But how did one escape the no-win situation? She had read that James T. Kirk had cheated on the test, changing the perimeters of the program to allow a response that did not include self-destruction. Efficient, she thought. But a pregnant Kathryn—however prickly her current condition—was beyond the repair of simple code alternations. No, Seven would have to be more cunning than the Borg Queen, more stealthy than the Hirogen and more powerful than Species 8417, if she were to escape unscathed to kiss another day.

"Seven?"

Seven's internal alarms rang a code red. Warning! Your delay has—

Janeway dropped her hand from Seven's hip and frowned. "Am I so awful right now that you can't even answer?"

Seven fought hard to keep her eyes from slamming shut. She'd never been hit with two deceptive questions in a row. Her morning was going to deteriorate beyond a simple pout. Kathryn would now…

Heavy tears fell from the gray eyes and Kathryn's lovely face was a jumble of pain and frustration. "I am awful," she whimpered. "Admit it."

Ahh, at last a way out of the morass!

Seven seized Kathryn and pulled her as close at their large fetus would allow. She kissed the tears away, while cupping her ear. "You are wonderful," Seven replied. She was rewarded with a faint smile. "And beautiful—"

"Why haven't you touched me in three weeks then?"

"Oh, my Kat," Seven whispered. "I have desired you daily, but you have indicated every night you are fatigued and you have fallen asleep the instant your head impacts the pillow."

She cried into Seven's shoulder as the Borg stroked her hair. "You're the one who's wonderful."

Seven tipped her chin and kissed her lightly. Again their lips lingered one over the other, smacking with each impact. Kathryn opened her mouth and Seven's tongue surged forward in a frenetic, hungry kiss.

Seven's hand slipped easily into Kathryn's tunic to cup one of her engorged breasts. "How fortunate for me," Seven whispered against her lips. "My access has been expedited by your traitorous jacket."

Kathryn threw her head back and laughed, drawing Seven's lips to the hollow of her neck. "Oh, how I adore you!"

A bang at the door of their bedroom made them both jump. "I'm starving!" came the familiar cry. "Why isn't breakfast ready?"

Kathryn groaned disappointment. "Why can't she just use her commbadge? Why does she have to pummel the poor door?"

"I believe Eridani is more satisfied with the unusual methods."

"Hello! Are you even awake yet?"

"One moment," Seven called behind her shoulder.

They heard a mumbled litany of invectives as she stepped away from the door. "I hope she outgrows those swear words she learned from Mr. Commagees," Kathryn said. "They are so unevolved."

"The Doctor said we should avoid reacting to her use of swear words to defeat her enjoyment of them."

"Hmm," Kathryn said, their foreheads together and still embraced. "I don't think it's working."

=/\=

Seven was setting the breakfast plates at the table when Kathryn emerged from her bedroom. Dani was about the plow into her meal when Seven ordered her to halt. "It is customary to wait on your entire family to be seated before commencing the ante meridian meal."

"But I'm famished," she said. Her growth recently had been at alarming rates. She was up to Kathryn's nose and every day she gained a little. The Doctor attributed her extraordinary growth—beyond what Voyager's other children were experiencing—to Seven's Nordic heritage.

Kathryn stepped up to her daughter's chair. "Good morning," she replied, kissing the top of the girl's red head.

Dani reached around, letting her arm stretch as far around her rotund mother as it would go. "Morning, Cap," she said.

Just as Cappie bent over to place a kiss on the girl's cheek, she felt a torrent of warm fluid cascade down between her legs. She looked up at Seven in alarm. Dani looked up at her mother in puzzlement.

"Cappie, um, I think you—Mom, I think Cappie—um, I'm not sure—but I think Cappie pissed in her pants."

Cappie frowned at the ugly word. "I did not urinate," she managed to say through gritted teeth. She really wanted to berate the eight-year-old for selecting the most vulgar expression she could.

"Um, yeah, you did."

"Eridani, point of fact, Cappie has experienced amniorrhexis, which is the natural process of the rupturing of her membrane. The liquid you see was in the amniotic sac."

Dani crinkled her nose and looked up with an air of disgust. "Ew."

Cappie looked away, slightly embarrassed and sighed. "I suppose better here under the unsympathetic watch of my daughter than on the bridge."

Kathryn and Dani watched Seven replace Cappie's breakfast into the recycling station. "Computer, recycle."

"Seven, I was going to eat that!" Kathryn protested.

"The Doctor informed all spouses and significant others that upon commencement of labor, you should not be given biomatter to consume."

"But I'm hungry," she whispered.

"It will prevent vomiting during labor, Kathryn," Seven replied.

"Oh gross, Mom! Geez," Dani said around a mouthful of Risian pancakes.

"Eridani, I will inquire whether Ensign Wildman may—"

"No!" Dani shouted, holding her palms up. "No, no and hell no!"

Seven's face was placid, but Kathryn's turned red at the use of an invective, however mild. Seven faintly shook her head for Kathryn to refrain from responding to the word. Kathryn pursed her lips and whirled. "I'm going to change then."

"Please replace your uniform with sleepwear for sickbay."

Kathryn waved as she disappeared behind her sliding bedroom door.

=/\=

Janeway arrived to find a sickbay hopping with at least five other women, further along in various stages of labor. She and Seven were waved to the last remaining biobed that had privacy shields already in place.

Several hours and a few hundred contractions later, the Chief Medical Officer and Dr. von Behring had not returned since their initial evaluation.

"You've got to be kidding me," Janeway growled through another contraction. She grimaced and tried to hold her breath.

"Kathryn, you must respirate."

"It hurts, dammit!" she said through gritted teeth.

"You hinder the full strength of your contractions if they cannot receive needed oxygen."

"Where's the damn doctors?"

Seven's Borg hand held Kathryn's. It was less strained by the force of her grip, particularly during the painful contractions. She was bent over, her face close to Kathryn's "You are operating within normal parameters," she whispered.

"That's what you think! I'd like to see you shove a watermelon out of your vagina and see how you like it."

Seven was unflustered. "You are exhibiting maternal psychosis, brought on by the rigors of childbirth."

"Maternal psychosis? Did you just make that up?"

"Yes," she said, evenly holding the stare.

"You lied to me?"

"No, I distracted you," Seven said, straightening up. "Your contraction is complete."

Kathryn glanced over to see the monitor flatline. "I'll be damned," she said.

When she turned back to stare at Seven, the Captain's mouth was half cocked in a tremulous smile. "You know you shouldn't have told me, darling. How are you going to distract me for the next thousand?"

Seven smoothed Kathryn's wet hair back, kissing the temple and then the side of her mouth. "Perhaps it is time we discuss the addition of more children to our collective."

"More? How many did you have in mind?"

"We will surpass the golden mean, with this child," she said of geometric constant. "I do not believe pi will be feasible with its unending decimal places. However, we are within reach of the second of Conway's constants?"

Kathryn looked up, breathing deeply as she tried to recall her mathematics. "I forget," she said. "What number is that?"

Seven studied the woman, wiped her brow again, and offered her a sip of water. "Eleven."

Just when Kathryn was about to protest loudly, another contraction hit. She growled, shaking her head. When she came out of it, Kathryn's face was red. "If you think," she said panting, "that I'm going to bear nine more of your children, you have a helluva lot of nerve, lady!"

Seven raised an eyebrow.

Then Kathryn let Seven have it with a bevy of swear words that would make even a sailor blush. When she had finished her tirade, Seven offered the woman ice chips. "Now I understand the origin of Eridani's infatuation with profanity."

Kathryn bared her teeth in a feral snarl and then braced herself for another contraction that hit her in the abdomen like a planet hurtling at light speed. She seemed to curl up, shrinking into herself. Her eyes were clamped down and her mouth was a prim line. When it was done, she emerged panting. "Oh, shit! That hurt. Just when I think it can't get any worse, it does."

Kathryn tried to sit up, but Seven patted her shoulder and shook her head.

"Where the hell are the Doctors?" the Captain asked.

"They are with other patients who are further along, Kathryn?"

"Rank has its privilege!" she growled. She instructed the computer to locate the doctors and hail them.

"Captain?" the Chief Medical Officer said with a sigh. "Can't this wait? Gilmore is about to deliver."

Seven leaned down, whispering into her ear. "You will regret abusing your authority, Captain"

Kathryn grumbled something under her breath, before saying: "As you were, Doctor!"

The next contraction hit, drawing every corner of the woman into her center. She lost track of time and space, only pain existed. When it finished, she emerged panting again. "Damn, that smarts."

"I believe you said that," Seven said, wiping her brow.

Janeway turned an incendiary glare on her wife. "Are you going to let me say it again? Hmm? Or are you now the labor police?"

Seven studied her for a bit, and then shook her head. "Labor police do not exist."

Dr. von Behring appeared behind the holographic curtain. "Ah, good morning, Captain," he said cheerfully. He glanced up at the chronometer and chuckled. "I mean good afternoon. My, how time flies when you're having fun."

Seven braced herself for her wife's inflammatory response.

"Who's having fun?" Kathryn growled. "Because if they are, I want their drugs."

The Doctor looked up. "Many of the other women are trying to go as long as they can without medical intervention. They want to experience the full range of labor in the time-honored traditions of their ancestors."

"Fuck that!" Janeway howled.

"Captain! Really!" von Behring said, drawing closer and initiating a sound dampener around Janeway's biobed.

"I'm in labor," she said through gritted teeth. "Labor is—"

"Laborious?" von Behring offered with a smile.

"A bitch!" Janeway pronounced the last word as hard. Spittle flying onto von Behring's sleeve.

Dr. von Behring gave her a patronizing look. "Everyone has their own take." Then he unceremoniously lifted her blanket and inserted a holographic finger in her birth canal. Janeway jumped and flinched.

"Next time, warn me, Doctor," she huffed, gripping the bed with a death grip. "And if this baby isn't born within the next—"

The Doctor withdrew his hand, lifting it as a surgeon would. The holographic appendage flickered, disappeared and reappeared. "There, all sanitized. Well, Captain, the bad news is you're only dilated five centimeters," he said, adjusting her blanket again.

"What the good news?"

He patted her distended belly and smiled amiably. "You're halfway there."

"Fuck that, too!" Janeway cried out in a long mournful sob, tears joining the sweat of her face.

"That's no way for a mother to talk," Dr. von Behring chided.

Defying her fatigue, Kathryn pushed up on her elbows and pointed a shaking finger at the holographic doctor. "When I finish with this, I am going to personally scrutinize ever line of your programming with my hand wavering precariously over the decompiling key."

"Even B'Elanna isn't this belligerent," von Behring said to Seven.

When Janeway made to rise, von Behring stepped away from the bed and addressed the reasonable Borg. "I'll be back in an hour to reevaluate the Captain. In the meantime, keep her comfortable—" He spoke louder to cover Captain's other invective. "If things progress faster than normal, call one of us."

"What about epidural anesthesia for Kathryn?" Seven asked.

The Doctor blinked. "Oh, yes, we could do that. I didn't think about that. Let me go replicate the proper medicine and syringe."

Janeway softened her gaze at Seven. "Thank you, darling."

Seven captured a hand that only moments ago had been in a white knuckle grip under the onslaught of childbirth. "You are mine to care for, Kathryn."

Kathryn's expression turned loving and then suddenly she grimaced and began a long shrink inward as her uterine contractions began.

The Captain did not even jump when the red alert klaxon sounded on the ship. Seven stood erect and tapped her commbadge, as she looked down at her wife. Kathryn would likely want to walk to the bridge, unless Seven provided her with the information she needed. "Seven of Nine to the Bridge."

"Bridge here." Chakotay's voice was clipped.

"I require a report for the Captain."

"The fireflies are back in full force. They are attempting to penetrate the shield. We are modulating them and that appears to be working. Will keep you posted. Chakotay out."

Seven sighed. It had been at least 12 weeks since any other incident from them. Seven considered a recent course alteration that she'd plotted into the Astrometrics. She was still wondering at that when Janeway emerged from the contraction.

"What's wrong?" She tried to sit up but Seven held her shoulder. The ship buffeted and they could hear the pops and cracks of conduits in sickbay.

"Commander Chakotay has the matter in hand. It is an appearance of the energy beings."

"Now? They come now! What else could go wrong?"

Sickbay was suddenly plunged into the dark, leaving the emergency track lighting along the deck plating. The hum of the machines softened and then finally hushed.

"Shit!" It was the Klingon rage of B'Elanna Torres a few biobeds down.

"It's okay, B'Elanna," Seven could hear Tom Paris say. "I'm a trained medic."

"I don't want a train medic!" she howled. "I want a damn doctor!"

"He's offline, apparently. So is von Behring."

Janeway looked over at Seven. "I think I can kiss that epidural goodbye."

"Yes, I believe you will be experiencing the full range of labor as your ancestors did."

Janeway scowled, her lips twisted to unfurl a volley of swear words, when another contraction hit for which Seven was eternally grateful.

=/\=

Seven mopped the Captain's forehead and brushed her wet red tendrils back. "You are doing admirably," she whispered.

For the past hour, Kathryn had been too tired to respond with anything other than grunts or an occasional murmur or gesture. "Doctor?" Her voice was hoarse.

"Engineering is working on power as we speak."

Seven heard the door swish open. "What are you doing here?" It was the voice of Ensign Culhane, whose girlfriend was in labor.

"Mom!"

Seven recognized Dani's yell. She patted Kathryn's arm. "I'll be but a moment."

She stepped around just as two fathers-to-be approached her. "As you were, gentlemen. I'll handle it from here."

Dani was bouncing nervously from one foot to the other. Her hands were shaking. "What is the matter, Eridani?" she whispered on approach.

Dani looked around before speaking. "I, ah, I got a message. From…" She jerked her head.

Seven put a hand over her shoulder and took her into the corridor. "What did it say?"

"The baby," she squeaked. "She will be sick when she's born."

Seven became fully alert. "What form would the sickness take?"

"The Borg nanoprobes will activate upon exiting the birth canal."

Seven realized that Dani was reciting the message verbatim.

"You must program your own nanoprobes and inject them to prevent her assimilation."

Seven stood up, caressing her chin. "You have done well. It will be fine."

"Do you think…" Dani looked longingly at the sickbay entrance. "Think she'll be okay? Cap and the baby, I mean?"

"Yes, especially since you have be successful in delivering a timely message. You should receive a family commendation."

Dani smiled at her mother. "Give Cap a kiss for me?"

Seven kissed Dani's cheek before replying affirmatively.

=/\=

Seven had been relieved when power was restored to sickbay only moments ago. Janeway's legs were raised in holographic stirrups. The biobed sheet had been removed. She was covered only from the waist up. Her hair was sopping and her face fatigued. She was pushing with every contraction, which were about a minute apart.

The Chief Medical Officer waltzed in. "I can see the head," he exclaimed.

"Epidural," Janeway husked.

"Too late. She'll be out in the time it takes to replicate it." He put a hand on the Captain's bare knee. "On the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can."

Janeway grunted in frustration. "Do I look like I'm sipping an Altairian brandy?"

"You're doing a fine job, Captain." He glanced at the monitor, which had also reactivated. "Here it comes."

She groaned, gripping Seven's hand with an intensity that fascinated the Borg. Because it was her Borg hand, she was able to measure the energy output, it being equivalent to power the holodeck for an hour.

Seven felt as if her heart would stop when a baby girl slipped out of the birth canal, her skin a pale pink and her umbilical cord trailing behind her. "Oh, Kathryn," she whispered.

"Is she okay?" her wife croaked.

"I have seen nebulas and the births of stars, but never have I witnessed something so beautiful as our daughter's birth."

Kathryn fell back, panting. "Good," she whispered, closing her eyes. But she snapped them open with the girl's first wail. It was shaking and infuriated. The second was weaker and the third was nearly nonexistent.

Seven watched as small Borg implants began to appear on the baby's face, then her torso, her arms and at last, her legs. The Doctor severed the umbilical cord and reached for the child. "I never expected this," he whispered.

"Expected what?" Kathryn asked, concerned but unable to see.

He was about to whisk her away when Seven grabbed his arm. "Lay her down, Doctor."

"But I can't. I must—"

"Now."

He watched as Seven of Nine's assimilation tubules began to sway. He set the soundless baby down, her body still coated with blood and mucous.

Seven grimaced as her hand neared the child's neck. Eridani's warnings have been true. That was the litany inside her head as she pierced the child's neck. The baby did not cry or react in anyway.

"What's happening," Janeway asked, still flat and barely able to make out the body of her child.

"I have inserted nanoprobes in order halt her assimilation."

They watched breathless. One minute. Then two and three. Finally, the Borg implants began to withdraw and within five minutes, her skin was flawless and her crying returned with a fury.

"She's cold," the Doctor said quietly. "Seven could you take her to the bathing station. Make sure you keep her under the heat lamp, while I finish up with Kathryn."

Kathryn gurgled disapproval in her throat, but the Doctor patted her bare ankle. "You can see her when she's nice and clean. You have to push out the afterbirth and then tidy up."

"How did she get Borg nanoprobes, Doctor?" Janeway asked, as the Doctor massaged her stomach.

"I suppose any cell of Seven's will possess a certain amount of nanoprobes. They must have been dormant during gestation, waiting for the future drone to mature."

"Not a future drone," the Captain corrected.

"Quite right," he said, apologizing.

=/\=

Kathryn kissed the wrapped baby in her arms. She was resting after taking a little breast milk.

"Was breastfeeding difficult?" Seven inquired.

"Not compared to pushing her out," Kathryn said, lightly bouncing the baby in her arms. She adjusted the pink receiving blanket that was wrapped tightly around her body.

Dr. von Behring stepped through the privacy shield. "Ladies," he said quietly. "You have a little visitor who wants to see her sister. Is it okay to send her in?"

Both mothers looked thrilled. "Oh, please do," Kathryn said.

Dani stepped through, stopping at the perimeter as she eyed the scene. Her mothers smiled reassuringly.

"Cap, are you okay?"

"Yes, darling, thank you for asking. I am now. Want to take a peak?"

Seven made room for Dani by the bed. She leaned over while Cap pulled the blanket from the girl's face.

"Can you uncover her head?"

Kathryn tugged the blanket down and proffered the girl up. But neither mother expected Dani's reaction.

"Are you sure you have the right baby?"

The parents shared an amused look before Kathryn responded. "Yes, we are. Why do you ask?"

"So she didn't get swapped accidentally?"

"No, we are 100 percent sure. Is there something wrong?"

"Well, yeah."

Both parents became rigid. "What is it, Dani?" Janeway asked, her heart beating nearly out of her chest.

"She doesn't have red hair," she said seriously.

Janeway's anxiety melted and she gave her eldest daughter a crooked grin. "Well, no, it looks like she'll be a blonde." She rubbed the girl's soft head, feeling the downy soft fuzz.

"That's not fair," Dani said crossly.

Janeway couldn't help herself and she laughed out loud, earning a fierce glare. "I'm sorry, Dani. It's just you scared us for a second there."

"She should have red hair."

"I am blonde," Seven pointed out.

"My grandmother was blonde," Janeway replied.

Dani crinkled her nose and harrumphed.

Janeway tugged Dani's hand, wiggling it about playfully. "So what should we name her?"

Dani thought for a moment. "How about Spiro?"

Janeway tried to keep her smile from dimming. "Not a good idea, I think," she whispered as gently as she could.

Still staring at the yawning baby, Dani was pensive. "How about…."

Her parents were breathless, not wanting to shoot another idea down, but not wanting a bizarre name either.

"Um, how about Shannon?" She looked into Cappie's eyes, which lit up.

"Shannon," Janeway said experimentally. She looked at Seven with a raised eyebrow.

"It is suitable," Seven replied.

Dani took Seven's hand. "Shannon Astrid Janeway. What do you think, Mom?"

"Astrid was my grandmother's name," Seven whispered to Kathryn.

"Then Shannon Astrid Janeway it is!" Kathryn said with a joyful laugh.

Dani was pleased her selection was well received. "Can I hold her?" she asked.

Seven offered her a chair. "You must sit first. I will place the child in your arms."

Just as Seven was going to lay the sleeping baby there, she pulled back. "You must never touch the soft spot on the top her head. It will cause brain damage. Do you understand?"

Dani's eyes were wide and intent on her sister. "Yeah, yeah. Can I have her?"

Seven slipped the baby on Dani's lap and folded the older sister's arms around her for stability. She pulled back and Kathryn took her hand. "Everything's going to be okay," she whispered.

Seven nodded, still intent on Dani's technique. "Keep your elbow high, Eridani," she said. "It supports the infant's enlarged cranium."

"I want a holopicture of those two," Kathryn whispered. "It will be a beautiful memory."

=/\=

A week later, Seven held the sleeping baby to her, cradling her with one arm. She and Kathryn had been relieved that she was not going to grow as fast as Dukat Wildman, but the Doctor theorized it was that she did not get as much theta radiation exposure as he and Voyager's other children. His caveat was that many of the children grew at differing rates, so Shannon's growth could change at any time.

The child slept peacefully, her delicate blue veins mapping her small eyelids. Seven ran a hand over her spiky blonde hair. Never had she felt this content. Shannon Astrid Janeway, her daughter. She smiled faintly when the child cooed.

Then Seven went back to programming an Astrometrics sweep of the parsec of space ahead of them. She was recalibrating a route home that would shave off any time possible.

Halfway through the sensor sweep, the baby began to stir. The chronometer read that it was oh-nine-hundred hours, time for someone's nutritional supplement. She remained asleep, so Seven began to sway gently as she continued working at her station, the large image of stars on the viewscreen in front of her.

At oh-nine-thirty, the child proclaimed herself awake with a shaky squawk. Seven peered down, watching her move her head from side to side. She settled down when she discovered her fists, sucking on them for comfort. Seven resumed the swaying and continued working.

At ten-hundred, Shannon Janeway expressed her full outrage with an ear-piercing yell. Its undercurrents were newborn trebles. But the indignation of hunger was unmistakable. Seven glanced at the door and then unswaddled her, flinging the receiving blanket over her shoulder.

She held the baby against her chest, relieved this quieted the unruly child. But her relief was short-lived, replaced by a sensation of suckling at one of her nipples. The child had latched onto one of Seven's breasts through her biosuit. Seven yanked the baby away, dangling her at arm's length. Immediately, Shannon's face turned scarlet, her mouth opened but strangely silent.

Seven looked down to find that the material covering the tip of her breast was darkened from baby saliva. Then the baby's deafening wail filled Astrometrics, sound waves bouncing haphazardly about the empty facility striking Seven's eardrums like a ratchet against a steel pan. Seven did not register the door that slid open, until someone was beside her.

"What are you doing?" Kathryn asked, reaching for the crying child. "Come here, darling." Kathryn nestled her close, the baby responding with quieter cries. "Are you hungry?"

Seven frowned, knowing that the last two minutes had not been a reflection of their entire time together. "She needed breast milk approximately one hour ago."

"Why didn't you call me?" Kathryn walked the child over to Seven's workspace. "May I use your office?"

Kathryn turned, handing the child back. She began to scream immediately, a crimson coloring returning in a split second.

"You are being deceptive, Shannon," Seven said evenly down to the furious baby. "You have been content for exactly ninety-two-point-three percent of our time together."

"A hungry baby is extremely unreasonable," Kathryn said, as she unzipped her tunic. "I'll just be a minute. I have to strip."

"I am well acquainted with the custom," Seven said, as she glanced around the cavernous Astrometrics Department. Seven instructed the computer to place a level ten security lock and used Borg encryption codes. Kathryn was naked from the waist up, her normally small breasts were over gorged with milk. White drops baptized the tawny tips.

"Let me see my little love," she said, cooing as Seven placed the squalling child into Kathryn's arms.

Instantly she quieted down, finding a milk-giving breast to latch on. Kathryn ran a hand over the girl's hair. "That's it, sweetheart," she cooed.

Seven stood there for several long moments, watching the scene. It was at once heartwarming and arousing. Kathryn looked up to find Seven's lusty stare, recognizing it for it was. Kathryn cupped her free breast.

"Pull up a chair," she said in a gravelly voice. "There's one spot available."

"That is a nutrition for our baby," Seven protested in a dry mouth.

"There's plenty," Kathryn said.

"Your invitation is a jest," Seven said, her eyes fixed on the fat tip.

"Not if you really want to try," she purred.

Seven could tell that Kathryn was aroused. It had been more than four weeks since they'd made love, three of them prior to birth. Hormones were racing through their blood streams like quark particles in a lab. Parts were perpetually swollen.

Seven actually considered placing her mouth around the tip, sucking on it. But finally discarded the idea. It would be less functional and more sexual. With the baby beside her, Seven decided it would be unacceptable.

"Perhaps when the Doctor clears you for sexual relations, we could incorporate an appetizer of breast milk into the foreplay."

Kathryn seemed disappointed. "All right," she said. Kathryn's eyes flicked to Seven's biosuit, one of her peaks was unusually darkened. "What happened to your uniform?"

Seven looked down, sighing. "Shannon is under the false impression that all breasts supply her meals."

"Yours are rather full, darling," she said with a crooked smile. "But empty."

"Correct," Seven said.

Suddenly, Kathryn got a mischievous grin. "You know, you could always just let them serve as a pacifier."

"Pacifier?" Seven could not contain the look of horror and Kathryn laughed.

"It was just a thought," she chuckled.

"My idea of pacification involves compression rifles."

"Babies like to suckle, sweetheart," Kathryn said, gazing down again at the blonde bundle in her arms. "It's soothing to them. She may not necessarily need for you to express milk."

Seven covered each of her breast tips with her palms, the very idea of allowing another human being to suckle there for anything less than sexual seemed alien.

Kathryn snorted at Seven's disgusted look. "Oh, darling," she replied, knowing that one of Seven's favorite positions was for Kathryn to suck the tall woman's nipples while her hand brought her to climax. "S'okay, Seven. Just kiss me at least."

Seven leaned down, pressing her lips gently to Kathryn's mouth. But the Captain was hungry for more and it became apparent as her kiss turned demanding.

Seven pulled back reluctantly. "Kathryn, you have not been cleared as of this time index."

"No," she said, closing her eyes. "But my body doesn't care."

"I am anxious as well, but it is more suitable to wait." Then Seven looked around, never having considered that Astrometrics was a suitable place for sexual congress.

"Damn," Kathryn said. "You used to be so easy to seduce."

Seven stared at her spouse for so long that Kathryn opened her eyes. Her concerned look brought another easy chuckle to the Captain.

"You are being facetious?" Seven didn't mean for the comment to be a question, but she wasn't sure. Sleep deprivation had shredded any ability Seven had to read subtleties.

Kathryn took the woman's hand, raising it to her lips. "Yes, my love." She felt the baby let go. "Oh, it's time to burp."

Seven placed a towel over Kathryn's shoulder and watched her lay the baby there, gently patting her back. "I find it pleasurable to watch you nurse our child."

"I find it pleasurable to be watched by you."

"Perhaps we should have another."

Kathryn laughed softly. "Let's just raise the two we have and go from there."

"Very well."

=/\=

A few nights later, the computer chirped on in Kathryn and Seven's bedroom. "Eridani Janeway reports to Captain Janeway that Shannon Janeway is crying."

Kathryn opened a single eye to look at the chronometer. "Damn. It's only been two hours." She shoved the covers off of her, reaching for her robe to cover her naked form.

Seven snuggled into the bed. "I would accommodate the child if my mammary glands produced milk."

"I know, darling. It's the thought that counts." Kathryn turned on her heel. "Of course, you could always change her while I prepare her nutritional supplements."

Seven sat up. Her golden locks were in disarray. "I will comply," she said as she reached for her robe.

The mothers slipped through Dani and Shannon's door to find the baby crying in her bed. "She's crying again!" Dani wailed.

"So I hear," Kathryn whispered. At the sound of the door, the baby had stopped crying and looked up to smile at her mother. Kathryn strangled a gasp in her throat. She wasn't a newborn. The child looked to be at least three months old. She'd more than tripled her weight in one night. Her bed was wet and her small diaper had been shredded around the larger baby.

"Oh, my little love," Kathryn cooed. "You are soaked." She handed her over to a yawning Borg. "I'll strip the bed while you change her."

Seven disappeared with the baby, while Kathryn ordered for the computer to raise illumination to one third.

"Why can't I have my own room?" Dani mumbled into her pillow.

"Because there is none available," Kathryn said, stripping the crib.

"Naomi has her own room."

Kathryn sighed heavily. "Where does Dukat sleep?"

"He sleeps with his mother."

Kathryn shook her head once and clicked her teeth, tossing the soiled linens in a pile. "Sorry. That's not going to happen here."

"But why not?" Dani rose to one arm.

"Because I share my bed already and we're full up."

"This reeks." She threw herself down, the bed squeaking slightly.

"Wait until she's eating solid foods," Janeway said with a chuckle.

"Did you ever share a room with Aunt Pheebs?"

"No, but we lived on a farm. It's your tough luck to live on a starship."

"Maybe we could move her crib to the living room then."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because she goes to sleep at 6 p.m." Janeway said, placing her hands on her hips as she watched her prone daughter. "Would you really be quiet enough out there to let her sleep?"

"Yes."

Janeway laughed and shook her head. "No, you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would!"

Seven appeared with a baby nestled against her. Her little fists were batting the air and she was cooing. "Pips," she said. "Shannon awaits her midnight snack."

"Computer, lights out."

The lights went dark, allowing a small Voyager night light to glow on the wall between Dani's bed and the crib. "Good night, Dani," Janeway said, as she followed Seven out.

"It's not fair!" Dani yelled to the door as it slid closed.

=/\=

A few days later, Captain Janeway came skipping home. After arguing for two days with the Chief Medical Officer, he'd finally allowed her to return to duty about two hours a day. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was better than staying in her quarters.

She unzipped her tunic as she stepped in to find Seven sitting on the couch, with Dani on one side and a blonde on the other. The blonde was about ten days old, but physically she looked closer to three.

Both Shannon and Dani were applying paints to their mother's face. Dani had painted a river scene on Seven's left side, with her ocular implant as a jumping fish caught on a fishing pole. Shannon had painted Seven's starburst yellow and painted a green meadow.

The physical and cognitive growth from this morning, when Shannon appeared to be closer to a year old startled Janeway into silence.

Seven looked up and smiled, drawing her children's gaze to Cappie. "Computer, delete paints."

Seven's face was scrubbed of all paint. Shannon awkwardly climbed down and ran to the Captain, shoving her tunic aside and trying to untuck her undershirt. "Yay, Cappie!" the girl said in a soft palate. "I hungwy!"

Janeway looked helplessly at Seven and then down to the three-year-old toddling, falling and toddling to her. "Captain to sickbay."

"Von Behring here, Captain."

"I need you in my quarters. Now!"

Shannon fell to her bottom and started to cry, jarring Janeway from her shock. She picked her up and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just need a word with the Doctor. Would you like a little milk in a cup?"

Shannon's bottom lip came out in a pout. "I want milk from hewe." She patted Janeway's aching and engorged breast, causing her to leak fluid and dribble down her shirt.

The Captain frowned as she paced.

She studied the girl's face as she tried to soothe her. She had the same blue eyes as Dani, but her face was leaner more like Seven's, but with thinner lips like Kathryn and with evidence of a strong dimple at the chin. Her blonde hair was shoulder length and still retained an almost white hue.

Von Behring materialized in the living area of the Captain's Quarters. "What's the problem, Captain?"

Janeway started to speak, but stopped. "Dani, could you please excuse us?"

"But why?"

"It's a private matter."

"But Shay gets to stay."

"It involves her and I want the Doctor to examine her."

"It's not—"

"Fair," Janeway finished the oft-repeated phrase. "Yes, I know. But guess what? Life isn't fair. So skedaddle."

She pouted her way across the room and into hers.

She inhaled deeply and handed the girl to the Doctor. He nodded as he took medical tricorder readings. "She's perfectly healthy but growing at rates consistent with other babies on Voyager."

"But she wants to breast feed, Doctor."

The Doctor gave her a face. "Yes, and that's a problem because…?"

"She's not a baby? She's verbal. She's cognitive."

"Captain, I assure you, she may look older but she is still only ten days old. Her age is encoded at the cellular level." The Doctor glanced up, putting hand to chin. "It's a fascinating study, really. Telomeres are little snips of DNA that hang at the end and—"

"Dr. von Behring. It's fascinating. But beyond the scope here of our discussion."

"Well, as I was going to point out—eventually—Shannon may appear to be older but her body still has the nutritional needs for your breast milk."

Kathryn rubbed her lips together. "Doctor, she's asking me for breast milk!"

"So give it to her," he said nonchalantly.

Kathryn scratched her eyebrow in frustration and then bounced around the room as the girl began to fuss and try to pull up her shirt. "It's not—it's awkward, Doctor. She's lifting my shirt! What if I were to be in the Mess Hall and she came up and tried to drink?"

Dr. von Behring gave a shrug. "A crewmember would think the child is thirsty."

Kathryn strangled a frustrated groan in her throat.

After watching the exchange intently, Seven stood up and retrieved the child from Janeway's arms. Shannon burst into tears. "But I want to suck Cappie's boobies," she wailed.

Janeway frowned, lifting a hand to indicate the crying child. "It's—" then in a whisper "—undignified."

Dr. von Behring's face softened. "It's perfectly normal, Captain. Some human cultures breastfed their sons until they were past five."

Janeway gave a horrified expression.

Shannon continued to wail. Kathryn looked remorseful for giving her up so she took the crying child back, while keeping her from angling her tiny mouth over tender nipples.

"Captain," the Doctor finally said, eyeing their struggle. "Just feed your daughter. Worry about dignity when you're an admiral."

Then von Behring dematerialized.

Shannon threw her head back to scream until she was red and her face was wet.

"Okay, baby, okay," Janeway cooed. "Seven can you push my shirt up."

Seven quirked a corner of her mouth. "My pleasure," she said.

Janeway couldn't keep a tremulous smile from her face. "Later, darling. First things first."

Shannon latched on and closed her eyes. Both Kathryn and Seven could hear the swoosh of the milk into her mouth and see her muscles swallow it. "I hope she isn't twelve when she decides to give this up," Kathryn said sardonically.

Seven kneeled beside them to brush the blonde locks from Shannon's cheek and kiss her. She continued to run the backs of her fingers along the girl's cheek.

She stopped abruptly and looked at Kathryn. "I cannot imagine a better life than this with you and our subunits. Thank you, Kathryn."

"Are you crying, Seven?"

She batted at her tears. "My lacrimal ducts are malfunctioning."

Kathryn leaned over as far as she could go, considering the little person attached to her. "Come here, darling."

Seven leaned in and Janeway captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "I never realized I could be a Captain and a wife and a mother. You have opened me to all these wonders and I look forward to the next fifty or sixty years."

The End.

A/N: I hope you liked this story. Please drop me a line and say so. I spend a lot of time working on it.

The next book in the saga of Cappie, Seven, Dani and Shannon will be "Living Daylights." I will begin it as a separate story very soon. I had thought about including it as part two here, but there is a big time gap, so I thought it was best to start a new "book." There will be three more total, including "Living Daylights," in this series.

"Living Daylights" summary: The beings of light are still toying with Voyager, pulling them into a stretch of space that no one has ever seen before. Can they find a way to communicate? Meanwhile, the adults on Voyager are captured and enslaved by a mysterious ammonia-based race who live inside a gas giant planet (like Jupiter) on the edge of the galaxy. The children are left to die on a powerless Voyager amid the wreckage of other lifeless ships. Just when things can't get any worse, some Borg cubes show up looking for Seven of Nine's and Captain Janeway's daughters. Is there any hope of finally reaching home?