AN: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read and especially to those of you who reviewed this story. I got some of the loveliest notes ever and that definitely helped spur my writing along. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this last chapter.

"How did you get in here?' the Doctor asked. "I didn't hear the door?"

"The Q don't use one," Chakotay answered. "You're back. Why?"

Lady Q smoothed her hair. "I was bored."

Chakotay stared at her. "Or you thought about what I said."

"Don't flatter yourself!" she snapped. "What you say or do is insignificant to me."

Chakotay folded his arms. "Oh really? You stop this ship. You force Kathryn and me together. You ensure we have a child that you now plan on kidnapping for your own purposes which is still not happening by the way."

Lady Q crossed her own arms. "And you still can't stop us from doing so. Besides, nothing on that planet looked like force to me. Both you and your little playmate looked to be enjoying each other immensely."

The Doctor had the decency to blush and step out of the way as Chakotay blew out his anger and frustration. "What do you want, Q?"

Lady Q walked over to the sofa and plopped herself down. "I told you. I'm bored."

Chakotay glanced at the Doctor before crossing over to her. "Okay, so let's talk. What do you want?"

Lady Q laughed. "Want? What I want I easily have or I am soon to get."

Chakotay sat down in the chair next to her. "Then let's talk about what I want. I want Kathryn and I want my child. I want my crew returned and I want you to leave and place us on back on course for the Alpha Quadrant. And I want your word that neither you nor any other Q will ever bother this ship again."

A smile spread across her face. "Now this I enjoy. An inferior being making demands of a Q. You're cute."

"It's the right thing to do. You have interfered and disrupted the lives of hundreds of people who have done nothing to you. And now you've proclaimed your intention to kidnap one of them, the most defenseless one, and take her away from her family and her home. That is unacceptable to us."

Lady Q cocked an eyebrow. "And I care why?"

"You tell me. That's the real reason you're here. What do you want, Q? I'll give you anything I can."

"You will give us your child when it's born."

Chakotay slowly shook his head. "No. That, I definitely will not do." He paused and added, "And I don't think you really want her anyway, do you?"

Lady Q stiffened and ran her hand across a pillow. "Q will take your child from you."

"But you won't. You'll stop him."

Lady Q's eyes met his. "Will I?"

"Yes, you will. Why does Q want our child anyway? What do you want from her? Maybe we can give you something else instead."

Lady Q chuckled and glanced over at the Doctor who was listening with rapt attention. "Tell me, Doctor, do these humans amuse you as much as they do me?"

"They do have their moments but what the Commander is saying is true. You can not take a human child away from her parents. It's uncivilized."

"Whoever said the Q were civilized?"

"You did," Chakotay answered. "You're the role models for the universe and to all of us. Is that not correct?"

"That's Q's party line. Not mine."

Chakotay drew closer to her. "Please. Please tell me what you want with my daughter. We might surprise you. Sometimes we lesser beings can solve problems for you with our more primitive thoughts and methods."

Lady Q threw her head back and held her stomach as she laughed. "You? Solve Q problems?"

"Is there a problem in the Continuum? Is the Q family not getting along? Do you really want me to hand over my daughter to live in some war torn place where the Qs are so desperate that they are willing to kidnap an innocent being to solve their own problems? You at least owe me an explanation."

"I owe you nothing. Who told you that?"

Chakotay grinned and sat back. "You just did. And I'll be sure to tell Q what a nice chat we had while you were bored."

She jumped up. "You'll do no such thing! I've said nothing!"

Chakotay looked up at the ceiling and yelled, "Q!"

"Stop it!"

Chakotay flew into her face. "Then you stop him! You help me keep my daughter and we'll talk."

A flash of light interrupted them as Q appeared. He looked between the two and said, "I'm hurt I wasn't invited to this little gathering earlier. What did I miss?"

"I'm ready to negotiate," Chakotay said.

"Negotiate? The Q don't negotiate. Our plan is already in place. When the child is delivered, he will become a Q."

The Doctor looked down at his tricorder and slipped away into the bedroom as Chakotay clenched his fists in anger. "And then what? I have a right to know what and who you're giving my child over to."

Q glanced at Lady Q who sat back down on the sofa. "What have you said?"

"She's told me nothing," Chakotay said. "So, you will. This is your plan anyway, right?"

Q grinned. "Yes, I am the master."

"Fine, master. What are you going to do with my child? If I am never going to know her, at least tell me you plan to love her and take care of her and that she'll be in a safe place. You owe me that much!"

Lady Q called Q over and said, "Assure the man that he won't have to worry about the child. It's positively ridiculous that we even need to discuss it. The child is ours, after all." She looked back at Chakotay. "Or soon will be."

The Doctor walked back into the room. "I'm afraid there is no child to give."

"What?" The three of them chorused together before rushing into the bedroom.

Chakotay found Kathryn lying in the bed still tucked in, just as he had left her. He checked her middle and there was the swell of his child. He let out his pent up breath and placed his hand against his chest to try and calm his racing heart. "Doctor, you just said there is no child but Kathryn is…"

"I'm sorry, Commander," the Doctor said softly. "They both appear to have…There was nothing I could do. It was too fast. They were both already gone."

Chakotay's mouth opened as he looked at Kathryn and felt her forehead. Her skin was cool and, as he glanced at her chest, he realized for the first time, that she wasn't breathing. "No, no, no." Chakotay pulled back the covers and saw her sheets bathed in blood. He tilted her head back and felt for a pulse on her neck but there was nothing. "No! No! This can't be! This isn't right!"

Frantically, he began rescue breathing for her as the Doctor calmly tried to explain that he had done all he could. Kathryn and the baby were gone. After several minutes, Chakotay let out a growl and whirled around to both Qs who stood watching the scene before them. He grabbed Q by the chest and said, "Bring her back! Bring them both back now, Q!"

"It's not possible," Q said. "This shouldn't have happened."

The Doctor stepped forward. "Her readings indicate that she hemorrhaged. Her placenta looks like it was separated from her body at some point and then reattached in an unnatural way. I don't understand how that happened. It took a while for her to bleed out but it was inevitable."

Chakotay's rage intensified as Q got a knowing look. "You did this! When you took that child from her body…you killed my daughter and you killed Kathryn. And now I'm going to kill you!"

Chakotay stepped away and brought his fist back to swing at him. Q reeled as the punch connected squarely against his cheek. Chakotay turned to Lady Q who put up her hand and said, "Raise one fist to me and I'll end you!"

"I don't care. Do it! I want to be with my family!"

"As you wish." Lady Q began to snap her fingers until Q stopped her.

"Commander!" the Doctor called out.

Q wiped a bit of blood from his face and said, "Obviously I need to brush up on this human anatomy and the dangers of assuming the fully corporal form. That hurt!"

"Well get ready for some more pain," Chakotay said. "You killed my family and I'm going to take you with me to hell."

With a flick of his wrist, Q tossed Chakotay over the bed where he landed hard on the floor. Turning to Lady Q, he said, "Well this is a problem. Where are we going to get a kid on such short notice? The Continuum can't wait. We need one now!"

"May I ask why you two don't create your own?" the Doctor said.

Q wrinkled his nose. "Qs mate? It's never been done."

"Obviously it has been done," the Doctor said. "Where did you two come from?"

"Why the Q have always existed…We don't…oh…now we've gone from talking to humans to talking to photons. I don't have time for this. I need a child. The Continuum will not survive without my son as its savior!"

"Then I suggest you get busy and make one," the Doctor said.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay knelt by the bed softly stroking Kathryn's hair. He touched her stomach. "You can have this one."

"Commander," the Doctor said. "I'm afraid there is no way…"

"They're Q. They can bring them back."

As the Qs exchanged glances, the Doctor walked over and knelt beside the commander. "Trust me, you don't want to do this."

Chakotay turned his tear stained face to the Doctor. "I have to. I can't live without her."

"We can't do it," Lady Q said.

"Why not?" Q asked.

"Because it messes with the timeline, Q. With the Continuum already up in arms, do you really want to risk eternal judgment and damnation over reviving this primitive woman and her child?"

"Well, if the child is my son…"

"She's not yours," Chakotay said. "She's mine. I love her and I always will."

"Eternal damnation, if you're wrong, Q" Lady Q mumbled. "And let's face it, you usually are."

Q huffed. "Then what are we supposed to do? We need a son."

The Doctor took a deep breath. "Might I suggest the Q become true trailblazers and supreme leaders and do something no one of your kind has ever done before? I can tell you from experience that outgrowing your programming is one of the greatest joys in existence."

"What are you babbling about?" Q said. "It's almost like talking to Data but not nearly as interesting."

The Doctor frowned. "I'll let that go and suggest that you and she get together. I could also suggest some nice mood music as well to help facilitate the process."

"Us?" Lady Q shook her head. "Never!"

"It could be fun," the Doctor answered. "Most species quite enjoy it."

Lady Q glared as Q took her arm and started to drag her into the other room. "Absolutely not! Never!"

As they disappeared, the Doctor knelt down again by Chakotay who was still stroking Kathryn's face. "Commander?"

"This can't be. You examined her right before they got here. How could you not have detected…"

The Doctor touched his arm. "Wait. But we don't have much time."

The Qs came back into the room. "Well, that was fun." A small male child blinked at them from Lady Q's arms. Chakotay and the Doctor's mouths dropped as Q added, "Well, aren't you going to congratulate me?"

"Well done, Q," the Doctor said slowly. "Well done, indeed."

"Yes, well, I am good, aren't I?"

Lady Q tickled the baby boy's chin and said, "Very good."

"Well, we're off," Q said. "So sorry for the inconvenience." He looked down at Kathryn and added, "And I really do wish there was something I could do about that. But, you're quite the human male. I'm sure you'll find another one in no time. Which reminds me..." Q snapped his fingers. "You have your crew back. Shall we, my dear?"

Lady Q nodded and, with a snap, they both disappeared from the ship.

The Doctor grabbed his medical kit. "I thought they'd never leave. We don't have much time to revive her."

"What did you do?"

"I told you I've had months to study the medical journals and computer databases. A medical journal on sedatives and a fascinating history of an old Earth tradition called Halloween caught my attention."

Chakotay smiled. "Nice work."

The Doctor adjusted his vial. He pressed the spray into Kathryn's neck and she stirred.

Chakotay put his lips to hers and kissed her. "Kathryn, come back to me. It's over. They're gone."

Kathryn's eyes fluttered open and her hands immediately went to her child. "My baby."

Chakotay placed his hands next to hers and together they felt small movements that gradually gave way to stronger kicks.

The Doctor waved his device over all of them and announced, "Mom, Dad, and baby girl all check out just fine."

"Baby girl?" Kathryn whispered.

The Doctor looked puzzled. "Yes, baby girl."

"We've always called her a she," Chakotay said. "But we had no way to know for sure."

"I knew it," Kathryn said. "I always knew."

Chakotay kissed her again as they heard the entryway door fly open. Tom and Harry rushed into the room, weapons drawn. Tuvok and a full security team followed close behind.

"Captain!" Tom immediately knelt down and stared at the red stained sheets. "Captain, what happened?"

"At ease, Lieutenant," the Doctor said. "It's all been taken care of."

Tom stared at the obvious child growing inside his captain and then slowly let his eyes make contact with hers.

Kathryn smiled. "It's a girl. Chakotay and I are having a baby girl."

Harry and Tom exchanged glances while Tuvok cleared his throat and said, "Captain?"

Chakotay stood up and said, "It's a long story. One I am sure you all have as well. Let's update our logs and we'll go from there at the staff meeting. 0800 hours tomorrow."

"That will be minus the Captain," the Doctor said. "She needs her rest."

Kathryn sat up and said, "Oh no. I've been away from this ship and my command for too long. I'll be there."

"But Captain," the Doctor protested.

"I'm pregnant, not an invalid, Doctor. We'll argue later."

Tom put his hand out to the Commander. "Congratulations."

Chakotay shook it and said, "Thanks!"

Tom swiped his chin and said, "Not to be out of line here but do you remember what day this happened? You see, we had a betting pool and I could use the rations…"

"Thomas Eugene Paris," the Captain said. "Get out of my quarters, now! I think you'll find you have a ship to fly home. We've lost a lot of time. Let's try and make some of it up."

"Yes, ma'am." Tom grabbed the Doctor on his way out. "We'll talk later."

After a few more instructions to Tuvok, Chakotay and Kathryn finally found themselves alone again. They kissed as Chakotay held her tight. "I never want to be separated from you again," he said.

"You never will. We have a child now. We're in each other's lives forever."

Chakotay kissed her forehead. "Sounds good to me except for one thing."

Kathryn's forehead wrinkled. "What?"

"Marry me."

She caught her breath. "What? What did you say?"

Chakotay slipped from the bed and got down on the floor on one knee. "Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway, will you marry me?"

Kathryn's eyes shone with tears only this time they were tears of joy. "Yes, Chakotay. Yes, I will marry you."

"Then, our world is perfect."

He stood up and pulled her to him. She rose up on her tiptoes to capture his lips and, after a few minutes, Chakotay pulled back and stripped the bed of the reddened sheets. Only the mattress remained and he looked down and smiled. "Just like old times."

He drew her down with him and they quickly came together once more. With their child kicking in earnest between them, they made love again and again sealing their promise to each other that they were now and forever, a family.