Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

Hearts Astray

Chapter 25

5 WEEKS LATER

In the kitchenette of her new apartment in Florida, Kathryn helped her six year old redhaired niece, Amy, decorate a chocolate cake they'd just baked. It had taken Kathryn less than a day to find the apartment as she'd fallen in love with it as soon as she'd seen it advertised. The apartment was spacious, elegant, and from all the windows was a glorious view of the Gulf of Mexico. It was the perfect home for a working couple and she was sure Chakotay would love it too.

"Do you think," Amy asked as she carefully placed candy stars on the cake's chocolate icing, "that when people eat our cake they'll notice it's burnt inside?"

"I'm sure they won't," Kathryn replied. "They'll just think it's crispy."

"I hope they don't. And I don't think they will because it looks lovely, doesn't it?"

"Very lovely," Kathryn smiled. "You've done a wonderful job."

Amy put on the last star and then cheered. "Yay! It's finished!"

"Bravo," Kathryn said. "Well done!"

There were a few candy stars left in Amy's bag and she held them up. "May I eat these, Aunt Katie? Please?"

"You may," Kathryn answered.

Amy smiled and got stuck into them.

Suddenly, the apartment's main door opened and Harry came in with Libby. They were now back together and were staying with Kathryn for the weekend.

"Hi," Amy said when she saw them. "You're Harry and Libby, aren't you? I'm Amy Jackson, Aunt Katie's niece. Phoebe, her sister, is my mother and my father is Richard Jackson."

Harry smiled. "It's good to meet you, Amy."

"I'm staying over tonight," Amy went on, "because Mommy and Daddy have gone to Chicago. I'm having your bed when you leave this afternoon."

Kathryn left the kitchen area and walked over to them. "How was your swim?"

"Great," Harry said. "Of course, Libby's a much better swimmer than me. But I managed to keep up."

Amy proudly pointed to the chocolate cake. "Look, Harry and Libby. Look at what we made!"

"Wow," Harry said. "That's some cake. Is it chocolate?"

"It is. With vanilla cream, chocolate icing, and candy stars."

"It looks delicious. Did you really make it?"

"We did. Do you want a piece?"

"I'd love one," he smiled.

Amy turned to Libby. "Libby?"

"Yes," she replied. "Thank you."

Kathryn gestured towards the dining area, where black chairs surrounded a glass table. "Then sit yourselves down and I'll cut us all a slice."

Harry and Libby went to sit down and Amy went with them.

"We worked really hard on it," she said, climbing onto a seat. "Really hard. We made it from a recipe, not a replicator, and mixed it and cooked it ourselves."

Libby smiled. "I'm impressed."

Kathryn brought the cake over with a knife and lay them down on the table. "Would you all like a drink?"

"Oh yes," Amy said. "We must have a drink. Then it will be like we're in a cafe! I'll have a lemonade. A pink one."

"I'll have a pineapple juice," Libby said.

"And I an orange," Harry added.

"Then one pink lemonade, pineapple juice and orange juice coming up," Kathryn smiled. "But first let me get some plates...unless you all fancy eating your cake off the table!"

Amy laughed. "I so don't, Aunt Katie. Fluffy sat on it."

Fluffy was Kathryn's white cat and he was presently curled up on a black couch sleeping. Being a dog woman, Kathryn had been somewhat bemused to be given this ragamuffin as a home-warming gift by Reg Barclay, but now she loved him. He greeted her every morning with a meow and a rubbing of legs and he was as much of a character as any dog she'd ever had.

"Do you have any pets, Amy?" Libby asked.

"I do," Amy answered. "I have a dog called Tango. He's the cutest dog in the whole Federation. Granny has him today. That was the deal. Granny got him and Aunt Katie got me. He's a real handful, you see, so Granny can't look after him and me."

Kathryn returned to the table with plates and forks and ruffled her niece's curly red hair. "Which definitely gave me the better bargain," she said.

Amy laughed and then watched as her aunt went over to the replicator. "What are you having to drink, Aunt Katie?"

Harry smiled. "Do you have to ask?"

"For your information," Kathryn said, "as much as I love coffee, I do drink other beverages."

"That's news to me," Harry declared. "I've never seen you drink anything but coffee."

"Then prepare for a first because I'm having an apple juice."

As Kathryn replicated the drinks, Amy spoke.

"We, that's Aunt Katie and me, are going to the beach this afternoon. We're going to build sandcastles."

"Sounds like fun," Libby smiled.

"It is. I love making sandcastles as much as I love making snowmen."

Kathryn brought their drinks over on a tray and Amy clapped. "Yay! Our drinks! Now sit down, Aunt Katie, and cut the cake! I can't wait to try it!"

"I'm sitting," Kathryn said. She then picked up the knife. "And I'm cutting."

Carefully, she cut out four slices and put them on plates.

"If the cake tastes hard," Amy said as Harry put a piece into his mouth, "it's because it's crispy, not burnt."

"I see," Harry smiled.

Amy watched as Harry chewed his piece and eagerly awaited his verdict.

"Delicious," he said. "Not hard at all."

"Really?" Kathryn asked.

"Well," he teased. "I have strong teeth."

Kathryn laughed and then sampled a piece herself. To her surprise, it was good. "You're right," she said. "It is delicious. Well done us, Amy!"

The child laughed and then turned to Libby. "Do you like it, Libby?"

"I do," she smiled.

Having had everyone's approval, Amy began to eat her own slice, getting cream and chocolate all over face and fingers.

"Use the fork, honey," Kathryn said. "You're making a right mess of yourself."

"I always do when I eat cake," she answered. "But that's ok, Aunt Katie, it's only cream and will wash off."

"Prevention is better than cure. Go to the bathroom, wash yourself up, and then come back and eat like a lady."

"Oh, but..."

"No, buts. Be gone."

Amy sighed. "Ok. I'm going."

With that, she got up and went into the bathroom.

"You must forgive her bad manners," Kathryn said. "What can I say? My sister raised her."

Harry laughed. "She's a great kid. And she looks a lot like you."

"She does," Kathryn replied. "Every one says so."

"I'm glad Voyager is home," Libby said, "and you can be a part of her life."

"Me too," Kathryn answered. "I'm glad we all have a chance to be a part of our families lives again. Children grow so fast and the time we lose is lost forever."

Amy returned now and hurried over to the table. "I'm all clean," she said. "Not a spot on me!"

"That's not quite true," Kathryn said, pointing to a spot on her cheek that had not been washed away in the child's haste to clean herself, "there's one right there."

Amy rubbed the spot hard. "Is it gone now?"

"Yes," Kathryn said, kissing her cheek. "It's gone."

Amy smiled, climbed back into her chair, and began to eat what was left of her cake with her fork.

"What are your plans for this afternoon?" Kathryn asked. "Anything interesting?"

"We're going to Miami for the day," Harry said. "We want to see the sites and check out the new Art Gallery."

"It's wonderful," Kathryn said. "I went there with Phoebe last weekend and we spent hours going through it all."

As the grown-ups talked about the Art Gallery, Amy picked up her pink kiddie tricorder, which she'd left on the table earlier, and began to play with it. The Art Gallery was of no interest to her and neither was the cake now they'd all eaten a piece. First she played a game, but when she was bored of that, she moved on to other things. This was when she made a discovery that perplexed her.

"Aunt Katie, what does this mean?"

"What, honey?" Kathryn asked.

"Why my tricorder says there are eight lifesigns in this room when there are only four people and one cat?"

Harry spoke. "Maybe Fluffy's not a he after all and is having kittens," he joked. "That happened to my aunt once. She was convinced Dingleboy was a boy until one morning she woke up and Dingleboy had given birth to three kittens."

"Do you think that's it, Aunt Katie?" Amy asked hopefully. "That Fluffy's a girl and is having kittens?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you and Harry," Kathryn smiled, "but Fluffy's definitely a boy. You're probably reading the tricorder wrong, honey."

"I'm not. It definitely says there are eight lifesigns."

"Girls or boys?" Harry asked.

Kathryn answered. "Kiddie tricorder's aren't that sophisticated. At least, this one isn't." She held out her hand. "Let me see, honey."

Amy handed her the tricorder.

"Definitely eight lifesigns," Kathryn agreed. "It must be malfunctioning."

"What's malfun-tuning?" Amy asked.

Harry helped her out. "It's when something's not working properly."

"Ah. It is an old tricorder. Maybe I should have a new one, Aunt Katie."

Libby spoke. "Perhaps it's picking up lifesigns from the apartment next door or above."

"Most likely," Kathryn said. "The lifesigns are weak."

"But can I have a new one anyway," Amy begged. "Just incase it is broken?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied. "I'll replicate you a new one later."

"Yay!" Amy cheered. "Thank you, Aunt Katie."

"You're welcome," Kathryn smiled. "Now, let's get ourselves into shorts and t-shirt. We've got castles to build!"

"We so have," Amy laughed. "We so have!"

"My other tricorder can't have been broken," Amy said to Kathryn as her aunt tucked her up in a pink bed that night, "this one says the same thing. Well, not exactly the same thing, as it says there are five lifesigns now instead of eight, but that's still two more people than is here if we count Fluffy in the lounge."

"Then Libby must have been right," Kathryn replied. "It's picking up the neighbors."

"I suppose. I wish it was Fluffy having kittens, though. I'd so love him to have them. Love, love, love it. And I could have one, couldn't I, Aunt Katie?"

"You could," Kathryn said as she sat on the bed, "but what about Tango? You know what they say about cats and dogs."

"Oh, Tango wouldn't mind. He likes cats. He doesn't like Mrs Benson's cat next door, or Mr Julan's cat down the street, but that's because their cats are ugly and nasty. Ginger, Mr Julan's cat, tried to scratch Tango's eyes out once, just because he was chasing her out of our garden. He chased Kitty too, Mrs Benson's cat, and a black and white one from I don't know where. But he'd love one of Fluffy's kittens, he really would."

"Well," Kathryn smiled, "as Fluffy is never going to have any kittens, we'll never know otherwise." She picked up two storybooks that Amy had dumped on the bed. "Now, which of these books do you want me to read?"

"Both of them. They're very short, Aunt Katie. Very, very short."

"Ok, then. Both it is. Which do you want first?"

Amy pointed to one, a bright blue one with fairies on the front. "This one."

"Then this it is."

Amy smiled and then snuggled up close as Kathryn began to read.

The following morning, Kathryn was awoken by Amy's chirpy voice.

"Time to get up, Aunt Katie. Up, up, up, lazybones!"

Kathryn sluggishly sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "What time it is, honey?"

"I don't know, but late." She held out a glass of orange juice. "I replicated this for you."

Kathryn took the glass but the last thing she felt like was a drink. Her stomach was churning and she felt quite nauseous.

"Thank you," she said. Then she addressed the computer. "Computer, what time is it?"

"The time is 11:08 hours."

11:08. Then it really was late. "You're right," she said. "It is late. I've clearly overslept."

"That's ok, Aunt Katie. I don't mind. I haven't been up long myself. I was so tired last night that I fell asleep as soon as you left the room. I don't, usually. Usually I'm awake a long time. Not a long, long, long, time, but still a long time. I think we exhausted ourselves building sandcastles."

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Phoebe came in. "Hello all," she smiled. "We're back."

Amy joyfully ran over to her mother and hugged her. As she did, Phoebe looked in amusement at her sister.

"What's the matter, Kath? Has my darling worn you out?"

Amy spoke. "Not me, Mommy, building sandcastles."

"I see," Phoebe smiled. "Looking after a six year old is tougher than the Delta Quadrant, eh sis? But seriously, Kath, you don't look well. Are you ok?"

"I've been better."

"Maybe you should call your doctor. You might be coming down with this blinzi flu that we've all had."

"Maybe. I don't suppose it will hurt to have a once over. I'll call him later."

"Call him now. Me and Amy will get out of your hair. Come on, darling. Let's pack up your things."

At this, Amy groaned. "Ooohhhh! I don't want to leave now, Mommy! I want to stay longer. Me and Aunt Katie are having such a great time. Please let me stay longer, please, please, please!"

"Aunt Katie's not well, darling."

"Then we should stay and take care of her. I'm a great nurse and the flu makes you feel awful sick."

"We'll call back later and see how she is."

"Oh, but Mommy..."

"No buts. We're packing and leaving."

Amy sighed. "Ok, Mommy."

With her head hung, Amy slowly walked out of the room.

"Anything you want?" Phoebe asked Kathryn. "Toast, pancakes, cereal?"

The very thought of food made Kathryn want to heave. "Oh, don't even mention food."

"That bad, huh? But make sure you drink plenty."

"I'll do my best."

Phoebe then left and, after another wave of nausea passed, Kathryn reached for her commbadge.

"Janeway to The Doctor."

Almost instantly, The Doctor answered. "Doctor here."

"I need a house call."

"Is it an emergency?"

"No, but the sooner you get here, the better."

"Then I'll be there within the next hour."

"Thank you, Doctor. Janeway out."

As the connection terminated, Kathryn lay back down and closed her aching eyes. She felt as though she'd been awake for days, even though she'd slept for over eleven hours, and she hadn't felt as lethargic since coming out of stasis. No doubt she was coming down with this blinzi flu that was doing the rounds. But, with Chakotay due back any day, the last thing she wanted was to be sick!

Phoebe and Amy were gone by the time The Doctor arrived. Kathryn was also feeling better, so much so that she was out of bed, and she welcomed him into her apartment with a smile.

"Thank you for coming so promptly," she said.

"For you, Admiral," he smiled, "I'll always drop everything."

Since Chakotay's departure, Kathryn had been promoted to Admiral and assigned her own office in Starfleet Headquarters. Unlike most of the Voyager crew, who were taking at least three months off to adjust back to life in the Federation, Kathryn was working part time. She needed the mental stimulation and she found keeping busy helped her readjustment.

"That's good of you to say so," Kathryn said. She picked up a cup of cooling coffee, took a sip, and then gestured to the couch. "Please, take a seat."

"Don't mind if I do," The Doctor said, sitting. "Now, what's your problem, Admiral? You're not too sick for coffee, so are clearly not at death's door."

"I hope not," she said, sitting opposite him, "but I thought I was this morning when I woke up. I felt awful."

"Symptoms?"

"Nausea, lethargy."

The Doctor opened his medcase, pulled out his tricorder, and then stood up to scan her.

"I thought I was coming down with the blinzi flu," Kathryn told him as he scanned her, "but I'm fine now."

"And so you should be," The Doctor declared. "There's nothing wrong with you. Certainly not the blinzi flu. But you'd better get used to the nausea and prepare for discomfort. You're pregnant."

Kathryn's mouth fell open and she almost dropped the cup she was holding. "Pregnant?"

"That's right. Approximately five weeks. And as the father's Native American, no prizes for guessing who he is or what you and he got up to at the welcome home party."

"But we didn't," Kathryn said. "Not then..."

The only time she'd been intimate with Chakotay was during that out-of-time experience on New Earth. Could she really have gotten pregnant then? She definitely wasn't pregnant when Dr Kednoff examined her, but as it could take several days to conceive after intimacy, she might not even have conceived by the time Chakotay left for Trebus. But if she was pregnant, if she really had conceived as a result of that out-of-time experience, it was astounding.

"Well, whenever and wherever you got up to it, you're pregnant."

"And you're sure, absolutely sure?"

"Positive. You're five weeks pregnant."

As the news sank in, Kathryn smiled through tears. "Then I'd better cut down on coffee."

"Indeed. And you can start with that cup."

Kathryn put down her cup and then questioned. "Can you tell what it is? I mean, a girl or a boy?"

"Yes. And more besides."

"What do you mean?"

"You're having triplets."

Kathryn's eyes widened in disbelief. "Triplets?"

"That's what I said."

Kathryn put her hand to her dizzy brow. Triplets? She was having three babies? One was incredulous enough!

"I can't believe this, Doctor," she said. "I can't... " And yet, Amy's tricorder had picked up three faint lifesigns. Had those lifesigns been her babies? No, it just couldn't be true. It just couldn't be! "This has to be a dream," she went on, "some kind of alternate reality."

"I don't see what's so hard to believe," The Doctor answered. "You know the chance of multiples increases with age. As to triplets, well, 1 in every 8,000 births are triplets. If that one is going to be anyone, we can count on it being you."

"But..." Kathryn mumbled.

"You're pregnant with triplets, Admiral, and that's one hundred percent fact."

For a long moment Kathryn said nothing, did nothing, then she smiled. "I suppose you're right, if this must happen to anyone it's bound to happen to me. But it's really true? I'm really having triplets?"

"Yes."

A tear of joy ran down Kathryn's cheek and she clumsily wiped it away. "This has got to be that anomaly's doing," she said, "but if it is...if it's tripled my eggs somehow...I owe it a debt I can never repay."

"I doubt this has anything to do with the anomaly. It's simple science, Admiral. You ovulated, the egg was fertilized, and then split."

"Then they're identical?" Kathryn asked. "All of them?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "You cannot infer that."

"Oh, but I want to know. Tell me. What am I having?"

"Very well, you're having identical boys."

Sons. Three sons. Chakotay's sons. The happiness was almost too much to bear!

Kindly, The Doctor sat beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You are happy about this, aren't you, Admiral? This pregnancy clearly wasn't planned."

"I'm delighted," Kathryn said. "Absolutely delighted. And Chakotay will be too. At least when he gets over the shock."

"I take it you and he are a couple now?"

"Yes." Their marriage was still a secret and she intended to keep it that way for the moment.

"Then congratulations. And congratulations on the babies."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Suddenly, a female voice spoke through his commbadge. "Wyler to The Doctor. Medical Emergency."

The Doctor sighed. "On my way." He then got to his feet and addressed Kathryn. "You and I clearly have a lot to discuss, not least your diet, so I'll call tomorrow. Is 15:00 hours convenient for you?"

Yes," Kathryn replied. She then stood too. "But I must ask you to keep this news to yourself. I don't want anyone to know yet."

"Of course I will. Doctor/patient confidentiality." He then tapped his commbadge. "Doctor to S.H.Q.T.S. Return transport request."

A male voice answered. "Stand by."

The Doctor then smiled at Kathryn. "Good day, Admiral. And congratulations again."

A blue transporter beam then engulfed him and he disappeared. When he was gone, Kathryn dashed over to her cabinet, picked up her tricorder, and scanned herself. She needed to be sure that it was true, that she really was expecting triplets. Even now she could not quite believe it! But as soon as the scan was complete, the tricorder confirmed there were three lifesigns inside her. Kathryn laughed with joy and then curled up on the couch with her tricorder. For so many years she had longed for a child, but now at 46 she thought her chance had passed. But it hadn't. By some miracle, she was now not only pregnant but pregnant with triplets. For once fate was being kind to her. All she needed now to complete her happiness was for Chakotay to come home. Because he would be happy at the news, she was sure of it. He'd always wanted children too but the time had never been right. Now it was right, for both of them, and she couldn't wait for the rest of their lives.

END OF CHAPTER 25