Seven's heavy lids opened with great difficulty but even before she was fully conscious her gaze had focused keenly on the cot at her bedside, her new baby dozing contently inside, much to Seven's confusion, if Celeste hadn't cried for her than what had woken her in the tranquillity of Sickbay? She got her answer almost immediately as her eyes shifted to the doorway, "Captain!" she exclaimed, startled, forcing her stiff body into an upright sitting position and trying to hide her irrational anxiety at the older woman's arrival.
Janeway gave her a tight smile, "Good morning Seven. I've heard you've had an eventful night?" Only now did a flicker of her gaze acknowledge Celeste's presence.
Seven smiled slightly at the understatement and hearing Celeste whimper into wakefulness, reached over and stroked her small, rosy cheek reassuringly. "Yes." She replied softly. "She was born at 0423 hours this morning."
"Still less than two hours old then, it's just before six." The Captain commented quietly, stepping a little closer to the cot but from her expression Seven could tell she was still rather shocked to see a baby there. "You must have had a short labour, from what my sources tell me you didn't come here until 0200 hours." The statement was detached, even cool.
"Five hours." Seven answered politely before deciding to elaborate, ignoring the Captain's disinterested demeanour. "The Doctor has led me to believe I was very fortunate, lucky, with the normality and speed of my delivery."
"Even your body likes to be efficient doesn't it?" Janeway remarked. "Well, I suppose after all this she owed you an easy time of it in that respect…"
Seven felt her hackles rise, still sensitive about the difficulties of the last few months and her guilt over it. "That's irrelevant now Captain. She was worth it." She managed to keep her tone civil, if cold, but the Captain sensed the rebuke and backed down.
"I'm sure to you she is, that's natural." She responded, a smile plastered across her lips for a moment before the Doctor appearing out of his office allowed her to change the topic. "Doctor, speak of the devil! We were just talking about you, how do you feel your patients are doing?"
"Swimmingly Captain, I couldn't wish for better. They're both doing fine but I'd like to keep them both here for a couple of days for observation." The Doctor replied happily, deeply relieved that none of his worst case scenarios had come true and now content to allow himself to dote on his new little patient.
"Good, that's good." Said the Captain, looking distractedly down at Celeste once more.
Seven, feeling the Doctor's expectant eyes on her, swallowed her apprehension and made a suggestion she knew etiquette had required her to make several minutes ago. "You can…hold her, if you wish Captain." Her reward was the Doctor smiling at her proudly but the Captain herself looked a little unsure.
"Oh…okay." She murmured, stiffly, but carefully much to Seven's relief, lifting the baby into her arms.
Unsettled, Celeste began to whine, making Seven's hands curl into fists against the biobed but the Captain was canny enough to jiggle her up and down a little and she quietened but the sound of his daughter's cries had been enough to finally wake Chakotay, who had been slumped back in the chair next to the biobed, dead to the world, until now. "What's wrong?" he asked sharply, instantly alert. "Kathryn?" he asked with a start when he saw her, shooting Seven a slightly questioning look when he saw Celeste in Janeway's arms.
"Hello Chakotay, glad to see you're finally with us!" Janeway gave a short laugh, "You're looking a little worse for wear."
Chakotay smiled wryly. "Well, dealing with a plasma storm and having a baby on the same night isn't particularly good for a regular sleeping pattern." His attention moved back to Celeste. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"
Janeway sat down in the chair the Doctor had helpfully provided for her and properly studied the baby's face for the first time, both Seven and Chakotay were relieved and gratified to see her expression melt more than a little as Celeste's dewy eyes met hers. "She's…lovely." She complimented truthfully. "You did well Seven." This was said only a little more begrudgingly.
The Doctor beamed. "If I had a guarantee all Seven's labours would go like that one she could have as many kids as she wanted as far as I'm concerned."
Seven and Chakotay were both slightly embarrassed by that comment but it was the Captain who replied, "Let's not go that far Doctor."
Chakotay stiffened as he saw Seven flinch and was about to retort when Celeste began to cry again, wailing properly now, her face flushing red with frustration. "She's hungry, may I have her Captain?" Seven requested hastily.
"Of course." The Captain quickly agreed and lowered Celeste into Seven's waiting arms. "I have to go back to the Bridge but I'll tell everyone to give you at least fifteen minutes before they start visiting, alright?"
"Thanks Captain." Chakotay said, focusing again on his family before she was even out the door.
"It's okay angel, I know, Mama's got you." Seven soothed as she settled down to nurse her again, feeling the knot of anxiety begin to loosen again now that the Captain had said her piece and Celeste was back in her arms again.
Chakotay, noticing that Seven had suddenly gone white and glassy eyed, peered at her in concern. "She didn't upset you too much did she sweetheart?" he murmured, out of the Doctor's earshot.
"No…but I'm glad it's over with." Seven conceded, cuddling Celeste closer for a moment before speaking again, "It's hard to quantify how I feel… I was worried about many irrational things, what if the baby rejected me, what if…I couldn't…love her enough…" She gulped hard at both the memory and the guilt and ever believing such things were possible outcomes. "After all that, and the fear of death and grief, the Captain's opinion of me and my situation seems a rather petty irrelevance…" She turned back to him, hoping he wasn't offended by her words. "Do you understand?"
She was relieved to see that his eyes were warm and understanding. "Perfectly Seven." He absently stroked Celeste's gently waving foot, "At the moment I'm too taken with her to worry much about anything and I like it that way." She nodded slowly and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss.
A/n: Sorry this chapter is so short but please review! I hope the Captain wasn't terribly out of character and I'll have more of the crew's reactions in the next chapter.