"What time is it?" Kathryn asked as she tightened her silk night gown as it kept coming loose around her large belly, walking into the sitting room to see Chakotay who was stood with his back to her.
"Hay" he said with a dimpled smile turning to her "it's now 20 hundred hours"
"How long was I asleep?" she asked rubbing her forehead and walking further into the room towards him.
"just a few hours" he said softly wrapping one hand around her waist drawing her into a hug and kissing the top of her head before letting her go and asking "drink?" as he picked up a glass of green bubbling liquid and handed it to her.
"Thanks" she said taking a sip looking at him over the top of the glass and for the first time realising that he was wearing an old shirt and pants and was covered in splashes of light green paint "look at you." She laughed before giving her drink a suspicious look.
"New look, do you like it?" she laughed as he spared his arms wide as though showing of some new outfit.
"Suites you" she rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of wood carving which Chakotay clearly hadn't finished with.
"so how does it look?" she asked taking another sip of her drink and turning the dark piece of wood round in her hand to examine it to try to work out what it was.
"Not yet Kathryn Janeway." He told her waving a finger in her face as though telling her off and then taking the wood from her hand.
"What?" she pouted as she felt a sudden crick in her back and her face distorted to show pain.
Moving towards her Chakotay lovingly took her shoulder from behind, gave them a quick massage, kissed her neck and guided her to sit down saying "When it's finished you get to see it." Then with a wink he moved away "not until then"
"I am too exhausted to try" she sighed leaning her head back on the rest of the chair, closing her eyes and rubbing her now extremely pregnant belly.
"well, I could do with a rest" Chakotay agreed looking at how relaxed Kathryn was though he was worried for her, all she seemed to do was sleep. "Dinner?" he asked but waited for a long while for her to reply. Thinking she must have fallen asleep he silently turned towards the kitchen.
"What are you going to cook?" came Kathryn's husky voice without her even opening her eyes to look at him.
Turning to her Chakotay smiled at her pure beauty, leaning in he gently stroked the hair from her troubled face, kissed he cheek and said "You just go sit down there and I'll replicate something."
After Chakotay brought two plates of egg fried rice in sauce he helped Kathryn sit more upright on the sofa as he joined her for a relaxed meal. Kathryn was quiet and he followed her lead thinking she must really have needed the rest.
Just when Chakotay had finished his plate and Kathryn had barely touched hers she speaks deeply without even looking at him "Chakotay I have been thinking."
"Oh?" he asked softly looking at her pain filled face knowing something was going to come next, something he probably wasn't going to like.
Taking a deep breath se turned to look at him and said in her husky voice "a few months back you once said that you thought I should tell Jack I am having his child, give him a chance to be involved."
"I did." She said stiffly without taking his eyes from her.
"Do you still?" she asked seriously.
Chakotay looked at her scrutinizing her for a long moment, it had been so long since he had said that, so long since he I thought it to be that he hadn't considered that within weeks of her due date she would consider bringing it up. He had said it and he had thought it, but that was before he had been engaged to her, before he had set a permanent home for them here together with this baby, he had spent the afternoon painting and decorating the nursery for this child, her child, he had even been carving the sacred birthing plaque of his tribe for the child. Somewhere in it all he had tried to convince himself this child was his. Truth was it isn't his child, could he really tell her not to inform the father. His morals and beliefs had always told him it was the right thing to do could he really ask her to go against it. "Do I still think that?" he asked slowly holding her worried gaze for a long moment.
"Yes" she nodded tilting her head to look deep into his conflicted eyes.
Hanging his head and breaking her gaze he told her deeply "that is not for me to decide Kathryn."
"What if I told him, would you stand by me." She whispered sounding so confused a vulnerable.
"Kathryn, you are my fiancé" he told her looking at her.
"That wasn't the question." He reminded him in her usual husky tone.
"Yes Kathryn I would." He said taking her hand as he sat next to her.
"I want to tell him" she said setting her jaw and holding his gaze with every look of assurance on her face.
"Very well" he nodded with an emotionless expression drawn across his own face. Could her really stop her now?
There was a long silence in which Chakotay battled with his emotions and what he knew was right. Kathryn looked at him when he didn't say anything or even look at her for a long while she whispered "you're quiet"
"Finish your dinner, I am done." He told her without looking at her as he stood, took his plate and moved towards the kitchen.
"Chakotay?" she whispered but he walked away without a backwards glance. As he marched upstairs she heard a loud thud from the nursery above, her eyes slid shut had she made the wrong choice?
Chakotay wrestled with his feelings upstairs and Kathryn with hers down stairs. This was not going to be an easy parenthood, both could see that but both wanted to make this work. This whole situation was difficult but somehow they would make it through. On his way down the stairs Chakotay was greeted by Kathryn stood by the front door struggling to get her coat fastened around her pregnant belly. "Kathryn? Where are you going?" he asked softly coming to her and cupping her face in his hand so she would look at him. Seeing her blue eyes fill with tears she wiped them away with his fingers.
"To see Jack." She told him in a broken whisper.
"What? Alone?" he asked crossly as he moved his hand to rest on her lower back in worried concern.
"Feel like coming?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she met his eyes.
"You're not going alone." He growled taking his own coat and putting it on. When she stifled a snigger he looked at her and demanded "what?"
"You might want to change first." She said waving at his old clothes still covered in green paint.
Chakotay looked down at himself and then smiled himself. Looking up at her he wiped the smile away and said seriously "Don't move from here, I'll be two minutes I am coming with you." And with that he took off up the stairs.
