Author: Storyspindler
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Well, I guess that I would say you need general knowledge of the show, including the final season.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while, and if TPTB want to take some notes, they are more than welcome.
Author's notes: This is a continuation of A Probing Problem, and it would probably be helpful to read that one first. This one has to be dedicated to my parasitology professor. Thanks Dr. Mitschler. Also, for those wondering whether or not this is J/C, I would have to say yes, but for those of you against the pairing, you shouldn't find any of this hard to digest. Remember, some of the best relationships stem from the strongest of friendships.
At only ten weeks along, Janeway pulled on her maternity uniform
for the first time. She smoothed the fabric over her slight abdominal
bulge, watching her profile in the mirror and deciding that she looked
utterly ridiculous. Whoever heard of a captain in a maternity uniform? She sighed loudly, trying to force back the images of her reoccurring nightmare
involving encounters with a new alien species, who would burst into laughter
at the sight of her, but what caused her the most distress was the fact
that the laughter spread to her own bridge crew as well.
Tugging at her jacket one more time with dissatisfaction, she resigned
herself to the fact that she was only going to get larger. About
to turn away from the mirror and step out of her quarters, she stopped
short at a strange sensation in her abdomen. It was soft like a single
butterfly tickling her from the inside.
The frown on her face melted into a look of wonder as she realized
that she had just felt her baby move for the first time, and her hands
moved unconsciously to caress the spot as if she could communicate to the
baby through her touch. Suddenly, the concepts of being pregnant
and having a baby converged in her conscious mind. With a small smile
finally alighting upon her features, she left her quarters.
The Doctor smiled as Janeway walked into sickbay for her weekly
visit. As the pregnancy continued smoothly, her routine visits had
decreased from daily to weekly. "Well, I see that you decided on
a change of attire this morning.
"Don't rub it in, Doctor." The command in her tone was also laced
with jocularity as she boosted herself onto a biobed. "I think that
I felt the baby move this morning. It was like someone was tickling
me from the inside."
"It's very likely. According to the medical data that the probe downloaded into Voyager's memory, the timings right." He ran the tricorder over her. "The baby's looking good, Captain, but I'd like you to put on a little more weight."
She sat up, astonishment clearly evident on her face. "You can't be serious. I'm only ten weeks, and I'm already in my maternity uniform."
"Captain," The Doctor looked annoyed as if tired of the
conversation or finding the concept too menial to discuss, "we've already
discussed that you're going to have to put on more weight than a normal
human pregnancy because this isn't a normal human pregnancy. The
Nosnhoj genes are obviously dominating the fetal development, and you're
going to have to compensate. If you don't put on a little more weight,
I'm going to have to start restricting your duty."
The Doctor's proclamation had effectively revived the discomfort and
dissatisfaction she had experienced earlier that morning. She glanced
down at the rounded protrusion of her abdomen, small as it was, and rubbed
it self-consciously. When The Doctor opened his mouth the say something,
she pushed herself off of the biobed.
"Thank you, Doctor. I'll see you next week at the same time."
The Doctor shook his head. Despite everything and underneath
it all, she was still the captain. She still had to pretend as if
she was invincible and nothing bothered her. At least she had to
eat and sleep regularly now.
Janeway settled into her chair, relieved to be on the bridge where she could block her insecurities and be in control.
It wasn't meant to be.
Smiling, Chakotay leaned over to her with his voice lowered. "The uniform looks good, Captain. It suits you."
Her head began to throb in protest at having to work so hard to block the resurgence of her uneasiness. She was the captain, and she had to remain strong in the presence of her crew, no matter the circumstances. As the throbbing refused to dissipate, she knew that she needed some time alone to simply get her mind of everything.
"Commander, you have the bridge. I'll be in my ready room."
She went immediately to the replicator, "Computer, cof-" Catching herself in time, she changed her order, "Water. Fifteen degrees Celsius."
She missed her coffee, and the decaffeinated variety just wasn't
the same.
Predictably, the door chimed. She didn't want to talk to him,
but she knew that if she ignored the chiming, he would only become worried
and would use his authorization code to open the door.
"Come in." A smile of triumph nearly snuck through her defenses as Chakotay stepped into the ready room. "Commander, what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to apologize if I said something to offend you."
She averted his gaze before responding. "You didn't, Chakotay."
"Then what's bothering you? Does it have anything to do with your appointment this morning?" Concern gripped him as he translated her silence as an affirmation of his prediction. Stepping towards her he questioned, "Is there something wrong with the baby?"
Her head snapped up, and her words came just as quickly. "No. The baby's fine."
His anxiety had yet to be assuaged. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. The Doctor just wants me to put on a little more weight."
Chakotay struggled not to release a sigh of relief. She
had scared him for a minute, really scared him. "Kathryn, does the
weight gain bother you?"
"Not really. It's just that putting my hands on my hips doesn't
seem to have the same effect any more." She demonstrated with a contagious
smile.
Though he was smiling, silent alarms were going off in Chakotay's head. He knew he too well, and that knowledge was telling him that she was using humor to hide the truth.
She knew him too well, and that knowledge was telling her that she was not fooling him and that he was not leaving until she talked to him. Motioning towards the couch in an invitation for him to join her, she led the way to it.
Sinking into the fabric she began, "Chakotay, I look ridiculous, and I'm only going to get bigger."
You look beautiful. His heart voiced the words, but
his tongue could not.
"I just don't look like a captain. How can you demand respect
while wearing maternity clothes?"
"Captain, the crew isn't going to lose respect for you. In fact, they probably respect you more than they ever did. It takes a strong person to deal with the situation you've been forced into. I for one can't imagine being placed in the same situation."
Janeway nearly choked on her water at the mental image of Chakotay in a maternity uniform.
At Chakotay's confused and slightly hurt expression, she tried to explain. "I'm sorry, Chakotay, but you have to admit that the mental picture of you in my exact situation is rather amusing."
Chakotay joined in the laughter more because it had been a long time since he'd heard her truly laugh than because of her statement.
Janeway placed a friendly hand on his knee. "Thanks, Chakotay. I needed that."
Neelix slid into a chair around the table which Tom, BíElanna, and Harry were dining.
"Look out." Tom teased. "He has that look in his eyes."
"You're right. He's up to something." B'Elanna agreed.
"What can we do for you, Neelix?" Harry inquired, ignoring his compatriots.
"I'd like to elicit your help on something. I'd like to
throw the captain a surprise baby shower. It would be a great boost
for morale, especially hers."
BíElanna smiled as she sipped her coffee. "I don't know,
Neelix. The captain seems to have ways of finding out what's happening
on her ship. You might have bitten off more than you can chew."
"Oh, come on BíElanna." Neelix was enthused and was
beginning to add hand motions along with his dialogue. "Where's your
sense of adventure. Since when has the crew of Voyager ever backed out of a challenge?"
Tom, who was always ready for mischief, smiled at his wife. "He's
got you there, BíElanna. How about you, Harry? Are you
up for the challenge?"
Harry's eyes glinted as he turned back to Neelix, "What did you
have in mind?" He concluded his statement with a bite of Neelix's
pie that actually pretty good.
Captain Janeway entered sickbay at The Doctor's request, thinking that it had something to do with her present condition. She was surprised to see sickbay amazingly full. That was an understatement. It was overflowing. There were patients everywhere.
In the midst of the pandemonium, she caught sight of The Doctor. Weaving through the crowd, she called his name.
Seeing her, he met her halfway. "Captain-"
She didn't let him continue. "Doctor, what's going on here?"
"This is a very unique case of mass food poisoning." He
urged her to follow him as he continued to his next patient, Tom Paris. "It appears that the tricorders missed a parasite encysted in the fruit
that was picked yesterday. It excysted upon contact with the lowered
pH of the stomach."
"Yeah, Captain. Don't eat the pie. It's a killer." Tom groaned.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Janeway spoke softly, "Hang in there, Tom. That's an order."
He managed a quick smile before his face screwed up into another wince against the nausea. His face was flushed and peppered with beads of perspiration.
"He looks feverish, Doctor."
"He is. They all have high fevers and intense nausea."
"Can you do anything for them?"
"I've tried all the normal parasiticidal treatments, but this parasite keeps shedding its protein coat and replacing it with a new one, not unlike the Terran schistosomes. I need some time to work on a solution, but I'm a little overwhelmed here. There have already been thirty-four reported cases."
Sickbay's doors opened to reveal a couple more members of the crew stumbling in.
"Captain, I'd like permission to turn the mess hall into a temporary
triage facility."
"Permission granted." They continued walking through the patients
with The Doctor injecting his patients with a hypospray in an effort to
treat the symptoms. "Doctor, do you think that the parasite is lethal?"
"Truthfully, Captain, the one I'm most concerned with is Naomi. She was the first admitted, and the infection is much more advanced in her than in anyone. I don't know if it's because she's a child or because of her K'tarian genes."
Janeway glanced around sickbay and located Voyager's first-born almost immediately. Not taking her eyes off Naomi, she
instructed, "Do whatever you need to, Doctor."
With those words of permission, The Doctor left her, using the comm
system to summon crew members who were not incapacitated, while Janeway
approached Naomi's bedside.
Her face was just as flushed as Tom's had been, but the entire surface of her skin gleamed with sweat as if the moisture was a blanket covering the surface of her body. She was also trapped in a world of feverish nightmares, attest by the occasional moans and thrashings of her little body.
Janeway stroked an errant, soaked section of hair from her burning forehead. The right words to soothe and encourage her were not forthcoming from her lips as she found herself speechless.
"Captain?"
Janeway turned to see Samantha Wildman struggling to push herself into a sitting position on the adjacent biobed. Gently, Janeway guided her back down. "Take it easy, Samantha."
"Naomi?" The fear was painfully evident in Samantha's eyes and voice.
Unconsciously placing a hand on her abdomen in a protective gesture
towards her own child, she responded, "She's going to be just fine. We're going to find a way to beat this parasitic infection. Now just
relax and try to get some rest."
Janeway looked away from the readouts, placing the pressure her fingers against her skull as a defense against a severe stress headache that was beginning to throb mercilessly. Seven-of-Nine and she had been working on a counter agent against the parasite for a little over six hours, and they were no closer to any answers.
"Captain, are you ill?" Even Seven had become a little more protective of her since the announcement of her pregnancy.
"No, Seven. Just a little headache." Even as she said it, the undercurrent of "morning" sickness was beginning to make itself known.
"Captain."
"What, Seven?" The words were much sharper than she intended, but the irritation in her voice did little to phase the former drone.
"When was the last time that you had an intake of nutrients?"
Leave it to Seven to turn a simple question into one with technical wording.
Janeway was about to reply that she had just had lunch when she realized it wasn't true. She was on her way to the mess hall, but she was interrupted by The Doctor's summons. No wonder her body was beginning to rebel.
Determining correctly that Janeway's unwillingness to respond
to her question was verification of her theory, Seven continued. "You must take a break and ingest nutrients. You will not be serving
the good of your crew if you make yourself ill or jeopardize the development
of your infant.
"Yes, sir." Janeway responded with an actual half-salute.
The total number infected with the parasite had risen to and stabilized
at fifty-six, filling both the mess hall and sickbay. Having eaten
her meal, though rather quickly, Janeway was looking for The Doctor to
see if he'd had any luck regarding treatment and to ask for an update on
the prognosis of her ailing crew members.
"Captain, I thought that I'd find you here."
She turned to see her first officer behind her.
"I thought Seven sent you to go get something to eat."
It was only through amazing self-control that Janeway managed not to roll her eyes. Ever since she had revealed her pregnancy to him, he'd been acting like a nervous, expectant father. She didn't know how to convince him that she hadn't turned to porcelain simply because she was pregnant. "I did." At his skeptic look she added, "Honestly. I was just looking for The Doctor."
She continued through the patients, with Chakotay following, but stopped when she heard Neelix call her name.
Talaxian skin didn't flush red as human skin did. Instead, it was a yellowish tinge, but it was still evident that he was running a fever.
"I'm sorry, Captain."
"This wasn't your fault, Neelix. You couldn't know about the fruit being infected if our tricorders couldn't pick it up."
His eyes wouldn't meet hers, and she knew that he wasn't about to give up the feelings of guilt he was harboring.
"Neelix, I want you to listen to me. If the crew was ever in need of a morale officer, it's now. I need you to stop feeling guilty and think positively. Sometimes it takes a positive outlook to facilitate recovery. Think you can handle it?"
"I'll do my best, Captain."
"I had no doubt, Neelix."
As she stepped away, she heard Chakotay speak so that only she could hear, "And you were worried about being a mother."
This time, she didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at him. "That was being a captain. It's completely different."
"Is it?"
Janeway didn't have to look at him to see the smug smile on his face. Whatever response she was hoping to formulate died immediately as she finally found The Doctor, who turned around immediately. "Captain, have you and Seven made any headway?" As an after thought, he nodded in Chakotay's direction, speaking his rank to acknowledge his presence.
"Not yet. I was just coming to see how they're holding up." She knew from his question that he hadn't made any significant progress either.
"Their parasitemia is very high, averaging between fifty and sixty percent, and since this parasite is hematopoietic, infecting the blood cells, I'm beginning to see symptoms of anemia."
"How's Naomi?"
The Doctor lowered his voice. "She's showing signs of slipping into a coma, and if she does, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to revive her."
Chakotay touched her arm discreetly, knowing the soft spot she had for Naomi.
She nodded, never losing her impassive captain's facade. "Thank you, Doctor. I think that I'll go back to work."
Chakotay didn't speak again until they reached the hallway, "Captain,
are you planning on getting some rest tonight?"
She stopped dead in her tracks. "Commander."
As soon as she used his rank with that tone, he knew that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"I am not going to be able to sleep until we figure out a way
to combat these parasites. I refuse to put the members of my crew
in danger, especially a little girl, just so that I can have my beauty
rest. Now, if you excuse me, Commander, I have work to do."
"Seven, how goes the battle." Janeway was trying very hard not to show her frustration.
Seven, however had no such trepidations. "I believe that this organism is the most frustrating one I've ever encountered."
"Does that include humans?"
"Yes, but not by much." The statement was said with a poker face any serious poker player would covet. "Are you feeling better."
"I'm fine. Let me see what you have. Maybe a fresh perspective will help."
The watched as the parasite once again eluded the artificial antibody, despite the initial success.
Janeway leaned back in her chair. Her brow crinkled into a frown with an idea beginning to worm around in her head, "Seven, maybe we're approaching this the wrong way."
"What so you mean?"
"We've been trying to neutralize the threat from the outside, and it's the shedding of the protein coat that tripping us up, right?"
"Yes."
"So, what if we try attacking it from the inside. What if we can find a way to disrupt some vital function, causing it to die."
"It would have to be something that wouldn't disrupt the uninfected host function, but your idea has merit."
"Then let's get to work."
Both returned to their consoles with a renewed zeal.
"Captain."
Seven's call was a proverbial splash of cold water. Under normal circumstances, Janeway figured she probably would have downed half a pot of coffee by now.
"I think I may have found something."
Janeway moved to get a view of her console.
"I have run the simulation nine times now, and the result has remained the same."
They both watched as the parasites shriveled up one by one.
"And this wonít harm the uninfected cells."
"No, it disrupts a protein manufacturing process unique to the parasite. The other cells are uninfected."
"Good work, Seven. That's get this information to The Doctor
as soon as possible."
The Doctor stared at his tricorder with a sense of relief. All the infected members of the crew had responded well to the initial treatment, except one: Naomi Wildman. Her fever had remained dangerously high, and at one point, her heart rate had become erratic. Finally, though, her fever had broken, and she seemed to be resting comfortably.
He sensed rather than saw someone approach him, and he knew instinctively that it was Janeway.
"How's she doing, Doctor?" She spoke softly as not to awaken the exhausted occupants of sickbay.
"Her feverís finally broken. She's going to be just fine."
Janeway literally appeared as if a heavy load had just been removed from her shoulders. "Thanks good news, Doctor. Let me know if there are any changes."
She looked as if she was dead on her feet. "Captain, may I make a suggestion?"
"Of course, Doctor."
"Get some sleep. Everything's under control now."
"All right, Doctor, I think I will."
Janeway entered sickbay for a quick update before heading to the bridge.
"Doctor."
"Good morning, Captain. Sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you." She had grabbed just enough sleep to be
able to function, but it was better than nothing. "How're they doing?"
"I've released almost everyone, and I'm about ready to discharge my
last patient." He nodded over to where Naomi was sitting up and talking
excitedly with her mother. "Care to accompany me?"
She gestured towards the occupied bed. "Lead the way."
Naomi's face lit up when she saw the captain. "Captain,
what are you doing here?"
Tossing a subversive wink at Samantha, she replied, "I just came
to see how my assistant was doing. How do you feel Crew man Wildman."
"Better, Captain. Ready for duty."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Not for a couple of days, young lady. I want you to return to your quarters and take it easy." He also muttered something about the captain serving as a bad influence of following medical advice on the younger crew members.
"What was that, Doctor?" Janeway teased, knowing every syllable of his utterance.
"Nothing, Captain. Now Naomi, can I count on you to follow my recommendations, or would you rather stay in sickbay for a couple of days?"
Janeway didn't hear her response. Her attention was suddenly
drawn to a burning sensation in her abdomen. She barely heard the
cries of alarm as she doubled over in pain. The last thought that
she had before her world went completely black was that there was something
terribly wrong with the baby.
Again, if you have actually made it to the end of this thing, my sincere
thanks. Please take a couple more seconds to review it.