It was amazing how intimate two people could become over such a short period of time in the right
circumstances.

Tom and Kathryn had served together for some time now, but never had they gotten the chance to spend
time in one another's company like this – sleeping and eating, together, in the small confines of the shuttle.
Days passed and all they could do was spend it talking – sometimes about the children, sometimes about
themselves. They had long ago developed an affinity with one another, and now that connection only grew
as they learned more and more about each other.

And then there was the intimacy of their housing arrangement. Tom had managed to find the equipment
necessary to piece together some robes for Kathryn and himself, but even so, they lived each day knowing
that the other was totally naked beneath those long swaths of fabric. The Captain told herself that this
shouldn't matter. Though they'd experienced something special with one another – were experiencing it
still, and would for the rest of their lives – Tom was still her subordinate. They were expecting triplets, but
they weren't a couple. Yet it was easier to convince her professional mind of that than to sway her raging
pregnant hormones. As she became more and more familiar with the sounds Tom's voice, his laughter; the
feel of him next to her as they slept, his constant presence, Kathryn found it harder and harder not to fixate
on little things about him she'd never fixated upon before. For example, the innocent way he looked asleep
– she'd never seen him sleep before. And, soon, even her mind began to betray her – returning again and
again to the glimpses she'd seen of Tom naked. Her dreams were filled with images of their mating that
her subconscious had fabricated to replace her lost memories of the experience. And absolutely every
single tidbit of gossip she'd ever heard concerning Tom's sexual prowess came forth to torment her,
making it dangerous for her to be in close proximity to him. Which was pretty much all of the time.

Pregnant human women this close to giving birth are not the most self-sufficient of creatures. Janeway
soon found herself requiring assistance in some of the simplest, most personal tasks. And throughout their
days in the shuttle, Tom ended up seeing her in the sort of embarrassing, private moments that noone –
certainly no man – had ever seen Kathryn before.

If Tom had been repulsed by her natural, vulnerable state, perhaps that would have circumvented the
growing tenderness and attraction she felt building, day after day, for her helmsman. As it was, though,
Kathryn found Tom to be one of the most gentle, tolerant, and caring individuals she had ever met. She'd
always sensed the goodness in him, but she'd never guessed at just how deep that goodness went, at just
how giving and selfless Tom Paris could truly be. More than once over their time together, Kathryn found
herself cursing whatever demented souls had spread the word that this man was the selfish, ruthless
character she'd heard tale of. Even if Tom had made mistakes in his youth, the captain no longer believed
those mistakes could have been motivated by self-interest or malice. Tom was a gentle person – complex,
but gentle. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have with her now in her time of need.

And therein lay her problem.

When they'd first awaken on the planet, Janeway had been certain in her belief that they could pull this
parenting thing off without a hitch, and with total non-objectivity. But now she wasn't so sure. Each day,
Kathryn felt her emotions tilt further and further towards an extreme she'd never let herself contemplate
with a member of her crew, much less her pilot. She could make excuses and rationalities all she liked, but
in the end, Kathryn knew she was fighting a losing battle. Eventually, if Tom's incomparable wit didn't get
her, his caring nature would – she'd resigned herself to this fact. There was just no way to avoid it. And
each day Kathryn spent in emotional, sexual turmoil was another day she pondered the state of Tom's
emotional state, as well.

Had he any idea how she was feeling? He had to. Couldn't he see the new softness that had crept into her
eyes when she looked at him? Didn't he notice the way she'd suddenly stopped using their ranks to create
a barrier between them? Quite the opposite, she'd been working hard to develop a relationship between
them that said they could be 'Captain', 'Kathryn', 'Tom', and 'Lieutenant' all at once, without that altering
their interactions with one another in any profound way. And whenever she now pressed his hand to her
stomach to feel their children move, every time his skin touched hers, Kathryn felt a bolt of electricity that
was only sharpened by the knowledge that Tom only touched her in the most chaste and innocent ways.
She was beginning to feel wanton – something she'd never felt before, even in her most passionate
relationships with men.

As for Tom, this time spent with Kathryn was a sort of heaven he'd never experienced. Just the honor of
calling her Kathryn – a privilege usually reserved for Chakotay and Tuvok, though the Vulcan never took
advantage of the distinction – made him feel something he hadn't let himself feel in a long time. He'd
never believed that he'd find the sort of bond he felt growing between them now – much less to find it with
the great Kathryn Janeway. He'd always admired her beyond words – not just for her professional
determination, but for her strong personality, which allowed her to like or dislike a person for themselves,
not for their rank or family name. He knew she'd given his father her loyalty because she believed in him,
not because he was the legendary Owen Paris; and he knew she'd given him his second chance because she
believed in him, as well, not just because of his ignominious name. He'd known this about her from the
moment he'd seen her, mingling at some Starfleet social engagement or another; had admired her for it
even when he was jealous of her for winning the favor he believed his father had denied himself. And then,
when she'd taken him out of that prison, when she'd put him at the helm of her ship…

Admiration was a pale description. That wasn't to say, however, that he'd put her on a pedestal – an
unreachably high alter of worship like Harry – as much as he loved the guy – seemed to have done. He'd
never lost sight of the fact that, through it all, Kathryn Janeway was human just like all of them. She was
human and she was a woman – if Tom hadn't realized that before, he certainly did now.

Talking to Kathryn, learning about her, revealing a part of himself to her that he'd never revealed to anyone
else before, was a blessing Tom cherished. He was very stimulated by the deep, intimate mental and
emotional contact they made. But as for the physical contact…

No matter how many times Tom told himself that it was wrong, that the Captain needed him and didn't
want these unwelcomed emotions and desires of his complicating things, Tom just couldn't help but want
her. He couldn't pretend that he didn't dream about the lovemaking they'd never really had – not in its
actual sense; couldn't seem to get his mind off the image of her as she'd been when they'd first awakened
here – naked and gorgeous in all her un-clothed glory. Kathryn had once jokingly called herself an old
woman, and Tom had nearly choked on his emergency rations. The woman was exquisite! He had no idea
how she could ever consider herself old or unattractive. Quite frankly, he found her just a little too
attractive. Enough so that their nightly sessions of lying side by side, feeling the babies kick, were
becoming exercises in restraint. Not that he'd do anything – not that he could. But the urge to groan aloud
when his skin touched hers, sometimes became dangerously close to uncontrollable. And it made him feel
like a bastard – a true bastard. He'd gotten Kathryn into this situation, and now here he was, lusting after
her – after a nine-months pregnant woman, for good God! – like a lech. It was awful.

And, yet, Tom's sexual frustrations weren't what really concerned him. What did was his emotional
turmoil – the growing, life-altering emotion that he felt building for Kathryn day after day. It's not that he
objected to it, or didn't want it. Really, he didn't think it was a matter of wanting to or not – loving
Kathryn was a privilege he wouldn't have refused even if he'd been able to. The problem was that he had
no idea how Kathryn would feel if she knew how he felt. Did she know already? Could she tell? He was
plagued with doubts. She was still his Captain, and – damn it all – he was still Tom Paris. Of all the men
on all the starships in two quadrants, Kathryn probably couldn't choose a worse potential partner if he
asked her to. And then there was the question of other partners. He knew, from their conversations, that
Kathryn didn't have a relationship with Chakotay. But what if they got back to the ship and Kathryn
decided that, though she didn't want Tom, she did suddenly want some man in her life? Chakotay would be
the obvious choice – the man doted on her, and it turned Tom's stomach just to think about it. He liked the
Commander, very much; admired him a lot. And the gods knew how he wanted Kathryn to be happy. But
seeing her with another man? With Chakotay – his long time foil? It would hurt. A lot.

What would he do with his wayward emotions? How could he possibly hide them from her for any
significant amount of time? She had to see the tenderness in his eyes when he watched her, had to notice
the pleasure he took from anything he could do to help her , make her comfortable – even the slightest task.
Should he even try to hide his feelings at all? They were both adults, they had three children on the way.
Was it so crazy that the parents of those children be together?

So lost in their individual doubts and desires were Tom and Kathryn, that they never noticed the same
feelings in each other. And then, one day, something happened.

Lying together on the cots they'd pushed together to sleep on, cuddled beneath their shared robes for
maximum warmth, Tom and Kathryn were abruptly awaken in the middle of their sleep period – Tom by
Kathryn's startled outcry, Kathryn by an unexpectedly sharp pang in her abdomen.

"Oh!"

"Kathryn! Kathryn, what's wrong?"

And then her water broke.

"The babies are coming," Tom whispered, and Kathryn merely nodded. They had both hoped that Voyager
would reach them by now, that Tom wouldn't have to deliver the babies here without the conveniences and
necessary precautions of Sickbay. Neither of them had ever been so afraid in all their lives.