Home Sweet Home
The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.
AN: This is where it starts to get screwy. Remember this story spans years, so to save it from being 400,000 chapters long, we skip around a lot. And there might be two "stories" in one chapter, depending on how long they get. I'll try to "bring you up to date" in AN's like this one.
This is a short jump. The twins are about four or five months old.
The door opened and an exasperated Deneb appeared in the opening. The loud protests of two infants could plainly be heard behind her and Chakotay was sure her neighbors were glad the bulkheads were sound proof.
Deneb looked as if she'd either just gotten out of bed, unlikely at this hour, or had been wrestling with a bear. She was wearing her standard jeans and t-shirt, but they were wrinkled and dotted with wet spots, probably from milk. Her face was flushed, although there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had once been pulled back in a pony tail, but was now falling about her shoulders. In short, she looked like a train wreck.
"The Captain asked me to deliver this" he told her, holding out the padd with a long list of various supplies. Deneb took it, glanced at it and tossed it on a table.
"Thanks" she said and prepared to turn away.
"Do you...want some help?" Chakotay suddenly asked. She'd been aboard for almost a year, well, ten months or so, but he didn't consider himself more than an acquaintance. Still, he'd heard from the Captain that the young woman had been having problems with her two "bundles of joy". Janeway had taken on the role of the woman's surrogate mother and therefore spent quite a bit of time, when she could, trying to help out with the kids. He had thought of some tricks he remembered being used to calm restless children, but he hadn't been sure how to approach the tired young mother. She was still wary of making friends.
"I don't know what you can do" she said, but she gestured for him to come in, "But you're welcome to try anything you want" Chakotay took a look around. The quarters were in shambles. Clothes, dirty dishes and toys were strewn across the room. There were two piles of dishes near the dispenser and it looked as if she'd been trying to tidy up, but kept getting distracted. Both Damia and Damian were lying in their playpens, crying their lungs out. Deneb rolled her eyes and went to pick her daughter up.
"I don't know what's wrong with her" she nearly cried, "She won't eat, she won't sleep, she just cries all the time! And he cries whenever she cries, if he doesn't have food in his mouth"
"Have you taken her to see the Doctor?" Chakotay asked.
"Oh him!" Deneb rolled her eyes again, "He says there's nothing wrong with her, she's just cranky" She looked around at her dirty apartments and sighed dramatically. Chakotay got the hint.
"Here, I'll take her" he reached for the child, "Why don't you feed Damian. Maybe he'll go to sleep" She looked hesitant for a moment but then complied. Chakotay was careful to support the wailing infant's head as he arranged her in his arms. Despite the fact that she was crying loudly, he suddenly felt a rush of paternal feelings for the baby girl. He wondered for a moment if it was simply the feel of a child in his arms, which happened to feel very nice. He immediately began to rock gently back and forth and to hum to her. He saw from the corner of his eye as Deneb gathered Damian and took a seat on the couch. He knew she was breast feeding the twins, and for a second he wondered if she would have compunctions about feeding the child in his presence. He needn't have worried. She pulled a soft, thin blanket over her shoulder and the child's head as he began to feed.
Only a few minutes later Deneb was getting up to deposit him in his crib, which was situated near her bed. The two cribs had been a gift from the entire crew. On their last supply stop, some men had cut down a couple of trees and then Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry and Tom had spent three weeks turning the fine wood into small cribs which fit nicely against the bed, with low openings so the mother could reach her children from a sleeping position.
"I think she's getting tired" Chakotay commented when Deneb had returned. Damia had quieted a bit, though she was still crying.
"Why don't you try to feed her? Maybe she'll follow her brother's good example" he suggested. Deneb looked like she was about to drop from exhaustion but she took her daughter and retreated to the couch. Miraculously enough, the infant decided she was more hungry than angry now and fell silent as she fed. Chakotay took a look around the room and began cleaning up. He put the dishes in the dispenser, he gathered the dirty clothes and put those in the proper receptacle, and finally gathered all the infant's toys into the playpens. By the time he was done, Damia had fallen asleep.
"Here. I'll take her" he said softly and gathered the, finally, sleeping infant from her mother's exhausted arms. He tread carefully to the next room and deposited her silently in her crib. He sighed in relief when she didn't wake up and returned to the living room area. Deneb had fallen asleep on the couch. Chakotay smiled tenderly and gathered her into his arms. She felt lighter than she should have. Of course, the last time he had held her she had been nine and two weeks pregnant.
Her arms slithered up and around his neck as she rested her head against his chest. He could smell whatever shampoo she used and he thought he liked it. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently. He tried to straighten up again. She wouldn't let go of his neck. He tried prying her fingers off but she was having none of it. He sighed and glanced at the clock. It was still early in the evening. He could afford to let her sleep for a couple of hours. Besides, this way he'd be there in case one of the twins woke up, and he could let her sleep even more. So he carefully pushed her over and laid himself out next to her on the bed. She snuggled into him, probably looking for warmth Chakotay told himself, and sighed happily.
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.
AN: This is where it starts to get screwy. Remember this story spans years, so to save it from being 400,000 chapters long, we skip around a lot. And there might be two "stories" in one chapter, depending on how long they get. I'll try to "bring you up to date" in AN's like this one.
This is a short jump. The twins are about four or five months old.
The door opened and an exasperated Deneb appeared in the opening. The loud protests of two infants could plainly be heard behind her and Chakotay was sure her neighbors were glad the bulkheads were sound proof.
Deneb looked as if she'd either just gotten out of bed, unlikely at this hour, or had been wrestling with a bear. She was wearing her standard jeans and t-shirt, but they were wrinkled and dotted with wet spots, probably from milk. Her face was flushed, although there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had once been pulled back in a pony tail, but was now falling about her shoulders. In short, she looked like a train wreck.
"The Captain asked me to deliver this" he told her, holding out the padd with a long list of various supplies. Deneb took it, glanced at it and tossed it on a table.
"Thanks" she said and prepared to turn away.
"Do you...want some help?" Chakotay suddenly asked. She'd been aboard for almost a year, well, ten months or so, but he didn't consider himself more than an acquaintance. Still, he'd heard from the Captain that the young woman had been having problems with her two "bundles of joy". Janeway had taken on the role of the woman's surrogate mother and therefore spent quite a bit of time, when she could, trying to help out with the kids. He had thought of some tricks he remembered being used to calm restless children, but he hadn't been sure how to approach the tired young mother. She was still wary of making friends.
"I don't know what you can do" she said, but she gestured for him to come in, "But you're welcome to try anything you want" Chakotay took a look around. The quarters were in shambles. Clothes, dirty dishes and toys were strewn across the room. There were two piles of dishes near the dispenser and it looked as if she'd been trying to tidy up, but kept getting distracted. Both Damia and Damian were lying in their playpens, crying their lungs out. Deneb rolled her eyes and went to pick her daughter up.
"I don't know what's wrong with her" she nearly cried, "She won't eat, she won't sleep, she just cries all the time! And he cries whenever she cries, if he doesn't have food in his mouth"
"Have you taken her to see the Doctor?" Chakotay asked.
"Oh him!" Deneb rolled her eyes again, "He says there's nothing wrong with her, she's just cranky" She looked around at her dirty apartments and sighed dramatically. Chakotay got the hint.
"Here, I'll take her" he reached for the child, "Why don't you feed Damian. Maybe he'll go to sleep" She looked hesitant for a moment but then complied. Chakotay was careful to support the wailing infant's head as he arranged her in his arms. Despite the fact that she was crying loudly, he suddenly felt a rush of paternal feelings for the baby girl. He wondered for a moment if it was simply the feel of a child in his arms, which happened to feel very nice. He immediately began to rock gently back and forth and to hum to her. He saw from the corner of his eye as Deneb gathered Damian and took a seat on the couch. He knew she was breast feeding the twins, and for a second he wondered if she would have compunctions about feeding the child in his presence. He needn't have worried. She pulled a soft, thin blanket over her shoulder and the child's head as he began to feed.
Only a few minutes later Deneb was getting up to deposit him in his crib, which was situated near her bed. The two cribs had been a gift from the entire crew. On their last supply stop, some men had cut down a couple of trees and then Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry and Tom had spent three weeks turning the fine wood into small cribs which fit nicely against the bed, with low openings so the mother could reach her children from a sleeping position.
"I think she's getting tired" Chakotay commented when Deneb had returned. Damia had quieted a bit, though she was still crying.
"Why don't you try to feed her? Maybe she'll follow her brother's good example" he suggested. Deneb looked like she was about to drop from exhaustion but she took her daughter and retreated to the couch. Miraculously enough, the infant decided she was more hungry than angry now and fell silent as she fed. Chakotay took a look around the room and began cleaning up. He put the dishes in the dispenser, he gathered the dirty clothes and put those in the proper receptacle, and finally gathered all the infant's toys into the playpens. By the time he was done, Damia had fallen asleep.
"Here. I'll take her" he said softly and gathered the, finally, sleeping infant from her mother's exhausted arms. He tread carefully to the next room and deposited her silently in her crib. He sighed in relief when she didn't wake up and returned to the living room area. Deneb had fallen asleep on the couch. Chakotay smiled tenderly and gathered her into his arms. She felt lighter than she should have. Of course, the last time he had held her she had been nine and two weeks pregnant.
Her arms slithered up and around his neck as she rested her head against his chest. He could smell whatever shampoo she used and he thought he liked it. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently. He tried to straighten up again. She wouldn't let go of his neck. He tried prying her fingers off but she was having none of it. He sighed and glanced at the clock. It was still early in the evening. He could afford to let her sleep for a couple of hours. Besides, this way he'd be there in case one of the twins woke up, and he could let her sleep even more. So he carefully pushed her over and laid himself out next to her on the bed. She snuggled into him, probably looking for warmth Chakotay told himself, and sighed happily.