Chapter
Four:
Chakotay open his eyes and glances at the chronometer
across the room. With a
groan, Chakotay shuts it off with a simple
command. Slowly he climbs out of bed
making sure he does jostle
the bed or make any sudden movement to awake Janeway.
She was up
all night in terrible pain so he wants her to rest as much as she can
while
the pain medication still works.
Janeway makes a
small groan and slowly opens her eyes. She looks upon Chakotay
and
smile. Apparently, the medication is still working or she wouldn't be
smiling.
"Good morning husband how are you today?"
"I'm
sorry I didn't mean to wake you I tried very hard not to move the bed
so you can
rest. It was a pretty rough night you must be really
exhausted."
"No I'm alright I am feeling a little
pain but nothing to worry about I have had
cramps worse than this.
Will you be back for lunch?"
"I don't think so, but
B'Elanna will be coming by in an hour do you think you can
manage
without anyone for that time because if you can I will contact the
bridge and
tell Tuvok you need me until B'Elanna comes by."
"NO!
I will be just fine besides I just woke up because I could hear you
turn the
chronometer down. I will most likely go to sleep when you
leave for the bridge."
"Okay, but if you need
anything contact me immediately. I don't care if we are in the
middle
of a battle. I want to know if you are in any pain."
"Isn't
that why you asked B'Elanna to come by? Please Chakotay go on don't
worry
about I will be just fine. B'Elanna and I need to catch up
on old times anyway."
"Okay, I don't mean to keep
pestering you but I am very worried you have to lay on
your back
for three months I don't think you can make it."
"You
are probably right but right now bed is a good idea so why don't you
replicate
yourself some over-easy eggs while I go to
sleep."
"Sure, can I give you a kiss?"
"Go
ahead, it's been a long time since I got a kiss from you I don't care
how much pain
I am in."
Chakotay smiles and leans over
Janeway's body planting a kiss on her lips than her
forehead.
Surprisingly she didn't experience any pain. She wasn't sure if
Chakotay's
kiss moved the pain away or that the pain was
easing.
An hour later B'Elanna enters silently into Janeway's
quarters. Janeway slowly
awakens as B'Elanna takes her seat in a
chair near the bed and pulls out some reports
from Engineering.
Janeway smiles up at B'Elanna, she still hadn't shown her
recent
pregnancy but Janeway could see the glow all over
B'Elanna's face. B'Elanna looks
down at her best friend and gives
her a large smile.
"Hello sleepy head how are you
today?"
"Oh I am just fine had a rough night I
didn't get to sleep until around 0500 hours.
Poor Chakotay he had
to go to bridge duty at 0700 hours he has to be exhausted. I
feel
terrible about having him up with me all the time he needs
his rest."
"I don't think Chakotay minds staying up
with you. He loves you a lot everyone can
see that. Not every
husband will handle your condition as well as he had today. I
don't
think Tom could be as calm about it if it were me instead of you in
that bed."
"Chakotay is really great about all this.
I couldn't believe it at first because it takes a
lot out of the
body. He hasn't slept in the last few days very well. I try to hide
it but
Chakotay can tell."
'What is the worse part
about staying in bed for three months on you back. I would
love to
do it sometime just not, what you did. When this baby is born, I
probably will
be on my back for a few days. The doctor has said
that her cranial ridges may get
caught similar to what happened
with Naomi."
"It isn't that fun I can't do what I
love to do. However, when I decided to have this
surgery I knew
the consequences it would have on my command structure but I
wanted
the chance to give Chakotay another baby to actually know how it
feels to
become a father. To watch his baby come into the world
and know that it was a part
of us. Chakotay would make a great
father I can see it when he is around Naomi."
"You
are also going to be great mother. Unlike me, I was an only child so
I never got
the chance to practice on a sibling. You had a baby
sister, I bet you were like a mother
hen when it came to
Phoebe."
"Actually I never liked her she always took
attention away from my father and even
more from my mother. For
two years I thought her name, was "Your sister" isn't
that
silly? Of course I was only 4 when she was born so at six is
when I found out her
name wasn't "Your sister." As we
both got older we fought more than played with
each other."
"Well
why did you fight, I wanted to have a sibling more than anything and
when I
found out that that wasn't going to happen I made up
imaginary friends who were
human. However, as I aged I grew out of
that and just read. I loved to read my father
would bring me
classics to read. I couldn't put them down for a moment."
"I
loved to read as well. I used to hide under my father's desk while he
was working
and learn my multiplication facts. By the time I was
four years old I knew my tables
up to 12 times 12. If I got them
right my father would play a special game with me. He
called me
"Little Bird" I wasn't sure why he called me that I was the
oldest. Instead
of going outside to play, I would study
complicated math problems. That is why I
went to Starfleet, not
only to assume role of my father but I have always believed that
my
father taught me those things because I was destined to go. I miss
him so much
sometimes I dream about him and it seems so real. But
than I awake only to find it
was a dream and my pain begins
again."
"My father and I never really got along as
you know neither did my mother and I. I
think it was because she
was so Klingon that it drove me crazy on some of the things
she
made me do. I used to blame myself when he went away but than lately
I found
that I think she drove him away. I mean she even had us do
some silly Klingon ritual."
"I thought that you
liked some of the rituals Klingon's did. You even celebrated you
"Day
of Honor" on Voyager. Why was this one different from the
others?"
"Most Klingon rituals involve food of some
kind like "Blood Pudding" or the heart of a
Targ. That
kind of food didn't agree with my human anatomy yet she still made me
do
it. I was sick for a week."
B'Elanna hears Janeway
groan quietly and walks over to the counter to grab the
analgesic
serum for Janeway's pain. As she loads the container Janeway
groans
louder. B'Elanna rushes to her side and injects the serum
into Janeway's neck. The
pain eases slightly and the grimace on
her face fades slowly but surely, when the
medication takes full
effect.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes,
I am sick to death of this pain. I knew the symptoms would be painful
but I
didn't know it would be so exhausting to feel the
pain."
"Well the medication has some side effects
maybe that is what you are experiencing.
Perhaps I should let you
sleep I have a long way to go in this book maybe by the time
you
awake I will be done and we can talk about the book."
"Sure,
good night B'Elanna. You are welcome to go to sleep in the next room
it is the
guest room. Probably if this surgery is successful we
can change it into the nursery."
"Don't talk like
that. You have a lot of faith more faith than most of the
crew
combined. I know that you will have a baby someday and
hopefully sooner than you
think. You know, I bet we could actually
go out and leave the guys with the children.
They need the
practice."
"That's a really good idea. However,
Chakotay and Tom may not like the idea at all.
Can you imagine
those guys would be going crazy within the first few moments?
We
wouldn't even get out the door before they would be calling our
names."
"Yeah I know that's why I think we should do
it. You know how they are always
saying, "I wish I could take
away some of your pain" well this is the only way I think
we
take them up on their word."
"Well, I am going to
read the rest of these reports, why don't you rest with a nap I
will
be here when you wake up if anything happens. Maybe that pain
killer will knock you
out until Chakotay comes back."
"Nah,
I am sick of sleeping. I cannot believe I just said that. I am by far
one of the
people who need their rest. I just do not want to do
that the whole time I am in bed.
Why don't you tell me what book
you are going to read?"
"It's an Earth classic, "A
Christmas Carol" I have never read it before and the
Doctor
said that I remind him of the ghost of Christmas future. I want to
know it
that is a good think of a bad thing. Maybe you can tell me
so I don't have to read it, it
doesn't seem very
interesting."
"Sure I would love to. Maybe it will
help me keep my mind off the pain and prevent
me from falling
asleep again. Let me see, I have not read this book since I was
a
teenager so it may be a little vague. Hmmmm okay it starts off
with a greedy old
man, named Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates
Christmas, he hates it so much that he has
ignored the fact that
there are those out there who celebrate the holiday. His
assistant
Bob Cratchit is his only employee and has a family of
his own. When he moves to put
more coal in the old kettle stove
Scrooge yells at him asking what he thinks he is
doing?
Hesitantly, Bob answers "Just wanted to add more coal to
the fire so the ink
would thaw out." Well Scrooge
didn't like that saying that coal costs money and if he
wanted to
he would take it out of his pay." Well Bob could not because he
was such a
poor man and his family needed the extra money.
Therefore, Bob quietly moved back
to his seat and sighed. One more
thing he wanted to ask... "Pardon me Mr. Scrooge
tomorrow
is Christmas Day, would it be alright if I take off half-a-day so I
can
celebrate Christmas with my family?" Well,
Scrooge was not happy and he let out a
mumble. "Christmas,
bah humbug."
"Bah humbug, is there such a
word in the universal translator. If there is, I have not
heard
about it. Maybe its another language?"
"I don't
think so, but who am I to judge, Charles Dickens has his own
unique
language. Anyhow, Scrooge wasn't to humble about it but
agreed anyway all he was
going to do that day was count all his
precious coins and see how rich he was
compared to everyone else.
Suddenly his nephew bangs the door down and screams
"Merry
Christmas!" Scrooge answers back "bah humbug"
his nephew doesn't care an
invites him to Christmas Dinner with
his family and Scrooge asks several questions
on what is going to
be there to eat. His nephew starts naming off items on the
dinner
table and Scrooge starts to mimic him by asking a few of
his own questions. He seems
to be ready to accept the offer but he
really is not and puts his nephew down by saying
something like
"Do you know what that will do to my body. You want to
kill me so
you can get your hands on my money" Well
the nephew is outraged saying he just
wanted to have the whole
family for Christmas Dinner and storms out of the
building. Later
that night two minutes before closing time Bob starts to pack up
and
leave and Scrooge yells, making sure that he stays the entire
time."
"Finally, at closing time, Scrooge lets Bob
go and he leaves his building. Later that
evening as Scrooge walks
up the stairs he get the feeling that someone is following
him, he
also can hear heavy chains dragging. Feeling spooked he looks around
and
finds that no one is there. When he finally is ready to go to
bed Scrooge sees his dead
partner Marley. Scrooge is delighted
that his old friend is back and they begin to
reminisce about the
old times and at first Marley is proud of what he did but
they
catches himself and begins to tell Scrooge about why he is
here and why he is carrying
those heavy chains. "Scrooge
I must carry these heavy chains because of my
greed, this is my
punishment.." Scrooge of course does not believe him
and just laughs in his face. But Marley warns that if Scrooge doesn't
change his attitude by Christmas Day this year he was going to die
and his chains would much heavier. Scrooge is scared and begs Marley
to tell him what he can do to prevent this event. Marley tells him
that tonight three ghosts will visit him
within hours of each
other and they will be able to answer his questions. Then
Marley
fades into oblivion never heard from again. But Scrooge can
here is haunting words
and nervously goes to sleep in his
bed."
"That would scare me too if I were in, what's
his name's positions?"
"It would haunt anyone who
read the story and didn't leave much to society."
"Anyway,
at the stroke of midnight the first ghost makes his appearance.
His
presence scares Scrooge under his covers and the ghost removes
the covers. Scrooge
shaking with fear stammers out "Who
are you?" I am the ghost of Christmas Past.
Grab
onto my robe and I will take you to a time you have forgotten."
Scrooge did not
like that but the ghost took him anyway.
The ghost takes Scrooge to a time when he
was just a boy. A time
that Scrooge has forgotten, a shy boy sit in the corner waiting
for
a dance with the girl he loved. Along came his crush he was taken
aback by the
memory. "That's my girl, we were so much in
love, I was going to marry her no
matter what. I knew it that day
as soon as she kissed me. I do not know what ever
happened to her.
Boy wasn't she a beauty." Yes, she was but you scrooge began
to
love something more, even more then he love her." The
ghost begins to fade as Scrooge
looks on and begins to wonder.
"Why are you fading away?" "It is almost time
for me
to go" "Please lets stay." "I cannot"
Suddenly Scrooge appears in his own bed. Believing it was just a
dream he falls back to sleep.
"A few hours later another
ghost appears. She is the ghost of Christmas present
surrounded by
tons of food. The food represented the greediness that people
around
the world have around this time of year. It also
represented the greed Ebenezer had for
his money. Without a word,
she took Scrooge to another time far very familiar. It was
the
house of his partner Bob Cratchit. On a plate that seemed to fit a
larger turkey,
dinner was a minuscule bird and a few vegetables.
Scrooge's heart sank, "Surly they
had more food than
this?" "I am afraid not, that is all they can afford."
Suddenly, from inside a small noise caught Scrooge's
attention. It is a small boy with a crutch hobbling down the stairs.
Scrooge heart was aching, something was wrong with him but Scrooge
did not know. "What is wrong with the child?"
"If you don't change your attitude toward Christmas, this
Christmas will be Tiny Tim's last Christmas." From
inside Scrooge can hear a tiny voice saying a blessing.
"...
And God Bless Mr. Scrooge" it tore Scrooge apart
as the ghost of Christmas Present fade away with Scrooge."
"Finally
this is where you come in B'Elanna the ghost of Christmas
Future."
"So why is it so bad?"
"Just
listen Scrooge awakens to the chime of his clock as a darkened shadow
stands
over the bed of Ebenezer Scrooge which is no longer a bed
it is a cold and lonely cell.
Scrooge feels a mass amount of fear
crawl over his body, as the ghost of Christmas
Future does not
reveal his face. Suddenly a finger points into a direction of a
small-
unmarked grave Bob Cratchit stands hovering over it.
Scrooge's biggest fear makes
his way. "Is that the
grave of Tiny Tim?" the lonely, dark shadow nods in
reply.
Suddenly fog covers Scrooge's viewing area, Scrooge's
begins to fear what is next as
the Ghost of Christmas Future pulls
down his hood a revolting face appears sheer
terror rushes over
Scrooge's body as the man laughs wickedly. Scrooge follows the
finger
to a large grave in the center of the cemetery. "Whose,
may I ask, grave is
that?" "Why it 's yours Scrooge"
Scrooge than is pushed into the murky grave.
Scrooge then awakens
with the jumbled covers of his own bed. Scrooge rushes to the
window
to find it is Christmas morning knowing there is still time to
prevent this
horrible event. Scrooge rushes out in his
nightclothes as well as slippers, gives bags of
cash to the
peddlers one the street, and buys the large turkey in the window.
After
being dressed, he rushes happily to Bob Cratchit's house.
Knocking with his can and
putting on the most angered face Bob
opens the door. "Bob, this Christmas holiday is
costing us
money, I want you to come back and work right this moment." "Sir,
this
is Christmas. You said I could take a half-day." I know
what I said I changed my mind,
It's only right that I give you a
RAISE!" Scrooge cannot contain himself and begins
to
laugh. He sees Tiny Tim and picks him up and together they laugh.
Tiny Tim
replies "God Bless Us Everyone?"
Well that's it "
"That's pretty good, however, I
fail to see what the Doctor meant when he said the
Ghost of
Christmas Future reminded him of me. Am I that terrible?"
"Oh
no, I think he meant that you are so closed up that you don't let
everyone help
you with your problems. That because of this, you
have this darkness over you and you
won't let the light in."
"Oh,
well now I will be more careful and let others help me with my
problems. You
told the story really well but I think I am going to
read it anyway. Your medication
must be kicking in I will let you
rest. Thanks for telling me the story. Maybe when
you are well
again we can hold a play about the Christmas Story."
Before
she finishes, Janeway is asleep. B'Elanna opens the book and begins
to read it....TBC