Six months had passed since Janeway and Tuvok had their momentous conversation. In the interim, they had been seeing each other secretly. They would meet for dinner after hours a few times a week. Whenever they had a spare moment, they would find some time alone together. They both decided that discretion was advised, because it would look bad for the captain and the security chief to be in a relationship. They were completely professional when they were on duty. So far, nobody suspected a thing.

Janeway awoke in the morning, two hours before she was due on the bridge. She got up, preparing to go to the mess hall for some of Neelix's famed coffee, when she was overcome by a wave of nausea. This was the third time this week that this had happened. Instead of the mess hall, she decided to go to sick bay.

The Doctor ran a tricorder up and down Captain Janeway. "Mmm..hmmm...I see...this is..interesting."

Janeway hated it when he did that. It always made her nervous. "What is it, Doctor? The flu? Neelix's cooking?"

"No, Captain. It's something far more exciting than that. Let me be the first to offer my congratulations!"

"I beg your pardon."

"You're pregnant."

"Pregnant? Are you serious?"

"Yes, you're two months along. In seven more months, you're going to be a mother."

Captain Janeway was surprised, but happy. She had always wanted children, but she had given up hope when she became stranded in the Delta Quadrant. She wondered how Tuvok would take the news.

The Doctor continued, "I'll need to see you every two weeks for pre-natal visits. Here are some vitamin supplements. Be sure to take care of yourself."

"Of course."

"Oh, and Captain, one more thing..." the Doctor continued.

Janeway knew what was coming next. "Yes?"

"You'll have to give up coffee until the baby is born."

The doors to the turbolift opened, and Captain Janeway found herself on the bridge. Physically anyway. Mentally, she was quite distant. She briefly looked in Tuvok's direction, but couldn't bear it, and looked away. He did not see her. Chakotay stood up, greeted her, and briefed her on the recent events. Then he left to perform his other duties.

The bridge shift seemed to last for an eternity. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Tuvok, can I see you in my ready room? Lt. Paris, you have the bridge."

They entered her office, and the door closed behind them. "I know we said that we would keep our relationship and our jobs separate, but I need to talk to you."

She motioned for Tuvok to have a seat on her sofa. She thought back to that day six months ago when he had sat down on the sofa in her quarters. So much had changed between them since then. She sat down, faced him, looked deeply and tenderly into his rich brown eyes, took a breath, and continued. "I woke up feeling sick this morning, again. I haven't been able to keep food down all week. I went to see the Doctor on my way to the bridge. I need to tell you what he said."

Tuvok wasn't sure what to think. Many things crossed his mind. Was she ok? Was she dying? Illogical, he thought! He was letting his emotions cloud his judgment by jumping to wild conclusions. There could be any number of things that she could be about to say. He should simply wait to see what she said before reacting. He put his hand on her arm, just as she had done to him the day he told her about T'Pel. Kathryn continued, "I'm pregnant. In seven months, we're going to be parents. I was going to wait until we got off duty to tell you, but I couldn't."

Tuvok was relieved that Kathryn was ok. His eyes got a bit misty, and as he tried to speak, he became choked up. He was delighted that their love had created a new life. Family is extremely important to Vulcans, and he was no exception. Instead of speaking, he embraced her. After a moment, he looked into Kathryn's eyes, and saw that she had tears as well. She broke the silence by saying, "We should finish this conversation after we get off duty. Will you join me in my quarters at 1900 for dinner?"

"Of course," he replied.

Captain Janeway continued, "I think it would be best if we don't walk back to the bridge together. You go first, and once I have things back together, I'll join you."

Tuvok didn't want to leave her now, but he also sensed that she had just jumped back to captain mode. He paused for just a moment to confirm his suspicions.

"Commander, you're dismissed."

Tuvok exited the ready room and returned to the bridge. Tom Paris gave him a questioning look, but Tuvok just raised his eyebrow and asked for a report. Captain Janeway did not return to the bridge for about half an hour.

That evening, Tuvok showed up in Kathryn's quarters carrying a flowerpot with one of the orchid hybrids that he grew. As he entered, he handed it to her. "I had two very different flowers. Both of the flowers were drooping, and I didn't know what to do to make them grow. I decided to splice them together in the hopes that they would strengthen one another. It was slow at first, but when the two flowers joined, the result was a strong, vibrant plant. Together, they created something new and lovely. I want you to have it."

The meaning was not lost on either of them. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

They sat down to dinner. Kathryn continued, "I'm sorry for abruptly ending our conversation this morning. I didn't want to get emotional in my ready room while we were supposed to be on duty."

"I understand," replied Tuvok.

After dinner, they talked for a while and began to discuss the big change ahead of them.