9 months later . . .

Captain Thornburg made his way to sickbay in a great huff. He was followed closely by Catherine Lim, Jeffrey Debbs, Mick Santos and Rory Preston (who had both reached the rank of Lieutenant J.G.), and Rudgard Uhrlaub. They all took a break from their duties at Earth Spacedock to witness the miracle of life, which was just minutes away. In no time they were through the doors of sickbay and saw Dr. Lynn Yerian crouched in front of a curved delivery chair (Mick Santos would later remark that Lynn reminded him of a baseball catcher), with Zotia Crowe standing next to her, and the rest of the medical staff poised to assist at any moment. They were both staring at the person in the chair, who was none other than Commander Chester Crowe himself.

"How's it going? Did I miss anything?" asked Shawn, out of breath.

"No, you're just in time," replied Lynn.

"Oh good. I didn't want to miss it. I got here as quickly as I could."

Chester looked up at him and painfully said, "Oh, I'm glad you came, Shawn."

"Don't talk, Chuck. Concentrate on delivering this baby," scolded Lynn. "You might want to back up, Shawn, so there are no distractions for the mom-to-b--oh, sorry; for the dad-to-be."

"Right." Shawn rejoined the rest of his entourage, who had waited near the door. After a few minutes, he chuckled, "Lynn, I have a question. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but . . . where does it come out?"

Everyone except Zotia and Chuck joined in the quiet laughter. Then Lynn replied, "Shawn, it . . . I'll explain later." She saw Chuck giving her a worried look. She grunted and lowered her eyebrows. "Well, let's keep focused, shall we?"

Then Chuck let out an almost deafening yell and Lynn started yelling for him to push, so everyone else grew suddenly quiet. Soon they heard the sound of a newborn's cry, and Lynn said, "Congratulations! It's a boy! You're a brand new momm--sorry, daddy!"

Chuck, sweating profusely, reached out to take the newborn from Lynn's arms. Zotia joined him, taking her turn to hold the baby, and crying even more than Chuck.

The next day, Zotia and Chuck arrived in Ten Forward, baby in tote, at the request of Captain Thornburg. When they came through the doors, they saw the last thing they expected: every crew member had gathered, and in one collective roar yelled "SURPRISE!" The entire room was decorated with "New Baby" balloons and banners, there was cake on the bar, and every single person rushed forward to hug the new parents. It was a grand old time.

After a while, Shawn managed to pull Chuck aside while Zotia held the baby. They sat down at an empty table and began talking. "Really, congratulations, Chuck."

"Thanks, Shawn. It was great you could be there."

"What was it like, Chuck?"

"Childbirth? Are you kidding me? Okay, I think the 20th-century comedian Bill Cosby said it best: take your bottom lip and stretch it all the way over your head, and you'll have an idea."

Shawn laughed nervously. "Alright. It doesn't sound pleasant. What did you name him?"

"Garth, after my grandfather."

"Oh that's great. Just think, if Captain Gerding and his comrades hadn't exposed Epsilon and helped us defeat the ships they sent, we wouldn't be here to celebrate this day."

"How is he by the way? I heard he was accepted back into Starfleet."

"Yes, he was, and so was Jason Konrad. I think there was some complication with their ranks, but I don't remember exactly. The other captains and all of their crews simply took civilian lives. I think some of them had families to return to, and others took off for parts unknown. In light of their part in exposing Section 31, their punishments were reduced to nothing."

"Well, that's good," said Chuck. "I know the admirals involved were arrested. That's been all over official communication channels."

"Oh, tell me about it. I've been interrogated about five hundred times about that."

"So when are we departing? The Tomcat's repairs were extensive, I know, but we should be ready to depart by now, right?"

"Oh, absolutely. She's in tip-top shape. The only thing we're waiting for is her first officer."

"Well, don't put all the blame on me, Shawn. Come on," he joked. "Lynn says I'll be fit for duty in just a few days."

"Yeah, I already talked to her. Oh, quick, look busy. Here comes Rudy." He said the last two sentences loud enough for the Admiral to hear.

"Oh, you think I'm coming to reprimand you for something, do you?" Rudy laughed and sat down at the table. "Congratulations, Chuck." He patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Rudy. How's the December?"

"Well, she's a good ship, and she'll be an even better ship when she's out there exploring the stars. I enjoyed having her as my own, but Admirals don't belong on ships. I had to compromise. I'll be taking a posting on the U.S.S. Astral."

"Wow," said Shawn, "that has to be the oldest ship in Starfleet. I've heard it's very cushy in there. It almost never leaves the solar system." He smiled.

Rudy began grumbling. "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. At least I get to stay on a space vessel. Don't worry, though, I'll come visit you on the Tomcat once in a while for an inspection or two."

The three kept talking and laughing while the party carried on into the wee hours. It wasn't until they couldn't keep their eyes open that they broke up the party. All of the decorations were taken down, and Ten Forward was back to its much calmer self.

A few days later . . .

Captain Thornburg stood proudly on the bridge of the Tomcat. He requested permission to leave Spacedock, gave the order to release the mooring clamps, and ordered Lieutenant Preston to "take her out". The Tomcat, restored to her former glory, and now with a restored mission of peaceful exploration, set out for the stars, eager to encounter the next big adventure.