"I'm sixty four years old Tabitha, and I'm male. How do you think I feel about it?"
The Admiral tried to peer through the small screen at him, as if her mothering instincts could reach across the light years and wrap in warm support.
"My mother was nearly seventy when she gave birth to me Johnny."
She deliberately used his old nickname, something to make him feel younger. It appeared to have the opposite effect though. He looked tired, like he was about to cave in on himself. She knew that it was just because he was being open with an old friend and no-one was used to seeing emotions bared clearly on his face.
"You know full well that it's not uncommon or particularly old to give birth in one's sixties. It's far more common than doing it in your twenties these days. So that's a duff gripe and you know it. How does your boyfriend feel about it?"
"He's positively ecstatic. If he could jump over a moon, he would do. I'd be more excited if I wasn't the one that it's living inside. It's not a position I ever imagined myself to be in."
"Rubbish. I know you better than that Jean-luc. You shagged your way across the galaxy under my scrutiny, in your youth and I cannot remember you ever baring your butt without first checking out the sexual customs, expectations and possibilities of your prospective partners. If we were heading for a spot where it would be all impromptu with the bunny rutting then you checked it out on route to the planet. I have a brain like an elephant darling, why do you think they keep putting me in charge of information gathering? So I know full well that you knew that Nashiran men could get pregnant."
The grunt that came from the grumpy man was all the confirmation that she needed. She knew that he was not immune to the charms of an attractive stranger, but she also knew that he would have informed himself on their race before going any further. Even extreme lust or love wouldn't change a man that much.
"Do you love him? What's the guy's name anyway? You still haven't told me."
"I told you four months ago, when I realised that I cared for him and had to leave him."
"Theich? Wow. Well, that's a happy ending then. You didn't get knocked up on purpose did you, to make sure that you didn't lose him?"
"Tabby!"
"I'm joking Jean-luc. You must admit it's kind of felicitous though. Serendipity working as a force in the universe."
"You missed the part about me being tired, moody and miserable didn't you?"
"No Sweetie, the grumblings resounded all the way across the universe. But I also remember your devastating epiphany after Rene died. I remember every single word of it Jean-luc. Every concern about your family name dying out, the end a line that can be traced back to the time of Charlemagne; the sudden realisation that you would have liked to have had children. There has to be a part of you that's reacting well to this. We've known each other since we were teenagers, you might be able to convince yourself that it's all a big pain in the arse but I know you too well for that."
Tabitha waited and watched the changing expressions on her old friend's face. It would be a big admission, she knew, but he had known about his pregnancy for a month, it was about time he started to put the shock and denial away. God knows how Theich was dealing with this. Jean-luc was never the most accessible of people.
"How is Theich? Does living with someone suit both of you?"
"He's enjoying his rotation. He's rather excited about a research project that he's cooked up with our chief engineer and wants to be assigned there once his rotation ends. Living together is surprisingly easy actually. I never thought that I'd be able to adapt to living with another person, I suppose it has a lot to do with the bond."
"Bond? What are talking about Jean-luc? What bond?"
"Theich is Nashiran Tabby."
"Yeees. And?"
"I take it that you haven't had much to do with Nashiran Control?"
"Jean-luc, stop being obtuse and just tell me what you're talking about. I have a diplomatic lunch in half an hour, there isn't time for you to teach me how to work it out for myself, so stop smirking at me and tell me."
"Nashiran people have limited telepathic and empathic abilities. It isn't developed to the broad field that Vulcans and Betazoids have reached, but within relationships, especially physical ones, a bond is formed. It is very similar to the Deltan sex bond, the initial intensity is comparable and if the two parties live together and maintain a physical relationship, the bond gains a hold on both minds and begins to link them more broadly and permanently."
"Deltan…permanently…fuck me Jean-luc, that's…well…I don't need to worry that you're with him for the baby then. I couldn't imagine you accepting that level of intimacy from anyone, but as you already are…you must really love him. Isn't the Deltan sex bond supposed to send humans bonkers?"
Jean-luc tried to smother the ego-driven smirk that tried to muscle its way into his expression.
"I believe both the Deltan and Nashiran bonds have been known to send humans insane, yes."
"But you just did it anyway? You haven't really lost that idiotic "angels fear to tread" thing at all, have you? Well, just remember, they might be able to repeatedly replace you heart, but brains are hard to replace."
Jean-luc chuckled, "I swear I'm fine Tabby. I do love Theich and the bond is not a problem, as I said, I think it helps. I'll stop 'grumbling' eventually, probably once the child becomes more real than the indignity of being pregnant."
"I'm glad to hear it. Well, I have to squeeze into my dress uniform, which is actually a dress this time, so I have to go. Just a suggestion Jean-luc, but I'd advise you not to use the word 'indignity' in front of any of your female officers. It might be a good idea if you have a go at finding a way to deal with whatever you find undignified about bringing life into the world, for yourself and for the baby."
"I'll take it under advisement. Enjoy your lunch."
"You do that. I'll talk to you soon Sweetie. Conlan out."
----------------------------------------TNG----------------------------------------
Jean-luc was all alone in his quarters when it happened.
Theich had gone to engineering after his shift in Stellar Cartography to talk to Geordi about the plants that they needed to import and adapt. They were converting some unused space into a hydroponics bay that would serve as the headquarters for their early experiments with the mimetic plants.
Jean-luc had decided to make use of his free time in the most indulgent way possible. He eased his body down into the tub, sighing as he felt the heat relaxing his taut muscles. He lay immobile, entering a deep kind of relaxation that often seems to only be accessible when the body is under strain.
The sudden movement from within his mildly distended stomach was noticeable from without as well as from within. He had had none of the flutters that Beverley had told him to expect, it went from extra weight and bulk to movement in a moment. A moment that froze Jean-luc briefly before his emotions and concerns shifted into what his friends would consider to be the right place. Suddenly the mottled form that had awed him in image was linked with his discomfort and embarrassment and he couldn't allow the two to be drawn together. The reality of this being his child, curled and moving within him was too tangible to be ignored.
He slid a hand tentatively over his stomach, feeling the slight swell that cocooned his baby and pressed slightly where he felt the most solid resistance. He was rewarded almost instantly with a soft but insistent response. His fingertips brushed against what seemed to be a foot, stroking the solidity beneath his skin.
"Hello little one."
He cringed slightly as realised that he had used the same epithet that Lwaxana used for Deanna and decided that should he find himself using it, he would make sure to stop it at an appropriate age.
"I'm your…"
Jean-luc paused for a moment; he had not considered what he would like to be called. He had called his father 'father' but it was more common in France to use the old French 'Papa'. He wasn't sure that he wanted to use 'father', it was stiff and rigid, it had suited his father but he didn't want to be that kind of father. There were also two of them. On Nashira, the term was Redidg, which as it was a contraction and adaptation of the old Redingerio, seemed to be equivalent to Dad. So Theich would probably opt for Redidg or Dad, depending on what he wanted to emphasise, probably Redidg. There was Daddy, but he suited Daddy far less than he suited Father.
"I'm your Papa. Your Redidg is working right now, so you'll have to let him say hello later. You are inside me right now. My God, you're inside me. I can't wait to meet you. I think you need to stay where you are for a little while longer, but we'll be seeing you soon. We live on the Enterprise, that's a space ship. We fly through space and meet all kinds of new and interesting people. That how I met your Redidg……"
Jean-luc lay in the bath for a long time, talking to his unborn child. That was how Theich found him when he returned to their quarters. He was amused to hear Jean-luc talking to their child, astonished, over-joyed but amused nonetheless. That was until he squatted down beside the bathtub and Jean-luc guided his hand to a spot on his stomach, where a heel collided with its parent's hand.