March 2384

She looked at the readings one more time. They had avoided them for the better part of the last five years, it couldn't be happening again. The Chief Petty Officer smoothed out a wrinkle in her uniform and reached to notify the ship's command team.

"As you can see, there appears to be a trace approximately 20 light years away." Delaney paused. "I have my staff running more extensive scans to see if we are approaching Borg space again."

"How sure are we it is a Borg signature Chief?" Janeway looked at her with astonishment. "A signature can just imply that a Cube has been there recently, but hopped to transwarp and is elsewhere."

"I'm hoping it's just that, but we don't know just yet." The Chief sipped her tea. "I would rather not risk it."

"Keep us up to date on the scans." Chakotay questioned her. "How much does this have to do with Zuxia?"

"All of it." Delaney replied without question. "We just don't know if there's a way for them to activate any type of beacon that she or Icheb might still possess. Kori and Ben for that matter either. We just don't know how the Borg would react to two former juvenile drones and the offspring of their former golden child."

"If it is the Borg?" Paris raised the question that no one wanted to answer. "Do we brave it or do we go around them?"

"As far around them as possible." The First Officer had made up his mind. "It's not worth the risk, our last encounters caused enough chaos to make us their primary target."

January 2385

Henley shook her head as they beamed the Chief Engineer into sickbay. The post as Nurse had suited her well. It gave her a meaning on the ship one beyond scrubbing plasma manifolds. "You know."

"Don't start with me Mariah." Torres shot back. "Someone had to fix the gelpacks, that's exactly what I did."

"You have a staff B'E." She reached for the tricorder and began to do her scans. "It might be an idea to delegate authority every so often. They're not newbies down there anymore."

"It's still my engine room." Torres became belligerent, the Klingon in her was taking over. "Are you going to activate the doctor or not?"

"Does Tom know?" The scan had come back positive for pregnancy. "This is your usual denial and your human half is not your Klingon half. I can call the Doctor back and have him lecture you or you can tell me the truth."

"We've known for about a month." Torres gave a simple answer. "But decided keep it quiet until we were ready to announce it publicly."

"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing then." Henley shook her head. "Do me a favor and use your staff when you think it might be risky. Be realistic."

"Ok." Torres smiled. "Why are you so much more practical when it comes to Doctor's orders?"

"Because I'm an organic and you won't follow impractical orders." Henley shook her head again. "Maybe I should be injecting myself with your hormones."

"Please, that's the last thing this ship needs, a paranoid Kim child running around." Torres let Henley run the bone knitter. "I'm just trying to envision your offspring."

"Probably would cause less of a ruckus than your children." Henley rolled her eyes. "But then again, the combination of the Paris and Hansen children could probably make a Kazon sect seem civilized and well behaved.

December 2387

"This tops it all Tom." The first officer watched his children playing in front of him. "Only you would've thought of this."

"It's been a tough year." Paris bounced his younger son on his hip. "We needed some sort of recreation that was more kid friendly. No kid should have to grow up the way ours have."

"Tell me about it." Chakotay sighed. "It's actually getting tougher as they get older. I just never expected this."

"You have two perfect children." Paris smiled. "I'll swap you Jon for Ben-you would last all of a day with a Paris running around your quarters."

"I'll pass on that. I know neither of us ever felt we'd be standing here watching children run around the cargo bay." The Commander smiled. "I thought I was done with children after Mariah and Div became adults. The two of them alone would make your children a breeze."

"Are you implying something?" Henley came up between the two of them. "You didn't have to save my ass and make it grow-up."

"I think your husband appreciates that you're a grown-up." Paris smiled. "Though knowing Harry, if you hadn't grown-up he would've fallen for you sooner."

"Always the comedian, aren't we Commander?" Henley decided to fight back and emphasize Paris's rank. "You should put those talents to use. Maybe give the Doctor a better bedside manner."

"He can't be that bad?" Paris raised an eyebrow. "I survived 8 years in that sickbay. He's just an acquired taste."

"Acquired taste?" The first officer looked at him. "There is no bedside manner routine in his program."

"You were in there two shifts a week. I'm there every day." Henley smiled. "Ben's smile could probably light this whole ship."

"Tell me about it." The proud father beamed. "He's so happy it isn't even funny. I'm just concerned about Kori, she seems so indifferent to everything lately."

"She'll grow out of it." Paris sighed. "Five is a tough age. We had the same problem with Miral. Ken and Jenny had it with Zux. I could argue that it's the nanoprobes, but my sisters who are about as abnormal as you can get were difficult at five."

July 2388

The Captain looked up to see the young girl staring at her from across the ready room. "How'd you get up here Miss Hansen?"

"Through the Jefferies Tube, Captain." She gave a matter of fact answer. "How else would I get up here?"

"You could have taken the turbo lift." Janeway looked at her. "Now why are you here in my office?"

"I want to know when Daddy is coming back." Hansen crossed her arms. "Because I need to tell him that Ben is bothering me big time!"

"They'll be back tomorrow." The Captain had little patience left for the children on board. "How about you go back down to the School room and get back to your lesson? And this time you can take the Turbo Lift. I'm sure Miss Carlson is probably looking for you."

"I doubt she is, Zu and Miral were fighting and she was trying to break them up when I left." The six year old smiled. "But do you trust me going back down on my own?"

"No." Janeway glared at her. "I'll have someone deliver you back to Miss Carlson." She escorted Hansen off the bridge and handed her over to Kim. "Can you make sure she gets back to school Harry?"

"Not a problem Captain." Kim led his goddaughter into the turbo lift. After the doors closed he burst out laughing. "How and Why?"

"The Jefferies Tube and because Ben is being a pain." She smiled. "Can you yell at him Uncle Harry?"

"What did he actually do?" Kim could not help laughing, she was so much her mother it wasn't even funny. Right down to the direct matter that she conducted herself with. "Did he call you a name, did he pull your hair, or is he just being Ben?"

"He's just being Ben, but he's more annoying than usual. I promise I won't annoy the Captain again." She meant it, but she was definitely nothing more than a scared six year old. "It's just that it's no fair when he goes on away missions. I don't like it, I'm scared he might not come back."

"He'll come back Kiddo." Kim understood her worry, she was like this anytime her father was away, she was petrified of losing him too. "He was just going on a survey. Daddy's not in any danger. He wouldn't go if he thought it would not be a safe situation."

May 2390

Zuxia found herself sitting across from Icheb in the dining hall, she hadn't planned it but still her timing was flawless. She anxiously clutched the pad she had been reading the last few days. "Was anybody ever planning to tell me?"

"You knew you were rescued as an abandoned infant that was all you needed to know." He leaned back against his chair. "It was to protect you. Do you have any clue how hard your parents fought to bring you home?"

"What do you mean fought?" She looked at him still trying to figure out how it all had escaped her. "I know I spent time in sick-bay recover from malnutrition and a host of other problems."

"The doctor wasn't ready to release you even when he did." Icheb sighed. "He had no clue what would happen with your Borg implants, you had the least of the five of us"

"They never wanted me to know did they?" The teenager was near tears. "Isn't this something I should have known about from the beginning?"

"Zu, it's tough to explain the Borg." Icheb reached for his tea. "There's a reason we avoid even any hint of them. They're ruthless monsters. You weren't even born when you were assimilated. They sliced you out of your biological mother's womb when you were at most halfway through gestation. You finished incubating in a maturation chamber. That's why."

"But you guys were freed from the collective a year before I was born, that can't be possible." She stared him down looking for answers. "You were missing the one drone that was destroyed. Those were the five juvenile drones."

"The Doctor did your surgery than put you in incubation and stasis to you were the size a Denobulan baby was supposed to be." Icheb sighed. "You were in that incubator for over a year. The Chiefs were in Sickbay every free moment they had. They were petrified they would never bring you home."

October 2393

"He's being totally unreasonable." Kori Hansen sat in her godparents' quarters crying. "It's not even funny anymore! Aunt Riah can I please come stay here?"

"You're going back to your own quarters." Henley wiped the tears from the young girls face. "Kori, he loves you. You're his pride and joy, it's probably petrifying him that you look so much like Seven."

"You can escape here, but Kor, we're not taking you from him." Kim looked at the distressed teenager. "You have to understand, he probably never thought he would be single handedly raising two teenagers on a scout ship in the middle of no where."

"I'm trying here." Hansen sighed. "He just doesn't give me any space. Uncle Harry you must have somewhere you can stick me that's not in the same quarters as him."

"There's an old regeneration alcove in Cargo Bay 1." Henley put on a smile. "He thought he was done raising rebellious teenagers when we got stranded out here. Trust me, Kor, he kept most of us from doing stupid teenage things that would've gotten us killed. Commander Torres should've been dead years ago, she's not because of your Dad."

"Think about the regeneration alcove." Kim shot his wife a look. "You'd have to sleep standing up, but if he's that intolerable."

"I'll go back to quarters Sir." She had developed teenage sarcasm, fare more than her mother could have ever understood. "But keep the alcove idea open." Hansen quietly left their quarters.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kim looked at his wife then down at her expanded midsection.

"God help us when she becomes a teenager." Henley smiled and placed his hand to feel the baby kick. "Is it too late to re-sequence so we have a boy?"

"Yes." Kim smiled. "But then again, hopefully we'll be prepared for puberty."