Command Decision, Part 2

For every fork in the road what if, there was another reality?

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Janeway tolerated the EMH's "uhs" and "hummms" and occasional outbursts of a few bars of an aria.

"Ah," he said. "Oooh" he spurted with gushed with satisfaction.

"Doctor, remind me to have B'Elanna look over your program. You may have a few bugs in your bedside manner subroutines."

"Now now. No need for that," he scolded. "You know there is nothing wrong with any of my subroutines;" he chirped as he walked back to his office, "however you appear to have a couple new subroutines of your own developing."

It took her a split second to fathom his odd remark. Her face lit up with a bright smile.

"Doctor?" she asked tentatively, "Are you saying…"

"Congratulations, Captain! You are in 100 percent perfect health. Oh, and you are expecting your third and forth children."

She smiled in disbelief. Twins! Was this real?

The Doctor went back to his office. As an afterthought he asked "Should I inform Commander Chakotay, or…"

She broke from her reverie to command, "Don't you dare! If you do that, I'll have B'Elanna do more than fix a few bugs!"

"Very well. I was just trying to be helpful." And then he added, "Mmm. Mood swings. I can see that everything is proceeding naturally.

"Captain, we have treatments for mood disorders, so…" He could tell she was not listening to him as she left sickbay.

"Twins," she said as she floated out of sickbay.

Later that evening Janeway stood in their quarters, barely able to contain her joy. It took every ounce of her determination to keep the news from her husband through their entire shift. He knew her well, too well, and several times, he quietly asked her what was going on.

"Nothing, Commander." She would say each time and then change the subject to status reports, maintenance schedules, EPS conduits, or other routine starship occurrences.

Chakotay entered their quarters with a couple of PADDS in hand.

"What's this?" he asked when he saw their dinner table meticulously laid out with a feast and elegant table settings. A pair of candles flicked lightly casting a romantic tone to the room.

"I had Neelix whip us up a special dinner and B'Elanna and Tom are looking after the kids."

"I think I'm trouble!" he smiled. He put the PADD to the side and held her in his arms.

"What do you mean, Commander?" she said feigning ignorance.

"If you've taken this much time to have dinner for us," he said warily, "then you've been waiting to ambush me! Are you planning to add another member to our family 'crew'?" he said as he pulled her closer and kissing her cheek.

"The Captain is not obligated to inform her First Officer of her every move," she said virtually bubbling with the news inside her.

"Go ahead. Pull rank!" he said playfully. "Quote regulations if you like! You know I love it when you talk Starfleet," he nuzzled her neck.

She allowed herself to enjoy his arms. For a moment, she imagined what her life would have been like had she obeyed strict protocol on New Earth. Every day, she thanked the stars for Chakotay. He stood by her side when she had been full with their first two children. He could have insisted that she step down command when she was pregnant but he had unflinching faith in her abilities.

Janeway and Chakotay felt they needed to be discreet during their romance. Despite their caution, it was common knowledge throughout the ship. It might as well have been broadcast on all frequencies. Subspace chatter aside, the crew never so much as raised an eyebrow when the pair had announced their plans to marry. In fact, there was unanimous support, cheers and celebration. Some things simply trumped protocol and the love they shared for each other was one of those things.

"I can still see you on the bridge, as big as a house, shouting commands when we had that Borg attack," he reminisced.

"I was not big as a house!" she pretended to be insulted.

"You were!"

"Was not."

"And you handled yourself and the ship like, well, like I knew you would."

"We sent the Borg packing and…

"Delivered our first daughter that evening."

He held her and kissed her sweetly.

"You know," she began, "giving in to you on New Earth was probably the best decision of my career."

He chuckled. "I thought it was more like me giving in to you."

"Well, we can debate that forever, Commander," she said. "In the mean time," she raised her eyebrows, "I have some news for you."

When she revealed her secret, Chakotay felt her joy in his own heart.

"Here's to good decisions," he smiled, raising a glass.

"Indeed!" she agreed.

fin