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HEARTS ASTRAY
CHAPTER 32
THREE MONTHS LATER
In a sunny bedroom of mint and gold, Kathryn sat up in bed sewing together the last of her baby blankets. Her bump was now so big that getting around was difficult, so she had more or less been confined to bed for the last three weeks. The boredom of bed rest was driving her crazy, but, for the sake of the babies, she was trying to endure things patiently. There were only a few days to go now as The Doctor intended to deliver the quads by fetal transport on Friday. As The Doctor had banned her from doing any work, to keep her mind occupied she had worked flat out on her knitting project. Consequently, she now had three beautiful baby blankets and eight sets of clothes.
Suddenly, a blue light flashed in the corner of her eye and Kathryn looked up to see The Doctor materialize.
"Good morning, Admiral," he said. "How are you today?"
"Uncomplaining, Doctor. Uncomplaining."
"Any more cramps?"
"Constantly. Not to mention backache and sciatica. But, as I said, I'm uncomplaining."
"I'm glad to hear it. Endurance is the name of this game." He took out his tricorder and scanned her. "Hmmm. Not good. Not bad. But not good."
"What is it?" Kathryn asked anxiously. "What's wrong?"
"Ruby's placenta is bruised. This may not be a problem, as the bruising is miniscule, but on the other hand it may be a sign that the placenta will start to detach. This means we have two choices. Either we admit you to hospital so you can be monitored closely, or we admit you to Bloomington Birthing Center to deliver the babies."
"Which do you think is best?"
"Delivering the babies. We have already reached our target of 31 weeks and they are all, at this minute, healthy and thriving. If we delay delivery, a complication may occur which will endanger your life and theirs."
The bedroom door opened and Chakotay came in. "Hi, Doctor," he said. "Is everything ok?"
Kathryn answered. "There's a problem with Ruby's placenta. It may be nothing but on the other hand it may be something. The Doctor thinks we should deliver the babies today."
"You're welcome to get a second opinion, of course," The Doctor said. "Now we're home, you have that luxury."
"Your opinion is the only one we need," Kathryn declared. "If you think delivering the babies is for the best, then let's deliver them." She turned to Chakotay. "Right, Chakotay?"
"Absolutely," he answered.
The Doctor smiled. "Then let's bring The Janeway Quads into the world! An hour should be enough time to arrange everything so I'll call back then. In the meantime, stay in bed and stay calm. Do you have a bag packed?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll see you in about an hour."
He hit his commbadge, requested a beam out, and in seconds was gone.
"Well," Kathryn said as her eyes met Chakotay's. "It looks like today's the day."
"Yes," he replied.
"I thought I'd be relieved, as I've been wanting it to be over, but I feel...I don't know what I feel. Excited, yet concerned too. We've been doing so well, the five of us. On their own, they might not do so well. What if they don't make it?"
Chakotay closed the gap between them and sat beside her. "They will, Kathryn. They'll grow and thrive and in a few weeks will be home with us." He put his hand on her bump. "It's time for them to go it alone now. You've been through enough."
"I guess. But I'm going to miss them...even their soccer matches at 03:00 hours. I can't put into words how amazing this whole experience has been."
"You don't have to. It's been amazing for me too. But this is only the beginning. We have years of amazing times to look forward too."
"We do. I can't wait for them to take their first step, speak their first word...even just to see them smile."
"Me either."
"What I'm not looking forward to, though, is the media circus. As soon as word's out I'm "in labor" journalists will be everywhere. Even outside our windows in hover boots."
"Really?" Chakotay laughed. "Outside our windows in hover boots?"
"Anything for a story. When you were missing, I almost spilt my coffee when a man with a camera looked back at me from my office window." She sighed. "Oh, coffee. Just think. In a couple of hours I can have a cup...the biggest, blackest, most caffeinated on the planet."
Chakotay smiled. "And here was me hoping you'd lost the taste for it."
"Me? Never!" She put her hand to his cheek. "Come on, let's call my mother and then check we've got everything we need."
Chakotay gestured to the forgotten baby blanket. "You'd better put that away first. We don't want the needle to go astray and end up in a delicate part of us."
"No," Kathryn laughed. "She then picked up the blanket and tenderly ran her hand over the pretty pink and white squares. "I really wanted to finish all the blankets before our juniors came but I won't now. I suppose I'll just have to aim for when they get home instead."
"Sounds good to me," Chakotay replied.
Kathryn carefully put away the blanked and then looked up at her husband. "Before we call my mother, do you think you could get me some coffee ice cream? I need my fix."
"Aye aye, Admiral. Anything else?"
"Some chocolate wafers, I think. Oh, and chopped banana with fudge pieces and toffee sauce."
"Quite a feast," Chakotay smiled. " Are our juniors fueling up for the big adventure?"
"Them and me both. Oh, and add strawberries to that. Pineapple chunks too."
Chakotay laughed. "Coffee ice cream with chopped banana, strawberries, pineapple chunks, fudge pieces and toffee sauce coming up."
He then got to his feet, kissed her forehead, and left the room.
When The Doctor returned in precisely an hour, Kathryn and Chakotay were waiting for him. Kathryn was still in bed, as instructed, and Chakotay was sitting beside her with a blue suitcase.
"I'm glad to see you're ready," The Doctor said. "But I'm afraid I have bad news. There's no room at the inn."
Kathryn understood his words. "Are you saying Blooming Birthing Center is full?"
"Full to the brim. It's a small center, as you know, and it seems every pregnant woman in Bloomington has gone into labor today. If I didn't know better, I'd say there's something in the water. But fret not, I've booked us a room in Indiana General Hospital. I know it's not the birthing place of your choice, but needs must."
"I won't argue with that," Kathryn said. "If it has to be Indiana General then it has to be Indiana General."
"I'm glad you agree. Now, let's get ourselves there." He hit his commbadge. "Doctor to Indiana General Hospital. Initiate transport 135."
A male voice answered. "Transport initiating."
Almost immediately blue light engulfed them and Kathryn felt the familiar tingle of transportation.
When they rematerialized, Kathryn found herself lying on a white biobed in a bright room of yellow walls. Along one wall were four glass incubators, incubators so advanced that they could act as artificial wombs, and along another wall were all the gadgets and instruments The Doctor would need to deliver the quads. Opposite the bed there was a long window that looked out at a blue sky and the first thing Kathryn did was ask The Doctor to shut the silver blinds that graced it.
"What for?" he asked. "Who's going to see in? We're on the fifteenth floor!"
"You'd be surprised how high journalists in hover boots can get."
"Journalists? In hover boots?"
"In rocket boots if it would get them a picture. So, close those blinds, Doctor. I don't want the whole Federation to see me in my nightie."
The Doctor turned to Chakotay. "Commander, could you? I've got babies to deliver." He hit his commbadge. "The Doctor to Nurse Jones. Report immediately to Room 515." He then took out his tricorder and scanned Kathryn. "No change. As soon as Nurse Jones gets here, we can proceed with the delivery."
The blinds now closed, Chakotay returned to Kathryn's side. "How long will it take, Doctor?"
"Providing there are no complications," he answered, "no more than half an hour."
A transporter beam flashed before them and a pretty blonde girl in a nurse's uniform materialized.
"Ah, Nurse Jones," The Doctor smiled. "Your response time is getting better by the day."
Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "Response time? And you dared to call me a slave driver on Voyager?"
"When you're dealing with matters of life and death, Admiral, every second counts. Well done, Nurse Jones. You beat your previous record by 2 seconds."
"All I can say," Kathryn said, "is that I'm glad I'm not working for you."
"No, you're just my patient. Some would say that is worse." He pressed a button and the biobed Kathryn was lying on flattened. "Now, we will begin. Nurse Jones, prepare the first incubator."
While the young girl did as he said, The Doctor attached four small silver devices to Kathryn's bump. These flashed as soon as they were were activated, and they transmitted data to several screens. "These will monitor the babies," he said. "They will alert us at the first sign of distress." He then attached a pink device to Kathryn's chest. "This will monitor you."
Nurse Jones spoke. "The first incubator is ready."
"Thank you, Nurse Jones. Standby for fetal transport." He then addressed Kathryn. "As Ruby is the most vulnerable, we'll deliver her first. You should feel no pain, but will feel a slight tingle as we transport. Are you ready?"
"I am," Kathryn replied.
As the Doctor went over to the transporter station, Chakotay sat beside Kathryn and took her hand in his.
"Transport will initiate in ten seconds," The Doctor said. "Hold as still as you can, Admiral."
Kathryn closed her eyes and held herself so still that she didn't even breathe. The ten seconds seemed like an eternity in passing, but then she felt an electrifying tingle as the transporter penetrated her bump.
"Transport complete," The Doctor said.
"Ruby," Kathryn said, raising her head but seeing nothing, "is she...?"
"She's fine," The Doctor reassured her. "Nurse Jones is just attaching her to life support."
Kathryn turned to Chakotay. "Can you see her? Is she moving?"
"Yes to both," he answered, eyes moist.
Nurse Jones spoke now. "Life support active. Baby responding."
"Then let's move on to the boys," The Doctor said. "Nurse Jones, prepare the second incubator."
When the incubator was prepared, The Doctor performed the second fetal transport. This was also a success, as was the third and fourth.
"I want to see them," Kathryn said when the last baby was out. "Raise me up, Doctor."
"In a moment," he answered. "The placentas must now be delivered and then I must depregnatize your body. Then you can see them." He put a hypospray to her neck. "This will detach the placentas." He walked back over to the transport station and operated the console. "Preparing for placental transport. Hold still."
Kathryn held still and in seconds the transport came.
"Transport complete."
The Doctor then return to her side and applied another hypospray. "This will depregnatize your body. Over the next few hours your abdomen will shrink back to normal and, as you won't be breastfeeding, you will stop lactating."
He then picked up his tricorder, scanned her, and smiled. "I'm pleased to say our delivery has been a complete success. Congratulations, Admiral and Commander. You are now the parents of healthy quadruplets."
Chakotay helped Kathryn from the bed and together they went over to the incubators. The babies were lying inside, all fast asleep, and tears of joy flooded Kathryn's eyes at the sight of them. They were all so tiny, so helpless, and yet so beautiful.
"Oh Chakotay," she said. "They're here...they're really here."
"They are," he smiled.
Kathryn gazed at them all, taking in every detail, and smiled at Ruby's hair. Unlike the boys, who had heads of fluffy black hair, Ruby's hair was so red it was almost burgundy.
"And Ruby's hair really is ruby," she said, wiping away a tear.
"I told you so," The Doctor smiled.
"Amy will be so disappointed. She was so hoping it would be ginger like hers. But I think it's perfect, just perfect. They're all perfect." She looked now at the baby next to Ruby and noticed for the first time that he was smaller than the others. "Oh Chakotay, look how small he is."
"A head like a tangerine," Chakotay smiled.
"He's definitely the runt," The Doctor said, "but he'll soon pile on the pounds."
The nurse spoke. "Do you have names for them?"
"We do," Kathryn replied. "But apart from Ruby, our little lady, I don't know who is who. Doctor?"
"Glad to introduce you all," he said. "This first baby is Zak, this second baby is James, and this little fella is Korby."
Kathryn smiled and gazed at her precious babies with happy tears in her eyes. "Welcome to the world, our darlings," she said. "I'm your Mommy and this big guy beside me is your Daddy. We love you all, very much, and are going to take care of you always."
Three hours later, Kathryn's bump was almost gone and she felt more like her unpregnant self. The babies were now in special care so she was resting in a recovery room. It was bright, cheerful, and had all the comforts of home. All around the room were balloons, cards and flowers that friends and well wishers had sent from all over Earth, and every hour more came. On the wall before her was a large television screen and Kathryn watched it as she drank her fifth cup of coffee. Chakotay, after many requests to do so, had agreed to make a public statement and it was about to air. The birth of The Janeway Quads was big news and the media, as anticipated, was going crazy. At last, Chakotay's moment came and Kathryn put up the volume as he stepped out of the hospital to a sea of reporters.
"It is with great joy and pride," he said, "that Admiral Janeway and I announce the arrival of our quadruplets, James, Korby, Zak and Ruby. They were delivered by fetal transport three hours ago and mother and babies are doing well. We thank our doctor for all he has done, today and over the last few months, and we thank the staff of this hospital for all they are doing. We also thank our family and friends for their love and support, and we thank each and everyone of you who has sent us cards, flowers and gifts. We are delighted to be a family of six and look forward to taking our babies home. Thank you."
As he walked back into the hospital, journalists shouted questions at him, but he evaded them.
Then the face of a pretty brunette filled the screen and, after making congratulatory comments, she began to talk about how rare the incidence of natural quadruplets was. Kathryn was just about to switch off the screen when a familiar face unexpectedly filled it. The face was The Doctor's.
"Thank you, Doctor," the woman said, " for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us."
"My pleasure," The Doctor beamed.
"Congratulations on a safe delivery."
"Thank you. A quadruplet pregnancy is always high risk, but I'm pleased to say Admiral Janeway has the constitution of an ox, so that made my job a lot easier."
"The delivery was, we believe, scheduled for Friday. Why was it brought forward?"
"A minor complication that could have become a major one."
"Can you elaborate?"
"I'm afraid I cannot. Doctor/Patient confidentiality."
"As I'm sure you are aware, there has been much speculation about the Admiral's pregnancy. Many are skeptical of her claim that she did not have fertility treatment. Some believe the babies were artificially implanted. Others believe, as the Admiral herself has hinted, that the babies were conceived individually during the Voyager years and re-implanted when she got home."
"Nonsense," The Doctor said bluntly. "Plain nonsense. The Admiral did indeed say as much but she was only joking. Her relationship with Commander Chakotay on Voyager was always strictly professional. They did not become a couple until they were home. As to her having had fertility treatment, I can confirm that is not the case."
"Are you saying, then, that the quads were conceived naturally?"
"That is my opinion."
"What about the alien species called The Wishers that we've heard mention about? It has been said Admiral Janeway attributes her pregnancy to them."
"The Wishers are no more than a story told by Q. Like all stories told by Q it is not to be believed. Q is a clown and a menace."
Suddenly, Q appeared between them in a flashy yellow clown costume. "E. Meanie. H," he said, "what a charming thing to say about a friend! You're not so great yourself, you know, big headed baldie! Would I lie about The Wishers? Would I? No, dopey, no! They're as real as your ego, and ain't that huge?" He stuck his head before the camera. "Hi-di-hi, dudes of Earth! Fancy Nancy, I know what you're doing with the decorator! Dirty Dennis, please stop slurping that soup! And Juicy Lucy, who's been squeezing you? Oh, the secrets in a Q's skull! Not that we really have a skull. We're not flesh and blood like you puny mortals." He squashed The Doctor against him. "Doesn't that make us best buddies, Doc?"
The reporter spoke. "Q, this is a wonderful surprise. Could you please tell us about..."
"About what?" he interrupted. "The Continuum? The Wishers? The galaxy? The universe? Do you think I have forever? Well, actually, I do have forever, so the question should be, do you? No-di-Do! There's only one thing I have left to say, and that's..." He stuck his head before the camera again. "Congratulations, Kathy! The buns have baked! Woo-hoo! It's just too bad the duplets will look like Chuckles! Bi-di-bye, folks! Q is gone!"
He clicked his fingers and disappeared.
"Well," the reporter said, "isn't that a turn up for the books? Q live on FNBC! Doctor, what do you make of his words? Have they convinced you that The Wishers are responsible for the quads?"
"No, they have not," he answered. "I will say it again and once again only. In my opinion the quadruplets were conceived naturally."
"Will you concede there is a possibility The Wishers were involved?"
"Yes, I will concede that. But I think it's as likely as the sun is to turn blue."
At that very moment dusk descended as the sun turned blue.
"Do not be alarmed," The Doctor said to the frantic crowd. "This is not the apocalypse. This is just Q trying to make a point."
As suddenly as it had come, the blue light went and all was back to normal.
"Oh my, what a day it is proving to be here in Indiana!" the excited reporter said. "First the early arrival of The Janeway Quads and now this! If you're just joining us, I'm Ellen Carter and this is FNBC. I'm with Voyager's famous doctor outside Indiana General and we have just witnessed a solar phenomenon. Right before our eyes the sun went blue! Did it happen outside Indiana?" She put her hand to her ear. "Yes, I'm told it did! I'm told this was a global phenomenon. How powerful Q is! And to think he was here with us!" She turned to The Doctor. "Doctor, can you really argue with a being so powerful?"
"I can and I will," The Doctor replied.
The woman turned back to the camera. "I'm sorry to cut short our interview, but we are now going live to the studio. More later from me. Until then, I'm Ellen Carter and this is FNBC."
The network's logo flashed up and then the face of a black man filled the screen.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Welcome to FNBC Newsflash. There is growing fear and panic on Planet Earth this afternoon following a solar phenomenon. At approximately 15:12 hours the sun turned blue for 38.5 seconds. This phenomenon was, we believe, created by Q in response to remarks made by Voyager's Doctor during a live broadcast with our on-location reporter Ellen Carter. This is the moment when Q showed up and the sun turned blue."
The clip of The Doctor's live interview replayed.
"While Q has yet to confirm his responsibility for the phenomenon, his responsibility is accepted by Starfleet Command. We are joined now by Admiral Trent Barns from Starfleet Headquarters who wishes to reassure you all that the solar phenomenon was caused by Q and is not a planetary emergency."
The face of an elderly man with a gray beard then filled the screen, but just as he was about to speak, the door to the room opened and Chakotay came in.
"Hi," he said. "How did I do?"
"Great," Kathryn replied. "Too bad about the pantomime act."
"Pantomime act?"
"Q and The Doctor. Some reporter interviewed The Doctor after you'd left and he...The Doctor..basically called Q a liar. The subject was, of course, The Wishers and our darlings. Q turned up to defend his honor but The Doctor held his ground. He said The Wishers being responsible for our quads is as likely as the sun is to turn blue. So..."
"Q turned the sun blue," Chakotay finished.
"Yes," Kathryn laughed. "For 38.5 seconds to be precise. Now all hell's broken loose."
Chakotay sat down and looked at the screen. "Isn't that Admiral Barns?"
"It is. He's reassuring us all that the end of the world isn't upon us." She picked up a remote control and switched off the screen. "But enough about Q's shenanigans. No doubt we'll be hearing about it for days!"
"No doubt."
"Let's just enjoy this time alone before more visitors arrive."
"Agreed." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a gold velvet box. "Which makes now the perfect time to give you this."
Kathryn gratefully took the box and carefully opened it. Inside, nestled in silver satin, was a gold ring. Upon it, surrounding a sparkling diamond, were four glittering gem stones of sapphire, emerald, amber and ruby.
"Oh Chakotay," Kathryn said. "A maternity ring."
"That's right," he smiled. "The diamond represents our love, our love that unites our hearts and our family, and the gems represent our children."
Kathryn tenderly touched the stones, tears in her eyes.
"It's wonderful, Chakotay. Thank you."
"Thank you," he said. "For our babies. You've shown immense courage over the last few months and I'm so proud of you."
"I'm proud of you too. You've been incredible. No matter what I've suffered, you've endured it with me, and have never complained about having to take care of me."
"It's been a privilege, Kathryn." He took the ring out of the box. "Shall I put it on you?"
Kathryn smiled and held out her hand. "Please."
Chakotay gently slipped the ring onto her finger and it sparkled in the light.
"I'll cherish it always," Kathryn said. "Just as I cherish you...Daddy"
Chakotay smiled. "And I you...Mommy."
Kathryn laughed and then they kissed softly.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY TWO