A soft muffled cry entered Seven's dreams and her eyelids fluttered open in response, a sleepy sigh leaving her as she tried to come to and interpret the sound. Her enhanced ears recognised the cry as Aylen's, who had proven to be a lighter sleeper than her brother. As Seven tried to rise, she felt the unmistakable hold of Chakotay's arms round her, why was she in bed and not regenerating? Oh yes, the last time the babies had woken Chakotay had come with her and pulled her onto the bed with him when they had settled. That had been at around 0200 hours, her internal clock told her it was now 0659 hours, it was morning and Aylen had a right to ask for breakfast. As Michael's sleepy cry joined his sister's, Seven knew she would have to get up. As she lifted Chakotay's arms away she gave his peaceful face a quick kiss, she would let him sleep in this morning, it was after all his last day of paternity leave and he had borne more than his weight of responsibilities since the twins had been born.
Pulling on her dressing gown she padded silently into the nursery and lifted a crying Aylen out of her cot by the left wall, carrying her over to the chair next to Michael's cot so that he, only beginning to whimper in newly discovered hunger after his sister had woken him, could see his mother and calm down. Letting herself start to relax again as Aylen nursed, she poked one hand through the bars of Michael's cot letting him occupy himself with the grabbing and sucking of her fingers. Looking at them both she marvelled at how much they had both grown, their cots no longer dwarfed them and they were now becoming heavy to lift. Well, they were supposed to grow; they were after all four months old now. Four months? Had it really been that long? The denial didn't last long, today was the 5th of March 2379, they were exactly four months old. She rubbed Aylen's head thoughtfully as the baby finished, giving her a kiss as she laid her out on the rug to restart the process with Michael. Within two months she could start weaning them, surely that would ease the load? Then she thought of Tom and B'Elanna arguing with a stubborn Miral in her high chair, maybe she shouldn't wish these days away.
Chakotay rolled over and peered blearily at the clock. 9:15! How could he possibly have slept in so late? "Seven!" he called anxiously as he realised she was neither beside him nor in her alcove. Maybe the babies had woken? He glanced around for the bassinets but then remembered they had moved the babies to the nursery two weeks ago to take advantage of their slightly more settled sleeping patterns and get their privacy back.
"We're down here!" Seven's voice travelled up from downstairs. Quickly he dressed and ran downstairs, to be greeted by the scent of cooking French toast wafting from the kitchen. As he entered he saw Seven at the stove with her back to him and Michael and Aylen lying on a large blanket both fascinated by a ball laid out before them that changed colour every few seconds.
"How'd I manage to sleep in? Didn't they cry?" he asked Seven.
"They did. I fed them at 0700 hours." She replied in a preoccupied tone as she concentrated on the task at hand.
"You should've woken me." Chakotay said reproachfully as he set the table for breakfast.
"I need to learn how to handle them unaided at some point, you're going back to work tomorrow and I thought you required sleep." Seven explained as she set his plate down in front of him.
Chakotay tried to stop the flicker of discontent crossing his features at being dismissed, but Seven caught it and he saw her face fall as she sat down with her own meal. As he began to eat he reconsidered his hurt irritated feelings, she was right of course, he was going back to work and he'd been lucky in managing to spin out his paternity leave for this long. Seven had been thoughtful in allowing him more sleep and making his favourite breakfast, he'd rewarded her by being grumpy. He smiled at her softly, silently asking forgiveness. "Well, one good thing about going back to work is that I won't gain anymore weight from gorging on your delicious food."
Seven unfortunately took the teasing literally, "I can prepare a lower calorie meal if you wish, I probably should not be indulging in this either…"
Chakotay had forgotten that tiredness made Seven less likely to pick up on humour. "No! I'm enjoying it! You eat whatever you want, you're feeding two growing babies remember? I don't want you going back to those tasteless nutritional supplements when I go back to work okay?"
Seven smiled, Chakotay seemed to have a complex about her nutritional supplements even though they had made up the bulk of her diet on Voyager. During her pregnancy he had banned them, saying that he wanted his children to develop taste buds.
The day wore on, the couple's activities almost completely dictated by the twins rather than they themselves. Feeding, changing, naps, play, washing and ironing made up the bulk of it. Chakotay was starting to think he might like to be back at work as he re-entered the living room with Michael, Seven had to stop herself from laughing at the sight but Aylen giggled cheerily at her father's strange expression. "What happened?" Seven asked as she took a lively Michael from Chakotay's arms.
"Oh, one of our little darlings took it into his head to kick a full container of talcum power off the changing table and across the room. Don't worry I cleaned it up." Seven couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled forth; Chakotay tried not to notice his wife's mirth at his expense and carried on speaking. "It's a nice day out, we should take them to the park."
"The park? Isn't it too cold?" She asked, thinking of the only just melted winter snows and watery sunlight that provided no warmth.
"We can wrap them up." He pointed out determinedly.
Seven saw a glint of desperation in his eyes. Perhaps he was succumbing to what the Doctor called "cabin fever", it had been a long winter after all. "Alright…" she conceded. "I'll feed and change them while you shower."
"I showered this morning."
"You require another." She told him firmly, indicating his hair.
Chakotay glanced at himself in the mirror and saw what she meant. His hair was obscured in a fine layer of talcum power, as were most of his clothes. "You're right, a change of clothes too I think!" he laughed as he bent to kiss Aylen and Michael before rushing off.
By the time he was ready to go Seven had already dressed the twins in their warmest clothes, bundled them in blankets and strapped them securely into the double stroller. Chakotay looked at their tiny faces, peeking out from under woolly baby sized hats. He bent down to remove a layer but Seven spoke up, "If you remove even one item they're not going."
Chakotay rubbed the babies' heads in sympathy. "Sorry loves but your Mama seems to believe we live in Siberia."
"Your sense of humour is enviable." Seven responded sarcastically as she manoeuvred the stroller through the door.
As they walked down the path Seven realised that Chakotay had been right about going outside, it was good for them all to escape the confines of the house despite the cold. Chakotay was beaming in pleasure as he pushed the stroller and she could see Aylen and Michael curiously scanning everything around them with alert bright eyes. Their peaceful reverie was ended however when a neighbour, Mrs Fallon, approached them. Seven could feel herself tensing up already, the woman hadn't exactly hidden her disapproval of having a former Borg living so close. She came up to them with a brusque "Hello."
"Hello, how are you Mrs Fallon?" said Chakotay politely, giving Seven a nudge in the ribs with his elbow.
Seven felt his cue and said coolly, "Good Afternoon."
Mrs Fallon didn't acknowledge Seven, just answered Chakotay. "The doctor says I'm fine." She said shortly in a tone which said she didn't believe that to be the case. "You're still on leave?"
"I'm going back tomorrow." Chakotay told her.
"Really?" She indicated the twins, "They'll be going into day care then?"
"No. My maternity leave does not end until mid May." Seven informed her in irritation.
Mrs Fallon looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you'll be alone with them?" she said, with a hint of incredulity.
I'm their mother, why shouldn't I be? Seven's thoughts raged, but a more civil reply, by her standards, left her lips. "Yes, during the day."
"Ah…well good luck." She said in parting, her voice putting emphasis on "good luck".
Chakotay squeezed Seven's hand without saying anything, but she continued to walk, pushing the conversation to the back of her mind.
The next couple of hours were a great deal of fun and relaxation, Chakotay knew he would pull these memories out and look at them fondly while he was stuck at work but soon enough the time came for them to go home. Seven rushed into the kitchen, her mind meticulously planning the night ahead. First the babies needed a bath to get rid of the grime gathered at the park, then they could be fed and put to bed and then she and Chakotay would hopefully share at least a couple of hours of quiet together, but she wasn't going to put any bets on it.
Seven spluttered as Aylen splashed a surprising amount of tepid water into her face. "I think that will do little daughter." She told Aylen in mock defeat as she lifted her out of the baby bath. "Can you help me Chakotay?"
Chakotay lifted his head from where he was dressing Michael and had quick enough reactions to hurriedly envelop Aylen in a big towel, laughing as he saw Seven's damp face. "Hey, count yourself lucky it's not talcum power!" he teased as he handed her a smaller towel.
Seven laughed too as she dried off and approached Michael who was beginning to whimper and fuss "I'm sorry baby, are you getting hungry?" she asked as she picked him up. In response he made a grab for her hairpins. She disentangled his grabbing fingers. "No, you're not eating my hair again. Wait for proper food." He stubbornly continued but since Seven had cottoned on to his habit of his and put her hair in its Voyager era style he soon gave up. "I hope he didn't swallow any."
"Aylen's been chewing my buttons and shirt sleeves no end. I don't want her to choke, do you think they're teething already?" Chakotay asked in concern.
Seven shook her head. "It's too early for that. They must just be curious."
"If that's the case it's going to be chaos when they start to walk."
Seven gave a small sigh, surely they would stay little for some time yet? She wasn't ready for them to grow up quite so quickly. Michael began to cry outright and Aylen soon joined him. "I think we still have time to adapt. Can you tidy up here while I feed them?" He nodded in agreement and helped her position them so she could carry both of them comfortably.
Some time later Seven was sitting in the large comfy chair in the nursery cuddling both of her now sleeping babies to her chest. She was glad they were still small enough to be able to cuddle both at the same time, though she knew it wouldn't last much longer. The inactivity and silence made her brain go back to the conversation with Mrs Fallon earlier in the day, would being left with her damage them, reduce their humanity in some way? The thought disturbed her deeply and she unconsciously pulled them closer but neither woke, just snuggled up even more. Her eyes focused on their sleeping faces, they were so innocent and trusting, what if their trust in her was misplaced?
At that moment Chakotay entered the room and as was her habit she relinquished them to him. He hugged them close and kissed them. "I'm going to miss you so much." He whispered as he laid them down in their cots. "I hope I'm not going to miss too much…" he said sadly before lightening his tone considerably as he turned to Seven. "I expect a daily progress report Crewman." He told her jokingly. Seven didn't move or speak, it was as if she hadn't heard him. He gently touched her arm in concern. "Hey, what's up?"
"Chakotay…do you trust me with them?" Seven asked shakily.
He stared at her perplexed. "What do you mean? It might be hard to cope the first couple of days alone, but I'm sure you'll get used to juggling both of them…"
"I…I do not mean their physical care, I mean their emotional development…"
He looked at her in blank horror for several seconds before realisation hit him. "Please don't tell me you're thinking about what Mrs Fallon said?" Her head lowered in confirmation. "Seven, that woman is a bigoted busybody. What she thinks about us is completely irrelevant, to use your terminology."
"But what if they act like me? Pick up some of my Borg habits?"
"They might. They're going to learn some bad habits from us, but they're also going to see and learn all the good habits and there are plenty of those. I trust you with them more than anyone else. You're the mother of my children not Mrs Fallon."
Seven felt a flicker of smile cross her face, "Even you don't have taste that bad."
He kissed her. "My taste is perfectly good…" He murmured huskily.
When he pulled back she said, "Do you really want a daily progress report?" He shot her a look. "I should know by now that you're never serious when you call me Crewman." She kissed him deeply before speaking again. "Let's go downstairs. We shouldn't be kissing in front of our children."
He pulled her up from the chair and held her. "I want our children to know that I love their mother."
"I love their father too." Seven murmured as they walked out of the nursery together.
A/n: Another fluffy chapter, I hope you like it. I've been slow with my other stories, "Disunity" and "Lost and Found", but don't worry I'll update them next. I've just not been in the mood for angst and my week has been busy. Please review!