"Seven, it doesn't have to be a human name but I need your help, you can't expect me to choose the name, especially since you've not liked any of my suggestions or anyone else's."
"No it has to be of human to coordinate with Aylen and Michael…" Seven paused as she saw Michael reach over to a vase full of flowers sitting on the windowsill. "Leave that alone Michael!"
He glanced over at her furtively but continued to reach for the vase anyway; by now he knew his mother couldn't leave her hospital bed to catch him. "Papa!" he cried out in protest as Chakotay lifted him up and put him back beside Aylen at the foot of Seven's bed.
"What did Mama tell you?" Chakotay asked him, kneeling down to his eye level.
"Stay." Michael replied ruefully.
"That's right. Stay there where we can see you." Michael nodded and took his plastic toy shuttle craft back from Aylen to content himself. Chakotay watched them play for a moment before going back to his point. "Well we need to narrow it down somehow; maybe we should just pick a letter of the alphabet and choose a name from that list."
Seven sighed, feeling irritated and uncomfortable, even in bed this amount of extra weight was cumbersome. The baby kicked her hard in the ribs and she instantly felt guilty, the baby should stay in there for as long as possible, she didn't want to experience the NICU again even if at thirty six weeks and one day the possibility was thankfully becoming more remote. All the more reason to pick a name, he'll come soon and can't be without a designation when the time comes. The reasonable voice in her head pointedly reminded her. Picking up the data pad with the long list of names she'd been working through, she considered Chakotay's suggestion. "His name can begin with an M like Michael."
"Right." Chakotay nodded tiredly in agreement and sympathy for him stabbed her, he'd been run off his feet coming back and forth to the hospital with the twins in tow and she thanked him by being irritable. She began to read the M names out alphabetically for approval but they were both distracted by the twins' frequently comic attempts to pronounce the names.
Giving up for the time being Seven drew Aylen into a hug. "What do you want the baby's name to be Aylen?"
Her china doll features creased for a moment in thought. "Baby…" she said uncertainly.
"That isn't a name sweetheart. He won't be a baby forever. Any other ideas?" Chakotay probed gently. Aylen shook her head vigorously and Michael shrugged his small shoulders before taking his shuttle with him on a run round the room. "Keep going Seven." Said Chakotay as he confiscated the toy and gave Michael another warning to calm down.
Starting from where she'd left off Seven read again. "Max…"
"Why did you stop? Do you like that name?" asked Chakotay with interest, since he liked it also.
Seven flushed. "When the Captain made me research my ancestry four years ago, I discovered that one of my ancestors was a World War II fighter pilot. Max was his name."
Chakotay smiled in approval. "That's a reason to name a baby after him if I ever heard one. I like it."
Seven felt her shoulders relax. "It is decided then. His name will be Max Kolopak."
"You want my father's name to be his middle name?" Said Chakotay in surprise.
"Yes, why shouldn't it be? Michael has my father's name incorporated and you loved your father…"
Chakotay was deeply touched and kissed her softly. "Yes I did, I love you too…"
The Doctor's voice shattered the moment. "Sorry to interrupt but visiting time is almost over and it's time for your morning check up Seven."
Seven set Aylen down on the floor to allow the Doctor to scan her and saw his face darken with foreboding as he did so. "What's wrong?"
"You're going to have to be induced. We'll start the drugs at 1500 hours."
"Today?" Chakotay asked shell-shocked.
The Doctor had hardly moved his head in a nod before Seven broke in, highly agitated. "Postpone it. It's still too early…"
The Doctor gave her a sympathetic look, it was a rarity to see her so openly fearful. "Seven if it's the baby you're worried about he'll most likely be fine, thirty six weeks gestation isn't considered dangerous. He'll probably not even need to go to the NICU if the labour goes smoothly."
Seven glared at him tearfully. "Well what if it doesn't? I'm not willing to risk…"
"The risk to you will only be higher if we wait. Listen, right now you're on the edge of stability if you have the baby now while you still have some strength, everything will most likely be fine but if we wait your implants could destabilise as they did last time and endanger your life."
Seven shook with silent sobs she managed to stop herself from uttering and Chakotay, who had sat mute during this exchange with his arm round her spoke up determinedly. "Go and prepare whatever you need Doctor and I'll make arrangements for the twins and come back here for 1500 hours okay?" The Doctor nodded in relief, glad to see the officer in Chakotay reveal himself as he knew Seven would eventually follow her husband's lead in this instance.
The Doctor left to make the arrangements and Chakotay through badly shaken himself comforted Seven. "If you upset yourself like this you'll go into natural labour and I want it completely under control this time okay?" This remark drew a stifled sob from Seven which she quickly muffled into his shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine honey…"
Seven gulped several times as her grip on his shirt unconsciously tightened. She didn't want to admit how scared she was, that her last labour had traumatised her to no small extent, to admit such a thing would have gone against her nature, or her Borg upbringing at least. Yet she knew in her heart that Chakotay was acutely aware of her emotions, perhaps more than she was, he'd always been like that and her own senses could feel his fear bubbling under his calm persona. Pulling back she met his eyes. "I hope so…I know…"
Michael and Aylen now appeared at the side of the bed. "Mama sad." Stated Michael quietly, giving his mother a soft pat on the arm.
"Bad Doctor." Aylen commented, obviously having noticed the link between the Doctor's arrival and Seven's outburst.
"No, no he's not bad at all." Seven hurriedly corrected as she hugged them and rubbed her eyes, putting on a smile to reassure them. "When you come and see me tomorrow you'll meet your new brother."
"Max?" asked Aylen curiously. Although surprised that they remembered the name decided on only a few minutes before Seven and Chakotay nodded. "Wove you Mama." Aylen continued after a pause.
"Wove too." Michael immediately agreed not wanting to be outdone by his sister.
Seven had to swallow down hard on the lump that formed in her throat as she hugged and kissed them again. "I love you too."
Chakotay gently guided them to the stroller and clipped them in before returning to Seven for a kiss. "I'll be back soon…good thing we decided on a name huh?" Seven saw a new glimmer in his eyes as he said this, excitement, it began to flicker into life within her too at that moment and as they left she lay down flat with a sigh to wait.
Another contraction painfully pulled her muscles and set her nerves on fire. She counted the time lapse in her brain, three and a half minutes. Chakotay must have noticed her wince for his voice found its way to her distracted ears. "How are you feeling?"
Seven doubted her powers of description could stretch that far and instead said, "I can understand why our mothers both limited themselves to one child."
"It's a little late now." He wryly replied, getting a tense mutter of agreement from Seven. "The Doctor should be in to check you soon. He said he'd come in every hour and it's just past 1700 hours." Just then the Doctor and the midwife assisting him entered. "Speak of the devil." He muttered in Seven's ear but she was mostly ignorant as another contraction also arrived.
The Doctor came to the bed looking unnaturally pleased. "Everything seems to be going fine but I'll check." He did so with the next contraction and smiled at the anxious couple. "Impressive, four centimetres in two hours."
Seven gasped. "I hadn't got that far in twelve hours last time."
"Well, every instance is different. You're definitely in active labour now so you can have some pain relief." The midwife handed Seven a tube connected to a large tank.
"What is it?" asked Chakotay.
"Nitrous oxide, laughing gas."
"Don't you have something more helpful, more high tech than that?" Chakotay asked doubtfully.
Seven sucked on the tube as directed, beyond caring where relief came from. "…Irrelevant…" she choked out in reply between giggles as it took effect.
"It may be old-fashioned but it works, I'm not willing to risk another allergic reaction. I'll come back in an hour."
As time passed Chakotay became steadily more nervous as Seven laughed manically between groans of pain. "Can I have some too?" he asked in reference to the gas, only half joking. Her only response was to hit him lightly on the arm in reprimand.
She changed position once again, even the laughing gas now failed to take the edge off the pain as the pressure built. Making an instinctive decision she motioned Chakotay over who was immediately at her side. "Get…the…Doctor…" Out of the corner of her eye she saw him nod and run to the door. The next sound she was aware of was the Doctor's steady voice floating over to her.
"Looks like he's going to arrive this side of midnight, it's time to push." It was sometime after 2300 hours now that meant she'd been in labour for over eight hours, how had she managed to cope with twenty eight hours of this? To be fair her memory of that previous labour was very patchy, perhaps that was why she's allowed herself to get pregnant again…Another push? Obviously this one was as stubborn as the rest of his family, herself included. Why did Chakotay insist on holding her hand, didn't he know that she was very capable of breaking his fingers? Her other hand suddenly braced itself against the bed and the last of her adrenaline drained from her as she groaned. A new sound suddenly replaced it, ear splittingly loud and tuneless but strangely mesmerising and beautiful at the same time. "All over Seven, well done." Said the Doctor over the din of the newborn's wails. These words made her lift her head slightly and the baby was obligingly laid on her chest where she cuddled him without thinking. He was crying and bloody but then she was sure she didn't look flawless just then either, with her hair plastered to her head and tears streaming down her face. Chakotay broke her out of her daze by kissing her over and over, babbling incoherently all the while as she laughed and wept with relief.
"Would you like to cut the cord Chakotay?" The Doctor asked as he stood grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Yes please." Almost as soon as he'd done so Max was gently lifted away by the midwife.
This jerked Seven into trying to sit up, "What's wrong?" she mumbled weakly, the fear audible in her voice.
The midwife gave her an understanding smile. "I need to check him over, don't worry I'll bring him right back when the Doctor says you're fine. Your husband can come with me." Chakotay looked anxiously at Seven who although appearing pale and weak, her teeth chattering, nodded sharply in permission and he followed the midwife to the back of the room who put Max on scales and nodded in satisfaction. "Not the heaviest I've ever seen but healthy." Chakotay felt shock prickle him when he realised that he still weighted more than the twins had at birth put together and relief washed over him as she gave him the baby. "Perfectly fine Doctor, when was he born so I can put it in the records?" she called over as he attended to Seven.
"2337 hours, that means the 16th of June 2380. Stardate 8062.5." He drew a blanket over a shivering Seven. "The cold is from shock, it should pass. Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?"
Seven nodded listlessly before asking, "Will he need to go to the NICU?"
"I think he'll stay here, we'll keep an eye on him though. Now I'm going to put you on a drip and within the hour you'll need to regenerate okay?"
As Seven nodded again, Chakotay lifted his head from the baby to check on his wife. "He's perfect; He's got hair already and I think he's got Aylen's chin, Michael's eyebrows…"
Seven smiled at his unbridled enthusiasm and joy. "Does his name seem appropriate?"
Chakotay looked down at the little human in his arms, feeling the same love he'd felt for the twins without the dark shadow of anxiety and fear. The extra six weeks had certainly done him good, his face was filled out and rosy, something the twins hadn't achieved until they were ready to leave the hospital and his eyes and expression were generally happier, more alert and responsive. "Yes, I think it does. Look." He carried him over and placed him in Seven's waiting arms.
"Hi baby…" She whispered softly as she tucked him against her skin for warmth and closeness, feeling his rapid heartbeat slow as he relaxed into her. "We've been waiting for you a long time, you have two excited siblings at home…" She kissed his soft downy head, already dark haired like his father and watched him yawn. "I'm tired too…" She caught his eye colour and saw that they gazed out like two bright pieces of coal. "He looks just like you Chakotay…"
Chakotay couldn't stop himself from beaming but still replied, "The more like you the better" as he kissed her.
Seven smiled knowingly as Max began to fuss and changed position to allow him to nurse. As she watched, unable to take her eyes off him, she murmured in his ear but loud enough for Chakotay to hear, "You're never going to eat a crayon are you Max?" she asked teasingly.
Chakotay visibly cringed. "The Doctor told you?"
"No, the nurses on this floor like to engage in gossip." When she saw his face she felt guilty and kissed him soothingly. "Don't worry; I have had many near disasters with our elder children."
Chakotay laughed in relief as he leaned back over the baby. "Did you hear that Max? Your family's been the laughing stock of the maternity floor!"
A/n: Really long chapter because I decided not to leave you hanging. Please review! I hope you don't hate the name. (Using the same initial as one of the twins is a bit cliché but I had to narrow the choice down somehow!) I promise to update "Disunity" before I continue with this.