Chapter 32: Completed Family, Completed Hearts
Knowing her daughter was safe and sound on-board, the Captain actually managed to get a decent night sleep, even if it was in Sickbay. The Doctor had insisted. Besides, it gave Chakotay sufficient time to get their quarters ready for bringing Adele home. He wanted it to be perfect.
The Captain woke just after 0600 hours, her entire body and mind relaxed. She had needed that sleep more than she had realised.
Mommy.
A smile split her face and carefully she got herself up out of bed. The Doctor had warned her to take it easy for the next few days but even her Chief Medical Officer wasn't going to keep her away from her daughter.
She stopped at the side of Adele's incubator and sat in the seat Chakotay had spent most of the previous day in. Subconsciously, she began to stroke her baby's cheek before running her fingers delicately up and down her arm. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had her daughter back, hers and Chakotay's daughter back.
"Morning honey."
Her voice was soft but still enough to make the baby smile. It was more than enough to make her do the same.
"Oh, you are so precious to me."
She didn't know exactly how long she was there just admiring her baby until her eyes caught sight of movement. Instinctively, she lifted her head just in time to see the Doctor leave his office.
He raised his eyebrow at her, a smile teasing at the corner of his lips.
"You should be in bed."
The Captain returned the favour in regards to raising her eyebrow.
"And a very good morning to you to, Doctor."
The Doctor simply shook his head and smiled.
"Good morning. How are you feeling this morning?"
The Captain sighed. It was difficult to put into words. Nothing she said would quite do it justice.
"Wonderful."
She looked away from the Doctor and down at her daughter again. Like any new mother, she was struggling to pull herself away.
"And how's Adele this morning?" the Doctor found himself asking, an enormous grin covering his holographic face.
The Captain's smile broadened as she watched the EMH delicately tickle her daughter's tummy. It made her think back to the day before. She had sworn to herself that the look on his face when he saw Q had returned Adele was one she would never forget. If holograms could succumb to shock and pass out, she was sure the Doctor would have been in need of some help.
It wasn't too long later that Sickbay's doors hissed open and revealed Chakotay entering.
She found herself frowning when she saw the wooden basket-type object handing off his arm.
"What the hell is that?" she asked lightly, meeting his eye as he flashed a blinding smile.
"A Mosses basket."
His simple answer made her laugh gently. He'd always been into ancient traditions and anything wooden always seemed to be his weakness. For someone who had been born in the 24th Century, he could handle and shape wood like a master from the 21st, and she wouldn't have had him any other way.
"Morning, Doctor." he greeted the EMH as he walked over to her side.
He leant down and kissed the top of her head. "Morning you."
He then bent down and kissed Adele's head. "And good morning to you, baby girl."
The Captain's eyebrow was raised pointedly the time he looked around and met her eye.
"Morning you? Is that all I am now?"
The Commander smiled at her apparent irritation. He knew her. It was just one of her attempts to tease him, something she did very well most of the time.
"Course not." he leant down, wrapping his hand around her head and kissing her cheek, "Ready to come home?"
She sighed dramatically. "Not until the Doctor releases us." she shrugged her shoulders, "Either that or you'll have to break us out of Sickbay."
The Doctor took a step closer, smiling as the couple turned to face him.
"I believe that's unnecessary, Captain." he nodded down at her, "I officially discharge you."
She smiled tenderly. She was more than ready to go.
=/\=
Being so early in the morning, the Command Team didn't run into anyone on the journey back to their quarters. In all honesty, the Captain was glad. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, she just wanted to go home.
Chakotay carrying Adele within the Mosses basket the entire way, the basket draped over his arm while the Captain held onto his other hand. It was a moment of pure contentment. At that moment, they weren't the Captain and Commander, they were simply Chakotay and Kathryn. Chakotay, Kathryn and Adele.
They entered their quarters and while the Captain allowed herself to come to a stop in the most familiar room on-board, the Commander headed straight to Adele's bedroom with the baby in tow. It was time to introduce her to her new home.
The Captain slowly lowered herself onto the sofa and watched happily as her lover showed their daughter their quarters. Firstly, he took her around her bedroom, then out into the living area and finally, he was beginning to head towards their bedroom.
"And this is the final room, Adele. Mommy and Daddy's room." he explained to the sleepy infant, "There's actually something new in here we need to show Mommy."
The Captain found herself frowning as the pair disappeared from her sight. She was certainly curious now.
"Show me what?"
The Captain carefully pushed herself up, wrapping her shawl around herself, before following the pair into the bedroom.
"See Adele?" Chakotay looked down at his daughter, "Mommy can't stand not knowing about things straight away. That's one thing you'll learn very quickly."
The following scowl she shot at him was made less threatening by the smile plastered on her face.
"Chakotay!"
He looked up and smiled when he caught her eye. He knew that would have made her bite.
"Over here." he directed.
She looked in the direction his head referred to, the wall directly opposite their bed. Immediately, she gasped.
"Oh, Chakotay… It's beautiful."
It was the image the Doctor had taken of them the day before, the three of them in Sickbay as their new beautiful family unit.
The image itself was sat in a beautiful wooden frame with two doves carved in the top right hand corner. The birds were a giveaway sign that Chakotay had carved it himself. They were his favourite because of their representation – peace and lifelong love.
With a soft smile, Kathryn reached over and felt the dove carving. She couldn't believe how detailed they were given their size. He truly did have a gift.
"Wow. Where did you get the wood?"
"On shore leave." he answered.
She shook her head. He'd answered automatically, far too quickly. He'd prepared that answer.
"No…"
She continued to study the wood, her hands running along it. "It seems more familiar than that."
The Commander rolled his eyes. He should have known he'd never get anything passed the formidable Kathryn Janeway.
She turned and looked towards him when he didn't answer. "Where did you get it?"
"Oh, alright." he sighed, "It's left over from New Earth."
She hadn't expected that. Not for a second.
Her mouth dropped open. "What?" she turned back and look at it again, "You've kept it all this time?"
He nodded. "I was waiting. I wanted to use it for the right thing, and this felt right."
Kathryn smiled deeply, nodded as she looked at the image of the three of them.
"It certainly was."
=/\=
One week had passed since Adele's birth and the Captain and Commander had fallen into a nice routine with her. Adele was very much what Kathryn would call an easy baby. They'd give her her final feed around 2300 hours every night and then she would sleep through to 0600 hours every morning. Even if she awoke earlier, she'd just lie in her crib and wait for either of her parents to come and get her. She hardly ever cried.
The Captain was back on duty part-time while Commander Chakotay was back full-time. It didn't bother her too much for the moment. While her ship was important, she was glad to have the time with her daughter. She was growing too quickly. The Doctor had actually estimated that her growth rate was two to three times quicker than a typical human. She didn't have the time to waste with her. Before she knew it, she'd be all grown up.
She was also aware that Chakotay was up to something. He was very secretive all of a sudden, spending nearly all of his spare time with her and Adele or working on his project. She couldn't get it out of him but it seemed that everyone else on-board knew. They were all acting secretive around her.
Chakotay had promised her a date, just the two of them that evening. It would be the first time they left Adele with 'Chakotay's close friends' and while she was looking forward to having the night together with her fiancé, she couldn't help but worry. It's what mothers did best.
Kathryn glanced at herself in the mirror. She was in a knee length black dress that was spotted with dazzling diamantes. She couldn't understand why he'd insisted she wear it, they were only going for a meal on the holodeck. At least, that's what she assumed.
"Kathryn, are you ready?"
Her head popped around the doorway as she straightened the fascinator in her hair and then smoothed down her dress. While her figure wasn't back to the way it had been before her pregnancy, she appreciated the fact that the dark wasn't fitted around it. It was far comfier to wear something loose and she was glad he taken that into consideration when planning her outfit.
"Yes." she replied, meeting his eye, "But I still don't see why I have to wear a dress."
Chakotay's smile grew when he caught sight of her. She couldn't have looked any more beautiful. He was lucky to have her.
"You look lovely." he complimented, taking her hand as she approached.
"You're biased."
He simply shook his head, running his fingers along her hairline to brush the loose strands of hair from her face. It made her smile. She wasn't lying when she called him an old softie.
"So, do I get to know where we're going yet?"
He smiled. "To the Mess Hall."
She frowned, her smile remaining "The Mess Hall?"
He nodded. He knew she'd been expecting somewhere more extravagant like the holodeck but if she was disappointed, she didn't show it.
"Oh."
He broke away from her hand and headed over to one of the cabinets near the door. Without a word, he opened a draw, removed something and then turned back towards her.
"You'll need one of these."
He held up a small box and handed it to her. She couldn't disguise the frown on her face before she opened it. It was only when her eyes locked onto the golden band that everything started to fall into place.
Her jaw hit the floor. "You've planned it all?"
The smile on her face made him mirror the gesture.
"You said you didn't know how you'd manage it while looking after Adele all day." he said, "So I thought I'd treat you to a very early birthday present."
There was no hesitation from her behalf when she pulled him by the collar of his new suit jacket and allowed their lips to merge together. What started off as a simple brush of lips evolved into a fight for dominance, the Commander happily surrendering to the passion they shared.
She pulled away a little breathlessly. "Isn't it bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony?"
Chakotay shook his head. "It's the 24th Century. Anything's possible."
=/\=
The ceremony was everything both the Captain and Commander could have hoped for. They were surrounded by their friends and since it had been Seven and Harry to whom Adele had been entrusted in the care of, their daughter was there too.
Tom Paris had been the officiator and thanks to his typical charm, not only was the wedding special, it was fun and humorous too. Simply perfect. The other choice roles included Tuvok giving the Captain away and the Commander's best man had been the Doctor. It was his way of thanking the EMH for all he did for Kathryn during Adele's birth.
The after party lasted for hours, everybody on-board taking the time to shower the newlyweds with congratulations and in Kathryn's opinion, far too much confetti. She was sure she'd be finding the damn stuff all over the ship for weeks.
It was the Captain who ended it by calling it a night. She hadn't wanted to be a spoilsport but by 0300 hours, she was beginning to grow tired. Seven offered to take Adele for the night. She thought it may be nice to let the newlywedded command team have a night alone. However, the Captain had insisted it was not needed. Besides, it had only been a week since she'd given birth. Other than sleeping, the Command Team wouldn't be doing anything else in bed that night.
Once Adele had been fed and put in her crib, Kathryn and Chakotay retired to their own bed. It had been a day. After slipping under the sheets, Kathryn lay her head against her husband's chest and allowed him to wrap his arms around her.
She found herself smiling to herself. Husband. She liked the sound of that.
Her hand absentmindedly began to run along his shoulder blade.
"Today was perfect." she turned and met his eye in the darkened room, "Thank you."
"You're more than welcome."
They shared one final kiss before settling down on their pillows that night, one out of many more to come. With identical golden bands adorning the ring fingers on their left hands, it was obvious. Their story had only just begun.