AN: Here we are, another chapter here. (So much fun stuff to come!)
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Kes came around in the doctor's place to make sure that Kathryn and Kaya were getting settled into their quarters. Chakotay held Kaya while Kes made sure that Kathryn was well, and then he offered over the baby for inspection. After she was satisfied that they were both well and simply needed to continue on as they were, Kes asked Chakotay to walk her out.
In the corridor, Kes got close enough to Chakotay that they wouldn't be overheard if someone were to pass by, though, at that moment, they were alone. She passed him a PADD that she'd brought with her when she'd come.
"What's this?" Chakotay asked.
"I know you like reading about what's to come," Kes said. "I've spent a lot of time scouring the ship's information on postpartum care. You've got information here about healing, breastfeeding…probably a great deal that you aren't interested in knowing."
Chakotay laughed to himself and nodded.
"But you knew I'd want some of it," Chakotay said.
"The doctor's notes are also in there," Kes said. "That's what will likely interest you the most. He just compiled some quick notes about care and healing that you might want to look over."
"Thank you," Chakotay said with another nod of his head. "I'll read over it while Kaya's napping later—especially if I can convince Kathryn to take a nap at the same time."
"There is something that I wanted to talk to you about," Kes said.
"Related to Kaya?"
"And the captain," Kes said.
"Go ahead," Chakotay said. "I'm listening."
"When I was reading the information, I came across a number of sources that agreed on one point," Kes said, "and that point was that the captain's behavior for a while could be—well, unpredictable."
Chakotay laughed to himself. He nodded.
"Because of the hormones," He said. Kes raised her eyebrows at him. "You're not the only one that scours the ships databases for information. And I do like to know what's going on. I feel like—since we returned to Voyager, there's been somebody or something warning me about—about Kathryn's moods. Her hormones. How she might react to every little thing."
Kes laughed quietly.
"And you don't believe any of it?"
"On the contrary," Chakotay said. "I absolutely believe all of it. I've seen Kathryn cry over—over the mention of someone being homesick. I've seen her get angry because I ate something that she said she didn't want just before she realized she actually wanted it. She's been happy over her weight because our daughter was growing, and she's cried seconds later because she was gaining weight. I believe it, but I just don't think it's a problem. I'm familiar with Kathryn. I'm familiar with her moods. Maybe more so than anyone on this ship."
"I'm sure you are," Kes said. "I just wanted you to be aware that there were some things I read that suggested that the captain might have some difficulty bonding with the baby. If that were the case, I wanted you to know that many of us would be there to help you, Commander, while you supported her and cared for Kaya."
Chakotay smiled.
"I appreciate the sentiment," Chakotay said. "And—believe me, I hope that you're all there to support both of us. We appreciate everything our family offers us. But probably the last thing I'm concerned about is Kathryn rejecting our daughter in any way. She barely puts her down and, so far, she'll only let her out of her sight to rest if I promise her that I'm keeping an eye on her. I do appreciate your support, though, and I appreciate your concern."
"If there's anything we can do…" Kes offered. She didn't need to finish her statement for Chakotay to understand it.
"Does the doctor's report contain information about when Kathryn can return to duty?" Chakotay asked. "I know that's going to be the next thing she asks me."
"He would prefer that she rest and focus on Kaya for the time being," Kes said. "However, he's cleared her to return in a limited capacity in a week."
"She'll never last a week," Chakotay said.
Kes laughed.
"You'll have to take that up with him. I'm only the messenger."
Chakotay thanked her for her help, and he saw her off to continue her workday. He stood in the corridor and looked through the PADD she'd given him. It was neatly organized into topics and concerns. Everything he might need to worry about was there. Some things clearly had more information than others.
Kathryn was well. Kaya was well. That was really all that he felt like he needed to know at the moment.
They'd been through enough that he felt they could get through whatever else they had to face. If the Borg couldn't destroy them, then a few mood swings certainly couldn't. The expectation of the documents in the PADD felt too heavy to Chakotay.
He let himself back into their quarters, tucked the PADD into a stack of other PADDs—all complete with reports and such that he meant to review when they had some downtime and he found himself bored with doting on his new daughter and his wife—and he made his way into the bedroom. He would read the doctor's notes later, but he wasn't sure that he had any use for the remaining information.
Immediately, he found himself smiling at the scene that greeted him when he reached the doorway and let his eyes fall over the bed.
Kathryn had arranged all the pillows—which were quite a few more than those standardly issued by Starfleet, given that she'd realized a great need for more pillows during her pregnancy—to make herself something of a throne in the bed. She sat, propped up in her pillows, with their daughter in one arm, nursing greedily at her mother's breast, and a cup of coffee in the other hand. On her lap, an extra pillow held a PADD where she could read it while she reclined and handled the other more important things that needed to be addressed at the moment.
She didn't look up when Chakotay entered, so he stayed still a moment to simply drink in the sight before him. Kathryn glanced at him when she felt his presence and smiled.
"What?" She asked. "Is something wrong?"
"I'd say everything's very right," Chakotay said.
Kathryn took a swallow from her mug and transferred it over to the bedside table that she could reach.
"It's decaf," she offered. "For the baby."
Chakotay smiled to himself. He shook his head.
"I wasn't even going to say anything," he said. "But—you do need some breakfast."
"Neelix is bringing his famous leola-root-free breakfast casserole as soon as it's ready," Kathryn said. "Apparently—it wasn't on the menu and when I told him not to bother…well, you know Neelix."
Chakotay closed the distance between them, then, and walked around to the empty side of the bed. Through the night, they hadn't slept at the same time. One of them had been occupied with Kaya the whole time, and both of them had been occupied with her when she'd decided that she didn't want to sleep at all and she wasn't sure what she actually wanted from either of them.
He sat down on the bed and gently eased over so that he could watch the baby feed.
"She's hungry," Chakotay said, not even sure if he meant it as a statement or a question.
"She likes nursing," Kathryn said.
That much they already knew was true. Kaya liked to take her time nursing. She almost seemed to take so long nursing that she was hungry again by the time that she finished. They'd already contacted the doctor to find out how much they should consider normal, but the doctor had given them an answer that seemed pretty reasonable for the time being: Kaya would know what her normal was, and it was best to let her nurse when she wanted to nurse.
"She knows what she needs," Chakotay offered.
Kathryn laughed to herself.
"Or what she likes," Kathryn said. "I'm starting to feel used."
Chakotay reached a hand over to touch her chin. He turned Kathryn's face to his and she smiled at him before she accepted the soft kiss that he pressed against her lips. She returned the kiss with a bit more enthusiasm.
"You're already a wonderful mother," Chakotay offered. The compliment brought a rush of pink to Kathryn's cheeks. She looked down at the baby who was half-sleeping through her leisurely meal. "You give her everything she needs."
"And you're a wonderful father," Kathryn said quietly. "You give us both everything we need."
Chakotay leaned and kissed the side of her face, and Kathryn leaned into him to request more affection. He gave her what she wanted. He rubbed her neck and shoulders with the hand that could easily reach them and he nuzzled the crook of her neck before planting a series of soft kisses there. She moaned in response to his efforts.
"I don't compliment you for compliments in return, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "Just so we're clear. I compliment you because I mean it."
Kathryn smiled sincerely to herself.
"I mean it, too, but I think I understand what you're trying to say," Kathryn said. She made eye contact with him and half-furrowed her brow. "Was everything OK? Kes—did she need something? You were out there for a while."
Chakotay licked his lips and considered how much he might share with Kathryn. She wouldn't want to hear about the hormone fluctuations she was likely already experiencing and might experience in the future. She knew very well when she was experiencing ups and downs, and she didn't like for others to point it out.
"She just wanted to give me some information on—healing," Chakotay said. "The doctor has said you can return to active duty, with some limitations, in a week."
"I'm well enough now," Kathryn said. She detached their almost sleeping daughter from her breast and, when the baby didn't fuss, she offered her over to Chakotay. "Daddy? She spits up almost every time I do it. You're better at it than I am."
Chakotay accepted the cloth that Kathryn offered him and rested it across his lap. He carefully maneuvered the baby according to how he'd been shown to burp her—realizing how small she was when he held her almost entirely in his hands like this—and he gently patted her back until she burped loudly enough that both he and Kathryn laughed. She spit up, along with the burp, but the amount wasn't dramatic enough to require more than a little dabbing at her face.
It was enough, however, to make her angrily protest such an injustice.
"Awww…it's not that bad," Chakotay offered, moving her around so that he could hold her in a way that might be more comfortable for both of them. "It was just a little bit and you can have more to eat when you want it."
"Pacifier?" Kathryn asked, offering him the item as she asked if he wanted it. He accepted it and offered it to Kaya. As soon as she'd accepted it, though, she forced it out of her mouth with her tongue and launched into a louder and more ferocious cry over the fact that he would consider something so subpar to be a suitable offering to make to her.
"She doesn't want a pacifier," Chakotay said. "She wants the real thing."
"She just finished nursing," Kathryn protested.
"And she got all that air out of her tummy and realized she wasn't finished," Chakotay said with a laugh. "Put her back on there, Kathryn, she's still hungry."
Kathryn laughed at him, but she did accept the baby. She shifted around and offered her the breast that she hadn't been sucking before. Kaya angrily attached herself to her mother and glared at both of them. Kathryn's laugher only intensified.
"Look how angry she is!" Kathryn declared. "Look at her little fists."
"This is why you need a week, Kathryn," Chakotay said.
"To feed her?" Kathryn asked. "I can feed her in my ready room. I can feed her on the bridge if I want. I'll make it an order that nobody can say otherwise if I have to."
"Not to feed her," Chakotay said. "Or not just to feed her. To rest. To get to know her. She's a day old. You're always on, Kathryn. You give everything you can to Voyager. The ship can get on without you for a week while you focus on yourself and Kaya."
"There's just one problem," Kathryn said. She extended the hand not supporting their daughter and tapped the PADD that she had left idle on the pillow propped against her legs. "We're approaching a system. Four planets that we can detect at the moment, but it's possible that there are others that aren't in view."
"We've seen a lot of systems," Chakotay supplied.
"Inhabited," Kathryn said. "Signs of warp technology on at least two of the planets and we can detect satellites in their orbit that may even be scanning us now. Tuvok wants to know how we want to proceed."
Chakotay frowned at her.
"So you tell him how you want to proceed and you remind him that you're on maternity leave," Chakotay said. "We aren't short on supplies."
"We could at least see what kind of society it is," Kathryn said. "We had good luck with the Slignates."
"And bad luck with the Bandigens," Chakotay pointed out, reminding Kathryn that with their last positive encounter, they also ran into some less than pleasant aliens. "If we're not in need of supplies, I would suggest that we keep going."
"Or we could restock before we completely deplete our supplies and become desperate," Kathryn said. "Especially if it appears that they're a peaceful species."
"Fine," Chakotay said. "But there's no need for you to handle things beyond giving your orders to Tuvok. I can go down if you want to. B'Elanna and Neelix can handle making out lists of needed supplies."
"Just because I have a baby, doesn't mean that I'm going to hide on the ship forever, Chakotay," Kathryn said.
Chakotay laughed to himself.
"I'm not asking for forever," Chakotay said. "I'm asking for a week. Seven days. And then you go back with some limitations—whatever the doctor recommends."
"Seven days?" Kathryn asked.
"Seven days," Chakotay agreed.
She smiled.
"Then I'll recommend we take our time, scan the planets carefully, get a good reading at a distance before we approach. If it all looks safe, I'll tell Tuvok to prepare to make contact in seven days."