Star date 10010.22 06:32 hours- Star Base 71- Senior Officer's Quarters # 3210

"Richard, would you calm down? I'm fine." Lynn came out of the refresher, twisting her hair into a knot and the back of her head, then headed over to where Chrissy was cooing in her swing.

"Lynn, you haven't been able to keep food down for the past few days. You need to see Dree about this." Richard tried to make Lynn understand.

"You're just being overprotective." Lynn finished getting Chrissy dressed.

"Please, I'm worried about you. You nearly died four months ago, so forgive me if I'm concerned when you barely eat, and what you do eat, you throw up." Richard said, frustrated,

"Oh please, even you nearly threw up when you smelled that diaper of Chrissy's."

"That is not the point, Lilly Lynn! Don't make me order you to sickbay," Richard warned.

Finishing with Chrissy, Lynn pushed past him to get something from their bedroom. "Would you please calm down! I have an appointment with her scheduled for later today already."

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"You didn't ask," Lynn squeezed past him to pick up Chrissy and headed into the living room.

"Can I at least go with you?" He followed her into the living room.

"I'd like to have you there." Lynn glared at him, "That is if you're not too busy." Lynn put Chrissy into her little carrier to prepare her for daycare.

Richard stopped, took a deep breath to calm down, and said, "Hey, I promised you I would be here, and I will be." He reached out to cup her cheek. He started to lean in to kiss her, but Jack's shout broke the moment.

"SKY! Yin! I can't find my shoes!" Jack yelled from his room's doorway.

Lynn sighed at Jack's timing. " Do you want to give Chrissy her breakfast, Flyboy, or take Jack?"

"If you have a baby food stain on your uniform, it is no problem. Me, on the other hand." He gave her a peck on the cheek, "I'll take care of Jack."

Lynn laughed at her husband as he headed off, then turned her attention to feeding Chrissy her morning bottle.

Richard stuck his head into Jack's room, "Hey, where did you put your shoes, bro?"

"I doe no." Jack looked frustrated as he looked around his room.

Richard checked the labeled shoe box by his door, but the shoes weren't there. "You put them in your closet?"

"I doe no." Jack fussed.

With Richard's help, they pulled things out of the closet, but there were no shoes. "Well, I didn't see them in the living room this morning, so they must be here." They could get him new shoes from the replicator, but these shoes were his 'big boy shoes' that Lilly had brought him during her visit. Any other shoes would work for Jack; they had tried before.

"You can't find my shoes. I want Yin." Jack scowled at his brother.

"Lynn is sick bro. She is taking care of Chrissy for me this morning." Richard got down on all fours and looked under Jack's bed.

"Lynn Chrissy sick." Jack spat out angrily.

"Lynn has a sick stomach, Bro, not Chrissy." Richard crawled further under the bed and found the shoes. He would never know how they got there.

"Yin sick with baby. I no like that." Jack crossed his arms and huffed, flopping down on his story pillow.

Richard's head shot up under the bed at Jack's comment, causing a royal headache as he crawled out. "What did you say?"

"Lynn's sick." Jack looked a little bit scared at the look on his brother's face.

Richard looked at his little brother funny. He let his thoughts spill out: "She couldn't possibly… Lynn couldn't be this…Naa… besides, she would tell me …right?" Richard shook his head, deciding to face one problem at a time. "Jack, you kicked your shoes under the bed, but here they are." He handed them to Jack and helped him put them on. "Better hurry and get some breakfast so Lynn can take you to preschool."

"Yay..." Jack ran off.

Slowly, Richard got up and dusted himself off. Jack's angered statement shook Richard. Richard went to the bedroom door and looked out into the living room. Lynn was pouring cereal for Jack, then returned to trying to get Chrissy to laugh. Lynn loved Jack and was a good mom to their daughter. Dree had said their chances of having another baby were slim, given the toll Chrissy's birth had taken on Lynn's body. That being said, they agreed they weren't actively trying for another child, but they weren't going to prevent it from happening. Chrissy was 14 weeks old; for god's sake, there was no way Lynn could be pregnant again. But was the little boy, right?

Star date 10010.22 15:00 hours- Star Base 71- Sick Bay

Lynn fidgeted in her seat, stopping only when Richard reached out a comforting hand to her. "Lynn, you said it was basic tests. It will be fine." Lynn and Richard were sitting in Lynn's office. Given Lynn and Richard's positions at the station, Dee felt it would be better to have the conversation in a more private location.

"Weren't you the one so worried that you were ready to order me to the sick bay?" Lynn looked over at her husband.

"No news is good news. If anything were wrong, Dree would have dragged you back to sickbay hours ago instead of waiting until our appointment with her." He squeezed her hand.

"Tell that to my doctor brain, Flyboy." Lynn sighed as she kept an eye on the door. In answer, Richard brought her hand to his lips, kissing it, trying to reassure her the best he could. A moment later, there was a chime at the door,

"Enter." Richard looked to the door as Dree walked in with the tests.

She looked at the couple, "Afternoon, how are you two doing?" Dree found an empty chair and sat opposite the couple.

"To be honest, hoping to have our worries relieved," Lynn said honestly.

"With everything that happened with Chrissy, we are a bit paranoid," Richard started to say, but Lynn cleared her throat and glared at him. "Alright, I'm paranoid, but she is concerned about Lynn's recent health. She's been losing weight, unable to keep food and fluid down, and been more tired."

"I'm recovering from Christine's birth, being a new mom, the expanded job duties, and new schedules. I need to know if this is normal or if something is wrong and needs to be addressed." Lynn squeezed Richard's hand, which he returned.

"I am glad you came in to get basic tests run. It is better to be safe than sorry." Dree reassured them, then opened the test results. "Your concerns were correct, Richard. Lynn has been chronically dehydrated, but that can be addressed. We will need to augment your nutritional intake due to gastric issues."

"Yes, we will need to adjust Lynn's treatment, given the test findings." Dress smiled. "But the findings are within normal controllable ranges."

"Thank god," Lynn said in relief. "Losing baby weight is good but losing it by not eating due to terrible nausea is not the way I want to do it."

Dree reassured them, "We will treat them the best we can, but they may take a few weeks to go away."

Lynn looked at Richard with fear in her eyes, "So, what is wrong with Lynn?" Richard asked, a bit frustrated with their friend.

"Richard," Dree paused for effect, "Lynn's pregnant."

Lynn looked to Dree confused, "What did you say?"

Dree couldn't help smiling at the couple before her. "Lynn, you are pregnant."

"I thought you told us it would be difficult for me to conceive?" Lynn couldn't believe what her friend was saying

"Well, given your damage, it can be difficult for a woman to conceive. As your doctor, I had anticipated that if you were to conceive again, it would be months, possibly years, before it could occur naturally, if ever. As they say, the stars aligned such that it wasn't as hard as we anticipated it might be, Lynn."

"Dree, you said the scaring was so bad that …." Lynn glanced over where Richard had been pacing the office. "Richard..."

Dree looked over in time to see the blood drain from Richard's face, "Captain Skyler, are you alright?"

In the meantime, Richard had gotten tunnel vision, and the room began to spin. His face then flushed, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Dree saw the captain fall and rushed to his side, "Lynn, I don't think he was ready to hear that." Grinning, Dree checked his pulse and pulled out a hypospray from her pocket for such occasions. "I never thought I would use this on your Captain." Dree administered the stimulant. "He will be fine Lynn. No lasting injuries, but I'm not sure if I will let him live this down."

Lynn went to Richard's other side. "And he is supposed to be tough under pressure." Lynn did a firm sternum rub on him, "Come on, Flyboy, you're not getting out of this that easily."

Richard slowly began to come around and push Lynn's knuckles away. "Stop it, that hurts."

"He is coming around. Captain? Are you okay?" Dree flashed Lynn a smirk, who rolled her eyes in response.

Richard carefully sat up with the two women's help, holding his head. "Dree, I know I blacked out, but did you say?" He pointed at the exasperated Lynn. "She's...again?" His smile grew wider as he looked between the two women.

"Captain, she's pregnant again." Dree stood kneeling beside him to ensure he didn't pass out again.

Richard mumbled while rubbing his head, "And not a moment too soon; she was starting to wear me out."

"Richard Clyde Skyler! How dare you say that!" Lynn said in anger.

"Well, we were trying to get pregnant again." He chuckled and looked at his furious wife.

Dree stood, "Well, I'll leave you two love birds alone. I just wanted to give you the good news." Dree turned to leave, chuckling as she went.

"Dree, thank you despite what the lummox says," Lynn smiled. It looks like you have another pregnant woman to put up with—and unconscious husbands."

Dree stopped at the door, "Lynn, you are very welcome. I'll expect you in for your first check-up in 2 weeks." Dree exited the office.

Lynn called after her, "As soon as you get the Huron back here."

"Thank you, Doctor," Richard called.

As soon as the door shut, Lynn began to giggle. This caused Richard to laugh so much that he could barely contain himself.

"Did she say what I think she said?" Lynn said giddily.

"I think she did." He kissed her. Lynn returned the kiss and then walked around the desk to pick up a copy of the tests and read them.

Richard tried to peer over her shoulder. "Curious?" Lynn asked and showed him the biochemical scans.

Richard asked, confused, "What do all these codes and abbreviations mean?"

"Well, they are checking hormone levels and other biochemicals."

"Are all of these normal?" Richard pointed to one. "This one is way higher than the rest."

"By the way, why is it that someone who can stare down Jem Hadar faints when the idea he will be a father again is brought up?" Lynn grinned and looked where he pointed. "That is Human chorlionic gonadotropin."

"I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Chrissy is barely fourteen weeks old for crying out loud." Richard wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "So, Doctor. By looking at this chart, will the patient be alright, or will she need to celebrate?"

"Well, she will need much care and a husband who isn't running all over creation on her." Lynn looked up at him thoughtfully. "I won't be able to do this alone. It was bad enough trying to be a wife and mom to Jack, but doing this with a newborn, I must have you there."

"Well, things are different this time around." He leaned over and kissed her temple to reassure her, "We're a little more stationary than we were a year ago."

"They better be," She smiled up at him, then looked back at the tests and chuckled.

Over the communicator came a chime, "Stellar cartography to Captain or Commander Skyler"

"Wanna take a guess what this is about?" Richard grinned.

"Jack. Who else?" Lynn sighed. I know that he is being tracked when he goes on his walkabouts, but I don't like him being alone like this."

"He's not exactly walking around the station alone. Ensign Alexia Vega smarted off to her training officer, saying that there was no way anyone could get past her to reach their target. So, he assigned her to be Jack's security detail. Her orders were to ensure no harm happened to him, but she wasn't allowed to physically interact with him unless he was going to hurt himself. Sounds like she underestimated Jack getting out of class and into stellar cartography." Richard smirked, "Skyler here, go ahead."

"Err, captain, our friend is visiting here again. He's not in the way, but we thought we should tell you where he was."

"Is Ensign Vega there as well?"

"Yes, sir. After seeing it once, she questions how a two-year-old knew the access code to our department door."

"I'll speak with her when I get there. In the meantime, have her begin a report on her findings regarding your department's security measures. Skyler out." He turned to a giggling Lynn. "What's so funny?"

"I'm reading over the findings in my lab reports, and they are," she cleared her throat, "quite interesting." Lynn covered her face, almost laughing.

"Interesting, good or bad?" Richard looked at her, concerned.

"Interesting, good. I was doing some calculating, that is all." Lynn chuckled, "Mom, if you only knew the consequences of your actions." Lynn tried to stop her giggles, "Jack causing trouble again?"

"Jack is being Jack. They will watch him until one of us gets there. What were you calculating?"

With a mischievous grin, Lynn turned toward him, "Richard, how long has it been since your trip to the seminar on Vulcan?"

"A seminar it was not, more like Cardassian Mind Torture."

"You returned from it, and Mom was here unannounced; how long ago was it?" Lynn leaned back on the desk.

"About six weeks or so ago, why?" Richard looked at Lynn confused. Lynn, I'm sorry, but I'm unsure where you are going with this."

"According to Dree's report, how far along am I?" Lynn handed him the pad and pointed to the notation. "What does that say?"

Richard read aloud, "Patient L.L. Skyler's estimated conception date appears to be six weeks before this medical examination. And?"

"Next question," Lynn walked over and slid her hands around Richard's waist, pulling him towards her, "And when my mother visited, what was her gift to us?"

"I seem to remember she gave us a night in a rustic cabin by a glacier-fed leg, where SOMEBODY knocked me into the lake, drenching us in icy cold water." He ran his thumbs over her cheeks.

"And do you remember how we warmed back up?"

"How could I forget?" He grinned at her and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

"And you see no correlation between the findings on this pad and my mother's gift of a romantic night to ourselves." Lynn teased.

"Lynn, you've lost me here..." Richard sighed, the mood lost.

Frustrated, Lynn looked up at him in disbelief, "Richard, according to this pad, I'm six weeks pregnant." Richard didn't react to her statement, "Do the math, Flyboy, or your time away from the helm has taken your math skills."

Lynn watched the wheels turn in Richard's head. As they did, his grin became more significant. "You think we were pretty cold when we came out of the water?"

"For the first time in weeks, we finally relaxed, and the math fits, so…" Lynn let out a happy screech when Richard snatched her up into a hug, spun her around, and kissed her again in happiness.

Lynn was smiling until she went stiff. "What's wrong?"

"How are we supposed to tell my folks, especially my mom, that I'm pregnant again?" Lynn's worry flooded her face, and she began to cry, "How am I supposed to be pregnant with a 4-month-old baby and two-and-a-half-year-old toddler? What was I thinking?"

"Well, if you tell her now, we'll be stuck with her for eight months." He grinned but saw Lynn becoming more distressed. "When the time comes, we will tell them together. In the worst case, Lilly blames me, and I am a big boy; I can handle her wrath. Besides, she won't hurt me too badly; she will leave you to do it when dealing with all the morning sickness."

"Oh, you are all heart." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm done for the day; what about you?"

"I've got a couple of hours free before a video meeting." Richard shrugged happily. "What did you have in mind?"

"You 'rescue' Jack from cartography while I pick up Chrissy from Julie, then we all head out for some ice cream to celebrate?"

"Divide and conquer? Sounds good." He kissed her cheek, "Meet you on the promenade in 20 minutes?"

"Don't be late, Flyboy; you don't want to come between a pregnant lady and her ice cream."