You're Where My Heart Is
By Kadi
Rated PG-13

Disclaimer: I did it... I admit it… but if you tell anyone I'll deny it!

"And, with the recent 'demise' of Voyager's reigning most eligible bachelor, it seems the Delaney's are holding a contest to crown the new hunk." Chakotay moved around the coffee table and sat on the sofa next to his captain, he worked hard to keep the look on his face straight.

Kathryn almost choked on her breakfast, but managed to scale it down to a simple spewing of coffee all over her morning reports. "They're what?" She stared at him incredulously, "You have got to be kidding me?"

Chakotay shook his head, "I'm afraid not, voting starts today."

She chuckled and shook her head, "Who authorized this?"

"B'Elanna." He laughed, "She wanted to make for sure that every woman on this ship was aware that her man was officially and permanently off the market." He shrugged, "That and you know this crew will use any excuse to party. Voting will take place over the next 24 hours with a party in the Messhall tomorrow night to 'crown' the eligible bachelor."

Kathryn just shook her head, "If the men were doing this to the women there'd be an uproar on board about the insensitivity of the whole damned thing."

Chakotay laughed, "Oh come on, I don't think it would be that bad. Besides, it gives them something to joke about. And the men are eating it up, so are the women for that matter. That just leaves one thing to be decided."

Her brow shot up, she had a feeling where this might be going. "And what is that?"

"Who are you voting for?"

A grin spread slowly across her face as she lounged back against the sofa, "Hmm, I'm not sure, I'll have to think about it. Harry probably, I have to be loyal to my bridge crew, or Tuvok perhaps. They're the only guys I know."

Chakotay blinked several times then cocked a brow at her, "Kathryn, you may have forgotten somewhere along they way, but I happen to be a guy, that you know. What, you think I'm chopped leola root?"

She stared at him, "You're not a guy….you're just… Chakotay."

His jaw dropped open for a moment, then he recovered, "You don't think of me as a guy?"

She shook her head, "Nope, I'm afraid not."

"Then just what exactly," his face and ears had started to turn red, "do you think of me as???"

She grinned and shrugged, "I just think of you as Chakotay."

He looked exasperated, "Just Chakotay?"

"Just Chakotay, why? It's not like you're exactly an eligible bachelor or anything. I mean… you have that girlfriend, unless she's just not important to you anymore…." She sighed and looked away, "Because if she's not… feel free to leave at any time…"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, then his flew out and latched onto her arm. He hauled her across the sofa with very little effort until she was giggling in his lap. "I'll show you just Chakotay in a minute."

She squealed as he tickled her, "Come on! You're my Chakotay… I thought that was all you had to be?"

He let go of her and pouted, "The ship doesn't know I'm ineligible, besides, a guy has an ego and a reputation to uphold."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh pulease, don't make me throw up my breakfast. If it really means that much to you, I promise to vote for you. Besides, it wasn't my idea not to let the crew know you're ineligible." It was her turn to pout, "I can't help it if you don't wanna be seen in public with me. What? It embarrasses you to be emotionally entangled to your captain? You think I'm a hag or something? Or do you think people are going to accuse you of sleeping your way to the top, cause face it tattoo-boy out here there isn't much higher to go than sleeping with the Captain. So consider yourself lucky she lets you into her bed!" She wiggled off his lap and stood facing him with her hands on her hips, "Well, I'm waiting."

He stared at her for several moments, blinking, then reached up and hauled her back into his lap. "Kathryn, you talk to much." That was when he kissed her, deep, hard, and long, maintaining it until they both had to come up for air. "You don't embarress me, I just did what I thought you wanted me to."

She rolled her eyes, "That's what you get for thinking. I thought I told you not to do that anymore, you might hurt yourself… what being male and all."

He shook his head, a grin lighting up his face, "You're such a bitch."

She smiled, "Yeah well, somebody has to do it, and since I'm good at it, it might as well be me."

Chakotay just shook his head again, "Darling if that's your only explanation for being the biggest bitch this side of the Alpha Quadrant, then it’s a good thing you already have me, because otherwise you'd have a hell of a hard time finding a boyfriend."

She blinked at him, "Who said you were my boyfriend? I just keep you around for sex."

"Oh well, if that's the case I guess you won't mind if I go find someone else, someone who will appreciate me."

She shook her head, "I don't think so, I don't share my toys. And you my dear, are all mine."

"Am I now?"

"Mmhmm."

"Care to prove it?" His brow rose in a challenge.

She grinned broadly, "I'd love to dearest, but the ready room isn't soundproofed yet, and you grunt too loud. But I promise to tonight."

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Well alright, but only because I love you."

"Oh well then," she kissed him then scrambled out of his lap and pointed toward the door. "Now get out. I have work to do, and I can't do it with you in here hounding me."

"I hound you?"

She smiled, "Yeah but I like it… that's the problem. Now go… shoo! Shoo! Get!" She all but pushed him out the door then turned around and headed for her desk. "Men!" She settled down in her desk chair, ignoring the ache in her lower back that was becoming more of a nuisance and tried to get back to work doing the million things she had to do before tonight. It was the last night with her lover before he left for almost 2 weeks. She hated sending him off for so long, but he wanted to go, and Tom couldn't be sent mapping the neighboring sectors alone. Besides which, Voyager needed to stay put and negotiate for supplies. And the guys needed to make sure they could get those supplies if negotiations failed. She sighed, worrying about negotiations only made the ache in her back worse. She was too stressed, she drank too much coffee, and she was too wound up. But the work had to be done… there was no one else to do it. Even if they were willing, it wasn't their job, it was hers. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then took another deep sip of coffee and focused her eyes on the data scrolling across her monitor. Work… time to work… she reminded herself, work now, worry later. But wasn't that always the way it went for her? Only Chakotay made it fun, and he was going to be gone for two weeks. Spirits, she couldn't get more depressed if she tried.

As the hours droned past, her fatigue grew worse until finally she pushed herself away from her desk and stared at everything she had left to do. She had only barely scratched the surface, it always seemed as though for every mountain of padds she polished off, another mountain piled up in its place. The cycle never ended and she often wondered how she managed to keep from being buried under it all. Chakotay--that was how. He always managed to find time to pick up the slack for her, no matter how busy his own workload was.

Thinking about him made her smile and she looked again at the mountain of work still waiting on her desk, and sighed again. Her head ached, her stomach was beginning to roll, and the ache in her lower back had only continued to get worse from sitting so long. She checked the chronometer on her monitor and let out a deep breath, only two hours until the end of her shift, until she got to see Chakotay, and she felt like she'd been in another of Chakotay's 'landings'. Sighing yet again she pulled herself out of her chair and marched toward the door--she wasn't doing anymore work for the rest of the day. She was the Captain of this bucket of bolts after all, and if she wanted to take off tow hours early and go home, take a bath, and try to relax, she was going to do it.

But two hours, a bath, and a nap later she didn't feel the slightest bit better. If anything she felt worse. And though it felt good to just be able to sit and relax with Chakotay's arms around her, overall she was starting to feel worse and worse every minute. Finally, even with Chakotay kneading her back and neck, she sighed. "I know I promised to play with you tonight, but all I really want to do is go to bed and sleep whatever this is off."

He smiled and lifted a hand to caress her cheek. "I understand, I was about to suggest the same thing." He brushed a kiss across her temple. "Want me to lay down with you for a little while?"

She smiled, but shook her head, "You know I'd love that, but.. I know me, and odds are I'll probably toss and turn for hours before finally getting to sleep. You have to be up at 0500 hours to do preflight with Tom, and I don't want to keep you up all night. I hope you don't mind too terribly much if I ask for a rain-check?"

Chakotay brushed a gentle kiss across her lips, "Of course I don't. Why don't you sleep in, work half a day tomorrow," he could see she was about to protest and hurried to make his point before she did, "*So* you can shake whatever is causing you to feel so rotten, *so* you don't miss anymore work sweetheart." He watched her face closely, giving her hand a squeeze when she conceded, a true sign of how badly she felt. "But Kathryn, promise me one thing," when she nodded he went on, "if you don't feel better within a couple of days, you'll go to sickbay."

She wrinkled her nose, but nodded anyway, "I promise." She leaned over and kissed him, "Just remember to send regular reports, and don't kill Tom, no matter how much he manages to annoy you. I don't want to have to deal with a distraught Klingon widow.

He raised his right hand, "I give my word." He stood and pulled her with him, tugging her into a bear hug and kissing her again, this time much deeper and for much longer. After all, he wouldn't be seeing her for two weeks, he wanted them both to remember this one until he got back. "I'll miss you," he promised.

She gave him a squeeze; "I'll miss you too. Be careful."

He kissed her forehead before going, "Always."

After he'd gone, Kathryn let out a long sigh and rubbed her face. Then she moved into her bedroom, where she didn't even bother getting undressed, just fell into bed with her clothes on. And despite her prediction, she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

She was too exhausted even to hear her own alarm go off several hours later, obviously she'd forgotten to turn it off, but that was no bother she slept right through it. But somewhere around noon her body began telling her that she needed to wake up. Sometime during the night a dull ache had buried itself deep in her belly and had only intensified as time passed by. She could no longer find a comfortable position in bed, and ignoring it had become out of the question. And as she grew into more of a wakeful state she began to notice that the clothes she'd left on the previous night felt warm, and sticky, and very wet. She began to stir slowly and rolled from her customary sleeping position on her stomach, onto her side. She lay there for several minutes; some place between the waking and sleeping worlds and tried to focus herself outward to identify the problem. The problem was that the pain from last night had intensified and spread, both to her lower abdomen and her head. When she opened her eyes the room began to spin and she closed them quickly. She took several deep breaths to fight back the rising nausea then slowly opened them again. The warm, wet, sticky problem below caught her attention again and she slowly hazarded a look down.

The quilt she'd covered herself with the night before, along with the cream colored pantsuit she'd worn were both soaked red down the front of her thighs. Cold dread bubbled upward from her stomach and latched onto her heart, squeezing with all that it could and sending her into another severe bout of nausea. She fought it back again, and slowly picked herself up off the bed, only to fall back onto it when the room began to spin again and her legs gave way beneath her. Somewhere inside she realized that she needed to think rationally and tried to calm herself.

Chakotay, her mind told her, she needed Chakotay. But just as she reached for the combadge on her bedside table to call for him, her mind reminded her that he was gone, unavailable to her for at least two weeks. What then, what could she do? Panic began to bubble up inside her until it finally struck her. Sickbay. She needed to go to sickbay. But how? She couldn't move under her own steam. She was too weak from too much blood loss. But where it was coming from she couldn't even begin to realize. Sickbay! Her mind screamed at her again. Calling the doctor, that was how. She'd have him transport her there.

With her hand shaking far too badly for her to attempt to control it, she reached for the combadge and pressed it. Her voice, when it came out, was weak and shaking. Her panic showed, and under normal circumstances she would have been furious, but not now… later, she could be angry later. Right now, she needed help. "Janeway to Sickbay. Doctor I…" She trailed off as the room started to spin again. She struggled to hold onto the tiny combadge, "I…" Her world was already beginning to fade into darkness. "Transport…" Was all she managed to get out before it went black.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Too bright, her mind screamed against the light that was piercing through her lids and sending jolts of pain through her head. She grunted and lifted a hand to ward it off as she gingerly opened her eyes. Another wave of nausea came quickly, but passed, and she ventured into herself assessing the situation.

"Good, you're awake." The Doctor pressed a hypospray to her neck and waited for her to scowl up at him. Which she inevitably did, "You had a pretty close call there, if you hadn't contacted me when you did I would probably have some really bad news right about now."

She took a moment to digest that, her scowl fading, "Why, what happened? What was wrong with me?"

"You're work and eating habits no doubt," he delivered in his customarily dry fashion. "You work too much and too hard and eat too little, and then what you do eat is unhealthy." He put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from sitting up, "What you have is a severe case of Gestational Diabetes. In human pregnancies it doesn't occur until about the 24^th or 28^th week of pregnancy. But in your case it hit you very early, and very hard. Mainly, and I'm guessing here, because *neither* of us knew that you were pregnant. However, in today's day and age gestational diabetes almost never happens, it's almost unheard of because from the moment of diagnosis the expectant mother is put on nutritional and vitamin supplements that prevent such a complication. In your case however, with your habits, it was a time bomb waiting to go off and it very nearly did."

Her face had gone an even lighter shade of pale, and she managed to croak out, "Nearly?"

He nodded slightly, "I haven't gotten to the marginally good news yet. Your body was trying to reject the cause for the abnormal glucose levels, in this case the fetus. But we got you in and got you taken care of before that could be completed. What we're left with is a fetus at 16 weeks gestation that is in very poor shape at the moment. I've bolstered you with the maximum amount of supplements safe for a human and kept you unconscious for 36 hours. If you want this pregnancy to have any chance for success you're going to need to remain flat on your back in bed for no less than a week while I continue to administer the supplements. At the end of that time I'll do another work-up and if everything checks out I'll put you a restricted mobility. Which means you can expect to be off duty for about three weeks, possibly even longer."

She was about five minutes behind his diagnosis, her mind stuck on one fact and one fact alone. "I'm pregnant?" The Doctor nodded as she began to slowly catch up. "16 weeks?" He nodded again. "And that's why I've been so sick?" Again a nod. "And if I want to carry this baby to term, I have to stay on my back in bed with very little movement over a time period of weeks?"

"That's right Captain." He waited for the anger, the refusal, and the fight…but was surprised when it didn't come.

"That's all I can do? Just stay in bed?"

The EMH blinked, stood there taken aback for a moment, then finally nodded. "I'm afraid so Captain. Even I can only do so much. But I'm confident that if you follow my recommendations this should all turn out good. However, even I am fallible, so we could still have unhappy results at the end of the week."

She nodded slowly, turning all of it over in her head, then looked up at him. "Do I have to do that here? Can I stay in my quarters?"

He was slow to agree, "Well I'd much rather be able to keep an eye on you, but I can set up the internal sensors to do a constant monitoring of your lifesigns. I need you comfortable, and obviously being there is more comfortable than sickbay, so if that is what you want to do I'll authorize it. Just keep in mind, it's not my first recommendation."

She nodded, "I understand doctor. But I'd like to go back to my quarters as soon as it's acceptable."

"Alright then," he handed her a padd, "This has everything you need to know on it. I can transport you back to your quarters now. But once there I want you to get into bed and stay there. Stay as still as possible and don't get out of bed unless you absolutely have to. Understood?"

She nodded, "Yes doctor, thank you."

The EMH checked her vitals one final time, then transported her back to her cabin. When she dematerialized she moved slowly and carefully over to her bed. She exerted just enough energy to discard the blood stained sheets and quilt, then grabbed another she kept draped over her recliner and crawled into bed with it. She didn't even bother putting fresh sheets on the bed. It required too much energy, and right now, she was set on following the Doctor's instructions to the letter. In bed, she lay perfectly still on her bed while the events and diagnose continued to fully register. When they did, she rolled carefully onto her side and curled into a ball. There, she cried, as she had seldom cried before. One thought on her mind and lips, "Chakotay…"

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"Hey Paris, do me a favor will ya," Chakotay ground out as he struggled to hold onto the plates in his hand, "If you don't want to wear your lunch, or clean it off the Flyer's interior, fly this damn thing and quick rocking it."

Tom tossed a grin over his shoulder, "Just trying to shake some monotony off this mission, thought you could use a challenge."

He grunted as he took the co-pilot's seat again and passed the extra plate to Paris. "Next time don't think, you might hurt something."

Tom shifted the Flyer into auto-pilot and forked up a bite of pasta salad, "Is that an order or a request?"

"For now it's a request, but I'll make it an order if necessary."

The two of them ate in silence for several minutes before Chakotay finally leaned back, and toying with what was left of his meal, tossed out a question that had been plaguing him. "Tom, tell me, when you proposed to B'Elanna, did you have to beg or did she just… accept?"

Paris chewed slowly as he thought about it, "Why? You not planning to propose to anyone are you."

Sheepishly Chakotay ducked his head, "I might be, just answer the question."

Tom shrugged, "She seemed willing enough, went through with it didn't she?"

Chakotay sighed, "I suppose she did."

Tom's curiosity had been more than piqued, "Why? Who are you planning to propose to? And do I need to have her hidden before the Captain hears about it?"

That had Chakotay's brow going up, "What makes you think the Captain has anything to do with this?"

"Aw come on old man, everyone on the ship knows that every time you start coming around with a girlfriend, alien babe or not, Captain Janeway goes into a snit that generally lasts for weeks. Don't tell me you don't know? I'm willing to bet that's why you've got a serious girlfriend no one on the ship knows about." He leaned forward, his pasta forgotten, "So spill it, who is she?"

Chakotay rolled his eyes, "What makes you think it's not the Captain herself?"

He snorted, "I'm daring, not stupid. Come on old man, I leveled with you."

"Well Mr. Paris I'm afraid that's where you could be mistaken. You can ask Kathryn yourself when we get back."

Tom stared at him for several minutes, "Either you've completely lost your mind, are blatantly lying, or you're telling me the truth." He thought about it for several minutes, "Well I suppose you'd have to have a mind to lose to begin with, lying isn't something anyone on Voyager would associate with you, you're too sickeningly honest….so you have to be telling the truth." He stared at the pompous grin on the other man's face, "So what makes you think if you propose she's going to accept? It's been kept a secret this long, maybe she wants it to go on being a secret."

"Ahh, but that's just it," Chakotay took both their plates and carried them to the replicator in the back of the cockpit to be recycled, "She accused me the other night of being embarrassed to be involved with her because it has been so carefully contained this long. We've been together for what," he paused to think about it a moment, "six, maybe seven months. I was just doing what I thought was expected of me. And she was going along with it because she thought it was what I wanted. I'm telling you Tom, this relationship is more screwed up than you could have ever dreamed yours and B'Elanna's was when you two started dating."

He shook his head and chuckled softly, "You're not kidding. So she informs you that she's tired of being what, your secret rendezvous partner, and now you want to pop the question?" He took a couple of seconds to think it over, "Well, the worst that could happen is that she'll say no."

Chakotay groaned, "You're so much help, why do I talk to you about these things anyway?"

Tom laughed, "Cause B'Elanna told us that if we didn't attempt to be friends she'd rip both our heads off. And in my case I don't think she means the one on my shoulders."

He grimaced, "Oh yeah, that…." They sat in silence for a few minutes each grimacing over the mental images that conjured before he ventured out again, "So you think I should do it? And if she doesn't say yes right away begging is an option?"

Tom nodded, "If B'Elanna hadn't said yes, begging definitely would have been my only choice. Just don't do it in public old man, no one hates to see a grown man grovel."

Chakotay thought about it then nodded decisively, "Got it, no groveling in public. I'll just tie her to the bed and not let her go until she says yes."

Tom shook his head, "TMI man, T-M-I. Way, way too much information."

Any response Chakotay might have made was cut off by the incoming transmission…

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Seven faced the other senior officers coolly as they waited in the conference room; "If Lieutenant Torres' projections are correct about the mineral ore are correct it would be possible to raise Warp Core efficiency by at least 6%."

Harry nodded, "All we need now is the Captain's approval," he glanced open as the doors to the room slid open, waiting expectantly for her to stride though with her usual cup of coffee in one hand and a data padd in the other. But managed to look only mildly disappointed as the Doctor joined them.

The EMH handed a data padd to Tuvok as he made his way to his customary place at the table, "I hate to disappoint you Ensign Kim, but Captain Janeway will not be joining us until further notice."

The group, save Tuvok, stared at him, more than a little shocked. "Why?" Torres scowled at him, "What's going on?"

The Doctor returned the scowl, "I'm afraid I can't go into the details, you'll have to discuss that with her yourself. However I can report to you all that she's been ordered into a strict regime of bed rest indefinitely."

Tuvok scanned the report and placed it back on the table, "Very well, we'll get this meeting underway then."

B'Elanna shook her head, "Permission to be excused from this meeting." At Tuvok's curious glance she continued, "You already have the details of the mining operation, and we've already been given permission by the planet authorities to proceed. We were waiting on the Captain's approval, but with her on leave, that falls to you. If you'll give me the okay now I can get to work." And check on the Captain, she added mentally, but verbally, "Besides this planet has a much shorter day light cycle than we're used to. The sooner my teams can get to work, the better."

The Vulcan considered it a moment, then nodded, "Very well Lieutenant, you may proceed." As she turned to leave he added, "Tell the Captain she will be missed during her leave."

She tossed a grin at him over her shoulder before the conference room doors closed behind her. When she reached the Captain's quarters she rang the chime and waited. Frowning when the response that came sounded much too faint and tired to be from the woman she knew. She stepped inside the door and paused, "Captain?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to come to me B'Elanna."

She followed the voice into the bedroom and shook her head, "I thought you were taking a couple of personal days, you didn't tell anyone you were sick. Chakotay will kick my ass when he finds out."

Kathryn sighed and shifted carefully in the bed, "I'm afraid it’s a little more serious than that." She made room on the edge of the bed and motioned the chief engineer over. "It seems that if I do what I'm told and stay where I'm supposed to, Chakotay is going to be a father. At least, he might be, there isn't any guarantee."

B'Elanna stared at her for a minute, "You're flat on your back in bed because you're pregnant? Does Chakotay even know?"

She shook her head, "I didn't know myself until this afternoon. B'Elanna, I'd like to keep this between us. The Doctor still isn't sure how this is going to turn out. I don't need the dramatics, this is hard enough."

She nodded, "I guess I don't have to ask how you feel about this, the fact that you're here says a lot. How are you feeling though?"

Kathryn sighed, "Like I've gotten into a shuttle with Chakotay and it went the way it usually does when he's at the helm."

"And?"

Kathryn looked away from her for a moment, then put everything she felt into her eyes and met the younger woman's gaze. "With the exception of having a Borg hand around my throat and knowing that I was about to be assimilated and there was no turning back? I've never been so frightened in my entire life B'Elanna. This could be my last chance B'Elanna, and I've almost blown it even before I knew it existed. It doesn't get anymore frightening than this."

She shrugged, "Well, with the exception of knowing that your about to be assimilated and there's no turning back, I'd say you're right." There it was again, their bonding point; assimilation did that for people. No one understood the horror more than someone who had lived it did; there was no better person to talk to about it, and no other way to truly heal. But seeing that level of vulnerability on her Captain's face got to be too much and she attempted to push it off for the moment, "Well you know what this means don't you?" When Kathryn shook her head she went on, "With Chakotay off the ship, and Tom with him… that leaves Tuvok and me in charge. All I gotta do is send Tuvok walking around the hull without a suit and the ship is all mine." She through in a little maniacal laughter just for the hell of it.

Kathryn shuddered, "Oh god… I take it back… now I'm truly frightened."

B'Elanna laughed and stood, "I need to get back to work, Tuvok has given me permission to begin the ore extraction. I promise to sneak you a report on our progress tonight." She paused, "Do you need anything?"

She sighed, "What I need isn't available, but thanks just the same."

"Alright," she headed toward the door, but not before stopping and throwing back, "You know I hear Harry makes a good cuddle buddy, I could send him down if you like?"

If she'd had the strength and it wouldn't be too much of an exertion she'd have thrown a pillow at her, "Get out of here, before I have you demoted."

B'Elanna laughed all the way out of the cabin, but stopped abruptly when she reached the corridor. She had one thing to do before she got to work… and her Captain would either kill her for it, or thank her…

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Tom swiveled around in his seat, "It's from Voyager, audio only, looks like they wanted it to travel faster. It's on a priority channel, looks like B'Elanna's authorization code."

Chakotay frowned, "Patch it through."

Tom's fingers flew quickly over the console, and then he sat back in his seat as the transmission began.

=^=Voyager to Away team, the mapping mission needs to be cut short. Chakotay you're needed back aboard, it's the Captain.=^=

His heart went cold as dread settled in the pit of his stomach, "Tom," he managed after several moments of silence, "set a course back to Voyager, maximum warp." He then sat back in his seat and stayed that way the entire trip back, his mind a jumble of worry and possibilities. Why would B'Elanna contact him and not the Doctor, or Tuvok? Kathryn wasn't feeling well when he left, what if it were serious, what if she---he stopped then and turned his mind away from that, deciding instead to entertain the thought that if it were truly that serious Tuvok would have contacted them. He after all would be in command of the ship in his and Kathryn's absence.

At maximum warp the trip back to Voyager took just under 12 hours, 12 very miserable hours. But as they'd neared the ship they'd sent a transmission back asking B'Elanna to meet them in the shuttle bay. She was waiting for them when they finished docking. Chakotay was off the shuttle before Tom had finished powering it down and was heading toward her. "What happened?" He didn't stop, just kept on walking, she could tell him what was going on as they moved. He wasn't going to waste that much time.

B'Elanna had to run to keep up with him, "She's pregnant."

That stopped him cold, "What?" He stared at her, disbelieving for a moment, then took a step toward her. "You brought me all the way back here to tell me what she should tell me herself?"

She sighed, "It isn't that simple Chakotay," she waited for Tom to catch up to them then went into the story, at least all that she knew of it. "Apparently something happened yesterday. Doc has her flat on her back in bed trying to stay pregnant. She didn't know, had absolutely no clue. But she doesn't pay attention to herself enough, I guess that's why she's sick. But she's scared Chakotay, the Doctor told her she's not to move if she doesn't have to for a week, maybe longer, hell he doesn't even know if this is going to work. If I hadn't sent for you it would have been two weeks before you got back, it could have all been over by then or it could have just been starting. Either way she didn't need to go through it alone. Tuvok was livid, well as livid as a Vulcan can be, when he found out I called the away team back without clearing it through him first. I had to listen to a two-hour lecture about the chain of command. So you owe me, you both do, if she doesn't kill me when she finds out. She doesn't know you were sent for, so she doesn't know you're back. It might be enough to pull her out of the funk it looks like she's slipping into."

Chakotay managed a small smile and gave her shoulder a squeeze, "Thank you B'Elanna. I appreciate it." He gave her shoulder another squeeze before he continued down the corridor, his pace picking up speed with each step.

She was sleeping when he found her, in the middle of her bed, curled into a ball like a child. He watched her for a while, taking in every feature, the tear stained cheeks, the pale face, and the restless way she jerked in her sleep. Quietly, he moved into the bedroom and slid out of his boots, then as gently and carefully as possible he slid into the bed behind her. His arms went easily and gently around her and he pulled her back against his chest. A smile almost curved at his lips when she sighed, it was a relieved and almost contented sound. He buried his face in her neck, just below her ear and whispered softly, "I'm here baby, you can hang on to me now." His hands slid over her sides then down her front to rest protectively against her belly, still so flat and so delicate. He waited and listened closely to her breathing until it deepened, slipping into a more peaceful pattern. Then he closed his eyes, offered a silent prayer to any who would listen, and dreamed of her.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Kathryn stirred slowly, a small smile spreading across her face at the feel of her lover's arms around her, the gentle tickle of his breath against her hair, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest against her back. For a moment she thought she was still dreaming and carefully rolled over to open her eyes. She stared into the eyes of her love for several moments then shook her head. "Chakotay, what are you doing here?"

He smoothed several strands of hair away from her face, "You needed me," he smiled into her worry and fear filled eyes, "So I'm here."

It would have been so simple to be angry with him for shirking his duties to be with her. But he was right, she needed him, needed him far more than any mapping mission needed him. So instead she sighed, "B'Elanna?" When he nodded she shook her head, "I don't know whether to kill her or thank her." She snuggled close to him, "Right now I'm just glad you're here."

He gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed the top of her head, "How do you feel?"

"Tired, really tired, cramps come and go. It's almost like waiting for a period that just won't come." She sighed when he kissed the top of her head. "I'm afraid Chakotay. This is something I have no control over at all, and it's frightening the hell out of me."

He kissed the tip of her nose, "We'll get through it."

She managed a small smile and tightened her hold on him, then she started to respond but an irritating voice cut in before she could.

"This is all very touching," the Doctor said dryly, "but my patient needs her rest Commander."

Kathryn glared at him over Chakotay's shoulder, "Don't you know how to knock?"

"As a matter of fact," the EMH put his medkit on the bedside table, "I do, however in this instance I used a medical override to keep you from over exerting yourself."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, knock next time… that's an order."

The EMH shrugged and took out his tricorder, "Whatever." He waited for Chakotay to shift out of his way and into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, then he scanned her. He studied the readouts carefully and reached for her daily bolstering of supplements. "You're going to need to eat in addition to these injections. I'll leave a list of appropriate foods with the commander." He gave her the injection then scanned her again. "How is the cramping?"

She shrugged, "It comes and goes, they aren't really bad, I probably wouldn't notice them under normal circumstances."

He nodded, "Let me know if they get any worse. Any spotting?"

She shook her head, "None so far."

"Good, let's keep it that way." He put the tricorder and hypospray back in the medkit. "Let me know immediately if you notice any. We'll continue with the supplement bolstering for a few more days. It's still really too soon to determine a definite outcome, so don't get your hopes up. However, the bed rest is definitely helping, you're condition is improving by degrees, albeit small ones. If I were human and a betting man I might tell you that in another two weeks you'd be out of the woods, but I'm not and I won't."

She nodded, "Thank you Doctor."

The Doctor looked at Chakotay before leaving and pointed at Kathryn, "Food, rest, very little movement, that's all she's allowed to do. Torres tried to sneak in a report but I cut her off in time." He started to go but stopped abruptly and turned around, "Oh, and absolutely under no, I repeat no circumstances is she allowed coffee." He nodded decisively and turned to go.

Chakotay chuckled while Kathryn snarled, "Got it."

Kathryn waited until the EMH had left then sighed, "He makes it sound like I'm such a difficult patient."

Chakotay just grinned and picked up the dietary padd the Doctor had left, "No Comment. Want anything to eat?"

She sighed again, "Food sounds good, but what I really want is a bath."

"You're not supposed to get out of bed."

"Unless it's absolutely necessary, Chakotay this is absolutely necessary, I stink, my hair is nasty, run the bath yourself, carry me in there, I don't care how we do it, but damnit I want a bath."

Chakotay kissed her forehead, "You're really cute sometimes. All right, I'll run a bath for you, and I will carry you to it. Then while you're taking your bath I'll fix something to disgustingly healthy to eat. Call me when you're finished with your bath."

She made a face at him, "Yes mother."

He leaned down and kissed her again before moving into the bathroom. When he came back and picked her up she looped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, "I love you, even if you are over bearing sometimes. There are times you're almost as bad as a husband."

He grinned as he lowered her onto the edge of the tub to help her undress, "Is that a hint Kathryn?"

She shrugged and gave him an impish grin, "Maybe."

He took her dirty clothes and ruffled her hair, "Take a bath woman, before I'm tempted to take you up on that hint."

She gave him a mock salute and carefully lowered herself into the tub, "Yes sir."

He dropped her clothes into the cleaning unit and chuckled, "See I knew you'd get that sir part down eventually." He gave her a wink and a smile before leaving her alone.

She rolled her eyes, then sank back into the tub and gave a blissful sigh. Tension seeped from her body and was completely absorbed by the steaming water. She gave a small smile as the scent caught her nose. Chakotay knew her too well, he knew just how hot she liked her bath and had added just enough scent to give her the feminine touch he knew she appreciated, but nothing too noticeable. It was the small things like this that made her love him so much, the personal things that really showed he cared.

Just like she knew he liked to keep a spare uniform draped across the back of the dressing chair in her cabin or the bed in his, in case he had to change in a hurry. Or that he kept his carving tools in the second drawer on the right hand side of his desk. And that he liked hot water showers and unscented soaps, and then there was the fact that she knew her favorite perfume agitated his allergies so she seldom wore it and even then kept it toned severely down, but he'd never said a word about it. Little things, that's what she appreciated.

And coming back to her, slipping in bed with her to let her know he was here, spirits she loved him. And she didn't want to hurt him, they hadn't even had a chance to discuss this child yet, but she could already see it in his eyes. A discussion wasn't really needed; he had slipped right in without thinking about it, just as she had. This child was a reality for them and they both wanted it, it was already written all over his face. She just prayed she could hang on to it, and didn't disappoint either of them.

She sank into the water to wash her hair and thought about proposing to him, that was, if she made it through the next month and managed to hang onto this baby. She wanted to officially and permanently commit to him, with our without this baby… but they'd need time if… Just as quickly as it came she shook it off and raised up out of the water. She ran a hand over her hair sweeping it and the water out of her face. It wasn't going to happen like that, it was damned time she committed herself to it. She was the Captain of this ship after all wasn't she? And that meant everyone had to listen to her, even if they weren't born yet. Her hands swept downward over her flat belly, then in a soft voice she knew Chakotay couldn't hear, "You in there, I know I can be a hard nosed, hard headed, stubborn, blind, cold bitch. But not all the time and I know I work too much and I don't eat right and I don't spend nearly enough time with your father, but I promise to change that. Stick around for a while and you'll see it for yourself… I can be better if I want to be. And for you I will be."

From the door Chakotay cleared his throat and stepped into the bathroom. He moved over and leaned over the side of the tub, shaking his head when she blushed, "Don't… I love you." He kissed her, a lingering caress that promised sweet days and good times ahead. He pulled her up and wrapped a towel around her, then lifted her into his arms and carried her back into the bedroom where he sat on the edge of the bed holding her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in the curve of his neck. They sat like that, rocking until well after her hair had dried, but neither of them moved, neither of them wanted to. And in each other's arms they both felt better than they had in two days. This was theirs for the taking, and they were going to take it.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"Well?" Kathryn and Chakotay stared at the Doctor expectantly.

He looked up from the readout and gave them their first smile in over three weeks. "Two weeks in bed, a week with limited movement… 6 days and still no cramping or spotting… looks to me like its going to be smooth sailing ahead."

They collapsed together with a sigh of relief, "But?" Kathryn ventured, "I'm still not completely in the clear right?"

He shook his head, "I want to keep you under observation for the next two weeks, just to be safe. Which means you're still off duty, after that if there still hasn't been any additional problems I'll let you return to a severely limited duty schedule. That means only 3 maybe 4 hours a day, behind a desk at first… we'll slowly ease you back onto the bridge."

She thought about it, smiled at Chakotay, "Sounds like a fair trade off to me."

The Doctor passed a data padd to Chakotay, "This is a new dietary menu, not quite as bland as the last. I'll need you to make sure she doesn't forget to stop by sickbay once a week for her supplement shots."

Chakotay nodded, "I don't think that's going to be a problem doctor."

Kathryn took the padd from him and perused it, "Anything else Doctor?"

"That covers it… just keep me informed if you start feeling bad and the like. You know how the routine goes by now."

She nodded, "Thank you Doctor."

He turned to go, then stopped, "There is just one more thing… when is the wedding?"

Kathryn blinked, "What wedding?"

Chakotay blushed, "Uh… Doctor I'll show you out."

She stared at him, "What wedding?"

The EMH made a strategic retreat, "I think I can show myself out."

Chakotay had started to squirm, "I really don't know what he's talking about."

Her eyes narrowed, "Chakotay?"

He sighed, "He must have overheard me talking to Tom, that's all."

"About?" She wasn't letting him off the hook so easily.

Chakotay rolled his eyes, "During the first leg of the mapping mission, before I'd gotten word to come back to Voyager, Tom and I were talking about me possibly proposing to you. And he kind of asked me about it the other day in the messhall and the Doctor was there going over Dietary menus with Neelix for some of the crew. That's all."

"That's all?" She sighed, "That's all my foot, Chakotay did you ever plan on telling me about this?"

"About what?"

She gritted her teeth and tried to calm her nerves before she did something stupid, like tossing him out an air lock. "About you maybe proposing to me you dolt! Did it ever cross your mind that it might be something I wanted to know about."

He shrugged, "Well at the time Kathryn I wasn't sure what your response would be, hell until then we'd both been keeping our relationship a secret because I thought that was what you wanted to do. I still wasn't 100 percent sure what you wanted from this relationship so I didn't bring it up because I don't like being rejected."

She lifted a hand to cup his cheek, "It never crossed your mind that I might say yes?"

He looked away for a moment, then shrugged, "You were always so wrapped up in this ship and its crew, and it took us damned near seven years just to get here, that I just didn't know if your heart was that into it or not."

She took his chin and made him look at her, "It took us that long to get here because neither of us were ready to stand up for what we wanted. Chakotay my duty is to this ship and its crew, but my heart? That has always been with you, you're where my heart is Chakotay, you and this family that we're building. And yes a part of it is with this crew, it has to be or I wouldn't be any good to them as a captain. But putting it there is what brought me to you, and with you is where it's always going to be."

He stared at her for several seconds, then took her face in his hands and kissed her, long and deep. He pulled away before it could turn more heated than it needed to and grinned at her, "So when is the wedding?"

"Argh!" She picked up a pillow and hit him in the head with it. "I don't recall being asked dimwit!"

He grinned and nodded, "Too bad, could've been a hell of a party too."

She sighed," Chakotay!"

He laughed and pulled her across the bed into his lap, "Will you marry me?"

She tilted her head to the side, "Where's my ring?"

"Kathryn you don't wear jewelry."

She shrugged, a simple smile on her face, "I will for you."

He leaned forward to kiss her again but was stopped by the chiming of the door. Sighing he stood, "I'll get that, you do something constructive like… rest."

She laughed and threw a pillow at his head, missing as he ducked out the door.

Chakotay came back with B'Elanna in tow, "We've got company."

Kathryn grinned, "Hey you! How's my ship?"

B'Elanna moved over and plopped down onto the bed beside her, "Well the hull breeches on decks 4 and 9 where people tried to blast Tuvok out of existence have been fixed. And other than that, I'd say its holding its own."

She grimaced, "I can't wait to be back."

B'Elanna laughed, "Neither can I. Speaking of which, you do realize half the female population on the ship wants to shoot you right now."

Kathryn blinked, "Why?"

The half Klingon grinned, "Because there are about three other pregnant women aboard this ship, and because of you the doctor and their respective mates are making their lives hell." She sighed, "And I don't know about the other two but if mine doesn't stop I'm going to kill him myself."

Kathryn started to open her mouth, then stopped abruptly and stared at her friend, "You're pregnant?"

B'Elanna nodded, "Yeah, kinda sorta… about 8 weeks, so Doc thinks. It's kinda hard to tell with me because of the mixed DNA. Guess I'll find out for sure come delivery time."

Kathryn cackled, "Poor Tom, poor Chakotay… they gotta put up with both of us."

She and B'Elanna looked at each other and said in unison, "They deserve it."

Tom, who had followed B'Elanna in looked at Chakotay and sighed, "We get no respect around here."

Chakotay nodded, "I know man, it's rough, and getting rougher every day."

The women rolled their eyes and threw pillows at them.

Tom, a master at ducking, and changing the subject, came up with a mischievous sparkled in his eyes. "So, you two have any idea what sex your baby is going to be? B'E and I have agreed to disagree on that subject."

The replies came simultaneously, "A boy."

"A girl."

Kathryn stared at her lover, "It's going to be a boy Chakotay."

Grinning he shook his head, "You're mistaken love, it's definitely a girl."

Her jaw clenched tightly shut, she scowled at him, "No darling. I think you're the one that is mistaken. I'm the one carrying this child and I'm telling you it's a boy."

Tom took a step back while B'Elanna laughed, "You should listen to her Chakotay, we women have an intuition about these things."

"And we don’t?"

Tom shook his head, "We do, but face it old man, they're always right when they start bringing up words like intuition. Look at Samantha, she knew it was going to be a girl from the first moment. And well, the last time I saw her, Naomi looked like a girl to me."

B'Elanna nodded, "Don't argue with a pregnant woman Chakotay, you'll lose every time."

He sighed, "I still say it's a girl."

Kathryn grinned, "And you'll be wrong every time you say it."

"I could just ask the Doctor."

"You most certainly will not!" She tossed another pillow at him.

He tossed it back at her this time, "I might."

"And you might end up outside without a suit on too!"

He grinned at her, "And who is gonna enforce that? You're still on medical leave."

"For another two weeks, then I'm back."

"Whatever."

"You can whatever yourself to the sofa for the next two weeks mister."

Tom and B'Elanna looked at each other and shook their heads, "I hope they don't have anymore kids…"

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"And that," B'Elanna chuckled, "was two kids ago." She shook her head, a smile on her face as she finished recalling the tale.

Aya looked at her older brother, "Did they do that with me too?"

The eight-year-old nodded, then laughed as a more inventive threat came out of the bedroom where their parents were having that discussion yet again. "Dad swore you were a boy and Mom kept trying to tell him you were a girl. Unlike everyone else on this ship, Dad hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut where mom is concerned yet."

Aya shook her head, "But Mom was right both times. Lee turned out to be a boy, and then I was a girl. Why doesn't Dad just go with her intuition?"

B'Elanna leaned forward, "Probably for the same reason you and your brother don't listen to each other when you know the other is right." She shrugged, "That and they enjoy it." She snickered as she heard Chakotay being sentenced to the sofa for an indefinite period of time. "Third time around makes it tradition after all. But hopefully they'll call it quits after this."

Aya and Lee looked at each other and muttered, "So do we." Then they leaned forward and Lee whispered, "We heard mom talking to Doc this morning, and Dad doesn't know yet."

B'Elanna frowned, "What?"

The firstborn Janeway sighed grimly and nodded to his five-year-old sister. Aya leaned forward with a serious look on her face and put a hand on B'Elanna's arm. "It's twins."

The half Klingon's face went an interesting shade of pale, "God help us all."

The End…