Mama Janeway VOY, PG-13
Janeway is baby-sitting little Alex, but realizes that she might need some assistance. Eeehrm... I don't really know if I think this is really a great piece of fanfic, I like having Alex in it, since he's actually my cousin, but I don't know what others might think. Entered in Voyager Talendted Night's 'Baby Mine'.
Disclaimer:You know how it is, Para-Borg owns everything in the Star Trek universe, though the story is mine. Alex belongs to his parents, Lynn and Conny.
Summary:Janeway is baby- sitting a baby and Chakotay is helping her.
Rating: PG-13
Author's note: This fanfic was written in five days and i had one hell getting enough time to write it. I am pleased with the result, since I was actually writing in the middle of the night... Beta- read by Molly. Thanks! Entered in Voyager Talendted Night's 'Baby Mine'
"Janeway to Chakotay."
"Chakotay here."
"I regret to inform you but I think I'll have to cancel our dinner tonight."
"Oh, how come?"
"Baby- problems."
***
It was 0500 hours; Kathryn had just waked up and was about to get some clothes on. In a few minutes a five months old boy would arrive. She'd promised to take care of him when she'd assign both of his parents away on an away mission for two days. Her conscience had been nagging on her for days and she was glad they'd asked her, giving her a chance to feel that she wasn't totally bad. She had decided not to put on her Captain-suit, because if Alex were asleep when he arrived, Kathryn would take a shower. If he wasn't, she could always change. The lights in her quarters were lowered and Kathryn sank down onto her sofa with her first cup of coffee in her hands. After drinking half of it, the door chime sounded.
"Come in." Linn stepped inside, carrying a bag of toys and clothes and with Alex in a baby-lifter. He was asleep.
"Good morning, Captain," Janeway took the bag from her and put it on her desk, "Sorry to wake you up at this time."
"It's all right," She looked at the baby, "Is he asleep?" Linn nodded and they walked toward Janeway's bed.
"I thought that maybe you could lay him here…" The mother put the baby- lifter down, looking at her son. She smiled at him.
"Isn't he cute when he's asleep?" She looked at Janeway for a second before returning to her son's face. Janeway nodded and smiled.
"He's a very sweet child." After a minute of adoration the women left the child to his sleep.
"I have brought some of his favourite toys and clothes," She searched the bag before finding a PADD which she showed Janeway, "This is a PADD with some information that I thought you might have use for, for example his eating schedule. Though you should be aware of that he doesn't follow this schedule, but he normally likes to eat around these times." Janeway nodded, took the PADD and put in on the table.
"Understood." They smiled at each other.
"I don't think there was so much more…" She looked around, searching her memory for things to do, "Ah yes, our rations have been transferred to your account! Now, that has to be all!" She smiled a broad smile, "I think the only thing left for me to do is to say good-bye to Alex and run to the transporter." She went back to Alex. Allowing the mother some privacy in her farewell, Janeway leaned against her desk, drinking the rest of her coffee while scanning through the PADD.
"This can't be too difficult", she thought.
***
At 0547 Alex woke. Kathryn, who'd just finished her shower and sat on her sofa reading an engineering report, leaped to her feet at the sound of the baby's crying. She put the PADD down and in two big steps she reached her bed. Alex' face was red and he screamed with all of his lungs. She pulled him up from his bed and laid him over the left part of her chest, his face resting on her shoulder. His scream was ear-splitting and having his mouth so close to her ear made Kathryn wish she wouldn't become deaf. She rocked him and hushed him while moving towards the replicator.
"Shh, Alex, take it easy, shh, come on…" she said in a low voice to him. She kept on whispering as she talked to the replicator, "Computer, one feeding bottle of Klein 37." The computer's 'birp' startled Kathryn. She was afraid that Alex, who'd become a little bit less loud- voiced, would start to scream all over again. But he didn't seem to mind. They moved away from the replicator and stood looking up at the stars outside her windows. Now that Alex was actually quiet Kathryn took some time just adjusting to the baby's presence. Holding the boy was a very overwhelming feeling, and Kathryn couldn't help but smile for herself. Maybe it was some sort of a maternal instinct or maybe she was just very fond of Alex, she didn't know, but seeing his little face looking at her from her shoulder made Kathryn's heart beat one extra beat. After two or three minutes of looking at each other Kathryn sat down on the sofa and fed the baby. He stared at the bottle while drinking its contents, his small hands holding it steadily. Kathryn smiled.
After his meal she changed his diapers and let him crawl around in her bed with only a diaper on while she sat beside him in a chair, continuing to read B'Elanna's report. It was around 0656 and she would normally wake by this time, 4 minutes before her alarm rang. She looked at Alex, busy trying to reach his yellow teddy- rabbit. Linn had told her yesterday that he'd been a little slow in his process of learning how to crawl, he preferred to be held and pretend he could stand. Kathryn therefore didn't give him the rabbit, instead she watched him struggling with trying to move his muscles so that he would get there.
"Chakotay to Janeway," Chakotay's voice startled her so much that she dropped the PADD. As she crawled down at her knees trying to find it she pushed her comm- badge.
"Kathryn here." She knew that it was his usual 'good-morning call'. Every morning around 0715 he paged her and asked how she was doing and if they should share a breakfast or meet in the mess. Finding the PADD 10 centimetres in under her bed Kathryn was surprised that 20 minutes had already pasted. She rose and wiped the dust of it as he continued.
"How are you?" She smiled.
"Fine." She put the PADD on the chair.
"And Alex?" She glanced at him where he lay. He'd give up his hopes about the rabbit and was now sucking her sheets.
"He's doing fine too. Right now he's busy eating my bed up." Chakotay's laughter sent a shiver down her spine. She loved being greeted by that sound every morning.
"So you'll be having to sleep on the couch now, I guess? "
"Actually, I've thought I could move into your place…" she lifted Alex up, sat down on the bed and allowed him to 'walk' a little, "… what do you say?"
"I say you're always welcome." She loved this half- flirting/teasing they were doing. It made her feel warm inside, but she didn't have to make any life- changing decisions or felt pushed into a corner. Sometimes though, he said things or looked into her eyes in a way that made her feel as if she were standing on unsafe ground. "So, what about breakfast?" he asked, breaking the silence. She looked at Alex. "My quarters…" she began.
"My rations," he continued. They both chuckled.
"If you say so… "
"Oh, it's not a matter of if I say so, it's more about you eating the food from my plate anyway."
"Don't go there, Commander", she warned in her best teasing tone.
"Your quarters in… 15 minutes? "
"If that's ok with you, I've been up since 0445."
"You're such a good godmother, aren't you? " he teased, and she knew it, "Chakotay out."
***
She drank her third cup of coffee in just as many hours while watching Chakotay playing with Alex. The little boy seemed to have a very relaxing affect on her first officer; he was holding Alex' hands in his and while humming a song he tried to make the boy dance. The boy was smiling broadly and Chakotay laughed at his expression. He tried to jump and Chakotay lifted him up some centimetres making the boy laugh harder. Janeway beamed at the sight of Chakotay and the baby. It was a moving picture, the strong man and the vulnerable baby. Chakotay had pulled off his Starfleet jacket and was sitting in his grey turtleneck and so did Kathryn. Both had some wet spots of baby- drool around the shoulder- area. Feeling her gaze Chakotay looked at her, smiling.
"He's so cute," he said. She nodded.
"Right now yes, but you should hear him scream." She made a grimace. As if he understood the word Alex's face- muscles drew together and he began to cry loudly. Chakotay stared at the boy, amazed by the capacities of his lungs. Kathryn rose and moved towards him. Chakotay handed the boy over to her while asking: "What's wrong?"
"He's probably hungry. I'll just feed him and change him if necessary, and then we can leave for the bridge…" she ordered the replicator to give her a new bottle and she sat down on the couch with Alex. Chakotay stood by her side and looked down at the child while he ate. He'd been surprised by Kathryn's skills in handling a baby, he'd thought that since she was such a poor cook, she wouldn't be very handy with anything that had to do with domestic skills. He'd been proven wrong, and this time, it really pleased him. Seeing her walking around and prattling with Alex, enjoying herself in a way he hadn't seen her do for a very long time, made him feel very happy. And now, watching her feeding the baby, seeing the adoration and love shining from her eyes, sent more than one shiver down his spine. She was so beautiful, her hair falling down like a curtain over her cheeks, but without hiding her smiling mouth or her eyes. These were steadily fixed on the little boy in her arms, her hand touching his as they both held a steady grip on the feeding bottle. Alex's brown eyes switched from being fixed on the bottle to stare into Kathryn's blue ones. Chakotay wished he had had a camera or his sketchbook with him. This would make a perfect picture.
***
The Captain and Commander entered the Bridge at the same time. She carried Alex in her right arm, making the boy sit on her hips. Seeing all the people on the Bridge, the shy boy buried his head in Janeway's chest and shook it, trying to hide from all of them. Chakotay had to smile at the sight, and when Tuvok announced:
"Captain on the Bridge!" he nearly laughed. Seeing the strong Captain Janeway with a shy five- month baby was a sight he never thought he would see.
"At ease," she said as they walked down to their command seats. Chakotay noticed the smile on Tom's face, and he was sure Kathryn did too, but decided not to comment it. He could always deal with the Lieutenant later.
***
Kathryn had had to leave the Bridge when Alex had become too fretful. He was probably just hungry and Chakotay felt his own belly rumble. He decided to visit Kathryn after half an hour, asking her to join him for lunch.
Feeling that he could wake a bear with the sounds of his stomach, Chakotay headed for the Ready Room.
"You have the Bridge, Mr Tuvok." The Vulcan nodded and Chakotay pushed the chime. Since her room was rather soundproof he wasn't prepared for Alex's scream and he could feel the entire Bridge start back at the sound. Chakotay walked inside and the doors closed behind him. Kathryn checked who it was and noticing that it was Chakotay; she turned her attention back to the screaming mite. He was lying in her arms, his red face buried in the left side of her chest. Chakotay walked up to her couch and sank down, watching her hush and sing to him, trying to make Alex calm down.
"Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder where you are…" she sang in a low voice. He was still screaming, loudly, and Chakotay realized that they probably wouldn't be eating for a very, very long time unless he stopped. Chakotay saw Kathryn becoming more and more tired of hushing the baby, singing her lullaby over and over again. Chakotay rose and reached for the infant, giving his Captain a questioning look. She nodded and handed Alex over to him. As he took him in his arms and walked away, closer to the window, she sighed, relived. Kathryn drove a hand through her hair and went for a cup of coffee. Ten minutes later Alex was asleep.
"How did you do that?" She tried to smile at him, but it was a faint one. He walked away from the sofa where he'd laid Alex and placed himself at her side, leaning against her desk. He shrugged.
"I just sang to him." She swallowed her sip of coffee.
"Oh, I tried that," she said, "but it didn't work. Can't understand how you managed…" She buried her face in her hands, massaging it.
"How long had he been crying when I entered?" She looked up at him.
"About 15 minutes. His parents paged and I let them talk to him…" She sighed. "I guess he missed them. And then when I had nearly stopped him, you entered and it started all over again."
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't be." She smiled and shrugged, "I mean, you were the one who made him stop and fall asleep." She stared down at the floor, her mind flying away. He watched her standing there, trying to regain some sort of energy. He took a deep breath and snapped her back to reality as he pulled her hair away from her face and tucked it in behind her ear. She looked up at him.
"What do you say about some lunch?" he asked.
"I say it's a good idea."
***
Alex was trying to eat his hand, making it all slimy. Janeway had thought about putting him in Neelix's lap, but then she changed her mind; after all, Alex was her responsibility.
"According to the Security staff, everything is going very smoothly, the inhabitants are friendly and try to assist our personnel as much as they can," Janeway said in her best Captain tone, even though she was very aware that having Alex in her lap made her look very un- captain like. He had now stopped eating his hand and instead he was holding a steady grip on her fingers, waving his hands up and down, while smiling and chuckling to himself. Only Tuvok, Seven and Janeway were able not to smile at the sight. As a matter of fact, the staff had been smiling at the infant the entire meeting. First Janeway had been annoyed, but now she let it be. He was cute and now, just after his little nap, he was happy and playful. As B'Elanna informed them about the progress her engineers were doing on the planet, Alex reached out for Janeway's PADDs before she had the chance to react. Suddenly, five PADDs were lying scattered on the ground. Without even thinking about it, Janeway handed Alex to Chakotay and began to pick the PADDs up.
"I'm all ears," she said as B'Elanna stopped speaking, thinking that the Captain wasn't listening as she sat on her knees searching the floor. Tom was grinning at the sight of Chakotay with an infant on his knees. Six years ago, he wouldn't have been able to imagine the strong Maquis leader even coming close to a child. As the Captain rose from the floor, she reached for Alex, and sat down with him. Tom, B'Elanna and Harry looked at each other. How long had these two been handling babies? She'd just handed Alex over to Chakotay and then just got him back, both acting as if it weren't anything out of the ordinary, having a child to take care of.
"Sorry for that interruption," Janeway excused. Her staff assured her that it was no problem.
When walking through the corridor, Tom said to Harry and B'Elanna:
"See how the Captain enjoyed having Alex in her lap? She pretended she didn't, but when he laughed at the sight of Tuvok, she just couldn't help but smile. "
"She's a perfect baby- sitter!" B'Elanna concluded. She looked at Tom, "You did a great job, encouraging the Kleins to ask her."
***
He was screaming and screaming and screaming. There was no end to it. Kathryn had fed him and changed him and then suddenly he'd just begun to scream. She walked around and hushed him, rocked him and sang to him. He became quieter for one or two minutes, but then he screamed again.
"So this is what it's like to have a baby, huh?" she whispered to him, "Hushing and singing all the time, not being able to work." Even though he was making her deaf she couldn't stop smiling at him. She was wondering about when he would fall asleep when she suddenly realized that:
"Chakotay!" she was supposed to have dinner with him in 30 minutes! She pushed her comm.- badge.
"Janeway to Chakotay."
"Chakotay here."
"I regret to inform but I think I'll have to cancel our dinner tonight."
"Oh, how come?"
"Baby- problems." He chuckled.
"I'm at your place in two minutes, Chakotay out."
"You don't---" she began, but realized he'd already closed the channel. At the sound of Chakotay's voice, Alex had become quieter. But he was still screaming and she still had to walk around with him. Since Kathryn hadn't locked her door, Chakotay could just walk inside. When he entered the first thing he saw was Kathryn standing back against her windows with Alex in her arms. He smiled at her. She walked down and he reached out for the boy. She handed him over to him. He still screamed but as Chakotay began to rock him, he passed into sobbing instead and then, after ten minutes, he was fast asleep again. Kathryn had walked beside Chakotay and now she looked at him and whispered:
"How do you do that?" He just smiled at her.
"I had two little sisters… Where should I put him?" She nodded toward her bedroom. "In there, in the cot…"
"You begin to fix dinner, I'll put the baby in bed."
"Sure… daddy." She smiled at him.
It felt a little bit odd, entering the most private part of her quarters. He saw the cot at the right side of her bed. As he walked there he couldn't help but looking at the bed, smiling at what he saw there. Kathryn had obviously been sitting in the left corner by the wall and Alex had been crawling around in the far end of it. He wondered how much work Kathryn had done.
***
"Thank you, Chakotay, for helping me with Alex," she said. They were sitting on her sofa and had just finished their meal. Both had changed shirts and she was wearing a grey vest and he a brown sweater.
"No problem", Chakotay smiled, put his glass down and continued, "I'm actually glad you let me, I like babies… even when they're crying." He smiled at her.
"Obviously you can make them stop," she said, looking into his eyes. They were sitting inverted, one arm resting upon the sofa's edge and one bent leg resting on the sofa. "I still think I smell of baby", Kathryn said, smelling her hand, "Yes… Smell," she said to Chakotay and held her hand in front of him. He gently took it and moved it so he could smell it. That little touch made Kathryn blush, and she was glad Chakotay wasn't watching. It was a very innocent touch and yet… Kathryn sighed inside her head; she'd long ago given up the idea of understanding how and why her body reacted around this man. Dropping her hand Chakotay smiled broadly, releasing his dimples.
"Yes, you do smell baby." She reached out for his hand.
"And you?"
"You're free to check for yourself." She smelled at it and then shook her head.
"No", she positioned herself back to her place, still holding his hand and while looking down at it she said: "You don't smell of baby." They were sitting like that for a moment, just relaxing.
"What are you doing, Kathryn?" he asked as she played with his hand, fiddling with his fingers. She smiled at him.
"You know me; too close to a hand I can't restrain myself."
"Glad you told me. I'll have to inform the crew the first thing tomorrow. Wear gloves or the Captain will go nuts!" They laughed. He sipped his wine with his left hand, letting her keep on playing with his right. She wasn't actually 'playing' with it, more stroking it. She was very tired and just sitting there taking it easy was just what she needed. And with Chakotay beside her, it felt close to perfect. He watched his hand as he began to move it, caressing hers. Their hands were playing with each other. He then moved to the wrist, his fingers walking up her arm. She didn't dare to look at him, once again he'd pushed her out on thin ice and she was very aware of the fact that she was blushing. His hand on her skin made her stomach contract, sending shivers down her spine. She realized they couldn't be sitting there all the time, one of them had to say something. She mentally took a deep breath and looked at him.
"Is this how you do with Alex, to make him sleep?" They were both surprised by the huskiness of her voice.
"What, do I bore you?" he smiled. She smiled back.
"No… But you do make me sleepy." She yawned.
"Hey, come here." He said, opening his arms and encouraging her to crawl into them. She did. She made herself comfortable with her head against his shoulders, her legs tucked up under her. Suddenly she burst out:
"You smell of baby here!" He had to laugh.
"What?"
"Just here," she said, pointing at a place on his neck, "You must've held Alex here when you where comforting him, and then you haven't washed it away." She'd put herself on her knees, her face against his. She bent over to smell. "Yeah," she said, "it's Alex's smell." She smiled at Chakotay. He hadn't been thinking about Alex's smell, he'd been thinking of hers. As she'd sat down in his arms, the smell of Kathryn Janeway had hit him, making his bloodstream go to warp speed and his heart beat faster. When she smelled his neck it had taken a lot of effort to control himself and now, with her smiling at him only ten centimetres from his face… He didn't smile back. Only gazed into her eyes.
He was doing it again. Giving her looks that she didn't dare to interpret, making her feel all upside-down. She swallowed. Kathryn thought about looking down, sitting back and saying something smart, but when nothing smart popped up in her head and her eyes refused to obey her, she abandoned that plan. Her head was totally blank. And when he reached out to touch her face… She blamed her tiredness; she blamed having to wake up at 0500 for the fact that she wasn't pushibg him away. He took a steady grip on her head and she had no idea of what to do. He pulled her head closer to his and when his lips met hers, she closed her eyes and relaxed the muscles she didn't knew she'd tensed.
First their lips were merely touching, but as both realized that the other one wasn't going to pull away they became more self-confident. Their tongues explored each other's mouth, and Kathryn couldn't help but moan once or twice. He let her mouth go and instead began to explore her neck. She leaned back and they lay down on the couch, running their hands over each other's bodies. She knew she should restrain herself, she should push him away; telling him that this was insane, crazy. She laughed inside her head; yes this really was crazy. She looked into his eyes as she kissed him urgently.
As they began to hint that they were about to take each other's clothes off, Kathryn had to restrain herself. She held up a hand, making Chakotay stop.
"As much as I want to do this, I don't want to it on my couch and we can't do it my bed because of Alex."
"Sure… Mama Janeway." First she stared at him, but as he smiled broadly she couldn't help but laugh. She clung herself to him and whispered in his ear:
"I love you, Chakotay."
"I love you too, Kathryn."
Disclaimer:You know how it is, Para-Borg owns everything in the Star Trek universe, though the story is mine. Alex belongs to his parents, Lynn and Conny.
Summary:Janeway is baby- sitting a baby and Chakotay is helping her.
Rating: PG-13
Author's note: This fanfic was written in five days and i had one hell getting enough time to write it. I am pleased with the result, since I was actually writing in the middle of the night... Beta- read by Molly. Thanks! Entered in Voyager Talendted Night's 'Baby Mine'
"Janeway to Chakotay."
"Chakotay here."
"I regret to inform you but I think I'll have to cancel our dinner tonight."
"Oh, how come?"
"Baby- problems."
***
It was 0500 hours; Kathryn had just waked up and was about to get some clothes on. In a few minutes a five months old boy would arrive. She'd promised to take care of him when she'd assign both of his parents away on an away mission for two days. Her conscience had been nagging on her for days and she was glad they'd asked her, giving her a chance to feel that she wasn't totally bad. She had decided not to put on her Captain-suit, because if Alex were asleep when he arrived, Kathryn would take a shower. If he wasn't, she could always change. The lights in her quarters were lowered and Kathryn sank down onto her sofa with her first cup of coffee in her hands. After drinking half of it, the door chime sounded.
"Come in." Linn stepped inside, carrying a bag of toys and clothes and with Alex in a baby-lifter. He was asleep.
"Good morning, Captain," Janeway took the bag from her and put it on her desk, "Sorry to wake you up at this time."
"It's all right," She looked at the baby, "Is he asleep?" Linn nodded and they walked toward Janeway's bed.
"I thought that maybe you could lay him here…" The mother put the baby- lifter down, looking at her son. She smiled at him.
"Isn't he cute when he's asleep?" She looked at Janeway for a second before returning to her son's face. Janeway nodded and smiled.
"He's a very sweet child." After a minute of adoration the women left the child to his sleep.
"I have brought some of his favourite toys and clothes," She searched the bag before finding a PADD which she showed Janeway, "This is a PADD with some information that I thought you might have use for, for example his eating schedule. Though you should be aware of that he doesn't follow this schedule, but he normally likes to eat around these times." Janeway nodded, took the PADD and put in on the table.
"Understood." They smiled at each other.
"I don't think there was so much more…" She looked around, searching her memory for things to do, "Ah yes, our rations have been transferred to your account! Now, that has to be all!" She smiled a broad smile, "I think the only thing left for me to do is to say good-bye to Alex and run to the transporter." She went back to Alex. Allowing the mother some privacy in her farewell, Janeway leaned against her desk, drinking the rest of her coffee while scanning through the PADD.
"This can't be too difficult", she thought.
***
At 0547 Alex woke. Kathryn, who'd just finished her shower and sat on her sofa reading an engineering report, leaped to her feet at the sound of the baby's crying. She put the PADD down and in two big steps she reached her bed. Alex' face was red and he screamed with all of his lungs. She pulled him up from his bed and laid him over the left part of her chest, his face resting on her shoulder. His scream was ear-splitting and having his mouth so close to her ear made Kathryn wish she wouldn't become deaf. She rocked him and hushed him while moving towards the replicator.
"Shh, Alex, take it easy, shh, come on…" she said in a low voice to him. She kept on whispering as she talked to the replicator, "Computer, one feeding bottle of Klein 37." The computer's 'birp' startled Kathryn. She was afraid that Alex, who'd become a little bit less loud- voiced, would start to scream all over again. But he didn't seem to mind. They moved away from the replicator and stood looking up at the stars outside her windows. Now that Alex was actually quiet Kathryn took some time just adjusting to the baby's presence. Holding the boy was a very overwhelming feeling, and Kathryn couldn't help but smile for herself. Maybe it was some sort of a maternal instinct or maybe she was just very fond of Alex, she didn't know, but seeing his little face looking at her from her shoulder made Kathryn's heart beat one extra beat. After two or three minutes of looking at each other Kathryn sat down on the sofa and fed the baby. He stared at the bottle while drinking its contents, his small hands holding it steadily. Kathryn smiled.
After his meal she changed his diapers and let him crawl around in her bed with only a diaper on while she sat beside him in a chair, continuing to read B'Elanna's report. It was around 0656 and she would normally wake by this time, 4 minutes before her alarm rang. She looked at Alex, busy trying to reach his yellow teddy- rabbit. Linn had told her yesterday that he'd been a little slow in his process of learning how to crawl, he preferred to be held and pretend he could stand. Kathryn therefore didn't give him the rabbit, instead she watched him struggling with trying to move his muscles so that he would get there.
"Chakotay to Janeway," Chakotay's voice startled her so much that she dropped the PADD. As she crawled down at her knees trying to find it she pushed her comm- badge.
"Kathryn here." She knew that it was his usual 'good-morning call'. Every morning around 0715 he paged her and asked how she was doing and if they should share a breakfast or meet in the mess. Finding the PADD 10 centimetres in under her bed Kathryn was surprised that 20 minutes had already pasted. She rose and wiped the dust of it as he continued.
"How are you?" She smiled.
"Fine." She put the PADD on the chair.
"And Alex?" She glanced at him where he lay. He'd give up his hopes about the rabbit and was now sucking her sheets.
"He's doing fine too. Right now he's busy eating my bed up." Chakotay's laughter sent a shiver down her spine. She loved being greeted by that sound every morning.
"So you'll be having to sleep on the couch now, I guess? "
"Actually, I've thought I could move into your place…" she lifted Alex up, sat down on the bed and allowed him to 'walk' a little, "… what do you say?"
"I say you're always welcome." She loved this half- flirting/teasing they were doing. It made her feel warm inside, but she didn't have to make any life- changing decisions or felt pushed into a corner. Sometimes though, he said things or looked into her eyes in a way that made her feel as if she were standing on unsafe ground. "So, what about breakfast?" he asked, breaking the silence. She looked at Alex. "My quarters…" she began.
"My rations," he continued. They both chuckled.
"If you say so… "
"Oh, it's not a matter of if I say so, it's more about you eating the food from my plate anyway."
"Don't go there, Commander", she warned in her best teasing tone.
"Your quarters in… 15 minutes? "
"If that's ok with you, I've been up since 0445."
"You're such a good godmother, aren't you? " he teased, and she knew it, "Chakotay out."
***
She drank her third cup of coffee in just as many hours while watching Chakotay playing with Alex. The little boy seemed to have a very relaxing affect on her first officer; he was holding Alex' hands in his and while humming a song he tried to make the boy dance. The boy was smiling broadly and Chakotay laughed at his expression. He tried to jump and Chakotay lifted him up some centimetres making the boy laugh harder. Janeway beamed at the sight of Chakotay and the baby. It was a moving picture, the strong man and the vulnerable baby. Chakotay had pulled off his Starfleet jacket and was sitting in his grey turtleneck and so did Kathryn. Both had some wet spots of baby- drool around the shoulder- area. Feeling her gaze Chakotay looked at her, smiling.
"He's so cute," he said. She nodded.
"Right now yes, but you should hear him scream." She made a grimace. As if he understood the word Alex's face- muscles drew together and he began to cry loudly. Chakotay stared at the boy, amazed by the capacities of his lungs. Kathryn rose and moved towards him. Chakotay handed the boy over to her while asking: "What's wrong?"
"He's probably hungry. I'll just feed him and change him if necessary, and then we can leave for the bridge…" she ordered the replicator to give her a new bottle and she sat down on the couch with Alex. Chakotay stood by her side and looked down at the child while he ate. He'd been surprised by Kathryn's skills in handling a baby, he'd thought that since she was such a poor cook, she wouldn't be very handy with anything that had to do with domestic skills. He'd been proven wrong, and this time, it really pleased him. Seeing her walking around and prattling with Alex, enjoying herself in a way he hadn't seen her do for a very long time, made him feel very happy. And now, watching her feeding the baby, seeing the adoration and love shining from her eyes, sent more than one shiver down his spine. She was so beautiful, her hair falling down like a curtain over her cheeks, but without hiding her smiling mouth or her eyes. These were steadily fixed on the little boy in her arms, her hand touching his as they both held a steady grip on the feeding bottle. Alex's brown eyes switched from being fixed on the bottle to stare into Kathryn's blue ones. Chakotay wished he had had a camera or his sketchbook with him. This would make a perfect picture.
***
The Captain and Commander entered the Bridge at the same time. She carried Alex in her right arm, making the boy sit on her hips. Seeing all the people on the Bridge, the shy boy buried his head in Janeway's chest and shook it, trying to hide from all of them. Chakotay had to smile at the sight, and when Tuvok announced:
"Captain on the Bridge!" he nearly laughed. Seeing the strong Captain Janeway with a shy five- month baby was a sight he never thought he would see.
"At ease," she said as they walked down to their command seats. Chakotay noticed the smile on Tom's face, and he was sure Kathryn did too, but decided not to comment it. He could always deal with the Lieutenant later.
***
Kathryn had had to leave the Bridge when Alex had become too fretful. He was probably just hungry and Chakotay felt his own belly rumble. He decided to visit Kathryn after half an hour, asking her to join him for lunch.
Feeling that he could wake a bear with the sounds of his stomach, Chakotay headed for the Ready Room.
"You have the Bridge, Mr Tuvok." The Vulcan nodded and Chakotay pushed the chime. Since her room was rather soundproof he wasn't prepared for Alex's scream and he could feel the entire Bridge start back at the sound. Chakotay walked inside and the doors closed behind him. Kathryn checked who it was and noticing that it was Chakotay; she turned her attention back to the screaming mite. He was lying in her arms, his red face buried in the left side of her chest. Chakotay walked up to her couch and sank down, watching her hush and sing to him, trying to make Alex calm down.
"Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder where you are…" she sang in a low voice. He was still screaming, loudly, and Chakotay realized that they probably wouldn't be eating for a very, very long time unless he stopped. Chakotay saw Kathryn becoming more and more tired of hushing the baby, singing her lullaby over and over again. Chakotay rose and reached for the infant, giving his Captain a questioning look. She nodded and handed Alex over to him. As he took him in his arms and walked away, closer to the window, she sighed, relived. Kathryn drove a hand through her hair and went for a cup of coffee. Ten minutes later Alex was asleep.
"How did you do that?" She tried to smile at him, but it was a faint one. He walked away from the sofa where he'd laid Alex and placed himself at her side, leaning against her desk. He shrugged.
"I just sang to him." She swallowed her sip of coffee.
"Oh, I tried that," she said, "but it didn't work. Can't understand how you managed…" She buried her face in her hands, massaging it.
"How long had he been crying when I entered?" She looked up at him.
"About 15 minutes. His parents paged and I let them talk to him…" She sighed. "I guess he missed them. And then when I had nearly stopped him, you entered and it started all over again."
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't be." She smiled and shrugged, "I mean, you were the one who made him stop and fall asleep." She stared down at the floor, her mind flying away. He watched her standing there, trying to regain some sort of energy. He took a deep breath and snapped her back to reality as he pulled her hair away from her face and tucked it in behind her ear. She looked up at him.
"What do you say about some lunch?" he asked.
"I say it's a good idea."
***
Alex was trying to eat his hand, making it all slimy. Janeway had thought about putting him in Neelix's lap, but then she changed her mind; after all, Alex was her responsibility.
"According to the Security staff, everything is going very smoothly, the inhabitants are friendly and try to assist our personnel as much as they can," Janeway said in her best Captain tone, even though she was very aware that having Alex in her lap made her look very un- captain like. He had now stopped eating his hand and instead he was holding a steady grip on her fingers, waving his hands up and down, while smiling and chuckling to himself. Only Tuvok, Seven and Janeway were able not to smile at the sight. As a matter of fact, the staff had been smiling at the infant the entire meeting. First Janeway had been annoyed, but now she let it be. He was cute and now, just after his little nap, he was happy and playful. As B'Elanna informed them about the progress her engineers were doing on the planet, Alex reached out for Janeway's PADDs before she had the chance to react. Suddenly, five PADDs were lying scattered on the ground. Without even thinking about it, Janeway handed Alex to Chakotay and began to pick the PADDs up.
"I'm all ears," she said as B'Elanna stopped speaking, thinking that the Captain wasn't listening as she sat on her knees searching the floor. Tom was grinning at the sight of Chakotay with an infant on his knees. Six years ago, he wouldn't have been able to imagine the strong Maquis leader even coming close to a child. As the Captain rose from the floor, she reached for Alex, and sat down with him. Tom, B'Elanna and Harry looked at each other. How long had these two been handling babies? She'd just handed Alex over to Chakotay and then just got him back, both acting as if it weren't anything out of the ordinary, having a child to take care of.
"Sorry for that interruption," Janeway excused. Her staff assured her that it was no problem.
When walking through the corridor, Tom said to Harry and B'Elanna:
"See how the Captain enjoyed having Alex in her lap? She pretended she didn't, but when he laughed at the sight of Tuvok, she just couldn't help but smile. "
"She's a perfect baby- sitter!" B'Elanna concluded. She looked at Tom, "You did a great job, encouraging the Kleins to ask her."
***
He was screaming and screaming and screaming. There was no end to it. Kathryn had fed him and changed him and then suddenly he'd just begun to scream. She walked around and hushed him, rocked him and sang to him. He became quieter for one or two minutes, but then he screamed again.
"So this is what it's like to have a baby, huh?" she whispered to him, "Hushing and singing all the time, not being able to work." Even though he was making her deaf she couldn't stop smiling at him. She was wondering about when he would fall asleep when she suddenly realized that:
"Chakotay!" she was supposed to have dinner with him in 30 minutes! She pushed her comm.- badge.
"Janeway to Chakotay."
"Chakotay here."
"I regret to inform but I think I'll have to cancel our dinner tonight."
"Oh, how come?"
"Baby- problems." He chuckled.
"I'm at your place in two minutes, Chakotay out."
"You don't---" she began, but realized he'd already closed the channel. At the sound of Chakotay's voice, Alex had become quieter. But he was still screaming and she still had to walk around with him. Since Kathryn hadn't locked her door, Chakotay could just walk inside. When he entered the first thing he saw was Kathryn standing back against her windows with Alex in her arms. He smiled at her. She walked down and he reached out for the boy. She handed him over to him. He still screamed but as Chakotay began to rock him, he passed into sobbing instead and then, after ten minutes, he was fast asleep again. Kathryn had walked beside Chakotay and now she looked at him and whispered:
"How do you do that?" He just smiled at her.
"I had two little sisters… Where should I put him?" She nodded toward her bedroom. "In there, in the cot…"
"You begin to fix dinner, I'll put the baby in bed."
"Sure… daddy." She smiled at him.
It felt a little bit odd, entering the most private part of her quarters. He saw the cot at the right side of her bed. As he walked there he couldn't help but looking at the bed, smiling at what he saw there. Kathryn had obviously been sitting in the left corner by the wall and Alex had been crawling around in the far end of it. He wondered how much work Kathryn had done.
***
"Thank you, Chakotay, for helping me with Alex," she said. They were sitting on her sofa and had just finished their meal. Both had changed shirts and she was wearing a grey vest and he a brown sweater.
"No problem", Chakotay smiled, put his glass down and continued, "I'm actually glad you let me, I like babies… even when they're crying." He smiled at her.
"Obviously you can make them stop," she said, looking into his eyes. They were sitting inverted, one arm resting upon the sofa's edge and one bent leg resting on the sofa. "I still think I smell of baby", Kathryn said, smelling her hand, "Yes… Smell," she said to Chakotay and held her hand in front of him. He gently took it and moved it so he could smell it. That little touch made Kathryn blush, and she was glad Chakotay wasn't watching. It was a very innocent touch and yet… Kathryn sighed inside her head; she'd long ago given up the idea of understanding how and why her body reacted around this man. Dropping her hand Chakotay smiled broadly, releasing his dimples.
"Yes, you do smell baby." She reached out for his hand.
"And you?"
"You're free to check for yourself." She smelled at it and then shook her head.
"No", she positioned herself back to her place, still holding his hand and while looking down at it she said: "You don't smell of baby." They were sitting like that for a moment, just relaxing.
"What are you doing, Kathryn?" he asked as she played with his hand, fiddling with his fingers. She smiled at him.
"You know me; too close to a hand I can't restrain myself."
"Glad you told me. I'll have to inform the crew the first thing tomorrow. Wear gloves or the Captain will go nuts!" They laughed. He sipped his wine with his left hand, letting her keep on playing with his right. She wasn't actually 'playing' with it, more stroking it. She was very tired and just sitting there taking it easy was just what she needed. And with Chakotay beside her, it felt close to perfect. He watched his hand as he began to move it, caressing hers. Their hands were playing with each other. He then moved to the wrist, his fingers walking up her arm. She didn't dare to look at him, once again he'd pushed her out on thin ice and she was very aware of the fact that she was blushing. His hand on her skin made her stomach contract, sending shivers down her spine. She realized they couldn't be sitting there all the time, one of them had to say something. She mentally took a deep breath and looked at him.
"Is this how you do with Alex, to make him sleep?" They were both surprised by the huskiness of her voice.
"What, do I bore you?" he smiled. She smiled back.
"No… But you do make me sleepy." She yawned.
"Hey, come here." He said, opening his arms and encouraging her to crawl into them. She did. She made herself comfortable with her head against his shoulders, her legs tucked up under her. Suddenly she burst out:
"You smell of baby here!" He had to laugh.
"What?"
"Just here," she said, pointing at a place on his neck, "You must've held Alex here when you where comforting him, and then you haven't washed it away." She'd put herself on her knees, her face against his. She bent over to smell. "Yeah," she said, "it's Alex's smell." She smiled at Chakotay. He hadn't been thinking about Alex's smell, he'd been thinking of hers. As she'd sat down in his arms, the smell of Kathryn Janeway had hit him, making his bloodstream go to warp speed and his heart beat faster. When she smelled his neck it had taken a lot of effort to control himself and now, with her smiling at him only ten centimetres from his face… He didn't smile back. Only gazed into her eyes.
He was doing it again. Giving her looks that she didn't dare to interpret, making her feel all upside-down. She swallowed. Kathryn thought about looking down, sitting back and saying something smart, but when nothing smart popped up in her head and her eyes refused to obey her, she abandoned that plan. Her head was totally blank. And when he reached out to touch her face… She blamed her tiredness; she blamed having to wake up at 0500 for the fact that she wasn't pushibg him away. He took a steady grip on her head and she had no idea of what to do. He pulled her head closer to his and when his lips met hers, she closed her eyes and relaxed the muscles she didn't knew she'd tensed.
First their lips were merely touching, but as both realized that the other one wasn't going to pull away they became more self-confident. Their tongues explored each other's mouth, and Kathryn couldn't help but moan once or twice. He let her mouth go and instead began to explore her neck. She leaned back and they lay down on the couch, running their hands over each other's bodies. She knew she should restrain herself, she should push him away; telling him that this was insane, crazy. She laughed inside her head; yes this really was crazy. She looked into his eyes as she kissed him urgently.
As they began to hint that they were about to take each other's clothes off, Kathryn had to restrain herself. She held up a hand, making Chakotay stop.
"As much as I want to do this, I don't want to it on my couch and we can't do it my bed because of Alex."
"Sure… Mama Janeway." First she stared at him, but as he smiled broadly she couldn't help but laugh. She clung herself to him and whispered in his ear:
"I love you, Chakotay."
"I love you too, Kathryn."