Souls Revisions
4. The End of the Road
By: AW
Disclaimer: I don’t own them we all know who does, but the story however twisted is mine.
Rated: MA
[3 months after ‘Life Changes’]
Kathryn leaned back against the couch. *Is this pregnancy ever going to end?*
She ran her hands over her very pregnant belly. She was now three days overdue, and feeling every minute of it. She felt a ripple in her stomach and knew that this was going to be the end of the road.
She heard her commbadge go off and she tapped her communicator, “Yes Jenn.”
“You coming mom? I’d like to see you before the wedding.”
“I’ll be right there honey.”
Kathryn carefully got up from the couch and prayed that her son would wait until after the ceremony to make his appearance.
Chakotay was on the bridge at the moment until Jennica’s wedding which would happen in the next three hours. Kathryn had been relieved of duty until after the baby’s birth and everyone knew to stay out of her way.
A cranky, hormonal, overdue Captain, was not something most of the crew wanted to deal with.
Chakotay sighed and tapped his commbadge asking for a response from his wife. When she finally answered he heard and edge to her voice. *Probably because she’s giving up her eldest to wedded matrimony.*
“Yes Chakotay, what is it?”
“Just wondering how you and the rest of the family were doing?”
He heard Kathryn sigh over the line, “We’re just fine thanks; you worry too much.”
Chakotay laughed, “See you at the wedding sweetheart.”
“See you then.”
And the line was cut.
[Jennica’s Quarters]
Kathryn breathed out deeply and rang the chime to her daughter’s quarters. Jenn quickly answered the door and Kathryn’s breath almost caught in her throat at how beautiful her daughter looked. “You look beautiful honey.”
Jennica smiled and hugged her mother tightly, “You did always know just what to sat mom.”
Kathryn grinned. “Let’s get you married then, Mrs. Kim.”
Jenn glared at her mother, “I don’t think so.”
Kathryn laughed and Jennical almost let her go to stare into her face as she felt her mother’s stomach tighten.
Kathryn brought up her finger to her lips in a shush movement, “No yet Jennica; I have to get you married first.”
Jenn nodded and the couple proceeded to the messhall where the ceremony would take place.
Kathryn stood statue still and waited for her husband and her daughter’s future husband to arrive. She nearly gasped as she felt a contraction come. She stared at the chronometer. *Two minutes, that can’t be good.*
Finally the men showed up and Kathryn watched Jennica emerge with her white wedding gown worn to perfection. She sighed and smiled at her daughter.
Tom approached her side and Kathryn knew that he had – over the past couple of years – earned the right to ‘walk her down the aisle’.
Kathryn watched as Chakotay and Harry made their way to the front of the room. Chakotay smiled at her showing his dimples and her knees almost buckled as a contraction began. She would not ruin her daughter`s special day.
The ceremony began and Kathryn watched as Harry’s face lit up at the sight of Jennica dressed all in white. She mouthed the words ‘I love you’ to her daughter and the crooked Janeway smile appeared.
Finally nearing the end of the ceremony, Kathryn asked Jennica to take Harry as her husband and Harry to take Jennica as his wife. The ‘I do’s’ resounded throughout the messhall and Kathryn grinned. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Harry swooned in and gave his blushing bride a kiss she would never forget. The crowd was silent as they watched the two complete their souls.
Chakotay walked up to his wife and placed a hand on the small of her back. He whispered “Just breathe.”
Kathryn stared at him through startled blue orbs. “How did you know?”
He cryptically answered, “I just did.”
Kathryn carefully placed a hand on her abdomen. “Not long now Chakotay.”
He smiled, “How far apart are they?”
Kathryn was about to answer him when she drew in a deep breath and screamed out as her water broke, soaking the floor beneath her.
She began panting and Tom rushed up, a tricorder in hand. He scanned Jennica’s mother and stared surprisingly at Kathryn as he knees buckled and the pain increased ten-fold.
“No, don’t push we have to get you to sickbay.”
Kathryn glared at him, “I can’t help it Tom; at this moment it’s out of my con troll!”
Chakotay watched helpless as Kathryn bore down. “Oh god Chakotay how big is this child?”
Tom got between her legs and pulled off the underwear that were stopping the child’s emergence into the world. “I can see his head!”
Chakotay leaned into her, “How long have you been in labour?”
“All day.”
She drew in a deep breath and felt the burn of the child trying to free himself from her body.
Tom piped up, “Come on Captain, just a little more and your son will be here.”
“Easy for you to say Tom.” She screeched, “You’ve never pushed something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a pea.”
Chakotay cringed at the description and sat behind his wife so that she was sitting between his legs. “I’m here for you honey.”
“Why do men always say that?” Kathryn yelled, “You have no idea.”
Chakotay sighed as he reached down between her legs and felt the baby’s head. “You’re almost there baby.”
Kathryn glared at him. “Men always say that too.”
Tom placed his hand over the baby’s crown trying to avoid ripping, when the doctor materialized. “I see that the Captain won‘t let something as small as childbirth stop her duties.”
Kathryn moaned and Chakotay stared at his wife. “Are you okay Kathryn?”
Kathryn didn’t answer as Tom checked the Captain and put his hand on her abdomen feeling the muscles tighten. “Okay Captain, push!”
Kathryn got all her energy focused and pushed the child’s head out into the world. She screamed as she ripped and Tom shook his head.
She stared at her husband, “I am never doing this again.”
Chakotay nodded his head and ignored the doctor coming up behind him, “I see you guys have everything in order; I don ‘t see why you even need a doctor?”
Kathryn glared at the E.M.H., “Shut up doctor.”
Kathryn felt another contraction and pushed again as the body of the child slipped out a little more. She reached down and placed her hands under the baby’s armpits and pulled.
The child was slippery but came out and opened his eyes, staring at his mother. He refused to cry and Tom came up and slapped the new baby on the butt, trying to elicit a sound from the newest Janeway.
Finally the baby let out a cry and Kathryn smiled. Her husband approached her, “Well looks like you finally got your son.”
“You did good.”
Kathryn clasped the child to her breast, “Well not bad for a day’s work. Gave one child away in matrimony and brought another into the world.” She paused and stared at the new baby boy, “He is so tiny.”
Chakotay chuckled, “You say that every time you have one of these slimy things.”
Kathryn laughed, “True, but he didn’t feel tiny coming out.”
The doctor cleared his throat, “If you don’t mind: I’ll take the Captain and the baby to sickbay to check them out.”
Chakotay nodded and called for transport. His newest baby boy and his wife disappeared in a flash of blue.
Tom went behind Chakotay and patted him on the shoulder, “Well looks like you finally got that boy you’ve been pining for.”
“Yeah and totally unexpected, I never thought we’d have another baby; I thought our child-rearing days were over.”
Tom stared at him, “Well in the Delta Quadrant, expect the unexpected.”
Chakotay grinned, “Well I’d better meet my family in sickbay.”
Tom patted him on the back one last time, “You’d better get going.”
And Tom watched as Chakotay left the messhall.
[Sickbay]
The doctor scanned the Captain one last time. “Well considering your age, how this baby came to be, and the fact that you delivered without real medical care; you didn’t do too bad.”
“Ever you admitted that Tom has become a competent medic.”
The doctor rubbed his chin, “True, true, but don’t tell him I said so.”
Kathryn almost laughed at that and then turned to the bassinette where her new son lay. She smiled and picked up the whimpering child clasping him to her breast. “There you go little guy, that’s all you needed.”
The doctor nodded his head and marvelled at how serene their Captain could be when she was in a family moment.
Chakotay walked into sickbay; the doctor looked up, “Well hello Commander.”
Chakotay smiled, “Just came by to see how my wife and son were doing.”
“They’re doing quite well Chakotay, the baby is great, and the largest baby so far, almost nine pounds.”
Chakotay shook his head, “Well now I know why my wife was screaming when she was trying to get this little guy out.”
Kahryn raised an eyebrow, “Little?”
“Well little in comparison to everyone else.”
The baby finally finished nursing and the Captain picked the child up to burp him. The baby let out a small burp and Kathryn pulled him away to hand him to his father.
Chakotay took the child and stared at his son. “So what do you think this little guy’s name should be?”
Kathryn’s voice came up, “I was thinking he looks like a Hayden.”
Chakotay stared at her, “Hayden sounds great.”
Chakotay stared at his new baby boy, “Hello Hayden, welcome to Voyager.”
Kathryn felt the tears begin in her eyes at the show of love that Chakotay had for his son, and she knew that this even that had happened totally unexpectedly, was for the best.
[Three months later – bridge]
Kathryn stared at the Kaylen, “We did nothing to your people, it wasn’t us.”
The man sneered, “Your markings are on a shuttle that was found on our eastern continent where the radiation began.”
Kathryn shook her head, “This is the first time that our ship has been near your system. We come from a planet 40,000 light years from here.”
Kathryn felt the ship shake as a torpedo hit the bow. “Tom, can you create a stable warp field? We need to get out of here.”
Tom’s fingers ran across the panels. “I’m sorry Captain, but the radiation that has permeated their atmosphere has created an unstable area of space that refuses to allow our engines to fire up.”
Kathryn sighed and turned to Chakotay. “Get down to engineering and see if you can help B’Elanna, we need to find a way out of this area of space.”
Chakotay nodded and headed towards the turbolift to make his way to engineering.
[Engineering]
B’Elanna braced herself against the panel of the warp core. “If the Captain doesn’t figure something out soon this ship is not going to survive this battle.”
B’Elanna sighed and went to tapping panels attempting to get the ship to stay in one piece just a little longer – if not for her – for the sake of her children.
She heard someone approach her from behind and realized that Chakotay approached her from behind. “What are you doing here, your skills aren’t exactly attuned for engineering.”
“Ha ha B’Elanna, my wife sent me down here to see if I could help you out.”
The ship rocked again and B’Elanna turned to Chakotay. “If you can help me out, I’m all for it.” She turned to him, “Hey maybe you can tell us an Indian legend that will get us out of this mess.”
Chakotay stared at B’Elanna, “You’re so funny B’E.”
“I thought so.”
Chakotay sighed as he felt the ship rock again. He watched as Seven hobbled over. She had been looking a little worse for wear lately, and that worried Chakotay because it concerned Kathryn.
Hayden had been born not three months ago, and despite the fact that she had lost the baby weight and had readjusted to family life with a new baby and the life of the Captain, he could tell the worry about Jennica weighed on her deeply.
Kathryn saw the deterioration and realized that for her first born daughter the end might be near.
That’s what Chakotay saw anyway.
The deterioration of Jennica, and in many ways the loss of the woman he loved.
Finally he got a hail from the bridge: Kathryn had found a way through the Kaylen’s defences, enough to get the room they needed to get out of the radiation zone and get away.
B’Elanna’s face showed relief, and Chakotay watched Jennica as she tried to keep going.
Little did anyone know that today would be the end of Jennica Paris.
END SOUL’S REVISIONS 4
TBC in PART 5