Dialogue submitted by Buzzgirl and K. Sylinia:

"Seven," Janeway growled.
"This is the last time I'm going to tell you. Do not touch the cucumbers!"

"He's pregnant."

 

Omar Cellos - Good News Wears No Clothes



“Good morning Kathryn” Chakotay said with a smile as he entered the Captain’s ready room. “I thought you might like a hand with completing the personnel reports.”

Captain Kathryn Janeway looked up with surprise from her mountain of paperwork. She noticed the broad smile on her First Officers face and a certain twinkle in his eyes. It was quite out of character for him to be this cheerful in the early stage of the Alpha shift. Truth be told, she usually avoided her first officer in the mornings; he tended to be a little grumpy which got on her nerves, particularly if she hadn’t yet had her morning cup of coffee.

“Oh? You’re volunteering for personnel report duty? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I just thought you could do with a hand, that’s all. You’ve been at it for hours, and I know how much you loathe these reports so I thought I’d help take some of the weight from your shoulders.”

“Well that’s very kind of you Chakotay. I was hoping to get them completed before my shift began, but aren’t you needed on the bridge”

“I put Harry in charge. He jumped at the opportunity; you know how much he likes to play ‘Captain’ when he has the chance.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” she said gleefully, dumping an armful of data padds in front of him, grateful for the help.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” she asked, walking over to the replicator preparing to fuel herself with her delicious vice. She wasn’t taking any chances that he would remain in such a cheerful frame of mind and wanted to be prepared for the inevitable mood swing. ‘Besides, how can anyone remain cheerful when doing personnel reports?’ she mused.

“Actually no thanks. I feel like something different today. I’ll have a leola root juice with carrot. Oh, and a dash of liquorish would be nice.”

Janeway froze and turned to look at him with an expression of revulsion. “Are you serious? That doesn’t sound very pleasant”

Chakotay shrugged. “I suppose it is a bit of a strange combination, but I just have a craving for it”.

“Well okay” she replied warily, setting his repulsive smelling drink down in front of him, it amused her to see him drink half the glass with one gulp, giving a delighted “aahh” at the end of it.

‘He is certainly acting strangely today’ she thought as they settled in to the time consuming task of evaluating the performance of all 153 individual crew members.

They had been working solidly for 10 minutes when Chakotay started to hum to himself. Janeway wasn’t sure what melody he was trying to imitate, but whatever it was, he was terribly out of tune.

“Chakotay.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you mind? I’m trying to concentrate.”

The tattoo on his forehead creased with a look of incomprehension.

“The humming. It’s very… off-putting.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t notice I was doing it,” he smiled and got back to work.

Janeway eyed him warily, and not for the first time today. She had never heard him hum before, and secretly hoped he wasn’t going to make a habit of it. She wasn’t sure she would be able to endure his ‘musical interpretation’ for any sustained amount of time.

He seemed to sense her eyes on him and looked up “You know Captain, I want to thank you.”

“Oh?” she replied, her interest peaked.

“Yes, for relaxing the ships policy on crew fraternisation. I know that you have wanted to keep our community as close to Starfleet protocols as possible, but I am glad that you decided to re-consider our unique situation out here in the Delta quadrant. You have made a lot of people happy this last week. Myself included.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so,” she replied, causing Chakotay to grin from ear to ear. Janeway smirked as she lounged back in her chair, folding her arms across her stomach ready to hear the latest piece of gossip. “I didn’t know you had your eye on anyone in particular.”

“I went on a date with Susan Nicoletti last night”

Janeway thought he looked very much like a lovesick teenager. ‘Well, that certainly explains his uncharacteristic chirpiness’ she nodded for him to continue.

“We had a romantic dinner followed by dancing in the holodeck, and later I performed a vision quest to discover her spirit guide.”

“Oh? And what is her animal?”

“You know I can’t tell you that; it can offend the spirit guide to talk about them with others.”

“Of course,” she answered, remembering her own experience with her spirit guide -the Lizard.

At first she was uncertain that Chakotay had found the correct spirit animal for her. She certainly didn’t think she had much in common with a lizard. However as she learned more about it’s totemic meaning, she realised that lizards actually had a lot of qualities that would be beneficial to her, a leader.

The lizard signifies wisdom and intuition, acknowledging the necessity to separate one’s self from others to accomplish what is necessary. The lizard recognises the power of dreams, having the ability to imagine different possibilities for the future. It is empowered in the face of fear and is highly sensitive to others and the environment around them. All of which have been character traits that she utilised in her role as Voyagers Captain.

“But I can tell you her animal is perfect for her,” he continued. “It is a resourceful, intelligent creature and possesses an exceptional ability to solve puzzles. No doubt a character trait that B’Elanna has found useful in engineering.”

“I’m sure she has,” she replied, noting the hint of pride in his voice.

“They are prone to changing direction quickly though,” he continued, no doubt considering Susan’s totem characteristics in context of forming a relationship with the young woman.

“Well then, you’ll just have to keep her on her toes, won’t you?”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he grinned.

 “Speaking of being kept on your toes, how is your budding romance coming along?”

“Chakotay,” she said apologetically, “you know I don’t like to discuss it.”

“Oh come on Kathryn. I told you about my date, you could at least tell me how things are progressing.”

She paused deciding how much she should tell him. “Slowly. Very slowly.”

“I see,” he said surprised. “Is that a good thing?”

“Yes! Of course it is. Seven’s so new to individuality; I don’t want to rush her into anything that she’s not ready for”

“You’re worried about rushing her! Ha” he laughed. “She was the one flying at you at Warp 10. I’m surprised she hasn’t proposed by now!” He burst into a low chuckle, obviously thinking the whole situation very funny.

“She has.”

“What?” that stoped him in his tracks.

“She proposed to me on our first date.”

“On the first date! What did you say?”

“I told her that it was too soon to be asking me to marry her. I suggested we should date for a while to see how compatible we are as a couple, to make sure she is sure of what she wants.”

“I’d say she already knows what, or should I say who, she wants.”

Janeway huffed, “Hardly.”

“You disagree?”

“Chakotay, I’m not convinced she really understands enough about being human to be sure of anything. She is so new to emotions, to being a human being. She says she loves me but what if this is just her first crush? If we move to soon and she changes her mind I don’t want it to harm the friendship we have developed. I care for her too much for that to happen.”

“I guess so, unless… well, has it occurred to you that she may know exactly what she wants? Maybe you should have more confidence in her feelings for you Kathryn. You really love her, don’t you?”

“Chakotay…” she started to brush him off

“Come on Kathryn, be honest with me. How do you feel about her?”

“I do love her, very much, but…her emotions are so fragile, so new to her. She’s… she’s like a child. Chakotay. I don’t want us to move too quickly.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but she’s not a child Kathryn… So how far have you uh…” he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“Now that’s none of your business,” she said, internally wincing when it sounded a bit harsher than she meant. She noted Chakotay didn’t back down like he usually would. Instead, he looked at her with his puppy dog eyes to coax her into divulging more.

“If you must know, we have only held hands, and… kissed… a couple of times. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how much longer I can hold her off. She’s very persistent.”

“Well, if you want my opinion you should…” he stopped mid sentence and looked at her with wide eyes. She was taken aback

‘Oh my god, what is he going to say’ she thought, becoming quite ill at ease.

He suddenly lurched up from his seat and made a mad dash for the replicator. He didn’t quite make it in time and a copious amount of vomit projected from his mouth and covered the wall, dripping black runny goo onto the carpet.

‘Urgh, that’s so disgusting!’ she thought to herself as he stumbled around the carpet, looking like a drunkard trying to find his footing. His eyes looked at her in panic, before they began to spin. Then in glorious fashion, he crumbled to the carpet, hitting his head on the metal railing in front of the replicator, and knocking himself out cold.

‘Oh wonderful!’ she thought surveying the mess. Chakotay was lying in a pile of his own foul smelling vomit and his left leg was twitching with a muscle spasm.

“Janeway to the Doctor, prepare for a medical emergency. Two to beam directly to sickbay.” And with that, they disappeared from the ready room in a sparkle of atoms and molecules leaving behind a foul smell of liquorish vomit.

**

The Doctor immediately sprung into action when Chakotay’s unconscious body appeared on the biobed.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“We were just talking, he seemed fine, but then suddenly he just threw up and became dizzy and fainted. He also hit his head on the way down.”

“Hmm,” the Doctor replied, running a medical tricorder over the nasty gash on his forehead.

Janeway looked on nervously by his bedside. The Doctor busied himself running scans with a sombre look on his face while she waited apprehensively to find out what was wrong with her First Officer.

“Hmm this is irregular,” the Doctor commented while looking at the results.

“He is showing signs of a foreign enzyme in his blood system, and it seems, hmm..” he looked intently at the read out, “Now this is peculiar.”

“What is it Doctor?”

“I’m detecting another life form inside his body.” He looked at her grimly “Let’s take a look”.

He input a series of instructions into the computer panel and a holographic representation of Chakotay appeared before them.

Janeway gasped audibly looking at the hologram with wide eyes.  She wasn’t sure what shocked her more; seeing Chakotay naked or the fact that there was a tiny life form growing inside his abdominal cavity.

“Ah-ha we have our answer,” The Doctor said smugly. “He’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant! What do you mean ‘he’s pregnant’? How is that possible Doctor?” Janeway demanded.

“At this stage, I’m not certain.” He punched in more commands as he spoke. “But I can tell you the embryo is definitely human.”

‘My First Officer is pregnant’ Janeway shook her head in disbelief looking at the evidence staring her in the face.

“It has positioned itself between his stomach and his large intestine and seems to have formed its own amniotic sack.”

“How could this have possibly happened?” Janeway asked.

“I suspect it has something to do with this mysterious enzyme, which is also present in the child’s molecular structure. It is a protein that seems to produce a biochemical reaction to accelerate growth. It has an intriguing genetic structure.”

His fingers moved like lightning across the key padd. “It appears to have attached itself to the ribonucleic acid of the child’s cells, increasing its development by a factor of 10:1.”

“Which means the gestation period with be just under four weeks,” Janeway calculated. “Unbelievable!”

“We need answers Doctor. Can we wake him?”

“Yes.” He prepared a hypospray and injected the contents into Chakotay’s neck with a hiss.

Janeway leaned over her first officer and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Chakotay,” she said softly, “Can you hear me?”

Chakotay’s eyes flickered open slowly and he looked from the Doctor to his Captain, looking a bit dazed, before pressing his hand to his head.

“Wha…what happened? Why am I here?”

“You collapsed in the ready room Chakotay. Do you remember what happened?”

“My head’s a little fuzzy,” he began slowly, as Janeway eased him up into a sitting position. “But I remember… We were talking and I began to feel nauseous, then… Oh Captain, I’m sorry” he said sincerely, “I recall I made a bit of a mess before I must have passed out.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” she said reassuringly, making a mental note to instruct the maintenance crew to clean up the mess before her next shift. “How are you feeling?”

“Besides having a headache, I actually feel okay; I feel great in fact! What happened to me Doctor? Is it serious?”

“You could say that,” the Doctor replied, sharing a meaningful look with the Captain.

“I believe congratulations are in order, Commander. You’re pregnant.”

“What?” Chakotay said shaking his head in disbelief. “You can’t be serious!”

“Chakotay” Kathryn said slowly and carefully so that he had time to process every word, “We don’t yet know how it happened, but your scans show that you are carrying a human child inside you, your… offspring. It is developing rapidly, at this rate you will be full term in just under four weeks. Take a look,” she pointed to his holographic recreation.

“I don’t believe it,” he replied. “How could this have happened?”

“We were hoping you could tell us Commander,” the Doctor replied.

“Well I don’t know! I mean obviously…” his words trailed away as he seemed deep in thought. “Who is the mother?”

“You, evidently,” the Doctor replied. Chakotay didn’t look impressed.

“If you are asking who the ‘father’ of the child is then I should be able to tell you that momentarily.”

Chakotay looked uneasy as the Doctor ran his medical tricorder over his belly, realisation hitting him as he looked at his own stomach and saw a tiny bump protruding below his belly button. Despite herself, Kathryn thought it looked very cute.

“The ‘father’ of your daughter Commander, is Ensign Susan Nicoletti.”

‘That must have been one hell of a spirit quest last night.’  She thought to herself, noting that Chakotay had turned ghostly pale, staring at the Doctor as if he had never seen him before.

“Well, we have been intimate,” Chakotay finally confessed, looking somewhat bashful. “But if anyone was going to become pregnant from our encounter, wouldn’t it be her? After all, I’m a male!”

“Well, obviously we are not dealing with a conventional pregnancy Commander,” he said, somewhat needlessly. “Did anything else out of the ordinary occur in your little encounter last night?”

“Nothing I can think of that would explain this!” he replied, pointing at his stomach in bewilderment.

“Hmm,” replied the Doctor. He disengaged the hologram and activated his comm. badge. “Doctor to Ensign Nicoletti, please report to sickbay.”

“On my way Doctor,” the disembodied voice filled the room.

“Don’t worry Commander, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Janeway added, feeling the need to offer some comfort to her anxious officer.

As they waited for the engineering officer to arrive, the Doctor filled Chakotay in on the information he had learnt about his atypical pregnancy. Janeway took the opportunity to look over the data but her mind wandered, considering what this all meant in terms of commanding a ship with yet another child on board. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea.

The every day pressure of keeping her crew safe was hard enough as it was, without having the extra burden of worrying about young children. She often had to put her ship and its crew in harms way. It was one thing to put her trained crew at risk; danger was part of the job of being a Starfleet officer, however it was another matter entirely to command a ship with innocent children on board.

Janeway heard the door slide open and turned expecting to see Susan Nicoletti, but what she saw made her heart flutter wildly in her chest.

Seven of Nine stood in the doorway, carrying an unconscious crewmember. She looked like the gallant hero plucked straight out of a scene from one of her trashy romance novels, as she held the woman with ease in her sturdy arms.

“Doctor, Ensign Tal Celes requires your assistance.” Her demeanour and voice was as composed as usual as she held the young woman effortlessly. “She fainted in Astrometrics.”

Despite her concern for the Bajoran, Janeway was utterly captivated by the sight she beheld. Tal Celes was snuggled up to Seven’s bosom, her right arm was curled up to her chest and her left was dangling loosely in front of them. She imagined what it would be like to be held in Sevens arms like that and, much to her dismay, her heart fluttered at the thought.

“Put her on biobed three Seven,” the doctor said, coming across the room to assess the wounded crewmember.

Seven laid the young woman onto the bed and was pushed aside as the Doctor tended to his new patient.

Janeway, having composed herself as best she could, walked to her side and put an arm on her shoulder. “Are you okay Seven?”

“I am fine Captain.”

“I’ll have to perform an in-depth bioscan scan, but if my suspicions are correct, both patients are suffering from the same condition.”

Janeway was alarmed. “Are you saying she is also pregnant Doctor?”

“Without a doubt Captain. I am also detecting the presence of the same enzyme in Ensign Tal’s biological scan. But as to where it came from, I don’t know”

“Are you… pregnant?” Seven asked, looking at her girlfriend.

Janeway shook her head and motioned towards Chakotay who was sitting on a biobed looking very thoughtful.

Seven raised an eyebrow.

“It looks like we have an epidemic on our hands.”

**

Seven entered the ready room unannounced some hours later to see an unexpected sight. Captain Janeway was asleep at her desk.

Her head was nestled in her arms and one hand still held a padd that was dangling from its limp fingers.

She noted it was a report the Doctor had prepared earlier, detailing the latest pregnancies on board the ship. Lieutenants Paris and Torres were both pregnant with a half-Human half-Klingon baby each; Jennifer Delaney was carrying the child of Crewman Noah Lessing, and Vorik was carrying the child of someone the doctor wouldn’t specify, in the name of doctor/patient confidentiality.

Seven took a moment to study the sleeping woman. She was breathing softly, causing a strand of hair in front of her nose to rise and fall in time with her breath. It must have tickled her as she instinctively twitched her lips with irritation.

She noticed with some amusement that there was a small amount of dribble on the corner of her mouth. Even so, it was a pleasure to see her in such an unguarded peaceful state. Seven moved in closer to get a better look at the woman she loved completely.

Suddenly Janeway’s head snapped up as she woke in fright.

“Oh, Seven, it’s you!” she said, holding her hand over her heart as if to stop it beating so rapidly.

Seven jumped back. “I have never seen you unconscious,” she said, trying to divert her attention from the fact that she was staring at her beloved just inches from her face.

“I was just taking a little power nap,” she said defensively rubbing her eyes and running a hand through her hair. “I have been working since the beta shift”.

She yawned, as if to prove her point, extending her arms above her head and seemed to stretch every muscle in her upper body.

“You should get some proper rest, you are fatigued.”

“I’m fine Seven, but thank you for your concern. Now, what can I do for you?”

“I have completed my report on the reproductive properties in the enzyme the doctor discovered. Here are my findings.” She placed the padd on the desk continuing to speak as Janeway rubbed her neck, her head drooping as she kneaded her overworked muscles.

“Once inside the body, the substance coats itself over the DNA strand of the individual. When it comes in contact with a second DNA strand that contains a unique set of characteristics it integrates the two and fertilization occurs.”

“Interesting. Do you have any idea where it came from?”

“Not at this stage, but I intend to investigate the matter.”

“Very good. Keep me informed,” she picked up the padd and started to read the report. Seven knew that she meant the action as a notice of dismissal but she hesitated, and decided to relax the Captains ‘no fraternising while on duty’ policy.

“Kathryn, I believe I can assist to alleviate your muscle ache.”

Janeway looked up at her. “Oh?”

Seven walked behind her chair and placed her hands on her shoulders manipulating her muscles in small rounded movements. “Just relax.”

Janeway closed her eyes and let out a deep breath giving herself over to the wonderful sensations Sevens fingers were causing. “Mmm, I could get used to this.” she purred.

Seven skilfully located the knots in her shoulder muscles and kneaded them with steady pressure until they began to disappear. The relief Janeway felt was conveyed to her in a series grunts and contented moans.

She moved her hands up to caress her neck and pressed her thumb at the base of the skull to relieve any pressure build up, eliciting another groan from the euphoric woman.

Seven allowed her tubules to slide out from the metallic mesh on her left arm and they snaked about in the air as if stretching to enjoy their freedom. Slowly she let them slide up Janeway’s hairline, caressing her skull with gentle, steady strokes.

“Mmm, Seven, what are you doing?” It was clear from the tone that the question was not issued in protest.

“I have adapted my tubules so that I can use them to massage you, don’t worry there is no risk of assimilation. They are now equipped with uninvasive receptors at the ends that will provide my cortical node with informative data about what it touches.”

“Really? That could be very useful”

“Indeed, for example I can tell you that you are releasing a high amount of endorphins, your heart rate suggests you are relaxed; you are hungry and your hormone level indicates you are becoming aroused.”

Janeway didn’t reply. Seven supposed she didn’t know how to respond so she continued massaging her in silence.

Janeway stretched her head and shoulders smiling. “That felt wonderful! Where did you learn how to do that?”

“I have been taking lessons in the holodeck. I wanted to find a way to help you relax and to alleviate your headaches and back pain.”

“Thank you darling,” she said as she stood, pulling her close and rewarding her with a long slow kiss. Seven felt the adrenalin rush through her body and took the opportunity to slide her hands down the curve of her back to rest on Kathryn’s butt and squeezed gently.

She felt Janeway wiggle away to prohibit the fondling which only made Seven squeeze harder, trying to savour the feel of her Captains pert little bottom before her grasp was broken. Janeway grinned at her presumption.

“Tonight I would like to demonstrate more of my massage techniques to you,” Seven said huskily, feeling extremely invigorated.

“After that little teaser, how can I refuse?”

Seven smiled. “It is a date” And then kissed her again. “In the meantime you should eat something. Would you like to accompany me to the mess hall for lunch?”

“Acceptable,” she echoed the Borg’s familiar phrase, holding out her arm.

“Then I suggest you catch up on sleep, this ship needs a well rested Captain who can think clearly. You don’t have to work on this right now, let the crew do their jobs Kathryn.”

“Maybe you are right” she said. “Come on, let’s have lunch.”

**

The mess hall seemed busier than usual; however Neelix, as usual, made it a point to treat Janeway and Seven like nothing else but royalty.

Janeway knew he had been overjoyed with the news of their relationship and he made it a point to tell her whenever he had the chance. Such openness about her private life embarrassed the Captain to some extent, but she took it in good humour, mostly for Seven’s benefit, who seemed to enjoy being referred to as ‘a love bird’ and other such affectionate terms.

Janeway eyed the menu on the padd as she listened to Neelix engage Seven in idle chatter. Recently she had been encouraging Seven to make a concerted effort to increase her conversation skills; however when the conversation turned to talking about their relationship, Janeway had to cut in.

“Neelix, can I order the lasagne please.”

Seven raised a metallic eyebrow at the audacity of the interruption. She had recently checked up on the fundamental rules of conversation, and that outburst was definitely in breech of etiquette.

“… as I was saying, my favourite feature would be her eyes, although just recently I have established that she has a very nice bottom, so I may have to reconsider my decision when I have more data. I have not actually seen it yet, but I shall keep you apprised if you like.”

Neelix giggled and Janeway covered her eyes to hide her loss of composure, glad it was also there to cover the small smile.

“Uh, that’s okay Seven, I’m not sure the Captain would appreciate us talking about her, uh… bottom.”

“Thank you, Neelix,” Janeway replied offering Seven the menu.

“Very well” Seven said accepting the menu passed to her by her dining companion. “I will have a small portion of the salad.”

“A Sub-space Salad and a Light-year Lasagne coming right up.” Neelix cheerfully acknowledged and disappeared off to the kitchen.

“I apologise Kathryn, the dynamics of social etiquette are full of many perplexing inconsistencies.”

Janeway spent the next few minutes patiently explaining some of the finer points of using discretion, and why she could compliment ones eyes but not their bottom or certain other areas in public. Seven nodded earnestly processing the information away, glad to add the knowledge to her social understanding.

The interaction affirmed Janeway’s belief that they were doing the right thing by taking their relationship slowly.

Deciding how much to introduce to Seven, in the way of a relationship was a tad confusing. Seven had made leaps and bounds in her progress in some areas socially, but occasionally she would do something totally inappropriate, and more often than not highly embarrassing, but utterly adorable to her new girlfriend.

Neelix returned with their meals. “Here you are Captain, your ‘Light-Year Lasagne’. He placed the plate in front of her, “and Seven- your fresh Sub-Space Salad, grown organically I might add.” He said proudly and began to fuss putting a napkin over both their laps.

“The seedlings we picked on that M-class planet a few months back have been thriving in the hydroponics bay. They have recently begun to provide fruit; it has been thriving at a tremendous rate so soon we’ll have fresh fruit and vegetables in abundance.

“Let me know if you want seconds Seven. That salad has been popular, Tom and B'Elanna came back for multiple helpings of it last night.”

Janeway’s head snapped up. “Tom and B'Elanna? Tell me Neelix, has Chakotay also eaten these vegetables?”

“Well yes, as a matter of fact he came in last night with Susan Nicoletti. She had the Greezy-Neelix burger, which was replicated, but Chakotay had the Slipstream-Stirfry, which is chicken on a bed of salad that was grown in hydroponics.”

Seven picked up a cucumber and coated it with the creamy dip and brought it to her lips.

“Don’t eat that Seven!” Janeway demanded.

“Explain.” Seven requested the cucumber dangerously close to her lips.

“Neelix, who else has eaten this produce?”

“Well, let me see… he started counting his fingers, “There is Tom and B'Elanna, Chakotay, umm… Megan and Jennifer Delaney, Crewman Andrews, Crewman Chell, Tal Celes…”

“I believe we may have found our prime suspect.” Janeway interrupted. ‘It sounds like the produce from hydroponics is spreading the enzyme that is causing all these pregnancies on the ship.”

Seven pulled out her tricorder and scanned her food. “I am not finding any trace of the enzyme, however there is a similar compound that shares many of its genetic properties.” Seven swiftly put down the tricorder and brought the cucumber to her mouth.

"Seven," Janeway growled. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you. Do not touch the cucumbers!"

But it was too late, Janeway watched the vegetable disappear past the Borg’s lips, she chewed on it briefly before Janeway watched helplessly as the bulge slid down her throat as she swallowed.

Janeway was dumbstruck. “Why did you do that?” she gasped loudly.

“Logically we will need to test your theory Captain. I volunteer to act as the test subject.”

Janeway just stared at her, speechless so Seven continued. “I find it a pleasing notion to generate a sub-unit with you. Now all I require is a sample of your DNA. A kiss would be acceptable.”

Seven puckered her lips and angled them towards her girlfriend, waiting for the kiss that would impregnate her with her own child.

Janeway put her head in her hands for the second time in as many minutes. ‘Is this really happening to me?’   Neelix looked on with wide eyes, staring at her, waiting for a response. She felt his eyes on her, as well and looked up to see every eye in the mess hall looking at her. She felt like she shrunk to two centimetres tall.

“Everybody: Stop eating immediately!” she announced to the room.

“Seven, come with me, we need to get you to sickbay.” She picked up her hand and almost dragged her to her feet “be careful not to touch anyone.”

She paused looking down at her own hand that was interlocked with Sevens and dropped it immediately.   Seven was gazing at her with a tranquil expression on her face.   ‘Oh my God, could that be enough? Did Seven and I just conceive by holding hands?’   She abruptly remembered that she was in a very crowded room and looked around her to see many eyes staring back, each one she was sure was reading her very thoughts. She blushed despite best efforts.

“Come on” she said, gathering up her dignity, “Let’s see what the Doctor has to say about this”.

**

“Seven, how could you be so irresponsible? Don’t you realise that having children is not something that you decide to do on the spur of the moment? I can’t believe…”

Seven tuned out to the sound Doctors relentless lecture as he scanned her thoroughly. She was busy trying to make eye contact with Janeway who was being strangely elusive, keeping to herself in the corner of sickbay.

The Doctors lecture droned but she wasn’t listening to him, his voice becoming nothing more than background noise. She was unsuccessful in capturing the Captains attention.

“…pregnant.”

The word caught her interest, so she replayed the last sentence he spoke from her eidetic memory. “…but I am pleased to say you are not pregnant.”

Seven remained silent to hide her disappointment and heard a sigh escape from Janeway’s lungs. It seemed to be issued in relief which troubled Seven. Did Janeway not wish to procreate with her?

“However…” the Doctor continued. “You do have the reproductive enzyme in your system, so I can only assume it is a matter of time until you come in contact with a DNA strand that will begin the conception process. That is, unless we find a way to remove it from your system before that happens.”

“Make it your priority,” Janeway ordered, snapping into command mode.

She tapped her comm. badge barking orders to various crewmembers throughout the ship, including scans of the hydroponics bay, the closure of the mess hall temporarily and ordered all crewman who ate any vegetables to report to sickbay.

Seven managed to make eye contact for a fleeting moment before Janeway looked away again. In that brief moment she glimpsed a storm of uncertainty in her eyes.

Janeway called the Doctor into his office for a lengthy conversation while Seven waited for them patiently, reviewing her own medical file. Chakotay entered sickbay and came to speak with Seven once he realised that the Doctor was pre-occupied with the Captain.

“Hello Seven. Don’t tell me you are pregnant too!”

“No, Commander. Not yet” She said and could not hide the disappointment from her face.

“Oh, what is that supposed to mean?”

“I do have the reproductive enzyme in my system; therefore the next person with whom I share biological matter with will no doubt facilitate reproduction.”

She looked at him sharply. “Do not come any closer”.

He blanched as if wounded. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my distance. So, that’s quite a dilemma, what are you going to do?”

“It is my preference to convince the Captain to procreate with me, however, she seems to be… reluctant to agree” she admitted, saying the words aloud made her feel anxious.

“Well you can’t blame her Seven! I mean it is another life we are talking about here, having a child… phew, it’s a big step. I still can’t believe it is happening.”

“How did Susan take the news?”

“Oh, she is a little stunned, like I am. We have only had a few hours to get used to the fact that I am going to have our child. The Doctor explained that my body is preparing itself to host the child so I am here for an examination to determine how exactly it will affect me. One result that we know of is that my brain is periodically producing an extraordinary amount of serotonin, which seems to be effecting my emotions. It makes me feel, well kind of ecstatic at times.”

As he was talking, Seven couldn’t help but notice that his uniform looked a little tight around his chest. “That is not the only result to come of your pre-natal body changes Commander.”

Chakotay followed her line of site and looked down at his chest. “My God!” he announced, walking over to the mirror.

“You’re right!” He stood looking at himself from different angles in the mirror, then opened the neck of his grey undershirt and peeked underneath. “Oh my God, I have… I’m growing breasts!”

He started to take off his shirt to have a better look before he hesitated, glancing at Seven seeming to have suddenly become self-conscious.

“Excuse me Seven,” he said and disappeared through the lavatory door to take a look in private.

Several other crewmembers entered sickbay lining up to see the Doctor. He came out of his office and began setting up scans on each of them. Janeway headed directly for the exit.

“Captain,” Seven called to her, “Will you speak to me?”

Janeway walked over to speak to her but kept herself at a certain distance.

“You do not wish to procreate with me.” Seven stated feeling unhappy. “Do you consider me an unworthy mate?”

“Oh no, Seven, it’s not that.” She said, trying to find the words. “It’s just that I don’t think I am ready to be a parent yet. It takes a lot of responsibility raising a child. I have enough on my plate to worry about as it is by commanding this ship.”

“Then you are saying you will not mate with me?” Seven was heartbroken. “But I do not wish to have anybody else’s child but yours. Your genetic material is superior to all others. I will not accept having a child with anyone else. Our child would be perfection Kathryn.”

“Oh Seven, I know our child would be. I’m not hesitating because I don’t want to have a child with you. It’s just that… this is all happening so quickly. Having a family is something that we should be prepared for, something that should be planned carefully.”

“I understand Kathryn. I apologise for placing you in this predicament. I realise now that it was selfish of me.”

“That’s alright Darling. You do know how much I care for you, don’t you?” Seven’s face changed as she beamed at the words.

“I do.” Seven reached out to hug the other woman in response, until she remembered the predicament she was in. “I would very much like to kiss you now.”

Janeway smiled, “Me too. But until we know more, you are not to have any physical contact with anyone. We have established that you can’t… procreate by just skin contact, the Doctor believes that there must be an exchange of bodily fluid for conception to take place.” Seven nodded. She had deduced as much.

“However I don’t think we should take any chances until we understand this better.” Janeway continued. “The Doctor is going to put you behind a force field to limit the risk of… accidental conception.”

“For how long?” Seven asked, not liking this turn of events.

“Until we find a way to safely remove all traces of the enzyme in your system.” Seven’s face once again reverted to a frown.

“And if we can’t? I don’t want to stay locked away forever.”

“If we can’t then… we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said seeming quite edgy.

“Very well.” she replied, not wanting to push the matter.

Janeway nodded and signalled for her to follow as she crossed the room to one of the empty sections of sickbay. Seven looked like she was walking to her execution. She certainly felt like she was as the invisible barrier was activated that secluded her from the rest of the ship.

They made their goodbyes through the force field and Seven watched her disappear from sickbay. She did not want to see her go, but had to acknowledge that it was indeed a pleasure to watch her leave.

**

Janeway awoke with a start sitting up in bed, instinctively pulling the sheets around her in comfort. She was sweating, her hair stuck to the skin around her forehead and neck and her heart was beating wildly.

She had been dreaming.

She reached out to hold onto the fragmented images in her mind, determined to recall them before they began to fade away, replaced by thoughts generated from her waking mind.

The dream began with Seven. She looked as beautiful as ever as she carried a baby in her arms, their baby. They were happy; she remembered the warm feeling of love and contentment that surrounded them. They felt at home in her childhood house in Indiana. She remembered taking Seven to her favourite spot on the lake running through her parents farm and watched as Seven and the baby played in the water.

The sun was setting painting the sky with red and violet streaks. As she watched, she noticed a small object coming towards her; it grew larger evoking a sense of fear in her as she recognised it as a Vidian ship. Suddenly she was back on the bridge of Voyager, ordering the crew to take evasive manoeuvres. She felt helpless as a boarding party materialised all over the ship, a malicious group of Vidians who were trying to harvest the crew’s internal organs for spare body parts. When she tried to fight back, she found she had the baby in her arms and couldn’t attack the alien without putting the baby down, but she knew that if she did, the baby would be without protection. She watched in horror as the Vidians sacrificed the crew one by one while she looked on helplessly.

She shuddered at the vivid images that were already beginning to fade. The latter part of the dream left her feeling a sense of fear and panic so she took a few deep breaths to regain her equilibrium.

The dream had brought her anxieties to the surface of her mind. In truth, it was the same old battle that she fought regularly in the dead of night. Her mind was continuously battling between the need to be Voyagers invincible Captain, and the needs of the woman behind the larger-than-life persona.

Throughout her journey in the Delta quadrant, she had always put the needs of the ship above her own personal wishes. For seven years she had always sacrificed a part of herself to fit the archetype of an altruistic Starfleet Captain.

Her recent decision to relax the crew fraternisation guidelines was born from the necessity of the unique set of circumstances that Voyager found themselves in. Like her ship, Kathryn found herself in unfamiliar territory as she began to veer away from the time-honoured protocols that had always served her well.

Even though the decision was borne out of a logical necessity to adapt to their unique situation in the Delta Quadrant, Kathryn was still uncomfortable with it. Her logical mind told her that she was not being selfish; however she couldn’t escape the thought that if Seven hadn’t tried to pursue her romantically, that she may have never have realised the need to relax the policy for the whole crew.

There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Seven. She had fought her strong feelings about her for years, not quite believing that the young woman would ever return her feelings. But she had, and Kathryn could barely contain her joy. She insisted on taking things slowly, for Sevens benefit.

But now it seemed that her decision a few weeks back, that would allow her to entertain the notion of dating a crewmember was rapidly getting out of hand. Her decision was no longer about whether or not to date Seven of Nine, but suddenly had become a question of whether or not she was going to start a family with her. It was all moving quickly beyond her control.

The dream had also highlighted her concern that by starting a family she would potentially become vulnerable. Her father couldn’t balance a Starfleet career and family life, what made her think that she could do any better? Her first priority had always been taking care of her ship and crew; doing whatever needed to be done to get them home safely. Could she afford to split her priorities? Would it be fair to the crew? Would it be fair to Seven?

With these thoughts running through her mind, she once again drifted off to a restless sleep plagued by a mixture of sweet dreams and vivid nightmares.

****

Seven of Nine was having a difficult time concentrating on the information she was trying to read on her data padd. Her newly reclaimed mind no longer found enjoyment from menial tasks as they once did, and in recent times she found it had a tendency to wander.

She was daydreaming of a future in which she and Kathryn Janeway shared a collective of three. A family. It was all so perfect. They would live together in the Captains quarters sharing their activities in the morning, working as normal during the day, eating meals together in the evening and sleeping in her large bed at night, all while raising a sub-unit comprised of their own genetic mixture.

She smiled to herself as she wondered if the child would have red or blonde hair. Perhaps it would be of short stature and have a fiery temper, or maybe tall, like herself with a fondness for strawberries.”

“A penny for your thoughts Seven.”

Seven was pulled out of her imaginings and looked over at Megan Delaney who had issued the question. Megan had also been kept in sickbay overnight, under her own containment field, having also ingested the pregnancy enzyme.

“What’s on your mind?” she clarified. “You have a grin on your face. I think that’s the first time I have ever seen you smile. If you don’t mind me saying, it suits you.”

“Thank you,” Seven replied, not having realised her feelings of well being had projected themselves onto her facial features. “I was… considering a potential scenario that may result from our current situation.”

“In other words, you’re thinking of becoming a mother, huh?

“Correct. I find the idea pleasing.”

“Yeah, I do too,” she replied, “Especially given that my twin sister is having a child. I always imagined us raising our children together.”

She moved off the bed to get closer to her new found friend, and whispered, pointing to Neelix. “I don’t think everyone is as pleased with the idea…”

Neelix was pacing his own corner of sickbay, twiddling his fingers in his whiskers. He had been muttering to himself endlessly, which wasn’t uncommon from the vibrant Talaxian. He even seemed to have conversations with himself, asking questions and then answering them in a second persona.

‘He is indeed an unusual creature’ Seven thought, remembering that he also talks to inanimate objects.

“I have to admit, the idea of having a child is also scary, don’t you think?” Megan continued.

“No. I do not,” Seven replied bluntly and honestly.

“Really? I find it a daunting prospect to be responsible for the well being of a defenceless infant. We will have to do everything for them. Feed them, bathe them, and they will rely on us to teach them everything they need to know as they grow into adults.”

The words elicited a squeal from Neelix, who was eavesdropping on the conversation. He increased the speed of his busy fingers, whose nervous energy had shaped his facial hair into curly ringlets.

“We will have to adapt,” Seven replied.

“And then there’s the issue of who’s going to be the ‘father’. Having a child with someone is a big step, and would seriously alter your relationship with them.”

Megan remained silent for a few moments, when Seven didn’t volunteer any more information, she continued. “Is that what you were thinking about Seven? Have you thought of who you would want to be a parent with?”

Seven nodded. “Captain Janeway is the only individual I would consider having a child with.”

Seven was sure that Ensign Delaney had already heard of her relationship with Captain Janeway. The news had been all over the ship, especially seeing as she kissed her for the first time on the busy dance floor at Neelix’s Prixin party. Seven had since realised that she should have been somewhat more discrete whilst trying to woo her love interest.

“Lucky Captain,” Megan replied with a smile.

“I do not think the Captain would agree,” Seven admitted. “She has stated that she is not ready to have a child with me.”

“Well I’m not sure if I am ready either, but the facts of the situation are as they are. If the Doctor can’t find some way of reversing this then, it seems that we are going to have to… mate with someone, whether they are prepared for it or not.” Then she added as an afterthought, “Perhaps you should remind her that there are plenty of others on this ship who would want to… assist you to conceive.”

Seven thought about that for a moment, not sure if she agreed. “Why would the fact that others are willing to mate with me convince the Captain to do so?”

“Because Seven” she said, trying to find the words to explain, “If she thinks she has some competition then it might… encourage her to come to a decision, it might… make her just a touch jealous, if you know what I mean.”

“Wouldn’t that be considered deceitful?”

“Oh, I’m not suggesting you lie or anything. I’m just pointing out that you could play on her emotions to your benefit. I mean, well, that’s what I did.”

“What do you mean” Seven asked.

“Well… and make sure this stays between you and me Seven,” she lowered her voice to a whisper and looked at her sharply to emphasise her point.

“Agreed,” Seven replied, eager to learn from Megan’s experience.

“Well” Megan continued. “Ken Dalby has been chasing after me for a while now. You know, Dalby from Engineering, have you met him?”

“Yes, I know who Crewman Dalby is,” Seven replied. She wondered if Megan was aware that she had a photographic memory. Studying the crew manifest was one of the first things she did when she realised that she would have to make this crew her new collective.

“Well Ken has been trying to get into my pants for a while now…” Seven nodded, she didn’t quite understand the colourful phrasing, but she grasped the meaning none the less. “…And he’s not too subtle about the whole thing. But I have feelings for Harry Kim. I have for a long time, but Harry is very different from Dolby. He’s kind of shy and, well, I can’t seem to get him to make the first move.”

Seven nodded, it was true that Harry was not very forth right when it came to women. Seven remembered a time when the young Operations officer had, what is known as a ‘crush’ on her, but he seemed unable to express his intentions with any success, and for Seven, the whole episode became just another confusing interaction, and they had since both moved on.

“I know that Harry fancies me. We have been flirting for some time now, so when I told Harry I loved him and asked if he would consider having a child with me, I thought that he would be as excited as I was, but… he said the same thing as the Captain said to you. He said that he ‘was not sure if he was ready for the responsibility of raising a child’, that ‘it’s so out of the blue’ blah, blah, blah…” she trailed off waiving her hand in the air.

“Well it’s out of the blue for me too, how does he think I feel! So do you know what I said to him?” she continued in a hushed tone “I told him that it was fine. That it is his choice to do what he wants, but that I also have a choice too, and although I would prefer to have a child with him, that I would consider having a child with someone else, and pointed out that Kenneth Dolby would be more than willing.”

Seven raised an eyebrow, “And that worked?”

“Well, sort of.” Megan admitted. “At first he was shocked and a bit flustered and said he needs to think about it. I think it helps that he doesn’t like Ken very much. He thinks he’s a loud mouth and I think he has always been a bit jealous of the amount of attention he pays me. But that is just the problem, he doesn’t want me to be with anyone else, but he won’t attempt to do anything about it. I’m just giving him a not-so-subtle push. I guess I’m giving him an ultimatum. If he wants to be with me and have a child with me, then this situation should help him realise that. If not…”

“Then you will procreate with Crewman Dolby?” she finished for her

“I don’t know.” Megan admitted. “Maybe. I guess I’m in a unique position because my twin Jenny will also be having a baby, and ever since we were little girls, we have always wanted to raise our kids together. We always do everything as a pair; it’s like a two-for-one deal. So I guess I’ll be happy to just have a child, even if it is with Ken and raise it along with Jenny.” She paused, “But… more than anything, I want to have Harry’s child, to start a family with him.”

“I believe I understand,” Seven replied thoughtfully. “Perhaps a similar strategy of evoking the emotion of ‘jealousy’ will work with The Captain.”

“Seven,” She seemed a little nervous; “Just so you understand me, I’m not suggesting that you outright lie to the Captain. I’m just suggesting that you may want to… stretch the truth a little, so she can see the situation from a different viewpoint to help her get her priorities straight”.

“I see,” Seven replied.

‘Perhaps this is what is known as a ‘mind-game’, she reflected. Human culture was still quite perplexing, however she was certainly eager to utilize any strategy that would assist her in her single minded pursuit to convince Janeway into having a family with her.

** It was a very tired Captain Janeway that took her seat in the briefing room the next morning. She hadn’t been able to get much sleep the night before, and when she did manage to drift off, she was plagued with an endless series of vivid and sometimes disturbing dreams.

She was in the process of reviewing the Doctors last report when she heard the familiar sound of the automatic doors opening admitting a small group of senior staff members into the room. They took their seats and she continued reading, waiting for the others to arrive, sipping her coffee.

The doors opened another time, admitting more of the Senior Officers into the room. Janeway heard a chuckle and turned her head toward Harry Kim, giving him an enquiring look. Harry abruptly smothered his reaction, assuming a poker face, and becoming somewhat preoccupied with the padd in front of him.

She glanced around the room to discover the source of the laughter. When she looked toward Commander Chakotay she realised the answer was staring her right in the face. She choked on her coffee in shock of what she saw.

She immediately regretted her loss of composure and wiped the coffee spill from her chin. “Good morning Commander”.

“Captain.” Chakotay replied with arms folded across his chest in a futile attempt to hide the two very large bulges that had seemed grown overnight.

She noticed that Chakotay’s new physical form seemed to emphasise the feminine features of his face. His lips were somewhat pouty; she could almost imagine them covered in red lipstick, and his dark eyelashes seemed a lot thicker than usual. He obviously had to replicate a new uniform; his breast size was certainly considerable.

“Kathryn, please,” Chakotay whispered raising an eyebrow. “I’m not Seven you know.”

Kathryn suddenly became aware that she was starting rudely at his chest and had the good grace to blush, especially in response to his last comment. ‘I don’t stare at Seven’s chest! Or do I?” she asked herself.   ‘Apparently so.’  

When Tom Paris and B’Elanna Torres entered the briefing room, she tried to suppress the grin that was rapidly forming on her lips, but was incapable of keeping a straight face as Toms breasts bounced up and down as he walked.

“Sorry we’re late Captain. Tom had a problem getting dressed.”

She was somewhat appalled when a series of spasms erupted from her belly forcing her to giggle in a way very unbecoming of a Starfleet Captain.

The laughter was a benediction to the other senior officers who had been trying, with varying degrees of success, to withhold in their own amusement, and a collective sound of laughter erupted throughout the room.

“Hey Tom, rice rack.” Harry commented. “So what kept you so long? Couldn’t decide on whether you wanted a pink bow on your new bra or not?”

“Hey cut me some slack. These bras are a pain to get on.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re more of a ‘taking the bra off’ kind of guy.”

“Harry, Harry, Harry. I bet you wish you had some of these to hold on to,” he grabbed Harry’s hand and placed it on his chest. “This is the closest you’re going to get to a pair for a long time.”

The look on Harry’s face caused Kathryn to laugh even harder despite her best effort. Tom seemed to be taking his new physique in his stride, where as Chakotay sunk deeper into his chair, trying to hide from view.

She chastised herself for being so rude; however the sight of her male crewmembers sporting impressively large breasts was just too much to bear. Try as she might, she couldn’t contain the shudders of laughter that erupted from within her.

“I’m sorry…” she managed to say, eyes wet with tears. “I think your new physiques will take some getting used to Gentlemen.”

“You can say that again, Captain,” Tom replied. “However I have been getting a lot of attention from the male members of the crew. I don’t know how you girls do it; no body looks me in the eye any more!”

“How are you all feeling?” she asked the three pregnant people in the room, trying to control her amusement

“We’re fine Captain.” B’Elanna answered. “But there have been a lot of changes to get used to, besides the obvious… physical changes, of course.” B’Elanna stared blatantly at her husband’s chest as the said the last few words, causing him to stir uncomfortably in his seat.

“Not to mention certain other symptoms,” Tom added mockingly, “…like some rather intense mood swings.” B’Elanna frowned at the not-so-subtle insinuation.

“At least I seem to be able to make it to the bathroom if I need to be sick, unlike some people I can mention.” Although her statement was meant for Tom, Janeway caught some discomfort from Chakotay, quickly darting his eyes towards her, and away again.

Janeway started to feel a little uncomfortable as the couple bantered back and forth, with each retort the conversation was becoming more and more personal. She was relieved at the timely interruption caused by the Doctor entering the room, which stopped the repartee from getting out of hand.

The Doctor turned on the medical channel and Seven of Nine appeared on the view screen. She didn’t want to miss the meeting for having been still in isolation in sickbay. Janeway could also see Neelix hovering in the background sporting an interesting new look to his sideburns.

“Well then, now that we are all settled, let’s start the meeting shall we?” she waited until everyone was settled once and for all before she began.

“We have determined that the enzyme is indeed responsible for the pregnancy epidemic that has been affecting the crew. The fresh produce that is responsible is now in containment in the biometrics lab. Doctor, have you had any success finding a way to extract the enzyme from the affected individuals?”

“I’m afraid not Captain. It has fused with the genetic structure of the individual, stimulating certain genes into action vigorously. There is no safe way that I know of to remove the enzyme without causing irreparable damage to the host.”

“The enzyme is indeed a resilient and fascinating little creature,” he continued spiritedly. “It has also bonded with the DNA structure of the offspring and is growing so rapidly that the gestation period has been shortened to just under four weeks. I believe it highly likely that the growth acceleration will continue once the children are born.”

“Whoah, wait a minute Doctor, what does that mean exactly?” Chakotay asked.

“I mean that the infants growth spurt will most likely be extremely rapid, accelerating them to the biological stage of adulthood within a few short years. As to the children’s emotional maturity, I can not say. It is possible that they may posses accelerated learning capabilities. Only time will tell.”

The Doctor paused to let the information sink in, particularly for Tom, B’Elanna and Chackotay’s benefit, who seemed particularly attentive to this latest news.

“I’m pleased to say that all parents and their foetus’s are healthy,” he continued merrily, no doubt revelling at the chance to be in the spotlight. “The ‘mothers’ are all rapidly experiencing quite a few common, and uncommon, symptoms of pregnancy. Increased nutritional needs, mood swings, the occasional fainting spell to name a few, but nothing that is cause for concern. It’s all detailed in my report.”

“Just how many children are we talking about here, Doctor?” Harry asked.

“I am pleased to say that we will be having eight fine editions to this crew, five girls and three boys. There are two half-Klingon half-Human babies, courtesy of our Chief Engineer and Pilot.” Tom and B’Elanna immediately straightened up as they felt all eyes in the room fall upon them.

“There are also: three pure Human babies, a Bajoran/human, a Bolian/Human, and a Vulcan/Human. Quite a mix.” Then he added as an afterthought, “And potentially three more on the way.”

Janeway breathed in sharply, cursing herself for doing so when the sound turned a few heads. She wondered if Seven had heard her through the comm. link so she turned her head slightly to look at her image on the screen. She couldn’t read her expression.

“I apologise for being so indelicate,” the Doctor added, his holographic ears no doubt picking up on her slip up. “But it may be days, weeks or years before we find a cure. I see no medical reason to discourage them from conceiving in this manner if they choose to, rather than being locked away in isolation while we try to find a solution, if indeed there is one to be found. We have to consider the possibility that there may not be a way to safely remove the enzyme from my three patients in sickbay.”

“Are you saying they have chosen to be released from sickbay Doctor?”

“Two out of three have Captain. Neelix is still desperately holding out for a cure, however, Seven and Megan have decided that they would like to take the opportunity to become pregnant and would like to be released from sickbay. I can’t say that I blame them.”

Janeway frowned and noticed that Harry Kim also felt uncomfortable with the news. She wondered why he reacted as he did. It was almost as if he was in the same boat as herself.

“What do you mean, ‘you can’t blame them’ Doctor?” Harry asked

“Well, all things considered, it is an extremely efficient way to produce offspring. Natural fertilisation between cross species, Klingon and Human for example, can be quite rare and difficult to accomplish, but it poses no such difficulties for our little friend. It selectively chooses the stronger gene of the two parents to be the dominant gene in the child, resulting in the offspring being, well superior to a naturally conceived child.”

“Same gender couples are another example,” the Doctor continued. At present the chosen method of fertilisation occurs in the lab, and is nowhere near a perfect solution. Female parents will only produce a female child, the reason being that females only have the XX chromosomes. Male parents, both having a set of XY chromosomes, are indeed be able to have either a male or female child, however the foetuses would have to mature in a gestation chamber rather than inside the body, and miss out on the bonding process that develops between parent and child. With the help of our enzyme, same gender couple can produce child of any gender, and carry them inside the body regardless of whether the carrier is male or female.”

“It sounds like the Ferengi would love to get their hands on some of our vegetables,” Tom added. “There would be quite a market for it back home.”

“Yes indeed, Mr Paris. It is a remarkable scientific discovery that will no doubt be in high demand when we reach the Alpha Quadrant. The accelerated gestation period is also an attractive feature of reproducing this way. And of course the task of reproducing is no longer solely in the hands of the female; the male may decide to carry the child. All in all, it is an important scientific breakthrough.”

“Yes it is Doctor. However, for now I want you to devote your efforts into counter acting the effects.” Janeway ordered.

“Of course Captain,” the Doctor replied. “However it is posing me somewhat of a difficult challenge, so far it hasn’t responded to any of my experimental procedures to eradicate its presence.” Janeway shot him a stern look, and he added quickly, “But I shall redouble my efforts”.

Janeway nodded, satisfied. “So, we will have to prepare ourselves for the arrival of eight new individuals, or possibly eleven,” she conceded.

The meeting continued as they discussed the need to organise pre-natal enrichment programs and parenting classes for the soon-to-be parents. They then discussed the need for creating a crèche where all the children could be supervised and have their needs attended to while the parents were working.

When the news reached the crew there had been no shortage of volunteers to help them care for the children and they decided that the two most suitable crewmembers were Samantha Wildman, because of her experience with raising children on a starship, and Ensign Tal Celes, who had been looking for a excuse to be transferred from Astrometrics into a position that was more akin to her skills and interests. Janeway was pleased that she had managed to uphold her promise to Ensign Celes that she would find a position that utilised her creativity and unconventional thinking.

After two hours, Janeway dismissed the meeting, feeling a sense of trepidation at the changes that were taking place on board her ship. As they were filing out the door, she requested that Tuvok, her closest friend, stay behind for a personal conversation.

She noted that Seven was trying to catch her attention, and promised that she would come and visit her when her shift was over. Seven seemed displeased at having to wait; however accepted the condition with a nod of her head.

As soon as they were alone, Tuvok sensed the transformation his friend undertook, from the Captain to Kathryn. Her command persona drifted away and an extra weight seemed to rest on her shoulders and she slumped back into her chair.

“Tuvok, I need you advice,” she said as she ran her hand through her hair.

“Of course Captain, how can I assist you?” Tuvok replied.

“Tuvok, I am afraid that if I have a child with Seven, my ability to command this vessel will be effected. I need some of your Vulcan logic right about now.”

“I have anticipated your request for my assistance captain, and I have one question for you. Do you want to have a child with Seven of Nine?”

“Yes,” she admitted softly after a few moments of silence. “I love her more that I have ever loved anything in this world, and I wish for nothing more than to have a family with her. But that is what scares me, Tuvok. There is a very good reason why Captains don’t take their families along on missions. It would make me… less of a Captain… split my priorities. I can’t afford to let the crew suffer for my selfishness.”

“I do not consider it a selfish notion to want to reproduce. Have you considered the possibility that having a child may make you a better leader?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We are no longer a typical starship, Captain. We are a community, and you are our community leader, as well as our Captain. Perhaps if you accept the role as a parent you would be better equipped to anticipate the growing needs of an evolving community.”

“Perhaps,” she acknowledged. “However when push comes to shove, in the heat of battle I don’t want any distraction from making the tough decisions that effect the lives and well being of this crew. Having children would make us, would make me vulnerable. My job is to protect this ship and crew as a whole, not to concentrate my effort on protecting individuals within the crew.”

“On the contrary, Captain. It is my belief that we would have a better chance of defeating those that intend to cause us harm, if we have a greater love for that which we protect. You will not become weaker by finding love, but you may increase your sense of community preservation if you ‘have more to loose’ in a sense.”

That piece of advice made Janeway stop and think.

“I can’t exactly take time off work to raise the child Tuvok. I need to be on call at all hours and Seven is a Department Head with her own responsibilities. Our work is very demanding. Who would care for the child?”

“As we discussed, the whole of the ship will be in a state of upheaval, with many new arrivals all at once. It is logical to assume that responsibility for raising and caring for the children will be shared by the general crew. There will certainly be a community nursery set in place to look after the children’s well being and educational needs during the parents work shifts.”

“Yes, you are right. These children will be as much children of Voyager as they will be children of their biological parents.”

“It seems to me that if you truly do want to start a family with Seven, that now would be the perfect time. So the question still remains, do you want to have a child with Seven of Nine or not? I believe it is the only question that matters in this instance”

Janeway nodded accepting his argument. “Thank you, Tuvok.” She said as she rose from her seat, a gesture that indicated the end of the conversation. “You have given me a lot to think about.”

“You are welcome,” he added as he motioned to the door. “I will be here if you would like to discuss the matter in more detail.”

She smiled at him as he left and took her seat once more, exhaling deeply, pondering his words of wisdom. She still felt somewhat uneasy as she recalled the vivid images of her dream, being helpless to defend her ship with a baby in her arms. However Tuvok’s logical counsel had helped her to see that perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as she first imagined.

With one of her fears allayed, she began to feel better about the idea of having a child with Seven, and smiled as she imagined a petite adorable bump under Sevens belly button, just like the one Chakotay had.

For the first time she truly allowed herself to wonder at what having a child would be like from her own personal perspective. She had to admit that the idea of having a family with Seven was very alluring, she was so totally in love with the young woman.

Only one question remained that made her hesitate. ‘Does Seven truly love me back?’

**

Seven of Nine waited patiently in sickbay for the Captain to arrive.

She had been busy planning her strategy to entice Janeway to mate with her, deciding to use Megan’s suggestion of evoking the emotion of ‘jealousy’.

Moments earlier Ensign Kim had left sickbay. He had come to visit Megan and practically begged her to have a child with him.

Seven quickly formed a new respect for Megan Delaney as she watched with fascination as Harry Kim poured his heart and soul out to Megan, telling her he loved her, flattering her with a list of her most appealing qualities, telling her why he would make a suitable mate… he had even brought her flowers.

Seven reasoned that Megan Delaney certainly knew a thing or two about attracting the companion of her choice, so Seven decided that her suggestion was worth a try on Kathryn.

Seven was pleased to see Janeway when she finally entered sickbay (even though she wasn’t bearing flowers). She made a beeline towards her and her heart fluttered in her chest when she saw her magnetic smile.

“How are you feeling Seven?” she asked through the invisible barrier that separated them.

“I am fine,” Seven replied; glad to finally have a moment to see her. “How are you feeling?”

“I have been thinking about you. I’ve missed you,” Janeway said, her voice low to preserve some privacy between them since they were not alone.

Seven felt pleased at the idea that Janeway was thinking about her when she was not around. “I have been thinking about you too,” Seven admitted, and she had been, constantly.

“How are you coping with being here in sickbay? It couldn’t have been easy on you these last few days.”

“You are correct, Kathryn. It has not been easy,” Seven acknowledged, “I would like to be released.”

“I know. As soon as the Doctor gives you the all clear, you are free to go.”

Kathryn remained silent for a long time, and looked into her eyes as if she was searching for something.

When moments passed by without her response, Seven began to realise that Kathryn was attempting to find the words to tell her something important, she become concerned, fearing that she was going to tell her that she had decided not mate with her.

“Captain, I wish…”

 “Seven, Do you…”

They both stopped. “I’m sorry, Janeway said. “You first”

“Very well,” Seven began. “Captain I wish to inform you that if you will not conceive with me, there are others on this ship that have expressed an interest to impregnate me.”   Seven saw her face drop, instantly turning a few shades paler. Her eyes widened and she took a few steps backwards to sit on a biobed.

‘Good, my mind game is working.’  Seven thought. ‘She is becoming jealous’.

“It is my wish to mate with you Kathryn. However if you will not, I have made arrangements to secure another in your place.”

Janeway looked shocked and upset. “But… but…” she kept saying, unable to string her sentence together. “Who?” she finally spat out.

Seven looked over at Megan for assistance. Seven hadn’t intended on out-right lying and she didn’t have any idea what to say, she didn’t have much experience in the field of telling untruths on the spur of the moment. Megan looked at her bizarrely, trying to communicate with her surreptitiously. Seven had no idea what she was trying to say, so she had to think quickly.

“Does it matter?” she finally responded.

“But I… I thought that you said you wanted to procreate only with me, what happened to the ‘my genetic material was superior to all others’ speech?”

“I do wish to mate with you Kathryn; that is what I am saying. But it is sufficed to say that this other person also possesses an impressive collection of chromosomes with which I would not be opposed to blending with my own.”

Janeway gave Seven a long hard look, shaking her head and blinking was about all the response she seemed able to muster.

“I see,” she said after what seemed like an eternity.

Seven was hoping that she would now announce that she was the one who wanted to conceive with her, but the Captain did no such thing. She simply sat there, blinking, breathing, shaking her head and obviously thinking very hard.

“Seven, I came here to… I wanted to… ” but she was unable to say what was on her mind.

Seven became aware of the fact that she did not enjoy being the cause of the distressed look that was written all over Janeway’s face. It made her feel an emotion she identified as ‘guilt’, and for a moment she considered coming clean, confessing that there was no other person, that it had all a deception.

“Never mind. I have to go; we’ll talk later,” Janeway said quickly, jumping off the bed and moved toward the door. Without waiting for a response, she quickly headed towards the exit.

“Shit!” Megan Delaney said when Janeway left.

“Seven, what are you doing?”

“I was attempting to evoke the feeling of jealousy, like you recommended.”

“Yeah, but… I didn’t mean for you to just blurt it out like that. You could have used a bit more tact! I thought you would at least hear what she had to say, seen where the conversation was headed, then maybe slip in a subtle comment here or there.”

“I have an incomplete knowledge of human culture, and have been told that, at times I lack proficiency at using ‘subtlety’ and ‘tact’.”

“I can’t believe you’d just come out with an ultimatum like that!”

“Then I believe you do not know me very well,” Seven answered, bluntly as always.

“Well, yeah I guess. Come on” she said moving her chair closer to Sevens section. I think you and I need to talk.”

**

Kathryn Janeway walked the corridors of Voyager in a daze, paying no attention to the crewmembers that nodded at her as she passed. She did not acknowledge them. She just followed her feet until they stopped, apparently having reached their destination.

She looked up. She was in cargo bay two.

She had been taken to the foot of Sevens alcove, to the place where she had spent countless hours worshiping her as she regenerated, the place where she had fallen in love.

She was devastated. ‘She doesn’t love me after all. She may have convinced herself that she does, but… how could she love me if she is willing to give me up so easily?’ She has already selected someone to replace me!’

She felt hurt and confused. She was expecting the conversation to have ended with one of the happiest moment of her life. Once she had Seven convince her that she was in love with her, she was going to agree to create new life with her.

But now, the situation has changed. Seven had practically told her that there was someone else who was more than suitable to replace her, someone with ‘an impressive set of chromosomes’ that rivals her own.

She felt sick to her stomach. Would they replace her in the bedroom too? Would they let Seven experience all the wonders of being intimate with another person, all the experiences she herself denied Seven for fear that they were moving too fast?

‘Of course they would.’ She answered herself. ‘You should not have been such a stick-in-the-mud, squirming away and stopping her when she tried to escalate our physical encounters. Face it Kathy, you should taken her to bed and fucked her brains out a long time ago, when you had the chance.’   ‘Good God, why didn’t you say ‘yes’ to her when she was on one knee proposing to you? The love of your life asks for your hand in marriage, and you say ‘no’! For a smart woman, Kathryn Janeway, how the hell can you be so stupid?’

Her inner voice was harsh, but inside herself she new the reasons that she had been so hesitant. It was to protect Seven, to make sure that she knew what she was getting into before she jumped in head first. Janeway couldn’t bear the thought of being just an ‘unfortunate mistake’ on Sevens road to claiming her individuality, she cared for her too deeply to risk the impact it would have on their relationship.

But now she didn’t have the option of taking it slowly. If she didn’t have a child with Seven, this mystery person with perfect DNA would.  Janeway started to feel angry as she wondered who the hell it could have been.

Megan Delaney, perhaps? The look that Megan and Seven shared when she asked her the identity of this person, was not lost on Janeway and made her suspicious, but she figured it was equally as likely that Megan and Seven had formed a bond of friendship since being in isolation together.

‘I can’t believe that someone had the audacity to offer to be the one to get Seven… my Seven, pregnant, right under my nose. They must have waltzed right up to her in sickbay and...’  an idea struck her.

“Computer” she ordered. “Display a list of crewman who have been to sickbay in the last 12 hours. Visitors only.”

She reviewed the short list of names and she raised an eyebrow in interest at the last name to appear on the list. Harry Kim.

“Sickbay to Captain Janeway”

“Go ahead” Janeway replied slapping her comm. badge.

“I have released the patients from sickbay a few minutes ago. All except Mr Neelix who has decided to remain confined. I still have not had any success removing the enzyme. However I have begun working on an ulterior method. I will keep you informed of my progress.”

“Thank you Doctor. Janeway out” she cut the channel.

“Computer, locate Seven of Nine”

“Seven of Nine is in Ensign Kim’s quarters.”

‘Oh my God.’ She immediately jumped into action, racing out of the cargo bay. ‘It WAS Harry. I have to stop her before she conceives with him.’   Bloody Harry Kim. She couldn’t believe it. Harry had always been so loyal and faithful, how could he do this to her! She reminded herself that he had always had an attraction towards Seven, you would have to be blind not to see it the way he used to go weak at the knees whenever he saw her. She had to stop them.   “Deck 6,” she yelled at the turbolift computer. ‘It may already be too late!’

The lift seemed to be moving painfully slow as she paced the small space expending some of her nervous energy.

‘Oh my God’ she kept repeating to herself, ‘I might miss my chance to have a child with her!’ Her mind conjured up an image of a small baby with a mixture of Harry and Seven’s features; he would have Harry’s Asian features, with large round eyes and a little dimple in his chin.

She considered contacting Seven through the comm. link, but what would she say? Certainly what she had to tell her was something that needed to be expressed face to face. She just hoped by the time she got there that it wasn’t too late.

The lift finally reached deck six and Janeway sprinted out of it the doors as soon as it opened. Ensign Baithart had to dive out of her way as she tore past him so that he wouldn’t get knocked over in her mad dash. Unfortunately it made him crash into Crewman Briggs and the three of them fell into an ungraceful heap onto the deck.

“Excuse me, Gentlemen,” she said hurriedly, as she crawled over them on hands and knees.

“Ooo, sorry,” she announced to Crewman Briggs as she stepped on his fingers, but didn’t look back as she scrambled awkwardly down the hall.

In her rush, she accidentally ran right past Harry’s door, cursing as she retraced her steps until she found Door 105-2, Harry’s quarters.

She didn’t ring the bell to request admittance, she simply used her Captains code to unlock the door and barged her way in.

“Don’t kiss him, Seven!” she yelled as she dashed through the door.

Seven was standing on the right of the room, and Harry Kim was in the process of walking towards her, his back towards Janeway. Just a few more steps and he would be in reach of her beloved girlfriend.   He’s moving in for the kill, the bastard!’ Janeway assumed, as she jumped over the couch in one fowl swoop and rugby tackled Harry to the floor.

They landed on the floor in a mess of tangled limbs. Harry Kim let out an undignified ‘Oomph” as the Captain landed on top of him, winding him severely.

“You stay the fuck away from her, Harry” she said, as she struggled with the squirming Ensign on the floor, making sure he stayed down, even though he was trying hard to be released from the weight pinned upon him.

“Seven,” she said through her struggles, “I love you. I want you to have my child, not his.”

“But Captain,” Harry began, “I was only trying to help…”

“I know what you were trying to do Ensign,” she emphasised his lower rank unconsciously. “You stay the fuck away from my girlfriend! Do you hear me?”

“What the hell is going on here?” she heard a voice say, noting with some surprise that Megan Delaney was also in his quarters, coming out of the ensuite.

“Captain?”

Janeway stopped struggling with Harry, not that he had been putting up much of a fight. He seemed to be still recovering from having the wind knocked out of him from their initial fall.

For a moment all four people froze looking at one another.

Seven seemed to have a shocked, but somewhat amused expression on her face looking at her girlfriend and Harry on the floor, Janeway was sitting on him pinning down with his arms above his head.

“Kathryn, the situation is not what you imagine, please release Mr Kim,” Seven spoke.

Janeway sensed that Seven was sincere, and looked down at Harry, a pained expression on his face as he struggled for breath.

Slowly she toppled herself to the side, removing her weight from him, making sure she gave him a force ten glare as she did. It must have worked because he didn’t take the opportunity to get up off the floor, instead rolling on his side, hugging his rib cage.

“Seven, please tell me you haven’t kissed him… tell me it’s not too late?”

“You want to have a child with me?”

“Yes, yes,” she said, crawling on her knees at Sevens feet. “Yes, my darling, I want to have a child with you. More than anything.” She looked up all of six feet to look into her eyes. “Please tell me it’s not too late?”

“It is not,” Seven said with a smile as she reached down for her hand, and helped her to her feet.

Kathryn’s first reaction was to kiss her right there and then. It seemed a natural occurrence accompanying a declaration of love. She moved in for the kiss, but Seven hesitated, as Kathryn had done so many times before with her, and moved her head out of the way.

“What’s wrong?” Janeway asked anxiously, she was breathing heavily, and her heart beat strongly, still feeling the adrenalin course through her veins.

“Before we begin I want to make sure that you know the truth. I… have not been completely honest with you Kathryn,” Seven began, looking abashed.

“What do you mean?” Janeway said uncertainly.

“There is no one else. There never has been. It was only ever you that I wanted to conceive with. I am afraid that in my attempts to convince you, I have been somewhat dishonest.”

“Never anyone else?” she muttered, hardly believing what she was hearing. “But then why..?”

“I was attempting to help you make up your mind. I was attempting… to make you jealous.” She admitted, lowering her eyes. “If you do not wish to conceive with me now, then… I will understand.”

Janeway couldn’t believe it. She looked down at poor Harry Kim, struggling for breath on the floor. Megan was by his side, her arm on his shoulder helping to ease him into a sitting position.

“I am afraid that I am partly to blame Captain,” Megan confessed. “I might have said something to put the idea into her head. Seven was acting of my advice. Although it was not the way I intended it to be used, mind you. I invited Seven over here so that we could work out a plan to put things right again,” she added quickly.

Janeway could hardy believe she had been had taken in. “So you don’t want Harry to be the father of your child?”

“No, Kathryn, I want you. I have only ever wanted you. You were the one who showed me what it is to be an individual. The one that made me realise that I was in error to believe that I could find perfection in the sum of an infinite number of voices. You are perfection Kathryn. A single voice, a single individual, complete with flaws and shortcomings, but I want to spend a lifetime understanding… loving the perfection that is you.”

“Oh Seven,” Kathryn’s heart melted. “That was the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.” She hugged her tightly.

 “Seven,” she whispered into her ear. “I can’t say that I am pleased that you tried to trick me, but I now understand why you did it, and I forgive you.”

She looked into Sevens eyes, “But darling, I had already made up my mind that I wanted a child with you. That’s why I came to sickbay to tell you, but first I wanted to talk with you, to satisfy certain… misgivings I had about your feelings for me.”

“Misgivings?” Seven looked into her eyes questioningly.

“I wanted to be certain that you loved me,” she answered truthfully. “This is all moving so fast, one day we start dating, the next we are thinking of forming a family and I just wanted to be sure... sure that you loved me back.”

“Kathryn, how can you doubt my feelings for you? I love you with everything that I am. I don’t know how not to be in love with you.”

“Thank you darling,” she hugged her again. “I believe you, I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

“Will you procreate with me now?” Seven asked, Janeway noticed her lips twitching in preparation.

“Uh…erm,” she heard from across the room as Harry had cleared his throat, with a grin on his face and an arm wrapped around Megan’s waist.

“Come on darling, let’s go to my quarters.”

**

Seven’s heart felt like it was about to burst with anticipation as Janeway led her by the hand back to her quarters.

She led her into the empty room stopping a few feet inside. The doors closed, blanketing the room with near darkness. The only light to fill the living space was a faint red glow from a nearby nebula

As they stood facing each other, Seven thought that she was looking at the most beautiful woman in the universe. The red illumination radiating from the nebula twinkled in her eyes and brought out the highlights in her hair. The vision took her breath away.

Janeway graced Seven with on of her magnetic smiles. Entranced, Seven slowly traced the curve of her small face with her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before running her fingers lightly across her lips. She moaned involuntarily as Janeway wrapped her lips around a slender digit and sucked on it gently.

She closed her eyes enjoying the sensation and felt herself sway unsteadily. She braced herself by putting a hand on Janeway’s hip and was delighted with the feel of the woman in front of her.

Tentatively she moved her hand up her body her hand coming to rest on her breast. She expected Janeway to remove her hand, or squirm away as she had done in the past, but to her delight she only moaned in appreciation. Seven silently thanked Omega and began to squeeze gently, enjoying her new found privilege.

Janeway raised a hand cupping her face. “I love you Seven”.

Seven allowed Janeway to gently guide her head down closer to close the gap between their lips, feeling how soft they were as they melted into her own. Her body responded, sending a wave of arousal coursing through her.

Janeway heightened the kiss, tracing Sevens lips with her tongue, nibbling on her bottom lip playfully. Seven parted her lips, granting admittance and groaned as she embraced her with her mouth massaging her lover’s tongue against her own.

Seven lost all concept of time and let her feelings for this woman, and the intimacy of the act, overwhelm her. Her hands moved of their own volition and traced the curve of her body to caress her bottom, sighing in contentment as she played with the soft curves, which had long been denied.

After what felt like an eternity of blissful contact, Kathryn pulled away from her smiling. “Darling, how do you feel?” she asked

“I feel wonderful,” Seven replied with a rare smile of her own.

“Do you think that you have conceived?”

“I am uncertain,” she responded.

“I think you should come with me and make sure,” she said huskily, leading her into the bedroom.

Seven gulped and had to remind herself to breathe as she followed.

Janeway was standing beside the bed, a look of raw lust in her eyes as she looked at Seven. She licked her lips like a lioness, making Seven excited to feel like her prey.

Janeway walked toward her, taking off her uniform jacket as she closed the space between them. Seven was momentarily dumb struck, gripped with fear, anticipation and intense arousal. She was glad Janeway had decided to take the lead because now that she was here in Kathryn’s bedroom, as she wished for so many nights, she didn’t have a clue how to proceed.

Janeway reached up for the pins in Seven’s hair undoing the tight bun, letting her hair fall about her shoulders in waves. She reached behind the long neck, undoing the clasp that fastened the biosuit. Seven felt the cool air touch her back as it was loosened and pulled slowly down to her waist.

She heard Janeway gasp quietly, looking at her breasts with a hungry expression before burying her face between them, massaging her cheeks into the softness of them. She latched on to a nipple, already stiff with arousal, sucking the tiny nipple eagerly while Seven ran her hands through her hair.

Janeway looked up at her with fire in her eyes, and peeled off the rest of the biosuit, running her hands all over the newly uncovered flesh.

“Oh Seven, do you know how perfect you are? You are the most beautiful creature I have even seen!”

Seven beamed at the compliment, relieved that Janeway didn’t find the implants scattered across her body repulsive. She reached out, pulling Janeway’s grey t-shirt out of her uniform pants. “I wish to see you now Kathryn.”

Janeway smiled and lifted her hands above her head as Seven pulled her shirt off. Seven unfastened the pants and pulled them down to the floor, leaving the Starfleet Captain in her underwear.

She became frustrated with the latch of Kathryn’s bra as she tried unsuccessfully to remove the unfamiliar item. Her intense desire to remove all barriers between them, saw her grabbing it from the front and she ripping it off, her eyes bulging at the sight of  breasts that wobbled free.

“Ooo, Seven,” the Captain murmured huskily, in that deep tone that sent shivers down her spine. Seven was pleased that she had managed to illicit such a pleasing sound, that she attempted to recreate it by similarly ripping off her panties.

Janeway growled and practically threw Seven on the bed straddling her, attacking her neck like a hungry vampire. Seven gave herself over to the sensations, and melted into oblivion when Janeway’s mouth reached her ear, licking the lobe ravenously.

Seven purred as she let Janeway discover her body, running her hands over every inch of her in long strokes. Kathryn’s tongue joined in on the action, licking random locations throughout Seven’s body, loose strands of auburn hair fell as she did, caressing like the strokes of a paintbrush.

“Kathryn!” Seven squealed when Janeway reached a particularly sensitive place between her legs. She had never expected the sensations to be so strong, and marvelled at the amazing feelings that her lover was capable of producing.

Janeway ran her right hand down from the breast it was currently squeezing, past her abdomen, through her light patch of damp hair to place a finger on the place that her lips had resided.

Seven’s back arched up off the bed at the intensity of the gentle touch, and she scrambled away, up the bed, breathing heavily.

“Whoa, easy,” Kathryn exclaimed, “Just breathe,” she said as she caressed her thigh. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Seven replied, a little embarrassed. “I apologise, I was not prepared for the feelings to be this level of intensity. I felt a sudden build up of pressure; it was… ticklish”

“Do you want to stop?” she asked holding her breath.

“No, I do not wish to stop,” she answered, appalled at the thought, reaching her hand out to touch Kathryn’s hip, feeling the warmth of  skin through the contact. “I wish to make love to you.”

“Good,” her lover purred, wrapping herself around the long body, stroking her upper arm lovingly, “because I am dying to make love to you. Just relax.”

Janeway kissed her gently, and Seven once again let herself become overwhelmed with the sensations her lover was causing. She ran her fingers over Janeway’s slight frame, mapping the contours of her body, revelling in the feel of naked flesh against her own.

Janeway continued kissing her as she let her hand once again follow the path down Seven’s body caressing the naked skin she found on the way down.

She lightly stroked the skin of her upper leg, caressing the sensitive area where her leg joined her pelvis; slowly she made her way closer to the centre of the throbbing.

Seven forced herself to breathe as her lover began fondling her tiny nub, she circled her finger back and forth, reaching lower to tickle her entrance and back again. As Seven became wetter, she felt Janeway pushing the tip of her finger into the opening with each downward stroke before returning again to her engorged clitoris.

Seven once more felt a build up of pressure. She marvelled at the unbelievable talent that Janeway possessed to make her feel this way. If she had known that making love could have this effect on her, she would have insisted they do it a long time ago.

All conscious thought began to drift from her mind as she felt Janeway enter a finger inside her. She felt her internal muscles clinging on to the slender digit, moaning as the finger withdrew and penetrated her in a steady rhythm that began to spiral into a whirl of sensations.

She felt Janeway’s tongue once again on her sensitive nerve centre, sucking and caressing her, bringing her to a peak that was almost too much to bear. She screamed as her climax descended on her, tremors’ coursing through her helpless body like electricity.

She fell limply back onto the bed, tears filled her eyes at the intensity of the moment and she found herself crying involuntarily.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Janeway reassured her, crawling up her body to cuddle her and to hold her in the aftershocks of her first orgasm.

She whispered sweet words of love and comfort as Seven slowly came back to herself.

“Kathryn, I never dreamed it would be like that. You are a most remarkable lover. Thank you for loving me.” she hugged her closely

“Thank you for allowing me to love you,” her lover replied.

Janeway continued to coddle her lover, making Seven feel loved and protected in the aftermath of such an intense experience.

“Kathryn, I wish to pleasure you now, but… I don’t know how”

“Everything you do is pleasurable to me, Darling. Just follow your instincts.”

Even though they were hugging tightly, arms and legs entangled in one another’s, Seven didn’t feel close enough to her beloved, like their skin were a barrier impeding the mingling of their souls. She wanted to feel one with her, to join their bodies into one being.

“I wish to discover you,” Seven said honestly. “To experience every detail of you.”

She closed her eyes and began caressing her soft skin, tracing the outline of her face, memorising every curve, every detail that belonged to this small, perfect woman. She felt Janeway smile under her fingertips, bringing a contented smile to her own face.

“Your skin is soft,” she reflected, “smooth.” She moved her hand down to caress her jaw line and neck, noting that her lover had tipped her head back to savour the touch.

She slowly moved down her body to pay attention to her upper body, her hand caressing her clavicle, and following the smooth skin across her shoulder and down her arms.

“Your hands are so small,” she reflected, her fingertips stroking the digits, kissing each one.

She ran her hands across the flat stomach and curved outline of Kathryn’s belly button. “I do not have one of these,” she said. “It is endearing.”

Janeway’s stomach contracted in a muscle spasm as Seven touched her sides, unconsciously tickling her. Janeway put her hand to her mouth and chuckled, trying to curb her ticklish reaction. Seven thought it was very charming to see her Captain giggling out of control.

Seven took pity on her and left her ticklish area, lightly traced the contours of her breasts, circling the nipple that was standing tall in attention. She heard a low moan of appreciation as she took a nipple in her mouth, rolling it around her tongue. Obviously her lover enjoyed her ministrations.

On hands and knees, she continued her path of discovery, crawling over the body beneath her, running her fingers lower, playing with the patch of hair that covered her intimate area. She could smell the sweet scent of Kathryn’s arousal, and curiously parted the legs to see where it was coming from.

She was amazed at the amount of moisture that had gathered there. The sex was glistening and she moved in closer to inspect the area, noting that Kathryn’s clitoris was engorged, almost throbbing, begging to be touched.

She gently reached out with her tongue, tasting the tiny area, relishing in the flavour of her partner. Janeway let out a deep moan that excited Seven, as she remembered how wonderful being touched in that area can be. Her fingertips explored the area, discovering the feel of her most intimate of regions.

She poked the tip of her finger into her opening, feeling the smooth, slippery texture of the surrounding walls. As she pressed harder she noticed that it wasn’t as smooth as she first imagined, feeling the grooves of her muscles as they gripped onto her finger, seeming to coax them deeper inside her, wanting them to discover further. She obliged, slowly pushing her finger inside twisting it to feel the surface of the passage.

She felt Janeway deepen the contact by pushing down onto her hand and out again, encouraging Seven to form a steady momentum, moaning delightfully in appreciation. Her finger scaped across a bundle of nerves she discovered the front of her vagina and Janeway crying out in ecstasy, “Oh Yes” she rasped, arching her back to put more pressure on the area. “More.”

Seven contemplated adding another finger to the intimate caress, before deciding instead to make use of some of her more unique abilities.

She extended her modified assimilation tubules and gently inserted them into her lover’s opening. They withered around inside her, seeking out more ways to elicit some wonderful sounding groans from the object of her desire.

A wealth of sensory data hit Seven like a photon torpedo to the stomach. She instantly understood the effect she was causing in her lover, as she felt each tiny ministration, mirrored as if she were also doing it to her own body.

They both cried out in unison as the un-invasive tubules located her lovers G-spot and massaged it to the point of no return. She turned on its vibration function causing an intense build up of energy was almost too much for Seven to bear. She continued to manipulate the area, bringing them both to a simultaneous climax. She screamed at the intensity of it, and in that moment, she truly felt as though they were one person, their existence shared in a moment of true and utter bliss.

They collapsed in a spent heap, breathing heavily. Seven rested her head on her lover’s stomach as Janeway caressed her hair, slowly bringing them back to their senses.

“Oh my God,” Janeway said wistfully, once she found her voice. “Seven, how did you manage to do that, it felt… wonderful”

Seven grinned at her, waving her tubules in the air they twisted at stretched in their new found freedom.

Janeway laughed at the sight, and pulled her into a passionate embrace. “Can I touch them?” she asked tentatively.

She reached out her hand tentatively towards Seven’s as she stretched them out further to make contact with her hand. Janeway stared in awe as they slid up her wrist curling around her hand before coming to rest in a coil in the palm of her hand. Janeway fingered them with her other hand, feeling the smooth texture.

“That was certainly an inventive use of them,” she said seeming impressed. “Did they..? At one point I thought I felt them… vibrate?”

Seven smiled and initiated the vibrate function on a low setting.

“Ooo,” Janeway replied, eyes wide. “I didn’t know the Borg equipped them to vibrate.”

“They didn’t” Seven replied. “I thought you might enjoy them, so I altered them when I removed the assimilation injectors.”

“That’s my clever girl,” Janeway said, rewarding her with a sweet long kiss. “You are so thoughtful, thank you.”

They fell silent for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of closeness and contentment that surrounded them like a warm blanket.

“Kathryn,” Seven said, looking deeply into her eyes. “Do you think that I have just conceived our child?”

“I hope so darling,” Janeway replied with a smile. “But just to be sure, I think you should stay right here and show me what other tricks you have up your sleeve.”

Seven sighed in contentment. “Acceptable,” she replied. “But first…” she reluctantly pulled herself from their embrace, smiling as she walked out of the room into the living area.

Janeway was tapping her fingers against her stomach waiting for Seven when she returned with a jug of water in her hands. “You are dehydrated, you need liquid.”

“Thank you,” Janeway said again, taking the proffered glass from her hands.

When Janeway gulped down the water, Seven fished around in the small compartment of her biosuit that had been discarded on the floor.

“Kathryn, will you come here please?” she asked her from the floor.

Janeway snuck a look over the edge of the bed with a confused expression on her face, and slowly got to her feet. Standing in front of Seven who was kneeling on the floor.

Seven took a breath trying to summon up her courage. “Kathryn,” she began, “I love you more that anything or anyone in this universe. You are the very reason for my existence. You have taught me what perfection truly is. I love you more with each passing moment and I want for nothing else than to care for you, to love you, for the rest of my life. Kathryn, will you marry me?”

She held her breath nervously as she held out the sparkling gold ring in front of her, waiting for the reply. Janeway was silent; she began to think that once again she would say ‘no’ but when she looked into her eyes she saw they were filled with tears, the expression on her face was all the answer she required.

**

Janeway held her fiancée’s hand as she lay down on the biobed in sickbay, waiting for the bio-scan to be completed.

She tapped her foot expending some of the nervous energy that was coursing through her veins, noticing with envy that Seven seemed as calm and placid as usual.

She held her breath as the Doctor studied the read outs of the scan, searching his face for an inkling of the news he had to tell them.

“Congratulations Seven, you are pregnant.”

They both smiled in delight, and Janeway released the breath she had unconsciously been holding.

“Is it the Captain’s?” Seven asked, displaying some of the emotion that she must have been holding back.

“Yes,” the Doctor confirmed. “Congratulations Captain, you are going to be a father.”

Janeway felt like jumping with joy as she helped Seven off the biobed, taking the opportunity to kiss her animatedly, not caring that the Doctor and Neelix were in the room.

“Would you like to see a holographic extrapolation of your offspring based on its genetic encoding?” the Doctor asked, interrupting their celebrations.

“We can?” Janeway asked, surprised. They looked at each other and nodded their agreement, and took her hand to guide her over to the holographic projector.

The Doctor entered a series of commands onto his console and a figure appeared floating in the air above them.

Janeway thought her heart was going to beat itself out of her chest as her eyes settled on the extrapolation of her child.

“Your son, at approximately age 20. And if you don’t mind me saying so, a very handsome fellow,” the Doctor announced proudly.

They looked at the hologram in wonder, immediately seeing the genetic resemblance to both mothers. He was striking and tall, with strawberry blonde hair, grey-blue eyes, a muscular body and a strong jaw line.

“He looks like my father,” Seven whispered, with a sense of awe.

Janeway put her arm around her lover, squeezing her shoulders tightly. “He looks like you,” she said proudly.

“He also looks like you, Kathryn. He has your eyes,” Seven noted, looking very pleased.

The Doctor switched off the projection and he fizzled into thin air. Janeway looked at the Doctor in protest; she hadn’t finished looking at him. She could have looked at him all day.

“And,” the Doctor said, imputing some new commands into the computer workstation, “…let me present, your daughter.”

Janeway gasped in astonishment as she saw a second figure appear where the first had been. “We are having twins?”

She looked up at her in wonder, her jaw dropping as she did so. Their daughter was stunning. She had dark red hair and blue eyes, a dimple in her chin and was almost as tall as Seven herself. Her figure was obviously derived from Seven’s side of the gene pool, being very curvaceous and busty. Janeway thought she was absolutely beautiful.

Seven was smiling at the holographic image, unconsciously running her hand over her belly in wonder. She caught Janeway’s glance at her and smiled wildly in response.

“You were right Seven,” she said, resting her hand on Seven’s. “Our children… our family will be… perfection.”

The End.