Part 10
Lieutenant Paris and Commander Chakotay stood in sickbay,
waiting for the holographic doctor to finish his examination of
the child that the Sakarans had found. The Sakarans hadn't been
able to help the humanoid child because it was so different from
them. So the owner of the Sakaran ship had contacted Voyager
and asked Captain Janeway for help.
The Captain had agreed to have the child beamed onboard
Voyager and now the EMH was determining whether he could
do anything to save the child.
After a while, Tom moved over to the biobed where the child
lay. The baby, because that's what it was, was sleeping or
unconscious. It was hard to tell. The pilot looked down at the
baby for a moment. Then he lifted his eyes to look at the EMH.
"Doc," he said quietly.
The doctor didn't look up. "Yes, Mr. Paris?"
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Tom asked hesitantly. "The Sakarans
didn't know for sure."
At this the doctor looked up for a moment. Then he returned to
his tests. "It's a girl. She's about sixteen months old."
"Oh. Okay." Tom was quiet again.
Chakotay, sensing that his spouse was reluctant to ask, walked
over to stand beside Tom. Glancing briefly at the baby, the First
Officer then turned his attention to the doctor. "How is she?" he
asked.
For a moment the doctor didn't answer. Then he straightened
and looked at the two men. "She's weak, Commander," he
replied. "She hasn't gotten anything to eat for a while. She also
suffers from a virus." Seeing the distress on Tom's face, he
hastened to reassure the young pilot. "She's going to be fine, Mr.
Paris. The virus isn't dangerous. Actually, it's rather common
among small children. I have medication for it. As soon as she's
eaten something, I'll give her the shot." The doctor stopped
speaking for a moment, then continued, "I understand that the
two of you are going to take care of her. How about starting
now? I'm finished with her for the moment. Why don't you feed
her?"
Tom and Chakotay looked at each other, then back at the EMH.
"All right, doctor," the Commander said. He frowned. "What
should we give her to eat?" he asked.
The doctor ran a few subroutines. Then he walked over to the
replicator, saying, "Just a moment. I'll replicate a formula that
her stomach should be able to handle. Why don't you pick her
up? You can sit in my office while you feed her."
While the EMH ordered the formula for the baby, Tom picked
her up and went into the office and sat on the couch. When the
pilot was seated, he looked at his husband, who had sat down
beside him. "You know, Cha, as the baby's parents, we have to
pick a name for her."
Chakotay nodded. "I know. Got any ideas?" he asked. Then
added, "Personally, I think it should be a Darrbakhian name."
Tom blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Then he
looked down at the baby in his arms, considering. A moment
later the young man looked up and gazed into his husband's
loving eyes.
He'd just opened his mouth to speak when the doctor came in
with the formula. "Here, give her this. If she wants more when
she's finished, let me know," the doctor said. With that he
handled the bottle to Tom and left the office.
Tom shifted the baby in his arms. Then he gave her the bottle. It
took a little while, but finally she discovered what to do with the
thing in her mouth. When she was eating, Tom looked at his
spouse again. "Don't you want her to have a name from your
people," he asked quietly.
"Yes, but she should also have a Darrbakhian name. I figured
that if you pick the Darrbakhian name, then I'll pick an Indian
name," Chakotay replied softly.
Tom thought about that for a minute. Then he nodded his
consent. "All right, that sounds fair enough. Let's see. A
Darrbakhian name." The pilot looked down at the baby while he
thought. After a couple of minutes, he sighed and looked at
Chakotay again. "If you don't mind I'd like to call her Tahira,
after my mother."
The Commander smiled gently at his beloved. "I don't mind at
all. I think Tahira is a lovely name. I'd like to give her the name
Shendra, after my sister," he said silently.
Tom nodded. "Then we just need to figure out whether to call
her 'Tahira Shendra' or 'Shendra Tahira'," he said. "What do you
think? What sounds best?"
Chakotay thought about it for a while. "Hmm, 'Tahira Shendra' I
think," he finally answered.
Tom cocked his head slightly to one side as he considered it.
Then he nodded. "You're right. It does sound better. No last
name though. I wouldn't want to burden her with the Paris
name."
"All right. No last name," Chakotay said mildly. Then the two
men looked down at their daughter and smiled. She had almost
finished the formula. She was looking at Chakotay with her dark
pink eyes. She seemed very serious. The Commander returned
her gaze with an equal seriousness.
After a few minutes, she turned her head and gazed at Tom.
Looking into his daughter's eyes, Tom started when a picture of
a young couple suddenly entered his mind.
"Tom! What is it?" Chakotay asked worried.
Tom heard his husband's voice as if it was coming from a
distance. Responding to the worry in the beloved voice, the
young pilot opened the link between them, showing Chakotay
the picture their daughter had sent him.
The older man was surprised. #She's a telepath?# he asked.
#Apparently,# Tom answered.
Chakotay looked at the picture again. #What does this mean?#
came his next question.
Tom studied the picture in his mind for a moment before
replying. #I think that she's asking where her parents are.#
The pilot returned his attention to the waiting child in his arms.
For a moment he considered what to tell her. Then he sent her a
series of pictures, explaining that her parents were dead.
The girl thought about this. A moment later she sent Tom
another question, this time clearly asking who was going to take
care of her now.
Tom smiled and gently told her that he and his spouse would.
Then he asked her what her name was. She told him that she
didn't know. She hesitated for a moment and asked if Tom and
his spouse would give her a new name.
This time it was Chakotay who answered, telling her that they
had already decided what to call her if she didn't already have a
name. Then she wanted to know what it was.
The two men looked at each other, then looked back at the child.
"Your new name is Tahira Shendra," Chakotay told her in a soft
voice.
The little girl frowned and tried to repeat her names. "Ta...
rra... Shen...na," she looked questioningly at her new parents.
"Tarra Shenna?" she asked.
The pilot and First Officer smiled at her. "That's close enough,"
the older man told her.
"You'll be able to pronounce it when you get older," Tom added.
He cocked his head. "So, what should we call you, Tarra. Or
Shenna?" he asked.
The girl looked from one man to the other with her dark pink
eyes. "Tarra," she decided.
Tom smiled. "Tarra it is," he said softly. He looked at her bottle.
It was empty. "Do you want more to eat?" he asked.
Tarra shook her head. "Tarra sleep," she announced.
Chakotay laughed softly. "All right, Tarra. You can sleep in a
moment. But first the doctor needs to give you some medication
so you can get well. Okay?" he asked.
When Tarra nodded, Chakotay got up from the couch and went
over to the office door. Looking around sickbay, he spotted the
doctor and called him over.
"Yes, Commander?" the EMH asked when he approached
Chakotay.
"The young lady here is tired. I promised that she could sleep
when you'd given her some medication," Chakotay said. "I
suppose you want to keep her here."
"Just over night," the doctor said as he got a hypospray. "I want
to make sure that there are no aftereffects after her ordeal. You
should be able to take her home tomorrow," he promised.
Chakotay nodded his acceptance. "That will give us some time
to make room for her in our quarters," he said as he turned and
walked back into the office, followed by the doctor.
"Of course," the EMH said. "I hadn't thought of that. By the
way, have you decided what to call her yet? She needs a name."
Tom looked up with a smile when he heard the doctor's voice.
"We've thought of that. We decided to name her Tahira Shendra.
She picked Tarra for daily use," he informed the EMH.
The doctor walked over to the couch and smiled at the little girl.
"That's a pretty name," he told her. "Well Tarra, I'm going to
give you your medication, and then your parents can put you to
bed. You'll have to sleep here tonight and tomorrow your fathers
can take you home."
Tarra looked at him seriously. "Okay," she said solemnly.
After the doctor had given Tarra the medication, Tom and
Chakotay tucked her into one of the biobeds. When she had
fallen asleep they left sickbay with the doctor's promise to look
after her and comm them if anything happened.
Hand in hand they walked to the turbolift and ordered it to the
bridge. When they arrived, Captain Janeway looked up and
smiled, then stood. "Gentlemen, my Ready Room. Tuvok, you
have the bridge," she said and went into her office.
Tom and Chakotay exchanged a look and followed the Captain.