Dedicated to my twin for helping me with the Torres-Kim
baby's name. Not to mention all her other help. One of these
days, I'm going to name her *permanent* co-author.
***********************************************
Part 31
Early next morning - the Torres-Kim quarters
"Computer, lights at twenty-five percent."
When the room brightened, B'Elanna carefully slid out of bed,
making sure she didn't wake Harry. She went over to the crib to
pick up her fussing son, who quieted when she held him. Then
she carried him into the bathroom, laid him on the changing table
beside the sink, and undressed him before she took off the
diaper. Picking up a cloth, she wet it and cleaned the baby's bottom,
then put on a clean diaper and his clothes.
When the baby was dressed, B'Elanna picked him up again.
Taking a clean cloth with her, she left the bathroom and went
into the living room where she sat down on the couch. Then she
opened her pajama top so he could nurse. She watched him with
a soft smile while planning her day.
The first thing on the agenda was to call Tom and tell him that
she and Harry had decided on a name for their son. B'Elanna
was still amazed that it had taken a suggestion from Tom for her
and Harry to finally agree on a name. They had discussed it
since the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, and not *once* during
that time had it occurred to either of them to give their child
two names.
However, after Tom suggested that they give the baby a Klingon
*and* a human name, she and Harry had talked about it, and
*finally* agreed on two names. Now all they had to do was tell
Tom so he could enter it into the official log.
B'Elanna's thoughts were interrupted when the baby stopped
nursing. She refocused on him, and smiled when she saw that he
was asleep, then picked up the cloth and put it over her shoulder.
Holding her sleeping son against her shoulder, she gently rubbed
his back until he burped. Then she shifted him down into her
arms, rose from the couch and walked into the bedroom where
she put him down in the crib, laying him on his stomach.
Once the baby was tucked in, B'Elanna re-buttoned her pajama
top, then checked on her husband. Seeing that he was still
asleep, she put on her robe before she returned to the living
room. She walked over to the replicator and ordered her usual
breakfast, but with herbal tea instead of coffee. The doctor had
told her that she couldn't drink coffee as long as she nursed because
the caffeine was bad for the baby.
When her food materialized, she picked up the tray, carried it
over to the desk and put it down. Then she sat down and turned
on the terminal, having decided to check on the ship's status
while she ate.
Fifteen minutes later, B'Elanna turned off the terminal, then
rose, picked up her tray and carried it over to the recycler. Having
disposed of the tray, she walked into the bedroom and took
off her robe and pajamas before she went into the bathroom to
take a shower.
When she was clean, she stepped out of the stall, took a towel
and dried off before wrapping a dry towel around her head. She
returned to the bedroom and put on a clean set of pajamas, then
called for the time.
"The time is 0600 hours," the computer replied blandly.
B'Elanna grimaced. She had been up for an hour and a half, and
it was too early to comm Tom. She would bet six months worth
of replicator rations that Tom and Chakotay were still asleep.
She had no doubt that the two men had exhausted themselves,
celebrating Chakotay's return to the land of the living.
B'Elanna stood for a moment, considering what to do. When she
yawned, she decided that she could use some more sleep. After
all, she *had* given birth recently. She got into bed, then addressed
the computer. "Computer, lights at five percent, and set
alarm for 0700 hours." Harry still had to get on duty at 0800.
"Alarm set for 0700 hours," the computer acknowledged when
the lights had been dimmed.
B'Elanna sighed softly, then snuggled into Harry and promptly
fell asleep.
*****
Sickbay
Dr. Kéla'an went to check on the recovering crewmembers. After
releasing Commander Chakotay from sickbay, the doctor had
done some calculations and discovered that it would take a little
more than six weeks before everyone was out of stasis and fit
for duty. Knowing that Tom needed be released from the responsibility
of the captaincy before the stress got to him, Dr.
Kéla'an had decided to cure two crewmembers at a time instead
of just one. It would cut in half the time it took until everyone
was healthy.
Dr. Kéla'an smiled in satisfaction when he saw that weren't any
problems with the two recuperating crewmembers. Then he
turned and walked back to his office. He figured that he could
continue to work on his report on the virus and its effect on the
crew, while he waited for Ensigns Vorik and Henley to regain
consciousness.
Before he could start working on the report, however, he saw
that there was a message waiting. "Computer, play message," he
ordered.
The screen on his console changed to show an image of Tom
Paris sitting by his desk, dressed in a robe. "Good morning,
Doc," he said with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that
Chakotay and I will be off duty for longer than we thought."
Tom sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he smiled
wryly and continued. "There's been an unexpected complication
with our bond. We can't seem to separate our minds for more
than short periods of time, so...." He trailed off, obviously distracted.
After a moment, Tom shook his head and focused on the screen
again. "Where was I? Oh, yeah. Hopefully, it won't take more
than a few days to fix it, and in the meantime, Tuvok is in command.
We told him last night, but forgot that you also needed to
know. Don't expect to see me until this mess is taken care of.
Paris out." The screen went dark.
Dr. Kéla'an considered Tom's words for a moment, then
shrugged and turned to his report. There was nothing he could
do about the two men's problem, and he knew that they would
be careful. He'd given Tom enough warnings that the young
man wouldn't overdo the physical exertion, and Commander
Chakotay normal protectiveness of his husband had become
more pronounced since the pregnancy. The doctor suspected that
even the slightest discomfort on Tom's part would make the
Commander drag the young man to sickbay immediately.
The last thought made Dr. Kéla'an smile in amusement. He
knew that Tom would probably complain the entire way.
*****
The Torres-Kim quarters
B'Elanna finished dressing, went over to the crib to pick up her
fussing son and carried him into the bathroom. She laid him on
the changing table, undressed him and took off his diaper before
she turned on the water and wet a cloth. When she finished
cleaning the baby's bottom, she wet a fresh cloth and washed
the rest of him.
When her son was clean, B'Elanna took a towel and dried him
off, dressed him in a clean diaper and put on his clothes. The she
turned off the water, picked up the baby and carried him into the
living room where she sat down in the couch. She slid the infant
under her blouse and let him nurse.
Looking down at her son, she chuckled softly at his vigor.
"Someone's hungry," she cooed, then snorted softly. "You'd
think that he's afraid I'll run out of milk," she muttered, thinking
out loud.
Half an hour later, B'Elanna put the once-again sleeping baby
against her shoulder and rubbed his back. When he burped, she
shifted him down to lay in her arms, then rose from the couch
and went into the bedroom and put him in his crib. Then she put
a blanket over him and called the lights down to five percent
before she returned to the living room.
"Computer, time," she called.
"The time is 0953 hours," the computer replied blandly.
B'Elanna went over to the desk, sat down and commed Tom's
quarters. When she didn't get any reply, she frowned and did a
location check.
"Tom Paris and Commander Chakotay are in their quarters," the
computer informed her.
B'Elanna's frown deepened. "That's odd," she muttered, then
tried hailing them again. When she still didn't receive an answer,
she started to worry. "Torres to sickbay."
The console changed to show the doctor. "Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Doctor, I just tried to hail Tom and Chakotay," she informed
him. "They..."
Before she could say anything else, Dr. Kéla'an interrupted.
"They didn't answer your hail, did they?"
B'Elanna blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"
Dr. Kéla'an lifted an eyebrow. "I got a message from Captain
Paris earlier. He informed me that he and Commander Chakotay
experienced some unexpected complications with their bond."
Seeing the worried expression on B'Elanna's face, he hastened
to reassure her. "It's nothing serious. They just can't separate
their minds for more than short periods of time. I believe that's
the reason they don't respond to hails."
B'Elanna sighed in relief, then smiled wryly. "Sounds like what
happened when they got married." When the doctor looked at
her questioningly, she elaborated. "It's a Darrbakhian thing.
Tom told me that newly wedded Darrbakhians can't separate
their minds completely for the first week after the wedding."
Dr. Kéla'an smiled slightly. "I see." He studied B'Elanna for a
moment. "If there is a serious reason you wanted to talk to the
Captain..." he started.
B'Elanna interrupted him by shaking her head. "No, I just
wanted to tell him that Harry and I have decided on a name for
our son. As the Acting Captain, Tom has to put it in the ship's
official log."
The doctor considered this for a minute. "Since the Captain is
currently unavailable, Tuvok is the one to talk to." He hesitated
for a moment, then added, "Of course, I could put it in my official
log, then Mr. Paris can put it in the ship's log when he returns
to duty."
B'Elanna smiled, knowing how curious the doctor was. "Well,
since I'm already talking to you, it's easier to tell you. We've
decided to name our son Jonathon Kor Torres-Kim."
"Jonathon Kor Torres-Kim," Dr. Kéla'an repeated slowly.
"That's quite a mouthful."
B'Elanna chuckled. "We know," she admitted. "Which is why
we'll call him Jonathon."
Dr. Kéla'an considered the name for a moment, then smiled. "I
like it. I'll enter it into my log immediately."
B'Elanna returned his smile. "Thanks, Doc. Torres out." With
that, she closed the comm line. Then rose from the desk, picked
up a PADD she had borrowed from Tom, and went over to the
couch. She sat down and made herself comfortable, then opened
the PADD and started to read the Darrbakhian novel that Tom
had recommended.