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Chapter Text

“Ah, Captain,” Tom studied the controls around him, ignoring the shuttle’s main view screen, “I think we have a problem.”

“I can see that Mr. Paris,” Janeway responded, her tone tight. She continued to visually examine the ship sitting off their starboard bow. The rather large vessel appeared suddenly and wasn’t showing up on their sensors. “You can get us out of here, anytime you’re ready. Now would be good!”

“About that,” apology in his tone, Tom threw his hands in the air. “It looks like they have some kind of dampening field around Galileo. I can’t establish a warp bubble and impulse is off line.”

“Use the manoeuvring thrusters,” ordered the Captain, “before they decide to test their weaponry. Can I assume our shields are inoperable?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Paris nodded, fingers once again dancing over the panel. “I’ve laid in a course for the last M class moon we surveyed in this system. Using our current speed, I hope we can get close enough to that gas giant to use a sling shot approach to our destination. Let’s hope we can make it before that behemoth decides to use us as target practice. I’m not sure we’d survive, with their level of technology.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Janeway answered tersely. Both officers knew it to be a faint hope at best. “I’ve sent out a destress call. Voyager should intercept in two hours. That is,” the Captain muttered to herself, “if they don’t dampen that signal as well.”

Sighing, Paris knew they were nowhere near the intended rendezvous co-ordinates with Voyager. The Captain’s scientific curiosity drew them to this region of space as they returned from trade negations with the Ha’van Starpire. A warp capable civilization, the Premminister refused to barter much needed dilithum and deuterium which their species had in abundance. It seemed the Federation had little to exchange in terms of technology, services or goods. However, they allowed the crew of Voyager to seek out and mine the raw material in this system. On the return journey, Captain Janeway ordered a course change so the small aeroshuttle could do an initial sensor sweep of the area.

“Do you think the Ha’van’s knew,” Tom indicated the image on their view screen. The vessel was bigger than any ship in the Ha’van armada, and more advanced. Not one of the craft the away team encountered, public, private or military, had the same technology within the boundaries of the Starpire.

“Yes,” Janeway hissed. Before the woman could add more, the shuttle rocked. “Hull integrity at sixty two percent. We can’t take another hit that close, Mr. Paris. It’s time for some of that fancy flying your always telling the crew about.”

“Aye, Captain,” Paris hesitated as he weighed his options. “Although, I don’t have much to work with. Besides, I think we got bigger problems. That explosion held chroniton particles and their affecting our starboard hull integrity.”

“I’m also reading a stream of spatially inverted tetryons,” Janeway’s stated, her tone becoming quieter as the meaning of this phenomena finally made sense. “Their trying to open a temporal-spatial rupture.”

Nodding, the pilot suddenly had his hands full attempting to keep the craft on course as the inertial dampeners failed and klaxons blared. It was hopeless as yet another explosion detonated on their port side, sending Galileo hurtling towards the forming worm hole. Chroniton particles flooded the space surrounding the small vessel as a singularity opened directly in their path.

“Hold on,” Tom yelled, unable to spare a glance at his Captain who lay sprawled on the floor, her hand reaching for his thigh to help her back into her seat, “this ride is about to get rough.”

Buffeted on all sides, the anomaly swallowed the tiny aeroshuttle easily. Behind them the larger ship approached the manufactured corridor with every intention of following them in. As psychedelic colours swirled around Galileo, Tom fought the controls and Captain Janeway attempted to regain her station with the intention of locating the behemoth. As suddenly as the phenomena started, it stopped, dumping them into normal space. The other ship was nowhere to be see. A scan of the immediate area found Galileo alone far from their original location and between planetary systems.

“Where,” Tom requested, turning to the shaken woman at his side and helping her into the co-pilots chair, “are we?”

“According to the sensors,” the Captain’s face paled, her grey eyes clouded with worry, “it’s when we should be more worried about. I hope we have the warp drive back on line, Mr. Paris.”

“Galileo’s only an aeroshuttle, Captain,” Tom reminded. “Maximum speed is warp 2. I’m still attempting to create a bubble, but I have full impulse. The shields and inertial dampeners are on line.”

“I’m sending co-ordinates of the nearest M class planet to helm control,” Janeway sounded agitated. It would take them at least a week to reach it, without warp. Galileo was not meant for long term habitation. “The planet’s atmosphere is life sustaining, there are plants and animals but no indication of a warp capable civilisation. I’m not reading any humanoid life signs. I think we should put down there. While you do an external inspection, I’ll run a full internal diagnostic. Once we have the shuttle space worthy, we can proceed to the rendezvous point.”

Nodding, Lt. Paris made the alterations. It was a while before his heart rate decreased and Tom had time to consider the Captain’s words. Tachyon particles he understood, chroniton occurrences the pilot wasn’t so sure about. They hadn’t covered that in his astrophysics degree at Starfleet Academy.

“Captain,” he questioned, a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, “what did you mean, about the when?”

“Chroniton particles,” Janeway’s glance was as hard as her voice, “are associated with cloaking technology and time travel.”

“You think that ship was hiding,” Tom swallowed, realising why the behemoth hadn’t shown up on their sensors, “and possibly out of time. What could they want with us? Their technology must be centuries more advanced than Voyager or the Federation.”

“I get the feeling,” Janeway responded, her gaze locked on her chief con officer, “this was no accident. The Ha’van’s lured us to this location. I’m just not sure why.”

Nodding, Tom looked at his screen. It seemed they’d travelled at least twelve light years from their last co-ordinates. “Where approaching the furthest system in the Ha’van Starpire,” he reported. “I’m not detecting any evidence of other craft in the area, not even an old warp trail.”

“So, the sensors tell me,” the Captain responded. “I’m just not sure if it’s before the Ha’van evolved, after they’ve become extinct, or before they’ve colonised this region. I guess we’ll discover more when get close enough for a full sensor sweep.”

Chapter Text

“One month,” Tom shook his head as he poked at the fire.

Beside him, Kate, no longer Captain Janeway, sat on a felled log in quiet contemplation. Behind them the aeroshuttle lay alongside the hut Tom constructed. Rustic at best, it contained a single room, used as storage and to sleep when the night cooled. They still enjoyed the modern hygiene facilities onboard the aeroshuttle, but removed the replicator and jury-rigged it to accept solar power as an energy source, leaving the remaining dilithum to power the small runabout for emergencies. So far, Tom had only taken Galileo into orbit once since landing on this world. Unfortunately, she was no longer fit for space duty.

Over the fire a native animal, something resembling an Earth rabbit, roasted on a spit. In the last of the light, the shed containing all the manual tools Tom insisted they replicate stood beside the vegetable garden. Kathryn took care of the small field while her companion hunted and fished. Together they foraged in the woods surrounding their settlement and explored the immediate area for resources. The trees were abundant in this season which was similar to mid spring in a temperate climate on Earth. By early summer they would be filled with fruits and nuts, adding variety to their diet if their tricorder approved the produce fit for human consumption.

“I haven’t given up,” Kathryn stated, before qualifying, “on getting us back to Voyager.”

“Kate,” Tom smirked, placing an arm around her shoulders, “you never will.”

In the cooling dusk, they looked out on all they’d built. A month wasn’t a long time. However, the Captain and Pilot found they had much in common. Their survival instincts rivalled the others, honed by their Starfleet training and time spent in the Delta quadrant under trying conditions. Yet, their differences aided their continued existence. Tom’s practical abilities lent to making a comfortable, self-sustaining home, where as Kathryn’s scientific enquiries attempted to explain why this situation occurred at all. Both had been needed to understand they were trapped at this moment in time/space, allowing them to survive, alone with minimal technology, until they could find a way to return to their reality.

“I’m glad we chose this place,” Kathryn sighed, leaning into the warmth of her companion.

This dependence on each other intensified the friendship between them. With the lines of authority blurring further each day and the strengths of one tempering the weaknesses of the other, their relationship blossomed. Those casual touches on the bridge became more overt signs of growing intimacy. As the only two humans on the planet, the easy-going personality of Tom Paris matched the determination of Kathryn Janeway, allowing them to truly come to know each other.

“The first location,” Tom shuddered, recalling the snow storm hitting their campsite two days after all but crash landing, “will soon be in the middle of a very harsh winter. We wouldn’t have survived there. That storm came out of nowhere and nearly destroyed Galileo. At least here we have a more temperate climate and time to establish ourselves.”

“We had enough energy to push the aeroshuttle to the next system,” Kathryn contemplated, not for the first time, “if we’d stayed in space. Your landing was less than spectacular, Tom.”

“Yep,” he sighed. The impulse engines cut out half way through the atmospheric decent. It wasn’t until they landed at that first location Tom understood why. One of the explosions ripped the protective coating from the starboard nacelle, which overheated, twisting and buckling the alloy. “We were lucky I managed to repair Galileo enough for orbital insertion, so we could find this place. It’s not so bad here, Kate.” He added with a cheeky grin.

“We might have found a civilisation,” Kathryn’s grey eyes misted over as she recounted her earliest decisions which led them to be stranded on this isolated planet. “Another species who would have accepted us, if they couldn’t provide the parts to fix the aeroshuttle.”

“It would have taken us two years if I couldn’t get the warp drive working,” Tom smirked. “Are you sure you could have remained in such close quarters with me for that long?”

“Maybe not,” Kathryn laughed, unable to keep the humour from her tone. Tom always managed to pull her from the guilt she felt at stranding them. “At least planet side, I can escape your presence occasionally.”

“Honestly,” Tom asked, “do you really think there are others out there?”

“No,” the scientist in the woman sighed. “I believe we’ve travelled back in time about a millennium, before the Ha’van’s began to explore this region. Without knowing their history, it’s hard to tell if there are other species in this part of the sector.”

“So, we could remain on this planet, without encountering another sentient race?” Tom asked carefully. When Kathryn Janeway nodded, he changed the subject. “I’d like to start on a boat tomorrow. Maybe we can explore up river when the summer gets here.”

“We might have the rest of our lives,” Kathryn added sorrowfully, “to explore, Tom. That doesn’t mean I’m ever going to give up on trying to get back to Voyager.”

“You wouldn’t be Kate Janeway,” Tom smirked, daring to kiss the top of her head before moving towards their dinner, “if you did. Somethings are a given, like the sun rising in the morning and my companion attempting to get us home.”

“Right now, my stomach is rumbling,” she complained, joined by an ominous sound from her abdomen. Pointing to the spit, Kathryn demanded, “tell me that’s ready.”

“Set the table,” Tom smiled.

Snorting, Janeway looked at the rough-hewn piece of furniture. “Please tell me your skills at carpentry will improve by the time you attempt chairs.”

“I made the shed and hut,” Tom used his tongs to point out the buildings. While his blue eyes twinkled with humour, his face attempted an expression of displeasure and his tone was that of a hurt little boy.

Shaking her head, Kathryn couldn’t help the chuckle. “I think I’ll sit on the log. I’m not sure your ‘table’ is up to the challenge,” she stated, heading into the rustic shack and returning with a salad made from foraged fruits and vegetables. They ate under the stars, watching the fire until it died down and the wind became cool enough to retreat into the warmth of the replicated blankets in hut. Laying side by side, the Captain waited for her companion’s even breathing before whispering, “I’ll get us out of here, Tom.” Before reaching over and pushing a lock of long, blond hair from his face.

Chapter Text

“Tom,” Kate rolled over, waking the man at her side and whispering. “Someone’s in the compound.”

“Stay here,” he commanded, picking up the shovel he’d left at the door after working in their garden. “I’ll take a look. Deffer, with me,” Tom called to the creature half way between a dog and cat. He’d found and trained the animal during their second month on the planet.

One thing Kathryn Janeway learnt in the six months she’d been living alone with Tom Paris, the man protected those he cared for. As if their time on Voyager hadn’t proved the point, here on this planet, he was pedantic about their survival. Deffer formed an essential part of the defence net he’d carefully constructed. Initially, Tom replicated an early warning system for the flying creatures that attacked their almost ripe crops. The alarm woke Kathryn from deep slumber, the tone alerting them to intruders larger than anything they’d so far encountered on this planet.

Now, she smirked, that we’ve started sleeping together, Tom’s even more protective. I’m not sure when we became so comfortable with each other. Maybe it was after our first real fight. We were both exhausted from harvesting the early summer mulberry tasting fruits when we realised those blasted bat-like things would strip the trees in under a day if we waited. Until then, I think Tom still thought of me as his commanding officer. I guess the wine we made from them helped. It turned out a little more potent than either of us expected.

Mind engaged in memories, Kathryn Janeway’s eyes and ears continued on high alert. Going to the corner of the room, she extracted the phasers and tricorder from their hiding place. They recharged the devices from the solar panels each month, using them as sparingly as possible to extend their life span. Opening the door a slither, Kate peered out into the open area they used for the camp fire each night. The light from one moon softly illuminated Tom speaking with several humanoids. From the body language, they didn’t seem hostile, their appearance resembled that of the Ha’van’s. Apparently, they could understand one another without a com badge, which indicated the aliens had access to something resembling a universal translator.

“Kate,” Tom called, signalling her to join him before she could run a sweep of the area with the tricorder. She approached the group cautiously, hiding the devices in the pockets of her simple dress. “I’d like you to meet Harmon of the Ha’van. They are an advanced party, exploring this system.”

Staring at the beings, they resembled the race causing Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris to become lost in time and space. However, there were significant differences that could only be explained by evolution. The observations gave credibility to Kate’s theory; that Galileo had stumbled into a temporal worm hole and been sucked backwards in time.

“Harmon, this is Kathryn Janeway,” Tom introduced, placing a protective arm about Kate’s shoulders.

“You,” a shorter individual at the back of the group indicated Kathryn as it waved a device at pair, “are with child.”

Shocked, Kathryn took the tricorder from her pocket, scanning herself. A month ago, before they recharged the devices, Tom examined them both. The chroniton particles had been slowly building in their bodies as the months passed. Unsure what this meant, Kathryn used the data base in Galileo to find any mention of the effect in the Federation library. Until this moment, they had been forced to watch and wait.

Behind the shocked pair, the five aliens chittered between themselves. It seemed they’d turned their translator off, giving Tom and Kate a moments privacy. Shaken blue eyes met astonished grey as Kathryn Janeway held out the tricorder.

“Tom,” Kate pointed to the evidence of a life growing inside her. It hadn’t been there on the last scan. Thinking back, she’d last experienced a mentation cycle two days after the scan a month before.

“It may have been too early,” Tom explained, “for a non-medical tricorder to pick up last month.”

“We will take you back to our ship,” Harmon broke into their moment of privacy with the command. It appeared almost excited by this news. Indicating its underlings surround the odd creatures, they scurried to obey. With little option, Tom forced Kate close to his side. Mind still reeling, he almost missed Harmon’s next words. “Our doctor will wish to examine you.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” Tom smirked, not liking the situation, “I’ll take our ship.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kathryn stated, pointing the tricorder at the intruders. The chroniton radiation emanating from the Ha’van’s indicated they were from a different time. Turning the device towards Tom, the reading increased further, and continued to climb. “I’m not sure what happening, Tom. Why the chroniton count…”

Before Kathryn could finish her sentence the scene before her shimmered. Only Tom’s arm around her shoulder and the other wrapping itself around her waist as he pulled her into his embrace felt real. The sound of the trees gently swaying in the breeze and Deffer making soft whimpering sounds was replaced by the noise of a crowed city. The image of her lover remained as everything else changed. Finally, Kate and Tom found themselves on the side walk of a busy street. She still held the tricorder in her hand. However, the phasers had disappeared.

“We’ve jumped,” Kate announced, “about five hundred years into Ha’van future if I’m reading these chroniton levels correctly. I’m also detecting a dilithum signature.”

“How?” Tom questioned. A puzzled expression on his face.

Looking around them, the city could have come from a Federation history book. Resembling San Francisco, a hundred years earlier, evidence of a warp capable civilization appeared everywhere. Ha’van citizens wandered the streets, well dressed and fed with magnificent buildings rising into the sky in the background. Shuttles flew high overhead, the rumble of a mass transport system could be felt through Tom’s feet, the air was clean and the weather perfectly controlled. So far, they’d attracted only minimal attention from passer-by’s, protected between shop windows on a wide pedestrian street. 

“I’m not sure,” Kathryn answered slowly, waving the tricorder over her abdomen and letting out a loud sigh. “However, it seems junior made the jump with us.”

“First, we need to get off this street,” Tom prioritised, knowing it wouldn’t take long for two aliens to attract unwanted attention, “and then find somewhere to hold up until we can work out what just happened.”

“To late,” Kate stated, indicating the security officers rushing towards them.

Chapter Text

Six individuals surrounded Paris and Janeway, crowding the pair further into the alleyway between the shop fronts. Chittering between themselves, they attempted to separate the humans. Tom didn’t take kindly to being detached from the woman he’d just discovered carried his child. Protective at the best of times, it took one of their guard’s weapons to subdue him.

Understanding the Ha’van’s held the advantage, and now, an unconscious Tom Paris over the largest officers’ shoulder, Kathryn Janeway surrendered. Within seconds, she’d been separated from her lover and transported to a facility that might be considered a hospital. The room held something approximating a biobed behind an energy barrier, upon which she was forced lay while the doctors performed their multitude of tests. The Ha’van’s medical ability rivalled that of the Federation a century ago. They never touched her person, just waved devices they refused to explain over her body. The questions, when they came, were all aimed at her pregnancy. Kathryn Janeway answered them to the best of her ability, unsure why they were so interested.

The smallest, and to her mind, the youngest of the Ha’van’s noticed the fatigue creeping into her body language during that first interrogation session. The universal translator suddenly turned off, leaving Kathryn watching the doctors discussing her behind a protective field. Sleep came suddenly, making Kathryn wonder if they’d given her something or infused it into the atmosphere. The cycle repeated several times, yet she never felt hungry, thirsty or in need of hygiene facilities. It seemed the biobed took care of all her physical needs. Mentally, she wasn’t given time to process her emotions or analyse the situation. Without a window or reference to Federation time, Kathryn Janeway didn’t know how long they kept her.

All the personal in the room stared at Kathryn Janeway on entering once again. This time they didn’t ask any questions, subject her to tests or lower the forcefield. Sighing in relief, she finally found herself conscious and with time to think about the situation. Her hand automatically going to her child, she felt the need to see Tom. To talk to him about this, so they might attempt an escape. Before Kathryn Janeway could start to process her emotions, a whine assaulted her ears. This time she felt the transporter beam catch her in its grasp. Then, she woke to find herself in a cell, cradled in Tom’s arms.

“Kate, you’ve been gone nearly a week,” there were tears in Tom Paris’s eyes as his lips found her temple.

He looked awful. Dark circles under his eyes emphasised the dullness in his orbs. He’s lost weight. Waking on the narrow cot, one of Tom’s hands had been on her still flat belly, the other stroking the side of her face. Holding her away, Tom looked at the stunned woman in his arms. As if he suddenly realised she was real, not just a figment of his imagination, a smile slowly covered his lips.

“They wouldn’t tell me where you were or what they were doing to you. Then your beamed in here.” Pulling Kate back into his embrace, Tom confessed, “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Cuddling into his warmth, Kathryn Janeway allowed herself the freedom of tears, tears she’d been holding back since the Ha’van’s separated them. She’d missed him. When it was over, they sat side by side on the cot, Tom’s arm slung around her shoulders. Smiling, Kate knew he wouldn’t let her go for some time. Now he had her back, the man would need physical reassurance. The words came slowly at first, as she recounted her ordeal.

“I haven’t had time to analyse it,” Kathryn sighed, slumping further into Tom’s embrace. “The Ha’van’s of this period aren’t the same as those we encountered on the Trade negotiations. They seem more androgynous somehow. The smallest one, I could almost swear it was a younger copy of the lead doctor. They looked identical except for the obvious age difference. As if they reproduce by budding, like Hydra.”

“I don’t care how they reproduce,” Tom’s agitation came though his harsh words as he lept from the bed and started pacing. “We need to get out of here, Kate!”

“How?” Kathryn demanded, her own temper flaring. Grey eyes glared as they both felt the pressure of being confined. “I don’t even have the tricorder. Galileo’s gone, along with our phasers. They’ve even taken our clothing.”

Sighing, Tom returned to sit beside the woman once again. They had so much to talk about. Being tired, hungry, naked and incarcerated wasn’t a good place to start.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, carefully placing an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve been so worried about you. Kate,” Paris’s eyes held real fear. “When I woke up in here and you weren’t around…”

“As far as I know,” Kathryn’s own anxiety surface, “junior’s still alive and well. They seemed overly interested in my pregnancy, more so in how it came about. I had to explain human procreation to them. I’m not sure what was more embarrassing, being completely nude in a room full of strangers or the invasive questions about our sex life!”

“How do you feel, Kate,” Tom requested, pointing to the protective hand Kate had placed on her abdomen.

“I’m not sure,” she returned his startled gaze. “I never meant for this to happen, Tom.”

“Junior,” he asked in a voice barely above a whispered, “or us.”

“Both,” she stated emphatically. “If we were back on Voyager…”

“What,” Tom asked the question either of them had an answer too, “happens if we do make it back to Voyager?”

Silence surrounded the pair as they gazed deep into each other’s eyes. While living on an uninhabited planet, with only the other to rely upon, the thought could be ignored. Now, having been temporally transported half way back to their own time, it seemed a much more urgent question.

“I guess,” Kate couldn’t stifle the yawn, “we’ll have to cross that bridge, if and when we come to it.”

Nodding, Tom settled them on the cot once again, happy just to have her in his arms and live in the present moment. The bed wasn’t very wide. That didn’t stop Kathryn falling into slumber quickly and easily. Sleep didn’t come as effortlessly to Paris. They might be closer to their own reality, but they were now defenceless and without any resources. Escape impossible, their cell resembled the one in Voyager’s brig. These Ha’van’s had little intention of allowing their human captives any freedom. Tom was beginning to suspect their confinement had everything to do with Kate’s pregnancy. It was the why that eluded him.

His senses on high alert, even while sleeping, Tom knew the moment they were being observed. Opening one eye, he watched four Ha’van’s taking notes and chittering quietly between themselves. Kate stirred in his arms, letting Paris know she had also woken.

“We wish to see you mate,” ordered one of their captors when they realised the pair were conscious.

“Not before I empty my bladder,” Kathryn Janeway never lost the ability to be the Captain of a Federation Starship. She placed it on hold for months while she dealt with surviving. Ideas forming in her mind, this event went a long way to confirming her current theory about why everything had occurred. It seemed she’d been released to her ‘mate’ for the next stage of the Ha’van’s scientific research. “Then I want something to drink and eat before I’ll answer any of your questions.”

Chapter Text

“Look,” Tom paced the area before the energy barrier keeping them incarcerated, attempting to explain to the Ha’van’s on the other side, “Humans don’t just have sex to order.”

Standing slightly behind the agitated man and no less infuriated, Kathryn caught his shoulder, forcing Tom to turn and look at her. He knew she’d come to a theory and had a plan. Like it or not, Captain Janeway was back. Sighing, he tried to reign in his temper. Giving the floor over to his partner, Paris stood behind the woman, hands behind his back in an at ease position as he watched the confrontation.

“We have Hydra on Earth, the planet of our origin,” Kathryn Janeway started. Her posture, even without a stitch of clothing was professional. She’d slipped into Captain mode and Tom’s posture aided her ability to take control of this negotiation. “They reproduce asexually, that is, by growing an exact copy of themselves on their body. It’s called budding.”

Pausing, the group of Ha’van’s turned off the translator and conferred. One turned their back to the force field, displaying a bludge under their clothing. The leader carefully opened the garment to display a tiny replica of the Ha’van.

“Heathrid is with child,” it stated. “I believe this is what you mean by budding.”

“Yes,” Kathryn answered with a nod. “Hydra are relatively unique in their method of reproduction within the Federation. Is this why you are so interested in my pregnancy? The way we humans procreate?”

“All life on Ha’van and within the Starpire is created this way,” Heathrid, now redressed, stated. “I have produced five young who are identical to their parent.”

Kathryn theorised, “so, there is no genetic change, only a slight drift with each generation. You experience minimal difference between parent and child.”

“We have observed your child,” the leader commented, “extrapolated it’s physical and genetic features. It will be a combination of mates. We wish to study this.”

“Human’s, our species,” Kathryn indicated herself and Tom, “do not do well in captivity. The stress may harm both the parents and the child. I have a suggestion which will aid your study and help us feel less confined.”

This caused another break in communications. Leading Tom to their cot, Kate pulled him down beside her. The look in his eye stated he understood and would go along with anything the Captain suggested.

“If we have to remain on this planet,” Kathryn whispered, “let’s see if we can bargain for a more pleasant prison. They want to see us mate, well, I’m not going to allow that, as least not on their terms.”

“A more pleasant prison,” Tom responded, “is still a jail and means the observation will be more clandestine.”

“True,” Kathryn responded with a wide smile, “but it will give us access to information. Maybe we can work out how, in five hundred years, the Ha’van society goes from asexual reproduction to sexual.”

“You think we have something to do with that?” Tom asked, astounded.

“I think,” Kathryn confirmed, “we are the catalyst. What they learn is completely dependent on our relationship and the birth of our child. They need us to take a huge step forward in their evolution. Think about it, if the Federation was made up from individuals that were exactly the same as their parents, generation after generation, there would be little diversity. Technology and science wouldn’t evolve as rapidly.”

“So,” Tom had to say the words to make them real, “the Ha’van’s met us on the Trade mission, understanding we caused this major upheaval in their society, lured us to a position where future Ha’van’s transported us back to the past, only to come forward in five hundred-year jumps.”

“Yes,” Kathryn responded unhappily, before a smile overcame her. They’d been lost in the Delta quadrant a few months when her Chief Conn Officer demonstrated his lack of insight. “You never completely understood temporal phenomena and mechanics, Tom. As I said then, sometimes the effect precedes the cause. If I’m correct, the Ha’van’s needed to send us to that primitive planet.”

“You would never have let your guard down, romantically,” Tom realised, “under any other circumstance. We would never have become involved, or created Junior, unless we had to rely on each other without a hope of getting back to Voyager.”

Nodding, Kathryn continued to explain. “This is the next step in their evolution, watching how sexual reproduction occurs. They need the genetic diversity to drive their civilisation forward. We need to make it work for us.”

Once the terms of their contract with the Ha’van’s scientist had been worked out, Tom and Kate were moved from their cramped cell within a sleep period. Later they would establish the day on this planet lasted twenty-two hours. Their small house, containing both computer access, translator and replicator, was far from the nearest town or transport hub and surrounded by a forcefield. They were allowed to keep the tricorder, which had been examined by the Ha’van’s engineers. The one point on which the Ha’van’s would not relent was clothing. The scientist wished to study their captives al natural.

“When,” Tom pointed to Kate’s belly on their first night in a comfortable bed. He didn’t say more, she knew what he was asking.

“A little over two months ago, just after you scanned me. I had a period two days after that,” Kathryn sighed. “I haven’t had one since.”

“So, your somewhere between eight and ten weeks. What,” he questioned when Kate gave him that Captain’s stare. “Give me the Tricorder. I want to hear the heartbeat. This might not be a medical device, but it’s capable.”

Somehow, hearing their child’s tiny organ beating made it real. Cuddled up in each other’s arms, they spoke of the future. Unsure how long they would be held in this time period, but sure it would include the birth of their child, Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris decided to make the most of their incarceration. When they got back to Voyager, they’d have to cross another bridge.

Until then, the bludge under Kate’s ribs grew week by week. Every third day they were transported back to the facility where Kathryn had been initially held. The scientist and doctors performed their tests, asked questions and, embarrassingly, replayed exerts of their life for explanation. Unexpectedly, this enquiry into their intimate time together, made Tom and Kate more comfortable with each other physically and improved the strength and intensity of their relationship. By the time Kathryn Janeway felt the child move, Tom became worried about the actual birth.

“No one on this planet has ever seen a live, virginal birth,” he said. “I’m only a field medic and not a very well trained one. I did some study when Sam Wildman announced her pregnancy, just in case I had to help the Doc. Kate, if something goes wrong…”

“You really think Heyath and its team are going to allow that?” she demanded. “Heathrid allowed us to see the separation of its child, which is considered a very private occasion. You saw the care the Ha’van take with infants.”

Snorting, Tom responded, “some new born. That offspring was half the size of it…mother,” he hesitated.

“Parent,” Kate supplied with a smile.

“It could walk within three minutes of separation and talk an hour later,” Tom argued. “Are they really prepared for a child that’s helpless. Hell,” he fumed, “we’re helpless and hopelessly prepared. How are we going to cope? What if we jump again? When will we end up and will Junior jump with us?”

Placing a hand on Tom’s arm, Kathryn said, “Tom, stop. My mother use to say, ‘don’t borrow tomorrow’s troubles’. We have to take this one day at a time. The chroniton readings have stabilised, for now.”

His eyes narrowed on hers. “I can’t stop worrying, Kate. I love you. I don’t want to lose either of you because these people don’t have the knowledge if something goes wrong.”

“I love you too,” she responded with an exasperated sigh, “but that doesn’t mean you don’t annoy me occasionally. Nothing is going to go wrong, Tom.”

Chapter Text

“The chroniton radiation is increasing,” Kathryn spoke softly so as not to disturbed the child at her breast. They’d just transported back to their house and she’d been in the process of scanning the three of them before her daughter woke, demanding her nappy changed and belly filled.

When the labour pains commenced, Kathryn Janeway had been spirited away without warning and without Tom. She’d created, refusing to acknowledge her labour until the Ha’van’s concluded it was customary for both parents to witness their child entering the world. They’d quickly reunited the mates, impressed by Paris’s ability to aid the child’s delivery. Initially, both Tom and Kathryn thought Heyath and its team would keep them confined to the hospital facility permanently in the name of scientific research. The questions had been endless, the observation invasive and the fatigue relentless.

It took a week, with Tom’s near constant insistence that the family be return to their gilded prison, to convince the researchers that observing the Human’s in their natural habitat was more beneficial than the artificial environment. Tom and Kathryn found it almost impossible to behave as they would normally while attempting to bond with their helpless newborn. Once Heyath finally understood this formed the essence of the human domestic unit, it agreed, with conditions.

For once, the Captain in Kathryn allowed Tom to negotiate their new contract when the Ha’van’s realised he’d been trained in Human medicine. Besides, the post-partum hormones had set in, along with an exhaustion the new mother never felt as the Captain of a Starship. Tom’s carpentry skills hadn’t improved, but Paris demonstrated his determination to make a home for his family in the weeks leading up to their daughter’s birth. Kathryn Janeway just wanted to be in familiar surrounding with her partner, daughter and all the equipment they needed to care for Halina. Understanding these early weeks were designed for mother and father to bond with their new born, they knew the scrutiny from the Ha’van’s would be persistent but not completely invasive. Still, Kathryn Janeway wouldn’t let it intrude on caring for her child.

The scientist within the woman knew the baby’s immune system required isolation, at least for a few weeks. Tom had managed to get Heyath’s team to observe them from afar for this period. The Ha’van’s research team didn’t want to risk the child’s health any more than her parents. Finally, Kathryn Janeway needed to find out if Halina’s chroniton count matched hers and Tom’s. She’d never been more relieved when Tom announced they were leaving the hospital.

Pointing to the infant, Tom Paris didn’t need to ask the question his expression demanded.

“The same as ours, for the moment,” Kathryn offered, closing the device and concentrating on her child sucking at her breast.

Tom’s hand came up to Halina’s face, a finger softly stroking her cheek as the rate of her drinking decreased. “I think she’s almost asleep. I’ll burp her,” Tom offered. “You still look exhausted. Why don’t you try to get a nap.”

“Trying to get me into bed so soon, Tom,” Kathryn teased.

“That’s one thing I remember from my medical studies with the Doc,” he smirked. “No sex for six weeks. Besides, Halina will be up in another three hours, demanding her next meal. I’ll make something for us and have it ready for you.”

Sighing as she handed off her daughter and headed into the bedroom, Kathryn looked out onto their small garden. It seemed the Ha’van’s allowed Tom to replicate anything he could program into the machine. It had taken several months, with the aid of their tricorder to learn to read Ha’van, or, more truthfully, understand the basics. At that point, they’d started growing plants compatible with the Human digestive system in order to pass the time and improve their diet. Tom, of course, added nursery furniture to his list of accomplishments, while Kate studied the Ha’van’s history and culture. Their pursuits didn’t change as Halina grew and the family set up a new normal.

“How long,” Tom frowned, indicating the reading on the tricorder.

Kate had been scanning them weekly and knew the count was increasing. The rate seemed exponential in the last month. Paris feared the coming displacement. Their life might be an experiment, as far as the Ha’van’s were concerned, yet he still had Kate sleeping beside him every night. If they managed to return to Voyager, their life would be in upheaval once again. Several times over the course of their incarceration, the Captain’s dominant personality made an appearance. When she did, Tom Paris felt as if he didn’t know the woman at his side and that he would lose Kate once they regained their old lives.

“That’s not the problem.” Handing the tricorder to her partner of almost sixteen months, a mothers worried eyes met Tom’s. The parent at war with the science trained Captain, Kathryn Janeway allowed her expression to say all her heart and mind could not. While she wanted to get back to her ship, doing so with an infant, or worse still, without Halina would create problems both for and between herself and Tom.

“I am not leaving our daughter behind,” Tom announced in a hard tone, suddenly rising from the couch and pacing the living room. The very thought had the father of a four-month old on edge.

“Like we have a choice, Tom,” Kathryn stated harshly. “Halina might have been conceived five hundred years ago, born now and follow us into the future.”

“Or she might not,” he returned, understanding his daughter’s chroniton reading remained stable.

One week and three days later, the point proved moot. Once again, their surrounding started to shimmer. Understanding what was occurring, expecting it, Tom rushed to Halina’s crib, screaming for Kate to join him. Scooping the child into his arms as Kathryn entered the room, he almost made contact. Somewhere in his brain, the idea that whatever he held onto would jump with him emerged. He’d been helping the Captain into the co-pilots seat on their first jump. They’d made it with Galileo and their Starfleet uniforms intact. Kate melted into his arms for their second. They appeared on the street in their rustic replicated clothing. This time, Tom Paris wasn’t going into the future without the woman and child he loved, even if it was naked.

The quiet of the nursery faded from existence as the soft humming of the floor indicated he was on a ship. Glancing wildly around, Lt. Tom Paris would know the inside of Galileo anywhere. The weight in his arms indicating his daughter made the jump with him. However, Kathryn Janeway did not.

Rushing to the helm, careful to keep the four-and-a-half month old asleep, Tom checked the vessels location and the stardate. The co-ordinates matched the rendezvous point. However, Tom and Halina Paris appeared in their current time period ninety hours late for the link up with Voyager. Knowing Chakotay, he’d still be in the area, searching for the lost away team. With any luck, Kate had jumped into the same time, but at a different location.

Quieting his mind, Tom crushed his worry. Cursing as he came to the sudden conclusion that he was still naked, Lt. Thomas Paris replicated a uniform for himself and clothing for his daughter. Securing Halina on the co-pilot’s seat after getting the pink onesie on her, the child turned grizzly. Rolling his eyes, Paris knew she was objecting to the unfamiliar feeling of clothing as she attempted to kick her constrained legs in the air. In their small Ha’van house, the environmental controls compensated for the child’s lack of attire.

“Sorry, Hally,” Tom cooed at the child in an attempt to settle her distress as he donned his uniform, “but Daddy can’t appear nude when sending out a distress call to Voyager. This is all going to be a little strange for a while, but I hear kids cope with change better than adults. I’m not sure how your Mama’s going to manage. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we find her.”

Forcing that thought to the back of his mind for later examination, Tom slipped easily back into the role of pilot.

After all, he considered quietly, opening a voice only channel, I did it once before. It’d been five years between sitting at the conn of Exeter and Voyager. The Intrepid class might have similar controls, but she manoeuvred completely differently. It took me exactly three minutes to understand Voyager’s subtilties. If I could change my life so completely then, I can cope with what’s about to happen now.

“Paris to Voyager,” Tom couldn’t stop the slight distress entering his tone.

“It’s good to hear your voice, Lieutenant,” Chakotay announced, the smirk in the acting Captain’s words infused through the speaker. His voice carried a rather large dose of relief.

Lt. Paris knew it wouldn’t last much longer. If Chakotay was in charge, then he’d expect Kate to be with Tom. Allowing himself a moment to swallow the bile rising in his throat, Paris spared a look at his daughter.

“I’m sending Galileo’s co-ordinates, Commander,” Tom stated, not daring to open a visual, before asking the dreaded question. “Ah, the Captain wouldn’t be on board by any chance?”

Halina chose that moment to howl once again and pump her frustrated arms in the air. Her distress reaching major proportions, Tom was forced to pick the child up. Cuddling her, he almost missed Chakotay’s astonished question.

“Paris,” the Commander demanded, “is that a child.”

“Yes, Sir,” Tom responded.

Cradling his daughter in his arms so he could still reach the shuttles control panel, he managed to settle the child into an unhappily loud whimper. Sitting on the pilot’s lap, Hally continued to complain about her new environment, especially the tight clothing. The cat well and truly out of the bag, and Halina’s foot now in her mouth and muffling her cries, Paris managed to turn on the visual channel. Tom watched the faces of Voyager’s bridge crew as eyes widened and mouths dropped.

“Ah, Commander,” he requested, attempting to remove said foot from the baby’s mouth, “I’d like to request you transport my daughter and myself to sick bay when we’re in range.”

Nodding, Chakotay turned to Harry, who finally looked down at his station. “We’ll be in range in seven minutes.”

“Make it so,” the Commander ordered. “Then tractor Galileo into the shuttle bay.”

“Chakotay,” Tom’s expression serious, he added lifelessly, “I’ll explain once the Doc’s looked Halina over.”

“Sounds like some story,” Chakotay attempted to hid his astonishment. However, Tom was only interested in the empty Captain’s chair. “Voyager out.”

“Well, Hally,” Tom kissed the babies blond locks, “it looks like your Mama’s lost. I promise, we won’t stop looking until we find her. Captain Kathryn Janeway’s not the only one who’s determined to get her family home.”

As he waited, Lt. Paris realised two things. Firstly, Chakotay didn’t seem surprised that Kate wasn’t on Galileo. Secondly, he had been shocked that Tom Paris had a child.

Chapter Text

Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager found herself in a most awkward position. Standing in the Ha’van Premmisnister office completely naked. The Ha’van’s most powerful political fugure didn’t blink an eyelid, nor did it stare. Hante simply pointed to an open door as if it had expected this event. Even on Earth, elevated rank still had its privileges. In this case, a private bathroom attached to your office. Rushing into the space, Kathryn found a very good facsimile of her Starfleet uniform waiting, along with the four golden pips, proving her supposition. Hante manipulated this entire situation.

Returning to the office fully dressed, Captain Kathryn Janeway didn’t get a chance to demand answers. Hante stood with a small device in its hand, beckoning the alien woman to stand beside itself. Nodding, Kathryn wondered that she’d never seen the androgenises of Hante when compared to other modern Ha’van’s she’d encountered on her trade mission. The question must have been her expression, as the politician laughed. Or at least, made a sound that assumed the same enjoyment of a situation.

“If you would indulge me,” the Ha’van’s nodded its head in a gesture of supplication. It was a cultural trait the Captain observed rarely in Heyath and its scientist. “Have patience’s, Progenitor Kate Janeway, and all will be explained.”

Nodding her head in agreement, the pair were enveloped in a bubble as Hante pressed the device. “As you have correctly concluded,” it explained as the energy field shimmered into existence around them, signifying time travel, “the Ha’van’s now reproduce sexually, where once we, I believe your word was, budded.”

“Yes.” Ideas and theories were falling into place for the Captain. However, Kate Janeway wanted to scream. Taking in a deep, calming breath, she placed the woman solidly behind the Officer. The mother and partner would bide her time before demanding to know where, and possibly when, her daughter and Tom had appeared.

“Our society owe you and Tom Paris much. You are known as the Progenitors. An honorary title amongst our people. If they uncovered you were in my office,” Hante bowed its head in diffidence. Sweeping a hand out, their original camp site appeared through the flickering veil. “We are surrounded by a temporal bubble. I may release you from it, if you wish, so you might explore this time in your past.”

Nodding, Kathryn took a step forward, leaving the Ha’van’s within its own time. The aeroshuttle had disappeared, the area appeared abandoned but the rest of the site looked as if she and Tom had left only days ago. The plaintive cries of Deffer dragged at the new mother’s heart. Calling the animal, it came. So excited to see part of its pack, Deffer jumped into Kathryn’s outstretched arms. Hugging the shaggy half dog, half cat shaped animal to her breast, the mother wanted to cry. Halina should have been encased in her arms, Tom’s arm around her shoulder, watching his family and offering protection.

“Do you wish to bring the Hagerit with us on our journey through time?” Hante asked, curious as to the emotion this woman displayed.

Unable to answer, tears valiantly constrained, although one or two make it into Deffer’s shaggy coat, Captain Janeway stepped back into the time bubble with the animal securely in her embrace. “It won’t change the time line?” she asked.

“No.” The scene outside moved forwarded, as if a drama on a view screen. Hante remarked, “they are extinct. When it was found the progenitors kept a Hagerit, many were taken from this world as pets. They do not bud in captivity, nor are they found anywhere else within the Ha’van Starpire.”

Unable to form the words, Kathryn watched the play before her with Deffer securely in her arms. Time moved forward at an alarming rate. Day and night passing in the blink of an eye. Wind swept sand over their camp, winter destroyed much of their progress without maintenance. As the years passed, little was left of the site. Finally, Hovath and his crew returned to their camp with a larger team. It became an alcohological dig.

“We first extracted your DNA from the blankets,” Hante explained. “It was then, along with the strange incident with Hovath’s first encounter that excited our scientist. They knew you had abandoned the camp a century before and could not account for the difference in time. We discovered chroniton particles but did not understand their importance for many centuries. As a species, the Ha’van had only started to explore the space surrounding our home world. Then,” once again the scene charged forward before the bubble lifted from the planet’s surface and travelled through three planetary systems. Coming to rest in a massive city, the bubble deposited them in the hospital room Kathryn knew intimately. “You were discovered in one of our cities and brought to this facility. It enabled our scientist to continue their research in genetic conversion by observing the Progenitor’s.”

“How,” the Captain pointed to the obviously asexual Ha’van’s. While it appeared Hante was a throwback to an earlier time in its history, the other individuals she’d met on the trade mission displayed gender differences.

Once again, making that laughing sound, Hante explained. “Each procreated, many times after you disappeared. Time travel was not possible in this era. Before the bud would have separated, they were genetically enhanced and removed from their parent. Half received the equivalent of female genes, the other half, male. We had to learn to care for our helpless young, but had some knowledge of how the Progenitors tended for their daughter. Unfortunately, it took many generations to take effect within the general population. There were complications. Although many became either male or female, reproducing as the Progenitors did, occasionally children were hermaphrodites. Our civilisation did not develop the same bonding rituals as you and Tom Paris.”

“What is the make-up of your family groups?” the Scientist requested. Kathryn Janeway had to ignore the ache in her heart. It seemed she and Tom had affected this culture, breaking the Prime Directive. Yet, they’d had no choice in the matter.

“Mostly, we take our likeness from you and Tom Paris,” Hante stated. “Pairs usually mate for life. Some form groups of more than two, those are more susceptible to failure in the long term because they centre around a hermaphrodite. Our laws in relation to the children are very strict, their welfare paramount. Progenitor Tom taught our civilization this. He cared for both his mate and child in the immediate post birth phase. The male always receives care of the young, if the bond mates end the relationship. Of course, there are those who are relics of the past and still bud.”

“We call them throwbacks,” Kathryn informed. “When the genetic engineering fails, even many generations later, it is not unusual to return to your true and natural form.”

“Then,” Hante smiled sadly, “there are an even smaller group that are unable to create progeny by any method.”

An idea suddenly formed in the Captain’s mind. “You are sterile?” Kathryn enquired of Hante in a soft voice.

“Yes,” The Premminister agreed as they were deposited back into its office. “Those few who are created in each generation are given the most difficult positions within the government. We have loyalties to no group and are designed to make decisions based on the needs of the many.”

Raising an eyebrow, Captain Kathryn Janeway knew she should be angry. This culture had taken Tom and herself by force. They’d placed them in a position of reliance on each other, almost forcing their relationship to become intimate and ending in the creation of a new life. It was that very event which brought about radical change in their civilization.

“By my calculations,” the maths suddenly made sense to the Federation Starship Captain, “you are three hundred years more advanced than Voyager!”

“We have mastered a form of temporal/spatial travel that no longer requires dilithum as a power source. The signature of our previous warp capabilities was designed to attract your vessel to our home world,” Hante confessed.

“You lured us here?” the Captain demanded. Kathryn Janeway now had incontrovertible proof. “You have made us break our prime directive. Tom and I have interfered with the natural progression of a species, even if it is against our will.”

“I absolve you from this,” Hante responded, as if a politician could take away the Captain’s feeling of responsibility or guilt. “I can have our scientist explain the temporal inconsistency causing this time loop if you wish. Or,” it watched carefully, assessing Kathryn Janeway’s expression, “is it enough to know, in this case, the result preceded the event.”

“I had to explain that to Tom once,” Kathryn recalled. Suddenly the question Kate had been ignoring burst fourth. “Where are Tom and my daughter? For that matter, where is my ship and crew?” the Captain added.

“When you did not reach your rendezvous on time, Voyager followed your shuttle’s warp trail to the temporal rift we opened three days ago,” Hante stated. “They proceeded into Ha’van’s main system and I spoke with Commander Chakotay less that one of your days ago. We have assured them you will be returned shortly as our negotiations are finally concluding to the satisfaction of all parties. He chose to follow his own agender and attempt to locate your missing shuttle.”

“We gave your civilization the ability for genetic diversity,” Captain Janeway muttered, finally understanding the subtle undercurrents during the first negotiations. It seemed she and Tom had been missing less than ninety hours in this time, enough for Chakotay to become worried, especially if he couldn’t find any evidence of human life signs on the Ha’van home world. “Now you’re giving us the dilithum and deuterium we requested of you. If you can transport through time, if your technology has advanced to such a level, will you not help us get back to the Alpha quadrant?”

“Like you,” Hante seemed saddened, “we have our own Prime Directive. I suggest you do not waste this opportunity, Progenitor. As I understand from your shuttle’s data banks, a Captain is forced to lived their life alone. You have been given a rare opening to be a leader, a mate and a parent. One, I will never enjoy. I envy you, Kate Janeway.”

“Where is my shuttle?” the Captain asked, ignoring the fluttering around her heart. She’d have to think about Hante’s words later.

“Where it should be. We have taken care of it all these centuries,” Hante smirked, “for the time when it would be needed once again. The director of the Progenitor’s museum will be disappointed to lose such an article.”

“Thank you,” Kate sighed, understanding little would be achieve by fighting an individual as determined as herself. “Now, could you take me to my partner and daughter, please.”

“Halina,” once again that sad expression covered Hante features as it explained, “should not have made the jump. We did not expect Tom Paris’s devotion to his offspring.”

“Your telling me,” Kate became enraged, “you expected us to leave our daughter to be experiment on as we were?”

“Halina,” Hante stood to its towering height, which did little to calm the enraged woman before her, “was never meant to be. As you jumped into the future, the child should have ceased to exist.”

Suddenly understanding, Kathryn Janeway had never been more furious. Hante knew how lonely a position of power could be. Unable to have a child itself, it had given her to chance, while bring advancement to its people. Yet, the Premminister refused to feel guilty for its decision which placed their celebrated progenitors in a moral quandary. There was no way in hell she’d give up Tom after almost a year and a half as his partner, mate and wife in all but name. They even had a child and possibly… Swallowing hard, the Captain had to wonder if this that been Hante’s plan all along.

“You can’t see into the future,” the Kathryn Janeway came to the sudden conclusion. “That’s the limitation of your technology. You’ve lost Tom and Halina. Voyager won’t leave until I have all my crew accounted for, especially my partner and daughter.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Hante smiled, reaching into a pocket and producing the Captain’s comm badge. “After loading the dilithum and other supplies, one of our vessels will escort you to a world where your crew can experience shore leave while we await the arrival of Tom and Halina. The scientists tell me it will not be more than a month.”

“It better not be,” the Captain and woman agreed on this point. Breasts aching, Kathryn realised it was time to feed her daughter. Her breaking heart would have to be concealed for the moment.

“Premminister,” the call interrupted. “The Progenitor’s shuttle has disappeared from the museum. We believe Progenitor Tom Paris has arrived in our time line.”

Tapping the badge on hearing this, Janeway fortified herself with a deep breath. It all came back in a second, her duty and training. “Captain to Voyager.”

“Chakotay here,” the First Officer’s relieved tone issued from the Captain’s comm badge.

“Mr. Paris will soon contact you from Galileo,” Kathryn stated. “Please collect the shuttle before returning to the Ha’van’s home world. Janeway out.”

Chapter Text

Chakotay found himself in quite a quandary, trying to make sense of so many disjointed facts. Behind him, at the tactical station, Tuvok’s Vulcan logic could give no theory. Harry, as with the other bridge crew gave into their astonishment. Not thirty seconds after the Captain comm’ed, Lt. Paris contacted Voyager. They’d left together, ten days ago in Galileo. Chakotay ordered continuous scans within the area surrounding the Ha’van’s home system as Voyager searched for the pair missing almost four days. An initial sensor sweep couldn’t locate either crew member. The Primminister insisted Captain Janeway and Lt. Paris were continuing negotiations and would soon return. The Commander knew the official to be deceitful.

“Commander,” Ensign Baytart, seated at the helm, requested orders.

Pablo, like the rest of the bridge crew, were astonished at the two comm’s so close together. More so at the blond haired, blue eyed child sitting on Tom Paris’s lap. While they were all wondering how the Chief Conn Officer could achieve the minor miracle in less than a fortnight, none would question her male parent.

“After retrieving Mr. Paris and Galileo,” Chakotay commanded, “Voyager will proceed to the Ha’van’s home world and retrieve the Captain as ordered.”

Seven minutes later, Tom and his daughter appeared in sick bay while Harry directed the tractor beam towards Galileo. The EMH, forewarned of his newest patient indicated Tom should place the infant on a biobed. Rushing over with his medical tricorder already in hand and probe prepared, the EMH began scanning the accident-prone pilot. Muttering under his breath Tom pointed to Halina, clearly indicating he wished an update on his daughter before the Doc touched him. A soft expression covered the medics face as he observed the synchronicity between father and child.

“Well,” the doctor rolled his eyes as he approached the child, “I believe I’m glad I can turn off my olfactory sub-routines. Mr. Paris, I believe Miss Paris requires a new nappy.” Looking down at the child and visually examining her, the EMH’s voice changed. More song like, he devoted his complete attention to the little girl. “I’ll take this suit off while your daddy gets you a fresh pair of pants. Oh, and something more appropriate for a little girl. Maybe a dress, so you can kick your legs.”

“About that full nappy, Doc,” Tom was already on the way to the replicator understating the little girl would soon need feeding on top of everything esle, “Hally usually saves it up for a few days.”

“Yes,” the EMH responded absent mindedly, now tickling the child’s exposed chest as she reached out for the probe, her eyes following the device and lips making a delighted cooing sound at the attention. He might look like he was playing with the infant, in truth, the doctor assessed her physical development and found it consistent with her age. She’d been undergoing such test twice a week since her birth, finding this one less of a trial. “While I act as her latest toy, may I suggest you hurry. I believe your daughter will require feeding…”

“About that,” Tom interrupted. He’d returned and was attempting to get the soiled dipper off the little girl. Now free from the constricting clothing, Hally pumped her legs and started to roll over, whimpering when her father stopped the movement. “She’s been exclusively breast fed.”

“Which would explain the twice weekly defecation,” the EMH replied. “Quite normal, I assure you, Lieutenant.”

“Ah, Doc, that wasn’t what I was getting at,” Tom sounded harassed. Turning on his humour, he pointed to his chest with one hand, the other securing his daughter to the biobed. “Unless you can perform a miracle and make me a set of working mammary glands.”

For the first time in their complex history, the EMH stopped his examination and truly looked at Thomas Paris. It had taken the medical expert less than ten seconds to guess Halina’s mother’s identity. The tricorder confirmed it moments later. His worry changed from the child to the father. This situation would be fraught with problems.

“Wherever you have been for the last eighteen months,” the Doctor stated, his expression and tone conciliatory, “your diet has been lacking in two essential amino acids which the human body does not produce. I am going to give both you and your daughter a shot to counteract the deficiency. You should begin to feel better by tomorrow.”

“Doctor,” Commander Chakotay acknowledged as he entered sick bay. He’d only heard the last part of the EMH’s advice, starting with essential amino acids.

“Mr. Paris won’t be fit for duty until tomorrow,” the EMH reported. “Miss Paris here,” he smiled down at the child who was becoming fussy, “needs her father’s attention while settling into a new environment. I’m going to keep them both in sick bay for another few hours.”

“Do you want to explain,” Chakotay pointed the child Tom was attempting to dress.

Her bottom now clean, Halina let her father know her stomach required filling. Picking his daughter up and cradling her in one hand, Tom tried to place the replicated bottle with formula in her mouth. She mulishly refused to even try and, in that moment, Tom saw Kate in the child’s expression. Her cries becoming more persistent and piercing with each attempt at getting her to suck, Paris’s suddenly found himself with tears running down his cheeks.

“I think you’d better wait for the Captain to explain,” Tom’s frustration coloured his words.

“I’m here,” Kathryn Janeway strode into the room. On glance in her lover’s direction and she knew how much those cries of frustration from their daughter affected Tom. “Give her to me,” she commanded.

Without a second through, Captain Janeway striped her top and turtle neck. Sitting on the biobed beside Tom, she insisted he lay Halina in her arm while she prepared her breast. The relief on both mother and daughter’s faces held the EMH and Commander spellbound.

“Chakotay,” the Captain was back in the blink of an eye. “The Ha’van’s technology is three hundred years more advanced than the Federation. They transported me directly to Voyager when their doctors realised my discomfort. Please assemble the senior staff for a briefing in thirty minutes.”

“Aye, Captain,” Chakotay nodded, understanding he’d been dismissed.

“I haven’t cleared you,” the EMH raged. “If you’ve been wherever Mr. Paris and your daughter have been for the last eighteen months, then you need a shot of amino acids and several hours rest.”

Shaking his head, Chakotay decided to leave the doctor to his impossible task. Even with a child in tow, he knew Kathryn Janeway was still the Captain. His personal feeling and thoughts were moot at this point. Something had occurred, causing Tom Paris to claim the woman he’d come to hope might hold feelings for him. Analysing the scene, both Tom and Kathryn appeared older. Janeway had cut her hair short. As he looked back before the door closed, Miss Paris reached up to take a lock and twist it in her chubby fingers. The beatific smile on her mother’s lips was nothing to her father crowding over his partners shoulder, cradling them both in his protective arms.