I'd like to thank everyone who gave me such great feedback on part one, and who kept encouraging me to get part 2 up! Here you go!

See Part 1 for disclaimer.

Spoilers (sort of) for "Threshold" and "Resolutions"--if you don't want to read anything that in any way mentions events of either of these episodes, turn back now! I also got a bit of information from Jeri Taylor's book, Mosaic.

That night, tired from the emotions flooding her brain all day, Janeway sat down to make a list of everything she would need to do, and soon. She and Tom would need to talk about what they were going to do, and she had to find a way to tell Chakotay.

She knew that wouldn't be easy. How could she tell him this, without his feeling betrayed, like he had been put on hold, and now she was just hanging up on him? It was unfair of her, and downright unacceptable for her to just brush off all of his feelings, all of the years he had waited, hoping she would decide to attempt a relationship with him.

After all, how could she logically expect him to feel the same why about her, now that she was carrying another man's children? Tom Paris' children,. of all people. She knew Chakotay had his differences with the younger man, and that this could only do negative things to their already strained relationship.

She had an idea for how to deal with Tom, depending on how involved he chose to be in the lives of these children. And if she knew Tom, he would want to be there all the way. She knew he would be afraid of parenting. She was, too. After the childhood he'd had, the father he'd grown up fearing, it was understandable. But in it's own way, that made Tom that much better a candidate to be a good parent. He knew all of the mistakes, and would know what he would need to do to avoid making the same mistakes. And she knew Tom would be eager to try. But how long would that last?

That's why she didn't expect marriage. Tom settling down with anyone, her least of all, was a shocking idea. He wouldn't go for it. Even if his reputataion as a ladie's man was a little exaggerated, as she knew it had to be, he was still rather popular with the female portion of the crew, and she knew he wouldn't easily give all of that up. Especially not for her. She was the Captian, and far from what he was looking for, she was sure. No, any relationship they did have was going to have to be based solely on the needs of the children.

Her idea did involve them living together, however. Already she had designs in mind for quarters; a large suite that would have separate rooms for Tom and herself. And a nursery for the children, room for them to each have a room of their own once they were older. But how would Tom feel about parading all if his guests in front of her? There was no way they could coexist, expecially with her late nights, and his...entertaining. But, she mused, those late nights would have to stop, and soon. She knew she would have to get more sleep than she had in a long while.

The doctor had already given her several padds to look over, and she was fascinated.

She had always thought she might have children one day. It was every little girls' dream to have a family of her own, and as she got older, it became more real. Perhaps the most realistic it had become was when she had been engaged to Justin. Marrying then, it just seemed so right that children would come along in due time. Then came the accident, and she though all hopes of a family had died with Justin in that shuttle. Mark had come along awhile after that. She knew children were possible, though they never talked about it much, and each conversation they did have ended in fewer decisions, until finally she had known, close to the time she had left for Voyager's first mission, that he didn't really want children at all, that he was perfectly content to go through life without them.

Then, on Voyager, another opportunity had presented itself. Originally, she didn't think Voyager was the place for children, that there was no way she could bring a child into the world in such circumstances. The constant uncertainty, the battles, the danger. But then she had been stuck on New Earth with Chakotay, and everything had changed. If she was going to be trapped on a planet for the rest of her life, with only one other person, a man she could easily find herself attracted to, she knew she'd eventually fall in love with him. Heaven only knew, she had come close several times. The man was everything she had hoped for; strong, spiritual, deeply rooted--so many things that she found herself drawn to. But that was all in the past, now. Now, she had to tell him.