Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager and all the characters below belong to United Paramount Pictures. I do not gain profit in any way from the story below.

Dedicated to Ms. Coker - I know it's real because it really happened.

Kathryn moaned slightly as she allowed her captain's facade to slide away. For the past four hours she'd been enduring an endless set of pleasantries in preparation for trade negotiations. Poor Chakotay was still down on the planet, apologizing for his wife's early departure. Reluctant as she had been to abandon him, she simply couldn't stay another second. The five-course dinner had left her far too full, even if she was eating for two. There was no way this meal was going to stay put for long.

Almost painfully, the woman trudged through the bedroom doors and into the bathroom, starting the water running to fill a hot bath. For a moment she contemplated settling into the steam fully clothed, but remembered the difficulty she'd had changing to nightclothes the last time she'd done so. In the end, she dropped her uniform on the cold floor and wallowed in a pool of near-scalding water and self-pity.

Six months. Six months she'd been with child, and still, like clockwork, she suffered morning sickness twice a day. Her mother had warned her of the family trait, but Kathryn had never put much stock in it. Morning sickness for all nine months? That simply didn't happen. The logical young woman had dismissed the idea, chalking it up to an excitable woman's exaggeration. Kathryn felt sorry for her mother now, going through it all twice; at this point, she had decided one child was definitely enough.

Abruptly, her dinner decided it was time for re-introductions. Despite her scrambling, at eighteen kilos extra, she simply wasn't quick enough. Before she could even lean over the side, all five courses came back to haunt her. Weak and miserable, it was all she could do to lay back down and weep until she slept.

When she awakened, the water was cold and slimy. She sat still, not knowing what had startled her until he heard a soft chuckle from the doorway. "Kathryn," he sighed, coming near her. She made a truly pitiful sight, lying in filthy water, face tearstained, and shivering.

Janeway found herself growing slightly angry. "You find this amusing?"

He shook his head seriously and extended a hand to help her up. She stepped out of the tub still shaking, and he wrapped her in his robe. "Chakotay, it'll be dirty . . ."

"Shhh," he scolded. "Sit down." He led her to a soft chair just outside the bathroom. He could hear him draining the tub, but couldn't quite bring herself to stand and try to help. In a few moments the water started running again, then stopped shortly before he emerged. He took her hand and led her back into the newly heated bathwater, sitting her down as gently as he could. He scooped handfulls of hot water and rinsed out her hair, allowing the liquid to run down her shoulders and back. When she was clean, he pulled her back up and helped her wrap up in a towel.

He made his way next to their shared bedroom, where she could hear him rooting around in the drawers. She had grown so much that she really could no longer wear her own nightclothes comfortably. Chakotay returned with his own favorite shirt, a soft brown cotton he wore only for vision quests. She started to object and he again placed a finger over her lips. The fabric felt wonderful brushing against her bare skin.

Arm around her waist, he took her to bed, sitting her down in front of his lap and facing away. Gently he worked at the knots in her shoulder-length hair until it was free of tangles. Making soothing sounds, he parted the sheets and blankets to allow her to slide underneath. He sat beside her, smoothing her hair and running his knuckles across her face until she drifted away.

He breathed a silent thank you to the gods.