All characters belong to Paramount, but the story and the character Chumani are mine. (Please don't use any parts or the character without the mention of my name - thank you.)

Rated: PG-13


Here's how "Daddy" ended....


"Hmmmm, I don't know," she thought about it for a moment, "I like David for a boy, but for a girl I'd like.....Chumani."

I stared at Kathryn and she returned my gaze but didn't say anything. It took a while before I was able to speak.

"How do you know?" I asked her.


DADDY part 2

by Lisa Hanson


"I read your file in the Starfleet library," Kathryn said.

"I see."

I hadn't known that Starfleet files contained such personal information about me or anyone else. There must be special entries only a Captain is allowed access to. I had never told Kathryn about the Cardassian attack on my homeworld, she knew that my parents had died there but nothing more, and I had never told her about Chumani, my only sister.

"Chakotay?"

"What?" I was angry with Kathryn for reading my personal file without telling me.

"There's no reason to be upset."

"There isn't? You never told me that you knew such information about me, about my family and my past, what else are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing. I don't know why you are so angry with me. You know Starfleet regulations as well as I do; when I was sent out on the original mission to capture you Starfleet command gave me as much information about the Maquis crew as was available. You were supposed to become my prisoner at that time, Chakotay."

"You could have told me earlier."

"Why? I hadn't even thought about that file in years, but as we began to think about names for our baby I suddenly remembered that I had read about your sister and that she had a beautiful name. I thought it would make you happy to name our baby after her so I read the file again to find the name because I had forgotten it."

"But you could have told me then, Kathryn. You had no right to go behind my back a second time. I thought we trusted each other."

"I thought so too," Kathryn whispered.

I looked at her. She was hurt too. She had betrayed my trust, that was true, but I had betrayed her in some way as well. I had never talked to her about that part of my life. Suddenly my anger was gone.

"You'd like to hear about Chumani?" I asked.

"Yes, if you're ready to talk about her."

I sighed and began, "She was ten years younger than me and we had a special relationship. I felt responsible for her from the day she was born. I was her big brother and I didn't allow anyone to harm her when we were growing up. Even later, when we were adults, my feelings of protectiveness over her never changed. I even attacked one of her boyfriends because he had betrayed her.  I was so happy for her when she met her husband. He was a nice man, very caring. They had a wonderful relationship, but unfortunately they couldn't have children of their own. They tried for years but even with medical help it wouldn't happen. She was always sad about that, but at least she had her wonderful marriage. "

Suddenly I remembered the last message my parents had ever sent me. In it they told about the first wave of Cardassian attacks and that Chumani and her husband had been killed. A few weeks later I received word that my parents had died as well. I never allowed myself to cry over the loss; instead I'd focused all my energy on fighting against those who had caused me such pain. I hadn't been able to talk about it, not even to Kathryn. I'd been so hurt, I'd lost everyone I had ever loved and even after all those years my heart ached when I thought about the family and friends that had been taken from me. I felt tears in my eyes. Kathryn took me into her arms and let me cry.

I'm not sure how long I cried, but when I stopped Kathryn asked me, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes" I answered. I told her everything. I told her about my family, about my childhood and growing up with my sister. I told her about my boyhood home and the friends I had spent time with. Finally, I told her about the day my family died. I felt so much better talking about it. I was sharing my soul with the one person in the universe who I hoped might understand, and the way she held me while I spoke told me that she did. I had never before felt as close to Kathryn as I did that night.

Five weeks later we began to build a nursery. I made a bed and a rocking chair for Kathryn, while she herself began to sew a blanket and some baby clothes. We could have easily replicated these things, but we liked doing it on our own. It was a wonderful time in our relationship, we were completely at ease with each other and very happy. No ship problems, no attacks. Kathryn was able to relax. She spent most of her shifts on the bridge with the Doctor's permission. In the evenings we often lay in our bed talking to the baby. I admit we felt a bit odd when we first began the ritual, but soon we were used to it. We always called the baby "Little One", but we had finally decided on naming it either David Kolopak, the second name in honor of my father, or Chumani.

I had never seen Kathryn that happy before, she seemed almost to be a different person. She still wanted to get the crew home of course, but her priority was definitely our baby.



One day when I entered her ready room, using my override code because she didn't answer my call, I found her sitting on her couch lost in thought with the most beautiful smile on her face. She was stroking her belly and talking to the baby.

"Hi" I said as I stepped towards her.

She looked up, "Oh, I didn't hear you come in."

I sat down beside her. "I chimed twice, but you didn't answer."

"Sorry, must have been daydreaming." She smiled, "Our Little One is kicking constantly today."

I laid my hand on her abdomen and felt a little thump against my palm. "Pretty active. Doesn't that baby need sleep? It was awake the whole night kicking against me when you shifted beside me. Maybe it's all the caffeine you had in your blood, Kathryn."

"Might be."

"By the way, I came here to tell you that the duty rosters for next week are ready. You just have to give your okay."

"I'll read it. Anything else?"

"No, all is running perfectly."

"Good to hear."

"I'm going to go work on the rest of the reports now, I'll see you at dinner." I kissed her on her hair and then patted her abdomen. "And you little one, stop torturing your Mom, we need our Captain healthy."



In Kathryn's eighth month we began to talk about the birth.

"I'm really afraid of it. I know all about what will happen, but it scares me." She told me.

"I know, me too."

"You too?" She asked and laughed.

"It's my first birth too and I want to support you, to help you through this and I am really nervous."

"I've been reading a lot about different ways of giving birth, but I am not sure which one we should use."

"I would like for the birth process to be as natural as possible. The women of my tribe always do it naturally, even now, and they use herbs to combat the pain instead of synthetic drugs. They have a person by their side whom they trust; a mother, a sister or a friend. Maybe we should read a little more about this?

"I don't know, Chakotay, after all this is the 24th century and with a well equipped sickbay within reach I have to admit that 'natural childbirth' sounds a bit primitive, not to mention dangerous. I don't want to put myself or our baby at risk just for the sake of tradition.

"Kathryn, childbirth is a natural process. Out of respect for our child we should endeavor to follow as closely to tradition as possible. I can't help but feel that our little one's entrance into this life should not take place in a sterile sickbay atmosphere on a biobed with glaring lights all around."

Kathryn was silent. I could tell by her expression that she was torn between her innate scientist's rationale and her desire to respect my wishes.

"Kathryn," I said, "I know you want what's best for our child, so do I. Let's take some time to think about it. I know we will find a way that is comfortable for both of us and safe for our child."

We began to read everything we could find in the Starfleet database about natural childbirth and my own tribe's birth rituals. After long and thorough consideration Kathryn decided she would like to try to give birth in a more traditional way, but with the compromise that the birth take place in sickbay under the doctor's supervision. She even felt confident enough in the medicinal research we read about herbal remedies to agree to try them for pain management, and reserve synthetic pain killers as a last resort.



We talked to the Doctor and he was definitely not happy with our decision.

"In the 24th century with all the medical assistance available to help make it easier and less traumatic for a woman to give birth, you really want to attempt it this way instead?" he asked us.

"Yes, we do," Kathryn told him, "And don't be worried, Doctor. You'll be there the whole time." She grinned.

"You don't expect me to wear feathers on my head or anything like that, do you?"

"At least he has a great sense of humor," I thought and smiled to myself.

Traditionally, no man is present when a woman gives birth, but I wanted to experience it. I wanted to be there to help Kathryn and to see my baby take its first breath.



That evening Kathryn and I talked about our visit to sickbay.

"Do you really think it's the right decision?" she asked me.

"Yes. Are you having second thoughts?"

"Not exactly, but I'm a bit unsure of myself. What if I can't make it?"

I took her into my arms. "You won't be alone, Kathryn. I'll be with you, and if any complications should arise or you should need pain killers, the Doctor is there."

"I know. By the way, what are the ingredients in that tea?" she asked.

"It's made from Blue Cohosh, an herb known to ease the delivery. Many tribes have used it for centuries. The Native Americans also called it "Squaw Root," I laughed.

"Squaw Root????? Well, I was a Starfleet captain and what am I now-----a typical Indian squaw." Kathryn laughed.

"Yes, that's life. You're trapped with me now------Squaw." I laughed.



Two weeks before her due date Kathryn was still on duty. She was always tired, everything seemed to be too much for her and I was worried. I told her many times she should go off duty, but she always said that she felt fine. One day we were in her ready room in a meeting with Tuvok. She looked very tired and shifted in her seat often, it seemed to be very uncomfortable for her to sit for so long.

"Captain, you look tired, maybe you should go back to your quarters and lay down. Tuvok and I can handle this without you." I said.

Kathryn scowled at me and I saw that she was angry. "Commander, I am still able to perform my duty, and your duty is not to pamper me. You have more important things to take care of and if you are not aware of what your duties as first officer are I can give you a padd with Starfleet protocol."

That made me angry too. "If you don't mind then Captain, I will leave now to perform my duties. Am I dismissed?" I stood up.

"Yes, dismissed."

I rushed out of the room. I spent the rest of my shift in engineering and then went to the Holodeck and played pool with Tom in Sandrine's. After I lost a few games Tom asked me what was wrong.

"Nothing," I said. I didn't want to talk about it.

"Come on, sometimes it's good to talk about things. Something must be wrong, you don't usually spend your evenings here alone."

"Yes, you're right. Let's sit down." We sat at the bar, ordered two glasses of beer and talked.

"It's Kathryn?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted, "She is so stubborn. She acts if she isn't pregnant."

"Same with B'Elanna. When she was been pregnant I couldn't convince her to rest. Just stay calm and try to help her. That's the only advice I can give you. It's hopeless to fight with these two woman." We shared a laugh.

Tom continued "Every time I wanted to help her she said, 'I can still handle things by myself. Thank you idiot.' That was her favorite nickname for me during these months, Idiot." he laughed. "And somehow I was responsible for everything, even the problems in engineering. It was my fault that she had morning sickness and back aches, it was my fault that she got pregnant at all."

"I thought you both had planned it?"

"Yes, we did. But try telling that to a pregnant woman, especially a half Klingon one. I consider myself lucky for surviving the pregnancy at all."

We sat there for a long time talking about a lot of things. Around 23:00 I went home.

Kathryn was sitting on the couch in our living room. She was asleep and woke up as I stepped toward her.

"What are you doing here, Kathryn?"

"Waiting for you."

I sat down beside her.

"I thought about today and I guess you're right. I should stop working now. Beginning tomorrow you'll take over command"

"Okay. Come on now, you need sleep. Off to bed with you." I helped her to stand up and we went to our bedroom.



As Kathryn's due date drew closer we became increasingly nervous. We both had difficulty sleeping. For months we had been in the habit of lying cuddled together at night in our bed, Kathryn with her back cuddled against my chest, my arms around her abdomen. This position was comfortable for her and allowed me to be near her and the baby. One night, as we lay together, Kathryn became increasingly restless.

"Chakotay, are you asleep?" she asked me.

"No."

"I am so tired of waiting."

"I know, but just a few more days."

"I can't stand it much longer."

"You can't stand anything, that's one of your biggest failures," I laughed.

She poked me with an elbow, "You say a lot of funny things," she laughed too.

"See, the baby is like me, always patient," I teased.

"Now hold on there Commander, I can recall at least a few times when you weren't so patient. When we began working on this little one, for instance, you seemed very impatient to get me into our bedroom."

"Well, it was like work you know, and I always take my duties seriously."

Kathryn laughed again.

"We should try to rest now, things will be changing in the next few weeks and I have a feeling that we won't have much time for sleep." I said.

"Yes," she said, "Good Night."

"Good Night."

A few hours later I heard Kathryn saying, "Chakotay, wake up."

"What's wrong?"

"I think it's time."

"Time for what?"

"The baby isn't being so patient anymore."

Suddenly I was fully awake. I sat up, "Are you okay?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Stay calm, I'll be back in just a minute." I jumped out of our bed and quickly dresses in trousers and a shirt. Kathryn sat up on the edge of the bed. I went back to her.

"Oooogh," she said and clutched her hands to her abdomen. As the pain registered on her face I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. I'd never imagined it would be like that. Kathryn was in pain and there was nothing what I could do about. I hated to feel so helpless. I sat down beside her and took her into my arms. I stroked her back, desperate to do anything I could to help. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

"How far apart are they?" I asked her.

"About ten minutes."

Doc had told us that we should wait until the contractions were five minutes apart before going to sickbay. He had suggested that in the meantime we should do something that was relaxing for Kathryn, like walking or taking a bath.

"You know, we should do something to relax you, do you want me to draw you a bath?" I asked.

"I am not sure I can relax right now. But maybe you're right, we could try a bath."

"Can you stand up?"

"Sure." She stood up.

I put my arm around her waist and guided her into our bathroom. I filled the tub and then helped her out of her nightgown and into the warm water. I took a seat on the floor beside the tub. We'd spent countless hours like this in the past, Kathryn would lay in the tub and I would sit beside her and read something, or we would just talk. But this time it wasn't relaxing and I couldn't think of anything to say. I stared at her.

"Please will you stop looking so concerned, Chakotay, it doesn't make me feel better."

"I'm sorry." I smiled at her and took her hand in mine.

"Let's talk about something," she said.

I looked into her eyes. I loved this woman so much. I'd been thinking for a long time that I would like to marry her soon, but I hadn't mentioned it to her since our shore leave almost two years ago. I decided this would be the right moment.

"Would you like to marry me?" I asked her.

"As I recall, you've already asked me that question and I told you that I'd like to when we get home."

"What about now?"

"I thought we were going to talk about something relaxing? Instead you have decided to try to shock me into forgetting about the labor pains?" She laughed.

"I know that you didn't want to get married before, but now, things are different. We're going to have our baby. I know this will bond us together forever, but I want to be bonded with you officially as well."

"I've never heard of a starship Captain married to her First Officer," she said.

"And I've never heard of a First Officer having a child with his Captain," I answered.

"Okay, point taken. But what if we make it home soon, how will Starfleet Command react?"

"How will they react to our child, Kathryn? We won't be able to hide our relationship or our family from them. And I don't want to hide anything anyway. The most important thing to me is that I love you and you love me and we will be a family soon."

Suddenly I felt Kathryn grip my hand and watched as her face became distorted.

"I think it would be a good idea to go to sickbay now." she said, "This one was stronger than the others."

"Okay, come, stand up." I helped her get out of the tub. I handed her a towel and helped her wrap it around her body. We walked to the bedroom and I helped her into her nightgown.



We went to sickbay.

"Good Morning, Captain, Commander," the Doctor greeted us with a big smile,
"It's time now, is it? Try to stay calm. First time parents are always a little bit overly nervous. I'm sure we have several hours left to wait until something interesting happens."

I could have killed him at that moment.

"How far apart are the contractions?" he asked.

"About eight minutes. She tried taking a bath to relax, but the pain is very strong."

"This is normal. It's her first child and most women believe the pain is stronger than it really is." He ran his tricorder over her abdomen, "She's not fully dilated yet. I think it will take a few more hours, but everything is all right. You can now begin your tribal birth ritual, " he said.

"What do you want to do right now, Kathryn? Should we walk for a while?"

"No, I just want to sit down. I don't feel the urge to inspect the ship."

We went to the area of sickbay which we had prepared in advance for the birth. We'd piled several blankets and pillows in a corner and I helped Kathryn to sit down.

"I think we should delete the Doctor's program, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's never given birth to a child!" Kathryn said.

"I know," I agreed. It seemed the best thing to do at the time. "I'll go replicate some herbal tea. I'll be back soon," I said and went to the replicator. I returned with a pitcher of tea and the other necessary items for our ritual. I took a seat beside Kathryn, filled a cup with tea and handed it to her. "Here, drink this, it should help you."

When she had emptied the cup I began the birth ritual. I placed a bowl in front of us.

"We're here today to welcome a new life into our tribe." l lit a small piece of paper inside the bowl and took a feather from the bunch I had placed beside me earlier.

"This feather represents the spirits, may they always guide this child and help its soul to fly." I put the feather into the bowl.

Next I picked-up an arrowhead, "This arrow stands for strength, may it help the child to fight against all enemies."

The last item was a pouch of herbs, "These herbs represent wellness, may they help to keep the baby in good health."

After a while, when everything had burned to ash, I put the ash into a small leather bag. All the people of my tribe carry this bag with them their whole life.

Kathryn was becoming uncomfortable so I changed positions so that I sat behind her with my back against the wall and Kathryn sat in front of me, her back against my chest. I began to stroke her abdomen and every time a contraction came she pressed my hand. We sat there talking for a long time.



"How long have we been here?" Kathryn asked me.

"About two hours."

"This baby wants to kill me, I'm sure." 

I stroked her back, "You are too tense, Kathryn, relax."

She lifted her head up and looked at me, "Relax? And just how do you think I am supposed to relax, when your child is inside of me causing such pain?" she shouted.

"Ooooogh." Another contraction had just hit her. She sat up.

"It will be all right. I'm here to help you." I said. Definitely the wrong choice of words.

"You may be here but I have the pain. And by the way, just in case you have forgotten, it's your duty to be here, this is all *your* fault." She patted her abdomen.

I felt helpless. I had felt helpless since the labor had begun. I didn't know what to do or say to make this easier for her.

"I am unsure too, Kathryn. I don't know what I can say or do to help you. Talk to me, tell me what I can do."

She looked at me and stroked my cheek,  "Sorry."



Every once in a while the Doc came and checked on our progress. The labor went on for hours, Kathryn was near exhaustion and I was worried.

"Doctor, do you think everything is alright? I mean it's been hours and I don't think Kathryn can take it much longer."

"No reason to worry, it's her first baby and labor often lasts several hours. Some women need two hours while others need twenty. If you want I can give her a pain reduction hypospray."

"No." Kathryn said.

The Doctor went away. After a very intense contraction Kathryn said, "My water just broke."

I called for the Doc and he ran his tricorder over Kathryn's abdomen.  "Well, you're ready to begin now, Captain. You're fully dilated. With the next contraction you may begin to push."

I helped Kathryn to sit up. I wrapped one arm around her waist and clasped her hand in mine. I laid my other hand on her abdomen so that I could feel when the contractions came.

"Take a breath, hold it, and push." I said.

She pushed, then yelled and fell back against me. The Doctor ordered her to push again and we repeated the whole thing several times. I kept trying to encourage her.

Finally Kathryn lay back exhausted. "Could we stop this please? I can't do it," she said.

"Shhh, you can do it, we can do it. I love you."

"*We*...can...do...it." Kathryn said, "I'm the one laying here and by the way, I'm sure I heard this 'I love you' stuff back when you were placing this baby inside of me as well. I can truly say *I do not love you*."

I had never seen Kathryn like that, but before I could even think about what she had said another contraction came.

Kathryn screamed and grabbed my hand. I swore to myself that I would never do this to her again. Nothing had prepared me for the intensity of labor. I knew that giving birth would be painful, it's a natural process, but seeing Kathryn like this was too much to bear. I had never heard her screaming in pain, not even in her worse moments. She was always a Captain, proud and strong.

The Doc said, "I can see the head. Stop pushing now."

"But I want to push, you can't stop this now." Kathryn yelled.

"Hold your breath, Kathryn," I said and squeezed her hand.

"Okay, now one more push, gently Captain." The Doctor said.

Kathryn pushed and then fell back into my arms. I looked at her face and then between her legs. There it was, our baby. Doc held it up and gave it a slap on its butt, it began to cry.

"Congratulations, you have a baby girl."

He laid the baby on Kathryn's chest. I will never forget that moment for as long as I live. I looked at Kathryn's face, she looked happy and beautiful, there was nothing to remind me of the pain she had felt just minutes ago. And then I looked at our daughter. She had dark hair, a tiny nose and her whole face was moving, but she had stopped crying. Kathryn caressed our daughter's head and then took her tiny hands into her own, as if to make sure that she was all right.

I reached over and touched my daughter for the first time. I stroked her face with the tips of my fingers. She seemed so tiny in comparison to my hand. I began to cry, I couldn't help it. I felt happy, tired and relieved all at the same time. And I had never felt so much love for Kathryn before.

"Chakotay, look, this is our baby." Kathryn was smiling and crying at the same time.

"I love you, Kathryn. She's so beautiful."

"And I love you," she kissed me.

The Doctor ran his tricorder over our daughter. "She's in perfect health, weighs 9 lbs. and is 20 inches long. A perfect baby." He smiled at Kathryn and then he turned to me, "Maybe you could bathe your daughter," he asked, "while I take care of the Captain?"

Kathryn handed me our daughter. It was wonderful. As I held this little girl in my arms for the first time, I truly understood that she was a part of me. And she was the greatest gift I could ever receive from the woman that I loved.

I stood up and went to the bathtub and began to carefully bathe her. She seemed to enjoy it and she didn't cry. I looked at her. Her head was full of soft dark hair, her face was still a little red and she moved her mouth constantly. I searched her whole face for features she might have inherited from either of us, but I couldn't figure it out. Maybe she was too young for me to see it or I was still too excited to notice. Her eyes were still closed and I wondered what color they might be. I was sure she had Kathryn's wonderful blue ones.

Suddenly she moved her arms and I took one of her tiny hands in mine and then she closed her hand around my index finger. I was amazed by how strong her grip was.

I smiled and began speaking to my daughter for the first time, "Hello Chumani, I'm your Daddy. Do you remember me? You only know my voice now, but listen carefully, because I am going to make you a promise with my heart. I promise you that I will always be there for you when you need me. I love you."

I continued to look at her while I caressed her cheek. She was so beautiful and I was so proud that this was my child, mine and Kathryn's. I was fascinated by the fact that two little things had come together, a sperm and an egg, and created this wonderful little girl. Suddenly she opened her eyes, just a little bit and just for a second, but I was sure that they were dark like mine.

"You have my eyes, haven't you?" I said, but then I shook my head and laughed to myself. My pride about my daughter and all that had happened in the last hours and months had most certainly led me to imagining things. I carefully lifted Chumani from the bath, patted her skin dry and wrapped her in a clean warm blanket. I held her close to my chest as I walked back to Kathryn.

She was sitting propped against the pillows. She had showered and changed and she was watching me, smiling. 

"Hi."

"How do you feel?" I asked and smiled back.

"Wonderful. Doc says we can go home now."

The Doctor came over and said, "Commander, I have contacted Commander Tuvok, you'll be off duty tomorrow. You seem to be more exhausted than the Captain and I strongly suggest that you get some sleep."

Kathryn laughed softly at his comment.



We went to our quarters and laid down on our bed. Kathryn and I lay on our sides facing each other with our daughter between us. I stroked our baby's cheek.

"She has your hair color," Kathryn said.

"Yes," I grinned. I'm quite certain, in fact, that a stupid grin had not left my face since the moment Chumani was born. "And my eye color," I added with a proud tone in my voice.

"You can't know that, she hasn't opened her eyes yet," Kathryn laughed softly.

"She did. Once, and only for a second, as I bathed her, but I'm sure they are brown."

"She even has your mouth. Seems like I wasn't a part of her creation," Kathryn said still laughing.

I stroked her mouth and she began to suck on my finger. "She seems to be hungry," I said.

I was about to say that I would go and replicate a bottle, but Kathryn opened her nightgown and lifted Chumani to her breast so that she could drink. Just a few days before Kathryn had told me that she didn't want to breastfeed because she was afraid that she would have to stop when she returned to active duty. I decided I would wait until the next day to ask her what had changed her mind. Chumani began to suck impatiently.

"Hey, slow down little girl, this is all yours," Kathryn said and smiled.

I looked at her. She was so beautiful. "Does it hurt?" I asked her.

"No, it tickles," Kathryn said.

After a while Chumani got tired. Kathryn removed her from her breast, let her burp and placed her between us.

"I'm really tired now," Kathryn sighed.

"Sleep well, Kathryn. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered as she fell asleep.

I lay awake a long time, gazing at Kathryn and Chumani. I was overwhelmed with the thought and the joy of realizing that this was my family. Chumani stirred and wept a little and I took her into my arms.

"Shhhh, it's alright. Daddy's here."

                            To be continued

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