Chakotay was in and out of his office in about 20 seconds.  Kathryn knew he could be a take-charge type of man, but seeing him in action was unusual for her.  That side of his personality generally appeared when they were working apart.  He spread the files on the conference table.

“Kathryn, let me start with one of those minor issues you raised.  As a potential problem, it is not particularly high on your list of concerns, but it is a large problem for practical purposes.”

“And which minor issue would that be, Commander?”

“Housing.  That’s my responsibility anyway, not yours, which is why I’ve been thinking about it for other reasons.  Since we arrived in the Delta Quadrant, I’ve realized that the housing arrangements we have are no longer practical for Voyager.  I’ve been working on a proposal to change and rearrange quarters for practically the entire crew.  Tuvok, T’Pel, you and I are probably the only ones who would not be affected.  In short, I’m proposing to play upset the fruit basket with the crew and their quarters.”  Chakotay paused to let Kathryn fully comprehend the extent of his proposal before continuing.

“We have 130 people on board.  Voyager can accommodate 200 crew plus about 25 passengers.  The passenger quarters are virtually identical to senior officer quarters and are available for use by the crew since we do not expect to pick up any passengers in the foreseeable future.  Voyager has followed Starfleet tradition in assigning quarters by putting senior officers on Deck 2.  I haven’t changed that.  Right now there are only three officers assigned there.  T’Pel brings the total residents to four.  I haven’t moved Tom but I probably should have as soon as I took over as first officer.  We have room for at least ten more officers on Deck 2.  Holding those quarters for officers who will never be assigned to Voyager doesn’t make sense when the crew is stacked up in the dormitory quarters on Deck 7.  When we were on a mission expecting to last a few months, this wasn’t a problem.  Now that we expect to be away from Starfleet for decades, there is no reason to subject so many of the crew to crowding, even though we know they can handle it.

“I’d like to move the department heads to Deck 2 as well as some of the most senior people in various sections.  That would add B’Elanna and Harry initially.  I’ll draw up a list of the more senior people in the various departments and we, or you, can decide which people to move to Deck 2.  I’d like to leave the three smallest quarters unassigned.  They can be opened to adjoining quarters if there are children who need a room on Deck 2.”  Kathryn grinned and shook her head at this.  She knew that this was a not so subtle reminder that he wanted some of these children to be their children.  Chakotay returned her smile as he continued.

“Next there are a lot of crewmen in the dormitory quarters stacked on top of each other.  I’d like to move everyone to individual housing.  There will be about ten people who will still have to share dormitory quarters, but if we put them two or three to a room, they will have a lot of space between them.”

Kathryn knew her ship’s specs down to the number of kilometers of wiring.  Doing some quick calculations, she asked,  “Why will you need the dormitory quarters?  There are enough single and double quarters to house all 130 crew on board even if we leave Deck 2 just as it is?”

“This is a revision to my plan necessitated by our discussion over lunch and made on the way here from my office. Sam and Joe know they are going to have a baby.  It’s better all around if the baby has it’s own room after it’s a few months old.  The double quarters are the best place to put families.  There are two separate bedrooms with private baths, but they share living and eating facilities.  If we have two children in one family, we can exchange bunk beds from the dormitory quarters for the beds in the second bedroom.”

“Other than the change you just made, how complete is your proposal?”

“The only thing I haven’t decided is how to select who has to stay in the dormitory quarters.  I can ask for volunteers, I can assign them based on time in rank, or I can let them draw lots.”  Chakotay waited for Kathryn’s input on that question and for other questions concerning his proposal.  She surprised him again.

“Commander, reassign Tom today.  I’d suggest as far from Tuvok as you can, but I trust you to make the final decision.  Alert the crew via the bulletin board as soon as possible that you are indeed going to play upset the fruit basket with their living arrangements and further details will be forthcoming.  I’ll expect the list of possible new neighbors on Deck 2 by 18:00 today. Give me the revised proposal then as well so I can approve it.  That gives you three hours to prepare a list that is probably 90% complete in your mind already and to make a minor change in a proposal that is already complete.  I think you can handle that.  Reassign Harry and B’Elanna tomorrow.  As far as who stays in dormitory quarters, I don’t care.  Do it however you think is best for Voyager and her crew.  I don’t want to review the actual assignments so make it an attachment to your proposal subject to revision at your discretion, not mine.  I don’t want anyone coming to me complaining about the new assignments.  Complaints go to you.  You’ve convinced me that this is a good plan; now you can convince the crew, too.”

“Yes, Captain.  Weren’t there more issues to discuss?”

“You’re right, there are, but you can’t carry out those orders and talk to me at the same time.  We can discuss some of the other issues later.  I’ll bring Tuvok up to date.  He should be warned that Tom and B’Elanna are moving into his neighborhood.  I don’t think Harry will bother him too much.  Where shall I meet you for dinner?”

“The mess hall.  I’ll have the notice posted by then and I’m sure there will be a lot of rumors and questions.  If we’re there, we can probably halt the worst of the rumors and answer a lot of the questions.  It might not be a bad idea to have an informal question and answer session.  I’ll make it a point NOT to finish the reassignments before I meet you.  That way I can honestly say it isn’t finished.  I might even be able to sound out the crew whether they prefer to draw lots for their assignments or to volunteer.”

“Good idea.  I’ll see you there, Commander.”

Kathryn awoke very early the next morning.  Her mind drifted first to the informal session after dinner the night before that had turned into a three-hour marathon session with half the crew.  The session had gone better than they had hoped.  There were very few questions about the reassignment.  Most of the questions were of the practical kind.  Will we have to move between duty shifts?  Will others be allowed to help me move?  How much notice will we get of our new assignments before we have to be packed and out of our old quarters?  Kathryn and Chakotay had both been surprised at how many residents of the dormitory quarters wanted to stay there.  Finally, Chakotay had told them that there would be six of those quarters with three residents each.  Those wanting to stay in those quarters would submit a list of six groups of three names for his approval by 18:00 tomorrow.

Kathryn and Chakotay had finally made their way back to their own quarters.  Once in their quarters, Chakotay had tried to bring Kathryn and Chakotay into the discussion about children in Voyager’s future.  Kathryn had successfully distracted him.  They had both fallen asleep before he could bring up the subject again.  She smiled to herself.  Distractions like that were a lot of fun for both of them.  Chakotay stirred and brought Kathryn’s thoughts back to present.  His lips nibbling on the back of her neck was a distraction that she welcomed this morning.  Turning in his arms, she pulled his head down.  Just as the kiss was heating up, Chakotay pulled away and got out of bed.  Puzzled and more than a little disappointed, Kathryn watched as he picked up something from the table and returned to sit on the bed.  Once he had settled, Kathryn could see he carried four hyposprays, two tagged with a green band and two tagged with a red band.  They hadn’t been there the night before; he must have been up during the night.

“What are those?”

“Hyposprays.  Our birth control boosters are due in six weeks.  The ones with red tags contain our booster shots.  The ones with the green tags contain neutralizing shots.  Kathryn, I’d like us to use the green hypos before the six weeks are up, but it’s your decision.”

“Chakotay . . . I can’t say this is sudden or even unexpected.  I guess I didn’t think you would be so blunt.  I expected you to try to talk me into it, starting with words and moving on to using that smile of yours and those lethal dimples to convince me.  And I was anticipating a couple of really intense encounters here in bed before one of us changed our mind.”

“Kathryn, I will be more than happy to do all the convincing you want regardless of your decision.  But I would like you to make your decision with your heart and your head.  I want children.  You want children.  The decision is whether now is the right time.  I think it is for us.  I’m sure of us and I think you are, too.  As far as the rest of the crew, nothing could convince them more of our, your, confidence that Voyager has a long and safe future ahead than having a child of our own.”  He waited while she considered his words and her thoughts and feelings.  Silently she took the four hyposprays from his hands, looked them with considerable thought, and then placed the two with green bands in his hands.

“We have to return the ones we don’t use to the doctor.”  Chakotay’s hope faded.  “I’ll do it later this morning,” she continued, staring at the red tagged sprays in her hand.  He breathed a sigh of thanks.  “You save those for another day.  I can’t do this just yet.  Besides, there’s something you have to do first, besides just convince me to use the green ones.”

“What would that be, Kathryn?”  Chakotay didn’t care what he had to do.  There would be another baby on Voyager sometime in the months to come, and it would be theirs.

“You have to post a notice about our marriage on the personal section of the bulletin board.  It’s about time that everyone learned we are as united personally as we are professionally.  If you post it while everyone is distracted with the moving, maybe we can avoid a lot of attention.  You can prepare the notice while I drop those hypos off in sickbay.  Right now, you better convince me that this is the right decision for both of us.”  Chakotay had no problem with either request and proceeded to demonstrate his willingness to abide by her requests with fervent sincerity.