Harry and Taylor exited the ready room and crossed the bridge to the turbolift without speaking.  Once on the lift Taylor directed it to the deck where she had her quarters.  "You don't mind eating while I pack, do you?"

"Not if I get to use your rations.  I'm almost out for some reason."  Harry answered as he headed toward the replicator.

"I have enough to feed you if that's what you're asking.  I guess we have been eating in our quarters a lot lately."  Taylor walked over to Harry and hugged him for a minute.  "It's been worth it, though."

Harry returned the hug and kissed her hair before pushing her away.  "Go start packing before we both get distracted."  Taylor laughed and moved toward her bedroom as Harry ordered his dinner.  Harry ate while they chatted between rooms.  As he was finishing, Taylor started to approach the table then turned and walked over to the viewport.  She barely noticed when he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What's wrong?  You upset because your folks found out we were sleeping together?"

"No, nothing like that.  I have to tell you something and I guess I'm afraid you'll be angry."

"Should it make me angry?"

"Well, I would understand if you were, but I hope you aren't."

"It's not going to get any easier avoiding it."

"I know.  I did something that I should have told you about and didn't."

"Oh?  What was that?"

"I stopped taking my boosters the day after our first dinner together."  Taylor waited while Harry's mind sifted through the reasons that might upset him before settling on the most likely.  Taylor gently moved Harry's hands to her belly and waited.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep.  I went to sickbay this morning to be sure.  I'm about three weeks pregnant with a little boy.  I think I got pregnant our first time."  Taylor couldn't see Harry's face clearly but his initial reaction even in the reflection in the viewport was enough to tell her he was shocked.

Thinking back on his reaction later, Harry was dismayed that his first feeling had been anger – anger at not having been part of the decision to start a family and anger at himself for allowing it to happen.  He had gotten careless over the years with his boosters and let the timing spread out more than recommended because he was not involved with anyone and hadn't planned on that kind of involvement with Taylor for at least several more months.  That first night had not been in his plans and certainly a baby was not in them either.  He had already raised a daughter and hadn't even considered raising another child.  Yes, Taylor was young but she had her eye so firmly on becoming captain of Voyager that he hadn't thought she would want to rush into starting a family.  He thought she would follow her mother's path in building her career and family.  In hindsight, he realized that Taylor was doing exactly that, only she had started down the having-a-family path twenty years younger than her mother.  Harry's jumbled thoughts refused to coalesce into meaningful order leaving him uncertain of anything.  He became aware of the young woman in his arms, silently waiting for him to respond.  He knew how he felt about her; he loved her.  If this was what she wanted, he would make it what he wanted but his emotions were going to have to catch up with reality.

Harry's long silence while he sought words brought home to Taylor just how fragile their relationship still was.  She had thought love would be enough to make a relationship work.  That was what she saw when she watched her parents – the love that was the foundation of their life together.  Now she realized that underlying that love was a solid knowledge of what was important to the other and what the other thought and felt.  She had known Harry all her life just as he had known her since birth, but now she realized that they both were still learning about the other.  Harry finally spoke, his mind focusing on the pragmatic because it was all he could handle at the moment.

"Taylor, I don't know what I think right now.  I hadn't thought about having another child much less so early in our relationship.  And your parents – what are they going to say?  How can we tell them you're pregnant already?  They will never believe now that we were planning to get married before we found out."

"Yes, they will and we won't have to tell them.  I told Mom this morning right after we told them we were getting married.  She'll have told Dad by now.  I'm sorry.  I know I should have told you first but I wanted her to know beyond any doubt that this was entirely my decision."  Taylor turned in his arms and looked at him, then put her hands around his neck and her head on his shoulder.  "I'm so sorry, Harry.  I never expected that we would get involved so quickly or that I'd get pregnant right away.  Please want this baby."

"Awww, Taylor, I want the baby even if it's only because you want him so much.  I wasn't ready to deal with this yet.  I'm still getting used to having you in my life like this.  I hadn't planned on adding a baby, too, at least not yet.  It will be ok, I promise."

"Thank you."  Taylor didn't move until Harry touched her belly.  She smiled.  "There's really a baby in there – your baby."

"I'm going to be a father.  You're really pregnant."  Harry's whisper was barely audible.  He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and raised the volume to normal.  "I have to get used to this."

"Me, too.  Let's not tell anyone until after the wedding, ok?"

"We have to tell Jem.  She should know.  After all, it's her brother.  You can decide whether to tell Kay and the boys."

"The boys?  Only if we want the entire ship to know within twenty minutes.  I'll have to think about whether to tell Kay."  Taylor grew thoughtful.  "Do you want me to tell Jem?  I'm meeting her for lunch today."

"No, we need to tell her we're getting married and about the baby.  She should hear this from both of us."  Harry paused, debating whether to raise yet another issue.  He had put it off for long enough.  "Taylor, there's something else we should discuss.  Let's sit down."

Harry led Taylor over to the couch and pushed aside a box and a stack of clothes so they could sit.  "You know about Jenny and Megan, right?"

"Yes.  Well, what you told Jem and me when we were younger, anyway.  Is there more?"

"Not about them, but there is more.  I loved Jenny almost as much as I love you but I kept our relationship from moving forward as quickly as Jenny would have liked.  I wasted precious time we could have shared more completely.  Then she was killed and Megan needed me.  I loved Megan like a sister; then she died and Jem needed me.

"I've allowed our relationship to develop much faster than I thought it should, but I'm not sorry.  I love you and I know I'm going to be over-protective of you, especially since you're pregnant.  When you start feeling smothered by me, please remember it's because I love you and don't want to lose you, too."

"I'll try to remember if you'll try to remind me."  Taylor rested her head on his shoulder.  "Mom told me once about a promise she and Dad made a long time ago.  I don't think they've ever broken it.  No matter what was going on or what they were fighting about, they would always sleep in the same bed unless one of them was on duty, on an away mission, or in sickbay.  I'd like us to make that promise to each other starting today."

"Ok.  I promise."

"I promise, too."

Harry glanced around the room.  "Well, I have strict orders to sleep in my quarters from now on so unless we get some of this moved you're going to be missing a few items tomorrow morning when you get up.  Come on, we can get most of it packed before we meet Jem for lunch.  I'll get the boys to move your stuff to my place after lunch so I can get some sleep."  At her look of horror, Harry amended his statement.  "Ok, not the boys.  Maybe Tom will help me before he goes back on duty."

As they got to work, Harry made a mental note to have a long talk with Chakotay about dealing with strong willed women.  If anyone had any male insight on that, it would be the Captain's husband.

They managed to finish packing before having to leave to meet Jem and left everything neatly stacked on Taylor's bed so Jem wouldn't notice when they came back to eat.  Harry and Taylor were in the mess hall before Jem arrived.  They waited for her near the door.

"Daddy!  I didn't know you were going to be eating with us."  Jem had come in the other door and seen them talking.

"Hi, honey.  I thought it would be nice for all of us to get together"

"We all need to talk, don't we?"  Jem didn't waste time pretending she didn't know why.  "You two are getting serious and it's going to affect me, too.  So, are we eating here or taking our lunch somewhere more private?"

"You spent too much time growing up around the captain and hanging out with her daughter because you did not learn to be so 'subtle' from me."  Harry's teasing voice made them all smile.  "How about Taylor's place?  I see Tom and I need to talk to him so get me something and I'll catch up to you two in a minute."

Five minutes later Harry walked into Taylor's quarters to find the girls complaining about the twins as usual.  He hoped it wasn’t the last time he found them in conversation like that.

"Sorry I took so long.  He didn't want to help me until B'Elanna showed up.  He changed his mind as soon as B'Elanna knew what I wanted."

"Amazing how that works, isn't it?"  Taylor giggled as Jem spoke for them both.  "What did you need him to do anyway?"

"I'm moving quarters."  Taylor spoke before Harry could.  Jem switched her look from Taylor to her father, not sure she wanted to ask the next question but Taylor saved her the trouble.  "I'm moving in with your dad today."

"Officially?"  Jem's one word asked Taylor whether her parents knew and approved.  Taylor nodded getting nervous waiting for Jem's reaction.  Jem smiled.  "That's great!  I knew Dad was spending most of his nights down here lately but I didn't know your folks knew."

Harry and Taylor were both surprised at Jem's acknowledgment.  They had thought she was unaware of that aspect of their relationship and their surprise must have shown on her face.  "Don't you two look so surprised!  She's my best friend and suddenly she stops telling me about her dates and starts missing breakfast with me.  Both of you stop showing up for dinner in the mess hall.  It wasn't too hard to figure out.  Half the ship must know.  You're lucky the twins don't pay attention to things like that.  I've just been worried what the captain would think when she found out.  So how serious are you, or is that a touchy subject?"

"Jem, this isn't like you.  You don't usually ask such personal questions."  Harry was slightly concerned at how well Jem was really handling his relationship with Taylor.

"I do when I'm with Taylor and right now I’m trying really hard to make you Taylor's boyfriend.  Once I know how they're doing, I'll be able to sort out how I feel about my father and his girlfriend.  The first is easy; the second is going to be harder for me but I'll manage."  Jem's voice was slightly stressed as she started speaking but calmed quickly to her normal tones.

"Honey, I know this is confusing for you.  It's confusing for us, too.  There are moments when I see the two of you together that make me feel like being with Taylor is wrong.  Then I look at her and know that it's the right thing because we love each other."

"I know, Dad.  I'm really ok with you two being together, I just have to sort out having your girlfriend be my best friend.  There are some things Taylor and I would have talked about that we can't because you're my father.  We'll work it out but not when you're around.  Now, are you going to answer my question?"

"What was the question?" Harry had completely lost track of the original subject.

"How serious are the two of you?"

"He asked me to marry him and I said yes.  And before you ask, we already told my folks. That's why I couldn't talk this morning, I was trying to catch them before they went to the bridge."

"What did they say?"

"Mom was happy and Dad just stood there smiling when he congratulated Harry."

"Is that why you got permission to move so quickly?"

Harry chuckled before he answered that one.  "No.  Chakotay came to the bridge to relieve me but asked to speak to me in the ready room before I left.  I was actually lectured by our first officer for spending so many nights out of my quarters.  I was reminded that senior officers are housed near the bridge for a reason and pretty much ordered to stay there at night and to work it out.  Before I could say a word he handed me the reassignment of quarters forms and told me to get them signed so he could approve them."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing.  That's when Taylor and the captain arrived."

"How soon is the wedding?"

Harry and Taylor exchanged looks.  They had only vaguely discussed this but Taylor knew Harry wanted to wait a couple months; at least he had the night before.  She wasn't sure what he thought now.  She nodded for him to answer for them both.

"Soon.  Probably in the next week or so.  There's no point waiting since Taylor's moving in today."

"Soon is probably a good idea.  Then we won't have to listen to the twins making smart comments for very long.  Now, all I need is a little sister like Kay and my family will be complete."

Taylor blushed and looked down while Harry nearly choked.  Jem could not help noticing their reaction to her words.  "What haven't you told me yet?"

"Would a little brother be ok instead of a sister?"  Taylor's voice was hesitant.

"What were you thinking?!"  Jem's question was directed at Taylor then she realized who else was involved.  "No, don't answer that!  I don't want to know.  Please, even if you have to lie, tell me you planned to get married before you knew about the baby."

"It's no lie, honey.  We decided to get married last night.  Taylor didn't know for sure she was pregnant until this morning when she went for a checkup in sickbay.  I didn't know about the baby until after we told her parents we wanted to get married."

"Are you going to tell them about the baby before you get married."

"I already told Mom and she'll have told Dad by now.  I wanted her to know that we decided to get married before we knew about the baby."

"And?"

"Well, we didn't have time to talk about it, but she hasn't called either of us to the ready room and security hasn't shown up for Harry so I think it's ok.  I really need to talk to her later."  Taylor turned to Harry.  "Maybe I'll catch her at dinner.  I could wake you later if that's ok."

Harry nodded as the door chimed.  It opened to admit Tom pushing an anti-grav cart.  "Hi!  Reporting as ordered."

Taylor got up to greet him.  "Thanks for helping, Uncle Tom."

"Thank B'Elanna, not me.  This was her idea.  Come on, Harry, I promised the captain I'd only be a half hour late returning to the bridge."

The men quickly loaded the cart and left leaving the younger women to finish their lunch and start redefining their friendship to fit their new relationship.

Taylor had better luck catching her parents that evening.  She simply went to the bridge after their duty shift was over knowing her mother would still be in her ready room.  Her parents halted their conversation as she entered.

"Was I interrupting your discussion about me?"

"What you were interrupting is none of your business."  Kathryn sounded slightly irritated as she spoke.

"Dad giving you a hard time about too much coffee again?"  Kathryn and Chakotay both chuckled.  "Never mind, I know the answer to that one.  Mom, do you have plans for dinner?  I mean other than your usual ones with Dad?"

"No.  Why?"

"Well, I wondered if we could talk and thought dinner would be a good time.  I promise I won't complain about all the coffee you drink."

Kathryn shot Chakotay a mock glare as she answered.  "That sounds like a wonderful plan.  Did you want to go now?"

"If it's ok with you."  As Chakotay stood to leave with them, she continued.  "Sorry, Dad, girls night tonight.  Why don't you eat with the twins?"

"You mad at me or did they do something they don't want me to know about."

"Well, I'm not mad at you and I'm sure they've done something and if you don't ask them long enough, they'll probably tell you, but I just need to talk to Mom."

"I'll give them your love.  Enjoy yourselves."  As Kathryn and Taylor left the ready room they heard Chakotay ask the computer for the location of Chad and Cody.  They exchanged smiles and chatted quietly as they walked.

Once they reached the mess hall, they got their meals and found a table in the corner.  Kathryn sat with her back to the room, her unofficial signal to the crew that she preferred privacy during the meal.  Kathryn waited a few minutes after they started eating to bring up the fact that Taylor had asked to talk to her.

"You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I do, but I'm not sure how to say it.  I guess I just want to tell you what my plans are and to try to explain why I've made some of the decisions I have lately."

"You don't owe the captain or your mother any explanations."

"Maybe not, but I want you to understand otherwise you won’t be able to give me any advice if I need it.  I doubt that it's a secret but I want to tell you that I want your job.  I want to be Voyager's captain when you're finally ready to let Daddy retire."

"Let him retire?"

"Mom, we both know he won't step down as first officer as long as you're the captain and I don't think he'll want to stay on active duty once you retire.  Either way, you'll both turn over your positions at the same time and I want to be the one who assumes the duties of captain."

"What makes you think you can earn that responsibility?  There are a lot of excellent officers with a lot more experience than you have.  You aren't making the mistake of thinking you will get any special consideration, are you?"

"Oh, I'll get special consideration, Mom, only it won't be to my advantage.  Being as good as someone else won't be enough, I'll have to be better.  That doesn't bother me because in a way it's been true all my life.  Yes, I know.  We all got away with things because you were our parents but we also had to meet a higher standard."

"I didn't realize your father and I had pressured you so much.  I thought you knew that your best was all we expected."

"You didn't pressure us beyond what we could do.  But expecting our best was a higher standard than just getting by with the minimum requirements.  It's what you and Dad expect of yourselves so you taught us to expect it of ourselves.  I know I can learn whatever is taught in all the command track courses, but I need to have the experience that can only be learned through my duties here on Voyager.  I know I won't have the same opportunities to advance and learn that most young officers have as they move from ship to ship in Starfleet."

"You're telling me all this for what reason?  I'm sure you know that all the senior staff have thought about and discussed those issues for years now even though there is little we can do to change the circumstances."

"Well, I guess I'm asking you to let me and the other young officers have as many opportunities as present themselves."

"You mean more away missions without older officers?"

"Well, if you would have sent Harry out in charge of an away team when he was first out of the Academy, I'd like to have that same chance now.  I guess I'm asking you not to be too protective of me and the other younger officers.  I know you're used to looking out for us, but we need to step out on our own and doing that is not going to be easy for any of us."

"I can't promise that concern for you and the others isn't going to keep you off away missions, but I can promise that the captain will discuss it with the first officer and we'll try to make sure you all get as many opportunities as possible.  Is that good enough?"

"More than good enough."

Kathryn studied Taylor for a minute.  "Was there something else?"

"Harry should have yelled at me, shouldn't he?"

"Probably.  Having a child is something both parents should be in complete agreement about."

"I know.  It never occurred to me that he might not want children.  He's barely as old as Dad was when I was born and Dad loved having us around.  Harry was always a great dad to Jem.  I just thought he'd want more children."

"Did you ever think that he had already raised a daughter and might be looking forward to a few years with just you?"

"I'll be there anyway.  I didn't think a baby would make that must difference."

"Trust me, it does. As much as we loved you, there were times your father and I longed for the days and nights when we could be alone in our quarters.  Why are you in such a hurry anyway?"

"Well, I guess I want everything you have – a career and a family and a husband like Daddy.  I've found the husband and I'm working on the career already.  If I wait as long as you did for my family, I don't think I could do it.  Even though you're my parents, I know you and Daddy are special.  I doubt many people could command a ship and raise their children like you two did.  I'm a lot like you, but I'm not you and I don't think I'll be able to find someone who is as good a first officer for me as you did with Dad.  There is too much at stake for the ship and my children if I wait so I thought it would be better to raise my children while I'm still learning."  Taylor looked at her mother for a minute.  "I still don't think my analysis of the situation is wrong.  I even think my solutions are reasonable, but my implementation is a disaster, isn't it?"

"That's a fair summary.  What do you think would have been a better plan?"

"Well, discussing children with Harry for starters.  Probably discussing all this with him would have been wiser, too.  I have to start letting him be part of my decisions, don't I?"

"If you want your marriage to survive, yes you do.  If you want it to flourish, you are going to have to include what is best for him and his career in the process, too.  From now on, your personal decisions are decisions for you and Harry, not for the two of you individually.  Harry is a lot like your father, so you'll probably get your way on all the little stuff, but on the really important things, don’t count on it.  If he has an ounce of sense, which I think he does, he'll be talking to your dad about keeping his wife out of trouble.  Don't resent either of them for that because they both love you."  Taylor didn't look like she was going to be able to accept that so Kathryn added something she was sure would help.  "Keep in mind that you can ask me for similar advice.  Now, what else could you have done differently?"

"Talk to the captain and to my mother before I made a mess of things and take what she says to heart.  She's probably made the same mistakes at some point and I might be able to learn from them."

"Maybe not the same mistakes, but I certainly made errors in judgment when I was younger.  Now I have your father to help me avoid those types of errors.  Harry is a good man and a capable officer.  Let him help you."

"I will, Mom.  I know how lucky I am."

"There's another point you haven't mentioned yet, honey.  Have you and Harry had to work together since you started dating?"

"No, but I don't think that will be a problem."

"It will be, trust me.  At some point, he's going to give you an order and you're going to respond like his wife not an officer.  I'll tell you right now, you'd better follow the order.  If you want to fight with him when you're both off duty, that's up to you, but if you challenge him on duty, don't expect support from his superiors.  Even if they think he was out of line, you'll never hear it from them."  Kathryn waited while Taylor thought about what she had just heard.

"You don't have to follow anyone's orders.  How can you know how I will react?"

"I may not have to follow his orders, but when my first officer disagrees with me, I have to listen to him.  Part of his job is to protect the captain and that means making the captain listen.  If I don't and he thinks I haven't fully considered all other options, there is no doubt in my mind that my first officer would relieve me of command."

"Daddy would never do that."

"Maybe not, but my first officer would.  If I didn't think he would, then I'd be looking for a new first officer. The command structure of this ship requires every person in a personal relationship to ignore that relationship while they're on duty and when they make command decisions.  You have to be prepared to follow Harry's orders. Keep that in mind, ok?"

"Ok."  Taylor looked at her mom  "You really believe Daddy would relieve you of command?"  Kathryn simply nodded before changing the subject.

"I have another question and if you don't want to answer you don't have to.  Have you thought how is all this might affect your friendship with Jem?"

"I've thought about it and it worries me.  She's been my best friend all my life and I don't want to lose my best friend.  There are a lot of things that are going to change but I think we'll still be friends.  Harry and I already talked to her about our wedding plans and the baby."

"What did she say?"

"Well, she's happy for us.  She really doesn't mind that we're getting married but she said she wanted a sister."  Kathryn and Taylor both laughed.  All of a sudden Taylor nearly choked.

"I just thought of something, Mom."

"What?"

"After Harry and I are married, Jem will be your granddaughter."  Kathryn was speechless for a full minute.  She had been thrilled with Taylor's news about a baby, but the idea of acquiring a twenty-year-old grandchild practically overnight had not yet occurred to her.

"You tell her that if she ever calls me 'grandma', she will be a crewman for the rest of her life."

"Mom, you wouldn't!"

"Well, maybe not, but she would definitely being saying 'yes, sir' to the twins for the rest of her life."

"I'll warn her as soon as I see her."  Taylor glanced at a chronometer.  "Wow, look at the time!  I still have to unpack and wake Harry so he has time to eat before his shift starts.  Thanks for the advice."

Kathryn watched her baby, now an adult member of her crew, as she dropped off their dishes and dashed out the door.

How he knew she and Taylor had finished their talk she never found out, but out of nowhere Chakotay was in the mess hall standing next to her.  "Let's go home, Kathryn."  She stood up, wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder as they left the mess hall, wondering where the years had gone but glad to have had him by her side while they slipped away.

Chakotay wasn’t too surprised to find a message from Harry asking for an appointment to talk with him.  Although the reason given for requesting the meeting mentioned the antics of some unnamed youngsters, Chakotay was reasonably certain that those antics were a convenient excuse.  Chakotay checked Harry's schedule for the next few days before deciding to meet with him at the end of Harry's shift the following day.

The next morning, Chakotay caught Tom as he was leaving the mess hall to go to the bridge.

"Tom, you're going to have the bridge this morning until Kathryn and B'Elanna finish their work in engineering.  I have some matters to attend to in my office."

"Aye, sir."

Chakotay had been waiting about ten minutes when Harry signaled his arrival.

"Come in, Harry."

They made small talk while they got drinks before settling to their discussion.

"Sir, there have been a half dozen pranks pulled during Gamma shift that haven't hurt anyone, but they have interfered with several maintenance checks and two days ago, one person cut his head on an open panel when he was distracted by a prank."

"Do you know who is behind the pranks?"

"Officially, no, but unofficially I'm pretty sure.  The only problem is that there are certain features that make me think a third person is involved."

"Why is that?"

"Well, they remind me of something Tom might have pulled twenty years ago."

"Ahhhhh."  Chakotay thought a moment.  He was tired of dealing with these problems.  He knew there would be no proof of their involvement but he also knew without any doubt who was involved.  "Chakotay to Paris.  Could you come to my office, please?"

Harry looked a little puzzled but said nothing.  Tom appeared in a few minutes.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"  Chakotay quickly filled Tom in on the situation, including Harry's observation about the similarity to Tom's style.  Tom started to protest, but Chakotay cut him off.

"Relax, Commander.  I'm pretty sure we all know exactly who is pulling the pranks and why they now remind us of your style.  I thought they'd outgrow this, but they haven't and now they've dragged a ship's officer into their activities.  It is going to stop.  Tom, I'd like you to handle this.  Get a complete confession from each of them.  Make sure they know that if I get involved, it's going into their permanent records.  As for punishment, I don't care if it's embarrassing as long as it's within reason and quite public.  As for any future pranks, even if you have no proof, toss the three in the brig and give me a report for my next duty shift when I will deal with it at my covenience.  I don't want any senior officer awakened again to deal with these pranks.  Tom, do a memo to that effect for the senior staff and bridge crew; copy the captain and me on it.  Any questions?"

"Just one, sir.  Which areas of the ship get the most foot traffic in your opinion?"

"The mess hall, engineering and the class rooms."

"I hadn't thought of the class rooms, thank you.  Permission to be dismissed?"

"Permission granted."  Tom left with a smile on his face.

Harry had listened to the entire conversation, yet knew that Tom and Chakotay had exchanged more ideas than those expressed by their words alone.

"How did we do it?"

"Do what?"

"How did we all become such close friends yet keep the command structure in place."

"The command structure is there because the captain wants it there and will not tolerate it losing significance in our lives.  The friendship is there because we all want it and need it.  We've each done the same thing in our private lives."

"I guess we have.  I seldom think about it, but I know exactly who outranks me on Voyager."

"How many people outrank you on Voyager?"

"Six."

"How many did you pass on your last promotion?"

"Twelve."  Harry looked embarrassed at knowing the answer so quickly.

"Don't look so upset.  I'd be more worried about you if you didn't know the answer.  It means you're concerned that they might have earned it first.  That concern is one reason why you were promoted before they were, but only one.  No one on Voyager receives a promotion unless it is earned, but not everyone who has earned a promotion has received it.  It's just not possible to promote everyone on the same schedule maintained by Starfleet in the Alpha Quadrant. We can't even give them the positions they've earned.  Is that what was concerning you – that your next promotion might be perceived as nepotism?"

"Not really.  I know it's unlikely anyone will be promoted to full commander – except for the recent additions to the rank of ensign – and even then it won't be for quite a few years."

"You're probably right.  I'll tell you the truth, right now, based on their records and official career objectives, Taylor is the most likely become a full commander, but that could change tomorrow or next year."

"You don't really think it will change, do you?"

"Personally, no. She's too much like her mother.  I don't think you're going to have to deal with her outranking you for quite a few years, though."

"I don't even want to think about that.  How do you deal with rank like that?"

"How did you and Jenny deal with it?"

"We didn’t have to.  We were both ensigns and were in different departments."

"You were a department head."

"But not in her department.  It never came up off-duty."

"Well, then try not to let it come up when you and Taylor are off-duty."

"I already figured that out.  But what do I do on duty?"

"For now, on duty you outrank her and don't ever forget that, even if she does.  She needs to learn to follow orders she doesn't like, before she can expect to give them.  Of all the senior officers, you are now the one she is mostly likely to resist and resent and that means you're the one who can teach her the most."

"Don't get me wrong, Chakotay, I love Taylor, but how exactly do I do that?"

"You're asking me because I'm her father?"

"No, I'm asking you because she's her mother's daughter and you are married to her mother.  I was hoping you could help me or make some suggestions."

"Well, you've already recognized the two most important things – that you love her and that you know your different styles will more than likely lead to disagreements."

"We've already had one of those – a pretty big one, too."

"I commend you both; it hasn't affected your work.  That's a good start."

"Well, we haven't really finished working it out.  I'm still trying to sort out my feelings about the whole thing."

"Does she know you're still upset and why?"

"I told her that, but I'm not sure she realizes that we need to finish the discussion."

"Let her know and give her some time to think about the coming discussion before you start it.  Make sure she knows exactly what caused the problem and how you feel about it.  You two may have known each other for more than twenty years, but you've only had a couple of months to get to know each other.  It's going to be a long time before you know each other as well as you probably think you already do."

"I hadn't thought it quite like that, but you're right.  I'm not marrying the little girl or even the young officer.  I'm marrying a young woman who knows what she wants and has every intention of getting it."

"Yes, and you were the first thing on her list.  She was lucky she picked you Harry.  There aren't many men who would want to get involved with someone so much younger and with the command team's oldest at that."

"I know — all the things I kept telling myself before she asked me to that stupid dance."

"But you didn't go.  You set the rules for your relationship that night.  You told her no to the dance but yes to dating.  You made sure she knew that you were part of the decision to start a personal relationship.  The two of you talked and reached a compromise then; keep on doing exactly that.  You two have to find your own solutions to the big problems that confront you.  Pick your battles, Harry.  Don't let the little day-to-day things bother you but on the really important things you're going to have to stand your ground."

"You make it sound so easy.  I don't ever remember noticing that you and the captain were fighting unless one of the kids said something.  You even make fighting and working out problems look easy."

"It's not.  We're together because we love each other, but we make our relationship work because we also respect each other as people and as officers."  Chakotay sighed.  "Look, Taylor is a lot like her mother, but I didn't know Kathryn when she was twenty years old or an ensign on her first assignment.  The age difference between you two is going to be the reason for a lot of your early arguments."

"I know we're going to have problems because of the age difference, but why should that cause arguments."

"Not the actual age difference but what it represents.  Those years separate everyone on the ship born in the Alpha Quadrant from those born in the Delta Quadrant, those who knew life on a planet or other ships from those who only know Voyager, the parents from the children.  Taylor has to learn to move back and forth between those groups and that won't be easy for her.  It's only natural that she'll blame you and take her frustration out on you when she feels like she doesn't fit in with your friends or you don't fit in with hers."

"I hadn't thought of it quite like that before.  And it also brings us to Jem.  She and Taylor have been best friends for their entire lives and that friendship is going to change."

"It is and that is going to put a lot of strain on all three of you.  I'd invite you two to dinner with Kathryn and me, but I think that would complicate things even more.  I don't think adding her parents and the command team to the equation would make it any easier.  Maybe if you two start eating dinner once in a while with Tom and B'Elanna, it would help Taylor ease into her new role.  Alternate those gatherings with dinner or drinks with Jem and some of the younger officers."

"You know, Commander, I came here hoping for a few suggestions and you point out that there are challenges facing us that I hadn't considered yet.  Is there anything else I should be thinking about?"

"The baby."

"That one I have thought about.  Taylor and I have discussed it and I know we have some more related issues to sort through.  I'm still sorting out how I feel about it."

"Would it help to talk about it?"

"I'm not sure.  Maybe."

"Do you want more children?"

"If you had asked me six months ago, I'd have said no.  If Taylor had asked me six weeks ago, I'd have said I needed to think about it. Then I'd probably have tried to convince her that we didn't need kids to be happy.  She would probably have eventually talked me into having more kids."

"There's more to it, isn't there?  Something you haven't told Taylor about your feelings?"

Harry gave Chakotay a look that mingled suspicion and surprise.  "You're right, at least in part.  Jenny died.  Then Megan died when Jem was born.  Those two things are all I remember when I think of Taylor giving birth.  I don't want to risk losing her."

"Jenny's death was an accident.  It had nothing to do with you or how you felt about her.  Megan's death was a result of the same accident but she managed to live long enough for Jem to survive.  Twenty years ago you picked up the pieces and built a life for you and Jem.  You and Taylor are starting a new life together.  If you have other reasons for not wanting more children, that's one thing; but don't let fear keep your life from being filled with the joy children can bring."

Harry thought for a few minutes before standing.

"Thank you, sir.  You've helped.  I have a lot to think about.  Can we talk more again?"

"Anytime, Harry, but don't make an appointment.  Just come find me.  If I don't have time, I'll let you know."

"I don't want to bother you or take advantage."

"Trust me, if you bother me I'll let you know.  As far as taking advantage, I'd do the same for any other member of the crew, as you well know.  Now, do I have to make it an order?"

"No, sir."  Harry finally smiled.  "Could I ask one more thing?"

"Sure."

"Do I have to call you 'dad' after Taylor and I get married?"

"Not unless you want a lot of double shifts for the next twenty years."

"Good.  I'm glad we agree on that.  I guess I won't ask the captain the same question.  Permission to be dismissed?"

"A wise decision.  Permission granted.  Go get some sleep, Harry.  You're going to need it."