Fandom: Star Trek Voyager

Pairing: Kathryn Janeway x Tuvok

Words: 1723

AU title: All is Fair

Tags: VOY season 2 episode 2

Summary: Tuvok was able to get off of the Drayan moon with the three children that had asked for his guidance and protection, the Drayan government found out too late about Tuvok's crash on that particular moon. And now, there are three young children living on the USS Voyager with Lieutenant Tuvok as their father… and Kathryn Janeway as their mother.

Tom Paris was casually walking from his quarters to the bridge to report for Beta shift duty. But he bumped into one of the kids that had come aboard after their last mission.

"Excuse me, but what is the way to engineering?" it was the boy, Corin, who he'd bumped into.

"Just… take a turbo lift to Deck 11." The pilot replied, and then watched the boy run down the corridor. "Paris to Tuvok, I'm having a feeling those children of yours are up to something down in engineering."

"I will send my men down. Thank you for the warning Lieutenant."

Paris rolled his eyes. "I wonder what's gonna happen next."

As expected, the children threw a practical joke at a few unfortunate Beta shift engineers and the security officers who were send to them. And now they were sitting on separate chairs in the Captain's ready room, fumbling with their hands and looking at the ground.

Captain Kathryn Janeway sighed at the children. "I can understand you need to play, but we're on a starship. People must be able to do their jobs."

"We understand." Tressa said with a small sigh.

The woman leaned on her desk. "If there's anything you need, you can just ask."

After a long silence, Elani spoke up. "I want a mother."

"A mother." Janeway agreed. "You need a female figure with authority, there's nothing wrong with that. I'll talk with Tuvok about it."

"Can't you be our mother?" Corin asked, almost sounding desperately.

"I… don't have any experience raising children." the Captain said, a bit overwhelmed.

"You could learn."

"Maybe, but I'll have to speak to Tuvok first."

"That is actually a very logical explanation." The Vulcan said after his Captain told him what the children had told her.

"Could you enlighten me how that is logical?" her lighter brown eyes looked into the dark chocolate ones of her Security chief.

Tuvok tilted his head a little. "Just like us, Drayan children depend on both parents. And I believe there was a scientific study done about the differences of behavior and success between Human children growing up with either both parents or only one, and the conclusion did tell that two parents would be better for their mental health."

"Then, which of the women is the best candidate to be that mother to them?"

"It seems like they have already selected one, which is you."

Kathryn sighed. "Is that such a good idea? After all, I'm already the Captain of this ship which brings tons of responsibility. Raising children will make it all more difficult."

The dark skinned male raised an eyebrow. "Captain, there have been more Captains who raised their children aboard a Federation starship during a five-year mission. My far cousin was one of them, and his children became prominent figures in later space travels."

"I don't know how to be a mother, and we humans are very sensitive to failure. I don't wish to mess this up Tuvok, or three small lives will be messed up."

"Captain… Kathryn, I must admit that I too was rather nervous when T'Pel informed me for the first time that she was pregnant. I spend hours thinking about how I should treat a youngling for who I am responsible. And I can assure you, all Vulcans experience these parental fears as much as humans do. Even though I have successfully raised 4 children, I will still experience difficulties with all three of them."

And somehow, hearing her friend's story did make her feel slightly better.

Raising children came easier to Kathryn Janeway than she thought it would. It had also brought herself and Tuvok closer in several than regular encounters would have in years. And neither was bothered by the closeness they had achieved.

The three children were residing in Tuvok's old quarters and Tuvok himself had logically relocated himself to the quarters of his Captain as she was willing to share her personal space with him whereas others would not appreciate his company.

Kathryn had refused to let him sleep anywhere else but the large bed, which they were now sharing.

It's not that he didn't wish to be with her, quite the opposite of that was true. He faulted his own emotional state for the wish to be her partner in more ways than only friendship. His marriage bond with T'Pel, bright and strong at the beginning, had now faltered and become practically dormant.

And sometimes, he thought that Kathryn desired him too since he felt a fleeting thought almost every time they touched.

It wasn't until 4 months later on their voyage that Elani suddenly asked Tuvok a question he hadn't been expecting. "Tuvok, are you and Kathryn together?"

The Vulcan raised his eyebrow. "Please clarify, your sentence can be interpreted in various ways."

"Are you together like miss Torres and mister Paris?" the Drayan girl asked.

"Lieutenant Torres and Lieutenant Paris are together in a romantical sense, which is not the nature of the relationship between me and Captain Janeway." he replied.

Tressa looked a bit sad when he told them. "I thought you would look good together that way."

"Please clarify."

"You and Kathryn would look great as a couple!" Corin said, maybe a bit too cheerful.

The Security Chief merely raised an eyebrow, he didn't react.

Though he hadn't reacted directly on the child's statement, it kept his mind distracted. Even as he laid in bed that evening.

Janeway turned on her side, facing him. "You're distracted, I can see it in your eyes."

Tuvok sighed. "Elani asked me a question this morning, which Corin turned into a statement after I replied to the question. His statement has been circling around in my head ever since."

"What did he say that got you all wired up?" she was talking like a friend to him, but he thought he heard something more in her voice.

"It is not something I wish to bother you with, as it was something personal." Tuvok cast his gaze from the ceiling to the wall on his left where the door was.

Kathryn placed her right hand on his shoulder, and he felt that fleeting emotion again. Yet this time, it was far stronger. "Elani asked me a question this afternoon, which is possibly the same one she asked you."

"What did she ask?" the Vulcan asked.

"She asked if we were together, in the romantical sense. Tressa explained to me they thought so because we share this room, this bed, and because of how we interact with one another." the unknown emotion became stronger in the Captain. "I have been asking myself what I've been feeling for you."

"You seem to have come to a conclusion already." the Security Chief stated.

"It was easy for me, but it seems you are still debating with yourself."

Tuvok placed his left hand on Kathryn's. "I do not know what I should do. I am still married to T'Pel, yet I can barely feel her as our bond loses its light. I am afraid our relationship was never quite as stable as I thought it was, our bond has not survived without contact for the past two years. And I fear, that at this rapid speed, the bond will be gone by the end of this year."

"I'm sorry for you." Kathryn said.

"Our marriage was arranged by our parents, as almost every Vulcan marriage goes. It is not something you should be sorry for."

"You still lost your bond to your wife, which I know is significant in Vulcan culture."

The Vulcan turned his entire body to the woman beside him. She was beautiful and smart, she understood him, she was all he had hoped to find in a wife. "When the bond has disappeared completely, I am free to take a new wife."

"Will you? Take a new wife?" they were looking deeply into each other's eyes.

"I will have to, since my biology demands it. But I do not wish to force a woman into that."

"If it comes to that, I am willing to help you out."

Tuvok couldn't believe she just said that.

The Captain of the Voyager licked her lips. "It's highly possible that Mark has proclaimed me dead or changed his feelings about me now I've been gone for two years. Human emotions change rapidly."

"If he has, then he is not worthy enough to be with you or deserving of your love."

"I do still love Mark, but something in me changed."

When she said that, the Security Chief could feel the strong rush of emotion through the contact of their skin. He felt her love for him, how deep she felt and how afraid she was he would reject her.

To confirm he wouldn't, he leaned closer to kiss her the human way, experiencing the softness of her lips. "I shall be thy mate, if thee wants to."

"I do Tuvok, I do."

And when the year was done, the bond between Tuvok and his wife dormant enough to break at the forming of a new one, the couple was officially married by Commander Chakotay.

The Doctor and Neelix threw festivities that continued for an entire week, much to Tuvok's dismay.

Yet he understood the human need to celebrate the marriage of their most senior officer. But the human custom of a 'honeymoon' still escaped his broad understanding of various topics.

Five months into their marriage, Kathryn left the bridge to go to sickbay, the bridge in Chakotay's capable hands.

"Could something be wrong with the Captain?" Harry asked suddenly.

"If there is, I hope it's not dangerous." B'Elanna said.

Suddenly, the intercom ringed. "Doctor to the Bridge."

"Chakotay here, what is it?" the XO asked.

"Put me on ship wide please, I have an announcement to make."

Ensign Kim pressed a button on the Operations station. "You're ship-wide Doctor."

"Crewmembers of the USS Voyager, I'm gratified to proclaim that Captain Janeway is not ill, but she's pregnant."

The crew on the bridge erupted in happy screams and cheering sounds.

Tuvok couldn't believe it, he was going to be a biological father for the 5th time.

Chakotay smirked. "Maybe you should join your wife in Sickbay. And congratulations Commander, may this occasion be one of the happiest in your life."