Isn't She Lovely

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.

This story is a sequel to To the Journey which I strongly recommend you read first. I may skim over some of what happened in that story, but you'll miss the depth, since I'll be writing those bits as reminders and track-backs only. This story will be written on the assumption that all readers have read the prequel.

Chapter One: The Big News

"You wanted to see me, Commander?"

Tasha smiled warmly, hoping to set the Lieutenant at ease. "Yes. Please, sit down. Don't be concerned," she added, "this isn't some kind of disciplinary issue. I just wanted to welcome you aboard and check in with you."

He smiled, relaxing. "I appreciate that, Commander. And while I'm here, I'd like to thank you for choosing me for this opportunity."

"You've earned this, Mr. Ayala," she corrected kindly. "I chose you because I thought you were best for the job."

He shrugged. "Maybe you think so. But for a lot of people, the fact that I was in the Maquis is enough to disqualify me in and of itself."

"Not me," she replied. "Haven't you heard? I was almost arrested for being a sympathizer."

"Really?"

"Really. Well, to be fair, it was because they thought I'd actually provided aid to the Maquis. But the only reason they started looking at me was because I was pretty vocal about my sense that the Maquis were getting a raw deal. Besides," she added, "you've got the only stamp of approval I need."

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"Your performance reviews from Voyager," she said with a smile. "Commander Tuvok is fair, but his approval doesn't come easy. It has to be earned. And you, Mr. Ayala, have earned it."

Curiosity overcame him."You know Tuvok?"

She chuckled. "Oh, yes. Tuvok was my mentor in the Academy. But you'd better believe that I had to work to earn his approval and respect, just as you did."

"So," he said before he could stop himself, "what happened to your last Assistant Chief of Security?"

"Got his own commission," she said with a smile. "It happens a lot around here. This post you're taking up is a big stepping stone to promotion. Maybe a little too good, in my opinion," she admitted. "My last assistant only stuck around for six months. I barely had a chance to get used to him."

"Don't worry, Commander," he grinned. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I just moved my family onto this ship, and I have no plans to uproot them again."

"Glad to hear it. And don't think that means you won't get chances to take the lead." She glanced down at her abdomen, laying a hand on her small baby bump. "I haven't told the senior staff yet, so keep this to yourself, but in about six months I'll be going on maternity leave. I'll be expecting you to step up and fill my shoes during that time."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, smiling. "And congratulations."

xxxxxxxxx

"You're very good with kids," Mike Ayala observed quietly as he watched the ship's Chief Engineer carefully extract six-year-old Joey Carey from a tree in the arboretum.

Geordi smiled in response as he comforted the frightened boy with a hug before setting him loose to go back and play with his brother and the two Ayala boys. "It's all learned, believe me."

Mike smiled sadly in response. "I haven't had much of a chance for that."

The tone in the security officer's voice was enough to get Geordi's attention. With one last glance to make sure Joey was okay, he turned to Mike. "From what I can see, you're doing just fine."

"I'm trying," he replied, still morose. "But it's...not easy. I left little boys and came back to adolescent men. I missed so much."

"I know." He wasn't just saying that; he knew well how many milestones came and went in that many years, and Mike was right that he'd never get that time back.

"I guess you would, in a way," Mike agreed after a moment's thought. "Leah did tell me that this is the first time she's lived aboard a ship, which means you probably didn't see them as much as you'd have liked."

"It's not quite the same. I was able to call them, at least, and see them once in a while. But you're right, leaving them was hard."

"Watch this!"

Both men turned hurriedly at the voice, knowing that that particular expression rarely boded well from children. Sure enough, in that moment, George Carey burst into a run and took a flying leap over the arboretum pond. Or, at least, that appeared to be his intent. But his speed wasn't enough and he fell short of the far bank, ending up on his hands and knees in the water.

Geordi's heart sprang into his throat as he shot to his feet, taking off towards the pond as fast as his legs could carry him. But just as he reached the bank, George hopped up to his feet, laughing. "Oops."

Relief rushed through Geordi. "George Ryan Carey, don't you ever do that to me again."

He looked up, confusion crossing his young face. "What did I do?"

"Scared me half to death, that's what," he chided gently, almost too relieved to be angry. "If you'd fallen in the wrong place, or at the wrong angle, you could have seriously hurt yourself."

His face fell. "I just thought it would be fun."

"I know you did." Geordi knelt down to bring himself to the boy's eye level. "But just because it seems fun doesn't mean it's safe. And I know you know that. We've talked about it before."

He ducked his head, embarrassed. "I know."

"Well, then, I think you need to spend a little time reminding yourself about why it's important to think before you do things. Go get changed into dry clothes, and then you're going to have a ten-minute time-out. And just so we're clear, ten minutes starts when you sit down on that bench. Don't think you can get out of this by dawdling in the bathroom. Understand?"

"Yes." His lower lip popped out slightly. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know." He ruffled George's red curls. "But you still have a time-out. Go on."

The sound of a muffled laugh caught his attention, and he turned to see Mike with his hand over his mouth, trying and failing to hide his giggles. "Just got to know all the tricks before they try them, huh?"

"Tricks?"

"Trying to run down the clock, the repentant act..."

"Yeah, well. With him, you have to be ready for anything. Leah keeps saying he's going to end up being a lawyer or something when he grows up. He's always trying to out-think and out-argue us. I hope he doesn't realize he has a secret weapon. Both of them do, really."

"What's that?"

He chuckled lightly. "Every time they call me 'Dad', I just about turn into a puddle."

Mike laughed now too. "Still new to you, huh?"

He nodded. "I'm almost surprised how fast they picked it up. I figured it would take them time to adjust to the change, but...I don't think I've heard either of them call me Geordi once since the day Leah and I told them we were getting married. It's like they were just waiting for permission."

"Perhaps they were."

Geordi spun around at the new voice. "Data! I didn't hear you come in. And what do you mean, they were?"

The android smiled. "You are very much a father to them, and have been for some years now. It is not surprising that they would be eager to to refer to you as such."

"Not as eager as I've been to hear it," Geordi replied with a warm smile. "You know, I don't even remember when it was that I started thinking of them as my kids. But I do remember I almost cried when Joey stuttered out something that resembled 'Geordi' for the first time. I hadn't expected it to mean so much to me. But you didn't come here just to hear me ramble," he added to Data. "Something you need?"

"Only to speak with you. However, the matter is not at all urgent."

At that moment, George reemerged from the bathroom and stomped his way over to the bench, pouting all the while. As Geordi set a timer, Mike turned to him. "It doesn't bother you, when they're mad at you?"

"Nah." Geordi dropped his voice to a near whisper. "He's playing it up anyway, thinking I'll let him off early if I feel sorry for him. But even if he weren't, he'll forgive me five minutes after it's over. They always do."

Mike started laughing again. "You must really have your hands full with him, huh?"

"Well...maybe a little," he admitted. "But he wouldn't be my George if he was perfectly well-behaved all the time."

"What about Joe?" Mike asked interestedly. "Is he as much of a handful?"

"Not quite. Joey's less of a daredevil than his brother. On the other hand, he's the one who'll drive you crazy asking a million questions an hour. When he was little, Leah used to say she couldn't remember the last time she'd had an uninterrupted night's sleep because he'd wake her up in the middle of the night to ask how replicators work or if birds have teeth."

Mike was laughing so hard that he was audibly struggling to catch his breath. "Sounds a little bit like Naomi Wildman – the 'Voyager Baby', you know. The only thing that saved our sanity was that she had a hundred and forty-something honorary parents to spread her questions out over." He glanced at Data. "Something to look forward to, huh?."

Geordi had been listening, but as part of his attention was focused on making sure that George stayed where he was supposed to, he failed to notice that the other man's attention had shifted. "I doubt it. Your kids are a bit old to suddenly start doing that, Mike. Unless –" his eyes widened at the realization. "Unless you and Susanna...?"

Mike shook his head, looking confused himself for a moment before it seemed to click. "I'm sorry," he said, and this time Geordi did register that Mike was looking over his head, "I thought he knew. "

"It is of no consequence," Data replied calmly.

Geordi glanced rapidly back and forth between the two men, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. "Data...what are you saying?"

The android began to smile. "I believe that Mr. Ayala has inadvertently introduced the topic that I wished to discuss with you."

Geordi's eyes were so huge it was almost a miracle his implants didn't fall out. "My God, Data. When?"

"Our predicted 'due date' is seven months, three weeks, and four days from today. However, Doctor Crusher has explained to us that this is only an estimate, as it is impossible to conclusively determine the date on which a child will be born."

Data's matter-of-fact explanation did nothing to slow Geordi's racing, jumbled thoughts. "Due...six months...then...Tasha...is she – "

Despite Geordi's stuttering, Data seemed to have no trouble understanding what his best friend was trying to ask. "Yes. She is."

Geordi briefly attempted to collect his thoughts into a coherent sentence, but it was a losing battle, so instead he simply stood up and forcefully pulled Data into a hug. The android returned it warmly, beaming, clearly understanding everything he was trying to say but couldn't verbalize. "Thank you, Geordi."

As his brain began to re-engage, something else occurred to Geordi, and he stepped back, looking between Data and Mike. "Wait. How did you know before I did?"

"I am afraid I am partially responsible for that," Data replied. "Our original plans for the announcement were preempted, so we have been...I believe the correct expression is 'winging it', and I was not as prompt in conveying the news to you as I should have been."

"The other part," Mike chimed in, "is that for me, it wasn't just news, it was a warning of sorts, since I'll have to take Commander Yar's position while she's on leave. Given how new all of this is to me already, she probably wanted me to have as much time as possible to prepare."

A warm smile nearly split Geordi's face in half. "You don't have to defend yourselves. I was surprised, not offended. So, Data, how does it feel?"

Data's own smile was more than a match for Geordi's. "I am...very happy. Though I am somewhat apprehensive about the prospect of parenting a human child. And I must admit, there are times when I feel disconnected from the situation. I know that it is happening, I have seen the medical scans, and still..."

"It doesn't feel real yet?" Mike offered.

"Yes. Yes, that is an appropriate description. It did not 'feel real' at first for you either?"

"No. Not even when I saw the first images. It wasn't until I felt the baby kick for the first time that it hit me that my God, there's really a baby in there. Unfortunately," he added with a soft chuckle, "I guarantee it's real for your wife already, and not necessarily in a good way."

Something beeped loudly, and Geordi jumped, looking around for a moment before he realized it was his timer. "Excuse me a second," he said quickly.

As he walked over to release George from his punishment, Data was nodding in response to Mike's statement. "I am certain that is true. Tasha has been somewhat ill in the last few days, though the medication Doctor Crusher gave her seems to be inhibiting the symptoms. She has also begun to complain of feeling physical and mental differences."

"I'm sure she has. Susanna did, almost from the beginning. Enough so that the second time, she was absolutely positive she was pregnant even before the doctor confirmed it. This is Tasha's first, right?"

"Yes, this is our first child." Data hated to mislead anyone, especially with someone who was so friendly, but the secret of Tasha's first pregnancy was hers alone; to even hint at the idea that such a secret existed was unthinkable. "Well, except for Lal, and that is a different situation altogether."

"Lal?"

"Lal is, for all intents and purposes, Tasha's and my first daughter. However, Lal was not born in the conventional sense. She is an android that I created, using myself as a model. As such, all of our experiences as her parents are altogether different from anything we can expect to encounter with a human child." He looked between Mike and Geordi, who was just returning after sending George back to play with the other boys. "I believe I will require much advice."

Geordi grinned again. "You got it, Data. Just ask."

xxxxxxxxx

Tasha burst out laughing, despite the fact that Deanna's wordless shriek of excitement was still ringing in her ears. "That seems to be your reaction to all of my major life events."

"Tell me about it." Will came back into the range of the camera, rubbing his own ears. "But the sentiment is shared, even if the expression leaves something to be desired."

Deanna smacked him on the arm, laughing a bit herself. "Shut up, Will."

As she watched the relaxed, playful banter between the couple, Tasha felt her heart swell with a joy of a different kind. This was so different from the painful awkwardness Deanna had described barely two weeks earlier as defining their relationship. I guess they've figured things out.

"So," Deanna asked, eyes still huge, "do you know what you're having?"

"Not yet. I wanted to be sure that everything seemed to be progressing normally before I got my hopes up too much. I – I guess I was sort of bracing for the worst, just in case."

Data shifted behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist to rest his hand on her stomach. "We both were, I think. There was always the minor risk of complications. It is the same reason we wanted to wait to tell you."

"So you waited until a week and change after we left?" Deanna mock-pouted. "Great timing."

Tasha grimaced a bit. "Well...that wasn't the initial plan. But by the time we felt safe enough to tell, your wedding – and Geordi's proposal – were practically on top of us. So we decided we were going to hold off for the moment, and tell everyone at that dinner that the Captain was planning for the night between when you got back from the honeymoon and when the Titan left."

"But that dinner didn't happen," Will finished. "We had so little time between when we got back to spacedock and when we launched, and I spent most of it completely swamped trying to keep the launch schedule, Captain Picard and Geordi were dealing with the repairs for the Enterprise -" He stopped abruptly, but Tasha suspected she knew what he'd been about to say. And Data was still grieving.

Most people wouldn't know the difference, but to those who knew Data best, it was clear he was still hurting and would be for some time to come. It didn't matter to Data that he'd only known B4 for a few days; to him, the other android had been a brother, and he grieved just as deeply as he would have if they had known each other all their lives.

"So you had to come up with another plan," Will finished after a moment.

"Plan?" Tasha repeated. "Nah, we're well into 'improvising' now. Speaking of, just do me one favor?"

"Of course," they both replied at nearly the same instant.

"We're telling the Captain tomorrow. Keep it to yourselves until then? Once the gossip mill gets a hold of it, the whole fleet will know within a day."

"Don't worry," Deanna replied quickly. "No one's hearing a word about this from us unless you say it's okay."

"Hey, Data," Will added. "Would it be all right if we talked to your wife alone for a second?"

"Of course." The android stood. "In fact, you may take considerably more than a second, should it be necessary." Then, as they both smiled at his joke, weak though it was, he added, "It was...good to see you."

"Same to you, old friend," Will replied.

"Take care of yourself, Data," Deanna added.

"I will. Thank you."

There was silence on the line for a few moments, until the hiss of a door indicated that Data had left the room. Deanna spoke first. "He doesn't know, does he? About...me?"

"I don't think so." Tasha didn't need any more context than that. "He was off the ship when most of it happened, and I didn't tell him. I didn't think it was my place."

"You can, if you want to. I trust him. I just...don't want to ruin my mood by explaining."

"I understand. So, what do you need?"

"We just wanted to say...thank you," Will explained. "Deanna told me what you did for her."

"And Will told me what you did for him."

"Things are going better for us now. But if you hadn't given me the kick in the pants I needed...I'd probably still be making a fool of myself."

"And I'd still be mad at myself."

Tasha was blushing a deep red at the praise. "You give me way too much credit. I just pointed you in the right direction. You're the ones who chose to go there."

"Maybe," Deanna conceded, not wanting to embarrass her friend further. "But I'm still glad I had you when I needed someone."

"Me too. Take care of yourself, Tasha. We'll see you soon, I hope."

Tasha smiled. "I hope so too."

xxxxxxxxx

Data and Tasha glanced at each other, gripping hands briefly before he pushed the door chime. As Picard called out and the door opened, she mused that she didn't think she'd ever been so nervous upon walking into a Captain's ready room, not even when she was a brand-new ensign. But he wasn't just her Captain, he was her friend, her errand was anything but professional, and she wasn't entirely sure how she expected him to react.

Picard looked up as the couple stepped through the doorway. "Yes, Commanders? Is there something I can do for you?"

Another glance between them, and then Tasha spoke, unable to stop herself from staring at the floor. "Captain...we have something to tell you."

And we're off on another adventure! Don't worry, despite what the first chapter implies, this isn't going to be a pure fluff piece. There will be fluff, but also plot. A lot of plot.

Mike Ayala is a character from Voyager. Given that he's going to show up more than a few times, it was much easier to work from an existing character than to try and invent a new one, and Ayala's character works very well for what I need. And anyway, who better to be Tasha's second-in-command than an ex-Maquis who served under Tuvok?

The mention of the former assistant who left is my attempt to both explain and wave off what happened between Jenna's departure and the start of this story, since I never did establish who took Jenna's place.

Please review!