Kes's Flowers and Things

🌸🌷 I've got nine years of life to live to the fullest 🌷🌸  Ship's counselor, medic, and manager of Airponics.

[kes-flowersandthings]

The Wedding

The crew is standing in the holodeck, which has been converted into a beautiful, serene garden.

The Doctor: Well, Seven, the big day has finally arrived. Are you looking forward to the ceremony?

Seven: Kes has told me that the wedding will be a combination of Human and Ocampan tradition. Thus, there is certainly educational merit to it, both for myself and the Borg children.

Seven touches a sprig of some sort of plant that is nestled behind her ear. All the women in the room are wearing the same thing.

Seven: This flower clipping, for example, that Kes has given to the women of the ship. It is said by the Ocampans that wearing this during a wedding will bring prosperity in love to all those who attend.

The Doctor: A lovely tradition. Speaking of prosperity in love… how is Susan?

Seven: Lieutenant Susan Nicoletti brought me a present on Christmas. She was also slightly inebriated which led to –

The Doctor holds up his hand in the air. Seven stops.

Seven: Susan is doing fine, thank you.

The Doctor: Excellent. But don’t tell me what Susan wouldn’t want me to know.

He walks away, as a small chime rings out, and Captain Janeway steps ahead to where the wedding will be performed. Ken Dalby is with her, and so is Chakotay, his best man. The doors to the holodeck open, and Naomi Wildman walks ahead with a small basket of flowers. Behind her, Kes is standing radiant in a wedding dress covered by a traditional blue Ocampan wedding cloak. She’s on the arm of the Doctor, who has agreed to stand in for her father for the ceremony. She is flanked on both sides by Susan and Tal Celes, who wear simple bridesmaid dresses in light blue. Kes walks up the aisle, and kneels at the end. Susan and Tal remove her cloak to reveal her dress in full.

Kes: Sisters of my heart, thank you for guiding me to this path.

She hugs each of them in turn, and then the Doctor. The Doctor then goes to hug Dalby. He whispers a few words into his ear.

The Doctor: Take good care of her, Crewman.

Dalby: Of course.

He takes Kes’s hand and puts it into Dalby’s. Captain Janeway stands between the two of them.

Janeway: We're gathered here today, not as Starfleet officers, but as friends and family, to celebrate the marriage of two of USS Voyager's finest. Since the days of the first wooden sailing ships, all captains have enjoyed the happy privilege of joining together two people in the bonds of matrimony. But before I declare them husband and wife, Ken and Kes have written their own vows.

Dalby: Kes, you gave me your love when I felt that no love could heal me. You saw past my broken, flawed exterior to find what little goodness remained. I promise to cherish, protect, and love you until death do us part.

Kes: Ken, you believed in me when I didn’t know where to go. You gave me purpose, supported me with unwavering devotion. I thought I would never see family again after I left my home, but here you stand with me. I promise to cherish, protect, and love you until death do us part.

Janeway: Crewman Kenneth Dalby, Counsellor Kes, with the power vested in my by Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you–

A shrill scream cuts her off, and she looks down to see Kes crouching on the floor.

Janeway: Kes!

Dalby: Kes, what happened?

Kes: The… argh, the babies. They’re coming.

Dalby: Now?

Kes: Yes, now! But we have to finish the ceremony, Ken.

He hauls Kes to her feet. She looks urgently to Captain Janeway, who nods.

Janeway: Crewman Kenneth Dalby, Counsellor Kes, with the power vested in my by Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Kes breathes a sigh of relief, and Ken picks her up. The Doctor runs to them.

The Doctor: Emergency medical transport. Three to Sickbay.

As they dematerialize, the crew stares in shock.

Neelix: Does this mean there’s no reception?

[kes-flowersandthings]

Ho, Ho, Ho, Kes, I have for you holodeck rations for 24hours in holodeck (so you can relax if you need to). Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you too, Secret/Anonymous Santa! I think that’s what you humans call it. Thank you so much for your lovely gift. @rebelwithoutacausedalby and I will put it towards our honeymoon holodeck time after the wedding. We’ll definitely need the time to relax. After the babies come, there won’t be much of that!

[kes-flowersandthings]

Guides for the Future

Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, and Tal Celes are gathered in Kes and Dalby’s quarters.

Tal: Any idea why we’ve been called here?

Janeway: None whatsoever. Though Kes seemed like she was hiding something when she asked me to come. There was something about her smile that seemed different.

Chakotay: I think I know, but I’m not saying anything.

Janeway: Can’t you give us a hint, at least?

Chakotay: Hasn’t anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue, Kathryn?

They smile at each other, and Tal shifts uncomfortably in her seat. But some part of her is happy that the Captain and Commander now feel that they can explore a relationship outside the bridge or the confines of their quarters. Yet, it will take some time to get used to it. Before they can say anything else, Ken and Kes walk inside.

Dalby: Looks like we’ve got the gang together!

Kes: Ken!

Dalby: Well, I could have gone with, “Now, you must be wondering why we’ve called you here today.” It sounds too much like a detective exposé, don’t you think?

Kes: We’ll discuss it later. We’ve kept them waiting long enough.

Janeway: We’re certainly very curious. I hope all the wedding preparations are going well.

Kes: Just fine. Lots to do, especially now that I can barely stand on my feet for more than ten minutes.

She takes a seat in the nearest chair with a small laugh.

Dalby: Anyways, you all know that we’re expecting three lovely children very soon. And, there’s an Ocampan tradition that’s much like godparents that we’ve been considering. Kes tells me the closest translation of it is “guide.”

Kes: In short, they’re mentors for the children, providing an alternate perspective to life that’s likely different from that of their parents. We’ve asked you here because we wanted to know if you’d be willing to be their guides.

Janeway: Oh, Kes, how wonderful!

She gives Kes a hug, and holds her for a few moments before pulling away.

Kes: We also thought it would be best to tell you the names we’ve chosen.

Dalby: Captain Janeway, we very much hope you’ll be guide to Lily Kathryn Dalby. Your leadership and courage would be a great influence to her.

Janeway is shocked into silence for a moment.

Janeway: Lily... Kathryn?

Dalby: We hope you don’t mind, Captain. It’s only fit that we honour our fearless leader in what way we can.

Janeway: Thank you. I’m absolutely honoured.

Kes: And Celes, Ken and I would love if you were Lauren Linnis Dalby’s guide. Your compassion and strength of heart will teach her well.

Tal: Kes, of course!

Dalby: And of course, Chakotay. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. I wouldn’t have my soon-to-be wife or children; I’d just be a depressed man trying to find a cause to fight for. So, we hope you’ll accept to be Benaren Scott Dalby’s guide.

Chakotay smiles. He knew that this was coming, but it’s still all the more poignant to hear it said by his good friend.

Chakotay: Thank you, Ken. Like Kathryn said, I’m honoured that you chose me. I’ll guide him well. I hope.

Kes: I have no doubt you will.

Tal: So! The wedding is in less than a week. Are you excited?

Dalby: Who wouldn’t be, marrying this beautiful woman?

He presses a kiss to Kes’s forehead and she blushes.

Kes: What I’m excited for is for the children to be born. I don’t know if I can physically stand another day of carrying these three around.

Janeway: Be careful what you wish for Kes. The last thing you want is to go in labour the day before your wedding.

Kes: Wouldn’t that be a nightmare? While Ken’s off enjoying his bachelor party, or whatever humans do, I’m not going to be carted off to Sickbay.

Chakotay: We’ll try and keep him sober in any case.

@rebelwithoutacausedalby | @voyagerscaptain | @firstofficerchakotay-flute | @bhavael-song

[kes-flowersandthings]

We’ve set a date! @rebelwithoutacausedalby and I are so looking forward to seeing everyone there.

@voyagerscaptain | @firstofficerchakotay-flute | @vulcantuvok​ | @thebestparisyouhave | @warpcorewarrior | @musician-in-space| @voyagersdoctor | @sevenofninetertiaryadjunctofunim | @whiskeredexplorer | @bhavael-song |@lieutenantayala | @susan-nicoletti-voyager​ | @juniortjenkins | @farleyjakobsdottir | @lyssacampbell| @ensignalang | @meganonvoyager | @jennyinthdeltastars| @captains-assistant | @borg-girl

[kes-flowersandthings]

A Brief Lesson in Biology

Kes: You’re joking.

The Doctor: I’m afraid not, Kes.

Kes: I... I suppose we should have seen it coming. My children are the first Ocampan-Human hybrids ever to be born. We had no way of knowing.

The Doctor: Quite right. Genetics are a strange thing.

Kes: But another month? Another month of pregnancy? I can barely walk around as it is with three children growing out of my back. Nowadays, I haven’t got enough energy to do much other than my counselling duties – which I can do sitting down, thank goodness.

The Doctor: Look on the bright side! You have more time to prepare. Three children are a handful.

Kes: A handful I’d rather have now than in a month.

The Doctor: I’ll give you a hypospray for the muscle tension, but I’m afraid there isn’t much else we can do.

Kes: I know. Thank you for everything.

She turns to leave, but then remembering something, she rushes back.

Kes: Doctor, I nearly forgot. Ken tells me that there’s an Earth tradition of the bride’s father giving her away at the wedding. I thought it was a lovely idea. But as my father is not with me, I wanted to ask you.

The Doctor: Me?

Kes: You’ve been like a father to me, in all honesty. You’ve taught me almost as much as he did. And I want to say thank you.

The Doctor: I don’t know what to say! Kes, thank you.

The two of them hug. When Kes pulls away, she smiles.

Kes: You’re not just a collection of photons and forcefields to me. You’re as real as anyone. My teacher, my friend, my second father.

[firstofficerchakotay-flute]

Private Message

@rebelwithoutacausedalby

How are you, Ken? I hope the pregnancy is going well and you and Kes are fine. We haven’t talked in a while since we’re both busy most of the times, so I thought of checking in on you.

By the way, the cribs are almost ready. You should visit my quarters pretty soon and give them a look!

Have a nice day!

[rebelwithoutacausedalby]

Wow, man thanks ! I told Kes and she is very excited! You have saved us so much time. You know we talked about Godparents right? Kes wants to wait to announce it but you are gonna be one of them! Act surprised though okay, or she’ll kill me for letting the cat out the bag.

Anyway how are things with you? Are you keeping our lovely Captain happy Old Man? 😏

Catch ya later.

@firstofficerchakotay-flute

[firstofficerchakotay-flute]

Ken, I am honored that Kes and you chose me to be one of your childrens’ godparents. I am so happy! Thank you for letting me know! Don’t be concerned, I am going to act really surprised.

Things are going well! Our lovely Captain is fine, Ken, you don’t have anything to worry about! We’re busy as always with the ship’s business. That’s all. Everything is more than okay between us.

What about you? You’re going to be a father pretty soon. How are you feeling?

@rebelwithoutacausedalby

[kes-flowersandthings]

Kes, how do you feel? How are the babies?

Hello, @captains-assistant! The babies are doing fine. I can feel them kicking already. An Ocampan pregnancy is much shorter than a human one, so I’m due around early December. @rebelwithoutacausedalby and I are very excited. We both hope you can babysit sometime, if that’s alright with your mother.

Hugs,

Kes

[kes-flowersandthings]

Do you have any exciting news to share?

Well, I suppose I do! How did you know? Last night, @rebelwithoutacausedalby proposed to me… and I said yes! Ken and I agreed that we’d like to share the news with our Voyager family, so we’re tagging the crew on this post.

@voyagerscaptain | @firstofficerchakotay-flute | @vulcantuvok | @thebestparisyouhave | @warpcorewarrior | @musician-in-space | @voyagersdoctor | @sevenofninetertiaryadjunctofunim | @whiskeredexplorer | @bhavael-song |@lieutenantayala | @susan-nicoletti-voyager | @juniortjenkins | @farleyjakobsdottir | @lyssacampbell| @ensignalang | @meganonvoyager | @jennyinthdeltastars| @captains-assistant | @borg-girl

[kes-flowersandthings]

I heard Dalby proposed?

Private Message

@rebelwithoutacausedalby​

News travels fast. I’ve already got quite a few asks from anons about our engagements. Do you want me to tell them, or should we keep it to ourselves? Truthfully, I think the latter option is going to be very difficult to maintain. Besides, why hide it? Everyone knows that you and I are having three children. It also might be beneficial in another reason. There’ve been a lot of nasty but quite a few true rumours going around about Seven of Nine and the Captain. Perhaps this might give everyone something else to think about. Let me know what you think, my dear husband-to-be.

Love you,

Kes

[rebelwithoutacausedalby]

@kes-flowersandthings

Private Message:

How do they get a hold of this stuff?Well I don’t see no reason to keep it hush hush. I’d like to tell the guys personally though and I should send Paris a message,etc him know how it went.

Any ideas on a date oh and be sure to show us that ring.

Love you beautiful.

[kes-flowersandthings]

@rebelwithoutacausedalby

I think that we should have the wedding in a month or so, before the babies arrive. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind combining human and Ocampan traditions for the ceremony, but we’ll discuss details later.

Love,

Kes

[kes-flowersandthings]

I heard Dalby proposed?

Private Message

@rebelwithoutacausedalby​

News travels fast. I’ve already got quite a few asks from anons about our engagements. Do you want me to tell them, or should we keep it to ourselves? Truthfully, I think the latter option is going to be very difficult to maintain. Besides, why hide it? Everyone knows that you and I are having three children. It also might be beneficial in another reason. There’ve been a lot of nasty but quite a few true rumours going around about Seven of Nine and the Captain. Perhaps this might give everyone something else to think about. Let me know what you think, my dear husband-to-be.

Love you,

Kes

[kes-flowersandthings]

Seven is trying to break up the command couple? Can you read her.mind and figure out her plan.

Anon, please refrain from these rumours. Speaking from a psychological perspective, the spreading of rumours is destructive and harmful. It can lead to depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, anxiety and a host of other issues. What’s more gossip and rumours can alienate friends, ruin reputations and even lead to ostracizing behaviour and other forms of relational aggression. In short, it’s nothing you’d want on your conscience.

Second of all, I refrain from using my telepathy unless it’s an extreme case. This does not qualify, and is also a violation of privacy. If you’re further curious about the ethics of telepathy, you may speak to Commander Tuvok, or if curious about my morals, speak to me personally.

[kes-flowersandthings]

Hey Kes, me and about 20 other crewmen who really benefitted from your counseling wanted to do something nice for you (since you were such a big help and a really nice person in general). We decided to donate all our replicater rations for a week to you, to help you prepare for the triplets (if we get traumatized from having to eat Neelix's food for a whole week, we know where to find you for some extra counceling though ;) (jk Neelix, we love you)). Enjoy!

Anonymous crewman, whoever you are, you don’t know how much @rebelwithoutacausedalby and I appreciate your kind gift. To you and the other twenty who did such a generous thing, thank you so, so much. We’ll put the rations to good use. I’m also very glad to hear that you benefitted from the counselling sessions. Trust me, the reward of your well-being is as equally important to me as your present.

And don’t worry; @whiskeredexplorer will be making his famous harvest vegetable ragout this week with fresh veggies from Airponics, harvested by Bronowski, Telfer, and myself. I convinced Neelix to skip the leola root this time. The flavour of the root clashes with the sweet squash, in my opinion.

[kes-flowersandthings]

The Question

Part One

Kes straggles into her and Ken’s quarters, after a long and exhausting day. Nearly half-way into her four month pregnancy, the worst of the morning sickness has gone, but her back is killing her. After all, it isn’t easy carrying three children around. Kes rubs the mitral sac that’s begun to raise slightly on the top of her back, wondering if the children can sense her thoughts, her slowly fading apprehensions about motherhood. She couldn’t have asked for more. A family with the man she loves.

“I’m home!” Kes calls out, but she doesn’t hear or see Dalby anywhere. She looks around, and notices a single water-lily floating in a simple glass bowl on the table. Smiling at the sweet gesture, she wonders if this was the surprise that Ken had been alluding to yesterday.

Kes inhales the sweet scent of the lily, and almost doesn’t see the old-fashioned paper note that’s resting beside it. She unfolds it, and reads what is written inside.

In the bedroom, darling.

Kes can’t help but giggle. This seemed like a scenario straight out of the stacks of romance novels that Megan Delaney was always lending to her. There was a certain endearing and personal touch, with just the right amount of romantic cheesiness, that was so appealing to her about it all. She put down the note, and walks towards the closed door of the bedroom.

The entire room is illuminated by nothing but starlight and candles. And the bed... Kes can’t help but gasp at all the effort Ken has gone to. Flower petals on the sheets, bouquets of flowers on the windowsills and side tables – it looks like a dream.

A pair of arms encircles Kes from behind, and she turns her head, meeting Ken’s loving and kind eyes.

“Kenneth Dalby, I have no words,” Kes murmured, all the worries of her day trickling away instantly. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m glad you like it, darling,” Ken says, pressing a kiss to Kes’s lips, feeling her smile beneath him. An especially gorgeous arrangement of peonies on one of the bedside tables catches her eye, and she tugs Ken over to admire them together.

“Bronowski was smirking at me the whole day,” Kes says. “And now I know why. They’re lovely, aren’t they?”

“You’re the lovely one,” Ken replies, sitting on the edge of the flower-covered bed. He holds out his hands to her, and she sinks down beside him. Tracing a thumb across her knuckles, he takes a deep breath. When he had talked to Tom about doing this, he warned Dalby that no matter how much planning a guy does, it almost always requires some improvisation at one point. Ken was surprised how everything was going according to plan.

“Kes, I couldn’t stop thinking yesterday night about the first time we woke up together,” he says, barely keeping the stutter out of his voice. “I remembered seeing your head on the pillow next to me and I kept thinking, oh man, Dalby, look at her. Look at how beautiful, and good, and kind she is, and look at you. She doesn’t know what a mess she’s landed herself with. I even bet to myself that I’d chase you off the first time we argued. And that scared me. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you so soon after I had found that goodness. I hadn’t felt so happy in so long. But look at you now, Kes. You’re going to be the mother of our children. Three beautiful children!”

He would remember this. Kes’s gaze wandering, her eyes widening as she saw the velvet box on the pillow. The way she looked between him and the box, back and forth, and then her gaze stopping dead on him.

“Ken,” is all she can manage. Ken takes the box from the pillow, and opens the lid.

“I can’t imagine a day without you, Kes. You’re my counselor, my friend, my lover. Will you be my wife?”

Kes finally finds her words, telling Ken the things that she needed to tell him.

“I’ll grow old, Ken.”

“You’ll be beautiful always.”

“Long before you!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“We won’t have long, Ken.”

“I can’t be afraid of loss if I could spend the rest of my life with the woman I love.”

“Then ask me again,” Kes whispers. “Ask me if I’ll marry you.”

With an obliging and rakish grin, Ken slides off the bed, getting on one knee.

“What are you doing?”

“This is how humans propose.”

“You never fail to surprise me,” Kes says with that familiar, sweet laugh that Ken has loved since he met her. She looks at him, and nods, encouraging him to go ahead.

“Kes, will you marry me?” he asks.

“Yes, I will,” Kes says. “And now, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Will you kiss me?”

“As you wish, my love,” Ken says, rising and kissing her long and deep. “I’ll do more than kiss you tonight. We’ve got something to celebrate.”

[syntacked]

Never stop being a good person because of bad people.

Unknown (via syntacked)

[rebelwithoutacausedalby]

Hi, what are you working on now if I can ask...?

Right now baby proofing our quarters. @kes-flowersandthings and I have been reading all this baby material @voyagersdoctor kindly gave us and it’s become bedtime reading most nights. Baby proofing is a big deal, especially on a ship , we also have to replicate a ton of stuff and times it three. How we are gonna afford this I have no clue. So we are pretty busy getting ready and working our duty shifts. So much to do and not enough time! Man what if we miss something? What if, get a grip Dalbs. It’s gonna be fine.

[kes-flowersandthings]

There’s a lot of trouble a baby can get into on a starship... We just have to make sure that they can’t crawl out of our quarters and somehow turn off the artificial gravity. But the rations for this will be immense!

[rebelwithoutacausedalby]

What are your weekend plans?

I’m on duty today but off tomorrow. I may have a surprise instore for my gorgeous girlfriend. @kes-flowersandthings

[kes-flowersandthings]

Private Message

@rebelwithoutacausedalby​

Surprise? Ken, you’re making me curious... Does it involve your delicious cooking, something romantic, or a combination of the above?

[kes-flowersandthings]

Hi, what are you working on now if I can ask...?

Well, in Airponics, I’m trying to propagate and grow these very strange vegetables that @whiskeredexplorer picked up on our last shore leave.

I’ve managed a small but delicious crop, and I’m trying to find the right soil type to make the crop even bigger.

@rebelwithoutacausedalby and I have been testing out a few recipes with them, and they’re delicious raw or steamed. Ken thinks they might taste good as a baby puree, but we’ll have to wait a few months to test that hypothesis.