[blond pilot wheels a specially modified carrier into sickbay]

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Paris."

"Hey, Doc. One, Two and Three are here to visit their Dad."

[EMH automatically picks up a tricorder as the carriage comes closer]

"Hey, Har, how're you doing?"

"Come to spring me, Tom?" [dark haired spouse pleads with his husband]

[blond pilot spins the tri-carrier with a flourish and parks it next to spouse's bed and then assists spouse in sitting up]

"They aren't crying?" [Harry Kim leans over and peers fascinatedly at three sleeping babies, stares at angelic face of blond pilot, questions sternly] "OK, who did you con into helping today?"

"Con?" [pilot protests before leaning over to kiss husband] "Har, I would never con anyone." [pilot whispers softly] "How're you doing today?"

"Can't wait to double our number and figure out what you're up to."

[blond haired pilot reaches into baby carrier]

"I'm giving you Three of Paris, she's squirming so she'll be awake soon. And you know what that means..."

[dark haired spouse extends hands]

[blond pilot times it to the millisecond. Tiny infant dressed in a yellow jumper with a huge number three in blue on the front of the outfit slides into her father's arms and her mouth opens. Before the wail emerges, blond pilot slaps a bottle of milk into spouse's hand. Spouse feeds infant. Crisis is averted.]

[blond pilot takes up position on the biobed next to spouse with another infant and begins feeding] "I'm so glad that One always waits to be fed."

"Tom, we'll have to tell the crew their names."

"Not until yours make their appearance." [spouse insists stubbornly]

[sigh]

[dark haired spouse casts his mind around for a less controversial topic] "I won't bug you if you tell me how you, a father for only four days, are managing to take care of our kids without help."

"I have help." [pilot looks superior]

"Hah! Wildman came to visit today. She told me that you've refused everyone's help. Tom, we talked about this."

"Har, I have help."

"Who?"

"Nanny."

[dark haired Ops officer frowns as he runs through crew roster] "Who? Who is Nanny?"

"Nanny was a gift from three women who prefer to remain anonymous. And she is a what, not a who."

"Very well, what is Nanny?"

"She is a holo-caregiver who takes care of the infants."

"Tom, we don't have enough rations to outfit our quarters with holo-emitters and as far as I know, we don't have anything like it on board."

"To be completely accurate, Nanny doesn't belong to us. We are testing it out for these - three- umm...anonymous benefactors."

"Sounds like you blackmailed someone."

[blond pilot grins smugly while patting the back of the infant in his arms]

[dark haired pilot expertly shifts his daughter into a more comfortable position while he mulls over what his spouse has shared, he thinks hard, then gasps]

"No! Seven is pregnant...? For B'Elanna...? But they would need the captain's permission to-" [Ops officer mutters] "Together? All three??"

[blond pilot nods]

"Wow!"

The End

Continued in Parenting 403