First time publication – this fic was not published on my website before. I found the story last night in a notebook, which also has all the Scream, You Scream, We All Scream Icecream fics.
“Serenade for Sarah” (Michel Legrand – Alan et Marilyn Bergman), in Les Uns et Les Autres [lyrics not yet found]

~ * ~ * ~

Returning to his office, Dr. Richard Lancaster was glad to be back in his cherished solitude. Away from the press, who seemed to be having a field day with someone else’s misery, but also thankfully away from the sorrow that had the press posting outside the county hospital.

Because of an unknown, uncureable disease, a little girl’s parents were slowly dying. There’d been more instances of this illness, but the press and governments had not picked up on it, even after various pressure groups had tried to show them this was a force to be reckoned with.

The only reason for the presence of the press was the fact that the girl’s father happened to be related to one this year’s heroes.

Tancho, son of Zartanay of Dorvan, was the sole remaining relative of the discussed Maquis Captain, Commander Chakotay of the USS Voyager.

The ship had quite unexpectedly returned to the Alpha Quadrant only a week after the Federation had decided to cancel the Pathfinder Project. Now, the ship andher crew were anxiously awaited to arrive at Earth sometime this week.

~ * ~ * ~

It had been one of the hardest things to write, but over two years ago, Richard Lancaster had started his monthly reports to Chakotay after Tancho couldn’t write them himself anymore. He’d told the Commander all about the disease, and also about the probably outcome.

For now his main concern was to keep the press at bay. He already knew that as soon as Starfleet would allow it, Chakotay would rush to the hospital to see his cousin, and to meet his young niece, Sarah.

In his latest communique, Chakotay mentioned he’d bring his family, and after reading this week’s Federation Enquirer – not that he acknowledged reading papers like this – he realized Chakotay’s message would be even more shocking to the press outside the hospital than Voyager’s return.

~ * ~ * ~

Federation Enquirer - Federation Enquirer - Federation Enquirer

[clip]

It is true! The Starship Voyager is a guaranteed Love Boat!
After being stranded in the Delta Quadrant for over 10 years, the Federation’s most notorious starship has been harboring unlisted stowaways.
According to a close family friend, even the strict, protocol-abiding Captain has found the time to make sure Voyager is indeed a generational ship.
The friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us Kathryn Janeway is ‘the proud mother of ship’s darling, 3 year old Elizabeth’. Our source could not disclose the name of the girl’s father, but she did say that Captain Janeway had always had a thing for ‘tall, dark and handsome [men]‘.
As Voyager approaches Earth …

~ * ~ * ~

As soon as he’d told her the news about his cousin, Kathryn had insisted they’d let Tancho and his wife know their daughter would be welcome in their family. The little girl, Sarah, was roughly the same age as their daughter Lizzy, and she would be raised as their own without forgetting her birth parents.

For now Sarah was staying with Dr. Lancaster and his sister, but they realised she needed a real family soon.

~ * ~ * ~

At two in the morning, the Lancaster household received a call from the hospital, telling them Tancho and his wife Maggie had passed away in their sleep. His staff explained how it seemed they’d found the peace they’d been looking for ever since the start of their illness.

When Richard woke up the little girl later that morning, he told her the news. Even though she was not yet 3 years old, she understood what had happened. She had looked up at Richard, and she had asked him about Voyager’s return.

~ * ~ * ~

The Federation had never seen a publicity circus like the one currently going on in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not even the media attention at the end of the Dominion War had warrented such response from all the Federation’s citizens.

The return of Voyager had become the exact hype all the bureaucrats of the upper echelon of the Federation had been trying to prevent.

Public opinion had stopped them however. About a year ago a publication by one of the crew of Voyager had ensured everyone knew about the legendary voyage of the starship. Only two weeks later, Starfleet had decided to use all the attention to their advantage.

In little under one hour the ship would finally arrive, and the large reception hall – especially erected for this purpose – was filled to the brim with family and friends of the Voyager crew. It was also filled with all the Starfleet brass lucky to important enough to get in.

~ * ~ * ~

Their homecoming had been exactly what Chakotay had expected, but at the same time, he had not been prepared for the overwhelming feeling of being back on Earth again. There had been only a few debriefings and no trial. Starfleet had granted them their temporary commissions, but as soon as everything was over, the whole crew had been put on an extended leave, ranging between six months to one year.

Kathryn’s mother had insisted they stay at her house for a while before looking for a place of their own.

Today they would visit Dr. Lancaster, to meet Sarah.

Chakotay still couldn’t believe Tancho and Maggie had held onto their lives for so long. According to their doctor, they should have passed away a year after the disease set in. Kathryn told him they’d wanted to know for sure he’d be home on time. Chakotay didn’t know what to make of it.

Lizzy was curled up on her mother’s lap. They had tried to explain to her what they were going to do, but the little girl didn’t understand.

“Mommy, is this the same as when Miral had a brother?”

“No sweetheart. Remember we told you about uncle Tancho and aunt Maggie? We told you what happened, didn’t we?”

Lizzy nodded and looked at her father, “And daddy is her only family, and now we’re going to ask if she wants to live with us. But she’ll also be my sister, so it is like when Miral had Owen!”

~ * ~ * ~

“He looks like my daddy,” the little girl whispered, “but his hair is shorter, and daddy smiled more.”

Richard grinned, “Sarah, I’m sure Chakotay smiles just as much as your daddy. Want to say hello to them?”

“Yes, and may he’ll smile when he sees me. Daddy always smiled when he saw me.”

Kathryn was crouching down, hoding onto Lizzy who was ready to run up to Sarah to show her the teddybear they had bought. Chakotay slowly walked over to his niece. He got down on his knees and regarded her seriously, trying to see how much of his cousin was present in his daughter.

“Hello Sarah, I am Chakotay.”

She shyly held out her hand for him to shake. “You look like my daddy. Except he didn’t have those blue lines.” She reached out with her other hand and touched his tattoo. “Daddy once told me he didn’t want it, because he didn’t like the pain.”

Chakotay had to smile at that, “Your daddy never did like to be uncomfortable.”

Sarah let out a small sigh, “Mommy and daddy are not feeling any pain anymore, are they?”

“No sweetheart, they don’t have any pain now.”

She looked over his shoulder, “Who are they?”

“That really beautiful lady is my wife, Kathryn, and that pretty girl is Lizzy, our daughter.”

“Will I live with them?”

“Sarah, if you want to, you can come live with the three of us.”

“Is your house pretty?”

“Right now we don’t have our own house, and we are living with Kathryn’s mother, but we are looking for a new house.”

“Will your house have a garden?”

“Of course it will.”

“I like gardens, but because mommy and daddy were in the hospital, I could never play outside.”

“Well, I can tell you Lizzy has never played outside either. You see, we lived on a starship, and starship’s don’t have gardens either. I’m sure you’ll have great fun playing outside.”

“I’d like that.” She turned around to look at Dr. Lancaster, “I like him. He has a nice smile.”

~ * ~ * ~

“Sarah? Come on sweety, wake up. You’re having a bad dream. Wake up, darling.”

Slowly the girl opened her eyes, full of tears, to find Kathryn sitting on her bed.

“Come here, Sarah.”

She was picked up, and she clung to Kathryn, not willing to let go. Kathryn rubbed the girl’s back, soothing her with her voice.

“It’s over, Sarah. You’re here with us. You’re safe.”

Gradually she calmed down.

“Let’s get you settled again. Do you want to stay with Chakotay and me?”

Sarah nodded, “Yes I want to sleep in our bed.”

“Come on then, before Lizzy wakes up.”

Kathryn carried Sarah over to their bedroom and carefully put her down next to Chakotay. She crawled in next to her and took the girl into her arms. “Sleep now, little one. Tomorrow will bring another day.”

~ * ~ * ~

“Kathryn, I don’t know how you manage! I mean, Miral and Owen keep me busy, but at least Owen still sleeps most of the day. Lizzy and Sarah are both extremely active girls, and together their energy increases ten-fold. Put Miral and your terrible two together, and we would never have needed the transwarp coil to produce the energy we needed!”

“B’Elanna, I just got used to it. At least they sleep through the night, so we get a decent night of sleep too, most of the time.”

“Only most of the time? Is Sarah still having nightmares? I thought Chakotay said they had passed.”

“No, Sarah doesn’t have those nightmares anymore. It seems as if the girls have discovered how much fun it is to wake up mommy and daddy very early in the morning. I mean, I love them to bits, but at this rate, Chakotay and I will never get round to the more physical aspect of our marriage.”

Kathryn looked at her friend who was suddenly doubled over with laughter. “I’m sorry, but ‘physical aspect of our marriage’? Gods, Kathryn, why didn’t you say so before? Tom and I would be more than happy to have the girls over for a long weekend. It seems Chakotay and you are long overdue for a weekend of nothing but great sex!”

“B’Elanna!”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? All of a sudden Chakotay’s desperate looks towards you are starting to make sense.”

“But you wouldn’t mind? I mean, our two are a handful.”

~ * ~ * ~

“I can’t believe how quiet it is. Do you thingk the girls are alright? You did remember to pack Lizzy’s monkey? And Sarah’s bear?”

“Relax, Chakotay. B’Elanna knows our number, she’ll call if anything is missing.”

“I’m sorry, Kath. It just feels so strange. I mean, I love the fact we have a whole weekend alone, but I do miss the girls.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and took his hand in hers. “I miss them too. But B’Elanna was right, we need this time alone. Just imagine tomorrow morning.”

“What will happen tomorrow morning?”

Kathryn’s sigh was al the answer he needed. He grinned at her happy expression. “I see. Spirits has it really been that long?”

“Well, between coming home, the briefings, living at my mother’s, Sarah’s settling in, we just haven’t had any quality time away from it all.”

~ * ~ * ~

“Mommy? What is happening? Do you want me to call daddy? Daddy! Come here! Mommy’s feeling sick again. Daddy? Mommy needs you!”

Sarah ran into their backyard as fast as her legs would carry her.

“Hey sweetheart, where’s the fire?”

Trying to catch her breath, Sarah pointed towards the house. “Mommy is sick again.”

Chakotay picked up Sarah and jogged back to the house, where he found Lizzy looking at her mother who was reclining on the couch.

“It was so gross, daddy. Mommy was throwing up!”

He knelt next to the couch and stroked Kathryn’s hair, “Kath, honey, are you alright?”

She slowly got up and smiled at him.

“I will be, just give it some time.”

“Kath?”

“Remember the nickname B’Elanna and Tom have for our girls?”

“Of course, the Terrible Two.”

She smiled again, “Well, baby makes three.”

FIN

For Sylvia, Katie, Caffey, Jadie and Mr Jadie – once more around the block?

Written for the 2002 Christmas Contest hosted by SylviaK.

Thanks to Ris for the quick beta :o)

Song: Seven Years – Lee Alexander, sung by Norah Jones (last verse slightly adapted)

Spinning, laughing, dancing to
her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
Is all alone

~ * ~ * ~

Snow was falling all around them, but Gretchen didn’t notice it. As the cold outside had quickly set in, she could feel the frost permeate the house too. Just last week an engineer had come in to check on the environmental systems. Finding nothing wrong with it, he had expressed his surprise at the low temperatures inside. After suggesting the place needed some festive decorations, he quickly left, because the owner’s chilly glare frightened him.

Growing slowly colder, Gretchen moved around trying to dispel the thought that maybe she couldn’t help bring the warmth back in.

~ * ~ * ~

Since Voyager’s return and the arrival of her eldest daughter, she had imagined celebrating this feast of joy with her family – her entire extended family. Gretchen had faithfully read all her daughter’s reports, clearly feeling the unusual bond between her and her crew, and at their homecoming she had embraced all of them like long lost relatives. The joy hadn’t lasted long, because only weeks after moving back into her childhood home, Kathryn Janeway had bought a small cottage, away from civilisation. Gretchen had ever so carefully suggested small changes to be made to the house, but the advice had fallen on deaf ears. Her daughter clearly didn’t want to celebrate Christmas and she projected her cold demeanor on everything, including her own home.

~ * ~ * ~

Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she’ll sing her song to anyone
that comes along

Knocking on the door for the third time, Tom became as restless as his wife who was standing behind him. Carefully tucked against her mother’s body for warmth, little Miral had already picked up on the tension of her parents. Her strong wail was echoing through the emptiness that surrounded them. After checking with Gretchen, the young couple had decided to visit their Captain. Everyone was worried about her and no one had, as of yet, been able to talk to her, not even her mother or her sister. Sure, they had exchanged empty pleasantries, but the firm captain’s mask was fully in place whenever Kathryn met anyone. Hoping that maybe, in the comfort of her own home, she would open up to the people she considered to be her close family, Tom and B’Elanna had set out to her house.

~ * ~ * ~

B’Elanna turned around to look at the garden surrounding them. All the plants were safely tucked away for winter, and as she walked up the path around the house, she could see the glow of an old-fashioned green house. Miral had grown more and more restless, but her mother’s movements had temporarily silenced her. She saw shadowy movements inside the small structure. Calling out to her husband, B’Elanna walked over. As she peered inside, she saw the small form of her captain, carefully cradling a tiny looking plant. She knocked on the door before moving inside.

~ * ~ * ~

Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin’ to the ground
Without a sound

One morning a surprise had been transported into her living room. About a dozen boxes, all wrapped in brightly colored paper, each with a more elaborate bow than the first. Their sizes varied and one was even so small, it was quickly dwarfed by the rest. Kathryn looked at them with a disdainful look. She hadn’t found a return address, and the printing on the card was cryptic enough to make her uneasy. Deep down she had a feeling she knew who had sent her the gifts, but she wasn’t ready to acknowledge the emotions that would accompany them. Carefully shaking the smallest box, she heard the rattle of a chain and the low thump of the object attached to it. Who was she kidding, she could probably tell what was in each of the presents without even making an effort.

After she had read the card for the fifth time, she decided to call her mother. Even though she had talked to Gretchen just that morning, she needed to connect with her for real. It was time.

~ * ~ * ~

After the third ring, Gretchen opened the viewscreen.

“Mom, it’s me. Can we talk?”

“Hello Kathryn, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“He sent me presents, mom, with a card. What do I do now?”

“What does the card say, honey?”

“It’s a quote. Crooked little smile on her face, tells a tale of grace, that’s all her own. Mom, I want to hold a party here. Will you help me?”

~ * ~ * ~

Crooked little smile on her face
Tells a tale of grace
That’s all her own

This time Miral was tucked away inside her father’s coat, as he waited with his wife for the door to the small cottage to open. The gaping holes that were left by the plants had been filled up with colorful red, orange and yellow leaves. The path to the door was lit by two rows of oil lamps. A large wreath decorated with bows and stars was the focus of Miral’s attention. The whole house portrayed the feelings of its mistress, there was a warmth to it no one could ignore.

~ * ~ * ~

As the door opened, they were let in by Harry Kim who had arrived only minutes earlier. Inside, the noise they had heard outside was amplified by the loud giggling of Icheb and Naomi who were teasing each other mercilessly. Encouraged by a daring Kathryn, the trio was about to turn their attention to Gretchen when the doorbell rang again. Tom and B’Elanna stepped out of the way as they watched Kathryn rush to get to the door first.

~ * ~ * ~

Spinning, laughing, dancing to
her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
And she’s not alone

Seated in a comfortable chair, Gretchen surveyed the people around her. Some of them were sitting on chairs and the sofa, other were standing near the table or the doors. Tom was in the middle of a group of kids, regaling them with fantastical stories about the Starship Voyager and her brave Captain. Said captain kept a close eye on her helmsman, because when needed she would deliberately interrupt Tom’s stories forcing him to get his facts right.

~ * ~ * ~

Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh at Kathryn’s attempts to correct Tom, even though everyone gathered knew it wouldn’t help. After each interruption, Tom’s tales would become even more exaggerated, eliciting laughs from the people involved. Sitting down near her mother’s chair, Kathryn smiled when she was joined by someone else. The tall man gracefully sank down on his knees and handed Gretchen a package. Opening the gift, Gretchen stole a glance at her daughter. It was hard to believe this was the same woman who only a week ago had been too depressed to enjoy life. Now she was glowing with happiness, basking in the love from the people surrounding her, and secure in her love for the man sitting next to her. Her Kathryn wasn’t alone anymore.

FIN

Dedicated to ‘De Griek’ – my favorite take-away giros place.

Suddenly a door opened. Only one head turned to see who came out. Standing in the middle of a greasy and overrun snack joint, the curious onlooker gazed surreptitiously at the neatly dressed elder lady who had just come through the door. Even though the tag on the door read ‘toilet’, the lady’s expression somehow didn’t fit the profile of someone who would frequent these kind of restaurants, not even to use the facilities.

Streaks of silver were abundantly present in her once auburn hair. Carrying her purse over her shoulder, she looked around her, almost ashamed of her presence in this pitiful place. Her whole demeanor showed a lack of experience. Quickly she stepped around the regulars, keeping her head high and her shoulders squared. The young woman, who had looked up to see who opened the door, caught her gaze, and she smiled encouragingly. Nodding at her young admirer, the elder woman stepped up behind her, and while she exited the restaurant, she whispered “As you were.”

A mere minute later a tall and distinguished looking man also came through the door. He nodded at all who cared enough to look up, his face lit with an almost undetectable smile. As he walked past the young woman, she caught a whiff of the lady’s perfume, and when she looked up in surprise, he winked at her. In that brief moment, as the smile in his face grew to show off a matching set of dimples, the young girl recognized him. And by deduction she also realized who the lady was.

FIN

Disclaimer: This time I mean business! I plan to make millions from this story. Paramount, come and get me! *neener, neener, neener* Dedicated to Sylvia – for sending it to me numerous times! Luuuuuuuv ya!

* ~ * ~ *

After slamming the door in his face, she ran as fast as she could. The cadets coming down the hallway moved towards the exits when they saw the Admiral cruising towards them. They always tried to stay out of her way, and looking at her now, they decided that some highly intelligent evasive maneuvers were called for. As she was nearing, only one of them had the presence of mind to open the doors for her, and all the cadet heard was a muttering that sounded distinctly like ‘that swine’. He wasn’t one to judge an Admiral, but fact was that this one came running out of the office of one the Academy’s more notorious professors.

Ever so careful he checked the way she’d come from and saw said professor looking in his direction, his eyes slightly glazed over as if he wasn’t looking at them at all. A sad expression grazed his features.

“Jonas to Cadet Boel.”

“What’s up, Mac?”

“May, are you still looking for an editorial piece for this weeks Courant?”

“Of course! What do you have?”

“Meet me in the Night Owl at 1500. I need to do some further research.”

“See you there, Mac. Boel out.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Cadet, I won’t let you in. You need an appointment with Commanders Paris. Do you really think I would let you in, just because you’re out of breath claiming to have important news? I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.” Lt. Rein j.g. had moved Mac slowly back to the entrance of the office.

“But Sir, I really have important data for Commander Paris.”

“And you don’t even know which one you want to speak to? Out. Now! Before I call Security. Go, and don’t show your face again!”

Rein practically pushed him outside, where Mac bumped into Commander Paris.

“Whoa, look out, Cadet.”

All flustered, Mac could only stammer his apology. So much for his chance to tell them his important news. He might as well report to Waste Management immediately. “I’m sorry, Sir, Ma’am. I wasn’t looking. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

But before he could even manage to make his escape, Commander Paris had taken his arm and guided him back into the office.

Lt. Rein stood at attention and tried to explain the situation to an irate looking couple.

“Nout, it’s all right. Bring us some coffee, will you? We’ll take care of the Cadet.

* ~ * ~ *

“So you want to make this into an editorial? You have some nerve, Cadet Jonas. I wish we’d thought of that on Voyager. Our broadcast show ‘Breakfast with Neelix’ would have been a great venting place for our frustrations. Do you really think you can get enough people to participate?”

“Well, Commander Paris, I was thinking that since most of the Senior Cadets are taking classes pertaining to the Delta Quadrant they will have had exposure to both the Admiral and the Professor. Most of the Juniors actually have classes given by various other Voyager crewmembers. That will give us a wide coverage, and if it is at all possible to make a class assignment out of the topic, I think we’ll have covered most of the bases.”

Mac was comfortably seated on one of the couches, while B’Elanna and Tom were sitting across from him. Lieutenant Commander Kim had also joined them and he was currently speaking to Ambassador Neelix who was staying at his goddaughter’s house.

“Boel to Cadet Jonas. Mac, where in the Brass’ name are you? I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes, and this is not funny! You will get your sorry behind in here within 2 seconds, or we are finished. You hear me? Boel out!”

“Your girlfriend, Mac?” Tom grinned cheekily at him. “Most inventive girl.”

B’Elanna and Harry laughed as well, while Mac just looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Sirs, Ma’am. She can be quite creative when she needs to be. She’s the one who will be writing the editorial. Languages always have been her strong point. I guess I’ll be going now. Permission to leave?”

“Mac, why don’t we join you? What’s her location?”

“The Night Owl, Sir.”

“Right. Paris to Transport Central. Four to beam to the Night Owl.

* ~ * ~ *

“O my Hal! Mac? How? What? When? Why?”

Tom nudged Mac, “You just can’t help but love them, can you?”

“Cadet Boel, we’ll explain later. First we need to find some privacy in here. Our subject is highly secretive and we wouldn’t want you-know-who to overhear us. Have you secured a private booth?” B’Elanna looked at the flustered cadet. She remembered her own Academy days and realized the girl must be scared out of her wits.

“No Ma’am. I mean, I’ve been sitting at a table. Booths aren’t usually open for us lowly cadets.”

“Well, we’re going to have to change that. Now, where’s Neelix when you need him?”

Just as B’Elanna walked up to the bar, a short colorfully dressed man came running up to them. “B’Elanna, Tom, Harry, how good it is to see you. Nice to meet you too, Cadets. Follow me, we have a room upstairs.”

As they followed him, May took Mac aside. “What is going on? Do you realize who they are? And how do they tie in with my editorial?”

“May, please relax, and keep up with them. You’ll find out what is happening. It’s big, that’s all I can say. And you’re going to be the one coordinating our secret.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Right, lets get down to business. Cadet Boel, are you up to the task?”

“Yes Sir. I am. I mean I will be, once I find my courage. Mac, what were you thinking? Do you realize we’ll be kicked out of the Academy for this? I don’t know about you, but I had always imagined to graduate.”

“May, it won’t be that bad. You might even manage to get a starship position out of this. Mac, you will distribute the background reading, Tom will take care of contacting all your professors, Seven will put together the assignment, Neelix takes care of our catering. By the way, Sam did say we could use her house as HQ? It’d be a great location, since we’d only be 5 blocks away from Gretchen’s house who no doubt will want to help as well. Knowing our Captain’s mother, she will probably rally with the best of them. Now, people, we need to get moving. Operation Swine has officially been started.”

May was still unsure about the whole mission. “Do you really think I won’t get into trouble for this? It’s taken me too long to just throw a Starfleet career away.”

“May, don’t worry. Once we get this whole project going you’ll be supported by more Starfleet Brass than can fit into the Great Assembly Hall. We’re not just talking about our former Command Team, but this is truly an attack on Starfleet Protocol. Who knows, we might actually start a trend.”

* ~ * ~ *

Teaming up with the Voyager crew was Mac’s smartest move in his life so far, apart from finding the nerve to ask May out for a date of course. Over the next few weeks, while most students hardly noticed the dramatic change in their professors attitude, they handed out assignments, helped the freshmen study their texts and reported back to their HQ daily. Sam and her husband Greskrendtregk were constantly checking with Gretchen who in turn had frightened Kathryn when she told her daughter she would come and stay with her for a month. Little did she know that this was simply for observational purposes. Meanwhile B’Elanna had asked Chakotay’s sister Taya to do the same with him.

May was still fazed with all the attention she was attracting. The other day she even received a message from Captain Riker telling her how much he appreciated their efforts. He also extended his wife’s help to the team, which somehow didn’t surprise Tom. Riker mentioned how he had tried to contact Commodore Picard and he would forward his message as soon as he received it.

During the first three weeks of their ‘mission’ it seemed that more and more Starfleet couples were coming forward about their relationships – just as Tom had predicted. Even Owen wrote a letter to the Academy Courant telling its readers how it pained him that Starfleet made his wife quit her position after they discovered her connection to the Admiral (actually he was a Lieutenant j.g. back then). The following week’s issue showed a reply by Mrs. Paris saying how she in the end didn’t mind, but at the time it had felt as a show of distrust in their relationship. B’Elanna was surprised to find Tom’s parents this forward, but it also gave her some insight into her in-laws.

* ~ * ~ *

“Mom, would you please stop meddling! Enough already. You’ve been here for over 3 weeks now, and you still haven’t realized that I have a life of my own. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but it would be best if you returned home.”

Kathryn sighed. She couldn’t say that to her mother. And she really didn’t want to, except in a way she did want it. Her mother had been driving her crazy from the day she set foot in her apartment, completely taking over her daily routine. She’d even managed to sneak into one of her classes to show the Academy’s Senior Class pictures of the Admiral as a child. Somehow her mother also made sure she couldn’t contact any of her former crew. Every time she tried to make a call, her mother came running up to her with another excuse why she should wait. She hadn’t seen her goddaughter Miral in over a month and she could do with some advice from B’Elanna.

After running out of Chakotay’s office – 33 days ago – she had wanted to be left alone, but her mother prevented that plan. By now she couldn’t even remember what they had argued about, and only the other night she recalled calling him a ‘swine’. They’d been talking about Tom and B’Elanna and their daughter Miral. Chakotay was still slightly upset he hadn’t been chosen as the girl’s godfather even though he understood the couple’s reasons. Kathryn had tried to cheer him up and he ended up saying things he didn’t mean and she dramatically exited his office.

She desperately wanted to talk to him again, but she was afraid to contact him. He’d never lured her into a name calling contest before, and his behavior had simply shocked her too much to realize he was being irrational and would probably regrets his words instantly. She hadn’t given him the chance to apologize however.

* ~ * ~ *

Tom turned up at Sam’s house and let himself in. After she had discovered it was much easier to give some people the access code to her house, Sam frequently left knowing she wouldn’t be missed.

“Anybody home? Sam, are you here?”

No one replied and Tom went over to the terminal B’Elanna and Harry had rigged up for their data. He uploaded the latest information when he noticed a message sent by Chakotay.

My friends, Please stay out of my life! Chakotay

* ~ * ~ *

When she entered her office she immediately noticed the dozens and dozens of roses surrounding her desk.

Long-stemmed red roses adorned the few free spaces on her terminal while the rest had been put into vases on the floor. Thoroughly checking for a card, Kathryn became restless when she couldn’t find any. Just as she contacted her assistant to demand an explanation someone knocked on her door. She gave the command to enter, but nothing happened. Walking up to the entrance, she opened the door and didn’t see anyone. Instead a long white box with a blue ribbon had been positioned against the wall. She carried it over to her couch and opened the box. Inside was another rose, a delicate peach colored one. Attached was a small card.

Lunch tomorrow? C.

After 34 long days and nights, Kathryn finally had a reason to smile again.

* ~ * ~ *

Finishing her third cup of coffee, Kathryn sank down on the couch and put her head back. “I missed this.”

Chakotay sat down next to her and took another bite of his sandwich. He nodded at her statement. Chewing slowly he took his time to formulate his next line.

“Kathryn, we need to talk. Hear me out, before you interrupt. Whatever happened, happened. There’s no point in trying to reason why we had this unusual argument. Hell, I don’t even remember what we were fighting over. I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. These past days have been horrible. I missed our time together, I missed you. And I don’t want to go through it again. Our time is too precious to throw it away with mindless arguments. I have a proposal for you, one that you are probably not going to like.”

“Chakotay, please, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, then you’d better stop right there.”

“How can you know what I want to say? I’ve analyzed our situation, and I think I’ve come to a conclusion.”

“And I don’t want to hear it. After being your friend for seven years, I have managed to draw some of my own conclusions, and I know that whatever you have come up with, I won’t like it. So you’ll just forget whatever you wanted to propose.”

“You won’t even hear what I had to say? That’s not very polite of you, Admiral.”

“Chakotay, don’t ‘admiral’ me. You were going to suggest that, since Starfleet won’t keep us together, we might as well get used to a separation. Well, I won’t have it.”

“All right, that’s what you say now. But wait until you hear what our lovely crew is planning.”

He filled her in on what he had discovered. As soon as she realized what was going on, Kathryn ran to the desk and traced all the recent communications between her crewmembers. Rank had its privilege.

* ~ * ~ *

“Are they insane? How could they drag innocent cadets into their devious scheme? I’ll have their heads for this!”

Once again, Admiral Janeway was seen storming out of Professor Chakotay’s office. This time followed closely by its occupant.

“Kathryn, don’t do anything you will regret! Miral needs her parents.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Jonas to Cadet Boel.”

“Go ahead, Mac, but keep it brief. Commander Paris and I were beta reading the latest editorial.”

“May, Commander Paris, please get everyone out of the house as soon as possible. Plan Alpha-Alpha has just escalated. Subjects KJ and C are on their way to the Wildman’s. I repeat, get out of there now, and destroy all evidence! Jonas out.

* ~ * ~ *

“I could have sworn they were at Sam’s. The transporter logs don’t show their departure.”

“Kathryn, slow down. If this is really our crew’s doing, they will have several back up plans. There is nothing we can do right now.”

“Nothing? I’ll show you nothing! We have to stop them. You’re a professor at the Academy. Do you want your precious cadets harmed by our crew? I think not. Besides, think what this will do to your reputation.”

Chakotay blanched. “You have a point. Let’s see what we can do by calling in some favors. You try Admiral Paris, I’ll work on Admiral Ross. Is there anyone else we could try?”

“I’ll also mention this to Commodore Picard. He should have some pull with Starfleet Command. And if all else fails….”

“… we’ll have to go into hiding. I know of a cabin near a lake.”

The mention of a lake brought a smile to Kathryn’s face, “I’ll ask my mom about the keys to the cabin at Lake George. We might as well expect the worst. How fast can you pack and move there? I’ll have my engineers send us a complete work terminal. We can rig it up and work from there.”

“See you in five hours at Lake George then.”

Kathryn was uncharacteristically quiet when Chakotay walked away. He turned around and saw her standing there looking lost.

“Kathryn? Are you all right with this?”

Walking back to her, Chakotay briefly took her in his arms and hugged her.

“We can beat them. We’ve done it before, remember? All those stalled turbolifts? Emergency transportations and loosing life support in the Jeffries Tubes? They haven’t pulled one trick on us that we haven’t parried with one of our own.”

“I know.” She sighed, “I just wish they’d stop.”

“They will after this one. I promise you, they will stop meddling.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Gretchen, are you sure? She’s coming here?” B’Elanna was walking around in circles, shaking her head. “We have no place to go, we are doomed.”

Beside her Cadet Boel was counting her grades and diplomas. Maybe she could anonymously enter the Vulcan Science Academy. Starfleet would kick her out as soon as they were done with her.

“Girls, relax. Kathryn sounded in a hurry. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she calls me to ask if I could wait for her at the transporter. Hush and be quiet. Gretchen Janeway for Admiral Janeway.”

["Hi mom, did you find it?"]

“I have the keys right here, Kathryn. Honey, if you are really in a hurry, I could meet you at the transport center. That way you don’t have to walk all the way back to the house.”

["Would you, mom? That would be great. How quick can you be there? I'll beam over in 5 minutes. Kathryn out."]

“Gretchen, you are a genius. We’ll take Tom’s car and on our way back we’ll pick up the last equipment from Sam’s house. Let’s go, admiral Janeway needs those keys. May, stop mumbling and get back to work, you have an editorial to change. I can see the headlines already: Admiral and Professor at secret love nest. Write, Cadet, write!”

* ~ * ~ *

Putting his luggage near the door, he walked around the house. It was a small cabin, made solely of wood, with an alluring porch surrounding all four sides. The view was breathtaking, and he understood now why Kathryn had said the holodeck program paled in comparison to the real thing. Seagulls were flying over the house, their whiteness a stark contrast to the darkening sky. Before he left, he had checked the weather grid, and it showed a thunder storm coming in from the south. When he was at the back of the house, he noticed the small gate door under the porch. He carefully bent and went in. He found a large quantity of dried wood, ready for a fireplace. Keeping the storm in mind, he carried out as much as possible and deposited the wood next to the back door. Walking back to the front, he was just in time to see Kathryn materialize, accompanied by several large boxes.

“Help me, will you? I won’t let the weather surprise us, did you see that sky? We’re going to be in for a rough time.”

No hello, but Chakotay only grinned at that. “Throw me the keys, Kathryn, I’ll open the door, and you can start to use all that ‘admirable’ strength of yours to haul in the equipment.”

She only shot him a death glare, but after all these years, Chakotay noticed he had grown immune to them.

“I’ll have your hide for this, Chakotay. Just remember who is the technician here, and don’t forget to watch your back at night.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Cadet, have you ever considered giving up Starfleet and start a career as a professional writer?” Mark Johnson looked at May. “This is an amazing piece of work, I’m sure any university would gladly you accept you as a language major.”

May blushed, “When I was little I always pretended to write the great ‘Earth Novel’, but then once I saw the news about Voyager, I only wanted to finish the Academy and join Starfleet.”

“Starfleet is a large organization, I’m sure they are thinking of new positions for their crews. Who knows, they might consider taking on chroniclers for their new long term missions. Voyager could have used someone like you. As charming as it is to read Chakotay’s stories, I think they would have benefitted from someone who knew how to write fact based editorials.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll keep it in mind. I might actually need my writing skills once Starfleet kicks me out of the Academy.”

B’Elanna and Gretchen walked into the room. “May, stop saying that. You read Commodore Picard’s recommendation. Now that he’s in charge of the Academy, he certainly will not kick you out.” B’Elanna was growing impatient with May’s uncertainty. She put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, “You will be applauded for your guts, mark my words.”

Gretchen sat down next to Mark, “Thank you for coming, Mark. I have a feeling we’re going to need your help. You know how stubborn Kathryn can be.”

Mark coughed, “I had suppressed her tenacity, Gretchen. I don’t know whether to thank you or not for reminding me.”

“She’s not that bad,” B’Elanna supplied, “She just knows what she doesn’t want.”

* ~ * ~ *

Surprisingly it only took Kathryn an hour to set up all the equipment.

“Kathryn, what would you like to eat? I took the liberty of shopping before I came here, and it seems the cupboards were well-stocked too. Looking at our supplies I think we could stay her for at least a month, even longer if you want to try eating rations.”

She looked up from the workstation. “Anything replicated would be great, Chakotay.”

“Replicated?” He turned around and scrutinized her. “I have managed to secure a large amount of fresh food, guaranteed leola root free, and you want something replicated?”

Sighing Kathryn got up and moved towards the stove. “My mother has been staying at my house, pampering me with real cooked food for too long. I’m dying to have something replicated, that’s all. If you want I could replicate us something.”

Chakotay shook his head in amazement, “I’m sorry, Kathryn, but we won’t replicate until we really have to. For now, and for the next couple of weeks, you will eat 3 cooked meals a day.”

“Yes, mom.” Kathryn grinned. “Actually, I think I’m going to enjoy this. While our valiant crew is spoiling the careers of future Starfleet Officers, we have a lovely cabin to our disposal. And it gets even better, since I have my own personal cook and companion.” She sat down on one of the chairs. “So, cook. What will you prepare for me tonight?”

* ~ * ~ *

B’Elanna and Gretchen were seated in the large living room of the Janeway house, enjoying a moment of silence. Tom was outside with Harry, trying to train the new puppy Gretchen had found for Kathryn. Mac and May had returned to their dorm and Mark had gone back to his own house.

“How long do you think they’ll stay at Lake George?” B’Elanna was looking at the pictures Gretchen had given her. She was holding a photo of a young Kathryn up. “The surroundings are simply amazing. No wonder you never wanted to sell the place. And no wonder Lake George was Kathryn’s favorite holoprogram.”

“Knowing my daughter, which you do, how long do you think it will take her before she goes crazy with just one person as her companion?” Gretchen countered.

B’Elanna giggled. “Well … knowing my commanding officers? I’d say they’d better fly in some more supplies, because it’s going to take a while. You know, I can see them hiding there, just to wait out this new ‘revolution’ at Starfleet. Did she tell you about the time they were contaminated by an obscure bug?”

“You mean when they were on New Earth?”

“Huh? New Earth? I can’t remember ever visiting a planet by that name. Not even the 37s used that.”

“B’Elanna, my daughter told me about the time she and Chakotay were secluded on a planet, for almost three months. They had named that planet New Earth.”

“They did? How romantic. It must be the same planet. We had so many bets going, especially after Tuvok had made the decision to turn back and pick them up. I think most of us were expecting to witness some kind of formal joining between the two of them before they would resume their positions.”

“You mean to say the crew suspected them to be married? But you’d only been out in the Delta Quadrant for two years? Kathryn was still engaged to Mark.”

“I know. But it would have been so romantic. I think Chakotay did say something to Kathryn to explain his feelings, but we never discovered what really happened down on that planet. When they came back things quickly went back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Still, I believe something did happen, even though they never acted on it.”

“Kathryn told me something about a legend Chakotay once told her. Hang on, she wrote it down for me, because it’s simply too beautiful to forget.”

Gretchen got up and rummaged through a drawer. “There it is. The Angry Warrior Legend. Have you ever read it?”

“Angry Warrior Legend? I can’t say I have, and I must have heard almost all of Chakotay’s stories. The man is simply a great story teller. May I read it?”

“Of course.”

* ~ * ~ *

“Mac, do you think it’s possible for us to go to Lake George?”

Mac looked up from his Delta Quadrant Engineering Manual. “Huh? Lake George? What do you want to do there? Take pictures of the Admiral and the Professor? May, we have exams coming up. Don’t you think you should do some studying?”

Scrutinizing her boyfriend, May considered the differences between men and women. “Sometimes, you can be so dense. No, I don’t want to take photos of them. I simply want to see Lake George. After what Mrs. Janeway told us, I think it’s simply the most romantic place on Earth.”

“But why would we go there now? We have enough work as it is, without taking the time for a vacation. Besides, I think the Courant could use some updated material. Pictures would be great proof of our theory.”

“MacMarius Jonas! I can’t believe you just said that! I feel bad enough writing my tabloid editorials without debasing myself by adding photos. I simply mentioned Lake George because I thought it would be nice if we went there, sometime. I didn’t mean now. I know we’re up for our exams. Don’t you think I’m nervous?”

She grabbed her coat and took her keys from the shelves.

“Where are you going, May? Wait up and I’ll join you.”

“No need to follow me, Mac. I’m going out by myself, I need some time to think. I’ll be back later.”

* ~ * ~ *

Someone had a death wish this morning, Kathryn thought. Looming over her, Chakotay was tickling her nose with a feather he had found last night. Carefully opening one eye, she saw he wasn’t paying attention. Ever so quickly she grabbed his arm and with a swift movement of her legs – a technique Tuvok taught her when he first submitted her to one of his Crew Fitness Programs – Kathryn had him pinned under her.

“That teaches you! Never tickle a Captain before she’s ready to wake up.”

Chakotay raised his eyebrow, “Captain, Admiral?”

To prove her point, she punched him in the chest. “Admiral, of course. And don’t try to change the subject. Have you any idea how early it is? I’m not aboard Voyager anymore, I don’t need to get up until I feel like it, got that? Now, since you’ve woken me up, you might as well make yourself useful.”

His other eyebrow joined the first one. “Kathryn?”

Another smack on his chest quickly reminded him what she meant. “You’re going to have to let go of me, if you want some fresh coffee. I know I’m brilliant, but not even I can make coffee while pinned underneath you.”

Ignoring his look, Kathryn slowly got up and walked to the bathroom. “You can give me my coffee later. I think I need a bath first.”

As he sat on the bed, Chakotay tried to make sense of the woman called Kathryn Janeway.

* ~ * ~ *

“Gretchen, are you sure we should publish this?” Tom held up the piece of paper with Chakotay’s legend. “I mean, I’m all for shock therapy, but Kathryn is going to read the Courant. We noticed they are keeping tabs on all of us. Why do you think May has reverted to writing everything down on paper?”

“Tom, have you even read it?” B’Elanna asked. “We can’t let an opportunity like this one pass. Besides, since when do you care about what is proper and what isn’t when it comes to those two?”

“Tom, I think if Kathryn reads Chakotay’s legend again, this time in the Courant, it will help her consider her options. Frankly, I think my daughter needs any shock therapy she can get her hands on. They’ve been locked up in that cabin for close to a week now, and still no word.”

Tom looked at his wife, “Did you tell her about the bug-planet?”

Nodding B’Elanna continued, “Gretchen, they were on the planet for 3 months, like a modern day Adam and Eve. They have proven they don’t need the outside world. In fact, I think we should let the whole thing rest for a while. Who knows, they might even continue where we left them on the planet.”

“Three months, B’Elanna, and still nothing happened.” Gretchen looked at the group surrounding her. “Why should this seclusion be any different. Granted, they don’t have the responsibility of Voyager anymore. This time they’re simply two Academy professors, with Starfleet breathing down their necks.”

“Very true, Mrs. Janeway.” Tuvok looked up from his Kal-toh session with Harry. “But by now they will have realized Starfleet isn’t holding them back, so to speak. They refrained from starting a relationship because of what they thought Starfleet Protocol entailed. I think we can say we have successfully changed the rulebook, so therefore the Admiral and the Professor would not let that get in their way. I concur with Commander Paris, when she says we should leave them alone.”

* ~ * ~ *

Special Report -- Special Report -- Special Report -- Special Report

by May Boel – Editor

After graciously allowing us into her house, Mrs. Gretchen Janeway showed us the document we have been wanting to secure for you.

Read and give us your opinion!

“This is an ancient legend among my people. It’s about an angry warrior who lived his life in conflict with the rest of his tribe. A man who couldn’t find peace, even with the help of his spirit guide. For years he struggled with his discontent, but the only satisfaction that he ever got came when he was in battle. This made him a hero among his tribe, but the warrior still longed for peace within himself. One day he and his war party were captured by a neighbouring tribe led by a woman warrior. She called on him to join her because her tribe was too small and weak to defend itself from all its enemies. The woman warrior was brave and beautiful and very wise. The angry warrior swore to himself that he would stay by her side, doing whatever he could to make her burden lighter. From that point on her needs would come first, and in that way, the warrior began to know the true meaning of peace.”

Special Report -- Special Report -- Special Report -- Special Report

* ~ * ~ *

– Incoming message for Commodore Picard. Recorded – audio only – no reply required. –

– File transfer protocol Alpha 47 completed. One file copied. Two files archived into folder Sent Messages. No new transmissions recorded. –

“Jean-Luc, unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I won’t be able to attend this morning’s briefings. Tell Alynna I will be in touch with her, but I can’t seem to reach our favorite dragon lady today. Take care and give my love to Beverly. Kathryn Janeway out.”

The terminal dutifully beeped through all its protocols, not registering the lack of communications between the former Voyager crewmembers. Filing away the older documents, it automatically printed out the newest file according to its specifications. After more than 300 years of computer technology, Starfleet Academy’s Courant was still delivered to its subscribers in the original format – a standard letter sized piece of paper.

As the Courant made its way out of the printer, Kathryn and Chakotay were walking outside towards the boathouse.

For two days there had been no shocking news from their crew, and Chakotay decided today would be a great day for that promised sail on Lake George. After carefully securing the terminal, Kathryn had checked the boat while Chakotay was preparing their lunch.

Raising his head to look at the seagulls in the sky, Chakotay heard Kathryn’s sharp intake of breath.

“Are you all right, Kathryn?”

Sighing again, she turned towards her companion. “I’m fine. Actually, I’m better than fine. I feel great, I feel alive. You? How are you holding up? I can’t but help thinking I thwarted your plans to keep away from each other, and here we are, stuck together with no one around.”

Grinning they continued their walk. “Thwarting that plan was one of your better moves, Kathryn. I wouldn’t have traded this for all the crew’s plots in the world. Still, I can’t seem to shake the feeling that something big is happening. Did Picard reply to your message, or is he in hiding as well?”

“He didn’t reply, but why would he be in hiding?”

“Well, I can remember you telling me about the dashing Captain Picard and his Chief Medical Officer. Don’t you think that they’d be under fire too, like us?”

Linking her arm through his, Kathryn moved closer to Chakotay. “I’ll let you in on a secret. Jean-Luc and Beverly are in fact husband and wife. They married soon after the Enterprise-D went down. They’ve been quiet about it, but quite a few people know. Knowing Beverly, she’s probably up there with our crew, cheering them on. She’s been badgering Jean-Luc about those Starfleet Protocols for years now. He finally gave in.”

Chakotay seemed lost in thought, gazing at nothing in particular. After seven years on the same ship, Kathryn had gotten used to Chakotay’s quiet moments, but this one threw her for a loop. Hadn’t he heard what she had said? She gave him a perfect opening for him to badger her about Starfleet Protocols, but he hadn’t even noticed. What was she to do? For close to a week, she’d been slowly letting him know she wanted their relationship to change, but so far Chakotay hadn’t picked up on it. First there was her adamant attitude towards his proposed separation, then there was the obvious open door when she made him invite her to Lake George. Of course the other morning, after he tickled her awake, she thought he was ready to take the next step, but nothing moved except his eyebrows. Today would be her last try. A romantic sale on Lake George should do the trick. She even had him pack the champagne. If all went as planned, she didn’t even have to wait for the latest Courant where Cadet Boel would talk about how the Admiral and the Professor were at their secret love nest. They would be able to go home again, and continue with their lives, together preferably. She’d even be able to tell B’Elanna how she managed to read all the crew’s transmissions. Her former Chief Engineer still had some things to learn.

* ~ * ~ *

After handing out his last copy, Mac sat down next to Harry Kim.

“That was it, right? Tom doesn’t have another stack hidden somewhere which he wants us to distribute.”

Harry laughed, “Don’t worry, Mac. B’Elanna called me earlier, telling me she’d finally convinced Tom to stop the presses. You know, Tom is my best friend, but he tends to get carried away sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t classify printing 20,000 copies of the same paper as getting carried away. Any counselor would call it obsessive.”

“Mac, remember where we were for the past seven years? We spent all that time looking at a Command Team in love. So much pent up emotion from just two people is bound to cause a short circuit in your brain somewhere. Tom just has a different way of showing it. Besides, we managed to give each student and each teacher a copy, so we met our goal. We should celebrate!”

Mac simply groaned, too tired to do more celebrating.

Ever since the first copy of the Courant featuring the Angry Warrior Legend, the Voyager crew had found numerous reasons to celebrate. Whenever one of them showed up at the Night Owl, the owner immediately thought they’d have another party. Of course, they would have a party, but that was besides the point. He simply couldn’t take it anymore. Excusing himself, he left an understanding Harry Kim behind and Mac went in search of May. Perhaps they would even managed to do some studying tonight.

* ~ * ~ *

As soon as he opened the door, he could hear the excited clatter of a keyboard. What was she up to now? Stepping inside the room, Mac noticed the clutter of paper all over the floor. Strewn all over the couch were empty bags of sugary snacks from all over the Federation. Sitting right next to the couch was the once terrifying Chief Engineer of Voyager. Now she was simply trying to hold a wiggling Miral, while reading whatever Mac threw at her.

A curt nod and B’Elanna was back to reading. Mac crouched down and took Miral from her, eliciting a happy grin from both mother and daughter. “Hello Miss Miral, are you having fun with these two? How about if we go to the shops, get dinner, and hope that the fairies will have cleaned up when we get back?”

May turned away from her viewscreen, “Hi Mac, I didn’t hear you come in. You don’t have to worry about fixing us dinner. Tom and Harry are bringing around whatever Neelix is willing to make them. Have you seen this?” May pointed towards the strange contraption that was attached to her viewscreen. “It’s a keyboard.”

“It looks interesting. What do you do with it?” Mac looked at the thing, and touched the ‘A’. “Where did you get this?”

Mac scrutinized her boyfriend. “Aren’t you taking one of those 20th century classes? You should be able to tell what this is. B’Elanna and Harry made it for me. Remember that my left wrist was giving me problems? The doctor even declared it was tendonitis. Well, this keyboard will solve my problems. IT was ergonomically designed just for me.”

She sat behind her viewscreen again to show the intricasies. “I can take it with me wherever I go. No matter what system, it will adapt. They used some of Seven’s technologies. I could even tap into a Species 8472 computer if I wanted to.

Trying to look interested Mac was glad that Miral started pulling his hair. “It looks great, May. I hope your wrist won’t trouble you anymore. So how is the editorial coming? B’Elanna, can I read that after you finish?”

B’Elanna looked up distractedly, “I’m sorry Mac, what did you say? No, I just changed Miral’s’ diaper, but thanks for asking.”

Mac laughed, “Miral, honey, as much as I admire your mother, she is a strange one. Let’s see if we can find something fun to do, while these two crazy women focus on our mission.”

* ~ * ~ *

As the cabin loomed up before them, Chakotay took the picnic basket in his other hand, making sure Kathryn couldn’t grab hold of his free one. All day she’d been sneakily trying to hold his hand, but Chakotay wouldn’t let her.

Both let out frustrated sighs at the same time. “I’m sorry, Kathryn. I can’t do this anymore. If you don’t mind, I’ll stay until tomorrow and then I’ll be out of your way again.”

“You’re leaving me? Why? What did I do? Can’t you stay? Please?” Kathryn knew she was begging, but she didn’t care. He simply couldn’t leave her alone, not as they were finally making progress. She took his arm and stopped him. “Chakotay, tell what is going on? What can’t you do anymore? Please tell me.”

Trying to ignore her desperate plea, he focused on a point over her shoulder.

“And would you please look me in the eyes? I can’t have you talking to some obscure bird over my shoulder. What has happened to you? I thought were having fun. Don’t you want to be with me anymore? Whatever it is, we’ll work it out. We’re still friends, aren’t we? That means we can talk about anything and everything.”

Taking her hands in his, Chakotay looked at Kathryn. “Kathryn, I’m sure you have realized that our relationship is strained. I’m just making this easier on you. When I leave, you can leave too, and we won’t have the entire Federation hunting us anymore.”

“Making this easier for me? I thought we were in this together. You can’t leave me battling the ‘entire Federation’. I need you with me, beside me. You’ve been acting strange all day. Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Kathryn, believe me. I guess I just imagined things differently.”

“What things? Tell me, Chakotay. We need to get this, and us, out in the open once and for all. What did you imagine differently? You’ve been keeping your distance. Have you met someone else?”

“Someone else? What are you talking about, Kathryn? I’ve been trying to keep my distance, because of your behavior.”

“My behavior? I’m glad you noticed. Why are you keeping your distance?”

“Well, you’ve been touchy-feely even more than you usually are. Not to mention what you did to me the other morning. Spirits, Kathryn, do you know how hard it has been not to react to you?”

“Why didn’t you react? Chakotay, how many more obvious openings do I have to give you? I. Want. You! There! Happy now?” She stormed off without looking around, almost running back into the forrest they had just cleared.

Chakotay groaned. It wasn’t his imagination. She’d meant it. She wanted him. She. Wanted. Him! Dropping the basket he ran after her.

* ~ * ~ *

– Incomming transmission for Admiral Janeway. Urgent. Clearance Alpha 5 needed. Respond within 1 hour. –

– Recorded. –

– No more messages. –

Kathryn Janeway! How dare you miss our meeting. I do not care what your reason is, but you will show up in my office in exactly 4 hours, or I will have to convince Starfleet to send you on a new mission – to the Beta Quadrant – on a freighter!

Jean-Luc told me you were unavoidably detained. That is your problem, and not mine. And while you’re at it, Admiral take Professor Chakotay with you. He still owes me a conversation about Maquis Rebels and Starfleet Captains.

Nechayev out.

– Delete Transmission. Authorization Chakotay Sigma-Pi-Freckles. Automatically transferred to Deleted Items. Delete from system. –

– Transmission deleted. –

* ~ * ~ *

B’Elanna looked around the group. Almost all of the key players were assembled in her living room, and their chattering was deafening. Tom was providing everyone with drinks, while May had kindly offered to take care of the snacks. As the noise level rose, she saw Gretchen Janeway wink at her. And with that one acknowledgment, B’Elanna realized they were on the verge of something big. Today Starfleet would finally publish their decision on personal relationships between officers. Keeping a close eye on the commsystem, B’Elanna wandered over to where May was playing with Miral. Too nervous to sit down, she simply brushed a hand over her daughter’s soft cheek and nodded to May.

The two young cadets had surprised the Voyager crew when they had come forward with their plan. Crazy as it was, right now it was turning out to be a winner. Starfleet had finally agreed they had to review their rules on fraternization. Of course, the key players of the plan were not around. No one had heard from them since they escaped to the cabin near Lake George. Not even Gretchen had received a message, although she was contacted by Starfleet Command earlier today to give account of where the two officers might be.

When the call from Admiral Nechayev came in, B’Elanna was standing slightly behind Gretchen, and the young officer had found out where her Captain got the talent for deceiving people. Without ever lying to the Admiral, Gretchen had successfully explained her daughter’s disappearance, not giving away the secret.

* ~ * ~ *

Contacting the nearest Transport Center, Kathryn ran as fast as she could. Luckily she had the advantage of knowing where she was going. Chakotay would be left to his natural tracking skills, but a determined Kathryn Janeway knew her way around the woods of Lake George. Approaching the Transport Center, she slowed down and looked over her shoulder. Not seeing Chakotay, she let out a small sigh. She might actually be able to make it to Starfleet before he closed in on her.

The transport officer was already waiting for her with the appropriate coordinates. Within a minute she felt the familiar tingle of the beam and she knew she had made it.

* ~ * ~ *

The verdict was in, or was that out? Mac didn’t really care, because he was feeling too elated to think about it. Somehow May and he, together with the Voyager crew, had managed to force Starfleet to update one of their oldest rules. The official rule on fraternization had been reviewed and changed. Not radically of course, Starfleet would never have considered most of the proposals the team suggested. But they changed it where it mattered most. Soon the entire Federation would hear about the ruling, but for now, the group gathered at Tom and B’elanna’s were the only ones who new.

Under Tom’s guidance he forwarded the message to some of the Federation’s main papers, which they had previously selected from a long list. Whereas Starfleet would wait at least a week before they’d let the press know about their decision, the team had decided they would take it on themselves to let the news out. May was already working on a front page editorial, aided by Harry and Sam, which would be send out as another special edition. Bringing the news into the world was one of the most gratifying things he’d ever done. Now all they had to was wait and see if their plan worked. Starfleet’s ruling was simply an additional benefit, but they were more interested in finding out how the Admiral and the Professor would react. Maybe they would finally come to their senses.

* ~ * ~ *

Realizing he was too late, Chakotay thought he’d had to resort to bribing a Starfleet Officer. The poor Ensign never knew what hit him, when Chakotay threatened to take over the controls. After some choice words, the young man entered the last used coordinates and beamed the irate older man on his way.

* ~ * ~ *

As she stepped off the platform, Kathryn noticed the unusual number of press surrounding Starfleet’s head quarters. She had opted out on beaming into the main building, simply because she didn’t have the time to go through the usual security checks. Beaming into the transport station at the edge of the large square seemed more logical.

The moment one of the journalists, who had turned around to see who had arrived, ran towards her, Kathryn realized something big was happening. She waited too long, because before she knew it, an entire horde of journalists was running towards her, all screaming to get her attention. Swiftly she turned back to the transport building, only to find her path was blocked.

* ~ * ~ *

Surveying the field before him, Chakotay saw the mass of people running towards Kathryn, whom he had spotted a second earlier. She seemed confused as to what was going on, and as she debated where to go, Chakotay used the opportunity to walk up behind her. With the large group of people coming up towards him, he knew her ways to escape had disappeared. He saw her turn towards him, and the total look of surprise in her eyes as she spotted him almost made him smile. As her face fell, he couldn’t stop his from smiling anyway. She had no place to run. He had her right where he wanted.

* ~ * ~ *

Temporarily forgetting the horde of people behind her, Kathryn looked straight into the face of her former XO.

“How did you …”, but she never got the chance to finish her question. Chakotay reached out and took her hand, before her brain could form another thought. Dragging her behind him, he didn’t look back once. All that mattered was staying clear of the journalists chasing them.

The transporter chief didn’t show his surprise when Chakotay told him to beam them back to their previous location. And when he was told not to divulge that location, the lieutenant simply nodded. Even without the uniform, he recognized the famous Admiral Janeway, and thanks to the Academy Courant, he knew exactly who her determined companion was.

* ~ * ~ *

Tom screamed when he saw the news feed.

“There they are. Quiet down, people. Our Command Team has surfaced. Hang on, where are they going? O my, Chakotay is dragging the Captain behind him. They’re moving back to the Transport Station. Man, I can’t believe it. It looked as if the Captain was actually running away.”

His word by word commentary was enough to get everyone up and going. Walking around in circles, May was contemplating a new editorial. If the Admiral and the Professor had appeared again, it could only mean one thing, or two at the most. She’d just have to write two versions, and depending on the outcome, she’d publish either one. As she walked around, she accidentally bumped into Gretchen, who, anticipating the young girl’s move, took May by the arm and sat her down.

“May, there’s no need to fret. So they were seen, that doesn’t mean a thing. For all we know they never heard of Starfleet’s ruling. Just sit here and wait. We’ll find out soon enough what is going on. Besides, I know my daughter. Anything happens, and she’ll call me.

* ~ * ~ *

Kathryn felt as if she was a small child on her way to a time-out in her room. Chakotay hadn’t let go of her hand since he first grabbed it and he was still pulling her along. Her brain was slowly adapting to the situation, and the moment she had wanted to say something, Chakotay sent her a look that immediately shut her up. With no other choice but to follow him, Kathryn used the time to figure out what had happened. Running out on him probably wasn’t her smartest move, but at the time she didn’t feel like waiting around for his reply. His chase and subsequent capture gave her hope that if she’d stuck around, she probably would have liked his reply very much. And a Chakotay in Angry Warrior mode gave her an odd sense of security.

Suddenly, Chakotay stopped and Kathryn nearly bumped into him. When she looked up, she realized they were back at the cabin. Without waiting for her, Chakotay went inside, and she could hear him move around. Squaring her shoulders, she went in after him, thinking that anything he threw at her, she’d dodge.

* ~ * ~ *

His movements were erratic, as he tried to pack up as much as he could. Not noticing a mix-up of his and Kathryn’s belongings, he opened up containers as fast as he could. Completely ignoring the figure standing in the doorway, he managed to clean up most of their things within ten minutes.

“Why not just transport all our stuff out of here?” Kathryn broke the silence.

He looked up from where he was crouched down and saw her leaning against the door, a smile adorning her face.

“And where would we transport it? Do you have another cabin out in the middle of nowhere?”

She let his slightly sarcastic tone wash over her, “I know of a house. It’s not exactly in the middle of nowhere, some would even say it’s become the center of a new community.”

Slowly walking over to him, she held out her hand to help him rise. As she looked at the packed containers, she continued, “It would save us a lot of agony if we just kept our things mixed, don’t you think?”

Taking her other hand in his, Chakotay looked straight into Kathryn’s eyes.

“It sounds reasonable, but before we transport everything, including ourselves, I think we should talk.”

He had to laugh at the small groan Kathryn produced, which in turn made her laugh too. Leaning forward, Chakotay brushed a light kiss across her lips.

“I love you.”

* ~ * ~ *

– Incoming call for Gretchen Janeway. –

– Automatically forwarded to Paris Residence. –

– Link established, please hold. –

* ~ * ~ *

The news feeds were constantly replaying the scene at the Transport Station. In lieu of Starfleet’s recent ruling, and thanks to the Academy Courant, the speculations about the appearance and subsequent disappearance of Voyager’s former Command Team were off the charts. Each channel tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but ended up rehashing what had already been said before.

As B’Elanna was listening to the recapitulations of the news, Tom was watching their comm terminal like a hawk. Gretchen was seated next to him, and combining their mental powers, they were willing it to beep.

Incoming message for Gretchen Janeway. Forwarded. Please respond. On visual.

["Mom, are you there?"]

Within a nano-second, Tom and Gretchen were surrounded by what appeared to be most of Voyager’s crew.

“I’m right here, Katryn. How are you?”

["Mom, who is that besides you? Hang on, where are you?"]

“B’Elanna and Tom are having a get-together. I’ve set the terminal at home to forwarding all messages. You wouldn’t believe the number of calls I received from Starfleet already.”

["Starfleet? Mom, what is going on?"]

“Katryn, why are you calling? I thought Chakotay and you were in hiding?”

["We're on the move again. It seems people have found out about our location. Mom, have you turned the security shield on at the house?"]

“Of course, I have. No one will be able to enter without the code. Have you seen the news feeds, by the way? We all saw you earlier on FNN. What happened? We saw you come out of the Transport Station, closely followed by Chakotay. Why did you turn around? Those nice press people would have loved to get the scoop on you two.”

["Scoop? Mom, why were they there? We haven't seen a news feed since we first left for the cabin."]

“You mean, you don’t know? Starfleet has changed their policy on fraternization between officers, who are close in rank. Looking at the crazy news feeds, you’d think the entire Federation is celebrating your arrival home again.”

["Fraternization policy? They didn't? Mom, we need to transport home now. And we're coming over to Tom and B'Elanna's. I can't believe it! Chakotay, did you hear that? They won't bother us anymore."]

“Kathryn, I have changed the security code. You’ll find it in its usual place. We’ll be expecting both of you within an hour. Shall we put the champagne on ice?”

Suddenly Kathryn’s image disappeared, to be replaced by Chakotay’s.

["Gretchen, we'd love some champagne. We could use definitely use it. And tell Tom to clear the betting pool. Chakotay and Kathryn out."]

The End’

A/N: for my friend Katie – ExcellentBuddy™ and Friend Extraordinaire

A/N 2: oops, Katie, hon, I forgot it again. What line did you want me to use? Could you email me? See, I’m supposed to be working now

A/N – 3: alternate universe to Friends? Why not.

A/N 4: ‘Somebody stop me, please!’

A/N 5: don’t kill me, Katie!

“Will you please shut up? All of you!” Kathryn grumbled when she entered the lecture hall. Quickly walking to the replicator, she ordered a large Vulcan spice tea.

The class immediately grew silent as they saw their favorite professor grab, what she normally would have deemed a sacrilegious beverage. Turning around, Kathryn looked for the source of silence. Her students were literally gawking at her.

“Cadets, stop looking. I am not in the mood for explanations and nice Delta Quadrant legends this morning. We are going to prepare for your upcoming exams. Today, my minions, you will learn what it means to ‘study your brains out’.”

Someone dared raise their hand.

“No, Cadet Smith, you may not ask where I got that wonderful colloquialism. Everytime any of you ask me that question, you expect a story. Just assume that every non-familiar sentence I utter was either introduced by Tom Paris or Neelix. Now, open your books.”

A quiet hum of discontent voices filled the lecture hall. Towards the back, where the seniors were seated, two cadets slowly lowered themselves in their seats.

“Caff? Why isn’t she drinking coffee?” Katie whispered. She had opened her book, but since Professor Janeway hadn’t mentioned a page number, she was carelessly leafing through the up-to-now unfamiliar book.

“Katie, hon, I don’t think we want to know. Besides, we all know the woman is nuts. Drinking Vulcan spice tea when you’re a coffee addict only proves our theory.”

“Theory? We have a theory? When did that happen?” Katie now leaned closer to her friend, the book forgotten on her desk.

~ * ~ * ~

Three hours later anyone entering the lecture hall would have been bowled over by the intense atmosphere inside. In front of 50 students, Professor Janeway could be seen pacing back and forth, playing an intellectual ping-pong with a few unlucky souls. At the back, Cadets Katie and Caffey could be seen whispering to their friend two rows in front of them.

Due to the intensity of her lecture, Kathryn had completely ignored any student who didn’t seem to participate in her show.

~ * ~ * ~

Fours hours after she had started her doom-speech, Kathryn was craving a large vase of coffee.

Forget cups, mugs and other small containers only an extra-strong, extra-large Klingon brew could help her now.

Of course, if she even dared give any replicator that order, it would immediately alert her always annoying doctor. If she would have to suffer, so would her students.

~ * ~ * ~

“Man, that woman is a certified lunatic!” Bec exclaimed as they were sitting down in the Djedzee Cafeteria. Caffey simply nodded, since she was still too baffled by the scene she had to witness for four long hours. Katie didn’t seem to hear what her friend had said; she was trying to find the pages the Professor hadn’t mentioned in her lecture. Somehow she had managed to completely miss the entire presentation.

A waiter brought them their usual drinks.

Slowly but surely Caff seemed to join this reality again. “Bec? I thought we had already agreed Janeway should be committed to an asylum. That’s why we like her, remember?”

Bec was momentarily surprised by Caff’s late response. “I know she’s nuts. And I know we like her. But what was she on this morning? I’ve never seen her this obsessed. And what’s with the Vulcan spice tea? We can’t just blame her mental state. We need an explanation. Katie, what do you think?”

Dropping the book on the floor, Katie looked up. “What? Sorry, what did you say? Janeway? She’s nuts. At least that’s what Caff told me. Apparently we have a theory about that. Did you know?”

Caff and Bec laughed. “Katie, you need to pay attention to us. Forget the book, we’re going to fail this class whether we read the book or not. Didn’t you hear what Janeway said when we left? She almost hexed us three. Anyway, we were discussing where the Vulcan spice tea order came from. Have you heard any gossip in the Biology Department lately? You’re the one with the best access to former Voyager scientists, help us here.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help. Even Lt. Gilmore is not saying anything, and she’s usually the one with the best gossip thanks to her connection to Lt. Kim.”

“Connection? They are living together. You don’t still fancy Harry, do you?” Bec giggled.

Katie blushed. “I don’t ‘fancy’ Harry. I just think he’s cute. That’s all. Besides, you’re hardly one to make jokes about fancying anyone, Bec. After Janeway showed us the pictures of the Q, you couldn’t stop talking about Q Jr.”

Drinking the last of her coffee, Caff stood up again. “We’ll simply have to investigate this phenomenon. That’s the only way we’ll ever discover anything. Katie, can you try to get information from Marla? She’ll talk, when given the right incentive. Tell her how much you admire Janeway, and she’s bound to mention something of interest to us. Bec, can you wheedle your way into the Medical Facility? Just tell them you want to interview the Doc about his fascination with 18th century Earth opera, or something. Meanwhile, I’ll be using my certified ‘fake’ piloting pass to get into the DeltaFlyer110 course. Tom Paris is a guaranteed fountain of knowledge when it comes to our favorite Professor. We’ll meet again in a week after our lectures, and we’ll compare notes.” Katie and Bec looked at Caffey.

“What are you two waiting for?” Caff asked.

“Aren’t you going to say ‘dismissed’?”

The other two ran outside, trying to escape an angry Caffey.

~ * ~ * ~

“You see, sir, it’s adamant I speak to the Doctor. He’s been expecting me.” Bec’s innocent expression weakened the poor Ensign standing outside of Voyager’s Doctor’s Office. He felt he was being had, but the angelic look in the cadets face made him wonder whether he had become too jaded. For once he’d believe someone at face value.

“The Doctor will see you for 30 minutes, no longer. Understood, Cadet Bec?”

“Yes, Sir!”

~ * ~ * ~

Caffey was less lucky trying to get into her piloting course. For some reason Tom Paris wasn’t attending today, and the group was stuck with a virtual nobody. She left almost as quick as she came, and once outside, Caff headed to the nearest Galactic Starbucks she needed that Grande Macchiato!

~ * ~ * ~

“Cadet Katie? What a surprise to see you here on your free Saturday. How can I help you?” Marla Gilmore was genuinely pleased to see the young cadet. With Harry away for the weekend, she had come to the lab to get her minds off things.

“Hello Lieutenant. I wanted to take a last look at my project. I’m not sure whether the pollination will work with the current temperature.”

“Katie, your project won’t have any problems. I just checked it myself. What else brought you here? Shouldn’t you be terrifying the campus together with Cadets Bec and Caffey? You three are always together in your spare time.”

Seeing Marla’s expression, Katie knew she had to come clean. Besides she didn’t want to use the lieutenant for information, Marla deserved more than that. Looking down at her feet, Katie whispered her question.

“Katie, if you want me to reply to what you’re saying then you’re going to have to speak up. What is going on?”

“Lieutenant Gilmore, Marla …” she stuttered. “Well, you see, what I really wanted to ask you is whether or not Professor Janeway, well, you know.” Katie sighed, this was not going well. “What I, no we, Caff and Bec and I wanted to know is why Professor Janeway is drinking Vulcan spice tea? That’s all! Honestly.”

Without waiting for Marla’s reply, Katie stormed out of the lab, never noticing Lt. Gilmore was chasing her.

~ * ~ * ~

Out of breath Marla was able to grab the attention of the security officer on duty. “Somebody stop that Cadet, please!”

Running for her life, Katie had barely made it out of the Academy’s Laboratory for Biology and InterSpecies Flora when she bumped into a solid form.

“Oomph!”

Katie fell to the ground, never knowing what hit her.

A hand came into her vision, followed by an arm attached to a body. A smiling face complimented the package.

“Careful, Cadet. Where’s the fire?”

Ready to faint, Katie quickly realised who she bumped into. Former Commander of Voyager, now retired, Chakotay of Dorvan stretched out his hand again to help Katie up.

“I’m sorry, Sir, Commander, Sir.” A blush crept up her face, completely forgetting why she had ever thought Harry Kim was cute.

“Please call me Chakotay. Sir and Commander don’t seem to have the same appealing ring to them anymore. And you are?”

“Cadet Katie, Sir, uhm, Chakotay,” she stammered. “It’s been nice bumping into you, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a life to save.”

“Leaving already? Saving lives is important. Do you need a hand?” He slowly grinned at her.

“Well, stopping the security detail coming this way would help. And apologizing to Marla too, please. Thanks!”

And Katie was off again, running down the Academy Plains in search of a hiding place.

Chakotay was still rooted to the spot. That had been an unusual meeting. Cadet Katie, he remembered Kathryn mentioning her once. But he wasn’t sure if it was the same cadet. Kathryn had told him her Cadet Katie was part of a trinity. Together with her friends, Cadets Caffey and Bec, she managed to disturb her lectures at least once a week, if not more. Of course, with her weakness for inquisitive students, Kathryn did not mind a bit.

~ * ~ * ~

“There you are! We have been looking all over for you? Where did you go? Lt. Gilmore is still looking for you.”

Katie was immediately carefully checked by her friends. After running straight through the bushes on campus, she looked less than splendid. All the scrapes and bruises on her face even made her appear to be attacked.

“Bec, Caff, I’m fine. Really! I have some great news though.”

“You do?” They replied in chorus. “What did you find out?”

“Well, I didn’t really find anything out. Except that Harry Kim is so over.”

“What do you mean? Harry Kim? Has he broken up with Gilmore?”

“No you silly, I meant that I’m over Harry Kim, I guess.” Katie grinned self-consciously. “After I asked Marla my question, I ran out of the building, too afraid of what she was going to do. As soon as I was outside, I dashed across the plain, but I bumped into someone.” Blushing furiously, Katie drank more of her tea before continuing. “Chakotay is so much more handsome!”

“Chakotay? Katie, we sent you out to find information on Professor Janeway, not Chakotay! Argh!” Caffey repeatedly hit her head on the table in front of her.

Placing a pillow between Caffey and the table, Bec just looked at Katie.

“Well, it’s news, isn’t it?” Katie giggled.

Between Katie’s nervous giggle and Caff’s headbanging, Bec felt like the only normal one. So she wasn’t too surprised when the waiter asked them if Lt. Gilmore could join their party.

~ * ~ * ~

Fifty minutes later, Marla had been joined by Harry, Tom, B’Elanna and Federation Ambassador Neelix.

“She ordered a Vulcan spice tea?” Tom asked for the fifth time. B’Elanna just nudged her husband between the ribs.

“Tom, we need to get beyond our surprise over Kathryn’s action. We need to know why she was drinking the spice tea. Since we are closest to Kathryn, we should be able to find out. The effort by Katie, Bec and Caff was admirable, but we’re the professionals, right?”

Harry was the only one who didn’t appear to be listening to B’Elanna’s speech. He simply nodded his head without registering her words.

“Of course the Doc won’t tell us a thing,” he suddenly said. “It’s part of his medical oath. But I’m betting Chakotay never took such an oath. I’m sure he’ll know why the Captain, eh .. why Kathryn is drinking Vulcan spice tea. Maybe we should just ask him.”

Katie had once again started blushing when Chakotay’s name came up. Bec just giggled, and Caff looked annoyed. Her coffee cup was empty.

~ * ~ * ~

“Chakotay to Torres-Paris.”

B’Elanna looked up guiltily. “So I invited him over too.” Tapping her commbadge, she tried to look innocent. “B’Elanna here. What’s up, Chakkers?”

They could almost hear his grin over the commlink, “‘Lanna, I was wondering if your invitation was still open. I seem to have some time on my hands.”

“Come right over, Chakotay. The rest is here as well, as are some of your admirers.”

“And where is here?”

“The Djedzee Cafetaria on campus. We’ll see you soon then. B’Elanna out.”

~ * ~ * ~

The waiter had come by again and refilled their orders. Katie was glad to see she wasn’t the only non-coffee drinker. As she was about to take her first sip, the door to the cafetaria flew open.

“Somebody stop me, please! I am going to kill that man.” An irate looking Kathryn Janeway ran towards the unsuspecting waiter. “I want a large coffee now! I do not care what the coffee is made of, as long as it’s black, large and caffeinated! And Chakotay, will you please stop pulling my shirt!”

Luckily Chakotay didn’t let go of Kathryn’s shirt, or her forward momentum would have hurled her straight into the coffee machine. Ever so slowly she calmed down again. A big sigh later and Kathryn was seated between B’Elanna and Katie, happily drinking her coffee.

Unaware of her audience she didn’t stop until the last of the black liquid was out of the large mug.

“There! I needed that. Who does he think he is, our Doctor, to tell me I can’t have coffee!” Still not realising everyone was scrutinizing her, Kathryn continued, “It’s all Chakotay’s fault basically. He’s the one who wanted to start a family. But the Doctor should have known I would not give up coffee.”

Movement besides her drew Kathryn away from her rant. Katie had fainted and she was now slumped in her chair, her head resting on Bec’s shoulder.

“What are they doing here?” Kathryn wondered. “B’Elanna, since when do we invite Cadets to our weekly coffee afternoon?”

[... tbc ...]

Alright hon, this is it! No more …. unless you feel like continuing it.