This is an epilogue of sorts to "Autopilot" by Morgan Stuart, in which Tom volunteers to stay behind to get Voyager through a wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant. As soon as I finished reading, my muse said, "Hold on … there's no way Kathryn is going to leave him there."

KJ, Tom and anything Voyager-related belong to CBS. Anything/anyone else is mine and is written for entertainment purposes only.

XXX

The burst of noise outside his office pulled Tom away from his work. Not that he minded; the buzz signaled another busy night at the bar. It would be a good week.

He'd just returned his attention to the liquor order when he sensed someone at his office door.

"Be right with you, Brago ..."

"Tom ..."

That voice … his head snapped up and the forms fell out of his hands. He didn't — actually, couldn't speak — just vaulted over his desk and gathered the woman into a hug, which she returned fiercely.

"Oh, my God, Kathryn! I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered into her ear.

She pulled back to cup his face in her hands. "Tom, you don't know how happy I am to see you. You look wonderful!"

Happy didn't begin to cover it. After a month of searching the various planets around the wormhole, she feared that it was all for naught; that Tom was dead.

Then miracle of miracles, she picked up a single human life sign on Vikina, along with the traces of some Starfleet technology.

The technology was a dead end: She found the Flyer in a scrapyard, heavily damaged, and her fears grew. The human life sign she traced to this bar in the tourist section of the main city. An unassuming place in an old residential area just off the main drag.

She hoped that he would forgive her for accepting his offer to use the Flyer to generate a phaser blast to hold open that wormhole. It worked: Voyager made it through … all the way to the Alpha Quadrant. But Tom was left to survive on his own.

They finally let go of each other, and he led her out to his secluded back booth. "Would you like something to eat? Drink? We offer quality booze here, though the wine is a bit stronger than Earth's."

He waved over an imposing man with light green skin and facial ridges. "So, Boss, this lovely lady is the reason why you don't give the others any attention, eh?" he smirked as he took their orders.

"Kathryn, this is Brago, my manager," he said. "He's a good man, though he's too worried about my lack of a love life."

"Just want to keep you happy, Boss," Brago said as he departed. "Even if you are the craziest jackal I've ever met."

"Actually, Brago, she may be crazier," he said pointing at Kathryn. "I'll explain later ..."

She gave him a look, then chuckled. "Actually, you may be right."

She sighed, and he could see a trace of the Captain snap back. "I'm sorry it took so long to get to you. Took me a year to figure out how to stabilize that damn wormhole. And a few more months to get the plan in place and get here." She paused. "What happened to you?"

"It was a rough ride. I made it here, but it was a crash landing," he said. "I spent time in the hospital."

She winced. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," he said. "The authorities couldn't believe that you took Voyager through the wormhole. Apparently it has quite a reputation. They kept telling me I was lucky; that you all were probably dead."

"Well, no ..." she said with a thin smile. "The ship took a beating. We all did, too, but we made it."

Tom smiled. "I got lucky. This is a nice world … lot of travelers and traders, so I was able to fit in and find work. The weather isn't bad, either."

"Looks like you've gone beyond just finding work. Is it 'Boss' as in owner?"

"Yep," he said. "About seven months ago. I won the place playing their version of pool." he said, nodding toward some game tables.

Her eyes widened. "Are you kidding?"

"Actually, I think the owner threw the game. He planned to run off with his girlfriend and didn't want his wife to get the place. We're running on a shoestring … the bastard left me with a big tax bill." He paused. "I had to sell the Flyer for scrap to raise money. But business is picking up, so I'm optimistic."

They fell silent for a moment as Brago delivered the drinks. "I thought about you a lot the night I won this place … actually, I still think about you."

She laughed. "Thomas, I'm giving back the 'crazy jackal' title," she said affectionately. "Only you could win a bar in a pool game." She took a sip of her ale, and gave him that lopsided grin. "And I've thought a lot about you, too. I've missed you."

That was no lie. She had thought about him almost constantly. At first it was mostly worry and guilt, but as time went on, she realized that she missed him. And seeing him now, with that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, tanned and his hair impossibly blonde from the sun … well, it was nudging loose some of those thoughts she'd put away on Voyager ...

He was glad to see her dig into the plate of kinnip fritters that Brago had added; she was still much too thin. But she looked well, younger, without the weight of commanding Voyager. And that smile ... damn … he realized that he'd missed her, too.

"That's good," she said of the fritters. "I'd be happy to reciprocate, say some replicated tomato soup and grilled cheese?"

"That sounds good; neither my cook or I can make a decent tomato soup."

While the small talk was nice, Tom definitely was getting the idea that something wasn't quite right.

"So, Captain, did you bring Voyager back?"

"No, just me," she said quickly. "And actually, it's 'Admiral,' as in retired Admiral, but let's go back to Kathryn."

"So you came out here by yourself? Kathryn, what's happened?"

She sighed. "This is where I hand you bad news. We should have passed up that wormhole. We got home in the middle of a war. Something called the Dominion, commanded by shapeshifters, teamed up with the Cardassians and the Breen. The Federation finally won, but at great cost."

"My God … they threw you into that?"

She snorted. "Me? No. I was kicked upstairs to a desk job. They gave my ship to an idiot who lost her on the first mission." She shook her head and blinked back tears.

Tom swore softly at the news. "How about Harry? B'Elanna?"

"Harry's fine, but several of the folks who stayed in Starfleet were killed. The Maquis were pardoned, and most of them got back in the fight, this time with the Federation's blessing. They lost folks, too."

She paused. "I should tell you that Chakotay and B'Elanna got together. They're expecting a baby."

Tom took a breath. "Well, I'd expected something like that." He'd also suspected that it wasn't welcome news to her, not that she'd ever say.

She looked down at the table, then back up at him. "I have more bad news. Your father died … about eight months ago."

Tom let out a long breath.

She reached across the table and took his hand. "I told Owen everything … your sacrifice, the fine officer you were … the good man you are. He left a message for you; he was sorry for everything, and he was very proud of you."

The tears surprised him, and he closed his eyes as Kathryn squeezed his hand.

"He and his friends gave me a great deal of clandestine help with my efforts to find you," she said softly.

"Clandestine?" he managed.

"I made it clear to the brass that I intended to find you. They ordered me not to. Said they couldn't spare the resources."

"Well, it's nice to be wanted," he said sarcastically. He leaned forward and took her hand in both of his. "Look, Kathryn, I'm delighted to see you … your faith ... risking your life to come back here ... I don't think I could ever adequately thank you for that.

"But I never had much of a reason to go home … and it sounds like I sure don't have one now. I've made a life here … I'm not sure I'd want to come back with you."

He expected her to be upset; she just grinned. "Actually, I'm glad to hear that," she said, squeezing his hand again.

"What does that mean?"

She shifted a bit. "There's not much for me on Earth, either." That was an understatement. Mark had married someone else and Phoebe blamed her for Mother's death. "Anyway, as soon as I perfected the stabilizer device, I retired … and stole a shuttle to get here.

"I'm not here to take you back, Tom, I … I hoped to join you."

He sat back and looked at her in amazement, then started to laugh. Some things didn't change: Kathryn was still barreling through life.

"I'll be damned," he finally said, "Kathryn, I've always suspected that you had a wild side."

She looked amused. "Is that so?"

He grinned back at her. "Well, you are quite the pool shark. And you're crazy enough to plow through a ship-eating wormhole — twice. Actually, the second trip was even more insane, considering you didn't know if I was dead or alive."

"You know, it seems you're the only one who brings out that side of me," she said, her voice low and smoky. She leaned forward, chin in hand, and gave him a look that took his breath away.

"I haven't had much chance to indulge that part of myself." She smiled softly and raised an eyebrow. "Interested in finding out just how wild I can be?"

He leaned forward, reaching out to gently brush his fingertips across her hand.

"Well, you know me … I'm always up for a challenge."