Disclaimer: If I owned them, why would I be writing fanfic?
Rating: PG - 13
Note: Mary Sue alert! Sorry!
Helping Hand
"Captain, I'm reading a power surge in Cargo Bay 3," Kim reported from the Ops station on the bridge of Voyager.
"What sort of power surge, Ensign?" Janeway asked. I really need to promote that boy, she added to herself as a mental note.
"I'm not sure - it seemed to be a temporal subspace anomaly."
"Didn't we have one of those last week?" asked Lieutenant Paris, who was sitting at the helm.
"Yeah - the birth of your daughter!" First officer Chakotay joked.
"Enough boys," Janeway told them, but Tuvok interrupted her.
"Captain, I'm reading an intruder on Deck 11, Section 22b," he said.
"That's Cargo Bay 3!" exclaimed Janeway.
"Even I'm not taking odds that these two must be linked," Paris said.
"Mr Paris, I believe that black pip would look oh so much better off your uniform," Janeway threatened. Tom gulped. He didn't want to be demoted - again.
"Chakotay, Tuvok, you're with me. We're going to meet our visitor. Lieutenant." Janeway paused, and she could see Paris fidget in his chair with excitement, as he was the only Lieutenant on the bridge - wasn't he? Harry Kim was still an ensign, as was Samantha Wildman who was sitting at the science station.
"Taylor, you have the bridge," Janeway finished. Paris' jaw dropped, as did the young, dark haired woman's, who was sitting at the engineering console. Paris was gutted. Gillian Taylor was two years younger than him and one of his and his wife, B'Elanna's closest friends. He was never going to live this down!
"Captain?" Taylor questioned.
"Lieutenant Taylor, you have the bridge, which means that you need to get up from the engineering console and sit in this chair in the middle of the bridge," Janeway told her.
"Aye Captain," Taylor replied, standing up and walking towards the centre of the bridge. Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok continued on their way to the cargo bay, only stopping to collect three Type-2 phaser rifles, just in case whoever was in their cargo bay was hostile.
The doors to the cargo bay opened automatically as they neared. The three entered, their rifles poised, but they were lowered when all they saw was a young girl, asleep on the floor. Janeway and Chakotay moved quickly towards the sleeping form, and he checked the carotid pulse, nodding as he found it firm and regular. "We better take her to the Doctor," Janeway said. Chakotay nodded again, and handing his rifle to Janeway, picked the girl up in his arms as if she was a rag doll.
When they reached the sickbay, they found the Doctor in the middle of one of his operas. "Well, what have we here?" the Doctor questioned. Chakotay laid the girl down on a bed, and the Doctor ran a medical tricorder over her.
"We found her in Cargo Bay 3 just after we detected a temporal subspace anomaly," Janeway told him. "So, is she from the future or the past?"
"You know my tricorder can't tell me that!" the Doctor scolded. "Although I'm guessing from the past, as she appears to be suffering, or have suffered from a variety of minor complaints."
"Such as." Chakotay prompted.
"Well, there's scarring on her left Achilles tendon which indicates that it has been ripped, and never fully healed. She also appears to have fractured her toe, which was never fixed, as well as severing the ligaments in her wrist," the Doctor reported.
"These are past injuries. Is she healthy at the moment?" queried Janeway.
"She has some pulled muscles in her legs, as well as bruises all over her body, some of which are dated a few days back. The glands in her throat are also swollen, and she is suffering from a mild headache. Nothing life threatening."
"Can you wake her up?"
"Yes. She is sleeping normally." The doctor picked up a hypospray, adjusted the buttons on it, before pressing it into the girl's neck. She stirred, swallowed, and brought her hands to her eyes rubbing them, before they opened. Her blue eyes widened, and she quickly pushed herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs.
"What is your name?" Janeway asked her. The girl shook her head, and placed the fingers of her left hand on her throat.
"You can't speak?"
The girl shook her head, and waved her hands around, focusing on her neck. Chakotay thought he understood. "You can't speak, because your glands are swollen," interpreting the hand waving as swelling.
She nodded her head emphatically.
"Doctor." Janeway turned to the EMH, who was already finding the right instrument. He ran the red beam over the young girl's throat, and once he had finished, the girl swallowed.
"What's your name?" Janeway asked again.
"Kay," the girl replied quietly.
"I'm Captain."
".Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager," Kay finished. "Yeah, I know."
"How?" asked Janeway, shocked.
"Well, it's kinda complicated to explain," Kay told her. "Just, trust me, okay?"
Janeway nodded. "Where, when are you from?"
"I was born in 1984 in Birmingham, in England. I'm now 17, and I lived in England still, but on the coast."
"So, you're from 2001?" Chakotay asked.
"Yup. What's the year here? '78?"
"Yes. How do you know?"
"Lucky guess?" Neither of Voyager's senior officers believed her; the Doctor having disappeared by that point.
"Kay, what was the last thing that you remember?"
"I was." she tilted her head to one side, and screwed up her face, trying to remember. "I was sitting at the home, doing my art homework, I when felt dizzy, and that's it. Do I have to stay in sickbay, or can I go somewhere else?"
"We'll have to ask the Doctor," Chakotay told her. "Doctor?"
The Doctor appeared out from his office. "Yes Commander."
"Is Kay free to go?"
"Not yet, I have to file a medical profile first, and then she will be able to leave."
"Fun!" exclaimed Kay, sarcastically. "I always hated hospitals!"
"Well, while you stay in here, we're going to find somewhere for you to stay," Janeway told her. "We'll be back later."
"Okay." Kay watched Voyager's two most senior officers depart sickbay, before turning back to the Doctor. "So, what'cha wanna know?"
"What's your full name and date of birth?"
"Kathryn Abigail Young and I was born on the 7th February 1984."
"And how do you spell your name?" queried the Doctor. "There are so many variants of human names, I find it easier just to ask.
"K, A, T, H, R, Y, N. A, B, I, G, A, I, L. Y, O, U, N, G."
"Interesting. You share the same first name as the captain," remarked the Doctor.
"I know. I can spell," Kay retorted back. "But I'm Kay, not Kathryn."
"Of course. Kay, my scans indicate that you injured the tendon in your left leg a while ago."
"Just over two years ago, I ripped my Achilles tendon and it also became inflamed. I had had physiotherapy on it for about six months, but it still hurts occasionally," Kay told him.
"Any other injuries I should know about?"
"I severed the ligaments in my right wrist about three years ago, and about a year and a half ago, I twisted the ligaments in my right knee. Plus various pulled, strained and ripped muscles. And I hurt my toe a while back, but I never got it checked out, so I wouldn't know," Kay recited a whole list of injuries.
"And, how did these occur, may I ask?"
"Playing sport. I did my ankle in playing netball, my wrist playing tennis, and then volleyball. My knee was when my bike skidded in the dirt, and I hurt my toe while playing squash," Kay told him. "And all the miscellaneous muscle injuries are me not warming up properly before hand."
"Very well. I need to take a sample of blood, and a scan of your brain." The Doctor informed her. "After that, you will be free to go."
"Cool," Kay replied. "Where can I go? Can I go on the bridge?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask Captain Janeway that," the Doctor informed her, as he took a small sample of her blood. "I'm only the doctor."
"And the fact that you wear a blue uniform and work in sickbay doesn't give that away one bit," deadpanned Kay. The Doctor ignored her, as he made her lie down, while he took a scan of her brain and a blood sample, and recorded them in the ship's data banks for future reference.
"Finished?" asked Kay, sliding unobtrusively off the bio bed, hoping to make a quick getaway.
"Yes, but you will have to wait." The Doctor was planning to tell his young patient to wait there for either the captain or the commander, but he was interrupted by Kay telling the computer to shut him down.
Kay received many strange looks on her way to the turbolift. She didn't actually have a clue where one was, so she had picked a random direction, and was looking around her curiously, aware that she was probably the latest topic of gossip on the small ship. She eventually found a turbolift, and to her disgust, she actually had to wait for one. "This never happened on TV," she moaned to herself. When the lift came, it was empty, and she stepped in. "Bridge," she told the computer, and as the turbolift whirred into action, she grinned evilly, wondering how much of an impact her arrival on the bridge would have.
The doors opened, and she looked out onto the bridge of Voyager. Tom Paris was at the helm, his back to her and on either side of her as she stepped out, were Tuvok and Harry Kim. Chakotay was sitting in the centre of the bridge, although he didn't look around until Tuvok asked Kay. "What are you doing on the bridge?" Chakotay stood up, and made his way to the higher level of the bridge.
"The Doctor had finished with me, and I don't know where to go, until I see Captain Janeway," Kay told him.
"And you would be?" Tuvok queried.
"Call me Kay," replied the owner of the name. Chakotay decided it was time to intervene. "Come on Kay. Let's go see the captain," he told her, holding out his hand. Kay looked at it scornfully. "Did you miss the teen part when I told you my age?" she asked. "I'm sixteen, not six!"
"With the exception of Tuvok, the bridge crew stifled their laughter at the girl's boldness in talking to their first officer in such a manner. Tom immediately decided that he had to make this girl's acquaintance.
Chakotay withdrew his hand, and walked towards the captain's ready room, Kay following him. He rang the chime, and was rewarded with a "Come" from inside.
"A Miss Kay to see you Ma'am," he told Janeway, smiling as he did so. Janeway looked up from her PADD to see her first officer and Kay standing in front of her.
"Have a seat, both of you. I thought we said to wait in sickbay." The last was addressed to Kay.
"I was scared the Doctor would start singing," Kay replied, looking innocent. "Besides, it was boring in there."
Janeway hid a smile at the child's, no, young lady's, candour. "Well, Kay. I have some good news, and some bad news."
"What's the bad news?"
"You can't have quarters to yourself," Janeway told her.
"Where will I sleep then? I can't, and I won't stay in sickbay."
"We can put you up temporarily with either a couple or another member of the crew," Janeway told her.
"A couple? Like who?" Kay wasn't so sure she liked the sound of this.
"Well, Lieutenants Torres and Paris would normally be a possibility, but not so soon after the birth of Katie."
"Is that their daughter?" interrupted Kay. "Is it short for Kathryn?"
"Yes, and yes. She's Kathryn B'Elanna," Janeway told her. "That reminds me, is your name short for anything?"
"Yup. It's my initials, and short for my name."
"Which is." prompted Janeway.
"Kathryn," Kay told her. "Which makes three of us now!"
Besides her, Chakotay started laughing. Naomi Wildman, the first child born on Voyager, had the middle name of Kathryn, and the second child had it as her first name. And now they had 'found' a young girl who also shared the same name as the captain. However, he was soon silenced by Janeway's 'evil eye.'
"So, who am I staying with?" Kay asked, enjoying the commotion she was causing.
"Lieutenants Taylor and Allan may have you, or Crewmen Cooper and Mitchell," Janeway stated. "I have yet to ask them, as I was expecting you to wait in sickbay."
"What if they don't want me?" asked Kay. "No one's wanted me in the past. So why should it be any different now?"
"What do you mean?" asked Janeway, puzzled by the girl's statement.
"I'm an orphan, and have been since I was eight. Since then, I've been adopted twice, and put in foster homes twelve times. No one's wanted me, so I've been in a children's home the last year."
"Why did no one want you?" asked Chakotay, horrified at the girl's story.
"Well, I was like an untrained puppy. I was too energetic, and my first set of adopted parents were used to docile, well-behaved children. I was sent to three sets of foster homes then, and they didn't provide enough support for me, or they already had children, and we didn't get on. Then, the Ryan's adopted me, but they died about a year later when the house burnt down. After that, I was bounced around eight foster homes, never fitting in, until they finally realised that I needed some stability in my life while I took my public exams. So, I've been at the children's home"
"I'm sure it will be different here, Kay," Janeway told the girl. "I tell you what. Instead of putting you with one of these couples, how about you come and stay with me at first, while you fit in on Voyager?"
"Yeah, sure. It can't be as bad as some of the places I had to live. Thank you Captain."
"Please, if you're going to be living with me, it's Kathryn," Janeway told her. "Now, I believe we need to discuss a little matter of you knowing who we all are!"
"Well, it's like this."
Kay told Janeway and Chakotay about how she used to watch a television show called Star Trek: Voyager, and how the show would show episodes of their lives on Voyager. To prove it, she even told them about the time the two officers had spent on New Earth together, about four and a half years ago. With that, she had convinced them that she was telling the truth.
"Chakotay." Janeway spoke after Kay had finished her story. "Get Tom to show Kay around the ship, and get him to answer any questions she may have. Tell him to introduce her to some crew members, and give her a taster of Neelix's food."
Kay paled. "No! Not Neelix's food!" she exclaimed. "Is leola root on the menu?"
Janeway laughed. "Not today, no. Although I suggest that you choose carefully what you eat, and if you feel funny at all, go and see the Doctor. Your body may react to some of his more unusual. concoctions." Kay nodded, and she and Chakotay turned to leave. "And Commander, report back here once you've finished with Mr Paris," Janeway added. He just nodded, and the pair left.
"Lieutenant Paris, you're to show our newest crew member around Voyager, and answer any questions which she may have," Chakotay told the sandy haired pilot. Paris got up. "Aye sir," he replied. "Any other orders?"
"Start introducing her to the crew, and help her find her way around Neelix's latest batch of culinary delights," said Chakotay. "Oh, and she's to be staying in the captain's quarters."
Tom nodded. "Okay then, let the magical mystery tour begin." He turned to Kay. "Lieutenant Thomas Paris at your service. Call me Tom." He stuck out his hand. Kay grasped it firmly. "Kathryn Young. You'll call me Kay if you know what's good for you."
Chakotay chuckled as he made his way back to the ready room, as Tom and Kay made their way to the turbolift at the back of the bridge.
"So, Kay. Any questions before we start the tour?" Tom asked his young charge once they were in the lift.
"Yeah. What's going on between the captain and the commander?" Kay demanded. Tom laughed out loud. He liked this girl, and had the feeling that they would soon become 'partners in crime', to coin a twentieth century term.
"They're hopelessly in love with each other, but she's too stubborn to admit it," Tom said.
"Are you sure she's not too scared?" Kay asked.
"What's she got to be scared of?"
"Well, say you were in command of Voyager, and the only way to save her, would be to ask B'Elanna to die. You're not in command of Voyager, but Janeway is, and she doesn't want to risk loosing him, because if they were in a relationship, if would hurt a hundred times more. And there's still that part in her which believes that Voyager will get home, and she's going to be scared what Starfleet Command will think, even though they hopefully won't care by the time we get home. And because she's been the captain for so long, she doesn't know when to be Kathryn without compromising her integrity as captain. And there's the fear that getting involved in a personal relationship will affect her work, even though you and B'Elanna have disproved that theory. Well, mainly, 'Mr How about that console there?'" Kay added the last bit on, grinning wildly, as she watched Tom go red.
"Maybe you're right," Tom replied. "And how do you know all these things?"
"I'm from a parallel universe as well as the past," Kay told him. "I saw episodes of your lives on TV."
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Tom, as he thought of all the consoles, and activities he and B'Elanna had indulged in over the years.
Kay just laughed at his discomfort. "Don't worry, we didn't see anything like that," she told him. "Although we did see B'Elanna confess her love to you after your shuttle exploded, and you were getting ready to die in space on the Day of Honour."
"Oh right," Tom was relieved. "How about I introduce you to my lovely wife and daughter, instead of all that nonsense Chakotay wants us to do."
"Well, I would be meeting crewmembers," Kay reminded him, her blue eyes shining evilly.
"Exactly. Come on"
Tom keyed open his access code, and let Kay in first. "I'll be out in a minute." B'Elanna's voice drifted in from the bathroom. "I'm just changing Katie."
"I've brought you a visitor," Tom called back, motioning for Kay to sit. She did as she was bade, and waited for B'Elanna to appear. When she did, she was cradling a small baby with dark hair in her arms. "Hello," B'Elanna said in surprise. This girl looked human, but it was impossible. They were in the middle of the Delta Quadrant!
"B'Elanna, this is Kay. She's from the past, and she was pulled into Cargo Bay 3 an hour or so ago. Kay, this is my wife B'Elanna, and our daughter Katie."
"Pleased to meet you," Kay said, politely.
"Likewise Kay," replied B'Elanna, handing her bundle to Tom. She sat down opposite Kay. "So, what do you think of Voyager so far?"
Tom coughed slightly. "We haven't taken the tour yet. So far, she's seen sickbay, the bridge, the captain's ready room and a few corridors," he told his wife. "We should be on a tour now, but we decided to come and visit you and Baby instead."
B'Elanna smiled. "Well, how about we continue this discussion in the mess hall," she suggested. "That way we can show you a few more corridors!"
"Yeah, just don't try to feed me leola root," Kay said, as she followed B'Elanna out of the door, Tom trailing behind them. "So, when are you from then Kay?"
"Very early twenty first century. 2001 to be exact," Kay told her. "And I'm also from a parallel universe we've discovered."
"Why's that then?"
"I used to watch you on TV," Kay replied. "Viewers were able to see episodes of your lives."
B'Elanna went scarlet, obviously thinking about consoles and Jefferies tubes, and everything else that had happened in the last seven years. Especially the last three and a half of them!
"We didn't see anything offensive, don't worry," Kay reassured her. "Apart from some of Neelix's food!"
The three of them were chuckling as they entered the mess hall, where they were greeted by Neelix himself.
"Lieutenants," he began, before stopping short. "Who's this?"
"This is our daughter Katie. You've met her before!" Tom told the Talaxian, grinning evilly.
"No, this young lady here. I'm Neelix, and I'm Voyager's chef and morale officer." The last bit was said to Kay.
"I'm Kathryn Young, but call me Kay."
"Of course Kay. Now, what may I interest you in to eat?"
"Um, Neelix," B'Elanna decided to help Kay out here. "Have you got any of the Pleeka casserole left over from yesterday? We've got to be careful what Kay eats, as she's not used to your food."
"Of course. I'll warm some up right away. Will you have the same?"
Both B'Elanna and Tom nodded. Pleeka casserole was one of Neelix's edible dishes, and there weren't many of those!
"Have a seat, I'll bring some right over in a few minutes," Neelix told them.
Kay followed B'Elanna to a table in front of the windows, so that they faced the stars, which were streaking past them.
"So, Kay. Any questions about Voyager?" asked B'Elanna, unaware that Tom had asked the same question moments previously.
"How are we going to get the captain and the commander together?"
B'Elanna's eyes opened wide. "You know about that?"
"Yeah. Had to put up with them flirting every week, and they never actually did anything," Kay said. "So, what have you tried, and what are we going to do?"
"Well, we've never really tried anything much - they would get suspicious. Do you have anything in mind?" confessed Tom.
"We'll lock them in a turbolift together, and then turn up the heat. Literally," Kay told them.
"And how, may I ask, will we manage to do that?" asked Tom.
"Easy. We're going to need an ally in engineering, while B'Elanna's on maternity leave. We didn't really get to see any of the lower decks, so hopefully you'll know someone."
Tom and B'Elanna looked at each other, then simultaneously told Kay "Gill."
"Gill?" questioned Kay, looking at the two lieutenants.
"Lieutenant Gillian Taylor. She's assistant chief engineer after B'Elanna and temporary chief at the moment. I've known her since we were about seven, as her father's friends with mine," Tom explained. "She'll help, and so will Richard and Harry."
"Harry is Harry Kim, yeah? But, who's Richard?" asked Kay.
"Richard Allan is a xenobiologist, and Gill's partner," said B'Elanna.
"The captain said something about me staying with Lieutenant's Allan and Taylor. Would that have been them?"
"Yeah," Tom replied. "Anyway - back to your master plan."
"Well, Lieutenant Taylor is going to be helping me learn about the ship in engineering, and she tries to get me to do something, as the turbolifts have been acting erratically. Somehow, I manage to totally cock it up, and somehow lock you all out of the controls, purely by accident. Then, because I made such a mess of things, either B'Elanna or Lieutenant Taylor, somehow knock the environmental controls in the turbolifts, causing them to go haywire. And because it was all an accident, caused totally by the young lady who is still learning about all this technology, it won't look suspicious. Much," she added on as an afterthought.
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Tom. "But, what about the transporters?"
"I'll recommend to Gill that the targeting scanners could do with realigning," B'Elanna said, grinning. "So, when do we start this master plan?"
"As soon as possible," Kay told them. "Tom, you need to say to Chakotay that I seemed very interested in engineering, and ask him if it's possible for me to take lessons from the engineering crew. So, I'd guess, the day after tomorrow. I'll be an exceptional pupil!" Kay grinned, and sat back in her chair, feeling very pleased with herself.
"That's fine - Gill said something about dropping off some engineering reports later, so I'll talk to her then," B'Elanna said. Neelix came over to their table at that point, carrying three bowls of a green glop.
"Enjoy," he told them. Kay looked at the bowl in front of her.
"How many replicator rations do you get a week?" she asked.
* * *
When Kathryn Janeway returned to her quarters later that night, she found her young visitor curled up on her sofa, with a PADD.
"What you reading there?"
"A history of the Federation," Kay told her. "Which was my future, so it's all getting a bit complicated!"
"How about something to eat?" Kathryn asked, moving over to the replicator.
Kay wrinkled her nose. "I'm not hungry after my visit to the mess hall," she confessed. Kathryn laughed as she ordered a cup of coffee. "That's not surprising."
"Where am I sleeping?" Kay wanted to know. "This sofa is quite comfortable, but not for more than a week!"
"Kay! I'm not going to make you sleep on the sofa!" exclaimed Kathryn. "There should be an extra cot in my room, which we'll move in here for you tonight. Tomorrow, we'll see about building you a room for yourself."
"My own room makes it see all the more permanent," mused Kay. "Pity I don't have any of my things."
"That's not entirely true," Kathryn smiled secretively.
"What do you mean?" Kay demanded.
"There was another anomaly, of the same type that brought you here, and we found several boxes and a couple of suitcases in Cargo Bay 3, where we found you," Kathryn told her. "And the logical assumption is that they're yours."
"Where are they?" Kay wanted to know.
"Chakotay's got them next door. He's invited us both for dinner later, figuring you could pick them up when we went."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kay said, pulling her legs out from under her, and putting her shoes back on.
"1900 hours for a start!" Kathryn laughed at the girl's restlessness. "It's only 1810!"
Kay picked up the PADD again. "Wake me up when it's time to go," she told Kathryn, who just laughed as she went into her room to change. However, at 1850, she found that she would have to wake Kay, who, true to her word, had fallen asleep.
"Kay, wake up. It's time to go," she shook the girl's shoulder gently. Kay opened her eyes.
"Not asleep. Just resting my eyes," she declared.
"Come on Kay. Time to go and claim your things," the older woman said. Kay stood up, stretching.
"Chakotay is a better cook than Neelix, isn't he?" was the last thing she asked Kathryn, before they left the captain's quarters.
* * *
Kay was relieved to find all her belongings packed away in boxes and suitcases in the first officer's quarters. Chakotay had given the two women a hand in carrying it all back to Kathryn's quarters, and had also helped Kathryn set up Kay's cot, while that young lady was getting changed, and ready for bed in the bathroom. Once the cot was set up, after having moved the coffee table out of the way, Kathryn offered Chakotay a drink.
"I'd love to, but we can't really with Kay trying to get to sleep in here," Chakotay told her.
"That's okay, we can take it in my room, " Kathryn told him, trying not to think how flirtatious that sounded. Chakotay smiled at her.
"In that case, how can I refuse?" he replied. Kathryn felt her knees go weak. No, she had to keep her integrity as a captain; she couldn't afford to get involved with a member of her crew. She walked over to the replicator, and ordered two herbal teas for them.
"No coffee, Kathryn?" he teased her.
"Not at this time of night, unless I want to be up all night," she told him.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Chakotay was flirting with her - big time, and Kathryn briefly wondered if offering him a drink was a bad thing to do.
Kay chose that moment to reappear, and Kathryn was flooded with relief that the girl was here. Nothing could happen between her and Chakotay if Kay was in the next room. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight you two - don't stay up too late, and by the way, I'm a very deep sleeper!" Kay said, flashing a wide smile at them. Kathryn could feel her cheeks burning as she made her way into her bedroom, followed by Chakotay. What would Tom Paris make of this, she idly wondered? Still, he'd never find out about it. Kay didn't seem like one for frivolous gossip, and would never become good friends with Tom Paris.
As soon as the bedroom door closed behind the two adults, Kay reached for the PADD she had left on the sofa earlier. She quickly tapped a message in, telling what had just transpired in the captain's quarters, and sent it to Tom Paris' console. A minute later, she received a one word reply - What? Kay just chuckled, and turned over to go to sleep. She had told the captain the truth when she had said that she was a deep sleeper, and didn't hear Chakotay leave two hours later.
* * *
The next morning, Kathryn had invited Kay to have breakfast in the mess hall, with her and Chakotay. Kay had agreed, although she was not looking forward to sampling more of Neelix's food.
Tom and B'Elanna were already in the mess hall with Katie when Kay followed the captain into the mess hall. They were sitting with Harry Kim, and two others, whom Kay didn't recognise. One was a young woman with dark hair in a gold uniform, and the other was a dark haired young man in a blue uniform. Kay guessed them to be Lieutenants Taylor and Allan, and discreetly waved to Tom and B'Elanna when Kathryn wasn't looking. No use in letting the captain know how close the three had become after only an afternoon together. Chakotay arrived a few minutes later, and after grabbing his breakfast, to everyone's surprise, he left his plate on the same table as Kay and Kathryn, before walking over to where Tom and his friends were sitting. Kay strained her ears to hear the conversation, as Kathryn was concentrating on what was in front of her.
"Lieutenant Taylor, would you be willing to have a working pupil in engineering today?" Chakotay asked the dark haired woman. Kay's guess had been right - she was Gillian Taylor, and had most probably been brought into the scheme already. Taylor nodded. "Of course. I assume you mean Kathryn Young."
"Yes, but I suggest you call her Kay," Chakotay said. "Thanks Gill." He turned to leave, as Tom asked him "Did you sleep well last night, Commander?"
"Yes thank you," Chakotay replied, before heading back to the captain's table and sitting down opposite Kathryn. "Miss me?" he asked. Kathryn awoke from her daydream with a jolt. "Always," she replied. Kay rolled her eyes in disgust, and wished she was sitting with people who could at least admit their feelings for each other.
"Kay," Chakotay turned to her. "Tom mentioned to me yesterday that you seemed very interested in engineering. I've spoken to Lieutenant Taylor - she's the dark haired woman sitting with Tom, Harry and B'Elanna. She's filling in for B'Elanna while she's on maternity leave with Katie, and she says that you can spend the next few days in engineering, as a working pupil." Kay's face lit up. The first part of her plan was being set in motion. "Thank you Commander," she said.
"It's Chakotay when we're not on duty," he reminded her. "Although, I suppose you're Cadet Young now!"
"Yes, she is, isn't she?" replied Kathryn. "I never thought of that." She drained the last of her coffee, and stood up. "I'm off to the bridge now. Are you coming Chakotay?"
Chakotay swallowed his last bite. "Yes. I don't seem to have much of an appetite this morning." He followed Kathryn out of the mess hall, and as soon as the door closed behind them, Kay grabbed her plate and bolted to Tom's table.
"You escaped!" grinned B'Elanna. "Kay, these are Ensign Harry Kim, Lieutenant Gillian Taylor and Lieutenant Richard Allan." She indicated each person with her fork, having first eaten the food off it. "Everyone, this is Kay."
"Hi," said Kay. "I assume Tom's told you the master plan."
Harry smiled. "In great detail, I can assure you that."
"Cool. So we're all set then?"
Gillian nodded. "We'll get them tomorrow morning, after breakfast. The turbolifts are going to be acting erratically at about 0645 hours, and Harry is going to order me out of bed to sort them out. I'm going to be sadistic, and suggest that my working pupil may relish the chance to get some hands on experience. So, I'll call you, as you'll have a combadge by then, and order you to report to engineering. You'll apologise to the captain for having to miss breakfast, as she'll probably invite you to eat with her again. She'll come and have breakfast here with Chakotay, where Richard will be eating with Tom, as Harry has yet to come down from the bridge, and B'Elanna is late, for some reason. However, B'Elanna has just exited the turbolift as the captain and commander reach it. She's going to moan that it's erratic, and the captain's probably going to say something about the fact that I'm working on it with you. Then, about ten seconds after they've got in it, it's going to shudder, and jolt, and she's going to tap her combadge and ask 'Engineering, report." And that's when it all starts!" Gill told her. "And tonight, I'm going to have a couple of engineers take apart the transporters, for routine maintenance."
"And you need me because?" joked Kay.
"You're very important to this plan. I only hope it works," Tom told her.
"Well, if it doesn't, I'll find something else," Kay assured him. "Although if what happened last night happens again, we won't need to intervene!"
"Yes! What did happen last night?" Tom exclaimed. "I got a message saying that she'd offered him a drink, and because you were sleeping in the living area, they were taking them into her bedroom!"
"That's because it really did happen, and they were flirting like hell!" Kay replied. "He said that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing if she was awake all night!"
"Really?" exclaimed Harry. "What time did the commander leave?"
"I don't know - I'm a deep sleeper, as I pointed out to them," Kay replied. "I've slept through everything!"
Noticing the numbers of people leaving the mess hall, Tom checked the time, and realised that it was time for them to be getting to their various stations.
"Come on then Kay," Gill told the young girl. "Let's see how good a student you really are. I believe today we shall start with Voyager's basic systems, such as turbolifts, life support and atmospheric controls." Kay grinned as she followed the engineer out of the mess hall. This was going to be fun.
Kay returned to the captain's quarters just past 1600 hours, to find Kathryn already waiting for her. "Well, how was it?" she asked, as Kay entered.
"Great!" exclaimed Kay. "Lieutenant Taylor showed me about life support, atmospheric controls and turbolifts, and how to configure them, and she ran a simulation in the holodeck, and got me to diagnose and try to figure out what was wrong with them all. She said I was an exceptional student, and tomorrow, she's going to show me how to compensate, and re-route power from non-essential systems."
Kathryn laughed at Kay's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," she said. "Although I had hoped you would be more interested in medicine, so you could have trained with the Doctor as a nurse!"
Kay pulled a face. "Work with the Doctor? No, thanks - I'll leave that pleasure to T. Lieutenant Paris!"
Kathryn smiled. "Any plans for this afternoon?" she queried. "Chakotay and I are planning on going to the holodeck, so you're welcome to join us if you want."
"Maybe another time," Kay replied. "Lieutenant Taylor set me some reading to do for tomorrow, and then I'm going to see how far I can get round Voyager before becoming truly lost!"
"Okay then. I may be late back tonight, as Sam Wildman's asked me to baby- sit Naomi, so don't bother waiting for me to eat. You can either replicate something - we've assigned you some replicator rations, or I'm sure you can find something in the mess hall."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't be too late though," Kay teased. Kathryn laughed as she left the room.
"Oh, and Kay." She turned back to look at the girl. "Your new room's on the right." The door closed behind her, and Kay looked towards the door that hadn't been there when she had left that morning. "Great. Now I've got to arrange all my stuff," she moaned, not really in the mood to do so. Kicking off her shoes, and leaving them in the middle of the floor, she jumped on the sofa with her PADD, on which, Voyager's key systems were outlined. Kay studied the PADD carefully all afternoon, paying special attention to the atmospheric controls and turbolifts. She was a good student, although she had to contact both Taylor and Torres several times to explain parts.
"Are you sure you're alright now Kay?" B'Elanna asked the third time Kay contacted her.
"Yeah. In fact, I've finished all the reading Lieutenant Taylor set me. Now I'm off to see how lost I can get."
"Okay then. Have fun - Torres out."
Slipping her shoes back on, Kay made her way out into the corridor, and took the turbolift down to Deck 15. Two hours later, she found herself back at her quarters. Checking the time, she found that it was nearly 2000 hours, and she held a mini-debate with herself whether or not she should eat in the mess hall. However, she decided that she wasn't really that hungry and called up some toast and juice from the replicator instead. Once that had been eaten, she realised that she did have to start to organise her belongings in her new room.
Both the suitcases contained clothing, she found, and she quickly shoved that into the drawers. The first box she opened had all her books in, and realising that she had no bookshelves, she left the box packed by the side of her bed. In the second box she found stuffed animals, which were immediately placed on her bed, several ornaments and all her hair stuff, jewellery and the few bits of makeup she owned. The remaining two boxes contained her CD player, CDs, television, video player and videos and her art stuff and pictures which had been on her walls. "How's a girl meant to hang anything on the walls in here?" she asked herself when she found her pictures, which included her name in Chinese symbols and a print of Winnie the Pooh. Realising that she needed more surfaces and storage space than she had, she decided to leave the rest of her things in the boxes for the meantime, until such time as she could properly store or display them. She also reminded herself that it was to be an early start the next morning, and that tomorrow was to be a busy day, so she made bed her destination.
* * *
"Taylor to Young." Kay was awakened the next morning by her combadge chirping. Yawning, she tapped it. "Young here."
"Cadet Young, report to engineering. We've experiencing problems with the turbolifts, and I feel that this will be an important lesson for you on how Voyager works. I trust you've completed the reading I set you?" Gill Taylor's voice came over the com link, and Kay climbed out of bed.
"Of course, Lieutenant. I'll be there in a few minutes," replied Kay. "Young out."
Making her way to the bathroom, Kay stopped when Kathryn appeared at the door to her room. "Was that Lieutenant Taylor?" she asked
Kay nodded. "There's a problem with the turbolifts, and she wants me to get some hands on experience I think. Either that or she's being vindictive 'cause she has to get up early!" Kay grinned, and so did Kathryn. "Did it wake you?"
"Oh I was only half asleep," Kathryn replied. "Anyway, I won't detain you any longer." And with that, she disappeared back into her bedroom.
Five minutes later, Kay ran into engineering. "Sorry!" she gasped. "Turbolift stalled. Not my fault!"
Taylor, who was crouched down at a panel just inside the door, laughed, and beckoned Kay over. The panel covering had been removed, and inside, there was a hash of wires. "All set for the big failure," Taylor told her young student. "All you have to do is remove the brown one, and we're go."
"So now all we have to do is wait for B'Elanna's signal?" asked Kay.
"Yep. So, while we're waiting. what's that for."
* * *
Waiting in a turbolift with a week old baby was no fun whatsoever, B'Elanna Torres-Paris decided. If only Janeway and Chakotay would just hurry up.
"Captain Janeway has entered the designated section," the computer told her.
"Resume turbolift," B'Elanna replied. Now it was time to see how good an actress she really was. The doors slid open, and she walked out, an angry look on her face.
"The turbolifts are behaving really erratically," she told the two senior officers. Janeway nodded. "Yes, Kay's with Lieutenant Taylor at the moment, trying to sort that out. I'm sure they'll be fine soon."
"You're probably right, Captain," B'Elanna replied, watching them enter the lift together. The second the doors closed, she tapped her combadge. "Torres to Taylor. You're it!" 'You're it' had been the code which they had chosen to start off the operation once their two subjects had entered the lift. In engineering, Kay pulled the wire, and the turbolift stopped.
"Janeway to engineering. The turbolift has stopped. What's going on?"
"Taylor here. We've hit an unexpected error, courtesy of Kay. I had to leave her for a couple of minutes, and she's gone and. I don't know what she's done! It may take a while to sort it out - it's a pretty big mess down here, and on further inspection, it looks although she's crossed a few wires. I'll try and keep you updated Captain. Taylor out."
After the young lieutenant signed off, Kathryn turned to Chakotay. "It appears we may be stuck here for a while," he said.
"Do you think they did it on purpose?" she asked. He shook his head.
"It's Gill Taylor and Kay, not Tom Paris and B'Elanna. Even though she's friends with Tom, I don't think Gill's like that, and Kay's just a kid, who doesn't have a much knowledge of our systems, and no real friends with whom she could have consulted. Besides, she doesn't seem like that either!"
"Hmm," Kathryn wasn't convinced of Gill Taylor's innocence, as she had encountered a young Gill whilst babysitting, along with an almost as young Tom Paris. Kathryn knew that Gill's mischievous streak rivalled Tom's own, although the young engineer would never admit it.
"So, any idea what we can do to pass the time then, Commander?" she asked, using his rank on purpose.
"Paper, scissors stone?" he suggested.
Kathryn raised her eyebrows, and looked at him, puzzled. "And what, may I ask, is that?"
"It's an old twentieth century children's game which Tom taught me one day. You hold your hand behind your back, and after the count of three you reveal your hand either like this." Chakotay stuck two fingers out, to indicate scissors. "That's scissors. This." he kept his hand flat. "Is paper, while this is rock." He clenched his hand in a fist. "Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock."
"I think not somehow," Kathryn told Chakotay, arching her eyebrow.
Silence fell upon them, as they both sat on the floor, facing each other. As they sat there, Kathryn was acutely aware of the temperature rising.
"Janeway to Taylor. Gill, is there a reason for the temperature rising in the turbolift?"
"Captain - there's been no temperature increase from this end," Gill replied, sounding puzzled, for they had not yet turned up the heat. "Do you want us to alert sickbay for when we can get you out? If you're running a temperature."
"No thank you, Lieutenant. I'm fine," Kathryn told her, blushing as Chakotay scrutinised her carefully. "Janeway out."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kathryn. It's not hot at all in here," Chakotay said, smiling. "In fact, it's getting colder."
Kathryn noticed this, and briefly contemplated calling engineering again. But, she figured that they'd probably be rescued sooner if they didn't contact them every time the temperature dropped a point.
Kathryn started to shiver about five minutes later, and pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.
"Come here Kathryn," Chakotay told her after a while, and held out his hand. Too cold to argue, Kathryn crawled over to him, and he put his arms around her, and held her close. She rested her head on his shoulder, and they sat there together.
"This is nice," she said presently. Chakotay's only response was to drop a kiss on the top of her auburn head. Again they sat in silence, Kathryn still shivering.
"Chakotay," she began. "There's something I need to tell you, but I don't know how to say it."
"Just tell me," he replied. "That's normally the best way."
"Says Mr 'Ancient Legend' himself," Kathryn replied, arching her eyebrows, as she turned her head to look up into his chocolate brown eyes.
"How would you have preferred me to tell it?" Chakotay asked. "Like this?" His head came down and he pulled her head up to greet it. Their lips met, and they kissed: at first softly, but then with increasing passion and urgency. When they broke apart for air, he kept his hand on her head, stroking the hair framing her face. "Yes," she told him. "Then maybe we wouldn't have wasted so long."
"Kathryn, does this mean what I think it means?" Chakotay asked, slightly stunned.
"Yes. I love you, Chakotay, and I want to be with you. Starfleet rules and regulations can go to hell as far as I'm concerned, as can what anyone else thinks," Kathryn told him, pulling his head down for another kiss.
This time they were separated when, with a jolt, the turbolift restarted, and began climbing up towards the bridge. Kathryn tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Taylor. Well done Lieutenant."
"Thank you, Captain. I believe that's also cleared up the other glitches in the system," Gill replied. "I'm sorry if it caused you any inconvenience."
"Not at all, Gill. In fact, it gave the commander and I a chance to talk some things over. Janeway out."
In engineering, Gill turned to Kay. "We did it," the temporary chief grinned.
"We most certainly did," agreed Kay, closing up the tricorder, on which they had the whole of the interaction in the turbolift recorded, thanks to the bugs that they had installed there earlier.
Gill tapped her combadge. "Taylor to Lieutenant's Paris, Torres and Allan and Ensign Kim. Fancy some lunch later?"
'Fancy some lunch later' had been the code to declare their mission a success, while 'On for dinner' had been for 'No luck - require plan two.'
Several responses came back immediately, all enthusiastically agreeing. All were glad that it had been successful, for they wanted their commanding officers to be happy. Tom was also happy for a different reason - his betting pool. But of course, that was another story.
Rating: PG - 13
Note: Mary Sue alert! Sorry!
Helping Hand
"Captain, I'm reading a power surge in Cargo Bay 3," Kim reported from the Ops station on the bridge of Voyager.
"What sort of power surge, Ensign?" Janeway asked. I really need to promote that boy, she added to herself as a mental note.
"I'm not sure - it seemed to be a temporal subspace anomaly."
"Didn't we have one of those last week?" asked Lieutenant Paris, who was sitting at the helm.
"Yeah - the birth of your daughter!" First officer Chakotay joked.
"Enough boys," Janeway told them, but Tuvok interrupted her.
"Captain, I'm reading an intruder on Deck 11, Section 22b," he said.
"That's Cargo Bay 3!" exclaimed Janeway.
"Even I'm not taking odds that these two must be linked," Paris said.
"Mr Paris, I believe that black pip would look oh so much better off your uniform," Janeway threatened. Tom gulped. He didn't want to be demoted - again.
"Chakotay, Tuvok, you're with me. We're going to meet our visitor. Lieutenant." Janeway paused, and she could see Paris fidget in his chair with excitement, as he was the only Lieutenant on the bridge - wasn't he? Harry Kim was still an ensign, as was Samantha Wildman who was sitting at the science station.
"Taylor, you have the bridge," Janeway finished. Paris' jaw dropped, as did the young, dark haired woman's, who was sitting at the engineering console. Paris was gutted. Gillian Taylor was two years younger than him and one of his and his wife, B'Elanna's closest friends. He was never going to live this down!
"Captain?" Taylor questioned.
"Lieutenant Taylor, you have the bridge, which means that you need to get up from the engineering console and sit in this chair in the middle of the bridge," Janeway told her.
"Aye Captain," Taylor replied, standing up and walking towards the centre of the bridge. Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok continued on their way to the cargo bay, only stopping to collect three Type-2 phaser rifles, just in case whoever was in their cargo bay was hostile.
The doors to the cargo bay opened automatically as they neared. The three entered, their rifles poised, but they were lowered when all they saw was a young girl, asleep on the floor. Janeway and Chakotay moved quickly towards the sleeping form, and he checked the carotid pulse, nodding as he found it firm and regular. "We better take her to the Doctor," Janeway said. Chakotay nodded again, and handing his rifle to Janeway, picked the girl up in his arms as if she was a rag doll.
When they reached the sickbay, they found the Doctor in the middle of one of his operas. "Well, what have we here?" the Doctor questioned. Chakotay laid the girl down on a bed, and the Doctor ran a medical tricorder over her.
"We found her in Cargo Bay 3 just after we detected a temporal subspace anomaly," Janeway told him. "So, is she from the future or the past?"
"You know my tricorder can't tell me that!" the Doctor scolded. "Although I'm guessing from the past, as she appears to be suffering, or have suffered from a variety of minor complaints."
"Such as." Chakotay prompted.
"Well, there's scarring on her left Achilles tendon which indicates that it has been ripped, and never fully healed. She also appears to have fractured her toe, which was never fixed, as well as severing the ligaments in her wrist," the Doctor reported.
"These are past injuries. Is she healthy at the moment?" queried Janeway.
"She has some pulled muscles in her legs, as well as bruises all over her body, some of which are dated a few days back. The glands in her throat are also swollen, and she is suffering from a mild headache. Nothing life threatening."
"Can you wake her up?"
"Yes. She is sleeping normally." The doctor picked up a hypospray, adjusted the buttons on it, before pressing it into the girl's neck. She stirred, swallowed, and brought her hands to her eyes rubbing them, before they opened. Her blue eyes widened, and she quickly pushed herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs.
"What is your name?" Janeway asked her. The girl shook her head, and placed the fingers of her left hand on her throat.
"You can't speak?"
The girl shook her head, and waved her hands around, focusing on her neck. Chakotay thought he understood. "You can't speak, because your glands are swollen," interpreting the hand waving as swelling.
She nodded her head emphatically.
"Doctor." Janeway turned to the EMH, who was already finding the right instrument. He ran the red beam over the young girl's throat, and once he had finished, the girl swallowed.
"What's your name?" Janeway asked again.
"Kay," the girl replied quietly.
"I'm Captain."
".Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager," Kay finished. "Yeah, I know."
"How?" asked Janeway, shocked.
"Well, it's kinda complicated to explain," Kay told her. "Just, trust me, okay?"
Janeway nodded. "Where, when are you from?"
"I was born in 1984 in Birmingham, in England. I'm now 17, and I lived in England still, but on the coast."
"So, you're from 2001?" Chakotay asked.
"Yup. What's the year here? '78?"
"Yes. How do you know?"
"Lucky guess?" Neither of Voyager's senior officers believed her; the Doctor having disappeared by that point.
"Kay, what was the last thing that you remember?"
"I was." she tilted her head to one side, and screwed up her face, trying to remember. "I was sitting at the home, doing my art homework, I when felt dizzy, and that's it. Do I have to stay in sickbay, or can I go somewhere else?"
"We'll have to ask the Doctor," Chakotay told her. "Doctor?"
The Doctor appeared out from his office. "Yes Commander."
"Is Kay free to go?"
"Not yet, I have to file a medical profile first, and then she will be able to leave."
"Fun!" exclaimed Kay, sarcastically. "I always hated hospitals!"
"Well, while you stay in here, we're going to find somewhere for you to stay," Janeway told her. "We'll be back later."
"Okay." Kay watched Voyager's two most senior officers depart sickbay, before turning back to the Doctor. "So, what'cha wanna know?"
"What's your full name and date of birth?"
"Kathryn Abigail Young and I was born on the 7th February 1984."
"And how do you spell your name?" queried the Doctor. "There are so many variants of human names, I find it easier just to ask.
"K, A, T, H, R, Y, N. A, B, I, G, A, I, L. Y, O, U, N, G."
"Interesting. You share the same first name as the captain," remarked the Doctor.
"I know. I can spell," Kay retorted back. "But I'm Kay, not Kathryn."
"Of course. Kay, my scans indicate that you injured the tendon in your left leg a while ago."
"Just over two years ago, I ripped my Achilles tendon and it also became inflamed. I had had physiotherapy on it for about six months, but it still hurts occasionally," Kay told him.
"Any other injuries I should know about?"
"I severed the ligaments in my right wrist about three years ago, and about a year and a half ago, I twisted the ligaments in my right knee. Plus various pulled, strained and ripped muscles. And I hurt my toe a while back, but I never got it checked out, so I wouldn't know," Kay recited a whole list of injuries.
"And, how did these occur, may I ask?"
"Playing sport. I did my ankle in playing netball, my wrist playing tennis, and then volleyball. My knee was when my bike skidded in the dirt, and I hurt my toe while playing squash," Kay told him. "And all the miscellaneous muscle injuries are me not warming up properly before hand."
"Very well. I need to take a sample of blood, and a scan of your brain." The Doctor informed her. "After that, you will be free to go."
"Cool," Kay replied. "Where can I go? Can I go on the bridge?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask Captain Janeway that," the Doctor informed her, as he took a small sample of her blood. "I'm only the doctor."
"And the fact that you wear a blue uniform and work in sickbay doesn't give that away one bit," deadpanned Kay. The Doctor ignored her, as he made her lie down, while he took a scan of her brain and a blood sample, and recorded them in the ship's data banks for future reference.
"Finished?" asked Kay, sliding unobtrusively off the bio bed, hoping to make a quick getaway.
"Yes, but you will have to wait." The Doctor was planning to tell his young patient to wait there for either the captain or the commander, but he was interrupted by Kay telling the computer to shut him down.
Kay received many strange looks on her way to the turbolift. She didn't actually have a clue where one was, so she had picked a random direction, and was looking around her curiously, aware that she was probably the latest topic of gossip on the small ship. She eventually found a turbolift, and to her disgust, she actually had to wait for one. "This never happened on TV," she moaned to herself. When the lift came, it was empty, and she stepped in. "Bridge," she told the computer, and as the turbolift whirred into action, she grinned evilly, wondering how much of an impact her arrival on the bridge would have.
The doors opened, and she looked out onto the bridge of Voyager. Tom Paris was at the helm, his back to her and on either side of her as she stepped out, were Tuvok and Harry Kim. Chakotay was sitting in the centre of the bridge, although he didn't look around until Tuvok asked Kay. "What are you doing on the bridge?" Chakotay stood up, and made his way to the higher level of the bridge.
"The Doctor had finished with me, and I don't know where to go, until I see Captain Janeway," Kay told him.
"And you would be?" Tuvok queried.
"Call me Kay," replied the owner of the name. Chakotay decided it was time to intervene. "Come on Kay. Let's go see the captain," he told her, holding out his hand. Kay looked at it scornfully. "Did you miss the teen part when I told you my age?" she asked. "I'm sixteen, not six!"
"With the exception of Tuvok, the bridge crew stifled their laughter at the girl's boldness in talking to their first officer in such a manner. Tom immediately decided that he had to make this girl's acquaintance.
Chakotay withdrew his hand, and walked towards the captain's ready room, Kay following him. He rang the chime, and was rewarded with a "Come" from inside.
"A Miss Kay to see you Ma'am," he told Janeway, smiling as he did so. Janeway looked up from her PADD to see her first officer and Kay standing in front of her.
"Have a seat, both of you. I thought we said to wait in sickbay." The last was addressed to Kay.
"I was scared the Doctor would start singing," Kay replied, looking innocent. "Besides, it was boring in there."
Janeway hid a smile at the child's, no, young lady's, candour. "Well, Kay. I have some good news, and some bad news."
"What's the bad news?"
"You can't have quarters to yourself," Janeway told her.
"Where will I sleep then? I can't, and I won't stay in sickbay."
"We can put you up temporarily with either a couple or another member of the crew," Janeway told her.
"A couple? Like who?" Kay wasn't so sure she liked the sound of this.
"Well, Lieutenants Torres and Paris would normally be a possibility, but not so soon after the birth of Katie."
"Is that their daughter?" interrupted Kay. "Is it short for Kathryn?"
"Yes, and yes. She's Kathryn B'Elanna," Janeway told her. "That reminds me, is your name short for anything?"
"Yup. It's my initials, and short for my name."
"Which is." prompted Janeway.
"Kathryn," Kay told her. "Which makes three of us now!"
Besides her, Chakotay started laughing. Naomi Wildman, the first child born on Voyager, had the middle name of Kathryn, and the second child had it as her first name. And now they had 'found' a young girl who also shared the same name as the captain. However, he was soon silenced by Janeway's 'evil eye.'
"So, who am I staying with?" Kay asked, enjoying the commotion she was causing.
"Lieutenants Taylor and Allan may have you, or Crewmen Cooper and Mitchell," Janeway stated. "I have yet to ask them, as I was expecting you to wait in sickbay."
"What if they don't want me?" asked Kay. "No one's wanted me in the past. So why should it be any different now?"
"What do you mean?" asked Janeway, puzzled by the girl's statement.
"I'm an orphan, and have been since I was eight. Since then, I've been adopted twice, and put in foster homes twelve times. No one's wanted me, so I've been in a children's home the last year."
"Why did no one want you?" asked Chakotay, horrified at the girl's story.
"Well, I was like an untrained puppy. I was too energetic, and my first set of adopted parents were used to docile, well-behaved children. I was sent to three sets of foster homes then, and they didn't provide enough support for me, or they already had children, and we didn't get on. Then, the Ryan's adopted me, but they died about a year later when the house burnt down. After that, I was bounced around eight foster homes, never fitting in, until they finally realised that I needed some stability in my life while I took my public exams. So, I've been at the children's home"
"I'm sure it will be different here, Kay," Janeway told the girl. "I tell you what. Instead of putting you with one of these couples, how about you come and stay with me at first, while you fit in on Voyager?"
"Yeah, sure. It can't be as bad as some of the places I had to live. Thank you Captain."
"Please, if you're going to be living with me, it's Kathryn," Janeway told her. "Now, I believe we need to discuss a little matter of you knowing who we all are!"
"Well, it's like this."
Kay told Janeway and Chakotay about how she used to watch a television show called Star Trek: Voyager, and how the show would show episodes of their lives on Voyager. To prove it, she even told them about the time the two officers had spent on New Earth together, about four and a half years ago. With that, she had convinced them that she was telling the truth.
"Chakotay." Janeway spoke after Kay had finished her story. "Get Tom to show Kay around the ship, and get him to answer any questions she may have. Tell him to introduce her to some crew members, and give her a taster of Neelix's food."
Kay paled. "No! Not Neelix's food!" she exclaimed. "Is leola root on the menu?"
Janeway laughed. "Not today, no. Although I suggest that you choose carefully what you eat, and if you feel funny at all, go and see the Doctor. Your body may react to some of his more unusual. concoctions." Kay nodded, and she and Chakotay turned to leave. "And Commander, report back here once you've finished with Mr Paris," Janeway added. He just nodded, and the pair left.
"Lieutenant Paris, you're to show our newest crew member around Voyager, and answer any questions which she may have," Chakotay told the sandy haired pilot. Paris got up. "Aye sir," he replied. "Any other orders?"
"Start introducing her to the crew, and help her find her way around Neelix's latest batch of culinary delights," said Chakotay. "Oh, and she's to be staying in the captain's quarters."
Tom nodded. "Okay then, let the magical mystery tour begin." He turned to Kay. "Lieutenant Thomas Paris at your service. Call me Tom." He stuck out his hand. Kay grasped it firmly. "Kathryn Young. You'll call me Kay if you know what's good for you."
Chakotay chuckled as he made his way back to the ready room, as Tom and Kay made their way to the turbolift at the back of the bridge.
"So, Kay. Any questions before we start the tour?" Tom asked his young charge once they were in the lift.
"Yeah. What's going on between the captain and the commander?" Kay demanded. Tom laughed out loud. He liked this girl, and had the feeling that they would soon become 'partners in crime', to coin a twentieth century term.
"They're hopelessly in love with each other, but she's too stubborn to admit it," Tom said.
"Are you sure she's not too scared?" Kay asked.
"What's she got to be scared of?"
"Well, say you were in command of Voyager, and the only way to save her, would be to ask B'Elanna to die. You're not in command of Voyager, but Janeway is, and she doesn't want to risk loosing him, because if they were in a relationship, if would hurt a hundred times more. And there's still that part in her which believes that Voyager will get home, and she's going to be scared what Starfleet Command will think, even though they hopefully won't care by the time we get home. And because she's been the captain for so long, she doesn't know when to be Kathryn without compromising her integrity as captain. And there's the fear that getting involved in a personal relationship will affect her work, even though you and B'Elanna have disproved that theory. Well, mainly, 'Mr How about that console there?'" Kay added the last bit on, grinning wildly, as she watched Tom go red.
"Maybe you're right," Tom replied. "And how do you know all these things?"
"I'm from a parallel universe as well as the past," Kay told him. "I saw episodes of your lives on TV."
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Tom, as he thought of all the consoles, and activities he and B'Elanna had indulged in over the years.
Kay just laughed at his discomfort. "Don't worry, we didn't see anything like that," she told him. "Although we did see B'Elanna confess her love to you after your shuttle exploded, and you were getting ready to die in space on the Day of Honour."
"Oh right," Tom was relieved. "How about I introduce you to my lovely wife and daughter, instead of all that nonsense Chakotay wants us to do."
"Well, I would be meeting crewmembers," Kay reminded him, her blue eyes shining evilly.
"Exactly. Come on"
Tom keyed open his access code, and let Kay in first. "I'll be out in a minute." B'Elanna's voice drifted in from the bathroom. "I'm just changing Katie."
"I've brought you a visitor," Tom called back, motioning for Kay to sit. She did as she was bade, and waited for B'Elanna to appear. When she did, she was cradling a small baby with dark hair in her arms. "Hello," B'Elanna said in surprise. This girl looked human, but it was impossible. They were in the middle of the Delta Quadrant!
"B'Elanna, this is Kay. She's from the past, and she was pulled into Cargo Bay 3 an hour or so ago. Kay, this is my wife B'Elanna, and our daughter Katie."
"Pleased to meet you," Kay said, politely.
"Likewise Kay," replied B'Elanna, handing her bundle to Tom. She sat down opposite Kay. "So, what do you think of Voyager so far?"
Tom coughed slightly. "We haven't taken the tour yet. So far, she's seen sickbay, the bridge, the captain's ready room and a few corridors," he told his wife. "We should be on a tour now, but we decided to come and visit you and Baby instead."
B'Elanna smiled. "Well, how about we continue this discussion in the mess hall," she suggested. "That way we can show you a few more corridors!"
"Yeah, just don't try to feed me leola root," Kay said, as she followed B'Elanna out of the door, Tom trailing behind them. "So, when are you from then Kay?"
"Very early twenty first century. 2001 to be exact," Kay told her. "And I'm also from a parallel universe we've discovered."
"Why's that then?"
"I used to watch you on TV," Kay replied. "Viewers were able to see episodes of your lives."
B'Elanna went scarlet, obviously thinking about consoles and Jefferies tubes, and everything else that had happened in the last seven years. Especially the last three and a half of them!
"We didn't see anything offensive, don't worry," Kay reassured her. "Apart from some of Neelix's food!"
The three of them were chuckling as they entered the mess hall, where they were greeted by Neelix himself.
"Lieutenants," he began, before stopping short. "Who's this?"
"This is our daughter Katie. You've met her before!" Tom told the Talaxian, grinning evilly.
"No, this young lady here. I'm Neelix, and I'm Voyager's chef and morale officer." The last bit was said to Kay.
"I'm Kathryn Young, but call me Kay."
"Of course Kay. Now, what may I interest you in to eat?"
"Um, Neelix," B'Elanna decided to help Kay out here. "Have you got any of the Pleeka casserole left over from yesterday? We've got to be careful what Kay eats, as she's not used to your food."
"Of course. I'll warm some up right away. Will you have the same?"
Both B'Elanna and Tom nodded. Pleeka casserole was one of Neelix's edible dishes, and there weren't many of those!
"Have a seat, I'll bring some right over in a few minutes," Neelix told them.
Kay followed B'Elanna to a table in front of the windows, so that they faced the stars, which were streaking past them.
"So, Kay. Any questions about Voyager?" asked B'Elanna, unaware that Tom had asked the same question moments previously.
"How are we going to get the captain and the commander together?"
B'Elanna's eyes opened wide. "You know about that?"
"Yeah. Had to put up with them flirting every week, and they never actually did anything," Kay said. "So, what have you tried, and what are we going to do?"
"Well, we've never really tried anything much - they would get suspicious. Do you have anything in mind?" confessed Tom.
"We'll lock them in a turbolift together, and then turn up the heat. Literally," Kay told them.
"And how, may I ask, will we manage to do that?" asked Tom.
"Easy. We're going to need an ally in engineering, while B'Elanna's on maternity leave. We didn't really get to see any of the lower decks, so hopefully you'll know someone."
Tom and B'Elanna looked at each other, then simultaneously told Kay "Gill."
"Gill?" questioned Kay, looking at the two lieutenants.
"Lieutenant Gillian Taylor. She's assistant chief engineer after B'Elanna and temporary chief at the moment. I've known her since we were about seven, as her father's friends with mine," Tom explained. "She'll help, and so will Richard and Harry."
"Harry is Harry Kim, yeah? But, who's Richard?" asked Kay.
"Richard Allan is a xenobiologist, and Gill's partner," said B'Elanna.
"The captain said something about me staying with Lieutenant's Allan and Taylor. Would that have been them?"
"Yeah," Tom replied. "Anyway - back to your master plan."
"Well, Lieutenant Taylor is going to be helping me learn about the ship in engineering, and she tries to get me to do something, as the turbolifts have been acting erratically. Somehow, I manage to totally cock it up, and somehow lock you all out of the controls, purely by accident. Then, because I made such a mess of things, either B'Elanna or Lieutenant Taylor, somehow knock the environmental controls in the turbolifts, causing them to go haywire. And because it was all an accident, caused totally by the young lady who is still learning about all this technology, it won't look suspicious. Much," she added on as an afterthought.
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Tom. "But, what about the transporters?"
"I'll recommend to Gill that the targeting scanners could do with realigning," B'Elanna said, grinning. "So, when do we start this master plan?"
"As soon as possible," Kay told them. "Tom, you need to say to Chakotay that I seemed very interested in engineering, and ask him if it's possible for me to take lessons from the engineering crew. So, I'd guess, the day after tomorrow. I'll be an exceptional pupil!" Kay grinned, and sat back in her chair, feeling very pleased with herself.
"That's fine - Gill said something about dropping off some engineering reports later, so I'll talk to her then," B'Elanna said. Neelix came over to their table at that point, carrying three bowls of a green glop.
"Enjoy," he told them. Kay looked at the bowl in front of her.
"How many replicator rations do you get a week?" she asked.
* * *
When Kathryn Janeway returned to her quarters later that night, she found her young visitor curled up on her sofa, with a PADD.
"What you reading there?"
"A history of the Federation," Kay told her. "Which was my future, so it's all getting a bit complicated!"
"How about something to eat?" Kathryn asked, moving over to the replicator.
Kay wrinkled her nose. "I'm not hungry after my visit to the mess hall," she confessed. Kathryn laughed as she ordered a cup of coffee. "That's not surprising."
"Where am I sleeping?" Kay wanted to know. "This sofa is quite comfortable, but not for more than a week!"
"Kay! I'm not going to make you sleep on the sofa!" exclaimed Kathryn. "There should be an extra cot in my room, which we'll move in here for you tonight. Tomorrow, we'll see about building you a room for yourself."
"My own room makes it see all the more permanent," mused Kay. "Pity I don't have any of my things."
"That's not entirely true," Kathryn smiled secretively.
"What do you mean?" Kay demanded.
"There was another anomaly, of the same type that brought you here, and we found several boxes and a couple of suitcases in Cargo Bay 3, where we found you," Kathryn told her. "And the logical assumption is that they're yours."
"Where are they?" Kay wanted to know.
"Chakotay's got them next door. He's invited us both for dinner later, figuring you could pick them up when we went."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kay said, pulling her legs out from under her, and putting her shoes back on.
"1900 hours for a start!" Kathryn laughed at the girl's restlessness. "It's only 1810!"
Kay picked up the PADD again. "Wake me up when it's time to go," she told Kathryn, who just laughed as she went into her room to change. However, at 1850, she found that she would have to wake Kay, who, true to her word, had fallen asleep.
"Kay, wake up. It's time to go," she shook the girl's shoulder gently. Kay opened her eyes.
"Not asleep. Just resting my eyes," she declared.
"Come on Kay. Time to go and claim your things," the older woman said. Kay stood up, stretching.
"Chakotay is a better cook than Neelix, isn't he?" was the last thing she asked Kathryn, before they left the captain's quarters.
* * *
Kay was relieved to find all her belongings packed away in boxes and suitcases in the first officer's quarters. Chakotay had given the two women a hand in carrying it all back to Kathryn's quarters, and had also helped Kathryn set up Kay's cot, while that young lady was getting changed, and ready for bed in the bathroom. Once the cot was set up, after having moved the coffee table out of the way, Kathryn offered Chakotay a drink.
"I'd love to, but we can't really with Kay trying to get to sleep in here," Chakotay told her.
"That's okay, we can take it in my room, " Kathryn told him, trying not to think how flirtatious that sounded. Chakotay smiled at her.
"In that case, how can I refuse?" he replied. Kathryn felt her knees go weak. No, she had to keep her integrity as a captain; she couldn't afford to get involved with a member of her crew. She walked over to the replicator, and ordered two herbal teas for them.
"No coffee, Kathryn?" he teased her.
"Not at this time of night, unless I want to be up all night," she told him.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Chakotay was flirting with her - big time, and Kathryn briefly wondered if offering him a drink was a bad thing to do.
Kay chose that moment to reappear, and Kathryn was flooded with relief that the girl was here. Nothing could happen between her and Chakotay if Kay was in the next room. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight you two - don't stay up too late, and by the way, I'm a very deep sleeper!" Kay said, flashing a wide smile at them. Kathryn could feel her cheeks burning as she made her way into her bedroom, followed by Chakotay. What would Tom Paris make of this, she idly wondered? Still, he'd never find out about it. Kay didn't seem like one for frivolous gossip, and would never become good friends with Tom Paris.
As soon as the bedroom door closed behind the two adults, Kay reached for the PADD she had left on the sofa earlier. She quickly tapped a message in, telling what had just transpired in the captain's quarters, and sent it to Tom Paris' console. A minute later, she received a one word reply - What? Kay just chuckled, and turned over to go to sleep. She had told the captain the truth when she had said that she was a deep sleeper, and didn't hear Chakotay leave two hours later.
* * *
The next morning, Kathryn had invited Kay to have breakfast in the mess hall, with her and Chakotay. Kay had agreed, although she was not looking forward to sampling more of Neelix's food.
Tom and B'Elanna were already in the mess hall with Katie when Kay followed the captain into the mess hall. They were sitting with Harry Kim, and two others, whom Kay didn't recognise. One was a young woman with dark hair in a gold uniform, and the other was a dark haired young man in a blue uniform. Kay guessed them to be Lieutenants Taylor and Allan, and discreetly waved to Tom and B'Elanna when Kathryn wasn't looking. No use in letting the captain know how close the three had become after only an afternoon together. Chakotay arrived a few minutes later, and after grabbing his breakfast, to everyone's surprise, he left his plate on the same table as Kay and Kathryn, before walking over to where Tom and his friends were sitting. Kay strained her ears to hear the conversation, as Kathryn was concentrating on what was in front of her.
"Lieutenant Taylor, would you be willing to have a working pupil in engineering today?" Chakotay asked the dark haired woman. Kay's guess had been right - she was Gillian Taylor, and had most probably been brought into the scheme already. Taylor nodded. "Of course. I assume you mean Kathryn Young."
"Yes, but I suggest you call her Kay," Chakotay said. "Thanks Gill." He turned to leave, as Tom asked him "Did you sleep well last night, Commander?"
"Yes thank you," Chakotay replied, before heading back to the captain's table and sitting down opposite Kathryn. "Miss me?" he asked. Kathryn awoke from her daydream with a jolt. "Always," she replied. Kay rolled her eyes in disgust, and wished she was sitting with people who could at least admit their feelings for each other.
"Kay," Chakotay turned to her. "Tom mentioned to me yesterday that you seemed very interested in engineering. I've spoken to Lieutenant Taylor - she's the dark haired woman sitting with Tom, Harry and B'Elanna. She's filling in for B'Elanna while she's on maternity leave with Katie, and she says that you can spend the next few days in engineering, as a working pupil." Kay's face lit up. The first part of her plan was being set in motion. "Thank you Commander," she said.
"It's Chakotay when we're not on duty," he reminded her. "Although, I suppose you're Cadet Young now!"
"Yes, she is, isn't she?" replied Kathryn. "I never thought of that." She drained the last of her coffee, and stood up. "I'm off to the bridge now. Are you coming Chakotay?"
Chakotay swallowed his last bite. "Yes. I don't seem to have much of an appetite this morning." He followed Kathryn out of the mess hall, and as soon as the door closed behind them, Kay grabbed her plate and bolted to Tom's table.
"You escaped!" grinned B'Elanna. "Kay, these are Ensign Harry Kim, Lieutenant Gillian Taylor and Lieutenant Richard Allan." She indicated each person with her fork, having first eaten the food off it. "Everyone, this is Kay."
"Hi," said Kay. "I assume Tom's told you the master plan."
Harry smiled. "In great detail, I can assure you that."
"Cool. So we're all set then?"
Gillian nodded. "We'll get them tomorrow morning, after breakfast. The turbolifts are going to be acting erratically at about 0645 hours, and Harry is going to order me out of bed to sort them out. I'm going to be sadistic, and suggest that my working pupil may relish the chance to get some hands on experience. So, I'll call you, as you'll have a combadge by then, and order you to report to engineering. You'll apologise to the captain for having to miss breakfast, as she'll probably invite you to eat with her again. She'll come and have breakfast here with Chakotay, where Richard will be eating with Tom, as Harry has yet to come down from the bridge, and B'Elanna is late, for some reason. However, B'Elanna has just exited the turbolift as the captain and commander reach it. She's going to moan that it's erratic, and the captain's probably going to say something about the fact that I'm working on it with you. Then, about ten seconds after they've got in it, it's going to shudder, and jolt, and she's going to tap her combadge and ask 'Engineering, report." And that's when it all starts!" Gill told her. "And tonight, I'm going to have a couple of engineers take apart the transporters, for routine maintenance."
"And you need me because?" joked Kay.
"You're very important to this plan. I only hope it works," Tom told her.
"Well, if it doesn't, I'll find something else," Kay assured him. "Although if what happened last night happens again, we won't need to intervene!"
"Yes! What did happen last night?" Tom exclaimed. "I got a message saying that she'd offered him a drink, and because you were sleeping in the living area, they were taking them into her bedroom!"
"That's because it really did happen, and they were flirting like hell!" Kay replied. "He said that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing if she was awake all night!"
"Really?" exclaimed Harry. "What time did the commander leave?"
"I don't know - I'm a deep sleeper, as I pointed out to them," Kay replied. "I've slept through everything!"
Noticing the numbers of people leaving the mess hall, Tom checked the time, and realised that it was time for them to be getting to their various stations.
"Come on then Kay," Gill told the young girl. "Let's see how good a student you really are. I believe today we shall start with Voyager's basic systems, such as turbolifts, life support and atmospheric controls." Kay grinned as she followed the engineer out of the mess hall. This was going to be fun.
Kay returned to the captain's quarters just past 1600 hours, to find Kathryn already waiting for her. "Well, how was it?" she asked, as Kay entered.
"Great!" exclaimed Kay. "Lieutenant Taylor showed me about life support, atmospheric controls and turbolifts, and how to configure them, and she ran a simulation in the holodeck, and got me to diagnose and try to figure out what was wrong with them all. She said I was an exceptional student, and tomorrow, she's going to show me how to compensate, and re-route power from non-essential systems."
Kathryn laughed at Kay's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," she said. "Although I had hoped you would be more interested in medicine, so you could have trained with the Doctor as a nurse!"
Kay pulled a face. "Work with the Doctor? No, thanks - I'll leave that pleasure to T. Lieutenant Paris!"
Kathryn smiled. "Any plans for this afternoon?" she queried. "Chakotay and I are planning on going to the holodeck, so you're welcome to join us if you want."
"Maybe another time," Kay replied. "Lieutenant Taylor set me some reading to do for tomorrow, and then I'm going to see how far I can get round Voyager before becoming truly lost!"
"Okay then. I may be late back tonight, as Sam Wildman's asked me to baby- sit Naomi, so don't bother waiting for me to eat. You can either replicate something - we've assigned you some replicator rations, or I'm sure you can find something in the mess hall."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't be too late though," Kay teased. Kathryn laughed as she left the room.
"Oh, and Kay." She turned back to look at the girl. "Your new room's on the right." The door closed behind her, and Kay looked towards the door that hadn't been there when she had left that morning. "Great. Now I've got to arrange all my stuff," she moaned, not really in the mood to do so. Kicking off her shoes, and leaving them in the middle of the floor, she jumped on the sofa with her PADD, on which, Voyager's key systems were outlined. Kay studied the PADD carefully all afternoon, paying special attention to the atmospheric controls and turbolifts. She was a good student, although she had to contact both Taylor and Torres several times to explain parts.
"Are you sure you're alright now Kay?" B'Elanna asked the third time Kay contacted her.
"Yeah. In fact, I've finished all the reading Lieutenant Taylor set me. Now I'm off to see how lost I can get."
"Okay then. Have fun - Torres out."
Slipping her shoes back on, Kay made her way out into the corridor, and took the turbolift down to Deck 15. Two hours later, she found herself back at her quarters. Checking the time, she found that it was nearly 2000 hours, and she held a mini-debate with herself whether or not she should eat in the mess hall. However, she decided that she wasn't really that hungry and called up some toast and juice from the replicator instead. Once that had been eaten, she realised that she did have to start to organise her belongings in her new room.
Both the suitcases contained clothing, she found, and she quickly shoved that into the drawers. The first box she opened had all her books in, and realising that she had no bookshelves, she left the box packed by the side of her bed. In the second box she found stuffed animals, which were immediately placed on her bed, several ornaments and all her hair stuff, jewellery and the few bits of makeup she owned. The remaining two boxes contained her CD player, CDs, television, video player and videos and her art stuff and pictures which had been on her walls. "How's a girl meant to hang anything on the walls in here?" she asked herself when she found her pictures, which included her name in Chinese symbols and a print of Winnie the Pooh. Realising that she needed more surfaces and storage space than she had, she decided to leave the rest of her things in the boxes for the meantime, until such time as she could properly store or display them. She also reminded herself that it was to be an early start the next morning, and that tomorrow was to be a busy day, so she made bed her destination.
* * *
"Taylor to Young." Kay was awakened the next morning by her combadge chirping. Yawning, she tapped it. "Young here."
"Cadet Young, report to engineering. We've experiencing problems with the turbolifts, and I feel that this will be an important lesson for you on how Voyager works. I trust you've completed the reading I set you?" Gill Taylor's voice came over the com link, and Kay climbed out of bed.
"Of course, Lieutenant. I'll be there in a few minutes," replied Kay. "Young out."
Making her way to the bathroom, Kay stopped when Kathryn appeared at the door to her room. "Was that Lieutenant Taylor?" she asked
Kay nodded. "There's a problem with the turbolifts, and she wants me to get some hands on experience I think. Either that or she's being vindictive 'cause she has to get up early!" Kay grinned, and so did Kathryn. "Did it wake you?"
"Oh I was only half asleep," Kathryn replied. "Anyway, I won't detain you any longer." And with that, she disappeared back into her bedroom.
Five minutes later, Kay ran into engineering. "Sorry!" she gasped. "Turbolift stalled. Not my fault!"
Taylor, who was crouched down at a panel just inside the door, laughed, and beckoned Kay over. The panel covering had been removed, and inside, there was a hash of wires. "All set for the big failure," Taylor told her young student. "All you have to do is remove the brown one, and we're go."
"So now all we have to do is wait for B'Elanna's signal?" asked Kay.
"Yep. So, while we're waiting. what's that for."
* * *
Waiting in a turbolift with a week old baby was no fun whatsoever, B'Elanna Torres-Paris decided. If only Janeway and Chakotay would just hurry up.
"Captain Janeway has entered the designated section," the computer told her.
"Resume turbolift," B'Elanna replied. Now it was time to see how good an actress she really was. The doors slid open, and she walked out, an angry look on her face.
"The turbolifts are behaving really erratically," she told the two senior officers. Janeway nodded. "Yes, Kay's with Lieutenant Taylor at the moment, trying to sort that out. I'm sure they'll be fine soon."
"You're probably right, Captain," B'Elanna replied, watching them enter the lift together. The second the doors closed, she tapped her combadge. "Torres to Taylor. You're it!" 'You're it' had been the code which they had chosen to start off the operation once their two subjects had entered the lift. In engineering, Kay pulled the wire, and the turbolift stopped.
"Janeway to engineering. The turbolift has stopped. What's going on?"
"Taylor here. We've hit an unexpected error, courtesy of Kay. I had to leave her for a couple of minutes, and she's gone and. I don't know what she's done! It may take a while to sort it out - it's a pretty big mess down here, and on further inspection, it looks although she's crossed a few wires. I'll try and keep you updated Captain. Taylor out."
After the young lieutenant signed off, Kathryn turned to Chakotay. "It appears we may be stuck here for a while," he said.
"Do you think they did it on purpose?" she asked. He shook his head.
"It's Gill Taylor and Kay, not Tom Paris and B'Elanna. Even though she's friends with Tom, I don't think Gill's like that, and Kay's just a kid, who doesn't have a much knowledge of our systems, and no real friends with whom she could have consulted. Besides, she doesn't seem like that either!"
"Hmm," Kathryn wasn't convinced of Gill Taylor's innocence, as she had encountered a young Gill whilst babysitting, along with an almost as young Tom Paris. Kathryn knew that Gill's mischievous streak rivalled Tom's own, although the young engineer would never admit it.
"So, any idea what we can do to pass the time then, Commander?" she asked, using his rank on purpose.
"Paper, scissors stone?" he suggested.
Kathryn raised her eyebrows, and looked at him, puzzled. "And what, may I ask, is that?"
"It's an old twentieth century children's game which Tom taught me one day. You hold your hand behind your back, and after the count of three you reveal your hand either like this." Chakotay stuck two fingers out, to indicate scissors. "That's scissors. This." he kept his hand flat. "Is paper, while this is rock." He clenched his hand in a fist. "Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock."
"I think not somehow," Kathryn told Chakotay, arching her eyebrow.
Silence fell upon them, as they both sat on the floor, facing each other. As they sat there, Kathryn was acutely aware of the temperature rising.
"Janeway to Taylor. Gill, is there a reason for the temperature rising in the turbolift?"
"Captain - there's been no temperature increase from this end," Gill replied, sounding puzzled, for they had not yet turned up the heat. "Do you want us to alert sickbay for when we can get you out? If you're running a temperature."
"No thank you, Lieutenant. I'm fine," Kathryn told her, blushing as Chakotay scrutinised her carefully. "Janeway out."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kathryn. It's not hot at all in here," Chakotay said, smiling. "In fact, it's getting colder."
Kathryn noticed this, and briefly contemplated calling engineering again. But, she figured that they'd probably be rescued sooner if they didn't contact them every time the temperature dropped a point.
Kathryn started to shiver about five minutes later, and pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.
"Come here Kathryn," Chakotay told her after a while, and held out his hand. Too cold to argue, Kathryn crawled over to him, and he put his arms around her, and held her close. She rested her head on his shoulder, and they sat there together.
"This is nice," she said presently. Chakotay's only response was to drop a kiss on the top of her auburn head. Again they sat in silence, Kathryn still shivering.
"Chakotay," she began. "There's something I need to tell you, but I don't know how to say it."
"Just tell me," he replied. "That's normally the best way."
"Says Mr 'Ancient Legend' himself," Kathryn replied, arching her eyebrows, as she turned her head to look up into his chocolate brown eyes.
"How would you have preferred me to tell it?" Chakotay asked. "Like this?" His head came down and he pulled her head up to greet it. Their lips met, and they kissed: at first softly, but then with increasing passion and urgency. When they broke apart for air, he kept his hand on her head, stroking the hair framing her face. "Yes," she told him. "Then maybe we wouldn't have wasted so long."
"Kathryn, does this mean what I think it means?" Chakotay asked, slightly stunned.
"Yes. I love you, Chakotay, and I want to be with you. Starfleet rules and regulations can go to hell as far as I'm concerned, as can what anyone else thinks," Kathryn told him, pulling his head down for another kiss.
This time they were separated when, with a jolt, the turbolift restarted, and began climbing up towards the bridge. Kathryn tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Taylor. Well done Lieutenant."
"Thank you, Captain. I believe that's also cleared up the other glitches in the system," Gill replied. "I'm sorry if it caused you any inconvenience."
"Not at all, Gill. In fact, it gave the commander and I a chance to talk some things over. Janeway out."
In engineering, Gill turned to Kay. "We did it," the temporary chief grinned.
"We most certainly did," agreed Kay, closing up the tricorder, on which they had the whole of the interaction in the turbolift recorded, thanks to the bugs that they had installed there earlier.
Gill tapped her combadge. "Taylor to Lieutenant's Paris, Torres and Allan and Ensign Kim. Fancy some lunch later?"
'Fancy some lunch later' had been the code to declare their mission a success, while 'On for dinner' had been for 'No luck - require plan two.'
Several responses came back immediately, all enthusiastically agreeing. All were glad that it had been successful, for they wanted their commanding officers to be happy. Tom was also happy for a different reason - his betting pool. But of course, that was another story.