Written for quantumsilver for the 2015 VAMB Secret Summer Exchange. Her request was: Drinking among friends goes decidedly, dangerously awry. No fluff or babies that live.

This is my attempt to fulfill her request. Thanks to QS for the inspiration and to Mizvoy for the beta.

LIQUID COURAGE

By KJaneway115

"And then Admiral Russert said, 'But what has that got to do with the power couplings in engineering!'" B'Elanna delivered the punch line of her story and the four friends burst out laughing.

"Pass me the wine, Tom," Kathryn said, still chuckling at B'Elanna's story.

"I'll pour, Kathryn," Paris offered as he picked up the bottle and reached across the table to refill her glass. "Chakotay?"

"No, thanks. I think I've had enough."

"Ha!" Tom exclaimed. "That's when you know you're getting old, when you won't take a refill because you've had enough."

"Tom Paris, if you think you're going to pressure me into another drink…"

"It always worked on Voyager."

"That was almost twenty years ago," Janeway pointed out, sipping her wine.

"I guess Chakotay had a greater need to get drunk in those days," Tom retorted.

"Right," B'Elanna added, teasing. "Back then he had to make up for the lack of certain other aspects of his life." She gave Janeway a long glance.

"Oh come on, B'Elanna," Tom joked, "you're not going to bring that up again, are you? We wouldn't want to make the admiral feel guilty, would we? They might not want to come over for dinner any more if we did that."

The sore spots of their life on Voyager had become frequent fodder for teasing among the ground in the years since Voyager's return to Earth. Janeway's long denial of her feelings for Chakotay, Chakotay's relationship with Seven, Tom's penchant for chasing women in the early days, B'Elanna's legendary temper, all their foibles were fair game for the endless teasing that ensued whenever the four friends got together. They all knew that despite the ribbing, they were fast friends and always would be.

"Guilt?" Chakotay took up the banter now. "Kathryn feel guilty? You couldn't be talking about my wife, now, could you? I mean, I've never known her to feel guilt about anything."

She reached over and playfully jabbed him in the ribs. Before she could manage a witty response to his sarcasm, her comm badge beeped. "Doctor to Janeway."

The EMH's grave tone sobered Kathryn immediately. "Janeway here."

"I need you and Chakotay to come down to Starfleet Medical right away. There's been an accident."

...

TWO HOURS EARLIER

"Come on, Eddie, just try it!" Miral held out the bottle of Klingon blood wine across the dock to where her friend was standing. Only the lamp at the end of the dock lit their faces, and she had to squint to see his eyes in the darkness.

"I told you, I'm not supposed to drink." Edward put his hands on his hips in a gesture reminiscent of his mother.

"Supposed to?" Miral scoffed, placing the bottle down on the dock. "Are you always going to do things just because that's what you're supposed to do?"

Eddie's face reddened. "No."

"Then why are you letting that determine your answer now?"

"Yeah, Eddie," chimed in Miral's little brother Hal. "Don't be a wuss."

"I'm not a wuss, Hal. I'm not going to let you trick me into this."

"Fine," Miral replied, giving Eddie a seductive look that she knew his sixteen year old mind would be unable to resist. "Hal and I will drink the bottle without you."

Edward sighed. "Sure. Whatever." He meandered to the edge of the dock and sat down, trying to hide from his friends the tears that were stinging his eyes. He dangled his legs over the edge of the dock, listening to Miral and Hal open the bottle of blood wine and each take a long drink, saying something to each other in Klingon that he didn't understand. Sometimes, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the Klingon heritage that Hal and Miral shared with their mother. They had so many traditions and holidays, and whenever he joined their family to celebrate, it seemed like so much fun. It was nothing like being the son of a Starfleet admiral who always expected him to behave perfectly.

What if I'm tired of being perfect? he thought. What if I just want to have a little fun for once? What if, this time, I could fit in? He didn't admit to himself that impressing Miral Paris was also high on his list of priorities. She was eighteen, two years older than he, and would be starting at the Academy in the fall. She had already been through a pre-Academy training program and was well on her way to being at the top of the freshman class before school had even started.

Edward admired the ease with which she seemed to do everything. While he worked his butt off to get good grades in school, Miral seemed to accomplish everything she set out to effortlessly. On top of that, she was popular and beautiful. Edward feared that once she went off to the Academy the following month, she would forget about him. He was sure that she only hung out with him now because of their parents' longstanding friendship. He desperately wanted to impress her, so that she wouldn't forget about him come the end of August. Furtively, he glanced back, where Miral and Hal were sharing the blood wine and laughing about some Klingon joke. What the hell? he thought. One drink isn't going to kill me.

He stood up and marched back to where Miral and Hal were sitting in beach chairs. "Give me that," he said, grabbing the bottle from Hal's hand.

Miral watched as Eddie took a long swig from the bottle. He had never had blood wine before, and most humans didn't like it the first time. She hid a smile as he covered his dislike, looked at the bottle, and took another long drink. "So, you decided to join us after all," she said, giving him one of her best smiles.

He grinned back. "I decided a little blood wine isn't going to kill me."

"I'm glad, EK. It's good to loosen up once in a while."

Only Miral called him by his initials, EK. He plopped down next to her chair and offered her the bottle. "Do you really think I'm too uptight, Mira?" Mira was his special nickname for her; no one else was allowed to use it, but he had been calling her that since they were little, like she called him EK.

"Sometimes."

"I don't think so, Eddie," Hal chimed in. Hal was almost fifteen, and he looked up to Edward. "I think you're very... organized and disciplined."

Edward blew out a long breath through his lips. He wasn't sure that organized and disciplined was how he wanted Miral to see him. He'd rather be daring and dashing, a daredevil like her father had been in his youth.

"There's nothing wrong with being organized and disciplined," she said. "Those are essential qualities of any good Starfleet officer." She paused and looked down at Edward. "But so is being adventurous."

"I'm adventurous," he countered. She gave him a doubtful look and he reached for the blood wine again, taking another long draw off the bottle. "I'll prove it to you."

"How?"

Edward looked around. It was late, probably after ten at night, and Lake George was black. The stars, the moon, and a few dock lights were the only visible illumination. How could he prove his adventurous spirit to Miral? His eyes came to rest on the standup paddle board near the dock. "The paddle board!" he exclaimed. "I'll take it out, all the way down to the point."

"Now?" Hal asked, incredulous.

"There's no time like the present," Eddie replied, winking at Miral. To his delight, she winked back. "Let me have another drink of that blood wine."

Miral handed him the bottle just as Hal said, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No risk, no reward," Edward replied, and was rewarded with another wink from Miral. Stumbling a little, he grabbed the paddle board and dragged it out to the edge of the water.

"He's drunk," Hal whispered to his sister. "This isn't safe. We're going to get in trouble."

"Eddie's paddle boarded down to the point hundreds of times," she replied. "He'll be fine, and we won't get in trouble because no one is going to know about this, unless you tell them."

"But, Miral…"

"If you can't handle it, Hal, go inside and leave us alone."

Before Hal could say another word, Edward was standing on the paddle board, heading out towards the center of the lake. He seemed to be wobbling more than usual, but Hal knew that Miral and Eddie were determined to go through with their foolhardy plan.

"Look, Mira!" Eddie shouted. They could barely see him in the darkness.

She was laughing. "I see you, EK. I see you." They could just barely make out his shadow in the moonlight as he turned the paddle board towards the point. "See, Hal? I told you he'd be..."

She cut off abruptly as they heard a loud splash.

"Eddie?" Miral called into the darkness. "Eddie!" There was no response, and Miral felt a sudden panic rise in her gut. "Eddie!" Then, she was running off the dock, diving into the cold water. She knew approximately where he had been when he fell, and she swam quickly in that direction.

"Eddie!" Hal screamed, standing frozen to the dock as he watched his sister swim out into the lake.

Miral felt the alcohol induced haze of the blood wine disappear as fear coursed through her veins. "Eddie!" she cried, looking around for any sign of him. She saw the paddle board and dove under the water, feeling around for him in the murky darkness until she had to come up for air. She dove under a second time, and this time, she felt a flailing hand reaching up from the bottom. She grabbed it and pulled as hard as she could. The dead weight was harder to lift in the water than she had expected, and it took all her strength to bring Edward's head above water and swim with him to shore. She dragged him up on the sandy beach. "Edward!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she looked at his bluish face in the moonlight.

"Hal, go in the house and call Starfleet Medical. Tell them we need an emergency beam out." She looked up at her brother who stood frozen like a statue. "Hal, now!" The command tone she had learned from her Aunt Kathryn had the desired effect on her brother, and he snapped out of his shock and ran towards the house.

She turned her attention back to Edward, leaning down to listen for breath. She heard none. "Come on, Eddie," she said, as she prepared to perform CPR the way she had been taught in her Academy training course. "Come on. Don't be stupid. You've got a lot left to do. Come on."

"Prepare for beam out!" Hal shouted from the deck of the house. "Medical is on their way."

Miral was already pressing her mouth to Edward's, trying to breathe life into his body, when the blue shimmer of light appeared on the lawn.

...

The first sensation that entered Edward's awareness was the pounding in his head. It was throbbing as if he'd been hit by a two ton targ. Then he became aware of the quiet, concerned voices around him and realized that they belonged to his mother and father. He took a deep breath. The room smelled of antiseptic and medicine. He opened his eyes and realized that he was lying in a hospital bed at Starfleet Medical. His parents were hovering over him, worried expressions on their faces. His mother looked as though she'd been crying. Edward had never seen his mother cry before, and it scared him. His dad held her, one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. "Mom? Dad?"

"Edward. Thank the spirits you're okay."

He had never heard his mother invoke the spirits before; it was a phrase only his father used and even then only in the most dire circumstances. "Mom, what happened?"

His father stepped in then, as if to shield his mother from something, and said, "What's the last thing you remember, Edward?"

He closed his eyes, trying to think. His pounding head made it difficult, but his father's stern tone told him that he better come up with an answer fast. "Um, you went to dinner at Uncle Tom and Aunt B'Elanna's. I stayed at the lake with Mira and Hal."

"And then?"

His father loomed over him, a stern and disappointed expression on his face. Slowly, recollection began to glimmer. "Um, I don't remember, Dad."

"I think you do," his father said. Edward did his best impression of a blank stare and saw his father's eyes darken. "Edward Kolopak Janeway, do you have any idea what you've put your mother and me through in the last ten hours? I'm not interested in one more word of lies. Tell the truth. Now."

He saw his mother's hand come to rest on his father's arm. He had never seen his father so angry. "Chakotay," she said quietly, as if only he could hear her.

It was the hurt expression on her face that changed Edward's mind. "We were drinking blood wine," he said hoarsely.

"Klingon blood wine?" his mother asked.

"Yes, Mom."

"Then what?" asked his father.

"Then I... Well, I decided to take the paddle board out. I was going to paddle down to the point."

"In the dark?" his mother said. "After drinking blood wine?"

Edward couldn't bring his voice to respond. He just nodded.

"What on earth possessed you to do that?"

"I just... I…" He found himself unable to continue and turned his head away from his parents.

"We'd just like to know the truth," his father said in that soft, gentle tone he used, and Edward didn't know if it was worse when his father was angry or sad.

Eddie turned back to look at his parents and saw his father's dark eyes filled with sadness and disappointment, his mother's blue ones still tinged with fear. He took a deep breath, and then the words came tumbling out. "Miral and Hal were having so much fun drinking. Just once, I wanted to be part of it, too. I'm tired of being a stick in the mud."

"So you started drinking with them," observed his mother. "And then?"

"Then Miral said I was boring. Well, she didn't use those words exactly, but she said I needed to have a sense of adventure if I was going to be a good Starfleet officer, like her."

"So you decided to take the paddle board out in the middle of the night."

"I just wanted Miral to notice me, Mom. I wanted her to know that I'm more than just a dependable, boring guy."

"She noticed you, all right," his mother said, raising her voice for the first time in the conversation. "She noticed you drowning in Lake George. She noticed that you couldn't breathe. She noticed that…"

Edward noticed that his mother's eyes were filling with tears, and he felt even more scared. He watched as his father took her face between his hands and made her look at him. He watched his father wipe away her tears and say, "He's okay, Kathryn." He watched his mother nod and his father kiss her cheeks where the tears had made salty tracks. Then his mother turned back to him.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out.

"You almost died, Edward." His mother had recovered her emotions and was now speaking in a steely tone that his father called her captain's voice. "I don't even know what to say to you. You made a stupid mistake and you almost died. You almost died! Miral could have died too, trying to rescue you."

He bolted upright in bed. "Is Miral okay?"

His father placed a hand on his shoulder, the first physical contact they'd had since he'd awoken. "She's fine. A mild case of hypothermia is all. But you nearly drowned. The Doctor almost lost you several times. And when you were brought here, you had a blood alcohol level of .18 percent. Do you know how high that is?"

Numbly, Edward shook his head.

"Blood wine is made for Klingons," his father continued. "Miral and Hal may be only half Klingon, but they can drink a lot more of that stuff than you can before it starts affecting them. Your judgment, your motor skills, and your vision were all impaired. And as best we can figure, you passed out on the paddle board and fell into the water, unconscious."

His mother jumped in, her voice hard. "We're all very lucky that Miral is such a strong swimmer and that she had enough of her wits about her to know what to do."

Edward gulped. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm really sorry. I'll never do it again."

"I certainly hope not. Your father and I haven't discussed an appropriate consequence for your actions yet, but, rest assured, there will be one. We aren't going to be able to keep you under our supervision for much longer, Edward. In a couple years, you're going to be out on your own. You need to show us that you can make good choices, not for us, but for yourself, especially if you still think you want a career in Starfleet."

The words stung, and Edward felt his own eyes well up with tears. "Yes, Mom." He paused. "I really am sorry."

"We know you are, son," his dad replied. "And we want you to know that even though we're disappointed and upset by the choices you made, what matters the most to us is that you're okay." He clasped his son's shoulder. "Do you understand that that's the real reason we're so upset?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Okay, good. We love you, Edward."

"I love you too, Dad, Mom."

His father glanced at the doorway and then back at him. "Now, I think there's someone else who wants to say hello to you. You have five minutes, and then the Doctor wants you to rest."

"Okay." Edward watched as his father wrapped a protective arm around his mother, securing her against his body as they walked out of the hospital room. He watched his mother's small body shaking, and he knew she was crying again. He watched his father whisper comforting words in her ear, and, when they had exited the room, he watched through the hospital window as his father pulled his mother into a tight embrace. He was so distracted by them that he didn't notice another person come into his room.

"Hey, EK."

"Miral!" He tried to sit up straighter in his hospital bed, and Miral sat down in the chair next to him.

"Hi," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Hey. I, um, I hear I owe you some thanks... for saving my life."

"What?" she asked, looking up at him. "Oh, that. No. Um…" She paused and looked around the room uncomfortably. "You don't owe me any thanks, Eddie."

"What do you mean? My parents say you saved me from drowning."

"Well, I guess so, but the truth is, if it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been out on that paddle board in the first place. If I hadn't pushed you, you wouldn't have even been drinking with us. It was really stupid of me."

"I make my own decisions, Mira. You didn't force me."

She shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, no, but I did push pretty hard. I said some not very nice things about you because I knew how you would take them. I knew it would push you to join us. It was 'foolhardy, impulsive and dangerous,' as my father said. I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize to me. I can't take any more apologies. I just spent the last ten minutes apologizing to my parents, and I think I'm going to spend the rest of my life apologizing to them for this."

"Yeah." She paused, glancing towards the hallway where Janeway and Chakotay had been standing. "They were pretty upset, huh?"

"My mom was crying. I've never seen her cry. Not even when my grandma died. Spirits, I feel terrible." He paused and looked at her. "They said you had hypothermia from rescuing me?"

"I'm fine. The Doc cured it with a hypospray. My parents threatened not to let him cure me, actually, they were so mad."

"Oh no."

"Yeah," Miral said, chuckling, "I got called by all three of my names and so did my brother. I can't remember the last time Dad called him Harold."

Despite the dire situation, Edward couldn't help but laugh, too. They both knew how much Hal hated to be called Harold. "Thanks for the laugh," he said. "I needed that."

"Yeah, me, too."

Edward yawned and tried to hide it, not wanting Miral to know how exhausted he felt. "I guess the Doc wants me to rest," he said. "Thanks for coming to visit me. And thanks for saving my life. Really."

Miral stood and took one step towards the door, then stopped. She stepped back to his bedside and impulsively reached down and took his hand. Edward felt his whole body tingle at the sensation. "Eddie, I'm really glad you're okay," she said. "And I just want you to know, I don't think you're boring. I think that being organized and disciplined are very admirable qualities. And you do have a sense of adventure; I've always known that. You don't have to prove it to me." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then left the room, leaving a stunned Edward Janeway behind her.

Edward lay there a long time looking at the ceiling, waiting for his headache to disappear. He kept thinking about the conversation he'd had with his parents and the conversation he'd had with Miral. His thoughts and emotions were jumbled, difficult to sort through. He felt confused and guilty, and grateful that he'd gotten out of this scrape alive. He was equally determined to learn from his mistakes, as he had promised his parents he would. And maybe the first lesson had already been given to him by his friend Miral. If he didn't have to prove himself to her, he didn't have to prove himself to anybody. Maybe just being organized, dependable Edward Kolopak Janeway was enough after all.