Story #2 - I'm going to try the whole "chapter" idea. Let me know what you think!
She was promoted to admiral before Voyager had even docked.
She, of course, had no idea, but it could not have been further from her mind. She had done it – to hell with the Temporal Prime Directive - she had gotten them home.
It had all happened so fast, so unexpectedly, that much of the crew's family hadn't had time to get to the ceremony. Nonetheless, San Francisco Bay was alive with hundreds of thousands of people, and the evening sky was filled with fireworks.
Chakotay took her by the hand as she rose from her chair, following the rush of people as they exited the bridge. He linked his arm through hers, walking towards the door, before she hesitated.
"Take Seven with you, I need to get reports out of my ready room."
He doubted her momentarily, turning toward her as she dropped his arm, but his desire to go to Seven was overwhelming.
"Take your time, Kathryn. We'll be here when you are done." He didn't look back as he walked through the double doors.
Janeway immediately retreated into her ready room, almost running to the chair behind her desk. She hadn't expected the return to Earth to be so sudden; she was expecting to have time to prepare herself before it all happened.
She immediately lost control, as her eyes were flooded with tears, threatening to break. Her emotions were overwhelming – she had succeeded in so many ways, but she couldn't help feeling like she was leaving her home and family behind. She had come to rely on Tuvok, Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry so much, that she couldn't help but feel like they were being torn away from her. And Seven - she had all but raised her. She had helped her find her collective on Voyager.
Then there was Chakotay. When she imagined their return to Earth, she hadn't expected he would be leaving her behind in the arms of another woman. Certainly not those of Seven of Nine. She hadn't allowed the insinuations of a budding relationship between her first officer and the resident Borg to bother her - she had all but assumed it was another one of Tom Paris' jokes.
But as they exited the bridge together, only moments before, Chakotay had looked at Seven of Nine in a way that Janeway was very familiar with. It had been the same way he had looked at her for the past seven years.
After they had returned from New Earth, she had set strict parameters for their relationship. They could be friends, even close friends, but nothing about that could change. At least not until they got home.
But home was a rather relative thing to Janeway now. She was at home in her ready room, or on the bridge, avoiding the Borg or the occasional Hirogen. Home was not press conferences and photo ops.
As if to accent that thought, her computer chirped, and Admiral Paris' face appeared on the screen.
"Katie Janeway, there are literally thousands of people waiting outside for you. We can take care of logistics later. Please come on out. Plus, you need to meet my granddaughter. And your godchild," Paris said.
"Yes, sir," Janeway replied. "Just let me finish up some quick reports and…"
"Captain, until anything is made official, I still out rank you. Don't make me order you to leave your ready room," the Admiral threatened.
"Made official?" She asked.
"We'll talk about it during the debriefings. You didn't expect we would just give you a pat on the pack for manhandling the Borg, did you?" Paris said, smiling. "I'm glad you're home, Captain. Paris out."
The screen went blank, and Janeway walked out of her ready room for possibly the last time.
- - -
She stood in the doorway, momentarily pausing to take it all in. There were people literally as far as she could see in every direction. The security teams had cleared a path for her, but the moment she was spotted, the paths dissolved as everyone pushed inward for a look at the infamous captain.
In the back of her mind, the crowd erupted into cheers, but it was all hazy and muted, as if she were under water. She looked for him, or a sign of Seven, but instead her gaze landed on B'Elanna and the newborn. She waved to the crowd, before a-lining it to the Paris'.
"Not big on crowds, huh Captain?" Tom joked, aware of Janeway's aloofness.
"I'm just glad to be home, that's all," she said distractedly, still scanning for Chakotay.
"This is all a little strange," B'Elanna said, "it doesn't really feel like we're home yet. I had prepared myself to raise Miral in space." She was equally aloof as she adjusted the baby hooked in her arm. She was fair skinned, like Tom, but had dark hair and slight forehead ridges like her mother. She was exotically beautiful.
"She's beautiful," Janeway said, echoing her thoughts, as she stood on her toes to see over the crowd.
"Looking for someone?" Paris asked.
"Well actually I was looking for…"
"Kathryn Janeway! I thought I would never…" Admiral Paris burst through the crowd, hesitating when he saw his son. "Tom, I…"
The two men stared at each other, as if they were strangers.
"Welcome home, son," the Admiral finally said, pulling Tom to him in an awkward, yet emotional, embrace.
Janeway used the family reunion as a chance to escape to finish her search. Maroon uniforms were everywhere, and it did not help that she was constantly interrupted by hounding reporters and adoring fans.
She had just spotted Seven, surrounded by a group of frightened, yet fascinated journalists, when Admiral Paris returned.
"Captain, why don't we get out of here? I'm taking Tom, B'Elanna, and my grandchild back to my house for dinner. I would be honored if you would join us."
Never from her rise from a cadet to a captain had Janeway seen the Admiral so ecstatic. Something in him truly and honestly responded to the word "grandchild."
Unable to refuse, Janeway followed the Paris' to the transporter, hoping to find Chakotay later.
- - -
"I'll have to send a message to my mother as soon as I get the chance. How is she, Admiral? I'm surprised she's not here," Janeway said, somewhat distracted by the Paris' beautiful home. She had not been inside it for almost 20 years.
"Tom, B'Elanna, why don't you go introduce Miral to her grandmother, I need to speak with the Captain for a moment," Admiral Paris said, without the cheer that had been president in his voice all evening. He placed his hand over her shoulders, steering her away from the rest of his family. "Kathryn, I'm not quite sure how to tell you this, but your mother… Well… your mother passed on almost three months ago."
"She what?" She paused, trying to read the Admiral's face. "Why wasn't I notified? Why wasn't I…" Her voice, rising steadily, eventually cracked, as she choked back the tears threatening for the second time that evening. "Admiral, I was receiving letters from her! She seemed happy and healthy! She never mentioned…"
"Katie, I'm so sorry. It was all very sudden. She was dead a month after she was diagnosed. Phoebe had to sell the house to pay for the medical bills after it was all over. It has been a rough couple of months. I've been doing everything I can…" He paused. "But you once again have defied the impossible and returned home. Let's celebrate, we can mourn later."
Janeway nodded slightly, but the slight movement forced the tears in her eyes to fall.
"I don't want to ruin Tom and B'Elanna's homecoming." She asked to excuse herself and headed to the bathroom in order to clean up.
The second the door was shut, she hit her combadge, silently rejoicing in the familiar "chirp."
"Janeway to Chakotay."
When he responded, he sounded relieved. "Captain, where did you head off to? I was hoping we could all spend the night together before we transported off across the world. But I guess you beat me to it."
"Chakotay…" she sighed, her voice heavy with emotion.
"What is it, Kathryn? Is everything alright? Are you ok?" he said, his voice thick with concern.
"Oh, Chakotay. My mother is dead"
"What? How? Where are you? I'm coming…" he stammered.
"Admiral Paris invited Tom, B'Elanna, and myself to dinner. I'm not sure I can stand it." She made no effort to hide her feelings. It was no use anyway – Chakotay could read her like a book.
"Well Seven's aunt has invited us to stay with her. Would you like to join us? It would certainly be a distraction," he said.
Janeway hesitated, fighting back the instinctual "yes" to join him. But the constant reminder of the loss of the man she loved, on top of the loss of her mother, would certainly send her over the edge.
"No, Chakotay. I promised the Admiral. I should not just run off when he's been so kind. Can I see you tomorrow?" she asked.
"It's a date," he said, happily.
Janeway cringed. "Thank you, Chakotay. That means a lot."
"Don't forget I'm always here if you need me. I'm only a combadge away. Chakotay out."
The transmission ended as she heard a soft tapping on the door.
"Captain? Dinner is ready when you are." It was Tom.
She opened the door, starring at her young pilot, who was painfully uncomfortable with the whole idea.
"It never gets any easier," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. He smiled momentarily before saying, "You won't believe what my father has cooked for us. I forgot what real food smelled like. One too many helpings of Neelix's leola root stew."
She chuckled softly to herself, patting Tom's hand, still on her shoulder.
"Let's eat."
- - -
The Admiral had insisted Janeway stay in their guest room until she could get her own living arrangements figured out.
As typical, the Captain was plagued by insomnia, a fact not helped by the newborn that had just fallen asleep after screaming for two hours. Less than a day old, it was obvious that she would have her mother's temper.
Janeway sat on the couch in the living room, drinking coffee and weeping softly to herself. For the first time that day, she was given a moment to properly mourn.
Unaware of how much time had passed, she was awoken from her revelry by the squeaking of Tom's bedroom door.
"I had a feeling I'd find you here," Tom said, his voice soft with sleep.
"Once an insomniac, always an insomniac," she said, smiling up to him as he hovered over the couch. She quickly turned away, to wipe her eyes before patting the cushion next to her, indicating he should join her.
"So what keeps you up this late?" she asked, sipping from her coffee.
"Just thinking a little too much. I'm worried about the baby. About B'Elanna. It's all just a little stressful," he said. "You?"
"It's too still around here. And now that she's asleep, it's too quiet. I can't remember life without a warp core." She said, staring into her cup.
"You know," Tom said, "I wanted to raise my daughter on Voyager. I'm not prepared for all of this, to be honest. And B'Elanna doesn't want to be here. I forgot our mutual hatred for Starfleet protocol is what brought us together." He paused, quickly adding, "No offense, Captain."
She smiled, without turning to face him. "I'm ready for it to stop hurting, Tom. I have this terrible, irrational feeling that being here, away from Voyager, without my mother, that I just lost my family. I should be feeling completely and utterly rejoiced right now. But I had nothing to come home to, after all."
"I'm sorry about your mother. She was a wonderful woman." He turned to face her, leaning his back against the arm of the couch, and folding his legs under him. "Have you made arrangements yet? I'd love to help. It's the least I could do after all of this." He placed his hand on her arm, watching as tears once again threatened in her eyes. He rubbed her arm in soft circles with his thumb. "I know we've never been close, Captain – well at least not like you and the Commander – but I'm here right now."
He seemed unsure of himself. Tom never dealt well with emotion. And it certainly threw him off to see the strongest person he knew breaking down.
"That means a lot, Tom. I never thought when I dragged you out of jail seven years ago, that I would come to rely on you so much," she said, chuckling softly.
He smiled. "Way to ruin a moment, Captain. Here I am trying to be a good guy, and you have to bring that up." He patted her shoulder to show that he meant no hard feelings.
And she hugged him.
- - -
Sometime, in the middle of the night, they both had drifted off. Janeway awoke to the sounds of a man coughing.
"Good morning, Katie, Tom. I hope you slept well," Admiral Paris said, as she regained her senses. She read it on the Admiral's face before she was fully aware. Tom's arm lay across her shoulder, and her back was flesh against his stomach. She had fallen asleep spooning with Tom Paris.
"Oh dammit," she swore, under her breath. There was nothing more embarrassing than the Admiral thinking she was some sort of an adulteress, especially when there was nothing further from the truth.
"Before you start to think otherwise, it is not what you are thinking," she quickly said, blushing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "We both couldn't sleep, and I came out here and Tom…"
Admiral Paris laughed heartily, interrupting her hurried speech.
"I've all but raised you, Captain. I assure you, I know you to be a deeply loyal and trusting person. I know you merely fell asleep." He laughed, enjoying the awkward moment. "However, if you would like to continue explaining why I caught you in the arms of my married son, please do so. It was rather entertaining"
She swore again, unaccustomed to this side of Admiral Paris.
Adding insult to injury, B'Elanna entered into the kitchen as the Admiral spoke, noticeably confused.
"I certainly hope I walked in on the wrong part of that conversation," B'Elanna said, eyeing the Captain wearily. After spending seven years with this woman, she was aware when the Captain was feeling guilty.
"Speaking of my husband," she said, "Where has he gone? It's about time he starts being a father to our child," she said, overly harshly.
As B'Elanna left to wake Tom from the couch, Admiral Paris turned to tease Janeway.
"Apparently Klingons are not morning people," he said, raising his eyebrows in jest.
"Especially not when the think I'm sleeping with their husband," she quickly said, sarcastically and under her breath.
"Katie, if I never get the chance to say it, I've really missed you."
- - -
