Follow up from An Unusual Confidant - best if you read that first.
I don't own ST: V, never have, never will!
Little girl blue
Aysha Blue Cotay sat by the river. Her mind was everywhere and nowhere. Alone with her thoughts she could dwell on a past she never had. Claim a father she long ago lost. Alone in her head it was all so different. She could make believe that her dad was not gone. She could create a life she would have had with him. Unfortunately she was too sensible a child to believe in her own creation. She knew it was only a fantasy. The life she did lead though was not so bad. The village she lived in was small and friendly. The people who raised her, although not her true family they did their best for her. At least she was out of harm's way, far away from the grip of both the Cardassions and the Federation. How she hated them, not that her father, may he rest in peace, would approve of such negative emotions. She didn't remember him well, but what she could recall she held onto dearly. Her attention was pulled by rustling in the trees behind her. She didn't turn; she knew who it would be.
"So this is where you're hiding Blue!" A male voice came from behind her.
Blue, she was always now called Blue. Not that Aysha was a bad name and she was most honoured to be named after her mother (At least that's what Alex told her). But she wanted to have a name that was just hers and her middle name suited well enough.
"Not hiding Alex, just sitting, thinking. I'm allowed to do that am I not?" Her voice was gentle and quiet.
Blue turned to look at Alex. He was tall and sturdy. His skin darkened by the hours he spends working in the fields. His age was no more than forty but his scared face told of a life where losses were common place. At least they use to be, before they came here, before he took it upon himself to raise his closest friend's child. To raise her in his memory, that was his job now. A job he did well.
He sat beside her, comfortable with her silence. Blue was a quiet child, she didn't seem to talk unless she had something to say. The girl, hardly a girl now at fourteen she was nearing womanhood, was happy though, always smiling, though she never laughed. She gave that up when her father died. Alex had nothing to say so they sat together in happy silence.
!!
Chakotay couldn't believe it. They were home. They had been working for so hard for this day for seven long years. He didn't know how to feel. Everyone around him was shouting and yelling for joy. He needed some quiet, and he knew just where to go for that. Almost on auto pilot he found himself outside Deltas nursery. The little borg baby had not been adopted by anyone in particular, the whole crew helped with her. But Chakotay couldn't help but feel protective towards her. Now they were back earth he knew he wanted a family. No one could take Aysha's place, but more children would be good. This child would be happy with him; he would make sure of it. Be the kind of father that Delta deserved. Seven might not like it, but he was going to raise this little girl, and he was going to be great at it. He could see himself becoming emotional again, this wasn't a bad thing but in the circumstances it was not the best time.
He wandered into deltas nursery and picked up the little child who was completely oblivious to the joy around her. The biggest worry of this 18-month-old was who was going to feed her next, not the being fed with every problem to this chubby little thing. Chakotay picked up the bouncy toddler and held there in his strong arms, rocking her. He knew he could never let go of her, she deserved a family and deep down he thought he did to. In a snap decision, he marched out of her room and headed for the bridge, the bubbling toddler still in his arms. The hustle and bustle of the ship didn't even register on his radar as he focused and is determined destination. No one was going to take the child away from him. Not this one! With this young child in his firm grip. He couldn't help but remember Aysha in her own infancy. Delta may not have a great start in life, but he was now going to make sure that she was as loved after she deserved.
!!
Alex appeared in the doorway of Blue's bedroom, the strange look upon his face conveyed to Blue the seriousness of what he was about to say. She waited patiently for him tell whatever it was he wanted to tell her but he stood there silent. Blue could normally read her unofficial uncle without the use of words. But today, she couldn't and this unnerved her more than anything else.
"Alex, what's wrong?" she simply couldn't stand the silence any longer, and that look on his face, she just couldn't stand it.
"I've just heard. Aysha, it's your father" Alex stood still; he didn't know what to say, he couldn't think of how to tell her. He was so happy himself, and yet sad to, for his own more selfish reasons.
"Daddy? Look Alex he's dead, whatever it is that you've found out, that you think I should know, leave it. Let's just leave his memory as it is. Okay!"
Alex stood there a moment longer.
"He's alive. Do you wanna see him?" It was blunter than he meant it to be.
Blue sat there in stunned silence. Alive, that was imposable, if he were alive he'd have found her, they'd be together.
"Apparently when his ship went into the badlands there was an accident and they were pulled to another part of the galaxy" Alex looked as stunned as Blue and he'd had time to digest this information. "And they've just got back" he finished lamely. "Do you wanna go see him?" He asked again
Blue didn't speak, she couldn't. Her father, alive? It was unbelievable. This must be a joke, who ever told Alex this must have been pulling a cruel prank. Wait who did tell Alex?
"Who told you this rubbish" Blue finally said
"Marco, he found out a few years ago in prison, but has just heard that they've returned, like a few hours ago"
"He heard years ago" Blue was now shouting "He knew years ago that dad was alive, did you know Alex? I swear if you've been keeping this from me!" Her voice was getting even louder
"Of course I didn't know honey. Give me a little credit!" Alex wasn't shouting he kept his voice level and calm. "No one told you because they didn't think that he'd ever come back, they didn't want to put you through that again. Losing your dad almost killed you. And they didn't tell me because they knew that I couldn't keep something like that from you"
This calmed Blue immediately. It may not have been the best things for the adults to do, but they did it for her. She was still angry, but it didn't matter, her dad was alive and she could see him again.
Looking up at Alex, Blue said the only thing she could
"When do we leave?"
!!
Chakotay stood on the bridge, they'd been back in the Alpha quadrant for only 12 hours and he'd already argued and split up from Seven. He stood looking at the view screen, Delta still in his arms.
"When are they gonna let us off the ship?" He asked Janeway.
"Not yet, but at least there letting people on board"
Chakotay sank back into his chair. Delta wriggled in his arms, so he placed her on the floor so she could potter around.
Janeway watched him. The way he handled the child was amazing. From the moment he walked onto the bridge with Delta, Janeway knew that he wasn't going to let anyone take her away from him. And as far as Janeway was concerned if Seven didn't want Chakotay to adopt the baby and was prepared to spilt from him over it then she was a bloody fool. Chakotay wasn't the type of man to choose a girlfriend over his child. And Delta was very much his child.
"Transporter room to commander Chakotay, you have two guests ready to transport" a bodiless voice drifted over the com.
"Visitors, who'd want to see me, my sister couldn't be here so soon, plus she's coming alone"
Janeway shrugged "Cousins?"
"No they're meeting me on the surface"
Chakotay paused, tapped his cam badge and responded "send them up the bridge"
Janeway looked at him quizzically
"What?"He asked "Can't be anyone important, let them walk" He chuckled and turned his attention back to Delta who was trying to pull herself onto Tom Paris's chair. He crept over and pulled the now giggling toddler close to his chest.
Janeway heard the turbo lift door open and saw two strangers enter the bridge, a man no older than about fifty and a teenage girl. Neither could take their eyes of Chakotay and the baby. They stood there for a moment, Chakotay oblivious to their presence.
Finally the girl stepped forward to speak "Hello daddy"