Kathryn stretched languidly as the sun filtered into the dining room. The propulsion tests were finished, and she was going to enjoy a couple of weeks off ... including a visit with her mother to make up for that too-short stay over the holidays.
The vid began to wail, pulling her from her reverie. She considered letting it go until she saw the caller.
Owen Paris' face came on the screen. He looked haggard ... as if he had aged 10 years since she last saw him.
"What's happened?"
"Do you know where Tom might go if something was wrong?"
"Maybe," she said cautiously. "Why? What's wrong?"
"B'Elanna left him."
"What? They just got back." She'd heard little from her favorite helmsman since he and B'Elanna left for the Klingon settlement on Boreth eighteen months ago. Then, two weeks ago, he'd sent a message. "We're back in San Francisco. How about lunch?" She was tied up with testing, but they'd set a date for this week.
Owen shook his head. "I know. They were going to start the reinstatement process for 'Fleet. Apparently there was more going on than we realized: Tom said he found evidence that she was cheating on him."
Kathryn suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "Oh, my God."
Owen nodded grimly. "He found a message that she'd sent to her boyfriend on Boreth. Said she and Miral were coming back. Tom got the baby out of the apartment and brought her to us. He went back to confront her, but now he's disappeared."
"Is it possible he went after B'Elanna?"
Owen shrugged. "There's no record of him going off-world. And the girls checked his apartment. They were afraid she'd killed him." He shook his head, and she could see an old anger in his eyes. "I don't understand what possessed him to marry a …"
"Owen," she said more sharply than she intended. "They were good for each other at one time. And frankly, we're all having trouble. Coming home after all those years ... fitting in ... has been rougher than any of us expected. Me included."
He looked at her with concern. "I see. I'm sorry, Kathryn."
She just quirked a half-smile. "I have an idea of where he might be. If he's there, I'll bring him home."
"Don't interrupt your leave," Owen protested, "I can …"
"It's better that I go," she said firmly. Tom didn't need Owen to show up with an attitude. "I'll let you know if I find him. In the meantime, give Miral a hug and kiss from me."
She switched off the vid and sat for a moment, head in hands. Another casualty of Voyager.
She wasn't kidding about their rough return; the emotional fallout had been worse than that ride through the Borg conduit. She wasn't the only one who received a "Dear Jane" letter, though some folks got them on arrival. Even those with supposedly stable marriages were having a rough time.
And for the relationships that had developed in the hothouse of Voyager, well, whatever she and Chakotay had died by necessity and neglect. She'd heard his fledgling relationship with Seven dissolved quickly, too. Now Tom and B'Elanna, the two she'd had the highest hopes for. She loved them both but her heart ached for Tom.
She considered calling Harry on the Titan; he might have an idea about Tom's whereabouts. On second thought, he likely was on duty, and a priority call would just attract attention. The fewer people who knew Tom was gone, the better.