Chakotay's perspective

It was odd to have to wake the captain up. She was usually on-time. Actually, usually she was about ten minutes early so she could get a report and make herself a cup of coffee. Not today though. I had called her twice and then asked the computer where she was. So there I was, on my way to her quarters, hoping against hope nothing was wrong. I felt my legs speed up as different scenarios played in my head. By the time I reached her door, I was almost running. She didn't respond to the door when I buzzed it, so I opened it manually.

She lay in bed, with the bed sheets twisted around her body like a second skin. Her hair stuck to her face, which was soaked with a cold sweat. I ran toward her.

"Kathryn" I called to her and I shook her. Her eyelids flickered open. She opened her cracked lips and spoke just one word.

"Angela".

My forehead creased into a confused frown, but I didn't question her. Not yet. I pushed the millions of questions I had to the back of my head and pulled her to a sitting position. It was now her turn to frown.

"What's wrong" she demanded, seeing my expression, "why are you in my quarters?"

"You're on duty now, and you didn't turn up." I replied immediately. Her face took on a shocked shaped.

"I'm sorry" she said, scrambling out of bed. I held out a hand to stop her.

"You look a mess. Plus, Harry was quite eager to take over the bridge. You coming with me to the sickbay." I stared at her, watching her think it over.

"No, my place is on the bridge. Harry had the night shift. And just because I slept in a little, doesn't mean I have to run straight to the Doctor. I'm fine." Her stubborn side had taken over.

"Your pale, sweaty, and your shaking" I listed. She looked across into the mirror in her bathroom, and sighed.

"I just haven't had my coffee." She tried to reason. I shook my head.

"Was it a bad dream?" I probed. Usually if I asked her specific questions, she would eventually tell me whole truth. To prove my theory, she nodded.

"I dreamt of Angie." She muttered, sinking onto her bed again.

"Who's Angie I asked, sitting down next to her. She looked away from me.

"My daughter. That's why Mark and I were going to get married. We were quite happy being partners without being married, but when I fell pregnant, that all changed. I dreamt of her, but instead of being eight, I dreamt she was eighteen."

I sighed at all she had told me. Never before had she told me everything without me asking her. I guessed she had to get it off her chest. So I urged her to continue.

"Go on"

"She was calling to me. When I found her, she was covered in chains. From head to tail, chains. I didn't recognise her, but I knew who she was…" she paused and looked me in the eye, "I'm not making sense, am I?"

I shook my head, but smiled. "It was just a dream."

"Yes" she agreed, "just a dream."

Harry's perspective

As soon as the turbo lift doors opened, I lurched out of the captain's seat to face them. I saw Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay enter and called out

"Captain on the bridge" Both of the smiled; however I saw that the smile on Janeway's face looked a little forced. I wondered what was wrong as I assumed my position at operations panel. The bridge was quiet for what seemed like an hour, before my controls started bleeping. Quick as a flash, I danced my fingers across the little buttons to find the cause.

"A small vessel approaching off our starboard side. Unknown origin Weapons and shield are offline. One life sign" I informed

"that seems harmless enough' Chakotay's voice was heard from his seat next to the captain.

"That could be a strategy. The element of surprise" Tovak said, drenching us in his logic. Janeway seemed to follow some of his logic, but her curiosity took the better of her.

"Hail them" she ordered. I did what I was told and we gained a connected. The image on the screen changed from one of unexplored galaxies and distant suns, to inside a small shuttle, and one Human looking face. She was stunning, with dark copper hair and bright green eyes. Her lips were being bitten by her white teeth, and her pale skin was covered in dirt and muck. She looked toward us.

"Hi. Sorry to disturb you…" but that was all she got out. The Captain gave me the signal to cut the connection, and, although I found it incredibly rude, I did. Everyone in the room just stared at the captain, who had suddenly gone very pale.

"Kathryn?" I heard Chakotay question, but no one could take their eyes off the captain. She sank into her seat and stared at her first officer. They exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes, but I didn't see much else, because the vessel was hailing us again.

"She hailing us again. Should I ignore it?" I asked, seeing the look on both my superior's faces.

"No. ill be in my ready room. Chakotay, you have the bridge." The captain turned on her heel and left the bridge in a brisk walk that looked more like a concealed run.

Chakotay looked at me to accept the hail, and once again the woman was on the screen.

"Sorry miss, we seemed to have a, little trouble. We had to cut connection before we lost communication technology altogether." Chakotay had always been so good at lying. But the woman seemed to have fallen for it, because she made no move to question the excuse. Nor did she mention the disappearance of the captain.

"My name is Angela, and I am hoping you are the lost ship from the federation." She said, knowing full well who we were. She had scanned our ship.

"I am commander Chakotay of the Federation Star ship Voyager." The look Angela gave us was one of excitement. Like she had found the holy grail or something. The commander continued,

"I had thought the federation had given up on the search for us?" he asked. She smiled, showing off beautifully straight and white teeth.

"No, they haven't but works going slowly so took matters into my own hands. May I come aboard and perhaps I could tell you my story" she asked. Chakotay gave everyone in the room a meaningful glace, before turning his attention back to the patiently waiting woman.

"Stick around. I have to make a combined decision with my crew" he finally said. She nodded

"Thank you" was all she said before she cut the connection.

Janeway's Perspective

I had no idea why I reacted the way I did, but I had to get away from the image. Perhaps I was just daydreaming, and relived part of my dream…but it felt so real. There was no way she could have found her way into the delta quadrant, let alone happen to stumble across us. Out of thousands of light-years worth of space, did I really expect to find her here? No way. But before I could address the issue of her sudden 'growth spurt', the door buzzed. I was quite sure who it was, so I ignored it. Proving my point, Chakotay walked into my ready room anyway, and waited for the door to close.

"Its her, isn't it" he murmured. I nodded, suddenly unable to bring myself to talk.

"How did she…?" he started. Then I found my voice.

"I don't know how she's here, why she's here, of even if it is actually her. All I know is that she was in my dream and now she's here. She looks eighteen, but she's meant to be eight, so thats playing at my mind, but…"I paused to catch my breath, "I just don't know." I finished lamely.

"I told her that I had to conduct a vote, to see whether or not to let her onboard. It was a spare of the moment thing, just to give you time to think about what you want to do. But I wouldn't take my time, if I were you. You may just be throwing away a chance to connect with a fellow human, whether or not she's your daughter." He lectured me, and although I listened, part of his speech went in one ear and straight out the other. I sighed and ordered a coffee.

"Give me a minute Chakotay" I begged, rubbing my forehead with the palm of my hand. I suddenly had a headache, and it seemed this day was nowhere near over.

I thought about the time when we first found out where we were and how far away from home we were. I remember thinking about her, thinking what it would be like for her to live without a mother. I also remember promising myself not to think about her, and not to tell anyone she existed. It would make the pain a little easier to deal with, plus she and Mark would probably do the same. Now I felt guilty because she hadn't forgotten, but I had. Only Chakotay Knew who she was and I planned for it to stay that way. If anybody else knew, it would be great leverage for anyone wanting me silenced. No, the secret must be kept, no matter how close it had become.

So I walked back out to the bridge, composed and smiling. I gave a nod to Tovak who stood at his station, and he returned it. I smiled at Tom as he turned around to watch me walk in. Then I looked at Harry and asked;

"Is that lovely young lady still within hailing range?"

"Yes Captain."

"Hail her. We want to welcome a fellow member of earth to our new home." I said, trying to give a motivational message. I tapped at my Comm. Badge.

"Janeway to Neelix?" I called into it. I waited for no more than half a second before I heard the overexcited response.

"Neelix here for you ma'am. Anything I can do for you?" Chakotay and I exchanged smiles and we heard the eagerness in his voice.

"Could you come down here. Theirs is someone I want you to meet." I commanded, then cut the connection. Knowing him, he was already in the turbo lift to come down here.

"She's responding." Harry informed me. I fixed my hair and nodded. After a few tiny bleeps from Harry's direction, the inside of the shuttle was seen for the third time today.

"Hello. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. I will have you beamed straight to the sickbay. Just so we know your not carrying an infection that could harm my crew." I told her.

"Thank you Captain. That will be fine" she replied. Then she disappeared, and I gave the signal for her transport.

"Captain, It is not standard procedure to quarantine…"Tovak started.

"This time there is." I said, jumping to my feet and walking quickly to the turbo lift. As the doors closed, I could see four different pairs of confused eyes.

I reached sickbay at exactly the same time as Neelix, and we walked into the room together. The doctor was already examining the girl. Neelix smiled at me, then at her, and the girl returned the smile. Then she looked at me. Comprehension spilled out of her facial expression, but I remained seemingly unknowing.

"Well hello." I began. "Good to finally see another human being apart from ourselves. It's been a long time" The doctor finished probing the girl and nodded, silently saying that all was well. I smiled.

"Doc, Neelix, could you give us a moment?" I asked, quietly. They both left without another word, the doctor placing his triquater as he went. Now we were alone

"Captain, may I say how thankful I am…"

"Cut the act. Who the hell are you?" I snapped at her. She looked rather hurt.

"My name is Angela. If you hadn't of disappeared the second time I contacted you, you would have known that"

"How does this work?" I said, more to myself than to her. She didn't know that

"How does what work" she replied, frowning. I looked her right in the eye.

"Do you know me?" I asked. Perhaps it wasn't her, and I was just being paranoid about the whole dream sequence.

"Of course I do. I was afraid you didn't, though. Or was it your intention to make your visitors feel insecure when you first make contact?" That was my kind of defensive tactics coming through. Sarcasm. It was her.

"Angie?" I whispered. She rolled her eyes. The green eyes she had inherited from her father. I looked up at the knotted mass of hair, a mimic of mine. How was I ever going to pull off not telling everyone who she was?

"Yes, Mother. I know I look a little older than I should, but believe me; I am still a little childlike inside. I am just a lot smarter now, that's all." She gave me a cheeky grin. Then I faltered.

"No one knows, do they?" she asked me, becoming quite serious. I shook my head.

"NO. And I want it to stay that way. Otherwise, we'll both be in danger." That was not a request, it was a demand. Angela sighed and nodded, knowingly.

"And if the doctor has taken some DNA?" She asked after an awkward silence. I bit my lip. It was getting harder and harder just thinking about the things I had to do to keep the secret safe.

"I am assuming your wanting to stay?" I said, getting my facts straight. She nodded

"Only if the captain lets me?" she replied.

"Well, I'm going to introduce you to the senior members of staff. This shouldn't take long. In that meeting, you could also tell us how you got all the way out here in such a small amount of time, and…"

"And why the sudden growth spurt?" she interjected, finishing my sentence for me. That was a trait she obviously got from Mark. I used to hate it when he did that, but somehow, now it didn't bother me as much.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to know" I muttered under my breath. She beamed and jumped off the biobed.

"Well then, these too many things to talk about for us to just be standing here." She said happily, walking past me and walking out the room, leaving Neelix and the doctor quite confused.

Chakotay's perspective

We were summoned to a seniors meeting, which had us all wondering whether this had anything to do with the girl, Angela. Sure enough, when we approached the doors and they opened, my eyes automatically fell on the Copper haired, green eyed newcomer. She smiled and nodded, acknowledging my presence. It returned the greeting, and then turned my attention to Kathryn. She sat very straight up in her chair, the kind of body language that told me that she was uncomfortable. Which was understandable, after all; she had a dream about her daughter that was twice the age she was meant to be, and then seeing her in real life not even 12 hours later. We all had a suspicion that something strange was at work here.

After a while, All senior member, including Seven, the Doctor and Neelix, we in the room and in their unofficially organised seats. The Briefing room looked quite full, even though there was only one extra person.

I looked over at Harry, who seemed to be staring at Angela. I tried to kick him under the table, to subtly tell him what he was doing, but I caught someone else feet instead. I didn't know who it was because both B'Elanna and Tom muttered 'ouch', at the same time.

Within 20minutes, we had quietened down and paying attention. Except for Harry, who still seemed to be fascinated with Angela. I quietly muttered his name under my breath and caught his attention. He blushed deeply when he realised what he was doing, and that I had caught him doing it. I couldn't help the corner of the mouth curling up into in a smile.

"Alright everyone" Kathryn called everyone to attention. Harry and I looked up.

"This is Angela. She's going to stay aboard for a while. So make her feel welcome." She looked around, slightly embarrassed. Tom caught her attention and smiled at her with, what the crew calls, the 'cheeky tom' grin. Angela gave one right back at him, and I saw his eyebrows fly up into his hairline. B'Elanna saw this expression and also raised her eyebrows at him, before turning to look at Angela.

"I'm saying sorry on his behalf" she said. Angela frowned.

"But he hasn't done anything" She replied, confused.

"Not yet" I put in. Everyone laughed, except for Tovak and Seven, as usual.

"May I be the first to properly introduce myself. I am Tovak, the head security and Tactical officer" He introduced. Angela's smile grew.

"My name is Angela…"She paused for a moment. " Angela Johnson." I looked around, wondering if anyone else had noticed her slight hesitation. Kathryn acted as if nothing had happened, but then again, she was quite good at masking her facial expressions. Harry and Tom were having a silent conversation, and B'Elanna never picked up on it. The only member inside the room, who could have had any idea of her real identity, was Tovak. Because he had known the captain for many years, he had probably met Angela once or twice.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry. "You are human, and living in the Delta Quadrant?"

"I could ask you the same question" Angela replied, looking Harry in the eye. This made him blush. Tom Chuckled. "Although, I came here a little differently. I was in a small shuttle, a little federation supply ship, in the middle of the Alpha Quadrant. I was sucked into an unstable wormhole, so everyone back home probably thinks I'm dead. Anyway, with some tricky helm manoeuvres, I was able to pull myself out. Unfortunately, I landed straight into Emon territory, a hostile and aggressive species that stole and destroyed my ship. Well, I eventually escaped on this rust-bucket."

"How did you know your heading?" Seven asked, PADD in hand. It had occurred to me that with Seven's advanced intelligence, there was a chance that she wouldn't fall for the story. However, Angela seemed to be just as quick on her toes as her mother.

"Well, after a few setbacks, I was able to increase power to the long range sensors, and I found a ship with a Federation signature. I guessed your heading from where you'd been and plotted a course" Angie replied, without a hesitation. Seven seemed to believe it, for she spoke up no more

"Do you have any training?" Paris asked, "I mean, there's a lot of people here who don't strictly have the qualifications to do the job their asked to do, but we learn." Angela nodded, and brought out a PADD.

"On my journey's I compiled a resume, complete with all my qualifications" she passed it to me, the closest person, who had the highest Authority. I skimmed through the list.

"A completed course in Shuttle helms, half completed course in starship helms, Basic fundamental of engineering from outside Starfleet Academy…and a completed course in counselling?" I finished off with a question. Everything else seemed so…Starfleet based, but the counselling came out from no-where."

"Yea. I stopped at a planet for repairs and was able to, while there, understand the art of counselling. As well as the engineering. "

"That's a lot to learn in such a small amount of time" Harry commented. Angela smiled.

"Well, from the amount of time I was there, it felt years longer"

"Well, we'll find something for you to do, Ms. Johnson" Janeway said, clearly drawing a close to the meeting.

"There is one more thing" Spoke up Neelix, who had remained quiet throughout the meeting."

"What is it, Mr. Neelix?" Janeway said, standing up and placing on hand on her hip, absent-mindedly.

"Well, I thought it would be nice to have a party. Its not every day we gain a new family member. And would you mind if we changed Angela out of those clothes?"

"Yes, to both." Janeway replied. "Replicate her a set of non-uniform clothes, while I discuss with Chakotay about where to put her" I smiled at Angela as she looked at me when Janeway said my name. She smiled and nodded back, before departing with Neelix. A second later, everyone else left, with Tom clearly getting ready to make fun of Harry, yet again.

Finally, there was just the Captain and I. She still had her hand on her hip, but the other one was rubbing her forehead again. "Something bothering you?" I asked

She shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, what are the chances that I would dream about my daughter, after all this time. And even so, why would I specifically dream about her the way she is now? Ten years older than she is meant to be?" she explained, using the hand that was on her forehead to fly around flamboyantly to help prove her point.

"Well, there could be several reasons" I started to say, but Janeway interrupted me.

"Well, explain them to me, Chakotay. 'Cause I certainly want to know what the hell's going on. She hasn't even told us how she was able to…"

"Grow up so quickly?" I offered. She nodded, suddenly unable to speak. I sighed and smirked at the Captains expression. She seemed to be between absolute joy to be able to see her daughter again, extreme confusion as to the circumstances, and uncertainty as to where to put her. So I helped, by starting. "You know, she has the credentials to be an ensign. It could be a temporary post, until we contact Starfleet." Janeway nodded. "Where do we put her?"

"Well, she'd work well on the medical team, and become the ships counsellor, although she does have the piloting skills to help Tom at the helm. But then again, B'Elanna has been saying she needs help in engineering." Janeway contemplated, her hand returning to the forehead. She turned around and stared out the window, into the pitch black.

"Well, we always need more bridge crew. And usually the bridge crew are those with multiple talents."

"Ah, Jack of all trades, master at none" Janeway muttered, speaking more to herself.

"Exactly" I replied.