I don't own the characters or settings, I'm just borrowing them. The rating of this story might change. This story will contain a relationship between female characters. If you don't like that, don't read this (you'll be missing out, though!)

Any comments, send them to me. Reviews are welcome, please don't be nasty – I'm a scientist, not a writer!

A Better Birthday than Most

The photograph stood amongst a squadron of books, all neatly standing to attention, tucked away at the back of a rarely-used shelf. Once or twice a year – no more – Janeway pushed aside the well-read tomes: Chaucer, Bronte, Dickens, Faulks, J'ng'kek, and studied the framed picture with mixed emotions. A handsome man smiled out in a natural pose whilst he held a manly arm around a large dog. At first Janeway had to swallow her tears, but as time passed the feeling had diminished to a wistful nostalgia, wondering what might have been if Voyager hadn't got stranded, if she had returned from the badlands safe and sound, married Mark and lived happily ever after.

The Captain of the Starship Voyager sank down into her favourite chair and buried her head in her hands. She had convinced herself, so she thought, that she had no need for a partner, lover, soulmate. She was content with having friends, good friends, although as a Captain there was – and had to be - always a barrier there. 'Maybe I should get a dog, or the Delta Quadrant equivalent,' thought Janeway. In some ways, she missed her dog more than her fiancé.

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"Eggs Benedict. Scrambled, poached or fried eggs. Boiled eggs with soldiers. Plain omelette-"

Janeway grunted at the choices offered to her. Obviously there was a meat shortage on board. "Neelix, do you have anything that isn't made from eggs? And by the way – what sort of eggs are they?"

The furry chef tried his best to disguise a shifty expression. "Ah, well, Captain, I've got some bread, freshly made last night. How about…scrambled eggs on toast?"

"Just give me the toast. And coffee, a mug. A large mug. Actually, Neelix, make it a pot!"

Neelix scurried away and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Janeway wondering what she would actually have received if she had braved the eggs. She knew for a fact that there were no egg-laying birds on board, and they had passed a planet two days ago which hosted a particularly vicious reptilian life form that laid eggs by the hundreds. She put the thought out of her mind with a slight shudder.

Playing idly with a spoon, Janeway didn't even look up when the Mess Hall doors opened. She wasn't meeting anyone, it was very early in the morning before the shift change, and so she was surprised when a shadow fell across her table. The Captain looked up to see the Doctor smiling at her and holding a bunch of flowers, thrusting them towards her eagerly. She took them from him with a bemused half-smile.

"They aren't from me, Captain," said the Doctor, though his expression conveyed to Janeway that perhaps he wished they were. "I have been employed as a mere delivery boy. I, the Chief Medical Officer, who-"

"Thank you, Doctor," Janeway interrupted hastily, cutting off a mournful diatribe from the hologram. She took the flowers from him carefully, not wanting to disturb the delicate stems of the beautiful arrangement. "Doctor?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Who sent these?"

The Doctor snorted loudly. "If I knew that, Captain, I would have told you. When I came online I was in Holodeck Two and these flowers were sitting there in front of me, and before that I remember deactivating myself after treating Ensign Kim's bruised finger. Since the note said they were for you I thought I would bring them to you personally. After all, it is a special day."

Janeway mustered her thoughts. Special day? What special day? Was it someone's birthday, one of the officers she didn't see very often, in engineering perhaps, or maintenance? The day the Doctor was activated? Some anniversary of Voyager's history that she'd forgotten (unlikely, as every minute of her time on Voyager was etched into her mind) or an obscure holiday observed by a member of the crew? Gathering all her courage, Janeway spoke.

"What special day would that be, Doctor?"

It was though a miniature photon grenade had exploded inside the Mess Hall. The Doctor was stunned, speechless for what Janeway thought was the first time since his activation five years previously. The Captain was relieved that there was no audience to witness the conversation.

"Captain, it's your birthday. Many happy returns." The Doctor plastered a smile on his face which matched his obviously fake cheerfulness. Janeway scowled.

"Thanks for the gesture, Doctor, but I'm really not in the mood." She thrust the colourful bunch back into the arms of the hologram and strode out of the room, ignoring Neelix's flustered shouts as he emerged from the kitchen brandishing a slice of toast.

Note: I have just written this whilst extremely inebriated. I will delete/edit/continue as suggested by any brave reviewers :-)

Sam.