Story: "Mama" USS Voyager NCC-74656:Alpha Quadrant Series
Inspired by: Ozzy "Mama I'm Coming Home"
Characters: Kathryn Janeway, Gretchen J.
Rating: K
Summery: Not quite a songfic, but the parts of Ozzy's song are indicated where that inspiration was for me.
Kathryn stood in the transporter room, staring at the blue glow as Admiral Paris beamed back to San Francisco. It'd been a long, long time since proper protocol for admiralty had been observed by her crew and she was proud at the way they handled it. The briefings were over, the crew was moving off the ship steadily, but now Kathryn found herself waiting. She wasn't sure what was holding her back.
Tom and B'Elanna came in behind her, baby Miral lively in Tom's arms.
Tom winked at her as they walked up. "He's not a pleasant man, even when he's happy."
Kathryn had to laugh at that as she took Miral from Tom's arms. "I spent a lot of my Junior Starfleet years under his critical watch. It was mostly my own fault, I must admit."
"You never told me that." Tom gave her a quizzical glance.
Kathryn smiled back and turned her attention to the growing baby. "Hello, Angel." she whispered into the baby's hair.
B'Elanna rolled her eyes as she finished punching in coordinates and nodded to the transporter operator. "Forgive me for being frank, Captain, but you gush more than I expected."
Kathryn smiled and returned the baby to her parents. "Just a bit." She looked back at Tom who was clearly confused. "In the academy, I volunteered to do my junior honor thesis under his advisement."
"I didn't know you could be so foolish!" Tom laughed, but he was clearly shocked.
"Neither did I. I stayed up every night for two months. I ate little, slept less, missed some classes, but I did it."
"Wow." He shook his head in apparent disbelief. "Not me. Never."
She laughed again and shrugged. "What can I say? I was gung-ho."
"Are you going home, Captain?" B'Elanna interrupted as she let Tom take the baby's bag from her shoulder. The only belonging they hadn't shipped down ahead of time.
"Eventually." Her eyes sparkled.
Tom tipped his head, but asked no more. He'd seen her cry, that was a bit much for Tom Paris, but he was glad she felt safe with him emotionally. They had a connection, even deeper now. She was like an older sister to him, although he'd never admit he ever even wanted one. "Keep in touch."
"Absolutely, Tom." She smiled and than looked at both. "Thank you both, for everything. Take care of that baby."
"No problem." B'Elanna let a single tear go as she smiled. "It's been… a treat, Captain Janeway." She mock saluted before shoving the baby in Tom's arms and stepping off the platform and into Kathryn's arms. "Really," she whispered through more tears, "Come see us whenever you can."
"I will, Lanna." She whispered back through tears of her own.
She watched them beam off and than cast an awkward glance back at the transporter chief, Lt. Kinney, who himself looked on the verge of tears.
"I feel like a high schooler watching his brothers and sisters leave." He laughed it off.
Kathryn nodded. "It's been a long seven years. But," She added with a smirk. "It's not been all bad."
"No ma'am." he responded to her back as she returned to the corridor.
No, Kathryn wasn't ready to go home. Mama and she had a rocky relationship. Not bad, just rocky. She was always closer to her father and her mother was okay with that, even supportive. Phoebe on the other hand was Mama's girl. It suited their family, at least it did until the shuttle accident. After that, Kathryn had no interest in relationship building and she blamed her mother for things out of both of their control. It never seemed to bother Gretchen Janeway.
*Times have changed and times are strange, here I come, but I ain't the same. Mama, I'm coming home. Times go by seems to me, you could have been a better friend to me.*
Kathryn sat in her ready room, on the sofa where she so often mulled over both minor dilemma's and major changes. This one seemed to fit both categories and than some. She stared out the window, arm propped up on the back of the sofa, hand under her chin. She deftly played with the loose strands hanging in front of her ear as she watched the Earth drifting lazily below the ship. She could make out the lines of the massive rivers that wrapped through the Western Hemisphere and she pinpointed Bloomington beneath the hazy clouds. She still wasn't ready, it'd been so long, even longer than their seven year journey. Between her last 6-month deep space mission on the USS Bonestell and taking over command of Voyager she avoided going home, instead spending every moment of her leave with Mark. She knew her mother missed her and had been calling Headquarters daily through Kathryn's debriefings, hoping to catch her daughter the moment she was finished.
*You made me cry, you told me lies, but I can't stand to say goodbye. Mama, I'm coming home. I could be right, I could be wrong. Hurts so bad, it's been so long.*
Her mother's last letter had been brief. She closed her eyes and thought back to the PADD she'd memorized every line of. While everyone else was sharing happy news and good memories her mother had been lying to her. She'd been telling her of her long walks, tennis games with Phoebe and other "normal" activities. Meanwhile, she'd gotten one from Phoebe that told a different story. Her mother was becoming ill. Old age was getting the better of her even in a world of medical advancement. Phoebe was convinced it had to do with old fashioned values their mother lived by. Kathryn couldn't understand the dishonesty though.
She heaved a sigh and pushed herself up off the couch. She looked at her uniform and for a moment considered changing, but than thought better of it. This is who she was, there was no reason to lax into casual attire when she lived in this uniform for the better part of her life. She grabbed a bag that she'd packed two weeks ago and had been sitting on her ready room table since and walked out.
She had instructed Kinney to transport her to the fields in Bloomington. Both her mother and Phoebe had returned there from San Francisco. She began the mile walk through the countryside and farmlands toward her home, reminiscing of those stormy Indiana nights when she'd run from school, terrified of the lightening. She passed homes where she'd played as a child with her friends, Mark's for instance was just ahead. She shrugged it off as she passed by feeling a shiver hit her. True, she still loved him, but he was not hers to love.
*I've seen your face a thousand times, everyday we've been apart. I don't care about the sunshine, cause Mama… Mama, I'm coming home.*
The uniform was beginning to feel restricting in the mid-afternoon sun. The heat boiling her blood beneath the stiff fabric. Suddenly she regretted not having put on that sun dress she always wore to Tom and Neelix's luaus. She turned the corner to the short rocky drive between the main road and her home. She could see the elder Janeway sitting on the porch swing, bare feet hung not quite reaching the deck, a bright yellow sun hat on. She couldn't help but pick up her pace just slightly. Her heart was rushing her, making her feet move faster to keep up. She felt hot tears stinging her eyes as she watched her mother stand up quickly as she saw her.
"Kathryn!" She hurried to the bottom step.
Kathryn dropped her bag and ran the last few steps before throwing her arms around her mother, nearly knocking her to the ground. She sobbed into her mothers long hair that was draped over her shoulders. "I missed you so much, Mama."
"Oh, Kathryn, darling!" Gretchen was crying too. "It's been so long! I thought you were dead." She held Kathryn at arms length and studied her. "My little girl's grown up!"
Kathryn smiled softly. "I already was, Mama."
"I know, but you've changed so much. Come sit with me, tell me about the good times. Tell me about the bad times. Have you been in love again?"
Kathryn laughed. "It may take years to tell you these stories!"
"We'll make time, Baby." Gretchen pulled Kathryn down next to her on the swing, tugging at the long sleeved uniform. "Take this thing off."
Kathryn shrugged the heavy layer off, leaving the thin gray beneath to show. "Well…" She began as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder, tears still on both women's cheeks. "We were whisked away in the midst of a massive ion storm in the Badlands and discovered we were 70,000 lightyears from home…."