Disclaimer: Voyager and it's characters' are owned by Paramount / CBS and I sure don't make any money with this, this is just for fun.
A/N1: Written for the 5th anniversary of VAMB.
A/N2: Thanks again to elem for doing again the beta for me. You're the best!
Like Mother Like Daughter
"What do you mean, she's gone? We've only been here for five minutes!" Gretchen asked agitatedly.
"I don't know, she was here one moment and the next she was gone," Edward answered calmly, shrugging his shoulders.
"I can't understand how you can be so calm about this! Maybe she's lost her way, went with a strange person, is hurt or all of those things together!" Her voice had taken on a fearful note as she stood on her toes to peer over the mass of people in front of her. "There are just too many people here. I can't see a thing!"
She tried to push forward, but again someone blocked her path.
"Hush, hon. I'm sure she's all right. She probably just saw something that caught her attention and wandered off a little," Edward tried to soothe his wife.
"We shouldn't have come here, she's still too young for this," Gretchen continued as if she hadn't heard him.
"Gretchen, don't be ridiculous! She's five! She's not too young for the fair!"
"This all your fault!" She suddenly turned to him and pointed her index finger at his face.
"Mine? Why?" Edward took a step backwards as her finger was getting dangerously close to his eyes.
"You always encourage her and her curious mind. I always have to watch out when I'm in town with her. Just last week, we went to the grocery store and when I stopped for a little chat with Mrs. Wilder, she sneaked away to see the baby puppies in a store across the street."
Well, you probably talked to Mrs. Wilder for hours. I would've sneaked away too, he thought, but wisely kept his mouth shut.
"I had to search for ages!" Gretchen continued, unaware of his thoughts. "And you told her so much about this fair; about all of the carousels, sweets and rides that she got on our nerves for so long we had to promise to go with her. This fair has existed for one hundred and fifty years and it will still be here in another two years, when she's old enough. So therefore, this is all your fault." Gretchen ended her tirade on a high-pitched note.
Edward could feel the sympathetic stares from some of the fellow men in the crowd.
"Uhm Gretchen hon, please calm down. We'll find her, I'm sure she's just …. Oh look there she is!" He pointed, feeling very relieved as he saw Kathryn running back towards them.
"Kathryn, where have you been?" Gretchen asked worriedly.
"Mom! Dad!" Kathryn had to take a breath as she'd been running so fast. "You have to come. There are sugar sweets and pony rides and there's a roller coaster with three loops!" She told them excitedly, her eyes shining as she grabbed her parents' hands. "Mom! Dad! Please hurry up. Can I take a ride please?"
fifty years later
"What do you mean she's gone? We've only been here for five minutes!" Chakotay asked with a worried note in his voice, already starting to look around frantically.
"I don't know, she was right in front of us and the next moment she was gone," Kathryn shrugged.
"I can't understand how you can be so calm about this, she shouldn't be running a round all by herself. What if she gets hurt or lost? And we're still very well-known around here, what if someone kidnaps her?" He asked worriedly.
Kathryn tried to suppress a smile and hoped he wouldn't notice. Her strong, angry warrior, and much-loved husband, could be a real 'mother hen' when it came to his daughter.
"Kathryn, I can't see a thing, there are just too many people here," he sighed. "We shouldn't have come here; she's still too young for this. Maybe we should've gone to the playground with her again."
"We go to the playground with her every weekend, it bores her. She has to see something new now and then…"
"You know this is entirely your fault," Chakotay interrupted her.
"What?" Kathryn asked, taken aback
"You told her about this fair and how you went here with your parents when you were small. She's talked of nothing else for days until we agreed to take her. You know just last week she ran off and climbed up your 'thinking tree' that you'd only shown her the day before," Chakotay threw his arms in the air and shook his head.
Kathryn noticed that people were already gathering around them, watching.
"Chakotay, please calm down," she stepped towards him and tried to soothe him with a quick kiss. "You know my mother told me once that this happened to her and Dad too, when I was a child, in exactly this park. I ran away to see all the rides and shops. Mom made a little scene on the street," Kathryn grinned as she remembered that day.
"And look, there's Joanna!" She pointed as she noticed their daughter running over to them. Joanna came to a halt just in front of them, trying to catch her breath. "Mom! Dad! Please. You're sooooo slow," she told them with a whiny voice. "Come on," she tugged at their hands. "Hurry up! There's a roller coaster there with three loops! Can I take a ride, please? Please?!"
end
2008-10-25