Neelix went to bed early that night in hopes of starting the first day of school well rested. His nerves had other plans, however, and after an hour, he finally got up to take a mild sedative. Although he soon fell asleep afterward, his anxiety traversed his dreams.

"You want to teach my children?" the image of Tom Paris said with a laugh. "What makes you think you're good enough?"

"But you said I...I..."

Tom tilted his head back and roared with laughter. "A cook should know when he's bitten off more than he can chew."

He saw Seven coming at him with the perfunctory strides of a Borg. "You want to take my only child and shape her into your image, make her your drone. I will not comply."

"It's nothing like that. I swear!"

Then Walter Baxter was standing next to him. "My three sons deserve better than you for a teacher. I'd rather the Doctor lecture them about mitosis than you teaching them to count."

Then all the parents appeared in his room at once, each of them accusing, demanding, their words overlapping one another. Neelix covered his ears, buffering himself against the onslaught. "No, no! The children like me. I'll teach them everything they need to know. They'll grow up to be fine adults."

None of the parents were listening to his words of reassurance. They were too intent on seeing another fill the position.

His alarm rang and Neelix slowly drifted toward wakefulness. As he felt his pillow and his bed sheets, he opened his eyes and realized he was alone in his quarters. And he had exactly two hours before he was expected to instruct the first class. That gave him just enough time to get ready and make breakfast for the crew. He untangled himself from his covers, got out of bed, and let out a heavy sigh. "Might as well start this day."

He grabbed his personal data padd and made a list of everything he needed to bring with him. If he forgot anything on his first day, it would surely be his last.

"What's for breakfast today, Neelix?" Chakotay asked with a grin as he came up to the counter with Captain Janeway.

"Western-style omelets, sausage patties, and buttermilk biscuits," Neelix replied. He was actually proud that he'd managed to prepare a full meal in such a short time. " The vegetables we had left in storage go perfectly with the eggs we collected on our last away mission." He did not bother to explain that the so-called sausage patties were made from ground vegetables and grains. They did not slaughter animals for the crew's enjoyment. Even the children were aware of this. Still, it was better to pretend that the patties actually contained meat.

"I'm sure it's delectable," Janeway said, sharing her first officer's grin.

"What's so funny?" the Talaxian asked, studying their plates.

"It's just that you don't normally wear your apron wrong side out," Chakotay told him and he and the captain could no longer resist breaking out into laughter.

"Oh..." Unable to hide his embarrassment, Neelix ripped his apron off and came around to the other side of the counter. "Maybe you were right, captain. I am trying to take on more responsibilities than one person can handle. The children deserve a teacher without his attention divided. I can't be planning out the dinner menu and giving a math lesson at the same time."

"Neelix, you're very nervous," the captain observed. "I was too the first time I took command. A room full of children is no less demanding than a ship's crew. Despite any reservations I expressed, you owe it to the children to try before backing out on them. And you know who my other two volunteers are. Do you really want to subject the children to learning how to diagnose every known ailment or the logic behind the need for daily meditation? Granted, they are both well intentioned, but we are talking about teaching young children. Who will best teach them the essentials?"

"Besides," Chakotay said after taking a bite of the omelet, "It'll do you some good to get out of the kitchen." This brought him and the captain into further gales of laughter.

Neelix shook his head, not sure why his cooking was still a subject for amusement among the crew. "I won't give up for the children's sake. Now if you will excuse me, I see a few adults who currently need my services." He went to check on other crew members to see if they needed refills of the latest coffee substitute.

All seven of the school-age children were seated in the classroom made from Holodeck Two when Neelix stepped inside the room at 9:02 am. Late on my first day, he mused as he took his position in front of the chalkboard. He studied their faces and saw that they were as anxious as he was. They were not going to dismiss him for being two minutes late.

"Good morning class," he said cheerfully, leaning his palms against the desk for support. "During the past few days, I've been doing a lot of reading about customary classrooms and I've read that it's normal practice for the teacher and students to introduce themselves to one another on the first day. It helps break the ice, as Captain Janeway might say. But...since everyone already knows one another, we'll have to think of a more creative way to ease our way into a comfortable zone." Neelix sighed heavily.

"Why don't we play a game of show and tell?" Naomi Wildman suggested. "We can each have a turn at bringing up a favorite holoimage and telling everyone about it."

The other children agreed enthusiastically, so Neelix allowed the class to participate in the ancient kindergarten ritual. Naomi went first, since it was her idea and she brought up the image of a character known as Taran. "Taran is a character from a twentieth-century fantasy series," Naomi explained. "He comes from a country called Prydain. In the beginning, he was just a poor assistant pig keeper, but later he become a valued aide to The High King Math after rescuing Prince Gwydion.. Together, Taran and his friends, Princess Eilonway, Flfleweddur Flam, Rhun, Doli, Kaw, Gurigi and Llyan, wandered the lands of Prydain in search of adventure and to destroy Lord Arawn, the villain of the story." As she spoke their names, Naomi had the computer bring up an image of each character.

Nicholas told about Flutter, a character Naomi had adored when she was younger. She had outgrown him now, but listened politely as the younger child spoke of his enthusiasm for the holoseries. As a group, the children seemed to find Jeremy Paris' slides of his menagerie of pets the most interesting. Unfortunately, his sister refused to show anything and this troubled Neelix. I will have to make a special effort to coax her out of her shell, he realized.

Soon the children were relaxed enough to begin their studies. He divided the children into three groups and instructed them on their assignments from the youngest to the oldest. By the time each of them were finished with their first assignment, it was time for Neelix to escort them to the mess hall for lunch.

"I should make you my teacher's assistant," he jokingly told Naomi as they lined up for lunch. Megan Delaney had graciously offered to reheat the leftover food he'd prepared for yesterday's dinner for today's lunch. She was now serving it.

"I will accept the duty with honors," Naomi replied in a voice that sounded much older than her years.

Neelix' smile waned as he silently contemplated what would or wouldn't be appropriate for a nine-year old. Was he wrong to even make such a suggestion? Did he really need something else to worry about on top of making lesson plans? Suddenly, he felt queasy to his stomach. He wasn't sure even he could eat his own cooking right now.

"Excuse me," he said, stepping away from the counter to sit down at the closest table. He would have to approach Samantha, of course, if he was really going to follow through with this idea. After the tension between them yesterday, how would he react upon seeing her again? He could not act on his impulses. Samantha Wildman was a married woman! Yet she had last seen her husband more than ten years ago. Even knowing Samantha was alive, her husband could not be faulted for getting on with his life and seeking out another relationship. So why was Samantha still holding on to the idea of a reunion?

A moment later, the captain walked through the door, carrying an empty thermos and spotted him. Suddenly Neelix' thoughts raced back to his teaching career. What would the captain do once she found out he'd already singled out Naomi as his pet student?

"Neelix, how was your first morning of school?" she asked, sitting across from him. She set the thermos aside. Apparently, she was using her coffee vice as an excuse to leave the bridge and come talk with him.

"It went well," he replied. He hoped she couldn't tell how uncomfortable he felt. "The children are eager to learn." Their attention turned toward the children, who were scrambling for chairs so they could all eat at the same table on the far end of the mess hall.

"They get along wonderfully," Janeway said. "You must take great pleasure from being their teacher."

"I do. Thank you for allowing me the privilege, Captain. Now, would you like me to fill up that thermos or are you just carrying it around as an ornament?"

"Please, fill it to the top, Neelix. I must admit I actually like your latest coffee substitute."

As Neelix stepped into the kitchen and began filling the container, his gaze wandered back to the children. Naomi's stare met his and she smiled nervously at him. Was she regretting having accepted the offer as much as he was regretting having made it?

Once all the children were again seated in the holodeck classroom, Neelix leaned against his desk prepared to instruct them on the afternoon's lessons...or so he thought. His gaze again fell on Naomi and he forgot the lessons he'd carefully planned out yesterday.

"Neelix," Jeremy said, jarring the Talaxian out of his daze. "Before we went to lunch, you said you had a reading assignment for Naomi and I."

"Oh yes, of course." He retrieved his data padd from atop his desk and after punching a few buttons, he said, "I have uploaded a copy to each of your padds." he suddenly felt hot although the ship's climate control had not changed. Did he really think he could succeed as their teacher?

He turned toward his youngest group of students. Nicholas was playing with some action figures he'd snuck into class, probably in his pockets. I'll have to take them away for a while, Neelix thought, if I expect any concentration from him. Sierra and Annika were huddled together. Their teacher watched as Annika patted Sierra on the shoulder and whispered into her ear. How did he expect to help Sierra feel more comfortable? Did he expect he could play ship's counselor as well?

Approaching them, he sat down in the chair across from them, his bulk leaning over the small seat. He snatched the toys away from Nicholas, telling the boy he could have them back after class. Then, he turned toward the girls. "Sierra," he said softly. "I know how difficult it is to deal with changes in your life. You don't need to be afraid, though. Uncle Neelix is here to help you."

"She says she doesn't want to go to school!" Annika said, emphatically pushing Sierra's data padd toward their teacher. "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to!"

"Annika, I know you're just trying to protect your friend, but I'm afraid it isn't very practical for Sierra to remain a baby for the rest of her life." With less force than Annika, he pushed the data padd back toward Sierra.

Paige and Andrew chose that moment to get out of their seats and Paige began tugging on Neelix' shirt sleeve. "Uncle Neelix," she whined. "What are me and Andrew s'posed to be doing?"

Turning toward Paige, Neelix was about to assure her that he would be over to their table in a few moments to instruct them. Sierra took the diversion as an opportunity to start crying.

"No school for Sierra," Annika chimed.

"Give me back my toys!" Nicholas cried. "I'm telling my Daddy!"

Suddenly, Neelix felt a headache coming on. Babysitting had been much easier. He'd never had seven of the children at once and before, it had always been in a setting where playing was the only objective.

Naomi set down her padd and came over to them, taking Paige by the hand. "This isn't how we treat our teacher," she said sternly. She placed her free hand on Nicholas' shoulder. "Quiet!" Sierra fell silent, although tears were still streaming down her face. After she was sure she had everyone's attention, Naomi addressed the group. "Now, we must show Neelix some cooperation. This is as new to him as it is to us. We talked about this and we agreed to give Neelix a chance as our teacher. Everyone, in your seats and await your turn. Neelix can only instruct us one group at a time. The little ones need his undivided attention right now."

Reluctantly, Paige and Andrew returned to their seats. Once they were settled, albeit impatiently, Neelix returned his attention to his youngest charges. "Sierra, Annika."

"And me!" Nicholas exclaimed, not wanting to be forgotten.

"And Nicholas, too." He reclaimed Sierra's padd and as he brought up a program, he asked, "have either of you ever watched a cartoon?"

"No," both Annika and Nicholas responded.

"Sierra has," Jeremy answered from across the room. "Our dad is really into the old television shows."

Neelix smiled. "Ah good." He placed the data padd in front of the shy child and an educational cartoon for preschoolers began playing on the tiny screen. Sierra did not wipe at the tears on her face, but she stopped crying as the program captured her attention. "Now be good and watch this while I instruct the other children." Neelix stood and walking over to Paige and Andrew, felt as though he'd handled that poorly.

Just get me through this day, he thought, and I promise I'll do better tomorrow.

When Naomi stepped into their quarters, Samantha studied her daughter's behavior with amusement. First, the girl set her data padd down on the small table near the replicator, then she went to the replicator and ordered a hot chocolate..without asking if it was all right to use the credits...and finally, she plopped down on the sofa to enjoy the sweet drink. All of this she did without a word to her mother.

"Well, I expected a blow by blow description from you," Samantha said, putting on a pout in hopes of eliciting a smile from her daughter. It did not. "What has you so deep in thought?"

"I'm worried," Naomi admitted. "Neelix asked me to be his assistant and I'm afraid I'll let him down."

"Oh really." Samantha realized she needed to have a talk with the new teacher right away. "What exactly has he asked you to help him with?"

"I don't know. I suggested that we play a game of show and tell to help everyone feel more comfortable about school. Then at lunch, he asked if I wanted to be his assistant. I thought it sounded like a great idea at the time."

"But now you've had some time to think about it?"

"Yeah. I don't want the other kids to start hating me. What if they think Neelix is treating me special by making me his assistant? But I don't want to hurt Neelix' feelings either. He was so nervous today."

"Let me have a talk with him and I promise we'll have this problem straightened out before school starts tomorrow." Samantha glanced over at her daughter's data padd. "Did he give you any homework?"

"Of course. Some spelling and math."

"You best get to it. When you're finished, we'll have dinner in the mess hall while Neelix and I have a talk."

Tom Paris walked into the mess hall and spotted his family along with Harry, Seven and Annika sitting at the center of the room. As he joined them, he said, "Sorry I'm late. We encountered a heavy asteroid storm. If none of you felt the turbulence, it's because I carefully maneuvered us through them."

"Oh, I felt the turbulence," B'Elanna said, jokingly.

Tom leaned toward her, giving her a peck on the cheek. He looked toward his two oldest children. "So how was the first day of school?"

Sierra shrugged, quiet even toward her father. Tom wished he could get her to open up half as much as her brother.

"It was great!" Jeremy exclaimed. "First, we had a show and tell and I got to show the other kids slides of all my pets. Then after lunch, Neelix gave Naomi and me this funny story about four brothers who built four cities and each married four wives and they each had four pets..."

"I get the picture, Jeremy," Tom said, stopping his son before the boy could continue in such earnest. Deep down, though, he was thrilled that his son enjoyed his first day of school so much. "I'm sure it was a riot."

"I hope the story didn't imply that it's appropriate to have four wives," B'Elanna quipped.

"One can be plenty," Harry said. Beside him, Seven fixed him sternly. "I just meant that I wouldn't want to compromise the quality time that I spend with you, Seven."

"Harry, Harry," Tom said, "you better quit before you get further behind." Just to be on the safe side, he gave his wife a quick squeeze of affection.

"Well, the story was set in an imaginary land," Jeremy said, obviously trying to lessen the tension between the adults. It worked, sending the group into laughter.

"Neelix showed Sierra and me a cartoon," Annika said. Quieting, the adults turned their attention to her. "But Sierra still doesn't want to go to school!"

Tom suddenly felt like he'd been struck in the chest by one of the asteroids he'd so carefully averted. What if Neelix decided that Sierra wasn't quite ready for school? She was so quiet, not like the other children. What if there was something wrong with her?

Harry appeared embarrassed and unsure how to react to his daughter's proclamation. Seven, however, didn't hesitate in reacting to Annika's bold statement. "We do not speak for others," she said. "We are all individuals. Sierra can speak her own mind."

"Can you, honey?" B'Elanna said, clutching her daughter's hand. "Can you tell us what you want?" Her voice measured the same uncertainty that Tom felt.

Wordlessly, Sierra shook her head and folded her small arms across her chest.

"Honestly, she does know how to talk," B'Elanna said, sounding flabbergasted.

What were they going to do? Tom wondered. And why hadn't they done anything about it before now? They had both assumed this was a stage and Sierra would quickly grow out of it. She could talk. She would.

On Tom's other side, Delta noisily played with her food. So unlike her big sister.

"We've all heard her talk," Harry said. "She's just shy."

"Lanna," Tom said. "Let's leave her be for now. Let her eat her lunch. When we get home, we'll get her to open up."

"She talks to me!" Annika exclaimed, raising her arms and shrugging, then smiling sweetly.

Turning red, Harry said, "well, we know you're not shy."

"We'll take care of this," Tom promised B'Elanna and she nodded. "Let's change the subject." He turned to the plate-full of Neelix' latest cuisine, which B'Elanna had set at the table before his arrival. "How's the food?"

From within the kitchen area, Neelix studied all the crew members lounging inside the mess hall. Were they now learning from their children what a fiasco he'd made of their first day at school? He couldn't believe he'd froze when they were looking at him...up to him, even...for instructions. How did he expect to make it through another day, let alone week after week, year after year? He had meals to prepare, crew morale to keep up, and ambassadorial duties. Why had he been so foolish to believe he could handle one more item on his plate?

"Neelix, is something wrong?" Janeway asked, stepping up to the counter.

Forcing himself out of his self-deprecating frenzy, Neelix suddenly realized that he was stirring a large bowl of salad so vigorously that some of the purple and green vegetables had fallen onto the counter. "Ah captain," he said, thinking quickly, "I guess you caught me multi-tasking. I was mentally working on tomorrow's lesson plans." It wasn't completely a lie. He was worrying about how he would perform tomorrow.

"How did your first day of school go?"

"I'm concerned about Sierra Paris. I've never known a child who was as inverted as she is and given who her parents are, I'm totally miffed as to the source of her timidness."

"You mean because she has Klingon genes?"

"Well...yes. What if there's something medically wrong with her?"

"The doctor's always given her routine physicals on schedule. She's never suffered any serious illnesses."

"I know, but maybe her problem isn't something that would show up during a routine examination."

"And maybe her problem is completely emotional," the captain countered. "Neelix when you took on this responsibility, you knew it would involve more than simply teaching the children to read and write."

"I'm not a counselor. I've had no training."

"Are you saying you've changed your mind about being their teacher?"

Inside his mind, Neelix saw the Doctor and Tuvok standing in line, waiting for him to admit defeat. He could not let the children down! "No, not at all."

"Then deal with the problem! Have you ever spent any time alone with Sierra?"

Neelix thought for a moment about the times he'd babysat for Tom and B'Elanna. He'd often watched all three of the Paris children together, but never only one of them. He tried to remember the games he'd played with them and realized that Jeremy, with his zealous for life, had dominated much of the play. "No, captain," Neelix finally replied. "I haven't hardly spent any time with Sierra at all."

"Maybe you should. Sit down with her and share a story with only her." Janeway grasped his arm reassuringly. "You're good with children, Neelix. She'll open up to you." She paused, releasing her hold on him. "And as for pursuing any further medical tests, we should leave that decision up to her parents."

"Ok. Captain, there was one other thing that came up today..."

Before Neelix could finish, he was interrupted by the arrival of Samantha and Naomi. "Neelix, what gave you the bright idea to make my daughter your assistant?" Samantha demanded. Neelix suddenly felt a tightening in his stomach.

"Naomi, how would you like to eat dinner with the captain?" Janeway offered.

Naomi looked from the captain to her mother, looking as though afraid to disappoint either one of them.

"Go on," Samantha encouraged her. "I'll join you once I'm finished talking with Neelix."

"Ok. Go easy on him, Mom." Naomi's words, although meant to help, increased Neelix' dread about discussing her schooling with her mother.

Once Naomi was out of earshot, he said, "I'm sorry for placing this burden on Naomi. I wasn't thinking."

"No, you weren't," Samantha said scornfully. "I've always hoped that Naomi would aspire to do great things and the other children look up to her as the oldest. However, if you turn her into a teacher's pet, they may soon resent her."

"I know, I should treat all the children equally."

Her expression softened. "I can see that you're genuinely contrite. Just tell Naomi that you made a mistake when you made the offer and we'll forget it ever happened."

Crawling into bed, Tom wrapped his arms around his wife. Neither of them were going to get any sleep for a while, he realized. They'd ignored Sierra's problem for too long already, telling themselves that it was a behavior she would soon outgrow. "Do you think we should have the Doctor run some tests on Sierra?" he asked.

"What kind of tests?" she countered.

He wasn't sure. He didn't know whether he hoped the cause of their daughter's problem was medical or psychological. Was one better than the other? "I think we better get the Doctor's advice, but probably we should have her undergo a psych evaluation. Maybe whatever's wrong with her has a cure or a treatment that will make her better."

"I don't understand," B'Elanna said, clenching her hands. "She has Klingon blood in her. We should be dealing with temper tantrums, not this."

"She doesn't get it from my side," Tom said defensively. He gently squeezed her arm, not wanting to fight about something neither of them had any control over. "I mean, the Paris' have always been outspoken people. It would make sense if she were more like her brother."

"Even Delta talks more than Sierra, Tom. I thought behavior was supposed to be learned through observation."

"Usually, but there are some instances when no matter how good the parenting, the child still develops psycho-social problems." Tom knew a little on the subject, because the Doctor had insisted that he study psychology as part of his nurse's training.

"Like what?" B'Elanna asked, alarm in her voice.

Tom felt her growing more tense. Despite his reassurance, he knew that B'Elanna was still worried that she was to blame. What could they have done differently?

"She hardly says anything anymore," B'Elanna told the Doctor as she set her middle child on the biobed. "Do you think she might be going deaf?"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions, shall we?" the Doctor responded.

"Maybe it's some form of autism," Tom suggested.

The Doctor gave his sometimes-nurse an exacerbated look, telling him he should know better without words. When he spoke he did it with a forced smile. "We will rule out possibilities, like deafness, one by one until we reach an accurate diagnosis." He turned toward his young patient, who was sitting still. "At least you're cooperating." He picked up a small instrument and peered into the girl's ears to verify that her eardrums were in tact. "Hmm, hmm. Everything looks fine inside there." Stepping back to her front side, the Doctor ran his finger along her line of sight, trying to get her attention. Sierra did not flinch or even move her eyes to follow his finger.

"It is autism!" Tom exclaimed.

"Mr. Paris!" the Doctor snapped, swivelling to face the father. "You know too much for your own good and not enough for your daughter's."

"How can you tell it's not deafness just by looking in her ears?" B'Elanna asked.

The Doctor stepped toward them waving his arms around their back sides to usher them toward the door. "Please, go fly the ship...tweek the warp conduits. I will page you the moment I find out anything."

B'Elanna tried to speak just before the door opened and the Doctor coaxed her out the door.

"Don't worry; your daughter is in good hands." Now that the parents are out of my hair, the Doctor thought as he turned back toward his young patient, I can work more effectively. He smiled at her, though it went unnoticed. Stepping back up to the biobed, he gently grasped her by the arms. "Let's lie down, please. "The Doctor needs to run a neural scan." Complacently, Sierra allowed him to bring her to a lying down position.

Janeway's annunciator sounded and she beckoned Neelix inside her private quarters.

"Captain, have you got a minute?" he asked as she set a data padd aside. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Pleasure reading," she assured him. "What can I do for you, Neelix?"

Neelix slumped down on the captain's sofa. "I think I can become a great teacher."

"But? Neelix, are you still feeling bad about what happened with Naomi?"

"No, Captain. This is a much bigger problem than my making a misjudgment. I'm concerned about Sierra Paris. I'm coming to you instead of her parents, because quite frankly, I don't know how to talk to them about my concerns. If only this ship had a trained counselor–"

"Since it doesn't, you'll have to do your best to explain to me what you think is the problem."

"We've all assumed that Sierra is a shy little girl. What if her problem is more serious than that? I've watched her during playtime and during mealtimes and she never says much, even when she thinks she's alone with her peers. And there's more...Today when I tried to get her to open up, she brought her hands to her ears and began rocking and screaming. She frightened the other children. She frightened me! I don't think she's ready for school, but how do I tell her parents that without them feeling like I'm telling them that their daughter is stupid?"