Chapter 2
The Voyager crew were celebrated like heroes returning from war, all those except the former Maquis. No matter what Kathryn did or who she turned to, no one would give her answers about her crew. Even the Admirals which she knew on a first name basis weren't giving her anything but denial. "I'm sorry, Katie, but there's nothing I can tell you. You know I would if I was able to. You're just going to have to accept that nothing can be done." Admiral Patterson placed a hand on Kathryn's shoulder trying to reassure her that everything would be ok. After her meeting with her mentor, Kathryn left Head Quarters and returned to her home in Bloomington, Indian.
"Moooommaaa!"The dark red head ran through the house yelling at the top of her lungs. Room to room she continued until she found her mother in the kitchen. Panting she tugged on her mother's pant leg, "Momma, Momma!" Kathryn laughed and knelt down to her daughter's level.
"Yes, sweetie, what is it?" Kathryn looked at her disheveled daughter and smiled. Taking the damp rag that she held in her hand, she wiped the little girl's face but paused as someone else's face came into her thoughts.
"Momma!" Kathryn's attention was pulled back to reality. Smiling she finished wiping her daughters face clean. Getting frustrated the girl's face turned red as she growled low in her throat."Arrgh, Momma, I'm trying to tell you something."
"Miral Janeway, you'll adjust that attitude before you do anything. Now calm down and tell me what's going on." Taking a deep breath, Miral calmed herself for a moment.
"Yes, Ma'am, but Momma, you won't believe what I saw. I saw damost biggest fish EVER! It was dis big!" The little girl held her arms open as wide as she could. Kathryn chuckled in amusement.
"Really? Now where did you find one THAT big? Because I know you wouldn't have gone to the river by yourself." Kathryn cocked her head and looked into the little girls dark brown eyes with a soft but stern look.
"Nooo."Miral shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back kicking at invisible rocks on the floor. "I only sat on the hill and looked down, Momma. I saw the fish from where you said I could sit. I promise, Kin…Kingon's honor." Miral puffed out her chest then made a fist and placed it over her heart. Sighing Kathryn smiled and corrected her daughter's mistake. It was the one word she wanted to make sure she knew correctly.
"It's Kling-on, Sweetie, and I believe you. Now, go wash up for dinner and put on some clean clothes. We have guests tonight." Kathryn kissed Miral's ridged forehead and sent her on her way,eyes wide with excitement.
"Grammy and Uncle Harry!"Chuckling, Kathryn stood and smiled as her rambunctious daughter went yelling through the house once again. Turning towards the sink, her eyes went directly to the photograph sitting on the window sill. It had been almost four years since the Maquis were taken and imprisoned. Not only were they imprisoned but one even lost their life, her former Chief Engineer. How, she didn't know as no one would give her any kind of information. They were all release a month after their return but nothing could change the fact that her dear friend's life was lost. It was shortly after that that she decided to take leave from Starfleet and raise Miral on her own. Tom had disappeared right after B'Elanna was taken and hadn't been seen since. Miral was the spitting image of her mother and that's what hurt Kathryn the most. There were days when Kathryn couldn't face Miral and would spend days locked in her room in a deep depression. It was during those times Kathryn was thankfulthat her mother was only an hour down the road. Her attention drawn to the sound of the door chime, she quickly dried her eyes and headed to the door.
"Mom, it's so good to see you." Kathryn wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her tight. As they pulled apart, Gretchen cupped her daughters face in both hands and pulled her head down to kiss her on her forehead. Kathryn was a good three inches taller than her mother and she always made that known.
"You have more of your father's side of the family in you. You certainly didn't get your height from me. Dear, have you been crying? What's wrong? Tell your mother." Kathryn smiled softly and kissed her mother's hand.
"Nothing is wrong, Mother, stop worrying. Oh, Miral will be down in a few minutes, she's getting dressed." she informed Gretchen as she headed towards the kitchen with her mother in tow.
"I think I'll just go up and help her." Gretchen began to head up the stairs but Kathryn gently placed a hand on her arm and pulled her towards the kitchen.
"Mom, she's fine. She knows how to dress herself. What she decides to come down in might be a whole other story, but she likes to feel grown up. Little things like picking out her own outfits make her feel good about herself." Kathryn chuckled as she thought of the last few outfits she tried to get away with wearing. Gretchen noticed an extra place setting on the table and raised an eyebrow towards her daughter.
"Do you have a date coming over, my dear?" Gretchen's face lit up in hopes her daughter had finally taken her advice and found a boyfriend. Kathryn looked towards her mother and rolled her eyes.
"No, Mom. You know very well who it is. He comes over all the time to see Miral. He's about to leave on a three month mission and wanted to see her before he left." Gretchen smiled at her daughter as she thought of the sweet young man that served aboard Voyager with Kathryn.
"You all really did become a family while you were out there didn't you? It's so nice to see how you all take care of each other" Kathryn suddenly lost her smile and paused a moment as her Chief Engineer entered her thoughts.
"Not all of us." Turning away from her mother, Kathryn fought back tears. Even after 4 years Kathryn still couldn't accept the loss of her close friend. No one would ever know how much she truly meant to her.