Saturday morning was unseasonably warm enough to have coffee on the patio. Tom poked his head out the door. "I'm taking Miral on her first hover-trolley ride. Your neighbor told me about a market over in Nob Hill. Want to come?"

Miral was entranced by the trolley, especially the clanging bell. "By the way," Tom said in Kathryn's ear, "I used your grocery account codes to get some things."

"Help yourself."

"Have you ever used those accounts? I kept getting bonus stuff because they were first-time orders."

She laughed. "No, I seldom cook. I usually replicate a salad or broth."

The market was busy, and in their casual clothes and sunglasses, they blended in nicely with the crowd. Kathryn was still a bit wary of being recognized: She'd had enough publicity to last several lifetimes.

"I used to go to the market on Boreth," Tom remarked as they shopped. "At least the vendors were nice to me."

"I take it you didn't feel welcome," Kathryn said non-noncommittally.

"That is an understatement," he replied. She'd hoped he'd go on, but Miral began to fuss. Lunchtime. Tom steered them toward a food stand that had something suitable for children.

"On Boreth, childcare was done by old women," he said as they settled Miral into a chair with her lunch. "So you can imagine the reception I got when I took her anywhere. Plus, I don't exactly look like a Klingon warrior."

"You talk to B'Elanna about this?'

"I tried" He took a bite of hot dog and chewed for a moment. "When I finally got her to listen, she agreed that perhaps it was time to leave. We decided to come back here and apply for reinstatement."

"Sounds like things were going well."

"Things were OK. Then it was like she short-circuited or something. She said she couldn't do it; couldn't deal with Starfleet, my parents. She wanted to go back. We fought over this for two weeks until I found that message and realized just why she wanted to go back. I don't even know who the guy is.

"So I took Miral to my folks. When Lanna came home, I told her that I knew. If she wanted to go to him, fine, but Miral was staying with me. You know what happened after that."

"I am so sorry." There was nothing else to say.

XXX

"Can I ask you something?" Tom asked that evening. Miral was finally in bed and they were sitting on the couch. "You can tell me to mind my own business, but since we're playing 'Tell the Truth' about relationships ..."

Uh, oh. "Out with it."

"What happened with you and Chakotay? You don't talk about him. All the stories we told your mom, I'm the one who mentioned him." He paused, then forged ahead. "It was obvious to just about everyone that he was in love with you."

"I know. My spurned lover, though we were never lovers."

"You couldn't."

"You're right. There was a spark at first, but the longer we were out there, well, I realized that while I loved him, it wasn't the way he wanted me to. Or that he deserved."

She leaned back and sighed. "I'm not an innocent party. I wasn't above using his feelings when I wanted something. Chalk it up to arrogance and desperation. Anyway, it got worse after Quarra. He was pissed that I took up with Jaffen."

He chuckled. "You were more popular than you knew. Several fellows at that bar had their eye on you." He didn't mention that he was one of them.

"Really? Well, I'm flattered," she said, patting his arm.

She was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Next thing I know, he's taken up with Seven. Maybe he was lonely, but I always suspected he did it to get back at me, since I was the one who kept her on Voyager."

"Then she dumped him."

"So I hear."

"You ever talk to him?"

"No."

"But you still fought for him."

"How could I fight for the rest of you and not for him? I owe him my life ... all our lives ... many times over."

She left Sunday afternoon for McKinley. Her quarters there seemed sterile and quiet. Too quiet. A quick call to her mother, then she called home.

Tom answered with Miral in his arms. "See, Squirt, there she is."

"Hi, Squirt," she said, getting a teary smile from the toddler. "Won't she go to bed?"

"No, she's been very clingy since you left."

She talked to them a bit; after signing off she perused the shopping options until she found what she wanted, then sent the replicator code to Tom.

Monday night, she was pleased to see Miral holding the stuffed bear she'd sent. "We've had a big day," Tom said. "First day of daycare. We're taking it a few hours at a time."

Late Tuesday afternoon, testing halted due to a technical issue. The engineers were impervious to her glare: This was not a quick fix. So she packed quickly and barely made the evening transport to Earth.

It was late when she arrived home. The vid was on in the living room, and Tom was stretched out on the couch, fast asleep. She chuckled as she switched off the vid and sat on the floor next to him, her elbow propped up on the cushions.

The movement woke him. "Hey," he yawned.

"Hey yourself. That must have been a bad movie."

"I've seen it before. Got your message ... was waiting up for you, or trying, anyway." He yawned again.

"Stop that," she said, yawning herself. "Any dinner left? I'm starving."

"More pasta," he said as he sat up and carefully swung his legs around so he could stand up.

"What shape is it this time?"

"Cowboy hats."

"Well, you are certainly broadening my culinary tastes. Help your old captain up, will you?"

XXX

He handed her a PADD as they ate. "Today's big news: I'm officially divorced."

Since Tom was not contesting, a Federation court had accepted the divorce decree, effective the date it was issued. The court also set a hearing date to review the custody decree, issued an order giving Tom full custody of Miral in the meantime, and …

She looked at Tom. "A no-contact order?"

"I think it was Moira's idea. She's worried that B'Elanna's going to snatch her away. We certainly don't have much to talk about."

He took back the PADD. "I guess I'm relieved, but that's about it. In some ways, I still can't believe it."

She rested her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. I know it sounds trite, but you'll get through this."

He put his hand over hers and squeezed it. "I know, but I wish we could get a quicker hearing date. It's going to be a long six months."

"In some ways, it will be," she said, returning the squeeze.