~Recap~

"Goodnight . . . Chakotay." Then she entered a deep sleep, dreaming about a being in a man's arms as he kept on telling her to 'hang on, help is on the way. Please, don't leave me.' Once Chakotay entered his room, and went to bed, he dreamed of Kitty and the rest of the crew having a picnic next to a lake, and Kitty was wearing a white sun dress and her black hair was down, flowing in the wind. Then, everything went up in smoke and flames.

~Recap~

Two Weeks Later

"Here you go, Naomi."

"Thank you for the bag of cookies, Kitty." Naomi looked up and smiled at the taller woman.

"No problem, just don't tell you Uncle Neelix." Naomi nodded her head in consent before leaving the Mess Hall hiding the bag as best she could. Kitty went back into the small kitchen, took out the last batch of cookies, and placed them on the bar, so the crew could eat them. She began preparing the last batch of brownies to take up to the bridge for the crew still on duty.

Just as she put the batch of brownies in the oven Neelix walked into the kitchen. "Thanks for letting me bake some sweets, Neelix."

"No problem, Kitty. You asked so nicely I couldn't say no." He replied as he put more food out for the crew to eat.

"Well, thanks anyway. It's fun helping you out." He just smiled at her back as she turned to wash the dishes.

Hmmm . . . hm . . . hmmm . . . da . . . dada . . .

Unbeknownst to her, Kitty began humming the lullaby she knew since she was a kid, called Once Upon a December. It was a habit of hers. As her humming continued the crew felt their worries leave them. It was like a weight was lifted from their shoulders.

Dancing bears, painted wings,

Things I almost remember

Kitty began swaying with the rhythm. The small cat ears atop her head twitched occasionally as she sang.

Someone holds me safe and warm,

Horses prance through a silver storm,

Figures dancing gracefully,

Across my memory.

Lalala . . . lalala . . . lalalalala . . . la . . .

She began to twirl gracefully around the kitchen while singing out loud. Each step she took flowed into the next one. She continued to wash and dry the dishes for the rest of the song. Her purple dress swayed and twisted around her long legs. The black flats she wore seemed to float across the floor as the song ended. By then, she was barely done with a third of the dishes.

Some water splashed on the floor making her aware that she got distracted from what she was doing and she immediately went back to work.

She finally finished the dishes and had several more minutes until the brownies were ready. The Mess Hall was still serving lunch for the late comers but it was practically empty. She decided to sit at one of the empty tables as she waited. She watched Neelix walk around and chat with the other people in the room.

She began to think about the past two weeks she spent on Voyager. She spent some time on the holodeck and she's explored the whole ship with Naomi as her guide. The senior officers' and several other crewmembers have become her friends, but she still felt strange. People still stared at her and she didn't know why. Sure, she could be a shy person, but she wasn't a recluse.

The smell of perfectly baked brownies tore her from her thoughts. She got up and went into the kitchen to take the brownies out. She cut the brownies into squares and placed them on a platter.

"Neelix, I'm going to the bridge now. I'll be back soon." She yelled as she exited the kitchen.

"Okay, Kitty. Be careful. We don't want you getting injured." She smiled as she walked through the door, not bothering to reply. She took the turbo-lift down to Astrometrics first, and found Seven working diligently as usual.

"What do you require, Kitty?" She asked without looking up from her work.

"I don't require anything at the moment, Seven. I was just wondering if you would like to try one of the brownies I baked."

"I do not require sustenance at this time." Seven replied. She looked up at that moment and noticed Kitty's hurt expression before stopping her work and taking a brownie from the offered plate. "But it couldn't hurt to try one."

Kitty held her breath as Seven bit into the brownie, a smile firmly planted on her face as Seven began chewing the sweet.

"This is quite delicious. I did not know you could bake, Kitty." Kitty's smile turned into a full-on grin at Seven's words.

"Thank you for trying one. I shall see you at dinner, correct?"

"Of course."

"Okay, bye." The grin was still on Kitty's face as she left Astrometrics and remained plastered on as she entered the turbolift. Seven actually finished the brownie before Kitty even walked through the door.

As the doors opened onto the bridge, her grin became a small smile. The heads of the crew turned at the sound of the doors opening and the smell of the brownies. "Would anyone like a brownie?"

"Oh!" Harry raised his hand slightly before the words even left her lips. "I'll have one."

She walked over to him and held out the plate waiting for him to take a brownie. Harry took one but stopped just before taking a bite and stared at it suspiciously.

"Did Neelix make these? They look like normal brownies." He sniffed the brownie experimentally before taking a small bite.

"No, I made them." Kitty smiled as he took a bite, watching him trying to savor the flavor of the brownie. "The Doctor said it was alright to help Neelix as long as I don't do anything to strenuous."

Kitty turned as Chakotay spoke to her, "Well, if Harry's reaction is any clue to how good your brownies are, I think we all would like one."

She walked around the bridge passing out brownies, until she got to Lieutenant Paris, who smirked at her as she came to his seat.

"Thank you, Kitty," he looked at her expectantly. "What, no milk to go with these delicious chocolate brownies?"

Her face became a blank sheet, but her eyes gave away her teasing manner. "I don't have more than two arms, Lieutenant. I think carrying brownies and milk would be too hard for one person to carry."

As she walked over to the captain and Chakotay, who insisted on being the last served, she could hear Tom chuckling.

"Captain, Commander. I hope you like chocolate."

"Thank you, Kitty," replied the Captain, before both she and Chakotay took a brownie.

Kitty walked up to Lieutenant Tuvok and said, "I believe it is safe to assume that you do not want a brownie."

"Your assumption would be correct, Kitty." She nodded at his words and walked over to the turbolift. Before she stepped in she turned around and looked at all the smiling faces in the room. She knew something bad would happen soon and she would have to leave them to save their lives. She has been planning on telling the Captain to drop her off somewhere, but she just couldn't come up with what to say.

Just before leaving the bridge, she asked one more question, "Would anyone, like anything else?"

(Chakotay's POV)

"Some milk, please."

Kitty just rolled her eyes at Tom's antics and seemed to glide out of the room. Chakotay stared at Kitty as the doors closed but she didn't seem to notice, like she was in her own world. He sat down, thinking of the time he first set eyes on her in the Mess Hall.

"Commander," Chakotay was torn from his thoughts as Kathryn placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Captain. I was just thinking." He took a bite of the brownie to take his mind off of the woman who just left the bridge. He stopped chewing for a moment taking in the flavor with a surprise. "These brownies are good. Maybe we should have Kitty make dessert more often."

A smile appeared on the Captain's face at the comment. Several minutes passed by as the people on the bridge finished eating their brownies. The Captain and Commander continued their discussion about sports and such, after finishing their brownies, before they were interrupted.

"Captain."

"Yes, Harry."

"I'm reading a strange energy signal. It appears to be coming from everywhere but nowhere." The Captain looked at him, confusion clearly written on her face.

"Scan it, Ensign." Harry could be seen pressing several buttons on his screen.

"I've tried but it's messing up our scanners." Janeway stood up and walked over to Harry's station, checking for herself.

"Tuvok, are you getting anything?"

"No, Captain. My sensors are not functioning properly either."

Beep.

"Doctor to the Captain. Please respond." Janeway looked up and walked over to her seat, seeing as she couldn't do anything else and nothing else could possibly go wrong at this moment.

"Go ahead, Doctor."

"Have you seen Kitty? She was supposed to come to be here for her appointment five minutes ago and she's never been late." The bridge became dead silent besides the noises made by the computers. Chakotay could feel panic rising within him. He took several breaths to calm himself down. Panicking would get them nowhere.