At the sound of the Sickbay doors opening, Alyssa Ogawa looked up and smiled as she saw Kathryn Janeway entering.

"Hey Kate," Alyssa greeted happily, "So which department did the walking explosion destroy this time?"

"Hey Lis, where's Mama? Oh and for the record I am not a walking explosion." She added, jabbing a finger in the Nurse's direction.

"You sure about that, because just in the few months that you've been here, I have seen you in here at least once a week with some sort of injury, usually with some poor shell-shocked crewman in tow." Alyssa teased, chuckling as Kathryn stuck her tongue out at her. "Oh, and your mother just had to pop down to the labs, she should be back any minute."

"Great. I have the most amazing news to share." Kathryn squealed joyfully, as she bounced closer to where Alyssa was stood.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Alyssa asked curiously but before Kathryn could begin to tell her, the sickbay doors opened and Beverly entered. Smiling at Alyssa, Beverly immediately turned and headed towards her office, calling back to her daughter,

"Which department do I need to apologise to this time?" Her tone full of amused exasperation. Stepping through the doorway to her office, she idly wondered if she'd saved the last one she wrote or whether she'd need to draft a brand new one.

"None, jeese. Seriously why does everyone assume that that is the only reason that I could be here. I do come visit you for other reasons, you know." Kathryn replied, throwing her hands up dramatically, as she followed her mother into her office.

"Whilst that may be true, do you really want me to list off the number of times when you've come here simply because you need me to send apologies to a department head for some accident or other that you've caused? You, my darling girl are becoming known as a walking disaster." Beverly chuckled, looping an arm loosely around Kathryn's shoulders and pulling her close for a brief hug. "So if you're not here for treatment, an apology or to beg me to ask for you to be let back into a department, what can I do for you?"

"Oh right, yes, I have the most amazing news." Kathryn said, her excitement, which had been briefly dulled by the teasing, reigniting almost immediately at the question. "Commander Riker has said that as long as all the surveys come back clear, he'll let me join the next away mission as an observer. My first away mission." She sighed happily, a bright smile lighting up her face. "As long as you give permission of course." She added a little more nervously.

For a moment, Beverly stared at her daughter in shock. She knew, of course, thanks to the regular communication that she had with the various departments on the ship, the science and engineering ones in particular, that whilst her daughter had become notorious for her accidents, she had also become equally as famous for her skills and intellect.

To be invited on an away mission by the first officer himself though, that was proof of highly thought of Kathryn truly was. Beverly was overwhelmed with pride, and although a hint of worry still fluttered in her belly, she quickly pushed it down and instead focused on her still nervous looking daughter. Deciding to put her out of her misery, she cleared her throat and spoke.

"Well I don't see why not. Guess all those accidents haven't been for nothing, they've at least brought you to the attention of the Senior Staff." Beverly teased, although inwardly she considered that a visit to the First Officer might still be in order, just to make a few things clear both for the Commander and herself.

"I can go? I can go." Kathryn cheered, bouncing around the thankfully empty sickbay, her excitement pulling Beverly from her musings about tormenting Will Riker. Rolling her eyes at the antics of the girl, Beverly headed after her daughter into the main room of the sickbay.

"Yes, you can go. Now how about we go get some coffee and cake to celebrate?" She suggested, as Kathryn began to calm down.

"Sounds perfect. Do you want to join us, Lis?" She called out to the Nurse.

"No, I have some work to finish here, you two go ahead." Alyssa replied, knowing how important it was for the pair to celebrate this moment together.

"Shall we then?" Beverly offered, and with that the pair looped arms and left through the doors, their giggles drifting back into the now empty room.

Alyssa watched them with a fond smile, chuckling at their antics, before picking up a nearby discarded PADD and returning to her work.

William T. Riker was known for being a brave man. He had faced down angry boyfriends, aliens wanting to kill him and away missions gone amok, however upon glancing up from his seat on the Bridge early into his morning shift, he felt a wave of terror wash over him that he never experienced before.

Captain Picard, who had been idly conversing with his First Officer, upon noticing that he had grown extremely pale, turned around to see what had scared the other man so much. Seeing Beverly Howard striding down to the lower level, a stern expression on her face, Picard immediately understood the reason behind the man's sudden fear. Suppressing a smirk, he took a moment to relish not being the target of the red-head's temper, before Picard turning back to his first officer.

"I take it you didn't take my advice and speak with the good Doctor before making your offer to her daughter?"

"You were serious?" Will gulped nervously. "But she's a Starfleet Cadet, surely that means Doctor Howard knows that this kind of offer is bound to happen eventually."

"Number One, when it comes to a mother's concern for her child, I would always advice erring on the side of caution, particularly since Miss Janeway is not on this ship in an official Starfleet capacity." Picard reminded the nervous man, and then with a smile, he looked up at the beautiful red-head, who now stood in front of the pair.

"My dear Doctor, as this promises to be a somewhat sensitive discussion, perhaps I might offer my Ready Room as a suitable location for it to take place in?"

"Thank you, Captain, that would be perfect. If you would be so kind as to join me Commander." Beverly ordered calmly, spinning on her heel and heading towards the Captain's ready room, never even glancing back to see if her order had been followed.

Once they were inside, Beverly immediately turned to face the tall Commander and Will had to resist the urge not to flinch away from the Doctor, however seeing the amusement and triumph that flashed across Beverly's eyes, Will knew that his attempts had failed.

Surprisingly, Beverly did not immediately begin to speak, but instead she stared at the other man for a moment. Finally after taking a deep breath, Beverly spoke, her voice soft and unsure.

"Are you sure that she's ready for this Commander?" She asked, her blue eyes shining with fear. "I know she's amazingly bright, and clearly she's capable, but she's also only recently been making progress following the accident, and so I need you to promise me that she is ready, that she will be safe."

Will was stunned. He had entered the room fully expecting a tongue lashing on his decision to invite Kathryn to join them on the next away mission without consulting the Doctor herself. He was instead surprised to see such a vulnerable side of the Doctor emerge, and not for the first time, Will wondered if some of the rumours floating around the ship regarding the reasons that Beverly gave up her daughter were true. Certainly the waves of terror coming off the woman stood in front of him seemed more extreme than what he had felt and seen come from other parents, when their children first started taking on greater responsibilities and challenges.

Now feeling extremely guilty for not taking the time to talk to the woman previously, Will hurried to reassure her.

"Kathryn is the talk of the ship, Doctor, and more than simply being ready, many believe that without further challenges, she's going to become bored and then the whole ship might be in danger from some of her experiments." He paused, realising that his teasing remarks might not go down well with the Doctor and so offering a soft smile to the pale Doctor, he added. "I do give you my word though, that I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. She will not even be confirmed as a member of the team until we are certain that the planet is secure."

Beverly took a deep breath and smiled weakly at the Commander.

"Thank you."

I could give tonnes of excuses about why this has been so late but basically life has been crazy busy. I can reassure you that the story now has ending although who knows if it will stick lol and so posts will continue as regularly as I can manage. Bit of a filler I know but the next chapter is where the action starts. A xxxxx