EPILOGUE

USS Voyager - Captain's Ready Room

Bone re-knit, bruises healed, Kathryn Janeway sat behind her desk in her ready room, a PADD in one hand. Geordi La Forge, seated in the same location on his ship, spoke to her through her desktop monitor. "So the damage was superficial, then?"

"Most of it. Commander Torres says she'll have transwarp operational again by morning, with the help from your staff. We may need an extra day or two at Deep Space 10 for hull repairs, but no more than that." She set the PADD down and smiled. "If anyone doubted the ability of our respective crews to work together effectively, I think we proved otherwise."

La Forge grinned. "Absolutely. We made a great team."

"And in that spirit," Kathryn leaned closer, "would you like to escort Commander Prolak back to the Alpha Quadrant?"

La Forge chuckled. "Oh, but I wouldn't want to insult him. I'm sure he's expecting to be escorted by the senior commander."

"In other words, no." Kathryn shrugged. "I don't blame you. But I can't wait to hand him over to Josh Merves again. On an unhappier topic, have you scheduled the memorial service yet?"

Geordi became serious. "We'll do it at Deep Space 10. Some of Kit Kesler's shipmates from her last posting are stationed there now, and Li's wife should be able to arrive in time."

"Let me know, please. I know Tom Paris wants to attend, and I'm sure others will, too. How are Korbut and O'Connell doing?"

"Fine. Dr. Ogawa tells me they can return to duty tomorrow." Then he adopted an expression of exaggerated confusion. "Say, I thought you were supposed to be on your honeymoon."

She laughed. "I heard that rumor, too."

"Good night, Kathryn. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Good night, Geordi." The connection ended, and she swung the monitor back to its resting position. There were reports waiting to be read, and forms waiting to be filled out, but with a single decisive movement, she turned off the computer. Time enough to deal with paperwork tomorrow.

Beta Quadrant - USS Odyssey - Harry Kim's Quarters

"I still can't believe it," Jenny repeated. She had stopped by unexpectedly, too wound up to be alone yet. Harry was getting used to his new role as surrogate sibling. "I can't believe I got to be part of that."

Harry handed her a glass of fruit juice and joined her at the table. "Why not? You're on the senior staff. You've done co-pilot duty before. Senar knew he could rely on you."

She had let her hair down and was more relaxed than he had seen her in days. "Yeah, but still, I expected to be trapped in the Astrometrics Lab for most of this trip. Maybe an occasional shift on the Bridge, but not much else. Especially if Sam Lavelle is handing out the assignments."

"You're being too hard on yourself."

"But I notice you don't think I'm being too hard on him. I swear, Harry, I don't know what he has against me." She flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder. "Maybe he's just a poop."

Harry was willing to bet very few women had ever referred to Sam Lavelle as a 'poop.' "I could ask him," he offered blandly.

Her eyes bugged. "Don't you dare!" In an obvious effort to change the subject, she asked, "Have you read Marla's letter yet?"

"No. I think I should just delete it."

"Oh, no, Harry." She set her drink down. "You should see what she has to say."

"What could she possibly say that would make any difference?" he asked.

"I don't know, but you should read it anyway," she said. "You wouldn't be this upset if you didn't still care. Maybe it will help."

She was so sincere, he didn't have the heart to tell her she didn't understand. Just seeing the letter was like a rip in a scar that was just starting to heal. He was afraid that reading it would bring the pain back, as fresh as the day she ran away. "I'll think about it."

Clearly she didn't believe him, but she knew him well enough to recognize the subject was closed. "So," she said. "What do you want to do about dinner? Eat here? Mess hall? The Sandrine's program? Should I call O'Connell?" Her expression became sly. "Or perhaps Dr. Ogawa would like to join us."

His door chime sounded, and he stood to answer it. "Don't start matchmaking," he said, pointing at her. "Come."

He was surprised when Sam Lavelle walked in. "Harry - oh. I'm interrupting."

"Not at all," Harry said. "We're just rehashing the day. Have a seat."

Lavelle seemed stiff as he joined them at the table, and Harry realized that Jenny had tensed up as well. She quickly pulled her hair back behind her shoulders, and squared her shoulders. "Juice?" she asked, indicating the pitcher of pulpy orange-red liquid.

"Betazoid orange juice?" he asked. "No thanks. Too sweet for me."

Harry sat, and waited for Lavelle to explain the reason for his visit. When nothing happened, he jumped in before the silence became too awkward. "That was really something today, wasn't it."

"Yeah. Um, your buddy from Voyager really came through."

The compliment for Tom Paris was so surprising that Harry nearly choked as he swallowed his juice. Jenny spoke up. "Tom's a good officer."

Recovered, Harry added, "And he wasn't about to let his wife get blown up or orphan his daughter." Then he remembered something. "Hey - you know those shrubs you took from Voyager's arboretum? You might not want to mention that in front of Captain Janeway."

"Why not?"

"Those were coffee bushes." In her chair, Jenny clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "You might say that Captain Janeway is, uh, attached to her coffee."

Lavelle groaned. "Oh, lord, she had some kind of coffee bet with the Captain, didn't she?"

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us." Harry grinned.

"Thanks." Then Lavelle must have run out of things to say, because he looked down at the table for a few seconds, then stood. "Well. I didn't mean to stay this long. I just wanted to let you know, we're having a poker game tonight in Alyssa's quarters. You're welcome to join us if you're interested."

"Thanks." Apparently Lavelle was continuing the tradition he had adopted on the Enterprise. Well, that wasn't surprising since so many former Enterprise officers were on board. "Is the Captain coming?"

"He might, but it depends on his workload." Lavelle cocked his head and smiled. He really could be disarming. "I hope he does. He's not that good."

Harry laughed. "Then you want me there, too. I'm not very good either."

"You're definitely welcome. Alyssa's place, 2030 hours. Bring a snack."

"What about me?" Jenny asked suddenly.

Lavelle looked at her with raised eyebrows, challenging her. "Do you know how to play?"

"Well enough." Then she smiled warmly. "But I make great snacks."

"That'll do." He turned to go, then stopped. "I thought you guys from Voyager were all smoke and no fire. I may have been wrong." Then he walked out.

"May be wrong?" Jenny repeated indignantly.

"Hey, that was big," Harry said. "Take it as a compliment." He went over to a drawer and returned with a deck of cards.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Lessons. You don't know a thing about poker, do you?"

Beta Quadrant - USS Voyager, Officers Mess

"You look like I feel," Zeke Brown said to Auraan. "Mind if I join you? We can commiserate together."

He was sitting before she could come up with an excuse. "I wasn't planning on company," she finally said.

"Oh, come on, Princess, have pity on a commoner."

She closed her eyes. "Please do not call me that."

"Why not? You are one, aren't you? It's on your record." He tested his soup and found it too hot. "Look, I had a lousy day and from the look on your face, so did you. Misery loves company and all that."

"I did not have a 'lousy' day. I had a very busy day, and I'm tired." She should leave, but somehow she couldn't make herself. "Why was your day so bad? I heard you did very well."

He shook his head. "Oh, yeah, I did just fine. It's still my first week on the job and I managed to screw up with the Captain. And probably Commander Tuvok, too, now that I think about it. Dr. Zimmerman was furious with me."

"Why?" At least she had only angered Commanders Torres and Paris.

He shrugged. "I called the Bridge to tell the Captain her husband had been injured. I knew we were in the middle of a crisis, but I assumed she'd want to know."

"That doesn't sound so bad to me." Then she had a thought. "You didn't do something incorrectly when treating him, did you?"

"No!" He looked shocked. "I just should have waited until the crisis was over."

"Oh. That still doesn't sound so bad."

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll feel that way tomorrow. So what put that look on your face? You should be celebrating. You're one of the heroes of the day."

"I don't feel like one," she said honestly. "Commander Paris was the one who did everything. I was just along for the ride."

"That's not right." He stirred his soup without trying to eat it. "From what I hear, every one of the co-pilots had to stay right on top of things to make it work."

"But I didn't think it would." She shook her head. "It was impossible to accomplish. It should have been impossible. I thought Commander Paris was crazy."

Zeke grinned. "Dr. Zimmerman says he is."

"Perhaps he has to be," Auraan said. "Perhaps that's how he does impossible things."

"That's getting pretty philosophical." He finally tried a taste of soup. "My turn. At the end of the day, we both learned something. That's better than screwing up and learning nothing."

She looked at him, trying to decide why she was still in this conversation. "I think you are a very odd man."

"Odd? That's a new one. Most people think I'm charming, until I put my foot in my mouth. I do that a lot. Why am I odd?"

"Because we have barely met, but you sit down and talk to me as if we were -" she caught the word 'peers' in time and substituted, "friends."

"How else do you make friends, Princess?"

"Please," she said, closing her eyes in frustration again, "don't call me that."

This time, if asked why not, she was going to tell him. She was going to tell him that "Princess" was an Earth term that wasn't used on Troyius. Her full title was "Her Serene Eminence, Daughter of the Royal House, Flower of the Sun and Petal of the Moon." She, her sisters and her female cousins were known collectively as the "Flowers." Not that she wanted to be called "Flower" on this ship, but at least it would be more accurate.

She was ready to answer his question, but instead he said, "Hey, Marie, Delia, we've got room here."

Opening her eyes she saw her roommate, Delia O'Brien, and Marie Stevens, the medtech who had checked her out this afternoon, approaching with trays.

Delia smiled at her. "Hello, Lieutenant. You were really in the thick of things today, weren't you?"

"Tell us about it," Marie said, sitting beside her.

Across the table, Zeke Brown smiled and Auraan was suddenly certain she'd been set up. The man, she decided, was definitely odd. But she had to admit, she was suddenly eager to talk about it. "Commander Paris was amazing," she began.

Alpha Quadrant - USS Voyager - Captain's Quarters

Kathryn flopped onto the sofa and threw her head back. The intensity of the past week was catching up with her. "So much for our quiet dinner."

Chakotay put an arm around her shoulder and, careful not to pressure his still-tender hands, pulled her into a snuggle. "I have a feeling we won't have many of those for a while."

"Today was unusual, I hope. We won't returning from an adventure like this one often." Leaning her head into the crook of his shoulder, she smiled. "You certainly seem to have made a new friend."

His chuckle was more of a rumble in his chest. Stann had come by their quarters to say good-bye, but ended up joining them for dinner. "He certainly liked the tum yum gai at dinner. I'm glad he's decided to join the colonists on Pioneer. So many of them have lost everything they had, I'm sure he'll find some kindred spirits."

"Oh," she said innocently, "I meant Prolak."

He squeezed her arm in playful protest. The Romulan had been their first unexpected visitor of the evening, dropping by ostensibly to convey the thanks of the Romulan government and say his farewells before returning to Pioneer himself. After delivering his message, though, he had lingered for no apparent reason. "That was strange. You know, I think he was hoping we'd invite him to stay on board - or at least, to dinner."

"I had that feeling, too - and I wasn't going to do it."

"Thank you. The man irritates me. You are sure he's leaving Voyager "

She smiled. "Consider it done. Maybe I should ask Miral. She seems to have quite an effect on him."

Miral and T'Pel had beamed back as soon as the ships were in transport range, and the little girl immediately insisted her parents take her to all her friends so she could see for herself they were all right. When the Parises dropped by, Miral had dashed straight to Chakotay and demanded a song. Prolak left about two seconds after that. Chakotay said, "She could probably handle it. She's got the rest of us wrapped around her finger."

Lifting her head to look at him, she asked, "Just where did you learn 'Froggy Went A-Courting,' anyway? And don't try to tell me it's an ancient legend of your people."

"My grandfather used to sing it. I can't even guess where he learned it." His fingers tightened a bit on her arm. "As impromptu dinner parties go, that one turned out well. It's good to see that Miral survived the separation with no ill effects." His good mood dissipated. "I hope you can say the same."

It was almost a non-sequitor since they hadn't been separated during the crisis, but she knew what he meant. Still, she was surprised by the sudden turn in the conversation. "What brought that up?"

"Thinking about Miral and Tom and B'Elanna, I suppose." His hand began to move restlessly up and down her arm, barely more than fingertips touching her. "It's hard when your duty to your ship and your duty to your family conflict."

"It is hard." She remembered how she felt in that moment on the Bridge, torn between her need to be with him in Sickbay and her need to save her ship and crew. He felt guilty enough without adding to his burden, so she added lightly, "But they certainly passed the test today with flying colors. And," she added, "so did we."

He was quiet, but she could feel his heart begin to pound and his entire body tense. "What?" she asked.

Even then he hesitated. "Would ... would it be better for you if I dropped out of the mission? I could get off at Deep Space 10 and find a position at a university or dig until you get back."

Shocked, she pulled away from his embrace. "Do you want to?"

"I *don't* want to make things harder for you, and I feel as if that's all I've done the last few days." He looked miserable. "You don't need that kind of distraction."

"But I do need you." She started to reach for his hand, remembered the Doctor's admonition for him to avoid pressure for a few more days and set her palm over his heart instead. "We knew there'd be times like this. Why would we change our minds when we've weathered it so well?"

He searched her face. "Have we really?"

She realized he knew she was holding back, and that by holding back she was making the incident more important than it really was. She had thought her silence would protect him, but that wasn't true. "Yes. I admit - I had a bad moment when Dr. Brown called the Bridge. And I didn't know whether to kiss you or wring your neck when I came down to Sickbay and saw you chatting away with Prolak and Stann. But one thing I've learned from you is that I can't feel guilty about everything that happens."

"This won't be the last time," he said. "It's going to happen again. It's bound to. It's hard to remember I'm not part of the team any more, and I'm sure I'll bump up against the rules now and then."

"No, really?" She couldn't help smiling. "I know that. I knew that three Prixins ago, when I finally made my decision about you. A couple of rough moments haven't changed my mind. Have you changed yours?"

His expression softened. "Not in the least." He kissed her softly, and smiled. "Want to go to bed and cuddle?"

"You bet," she said. "I'm on my honeymoon."

-the end-

Author's note

First, acknowledgement must be made to "The Doomsday Machine," the TOS episode by Norman Spinrad which tells the story of Kirk's planet-killer.

Next, apologies and thanks are due - HUGE apologies to everyone for the long wait for this story. If I went through all the RL distractions that made me late, I'd just sound whiney - and I don't want to sound whiney. Then there was the writer's block that seemed to last forever. Thanks to my fellow 7.5 staff writers who helped me work through the worst of it and renewed my enthusiasm for the story, and then offered wonderful suggestions to make it better. Most of all, thanks to all you readers who hung in there with us.