Disclaimer: CBS/Paramount own Voyager and the characters established on the show. The original characters and story are mine, from which I make no money.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a bit tardy this week. I single handedly crashed TWO computers this week!

When Neelix stopped hugging Naomi, he looked to Icheb, "Now, what exactly did I just interrupt?"

Icheb pursed his lips, trying to decide how best to answer the question, "Well, you see, we were, um, well…"

"Never mind, it was obvious what you were doing. When did this happen? How serious is this? What are your intentions toward my Goddaughter?"

Naomi hoped to deter Neelix' interrogation of Icheb by embarking on one of her own, "I'm glad to see you, but, what are you doing here? When did you arrive?"

"Nice try Naomi, but I want the answers to my questions first."

"No, Neelix, I'm the patient here and I had no idea you were in the Alpha Quadrant, much less on my ship. I want to know what's going on. You can interrogate us later."

Neelix looked down at his Goddaughter, "Of course, sorry. I heard about the Brunali vendetta against Voyager…"

"Stop, wait, what vendetta against Voyager? I thought they were after the Borg."

"Well they were, but one of their targets was definitely Voyager and its crew. I think that's why Yifay agreed so quickly to wait until Admiral Janeway arrived. She never had any intention of negotiating, she just wanted Janeway to be here so she could exact her vengeance on the woman who thwarted one of her earlier attempts to destroy the Borg. As I was saying, I learned of her intention to destroy Voyager, but I couldn't really do anything about it. Luckily Leucon found me and we began working on countermeasures for their biotechnology."

"Wait, did you say Leucon? Icheb's father is with you?"

With a nervous glance in Icheb's direction, Neelix answered, "Yes, he is. He left the Brunali home world when he realized he wife was…um…"

Icheb completed the sentence for him, "insane."

"Well, yes, he believed she had gone too far. Anyway, we worked on a way to defeat the Brunali biotechnology. He had downloaded all the information he could about their research and development. They used information they found in the Starfleet database as well as their genetic engineering prowess to devise formidable weapons.

"As you know, I have been in contact with Starfleet and Admiral Janeway as part of my 'Ambassadorial' duties. She contacted me and told us of the situation here, we stepped up our efforts and completed our work.

"The tricky part was, how were we going to get here? And could we get here in time? Leucon provided the answers to those questions as well. He had a map of the Borg transwarp conduits Yifay had compiled. So, here we are. We just finished our initial briefing, we'll have a more in depth briefing tomorrow."

Naomi reached out and grabbed Icheb's hand, "Was Leucon at the briefing?"

Neelix had narrowed his eyes at the sight of their clasped hands, "Yes, of course he was."

Naomi pulled Icheb toward her, he had no other option, he sat beside her on the bed, "Oh Icheb, no wonder you were so upset."

"Icheb, I know you're angry with your parents, deservedly so, but I have spent so much time with Leucon, I can assure you, he truly regrets what he and Yifay did to you. He would like to reconcile with you, if possible. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. He is your father and you must make your own decision, I just thought I would let you know, he would like for the two of you to at least talk."

"Neelix, I'm sorry, but, I don't think I can forgive him."

"That's certainly understandable."

An Andorian woman came out of the office and approached them, "My patient needs rest, you will both have to leave now." She stood next to Naomi's bed with a hypospray, it was clear she wasn't going to move until Neelix and Icheb left her patient alone.

Icheb hugged Naomi and kissed her on the cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest."

Neelix moved in and hugged Naomi and kissed her on the cheek as well, "I'm very happy to see you, goodnight."

The two men left the Sickbay and Icheb asked Neelix if he would like a cup of coffee or tea. Neelix thought a soothing beverage would be nice, so the two men made their way to the Mess Hall. After getting their beverages, they sat down in the mostly empty Mess Hall.

"Now, what is going on between you and Naomi, and I really do want to know what your intentions are in regards to my Goddaughter."

"We're in love, obviously. Our relationship is still fairly new, but it is serious. It's way too soon to be considering marriage, but I could definitely see it in our future. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, no more questions about your relationship with Naomi. Now, about your father…"

"Neelix, I'm not sure what I want to do, if anything, about him. He and Yifay used me as a tool to wreak havoc on the Borg. They were my parents, and they were willing to throw my life away, not once, but twice. Would you be able to forgive them if you were in my place?"

Admiral Janeway entered the Mess Hall, went to the replicators and ordered a cup of coffee and a bowl of steamed Chadre Kab. She headed for Neelix and Icheb's table, "May I join you?"

Neelix smiled at her, "Of course, what are you eating Admiral? It looks like Chadre Kab."

"It is, Icheb here has programmed several of your more popular dishes into the Lindbergh's replicator system. They are very popular with the Voyager crew."

Neelix was smiling, it was clear he was filled with pride, "Really, they like my dishes? I never got the impression anyone on Voyager was thrilled with my cooking."

"Neelix, it just proves the old saying, 'You never know what you have until it's gone.' Believe me, when you left Voyager, you left a hole in our hearts, as well as our stomachs. Don't get me wrong, we all understood why you chose to stay with Dexa, Brax and the other Talaxians, but you were missed.

"Icheb, how is Naomi Wildman?"

"She is doing well, she should be released from Sick Bay tomorrow. Neelix and I were ushered out by the doctor on duty. She seemed to think we were keeping Naomi from getting any proper rest."

"Admiral, did you know about this relationship between Icheb and Naomi? I didn't find out about it until I walked into Sick Bay and discovered them kissing! It was most disturbing."

"I can imagine. Icheb, aren't you and Ensign Wildman under orders to show some discretion? It seems to me, kissing in Sick Bay isn't exactly discreet."

Icheb was embarrassed, "No, it wasn't, but we were alone. It is really quite disconcerting to have one's love life be the subject of this much discussion."

Kathryn and Neelix both smiled. "Icheb, just think of it this way, people are discussing it because we care about you. You and Naomi are important to us."

Two men entered the Mess Hall, one went to the bank of replicators and ordered some beverages, the other made a bee line for the table. "May we join you?"

Icheb stood up, then pulled a chair up from another table. By this time the Bolian man had arrived with two steaming mugs. They were seated, and Icheb made the introductions, "I know you were all at the briefing, but I want to be sure you're all acquainted. Admiral Janeway, Ambassador Neelix, this is Dr. Todd Franklin, Lindbergh's CMO and his partner Threm, Lindbergh's Chief Engineer." Icheb knew it wasn't necessary to announce the couple's romantic status, but he was tired of being the only object of romantic gossip.

Todd was shaking Neelix' hand rather enthusiastically, "Ambassador Neelix, it's an honor to see you again in this informal setting. I've been an aficionado of Voyager culture for decades, and the recent arrival of the Voyager and its crew has been an absolute delight to me. I don't know if you know this, but you have been a topic of discussion on the Lindbergh lately. Many of the Voyager crewmembers have come over to our Mess Hall solely for the purpose of sampling dishes which you prepared while Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant. I think it would save wear and tear on the transporters if Icheb would just give Voyager the replicator patterns, but that's just my opinion.

"Will you be doing any culinary creating while you're here? I would really enjoy sampling some dishes prepared by the famous Ambassador Neelix."

Threm chuckled, "Liar."