They reached the bottom of the stairs at the same time that Gretchen was coming in the front door, her arms filled with shopping bags.

"Don't tell me your sister's already here," she laughed, transferring two of the bags into Kathryn's hands, and refusing to give any to Chakotay although he held out his left hand. "I've got them," she insisted, much as she had done with the suitcases.

Kathryn saw a slightly exasperated look cross his face, but she silenced any possible rebuttal with a look of her own. She knew he hated being treated like an invalid, and carrying one grocery bag wasn't too difficult for him, but she also knew her mother – Chakotay was a guest, and a recuperating guest at that – Gretchen Janeway wasn't about to put him to work.

And at that moment, a small army of workers appeared anyway – literally small; Ellie and Cooper came running from the kitchen, grabbed the bags out of Kathryn's and Gretchen's hands, and retreated back down the hall, almost bumping into their mother. They looked back over their shoulders and giggled, glancing a bit nervously at Chakotay.

"Phoebes," Kathryn greeted her with an embrace. "You must have left work early."

"Work will always be there," the red-haired woman smiled. "But I don't get to see my big sister every day."

And Chakotay grinned at the use of the word "big;" Phoebe was at least three inches taller than her sister, tall and slender with the same blue-grey eyes and fair skin.

She reached out and took his hand. "Chakotay, it's so good to see you again. I'm sorry my children are lacking in manners and didn't say hello." She looked toward the kitchen. "I think they're being just a little shy. They'll warm up once they get to know you."

"Shy?" Kathryn laughed. "Then they must take after Jeff." She glanced over at Chakotay. "Phoebe doesn't have a shy bone in her body."

"Neither of my girls does," Gretchen agreed. "Now, why don't we all go have a seat in the kitchen while I start baking those brownies? It's getting close to teatime anyway," she added with a smile.

"Or coffee time, for Kathryn anyway," Phoebe said, companionably linking her arm through Chakotay's and walking him down the hall ahead of her sister and mother. "So tell me, did she drink coffee incessantly while on Voyager?"

"Well, now, incessantly does sound about right," Chakotay agreed.

And Kathryn rolled her eyes, seeing that Phoebe was doing what she always did – getting every one of her boyfriends on her side so they could gang up on her. She was just about to complain teasingly to her mother when she noticed Gretchen staring at Chakotay's retreating form.

"Mom?" she questioned.

"I don't remember him wearing that brace on the outside of his jeans," Gretchen observed, turning and giving her daughter a calculated look.

"It can go over or under," Kathryn replied succinctly.

Gretchen nodded. "Yes, I see that. I just thought it was under earlier in the day."

And Kathryn sighed. "It was. But he's supposed to exercise his leg on a daily basis, so while you were gone, we had a therapy session."

Another nod, accompanied by a sly grin. "I'm sure you did." And she laughed as she headed toward the kitchen, leaving Kathryn in the entry hall, her face flushing pink from her mother's words.

~vVv~

"Your aunt named him George," Chakotay said.

"And he was a monkey just like we have at the nature preserves?" Cooper asked, taking another bite of his chocolate chip cookie.

"Just like," Chakotay returned.

"All the way in the Delta Quadrant?" Ellie's tone held a note of doubt, and she shifted her gaze from Chakotay to her aunt.

And Chakotay laughed softly. "Well, you don't have to take my word for it, but… George looked just like an Earth monkey."

"But he was a New Earth monkey," Kathryn added, smiling over at Chakotay. He'd won the children over in a matter of minutes, sharing one Delta Quadrant adventure after another.

They were gathered around the kitchen table – the very center of the Janeway home, and, just as he'd done at lunch, Chakotay was sitting in the chair that Edward Janeway had always sat in. Of course, he didn't know that; he'd just chosen it, and it had nothing to do with being at the head of the table, for the table was round. And all the chairs were the same – it wasn't bigger or more imposing than any of the others. He'd just sat there, and it was becoming his chair. And Kathryn liked that.

"How long were you on New Earth?" Phoebe asked.

And Kathryn shot a glance at her – she knew full well how long they'd been on New Earth. They'd already discussed that story in detail the last time Kathryn had been home.

But Chakotay answered, gazing across the table at Kathryn. "Almost two months. And I regret to this day that we didn't get to see those Talaxian tomatoes grow."

"Talaxian tomatoes?" Cooper looked up from his cookie.

And Chakotay started to tell them about Neelix, and soon he was headed down the hall to the guest room to retrieve a data padd so the children could see a real picture of their former Talaxian chef and morale officer. Cooper and Ellie trailed after him.

"You never told me he was so good with kids," Phoebe said, taking a long sip of her tea, and arching her eyebrows at Kathryn.

And Kathryn rolled her eyes, immediately picking up on her sister's underlying intent. "We only had one kid on Voyager," Kathryn sighed, but then smiled at the memory. "He was good with Naomi. And he's adorable with Miral, Tom and B'Elanna's baby."

"Babies, too, huh?" Phoebe teased.

Kathryn groaned slightly. Sure, she and Chakotay had mentioned children just the other day, but she wasn't ready to think about it seriously yet, let alone discuss it with her sister and mother.

And so she tried to deflect the topic. "I'm forty-four, Phoebes. I don't think babies are in the future."

"Well, not too far in the future. But the near future…"

Kathryn looked back over her shoulder toward the stove where her mother was seasoning the soup and keeping her eye on several other pots and pans. "Mom?" she requested her assistance in warding off her sister.

But Gretchen turned around and joined right in. "Phoebe's right. You love him; he loves you. I know you've always wanted children. He seems to enjoy them. And neither of you are getting any younger."

"Mom!"

And Gretchen laid a hand on her shoulder, smoothing down the ruffled feathers. "Just don't run away from it, Katie."

"I'm not running away." She looked over at Phoebe, saw her doubtful expression. "I'm not. I haven't had time to even contemplate running away. You do remember that he was in the hospital for over two weeks, and he's only been home for about a week before we came here. Who's had time to run away?"

"But have you talked about it?" her mother questioned.

"What?"

Gretchen sat down in the chair beside her. "About getting married, starting a family."

"Mom!"

"All right." Gretchen raised her hands. "No more pressure."

Kathryn glanced at her sister. Phoebe shrugged. "Just don't let him get away."

And Kathryn smiled. "I don't think he's going anywhere."

~vVv~