Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek Voyager or anything associated with it, Paramount does!

Sugar and Snowballs

Naomi Wildman turned on her side and huffed. There was no way she could sleep after the party last night. There was too much excitement still running through her. She slowly eased her way out of the covers and tiptoed past her mom's room. Luckily, the door to their quarters wasn't too loud, but then again, Sam Wildman was probably too exhausted to hear her daughter leave, anyways.

Naomi made her way down to the mess hall and began to rummage carefully through the lower cupboards. "C'mon out," she murmured. "Neelix said you were here…Oof!" One of the pans shifted and fell with a clatter as she bumped her head crawling out, and she heard a small gasp from the sitting area.

A pair of Starfleet-issue, high-heeled boots appeared, and Naomi looked up quickly, holding her head with one hand and grabbing for the troublesome pan with the other. "Captain!" she exclaimed.

"My goodness, Naomi; you scared me. Are you alright?" Kathryn asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Naomi winced. "I was looking for the leftover cookies Neelix said were somewhere in the kitchen."

Kathryn lifted a covered bowl off the counter. "These?"

"Yes!" the little girl replied happily, forgetting about her injury and taking a cookie. "Now I just need to clean up here, and I'll be out of your way…" she mumbled through her mouthful of sugar.

"It's okay," Kathryn laughed, "I was just finishing up some reading. I'll help you organize this, and then maybe we can play something if you still can't sleep."

Naomi nodded her agreement, and Kathryn also took a cookie. The two of them worked swiftly, and they soon had completed not only the first cabinet but also the entire row and even the counters.

Naomi bounced over to the sitting area. "Neelix is going to be so happy when he gets here," she smiled, "and I can go get the Kadis Kot board."

"Hold on; you might wake up your mother. She has a busy day tomorrow," Kathryn cautioned her.

"Then what can we do?" Naomi asked. "What did you do when you were little?"

"Well, the first thing that comes to mind is snowball fights," Kathryn recalled fondly. "A whole group of children would go out on a snow day. We'd just separate into teams and then start throwing."

"But we can't do that here."

"I know; let me think for a moment," Kathryn mused.

"Or can we…" Naomi reconsidered her earlier statement. She went over to the replicator. "Computer, one bowl of popcorn."

"Naomi, what are you doing?"

"Look out!" the girl shouted, and Kathryn ducked instinctively. A handful of popcorn came flying through the air towards her. "Get a bowl, Captain!"

Kathryn couldn't resist. The competition was on. As Naomi kept showering her with the small fluffy kernels, she rushed towards the replicator. "Computer, another bowl of popcorn," she laughed. As soon as it materialized, she fired back.

Maybe it was late enough that the craziness seemed right.

The popcorn continued to fly through the air as the two of them threw and dodged simultaneously. When it was gone, they scooped it off the floor and tossed it all over again. The mess hall rang with Naomi's shrieks of joy and the Captain's deep laughter.

The walls must have been sound-proof because she could never figure out why else no one woke up.

After a long while, Kathryn braced herself on a table and tried to catch her breath. "Cease-fire!" she gasped.

Naomi dropped her next handful and came over. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm just not as young as you are," Kathryn replied breathlessly.

Naomi tried and failed to stifle a yawn, hiccupping at the same time. "Hmmm, maybe I need a break, too. We could read a story," she yawned again.

"Don't you think you should be going to bed now?"

"Please?" Naomi tried for her cutest puppy dog eyes.

"Alright. Just a short one," Kathryn said. She got Naomi a cup of water, and then they both collapsed onto the sofa.

As Kathryn looked for a good children's story, Naomi said thoughtfully, "I kind of distracted you tonight, didn't I? Not very good for a Captain's assistant."

"I didn't know you wanted to be my assistant," Kathryn said, looking at her with a slight smile, "but I think you're perfect for the job. Even the Captain has to have some fun once in a while."

Naomi smiled back, and Kathryn began to read.

Before they knew it, morning had come. Kathryn stirred and lifted her head, blinking a couple of times before she fully awoke and processed the sight of her first officer kneeling next to the sofa.

"Good morning." Chakotay was not even trying to hide his grin as he took the story PADD out of her hands and laid it on the table. "Burning the midnight oil?"

Kathryn glanced at Naomi curled up against her, yawning, "In a way. What time is it?"

"0500," Chakotay replied. He swept his gaze around the room, and Kathryn suddenly remembered the popcorn from the night before. She felt a little heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Oh," she said. "Guess we'd better clean this up."

"It is the mess hall. Besides, what's this 'we'?" Chakotay joked.

"Watch it, mister. Neelix won't be happy to see popcorn all over; I'm going to need the help," Kathryn admonished him, but the grin on her face was equally large now. "I'll tell you all about it later."

"Mmmm," Naomi murmured. "Hi, Chakotay." She turned her face into the couch cushions and snuggled up closer to Kathryn before falling back asleep.

"How about I clean up, and you take her back to Sam," Chakotay suggested, his eyes twinkling.

Kathryn yawned again and answered, "You're an angel."