"If anyone objects to our playing pool, you can officially tell them to stuff it," Tom's note read. Attached was a page from his divorce decree.

She took a deep breath as a jumble of emotions took over: Regret for Tom and B'Elanna, concern for Miral. And a fluttering of … well, elation.

She expected a flood of guilt to follow, but to her surprise, all was quiet. What she heard was the inner voice that whispered to her on Voyager. The one that urged caution when she faced yet another unknown.

"Careful here," it whispered. "You're both on the rebound."

ooo

Tom's message came in the nick of time. She'd just settled at her desk when her aide arrived with a message: Admiral Patterson would like a word …

She met him at the edge of the Academy Gardens. "Did you move your office outside?" she teased.

Patterson chuckled. "No, we just have a nice day for once. And this isn't an official meeting."

They set off down the path. "Katie, it's come to my attention that you've been seeing Tom Paris," he began. "Normally, it wouldn't be my business, but dating a married man puts your career …"

Ah, there it was. She put up a hand. "Let me put your mind at ease: Tom is officially divorced," she said, and Patterson's face relaxed. "I don't know what you've been told, or what someone thought they saw, but yes, we did have dinner a few times. Julia told me he'd filed for divorce and asked me to check on him."

She noted that the Admiral's eyebrow went up at her mention of Julia. A bit of info to file away?

"I did invite him out to Indiana for dinner with the family. And while we may be traditionalists, my family has never chaperoned my dates."

Patterson snorted softly. "Katie, I think your dad wanted to chaperone you and Phoebe a few times. As for Tom, I apologize for bringing up the subject, but I wanted to hear your side. I will be happy to set someone straight," he added with a smile. "So, how is your mother these days? Carol's talking about a lunch date."

"Perfect! Have her set it up here," Kathryn said with a grin. "I'm trying to get Mom out to see my new house.

ooo

"So, when was the last time you went to Detroit?" Tom wrote. "There's an interesting pool setup in a sports bar there. Want to see it?"

xxx

Kathryn looked around as they materialized in an opulent room. "A casino?"

"Yep," Tom replied. "It's right on the river; we can check out the view after we play."

One look at the pool tables and she burst out laughing. "Pool tables with hovercar bodies? Only you could find something like this."

"Well, this was considered the Motor City way back when," he reminded her as he took her hand. "Come on, there's a better collection back here."

He was right: this room held a collection of tables built to look like antique vehicles. "There's a 1950 Corvette over there," he said, pointing to an aqua-and-white vehicle shell. "That's a Mustang, late 1960's, I think. And that's a 22nd-century DuCrosse over here."

"Well, let's take one for a spin," Kathryn said.

ooo

"I'm sorry this was a bust," Tom said over dinner.

"Not a bust," Kathryn said firmly. "Those tables just aren't made for short people. I enjoyed playing once we found one my size," she said with a grin.

ooo

They went out to the casino's boardwalk, with its view of the river and the lights on the Canadian side.

"How are you?" she asked softly.

"Relieved, I think," he said simply, and she knew not to push.

"Still looking at a custody hearing?" He just gave her a wry smile. "Oddly enough, no. She was amazingly conciliatory about my having full custody. So, scheduled vid calls, and she'll come to Earth for visits twice a month. I'm sure she'll be delighted to stay with her dad," he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

He shrugged. "Maybe her lawyer told her that a judge wouldn't send a toddler to Mars. Or maybe she realized that she'd need full-time child care. In either case, it works out for me."

Or maybe it was something he didn't like to think about: An offhand remark from Mike, reported by Harry. A remark that indicated B'Elanna was involved with someone on Mars. Was her demand a last-ditch effort to save their marriage or a means to blow it up?

"Well, I'm glad you sent that message," Kathryn said. "I had a chat with Admiral Patterson today. He was concerned that I was dating a married man."

"Oh, hell," Tom swore. "That's ridiculous. He has no right …"

"Look," Kathryn interrupted, it wasn't official; he's a family friend. I'm not thrilled about the rumors, but at least I could set him straight."

He sighed. "Kate, I'm sorry. I should have refused to break up with you back then. Could have avoided a lot of pain if we'd stayed together," he said quietly.

"You tried that, remember? Much as I wanted to, I couldn't give you a proper relationship," she replied, just as quietly. "And it wasn't all regulations: I had to focus on getting us home. And from time to time, I had to ask you to go into harm's way," she said, letting the rest go unsaid.

"That why you shut down Chakotay, too?" A dangerous question, he knew.

She smiled wryly. "He will always mean a great deal to me, but it was damned hard enough to let go of you. I wasn't about to risk that again."

"Do you think he's ever let go?'

"It seems that he has. And I hope for Seven's sake it stays that way."

She was standing close — close enough that he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her body to his. She leaned into him, and they both sighed contentedly as they watched the barges float down the river.

ooo

Miral ran out of the house to greet him, and he picked her up and spun her around, making her giggle. "So, you have a good time with Grandma and Pop?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," his mother called. "Owen took her out for ice cream."

"After dinner, I hope," he said as he carried Miral into the house, where she scooted off to play with the dog.

"Had breakfast?" Julia asked after she gave him a kiss. "I can replicate something."

"Toast and coffee would be nice, thank you."

The day was warm enough to sit on the patio, and Tom used the view to stall for a moment. "Kathryn told me last night that Admiral Patterson called her in for a chat. Seems he heard that she was dating a married man, meaning me."

Julia blinked in surprise. "I wasn't aware that rumor had made its way to George."

It was Tom's turn to blink. "You knew? Jesus Christ, Mom."

Julia sighed. "I got a call from a friend who'd heard the same rumor. I certainly vouched for Kathryn; said that I'd asked her to look in on you. I imagine Kathryn told George the same story."

"So, Starfleet has morality spies watching admirals' every move?"

"You have no idea, Thomas," she said in a tone that didn't invite a follow-up.

"Out of curiosity, when you talked to this friend, did you happen to repeat the rumor I'd heard: That B'Elanna may have had someone on the side?"

"Your point, darling?" "Yep, she's stalling," Tom thought.

"Well," he said casually, "B'Elanna said she'd take Miral to Q'onoS rather than give me custody. But here we are. Just wondering if she got called in for a chat about adulterous behavior."

His mother shrugged. "That I can't help you with. Actually, I'd considered that the alleged new boyfriend didn't want a baby around. If so, then I'm very glad Miral is with us."

xxx

"Don't worry about Kathryn," Julia said as he and Miral headed out. "If George is involved, this rumor will be squelched in no time. Besides, it's no longer Starfleet's business if you two are dating."

Tom gave her a look. "Dating?"

"Are you?" she asked with just a bit too much interest.

"Little early, don't you think? I'm barely divorced."

"Well, true. Don't want to rush into things," she conceded. She reached over to kiss Miral, then him. "You two have a good day. And say hello to Kathryn when you talk to her."

She shook her head as Tom and Miral made their way down the walk. Tom was right about it being early. On the other hand, she hoped he wouldn't dally: Kathryn was an exceptional woman, and the gossip vids had hinted at a couple of liaisons since Voyager's return. It was just a matter of time before someone caught her eye. And if that happened ...

"She might not be inclined to wait for you, my dear; no matter what you two had on Voyager," she whispered.