Sitting at this long table in the observation lounge was a bit more overwhelming then Alice had originally believed. The three windows behind her were so large and grand she wondered why they hadn't just made the entire wall into one giant glass look out.

She was sitting, sandwiched in-between Data and Beverly and this was helping her nerves. But she wished that Commander Worf and Counselor Troi weren't right across the table. Both staring right at her. Captain Picard was seated at the head of the table, Commander Riker was on his left side, Beverly on his right. Next to Data was someone she didn't know, he wore the rankings of a chief engineer. The only thing she really took notice of was the strange metal device around his eyes.

"This child poses a threat to the Enterprise, sir. How do we know it isn't Q's own spawn?" The growl from Commander Worf was low and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Alice clenched her fists under the table. She wanted to fight back, to say his accusation was ridiculous, but how could she? She was flying by the small trust she had in Q.

"I have considered this possibility myself, Mr. Worf." Captain Picard sounded rather worn today. He gave a deep sigh and looked towards each member seated at the table.

"If I may interject, sir." This came from the engineer next to Data.

"Please, Mr. La Forge." Captain Picard raised his hand for this Mr. La Forge to continue. Alice was sure she'd heard that name before, perhaps read his medical log at one point, but right now her nerves had her mind scrambling to even listen.

"Q doesn't strike me as the fatherly type, I doubt he'd want to have a child with Doctor Baker."

A quiet murmur of agreement went around the table and before Alice could stop herself she whispered, "He has a son"

"What was that Doctor Baker?" Commander Riker had been watching her reactions and saw her mouth move. Alice sat straighter and finally looked into someone's eyes.

"I said, Q already has a son. Junior." Maybe she was a little too forceful with her words, especially after Commander Riker's eyes squinted just slightly. He was sizing her up and Alice was done with all of this.

"Alice is correct, Q showed me a memory of the birth of his child. I do not believe Q is after more children in this case. From our exchange I am inclined to believe that Q wants reconciliation." Data spoke up quickly after Alice, she felt the ire leave her as he spoke so methodically. She was glad he'd kept his word and came back to accompany Doctor Crusher and herself to this meeting.

"Reconciliation? I'd say he's more likely to look for recompense from us." Mr. La Forge quipped.

"He's actually trying to repay his debt to Data before Q becomes a human." Alice laid her hands out in front of her on the table. At the silence preceding her words she turned her head to look Data in the eyes. Data's face was neutral but his eyebrows were raised high on his forehead.

"What? Q told me that he owed you a debt, that he wants to fulfill the debt by making you into a human and that he has to do it before he becomes a human in a year. Didn't he tell you?"

Data shook his head lightly, "Q did not reveal that during our visit."

"So you were both visited by Q?" Counselor Troi asked.

"That is correct, Counselor." Data affirmed.

"It seems like we saw different things." Alice stated her hypothesis but she directed it as more of a question to Commander Data.

Data turned his eyes back to her and nodded, "It would appear so."

"Why is Q becoming a human in a year?" Commander Riker looked like he was on the verge of a headache just discussing Q.

Alice opened her mouth to answer but Captain Picard beat her to it.

"It would seem that Q will be marrying in a year's time, he proclaims he will give up his powers, even his identity as a Q and become a human for her."

Commander Riker almost rolled his eyes and prepared to call this bluff but Mr. La Forge gave a bark of laughter and exclaimed, "She must be something if he says he's going to give up omnipotence for her."

"She is." Alice affirmed. All eyes turned to her once more.

"You know her?" Counselor Troi asked

"Yes, it's my cousin." Alice looked towards the head of the Table and Captain Picard nodded once at her look, she wasn't sure how much she was to divulge.

"What I am about to say now hasn't been released by Starfleet and will remain here with us until it does. Understood?" Everyone nodded in agreement with Captain Picard's words.

"The USS Voyager has been found. Voyager and her crew are in the Delta Quadrant, trying to return home."

"The Delta Quadrant? Voyager is an intrepid-class vessel. She can't go more than 9.975 Warp, at that rate Voyager wouldn't be able to return to the Alpha Quadrant for --" La Forge was cut off as he turned, almost instinctively, to Data.

Data finished his assessment with, "Approximately 75 years."

Alice felt that pit in her stomach at Data's calculations.

"Indeed." Captain Picard toned. "It seems they've made quite a distance already in the four years they've been lost to us. They were able to make contact just recently."

Everyone seemed elated with the news, a softness took over the features of everyone present except for Commander Worf.

"Captain, I fail to see what Voyager has to do with our current situation." The Klingon was certainly to the point.

"Well, Mr. Worf, it seems that Voyager has also run into our devious friend Q. And Q has claimed he has fallen in love with the ship's Captain, Kathryn Janeway."

"Kathryn is my cousin." Alice chimed in.

"It must certainly get lonely in the Delta Quadrant." Commander Riker was trying to stifle his grin.

Alice couldn't believe her ears.

"How dare you insinuate that Kathryn turned to the closest warm bed she could find." She boomed, louder than she had intended but her words were out now and her anger wasn't letting her stop them.

"Do you even know her? Can you imagine the pain, the loneliness, she must be going through? She was engaged before she left on that mission. She was happy and had a full life ahead of her before it was taken away!" She didn't know at what point she'd stood from her seat, but she felt reality shock her back into place with one cold touch.

Alice looked down and saw Data resting his hand on top of her arm.

"Commander Riker did not mean to offend." He spoke so much quieter than she, but his voice cut through to her mind and she sat down at once. Feeling slightly chastised by Data's calmness.

Alice stared down at the table in front of her, she wouldn't apologize for her feelings. But she did feel a little better when Data continued to hold her hand under the table. It helped to know that she wasn't alone here.

"So, Q wants to play house and Data and Alice are just thrown into the mess due to, what, familial bonds?" La Forge was trying to make connections and Alice could see how jumbled this all was when Q wasn't here to make you relive his memories as she had.

Alice sighed and voiced out, "All I know for sure, is that Q showed me a future, he said it was mine, and in it Data and I were married. He said he wanted to change the future for the better and give us a gift that we couldn't originally have, a child."

"In my time with Q he also implied he would be changing my future, he said he would give me the gift I desired the most. Beginning with emotions and a child." Data ended his side of events by resting his hand on top of Alice's stomach again.

"Emotions?" Alice asked

Data turned his yellow eyes to her face and nodded, "Yes. He said that for the next twenty weeks I will have one new emotion a day. He expressed that this would help me to become more accustomed to emotions rather than to have them all at once."

Alice felt her head tilt slightly, twenty weeks seemed like an odd amount of time. Beverly clasped her hands together suddenly and shook her head as everyone gave her their attention.

"Q is really something. I have Alice's full examination, I'd put her at about one week pregnant. The baby is developing faster than usual, if I had to guess I'd say the baby will be here in Twenty weeks."

"Oh." Alice whispered. So she'd have her baby here in five months. That wasn't very much time to prepare.

"You both really believe this child is yours?" Commander Worf seemed to still be on the defense.

Alice looked up at the Klingon for a moment before she turned her eyes to meet Datas. He had a bond to prove his own beliefs but Alice really was going out on a prayer when she voiced,

"Yes."

Data nodded and looked up at the group surrounding them.

"Alice and I will be going through much these next few months, but we choose to go through these changes."

Captain Picard called the meeting to an end and they all decided to monitor both Data's emotional changes and Alice's potentially lethal child. It was a strange time for everyone.

The meeting adjourned yet everyone stood and made their way over to Alice. Beverly was the first to say, "You are going to take tomorrow off, it's already 0600, you've had a long night."

Alice nodded and felt the shock at realizing she hadn't slept the entire night. Counselor Troi was next as she grabbed one of Alice's hands.

"I think it would be best if we begin having weekly meetings. It can be separate or together if you'd like." She gestured between Alice and Data. Alice glanced up at Data before already deciding.

"I'd prefer to be together, if that's alright with you, Data?" Data nodded in agreement and Counselor Troi left them with a smile and a promise to set their schedule a little later.

Everyone began to pile out of the room slowly but surely until only two were left in the room with them. Commander Riker and Mr. La Forge. Commander Riker scratched at the back of his head, looking uncomfortable.

La Forge seemed to take this as a sign to grab Datas attention and Alice heard him congratulate Data on becoming a father. Alice almost laughed at the way Data easily took the compliment and said, "Thank you, Geordi."

Geordi La Forge! Now Alice was sure she'd read his personnel record at some point, but now was not the time as Commander Riker made his way to her side, now that he didn't have an audience.

"Doctor Baker, I'd like to apologize to you for my comment earlier. It was uncalled for and very rude. I am sorry."

Alice stared up into his face and could see the sincerity, no grin under that beard now. She gave a nod and crossed her arms.

"I accept your apology, Commander. I shouldn't have screamed at you, I'm sorry as well."

Commander Riker's grin returned tenfold and he clapped her on the shoulder, saying, "I think everyone's emotions were a little high. After all, it has been one very long night for most of us."

Alice couldn't agree more, her eyes had slowly begun to get heavier during the meeting and now each blink was becoming increasingly longer. She startled slightly when she felt a coolness rest against her lower back. She glanced backwards and up over her shoulder to see Commander Data looking down into her eyes.

"May I escort you to your quarters, Alice?" His voice sounded softer the longer she listened, maybe her brain was just turning to mush. She nodded and waved goodbyes to both other men, both of whom shared a look that Alice wasn't able to see.

She trudged along with Data but wasn't sure when they had entered the turbolift until Data called out her floor. The lights were too bright in the turbolifts, always were. Alice closed her eyes and leaned backwards to try and rest against the wall. She must've been standing more in the center of the room than she'd anticipated because all she felt was air rushing by.

The coolness was back, this time around her shoulders. Data lifted Alice up to stand again and Alice tried to apologize and stand on her own two feet but was finding difficulty. She finally gave up and opened her eyes to ask Data, "May I rest against you, please?" She hated how pleading she sounded.

A small headache was beginning in her temples. Data, thankfully, nodded, and Alice wasted no time to droop her head against his shoulder. Data let his hand snake around her waist to hold her up better and she mumbled out a thank you.

"If you would care to be more comfortable and rest, I could carry you?" Data's offer was so innocent, so why did her ears flare up with heat again?

"The last time you had to carry me I vomited on you." She smirked slightly at the embarrassing memory. Data's hand squeezed gently against her hip, almost in assurance.

"You did not vomit on me, Alice." She nodded in agreement.

She signed against him and took slow breaths, trying to keep herself slightly awake. He smelled nice, this was surprising. He smelled clean. It reminded her of the sickbay, the antiseptic wash they had to use and even the very air. During operations or births, anytime the body was exposed to the air there was a sanitizing solution used all around them.

It wasn't invasive, nor was it irritating to the senses, it just made her think of cleanliness.. Maybe even safety. She let her face draw slightly closer to him and took another breath. Yes, Data did make her feel safe.

The chime sounded and the doors swished open. Alice lifted her head and started to force her legs to shuffle towards her room. Data followed closely behind should the need arise to help.

She was grateful he hadn't tried to carry her, even though her feet were slipping from under her. She was grateful when her room came into view. Data gave her a quick farewell and then she was alone.

Her eyes were already closed by the time her head met her pillow.