Disclaimer: Voyager belongs to Paramount.

To The Good Shepherd
By Manda (Mizuno Ami)

"But you gave us a good scare for a while." He smiled down at her as his own concern abated at the sight of her breathing, eyes open, and seeming well-off. She lay on the biobed, arms still tensed as if ready to spring upward at the slightest sign that 'her crew' was in distress. They all slept soundly, and as he allowed her the moment to accept that, she fell back onto her pillow once more. There was no need to worry- no more, anyway- now that they had all been recovered.

"Mmm.." Kathryn Janeway, usually one for words, closed her eyes and gave him a knowing smile. "I feel like I've been through the wringer."

"You have."

"Oh, perhaps more than you know." Janeway replied softly. "It was...a growing experience, Chakotay. A challenge- a good challenge- and the type I've been waiting for. I hate to think that there are so many of my crew who have slipped through the cracks. Gone unnoticed. And none of them have said anything."

"Maybe they weren't interested in being noticed." He suggested. "Some of them, like Harron, may simply have settled into the daily routine- found themselves satisfied with where they are on board."

"That isn't enough." She argued back, turning her head to see Celes, then Billy, then Mortimer...all sleeping, all peaceful. All sound. "They need to be happy."

"You can't catch them all, Kathryn. They'll fall through the cracks...but you can't catch them all."

"Maybe not," She yawned, settling farther into the pillow and smiling. "But I can try, Chakotay. I owe them all that much."

He had never doubted for a moment that she was about to give in, and that final comment nipped it in the bud. Her hair puddled around her face as she lay there, eyes drifting shut against the bright overheads of Sickbay, and he smiled.

"Computer, lights dim." The corresponding beep sounded, and Chakotay watched his captain smile as the lights began to lose their intensity. "You need your sleep, Kathryn."

"And you'll take the bridge, I assume."

"Where else would I be?" If it were possible, by your side. "Good night, Kathryn."

She never replied, and he backed out of Sickbay, giving one last glance around at the crew she had called her own.

"To the good shepherd, and the flock she led home.'


~Fin~
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