Three hours into the shift Harry Kim's console started beeping. "Captain
we're being hailed."
She craned her neck around to look at him. "By whom Mr. Kim?"
"I—I don't know." His fingers were tapping rapidly. "Sensors don't indicate any vessels within scanning range."
"Visual or audio?"
"Audio only."
"Open the channel."
"Channel open." The captain stood up, she looked completely ready to take on the foe one handed.
"This Captain Kathryn Janeway, how can we help you?" Not even a full minute later a perky young voice resonated throughout the bridge.
"This is Belle Carter, umm I know you don't know me, but would it be alright if I introduced myself in person."
"Nice to meet you Ms. Carter, we seem to be having a sensor malfunction, we're not detecting your ship."
"I'm not on a ship actually." There was a small flash of light and a young woman appeared on the bridge. "See no ship, just me."
"Red Alert." Phazers were drawn.
"Whoa, watch where you're pointing that thing Tex."
"Who are you?" She looked at the security officer. He was perfectly calm, but having a weapon pointed at her wasn't doing miracles for her patience.
"I told you, my name's Belle Carter." She extended a hand to the Captain. It took a moment, but Kathryn holstered her phazer and shook it lightly. "You look just like grandpa described you."
Paris looked up from his console; things were starting to click together in his mind. "Grandpa?"
A much larger, brighter flash of light appeared. "Q!"
"Miss me Kathy?"
"Grandpa don't torment the crew!"
"Did your father give you permission for this little adventure?" She looked down at her sneakered feet, unlike her grandfather even in the presence of Star Fleet officers she chose to dress in the most comfortable thing available.
She mumbled something unintelligible. "What was that young lady?"
"I said I didn't ask dad, grandma sent me here."
"She didn't!"
"She most certainly did, just ask her, she'd probably laughing her ass off right now!"
"Belle!"
"What?"
"What have we told you about resorting to human profanity?"
"In case you've forgotten I am human, I'll curse if I DAMN well please!"
"Children!" He disappeared. The crew, who'd been watching somewhat amused now looked at her with much less suspicion.
"You're a human but Q is your grandfather?"
"Dad was touring Earth a few hundred years in the past, met mom, got happy, meet me."
"You're from Earth?" There was a slight pause. "In the past?"
"I was born in 1985 and raised on Earth with mom until about a year ago." She looked at them and their clothing. "That's about 2002 to all you people from the future." She walked around the Captain's chair. "I'm not here to bother anyone I promise, but if you've got time could I get a tour?"
Kathryn was rather amused. The girl was half-human but had a Q completely wrapped around her little finger. She was somewhat polite and didn't make a conscious effort to ruin anyone's day, quite the change; human DNA apparently did make a difference. She took a quick survey of the bridge. "I think Naomi Wildman may be available to give you a tour."
"Where could I find Ms. Wildman?"
"I think she's wrapping up a cooking lesson with her Uncle Neelix."
"Thank you Captain." She looked upward. "Hey gramma, could you…" Before she could finish her sentence she disappeared.
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Naomi here Captain."
"A young woman should be arriving in the mess hall momentarily, she's asked for a tour of the ship and I recommended you."
"Thank you Captain, I promise to take good care of her."
"Janeway out." The young woman had already appeared at a table in the back. She waited politely until she heard the conversation ended before walking up to the counter. She looked over to see Naomi with some exotic spice in her hand.
"Naomi Wildman I presume?"
Naomi looked up at the young woman. She was tall, as tall as the captain even, about 5'5. Light brown hair about the length of her own, but curly, and pulled back a bit on each side. Her clothing didn't look anything like that of the people on Voyager. Blue eyes contrasted navy blue pants and a navy sweater with four or five stripes across the chest. "I'm Naomi, are you the person that wanted the tour?" The girl nodded. "What's your name?"
"I'm Belle Carter." She looked at the spice that she was still adding to a pan. "If you're busy I could come back some other time."
"No that's OK." She walked to the opposite counter. "Uncle Neelix, the Captain wants me to give our visitor a tour, could you take over the stove?"
"No problem." He walked over to the stove as Naomi grabbed the other young woman's hand. "Visitor, what visitor…? Naomi…?" But they'd already gone past the sliding doors.
"So, where would you like to start?" Belle looked down at the young woman.
"Well, I already saw the bridge, and I'm not really good with machines, so how about somewhere fun?"
"We could stop and play something on the holodecks, well that is, if there's one open."
"Sounds good. I've never really been on a holodeck before, what's it like?"
"You've never been in a holodeck? What species are you?" She looked down sharply at the young girl but her face held complete innocence, no accusation or sarcasm at all. She was genuinely interested.
"I'm half human half Q. What species are you?"
"Half human half Kitaren."
"Kitaren? I've never met anyone Kitaren before."
"I've never met anyone Q before." They giggled and Naomi stopped in front of double doors. "This is the Holodeck." She tapped a few keys on the panel above her. "It's open right now, we can run anything, what would ya like?"
"I don't know? What's your favorite?"
"Computer activate program Wildman Alpha 4." The doors slid open and both girls walked inside.
"Wow!" She took a better look around. "Double wow. You mean this isn't real?"
"No, it's just a program." The beach was about 40 yards away from them and they were standing a few steps from a pool. Belle was slightly reminded of the scene from Weekend at Bernie's.
"Can we really swim in the water?"
"Yeah, come on, I'll program us some swimsuits." The girl was really good with a computer. It was only about three minutes later Belle had a navy blue one piece and Naomi pulled on a pink one piece with her comm badge on the top.
"So, which do you think we should tackle first? Pool or ocean?" She looked out at them for a minute.
"Pool!" She grinned and took off. She landed with a splash in the deep end. Belle stopped at the edge and waited until Naomi was about two feet from her.
"Hey Naomi?" She had an evil looking grin on her face that was making the younger Wildman uneasy.
"Yeah?"
"CANNONBALL!" A wave of water rushed over her and a moment later they got in a splashing contest.
Time flew by and it was about a half hour later Naomi's badge was activated. They were currently taking turns throwing and retrieving diving sticks. Both girls surfaced as the voice sounded through the water. "Samantha Wildman to Naomi Wildman." She tapped the badge.
"Yes mom?"
"The Captain told me about your tour, but it's dinnertime." Her face fell a little.
"But mom we were just starting to have fun."
"Sorry honey its dinnertime." There was a slight pause. "You could invite our guest to eat with us in the mess hall if you like."
"That'd be great! Thanks mom! Wildman out." She looked at Belle who hopped out of the pool. "You want to have dinner with us?"
"Sure." They changed back into their clothes and Naomi led her into the mess hall, telling her all about her mom and dad. "So your mom didn't even know she was pregnant with you until you were already in the Delta Quadrant?"
"Nope."
"That must have been a nice shock."
"Mom says she liked to think of it as a pleasant surprise." As they walked back through the double doors Naomi pointed to the waving bond haired woman. "That's my mom in the back."
"She looks nice."
"She is." Belle followed behind Naomi, ignoring the few questioning glances that the other crewmembers sent her way. "Mom, this is Belle Carter. Belle, this is my mom." The woman extended her hand.
"Samantha Wildman, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." She looked down at the plate. "So, what's on the menu this evening?"
"I decided we could go ahead and replicate our dinner tonight. I've got a Tarian Omelet with a light cream sauce."
She looked down at Naomi. "Replicate?" Naomi rolled her eyes.
"Come on." She dragged her over to the replicator. "This is a replicator, these kind will make any food you can think of, and probably some you can't."
"How does it work?"
"Just tell it what you want."
"Chicken chow mien with sweet and sour pork on the side." It appeared on a metal plate with an odd looking fork on the side. "Technology, how I love thee." Naomi giggled.
"Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich." Naomi grabbed her plate and they headed back to the table.
"So Belle, the captain tells me Q is your grandfather."
"Yup, he can be pain but he's a big softie deep down." The woman snorted. "So, what's your job here?"
"I work down in engineering most of the time, but when the Captain needs me I work up on the bridge."
"Is she really nice?"
"The Captain?" She nodded. "Yes she is. She's really understanding, always willing to help someone who needs it, and she doesn't judge."
"You mean she doesn't judge based on race either?"
"She's completely fair." She finished her dinner in silence.
"Umm I'm going to see if I can talk to the Captain before I go." She stood up then looked down at Naomi. "If you're done could you take me back to the bridge?"
"Ok." She tossed another bite in her mouth and grabbed her tray. "The trays go in the recycler. You just set it in." She set hers in and it disappeared. Belle followed her example. "So what do you want to talk to the Captain about?"
"It's kind of a secret." Naomi's face fell. "I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else."
"Kay." They stepped in the turbolift. "Bridge."
"My mother isn't a real nice lady and since she found out that Dad was Q she's been trying to use me as leverage to get things she wants, money, cars, that kind of thing. I was hoping, if the captain will let me, to stay on the ship for a little while."
"Really?"
"Yep. You think she'll let me?"
"Probably, like mom said the Captain's really nice." The lift stopped and they stepped off.
The Captain was still in her chair. "Captain Janeway may I speak to you privately?" She looked at Belle oddly. "I promise not to do anything weird. I just want to ask you something."
"Come into my ready room."
"Bye Naomi." The girl waved as she stepped back into the lift. She followed the Captain in.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
"Do you have Pepsi?"
"Pepsi?"
"Never mind."
"What did you need to ask me?"
"Okay I don't know how to ask this so I'm going to tell you why I'm asking first." She looked over at the Captain. "You might want to sit down." She did. "Okay here goes. When my mom met my dad she didn't know he was Q. She thought he was just a regular guy. They were together for about four months. When dad left my mom didn't know she was pregnant, she was smoking marijuana almost everyday and my dad thought it was stupid, their break wasn't amicable.
"When she found out she was pregnant she tried to take care of me for a few months, but when I was about six months old my mom handed me over to my grandma. She took care of me until about a year ago when my mom came across my dad again and yelled at him for stranding her with a kid. Then he came and got me and told me I could live with him for a while, he took me to the continuum and that's where he explained to me about being half mortal.
"Now, my mom got shot a few months ago and had to stay with my mortal grandma. She apparently blabbed one night when she'd had a little too much to drink. So my mom called the cell phone number my dad gave her a long time ago and said she wanted to visit me. I was only there an hour when she kind of tied me to chair and demanded my father come back.
"Needless to say things between us are strained. My father's keeping me away from Earth 2003 so that she can't use me to bargain anymore, but he knows he's not a good father, that's why I was staying with my Q grandparents.
"Now, I know you're asking yourself why the hell I'm spilling my life story to you, I mean, why should you care, but grandma and grandpa are always off doing their own thing and I don't much care for being by myself in that place, it's VERY boring. So, here's the bit where you come in, I was wondering if you would let me stay here for a little while."
The woman very nearly choked on her coffee. Her thin hands set the cup on the table. "You want to stay here? Aboard my ship?"
Belle nodded enthusiastically. "I know there's no reason you should, I mean I don't know the technology or anything, but I could use the gifts I do have if you ever need it."
"What kind of gifts are these exactly?"
"I'm not full Q by any means, so I don't have nearly all the powers. I have healing abilities, I've developed them pretty well, I can sure anything from a paper cut to a severe stabbing. My telekinesis is decently advanced, I can lift things several times my body weight. That and I have really weak telepathic powers, I haven't learned to use those yet really."
"And you would be willing to use these to help my crew?"
"Sure." She rubbed her forehead.
"I need to think about this."
"I figured you would, it's a big decision. Would you like me to go back to the continuum until you make your decision?"
"I think that might be best."
"Okay. I know you're probably anxious to get rid of me," she grinned to show she was in good humor, "but could you ask Naomi to come back up here, I've got a present for her before I say go back."
"What kind of present exactly?"
"It's kind of a surprise." Janeway glared at her. "It's just a two way radio. It'll work just like one of your comm badges, but it'll be able to contact me anywhere, anytime, whether I'm in the continuum or in an alternate reality."
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Yes Captain?"
"Our guest would like to say goodbye."
"You mean she can't stay?"
"I haven't decided yet, she's just going home for a little while."
"Okay I'll be there in a minute. Wildman out."
She skipped through the doors a few minutes later. "You have to go?"
"Yeah, she needs time to think, but I've got something for you." She looked up. "Little help here gramma?" There was a small flash of light and a small wrapped box appeared in Naomi's hands.
"Open it." Naomi ripped the paper off.
"What is it?"
"It's a two-way radio. Whenever you want talk to me, no matter where I am, or what universe I'm in, I'll be able to talk to you."
"Neat!"
"See ya soon."
"Bye!" She disappeared.
Three days later…
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Yes Captain?"
"Please bring your radio and join me in my ready room." She'd been on the radio almost the entire three days. They'd talked about everything, every minute during the day; Belle even helped her with her homework. Well, the parts that she understood.
The door chimed. "Enter." Naomi walked in. "Go ahead and turn the radio on so she can hear my decision." It clicked to life. "I've talked it over with the senior staff and thought about it for a few days. I've decided that if you'd like to stay with us for a while, we'd be happy to have you." She appeared in front of the radio.
"Thank you so much Captain, like I said, the continuum is VERY boring."
She craned her neck around to look at him. "By whom Mr. Kim?"
"I—I don't know." His fingers were tapping rapidly. "Sensors don't indicate any vessels within scanning range."
"Visual or audio?"
"Audio only."
"Open the channel."
"Channel open." The captain stood up, she looked completely ready to take on the foe one handed.
"This Captain Kathryn Janeway, how can we help you?" Not even a full minute later a perky young voice resonated throughout the bridge.
"This is Belle Carter, umm I know you don't know me, but would it be alright if I introduced myself in person."
"Nice to meet you Ms. Carter, we seem to be having a sensor malfunction, we're not detecting your ship."
"I'm not on a ship actually." There was a small flash of light and a young woman appeared on the bridge. "See no ship, just me."
"Red Alert." Phazers were drawn.
"Whoa, watch where you're pointing that thing Tex."
"Who are you?" She looked at the security officer. He was perfectly calm, but having a weapon pointed at her wasn't doing miracles for her patience.
"I told you, my name's Belle Carter." She extended a hand to the Captain. It took a moment, but Kathryn holstered her phazer and shook it lightly. "You look just like grandpa described you."
Paris looked up from his console; things were starting to click together in his mind. "Grandpa?"
A much larger, brighter flash of light appeared. "Q!"
"Miss me Kathy?"
"Grandpa don't torment the crew!"
"Did your father give you permission for this little adventure?" She looked down at her sneakered feet, unlike her grandfather even in the presence of Star Fleet officers she chose to dress in the most comfortable thing available.
She mumbled something unintelligible. "What was that young lady?"
"I said I didn't ask dad, grandma sent me here."
"She didn't!"
"She most certainly did, just ask her, she'd probably laughing her ass off right now!"
"Belle!"
"What?"
"What have we told you about resorting to human profanity?"
"In case you've forgotten I am human, I'll curse if I DAMN well please!"
"Children!" He disappeared. The crew, who'd been watching somewhat amused now looked at her with much less suspicion.
"You're a human but Q is your grandfather?"
"Dad was touring Earth a few hundred years in the past, met mom, got happy, meet me."
"You're from Earth?" There was a slight pause. "In the past?"
"I was born in 1985 and raised on Earth with mom until about a year ago." She looked at them and their clothing. "That's about 2002 to all you people from the future." She walked around the Captain's chair. "I'm not here to bother anyone I promise, but if you've got time could I get a tour?"
Kathryn was rather amused. The girl was half-human but had a Q completely wrapped around her little finger. She was somewhat polite and didn't make a conscious effort to ruin anyone's day, quite the change; human DNA apparently did make a difference. She took a quick survey of the bridge. "I think Naomi Wildman may be available to give you a tour."
"Where could I find Ms. Wildman?"
"I think she's wrapping up a cooking lesson with her Uncle Neelix."
"Thank you Captain." She looked upward. "Hey gramma, could you…" Before she could finish her sentence she disappeared.
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Naomi here Captain."
"A young woman should be arriving in the mess hall momentarily, she's asked for a tour of the ship and I recommended you."
"Thank you Captain, I promise to take good care of her."
"Janeway out." The young woman had already appeared at a table in the back. She waited politely until she heard the conversation ended before walking up to the counter. She looked over to see Naomi with some exotic spice in her hand.
"Naomi Wildman I presume?"
Naomi looked up at the young woman. She was tall, as tall as the captain even, about 5'5. Light brown hair about the length of her own, but curly, and pulled back a bit on each side. Her clothing didn't look anything like that of the people on Voyager. Blue eyes contrasted navy blue pants and a navy sweater with four or five stripes across the chest. "I'm Naomi, are you the person that wanted the tour?" The girl nodded. "What's your name?"
"I'm Belle Carter." She looked at the spice that she was still adding to a pan. "If you're busy I could come back some other time."
"No that's OK." She walked to the opposite counter. "Uncle Neelix, the Captain wants me to give our visitor a tour, could you take over the stove?"
"No problem." He walked over to the stove as Naomi grabbed the other young woman's hand. "Visitor, what visitor…? Naomi…?" But they'd already gone past the sliding doors.
"So, where would you like to start?" Belle looked down at the young woman.
"Well, I already saw the bridge, and I'm not really good with machines, so how about somewhere fun?"
"We could stop and play something on the holodecks, well that is, if there's one open."
"Sounds good. I've never really been on a holodeck before, what's it like?"
"You've never been in a holodeck? What species are you?" She looked down sharply at the young girl but her face held complete innocence, no accusation or sarcasm at all. She was genuinely interested.
"I'm half human half Q. What species are you?"
"Half human half Kitaren."
"Kitaren? I've never met anyone Kitaren before."
"I've never met anyone Q before." They giggled and Naomi stopped in front of double doors. "This is the Holodeck." She tapped a few keys on the panel above her. "It's open right now, we can run anything, what would ya like?"
"I don't know? What's your favorite?"
"Computer activate program Wildman Alpha 4." The doors slid open and both girls walked inside.
"Wow!" She took a better look around. "Double wow. You mean this isn't real?"
"No, it's just a program." The beach was about 40 yards away from them and they were standing a few steps from a pool. Belle was slightly reminded of the scene from Weekend at Bernie's.
"Can we really swim in the water?"
"Yeah, come on, I'll program us some swimsuits." The girl was really good with a computer. It was only about three minutes later Belle had a navy blue one piece and Naomi pulled on a pink one piece with her comm badge on the top.
"So, which do you think we should tackle first? Pool or ocean?" She looked out at them for a minute.
"Pool!" She grinned and took off. She landed with a splash in the deep end. Belle stopped at the edge and waited until Naomi was about two feet from her.
"Hey Naomi?" She had an evil looking grin on her face that was making the younger Wildman uneasy.
"Yeah?"
"CANNONBALL!" A wave of water rushed over her and a moment later they got in a splashing contest.
Time flew by and it was about a half hour later Naomi's badge was activated. They were currently taking turns throwing and retrieving diving sticks. Both girls surfaced as the voice sounded through the water. "Samantha Wildman to Naomi Wildman." She tapped the badge.
"Yes mom?"
"The Captain told me about your tour, but it's dinnertime." Her face fell a little.
"But mom we were just starting to have fun."
"Sorry honey its dinnertime." There was a slight pause. "You could invite our guest to eat with us in the mess hall if you like."
"That'd be great! Thanks mom! Wildman out." She looked at Belle who hopped out of the pool. "You want to have dinner with us?"
"Sure." They changed back into their clothes and Naomi led her into the mess hall, telling her all about her mom and dad. "So your mom didn't even know she was pregnant with you until you were already in the Delta Quadrant?"
"Nope."
"That must have been a nice shock."
"Mom says she liked to think of it as a pleasant surprise." As they walked back through the double doors Naomi pointed to the waving bond haired woman. "That's my mom in the back."
"She looks nice."
"She is." Belle followed behind Naomi, ignoring the few questioning glances that the other crewmembers sent her way. "Mom, this is Belle Carter. Belle, this is my mom." The woman extended her hand.
"Samantha Wildman, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." She looked down at the plate. "So, what's on the menu this evening?"
"I decided we could go ahead and replicate our dinner tonight. I've got a Tarian Omelet with a light cream sauce."
She looked down at Naomi. "Replicate?" Naomi rolled her eyes.
"Come on." She dragged her over to the replicator. "This is a replicator, these kind will make any food you can think of, and probably some you can't."
"How does it work?"
"Just tell it what you want."
"Chicken chow mien with sweet and sour pork on the side." It appeared on a metal plate with an odd looking fork on the side. "Technology, how I love thee." Naomi giggled.
"Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich." Naomi grabbed her plate and they headed back to the table.
"So Belle, the captain tells me Q is your grandfather."
"Yup, he can be pain but he's a big softie deep down." The woman snorted. "So, what's your job here?"
"I work down in engineering most of the time, but when the Captain needs me I work up on the bridge."
"Is she really nice?"
"The Captain?" She nodded. "Yes she is. She's really understanding, always willing to help someone who needs it, and she doesn't judge."
"You mean she doesn't judge based on race either?"
"She's completely fair." She finished her dinner in silence.
"Umm I'm going to see if I can talk to the Captain before I go." She stood up then looked down at Naomi. "If you're done could you take me back to the bridge?"
"Ok." She tossed another bite in her mouth and grabbed her tray. "The trays go in the recycler. You just set it in." She set hers in and it disappeared. Belle followed her example. "So what do you want to talk to the Captain about?"
"It's kind of a secret." Naomi's face fell. "I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else."
"Kay." They stepped in the turbolift. "Bridge."
"My mother isn't a real nice lady and since she found out that Dad was Q she's been trying to use me as leverage to get things she wants, money, cars, that kind of thing. I was hoping, if the captain will let me, to stay on the ship for a little while."
"Really?"
"Yep. You think she'll let me?"
"Probably, like mom said the Captain's really nice." The lift stopped and they stepped off.
The Captain was still in her chair. "Captain Janeway may I speak to you privately?" She looked at Belle oddly. "I promise not to do anything weird. I just want to ask you something."
"Come into my ready room."
"Bye Naomi." The girl waved as she stepped back into the lift. She followed the Captain in.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
"Do you have Pepsi?"
"Pepsi?"
"Never mind."
"What did you need to ask me?"
"Okay I don't know how to ask this so I'm going to tell you why I'm asking first." She looked over at the Captain. "You might want to sit down." She did. "Okay here goes. When my mom met my dad she didn't know he was Q. She thought he was just a regular guy. They were together for about four months. When dad left my mom didn't know she was pregnant, she was smoking marijuana almost everyday and my dad thought it was stupid, their break wasn't amicable.
"When she found out she was pregnant she tried to take care of me for a few months, but when I was about six months old my mom handed me over to my grandma. She took care of me until about a year ago when my mom came across my dad again and yelled at him for stranding her with a kid. Then he came and got me and told me I could live with him for a while, he took me to the continuum and that's where he explained to me about being half mortal.
"Now, my mom got shot a few months ago and had to stay with my mortal grandma. She apparently blabbed one night when she'd had a little too much to drink. So my mom called the cell phone number my dad gave her a long time ago and said she wanted to visit me. I was only there an hour when she kind of tied me to chair and demanded my father come back.
"Needless to say things between us are strained. My father's keeping me away from Earth 2003 so that she can't use me to bargain anymore, but he knows he's not a good father, that's why I was staying with my Q grandparents.
"Now, I know you're asking yourself why the hell I'm spilling my life story to you, I mean, why should you care, but grandma and grandpa are always off doing their own thing and I don't much care for being by myself in that place, it's VERY boring. So, here's the bit where you come in, I was wondering if you would let me stay here for a little while."
The woman very nearly choked on her coffee. Her thin hands set the cup on the table. "You want to stay here? Aboard my ship?"
Belle nodded enthusiastically. "I know there's no reason you should, I mean I don't know the technology or anything, but I could use the gifts I do have if you ever need it."
"What kind of gifts are these exactly?"
"I'm not full Q by any means, so I don't have nearly all the powers. I have healing abilities, I've developed them pretty well, I can sure anything from a paper cut to a severe stabbing. My telekinesis is decently advanced, I can lift things several times my body weight. That and I have really weak telepathic powers, I haven't learned to use those yet really."
"And you would be willing to use these to help my crew?"
"Sure." She rubbed her forehead.
"I need to think about this."
"I figured you would, it's a big decision. Would you like me to go back to the continuum until you make your decision?"
"I think that might be best."
"Okay. I know you're probably anxious to get rid of me," she grinned to show she was in good humor, "but could you ask Naomi to come back up here, I've got a present for her before I say go back."
"What kind of present exactly?"
"It's kind of a surprise." Janeway glared at her. "It's just a two way radio. It'll work just like one of your comm badges, but it'll be able to contact me anywhere, anytime, whether I'm in the continuum or in an alternate reality."
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Yes Captain?"
"Our guest would like to say goodbye."
"You mean she can't stay?"
"I haven't decided yet, she's just going home for a little while."
"Okay I'll be there in a minute. Wildman out."
She skipped through the doors a few minutes later. "You have to go?"
"Yeah, she needs time to think, but I've got something for you." She looked up. "Little help here gramma?" There was a small flash of light and a small wrapped box appeared in Naomi's hands.
"Open it." Naomi ripped the paper off.
"What is it?"
"It's a two-way radio. Whenever you want talk to me, no matter where I am, or what universe I'm in, I'll be able to talk to you."
"Neat!"
"See ya soon."
"Bye!" She disappeared.
Three days later…
"Janeway to Naomi Wildman."
"Yes Captain?"
"Please bring your radio and join me in my ready room." She'd been on the radio almost the entire three days. They'd talked about everything, every minute during the day; Belle even helped her with her homework. Well, the parts that she understood.
The door chimed. "Enter." Naomi walked in. "Go ahead and turn the radio on so she can hear my decision." It clicked to life. "I've talked it over with the senior staff and thought about it for a few days. I've decided that if you'd like to stay with us for a while, we'd be happy to have you." She appeared in front of the radio.
"Thank you so much Captain, like I said, the continuum is VERY boring."