Chapter Seventeen--Father/Daughter
Derek and Miral's quarters-1446
"You did what?" Derek asked loudly.
"I put it on a mug and it was transported to Sickbay," Carrie answered meekly.
"Carrie, Carrie, Carrie," Derek rubbed one of his temples. "Carrie, you can't touch anything on your mother's desk or mine," he said sounding as if in pain. "Carrie, you could have been hurt. That device could have transported only YOUR SKIN!"
"I'm not stupid enough to put it on me," Carrie replied indignantly.
"Don't use that tone with me! Anything could have happened!" Derek shot back.
"Fine," she said in surrender. "I won't touch anything again."
Derek smiled at his daughter. "That's a good girl. Now get ready for class. You have calculus in fifteen minutes, and you're not going to be late."
Carrie stood, kissed her father on the cheek and went into her bedroom to grab her backpack. She turned at her door. "You might want add another adhesive sensor to secure a lock." She turned back and continued to her bedroom.
Derek thought for a moment before returning to his desk. He turned his computer on and looked at the picture frame on his desk. "You must be proud of her," he whispered to the picture of his wife.
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Year: 2430
Benjamin and Carrie's Quarters (Chakotay's Former Quarters)
Benjamin stroked his dark, thick, beard. "Carrie, I don't know if we conceal this any longer."
The young woman with the yellow shoulders and short black hair sighed. She sank into the chair near her. "I don't think we can either. My father has been Captain for some time now, and he has too much experience to not know what is going on."
Benjamin crouched to eye-level of his wife. He smiled at her and she gripped his hand. "He's going to find out whether we tell him or not."
"You're right. He's my father, I'll tell him."
He smiled at her, as she stared into his soothing green eyes.
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"Dad?" Carrie called as she walked into her father's quarters. "Daddy?"
"Hello Sweet-Heart," Derek responded walking out of his bathroom, wiping the remains of shaving cream off of his face.
She kissed her father on the cheek. "I have something to tell you. Sit down," she gestured to the couch. "You know that Benjamin and I have been married for five months know . . . and I love him very much." Carrie smiled. "And now we're going to have a baby."
A smile covered Derek's face as he stood to embrace his daughter. He felt relieved about what she said, he thought what she was going to say was going to be bad. Derek briefly recalled when Miral told Tom about Carrie. Derek smiled at the memory of his wife.
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Year: 2418
Sickbay-1523
"So she's been touching your things again?" the Doctor asked Derek, who had come to apologize.
"Yes, I scolded her a bit, but I suppose I was more worried than angry," Derek answered truthfully.
"That is understandable. Humans are always concerned when their children are involved."
"She could have been killed!" Derek exclaimed.
"You and I both know that isn't true," the Doctor said in a soft voice.
Derek looked questionably at the holo-gram.
"It's purely scientific. The combination of your genetic material and Miral's, even factoring recessive and codominant genes, creates a very strong-willed, courageous, intelligent being. That combined with environment and expression, guarantees a certain amount of reassurance for you. You can always be sure that she will make the right intelligent decision." The Doctor smiled at his reasoning.
Derek considered this for a moment. "Thanks Doc," Derek turned to leave, taking one more look at his wife before he walked out the door.
"It's all science," the Doctor muttered to himself.
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Delegation Plaza-surface of Gheta-1724
Carrie inhaled the clean, un-recycled air of Gheta. "It certainly is serene here, isn't it?" Carrie asked Jessica.
Carrie lie on the ground looking up at the bright sky, Jessica sat by the small pond as she watched the little fish around her submerged feet. Benjamin was near-by doing a Katarian Martial Art. Jared and Cass playfully climbed the trees and James was writing a story, next to a tree.
"Quite serene," Jessica agreed. "But you still didn't answer my question."
"He scolded me a little, but he let it go. Especially after I told him out to fix the problem."
"Smooth," Jared interjected. "I wish I could get away with something like that."
"You're not smart enough to," Cass teased.
Jared lunged at her from another branch. Cass agilely avoided him, laughing.
"Ben, why don't you tease me like that?" James joked. "It'd be such a great moment."
"Because, I wouldn't tease. I'd state facts."
Carrie and Jessica laughed. "Is that good enough for you, James?"
James frowned for a minute, but shrugged it off.
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Sickbay-
"Look! Doctor, come here! Look at this!" Naomi pointed excitedly to the screen in front of her.
"That's it!" the Doctor announced triumphantly.
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