"I hope you like it." (Tal Celes & Chell)

Author's Note: This story is set after the episode "Homestead". It belongs to my "Waitress in the Mess Hall" AU series along with "Try some," "I saved a piece for you," and "It's two sugars, right?"

/

"Oh no, what do we do?" Chell wrung his bright blue hands with a dishcloth crumpled between them. "Everyone will be waiting, and there's nothing to cook for tomorrow! Oh, I do wish Neelix were here. Don't tell him I said that."

Tal Celes bit back a nervous smile. The line of hungry crew members that would be forming outside the kitchen the next day was no laughing matter, but she couldn't help but find it a little bit funny, given that Chell had been Neelix's self-appointed rival chef since the beginning of the voyage, and had been downright thrilled to take over the post when Neelix had resigned to join the Talaxian colony.

It wasn't that funny, though, because Celes missed Neelix too. "Make me proud," he'd said, pulling her and Chell into a flour-dusted group hug on his last day. "I know I can count on you." Easier said than done when Voyager ran low on energy, and replicator use was dropping by the day. This meant that everybody came to the mess hall, but it also meant that the mess hall staff had fewer ingredients to work with - a recipe for discontent if ever there was one.

"Okay, okay, okay." Celes wiped her hands on her polka-dotted apron and took several deep breaths. "Let's think about it. What would Neelix do?"

"Well, uh … "

"He'd take inventory first, right?"

"Just what I was going to say." Chell snapped his fingers and flung open the storage cupboards. "Ugh. See? Nothing."

"I wouldn't call that nothing."

The shelves were not as full as they ought to be, but not completely bare, either. Celes went over to the stasis containers in the back, rummaging until she found one labeled "Thanksgiving". American humans had a holiday not unlike the Gratitude Festival in some ways, in which they thanked their god for a bountiful harvest, and the centerpiece of the traditional feast was a massive bird called a turkey. The bird had been replicated, of course, but Neelix had still saved the bones. "You never know when you're gonna need something," he'd said, and he had been right.

"We can make broth out of these," said Celes, holding up the box in front of a less than enthused Chell. "We can toss in whatever vegetables we have left, but set some aside for the vegan option. Back home, we used to call it "Everything Soup". Whenever my parents had leftovers from the restaurant, we'd bring them to the Bajoran refugee shelter outside of town and … well, meals had to stretch pretty far out there. You know what I mean?"

Her parents had been among the first Bajorans to escape the Occupation, but they'd never let their good fortune make them forget their compatriots in need. She could still remember the hungry faces on the other side of the kitchen counter, but also the smiles and conversations as they sat down to eat. As a teenager, she had sometimes wished, guiltily, for a little more free time on weekends, but she was grateful for the experience now.

"Oh, yes." Chell, whose home colony had been bombed by the Cardassians, nodded at her with fierce determination. "Take the lead, Tal. I'll follow you."

"Really?"

"Sure! I can see it already: Tal Celes' Celestial Temple Soup … "

She gave him her best imitation of Captain Janeway's hard stare.

"No? Aww. I do love a good pun."

She smiled to herself as she opened the container of turkey bones. "I'm just gonna put these in water."

/

"Here you go," Celes said the next day, shyly handing over a full bowl to Lieutenant Torres. "It's my family's recipe."

"Whatever," grumbled the Chief Engineer, whose pregnancy was taking a toll on her. "As long as it's hot."

But Torres' tired scowl softened as the steam wafted up to her nose, and she wasn't the only one. As she ladled out one portion of Everything Soup after another, sooner or later she began to notice the same faces appearing a second time. For a chef, there was no higher compliment, and she smiled at every diner as they approached.

"What?" said Torres. "I'm eating for two."

Celes could remember a time when that tone of voice would have frightened her, but now she could say, "Enjoy, Lieutenant," with near-perfect equanimity.

"Is this … bone broth?" asked Billy Telfer, swirling the golden liquid around and scrutinizing it like one of his lab specimens.

"Um, yes, but - " She was already scrambling for something to reassure him when his face burst out into one of his rare, startlingly handsome smiles.

"So good for the immune system. Also delicious. You're the best."

"Thanks, Billy." Her smile widened, and she caught herself blushing as she watched him walk away.

The next person in line came up to the counter so quietly, it took a moment for her to notice him. As he held out his bowl without saying a word, though, something about that pale young Bajoran face - younger than hers or any other Starfleet crew member - seemed familiar. He wore a Maquis rank bar. Gavin … no, Gerron, that was his name.

"Hey, Gerron. Isn't this your third helping?"

"If there's not enough … " He stared down unhappily into his empty bowl.

"There's enough," said Celes, praying to the Prophets this was true as she ladled out a generous helping.

"Thank you." He smiled shyly. "It's just … this soup reminds me of something. There was, um, there was this older couple at the shelter on Eos Four … They were busy, quiet, no-nonsense sort of people, but they never let the bigger kids take away my share."

"Were their names Edon and Meru?"

"Yeah … yeah, they were."

"That's my parents."

No wonder Gerron seemed familiar. What were the odds of finding a connection to home with a shipmate after seven years? And all because of a pot of Everything Soup.

She should tell Neelix. He'd be delighted to hear this story … and maybe, next time she got a communication slot in Astrometrics, she'd tell her parents about it as well. Maybe, in their busy, quiet, no-nonsense way, they would be proud of her as well.

"It's their recipe," she said. "I hope you like it."

Gerron pointed to his third helping as evidence, making her laugh.