Young Q absconds to earth to stay with his godmother. Janeway is absolutely suspicious, but...he is her godson, and she can't trust Q to help his son now can she?
Rated T, because Q, will eventually include Icheb/Q. Focus is on Janeway and Q. Most of the Voyager Crew and Naomi Wilder will make appearances.
Chapter 2: In Pursuit of Trouble
Seven of Nine was 97.6% of the way through her regeneration cycle when the communication panel began to beep in her quarters. Only two individuals are put through directly during her regeneration cycle so she answered promptly.
"Captain." Seven greeted Janeway with a slight nod and a raised eyebrow. She recognized the twitch of her captain's lips as amusement, but she also noted dark circles appearing beneath her eyes.
"Morning Seven," Janeway smiled, slow and soft, "Sorry to wake you." Seven nodded her head again. Her lips shifted upwards. "But this isn't a work call. I wanted to give you a heads up, Q is here on earth. Junior. He's staying with me for a bit."
Seven frowned, deeply. "That is not ideal. On his last appearance, Icheb's productivity diminished considerably and Icheb's chance of danger is much higher when in the proximity of- "
"Yes, I thought you might be a little worried about the two of them spending time together again." Janeway held up her palms to stop Seven's thorough review of the Q's less than stellar track record. "I'll let you decide how to handle their contact, Icheb is your responsibility."
"I appreciate the notification." Seven tried to keep her face neutral, but she can tell some of her emotions have leaked into her expression by Janeway's sigh before she disconnected. With the comm station now quiet, Seven turned to the bathroom to prepare for her day.
When she arrived in the common area of her apartment, it was empty, and it remained so as she prepared breakfast. Icheb did not make an appearance until the eggs have been transfered to a plate. More accurately, he stumbled out of his room with his hair stuck up and the imprint of a pad on his face.
"You're meant to sleep on pillows Icheb, not your data pad." Seven reminded him, a smile tugging on her face at Icheb's grumbling. "How was your rest?"
"Adequate," Icheb said as he slid into his chair at the table. Seven set a plate of food in front of him as Icheb attempted to flatten his hair.
Sleep was still foreign to Seven, though she understood the concept. Since giving her his cortical node Icheb required rest every night and regeneration every two days.
Chakotay informed her that Icheb was still transitioning into this new cycle when she mentioned her concern. Voyager's return to Earth had required further adjustments - Seven herself had trouble regenerating when the sun was up.
"Were you able to finish the required work for your classes today?" Seven asked as she sat across from him with her own food.
Icheb nodded, "I've found this method of knowledge acquisition less optimal than that which we utilized on Voyager." Were he not speaking in his usual tone, Seven might have mistaken Icheb's behavior for whining.
"It is less individual," Seven conceded. Icheb nodded, mouth turned down in a frown. "Is there anything that I can assist you with?" Icheb shook his head.
"I can handle it." Icheb said quickly, brows furrowed as he dug into his food. Seven inclined her head, but made no comment. She decided not to divulge the arrival of Q. Icheb needed to focus, and an omniscient teenage would hardly help matters.
-.-.-
Once Icheb departed for the Academy, Seven headed in to Starfleet Headquarters. The senior officers of Voyager were already gathering. They were nearing the one year anniversary of Voyager's return to the alpha quadrant and the debriefs were finally winding down.
"Seven," B'Elanna Tores yawned with a wave. She handed Seven a pad as the woman took her seat beside the exhausted mother. "Today's agenda is packed - borg, talaxi, AND the Klingon cult."
"You're just annoyed that you'll have to talk about something besides the warp core for once." Tom drawled from B'Elanna's other side, a smirk on his lips and dark circles prominent under his eyes.
B'Elanna snorted, "You're the one that has to explain to your father why you accepted a challenge from a Klingon."
"I doubt the Admiral will be surprised." Seven stated, earning a smile from B'Elanna and an offended squawk from Tom.
"How's Icheb doing?" Chakotay asked as he arrived. There was genuine concern in his eyes as he took his seat. It caught B'Elanna, Tom, and Harry's attention and the three looked to Seven expectantly.
Seven inclined her head to side, "He is…adjusting. Still." She pursed her lips, "I do not believe he enjoys his academy classes, but I am unsure of the reason."
"I can think of a few," B'Elanna muttered, brows lowering on her forehead as she scowled at the table. Seven turned her head to look at the other woman.
"Alright, let's get started." Admiral Paris cut off the conversation as he entered the room, Janeway at his side. Seven frowned at the interruption, but straightened in her seat as the Admiral opened his pad. "First up, Stardate… 54518.2. The kuvah'magh incident?"
B'Elanna groaned and Janeway began massaging her temples.
-.-.-
Icheb kept his head down and his fingers typing throughout his classes. He had learned already that asking questions merely brought undesirable attention from his classmates. It was preferable for him to find the answers himself, even if it did take longer.
"Any questions?" The professor of his last class, an Engineering Diagnostics course, looked directly at Icheb. Chief O'Brien had heavily lidded green eyes focused intently on him. Icheb blinked, but remained silent. "Alright then," O'Brien sighed, shoulders slumping slightly as he gestured out, "class dismissed."
Several students approached the professor for clarifications and comments even as the man made shooting noises towards the door. Icheb quickly packed his pad and stylus away so he could duck out of the classroom before the chief could call him back, as the man had done twice before since Icheb had stopped asking questions.
Chief O'Brien's concern was unique amongst the staff that Icheb had encountered. An outlier, and therefore, not something that Icheb should become accustomed to if he wished to successfully complete his Starfleet training.
"Itchy!"
The exclamation from the young man outside the classroom brought stares. Mostly focused on Q as his limbs flailed out. Icheb didn't even blink, he merely walked up to Q, eyebrow raised expectantly.
The omniscient teenager stood from his seat on the bench outside with a dramatic sigh and trudging footstep, "Do you know how *long* your classes are?"
"6.23 hours," Icheb responded automatically. He enjoyed the quirk of Q's lips at the words. "Chief O'Brien finished his class early today."
Q rolled his eyes, "Not early enough! I only have two hours to properly annoy you before Aunt Kathy gets back from work."
"You're staying with Captain Janeway?" Icheb quirked his head to the side. Q nodded. The other cadets around them not so subtly ground to halt.
"Yup!" Q wrapped an arm around Icheb's neck and began to drag him away from the prying eyes of his suddenly attentive classmates. "The old man was bugging me, so I'm earth bound for the foreseeable future." Q gestured out in a curve towards the area around them.
Icheb raised a brow once more, "I do not believe Seven will be pleased to hear that." He was, in fact, quite positive she would be displeased. But Icheb hadn't managed to make a single friend on Earth so far. He smiled, "What should we do then?"
"My first instinct is always to cause trouble," Q drawled, slipping his arm back to his side as he turned to walk backwards. He thrust his hands into his pants pocket and thrust his head back in the direction he was already walking in, "I saw a Ferengi bar on my way over."
Q smirked, eyes sparkling. Icheb swallowed as he stared up at them. He nodded. "That's acceptable." Q's face broke out into a giant grin.
-.-.-
A trill beeping interrupted Seven's description of the nebula that had obscured the borg transwarp hub. Tom visibly started awake at the noise.
Janeway held up her hand in apology as she flipped open the emergency communicator from her pocket. The thrilling stopped, "Janeway."
"Captain." Icheb's voice was quiet and accompanied by the sound of loud music and yelling. "I am sorry to disturb you, but…" Something shattered. "I believe your presence would be beneficial."
Janeway looked at the ceiling, "What has Q done now?"
"Uhm…actually," Icheb's words were barely a murmur. "It's more about what he's not doing..."
"Captain Janeway?" Admiral Paris raised an eyebrow and Janeway turned back to look at the table. Seven was staring intently, no doubt she could hear Icheb's voice, if not his words. The admiral himself had a furrowed brow.
"Send me your location, Icheb, I'll be right there." Janeway flipped her comm device closed. She cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, Admiral, but it seems my godson is in a spot of trouble."
Seven's eyebrow rose, "Icheb is with Q?"
"Wait, Q's on earth?!" B'Elanna's hands banged on the table as she stood up abruptly.
"Junior is, yes." Janeway nodded to B'Elanna. Her glower softened. Janeway faced Seven with a nervous smile, "And yes, it would appear he and Icheb are together."
"And in trouble." Tom added, chuckling to himself.
Harry sighed, "Again."
Admiral Paris' brow lowered even more, "Is this the same child that was going to be turned into an amoeba?" Tom snorted, Chakotay nodded.
"If we could adjourn for the day?" Janeway asked on her way to the door. The admiral barely had time to dismiss them before Seven and Janeway transported away.
Tom leaned towards Harry, "How much you want to bet this inspires a little rebellious streak in our young Icheb?"
"No bets!" Harry raised his hands in the ear, grinning wide. B'Elanna rolled her eyes.
"Seven's got enough to worry about with Icheb as is," Chakotay frowned at the two younger men.
B'Elanna frowned, lips pursed, "I bet."
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