=/\= This is seven years after Voyager's return home to the Alpha Quadrant. =/\=
Sickbay Buddies
"Owwwww it hurts!"
Kathryn heard her daughter's cries as she approached Sickbay and increased her speed. She had received a comm informing her that the three year old had gotten hurt playing in the nursery. While the little one's injuries were not reported to be serious, based on the cries she could hear, her child was clearly upset.
At the age of three all injuries were serious ones to the toddler and she tended to made sure everyone knew it.
Though if she were asked her age the little girl would say was three and three quarters and would pout if she was deprived the additional nine months. As it was roughly one fourth of her entire life, Kathryn could understand her feeling this way.
"It will feel better if you let me heal it" The Doctor tried to patiently reason with her.
"Nooooooooo" the little one howled as the Sickbay doors opened allowing her mother to enter.
"Mommmmy" the girl wailed the moment she saw her.
Elizabeth 'Libbby' Janeway sat on the biobed, her little legs dangled off the edge, and she looked the picture of distress. There were tears streaming down the toddler's bright red face. Even her pigtails seemed to droop under the unhappiness radiating off her little body. Libby reached out her little hands to her mother, looking to be saved and soothed. Yet Kathryn knew all too well, the only way forward was through the Doctor.
Seven year old Miral Paris stood next to the biobed, a comforting hand on Libby's back, attempting to support the toddler. Yet it was clear she was floundering under the girl's sobs and loud protests. She gave the littlest Pairs an encouraging smile which was enough to relax the older child.
"It's okay" Kathryn cooed, walking towards her daughter. As she approached, she saw the girl was also showing her the scrapes on both her palms. They matched the injuries on her little knees. Both were bleeding slightly and looked painful, though as reported, not serious. Yet the situation was quite serious as far as the toddler was concerned. And as her mother, her only desire was to take away the pain from the distressed little one.
"I brought someone else to help you feel better." She told the child pulling out a stuffed dog from behind her back. She had stopped by their quarters on her way hoping the toy would help or at least distract. Libby was not usually the most cooperative patient, a trait the Doctor swore she inherited from her parents–and had nothing to do with her young age.
"Toby" the little girl cried. The stuffed animal was a gift from her Aunt Phoebe in lieu of the real puppy she wanted to give the child and her mother. Though Kathryn immediately saw an issue prevent the implementation of this plan. With her injured hands the toddler couldn't simply take the toy. As she quickly came up with a solution the Doctor brightened at her arrival.
"I want to go home" the little girl wailed begging with her big brown eyes to be rescued. "Hurts." She kicked her little feet in protest. It was also likely an attempt to keep the Hologram away from her.
"I know it hurts sweetheart but the only way to stop it hurting is to let the Doctor fix it. If we go home, they will keep hurting." She tried to explain to her daughter, though she knew it was not what the toddler wanted to hear.
"Nooo" she sobbed once more. A fresh wave of giant angry tears quickly slid down her cheeks.
"Okay, it's okay. First, how about we let Miral go back and play." She suggested looking over at the older girl and her daughter simply nodded. "Thank you for bringing Libby to the Doctor Miral." She said, giving the older child a smile.
"You're welcome Admiral, she was crying a lot harder when we got here."
"Don't worry she will be right as rain soon enough." She assured her.
"Good. Well... bye Libby I'll see you later." Miral waved as she left and the little girl managed to wave back even with her injured hand. Once the older girl was gone, she then turned her tearful eyes back to her mother. They might not have an actual puppy but she had perfected the classic 'puppy dog eyes' look.
"Everything will be okay, I promise." She tried to reassure the toddler bending to give her forehead a kiss. Yet the girl only whined wanting to be held.
"Admiral, I think you arrived just in time. Someone needs a Sickbay buddy." The Doctor informed her with a knowing look.
"What's a Sickbay buddy?" Libby asked just as he hoped she would and Kathryn gave him a slight nod of thanks.
"How about we make you a bit more comfortable first?" Kathryn suggested rhetorically to her daughter.
She set Toby on the bed then bent down to the girl's level. She brushed the hair off Libby's face and gently used her thumbs to wipe her tears away. Before straightening she gave the girl another kiss on the top of her head. This calmed the child a little more, giving her enough time to sit next to her daughter on the biobed. Carefully she maneuvered the little one onto her lap and cuddled her close for a few quiet moments. Lastly, she picked up the stuffed dog and worked him into the crook of the toddler's arm.
"Now is that better?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah" Libby nodded though there was still a little pout on her face as she looked up at her mother. A few more tears had also slid down her cheeks but that appeared to be the end of them for now. "What is a Sickbay buddy?" She asked as the Doctor slowly moved in closer to the now distracted child. With his patient sufficiently preoccupied, the Hologram was finally allowed to begin his work.
"Well, you know how mommy and daddy sometimes get hurt?" Kathryn asked her.
"Yeah, like when daddy was skiing he broke his leg?" she quickly questioned.
"Yes" her mother confirmed with a smile.
"Or when we went to Grandma's for Prixin and you cut your hand real bad instead of veggies? Grandma says you can't be in the kitchen anymore." The girl added in the angelic way only a three and three quarters year old could.
"Yes I did get hurt and she did say that." Kathryn confirmed, ignoring the Doctor's smirk. She was just happy her daughter didn't get upset when her parents got hurt like some kids.
"But whenever I get hurt daddy comes with me and is my Sickbay buddy. When he gets hurt I go with him to be his Sickbay buddy." She continued, returning to the topic of her distraction.
"What do you do?" The child asked, her mother now had her complete attention, exactly as she had hoped. Libby didn't even notice as the Doctor switched tools while healing her hands. Toby's ear has also found his way into her mouth, she chewed and listened closely as her mom talked.
"A Sickbay buddy is there to help the person who is hurt. To try and make them feel better. To help them think about something other than what hurts. It's less scary when you have a buddy." She explained the concept to the toddler.
"Do I have one?" The girl inquired wide eyed at the idea.
"I think you have a few Sickbay buddies."
"I do?" she asked, astonished.
"Yes. I think Miral was trying to be a Sickbay buddy earlier."
"And Naomi when she came to visit and I fell?"
"Yes. Plus, you also have me and daddy." At this the girl began to smile and cuddled back into her mother.
"Can I be your sickbay buddy too?" The little one asked after a moment, looking up at her with a serious expression on her face. She clearly felt the importance of the job she was requesting. It was one of the cutest things she had ever witnessed and Kathryn thought her heart might explode at this adorable question. If the Doctor hadn't been working on the child's injuries she would have cuddled her tightly and showered her with kisses.
"Of course you can, you always make me feel better when I'm hurt." She agreed and Libby's face lit up exposing the dimples she had inherited from her father.
After a few moments she seemed to realize her hands didn't hurt any more. She raised them in front of her and examined them before lifting them up to show her mother. Kathryn leaned towards them and gave the pink—newly healed palms a kiss.
"All better" She declared and the girl giggled. She thankfully was also continuing to ignore the Doctor who was now working on her knees. Taking advantage of this Kathryn wiped the remaining tears and sweat off her daughter's cheeks and then gave her nose a kiss. At this the little one let out another giggle.
A moment later the Sickbay doors opened and the two looked up to see Chakotay walking in.
"Daddy" the child cried when she saw him but made no move to get to him. Thankfully she was happy to stay on her mother's lap—allowing the Doctor to work. "I got hurt" she pouted to him.
"I heard" he confirmed coming to her.
"Are you my Sickbay buddy too?" She asked and his eyes flicked up to Kathryn's for a moment and she nodded with an 'I'll explain later look'. Until right then, the concept of a Sickbay buddy had been their own personal term for each other while in Sickbay.
"Yes, I am. Sickbay buddy reporting for duty." He nodded in confirmation. standing up straighter as if at attention. She awarded him with a smile for his response. They might have been in command of Voyager but as far as their lives went, the little girl was the only actually running things. "How are you?" He asked, looking her over, accessing his child's injuries.
"Okay" she replied so nonchalantly it nearly made her parents laugh. There was no evidence that she had been sobbing only minutes earlier.
"There we are, your hands and knees are all fixed." The Doctor declared standing up and stepping away. As if to test this, Libby gently swung her legs a little and then looked down at them skeptically. Chakotay then knelt down and gave each knee a kiss.
"There, all better." He declared just as her mother had done a few minutes earlier. At this the smile was back on the girl's face.
"Do you kiss mommy's booboos?" She asked her father as he stood up.
"Of course I do" he quickly confirmed with a grin. Kathryn rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but smile too. He reached up and twirled one of Libby's pig tails around his finger and she laughed as he did so. Once he was done her usual bubbly demeanor was back and along with her bouncy pig tails.
"Daddy can I be your Sickbay buddy too? Mommy said I could be hers." She asked her father and waited expectantly.
"Of course you can. I think you have all the qualities that make a perfect Sickbay buddy. Don't you agree Doc?"
"Absolutely. I know just seeing you smile is enough to make your Mommy and Daddy feel a hundred times better." The Hologram confirmed with an approving nod.
"Yay" she squealed in delight and both her parents and the Doctor laughed.
"Now, you are all better and you are free to go." The Doctor informed them. "But I might recommend some juice and a quiet story after all this excitement." He added with a knowing look that told the adults that a nap would likely follow the two.
"Mommy?" Libby asked her pleading eyes back. Silently begging her mother to stay with her.
"Yes, don't worry. Daddy is going to go back to work. But you and I will go home and have some juice and read a book." She promised the girl. There were several advantages to being an Admiral especially on Voyager away from headquarters on Earth. Getting to spend the afternoon with her daughter after a minor injury was a very nice one.
"Flotter?" the toddler asked hopefully.
"Yes'' her mother laughed. They had read all the stories several times but they were all she wanted at the moment. She was still too young for the Holoprogams but they knew that day would come sooner rather than later.
"Yay" she cried happily but then turned to her father and frowned. Her expression was very easy to read—He had only just got there and she didn't want him to leave yet.
"I will walk you and mommy home and maybe join you for a little juice. It's what Sickbay buddies do." He conceded giving into her puppy dog eyes. Though Kathryn wasn't fooled, it was always his plan to stay with them for a while. There were some advantages to being the Captain as well. At this the child squealed with delight once more. Chakotay then helped the two of them off the biobed.
"Tell the Doctor thank you." Kathryn prompted her daughter as she settled the girl on her hip to easily carry her.
"Thank you Doc" she replied, even giving him a little wave.
"You are very welcome Libby" he smiled and waved back.
With that the three turned and left Sickbay for their quarters for juice and story time—together.
=/\= The End =/\=
Can't believe I finally got to this one! I hope you enjoyed this fluffy sweet ending to the series. I have had this one mostly finished for a while now and have been so eager to get to this point so I could finally share it. For a few moments I thought about ending the series with the wedding Kathryn and Chakotay talked about in the last fic. But it didn't feel right as it had nothing to do with Sickbay or the Doctor and it felt like it was sufficiently covered already. Then thankfully this story idea came to me and practically wrote itself. It felt like the perfect way to complete the series. This is the first complete series I have ever posted and it was such a wonderful experience and that has really been because of all you amazing people who have read and reviewed. Thank you all!
To me it is the whipped cream, sprinkles and cherry on top of this series. I hope you feel the same way and enjoy it. Please let me know what you think!