Fall break brought them back to Indiana for a few days, where Tom and Miral were introduced to the fine arts of apple picking and perusing pumpkin patches.
Tom lounged on the couch looking through the images from the orchard. He loved visiting Kathryn's mother. The Janeway home was warm and welcoming: everything his family home was not.
"Here, give this a try." Gretchen handed him a small dish of applesauce. "That's good," he said appreciatively.
"I made three quarts for you to take back, plus the recipe. And if Katie actually does go through with her vow to make applesauce, send me an image. Though I can't guarantee the shock won't kill me."
Tom just chuckled. "Hey, speaking of images, can I copy this one?" he asked, pointing to an image of him with Kathryn and Miral at the orchard.
"Help yourself, and get a copy of the family image from there, too," she said. "Doing an album?"
"Just picking some images for our offices and for grandparents. Have to get one for B'Elanna, too. Course, all she'll do is complain about Miral's clothing or where we've taken her."
Gretchen sat down next to him. "Son, I suspect she's really angry with herself. She did something that's costing her a big part of her baby's life. I imagine that hits home every time she sees that Miral is enjoying something without her." She paused for a moment. "And I am a suspicious sort, but it's not unheard of for one parent to try to undermine the other in these cases."
"Yeah, I try to keep in mind the counselor's advice about not engaging with her when she throws snark."
"Good idea," she said, patting his leg as she got up. "You're doing a great job with Miral; she's a happy and secure little girl."
"I have a lot of help with that, starting with Kate."
Gretchen just smiled. "That's what families are for, dear."
XXX
Miral was especially wiggly today; this call was going to be a trial, Tom decided. On the other hand, it was better than hauling her to Arizona. His lawyer had arranged a compromise on visitation: scheduled vid calls to allow Miral the chance to get re-acquainted with her mother.
B'Elanna answered on the first buzz. "Hello, baby girl, how are you?"
Miral frowned at her. "Not baby. I big girl!" Well, that was something. The first couple of calls, Miral refused to talk to her mother; just stared at her solemnly.
"Well, you're my baby girl," B'Elanna teased. She looked at Miral a bit more closely. "Are those overalls?" she asked peevishly.
"More practical for here," Tom said. "Hey Squirt, tell Mom what you saw today."
"Horses!" Kathryn and Phoebe had taken her to the barn to see Phoebe's horses.
"Were they big horses?" B'Elanna asked.
Miral nodded. "They eat apples; they tickle," she giggled, and B'Elanna chuckled with her. Miral turned toward him. "Kay-Kay and Bee-Bee said no ride horses," she said, pouting a bit.
"Those are horses for grownups, like Bee-Bee," Tom said.
"Wait a minute, you're not putting her on a horse?"
Tom shook his head. "She'd scream if she saw that image of Miral sitting on the Zip King," he thought.
"Squirt, tell Mom what you did yesterday. Where did we go?"
"I get apples!"
"Right, and what else did you see there?"
"Big punkins!" She was starting to fidget. "Where Barkey?"
"Outside. Tell Mom where you had your image taken."
"Qapla'!," she said instead. B'Elanna's mouth dropped open. "Where is she learning Klingon?"
"Probably from our neighbors' little boy. Or she could have picked it up at daycare. The other day she said something that sounded Bolian."
"QamuSHa. That means 'I love you,'" B'Elanna told her. Miral just giggled, then tried — and failed — to launch herself off Tom's lap.
"It's all right," B'Elanna said. "I think she's finished."
"Wave goodbye to Mom, then you can go find Jake," Tom whispered in her ear. Miral, for once, waved at the screen, then scrambled away before B'Elanna could answer.
"Is she all right?" B'Elanna demanded.
"She's great. She had her checkup last week; she's healthy and is at the highest percentiles for growth and development. Daycare is going well, too. I sent the pictures she's drawn." Though definitely not the one Miral drew of her family. She had been quite thorough; him and Kate and the dog, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, even Gretchen and Phoebe and her family. But not B'Elanna.
"It would be nice if your petaQ lawyer would let me hold my daughter."
"I've also sent an image of her at the orchard and her medical report. I should go check on her and the dog. She'll talk with you next week," he said quietly, nodding as he cut the connection. He put his head down on the desk.
XXX
"You all right?" Tom raised his head at the sound of Kate's voice. She was standing in the archway to the kitchen.
"Yeah, it really went better than I expected," he said as Kate walked over. "It's just exhausting."
"Well, maybe it will get easier when Miral gets better at conversation," she soothed as she squeezed his shoulders. "In the meantime, keep documenting the calls. I know it's a pain, but ..."
XXX
Chakotay walked in to find B'Elanna crying as she stared at an image of Miral sitting on a pumpkin.
"What happened?" he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Didn't the call go well?"
"It was good; she actually talked to me. She's fine … this week, she's picking apples and looking at horses and running around the Janeway farm," she said, throwing up her arms. "It's like they're rubbing my nose in it."
Chakotay tried to stay encouraging. "Hang in there; you'll get to have your own experiences with her soon."