"Nervous?" B'Elanna's stepmother asked as they walked up to Tom's house.
"A bit. I haven't actually seen her for a while."
Her father nodded. "She might be a little shy at first, but things will be fine," he soothed as he juggled packages.
"Kahless! My father, of all people, explaining my daughter to me," she thought.
She would have preferred to see Miral anywhere else, but Tom was holding all the cards.
"You're welcome to come with your dad and Liz on Christmas Eve; other folks are coming by, too," he'd told her. "Or late Christmas morning; we're expected at my folks' house in the afternoon."
They were met at the door by a woman with dark, curly hair, who looked vaguely familiar.
"John, Liz, Merry Christmas again," she chattered. "B'Elanna? I'm Phoebe … we probably met at the Voyager parties. Come on in; the family room is still presentable."
"Have you opened presents yet?" Liz asked, noting that the only gifts under the tree seemed to be the ones they brought the previous night.
"Yep, over at Kathryn's. You should see her living room," Phoebe said. "I'll get Tom."
B'Elanna glanced out the patio door, and her breath caught at the sight of Miral running in the backyard with two other children. They were supervised by several adults, probably from the Janeway family.
"Happy Christmas!" a familiar, smoky voice called from the stairway, and B'Elanna had to look twice.
"Admiral?" In a purple sweatshirt and denims, her hair up in a casual bun, Kathryn Janeway looked much, much different than she had at the hearing. Actually, she looked 10 years younger … happy and relaxed.
"In the flesh," she answered casually. "Congratulations on the Hermitage posting. That new class is very impressive."
"Thank you," B'Elanna answered politely.
Miral burst in the door, followed by Tom and a large black dog. "Pop-Pop!" she yelled as she ran straight to her grandfather.
"Hello, sweetheart," he said as he picked her up and gave her a big kiss. "Someone special is here to see you. It's your mommy."
Miral gave her the slight frown that always opened their vid conversations. The dog was giving her a similar look.
"She has presents for you," John said.
Miral cocked her head. "OK," she said as she slipped out of his grasp, to the adults' amusement.
B'Elanna didn't want to cry, not here, but she couldn't help it. "Hello baby, I'm so glad to see you," she said as she reached for Miral.
Kathryn patted Tom's arm and motioned that she was going outside. "Can I get you some coffee?" Tom quietly asked John and Liz as he nudged the dog back toward the kitchen.
"I'll go sit with them," Liz whispered after she took her mug. "You two chat in here."
XXX
"Morning! Gate's open," Gretchen called to Owen, who had appeared at the fence. He came in, followed by Moira's husband, Pete, and their sons.
"Expected to see you this afternoon," she remarked.
"Julia and the girls threw us out while they got things ready," Owen said. "So we came over here. Figured Kathryn had to have some coffee."
"Well, we certainly have enough of that … take your pick of kitchens. Though I have to warn you, your ex daughter-in-law is in Tom's house visiting with Miral."
"Oh, shit," Owen murmured. "It's all right, Pop," Pete said. "I'll get coffee at Tom's … just in case he needs backup."
"Look at it this way," Gretchen said when Owen came back with coffee. "A little generosity now saves lawyers' fees later."
"True," he admitted. "Her ship's leaving soon, so I suppose Tom can afford to be generous." He was quiet for a moment. "Nice assignment, too. Brand-new class of ships. Tom probably could have gotten a chief pilot assignment on one of them."
"Yes, but then the court would have them passing the baby between ships. And she'd never see any of her grandparents … at least not often."
"You and Julia agree," he chuckled. "And things have worked out rather well."
They sat back for a moment, watching the action in the yard. "So what's with the sweatshirts? McKinley Station? Northwestern University?"
Gretchen just laughed. "It's a family joke. The year Kathryn graduated from the Academy … I think she forgot about Christmas shopping. She gave all of us an Academy sweatshirt. Edward thought it was hilarious, but Phoebe and I weren't as impressed.
"So the next year Phoebe and I gave her sweatshirts from our alma maters … well, one of mine. So since then, we get some sort of Starfleet-related sweatshirt, and she gets a couple from other universities. This year, it's McKinley, Northwestern, which is where Jim got his master's, and Daystrom, where I did a seminar there last spring. Course, we included Tom and Miral, too.
"Oh, and the other part of the joke is that we have to wear them the next time we get together. Usually, that's New Year's. But this year, since we had Christmas Eve ..."
"Had a bit of a gap there," he said softly.
"Yes … When we packed up her house, we found three boxed sweatshirts with Voyager's insignia. Phoebe and I sat and bawled. I wore that sweatshirt to bits; it always brought me comfort. Her first Christmas back, she replaced them and all three of us cried."
He patted her arm. "All's well that ends well," he said. She chuckled. "It has, indeed."
"Tell you what, I'm going to get a refill over at Tom's and check up on things," he said as he got up.
XXX
He found Tom, Pete and John sitting around the kitchen table. In the family room, Liz was talking to B'Elanna. Miral was fast asleep, her head in her mother's lap. Jake was standing watch nearby.
"Hey, Pop," Pete said, "Tom was just telling us about the shuttle design course he's teaching next semester."
"Well, he designed one, so he's certainly qualified to teach."
"By the way, I got permission to take the department chair up to see the Delta Flyer."
Owen put down his cup. "Really? I have trouble getting anyone into that section of Spacedock."
"Wasn't easy. The Corps of Engineers, Operations and the Design Studio are fighting over the Flyer. Since I wasn't taking her out, Spacedock finally agreed to accept Kate's signature, since she was the last commanding officer of record." He noted that B'Elanna was listening. "I tried to get permission to see Voyager, but the Corps wouldn't budge; I think they're still tearing her apart. At least the Flyer was intact … it was nice to sit at the helm again."
They were interrupted as Kathryn stuck her head in the door. "Phebes and Jim are packed up. You want to say goodbye?"
"We probably should get going, too," Pete said. "Mori asked me get some stuff from the house."
"We need to go, too," John said. "Liz's son is expecting us for dinner, and we have to drop B'Elanna at the transport station."
When Tom returned, B'Elanna was still sitting with Miral. "Between her birthday and Christmas, she's been running at full speed. Looks like she finally conked out."
B'Elanna kissed the girl's forehead, then reluctantly stood up. "Thank you," she said. "And thanks for the gift from Miral."
Tom just nodded. "She really likes your birthday gift. So, the Hermitage leaves New Year's Day?"
"Actually, I'm already on board, finishing up the prep work. I'll send the contact info."
"Thanks. She'll talk with you on Saturday. Usual time?"
"Sure." She looked at him searchingly. "I don't get it."
"Uh, oh," Tom thought. "What's that?"
"It's bad enough you've taken up with Janeway, but your father? You hated him, but here he is dropping in; you're doing holidays with him. Why?"
Tom was quiet for a moment; B'Elanna obviously didn't realize that Owen had come into the kitchen.
"Well, as for Kate, the only thing that should concern you is that she's good to Miral … her family is good to Miral." He watched as his father slipped out the door.
"As for my father, you're right. But those years away changed both of us. Things aren't perfect, but we're trying. I'm giving him a chance to be a good grandfather. It's the same chance I'm giving your father."
B'Elanna looked skeptical, but no matter. "Anyway, don't want to keep your dad waiting," he said. "Safe travels back to the ship."
XXX
B'Elanna walked out the front door to find Owen Paris waiting for her. "Admiral," she said formally.
"Lieutenant Commander," he replied. "Congratulations on your new assignment. Captain Laug'i has spent five years on the Hermitage project. Choosing you as a chief engineer says a great deal about your abilities."
"Thank you. It's a wonderful ship."
"And I should tell you that I overheard what you just said to Tom."
B'Elanna's look turned defiant, though he noticed that her breath caught for a second.
"Your father and I have something in common: We both made serious mistakes with our children. Now we're both trying to right things as best we can.
"Tom has found the grace to let me try for Miral's sake, if nothing else. I hope someday you can find that grace for your father." He nodded. "Happy Christmas, B'Elanna. Safe travels."