People would look back on my parents and never know how or why they worked but somehow they always did. I could never explain it myself but if it wasn't for them I'd never become the person I am today. Who could have asked two people to take this journey together, as unconventional as it was and hold together not only their own sanity but the ship they lived on? I don't think anyone could have accomplished it, what they were asked to do was impossible. If only I could go back and tell them in the end everything would be okay. I'd turn out just fine in spite it all. If only I could turn back time and let them know, I'd turn back time to show her how important she always was to me.
~Captain Amelia Janeway
Day's had passed since Emily had been ripped away from them and Amelia had lost her powers. It seemed so much of the little girls ability to fight the odds had come from her being part Q. Her talent for dodging illness and defying the odds despite being premature had come down to her not truly being human. It was another day at sick may with Amelia who's health had declined rapidly. Either without her powers or without her sister. Janeway sat there beside her daughter holding the babies hand with a sad little smile on her face. The Irish Setter laying on the ground beside her as she thought of how to best get their Emily back. Q hadn't been too shaken up by the absence of their other daughter. In fact he was far more concerned about Amelia, he always had been. It hadn't bothered her as much as it did now. He was just going to leave Emily there, said she was better off there where she could learn to be a proper Q. Janeway didn't care about her being a good Q, she cared about her being with her family. He might have been okay abandoning Emily but hell or high water Janeway would find a way to get her back. For now she had more on her plate than she needed outside of just a missing daughter, she had a Q pitching a fit on her ship, a sick daughter, a crew lost in space, and a ship that needed it's captain to stay strong despite it all. If anyone could manage the load it was Janeway.
"Come on kid, you have to get better soon." She patted Amelia on the chest lightly as the baby stretched and yawned. "You're a Janeway, you're a fighter. You are built out of some stern stuff." From the few times Paris had watched her he had remarked on how tenacious she was for her age, tenacious and serious like her mother. Sure, she took after Q too but Amelia was all Janeway. Q was still moping about his daughter losing her status as a Q, the thing was Janeway didn't care about that so much herself. Was it nice to potentially have a Q child she had some sway over? Oh course, the idea had crossed her mind once or twice that maybe Amelia would get them home some day but Amelia was just as special without her Q abilities. She was a smart little survivor and a tough kid for everything she'd already been through. As the baby looked up at her with a little smile Janeway couldn't help but smile back. There was a burst of light as Q flashed into the room, materializing beside Janeway with a look of frustration on his face.
"I can't even get back to the Q Continuum to give them a piece of my mind. Every time I try I end up back on this damn ship." Looking up at him Janeway raised a brow giving him that look like she might bite off his head if the next words to leave his mouth weren't something better. "I meant lovely ship Kathy, the finest ship Starfleet has to offer I'm sure." He crept a little closer to her now that her hackles were down. "How's she doing?"
"Better, still having trouble breathing. The Doctor said it's just a respiratory infection but as soon as she gets better she gets worse again."
"Poor thing, she must be heartbroken over losing her powers and becoming mortal. She's never been just mortal Kathy. I bet it's killing her inside." Q leaned over her and grabbed Amelia's foot shaking it lightly and smiling at the baby. "It's okay, I've been mortal plenty of times and look at me. I still turned out just fine."
Janeway glared back at him again to let him know he was standing close to the edge again. When wasn't he on the edge with her? She made a talent of putting people on her edge. It was one of the traits he found so attractive about her. What a fiery feisty little kitty his Kathy was. "I think it's more to do with her sister Q, she's alone. If we could just convince them to take Emily's powers away too Q we might be able to take her back."
He shook his head in disagreement, this was the Q Continuum they were talking about here, stiflers on the rules and the breaking of them. "No Kathy, she's better off there with them, where she belongs. She was a mistake, dreamed up by a young Q who didn't know any better. An imperfect copy. How could we even explain that one to others? That they are twin sisters who appear to have been born several years apart? That one is the replica or clone of the other? Admit it Kathy it wouldn't be easy."
"Maybe not." She sounded solemn. Her voice quieter now than before as she held Amelia's hand. "But being a parent was never meant to be easy. Perhaps Emily didn't come into this world in the conventional way like Amelia had, and maybe trying to explain her existence and similarities to Amelia would be hard but in spite of all that Emily is just as much our daughter as Amelia is. I know you must have felt it too, some connection, some force linking us all together. It might be hard at first but I know eventually we could be just like any other family. We could be together."
"Back on earth Kathy? Playing together in those open fields on that little farm you remember from your childhood?" He wanted her to see how ridicules that sounded.
"Maybe." He thought is silly but she had to keep hope. Hope was the only thing that kept Voyager going. "Have two girls go through Starfleet Academy someday. Maybe even two more Captain's, we saw once that Amelia is capable of it, so is Emily."
"I hate to be the bringer of bad news but that sort of normal life became a difficult dream to accomplish when you decided...when we made Amelia. Not impossible mind you just improbable. However if one big happy family is what you would like to have then I'll see what I can do about it. Not sure how since I can't get back myself but maybe we will get lucky and Qpid is still on my side. Beside's lets not forget that Amelia is still very mortal, fragile do you really want two fragile creatures to look after?" She snapped him that death glare, the one that said despite him being omnipotent she could hurt him. Oh yes, Kathy could hurt him oh so easily. Phasers might not make him bawk but her words could put him down. "Point taken, two fragile squishy beings it is." He knew Emily was better off there in the Continuum but Janeway would never accept it. She was above and beyond just a mama bear, touch her cubs or look at them funny you would find a bloody mess. "Well Rowley what do you say? Do you want Emily back too?" The dog lifted his head and barked at Q startling baby Amelia and making her cough and cry. Janeway glared back at Q and then to the dog watching Rowley rest his hand on the ground with a whine.
"Can we try to avoid causing any unnecessary aggravation to Amelia as well." Janeway picked the baby up rested her on her shoulder as she rubbed her back to calm her down. Amelia settled quickly in her mothers arms. Sometimes it made Q a little jealous. He was good at some things but when it came to Amelia needing to feel safe or comforted Janeway was the go to parent on that front. Who ever thought serious and intimidating Janeway would be great with children? Even Emily had clung to her when she was having nightmares from her time in the labs. Such mama's girls.
"Captain, you're needed on the bridge." A voice came over the intercom. Without hesitation Q took Amelia from her arms and listened to his daughter fuss a little.
"Come on now Amy, mom has to get to work." Janeway couldn't stick around to make sure Amelia would be alright. She only had to trust Q would take care of things while she stepped out of sickbay and started heading down the hall. Q was a little happy that without her Q powers Amelia could no longer throw a fit and tamper with parts of the ship. A crying baby Q shutting down the warp core was a bit of a problem. Now that she was just human she could cry all she wanted and it would do nothing more than give others a headache. As Amelia continued to cry Q tried to make a face to distract her or make her laugh. Instead the poor baby just kept crying and coughing. Above him the light started to flicker, Q turning his attention to it before he snapped his fingers to fix it. Again Amelia kept crying and the light above them flickered. Q's attention falling back to it. That couldn't be right, Amelia couldn't be doing that could she? Impossible without her Q powers. She let out another loud sob for her mother making the light above them flicker out completely. "Well, that's just lovely."
