Time was flying by on Voyager. The 'Crew kids' enjoyed a wonderful first birthday party. Tom Paris had created a small holodeck devoted solely for the use of the children. Each family had some solo privileges but mostly there were open programs that they all shared. Many crew members liked to come to the holo-park and watch the children play. As Janeway had predicted the entire crew was happily involved in the lives of these precious shipmates.
The waiting list for parents that wanted children was not terribly long but there was a wait. Janeway couldn't justify a population explosion but there were several more pregnant women and more waiting for their turn. Today the Captain was in earnest conversation with Crewman Jesse Standish. It seems her twins Marco and Jane were growing faster then her replicator rations could keep up with. "I am sorry Captain I am trying to replicate their clothes a little large but they are growing so fast."
"Don't apologize for having healthy children! We have to take all kinds of things in to account with children. I have created a discretionary credit fund for just this kind of happenstance. Send a pad with the specifics of what is above your regular rations to Tal Celes. She has the authority to take care of it." Janeway was walking with Jesse to her station as they were talking. Jesse had shown an aptitude for engineering so she was training there. Tuvok continued to offer Academy level classes so the Crewman was studying in hopes of being an Ensign in the near future.
From the catwalk where they were standing the women heard loud voices on the lower level of engineering. "Lt. my intention was not to cause you discomfort. The reason for the system failure became obvious to me. As I was unable to reach you I believed you would want me to fix it and avoid more problems. I apologize if I was in error."
Janeway's face paled as she heard the Chief Engineer's reply. "I don't want you in my engine room. I don't want you fixing things without my permission. I don't care who your girlfriend is you are not to be in here with out my authorization. I am not taking the blame if you come in and screw something up."
Seven replied calm in a voice. "I do not believe the Captain would hold you accountable for any error of mine. She never has in the past."
"Well that was then, this is now." B'Elanna stated. "It is not a risk I am going to take."
Janeway looked over at crewman Standish. "You did not see me here. Is that understood?"
The young woman nodded.
B'Elanna was not concerned when the Captain requested her presence in her ready room. The argument with Seven was more mild then most so it would not occur to her that Janeway would ever hear of it. She was secretly glad Seven had handled the system malfunction that popped up. She got it fixed so fast nothing important was effected. What could have been a disaster ended up being a minor glitch thanks to Seven. Of course she shouldn't have taken it upon herself to fix it, but it was a good thing she did. Hence the Lt was fairly relaxed as she waited for her Captain to speak.
Janeway handed B'Elanna a pad. "Lt Torres I would like you to make a list of all of the times I was unfair to you. Please document any incident were you feel that you were unjustly punished or accused and submit it to Commander Chakotay."
B'Elanna stood at the Captain's desk with pad in hand and mouth open in shock. "Captain I..you.."
Janeway held up her hand. "I do not know what I have done to cause your mistrust in me. I have no idea why you would publicly accuse me of treating you poorly. Hopefully your report will clear that up. As your feelings about my fairness were made quite clear this morning I think it best you protect yourself by reporting it to the Commander." Janeway's eyes were steal gray as she looked at B'Elanna. "Dismissed Lt."
"Captain I don't know what Seven has told you but…"
Janeway's voice was harsh. "Nothing, Seven told me nothing. This morning I was on the catwalk in your department and heard you announcing to all who would listen that I am the kind of Captain who allows her personal life to influence her duty. I am not even going to discuss how you were speaking to a fellow officer in front of your staff. I will address that with the officer in question. She will be informed that all future incidents of that nature should be reported to the Commander as well."
B'Elanna was dumbstruck. It truly never occurred to her that her attempts at belittling Seven were also attacks on the Captain. She took a step closer to the Captain's desk. Janeway shook her head. "The Commander will expect your report by the end of Alpha shift. There should be a full explanation of what caused you to make those comments. Dismissed." B'Elanna opened her mouth to speak. Janeway again held up her hand. "Dismissed Lt."
As B'Elanna left the bridge images were running through her mind. She saw herself being made Lt over Joe Carry. She saw Janeway reprimanding her for going against orders and almost destroying the ship to get space folding technology. Reprimanding her but not demoting her. In her minds eye she saw herself being held in her Captain's arms after a trip on the barge of the dead. There was not one image that could possibly justify her unkind words to Seven. There were hundreds of images that shamed her for saying them. The Lt was noticeably pale and shaking as she left the bridge.
From her station across from the ready room entrance Seven could see how visibly upset the engineer was and vowed to talk to the Captain about it later.
Tom and B'Elanna were on their way to lunch when they saw the Captain and Seven in the corridor. B'Elanna pulled Tom in to a side passage.
"What is going on? You left the bridge looking like death warmed over this morning and now you are hiding from the Captain?"
"Shhhh. I can't face them right now. Just wait here until they are gone."
Tom shook his head and waited with her.
.
"Captain may I speak to you? "
"Of course Seven what's up?"
"Actually I need to speak to you in an official capacity."
Janeway rolled her eyes. "Ok Ms Hanson how can I help you?" Due to the intimate nature of their relationship the Captain had taken to calling Seven Ms Hanson when they were having a work conversation. It helped them both to remember where the line was between personal and professional. Neither Ms Hanson or the Captain were welcome when they got to quarters.
"I saw Lt Torres leave your ready room appearing quite upset."
"I see." Janeway had an edge to her voice. She was still displeased and this was not a topic she wished to discuss
Seven continued. " I do not believe that you should reprimand the Lt for this mornings event."
Janeway was surprised that Seven was aware of the situation. "That is kind of you Seven but it is not your place to tell your Captain who she should or shouldn't reprimand. She was out of line!"
" I disagree."
"Excuse me?" Janeway's voice was almost a growl.
Seven continued undaunted. "Even though we were able to do a complete overhaul last year there are many components of the ship that we did not replace. We could not rebuild the whole ship. While the fracture in the ion regulator could have been a significant issue, it was found and corrected. The damage that was done, while costly, was minimal." Seven stood with her hands behind her back in her version of the attention stance. "I think it is inefficient to hold any one person responsible."
Janeway closed her eyes and gently shook her head as if to clear out cobwebs. "I appreciate you providing your opinion. I have not yet received information on the issue you have mentioned and therefore have not yet spoken to Lt Torres about it. I will keep your input in mind when I do."
"I see. If you were not speaking to her about the repairs I guess I have.." Seven paused searching for an apt phrase. "stuck my nose in where it dose not belong."
Janeway threw back her head and laughed. She loved hearing Seven try out colloquialisms. She took a deep breath. "It was considerate of you to stick up for B'Elanna but I wonder why you would. There is no love lost between the two of you."
"I have no issues with Lt Torres. I have come to understand that I will not be able to earn her friendship or trust. Her dislike of the Borg is too intense for her to overcome. This does not, however, preclude me from doing what is right. She is an excellent engineer and the ship is better then it would be in the care of anyone else."
Janeway put her hand on Seven's shoulder and moved her forward. "Are you done with the Captain now? Kathryn would like to have lunch with you." Seven smiled and nodded as the two women moved on to the mess hall.
B'Elanna thought she had been feeling bad earlier. But now she hit a new low. Tom smiled at his wife. "Well Bee it looks like you have friends in high places!" The smile he expected did not come. Instead he saw tears shimmering in her eyes.
"I don't think I am hungry any more Tom. I have a headache and need to lie down."
"Do you want to go to sick bay?"
"No, I think I will take the rest of the day off. I'll see you tonight."
Tom became concerned and was about to suggest he help her back to the cabin. Before he got the words out she said. "Tom I need to be alone, to think. I will be fine." She leaned in, gave him a quick kiss and headed down the corridor towards their cabin.
Alpha shift was just ending when Janeway heard a chime at her ready room door. She was surprised to find Lt Torres was the person requesting entry. Her eyes hardened as she waited for the Lt to say why she came.
"Captain, I was hoping that you would allow me to speak to you and Seven. It will only take a few moments and I would appreciate it."
Janeway's voice was not welcoming. "I don't know Lt. I think that Seven may have heard enough from you for one day."
"I understand why you would say that. I would like to try to explain myself to both of you. I don't believe a report to the Commander would allow me to say what I need to say."
Janeway studied the engineer's face and then hailed Seven to ask her to join them. When she joined them in the ready room the tall blond looked curiously at the two women. It was clear they were both upset and angry.
"Well Lt we are both here what is it you want to tell us."
Seeing that the engineer was almost shaking Seven spoke up. "If this is going to be a lengthy discussion I believe it would be efficient for us to be seated." She stepped up to the less formal side of the ready room and waited for the other two women to follow.
Janeway couldn't decide if she was amused or annoyed by Seven attempt to defuse the tension in the room. She really liked watching B'Elanna squirm. However pride in Seven's maneuvering won over and she moved up to the couch. While the Captain and Seven sat B'Elanna did not. She paced in front of them as she tried to form her words. And then they just spilled out from her in a torrent that she couldn't control.
The half Klingon looked at the Astrometrics officer. "Seven I don't hate you because you were Borg. Don't really hate you at all. But there are things about you that have caused me to be unreasonable." She looked over to Janeway. "And as I struck out at you I hurt the people that care about you as well." B'Elanna took a deep breath.
"Before you came I was the one everyone looked to for solutions. Now you figure things out before anyone even asks. Other then Tom, Harry Kim is my closest friend. Now his Thursday date with you is inviolate. When you came on board everything changed. I felt displaced. Let's face it Seven, you could simultaneously run every department and fly the ship if needed. And you are beautiful to boot." B'Elanna looked towards the ceiling and then at the Captain.
"I don't have a report to submit to the Commander today. I almost wish that I did. Instead all I have is a mirror and when I look in it I don't like what I see." She paused and waited for a response.
Janeway's face was still unfriendly. She understood that what the Lt. was saying was hard for her. It would be hard for anyone. She just wasn't prepared to forgive so easily.
Seven spoke first. "you are wrong Lt." The arrogance in her tone was as familiar as it was grating.
B'Elanna rose her eyebrows in question.
"I believe I would fail in running the herbonics department. I find that plants tend to die around me."
Both women looked at her in shock. Janeway's lips started to twitch a little and B'Elanna sat down with her head in her hands.
"What is it Lt that I need to do to end the animosity between us?"
B'Elanna looked up. "Well you could shrink four inches, die your hair a mousey brown, have a lobotomy and tell Harry you don't like him. Or you could forgive me the times I have been unkind and let me try to be a better officer and maybe at some point a friend."
The former Borg stared at the Lt thoughtfully. When no answer was coming the Captain spoke. "Seven?"
"One moment I am weighing my options." Janeway rolled her eyes and shook her head. B'Elanna who had no idea that Seven had any sense of humor just sat there staring.
"As I do not feel inclined to reduce my contact with Ensign Kim I believe I must take option two."
Kathryn's face had softened and she looked rather amused as she listened to Seven. Then she turned to B'Elanna and it was no longer so. "I am glad that you and Seven will be trying to work things out. I however do not have the luxury of just ignoring this situation. Your conduct was completely out of line and jealously is not much of a defense. I will be putting a formal reprimand in your file. I expect you to find a way to show your staff that your comments were disrespectful and unwarranted. You will have to earn my trust Lt. Torres because right now you do not have it."
B'Elanna stood up and looked the Captain straight in the eye. "I understand and I am truly sorry for my actions. You have never been anything but fair to me and I am appalled at my own behavior." She nodded her head in emphasis.
"Thank you Lt. Dismissed." was the Captain's reply
B'Elanna looked over at Seven as she was leaving. "Thank you for fixing the ion converter this morning. If it had waited much longer it would have been a real mess." And then she was gone.
Seven and B'Elanna did not suddenly become best friends. But it was clear that B'Elanna's animosity was gone. Without the arguments things in engineering were productive and rather dull. The two women learned to work together and ship as a whole was better off for it. Kathryn was able to get past her anger. She was still hurt by B'Elanna's behavior but as there had been no repeat of it she was not holding a grudge.
Janeway was sitting in her Captain's chair happy as a captain stranded 30,000 light years from home could possibly be. Her crew was happy. Her ship was running well and supplies were plentiful.
"Dr to Captain Janeway."
"Go ahead Dr."
" I would like to speak to you privately would you please retire to your ready room? And Captain bring Lt Paris with you." Janeway nodded to Tom and got up from her seat. "Mr. Chakotay you have the Bridge."
Both officers were completely flummoxed as to why the Dr would be calling them for a private conference together. Janeway turned on her view screen to the Drs office.
"What can we do for you Dr."
The Dr looked almost nervous as he replied. "Captain, Lt" He nodded at both officers. "I know that we avoid speaking of the events around the warp ten flight."
"Yes," Janeway responded, "and I'd like to keep it that way if at all possible." Tom nodded his head vigorously in agreement.
"I am sorry Captain but that is not possible. As you are aware Commander Chakotay believed it would be wrong to leave your offspring behind. While you were still unconscious he collected the little ones from the planet and put them here in stasis. Due to an unidentified phase fluctuation he was not able to beam then aboard. He actually tracked and captured them, bringing them back in a shuttle."
Janeway and Tom nodded. This was not new information.
"Earlier today we had a power surge in sick bay and the stasis pods were affected. I would not have been able to get them all out manually so I used the fetal transporter. For whatever reason it was able to lock on to them and transport. Sadly they did not all make it."
"I see," the Captain replied. As her offspring were amphibians that she did not remember conceiving or delivering she was not sure how she was supposed to feel about this information. "I am sure you did your best Dr." She could tell he was genuinely upset by the situation
The Dr continued. "I was able to get 4 out fine. Of the others one was gone by the time I got to him. One died just moments after transport and a third is here on life support now. As her parents I need you to decide what you want done for her."
Tom spoke up. "So you are saying that we still have four that are living? Did you put them back in stasis."
"Technically Lt Paris five are living. I can't do anything for the little one on life support but I will need you to order her removal. I am not going to be able to put the others back in stasis."
The Captain spoke next. "Let me get this straight. You put a lizard on life support and you need our permission to remove it? I think we can leave this in your capable hands Dr. As for the others you have my permission to return them to stasis."
Tom nodded his agreement.
"I am sorry Captain." The Dr said in a rather grave voice. "It is not that simple. When I transferred them the phase fluctuation cleared up. They are not lizards, they are children. They are the size of 6 month old human children"
Both officers were silent. Janeway's face was devoid of emotion and Tom's was lit up like a Christmas tree.
"I need you to come to sick bay." Neither officer moved. "Captain Janeway," the Dr said sharply. "I need you to please report to sickbay. You have decisions to make"
Janeway visibly pulled herself together. "Yes Dr. we will come." She looked over at Tom. "We need to go." Janeway's voice sounded hollow and distant to her own ears. The Dr could see that she was floundering. That she needed to be guided in the journey.
"Captain," she looked back to the screen. "I think you should report to the intensive care area. I think she needs you first. The look of Joy on Tom's face was replaced by a somber one. He nodded his agreement.
"On our way Dr." Janeway said as they got up and headed out of the ready room.
The Dr met them at the sickbay entrance. He lead them behind a screen in the back. Janeway had no idea what to expect when she turned the corner. What she found, a perfect little replica of herself lying motionless on a bio-bed , almost drove her to her knees. In one moment her emotions went from scientific curiosity to utter devastation at the loss of her child. Fortunately the Dr was paying attention and grabbed her arm before she collapsed.
Tom walked over to another bio-bed. A child, identical to her sister, was laden with tubes. The only sound in the room was the whoosh of the respirator that was breathing for the baby. He looked at the Dr. tears already forming in his eyes. "Are you sure there is nothing that you can do?"
The Dr looked at the officers who had turned to grieving parents in an instant. "I am sorry, no."
"How long after you remove her from life support will she live?" The Captain's voice was gravely with emotion.
"A few seconds maybe a minute."
Tom's voice was husky with when he spoke. "I want to hold her. She should be in the arms of her parents not some machine."
The Dr shook his head. "I am sorry Lt she will be gone before I can finish disconnecting her."
Janeway put her hand on Tom's shoulder. "I can't say goodbye with out a name. She needs a name."
They both stared intently at the little girl. Tom cocked his head as if listening for an answer. "Stella, she is our child of the stars."
Janeway nodded and then moved back to the bio-bed containing their other daughter. She reached out with a finger and tentatively stroked the little girls cheek. "And this one? What will we call this angel?"
Again Tom cocked his head as he looked at the second child. "I think Angel is a fine name." The parents smiled at each other gently and moved over to the unopened stasis pod. Tom looked at the Dr and he opened the pod. Even though the child, their son, had not evolved his parents saw only a child when they looked at him. They instantly loved him as much as the others.
"Neil, if it is ok with you Captain I would like to call him Neil." Janeway nodded. She put her hands on Tom's shoulders. She turned him so they were looking in to each others eyes.
"I can't be Captain right now Tom. Not right now, not with you." Her voice was breaking as she held her tears at bay. "These are our children, mine and yours. Please let me be Kathryn." As the tears fell from the eyes of both officers they hugged. For a few moments they held each other. And then they moved apart moving back to the side of their daughter Stella.
"Dr, if we were able to transport her out of the life support equipment will she have a few moments before she is gone?" Tom asked.
"Theoretically, but the transporter is not set up to be quite that delicate."
"Maybe yours isn't but Harry and Seven have made some modifications that could do the trick. They were going to demonstrate them to us at staff meeting. Can we try it Kathryn?" Janeway nodded. "Would you place your com badge on Stella?" Janeway did what he asked. Tom took her hand and led her over to another bio-bed. He lay down on it still holding the Captain's hand.
"Paris to Kim."
"Kim here."
"Harry I am in sick bay. The Captain's com-badge is resting on a small human life form. Use your new transporter protocols to transfer the child out of any non-organic substances and directly on to my com-badge."
"I can't do that Tom we haven't even shown it to the Captain yet."
"You are showing me now Ensign. Do it."
"Aye Captain, transport will begin on my mark."
As they heard Harry say mark, little Stella disappeared in shimmering blue lights and reappeared on her father's chest. Tom continued to hold Kathryn's hand as he wrapped his free hand around is daughter. He was rubbing her back as Janeway stroked her strawberry blond hair. In just three breaths she was gone.
After a moment Tom stood up and started moving towards the open stasis pod. Janeway understood immediately and gently picked up Angel. All three children were put together in the one pod. "We will have a service for them." She looked at the Dr. "You will keep them together until then." He nodded that he would.
The Dr started to shepherd them forward. "You have four others waiting to meet you."
Even with tears still in their eyes from the loss of three babies the couple needed to move forward. Good byes said, now time for hellos. Just as they reached the divider Kathryn stopped and turned to Tom.
"Not yet. Tom this is about more then us. We are not alone in this. What ever happens from here we have B'Elanna and Seven to think about as well."
Tom nodded "I think we should all meet them together. If we are going to do this we should start as we plan to continue. Do you think the Captain will let them off duty to join us?"
Janeway gave him a quick slap on the shoulder. "Janeway to Seven Of Nine."
"Seven here."
"Please meet me in sickbay. Janeway out."
Kathryn looked over at Tom. "I am not going to try and explain this over the com." She continued to look at Tom expectantly.
"Kathryn, B'Elanna is on duty. You have to call her." Janeway rolled her eyes.
"Janeway to Torres."
"Torres here Captain."
"Report to sickbay Lt. Janeway out."
Tom smiled at Kathryn. "You realize they are both heading down here out of their minds with worry?"
"Considering what they are about to discover maybe they should be."
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