Summary: The journey continues.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this up I wanted to get it right.
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"Mom? What if I'm not ready? What if I screw up?" Mae asked as she and Kathryn strolled through the park, the older Irish setter Missy trudging along with them.
"You won't, you are a brilliant officer and should be proud of all the work you've done. Starfleet would suggest you do another year at the Academy if they felt you weren't ready." Kathryn replied as they approached the familiar bench in the park.
"I guess I'm just nervous. Really nervous" she admitted.
"What's your new post called again" Kathryn asked as she tried to get Missy to move around a bit.
"Voyager, an intrepid class." Mae sighed.
"Now I'm not sure if I have these details right but if I remember correctly this woman with black hair was in my house and ignored me for 5 hours while she researched a ship called Voyager. If only I could remember her name" Kathryn teased her daughter.
"Ha-ha. You're right I'm being over cautious, I am an exceptional science officer, just like my mom" Mae brightened up slightly and the two women smiled at each other.
"See there's my girl. Don't doubt yourself, ever" the blue eyed woman stroked the tan cheek.
"Moooooooooooooom. Have you gone deaf? We were shouting for you!" the peace was disturbed by 10 year old Molly, who was running towards her with yet another Irish setter hot on her heels.
"Well, I'm not as young as I once was, Mol." Kathryn replied when her daughter reached her.
"Daddy says we can have ice cream, do you both want coffee?" she asked not even slightly out of breath.
"C'mon Mol, that's the stupidest question ever, when does mom say no to coffee?" Mae piped up hooking an arm round her little sister, causing the two sisters to giggle. Their mother sitting unimpressed as EB tried to jump on her. They had gotten EB when Conor was a year old making him 5 and very close with Conor.
"Mommy!" Conor greeted bouncing along to the bench and sitting on his mother's lap with a small tub of bright pink ice cream in his hand. "How are you?" he asked flashing her a toothy grin, accompanied with dimples.
"Better now all my children are here" she smiled brushing his light hair out of his dark eyes.
Chakotay soon arrived with a small tray of ice cream pots: One pistachio, two coffee and one bright orange peach flavour for his youngest daughter. The family sat and ate their treats before Mae jumped up and 'tagged' Molly' sending all of the children and EB away into the vast greenery of the park.
"Should we take her to the vet soon?" Chakotay asked as he saw Missy roll onto her back.
"Yes, she's coming up to her 12th birthday, I'm worried." Kathryn murmured against her husband's shoulder. The couple sat watching their children play with each other and EB, Mae was leaving soon and it would be a tearful goodbye for everyone, despite significantly older than her siblings they were all pretty close and found comfort in each other's company.
The skies were beginning to darken as the family made their way to the transporter station.
=/\=
With Kathryn's influence, she managed to get herself onto Voyager the day of the launch to say goodbye to her daughter. Entering the quarters her daughter was assigned to she was met by an awkward young Klingon.
"Hello, I'm looking for Ensign Janeway?" she greeted the Klingon looked at her and shook her head before going back to studying her PADD.
"Oh mom? You really meant it when you said you'd see me off" Mae laughed nervously as she bounded into the room.
"Of course I meant it. Well my captain said he'd be here in two minutes so…" as she spoke said captain walked in.
"Cavit!" Kathryn exclaimed straightening herself slightly.
"Commander Janeway" he sneered.
"It's Captain" she emphasised as she stared at him, not in any way intimidated by him, as much as the Klingon girl or her own daughter.
"How nice for you. Why are you on my ship?" he asked, forgetting about the two ensigns.
"Saying goodbye to my daughter." She answered "Who will report back to me if anything out of sort should happen to her on any other member of this crew." She added as he stepped forward to her.
"I'm sure she will." He tried to guide her to the door but Kathryn resisted and went to Mae first, hugging her, then going to the door. She straightened her uniform and looked him dead in the eye.
"And don't forget you are the captain so don't go offering your 'company' to anyone" she reminded him casually but cruelly and left the room. Leaving two confused Ensign's and one embarrassed Captain.
=/\=
Chakotay and Kathryn laughed over the counter as she told him of her visit to Voyager. He was of course cooking and she drinking coffee while watching him intently.
The children bounded through the door after playing in the garden with the other children excited to tell their parents all the news from a child's point of view, this of course sending them into more fits of laughter. Of course it was different without Mae to provide the usual sarcastic and sassy comments that would have her siblings giggling like hyenas but maybe that was as good a thing as it was a bad thing. Kathryn sat back and watched Chakotay talk and laugh with their children, sighing she went into the kitchen and laughed to herself oh the world really was a mysterious place.
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Author's Note: I hope this was alright and let me know if you moments from in between the last two chapters (Down the Aisle and 11 years later). Thank you for all your reviews they were appreciated.
That-Geek
