Disclaimer: All characters, vessels, science, and the original plot belong to Paramount with the exception of Sarah Janeway, the new parts of the plot, and anything else that I made up In addition, the piece of the Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling—I merely borrowed it to help enhance the story.
Author's Note: --gets down on knees-- Please forgive me!! I know that it's been weeks and weeks since I updated this story, but I can explain! This is how it went (and I can explain, remember): I was out of school sick for two days, I was a counselor for the elementary school camping trip for three days, prom was that weekend, and I had to write a horrible 10 page research paper for English class. So I had all that make-up work to do, plus the paper, and as of late I've had to start preparing for finals. So I've been working on this story whenever I could: One sentence here, two paragraphs there, etc. I hope that how long it took to write made it a good story.
Another apology: It is, once again, really long.
I hope you enjoy the newest chapter in the Anomaly 'saga'! (And that you forgive me!)
P.S. This story just hit the following stats: 69 reviews(awesome!), 6,300 hits(awesome!), 4 c2s, 15 favs, and 46 alerts!! Thank you soooo much everyone!!!!
Anomaly
'Phage'
Sarah followed her mother and Chakotay as they headed towards the Mess Hall, where they intended to have a quick breakfast before heading up to the bridge. She had to take two steps for every one step her mother and the first officer took, but she still kept up fairly well. She listened with only half her attention as they talked about the power shortages and the possibility of mining dilithium on a planetoid they had found. They suddenly stopped in front of the doors to the captain's private dining room, Kathryn asking Chakotay if he was sure he wouldn't join her for a breakfast of ration pack number five, stewed tomatoes and dehydrated eggs.
"Sounds delicious," he replied with a touch of sarcasm. "But I've already had my vacuum-packed oatmeal this morning."
Sarah made a disgusted face. Not one of the ration packs was any good.
Chakotay laughed appreciatively at the face she made and gently ruffled her hair. "Smart kid."
Sarah smiled and waved as he walked off. "See you on the bridge!" she called out.
Kathryn watched her daughter and Chakotay. When they had first met, there had been a covert hostility between them, as neither was sure how to accept the other. Chakotay's suspicions of her had offended her daughter and made the situation tenser. Once they had worked out their differences, a friendship had begun to blossom. It was almost comical to see the petite girl talking amicably to and fetching things for the large man.
Her daughter interrupted her reverie by tugging gently on her uniform. "Come on, mama," Sarah insisted. "We don't want to be late."
"No, we don't," Kathryn agreed with a grin she tried to hide. Sarah had picked up duties as Bridge Assistant with plenty of enthusiasm.
The two of them stepped into the dining room and found, to their shock, Neelix cooking breakfast. There were pots and pans everywhere, not to mention baskets of vegetables and fruits. Flames flared from two large makeshift burners and a strong aroma of food hung in the air.
Oh no, Sarah moaned silently, shrinking back against the wall. Of all the crewmembers on the ship that she had met, Neelix was the only one she still couldn't really talk to. He made her…uneasy. She knew he was actually very nice, but he was just so…so…odd. Normal children probably would have found him amusing and fun, but she merely thought he was strange. 'Normal' was something she had never known.
"What is going on here?" her mother demanded.
"Captain! You caught me by surprise!"
"I could say the same thing. What are you doing?"
Sarah pushed herself back against the wall as much as she could and closed her eyes in discomfort as she listened to Neelix explaining how he'd turned the dining room into a galley because the senior officers had been disappointed with the rations as of late. Her mother asked who had approved such a project, and Neelix answered that no one had. She then informed him that the cabin had been her private dining room. Neelix appeared rather flustered, but before the conversation could go any farther, Chakotay contacted them.
"Bridge to Captain Janeway."
"Go ahead."
"We're approaching the rogue planetoid."
"On my way." She turned to Neelix. "I want you to come with me. We'll deal with this later."
"Ah, before we go," Neelix said, removing his chef's hat and attempting to smooth things over. "Would your daughter like anything to eat?"
Determinedly avoiding eye contact, Sarah kept her gaze towards the floor and shook her head quickly, murmuring, "No, thank you."
Both the adults seemed confused by her refusal but neither had time to address it. Neelix quickly called out for Ensign Parsons and hurriedly gave him a short series of directions on how to keep the kitchen running in his absence. Then, as a trio, they left the Mess Hall.
The turbolift ride to the Bridge was rather awkward. Captain Janeway kept her gaze resolutely forward, concentrating on the business at hand and trying to forget about Neelix's unauthorized galley. Neelix alternately looked from Sarah to her mother several times, starting to open his mouth to speak several times but deciding better of it. Sarah didn't look at either adult, but anxiously fingered the low ponytail that she had hurriedly pulled her hair into that morning. She was only too happy when the doors of the turbolift slid smartly open and she could escape the confines of the lift and its uncomfortable atmosphere.
Taking her usual position at the often-unused station directly across from the science station, Sarah used the computer to call up her list of duties and errands for the day. She made a few minor changes that her mother had informed her of that morning, then saved and closed the program. Her legs swung free far above the deck plate in a chair designed for an adult as she adjusted her short-sleeve navy blue shirt and called up the day's study program. Since her mother had given her permission to begin a school program, she had been working hard to learn Earth history and algebra. She was currently studying early civilizations in the Middle East and this morning would start working on equations with more than one variable.
Her attention became divided as Lieutenant Torres informed the bridge crew of a series of subterranean caves in the planetoid with a breathable atmosphere.
"How much dilithium are we talking about?" Kathryn Janeway asked.
"It's hard to get a precise reading," Torres responded, frowning slightly at the readouts before her. "It could be anywhere from five hundred to one thousand metric tons."
"Just as I said," Neelix added enthusiastically. "I think there are a few Yalidian engineers who'd give all three of their spinal cords to know where this planet is."
Sarah winced inwardly. Does he have to talk all the time? And always about meaningless things?
As she tried to refocus her attention on the math problem on the screen before her, her mother ordered an away team to do a preliminary geological analysis and told B'Elanna that she should get her dilithium refinery online.
"Ensign Kim," Chakotay said, indicating that he should join the away team.
"Where're you going?" she heard Chakotay say, and she turned around to see what was happening. Neelix had moved from the middle of the bridge to where the away team was gathering near the turbolift.
"With you," Neelix responded, his face incredulous. "I've been studying my tricorder operations manual. Lieutenant Torres has brought me up to date on dilithium geophysics. I've been preparing for this mission all week."
Sarah felt her stomach churn unpleasantly once again. Why does he insist on going against every Starfleet protocol in the book? As the daughter of a Starfleet captain, protocol was something she knew thoroughly.
Chakotay looked to her mother for a decision. After a moment, she nodded and Neelix happily joined the away team in the turbolift. Exceedingly chatty as per usual, he started to ramble to Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kim. "I think you'll find me extremely helpful, Commander. I remember the first time that I passed this planet. It was about three years ago…" The closing of turbolift doors cut off the rest of his story.
With a sigh she hoped wasn't audible, Sarah finally was able to give her full attention to her math. She worked diligently on each problem, carefully correcting any mistakes the computer identified. The computer tutored her every step of the way, giving reasons for each phase required to solve the problem in question. That aspect was immensely helpful—she didn't just want to be told that things had to be a certain way; she wanted to know why.
As she contentedly worked away on her algebra, she suddenly could tell someone was staring at her. Turning around slowly, she found her mother looking at her intently. Sarah gave her a questioning glance, but Kathryn merely gave her a small smile and turned away. Somewhat confused, she nonetheless shrugged it off and turned back to her own work.
Less than a minute had gone by when Kathryn Janeway called out to her daughter, "Sarah, meet me in my ready room. Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge."
Through a haze, Sarah heard him answer, "Aye captain." I don't like the way she said that. Reluctantly, she closed her math program and hopped from the chair and made her way slowly to the ready room that her mother had disappeared into.
The doors swished open and a very nervous Sarah entered her mother's quiet office. Kathryn Janeway sat silently behind her desk, not even pretending to work on her computer. The captain's eyes slipped up to meet her daughter's.
"I know there's no point in beating around the bush, not with you," Kathryn said, with a little smile. "So I'll just get right to it: What is it between you and Neelix? You seem to be at least on speaking terms with the rest of the crew."
Sarah sighed deeply. I should have known. She walked up to the couch along the huge window in the ready room and flopped down on it. Her mother came over and sat beside her. Crossing her arms across her chest, Sarah closed her eyes and did her best to explain. "Neelix…well, he's…embarrassing."
Kathryn tipped her head towards her daughter. "How so?"
The young girl sighed again. "He talks too much. He acts…strangely. He's overly friendly. He goes against Starfleet procedures."
"I know he can be eccentric…"
"Turning your dining room into a galley is eccentric?"
"You've done your best to avoid him since he joined the crew almost a month ago, far before the galley incident."
Another sigh. "I know Starfleet. I even know Maquis—I know what it's like to be an outcast."
"Oh, Sarah," her mother protested.
Sarah shook her head. "Remember when we tried that child care facility a while ago to give Grandma Gretchen a break? I do know what's it like to be looked at with suspicion and to not fit in. And then I understand Kes, even, because she's the quiet type. But I don't know what it's like to be so enthusiastic about everything and so talkative." She closed her eyes again. "He makes me uncomfortable."
Kathryn gently patted her daughter's shoulder. "I know he's different," she admitted. "Sometimes he can even be annoying. But 70,000 lightyears is a long way to go while avoiding someone. Maybe you should try saying something to him."
"I can't tell him he's embarrassing—it'll hurt his feelings."
"You can put it differently. I know you have a way with words." Her mother lifted her up to a sitting position and hugged her tightly. "Just promise me you'll try."
Sarah hugged her back. "All right. I'll try."
"That's my girl. Now, run along. I've got a lot of work to do if we're going to mine this dilithium."
She slipped from the couch as her mother headed back to her desk. As she exited the ready room, her intention was to return to her math. Once on the bridge, however, she felt she needed a break. She detoured to the turbolift. The doors slid shut and she ordered the computer, "Deck three." I'll go to our quarters, she thought, and I'll read another chapter of Sherlock Holmes. But before the lift had reached its destination, Sarah was suddenly overcome with a sense of panic and fear. "Belay that! Deck five, Sick Bay!" she yelled. What's going on? she wondered, trying to shake off her feeling of terror. Her knees were actually shaking by the time the turbolift stopped. She stumbled out and hurried to Sick Bay as fast as her trembling limbs could take her.
Something's gone wrong with the away team, she realized, though once again she didn't know how she knew. What could have happened? And why do I always know something's wrong?
The large doors of the sickbay slid silently open as she approached them. She had barely stepped across the threshold before the shimmer of a transporter beam assembled the forms of Neelix, Commander Chakotay, and Ensign Kim in the main surgical bay. No one noticed her appearance, for Neelix was lying on the biobed in the back of the room, gasping and thrashing. The Doctor ran over with a medical tricorder and began scanning him.
"Get the blood gas infuser!" the EMH yelled to Chakotay.
"The what?"
"Equipment storage unit 2, second shelf from the left. Now!" The Doctor's voice resonated with urgency.
Chakotay hurried off to get it as the Doctor told Ensign Kim "Hold him still." She could hear the hiss of a hypospray as Harry asked, "What's happening, Doctor?"
"He's going into a coma," was the grim reply.
Fear froze her to the spot and her mind seemed to shut down. The Doctor raised the black clamshell-like sides of the biobed to take detailed continuous readings. This is serious. What happened down there? At that moment, Chakotay arrived back with the blood gas infuser and the Doctor immediately applied it to Neelix's forehead.
"The infuser will keep his oxygen levels stable for the next hour or so but after that he'll die."
Cold fear settled in the pit of Sarah's stomach.
"His lungs have been removed."
Chakotay and Harry stared in disbelief at the EMH.
As she processed this chilling last piece of information, her mind slowly started working again. The Doctor's going to need help, she realized. No one here has any idea what to do. Tom! Tom's a field medic. With that, she rushed back out of Sick Bay and tore through the corridors back to the turbolift.
"Computer, locate Lieutenant Paris," she called.
"Lieutenant Paris is in his quarters," came the calm, mechanical reply.
He must be off-duty. I hope he doesn't mind, but something like this is much better explained in person, rather than over a comm channel. Nervously, she rode the turbolift to the appropriate deck, shifting her weight from one foot to the other anxiously. The lift finally came to a halt and she tore between the two halves of the door before it had completely opened. She hurtled along the corridor and nearly missed Tom's quarters in her haste. Screeching to a halt, she retraced her steps and pressed the door chime insistently and repeatedly.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold your horses," she heard Tom say from within. The doors slid open and he stuck his head out, at first looking annoyed, but upon seeing Sarah his face changed to confused. "Sarah. What can I do for you?"
"Quick…come…Neelix…lungs…Doctor…" she gasped as best she could, winded from running.
"Easy, Shadow. Calm down and say that again."
It was her turn to be confused as she tried to catch her breath. "Shadow?"
"Can I call you Shadow? It kind of presented itself as a nickname. I mean, you're always following your mother around…"
"I like it." She took several deep breaths. It took only a split second for her mind to get back on track. Urgently, she then repeated what she had tried to say earlier. "Tom, you have to go to Sick Bay, right now! Something happened to Neelix while he was on the away mission. His lungs have been removed and the Doctor says he's going to die! The Doctor's going to need your help. Oh, please, Tom, hurry!"
His face was as worried as hers as he ran after her to the turbolift.
Sarah stood next to her mother as Chakotay reported on what had happened. "By the time we got to him," he was saying. "He was unconscious."
Kathryn's face was both anxious and angry. "How could anyone remove his organs so quickly?"
"The Doctor said whoever did this used some kind of transporter to beam the lungs directly out of his body."
Just then, Kes entered the room. "What happened?" she wanted to know.
"It appears that Neelix was attacked. We don't know how it happened, but someone has surgically removed his lungs," the captain gently replied. Worried, Kes moved past the trio to see Neelix.
Kathryn Janeway looked down at her daughter. She had arrived in Sick Bay shortly after Sarah had returned from fetching Tom, an instance of quick thinking and initiative that made her proud. In that space of time, she hadn't said a word. Now, as she looked more closely, she saw that it wasn't only worry on her daughter's face. She also saw guilt.
Kneeling down, she said firmly, "This is not your fault. The fact that the two of you weren't best friends has nothing to do with Neelix's accident."
Sarah turned to her mother. "I know," she replied quietly. "But I still can't help feeling a little responsible."
Captain Janeway stood back up, asking Harry Kim, "Did you find any evidence of the lifesign that Neelix reported?"
"I've analyzed the sensor logs from Neelix's tricorder. The bioscanner picked up a single class-3 organism."
"The blood gas infuser will keep him alive for another forty-seven minutes. The only chance for his survival I see at the moment is to get his own lungs back," the Doctor spoke up.
"Can't we fit him with a pair of artificial lungs?" Kathryn asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "His respiratory system is directly linked to multiple points along his spinal column. It's too complex to replicate. I may be able to surgically re-attach the organs if we get them back, but in the meantime we'll have to search for other options."
Resolutely, Kathryn informed her first officer, "Commander, I'm taking an away team back to the planet. You're in charge until we return. Inform Mr. Tuvok I want three armed security detachments to accompany us. Issue type-3 phasers."
"Aye captain," he replied.
"Be extremely careful," Sarah begged her mother, not liking at all the sound of the strange aliens that they were dealing with.
"I will," she promised. Looking from Neelix's still form to her daughter's concerned and somewhat guilty face, she quietly suggested, "Why don't you stay here? You can keep Kes company, and Neelix too, when we recover his lungs."
Some of the self-blame lifted from Sarah's face. "I think I will." Her mother nodded and hurried out of Sick Bay with Harry Kim. Sarah watched them leave, and then climbed onto a biobed out of the way of the Doctor and Paris.
"Mr. Paris," the Doctor was saying. "Did they teach you how to run a respiratory series in your biochemistry classes at the Academy?"
"No, I'm afraid they didn't," he replied, somewhat apologetically.
At that point, she lost interest in the conversation and lay down to wait. She heard Tom saying they didn't have a cytoplasmic stimulator, the Doctor replying that he should replicate one, the Doctor explaining that the design schematics were in the medical database, and then his sarcastic comment, "The man drives a 700,000 ton starship so somebody thinks he'd make a good medic."
Kes wanted to know if she could donate a lung to Neelix, but the Doctor explained it was impossible. He drifted out of earshot and for a while, all Sarah could hear was the soft beeps from the various medical devices in the sickbay. Suddenly, the Doctor was back, sounding excited. Curious, she sat up and looked around as he responded to Tom's query, "I'm using the transporter matrix to get exact specifications for Neelix's lungs."
"I thought you just said we can't replicate his lungs."
"We can't. But if I can reconfigure my emitter array I might be able to create a pair of holographic lungs for Mr. Neelix."
"Holographic lungs?" Sarah asked, inquisitively.
The Doctor looked up, realizing for the first time that she was still there. He included her in his explanation to Tom and Kes. "If it works," he said, "I can precisely control his pulmonary functions to allow for normal breathing."
"But a hologram is just a projection of light in magnetic containment field," Tom said. Before Sarah could speak up and correct him, the Doctor walked up to him and slapped him across the face.
She could only stare.
"Now," the Doctor said, adjusting something on a control panel behind him, "You hit me."
Bewildered, Tom complied. His hand passed right through the Doctor's face.
"The magnetic containment field," the Doctor began.
"Sorry to interrupt," Sarah said, "But may I explain? I want to see if I remember this correctly. My mother explained it to me once."
The Doctor considered for a moment, then nodded.
Sarah climbed down from the biobed and hurried over to where the Doctor, Tom, and Kes were standing. "The magnetic containment field that creates the illusion of the Doctor's body can be altered to let matter pass through or," and here the Doctor fiddled with the control panel again, "stop matter from passing through. Am I right?"
"In the basic nuances, yes," the Doctor admitted, rather surprised.
"So," she continued thoughtfully, remembering the notes on the pulmonary and respiratory systems that she had glanced over while preparing her school program. "If you create holographic lungs for Neelix, you'll alter their containment field in the same way to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to go from the lungs to the bloodstream."
"Right." He looked at her incredulously. "Are you certain you're only four?"
"Four years, one month, three weeks, and two days."
The Doctor shook his head and tried to move off to begin the procedure, but was stopped by Kes' hand on his arm. "I want to know what this means. What are you going to do to him?"
"There's no time to explain the exact procedure right now."
"Oh, well, make the time, because I'm not going to let you perform any experimental surgery on Neelix until I know exactly what you're doing and what the risks are."
The Doctor nodded over his shoulder towards Sarah. "I'm sure she can give you the gist of it."
Kes looked down at her. Swallowing nervously, she said in a quiet tone, "If it doesn't work, he'll die. That's the risk. But if the Doctor does nothing, he'll die anyway."
Expounding, the Doctor added, "It's his only immediate chance for survival. If he does survive, he'll have to be held motionless in an isotropic restraint. The lungs need to be perfectly aligned to his internal physiology. The computer won't be able to compensate for any body movement whatsoever."
"How long will he have to stay like that?"
"The rest of his life, unless we can get his original lungs back." The Doctor hurried off to prepare for the procedure.
Tom Paris moved to Kes' side. "Kes, I know it sounds pretty grim but it's better than losing him completely. This way he'll still be alive, and maybe we can find a better solution somewhere down the road. What do you think Neelix would want?"
"I'm not sure," she replied, looking uncertain and troubled. "But I do know that I want him to live."
Sarah returned to the biobed, extremely worried, as Tom and the Doctor readied everything that they would need.
The procedure was a success. Sarah stood with the Doctor, Tom, and Kes as the Doctor told Neelix about what he had done. When Neelix discovered that he could be confined within the restraint for the rest of his life, he said, "Well, if I'm going to be in here awhile, now's a good time as any to tell you: your ceiling is hideous."
They all looked up. They'd never thought about it before.
The Doctor sighed irritably. "I didn't design the room, I just work here."
"Something with a bit of color would help, maybe a nice tapestry or a painting. Could you dim the lights a little?"
"I'm a doctor, Mr. Neelix, not a decorator." To Kes and Sarah, he added, "Perhaps the two of you would be willing to accommodate his aesthetic needs."
"And some music would be nice," Neelix continued. "Or better yet, are you programmed to sing?" He looked over at Sarah as best he could while restrained. "You're taking some kind of music lessons, aren't you?"
She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. She'd only had a few piano lessons. Being significantly smarter than the average child helped, but it was still hard work. In addition, she actually didn't enjoy it very much, but she wasn't going to admit it to anyone who might tell her mother.
At that moment, her mother's voice came over the comm system. "Janeway to Paris. Please report to the Bridge."
Tom replied that he was on his way. As soon as he had left sickbay, Neelix started rant about Paris swooping in between him and Kes. The two of them argued back and forth, Neelix finally saying, "You should just let me die."
"Stop that! We're going to get through this together."
The Doctor walked up. "Visiting hours are over," he said. "He needs rest."
"When can I come back?" she wanted to know.
"1700 hours, not a minute before."
Kes kissed him goodbye and left.
The Doctor turned to Sarah. "You too."
She shook her head. "I'm staying. I have nowhere else to go right now." In an undertone, she added, "He won't get into an argument with me."
"This is a Sick Bay, not a nursery."
"I'm not here to play," she said with quiet anger. "I'm here to make amends with Neelix."
The Doctor looked from her to Neelix and back again, and then held up a warning finger. "Five minutes, that's it. Don't get him worked up or I will have someone escort you back to your quarters." Sighing again, he went into his office, muttering all the way. Sarah watched him leave, then slowly made her way over to where Neelix lay on the biobed, everything but his head hidden underneath the isotropic restraint. Uncertainly, she twisted her hands together, biting the inside of her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. Finally, she thought she had found an acceptable conversation starter.
"You're right. The ceiling is ugly."
"I see you're talking to me now," he replied.
Sarah flushed in embarrassment. "I-I-I…I'm sorry. I never meant to be rude. It's just that…"
"I scare you?"
"No, that's not it," Sarah quickly replied. "You…well, you're very different from anyone I've ever met. You do things that I find strange. I didn't talk to you because I didn't know how."
"I make you uncomfortable."
"Yes," she admitted quietly.
"Well, why didn't you say something?" Shockingly, Neelix almost sounded happy again. "Do you know the real reason we haven't been friends?"
"Um…"
"You don't know how to have fun! You're always so serious, so stiff. You should loosen up once in a while! Why, you're still just a little girl."
"So I've been told," she said, standing quietly and thinking. Maybe he's right. Maybe I am too serious sometimes. Maybe it wasn't just Neelix. Maybe I've been part of the friction. Maybe mama was right when she said I was trying too hard to grow up too soon.
The Doctor came over to the biobed and leaned over Neelix. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kiss you. I'm only adjusting the restraint."
"I'll try to contain my disappointment," was the Talaxian's sarcastic reply.
"Your five minutes are up," the Doctor added to Sarah.
She nodded. "All right, I'm going." To Neelix, she whispered, "Thanks. I'll be back."
And she was, much later and after doing some extensive thinking and research. Upon entering Sick Bay, she could see that Kes had been there, for the area around and especially above Neelix had been well decorated. Shiny gold and rich red fabrics were draped about the walls and a circular piece of metal with what looked like a medallion and a blue ball with intricate designs on it hung above him, probably a mobile of some kind. She heard him call out to the Doctor, "I can't see you over there. I feel like I'm all alone."
"You're not all alone," she spoke up. "I'm here."
"Sarah," Neelix sounded surprised. "What are you doing?"
"Yes," the Doctor added, poking his head out of his office. "What are you doing back here? It's 2100 hours, far past your bedtime, I should think."
"It's called a sleepover," Sarah said. She was clutching tightly to her well-used pillow with her stuffed Paint horse tucked under one arm and dragging a bed sheet behind her. "It's an acceptable activity for a child, especially a female. You made me do some thinking Neelix. Perhaps I have forgotten how to have fun." She swallowed. "Maybe if I remember, we could be friends."
Neelix smiled. "Absolutely."
"Now wait a minute…" the Doctor began.
Sarah held up a hand. "Don't worry. I'm just going to sleep on the floor—nothing disruptive or rowdy. Besides, couldn't Neelix use a little distraction? I know I'd hate to have to just lie there with nothing to do."
The Doctor sighed loudly and threw up his hands. "Be my guest," he said, sounding rather cross and put-upon, and strode back into his office, muttering something that sounded like "Captain's daughter…Sickbay turning into a playroom…"
Sarah began to hum as she laid out her blanket and pillow on the floor. "That's a lovely tune," Neelix remarked. "What is it?"
"Oh, just an ancient children's song that I learned for my piano lessons. It's called 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'."
"Would you sing it for me?"
"I've never tried singing." She was half afraid to, because of her rocky experience with music lessons. "I did bring a book I thought I'd read to you for a while, if you want."
"That sounds wonderful. Which book is it?"
She pulled the large hardcover book from her pillowcase and tucked it under her arm. She then cautiously climbed onto the biobed, using her elbows to pull herself up. Perched carefully on the edge of the bed, she held the book out so that Neelix could see the cover. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It's a story set in 21st century Earth, in a country called Great Britain. It's about a boy who thinks he's just a normal kid, but then finds out he's actually a wizard."
"A what?"
"A person with special, magical powers." She went to climb down but Neelix stopped her.
"Why don't you stay up here? I can see you better."
She assented with a nod and carefully sat near his head. With her feet dangling several feet off the floor, she opened the book to the first page and began to read: "Mr. And Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense…"
She wasn't quite sure how long she read, but when she noticed that she had just read the same sentence three times, she blinked her eyes blearily and noticed that Neelix was fast asleep. She clambered to the ground and tucked her book out of the way as she snuggled under her sheet and curled up with her stuffed horse. She must have dozed off, for a short while later she heard the murmur of voices from the Doctor's office. She drowsily picked up her head an inch or two and saw that the Doctor was talking with Kes. Satisfied that nothing bad had happened, she laid her head back down on her soft pillow and tucked the sheet up to her chin.
The next thing she knew, her mother was gently shaking her awake. Sarah blinked sleepily and brushed a hand across her eyes as she stretched and sat up. The lights were on in Sick Bay—it was morning. As she sat up and glanced around, she realized that there were two aliens standing behind her mother, flanked by Tuvok and another security guard, both of them with phasers drawn. She recoiled with a gasp of utter shock and horror when she saw how hideously ravaged their skin and faces were. They were raw and pink and mismatched, from what appeared to be numerous grafts.
Kathryn Janeway knelt down and quietly told her daughter, "These men are Vidiians. They harvest organs to survive a disease called the Phage. They're the aliens that stole Neelix's lungs. Unfortunately, one of them already had the lungs transplanted into him, so we can't get them back. They're here to see if they can help."
Sarah slowly stood up with her mother's help. "Can you help him?" she asked the Vidiians.
"We're about to find out," one of them replied, and he took a strange-looking device and waved it over Neelix. "These simulated organs are primitive. It's amazing he's still alive," he added after a few seconds. He then pointed his device at Tuvok, who quickly pulled his phaser. "This is set to scan only," the alien said.
"Proceed," Tuvok replied. "Carefully."
One by one, the Vidiian man scanned the crewmembers present. The device sounded an alert when he scanned the Doctor. "Strange. According to my readings, you are not here."
"Believe me, I wish I weren't," the Doctor said irately.
When the alien reached Sarah with his scanner, it beeped wildly. "Fascinating. You have the most unusual DNA I've ever seen." He sounded somewhat excited.
In fright, she ducked behind her mother, and heard him add: "Odd. The child's readings won't stay in the scanner." He shrugged, and said, "The rest of you are healthy. You are all compatible for organ transplant."
The Doctor protested, saying, "Wait a minute. We've already considered this. Talaxian physiology is different from anyone else on this ship. His immune system would reject their lungs immediately."
"Your surgical knowledge is inferior. We will simply adjust his immunogenicity. It won't be a problem. Which of you will donate a lung?"
"Me," Kes said, immediately and firmly.
"No, absolutely not. It's too dangerous. Let someone else do it," Neelix argued.
"No. I want to do it, Neelix. I'm willing to take the risk. Besides, you've done so much for me. Let me give you something, just for once."
After a moment, he assented. "All right."
Captain Janeway, with Sarah directly behind her, strode to Neelix's side and said. "I look forward to sampling your cooking, Mr. Neelix."
"You mean I can keep my kitchen?"
"Well, at least until we get the replicators back online."
Sarah added with a small, shy grin, "And I look forward to having a new friend."
Neelix smiled. "Thank you Captain, Sarah. Oh, and Captain, I'll see you at breakfast. You too, Sarah."
Several hours later, Sarah tiptoed back to Sick Bay, where she found both Kes and Neelix resting comfortably. She sought out the Doctor in his office. "Excuse me," she said. "But did everything work out all right?"
The Doctor looked up from his computer. "Yes," he replied. "They're both on the way to recovery."
"Thank you." She turned to leave.
"Wait," the Doctor called out. She turned back. He looked rather uncomfortable. "Miss Janeway, I apologize for my earlier behavior." He sighed. "I'm afraid I wasn't programmed to deal with children, except as patients."
"Don't worry about it. You were under a lot of stress. I didn't take it personally."
"Well, I appreciate you keeping Mr. Neelix company. I have no doubt that you were instrumental in keeping him calm. Many people would begin to feel trapped and panic, likely causing themselves to hyperventilate."
"Give yourself some credit. If it had happened, I'm sure you would have learned how to deal with it." She smiled at the Doctor. "I have to go. I'll see you later."
A few minutes later, she entered the ready room, where she waited quietly on the couch as her mother made a log entry.
"Captain's log, supplemental. The aliens have successfully transplanted one of Kes' lungs into Neelix. The dampening field has been deactivated and I have allowed them to beam back to their vessel. We are resuming a course home."
Kathryn Janeway looked up at her daughter and smiled. "So you and Neelix are friends now?"
Sarah smiled back. "Yes we are. So now I don't have to worry about going 70,000 lightyears while trying to avoid him. He's still weird but I've learned to be more accepting."
"I also heard that you've remembered how to be a kid."
"Yes. I think I'm going to take a break from school and lessons tomorrow and run a fun Holodeck program. Don't worry," she said quickly. "I'll be on time for my duties."
Kathryn shook her head. "No, don't bother." She walked over and sat beside her daughter. Locking eyes with her, she said firmly, almost as though her daughter was a Starfleet officer, "Take the day off."
Sarah acquiesced. "Ok, ok. I will."
"Good girl. Now, what do you say we run down to the Mess Hall for a snack?" In an undertone, she added, "It'll probably be the last time we'll know what we're eating."
Both laughing, they left the ready room in much better spirits than the day before.
Author's Note: I really hope you liked this new chapter. Please review, if you can. Oh, by the way, I did receive one correct guess as to Sarah's father. Keep them coming!! Thanks so much to all you wonderful readers and reviewers!!!!