In the Arms of Family
Story by Janet and Christina
Written by Janet, Christina, Cybermum, Diane, Julie,Mary, Penny, and Rocky
Compiled by Janet
Act 2
Janeway looked around the ready room of her ship and laughed. "Compared to the Enterprise, Voyager must seem tiny."
"The trend is for smaller ships. I'll just have to get used to *tiny.*" They both laughed, the Archer had a crew of just over 500.
"Will you miss the Enterprise?"
Riker nodded. "The Enterprise has been my home for a great many years, but I'm looking forward to captaining the Archer."
"Nice of them to finally name a ship after the first Enterprise's captain," Janeway said.
"Yes it is. Thanks for the tour," Riker said as she sat down on her couch. He sat down in a chair across from her. "Before you ask, I have no clue what is going on. Captain Picard contacted me this morning. Starfleet is sending him to meet with us at Deep Space Nine."
"Oh." That was an eight day trip, which meant their short stay on Deep Space Nine wasn't going to be so short. There had to be more to the situation than the Enterprise's captain wanted to return to his ship before the Enterprise escorted Voyager home. "Starfleet is not telling me anything either. Through out the trip, the closer we came to home, the more it sometimes felt they didn't want us to return."
"That's not true. You singlehandedly eliminated the Borg as a major threat for years if not decades, something even we couldn't do." They both chuckled.
"I'm not sure, the VFA..."
"Excuse me, the VFA?" Riker asked.
"The Voyager Family Association-I guess you could call them our lobbying group-but they say that a couple of the admirals are upset with our attempt at an alliance with the Borg."
"That would be Admiral Blanc. He should have retired years ago."
She raised her eyebrows. "You'll fit right in with the Captain's circle-already critiquing the brass. Or are you looking to being an admiral someday?"
Riker laughed. "Captains have more fun. I'm not the type to sit behind a desk and watch everyone else travel around the galaxy. Whatever you do, don't let them bump you upstairs."
"Fat chance of that."
"Don't count on it. It would be convenient for the admiralty to get you out of the way. But Starfleet is not so stupid to throw you or your crew in jail."
"So, you are telling me I'm being too pessimistic?" She smiled at her first officer's claim she was becoming too thorough in her appraisal of everything that could possibly go wrong.
"I don't know how much the VFA has told you, but when we discovered that you were alive, four years ago, the press became fascinated with everything and anyone associated with Voyager. And trust me, your return will trigger a *feeding frenzy*."
"And that's why Commander Craig is along."
"To control how much the sharks are fed and what they are fed."
"And just why is everyone so keen to keep the Romulans happy anyway? A few rogue ships..." she shook her head in frustration.
When Riker frowned, she wondered just what else Starfleet had *forgotten* to tell her about in the various intelligence communiqués sent to her over the past year. "Well," he said, "they were sort of tricked into signing the treaty. Captain Sisko managed it shortly before his death. I don't know all the details-I'm not sure if more than three or four people know the whole story."
"I understand, I think. So by ignoring the attack, we don't give the Romulans an excuse to break the treaty?"
"That's as good of reason as I've heard. The Romulan political picture is pretty dicey at the moment. The new emperor is struggling to maintain control-and there are rumors of a Tal Shiar coup attempt."
"Nothing new there." She stood. "It's the waiting. I just wish they would let us know something, anything..."
"Perhaps Captain Picard will have some news or orders."
They had been at Deep Space Nine for three days, and the only answer Starfleet had for her was, 'soon.' She wanted more than that. Damn it, they deserved an answer-good or bad.
Perhaps she should have Chakotay check out the rumors that the Bajoran government would offer the Maquis sanctuary. They deserved their freedom-they all did. Even the Equinox survivors. They had proved themselves many times over as fine people.
"Deanna and I enjoyed the meal, but I do need to return to my ship. Oh, do you think Neelix could find some leola root for us to try? I've heard about this Delta Quadrant wonder plant."
Janeway chuckled. "Wonder plant indeed: it's a cross between potato and paste. Poor Neelix, he was never able to get the replicators to recreate it. Some sort of glitch in the programming."
"I see." He winked, suggesting he did understand.
"Thank you for coming. I wish you good fortune with your upcoming promotion and marriage."
"Thanks." He paused. "Captain, just remember, you survived. That counts for a lot."
Normally, the proprietor of Quark's happiness was in direct proportion to the number of people who passed over his threshold in any given evening. The problem tonight was that virtually everyone who marched through his door was *just* passing through, on their way to the holosuite where Vic Fontaine's program was running.
"How does he do it? The most exquisite creatures on the station, and they're all in there with *him* tonight!" grumbled Quark to the two men slumped against his bar. Morn had been his usually chatty self all night, but since the hew-mon stranger had had so little to say, Quark didn't really expect much of a response from him. He was not disappointed.
At Morn's astute observation that the Ferengi was still pocketing a pretty pile of latinum, thanks to his share of the proceeds paid by Vic to "rent" his place, Quark shook his head vigorously in denial. "It's not Vic I'm talking about! It's that Paris guy in there!" Quark's sense of the injustice of it all was magnified by the identity of the man who was cozying up to all the women. Paris had history with the barkeep.
Quark never forgot a lost sale-not that he ever forgot a successful sale, exactly, but they didn't rankle like the futile ones. He could still remember that hew-mon, ruining one of his favorite sales pitches for young and naive officers just out of Starfleet Academy. At least that guy wasn't in there, too, schmoozing with his buddies, with a bodacious hew-mon female draped over his arm.
"Why does he need Colonel Kira in there, and our deliciously tart constable, Ro Laren-now that's one position on this station that has definitely been upgraded since the War, Morn, even if she is a little too perceptive for my tastes-and, okay, Deanna Troi *does* have her fiancée Riker in there with her-but why does Paris need so many lovelies at his table? With that luscious wife of his, what does he need with Kira and Ro, too?!"
At the mention of the beauteous B'Elanna Torres, Quark sighed deeply, leaning forward so he could catch a glimpse of her through the doorway. Those saucy forehead ridges beckoned to him. That rapier-witted tongue entranced him. He'd met many a hew-mon woman whose body and dexterous fingers could bring him bliss; his Grilka had been incomparably lovely; and this Paris had managed to snag a woman who epitomized the best qualities of both hew-mons and Klingons in one, adorable little package. The injustice of it all!
"It's not fair!" Quark moaned. "He's a tall, skinny guy. He's got feeble little lobes and water-colored eyes. He's nothing! It's a perfect example of a male getting lucky, Morn, just because he got thrown into a quadrant where there's a shortage of real males. Too bad Lieutenant Torres settled for him out in the Delta Quadrant. She could have had her pick of the creme de la creme once she got back here!"
Morn's response to Quark's tirade was to belch noisily, while the hew-mon leaning against the bar-no doubt the only way he could hold himself upright-slurped noisily at his drink and peered at Quark with his eyelids slitted tightly together in order to pierce the drunken haze that obviously was obstructing his vision. Morn and the hew-mon had eschewed synthehol in favor of the hard stuff all evening; Quark noted that both were well past the stage where they could actually taste their libations.
"Excuse me," Quark said, nodding to his two customers, and casually strolled over to his assistant Laria to instruct her to water down the pair's drinks for the rest of the evening. They'd thank Quark for it in the morning. Their hangovers wouldn't be nearly as severe, and why waste good liquor to nausea?
Just as Quark, his conscience salved by his compassion, started to cross back to the bar, another group of people filed through the doorway. Julian Bashir, who had Ezri Dax on his arm, waved a greeting, while Ezri cheerily called out "Hi, Quark!"
"Well, well, well! I see the Defiant is back! And where is my nephew?"
"Right here, Uncle," Nog answered, trailing in last of the half-dozen officers of the ship assigned to DS9 to enter the bar. "Where's the Voyager party?" he asked excitedly.
Quark pointed wordlessly towards Vic's and watched sourly as all six of the officers, his nephew included, trotted inside the club. He turned back towards the bar once more, but he hadn't taken two steps when a familiar voice said brightly, "Mr. Quark! Good evening! Have you met my son Harry and his girlfriend, Ensign Marla Gilmore?"
"Why, yes, yes I have," Quark answered. "How nice to see you again so soon, Lieutenant Kim."
While Quark had managed to paste his smile back on his face, he had less success keeping the chill out of his voice. Mr. Kim had been a key figure in two failed transactions, the first of which was the very one Mr. Paris had thwarted eight years ago, when he prevented the younger officer from purchasing several high-quality gemstones from Quark as gifts for his mother; the second occurring only the day before, when the now not-so-young officer had convinced his mother not to buy some perfectly good shares in a diamond mine. Quark was never going to forget Harry Kim.
He was not likely to forget Marla Gilmore, either. While Quark had a weakness for the fiery brunette or redhead type, the demure blonde's delicate beauty was something he wouldn't mind getting used to. "I don't believe I *have* had the pleasure of meeting you, Ensign Gilmore." The Ferengi smoothly glided towards the two females, his elbow extended for the shapely blonde to hold.
Harry Kim slipped his left arm protectively around Marla as Quark suavely picked up her hand. He was about to give the hand a kiss but stopped, deciding it was no use. From the amused glance she shared with Mr. Kim, it was clear: this one was already spoken for.
"Is this the way to Vic's Place?" Harry asked blandly.
Since the entrance to that holosuite was brightly outlined by a neon sign flashing "Vic's" in fuchsia letters; clusters of people were laughing just inside the doorway; and Vic's voice was sailing out of the room, flying him to the moon so he could play among the stars-or some such nonsense; Quark took this question to be disingenuous at best. He was ever the gracious host, however, and politely waved them towards Vic's door.
"Oh, Harry, I see B'Elanna and Tom in here," Marla said.
"I might have known," Quark muttered.
As Lieutenant Kim steered his girlfriend towards Vic's he called, "Come on in, Mom. The party might break up when they go to meet the ship from Earth."
"Oh, you go right along, Harry dear. I want to have a word with Mr. Quark first."
The lieutenant whispered a few words into the ensign's ear, and she resumed walking into the club. Harry hung back, warily eyeing Quark.
The Ferengi smiled broadly at the young man. He wasn't about to ruin his relationship with the mother by being rude to her son, no matter how insufferable he might be. To do that would be to dash any hopes he still might entertain for making further sales to her. "Yes, Mrs. Kim? What can I do for you today?"
"I didn't actually want to ask you to do anything for me, Mr. Quark. I wanted to thank you for being so kind to my son the last time he was on this station. You know, he's brought me some lovely presents from the Delta Quadrant-pretty stones and gifts from markets he collected along the route home-and he told me just today that *you* were the one who suggested he might want to bring some souvenirs from his first mission home to me! It was so thoughtful of you. Thank you so much."
The woman was beaming, with no hint of sarcasm in her smile. A quick glance in the son's direction confirmed Mrs. Kim's sincerity. Surely, that look of acute embarrassment on Mr. Kim's face could only mean he wanted to sink through the floor of the bar rather than be reminded of when he was rescued by the equally insufferable Lieutenant Paris, who was prancing around the dance floor with his daughter in his arms while Vic Fontaine sang some execrable verse about doing it his way.
Quark bestowed one of his most bedazzling smiles upon Mrs. Kim. "No thanks are necessary, Mrs. Kim. I have always felt a special affinity for our brave young officers at the very beginning of their careers. They do so need to be nurtured appropriately during their first missions in order to learn how to surmount any challenge with complete self-confidence."
While Mrs. Kim apparently did not hear the groan that issued forth from her son's throat when she reached out and embraced the Ferengi with a warm hug, Quark's sharp hearing detected it easily. With a flourish, he slipped his hand beneath Mrs. Kim's arm and escorted her to her son and tipped his head upon delivery. "Have a wonderful evening, Mrs. Kim. Come back later and tell me all about it," he called after them as they escaped into Vic's.
The spring had returned to Quark's step when he paced back to the bar where his hew-mon and Lurian customers were still ensconced. He may not have made a sale tonight, but knowing with certainty that neither Mrs. Kim nor her son would ever forget Quark made it a little easier to bear. And there was always a chance he would get to move some more merchandise tomorrow. Mrs. Kim loved to shop.
Joe could barely contain his excitement. He would be seeing Anne in less than an hour! It was a good thing they'd decided to move their vigil into Vic's place. Bouncing around on the dance floor was a socially acceptable way for Joe to expend all the nervous energy that threatened to make him either burst at the seams or totally embarrass himself by dissolving into tears. To be so far away, and now so close, yet still not be together...Joe was agonized and ecstatic at the same time.
He wasn't the only one, he didn't think. B'Elanna was having a very tough time keeping Tom from pinging around the room like a cue ball. Bringing baby Miral into the nightclub had seemed like a crazy idea at first, but everyone agreed that Tom's parents couldn't be denied seeing their granddaughter even for as long as it would take to travel back to Voyager to get her. From the looks B'Elanna kept shooting in Joe's direction-when she wasn't huffing in exasperation at her husband-the chief engineer apparently had more regrets allowing Tom into the club than she did having her daughter there. Miral had been amazingly angelic the entire time-probably because the Doctor had surrounded her with gentle background music during her nap, prolonging it well beyond its usual hour and a half length. She was lively, sociable, and hadn't cried even once. How long that would last was anybody's guess, as it was 2200 by ship's time and soon, long nap or no, she would need to go to bed.
That ship from Earth had better arrive soon!
The music from the bandstand stopped right after several members of the Defiant's crew, closely followed by Marla, Harry, and Mrs. Kim, joined the party.
"Hey, there, everyone. Having a good time?" Vic asked as he approached the group. Everyone agreed that they were, indeed, having a great time. The hologram turned his attention to the baby in her father's arms next. "And your little missy, here, *what* a trouper! I haven't heard a peep out of her all night. She's really going to be some looker, there, Tommy. You're going to have to beat the boys away with a stick!"
"Knowing Tom, it will be a bat'leth," B'Elanna shot back, to general laughter.
Tom laughed along good-naturedly. "If she takes after her mother, I'm not going to have to worry. She'll be able to take care of herself."
Joe wondered how B'Elanna would take that, but from the way his boss glowed, she obviously considered it a compliment. Thinking back upon Tom and B'Elanna's courtship, Joe ruefully had to agree. Joe caught himself as he was about to rub his formerly-broken nose and chuckled as he remembered how intense she'd been-how intense everyone on the ship had been, to be truthful-eight years ago. So much had changed. Now, everything was about to change again. Sometimes he still didn't know what he was really feeling. The only thing he was sure would bring him complete and unalloyed joy was being reunited with his family again.
The group happily "schmoozed" with Vic for several minutes. Tal Celes and the Delaney sisters asked Deanna Troi about her upcoming wedding. "Are you going to do a traditional Betazoid wedding? Will everybody be naked?" Joe overheard Jenny ask Troi shrilly. From the sparkle he noted in Jenny's eye, the Delaney twin seemed just a little too fascinated by the concept for Joe's comfort.
The rest of the group seemed reserved in comparison. Riker discussed his upcoming transfer to his own command with Kira and Ayala. Harry danced with his mother to what Vic referred as "canned music," while Brian Sofin, Marla Gilmore, and Angelo Tessoni spoke softly together in a corner. Samantha Wildman chatted with Rollins, Neelix, and Sarexa next to the dance floor, Sam's voice uncharacteristically high-pitched as she described her conversation with her husband.
The Defiant crew was circling among the tables, introducing themselves and congratulating everyone on Voyager for making it home. Meeting the young Ferengi lieutenant named Nog had been a real shocker to Joe. He never thought he'd ever see the day when that would happen. Vic, who referred to Nog several times as his "partner in crime," was seemingly unaware, or didn't care, that Nog was mingling with the crowd as if he owned the place. Joe had a hunch there was a story there he wouldn't mind hearing, but he didn't know if he would get the chance.
Anne and his boys were coming. They would be here in half an hour. Maybe less!
When Vic strolled back up to the bandstand, Joe didn't think he could stand waiting any longer. When Ro Laren got up and said she had a stop to make before the ship got in, Joe thought about going along with her. Tom stopped him.
"Joe, could I ask you a big favor?"
"Sure, Tom. What is it?"
"I'd like to take a turn on the dance floor with my wife, but my 'little missy' here needs a dance partner. Would you...?"
"I'd be delighted. Come here, Darlin'. If the music is lively enough, we'll do a jig. How about that?" Joe said to the bright-eyed little girl in his arms.
The music didn't cooperate; it was a slow number. Vic's mellow voice delivering the lyrics caressed the crowd. Even though Miral was just shy of her first birthday, somehow she understood what was happening-or maybe she was finally getting tuckered out enough to relax in his arms. She leaned her shiny cap of curls against Joe's cheeks while Joe glided around the floor with her. He passed Megan Delaney dancing with Jimmy Morrow; Jenny with Hugh Murphy; Naomi with Icheb; and Mulcahey whirling Golwat around without any regard for the music's tempo, and neither one caring a whit. Joe thought the words-longing for adventure, breaths of springtime, and angel's wings-were all weirdly suited to the evening.
Even though only a few members of the crew would be meeting their loved ones this evening, the large group had spontaneously come together to celebrate their arrival. It was as if, by proxy, everyone was meeting family tonight. For certain, they wanted to be with their Voyager crew mates to share their joy. Not many were missing. Tuvok was on bridge duty, and a skeleton crew manned Voyager's stations, but just about the only others unaccounted for were Captain Janeway and Chakotay. And Joe had a hunch they were celebrating, too, in their own way. The thought brought a smile to his face.
As the song ended, the entire dance floor hushed as Colonel Kira responded to a signal from her comm badge. "Thank you, Tovan. Kira out." She turned to the center of the room and announced, smiling, "She's here! The ship from Earth will dock in ten minutes! Paris, Carey, and Ayala, let's go!"
Cheering crew mates surrounded him, patting him on the back, telling him he needed to hurry! It's time! That's what he knew they had to be saying. The buzz around him was so intense it turned to white noise. His senses were overloaded. The baby, so solid in his arms, suddenly clutched his neck as if she were unwilling to leave him. Tom's face, then B'Elanna's, swam into view. Miral released her hold upon Joe, yet she didn't leave his embrace. Instead, Tom and B'Elanna and Miral all gathered around and hugged him.
And the tears came.