Tegan Chronicles STV Style 4:

Canis Major 6

B'Elanna was trying to pace a hole in the floor of the infirmary when the doors opened and Janeway was tugged through the hatchway by Maverick. B'Elanna saw her and stopped in her tracks while hiding her face behind her hands and muttering to herself.

"Captain I was going to call you as soon as I finished up here." The EMH watched as Maverick put his paws on the bed and nudged Tegan's hand with his nose. "I was just getting ready to try and wake her with a dose of Animazine now that her heart rate has stabilized."

"Doctor?"

"I'm sure she and Lieutenant Torres can explain much better than I can." He groused as he pressed the hypospray to Tegan's neck and her eyes popped open.

"I'm fine." She looked at Maverick. "Sit."

Maverick sat as she brought her eyes up to Janeway who had her arms folded over her chest. She glanced at B'Elanna as she gingerly sat up. "Don't worry, the worst she can do is throw us in the brig and if she makes us share a cell we can finish killing each other."

B'Elanna shook her head finally having composed herself enough to stand still with her hands at her side. "You're not funny. I thought you were dead, or at least dying."

"Wasn't that the point?"

"Does somebody want to tell me what's going on?" Janeway interrupted.

"I didn't want to kill you." B'Elanna confessed. "I was just mad."

"Uh huh, fells like you wanted to kill me." Tegan rubbed at her still sore ribs. "And you didn't want to talk."

"No, I didn't."

"And now?"

"I want you to stop asking me questions." B'Elanna's nostrils flared but not in anger.

"I'm asking you questions because I don't know what you want from me."

"You really don't know do you?"

"No I don't." Tegan stared deep into chocolate brown eyes.

"I want things to be like they were before you got that stupid gift."

"Which one?" Tegan chuckled dryly. "I do too, but I can't change who I am. And I'm not going to go around and tell people what you're feeling, if that's your concern. Like I said, I can't read your mind. I don't know why you're angry, or happy, or sad. I just know when you are those things. I still want to be your friend and I want you to be able to tell me why you feel a certain way. But whether we are friends or not doesn't change the fact that I'm going to protect your feelings."

B'Elanna turned to Captain Janeway. "I instigated a fight. She would have won too if she hadn't tried to die on me."

Tegan sat there staring at her tennis shoes after the doctor had treated B'Elanna's injuries and Janeway told her she wanted to see her in her ready room at 0900 hours.

"Don't think you're getting off so easy either, you will report to my ready room at the same time."

"Yes ma'am." She didn't look up.

"Can she leave sickbay Doctor?"

Tegan secretly wished he would say no.

"I've treated her injures." He let his eyes travel over the now green bruises that littered her body. "The Animazine will wear off in about another hour and she'll probably be out like a light at that point. She needs to eat before that happens."

"You didn't eat?" Kathryn watched her shrug.

"I also want to put a monitor on her. I'm concerned about her heart rate, but I don't see a reason to keep her here." He turned to Tegan. "I want you to take tomorrow off, and this time I do mean off. Absolutely no holodeck time, no swimming, exercising or fights of any kind."

She nodded. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture from him.

They made their way to Kathryn's quarters in complete silence. The entire time Tegan wished a small spatial anomaly would open up and swallow her. When the doors to her cabin closed behind them Kathryn finally spoke; "What do you want to eat?"

"I need to get a shower." Tegan looked down at her sweat and blood stained shirt and made a face.

"You haven't eaten all day." Her voice raised in volume. "The doctor said that was one of the reasons you collapsed."

"My nutritional status had nothing to do with it." She bit back with a mordant tone.

Kathryn put two and two together and wondered why the doctor hadn't or if he was trying to protect Tegan's privacy. "You were relieving B'Elanna's pain while you two were fighting?"

"Not intentionally."

"Just like you didn't go to the holodeck with the intention of fighting her?"

Tegan wished she could tell her she hadn't, but she had been dressed for the occasion and she had been the one who told B'Elanna to meet her there. Maybe she should have just let things play out in the hall earlier. She shook her head. "I'm going to get a shower."

She disappeared into the bathroom and stripped her clothes off. She was tempted to take off the monitor the doctor had insisted she wear, so she could take a hydroshower, but she really didn't want him disturbing her. She leaned against the wall and ordered the sonic shower to its highest setting. She could still feel the waves of Kathryn's discontent when she stepped out of the shower ten minutes later.

Kathryn heard the shower cut off and a few minutes later she heard Tegan emerge from the bathroom. She waited expecting her to join her in the living room, finally after ten minutes of waiting she got up to see what was keeping her. "You still haven't eaten."

Tegan was lying on the bed in a pair of purple plaid sleep shorts and a black t-shirt. She was still wearing her prosthetic. "I'm not hungry."

Kathryn leaned her shoulder against the doorway. "Is this one of your self-destructive mechanisms?"

"It's one of my, if I eat right now I'm going to puke moments."

"Fine," She huffed. "I'm going to take Maverick for his nightly walk."

"I can do it." Tegan started to get up.

"The stimulant the doctor gave you is going to wear off soon."

Tegan shrugged.

"I'll be back." Kathryn took her time walking the corridors, taking him on several decks before she returned to her quarters an hour later. She took his leash off and followed him to the bedroom where Tegan was asleep, if the state she was in could be considered sleep. Kathryn was certain she wouldn't be able to wake her up if she tried. She let her eyes wander over her and noticed she had failed to take off her biomechanical arm and she was currently lying on the access point for her to be able to remove it. Rather than bother her she ordered the lights to ten percent as Maverick settled into his bed.

Two hours later Tegan emerged from the bedroom with her hair standing up on one side of her head, a blurry eyed Maverick following close behind.

Kathryn looked up from the PADD she had been studying trying to find a punishment befitting the 'crime'. "Where are you going?"

"My quarters." She continued to walk to the door.

"I don't think so."

"Then I'm going to sick bay." Tegan grumbled

She would have been more concerned if that had been Tegan's first response. "Why?"

"Because you're thinking too loud."

"I'm thinking too loud?" In another setting before all of this happened, Kathryn would have found the statement humorous.

"I can't sleep with your anger and disappointment strangling me." It crushed her that Kathryn was disappointed in her, but she did understand why. Still she could handle her Captain being upset with her far easier than she could Kathryn, and right now she was aware they both were.

"What do you want me to feel?" She wished she would turn around and look at her but at least she had stopped moving closer to the door. "Do you want me to be happy that you almost beat up my Chief Engineer?"

"No, of course not, but I can't stay in the same quarters as Captain Janeway right now." She turned slowly. "That's who you are right now. You just asked me if you should be happy I almost beat up your Chief Engineer. Kathryn would have used B'Elanna's name."

She hefted the PADD slightly. "I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to discipline the two of you. I can't not be Captain Janeway at the moment, you and B'Elanna made sure of that."

"I don't blame you for being mad at me on every level right now, but I can't help you come to a conclusion."

"So you're just going to run away every time you screw up and I get mad at you?"

"You're not just mad, I can handle mad." Tegan shook her head and walked over to the chaise where she sank into the chair. She knew Kathryn had a point.

Kathryn watched her for several minutes as she stroked Maverick's head which he had laid in her lap. After a while she went back to searching her PADD.

At 0500 Kathryn got a shower and put on a clean uniform when she came out Tegan went in to brush her teeth and get dressed. When she returned she had Maverick's leash on him. "There's a bagel for you."

Tegan glanced at the table. "I need to take him for a walk."


Tegan left Maverick outside with Tuvok when she reported to Janeway's ready room at 0900. B'Elanna arrived a minute behind her and they stood arm to arm at attention facing Janeway's desk as she paced. Finally she stilled her movements and turned to face them. "I expect more from both of you. You are officers, and not just any officers you, you are the Chief Engineering Officer and the First Medical Officer."

"Captain, may I—"

"No you may not." She turned her cold blue gaze on B'Elanna. "I ought to throw you both in the brig."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Tegan's mouth.

Janeway's eyes flicked over to her. "This isn't a laughing matter Lieutenant."

"No ma'am." She forced her face back to neutral.

"Assigning you extra shifts is redundant since you both work over any chance you get." She pinched the bridge of her nose the headache from her lack of sleep grew tenfold. "I'm confining you both to your quarters for the next 72 hours. And I will be keeping Maverick during that time."

Tegan wanted to tell her she was acting more like a mom than a CO, sending her kids to their respective rooms and grounding them. She wanted to tell her the brig was a more appropriate punishment, but she wisely kept her mouth shut on the subject since she knew it wasn't just her Kathryn didn't want to send to the brig.

"Maverick?" B'Elanna turned her head to the side. "You named him?"

"He kind of chose his own name."

"Ladies." Captain Janeway's voice was firm reminding them they weren't there for social hour.

"Sorry Captain." They spoke in unison.

"Technically you were both off duty at the time but you are both Starfleet officers and despite it taking place in a nonpublic area it was still conduct unbecoming. Consider this a warning because if this ever happens again I will be stripping you both of rank and throwing you in the brig."

"Yes ma'am." Tegan was the first to respond.

"Yes Captain." B'Elanna shifted her weight.

"Lieutenant Kiser you are to report to sickbay and then to your quarters. You are both dismissed."

"Captain, if I could have a minute of your time." B'Elanna requested as Tegan gave her a warning look to leave it alone.

Janeway gave a quick nod and Tegan took her leave.

She skipped the formalities of requesting permission to speak freely. "Please don't punish Tegan for what I did."

"As far as I am concerned neither of you are blameless in this."

"I started it. She wanted to talk. I threw the first punch and she still wanted to talk. I got in her space and pushed her until she couldn't discern her feelings from my anger and then I provoked her."

"That may be but she needs to learn to control it."

"It's still new to her."

Janeway's brows knitted together. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I was wrong."

"You're dismissed Lieutenant." Janeway didn't give her any clue as to what she was planning to do.


The doctor removed the monitor and ran a tricorder over Tegan. "You didn't eat and you need to get some sleep."

"I slept for two hours."

"I wouldn't call that sleep." He frowned. "I can give you a sedative."

"I'm confined to my quarters for the next 72 hours I think I'll find plenty of time to sleep."

"That hardly seems fair considering."

"Considering what?" She pinned him with her stare.

"It's obvious what B'Elanna did."

"It doesn't matter what she did, I reacted in a manner unbecoming a Starfleet officer. If I had acted like that back in my time line my CO would have thrown me in the brig so fast my head would be spinning for a week."

"Captain Janeway to Dr. Kiser."

"Oh I rate doctor now." She raised interested eyebrows to the doctor before tapping her combadge. "Kiser here."

"Please report to my ready room when you are finished with the doctor."

"Yes ma'am, Kiser out."

"You're free to go."

"Stay." Tegan spoke to Maverick as she passed him and Tuvok on the bridge when he started to move towards her. She pressed the sensor outside the ready room and waited to hear Captain Janeway tell her to enter. When the doors slid open she stepped in to find her pulling a mug of coffee out of the replicator.

Kathryn refrained from offering Tegan a drink as she turned to face her. "It seems I jumped to conclusions about what happened last night."

"Whatever B'Elanna told you Captain…" She stopped when Janeway waved her hand in the air cutting her off.

"What I don't understand is why it had to come from B'Elanna?"

"You didn't ask and I'm sure B'Elanna told you she instigated the fight but that doesn't negate the fact that I exchanged blows with her."

"She says that you wanted to talk and she intentionally used your empathic abilities against you."

Tegan opened her mouth, her tongue moving to speak, but no words came out.

"You could have told me that." She let her command mask slide off for the interim. "Why didn't you tell me what happened last night?"

"Because I couldn't," Tegan locked eyes with her. "You are my commanding officer first. You are the woman I love second. As much as you and I would like to separate them completely, we can't. Last night you were both Kathryn Janeway and Captain Janeway, I couldn't have told Kathryn what happened without it influencing Captain Janeway's decision in how she would handle the situation. It would have been a conflict of interest. I never want it to look like I have special privileges or get a lesser punishment because of my relationship with you."

"Good." Kathryn nodded her head and her face hardened back into that of the formidable Captain. "I spoke with Tuvok and Chakotay after B'Elanna explained what happened last night. B'Elanna's reprimand remains unchanged, though I was tempted to make it a full week and move her to the brig.

"You are no longer confined to quarters; you will spend the rest of today following the doctor's orders which he gave you last night. Tomorrow morning you will report to Commander Tuvok where you will spend a minimum of six hours working on controlling your gift. The other two will be spent working with Maverick, who is living up to his name when it comes to his training sessions with Tuvok, and see if you can't get him to follow orders from someone besides you. You will continue to work with Tuvok for two hours following your duty shift until he says otherwise.

"Both Commanders Chakotay and Tuvok have agreed this is appropriate under the circumstances and they have signed off on it."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'd like to order you to eat. I am going to make it a formal request that you eat lunch and try and get some rest."

"Aye Captain."

"I'd also like for you to come to my quarters for dinner at 2000 hours tonight, you can pick up Maverick then."

Tegan nodded.

"You're dismissed."

Kathryn waited half an hour for Tegan to show up for dinner. It wasn't like her to be late. "Computer locate Tegan Kiser."

"Dr. Kiser is in her quarters."

She looked over at Maverick who was happily chewing on his rubber bone. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

He jumped up his tail flapping from side to side in a frenzy knocking two PADDs from the coffee table.

"As you were." The captain spoke to the security officer posted outside B'Elanna's quarters and wondered briefly if he was really needed. Since it was Tuvok's purview she decided to leave it be.

She walked up to Tegan's door and pressed the sensor which immediately allowed her entrance. She fought the urge to turn and check out the expression of the ensign reminding herself the crew was fully aware of their relationship. The cabin was completely dark as she and Maverick stepped in. "Computer lights to ten percent."

She quickly spotted Tegan through the open bulkhead lying on her bed still in her uniform. Maverick went over and curled up in his bed. Kathryn stood there and watched her sleep for a while. When she tried to coax Maverick back out he just lifted his head and looked at her before resting it back on his paws. When he turned down treats she gave up and headed back to her quarters for the night.