A/N: This part takes place three months after Voyager's return. Please excuse any chronological errors, because I'm sure I have made some.
B'Elanna Paris smiled at the chaos surrounding the tables in the middle of the San Fransisco Voyager Park, which had been commemorated the day Voyager had been proclaimed officially dead six years before. It seemed fitting that this party should be held there.
It wasn't formal, it wasn't fantastically catered and organized. It was simply the crew of Voyager and their families, not just spouses and children, but as many relatives as could make it, getting together one last time before duties and commitments separated them.
The chaos was mainly being caused by the hundred or so children attending. B'Elanna could spot A'Lehsen and S'Ehra playing with their cousins, eight-year- old Jonethan Tregarde and six-year-old Ian McCoy. The four had become nearly inseparable over the past two weeks, and B'Elanna was happy for her daughters. At least they seemed to have gotten over that odd prejudice they had had. It would be good for them to become friends with their cousins.
B'Elanna glanced down at the infant sleeping peacefully in her arms, oblivious to the noise surrounding him. Kyle Paris, at one month old, was so good-natured and content that B'Elanna sometimes considered with some amusement if there had been a mix-up at the hospital! Of course, there hadn't been, but she thought it might be possible at times.
Kyle had his father's blond hair already, a light, downy covering over his scalp. He had inherited his father's blue eyes, as well. His small ridges, the only testimony to his Klingon heritage, were even less noticeable than A'Lehsen's and S'Ehra's had been at that age. He looked, for the most part, like a fully human replica of his father-minus a decade or two.
Tom was chatting with his sisters, Lizbeth Tregarde and Jesica McCoy, and their husbands, Rikard and Kennith. He was holding their newest daughter, K'Ehtra. She also had blond hair, but more of it. She was the only child to get B'Elanna's dark brown eyes, which would surely make her stand out in a few years at family gatherings. K'Ehtra had also inherited her mother's temperament, like her sisters. Tom had remarked, more than once, on the fact that the female side of the family seemed to be the ones who lost their tempers more easily. B'Elanna had punched his arm each time he had given that opinion, but she had privately admitted that he was right.
On B'Elanna's left, Kathryn Janeway sat holding her own baby, Phoebe Janeway, as if she just knew that something was going to happen to the precious bundle.
B'Elanna leaned over and said just loudly enough for the captain to hear, "Relax, Kathryn. We're all family here."
Janeway grinned ruefully. "I know. It's just that this is her first time in such a large group of strangers, and I'm afraid she's going to start fussing any minute!" she said with a sigh.
B'Elanna studied Phoebe, who was watching the antics of the older kids with large, light gray eyes. She seemed fascinated, and B'Elanna didn't think that the exposure to a larger group was doing her any harm.
"She'll be fine, Kathryn. You've been here for the past fifteen minutes, and she's barely made a sound," B'Elanna said with the experienced opinion of a mother of four.
Janeway cast a skeptical glance at her daughter. "I'm not so sure. She has a habit of surprising everyone, including me," she said.
B'Elanna laughed softly. "Now, who does that remind me of?" she teased gently.
Janeway just shook her head and smiled, refusing to answer the question.
They were silent for a few minutes, savoring the sights and sounds of the younger generations enjoying themselves all over the park's lush green lawn, between tall trees and brightly colored flowers.
"They are our future. All of them, someday, will take on the roles that we will be forced to leave behind," Janeway said quietly, reflectively.
B'Elanna nodded. She gazed proudly at A'Lehsen and S'Ehra. "Somehow, I have a feeling that they'll make it. They may even turn out better than we did," she commented.
"I have no doubt about that. Our children, B'Elanna, are going to make one hell of a difference to this Quadrant-and others," Janeway added thoughtfully.
This apparently casual comment caused B'Elanna to think of the various activities that had been going on in the past few months.
"They're saying that the Voyager-A is going to be twice as large as the original, but it'll still look like an Intrepid-class ship," she said reflectively. "I won't mind getting my hands on those engines in a few years."
Janeway smiled. "I can't wait to sit in the Captain's chair. I do feel kind of sad that Voyager is being decommissioned. I suppose it's for the best, since Voyager-A will have your specially designed shields and your transwarp modifications built in," she said, absently letting her daughter catch one of her fingers and drool on it.
"Yes, although it'll feel strange to be walking the corridors of another Voyager. At least this ship will be able to accommodate the crew's families, as well. That's my favorite part of the new design. Have they said how many ships will be accompanying us?" B'Elanna asked curiously.
Janeway nodded. "Three other ships, all of the same class as the Voyager-A. I'm not sure that they have commanding officers picked out for any of them as yet," she replied.
B'Elanna shook her head woefully. "I'm sure that whoever they are, they'll think that this is going to be an easy mission. They'll think that all they have to do is turn on the transwarp drive and cruise into the Delta Quadrant, which will, of course, be familiar to them from our reports. They won't be expecting any of the difficulties that we faced," she said.
"In a way, they would be right. We won't have half so many difficulties during our next visit to the Delta Quadrant, since we're much more familiar with it," Janeway said, shifting Phoebe to a more comfortable position.
B'Elanna gave her a look of disbelief. "Captain, after all we've been through, do you truly believe that?" she asked.
"Why not? I'd like to try to be optimistic about it, B'Elanna."
"Optimisism has its place, but I don't think that place is anywhere near the Delta Quadrant! I've learned that no matter what we think will happen, something else will happen instead," B'Elanna said.
Janeway smiled. "That's not always a bad thing, B'Elanna," she said softly.
They were distracted by A'Lehsen, who had come running over to them.
"Mommy, can I hold Kyle for a little while?" she asked.
"Don't you want to play with your sister and cousins?" B'Elanna asked.
A'Lehsen shook her head. "No, I want to hold Kyle now," she said with a determined nod of her head.
"Then sit down beside me, sweetie," B'Elanna instructed.
A'Lehsen wiggled in between B'Elanna and Janeway. She held out her arms expectantly. After a few months, she was a pro at holding the babies.
Kathryn Janeway watched the little girl proudly holding her little brother, and her mind was taken back to a time, too many years ago, when another little girl held her new little sister, unhappy at the disruption in her life. It seemed so far away from the present, and yet Kathryn could remember it so clearly.
Staring at the Paris children, and then her own, Kathryn thought with some that, yes, in too few years these precious little ones would be making lives for themselves, and they would be having adventures of their own. It did seem, as Chakotay often said, that the universe was more like a cosmic circle, constantly renewing itself.
With that thought came another. This circle, the circle that had begun more than nine years ago, was complete. It was very comforting.