Kathryn
ooo
Early March and Lumina is back with bad news: The Romulan sun's Alpha particle emissions have increased, meaning it will go supernova earlier than our first estimates. Captain Nori Simnashi, and Harry, who led the scanning team, join us at Daystrom to go over the findings.
Nechayev is leading this meeting, and she cuts to the chase: "Admiral, your team's December report estimated that the event would occur between 2389 and 2391. Things appear to have changed, so what's the new timeline?"
There's no way to sugarcoat this. "If the particle emissions rate holds steady, our new estimate is late 2386 to early 2389."
Nechayev pales. Harry and Nori Simnashi look shocked; my folks look grim.
"Did we miss something?" she demands.
Scott shakes his head. "No, Admiral, it's just that we have a larger field to work with."
Simnashi nods at Harry, who moves to the vid screen. "Part of our mission was to take a new look at some of the areas Starbase 718 generally covers with its scans. Those scans picked up emissions from here," he says, pointing to an almost-incandescent spot toward what we'd consider the front of the sun. "Those emissions have held steady. But the new scanners have increased range; more than double that of our standard equipment. It picked up emissions from this area," he continues as he calls up another scan. "Here — you can see that emissions are higher in this spot."
"About 1.5 times higher," Simnashi finishes.
"That's not surprising,"Reseil says. "Generally, particle emissions aren't uniform. Also, we can't get into Romulan space, and the Klingons can only get so far, so we've had to work around the blank spots, so to speak."
"So the Romulans know what we know and more, but they aren't telling," Nechayev says quietly.
Siminiashi smiles slightly. "Our observations match that of the Scottsburg and the previous patrols: Romulan ship activity continues to increase. We counted at least two dozen ships; they're not warbirds."
ooo
Harry stops by my office before he heads back to San Francisco. "Your team did a terrific job," I tell him. "That data has made a major difference in our work."
"Not good news for the Romulans," he allows, and I nod. "The Lux leaves for the Neutral Zone next week," I tell him. "We'll see what they find. If we're lucky, the particle admissions will hold steady, but in any scenario, Romulus is running out of time."
He spies an image on my desk — Tom, me, and Miral at the big holiday display in New Manhattan. "So how are Tom and Miral?" he asks to change the subject. "I've been a jerk about calling, but I couldn't tell him what I was doing. It was hard enough not spilling it to B'Elanna."
"I have the same problem," I tell him; I'd wondered how much B'Elanna knew about the mission. "Anyway, Tom is fine; his business is doing well. And we're happy to get an extra few days with Miral."
Harry nods. "Mission cleanup," he said. "B'Elanna did say something about asking for a post in San Francisco."
"New custody agreement," I remark without going into details.
"I would ask you to say hello for me," Harry begins, "but ..."
"Afraid not. At least for the moment, today's meeting never happened."
Tom
ooo
Taking Miral back was hard on us all. Awkward, too. She was very excited to see her mommy, could hardly wait to get a hug and kiss from her. But as we talked about details, I noticed that she wasn't hanging on B'Elanna. Instead, she'd wander over and attach herself to my leg.
"Where Kat?" she demanded.
"Aunt Kat had to go to a meeting," I reminded her. "She told you goodbye earlier, remember?"
She just shook her head. Oh, this wasn't going to be easy.
It wasn't: She threw a major tantrum. "Let's go home, Daddy!" she demanded and grabbed my leg so hard that it hurt. I figured B'Elanna would blow her top, but she just looked sad. So, I went over it again: She had a home with Mommy and a home with Daddy and Aunt Kat. And right now it was time to be with her mom.
She wasn't having it. "No ship!" she yelled, and started crying again.
Light dawned: Kiddo liked being on Earth. B'Elanna knelt in front of her. "Baby, we're not going on a ship. We're going to live here in San Francisco for a while. In four weeks, you'll go to Daddy's house. And four weeks after that, you'll come back here to stay with me." I'm not thrilled about hauling the kid cross-continent for the next six months. But Kathryn reminds me to concentrate on the present ...
Miral frowned and sniffled a bit, but didn't answer. I tried again. "You know, sweetie, Pop and Nana are here," I whispered. "And I bet Pop would take you to the Officer's Club for ice cream." B'Elanna swallowed: She's not fond of my old man, but …
"Get ice cream?" Miral asked through a sniffle. "Yes, we will. After dinner," B'Elanna assured her.
She wasn't finished negotiating. "Choko?" she asked, which made us chuckle. "All right, chocolate," her mom replied.
Miral finally nodded. "Okay," she said in a small voice. I picked her up for a kiss, assuring her that we would talk tomorrow. Then I handed her to B'Elanna and got the hell out of there.
Kathryn was waiting for me at a restaurant just off the HQ campus. It took a few minutes for me to talk about the handoff. When I got to the ice cream part, she started to laugh.
"So you volunteered your dad for grandpa duty?" she teased. "I think it will be an easy sell. You know, 'Pop' is fond of ice cream."
ooo
Miral's stay made one thing clear: We need more room. She should have her own space, and as for us, well, while variety is fun, the Murphy bed and the couch are not the most comfortable places to make love. But where ...?
Not that we can address the idea any time soon. Kathryn has to go to Vulcan as part of her research project and isn't happy about it. She didn't say it directly, but I get the impression that this is as much a diplomatic visit as a scientific one.
With both Kathryn and Miral gone, it's too quiet. Nico, bless him, invites me over for takeout. I've seen the studio, but this is the first time I've seen the living area, and he tells me about converting the building.
"Wish I could do that with my studio," I tell him, and he just arches an eyebrow. "You know that might be possible, right? Marie mentioned that," he says.
"Oh?" is all I can say. "Must have forgotten."
oooo
Kathryn's back and says she's taking a couple of days off to decompress, though knowing her, she'll work from home part of that time. So we go out for dinner, then walk to the pier. A little later, as we lounge in bed, I decide to float my idea.
"I talked to Marie the other day," I begin.
She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Oh, listings. Thank you," she says affectionately. "I've been too damn busy to look."
"I didn't talk about listings. I … uh … asked about the possibility of converting the studio building into a home."
Kathryn sits up and looks at me like I've sprouted an extra head.
"Marie did say it would be a nice house," I remind her. "Besides, we half live there now." We use the holodeck and have sunset drinks and dinners in the loft; Nico helped me build a metal railing up there to keep Miral safe.
She's still looking at me like I've lost my mind; maybe I have. "It would make a nice home. But honey, that's a major project," she argues.
We're quiet for a moment while I try to come up with an argument, but Kathryn beats me to it. "It's also a major commitment. Are you sure you want to stay here?"
Didn't have to think about that one. "Yes," I say. "I like it here. Getting work is a lot easier. And here, I'm just Tom, a guy who does holography, who takes his daughter to the park and school, who lives with a beautiful redhead who he's crazy about." Then a bad thought hits me. "We've been happy here. At least I have …"
She catches on and reaches out to gently trail her fingers along my jawline. "I am happy here," she says softly. "But you know how Starfleet works. I could be ordered to San Francisco, or Estes 4 or …"
I shrug. "Won't matter where you're posted. You'll have a home to come back to: Here. With me and Miral."
Her face softens, and she swallows a couple of times. "This isn't just about staying in New York." Her voice drops an octave, and it's low and smoky, and very intimate. "This is about establishing a home … our home. It's not just a financial commitment; it's an emotional one, too. Are you ready for that part?
And then it hits me: She's asking where we are. "I guess I thought that we were already home. I mean I ... I feel like I'm home with you."
She smiles softly. "I feel the same way about you," she whispers.
"If ... if... " Damn it, I need to quit stammering like a scared kid. "If you're looking to get married, I'm not sure I'm ready for that ... not right now. Apparently, I wasn't a very good husband."
"Somehow, I don't think it was due to lack of effort," she quips, but the smile falters and her gray eyes darken. "I adore you, you know. But I'm not ready to marry, either. "
She's quiet for a moment, except for her hand, which she's tapping against the bed. "I'm not opposed to renovating the building," she finally says. "But it needs actual rooms, not to mention a proper bathroom or two and a kitchen. And it definitely needs a power upgrade, considering you have to run the hologrid off a generator. It's going to take quite a while."
"Maybe they'd let us do some of the work ourselves, speed things up," I suggest.
"Maybe," she says, "But right now, it all sounds overwhelming. Let's see what we're dealing with before we agree to anything."
ooo
Kathryn
ooo
"So what is going on with Phoebe?" I ask Mom, who's finally agreed to come up to the Daystrom campus for lunch. "Ran into Nico the other day and mentioned that I hadn't heard from her. He just shrugged and said 'Same old disagreement.'"
Mom shrugs. "Actually, she does have a commission to finish. But, I suspect Nico's asked her to move in with him again, and she's running away."
Well, this is interesting. "But she's crazy about him," I say. "Or is this a professional issue?"
"Could be," Mom allows. "Though there's no reason she can't keep the studio in Brown County." She taps her water glass on the table. "I suspect she's scared."
"Something specific?" As much as I like Nico, if he's done something to hurt her …
Mom looks as if she wishes this were a calculus problem. It probably would be easier to explain. "You know Phoebe: She runs on the highs and lows; takes after Martha and your grandmother. It's all wonderful with a new relationship until it comes crashing down. And the last one crashed pretty spectacularly."
"True," I agree. "I wasn't aware that things were crashing with Nico. They seem pretty solid to me."
"That's the thing; they are solid, so she tells me. I suspect she doesn't know what to do with a relationship that's on an even keel."
"Ah, she's scared that the other shoe will drop?"
"Maybe," Mom allows. "But being in a stable, lasting relationship does take some work. Her relationships have been so short-term; she's never had to do the work." She pauses. "Unfortunately, neither of you got to see much of that with me and your dad, him being gone so much."
I'm at a loss. "Well, I don't know how she fixes that," I finally say.
"Well, this isn't the first time he's asked," Mom points out. "Eventually, she'll decide that running's not worth it. Or Nico will run out of patience." She sits back and looks at me for a moment. "On the other hand, you and Tom are making plans for a home. So ..."
"We'll have a home somewhere. I'm still not sure about this renovation project." I debate about saying any more. On the other hand, I could use some advice. "I have to admit that this all has made me take a second look at everything."
She looks concerned. "You have doubts about Tom?"
"No," I say firmly. "About me."
"Considering how you two look at each other, and that you can't keep your hands off each other, I'm guessing that it isn't a lack of chemistry," she quips.
"Yeah, well …" I have to clear my throat, to Mom's amusement. "When he arrived, we had a little discussion: I told him then we all needed a safe harbor." I have to pause again, this time to gather my thoughts. "I'm just worried that I'm using him as my safe harbor."
Mom just looks at me thoughtfully. "Having a safe harbor isn't such a bad thing, you know. The question is why is Tom a safe harbor to you? Is it because you've given up and he happens to be available? So you live with him because it's better than being alone?
"Or is he your safe harbor because he is home to you … the one person who understands you, stands by you … makes live worth living?"
I replay my conversation with Tom, and something relaxes inside me.
Mom looks at me with concern. "Everything all right, Katie?"
I snap back to the present. "Yes, it is. I think you helped me clarify something, so thank you."
.