Tom

ooo

Things have finally settled down on the home front: outside of an occasional mention in the gossip columns, Kate's interviews are pretty much confined to science publications.

Unfortunately, I have something new to worry about. Miral is not taking well to kindergarten on the Intrepid. When I ask her about school, I get one-word answers and shrugs. B'Elanna says she won't talk to her either, though her classwork is fine.

B'Elanna calls one afternoon, scaring the hell out of me. I must have looked as panicked as I felt, because she opened with, "It's OK. Miral is OK. I just had a few minutes to talk."

Turns out there's a bully in the kindergarten class. "He likes to pick on the 'different' kids, like Miral," she says, and I can hear the bitterness in her voice. "Actually, he learned that Miral will stand up to him, but she feels like she has to defend her friends."

"Well, I'm proud of her," I say, "but what are they doing about this kid?"

"They've been working with the counselors to shut this down. And the teacher is married to one of the senior staff members. Gossip is that the first officer had a chat with the kid's parents, so things have been pretty quiet." She pauses. "I'd like Miri to have a couple of sessions with a counselor, too, considering I'm liable to tell her to break the little peta'q's nose."

This makes us both chuckle, and for a moment, all's well between us. "I think that's the best move," I finally say. "How do you want me to talk to her about this … or do you?"

ooo

"Welcome to Starfleet schools," I tell Kathryn as I recount B'Elanna's call. "Though it wasn't too bad for me until secondary school. That's when the old man made Admiral. Luckily, I was into shuttle racing, and I had friends."

She nods. "I caught it at the Academy; being an admiral's daughter seemed to tick off one person in particular."

ooo

Nico's sculpture is finally completed, and the building's owners want to have a small dedication ceremony, so he invites us out. Kate takes the morning off to come, though I'm a bit surprised to see her in civilian clothes. She just gives me a look. "The uniform attracts too much attention," she said.

It is a nice sculpture, not that I know much about this stuff. A nice group of trees … painted? Burnished? … to indicate nighttime, considering there's a sliver of moon peeking around the highest tree. "I like the bridge," Kathryn murmurs.

The guy next to me looks over at us. "It is a nice touch," he says, then he looks at me more closely. "I've seen you around here … you one of the sculptors?"

"Nah, I'm the delivery guy. I have a pilot's license, so Nico would work on the pieces in New York, and we'd fly them out here. Professionally, I'm a holographer."

That catches his attention. "What kind of holography?"

ooo

Kathryn

ooo

Tom appears to be conducting business, so I head to the restroom. Nico stops me to introduce me to his mom, Maggie.

"Maybe I shouldn't admit this," Maggie begins, and I note that her voice has a more-pronounced drawl than Nico's. "I was telling Nick that I didn't recognize you out of uniform."

This makes me laugh. "Good," I tell her. "I'm not looking for attention. I've had enough for a couple of lifetimes."

"Hey," Nico breaks in, "if you're headed toward the restroom, could you check on Phee? She went off a while ago; said her stomach was a bit upset."

"Sure," I say lightly, though I note Maggie's eyebrow goes up briefly.

ooo

Actually, Phee's sitting outside on a bench, so I make my planned stop, then join her.

"Sisterly concern?" she asks.

"Well, yes, but Nico asked me to check on you. You all right?" I say diplomatically.

"I'll be OK. Just needed some fresh air. Probably caught the stomach bug that's going around."

Something about her tone doesn't sit right. "This been going on a while?"

"I'm fine, Kath," she says with finality. I just shrug. "Just saying that if you want to see a doctor, you could come with me to Daystrom. There's a clinic at the Med Center there."

Her face softens a bit. "Thanks, but I'm OK," she says as she stands. "Anyway, it's chilly out here, let's go back in."

It's time for me to go on duty, and Tom walks me to the nearby transport station.

"So, land a new client?"

"Maybe," he says. "We're meeting next week." He's quiet for a moment, then, "Everything OK? Saw you and Phee outside talking."

"I'm fine. Phee's not feeling well," I say truthfully. "I offered to take her to the clinic at the Med Center, but you know how stubborn we Janeways are about seeing a doctor."

ooo

Tom

A gorgeous fall day here, and all's right with the world. Just brought Molly back from her walk. Checked my account, and I see the credits from the project I finished on Monday.

Since my next project won't start for a week or so, I finally have some free time. I head to the kitchen and grab a beer from the stasis. I just open the back door when the vid sounds …

And the world fell apart.

It's Doc. "I need to inform you that Miral has had another attack of the Ylt virus," he says gently.

I feel like I've been hit by a shuttle. All I can do is sink into the chair and stare at him.

"We got a call from Intrepid's CMO about two hours ago. I'm in Toronto to consult with Dr. Hibs … "

"Two hours ago! Jesus Christ, Doc! You couldn't tell me earlier!"

"Mr. Paris, we needed time to evaluate the situation," he says firmly, then his voice softens. "And honestly, there is nothing you can do at the moment.

"As I was going to say," he continues, "Dr. Hibs and I decided that the best course of action is to continue treatment and bring her to Toronto as quickly as possible."

"But Intrepid's … "I begin. "Intrepid is ahead of schedule," he interrupts, "and is at the edge of the Sol System. The medical ship Verity is nearby, and I'm trying to get it diverted to Intrepid's position."

"Call my father," I order. "He has plenty of strings to pull. And if that doesn't work, call Kathryn. She should have Nechayev's ear."

"That is very helpful, thank you," he replies, then pauses. "If you're wondering why B'Elanna isn't delivering this, I volunteered. When I talked to Dr. Harker a few minutes ago, B'Elanna was undergoing treatment for a broken hand. She didn't take the news well, which is understandable. Unfortunately, she took it out on a monitor."