Tom

ooo

Miri bounced back from the flu, and thank God, Kate and I didn't catch it. B'Elanna had the sniffles when she talked to Miri, but I didn't ask.

Trouble is, her Ylt viral count went up and hasn't come back down. Dr. Hibs has tried a couple more antiviral combinations, but nothing's worked.

"I'm really afraid that she'll be back in the hospital soon," I tell Harry during a vid call. I feel bad about dumping some of this on Harry. But I'm trying not to unload too much on Kate; she's worried too.

He frowns. "Didn't you tell me that there's a new drug coming out for that?"

"Yeah, for adults. The doc said they've started clinical trials for kids, but I guess they're just determining dosages. "

"Well, maybe something will come up soon. I'm crossing my fingers for you guys," he says.

"Thanks, and I appreciate you listening," I reply. "So, let's talk about fun stuff. How are the holodecks on your ship?"

ooo

Maybe Harry is prescient. Two days later, I get a message from Dr. Hibs: She wants a vid meeting with me, B'Elanna, and Doc about enrolling Miri in the next clinical trial for the Ylt drug.

It takes a day or so to get everyone's schedule synced up, but we finally settle on an evening ... well, evening in New York and Toronto.

Kate wants to sit this out. "This is yours and B'Elanna's decision," she reminds me. "I don't want to be an undue influence." I persuade her to stay; I'm not going to remember everything. She finally agrees and sits off to the side, out of vid range.

At the appointed time, I set the vid to conference mode and we wait … and wait. Finally, everyone pops up on screen. "My apologies," Dr. Hibs says. "I'm not used to doing galactic conferences." This brings a raised eyebrow from Doc, who's still on Jupiter Station.

She lays it out for us: Dr. Antal will launch a second pediatric trial in February; this one will determine if the drug sends the virus into dormancy … or do anything at all.

"How long is this trial?" B'Elanna asks.

"About a year, if this follows from the previous trial," Dr. Hibs replies as she looks over a PADD. "And it would be at New York Medical Center."

B'Elanna swallows hard, and I manage not to be a jerk and smile. This means we'd have Miral for a full year, maybe more since the trial would end during her first-grade term.

"Dr. Antal's office contacted me about potential candidates; I gave him some general information, no names," she continues. "Miral would be one of the youngest; her birthday will put her at minimum age for the trial."

"However," Doc breaks in, "Federation Medicine has very strict safeguards for pediatric drug trials. And my research shows that Dr. Antal's group has followed them to the letter."

Dr. Hibs raises an eyebrow; so does Kate. "All right," B'Elanna says, "what's next?"

"I will send you both information on the trials, then check back …" she pauses to look at something, "... on Friday. If you agree to start the process, Dr. Antal needs Miral's medical records to evaluate her. I will need permission from both of you to send them.

"After that, if he thinks Miral is a good candidate, you'll meet with him and his team. In the meantime, I'm available to answer questions, and I suggest you talk to Dr. Viran; he may have some thoughts."

"And, of course, as her consulting physician, I certainly am available if you have questions. Perhaps we can look at possible questions for Dr. Antal," Doc says, and he sounds a bit huffy.

ooo

"What do you think?" I ask, and Kate shakes her head. "I'm not sure," she says. "You certainly need more details."

"Yeah, we do," I agree. "Doc seems a bit put out tonight."

Kate grins. "Maybe you should ask him to do more research on the drug. Might keep him occupied."

ooo

Kathryn

ooo

Oh, hell, they're at it again.

It's not hard to figure out what's going on in Tom's office right now. He and B'Elanna quickly agreed that Miral should be evaluated for the clinical trial. And until now, all their discussions on the matter have been peaceful. But not tonight.

I'm about to activate the sound dampener when it hits me: If I can hear this through two closed doors, Miri may hear it in her room. She's supposed to be asleep, but ...

What I find in her room isn't comforting. The argument is more muffled here, but I can hear it. So can Miri: The poor kid is under the covers, sobbing.

I call for lights as I peek under the covers. "Hey Squirt, come here," I say softly."

She squirms out from under the blue blanket and grabs me. I pull her close, and she starts to cry again. She also starts to talk, and what I hear breaks my heart.

"They're mad because I'm sick," she manages to say.

"Oh, honey …."

"They are," she insists.

"Did they tell you this?" I doubt the answer is "yes," but if it is, I'll phaser them both, consequences be damned.

She shakes her head. "No, but if I'm not sick, I can be with Mommy and Daddy. Mommy takes me on ships. Then I come here."

How do you explain divorce, a volatile marriage, or a mother's guilt? But I have to tell her something. "I'm very sure that your parents aren't mad at you," I begin. "I've known them for a very long time, and I know they wouldn't be mad about something that's not your fault. "

She's frowning a little; not sure I'm getting through. "Grownups don't always agree on things," I continue, "but I think your dad and mom would agree that they love you very much and want the best for you. Right now, though, they're having trouble agreeing on what the best thing is. But they'll figure it out."

Her frown morphs into a puzzled look — which means she's trying to process things. "Let's go up to my office," I offer. "It's quiet there. You can sleep on the couch if you want."

Back in my office, and she's still too upset to settle. She looks out my windows for a while, then comes to sit in my lap; fortunately, nothing on the vid is classified. All is well until the vid chimes.

Oh, hell: it's Nechayev.

I take the call; if she's going to bother me when I'm off duty …

Interesting: She's in civilian clothes. "Apologies for calling when you're off duty," she begins, then her face softens as sees Miri, whose face is still streaked with tears. "Bad night?" she asks softly. I just nod.

To my shock, she smiles softly at Miri. "Hello, Miral. I'm Admiral Nechayev. I know your grandfather. He tells me that you're very fond of ice cream. What flavor do you like?"

Miri rises to the occasion. "Chocolate," she says with the first smile I've seen all night.

"Always a good choice," Nechayev agrees. "I'm happy to meet you, dear, but I do need to talk to Admiral Janeway …

I head her off before she can ask. "Her dad is across the hall. May I call you back?"

"Of course," she says, and at this point, Miri decides to wave at her. Neychaev smiles. "Goodbye Miral. We'll see you the next time you visit your grandfather."

ooo

Things have simmered down in Tom's office, but I'm not in the mood for niceties. I pull the door open and walk in wearing the "Admiral is VERY unhappy" look. Apparently, I startled them. Good.

"Miri's in my office. Go get her," I order Tom. "You both need to talk to her. Now."

B'Elanna straightens. "What's happened?"

"Let's just say both of us heard your arguing. I found Miri in her room sobbing her heart out."

Tom leans back, eyes closed, and murmurs, "Oh, shit!" B'Elanna closes her eyes and shakes her head.

I'm not finished. "As I said, you need to talk to her. She told me that you're both mad at her because she's sick."

"Oh, Khaless, no," B'Elanna half-groans as Tom shakes his head.

"And she thinks she's responsible for your divorce," I continue. "She says that if she wasn't sick, she'd be living with her mommy and daddy."

"Oh, God," Tom murmurs. "We should have been paying attention. The counselors told us we'd have to talk about this again as she got older."

"You're right; we need to talk to her," B'Elanna says. "Right," Tom echoes as he gets up. "She's in your office?"

"Yes. Kindly get her so I can finish my call with Admiral Nechayev. B'Elanna practically snaps to attention. "She didn't hear …"

"No. Fortunately, I had the sound dampener on, or she would have gotten an earful, too," I snap as I head for the door.

ooo

I take a couple of breaths before I put in the call. Nechayev picks up immediately.

"I apologize …"

She holds up a hand. "I interrupted your evening. I do understand; my youngest granddaughter is about Miral's age."

She has grandchildren? Who knew?

"There's been a development in that Romulan scan you received," she begins, snapping back to business. "Are you familiar with a Dr. Lejir? He's a Romulan astrophysicist."

"Not at all," I say. Then again, I'm way behind in reading science journals.

"He showed up at Deep Space 5 yesterday, asking for asylum. He admits to sending the scan, with help from the Tal Shiar."

"That explains a few things," I allow. "Why is he asking for asylum?"

"Admiral Fujisaki says he should know more by tomorrow," she dodges. "Which brings me to why I called: We need you in San Francisco tomorrow afternoon. There are a few things to discuss concerning this new revelation.

"I'll send information on Lejir. You might want to run it by your Daystrom colleagues; perhaps they've heard of him. I've already queried Dr. T'prina

Daystrom's director? Interesting, I muse, and almost miss her next statement. "I suggest clearing your calendar for the next couple of days. Lejir says he wants to speak with you."

"Well, that should be a fascinating conversation," I say. It's about all I can muster.

She smiles. "I'll have my aides reserve a spot at VOQ for you. In the meantime, I wish you a … peaceful evening."