Master and Commander
Rated: G
Category: Triple Drabble. Janeway. Dal. Found Family. Comfort. Chakotay Doesn't Get Enough Credit.
Time Frame: Post Season One/Open.
Spoilers: General Series Knowledge for Prodigy and Voyager. Nothing specific.
Summary: Janeway has been in command for a long time, but even she can learn things from a master.
Note: Written for the Thirty Days of Prodigy prompt of "Admiral Janeway."
She worried about him.
Sure, things looked great on the surface.
But she knew what it was like to be alone, even when surrounded by others.
Her situation had been different, and to be fair, at least partially her own fault, but still – she'd been alone for a long time in the Delta Quadrant, despite the presence of her crew.
Command, after all, was isolating.
But not as isolating as literally being one of a kind.
And "illegal" to boot.
So, she worried about him – especially when he was short with his crewmates, like he'd been earlier that day.
Which is why she was outside his door at nineteen hundred hours.
With ice cream.
And not replicator-produced ice cream, but the good stuff – with real milk.
She pressed the chime, and a moment later, the door opened.
On the other side, Dal looked annoyed.
"Jankom, I told you, I…"
He trailed off when he saw her.
"Admiral Janeway! Sorry, I… I wasn't expecting you."
"Clearly," said Janeway, smirking slightly. "Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I thought you might like to help me get rid of this before Doctor Noum tries to take it away."
"Ice cream?" Dal's eyes lit up.
Janeway's smirk grew. "You know it."
"I'll get the bowls."
Janeway laughed and followed Dal to his dining area.
An hour later, Janeway bid her charge good night and headed back to her quarters.
She smiled softly as she walked.
Dal had seemed more himself by the time she left.
She should've known the ice cream would work.
After all, she'd learned that trick from a master.
One she would find again.
But for now, all she could do was think of him.
She entered her quarters, crossed to the viewport, and whispered to the stars.
"Thank you, Chakotay."