"Will you tell me a bedtime story?" a small voice asked.
Chakotay looked up from his book in surprise. His 13-year-old daughter was leaning against the doorframe. She wore her favorite pajamas, dark blue stitched with silver starships and golden stars, a birthday gift she had absolutely loved. Teya's long, straight black hair was in a braid. Her face was pale and blotchy and her eyes red from obvious crying. His heart broke. They had spoken quite seriously over dinner and she had taken the news of her mother's disappearance calmly, maybe too calmly.
"Oh, Princess," he sighed and encircled her with his arms.
"I know they are doing everything they can, Daddy, and that I shouldn't be afraid, but I miss her so terribly and to think that I might not see her again…" Chakotay just held her as she started to cry again. There was nothing left to say that hadn't been said over dinner. That the nebula, the Marie Curie had been sent out to investigate, had properties that might hamper communications. That two starships had been dispatched as soon as the Marie Curie had failed to check in twice. That with Harry Kim in the captain's chair and Admiral Janeway as lead scientist and possible backup the Marie Curie had two very experienced and resourceful officers on board. Teya and Chakotay had laughed at the image of Kathryn crawling around Jefferies tubes helping with possible repairs. Even as she approached her 15th anniversary in the admiralty, Kathryn still was very hands-on, earning more than one head shake from the more dignified brass.
He felt Teya's head grow heavy against his shoulder. "You need to sleep, Princess," he murmured.
But his little girl stubbornly shook her head. "I can't sleep. Please, would you tell me a story?"
Chakotay smiled. His Janeway girls were always receptive to a story. "Of course."
After Teya had settled into her bed, Chakotay sat down on the edge of the mattress. "What kind of story would you like to hear?"
Her blue eyes, her mother's eyes, roamed over her bookcase, lovingly hovering over the seven volumes of "Voyager Chronicles". "A Voyager story, of course!" was her reply.
Chakotay had followed her gaze. The books were clearly well-loved and contained stories from many of Voyager's original crew. Even he and his wife had contributed to the compilation.
"But you know every story by heart," he smiled at her.
"I am sure there are still some stories left that haven't been written down," she countered with a slightly mischievous and familiar glint in her eyes.
"Oh, so you want the Untold Tales of the Starship Voyager?" he asked dramatically.
"Yes, please!" giggled his daughter and snuggled deeper into her pillows, eyes wide with anticipation.
In Capulus Veritas
Captain Janeway groaned and stretched as her eyes strayed to the chronometer: 0217. No wonder that she was this tired despite all the coffee she had consumed.
Things had finally perked up for Voyager and her crew after their encounter with a friendly alien race. Shore leave and successful trade talks had left the crew with a healthy tan, an appreciative stomach, and a very happy engineering team. But it also meant more paperwork for the Captain, especially after she had taken a couple of days off herself.
Deciding to call it a night, Kathryn quietly left the ready room through the door leading into the corridor rather than leaving via the bridge and startling the Gamma shift, who hopefully didn't even know that she had still been working.
As she strode down the corridor on deck three to her quarters she thought she saw something small and blue scurry around the corner. Carefully, she peeked around that corner and saw … nothing. Shaking her head at herself Kathryn turned around to head to her quarters when she saw another blue something on the other end of the corridor vanishing into the adjoining one. Kathryn looked around. It was eerily quiet and not a soul in sight.
"Computer," she called softly, "are there any intruders on board?" When the computer answered to the negative, she scrubbed one hand over her eyes. Above anything, she hated having her mind play tricks on her (or being tricked into believing it). Deciding to pay it no heed, she resolutely turned her back on any apparitions and stepped into her quarters. Tired as she was, she only brushed her teeth and slipped into her nightgown. That's when she saw it again, very clearly this time. A little blue humanoid figure of about 20 centimeters with long, curly hair in a deeper shade of blue than their skin grinned at her with sharp-looking little teeth, waved, and disappeared behind her dresser. She immediately tried to corner them but couldn't find them anywhere. She hit her combadge. "Janeway to security, intruder alert!"
For the next hour, Tuvok and two other security officers carefully scanned her quarters and the surrounding corridors and even called for a meticulous sensor sweep of the ship to no avail. No aliens showed up. Kathryn meanwhile sat on her couch with her robe over her nightgown fluctuating between concern for her ship and embarrassment.
In the end, they didn't even find one single blue hair, let alone a little blue alien. Kathryn had thanked the security team for their efforts and Tuvok had assured her of their discretion and his continuing surveillance. It was comforting to know that he believed her even if she herself started to doubt her mind. She briefly entertained the idea of going to sickbay, but she was too tired. Hopefully, a good night's sleep was all she needed. She sent out a message to Chakotay and Tuvok that she would sleep in, turned off the alarm, and finally closed her eyes at 0412.
Alas, the universe didn't allow her to rest. A red alert and a call to the bridge woke her not two hours later. Bleary-eyed, she made her stumbling way to the turbolift and bumped into Chakotay, who was already waiting for the lift. He silently handed her a cup of coffee, which she accepted gratefully as the doors of the lift opened. The coffee wasn't as scalding hot as she usually preferred to savor every little sip, but at just the right drinking temperature to infuse her with caffeine during the short ride to the bridge.
"You are a lifesaver! Thank you!" she smiled slightly at her second-in-command.
"Since this very cup of coffee might actually save lives, I am only doing my job." Chakotay was only half-teasing.
Luckily, the skirmish with the alien ship was short-lived. The captain's charm and diplomacy skills soon cleared up the misunderstanding. But the caffeine and adrenaline left her wide awake. There was no use in going back to bed, now.
When Commander Chakotay entered her ready room at 1230 hours, his captain had actually finished reading all of the reports, written a couple of her own, and consumed three more cups of coffee.
"Quite a busy morning for someone who barely got any sleep last night," he smiled at her and handed her his latest report.
"Well, you know these Delta Quadrant days…," she waved away the subtle concern she had detected in his voice, but had to hide a yawn behind her hand.
"Maybe you should take the afternoon off and take a nap," he suggested gently.
"Maybe." She yawned again as started to scroll through the PADD. It took her twenty-seven seconds to realize that her first officer had yet to leave. She looked up. "Was there anything else?"
Chakotay tugged his ear. "Would you like to accompany me to the mess hall? I've heard that Neelix is actually serving something rather delicious from our replenished supplies. So I suggest we hurry before the rest of the crew falls over it like locusts and we have to fall back on Leola root."
Kathryn shuddered. "You are right. This is an opportunity too good to miss. We'll get back to eating Leola root soon enough. Let's go." With a smile, she held out her hand, which he promptly took to help her out of her chair. "And that free afternoon actually sounds wonderful."
Lunch had been delicious indeed, and an hour of reading an actual book had proven most relaxing. She was just debating with herself whether she should check if one of the holodecks was available, go take an even more relaxing bath, or actually sleep when she saw them again.
Three of the creatures were talking amongst themselves in very high voices, gesturing here and there and totally ignoring her. Slowly and quietly she reached for a PADD and texted Tuvok. While she waited for his arrival she continued to surreptitiously observe the little blue people. They wore long, frilly dresses, all in different shades of blue. All had long hair that was tied back with blue ribbons. One of them suddenly started to sway. The others rushed to the blue girl to support her. Kathryn could have sworn that they looked concerned.
The doors to her quarters opened with a soft hiss to admit her security officer. She silently waved him over, putting a finger to her lips. He nodded in understanding and joined her without a noise. She pointed at the little creatures. Tuvok stared at the spot and then at her with raised eyebrows.
"What is it?" she mouthed.
"I am sorry, Captain, I don't see anything." He used his normal voice, but the creatures didn't care. They were busy helping their ailing friend towards Kathryn's dresser. Did they live there?
"But they are right here. Three of them."
"There is nothing there," he said without blinking. She believed him, Vulcans rarely lied. He carefully scanned the area with his tricorder and showed her the results: nothing.
Kathryn sighed. "So it is me who's seeing things?"
"I am not discounting anything as of yet, Captain. But perhaps a visit to sickbay will be prudent."
The Doctor hemmed and hawed, grating on Kathryn's nerves. "What is the verdict, Doctor?"
"So far I have found nothing that would account for your hallucinations, Captain, apart from a large amount of caffeine in your system, but that, unfortunately, is not unusual with you. Did you sleep well these past few days?"
She wearily rubbed her forehead. "Not last night, I didn't. I had worked quite late and then the hallucinations started. I had Tuvok scan for intruders. Between that and the attack on the ship this morning, I only slept about a couple of hours."
"Hmm, lack of sleep could account for it though I wouldn't expect such severe symptoms this early on. You have certainly pushed your body to more extremes in the past without experiencing hallucinations. Although, it could be an accumulative effect. What about the nights before, any trouble sleeping?"
"I had three days of restful shore leave and equally restful nights."
He raised his eyebrows. "Did shore leave include the recreational use of psychotropic substances or did you acquire some on the planet?"
"Doctor!" she cried indignantly, "Of course it didn't!'
"It is a relevant question, Captain. I have to explore all possibilities. But I do believe you," he placated her. "Caffeine seems to be your only drug of choice." The Doctor put down the medical tricorder. "Captain, I'd like to do a deep brain scan."
Kathryn pulled a face. "Is that really necessary, Doctor?"
"I believe it is. Hallucinations can be symptoms of some very serious conditions."
At this moment, the doors to sickbay opened to Commander Chakotay. She could see the light concern on his face change to downright worry when he found her sitting on the biobed. Kathryn groaned. "Doctor, you didn't have to call the Commander," she muttered.
"Of course I had to. The first officer should be informed when the captain is incapacitated."
"I am not incapacitated," she hissed. The Doctor ignored her.
"Captain! Doctor, what happened?" Chakotay inquired worriedly. He had come to stand between them.
"Captain Janeway has experienced multiple hallucinations during the last 14 hours."
Chakotay eyed her critically. "Is she stressed? Maybe she should take a few days to rest."
"That would be my recommendation regardless of what the deep brain scan will find."
The worried look on Chakotay's face deepened. "You think it might be something serious?"
"Not necessarily, but I'd like to rule that out."
"I am still here with most of my faculties intact. So, please talk to me!" Kathryn ground out in frustration.
"I am sorry, Captain." Chakotay turned slightly to give her his attention. "What exactly are these hallucinations about?"
"Little blue men," Kathryn sighed and managed a wobbly, self-conscious smile.
Chakotay furrowed his brow. "What?"
So, Kathryn told him everything from the beginning.
Chakotay shook his head. "I am with Tuvok here. This is too specific and, frankly, odd, for you to be hallucinating about. We shouldn't dismiss the presence of alien intruders."
"Intruders only I can see and that neither the ship's sensors nor the tricorders can detect?" Kathryn asked dubiously.
"It wouldn't be the first time in Starfleet history," Chakotay told her confidently. He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this. I promise." Kathryn put her hand over his and squeezed it in silent gratitude.
It was four hours later that Captain Janeway woke slowly, even pleasantly, and was instantly suspicious.
"Did you have a nice nap?" The Doctor sounded way too smug as he peered down at her.
"You were supposed to wake me up right after the scan." She sat up and stretched.
"As your physician I am supposed to do what's best for you medically. In this case, let you sleep."
"I would have slept better in my quarters," she grumbled. "Besides, I don't want anyone to think that there's something wrong with me."
"I had the privacy screen up. Besides, you were my only patient during the last four hours. So, don't worry. Also, there is nothing wrong with you."
Kathryn sagged in relief. "The scans were negative?"
"Nothing abnormal showed up. You are free to go. Nevertheless, I'd like you to take a few days off. Relax."
"Doctor, I just had shore leave. I am relaxed! And spending days brooding in my quarters will certainly not help."
He looked at her in a calculating manner. "Very well. You may return to duty. But you are restricted to regular hours. A moderate workout when you are off duty will do you good. Something to tire you out. And, of course, a healthy amount of sleep, light and regular meals…"
She held up a hand. "I get it, Doctor. And I promise you that I will adhere to it bar any unforeseen circumstances."
She was almost out of the door before the Doctor dropped the bombshell. "And no coffee!"
Kathryn turned around. "What?" she growled.
"You heard me." The Doctor's answer sounded way too cheerful to her ears. "We need to rule out everything. Come back in three days and we will assess the situation. If your condition deteriorates in any way, contact me immediately."
Kathryn left sickbay without another word, not promising anything.
The next three days saw a very unhappy captain, and the crew and captain quickly learned to avoid each other. Kathryn spent her working hours holed up in her ready room nursing a headache she most definitely would not see the Doctor for. The afternoons were an improvement, though. Spending time with Seven, B'Elanna or Chakotay playing Velocity or Hoverball was actually fun. She had to, albeit grudgingly, admit, that she slept better for it. And she didn't hallucinate anymore, which was quite a relief.
When she woke up on the fourth day she felt quite good, actually. The Doctor had pronounced her "fit as a fiddle" last evening and even allowed her to go back to coffee ("within reason, Captain"). Her eyes fell onto a PADD that almost certainly had been on her nightstand the night before and not on the floor. It was possible that she had accidentally knocked it down during the night, but not very likely. Hmm, it was time to take matters into her own hands.
Voyager's crew released a collective breath when the news got around that the captain had been seen sitting in the mess hall with a cup of coffee in her hand. Had they been more observant they would have seen the way her nose wrinkled and her mouth curled with distaste. It may have been Neelix's latest better-than-coffee concoction that provoked her reaction, not so. It was an experiment of her own choosing: decaffeinated coffee.
So, the day followed the same pattern as the last three: she kept to herself with only the headache keeping her company, and at least 6 cups of a not-quite-right-tasting blackish liquid that vaguely resembled coffee. In the afternoon, she played Velocity against Chakotay… and lost.
"The Doctor is still keeping you on a tight leash then?" Chakotay asked sympathetically as he walked her back to her quarters.
"Mhm?" Kathryn's mind was clearly elsewhere.
"I have never seen you lose quite this spectacularly before. You have been drinking something, today. It smelled like coffee, but it couldn't have been?"
"No." She made a face. "Well, yes, actually. It was decaf, though."
"You are still not allowed to drink regular coffee?"
"No, no, I'm allowed," she replied absentmindedly.
"Then why… Kathryn, what's wrong?" His friend had been acting more and more erratic as they neared her quarters, looking behind her, peeking into every corridor they passed, turning her head so fast it made him dizzy.
"What? Oh no, no, nothing. Truly."
"Kathryn, are you still hallucinating?" Chakotay couldn't keep the concern from his voice.
"Oh, I am sorry, Chakotay!" She focused all of her attention on him as she put her hand on his chest. "I am fine. Really. There is just something I need to check, only a theory at this point. I'll tell you more as soon as I have some real data. Promise." She dodged his outstretched arm, typed in the code to her door and vanished with a "Good game! Good night, Commander."
Good? Their highly competitive captain had called their game good? She had been extremely distracted throughout the whole afternoon. He wished he knew what was bothering her but he had to trust her that she would tell him in due time. With a last glance at her closed door, he returned to his own quarters.
Kathryn was instantly alert when the doors closed behind her. She scanned her quarters with her eyes. Nothing seemed amiss as much as she could tell at first glance. It wasn't until she was eating her dinner, that she realized that something wasn't right. The dining table had been moved a few centimeters. It was hardly noticeable but she could see the dents in the carpet where it had originally stood. She was impressed, they must have released the magnetic seal that kept the table in its place. She put it back in its original place when she had finished eating.
"So you really want to communicate," she told the empty room. "I'll see what I can do." She yawned. "Not tonight, though. I need to sleep and you probably do, too. Good night!"
On the next morning she finally, finally had her first cup of real coffee in five days. She closed her eyes in pure bliss.
You might think her day had started badly when she had slipped into her boots only to discover that the right and the left shoe had been swapped. Yet she just saw it as another attempt at communication.
Kathryn opened her eyes just in time to see the vase with a few flowers from Airponics topple in her direction. She caught it deftly and opened her hand in a disarming gesture.
"It seems like you are getting desperate. I am willing to help you. It is a bit difficult when nobody can see you. I think I know how I might be able to see you, but it still needs some time. Please be patient."
Her invisible friends, however, were losing their patience, it seemed, as her croissant suddenly slipped from the plate. Or were they just hungry? Kathryn cocked her head. She snatched the wayward croissant from the table, broke it in half and crumbled one half onto the plate. It was fascinating to watch as some of the crumbs vanished into thin air and others flew in a steady stream towards her dresser. She smiled, and ordered another cup of coffee and some fruit, half of which she also cut into tiny pieces.
It reminded her of tales of old when people on Earth placated friendly gnomes (or was that house elves?) with food in exchange for a blessing on their house. 'I sure hope you turn out to be a blessing,' she thought. Aloud she said, "I need to work now. I see you soon, I hope."
It wasn't as easy as she first thought. After her fourth cup of coffee in just under two hours her heart was racing and she felt slightly woozy. She wasn't used to this much caffeine anymore. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, after all. She had to slow down or risk another trip to sickbay. Once again she tried to concentrate on a report in her ready room. Only this time the PADD started to develop a life on its own and tried to jump out of her hand.
"I am going as fast as I can. Please, give me another hour or two." She tapped her chin with her index finger. "Or can we use the PADD to communicate?" It was worth a try. She cleared another PADD and wrote "Hello. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway" on top before she placed it on her desk. She watched with growing excitement as letters actually started to appear only to realize seconds later that it was gibberish she couldn't understand.
Kathryn sighed and got up to loosen her tense muscles. Maybe she needed another cup of coffee. But before she could reach her replicator, her eyes fell onto a tricorder. Her face brightened when an idea struck.
It took one hour and 37 minutes to reprogram the tool. Some of the time she had to bat away invisible hands. "Stop it," she chided. "This will actually help."
Her hands were trembling slightly with anticipation when she finally scanned the room with the tricorder and she whooped with glee when four alien presences showed up on its screen. This called for a celebratory coffee, which she had just finished when her door chimed. Calling for entrance her gaze fell on four little blue creatures standing near her desk, quietly conversing with each other.
"There you are!" she exclaimed.
"You were expecting me?" Chakotay wondered, confused.
Kathryn looked up and smiled, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Daddy, why have you stopped?" Teya complained when Chakotay paused. "Ugh, you are making that face."
"What are you talking about?"
"That face. You know, the face all the cadets make when she smiles at them during a lecture. They are getting all starry-eyed and grin in this drooling way. Ensigns and lieutenants make it, too, and Uncle Harry." Teya grinned wickedly.
"I am her husband. I am entitled to gooey eyes and silly grins. As for the others: should I be getting worried?"
"Nah, she only ever has eyes for you. Even a blind person can see that."
"Good. Now, where was I?"
"Mom smiled at you…"
"Ah, yes. 'Were you expecting me?' Chakotay wondered, confused."
"No, but I am glad that you are here, anyway. It is time for first contact!" Kathryn exclaimed happily and thrust the tricorder in Chakotay's hands. She crouched and lifted both her hands palm up.
"Hello," she said softly, "I can see you now. Can you understand me?"
"Yesyesyes," they babbled excitedly in high squeaky voices.
One of the creatures stepped forward and bowed. His hair was midnight blue and he looked wiser and older than any of the others she had seen. He wore a robe that was light blue at the shoulders which gradually darkened until midnight blue at the bottom.
"Captain Janeway," he beamed. "We are so gladgladglad that you can see us again, to talk to you. We are worriedworriedworried about my daughter, our princess. She has taken ill and is getting worse every day. Can you help us pleasepleaseplease?"
"I will see what I can do…" Kathryn was interrupted by loud cheering. She held up her hand. "However, you need to answer a few questions first."
Their leader hung his head. "We are sorrysorrysorry. I am Balū'u, king of forty. We are Benïm. We live as nomads. Hardly anyone evereverever sees us. We travel as stowaways, but we are small, we don't need much, mostly transport. But now my Sho'ona… I fearfearfear for her." Balū'u was the picture of a concerned father. Kathryn believed him. Besides, she thought that she had seen the ill princess herself.
"Balū'u, I'll see what we can do. It may be difficult, we'll need to adjust the medical tricorders, at least one biobed, maybe even the holo-emitters. I am not sure whether the Doctor can treat her at all. I assure you that we will do our best, but it might not be enough," she warned.
"Your best is goodgoodgood. You are goodgoodgood."
"I haven't done anything yet," she deflected the praise.
"You gave us food," the others now chimed in. "Goodgood food. No one gave us food before."
"Alright. We should go to sickbay. The princess lives in my quarters, I assume?" She looked critically at their little legs. "Can you keep up or should we carry you?"
"Oh, we are fastfastfast. The princess lives in your quarters, yesyesyes. She can't walk."
Kathryn straightened. "Let's go then." She went to the doors to trigger the opening mechanism and let the little ones through. Then she looked back to Chakotay who was still standing by her desk alternately looking at the tricorder and her. She grinned at his disbelief. "You are coming, Commander?"
"They are real, your little blue men?" he muttered to her as they walked along the corridor.
She pursed her lips. "Why Commander, I thought you believed me?" She sounded hurt but her eyes were dancing with mirth.
"I…I did, but then you didn't see them anymore and I thought…," Chakotay stuttered.
Kathryn laughed. "Don't worry about it, Chakotay. I can hardly believe it myself."
"What did they say? And what trick did you pull with this tricorder?"
"Well, the whole mystery lies in the coffee, the caffeine to be exact. The programming of the tricorder was a bit tricky, but now it views the world through a caffeine lense."
Chakotay guffawed. "Of course it was the coffee. With you it is always the coffee."
Kathryn elbowed him into the side. "Be nice. They are called the Benïm and usually keep to themselves."
"Not surprisingly if nobody sees them."
"Well, yes. But now their princess is ill and I promised to help."
Chakotay surprised her as he quickly hugged her around the shoulders. "Days like these make me so incredibly happy to be alive and explore the Delta Quadrant alongside you. When we're home we can write books and books on our first contacts."
They briefly stopped by the captain's quarters and collected the princess. Kathryn carefully carried her in her hand. The rest of the king's people followed them.
"Captain? Are you well?" The Doctor left his office when the captain, commander and their invisible entourage entered sickbay.
"Of course, Doctor. But I have brought you a patient."
"Please state your symptoms, Commander," the Doctor turned to his only logical choice.
"Well…" Chakotay began.
"Oh no, Doctor," Kathryn interrupted, "your patient is here." She pointed at the biobed where she had put the poor blue girl.
The Doctor practically pounced on his captain, snatching a medical tricorder on his way. "Captain, how much coffee did you drink?" he cried. "Your blood pressure and pulse are far too high! Sit down before you collapse. Aren't you feeling unwell at all?"
"Just a little dizzy," she admitted and let the Doctor guide her to the nearest chair. "But it was for a worthy cause. Commander, please show him the tricorder already."
"That's remarkable!" the Doctor exclaimed when he studied the tricorder readings and listened to her tale. "A bit reckless on your part, Captain, but I am used to it by now," he sighed, then looked back at the readings. "This tricorder is one thing, but how do I treat my patient?"
Kathryn smiled. "Time to call in the calvary."
Harry, B'Elanna and Seven entered sickbay just a few minutes later. Seven stopped two steps in and raised her eyebrows. "What are all these creatures doing in sickbay?"
"You can see them?" the Doctor inquired.
"Yes, of course."
"And you didn't ingest any coffee?"
"Of course not. I am in no need of stimulants."
Kathryn slapped her palm to her forehead. "All this time I thought I was going crazy and I just could have called you. The others do not see them," she clarified. She indicated the Doctor to hand over the tricorder to B'Elanna and Harry, who stared at it in amazement.
"We'll need to make them visible. First, we should recalibrate the medical tricorder and the biobed with this program." Kathryn had joined B'Elanna and Harry and showed them her alterations.
"We could reprogram the Doc's holo-imager…," Harry began.
"And use the holo-emitters to project an image over their actual position…," Seven continued.
"Therefore making them visible. This could work," B'Elanna stated. "We could also integrate the program into the Doctor's matrix, so he won't have to rely on the imaging and tricorder alone.
"Then let's make it work. There is an ill princess who needs the Doctor's help." Kathryn couldn't help it, she was immensely proud of her people.
Kathryn sat on the couch of her ready room and gazed out of the viewport to catch a last glimpse at the space station, a cup of coffee in her hand. Even though she had granted Chakotay entrance she had yet to acknowledge him. He sat down next to her.
"We are ready for departure, Captain."
"Thank you, Chakotay. I'll be on the bridge momentarily," she said softly.
Chakotay smiled and gestured to her coffee. "An honorary salute?"
"Something like that," she smiled back. "I am going to miss them."
"We all are."
After the Doctor had finally been able to see his patient, he, thankfully, was able to help her and pronounce her fit only 24 hours later. The Benïm were beyond grateful and invited the crew to a celebratory feast. It was held on holodeck one, where they could use the same holo-imagining as in sickbay. The Doctor was not willing to subject the crew to the amount of caffeine it would take to actually see them.
The Benïm had loved conversing with the crew on the holodecks. Even though they didn't have any technology or resources to share, they were more than willing to share their knowledge on this part of the Delta Quadrant and helped update the universal translator with their extraordinary language skills. Neelix had a hard time tearing himself away from their captivating conversations to be back in the mess hall in time for cooking. But in the end he managed it all the same, for the Benïm loved his cooking.
Chakotay had literally written the book on their culture and history, which was widely intriguing. And Kathryn had enjoyed many conversations with the princess and her friends, who had continued to live in her quarters, during breakfast and dinner, much to the Doctor's chagrin. For five and a half weeks the former stowaways had been their guests. Now they had disembarked. Kathryn had given them the code, should they need to be visible again and had gotten lots of hugs and "we are going to missmissmiss you" in return.
"You really should cut down on your coffee intake, you know," Chakotay admonished her gently.
"I know," she sighed. "I actually plan to, but don't tell the Doctor."
Chakotay gave her a full dimpled smile. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Kathryn stood and extended her hand to him. "Ready to resume course for Earth, Commander?"
He accepted it gladly. "Of course. But let's not forget Starfleet's truest mission to explore on the way and make first contact whenever we can."
She grinned at him. "Never!"
Teya sighed happily. "Thank you Daddy. What will it be next? The Voyager musical?"
"Oh no. The Enterprise beat us to it a century ago. Besides, can you imagine your mother singing?"
Teya laughed. "Good night, Daddy!"
"Good night, Princess. Sweet dreams!"
When Chakotay went to bed himself his gaze fell onto the picture of the three of them on her nightstand. He took it in his hand and caressed Kathryn's face. "Come back to us," he implored her, before he put the picture on his nightstand to wake up to her face in the morning. "Good night, sweetheart."