"Captain, you are dropping your left arm again," Tuvok impassively commented. "Raise it for a stronger defensive posture."
Janeway glanced down at her poor form before she thought to stop the reaction to the lieutenant's words. With eyes lowered, she didn't see the black fist streak out until it registered in her peripheral vision. By then it was too late.
Tuvok's fist stopped a centimeter from her rib cage. "It will also be beneficial to keep your eyes on your opponent at all times, Captain," he continued without missing a beat. "That is the first rule of hand fighting. Only then will you be able to assess that person's strengths, weaknesses, and maintain a reliable guard against any attack." He withdrew his fist, tucking both arms tightly against the front of his chest, fists up, prepared for the captain's riposte. "Now attack me, using the form we practiced yesterday."
Janeway calmly repositioned her feet on the safety mat and faced her security officer, her left arm once more in place. She bent her knees slightly to lower her center of gravity, aware that she had a better chance of catching the taller Vulcan off balance if she stayed low. Her brow furrowed in concentration, she prepared to strike.
Tuvok chose that moment to bring both arms forward and up in a sudden attack of his own. Surprised bewilderment registered on the captain's face before she could force her body to change tactics and move again into a more defensive position. His right arm effectively pushed aside her attempted block at the same time as he kicked his right leg out, catching her in the stomach with the crook of his ankle. The captain fell to the mat in a woosh of exhaled breath and lost dignity.
Tuvok's own surprise at the outcome of his attack was not any less than his opponent's. "I apologize, Captain. I was aiming for your thigh. I have no wish to aggravate your injury." He hesitated, then decided to continue, "But this does make three consecutive take-downs in my favor. It's fortunate that I am not a Kazon."
Kathryn Janeway stared up at her friend and, for the moment, martial arts instructor. "Tuvok," she said with an exasperated sigh, "how am I supposed to improve my hand-to-hand skills if we spend all our lesson time scraping my remains off the floor?"
"I admit this experience probably does little to increase your confidence in your abilities."
"No, it doesn't."
"However, it does no harm to be fully prepared for any eventuality. Most fights are unpredictable; I am only attempting to imitate reality."
"Good imitation. Now help me up."
Lieutenant Tuvok leaned over the fallen form of his captain and extended his hand towards her. She reached up to take it. Then she pulled.
Tuvok pitched unexpectedly forward. Janeway used both legs to catch her unprepared mentor in his stomach and use his own weight to swing him up and over her head. He landed behind her with a satisfying thud. Janeway instantly scrambled into a backwards somersault that ended with her feet planted on each side of his inert body and her fist poised exactly above the position of a Vulcan's heart.
She stared down at him in calm reserve, with just a hint of an arrogant smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Rule number two of hand fighting: never underestimate your opponent," she said.
One lifted brow indicated his surprise as he lay unmoving on the mat. "Touch‚, Captain."
Her confidence at least partially restored, Janeway nodded once, accepting the Vulcan's surrender. Together they rose and headed for the side wall, their lesson suspended for the moment. The captain pulled a small hand towel from a rack attached to the wall and wiped the sweat from her face. Tuvok, with typical Vulcan impassiveness, hardly seemed to be effected by their activity at all. Damn him, she thought in sour amusement. Then again, she wondered if Vulcans even had sweat glands. She wasn't precisely sure.
"Your injury does not appear to be slowing you down, Captain," Tuvok commented.
"You know, Tuvok," Janeway began slowly as she glanced quickly around, noting with satisfaction how many crewmembers were taking advantage of the gym that Tuvok and Chakotay had converted from the aft hold. She watched a pair of security personnel engaged in a spirited sparring contest while she continued, "rumors of my injury have been greatly exaggerated."
"I would certainly certify you physically fit to return to duty," he agreed, also watching the fighting pair with interest.
"After three weeks of doing nothing but visiting Sickbay, I should be," she groused in amusement. "Thanks to a very diligent doctor, I can honestly say that I can't tell I was ever injured."
"That is good to hear," Tuvok said. "But do I detect a note of sarcasm in your tone?"
Janeway looked up at him, a bit taken aback. "You do, Mr. Tuvok," she admitted readily. "But I'm surprised; I wasn't aware that Vulcans could detect something as subtle as sarcasm."
Tuvok grunted in a very unvulcan way. "The subtleness is not the problem, Captain. It's the Humanness of the concept that is often difficult to grasp."
"Really?"
"For instance, I have to assume your uncomplimentary tone was meant to be associated with the doctor rather than with the original wound."
"You assume correctly." She couldn't quite withhold the caustic expression that accompanied her thoughts at that statement.
"But it is only through close observation of your recent relationship with our chief medical officer that leads me to that deduction." The lieutenant hesitated momentarily, then turned to face the captain. "I believe that you do not like the doctor very much."
"I like the doctor just fine," she protested.
Tuvok's brow furrowed. "I do not understand you, then. You like the doctor, yet you treat him with barely contained scorn. You do not employ that brand of contempt with other crewmembers, Lieutenant Torres, for example, yet you like her as well."
Janeway nodded. "Yes, that's true." She sighed guiltily then and glanced down at the floor. How could she explain the situation so that her friend could understand without making herself appear too spiteful? The towel twisted in her fingers as she formulated a reply. "It's not the doctor that I dislike, Tuvok," she began pensively. "It's more of what he represents."
"What he represents?"
"Yes. You see, requiring his help, for me, symbolized my lack of..." she paused, trying to choose the precise word, "...control," she finished. Then she shrugged. "It's the scientist in me. I don't like not knowing how or why the universe works."
"I believe I understand," Tuvok said with a brisk nod. "The doctor was in effect a physical manifestation of your internal vulnerabilities. Your weaknesses, in a manner of speaking."
"Weaknesses." She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. "I wouldn't quite go that far."
Tuvok disregarded her comment. "Understanding your own limitations, vulnerabilities, and yes, weaknesses, are all part of becoming a stronger person, one better able to manage an unexpected encounter with a pernicious opponent like a Kazon youth. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"
Janeway drew in a breath to reply, then stopped herself. She looked closely at Tuvok, suddenly suspicious. "Lieutenant, is this still part of the lesson?" she accused.
Tuvok gave an expression of mild consternation at her reproachful tone. "It is equally as important to cultivate one's inner strengths as it is to improve physical skills. I was only trying to facilitate an open dialogue that would encourage you to explore in that area." His consternation increased. "Perhaps I have erred in my judgment of your progress. If so, I apologize."
Janeway considered Tuvok's teaching ploy and had to confess that it had its uses. "No. I think your judgment is as accurate as it always is," she said. "I just hadn't thought of that aspect of self defense, nor had I considered my behavior towards the doctor as quite so obvious."
Tuvok's expression turned puzzled. "There is one thing I fail to understand, Captain."
"Yes, Tuvok?"
"Why is it that you agreed to remain off duty for such an extended period of time? You could easily have returned to the Bridge a week ago."
Captain Janeway let herself display a small smile. "In a sense I was playing a mind game of my own."
"Excuse me?"
"The extra week was an apology, Mr. Tuvok, for my atrocious disregard for the doctor's orders concerning my health."
"I see." Tuvok took the towel from the captain's hands and placed it in a large bin full of other used towels waiting to be cleaned. "Are you sure that it was an apology rather than a form of self punishment?"
The smile grew. "Sometimes I wondered, Tuvok!"
Tuvok nodded his understanding, then clasped his hands together. "This concludes our lesson," said the lieutenant, once again the formal instructor. "As you are returning to duty tomorrow, we will revert to our former schedule of training exercises. Until then, I suggest you work on keeping your guard up at all times." He paused to look at her, recalling his recent downfall at her hands. He added, "As will I."
Janeway tried to suppress her smile. "Aye, aye, sir."
"Have a pleasant evening, Captain," he said in farewell.
"I'll see you on the Bridge."
Captain Janeway returned to her quarters, but a growl from her stomach reminded her that she was overdue for a visit to the mess hall. Which was a far more enjoyable objective than visiting Sickbay, she thought with a wicked grin. After quickly cleaning up and donning a uniform, she made her way through the corridors.
The mess hall was crowded with crewmembers eating the evening meal with gusto and talking with equal energy. At the first table she neared she overheard snatches of a heated argument between Harry Kim and Tom Paris. B'Elanna Torres was doing her best to run interference.
"Hey!" the engineer said, waving her arm between the two officers. "There are people trying to eat in here!"
Paris ignored her. "Come on, Harry, for once just admit it, will you? You're wrong!"
"I'm not wrong!" Ensign Kim insisted. "The ending of that book was -"
Paris interrupted. "The ending was a major disappointment! I was insulted that I even bothered to -"
"The ending," said Harry through clenched teeth, "was all it needed to be. Just because you want everything to be happy and rosy and all's right with the world doesn't mean it has to be that way! That's not real!"
"What's wrong with a little happy ending every now and then?" Tom persisted. "I think you artsy people just plain can't handle anything nice! That's what it is! Nice makes you uncomfortable!"
"Guys!" Torres tried again. "It's a book! It ended how it ended. Get over it!"
Tom gave her an aggravated look. "Look, Torres -"
"There's the captain," Harry interjected, catching sight of Janeway paused just inside the door. "She has a literary mind; let's ask her."
Realizing she'd been discovered, the captain held up her hands in a warding gesture. "Oh no, I don't want to get involved in this. Whatever it is, I haven't read it."
"Sands of Time," Harry Kim said before she could escape to the dinner line. "You read it in Sickbay."
Janeway paused again, pinned down by the ensign. "That was a good one," she admitted, still reluctant to involve herself in a friendly crew dispute.
Tom groaned. "We know that; everybody on the ship has read it by now. But the ending...!"
"It was perfect," Harry forcefully said. "Just the right touch of bite to keep you thinking about it once you'd finished reading it."
"It was awful! Captain, tell him!"
All three officers looked up for Janeway to give her opinion. She crossed her arms, remembering her reaction to that particular Sickbay diversion. "Actually," she said in a thoughtful voice, "it gave me nightmares."
Tom instantly turned on Kim. "See? Even the captain didn't like it!"
"Not so fast, Mr. Paris," she said. She took a step closer, knowing it was futile not to get involved at this point. But she had to be careful; it would not do for the captain to side with any one crewmember over another, no matter the topic under dispute. "That was my reaction to the story, not my opinion of it. I think it was extremely well written, insightful, humorous, and, as Harry said, thought provoking." She took a deep breath and frowned. "However, I can't say that I appreciate the particular thoughts that stayed with me once I'd turned out the lights." There, she'd done it. She had admitted to a personal vulnerability in front of people who expected her to be continually strong. It was a pity Tuvok wasn't around to witness it.
Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna were still for a moment, quietly digesting her words. Finally Tom sat back and wrinkled his nose. "I don't think that decides anything either way."
The captain grinned enigmatically and said, "I certainly hope not." She turned her back to them and stepped up to the dinner line before they had a chance to respond. A moment later the debate started again right where they'd left off, altered a bit to incorporate her remarks. She let loose a sigh of appreciation and contentment. Oh, it was good to be back in commission again!
"Captain, do you have a moment?"
Janeway turned at the voice. "Commander! Of course, I have all the time I need, until tomorrow." She gestured for him to wait in line with her. "What can I do for you?"
Commander Chakotay moved to stand beside her in the crowded, slowly moving line. "You mentioned that you wanted to get up to speed before returning to duty tomorrow morning - I thought you might like to look over these departmental reports sometime tonight."
She took the data padds he handed to her and quickly perused them all before going through them in more detail later. "Sort of get my feet wet slowly so I won't drown?"
He grinned. "Something like that."
"Thank you, Chakotay, though you really didn't have to go to the trouble of bringing them down to the mess hall. You could have left them in my ready room...."
"It was no trouble," he insisted. Then the tall commander shrugged. "All right. I had an ulterior motive for bringing them straight to you rather than leaving them on the Bridge."
"This should be good. Out with it."
He heaved a loud, guilty sigh. "I was hungry."
His dull statement took her by surprise at first, but then she burst out laughing, and he chuckled softly with her.
They were still giggling when their turn arrived at the food counter. Neelix stood behind the counter, decked out in his wildest red and purple apron and the orange chef's hat that some crew members claimed hurt their eyes every time they looked at it. The combinations almost made the captain loose her composure again. She choked back more laughter.
Neelix glanced up, then beamed when he discovered the identity of his next customers. "Captain! Commander! So good to see you both here tonight! Kes!" He turned back to call into the kitchen. "They're here! Bring it out!"
All laughter now replaced by confusion, the captain sent a puzzled glance to the commander. He was just as baffled as she was. "What's up, Neelix?" he asked.
The Talaxian was so excited that he rubbed his hands together in anticipation and continually glanced over his shoulder to watch Kes' progress in the kitchen. "Oh, just something Kes and I cooked up to commemorate your last night as supreme ruler of the ship and the captain's return to duty tomorrow morning," he said, addressing Chakotay, though every person in the room overheard his booming voice.
The captain sighed and tried to hide a grimace. She had always hated being singled out for special treatment by the ship's morale officer. "Neelix, that's very thoughtful of you, but it isn't necessary -"
"Necessary!" Neelix exclaimed, his attention now riveted to Janeway. "Of course it is! After all that you've been through, it's the least I can do."
Kes arrived at his side then, carefully balancing a tray filled with two large covered dishes and two smaller plates, also covered. Steam rose from a central hole in the silver dome hiding the contents of the smaller plates. She set the tray down, then added her grin to Neelix's glowing expression.
Neelix smiled even more. "A feast you can't resist, one of pure excellence, I might add, for the two captains." He lifted the two larger covers while Kes removed the two remaining. "Voila!"
Janeway found herself staring at the plate closest to her, filled with objects that looked like - "Are those tomatoes?"
The chef's hat bobbed excitedly up and down. "Yes! Green ones, just the way you like them! I promise you won't be disappointed, Captain; they're delectable."
What is this stuff? The captain managed what was probably a weak grin considering the situation. "I'm sure they are, Neelix!" she said, doing her best to appear appropriately thrilled.
Neelix gestured at the other plate, this one full of squares of chocolate cake. "And don't forget dessert! There's more in the back if you decide this isn't enough." To Janeway's extreme relief, he turned to the commander without expecting a response. "For you, Commander, an exquisite dish of breakfast cakes fried round in a pan and filled with redberries - replicated, unfortunately - but the syrup is real, and a pecan pie for dessert."
Chakotay looked down. His grin mirrored the captain's. "A whole pie, Neelix? Do you expect me to eat it all?"
"Well," the chef wavered, "I was rather hoping you might share, though I know it's one of your favorites. I'll tell you what; I'll save whatever you don't eat and you can have the rest tomorrow. Lieutenant Torres just fixed the refrigeration unit this afternoon. I'm sure it won't spoil a bit."
Chakotay glanced over at Torres, who was not making any effort to mask her amusement at his predicament. He felt trapped in a web of crew intrigue and mixed intentions. "How fortunate!" he said with a grin for Neelix and a glare for B'Elanna. From the cool look on her face, he had the distinct impression that she'd known about this entire ordeal all along.
Neelix bustled out of his kitchen, Kes following with her hands clasped happily behind her back and an expectant smile lighting her features. One glance at that face and the captain knew that whatever the couple had planned for the night's activities, she would have to go along for the entire round. She could never disappoint Kes. It was another of her internal weaknesses. Hopefully, the evening's entertainment wouldn't be too painful for her and the commander.
Kes led them to a table near the windows and Neelix set the tray down, busily arranging the plates and cutlery into an appealing pattern. "There you go! Now you two just enjoy your dinner, and if there's anything you might need, you just let me know!" He winked then, so stirred by excitement that he couldn't resist.
"Enjoy," Kes said simply, but her grin gave the indication that she was saying much less than she wanted to.
After sneaking several backward, inquiring glances at the officers, the two returned to the kitchen, and the mess hall resumed its normal activities. Captain Janeway deposited the data padds on the table and fell into her chair with a sigh of relief.
"What was that all about?" Chakotay asked as he seated himself across from her. He eyed the food with a distrusting stare.
"I haven't the slightest idea," Janeway admitted. "I don't even know what... this... is." She poked a fork into the mass of food on her plate.
"Tomatoes," Chakotay replied mischievously. "Remember, Neelix told you."
"Yes, I did catch that part. I like tomatoes, but not an entire plate of them!" She turned one chunk over, and breading of some kind flaked off to fall on the edge of the plate. "They don't look particularly ripe to me."
"But we're caught, you know. We have to at least pretend we love it all," Chakotay mentioned.
"I agree," she said with another large sigh.
"Neelix may get things a little screwed up, but his heart's in the right place. Though I can't say I'm looking forward to eating pancakes. They were never my favorite breakfast dish, no matter what information Neelix thinks he's gleaned from certain members of this crew."
"Yes, the crew must have helped with an operation like this. I didn't hear a hint of anything all week." The captain lifted her gaze to take in the pecan pie sitting at the commander's elbow. She glanced back at the tomatoes, then at the pie again.
Chakotay edged his plate aside. "So, what do you think of chocolate cake?" he mildly inquired.
"I think it's fine." Janeway's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
The commander's brows rose in an innocent lift that made her swear he'd been studying Tuvok for that specific expression. "Just wondering."
A lazy grin split her features. "You like it, don't you? In fact, from the look on your face, I'd say you might even be addicted to it. I didn't know that about you, Commander."
He rubbed at his forehead in embarrassment. "That's a nice accusation coming from someone who can't start the day without her coffee."
He could say anything he wanted - she had him, and he knew it. "Let's make a deal," she suggested. "Your pie for my cake. All of it, no substitutions at the last minute."
Chakotay whistled softly through his teeth. "You drive a hard bargain, Captain. It's a deal." He reached out for the plate of chocolate squares before she could change her mind.
Not that he had anything to worry about. Quickly they exchanged plates, trying to be surreptitious in the action so Neelix wouldn't notice. When they were sure the Talaxian was oblivious, they attacked their desserts with zeal.
Chakotay didn't even bother with a fork. He picked up the biggest piece and took a bite. "Now that's good!" he decided in a tone that nobody would dare dispute.
Janeway was too busy savoring her first bite of pecan pie, carved right out of the middle of the dessert, to pay any attention to her first officer. She let the food sit in her mouth for just a second before she slowly swallowed and leaned back in her chair. "I think I've died and gone to heaven."
"Or to this universe's equivalence of it, anyway." The commander smiled around his cake at her obvious enjoyment. He felt gratified just knowing she was finally able to enjoy such a small thing as eating without experiencing any pain.
"I hadn't considered that," she said, her fork momentarily halted by the sudden thought. "Do you suppose such a basic concept as pleasure could be different in the alternate universes?"
"I expect anything is possible." He wiped his hands on a napkin, then went on. "We'll never know. Ensign Kim and Lieutenant Torres have been studying the sensor logs for two weeks, and they believe the spatial distortion was a unique occurrence. It's not likely to happen again."
"Well," Janeway mused, "I suppose that's a relief."
The Commander hesitated in the act of reaching for a second piece of cake. "You suppose?"
Captain Janeway quickly ate another bite of pie before laying her fork aside. Her expression was one of thoughtful regret. "We know so much more about the shifting now that I almost wish it would happen again so that I could undo some of the damage I did."
This was all news to the first officer. "Captain?"
There it was again - that single word that so capably conveyed a multitude of emotions: puzzlement, concern, uncertainty, and an underlying desire to solve all her problems. If only it were that simple. She smiled, continually intrigued by this man, while at the same time knowing she owed him an explanation. "Technically I didn't know very much when I went into the second shift. I more or less repeated what I had been told three days earlier."
"And why is that damaging?"
"At the time we didn't know what caused the shifts," she reminded him. "We didn't know about the Caligran sensor problem - In fact, I understood damned little. Not nearly enough to be making wild accusations of betrayal and deceit. I'm only glad that I didn't have the opportunity to send a subspace message warning others about the supposed duplicity of the Caligrans."
Chakotay's eyes widened. He knew enough about the intricacies of politics in space to realize what actions might be expected to follow that kind of an accusation. "Were you planning such a message?"
She gave a guilty duck of her head. "I already had it worked out when you told me to heave to and get to Sickbay."
He took a small bite of cake, then carefully picked a chocolate crumb off his uniform. Just as carefully he said, "The information we have about the Caligrans has as much chance of being accurate as inaccurate. They may still be a threat to us."
"Perhaps," she began reluctantly. "The stabilizer might have been sabotaged so that it wouldn't interface with our systems. Or we may not have installed it correctly." She picked up her fork again, but before taking another bite of pie, insisted, "But until we know for sure, Commander, I prefer to think of them as friends."
Chakotay sighed. "There are those on board who won't agree with that kind of trusting policy," he said in warning.
Spurred by his tone, she questioned, "Is there something going on that I should know?"
"No." He shook his head. "There are just a few hotheads in the crew who would rather shoot first and decide later if force was a good idea."
She gazed at him for a moment, trying to gauge his thoughts. When she couldn't, she asked, "What do you think?"
"About your policy?" She nodded. "I think we need all the help we can get, and until we have proof, I don't want to make a new enemy. Friends are much nicer to have." He paused, then the devilish glint returned to his eye. "Besides, if the Caligrans did send us to be the next Vidiian conquest, they're probably going crazy right now wondering how we managed to escape."
Janeway grinned. "Just thinking about that almost makes up for telling the next Janeway that the Caligrans are the newest threat in the quadrant." She was about to continue indulging in her pecan fixation when she stopped, her gaze held by the commander's cake. It looked moist, rich, and above all, chocolate. Her mouth began to water. "I don't suppose you plan on eating all that chocolate by yourself."
Chakotay glanced at his cake, then at her. "You want a piece?"
Janeway nodded. "Yes."
"That wasn't part of the deal."
Feeling slightly reckless, the captain leaned on the table and propped her chin in her hand. She stared at him. "I suggest we alter the deal."
Chakotay eyed her cautiously. He wasn't certain that he understood her tone correctly. Had he been conversing with any other crewmember, he would have known instantly. But this was different. Was it really possible that Kathryn Janeway was flirting?
Or, more likely, was she just playing with him, to get his chocolate cake and the pecan pie too?
He opened the negotiations with care, toning down his natural flair for charm in this kind of situation. "Can it be that you like all kinds of desserts, not just pecan pie?"
Janeway raised her eyes to the ceiling and bit her lip while she considered. "It's possible," she answered finally.
The commander slowly grinned. "I didn't know that about you, Captain."
"Are you going to give me some cake or not?"
"What's it worth to you?"
"Ten replicator rations."
Chakotay shook his head. "The commanding officers, bargaining with rations? What will the crew think?" He drew in a deep breath, then admitted, "I'm amazed you even suggested that."
"I'm not on duty yet," she pointed out. "Come on, Chakotay, what's your price?"
The commander pursed his lips and thought for a moment before settling his gaze on her. "I've got it. The next time you get injured, in battle or just walking down a harmless corridor - "
She sat back, sending him an acerbic glare. "Now wait, I know where this is going."
He continued. "You have to go to Sickbay. No heroics or attempts at martyrdom."
"I never wanted to be a martyr!" she negated, but he looked at her knowingly. "All right. Perhaps I wasn't thinking clearly...."
"Perhaps?" he asked incredulously.
"Chakotay. Do you want to torture me with this for the rest of the voyage? Or are you involved in some kind of conspiracy with Tuvok that encourages me to address my inner flaws for the sake of the crew?"
Chakotay's brow wrinkled. "Tuvok? Did something happen with Tuvok?"
Janeway gave a casual shake of her head to get him off that track. "Uh - never mind. It has to do with several moments of severe embarrassment on my part." She tried to return to the conversation. "So that's your final bargain?"
Sensing her uneasiness, he ignored his curiosity, but promised himself an opportunity to wheedle Tuvok later. "That's it. No promise, no chocolate."
Janeway sighed, looked at the cake, then sighed again. She didn't understand this sudden craving for a variety of sweet things, but she wanted to indulge it as much as she could before duty wore down her desires. "Very well. Though I think you should adhere to the same set of rules."
"Don't I always?" he prodded innocently.
She grunted. "I'll remind you of this the next time you're shot by the Kazon."
"The Kazon will have to catch me first," he said with a wild grin.
A crewman passed their table just as Janeway reached for the cake and Chakotay was sampling the pecan pie. The young man nodded casually in their direction and said, "Hello, Captain."
"Ensign," Chakotay and Janeway acknowledged simultaneously as he turned to the food counter. They looked at each other, surprised.
"He was talking to me," Janeway reported in mock severity.
Chakotay glanced at her. "I don't think so," he told her. Then he chuckled, a bite of pie poised on his fork. "You know, I'm not sure Voyager was ready for two captains any more than you were."
"There is a danger in having too many senior officers aboard," she agreed, going along with his teasing. "And you know what they say - once a captain, always a captain."
Chakotay dropped his bantering expression to ask in all seriousness, "Do you think that's true?"
She furrowed her brow as she considered. She couldn't help recalling her thoughts on practically the same subject that night she'd been so lonely in Sickbay. "I admit I think there's some merit to that statement." She smiled and looked at him again. "My mother would disagree, though. Each time she thought I was getting too big for my britches, she would pull me aside and say 'You may be a Starfleet captain, but you're still my little Kathy.' Just to keep me in line, of course."
"Did it work?"
"Every time!" She laughed wistfully at the memory, and took a bite of cake to distract herself.
A moment of silence passed. Both officers quietly enjoyed their desserts and their thoughts. Then the commander glanced at her, this time his look one of mild amazement. "She called you Kathy?"