Fan Fiction

TITLE: The Most Trusted Friend
AUTHOR: Kate
RATING: PG
CODES: C, T, Miral Paris
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or vehicles mentioned in this work of fan fiction. I am not making any profit from this work.
SUMMARY: Set in the same timeline as the story �Santa Claus, Favorite Uncle, Guardian, Most Trusted Friend� though not a direct sequel. Years after the Voyager crew returned home, B�Elanna and Miral visit Chakotay in his home.

  �Tay-Tay!� Miral Paris�s delighted squeal filled the transport area. She leapt from the safety of her mother�s arms to enthusiastically greet her favorite surrogate uncle.

Chakotay lavished an affectionate greeting on his not-quite-goddaughter, cuddling her active little form cheerfully.

�Why were you gone so long?� She asked reproachfully.

Untouched by guilt, the big man smiled into the little girl�s face. �I have a lot of work to do, and you have a lot of school to do.�

Miral sighed, and cuddled closer. �It�s summertime now. No more school.�

Her mother smiled at the sight. �Hello, Chakotay.� She presented her cheek for a kiss. �Thanks for letting us come on such short notice.�

He kissed the mother, and then hugged both girls at the same time. Any stranger passing by would�ve seen a family reunion, rather than old friends. �Anything for my little be�Hom.� He bounced Miral in a practiced gesture. Her enthusiastic little arms held on tight. �Your luggage?�

�This is all of it.� B�Elanna adjusted the sizable tote bag on her shoulder. �I know it�s a lot to ask�,�

�Stop it. You know I would do anything for my favorite girls. Right, Mira?� Chakotay addressed the little one.

Miral gave him a raspberry. �Let me down. I want to run and see the rubber tree people. Flotter said there was no such thing, but I know he was only saying that because he never saw them.�

Soberly, Chakotay knelt. Miral hopped to the ground and scampered toward the door.

�Miral!� B�Elanna called sharply, reaching out as if to grab the edge of the soon-to-vanish skirt.

Chakotay restrained her. �It�s fine. There�s nowhere a part-Klingon girl can go in this city without someone knowing she�s my goddaughter.� He laughed at her expression. �It�s easier to call her my goddaughter than explain the Klingon term I can barely pronounce or translate. Besides, she won�t get away from us, and it�s good for her to stretch her legs. You�ve been cooped up at her grandparents for a few days now, right?�

B�Elanna subsided. �Try eight solid days of May and Owen Paris without Tom as a moderator.�

Chakotay raised an eyebrow.

�We traveled from Marseilles to San Francisco so Tom could pitch his new holoprogram and concept to Starfleet. You know, ways of using the holodeck on extended missions, stuff like that. Plus he�s written a few holonovels. Some for kids, which Mira loves, and some like Captain Proton and Fair Haven.�

Chakotay nodded. �He did have talent with holoprogramming. Since he isn�t flying, I�m glad he�s doing something he enjoys.�

B�Elanna allowed that statement to pass without serious comment. �With the way our credits are looking, my contract work isn�t enough lately.� She explained. She and Tom had made the decision to leave Starfleet when they returned to Earth, but they hadn�t know then how expensive some of their habits were. Aftter seven years of relatively free access to the holodeck, paying for the time came as a rude shock.

She knew there were days that Tom ached for the challenge of flying a real ship, and she was painfully aware of how bored she was with deskwork and theory. B�Elanna worked well under pressure. She was a consummate innovator, but her work as a consultant did not allow such luxuries or freedoms as cobbling or patching something together just to see if it would work. �Neither of us wants to go back to active duty, so this is what we came up with. Only, the admiral he pitched it to wants to see it in action.� The lie sounded reasonable to her own ears, but she knew that Tom�s departure was more of a trial separation than an extended sales pitch.

�So Tom left Earth?� Chakotay intuited.

�Eight days ago. We�d already been with his parents for a week.�

�So fifteen days of the admiral and his wife--,�

�More than enough.� B�Elanna said. �I know they�re part of Miral�s family and that they want part of her life but if I had listened to one more repetition of �you coddle that child, you should expect her to behave like an adult� I wouldn�t have been entirely accountable for the consequences.�

Chakotay smirked at her. �I�ve been telling you to visit me for months now. I�m glad you finally took my advice.�

B�Elanna kissed his cheek. �I�ve missed you more than words can say. Holos just aren�t enough. Tell me everything about your life.�

Before Chakotay could regale her with a tale, the adults caught up to Miral, who was examining the strange vehicle with all the fascination of her pilot-father and engineer-mother. �Mama, I�ve never seen a transport this size with an engine like this!� Miral enthused.

B�Elanna explained carefully. She never condescended to Miral, but she didn�t want to start a round of twenty questions. �There aren�t many like them on earth. They were designed to work best in areas of extreme heat and humidity.�

�They do just fine here.� Chakotay told Miral. �Come on, we�re taking this vehicle out to the dig site.�

�Dig?� Miral asked in delight.

�I like in a dwelling near an archeological dig.� Chakotay explained, taking Miral�s hand in his own quite naturally. �Do you know what that is?�

�You look in the ground for things old people dropped.� Miral supplied. �Mama said you�re working with the Rubber Tree People cause you learned lots of special things about them in the Delta Quadrant.�

Chakotay nodded. �That�s right. Do you know who works with me?�

�Your sister and her husband.� Miral said promptly. �But not Ah-Nikka.� Miral drew out the word, yawning on the first syllable. �She went away.�

�Your mom doesn�t leave out much, does she?� Chakotay met B�Elanna�s eyes, though the question was for Miral.

B�Elanna blushed faintly. �Seven showed up for a visit. It was all Tom talked about for a few days.�

�Daddy said that Seven had a little girl heart in a big girl body, and Uncle Harry and you got tricked into thinking she�s a big girl, but really she wasn�t. But now, she�s Nikkie, and she�s a different person, and she wants different things.�

�Including, apparently, a new name.� Chakotay�s mood dropped. �Seven is still growing, but so am I.� He tweaked her nose and attempted to be cheerful. �I�ll tell you a secret. People never, ever stop growing.�

Miral giggled. �Daddy told me to stop growing.� She said. �He wants me to freeze and stay his little girl forever.�

Chakotay palmed open a vehicle. �What did you say to that idea?�

�I called him a silly Daddy.� Miral bounced on the springy seat, heedless of the supplies stacked around her. �Mama, sit with me.� She invited.

�I�m going to sit up front with Tay-Tay.� B�Elanna was pleased that Miral was so happy, but the hours of unrelieved chatter following days of subtle (and not-so-subtle) criticism from her in-laws had worn her down. �I�m very tired.�

Miral sighed. �It�s almost dark already.� She whined. �I won�t be able to see anything today.�

�Not tonight.� B�Elanna agreed. �But when you wake up in the morning, look outside your window. You�ll see leaves and flowers and insects and animals you�ve only seen in the database. Maybe you�ll even see a monkey.�

But Miral was clearly ready to sulk. She was ready to sight see NOW. Promises of �tomorrow morning� were never enough.

B�Elanna let it go, using one hand to massage her temples. �So, Chakotay, tell me about the dig. You�re working with the living remnants of your ancestors?�

�Yes, the Rubber Tree People. My father was the first to contact them in years, if you remember.�

�He got a tattoo. You didn�t.�

�Not until later.� He confirmed, piloting the land craft through the city. �Brazil really is a wonderful place. Just smell the air. It�s not quite like anywhere else.�

B�Elanna yawned. �I�m sorry.� She apologized. �It�s been a long day.�

�Long two weeks, I imagine.� Chakotay teased lightly. �Are they as charming as your husband used to imply?�

�More.� B�Elanna confirmed, but she didn�t say anything else because Miral was listening. B�Elanna knew too well that children learned things their parents never imagined they would overhear. She had always hated hearing her mother complain about her father and his family, and vice versa.

�Have you seen your family lately?� Chakotay asked.

�My father came to visit for Miral�s fourth birthday. Do you remember honey?� B�Elanna asked Miral.

Miral nodded. �He brought me a toy boat and a puzzle.�

�How was that?� Chakotay asked.

�He was nice.� Miral said. �He left, though, when Mommy told him and Daddy no drinks.�

B�Elanna flushed. Miral was too young to understand everything she said.

�But he came.� Chakotay said. �That means something.�

Miral made a noise of agreement, but B�Elanna suspected that the comment was meant for her.

�And my mother came to visit for a month last year.�

The tone of B�Elanna�s voice instantly caused Chakotay�s shoulders to tense. �I remember you writing about that.� He tried to keep his tone light. �In the end, how was it?�

�We are two strong, opinionated women.� B�Elanna said with uncustomary tact. �We love each other very much, but something it�s easier to love someone who isn�t living in the guest bedroom.�

Chakotay nodded. �I can understand that.� He told her, thinking ruefully of the time he had spent with his sister and her husband while his own dwelling was under construction. �What did she think of your vision on the Barge of the Dead? And the Klingon ship we came across that called Miral kuvah'magh?�

B�Elanna shot him a look that (with more energy behind it) would�ve caused a Hirogen to turn and flee. �We can talk about all that later.� She offered. �How�s your sister? Is it interesting living in the same camp with her?�

�Interesting is one of our favorite terms.� Chakotay told her with a smile that was all dimples. �My brother-in-law keeps threatening to turn the experience into a novel.�

B�Elanna managed a weak laugh. �Do they have any children?�

�No.� Chakotay told her. �They haven�t been blessed with little ones yet.�

�Blessed?� B�Elanna repeated. She turned to look in the backseat. The late after noon had rapidly turned to twilight. Through the darkening light, B�Elanna watched her only child play a fanciful game with a box of Chakotay�s supplies and the shadows cast by the fading light. Miral had managed to slide back the lid of the wooden box and extract a small length of netting. The little girl who was as precise in play as in examining strange vehicles had slid the lid shut and was using the netting to costume her shadow puppets. The mother turned around to face forward again. �Blessed.� This time her tone was one of agreement.

Chakotay showed his dimples. �I�m glad you decided to visit.�

�Me too.�

~*~*~*~*~*

�She�s asleep?� Chakotay asked B�Elanna, as she reentered the common room.

�Out like a little light.� Miral�s mother collapsed onto a collection of cushions. �This place �- your, um,� She looked around, trying to find a good word to described their surroundings �Dwelling �- It�s wonderful, Chakotay.�

The Dorvanian looked around. �It suits me.� He agreed. �But I don�t think wonderful is the first word that came to your mind.� He teased.

�It�s a bit archaic.� She admitted. �But in a good way.�

�We used natural building materials. No prefab. It took forever, but I really feel connected here.� Chakotay shrugged, almost embarrassed. �I sweated over the walls, I cursed every inch of the floor, which I personally sanded and laid into place. You can tell where I got the hang of it, because only about half of it looks really, truly straight.�

B�Elanna laughed. �Ever the craftsman.�

�You�ll notice I opted for modern convenience and comfort rather than authenticity in furnishing, plumbing and appliances, but I like it overall.� Chakotay eyed the room with pride.

B�Elanna sighed. �I can�t help but notice that there are three bedrooms.�

�I built it when I still believed that Seven and I had a future.� Chakotay�s tone had been carefully cleansed of bitterness. �Whoops.�

B�Elanna gave him a sympathetic look. �What really happened?�

�I�m still not sure. On Voyager, towards the end, we decided we were interested, you know? And then we got back here and everything went into limbo while they decided whether or not to prosecute us and the Equinox crew.�

�Thank God that mess worked out.�

�Yeah, cause being chained to Earth is exactly what I wanted.�

�You weren�t going to try to restart the Maquis, were you?�

�I guess not.� Chakotay shrugged. �And none of us are in prison. We all had the option of entering Starfleet formally. But not leaving Earth for five years -� it wasn�t easy, especially on Dalby.�

�Nothing�s ever easy on Dalby.� B�Elanna reminded Chakotay. �I admit, there are days I miss the adventure of Voyager. But then I remember that if I were still having adventures my baby would be out there with me. And keeping her safe is the most important thing.�

�And you worried about being a mother.� Chakotay marveled.

�What�s that mean?�

�Just that you�re a natural.�

B�Elanna sighed. �No I�m not. I constantly wonder if I�m screwing her up for life with my own hang ups.�

�What does Tom tell you when you worry like that?�

�We�ve never talked about it.� B�Elanna turned, and her hair fell so it obscured her face from Chakotay�s view. �We never talk about anything anymore, it feels like.�

An internal alert flared in Chakotay�s mind. �He didn�t just go into space with the admiral to close the sale because of your credit situation, did he?�

�No.� B�Elanna admitted, so quietly Chakotay almost believed that he�d imagined it.

�What�s the whole story?� Chakotay asked.

�We�ve been having problems for a while.� The half Klingon admitted. �His father gave him hell for leaving Starfleet a second time. And we both know Tom Paris was never meant to be grounded.�

�So why�d he leave Starfleet?�

�Because I left, and I couldn�t leave Earth to accompany him.�

�His prison sentence kept him on Earth too.� Chakotay reminded her.

�Yes.� B�Elanna said. She toyed with something she held in her lap. �But he�s started drinking again. I guess you could tell that from Miral�s comment in the car.�

Chakotay nodded. �Were you surprised?�

�Yes and no.� B�Elanna said. �I shouldn�t have been, but I was. He doesn�t do it in front of Miral, and we both try to keep her from it as much as possible, but it�s not easy. He�s spending more and more time in the holosuites at the real Sandrine�s, making programs. Do you know how many credits an hour in a holosuite eats up? But it�s part of his career, so how can I complain? Every time I try, he explodes.�

Chakotay listened, leaning towards her. �You don�t say this in your letters.�

�Well you didn�t say that you built a house with three bedrooms and plenty of space to add more.�

�After it settled out that I�d be on Earth for at least five years, I resigned my commission. I didn�t join Starfleet to ride a desk, and I�d go crazy if I were inside for that long. So I contacted my sister and here I am, doing archaeology.�

�And Seven just came with you?�

�I invited her. She came. I built the house with extra rooms so she wouldn�t feel pressured. She has to regenerate, you know. She can�t just sleep. I began to dream about the future, about adding rooms and children who race around and give me heart attacks by getting too near the stove. Chakotay indicated the antique wood burning heat source and cooking place -� more ceremonial than functional, but still an important part of the room.

B�Elanna, who was familiar with children who sought out dangerous toys, nodded. �So what happened?�

�She began to find out who she was, as a human being separate from the Voyager collective. In a lot of ways, life onboard Voyager was her second childhood. I was her adolescence. Now she�s ready to be an adult.� Chakotay sounded remarkably matter-of-fact.

�You�re not bitter?�

�Sometimes I am.� Chakotay admitted. �But it was so hard to communicate with her. There were days when I thought I would lose it if she told me that a certain line of inquiry was irrelevant.� B�Elanna raised an eyebrow in a gesture she had learned from Tuvok. �Pursuing irrelevant lines of questioning is how archaeology works. Serendipity. You�re not even aware that you�re looking at a missing puzzle piece, until you work through some seemingly unrelated data to examine what�s in your hands.�

B�Elanna beamed. �I knew you understand loving a discipline.�

�And then when it carried to our personal life, it was like her saying that what I think and believe, even who I am, was �irrelevant� because it is unquantifiable.� Chakotay�s mouth twisted down. �Of course, I had major issues with the whole Borg thing. I didn�t blame her for being assimilated, but the regeneration and the implants were constant reminders of what she was. And I couldn�t handle the concept of having that many voices in her head, constantly. I know the Doc thought he caught and cured all the extraneous personalities, but sometimes I wasn�t sure who I was talking to. Does that make sense?�

�It�s true of every relationship, Chakotay. When you look at me, are you talking to the angry Klingon warrior, the temperamental human engineer, the worried mother, the estranged wife or the devoted friend?�

�But all of those facets of B�Elanna form a cohesive whole.� Chakotay pointed out. �With Seven, I could talk to an innocent child, a database, a drone, or a young woman just learning about what it means to live with someone, love him, and compromise with him. And it took her some time to realize that she didn�t love me, because she didn�t really know me. She had projected some desirable qualities onto me, and that was what she loved. When I didn�t fit her mold, she realized she no longer fit her own mold, so she left. I guess she renamed herself?�

�I�m sorry it didn�t work out.� B�Elanna told him sincerely.

Chakotay tried to let it roll away. �I know it�s for the best.�

�Even if it�s for the best, it still hurts.�

Chakotay eyed B�Elanna. �Speaking from personal experience?�

�I don�t know what to do about Tom. Staying together on Earth is killing both of us.� She stopped for a moment, thinking about those words. �So much of his identity is tied to flying that not being able to do that was like amputating something. He thought he could live on the ground, but it�s killing him, and suddenly he needs someone to blame, and somehow it�s my fault because I left Starfleet �- never mind that I was never cut out for that life.� She sighed. �Not that I don�t have my moments. I�m bored too, with the switch from almost ten years of pulse pounding adrenaline to sitting at a desk calculating theory.� She looked down. �It�s not good for Miral to be surrounded by that kind of tension. But she needs both her parents, and we both need her. She�s the one bond between us that I�m sure of.�

Chakotay realized that she wasn�t going to say anymore at the moment. �There aren�t answers for me to give you, but you�re welcome to say her for as long as you like.�

�Not just till I find answers?�

�As long as you like.� He repeated. �Now, you look wiped out. How bad have the last two weeks been?�

�I can�t even put it into words.� She said. �It�s just this constant barrage that erodes self esteem so fast and so totally you barely notice.�

Chakotay reached out. �Hey, you are a great mother.�

B�Elanna�s chuckle was watery. �'cause I had such a great role model.�

�I know you. You act from your heart, for her best interests, but you allow her the freedom to find and decide her own interests. There�s nothing more anyone could ask.�

�I worry about that. I don�t want to force her into a mold, but I don�t want to give her so much freedom that she can�t sort out what she wants.�

�The girl I saw today is happy, healthy, and free. Believe me when I say she has no problem communicating what she wants.�

B�Elanna laughed again, but it was edging toward a more hysterical giggle. �I don�t want to give in all the time. She has to understand that she doesn�t always get everything she wants just because she wants it. Discipline and the word no will mean something to her.� B�Elanna didn�t notice Chakotay�s snicker. �But I don�t want that to be her whole life. It�s just so hard to know what�s right, because I feel like I make all the decisions, even when Tom is around. But after seeing his parents, of course I understand why he doesn�t want to make those decisions.�

�Hey, hey.� Chakotay reached out to hold B�Elanna as her eyes teared. �Now what�s this?� He wiped away tears. �As long as I�ve known you, there�s been a fire inside you, B�Elanna. Every time someone has tried to smother that fire, it winds up smoldering instead. Don�t tell me that your in-laws and boredom have done what Cardassians, Kazon, Vidiians, Krenim, Hirogen and the Borg failed at.�

B�Elanna sniffed, and tried to laugh. �I could fight those, or hit them, or run away from them. This is just constant, insidious, repetitive, unavoidable nagging. There�s nothing to struggle against, nothing to do about it.�

�I hate trying to counsel anyone about family troubles, because I have no background in it.� Chakotay sighed. �I can say that my sister might have a word or two to say about it. But for tonight, why don�t you just sleep on it, knowing all of it is in Marseilles and San Francisco, while you�re here, safe and sound, snuggled away in Brazil with me and Miral.�

�You are the best friend I�ve ever had.� B�Elanna told Chakotay, as she rose. �Don�t ever, ever forget who you are.�

�Sleep well.� He watched her vanish into the room she and Miral were sharing. He bowed his head. How was he supposed to help B�Elanna? Chakotay was not particularly fond of Tom Paris, but he had to admit that Tom and B�Elanna were better together than apart. But if Tom had begun to drink, it could be a sign that he was losing touch with who he had been on Voyager. How else had he reverted to the no-good shiftless drifter Chakotay had first encountered? B�Elanna said that they both loved their daughter, but she hadn�t painted a pretty picture of marital bliss.

Chakotay reminded himself that B�Elanna hadn�t come to him for a solution. She had come to him because she trusted him as her friend, because she felt safe with him. She was years past needing him to solve anything for her. Right now, the best he had to offer her was a sympathetic ear and a calm home for herself and her daughter. Maybe it was enough.

And maybe Tom Paris and Annika Hansen would realize the folly of changing and expecting their partners to change the same way, sprout wings and fly to Brazil to rejoin the people who loved them.

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