By Erin_Cale
Disclaimer: See first part.
***
Trance was happy. Kathryn, the new woman that had appeared on Andromeda only hours before, liked flowers. She walked with a little extra bounce in her step as she headed towards her quarters. No sooner had she entered the room than she felt a presence.
�Q,� she murmured dejectedly.
�Hello to you too,� the young Q said. �Trance, is it now?�
�Yes. What are you doing here?�
�I just came to check on Aunt Kathy. And to my surprise I found an old friend among the Andromeda crew.�
�Quit it, Q. You knew I was here.�
The young Q�s face fell. �Well, I suppose you caught me. I did know you were here.� There was an awkward silence as Trance glared at the boyish figure, trying to intimidate him enough so that he would leave. Instead, Q changed the subject. �So how is she?�
There was no need to ask whom he meant. �Kathryn�s doing fine. As far as I can tell, she is completely enthralled with the prospect of investigating this universe.�
�Good.�
Trance felt she had to ask, �Q, why did you bring her here, really?�
Q sighed, looking at the floor. �I felt sorry for her. I suppose I inherited my father�s fondness for her. She�s been so lonely since Chuckles left her for that Borg.� At Trance�s slightly bewildered look, he explained, �Chuckles is our nickname for Kathy�s former first officer, whom she was in love with.�
�Ah.�
�So she�s not homesick or anything?�
�Not that I can see. Mainly she has been spending time with Dylan.�
�Great! That�s better than I expected.�
�What do you mean by that?�
Q smiled and blinked out of existence. Trance groaned her frustration to an empty room.
***