TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BEING YOUNG
By Sheri and Kay Shadow
RATED G
Authors' notes: When I asked Sheri if she wanted to say anything she laughed and said: "I guess you could just say it's a collaberation of warped minds." I wanted to kick her for saying that, but couldn't. For two reasons: first, she lives way too far away and second.... I hate it when she's right! ~ Kayryn
Please let us know how much we shocked you! Email us!
=/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\==/\=
She made her way to the end of the Jefferies tube, and tried to open the door, no luck. She was always told by daddy to be a big girl, but right now, she didn�t feel very big. All she knew was she was only seven, she was possibly on a ship, at least it sounded like a ship, and she wanted to be back home, safe in her mommy's arms.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, when she heard the doors open. She automatically tried to hide, but couldn't find anywhere to go. There was a man at the hatch, and he was calling her, "Hey come here, it's ok," he said softly. "I'm here to help you."
"I don't know where I am," she said quietly.
"Well, you're on a starship called Voyager."
She still didn't want to move, "How did I get here?"
"That�s hard to explain, you have actually been on this ship for almost seven years."
"Was I born here? I'm only seven years old," she explained.
"Why don't you come out of there, and I will see what I can do to help you understand, ok?"
She figured it would be better than staying here, so she crawled toward the man. She couldn't help it; as soon as she was out of the tube she flung herself into his arms, needing reassurance for the moment.
"Hey, it's ok," he said, patting the little girl on the back. This was not what Harry expected to be doing when he got up this morning.
~~~~~~~~
"Well Mr. Kim. I still have no explanation here. This is definitely the Captain, but she has regressed back to the age of a seven year old, in fact, despite the difference in their actual ages, they are all seven years old," explained the EMH.
"Yes, just like the others. They have no memories of their adult life here, how is the commander doing?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the general direction of the other biobeds.
"Well, he seems to be just fine. He's scared, but he doesn't want to admit it. The Captain too seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I think she was more frightened of her location than anything else. Now that she is in here with ... the other children she is up and talking away."
"How about their DNA, has it been altered any?"
"Besides going back in age, no, not at all. They are simply younger versions of themselves."
They were interrupted by a little Kathryn Janeway, "Why are you calling me 'captain'? And who's 'commander'? Are we going to have to stay here?"
Harry bent down to her level, "Sorry, Kathryn. I didn't mean to confuse you. And why we called you 'captain', well it's kind of a long story. The same goes for the 'commander'. And as for staying here, well you have to let the doctor find out what is wrong, then we will take all of you to get something to eat, ok."
"Is there something wrong with me?" she asked, her bright blue eyes shining.
"Well, that's part of the long story but lets see how I can explain this. You aren't supposed to be only seven years old, a few hours ago you were actually a lot older than that."
"That doesn�t make sense, how can I be older?" Kathryn frowned, obviously puzzled.
"That�s kind of what the doctor has to find out."
"Where's my mommy?"
"Well�" Harry tried to figure out an easy answer when the good doctor interrupted him.
"Actually Mr. Kim I have all the scans I will need for right now. They are all hungry, maybe you should take them to get something to eat." The doctor offered.
"Me? All of them?"
"Mr. Kim, right now, besides Tuvok you are the senior officer on board, and considering this is the rest of the senior officers, I think it would be wise that someone kept a close eye on them, namely you," the doctor pointed out.
Harry looked at the group in front of him, the Captain, the Commander, B'Elanna and Tom, it shouldn�t be that difficult, "Alright Doc, just let me or Tuvok know if any more ... 'children' are found, I'll be in the mess hall. Ok everyone follow me."
He laughed as they all jumped of the biobeds and flew past him to the door. Tom got there first but B'Elanna pushed him out of the way, "Hey you pushed."
"So what?" B'Elanna stated indignantly and pulled her cap deeper into her head.
Kathryn and Chakotay hung back watching the two of them argue. "You know, my daddy is an admiral," she stated.
"Is he, wow!" Harry stated, trying to sound impressed, "I bet his job is quite important."
"I think it is, because he is never there. It's always just my mom and me. Oh and my little sister, but she is just a pain."
"I have older sisters," stated Tom, finally letting B'Elanna have her way, "but they're alright. They play with me a lot."
Harry escorted the kids out of the room and down to the nearest turbo lift, he tried not to laugh, as they all seemed to be trying to up one another with the facts of their parents. He notice Kathryn had already taken the lead of the group, no fear showing any more; only seven years old, and already taking command.
The kids ignored the curious looks they got entering the messhall, and all ran up to the counter to see what there was to eat. "Well, what do we have here?" said Neelix cheerfully.
"We have four hungry kids Neelix, what do you have to offer?" asked Harry.
"I have a big pot of leola root stew, how would that be?" Neelix asked, taking the lid off the pan.
"Oh that smells gross, I'm not eating it," Kathryn stated, wrinkling her nose.
"Even my dad makes better stuff than that," stated Chakotay.
Harry tried hard not to laugh, "How about we just get them what ever they like from the replicator Neelix."
Neelix looked hurt but agreed, and helped Harry get what the kids wanted.
"I want to go see the engines, can we?" asked B'Elanna.
"Yeah, I want to go too," said Kathryn.
"No way, I want to fly this thing, can I? I would do good, I've flown shuttles," Added Tom.
"I tell you what, all of you eat whatever's on your plate, and we will go on a tour of the ship, including the bridge. But sorry Tom, you are far too little to fly the ship."
B'Elanna laughed at him, but Tom just pouted, "I am not too little."
"What about you Chakotay? What do you want to see?" asked Harry, diverting the conversation away from Tom's now sulky mood.
"Everything," Chakotay stated.
Harry laughed, "Alright, but first� let's eat."
~~~~~~~~
After lunch Harry showed the children all the different places of the ship and did his best to keep up with the energetic group as they ran from one section to the other never keeping interest in the area they were in for very long. Engineering proved to be a big hit with B'Elanna and Kathryn, just as Harry had suspected. Seven was graciously answering question after question the two girls came up with but in the end she too, stated that there was still work to be done and she had neglected her duties long enough. B'Elanna responded with a growl and was already nearing the doors where the rest of the group was waiting for them, when Kathryn turned to Seven and politely thanked her for answering all their questions. Then she too ran to catch up with her new friends.
When their tour took the group to Hydroponics bay, Kathryn pretty much lost her interest. Although B'Elanna and Tom were listening to Harry's rambling about growing different fruits all year around, Kathryn decided to see if anything more interesting could be found. Soon she noticed Chakotay hunched in a corner on the Shuttlebay and went to him.
"What are you doing?" Kathryn inquired.
Chakotay looked up from the hatch he was trying to figure out how to open and shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't really care about growing food, I get enough of that from my father."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Mom's always talking about how important it is to do everything on your own and she doesn't even like replicated food," Kathryn complained.
"Yeah? My parents are like that, too."
The hatch opened and both looked at the others, but Harry was deeply engrossed in explaining something and didn't notice a thing. Kathryn started to climb in when Chakotay looked at her frowning.
"Don't even think about going off alone. If you don't take me I'll tell Harry."
Chakotay considered it briefly and then gave in. "Fine."
Kathryn entered the Jeffrie's tube and then waited for him to close the hatch and catch up.
"Have you ever been on a starship before?"
"No," Chakotay admitted, but then added hastily, "but I've seen pictures of them. Why? Have you been on a starship before?" He started to crawl forward, leaving Kathryn to follow.
"No. But my daddy's an admiral and he's gonna take me one day," she stated.
"How can you be so sure?"
"He said so!" came the indignant reply, but underneath Chakotay's words stung a little. It was true that sometimes Kathryn's daddy hadn't been able to keep his promises, but that didn't mean he wouldn't keep this one. Right?
Chakotay thought maybe he'd said the wrong thing but then the combadge Kathryn was wearing beeped. He turned to tell her not to answer it, but Kathryn had already taken it off, careful not to activate it.
"You should probably take it off, too," she instructed. "When we're wearing them they can tell where we are."
Chakotay didn't say anything but took his combadge off and placed it on the cool surface of the Jeffrie's tube, next to Kathryn's. He then looked at her and saw her smiling at him. Actually it was more like a knowing smirk and he gave her a small smile back. He was surprised that she'd done that. So far she's seemed like daddy's perfect little angel. But now� Maybe she was okay after all.
"Come on, let's try this way," he said and then turned again to lead the way.
~~~~~~~~
While Harry Kim was trying to explain Tuvok how he's lost the two children, Chakotay and Kathryn were making their way through various twists and turns in the bowels of the ship. After about fifteen minutes Kathryn started to wonder if Chakotay really had any idea where they were and where they were going. It all looked just the same and it seemed like they were going in circles but she couldn't be sure. Her mommy always told her not to get in trouble but somehow she felt like she was in it again.
"Do you know where we are?" she asked, suddenly not so sure if this was a good idea after all.
"Why?"
Despite her young age, Kathryn knew an evasive question when she heard one. "I want to go back to Harry."
Chakotay looked behind him and after seeing Kathryn's chin tremble he felt angry. Girls were nothing but trouble. First they wanted something but as soon as things got a little tough they wanted out. Well, he wasn't done with exploring the ship yet so she could either find her own way to Harry or stay in this spot for all he cared. If it wasn't for her talking all the time he probably wouldn't have gotten them lost in the first place. Yep, girls were nothing but trouble!
"Chakotay, can't we go back?" Kathryn asked.
"If you tell me which way is back, sure!" Chakotay shouted.
"Don't yell at me! It's not my fault we got lost!" She felt like crying but tried to hold back the tears. She didn't want him to see her cry; boys only made fun of you if you cried.
He stopped again and nearly caused Kathryn to bump into him. He looked really angry and Kathryn backed away a bit, scared. "Oh yeah? If you would quit babbling just for a minute then I could figure out which way to go and then I could dump you and find something interesting on my own!" Chakotay's voice echoed in the tubes as he gestured with his hands, trying to make his point more clear.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice quivering and try as she might couldn't keep the tears from forming.
He looked at her with disgust, "Aww, man! Quit being such a baby!"
Kathryn bit her lip and wiped the tears away with her sleeve. Why did boys always have to be so mean?
Suddenly they were both thrown off balance as the ship rocked and lurched. Kathryn had to put her hands on her eyes, and try if they were open. They were, but she still couldn't see anything. Why couldn't she see? What was going on? Why did the ship rock like that? Where they attacked? Before she could ask any of the questions running through her mind she heard a groan not too far from her.
"I can't see anything!"
It was Chakotay. If he couldn't see anything either, then�
"Me neither. It has to be the lights. I don't think we're both blind."
"Of course not, stupid!"
Kathryn started crying again. "Why are you so mean? I don't want to be with you anymore, I want my mommy!"
Chakotay listened to her inconsolable crying and started to feel slightly guilty. In the dark he could almost see his father's face telling him to treat all people nicely, no matter who they were, or where they were from. And to always be especially nice to girls. If Kolopak ever found out about him making Kathryn cry he'd be really mad. As Chakotay was trying to think of a way to make things better for Kathryn and therefor himself, the lights flickered on again. He raised his head and saw Kathryn about six feet from him, her hands covering her face as she cried. He tried to think what his father would do.
"I'm sorry," he offered but Kathryn paid no attention. Little by little he moved closer to her, until they were sitting side by side. "Look," he tried again. "I didn't mean that way, really. You're not stupid, I'm sorry I said that you were. I mean, how could you be stupid, your daddy's an admiral and� I dunno�well, it was pretty smart to take off the combadges so we wouldn't be found. I mean, it was you who came up with it not me."
"But if we hadn't left them then now we could call Harry," Kathryn sobbed.
Chakotay thought for a while. Obviously talking didn't make any difference, he'd have to try something else. He remembered what he'd seen his father do when his mother had been sad, and though it didn't appeal to him that much, he figured it'd be better than to have Kathryn crying until she had no tears left.
Cautiously he put his arm around her shoulders and once again repeated his apology. To his surprise Kathryn began to calm down and her sobbing subdued soon. She still wouldn't look at him but to Chakotay it made no difference, this was weird enough. Suddenly he felt relieved that neither Namid nor Dasan were here to witness him comforting a girl. They'd never let him forget this.
Kathryn had stopped crying and waited what would happen next. She was almost sure Chakotay would want to get moving any minute now, but she was seriously thinking about staying put and waiting for someone to find her. She didn't know much about space ships, but she knew they weren't supposed to rock like Voyager just had. This wasn't fun anymore and she missed her mommy. She raised her head when she heard Chakotay say something, but she couldn't quite make out the words.
"What did you say?" Kathryn asked.
"I said, 'I'm not doing what dad does next,'" he replied firmly.
Kathryn was curious now. "What's that?"
"Well," he said, now slightly uncomfortable. "Well, dad then kisses mom."
Kathryn shook his hand off her shoulder and glared at him angrily. "And just what is wrong with kissing me? I don't have cooties you know."
Chakotay looked at her surprised; she just kept changing her mind faster than he could keep up with! But kissing? He wrinkled his nose. "You want to be kissed? Why? Kissing is gross!"
As he was about to back away he felt dizzy and closed his eyes for a moment, battling the headache behind his eyes that was attacking him. But soon the pain was gone and he opened his eyes again. Still next to him sat Kathryn, but she wasn't a little girl anymore. He glanced around him and saw they were still in the Jeffrie's tubes, and one look at himself confirmed what he was already suspecting, he too was now back to normal. He could feel her eyes on him and met her gaze.
She was fighting a laughter that was threatening to be released any moment and her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I don't think kissing is gross."
Dumbfound he simply stared when she leaned closer, so close that their lips were almost touching. Just when he was sure she would kiss him she drew back. "We should get to the bridge. Find out what happened."
Kathryn cursed under her breath and began crawling back the way they'd came to retrieve the commbadges she'd brilliantly suggested they leave behind. She shook her head, cursing again. Kids! The things they thought up! Lucky for them, Chakotay had a bad sense of direction and they'd been going around in circles most of the time so it wouldn't take them long.
Sure enough about five minutes later she saw the two small objects, just where they'd left them. Reaching for them she tossed on to Chakotay and attached her own to it's rightful place. Almost immediately she could hear Tuvok's almost stern voice.
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway, please respond."
"Janeway here, Tuvok. We're on our way to the bridge," she offered.
"Very well, Captain."
"Lieutenants Paris and Torres, are they alright?" Chakotay asked.
"Reasonably, yes, Commander, they are."
The commanding team looked at each other and frowned; after years among Humans the Vulcan still hadn't learned the art of telling more than what had been asked. Or maybe he was doing it on purpose. Janeway sighed in surrender.
"Meaning?"
"Lieutenant Torres has returned to Engineering but Mr. Paris is still in sickbay."
"The transformation?"
"No, Captain. Apparently Mr. Paris made a comment of Lieutenant Torres' ridges and though it now seems it was meant as a compliment, her younger self was not taken by it."
Janeway looked up at her First Officer again, and resisted an urge to groan. "Is he going to be alright?"
Tuvok paused only slightly before answering, "the Doctor assured me he will recover fully. His injuries were mainly superficial with the exception of a broken nose and rib."
Kathryn winced in sympathy while Chakotay merely grinned. That was B'Elanna, alright.
"We'll be right there, Tuvok," Janeway reassured her third in command.
~~~~~~~~
About half an hour later Lieutenants Paris and Torres were seated at the briefing room on deck one, along with the Captain and First Officer. The Doctor and Harry Kim had just finished telling the four what had happened and the news was met with silence.
Finally B'Elanna broke it, "alien experiment? And what do you mean you don't know who they were?"
"They never introduced themselves," Kim explained. "They only told us what we just told you."
Paris frowned. "I don't mean to sound offensive, but if they wanted to study Human children, why not study Naomi? Why did they have to transform us into children?"
"Lieutenant, I already explained that," the Doctor exasperated. "They wanted to study what Human leaders are like as children. Now Naomi would hardly fit in that category. There's no way of knowing what she's going to become when she grows up. She could be a Starfleet captain, but she might as well become a secretary in some dusty old office. Though I doubt it."
Janeway smiled a little, trying to imagine the girl taking notes about how many coffee cups she'd need to set up for the next meeting. She had to agree with the Doctor. Not likely.
"So they figured that by altering us, they'd learn whatever they wanted," Janeway summarized.
"Exactly."
"I hate to admit it, but it makes sense," Chakotay stated. "And besides, if anyone's going to perform any experiments on anyone, I'd rather it be us than Naomi. She's still a child and would have remained as one after the experiment was over and it would be more difficult for her to comprehend than it is to us. Besides, we should be used to this by now."
His last caused a round of snorts and laughs around the table.
"Well," the Captain said. "It seems all is well now, and there was no permanent harm done."
"Note the emphasis on the word 'permanent'," Tom chimed in.
"And we can all now go back to our duties," she continued as if he'd never said a word. "If that's all? Dismissed."
As everyone filed out of the room, Kathryn noticed that Chakotay stayed behind.
"Commander?"
"I was just thinking how odd it is, remembering everything we did and said during the past few hours."
Kathryn nodded. "I know. Running around the ship, finding everything to be new and exciting� It's been a long time since I last felt that way."
Though he tried, Chakotay couldn't really come up with anything sensible to say. Not with the other thoughts running through his head. Her words� had she chosen them on purpose or was it just coincidence. Exciting� felt that way. No, he was probably just imagining things.
Kathryn studied Chakotay silently, taking advantage of his own musings. Gods but she'd been so close to kissing him and it was only less than an hour ago. If only�
But why not?
Stepping a little closer to him, Kathryn said quietly, "Chakotay? You still think kissing is gross?"
Chakotay looked at her as though he couldn't believe she'd just asked him that. "Huh?"
"Let me prove you that it isn't," she said and drew him closer for a kiss.
The end