She was standing apprehensively near the main window of her quarters, not caring that she wasn't alone. There was no known reason for her to care since she was distracted by other matters; like trying to remember her life before Voyager. Her memory, like everyone else on Voyager, was slowly returning.

She was grateful to be back on Voyager, but the time spent on Quarra still haunted her dreams. Life on the planet had been simple, routine and enjoyable. What haunted her, though, was the fact that someone would violate her daughter in such a brutal way.

Naomi had undergone the same memory alteration as everyone else. And, like everyone else, had lost her memory of her time on Voyager.

And since their return to the ship, Naomi woke up every few hours screaming. The nightmares were no doubt result of the deep emotions the young girl felt, that they all felt. This night, however, was different. On this night, Naomi had crawled into her mother's bed to sleep. It was the one thing that let her mother know that it was time to seek help. Naomi was simply too old, in Ktarian years, to be crawling into her mothers bed after a nightmare.

It was, however, in the middle of the night and both Tuvok and Chakotay were off duty, presumably asleep in there own quarters. She could wait until breakfast to contact them, especially since dealing with Naomi's problem wasn't an emergency per say. With her choice made Samantha Wildman stood at the window trying to piece the rest her life together.

Earth was her home; specifically in Eugene, Oregon. Her parents were there, as was her extended family.

Her husband, Naomi's father, was still assigned to DS9. Their friends were scattered throughout the Alpha Quadrant, and on Voyager. Life had moved on for nearly everyone she knew.

She had to remember everything about their lives, as it happened, for Naomi's sake. Remembering meant that she could tell stories of their family. Putting her life together again also meant remembering the feelings of being so far from her husband, of raising Naomi on her own, and the fact that Naomi barely knew her father, which bothered her greatly. At least remembering meant that they could live happily ever after.

"Are you all right?" he asked from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She had called him after Naomi had fallen asleep, hoping to get some sort of perspective on the situation. And he had come right over, despite his lack of sleep.

"Not really, Joe," she answered softly.

��Not really, Joe,�� she answered softly.

Frowning, he asked, ��Thinking about Greskrendtregk?��

She nodded once. ��Naomi��s so much like him; so much so that on nights like tonight I can��t help feel it in every fiber of my being.��

��I know what you mean,�� he admitted sadly. And she knew that he did. Being so far away from his wife and children would be pure torture for any father, especially at night when he was alone with his thoughts. Yet they both knew that being around Naomi helped him deal with his own life. ��How is the old man anyway?�� he teased lightly.

She chuckled; then laughed whole-heartedly. They knew each other very well, well enough to know when they were being teased. And when to take it gracefully. And Joe was mostly definitely teasing her, albeit mildly. ��Did I ever tell you about how Greskrendtregk?��

��No, you haven��t.��

And with that, she began to tell her journey to married life.

~Finished