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By Root 545 0

Janeway smiled back and relaxed into the journey, gliding across the terrain, feeling as though she were skimming on a cushion of air like a hovercraft. The air had cleared, and was sweet and cool; the pain was dissipating. She looked up again, wanting to see her father, wanting to look into his clear gray eyes just once more.... Chakotay was staring at her, his face just inches from hers. Her eyes fluttered slightly and she tried to sit upright. "She's all right," she heard Chakotay say, and she looked around her. She was in the cave again, Jerron at her side, Tuvok and Chakotay leaning over them, still coughing from their exposure to the plasma-infused atmosphere. They had rescued her, and Jerron; Chakotay's strong arms had saved her, not her father's.

She looked at Jerron, whose color was returning. "He has suffered no permanent damage, Captain," intoned Tuvok, "and neither have you." Janeway nodded. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall of the cave. Death had been cheated once more. Everyone was safe.

"I can't really call them nightmares. But they make me feel... anxious. Sometimes I wake up and my heart is pounding as though I'd just run five miles."

Janeway sat in the doctor's office, telling him of the strange dreams she'd been having in the weeks following their experience with the plasma storm-dreams she had had before in her life, though they hadn't recurred since she had journeyed to the Delta Quadrant. The holographic doctor sat patiently, listening, brow furrowed, as though puzzled by what she was saying.

"And they're all so similar. I'm always in a house of some kind... a house that has many rooms, and I have to get into a certain room, because it's dirty and has to be cleaned-but there's a closed door blocking my way."

The doctor regarded her curiously. "Houses... with many rooms?"

"Yes. Once I dreamed I discovered an entire deck on Voyager that I hadn't realized was there. It had dozens of rooms, and I knew it was important that I make sure they were all clean. But I couldn't even get out of the first room because the door to the next one was closed and locked."

"And-are these dreams frightening to you?"

"No... not frightening. But they're-unsettling. I don't understand them."

The doctor crossed his arms and fixed his eyes on her. "I'm not certain what you want from me, Captain. The dreams don't sound particularly harrowing, and apparently they don't interfere with your sleep. In that I'm not a practicing psychiatrist, how can I help you?" Janeway regarded him fondly. The holographic doctor had become one of her favorite people. His acerbic nature had not lessened in the course of a year and a half, but everyone had learned to tolerate it-even appreciate it. The parameters of his programming allowed for almost no bedside manner; but in spite of his brusque gruffness, he had an endearing quality.

"I'm honestly not sure, Doctor. I just thought I should mention it. As part of my general medical file."

"I suspect it's a temporary phenomenon, and unless you find these dreams debilitating, I wouldn't worry about it."

"They're not debilitating. Just-bothersome."

The doctor didn't respond, and turned away from her, busying himself with a padd. Janeway studied him for a moment and realized he was taking far more time with the padd than was necessary. The doctor, she was sure, had something on his mind.

"Is there some way I can help you, Doctor?" His head snapped back at her; he was always surprised at a demonstration of instinct. He seemed to ponder her question briefly, then, in his matter-of-fact way, blurted it out. "It's been a full ten months since Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim began working on a mechanism by which I can leave sickbay. I can't believe they are incapable of solving the technical problems after that amount of time, so I must conclude that they're not putting their full efforts into the matter. Probably because I'm nothing but a computer program." Janeway rose, put a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder.