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“And I take it you don’t?” Chakotay asked.

“No, Commander. I do not.”

The tension flaring between them was dispersed when the doors slid open and Neelix entered, leading Naomi Wildman by the hand.

“Commander,” Neelix said, “Naomi was wondering if she could speak to the captain?”

Chakotay’s brow furrowed. He worried that this would be a traumatizing experience for a child.

“She understands that the captain is resting,” Neelix added quickly, “but I didn’t think it would do any harm.”

Chakotay shifted his gaze to the young girl’s solemn little face, then saw that she was holding a sheet of drawing paper in her free hand.

“I’ve drawn a picture of one of my favorite stories for her,” Naomi said seriously. “Even if she can’t see it yet, I thought I could tell her about it, the way Neelix tells me every night when I fall asleep.”

“That’s very kind of you, Naomi,” Chakotay replied.

Forcing the hot rush of despair rising within his chest to a standstill, Chakotay watched silently as Seven set up a stool on level with the captain’s bed where Naomi could sit and describe her drawing to the captain. Seven then retreated to the Doctor’s office while Neelix moved to Naomi’s side and Tuvok remained standing his serene vigil opposite them as Naomi began her story.

“This is the Great Forest,” Naomi said softly, holding the picture between them so that had Janeway been capable of opening her eyes Naomi’s drawing would have been the first thing she would have seen.

“And in the middle of the forest is the Great Tree. The sun is always shining there… see… that’s the sun. And it’s always warm, but not too hot. When you get to the Great Tree you will always know because everyone you love will be there waiting for you. This is me, and my mother, and that’s Neelix…”

Chakotay saw Neelix raise his hand to brush a tear from his eyes.

Turning away, Chakotay allowed those forming in his eyes to fall freely.

He didn’t know if it would ever be possible for Kathryn to return to those who loved and needed her.

All he could do was ask the spirits that lived between the unnamed stars of the Delta Quadrant to guide her on the dim and rocky path that separated life from death.

That… and wait.

Please Kathryn, he silently prayed, find your way back to us.

Epilogue

The last thing the Doctor remembered was standing over the translucent remnants of the creature that had gestated within Tuvok and been transferred to Assylia. He had begun pondering the safest means of disposing of them only after he had released Tuvok from sickbay and added a brief subroutine to remind himself to consult with Tuvok once this latest crisis was past. He did not believe the ship’s disposal systems would be capable of recycling them. For all he knew, B’Elanna and Seven would want to study them. But for him they were simply in the way.

That wasn’t exactly true.

Yes, the remains were in the way.

But the last thing he remembered… was impossible.

He had explored as many aspects of humanity as his program allowed, interacting with the crew, creating a holographic family, engaging in physical intimacy with Danara Pel, fantasizing about physical intimacy with…

Had this been a fantasy?

Or, perhaps… a vision?

Impossible. Holograms didn’t have visions.

Nonetheless, the last thing the Doctor clearly remembered was the sight of Captain Janeway, suspended in midair and surrounded by a blinding white light.

One minute he had been in sickbay, and the next before the captain.

No.

Drawn toward the captain.

Which meant… now… he was…

Where?

Suspended in the absence of light, he could find no immediate answer.

Tom’s eyes fluttered open. He was disoriented by the sensations that floated into his groggy consciousness.

His head rested on a pillow, soft, but… stale. It reeked of something… a foul smell he found hard to place.

Is that cigar smoke?

Tom was, of course, not a smoker. But from time to time his holodeck programs included characters who smoked cigars,