From Your Daughters

October, 3379

"Mm, isn't this romantic?" Kathryn Janeway murmured. She was wrapped in the arms of her lover, her wife, her soul mate...

Seven considered the sky. It was flushed in a vivid rainbow at the horizon, but the sky was already dark overhead.

"You mean the rain?" she said dryly.

"Yes, the rain," Kathryn said drowsily. They were standing under an overhang, watching the late afternoon storm pass over the Executive suites of Starfleet's 'Golden Gate Inn'. After being apart for so long, Kathryn and Seven had decided to go on a second honeymoon. (Seven contested that technically they had never went on a honeymoon the first time, but the fact was beyond argument.) They'd spent much of the last month touring the planet, going wherever their holo-emitters would take them. And now they were back in old California again...

"What a waste of a walk," Seven sighed. The wind blew a cold gust across their faces, and Kathryn grimaced.

"This weather makes my flesh crawl," she complained.

"Kinda like D'buhari?" Seven smirked. Kathryn laughed.

"No, he was actually nice," she said.

"I still think he had the hots for you," Seven said, unconsciously tightening her arms around Kathryn's shoulders.

"He was a giant lizard!"

"I thought you had a thing for lizards," Seven chuckled. Kathryn tilted her head up to look at her, and wrinkled her nose.

"Just the tongue thing..."

"Resourceful, aren't you?" Seven squirmed briefly as Kathryn poked a finger at her side.

"I don't think this walk was a total waste," Kathryn said. "Besides, I think the rain is letting up."

"Too bad," Seven sighed.

"Oh, come on, I want to see what was down the road," Kathryn said, stepping forward out of Seven's arms.

Seven followed Kathryn, taking her hand as the shorter woman half dragged her out from under the overhang.

"You lead, and I shall follow..." Seven droned, half-closing her eyes.

"Isn't that how it's always done?" Kathryn laughed.

"Verrrry funny."

"Well, I try. Don't trip."

"Where?" Seven stumbled briefly as they made their way down a slight incline.

"There."

"You're not helping!"

"Then open your eyes!" Kathryn snickered. Seven harumphed and opened her eyes. "It's too muddy for you to be parading around like that."

"I'm my own float," Seven smirked. She looked at her feet. "Except I'm getting mud on my shoes."

"Don't worry, it comes off."

"Just like everything else."

They continued down the road. It was still in use, although most of the traffic now didn't touch the ground. Kathryn led the pair along the aging sidewalk that lined the road.

"It's probably just more Starfleet buildings," Seven said. She was referring to the small collection of buildings that they were slowly approaching.

"Ah, yes, but what second honeymoon would be complete without touring a bunch of Starfleet buildings?"

"A good one?"

Kathryn smirked.

"Couldn't we have at least taken a transport?" Seven whined lightly.

"But then we couldn't have walked," Kathryn said pointedly.

"So?"

"So... then you couldn't have had such a wonderful opportunity to look at my behind," she said.

"Can't I just stay here and look at your butt while you go look at Starfleet stuff?"

"We have to do this together, Seven," Kathryn laughed, holding Seven's arm.

"Well, you can look at my butt on the way back."

"See, I told you it was more Starfleet buildings," Seven sighed as they made a final approach. True to her word, however overdramatic, the complex they had come to was definitely Starfleet or Federation in design.

"Well, what is it, smartypants?" Kathryn wondered.

"It's...um..." Seven tilted her head thoughtfully. The first two buildings were small and unmarked. The middle building was the largest. In front of it was a large fountain. A trio of snowy-white doves were perched on the fountain. They gazed curiously at the holograms as the pair approached.

"Birds?" Kathryn whispered. "But no people?"

"Maybe they're inside," Seven said in an equally low voice.

So they went inside. The glass doors at the front of the building were unlocked. There was only one small sign on the doors.

"PP, east," Kathryn murmured thoughtfully.

"PP..." Seven echoed. They looked around. The main room of the building was fairly empty, except for a small scupture standing against the far wall. To Kathryn, it looked vaguely familiar. Seven blinked in immediate recognition, stepping toward the scupture.

"Peace Point," Seven said. "East."

"We're east of Peace Point?" Kathryn echoed.

"Yes, by about fifty kilometers," a voice behind them said. Both women started, turning quickly.

A women, about Kathryn's height, stood there. She looked as vaguely familiar as the Peace Point sculpture had.

"I'm sorry, we shouldn't have just barged in," she apologized.

The woman smiled. "Oh, it's quite alright. We always welcome visitors." Kathryn noticed that the woman was wearing a bluer version of the current Starfleet uniform.

"Pardon me for asking," Kathryn said. "But what's your name?"

"Lieutenant Anne Janeway Pierce," the woman said. "I a groundskeeper here at the Peace Point East Memorial Center."

"This place isn't very well marked," Seven commented. The smile briefly left Anne's face.

"I'm afraid we've had some budget cuts," she said.

Kathryn blinked. "You mean your sister let them do that?"

"My sister?" Anne hesitated.

"Mera. The Admiral."

Anne swallowed, still smiling but clearly uncomforable. "How did you know she's my sister?"

Kathryn shrugged lightly. "The name. Is something wrong?"

"No," Anne shook her head. "People just don't usually make the connection." She glanecd down briefly. "They usually think I'm her daughter."

"Except you're older," Kathryn guessed. Anne nodded.

"I just wasn't the command type," she said. "But I like it here."

"Just what do you do here?" Seven wondered. Anne smiled, glad to get away from the less comfortable topic.

"Well, I'm a groundskeeper," Anne said. "I keep everything looking good, I feed the birds, and I give tours."

"Tours?"

"It's not a long tour," Anne smiled.

"May we have it?"

"Of course," Anne nodded. "Just follow me."

They walked back to the main doors. Anne pointed through the glass. "Those are doves. Birds of peace, of course. They're descendants of the doves that were released at the opening of Peace Point, hundreds of years ago."

"How'd they get here?"

"The originals were recaptured. There's a group of them at the Western memorial too." Anne turned, looking back at the miniature Peace Point. "There's a sculpture of Peace Point at both memorials. If the Earth weren't curved, and the space between clear, you'd be able to see the other memorial from here."

"What is this a Memorial for?" Kathryn asked. Anne's expression softened.

"For peace. For love..." Anne tilted her head. "For Pheonise."

"Pheonise?" Kathryn blinked, recognizing the name.

"Do you know who she was?" Anne asked as she led Kathryn and Seven toward another door.

"I met her once," Kathryn said. Anne laughed lightly.

"You must be thinking of someone else. Pheonise Janeway has been dead for almost 700 years."

"It was 2595," Kathryn said absently. "She was a charming young lady."

Anne glanced at Seven, who merely shrugged and smiled. "Y-yes. Well, the records would agree with you on that. She was said to have a very winning personality. It helped her a great deal as President of the Federation."

They went through the door, which lead outside to the other buildings.

"This is what we call the 'Shrine to Andromeda'," Anne said, her voice echoing in the small room. "Any guesses why?"

"Not a one," Seven said. She and Kathryn studied the sculpture centered in the room. It was of a young woman.

"It's sad, really," Anne said. She hit a button on the wall, and the lights changed. The white marble seemed to glow with lifelike colors.

"What is?"

"The story of Pheonise and a young woman named Chella." Anne's voice was soft. "Chella was about fifteen years younger than Pheonise, but that didn't stop her from falling in love with Pheonise. The attraction seemed to go both ways. They had a brief affair, but..." Anne shook her head. "It just didn't work out. Things like that never do, I suppose."

"Sometimes they do," Kathryn murmured, clasping Seven's hand. Anne looked at them, smiling gently.

"Perhaps."

"What happened to Chella?" Seven wondered.

"The same thing that happened to Pheonise," Anne said. "She grew up. Got married. They never spoke to each other after saying their goodbyes. But Pheonise never forgot her. She named her first daughter Chella."

"How sweet," Kathryn said softly. "Why didn't it work out?"

"Pheonise was already married," Anne smiled vaguely. "Chella went to work at the Andromeda station when they parted ways, hence the shrine's nickname."

Kathryn made a thoughtful noise as she studied the face of the sculpture. Anne hit the button on the wall, and the colors faded.

"There's one last stop on the tour," Anne said.

They went to the last building. It was almost as small as the previous.

"Pheonise Janeway lead the galaxy into peace," Anne said, her voice soft with admiration. "Her heart was capable of unsurpassed love, trust, and hope. She was always willing to give someone a chance to prove themselves. No matter how great an enemy, she always seemed ready and able to help lead them to a peaceful resolution."

Kathryn studied the bronze casting in front of them. The face was familiar to her. She smiled, remembering the troubled young woman who had climbed a mountain for answers. It seemed that she had found them.

"That was certainly an interesting experience," Seven said. She and Kathryn were walking back to the hotel. It was dark. The moon, still hugging the horizon, peeked through the cloudbank.

"I thought it was interesting to learn more about Pheonise," Kathryn said. She had her arm hooked around Seven's waist.

"That's what I meant."

Kathryn smiled. "I bet you were more interesting in the doves."

"Nah..." Seven teetered a bit as they walked. "Do you think Anne knew who we were?"

"She thought we were crazy, I think," Kathryn laughed.

"I never got to meet Pheonise," Seven stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Was she really as nice as Anne claimed?"

"Nicer," Kathryn smiled. "But, not as nice as you."

"Oh, is that so?" Seven chuckled as Kathryn's free hand crept across her stomach.

"Mm, yes," Kathryn murmured. "I think I have the suddenly urge to go back to the hotel."

"Well, one musn't ignore her urges." A mischevious smile played on Seven's lips.

"It's our honeymoon, Seven," Kathryn said. "I think our urges know what's best for us..."

It was nearly midnight now. The moon had risen, arcing partway across the sky. Kathryn stared up at the moon through the skylight. A soft sigh escaped her as Seven stirred. She felt Seven's arm slip down across her waist, back into the tangle of sheets. Kathryn lifted her free hand, resting the moon on her fingertips. The persistent yet gentle glow of the moon seemed to filter right through her. She sighed again. It was possible.

Kathryn thought of Pheonise, of Anne and Mera. Her daughter's daughters, her own flesh and blood. Unsuspecting descendants that had filtered through a thousand years, and yet remained so similar. She thought of Marija, and frowned briefly. The poor girl had been dead for almost a millenium. It was hard to let your daughter die.

Seven shifted again, and Kathryn dropped her hand. A year ago she would have thought this impossible--they had been apart for decades. And a thousand years ago they had been alive... What made this moment so special? Why was she suddenly seized by such a powerful urge to hold onto this moment? It seemed so insignificant...

"I put up with being weak and frail before I died, because I was in love, and I was happy. I loved Seven, and I loved my daughter. And I still do. I have accepted my death and rebirth, even though it took some time. And I do that out of love too, because I love being alive and being able to be with someone who I love."

Kathryn tilted her face up, studying Seven's restful face. So peaceful, familiar, hers... Kathryn's chest clenched as she thought of just a few weeks ago. If there hadn't been the K'Mi'dins entrance into the Federation, they might not have gotten back together. The thought made her cold.

"Maybe I should send a thank-you letter to D'buhari," Kathryn murmured softly.

"Kathryn?" Seven's voice startled her. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Kathryn said softly.

"You should be asleep." Her voice was muffled by a pillow.

"So should you."

Kathryn felt Seven turn over slightly, bringing her face closer.

"What keeps you up?" Seven wondered.

"The moon."

There was a pause. "I told you we shouldn't have got the room with the skylight."

"Mm, no, it's alright."

"You alright?" She didn't try to mask her concern.

Kathryn considered the question. "Yes, I think I am."

There's a moment lost in time

When she says "Hush, I'm on your side.

It's just the two of us."

You know that I...

You know I'll never say goodbye.

End