Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or the characters, Paramount does. I just own the plot.

It was late in the evening when Kathryn finally opened the wooden door to her mother's old house. Shivering, she walked inside and closed it behind her, turning the latch on the doorknob quickly; an instinct she had acquired from sneaking back in this same door in the dead of night as a teenager. The familiar action filled her with memories that seemed very close in the dark kitchen. Except this time she didn't have to close and lock the door so quickly, because she hadn't just been out causing trouble with boys; reality came zooming back. She smiled at the memories, but thanked the stars that she was an adult now who had jurisdiction over her own privileges. It surprised her how often this house brought back memories of her childhood and teen years. At any other place or time she couldn't even remember the feeling of being so young.

"Mom?" she called into the darkness. There was no response, so she assumed her mother was asleep already. It was past midnight, so that came as no surprise to her.

Kathryn had spent the rest of the afternoon with Chakotay, even after his breakdown, just catching up and filling each other in on what had been happening since they had gotten home. He had encouraged her to tell him more than he had told himself, and she didn't push him, seeing the pained look that crossed his features whenever she directed the conversation to personal life. Though they had reestablished a bond through his opening up to her, she knew there was still some barriers between them that could not be shaken away so easily. He talked about his work, and even Seven's, briefly, and then to how he was taking a break from Starfleet for a while. She further explained her "boring desk-job" and how there was nothing to it but making a guest appearance at the academy and flying into space to chaperone a routine away-mission every now and then. It was then that the conversation veered toward their earlier discussion, after Chakotay had cleared their empty drinks from the table.

"So Kathryn," he had said, striding into the living room from the kitchen. He'd found Kathryn standing as well, facing the embers in the fireplace, "do you think that you're actually going to try and find Molly again?" The question had come as an abrupt surprise to Kathryn who had, in her joy at talking with her old friend, forgotten the very problem that had driven her to see him in the first place. "I know that you haven't had any time to think about what I had told you… about possibly asking the help of Q, but I can't stop thinking about it now." His gaze was intense suddenly as he came to stand beside her, but she had not looked up.

"Chakotay," she had said his name in almost a whisper. "I honestly haven't thought about it ever since we dropped the subject. So many other things were coursing through my mind. But I do know that I want to see her again as much as I wanted to get Voyager home-- and now I can. Now that I have completed my mission, I have the time to seek her at last." She'd paused. "I'm just wondering what hell Q will have to go through to bring her back." She's glanced up in thought.

"I've been thinking the same thing," Chakotay's brow had furrowed and he'd begun to pace. "There's definitely going to be some kind of catch. Who knows, it may even create a severe problem in the timeline. There are so many variables to consider and we have no way to consider them all…" he'd taken slow steps across the carpeted floor in front of the fireplace.

"I don't even know how we could contact Q. He's the one who invites himself for visits…" she'd shrugged and turned to face Chakotay. "So all we can do--"

"-- is try." He'd finished, taking one last step, only then realizing that his pacing had brought him directly in front of her, their bodies only inches apart.

-

Kathryn blinked, standing in her mother's kitchen, returning from what had happened only hours before. With a swaying step, she started toward the doorway and then to the stairs that led to her bedroom. Each step creaked under her weight and, much to her dismay, more than they had when she was seventeen and well practiced in the art of silently climbing them.

She peeked into the bedroom to the left of the landing, making the floor creak by just shifting her weight to lean forward. The door to her mother's bedroom was ajar and the room was dark; Kathryn heard steady breathing and knew her sleep hadn't been disturbed.

Pulling her door open, she kicked off her boots and sat down at her desk, opening the personal padd and glancing at her messages. She'd missed a call from work, but that was all. It was already nine o'clock, so no one would be at Headquarters to pick up—she resolved to go to bed and figure out how to contact Q in the morning.

Her silk nightgown rustled against the sheets as she slid under them, making herself comfortable and closing her eyes. Breathing deeply, she willed the building headache away and tried to think of something other than her worries. She didn't know what to do about Q, or how to find him; it felt like a search that was beyond her completely, and she was afraid of disappointment. After all the years of suppressing her emotions for her daughter, the hope that she might see her again was like opening up the floodgates and letting all the water splash against her senses. For four years she had felt that she had coped normally with her daughter's absence. At first she had been in denial, until gradually the pain, the thoughts, even the love, had vanished. She'd taken this lack of emotion as having gotten over it, not repressing what she felt.

Kathryn turned over restlessly, burying her head in her pillow and picturing a window with stars zipping by—that always helped calm her down for some reason.

Then there was Chakotay. She still couldn't swallow the fact that they'd kissed—after all these years of protocols and then Seven, who he still lived with. A great part of her was wishing that nothing had happened between them, and that it had been a purely friendly visit, but she knew she couldn't reverse what had happened. Then of course, there was a part of her that wouldn't take back her actions for anything in the world. She just wondered what trouble it would cause for Chakotay, because now he was being unfaithful as well. If he and Seven broke up, she would feel partially responsible, but if they didn't, and worked it out, it would be torture.

"A lot must be troubling you," a voice said softly beside her ear. Absently, she sighed, having drifted halfway into sleep.

"You can say that again… wait, what?!" her eyes snapped open and she turned over, rolling right into Q's waiting arms. He was wearing a white dressing gown and nightcap.

"Q!" she nearly shrieked, wrenching herself away from him and leaping over the side of the bed. She grabbed for the long robe that was hanging on the back of her door and threw it on, tying it haphazardly.

"I know I know, I shouldn't appear so unexpectedly, but before you tell me to get out—"

"No." she breathed once and then looked at him in the eyes. Fighting her instincts to do exactly what he expected her to do, she said, "I was… actually going to try and find you tomorrow." His eyebrows shot up.

"You were going to seek me? Oh, the continuum never said anything about that. But really Kathy, where were you going to start looking?" he broke off chuckling. "It isn't as though we Q have a native planet. What were you going to do, stand around and yell until one of us showed up?" Kathryn shrugged.

"To tell you the truth, I might have. I hadn't thought it through, honestly." She pushed her loose hair behind her ears, calmer. "What did the continuum tell you exactly?"

"Oh, only that I should come and talk to you about something; something that you had been discussing."

"This 'something' being our daughter, correct?" she said flatly.

"Yes actually." He slid from the bed and walked toward her. "There was talk that you had resolved to ask for assistance to… retrieve her. From the timeline she was placed in. Is this right?" he was suddenly serious.

"That's right."

"Why suddenly do you want this, after the last four years?"

"Isn't it obvious, Q? I got Voyager home. We're safe now, and I wouldn't fear raising my child here on earth."

"I suppose." He looked thoughtful but said nothing else.

"Q? Are you going to help me?" he didn't reply. "Q? Are you listening to me?"

"Kathy, there is something you must know about the continuum's decision to let me help you with Molly four years ago. At the time, I'd thought that they had simply been swayed by my show of emotion for her, which was-- which is-- uncommon for any Q. I was wrong."

"What are you saying?" Kathryn asked, worried.

"There were some ulterior motives to helping us. Even though they saw my procreation with you as an annoyance at first, they soon recognized that it was, in fact, an opportunity."

"Well that's what you'd originally thought, wasn't it? That having a child with me was the best way to settle he conflict within the continuum?"

"Yes, but they were thinking along different lines. The conflict in the continuum is, for now, at rest. They were thinking of a far more selfish use for Molly."

"Use? You say that like she's some kind of tool…"

"That's precisely what they think she is-- nothing more. However, they would go out of their way to protect her; she is a completely new breed of being, and even if she wasn't half Q, they would want to keep her safe to find out more about her." He explained quickly to Kathryn, who shook her head.

"What do they want with her? Specifically?"

"Even I don't know, but the continuum has been known to go to great lengths to acquire certain knowledge."

"Great lengths?" Kathryn blinked and shook her head. "This is very vague to me, Q. It's not sounding good either." He reached over and put a hand on her arm.

"Kathy. What I'm saying is that the continuum has told me how to get through that wormhole again."

"But how will we know if they won't take her as soon as you retrieve her? What do you need me for at all?"

"I can't know. They want you involved because she may need to be persuaded to come with us when we come for her. After all, she has been there for the last four years, among those bipeds… she may not be willing to cooperate. Also, I had a hand in them allowing me to come and tell you all this. I thought you'd like to know, seeing as how she is yours as well as mine."

Kathryn drew away and perched on the side of her bed.

"So they've told you how to get through?"

"Yes. They've told me when and where the wormhole will appear and how I can get through. Even we omnipotent beings can't master every spatial anomaly—especially this one. It's different because a highly advanced species installed their own technology…"

"I don't need to know the mechanics of this wormhole, Q. I just need you to tell me when."

"A few earth-days, I'd think. How long are they again?"

"Twenty-four hours."

"Right then. I'll come and tell you when it's opening, but be ready at any time. This wormhole is erratic."

"Fine. Just let me know then." She said softly, yawning.

"I will." He raised his hand to snap, but before he could, she stopped him.

"Q?"

"Yes?"

"One more thing. Why exactly did the continuum choose this specific wormhole with that specific time period? I've been wondering that for some time."

"No reason, Kathy. It was random, and the closest suitable time period. Like I said, that wormhole fluctuates. It may have been in that sector of space sooner, but it may not have led to a time period in the Alpha Quadrant that would be livable for the child of the twenty-fourth century."

"Alright." She paused, considering. "Well, I've been to the late twentieth century before."

"Did you enjoy the visit?" Q smiled.

"I was actually in a bit of a hurry so I don't remember." She shrugged.

"Perhaps then, you'll be able to do some sight-seeing while you're there this time." With a grin, he snapped and was gone.