AN:So in rewatching Star Trek Voayger episodes my muse has been inspired by some minor characters. This was suppose to be a 500 word or less drabble based on the following prompt, but it sort of got too long so I'm going out on a limb and posting for the first time in this fandom. Would appreciate any feedback you would like to give. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek Voyager are not mine, I'm simply expanding upon their stories!

Prompt: Will - "I wasn't a good friend to you today, but one thing I know for sure - you are not in the way." - 'About A Boy'

He had been working on the problem since coming on shift that morning, and he had almost convinced himself that there was no solution. However, he finally thought he might be on to something when the Captain's voice came through his combadge.

"Mr. Dalby, report to cargo bay one."

Dalby sighed in frustration at the interruption but pressed his combadge to reply. "Can it wait a few minutes, Captain? I'm in the middle of something."

"Unless you're trying to prevent a warp core breach, I suggest you get down here ASAP, Mr. Dalby."

"Yes, ma'am," Dalby replied, reluctantly logging out of the station he was working at and getting to his feet.

With quick and purposeful strides, Dalby headed out of engineering. He made his way briskly toward the cargo bay, fidgeting nervously in the turbolift when it didn't move fast enough for his liking. The captain's urgency had him on edge.

Striding into the cargo bay, Dalby found Janeway and two security guards standing in the middle of the area, their attention on the control room. At the bottom of the ladder leading up to the control room, Chakotay stood talking calmly to someone. Following everyone else's gaze, Dalby spotted Gerron up in the control room. The young Bajoran was pointing a phaser at himself. The panicked look and frantic tone of his voice had Dalby figuring that the phaser wasn't simply set for stun.

"What's going on, Captain?" Dalby asked, heading in her direction.

"Apparently, Gerron broke into a weapons locker and took a phaser. Security followed him here, but he climbed up in the control room and threatened to shoot himself if anyone tried to come up. Chakotay's been trying to calm him down but isn't having much luck. We thought maybe you might have better luck."

Dalby didn't reply as he glanced up at Gerron again. He remembered only an hour ago Gerron had come into engineering wanting to talk to him. Having just thought up the current solution he was working on, Dalby had brushed him off, claiming he was busy and they would talk later.

~If I had just talked to him then perhaps all of this could have been avoided,~ Dalby thought as he started walking toward Chakotay.

"I'm just in the way here. No one will miss me," Gerron told Chakotay.

"You're wrong, Gerron. When I recruited you to my crew, I said you were part of a new family. I meant that."

"My family is dead! The Cardassians killed them!"

"I know what that's like, Ral," Dalby replied calmly before Chakotay could reply. He was standing next to the Commander now. "The Cardassians murdered my wife too. I know it hurts but harming yourself isn't going to bring them back."

"I just want to join them."

"I'm sure a part of you feels that way but there must be a part of you that doesn't or you would have already pulled that trigger," Dalby reasoned with him, hoping he was right.

"I can't do anything right. I'm of no use to this ship."

"What happened to make you feel that way, Ral?" Dalby asked, taking a step toward the ladder.

"Like you care! You were too busy for me before. I'm just in the way."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brushed you off like that. I was just caught up in my work."

"Well go back to it, then!"

"I can't. Not with worrying about what you might do. Let me come up there and we'll figure this out."

Gerron hesitated, looking around at his gathered crewmates. "Just you."

"Okay," Dalby said, as he headed for the ladder. He climbed slowly, not wanting to make Gerron do something drastic. Reaching the top of the ladder, he turned to face the young Bajoran. "What happened that's got you so upset?"

"Like it matters. She's right. I'm just in the way."

"Who says you're in the way?" Dalby asked, taking slow steps toward the teen.

"Lt. Commander Jacobs," Gerron said, speaking of his supervisor. "I wasn't getting my assignment done fast enough for her. She said I was just in the way and holding everyone else up with mistakes they'd just have to fix later."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Gerron. She had no right to say that no matter what happened."

"She's right. I don't fit in here. Not like I did with the Maquis. I just want out."

"Then why haven't you pulled that trigger?"

"I watched my family die in front of me. I don't want to do that to someone else."

"Well none of us are going anywhere," Dalby told him, waving a hand toward those on the ground. "So, just hand me the phaser," he said holding out his hand.

"Why don't you all just leave."

"Because we care about you, Ral. Please, give me the phaser."

Gerron hesitated, looking once again down toward the floor of the cargo bay. Dalby thought about trying to make a grab for the phaser but if it went off it could have deadly consequences.

"I promise you, we'll fix this."

Dalby's words brought Gerron's attention back to him. Dalby didn't like what he saw in the young man's eyes. There was a lost and apologetic look in them. For a moment he thought the teen was going to pull the trigger right in front of him but then Gerron lowered the phaser. Slowly, he held it out to Dalby who took the weapon. Switching it a stun setting, Dalby placed it on the nearby control panel before turning to pull Gerron into a tight embrace.

"I was a rotten friend today. I should have listened when you wanted to talk. I'm sorry, but I assure you, you are not in the way."

"I just feel lost."

"Then I'll help you find your way."

"So will I," Chakotay said, their former Maquis leader having climbed the ladder as soon as Gerron had turned over the phaser. Though Gerron didn't try to move from Dalby's protective embrace, Chakotay laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I didn't really need another crew member when I recruited you but I could see you needed someone in your life. I didn't turn my back on you then, and I'm not going to now. Whatever happened to push you this close to the edge, we'll work it out," he assured the young man.

"I don't want to work under Jacobs. Everything I do there is wrong."

"Then we'll find somewhere else for you to work," Chakotay told him. "You do have a place with this crew. We all do. We just need to figure out where your place is. Why don't we go someplace private an talk this through?" the commander suggested, knowing this crisis was far from over. The immediate danger may have passed but the situation couldn't just be brushed aside.

Taking a step back from Dalby, Gerron nodded, embarrassed now by his emotional outburst but encouraged by the words of his crew mates. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed.