Boxing on Lake George Part 5— Epilogue

"Mommy it's colder here than it is on the holodeck." Six year old Elizabeth Janeway complained. She was currently wrapped in a towel wet from swimming in the lake. Yet despite her belief that it was too cold to keep swimming, she still insisted on dangling her feet in the water.

"That's because the holodeck is a perfect simulation, this is real." Kathryn replied, a hint of mirth in her voice but she made sure not to sound as though she were laughing at her daughter. They were currently relaxing on a boat in the middle of Lake George—the real Lake George—waiting for Chakotay and their son to return from their swim. The boat was far more child friendly than the sail boat she and Chakotay once used on the holodeck.

"But I'm cold" the little girl pouted.

"If you come sit up here with me in the sun you will be warmer." She offered and watched as the child thought it over.

"Okay" the little one conceded standing up. Kathryn happily helped her up on the padded bench seat next to her. Once there the little girl immediately cuddled up into her arms.

"Warmer?"

"Yeah" Elizabeth sighed contently. "Mommy what is boxing?"

"Boxing?" Kathryn asked, confused at the sudden change in conversation.

"Daddy told Uncle Harry that he should start boxing, that it would help him stay in shape." The girl explained.

"Ah I see…" This was news to Kathryn and she considered how she should respond, both to her daughter and later with her husband.

"What shape is Uncle Harry supposed to be?" Elizabeth inquired not waiting for the answer to her first question.

"Daddy meant it would help Uncle Harry stay healthy and…not get sick." Kathryn tried to explain, unsure how exactly to the concept of 'staying in shape' to a six year old.

"How?" the child pressed full of curiosity.

"Boxing is a type of exercise that take place in the gym." She replied, Kathryn had long grown accustomed to her inquisitive daughter and her continuous questions. Her mother loved to remind her that Elizabeth was only taking after her mother in this behavior.

"Running is exercise."

"That is true but this is more like…pretend fighting." She was quickly discovering that boxing wasn't an easy sport to explain.

"Like Uncle Tom and Aunt B'Elanna pretend to fight?" Elizabeth asked and Kathryn nearly choked

"I don't know what—"

"Miral said Uncle Tom and Aunt B'Elanna do this Klingon pretend fighting with a weird looking big curved weapon. A bah-bah—"

"Bat'leth" she finished for the girl.

"Yeah that's it, she showed it to me. But she said we couldn't touch it because it was sharp."

"It is very sharp, you shouldn't touch it, ever." Kathryn warned her firmly

"So boxing is like what Miral's mommy and daddy do?" the little asked eagerly, looking up at her mother.

"Sort of, except instead of using weapons boxers use their hands in fists."

"Fists?" she questioned looking at her own little hands and balled them up.

"They wear these big gloves to protect their hands."

"Why does daddy like to do it?"

"I have no idea" she grumbled.

"Mommy?" the girl questioned confused at her mother's response.

"You will need to ask him." Kathryn replied, that was one question she had never learned the answer to.

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"Daddy why do you like to box?" Elizabeth asked once her father and brother were safely back on board. Two year old Charlie sat on his mother's lap wrapped in a towel drinking juice from a sippy cup. Chakotay's eyes darted to his wife's face but she offered him no help. She was just as interested in the answer as her daughter was.

"Well for me it is a way to let off all the extra energy inside me. I find it fun, why do you like swimming?" He countered with a playful smile.

"I like being under water. I wanna go scuba diving." She pleaded with him.

"You need to wait till you are older, remember?" Kathryn quickly stopped her. She had been begging to go diving since she first saw a diver in the large fish tank at the aquarium a year earlier.

"I know" she sighed dramatically. "Can me and mommy watch you box with Uncle Harry?" The girl requested instead.

"I don't think so." Her father quickly replied.

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because mommy doesn't like to watch me box." He answered as he slowly steered the boat back to their cabin on the other end of the lake.

"Why not?" she asked and Kathryn gave him a quick look that told him he shouldn't have said that.

"Because she is afraid I will get hurt." He had little choice but to answer honestly even though it had the possibility of upsetting the child.

"Why?" The girl asked, confused by his words.

"It's just like when she is afraid you might get hurt when you play on the trampoline without us."

"Oh, she's worried." The girl replied with a nod of understanding.

"That's right" her father said with smile.

"Mommy have you ever boxed?" Elizabeth asked, surprising them both once more.

"Once" Kathryn told her softly.

"Only once why?"

"She got hurt" Chakotay answered without thinking.

"You got hurt?" she cried in dismay.

"Mommy hurt?" Charlie cried suddenly worried twisting around to look at her. He had been quiet the whole time and Kathryn wasn't sure he was even following their conversation. But at the possible threat to his mother the toddler was on full alert. She shot her husband another glare. Dealing with two upset children was not what she wanted to be doing, especially on their vacation.

"The doctor fixed me right up" she assured both her children. Thankfully it was enough to calm her youngest. He laid back against her once more and allowed his eyes to droop, content once more. But her older child was not so easily pacified.

"If mommy got hurt then it is dangerous. Why do you box daddy?" Elizabeth asked, putting her hands on her hips and turning a look on her father that she had learned from her mother.

"I don't do it anymore, don't worry I stopped so I wouldn't get hurt. Mommy doesn't like it when I get hurt." He told her quickly yet she continued to stare at him.

"But you told Uncle Harry you would teach him to box." The girl added, unaware that she was tattling on her father. Kathryn raised an eyebrow giving him a pointed look waiting for his answer.

"I won't get hurt. I'm just teaching him to box. He will be the one doing the actual boxing." He assured both his daughter and his wife. Kathryn didn't say anything but she was far less convinced that he was telling the truth.

"Does that mean he will get hurt?" Elizabeth countered a frown forming on her face.

"He might get hurt" Chakotay conceded cringing slightly. Kathryn could see he was mentally trying to find a way out of this conversation but their daughter wasn't letting him off so easily.

"I don't want Uncle Harry to get hurt either." She pouted and both parents knew her affection for the man was partly the result of him totally spoiling her.

"I will try very hard to make sure he doesn't get hurt." He promised giving the top of her head a kiss.

"Okay" the little girl agreed but she wasn't 100% convinced.

"What do you say we head back to the cabin and get some dinner? And then afterwards we can roast marshmallows for smores?" He suggested desperately trying to change the conversation.

"Yeah" both children yelled excitedly.

"This time maybe we could try and keep it out of your hair." Kathryn suggested to her daughter as Chakotay increased the speed of the boat. Two nights earlier they had spent half an hour in the bath getting the gooey white mess out of her long brown hair.

"That's probably a good idea." The girl agreed and they all laughed.

the end

a/n I was originally going to end this after the last chapter but then I thought a bit of family fun on the actual Lake George would be a better ending. I really hope you like it and enjoyed the story. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has read this. Thank you!