Subject:      NEW:Doorway, VOY, J/Q, [PG], 1/1
From:         Robinl@s054.aone.net.au (Robin Lawrie)
Date:         1997/09/20
Message-Id:   <5vvkm5$i9s_002@cpe.Sydney.aone.net.au>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.q
[More Headers]

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Doorway
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by Robin Lawrie
robinl@s054.aone.net.au
Sept, 1997
VOY, J/Q, [PG],

WARNING: This isn't my usual happy little fanfic. 

This is a sequel to Keyhole.  It helps to read it first, but I've 
included the last two paragraphs for continuity. I also consulted 
Jeri Taylors "Mosaic" for some location details. (Just between you 
and me, I've read fanfic on asc/e/m that reads and works better 
than Ms Taylors effort. Don't start me. I digress.) 

Don't worry about the up-in-the-air ending on this one. I decided it 
was going to take longer than I thought to resolve things, so 
there'll 
be a third part that tidies up the loose ends, in about a month.

Summary: Janeway has a choice to make.

Comments: Whatever. Wherever. 

Disclaimer:  Star Trek, Star Trek Voyager,  and the characters in 
this story are the property of Paramount.
=======================================

Q watched as Voyager disappeared into the blinding crack of light. 
At least B'Elanna had the warp drive back on line. That should 
cheer her up some. She seemed so lonely. He'd only tried to help. 
She had to know, didn't she?

Janeway watched the stars turn into star lines. At least the warp 
drive was back on line. She smiled grimly. In the darkness of her 
unlit quarters, in the only privacy the Captain was permitted, 
Janeway relaxed the fist around her heart, and allowed the hurt. 
For a few minutes. Hell, she had a ship to run. She had to get 
these people...home.

<I ended Keyhole here>

************

Q looked down at the small object in the palm of his hand. The 
small, brass key seemed so ordinary, yet perhaps it could unlock 
more than just a doorway. Q raised his eyebrows hopefully. She's 
probably over her little tantrum by now. Best go check.

With a snap, a quick spark of light took off after Voyager. This 
time, he'd get it right.

************

'Captain?'

'He's gone, Tuvok.'

'Q?'

'Sorry,  who? Yes. Q. That's what I meant.' 

Tuvok remained in the doorway, watching his Captain stand 
silhouetted against the window in the darkened quarters. 
Apparently the encounter with Q had left her troubled. Tuvok 
resisted the urge to shake his head, resigned to the emotional 
needs of humans. Still, the logical thing to do would be to offer 
assistance.

'Captain, can I help?' He approached cautiously, aware of the 
Captain's protectiveness of her personal space. Perhaps the 
standard 'Starfleet pat on the shoulder' was appropriate. He drew 
closer, reached out a hand, pausing, as he noticed the small 
jerking actions of the Captains chest and shoulders.  Surely she 
wasn't...sobbing?

He continued the motion, bringing both hands up to firmly press 
down on tense and shaking shoulders. Tuvok squeezed gently and 
began the antithesis of a Vulcan neck pinch. A soothing stroking 
rhythm soon had Janeway relaxed and breathing easy. She rolled 
her head and sighed as the massage continued.

'Thanks Tuvok. I needed that.'

'Au contraire, ma capitaine!  I'm back!'

Without turning, Janeways head dropped.  'Hello Q.' she 
mumbled.

'Aren't you going to ask me to stop? Yell at me? *Swear* at me?'

'No. Strangely enough, you're doing a great job. And I thought you 
saved the French for someone else.'

'French is the language of love, my dear.' 

'Exactly. Q, you're stopping!'

Q flung himself dramatically onto the lounge. 'I grew tired of 
bruising my hands on your boney scapulae. Come. Sit. Please tell 
me I'm forgiven. Hmm? I have something for you.'

Janeway perched on her desk and swung her legs, studying the 
elegantly sprawled immortal like a mongoose eyes a cobra. 
'Another present? Sorry to disappoint you but after last time? I 
don't think so. Now what's this about love, and just where did you 
learn to massage like that.'

Q flapped his hands at Janeway, shooing her words away. 
'Shooosh, you. We're not talking about *that*. That was then, this 
is now. You humans are so *linear*. Let's talk about me instead. 
And my present. Look.'

Q fished about in a pocket and held up the small brass key. He 
flicked it into the air with his thumb and Janeway snatched it 
before it landed. She studied it for a moment then pulled out her 
Keyhole. She placed the two items next to each other on her desk 
and turned to Q . 'It unlocks the door, doesn't it?'

'Oui.'

'I can get to Earth?'

'Oui aussi.'

'And the crew, too?'

'Mais non, unfortunatement.'

'Merde.'

'D'accorde, ma Capitaine. So. Will you go? '

'Can I return to the ship afterwards?'

'Now, you see? This is the tricky part. If you go and *stay* what 
you do there will affect the time flow and change the future, yadda, 
yadda, yadda ... However, if you choose to return, anything you 
get up to on Earth will never have happened and you're back on 
your dinky little, squid shaped ship making your pathetically slow 
way back to the alpha quadrant. Simple. Stay, and play with Mark 
and the dogs, and forget about all your pals here; don't worry. I'll 
look after them. Or come back, having achieved, well, nothing 
really.'  Q smiled a happy little smile, as if he was bestowing the 
greatest of all gifts.

'Can I think about this?'

'No.' Q raised his fingers as if to snap them.

'Fine. Then I'm going.' Janeway grabbed the gifts from her desk, 
inserted the key and turned it. Q watched, still smiling, as Kathryn 
Janeway vanished in a Q-like flash.

'Hmm. Not bad for a beginner.'  He settled back, and crossed his 
legs, snapping up the sealed section of Cosmo and a cappuccino. 
'She'll be back.'

*************

The air in the Botanical Park was still and crisp, with the scent of 
lilacs. The pre dawn light made the sky glow orange, giving an 
alien feel to the landscape that Janeway found disconcerting. Has 
it been so long? Have I forgotten so much? Then she recognised 
where Q's magic had dumped her. Damn. If I turn around the 
bench will be there. *The Bench*. Where Hobbes had become 
Mark, and her life had become just a little more complex. She 
turned. The bench was still there. Damn.

A humming noise overhead startled her from her reminiscing. A 
runabout was making a detour over the Park on its way to Starfleet 
Headquarters. Suddenly the enormity of her position hit home. 
Earth! She was home! First things first, Janeway tapped her 
communicator.

'Captain Kathryn Janeway to Starfleet Headquarters.  Reporting 
for duty.'

*************
Admiral Paris couldn't stop shaking his head. And grinning. 

'So he's made himself useful, has he?  Captain, you're the best 
news I've had all day, all year, dammit.' Janeway had finished an 
exhaustive debriefing session. The two old friends had moved on 
to socialising, and catching up over some good hot coffee. 
Janeway sipped blissfully.

'Tom's been a real asset. Not an angel by any stretch of the 
imagination, but we'd've been in a lot of trouble without him. 
Thanks for confirming his promotion. I know what it'll mean to him.'

'All we have to do now is get him home. How's the science team 
progressing?' In the week since her return, Janeway was the stick 
in the Starfleet ant nest, pulling in all favours and kicking off new 
directions in wormhole research, long range communications, and 
subspacial anomalies. The explanation of her return was accepted 
without too much comment; Q having a known track record for 
interference in Starfleet matters. However, a solution wouldn't be 
found overnight, and Janeway felt a little disappointed. Admiral 
Paris tried a different approach.

'So, seen Mark yet?'

'I've, ah, been a bit busy.' All week, the rationalisations had 
continued, with the urgency of getting her ship back being the 
excuse. But now the research was progressing under its own 
momentum. There were no more excuses. She realised the 
Admiral was watching her closely. 

'Take a break, Captain. We can carry on for a few days without 
you. I'll keep the whip cracking.'

Janeway smiled as the decision was made for her. 'OK, Admiral. 
And thanks.'

************
The quarters assigned to her had the sameness of all Starfleet 
rooms. It was comforting, in a way. She hadn't returned to the 
apartment she and Mark shared when they were both in San 
Francisco. Just in case. 

Janeway wrapped her gown tighter, and fussed with her hair. She 
made more coffee, and decided her nails could use some 
attention. Grabbing her bath bag and a trashy magazine she 
settled on the lounge and began buffing, clipping, sipping, flicking 
through, and generally putting off doing what she really should be 
doing. Calling Mark. Her coffee gone, her nails trimmed, and the 
magazine tossed, Janeway sighed and gave up. No more excuses. 
She sat behind the console and accessed Marks number in South 
America. With a determined poke, she completed the connection.

The screen on the console cleared. 

'Hello Mark.'

'Kath! Where are you?'

'Here. Earth. San Francisco. Can I...?'

'Wait right there! I'll catch the first runabout back. God it's great 
to 
see you. You look great, wonderful,  just, great.' His hand reached 
out to stroke the screen. 'Welcome home Kath.'

***********
Q looked up from his perusal of an article on the removal of facial 
hair, and sighed sadly.

'Oh dear, Kathy. What *have* you done? There'll be tears before 
bedtime, I'm afraid.'

He tut tutted and returned to his reading. Ah! Here we go. "What 
Women Really Want In Bed". This could be useful research.

****************
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End part 2