=/\=

It was loud when they transported down. It was loud and it was very bright. Natalie squinted and put her hand up to shield her eyes from the Sun. The noise came from the screaming crowd in front of them. A thousand, maybe more, people of all ages and background, some civilian, most Starfleet, stood in the field screaming and yelling "Welcome home!". Natalie was off to the side a bit, a little ways in the back. They had been transporting the crew down for about forty minutes, ten at a time. They started with the lowest, ensigns and lieutenants and their families. Finally they had reached the top, and now the senior staff and their children were transporting down, along with twenty-three year old Naomi Wildman, who had requested transporting down with the senior staff.

In front stood Captain Janeway and First Officer Commander Chakotay, Natalie's parents, and Commander Tuvok. Just behind them was Tom and B'Elanna Paris, Harry and Seven of Nine Kim, Neelix, the Doctor. The last row stood Naomi Wildman, sixteen-year-old Natalie Janeway, seventeen-year-old Blake Paris, thirteen-year-old Emily Paris, ten-year-old Andy Kim, eleven-year-old Noah Kim, and ten-year-old Anna Kim.

The noise from the crowd was deafening. Natalie fought the urge to put her hands up to her ears. After about five minutes of waving, Captain Janeway led the group down the ramp towards the crowd where they would meet with their families. Natalie glanced over at Blake. He was smiling and waving. He had an ego the size of Jupiter and he was relishing in the fanfare. She knew she should be enjoying it, but she admitted only to herself that the idea of becoming an instant celebrity was making her stomach do somersaults.

When they got down to the crowd, the senior staff immediately dispersed. Captain Janeway went in one direction, spotting her aging mother and little sister, Phoebe in the crowd. Commander Chakotay heard his name called, and when he turned around he spotted his older sister, Lakani. In the chaos of the crowd wanting to meet the famous senior staff, Natalie felt she was drowning. A half dozen reporters surrounded her, mouthing questions but in the heat and confusion, Natalie could respond. She twirled around, trying to find her mother.

"Mom!" she yelled. She couldn't see anything. "Momma!". Someone jabbed her ribs as they pushed past her, and a man with gray hair stepped on her foot. Natalie decided to do the only thing she knew how to do. She played dead. She collapsed on the spot. Immediately someone screamed, shouting, "Doctor! Doctor!". Voyager's EMH, The Doctor, heard the cry over the talking and homecoming tears, and rushed to Natalie's side and picked her up.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear, her eyes still shut.

=/\=

The Doctor had brought Natalie into the main building of Starfleet headquarters. He sat her down in a chair and let her have some air.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded 'yes'. "I'll go see if I can find your mother". She nodded again. The Doctor disappeared through the doors.

Natalie scanned the hallway she was sitting in. On the opposite wall was a picture of Captain James T. Kirk, one of the most famous captains in Starfleet. Natalie had read all about him in school. Down the hall, she saw a few Starfleet officers conferring with each other. They hadn't noticed her. The hallway made a bend towards the left and disappeared. Natalie was curious to what the rest of the building looked like, so instead of waiting for the Doctor to return as she knew she should, she got up and left.

The hallway continued on for a long way. On either side were various doors that led to various places. In between doors were pictures of alumni from Starfleet. Natalie hadn't seen any pictures of her mother or grandfather, who had been a Starfleet admiral for quite a few years before he died, but she had spotted a Maureen Paris, and suspected that it she was in some way related to Tom. Other pictures were of famous places. There was one of the Klingon High Council, a Vulcan temple, and one of the Golden Gate Bridge which was right outside Starfleet.

Natalie hadn't seen anyone, and she supposed that they were all outside with the crew of Voyager. Disappointed that she hadn't seen anyone, she turned around and when back outside. The crowd had calmed down. Many people were now in various areas around the Starfleet Headquarters, instead of in a massive clump when the crew had been transported. Natalie spotted Naomi, who was sitting on bench next to her mother and man in a blue Starfleet uniform that Natalie did not recognize. Natalie remembered that Naomi's father was in Starfleet and she assumed that it must be him. Sam and Naomi's father were talking intimately, but Naomi seemed quiet and sullen, sitting off to the side. She noticed Natalie and waved her over. Natalie walked over slowly, not sure if it was appropriate for her to interrupt a family reunion. Naomi seemed very pleased to have spotted a friendly face.

"Hey, Baby Jane," Naomi said. "I haven't seen you since we transported down."

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, I know. It was a mess. I was looking for Mom and Dad. Have you seen them?". Naomi shook her head.

She turned to her father, "Dad, I'd like you to meet Natalie. She's Captain Janeway's daughter. Nat, this is my dad, Greskrendtregk." Natalie smiled and shook his hand.

"It's a honor to meet you, Miss Janeway," he replied.

"Naomi, why don't you go find Neelix, I want him to meet Greskrendtregk," Sam requested. Naomi nodded and grabbed Natalie, dragging her off. They squeezed through huddle of people and emerged on the other side. Naomi had no intention of finding her god-father, Neelix, she wanted time alone with Natalie.

They strolled along the immaculate gardens of Starfleet which connected Headquarters with the Academy. They passed a large marble rock with an engraving on it: "Boothby: Beloved gardener from 2321-2380. See you in the stars". Natalie remembered that her mother spoke fondly of the Starfleet gardener, and that she regretted Natalie would never be able to meet him.

"You're father seems nice," Natalie finally said.

Naomi shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose. I don't know him real well."

Natalie laughed. "That's sort of the point of meeting him." Suddenly, from out of no where, a holocamera flash went off.

"Perfect!" the man's voice exclaimed. "Just perfect!". From behind a fern bush stepped a young man. He was twenty-something with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall, around 6'1".

"Who do you think you are?" Naomi accused. The smile from the man's face faded.

"I, uh, I'm…I'm a, uh, a photographer from the, uh, Starfleet Chronicle," the man replied. "The, uh, the name's, um, James. Jim, actually. Jim Newberg."

"The enemy," Natalie replied. Natalie and Naomi shared a sideways glance. "The press".

"No! No, no, no," Jim corrected. "I just take pictures. I don't want to talk or anything."

"Too bad," Naomi replied with a grin. She continued on walking, Natalie following her. For a moment, Jim just stared in awe. He had read about Voyager since he was little. He was born just a year after they had disappeared and grew up reading updates and learning about the mysterious circumstances of which they were transported to the Delta Quadrant. Now, for the first time, he was speaking to the second generation. He had no idea who these two girls were, but he knew they were from Voyager by the way they dressed.

"Wait!" Jim called. They were already a ways up the path. "Wait, please, wait." Jim ran to catch up. "I'm sorry. I…can we start over?" Naomi nodded her approval.

"I'm Jim Newberg," he said, sticking out his hand. Naomi replied by firmly shaking it.

"Naomi Wildman," she said. Jim turned to Natalie. They shook hands.

"Natalie Janeway," she introduced herself. Jim's jaw dropped.

"J…Ja…Janeway?" Jim asked. "As in Captain Kathryn Janeway?".

"She's my mom," Natalie replied, grinning. "You've heard of us?"

"Who hasn't?" Jim answered. "I bet there are hundreds of reporters swarming around Starfleet just waiting to talk to you two."

Natalie was dumbfounded. "Why?".

"Cause you're from Voyager, of course," Jim replied. "You guys are like famous". Naomi and Natalie looked at each other and giggled. "What's so funny?".

"Us? Famous?" Naomi replied, incredulously.

"We're not famous," Natalie added. "We're teenagers".

"Who happened to have grown up on the most famous ship in Starfleet," Jim retorted. "And you, missy." This was directed to Natalie. "Are the daughter of a Starfleet legend. How does it feel?". Natalie had to fight back the laughter. She knew she should appreciate the obsession some people had with Voyager, but she had never experienced anything like this firsthand. She assumed it must be like a fascination with Kirk or Spock, though Natalie had to admit Kirk seemed much more interesting than her mom.

Suddenly, Natalie had a brilliant idea.

"How would you like an exclusive interview with the Captain's daughter and the first person born on Voyager?" Natalie asked. Jim's jaw dropped again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today. Natalie crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

"Yes!" he said a little too enthusiastically. "I mean, yeah, yes, of course, when? Where?" Jim reminded Natalie of a little puppy begging for a biscuit.

"Tonight," Naomi interrupted, before Natalie had a chance to respond. "Give us your home frequency and we'll call you when it's time." Jim quickly searched for an empty PADD in his bag and entered in the number. Naomi took it and put into her purse.

"We'll call you later," Natalie said as Naomi snapped the bag close. Then they were gone.

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