November 1999
Rating: G
The Gift of
the Mahj
by Sängerin
It
wasn’t the way you would choose to spend Christmas. Stranded
on a planet in the middle of the Delta Quadrant, probably for the rest of their
lives. Except that Hogan didn’t have any time left. And neither, it seemed,
did Samantha’s child. How sad, for Naomi to be brought into the world - saved
from the Vidiians by Harry and the Doctor's
counterpart - only to die on this barren, almost pre-historic world.
Kathryn
shook her head in mute disbelief. Only a week ago she had been approving Neelix’s plans for a Christmas party on the holodeck. Two weeks before that, she and Chakotay had been trying to decide how to spend Christmas
on New Earth… She let out a rueful laugh.
‘Something
funny?’ said B’Elanna, testily.
‘No,’
replied Kathryn. ‘I was just thinking about how little things have changed in
the past month.’
‘Little?’
‘Yes
- three weeks ago I was stranded on a planet for the rest of my life. Now, I’m
stranded on a planet for the rest of my life. The only difference is the
ecosystem and the number of fellow strandees.’
‘When
you put it that way…’ B’Elanna grimaced. ‘Good night,
Captain.’
‘Goodnight,
B’Elanna.’ Kathryn watched as the other woman shifted
uncomfortably on the ground. Then she closed her eyes and tried - hard - to get
to sleep.
After
what she guessed was about half an hour, Kathryn realised
that sleep wasn’t going to come easily. Her thoughts drifted back to Christmas,
and a conversation she and Chakotay had on New Earth.
‘What
would you like for Christmas, Kathryn?’
‘Oh,
I don’t know - you’ve already given me a bathtub.’ She had smiled across at
him.
‘There
must be something you’d like.’
‘Well…’
she had paused to consider, ‘There is one thing. You’ll think me a little
silly, but…’
‘Yes?’
‘Hairclips.’
‘Hairclips?’
‘Oh,
I know I can replicate them easily enough, but it was a bit of a tradition with
my family. Phoebe and I were always given hairclips in our Christmas
stockings.’
‘And
it makes you think of Christmas at home.’
‘Mm-huh,’
she had nodded. ‘What about you? What would you like for Christmas, Chakotay?’
Kathryn
remembered the look that had come into Chakotay’s
eyes, and the stab of fear she had felt, regretting the question. But he had
just smiled.
‘I’m
not sure I know. My family never celebrated Christmas, and even after I left
them it was never really special to me.’
‘Just as a present, then. You’ve done
so much for me - I should be able to give something back.’
'Well…'
'What?'
'Mushroom
soup. Don't look so surprised! I always loved it, but then it became a "Seska" thing. I'd like to have it when it had nothing
to do with Seska at all.'
'You're
asking me to make mushroom soup for you? I don't cook!'
'Does
that mean you can't?'
'No…'
'And
you did ask what you could do for me.'
'I
suppose I did.'
With
the memory of Chakotay's smile in her mind, Kathryn
drifted off to sleep.
* * *
As
she woke up next morning, Kathryn heard Harry saying 'Merry Christmas' to
someone. His tone was desultory at best. But at least he'd remembered, she
thought. That was better than ignoring the holiday altogether.
Next
to her, B'Elanna sat up slowly, rubbing her neck.
'It's
not the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements, is it?' Kathryn asked
sympathetically.
'You
can say that again,' said B'Elanna with a grimace.
'Do
you know if there are any edible fungi on this planet?' Kathryn asked.
B'Elanna stared. 'Why fungi in
particular?'
'Well,
I'd like to try to make some mushroom soup,' said Kathryn, without thinking.
Despite
her weariness, B'Elanna's eyes lit up with interest.
'Mushroom soup? There's only one person here…'
'B'Elanna?' Kathryn interrupted. 'Fungi?'
'I
don't know, Captain,' B'Elanna grinned. 'You'll have
to ask Neelix.'
Great.
* * *
'Edible
fungi, Captain? Yes, we have some right here.' Neelix
wandered across the storage cave to where the edibles were piled. 'I'm sorry to
ask, Captain, but is this for personal use?'
'In a
way…It's a Christmas gift.'
'I can't
let you have very much, you understand.' He picked up a couple of large green
stalks.
'I
understand, Neelix. What you can spare will be fine.
Also, have you found anything similar to Terran
pepper?'
'Not
on the planet, Captain, but…' Neelix paused, as if
considering his options. Then he put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a tiny
packet and gave it to Kathryn. 'I found that I had this in my pocket. It's
replicated Terran Pepper. I was going to make a
pepper steak for Ensign Kaplan before Seska arrived.
But, well, now I have the pepper, and no steak. So, especially if it's for
Christmas…it will be good for morale.'
'Thank
you, Neelix.'
'Here,
don't forget your fungi.'
Kathryn
took the thick, slightly slimy stems. 'You're sure this is edible?'
'Of
course, Captain.' Neelix looked only slightly
insulted by her comment. 'I hope the Commander enjoys his soup.'
Great.
* * *
It
may have been Christmas, but they still had to survive. Kathryn snatched five
minutes here and there during the day. She spent five minutes pulverising the fungi, then led a team looking for more
sources of water. When she returned, she took a little water from their
collection, and mixed it with the fungi a bit at a time. Just finding the bowl
had taken up most of the break she had taken from food gathering that morning.
If they ever got Voyager back - how, she had less than no idea - she would owe
a lot of people a lot of favours.
But
the final indignity had been losing the rest of her hair. It had been a basin
cut - Joe Carey had jokingly called it a basalt cut - before. Now, it was a
crew-cut. But it was the only way to start a fire. And so many people were
involved in this already - she didn't want to ask someone else to give up their
hair.
Huddled
over the fire, Kathryn stirred the soup, watching it boil and thicken. She
tasted it, added just a pinch of Neelix's precious
pepper, and tasted it again.
A
shadow fell over the fire and Kathryn looked up.
'Hi,'
she said.
'Someone
told me you were cooking,' said Chakotay. 'Is there
enough for me, too? I don't like the idea of Neelix's
cooking for Christmas dinner.'
'And
you'd rather mine?'
'Let
me taste it and see.'
Kathryn
lifted the bowl from the fire, and Chakotay tasted
some of the soup that was clinging to the edge.
'Mushroom
soup?' he asked, surprised, putting the bowl back on the fire.
'Merry Christmas.' Like Harry's greeting that morning,
it sounded rather lame and unenthusiastic.
Chakotay paused, then he smiled.
The first smile she had seen on his face since Seska's
message buoy had arrived. 'You remembered…'
'New Earth? Yes. There isn't much I can do for you - in this
situation - but, well, at least I can make the mushroom soup you asked for.
Here, I think it's done.'
'You'll
share it with me, won't you, Kathryn?' Chakotay's
eyes were intense as he asked her.
She
tried to lighten the atmosphere. 'You think I want to eat Neelix's
cooking?' She took the bowl off the fire as Chakotay
sat down. As she held the bowl out to him, she saw a small package in his hand,
held out towards her. 'What's this?'
'Merry Christmas, Kathryn.' He put the small package on
the ground and picked up the bowl.
Kathryn
unwrapped the parcel to find what she had somehow
expected. Hairclips. Delicately carved wooden tops,
the metal clips fastened to the backs. 'Where…how?'
'I'd
already made them for you, Kathryn. It was pure luck that I had them with me
when we were abandoned here.'
'They're
beautiful.' Self-consciously, Kathryn lifted a hand to touch her hacked-short
hair.
He saw
the gesture and grimaced. 'I guess they aren't much use anymore.' He held out
the soup bowl to her. 'The soup is delicious, Kathryn. Thank you.'
She
sipped at it, then put down the bowl. 'But this
present is no more use to you than the hair clips. It isn't exactly Seska-free.'
'Maybe
not,' said Chakotay. 'But it's served its purpose.'
'Which
is?'
He
reached out and fingered the uneven ends of her hair. 'Next time I have
mushroom soup, I won't be thinking about Seska. I'll
be thinking of you.'
Kathryn
covered his hand with hers, holding it to her cheek. She closed her eyes
briefly…and felt Chakotay's breath on her face. She
opened her eyes just at the moment his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes
again and leaned against him.
'Captain?'
she heard Harry calling. She pulled away from Chakotay.
'I have to go. They need me.' She stood up and was moving towards the sound of
Harry's voice.
'They'll
always need you, Kathryn. So will I.'
She
looked back. 'And I'll always need you, Chakotay.'
She looked down at the hairclips in her hand and gathered up the longest of her
roughly cut strands of hair. She clipped them together at the back of her head,
kissed the tips of her fingers, and placed her hand against Chakotay's
cheek. 'Merry Christmas, Chakotay.'
He
held the hand she had placed on his cheek, then kissed
the back of her fingers. 'Merry Christmas, Kathryn.'