Waking up, Shannara Rozhenko leaned up in her bed and blinked her eyes. As she adjusted to the dim light of the room, she thought she saw someone in the corner. Could it be the man of her dream? He was a bad man! A mean man! He had tried to take her Mommy away.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
Her door swooshed open and a tall figure appeared. Her heart began pounding faster until she heard her Daddy say, "Computer, increase lighting to forty percent." She could see across the room clearly now. What she had taken for a bad man was actually a huge stuffed bear she'd been given for her last birthday. She didn't like it much.
Daddy stumbled passed her toys scattered on the floor and let her place her tiny hand inside his huge one. Daddy made her feel better. Daddy didn't like to see her sad. She sensed that in him always, a skill she inherited from her half-Betazoid mother.
Still she wanted Mommy. Was Mommy all right?
Mommy appeared in the doorway, and Shannara smiled brightly at her. "Did you have a bad dream?"
Sensing Mommy's concern, Shannara nodded. She wanted her Mommy to come to her, to give her a kiss, and to make it all feel better. She thought Mommy was going to do just that, but then the baby started crying. Mommy walked away and the door closed.
Shannara thought maybe if she started crying, Mommy would come back. Her tears burned her eyes and she let out a loud wail. Her Daddy squeezed her hand gently, reassuringly. Her Daddy was a big Klingon, an honored warrior among his people, but he was gentle with her.
"It will be all right, Shannara," he said softly. "It was only a dream."
"But the bad man wanted to hurt Mommy!"
Daddy ran his hand through her hair. "I understand that you're scared." He lifted her off the bed to give her a hug. Shannara placed her hand behind his big shoulder and patted him. "The bad man was not real. Daddy is, and I will always protect you."
Feeling better, Shannara decided it was time to get some answers. She lifted her head and peered into her Daddy's dark eyes. "Daddy, why doesn't Mommy have any bumps?"
"You mean the ridges on your forehead?" He ran a hand along her forehead. "Mommy is not Klingon. She had a Human father and a Betazed mother. Both of my parents were Klingon."
"Oh. Daddy, why did Alexander go away? Was he bad?"
"No. Your brother wanted to spend a few months on the Klingon homeworld. He is old enough now to go off by himself."
The door swooshed open again, and Mommy appeared with Baby Eric in her arms, feeding him a bottle Shannara wanted Mommy to pick her up. She jumped out of her Daddy's hold and rushed to her Mommy, arms raised. "Mommy!"
Bending down, Mommy looked into Shannara's eyes. "Sweetheart, it's getting late. You need to eat your breakfast and get ready for daycare. Mommy and Daddy have to go to work." Her parents were both officers aboard the starship Enterprise and took their duties very seriously. Shannara wished they would spend more time with her.
"Can I hold my baby?" the girl asked, still holding her arms up high.
"No, Eric is too little for you to handle."
Renewing her tears, Shannara protested loudly. "But baby wants to be held." She opened and closed her hands out toward her Mommy.
"Shannara," Daddy said sternly. "Do as your mother told you."
She looked to Daddy to see if he was serious. He was. The annoyance he projected toward her empathic senses frightened her. She picked up a brown-headed doll from the floor and ran passed Mommy into the living area. Sitting down at the table, she found that Mommy had already replicated some oatmeal for her. She ate a little and then not feeling very hungry began playing with it.
"Shannara, if you're not going to eat it, please get up from the table," Mommy said. She was busy changing Eric's diaper. "I picked out your clothes for you." Mommy pointed at a jumper skirt laying on the chair.
"I don't want to wear that!" She didn't care what her Mommy had picked out. She wanted to stay home today.
"Please, don't argue with me! We don't have much time left! Now come over here, so I can help you get it on."
Grabbing her doll and sticking her thumb in her mouth, Shannara went to her Mommy. As Mommy unbuttoned her nightshirt, Shannara began pounding her doll on the endtable. The doll's head cracked open.
"Now look what you've done! Set it down."
"I wanted to make her ridges," Shannara protested as her Mommy took the toy from her. "Give it back!"
Upset by the yelling, Eric began screaming.
"Worf!" Mommy called, "watch the baby while I get Shannara ready."
Daddy came out and picked up Eric. "I will take him to the nursery and meet you on the Bridge." He leaned over to kiss Mommy before leaving their quarters.
Shannara smiled as Mommy finished dressing her, her doll all but forgotten. Now they were alone. If only she could get out of going to daycare. . . .
"But I don't want to go!" Shannara exclaimed, clinging to her Mommy as they stepped off the turbolift. The daycare loomed ahead.
"Now you know I have to work. I have patients, who are counting on me to help them." Mommy raised Shannara into her arms and walked into the daycare.
"Good morning, Counselor," Ensign T'lem greeted them. "And how are you doing, Shannara?"
"Don't ask," Mommy said as she set the girl down. "Look, I'm really sorry to drop her off and run. It's been a really hectic morning, and I was supposed to meet with my first patient five minutes ago."
"I understand. We can handle her." By 'we' she was referring to her two assistants, Pam and Sheryl, better known as "the big kids". "Go!" T'lem shooed Mommy off with the wave of her hand.
Shannara grabbed her Mommy's leg. "Don't go!"
"I'll come back at lunchtime, and we'll have some quality time." Mommy tapped her on the chin as always to make her smile, but Shannara didn't feel like smiling.
Once Mommy had disappeared, Shannara looked around the room. There were lots of other children. Most of them she knew from previous visits. She had trouble making friends, though, and didn't understand why. She sat down at a small round table and began to color a picture of a nineteenth-century farm yard.
"You're supposed to color inside the lines," a boy beside her said. "My name's Jesse. I can show you how to if you like." Shannara curled her lip at him before grabbing a purple crayon. "The chickens aren't supposed to be purple!"
"I can color them whatever color I want to." In seconds, she had purple chickens.
"You're weird."
"I am not!"
"You are, too. Those chickens come from Earth, not Klingon."
Shannara felt like punching Jesse. "It's called Q'ronos. And you don't know where all chickens come from. I bet there's some purple ones somewhere."
"Geez! I was just trying to help." Jesse put all his crayons away and went to play with other children.
Suddenly, Shannara no longer felt like coloring and snapped the purple crayon in half.
"Hey Shannara," Alicia, a girl about Shannara's age said as she came running up to her. She slipped her hand into Shannara's. "You want to play with the dollhouse with me?"
She had enjoyed playing with the girl before Eric was born. Alicia acted like Shannara's friend and didn't make fun of how she did things. After Eric was born, Mommy spent a long time not going to work and just sitting at home with them. Shannara liked not having to go to daycare. She wanted her Mommy to stay home always.
Still, she thought Alicia was nice and agreed to play with her. Shannara had never seen a real house, but she liked to pretend that the dollhouse was her's. She'd only ever known life aboard a starship and dreamed of one day staying in a house.
"I will play the Mommy," Alicia said.
"No, I want to play the Mommy!" Shannara said loudly.
"But you always play the Daddy."
"Today I want to play the Mommy."
A Human boy a couple years older than the girls walked up to them and said, "Shannara, you're such a whiner. You think you always have to get your way. It must be all that Klingon blood. No wonder you're as ugly as your daddy."
With a growl, she pushed him to the floor and punched him several times in the arm. Alicia screamed and backed away from them.
"Shannara!" T'lem scolded as she approached them to pull the children apart. "You should know better than to bully the other kids. Klingons are naturally stronger than Humans. You should be more careful. Now tell Paul you're sorry."
Shannara turned back to look at the boy, who was still on the floor, rubbing at his arm. He had made fun of her. Daddy always said that it was honorable to fight your own battles.
"No, I won't!"
"Then you'll have to go stand in the corner and think about what you've done." T'lem pointed at the corner she meant.
Shannara would think about it all right, she decided. She would think about how to get back at Paul. Anyone who made fun of her--just because she had bumps on her forehead!--deserved what she gave to him. As she stood, nose to the wall, she imagined what she could do to Paul, and she smiled.
Several minutes passed, and T'lem called the other children for story time. The big kids took this opportunity to sit down at the coloring table and read story padds of their own.
"If you are ready to apologize to Paul, Shannara," the ensign said, "you can join us."
"Never!"
"All right. It's your choice."
Shannara made a pouty face. She so enjoyed story time. She almost decided to tell Paul she was sorry, but then remembered the stories her Daddy often shared with her. A true warrior never gives up in battle, Daddy always said. She was not about to disappoint her Daddy.
She listened quietly to the story, missing a word here or there, but understanding most of it. She glanced at the group a few times and wondered if any of them cared about her. Maybe Alicia did. The rest probably only thought of her as the half-breed. No, that wasn't quite right. How did Daddy explain it to her? She wished she knew a word for what she was. Only "monster" came to mind.
I don't think anybody wants me here, she thought, fighting unwarrior-like tears. I could just leave and they wouldn't notice. I could go join Mommy! Shannara glanced back at the group one final time before darting out the door. Mommy won't mind. It'll be just us girls.
She winded around the corridor a few times before realizing she didn't know where her Mommy was. She remembered that Mommy and Daddy asked the computer questions all the time, so she walked up to a commpanel.
"Computer, where's my Mommy?"
"Unable to comply. Please restate request."
Shannara was not sure what the word 'comply' meant. She brought her hands to her hips in frustration and kicked the wall. She ran away from the panel, trying to remember which direction would lead her back to the daycare. She rounded a corner and charged into a tall figure.
"Slow down, young lady," the officer said as he bent down to her eye level. "You're the Rozhenko girl, aren't you?" She nodded leerily. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Shannara studied the man, wondering if it was okay to talk to him. Daddy always told her not to talk to strangers. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm a friend of your Mommy's. She's a really great counselor. She helped me with a problem, and I'd like to show my thanks to her. Maybe you can help me."
Shannara smiled, feeling more at ease. "You want to give my Mommy a gift?"
"Why, yes. I was wondering what your Mommy's favorite food is?"
"That's easy. Chocolate!"
"Really. I bet you like chocolate, too."
"Yeah. Sometimes Mommy shares with me."
"Now don't you have a real nice Mommy?" He patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks, sweetheart." The man stood. "I know just what I'm going to do for your Mommy."
As he walked away and out of sight, Shannara suddenly remembered that she was still lost. Why hadn't she asked him to help her find Mommy? She began walking in the same direction the man had gone, growing more and more scared. Why was this corridor so empty? She wondered. She plopped to the floor and leaning against the wall, cried freely.
A turbolift door only yards away opened a couple of minutes later, and a pale man stepped out. Shannara looked up at him, blinking several times to clear away the tears.
"You're the android, aren't you?" she asked, suddenly feeling less frightened.
"That is correct," Data replied.
Shannara stood and wiped at her face. "Mommy told me you are her friend. Can you help me find my Mommy?"
"Certainly. Come with me." Data held his hand out for Shannara, and she accepted it.
Shannara accompanied the android officer down the corridor. They past the daycare and to Shannara's delight, he didn't make her return there.
"Can you run at warp speed?" Shannara asked.
"No, Data replied with a chuckle. "While I can run considerably faster than any Human--or Klingon--warp speed can only be reached by starships."
"Oh. Will you come to my birthday party? I'm going to be four soon." She held up four fingers. "Mommy told me I could invite anyone I wanted."
"I would be delighted."
"Do you think someone with bumps is ugly?"
Data halted and stared confusedly at Shannara. She grew a bit scared and fought against a fresh batch of tears.
"I don't want to be Klingon anymore!" she exclaimed. "I want to be like Mommy."
"You are referring to the ridges on your forehead?" Data knelt to her level. "Shannara, you are a very pretty little girl. You should not feel ashamed of who you are. Your father is proud to be Klingon, and I am sure he wishes for you to share his pride. Have others been teasing you?"
Grasping the android's arms, Shannara replied, "This boy at the nursery likes to make fun of me because of my Klingon blood. I wish I were only Human like him."
"He is not better than you because he is only Human. He teases you because he feels insecure--he has problems he cannot deal with."
"You mean, I'm better?"
"Perhaps you should speak with your parents about this." Data stood, and they resumed their walk. A short turbolift ride later, they reached Mommy's office.
Fortunately, Mommy was not with a patient and Shannara rushed in to greet her.
"Shannara!" Mommy exclaimed as the girl jumped into her lap. "What are you doing out of daycare?" She looked toward Data for the answer.
"I found her out in the corridor, crying. I believe she was being teased by one of the other children."
"He made fun of me, so I pushed him!"
"I will leave you two alone to discuss this matter." Data turned and stepped out of the room.
"Shannara, that boy was wrong to tease you, but you should not have pushed him."
"Why?"
"Because bullying someone back doesn't solve anything."
"But Daddy says it's honorable to fight your own battles."
"I think I need to have a talk with your Daddy." Mommy lifted Shannara onto her desk. "Does T'lem know you left daycare?" Shannara shrugged. "Then I will have to speak with her." Mommy sighed. "It's a little early for lunch, and I still have one more patient to see. So what am I supposed to do with you?"
"Stuff me in a replicator?"
"Sunshine, you're silly," Mommy said as she tickled Shannara.
The girl squealed with delight. She knew her Mommy was in a playful mood when she called Shannara by the English equivalent of her name.
"Why don't I ask my patient if it is all right to reschedule for later this afternoon, and you and I can go to Ten-Forward and enjoy a couple hot chocolates together?"
"Yay!" Shannara clapped her hands enthusiastically.
"All right, then. Wait for me in the outer room, while I contact Lieutenant Elmer."
After Mommy helped her off the desk, Shannara ran into the other room and sat down on the sofa. She kicked her legs back and forth in the air, too excited to wait out the long moment quiet and still.
Finally, Mommy stepped out of her office and Shannara rushed over to take her hand. "He agreed to see me later," Mommy said. "So it looks like I'm free through lunch."
Although she liked Ten-Forward and the taste of hot chocolate, she was mostly happy about spending some time with Mommy. After getting their drinks, Shannara's with extra marshmallows, they sat down at a table in the center of the room. Her chocolate was too hot, so Shannara looked around at all the people in the room. Some were in uniforms, while others wore off-duty clothes. There were no other children in the lounge.
"Mommy, where's all the other kids?"
Gulping at her cocoa before setting it down, Mommy took a moment to reply. "They're probably in daycare."
"Oh yeah. . .too bad for them."
"Listen you," Mommy said with a big smile, "Are you going to drink your cocoa, so we can have the time to play a game on the holodeck?"
"A game!" Shannara jumped up from her chair. "I'm ready now, Mommy."
Looking at the girl's untouched cocoa, Mommy picked it up and drank most of it. "One thing you need to learn, Sunshine, is to never let chocolate go to waste."
A game turned into three until Mommy finally insisted that they let the holographic hide-and-seek playmates go. "If we don't stop now, Shannara," Mommy said, "We'll have no time for lunch."
"Okay," Shannara agreed reluctantly. "Goodbye Peter. Goodbye Tom." She waved at her 3-D imaginary friends. "Goodbye Mary. . ."
"Okay, okay. Goodbye all. We can't spend all day saying goodbye to each and everyone of them." Mommy took Shannara's hand and called up the exit door. "Computer, save program Shannara One." Looking down at Shannara, Mommy told her, "I think we'll use this program again."
Shannara smiled broadly. "Thank you, Mommy. I had lots of fun!"
"Mommy has to return to work now, Shannara," Mommy said as she gathered up their lunch dishes, "and I'm sorry, but that means you will have to return to daycare."
"Ah, can't we play just one more game?"
"You are going to have to get used to daycare again--and we cannot make these morning games the norm. Do you understand that, young lady?"
Shannara stared into her Mommy's brown eyes and decided it would not be wise to argue with Mommy. "O-okay. But I'm still not going to let Paul get away with teasing me!"
"I'll have a talk with Ensign T'lem about Paul. Meanwhile, you try to ignore him as best as possible."
Shannara sighed, blowing through closed lips to make a noise of disgust. She nodded, though, to make her Mommy happy. She wanted her Daddy to be proud of how honorable she was, but most of all, she wanted to please Mommy.
When Mommy dropped Shannara off at daycare, she spent a few minutes talking with T'lem in private. Shannara watched them with curiosity and silently hoped that T'lem would punish Paul once Mommy told her the truth about him. Mommy left and T'lem neither said, nor did anything. Shannara not only felt disappointed, but wronged somehow. She didn't want to be mad at Mommy. Of course, Mommy told T'lem all about Paul's bullying. It had to be T'lem's fault. Why wouldn't she punish Paul? Maybe she hated Klingons, too.
The afternoon at daycare was tough for Shannara. Paul continued to harass her, and Alicia acted as though she no longer wanted to play with her. Shamefully, Shannara broke into tears. T'lem came to her and bending down, the woman embraced Shannara.
"What is it? What's wrong, Shannara?" The woman who had scolded her earlier was now offering her comfort. Maybe she felt guilty that she had allowed a little girl to wander through the corridors unattended.
"Please don't tell my Daddy I cried!" Shannara begged. She didn't want to disappoint Daddy. That would be a bad thing.
"Why don't we have a seat by my desk, so we can talk?"
"You won't tell my Daddy?"
"Let's talk, and we'll decide that together." She placed her arm around the girl and escorted her back to her desk. "Pam, Sheryl, look after the other kids for me," she called out. The big kids just nodded before rounding all the kids up for a game.
A few minutes later, Shannara had told the ensign everything that was bothering her--at least everything she knew how to put into words.
"I'm sure most children would rather spend all day with their mommies," T'lem said. "Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Your Mommy has to work. A lot of people count on her to do her job."
"But when Baby Eric was born, she didn't do her job. She stayed home all day. Why?"
T'lem offered a smile that showed patient understanding. "After a woman has a baby, she is very tired and out of shape. She needs time to rest and also to bond with her new baby. That is why it is customary for a new mother to take several weeks away from work. Others understand that need and help out as best as they can until the new mother is ready to return to her work."
Shannara thought about this for a moment, trying to think of another way to get her Mommy to stay home.
"Do you understand why your Mommy is so important to this ship? Do you know what her job is?"
Shannara shrugged. "She said she helps people with problems."
"That's correct. Now suppose your Mommy decided not to show up to work. Who would be there to help all those people with their problems?"
Shannara squinched her eyes with the innocence of a four-year old. "Couldn't someone else do her job?"
"Well. . ." T'lem hesitated, taken by surprise. "I wish it were that simple. I'm sure there are days when your Mommy wishes she could just stay home all day with you, but she accepted a responsibility and it's her duty to live up to that responsibility." After Shannara thought about this for a moment, T'lem continued. "Now I want you to make me a promise."
"Okay."
"If any of the other kids start picking on you again, I want you to tell me, or tell Pam or Sheryl. I don't want to see you hitting or pushing again. Understood?"
Shannara nodded slowly. "Do you hate Klingons?"
"Oh dear, no. Whatever gave you that idea?"
Feeling embarrassed, Shannara shrugged and looked away. "You made me stand in the corner, and you didn't do anything to Paul. Do you like him better than me?"
T'lem patted Shannara's knee reassuringly. "I have no favorites Shannara. I did not see Paul picking on you. I'm sorry. I promise you, I will watch him more closely from now on, and if I catch him teasing you, he will be punished. Okay?"
Shannara turned to look for the boy and spotted him pulling out an action figure from the toy bin. Their eyes met and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Paul, come here!" T'lem exclaimed. The boy walked over to them with a big smirk on his face. "I want you to apologize to Shannara."
"Sorry," he said, though Shannara could tell he didn't mean it.
"Tell him you accept his apology, Shannara."
The girl looked toward T'lem, hoping the woman would not make her accept and give him further punishment for not being sincere. T'lem looked toward her expectantly and nodded.
"I accept," Shannara said reluctantly without looking Paul in the eyes.
"All right. You can go back to your play."
Shannara wanted to scream! How could she do this to her?
T'lem turned back toward her. "Now Shannara, if you would at least try to get along with Paul, it could go a long way in improving the situation.
"Can't I just ignore him?"
Sighing heavily, T'lem did not reply. She obviously wasn't sure how to respond. Fortunately, Mommy chose that moment to show up, sparing both of them from continuing this conversation.
Shannara jumped up from her chair and rushed over to Mommy. "Can we go home now?"
"Just as soon as we pick up Eric from the nursery," Mommy replied as she took Shannara's hand and they stepped out into the corridor.
"Can't Daddy pick him up?"
"Your Daddy still has another hour left on his shift. There's no reason to leave Eric in the nursery when we are going straight home."
"Can I hold him, then?"
"We have had this conversation before, young lady." A few steps later, Mommy added, "Maybe if you sit still on the couch."
They arrived at the nursery, two decks up, a minute later and retrieved Shannara's seven-week old brother.
After a silent ride on the turbolift, Shannara asked, "Mommy, can we live in a house someday?"
Mommy paused just outside their quarters. "Would you like that?"
"Oh yes, Mommy! Then I could have a backyard and play in the grass and go swinging on a real swing set."
They stepped inside and Mommy placed Eric in his cradle.
"When I was a little girl, I lived in a big two-story house on Betazed. Your Grandma Lwaxana still lives in that house. Would you like to visit her there?"
Shannara paused, fighting against tears. "I want my own house!"
Mommy knelt to place her hands on Shannara's shoulders. "I'll see what I can do. Okay?" Shannara nodded. "Would you like to help me pick out dinner?"
Shannara's favorite part of the day was dinner time, because that was when both Mommy and Daddy were home. Daddy would tell Mommy about his day, and she would tell him about hers. Shannara loved to listen to them, because it made her so happy that they were happy.
After dinner Mommy asked Shannara if she would play in her room for a few minutes, so she could talk with Daddy. Shannara didn't mind this, because she could see how much Mommy and Daddy loved each other. So she walked into her bedroom and set a couple of dolls on her bed. After finding some of the pieces to her tea set, she sat down with them for a little girl talk. "A cup of Earl Grey?" she asked them.
A short while later, she heard Mommy calling out to her and rushed into the living area to find out what Mommy wanted.
"Daddy and I have a surprise for you, Sunshine," Mommy said.
"Your Mother told me about your desire for a house," Daddy explained.
"We're moving!" Shannara could not believe her good luck. No more starships for her. She was going to be rolling in the grass, making mud pies, staring up at blue skies, and watching her first thunderstorm (which with her Klingon blood, she'd never be afraid of). She'd be living in a house, which didn't travel at warp speed.
"Not exactly," Mommy said.
Shannara felt dread. Whatever else could they mean if they weren't moving? Did they want to send her off to live with Grandma Lwaxana? She loved her Grandma, but she wanted to stay with Mommy and Daddy.
"Please don't send me away!" she begged.
"No, no," both Mommy and Daddy said bending to offer Shannara their reassurance. "Whatever gave you the idea we wanted to send you away?" Mommy asked.
Adults seemed to never understand how Shannara got any of her ideas. Frustrated, Shannara tried to remain calm. "You don't want to send me to live with Grandma?"
"Heavens no!" Mommy exclaimed.
"We are your parents," Daddy said. "It is our obligation and our honor to raise you. We simply meant to offer you a gift."
Shannara grew wide eyed. Whatever could it be? "But it isn't my birthday yet."
Daddy scowled. "It does not have to be your birthday or a special holiday for us to want to offer you something out of our love for you." Standing, Daddy pointed to the corner, and Shannara noticed for the first time that there was a large object covered with a sheet.
Shannara walked over to it and removed the sheet to reveal a dollhouse. She looked back toward Mommy, wanting to say something, but not knowing what.
"Open it and look inside," Mommy encouraged her.
Peering through the windows, Shannara slowly opened the back wall. Inside the living room, three small figures were sitting on the sofa. The bigger dolls looked like Mommy and Daddy and the little girl like Shannara.
"What do you think of your gift?" Mommy asked.
Shannara did not want to answer that question. Instead she asked, "Where's Eric?"
"Look in the nursery."
Lying in a cradle in the small nursery was a doll figure of a little Klingon baby. Shannara stared at it for a long moment. She tried to feel happy about the gift. It was a lovely little house with lots of little furniture and great detail, but it wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't what she asked for.
She turned back toward her parents and exclaimed, "I wanted a real house!" Plopping her butt on the floor, she began crying and kicking.
"Young lady!" Daddy bellowed. "You cannot have everything you want. Your Mother and I have duties on board this ship. You will have to understand that." Still, Shannara kept screaming. "Stop your fit now!"
Shannara snapped to attention and stared into her Daddy's fiery eyes. Quickly, his expression mellowed and he spoke in a calmer voice.
"I am sorry that Mommy and Daddy's lifestyle does not allow you to have what you want. Maybe someday. For now you will have to learn to settle with this model."
Suddenly, Mommy let out a deep groan. They turned toward her to find her sitting on the sofa, clutching her belly. "I don't feel so good." As Mommy looked up at them, Shannara could see how pale her Mommy had become.
Daddy rushed over to Mommy and felt her forehead. Shannara began whimpering. What was happening to her Mommy? Was Mommy upset that she didn't like the dollhouse? Had she caused her Mommy to get sick?
Daddy tapped his commbadge and called for an emergency medical team. A moment later, Dr. Selar and a medic came. Shannara watched them intently as she hovered close to the dollhouse.
"Are you experiencing abdominal pain?" Dr. Selar asked. Mommy nodded. "This makes the fifth case this evening." The doctor looked toward Daddy. "I am beginning to suspect poisoning. We need to ascertain what all five victims have in common. What were they exposed to?" Selar turned to her medic. "Ginger, would you stay with the children for a while?"
"Of course, Doctor."
"Thank you, Medic," Daddy said. "The baby will require a bottle in about one hour. He drinks six ounces of the supplement with iron."
"Don't worry, Commander," Ginger replied. "I will take care of your children."
He nodded and a moment later, Dr. Selar tapped her commbadge. "Three to beam directly to sickbay."
After a few seconds, Ginger held her hand out to Shannara. "You want to sit with me on the sofa?" Shannara turned away from the strange woman to stare into the tiny house. She didn't understand what was happening and this woman was not her Mommy. "It's okay. I understand that you don't know me and that you're scared for your Mommy right now."
Shannara reached into the house and pulled out the Mommy doll. She clutched it to her chest with one hand, while sucking on the thumb of the other hand. She could get to like this little house she decided--and the people in it. Maybe that would make Mommy feel better.
The baby began crying and Ginger got up to check on him. After a moment of cradling him in her arms, she decided to bring him to the sofa. "What makes your brother happy, Shannara?"
This brought Shannara off the floor and walking over to the strange woman. She brushed her small fingers along her brother's ridged forehead. "Hold him up," she said. "He likes to be patted on his back."
Ginger did as Shannara instructed and they both began patting Eric gently. He quieted down some and Shannara decided to sit on the sofa beside them.
"What's wrong with my Mommy?"
"We don't know for sure. A lot of people are getting sick just like your Mommy. It's possibly something she ate."
"But why would Mommy eat something that would make her sick?"
Before Ginger could answer, her commbadge beeped. "Selar to Medic Hollinder."
"Hollinder here," Ginger said as she tapped her commbadge.
"I have finished examining Counselor Rozhenko. She is stabilized and will make a complete recovery. The poisoning appears to affect children more severely. Ten-year old Brian Watson nearly died. Quite possibly it could have proven fatal to anyone younger. Three more victims have arrived since the counselor."
"Have you discovered a common element?"
"Yes, they have all eaten chocolate within the past eight hours."
"Chocolate?"
"Commander La Forge is investigating the replicators now. Please assure the child her mother will be all right. I have patients to attend to. Selar out."
"Did you hear that?" Ginger asked the girl.
"My Mommy can come back home?"
"Soon. . .when she feels better."
"Mommy and I had hot chocolate today. Why did chocolate make her sick? She always eats chocolate."
Ginger turned pale. "You drank some hot chocolate today?"
Shannara shook her head. "Mommy drank mine so it wouldn't go to waste."
Ginger shuffled Eric to her right arm, so she could wrap her left arm around Shannara. "I know you're confused and unhappy that your Mommy got sick, but I'm sure your Mommy is glad you didn't drink any of the cocoa."
"But why did the chocolate make her sick?"
"I think someone changed the recipe in the replicator, added an ingredient that is poisonous. I don't know why anyone would do such a thing."
"But he said it was a gift."
Ginger stiffened slightly. "Who said what was a gift, Shannara?" The little girl shrugged. "I don't know." She shifted her eyes, wishing she hadn't said anything.
"What did he look like?"
Shannara thought really hard, trying to remember. "He was tall." All Humans seemed tall to her.
"What did he say to you?"
"That Mommy had helped him, and he wanted to thank her. He asked me what Mommy's favorite food was."
"If you saw this man again, do you think you'd recognize him?"
"I don't know. . .maybe."
Awkwardly, the woman reached for her commbadge. "Medic Hollinder to Commander Worf."
"Worf here," the Klingon responded.
"Commander, I believe your daughter may know who altered the chocolate recipe."
Minutes later, Shannara was walking with her Daddy into Main Engineering. She had never imagined that Engineering was this huge. As her eyes wandered across the room, she was fascinated by all the machinery and the pretty displays on each of the screens.
Commander La Forge approached them. "Hi Shannara," he said with a smile. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," she replied, but clutched to her Daddy's arm.
"Since second shift is getting off," the chief engineer said to Daddy, "there's a better than fifty percent chance that our culprit is either coming off or on duty."
"Look around, Shannara," Daddy instructed. "Let us know if you see the man who spoke to you about giving Mommy a gift."
She did so, but did not see the man. She began sucking on her thumb. She didn't know whether she could remember what he looked like? What color was his hair?
Some new crewmembers showed up and some of the old ones left. The Alpha shift was beginning and still Shannara did not recognize the man.
"Perhaps we should have her look at pictures of the first-shift crew," Daddy suggested.
The forward turbolift opened and three more crewmembers stepped out. "That's him!" Shannara exclaimed, pointing to one of them with her slobbery hand.
"Lieutenant Mills," Commander La Forge identified his officer.
"Stay with La Forge," Daddy said as he let go of Shannara.
She watched as he approached Mills. "Lieutenant Mills, you will accompany me down to the brig for questioning."
"What am I being accused of?" the officer demanded.
"We have reason to believe you overwrote the safety limits of the replicators and added a flavorless toxin called suofnic to the chocolate recipe. Are you aware that this substance can be lethal if taken in large enough doses? A ten-year old child nearly died this evening!"
Shannara could tell that Daddy was really mad. Clenching and unclenching her own hands, she wanted to charge at this mean man. He could have killed her Mommy!
Daddy grabbed Mills by the arm only to have Mills punch him in the gut. "I will go with you. Just keep your filthy Klingon hands off of me!"
Daddy removed his phaser and said, "Of course, you will go with me. Now move!"
Mills complied, but before they reached the turbolift, he said loud enough for everyone in engineering to hear, "I don't know what Counselor Troi ever saw in an ugly bastard like you!"
With this comment, Shannara did charge toward him, only to be stopped by Commander La Forge grabbing her shirt collar. "Hold on, Little Warrior! Your Daddy has the situation under control."
As Daddy and Lieutenant Mills disappeared behind the turbolift doors, Shannara looked up at the chief engineer with teary eyes. "Will the bully be punished this time?"
La Forge knelt down to her level. "Of course. That man did a very bad thing."
"Did he do it because I'm a Klingon?" The commander seemed reluctant to answer. "There's a boy in daycare who teases me because I'm a Klingon."
"It isn't right, is it Shannara?"
"No." Tears stung at her eyes. "And Ensign T'lem made me stand in the corner when Paul was teasing me about my Klingon blood. She didn't punish him at all."
"I'm sure she wasn't aware of what was going on between the two of you. Sometimes, even adults can make mistakes." He stood up. "I think we better leave engineering now and let the officers get on with their work. I'll take you back to your quarters. I'm sure it's way past your bedtime by now."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hours later, Daddy came into Shannara's bedroom to wake her. "Would you like to visit Mommy in sickbay?" he asked.
"Oh yes," she replied, pulling the covers off her.
"I have dropped Eric off at the nursery, so Mommy and I can have some time alone with you to talk about what happened yesterday. We also have a gift we'd like to share with you."
Shannara rushed to her dresser to pull out a pair of pants and a shirt. "But I really like my dollhouse."
"This gift is even bigger, better." Daddy walked up to her. "Those don't match. Try this one." He removed a different shirt and exchanged it for the one she had selected.
After Shannara had dressed herself and Daddy made sure she had nothing on backwards, they headed for sickbay. Mommy was eating breakfast when they arrived.
"Hi Mommy!" Shannara said running across the room.
"Hey Sunshine," Mommy said.
Shannara eyed the food on Mommy's plate. "That looks really yummy. I'm awful hungry."
Mommy looked up at Daddy a little sternly. "Worf, you forgot to feed her?"
"Well. . .I. . .I figured she would be too anxious to see you."
Mommy picked up a triangle-shaped toast, spread jelly on it, and then handed it to Shannara. "Here you go. Maybe this will tied you over for a little while."
Shannara accepted the toast and bit into it.
"Set her on the bed beside me, Worf." Daddy did as she asked and after Shannara was settled, Mommy continued. "Your Daddy and I were talking early this morning about the house situation. You know that we both have responsibilities to this ship and its crew. We cannot leave here any time soon. However, we decided that a small vacation would not be out of the question. Someone has a birthday coming up, and we thought why not give you what you want at least for a day or two."
"A real house?" Shannara asked. "Not a dollhouse or a holodeck one?"
"A real house on a real planet."
"I made arrangements before waking you," Daddy said. "On your birthday, we will have a party on Galtos II inside a three-bedroom cabin. We will be spending three days and two nights there. Captain Riker approved time off for Mommy and Daddy as long as he is invited. He is, isn't he?"
"Oh yes!" Shannara exclaimed. "Thank you, Daddy. I love you both!" She hugged Mommy fiercely. Right there, at that moment, she had exactly what she wanted: Mommy and Daddy.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
One day shy of her fourth birthday, Shannara Rozhenko, ran through the back door of a house on Galtos II. She shuffled her bare feet through the tall grass, followed by somersaults. Several meters away she spotted a swing set and rushed toward it. She had never learned how to swing, but enjoyed the feel of sitting in the rubber seat. She looked back toward the house, her house, and saw Mommy and Daddy watching her through the glass sliding door.
Someday, she vowed, this would be her's for keeps. Someday.