Dedication:  This is dedicated to the CroWs and to Josh Clark and Nancy Hower for portraying Joe and Sam so well, even though they don't get a whole lot of air time to do it.  (Note to writers: MORE! MORE! MORE!)

Disclaimer:  Joe Carey, Samantha Wildman, Naomi Wildman and the rest of the Star Trek universe belong to Paramount.  No infringement is intended and I'm not making any money off of this.  Any exact quotes from "Before and After" were not intentional and I hereby state that I do not own any dialogue that was featured therein.  This story may be archived, distributed or whatever as long as all notes, dedication(s) and disclaimers are kept attached.  Comments, good and bad, are welcome and appreciated at: <Mara_J_Antilles@hotmail.com>

Somewhere in Time
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Copyright, 1997.  By: Claire Daniels

    Samantha Wildman sat at her station in Stellar Cartography.  Her shift was passing slowly and she was comforted by the thought of the party that Neelix was planning in the Mess Hall.  She smiled to herself as she thought of him preparing things for the big event.  He had seemed to sense that this party was just what was needed to cheer the crew up.  Neelix took his job as morale officer very seriously and his parties were always lots of fun.  The change in shifts was announced and Sam vacated her seat to the ensign coming to relieve her, then she headed to  the Mess Hall where Neelix had been babysitting, picked up Naomi, and headed for their quarters.
    In Engineering, things weren't running quite so smoothly.
 "Damn!  Not again," B'Elanna growled from inside a jeffries tube.
 "Problem, Chief?" Joe Carey inquired.
 "Yes," B'Elanna snapped.  "The damn circuit keeps malfunctioning!"
 "Calm down," Carey said, trying to soothe her before he ended up with another broken nose, or worse.  He winced at the thought.  "I'll work on this and you can finish the diagnostics on the warp nacelles."
 "Fine," she said abruptly and climbed out of the tube, heading for a console.
    Carey shook his head and chuckled under his breath as he took B'Elanna's place.
 "Anything else you need me to handle for you?" Joe asked ten minutes later.
 "You're done already?"
 "Yep.  You just have to be patient with them.  So, anything else?"
 "No," B'Elanna harrumphed.  "Go ahead and go to the party."
    Carey turned and walked a half step before turning back.  "You coming?"
 "In a little while.  I just want to run one more test."
 "Suit yourself," Joe replied, then headed into the turbolift.
 
     ~~~*~~~~

     "Good evening, Ensign," Neelix said in his usual bubbly manner.
 "Good evening, Neelix," Samantha replied.  "Everything looks wonderful."
 "Well, thank you," he said.  "I have something for Naomi.  Wait right here."
    A few moments later, he returned, bent down in front of Naomi, and brought out a stuffed puppy from behind his back.  The girl's face lit up and she shrieked in delight.
 "Oh, Neelix, that's so sweet," Samantha said.  "You really didn't have to do that."
 "Quite all right," he answered with a smile.  "It was worth it to see the delight on her face."
 "Naomi, what do you say to Neelix?" Samantha prompted her daughter.
 "Thank you, Neewix," Naomi said shyly.
 "You're quite welcome," Neelix said.  "You have fun tonight and be good for your mommy, okay?"
 "'Kay," she replied.
    Samantha took her daughter's hand and smiled as they moved past Neelix so he could greet the other guests.  They walked over to where the Captain and Chakotay were seated, talking to Megan Delaney and Sue Nicoletti.
 "Well, hello, Samantha," the Captain said.
 "Good evening, Captain, Commander, Sue, Meg," Samantha replied.  She turned to Naomi.  "Can you say hello to everyone, Sweetheart?"
 "Hello," Naomi said retreating a few steps behind her mother.
 "You look very pretty, Naomi," Megan said.
 "Thank you," Naomi replied, her initial shyness forgotten.
     "So tell me, Naomi, how do you like spending time with Neelix?" Chakotay asked.
 "I like...Neewix," Naomi answered, struggling a little with the sentence.  "He's fun."
 "Yes, I think we all agree he *is* fun," Chakotay replied sharing a look with Captain.
    Joe Carey enetered the holodeck a few moments later.  Looking around he spotted Samantha and Naomi in a corner of the room, talking with the Captain, Chakotay, Meg and Sue.
 "She looks great tonight, don't you think?"
 "What?"  Joe had been watching Samantha so closely he hadn't noticed Tom Paris come up behind him.
 "Samantha.  She looks very nice, doesn't she?"
 "Oh," Joe replied, trying to sound apathetic.  "Yeah, I guess."
 "You're not fooling me, you know," Paris answered.  "I know you're interested.  It's about as obvious as..."  Paris trailed off, searching for the right comparison.
 "You and B'Elanna?" Carey suggested, smirking from ear to ear.
 "Yeah," Paris said grinning, "I guess you could say that.  All I'm saying is, if you're that interested in her, ask her out.  What have you got to lose?  I mean, it's not like she'll break your nose, you know."  Paris smiled as he finished the last sentence, thinking back to when B'Elanna *had* broken Carey's nose.
 "I know, Tom."
 "Then what are you waiting for?"
 "I don't know," Joe said sighing.
 "*Ask* her," Paris told him.  "'Cause if you don't, someone else might.  No offense, but Voyager's full of eligible guys and some of them have probably noticed that there's a woman hiding underneath that uniform."
 "You're right," Joe said.
 "Of course I am," Tom replied with a grin and watched as Joe headed over to where Samantha was standing.
 "Good evening, Lieutenant," the Captain greeted him.
 "Good evening, Captain, Commander, ladies," he responded.
 "We were just discussing Neelix's uncanny ability to know exactly when morale needs raising and exactly how to do it," Samantha said.
 "You're definitely right about that," Joe answered.
 "We really should be getting back to the bridge," the Captain said indicating herself and Chakotay.  "You all enjoy yourselves."
    They excused themselves and exited the holodeck.  Kes walked up to Tom.
 "This is some party, huh, Kes?" he said.
 "Yes, it is," she agreed.  "Tom, I need to talk to you."
 "Tom!  Sorry I'm late," B'Elanna apologized, kissing him hello.  They stood facing Kes with their arms around each other and goofy grins plastered to their faces.
    On the other side of the room, Joe had decided to make his move.
 "Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked Samantha.
 "Of course.  Excuse us," she said to Megan and Sue, after asking them to keep an eye on Naomi.
 "What did you want to talk about?" she asked.
    Joe looked at her and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.  Her blond hair hung soft and loose over her shoulders and her blue science uniform set off the blue of her eyes.
 "Joe?" she asked, a hint of concern invading her voice.
 "I was wondering if...Would you like to go out sometime?"  There, he said it.
    Before Samantha could answer, the ship shook and Janeway called for everyone to get to their battlestations.

     ~~~*~~~

    B'Elanna, Tom and Kes emerged from the turbolift.  Tom and B'Elanna both headed for their stations while Kes went over to the Captain.  The ship shook violently once again.
 "Their torpedoes are going right through our shields!" Harry said.
 "Their torpedoes are going right through the shields because they're in a constant state of temporal flux," Kes explained.
 "We've got a leak in Engineering," B'Elanna reported.  "I'm trying to lock it down."
 "Engineering, report!" Janeway said.
 "Vorik here, Captain.  Lieutenant Carey has been critically injured.  He was taken to Sick Bay."  Harry marveled at his ability to keep calm even though all hell was breaking loose down there.
 "I can't lock down the leak, Captain," B'Elanna said.
    Janeway went over to help her.  The Krenim fired another direct hit, exploding the console with enough force to throw B'Elanna and the Captain to the ground like rag dolls.
 "B'Elanna!" Tom heard himself shout.
    Kes went over to them.  "They're dead," she said, clearly aching for both Tom and Chakotay.
 "You should get back to your post, Tom," Chakotay said, his voice revealing his own pain.
    Tom nodded and returned to the helm.  Down in Sick Bay, the Doctor was swamped.  Currently he was treating Joe Carey.
 "I'm not gonna make it, Doc," Carey said weakly.
 "I have no intention of letting you die, Mr. Carey," the Doctor replied calmly, but he knew Carey's wounds were critical and he was slipping away fast.
 "Do me a favor," Joe requested.
 "I'm a Doctor not a..."
 "Just do it for me, please?"  Carey cut him off.  His voice and eyes were filled with such urgency that the Doctor could not refuse.
 "What is it, Mr. Carey?" he asked.
 "Tell Samantha I'm sorry."
 "For what?" the Doctor wondered.
 "Just tell her," Carey said.
 "I will tell her, Mr. Carey," the Doctor replied.
    Joe nodded then his life left him.
 "Carey, Joseph.  Time of death, 2400 hours.  Cause of death, injuries resulting from Krenim attack."
    The crowd gathered in the Mess Hall was a somber one.  They had gathered to say goodbye to three crew mates who hadn't made it through the battle with the Krenim.  Kes looked around the room.  Tom, Harry and Chakotay were sitting in a corner talking quietly, but her eyes fell on another figure.  Samantha Wildman sat by herself looking out a window, her back to everyone.  Kes' heart ached for her.  Everyone had been paying so much attention to Tom and Chakotay, that no one had even stopped to think that she had lost someone important, too.  The only man on Voyager that could make her happy.
 "Samantha?" Kes asked.
    She looked up.  Her blue eyes were swollen and puffy and her nose was red.  "Yes?" she asked, her voice shaky and weak.
 "I'm sorry about Joe," Kes said softly.
    Samantha nodded.  "There was so much I wanted to say to him," she said.  "Did you know that he asked me out right before the attack began?"
    Kes shook her head.  "No, I didn't know that."
 "I never even got a chance to answer him.  He died without ever knowing how I felt."  Samantha closed her eyes, a tear ran down each cheek.
 "If you ever want to talk, you know where I am," Kes said.
 "Thank you, Kes," Samantha managed.  "You've been a good friend to me."
    Kes smiled then left her to herself.

     ~~~*~~~
 
  "I'd like to propose a toast," Janeway said.  "To Kes."
    Everyone raised their glass.  "To Kes."
 "I suppose you don't remember much," Harry said.
 "I remember the two weeks' worth of replicator rations you owe me," she said with an impish smile.
 "I'll pay you back," Harry promised.
 "I'll bet you learned a lot of interesting things," Tom said.
 "I could tell you," Kes said, "but I don't want to spoil the surprise."
 "I have a feeling I'd rather not know," B'Elanna said.
    Kes kept her expression cheerful.  B'Elanna could never know what would happen in the other timeline.
 "There are, no doubt, some things that would be useful to us," Tuvok pointed out.  "A detailed report on these 'Krenim' would help us to avoid any potential confrontation."
    *You can say that again,* Kes thought.  "I will write down everything I can remember about them," she promised, setting down her champagne.
 "You don't have to do it right this instant," Janeway said.  "Enjoy your party."
 "If there's one thing I've learned, Captain, it's that there's no time like the present."  She headed off to write her report, but had one stop to make first.
 "Samantha," Kes said.
 "Was there something you needed?"
 "No, but there is something I wanted to tell you."
 "What is it?"
 "If you like Joe that much, ask him out.  One thing this whole experience has taught me is that life is short, and if you don't take the first chance, you might not get a second one."
    Samantha studied Kes for a moment.  "You're right," she said.
 "So do it," Kes replied.  Then with a smile she was gone.
    Samantha took a deep breath.  *Here goes nothing,* she thought.
 "Joe, do you have a minute?" she asked.
 "Sure," he said.  "Excuse us."
    They walked out onto the patio where the breeze was blowing gently.
 "What did you need?  Wait, let me guess, Naomi still thinks there are monsters under her bed and Neelix is busy so you want me to go check."
 "No," she said.  *I guess it's now or never.*  "I wanted to know if you'd like to go to the holodeck with me sometime.  I know this sounds stupid, but I just think it's ridiculous for us to be lonely and miserable, but if you don't want to, I understand..."
 "Samantha?" he asked.
 "What?" she answered looking up at him.
     "Shh." He leaned down and kissed her.  "I would love to go to the holodeck with you sometime.  I was going to ask you, but I figured you wouldn't want to go with me...."
    Now it was her turn.  "Joe?"
 "Yeah?"
 "Be quiet."
    And they were quiet...for a very long time.
 

The End.

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