Kathryn Janeway stepped onto the welcoming platform, covering her ears to block out some of the screaming family members around her.
Voyager looked wonderful. Tom landed her beautifully in Golden Gate Park.  You could see the fireworks still shooting off above the bridge.
By the sound of increased screaming, Kathryn guessed that the rest of her crew had walked out behind her. All eyes were searching for family members. The screaming went silent when Kathryn’s former fiance stepped onto the platform.
“Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathryn. You finally came home,” he said with a stupid grin on his face.
“Yes, Mark. I’m home. Where’s you wife?” Kathryn asked, not really caring what the answer was.
“Oh, Mary? She’s at home with Marie and Amber, my twins.”
“Congratulations,” Kathryn said sincerely.
“With all due respect, how do you manage to screw up all the time, Kath?” Mark asked. He asked this just to provoke a response out of her he knew she would never give. Kathryn just was not violent with him. He was violent with her.
“Look at me, Kath. I’m married now with twins. What do you have? You’re almost forty and still single. This makes what? Two marriages you’ve managed to foul up?”
“I’m not a screw-up, Mark,” Kathryn answered, looking at her feet. Needless to say, this was not what her crew was expecting. They were expecting to see her beat the crap out of him, not take verbal punishment.
“You’re entire Starfleet career has been a screw-up. You managed to upset an Admiral by knocking out power to six decks, including his, on your first posting. On your first command you couldn’t follow tactical procedures and had a junior officer dress you down. And on your next command, Voyager, you  managed to get an innocent crew stuck in a different quadrant. If those aren’t screw-ups, I don’t know what are.”
“Mark, I’m not going to take this from you any more,” Kathryn whispered.
“What? What did you say? I could’ve sworn that you said you weren’t going to take this anymore. And I know you would never say that, now would you?”
“That’s exactly what I said, Mark. I’m sick of you telling me how terrible I am at everything! If I’m so terrible, how come I have forty some thousand people standing beside my ship?! Mark, I’ve been taking verbal abuse from you for four years before Voyager. Out there, I wasn’t scared because I had my crew with me. I’ve become tougher, stronger, and smarter. And I refuse to take any of it now. Please, leave.”
Mark acted as though he was going to turn, but pulled his fist back and thrust it forward to connect with her jaw. The force of the blow sent her on her backside, with a bleeding lip. She stood back up and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. Mark stared at her with pure venom in his eyes.
“I never loved you, Kathryn Janeway. You had two qualities that I liked though. You were pretty and you weren’t and idiot. But you and I both know that you’ll be running back to me soon. You might as well beg now for me to take you back.”
“You want me to beg, huh? Well, I’ve got a better idea. How about you close your eyes, and I’ll  give you a special treat,” she said sweetly.
Mark grinned and closed his eyes, waiting for something nice to happen. What he didn’t expect, however, was the force of her fist connecting with his nose. He flew backwards, and landing on his back, cradling his nose.
“Compliments of the Delta Quadrant and the U.S.S. Voyager.”
“You’ll pay for that, Janeway,” Mark  said as he stood and backed away from the stage. Tom stepped forward with B’Elanna, Harry, The Doctor, Tuvok, and Seven in tow behind him.
“You’ll have to go through all of us first, Scumbag,” Tom said as their group flanked Kathryn on either side.
Chakotay came and stood right behind Kathryn. She reached around to clasp his wrists and slid them around her waist. She felt Chakotay place his chin on her right shoulder, by her neck. Kathryn covered Chakotay’s hands on her waist with her right hand, and raised her left hand close to her face to wave Mark goodbye with a smile. There was more cheering that steadily increased as Kathryn turned her head to the right to capture Chakotay’s lips with her own, until the sound was deafening.
@}~’~,-
The End-
~November 2002~
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