Anne's Rose Garden

Voyager emerged from the Borg ship in a blast of fire and metal. A flamboyant return for the most dramatic ship in Starfleet since the original Enterprise and Captain Kirk.

The fleet was there to greet them. They had been expecting a new Borg incursion and once it finally registered that it was their lost ship, at long last returning to the fold, there were spontaneous celebrations throughout the assembled armada. In 10-Forward, on the current Enterprise, a party was already underway - a party that would soon include the returning heroes.

Chakotay was alone at a table in the corner, nursing a drink. Guinan wandered over to him, on the pretense of clearing tables. When she arrived at his table she was carrying a tray of empty glasses. "Do you mind if I sit down for a bit?" She said, smiling at him. "This party's been keeping me on my feet for a while."

Guinan pushed her tray over to the side of the table, and looked out at the stars for a minute. "They must look strange to you," she said.

"The stars, they must look strange to you, after being in the Delta Quadrant so long."

"Now that you're back it must be nice to have someone close to you who shared the same experiences. So you don't have to work through all of this alone."

"Uhm, yes." Chakotay mumbled. Then his eyes focused, and he turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Just making conversation. When you come into my place, I like to make sure you're comfortable."

"You have me at quite a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don't know you," he said.

"I'm Guinan," she said, extending her hand for him to shake. "I'm the... bartender."

Chakotay grimaced slightly and his arms tightened. "No, I doubt she'll be by. She's not much for crowds."

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to meeting someone else who had escaped from the collective. I'm sure Jean-Luc would love to meet her, too." She smiled, and patted him on the hand. "She is lovely, and since you don't have much family here, having her must be making the adjustment easier."

Guinan looked out at the stars again. "Most of us had our money on you and Kathryn. We were expecting you two to come back married, or at least seriously involved." She turned and grinned at him. "You two cost me a few credits when we heard the news. I heard a few admirals lost money as well, so you'd better watch out for a while." She chuckled, winking at him.

Chakotay looked shocked. "I'm sure you must be mistaken. The admiralty would never approve of a captain and first officer..."

"You were away a long time." Guinan interrupted. "Believe me, stranger things happened while you were gone."

Chakotay sighed. "I'm surprised. I guess the rumor mill hasn't quite reached the Enterprise yet. Seven and I are not together." He paused and took a breath. "She and I are so different. She is such a bizarre combination of childlike innocence and naiveté, combined with the knowledge of the collective, and the experience of killing and enslaving billions. She has so much information in her head, but it hasn't been translated into actual experience beyond the four years she was on Voyager." He shook his head. "It became obvious that we didn't fit together after just a couple of dates, but by then the ship's rumor mill had already hit warp ten."

Guinan patted his hand again and smiled. "I'm glad you two figured that out. The truth is, I always thought she and Harry made a better couple - and you with Kathryn."

"Who? Harry? You've got to be kidding. He's so young and naïve." Chakotay said.

"Really? I thought he was with you in the Delta Quadrant for seven years?" Guinan raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes, he was." Chakotay thought for a moment. "He did save the ship on several occasions. He died once or twice. And then there was the time he nearly mutinied to save Kathryn and me." Chakotay chuckled.

"So what you're saying is, Harry is a combination of naiveté and grim experience?" She asked.

He became very serious again, and a little sad. "Kathryn and I are very good friends. We respect each other and...."

Guinan sighed. "Commander Chakotay," she shook her head wistfully, "you've been assimilated in your own way, haven't you? What happened to the Maquis captain, ready to risk everything for what he believed in?"

Chakotay glared at her, his eyes flashing, "He's still here. He just has different things to fight for now."

"Really?" She looked into his eyes, and he felt like she was looking into his soul. "And when exactly are you going to start fighting for those things? For what you love?"

Chakotay sat there with his mouth open while she stood up. "Thanks for letting me rest here for a minute. I really need to see to my other guests. Good luck." She patted his arm again and walked away, surveying room.

Chakotay continued to sit, staring alternately into his drink and out at the stars. Picard's strange bartender had seemed on the surface to just be making conversation, but everything she said struck a chord. He had forgotten who he was. Not all at once, but slowly a tiny piece at a time, until finally, seven years later, he was not the same man. But he still remembered that man. And he was going to find him again.

Feeling energized, Chakotay began to look around the room. He noticed the bartender again, as she cleared glasses off tables and chatted with the patrons. She was sweeping slowly towards the edge of the room, and a table where Kathryn was sitting. When she reached it, she paused for a moment and then sat down. 'Interesting,' he thought, and he watched to see what would happen.

Guinan only stayed for a couple minutes, exchanging a few words with Kathryn. Chakotay watched Kathryn's expression carefully. She looked bored at first, like she was humoring Guinan. Then a moment of shock flashed across her face, and she looked down at her drink. They exchanged a few more words and then Guinan got up and walked away. As they both watched her go, Guinan crossed between Kathryn and Chakotay, and their eyes met. He expected her to look away immediately, but instead she held his gaze for a moment. Encouraged, he stood and crossed the room to her table.

"We're not on Voyager, Kathryn. Can't we dispense with the ranks?" He asked, looking into her eyes for any sign of encouragement.

She smiled at him, a genuine smile that warmed him and gave him hope. "All right, Chakotay."

"Yes, she is," Kathryn replied. She looked off into the starfield outside the viewport. Still looking at the stars she commented, "She told me some interesting rumors."

"She seems to think Harry and Seven would make a nice couple, now that she's available."

"Yes, she said the same thing to me, after I told her I didn't know where Seven was." He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.

"Hmm, I see," Kathryn replied, with equally forced calm. "That may be why Seven's currently sitting with Harry." She pointed to a table and Chakotay turned to look.

"I think there's a lot more to that bartender than meets the eye, " Chakotay chuckled. Turning back towards the table he asked, "So, what else did she say?'

"Oh, not much. She happened to mention a couple of pools the admiralty were involved in." She looked up from her glass and caught his eyes. "She seemed to think we needed to steer clear of them for a while, since apparently we cost them quite a few credits."

Chakotay saw the tentative look in her eyes and reached across the table, taking her hand. "We could go into hiding, or maybe we could figure out a way for them to recoup their losses?"

Kathryn smiled, and she slid around the table, into the chair next to him. "Why don't you tell me what you had in mind?"

Guinan was standing at the end of the bar in 10-Forward, observing her customers, when she noticed someone walking up and stopping just behind her. "Mission accomplished, Guinan?"

She nodded, with a twinkle in her eyes. "I think you'll find everything is working out very nicely. Now, we just need to decide how to divide our winnings once the news gets around. Since neither of you are officially involved, I guess that means I get the lion's share." She grinned at her two co-conspirators.

"She has a point. I'm in no position to go collect our winnings. What would my son think?" Owen Paris started laughing. "I can't wait to see Tom's face. The old man succeeds in mere days where all his years of schemes failed. He may be able to out fly me, and beat me at hover ball, but I'm going to enjoy reminding him that, in the end, age and treachery once again overcame youth and skill."

"I've always wondered where Tom's larcenous streak came from." Picard chuckled, thumping Paris on the back. "And I can't very well say I was under orders from an admiral, so I guess we'll just have to give Guinan ... half? And you and I will split the rest."

Guinan smiled, as she set drinks on the bar for the two men. "Just to show you two I'm a gracious winner, when we get back to Earth, let me take you to this little café I know in Marseilles."

As the Jean-Luc and Owen leaned against the bar and enjoyed their drinks, they all three watched the scene in front of them. At a large table by the window Tom was sitting next to B'Elanna, and bouncing Miral on his knee. Kathryn and Chakotay were sitting together on one of the cushioned benches with his arm wrapped around her waist, and they were laughing at something Tom had just said. Tuvok raised an eyebrow at Tom's comments, and he leaned over to whisper an explanation in T'Pel's ear.

The group at the table was rounded out by nicely Harry and Seven. She was holding onto his hand that was lying on the table, and they were engrossed in their own conversation. Suddenly they looked up when the others started laughing. "See, I told you," Tom said, and the others laughed again.

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© 2002 Anne Rose

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Guin-Ann Landers, Advisor to the Lovelorn

by Anne Rose

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