Christmas, 2381
"Deck the halls with boughs of holllly! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laaaaa!"
Kathryn winced as Chakotay's strident singing echoed down the hallway, accompanied by the slightly better voice of her mother. They were spending Christmas at the Janeway family home, and Chakotay had been roped into some last minute decorating. Kathryn was doing some last minute wrapping of presents to go under the tree before Phoebe and her family returned from the carol concert they'd gone to.
"'Tis the season to be jollllly! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!"
Kathryn smiled to herself. At least Chakotay was getting into the spirit; he'd been a bit broody the past few weeks. She hadn't exactly been operating at peak efficiency herself, she had to admit. Starfleet had assigned her to a very tangled diplomatic mission that had kept her busy for weeks and distracted her even when she was off duty.
"Don we nowwwww our gaaaay apparel! Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!"
The end of the mission and her four weeks of accumulated leave hadn't come fast enough. They'd been at the Janeway home for over a week now, and Starfleet seemed like a distant dream. Expertly, Kathryn tied the last bow around the last present, and gathered them all into her arms, heading to the living room where the Christmas Tree stood.
"Troll the ancient Yuletide Carollll! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laaaaaa!!!!"
Chakotay turned from his vantage point on the stepladder, swathed in tinsel, and grinned as Kathryn entered the room. "Nice singing," she said, returning the grin with a smile of her own before crossing to put the presents down. Then she stood back to survey the room. "Don't you think you've gone a little overboard, Mother?"
"Overboard? Don't be absurd, Kathryn."
"There's mistletoe... everywhere!"
"And?" Gretchen Janeway arched an eyebrow in a way that caused Kathryn to think suddenly of Tuvok. "I want grandchildren before I'm too old to spoil them properly, and you two haven't done much about it yet. Consider this a completely obvious hint." She winked at her daughter, and sailed out of the room - leaving a rather red-faced couple behind her.
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