A/N: OK, a few brief things before we start. This is my first chaptered story so I apologise if I made a complete hash of it. For a long time, I've been wanting to do a post Endgame fic, a J/C decent ending and a Q story. So I thought, why not kills three birds with one stone and get the job done...oh, and there's a touch of 'A Christmas Carol' in there too. But no Christmas. You'll get the idea.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'A Christmas Carol' (the title is a quote from that book as well) and I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters although, rest assured that if I did, there would have been a very different ending 

Dedicated to sophiedoodle, who is fast becoming a bad influence on me

Three weeks after Voyager finally touched down on Earth, when the hysteria surrounding their miraculous return started to die down, Kathryn Janeway held a dinner party.

Since they returned, she had been living with her mother and Gretchen had offered to cook, knowing that her daughter was rather useless. Indeed, when she sent out the invitations, Kathryn made a point of letting her senior crew know that she wouldn't be anywhere the food during preparation.

Thank god, had been Tom Paris' reply, We don't want to survive seven years out there to be killed three weeks later by our captain's homemade lasagne!

***

It had been an absolutely mad three weeks. Starfleet were reluctant to let any crew member go until they had been interviewed about their time on board Voyager and then there was the business of the former Maquis and, of course, Tom was still technically serving time. It had taken a while, during which the Maquis crew were held under arrest, but Kathryn, and Owen Paris, had fought viciously for them to be freed on the grounds that they had already served a considerable sentence by being stuck in the Delta Quadrant and serving as an exemplary crew on Voyager. When they had eventually had their charges dropped, there was the business of reviewing Tom's terms and having him freed on the basis of a sentence well and truly served.

At the same time, Seven was taken to Starfleet Academy for psychological tests to prove that she was no longer a danger to humans, despite her living and working on Voyager for three years and causing very little damage. Kathryn had enlisted the Doctor and Reg Barclay to make sure that Seven was treated well; they spent a week defending her to anyone that would listen. It took them long enough but eventually Starfleet decided that she wasn't a threat and could be very useful in the science departments of the Academy.

Tuvok had been sent to Vulcan the moment they returned to make sure that the treatment for his illness could start straight away. T'Pel contacted Kathryn a week later to assure that Tuvok was well and that they would both be coming to Earth as soon as the doctors had his treatment under control.

Most of the Starfleet crew, when they had been interviewed, were allowed to disappear back to their families and friends. Icheb, having no such family and friends, was invited by Harry to stay with him and his parents until his place at Starfleet Academy could be confirmed. It had been a great weight off Kathryn's mind to know that the youngster was cared for. The Kims were wonderful, caring people (if you judged by how well Harry had been brought up) and she knew that Icheb would be happy until they could sort out his education.

As for Kathryn herself, she had barely stopped. Her mother had hardly seen her, although of course she didn't complain. She could tell that her daughter was more than a captain to her crew – she was their light and their inspiration, and they needed her more than ever. When she wasn't making sure that the Maquis were being treated fairly, she was attending interviews and consultations and ensuring that Starfleet knew exactly how her crew had behaved in the Delta Quadrant. Somehow, she found the time to contact each and every member of her crew, check that they were well and assured them that they would hear from her again soon, as well as keeping tabs on her more vulnerable charges like Tuvok, Seven and Icheb. Whenever Gretchen did try to make her slow down, she got the same reply every single time.

"Right now, mom, I'm all they have. If I don't do it, no one will. I'll stop when they are all safe and happy."

***

Kathryn sat in her room, in Gretchen's house, on the Indiana farm that she had missed so much during their time in space. There was something so simple, yet so comforting, to hear the crickets singing outside the window as the sun settled behind the mountains. She carefully applied make up in between sipping coffee and glancing at the picture on her dressing table. When they had disembarked Voyager, one of the lucky journalists who actually got close to them had asked her to gather her senior staff for a photograph. She would treasure this photograph always – the look of pure, unchecked joy on their faces would sustain her forever. Even Tuvok looked quietly satisfied.

Putting her lipstick down, Kathryn picked up the frame and settled back in her chair to look at it for the thousandth time; she was stood in the middle, with one hand tucked under Tuvok's arm and the other under Harry's. To Tuvok's left was B'Elanna, proudly holding baby Miral, with Tom's arms wrapped around them both. The Doctor stood next to Harry and then Chakotay and Seven stood slightly to the side. They were holding hands. This part of the photograph always managed to upset her, even though she knew it was there and had been forcing herself to look at it every day.

After everything that had happened, Kathryn still wished that she had told Chakotay the truth. It tore her apart to think of the times that he had worn his heart on his sleeve, practically begged her to see beyond the constraints of protocol, but she had ignored him. She had no right to be surprised that he had given up and found another – she had, after all, hurt him so many times, but still there was a part of her that truly believed he would wait for her. Now she was back on Earth and starting to have time to think, he was always on her mind. During the first week back, she had been fighting for the whole Maquis crew, but it was really for him. It had been hard to remain professional during the panels when she had to defend him personally to Starfleet.

"You have given us an honest account of Chakotay's actions, captain, which we are grateful for. Now, can you think of any other reason why he should be pardoned?"

"Yes," she had thought, "I love him."

"Kathryn? Are you almost ready, darling?"

Gretchen's voice was loud, clearing her head a little as she hastily put the picture back on the dressing table, wiped the tear from her cheek and hurried downstairs with a final look in the mirror. She had been surprised that the dress she had worn for Voyager's official christening still fitted her seven years later. It seemed fitting that she should wear it now.

"Mom, that smells wonderful. How did I survive without you?"

"I don't know, darling. That Mr. Neelix has a lot to answer for, I imagine. Oh, Kathryn!" she exclaimed, turning from the stove for the first time, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks Mom. I'm not sure about this neckline though. I mean, I think I could get away with it seven years ago but now-"

"Ridiculous. The boys won't be able to keep their eyes off you. Especially Chak-"

"Mom, I've already told you. He's with Seven. He's happy. I can't get in the way of that."

The older woman noted the look on her daughter's face as she reached out to embrace her. Gretchen Janeway was an incredibly perceptive woman and she had known straightaway from her daughter's stories that there was something special about this Chakotay. In three days flat she had wheedled a full confession from Kathryn.

"But I treated him so badly. Mom. He thinks he doesn't mean anything to me. I missed my chance."

"Don't be so certain, darling. Men like to act out if they feel like they are being ignored. It's not over yet."

Kathryn was in no way convinced but she kept quiet – there was no other way to act when Gretchen Janeway got an idea in her head.

"Mom, please don't act strangely tonight, OK? This is just a dinner for my senior crew. We're all exhausted and we don't need any deathbed confessions."

"Whatever you want, darling. But you know that I'm on your side, don't you?"

With a weak smile, Kathryn hugged her mother, "Of course, Mom. But tonight is about family. You'll understand when you meet them all. They're a pretty special bunch of people."

"So you keep saying. I feel like I know them already."