I have assumed two things in this story which might not necessarily be correct:
(a) that the Captain has a ready room, and
(b) that the doctor can be programmed to wear something other than his uniform.
Captain Kathryn Janeway leaned back in her chair, her eyes scanning the small screen before her. "Does anyone else have anything to say?" she asked, looking up at the people seated around the table.
Most of the crew members shook their heads. Tom Paris, on the other hand, cleared his throat. "Captain..."
Janeway's gaze fixed on the young lieutenant's face and she cocked her head to one side. "Yes, Mr. Paris?"
Paris looked around at his colleagues. "Do you know what day it is back on Earth?"
Most shook their heads while Tuvok looked thoughtful, obviously calculating the day.
"In less than a week, it's Christmas," Paris said, putting them out of the misery.
"What's christmas?" Neelix asked.
"That is an incorrect assumption," Tuvok replied. "If you consider that we have traveled 75 light years away, the mathematical ---"
"Yes, yes..." Paris interrupted. "I know that. But, if we were back home right now, we'd be getting ready for Christmas."
"What's christmas?" Neelix asked, again, looking from one person to another. Kes shook her head helplessly. She was as much in the dark as he was.
This time Chakotay look pity on the Talaxian. "It's a religious celebration held by Christians back on Earth. They celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the Saviour."
"The Saviour?"
Harry Kim nodded vigorously. "They believe that God appeared in human form and walked on the Earth."
"Why?"
"Because He wanted to bring His people back to Himself."
"Oh... When did all this happen?"
"About two thousand five hundred years ago."
"Two thousand five hundred years ago?" Neelix asked, incredulously.
Harry Kim nodded again.
"And people still remember it?"
"Some do," B'Elanna Torres added, dryly.
"So, Mr. Paris," the captain said, "why are you reminding us of Christmas. What is it you have in mind?"
"I thought it would be nice if we had a Christmas party. We can use the larger holodeck and have a traditional celebration. Everyone is welcome... We can exchange gifts.."
"Gifts?" Neelix's eyes lit up.
"Where do you plan on obtaining these gifts?" Tuvok asked.
"From the replicators."
"That would be inadvisable. We have only just got the replicators functional."
Paris was not about to be put off, however. "Well, how about each person getting just one gift? We can draw lots to see who we get to buy for? The replicators could handle that, couldn't they?"
Tuvok nodded. "That would be acceptable if the captain gives her permission."
All eyes turned to the captain. She looked from Paris and Kim's eager faces to Tuvok's disinterested one, to Kes and Neelix's confused ones. Finally, her gaze settled on Chakotay, her First Officer. She raised a barely perceptible eyebrow, silently asking his opinion. He replied with a small smile.
"All right, Mr. Paris. You may have your Christmas party. Attendance will be voluntary and each person is allowed to replicate only one gift. Keep me informed," she added as she brought the meeting to a close.
"Where can I learn more about this Christmas thing?" Neelix asked as they filed out of the conference room.
"Try The Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John," B'Elanna answered, stepping into the turbolift. "Engineering," she said as the doors closed.
----------------
"How's it going?" Harry Kim asked Paris as they walked towards the food hall.
"Fine," Paris replied. "Neelix has been practicing some of the dishes I suggested. He really is so enthusiastic! Can you believe he's read almost everything he can find about Christmas? Tuvok has declined to attend --"
"Naturally."
" --naturally. He says he'll man the bridge while everyone else is enjoying themselves."
"He said that?"
"Well, not in so many words, but that's what he meant. The Captain and Commander Chakotay have agreed to attend..."
"They did? How did you manage that?"
"I have my ways..." Paris grinned wickedly at his friend as the two entered the food hall and walked across to the replicator. Paris ordered his usual - tomato soup (he and Harry Kim had managed to reprogram the replicator so that it now made an acceptable tomato soup), while Harry ordered some sauteed vegetables.
"What about B'Elanna?" Kim asked, seeing the chief engineer sitting alone at a window seat.
"She's not interested in coming."
"Really?" Kim was surprised. "I would have thought she would like Christmas, what with having a human father and all that..."
"Yeah, me too, but she was just not interested."
Placing their plates on the table, the two sat down. "So when do I find out who I get to choose a gift for?"
"I'm meeting with the Captain and Chakotay later on to finalize everything. Once that's done, I'll get the computer to do a random selection and reroute it to everyone's terminals. You should know by tonight.
"Great," replied Kim before seriously tucking into his lunch.
------------------
Chakotay entered the Captain's Ready Room and glanced around. Janeway looked up from behind her desk and shot him a smile.
"Mr. Paris not here yet?" he asked her.
"He should be here any minute. Take a seat. So," Janeway continued after her First Officer had folded his muscular frame into the opposite chair, "I take it you'll be attending Mr. Paris' party?"
Chakotay nodded. "I was going to help Tuvok on the bridge, but Mr. Paris gave me this long story about how bad it will look if none of the senior crew attend."
Janeway smiled. "He used that line on me, too, but I was planning on attending anyway. I think the distraction will be good for the crew... give them something to focus on."
The door chime sounded and Tom Paris entered. The captain indicated the seat next to Chakotay. "Take a seat, Lieutenant, and tell me what's happening. You only have two days till Christmas Eve."
Paris sank into his seat but after a few minutes, his enthusiasm had him straining forward as he outlined what he had organized so far.
"B'Elanna Torres has refused to attend?" Chakotay sat up in his seat. "Did she give a reason why?"
Paris twisted round to face the First Officer. "No."
Chakotay rubbed his chin. "Let me talk to her. I'm sure she'll attend."
Paris shot him a speculative look. "Sure. I'll go ahead and add her to the list and get the computer working on the gift list." He stood up. "If you'll excuse me," he said to his senior officers.
Janeway nodded and Paris left the room. "You think you can get B'Elanna to attend?"
Chakotay nodded. "There's more to this than meets the eye. I just need to find out what the problem is."
-------------------
The doors to Engineering slid open and Chakotay stepped into a flurry of activity. No matter what time of day or night you visited Engineering, everyone was always busy.
Lieutenant Carey looked up from his console and spotted the former Maquis captain. No matter how he felt personally about the man, he had to admit that Commander Chakotay made an excellent First Officer. He didn't know who the captain would have chosen if he had not been around. Lieutenant Tuvok perhaps?
"Can I help you, Commander?" he asked.
"I'm looking for Lieutenant Torres."
"She's upstairs," Carey replied, indicating the upper deck.
Chakotay found her easily enough. She was half-buried in an open panel beneath one of the consoles, a variety of engineering equipment lying in disarray around her. She reached for her tricorder and spotted a pair of legs encased in a black uniform. "Chakotay," she mumbled and wriggled free from the panel.
"Yes, Commander?" she asked, smoothing down her uniform.
Chakotay glanced around and saw that they were alone. "Why aren't you coming to the Christmas party, B'Elanna?"
The Chief Engineer scowled. "I don't want to..."
"The real reason," Chakotay insisted.
B'Elanna Torres knew from past experience that it was useless to fight with this man. She shrugged sadly and quietly replied, "Christmas was my father's favourite time of year. He always made such a big deal of it." She shrugged again and held Chakotay's gaze.
He nodded in understanding. "I miss home, too," he finally said. "If I know my father, he'll be convinced that I'm still alive out here in spite of the overwhelming odds against it. Stubborn as a mule."
This brought a rare smile from B'Elanna. "My father, too."
"So what would your father want you to do about this party?"
The man certainly knew the right buttons to push! "Attend," she admitted.
"So?"
B'Elanna played her last card. "Are you ordering me to attend, Commander?"
"No," the First Officer replied. "This must be your decision." He turned and walked away. When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard Torres call him. He stopped and turned to look at her, hand on the railing.
"I'll go," she said.
"I'll let Mr. Paris know," he answered and started down the stairs.
Four hours later, Chakotay entered his quarters and headed straight for the shower. Standing under the hot water, he mulled over the dispute he'd just had to deal with. Maquis verses Fleeter. Again. He was getting so tired of the same problem. When would they realize that they were now one crew with the same goal - to get home. It was time to put aside the differences and concentrate on working together.
Christmas time. Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men... or women. They certainly could do with some of that right now.
Stepping from the shower, Chakotay dried himself off and towel-dried his hair. He then shook his head, sending a spray of water in all directions and wrapped the towel around his waist before stepping into the bedroom.
The first thing he noticed was his computer screen flashing indicating that there was a message for him, so he walked up to it and punched the appropriate keys. A few seconds later, a name appeared on the screen. It was the name of the person he was to buy a gift for. He read the name again and turned it over in his mind a few times. This is going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
Shrugging into some casual clothing, Chakotay made his way to Neelix's lounge for something to eat.
It was close to midnight when he finally made his way towards the gift replicator. He hoped that there'd be no one around when he made his selection. There was one other person in the room, a young ensign from stellar cartography, who quickly finished up and left the room when the First Officer of the ship entered. She had her gift stashed away in a large carry-all she'd obviously brought with.
Chakotay, too, had brought along a box to carry his gift in. He certainly didn't want the entire ship to see what he selected. Stepping up to the panel, he activated it.
"Gift selection," he instructed the machine.
"Please specify: Male, female --"
"Child," interrupted Chakotay. "Female. Soft toys."
The computer silently followed the First Officer's instructions, displaying one gift after another. Finally he made his choice and instructed the replicator to supply him with a sheet of red, foil paper and a large green bow.
Clutching his gift, Chakotay made his way to his quarters where he spent some time wrapping the present.
---------------------
When Kathryn Janeway stepped into the holodeck on Christmas Eve, she was amazed to see the transformation. She knew, of course, that the holodeck generators were capable of creating whatever one desired, but she was impressed by the imagination of Tom Paris.
A large pine tree decorated with shining tinsel, flickering lights and an assortment of sugared candy dominated the room. The floor underneath was littered with gifts of all shapes and sizes - one for each person present. There was even one for the holographic doctor who was in attendance. Janeway decided that if it was the last thing she did that night, she'd find out just how Tom Paris conned the doctor into attending.
Janeway looked around at her crew. Some were seated at the tables, chatting. Others were congregating around the food tables where Neelix, with a wide smile, was in attendance. Still others were on the dance floor. And all were in formal dinner wear as Tom Paris has instructed. The captain smoothed her hands over her cream satin dress and walked across to where she could see Chakotay and B'Elanna seated at a table. He stood up as she approached and pulled out a chair for her.
"Very nice, Commander," she said, indicating his formal wear.
"Likewise, Captain." He smiled at her and sat down. "In fact, I hardly recognize anyone tonight." He turned towards the Chief Engineer. "You should wear a dress more often, B'Elanna. It suits you."
Janeway laughed out loud at the look B'Elanna Torres shot the First Officer.
The rest of the evening passed in a hive of excitement. Watching the crew relax and have fun, Janeway decided that she was glad Tom Paris had come up with this idea. Perhaps she should add it to his yearly duties, she thought and then smiled sadly. We will find a quicker route home, she told herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Tom Paris loudly ringing a bell and announcing the arrival of Father Christmas. Everyone laughed as a chubby man attired in red made his way between the tables. Janeway didn't recognize him and assumed that he was a holographic character. It was his duty to hand out the presents.
One by one the gifts were given out and opened.
"For me?" The Doctor asked, astonished, as Father Christmas called out his name.
"Yes!" chorused everyone.
Opening the small box, the Doctor stared silently at it's contents. Then he looked up and scanned the faces as if to pick out the giver.
"What is it?" Tom Paris called out.
The Doctor held up two shining objects but didn't say a word.
"They're lieutenant's pips," Kes said, getting out of her seat and walking across to the Doctor. "Captain Janeway has given you a field rank for your months of service." She took the pips from his hands and carefully pinned it to the collar of the Doctor's black suit.
"Why," he asked her.
"Because I asked her to and because you deserve it," she told him with a smile.
He returned her smile and squeezed her hand, causing Neelix to drop the large ladle he was holding with a loud crash.
Paris had organized it so that the last gift given out was the captain's. The large red box with green ribbon sat folornly on the floor until Father Christmas picked it up in his large hands. "Kathryn Janeway," he called out loudly and walked towards where the captain was sitting.
She laughed as he placed the gift before her and sat next to her.
All eyes were on the captain as she slowly lifted the lid off the box. Her first reaction was one of surprise then confusion. Nestled in the box amidst the tissue paper was a soft, brown, cuddly teddy bear. He was holding a note which the captain picked up and read to herself.
"You just seem like a bear person to me," it said.
She looked up across the table and caught his eye, then she started laughing. Taking the bear from the box, she showed it to everyone, thoroughly confusing everyone as to why someone would give the captain a teddy bear, then hugged it to her chest.
"I am," she told no one in particular. "I definitely am."
the end
Copyright Sheena Ainsbury March 1995
All Rights Reserved
