This is something that came to me in parts. I started to form much of it while I was reading one of KJ's fics, Returning Heroes (http://koffeeklub.net/kj/MAP.html). The scene gained some context after I read Whoa Nellie's Playing Doctor and Incendiary (found at http://www.geocities.com/whoa_nellies2000/), and wondered what might come in between. Also, much of the Picard reference was influenced, at least in part, by Whoa Nellie's work.

The latest copy of this can be found at my webpage, www.compqna.com/fanfics, along with my other flights into fandom. Please send any feedback to jamorales@compqna.com - I look forward to hearing from you.

Disclaimer: Sir Gene created this future, and the characters and situations are property of Paramount. No infringement is intended, nor any profit made.

He paused to request entrance to the ready room. The bridge crew was preoccupied, some with worry and some with excitement; he could feel the energy ebb and flow. They were home, well some of them were. 'What happens now?' was the big question going around the ship. He was worried, but at the same time happy for all those who were home. Also, he was relieved. One way or another, all the issues would finally be resolved in the coming weeks.

"Come," responded Janeway as the door opened.

The Commander walked in to find his friend at her desk, reading away. He waited for her to finish her current passage. In a moment, she set the PADD aside and looked up at him.

"Commander?" she prompted.

"Just the last of the reports, Captain," he replied, smoothly taking his cue from her formality. "I've finished going over these. Do you have anymore left?"

"I'm on my last one, or just about. How did the meetings go?"

"Oh, about as well as we expected, at least with the Maquis."

"Former Maquis," she corrected reflexively.

"They're scared, but they have reason to be," he continued, ignoring the interruption. "The Equinox crew just seem resigned to their fate. I think they were more worried before though. Now at least they know we are working on it, and none of them is alone."

"I should have been there. I hope you told them-"

He waved away her concerns. "They're well aware of everything. They know you wanted to be there; they know you weren't because you're working on all of this," he gestured to the various PADDs, "some of which will hopefully help us."

"Hopefully, it won't be necessary."

"Any news?"

"More of the same," she shrugged. "Plans for the homecoming. No need to talk about the Maquis, everything's going to be fine. As for the Equinox crew, I expect they will see some time in a penal colony, but it will be minimal. The hearings will point most of the blame at Ransom." She seemed to want to say more, but stopped there. Chakotay watched her frown.

"Something wrong, Captain?" he prompted.

She looked him straight in the eye. "You hope they take that tack, don't you. Do you really want to take the blame for the Maquis?"

His first response was a grimace. "'Want' is a strong word, but what about you? If members of your crew were being brought up on charges for things they did while following your orders, how would you react?" he responded, meeting her gaze. "We need more info before I make any decisions, but yeah, if they want to go after the Maquis, I'll... absorb what I can." After a moment he turned and walked to the couch area, relaxing into the cushions. "But as you say, if HQ is telling the truth, it shouldn't be necessary." He looked back at her again, this time with a twinkle in his eye.  "On a lighter note, I understand I missed an interesting conversation between you and someone at McKinley Station."

She walked over to him and flopped onto the couch. "I think I spent too long in the delta quadrant," she mused.

He couldn't help but laugh. It felt good after all the worrying he had been doing. "You 'think'? You mean you aren't sure if seven years was too much? We could go back and make certain."

She responded with a chuckle of her own. "No! I'm quite sure, thank you." She was happy to laugh, too. Seemed like a long time since they had shared a good laugh.

"Well good, because an hour before you get home is a little late to decide on a course change." He turned to face her, leaning back into the corner of the couch. "So what is bothering you, then, and what does this have to do with the station officer?" he asked, coming back to his original question.

"I think I've gotten into the bad habit of intimidating everyone - especially when I talk to them over the view screen. It didn't help that the lieutenant was just a child, younger than Harry, even! You should have seen the way he responded to me! It was like he was looking at a ghost."

"Not a ghost, just a legend," the commander returned with a smile.

She grimaced. "You and your legends. The man works communications for Starfleet's largest dock. Ambassador Spock may still come through here on occasion. Hell, Picard must come through here on a regular basis. Talk about a legend, he's been in the fleet forever - he must be part Vulcan! I wouldn't be surprised to find out he served with Tuvok under Sulu." They shared another laugh before she continued. "I'm sure lieutenant what's-his-name meets 'legends' on a daily basis."

"No, those would be legendary figures, not legends," Chakotay corrected mildly.

"Oh! Well, you'll have to explain the difference for those of us who aren't natural storytellers." She was still smiling, but something about her voice, or maybe it was her expression, seemed more serious. She rose and moved to her replicator, glancing back to him with a question. "Anything?"

Chakotay absently answered with a shake of his head, as he considered how to answer her other request. He had thought of similar situations many times over the years, imagining her bringing up a certain legend as they approached Earth, but he hadn't considered the possibility much recently. In fact, he'd had a few dreams after meeting the pre-delta Janeway in the shattered timeline, but that was about it for past few years.

Seeing no need to turn this into a serious occasion, he kept his answer light. "Storyteller hits it on the head actually - stories are the gist of it. A legendary figure is someone you hear stories about, some legendary and some everyday anecdotes. The prosaic stuff is what keeps them mortal. You mentioned Picard. One of the guys I went to the academy with, a guy named Thornton, ended up doing administrative work at HQ - organizing conferences, making sure the VIPs have what they need, that sort of thing."

Her eyes were shining again. "He was a gofer," she interjected as she made herself comfortable again.

"Please! He was Commander Gofer!" He watched as she smiled. "Anyway, Thornton saw Picard occasionally, and he had heard all the stories about him, but Thornton was well-educated and had a good scientific mind - in other words, he was cynical. He knew half the stories about Picard had to be bull, and he figures he knows which they are. Of course, 'Fleet will probably never declassify some very true stories about Picard that Thornton would never believe, but never mind that. In the mean time, Thornton interacts with the 'legendary' captain, who is supposed to be stiff as a board and hard as nails, according to all those legends. In reality, he's pretty affable - if you know his quirks."

"Quirks?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Everyone has some things they like a certain way," he smirked.

She slapped his arm. "Come on, you know you have to explain that."

"Well, remember this is second-hand info..."

"All your gossip is, but you always seem to know what to believe."

"Well, it seems the good captain needs two things from his accommodations - get those right, and you're on his good side. Make sure the replicator in his room has a recipe for Earl Grey, and if a certain lady is also at HQ - and she always seems to be at HQ when he is - make sure she has a room nearby... but never adjoining."

Katherine's giggle made her sound like a little girl. "No! Are you serious?" she gasped. "Was it his CMO? Or that archaeologist, what was her name? You always heard stories-"

Chakotay's eyes seemed to be laughing, and Kathryn was sure he knew something more.

"That's what I'm saying! Lots of stories. And just for the record, I'm not saying who it was." He paused to enjoy the sight of her grinning, still speculating silently to herself. Whatever else they may become, or may have been, she was still his friend, and she never seemed to laugh enough.

"Same thing with that lieutenant you scared. He's met plenty of legendary people, but he's either been around them enough, or heard enough anecdotes, gossip, et cetera, that he thinks of them as real people. With you, there aren't any anecdotes, at least not recent ones, which only leaves legend."

Janeway gave him a pat on the leg, and smiled at him. It was good to laugh, good to be home, and good to be with him. Through it all, she kept thinking about another legend. She knew what the Admiral had said about him and Seven, but how far had they progressed? Was that just a story? Maybe she wasn't too late just yet.

"Well, Professor Storyteller, since class is in session, I have another question. Rumors, gossip, anecdotes, stories, legends - are they the same thing? How do you tell the difference between a run-of-the-mill story, and something that may eventually be an 'ancient legend'?" Now she squeezed his knee to give the question extra emphasis.

Again, Chakotay considered his words carefully. He wondered if he could be honest without ruining the moment. Deciding he was over-thinking the whole thing, he just answered the question. "A legend is a story that takes on a life of its own. It gets shared with lots of people. It becomes well known and accepted, if not as fact then at least as a good story. Eventually, as more people share it, the story changes... grows, until it takes on a mythical quality, some aspect of it becomes fantastical. It's pretty unusual. Most likely, in this day of scientific cynicism, it dies." His voice had a sad finality to it.

She blinked a few times and withdrew her hand before quietly asking, "How does it die?"

"Usually someone kills it. It could be anyone, but I am a little ashamed to say it's usually an archaeologist or anthropologist - one of my fellow cultural history students." He paused for a moment with a frown of his own. "Whoever it is, that someone thinks it to death. They become interested in it for some reason, maybe because it is a good story, but they don't share the story, they just share their findings. They make a study of it, probably document it, make it static. Pin it down, like a butterfly in someone's collection - pretty to look at perhaps, but quite dead."

Janeway thought of her personal logs, of the number of times she had recorded or reviewed the ancient legend, always alone. It had never been shared, not even with the storyteller. She had always hoped to share it with him, had anticipated this very day, their arrival home.

"Well, we should probably get out there. Everything is going to start happening quickly now." He started to stand, but found Janeway's hand holding him in place.

Janeway looked at the floor for a moment as she weighed her options. Her strength was in her courage, so why hide? She didn't have a reason, not anymore, and she had a big blond reason not to hide.

"Captain?" he finally prompted her when she hadn't spoken.

"What happens then? When everything starts happening? What are you doing when all this is done?"

"Well, that depends on when it ends. I know what you've been saying but I'm not sure I believe the Federation is ready to forgive and forget. I'm not really making any long-term plans at the moment. In the short term, I have to marry my sister." He noticed her blank look and specified. "Talihira - she and Chinquiso want to get married again. They had a legal ceremony just a few months ago, but now that we're here, they want a traditional one. The traditional ceremony is performed by a tribal elder and one older member of each family. Apparently I have to arm wrestle Chinquiso's cousin to see who doubles as the elder. Tali has even promised to make some of our mother's best dishes - the ones she used to make on special occasions. So, I'll marry my sister off, get sick eating too much and wait for the Federation's decision."

That was the easy part. Neither of them knew anything until they knew what the Federation and the 'Fleet had decided. "And if they decide you're free to go?" she prompted.

He considered it for a while. "If I'm free, then I'll make some comm calls - see what's happening on Trebus, see if I have any friends who survived the war, and I'll consult with a few of my fellow Voyagers before I make any final decisions."

"Like B'Elanna?" She figured that was a given, but maybe she could find out who else was on the list.

His brow furrowed a bit, and he responded, "No. I have a pretty good idea what Tom and B'Elanna will be doing after all this. She's finally found the family she's been looking for. I still love her, and we'll likely keep in touch, but she'll be involved in his family now, and getting to know her father. I don't think she needs me to be there."

'There goes that theory,' she thought to herself. Still, she was worried he sounded bitter about B'Elanna. "She still loves you, you know."

"Oh, I know that," he chuckled. "And I still love her, but our travels together have probably come to an end. I'll miss seeing her everyday, but I don't begrudge her her new path. I'm too proud of the person she's become to do that. When she has time, she and her family will be welcome to visit me, wherever I wind up." His smile seemed to convey that pride very well.

"Whom will you consult with, then?" she couldn't help but fish further. Would he tell her?

"Well, I told Sam I would come see Naomi a few times in the first month, and a few more times over the first year, if I'm not enjoying the accommodations at the penal system. Sam's husband is back on Earth now, and they'll be staying near him, at least in the short run. I think they're both worried about how Naomi will handle all the changes."

"Oh, yes. That will be an issue. If I..." She paused a moment to focus on the new problem. She also couldn't help feeling a little hurt that Sam had not asked her to visit.

"I wouldn't worry about it. If you're interested in visiting, just talk to Sam."

"You really do know me far too well. I would, if she... Well, I wasn't exactly-"

"Sam only invited me after I offered to visit. She actually thought about talking to you about it-"

"But she came to you instead," she finished for him. "Still our ship's counselor in our final days." It was meant as a bit of a dig, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Our ship's counselor has spoken to Sam and Naomi many times over the years about how Naomi is doing. A few meetings included discussions of how Naomi would handle it if and when we did get home and some plans for making things easier on her when it happened. So, a few hours ago, our ship's counselor sat down with Sam again, and the two of them - err, the two of us made some arrangements to implement a few of those plans."

She seemed to have no response for that.

"Look, she wanted to talk to you, but everyone assumes all your time will be taken up with parades and interviews."

The "Hmmph" was all she could muster in response.

"Well, what about you? What will do?"

Was this the consultation? "I don't know yet. Get sick on my mom's brownies, probably. See if I am going to be court martialed. If not, take a long break, get to know my nieces and nephew, and wait on my next assignment. They've suggested I might have a promotion coming my way, if I don't have a trial coming my way."

'That was predictable,' he thought to himself. Her next question was a surprise, however.

"What will Seven do?"

'She knows?' he wondered as he schooled his expression. 'She's the Captain, of course she knows,' he answered himself. 'That explains a few things.'

"She's not sure yet either," he answered with deliberate nonchalance.

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Maybe, if there were something to tell. Just now she is probably feeling a lot of what Naomi is feeling."

"I do know about the two of you. Don't tell me you're just playing the part of the counselor," she mocked, unable to keep some of the bitterness from showing.

"Hardly. I do care for her, though I'm no fool. We won't last." He shook his head, amused at his situation. "There's too much out there that she still needs to learn, and I want a partner, not a student. She has a lot to learn about herself, but she'll do it while she goes off on a mission to discover new worlds and new civilizations - isn't that what the recruitment posters say? If - and it's a big 'if' - but if I do have my way, I'll be off to rediscover old civilizations."

"So why are you with her?" she asked before she realized it.

"I don't know - 'cause she asked," he chucked. "It sounds silly, but that's what it comes down to. When she first asked, I didn't even realize she intended it as a date. Afterwards, I did have fun, though it seemed a little stiff, too planned out, like some experiment. Sometimes I expected her to pull out a checklist and circle the ideas that worked and cross off the ones that didn't. We had a few moments - nothing serious - but mostly, it's been an interesting new friendship. I guess if we stayed on Voyager, it might have eventually turned into something, who knows?"

'I do,' she answered silently.

"But as it stands," he continued, "she's a little scared, and needs all the friends she can get, and soon that's all we'll be. Once the Federation is done with me, and when the Maquis, Seven and the other Voyagers don't need me anymore, then I can figure out what I'm going to do."

That sounded rather familiar. "So, even though we're back, you'll still have to wait before you have the life you've been dreaming about."

"My father used to say that I spent too much time on dreams, and too little on enjoying the here and now. I've worked hard to correct that over the years, and I even succeeded a time or two, but I suspect it's still part of me. When I was young, I dreamt of a life in space, so I joined Starfleet and spent most of my time teaching at the academy. Then I dreamt of the Federation finally dealing with the Cardassians, dreamt of leading a Federation starship in the defense of my people, and instead they signed away my world. I found my own ship to lead, but no Trebus to defend. During the war I dreamt of getting away from it all, and I ended up on the other end of the galaxy. There, I dreamt of coming home. This won't be what I expect either, it would break the cycle." He chuckled. "Besides, my spirit guide wouldn't have anything to laugh about."

She watched him carefully. "So, a court martial for me and charges of treason for you, or admiralty and a desk job for me and Trebus for you. Or what was that you said about rediscovering old civilizations?"

"Well, if I am needed on Trebus, I'll go there. Otherwise, I may just go back to Earth and look for Atlantis, or go off somewhere else and look for some other long lost civilization. Hell, I might even end up on a Starfleet ship somewhere, helping the Federation out with some official inquiry. I understand the 'Legendary Picard' still manages to get his hands dirty from time to time." His smile had a dreamy quality to it. "I'll just have to see what I have to choose from when the time comes."

'He used to dream of me,' Kathryn noted. Choices. She could talk to him about his choices. Why would he choose Seven over... over what? She suddenly realized what his choices were. He didn't choose between Seven and Kathryn. Kathryn wasn't a choice - she had never told him she wanted a relationship, or even that she would one day. He chose between Seven and... a possibility, a 'future that may never come.' It still hadn't, not for him, and it never would.

"Command team to the bridge." Tuvok's voice seemed unnaturally loud. The moment had passed.

She looked at him, memorizing him.

"Shall we, my legendary captain?" he asked, already getting up.

"Legendary?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh, I'm sure Lieutenant what's-his-name's reaction won't be unique. The time for the legend has come," he announced as he paused by the door to let her pass.

'And gone,' she added silently.