Disclaimer: Paramount is the holder of all things Trek in general
and all things Voyager in particular.  This is just another of my
feeble, amateur (i.e., I am not paid for this) way of expressing
my love for the show.  So don't sue me!  Please forward any
comments to AnnitaS@aol.com.

Okay, most of you already know I have a tendency toward writing
"missing scenes."  I knew even before I watched this episode that
I would probably feel a need to do so once again.  I loved "The
Gift" and think the story of Kes' departure and 7 of 9's arrival
was handled beautifully.  But my mind and my heart still wanted
Kes' friends to have a chance for some resolution.  Ergo, the
little story that follows.  I hope you like it.


*GOODBYE...*
(an addition to "The Gift")

     Kes was gone.
     On the bridge of the starship Voyager, an eery silence
seemed to weigh down the very air with conflicting emotions.  No
one seemed to be sure how they were supposed to feel.  Kes hadn't
died, at least according to the explanation offered by Tuvok and
the captain.  She had evolved into something new, something more.

The captain had told them how the gentle Ocampa considered this
some kind of exciting new adventure, one she wanted with all her
soul.  And in the process of this strange transformation, she had
given Voyager and its crew an unbelievable gift... a push that
sent the errant starship ten years closer to home in little more
than the blink of an eye.  Everything had changed.  They were now
beyond the heart of Borg space and the threat from the
collective, while not completely negated, had been significantly
diminished.  They had come out of, as Paris has put it, whatever
they had been in, to find themselves near a massive nebula,
swirling in shades of blue and pink.  It should have been a time
of great excitement and exhilaration for the officers and crew of
Voyager.
     But Kes was gone.
     Tom Paris couldn't seem to focus his mind on anything but
the dark empty feeling at the core of his being.  His second
chance at life had begun on Voyager and Kes had been so much a
part of that new beginning.  She had been a dear friend.  More
than most people, Paris recognized how precious such a friendship
was.  Too precious to contemplate its loss.  He knew the time
would come when he would have to deal with these feelings, but
for now, there were other things... other friends to think about.
     After those initial emotionally charged moments following
their impossible flight through 9.5 thousand light years of the
Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway had spoken to them briefly about
Kes' departure.  Tuvok, still visibly shaken from his mind-meld
that had bought them the time for Kes to make it to the shuttle,
had been sent to his quarters to rest.  At least the captain had
been able to say goodbye to one of her "children."  That was some
comfort, as was the memory of Kes' own voice at the moment of
transformation.  The joy in those words, "It's happening... it's
happening to me," eased the pain of loss that would have been
unbearable otherwise.  But no matter how hard he fought to
rationalize it, to try and see the wonder in what had happened,
Tom's mind kept slipping back to that one inescapable thought,
the ache in his heart at the realization that he would never see
his friend again.
     Kes was gone.  And he hadn't even been able to say goodbye.
     After those first moments, no one spoke of Kes.  They spent
several hours taking sensor readings of their new surroundings,
sending valuable data to astrophysics and stellar cartography. 
No one regretted the fact that they had missed the chance of
charting the star systems in the thousands of light years they
had bypassed.  After three years of a journey that often seemed
impossible, one amazing moment had given them the renewed hope
that somehow they would find their way back to familiar space. 
New hope, but at what price?
     Late in the shift, the captain left the bridge to meet with
the doctor to discuss his progress in yet another transformation
taking place aboard the starship.  The single Borg who remained
on Voyager was to become human once again and apparently become a
new addition to the crew.  Perhaps a dispassionate observer would
find a sort of symmetry in what had occurred.  But for those who
had known and loved Kes, the scales were hopelessly unbalanced.
     Finally the relief pilot arrived and Tom spent several
minutes bringing her up to speed on helm and navigational status.

When at last he turned away from his station, he saw Harry
standing near the turbolift waiting for him.  Tom could see all
the pain he felt mirrored on the younger man's face.  He looked
so lost and unsure.  Tom's heart twisted once more.
     As Paris moved past him to join Harry, Chakotay nodded his
acknowledgment of the change of shift.  Their eyes met briefly,
but long enough for Tom to see the haunted expression in the
former Maquis' eyes.  This was going to be so hard on all of
them.
     Tom stopped for a moment in front of Harry, reached out and
put his hand on his friend's shoulder.  Harry seemed to pull
himself up straighter, but with palpable effort.  Tom clapped him
on the arm, turning him toward the lift.  It was time to move on.

They stepped inside and the doors closed.  For several seconds,
neither of them spoke, even to instruct the turbolift where to
take them.  Tom glanced at Harry and realized he would have to be
the one to make the decision.  Wherever they went, it would be
together.  Neither of them had to voice their need for the
companionship of the other.
     "Deck two," the pilot said quietly and they began to move. 
When the doors opened, they stepped off together, Tom leading the
way.  Tom knew where he needed to go and he knew Harry would
follow.
     The mess hall was full, but the same silence that had
pervaded the bridge existed here as well.  It was perhaps even
more unreal with so many people present.  The looks on the faces,
the bowed heads, the hands clasped across the tables, and the
occasional dashing of moisture from the eyes told him immediately
that the crew knew what had happened and were all feeling the
loss.  There was probably no one on the ship whose life Kes
hadn't touched at some time over the past three years.  Now this
crew who had shared so much together was comforting each other.
     A few familiar faces looked their way.  Paris nodded at Joe
Carey whose hand rested on the arm of his fellow engineer, Sue
Nikoletti, as they sat with Ayala and Lange.  There was no
division between the former Maquis and Starfleet personnel.  They
were all one crew now.
     Consciously telling his feet to move once more, Tom made his
way to the counter.  It was overflowing with platters of food,
but his interest was on the man behind the counter so busily
engaged in stirring a large steaming pot of something
unrecognizable.
     "Neelix?" Tom spoke the name quietly, and the Talaxian
hesitated a moment before looking up.  His eyes were red and
puffy, but he offered Paris a quick, if obviously forced, smile.
     "Hello, Tom," he replied.
     "Looks like you've outdone yourself tonight," Paris told
him, keeping a watchful eye on the other man's expression.
     "Indeed," Neelix replied.  "I thought it might be nice to
prepare a wide variety of dishes from the Alpha Quadrant.  Sort
of a reminder that everyone's a lot closer to home now."
     Everyone but you, Tom thought, hearing the unspoken truth
behind his friend's words.
     "You didn't have to do all this," Harry spoke for the first
time as he stood at Tom's shoulder.  "No one expects you to...
everybody would understand if you didn't feel up to it... right
now."
     Neelix offered the ensign a look of resignation.  "I wanted
to do it," he replied.  "Besides, it was something to keep me
busy.  And besides, I had a lot of help today."
     For the first time, Tom noticed the Delaney sisters in the
kitchen with Neelix.  Jenny nodded at him as she carried a
container to the counter while her sister worked on a platter of
sandwiches across the way.  Tom summoned up a smile of thanks for
their thoughtfulness.
     As she set down the bowl, Jenny placed a hand on the cook's
arm.  "Neelix, everything is just about finished.  Meg and I can
take care of things for a while here.  Why don't you go sit down
and talk to Tom and Harry for a bit?"
     "Well, I..."
     "Come on, Neelix,"Tom encouraged.  "I think we could all use
the company right now."
     Neelix sighed, then gave a firm nod.  Tom and Harry waited
until he had moved around from behind the counter, then headed
for a table in the far corner, near the viewport.  Harry sat next
to Neelix while Tom took a chair opposite them.  None of them had
bothered to take anything from the buffet.  Food wasn't what they
needed right now.
     "Are you all right?" Tom asked after they had sat in silence
for a moment.  Neelix smiled at him sadly.
     "I will be," he replied.  "I'll miss her so much."
     "We all will," Harry replied, seemingly unable to raise his
head to look at the Talaxian.
     "But Kes wouldn't want us to be sad," Neelix insisted.  "She
saw what was happening to her as a wonderfully exciting thing.  I
remember how her eyes sparkled as she tried to explain it all to
me.  I'm afraid I didn't understand much of it, but I know this
was the right thing for her."
     Harry finally looked at him.  "How can you be so sure?"
     "Because she was sure," he said simply.  "And I learned long
ago to trust Kes' intuition."
     "She could always see things more clearly than anyone I've
ever met," Tom agreed.
     Harry wasn't ready to accept it.  "I... I guess it's selfish
to wish she hadn't had to leave us.  The captain said it was what
she wanted."
     "Yes, it truly was what she wanted and I think it was
inevitable," Neelix replied.  "We always knew we wouldn't have
her for very long, but I guess we just didn't think it could
happen so soon."
     "I just wish..." Harry began, but couldn't find the words to
finish.  He didn't have to.
     "We all would have liked to have her with us forever,"
Neelix said, then looked meaningfully at Paris.  "We all loved
her and she loved us."
     Tom smiled at his friend.  "It seems so long ago that we
rolled around on this floor in hair pasta, fighting over her."
     Neelix laughed.  "A very long time ago!  Lot's of things
have changed since then."
     At that moment, the messhall doors opened and B'Elanna
Torres stepped inside.  Tom watched as her eyes searched over the
gathering.  She looked a lot smaller somehow, and so alone. 
Immediately he stood up to attract her attention.  When her eyes
fell on him, she appeared to relax a bit and she started toward
them.  As she got closer, the warmth in her sad brown eyes seemed
to chase away a little of the cold ache Tom had felt all
afternoon.  For several moments, they stood just looking at each
other, each silently assuring themselves that the other was all
right and offering unspoken support.  Tom reached out and took
her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as he guided her to sit
next to him.
     "I guess things were pretty hectic in engineering," Harry
ventured.
     "That's an understatement!" she replied.  "We still haven't
figured out what happened and frankly, I don't think we ever
will.  It was simply amazing!"
     "I guess you can't question that kind of gift," Tom said,
almost as if he were speaking to himself.  "You just accept it
and never forget."
     "I don't believe anyone could ever forget," B'Elanna
replied.  "I know I won't."  Her tone of voice told them all that
she was no longer speaking of the amazing happenings in
engineering, but of a friend suddenly lost.  Her eyes were
especially bright as she looked from Neelix to Harry to Tom.
     A silence fell over the four friends as they each tried to
gather their thoughts.  When at last it became uncomfortable,
Neelix ended it.
     "Kes would want us to be happy," he reasoned.  "She would
want us to remember all the good times."
     B'Elanna turned away.  "It's just so hard."  Tom's hand
moved to rest against her back.
     "I know it is," Neelix replied.  "But we have such wonderful
memories.  As morale officer, I think it would be good to share
them."
     B'Elanna looked at him in amazement and a spark of anger. 
"How can you...?"  She cut her words short.  "I'm so sorry,
Neelix.  I didn't mean to..."
     "It's all right.  It will take some time."
     "Neelix is right," Tom told them.  "I think Kes would like
us to all help each other through this.  None of us are alone. 
We have each other to lean on."
     "Yes," Neelix nodded.  "That's it exactly.  I remember once,
right after we'd come on board Voyager..."
     "Would you mind if we joined you?"
     They all looked up in surprise to find Captain Janeway and
Chakotay standing near their table.  No one had noticed their
approach.
     "Of course not, Captain," Neelix replied.  "We were just
remembering some of the good times we've had together."
     Janeway smiled as she took a seat next to Neelix and
Chakotay slid in next to B'Elanna.  "That sounds like a wonderful
idea."
     Something seemed to occur to Neelix and he hesitated a
moment before speaking.  "Captain, do you think we should ask Mr.
Vulcan to join us?"
     Janeway shook her head.  "I just went by to check on him. 
He's resting.  Perhaps we can include him later.  We all deal
with loss in different ways.  Right now, I believe Tuvok needs
this time alone."
     Neelix nodded in acceptance.
     "How's our newest crew member?" Harry asked.
     Janeway considered.  "Coming to terms with her new identity.

I'm cautiously optimistic.  The doctor has done an excellent job
with the physical aspect of her journey back to humanity.  Now
we'll all have to help her with the emotional part.  It may take
some time."
     "I'm still not convinced she'll ever become one of us,"
Chakotay responded.
     Janeway smiled patiently.  It would also take some time for
Chakotay to come to terms with having a former Borg on the ship.
     "Captain?" Tom leaned across the table, a look of
concentration on his face.  "Is the doctor back in sickbay?"
     "No," she replied, a little surprised by the question.  "I
left him in the cargo bay with 7 of 9.  She has to spend a few
hours each day regenerating her remaining Borg implants for a
while.  He's monitoring her."
     Paris frowned for a moment, lost in thought, then focussed
back on his friends as he got to his feet.  "I'll be back in a
few minutes.  There's something I need to do."
     "Tom?" B'Elanna asked, concern in her eyes.
     He offered her a reassuring smile.  "I promise I won't be
long."
     As Tom strode out of the messhall, Chakotay asked.  "I
wonder where he's going?"
     Suddenly Janeway knew both where he was going and why, and
an expression of guilt ghosted across her face.  "I think Mr.
Paris just thought of something I should have," she told them. 
"I believe he's remembered one friend of Kes' and of ours that
the rest of us had forgotten."
     B'Elanna's eyes widened in understanding.  "The doctor."
                               ***
     For the several hours since it happened, the doctor had
managed to focus on the task before him, removing the rejected
Borg implants from 7 of 9, finding ways to adapt the remaining
ones to function within the parameters of her human physiology,
and refining his "aesthetic" improvements and modifications.  As
long as he restricted his holographic thought processes to these
tasks, he was able to block out any distractions.  But now, with
his patient safely resting in the Borg alcove, the doctor at last
found himself with nothing to keep him occupied, nothing to keep
his mind from drifting to the one thing he didn't want to have to
face.
     Kes was gone.  His friend was gone.  He had dealt with these
kinds of feelings before, when the daughter he had created for
himself, then grown to care so much for, had died.  Then he had
learned first hand the pain of loss so familiar to the crew of
Voyager.  Some of those same feelings were returning to him now. 
Perhaps Kes hadn't died, but the result for him was much the
same.  She would no longer be there to help him in sickbay, to
talk to him, to be his friend.  In the absence of any other
pressing duties, the weight of that loss now bore down upon him. 
He sank into the chair at the medical station that had been
installed here for the purpose of monitoring his patient, but he
didn't bother checking the readouts.  Instead, he leaned his
elbows against the surface and lowered his face into his hands.
     Tom Paris passed the security officer stationed just outside
the cargo bay entrance and stepped inside.  He looked at the
newly transformed 7 of 9 standing in her alcove with her eyes
closed and marveled at the change in her.  It was difficult to
reconcile the girl he saw with the machine that had attacked him
on the bridge only a few short days before.  Maybe this would
work out after all.  He hoped so, for this young woman's sake. 
Tom was in a unique position to understand the importance of
second chances.
     He turned his attention toward the lone figure sitting
hunched over the medical console.
     "Doc?"
     The doctor's head rose sharply at the unexpected voice. 
"Oh, hello, Lieutenant.  Is there something I can do for you?"
     Tom shrugged.  "I thought maybe there was something we could
do for each other."
     The doctor frowned.  "Are you ill or have you managed to
injure yourself... again!"
     Tom smiled.  "Nothing physical this time."
     "Then I fail to see..."
     "Doc," Tom interrupted.  "I think at a time like this...
maybe we all need our friends.  And you and I are friends."  It
wasn't a question, but the doctor nodded anyway.
     "Yes, I suppose we are."
     "I just thought you should know you aren't alone."
     The quietly spoken words seemed to hit their mark.  It took
him a moment before he could respond.
     "Thank you.  I'll admit I was indulging myself in a little
self-pity."
     "It's understandable.  You worked with Kes and she was your
closest friend.  You loved her."
     The doctor's eyes met Tom's.  "So did you."
     Paris smiled.  "Kes was special to most everyone on this
ship.  Maybe it's selfish to think she was any more important to
me than to the others.  But when I came on board this ship, I was
alone.  I had been alone for quite a while.  Harry was the first
friend I made, but Kes wasn't far behind.  She was so special and
she seemed to be able to see right through me, and still she
wanted to be my friend.  I think you are one of the few people on
this ship that really understands what that feels like."
     "Yes," the doctor replied.  "I do."
     "If Kes were here right now, she'd tell us to take care of
each other.  That's why I'm here.  I owe it to her and I owe it
to you."
     The doctor managed a weary smile.  "And I owe you, Mr.
Paris.  A few months ago, you showed me how important it was to
face the pain of my daughter's death, even though it wasn't
something I wanted to do.  Because of that experience, I think
I'm a little more prepared to cope with what has happened.  So,
now, if I can be a friend to you, perhaps I can repay that debt."
     "Then come with me to the messhall," Tom suggested.  "I'm
not the only friend you have who would like to help you and I
think you could help all of us, too.  There have been a lot of
good times we can remember together."
     He hesitated.  "I'm not sure..."
     "I am."
     The doctor looked at his most frequent patient for a moment
before replying.  "I suppose I could spare an hour or so away
from my patient."
     Tom nodded..  "Then let's go."
     As they walked together toward the door, a hint of the
familiar cocky grin appeared on Tom's face.  "You know, Doc,
you're probably going to be needing some help.  I *was* your
first assistant, after all.  Maybe I could pitch in and help
again for a while."
     The doctor stopped, turned and offered Paris an appalled
expression.  "Really, Mr. Paris.  I thought you said you were my
friend!"
     Tom laughed and slung an arm easily around the doctor's
shoulders as they started walking again.  "I am, Doc, I am."
     As they disappeared from view, the lone figure remaining in
the cargo bay opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze after
them, a thoughtful expression on her newly restored and very
human face.
                               ***
     By the time Tom and the doctor had joined the others, the
crowd in the messhall had begun to thin out.  The Delaney
sisters, with the assistance of several more crewmembers, had
insisted on handling all the post-meal clean up, so Neelix had
remained with his friends.  For the next several hours, they
shared their memories of Kes, occasionally with bursts of
laughter, often with quiet tears.  But always with the knowledge
that what they were sharing was healing for each and every one of
them.  They would all miss her for a very long time, but everyone
agreed that having had the chance to share in her life was worth
the pain they all felt at her loss.
     "We have to remember," Captain Janeway told them.  "Kes
isn't dead.  We have no way of really understanding what's
happened to her.  For all we know, she's watching us right now. 
And I think if she is, she's very happy about the way we've
chosen to remember her.  She gave us all an incredible gift and
I'm not talking about the ten-year jump toward home.  The real
gift Kes gave us was her presence in our lives.  She'll always be
a part of us."
     As the evening wore down, one by one, they took their leave.

First, the doctor, who had to return to check on his patient.  He
was surprised to find her awake and out of the Borg alcove when
he arrived.  Sitting in the same chair he had used, she seemed to
be staring at her hands, lost in her own thoughts when he came
in.
     "Well, I see you're up and about," he greeted.  "How are you
feeling?"
     "Fine," she replied succinctly.
     The doctor rolled his eyes.  Conversation definitely wasn't
their new crewmate's strong suit.  He reached for his medical
tricorder and ran the scanner over her.
     "You appear to be doing quite well.  All of the remaining
implants are still stable and functioning at peak efficiency." 
He lowered the instrument.  "Perhaps you'd like to get some rest.

The captain has prepared quarters for you.  The security officer
will escort you there."
     When she made no move to rise, the doctor frowned.  "Is
there something else you require?" he asked.
     She considered for a moment before replying.  "We... I wish
to learn more about something with which I am... unfamiliar."
     "I'd be glad to assist you if I can.  What is it?"
     "What does it mean to be a friend?"
                               ***
     Tom and B'Elanna walked in companionable silence back to the
crew quarters.  So much had already been said, it didn't seem
necessary to say more.  They found themselves in front of Tom's
door and suddenly B'Elanna felt a little awkward.
     "I guess you probably want some time alone," she told him,
dropping her gaze to the floor.
     "Not yet," he replied.  "Would you mind coming in for a
while?  I just..."
     When he didn't finish, her eyes flew back to his face.  She
realized in an instant that he had been holding back his own pain
most of the evening, holding onto his mask of control enough to
be supportive for the others.  Now it was finally catching up
with him.  A warm, yet shivery feeling flashed through her as she
realized he was offering to let down the mask with her.
     "I'm not ready to be alone either," she told him.
     He keyed the lock and allowed her to proceed him inside.
     "Want something to drink?" he asked.
     "It's a little late for coffee," she replied.  "How about
some cocoa?"
     He smiled.  "Actually, that sounds good."
     "I'll get it," she offered, giving him a moment to collect
his thoughts while she went to the replicator.  She brought back
the two cups and they sat on the sofa to sip the hot liquid. 
After a moment, Tom placed his cup on the coffee table.
     In a whispered voice weighed down with emotion, he began. 
"You know what hurts the most?  Not getting a chance to say
goodbye."
     "I know," B'Elanna replied thoughtfully.  "I felt that way
when my father left us."
     Tom's eyes flew to hers.  "I'm sorry."
     "He could have said goodbye.  Kes didn't get a chance to. 
It all happened so fast.  I know she would have if she could."
     "Yes."  Tom seemed lost in his own thoughts and she was
reluctant to break into his reverie.  After a moment, however, he
turned to her and for the first time that evening, she saw the
glistening of tears in his eyes.  "She did say goodbye to me," he
remembered.  "When I had to convince everyone I wanted to leave
the ship in order to flush out the Kazon spy.  Kes and Neelix and
Harry came to the transporter room to see me off.  She didn't say
a word.  Everything she was feeling, everything I needed to know
was there in her eyes when she looked at me.  I remember feeling
so guilty at being the cause of that sadness.  That was the
hardest part... having to lie to the people I cared about,
knowing I might never see any of you again."
     "You loved her, didn't you?" B'Elanna asked, feeling herself
tremble as she waited for an answer she wasn't sure she wanted to
hear.
     Tom nodded.  "It would have been impossible not to love
Kes," he replied.  "She was so sweet and gentle and caring, but
she had this great strength at the same time.  She had a way of
looking inside you.  I always knew I couldn't hide from her.  I'd
always thought I had to hide who and what I really was, but she
saw through me.  And the amazing part was, she still wanted to be
my friend.  She became so much more than that.  For a while, I
thought I had fallen in love with her.  But now that I..."  He
quickly glanced at B'Elanna before continuing.  "Now I know it
was different.  She was more like a sister to me than my own
were."
     B'Elanna felt as if her heart was rising in her throat.  She
couldn't have spoken even if she had been able to find the right
words to say.  And maybe for the first time, she realized what
had made Tom and Kes so close.  There was something in Tom that
was very much like the young Ocampa, in the way those cerulean
eyes could seem to glimpse into your heart, in the way he cared
about his friends and always seemed to put their needs above his
own.
     "I'm really going to miss her."
     "Me too," she managed to say, reaching out and taking his
hand in hers.
     As he turned and looked at her, a tear rolled down his cheek
and a sad smile broke across his face.  "Thanks for being here,
B'Elanna, for understanding."
     She shook her head.  "You've been looking out for everyone
all evening.  Harry, Neelix, the doctor, me.  Someone has to look
after you."
     "It's a dirty job..." he grinned.
     "...but somebody has to do it!" she finished for him.  "I'm
an engineer.  I'm used to dirty jobs."  She contemplated their
clasped hands for a moment.  "Besides, I'm your friend."
     "You're more than that," he replied.
     B'Elanna's only reply was a smile.
                               ***
*Goodbye...*

     Harry Kim stepped into his cabin and stood in the middle of
the darkened room for several minutes.  Slowly, he walked to his
music stand and lifted his clarinet, placing his fingers over the
keys and bringing the mouthpiece to his lips.  A haunting,
bittersweet melody filled the room.  It seemed to rise up and
wash over him, like a cleansing breeze.  And interspersed within
the song, were both the pain of losing someone dear and the peace
of knowing that through the friends that remained with him, Kes'
spirit was still there.  A single thought ghosted into his mind
as his fingers caressed the instrument.

*Goodbye...*

     Neelix walked across the messhall, now dark and deserted,
with a glass of Talaxian champagne, "moon ripened," in his hand. 
He sat at the table where he'd sat and talked with Kes only that
morning.  He rolled the stem of the glass between his fingers,
watching the light from the passing stars reflect in the golden
liquid.  A melancholy smiled played across his lips as he lifted
the glass toward the now empty chair, and with the same words
that he had used to begin his life with Kes, he let her go.
     "To the adventure."

*Goodbye...*

     Kathryn Janeway walked slowly through Kes' quarters, her
mind filled with memories brought more clearly into focus during
the evening of sharing.  She reached down and lifted a pillow
from the sofa and hugged it to her, closing her eyes and seeing
in her mind the young girl who had been like a daughter to her.
     A hand reached out and rested gently on her shoulder and she
turned to see an expression of complete understanding in
Chakotay's eyes.  There were things that had passed between the
captain and her first officer that had yet to be resolved, a
newly opened gulf that had yet to be crossed.  But here, for this
moment, that seemed far away.  For now, they were two friends
finding comfort in each other's presence.  Here, in this place
that was filled with memories of a dear friend now gone forever.

*Goodbye...*

     The doctor stood alone in the midst of an empty sickbay,
more empty than he could ever remembered it being.  "I haven't
seen you for a few days," she had said.  "I miss you."  Maybe she
had been able to say goodbye to him after all.
     "I miss you, too, Kes," he whispered, and fancied he could
feel her fingers touch his cheek.

*Goodbye...*

     Tom Paris stood gazing out at the stars and the blue-pink
nebula that had appeared when Kes had sent them on their way
home.  B'Elanna Torres stepped up beside him, running her arm
around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder.  He
reached his arm around her and held her close.  Words weren't
necessary anymore.  And neither of them was alone anymore.
     And somewhere out there, in whatever plane of existence Kes
now inhabited, Tom knew she was watching them and smiling.

*Goodbye...*

     Tuvok walked slowly to the window, carrying his meditation
lamp, and carefully set it on the ledge.  The flame that had
flared so brightly just a short time before was calm now, but it
had not been extinguished.  It glowed steadily, unbuffetted by
any stray breeze, at peace and in harmony with all things in the
universe and beyond.
     There remained within his mind an echo from the last meld
with his student and friend.  A touch of her mind that would
forever remain within his.  As he gazed at the stars of the Delta
Quadrant, he formed a thought and sent it out to join with the
countless flickers of light.  And somehow even the outwardly
stoic Vulcan could imagine he heard an answer.
     In a soft, lyrical voice, colored by a sad but contented
smile...

*...Goodbye*