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her
    quarters; it was imperative for all of them to rest while
    they could-they'd need to be at their sharpest when they
    headed back to the planet-but she felt slightly like a
    child being told to take a nap. And again, she couldn't
    sleep. She tried going through all the exercises and
    procedures she had developed over the years for bouts of
    insomnia: a cool, darkened room, breathing patterns,
    relaxation exercises, meditation-and when all else failed,
    a glass of warm milk. But in spite of her efforts to quiet
    her mind, one thought came crowding back. Her crew was
    stranded. She had to get them back. It was the second time
    in as many months that she had faced this problem and the
    fiftieth since they'd been flung to the Delta Quadrant.
    Her life since then had been a series of challenges and
    crises, and most of her energies had gone into coping with
    them. She'd been tested time and again, pushed to limits
    she wasn't sure she could withstand, and then pushed
    further. Would it ever let up? Would there ever be a day
    that she wasn't called upon to solve some insoluble
    problem, to overcome some life-threatening obstacle? The
    thought of throwing up her hands, acknowledging that she
    was too tired and weak and simply didn't have anything left
    to give-that thought became tempting. She was tired of
    challenges. There was a time when they energized her, but
    now they threatened to overwhelm. She wanted to feel safe
    again, secure and protected, knowing someone else was
    watching out for things ....

2
    CROUCHED WITHIN THE KNEEHOLE OF HER FATHER'S DESK, four-year-old Kathryn listened to the sound of the tock-tock-tock of the grandfather clock in his office.
    She was careful not to make a sound, for she knew her
    father needed to concentrate, and a small child fidgeting
    at his feet would have distracted him. He was working-he
    was always working-on a starship design, and the various
    clicks and beeps of his padd punctuated the silence in the
    room, offering odd counterpoint to the sonorous clock.
    Kathryn loved hearing the sounds of the padd; they were
    oddly soothing, a reminder that he was there, a connection
    to him. Sometimes she pretended the sounds were in fact a
    private code they shared, that he was sending her messages
    that no one else could interpret.
    "Daddy to Goldenbird . . . my ETA is fifteen minutes . . .
    rendezvous with me in my study at sixteen hundred hours . .
    . this is top secret . . . Daddy out. his Kathryn smiled as
    she snuggled in the kneehole. Maybe it would be only
    fifteen minutes more, maybe it would be longer. But the
    reward for her patience and stillness would be worth it:
    she and Daddy would do their games. She would have him to
    herself for a time. And for that, Kathryn would gladly have
    sat quietly under the desk for hours. She'd been spending a
    lot of time in Daddy's study lately, ever since Your Sister
    had come to their house. Your Sister didn't seem to be much
    more than a wriggling movement inside a soft blanket, but
    her arrival had had a profound effect on the household.
    Mama was hardly ever in evidence now, except when she
    walked with the small bundle in the blanket over her
    shoulder, patting its back and singing softly to it. So
    far, Kathryn had not heard Mama singing her song to your
    Sister, but knew that was because Mama and Daddy had not
    yet decided on a name for this new presence.
    Kathryn had her own thoughts about that, but so far no one
    had asked her. Her father's leg shifted slightly next to
    her and she sat up quickly. Did this mean he was almost
    done? Was he closing up his padd and getting ready for the
    games? She held her breath, afraid of causing distraction,
    but she continued to hear the sounds of the padd. Daddy
    wasn't ready yet. She settled back again, mind running over
    the games, practicing, readying herself so she would be
    perfect.
    She intended to surprise Daddy by knowing every single
    thing today-and even more-so he would ruffle her hair