For Her Own Good (Star Trek: Voyager, Janeway)

[Chanel_no5]

***Note***

I've spent the entire night with Voyager and a bag of potato chips. I just watched "Year of Hell" and it inspired this quick little oneshot.

I'd like to dedicate it to @Selene for good cooperation in solving the "Janeway dilemma".  

***

Captain’s log, stardate 51 425.4

Our condition has left us vulnerable to spatial anomalies, and to any alien species eager for a piece of hardware. We’ve taken refuge in a class 9 nebula, but the gas is leaking in, and we’ve been forced to seal off two more decks.

Voyager is falling to pieces.

And I can’t shake this damn cold!

 

“Computer, delete the last sentence.”

“Sentence deleted.”

“AKTSSCHhuh!”

Janeway doubled over with an uncontrolled, uncovered sneeze, then groaned. She had dragged this cold around for over three weeks now, and every time she seemed to get better, she relapsed again. Blocked sinuses, a relentless tickle, and a rawness in her throat after all the coughing. She couldn’t blame the cough entirely on the cold though; the gases from the nebula somehow getting into the ventilation system kept irritating her airways. Everyone – everyone still left onboard, that was – were plagued by a cough. The sniffling, on the other hand, that particular piece of misery seemed to be entirely her own to enjoy.

The ship was falling apart around her, and she felt like she was falling apart herself, as well.

“HaaTSSHH!”

This time she muffled the sneeze against the back of her hand, then she sighed tiredly.

“Captain…” B’Elanna stood in the doorway, hesitating. “I have some bad news.”

Janeway threw her arms out in a gesture of total frustration.

“Of course you do! Why does that not surprise me?”

B’Elanna was used to being the one losing her temper, while the Captain seemed to always have hers in reins. She wasn’t sure how to approach this Janeway. She was under so much pressure it was a miracle she was still standing, and with the addition of this long-drawn cold, the Captain was as touchy as a ruffled Klingon.

“I’m sorry, B’Elanna.” As if she could read her chief engineer’s mind, the Captain immediately retreated. “I didn’t mean to snap. What do you have?”

“Captain…” B’Elanna sighed. “It’s going to take longer than I thought to repair the warp core.”

“How much longer?”

B’Elanna sighed again.

“A month.”

“A month?!”

"I'm afraid so."

Janeway started coughing, the cough leading to yet another sneeze.

“HaETSSHH! Oh God,” she muttered under her breath and pressed a hand to her chest. “Once this ordeal is over, remind me to take a vacation.”

“Once this ordeal is over, I will personally force you to,” B’Elanna said, her tone rather harsh. Janeway momentarily considered reprimanding her subordinate, but decided against it; B’Elanna spoke from genuine concern, not only for her Captain but for her friend.

“Alright B’Elanna, keep working on the repairs. Dismissed.”

But B'Elanna didn't leave just yet.

“Captain?”

Janeway looked at her without saying anything.

“Get some rest.”

Janeway raised an eyebrow.

“Is that an order? Because last time I checked, you can’t order a senior officer, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t do this. You’re sick. You can’t push yourself much further now.” B’Elanna’s voice was soft and gentle. “Go get some sleep. You always look out for your crew, it’s only fair that we look out for you sometimes, too. You’re not alone in this, you know. We’re in this together.”

Janeway smiled. It was exhausted but honest.

“Thank you, B’Elanna.” She sniffed and cleared her throat. “I think I needed to hear that right now. Alright. Wake me in two hours.”

“Yes, Captain.”

But that was an order that the chief engineer wasn’t going to heed unless something significant happened that required the Captain’s immediate attention. Janeway might get angry with her for disobeying a direct order, but B’Elanna was still going to let her superior sleep for as long as she needed, be it two or twelve hours.

However, Janeway knew that B’Elanna was going to conveniently ‘forget’ to wake her, and let her sleep longer than those two hours… but she was too tired to take that discussion. Given everything that had happened lately, what was a bit of crew disobedience? After all, it was for her own good.

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Chanel_no5

[MeForever]

Yayyyy! I've been looking for a Voyager fic for a long time and it's really good!

[Seeker]

Ah Voyager. I loved that show!

[Selene]

7 hours ago, Chanel_no5 said:

And I can’t shake this damn cold!

 

“Computer, delete the last sentence.”

“Sentence deleted.”

This was such a great opening! I loved how she was already so worn out by the cold that she even admitted to it on the Captain's log for a moment, before her old, more stubborn self came through and she fought the urge to admit how awful she felt after all

 

7 hours ago, Chanel_no5 said:

The sniffling, on the other hand, that particular piece of misery seemed to be entirely her own to enjoy.

I should probably feel sorry for her... but... I don't

 

7 hours ago, Chanel_no5 said:

The ship was falling apart around her, and she felt like she was falling apart herself, as well.

This is strong imagery right there! Janeway was always protrayed as having a strong connection to the ship. She was once willing to stay on the ship when the self-destruction mode was activated and I think she sees her own life and fate as irresolvably interwoven with the fate of the Voyager... So that comparison you made there really struck a chord in me and my Voyager Janeway headcanon.

 

I also loved that you chose B'Elanna as her counterpart in this scene. B'Elanna has this really soft side to her, which she usually shows when she's alone with a person she cares about and you wrote that side of B'Elanna so well! I could clearly hear her voice when she spoke. The two of them have great chemistry together since they are both strong and tough women, which might make it easier for Janeway to take such advice from her than from other members of the crew.

It was a great read and I am so happy that the "Janeway dilemma" resolved into something as beautiful as this!

 

[Jelloicious]

Voyager happened at a time in my life where I never really got to watch it properly.  Still, I've seen some of it, and the character voices ring true.  Your characterizations make me want to go on and watch the rest of this show!  

Love the premise of a subordinate telling her commander to take it easy and tend to herself, and am intrigued by  Selene's comment about Janeway's connection with the ship. (I love fics that tie deeply into the characters themselves).  You set your scene beautifully!  Very nice fic!

[snowshie]

“Go get some sleep. You always look out for your crew, it’s only fair that we look out for you sometimes, too. You’re not alone in this, you know. We’re in this together.”

Aw, I love this - and Janeway's defensiveness before giving in. Thanks for posting this!

[Chanel_no5]

14 hours ago, MeForever said:

Yayyyy! I've been looking for a Voyager fic for a long time and it's really good!

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you liked it!!

13 hours ago, ReidSeeker said:

Ah Voyager. I loved that show!

So did I! And it was pretty significant for me in other ways than sheer entertainment; Janeway was my first lesbian crush that I was aware was a crush and not just hero worship, which I had explained previous crushes on women as. It was... quite the awakening.  

 

@Selene

Thank you! Haha, I pictured her recording the log and just getting so annoyed with her symptoms mid-talk she'd just go off on a rant. Not very Janeway, I admit, but she was pretty tense in "Year of Hell". 

6 hours ago, Selene said:

I should probably feel sorry for her... but... I don't

I... don't, either.  

6 hours ago, Selene said:

me and my Voyager Janeway headcanon.

Dare I say... I SHIP IT!!  

Oh I always loved her chemistry with B'Elanna too. I felt like there could have been so much more between them than the show let there be. Not necessarily romance, though I can definitely see them together. I mean, the way Janeway leaned over B'Elanna's shoulder in engineering sometimes and didn't get punched in the face, Captain or not... dat's luuuuuv! And I always felt like B'Elanna had a deeply hidden wish to care for Janeway on a more personal level. 

I'm VERY glad you liked it, and I've had way too much fun discussing the topic in question with you…  

 

5 hours ago, Jelloicious said:

Voyager happened at a time in my life where I never really got to watch it properly.  Still, I've seen some of it, and the character voices ring true.  Your characterizations make me want to go on and watch the rest of this show!  

Love the premise of a subordinate telling her commander to take it easy and tend to herself, and am intrigued by  Selene's comment about Janeway's connection with the ship. (I love fics that tie deeply into the characters themselves).  You set your scene beautifully!  Very nice fic!

Thank you so much! I've actually tried to and fro for twenty years to write Janeway sneezefics, but it's... not easy. I watched every episode back when I was a teen, and I was a bit scared of watching it again because I was afraid it would have become too dated, a bit tacky. Well, there are some episodes that are pretty bad, but all in all, I must say it holds up well. And I notice and appreciate things I didn't pick up on as a teen, so rather than losing its magic, it actually has more layers to me now. And I couldn't agree more re: the premise of a subordinate telling her commander to take it easy.  

 

6 hours ago, snowshie said:

“Go get some sleep. You always look out for your crew, it’s only fair that we look out for you sometimes, too. You’re not alone in this, you know. We’re in this together.”

Aw, I love this - and Janeway's defensiveness before giving in. Thanks for posting this!

Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!  

 

[SleepingPhlox]

Oh wow this is so good and written perfectly in the style of the show and so in character that I could just hear it and see it in my head just as surely as if it was on my television screen.

[Reader]

Haven’t seen this show, but this was a lovely read. And amazing sneeze spellings! Cute concern and a bit of caretaking from B was wonderful as well. 

[Chanel_no5]

12 hours ago, SleepingPhlox said:

Oh wow this is so good and written perfectly in the style of the show and so in character that I could just hear it and see it in my head just as surely as if it was on my television screen.

Awww, thank you so much!! I wish it had been on the television screen. A total of seven seasons and not a single Janeway sneeze, that's not fair. *grumpy* Luckily I can rectify that small oversight now. Finally.  

7 hours ago, Reader said:

Haven’t seen this show, but this was a lovely read. And amazing sneeze spellings! Cute concern and a bit of caretaking from B was wonderful as well. 

Thank you so much!!! If there ever was a character who really deserved a bit of caretaking, it was Janeway.  

 

[ellwren]

Yes! Trek fic!

[NoV]

I always imagined that Janeway would have a harsh sounding sneeze - she's got the voice for it  And you just know she would not be able to stifle - and anyway, that would just spoil the fun!