HAVE YOURSELF A VERY MERRY Q'MAS

"So, Q, what do you think?"

"Well, Q, I had so much fun with Jean Luc that if you want to enjoy yourself a little with Kathryn I can hardly tell you not to, can I?"

The female Q smiled. They were standing in Kathryn Janeway's quarters on the USS Voyager, but at the moment just a little out of phase so they didn't disturb her as she lay asleep.

"She was so helpful when we had our child, I think I owe her something."

"Oh! Do NOT go there!" snapped Q. "Last time I felt that way I tried to do something nice for Jean Luc and Vash but it went completely wrong. They were supposed to fall in love and be happy, instead she almost ended up getting him killed, then herself and then both of them!"

"Yes, I know, but that's because you, as usual, went about it entirely the wrong way. You should have realised by that time that you can never expect these humans to be predictable!"

"Alright then, you tell me what you're going to do."

"I intend to give her a choice between happiness and misery and watch her take the easy way out."

"And you think she will?"

"Of course, just watch and learn..."

* * * * *

Kathryn Janeway opened her eyes as the moonlight of Indiana shone gently through the curtains of the sitting room on Christmas Eve. She'd been having this wild dream about her up-coming first command, the USS Voyager, something about being half-way across the galaxy and fighting some species called the Kazon. They had been battling hard, the ship was damaged, they'd taken casualties and things were looking bad when she'd woken.

She frowned, she'd been reading schematics and studying warp drive profiles and security systems ever since Star Fleet told her of her promotion, trying to learn everything there was to know about her new ship, it wasn't surprising it had got right into her subconscious, although it had been incredibly vivid.

She was snuggled up under a blanket on the sofa by the fire at home, the Christmas tree decorated with tinsel and glitter, it's fairy lights and the fire providing the only illumination.

The clock started to chime midnight when something caught her eye, and a smile broke across her face as she noticed that, next to the fireplace, there was a Christmas stocking hanging there, just as it used to be when she was a child.

The lumpy shape hinted at it holding something and, when she got up to look, she saw it held a gift-wrapped package. For a moment she wondered if she should leave it there until the morning, but it had obviously been put there for her to find and it was gone midnight, so she tore off the wrapping to reveal a little box. Opening it revealed an exquisite scale model of the Voyager with a little chain loop to suspend it from. Still smiling she reached over and hung it on a branch of the Christmas tree.

Kathryn wondered for a moment, who had put that there? Mark's Star Fleet duties had kept him away in deep space this year, the thought gave her a pang of loneliness at his absence, so who was her mysterious benefactor? As she was about to throw the wrapping into the trash, a small card fell out. Puzzled she picked it up and read "To Kathryn, from Questa".

"Questa?" She said aloud. "Now who on Earth is Questa?" A subtle change in the room's illumination caught her eye and, looking for the source, she noticed that the Fairy on the top of the tree was shining brightly. Had that happened when she said the name? Co-incidence? Only one way to find out.

"Questa!" The light glowed almost blindingly for a moment and then, suddenly, in front of her was a full sized figure, surrounded by an ethereal glow.

"Hello Kathryn" the figure said in a gentle voice.

"Who the devil are you?" she replied sharply, more than a little taken aback.

"You know my name, you called me."

"I presume you're the mysterious Questa then?"

"That's right. You called me, I came."

"Fine, so I know your name, you know mine. Now would you tell me what this is all about."

"Oh Kathryn, must you be so suspicious?"

"Why shouldn't I be? You suddenly appear in my home and give me a present, now that's all very nice, but I do have to wonder why. I'm not used to fairies from Christmas trees turning into glowing people."

"I'm sorry," the woman replied softly, "let me explain. I am Questa, the seeker, I search out people alone at special times and help them feel less lonely."

"That's very charitable, but why me?"

Questa smiled. "You're here, all alone, at Christmas, your fiancéé is light years away, are you seriously going to tell me you're not lonely?"

"I'll survive" Kathryn replied.

"Of course you will, but is that really enough? Wouldn't you rather be happy?"

"And you can make me happy?"

"If you'll let me."

"How?"

"A little bit of Christmas magic..."

* * * * *

Kathryn's mind was a-whirl with the experiences of the last few hours. Somehow, she wasn't quite sure how, Questa had taken her on an exhilarating spree through restaurants, parties, dances and shows, going from one to another sometimes changing so rapidly that she wasn't sure where or when she was.

They had gone through a dozen or more changes of clothes, each one appearing on her as if, well, as if by magic, each appropriate to where they had ended up. The only constant through the whole thing was Questa, always by her side or close, sharing food, sharing drinks, sharing glances, often holding her hand. Now they were lying on the settee, or, rather, Kathryn was lying back against Questa who had her arms gently wrapped around her as they sipped a fine old brandy, the blanket over them both.

She had to admit to herself that she had felt lonely, but now, being this close to Questa had felt so much better than being on her own.

Glancing at the clock she blinked, then blinked again.

"Questa..."

"Yes, Kathryn?"

"When you turned up, it had just gone midnight."

"Yes, Kathryn."

"It's still just gone midnight."

"Of course, silly" she giggled.

"What do you mean 'of course'?"

"It's Christmas, it's traditional, whilst I'm with you it will stay 'just gone midnight', we have as much time as we want."

"Hmm, that's nice, I could stay like this for a good long while."

"We could stay like this or..."

"Or what?"

Questa reached down and put her glass on the table by their side, then took Kathryn's and did the same. When she brought her hand back, she gently lifted Kathryn's chin and bent her head down to press a butterfly-soft kiss to her lips.

"Or perhaps we could get a bit closer?"

"Questa, I've never, well, done that before. I mean I don't have a problem with it but..."

"Shh, don't worry." Questa kissed her again. "It's Christmas, you don't want to be alone, do you? So why not just enjoy it? I'll show you how..."

"Well, I suppose... I mean it's ok, I think..." she stopped as another soft but sensuous kiss touched her lips. "That's very nice actually..."

Questa kissed her again, more strongly this time as her hands started to stroke Kathryn's body. Somehow, Kathryn noticed, their clothes had unaccountably vanished, but the blanket still covered them and that was ok. She turned over a bit to allow her to return Questa's kisses, their tongues entwining as the passion grew.

Kathryn felt herself becoming aroused as the other woman's hands caressed her body, touching all of the right places in a way that nobody had done before, bringing her towards a peak of desire before teasingly drawing back, then returning her to an even higher crescendo until she was completely lost in ecstasy, her climax leaving her feeling like her whole body was exploding as novas flared in her brain.

The two women lay there, Kathryn utterly spent and exhausted, but held firm in the arms of her lover.

"Oh Questa..." she began, then stopped to catch her breath, "that was..."

"Shh," Questa kissed her softly again, "I know, just relax and get your breath back."

"Mmm, ok."

Time, whatever time there was in this place seemingly outside of time, passed and eventually Kathryn leaned back to kiss the other woman.

"That was the most incredible experience of my life! Thank you. I almost wish we could stay here and do that forever."

"We can, my darling, but..." there was a note of sadness in Questa's voice.

"What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, but there is one other thing..."

"What?"