03x22 - Real Life

[bunniefuu]

Jeffrey? Belle?
We'll be late if you don't hurry.

Line up, children.
Your father's ready to leave.

Show me your fingernails.
Very nicely done.

Are your shoes polished? Perfect!

I'm very pleased
and I'm sure your father will be.

- I want to be first to say goodbye.
- You were first yesterday.

Now, children.
Little birds in their nests get along.

- I'm sorry, Belle. You go first.
- No, it's your turn.

- I did go first yesterday.
- Here he comes!

All right now. Bright, happy faces!

- The coffee was quite good.
- I'm so glad you like it.

I replicated a new blend.

- I'll be home at the usual time.
- Don't let them overwork you.

You should save yourself
for the important things.

Have a good day, Father.

I'll have my homework finished
by the time you get back.

- Will my angel get an "A" on her exam?
- Of course.

- We'll do algebra when you're home?
- Gladly.

Don't forget. You're going to ask
your friends to have dinner with us.

- I'd like to meet them.
- I haven't forgotten.

- Goodbye, all.
- Goodbye, Daddy!

- How's the new holo-family, Doctor?
- Everything I could have hoped for.

Captain's log, stardate 50836.2.

We've had communications with
a seemingly friendly race, the Vostigye.

We're rendezvousing
at one of their space stations.

Ensign Kim, watch the sensors.

Tell us if we're near the space station.

We should be getting close.

- I'm not detecting it.
- You've checked the co-ordinates?

Yes, and... Hold on.
Now I'm getting something.

It's...

debris.

- Debris?
- Confirmed.

I am reading a debris field
encompassing 80 cubic kilometres.

What's the composition?

Boronite, sarium, carbon 60 composites.

It could have been a space station.

On screen.

What happened to it?

Something ripped it apart.

I'd say it was no more than an hour ago.

I'm not picking up any lifesigns, Captain.

There were 60 Vostigye scientists there.

No recognisable weapons signatures.

Maybe somebody has weapons
that don't leave a traditional signature.

I'd like to know why they'd annihilate

a science station.

Maybe we can find out. A strange
pattern is emanating from subspace.

Looks like plasma particles.

I've got it, too.

It's like a wake

leading away from the debris field.

- From a ship?
- I can't tell.

- Set a course to follow it, Tom.
- Yes, ma'am.

Optical processors, imaging array.

They check out. You're in perfect health.

I could have told you that.

With all your tinkering,

I feel better giving you these tune-ups.

The tinkering has been solely to improve

my performance as a physician.

I'm not faulting you. It's commendable

that you want to improve yourself.

- That's why I've created a family.
- A family?

I've listened to enough patients

to realise how meaningful families
are to biological beings.

The Doctor has created a wife and two
children so he can experience family life.

Interesting. How's it going so far?

Splendidly. I thought it would be
difficult, but I'm enjoying the experience.

You are?

I never thought of you as a family man.
I'd like to meet them.

The little woman has asked me to bring
some colleagues home for dinner.

Perhaps you and Kes would care
to join us tonight?

I'd like to meet them, too.

Well, Doc... tell your wife
to haul out the good china.

You're having company.

Please, have some more
mushroom pilaf, B'Elanna.

I've had two helpings already.
It's delicious.

I took a course in continental cuisine

so I could replicate interesting meals
for Kenneth.

- Kenneth?
- My husband. What do you call him?

- We call him Doctor.
- Of course.

Anyway, he works terribly hard
and he's under such stress.

I want this home to be his sanctuary,

the place he can have all the cares
of the day disappear.

- How nice for him.
- My daddy's a very important man.

- He saves people's lives all the time.
- A slight exaggeration.

- It is not. You said...
- Belle, eat your dinner.

Jeffrey, why don't you tell our guests
about your new project?

I've designed an implant
to cleanse blood

of micro-organisms too small
to stimulate an immune response.

Jeffrey's in the accelerated physical
sciences programme at school.

A chip off the old block, right?

Don't forget our little Belle. She's
already studying algebra and trigonometry.

- And she's quite the budding athlete.
- You must be proud of your family.

We're proud of him, too.

We think we have the most wonderful
husband and father in the quadrant.

- Computer, freeze program.
- Lieutenant, what are you doing?

I am stopping this
before my blood sugar levels overload.

Doctor, if you think this is giving you an
accurate impression of being in a family,

you are sadly mistaken.

They're kind of perfect.

No one has a family like this.
This is a fantasy.

You won't learn anything
from being with these lollipops.

I provided the computer with my
requirements for a mate and children -

intelligence, education,
organisational skills.

Your premise just needs a little tweaking
to bring it closer to real life.

I can help... if you'd like.

Captain, the particle wake
is beginning to thin out.

Any indication what caused it?

I am detecting no ships,
no weapons signatures.

Wait a minute. Something.

- A subspace disruption.
- What's causing it?

I can't tell,
but it's getting more intense.

Shields up. Red Alert.

- Tom, back us off.
- Something's coming out of subspace.

- Move us away.
- I don't have engines.

Propulsion and navigational controls
are off-line.

Bridge to engineering, we need power.

The anomaly is bearing down on us,
heading 047, mark 19.

Brace for impact.

There's damage on deck 3.

- We're going to disperse it.
- Phasers on-line.

Wait a minute.

I've never seen anything
like that before.

Damage report.

20% loss of the dorsal shields,
minor buckling of the hull on deck 3.

- No indication of casualties.
- Propulsion on-line.

I can put some distance between us
and whatever that was.

Maybe we don't want to.

We've just witnessed a phenomenon
none of us has experienced before.

On a purely scientific level,
we owe it to ourselves to investigate.

It was an astral eddy

that's formed at the confluence
of space and subspace.

It's highly charged with plasma.

If we could harness that energy,
we could go off replicator rations.

We don't have any idea
what caused that phenomenon.

How do we investigate it if it's gone?

Conditions in this part of space lend
themselves to the formation of eddies.

Set sensors for continuous scans
of subspace.

Maybe we can anticipate the next one.

I thought about what Lieutenant Torres
said and concluded she was right.

If I'm going to experience a family,
it should be authentic.

What changes has she made
in the program?

She added some randomised
behavioural algorithms.

How will that affect your family?

Events will unfold as a natural evolution
of probabilities within the program.

That could mean a few surprises.

My database contains all there is
to know about paediatric care.

I can't imagine a problem
I couldn't handle.

Your wife will have changed, too.

I have had some experience
with romantic relationships.

I don't anticipate any problems.

When do you plan on meeting
this new, improved family?

Now. I'm due home for dinner. Initiate
Doctor's family program Beta-Rho

and transfer the EMH to holodeck 2.

Hello, I'm...

...home.

- I thought you'd never get here.
- It was a busy day.

I was quite challenged by the task
of preparing a DNA probe

to test Ensign Parsons' cells.

It seems he has a microbial infection.

Tell me about it when I get home.
I'm late.

It's Wednesday.
I'm speaking at the Bolian Embassy.

- Right. Is dinner ready?
- It's your night to cook.

Mum, I can't find my ion mallet!

If you cleaned your room,
you'd have better luck.

- What is that noise?
- I've had to listen to it all day.

Daddy, you've gotta help me.
I'll be late for practice.

If you put your mallet in your closet,
you'd know where it was.

I know that, Daddy.

Tell Jeffrey to turn that off.
It makes my eyes hurt!

- Jeffrey?
- What?

- What is that music?
- Klingon.

You can't do your homework
with that noise.

The coach will send me down
to the second team!

- That will teach you a lesson.
- You don't understand anything!

- Where's Jeffrey?
- Who are you?

- Friends.
- Do you have names?

- Larg.
- K'Kath.

You'll have to come back later.
Jeffrey's doing his homework.

- He invited us.
- I need my ion mallet!

I... Just a minute.

Jeffrey can't see friends
until he has finished his homework.

I asked them to come.

- Daddy!
- This is unacceptable.

It'll only take a minute. We have
some business we have to do.

Where's my mallet?

You don't love me as much as Mummy!
She'd help me!

I want Mummy! I want Mummy!

Nothing strike your fancy?

Isn't this the fourth day
we've had the same casserole?

Pleeka rinds and grub meal.
Very tasty.

You did a great job with it.
It'd just be nice to have a little variety.

You're perfectly free to use
the replicators.

I'm out of rations.

Then...

...enjoy the casserole.

A beautiful woman
should never have to eat alone.

- What are you reading?
- It's nothing important.

"Women Warriors
At The River of Blood"?

It's just escapist reading.

"Rorg turned his fierce eye upon her.

"M'Nea felt her heart quicken
as her hand went to her dagger.

"She intended to plunge it into his throat,
but something made her hesitate."

B'Elanna, is this a Klingon
romance novel?

Klingons do have what you might call
a romantic side.

It's a bit more vigorous than most.

I'll read it. Maybe it'll give me an idea
about how to make your heart quicken.

- It's not a technical manual.
- Depends what you mean by technical.

To an engineer, that means
specialising in particular systems.

I think that definition works.

I can't promise
I won't put a dagger in your throat.

- You heard about the Doctor's family?
- How's it going?

He was a little overwhelmed at first,
but he's sticking with it.

It's hard to imagine the Doctor
with children.

Senior staff to the bridge immediately.

I want to send a probe in.
Can you hold position close enough?

I can try.

Be ready to move away
if it starts moving toward us.

Sorry about that. Just trying to find
a way to ride the graviton waves.

There. That's a little better.

We're in as good a position
as we're going to be.

The probe has been launched.

This is kind of fun.

Speak for yourself.

We're receiving telemetry.
This is one weird disturbance.

I'm reading a temperature
of nine million kelvins.

Discharges of plasmatic energy
and a calm eye at the centre.

The matter inside it is being exchanged
between space and subspace.

Can we transfer some of the plasma
to Voyager?

- We can't transport in this turbulence.
- Maybe we could try a...

- We lost it.
- Where's the probe?

It's disappeared. It's transmitting,
but there's interference.

I'm detecting an unstable interfold layer.
Not in space or subspace.

- It could be where the eddies originate.
- We've got another particle wake.

Maybe we could collect plasma
from the wakes.

The Bussard collectors could be
modified to gather plasma particles.

Voyager's energy emissions
would corrupt the particles.

If I took a shuttle out,
the emissions would be lower.

- Sounds like it's worth a try.
- You'd expose yourself to radiation.

Maybe the Doctor can give you
some kind of protection.

I'll head to the shuttlebay
as soon as I'm done.

I've given you hyronalin and lectrazine.
It should give you temporary protection.

I don't think I'll be out there too long.

If I know you,
you'll push it to the limit.

You were undoubtedly a child
who had to climb the highest tree,

scale the tallest cliff.

I can only imagine what you put
your parents through.

How's the family, Doc?
I hear they're a real handful.

Indeed. However,
I have come up with a solution.

There should be no more problems.

It sounds like you're treating a patient.
I'm not sure you can cure a family.

We'll see.
You're in fine physical shape.

You may engage
in this reckless activity.

Thanks, Doc.

- Where's Jeffrey?
- He's coming.

I asked everyone to be here
at 1600 hours precisely.

- Jeffrey was asleep.
- In the middle of the afternoon?

- Is this true?
- Are you sick?

I had a late night.

That's one of the matters
I want to discuss.

I thought it would be a good idea
if we had a family meeting.

- I'd like to do this regularly.
- That's something to look forward to.

If you have something to say,
say it so everyone can hear.

Nothing.

I've been feeling that this family
is beginning to spin out of control.

It is my duty to set some parameters.
It's part of good parenting.

- What are parameters?
- Limits, boundaries.

I have drawn up a family schedule
and a list of rules and regulations.

- I would like you to study them carefully.
- You've rearranged my lecture nights.

I had to do that. Everybody has had
to make some sacrifices.

You've changed parrises squares
to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

- That puts me on the second team.
- You shouldn't be on the first team.

- We must all make sacrifices.
- What sacrifices did you make?

I will make dinner on the nights
your mother lectures.

You do that anyway.
That's not a sacrifice.

- What's this about no Klingon friends?
- They're a bad influence on you.

They're prone to v*olence. Why don't
you find some Vulcan friends?

You can't just decide
who my friends will be.

Kenneth, that may be
a bit unreasonable.

You know how important it is
to keep a united front.

I expect you to support me
in these decisions.

Then maybe you should have asked
my opinion

before you started
unilaterally deciding things.

I should have some say
in what rules are established.

And it's unfair to tell Jeffrey what
friends he can and cannot have.

This whole meeting is a Vulky idea.
You can have it without me.

- Jeffrey, you are not excused!
- Let him go.

I don't want to argue in front
of the children. We'll discuss it later.

You made a mess of things,
didn't you, Daddy?

Apparently so.

Although I fail to understand
their reaction.

I'm just trying to help the family
function better.

How does it function better
if I go to parrises squares.

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday?

You've been playing with children
three years older than you.

That's what's fun about it.

You're not old enough to realise
how hazardous that game can be.

It's up to me to keep you safe.
I'm just trying to be a good father.

If it'll help, Daddy,
I'll be on the second team.

Thank you, Belle.
That's very grown-up of you.

And I think you're a very good father.

Why... thank you.

I love you, Daddy, even if you did
make a mess of things.

Voyager to shuttlecraft.
Do you read?

I'm 3,000 kms from the eddy. When it
dissipates, I'll head for the wake.

If this one follows the same pattern,
it should collapse in a few seconds.

I wish I hadn't had that second
helping of French toast this morning.

- The eddy is starting to dissipate.
- Stand by, Tom.

I'm in position, Captain.
Activating the Bussard collectors.

It's working. This may save us
from Neelix's casserole.

We'll all thank you for that.

- Subspace disruption.
- Is another eddy forming?

- It looks that way.
- Tom, get out of there.

I'm going.

- Can you beam him out?
- Transporters are off-line.

- I'm working on them.
- Tom?

It's pulling me in.
I don't have enough power!

- Where are the transporters?
- I can't access them.

- The shuttle's being drawn in.
- Paris, do you read me?

Captain, the astral eddy
is beginning to dissipate.

Is Tom's shuttle transmitting?

- I'm getting a lot of interference.
- See if you can clean it up.

Try it now.

Voyager to Tom Paris.
Can you hear us? Respond.

Calibrate to a theta band frequency.

I can't hear you, Captain.
There's a lot of interference.

You're breaking up. Adjust
your transceiver lock and try again.

- I can hear you. Is that better?
- A little. Where are you?

Captain, I wish I could tell you.

Doctor? Can I help you with something?

Perhaps.

I've tried doing an analysis
on Ensign Parsons' cell culture.

I can't get the measurements right.

- I'd be happy to give it a try.
- Thank you. I'd be grateful.

I've been having problems at home.
I can't stop thinking about them.

Why not take the afternoon off
and spend some time with your family?

- I'm not sure they'd appreciate it.
- Doctor, you can't just ignore them.

Computer, initiate Doctor's family
program Beta-Rho

and transfer the EMH to holodeck 2.

...be certain that everything is done...

- Dad, what are you doing here?
- I live here, Jeffrey.

- I mean, you're home early.
- Am I interrupting something?

No, just talking with my friends.

I'd like to get to know your friends.
Larg, K'Kath, please. Sit down.

- What is that?
- What?

You're holding something.

- This?
- Yes. What is it?

It's a Kn*fe.
What does it look like?

Why do you boys have a Kn*fe?

A d'k tahg Kn*fe is an important part
of our culture.

Every Klingon is given one in
preparation for his Rite of Ascension.

I happen to know something
about Klingon rituals.

And I believe this is actually a dagger
of kut'luch.

Isn't it?

- Well?
- Yes.

This dagger is used in a ritual
of v*olence,

a first bloodletting in preparation
for becoming a warrior.

Who's supposed to use this?

Well?

Is one of you preparing
for the kut'luch ceremony?

- I'm waiting for an answer!
- Dad, it's nothing.

I don't think so. I'm going to have
to ask you boys to leave.

Don't bring a w*apon
into this house again.

- Humans are weak, cowardly.
- Call me later.

Look what you've done. You've ruined it!

What exactly have I ruined?
You were going to use that Kn*fe.

- Did they talk you into it?
- They didn't talk me into anything.

I asked them. It's an honour
to perform the kut'luch.

They trusted me. And now you've
made me look... like a human!

You were going to att*ck someone
just so you could appear daring?

I was doing it to become honourable,
something that you wouldn't understand.

- What you were going to do is wrong.
- It isn't wrong.

It's just a custom of another culture.
Who are you to say it's wrong?

I expect you to be guided
by my ethical standards.

I'm not going to be.
Your standards are human standards.

Klingon ideals are much nobler.
They are the ones I'm going to follow.

If you expect to live in this household,
you will abide by the rules.

If that's the way you want it,
then I won't live here.

Jeffrey, think about this.

I've thought about it.
I'm going to become a warrior.

I can't do that if I'm being led
around on a leash.

- Kenneth?
- What's happened?

It's Belle.
There's been an accident.

How is she?

We operated on her for three hours.
We've tried everything.

We shut down one haemorrhage
and another starts.

I don't understand.

She just hit her head on the court.
How could that injure her so badly?

She suffered severe cranial trauma.
It's compromised her brainstem.

No matter how we try to control
the injuries, blood clots keep forming.

- The haemorrhaging is... intractable.
- Then what's the treatment?

Unfortunately, the brain is still
a somewhat mysterious organ.

What does that mean?
What's going to happen to her?

There's nothing more to be done.
Nothing medical, anyway.

But there has to be.
You can do something. You have to.

You can't just let her...

No, I won't accept it.
I'm going to talk to Dr Finley.

Daddy?

Yes. I'm here.

Everything's all blurry.
What's the matter?

You took a tumble, hit your head.

It doesn't hurt.

No, because we gave you
some medicine.

Is that why I can't feel my legs?

Yes.

What's gonna happen?
When will I be able to see again?

Computer, end program.

You're back.
Did you find the culture I did?

- I did. Good job.
- How's the family?

I suppose their fine.
I've actually finished the program.

I got what I needed from the experience.
To continue would be a waste of time.

I was hoping to visit them again.

If I ever create a new family,
I'll be sure to invite you.

The bandwidth is as wide
as I can get it.

- How's the transmission now?
- Loud and clear.

I analysed the shuttle's
sensor readings.

I'm in the interfold layer, somewhere
between space and subspace.

- That's why we can't find you.
- Harry was right.

This is the spawning ground for the
eddies. There are thousands in here.

Very interesting, but it doesn't
address how to get you out.

Having given that some careful thought,

the only way to get out
is the same way that I got in.

- Inside one of the eddies?
- Exactly.

I've been watching one that seems
ready to erupt into normal space.

If I position the shuttle on its edge,
I should be able to ride it back.

If I had another idea I'd suggest it,
but I don't.

- It's your call, Tom.
- There's not much choice.

So far, so good, Captain.
I'm almost inside the eye.

This one is big enough to enter
normal space.

Here he comes.

Captain, I think you should get Voyager
away from here.

This one's turning out to be a whopper,
the biggest one we've seen.

We've got to stay in close
if we're going to beam you out.

The eddy is moving towards us
at 300 kilometres per second.

Chakotay, take the conn.
Stay within transporter range.

I'm going to try to get out of this.

- Harry, can you get a lock on him?
- Not yet. Too unstable.

- How long before you clear the eddy?
- It'd better be soon.

The hull is beginning to buckle.

I've got the shuttle on sensors.
The hull is breaching.

- Can you get a lock on him?
- I'm trying. Hang on!

Got it! The shuttle's aboard.
One lifesign.

- He's injured.
- Beam him to sickbay.

- Move us away.
- Yes, ma'am.

Your hard head has protected you again.
It was only a mild concussion.

It was worth it.
That was one wild ride.

It's a wonder you're not dead.
You should be thrown into the brig.

You never think of the consequences
of your actions.

Live for the moment,
take risks you shouldn't.

- I'm sorry.
- Are you all right?

It's my family.
My daughter Belle had an accident.

She's a child who tends to take risks.
She's going to die.

I'm so sorry.

I'll be all right. I shut down the program.
I'm not going back.

Maybe you should think about that,
Doc.

I couldn't begin to face it.

It was too difficult.

I guess all of us would avoid
that kind of pain if we could.

- But most don't have that choice.
- Fortunately, I do.

Is it so fortunate?

You created that program to experience
what it's like to have a family.

The good times and the bad.
You can't have one without the other.

I fail to see why not.

Think about what's happened to us
here on Voyager.

Everyone left people behind
and everyone suffered a loss.

But look how it's brought us
all closer together.

We've found support here.

We've become a family,
in part because of the pain we shared.

If you turn your back on this program,

you'll always be stuck at this point.

You'll never have the chance to say
goodbye to your daughter

or to be there for your wife and son
when they need you.

And you'll be cheating yourself of the
chance to have their love and support.

In the long run, you'll miss the point
of what it means to have a family.

Computer, continue Doctor's family
program Beta-Rho

from the last point of deactivation.

Daddy...

What's going to happen to me?
When will I be able to see again?

I'm not sure.
You're a very sick girl.

Am I gonna die?

You... You're too sick to get better.

So I'm gonna die?

Yes.

If you stay with me... I won't be afraid.

I'll stay right here, I promise.

Dad.

Here you go, shorty.
It's your blanket.

We're here, Belle.
We're all here.

It's getting darker.

I'm...

sleepy.

It's all right. Go to sleep.

We're all right here.