" I asked cookie here for a cup of joe , but he said with money being a little tight , he was trying to ration it . Offered me his ' better than coffee substitute ' . No offense sir , but I 've had better drinks at a Hirogen hoe down . " Before coming into Quarks , she had ducked into the alley and smoked about three cigarettes in a row . Miss Leonie - Marie was more progressive than most , but she knew which boundaries she could and wouldn 't cross in a town such as Voyager City . A woman smoking in public was definitely something that would bring out more than comments . It would have serious repercussions and she couldn 't deal with that , especially now . Lee - Marie had no idea what she was capable of doing in the state that she was in now . A confrontation was something that was wise for her to avoid now . After finishing them , she had gone into the bar and found a quiet table in the back , ordered a neat rum and began to drink . She had lost count of how much she had . Every time her glass emptied , her waitress refilled it almost immediately . Lee - Marie didn 't even notice her and didn 't care as long as she kept her glass filled and her mouth shut . . . . . . . How she wish that it was true . But the fact was that it didn 't matter if she wanted to or not . She was in love with him and he had chosen someone else over her . Miss Racine finished the song and looked over at Lee - Marie hunched over her drink at her table . While she was doing her performance she observed Miss Leeta continually fill Miss Lee - Marie 's glass . Miss Lee - Marie and Mr . Chakotay had often come to hear her sing when she did performances at Sandrine 's . She knew them well and had always been pleased with the complements that they gave her . Seeing Miss Lee - Marie in that state , Miss Racine did not have to think to hard to know what had occurred . What Miss Lee - Marie didn 't know was that the local scuttlebutt didn 't think that she and Mr . Chakotay Torres would last because of Miss Kathryn . Seeing the desolate look on Miss Lee - Marie 's face , she wondered how long it would take for the news to reach town , then calculated the exact number of minutes it would take Quark to collect the house 's stake in the pool . She felt sorry for Miss Lee - Marie . She had no idea what she had gotten herself in the middle of when she fell in love with Mr . Torres . She turned to her band and made a request . Out of the corner of her eye , she saw her pianist roll his eyes . She knew that they hated when she sang that song because of how depressing it was . But they hadn 't seen Miss Lee - Marie 's state and even if they had , being men , they wouldn 't understand . When a woman was experiencing heartbreak , sometimes all she wants to do is to feel bad . Music always facilitated this , especially if it was sung by another sister who understood exactly what the woman was going through . Hearing the blues and listening to another sister belt out her own pain forms a kind of camaraderie among women . It lets them know that loving a man has always brought women pain since the beginning of time , and will continue to do so until the end of time . For every woman who wins at love ; another loses . It was the nature of the game . Let her musicians grumble . It was the least she could do for a regular . Miss Racine 's voice was smooth and her accentuation made it seem as if she knew exactly what she was singing about . Lee took a long hard look at the singer . She seemed to be singing to her specifically even though there were more people in the room . She also seemed to be singing out her own pain . It reached through the music and embraced Miss Lee . The combination of Miss Racine 's voice and the alcohol in her system made Lee - Marie do something that she hadn 't done in a long time . She began to remember . She should say that she allowed herself to remember . Jadzia knew from the moment that she stepped into Mickie - C 's house that something was very wrong . He had asked her to meet him at his house as he wanted to talk to her . That , in of itself , was normal , but the way that Mickie - C was acting was not . For the past couple of days he had been moody and uncommunicative . He kept to himself . They used to do everything together and now she found that she had a hard time even being civil to him . He was just so shut off from her . In the end only one thing did . Their friendship . It was only lately that Jadzia realized that the friendship , which was forged between them ten years ago , had blossomed into love . She hadn 't wanted to admit it to herself because of the complications that came along with the realization . She was a Lady and he a ranch hand . Her mother had come to America with Jadzia shortly after her father died in England to start a new life . She had met , fell in love with and married Mr . Dayton . Her two siblings ; Randye - Jane and Donna - May , had arrived soon after . In time when Mr . Dayton had acquired enough money , he had moved west and brought the Q - Beta Ranch where she had lived from the time that she was six years old . Her mother never let her forget her origins and had insisted that she keep her title even though her mother , Judith , had to give hers up when she married Mr . Dayton . Jadzia knew that she had pushed the envelope of what her mother would tolerate when she insisted that she wanted to learn to run a ranch . Not only in the financial matters , but the knots and bolts of riding , herding shooting and building . She had a feeling that her mother had really allowed it because she figured that one day Jadzia would either get fed up of it or come to her senses one day and take up the life of being a lady . Her mother still clung to that hope even though Jadzia seemed to spend more of her time outdoors and turned away many a gentleman who had come calling at her door . She knew that her mother had never suspected that anything was going on between her and Mickie - C because of the number of different women that he courted . She figured that Jadzia was safe with him . Not only because of the women but also because his whole family was depended on the Daytons for their income and Mickie - C would do nothing to jeopardize that . And even if he did , she figured that she would put her foot down and would do everything to drive them apart . Mickie - C was sitting by himself in the kitchen of his family 's house . A lamp was burning low on the counter by the sink casting an eerie glow on everything in the room . His elbows were on the table and hands were covering his face . Not expecting to see anyone in the kitchen and thinking that she would have had to make her way to the front room , Jadzia made a lot of noise coming in . She stopped short when she saw Mickie at the kitchen table . He didn 't raise his head from his hands until she sat down opposite him . " Mickie , what 's wrong ? What is it ? " Jadzia said in alarm when she was able to get a good look at him . He looked haunted and if she didn 't know better , she would have sworn that he had been crying . His eyes seemed large and hollow in the dim lighting . Those words pierced her like a knife . Jadzia forced herself to breathe as the implications of what he had said began to race through her mind . She pushed them firmly away after a minute . Her needs would have to take a back seat for now , it was obvious that this decision was weighing heavily on Mickie 's mind there had to be another reason why he called her to his home to tell her about it and why he looked so unhappy . It was then that loss of consciousness threatened Jadzia . She swallowed hard and griped the edge of the seat of her chair . Mickie had not told her that he had been sleeping with Jane . It was not that he told her everything about his life , but making love was always an experience that they shared and that they had talked about at length . She found it hard to believe that he would have taken a big step with Jane and not told her about it . Those words she could not say . They were too little and much too late . Mickie had made his choice and so it should be . The sooner she accepted it and got on with life , the easier it would be for them all . She just sat in silence . During his entire conversation , Mickie - C had not looked at her until he mentioned the pregnancy and then he noticed that Jadzia refused to look at him . He knew that he had hurt her deeply , but there was nothing he could do . He loved Jadzia too much to hurt her any more than he was doing now . This secret had to be kept . Jane was a different story . He sighed deeply , he had no choice . He had to do the right thing for all concerned . The story was much more complicated than any one knew . Jadzia finally faced him and he could see her blank look . His heart broke as realized the extent of the pain that he had just inflicted on her , and what her reaction would be . She would withdraw as he had ; she would go deep within herself and cover herself in the functional mask that she was so good at putting on . She would smile , do and say the right things , be there for him . But she would not allow anyone , especially him to be there for her . She would deny the pain to others , to him and even to herself . How well had he gotten to know her . Jadzia got up to leave . She was on the verge of collapse . A scream from deep within was threatening to get out . She wanted to rail , to lash out . To make him hurt as much as she was hurt . She had to get away . To go to a private place where she could take time to absorb what had been said . To come to terms with it . When she heard the footsteps coming into the barn , Jadzia realized who it was and looked around desperately for a place to hide . She and Mickie - C had avoided each other in the three days following their last talk in his kitchen . She had just finished taking a ride on her favorite horse , Bashir - Jules ( BJ for short ) and was brushing him down . She quickly spotted a bail of hay and hid behind it . Mickie - C came into the barn . From her vantagepoint , she saw that someone else was with him . She recognized Charlie , one of the hands from a neighboring ranch . She saw both of them look around quickly as if trying to see if anyone would spot them . Jadzia stooped lower . Satisfied that no one else was there with them , Mickie - C turned his attention to Charlie . Slowly , Jadzia raised her head from the bail of hay Charlie looked as if he had just lost his best friend . Even though they were all of six feet away from her , she could see by the way the light hit his face that Charlie was crying . He looked at Mickie and said in a pleading voice . " I have to . " Mickie 's voice was calm . Almost like a man who had been given the death sentence and had come to terms with it by just giving up . " Take care of yourself . " Charlie responded . Mickie nodded and Jadzia thought that she could see a tear fall from his face . Then Charlie gave Mickie a quick fierce hug and left . Jadzia ducked behind the bail of hay . It seemed an eternity before she heard Mickie 's footsteps signal his departure . When she was sure that he was indeed gone , she came out from behind the bail of hay and sat on the floor of BJ 's stall . Finally a lot of things about her relationship and Mickie 's began to make a lot of sense . Jadzia had always prided herself of being very aware and of noticing things , but this one had slipped right by her . She didn 't even suspected . Jadzia felt as if there was a stampede going through her head and her heart . Questions , which lead to answers , which lead to more questions ran through her mind . She ran the full gamut of emotions , from rage and jealousy to compassion and surprisingly love . She had no idea how long she sat on the on the barn floor , but when she stood up she had come to some resolution . It was time to stop avoiding Mickie - C . It was time to confront him . She had questions to which he had to answers . She would ask him and he would answer her . He owed her at least that . Jadzia did not raise her voice but looked at him intently . He knew that look . He stood up , but made no motion to get any closer to her . " Woman what are you talking about ? Don 't you think that a man knows when he does these things ? " . He put his hands on his hips and stared at her . " Just what were you doing there ? You must have been hiding . We looked around and saw no one . Do you always go around listening on people 's conversations ? " His voice raised in its anger . " No . I was doing what we 've both been doing these past two days , avoiding . I thought that you were alone and that you would leave as soon as you got what you came for . By the time I figured it out , it was too late for me to leave . " Jadzia spoke softly and frankly and did not avoid his eyes . He saw her love and compassion in them . His anger left him . He drew her to the bed and they lay down , arm in arm . " I just happen to be at the right place at the right time . I was just beginning to get interested in her just when she found out that she was pregnant . She came right out and told me . Jane asked me to marry her . She said that her father and her would treat me real nice if I did . With the thing going on with Charlie , I realized that I would not be able to marry the one that I truly loved . If I ever married , I would have to live a lie . At least this way it starts off as being a lie and it protects Charlie . " " It also looks good for the Ranch . Ole Mr Riley has convinced Mr Eddington to extend the loan on the Q - Beta . I have a feeling he tried extra hard seeing knowing the favor that I was going to bestow on him by marrying his stained daughter . " " They don 't even know . That was my own nudging . Mama is really too old to be an effective cook , that 's why your mama hired two helpers for her . And Dad 's leg keeps giving him trouble . Your folks have been very kind to keep them on as long as they have . If something were to happen and they lose the ranch , I don 't know what my folks and I would do . At least this way everyone is safe and relatively happy . " There was a silence . Mickie - C held her tighter . Jadzia closed her eyes and wished that it could be real , that it could convey the feelings that she wanted it to convey . Almost as if her were reading her thoughts , he said . " I could never be the man that you need me to be Jadzia . That 's why I never officially began to court you . I wouldn 't hurt you like that . " I never realized that I fell in love with you until a year ago . I never mentioned it . I didn 't know what or why , but I knew that you didn 't have those kind of feelings for me . " " I know " she said softly . " You best get going , you 'll be late " She began to rise off the bed . He pulled her down again until she came to rest on his bare chest . " I can see that . " Her eyes followed his gaze until they rested on Lee - Marie at her table . She did not look too well , she seemed to be staring at her glass , but Vickie could guess that her eyes were unfocused . She seemed to have had enough sense to stop Leeta on the sixth tumbler of rum ( man , that woman could hold her liquor ! ) , but Vickie doubted that she had enough sense to know which way was the door and she was definately in no state to ride . " Vickie , " he said softly , " It 's not like that . I 've known Lee - Marie since she was a teenager . She was like the daughter I never had . " " She 's had a hard life . I 'm worried about her now . There was only one other time when I 've seen her drink this hard and I don 't want her to be in that kind of trouble again . " Lee - Marie looked up . Her eyes hurt as they had to focus on brighter light . Her equilibrium seemed off too . She supposed it was due of the amount of liquid in her system . " Are you all right ? " Tom sat opposite her and Vickie drew up a chair and sat next to him . She linked her arm in his . They seemed so much of a couple , that it hurt to look at them . " Do you need a place to stay tonight ? . " Vickie asked kindly . It suddenly struck her what must have happened to cause Lee - Marie to be here by herself and drinking herself under the table . Lee - Marie silently cursed herself . She hadn 't thought ahead enough to make plans for what happens now . All she thought about was getting away from the Ranch . She had to make plans . She was going to have to leave the Delta Q . But where was she going to go ? Perhaps . . . . . Her head swam and she realized that she was in no state to make any plans about her future . In fact she didn 't even think that she was in any state to stand without assistance . She looked up at Vickie and Magnum . " I 'd be much oblidged . " She said sheepishly as she tried to stand . Her legs buckled and luckily Magnum was near enough to catch her before she made an even bigger fool of herself . " He 's good horse , do you know that ? He 's somewhat older but he has a certain grace about him , something you don 't find in younger stallions . Definitely the best mount that I 've ridden since BJ " Cowgirl Vickie closed the door to the guestroom after she made sure that Lee - Marie was comfortable . She had fallen into bed as soon as she finished drinking three glasses of water which she swore would help her the next morning . Seeing how much alcohol that Lee had consumed , Cowgirl Vickie doubted that it would help fend off the morning hangover that much . Lee - Marie was definatley in for a rough morning . She made her way to the front room where , Tom was sitting on couch waiting for her . Vickie sat next to him and he put his arms around her . She rested her head on his shoulder Lee - Marie muttered these words silently as her lips reached for her fourth cup of Joe . It was only after the third one that she began to feel a little more human and a little less crappy . She sighed . That had to be the national anthems of drunks everywhere . She had heard it being said many times in her presence , but this was only the second time that she had said it for herself . It was quiet this early in the morning . Lee - Marie had awoken half an hour ago and it had taken her a full five minutes to realize what had happened the night before . She lay in the bed of the guest bedroom at Circle V trying to figure out what she should do now . In the end , her head was still in no shape to make plans for her future so she had gotten up and made herself a pot of Joe . She sat in the dark and silence of the kitchen , trying to clear her head and plan her next move . She had a couple of ideas , but even with the clarity of the fourth cup of coffee , her mind kept wandering back to Mickie - C . Lee - Marie knew that it was one of the reasons why she didn 't like to remember that time of her life . Once she started she couldn 't stop . It didn 't help that the situation that she had found herself in now paralleled the one that she had been in Looking back she thought that it would have been so easy to keep her friendship up with Mickie after he had gotten married . But a lot of things began change . For one thing he was no longer living on the Q - Beta and another foreman was hired to replace him . For another , Miss Jane was one jealous woman and did not keep a long leash on Mickie . She had found that in time it was just impossible to keep their friendship . By the time that Jane had given birth , she found that it was indeed possible for ten years of friendship to be undone by one year of marriage . Jadzia mourned the loss of him . She just stopped doing anything around the Ranch besides riding . Her parents were at a loss to explain what was going on with her . They took her to the doctors who gave her medication , but nothing helped . She drifted that way for about six months until finally she was able to come out of it with the help of her sisters and her parents . " Don 't mind if I do . " Cowgirl Vickie got herself a cup and poured . She sat at the table and looked at Lee - Marie intently . " I don 't think that you could have . You weren 't here for the history of those two . You had no way of knowing what you were putting yourself in the middle of . " Lee sighed deeply . " It is going to be so different not having his type of * companionship * " Indeed it was , she was going to miss him . The pain stirred in her stomach . She had known that Vickie had intended to shock her with the directness of her question . She suspected that it was nothing compared to the shock she had instilled with that revelation . Lee - Marie was right . " Nope . I may be progressive in a lot of areas of my life , but that does not mean I open my heart up to anyone to trample on it as they please . Trust me , it 's never taken this long . I guess deep down in my heart , I knew that he wasn 't really all mine . " Vickie gave a wicked grin and then said . " Well don 't worry . You 'll have to join my Housewives ' Club . First meeting of every month is devoted to Mr . Chakotay Torres . When we get to talking about it , you 'll feel as if you were there . " You know , I 'm still looking for a foreman for my Ranch . I told Grendell , not to keep wearing redshirts when he was out on patrol , but he wouldn 't listen to me . I 've been looking for a Foreman ever since . Tom tells me that you 're quiet good and I know that I have heard Tom Janeway and B ' Elanna say the same thing . Why don 't you consider working and staying here . " Lee - Marie thought about it . She really had no where else that she wanted to go and in a way , she had begun to like this town . It was never boring . Jadzia had walked into the front room sobbing . She ran to her mother 's side . She had never , ever seen her mother cry before . She knew that something terrible must have happened and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that it involved her stepfather . " Mr . Eddington is going to collect on his loan . . . . We . . . we don 't have the money to pay him . You Papa has gone to see if he can talk to Ole Mr . Riley to lend him the money . He said he wouldn 't at first . Said something about defective goods that he got from us a years back . But we never sold him anything ! ! ! I can 't imagine why he would say that . Her mother simply nodded and studied something in her lap as she wiped her tears . When Jadzia looked down she saw it was a picture of the five of them taken in front of the Q - Beta . She knew what she had to do . When Jadzia arrived at the Riley 's Ranch , the whole area was deadpan silent . It was if no living creature wanted to disturb the ranch . It gave it an eerie aura . Jadzia recognized her stepfather 's horse and buggy in front of the main house . At least she knew that he was there . She dismounted quickly , gave her reigns to the Ranch hand who had come out to greet her , and marched into the house without even acknowledging her presence The door closed silently behind her when she entered the house . She walked around the main rooms , calling out for Mickie as she did so , but she got no answer and she could see no one . Suddenly , she heard harsh voices and loud crash coming from the study . Jadzia took a deep breadth to ready herself for the challenge that lay ahead . It was obvious that Ole Man Riley was in a drunken state and this was going to prove difficult to deal with . But she had to . Her father was there with him and she had to make sure that Riley didn 't hurt him as he tended to when he was taken with the bottle . The door not fully shut . There was a glittery object that blocked the entrance . Jadzia recognized the necklace . It was one of her father 's family heirloom pieces . She pushed the door open . The sight that greeted her made her pause momentary and panic to settle in her heart . Her stepfather and Riley were at each other 's throats and a vase lay in pieces at the foot of the two men as they wrestled . He turned and his hand lashed out at her face . Jadzia felt a sharp pain in her cheek and tasted blood in her mouth . Her head seemed to explode with pain and for a moment she thought that she would lose consciousness . " NOOOOOO " Rage built in her stepfather and he turned to Riley and charged at him . Riley went flying backwards and the two of them ended up on the floor at the base of the desk . Her stepfather was momentarily dazed and shaking his head vigorously trying to come out of it . Riley pulled himself up to a kneeling position and reached in his drawer and pulled out an object . Her stepfather charged him again , but in his weakened state he managed to hit Riley off center . It was still enough to knock him down . " Mr . Riley DON ' T . She 's just a woman , who 's going to believe her . You have nothing to worry about . " Mickie all but screamed , his eyes growing wide with fear as he made his way slowly and stood next to Jadzia . " SHUT UP , you little Girlie Boy . You 've made one too many mistakes as it is ! ! ! ! You don 't ever think do you boy ? Of course someone is going to believe her . Judge Magnum is too old a family friend to be brought off ! ! ! " The comment made Mickie freeze in his tracks as Riley swept the gun from Jadzia to Mickie " Mickie , Mickie answer me ! ! ! " Jadzia shook him . But he was dead . When she realized it was so , she bent over his body and cried out loud and long . Jadzia had known what death looked like . She knew that there was no saving Mickie from being shot at that close range and the large amount of blood that had collected beneath him , confirmed this . Fury built within her . She knew that she would exact retribution for what Riley had done . ' The Woman ' seemed to warm the holster under her skirt petticoats . She had come with it . From the time that she learned how to use her properly , Jadzia had never left home alone without it . When she walked into the study she just didn 't think that she would need to use it . She had foolishly believed that with her endeavoring to separate the two of them , they would come to their senses . She was wrong and now two people were dead , paying for her mistake . The accidental shooting of his son - in - law distracted Riley , and Mickie - C 's body partially blocked his view of Jadzia . He didn 't see the six shooter come out of Jadzia 's holder . By the time he realized what was happening , the alcohol and his previous fights had dulled his reflexes so much that his brain did not register the gun until it was too late . Jadzia ignored him , rage filling her being and making her oblivious to everything else but her desire for revenge . " The Woman " was still trained at his heart . When Riley saw this he paled . Jadzia recoiled as her gun went off . She felt as if she had snapped out of her rage as she saw Riley slump to the floor . She stared at him for what seemed to her to be an eternity . " Leave Jadzia . He was my husband and I hated him . I 'm glad that he 's dead . You 've saved me the trouble of doing him in myself . But I won 't have this family humiliated any more than we already have been . Leave town now and I won 't demand that justice be done . " Cowgirl Vickie was amazed to hear the Lee - Marie 's story . She would have never thought that she would shoot anyone in cold blood . But she understood how circumstances might make someone do something that they would not normally do . " We all have a past Lee - Marie . And the way this town is , we are all guilty of murder . The job is yours if you still want it . But I suggest that we pretend that this conversation never happened . I won 't be held accountable for you if your past decides to catch up with you . Fair enough ? " " I suggest we get going . We have to return your stallion to the Delta Q and get your stuff as soon as possible . I have plenty of work that needs to get done here , and today is your first day on the job . " She was lucky for the first ten minutes that she was back on the Ranch . She managed to return JTM to his stall and sneak into the house without seeing hide or hair of Miss Kathryn or Mr . Torres . But now he stood in her doorway , hat in hand with a sorrowful look on his face . " Mr . Torres " Lee - Marie acknowledged but did not look up from her packing . She could imagine the look that crossed his face when he heard her address him by his title . Well what did he expect ? " Yes , I 'll be at the Circle V . It was a promotion . I 'll be the head fore ( wo ) man there . It was an opportunity that I couldn 't pass up . My only regret is that I couldn 't give Miss Kathryn more notice , but Cowgirl Vickie wanted me to start right away . " " That 's asking much isn 't it . The man that I love has chosen another woman . I don 't think that I 'll ever understand that one . The day will come when I will stop loving you , maybe even forgive you , but understand , no I don 't think that that day will come . " The anger built up again , and then the pain came . Lee - Marie felt her lower lip trembling and bit into it hard . She didn 't turn around and didn 't answer him . She just continued to move stuff from her bed to her bags . Chakotay couldn 't stand it anymore and crossed the room and put his hand on her shoulders and turned her around . The pain that he saw in her eyes touched him deeply . It mirrored his own at being the cause of it . " Lee - Marie , I know that I 've hurt you more than you ever had a right to be hurt in your life . I know that being sorry and saying it is not going to make it go away . But I am and so I 'll say it . I am sorry Lee - Marie . I hope that one day you 'll forgive me and I hope that you can move past this and still be my friend . " Lee - Marie finally found Miss Kathryn in the stables . She was giving JTM a vigorous rub down . Lee - Marie felt a little sheepish . She had been so intent on not running into Mr . Chakotay that she had not taken care of her stallion 's needs . " Lee - Marie " She acknowledged her and went back to her task at hand . JTM seemed to be enjoying himself immensely . Periodically , his flanks would give a shiver of pleasure as Miss Kate brushed past his soft spots . " I don 't need any favors . " Kathryn smiled a Lee - Marie 's stubborn pout . They really were a lot alike . Pride was something that they did not let go of easily . " Take him . Ever since you 've ridden him , only B ' Elanna can get him to go anywhere in a decent amount of time , and she still prefers Liberty and Kona . Still she can 't ride him as you do . It seems that he prefers you to everyone else . Chakotay is so frustrated with him that he feels that he 's ready for the glue factory . And to tell the truth , I think that he doesn 't need the reminder . It hasn 't been easy for him also you know . " " Defiant City , Terok - Nor Ranch . Mickie - C had some friends who work there . They say that they 'll give a job and a place to stay . " " Well it 's far enough from here , and I 'm going to take my middle name and your maiden name . Leonie - Marie Peters . How do you like it ? " " The message came from England . When you turn twenty - one , the money that your father left for you will become available . It 's yours whenever you need it . Just get in touch with me anyway you can , when you need to . Use your house seal . " Jadzia stared at the necklace . All at once it made sense to her . She knew that she hadn 't fired the shot that had killed Mr . Riley . Now she realized who had . " I 'm so sorry Jadzia . I didn 't think when I shot him through the open door . I just came over to make sure that things were all right . I sneaked in through the kitchen and didn 't see anyone and then heard the commotion in the study . When I saw what he had done . . . . . . I couldn 't let him get away . . . . . . " Jadzia gathered her mother in her arms and held her as she cried . Only one or two tears made their way down her own cheeks . She had to be strong now , more than ever . " I understand Mama , I do . I 'm still going and it 's best if everyone thinks that I did it . You have to be there and be strong for Donna - May and Randye - Jane . " Jadzia finished packing and brought her things outside . Her sisters were waiting to see her off , trying hard not to cry and not understanding why their elder sister had to leave . She hugged her sisters and her Mama once more before mounting BJ . With a final view of the Q - Beta , she left . Lee - Marie sat by herself watching the sun set and thinking about what had happened in the past week and a half . Things were going well for her at Circle V . She found that Cowgirl Vickie was a good boss , fair and expected to her employees to give a 100 % to their jobs . That was just fine with Lee - Marie . She didn 't ' crowd her either . She had invited her to do things with her , but gave her space , knowing that she needed time to heal . Having Mr . Magnum in her nearby also helped . He and Cowgirl Vickie were practically inseparable and Lee - Marie was certain that he was going to take up permanent residence in either Voyager City or Circle V , within the year . During that week , she had good days and bad days . Today was a bad day . She had run into Miss Kathryn and Mr . Chakotay in town and they were walking hand in hand . It seemed to Lee - Marie that all the healing she had done in the past week had become undone and she was back at square one . It was all she could do for the rest of the day to concentrate on her work and not break out into tears . The cry that came from Lee - Marie began softly and became louder and louder . She howled at first and then began to sob uncontrollably . Eventually she just buried her head in his chest and cried , her body shaking with sobs . Tom wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly as she sobbed it all out . He didn 't say a word , because he knew that there was nothing that he could say . He could only be with her in her pain . He would admit that he did have one or two stray thoughts of going to the Delta Q and throttling the man who was responsible for hurting her that much . Her cries pulled at his heart Vickie watched her lover holding her fore ( wo ) man from a distance . She had just come riding up and saw the two horses . She dismounted and when she came close enough she heard Lee - Marie 's cries . All opinions and writings reproduced in these pages are copyright © their authors . The Coffee Nebula and any text or original artwork relating to its site design is copyright © Jules Langley 1997 - 2017 , based on images , concepts and characters from the television series Star Trek : Voyager . Star Trek and all of its associated trademarks are TM , ® and © Paramount Pictures . Other shows are © their respective production companies / networks . It is not the intention of this page to attempt to infringe or supersede those copyrights in any way .