Disclaimer: Paramount own the characters… Katie, Cilla, Nieke & Jadie belong to themselves, and I belong to whichever nuthouse I'm in at the moment. ;)

Author's Note: Blame Jadie, she tagged me, making it my job to continue the Friends series. *G* I'm j/k… thank you, Katie, Nieke, Clare & Jadie, for letting me be a part of the Friends Collective, and I hope this part lives up to your expectations! Love you guys! :)

Dedication: To all the people who are crazy enough to want to call me their friend.

If you haven't already, it's a good idea to read the first ones in the series... :)

The three cadets, Jadie, and the two young Q watched as the couple led the way to their wedding, conversing in low voices, each occasionally laughing at something the other said.

Each cadet was secretly lost in thought, slightly overwhelmed at the fact that they were going to witness the Janeway/Chakotay wedding.

"Oh my good Taylor at Paramount," Katie suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence that the group following the couple had been in. "Rings!" She shared horrified looks with the other cadets. "We've forgotten the rings!"

"Girls, they *can* get married without rings," Jadie pointed out.

"But they need rings!" Nieke insisted.

"Rings are essential!" Cilla backed up her friend. "It's an excuse to shop -- of course they need rings."

"Where could we go?" Nieke pondered.

"Maybe Kathryn should get the chance to decide if she even wants rings," Jadie suggested logically.

Cadet Katie darted ahead, Cilla and Nieke following closely, intercepting the happy couple. "Um, Captain, could we talk with you…? Please?" Kathryn shared a look with Chakotay before she allowed herself to be pulled aside by the cadets.

"Captain…"

"..We haven't got…"

"..Any rings."

Kathryn found it quite worrying how the cadets finished each other's sentences, all the while thinking nothing of it. She pushed the thought to one side. "You're right. Where's the nearest replicator?"

"Replicator?" Jadie looked outraged. "Kathryn, no. You only get married once -- and if you're going to get married, you're going to do it right. You can't wear replicated wedding rings. We're just going to have to dash out again."

"Must we?" Kathryn all but groaned.

"Unless you want to do the ceremony without rings," Jadie said firmly.

The cadets all looked at Kathryn, each doing similar puppy dog eyes, pleading silently with her to consent to shop. After all -- the Janeway/Chakotay wedding would be the biggest wedding of all time, and they wanted to make sure that it was perfect.

Kathryn sighed. "Chakotay, I'll be back in twenty minutes," she promised honestly, grasping his hand tightly.

Chakotay kissed her gently on the lips, pulling her close to him tightly.

The three cadets, Jadie and Q-Bec all let out a simultaneous sigh at the perfect couple's kiss.

Finally, Kathryn pulled away, and without a further word to Chakotay, turned to face the women and Q. Jr. "Let's get going, then," she said enthusiastically.

* * * * *

Ten minutes and three Starbucks later, they arrived at a small jewellers. In the window, hung various pieces of jewellery, each beautifully crafted. Some were of simple, elegant designs, while others were of intricate Celtic patterns. And others were created out of gold, others of silver, but each was unmistakably a high-quality piece of jewellery.

"I like that one," Cilla pointed at a wedding band with diamonds embedded.

"That's nicer," Katie decided, extending a finger to gesture towards a small gold ring with graceful, swirling lines carved around the outside.

"What about-" Nieke was cut off.

"Kathryn, what would *you* like?" Jadie asked.

Kathryn bit her lip. "I don't know," she said finally, gazing through the window at all the beautiful rings on the blue velvet display. "Shall we go inside and talk to the assistant."
"Certainly," Jadie said, letting Kathryn lead the way.

The party entered the shop, and then all looked at one another.

"We need rings," Nieke demanded of the shop assistant, who blinked.

"Good morning to you too," she mumbled grumpily. She looked around at the group of women and the Q, and stopped at Kathryn

"You're that Kathryn Janeway, aren't you?" she enquired roughly.

"No, she's not," Jadie said firmly, the threat in her voice clear. "She is *not* Kathryn Janeway. Understand?"

The assistant took a step backwards, and nodded timidly. "What is it you're after… erm… ma'am?" She was now addressing Jadie, instead of the entire group.

Kathryn stepped forward. "I need wedding rings," she said. "Could you get the display out for me to have a closer look at?"

"Of course," the assistant said obligingly, keeping one eye on Jadie as she moved warily around the shop floor.

* * * * *

"Well that went well," Nieke decided as they exited the shop. The bag containing the precious rings was in Kathryn's left hand. She gripped the handle tightly, as if afraid to let go.

Just as the group prepared to walk in the right direction to return to the HQ, Katie spotted someone.

"Hey," she said, gaining her friend's attention. She gestured to a figure. "Isn't that…?"

The cadet was stood just outside of Starbucks, a large take-away coffee in her left hand. Her right hand supported her large travelling bag carefully. She gulped down the remaining coffee in the cup, and threw it into a small bin just to her left. As she turned around, the three cadets noticed a familiar face.

"Yaelie!!!!"

The girl was immediately launched upon by three very over-excited cadets, each eager to hug the living daylights out of Yaelie.

"Nieke, Katie, Cilla! Hey!" Yaelie attempted to return the hugs, but her arms were firmly squashed into place by her sides.

"Did you write while you were gone?" Katie immediately demanded of her friend.

Yaelie grinned secretively. "You'll just have to wait and see." As the three girls made a collective growling sound, she laughed. "Damn, I missed you guys!"

"Missed you too!" was the answer from her three fellow cadets as they launched themselves upon her for another bear hug.

"Okay, guys…. Need air here," Yaelie managed to splutter. As the pressure on her lungs decreased, she sighed with relief. "Thanks!"

"Yaelie!" Jadie and Kathryn, who were slightly behind, rounded a corner, followed closely by Q-Bec. The older woman broke into a jog as she hurried to embrace Yaelie.

"Welcome back," she said cheerfully, hugging Yaelie tightly.

"Thanks," Yaelie said, equally as cheerfully. "It's great to be ba-" Her gaze found Kathryn, and she trailed off. Then she turned to look at Katie, Nieke and Cilla. "One question: Do I *really* want to know?"

Nieke grinned. "It's a long story," she said truthfully.

"As the FicMonster, you know full well that long stories are the best -- so spill," Yaelie demanded, eager to hear the details.

Katie opened her mouth, wanting to start the story herself, but Jadie cut in.

"Yaelie, we're being so rude. Meet Captain Kathryn Janeway, and Q-Bec." She gestured to each one in turn as she spoke their name.

"Nice to meet you, Captain," she addressed the woman. "And Hi," she said, waving to the young Q.

"So when did you get back?" Jadie asked curiously of her friend.

"About an hour ago," Yaelie said. She looked at the terrible three. "I've been wandering around campus trying to find you lot!"

Katie grinned. "Boy, do we have a story for you…"

"Story later," Jadie cut in, as always, being the sensible one of the group. "In case you girls haven't forgotten, we *do* have a wedding to attend."

Yaelie's jaw dropped. "A wedding?! Congrats!" She looked around at her three friends. "So who's the unlucky guy?"

Cilla giggled. "None of us are getting married, don't worry. It's Kathryn."

Yaelie looked stunned. "Tell me its Chakotay. Tell me it's Chakotay, or my fanfic gets it."

"It's Chakotay!" The three cadets chorused loudly, grinning at each other.

"Oh good," Yaelie said, sighing happily. Then she looked at Kathryn. "Congratulations. When's the wedding?"

Kathryn looked at the large chronometer in a nearby shop window. "Oh, in about…" Her expression changed. "Five minutes ago!"

"Oh my goodness," Jadie exclaimed, as the cadets shared horrified glances

"Paris to Janeway." The Admiral's voice was over the comn system loudly. "Where are you, Kathryn?"

Before Kathryn had a chance to respond, Jadie cut in. "We've bought the rings," she said cheerfully. "We'll be back in ten."

"I want them here in five," Paris protested. "I've a meeting in ten. Get her here by any means necessary, or we'll have to put it off until tomorrow."

"Any means necessary?" The four cadets looked at each other, evil grins spreading across each of their faces.

"Jadie out," Jadie said, tapping her comn badge gently, and regarding the cadets suspiciously. "What are you four planning, How much trouble will it cause, and just how illegal is it?"

Nieke grinned. "Can't say, a lot, and just a little bit."

"Just a little bit illegal?" Kathryn queried. "That's like being 'just a little pregnant.'"

"And you ought to know all about that one," Cilla said, grinning, causing the other cadets to grin happily. Yaelie's jaw dropped for the second time in five minutes.

"She's…?" She looked at Jadie, who nodded. Then she turned to look at the cadets. "And you…?" As they nodded, she turned to look at Kathryn. "And the fath…?" Kathryn nodded, and Yaelie turned to look at no one in particular, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh my."

"That about sums it up," Katie beamed.

Cilla looked around briefly then exclaimed, "Come on!" as she then grabbed Katie and Nieke's arms. Katie managed to grasp onto Yaelie before they were whisked away, leaving Kathryn, Jadie, and the Q standing there.

"Where are they going?" Kathryn asked. "And what are they going to do?"

"I dread to think," was Jadie's worried response.

* * * * *

"Cil, where are we going?" Nieke demanded.

"To get Kathryn to the wedding," Cilla informed her friend, her intentions clear.

"We know that, dear," Katie told her. "We just what to know exactly what we're doing."

Cilla stopped in her tracks. "Didn't I tell you the plan?"
"No, you just kind of began charging, with us in tow," Yaelie chimed in helpfully. "You would have thought there was a Starbucks ahead or something."

"Okay," Cilla said, ignoring the mention of Starbucks in order to resist temptation. "Well, the plan is simple. Gather round, ladies…"

* * * * *

"Hi," Cilla said, smiling sweetly at the man in the vehicle through the open window. "Any chance we can just borrow your shuttle for a teensy weensy moment?"

The guy pretended to think for a brief moment. "Umm… No."

After fumbling around in her bag for her ID, Yaelie pulled it out, and shoved the card in his direction. "Starfleet Command Security, Cadet Harel," Yaelie informed him.

"This ain't no stolen vehicle," the man said, looking horrified, making an immediate assumption as to why they were there.

"It is now," Katie informed the man as Nieke slid into the seat next to the man, a phaser compression rifle in her arms.

"What?" The man looked stunned.

Yaelie slid in next to Nieke, whose phaser compression rifle never deviated from its target.

"We're hijacking your shuttle," Cilla stated bluntly. "Budge over. We've a lot of people to fit in here."

"No… this is not happeni--" Nieke dug the rifle into his ribs, and he scooted over a little. "Okay, maybe it is…"

"I'm driving," Yaelie informed them, seating herself in front of the control console.

Katie gulped, and looked at Cilla as they squeezed into the back of the shuttlecraft. "In case we don't make it out of this one alive, I just want you to know, it's been an honour drooling over Chakotay's butt with you."

"Hey!" Yael looked slightly offended. "I'll have you know I'm not actually a half-bad pilot."

"Yaelie, you broke Chakotay's record," Nieke reminded her.

"On purpose," Yaelie insisted.

"Yeah, Yaelie, of course you did," Cilla grinned. "You know the flight instructors are starting to bet on how long a shuttle is going to last around you? The one furthest away from the correct score buys the drinks."

Yaelie's eyes widened. "They don't?" At Cilla's nod, she shook her head. "Evil…"

"You know what's even worse?" Katie asked, an evil look in her eyes. "The times actually start as low as 4.7 seconds."
"Hey!" Yaelie looked outraged. "In my defence, that only happened once! And it wasn't my fault! I didn't know the shuttle was going to implode!"

Nieke was unable to control her laughter any longer. All the while, the shuttle's owner had been going whiter and whiter, his eyes gaining a look of horror as he listened to the cadet's banter.

Cilla and Katie giggled as they noticed their passenger's face.
"It's okay," Yaelie reassured him gently. "I talked to my supervisor just the other day. 1/20 shuttles make it back in one piece… although, only 3/5 of those remaining shuttles can ever be used again…"

He gulped.

Cadet Katie tapped her comn badge. "Katie to Jadie."
"Jadie here."

"We've got transport, Jadie, we're just around the corner."

There was a brief pause, then: "On our way, Jadie out."

Within a few moments, the small group had turned the corner. Due to the cadet's frantic waving, they managed to locate the shuttle, and boarded it, Kathryn and Jadie in the back with Katie and Cilla, and the two young Q in the very back of the shuttlecraft.

Yaelie looked around, grinning insanely. "Buckle up," she instructed, before pressing the acceleration key.

The shuttlecraft shot forwards at an unbelievable speed, swerving dangerously to avoid other shuttles and vehicles, and weaving in and out of blocks of high-rise offices and shops. Buildings almost became a blur, and, as Yaelie pulled a loop-the-loop mid-highway, certain members of the Q-continuum began to wonder if even immortality would save them this time.

"Do you know where you're going?" Nieke asked, clinging onto the armrest next to her as if her life depended on it. Which, judging by Yaelie's piloting skills, it probably did.

"Yeah," Yaelie said confidently, as she zoomed past a turning. "You go right… oh, back there." Slamming on the breaks just slightly, the passengers jolted forward, then were thrown sharply to the left as Yaelie threw the shuttle into what could only be described as a skid as she completed a 180 degree turn in the middle of the road, halting the rest of the traffic. She headed back towards the turning, all the while barely slowing down.

"And I thought Chakotay was a bad pilot," Kathryn managed, holding tightly onto her seatbelt whilst turning a light green.

"Ooh, a Starbucks," Cilla said, jerking her head dangerously out of the window to see the building. "Think we can stop at the next one?"

"Cilla, we've a wedding to get to," Nieke reminded her friend gently, gripping onto the armrest even tighter as Yaelie executed a sharp left turn, her knuckles turning white.

"Yeah," Yaelie added. "You think I just drive like this for fun?"

Cilla thought for a moment. "Yes."

Yaelie grinned. "Damn straight."

Kathryn managed a weak smile at the Cadets, before Yaelie turned yet another sharp corner, and another wave of nausea washed over her. "Tell me we're nearly there yet?" Kathryn moaned.

"Almost," Yaelie confirmed, as the shuttle suddenly lost altitude rapidly.

There was a collective screaming sound as the shuttle plunged towards the earth at a terrifying rate.

Suddenly, the shuttle became upright, and ground to a halt, neatly slotting in between two other shuttlecrafts. The inhabitants of the shuttle gazed nervously out of the window.

"We're here," Yaelie announced.

"We made it!" Katie said joyfully. She quickly pinched her arm, then did a double take at her surroundings. "Oh my… we really made it!"

Yaelie shook her head. "I resent that. As a friend, you should have had complete faith in me."

"I do," Katie said honestly. "Just not when it comes to shuttles, dear."

"It's like going on a really fast fairground ride," Kathryn observed as she clung to the side of the shuttle to stand up. "You can barely walk afterwards."

Jadie smiled. "Okay, ladies, this is it. The Janeway/Chakotay wedding… Take 2," she added as an afterthought, as they exited the shuttle, and headed towards the wedding.

Hehe… *TAG* Yaelie, dear, you're it! *G* Can't wait to read the next part! Maybe you can salvage my fanfic somewhat!

And, in the words of (or at least the voice of) Majel Barrett, "And now, the conclusion..."