Twilight Side Of The Hill

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Disclaimer: Paramount owns the best and brightest of Trek, we only play with their stars. I promise to put them back when I'm finished, but before I do I plan to let them have some fun, love and adventure.

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Warm breezes blew softly across the beautifully landscaped garden where a fountain decorated in fresh flowers gurgled in the background. A white gazebo decorated with red and white flowers stood ready to welcome the bride and groom, and the guests were seated upon chairs set on the grassy area surrounding the gazebo. Soft music provided by live musicians was playing near the gazebo, adding magic to the lovely setting under vivid blue skies on the holodeck of the Federation Starship Voyager.

The guests settled themselves onto the chairs provided since it was time for the ceremony to begin. The organ set beside the gazebo chimed the time and then burst into the traditional wedding march.

Three men entered from the behind the gazebo and placed themselves in front of the gazebo's entrance facing a tall dark skinned man wearing a gold and black formal Starfleet dress uniform. Tuvok's unsmiling face set with sparkling eyes dictated the reverent tone for the wedding ceremony while adding the spark of joy that all present were feeling.

The man standing directly in front of Tuvok wore red and black, and his distinctive tattoo only added elegance to the lines of Chakotay's formal Starfleet uniform. The smile on his face lit up the holodeck like the sun lights up the sky. The man standing to his right also wore formal red and black, and Tom Paris just couldn't keep the smile off his face nor the sparkle out of his eyes. To Tom's right stood Lt. Ayala wearing his gold and black formal uniform. Ayala always looked distinguished, but today he too couldn't hide his happiness for his friend, Commander Chakotay, and his new bride. Everyone agreed these two belonged together.

As the music continued all eyes turned away from the gazebo and focused at the end of the white carpet that ran between the chairs and ended at the gazebo. Naomi Wildman dressed in white walked solemnly up the aisle carefully scattering red and white rose petals as she walked. When she saw her mother sitting on one of the chairs, she smiled a joyful smile.

Next up the aisle were Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres, both dressed in lovely red gowns with off-the shoulder sleeves that enhanced their skin - one pale and one darker, but both lovely. Seven looked very solemn but B'Elanna was grinning from ear to ear.

As they reached the foot of the gazebo, all eyes again turned to the rear of the gathering to welcome the bride, Captain Kathryn Janeway. She appeared on the arm of Voyager's Doctor and as she stepped onto the carpet, everyone gasped. She looked absolutely beautiful and wonderfully radiant as she walked up the aisle. A crown of pearls that held a white lacy veil topped her beautiful shoulder-length auburn hair. The veil was sheer and didn't hide her radiant smile or her sparkling blue/gray eyes. The white short-sleeved dress hugged her upper body accenting her small waist and showing off her very feminine bust line and nicely toned arms. The full skirt fell to her ankles and draped enticingly over her hips. The soft material swayed when she walked, and she carried a bouquet of white and red roses, surrounded by fragrant white and red carnations.

"Wow," Tom Paris whispered as he spied the bride. Chakotay's smile only got bigger as he again thanked the Gods for the gift of this remarkable woman. He vowed yet again to love her forever and protect her with his life.

She finally reached the spot where he stood in awe, and reached out to take his hand. He tucked her smaller hand into both of his as they turned to Tuvok who proceeded to marry them.

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Six months later Chakotay and Kathryn were as much in love as the day they were married. If possible, they were even more in love and everyone was happy for them.

"Kathryn, you drink too much coffee," Chakotay admonished as they prepared to report for their duty shift. "What is this, your sixth cup already and the day hasn't really begun?"

"It's my fourth, and since you kept me up half the night I need it to keep me awake. Not that I'm complaining about you keeping me up," she smiled as she recalled their wonderful night of gentle lovemaking. A soft sigh escaped from her lips as she wondered for the millionth time why she ever waited so long to allow him to love her.

Chakotay smiled as he too recalled the night. Every night with Kathryn was wonderful, but last night had been especially good. "Come on," he said as he ushered her out of their quarters and into the lift. "We can't set a bad example by being late for our shifts."

"Bridge," Chakotay ordered as the lift started its ascent. Suddenly Kathryn's face turned white and she swayed against the wall. Chakotay was at her side immediately, concern written all over his face. Kathryn quickly recovered as her equilibrium corrected itself and her vision cleared. Chakotay's hands on her arms steadied her, and as her vision cleared his concerned face was all she could see.

"Kathryn, what's wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I was just dizzy for a minute. Must be too much coffee on an empty stomach. I feel better now," she stated as the lift doors opened onto the bridge. Kathryn straightened herself and with a quick smile to Chakotay stepped back from his grasp, marched from the lift and down to her chair, taking time to smile greetings at the other alpha shift members of her bridge crew.

Once they were seated Chakotay whispered, "Maybe you should get something to eat. We can't have you fainting while on duty."

"I'm not hungry and I'll be fine," she smiled knowing he only had her best interest at heart. It felt good to know that someone cared so much for her well-being.

After an uneventful two hours on the bridge Kathryn decided she needed more coffee and some uninterrupted time to work on the stack of reports she needed to finish today. "I'll be in my ready room, you have the bridge Commander." She rose quickly from her chair with Chakotay watching carefully and marched toward her ready room. Her ever-vigilant husband noticed that her gait was a little wobbly, but knew she wouldn't appreciate any help. 'That's Kathryn,' he thought to himself, but he was preparing himself to worry anyway.

The doors to the ready room swished shut behind Kathryn, so Chakotay turned back to his console to continue his work. A muffled thump from the ready room had him on his feet immediately, and Tuvok joined him as he headed for the ready room door. He hit his combadge, "Chakotay to Janeway." He repeated, "Chakotay to Janeway, please respond." Still no answer, so he entered his override codes.

As the doors swished open, he and Tuvok rushed into the room and almost fell over Kathryn's body that was lying, on the ready room floor. Quickly kneeling beside her, Chakotay turned her over pressing his fingers against her neck to feel for a pulse. Tuvok lifted her limp hand pressing his fingers against the pulse point in her wrist, and the strong beat reassured them, but she was unconscious and they didn't know why.

As he gathered her into his arms he heard Tuvok order a beam-out directly to sickbay. He stood with a very limp Kathryn in his arms, felt the tingle of the transporter beam and heard Tuvok alerting the Doctor of their imminent arrival.

The Doctor was ready for them when they arrived and ordered Chakotay to lay Kathryn on one of the biobeds. Chakotay complied but remained by her side and continued to hold her hand. The Doctor proceeded to scan her thoroughly, and then he scanned her again. He pulled his tray of medical instruments toward him, selected a hypospray and after adjusting it to the specific medication he wanted, he injected Kathryn with its contents.

"What's wrong with her?" the very worried Chakotay inquired. "What happened?"

The Doctor only looked at him as he grabbed another hypospray and injected it into Kathryn's neck. Almost immediately she moaned and then her eyes fluttered open. As her mind started to catch up and identify where she was and who was with her, Chakotay bent down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. "Welcome back," he smiled.

"What happened?" she asked as she finally found her voice and remembered how to use it. "How did I get here?"

"We heard a thump after you entered your ready room, so Tuvok and I came and found you unconscious on the floor. Tuvok beamed us directly here, and I'm waiting for the Doctor to tell me what's wrong," Chakotay stated as he looked again to the Doctor.

"The Captain will be fine," the Doctor smiled, "and congratulations are in order."

"What?" they said in unison as they looked directly at the Doctor.

"I said, congratulations are in order," the Doctor smiled. When they continued to just look at him with puzzled expressions on their faces, he considered whether or not to treat them for shock or just sudden stupidity. "You're pregnant," he informed them, "the Captain is going to have a baby. You know, one of those little people who will look like a combination of the two of you."

They continued to just look at him with stunned expressions on their faces, so he continued. "You know, one of those little human beings who is either male or female, who needs lots of feedings and diaper changes, lots of……..

"We get the picture," Kathryn finally said as her senses returned and the shock receded just a little bit. Chakotay, however, just got a stupid ear-to-ear grin on his face as he continued to look at the Doctor.

"Commander?" the Doctor queried starting to consider the very real possibility of shock.

"WE'RE PREGNANT!" he finally grasped what was being said and hurriedly gathered Kathryn into a tight bear hug, the huge grin still in place.

"Ahhhhhhhhggggggg…..Chakotay, you're squashing me," Kathryn choked out as she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Finally deciding that neither was warranted she turned to the Doctor as Chakotay relaxed his hug. "When….how…..??????"

The Doctor was now in his element and decided to make the most of the situation. "As to when, I'd say about six weeks ago. As to how, well as you know it takes a man and a woman to create………"

"Yes, we know how," Kathryn interrupted, "but I thought I was current on my boosters. Chakotay, are you current?"

"Ahhhhh…..shit," Chakotay responded as his face slowly turned red. "I don't think so. I think I was due about three months ago, but I never thought about it."

Quickly deciding that his survival might depend on changing the subject he turned again to Kathryn with that silly grin. "We're pregnant Kathryn, isn't that wonderful?"

"That depends on who's pregnant, Chakotay. You're not the one passing out, getting fat, having to maneuver about 200 pounds of extra weight around. I think this wonderful pregnant thing is all a matter of perspective."

"Speaking of passing out, why did she pass out?" Chakotay asked of the Doctor. "Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine. Her body is being forced to make adjustments to accommodate this pregnancy, and she most likely just moved too fast for her body to adjust to the movement. She also hadn't eaten anything so her blood sugar was way down. This will pass shortly and I'll be giving her vitamins and medication to help her adjust. And Captain, your boosters expired eight weeks ago and the Commander's expired over five months ago. So I would say you're equally responsible for this pregnancy. Now, would you like to know the sex?"

Kathryn and Chakotay just looked at each other, not sure what to say. "Yes," said Chakotay at the same time Kathryn said "No."

"OK……..," the Doctor said. "Which is it?"

"Yes," said Kathryn just as Chakotay said, "No." At the Doctor's exasperated look they both said, "Yes."

"That's better. It's a boy and very healthy for a fetus of six weeks."

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Kathryn's pregnancy proceeded normally for an active person like Kathryn. She gave up coffee kicking and fighting all the way, and she was never a good eater. This made for only a very slight weight gain, and the Doctor figured that for whatever weight the baby gained, Kathryn most likely lost at least that much of her own weight. Chakotay quickly learned to tell when she was trying to sneak a cup of coffee, so she soon gave up and changed to drinking tea. But she quickly learned that drinking as much tea as she did coffee presented another problem. With the baby growing in her womb and putting more and more pressure on her bladder, the frequent trips to the bathroom became a burden so she drastically cut back on her hot beverage intake.

The Doctor insisted on weekly checkups which Kathryn grudgingly accepted, and he kept her body pumped full of beneficial vitamins to insure the health of the baby as well as her own health. He gave her nutritional supplements since she wasn't normally a good eater, and now she was often sick on what she ate. Everyone on board Voyager knew that the Captain didn't always take good care of herself, but they also realized that the Commander would be sure in no uncertain terms that she did, and the Doctor was his very willing ally in this endeavor.

"I feel like a tank," Kathryn stated early one morning as they were getting ready for their duty shifts. "I can feel my clothes getting tighter."

"You look beautiful and you certainly don't look like a tank," Chakotay replied as he slipped his arms around her waist resting his hands on her stomach. At five and one-half months she hardly showed, only a slightly swollen look to her waist and stomach that you had to really look for gave any indication of her condition. Her hormones had remained relatively steady, but her breasts had started to become very sensitive and the more she drank the more trips she had to make to the bathroom.

The Doctor was pleased with the baby, but wanted Kathryn to eat more, which she refused to do. She just wasn't hungry and forcing herself to eat made her sick, so he continued the nutritional supplements.

"I'm soon going to have to consider maternity uniforms, and I hate them," Kathryn reflected as she prepared to leave their quarters.

"You'll look beautiful no matter what you wear," Chakotay responded as she punched him in the arm and smiled. It was really nice to be loved.

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For the past three weeks Voyager had been under intermittent attack by an alien race that refused to return their hails. They had no idea why they were being attacked. Voyager was the stronger ship, but there were three alien ships that continued to mount these attacks, and their strategy was working. The warp core was offline and the engineering staff was constantly busy repairing damage caused by these ships. Replicators were offline and Neelix was forced to use their food stores to feed the crew. Supplies were running low and Voyager was in desperate need of repairs.

As Kathryn sat in the captain's chair reviewing repair reports, Tuvok announced that the ships were again approaching.

"Shields," she ordered as she looked around the bridge, "and evasive maneuvers, Mr. Paris. You know the routine," she thus allowed him the freedom to decide how to best evade their attackers. "Red alert," she ordered which notified her crew to prepare themselves.

"Yes Captain," Tom responded. He appreciated her trust in him and was determined not to let her down.

Kathryn was now seven months pregnant and doing her best to not let it interfere with her command. Chakotay made it a point to be almost constantly by her side while they were on duty, and sometimes Kathryn was grateful while other times it annoyed her. This was one of the times she was grateful.

Voyager's shields effectively repulsed the first few volleys, but they all knew this wouldn't last as the shields were weakened. "Target their propulsion and weapons systems," Kathryn ordered as Tuvok nodded his understanding.

These smaller ships had Voyager's sensors confused. They were not powered by matter/antimatter, and all their scans were not conclusive about what they did use for propulsion. Seven of Nine had been monitoring them from astrometrics and they had been scanning from the bridge, but they just couldn't figure it out. Their weapons were energy weapons, almost as powerful as Voyager's phasers, but the propulsion systems on these ships gave them more speed and maneuverability than anything known to the Federation and Tuvok had a very difficult time targeting anything on their ships.

"Shields at 78%," Tuvok announced after the next round of firing. He finally got lucky and hit one of the ship's weapons systems, rendering it inoperative. The disabling of this one ship left the other two more vulnerable as their battle strategy seemed to be based on a triangle. After a few more potshots, the three ships again backed off leaving Voyager to assess its damage and lick its battle wounds.

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Seven of Nine took a very real interest in her Captain's pregnancy as well as the whole human reproductive process. In her ongoing efforts to better understand her humanity she observed everything about Kathryn's behavior, how Chakotay treated her differently now that she was pregnant by becoming more protective and helpful, how Kathryn responded, and how Kathryn's body was changing. She also analyzed how the crew was responding to this pregnancy, as well as her own reactions. Kathryn was more than willing to talk to Seven and tell her how she herself felt about the whole process, and Seven found herself wondering what it would be like to have this wondrous thing happen to her.

The Doctor was helpful by giving her medical guides to study informing Seven how the baby was growing and becoming its own person. With Kathryn and Chakotay's permission, he even showed her images of the baby taken during Kathryn's checkups. Seven found herself becoming more and more protective of Kathryn as her pregnancy progressed, wanting nothing to happen to this child She looked forward to someday holding him in her arms and she was already on some level connecting with him.

During the fifth month of Kathryn's pregnancy Seven recalled the incident when the baby became very real to her. "Seven, come here," Kathryn ordered as they were relaxing in the ready room after Seven gave her latest astrometrics report and inquired as to how Janeway was feeling. As Seven approached Kathryn in response to the request, Kathryn reached out and took Seven's hand placing in on her slightly swollen stomach.

"Captain?" Seven asked as she wondered what this was all about.

"Just give it a minute and you'll see," Kathryn responded with a smile on her face as she continued to hold Seven's hand in place.

A soft rippling under her hand puzzled Seven. She continued to hold her hand on Kathryn's stomach and felt the fluttering become stronger, as if her stomach was annoyed that Seven's hand was pressed against it. A slight bump startled Seven and she pulled her hand back quickly.

"Captain, do you have indigestion? I could get something from the Doctor for you."

"No Seven," Kathryn laughed as she placed Seven's hand back on her stomach. The fluttering started again. "That's the baby saying hello to you. He's kicking," she explained as Seven looked confused.

"You can feel him already? That's really the baby?" Seven was amazed and from that time on she felt a connection with this child and a very real desire to protect both him and his mother.

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Another three weeks passed with only one more attack. But Voyager's resources had dwindled to dangerous levels and they were barely able to maintain impulse speed.

"Seven to Janeway, please report to astrometrics," Seven of Nine announced while Kathryn was seated on the bridge. "On my way," Kathryn responded as she signaled Chakotay to follow.

Now all but eight months pregnant she was forced to wear a maternity uniform. She was still tiny by most standards and only fat by her own, but that was mostly because she was by nature a very petite and slender woman. In a woman with a larger build she would only look to be about five or six months along. The baby weighed almost five pounds and the Doctor showed the proud parents his image several times in the last two weeks. Everyone on board was excited about this baby, but nobody was more excited than Chakotay.

They had decided to name the baby Edward after Kathryn's father and Andrew for the middle name after Chakotay's cousin who lived in Arizona. Kathryn cried when Chakotay suggested the name, but readily agreed.

They entered astrometrics together where Seven was waiting with a planetary system displayed on the screen. Kathryn studied the system as she approached the screen and immediately saw why Seven had summoned them.

"How far?" was her first question since she realized that the planets of this system had almost all the raw materials they needed for food and for Voyager's repairs.

"Six light years," Seven replied. "Too far for Voyager to get there anytime soon, but we do have three operative shuttles that could collect what we need for temporary repairs. Once we have Voyager's warp drive back online, we could take Voyager to the second planet and set down for extensive repairs and some shore leave."

"I agree," Kathryn smiled. She was excited by the possibilities these planets offered. "We could take three shuttles to the third planet which is rich in metals and minerals, collect what we need and then return. It would only take about three days to complete this mission so we should get started immediately. Seven, collect all the data you can about the third planet. Chakotay, call a meeting of the senior staff in fifteen minutes. I'll meet you there after I make a stop at the bathroom."

"Yes, Captain," was the amused reply from both.

The meeting progressed smoothly and all agreed this was their best hope. Without the minerals and metals Voyager would never make it anywhere and the crew would eventually die of starvation or exposure if Voyager's systems failed.

"Then we agree," the Captain announced once all the discussion had ceased. "I will take one of the shuttles accompanied by Mr. Paris and Crewman Tal Celes, Chakotay will take another shuttle accompanied by Lt. Torres and Ensign Davis, and Seven will take the Delta Flyer accompanied by Neelix, Ensign Vorick and Lt. Ayala. Once we have located the minerals and metals we need, the first two shuttles can begin the mining operation while the Delta Flyer can search for food, and if need be visit the second planet. Since it is larger and faster than the other two it can store more food. Neelix, I want you to fill the shuttle with enough to keep the crew going until we reach the planet. Concentrate on what is nourishing, not on anything fancy."

Seven had a moment of trepidation when she realized that the Captain planned to go on this mission in spite of her advanced pregnancy, but then realized that as she was going as well she could keep an eye on things. For a brief moment she considered requesting that she be on the Captain's shuttle, but soon realized that she could help even more by taking charge of the Delta Flyer so she kept her arguments to herself.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Janeway continued. When nobody spoke up she dismissed the meeting telling everyone going on the mission to report to the shuttle bay in two hours.

Chakotay lingered after everyone else had gone. "Kathryn, why do you want to go? You're too close to having this baby to risk yourself or him on an away mission. I really wish you would stay here and let someone else go."

"Normally I would agree with you, Chakotay. But we're really desperate and I'm more qualified than anyone else on board, except maybe B'Elanna, to know what we require for the engines. I also have a high level pilot's license and am more experienced than anyone else on Voyager in using the mining equipment. This is too important to not send our best people, and you and I are two of the best qualified. I hate to have so many of our senior officers away with our current situation being what it is, but I don't see any better alternative. Do you? And I hope you noticed that I assigned our best pilot to fly my shuttle," she teased hoping Chakotay could see her point before they got into an argument.

Chakotay didn't see a better alternative and realized the importance of this mission. Unfortunately he had to agree with Kathryn, but didn't like it even a little bit. "Kathryn, if anything happened to you or our son I don't know what I'd do. Please be careful."

"You too, husband," she smiled at him.

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Seven prepared herself for the mission and performed the pre-launch check on the Flyer. She was very worried about her Captain going on this mission and was concerned for the well being of the mother and the child. This was the first time she ever witnessed the development of a new life from the discovery of its conception through birth, and she felt a connection to both the mother and child, a connection that was becoming more important to her as the days and weeks passed. Captain Janeway and the rest of this crew were the closest thing to a family Seven had, and this child, even though it wasn't her body creating it, felt in some ways like her own. Kathryn's pregnancy was bringing out feelings Seven never knew she possessed, and she found she liked them.

Her feelings for Naomi Wildman were those of a big sister to a little sister, but Kathryn Janeway evoked feelings normally reserved for one's mother or very best friend. Therefore Seven's feelings for Kathryn's child felt like those of a protective aunt or surrogate mother, and she knew if anything happened to either of them that her life just would never be the same. After losing One, the drone accidentally created by her and the Doctor after a transporter malfunction, she had an inkling of what she would feel if anything happened to Kathryn or the child. She didn't like those feelings.

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Two hours later the shuttles were launched and headed for the designated system. Voyager had scanned continuously for any sign of the hostile aliens, but even long-range scans showed that the space between the ship and the planets was clear of the aliens. Tuvok had been put in charge of the ship, and Harry Kim was put on continuous scanning duty and told to figure out what those ships used for propulsion. Kathryn knew that once they figured out what fueled those ships they could stop them from harassing Voyager. She was starting to have suspicions on that particular subject.

The trip to the system was smooth and uneventful and they began to scan as soon as they arrived. The abundance of metals and minerals was a godsend and Neelix was able to determine there were plenty of edible plants on the planet. But he also scanned the second planet and found even better nutritional plants, so the Delta Flyer gathered small amounts of the minerals and metals required, then left for the second planet as soon as the mining operation was well underway.

Kathryn and Chakotay divided Voyager's requirements between them and they began to fill the cargo holds with the needed metals and minerals. It was hard and exacting work, but within a matter of fourteen hours both shuttles were full and ready to head back to Voyager. Kathryn contacted the Delta Flyer and discovered they were almost ready to leave with a full cargo hold and an ecstatic Neelix.

"We've done well, Chakotay," Kathryn spoke through the comm system. "Let's go home, shall we?"

"After you," he smiled as he imagined her feelings of satisfaction at their success. As they fired up the shuttles and prepared to lift off their sensors detected electrostatically charged atmospheric storms brewing above them. The storms were quickly building in intensity, but they weren't worried since their shields were fully operative.

The shuttles started to ascend slowly through the now turbulent atmosphere when Seven's voice came over the comm system. "Captain, Commander, I must warn you that three alien ships are entering the troposphere of your planet. They slipped by our sensors as we were ascending from our planet's surface, and I believe you are encountering storms in your area. Be careful and be prepared to use evasive maneuvers. We will join you in a few minutes to help you escape the aliens."

"Seven, head for Voyager and don't worry about us," Kathryn answered. "The crew needs that food too badly for you to take any chances. You also have supplies of most of the metals and minerals Voyager needs to get warp drive up and running at least temporarily. These storms are getting worse so we should be able to evade the aliens, and Chakotay and I will protect each other. You go as quickly as you can," she ordered.

"But Captain, we can help you," was Seven's reply. She didn't want to leave her Captain in any kind of danger, especially now with the baby due in just a few weeks. In fact, the feelings of fear she was experiencing were definitely unwelcome.

"Go Seven, that's an order," Kathryn responded as she cut communication on the reluctant Seven of Nine. "Aye Captain," was Seven's hesitant reply as she realized she had no choice but to obey.

"Chakotay, let's split up and exit the atmosphere in different places. Then make a run for Voyager at high warp and maybe we can lose those ships."

"Aye Captain," he acknowledged as he changed his ship's course. "Be careful and try to use the clouds for cover until you're up. We'll do the same and meet you in open space."

Just then a blast rocked Kathryn's shuttle, giving them all a good jolt but doing no damage as their shields were holding. "They can see us Chakotay, prepare yourself," she said over the comm system as she and Tom Paris concentrated on evasive maneuvers. Tal Celes just sat in the back of the shuttle mumbling, "Why me? No more shuttle away missions for me."

"We'll be OK, just hold on," Kathryn smiled as she heard Celes' comments. It took all of her concentration and Tom's to keep the shuttle stable in the wildly unstable atmosphere. Suddenly an alien ship appeared in front of Kathryn's shuttle, fired and moved rapidly away. They seemed to move with ease in this chaotic atmosphere, whereas Voyager's shuttles were having trouble. The shuttle took another hit, but the shields held. Kathryn had intently been studying the sensors trying to determine what type of propulsion these ships had, and she was closing in on the answer.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed as she smacked her hand down onto the side of the panel. "They're using a form of zioalonite broken down into particulates. The Federation looked at that as a fuel source but couldn't handle the instability of the side-elements. These ships can only maneuver as a triangle for short periods of time before they have to move away. Individually they're very inefficient and not much of a threat. That's why they could never finish Voyager off. They can maneuver better than us, even in this atmosphere, but not for long. We just have to outlast them Mr. Paris."

"Yes Maam," he smiled as he concentrated on avoiding the alien ships. "Captain, are you alright?" Tom questioned as another blast rocked the shuttle and Kathryn's head bounced off her console. It took a minute for her to regain her senses, but she remained dizzy and a gash started dripping blood down the side of her face. She was finally able to answer, "I'll be all right, it's only a cut." She fingered the side of her head and her fingers came away covered with blood, but she wasn't about to let that stop her.

The dogfight continued with the shuttles struggling to avoid the alien ships in an atmosphere that now gave them very little visibility. The electromagnetic interference from the storms also hindered their efforts. The aliens managed to block all their attempts to escape into space, and the few phaser shots that connected did not hit any critical systems on the alien ships. The shuttles communicated via the comm system, but both were taking a beating. Chakotay's shuttle was on the verge of losing its shields when their visibility momentarily cleared enough for him to lock onto one of the alien ships.

"B'Elanna, I've got a lock on their propulsion system," Chakotay shouted as he targeted the ship directly to stern. B'Elanna piloted the shuttle into a better firing position. "Firing phasers," he yelled triumphantly as his fingers hurriedly pressed the button before the ship could escape. His lock was slipping and he didn't want to miss his opportunity even though he no longer had a stable lock. He watched the beam stretch out from his shuttle toward the alien ship and satisfaction started to settle in his mind when the alien ship suddenly dipped out of the path of the beam. As he watched in horror, Chakotay saw the beam connect with Kathryn's shuttle - a direct crippling hit that caused a minor explosion of the propulsion system and immediately sent the shuttle diving for the planet below. He never realized her shuttle was so close.

"MY GOD!!!" Chakotay shouted as B'Elanna and Davis looked on in horror. "I've shot our own shuttle!" he cried as it became obvious that the other shuttle was severely crippled and headed for a crash landing.

"TOM," B'Elanna whispered, "fly that thing. Don't die," she cried in horror as the shuttle disappeared into the turbulence of the storms. Within seconds they could no longer see it.

"KATHRYN," Chakotay moaned into the comm system, but static was the only answer. "Keep them on sensors and follow them down," he ordered as B'Elanna and Ensign Davis fought to evade the aliens and keep the other shuttle on their sensors. Chakotay was stricken with fear and guilt even as he stared at the sensors. B'Elanna took over, flying for all she was worth trying to reach Tom.

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"Captain, one of the alien ships is off our port bow. Can you get a lock on their weapons?" Tom inquired as he struggled with the shuttle's controls. "Targeting now," Janeway responded as she struggled to keep her vision under control. That blow to the head was worse than she thought and her vision just wouldn't clear, but she wasn't about to give up now.

"I see it Tom, and I'm preparing to fire," she shouted as she struggled with the sighting.

Just then the alien ship dived sharply, and before anyone could react a phaser beam connected directly with their propulsion system.

"TOM!" Janeway cried as she was thrown from her seat and bounced off the wall of the shuttle. Pain exploded in her right leg and hip, which hit the wall first, and after the rest of her body connected she landed in a heap on the floor. She vaguely noticed that Tal Celes was lying on the floor holding onto her seat's base to keep herself from being tossed around. The shuttle plunged again into a steep dive, and Janeway was flung into the control panels on the opposite side of the shuttle. She had nothing to grab onto. 'My baby,' managed to invade her thoughts and she tried to wrap her body around her swollen stomach to protect her child as she again bounced off the walls. Sharp pain was making itself felt in her left ribs and shoulder, but she wasn't about to straighten herself and allow more danger to her baby. 'Oh, Chakotay, I need you,' she thought as the shuttle continued to plunge keeping her trapped on the floor.

Tal Celes had her arms wrapped around the base of her seat, which was anchored to the floor of the shuttle. She could see the Captain being tossed around, but knew if she left go with even one arm that she would lose her grip and be tossed around too. She could feel a burning sensation on her right leg as a panel exploded above her and the sparks fell, but she couldn't even reach around to her leg. 'Why me?' she thought yet again. 'I'm a shuttle bad luck curse.'

Tom Paris was struggling with the controls of the shuttle, and he was using every skill and trick he ever learned to stabilize their decent to the planet's surface. He knew without a doubt that they were going to crash, but where in the hell did that phaser beam come from? His body was being jerked around and bounced off the console in front of him, but he managed to hang on for dear life and keep his posterior in the seat most of the time. His arms ached and he had bruises on his stomach, but he wasn't about to let go.

"Captain?" he called for the tenth or so time trying to determine where Janeway landed, but he received no answer. He was worried about her, especially because of her advanced pregnancy, but couldn't take his focus off piloting the shuttle, if you could call his last ditch efforts piloting. He was determined to give them a chance for survival.

The trees on the surface of the planet were coming up fast, and he still didn't have the shuttle's trajectory stabilized to where he wanted it. He continued to fight the controls and continued to shout into the comm system hoping the other shuttle could hear them. The shuttle was skimming the treetops, jolting and bucking as it encountered the uppermost branches of the trees. He continued to fight for control when he spied a clearing off to their right. Putting every ounce of strength into his fight he managed to turn the shuttle in that direction and partially stabilize their descent.

The shuttle continued to plough into trees as it descended, but finally they were above the clearing so Tom tried to bring them down. It wasn't a pretty sight and the shuttle bounced across the uneven spongy ground, finally coming to a stop when its nose ploughed into a pile of very spongy dirt. The sponginess of the dirt cushioned their landing and kept the shuttle from breaking apart. Tom was finally thrown from his seat, but pulled himself up to the panel and quickly ran his fingers over the controls that shut down all power. Then from sheer exhaustion and the beating he took, he blacked out.

Tal Celes continued her death grip on the base of her chair even though her right leg felt like it was burning. She tried rolling her leg around in the limited space allowed by her grip and the G-forces being exerted by their descent, but the burning sensation continued. She felt the shuttle hit the trees, then the ground and finally come to a stop. As she felt them skid along the ground she tried to look up, but a piece of an overhead panel worked its way loose and fell, landing on her burning leg and striking her on her head, bringing blessed blackness and an end to her overwhelming fear.

Kathryn lay on the floor of the shuttle in a haze of pain and fear for her baby. She survived several shuttle crashes in the past and knew even in her hazy state what was happening, so she continued to curl herself around her stomach in an effort to protect her baby, all the while wondering if the shuttle would explode on impact. When she felt the shuttle skid along the ground she knew they wouldn't explode. 'Thank you Tom,' was her last thought as she once more connected with one of the shuttle walls and blessed blackness took over.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Chakotay tried his best to work past his fear and help B'Elanna evade the aliens, but his guilt and fear for Kathryn and their unborn son was overwhelming. Once they started to descend to the planet's surface the aliens pulled up and moved away. "They're leaving," Ensign Davis reported as he watched them ascend toward open space. "They're not following us down. I don't think those ships can land."

"B'Elanna, do you have the shuttle on sensors?" Chakotay asked as he frantically checked his readouts. "Follow them down," he ordered.

"I have them but if we land we won't be able to take off again until this storm passes because of the interference and the damage to this shuttle," she explained. "Do it," Chakotay ordered as they followed the path the other shuttle took.

They saw the damaged treetops and followed the shuttle's path. Sensors weren't necessary anymore as they only had to follow the path of destruction, and the storm's interference wasn't very noticeable this close to the surface of the planet. B'Elanna and Chakotay spied the clearing at the same time and seconds later they spied the shuttle sitting with its nose in a large dirt pile and smoke coming out of the back.

"Land quickly," Chakotay ordered as he prepared to jump out of the shuttle the moment it was down. "They might be on fire, and they're all still inside."

B'Elanna needed no encouragement, and in record time she had the shuttle down as close as possible to the crash site. All three officers jumped from the shuttle before the ramp was fully down and hit the ground running toward the crashed shuttle.

B'Elanna and Chakotay, driven by fear for their loved ones, reached the shuttle first and B'Elanna coded in the override to lower the ramp. At first they thought the ramp wouldn't come down, that it was damaged too badly to function, but both of them grabbed a corner and pulled hard. With this little bit of help, the ramp slowly started to descend again.

"Kathryn! Tom!" was shouted simultaneously as all three officers jumped onto the ramp and entered the smoke-filled cabin. They found Tal Celes first, unconscious with her arms still wrapped around the chair base, and after removing a piece of an overhead panel that was lying on top of her, Ensign Davis carried her out of the shuttle and laid her on the ground close to the other shuttle.

Chakotay then spied Kathryn lying in a ball against the wall of the shuttle. He quickly felt for a pulse and found a weak one. He noted blood on the carpet around her head and hesitated to move her, but the smoke and the shuttle's computer announcing that the air was reaching dangerous levels for breathing made the decision for him. He gently and carefully gathered her into his arms and carried her down the ramp and over to where Davis was checking out Celes. As they walked he kept saying to his unconscious wife, "I'm so sorry, Kathryn, it's my fault. I didn't mean to shoot you. Please be OK. I shot you down, it's all my fault." Tears started running down his cheeks.

B'Elanna rushed to Tom who was lying partially over the pilot's seat. She found a strong pulse immediately but wasn't sure how badly he was injured. She only knew she had to get him out of the shuttle quickly, so she jostled him around until she could get her shoulder under him and then pulled him into a fireman's carry. The smoke in the shuttle's cabin was getting bad, but B'Elanna recognized that the ship wasn't on fire, it was only the wires of the exploded panels burning off the insulation. The shuttle's fire suppressant system would take care of it until she could return to assess the damage. Coughing fiercely she headed for the ramp and some fresh air to breathe.

As she got to the bottom of the ramp, Ensign Davis was there to help her with Tom, and they moved him closer to their own shuttle to join the others where they could hopefully treat his injuries.

There was only one damaged medkit on Chakotay's shuttle, so Davis returned to Kathryn's shuttle to retrieve their kit. Unfortunately it had landed on the floor when the shuttle crashed, and a piece of overhead paneling landed on it. The regenerator was destroyed and not much else was salvageable, but Davis returned to the others bringing the damaged kit and its contents, as well as a few extra blankets.

Davis had already scanned Tal and determined that she was suffering from a mild concussion, numerous bruises as well as second-degree burns on her right leg. He gave her an injection for shock and used the partially damaged dermal regenerator from his own shuttle on the burns. They would hurt for a few days, but at least they were mostly healed. He decided to let her wake up on her own, so he covered her with a blanket and made her as comfortable as possible.

Davis then passed the kit to Chakotay who was still cradling Kathryn's limp body as if he would never let her go. He kept muttering, "I'm so sorry Kathryn." Davis demanded his attention and then spread a blanket on the ground. Chakotay was finally persuaded to lay her carefully on the blanket. He grabbed the medical tricorder and immediately ran the diagnostic attachment over her abdomen to determine the status of the baby. The baby's heartbeat was strong and all appeared to be well with him. He realized that Kathryn was protecting their son as soon as he spied her in the shuttle curled into a protective ball.

They then moved the tricorder over Kathryn to determine her injuries. B'Elanna had joined them once she determined that Tom would be all right, maybe a mild concussion with numerous bruises and cuts. She felt immediate relief at Tom's condition, but as she looked at Chakotay she realized that there was reason to be worried about Kathryn.

"How is she?" she asked as she put a comforting hand on Chakotay's shoulder. Kathryn looked awful, beaten and bruised by their descent to the surface of the planet, and B'Elanna was sure there were more injuries than could be seen. She noticed the tears on Chakotay's cheeks and realized that he was blaming himself for this whole situation.

"The baby's fine," Chakotay responded as he continued to scan Kathryn. She has a bad concussion, badly bruised or cracked ribs, a broken right leg and hip. Her left shoulder is dislocated and she's bleeding internally, most likely from the blow to the side that hurt her ribs. If she weren't pregnant I wouldn't worry, but if she goes into labor before we can get her back to Voyager it's going to be hell for her. The blood loss from the birth of the baby coupled with what she lost from her head wound and internal bleeding could be dangerous."

B'Elanna squeezed Chakotay's shoulder offering her support as Ensign Davis brought another blanket to Chakotay. "We should keep her warm, she's in shock," he offered as he spread the blanket over Kathryn. "We have to try to treat her injuries. If we can revive Tom maybe he could help," Davis suggested.

"Good idea," B'Elanna responded as she grabbed a hypospray and returned to Tom's side. She quickly set the hypospray to deliver the desired stimulant and injected it into Tom's neck. She and Davis hovered waiting for him to awaken, and it didn't take long. As soon as Tom was stirring, Davis headed back to help Chakotay.

"Ohhhhhhh, what hit me?" Tom moaned as consciousness returned. B'Elanna quickly ran the dermal regenerator over the gash on his forehead and then grabbed his hand.

"You crashed another shuttle, Helmboy," she gently said as she brushed his hair back from his forehead. "What am I going to do with you? You have to stop scaring me like that. Now I have to build another shuttle, do you think I don't have enough to do?" she teased to hide her worry.

"We made it?" Tom asked as his mind started to clear, but he had a hell of a headache. He felt the hiss of a hypospray against his neck and the pain started to recede. He reached for B'Elanna and held his hand gently against her cheek in a gesture of affection.

"You made it. You never cease to amaze me Helmboy. Hey, take it easy," B'Elanna gently pushed Tom back as he started to sit up. "Give the medicine a minute or two to work and then we need your help with the Captain."

"How is she?" Tom asked as worry started to creep into his voice. "I saw her bouncing around the shuttle but couldn't reach for her. I had my hands busy trying to get us down. Is the baby OK?"

"The baby seems to be fine, but the Captain is in bad shape. She was trying so hard to protect the baby that she couldn't protect herself. She took a beating and we need you to help us with her, so get up slowly."

Tom slowly sat up, and as soon as his head started to clear and his vision returned to its normal focus he stood and walked with B'Elanna's help to where Chakotay and Davis were working on Kathryn.

As soon as they got close to Kathryn, Tom noticed the tears on Chakotay's cheeks. She looked bad and he knew she needed immediate medical attention even without the use of a tricorder. He carefully knelt beside Chakotay and reached to run the tricorder over her body to see for himself. The readouts spoke for themselves, so he reached for the medkit to begin treatment.

A slight moan brought Davis' attention to Celes who was just waking up. He went to her quickly so she would understand what happened and administered a hypospray for the headache pain he knew she would have. As soon as he was sure she was awake he explained the situation to her, as well as her medical condition. Celes slowly sat up and Davis wrapped a blanket around her and told her to stay put. She nodded her understanding.

With the very limited abilities of a damaged portable medkit Tom was hindered in what he could do for Kathryn, but he was determined to do everything that he could. "We should move her into the shuttle because it will soon be getting dark and I imagine it will be getting colder. Let's move her carefully to minimize causing any more damage. I want to do as much for her as I can before we try to leave this planet."

Chakotay was right there to lift Kathryn and carry her into the shuttle, where he deposited her onto a pull-down bunk in the main cabin. Because the holds were full of metals and minerals they couldn't use any of the other compartments, only the galley to prepare food. Tom went to work with Davis and B'Elanna to help him, and he ordered Chakotay, who was visibly distraught, to sit in a nearby chair. Celes was helped into the shuttle where she sat in one of the chairs wrapped in her blanket and silently watched.

Two hours later a totally exhausted Tom Paris couldn't do any more and his headache was coming back. "I've done all I can for now, but we really need to get her back to Voyager. I've repaired most of the internal damage and stopped the bleeding, but I can't completely heal her bones and dislocated shoulder with only a damaged portable regenerator, and I'm worried that she'll go into labor. I hesitate to even give her painkillers for fear of hurting the baby. With a broken hip and bruised ribs, if she has to deal with labor and deliver this child it might be too much for her. Can we leave yet?"

"I doubt it, we'll probably be here at least one more day, but I'll check again."

B'Elanna moved to the sensors to check the atmospheric interference while Chakotay moved to Kathryn's side and took her hand. "I'm so sorry, Kathryn," he moaned as he kissed her forehead. "I didn't mean to do it."

"What's he talking about?" Tom asked of B'Elanna as he moved to sit beside her. She explained how their shuttle was firing at the alien ship and hit Tom's shuttle instead when the alien ship dove out of the line of fire. "It was a freak accident, but he blames himself," she explained. "I guess we all do in some way," she looked at Tom.

"You couldn't help it and neither could he. It was an accident," Tom responded as with his words B'Elanna knew he forgave them.

"Try to convince him of that. He's sure he killed her, and if she dies he will probably follow. I'm worried about him, Tom. You should have seen his face when he realized that he'd shot his own wife, it was awful."

"I'll talk to him. Maybe if he knows I don't hold anyone responsible it will help," Tom offered. "Good idea," B'Elanna replied.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Seven of Nine hated leaving the planets where they gathered their supplies, but she knew she had to follow her Captain's orders. As the Delta Flyer drew closer to Voyager and she heard nothing from the other shuttles, she began to worry. Knowing how much Voyager needed the supplies her shuttle carried, she continued on course knowing that once Voyager could move again they would look for the Captain and the rest of the away team. She would never admit it to anyone, but she looked upon Kathryn Janeway as her savior, and Kathryn's patience and support of Seven was something she couldn't do without.

The shuttle docked and Tuvok was there to meet them, fully expecting a complete status report. Seven quickly delivered the report, stressing the need for Voyager to complete repairs and depart for the planets as soon as possible. Although she tried to disguise it with her usual brisk and efficient manner, Tuvok was able to discern her worry and fear.

"My inability to contact either the Captain's or the Commander's shuttles leads me to believe they may be in trouble," she reported. "Three alien ships were closing on their positions when the Captain ordered us to return to Voyager. We should immediately begin to facilitate repairs to our warp drive so we can make the trip in the shortest possible time. If you like, I could organize the Engineering staff and make them more efficient. Or better yet, I should return with the Delta Flyer to see if I can help in any way."

"That will not be necessary. I will not risk anymore of the crew and I need you to enhance our sensors in case the storm has not dissipated when we arrive. If the away teams are in trouble, we will need to find them immediately and offer assistance. Please report to astrometrics and work with Ensign Kim who is presently on the bridge to make these enhancements," Tuvok ordered.

"Aye sir," Seven replied as she quickly turned and marched from the shuttlebay.

Tuvok then directed the unloading of the cargo holds, leaving the food supplies in Neelix' eager and capable hands, while the Engineering staff started on the minerals and metals. Word quickly spread that the Captain's and the Commander's shuttles were missing, so the crew worked as quickly and efficiently as possible without any urging on anyone's part. The command team was important to everyone, and the whole crew was worried about the Captain's baby.

The supplies that Seven brought back were a godsend to the ship and the crew. Repairs were made in record time, and people worked well beyond the end of their shifts just to be sure that everything possible was done to rescue the Captain and the rest of the away team. Everyone was anxious about the baby and all were looking forward to the birth, since Voyager was now truly a family and not just a crew. Every child was precious, but this was the most eagerly anticipated child of all since it belonged to their beloved leaders.

Neelix outdid himself in preparing food, and he even delivered it to the different parts of the ship so the crew could continue their repairs. He picked the choicest samples of the different food groups and set them aside so that when the Captain returned he could prepare a wonderful dinner for her, the Commander and their unborn baby. While he served the food he also acted as Morale Officer and encouraged everyone. Even though they were all worried sick, their spirits improved with Neelix' encouragement and some good food.

Thirty hours later Voyager was ready to head for the planet. The warp drive was back on line, all critical systems were working within acceptable parameters and Seven had enhanced the sensors by twenty-seven percent. Everyone was anxious about the away team since they hadn't reported in or returned to Voyager. When Tuvok gave the order to go to warp, everyone cheered.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Night had fallen on the planet and the temperature had dropped. It was still well above freezing, but not warm enough to be outside so the away team settled themselves wherever they could find room on the still-functional shuttle's seats and floor. Ensign Davis and Crewman Tal Celes replicated food for them and B'Elanna started assessing the damage to Kathryn's shuttle. After clearing out the smoke and making sure the electrical fires were out, she started with the diagnostics. She knew they would need Voyager's facilities before it ever flew again, but she was able to stabilize all the major systems and repair a few of the minor ones.

The replicator in Kathryn's shuttle was completely off-line, and the one in Chakotay's shuttle was only functioning for simple things, like food, so they used it sparingly. Those alien ships had caused a lot of damage.

Chakotay never left Kathryn's side. He was still upset and blaming himself even though Tom assured him he wasn't to blame. "I could have killed her, and I could have killed you," he said to Tom. "You wouldn't have crashed if I hadn't shot you."

"It was an accident. You can blame yourself all you want, but right now your wife and child need you - not some guilt-ridden fool who can't see the truth," Tom tried to shock Chakotay. Chakotay only looked at him with tears in his eyes.

Tom was feeling better, still stiff and bruised, but his headache had gone and his vision and perception were back to normal. He hesitated to use up any of the damaged regenerator's power on himself since his injuries were minor compared to the others, and he didn't know how long it would hold out. Tom was very worried about Kathryn and kept checking her vital signs because he had a bad feeling that she was starting into labor, and didn't want that to happen until Voyager and the Doctor arrived. He kept her sedated so she wouldn't have to feel the pain he knew she would suffer if she were conscious, but he also knew that if she went into labor she would have to be awake to deliver the child. Doing a C-section would be his last choice unless it meant the difference between life and death because he felt she was too weak for surgery, and he knew that Kathryn and Chakotay really wanted their child to be born as naturally as possible.

The dawn of a new day was just starting when they all heard Kathryn moan. Chakotay had fallen asleep sitting by her bedside with his head resting beside her good shoulder. Both he and Tom immediately were at her side, Tom with a medical tricorder in his hand scanning her body. "She's in labor," he announced to everyone as they were all awakened by her moan. "I'm going to have to wake her."

The hiss of the hypospray announced to them all that it wouldn't be long before she was awake, and they were all apprehensive about her condition, which hadn't improved overnight. It only took a minute before her eyes opened, and they could all see her struggle to determine where she was and what had happened.

"Kathryn," Chakotay whispered as he held her hand to his chest, "you're going to be alright. You're in my shuttle and you all survived the crash. Don't try to move, you're hurt and we weren't able to mend your broken bones. I love you."

Kathryn struggled to get her vision to clear, and the pain in her whole body almost took her breath away. Her head was thunking in time to her heartbeat, and she wasn't really able to localize which part of her body hurt most. It just hurt everywhere.

"Whaaaaa……..OH GOD!" she cried as a contraction started. Her body tried to writhe in agony, but Tom and Chakotay held her as still as they could while Tom tried to make himself understood to her pain-clouded mind.

"Captain," Tom gently stated as he looked into her eyes trying to help her focus on him. "Please stay as still as you can. You have a broken right leg and pelvis and some badly bruised ribs. You also have a concussion and dislocated left shoulder and right now you're in labor. I couldn't mend your broken bones with the small regenerator they packed in the shuttle's medkit, our replicators are damaged and can't replicate a new one for me, and you've already lost a lot of blood from your head wound and internal bleeding. I've done what I can and started the healing, but it's a long way from being complete. This is going to be hard, and you're going to suffer a lot of pain, but we all want this baby to be born as quickly as possible, so I need you to cooperate. Do you understand me?"

Kathryn focused on Tom's face and listened to his words, and she finally realized what he was telling her. "Yes," she whispered. "Chakotay," she cried as she reached for him and he was instantly there holding her hand to his heart.

"I'm here Kathryn. I won't leave you. You're going to be all right, I won't let anything happen to you," he promised.

"I know………OH GOD!" she cried again as another contraction started and the pain knifed through her body. Tom quickly scanned her while Chakotay tried to hold her still. Every time she moved he knew she could do more damage to her broken bones, but he also knew that the pain was far too much for her to just lie still.

"She's about halfway dilated," Tom announced to Chakotay. He turned to Kathryn. "You're getting there, Captain, but you still have a way to go. We're going to take care of you and get you ready so that when that son of yours is ready to be born we'll be ready for him. Tom moved off to gather the necessary equipment and to suggest to the others that they move outside until this was over. Davis quickly replicated breakfast for them and they moved outside to eat. The sun was starting to warm the air, so after eating they got to work on the other shuttle.

Another contraction started and Kathryn started to writhe. Chakotay was there to steady her and hold her still. "Squeeze my hand, Kathryn. I'll help you deal with the pain. I know we didn't have time to finish the Doctor's childbirth classes, but try to remember how to breathe. Will you do that for me, honey?"

"I'll…….OHHHHHH…….try," she managed to get out as she started the rhythm of breathing. "Oh, Chakotay, it's too soon, I shouldn't be having this baby yet. What if he dies," she started to cry between breaths. "I tried to protect him, I really did, but I couldn't stay still in that shuttle. It kept tossing me around. I couldn't protect him," she cried as the tears started.

"Oh Kathryn, it's not your fault, it's my fault," Chakotay was crying as well. "I shot your shuttle down, but I didn't mean to do it. I was aiming for the alien ship, but it moved so quickly and the shot was already fired. I couldn't believe it when I saw your shuttle, and I could have died when I realized you were going to crash. I was never in my life so afraid as I was in that moment. We couldn't beam you out because of the storm's interference so we could only watch and follow. Hang in there, we'll do this together."

Two hours passed and Kathryn continued to moan in agony when the contractions occurred. Tom scanned her as he did every fifteen minutes and announced that she was almost there. "Hang in there Captain," he said as he brushed her sweat-damp hair off her forehead being careful of the gash that was only partly healed. "I know you're tired and in pain, but you have to try to relax and save your strength." He was worried as Kathryn was weakening fast and he didn't know how much more she could take. Her leg and hip were taking a beating from her movement, and those bruised ribs kept her in constant pain from the movement of the baby. Every time she moved the broken bones moved, so he had B'Elanna replicate some rigid padded plastic and some strips and he splinted her leg the old-fashioned way. He couldn't do much for her hip or her ribs since the baby was in the way, but he was hoping the splint would at least help protect her leg.

Tom had to give Chakotay credit. He hadn't left Kathryn's side the whole time and he could tell that she was gaining strength from his presence. Would it be enough? He hoped so. He hated to see his captain and friend suffer so much. She certainly didn't deserve it and they were so looking forward to this baby. The whole crew was and Tom knew that if anything happened to either Kathryn or the baby that some would blame him.

The rest of the crew continued to work on repairing the other shuttle, but they could hear Kathryn's screams and they worried about her and the baby. Celes cried intermittently in sympathy because she and the Captain had developed a friendship and she felt bad for her captain and friend. If only there was something they could do, but there wasn't. Kathryn had to do all the suffering by herself.

Another hour passed, another hour of hell for Kathryn, but she was finally fully dilated and ready to deliver. Her voice had given out an hour ago from her screams, and the tears no longer fell from her eyes as she probably had no more to give. Tom and Chakotay removed her clothing and draped her with blankets. They had everything ready for the baby's appearance, plus Tom had prepared for Kathryn's needs as well. Even though the baby was still very small, Kathryn was a petite woman and the baby's passage could cause her some trouble. Tom hesitated to raise her legs into the delivery position until the baby started to exit her body, but the time was getting near so he and Chakotay gently positioned her body for the delivery. The movement of her broken bones caused even more pain, but Chakotay was there to comfort her.

Tom continuously scanned both of his patients, and the baby seemed fine. This hadn't been an unusually long labor, only about seven hours and Kathryn had been unconscious for part of it. Even so, for Kathryn with her injuries that time seemed like a lifetime of unbearable pain. Her vital signs were weakening and she was totally exhausted. Tom hoped she had enough strength to complete the delivery, because by now the baby was in the birth canal and it was too late for a C-section.

"Push, Captain," Tom encouraged as he continued to check and monitor. "You can do it, now push."

Kathryn was so tired she couldn't even answer, but she did her best and pushed. Chakotay carefully supported her upper body as she pushed being careful of her injuries. She was so tired and in so much pain that her mind was shutting down her ability to comprehend the pain and she felt distanced from it all. This continued for another fifteen minutes and Tom doubted that she could push the baby out by herself. Another contraction started and they both encouraged her to push. "I can see the head," Tom cried as he checked yet again. "Come on Captain, he's almost here. You can do it."

"Kathryn, he's coming. Push honey and it will soon be over," Chakotay cried as he held her upper body and encouraged her. But Kathryn just had no more strength. She tried to push but just couldn't and Tom realized this. He dropped the tricorder on the bed beside her and reached for the baby's head. He gently slid his hands inside Kathryn and tried to ease the baby's entry into the world. As the baby slid a little further from Kathryn's body, Tom was able to grab his shoulders and with the next contraction he tugged him free.

"I've got him," Tom cried as the baby started crying. He held the baby up, still attached by his cord, so Kathryn and Chakotay could get a glimpse. As he looked at Kathryn's face he saw a faint smile, then her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out. Tom severed the cord and wrapped the squalling infant in a small blanket, quickly handing him to Chakotay. "Lay her down and hold him close to keep him warm, I have to take care of your wife," he ordered.

Chakotay gently eased Kathryn down onto the bed and reverently took the child from Tom gazing at his little scrunched up face. "He's beautiful, Kathryn," Chakotay said as he looked at her. Then he realized that she couldn't hear him as she was unconscious.

Tom worked for over an hour to stabilize Kathryn while Chakotay held his now sleeping son keeping him warm. He delivered the afterbirth, cleaned her up and administered a hypospray for her pain. Now that the baby was born he knew she needed it. He used the regenerator to heal the damage from the baby's birth, but she started to hemorrhage and Tom knew she couldn't afford to lose any more blood. She was already dangerously depleted from the blood loss of her head wound and the internal bleeding. He worked diligently while Chakotay hovered nearby holding their son, and Tom finally was able to stop the bleeding. Some quick work with the regenerator gave her an extra chance against more bleeding.

Tom finally put the medkit aside and had Chakotay help him dress the Captain and wrap her in several blankets. She looked so small and pale lying there and she still hadn't regained consciousness. "She needs to rest," Tom told Chakotay. "Give me the baby and I'll check him out and clean him up for when she wakes up. She'll have to feed him when she wakes and that will do her good as well. Nursing him will help her uterus contract and lower her chance for more bleeding. Besides, he's soon going to be hungry and you and I don't have what it takes."

"Thanks Tom," Chakotay smiled as he handed over his son and moved to sit beside his wife. Tom took the infant into the kitchen area where he cleaned him up and checked him over.

Edward was a healthy but premature baby who weighed in at five pounds four ounces, enough to ensure he would survive baring any anything unforeseen. Kathryn's labor hadn't been especially hard on him since it wasn't very long for a first baby and except for eating she had been taking good care of herself while she was pregnant. Her efforts to protect her baby during the shuttle crash had paid off, not for her but for Edward since he hadn't been hurt at all.

Once the child was cleaned, checked, dressed and wrapped in a fresh blanket, Tom took him outside to show the rest of the away team.

"Ohhhhh, he's beautiful," B'Elanna gushed as she reached out to hold him. Tom passed him to B'Elanna as the others gathered around to look. And he was a beautiful baby with his light skin, abundant dark hair and noticeable dimples. As they were all looking at him Edward opened his eyes. "Look, he has the Captain's eyes," Celes remarked.

"How is she?" Celes asked and everyone looked to Tom for a report.

"She's very weak and I'm worried about her, but if help gets here soon she'll be all right. Our Captain is a fighter and right now she has a lot to fight for. I'd better get back inside," Tom continued as he took Edward and headed back into the shuttle to check on his other patient.

Six hours later Kathryn was still sleeping, but Edward was a very unhappy baby. He was hungry and nobody was feeding him so he let the world know about it. Tom and Chakotay were hoping that his cries would waken Kathryn, but so far they hadn't. "She's so very weak and she really needs the rest, but I'm going to have to wake her," Tom reported to Chakotay as he again scanned her. "Not only does Edward need to eat, but she needs to feed him. Her breasts are very swollen and only his nursing will relieve her. If she doesn't feed him soon she'll have other complications," Tom continued as he prepared a hypospray.

Minutes later Kathryn woke with a groan. Chakotay was right there for her and gently kissed her forehead. "Wake up sleepyhead, someone needs you. Our son wants to meet his mother and he's very hungry. Come on Kathryn, wake up," he gently stroked her cheek as she fought her way back to consciousness.

"How is he?" she finally was able to whisper.

"He's beautiful, just like his mother," Chakotay answered as he held Edward up for her to see. "But he's very hungry. Do you feel up to feeding him?"

Kathryn looked at the scrunched up face of her bawling son and instantly fell in love. "He has your nose and dimples," she said in wonder as she reached up her hand to stroke his cheek. "And I think he has your voice as well."

Chakotay smiled as he gently lifted her into a semi-sitting position that put the least amount of pressure on her injuries, and placed Edward on her lap. He and Tom eased some pillows behind her for support as she sat, but they could tell that sitting up was hurting her.

"Captain, you have to nurse your son," Tom said as he scanned her yet again. "Your injuries are starting to heal, but they're nowhere near as healed as if I could fully use the regenerator, which was damaged during the fight. It's partially functional and I've healed some of your injuries, but it just couldn't handle broken bones. B'Elanna doesn't have the parts to fix it and the one in your shuttle was totally destroyed. Voyager should soon be here and the Doctor will have you fixed up in no time. I'm going to step into the kitchen for some food and to give you some privacy, but Chakotay will be here to help you if you need help. Call if you need me." Tom left the new family alone.

After she delivered the baby and was cleaned up, Tom dressed her in a gown that opened in the front, so Chakotay helped her ease the gown off her uninjured shoulder. He retrieved the squalling Edward from her lap and helped her guide him to her badly swollen breast. It only took a few seconds before Edward was desperately sucking on her trying to appease his hunger, and he was one hungry baby.

At first it was painful, and Chakotay could see it in her face, but finally relief at the easing of the pressure in her breast made it worthwhile. Chakotay could tell she was weak, so he helped her support the child while he fed. After Chakotay burped him he helped her position him at her other breast, which eased the pressure there as well. Finally satisfied, Edward fell asleep still holding onto her nipple, so she eased him off and Chakotay burped him then gave him back to Kathryn to hold for a few minutes.

He could tell this had taken a toll on her, so he put the sleeping Edward in the makeshift bed he made out of a storage box and put the box beside her bed. He then helped her get back into her gown and eased her back into a lying position. "Rest honey, you need it. I love you so much," he said as he watched her eyes close as sleep took over.

Chakotay felt like the luckiest man in the world, but as he sat beside Kathryn again holding her hand his thoughts returned to the fact that he almost killed her. "Oh Kathryn, I'll never forgive myself for hurting you." His guilt returned and he just couldn't get rid of it.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Tuvok thought they'd be lucky to get warp 3 out of Voyager's engines until Lt. Torres could replace the parts they only temporarily fixed, but he'd underestimated the crew's determination to rescue their Captain. When he'd given the order to head for the planet where the away team was thought to be, unbeknownst to him all shifts except the bridge crew reported to their stations in case there was trouble. Some stations in engineering were triple-manned. Nobody wanted a situation to arise where there was problem they couldn't fix because they didn't have enough manpower. Voyager was able to attain warp 6.

Instead of six days, they were able to make it three. There were no signs of the aliens, and Harry Kim and Seven of Nine scanned continuously. The storms around the third planet were dissipating and Voyager entered orbit without incident, but the electrostatic interference was still intense. This made the use of transporters unadvisable.

The Doctor had sickbay ready for any emergency and Sam Wildman was standing by to help him. She had been putting in a lot of duty time in sickbay and the Doctor felt comfortable with her in case the Captain needed help. He didn't know what to expect as far as her pregnancy was concerned, but since Sam was already a mother he knew she would be comfortable helping.

"Voyager to away teams," Tuvok repeated for the fifth time. Everyone on the bridge looked worried as they waited for a response. They located the shuttles with their sensors and also located lifesigns, but nobody answered their hails.

"Voyager, is that you?" the voice of Tom Paris came over the comm system. A cheer went up on the bridge, but was quickly over when all strained for word of their fellow crewmates. "Voyager, we need help down here," Tom continued as everyone again looked worried.

"What is your condition?" Tuvok answered.

"One shuttle is operational and one is not. The Captain, her baby and Tal Celes all need medical attention. The rest of us are all right, but rather tired. It has been a trying time."

"Her baby?" was heard all over the bridge.

"I assume the Captain had the baby," Tuvok replied. I will send the Doctor in a shuttle to bring the wounded back to Voyager. I will also send a team to help you get the damaged shuttle operational. I assume the other shuttle is capable of flying itself back?"

"Yes, and both shuttles are loaded with minerals and metals for Voyager. We'll be waiting. And by the way - it's a boy," Tom announced proud that he was able to tell the others about the baby. The Doctor, the Captain and Chakotay knew the sex, but they wanted to surprise everyone else. A cheer could be heard all over the ship.

Tuvok ordered the doctor and an engineering team to take the Delta Flyer to the surface to retrieve their crewmates and the shuttles.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

After eating a meal and checking on the other away team members, Chakotay returned to Kathryn's side. She was still sleeping. Edward was starting to fuss so he changed his diaper, all the while feeling guilty that Kathryn couldn't do it. 'I've robbed her of the chance to do all these things for the first time,' he beat himself with. His guilt was working overtime, but Edward was so beautiful and Chakotay was so proud of him.

When he was done he wrapped Edward in his blanket and sat by Kathryn's side just holding the baby and watching his wife. It wasn't long before Edward started to howl. He was hungry again, and this time his cries woke Kathryn.

Chakotay watched her eyes open and smiled down at her. "Guess who's hungry again?" he teased as she smiled at him. "You up to it?"

"I don't have any choice unless you plan to nurse him," Kathryn teased back.

Chakotay laid the baby in his box and helped Kathryn into a semi-sitting position. It was painful for her with her broken bones, but he was gentle and braced her with pillows. He again helped her with her gown and helped adjust Edward in a comfortable position for her to nurse, slipping a pillow under the baby to help her support him. A feeling of contentment seeped into his very soul as he watched his wife nurse their baby, and he again thanked the gods for giving them to him.

Tom had taken the time to bind her bruised ribs while she slept, and this helped her get more comfortable as it offered some support. Her leg was still encased in Tom's makeshift splint, and he reset and bound her dislocated shoulder, also while she slept. There was nothing he could do for her hip, but the Doctor would take care of that when they got her to sickbay. Chakotay could tell that she was getting stronger and this made him feel a little better.

Edward was certainly a hungry baby and it didn't take long for him to need burping. Chakotay looked to Kathryn for permission to take him, and she agreed. She was still very weak so Chakotay laid him against his shoulder and patted the little back until a loud burp came out. They both smiled at their hungry son. He then helped Kathryn adjust so she could feed him with her other breast. As Edward was once again greedily nursing Chakotay realized that Kathryn had truly made him feel like he was sharing in every part of the baby's first days. She needed his help - yes - but he knew she realized how important it was to him to be part of everything and her generosity in this respect truly moved him.

Edward was finally satisfied and again fell asleep while nursing. Kathryn was able to enjoy just holding him for a few extra minutes and she took the time to count his fingers and toes, something she wasn't able to do before. Chakotay could actually see her motherly instincts coming out, and this made him even happier. But then he noticed her wince as she removed Edward from her breast and actually moan as her injured shoulder moved to lift the baby, and his guilt came back. Would he ever get over this feeling that was detracting from the joy he felt with his wife and child?

Chakotay took the baby and placed him in the box that was serving as Edward's bed. He helped Kathryn get back into her gown then reached down and softly brushed his lips across hers. "I love you so much," he said as he caressed her cheek with the side of his hand. "How about something to eat?"

"I am a little hungry," she replied as she carefully tried to get more comfortable, her injuries making themselves felt every time she tried to move. Chakotay brought her some chicken soup and a glass of milk. She managed most of the soup and some of the milk before exhaustion set in and she wasn't able to handle any more. She fell asleep still leaning against the pillows, so Chakotay cleared away the meal and laid her back down onto the bed.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Two days passed and the other away team members made themselves at home in the other shuttle in order to give their Captain some privacy. They all visited her and the baby several times a day, but this afforded them a chance to continue working on repairs. Tom was more than diligent in checking all of his patients, and he continued his efforts to help Kathryn heal. But without properly functioning equipment, there wasn't much he could do.

Ensign Davis took it upon himself to look after Tal Celes, who was still having a difficult time with her injuries. The burns on her leg, although partially healed, were still causing considerable pain, and Tom periodically administered painkillers to help her deal with it. The small regenerator from the medkit of the undamaged shuttle was all he had to work with, and its power was running low from constant use on the Captain. He was worried that her concussion was worse than he originally thought and Davis offered to keep a close eye on her. Tom suspected that it wasn't a hardship for Davis to do this.

Ever since Celes, Billy Telfer and Mortimer Heron had gone on the away mission with the Captain several months ago they all seemed much more confident. Celes especially had more confidence in her abilities, and because of her sense of humor and open honesty she was fast becoming popular with many of the crew.

B'Elanna had her upper body stuffed under a console repairing a power relay when the sound of static got everyone's attention. "What's that?" Davis inquired as they all strained to hear through the static.

" …crackle,…..crackle…vok to …crackle ..crackle….eam," came through the comm system. Tom made a dive for the communications console.

"Voyager, is that you?" he cried into the console. "Voyager, we need help down here," Tom continued as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Once Tuvok cleared up the static and announced Voyager's arrival in orbit Tom reported the condition of the away team members. When they realized that the Delta Flyer would soon be joining them, they cheered.

Tom hurried to the other shuttle to report to the Captain and Chakotay that help had arrived. "They're coming," he announced as he entered the shuttle.

Kathryn was asleep, but Chakotay smiled and said, "It's about time. How soon will they be here?"

"The Delta Flyer is on the way," Tom responded as he left to await the arrival. Ten minutes later the Flyer was down and the Doctor quickly approached Tom. "How are the patients?"

"Come see for yourself," Tom replied as he lead the Doctor to Kathryn. Chakotay was sitting by the sleeping Kathryn quietly holding Edward when the Doctor entered the shuttle. He quickly stepped aside to allow the Doctor to examine his wife, and the Doctor did several scans. He then pulled several instruments out of his case and began to treat her injuries. "We should get her back to Voyager as soon as possible," he informed Tom and Chakotay. "I have to do surgery to repair some internal damage and heal the effects of the childbirth, as well as heal her broken bones. This would be best done in sickbay."

After injecting Kathryn with painkillers and antibiotics, the Doctor turned his attention to the baby. "He's small and could use some time in an incubator just to help him get stronger and develop his lungs and kidneys a little more, but he's healthy for being a preemie. After giving Chakotay some instructions to prepare Kathryn and the baby, he left to check on Tal Celes.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Two hours later the Delta Flyer was back on board Voyager, and as the ramp was lowered Chakotay noticed quite a crowd waiting for them. "They want to see the baby," Tom whispered into his ear.

The Doctor had Tom, himself, Kathryn and Celes transported to sickbay while Chakotay proudly carried his son down the ramp to show him off to his crewmates.

"Congratulations……how beautiful……..he looks like you……he looks like the Captain," were some of the comments he heard. Just as often one of the crew asked about Kathryn, and again his guilt returned. He couldn't quite admit to them that he caused her shuttle to crash and that he was responsible for her being injured, but he thought it.

It seemed like forever, but actually was less than twenty minutes later when he finally made it to sickbay with Edward. Tom was just finishing with Tal Celes, who was peacefully sleeping on a biobed. At Chakotay's inquisitive look Tom reported, "She's fine. We've healed her burns and her concussion and she'll be back on duty tomorrow. The Captain's in surgery and the Doctor instructed me to place Edward into an incubator for now."

Chakotay handed the baby to Tom who immediately placed him in the incubator that was standing by. Chakotay then wandered over to the surgical bay where the Doctor was in the process of repairing Kathryn's injuries. The blanket of guilt was settling heavily on Chakotay as he watched, and a tear slipped down his cheek.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. "She'll be fine. The Doctor will take care of her, so don't worry," Tom assured Chakotay.

"I did this to her," Chakotay whispered. "I almost killed her, and you too. How can you forget that?"

"It was an accident Chakotay. Nobody blames you, especially not your wife. She loves you and right now she needs you more than ever. So does that beautiful baby of yours so stop wallowing in guilt and be thankful for what you have. Between that special wife of yours and that beautiful baby you have more than most people ever do. Except me, of course, because I have B'Elanna," Tom teased. "Do you understand what I'm saying? NOBODY BLAMES YOU," he almost shouted into Chakotay's ear.

"I understand," Chakotay mumbled, but Tom wondered if he really did and he was worried. He'd have to talk to B'Elanna when she got back with the damaged shuttle.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The sounds of a crying baby finally brought Kathryn back to consciousness. She fought to gather her scattered senses and her eyelids felt like they were being held down by lead weights, but she finally penetrated the fog that seemed to surround her brain and forced her eyes to open.

As her vision finally cleared the first thing she saw was the smiling face of her husband leaning over her brushing the hair back from her forehead. His touch helped her grasp onto reality and she smiled at him. "Hi," was all she could manage at first, but then she managed, "how is Edward?"

"Hungry, as usual," Chakotay smiled. "Welcome back. The Doctor repaired your injuries and your body is healing, but before you try to leap off this bed I think you should know you're going to be sore for a couple of days and the Doctor doesn't want you walking with that hip and leg just yet. You'll be spending the next two days in sickbay until he can replace all the blood you lost and your body is stronger. Then you're off duty for two months so you can take care of our child. Thank God you're all right," he cried as he finished his report and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

The Doctor then approached her bed to see how she was doing and assured her she would be fine. He reinforced the parameters Chakotay stated earlier, but at this point Kathryn knew she would have to comply - at least for now. The Doctor then left them alone so they could reinforce their family bonds.

"I'm fine and the pain is almost gone. My chest feels like it's going to explode, but I think Edward can take care of that. Did I miss a feeding?"

"Yes, you were in surgery for three hours and the Doctor gave Edward some water, but if you're ready for him I believe he's ready for you," Chakotay smiled as he helped her sit up on the biobed. At her request he replicated a brush so she could brush her hair first, and he adjusted the back of the bed so she could lean back and relax. As he helped her to sit up he noticed that she winced only slightly, and she looked a lot better than before. The color was returning to her face and her eyes were almost free of the look of terrible pain she had in the shuttle.

Once Kathryn was settled he brought the now howling Edward and erected a privacy screen around her bed. The Doctor had been smart enough to dress her in a gown that opened in the front, so it was easy for her to prepare herself and settle Edward at her breast. He nursed frantically, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks instead of hours, and his parents both laughed. "He's a little glutton," Kathryn remarked as she marveled at this miracle they created.

"That's wonderful, especially for a preemie," Chakotay laughed as he watched his son. "At this rate he'll be at his proper weight in no time. At least with nursing he shouldn't get too fat too fast. Thank you Kathryn, for this miracle."

"Thank you, Chakotay," she replied as she basked in the glow of her family.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Seven of Nine found herself unable to stay away from sickbay. Her feelings of guilt at abandoning the away teams, even though she was under orders from her Captain to return to Voyager, were slowly lessening and her feelings of protectiveness towards Kathryn and Edward were becoming stronger. She was unable to determine how she would have felt had they not survived, but was glad that she didn't have to experience those feelings.

She made at least four trips a day to check on the Captain and Edward. She felt extremely protective of them both, and was ecstatic when Kathryn first offered to let her hold Edward. She allowed Kathryn to show her the proper way to hold a baby, and after that all she wanted to do was sit and hold him.

She felt really good when Kathryn asked her for help in sitting up or to get something for her, and was there when the Doctor told her she could stand for the first time. Seven and the Doctor helped her off the biobed and Seven steadied her as she stood for a few minutes. But Chakotay was there too and when the Doctor ordered her back into bed, Chakotay swept her up and deposited her on the bed before Seven could react.

She finally gathered the courage to talk to Kathryn about her feelings of guilt for abandoning them when they were under attack.

"Seven, you have nothing to feel guilty about. I ordered you to return to Voyager because their needs outweighed ours. Chakotay and I thought we could evade the aliens and make it back to Voyager, but an unfortunate incident changed that. But we're all here and we're all OK in large part thanks to you."

"Captain?" Seven queried. "I left you behind, how can you thank me when I left you?"

"If you hadn't gotten back to Voyager they would never have been able to come for us. Don't you see, in effect you not only rescued us, but you rescued Voyager as well because they needed your cargo before they could come for us," Kathryn patiently explained.

Seven was still a little puzzled, but she decided to accept Kathryn's logic and finally left go of her guilt. "Can I hold Edward now?" Seven queried as she looked into the bassinet stationed beside Kathryn's biobed.

"Of course," Kathryn smiled.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

One week later Voyager was ready to leave the planet. The damaged shuttles were repaired so they aided the Delta Flyer in restocking Voyager's depleted supplies. The planets in this system were being very good to them and had almost all of what they needed most. B'Elanna managed to repair the damaged systems, and all the crew were eager to get on their way toward home.

Tal Celes was back on duty and was basking in the attention she was receiving from her crewmates since she had been on the Captain's shuttle. Many were curious about Edward's birth and how their Captain handled it. Celes couldn't really tell them much except for hearing the Captain's screams since she was not in the shuttle and was really not feeling too well at the time.

Ensign Davis had been paying a lot of attention to her as well, and this was making Billy Telfer very jealous. He was her self-appointed protector and not-so-secret admirer, but since this mission he wondered how much she needed his protection, and he felt that Davis was invading his territory. Celes always tried to hide in the background until now since she had no self-confidence, but since this experience she was coming out into the limelight. She found she enjoyed the limelight.

Tom was glad when B'Elanna was finally able to dock the shuttles in Voyager's shuttle bay and let her crew take over the repairs. He knew they would finally have some time to spend together, which had been scarce since these attacks started. There had been no attacks while they orbited the second planet, but the storms were gone so there was no more interference and they watched and waited in case the aliens came back.

When she finally returned to their quarters after a long and exhausting duty shift, he had a romantic candle-lit supper on the table and soft music playing. Her smile was ample reward.

Kathryn and her baby were discharged from sickbay after the full two-day stay. The Doctor was finally satisfied that her blood levels were back to normal and that her bones were knit. She was still sore and still very weak, but that would pass with time. Chakotay brought her some of her own clothing so she wouldn't have to walk the halls of Voyager in a sickbay gown, and Edward was dressed in a little suit Tom and B'Elanna had given him as a gift.

Kathryn had one slight problem as she dressed to leave. Since she had been nauseous for almost all but the first two months of her pregnancy she hadn't really eaten very much during that time. She had eaten very little since she was injured in the shuttle crash. Most of her nourishment was through intravenous feeding from the Doctor because she was either unconscious or asleep most of the time. Also during her pregnancy she hadn't gained much baby weight. Now that Edward was born, her weight was slightly less than it was before she became pregnant, and that was never what it should have been. Her stomach was again almost flat and except for a slight roundness one would never know she had just given birth.

But her breasts were a different matter. Edward was one very hungry baby, and her body fortunately was able to accommodate him and produce more than enough milk. Her breasts were usually swollen except right after feedings, therefore her bra didn't fit. Chakotay had to laugh as he replicated a new bra for her, and once she was dressed he took a moment to admire her sexy new figure. His offer to replicate her a cat suit just like Seven's only earned him an amused glare and the comment 'Dirty Old Man."

The halls seemed to be lined with crewmembers wanting a look at the baby and a chance to tell their captain how glad they were she was better. Chakotay realized how emotional she was getting as the crew stated their feelings, so he kept his arm around her shoulders for support. They finally got to their quarters and when the door swished open, Kathryn was astonished at all the wrapped baby gifts the crew had left for them.

"Oh, Chakotay, look at what they've done," she cried as the tears finally fell. He took Edward and laid him in the cradle he made several months ago, then went over to gather his wife into his arms. "They really care about you and the baby. You scared the hell out of all of us. Come on, sit down and open some of these then we'll have some lunch," Chakotay offered as he guided her to the sofa. The pile of gifts was huge, so he picked up a couple, placed them in her lap, and she started to unwrap them.

An hour later they had finished lunch and returned to opening gifts. The crew thought of everything, and the gifts were all generous, thoughtful and functional. Chakotay could tell that Kathryn was tired, and Edward had woken and was starting to demand attention. "You want to change his diaper?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh, yes," she replied as she reached for the baby. They laid him on a blanket on the sofa, and Chakotay brought Kathryn the supplies she would need, and so she got to change her baby for the first time. "This little suit is so adorable," she said as she redressed the baby. "I have to thank Tom and B'Elanna."

"You already did, but you were still kind of groggy," he smiled. "They gave it to you when they visited you right after your surgery. It does look cute on him, but then he's the most beautiful baby in the world," he teased her.

Edward was starting to fuss, it was feeding time, but Chakotay could tell that Kathryn was really tired. "Come on, hold on tight to Edward. You're going to bed," he stated over her objections. "The Doctor ordered bed rest, and here I've been putting you to work opening these gifts." Before she could even move he gathered her into his arms and carried both his wife and baby into the bedroom where he gently deposited them onto the bed.

Chakotay then removed Kathryn's shoes and brought the pillows she would need to prop herself up and to support Edward. Before long a very hungry but happy baby was greedily nursing, and his parents were busy admiring him. He was developing the habit of falling asleep while nursing, but because he was a preemie nobody expected more of him than eating and sleeping.

Chakotay brought the cradle into the bedroom, and once the baby was sound asleep, Chakotay put him in the cradle. Kathryn adjusted her clothing and was preparing to get out of bed when Chakotay stopped her. "Rest…..Doctor's orders…..rest," he firmly stated as he gently pushed her back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her.

She was tired, she thought to herself. No exhausted was more like it so she didn't fight it. "OK, you win," she smiled as she settled herself on the bed. A twinge in her healing ribs made her wince, but the pain quickly passed and she was asleep in seconds.

Chakotay noticed her wince, and once again the blanket of guilt settled on his shoulders. 'I did this to her. Tom forgives me but I still did it,' he thought as he argued with himself. He quietly left the bedroom to work in the living room so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping1 family.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The crew was tense as Voyager soared out of the planet's atmosphere two days later, but there was no sign of the hostile aliens. Chakotay was sitting in his First Officer's seat even though he was presently Acting Captain. He wasn't about to sit in Kathryn's chair - it was hers. "Set a course for home, warp 6," he ordered as Tom Paris set the course and engaged the warp engine.

B'Elanna paged him over the comm system to report that all systems were functioning and the warp engine was ready to increase speed whenever he was ready. 'So far, so good,' he thought as he settled and started going over reports.

Since everything was running smoothly, Chakotay decided to go to the ready room to work on his reports. "You have the bridge, Tuvok," he announced as he walked toward the ready room. Tuvok smoothly slipped into Kathryn's chair.

Ordering tea from the replicator, he settled himself at Kathryn's desk and started on the mountain of reports. He finished the first one and put it down, lifting his head to look at the picture Kathryn had sitting on her desk. It was their wedding picture and he smiled at how happy they looked. Then he began thinking of how he almost killed her less than two weeks ago, both her and his son, and the blanket of guilt again descended upon him. It started eating at his soul, this all-consuming guilt that he couldn't escape, and he felt tears run down his cheeks at his thoughts. 'I almost killed Kathryn, the love of my life,' he thought as his guilt took over.

He tried working on the next report, but couldn't concentrate as he relived the battle where he shot down Kathryn's shuttle. Then he remembered when he first saw her on the planet's surface, broken, bleeding and suffering in labor. 'Pull yourself together,' he admonished as he tried to overcome his guilt, but it wasn't working.

"Torres to Chakotay," came over his comm badge, and it took a minute for him to realize where the voice was coming from. He was lost in his world of guilt. "Torres to Chakotay," came again and he finally gathered his wits and answered, "Go ahead."

B'Elanna wondered why Chakotay sounded so funny. She was worried about his state of mind because they had several conversations about him blaming himself for the shuttle crash. He was such a sensitive man and so in love with his wife that he was taking this whole thing so hard.

"Are you all right?" she asked but she could tell he wasn't. "I'm fine," was the reply.

"If you have a few minutes could you come to Engineering? Since the Captain figured out how those alien ships were powered, I've come up with a way of disabling them if they attack us again, and I want to review it with you," she continued. She hoped he would come soon, she felt he needed someone to talk to and she was his friend after all.

"I'll be there right after I check on Kathryn and Edward," he responded. "See you soon."

It was almost an hour later when Chakotay breezed through the doors of Engineering to find B'Elanna and her crew working on reconfiguring the deflectors. He glanced around and was pleased to see Engineering back in its pristine state. The damage from the alien attacks had taken a toll on this area of the ship, but repairs were made and everything looked great.

"It's about time," B'Elanna teased as she guided Chakotay away from the group and into her office. "Edward need a change, or were you just enjoying your family?"

Chakotay smiled at his friend. She knew him too well. "Edward was awake so I played with him for a few minutes. Kathryn and I had a quick lunch and then she had to rest, so here I am. What's up?" he asked.

"Your wife finally figured out how the aliens power their ships. She briefed me on the effects of zioalonite broken down into particulates, which is what the aliens use for propulsion. They channel the particulates into a repeating circular pattern, which propels their engines. Since these patterns are regulated to different frequencies, their ships work as a triangle and are built to transform the patterns into maneuverability as well as speed. Zioalonite is very unstable, and if we use our deflector to send out a beteryon pulse, it will disrupt the particulates' pattern and the ship's ability to maneuver and propel itself. In effect, they will be dead in space until someone can rescue them and it will be easy for us to disable them without causing permanent damage to their ships. We will be able to escape. Now that warp is back up and running at 90% efficiency we can get far enough away that they won't be able to catch up," B'Elanna finished. She was extremely proud of herself for coming up with this solution.

"Good work," Chakotay commented as he looked at the schematic she showed him. "You've done an excellent job."

"Only because your wife gave me the biggest piece of the puzzle. My crew is putting the finishing touches on the pulse and it will be ready in less than one hour. How's Kathryn doing?" B'Elanna asked hoping Chakotay would talk to her. "She looked good when I stopped by yesterday."

"She's getting better and stronger, but it's taking time and you know Kathryn - she's impatient. Edward has been a blessing, but she doesn't get enough rest. She's so tired which the Doctor says is normal until her blood supply is fully replenished. And with nursing she has to be awake every four hours since he's such a hungry baby. I try to help with Edward, but she's his mother, B'Elanna, and she wants so much to do things for him, but just can't." A single tear fell and slowly ran down his cheek.

"Chakotay,……." B'Elanna started.

"It's all my fault B'Ella" he continued as he looked down. "I did it to them and Kathryn, Tom and Tal Celes paid the price for my mistake. If I hadn't been so quick to push that button………but I was sure I had that alien in my sights. I didn't even know Kathryn's shuttle was so close because we couldn't see in all that interference. But I shot them, B'Ella, and almost killed my Kathryn and your Tom. What if she had died in that crash? She suffered so much with her injuries and then having the baby while she was injured. And the Doctor wasn't even there to help her. What if Tom had died? You wouldn't ever want to look at me again, and all because I was in too much of a hurry." Chakotay finally broke down in tears and B'Elanna gathered him into her arms. She was glad they were in her office so at least they had privacy.

"Listen to me Paka," she said using her old pet name for him hoping to get his attention. "It was as much my fault as it was yours. I was piloting that shuttle for God's sake, and I put us in position to fire on that alien ship. I agreed with you that we should fire. Do you want me to punish myself for Kathryn's injuries and the crashed shuttle? Would you feel better if I suffered along with you? Your wife was smart, she put my Tom on board with her in case of trouble knowing he's the best pilot around. And he did it Paka, he got them down alive. They're alive today and are going to be all right. You have a loving wife and a beautiful son. Don't miss everything because of your guilt."

"I can't help it B'Ella. It just overwhelms me whenever I see Kathryn so tired and weak, or wince in pain from a healing injury even though she tries to hide it. I see.

Whenever I look at Edward I realize that I could have killed him before he was ever born, and I did force him to come early. Every time I see Tom and Celes I feel guilty that I could have killed them. It just comes and I can't stop it."

"You need to go on a vision quest, my friend. You need your faith to heal your spirit for your spirit is hurting, Chakotay. Promise me you'll do it today, but before you do take a look at your wife, your baby and your friends and know that you're one lucky man. And know for sure that nobody blames you for what happened. Now GO," she smiled as she pushed him towards the door of her office. "Your medicine bundle awaits."

"OK, I'll try," replied Chakotay as he turned to the door. "I'll let you know."

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The woods were dark and foreboding as Chakotay entered his vision quest. Everything seemed to be weighed down and he felt heavy and tired. He looked for his animal guide, but she was nowhere to be seen. He started walking, pushing branches out of his way with weary arms. He walked and walked, looking for his animal guide or a clue as to why he was in such a dark twilight place. His vision quests never brought him here before.

After what seemed like hours, Chakotay finally saw a place at the top of a hill where the sun was shining through the trees, so he climbed the hill and headed in that direction. He stepped from the dark woods into a sunlit clearing, pushing the last of the dark branches out of his way as he entered. The clearing was large and extended down the other side of the hill, but behind him the dark woods extended as far as he could see. As he looked around he spied a man sitting on a fallen tree trunk at the edge of the clearing.

"Hello," he called as he stepped toward the man on the log. As he approached the man turned toward him and he recognized Kolopak, his father. "Come, my son," Kolopak gestured for Chakotay to sit on the log beside him.

"You are troubled my son, so tell me what's bothering you," Kolopak said as he rested his hand on Chakotay's shoulder and tilted his head to the side as he always did when he was preparing to listen. It was a habit Chakotay remembered from his youngest days.

"Father, I am troubled by guilt and I don't know how to rid myself of the burden. I almost killed the woman I love - my wife, Kathryn - and our unborn baby. I accidentally shot their shuttle, damaging it so badly they were forced to crash land on a planet. Two other members of my crew were on board at the time. They were all injured, Kathryn worst of all. In fact, she almost died and is still recovering. Because of the trauma she went into premature labor and our son was born early. She suffered terribly trying to deliver him because of her injuries, which we couldn't heal because our medkit was damaged. She lay injured and in terrible pain for three days until Voyager could get to our location and rescue us and there wasn't much I could do to help her. It was my fault and every time I see her wince in pain, or I look too long at my son I remember the guilt. It descends like a blanket and interferes with my joy at having my child and prevents me from enjoying him as I should. The guilt always wins and shadows the joy."

"When we were returned to Voyager the baby had to spend several days in an incubator and Kathryn had to spend several days in sickbay having her injuries treated. I couldn't do anything to ease her pain, and I did it to her, Father," he continued as the tears started to run down his cheeks. "If I had just been more careful this wouldn't have happened. I love her so much and I almost killed her."

Kolopak gathered his son into his arms and just held him for a few minutes to let him cry out his grief. To Chakotay this action felt so good and gave him comfort he could not have found anywhere else. He felt like a child again, laying all his burdens at the feet of his father.

He finally pulled away and looked at his father again. "Why are you here? I came seeking my animal guide, but you're here instead."

"Let me tell you an ancient legend," Kolopak started as he guided Chakotay to sit on the log beside him. "It's about Jo'reth, a warrior of our tribe who was one of our greatest hunters. He never failed to bring home something for the tribe to eat, even in lean times. One year winter came extremely early to the land before the tribe could harvest much of their food supplies, and Jo'reth and his people were almost out of food. The children were crying in hunger, and the warriors of the tribe hunted every day, but found little for the people to eat. They were desperate and starting to get sick."

"Jo'reth knew they had to do something soon, but the winter was fierce and storm after storm ravaged the land, forcing the people to stay close to their homes for fear of getting lost. Jo'reth decided that he and his teenage son, Ben'ta would venture further than before in the hope of finding food. They traveled for two days marking trees as they went. This was dangerous considering the weather, but there was no alternative. Jo'reth's other children remained at home to care for his wife, who was weak and sick from lack of food."

"The journey was hard and the storms continued to rage, but desperation drove them to continue. On the third day they found their first signs of hope - large deer-like animal tracks and lots of them. They also found some berries to eat that helped to sustain them. They picked several bags full to take back to the tribe. For one more day they tracked the animals and discovered where they went to water, so they prepared themselves. Jo'reth positioned himself and Ben'ta where they would be able to kill the most animals, so they waited for them to come for water. Darkness was starting to descend and visibility was very limited when the animals approached the watering hole."

"Jo'reth could only see a few feet in front of him, but he started throwing spears at the shadows of the animals, and several fell. The other animals sensing danger panicked and started to run. Jo'reth continued to throw spears at them until they were gone, but he was very successful. He found six dead animals with his spears in them, and three with Ben'ta's spears. He called to Ben'ta in excitement so they could share the joy of their success, but Ben'ta didn't answer. Jo'reth called several more times before he started to worry."

"A quick search of Ben'ta's hiding place revealed the terrible truth. Ben'ta was dead with one of Jo'reth's spears protruding from his chest. Joreth screamed in agony, his beloved son was dead by his own hand. How could this be? He killed his own son. Why couldn't it have been him instead? Ben'ta was young and he loved him and now he was dead. What would he tell his wife?"

"Jo'reth sobbed over the body of his son for another full day, but finally realized that nothing he did would bring him back to life. A terrible darkness descended upon him and he walked through the shadows of guilt on twilight side of the hill. He prepared the dead animals and built a travois to carry the meat and berries back to the tribe, all the while descending further and further into guilt. When all was ready he carefully wrapped Ben'ta's body in the skins of the animals and tied the body to the top of the pile."

"It took four days for Jo'reth to reach his tribe, four days of guilty hell where Jo'reth blamed himself over and over again. When he walked into their settlement he was hailed as a hero, but all were sad over his loss. His wife was devastated over Ben'ta's death, but quickly forgave Jo'reth because she knew it was an accident. He sacrificed his son to save them all."

"Jo'reth refused to talk to anyone, his guilt and grief were so strong. The only person he allowed to be near him was his wife. He didn't even want to see his other children and the mantle of darkness and guilt was overpowering. After only a week he was so sick and weak from his guilt that all feared his death was near. While Jo'reth sank deeper into sickness and despair and walked alone on the twilight side of the hill, the rest of the tribe became well and strong again by being able to eat the food that Jo'reth brought back with him. Jo'reth's wife finally pleaded with the council of elders to help her do something so Jo'reth would forgive himself."

"A tribal council was held and a plan formulated. The following morning dawned sunny and warm, and as Jo'reth lay on his mat sick and suffering, the ruling council and six strong warriors came into his house and physically carried him out of the darkness and into the sunlight. He was too weak to protest, and before he truly realized what happened, he was sitting in a chair in the warm sunlight surrounded by all the members of his tribe. One by one they approached him, from the youngest in her mother's arms to the oldest, and each brought a small gift to give him in thanks for saving their lives."

"Jo'reth looked in wonder at the love he was being given, and after the last person presented him with her gift of thanks, they all stood in the sunshine and prayed together to the gods of the sun and the land to welcome the spirit of their brother, Ben'ta, and to protect the lost spirit of their brother Jo'reth. They asked their gods to return Jo'reth's spirit to the morning side of the mountain where he could flourish along with them."

"As they continued to pray Jo'reth felt the shafts of sunlight bathing his body and he felt strength return to his limbs. As he looked toward the sky and joined in the prayers he saw his son's spirit smiling down on him. All the members of the tribe gasped as they realized what they were seeing, and then Ben'ta spoke to them all of the bravery of Jo'reth and of the sacrifice he made to save all their lives. He told his mother and siblings how much he loved them. He then spoke to Jo'reth. "I forgive you Father, it was truly an accident that your spear struck me. I was willing to trade my life for the lives of our people. So were you and if I had struck you with my spear you would have accepted your death as a small price to pay for all these lives. Accept this as I have and look upon my life with joy, not sorrow. Please Father," Ben'ta spoke as he reached out a hand to Jo'reth.

Jo'reth found strength returning to his limbs and he stood and reached out to Ben'ta. "I love you my son, always know that to be the truth. I'm so sorry." Ben'ta nodded his head and smiled at Jo'reth as he answered, "I know Father. Be happy for me." He then rose higher and higher into the sky until the tribe could no longer see him. They were all filled with great joy, especially Jo'reth who found a reason to go on with his life. In Ben'ta's name he spent the rest of his life learning new ways to insure that the tribe would never go hungry again, and his methods are still practiced. Jo'reth truly stepped from the twilight side of the hill onto the morning side of the mountain."

Kolopak smiled and answered, "Welcome to the morning side of the mountain, my son. Your guide is waiting for you, but you needed me as well, so here I am. There are things in this life we cannot help and things we are meant to bear. The damage to Kathryn's shuttle was an accident, this much I know and so does she. You could not have done anything differently with the situation you were in. Nobody on either shuttle blames you, but it's your nature to accept responsibility for all your actions so you are taking all the guilt into yourself where it does NOT belong. Does that remind you of someone else you know, like your wife? Let it go my son, for until you do the happiness you seek will elude you. You now see the morning side of the mountain. You must put the twilight side of the hill behind you as Jo'reth did," Kolopak stated as he gestured toward the dark woods.

"Your Kathryn is one special woman, and the child born of the two of you will be special as well. Enjoy him, Chakotay. Enjoy each moment of his growing, for once it passes it will not come again. Guilt has no power over you unless you let it. Don't let it. Your family needs YOU more than they want your guilt, so roll it into a ball and toss it from your life. Fill your life with your family instead and step joyfully into the sunshine."

Chakotay felt better after this conversation, but still had a few doubts. "How can you be so sure, father? If I can't be sure it wasn't my fault, how can you be so sure?"

"I just know my son. Now, look over there," he pointed to the edge of the clearing where his animal guide was waiting, along with Kolopak's guide. "They're waiting for us."

Kolopak started walking toward his animal guide, pulling Chakotay along with him. Both guides then turned and started walking from the bright clearing toward the dark woods just beyond the boundary of light. "Let it go," Kolopak whispered to Chakotay as they walked.

Chakotay and Kolopak soon closed the distance between them and their guides as they all walked toward the dark woods. As they approached, the woods started to brighten and the closer they got the brighter the woods got. "Let it go, Chakotay, let it all go," Kolopak whispered again as they moved into the now brightening woods. Before long the woods were bathed in sunlight and the tree branches became lighter. Chakotay no longer felt heavy and tired and as he looked again toward their animal guides, he noticed that a small lizard was riding on his guide's back. Before he could question Kolopak, a cute brown rabbit with floppy ears hopped out from behind a tree and fell in beside the other guides.

"Who are they?" Chakotay questioned as he watched their guides proceed through the woods.

"Just watch, my son," Kolopak instructed as he smiled at Chakotay. "Let go of all your guilt and watch the miracle that awaits you."

Chakotay continued to watch as two small birds flew down and settled on the back of his animal guide joining the lizard. They were lovely birds, the only difference being that one was white and one the softest shade of pink. Then a playful red fox bounded from the woods and joined them. He watched in awe as they all settled peacefully together.

Suddenly understanding dawned and he looked in wonder at Kolopak. "My family?" he questioned. "They represent my family?"

"Yes," Kolopak answered with a smile. "Those that are and those that are to be. You'll be a rich man, my son, if you just keep your faith and don't let the guilt get to you. Your spirit is healing and will soon be whole. Let it mend for yourself and for them, for without you there can be no them. Do you understand me, my son?"

"Yes, I understand Father. I will chase the guilt from my spirit for the sake of Kathryn and my children."

"She is a special woman, Chakotay, and worth fighting for. She is truly your kindred spirit - the other half of your soul - so treat her well. She loves you so much," Kolopak continued but his voice was fading. "Remember my son, leave the twilight side of the hill behind."

"Father?" Chakotay asked as he looked around. Both Kolopak and his amimal guide were quickly fading away leaving only Chakotay with his animal guide and the guides of his family. He called to his guide and she came quickly to his side. He sat down on the ground in the sunlight and all the other animal guides came and laid either beside him or sat on his lap or shoulders. He felt like a very rich man. The sunlight was warm and healing and he soon became drowsy so he and the animals leaned against a tree trunk. Before long Chakotay was fast asleep.

When he awoke he was sitting on the floor of his office, his medicine bundle spread before him. As the events of his vision quest cleared in his mind, he smiled and realized that his spirit truly was healed. He remembered all the animal guides and what they represented, so he quickly gathered the medicine bundle and put it back in its proper place. Then he went to find Kathryn to tell her what he learned.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

"Four children, Chakotay?" Kathryn smiled as she looked at her husband. He looked more at peace than he had since their shuttle mission. Kathryn noticed his periods of depression and knew how he felt about accidentally shooting the shuttle she was on. He constantly apologized and she always told him she didn't blame him. He would feel better for a while, but then the guilt always returned. But now he looked like he finally let it go for good.

Edward was awake and they both stood and admired him. He was trying to move his thin arms and legs. Over the past few days he had grown and now weighed almost six pounds. As they stood with Chakotay's arm around Kathryn's shoulders, Edward seemed to look right at them and then he smiled.

"Kathryn, look, he's smiling," Chakotay cried as he leaned over for a better look. "He's smiling at us."

Kathryn only smiled at Chakotay's joy.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The ship suddenly lurched and the red alert sounded as Chakotay was preparing to go on duty the next morning. "Red Alert. Captain to the bridge."

Chakotay hurriedly finished putting on his uniform when the ship lurched again. "We're under attack," Kathryn stated as she handed him his jacket. "I wonder if it's those hostile aliens again."

"Kathryn, this idea to disable their ships was yours and you understand the theory better than anyone else on board. Come to the bridge with me in case we have trouble with the beteryon pulse. You'd be our best bet to figure out how to reconfigure it if we need to," Chakotay replied as he finished fastening his jacket. "I'll have Edward beamed to sickbay where the Doctor can watch over him. It's the safest place on the ship."

"Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll join you," Kathryn replied as she hurried into the bedroom. "You go ahead and ascertain what's happening."

Chakotay had Edward beamed into the Doctor's care and then quickly left. He arrived on the bridge only moments later to see a familiar sight on the viewscreen. The triangle configuration of the alien ships told Chakotay that their hostile 'friends' were back, only this time there were two sets of them. Tuvok quickly vacated the Captain's chair, but Chakotay slid into his own hoping Kathryn would be there soon and she could take back her own chair.

"Status," he ordered as Tuvok quickly checked his readings. "Shields are holding and all weapons are operational."

"Target the propulsion systems or weapons systems on any of those ships and fire phasers if you get a lock," Chakotay ordered Tuvok. "Mr. Paris, evasive maneuvers."

The swish of the turbolift doors alerted Chakotay to Kathryn's presence. Out of habit she had quickly dressed in her uniform and moved to take her chair with only a smile at Chakotay. "Report," she quietly said as she knew she was still on medical leave and really shouldn't even be on the bridge.

Chakotay quickly gave her the information she needed to ascertain their position and judge when to use their new beteryon pulse. She studied the viewscreen and her console for a minute and then made her decision.

"Mr. Paris, evasive maneuver Delta 224, and when you've completed the maneuver I want you to drop to impulse for 3.5 seconds then again jump to warp 1, heading 212 mark 5. Janeway to Torres," she spoke as the computer made the comm connection.

"Torres here Captain, it's good to hear your voice." B'Elanna didn't even question why Kathryn was hailing her, she just knew and was glad for Kathryn's expertise.

"Thanks. B'Elanna, Tom is going to complete evasive maneuver Delta 224 and then drop to impulse for 3.5 seconds. During that 3.5 seconds I want you to fire the beteryon pulse into the midst of those ships, wide dispersion. Cut the pulse after the 3.3 seconds because we're going to warp 1. That should disable the ships and they should be dead in space until their people come to rescue them. We should be out of their weapons range by then and well on our way."

B'Elanna's "Aye Captain," was lost as another barrage of weapons fire hit Voyager. With twice as many ships as before, they were taking a beating.

"Shields are down to 53%," Tuvok shouted over the sounds of exploding consoles. Everyone had to grab at seats or consoles to keep from flying across the bridge. Voyager again lurched as another round hit them, and this time many couldn't hold on. Tom only held on by wrapping his arms around the helm console, but Kathryn was hurled from her seat and thrown across the bridge. Chakotay was thrown to the floor, but was quickly able to get back into his seat and look around when he saw Tuvok pulling himself back up to his console. "Shields are down," Tuvok announced.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay shouted to be heard over the noise. Kathryn lay on the floor by the helm, but Chakotay had to hold onto his chair and couldn't get to her. As he watched he saw her start to raise her head and realized that she must have been knocked unconscious for a minute or two. Her head was bleeding from a nasty gash. Another blast rocked Voyager as Tom continued to execute evasive maneuver Delta 224 while clutching the helm. Voyager suddenly dropped from warp, and Chakotay watched in horror as a ceiling support came loose from the ceiling and started to fall onto Kathryn, who was just starting to push herself up.

"KATHRYN!" he shouted as he propelled himself toward her. As he flew across the space between them, his body hit the falling beam and both he and the beam fell on Kathryn, squashing her back down on the floor.

Chakotay was stunned but could hear what was happening around him. He heard Tuvok order B'Elanna to initiate the pulse and then order Tom to go to warp. He felt Voyager respond and heard Harry announce that the alien ships were all disabled. As he lay there pinned beneath the support and gathering his wits about him, he heard Tuvok dealing with damage reports and getting help to him and Kathryn.

"We'll have you out in a minute, Commander," Tuvok announced as he and several others finally levered the support off him and Kathryn. Tom Paris was there running a scanner from the bridge's portable med-kit over him, and Tom announced that other than bruising and a few cuts, he was just fine. With Tuvok and Tom helping, he pushed himself off Kathryn and sat on the floor beside her.

"How is she?" Chakotay asked as he put his fingers on her neck feeling for a pulse. Her eyes were closed and she looked very pale. The gash on the side of her forehead was bleeding, so he knew she was alive at least, and her pulse was strong. Tom quickly ran his scanner over her.

"She has a slight concussion and a broken arm, but she'll be just fine," he announced which dispelled Chakotay's fears. "You saved her life. You deflected that beam just enough that the end was supported by the step, so the full weight didn't fall on you. If you hadn't deflected it the full weight would have landed on her and crushed her immediately."

"Thanks, Tom," Chakotay smiled as he heard Kathryn moan. It only took a moment or two for her eyes to open, and she smiled at Chakotay's worried look. "Did it work?" she asked as she raised her uninjured hand to her throbbing head. "How's Voyager? Ohhhh my head hurts."

"It worked and we got away. Voyager will be fine and repairs are underway. Apparently the bridge and deck 7 took the worst damage. Sickbay is fine and so is Edward," Chakotay reported since he heard the report from sickbay when it was reported to Tuvok. "Let's get you down there so the Doctor can treat your injuries and I know you want to check on Edward for yourself." He helped Kathryn to her feet and supported her as they headed for the turbolift, accompanied by Tom Paris who was going to help the Doctor until the crisis was over.

As they entered sickbay they noticed that the injuries were few and appeared to be minor. Cuts and bruises and a broken bone or two were the worst of the damage. The Doctor spied them immediately and homed in on Captain Janeway, who pushed past him to check on her son. Satisfied that he was just fine and sleeping peacefully she turned to the Doctor and allowed him to proceed.

"And what happed to you while you aren't on duty? I did happen to notice that you're in uniform. I thought you were on medical leave and forbidden from sitting in the command chair," he stated as he helped her onto a biobed, eased her out of her uniform jacket and pushed her down. She gave him 'the look' which clued him to quickly shut up. It only took a few minutes for him to heal the gash, and he then attached the regeneration unit to start healing her broken left arm. "Give it thirty minutes and it should be healed. You'll be sore for a few days, but it will pass." Kathryn smiled as she realized that her 'look' still had its power.

Feeling somewhat less antagonistic toward the Doctor now that her pain was lessened she smiled at him and said, "Well, I did have to see if my chair still fit. Now was as good a time as any to test it." The Doctor only smiled to himself as he went to check on another patient.

Chakotay had stayed by her side holding her hand while the Doctor treated her. "God you scared me," he admonished as he smiled at her remark to the Doctor. "But your plan worked. Hopefully we'll be rid of them forever."

The doors to sickbay swished open and B'Elanna charged in. "Tom, are you alright?" she asked. She quickly embraced him and they reassured each other that they were fine. She then approached Janeway's bed and told her how successful the beam was and that scans showed the aliens were dead in space and would be until help arrived, which hopefully was not for a while. She hoped they learned their lesson and wouldn't bother Voyager anymore, and she gave Kathryn and Chakotay a report on the status of the ship and the repairs in progress. All would be back to normal within two days.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Two hours later Voyager was proceeding at warp 5 and Kathryn, Edward and Chakotay were back in their quarters. They were fortunate because except for a few fallen items, their quarters were undamaged. They were just thinking about supper when Edward woke up demanding their attention.

Kathryn's arm was still sore, but healed so she gathered Edward from his cradle and carried him to the changing table where she changed his diaper and played with him. He was good for a little while and they were able to get him to smile again, but then hunger took over and he scrunched his little face up and began to demand to be fed. "He's the boss, Kathryn," Chakotay teased as they moved back to the sofa.

In a few minutes Edward was happily nursing and Kathryn was looking at him adoringly. "We're so lucky, Chakotay. We have each other and a wonderful son, even if he is always hungry."

Chakotay watched his wife with his son at her breast and realized that he was truly content. His father's words came back to him and he put his arm around Kathryn's shoulders moving himself closer to her. The morning side of the mountain was certainly a better place to be than the twilight side of the hill.

Edward finally fell asleep still sucking on Kathryn, so she freed herself and handed him to Chakotay to put into his bed. She adjusted her clothing and moved to Edward's bed to join Chakotay in watching him sleep.

"You did say we were going to have four children, didn't you?" she asked as she circled her arms around his waist.

"That's what my father showed me in my vision quest," he answered. "There were four animal guides there, as well as yours and mine.

"Well," Kathryn smiled as he moved her into his arms for a quick kiss. "We only have one right now. If we're to have four, do you think now might be a good time to practice for when we're ready to start on number two?"

"Now sounds good to me," Chakotay smiled as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to bed. The stars passing beyond the view ports were the only witnesses to their attempt.

The End

May 2001

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

 

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