By Kim Gasper

Car4Toy@aol.com©

October 1996

Rated: NC-17

"Is that really... an ancient legend?" Kathryn could feel the moisture gathering in her eyes, and willed it away.

Amusement flickered deep in Chakotay's eyes, then he said, "No--but that made it easier to say."

For a long moment they sat still, staring into each other's eyes. Then Kathryn raised her hand to him, and Chakotay grasped it in his, and began gently caressing her thumb.

They were still sitting there, holding the other's hand within their own, when the sky began to lighten, signaling the beginning of a new day. Slowly Chakotay withdrew his hand from Kathryn's, feeling the pang of lost contact. She smiled gently at him and stood up from the table in a decisive movement.

"I think I'm going to go to bed after all--try to get some rest. You?"

He shook his head negatively. "I think I'll go and try to talk to my spirit guide. Sleep well."

"Thank you. Have a good talk."

He smiled at her, then watched her unobtrusively as she moved from the room, wondering what had actually happened here tonight. Or was it today? Shaking his head slightly to clear it, Chakotay moved about the main room of the shelter, gathering the few things he needed to take with him for meditation. In minutes he was ready, and moved silently out the door, not wanting to disturb Kathryn's rest.

She watched him through the opaque windows of her "bedroom," admiring the fluid strength and grace of his movements. When he was out of her range of vision, Kathryn lay back on her bed, pondering what had happened. What had happened? She frowned slightly at the ceiling. He was in love with her that was obvious. Had been for some time, apparently. But what were her feelings for him? Chakotay. Her thoughts tasted the word, and turned it over and over, examining it. What did he mean to her? A trusted friend, and loyal officer. A confidant, and religious guide. Someone who could help shoulder the burdens of command, while not appearing burdened. Chakotay. She tasted his name again, then aloud: "Chakotay." He was definitely attractive--too much so, at times, her mind opined ruefully. Chuckling to herself she remembered a few dreams from the past where he'd played the staring role--and they had nothing to do with command. Could she love him? Did she love him? Being honest with herself was something that Kathryn Janeway had always prided herself on, and if she were being brutally honest, then the answer was... yes. Kathryn sighed aloud, when she realized what she'd probably known for quite some time. If they were still back onboard Voyager, then she might love him, but could never have acted upon it. Here she could. He had given her permission last night. Smiling drowsily at the thought, Kathryn turned over and went to sleep, feeling as though parameters had been defined quite nicely.

The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, and the first moon had already risen before Chakotay finally got home. He was bone-tired, but felt elated at the same time. Refreshed, almost. He had walked for several hours before arriving at the secluded glade where he meditated and talked to his spirit guide. It was a calm, peaceful place... one he could almost feel his ancestors' spirits in. He had settled into a trance almost immediately, and had found himself looking at a small, red lizard. His relief was so immense it almost felt like a physical thing. He knew who this lizard symbolized. It was Kathryn's spirit guide. As he watched the lizard, a white wolf appeared from the mists around them. The wolf sniffed at the lizard, then settled itself on the ground next to it. After a few cautious moments, the lizard nestled in closer to wolf, drawing warmth from its body. After allowing Chakotay time to watch, and think about what the vision meant, the two spirit animals disappeared. Chakotay woke from his trance smiling. The spirits have smiled upon me... upon us. They've given their approval, and it appears that Kathryn has too. That thought sustained him the rest of the day as he made the long trip back to their meadow.

The door was standing open when he approached the shelter, signaling that Kathryn was still awake. In fact, she was sitting at the table facing toward the door, as though actually waiting for him. When she looked up and saw him, her face began a slow smile that spread to all corners. He felt an answering smile spread across his. She got up from her chair to greet him, but hesitated at the last moment, standing nervously by the edge of the table.

"Kathryn?" He halted his approach through the door.

"We have to take this slowly," she told him. "We only get one chance--we can't afford to get it wrong." She moved hesitantly toward him, and reached out to touch his cheek.

Feeling his breath catch in his throat, all Chakotay could manage was, "I agree." He moved his hand up to capture hers, holding it against his face, savoring the feel of her skin on his.

She drew back slightly to look at him. "You were gone all day. I was beginning to... worry."

"The glade is several hours hike from here. And I guess the vision lasted a lot longer than it seemed." He didn't know what to do, or where to look. Just the innocent contact of her hand on his face was enough to electrify his entire body. He wanted nothing more than to crush her to him, and bring his mouth down on hers--

"Chakotay!"

He jerked back to reality. "Hmm?"

"Come the rest of the way in. We should close the door." Kathryn removed her hand, but instead of letting go completely, closed it over his, tugging him into the shelter. "Have you eaten?"

"I had a ration bar on the way back. I don't really want anything to eat," (except you, his mind insisted), "but I could use something to drink."

"Sit down, I'll get you some water." She let go of him to get a glass filled with water, and brought it back to the couch where he'd sat down. As she stood there holding it, watching him tug off his boots, a small smile flitted across her face.

"What?"

"Oh, just wondering." She began innocently.

"Yes?"

"If you'd like to take a bath--"

His eyebrows shot up with surprise, and his stomach knotted. "Excuse me?" I thought she wanted to go slowly! his shocked brain sent out.

She smiled innocently at him. "I'm sure you're hot, and sticky."

What was going on here? Was she trying to drive him crazy on purpose, or was it by accident? "Sure," he said cautiously. "I could use some cooling off."

"Mmm. I thought so." And with that, she brought the glass of cool water up and poured it over him. The look of surprise on his face was so priceless that Kathryn couldn't help laughing out loud.

"I think I'm going to have to get you for that," Chakotay said as he wiped water out of his eyes. He reached up and grabbed her, and pulled her down onto the couch next to him. As her laughter died away, Kathryn looked into Chakotay's eyes and saw the same expression there that she'd seen last night when he'd told her his "angry warrior" legend. It was love. She drew her breath in slowly.

"Chakotay--"

"Yes, Kathryn?" He brought his hands up to frame her face.

"Are you... do..." What was with this stammering? She questioned. "Do--"

She didn't get a chance to finish her question. Chakotay brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss that was at once gentle and electrifying. They kissed for endless minutes, then Chakotay pulled back from her slightly, and smiled at the small noise of protest she made in the back of her throat. "Kathryn?"

"Mmmm. Yes?"

"How slow did you want to go?"

She opened her eyes to see his shining at her, full of love and the promise of things yet to come. Her thoughts of the night before came back to her. Voyager was gone. They were here, and he loved her. And she loved him. "Never mind. If it's too fast, I'll let you know." She smiled at him, then pulled him closer. Their lips met, then melded together, and then they were pressing against each other, straining, trying to get closer to one another. They pulled apart reluctantly, chests heaving with the effort to breathe. Kathryn reached her hand out to touch the tattoo over Chakotay's brow, fingers tracing it tenderly. The effect on him was immediate, and he clutched her to him, plundering her mouth roughly. She wove her fingers through his hair, trying to pull him closer still. At last, unable to stand even the slight distance still between them, Chakotay maneuvered Kathryn into his arms, and stood up, holding her pressed against his chest. She broke off their kiss, and began placing kisses along his eyebrows, and jawline, moving in a circular pattern that was driving him crazy. He moved toward his bedroom, knowing that neither of the little cots they called beds would be big enough, but needing her so badly he ached.

When he'd reached his bedside he silently released his hold on her, groaning as she slid her body down his. He stood rigidly for a moment, feeling his erection straining for release, but unable to continue without asking one last time if this was what she wanted, too.

"Kathryn... Kathryn, look at me." He cupped her chin in his hand, and tilted her head up at him.

"Hmm..." She smiled at him, and moved her body closer, snuggling into his warmth.

"Kathryn... are you sure? There's only one chance, you said so yourself."

This time she moved away slightly, and his body shuddered as it lost contact with hers. "Yes, Chakotay. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I want this... I want you. I love you." She stared at him, eyes dark and dilated, passion reflected deep within. And something more...

With a groan that came from deep within, Chakotay pulled her to him, flinging caution aside. "Oh, Gods, Kathryn... I love you--" He broke off as she kissed him. As he pushed all his feelings for her into that kiss he could feel her hands running down his chest, searching for the opening on his shirt. "Wait!"

He gasped, pulling back slightly. She frowned momentarily, then smiled as she watched him pull the shirt off over his head. Two sets of hands made short work of their clothing, and at last they lay together on that tiny bed, skin stroking skin, touching each other as they'd only dreamed of before.

His hands stroked her breasts, kneading gently, causing the nipples to rise up in hard, rigid points; inviting his mouth to taste. She snaked her hand down his chest, stroking lightly, finding his erection. As he began kissing her neck and shoulders, alternating between them and her breasts, she began stroking him, eliciting groans of pleasure from him. He began to feel that he wouldn't last long for her--he needed her so badly. He shifted away slightly, intending to move over her, and gasped in shock, surprise and delight when he felt a warm, moist mouth close over him. His hips jerked in response, and he could feel himself beginning to lose control.

Hoarsely, he said, "No, wait--I can't last," pushing her away. She rolled underneath him, and he thrust a knee between her legs, opening her to him. She gasped as he filled her--not in pain, she was so slick in her desire for him--but from the indescribable feeling of knowing he was inside her. That thought was enough to send her over the edge, and Kathryn came with Chakotay's name on her lips. Her groan and his name coming from her was all it took for him--one more deep thrust and he could feel his release begin. His cry sounded to her ears like that of a warrior, but it ended with "Kathryn... I love you," then she felt moisture on her face, thinking it was sweat, but knowing it was his tears, mingling with her own.

They slept for a time then, cuddled together on that tiny bed that could hardly hold one person, much less two, then woke to make love again, this time with less urgency, and more leisure. Once more they fell asleep, Chakotay spooned up behind Kathryn, her hands gripping his.

**********************

Chakotay woke first, and slipped quietly from Kathryn's grasp. He found a loose pair of workout pants, and pulled them on, then moved out into the main room, and began to prepare them some breakfast. A few minutes later a very tousled Kathryn came through the door, smiling her morning greeting.

Chakotay moved toward her and kissed her softly. She pressed against him for a moment, then moved to sit at the table.

"Coffee?"

She grinned at him. "Is it that obvious?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, you'd better make it really strong this morning... Someone kept me awake last night--" She broke off, smiling, as he mock-scowled at her.

"Funny you should say that. Someone kept me awake last night, too."

"Do you suppose it could be the new neighbors? I've heard they're really loud..." She couldn't help teasing him just a little. Then her mood shifted again, and she said to him, "I know I said 'slowly'. I hope you don't mind--?"

"Mind?" He stared at her incredulously. "I'm thinking that if I died right now, I'd still be the luckiest, happiest man in the universe." He moved over to stand beside her. "I love you, Kathryn Janeway. I still can't believe I can say those words to you, so maybe I'm dreaming."

She reached up to clasp one of his hands in hers. "You'd better not be dreaming, Mister, because dreams usually end. I love you, too, Chakotay. And I know it's not a dream."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because if it were a dream, we'd have had a real-sized bed!" With that she began laughing, simply because it felt so good to be alive, and have someone to love, and to love her back in return.

Chakotay laughed with her for a moment, but as he turned away to get the coffee for them she heard him mutter, "That'll be the first thing I take care of today."

Chakotay was true to his word. All day long, as Kathryn went about her business setting up a garden plot, she was kept company by the sounds of hammering, sawing, and scraping. When she stopped to take a break she decided to see how progress was progressing. She found Chakotay up to his ears in wooden planks, muttering under his breath in a language she'd never heard before.

"Hi there. Need any help?" She offered, as she moved up next to him.

"Hello. No, there's not much else to do, until we shift the shelter around. I don't want to assemble it out here, and not be able to fit it through the door."

"Good point." She leaned up against him for a moment, and he took that opportunity to put an arm around her waist. They stood that way for a moment, then Chakotay turned to her.

"I've missed you this morning," he told her, dark eyes smoldering with a barely banked fire.

"I've missed you, too. But we'll have vegetables this fall, and a bed soon," she smiled at him. His lips turned up in a smile at her playful banter, but he pulled her closer then and lowered his lips onto hers. They explored each other's mouths for a moment, then pulled away, breathless. "We're never going to get anything accomplished this way," Kathryn puffed.

"Maybe not, but we'll have fun doing it," Chakotay rejoined, moving to kiss her again.

She acquiesced for another minute, then pulled back, looking at him sternly. "Commander," she began, then smiled when he made a face at her. "Chakotay. Let's get some lunch, then see about rearranging our living space."

"Fine by me. Lead on, Ma'am." This time it was he who was grinning as Kathryn stuck her tongue out at him.

Evening saw the new bed--appropriately proportioned for two people--set up in it's own new alcove. They had spent the afternoon rearranging the shelter cubes, and decided to put the other "beds" away in storage, since they might be handy for something else later.

"You know, we should talk about my suggestion to build an addition on," Chakotay remarked over dinner that evening.

"You mentioned that before--how would you do it? How could we add it onto this type of shelter?"

"Mmm. Probably would be best to add to the back of the shelter, since we already have a natural door there. I don't want to cut holes in the shelter, not knowing if we could mend an additional tears."

"Good point. How big of an addition?"

Chakotay grinned. "How many visitors do you think we'll get?"

Kathryn grinned back at him. "I don't know... this is such a high traffic area..." She rolled her eyes a bit, then noticed that Chakotay seemed to suddenly be focused inward. "What?"

"Well, we know we're not likely to be getting unplanned visitors. But what about planned visitors?"

"Planned--you mean, kids?" Kathryn's eyes were wide with surprise as she looked at him. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "I've always wanted a family. What about you?"

"I've never really thought about it. Starfleet Captains don't often have the luxury of families..." Her voice trailed off a bit as she thought about Mark and her dog, Bear. They'd been the only family she'd had for quite a while.

"Well, I think it's something we need to talk about. You're not bound by Starfleet rules, spoken or otherwise, anymore." He reflected for a moment. "By the way--do we have recourse to birth control anymore?" Kathryn's head shot up.

"Other than abstinence? I don't know. I'm not sure exactly what all we were provided with, as far as medical supplies go. We should look into that." She moved to stand up, and Chakotay touched her arm.

"Relax a minute. You're not likely to conceive a child right now--both our suppression boosters were up to date before we were down here, right?" Kathryn nodded her head. "Then we're all right for a little longer, while we figure all this out." Chakotay moved his hand from Kathryn's arm to her hand, and twined his fingers with hers. "I love you, Kathryn . We'll get this all worked out. Trust me." He stared into her eyes until she felt like she was drowning in their depths.

"I do trust you. I'm sorry. This all just caught me off guard, I guess."

"Me, too," He admitted. So many things had changed in such short time that he felt like he was still playing catch up.

"What do you say we clean up the dishes, and go to bed? I didn't get much sleep the last couple of nights." This time his eyes twinkled at her, and she smiled back at him.

"Deal. But I want to take a bath before bed."

"Okay. Want company?"

"Of course. I'm surprised you felt you needed to ask."

"Just making sure. Have we defined all of our parameters, yet?"

She made a face at him as she began to clear the table. "I don't know. Keep that up, and we may have to define some more!"

Chakotay just laughed as he began heating water for the dishes.

Chakotay and Kathryn woke from their chaste bed the next morning feeling completely refreshed. After dishes and a bath the night before, not to mention the disquieting conversation that had begun so innocently, neither felt inclined to do more than hold the other. This morning saw Kathryn, normally a late riser, up and dressed before the sun had completely risen.

Chakotay woke to the sound of her poking about their stored disks, and to the smell of fresh coffee. He rose, pulled on his loose shorts and went into the living space. Moving up behind her he embraced her and nuzzled her neck. "Morning, Kath. Sleep well?"

"Mmm. Better than the night before." She laughed when he cocked an eyebrow at her, then turned fully in his arms to kiss him good morning. "And you?"

"Well, there was this person snoring in my ear--Ouch!" He broke off as Kathryn bit him on the ear.

"I do not snore." She stated firmly.

"Yes you do."

"I do not snore."

"All right, you don't snore. What're you doing?" Chakotay moved over to the kitchen area and poured them both a mug of coffee, then returned to the table to look at Kathryn's work.

"I've been going through our data disks. Do you know that B'Elanna packed a holo-emitter?"

"No--did she leave any instructions with it?"

"Mmm. Yes, here." Kathryn gestured to a small disk that was labeled simply "Prog. Instructions".

"Let's load it up and see what our mystery disk is." He held his hand out and Kathryn placed the disk in it. Chakotay loaded it into the disk slot, and punched in retrieve codes. He and Kathryn sat back in their chairs in surprise when B'Elanna's face appeared on the screen.

"Captain. Commander. If you're watching this, it means that the EMH was unsuccessful in finding a cure for your illness. I'm not sure at this point what the outcome of that will be, but it seemed like a good idea at the time to do this..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, then picked up strength again. "I've loaded a complete copy of the EMH program into the buffers of this holo-emitter," here Chakotay and Kathryn exchanged looks of surprise, "with a few small changes, that Harry helped me with. We eliminated all extraneous alien physiology information, and all data dealing with alien emergency aid." B'Elanna smiled slightly. "It's not likely you're going to need much other than basic human first-aid. There are still a few other alien physiologies in there--Klingon, Vulcan.. .a couple others I can't remember now. But there's plenty of room for the program to expand, without running out of memory buffer. I know this doesn't quite take the place of Sickbay, but it's better than nothing. Good luck, Torres out." The video transmission ended, with a small paragraph of text following. Chakotay looked it over while Kathryn sat and stared at the holo-emitter. She looked up when he snorted.

"What?"

"She's left us directions for maintenance and diagnosis, in case there's problems."

"Good. I'm touched by her thoughtfulness. Here I thought we'd be making due with a dermal regenerator, and some hyposprays."

"I never allow unlicensed doctors to practice on me."

"You wouldn't have had a choice if I'd been the only other one around," she retorted. "Besides, how do you know I'm not licensed?"

"Hmm," he murmured as he moved behind her and began rubbing her shoulders. "All the licensed doctors I've ever known didn't have your unique 'bed-side manner', shall we say?" Chakotay bent down and began lightly kissing Kathryn's neck, causing her to shiver in anticipation. She turned to face him better, and tilted her head for his kiss. After a moment she pulled back.

"Do you object to my bedside manner?" She questioned in a throaty voice.

"Not a bit," he breathed into her ear. "It's just unusual."

And with that he captured her mouth again, opening her lips under his, and mating his tongue with hers. When he pulled away a bit to kiss her neck and run his hands along her sides, she breathed into his ear, "Not here. The bedroom--" And she sucked her breath in again when she felt his hands caressing her breasts through her shirt, teasing the nipples into hard, aching points.

They moved into the bedroom, and quickly shed what little clothing they were wearing. When they were naked they lay back on the bed, and began caressing each other again. Chakotay leaned over Kathryn and began to kiss and lick her nipples, alternating between them, as Kathryn writhed on the bed. He slid a hand down between her legs, finding her slick with juices, ready for him.

"Do you want me," he asked, as he swung his body over hers.

"Oh, Gods, yes. Please," she moaned slightly, as he lowered his head once again to her breasts. Blindly, she reached up to him, grasping his erection in her hand and massaging it.

Chakotay groaned, feeling himself surge in her hand. The hand between her legs began rubbing at her swollen knot of flesh, faster and faster, until, with a small cry she arched her back and cried out his name. He waited until her peak had subsided a bit, then removed his hand, and replaced it with his straining erection. He groaned as he pushed his way into her--she was so wet, so hot--

"Oh, gods, Kathryn, I want you so bad--" He began moving, thrusting forward faster and harder, needing to be inside her, feel her surrounding him. Kathryn cried out under him, and he could feel her muscles clenching him. He gave one last thrust, and came into her, spasming for what seemed like an eternity.

After a moment or two of just laying there, he became aware that he must be suffocating her, and rolled off onto his side. She whimpered low in throat at the loss of his body, then curled up against him. Chakotay lifted his hand to caress her hair, marveling at it's softness, wondering how something as innocent as a head of hair could be so provocative at the same time.

"Chakotay?" Kathryn spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the moment.

"Hmm?"

"How big of a family did you want?"

His hand stopped its motion for a moment, then resumed, slower this time. "I guess I'd never really thought about it. Two, maybe three. Why?"

"Would you settle for starting with one?" She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes--"

"But?"

"But, what?"

"You tell me. Anytime anyone uses that tone, there's always a 'but' in there somewhere."

"No, I don't think so. Not really. It's just that I was a starship Captain for so long, old thoughts die away slowly. It'll just take a little time to get used to."

"I want you to be absolutely certain."

"I am."

"There's no changing our minds, once it's done. We can't send the baby away, once he or she is here." Chakotay could feel a tightening in his chest... Kathryn wanted his--no, their--babies!

She hugged him to her tightly. "I know that. I'm certain. I love you, Chakotay. We're going to spend the rest of our lives here--we should make them as full as we can."

"I agree. And I love you, too, Kathryn." He kissed her gently on the forehead, then they fell asleep, bodies entwined on their new bed, which had now been officially 'broken in'.

**********************

The seasons had changed fairly rapidly, and the planet was now approaching late autumn. Using the data that Voyager had downloaded for them, combined with their own observations, Kathryn and Chakotay had determined that although the days may be slightly longer, the actual seasons themselves were a bit shorter. Except, every indication pointed to a long winter. So, while they had the time now, they prepared to spend a lot of time indoors later.

Shortly after their discussion about expanding their shelter Chakotay had drawn up some plans on the computer, and their building addition was now nearly complete. In addition to a 'bathing room' as Chakotay laughingly put it, for Kathryn's bathtub, there were going to be three smaller rooms, and some space added on to the main room. It was an ambitious project, but it gave Kathryn a sense of well being to see it progressing so well. Everyday saw some nuance of change in the structure, until it began actually taking on the appearance of a building.

Around about the same time, Kathryn began some expanding of her own. They activated their copy of the EMH, and the doctor confirmed what the tricorder had told them. Kathryn was pregnant, due in what would be late spring or early summer on this planet. Everything seemed to be going so well... her pregnancy, the addition to the house (she couldn't bring herself to think of it only as a 'shelter' any longer), the garden she'd been growing; it was going too well, she decided later. She began having strange, vivid dreams. Upon awaking she couldn't remember them, but they filled her with a strange sense of unease, almost of doom. Not sure what they meant, but certain that they meant something, she confided in Chakotay. His immediate response was to recommend she contact her spirit guide.

They made plans to go the next day, deciding to take the shuttlecraft since the days were so short, and the nights were getting very cold.

Kathryn lay in bed, turning restlessly. It wasn't the baby--she was barely far enough along to tell she was pregnant, although not for much longer. No, it was the strange dreams; the vague sense of unease, of impending disaster. She hoped her spirit guide could help. Sighing aloud she shifted yet again, and, finding a comfortable position finally, fell into an uneasy sleep.

She and Chakotay were jerked awake several hours later, just before dawn, to the unmistakable sound of a ship impacting on the planet's surface.

"Gods, that's close," Chakotay mumbled, as he tried to pull on his clothes quickly.

Kathryn only nodded assent, trying to get her own clothing fastened. Her hands were shaking, she noted with almost clinical detachment.

"Kathryn! Are you all right?" Chakotay caught her as she started to sway.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little unnerved. Is this what I've been sensing all along?"

Chakotay sensed she'd regained her balance, and released her. "Could be. I recall the doctor telling you once that your psi rating was somewhat higher than the average human." He tossed her an unfathomable look. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's go."

They loaded the holo-emitter into the shuttle, along with all the extra blankets they had, and the few extra medical supplies they'd stockpiled.

There was no telling what had crashed, or how many survivors there'd be--if there were any at all. As a precautionary measure, Chakotay added some containers of water, and ration bars. He didn't want to completely deplete their emergency rations, but still-- He broke off that thought, and powered up the shuttle. The on-board computer pinpointed the crash for them, some twenty-five kilometers from their home. He loaded the coordinates, and lifted the shuttle into the air. Since they weren't going very far, the shuttle was only barely air-borne, skimming the surface of New Earth. But they were high enough up to be afforded a view of the sight of the impact. Dawn was just breaking--there was barely enough light to see, but Kathryn and Chakotay could make out the scene well enough to know there were probably quite a number of casualties.

Chakotay unerringly guided the shuttle into a landing in a small clearing close to the wreckage, and once they were solid on the ground he and Kathryn hurried out, slipping their now almost useless comm badges on, against the probability the survivors didn't speak their language.

Several of the uninjured had seen their approach, and landing, and were headed toward the shuttle even as they disembarked. Kathryn and Chakotay stopped and stared for a moment as they approached--these people looked human! One man, quite a bit older than the others with him, held his hands out in supplication to them. "Can you help us? Do you understand me?" Then, even before they could answer his eyes caught sight of the federation communicator, and he said, "Praise to the Gods, you're Federation citizens!"

Kathryn stepped forward. "I'm Kathryn Janeway, former Captain of the USS Voyager. This is Chakotay. How can we be of assistance?"

"My name is Daelin. Do either of you have medical experience? We have many wounded, and a few who have passed on."

Chakotay shook his head. "No, but we have our emergency medical program with us--it's a holographic doctor."

"A holographic doctor? How can that be? Never mind," he said, answering his own question. "We have many wounded. Please," he gestured toward the wreckage.

Kathryn turned toward Chakotay. "You get the supplies; have these people help. I'll go find an area we can set up for triage, before we activate the doctor."

Chakotay managed a grim smile, and nodded. He turned toward the other people with Daelin and said, "Follow me. We have emergency supplies in the shuttle."

Kathryn moved off, with Daelin at her side. She began scanning the area, looking for the best site. Something close to the wreckage, but not so close as to impair rescue efforts. "Daelin, how many people on your ship?"

"About 55--I'm not certain how many now, because of the fatalities. Still around 45, I'm sure." His face was troubled. "How is it you came to be here, Captain? A Starfleet Captain, and a Native American, both of whom speak standard fluently."

Kathryn had found a spot that seemed satisfactory, and began waving over the people helping Chakotay. "Let's get your people taken care of, Daelin, and then I'll answer all the questions you want to ask. All right?"

He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "All right."

"Good. Why don't you let your rescuers know where to begin bringing the wounded."

He nodded again, then set off. Chakotay appeared then with the holo-emitter, and set it down. Kathryn leaned over to switch it on.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Oh, Captain. What can I do for you?"

"Doctor. We're at the site of a starship crash. We've come to lend assistance, and need you to care for the more seriously wounded. We brought all our medical equipment," She added quickly, forestalling his first objection.

"Good." He held out his hand for a medical tricorder, which Kathryn quickly placed in his hand. Assuming a no-nonsense air, he began moving among the wounded, issuing forth orders to Kathryn and Chakotay, and the few others who were assisting them.

It was several hours past the noon hour before the holo-doctor was satisfied that everyone had been treated to the best of his capabilities, given the primitive conditions. He had run his tricorder over Kathryn at one point and told her to sit down and rest a bit, since the heat of the sun and heavy activity were exhausting her. Reluctantly she'd sat down for awhile to rest, trying to remember that she had to think of the baby, too.

She'd been sitting in the shade of a tree, making notes on a Padd, when Chakotay and Daelin, and two women she vaguely remembered from the triage came over. She pushed herself more upright, wishing they had chairs, remembering with a pang the comfortable conference room aboard Voyager. Chakotay could see the look of distant longing in her eyes as they approached, and guessed its cause.

"Kathryn? These women are Michaela, and Devina. They, along with Daelin, and Michaela's spouse, Taylor, make up the leadership council for this expedition."

"I'm very pleased to meet you. Please," She gestured to the shaded area around her, "Sit down, and get as comfortable as possible."

Chakotay leaned close and asked, "Do you want me to get you anything to eat or drink? How are you feeling now?"

She smiled slightly. She'd noticed almost right away that he liked to hover a bit--he'd nearly turned scarlet when the doctor announced she was overdoing it a bit. "I'm fine for right now. Thank you." She turned back to the others, who were settling themselves on the grass. "Did the doctor get all the wounded cared for?"

Daelin nodded. "He did. We are eternally grateful, both for the fact that you were here, and for your assistance."

Devina echoed his nod. "We can't possibly thank you--so many more would have died-" She broke off, with a catch in her voice.

Daelin spoke somberly. "Our daughter was one of the severely wounded, that your doctor was able to save. Apparently she had some internal hemorrhaging, which he said was easy enough to fix, but would've gone undetected without the tricorders."

Chakotay spoke up then, "Didn't you bring anything for medical purposes with you on your trip?"

Michaela answered, "Of course, but our sickbay was in the area that was damaged so badly--and our doctor was one of the ones who were killed. We weren't intending to be out in space for so long anyway, much less out here..." Her voice trailed off, and Kathryn and Chakotay exchanged a significant look.

Devina caught it and asked them, "You don't seem that surprised by what Mika said. You've heard this story before?"

Kathryn answered, "Our ship--Voyager--was pulled into this quadrant by a tachyon beam--we've been trying to get home for almost two years."

"Voyager... wait a minute. You were the ones that launched from DS9 and disappeared!" Daelin had furrowed his brow. "There was a lot of 'Fleet chatter about that."

"You've heard of us?" Chakotay asked, amazed.

"Oh, through the grapevine, bits and pieces." Daelin replied. "I was working on DS9 around the time you disappeared. Shook things up around there for awhile, let me tell you." He sat back and looked at Kathryn, and Chakotay. "Seems to me the talk was that the Maquis ship Voyager went after had disappeared, too."

Chakotay answered, "We were pulled in by the beam before Voyager was. My Maquis ship was destroyed in a battle with one of the local alien races, and so my crew and I joined Voyager. It was about the only chance all of us had of surviving this adventure."

A new voice joined the discussion. "Let me guess who that 'alien race' was--Kazon?" A tall, brown, Native American sat down next to Michaela, and held his hand out to Chakotay. "I'm Taylor Matthews. Am I right?"

Chakotay took the offered hand, then asked, "How did you know it was the Kazon?" His unasked question was answered first.

"I'm of Navajo ancestry--quite a few generations since we've been 'pure'. Native Terran. As for the other, well, we've had a few run-ins with the Kazon, too. Are you familiar with the Cardassian working with them?"

Kathryn felt a shudder run down her spine at the mention of the traitorous Seska. She spoke up. "Unfortunately, that Cardassian was once part of our crew--passing as a Bajoran. Her name is Seska, and she's part of the Obsidian Order. How did your ship get here?"

Taylor answered again, and it became obvious that he was the technical leader of this group. "We were caught up in what we at first thought was a singularity--a black hole," he nodded toward his wife and the other couple. "The thing gave us no warning, just appeared out of nowhere and sucked us in." Taylor's gaze shifted off to the distance, and it was obvious he was caught up in remembering. "We all expected to be dead instantly. You know no one can withstand the gravity pressure of a black hole. Well, I believe now that what we went through was a worm hole. We emerged, reasonable unscathed, here in the Delta quadrant. The star we emerged near was the sun for an uninhabited system we named the D'T'chia system--our navigator has Klingon ancestry," Taylor finished, re-focusing on his audience. "And we've been here ever since, hoping to find that worm-hole again."

"How long?" Kathryn asked.

"Almost ten months," Daelin replied. "We'd just about decided to give up and settle on one of M-class planets when our scanners picked up what we thought were indications of a worm-hole. We set a course to try to find it, only to discover that what we were receiving were anomalous sub-space readings. Partway through this system we were hit by space debris. One of our nacelles was damaged, and we weren't able to maintain any kind of orbit. This," he gestured around him, "was the result." Kathryn and Chakotay were silent for a few moments, watching the continued activity around them, studying the four co-leaders in front of them. Kathryn looked at Chakotay and he nodded in response to the silent question in her eyes.

"We'd be happy to help in any way we can, to aid you in setting up a settlement here," Kathryn told them. "We don't have a lot of extra supplies, but we can show you where to find supplies of your own, and help you get shelters set up. It'll be winter fairly soon, but you should be able to get some basic structures finished by then."

The four co-leaders nodded among themselves. Taylor stood up, brushing off his pants. "It's fairly obvious we're not going anywhere--the damage to the ship was too great, without materials to fix it. I guess we'll be staying awhile."

The others began standing up as well. Chakotay turned to Kathryn and spoke quietly to her. "Do you want to stay here tonight? We can sleep in the shuttle."

"That would probably be best. We can begin tomorrow then to help them find the best spot for their settlement--" Her words broke off as a thought occurred to her. "Chakotay. One of the best areas on this continent is our area."

"Have them build near us?"

"Mmm. What do you think?"

"It would be nice to have other people nearby. But can we trust them?"

"They've trusted us."

"It's not quite the same," he reminded her. "But you're right. They've trusted us with their wounded--which we'll have to move, if we build near us."

Kathryn nodded. There were a lot of factors to consider. But to have a mission again! She could feel her blood pumping through her, everything focusing on a purpose. She turned back to the leaders. "We'll stay here for the rest of the day--our shuttle is equipped for us to sleep in. That way we can get an early start tomorrow on getting you settled here on New Earth."

"New Earth?" Michaela asked.

"That's what we call this place," Chakotay told her. "It seemed appropriate, somehow."

"Captain-" Taylor began.

"Please, call me Kathryn, all of you."

"Kathryn. How is it the two of you came to be here? Where is Voyager?"

Kathryn closed her eyes briefly, feeling once again the keen sense of loss. Chakotay reached out and squeezed her hand, then turned to answer the question for her. "We were on an away mission here, and were bitten by one of the native insects. Both of us were infected with a virus that rendered us incapable of leaving the planet's atmosphere. There's something in this atmosphere that keeps the virus neutral. But if we leave..." He broke off as awareness dawned on the faces of the four in front of them. "Basically, we're here for life."

Devina spoke up then. She'd added very little to the conversation thus far, but seemed very excited when she spoke now. "Perhaps Kathryn, Chakotay, we can work with you to find an inoculate for this virus. Medical research is my specialty. Working with your holographic doctor, once we get some facilities built..." Her voice trailed off as her thought moved faster than her ability to convey them.

Kathryn smiled then. "I hope so, Devina. I tried for a time, but my research materials were destroyed during a plasma storm. I haven't been able to continue my research since then. But if you have materials on-board your ship that we can salvage--"

"We might be able to do it!" Devina finished for her.

The enthusiasm was contagious, and the group began smiling in earnest, for the first time all day. They moved off then, the four leaders to see to their people, and Kathryn and Chakotay to their shuttle. The sun was beginning to wane somewhat, and Kathryn was surprised to hear her stomach growling. Food was generally the last thing she was interested in lately--everything she ate tended to reappear shortly after. Chakotay smiled as he heard it, too. "I think we need to get you and our child fed," he remarked, pulling on her hand. "Let's go."

Kathryn allowed herself to be led into the shuttle, where they made dinner from the on-board replicator, then settled down to sleep. From the bunks that lined the two sides of the shuttle Kathryn and Chakotay stared at each other. They'd slept together these past few months. This felt very odd. Kathryn smiled then and stretched out her hand to Chakotay, who grasped it in his own. "I love you, Chakotay. This is going to work, isn't it?"

"I love you, Kathryn. Yes, I think it is." He smiled at her, then commanded, "Computer, lights out." In the darkness he smiled again, then squeezed her hand before releasing it. "It's been a rough day. Let's get some sleep." There was no answer--Kathryn was already asleep.

Morning brought a new day, and a renewed sense of direction and purpose. Chakotay shuttled Taylor and Daelin over to the home that he and Kathryn were building, and spent the morning showing them around the area. Kathryn worked with Devina and the few med-techs that were physically able, on salvaging what they could of the medical equipment from the ruined sickbay. Michaela directed the rest of the colonists in retrieving all effects that were salvageable from the rest of the ship.

When the trio returned from their shuttle trip, they found Kathryn napping under a shade tree, and the doctor checking on his patients with the help of Devina and Michaela. "She was tired, so we put her to bed," was Michaela's mischievous comment when Chakotay asked about Kathryn's nap. He smiled in amusement of anyone "putting her to bed", as Michaela phrased it, then went to wake her up. He decided slow and gentle would be a nice way to wake up, after the hectic couple of days they'd had. He sat down next to Kathryn, and gently ran his hand up and down her back, before leaning over to brush feather-light kisses on the nape of her neck.

"Mmm. Nice," she mumbled, still partly asleep, but reaching for him nonetheless.

"Hey. Time to wake up." Chakotay sat back, smiling as he watched her trying to orient herself.

"I guess I was more tired than I thought," was her first coherent comment.

"I guess you were. Trying to do too much?" he inquired, in a casual tone that didn't fool her.

"Me?" She raised an eyebrow at him, a perfect imitation of the long-gone Vulcan security officer.

"Gods forbid." He gazed at her a moment, wishing they were alone, wanting nothing more than to take her into his arms and--No. He pushed that thought away. All it would do right now would be get him in trouble. "We found a spot for the settlement."

Kathryn pushed herself into an upright position, all teasing gone. "Where?"

"Not far from our home. About a kilometer or so to the west."

"You think that's a good spot?"

"Well, it's probably the best in that area. We can't go east, because of the river--although that would certainly solve the water problem. Daelin had thought they'd dig wells."

"Does this planet have underground springs?"

"I don't know. Did Voyager do deep probes on it?"

Kathryn shook her head. "I don't think so, but we should check our data, just to be sure. They might be better off to build by the river, just in case."

Chakotay nodded. "Good point. We were so busy trying to find the most level spot to build that, once Daelin mentioned wells, I didn't give it another thought. I'll tell him. They want to get started tomorrow--enough of the people are able, and we don't have much time left before winter sets in."

"Yes, I know. How are these people going to feed themselves?"

"I don't know, Kathryn. We're going to have to work on that. Perhaps we build a hydroponics bay, like Kes has on Voyager?"

"That might be a possibility. We could salvage materials from the ship--" Kathryn's voice faded as her thoughts continued. We could build one large main building to house the hydroponics area, sickbay and research facilities. I wonder how many children are in this group? We'll need to consider schooling for them... Her hand raised up to rub over her barely noticeable stomach.

"Kathryn?"

"Just thinking. My mind gets going faster than anything else can keep up. Let's go find the others. There's a lot we need to talk about." She reached a hand out for Chakotay, which he clasped in his own, happy to see her so happy.

The next week passed in a blur. After a repeat tour of the area, this time with Devina and Michaela along, the co-leaders chose the new site near the river. Even if they were successful in drilling wells, the river could be useful as a perimeter boundary, in defense, if necessary. Salvage crews were put to work stripping the colonists' ship of the metal necessary to erect a central building unit, which would contain the hydroponics, hospital area and research facility. After lengthy consideration and consultation with the EMH unit, Kathryn and Chakotay offered to install the holodoc in the central building.

They reasoned that they would be using the resources there, as well as the colonists, and that everyone should be able to benefit from the holodoc's skills. Already he was beginning to train some of the colonists in the rudiments of nursing, and had expressed to Kathryn his interest in training at least one other doctor, "Just in case my program fails eventually."

The colonists had decided to erect barracks-style buildings, at least for the present, since they could be easily converted to apartments later. In that way, everyone would be assured of having a roof over their heads when winter came.

Chakotay met daily with three men and two women who would be in charge of all agrarian pursuits--they would also be heading up the hydroponics facility, with Kathryn's help. Kathryn and Chakotay had decided he was best suited for this job, along with considerable input from Daelin who'd grown up among farmers, since he came from an agrarian community originally. When Chakotay tried to persuade Kathryn to join them, her comment was "I can grow tomatoes--but we're talking about these peoples' food source for winter! No thank you."

As autumn morphed into late autumn, nearing winter, the colony began to take on the shape and feel of an actual settlement. After several weeks of feverish activity, people were beginning to settle into a routine, leaving Kathryn and Chakotay free once more to pursue their own projects, and relationship. With Taylor's help, since Kathryn was forbidden by the holodoc to lift anything so heavy, Chakotay finished the addition to their home. It was just in time, too, since the first snowfall came not a week later. It was on that day, while Kathryn and Chakotay were enjoying a few minutes of quiet, snuggling on their couch, that Kathryn felt life stirring within her for the first time. It caught her completely off guard the first time--like a butterfly moving inside her. The second time she sat up, eyes wide with wonder, and grabbed Chakotay's hand.

"What?" He asked, concerned something was wrong.

"The baby... moved! Here," she placed his hand on her slightly rounded stomach, and pressed it down slightly. "He should move again--" As soon as the words left her mouth Chakotay felt a tiny nudge against his hand.

"Oh, Gods! I felt it." He voice reflected the awe that Kathryn saw on his face. She knew her face showed the same. Gently his hand began caressing her, rubbing in a circular motion on her tummy. She sighed. This was an incredible moment. Their baby had ceased to be a promise, and had become a reality. This was their baby, moving inside her. She sighed again, then felt tears well up in her eyes. Damn, she thought. I haven't been teary for a while now. When Chakotay's hand moved up to caress her face the tears overflowed. He bent over her, and kissed the tears off her cheeks. "This is our baby, Kathryn. And he is going to be so loved--" He broke off as his voice caught in his throat. "I promise I'll always be here for you. For both of you."

"Oh Chakotay--" Her voice broke as the tears began falling freely. "I'll always be here for you. For both of you. I love you."

Chakotay's answer was muffled as he breathed it into her mouth, enveloping her in an embrace that left her breathless.

They got nothing more accomplished that day.

**********************

Voyager Interlude

Lieutenants B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris and Ensign Harry Kim sat in the conference room exchanging puzzled looks and comments. Tuvok had called a meeting of the senior officers - there weren't many left, now - and now was late for that meeting.

It was absolutely unheard of for the Vulcan to be late for anything, especially an officers briefing.

"Maybe he's sick. Should we contact the holodoc?" Harry was trying to be polite, but hadn't cared much for Tuvok since he'd dismissed the Ensign's thought about contacting the Vidiians.

"I doubt it. He just wants us to wait and wonder what's going on." Tom never had cared much for Tuvok--as security chief, there had been friction frequently between the two.

"That's not like Tuvok," B'Elanna began, only to be interrupted by the principle subject's entrance.

"I apologize for my tardiness. I was consulting with the holodoctor," Tuvok began. He held up a hand to stave off any questions. "Please. Before you begin questioning me about this meeting, let me explain to you what is happening. I've asked the holodoctor to join us." He leaned over the console panel on the conference table and the pressed a button. The EMH's face jumped onto the screen. Tuvok looked around at the three faces staring back at him, a questioning look in their eyes. "It's been almost a year since we left Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay on New Earth. In that time we have encountered only one spatial anomaly, which was not a wormhole."

"Tuvok, er-Captain, we know all of this," Paris began impatiently, only to be stopped by a look from B'Elanna. He sat back in his chair, squirming a little with impatience.

"I'm aware that you have all these facts. I merely wished to state everything in a logical order. Shall I continue?" Tom nodded. "Very well. As you're aware, Vulcans enter the state of Pon Farr once every seven years. We have been in the Delta Quadrant for slightly over three years. My last pon farr was three years before that." Tuvok broke off here, seeming almost embarrassed to continue. B'Elanna tried to encourage him.

"Go on, Captain."

"I have decided, in the best interests of the ship and crew, to have the doctor place me in stasis, where I will remain until such a time as we find a way home. For me to enter pon farr here, without my wife, or another Vulcan willing to--it would be fatal for me."

"Stasis?" The question came from all three, almost in unison. Tom continued. "What about Voyager? Who's going to Captain her? Will you actually be in stasis, or will be able to have contact with you?"

The holodoctor broke in. "Captain Tuvok will not be able to be in contact with any of you. He will, for all intents and purposes, be dead. I will slow all of his body functions down to minimum functioning output, then place him in the stasis field. He will continue on life-support, and we will take him out of stasis only after we've returned to the Alpha Quadrant, and made arrangements with his wife."

Tom looked skeptical, Harry and B'Elanna stunned. That changed only slightly when Tuvok made his next announcement. "I will be placing Lieutenant Torres in command of Voyager. You, Mr. Paris will act as her First Officer."

Tom wasn't sure who was more surprised--him, or B'Elanna. He'd never seen her at a loss for words before, but she surely was now. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she found her voice.

"ME?" Realizing she was nearly yelling, B'Elanna tried to calm herself. "Why me?"

Tom answered that before Tuvok could. "You're next in the chain of command, right, Captain?"

"That is correct, Mr. Paris. Lieutenant Torres is the next senior officer in line."

"Captain," Harry broke in, "Isn't the CMO the next in the chain of command?"

"That would be the case if he were a living, breathing being. Since our CMO is a hologram, however, I am not able to consider him for the command position."

"But... what about engineering? Conn? Who's going to fill those positions?" B'Elanna was nearly stuttering in her panic. She didn't want command of Voyager--she only wanted to keep her flying!

"I believe there are adequate engineering personnel who can fill the vacancy, Lieutenant. As far as conning officer, Mr. Paris should be able to recommend several people best able to fill that position." Tuvok looked over at Tom, who nodded his head automatically, then continued on. "I will be entering into the ship's logs today the following promotions, which are effective immediately upon my placement in stasis: Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, field promotion to Lieutenant Commander, Acting Captain. Lieutenant Thomas Paris field promotion to Lieutenant Commander, acting First Officer. Ensign Harry Kim, field promotion to Lieutenant. Mr. Kim, unless Lieutenant Torres prefers to make other arrangements, I'm going to recommend you continue as Operations Officer. Your continued presence in your present position will create a stability during the rest of the changes." Tuvok looked over to Harry, who, like Tom, simply nodded. No one knew what to say. Tuvok waited for a moment, then continued: "I will leave messages for Starfleet command, advising them of the conditions under which the ship and crew have been operating. I will also leave instructions for contacting my wife, T'Pel on Vulcan, once we have returned to the Alpha Quadrant."

"Uh, Captain?"

"Yes, Mr. Paris?"

"When were you planning on going into stasis?"

"Within the next 24 hours. However, since these changes are going to impact the entire crew, in many ways, I can postpone that for up to 72 hours, if necessary. Is there anything else, for the moment?" Tuvok looked around the table at the stunned faces staring back at him. "Then I recommend that we begin at once to make the changes necessary. Dismissed." Tuvok rose, and moved away toward the bridge.

B'Elanna, Tom and Harry didn't move. "Can I abdicate?" B'Elanna asked miserably.

Tom shook his head. "Only if you die, or get bitten by a weird, virus-causing bug."

"Or go into pon farr," Harry added.

"How about a Klingon blood-lust?"

Harry grinned slightly. His world was the one changing the least, so he was able to find a small bit of humor in the whole thing. "I think all that authorizes is new quarters after you've destroyed the other ones."

"Not funny, Starfleet."

"Maybe a little, Maquis."

Tom finally stood up. "Would you two stop it? This isn't right. Are we," gesturing to them and himself, "going to be able to get Voyager back home?" He shoved a hand through his hair. "I'm not First Officer material. Hell, I'm the one who usually argues with the First Officer!"

B'Elanna's dark eyes were sympathetic. "I'm not exactly command material, myself. But we can get home--or die trying. We can do it, Paris." She stood up, and Harry pushed his chair back. "Come on, you two. We've got a lot of work to do in the next couple of days."

The next 48 hours were spent in a whirlwind of activity for the newly promoted officers. Tuvok made a general ship-wide announcement, then allowed each department head time to inform his or her staff all of the circumstances that were necessitating the coming changes. After many hours of meetings, crew evaluations and interviews, B'Elanna and Tom picked their replacements, with some help and input from Harry. For the new Chief Engineer position, B'Elanna picked her assistant, Lieutenant Carey, with the understanding that Hogan would act as co-Chief. Neither one was as capable as B'Elanna, but both were smart, quick thinkers that complimented each other. Harry would assist when necessary, like always. Tom finally decided upon Ensign Greta Holmin, a recent academy graduate like Harry; but with a personality that almost exacted Paris'. Ensign Holmin would take alpha shift, like Paris had, but on her off-shifts there were three other Ensigns and one Lieutenant who were pretty decent pilots as well, according to their Starfleet records.

B'Elanna leaned back in her chair in the Captain's ready room. For this meeting she was still a member of the crew; tomorrow she'd be sitting in the Captain's chair. That thought still scared her to death. Tom reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. She squeezed back and let go. Tuvok turned from his silent contemplation of the starfield out the view port.

"Every thing seems to be in order. Do either of you have any other questions or concerns?"

"No, sir." B'Elanna wasn't even sure how to address him any longer. Although, technically, he was still Captain, technically, she was too, now.

Tom had one final question for him. "In the event that something happens that affects ship-wide security--like being boarded by Vidiians, do you want to be brought out of stasis?"

Tuvok paused for a moment. He had considered that question himself, and had not been able to arrive at a logical answer to it. Finally he said, "If it appears that the ship will be destroyed, either by self-destruction commands, or in battle, there is no need. If, however, the ship were to be disabled and captured, be sure to leave instructions for the holodoctor to revive me." He paused. "I have placed my personal effects in storage, and left some additional messages for your perusal, Captain Torres." B'Elanna flinched slightly at the new title, but Tuvok continued on. "I have left voice-activated instructions on how to reach T'Pel upon our return. I believe that is all."

He looked at Tom and B'Elanna, then stood up. "Then Captain, Commander, I am expected in sickbay." Tom and B'Elanna stood up, and followed Tuvok out onto the bridge. Tom had a panicky moment when he wondered how they were going to manage now that all the grown-ups were gone... He shook himself out of that one to hear Tuvok telling the bridge crew farewell, and B'Elanna's comment that he had the bridge--she was going to sickbay.

"Aye--Captain." Hopefully no one noticed the pause. He sighed as he sat down in the First Officer's chair. This was really weird. And it was going to take some time getting used to. "Ensign Holmin, warp 6."

"Warp 6, aye, Sir."

Tom sighed again. It was really going to take some time.

**********************

New Earth

Kathryn stood and stretched, a motion that pushed her belly out to alarming proportions. As she stretched she moved one hand behind her, to rub at the small of her back, which seemed to ache constantly now. Chakotay rolled over in bed, and snorted a couple of times before falling back soundly asleep. Kathryn smiled, thinking about how hard she'd fought with herself against her feelings for him. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She leaned over him, and shook his shoulder gently.

"Chakotay."

Snort.

"Sweetheart, it's time to get up."

Another muffled snort.

"NOW, Commander." She rarely used that imperious, command-voice, but it still occasionally had its place in their life.

"I'm up."

"So I see," she almost purred, eyes perusing the figure tangled in the bedclothes. "But are you awake?"

Chakotay opened his eyes to find her grinning down at him. "You know, I could make you pay for that," he began ominously.

"Except I could sit on you and you wouldn't be able to get up," Kathryn finished. "Come on, you lazybones. It's time to get moving. I'm supposed to meet Devina in the lab at 0830." She tugged on his arm to illustrate her point.

"Kath, it's only 0630. Gods, what are you doing awake so early?"

"My back hurt again-I couldn't sleep."

Chakotay yawned and sat up, blankets falling to his waist. Kathryn eyed him, admiring the strong muscles and lines of his chest, never bored with the view. He grinned back at her. "Like what you see, Captain?"

"Mmhmm. You can command me anytime, Commander." They laughed out loud together, enjoying the by-play. Chakotay grew serious then, and wrapped his arms around Kathryn, bringing her down to his level for a morning kiss.

"You smell good--I could breathe you forever," he mumbled into her hair as she nuzzled his neck.

"I could say the same for you, Chakotay." She began nibbling on his ear, feeling her desire for him surging up inside her.

Chakotay groaned. "Kath, no. Not until you've seen the doctor today." He pulled back to look at her. "I'm worried about your back hurting all the time. I don't want us doing anything that would hurt you, or the baby. Okay?" He looked at her, eyes dark with unspoken concern, and desire.

Kathryn felt that tug of desire again, but knew he was right. Until the doctor cleared it... Meanwhile, she could do something for him... With that thought she pushed him back on the bed, and reached under the sheets for the pulsing erection she knew was there.

"Kathryn..." Chakotay pushed himself up on his arms. "Stop."

"No. Just because we can't doesn't mean you can't. Now hush." She pushed him back against the mattress, and began trailing her fingers underneath the bedclothes. She teased him for a few moments, scraping her fingernails gently up and down the insides of his thighs before lowering her head to take him in her mouth. Chakotay groaned and mumbled something under his breath as the warm, wet heat of her mouth engulfed him. Kathryn began stroking his shaft with her hand as she moved her mouth up and down on him, stroking his legs all the while with her other hand.

Chakotay reached down and tangled his hands in her hair, unsure if he was trying to stop her, or encourage her. In another minute it didn't matter. His heartfelt groan of "Oh, Gods, Kath--" was enough warning for her to pull back just before he climaxed. Kathryn moved up beside him and curled into his arms. Chakotay stroked her face while he waited for his breathing to even out somewhat. He could still feel his heart pounding; and even though his body had had release, still yearned for more. Later, he told himself. After she's seen the doc.

After a moment of lying there thusly, Kathryn sat up. "So, how's that for a wake-up?" She asked impishly.

"Beats alarms any day." He grinned at her. "I need a shower now. Want to join me?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Some of us have already begun our morning routine, while others of us have been lying abed."

"That's because some of us have more sense than to be getting up at--make that before--the crack of dawn!" Chakotay pushed Kathryn's legs out of the way and got out of bed. Bending to give her one more quick kiss, he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

0730 found them strolling down the path toward the settlement. Although it was winter, by Earth standards (at least the northern half of North America) it was mild. Apparently for New Earth it was fairly severe. There were almost no signs of animal life, and the majority of the vegetation in the area was dead. The snowfall had been minimal so far, other than that first one, when they'd felt the baby move for the first time, there had been only light dustings. Of course, Chakotay reminded himself, they were only about halfway through the winter cycle. It was hard to tell exactly how long the seasons lasted here--he supposed they'd have to be here for a couple of years to know for certain. There were indications that there were perhaps five seasons though, perhaps like two springs. Chakotay eyed Kathryn, looking at the swell of her stomach and wondering about the holodoc's original prediction for her due date. There was no way she was going to last until late spring. She looked like she was ready to burst now. At only six and a half months. If he didn't know better (which he would admit he didn't) he'd say that Kathryn was expecting twins for them. The doctor kept saying only one heartbeat, since he asked every time she had a checkup, but still he wondered. I think I'll make two cradles, just in case, he thought to himself. That would be a good project to begin this afternoon.

Kathryn walked serenely beside him. Even as swollen as she was there was a calm dignity to her. Inwardly she groaned at the thought of getting much bigger--the only way to go is up, she mused. With more than two months left in this pregnancy the only thing she was going to get would be bigger. Her mind turned to other thoughts then, since that one depressed her. The research that she and Devina had been working on was progressing very slowly. There had been no new breakthroughs as yet. The unfortunate fact was that there were likely no insects around during the colder seasons, so no way really to find the pathogen that caused the virus. On the other hand, it gave them time to review all the doctor's previous research with him, which gave them a better understanding of the disease. She moved on to the other thought uppermost on her mind: the development of the community. Taylor, Daelin and Michaela remained the nucleus of leadership for the settlement. Devina had informally withdrawn, preferring to work with Kathryn on their research. Kathryn herself had been asked to join them, and had refused, at least until after the baby was born. Chakotay acted as a consultant and guide, and had been asked to join the leadership council. He was currently considering it. They had worked to set up a school, so that the dozen or so children in the community would be able to continue their education; and the doctor continued his medical classes. He currently had two women and one man he was training in nursing, along with a couple who both expressed interest in training as doctors. Kathryn wondered idly who would deliver her baby. It's hard to believe we've been here almost a year. So much has happened, so many things changed. I wonder how Voyager is doing...

"Good morning, Kathryn, Chakotay." The man on gate duty greeted them warmly.

"Morning, Terence. Pretty cold today, isn't it?" Chakotay smiled at the shiver running through the guard.

"It most certainly is. I don't mind the guard duty, but I do mind the wind. Can't wait for spring."

"I agree," Kathryn said, smiling at him, "although, probably for different reasons."

"Aye, I can see that." With a grin Terence moved the gate back for them.

The gate and walls themselves were fairly new. Once the living buildings were complete, the council decided that a perimeter defense was probably a wise idea, even though there were no signs of humanoid life on the planet, besides themselves. Knowing the Kazon were out there somewhere they couldn't be too careful.

Kathryn and Chakotay moved up the main street toward the large metal building in the center of the settlement. The colonists generally referred to it as 'the cluster', since it looked like a cluster of metal cubes strung together. Gratefully they entered the main hallway of the building, glad to be out of the wind. The temperature might not be very cold, but the wind was biting.

"Morning, Devina." Kathryn called out the greeting as she moved through the hallway into the research area. She didn't see the petite woman anywhere, but knew she was around.

"Morning Kathryn. In here," a voice called out. Kathryn moved through the semi-darkness until she reached the light switch. She activated it, and continued on toward the office at the far side of the room, Chakotay behind her. "Hi." She looked up as Kathryn and Chakotay entered the office. "You're early."

Kathryn smiled sheepishly. "My back hurt this morning. I couldn't sleep."

"And, she had to wake me up." Chakotay smiled, remembering his 'wake-up' call.

"I didn't hear you complaining at the time," Kathryn said smugly. "Anything new?" This she directed to Devina, who was trying not to laugh at them.

"Unfortunately, no." Devina sighed, then rose to pour a cup of tea from the pot on the counter next to her. "Want some?"

Chakotay shook his head, but Kathryn said, "Yes, please. First though, I'm going to activate the doctor, and get my 'exam' over with. Then we can get to work."

"Good idea. Don't deactivate him when you're through though. Holler at me--I've got a couple of questions for him about these protein analyses."

"Okay." Kathryn turned to Chakotay. "Coming, dear?"

They walked through the narrow hallway that joined the research offices and the Doctor's office. Generally the patients entered through the main hallway, but this was a lot quicker than going all the way around the building. And since they were here anyway...

"Activate Emergency Medical Holographic Program."

"Good morning Captain, Commander." The EMHP had had Chakotay adjust his program a few weeks before, so that he didn't respond with the customary "please state the nature" line. "How are you feeling, Captain?"

"Like I'm about to burst," she replied. "Are you sure about the due date?"

"If you're sure about the date of conception," he shot back. Chakotay snuck a look at Kathryn as she eased her body up on the exam table. She glared at both of them.

"Not funny, doctor. I'm serious."

"So am I." He moved to the wall where the instruments were kept and retrieved a medical tricorder.

"Doc, what about twins?" Chakotay couldn't wait any longer.

"Commander, we've been over this before." The doctor began scanning Kathryn. "There's absolutely no--" He broke off.

"What, doctor? What's wrong?" Kathryn couldn't keep the slight panic out of her voice.

"Your baby has the virus."

"WHAT?" Kathryn and Chakotay nearly shouted in unison.

"It's showing up as a mutated version... almost like an immunity. It's not the same type that you have." The doctor taped a couple of commands into the tricorder and began scanning Kathryn again. He opened his mouth to speak again, when Devina showed up at the door.

"What's wrong?" She gasped in concern.

"The baby is carrying the virus." Kathryn's eyes spoke volumes that her friend understood in a minute.

"Oh, no. Is there anything--" She stopped, unsure of what to say.

"The baby appears to be immune to the virus, Devina." The doctor moved to take a blood sample from Kathryn. He handed it to Devina, asking her to examine it. She stuck it under the microscope and studied it for a long moment.

"Doctor, come take a look at this."

There was something in her voice. Chakotay reached down for Kathryn's hand. Whatever it was, they'd deal with it together.

"Captain--your blood sample indicates that you're carrying antibodies to the virus, probably through the amniotic fluid. I can create an inoculate with these!" The holodoc smiled at the couple. "Devina, take another sample of blood. Captain, I'm going to need to get a sample of amniotic fluid from you."

"What does that entail?" Chakotay's voice broke with the tension he was feeling.

"I will put a small needle through the uterine wall, into the amniotic sac. Then I'll hook tubing and a tiny pump unit to the needle, which will extract the amount of fluid I need." The doctor gazed levelly at Kathryn and Chakotay for a moment.

"There is a slight risk for premature labor from this procedure. Anytime the amniotic sac is punctured, even in such a small way, there is always the possibility of it rupturing, which generally brings on contractions."

"And if that happens?" Kathryn whispered. "Then what?"

"Then we have a very tiny baby in the incubating unit for a while."

Kathryn closed her eyes for a minute. "Can't this wait until closer to my due date?"

"I don't believe that's a wise choice," the doctor began. "If anything were to happen to you that did begin premature labor; once the amniotic sac ruptures, we wouldn't be able to use the fluid. It will have been exposed to bacteria."

"Is she at risk for premature labor?" Chakotay demanded.

"Not according to today's exam, but there are so many variables, it's impossible to account for all of them."

Kathryn shifted her eyes to look into Chakotay's. She could see the worry there, both for her and for their baby. She could also see that he knew it was a decision she had to make. "Do it."

"Devina, can you assist me with this?" The doctor knew one of his nursing students would be in shortly, but Devina was as knowledgeable as they were, and bound to be a calming influence on his patient.

"Certainly, Doctor. I'll get the blood sample when we're finished here." He nodded distractedly as he began to pull medical equipment from the cupboard.

Devina smiled at Kathryn, and helped her get comfortable on the exam table. Chakotay moved to the head of the table, where he sat down on a stool that had been placed nearby. Kathryn stared at the ceiling and tried to imagine that everything would be all right. Nothing was going to happen to her, or to their baby. She was in the best of hands. A rush of cool air on her stomach made her look down. Devina had pushed her smock up, and was wiping her stomach off with an antiseptic wash. The doctor stood beside her, holding a hypospray in one hand and a wicked-looking needle in the other.

"I'm going to give you a local anesthetic. That way you won't feel the puncture." Kathryn nodded mutely. She heard the trademark hiss, and felt the pressure of the hypospray.

Immediately she felt a numbing sensation spreading down her body. There was a strange sensation then, coming from her stomach. Almost as if-- "We're extracting the fluid now, Kathryn." Devina patted her hand. "The doctor's almost done. There. Finished." Devina wiped her stomach off once again, then pulled the smock back down. "I'm going to take another blood sample," she warned Kathryn. Kathryn only nodded. She was beginning to feel a bit woozy.

"Kath?" Chakotay's voice was tense. He watched her eyes roll back in her head. "Kath! Kathryn!"

"She's only fainted, Commander." The doctor's voice was droll. "I suspect it's from the tension of the last half hour."

Devina came back from the sink with a cool, wet cloth, which she handed to Chakotay. "Here, Chakotay. Wipe her face off with this, and talk to her quietly. She's all right--it's just going to take her a minute or two to come around."

The doctor and Devina moved into the research center as Chakotay stroked along Kathryn's face with the cloth. Tenderly he smoothed the hair back from her face. "Kathryn? Can you hear me?"

"Yes," she murmured, to his joy. "What happened?"

"You fainted. Too much tension, the doc said."

"I'll say. Gods, am I glad that's over."

"How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess. Can I sit up?"

"Do you want to?"

"Yes. I'm tired of staring at the ceiling." Chakotay helped her into a sitting position, and they settled in to wait for the news about the inoculate. They didn't have to wait long; Devina came in shortly afterward, smiling with excitement.

"We're going to be able to synthesize a serum from the antibodies in the amniotic fluid. Apparently the virus is transmitted through the placental barrier, but it's mutated on it's way through. It becomes a natural antidote to itself in the original form."

Kathryn sagged against Chakotay in relief. "That's wonderful news! Is there any reason I can't help?"

"None that I can think of. Do you feel all right?"

"Hungry, but okay otherwise. I'll just replicate some juice, or something." She turned to Chakotay. "You may as well go on and take care of whatever it was Taylor needed you for this morning. It seems the excitement's over."

"Thank the Gods," he murmured, as he brushed a kiss across her lips. Then he leaned down and whispered, "Don't forget to ask about your back!" When he pulled back he had a wicked grin on his face.

"I'll try to remember, Commander," she teased him. "Now, go. Let me get some work done here."

"Aye-aye, Captain." He kissed her once more, then left the room.

"He loves you a great deal," Devina commented quietly, as they returned to the research lab.

"I love him a great deal," Kathryn told her friend.

**********************

Chakotay stopped by the Cluster about 1600 to see if Kathryn was ready to go home yet. She was sitting on a stool, chin propped in her hand, staring off into space.

"Kathryn? You okay?" He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hi." She refocused and looked up at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be tied up all day?"

"It has been all day. It's almost 1600 hours."

"Already?"

"Already," he mocked gently. "What were you doing?" He held out his hand to help her off the stool.

"Oh, just wool-gathering. We finished the serum about an hour ago--the doctor wants to wait to inoculate me until after the baby is born. You, he'll do tomorrow." She jumped down with a grace that belied her size, and he grinned.

"So I get to be the first pincushion."

"I believe I've already been there."

"I believe you have too. Shall we go?"

"Yes. I'm tired, hungry and my back hurts again." As if to illustrate her point she reached behind with one hand to support it. "And I forgot to ask the doctor. Well, I can talk to him tomorrow. I just want to go home, right now."

"Your wish is my command, my lady." He bowed, and gestured for her to go in front of him. "Lead on."

They were about halfway between their home and the settlement when Kathryn stopped abruptly and looked down. "What?"

"I think I've just had a small accident," she said, blushing in the late afternoon sunlight.

"You what?--Oh. Well, we'll be home in a few minutes. Or you can go behind the trees," Chakotay grinned at her embarrassment.

Kathryn's eyes narrowed. "You know, Commander. I'm only going to get bigger. One of these days I may sit on you and never get up!" She paused with a very strange look on her face. "Chakotay--I think something is very, very wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think this is an accident. I think my water just broke."

"Oh, Gods," he breathed. "We've got to get you back to the Cluster. Can you walk?"

"Yes--ow!" She grimaced. "That was a contraction."

"Come on. Are you sure you can walk?"

"I don't know--" She stopped again to look down. Chakotay followed her gaze. There was a puddle of fluid at her feet. She looked back up at him and he saw fear in her eyes. Not waiting to ask her, Chakotay swung Kathryn up in his arms and took off in the direction they'd just come from at the quickest pace he was able. It was awkward, to say the least, but from the look on Kathryn's face the contractions were fairly strong, and frequent. There was no way she could walk, and no way he was taking her home.

The guard on gate-duty was John Campbell. He was a likable man, and was calm during emergencies. He'd been on of the first people to help with the triage after the crash, and had learned some emergency first aid since then, in order to be more helpful. As soon as he saw Chakotay emerge from the trees, Kathryn in his arms, he hit the communications button that rang into the Cluster. One of the med-techs answered the call and he told her to activate the EMHP, and to stand by, since they'd be there in a minute. As Chakotay neared the gate John opened it, then took Kathryn from Chakotay once they were through.

"I'll carry her now, man. You're beat. Just follow me." And he took off at a rapid pace, Chakotay following behind. John hurried through the settlement, and into the Cluster hallway. By-passing the public entrance he went around through the research area, which he knew was quicker. Chakotay saw Devina working in her office, and darted through the door to let her know what was happening. She looked up, startled when she heard his voice.

"Dev--Kath's going into labor."

"Oh, no. I was really hoping--maybe the doctor can stop it. There are medications that can stop contractions. Did her water break?" She stood up and walked around the desk, and followed Chakotay into the hall.

"Yes. We were almost home when it happened." His voice cracked. "Oh, Gods. She's got to be all right..." He trailed off, unable to say anymore. Devina pulled on his arm, hurrying him along. As they got near the exam room they could hear Kathryn groaning. "Kathryn--" Chakotay stopped as the groan turned into a scream, his face going dead white.

"Chakotay!" Devina hissed at him. "Come on, she needs you." She pushed him through the door. The doctor was doing a cervical check. He looked up when they came through the door.

"Commander, Devina. This is going to be quick. She's almost fully dilated. Devina, do you know how to activate the uterine-simulation support system?"

"Yes, doctor."

"Then please do so. Quickly." He turned back to Kathryn who gave another groan. Chakotay quickly moved over to Kathryn's side. He grasped her hand, which she squeezed gratefully.

"Ohh... ohh... I need-- I have to push!" She cried out as the next contraction began.

"Wait a minute, Captain. Breathe through the contraction. That's it, breathe."

"Squeeze my hand, Kath. Come on, thata girl." Chakotay knew he was holding his breath, too, but was trying to be encouraging.

The doctor was checking Kathryn again. "You're fully dilated. This has got to be the quickest labor I've ever seen."

"Can. I. Push." Kathryn gritted out between her teeth as the next contraction began.

"Yes. Push now, Captain. Bear down, bear down... that's it. Okay, relax." The doctor watched the monitor he'd hooked her up to carefully. "Another contraction is beginning. Commander, help her concentrate. Deep breath, Captain. Now, PUSH! Again!"

Kathryn groaned loudly as she pushed as hard as she could. It was almost there... "I can see the baby's head, Captain," she heard the doctor saying. "I want you to push hard with the next contraction. Deep breath... ready... PUSH! Harder! Stop pushing, Captain. That's it." He placed his hand gently over the baby's head, guiding it slowly into the world. "Breathe through the next contraction, Captain. That's it, breathe,"

"YOU breathe through a contraction, and see how it feels!" Kathryn yelled at him. Every fiber in her body was screaming to push, to get this out of her body. To not obey that command was the hardest thing she'd every done.

"Now! PUSH. Again. Again. Ahh, there we go!" Kathryn felt the baby slide from her body with the doctor's words. "Congratulations, it's a boy!" She opened her mouth to ask if she could see him, when another groan of pain was torn from her.

"Oh, God! The pains are back! They're worse... oh, no..." She could feel that urge to push again, crushing her in it's vise-like grip. "Chakotay..." She grabbed onto his hands and squeezed.

"Doc, what's wrong with her?" Chakotay felt like his heart was thundering in his ears, he could hardly hear what the doctor was saying.

"...another baby! I can't believe the tricorder scans didn't pick this up. Devina--take this one." He quickly clamped and cut the umbilical cord then held the oh-so-tiny baby out to her. She took the little boy and began washing the birthing blood off of him. The sooner he was placed in the uterine-simulation unit, the better off he'd be. The doctor turned around just in time to catch the baby that was sliding from Kathryn's body. "Another boy! Twins, Commander; Captain."

After clamping and cutting the cord he handed this baby to Devina to be placed in the sim unit; then turned back to deliver the placenta, and to care for the mother.

Kathryn was exhausted. It has been a very short, very intense labor. Twins! What a surprise... "Let me see my babies," she choked out. Her throat was so dry she felt like she'd never had anything to drink in her life. Chakotay propped her up into more of a sitting position so she could see into the sim unit.

"Oh... they're so tiny. Will they be okay?"

"Yes. We got them into the uterine-sim unit almost immediately.

"What does that thing do?" Chakotay asked.

"Well, as the name would imply, it simulates the conditions of the womb during pregnancy. Not completely, of course, but close enough. The unit is filled with a synthetic form of amniotic fluid, which is what the baby breathes during gestation. In this case, since the babies were born vaginally, and the umbilical cords were cut, we will place a tiny tube down their throats to supply nutrients, and oxygenate the fluid--in essence, performing the same functions as an umbilical cord. We keep the fluid at around body temperature, and the unit is artificially darkened, so the babies aren't unduly stressed."

"How long do they have to be in there?" Kathryn pressed a hand up against the sim unit.

"At least a couple of weeks, possibly longer. Their lungs are very immature right now, and they need time to grow. We'll be giving them medication to assist in that, but time is the best thing. After all, these babies weren't supposed to be born for at least two more months."

Kathryn leaned back again the bed and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe this day! When she got up this morning, she'd been pregnant, and had figured she'd be that way for a while yet. At least the babies seemed to be all right. So little... "How big are they?" She asked the Doctor.

"The first-born is approximately 11 inches in length, and weighs just over one pound. The second baby is 11 1/2 inches in length, and about four ounces heavier." He looked up at the concerned faces watching him. "They will grow--quite rapidly, you'll see. The final trimester for a baby is all growth. All development is done in the first six months. The lungs are the only exception, and even they are developed, just not mature enough to handle oxygen well in a gaseous form."

After they had Kathryn cleaned up and settled comfortably in an actual bed, the doctor and Devina left to give the new parents a little time alone to adjust to their new status. The sim-unit was wheeled into the doctor's office, where he'd be able to keep an eye on it. Kathryn was so tired, she felt like all she wanted to do was sleep. "How long am I going to stay here," she asked Chakotay.

"I don't know. The doctor didn't say. Why?" He sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

"I was just wondering. No particular reason." She smiled, then yawned. "We're going to have to think of names for them."

"I know. I was expecting to have more time to think about this."

"I was too. But," she yawned again, "We don't have to do it tonight, thank goodness."

"Mmm. Tired?"

She smiled faintly. "How could you tell?"

"Well, you're not usually so unattentive when we're in bed together," he teased gently.

"We're not in bed together," she pointed out. "I'm in the bed; you're just on it." Another yawn, this one nearly splitting her face in half. "Besides, I'm hardly in the mood." Chakotay chuckled at her attempt at humor, then kissed her.

"Go to sleep. I'll go see if I can stay here with you. If not, I'm sure Daelin and Devina; or Taylor, or someone will take pity on me."

"I'm sure they will, too." Kathryn closed her eyes in contentment. "I love you, Chakotay."

"I love you. Thank you for our sons," he whispered softly to her. Kathryn didn't hear him; she was already asleep.

**********************

Kathryn watched her sons playing outside, throwing leaves at each other. Mikal and Beylan were growing so fast it was hard to believe they were almost three. It seemed so hard now to remember how tiny they were at birth: two months passed before the Doctor declared them big enough to survive in the outside world on their own. Even then, they still weren't very big.

Mikal was the firstborn, and actually smaller at birth than his brother. When he was "re-birthed" as she called it, he was just a shade under 18 inches, and weighed almost six pounds. Beylan had grown considerably also, but wasn't much bigger than Mikal. He was "re-birthed" at 18 1/4 inches, and six and a half pounds.

She and Chakotay had spent at least part of every day at the Cluster, talking to their sons through the sim-unit, and just sitting there, being near them. For the first month one or the other spent the night there too, just in case. In case of what, she never was real sure. That something might happen to them after all was a fear she was unwilling to acknowledge, but still felt deep down inside. Chakotay felt the same way, perhaps even more so, since he was much more in tune with life than she was. Kathryn loved their sons fiercely, but Chakotay had a bond with them that she could never duplicate.

She knew Chakotay was outside with the boys, although she didn't see him. There weren't many days that the three of them didn't spend together; Chakotay was so happy to have sons to pass his history and knowledge on to. From behind her came the gentle breathing noises of a newborn sleeping--their daughter had been born only three weeks ago, a welcome addition to the family.

There would be no more children, however. Treya's birth had been hard on Kathryn, and the doctor recommended no more children. She was content with her family; in truth, felt she couldn't possibly ask for more. In addition to her wonderful family she was part of the council for the settlement, which had been doing some of it's own growing with fourteen new births in the near three years since it's inception. The inoculate, which the doctor had developed for the insect bites had been successful--everyone was inoculated now, including children; the colony was thriving. The only tragedy they'd experienced since the colony began in fact, was a year ago, when Taylor's wife Michaela had contracted an unknown type of fever, and died before a cure could be found.

Once in a while Kathryn would think about Voyager, and her crew, and wonder how they were doing. Had they found a way back to the Alpha Quadrant? Had any more run-ins with the Kazon? Merged into one, true crew? She figured the last two were the most likely to happen: stable wormholes going where you needed them to go were extremely rare. She hoped everyone was doing well. Tuvok was an able leader, but he couldn't provide the emotional support they would need. Kes was able to provide a great deal of that--she was a natural in that department, but Kes wouldn't be around forever. She sighed, wondering what the odds were that she'd ever see any of them again. Strange, she no longer wished to see Earth again, except perhaps to see her family. No, she was very happy here on New Earth. A young voice behind her broke her out of her reverie.

"Mema! Mema, see!" Beylan ran through the door, shouting for her. She met him halfway across the room, finger to her lips.

"Shh, Bey. Treya's sleeping."

"Tay sleep?"

"Yes, baby. Treya's sleeping. Shh. Don't wake her up." She pulled the child back through the door. "What did you want, honey?"

"Show Mema."

"Show momma what, baby?"

"Eeves."

"You want to show momma the leaves?"

"Yess." He cocked his head up at her in a perfect imitation of his father. "Mema see eeves." He pulled her over to the pile near the woodshed.

"Did you gather these leaves?" He nodded his head. "All by yourself?"

"No, Mema. Mika help."

"Mikal helped you?"

"Yess."

"And where is your brother?"

"Wi' Daddy."

"Over here, Kathryn." Chakotay's deep voice carried across the small clearing. Shading her eyes with her hand she could see him standing near the entrance to the root cellar they'd dug last spring.

"What are you doing?" She called to him.

"Getting ready to clean out the cellar. Can you take these two imps inside for a little bit?" Chakotay swung Mikal up over his head and settled him on his shoulders. Mikal shrieked with excitement. Kathryn turned to look at Beylan who was tugging on her pants and chanting "up, up, up." She picked him up and settled him on her hip while she walked across the clearing.

"What, you don't want any extra 'help'?" She couldn't help but grin at him. Her eyes roamed over his face as they did every time she saw him, whether it had been five hours or five minutes. Or, as in the case last summer, five weeks.

"Not at present. I need to get this done with, so the horses have something to tide them over until we get crops in. Besides," Chakotay swung Mikal back down to the ground, "I think it's time they helped out in the house a little bit." His eyes gleamed with humor. After all these years here - over four now - Chakotay still did a lot of the 'domestic' stuff--particularly the cooking.

"Well, they probably could stand to take a nap before dinner time." Kathryn's sharp eye caught Beylan's yawn before he could hide it. "Come on you two, you've been out here all morning."

"Don wanta nap." Mikal's speech was more advanced than Beylan's, and he didn't usually hesitate to make his opinions known.

"Well, you need a nap. Uncle Taylor is coming over later today, and you want to be rested enough to play with him, don't you?" Kathryn turned a stern eye on her eldest son.

"Yeas." Mikal looked at Beylan. "We nap, Bey." He grabbed his brother's hand and headed toward the house.

"Good luck, love." Chakotay smiled at her.

"Thanks. I think I've got it under control, though."

Kathryn smiled and turned toward the house.

The boys were already in their beds when she walked into their room. "Do you want a drink before going to sleep?"

"No, Mema. We sleep now."

"Okay, sweetheart. Beylan?"

"No dink, Mema. Seep." He rubbed his eyes.

"All right, baby. Sleep tight, you two. Sweet dreams."

She turned off the light and closed their door. As Kathryn walked into the main room she heard the baby beginning to fuss, and hurried into her bedroom to get her. "There, there, baby. Is it lunch time already?" Treya shifted her gaze to look at her mother, and whimpered some more. "Okay, Treya." Kathryn loosened her blouse and lifted the baby to her breast. After the infant had latched on, Kathryn shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed, and thought back to the summer over a year ago, when Chakotay came in with the news that they'd discovered equine lifeforms on the planet.

They made dinner that night, and put the boys to bed as usual. But then, rather than stay up working on their personal projects, they went to bed themselves and made love slowly, lovingly. It was rare these days that they had much time together to spend making love--extra time was usually spent picking up the house, doing outside chores, helping out with various projects in town. But since Chakotay was going to be gone for several weeks (at least), the longest they'd been separated ever, they wanted to have a few special moments to last them through.

"I promise. Never." He leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss on her forehead--

"Kathryn? You awake in here?" It was Chakotay's voice... where was she? Oh, yes. Feeding Treya.

"I'm in here, honey." She called softly. Treya had fallen asleep nursing, and was gently sucking in her sleep. Chakotay walked into the room and stood for a moment just gazing at his wife and daughter. Then he frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?"

"You look like you've been crying."

"Oh--just doing a little remembering, that's all."

"Sad memories?"

"A little. Mostly just intense memories. Here, take her, will you?" Kathryn gently detached the baby and handed her to her father. She watched him cradle the baby in his big hands for a moment before placing her in the cradle that sat in the corner of the room.

"What were you remembering?" He wouldn't let it go.

"Just--the first roundup."

"Oh." His eyes clouded over. That had not been a good memory. "Anything else?"

"Thoughts about Voyager, and the crew. Do you ever wonder how they're doing?" Kathryn glanced at Chakotay under her lashes.

"Yeah, sometimes. I wonder if the Maquis are still getting along with the 'Fleet crew--Tuvok just doesn't have the capabilities you have. I wonder if Paris has gotten himself thrown into the brig yet, or worse. How B'Elanna's doing--" He broke off, feeling rather melancholy himself. Chakotay reached out for Kathryn's hand. "Let's go see how the boys are doing. They should be waking up pretty soon--you've been in here for an hour."

"That long?" Kathryn asked in surprise.

"Mmhm. I thought you were taking a nap too, at first. I've been in the house for fifteen minutes, at least. You never heard me, you were so lost in thought."

"Well, I'd better get busy. Is Taylor still coming for dinner?" Kathryn stood up from the bed.

"As far as I know. Oh, you'll be happy to hear that the root cellar is clean, and ready for this year's crop."

"Good! Now, if Devina will show me again how to can tomatoes..." Chakotay's laughter echoed her own as they moved out into the main part of the house to prepare for their coming company.

**********************

Voyager Interlude

"Red alert, all hands--brace for impact!" B'Elanna Torres, Captain of the starship Voyager hollered the command, then grabbed her console to brace herself. Just as the full impact of the plasma pulse hit Voyager sparks flew and Paris saw B'Elanna slump down.

"Paris to Transporter Room 2! Medical emergency--beam the Captain straight to sickbay." There was no response. Damn! "Status, Mr. Kim?" Paris bent down to check B'Elanna's pulse. It was weak, but regular.

"Transporters are off-line, Commander. Shields are holding at 65%, but I'm not sure for how much longer. We have a hull breach on deck eight--temporary force-field is in place, and a repair crew is already on its way."

"How long until we're through the pulse?"

"Unknown, sir. I estimate about an hour."

"We're through the worst?"

"Aye, sir." Harry punched in a few commands on his console, then his eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Tom-er, Commander! Sensors indicate the presence of a wormhole on the other side of the pulse!"

Tom shot him a disbelieving look. "Stable?"

"Unknown until we send a probe through."

"Can we do that now?"

Harry Kim shook his head. "Not until we're through the pulse."

"Okay. Stand down red alert. Maintain yellow. Shields at maximum until we clear the pulse. Lieutenant Kim, you have the bridge. I'm taking the Captain to sickbay."

"Aye, sir."

The last thing Tom heard as he entered the turbolift with B'Elanna in his arms was Harry calling out requests for status reports.

Tom cradled B'Elanna in his arms, hoping she was all right. Logically he knew she was--her pulse was regular, her breathing even. She didn't show evidence of any bad burns, just a couple of small ones on her arms. Most likely she just a jolt of electricity, and --

"Tom?"

"Bea! Oh, Gods, I'm glad to see you." He held her close to him for a minute. She looked at him in bemusement, noting the concern in his cerulean gaze.

"What happened? Why are you carrying me?" She struggled weakly against him for a minute, then gave up.

"You got shocked real bad on the bridge a minute ago. Passed right out. Transporters are off-line, so I'm taking you to sickbay." As he spoke the turbolift doors opened, and Tom exited, setting a brisk pace for sickbay.

The place was quite crowded, but a quick look around assured Tom that the majority of injuries were minor--mostly bumps and bruises, with a few burns thrown in for flavor. He placed B'Elanna on one of the bio-beds, then grabbed a medical tricorder and began scanning her.

"Yep, you're all right. Just a shock."

"I could've told you that, if you'd given me a minute." B'Elanna shook her head fondly at Tom. "You're worse than a mother-hen."

Kes came over to them. "Captain! Are you all right?" Her voice is a lot weaker than usual, B'Elanna thought to herself. She took a long look at Kes. The Ocampa was almost seven years old. That made her well into her old age. B'Elanna didn't like to think of Voyager without Kes.

"I'm fine, Kes. Just got shocked when one of the consoles shorted out. Tom brought me here as a precaution."

"And a good one, too." Kes cocked her head at Tom. "How about you, Commander? How do you feel?"

Old, Tom thought. Very old. "I'm fine. I didn't get bumped, bruised or burned. I could use a shower, a beer and bed; not necessarily in that order." He flashed his old trademark grin then asked, "Were there any fatalities?"

"None."

"Thank the Goddess," B'Elanna said. She slapped her commbadge. "Captain to Kim. Status reports?"

"Damage is widespread, but minimal, Captain. We should have Voyager ready to go in a few hours, if that wormhole pans out."

"Wormhole? What wormhole, Harry?"

"The Commander didn't tell you?"

"The Commander hasn't had a chance yet, Captain." Tom said. "Let's go check on the ship, and I'll tell you on the way. Harry, keep up the good work."

"Aye-aye!"

Tom and B'Elanna moved out of sickbay, and started down the corridor. Tom explained about Harry's sensor discovery, and their plans to send a probe through as soon as they were clear of the plasma pulse. The first stop for Captain and First Officer was Voyager's nursery. Once inside the door a tiny girl with traces of Klingon heritage mixed with bright blue eyes threw herself at them.

"Mommy! Daddy! I wasn't scared a bit!" She pulled on Tom's uniform until he crouched down beside her. "Not one bit, Daddy."

"You're a very brave girl, aren't you, Katie?"

She nodded seriously. "I am. Just like you, Mommy, and uncle Harry."

B'Elanna picked their daughter up. "You are very brave, sweetheart. Can you be brave a bit longer? Mommy and Daddy have to check their ship and make sure it's not hurt."

"Who hurted the ship Mommy?"

"Well, we don't think anyone did. But that really big bump we felt a little while ago might have. We just have to check."

"I can stay with Samantha and Josie and Trey and Karina?"

"Yes, you can. And Samantha will take good care of you until we pick you up in a little while. Okay?"

"'Kay, Mommy. I love you. I love you, too, Daddy."

"We love you, Katie. Can Daddy have a kiss?" Tom reached for his daughter, still finding it hard to believe, even after two years that she belonged to him. Kathryn Paris-Torres kissed her Daddy and Mommy then ran back to play with her friends, Josie, Karina and Trey, the only other children aboard Voyager at present. Samantha Wildman walked over. She'd been interested in the status of the ship, but reluctant to intrude on the family moment. She knew this particular family got less of them than any other on Voyager.

"How is the ship, Captain?"

"Actually in pretty good condition, Samantha. Some repairs will be necessary, but won't take long. We're also exploring a possible wormhole."

Samantha's eyes grew wide at that, but she didn't say anything. The crew had been disappointed too many times to expect much anymore. After all, they'd been trying to get home for almost seven years now! They spoke for a few moments more, but then Tom reminded her quietly that they needed to check out the rest of the ship. Samantha smiled and told them, "Just let me know if you're running over. Josie and I will take Katie home with us until you can get her."

"Thanks, Sam," Tom threw over his shoulder. "We appreciate it."

They toured the rest of the ship quickly, then split at Engineering; B'Elanna to stay and check things out carefully, and Tom to return to the bridge. Harry had the probe all set to launch as soon as they were clear of the plasma pulse, and the repair crews were proceeding quickly. All that remained was to make the log entries... Tom's eyes glazed over at the thought.

Just thinking about the paperwork end of command was enough to make him wish himself back about three years. Then he thought about some of the changes to his life in those three years, and reconsidered. Like B'Elanna and Katie. Who'd have thought? Not him, surely. And yet, when he thought about it, it seemed so obvious. 

He and B'Elanna had been in charge of Voyager for about a week. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary (whatever that was) happen, but by the end of the week he could see that B'Elanna was wound tighter than a warp coil. He was afraid that if anyone touched her she'd shatter. That evening, after bridge duty was over he decided to go see her. Harry was busy courting their new conn officer at Sandrines, so he didn't really have anyone to hang out with. He and B'Elanna used to hang out, but since they had this new "command relationship" things were a little unusual. Still, one of the First Officer's duties was to see to the welfare of the crew, and that included the Captain. He buzzed at her door and heard a muffled "Come." The first thing he noticed when he walked the door was the unusual slump to her shoulders. If it were anyone else, he'd think they were crying...

Their daughter was a complete surprise. When B'Elanna told Tom she was pregnant he found himself completely speechless. When she was born he hadn't been able to stop his mouth: she was so beautiful, he still couldn't believe it. But that was only the beginning of the surprises. Kathryn Gena Paris-Torres was what the doctor called a "bona fide genius". She talked at eight months. By a year she was using complete sentences. Now, at two, she was already learning Klingon, and beginning to use that as well. Sometimes, when he stopped and thought about it, his daughter almost scared him. But she and B'Elanna were undeniably the best things that had ever happened to him. 

"Commander." Harry's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We've cleared the plasma pulse."

"Ready to launch that probe, Harry?"

"Yes, sir!" Harry grinned at him and pushed a button on his console. Tom smiled back, but reflected that he had seen a couple of gray hairs in Harry's hair the other day. Even Harry's getting older. It must be everywhere. "Probe's been launched, Commander."

Tom slapped his commbadge. "Paris to Captain Torres."

"Torres here. Go ahead, Commander."

"Wanted to let you know we've launched the probe into the wormhole."

"I'm on my way, Commander."

Tom turned to Harry. "How long until we know something?" Harry looked at his sensor readings and shook his head.

"It's hard to say. Probably about 10-12 hours."

Tom sat down in his chair and sighed. It was going to be a long watch.

Harry, Tom and B'Elanna had just sat down to Neelix' latest creation when Harry's commbadge chittered. "Ensign B'Rol to Lieutenant Kim."

"Kim here."

"Lieutenant, you said to notify you the second the probe began transmitting. Sensors are showing it's nearly through the wormhole."

"I'm on my way, Ensign." He pushed his chair back and stood up from the table. "Anyone else coming?" Harry teased.

B'Elanna had already stood up, and Tom was shoving back also. "I wouldn't miss this for all the latinum in the galaxy," Tom told him.

"Come on you two," B'Elanna was impatiently waiting for them at the door. "The two of you are slower than Treglan syrup."

They exited onto the bridge and took their places. Greta Holmin was at conn position although it wasn't her duty shift, having decided that nothing was going to stop her from piloting them through to the Alpha Quadrant.

"Status, Mr. Kim?" No time like the present, B'Elanna decided.

There was a long pause as Harry checked all the sensor readings and typed commands into the console at his elbow. The pause was becoming interminable when he looked up, a huge grin plastered across his face. "It exited in the Gamma Quadrant, 15,000 kilometers from the entrance to the DS9 wormhole."

For a moment there was complete, stunned silence across the bridge. Finally Tom, afraid to get his hopes up too high, asked, "Is it stable?"

"The sensor readings from the probe indicate stability. It's a different kind of wormhole. Has an almost artificial feel to it." Harry looked at them. "Do you want me to send another probe through?"

B'Elanna shook her head. "We don't have that many left." She fell silent for a moment, trying to decide what to do.

Tom broke the unnatural silence once again. "Do you suppose Starfleet has figured out a way to make a wormhole, after all? We have been gone almost seven years--technology is bound to have changed."

Harry nodded and B'Elanna replied, "It's just possible they have. Harry, are impulse and warp engines back on line?"

"Aye, Captain."

"Lieutenant Holmin, set our course for the wormhole, full impulse power. Let's see where this thing goes."

"Aye-aye, Captain. Course laid in and engaged."

Tom could still feel the shift in power beneath his feet--the mark of a good pilot, some had said. He held his breath as Voyager sailed into the wormhole. "How long, Harry?"

Harry didn't even bother to look at his sensors this time. "Probably about as long as the probe took."

B'Elanna glanced around the bridge at the tension-filled faces. She flipped a switch to open a ship-wide channel then took a deep breath. "Attention, all crew members. This is Captain Torres. We have just entered a wormhole that should take us into the Gamma quadrant, close to the Bajoran wormhole. If all goes well, we should be back in Federation space by this time tomorrow. I will keep you apprised of any changes. Captain Torres out." She turned back to Tom. "We need to talk. Call a senior officers meeting for ten minutes from now. I'll be in my ready room." With that she left the bridge.

Ten minutes later she was looking around the conference table at the faces of her senior officers. Her officers. This still felt wrong, even after three years. It should be Captain Janeway standing here, she thought. Not me. There was Tom, her husband, lover, and First Officer. Harry Kim looking remarkably old all of a sudden. Lieutenants Holmin, Carey and Hogan covered conn and engineering. Lieutenant Spri'B'a from Security. Neelix entered as she was noting all present.

"Kes won't be able to make it," he began. "She's fallen ill."

"Ill?" Tom questioned.

"Her heart is beginning to fail. The doctor has her confined to bed for now." Neelix took a deep breath and held it for a minute. "I don't think she's going to last much longer, and neither does the doctor."

"No--" The senior officers breathed almost as one.

"Neelix, are you sure? Maybe she's just having an off day," B'Elanna's eyes implored him to tell her it was going to be better. If Tom was her right hand, then Kes had become her left. She just couldn't imagine Voyager without her.

"No, Captain. She's over eight years old now. Ocampa seldom live beyond nine, many don't make it that long." Neelix blinked the tears out of his eyes. "I've been hoping she'd live to see the Alpha Quadrant after all this time, but it doesn't look like she will."

B'Elanna sat down heavily in her chair. This was something she'd known was inevitable, but had hoped never to have to deal with. "I'll stop by and see her after this."

"She'll like that. Thank you." Neelix sat quietly, waiting for the focus to shift from him.

B'Elanna sat back in her chair. "We need to discuss who we contact first, and what our options will be. We have no idea what the political situation will be in the Neutral Zone. Everything could be over with, or have escalated. We need to come up with some answers to questions we haven't even considered yet. First, I'm going to play the recordings that Tuvok made for us; he had some ideas about all this that probably originated with Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay." She looked around the room, then pressed the play button.

Four hours later the senior officers emerged from the conference room. They were tired, but felt confident that the plans they had come up with would take care of all crew members, Starfleet and Maquis alike. The next question was: when would they know?

To help the time pass B'Elanna decided to go down and visit with Kes like she'd told Neelix. The computer verified that Kes was inside her quarters, resting. B'Elanna rang the door chime, and entered when she heard Kes call out. She looked around for her.

"Kes?"

"In here, Bea." In private Kes called her by the same name that Tom and Harry did. Publicly she was Captain, but this was a private moment, thank heavens.

B'Elanna entered the semi-darkened bedroom, shocked by the sight of her friend. Kes had aged significantly, in the short time since she'd seen her yesterday. She sat down on the bed next to Kes and picked up her hand. "How do you feel?"

"Weak, tired. I know I'm dying--I can feel myself slipping away inside."

"No, Kes. You can't die. I won't let you die."

"Bea, you can't stop it. I've known for a long time I was dying. I'm over eight years old. That's ancient for my people." She was quiet for a moment, letting B'Elanna hear what she way saying. "I'm tired, Bea. I'm sorry I won't get to see the Alpha Quadrant, but at least I've had this much of the journey with you all."

B'Elanna tried to smile, but couldn't seem to make her mouth move. "We're going to miss you."

"I know. I can feel the grief moving around on the ship." She smiled impishly for a minute, reminding B'Elanna of the sprightly young woman she'd been once. "I haven't even died yet, and you all miss me. How loved I've been! I've made some wonderful friends on this ship, Bea. I've enjoyed a full, meaningful life, and been loved by Neelix through almost all of it. I've gotten to learn things I never would have, if I'd stayed with the Ocampa, or worse, been left with the Kazon. I have no regrets, Bea. I don't even wish anymore that my life was longer. I've done what I've wanted to do. Don't try to bind me here any longer, please." The last word was spoken softly, gently, and B'Elanna felt tears coursing down her cheeks.

"I know it's selfish of me Kes, but I don't want to lose you. You've been such a good friend to me, and helped me--all of us--out in so many ways..."

"But we all have to move on B'Elanna. You know that. Remember how hard it was to leave the Captain and Chakotay? Because we have a hard time accepting that things happen for a reason, and we just have to move on. Even me. It was hard for me to accept that, too."

"Oh, Kes. I hope you get a longer life in the next incarnation. Anyone with the soul you have should live 1000 years." B'Elanna bent down to hug her friend, and to kiss her forehead, like she did tucking Katie in at night. "Will I see you again?"

Kes shook her head. "I doubt it. Call Neelix for me, would you please?"

"Of course," B'Elanna choked out. "Goodbye, my friend."

"Goodbye, B'Elanna. Take care of yourself, and Tom. And don't let Katie forget me." Kes squeezed B'Elanna's hand.

"Never. Never." B'Elanna squeezed back, then fled the room. She waited until she was in the corridor to call Neelix, then almost ran to her quarters.

The end of Alpha shift found B'Elanna pacing the bridge, waiting anxiously for something, anything to happen. She was partway through her fourth trip around when Harry called out, "Captain--we're nearing the exit for the wormhole! Hang on, it'll be bumpy."

It was bumpy. But they'd been thrown around before, and oftentimes a lot harder. After that initial bump they shot out the exit, and into (hopefully) the Gamma quadrant.

"All stop, Lieutenant."

"Answering all stop, Captain."

"Harry?"

Another pause, then Harry's voice: "Captain--we're in the Gamma quadrant!" A resounding cheer echoed across the bridge, and for the first time since assuming command of this ship, B'Elanna felt like things might work out after all. Tom leaned across his console and kissed her, right there on the bridge. She didn't care. They were almost home.

"Lieutenant, can we send a sub-space message from here?"

"Aye, Captain. There will be a little bit of a lag, of course."

"Of course." She stood. "I'll be in my ready room. You have the bridge, Commander."

"Aye, Captain." Tom watched her exit, knowing she was going to send the message from her ready room, prepared to turn back for the Delta Quadrant if the message from Starfleet had bad news. "Maintain this position, Lieutenant," he told Lieutenant Holmin.

"Aye, Sir."

Two hours later, when Tom felt like his nerves couldn't stand any more waiting, B'Elanna exited the ready room with a big smile on her face. Rather than saying anything to the bridge crew, she walked across to her chair, and opened the ship-wide communications once more.. "Attention all crew members. I have just been in communication with Starfleet personnel at Deep-Space 9. They have informed me that negotiations for a new peace treaty were finished several years ago that expanded the neutral zone and removed Federation colonies from Cardassian-occupied space. Amnesty and pardons have been granted for all members of the Maquis. We've been invited to return home as soon as we're able. We should be docking at Deep Space 9 in a matter of hours. Torres out." Eyes shining, B'Elanna turned to Lieutenant Holmin. "Lieutenant, set a course for the Bajoran wormhole, warp six."

"Course and speed laid in, Captain."

"Engage."

The reception at Deep Space 9 was beyond anything Tom had imagined. Captain Sisko had whisked B'Elanna off for a debriefing, then reappeared to lead them all to Quark's where the entire space station toasted their return. A sub-space message had been dispatched to Vulcan for Tuvok's wife, and a reply came a bit later that she would be enroute immediately. When the furor caused by their appearance had died down a bit B'Elanna, Tom, Harry and Greta returned to Voyager to the Captain's quarters to talk a bit. Katie was already asleep. Samantha Wildman's daughter Josie had stayed with her, with the holodoc monitoring in case of an emergency. Tom tucked Josie in next to Katie, since Samantha was still on DS9, and thanked their holographic babysitter. The four had just sat down at the table to drink some coffee and relax when B'Elanna's commbadge beeped.

"Neelix to B'Elanna."

B'Elanna frowned. "Torres here."

"Captain--" His voice broke, and they knew immediately what had happened. "Kes is... that is, she..."

"Understood, Mr. Neelix," B'Elanna answered softly. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Not right now, thank you." They could hear the little Talaxian sobbing over the comlink. "I'll let you know. Neelix out."

B'Elanna looked at Tom, who had tears in his eyes. They all did. She wiped hers and sighed. "At least she got to the Alpha Quadrant," she said finally. "That was the only thing she wanted, in the end."

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry asked, "So, what happens now?"

"Well, we return to earth for debriefing. Then we figure out a way to go back and get them." B'Elanna spoke quietly, but firmly.

"Them?" Tom asked.

"The Captain and Chakotay. We're not just leaving them there."

"No, I guess we're not." Tom smiled at the look he saw in B'Elanna's eyes, then turned to Harry and Greta. "I guess we're gonna log some more miles."

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" They smiled at one another then, thinking about the adventure now past them; and the one yet to come.

**********************

An Ending and A Beginning

It was a warm spring day, and he was sweaty. After wiping off his forehead and taking a long drink from his canteen he returned to his work.. Plowing was hard work under the best circumstances, and this was a new field they were breaking. As the settlement of Secatta had grown over the years, so had the need for food. Some of the residents had moved outside the original town boundaries and taken up the task of agricultural pursuits. Eager to finish he shook the reins and shouted at the horses. Or, at least, the New Earth version of horses. They began to move again.

Off in the distance, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a shimmering light that almost looked like a transporter beam. That was really funny--the only transporters on New Earth were in the shuttle, and they were only used in an emergency. He couldn't think of anything that would constitute enough of an emergency to transport here, when he was still quite close to town. Curious now, the man pulled on the reins to stop the horses. Coming over the crest of the small hill was--oh, Gods, was that a Starfleet uniform?

"Excuse me," a familiar voice called. "Can you help me out?"

Shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun he was able to just make out the features of--"Tom Paris? What in the name of the Gods are you doing here?"

"Chakotay? Chakotay!" Tom whooped out loud, then ran the rest of the short distance to where Chakotay was standing. "I wasn't sure we'd be able to find you--we've been to three different planets so far, looking for you."

The two men embraced then pulled back to look at each other. Tom spoke first. "You've changed."

"I'll say." Chakotay ruefully ran his hand through his hair, which was mostly gray now. He looked Tom up and down, assessing what he saw. The four shiny pips on his collar made Chakotay's eyes open wide. "Guess you've changed some, too, Paris. Or should I say, Captain?"

Tom grinned. "Yes, I guess you should, since technically I outrank you now."

"What are you doing here? You've been back to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"Yes. We returned to the Alpha quadrant seven years ago." Tom's face lost a little of its animation remembering the tragedy that would always accompany the joy of the return.

"Seven." Chakotay saw the look in Tom's eyes. "What happened?"

"Kes died, just moments after we exited the wormhole. Bea told me that she'd said the only thing she regretted about dying was not seeing Alpha quad, but she did after all. However briefly."

"'Bea'?"

"B'Elanna." Tom grinned sheepishly. "She's here too, in the ship. We're in orbit around the planet."

"Well come on, Captain Paris. Let's go back to the house." Chakotay began unhitching the horses from the plow. "Do you ride, Paris?"

"Not unless I have to," came the quick reply. "Do I have to?"

"No, it just takes a little longer to walk."

"That's okay. You can catch me up on all that's happened here. God, it's been ten years, Commander."

"Almost eleven, actually."

"True. So..." Paris heaved a big sigh. "What happened around here? Last we knew, you and Captain Janeway were the only two on this planet. Our scans showed something like eighty?"

Chakotay nodded. "That's probably about right. About six months after you left there was a crash in the middle of the night. Kathryn and I went to investigate and discovered a ship of colonists. They'd been pulled into the Delta quadrant through some kind of combination black hole/wormhole. They'd had run-ins too with Seska and the Kazon. Anyway, their ship was irreparably damaged in the crash, so we salvaged what we could, and built a settlement. We named the settlement 'Secatta' a few years back."

"Outgrown the original boundaries too, haven't you?"

"Yes. That's why some of the farmland is out here--it takes a lot of food to keep a colony going. The house is just over this rise." Chakotay indicated the small hill they were climbing.

As they came up over the rise Tom was surprised to see a large dwelling--very cozy looking too, he decided. A lot bigger than the standard Starfleet shelter. There had been several additions made to it, and numerous outbuildings added. He whistled low. "Been busy, Commander?"

Chakotay smiled but didn't say anything. A wolf whistle split the air and Tom turned in surprise to look at Chakotay, who'd obviously made the noise. Shortly after came a ruckus of dogs and kids, with Tom having trouble telling who was who. After a minute, when things calmed slightly he was able to make out three children; two boys and a girl; and four dog-like animals.

"Okay," He said, turning to Chakotay. "I'll repeat the question. Been busy, Commander?"

"Tom Paris, meet Mikal; Beylan and Treya. And the dogs: Podo, Pongo, Kudo and Fred."

"Fred?"

"Treya found the name in some book at school and thought it was cute." He shrugged. "Who am I to argue? Say hi to Tom, kids."

"Hi." Treya was the first one to answer. She looked up shyly at him. "Do you have any kids I can play with? Girls?"

Tom heard Chakotay laugh behind him. He crouched down next to her. "As a matter of fact, I have two. One a little older than you, and one a little younger. How old are you?"

"Seven and a half."

"We're ten now," Mika stepped forward. "We're almost ready for our manhood ceremonies, Dad said so. I'm Mika. This is Beylan. He doesn't talk much. He's shy."

"Nice to meet you Mika, Beylan." Tom stood back up. "So, Chakotay. Where's your wife?"

"She's coming. She'll have heard the whistle too, but being the kind of woman she is, she'll wait so it doesn't seem like she heard it." His eyes grew warm as he looked down at the house. "Here she comes."

Tom turned around to see Captain Kathryn Janeway making her way toward them. His mouth opened once or twice, but nothing came out. As Kathryn approached he found his voice, stuttering out, "C-Captain!"

"Tom Paris!" She threw her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. "What are you doing here, Lieutenant? Oh, excuse me, Captain." She smiled as she caught sight of his pips. "You've had an interesting time of the last decade, haven't you?"

Tom shook his head. "You could say that, Captain."

"Please, call me Kathryn. I'm not exactly part of the command structure any longer, and anyway, you've got enough rank to call me by my first name even if I was!" Laughing, she shook her head. "I think you're about the last person I ever expected to see again. What about Voyager and her crew?"

"Cap--Kathryn. It's a very long story. Would you and the Commander like to have dinner with me aboard my ship tonight? You can bring the kids, I'd love to have them meet mine." His face registered distress immediately after he made his invitation. "I'm sorry--the virus! You can't leave the planet. Well, we can--"

A sound of genuine happiness broke forth from Kathryn.

"Tom, we've been cured for years."

"Cured? How? We just found a cure recently."

"We?" Chakotay managed around a chuckle.

"Starfleet Science has been working on it almost since we returned home. They downloaded the holodoc to the Vulcan Science Academy, but without a viable specimen--"

"Tom." He turned to look at Kathryn. "Our version of the doctor discovered a cure during my first pregnancy--our sons were carriers of an immunity-type version, and my system was also producing antibodies. Between the two, and our research team we were able to come up with a vaccine. Anyone living on this planet is vaccinated at birth. Actually, you'll need a vaccine, too." Kathryn watched Tom taking all the information in and gestured toward the house. "Let's go inside and get something to drink, and I'll finish explaining. But I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we'd be thrilled to take you up on your offer of dinner and a tour of your ship. I take it she's not Voyager?"

Tom went into the house. "No. Voyager has been reworked and refitted, but wasn't big enough to make this trip." He looked around. They really had made a home here. "How about 1730 hours? That gives us plenty of time for a tour before dinner."

Kathryn looked a Chakotay, who nodded. Eyes twinkling she told him, "1730 will be fine, Captain." The kids just stared at the adults, their eyes wide with surprise and excitement.

At exactly 1730 hours Chakotay, Kathryn and their family beamed aboard the USS Beacon. It was one of the little surprises that Tom had waiting for them. As Kathryn stepped off the transporter she said, "What in the galaxy is this ship?"

"Captain, I'm very proud to show to you the first Quadrant-class starship ever."

"Quadrant class?" Chakotay stepped down from the transporter pad and beckoned to his children to follow.

"Yep. We're equipped especially for inter-quadrant exploration and travel. We're a family ship, like the galaxy-class ships, but we're not quite as large." Tom stepped to the door of the transporter room and gestured before him. "This way, please."

They stepped into the hallway and waited for Tom to lead them. "I'm going to take you to my quarters first--my wife and daughters are there, and we can take the kids to the nursery then before touring the ship." He led the way down the corridor, stopping before a door marked "Paris, T and B." Keying the entry code he led the group in a set of large, comfortable looking quarters.

"Very nice," Kathryn said as she looked around. There was a large viewport right in front of them and she wandered over to look out. New Earth was below them. It was the first time since she'd been part of the away-team mission that had stranded her there in the first place since she'd seen it. "Beautiful," she murmured out low. Arms reached around her waist and a voice replied low in her ear, "Like you, love." Chakotay kissed her ear. "It's been a long time since we've been in space, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has. It doesn't feel the same anymore. Where'd Tom go?"

"To get his family. These quarters are huge. I guess Captain of a 'Quadrant-class' starship rates pretty good."

"I would say so. I--"

Kathryn didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because Tom's voice rang out then, "Kathryn, Chakotay, kids, here're my family."

They turned to greet them, and Tom almost laughed out loud at the stunned look on both their faces. "Well, my wife I guess you know... the girls are Katie and Tala. Girls, this is Kathryn and Chakotay, and their kids Mika, Beylan and Treya. Katie, why don't you and Tala take the others down to the play area. Mom and Daddy are going to have dinner with their friends, and I know you like to eat down there. You can show them around the ship, too. You know where not to take them. All right?"

Katie nodded somberly at her father. "All right, Daddy." She turned and gestured toward the door, looking over her shoulder. "Come with me." As the children left the room Tom could hear Katie muttering under her breath and smiled. He thought he recognized a Klingon phrase, but wasn't sure.

"B'Elanna!" "Captain, Chakotay!" The three were speaking all at once, and trying to embrace all at once. This time Tom didn't try to hold back his laughter.

"B'Elanna--you and Tom?" Chakotay was the first to step back to ask the obvious question. Privately Kathryn thought it was absolutely wonderful. It was obvious from the expressions on their faces that Tom and B'Elanna were happy; and from the age of Katie had been together for quite awhile.

"Mmhm. Don't judge, Chakotay. You weren't there, you don't know all that went on." B'Elanna had a glint in her eyes that made Chakotay back down a bit.

"I wasn't judging. I just didn't see you as a couple."

"Well, we weren't, at first." Tom moved across the room to the replicator. "Can I get anyone anything to drink? It's going to be an hour or so before dinner."

Kathryn and B'Elanna both asked for lemoned-water, and Chakotay requested iced apple tea. Tom ordered a beer then joined the others in the sitting area.

Kathryn looked at the faces of two of her former officers and asked, "Do I actually have to ask for the story, or are you two going to tell us about all we missed? I'd like to know what happened to Voyager's crew. Especially Tuvok, Harry, Kes and Neelix. And how you came to be a Captain, Thomas Eugene Paris."

"Well Kathryn," B'Elanna settled back in her chair. "It's a long story." And she and Tom commenced to tell them about the adventures of Voyager and her crew from the time they parted ways up to the present.

Kathryn sat back in her chair, mind trying to process all the information she'd been given. That it had taken Voyager an additional four years to return home... to find that worm hole...

"Wait a minute," Her mind finally caught something. "You said it took you four years from when you left us here. How could you have done all the things you just told us: Starfleet Academy, designing and building this ship, and everything else, and allowed the time for coming back here? Given warp speeds--" She broke off when she caught sight of Tom and B'Elanna's grins. "Okay, 'fess up. What's going on?"

Tom nodded at B'Elanna. "Tell them."

"Tell us what?" Chakotay was beginning to wonder what was going on himself.

"Once we got back into the Alpha quadrant, we realized that if we were going to present a petition to Starfleet to allow us to return for you, we were going to have to have hard factual evidence that such a thing would be worth the undertaking. So we dug out all the data from the Warp 10 experiment."

Kathryn and Chakotay nodded simultaneously. They remembered that well.

"So, we gathered up some of the best engineering minds we could find at the Academy--Tom was running the pilot classes at that point anyway, and made a proposal. What we came up with in the end was a way to emit the anti-proton radiation necessary to keep DNA from mutating--we required very high levels for you and Tom to change you back, but the amount necessary to prevent the mutations from taking place are very low. Starfleet will not allow anyone who is pregnant onboard because there hasn't been enough data gathered on the effects on unborn children, but otherwise, it's safe."

"How do you emit the radiation?" Kathryn asked.

As B'Elanna launched into a very technical, detailed explanation and Chakotay felt his eyes begin to glaze over. Techno-talk always did that to him. He knew enough of the basics to follow the conversation, but technical things were not his field of expertise. He felt Tom looking at him and refocused.

"I know how you feel, Chakotay. I lived this stuff for several years." Tom laughed. "Eventually, I actually knew what she was talking about."

Everyone laughed then, and Chakotay, feeling like he should add something to the conversation, asked, "So, how fast does she go?"

"We've clocked Warp 15 so far."

Kathryn felt her jaw drop with B'Elanna's casual statement, and saw that Chakotay had the same look on his face.

"Come on, it's almost time for dinner." Tom had glanced at his chronometer and realized they were on the verge of being late. "We'll tour after dinner. But I should tell you, this ship has two Warp drives, and three nacelles. I can't wait to show the specs for her." With that statement, he drew them out of the quarters and down the hall to the dining room exclusively for high-ranking officers and ambassadorial personnel.

To Kathryn and Chakotay's delight Commander Harry Kim joined them for dinner. "My First Officer," was how Tom introduced him. And to their surprise, Neelix was the chef serving them.

He regaled them with tales off and on thru dinner about his time on Earth studying with some of the finest chefs the federation had to offer. "I decided to stay in touch with Tom and B'Elanna after Kes' death," he told them. "When Tom told me he was getting this commission I asked to accompany them. Thought it might be nice to see the old quadrant again." After that he served them dessert and left the five of them to talk privately. Harry Kim had married Greta Holmin, but a year after their return to Earth things began not working out for them. They separated, and went their own ways. Harry wasn't married right now, but was happy that way. Tuvok, they were told, had been reunited with T'Pel in time for his Pon Farr, and had decided not to continue his career with Starfleet. He had returned to Vulcan and was teaching at the Science Institute there.

"What about you, Kathryn? Would you go back to your career with Starfleet?" Harry had asked while they were having coffee.

Chakotay watched the emotions flitting across her face as she thought about the question. "I don't think so, Harry. I've been a colonist for a long time now, and enjoy the life. I've begun a very fulfilling career as a research scientist, and wouldn't want to leave now."

Chakotay didn't realize until she'd finished that he'd been holding his breath. He let it out quietly, and touched her knee under the table. Leaning over to her he whispered in her ear, "I was afraid you were going to say yes."

"I know," She whispered back. "Old man, when are you going to get it through your head: you can't get rid of me, and I'm not going to leave. Deal with it!"

He chuckled and whispered, "I guess I'll have to."

They toured the ship later. Tom gave the stats casually as they looked at engineering, communications, the living areas, the nursery/play area and finally the bridge. Crew compliment of 300, family/civilian compliment of 450. Capable of warp 15, and of sustained warp 14. Quadruple dilithium-crystal chambers. Eight transporter rooms with pads holding 12 at a time. Extra cargo bays. Extra shuttles and shuttle bays. Three holodecks per floor in the living areas.

"And this is smaller than a galaxy-class?" Kathryn asked in surprise.

"Yep. Everything is streamlined." Kathryn had to laugh at the look of pride on Tom's face when he told her that.

Two hours later, they returned to the Paris/Torres quarters. B'Elanna was due on shift in an hour, so began to change for work. Harry was on shift, and returned to bridge duty. Tom, Kathryn and Chakotay sat down with another cup of coffee, and talked about the little things that had gotten left out in the stories they'd exchanged during the evening.

After a while of small talk, Tom shifted the conversation to a more serious topic. "You know, now that we have the capabilities to do this, the Federation wants to begin expanding into the Delta quadrant. You know, sponsoring colony moves, and the like. The two of you already have an established colony. Would you be interested in talking to the powers about this?"

Chakotay began to shake his head in the negative, then realized what an opportunity this would be. A chance to make sure that the mistake with the Cardassians never happened again. He caught Kathryn's eye, and said, "yes." She smiled.

"Tom, I think we could manage to work something out. I don't want to be involved in Starfleet anymore, but working with them and the UFP to expand the boundaries of the Federation could only strengthen them, and us."

Smiling, Tom replied, "I was hoping you'd think so." He leaned across the table to clasp both of their hands. "Gods, it's good to see you again. The first time was an adventure. This one's bound to be, too!"

And Kathryn and Chakotay smiled thinking of all that had happened because of one little bug bite, and another handclasp, long ago.

End.