DISCLAIMER:  Star Trek Voyager and its characters are the property of Paramount Studios.  I did not 
create the show or the people we all love so much.  This story is mine, and I get no money from it.  I'm just 
really bored right now, so I decided to invite my favorite Trek characters out to play...I promise I won't 
keep or maim any of them.


Accident, by Kathryn

First Officers Log, Supplemental:

Since being ambushed and separated in the first wave of the attack by the Traganian forces, Tom and I have 
found ourselves in a running fight trying to return to the main compound.  There has been no contact with 
Captain Janeway since we last saw her during the ambush.  I can only hope and pray that she, like us is 
making her way back to the main compound in order to rendezvous with the shuttle.  I keep hoping to be 
contacted by Voyager, but unless the ion storm in the area suddenly disappears, that won't happen.  The 
storm up there must be incredible...even in bright sunlight I can see the purplish arcs of energy discharged 
from the storm.

Chakotay ended his log entry.  Standing up, he motioned for Tom to get up also and continue
their trek back to the shuttle where B'Ellana, Seven, and Harry were hopefully still waiting for
them to return.  He sent a private plea to his spirit guide that Kathryn was already there,
that she had managed to make it back with the Dacaran escort they had traveled with to the ore
sight, hoping to be able to reach a trade agreement with the Dacaran government for the raw
materials they needed to rebuild several power conduits aboard Voyager.

They had been standing in the bottom of the quarry when the attack came, sudden and without
warning.  Chakotay had tried his best to stay close to the Captain, but she had been some
distance away from where he and Tom had been taking samples for B'Ellana to take back to
Voyager when the Traganian's had attacked.  Dispite his efforts, he and Tom had found
themselves separated from the rest of the group.  After the attackers left the area, he had
returned to the site of the fight, no sign of  Captain Janeway had been found.  During the battle,
their phasers had malfunctioned due to the energy in the atmosphere caused by the storm.  Ever
resourceful, Tom had searched the bodies of the dead, finding weapons for them to replace the
phasers with.

The Traganian's weapons were primitive and brutal.  Perfect for the nomadic raiders lifestyle.
They reminded Chakotay of early 20th Century weapons, with the main difference being that the
bullets the weapons fired had a timed explosive inside.  The timer was started by impact
with the target, sending several dozen fragments of metal throughout the victims body.  A nasty
killing device.

For the last 20 hours now, Tom and Chakotay had been making their way back over the rough
hilly countryside, heading back to the Dacaran compound where they had landed in the shuttle
to meet the escort.  Night was falling, and they needed to find somewhere to rest for the
night, it was too cold to remain in the open if they could avoid it.

Just as the last of the light disappeared, Tom spotted a low, almost hidden series of buildings
just a few hundred yards from them.  The buildings were abandoned and they had no difficulties
breaking into the nearest.

Inside it was dark, impossible to see clearly.   The only light came from the soft glow of the
planets 2 moons as it filtered in from several holes in the buildings walls they entered the
building.  A thick fog was rolling down from the mountaintop, slowly penetrating into the building
through the broken door.  The soft light from the moons cast an almost eerie glow throughout the
dense fog.  Before long, the night surrounded them in shrouded darkness, the odd spectral glow
of the moons flickering in the mist.

Chakotay took the first watch, telling Tom he would wake him at 0100 hours to switch places.
There were still Traganian patrols in the area, they could not afford to be caught unawares.

Despite the need for alertness, Chakotay dozed, his head leaning against the wall.  He came
awake with a start.  Just outside, harsh voices could be heard.   Quietly as he could, he woke
Tom.  The two of them moved deeper inside the building, hoping to use its size to hide.  They
listened as the Traganian's came closer, it appeared to be a small patrol.  Only four soldiers.  A
grim sinking feeling came over the two Starfleet officers as two of the Traganian soldiers entered
the room they hid in.

With no other choice, they opened fire.  Killing the two soldiers as the sounds of the gunfire
echoed throughout the building.  Soon, they were caught up in a fire fight, as 3 more soldiers
entered the building, they had been standing outside waiting for their comrades to complete
the search.  Tom killed 2 of the attackers fairly easily.  Leaving just the last 3 to deal with.

Chakotay led them back towards an exit he had noticed earlier, as he and Tom rounded the
corner, they found themselves face to face with 2 more of the guards.  On pure instinct, both
officers dropped to the ground, firing as they did so.  By pure luck, they were able to kill
them.   Now...there was only one more to worry about.

Tom touched Chakotay's arm, "I'm going to head down this way, " he whispered.  "Maybe we
can box in that last soldier and take care of him too.  They have a 'speeder out there, if we can
take him out, we can use it to get back to the compound!"

Chakotay, nodded in agreement.  The two men quickly headed off, hoping to catch the soldier
before he could escape.  Cautiously, he made his way up the corridor, the darkness and fog
making it hard to see.  The only light came in through a large hole in the side of the building from
the moons outside. A break in the fog bank around them allowed a bright shimmer of moonlight
to illuminate a section of the corridor.

He heard a slight sound up ahead of him, tensing, Chakotay stopped.   Listening, he could make
out footsteps slowly making their way towards him.  He waited, a figure became visible through
the fog, too short to be Tom.  Chakotay stared hard at the approaching figure, unable to make
out any details.  A light flickered near the approaching figure, the bright flash glinting off a
Traganian rifle.

Without any further thought, Chakotay fired two rounds in rapid succession.  Both shots found
their target.  The intruder cried out sharply in pain and surprise as the bullets found their
mark.

Horrified, Chakotay shouted in disbelief and denial "Oh GOD ... NO!"

The voice of the intruder was one he knew well.

Chakotay ran towards the form now lying motionless on the floor.  As he got closer, more details
became apparent to him.  A black and red uniform, like his own.  Dark red hair, the light shining
on the highlights.  He dropped to the floor beside the lifeless figure, gently rolling it over and
pulling the limp body into his arms.

"KATHRYN!" ice cold terror flowed thickly in his veins.  Chakotay pressed his fingers to her
throat, a faint, unsteady pulse there.  "Oh please...Kathryn, look at me!  Talk to me!"  he begged
her.

Using his 'fleet issue flashlight, standard equipment on away missions. Chakotay searched her
body for the wounds, sobbing in anguish as he found a dark stain spreading quickly over her
chest, two ragged holes in the lower area of her chest.

Captain Janeway lay motionless on the floor, a thin ribbon of blood trailing from the corner of her
mouth.  A deep horrible rattling echoed in her chest with each labored breath.

Chakotay sobbed, guilt and panic leaving him shaking with terror.   "TOM!!!  TOM!!  I need you
here now!"  he shouted.  Not caring about the Traganian soldier still remaining.

Tom was crouched behind a fallen section of an interior wall, watching as the enemy soldier
slowly came closer just as the two shots rang out behind him. The soldier spun around, looking
towards the sudden sound.  Tom took advantage of the moment to fire his own weapon, taking
care of the last member of the patrol.  Tom headed back towards were he had left Chakotay,
concerned over the gun fire he had heard.

He broke into a run as he heard Chakotay's panicked shouts.  Coming to the corridor, he raced
towards the forms dimly visible on the ground.

Tom stumbled to a halt, shocked to see Chakotay on the ground, the Captains' limp, blood
soaked body cradled in his arms.

Chakotay looked up at Tom, panic and terrible fear naked on his face.   "Oh god Tom...I shot
her!"

Frozen in shock, Tom could only stand there and stare at the sight of Captain Janeway's limp,
bloody form cradled in Chakotay's arms.  Finally, he leapt forward and swiftly moved to crouch
beside them.  Taking her from Chakotay's embrace, Tom gently checked her pulse, finding it
weak and unsteady.  The Captain was bleeding badly, if he could not stop the bleeding soon,
she would die before they had a chance to get her back to Voyager.

Tom looked up at Chakotay, the look on the older man's face would remain with him forever.
Chakotay was deathly pale, his eyes haunted with guilt and pain.  His eyes never strayed from
Kathryn's face, "Hang on...please hang on....oh gods...I'm so sorry....This isn't
happening....please don't let this be happening..."  over and over he repeated his desperate plea.

Tom realized that Chakotay was in shock, he knew that if the Captain was going to have even a
ghost of a chance to survive that he needed Chakotay to be fully alert and helping him.  Not
hesitating, Tom smacked Chakotay sharply across his face.  The Commander blinked, his eyes
darkening as he glared at Tom.  Tom forestalled his angry comments by saying, "Chakotay!  I
need you to stay calm right now!  What happened was an accident and we both know it!

Chakotay's eyes were full of torment as he met Tom's gaze.  He shook his head, "I should have
waited, should have made certain who it was....oh god...Kathryn...."  his voice broke as he spoke
her name.  Tears fell unheeded over his cheeks as he leaned over to press his face to hers for a
moment.  "What have I done?"  he whispered.

Tom grabbed Chakotay's hands in his and pressed them hard against the wounds in her chest.
"Chakotay...I need you to press hard as you can on the wounds...try to slow the bleeding while I
try to figure out a way to stop the bleeding until we can get back to the ship."

Chakotay pressed his hands against the Captain's limp form, feeling her blood leak hot and
warm over his hands no matter how hard he tried to slow the flow of blood.  At last Tom looked
at him, it seemed to Chakotay as if hours had passed when in reality only a minute or two had
gone by.

Tom held a small laser in his hand, he still had it with him from the quarry where he had been
using it to cut samples of the minerals for B'Ellana.  Thinking quickly, he'd reset the power
setting on the device and now he used it to begin to cauterize the wound as best he could.
There was nothing he could do for the internal bleeding, but if he could slow her blood loss in
any way at all then her chances for survival increased.  Chakotay watched with horrified
fascination as Tom used the laser to seal the wounds in her chest.

Once he had finished his efforts, Tom returned the tool to his belt.  "We need to get her back to
the shuttle and up to the Doc as soon as we can get there.  I've slowed the bleeding, but she's
hemorrhaging badly internally."  Not waiting for Chakotay to answer, Tom made to pick the
Captain's small limp form up in his arms.  Chakotay pushed Tom away from her with what was
almost a snarl.  "Get back!  I'll carry her."

Ever so gently, he lifted her up in his embrace, her head resting on his shoulder and headed out
into the night.

****

Kathryn moaned softly, pain intruding into the veil of darkness surrounding her.  Chakotay
tightened his hold on her imperceptibly.  "Shhh....try and relax...you're going to be all right.  I
promise.."  he said gently - not even certain if she could hear him.  *Gods, we have to get her
back to the ship, even a make shift strecher would help.* he thought.  But there was nothing
around that could be used as a stretcher, his every step jolted her slightly sending pain through
her.

Kathryn moaned again, a bubbly rasping sound full of pain.  "Chakotay...."  his name whispered
so softly that he almost missed the sound hidden under the harsh rattle of her labored breathing.

He looked at her pale, pain filled face.  Her eyes fluttered open, darkened to almost a steel -
gray with pain.  "Have to tell you something..."  she choked out.

Chakotay shook his head, "Don't try to talk.  Save your strength, you can tell me later after we
get you back to the ship."

She choked, coughing up a thin ribbon of bright red blood.  "No...dying, want to tell you..."

Chakotay started with fear and horror at the fatality he heard in her weak voice.  "DON'T SAY
THAT AGAIN!"  he ordered her.  "You aren't going to die.  I won't let you die, I'll get you back to
the Doc, you're going to be fine.."

Kathryn shook her head, struggling to finish what she needed to say.  "Chakotay...don't...I want
to tell you, how sorry I am.  How much I love you.  Too late now..."  Her eyes rolled back as a
spasm of coughing over took her slight form.  Gasping in agony, she fell limp in his arms.  Her
breathing slow, horribly rough.

Chakotay stumbled, her words sending a knife through his already aching heart.  "Oh god...don't
you dare give up on me...Not now!  Damn it Kathryn, please...fight this!"

Inside, his soul screamed in anguish.  *Oh my god...I've killed her!*

Her last words to him, the words he'd wanted to hear for so long.  If she died, he would soon
follow her in death.  He could not stand the thought of life knowing that he'd killed the one
person in the world who meant more to him than his own life.  He'd once promised her that he
would always protect her, keep her safe and now....he'd killed her.

******

A low thrumming sound shattered the quiet of the night.  Tom looked up, his eyes searching the
star filled sky.  A bright light moved swiftly across the horizon, heading towards them.  A ray of
hope blossomed in his chest, "Chakotay!  Look!"  He pointed towards the moving light, the
sound becoming recognizable as the sound of a shuttlecraft.

Chakotay began to run towards the clearing where the shuttle was landing.  Holding Kathryn
tightly in his arms, he shouted hoarsely as the shuttle hatch opened to reveal B'Ellana stepping
out of the ship and looking towards them.  "Kathryn is hurt!  We have to get to Voyager NOW!""

B'Ellana stared open mouthed in shock as Chakotay carried his precious burden into the light of
the shuttle.  Kathryn lay limp in his arms, her face deathly pale.  Chakotay was covered with the
Captain's blood, it stained his hands dark red.

B'Ellana took one look and realized the severity of the situation.  She returned to the pilot's chair
and set the fastest course back to Voyager.  The moment Tom shouted to her that it was clear to
go, the shuttle was in the air and on its way.  Tom pulled the shuttle's first aid kit from its place
on the bulkhead and ran to where the Captain lay on the bunk in the back of the shuttle.
Running a medical tricorder over her motionless form, his expression said more to Chakotay
about her condition than his words.  "Massive internal hemorrhaging.  Right lung is punctured,
shrapnel lodged between the lung and heart.  Three broken ribs, blood pressure is so low it's
almost unreadable."  He grabbed the hypospray and gave her a dose of myctrosin in an effort to
stabilize her pulse.

Turning his head he shouted to B'Ellana, "How much longer until we reach the ship?"

B'Ellana called back without taking her eyes from the console, "ETA is 8 minutes!"

Chakotay did not have to ask to know that Kathryn was slipping away from him.  "Please, please
don't leave me alone."  His mind was almost numb with guilt, shock and grief.

He remained by her side, holding her hand tightly in his until the shuttle docked with Voyager.
The Doctor was there waiting with a gravi-bed and quickly transferred the Captain to the bed,
carrying her to sickbay.  Chakotay could only watch as the EMH moved Kathryn directly into the
surgery area.  His eyes were locked on her motionless form until the doors closed,  taking her
from his sight.

Ten Hours Later:

The Doctor checked the monitors, scanning one last time to make certain that everything was
correct.  He looked down at his patient.  The Captain's face was almost gray from blood loss.
Her eyes seemed sunken into her face, giving her an almost skeletal appearance.  *It's a miracle
she even survived the surgery.* the Doctor noted.  Everything in his medical logs stated that she
should have perished before even making it back to the ship, much less surviving the surgery.
He sighed, dreading what he had to do next.

Slowly, the EMH left the ICU unit where Captain Janeway lay fighting valiantly for her life.  As the
doors to her room closed behind him, the soft incessant murmur of the machines that were
helping her breathe was shut off.  He monitored her constantly, keeping a steady watch even as
he began to walk to where Commander Chakotay sat, head in his hands.

The Doctor cleared his throat to get the Commander's attention.  "Commander..." he said gently.

Chakotay jerked up at the sound of the Doctor's voice, "Kathryn??"  an unsteady tremor in his
voice betraying the turmoil inside him.

"Captain Janeway has survived the surgery.  At the moment, she is on partial life support to
assist her breathing.  The damage to her lungs was quite severe and without assistance she
would not be able to get enough oxygen into her blood stream.  I had quite a bit of trouble pulling
all of the bits of metal from her body.  Captain Janeway has loss a tremendous amount of blood.
Her body is in shock and as a result she is in a coma."

Chakotay stared at the EMH, guilt nearly overwhelming him.  "When do you expect her to wake
up?"  he rasped out.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, aware of the circumstances surrounding the Captain's
injuries.  "I must be 100% honest with you Commander.  I don't expect her to wake up.  Frankly, I
can't believe that she is even still holding on."

Chakotay cried out softly, not even aware of the sound.  "You're wrong.  Kathryn is a lot tougher
than that, she won't give up."  Tears began to flow once more over his cheeks unheeded, even
as he spoke the words, part of him collapsed in despair.

The Doctor observed Chakotay's pain with a twinge of pain of his own.  "If you wish, you can go
see her for a time.  Perhaps if she hears your voice...someone talking to her.."  he trailed off.

Chakotay did not respond as he slowly stood and began to walk towards the ICU unit where
Kathryn lay dying.  He was unprepared for the sight that met his eyes.  She had always been
small, but now, lying there on the biobed she seemed to have shrunk by half.  Her face was
sunken, skeletal.  Dark circles under her eyes only enhanced the appearance of death on her
face.

Choking with pain and emotion, Chakotay gently brushed a stray lock of auburn hair from her
cheek.  His fingers traced over the contours of her face as wracking sobs shook his body.  In a
rough, hoarse whisper he spoke brokenly to her, pleading.  "Kathryn, don't give up.  Oh gods, I'd
give anything to switch places with you right now.  I'll never be able to forgive myself for this...."

A sudden memory washed over him, of her in his arms wracked with pain.  Her blood hot and fresh on his 
hands.   The way her every breath had rattle horribly, as if each one was to be her last.  And then, so softly 
he'd almost missed it, his name.  "Chakotay..."

He'd tried to get her to rest, save her strength but she had continued "Have to tell you something..." Such 
intense raw agony in her beautiful eyes, her voice sounded strange, not hers at all.  "Dying, want to tell 
you..."

He'd interrupted her, again pleading with her to rest, save her strength.

"Chakotay...don't...I want to tell you, how sorry I am.  How much I love you.  Too late now..."  Her eyes 
rolled back as a spasm of coughing over took her slight form.  She'd coughed, bright red blood staining her 
lips. Gasping in agony, Kathryn fell limp in his arms.

The memory of those last words to him broke the last vestiges of control and he dropped to his knees beside 
her, sobbing uncontrollably.  Unable to bear the knowledge that she was dying, because of him.   Knowing 
that even as she'd lain gasping in agony, her last thoughts - last words had been a declaration of love to the 
man who'd killed her.

He had no idea how long he crouched there beside her.  At last, the tears slowed and stopped. Chakotay felt 
drained, empty inside.  Almost detached from himself as he looked at her lying so small and still a stray 
thought traveled through his mind.  "I won't leave you, where you go - I will follow at your side."  He would 
stay there, hold her hand.  And if or when she should open her eyes again, he would be there to beg 
forgiveness for what he had done. Should she die, there was no point in continuing.

****

Chief Medical Officer's Log:  Stardate ******

"It has now been 11 days since the accident in which the Captain was injured.  She has not
shown any signs of coming out of the coma she is in.  In my opinion, it is only a matter of time
now.  If she was going to wake, she would have done so within the first 48 hours after surgery.
As it is, I fear that she will continue to waste away for some time before she is finally able to
rest.  Crew morale is bad, everyone seems to be tip toeing around the ship, waiting.

I am particularly concerned for Commander Chakotay.  He has not left sickbay since the
incident.  Lt. Paris explained the details of the accident in his report and both Commander Tuvok
and myself agree that Commander Chakotay can not be held responsible for the shooting.  He
was under attack, in terrible visibility.  Under the circumstances, his actions were proper.  To
have waited could have meant the life of himself or Lt. Paris had the intruder been the last
enemy soldier.  Still, I fear that he is slowly loosing his grip on reality.  With each passing day,
he becomes worse, even as the Captain slips farther away from us."


The EMH halted his recitation of the log entry as he noticed Commander Chakotay walking with
a halting, almost stumbling gait from the ICU room.  Startled, the EMH checked his monitors on
the Captain, relieved to see that her condition was unchanged.  In fact, her heart beat was quite
strong and steady.  A first check of the life support seemed to indicate that she was trying to
breath on her own, but the fact that the machine was still functioning showed that she still
needed the help.  It would have been an unforgivable lapse for him to have missed marking the
moment of her death properly.  Getting up, the Doctor quickly followed Chakotay, calling out
"Commander!  Are you all right?  Can I help you in anyway?"

Chakotay stopped, not turning around he spoke in a dull, flat tone of voice.  "I just can't sit there
anymore, waiting.  She's there because of me...I have to get some air..."

Having spoken, he continued on his way - the doors swooshing closed softly behind him.

****

Chakotay realized that he was in Kathryn's quarters.  He had no memory of how he arrived
there.  His eyes burned from the tears still drying on his cheeks.  In his hand was a holo-cube
he'd taken from the small reading table by her favorite spot on the sofa, where he was now
sitting.  The images in the cube were of the two of them, laughing together in Sandrines.
Another was of him, smiling at her on the beach where they'd spent a day just goofing off on a
planet that reminded them of Hawaii.   The entire crew had spent time on the planet, which
they'd called 'Paradise'.  The last image had been taken by B'Ellana on that same beach that
night, Kathryn had fallen asleep sitting beside him by a roaring bonfire, her head resting against
his shoulder.

Chakotay closed his eyes at the memory.  The way her body had felt relaxed against his, the
sweet sun-kissed scent of her hair.  Her breath soft on his skin.  Waves of pain and grief
threatened to overwhelm him once more.  That night had been the first time they'd made love,
alone in a private spot on the beach.  He'd held her close to him afterwards as the soft murmur
of the waves had lulled them both to sleep.

The next thing he knew he was standing before the doors to the shuttle bay, he entered his
command access code and went inside.  Heading to the closest shuttle, he stepped inside and
closed the hatch.  Accessing Voyager's main computer, he quickly locked out all control from
the bridge.  He brought the shuttle's engines on line, powering up the ship quickly.  Disengaging
the safeties on the bay doors, he left Voyager.  The comm system beeped incessantly at him,
Harry Kim's voice calling to him, asking him to reply.  Chakotay ignored the comm, ordering the
computer to mute the sound.

Before he was even 100 meters from Voyager's hull, as soon as he was far enough from the still
open bay doors that his action would not cause structural damage, he engaged the shuttle's
warp drive and in a flash of light was gone.  He set course back to the system where his life had
come to such a terrible halt.  Selecting the fourth and uninhabited planet in the system, he
brought his shuttle slowly down to land next to a clear lake high in a snow covered mountain
range.

Shutting down the ship's systems, he grabbed up an emergency ration pack and headed into the
rough wilderness.  *I will only need two days rations at most.  Just long enough to prepare
myself, and then I'll come and find you Kathryn..."

*******

One the Bridge:

"Activate the transporter Beam Mr. Kim!  Bring Commander Chakotay's shuttle back inside
Voyager."  Tuvok's calm voice gave no evidence of the concern he felt.

Harry nodded, hands moving to lock the transporter on the shuttle as soon as it cleared the safety
margin for Voyager's hull.  His eyes widened in shock, "Commander Tuvok!  He's powering the
warp drive and going to warp inside the safety bubble!!"

Tuvok had just enough time to call out "Hang on!" before the warp field generated by the shuttle
craft slammed into Voyager's hull, sending a violent shudder throughout the entire ship.  The
sound of Voyager's superstructure groaning from the impact rumbled loudly through the ship
making the crew wince as the sound grated across their nerves.

Inside sickbay, Kathryn Janeway's eyes suddenly snapped open.

*****

Three hours later:

"Captain!  I must insist that you return to the bio bed at once!  You almost died, in fact - you
SHOULD have died!  For you to be up only three hours after spending nearly 12 days in what we
assumed to be a fatal coma is completely unacceptable!"  The Doctor was highly upset and
annoyed with her.

Janeway kept her "Annoyed as hell with my EHM" look on her face Dispite the pain in her body.
"I already went over this with you.  From what you and Tom have told me about the events of the
past week and a half...the only one who can reach him is me and you know it Doctor, now get
out of my way!"

Scowling, the Doctor was forced to agree with the Captain's statement.  From what he could
surmise, the belief that the Captain would die as a result of the accident had been to much for
him to take, resulting in his leaving the ship.  He watched as Janeway slowly stepped into the
shuttle, helped by Lt. Paris who along with Lt. Torres was accompanying her to the planet's
surface where sensors showed the shuttle to be.  He muttered as he watched the shuttle leave
the Voyager's bay, "I really do hate these planets with the weird energy variances that make the
transporter not work..."

****

On the planet's surface:

B'Ellana held her hand's out towards Chakotay gently, "Come on Chakotay, put down that
phaser.  You don't want to do this..."

Chakotay held his phaser towards her, "I can't go back - I can't stand it!  Kathryn is dying
because of me...and don't waste your time telling me that 'she just woke up' when the warp field
from the shuttle hit Voyager, I know that the Doc said.  I sat beside her waiting!  I can't bare to
watch her slowly waste away!'  His voice was thick with pain.

*Oh come on Tom...hurry up and get up here with the Captain...Carry her if you have to!!"
B'Ellana thought.  She had been aware of the growing relationship between the two
Commanding Officers, but until she saw Chakotay's face, heard him sobbing the Captain's
name as she'd walked up to him - the true depth of the love between them had escaped her.

She tried again, "Come on Chakotay...you know I would not lie to you on something like this.  I
swear to you my friend, she is all right and with Tom now making their way towards us."

Chakotay shouted in pain  "STOP IT!!!  Kathryn is dying...I heard the Doctor..." he broke off,
unable to continue.

B'Ellana was about to answer when another voice rang out across the small clearing.

"I know I look rough, but dead??  I don't look THAT bad do I?"  Kathryn's voice, even huskier than
normal from pain reached him clearly.

Chakotay froze, his eyes jerking to where she leaned heavily on Tom, her arm around his
shoulders.  He started to shake badly as his eyes and soul drank in the sight of her walking
slowly towards him.

"Kathryn?"  He did not trust his eyes, afraid he was seeing things.

Kathryn walked up to him, letting go of Tom and crossing the last 20 feet to his side on her own.
Gently, she reached out and took his hand in hers, pressing his palm flat against her chest.
"What do you feel?"  she whispered, her eyes locked to his.

Chakotay hesitantly reached out with his free hand to brush her face with the back of his hand.
Suddenly with a short, choked cry he pulled her into his arms.  "Kathryn... Kathryn..."

She whispered hoarsely to him, her hands cradling his head to her shoulder, "It's all right, It's all
right...I'm all right..."  His arms locked around her hurt like hell, but she made no attempt to pull
free.

"I'm so sorry..." the words tumbled from his soul.  "I should have made certain, waited before I
fired....I almost killed you...."

"Chakotay don't....don't do this....Tom and the Doctor told me what happened.  I don't remember
any of it.  From leaving the shuttle after we arrived to waking up in sickbay.  And even if I did, you
did the right thing....Please, don't blame yourself...I'm all right....I love you so much..."  her voice
shook with her emotions.

He jerked at the last part.  "I love you Kathryn...."  He could not continue, overwhelmed with the
emotions ripping through his heart.  The two of them dropped to the ground, still locked in each
others arms.  Kathryn because she simply could not stand up any longer and Chakotay because
he was crying and shaking so badly that his legs gave out from under him.

Tom stood with B'Ellana, his arms around her as they watched.  Tears ran down both their
cheeks as they waited for the two lovers to regain some control.

At last, Chakotay looked at Kathryn's face.  Streaked with tears, her eyes met his full of love and
need for him.  He blinked, wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.  Noticing the pain in
her face as well, he scooped her up and headed back the way in which he had come.

Looking at Tom and B'Ellana, his face jubilant he asked "Well, you two gonna just stand there or
are we going home?"

FINI!!!!!!

well...totally sucky or is it semi-readable???

EMAIL ME!!