******************
The doors to the holodeck whooshed closed behind him. Chakotay stood motionless in the passageway for a moment, stunned. He felt like a complete idiot! *It was Kathryn that night!* he thought. *My GOD! How could I not have realized it was her? What is wrong with me that I did not recognized her? I sit beside her day after day, even after the Doc said she was pregnant, it still did not click.*
A sick feeling pervaded his body as he remembered the way he had treated her for the last weeks. All the while the child she carried was his. Closing his eyes for a moment, Chakotay struck his comm badge. "Computer, locate Captain Janeway."
The calm soft voice of the computer responded to his request quickly, "Captain Janeway is in Jeffries Tube Four."
Chakotay's eyes snapped open at that. *What the hell is she doing in there in her condition?!* Sudden irritation swept over him as he turned and set course after her. Entering the 'lift, he growled out "Deck Eight!" As the computer set the 'lift into motion, he said aloud "What the hell is she thinking to go into a Jeffries Tube, that is my child too and I'll be damned if I'm going to let her endanger both her safety and that of our child!"
*******
Kathryn muttered to herself in irritation. "I really hate it when this happens!" she growled.
Picking up a tricorder, she ran yet another scan over the exposed circuitry she has spent the last 3 hours fighting with. She shouted in truimph at the readings displayed, "HA! I got you! FINALLY!!"
With a self-satisfied smirk, she began to replace the access panel over the exposed conduit. Talking aloud to herself, she continued to gloat. "The next time I order a cup of coffee, by God that damn replicator better give me a hot cup of coffee or so help me I'm coming back down here and tearing this thing out piece by piece!"
"Like hell you will!" Chakotay's voice rang down the small space, making her spin around and bang her head sharply against the overhanging bulkhead.
"OW!!" she glared at him. "What the hell are you doing down here Chakotay?" she asked sharply. "And who do you think you are, making decisions about what I will or won't do? Last time I checked, I was Captain and you were First Officer. I give the orders, not you!" her voice was more annoyed than angry, she pressed her hand to her head and continued to glare at him.
He moved closer to her, meeting her gaze. "Who do I think I am?" he repeated in a soft, silky voice. Reaching her as he spoke, he leaned one hand on the bulkhead, his eyes traveling down over the swollen mound of her belly. "I think Kathryn, that I have every right to order you to stay out of the Jeffries Tubes. It was you that night, wasn't it? You sent that letter to me. And that is my child you are carrying now. Which gives me every right to see that you don't endanger yourself or our unborn child." His eyes never left hers as he spoke, watching the change in her expression as she heard his words. "Answer me this Captain. Why did you hide your identity from me? Why not just come to me openly? I don't understand."
As he spoke, the color bled from her face and then returned in a flush of heat. Her eyes hardened with hurt and anger. "Finally figured it out did we? Or did someone else feel sorry for you and spill the beans?" she snarled. "It was me that night on the holodeck, why I did it the way I did doesn't matter anymore. It was the worst mistake I've ever made! I can't even remember why! Only how much it hurt to see you running around the ship like a dog after a bitch in heat, trying to find your mystery lover! How could you NOT have known it was me? I would know you in complete darkness, even now I can remember the feel of you, the scent of your skin!"
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, Chakotay started to reach for her only to be slapped away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" she hissed at him. "Even after the Doctor told you about this, did it register with you then? NO! Instead, what did you do? What did you say? BASTARD! Now you think that because you finally caught on, that I'm just going to fall into your arms? Don't count on it Mister! I've gone this long without you, I think I can handle this alone."
Chakotay started to get angry as he listened to her outburst. "Damn it Kathryn! I almost went nuts after that night! All I could think about was you, that I had betrayed you! You let me believe that there was some other woman onboard who had been there, all the time knowing that I was searching for you! Do you have ANY idea of what I went through?" His voice broke with the power of the emotions raging through him.
"What YOU went through?" Kathryn snarled at him. "What about what I went through? What I'm going through now?! What right do you have to talk to me like this? Stay the hell away from me do you understand me? I don't want you around me OR my child! Just go away Chakotay - Just Go Away!!" Kathryn was in tears, her body shaking with the force of her emotions.
Chakotay reached out and took hold of her shoulder, pulling her against him. "That child inside you is part of me too Kathryn!" he told her. "You don't have the right to keep me away!"
He started to go on, but his words were cut short with a choked gasp of pain. Inraged by his hard grip on her, Kathryn shoved forward against him with her upper body, slamming her right knee into his groin at the same time. Chakotay doubled over and dropped to his knees in shock. He could not believe that she had hit him like that.
Kathryn stared down at him, no sign of remorse or regret for her actions in her eyes. "Don't you ever touch me again - Do you understand me?" She leaned slightly towards him, her expression one of almost unbearable anger and hurt, "I won't keep you from being a part of this little girls life Chakotay, she has the right to know who her father is. But I warn you now, don't you ever touch me like that again! Is that clear Commander?"
Spinning around on her heel, Kathyrn stalked off without a backwards glance. Chakotay remained where he was for several minutes, waiting for the waves of pain to subside. A hard, aching pain filled his heart. *Oh gods, why did that have to happen? I love her, and I won't let her walk away from me. Not now, not ever.* A sense of determination filled him, slowly he pulled himself to his feet. "You win this round Kathryn, I deserved that. But I know you, and I'll find someway to get through to you again. I'm not letting you go." With those words, spoken aloud to the empty space, he walked towards the exit.
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Will Chakotay get Kathryn Back? Will our two heroes find away to bridge the gap between them? Will Kathryn let go of her anger and hurt to see that he truly loves her before its too late??
STAY TUNED!! The answers to these questions and more...
DISCLAIMER: Star Trek Voyager is the property of Paramount. This story however is mine, not that they'd want to claim it anyway. heh heh