"I've got his bio signature."
"Sure it's him?"
"Yes, it matches what the EMH gave us."
"Ok, beam him up and put him in the empty cage."
"Beamed up. He's there, and you can bet he's unhappy."
"Too bad! Let's get out of here." The small ship took off as fast as it could go which was Warp 5. Soon it left Dorvan's atmosphere, headed to Ceti 4.
"Who's going in there to talk to him?"
"I thought you might. You've known him longer. Bel!"
"Thanks a lot Tom! I'll get you for this." Belanna started towards the storage locker, "Keep the regenerator handy."
"It's right here ready! Good luck!" laughed Mike Ayala
As she walked into the storage locker, she saw him sitting inside the cage. It wasn't big enough for him to stand. He was shaking the bars. As soon as he saw her, he growled, "What the hell is going on Belanna?"
"We kidnapped you, Chakotay."
He looked at her as though she was crazy, "Why?"
"Because you won't talk to us, Chakotay. You won't talk about her."
He knew who she meant. "I can't talk about her, Belanna. It hurts too much!"
"Look, I need you to quit feeling sorry for yourself. There is something you need to know. I'll let you out once we talk. Please, Chakotay, be reasonable!"
"You kidnapped me, and I'm suppose to be reasonable?" he shouted.
"Yes, shut up."
For some reason, hearing the tone of her voice, he became quiet. She sat down on the floor in front of the cage.
"Chakotay, when you left, Kathryn was pregnant." Chakotay looked shocked! " She was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen. You were too busy pawing Seven! When the baby was born, I sent you a transmission. I gather you didn't get it."
"No, but Seven always checked our transmissions. She might have deleted it. Kathryn was pregnant?" The one person in the world that I wanted to have my baby! What have I done? I still love her so much. She must hate me!
"Yes, you have a daughter, Taya, who happens to be the reason we kidnapped you."
"I don't understand!"
"Taya is dying."
Chakotay's eyes widened. "Dying? Why? What's wrong?"
"Remember that virus that you and Kathryn got, the one where you had to stay on that planet?"
"New Earth," he said softly under his breath. He nodded his head.
"Well, it's come back, but it's come back in Taya. Something is missing in Kathryn's blood. She can't give Taya the life saving transfusion she needs. The EMH said that you would be able to do it. He's tried everything else. But, trying to get hold of you, has been almost impossible. We just hope we can get there in time and that you're willing to do it."
"Of course, I'll do it. I didn't know! Seven talked me into staying away from all of you. She said that you'd do anything to break us up as all of you hated her! She also said that Kathryn was jealous of Seven's youth and beauty."
"And, you believed her, of course!"
"Yes, No! I thought I could learn to love her. I thought she needed me. I didn't think Kathryn needed me. I felt that Kathryn thought the one night we had together was a mistake."
"You know, Kathryn's been in love with you for years. You hurt her badly. But, she was willing to let you leave with Seven, since Seven was who you wanted."
"How did you find me?"
"Admiral Picard's ship brought some supplies to Dorvan a few months ago. Someone on the planet mentioned that you were there. When he heard about Taya, he remembered and told Kathryn. She sent us after you. She can't leave Taya's bedside."
He sat there thinking about what all Belanna had told him. "I never stopped loving Kathryn. That was one of the big problems between Seven and I. She constantly threw Kathryn up to me. How soon will we be there?" he asked.
"Tomorrow morning. I'll let you out of here if you promise to behave and not break anyone's bones."
"I promise. I want to get there. I want to see Kathryn and help Taya."
She opened the cage door and helped him out. "Sorry we didn't have a bigger cage!"
"You didn't have to put me in a cage!"
"We thought it would be safer for us!"
They entered the main cabin. Chakotay saw that Tom and Mike Ayala were there.
The four of them sat and talked about old times. Often the subject would get around to Kathryn again.
He knew that Ceti 4 had been destroyed by the Cardassians like Dorvan had. The Federation was helping to revive Dorvan, but for some reason they were doing nothing to help Ceti 4 although promises had been made. He had also heard that a private group had decided to help Ceti 4.
"Is the Voyager crew part of the group helping Ceti 4?"
"The Voyager crew is the group."
"I didn't know that. I guess I'm really out of the loop."
"That's you fault Chakotay." Mike said.
"Here's something for you to look at, Chakotay. Kathryn sent it." Belanna handed him a padd.
It was full of pictures of Taya from the time she was born to the present. "She's a beautiful child." He had tears in his eyes, thinking that he had missed out on so much. "She has Kathryn's looks."
"She has your dimples and the same heart shaped lips. And, her skin is somewhere between Kathryn's and yours. And, yes, she is a beautiful child. Very, very smart like her mother as well."
Just looking at the pictures, Chakotay fell in love with this little girl - his daughter. Had he only known! Had he only listened to what Kathryn was trying to tell him!
"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"
"I think she will. She may have already. Who knows. I do know one thing, there isn't anyone else. Taya is her life."
"I believe it would destroy Kathryn to lose Taya. She seems to have lost everyone else she's ever loved."
"What about Gretchen and Phoebe?" Chakotay inquired.
"They were killed in a hover car accident in Paris three years ago."
They heard some static. Tom was trying to clear it up. Suddenly, Chakotay saw Kathryn's face on the monitor. "Did you find him?" She looked so tired.
"We have him. We've talked to him. He wants to help. Do you want to talk with him? We can give you some privacy."
"I'm too tired to think right now. And, I must get back to Taya."
"How is she doing?"
"Weak, scared….everything! Just get here, Tom, please." They could see the tears running down her face.
"We'll make it, Kathryn. I promise. We'll be there in time. I'll call once we're in orbit. I can beam Chakotay down to the hospital."
"Good. We'll be waiting."
'Kathryn, you need to rest!"
"I'll rest, Tom, when Taya is out of danger."
"I'll contact you soon as I can."
"OK" Then the screen went blank.
Chakotay didn't sleep much that night. He tossed and turned thinking how he had screwed up everything. There was a woman that actually loved him, and he had walked away from her! There was a child out there who needed him! Would they make it in time? Would a blood transfusion from him work? So many unknowns. He'd do anything he could to help. Before he finally fell into a fitful sleep, he prayed.
Breakfast the next morning was tea and ration bars. They needed all their energy sources to keep the ship going so they didn't use the replicator. The ship was old. He briefly wondered where they had gotten it. Finally he asked Belanna.
"Admiral Picard won it in a poker game. He gave it to us. We just got it, so we haven't had time to fix it up. That's what we'll start doing as soon as we get back. It's basically a good little ship."
"Maybe I can help you with it. I'll need to do something."
"Plan on staying, Chakotay?"
"If Kathryn doesn't kill me."
"I couldn't blame her if she did."
"Thanks, Belanna. Think positive!"
In less than two hours , they entered orbit around Ceti 4.
"Paris to Janeway. We are in orbit."
"Beam him down to the doc's examining room."
Suddenly Chakotay found himself face to face with Voyager's old, EMH.
"Doc."
"Chakotay, hold still. I need to check you. Taya took a turn for the worst. I think you got here just in time. But, I need to make sure your blood is acceptable." He ran his tricorder over Chakotay's body. Looking at the readings, he nodded, "We need to get this done fast. Follow me."
Chakotay followed him into another room. There he saw Kathryn leaning over a bio bed. On the bed lay Taya, unconscious.
Kathryn looked up, "Thank you for coming, Chakotay."
"I'm glad I could help." turning to the EMH, "Where do you want me, Doc?"
The Doc moved the extra bed, that was in the room, closer to Taya's bed. Pointing to it, he said "Lay on this bed."
As Chakotay laid on the bed, he noticed that Tom had entered the room. Soon his blood was flowing into Taya's veins. He couldn't see Taya's face, but he could watch Kathryn. He knew she was barely keeping it together. She had gripped the railing of Taya's bed so hard that her knuckles were white. As she looked down at Taya, you could see the love she had for her child.
"We're finished now. Don't get up just yet, Chakotay, or you'll faint. We won't know if this worked for a couple of hours. Hope it will! It's our only chance." the Doc was checking Taya over again as he spoke.
Looking directly into Kathryn's face, Chakotay smiled, "I have a feeling it will work, Kathryn."
"I hope so Chakotay." She barely could talk. Tom brought her chair closer to Taya's bed..
"You need to sit, Kathryn." She didn't fight it, she did as she was told.
Chakotay kept watching her. She's still beautiful despite being so worried and tired. I can see her love for Taya.
Standing finally, he came around the biobed and stood next to Kathryn. Looking down at Taya he saw just how small she was. She needs some meat on those bones. I wonder how long she's been ill. She's so beautiful, just like her mother. I want to hold both of them in my arms and protect them for the rest of my life.
Mike came in, "Chakotay, you can bunk with me. If you'd like to go there now and sleep for awhile…"
"No, I'm not ready. I'll go over there later."
"OK I've got some work to do. When you're ready, just ask anyone for directions to my place. The door is unlocked."
He left and Chakotay got a chair and sat it next to Kathryn. When he sat down, she took his hand and held it as she had so many times before.
Neither spoke for nearly an hour, finally she turned to him, "I've missed you, Chakotay." Raising their hands so he could see them entwined, "I've missed this. You always managed to be there when I was hurting."
"Kathryn"
"I understand, Chakotay."
"Do you? Then I'm glad you do. I don't. I've tried to make sense of everything, but I can't."
She smiled a weak smile, "We'll work things out. In time, you'll see more clearly. Just know one thing: I never stopped loving you!"
"I thought you had When we left New Earth, it was as if you were pretending nothing had ever happened between us. I was devastated. All those nights together in each others arms, making love. And, then nothing! I was going crazy needing you. I thought you didn't care. It was as if our lovemaking meant nothing to you!"
"I was afraid. I didn't think we could be together and get the ship home. I thought our love would consume us. I realize now that I was wrong."
"Kathryn, that last night on the ship, when you came to me, I thought we might try to make a go of it. I would gladly have walked away from Seven. I had the feeling that night meant nothing to you!" He looked away for a few minutes.
Finally he looked at Taya, then back at Kathryn, "How long has this been going on?'
"We found out about six months ago. But, in the last month, it has progressed rapidly. We tried to find you. We found Seven. She said that you had taken off to the Gamma Quadrant on an archeological expedition."
"She lied. I did go on one on Earth in Mexico. I came back to Dorvan just a few months ago. Had I known, I would have been here right away. I'm sorry, Kathryn."
"You're here now and that's all that matters. We need to keep the past in the past. We need to move forward. If you'd like to stay here, we can use the help. I'd like for you to get to know Taya. She's a great kid!"
"Thank you for the pictures! She's adorable in them, as beautiful as her mother." He grinned as he watched her blush "Now, tell me about what's going on here on the planet and how long you've been here."
"Dorvan had applied for Federation help in rebuilding it long before Ceti 4 did. Now because of the Dominion War, the Federation doesn't have the funds to help any of the other planets. Our crew was unhappy on Earth, so we decided to come here and do the rebuilding ourselves. We've gotten a lot of big companies to make donations. Many of Starfleet's brass has come forward. So far, we're doing alright. We've been here eighteen months.
We're beginning to see results of all the hard work."
They sat for awhile longer. Finally she turned to him, "I'm so thankful that they talked you into coming. Did you bring all your things?"
"I couldn't"
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't know I was leaving there. They kidnapped me!"
"They what?" Kathryn's eyebrows arched upward. She was shocked.
"They found my bio signature, and they beamed me into a cage in one of the storage areas."
She laughed, "I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh, but… I can imagine you were very annoyed. I didn't know that was what they were going to do."
"I wasn't a happy camper until Belanna told me I had a daughter. I didn't know, Kathryn! It was a shock. As soon as she told me what happened, I wanted to get here as fast as we could, for you and for Taya."
"Let's just hope this works. I'm so afraid for her. She's so young to have to go through this! No four year old should have to be this ill."
It was several hours later before the EMH had anything positive to say, "The numbers are going down. It's slow but it seems to be working. Perhaps in a few more hours it will be more noticeable. Why don't the two of you go to the mess hall and get something to eat? You know I'll be watching her closely."
Kathryn agreed and Chakotay followed her out to a huge building set up in the middle of everything. As they entered he saw it was set up almost exactly like the mess hall on Voyager.
"I see it looks like Voyager's mess hall. Hope the food is better. There's no leola root here is there?"
She laughed, "No, none! Thankfully! John Deering's wife is our chef, and she's a real one! Larry Eubank's two daughters helps out Kendra. They also help run the nursery.
Going through the line, it was very hard for Chakotay to make choices. Everything looked good. As they sat down to eat, he noticed that Kathryn had more on her plate than she had ever had on her plate on Voyager.
Tasting the food, he rolled his eyes, "I'm in heaven! This food is great. I'll have to find out how she makes this fish. Wonder if she'd share her recipes."
"She might! She's really a nice person. And, she's funny. I enjoy her friendship!"
After eating, they went back to medical. When they got back, the EMH was standing over Taya's bed. "The numbers still keep going down. She's breathing easier. She may wake in the next few hours. She'll be weak. It will take time for her to regain strength."
"I don't know what we would have done without you, Doc. Thank you!"
"Now, Kathryn, you know I'm very attached to Taya. She's special." and turning toward Chakotay, he added, "And, you better never hurt Kathryn again or hurt Taya. Understand?"
"I understand. I just want to be in their lives anyway they'll have me."
"Chakotay, if you want to go rest for awhile, I'll be here."
"No, Kathryn, I don't want to leave the two of you. Besides we have a lot of catching up to do. Or, at least I do."
They sat side by side, just watching Taya for a long time. They made the usual small talk. Then things got quiet for awhile. Suddenly, Taya opened her eyes. Kathryn stood and so did Chakotay. The Doc immediately came in.
"Taya, can you hear me."
"Yes, I'm thirsty. Mommy, I'm thirsty." Kathryn looked at the Doc to make sure she could give Taya water. He nodded. She filled a glass with water and put a straw in it. She held it for Taya while Taya drank from it.
Taya lay her head back down on the pillow. 'I'm sleepy." Then she looked at Chakotay. "I knew you would come. Mommy needs you. Me too!"
"I need both of you as well, Taya." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
Taya closed her eyes and went to sleep.
"She's going to be alright, Kathryn. The numbers are where they should be. Let her sleep a normal sleep. She'll wake in the morning. I want you both to go get some sleep. I'll contact both of you when she wakes up," The EMH smiled.
"Yes, Kathryn, it's time for you to rest. I'll walk you to your place and on the way you can point out Mike's." Chakotay said gently. Together they left sickbay. Both needed sleep.
Chakotay took a quick shower and replicated clean boxers and a tee shirt. He went to bed. Immediately he was asleep dreaming of the two women in his life - one who had been his stubborn Captain and the other, a precious little girl that he already loved dearly.
He already knew that he couldn't leave here. He wanted to be near them, to watch Taya grow. He would contact his sister on Dorvan. He would explain things to her and have her pack his stuff. He hoped sometime he could get back there to pick it up.
Over the next couple of weeks, Chakotay helped with updating the ship. In his spare time he got to know Taya. He was amazed as to how bright she was. He adored her. Kathryn also spent a lot of time with them. The others on the planet got use to seeing the three of them together. No one harbored any ill will towards Chakotay, for which he was thankful!
Kathryn was so different from the way she had been on Voyager. It was a freedom she hadn't had since childhood. She had a lot to do now, but she didn't have to cater to Starfleet. The people on the planet were now her friends - they had ceased being her crew.
One day several months later, Kathryn and Chakotay were setting on a bench watching Taya play with some of the other kids. They were holding hands. Suddenly Taya ran up to them. She knelt down before them. "Daddy, would you marry Mommy?"
"Yes, Taya, anytime Mommy wants."
"Mommy, would you marry Daddy?"
"Yes, anytime Taya."
"What are we waiting for? Let's get married!" Taya laughed.
Chakotay turned to Kathryn, "Taya's right. Let's get married!"
"I thought you'd never ask!" Kathryn laughed as she kissed him.
Two weeks later, when Captain Jean Luc Picard brought the Enterprise, full of additional supplies, he brought Chakotay's sister to live there. While he was there, he married Kathryn and Chakotay.