"equally dangerous as a warp core breech, this indicates a failure in the …Captain Chakotay welcome, may I ask as to the reason you have come into my lesson" every student in lieutenant Dr Garth Hutton's engineering class turned to the doors at the back of the class room to see Captain Chakotay commander of voyager standing in the door way to the class room.

"yes you may lieutenant, I must ask you to excuse cadet Katelyn Janeway as a situation has come up and she is needed" while speaking Chakotay had walked in to the room to the teachers desk and placed a message pad on the table. After picking up the pad and reading it the lieutenant turned to one of his students and said

"Pack your things up, I'll send you any homework or information you will need for your next lesson" the cadet nodded and picked up her note pad and her bag before heading out of the room with the Captain.

When both the Captain and cadet where out of the academy building the cadet asked the question she had been burning to ask.

"Why did you pull me out of class? I thought you where away on a mission!" Chakotay stopped and pulled the young cadet in to a hug; before he told her the real reason he had come to collect her from the academy.

"Katelyn I've got some bad news, it's your mother she was on the ship with me and we took a pretty bad phaser hit, I was ok but your mother hit her head badly, she's in an in-juiced coma to save her basic brain functions, but I'm afraid there is the possibility that she may never wake."

Chakotay felt Katelyn trying to pull her self out of his arms, so he released his hold on her enough to look at her face. He could see the disbelief in her eyes, and the pleading for him to say this was all just one big joke and at the next moment Katelyn's mother Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway was going to walk round the corner laughing at the joke. But when Chakotay shook his head, he saw Katelyn's always hard outer shell dissolve in to nothing and reveal a scared little girl who was crying over the fact that her mother may die.

Chakotay pulled Katelyn in to a hug again and held her while she cried on his chest. He would of normally of bent down and allowed her to cry on his shoulder, but he didn't think that the first thing Katelyn needed to see when she lifted her head up was the tears that where forming in his eyes at seeing Katelyn crying over her mother. Both Chakotay and Katelyn stood holding on to one another for a quarter of an hour before Katelyn had composed her self enough that she could stop crying. When that had happened Chakotay took her to the nearest transporter and had them beamed over to the main federation hospital in Bloomington, Indiana.

24 hours later Chakotay sat in the family room of the hospital with Katelyn asleep in his arms, Katelyn had refused to leave her mother's side until her mother woke up. But when Chakotay had noticed she was fighting a losing battle with her eye lids he had picked her up and carried her to the family room where he had sat and cradled her until she had fallen asleep.

Chakotay was tried himself but knew he had to be awake for not only Katelyn but for Kathryn's mother Gretchen Janeway and Kathryn's sister phoebe. Gretchen and Phoebe had come as soon as they'd been told and he waited with them in the small little family room.

"Why won't they tell us anything?" Phoebe cried. "Why are they taking so long?"

"No news is good news," Gretchen said quietly. "We have to believe that."

Chakotay nodded, surgery on Kathryn had started just over 5 hours ago and they still where yet to hear anything. Suddenly doors leading to the corridor outside opened and two dark-haired men came in. The tallest and oldest looking addressed Chakotay.

"Captain Chakotay?"

He looked up at them with heavy eyes. "That's right." each man wore a Starfleet medical uniform. He couldn't tell from the looks on their faces if the news they had was good or bad. But it didn't matter that second as Katelyn started to wake up in his arms. When Katelyn was fully awake and sitting in a chair next to Chakotay the doctors started to speak.

"We were able to save Admiral Janeway's mind and most of her higher brain functions. She remembers who she is, where she is and what happened to her. She's unable to walk at the moment but given a few months she should be able to walk again she simply needs to re-learn how; She's calling for you captain and you too cadet."

That was all Chakotay needed to hear, taking katelyn's hand in his own he walked down the hall following the two doctors to Kathryn's room. When they arrived Chakotay was pleased to see Kathryn awake and alert. As soon as Katelyn saw her mother awake she yanked her hand out of Chakotay's and ran to her mother with tears of relief and joy falling down her face.

"Oh mama I was so worried that you weren't going to wake up, I thought…" was all Katelyn managed to get out before Kathryn pulled her in to a hug. Chakotay could see the tears running down both women's faces. Hell he could feel his own tears of joy on his face. Quickly and discreetly Chakotay wiped the tears away and headed over to Kathryn's bedside. He sat in the chair on the opposite side to Katelyn and took a hold of one of Kathryn's hands and gave it a squeeze. Kathryn let go of Katelyn and pulled Chakotay in to a hug.

A few minutes later she released him. But before he could get too far away she pulled his head down and kissed him full on the mouth.

"Get a room" Katelyn shouted at them. Chakotay pulled away from Kathryn and smiled at Katelyn before leaning down and kissing Kathryn once again. When the kiss was over Chakotay sat back down in the chair and said

"Don't do that to me and Katelyn again Kathryn, I swear you've took 5 years off my life"

"I didn't actually have a choice about what happened, Chakotay you should know that, and besides it was more unpleasant for me that it was for you."

"I know, I know I just don't know what I would do with out you Kathryn. You've always been there for me and now well …"

"Chakotay I know. Besides you're not getting rid of me that soon. I'm not leaving earth until I see our grandkids."

At this Katelyn's head whipped up from where it had been laying on the bed.

"Who said I was ever going to have kids mum, and besides if I do have some kids what makes you think that I'm going to let you and dad see them, I might run off with a interglacial sex god and live in the delta quadrant, you certainly won't see them then now would you? "

Chakotay and Kathryn laughed. Katelyn was so like them in so many ways. A month later Kathryn was aloud to go home, Katelyn was back at the academy so it was only her and Chakotay. Once home Kathryn and Chakotay started to hang up the Christmas decorations around the house. With both of them it didn't take long for the whole house to be finished, complete with Christmas tree and presents under it.

They spent the rest of the day tougher watching old black and white movies on the view screen in their modest home. Chakotay and Kathryn both enjoyed just being able to spend time tougher. Normally they would finish work at different times, and when home they would both have things from work they had to do or they would be spending time with their daughter Katelyn, and by the time Katelyn was in bed asleep they where both normally so tried that they only stayed awake long enough to get changed and get into bed.

So to be able to spend a whole afternoon tougher with out anyone else near by was a blessing for both of them. As evening approached Chakotay noticed that Katelyn hadn't arrived home yet. Since turning 14 Katelyn had only been coming home on the weekends and living at the academy during the week, but just like her mother Katelyn was always on time for everything. Katelyn had said she would be home before 5 that day, but now it was half seven and still no sign of her. Chakotay gently slid out from under a sleeping Kathryn and walked to the window to see if maybe the weather had slowed their daughter down. But all he could see where the clear night skies of earth.

Just as Chakotay was thinking of contacting the academy he heard someone come in through the front door. Chakotay heard the person come up stairs peeking out of the bedroom Chakotay saw a young woman heading to katelyn's room reaching out into the hall way Chakotay snapped on the light. The woman froze and slowly turned around. It was Katelyn but from what Chakotay could see Katelyn had been in a fight.

"And just where do you think your going young lady" Chakotay said as he took in her current appearance. Katelyn was dressed in a torn cocktail dress and had no shoes on. Her makeup was running down her face and her hair gave her the look of some one who had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

"Dad I …" Katelyn began but even as those words came out her mouth she knew they where the wrong ones.

"you said you would be back home for 5, me and your mother had a nice dinner planned, which has now gone to waste as you didn't turn up, I'm pretty easy going Katelyn but right now…" Chakotay knew he wouldn't have to finish that threat as he had used it a dozen or so times since Katelyn had been born. She was too much like her mother.

"Dad I was on my way home when a friend of mine asked me to pose as his girlfriend at a party, I said yes but only for half an hour as I needed to be home, he said fine and after I got changed we headed to the party. It was going well until some guy tried to touch me the wrong way, and I kind of got in to a fight with them. Great uncle Owen was near by and heard what was happening and he came and sorted it out. I've been down the police station telling them what happened. They only let me go 15 minutes ago"

As his daughter told him her story Chakotay could see the truth in her eyes. Although he knew that she would have to be punished, Chakotay also knew that right now, knowing that she had let him down and her mother was enough punishment.

"Ok, I'll check with uncle Owen in the morning if it's true then you will only be grounded for a month, if however it's not true then you will be grounded for the rest of your life young lady, do I make my self clear"

"Yes sir" Katelyn said ducking her head down. She knew she shouldn't of let Owen Paris Jr talk her in to going to the party but then just like Owen had got his father's ability to not follow orders, she had got her mother's and as much as he would deny it she had also got some of her father's inability to follow orders.

After wishing Katelyn goodnight Chakotay headed back into his bedroom and got back in to bed next to Kathryn.

"You know" Kathryn said as she rolled over to face Chakotay "you're to easy on her, if we where still on voyager and she was a member of the crew you would have had to give her a worst punishment that that"

Cuddling up close to Kathryn, Chakotay sighed. "I know" he said "but what can I do, she has me wrapped round her little finger, has since the day she was born"

Giggling Kathryn said "like mother, like daughter"

"Yep" Chakotay said as he shut his eyes to sleep "and just like her mother she'll always be daddy's little girl"

The end, or is it?