Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

A Winter's Tale

Chapter Two

2350

Lieutenant Chakotay stood before a long table in the great hall of Hotel Rosalere and filled his plate with food. The occasion was Starfleet's annual Admiral's New Year's party and he had been invited by his research supervisor, Admiral Felis. They had decided to stay for the weekend, as a conference on stellar archaeology was being held at the same time, and Chakotay was staying alone in a luxury cabin in the hotel's grounds. As a young lieutenant at a party for admirals, Chakotay felt somewhat out of place, but the presence of other star-students and officer's sons and daughters made the event bearable. The party was definitely a good opportunity to get his face and name known by Starfleet's finest and he was grateful for that. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman with long auburn hair over a gown of yellow velvet caught his eye and he found himself gazing at her. She was standing near the doorway, evidently having just entered, and was talking with an Admiral. Chakotay could hardly breathe as he gazed at her, and he continued to gaze at her as she left the Admiral and talked to someone else. Then she looked around the room and her face lit up radiantly when her eyes fell on a man standing at the table. He was tall, handsome, and had wavy black hair that was graying. Quickly, the young woman walked over to him and called to him happily. "Max!"

The man tensed at the sound of her voice and turned to her rigidly. "Cadet Janeway."

There was a woman standing beside the man, a pretty blonde woman of middle-age, and she smiled warmly at the girl. "Janeway? You must be Edward's daughter. I'm Captain Teresa Kale, Max's wife."

At this, the young woman's face fell and she turned deathly pale.

"That's right," Max said, putting his arm around her. "My other half. Or perhaps I should say half and a whole. We're expecting our first child."

The young woman raised her hand to her brow and swayed as though she was going to faint.

"Are you alright, dear?" Teresa asked. "You look very pale."

"No doubt it's the heat in here," Max said. "I'll take her to the foyer, get her a glass of water."

"Good idea," his wife said. "Do you want me to come too?"

"No, you stay here."

With that he lead the young woman away and ushered her out of the room. Chakotay hoped she would return with him, as he really wanted to talk to her, but when the man returned half an hour later, he returned alone.

"How is she?" his wife asked.

"Not good," he replied. "She thinks she's coming down with something and has gone back to her cabin."

"Alone? It's blowing a blizzard out there."

"She'll be fine." He held out his hand to her. "Come on, dance with me. I want every man to see me dance with the most beautiful woman in the room."

Teresa smiled at that flattery and took his hand. "I'll all yours, Sir."

As they walked onto the dance floor, Chakotay went over to a window and looked out. It was difficult to see the ground below because of the snow and the reflecting lights, but the lamps outside gave enough light for him to make out people and cabins. He hoped to see the young woman that had so struck his senses so he could see which cabin she went to, even though most of the cabins were to the left side of the hotel and were out of view. Why he wanted to see which cabin was hers he didn't quite know, but she was like a magnet drawing him and he had to know. For a long moment he saw nothing, nothing but log cabins in a white wilderness, then he saw a thin figure with auburn hair run from the hotel's walled garden and onto the path. Down it she ran, her hair blowing wildly in the wind, and ran on and on well passed the turning for the cabins. A knot of anxiety tied in Chakotay's stomach and it tightened when he saw her run on and on until she disappeared into the wilderness. While he wasn't very familiar with this territory, he knew it well enough to know there was nothing down that way except deadly cliffs. Feeling with every part of him that something was wrong, he left the hall without a word to anyone, replicated a tricorder and torch in the foyer, and hurried after her into the wild.

For the best part of forty minutes, Chakotay searched in the freezing blizzard for the woman, but he could not find her. Then, just as he was beginning to think he was worrying about nothing, his tricorder picked up a female human lifesign about fifty meters away. Chakotay made his way to her co-ordinates as fast as he could, treacherous ice and poor light slowing him down, and when he got there he found himself at the edge of the killer cliffs. According to his tricorder the woman was nearby, but he couldn't see her anywhere. Then he saw something auburn ripple in the wind and he flashed his light on the spot. His heart stopped at what he saw. The woman was lying unconscious in the thickening snow. Quickly, Chakotay went over to her and examined her with his tricorder. She wasn't hurt, except for a bruise on her face, but was suffering from severe hypothermia and exposure. Gently, he lifted her out of the snow, cast her over his shoulder, and headed back towards the hotel. At first the woman was very light to his athletic frame, but the further he walked through the deepening show, the heavier she weighed. At last he reached the turn off for the cabins and he carried her down the walkway to his own. He had guessed the reason for her desperate flight to the cliffs and, if he was right, he knew she wouldn't want him to report this unnecessarily. Her condition was one he could easily treat with a medkit and every cabin had one.

When he arrived at his cabin, Chakotay carefully lay the young woman down on a couch and treated first her hypothermia, then her facial injury. He noticed bruising on her arms too, as though they'd been squeezed too harshly by hostile hands. After doing all that needed to be done, he put a blanket over her and then sat in a chair opposite to wait for her to wake up. She did so slowly, stirring at first, then opening her eyes and looking groggily around.

"Welcome back," Chakotay said kindly.

The woman's eyes turned in his direction and she looked at him hazily. "Where am I?"

"In my cabin," he replied. "Safe. I found you on the cliffs."

Tears filled the woman's eyes as everything came back to her and she turned away. "You should have left me. I don't want to live anymore, I don't."

Chakotay's heart went out to her and he wanted to take her pain away, but he knew there was nothing he could do except listen and talk.

"That's how you feel now," he said, "but you'll soon come to see that he's not worth it. He's not even worth crying over, let alone dying over."

Her blue eyes fixed on his again and she sat up in agitation. "He? What do you know of this?"

"I was at the party," he said, "I heard everything that passed between you and that Admiral. It doesn't take a genius to figure it all out." He paused. "He played you along, didn't he? He didn't tell you he was married."

The woman lay against the cushion underneath her and wept softly. "No. Oh God I've been so stupid. I thought he loved me, I thought....Why didn't you let me die out there? Why?"

"Because what kind of a man would that make me? I know you're hurting now, and I can't imagine what you're going through, but ending it all isn't the answer."

The woman made no reply, just wept painfully, every sob knifing Chakotay's heart.

"I know you don't know me," he said, "but if there's anything I can do to help, just name it."

"You could have helped by leaving me on the cliffs," she said. "I wish you had, I so wish you had."

"You don't mean that," he replied. "If you'd really wanted to end it all, well, you wouldn't be here now. You'd be at the bottom of the cliffs. You've got fire in your soul, I saw that at the party, and such fire doesn't die easily."

Again she made no reply, just wept.

"Would you like a hot chocolate?" he asked. "I could do with one."

"I just want to be left alone," she sobbed.

"Sorry, that's off the table. You're recovering from severe hypothermia and exposure. Either you stay here or I call the hotel's sanatorium. It's your choice."

The woman sad nothing for a moment, then she sat up and turned to him. "Ok, I'll have that hot chocolate."

Chakotay smiled warmly. "Coming right up."

He replicated two mugs of creamy hot chocolate and the woman took hers with trembling hands. Chakotay then sat opposite her and took a sip of his drink before speaking.

"I'm Kay, by the way. You're Jane?" He hadn't quite caught her name but it sounded something like Jane.

The woman hesitated, but then nodded.

"Are you an Admiral's daughter?" He'd caught something about her being someone's daughter.

"Who I am is none of your business," she said sharply. "None of this is any of your business."

"No," he agreed. "I'm sorry."

The woman brushed her wild hair away from her face in frustration and then put down her drink. "No, I'm sorry. You're being real nice to me and I...I just don't want you to be nice. I don't want you around. I don't want anyone around."

She started to cry again and hung her head as sobs wracked her thin body.

"There are people you can talk to," Chakotay said. "People who can help. Don't be afraid. You're not the only one this has happened to. It happens all the time. There are people who can help you decide what to do."

"Do?" she cried. "About what? What can I do? I was a married man's bit on the side. What is there to do about that?"

"I didn't mean about him," Chakotay said. "I meant about the baby."

"Baby? His baby? What's that to do with me? I..." Her words trailed away as a terrible realization dawned on her. "Oh god, I'm pregnant, aren't I? Oh God!"

Chakotay bit his lip and kicked himself for the indiscretion. "I'm sorry," he said. "I thought you knew."

The woman buried her head in her hands and wept again. "I'm so dead. When my father finds out...Oh God! He can't....he can't find out. Oh God!"

"As I said, there are people who can help. You don't have to face this alone. And you mustn't think about your father or anyone else, just about yourself, about what you want. You're not your father's possession, you're your own person. It took me a long time to learn that. We have to live our lives our way. Only then can we truly embrace life."

"That's so easy for you to say," she cried. "You're not eighteen and pregnant! Oh God, how could I be so stupid? I just thought we were forever. Forever and ever. He said he loved and me...Oh God!"

"He's a scumbag, Jane. A lying cheating scumbag. If it wouldn't make things worse for you, I'd go back to the party right now and give him a piece of my mind. Men like him make me sick."

"You can't ever mention this to him," she sobbed. "To anyone. Please...Promise me you won't."

"On one condition," he replied. "That you promise me you won't do anything stupid. That you'll get help."

"I'll have to, won't I?" she said. "Oh God."

"Is that a promise?"

She nodded tearfully.

"Then I promise too."

The woman lay back down under the blanket and wept softly.

"Is there anyone I can call?" Chakotay asked. "A friend, a sister?"

She shook her head.

"Who are you here with?"

"My father," she answered, "only he's not actually here. He got called away. That's Daddy for you, never around." She sobbed, sniffled. "I never thought he'd be here, Max. I thought he was on Vulcan. But when I saw him, I thought he'd come to surprise me. He's like that, always surprising me. I thought he wanted to keep things secret because of our ages, but it's because he's married. And now he's having a baby and I'm...Oh God. I'm so stupid!"

"You trusted him, Jane, and he betrayed that trust. That doesn't make you stupid."

"It does. I'm the stupidest woman in the federation. Why didn't I see it? I should have, I should have seen it!"

"Sometimes we only see what we want to see and, well, some people are just good liars."

"I'll never trust another man again, ever," she wept. "Not ever."

"We're not all cheats and liars," Chakotay said, "don't hold up this man as an example of all men. I'd never fool around if I was married. There's nothing I value more than loyalty."

"That's what he said. He said so many things, and I believed him. God, he must have laughed at me. Naive, stupid, cadet, falling for every line he spun. I suppose I'm just another trophy in his collection, another stupid virgin that he popped."

Suddenly a voice spoke. "Felis to Kay."

Chakotay hit his commbadge. "Kay here."

"Where are you? I've been looking all over."

"I'm not feeling too good, Sir," Chakotay answered. "I think I'll call it a night."

"Ok. I hope you're not catching this zinron flu going around. Report to the sanatorium if you get symptoms."

"I will, Sir, but I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow."

"Ok. See you then. Felis out."

The connection terminated.

"You don't have to miss the party on my account," the woman said. "Go back there, make yourself known to the big wigs. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"I'm ambitious," Chakotay admitted. "I won't deny that. But there'll be other parties. Right now I'm more worried about you than my career."

"Well you don't have to be, I'm fine."

"I don't think so. And until I'm sure you are, you're staying here. I have a spare room, you can sleep there. "

Some of the fire he knew was inside her sparked up now. "Who made you my guardian? I'll leave when I damn well want too!"

"Not on my watch. Like I said, you're either staying here or at the sanatorium."

"Don't you know that's blackmail?" she said, getting to her feet. "You have no right to keep me here or threaten me! You think you're some kind of doctor in shining armor but not even doctors can keep people in without their consent!"

Chakotay stood too. "I'll call the sanatorium, then." He hit his commbadge. "Kay to..."

"No," she yelled, pulling his hand away. "You know I don't want that!"

"Then you're staying?"

The woman was about to shake her head defiantly, but instead she crumbled and nodded. "Ok. But only tonight, understand? I leave first thing in the morning."

"Deal," Chakotay smiled. "Now, I'll make up the bed. You need to rest."

He made up the bed as quickly as he could and then showed the woman to the room

"It's ensuite," he said, "and there's clean towels on the rack. Anything you need, just give me a shout. I'll be in the lounge."

"Thanks, I guess," she said. "But I'm a big girl, you don't need to babysit me. Go back to the party"

"And have you sneak away? I don't think so."

"If I was going to sneak away, I'd have done it by now."

Chakotay had to smile at that. "I believe you. But I'd rather not take any chances. So, like I said, I'll be in the lounge if you need me."

"And like I said, I won't, but thanks."

Chakotay put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll get through this, I know you will."

Tears filled her eyes and she lowered them. "This is the worst night of my life."

"I hope it is," Chakotay said. "Because as bad as things are for you, they could be a lot worse. So your boyfriend's a cheat? There are better boyfriend's to be got. And as for the baby, well, every life's a blessing. It's death that should be grieved. If this does turn out to be the worst night of your life then you're going to have a charmed one."

The woman looked up at him with infinite pain in her eyes. "You don't know anything, do you? To hell with your advice, I've heard enough!"

With that, she pushed him out of the room and slammed the door in his face. Chakotay then heard her run across the floor and fall upon the bed weeping. He listened for a while, unsure whether to go in after her or leave her alone, but in the end he decided to leave her alone.

Chakotay stayed in the lounge as promised and ended up staying there all night as he fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up the following morning, he did so with a sore neck, but the ache soon left him as he got up and made breakfast. He didn't feel like much, so just replicated some eggs to scramble. He liked to scramble his own as the replicated variety just wasn't the same. As he carried the eggs over to the stove, he noticed that the spare room door was slightly ajar. Jane had to be up too. He put down the eggs, went over to the room, and knocked the door.

"Jane, I'm having some scrambled eggs. Would you like some?"

No answer.

"Jane?"

When there was still no answer, concern filled him and he pushed open the door.

"Jane?"

But no one answered as there was no one in the room to answer. It was empty. Chakotay went over to the bathroom, hoping to see it in use, but the door was open and it was empty too. In the corner of his eye, Chakotay saw something pink stuck on the mirror and he turned to look at it. It was note. Quickly, he pulled it off the mirror and read it. It said: As you can see I'm gone. Don't worry about me, I'm going to be just fine. Have a good life. J."

The words saddened Chakotay, although he didn't know quite why as this woman was nothing but a stranger to him, but it hurt that she was gone. Sadly, he recycled the note, thinking there was no point in keeping it, but he couldn't get the woman off his mind. She was on it all morning, even when he was supposed to be concentrating on a lecture he was attending with Admiral Felis, and was still on it after lunch. He had to see her again, had to find out exactly who she was. Not just because he was worried about her, but because he wanted too. There was something about her that set his soul alight and he had to find her. But knowing what he had to do, and actually being able to do it, proved to be two very different things. No one he asked knew of her and he couldn't find her anywhere in the hotel. It didn't help that most of the people at the party had left and those remaining were mostly conference guests from other worlds. All night, and the night after that, he hung around the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but he did not. Then, all too soon, it was time for him to leave and he had to accept that he might never see the woman again.

End of Chapter Two