Chained

Clicking. Tapping. Dripping. Dripping. Chakotay tried to identify the sound. Definitely dripping. His eye lids strained against the heaviness plaguing them, but he couldn't open them. He eased his attempt and lay quiet, trying to hear further. Shuffling. "Teej?" He managed, mutilating the attempt at both letters.

"I'm here." The response was pained.

"What-?" He inhaled as the words caught in a tornado of anguish. "Damn." He whispered instead.

"You've been out more than a day." T.J.'s voice was less strained and it got a bit closer. "I'm in the next cell."

"Tell me what happened." Chakotay got it out in a rush before gripping the edges of the metal bunk he was on.

"We walked right out into a group of them. They were on us in seconds. A big one took you down with his fist. I thought he drove your face into your brain, but thankfully it wasn't that bad. They killed two of our people, I haven't seen the other three. They've tortured us, you haven't woken through it."

Chakotay groaned, this time turning his head and opening his eyes.

"We've been in worse, right?"

"Sure." He smirked slightly and let his eyes adjust enough to make out the edge of the cell and the bars where T.J. was leaning. His left eye was bleeding badly and the skin of his arms were burned. "Have they just brought you back than?"

T.J. nodded. "They think I wanted more than the prisoners. They're not taking anything I tell them for truth."

"You've never been good at withstanding torture. They'll kill you if they're not happy." Chakotay leaned to his right until his weight carried him over the edge of the bunk and onto the floor. He eased himself to sit and gasped at the pain.

T.J. winced watching him. He wiped at the blood on his face and leaned sideways so his arm slid through the bars. He reached toward Chakotay.

Chakotay stretched to the side and grasped his friend's hand.

"Think they got us this time." He tightened his grip.

"Looks like." Chakotay answered, a weak hold in return.

The grass felt wonderful beneath his feet. It'd been some time since he'd walked barefoot across a grassy field. He closed his eyes and tipped his head up to the sky, a breeze catching his loose tunic, causing it to billow around him. He hadn't even wanted to transport in uniform and he forgot where along the path he'd abandoned the boots. He opened his eyes and let them adjust to the bright sun again, panning the hillside as they did. There was the small child he was searching for, beside a little house, squatting in a bright pink dress with yellow flowers.

She waved to him and ran down the hill, her tiny feet barely catching her for the momentum she was gaining.

He lifted her easily when she reached him.

"Hi, Daddy." Her two year old pudgy arms wound themselves tight around his neck.

"Missed you, my sweet Erin." He whispered into her hair and held her tight against him.

He looked up again to see Kathryn had come out from the house, wearing the Admiral's uniform she was still hardly comfortable in. They met in the middle and she smiled up at him.

"You've been away for some time."

"I'm sorry... it was out of my-"

"Ssh..." She silenced him with a finger to his lips, replacing it with a soft kiss. "I know, I'm at fault for the delay." She frowned slightly.

He sighed. "I wanted to be here for her birthday..."

Kathryn shook her head. "I can't get you home when she needs you and... well, unless you take a leave you'll be out again for several more months."

He could feel tears in his eyes. "If you two were to come with me sometimes..."

Kathryn smiled slightly. "Only immediate family can join you now, you know that."

"If I were to formally adopt her... If we got..."

Kathryn's breath caught.

He paused and watched her. She'd been avoiding his pleas to make them a real family and share a home together since Erin's birth. He knew she was afraid of losing another lover. "Please..."

She studied the now sleeping toddler against her former commander's strong shoulders. "You know I love you..."

"Let go, Kathryn... trust me. Be with me." He gasped the last at her consenting smile...

A click and creaking jarred Chakotay from that sweet memory of the very beginnings of his family. He rubbed his eyes and tried desperately to focus. The pain and fear of never seeing his wife and daughter again striking him like a dagger to the side. He could barely make out a tall, square shouldered Cardassian in the dimly lit cell. The man seemed to be studying Chakotay, trying to make sense of him.

"What do you want?" Chakotay managed.

"To know why you were here."

"We were freeing the men, women and children you were holding and torturing." He bit back angrily.

"Like you don't mistreat our men, women and children?"

Chakotay clenched his teeth forcibly, trying to avoid a lie of a retort.

"I see." The Cardassian muttered, reaching into his belt for what looked to Chakotay like a barbed wire strip. "We shall discover if that is all. Your friend didn't withstand this part."

Chakotay rolled away from the Cardassian as the strip snapped at him, striking him in the back of the neck. He let out a cry of pain and grabbed the bars at the backside of the cell. Pressing his face against them, hoping the pressure and cool metal would give him some distraction as the barbs dug into his back, arms and head with each easy flick of the Cardassian's wrist.

The pain was unbearable and Chakotay's chest tightened with every blow. He could feel darkness creeping through his mind as he slowly lost hold of the last bit of consciousness.

His eyes flicked open. The blinding light that hit him burned as much as the wounds covering the back of his body. He blinked a few times before turning his head to see where he was. A medical bay of some sort. It seemed strange to him to be treated by the doctors here. He pushed himself up on one elbow and held his hand against his eyes as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Easy, Captain."

The voice was clear, seasoned, perhaps older and male... and calling him by rank. Rank.

"Where am I?" His voice was hoarse and the words were garbled. After likely hours of torture he was surprised he could speak at all.

"Aboard Deep Space 9, Sir."

He fought the pain of the light and the queasy feeling the dizziness gave him as he opened his eyes again, squinting hard to focus.

"Captain, you really should lie back down." The doctor before him was in Starfleet Medical blues and his gray hair and slightly wrinkled features gave his words some power.

Chakotay leaned back slowly until his head found the slight rise of the biobed where it'd be most comfortable. "Where's my-"

"Safe. She contacted us regarding your capture. And I must say sir, she had quite a bit of a confession that went with it."

"Is Sisko still in command here?" Chakotay searched his memory for a mention of him here or on earth, but he couldn't find any.

"No, Sir, he was reassigned some years ago." The doctor pressed a hypo spray against his neck. "Commander Kira is in charge these days. She's still a liaison to the Bajoran home world, but she's a full fledged Starfleet officer."

The doctor rambled on for a bit and Chakotay fought to stay conscious. "Bashir, right?" He interrupted quietly.

Doctor Bashir paused. "Yes, I'm surprised you remember."

Chakotay smirked. "I don't. I'm married to a Starfleet admiral. She gets quite a few reports on the wormhole and this region."

"Ah, no doubt with the perpetual threat of the Dominion." Bashir nodded thoughtfully. "Well, at any rate, I was saying your daughter is here and safe and I believe she has contacted Starfleet Command directly. I was told to make you ready to fly, though it's against my better judgment. I suppose you'll be fine."

"Could you get her?"

"I've been here." Erin's voice was barely above a whisper.

Chakotay turned his head to the other side of the biobed to see Erin slouched in exhaustion on a stool in the shadows. "Hey." He smiled and motioned her over.

She shook her head.

"Erin..." He whispered. "This... this is not your fault."

She was crying softly, more with each word. "You'd still be on earth if it weren't for me, so tell me how it's not my fault."

He let his hand fall to the side of the bed, dangling at an odd angle and fast growing numb, but he barely noticed. "There's nothing you could have done to keep me from following you. That was my choice."

She scooted off the stool and came over to stand beside his bed, taking his hand and squeezing it between both of hers. "When they found you-when the Starfleet officers found you, you were clinically dead. Your heart had failed and you hadn't been breathing for several minutes. They beamed you on board a tiny runabout and Doctor Bashir was able to stabilize you. I was waiting here when they got back to DS9... Daddy, I thought you were dead. I thought mom was right and there was no chance if the Cardassians had gotten to you..."

His smile was pained as he imagined the remainder of his torturer's beating that blissful unconsciousness had saved him from feeling. He brushed the thoughts aside. "Mom knows we're okay?"

"No." She shook her head. "I called her after you were taken in the prison camp, she probably thinks we're both dead."

"Than it'll be twice as surprising when we get home." Chakotay attempted the positive, but sighed as soon as it was out. "Let's go home now, okay?"

Erin nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I didn't listen. You did know what you were talking about. I saw a lot of hatred in the Maquis crew as they were firing on the Cardassians. Maybe they need to feel that, but it just made me feel sick to try."

"I needed to know, once. Perhaps so did you, but I'm glad you don't want to stay. The pain and torment I put myself through for years with them isn't something you need to face. You have a family who loves you, friends who care about you, a career that can one day put you back here if you need that... in the right way."

She nodded and cleared her throat. "He didn't make it, Daddy. He was gone for a while when the found you."

Chakotay closed his eyes. The Cardassian's words indeed had sounded final. "Your friend didn't withstand this part."

Home

Kathryn sat with her coffee clutched tight between her cold fingers. The rain was relaxing, or would have been under different circumstances. She leaned forward and rested the cup on the porch rail, letting her head fall into her hands as she let it go. She hadn't heard from Erin again. It'd been a few days at least since the late night call. Four months since she'd seen her daughter.

"Anything?"

Kathryn shook her head, but didn't lift it. Riley had come by several times a day to see her, to ask about Erin and Chakotay, to bring coffee or chocolate. Today he stopped on the bottom step, the light rain dripping down his freckled face. When she realized he hadn't continued, she looked up.

Riley's eyes were fixed off into the distance, toward five people coming their way. He swallowed hard and turned to her to speak.

She silenced him before his mouth was open. Standing she leaned against the banister. Two were definitely in full Admirals dress uniforms, the other three were wearing darker clothes, she couldn't make them out. "Riley, come inside. If they want to talk to us, they can bang on the door for a while."

"They've been harassing you still?" He followed her inside.

She latched the door shut and went through the foyer into the main room. Bookshelves lined the walls and a few overstuffed chairs were near the windows. An old wood burning stove, Chakotay's addition to the room, stood centered below wall of windows, adding extra warmth to the room. Pictures of Erin as a child were scattered about the shelves, in and around collections of old printed books. A few older pictures were gathered together on an end table, all of them of Voyager's crew.

Kathryn settled herself in one of the chairs, fighting the urge to watch the approaching band of officers through the rain speckled window.

"Admiral." Riley started quietly. He was still standing in the foyer, staring past her out the window. "It's Erin and the Captain."

Kathryn turned to see the three others were Tuvok, and indeed Erin and Chakotay. They were moving slowly, Chakotay's arm was over Tuvok's shoulder and he appeared to be limping. Erin was talking to Admiral Paris as they slowly walked. She didn't recognize the second Admiral, but they were all drenched. "Riley, go make some coffee." Her voice was hollow at the command as she leaned forward, eyes fixed out the window.

He nodded and hurried to the kitchen.

She stood, unsteadily and gripped the back of her chair tight before moving as quick as she dared to the door. She flung it open as they reached the steps.

Erin was in her arms before she could step out the door. "So sorry, Mama." She whispered against her shoulder.

"It's okay." Kathryn mumbled back, barely aware of the words or the world around her.

Chakotay watched for a long moment before Kathryn reached for him past Erin.

Tuvok gingerly released Chakotay who nearly fell forward toward them.

"Why didn't you transport over?" She laughed softly around a kiss.

"Erin wanted to walk home." He eyed his daughter and added a smirk to it after a moment.

"The rain sounded like a good way to... erase some things." She slipped out from her parent's arms and slipped into the living room.

Tuvok returned to Chakotay's side to help Kathryn get him into a comfortable chair.

Kathryn opened her mouth, but Chakotay stopped her with a squeeze on her arm.

"There's time to talk about it later. I'm just very glad we're home." He looked up at Tuvok as he was nodding a thank you to Riley who'd handed him a cup of tea. Quite familiar with the family's visitors after years of virtually living with them.

The Admiral Kathryn hadn't recognized cleared his throat and she realized he was still standing. "Sir, please sit."

He shook his head. "Thank you, no. I'm only here, sadly, to inform you that until further notice, Captain Chakotay is to remain here, under observation."

Paris leaned over to Kathryn and muttered. "It'll be a slap on the wrist for the stolen shuttle, they're dropping everything else."

"Thank you." She wasn't sure if she was speaking to the Admiral, or her long time former captain and friend.

"If there are any questions, please inform me. I'm down the hall from your office." He nodded and excused himself.

"Is that all!?" She turned on a heel to Admiral Paris and saw the big grin on his face.

"That's all. Most have decided to... disregard the reports from DS9 on the activities of the Maquis team that Chakotay banded himself with. I'm one of only three who read them completely through."

Kathryn hugged him, a rare display between them, but this one was deserving of it.

He wished them goodnight and left, Tuvok following behind.

Kathryn perched on the arm of the chair Chakotay was in and sat quietly as Riley and Erin talked on the couch at the farthest point in the living room. After a long while she realized Chakotay was watching her.

"You know something..." He prompted quietly.

"He was devastated... I think he's in love with her."

"Our Riley?" Chakotay leaned away from her to survey her posture.

She nodded and smiled. "We practically raised him. Could you hand pick someone better?"

He laid his head against her thigh and sighed. "I suppose not. But he should know I didn't chase her partway across the quadrant so he could steal her away."

She slid from the arm and knelt facing him, her forearms folded, lightly resting on his knees. "I'm very grateful you did." She touched some of the burns and gashes on his nearest arm.

He winced slightly at the touch, but didn't pull back or make a sound.

She noticed anyway. "What happened?"

He told her of the attack, being captured and tortured, and than waking in the sickbay aboard Deep Space Nine.

"And T.J?" She asked hesitantly as she watched the pain flash fresh across his dark face.

"He didn't make it." Chakotay whispered sadly. "He was my closest friend for a very long time, Kathryn. We were in Starfleet together all those years ago, before the Maquis."

She let her fingers probe his arm until they found an undamaged spot and she squeezed tightly. "You're home now. Erin and I... and it looks like Riley too..." She glanced over her shoulder at the pair who were sound asleep, her head on his shoulder and his chin resting atop her head. "...we're all the family you'll ever need. All the love you'll ever need."

Chakotay sighed and pulled Kathryn up toward him.

She settled in next to him, both rather squished in the chair, but comfortable. And they slept the night there.

fin.