Please see disclaimer and author's notes on the first chapter.
Kathryn rolled over to her side and fluffed her pillow. She had been on the planet for almost seven weeks, and she had to admit this was the best kidnapping she'd ever experienced. Unfortunately, she had several experiences that she could examine in comparison. She had been completely spoiled during her time on Perub. She slept in a luxuriously huge bed with enough pillows to fill a tub, and her bathroom had a tub in it that made her think twice about getting rescued. The food here was simply scrumptious. She could swear she had gained ten kilos since she had arrived. She'd also slept more in the past seven weeks than she had since before she was a cadet. She surmised that the counselors at Starfleet medical were going to have a field day with her when she returned. Identifying with her captors, sleeping excessively to avoid the situation, and her favorite – not wanting to be rescued.
Kathryn stared at the ceiling. She really had come to like the planet and its people. She had attended the theater and toured many of their museums. Her tiring maid, Esselay, reminded Kathryn of her mother. Ambassador Lelac had become a personal friend, and she had dined at his home on several occasions. The only thing she didn't like about the planet was how short she felt. She constantly suffered neck strain from looking up at everyone she talked to.
They were a funny people, devoted to family and their warrior culture ideals. Esselay, or Essie as Kathryn had come to call her, told her all sorts of stories detailing the brave deeds of her people. Kathryn was sure some of them were fables, but as most fables do they also held an element of truth. She wasn't entirely sure about Essie's claims to have averted four different rescue attempts singlehandedly, but Essie had secured a promise from Kathryn that she would be phasered during Kathryn's escape. Kathryn thought she was crazy, but Essie assured her it was quite a badge of honor. She could only imagine how the story of her rescue would be recounted in later years.
Kathryn heard a noise outside her door and sat up. It was later than usual for anyone to be moving around in the hall. She could see shadows moving on the other side of the door, and she quietly slipped out of bed as the handle on the door was turned.
"Captain Janeway?" A male voice whispered into the room.
Kathryn peered through the darkness at the face. "Riker?"
He opened the door and came all the way inside the room. He grinned. "I'm here to rescue you."
"What's the plan?" She asked, pulling on her shoes. She was thankful she had begun wearing a light pants suit to sleep in the past several days; it would make escaping a much less embarrassing situation.
He scanned the room. "At the end of this hall, we've found a hole in their deflector grid that we can beam through."
Kathryn grinned. "Do you have an extra phaser for me?"
He unclipped one from his belt and handed it over. "Come on Captain, it's time to get you home."
"Wait, I have to wake my lady. She'll never forgive me if I don't stun her," Kathryn said moving towards the side door of the room.
Riker caught her by the arm. "We're trying to get out of here without starting a firefight."
"Oh, Will, we can't do that. These people have been looking forward to a fight with you for two months now. They'll be devastated if we just sneak away," Kathryn explained.
"Are you crazy?" He asked maneuvering her towards the door.
She pulled her arm free from his grasp. "No, I'm not crazy, but the Perubians are. A little anyway. It's the highlight of their negotiations to have a battle between the tribes. Besides, Commander, I outrank you."
Riker stepped close to her looking down into her face. "Captain, you know as well as I do that your rank doesn't count in a situation like this."
She smiled. "I know but I couldn't resist. Come on Will, when was the last time you were in a firefight that you knew you'd live through? Besides, it doesn't even hurt when their shots hit you."
"You've been shot?" He asked incredulously. "They assured us you were being treated well….you assured us you were being treated well."
"They only shot me when I tried to escape." She saw by the look on his face he was truly concerned. She took on a more serious tone. "It's our duty as Starfleet officers to try and escape when captured. You know the rules of conduct as well as I do. I'm not crazy, Will. I just understand this culture better than anyone else right now."
"All right, but not until we get to the end of the hall. I want to be able to beam out of this place at a moment's notice." Riker made a chirping noise, and a Klingon wearing command red stuck his head in through the door. "Change of plans, Mr. Worf."
Twenty minutes later, the away team plus Captain Janeway were crouched in defensive positions at the end of the hall, firing in all directions. Janeway had awoken Essie, but refused to stun her unless she waited until they were at the end of the hall to sound the alarm. Riker contacted the Enterprise and told them to lock on to their signals, but to stand by and wait for his command to beam them out. At Kathryn's signal, Essie hollered at the top of her lungs, waking the entire building with news of the escape. Janeway had stunned her as promised.
"How long do we do this?" Riker bellowed over the noise.
"As soon as the ambassador shows up, we can shoot him and leave," Janeway yelled back, firing into a corner at two Perubians.
"Now you want to shoot the Ambassador?" Riker asked and fired two rapid stunning shots at a guard trying to duck behind a corner.
"Actually, it should be you that does it. You are the rescuer." She yelled and then ducked behind what was left of a stone fountain. "There he is!"
Riker looked in the direction Kathryn pointed and saw an alien dressed in blue accented with gold. As he took aim, he sincerely hoped that Kathryn Janeway had not lost her senses. He fired and the alien slumped against the wall.
"Now get us out of here, Riker!" Janeway yelled firing another burst at some new guards joining the fray.
Riker called for a beam out, and noticed the Perubian he had shot was smiling and waving at him.
Kathryn slipped into the refresher of the Enterprise's sickbay to change into her freshly replicated uniform. The beam out had been successful, and Captain Picard had been waiting for them in the transporter room. She had almost burst out laughing when Riker tried to explain to Picard that he had phasered the ambassador.
She looked in the mirror to check her reflection. It felt good to have her uniform on again after two months without it, even if it did feel tighter across her abdomen. She had definitely put on a few pounds while on the planet, and she vowed to herself to start a more strenuous workout. She straightened her hair and then headed out to Dr. Crusher's office. Following standard procedure, Captain Picard had insisted that she report to sickbay for a full medical evaluation. Dr. Crusher had already run a complete series of scans on her and had told her she could change clothes while the data was compiled.
She sat down in the chair opposite the desk and regarded the renowned chief medical officer. Kathryn had grown used to the EMH's caustic manner and found herself ill equipped to deal with a CMO that actually appeared to care. "Well, Dr. Crusher what's the prognosis?"
"All of the basic tests show you to be in excellent health, Captain, but I would like to ask you a few questions about your experience," Beverly said, putting the PADD she had been reading down on the desk. "You reported that you suffered no ill treatment during the past two months. Is that correct?"
"Apart from the initial drugging when they kidnapped me, I was treated very graciously," Kathryn told her.
"How did you feel when you woke up from the drugging? Did you feel any discomfort?"
Kathryn thought back and remembered how her back had been stiff, but she knew what had caused that. She just shook her head in answer to the question. "I was groggy for a little while, but once that wore off I felt fine."
"Please bear with me Captain, but were you sexually active during your time on the planet? Or prior to your abduction?"
"Not while I was on the planet, no." Kathryn felt a chill creep down her spine. "What's this all about, Doctor?"
Dr. Crusher steeled herself. She was unsure how the captain in front of her was going to accept what she had to say. "Captain, you're two months pregnant."
Kathryn sat on the couch in the Enterprise's VIP quarters staring out at the stars. They were enroute to Deep Space 3 where she would be dropped off to rendezvous with Admiral Paris and her mother. She had already conversed briefly with both of them and Phoebe, and they were relieved she had been rescued. Her mother had insisted on coming out to meet her. God, what was she going to tell her mother? I had a one night stand with the guy who kidnapped me. She shook her head.
After Dr. Crusher had broken the news, Kathryn had gone into complete denial. She had immediately demanded to know how that was possible, and Beverly had given her a very skeptical look. Kathryn rephrased her question, and they began looking into her medical file. A month before Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Kathryn's bi-annual physical had been due. She missed the appointment and consequently missed updating her blockers.
It was only when Dr. Crusher mentioned that the mistreatment of her, by the Perubians or any agents working for them, would be grounds for denying entrance to the Federation that Kathryn told her exactly what happened. Reports of abuse would have to go into the official record, but her personal medical history would remain confidential. She assured Dr. Crusher the conception had been completely consensual and therefore of a personal nature. The doctor had looked at her skeptically when Kathryn asked her to run a species specific scan, but the results showed the baby was completely human.
The doctor wanted her to speak with Counselor Troi as a matter of protocol, but she had begged off. The last thing she needed right now was someone digging around in her head. She had enough going on in there without inviting someone else in.
So here she sat, staring out at the stars amazed at just how fast a life could be utterly screwed up. Yesterday, she had been thinking about being an admiral upon her return to Earth, and how she would feel about taking a desk job. Today, she wondered how she could possibly stay in Starfleet and raise a child on her own.
Alone.
She tried to laugh at the thought that for at least the next seven months she would never be alone, but the laughter turned to tears. The unflappable Captain Janeway, soon to be admiral, scourge of the Delta Quadrant, hero to many and friend to few, buried her face in the cushions of the couch and cried.
Cont to Part 5