Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tail wagging, Blackie left his brand new doggie-bed to greet Adriena as she quietly opened her bedroom door to let him in. It was just starting to get light outside and Kathryn and Gretchen were still sleeping. When the dog reached his little mistress, he affectionately jumped up on her legs and Adriena fussed him. She then closed the door and made her way over to the bed. As she climbed back under the covers, Blackie jumped on the bed and began to lick her face. Adriena laughed and then patted the empty space beside her, urging the dog to curl up next to her. Blackie, however, had other ideas and bounced off the bed in the direction of the window.

"Oh," Adriena smiled when he jumped onto the windowseat and looked outside. "You want to go bathroom."

Eager to attend to her dog's needs, she reached for her crutches and hobbled over to the window. As soon as she was sitting down, she opened the window as wide as she could and watched as Blackie jumped to the soft grass below. It was a still, dry, morning, and Blackie sniffed around as he did his business.

"I need to go myself," Adriena said, getting rather tired of watching the dog sniff and piddle. "I'll go now too, then we'll both be done."

With that, she got to her feet and made her way into the bathroom.

When Adriena had finished in the bathroom, she was disappointed to see that Blackie was still outside.

"You must be done by now," she said, returning to the window. "Come in and..." Her face fell in horror when she saw that Blackie was no where to be seen. Clumsily casting her crutches to the wall, she climbed onto the windowseat and desperately looked outside.

"Blackie," she called. "Blackie, come back!"

Finally she saw her precious dog. He was on the sand, running towards the sea.

"No," Adriena cried. "Come back. Blackie, come back!"

But the dog just continued to run. Tearfully, Adriena picked up her crutches, hurried out of her bedroom, and made her way to the front door. She pressed an emergency exit button that Kathryn had showed her, and as soon as the door opened, she ventured outside. Not even thinking about closing the door behind her, she crossed the grass as quickly as she could and followed her dog onto the sand. The sand was soft, soggy, difficult to walk on, and Adriena lost her balance and fell. Crying, she pulled herself up and called desperately to her dog.

"Come back! Blackie...please come back!"

But again the dog did not return.

Shivering from cold and upset, Adriena struggled on across the sand, but just as she was within reaching distance of her pet, Blackie changed course and ran west of the sea.

"No," Adriena cried, changing direction too. "Come back!"

Breathless, she hurried after the dog along the water's edge, but in no time at all he was just a dot in the distance.

"Please," she wept, "come back...I love you..."

Then she screamed as a large wave knocked her to the sand. Just as she was sitting up, a wave even bigger than the last engulfed her, separating her from her crutches. She screamed again and struggled against the tide, but waves overpowered her and before she knew it they had swept her away.

His life-cycle still on pacific time, Chakotay was finding it difficult to sleep. Lying in his bed in his shuttle, the first lights of morning seeped in through a small port-hole beside him. He looked out across the sands, and as the dawn was dry, he figured he would make the most of his first ever morning in Ireland and take a walk along the shore.

Knowing it would be cold outside, he replicated himself some warm clothes and a jacket, and when he was all ready, left his shuttle. Just as he was closing the shuttle door, he heard a scream in the distance. He turned around and saw what looked like a child struggling in the water. Abandoning the shuttle door, he ran onto the sand, tearing off his jacket, and sped over to the incoming tide.

Gasping for breath, Adriena flapped her arms in a desperate attempt to stay afloat, but more and more waves crashed against her and it seemed as though the sea was sucking her to the bottom. Then, a mighty wave overcame her, and she sank into the cold watery depths.

Wading into the water, Chakotay desperately scoured the sea for the drowning child, but all he could see were frothy waves. Then, something yellow bobbed to his left. As quick as lightening, he lurched in the direction of it and scooped up what he believed to be the child. Sure enough, he found a little girl in his arms: his little girl. Her eyes were closed and her body was limp and lifeless.

"No," he cried, tears flooding his eyes. "You can't die..."

As fast as he could, he carried her to the sand, lay her down, and gave her the kiss of life.

"Come on," he cried as he pumped her little chest. "Don't leave me...not now...not now!"

At first, the child didn't respond, then her chest heaved and she coughed.

Chakotay immediately sat her up. "That's it...cough...breath...nice and easy..."

Once she had recovered her breath, Adriena began to cry.

"It's alright," Chakotay said gently. "You're safe now. You're safe."

He got to his feet and lifted her into his arms. He held her tight a moment, swallowed the tears, and then spoke.

"I'll take you home."

Gretchen was just stepping out of the front door to look for Adriena when Chakotay reached the cottage.

"Adriena!" Gretchen cried in alarm when she saw the shivering, soaking wet, child in his arms. "What happened?"

"She got swept up by the tide," Chakotay said, carrying his daughter inside. "I heard her cries when I left my shuttle to take a walk."

"Take her into her bedroom," Gretchen said, closing the front door. "I'll get her dried and into bed and call the doctor."

Chakotay made his way into the child's bedroom and Gretchen followed.

"I had no idea where she'd gone," the woman said, wringing her hands from upset. "I thought I heard her calling, but she wasn't in her room...and Kathryn's well-out of it from sleep medication...she was in so much discomfort last night..."

"It's ok," Chakotay said, seeing that the woman was getting distressed. "I can handle things. You call the doctor and I'll take care of her."

"Alright," Gretchen answered. "Right away..."

Without another word, she left the room. When she was gone, Chakotay looked around, making his bearings, and then headed for what had to be the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, he put Adriena down on a little yellow chair next to the bath and began to undress her. When she was out of her wet pyjamas, he lifted her into the bath, showered away the sand on her hair and body, and then wrapped her in a large white towel that was hanging on a rail. He then put her back on the chair and dried her face with a smaller towel. All the while he tried to soothe her, but the child just wept inconsolably. As he dried her hair, Gretchen re-appeared.

"The Doctor will be here as soon as he can," she said. Chakotay was wet and shivering himself and Gretchen looked at him in concern. "Let me do that, you need to get out of those wet things."

Chakotay didn't argue, but handed the dryer to her. "There's a replicator just there," the elderly woman said, pointing to the room's small replicator. "Help yourself."

Chakotay replicated himself a set of comfortable clothes, including shoes as his were soaked, and then went to the bedroom to put them on. As he was tying up the laces on his shoes, the bedroom door opened and the Doctor entered.

"Commander," he smiled. "I see you've returned."

"Just got back last night," Chakotay answered.

The Doctor saw his discarded wet clothes on a nearby chair and guessed their cause.

"And I see already the hero of the hour. You and I should start a club." He looked around. "Where is our water-sprite?"

"In the bathroom," Chakotay replied. "Mrs Janeway is attending to her. Kathryn's asleep."

"What happened exactly? Is she injured?"

"I don't think so. But she wasn't breathing when I got her out of the sea. I had to resuscitate her."

"I see," the Doctor said, his tone sobering. "If need be, I'll admit her to the sanatorium, but hopefully she won't need anything more than warmth and a single dose of medication to prevent hypothermia."

The Doctor then made his way into the bathroom, and Chakotay followed. Adriena was now dressed in pink pyjamas, and Gretchen was closing the shiny pink buttons on her shirt.

"We meet again," the Doctor smiled at the child. "Just what have you been up to, young lady?"

Adriena made no reply, just wept.

"She won't stop crying," Gretchen said. "I don't know what to do."

The Doctor knelt before the child and put a kind hand on her shoulder. "You're safe now, little miss. There's no need to cry."

Adriena looked up at him, her eyes dull with pain. "It's Blackie...he's gone..."

The Doctor turned to Gretchen. "Blackie?"

"Her dog," Gretchen replied. She then looked at the child. "Is that what you were doing on the beach, sweetheart, chasing Blackie?"

Adriena nodded. "He wanted to go bathroom... I let him...now he's gone."

She sobbed painfully, her heart broken.

"I'm sure we'll find him," the Doctor said. "He can't have gone far."

Adriena's tears ebbed at that. "You think?"

The Doctor nodded. "Now, don't cry. You have such a pretty smile."

At that, Adriena rubbed away her tears and watched as the Doctor opened his med-kit and pulled out a tricorder. He then held it over her and examined her thoroughly.

"All is well," he smiled. "I'll just give you some medicine to make sure you don't get a chill."

He prepared a small hypospray and then put it to her neck. When he was done, he got to his feet and turned to Gretchen. "Make sure she keeps warm today, either in bed or on a couch with a blanket."

"I will," Gretchen replied.

"My crutches," Adriena interrupted. "The sea took them..."

"Then we'll replicate you some new ones," Gretchen said.

Chakotay stepped forward and addressed the child. "Let's get you to bed." He gently picked her up and carried her through to the bedroom. Gretchen pulled back the covers on the bed and Chakotay gently lay her down. As he tucked the covers around her, Adriena smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome," Chakotay said, a lump gathering in his throat.

"I'm Adriena. Who are you?"

Chakotay hesitated for a moment, then answered. "Adam."

Adriena smiled again. "Thank you, Adam."

For the first time, Chakotay got a proper look at his daughter's face, and as she looked at him, he saw his mother's eyes looking back at him.

"You get some rest," he said quietly. He then turned away from her, emotion momentarily overwhelming him.

Gretchen took his place at Adriena's bedside and Chakotay took a deep breath to compose himself. The Doctor then approached him.

"As we're both here, we may as well address your situation," he said.

Chakotay nodded. "I was about to suggest the same thing."

"Then let's transport to the sanatorium. I can conduct all necessary tests there."

"The test results match Adam's," the Doctor said after he had performed a number of specialized tests on Chakotay. "Your brain is in Adam's body, along with your left lung and your pancreas. This has caused some minor physiological stress, which explains the headaches you've been suffering from, but because Adam's body is conditioned to accept foreign organs, there are no serious problems."

Chakotay questioned. "How easy will it be to switch us back? Are there any risks? I mean, risks other than the one's to Adam?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied, "there is an element of risk. Because Adam's brain is comatose in your body, there is a chance your body won't respond to your brain. I don't expect it to happen, but it is a possibility and a coma, or even brain-death, could result. But I believe that once your brain is back in your body, you will suffer no more than a headache or nausea for a couple of days while your body adjusts."

Chakotay considered this then questioned again. "How long do you think it will be before we can make the switch?"

"It's hard to tell. It could be weeks, it could be hours. But Adam's conditioned has deteriorated over the past twelve hours and things are looking increasingly bad for him. If he continues to deteriorate at the rate he has, he'll be lucky to survive the week."

"You're supposed to be in bed, young lady," Kathryn said as she entered Adriena's bedroom and found the child sitting by the window. Resting on the wall beside her were her new crutches, the color a predictable yellow.

"I'm looking for Blackie," she said, turning to look out at the sands again.

Kathryn walked over to the window and sat beside the precious little girl. When her mother had told her what had happened, the thought of losing the child made her realize just how much she had come to love her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry he ran away."

"He might come back," Adriena said. "I know I can't play with him like the other children, but I love him, I do."

"I know you do," Kathryn said, reaching out and stroking the child's thin black hair. "But you mustn't think that Blackie ran away because of you. He's been a roamer for a long time and that might be just how he is. But there are many other little dogs in need of a home who are just waiting to be loved by a little girl like you. We'll do our best to find Blackie, but if we can't, we can find you another dog."

"I don't want another dog," Adriena said, a tear running down her cheek. "I want Blackie."

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Gretchen popped her head inside.

"There's a little someone here to see you."

She opened the door wider and a ball of black curls ran across the room and jumped onto Adriena's lap.

"Oh Blackie!" the child cried happily. "You're back...my Blackie!" She scooped the dog in her arms and hugged him tight.

Kathryn watched the pair for a moment, and then turned to her mother, who was now inside the room. Standing behind her, still in Adam's body, was Chakotay.

"I gather you found our stray," Kathryn said, getting to her feet.

Chakotay nodded. "I located him on sensors." He walked over to his daughter and sat in the place Kathryn had occupied beside her. "He wasn't running away, Adriena," he said, reaching out and tickling the dog's ear. "He was trying to show you something."

Adriena looked up at Chakotay. "He was?"

Chakotay nodded. "I found him with another dog, a little brown and white terrier. The dog had fallen in between two rocks and hurt his leg. Blackie was trying to show you where he was."

Adriena beamed a smile. "Then he likes me?"

"I'd say so," Chakotay smiled. "I'd say, by the way he's licking you, that he loves you. And I hope you can find it in your heart to love another dog, because once this little terrier is out of doggie hospital, he's going to need a home too."

Adriena's eyes widened in sheer joy. "You mean...you mean he's to be mine too?"

Chakotay nodded, the child's happiness warming his heart. "It would be a shame to separate the dogs. I'm sure they're friends."

Adriena turned to Kathryn. "Did you hear that, Kathryn? Blackie has a friend. He didn't run away..."

"Yes," Kathryn smiled. "I heard."

"Adam says that..." The child's face then fell and her eyes dulled. "I can, can't I, Kathryn? I can keep his friend too?"

"Absolutely," Kathryn replied.

Adriena smiled happily and then buried her head in Blackie's soft fur as she hugged him again.

"Why don't you stay for lunch?" Kathryn said to Chakotay when they were alone in the living room. "My mother's made enough soup to go around."

"I'd rather not," Chakotay replied. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to spend a lot of time here, not while I'm Adam. I don't want Adriena to get to like me and then be gone from her life." He paused. "And I need to go back to Trebus and speak with my sister about Adriena's future."

Kathryn frowned. "How do you mean?"

"The Doctor says there's a chance I won't survive the switch-back. It's unlikely, but I have to be prepared. I don't want Adriena to end up in another home, so I need to make all the necessary preparations regarding guardianship. Now we have conclusive proof that I'm Chakotay, not Adam, we can inform the authorities about her and I can make a legal declaration of what should happen if I don't make it. I'm sure my sister will want her, but I'll have to ask her first."

Kathryn's heart ached at just the thought of Chakotay not surviving, and she didn't want to think about it, but he was right, he had to be prepared. "I can understand you wanting her to go to family," she said, "but I would be willing to have her. I know I don't have much experience with children, not like your sister, and I can understand today's events giving you grave doubts, but I've come to love her, I truly have."

"I can't ask you to take her," Chakotay said quietly. "It wouldn't be fair..."

"You're not asking," Kathryn said firmly. "I'm offering."

Tears brimmed in Chakotay's foreign eyes. "If you're sure..."

"More than I've ever been about anything."

Chakotay smiled, deeply touched. "Then there's no one I'd rather her be with."

Kathryn lay her hand on the arm that was presently his. "But you're going to make it, Chakotay. Neither I or Adriena are willing to lose you yet."

They gazed at each other for a moment, then Chakotay spoke.

"Shall we call the authorities tomorrow? They'll probably want to examine Adriena and she's been through enough for one day."

Kathryn nodded. "Tomorrow." She then smiled warmly. "Now, why don't you stay for that soup? Adriena's going to be in her room for the rest of the day so it'll just be me and my mother." Her eyes twinkled. "She doesn't bite, I promise."

Chakotay laughed at that. "Go on then, make it lunch for three."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN