Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own Star Trek Voyager!
A/N: Remember how I said there would be 'ups and downs'? Well, this will definitely be a 'down'. At this point Janeway is 19 weeks pregnant, so almost five months.
White hot pain shot through her body like a lightening bolt, tearing through muscles and singeing her very veins. Her right hand felt almost numb now as she gradually regained consciousness. Slowly she forced her heavy eyelids open, trying to clear her mind even through the throbbing pain. She had to concentrate, had to figure out what was going on and why her entire body felt as if it were on fire.
Using her left hand, the only one that was still useful, she pushed herself up off the hard, gritty floor trying to ignore the protests of her aching limbs.
Pain was but a matter of the mind. It had no control over her…
She repeated the mantra in her head over and over. A Vulcan master had once told her about the practice and later Tuvok had explained it to her in depth. It was similar to her own way of thinking: Ignore the pain till you get the hell out of danger.
That's exactly what she was going to have to do now. And this time it wasn't just for her, it was also for the unborn infant still nestled inside her. She could not and would not allow anyone to hurt her crew, let alone her own baby.
She scooted herself up against the nearest stone wall, wincing as the rough rock dug into her sore back. As the fog in her head began to clear she looked around and took in her surroundings.
The cell was no bigger then her ready room. A single door made of some sort of dark greenish metal seemed to be the only exist. There were no windows or air ducts, just stone and dirt…and dried blood. The air was thin and musky leading her to believe the oxygen levels on the planet were at the bare minimum for human survival.
The planet…
That's right, now she remembered. There was a shuttle crash. She, Harry, and Tom were attacked by a group of non-humanoid locals and were eventually separated while running through the dense woods. She was caught in some sort of restraining beam and the attackers then transported her here. Wherever here was.
Things were still a bit foggy after that. She remembered being taken to a dark room with several armed guards. Two other men asked her questions like 'who was she', 'where'd she come from', and of course the 'how do I take over your ship without getting killed'. Okay, that wasn't the exact wording, but she'd been through enough interrogations to know what they really meant.
When she hadn't answered the way they wanted they had knocked her around a bit. Thankfully they avoided her protruding stomach and concentrated on her arms, legs and face. She most likely had a head injury which explained her blurry thoughts and throbbing temples.
She did however clearly remember how they broke each of her fingers one by one and then began to work on the rest of her hand and wrist. Afterwards she was nice enough not to spit in their faces, however she did stop trying to negotiate with them.
She had attempted to find out if they had her two crewmembers, but her captors had refused to answer and chose to laugh in her face instead. She wasn't sure if she should be comforted by not having seen Harry and Tom or concerned.
She also wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, but she did know Chakotay and the others well enough to know they'd probably have figured out something had gone wrong with the away team by now and were searching for them. She had no doubt they would do everything they could, but as the metallic door creaked open and her captors entered, she briefly wondered if any escape plan would be in time.
"Captain, I think it's time we finished our discussion."
STSTSTST
"What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Chakotay asked disbelievingly with an edge of anger in his usually calm voice.
"I told you, we got separated!" Tom explained with an equal amount of anger. "We were running through the forest. It was dark and we must have turned the wrong way. The next thing I knew Harry and I were falling over a cliff. When I woke up I was here."
Chakotay ran a hand through his hair and started pacing at the foot of Tom's biobed. "You were supposed to keep an eye on her." He hissed, continuing to walk anxiously back and forth.
"I know." Tom whispered softly, avoiding looking at Chakotay as the first officer stopped pacing with furrowed brows and hands on his hips.
"Gentlemen, if you could stop yelling for five minutes, I have an update on Mr. Kim's condition." The Doctor stated, coming up to the other side of Tom's bed. "I finished healing his head and leg. He'll be swore for a few days, but like Mr. Paris, he'll make a full recovery. Thanks, of course, to my quick response."
"How long till he wakes up?" Tom asked, still avoiding looking at the commander.
"Probably not for a few hours at least. His head wound was substantially worse then yours. I was able to fix the damage, but he'll be unconscious for awhile longer while his body finishes mending." The Doctor explained, glancing briefly at Chakotay who was looking away at a far wall with a distant look in his eyes that was laced with a multitude of concerns and other emotions.
"Commander." The Doctor continued softly, getting the other man's attention, if only briefly. "I'm sure the Captain, wherever she is, will be alright. She always seems to find some way out this type of situation."
"She's not usually five months pregnant." Chakotay muttered, not meeting their eyes, before stalking out of sick bay.
A/N: So, what do you think? The site wasn't working for me for a couple of days, so I apologize if I missed any reviews from the last chapter. In case I did, thank you for reviewing!