Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek and its characters. Sadly I do not. If I did they would have far more fun!

ONE MAN'S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER MAN'S FREEDOM FIGHTER.

Chapter 26

You don't look so good.

Chakotay came staggering into sickbay and saw the Doctor and Kes stood over the main bio bed where a sickly looking Kathryn Janeway sat talking to them.

"Ahh Commander." Came the Doctor's slightly too cheery voice as he glanced up to see who had entered sickbay. Just at that moment Chakotay stumbled and very nearly fell. Catching himself on a nearby console he looked up at the doctor who was moving towards him to scan him with a medical tricorder.

"Commander!" Exclaimed Kes as she moved from the captain to hurry over and try to support him as he staggered towards where the captain was sat. All the while he felt like he wanted to faint.

"Chakotay?" Kathryn asked in a voice that sounded too full of pain for Chakotay to feel happy about it.

Looking at her extremely pale and almost grey face he smiled "Hi." He said as he moved to stroke some stray strands of hair from her sweaty forehead. With the lightest touch he could tell she was burning up. His worry for her increased ten fold when he felt her touch.

"You look terrible." She said trying to force a smile when she looked at the first offer. All things considered he really didn't look too well at all. Though she really was not well and did look a lot worse than her first officer.

"You don't look so good yourself," he told her with a wink and a gentle grip on her right hand.

"I've been-" She began but a wave of nausea overcame her "argh!" She exclaimed, as she was violently sick into a bedpan Chakotay had suddenly managed to thrust in front of her face just in time. "I've been better!" she told him wiping her face with her uniform sleeve, she really didn't care now.

"What is it doctor?" Chakotay asked as the doctor came closer to scan the two of them.

"Some kind of flu type bug?" Kathryn chipped in trying to sound cheery even though she felt as though she was going to be sick again.

Watching her wretch uncontrollably into the bedpan she held near her face Chakotay asked the question he knew she wanted to know, "is the rest of the ship in danger?"

"Not that I can tell." The doctor informed them as he began to tap data into his console. "I think your just going to have to live it out." He said slightly unsympathetically.

With that Kathryn threw up on to the floor of sickbay, "Captain if you don't mind." The doctor growled at her causing a faint looking Chakotay to give him an angry look as he tried to gently stroke his captains hair with support but was feeling like he was about to be sick himself.

"Is anybody else infected?" the captain asked taking Chakotay's hand and guiding him to sit next to her as she could see the faint look in his face.

"Not as far as I know." The doctor told the two of them as he examined the data on his console, "Have the two of you been anywhere different, an away mission? Or eaten something new?"

Kathryn who had been watching her first officer thrust a bedpan in front of him just in time for him to be sick into, "we were on a planet together a few hours ago" she said as Chakotay, the proud warrior was sick into the bedpan she held in front of him.

"We left orbit about three hours ago." He said as he struggled with his insides not to be sick again.

Kathryn watched the raised eyebrows of her chief medical officer and really didn't like the implications she was feeling they were trying to give, "we were collecting food reserves doctor." She snapped angrily at the EMH.

"I see," He said in his deep unconvincing voice as she turned to look at them, "did you eat any of them?"

"No, not yet." She told him gasping for breath and feeling very sickly, there was a deep pain growing in her side and she could feel it crawling up her rib cage, Glancing sideways to Chakotay sat next her she could see he was feeling the same kind of pain.

"The captain was quite clear about not eating any of the plants until we can have them tested on voyager." Chakotay hissed threw gritted teeth as he clutched the side of his body in pain, something very uncharacteristic of the first officer Kathryn noted showing her that he really was in a lot of pain.

"And was it just the two of you on this little away mission?" The doctor asked not really seemingly sympathetic to the painful predicament the two commanding officers seemed to be in.

"No" Began Kathryn but the pain in her side was beginning to intensify causing her to breath heavily and clutch her side with both hands, "ensigns Pri-" she began but the pain was too much, closing her eyes tight she cried out in pain for there was not much else she could do. Tears streamed from her eyes as she doubled over in pain.

"Price and flemming came with us." Chakotay said hurriedly to the doctor as he tried to offer the captain a little comfort, Kes was already administering a pain killing hypospray.

Tapping his comm badge the Doctor said quickly, "Doctor to Ensign Price and Ensign Flemming please report to sickbay immediately."

"Aye sir." Came the voice of Ensign Flemming over the comm line.

"Doctor is there a problem?" asked the voice of Ensign Price.

"That's what I need to determine," the doctor told him slightly exasperated as he ran another tricorder scan over the captain's side "please report to sickbay as ordered." he snapped at ensign Price.

"Yes sir." Came the voice of ensign Price as the comm line ended.

"For now I need the two of you to lie on a bio bed and sleep." The doctor told them nodding at Kes to support the command team over to two of the smaller bio beds rather than the main bio bed where they sat. "Both of you." He said with a stern look at his captain who really was in no fit state to argue or protest.

"Yes sir." She said with a mock solute as she staggered off the bed. Half falling in to Chakotay's arms as she did so but his standing situation was not really much better than hers. With the support of Kes the two managed to walk over to the bio beds, "I am sorry commander." She began as she griped his uniform sleeve of his upper arm for support, "this is" she gasped "not" she said through a painful cough "quite what" more coughing "I had in mind when I asked you to come with me." she gasped finally getting herself to lie down on one of the bio beds curled up in pain.

Chakotay looked over the bio be where she lay and lovingly asked, "Are you comfortable?" all the while he was feeling intense pain himself but tried to ignore it.

"I need you to rest too commander." The doctor came over trying to guide Chakotay from Kathryn's bed to the one next to hers.

"Chakotay" she whispered through tears where she lay in pain, "lie down and get some sleep," she reached out and gently grasped his hand. "Hopefully we both will feel better in the morning." Nodding Chakotay lay on the bio bed next to his captain's trying to relax through the pain. He watched as her eyes finally glazed over and after about half an hour she looked like she was about to fall asleep, as peaceful as she could be while in pain. Chakotay was finding it harder to sleep inside him he wanted to play the alpha male and protect his prise woman from harm. Her cries of pain disturbed him so much. Then suddenly she sat upright, gasped for breath and cried "Oh no!" for anyone in the room to hear.

"Captain?" an annoyed looking doctor asked coming over to where she lay.

"Doctor please can you inform Lieutenant Tuvok he will be in charge of the ship for now?" she grumbled.

"Of course Captain" he said and then in a slightly more annoyed tone at both her and Chakotay who had just stood to stand at her side, "now please will you both lie down" as a reluctant captain lay down Chakotay lay back on his bio bed, "and SLEEP!" the doctor shouted at them.

"Captain it's probably for the best." A concerned Chakotay whispered across at her.

"Argh!" she growled as she grasped her side "I just feel so horrible!" she mumbled so only Chakotay could hear.

"Captain" he said with a twinkle in hi eye, "ill do you a deal, I'll sleep if you will" he winked at her and said, "and like you say we will probably be feeling better by the time we –" but Chakotay never got to say the rest of his sentence "Argh!" he called out in great pain and then went into a seizure like shock.

"Chakotay!" screamed Kathryn frantic and terrified, seeing Chakotay having a seizure in that way frightened her, "doctor!" she screamed as he came running towards them.

End of chapter 26…. Chapter 27 NOW UP… Reviews welcome…