"The laboratory I worked in before is up ahead, Commander," The Doctor told him, gesturing for Chakotay to follow. "It appears to be where they're keeping her."

Chakotay allowed him to take the lead, running after him with his blood pounding in his ears. Every nerve in his body was on high alert. His tricorder told him Amelia was nearby, but he wouldn't trust that until he saw her with his own eyes. What were they doing keeping her in a laboratory?

"Here!" The Doctor stopped at one set of double doors. "She's beyond here. But there's a security lock –"

His voice was cut off when Chakotay fired his phaser at the panel beside the doors. It sparked and smoked and the doors slid open.

"How on earth did you know that would work?" The Doctor asked him, having jumped back.

Chakotay shrugged. "Aside from weapons technology, these people don't appear very sophisticated."

Without saying anything further, they both headed into the lab. It was large and lit with very dull light. There were many workstations filling the room, some covered in science equipment and computer panels, but the main focal point was a collection of large machines at the far end of the room, each one crisscrossed by a myriad of circuitry and piping. It looked almost like the sort of machines Tom had programmed into his Captain Proton holoprogramme.

Beside those huge machines were a series of beds, and on one there was a tiny little form lying very still.

Chakotay ran forwards immediately, heading towards the bed. He was so focused on reaching her, he almost didn't see the figures emerging from behind the machines.

"Commander!"

Chakotay ducked just in time as weapon fire soared over his head, and he took up a position behind a workstation. The Doctor joined him a moment later. A group of three scientists had adopted a defensive position before Amelia's bed. Each one was armed with a weapon.

"Please!" Chakotay called, hoping to reason with them. "We just want the child. Her parents—"

The returning volley of fire ended his hopes of cooperation abruptly. Chakotay inched his head around the workstation, trying to size up his enemy. They were too close to Amelia to risk firing. These so-called scientists obviously had no concerns about endangering a child.

Chakotay glanced to his tricorder and saw that the next shield window was opening in only two minutes. They did not have time for this.

"Commander," The Doctor said in a stage whisper. "I can distract them and draw their fire while you sneak around that way and come at them from behind."

"How are you going to do that?"

The Doctor held out his arm and gestured to his mobile emitter. "They don't know I'm a hologram. I'll draw their fire."

"You sure?" Chakotay racked his memory, trying to focus as panels exploded all around him. Had they mentioned The Doctor's holographic status to the Boraanians? "But what if they hit the emitter?"

"We don't have a choice, Commander." The Doctor didn't give him a moment to protest as he leapt up from behind their defences.

"Hey! Over here you … you fools!"

Chakotay rolled his eyes and crouched down as he went in the opposite direction from The Doctor, using the many workstations and filing cabinets as cover as he crept closer to Amelia. The weapon blasts were loud as they tried in vain to hit The Doctor as he danced and laughed at them, bouncing up and down like some sort of ridiculous jack-in-the-box.

By now, he was almost behind the three scientists. Just a little closer—

One of the scientists cried out in shock as her shot went straight through The Doctor with a slight ripple. The Doctor's eyes went wide. They were rumbled.

Wasting no more time, Chakotay leapt up from his hiding place and fired two quick shots at the nearest scientists who immediately crumpled to the ground. The last scientist turned around at the sound and lifted his weapon but was caught in the back by The Doctor's own phaser.

Opposition eliminated, Chakotay could now turn to the only occupied bed.

Amelia lay so still Chakotay thought she was dead. He'd never seen her lie so still, not even in sleep. It wasn't her style. Her face was wan but her cheeks were flushed pink.

The Doctor immediately pulled out his tricorder and began to examine her. His expression told Chakotay all he needed to know.

"We need to get her out of here," Chakotay, said, glancing at the countdown on his tricorder. "Now."

"We can't move her yet, Commander," The Doctor protested. "She's far too weak. We need to treat her first."

"We don't have time," Chakotay warned. "We'll treat her on Voyager."

"No." The Doctor was adamant. "I know it'll mean we miss the first window, but she won't last much longer if I don't try and treat her now."

Chakotay looked back at Amelia. She was lying so still …

"Get on it then, Doctor," he said, wracked with pain at the sight of her. "There's no point in rescuing her if she dies before we bring her on board."

The Doctor nodded, and immediately headed to the computer terminal beside Amelia's bed. Chakotay looked over his shoulder and saw a jumbled mass of letters and numbers which made little sense to him.

"It's been encoded."

"All their medical records are," The Doctor explained, hurriedly tapping some keys. "Luckily, when I worked here before I added a new subroutine to my programme to understand it. I've already accessed the cure; apparently they were just waiting on the order to administer it. The only problem is, I have to use some of this equipment and medicine to treat her, and I'm not sure how to do that yet."

"Will you figure it out?" Chakotay looked at the mass of equipment with a sinking heart.

"Commander." The Doctor met his eyes with a disdainful look. "I am the most superior medical mind in all of Starfleet, programmed with over five million medical protocols, the collective medical knowledge of over three thousand cultures and information from two thousand medical reference sources as well as fifty million gigaquads of computer memory, which is far more than most highly developed humanoid brains. Don't insult me."

Fighting back a smile, Chakotay let him get on with it and turned to look at their exit, keeping his phaser readied. He tapped his combadge.

"Chakotay to Paris."

"Paris here." Tom's response was instantaneous. "Have you got her?"

"Yes, but The Doctor needs to treat her here. We're going to be delayed. Hold the fort for us a while longer."

There was a pause. "Is she gonna be alright?"

Chakotay glanced at The Doctor, his brow furrowed as he read some information on his screen.

"The Doc's working on it," Chakotay said. "We gotta give him some time."

Another pause. "I just hope we have enough of it."

Chakotay agreed. He ended the link and opened another when he saw the timer count down for the shield window and realised communications were open again to the ship. "Chakotay to Voyager. Can you read me?"

"We read you, Commander!" Kathryn's voice was loud and strained. It sounded as though she was in the middle of battle. "Are you ready for beaming out?"

"Negative," Chakotay answered, wincing. "We have her, but The Doc has to stabilise her. We're going to have to wait for the next window."

"Understood." If Kathryn was disappointed, she gave no sign of it in her professional tone. "That next window will be our last. Voyager is taking heavy damage. We've diverted all power to the shields but they won't last long. We can't maintain this position much longer."

"Acknowledged, Chakotay out." He ended the communication and took a few calming breaths. The thought of Kathryn up there and under attack pained him. But he forced himself to think of other things. He couldn't help them at the moment.

He checked in with the other teams, all of whom were either in firefights or were defending their positions. They took the news that they'd have to wait well, but he could detect the tension in their voices. They weren't sure they could stay where they were.

"I've got it!" The Doctor stood up with a cry of delight. He rushed over to one of the larger machines which had a circular opening the size of a person in it and began pushing buttons. "They developed a treatment which obliterates the viral components in the patient's cells. It's quite ingenious really. They—"

"Not the time, Doctor!" Chakotay could hear weapons fire beyond the door and knew that Tom and B'Elanna were in trouble. "Just do it."

"Very well. Bring her here and lay her on the conveyer."

Chakotay tucked his phaser into his belt and approached Amelia's bed. She did not stir at all as he lifted her. She was cold and completely limp as he laid her on the conveyer, positioning her on her back. The Doctor pressed some buttons and she was slowly carried into the bowels of the machine.

"Stand back, Commander," The Doctor ordered, and Chakotay retreated, heart in his mouth as the Doctor began pushing some more buttons. A blinding white light filled the interior of the machine as it came to life, grinding and buzzing and churning as it worked its magic. The Doctor was glued to the control pattern, fingers moving so fast Chakotay could not keep up as he adjusted dials and levers. The light dimmed and grew brighter in a steady heartbeat of whirring and thumping. It was like some terrible monster, and Amelia was deep in its belly.

An alarm sounded, and the Doctor entered a few more commands at the panel. Another great droning noise announced the return of the conveyer, and Chakotay rushed forwards as he saw Amelia's face emerging from inside.

She was still lying still, eyes closed, and for one dreadful moment Chakotay thought it hadn't worked.

"Amelia?" he called, touching her gently on the shoulder. "Amelia, can you hear me?"

A pair of blue eyes opened and looked up at him, and Chakotay could have wept with relief.

"She's cured?"

"Not quite," The Doctor warned, heading back to the computer terminal and copying some of the information with his tricorder. "But enough for now. I can administer the rest on Voyager. She's out of danger."

A terrified wail met his ears, and Chakotay was astonished to see Amelia crying heavily. She was shaking, and her eyes were wide and flitted nervously around the room.

Amelia never cried.

He rushed to her, and lifted her into his arms, pulling her close to him. "Shh, Amelia, it's alright. You're alright."

It made no difference. She continued to weep, her cries growing louder. Chakotay glanced at the door. They couldn't escape with her crying like this. She'd bring every Boraanian running their way.

He rocked her back and forth, speaking some soft words to her in the language of his ancestors, hand cupping the back of her head and stroking her fair hair. Her sniffles grew slightly less.

"Mommy?" she wailed. "Daddy?"

"It's okay, Amelia," he soothed, whispering into her ear. "I'm going to take you to them. Daddy's close by, and Mommy's waiting for you. I'll take you home, I promise."

She coughed and gasped a few more times before her cries stopped. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, her eyes rimmed with red, and like that first time he had held her, he thought she was looking right into his soul.

"Home?"

"Yes, Amelia, I'll take you to them right now. But you can't cry anymore, alright? We have to be quiet. Can you do that?"

She blinked a couple of times and then nodded. "Ok, 'Kotay."

Chakotay smiled at her use of his name. She loved saying that little rhyming phrase. Her eyes were looking at him with absolute trust. Kathryn's eyes. He felt almost choked at the thought of what little reason she had to trust him based on her earlier life and the deaths of her siblings. But he refused to think of that now. Maybe this was his chance to finally make up for it.

"Commander, we have to go," The Doctor said, looking meaningfully at the door.

Chakotay nodded and they ran back the way they came, Chakotay's left arm wrapped protectively against Amelia and keeping her pressed to his hip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head into his shoulder. Chakotay kept his phaser in his other hand. If anyone dared try and take her back he wouldn't hesitate. He loved this little kid, and he'd do anything for her.

After a few moments, they had made it back down the corridor from the lab, but Tom and B'Elanna were not at their station, though the bodies of the stunned Boraanians were still there, now with an additional five or six on top.

"Daddy!"

Chakotay turned and saw Tom and B'Elanna running towards them from further down the corridor, where Chakotay could see a few more littered bodies. Tom came crashing into Chakotay.

"Amelia!" he cried, wrenching her from Chakotay's arms and hugging her closely, dropping his phaser. His face was pressed into her hair, and tears spilled from his eyes. "It's okay, sweetie. Daddy's got you."

"Chakotay to away teams," he called, hitting his badge. "Mission accomplished. Get back to transport coordinates. Next window is in two and a half minutes. It's your only shot."

Together, his group began to head for the extraction point, Tom carrying Amelia who clung on for dear life as they raced through the alien complex. Chakotay kept an eye on the timer. It counted down almost cruelly fast. He didn't want to know what would happen if they missed their next window.

They got back to their start point, but there was a huge mound of debris obstructing the corridor.

"What the—"

"Sorry, that was us, or Tom, rather," B'Elanna said. She took a reading with her tricorder. "We should be close enough for Voyager to lock on—"

A blast from a weapon cut her off and the wall an inch above her head exploded into concrete dust.

The team immediately ducked for cover behind the crates in the corridor as more Boraanians came into view down another side corridor. B'Elanna and Chakotay immediately launched a counter-attack, forcing the Boraanians to also stop for cover.

"Lay down a wide firing pattern," he told B'Elanna. "We need to keep them at bay for—" he glanced at his tricorder "—twenty more seconds."

She nodded, and fired again and again at the oncoming Boraanians, and he and The Doctor took aim at individuals.

Tom stayed where he was, cradling Amelia in his arms, pressing her face against his chest so she could not see.

Fifteen seconds.

One of the Boraanians launched himself out from behind his cover and took aim at the group. He was cut down by B'Elanna.

Ten more seconds.

More Boraanians came up the corridor they had just vacated. There was a lot more of them. The Doctor turned his attention on them. They couldn't keep firing on two fronts.

Five more seconds.

The leader of the new arrivals ran forwards, ducking and dodging attacks with incredible finesse.

Four seconds.

The Boraanian aimed at the group—

Three.

The Doctor fired at him, forcing him to duck and lose his targets.

Two.

The Boraanian lifted his weapon again.

One.

He took aim.

Zero.

"Chakotay to Voyager. Transport now!"

Chakotay saw the Boraanian fire towards them, but before it could reach their position he felt the beginning of the familiar transporter beam and the medical facility vanished, replaced by the transporter room of Voyager.

Chakotay and the others immediately vacated the pads, allowing the transporter operators to fetch the next away teams. The transporter room doors slid open and Kathryn came running in.

"Amelia!"

"Mommy!" Amelia was happily placed into her mother's arms by Tom, and Kathryn held her close, for once allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of her crew as tears rolled down her cheeks. Tom and B'Elanna joined her a moment later, all emotional, all desperate to lay their hands on Amelia as though unable to believe she was there.

Chakotay watched from the side, not able to join this happy family reunion, but a joy growing in his heart nonetheless. He'd done it. It was over.

He'd heard Tom and Kathryn talking before the mission discussing 'the other two'. They grieved for the two children they had lost, he knew that finally, and Chakotay knew he'd likely never be able to forgive himself for that. But at least this child, this one, he'd been able to save.

"Captain, all away teams on board," the transporter chief told her.

Kathryn broke away from the happy group, giving Amelia back to her father. "Janeway to bridge. We've got everyone, Ensign. Take us out of here, full warp."

"Aye, Captain," came Harry's voice.

Kathryn surveyed the room, checking on all the teams who had transported in after them, all of whom looked battle fatigued but alive. Only then did she come to Chakotay. Her eyes, so like Amelia's, swam with tears.

"Thank you, Chakotay," she said. "Thank you so much."

"You've always been right, Kathryn," he said, smiling. "This crew, we're family. And for that reason, they're all precious to me. Your family most of all."

He wondered if she understand the unsaid things he wished he could say. The sheer strength of the love he had for her and her daughter.

By the way she smiled and nodded, unable to speak, he believed she did.

She turned and went back to her daughter who was now happily cocooned in B'Elanna's arms.

Chakotay watched the family, mixed joy and sadness tumbling around inside, desperately wishing that one day Kathryn would finally allow him to become fully part of it.