Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.
CHAPTER EIGHT
FRAGMENTS
Chakotay gazed at Kathryn across a candle lit table. She looked beautiful, dressed in a gown of green velvet, and her hair was swept back elegantly from her face. It was her birthday and they were celebrating it together with a romantic meal on the shore of a beautiful beach in Hawaii, courtesy of the holodeck. Chakotay reached into his pocket and pulled out a long, thin, black velvet box.
"Happy birthday."
Kathryn took the gift gratefully and ran her fingers across the fine velvet before opening the box. Inside, embedded in white satin, was a gold necklace with seven beautiful gems hanging from it. The vibrant colors sparkled in the candlelight.
"It's beautiful, Chakotay," she said, touching it reverently.
"There's a stone for every year of our journey in the Delta Quadrant so far," Chakotay said.
He gently tilted the box so they could both look at it and began to point at the stones individually.
"Moonstone, the traveler's stone, for the first year, representing the beginning of our journey. Ruby for the second, the stone of strength and reconciliation, representing the harmony and friendship that now existed between our two crews. Garnet, the stone of commitment, a sacred stone amongst my people, symbolizing our ongoing commitment to our journey in the face of constant adversity. Peridot, the stone of hope, for the fourth year, reflecting the renewed hope of finally establishing a brief connection with Earth. Silver and Diamond, the stones of perseverance and endurance, symbolizing the survival of our friendship through many trials in the fifth and sixth year, and finally Aquamarine, the stone of marriage, symbolizing our marriage in the seventh year."
Kathryn looked up at him and her eyes brimmed with tears as his eyes met hers.
"You remember," she whispered.
Chakotay nodded. "The Doctor found a way to cure my condition. He wasn't sure it would work so we didn't tell you about it as we didn't want to raise your hopes. But I underwent the procedure while you were on an away mission last week. It took a few days, but slowly my memory began to return. I remember everything, Kathryn. I remember the first day we met ... remember the way you gave your orders so absolutely on the bridge and the way my heart seemed to somersault as you spoke. I remember our time together on New Earth, remember our shuttle accident, our dinners, all the times we were there for each other, remember the first time we made love, remember our wedding. I remember all of it ... everything."
A tear ran down Kathryn's cheek and Chakotay stood up. He opened his arms to her and Kathryn stood too, wanting nothing more than to hold him. They held each other tight, held each other long.
"I thought I had lost you," Kathryn said quietly. "I was so scared that you wouldn't fall in love with me again."
Chakotay kissed her hair. "But I did. And I would fall in love with you a million times."
Kathryn drew away from him and he touched her face gently before kissing her lips softly. Kathryn slipped her arms around his neck and tenderly deepened the kiss.
The morning wake up call sounded, but Kathryn didn't stir. She was too content in Chakotay's arms and just nestled closer to him. They could steal a few more minutes.
"We'll have to get up, my love," he said impishly. "Or we'll be late for duty."
Kathryn raised herself to look at him and traced his tattoo softly with her finger. "How would you like to do something different today? This region of space is full of m-class planets. I thought you and B'Elanna could pay a visit to one, do some exploring. Now she's pregnant, it would be good for her to get some fresh air into her lungs."
"Sounds good to me," Chakotay smiled, "although I think you will have to let Tom come with us too. He would only worry otherwise."
"My husband, First Officer, Chief Engineer and Chief Pilot ... Can I really spare you all?"
"You could always come with us," he teased.
Kathryn laughed. "I think at least the Captain should stay." She kissed his lips. "We can do some exploring together some other time."
She then pulled the covers away from him. "Now, you're right, we really should get up!"
Tom and B'Elanna eagerly accepted Kathryn's offer of a day exploring an m-class planet. The Away team left Voyager just after 10am and within an hour were approaching an m-class planet. Suddenly, without any warning, the Delta Flyer was drawn into some kind of gravimetron force. Blinding green light surrounded them and no controls responded. Then they were in orbit of a planet and hurdling towards its surface. Many systems were damaged, but helm controls were again responding and Tom did what he could to slow the vessel down. Still the Flyer crashed to the ground and tore along hard terrain until it finally came to rest.
Dazed, but uninjured except for cuts and bruises, Chakotay turned to his crew mates. "Are you okay?"
"I think we're still in one piece," B'Elanna said, turning towards him. "I've had worse landings."
"And I've had better," Tom said, making his way over to her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Don't fuss, I'm fine," she said.
"I still want to check you over. You're carrying precious cargo, remember?"
B'Elanna smiled. "How can I forget?"
Tom fetched the med. kit and then began scanning his wife with a medical tricorder.
"Everything appears to be normal. Let's just take care of these bruises."
"They can wait," B'Elanna said, breaking away from him. "We need to see what condition this ship is in."
Chakotay hit his commbadge. "Chakotay to Janeway."
Silence.
He tried again. "Chakotay to Janeway, please respond."
Again only silence answered. "Something in the planet's atmosphere must be interfering with communications," he said. "I'll try sending a distress call."
He worked the console, but the system wasn't responding. "Communications are down," he said.
B'Elanna pushed open the door and stepped outside. She looked around. They appeared to be in some kind of jungle. High trees surrounded them and the ground beneath her feet was dry. The sun was blazing and the heat scorching. She began to collect data on her tricorder.
"I don't believe it," she said, reading the data.
Chakotay and Tom followed her out of the Flyer. "Don't believe what?" Tom asked.
"If these readings are right, this is no planet in the Delta Quadrant, this is Earth."
Tom and Chakotay stared at her incredulously and then they began scanning too.
"No doubt about it," Chakotay said. "If this isn't Earth, it's a duplicate ... "
"Wait a minute," B'Elanna said, reading more data. "Something's not right ... I'm detecting chronoton particles ... fluctuations in the space-time continuum ... "
She hurried back inside the Flyer and began working the console ... "We're definitely in the Alpha Quadrant," she said ... "definitely Earth ... .Australia ... And not only have we traveled over 30,000 light years, but we've traveled through time ... "
Chakotay followed her inside. "Can you get a year?"
"I don't know ... can't get ... wait ... 2352 ... .4..6 ... 2358 ... stardate 27315.6."
Tom was also in the Flyer now and began working his own console. "That anomaly we got sucked into. It must have been a temporal rift. If it deposited us here, the rift must have either originated or terminated here." He paused. "I can't pick anything up on sensors ... clearing ... It seems as though we're in some kind of temporal flux. Everything within the Earth's atmosphere is at one point in time and everything beyond it at another ... I'm picking up something ... a temporal rift ... 0.4 light years away ... "
"We have to get back to it," Chakotay said. "It's our only gateway back to our own time."
"There's no way we can fly the Flyer," B'Elanna cried. "It's going to take seven hours at least before she's in any fit condition to fly ... "
Chakotay turned to Tom. "Do we have seven hours?"
Tom worked the console again. "The rift is stable ... shows no sign of collapse."
"It seems as though we're the ones caught between times," B'Elanna continued. "I don't know how but entering that anomaly has thrown us into some kind of inter-temporal reality. From what I can see, unless we return through that anomaly this inter-temporal existence is permanent. I'd say that is a lot of seven hours."
"Still, I don't want to take any chances," Chakotay said. "We don't know by who or what or how that rift was generated. It could collapse anytime. Let's get to fixing primary systems and all that we'll need to go back through that anomaly. We can worry about the rest later."
It was almost nine hours later before repairs were anywhere near complete.
"Almost done," B'Elanna said, lying on her side on the floor of the Flyer, fixing a conduit. "Just a few more minutes."
Chakotay drank a cup of warm tea as he waited for B'Elanna to finish while Tom played about on a monitor. He was occupying his mind by trying to locate various of the Voyager crew on sensors. "Harry's in Hawaii," he laughed, "no doubt on a family holiday and driving his parents crazy, while the Delaney sisters are in New Zealand ... . You, Chakotay, are at Starfleet Academy, very exciting I must say, and the Captain, she's at ... " He stopped and sat up straighter in his seat. "Something's wrong ... "
Chakotay lowered his cup. "What do you mean?"
"The Captain ... Her lifesign's deteriorating ... " He worked the console, isolating her lifesign and gathering more information. "She's alone somewhere at sub zero temperatures ... " He turned to Chakotay. "She's dying ... "
The blood drained out of Chakotay's face but he kept his composure. "She'll be alright," he said quietly. "She wouldn't be our captain otherwise."
B'Elanna got up from the floor, her task done. "That's right, Tom. We're in the past. Nothing's going to happen to her." She cleared the data on the monitor. "Necessary repairs complete. I say we get the hell out of here."
An hour later, they were on course for Voyager, having made it safely through the anomaly to their own time. When they were within communication range of the ship, Chakotay hit his commbadge.
"Chakotay to Voyager."
Tuvok's voice replied. "It's good to hear your voice, Commander. Are you all alright? We were unable to locate the flyer on sensors for over nine hours."
"We're all fine. We ran into an anomaly. Some kind of temporal rift. We were able to escape. We should be with you within ten minutes."
"Acknowledged. Tuvok out."
After a brief visit to sickbay, B'Elanna retired to her quarters while Chakotay and Tom went to report for duty on the bridge. They both stopped dead when they saw an unfamiliar woman with black hair and blue eyes sitting in the captain's seat. She smiled warmly at them.
"Good to have you back, Commander, Lieutenant."
Chakotay's stomach began to churn. "Who are you?"
The woman stood up, her face anxious. "Commander?"
Tom asked the next question. "Where's Captain Janeway?"
The woman stared at him blankly. "Captain Janeway?"
"Our captain and my wife," Chakotay replied. "Where is she?"
The woman bit her lip nervously. "I am your captain, Captain Anna Stacey, and you are not married."
Chakotay's stomach was somersaulting now. He, Tom and B'Elanna had clearly returned to the wrong Voyager ... . Or rather, the right Voyager, but wrong timeline or wrong reality. That anomaly could have been the gateway to a million realities ...
"Of course," Chakotay replied, deciding to play along just for the moment ... "Forgive Tom and I. We experienced some kind of anomaly ... Our thoughts are jumbled ... "
The woman put her hand on his shoulder. "It's possible that you temporarily experienced some kind of alternate reality due to the anomaly and are suffering temporary residual effects. It's best if you both retire for the day, get some rest."
"Yes, Ma'am," Chakotay replied.
Before anything more could be said he headed for the Turbo Lift and Tom followed him.
"We haven't experienced an alternate reality," Tom said when they were safely inside the lift, "this is an alternate reality ... We've got to get back to that anomaly."
"Or a changed timeline," Chakotay replied, manually operating the lift. "This could be a changed timeline." He then turned to Tom and seized his shoulders, harder than he intended.
"Did you do anything, anything at all when we were on Earth that could have contaminated the timeline?"
"Nothing ... I didn't do anything."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"B'Elanna?"
"How could she have? How could any of us? We were all together the whole time."
That was true. They had barely been out of each others company for five minutes.
"We've got to get back to our own reality," Tom continued. "We've got to go back to the anomaly."
"And what, play lucky dip? Hope that out of the infinite number of realities in existence, we go back to our own?"
"We'll end up on Earth again and we can find out from there what we did wrong ... try and get back to our own reality ... "
"Like I said, if it is an alternate reality ... If it's a changed timeline, something we've done, no matter how small, has changed the timeline ... Every part of me says that is what this is ... an altered timeline."
"But if this was the same reality, different timeline, there would be a Captain Janeway ... "
Both men stared at each other as a thought entered their heads ...
"Her lifesign," Tom said quietly, "she was dying ... "
Chakotay ran his hand nervously through his hair as he tried to chronologize events, tried to make sense of this.
"And we let her," he replied. "It may have been our place to save her ... "
"But then we would contaminate the timeline. How could it be our place to save her when it was years before we ever met her?"
"The past is the future, the future is the past, that's what Kathryn once told me. Because we save her, she lives to become Captain of Voyager and gets stranded in the Delta Quadrant with us all. But if we don't save her ... "
"This Captain Anna Stacey become captain of Voyager instead."
Chakotay nodded.
Tom frowned. "But how can we be sure?"
"By finding out what happened to Kathryn." He paused. "You go and tell B'Elanna what's happened and bring her to my quarters, and I'll try and access Kathryn's biographical information."
It only took Chakotay minutes to find Kathryn's file in the Starfleet Database. Janeway was an unusual name and there was only one Kathryn Janeway listed. A cold shiver ran through Chakotay's body at the dates beside her name: Kathryn Janeway (2335-2358). His guess was right then - in this timeline, Kathryn was dead. After a moment of hesitiation as he absorbed this, he opened her file. In the top right hand corner was a picture of a young Kathryn Janeway. She was dressed in a Starfleet uniform, her rank Lieutenant, and her auburn hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail. Chakotay's eyes wandered to the text and he read the information provided. There wasn't much beyond basic biographical details and her qualifications and a note on the nature of death:
"Kathryn Janeway was one of Starfleet's most promising Officers, but she never recovered from the tragic deaths of her father and fiancé. She fell into a severe depression and was found, on stardate 27315.6, frozen to death in snow covered grounds close to her home in Indiana. A verdict of suicide was given."
Chakotay looked away from the screen, the words weighing heavily on his mind. He knew how traumatized she had been by the deaths of her father and fiancé, knew how much guilt she had carried, how much pain and silent suffering, but to have so completely lost the will to live that she curled up in the snow to die ... ?
Curled up in the snow to die.
That thought triggered a memory. He remembered how she had once told him how depressed she had been after her father's death and how she had wandered out one evening into a blizzard. She had told him that if she hadn't found a puppy abandoned in the snow and needing care, she may well have curled up in the snow and gone to sleep, never to wake up. But instead, she had taken the puppy home and nursed her back to health. Petunia she had named her and the animal had given her a reason to live again.
Chakotay stood up and wandered over to the window. A puppy was the answer. He, Tom and B'Elanna would have to escape from Voyager and return through the anomaly to Earth. On Earth, he had to find a puppy and place it in the snow for Kathryn to find. Then she would not die and the timeline would be restored.
The door chime sounded. Chakotay turned to the door. "Come in."
Tom and B'Elanna came in.
"I can't believe this," B'Elanna said, "it has to be some kind of dream."
"Or a nightmare," Tom replied. "Did you find anything?"
"Yes," Chakotay replied, "only it wasn't what we thought. Kathryn isn't dead."
He couldn't tell them the truth. Kathryn was a very private person. She had never discussed the accident with anyone but him. She would hate for them to know.
"Then it can't be a changed timeline," B'Elanna answered.
"No," Chakotay replied, going over to the monitor and manually clearing the information displayed. "You were right. It has to be an alternate reality."
Tom stepped closer. "Then what do we do now?"
"The only thing we can do, even if it is a long shot. We return to the anomaly, go through it, and hope when we return, we return to our own reality."
"If we leave in the Flyer, they'll follow us," B'Elanna said.
"Not if they don't know we're gone," Chakotay smiled. "Think Maquis."
The Flyer was almost at the co-ordinates of the anomaly. It was invisible to the eye, just as it had been when they were first pulled in, and could not be detected on sensors from this side of it unless you knew exactly what you were looking for.
"It's ginormous," B'Elanna said, studying the anomaly on sensors. "It's less than half a mile in height and barely a centimeter in depth, but is hundreds of light years long."
Chakotay turned to her. "Any sign of Voyager altering course?"
"Negative."
He breathed in relief. They had been traveling for over two hours at maximum warp. Even if Voyager changed course now, it would take them almost as long to catch up with them, and it was unlikely they would be able to find the anomaly or trace their route as B'Elanna had masked their ion trail.
"We're upon the anomaly," Tom cried. "Brace for impact."
Chakotay held tight to his seat as the Flyer was thrown from side to side as it entered the invisible force that suddenly turned to a dazzling green light. It lasted only seconds, but seemed an eternity. Then they were in clear blue skies and hurdling towards Earth. This time they had been prepared for the impact and had maximized shields and adjusted all systems to compensate. The Delta Flyer landed safely on a bed of luscious green grass with only minor damage.
Chakotay waited anxiously as B'Elanna worked the console to determine whether they had returned to Earth, stardate 27315.6. While she was doing that, Tom had gone outside to inspect the damage that had been done to the Flyer.
"Definitely Earth," she said, "but again it's taking time to work out the year ... " She worked a couple more minutes. "Yes, Earth, 2358, stardate 27315.6 ... only it's a few hours later than when we arrived last time and we've landed somewhere in New Jersey ... must have been the influence of our shields and compensations ... "
"How much later?"
"Five or six hours ... It's ... let me see ... 15:48 hours."
Then there was still plenty of time to save Kathryn. By his calculation, it had been just before 7pm in Indiana when Tom had told him Kathryn was dying. All he had to do was find a way of getting to Bloomington without Tom and B'Elanna knowing and he had worked out the perfect way of doing that.
Tom re-entered the Flyer. "Repairs shouldn't take longer than two hours," he said, observing the damage that had been done. "Three at most."
Chakotay had hoped they would take longer, but without his assistance, perhaps they would. He got up from his chair and put his hand on B'Elanna's shoulder.
"Do you think you and Tom can manage repairs without me? I want to monitor my existence in this timeline, see if it's the same reality I remember. I think that is the key to knowing whether or not we will return to our own timeline. If something is different, just one thing, then we'll know we'll have to come straight back through the anomaly and try again, rather than return to Voyager and have to escape again."
"Good idea," B'Elanna replied. "Tom and I will manage fine. How will you monitor the timeline?"
"I'll visit Starfleet Academy and see if my life is happening just as it should be. I'll need you to transport me."
Less than ten minutes later, Chakotay materialized at Starfleet Academy. The grounds of the Academy were quiet and Chakotay walked though them slowly. The place was full of memories, and voices whispered to him in the wind while faces flashed before him. There were some painful memories, but good ones too, and it was those he remembered now. But Starfleet Academy was not his stopping place and he was eager to leave it. He had to get to Bloomington. Transportation would have been the easiest way, but his bio signature would be recorded and that could contaminate the timeline. The only other alternative was a shuttle. At shuttle speed, it would only take minutes to reach Bloomington. He could then return here when his mission was complete and contact B'Elanna. He could borrow his own shuttle. He had hardly ever used it when he was working at the Academy and it wouldn't be missed for a couple of hours. It would also be easy to take it as he knew all the access codes he would need to enter the shuttle bay and to enter the vessel.
Taking the shuttle was just as easy as he imagined it would be, and in no time, Chakotay was in Bloomington. He scanned the town for a suitable place to land and chose a shuttle park in the town center. It was snowing heavily and the temperature was -3 Celsius. He would have to wrap up warm to venture outside. He replicated some insulated clothes, a warm coat, gloves, a hat, a scarf, some knee high boots, and then quickly put them on. He also replicated a watch so he could keep track of the time. In minutes he was ready to leave and, after ensuring his shuttle was locked, made his way from the park to the town.
A cold east wind blew against Chakotay as he walked, burning his face, and he pulled up the collar on his coat and covered his mouth with his scarf. He had no idea where he was going to find an animal shelter, but hopefully there would be a hotel or café where he could stop to ask. He walked through an almost deserted street and found a little café at the end of it. He walked inside and was glad of a moment's respite from the bitter weather.
A friendly old lady greeted him. "What can I get you, Sir?"
"I was just wondering if you could tell me whether there's an animal shelter close by?"
The woman smiled. "There's one on Oak Street, about two minutes walk from here."
"Could you tell me how to get there?"
"Take the street to your right at the junction outside and the shelter is about half way down it."
"Thank you," Chakotay smiled.
Chakotay found the shelter without difficulty. It was a large building and easily visible. He ventured inside and was greeted by an elderly gentleman.
"How can I help you, Sir?"
"I would like a dog," Chakotay replied. "A puppy."
"We have dogs a plenty," the man replied, "but the only puppies we have are two girls from a litter brought in just this morning. They were found a few miles away, abandoned in a box. Three have already died and these two are barely alive. If you took one, it would need a lot of nursing back to health."
"It would receive the best care," Chakotay smiled.
The man smiled in return. "Then come with me."
Chakotay followed the man down a wide corridor and eventually they stopped outside wide silver doors. The man keyed in a code to open them. The doors opened and Chakotay followed the man inside. He looked around the room. It wasn't a large room, but it was full of cages. There had to be at least twenty and over half of them were occupied by a dog. The animals all stared him, a wariness yet longing in all their eyes. Pity stirred in Chakotay's heart. He loved animals and his kindness and gentleness extended to all living creatures.
"They're just over here," the man said, walking in the direction of what appeared to be some kind of incubator. As they approached it, Chakotay saw two puppies inside. One was slightly bigger than the other, but both were painfully thin. So thin, that he could see their bones. They looked up at him with sorrowful black eyes in a pink face and Chakotay noticed that they were almost completely hairless.
"With proper care, the hair should grow back," the man said. "They've not been fed, are suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, exposure and general neglect." He paused. "There won't be much difference between them except their coat." He picked up the bigger pup. "This one has some black hair, so should have a black coat, the other one will probably have a red coat."
Chakotay wished he could take both of them, but he only needed one. "I'll take the black one," he said. Kathryn had once show him a picture of Petunia and the dog had definitely had silky black fur.
The man opened the incubator and reached inside. He pulled out the puppy and pulled off a ventilated box from a nearby shelf. He put the pup inside and handed the box to Chakotay. "All yours."
"Thank you," Chakotay replied. He was just about to turn to leave when the pup in the incubator once more caught his attention. She was looking up at him with so much longing that it tugged at Chakotay's heart. But he couldn't take her. It was only one dog Kathryn had nursed back to health and he couldn't risk changing the history of their lives by leaving her two dogs instead. Neither could he take the puppy with him back to Voyager. It could change the history of someone elses life. But if no one came for her, would it really make a difference to the past if he took her back with him to Voyager or not? Kathryn loved dogs and while she would never have the time to look after one alone, now that they were married and shared quarters, they could manage.
"Tempted to take them both, Sir?" The man asked.
"Yes," Chakotay replied. "But I wouldn't want to deprive someone else of a puppy."
"There's not much chance of this one going to a home, Sir. People don't want sickly puppies. If you don't take her, she probably won't last more than a few days. We have so many animals to care for that we just don't have the time for those who need special attention."
Chakotay looked again at the puppy and couldn't resist the plea in her eyes any longer.
"I'll take them both," he said. He didn't know if it was the right thing to do, or whether he had done it in any other timeline, but at that moment, it felt like the right thing to do.
The man smiled. "Very good of you, Sir."
By the time Chakotay reached his shuttle, the snow had turned into a blizzard. His body was warm from the insulated clothing, but his face was freezing. He put the box with the puppies inside down on the floor of his shuttle and then checked the time. It was almost 6.30pm. He had to get to Kathryn's house. She would be leaving it any moment now. He didn't know where her house was so he turned to his console and tried to locate Kathryn's lifesign. He found it, strong and steady. He then took a note of the co-ordinates and set a course for them.
In less than a minute, Chakotay was above what appeared to be a farmstead. He landed the shuttle in clear ground behind the house, and then steered it into woodland, hiding it amongst the trees. It was almost dark outside and he replicated a torch, just incase he would need it, and a thermal blanket to wrap the puppy in. He then took the larger puppy, with traces of black fur, out of the box and wrapped her in the blanket, only her face peeping out. Then he left the shuttle to complete the last stage of his mission.
As he approached Kathryn's house, Chakotay studied it, absorbing every detail that he could in the dim light. He had heard so much about her childhood home, even seen a picture or two, but now he was actually outside it and could see it first hand. It was a beautiful house, modern, and yet with a traditional appeal too. He looked around, straining his eyes through the blizzard to see whether Kathryn had left the house in the time it had taken him to walk from his shuttle. But he could not see her. She had to be still inside. He hid behind a tree so that he couldn't be seen from any of the windows, and waited for Kathryn to leave.
At last, the front door opened and a humanoid figure stepped outside. It was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman as he or she was buried beneath a white parka, the hood covering the head, and black boots covering the legs. Chakotay took out his tricorder briefly to see if it was indeed Kathryn, and found that it was. Kathryn began to walk briskly ahead, ploughing her way through the fierce snowstorm. Chakotay quickly put his tricorder away and followed her, careful to keep himself hidden amongst the trees.
Kathryn walked a long time, never hesitating, never stopping. And then, all of a sudden, she came to a standstill. She stood like a statue, gazing vacantly at the snow before her. Chakotay stopped too and pain filled his heart when he caught a glimpse of Kathryn's face. Her cheeks were hollow and dark pools circled her vacant eyes. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her tight. But she wasn't his Kathryn, not yet, and there was something else he had to do to help her. He gently pulled the puppy from his pocket and carefully threw the animal a few feet in front of him. The poor creature yelped as she landed on icy snow, but Kathryn didn't so much as flinch at the sound. Chakotay coud hardly breathe as he watched and waited, a million thoughts racing through his mind as to what to do if this first attempt of bringing the puppy to her attention failed.
The puppy cried again and Chakotay breathed in relief as Kathryn responded and turned on a torch or palm becon. She cast the light around and began to move in the direction of the crying creature. She must have seen the puppy move for a quick flick of the hand brought the light to rest directly on the animal. Chakotay waited for Kathryn to go over to the puppy, but she didn't move. It was the puppy who did instead. As though knowing safe harbor lay ahead, with supreme effort, the animal bridged the gap between them and collapsed on Kathryn's boot.
Kathryn's protective instincts kicked in now and she scooped up the little being and tucked her inside her parka. When that was done, she looked around, trying to make her bearings, and then began to walk in the direction of home even faster than she had set out.
Chakotay watched her leave, unshed tears stinging his eyes. Kathryn was safe now. When he returned to the future, she would be there.
Repairs to the Delta Flyer were almost complete when Chakotay returned, a pup heavier than when he left. He had discarded the box, and held the pup in his arms.
"A present for Kathryn," he smiled.
"Cute," B'Elanna replied. "But what of the temporal prime directive?"
Tom laughed. "I hardly think a little pup will make any difference."
Chakotay forced a smile but shivered at the irony.
B'Elanna tickled the puppy's ear. "Was everything the same?"
Chakotay nodded. "Everything was the same."
Tom smiled. "Then lets hope everything is different when we return to Voyager this time."
The Delta flyer once more tore through the anomaly. At the other side, as expected, was open space.
"No," B'Elanna cried, no sooner than they had left the anomaly. "The rift is collapsing. If we're not in the right reality this time, we may not be able to try again."
"We're in the right reality," Chakotay replied, "I'm certain of it."
He got up and went over to the incubator he had replicated to protect the puppy while they traveled through the anomaly. He was about to open it and take the animal out when Tom spoke.
"We're being hailed," he cried. "It's Voyager ... "
Chakotay turned away from the incubator and returned to his seat. His heart was in his mouth. He was sure the timeline had been restored, absolutely sure, and yet he could not help fear the remote possibility that he was wrong. He loved Kathryn so much and couldn't bear to even think of an existence without her. He took a deep breath.
"On screen."
In seconds, Kathryn's image filled the view screen. Chakotay smiled. His Kathryn was alive, all was as it should be.
"It's good to see you," she said, and Chakotay noticed that she looked rather pale. Evidently she had been worried. "We lost contact with you, couldn't find you on sensors."
"We got pulled into an anomaly," Chakotay explained, "some kind of temporal rift.."
"We're on our way to pick you up," she continued. "We should be with you in minutes."
Chakotay smiled. "Acknowledged."
Kathryn smiled in return. "Janeway out."
As the link ended, Tom turned to his First Officer. "Well, so far so good."
"Yes," Chakotay replied. "So far so good." He got up and once more went over to the incubator. He opened the door and took out the pup.
"I'd be grateful", he said, "if you both didn't tell Kathryn about this little one just yet. I'd like to surprise her later."
B'Elanna and Tom smiled. "We won't say a word."
In the seclusion of his bedroom, Chakotay fed the starving pup and gave her some warm milk. The little creature lapped away and Chakotay's heart warmed to watch her. Kathryn was still on duty and he was not expecting her for another twenty minutes or so. He had only seen her very briefly since returning to Voyager, and only then to hand her his report of what had happened. He had kept it simple. They had been pulled into an anomaly, gone back in time, returned to an alternate reality, returned to the anomaly hoping that when they came back through it the next time, they would be in their own reality. He hadn't said much about what that alternate reality was, only that there was different crew personnel. He had also deliberately left out dates. No one had to know the truth, not even Kathryn. He would just say he had got the puppy as a surprise for her. With her different coloring, she would hopefully grow up to little resemble Petunia.
When the pup had finished her feed, Chakotay gently put her to rest in a doggie basket he had replicated, and left her in the bedroom. The animal was too weak to wander anywhere. He then cleaned up, washed his hands, and went into the living room to wait for his wife.
Kathryn was a long time arriving. When she finally did, she was pale and drawn and avoided his eyes when he verbally greeted her. She slowly walked over to their couch and took off her jacket.
"Interesting report," she said quietly.
She knew. Chakotay knew in that moment that she knew.
She turned to him and looked into his eyes now. "It was you, wasn't it? You put Petunia in the snow?"
"Yes," said, getting to his feet. "It was me." He paused. "How do you know?"
"I guessed when Tom mentioned my lifesign. It all fell into place then. When you went to this "other Voyager", you found out what had happened to me ... . that I had died in the snow ... and you remembered what I had told you about Petunia. You convinced Tom and B'Elanna it was an alternate reality and while they were repairing the flyer, you went to Bloomington. You got a puppy, and put her in the snow."
There was no fooling Kathryn. Her mind was as sharp as a razor.
"That's right," he said quietly.
Kathryn bridged the gap between them. "Were you going to tell me?"
"I didn't think there was a need," he replied. "And I didn't want to wake old ghosts."
Kathryn lowered her eyes. "I always thought it was strange... how I happened to find a puppy in the snow that way. It seemed too...providential. Sick puppies don't just turn up in the snow like that." She looked up at her husband now, infinite gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you for saving me."
Chakotay reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't thank me, Kathryn.I wouldn't have doneanything else." He caressed her arm softly and then smiled. "Wait here, I've something to show you."
He disappeared into the bedroom and emerged moments later, holding the puppy in his hands.
"Petunia's sister," he smiled, bringing the animal over to his wife.
Joy filled Kathryn's heart at the sight of the tiny puppy. "Oh, Chakotay."
He held out the pup to her and Kathryn took her in her arms, holding her close.
"I got the puppies at Bloomington animal shelter," Chakotay said. "I was only going to take the one, but in the end I decided to take them both. I thought you might like to have her."
"And I do," Kathryn smiled. "Petunia was my best friend and gave my life meaning again. Now we can take loving care of her sister." She caressed the animal, studied her carefully. "And she looks a bit like Petunia too. She has the same eyes." She paused as she remembered the fragile creature she had nursed back to health. "I'll call her Petal." She then looked up at Chakotay, her eyes bright. "Just how were you going to explain this?"
"Well," Chakotay smiled, "the man at the shelter told me she'll have red fur. I thought that would be difference enough. I was going to give her to you as a gift."
"And she's a wonderful gift," Kathryn smiled. She then looked up at Chakotay. "But I can't believe the coincidence - that of all the places, of all the times, you ended up at that place, at that time ... "
"As you once said, the past is the future, the future is the past. A circle of time."
"But we've done so much, Chakotay, struggled so much, and yet ... and yet that Voyager was at exactly the same place, at exactly the same point in time, as we are. It makes our actions seem ... . irrelevant ... somehow."
"Who knows why that Voyager was at that place at that time, or how she came to be there. There are a million ways of reaching the same destination, an infinite number of possibilities. None of our actions are irrelevant. We're all partakers in our destiny, not bystanders."
"Did you find out what happened to the other captain?"
"Yes," Chakotay replied. "According to her Starfleet Profile, she graduated from Starfleet Academy about fifteen years before you and has had quite a distinguished career. Her last listed command was The Saturn. She's married and has a son about Harry's age."
Kathryn smiled. "Then it looks like we are all winners."
Chakotay smiled in return. "We certainly are."
END OF CHAPTER EIGHT
