Disclaimer: Voyager and Enterprise belong to Paramount Viacom, as do most of the characters featured throughout this story.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story, your feedback has meant a lot to me, and has kept me writing through writers block; without your reviews I probably would have given up after about the ninth chapter, so thanks again. I don't think I intended to write so much, but after I had followed the story through to about the fourth season, I figured I might as well take it up to the final season.

I don't think there's much left to say, other than to hope that you enjoy this final part of my story.

Epilogue

Sat hunched over with his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees Chakotay gazed tiredly across at his daughter as she slept. Her chest lifted slowly and then fell as she breathed softly in and then out, her eyelids occasionally flickered and her eyebrows furrowed every so often as she drifted from dream to dream. He remembered when she had been born, the intensive and painful labour forgotten the moment that she had been placed into his arms, the months he had spent worrying about her arrival evaporating as she had looked up at him for the first time, and his concerns about what kind of father he would be to her were quelled as she settled into his arms and soon fell asleep, as if she had decided to explore the world she had born into another time.

India. Some people said that was where she had been conceived, but it wasn't, India was where he had spent a drunken weekend with his wife. They had watched the sunrise as they recovered from their alcohol consumption, sitting out on the roof of the hotel waiting for the light to appear over the horizon. His wife had rested her head against his shoulder and muttered something about how he needed to shave off the moustache he was growing because it looked ridiculous. For some reason at that moment he had realised that he wanted to spend the rest of his life listening to her casual comments and criticisms about how he should live and dress and shave, his bad habits, his annoying habits, the way that he nagged on at her… So he had suggested they call their daughter India, and although she didn't know the significance for him, she had agreed that it would be a lovely name.

People said that his daughter looked like him, but when he looked at her he only saw her mother; a wicked sense of humour hiding at the back of her dark brown eyes, her smile lighting up the entire room and her laugh melting his heart. She confidently crawled about the house, exploring anything new and exciting, her curious mind almost getting her into trouble on several occasions. She was finding her feet, and it made him realise that one day she would be grown up and would no longer be needing him as she would walk off and find a life of her own, he only hoped that as she entered the rest of the world with her mother's confidence, charisma and beauty, she wouldn't totally forget about him.

The fourteen month old girl shifted her head to the other side of the buggy in which she sat, the small movement enough to break Chakotay from his thoughts, and for a moment he worried that she may wake from her slumber. However she quickly settled back down, and drifted back off into whatever dream filled state she had been in previously.

It was every so often that he found himself sitting and simply watching her as she slept; he remembered a couple of occasions when she had been poorly with alien flu viruses, and he had sat by her cot throughout the night, to make sure that she didn't get any worse. There were times when one of them couldn't sleep, and so they would keep each other company until either she had drifted off into her slumber, or he would hear his bed calling him to rest. Then there were times such as this, when his mind was filled with so many trains of thought that he found he needed her to centre him. So he sat quietly in front of her in an almost meditative state, thinking about her, his family, friends, and how he had come to different points in his life.

Chakotay had been reluctant to again father a child, it was one of the few things that he and his wife had truly disagreed about, as she had wanted a family with him, and he took the position that Noah was as much a family as he ever wanted to have. So they had argued about it for a long while, and they had stopped speaking to each other altogether on many occasions, and eventually he had given in out of fear of losing her. It hadn't been the wisest decision he had made, as several months later when she had come home with the wonderful news that she was pregnant, he had merely shrugged his shoulders and told her not to expect him to be in any way as thrilled as she.

So she had gone to the prenatal examinations without him, read the books, picked out the names, decorated the nursery, and brought home all of the baby things without asking for his input at any point, seemingly happy to do it by herself without involving him, and for a long while he had been grateful for the exclusion. Then he had noticed Vaughn, lieutenant William Vaughn, six foot four, mid thirties, muscular, handsome and unmarried.

At first his wife spending time off duty with her personal aid hadn't really bothered him, as he knew she liked to get to know the people who she was working with. But the occasional light lunch had turned into the frequent late night dinner. The quick word over the comm. turned into an intimate discussion. The business trips started to include days sight seeing together… by the time he had started to suspect what was going on, he figured their affair might have been going since before his daughter had been conceived.

He hadn't said anything at first, for two months he tried to convince himself that he was imagining it, he had no hard evidence that she was cheating on him, so he found he had no grounds to make an accusation. A month before the date she was due to deliver he had finally confronted her about it, asking her if the child she was carrying was his or Vaughn's. The moment the aghast expression had consumed her face he knew that he had been mistaken. That night they had shouted and argued more than they had at any other point in their relationship, he had blamed her for forcing him to father a child that he didn't want, and she reminded him that she wasn't asking him to take on any responsibilities, just to be there for her occasionally.

It was at the height of their argument when she had turned around and asked for him to decide then and there if he wanted to be with her and their child or if he wanted to leave, that he suddenly came to realise how selfish he had been over the six months he had known of her pregnancy. He had been punishing her for a mistake that he had made by agreeing to have a child before he was ready, and in doing so he found that he was losing the very thing he had wanted to avoid losing: Kathryn.

His hesitation had been too much for her, and so she had made the decision for him and walked out of the front door to their house. To this day he didn't know where she had gone that night, whether she had checked into a hotel, stayed over at a friend's, or taken comfort in Vaughn's arms. He still wasn't sure whether or not there had been an affair, she had never denied it, never admitted it, only insisted that he was the father of their child, and when he had held his daughter in his arms for the first time, he found that he didn't care what had happened before that point, as all that mattered was what happened in her future.

"What are you thinking about?" the words brought him back to the present, and he glanced across at the woman standing in front of him, a mug of coffee in either hand.

"Everything," he replied, looking back down at his sleeping daughter.

He felt her close the gap between them as she sat down on the chair beside him. "One day she'll be old enough to ask you to stop staring," she said in a low voice.

"Then I hope she never grows up," he whispered.

She chuckled lightly, "she looks as useless as you when she sleeps; you'd both sleep through a hurricane."

For the first time he noticed the noise in the busy transport station, and knew that she was right; it took a certain type of deep sleeper to sleep in such a disruptive place. Realising that she was offering him one of the mugs of coffee, he took it from her, shooting her a grateful smile.

Three months after Voyager had returned to the alpha quadrant he had come back from visiting his sister. Kathryn had been waiting for him at the transport station, her hair a little longer than he remembered from when he had left, her smile a little fuller and she had put on a healthy amount of weight. That night they had talked properly and openly for what felt like the first time, for once they found they could both be honest with each other as neither of them any longer held the fear of repercussions on the bridge. So in the weeks that followed they were able to work through all of the problems they had long ago buried, and their concerns for their future. It hadn't been easy, there had been a few moments when both of them had felt of giving up, but in the end it had been worth it.

After only a few months back together the two of them wasted little time in finding a house and moving in. Despite much encouragement from B'Elanna, jokes from Tom, and nudges from many of their other friends and family, they never retook their vows, but following a long discussion they did agree to again start wearing their wedding bands.

For many months it had been close to perfect. Then late one afternoon he had returned home to find her sitting on the floor of the kitchen in tears, pictures of their son spread out all around her. It was soon after then that she had suggested they should try for a baby. He wasn't sure if it was because she wanted a replacement for Noah, another chance at being a mother, or simply because she missed having a project to watch grow and nurture, either way he had point blank refused to give her the one thing that she had asked from him. India was now the living proof that Kathryn Janeway never lost an argument.

Chakotay felt finger tips running slowly through his hair, gently massaging his scalp in their path, "are you okay?" she asked.

He sighed, but nodded, "I'm just a little shaken up over the last few days."

She didn't reply, she didn't need to, he knew that she felt the same way as he did, shared the same fears, worries, and of course excitement, there was no need to put it into words. He felt her lips on his cheek, moving in a trail of small open kisses towards his mouth, he turned to meet his lips with hers, and for a short time they forgot about all of the people around them, where they were and why they were there and in that magical moment all that existed was the two of them. Then she pulled away and shot him a soft smile, "it's going to be okay," she tried to reassure him. He simply nodded, and with their faces level and so close he found the temptation to kiss her again unavoidable, and soon their lips were pressed gently against one another.

Finding out that Kathryn was pregnant had been a shock to him at first; although he knew that was what they were trying for, he had never really considered how he would feel and react once it had. For a long time he had ignored the fact that they were going to have another child, but eventually she had started to show, and he felt it increasingly more difficult to pretend that everything wasn't about to change. She had allowed for him to disassociate from what was happening, he reasoned that it was because she had gotten what she had wanted from him, he later learnt that it was because she had feared pushing him further away.

They had spoken a few days after their major row about Vaughn and the baby she was carrying, and she had explained to him that her aid had merely been offering the companionship that he was unwilling to provide. Chakotay had apologised for his behaviour and accusations and asked for her to return to their home, but she had refused, preferring instead to stay with her mother in Indiana, he felt unable to persuade her otherwise.

India had entered the world at eleven thirty three in the evening, and that had been the first night that he had watched her sleep, sitting on the edge of his wife's bed he had watched with fascination as she rested, oblivious to everything her mother had recently been through to bring her into the world. Every day for a month after that night he had gone to visit his daughter and Kathryn in Indiana, spending every hour with them that he could spare between his university studies and need for sleep.

She pulled back a little way from him and ran her hand tenderly across his cheek, "I love you," she told him, sounding like the first time she had ever said it.

Chakotay smiled, "you look tired," he pointed out.

At his observation she unwillingly yawned, "I guess you're right," she agreed, "once things have settled down we'll both be able to catch up on all of the sleep we've lost."

He glanced across at the fourteen month old sleeping soundly in front of them, "India certainly isn't having any trouble sleeping at the moment."

She leant her forearm on his shoulder and gazed in the same direction that he was looking, "that's because she doesn't have a care in the world."

For the first month after his daughter had been born, Chakotay found himself living between his home in San Francisco and Kathryn's family home in Indiana. He found he very rarely had a moment to himself as his time was consumed with his university studies of palaeontology, sitting in a transport, and visiting his wife and daughter. He had started to think that might be what his life with them would have to be, and then one evening during a visit, Kathryn had surprised him with the announcement that she wanted to move back into their house. He was almost certain that Kathryn and her mother had had a row, but he never questioned her motives, simply accepted that she was coming back to him, and left it at that.

Kathryn had been made an admiral shortly after Voyager had returned to the alpha quadrant. Her work was mainly centred around finding diplomatic solutions to problems involving the Romulan empire, which meant that very often she would be required to leave Earth for weeks at a time. When she had become pregnant, during her later months Starfleet had scaled back her workload and insisted that she remain planet side. The lack of work, and inability to travel around had almost driven her mad, so when her maternity leave had officially ended when their daughter was five months old, he had expected for her to return to her old routines of leaving home early, working late and spending weeks off planet as she was required to travel to where she was most needed.

However she surprised him by resigning her commission; telling him that she wanted to spend more time with their baby. He knew that she still felt guilty for having to compromise her role as a mother to Noah in order to command Voyager more efficiently, and that this was her way of ensuring that she didn't make anything like the same mistake a second time around, so he was more than happy to let her go ahead with it. He had been foolish though to think that she would be completely content with her role as a mother, as only weeks after resigning her commission she had started to volunteer for scientific projects that demanded her expertise. Kathryn found the volunteer work much more rewarding and much less demanding of her time than her duties had been as an admiral. She would work from home, and take India into the office with her when her presence there was required, only relying on other people to look after their daughter when she felt herself going mad with spending too much time with a baby.

It was three years since Voyager had returned to the alpha quadrant, and they both looked back at that time with a shared feeling of both joy and pain. They had reached their home after many years of being so far away from it, but at the same time they had lost their son. It wasn't a fair price to pay that either of them would have ever considered, but the choice had been made for them, and so they both dealt with it as best they could.

"How are you doing?" Chakotay asked, shooting his wife a concerned look.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "I'm fine… exhausted, but fine."

He paused a moment as his mind drifted to outside of the moment, "do you think he'll remember us?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"Do you think he'll accept India?"

He felt her hand come up gently and cup the side of his cheek, "Chakotay, stop worrying, any problems we have, we'll deal with when we're facing them."

Meeting her gaze he grinned softly, "when did we swap roles? I remember you used to be the one to worry about things that may never happen."

She let out an amused chuckle, "I think we've rubbed off on each other."

"I'm not sure if that's good or bad," he raised an eyebrow.

"It's good for me," she smiled.

He returned the smile for a moment, before allowing it to fall at which point his expression turned slightly more serious. "You know it's been ten years since we first met."

She hadn't forgotten, "back then I would never have imagined myself here, least of all with you."

"Do you know what I thought when I first saw you?" he asked, a glint in his eye that she couldn't quite explain.

She furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, "I don't think you've ever said."

He grinned, "I thought: 'this woman's going to be trouble'."

Kathryn laughed, "am I that much hassle?"

"You're worth that much hassle," he replied indirectly, "of course I didn't know then that the trouble would take the form of commanding Voyager with you, marrying you, fathering your children, or worst of all: falling in love with you," he joked softly, "but I did know that our fates would be in some way entwined."

"I can't remember what I first thought of you…" she told him honestly.

"That I was dashingly handsome?" he attempted.

She rolled her eyes, "well, that goes without saying. But I really can't remember my first impression of you."

"It's nice to know that I made such a huge impact straight away in your life," he pretended to sulk.

She squeezed his shoulder, "but I can tell you when I realised I was in love with you," her words were enough to bring his attention back round to her. "On new earth when you made up that story about an angry warrior," she smiled fondly at the memory, "it was impossible not to fall in love with you after you'd gone to that much effort to explain your feelings."

He smiled, "I didn't think it was possible then, but each day I still find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with you," he said quietly, for some reason his voice struggling as he said the words.

Kathryn looked about ready to make a reply, but at the computer's announcement of the Enterprise having arrived her head snapped up to glance across at the arrivals screen. Slowly she looked back round at him, "I guess that's us."

Four days previously they had received a late night communication from Starfleet saying that during a boarder survey that the Enterprise had been carrying out the galaxy class ship had picked up a distress signal from an unknown alien vessel. There had only been one passenger aboard the ship, who when they had arrived had been alert and conscious and given his name as Noah Janeway. The explanation for his presence in the alpha quadrant had been that he was no longer required on Ocampa, the reason for his distress signal, had been an uncertainty over the exact location of his parents. When both his story and identity had checked out Kathryn and Chakotay had been contacted, by which point Noah had already been back in the alpha quadrant for two days, and the Enterprise was well on its journey back to Earth.

Chakotay smiled as he stood slowly from his chair, and glancing across at the crowd that were already gathered by the gates where the Enterprise had docked, Chakotay realised his daughter's buggy would only slow them down. So carefully he went about removing the restraints that held her in her seat, and gently he lifted her into his arms, not wanting to wake her too suddenly.

They hadn't seen their son in three years since he was six, and at nine years they both expected for him to have changed in slightly different ways. They both of course thought he would be taller, smarter, and more mature, but whilst Kathryn expected for him to look more like his father, Chakotay imagined their son to look a little more like her. So when they saw him sitting on the edge of a bio bed in the Enterprise's sick bay, they both saw exactly what they wanted to see in him, and would forever disagree over who he was most like.

Kathryn was first to go to their son, and Chakotay stood back for a long moment as they embraced, wanting to give them the moment that they deserved. Finally they drew apart and Noah looked across at his father with an uncertain smile as he noticed the small girl in his arms. "This is your sister, India," Kathryn explained.

Noah looked back to his mother with a frown, "my sister?"

Chakotay simply chuckled, "a lot's changed," he reached out to hold his son with his free arm.

The boy returned his father's embrace, deciding to hold off the many questions he had until a later time. Kathryn and Chakotay too still had many questions about what had happened to their son in the time he had been on Ocampa, but they had discussed and agreed to allow their son to settle into their home before they started to question him about the three years he had spent away from them.

After wading through many legal documents, sitting through many medical reports and signing a few confidentiality clauses to say that they wouldn't release any information to the public about Noah that wasn't pre-agreed with Starfleet, their son was eventually released back to them.

When Kathryn and Chakotay had fist met across a view screen in the middle of the delta quadrant they had been enemies. Although they had similar beliefs and ideals, they were both fighting for them in different ways. It had taken them both a while to realise that they were in love with each other, and when that realisation had struck them both, there was no turning back from it. On Voyager they had been unable to share their love without conflicting on their duties to their ship and crew, and on returning to Earth, with the absence of their son, they had both continuously felt a void in their lives together. Now with their son returned, and a young daughter, their family was complete, and able to freely express their love for one another with the same intensity as they had discovered they were capable of on New Earth, there was now every reason for them to live happily ever after.

The End