Once, there was a curious mouse. The mouse would love to explore the land, the rocks, the trees and the river. The mouse spent it's days discovering the elements around him. But one day, the mouse wanted to explore the darkest part of the forest. The mouse set off to discover a land full of the unknown until he was stopped by a wise owl.

"Where do you go, curious one?" The owl asked

"I'm going to the darkest part of the forest!"

"Why would you want to go there, curious one?"

"To see what I do not know!"

The mouse simply wanted to learn more but the owl knew better.

"Do not go there little curious one" The wise owl forlorned "there are spirits there you do not wish to know."

"I wish to know!" the mouse argued

The mouse scurried past the owl and continued its journey to the darkest part of the forest. The day dragged on and the sun continued its journey through the sky as the mouse grew closer to its destination. Suddenly, the mouse was stopped by a clever fox.

"Where do you go curious one?" asked the clever fox

"I'm going to the darkest part of the forest!" exclaimed the mouse

"That is no place for a little mouse like you! Why would you want to go there curious one?"

"To see what I do not know!"

"Do not go there curious one" The clever fox warned "There are creatures there you wish you have never met."

"I wish to know!" the mouse retorted

The mouse scurried away from the clever fox and continued its journey to the darkest part of the forest. The sun had made its journey across the sky and was soon to sleep underneath the horizon. As the land is painted in hues of orange and pink the mouse approached the mouth of the darkest part of the forest. Before the mouse could enter he was stopped by a mysterious snake.

"Where do you go, curious one?" asked the mysterious snake

"I wish to enter the darkest part of the forest!"

"But you are so small and you smell so delicious! Why would you want to enter curious one?"

"To see what I do not know!"

"Do not go there" warned the snake "Once you enter, the monsters in there may never let you out."

"I wish to know!" cried the mouse

The mouse scurried past the snake and entered the darkest part of the forest. The moon hung high into the sky and the land was painted in hues of blue. As the days passed, creatures of the land would ask one another "Have you seen the curious mouse?" but the answer would always be "no". The mouse would be never heard from again with the exception of when a curious creature reaches the entrance of the darkest part of the forest, the creature can hear a tiny voice say;

"Do not enter the darkest part of the forest. Some places are better off unknown."

"She's very much a curious mouse." The Klingon woman replies with a sad smile

"Very much so" Chakotay replies in kind

They turn to ever curious woman, laying unconscious on the biobed.

"She forgets I understand her" the Commander murmurs as his thumb runs over fair, freckled knuckles, "I was a Captain for a long time before Voyager. I know the drive to be more and the crushing feeling when you can't be. I know the curiosity of being an explorer. I know it. But she forgets."

"Not like you to be bitter"

"I wasn't trying to be."

"I know"

The air is heavy and the tension prevalent. The Klingon woman leans in and places her hand on her dear friend's shoulder.

"So she's taking more time than we thought to wake up, thats ok. The Doctor says she stable and her brain functions are firing at all cylinders. She'll be ok, Chakotay."

"She's been talking more. She thinks you died. She thinks a few people are dead. She thinks…." he takes in a shaky breath "I think she wants to die."

"She'll wake up. You can't give up on her."

The tension snaps. The large man stands abruptly. His eyes ablaze. His friend looks up unfazed.

"How dare you!? I would never! I have devoted myself to Voyager, to her, to all of this! I have never backed away! Never! Don't you dare start accusing me of this now!"

"When did you rescue us from the Ludere?"

"What?" asks the large man, his features painted with confusion.

"When did you rescue us from the Ludere?" BE'lanna repeats dully

"A couple weeks ago?"

"One month and three days" she replies sharply "How many times, barring your shifts on the bridge, have you left her bedside?"

"A few times?"

"You only leave when I inform you that you smell like an andorian bore. You then take a ten-second sonic shower then come right back. What do you think she would think of you wasting your time here?"

"Wasting my…"

"We were poisoned Chakotay! We were poisoned and tortured!" BE'lanna barks as tears sparkled in her eyes "She let them take her and do worse to her so they wouldn't do worse to me. You know why? Because she's a damn good Captain! She had to trust that I would find a way to notify Voyager of where we were while they did god knows what!"

The woman stops to catch her breath and Chakotay's sits down in quiet shame and shock. It had been the most his long time friend had spoken of her time locked away with her Captain. When the two were beamed back aboard they were both unconscious. Thanks to BE'lanna's resilient Klingon genetics, the woman was able to fight off the worst of the alien poisons used for torture and interrogation. The women were found in an odd medical facility on an asteroid.

The Ludere was once simply another unknown species asking why a small, strange alien ship was floating through their space. Their faces hidden, they only communicated through garbled audio but appeared friendly enough to allow them to travel through safely as long as they were willing to trade. Happily Voyager agreed. All they asked for was "human knowledge". They had never heard of humans and wanted to know more. They called upon the Captain and a scientist to take a roundabout to meet them upon an asteroid for simply an hour for them to meet a real live human. It didn't take long for the crew to realize that "human knowledge" was not simply a lesson in human history. The women's biosigns dissapeared quickly and so did any trace of the Ludere upon the asteroid. For two weeks Voyager darted about Ludere space searching for clues of where their crew members had gone and what was or had happened to them.

Chakotay and his crew were nearly convinced they had seen the last of their beloved Engineer and Captain until they received a distress signal from a near by asteroid. That is where they found them, abandoned, unconscious and abused beyond words.

"You have to trust her. You have to let her come back on her own. We are out of their space but that might not be the last we ever hear of them. You need to take care of the crew. That's your job. She needs you to do your job."

"I'm sorry." Chakotay replies softly

"I know. You're a complicated man but sometimes you can act so simple" BE'lanna replies before punching him lightly in the shoulder "Go shower. Take a nap. I got get back to work."

Chakotay nods and he watches his dear friend exit the sickbay. The Commander allows his mind to wander until he hears a groan that breaks his train of thought.

"Who" Kathryn moans in her sleep

"What?"

"Who….you"

"Its me. Chakotay."

"En…si…ensign."

"There's no Ensign, Kathryn. There's no Ensign."