Epilogue

A pair of eyes fluttered open. This change went unnoticed for a moment, giving Kathryn a second to establish her surroundings. She was in sickbay. She was lying on one of the cots, still wearing the same disheveled dress she had been wearing on Kartok's ship. Speaking of which, what happened? Kathryn thought. She had been with B'Elanna…they had tried to take over engineering. Kartok had grabbed her and...and…oh! A surprised laugh escaped her lips. B'Elanna had stunned her! No wonder she hurt so badly. Well, it worked, she thought as B'Elanna and the doctor, having heard her exclamation, rushed to her side.

"Captain! Are you alright?" asked B'Elanna.

Kathryn nodded, and groaned as she sat up. "I'll live."

The doctor fiddled with his tricorder, his air of superiority masking his true concern. "Everything seems to be normal, but I'd like to keep you here for a few hours at least. You took quite a blow."

"I won't argue with that," she said, adjusting her pillow so that she could sit up comfortably.

As the doctor spoke, B'Elanna looked away uncomfortably, and after he had finished she addressed Kathryn. "Captain, I—"

But Kathryn grabbed her hand and didn't allow her to finish. "B'Elanna, I would much rather be in sickbay on my own ship than healthy on the other one. Thank you." She let go of the other girl's hand and the doctor immediately shooed B'Elanna out, claiming that they both needed rest. But she wasn't alone for long, for as the doctor went into his office, Chakotay burst through the doors and made a beeline towards Kathryn.

"B'Elanna told me you were awake," he said as an explanation. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been stunned," she answered with a smile and a vague wave of her hand towards an adjacent bed.

Chakotay leaned on said bed and began to fill her in on what had happened during the rescue mission. "We noticed your bio signs as soon as the shields dropped, but we couldn't get a lock on you."

"Kartok was wearing something to jam the transporters," she explained briefly, "But why didn't you pull B'Elanna out?"

"That would be a great rescue mission," he said with a smile, "Save everyone except she who you originally intended to save." He continued on, answering the angry glint in her eyes with raised hands. "You weren't in charge; I didn't have to follow your orders."

She looked angry for only a second longer, then fell back on her pillows with a laugh. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less cunning from you." Chakotay allowed a smile, but didn't say anything, so she asked "How long was I out?"

"Only about an hour." Anticipating her next question, he continued. "After B'Elanna stunned you, we transported you both to sickbay and went to warp. Most of the crew has been very anxious to see their captain back on the bridge, including me."

"Thank you, Commander." She glanced away with a faraway look in her eyes and sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about those girls."Chakotay shifted his weight and prepared to respond, but she pressed on with a shake of her head. "I know there's nothing we can do, but I don't think there will ever be a day when I don't wish there was."

"I wouldn't say that," Chakotay answered. "We coordinated the rescue with the government of the planet. They stormed the bridge as soon as we sent the signal, right after we got you out. Kartok is probably in jail right now."

At this point, the doctor looked up from whatever work he had been immersed in to see his patient clearly not resting. Chakotay saw his exasperated look as he stormed towards them, so he quickly said goodbye to the captain and made to leave. Before he got too far, Kathryn grabbed his arm and turned him around to look into his eyes.

"Thank you, Chakotay," she whispered. He nodded seriously, so she let him go. She hoped that her eyes had told him everything she couldn't.

This incident was never mentioned again. The crew of the Voyager, after collectively greeting the Captain and at her unspoken request, acted as if nothing had happened. Everyone knew, though. Nobody ever mentioned it, but these events did not transpire without leaving some damage behind. For a while, the Captain would flinch and anyone's unexpected touch and she often became distracted, staring into space. But this telepathy of knowladge went both ways. While they felt her pain, Kathryn also felt the crew's understanding and sympathy. With their help, she began to recover. The nightmares stopped, she was able to look at a dress without any painful memories surfacing, and she was able to continue with the mission she had been rescued to lead: the safe return of her ship back to the Alpha Quadrant.

There had been one obvious conformation of the mutual feeling exchange between captain and crew, more than through eyes and smiles. The day after she was released from sickbay, she prepared for her first day back on the bridge. It was a relief to be back in her uniform again, and in charge instead of helpless. Having her hair back in its familiar bun was just one more reminder that things were back to normal. Still thinking this she walked through the doors.

"Captain on the bridge!" Kathryn was startled to hear Tuvok's voice. When she looked up, the crew, her friends, were standing, smiling, silently welcoming their captain home. She smiled back with tears in her eyes, but made it to her chair without incident. Settling into her chair, she crossed her legs and was overwhelmed by the familiar things in the room that she thought she would never see again. Still smiling, she decided that it was time to go home.

"Engage."

A/N: And so ends this tale of Kathryn. Any other changes will just be editing the other documents.

The last scene I got from "The 37's". It was actually perfect timing, I only watched it the other day and I don't know how I would have wrapped this up if I hadn't seen that!

You've all been so wonderful, I hope you've had as much fun reading this as I had writing it!