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Switched

Chapter 38

"I'm afraid you can't see your husband at present," a blonde nurse told Kathryn. "As well as multiple flesh wounds, several fractures and internal bleeding, he has a serious head injury. Dr Levitt is operating on him now and must not be disturbed."

Kathryn's already pale face drained at this news. "He will...he will be ok, won't he?"

"Where head injuries are concerned it's always difficult to say with certainty. But Dr Levitt is confident he'll pull through and make a full recovery. However, I must warn you that with a brain injury of this nature there is always the chance of permanent impairment. The Commander has not only been subjected to some kind of memory probe that has caused severe neurological trauma but has also suffered memory erasure. The combined effect of these two procedures may leave the Commander with severe retrograde and anterograde amnesia. If that is the case, he will never be the same again. He won't remember who he is and he won't be able to remember anything for more than a few days or hours. It's also possible that he'll have some motor and speech problems. But these are of course worst case scenarios. The Commander will most likely pull through without any long term effects."

Vic, who was at Kathryn's side, questioned the nurse. "Were there any unusual marks on the Commander? A letter, perhaps?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Detective. But all the Commander's injuries have been catalogued and will be in our official report."

"I...I'd like our Doctor to work with Dr Levitt," Kathryn said, trying to keep her mind focussed just as she'd always had to do on Voyager. "He's highly skilled and very knowledgeable."

"I don't see that being a problem," the nurse answered. "But let me assure you that your husband is in safe hands. Dr Levitt is one of the most revered physicians in the Federation and is an expert on brain trauma."

"When can I see my husband?"

"As soon as Dr Levitt's finished operating. I'll let you know when that is. Now, please excuse me. Dr Levitt will be needing my assistance."

With that the nurse disappeared inside and the door locked behind her.

"I'm sure Chakotay will fine," Vic said as reassuringly as he could. "I've seen this many times and more often than not a full recovery is made."

"He'd better be fine," Kathryn said quietly, "because if he isn't..." She bit her lip to force back the tears. "I don't want to think about if he isn't." She paused, got a grip. "You asked about a marking. What kind of marking?"

"Taron sometimes sends people home brandished with a V. Call it a warning card."

"I see."

"That Chakotay wasn't branded tells us that this is the end of the road. Taron only warns when there's someone to warn. Most likely he didn't let Chakotay go until he had Cayla, and as Cayla's his target, the line ends with her."

The Doctor's voice suddenly spoke over the comm.

"Doctor to Janeway."

Kathryn responded. "Janeway here."

"I'm afraid I haven't been able to get a hold of Seven. I've tried my best, but she's touring Africa with her aunt and is currently excommunicado. B'Elanna, however, I was able to get a hold of and she's already at work on the transport trace."

"Good going, Doctor. Too bad about Seven, but I have full confidence in B'Elanna."

"How's Chakotay?"

"Not good. Dr Levitt is currently operating on him. I'd like you to oversee things."

"If you wish, but Dr Levitt is a highly skilled physician and hardly needs my help. "

"Still, I'd like you to preside."

"Then I'll head there immediately. And I'd like you to head right back to bed, but as I think there's more chance of the proverbial pigs flying, I may as well tell you that B'Elanna's in Security Room 10."

"You read my mind, Doctor. Tell B'Elanna I'll be there shortly. Janeway out." She terminated the connection and then addressed Vic. "B'Elanna is a great engineer and a genius at problem solving. If anyone can trace this transport, she can. She's also completely trustworthy."

"If she has your confidence, then she has mine. But the less she knows, the better."

"Agreed. The last thing I want is for B'Elanna to get caught up in all this. As soon as she's done the trace, she's off home."

"And you and I go in search of Cayla?"

"Yes. And the Doctor, I hope. If we succeed, there's no telling what state Cayla will be in. His presence could be the difference between her life and death."

Vic played with the hat in his hands. "If this had happened a few months ago," he said quietly, "when you were still in the Delta Quadrant, Cayla wouldn't have had a chance. We've always done our best when someone's gone missing, but there are so many rules that our hands are always tied. There's never anything we can do for 24 hours and 24 hours is always too late. We can only act if we have proof of abduction and when it comes to Taron we never do. And we don't now. Even if we get a transport trace, it isn't proof of abduction. It could be transport by consent. After 24 hours we'd have taken it as possible proof of abduction and flown to the point of origin, but in all frankness it would be a waste of time because we'd still have to locate Taron's ship and he uses a cloak we've never been able to crack." He paused. "I presume you have a solution in mind to that problem."

"Of course. We'll take the Delta Flyer, a shuttle we built on Voyager. It may not be as fast as some of your ships but it has very advanced scanning technology. I'm sure we'll be able to find Taron's ship using it. In fact, I'm sure we'd have a good chance of finding Cayla without the transport trace, but if we're wrong and Cayla was transported from one of Taron's bases on Earth, then we'd just be wasting valuable time. We'll only set out blindly if B'Elanna can't do a trace."

"Does the Delta Flyer have a cloak?"

"It's capable of running one for a short time but not continuously. That means we'll just have to be very careful and only use the cloak when we're leaving Earth and approaching the point of transport."

Vic looked at Kathryn sadly. "I appreciate what you're doing for Cayla, and she would appreciate it too, but she wouldn't want you to risk your life, and your baby's, to rescue her. I think it would be better for me to do this alone. I can take the Delta Flyer, if you'll permit it, and search for her myself. If I find her, then I can call for back-up. But if I'm killed in the search, then only my life will be lost. You and Chakotay will be able to get on with yours."

"There's no way I'm letting you do this alone," Kathryn said firmly. "We're doing it together."

"But you can walk away from this right now and never think about Taron again. Because if I don't succeed, Cayla's debt to Taron will die with her. I owe Cayla a life. You owe her nothing."

"Wrong. I owe her the loyalty of a sister. And even if she wasn't my sister, I wouldn't let her die if there was any hope, no matter how small, that I could save her. I'm not walking away from this. We'll find Cayla and one way or another we'll end this."

Vic stared at her for a moment, an absence in his eyes, then a ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Yes, Ma'am," he said. "We will."

B'Elanna was busy working at a console when Kathryn and Vic arrived at room 10.

"I'm sorry to drag you in so late," Kathryn said to her former chief engineer, "but it's imperative that we get a trace as soon as possible and there's no one I can think of as capable of getting it as you."

"Don't apologize," B'Elanna answered. "I'm only too glad to help. The Doctor hasn't told me much but I presume we're tying to trace the bastard who attacked you and now Chakotay. And to get him, I'lll work on this till I drop dead if I have too." She glanced at Vic. "No disrespect, Detective, but this 24 hour thing really sucks. Don't you know that they are the most crucial? I had my issues with the force when I was in the fleet and now I'm reminded why. It doesn't surprise me at all that this monster it still roaming around attacking people. And if anything happens to Chakotay, it will be on your heads."

"Go easy on the Detective, B'Elanna," Kathryn said. "He's putting his neck on the line for this."

"I guess he is," B'Elanna conceded. "I'm sorry. I just...this beast should have been caught by now. What's taking you so long?"

"He's smart," Vic answered, "elusive. But believe me, no one will be happier when this bastard is behind bars than me."

"Well, whatever help you need to get him there, I'll give," B'Elanna went on, "even if I have to catch him myself."

"That won't be necessary," Kathryn said. "All we need from you is a transport trace. Do you think you can get one?"

"It depends on whether the transporter beam penetrated the security shield or not. If it did then from the intensity and the trajectory I should be able to guess the location of origin. But if the shield was deactivated by an insider to enable transport then there'll be no record to trace. It doesn't appear as though the shield was deactivated, however, so I'm going through the shields history to see if I can find a breach."

Vic questioned. "If there is one, how long will it take you to find it?"

"I don't know. It could be minutes, it could be hours. I have to go through the data visually sector by sector."

"If you tell me what to look for, I'll help," he offered.

"It would take too long to explain. It's best if I just get on with it. And I'm not working on it alone, Admiral Dawson's appointed two other officers to help. We're all going through different sectors. If none of us finds a breach in our own, then we'll go over each others sectors incase one of us missed it."

"I suspect the transport originated from space," Kathryn said. "I might be wrong, and based on that possibility I don't want to waste time flying around space after someone who's not there, but my gut tells me the transport came from a ship. Check the upper sectors first."

"Already am, Captain. "

"Then I'll leave you to it. Let me know as soon as you get a trace." She turned to Vic. "Detective, you can either stay here or wait in my room for news on Chakotay. I've got things to do."

"I'll wait here," he said. "Just incase I can be of some use."

"Ok then," she said, leaving the room. "See you both later."

After arranging with Admiral Dawson for the Delta Flyer to be flown to Rylan Dock, Kathryn sat in her room and waited for news on Chakotay. As she waited, she replicated herself a hot chocolate and sat by the window to drink it. Even though she had slept most of the day, she was absolutely exhausted and her head was pounding. So tired was she that she didn't even notice the Doctor come in.

"I'm glad to see you're taking a breather," he said.

Kathryn looked up at the sound of his voice. "My last for a while, I think."

The Doctor could see her fatigue in her eyes and sat beside her in concern. "You're in no condition to go in search of Cayla. Not only are you recovering from a serious incident, not to mention a serious incident previously, but you're pregnant. Let someone else go. Don't risk your life and your baby's."

"There is no one else," Kathryn replied. "The police can't do anything until tomorrow and there's no way I can let Vic go alone. Besides, he wouldn't know how to operate the Delta Flyer. I have to go. Cayla's life depends on it." She paused. "But I don't want to risk my baby's life. If it's possible, I want you to freeze her."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "You mean...clinical fetal preservation?"

"Yes. That way, if anything happens to me, Chakotay can either find a surrogate mother or have her gestated in an artificial womb."

"There's no guarantee that re-gestation will work," the Doctor said. "2 out of 10 fetuses don't survive the procedure."

"But at three months the majority do. And with 80% odds in our favor, Minessa's chances of survival will be far better frozen than they will be inside me. Taron is a very dangerous man and I might not survive an encounter." She paused. "My only concern is that her body is too stressed by PTT to survive the preservation transport."

"It wouldn't do her any good," the Doctor said, "but such a close range transport wouldn't harm her."

"Then will you do it? I wouldn't trust any other doctor."

"If you're determined to go," the Doctor said sadly, "then yes, I'll do it. But I hope you'll reconsider. We're not on Voyager now. Cayla isn't your responsibility."

"But she is, she's my sister. I can't let her die, not if there's a chance I can save her." She put down the cup in her hands. "And I'd like it if you would come with us. If we find Cayla, she might need urgent medical treatment. Will you consider coming?"

"I don't need to," he answered, "of course I'll come. But I beseech you again to change your mind. Let me accompany the Detective instead of you."

"No. My mind is made up. I won't change it."

The door chime suddenly sounded and Kathryn called out. "Come in!"

The silver doors slid open the nurse came in. "Dr Levitt has finished operating on your husband," she said. "He's still unconscious, and will be for some hours, but you may see him if you wish."

"Thank you," Kathryn said.

The nurse then left and Kathryn turned to the Doctor. "Did you check up on things as I asked?"

"I did. Dr Levitt was doing everything I would expect...and very competently I might add."

"Then I'm satisfied. I was afraid he might be working for Taron."

"No way. And you'll have to be satisfied with his care. For if I'm in space with you, he'll be Chakotay's prime physician."

"So long as I'm leaving him in good hands."

"The best, Captain. I assure you. He's..."

B'lanna's voice, speaking over the comm, interrupted him. "B'Elanna to Janeway."

Kathryn responded. "Janeway here."

"I've got a trace. You were right, the transport came from space. I've pinpointed a rough area of origin."

"Good work, B'Elanna. I knew you could do it."

"I'm going to download all the data for Detective Elliot and then he's going to make his way to your room."

"Acknowledged."

"Any news on Chakotay?"

"Yes. I've just had word. The operation is over and he should be ok."

"Thank God. Is he conscious?"

"Not yet and he'll be out of it for a while. So there's no point in you hanging around. Get yourself home."

"Ok. Let me know when he wakes up."

"I'll see that you're told." She paused. "Goodbye B'Elanna."

"Bye, Captain. B'Elanna out."

As the connection terminated Kathryn got to her feet. "Looks like it's time to depregnatize me."

"Now?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes."

"At least give it more thought. Because once it's done there's no..."

Kathryn cut him short. "Let's just get on with it. We don't have a second to waste."

"Yes, Captain." He gestured to the bed. "Please, lie down."

Kathryn climbed onto the bed and the Doctor prepared for the procedure. As he pulled out the necessary equipment, Kathryn closed her eyes and tried not to think about what was happening. She loved the growing little girl inside her so much that the thought of her not being there was unbearable, but it had to be done and she had to bear it. Being removed once had saved Minessa's life. She could only hope it would again.

"All is ready," the Doctor said at last. "But it isn't too late. You can still..."

"Just do it!" Kathryn cried.

"Very well. Take a deep breath, lie very still..."

Kathryn did as he said and held her breath for what felt like an eternity. Then the Doctor spoke.

"All done. Preservation successful."

Kathryn sat up slowly and the Doctor came over to her with a hypospray.

"This will depregnatize your body," he said, putting it to her neck. "You may suffer cramps for the next few hours and the general symptoms of a menstrual cycle."

"Understood," Kathryn said quietly.

The Doctor returned to Minessa's white preservation cocoon and Kathryn watched with unshed tears as he carefully placed it inside a silver container.

"If...If I don't make it," she said, "and neither does Chakotay, I want her to be adopted. I don't care by whom, so long as they will love her and give her a good life. Chakotay would want that too."

"I'll record your wishes," the Doctor replied.

He then sealed the container and Kathryn felt her heart break, but she had to be strong, had to be focussed.

"When Detective Elliot arrives," she said, "tell him to wait for me in reception. You wait there too...once you've got all your affairs in order. The Delta Flyer will be here within the hour and we'll leave as soon as we can."

"Yes, Captain."

Kathryn then turned to leave but the Doctor called after her.

"Captain..."

Kathryn turned back to him.

"I think you're being very brave."

Tears filled Kathryn's eyes at those words but she suppressed them. "So are you."

Then, without another word, she left.

Dr Levitt had gone by the time Kathryn arrived at Chakotay's bedside and she found her husband alone. He was lying flat on a biobed, only a thin pillow beneath his bandaged head, and he was attached by devices to monitoring equipment. For a long moment Kathryn gazed at him, and then, with tears in her eyes, she sat down and took his strong hand in hers.

"You're going to get through this," she said, "and you're going to be just fine. I wish I could be here when you wake up, wish I could promise you we'll see each other again, but I have to take a trip that might be one-way. Taron's got Cayla and I have to do everything in my power to get her back. I know you'd understand that. And I know you'd understand because you love me for who I am, just as I love you for who you are, and who we are are people who can't stand by when someone is in need." A tear ran down her cheek. "I want so much to come back to you and Minessa...because she's safe, I've made sure of that...but you might have to be a family without me. And if that happens, don't mourn for me. Be thankful that we knew each other, that we loved each other, and that our love made a precious life. Be happy, love again, and make a home for our Minnie that is full of laughter and love." Tenderly, she brushed her fingers against Chakotay's face. "I love you so much, Chakotay. I know I haven't always shown you that love, know I've brought a lot of heartache into your life, but I hope these past few weeks have shown you just how much you mean to me."

Dawson's voice suddenly sounded over the comm. "Dawson to Janeway. The Delta Flyer has arrived."

"Acknowledged," she replied. "Janeway out."

The connection terminated and Kathryn got to her feet. "I have to go now. Be strong, Chakotay. Minessa needs you to be strong. And I know you will be, just as you always have been. So goodbye, my love. I'll leave you as Brutus did Cassius: Whether we shall meet again I know not. Therefore our everlasting farewell take. Forever and forever farewell, Chakotay. If we do meet again, why, we shall smile. If not, why then this parting was well made." Tearfully she lowered her lips to Chakotay's and kissed him softly. "Goodbye, my darling."

Then, without looking back, she left the room.

END OF CHAPTER 38