Just One More Day
Author: Naomitrekkie
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or its characters, but the ones I made up are all mine.
A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since i've updated. Here you go. Thank you to all my devoted readers, enjoy this long awaited chapter. Thanks for sticking with me!
Enjoy!
Chapter 17
Tom and Chakotay heard screaming before they even knew where they were. Once they got past the sheer loudness of it, they were able to understand the words and identify the voice's owner, an extremely agitated B'Elanna Torres.
"I WANT YOU OUT NOW! GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE OR I SWEAR TO KAHLESS I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND, YOU VULCAN P'TAK!"
"How much you wanna bet she's yelling at Vorik?" Tom asked Chakotay, who was secretly revealing in the knowledge that his competition was getting verbally harassed.
"Tom, I'd never take that bet. Let's go investigate."
With that, the two of them made their way out of the Meeting Hall and toward the source of the yelling. It lead them to a house they had seen before, a house Tom wasn't particularly fond of. That is, until he saw Vorik being thrown out the front door and stumbling outside, while B'Elanna stood in the entrance, completely pissed off.
"I am only leaving for the child's sake," Vorik said as he straightened himself and his shirt. Then he walked off in the opposite direction of Tom and Chakotay, not even noticing them. B'Elanna's angry face changed to the brink of tears after Vorik was long gone. She still stood in the door frame, yet to notice either Tom or Chakotay's presence.
When she finally looked up, the first thing she saw was blue eyes, smiling blue eyes. She stood there for a moment, to make sure it was real, before quickly crossing the gap between herself and Tom, bringing him into a passionate kiss, which stopped only for her to hug him and cling to him as if her life depended on it.
"Oh Tom, you're here. You've come," she said.
"You betcha. It seems I've come just in time, too," Tom said.
"Believe me, your timing could have been better," she said, taking his hand and placing it on her pregnant belly, so he could feel the baby's kick.
"She's so much like her mother," he said, "what an active and beautiful child she is."
"Tom, how did you know it was a girl?" B'Elanna asked, amazed.
"Because I've met her, well, a possible future version of her. By the way, how long have you guys been here?" he asked.
"Two years," she said, slightly dazed. "What do you mean you've met a future version of her?"
Before another word could be said, a voice from behind them started screaming.
"Kes! KES! KES!" none other than Kathryn Janeway screamed. The three of them turned and headed toward her, as did many other people. Kes sprinted over and was the only one to enter the room. Chakotay pushed himself close to Janeway, both trying to get closer to her and see what was wrong.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It's Naomi. She's had another attack," Janeway said, too distraught to even notice she was talking to Chakotay. She focused on the crying redheaded toddler in her arms. "Katrina, shhhh, shhhh, Mommy's here. Everything's going to be OK. Shhhh, baby, shhhh." She rocked the child in her arms but Katrina cried on, not a piercing scream-cry, but more of a teary whimper.
"Here," Chakotay said, taking Katrina from Janeway, "let me try."
As soon as she was in Chakotay's arms, Katrina stopped her crying and fell asleep, feeling safe in his protective presence.
"That's amazing," Janeway said, "she's always so stubborn when it comes to crying."
"I guess it just takes a father's protection to scare away all the problems in the world," Chakotay said, and for the first time, Janeway realized who she was talking to.
"Chakotay?" she asked in disbelief. "How did you get here? When? And–"
"Shhhh," Chakotay said, putting his index finger of the hand not holding Katrina to her lips. "I'll explain everything, let's just move away from all the commotion.
"I like that plan," she said, a smile on her face. Thoughts of things escaped them as Chakotay told Janeway about how they came to be there, conveniently leaving out the end of their plan.
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Inside, Kes had rushed over to Naomi and reached out to her with her mental powers. Naomi was alive, but just barely. Her breathing was shallow, so shallow it was invisible unless you stared at her from just the right angle. Her heartbeat was also slow, and Kes was concerned. She only knew of one possible way to help Naomi, and she wasn't even sure that would work, even if she cold do it properly.
"Kes, can you help her?" Sam asked, teary eyed and shaking. Kes couldn't look at Sam and not feel all the worse. Naomi was all Sam had left and the despair of losing Naomi showed on Sam's face. Kes had never seen someone look so torn to pieces in her life and was determined to do everything in her power to help Naomi.
"There may be something, but I can't make any promises," Kes said, trying not to give Sam false hope.
"Please, do it. If it has even the most remote possibility of working, do it, please." Sam was practically begging and Kes could not bear to see her friend this distraught any longer.
"I promise I'll do everything I can," Kes said with a soothing touch to Sam's hand. Sam nodded her understanding, then backed away, giving Kes her space. She watched as Kes put her hands on Naomi's face to strengthen the telepathic bond and did not move from the sight. She watched them diligently, afraid to lose her daughter at any second.
Please, if there's some higher power, please let Naomi live. Please don't take my daughter from me. Please, she pleaded with any god that might exist. It was hard enough being separated from her husband, but she wasn't sure she could bear to lose her daughter and last connection to him. Please, save her.
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The information about what had happened had leaked through the crowd and into Tom and B'Elanna's ears. Tom said nothing, feeling horrible, while silently praying she lived, not just for their purposes, but because he really liked the girl. B'Elanna and her hormones were upset and worried, while she clutched her pregnant belly and held it tight as if afraid to lose her daughter if she let go.
"Come on, let's go find someplace to sit and wait, someplace quiet," Tom said, leading B'Elanna to a bench near the center of the village. They sat together and B'Elanna did not let go of Tom's hand, leaning on him for support.
"It's not looking good for Naomi," B'Elanna said. "She's having a relapse."
"Shhhh, shhhh, B'Elanna. Naomi will be fine. Kes is in there and I've seen Kes' ability to heal. Naomi will make it, she will."
"Oh, Tom, I'm so scared," she said and Tom knew this was not about Naomi.
"Don't worry, B'Elanna, I've seen it and you make an excellent mother."
"You're just saying that," she said.
"No, I'm not. This child may be half Vulcan, but you're able to bring her up to both express and surpress her emotions while still be a fun, beautiful little girl, plus she's got a mother who loves her more than life itself. Believe me, B'Elanna, this girl is lucky to have you for her mother."
"Oh, Tom, I love you," she said. "This thing with Vorik, it was because of some stupid Vulcan mating cycle, pon favv or something. If I didn't he would have died and—"
"Shhhh," he said, putting his finger to her lips, "I know and I don't blame you. You did the right thing. I understand completely and I love you too."
Neither said anything more, as there was really nothing more to be said, at least nothing more they wanted to talk about yet. All they wanted to do was sit there together, forever if possible.
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Baby Katrina woke up and looked around with her large blue eyes. She smiled and reached up with her arm and grabbed onto Chakotay's nose, then touched his tattoo.
"Da-da," she said for the first time. This was not her first word, but the way the family reacted it may as well have been.
"Yes, Katrina, I'm your Daddy," Chakotay said and she giggled.
"Ma-ma! Da-da!" she cheered, squirming to escape. Chakotay put her down on the ground and she started running in a small circle around them both, to the amusement of her parents.
"She's beautiful," Chakotay told Kathryn, "just like her mother."
Janeway playfully punched his arm, smiling the entire time. It was so good to have him back.
But it didn't last long. Soon he was gone, leaving a sad Janeway and a confused Katrina.
"Ma-ma, wur da-da?" she asked, her large blue eyes looking up at her mother with all their childhood innocence.
"I don't know, Sweetheart, I don't know."
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Tom had his arm wrapped around B'Elanna, and she was snuggled in his chest. She was beginning to fall asleep, feeling safe with Tom protecting her. She was too tired to stay awake; her screaming match with Vorik earlier had really drained her. She had finally found some peace in her world. She couldn't have been happier that Tom had returned. As she had gotten further along with her pregnancy, Vorik had been irritating her more and more, but the reality was she had been more irritated by the fact he wasn't Tom. She had been feeling guilty and frustrated but now that was gone. Tom had understood and that had lifted a great pressure off of her shoulders. She felt so much better.
But then he'd said it. He loved her.
He loved her.
Even though she was carrying someone else's baby, he loved her. If she had the strength, she might have cried. She didn't deserve him, but for right now, she didn't care. She just wanted to sleep in his arms forever. She never wanted this moment to end. Part of her fought her tired eyelids but his whispers of "I love you" in her ears relaxed her and she let sleep come.
She wasn't sure how long it took, but after a while she felt Tom kiss the top of her head, waking her up. She looked at him and he kissed her long and hard on the lips, then disappeared. She was too tired to really understand what was happening, but a part of her felt as if this were merely a dream, while part of her knew this was more than that. It was real, and while the kiss had warmed her, she knew she'd never see Tom again.
It both made her stronger and broke her heart. She knew she loved Tom, and for him, she'd continue.
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Kes entered Naomi's mind. It was a strange thing, to go in this deep. Naomi was hiding deep inside herself and Kes had to go in and find her if this was going to work.
It was a strange thing, to be in the mind of a child. Naomi had so many creative ideas, usually, which Kes had only seen in passing, but now, it was totally different. The outer layers of Naomi's mind were barren and empty, like a wasteland. As Kes journeyed in deeper, she began to see a forest of thick, prickly, thorny trees. She ventured in them, as she knew this was where Naomi was hiding. She used her mental powers to push the thorns away, but the vines wouldn't budge. Naomi's mind was stronger than Kes knew.
"Naomi! Naomi, it's me, Kes! Please let me in! I'm here to help!"
At first, nothing happened. Kes would have yelled out again, but a small gap in the thorns opened and Kes saw a light emerge from it. It was just big enough for her to crawl through, so she did. She entered and was amazed by the beauty of Naomi's secret little world.
"Naomi," Kes said to the little girl, who stood in the center of her world wearing a beautiful pink dress and her hair done up in curls, with a flower crown adorning her head. "Naomi, I'm going to help you. Take my hands, and I'll take the pain away. I promise."
The small girl had an innate trust of Kes and took her hands. She was a bit shy about letting go of her pain, but Kes was able to convince her to let go.
Kes hadn't been ready for the shear amount of the pain. It was so great, much greater than anything she had been expecting. Naomi's face relaxed some from the slightly tense look it had possessed, but Kes would not have believed that Naomi had been able to look as peaceful as she had while bearing this pain. Kes wasn't sure she could do it, but she knew she had to try.
Taking another look at Naomi to gather internal strength, she focused on the pain and used it to help her control her thoughts. She took over Naomi's nervous system and made the pain disappear. She focused all her energy and concentrated on bringing Naomi's body back to normal levels and healing her. It took more concentration than she knew she had, but Naomi's calm and trusting presence helped her and gave her strength.
She was progressing so far but then something changed. Suddenly, the pain grew again, so suddenly it shocked Kes into place. It was worse than the pain had been before, but Kes held on, more by inability to move than by choice. Even with her taking a load of the pain, Naomi's face changed drastically, suddenly becoming one of a person in complete and total pain. Kes tried to suppress the pain and work around it to control both of their nervous systems, but it was too great.
Somehow, Kes managed to make it work and heal them both, but she knew one thing for certain. Had she not been there, Naomi would not have been able to bear it. She would have died and Kes had no explanation as to why.
To Be Continued . . .