Just One More Day

Author: Naomitrekkie

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or its characters.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! Enjoy the penultimate chapter!

Chapter 18

It had happened. They had jumped.

Both knew that this was their last chance, their only hope. They would never see the ones they loved again, not ever.

They had to be quick, they knew that, but still, they had to take in the sights around them. There they stood, directly under Voyager. Their calculations had been correct.

They couldn't see the crew, but they didn't want to. If they did, they would be distracted and they couldn't afford to be distracted, not now.

The bottom of Voyager was still open, but it was closing fast. Tom and Chakotay had to run to make it on, but they did, just in time. The found themselves greeted by two Kazon, which they quickly and silently took down. With the Kazon unconscious and the clock ticking, they told the computer to mask their bio-signs. Then Tom scanned the ship for the location of the Kazon. Finding a safe passage, they hurried to Sickbay, the only place that could help them.

Chakotay gathered the Kazon's weapons as Tom worked, then they headed out, taking the fastest Kazon-free route. Tom lead the way with his tricorder and Chakotay followed behind him, alert for Kazon.

They knew what they had to do once they got to Sickbay, and in the back of his mind, Chakotay was having doubts. He didn't want to think about what ifs and such. It was going to work, it had to. It was the only way, and they had to be quick. While they ran, the chronitons and antichronitons were building, threatening little baby Naomi's life. They had to do this now, or it was all over.

They made it to Sickbay and Tom got to work while Chakotay stood guard. This was more Tom's area of expertise, but Chakotay wished it was his so he could be the one working and not thinking about everything. He didn't want to think about what they were about to do, or he'd think himself out of it.

But he got an idea. He knew there was something he could do. He pressed some buttons on the computer screen and began. He didn't have much time, but it didn't take much time, either. He was done by the time Tom was, and they set their plan in motion.

Chakotay just hoped his idea worked, but there was no time for that because everything was going black. It was the end and the last thing he saw before death was an image of Kathryn with Katrina and him from their previous jump.

"I love you, Kathryn," he whispered, then there was nothing.

-------------------------------------

On the planet, the crew of Voyager stood ready for the ship to fly off, but that moment never came. Instead, the bottom of the ship opened after what seemed like hours and Janeway, being the Captain, lead a team inside to investigate. They had been expecting a struggle but found none. Instead there was only dust and guns lying on the floor every so often.

Janeway made her way to a console and asked who was on board. The computer gave only the species making up the boarding party.

"What happened here?" Janeway asked.

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"From where?"

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"Who sent it?"

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"Alright then, open it," Janeway said, trying not to be too moody. She didn't want to become an emotional wreck in front of her crew. When she saw the message, however, she wished she was alone. It was from Chakotay and whatever he had to say would leave her an emotional wreck, she just knew it.

"Kathryn," he began, "it's me. I'm here, with Tom, trying to stop the Kazon. There was a sort of temporal accident, and we're from the future, only now it's not the future any longer. We've changed it, but in order to do so, we had to kill everyone. Tom set it up so that all living things — except in the kitchen and Airponics — will be disintegrated and Voyager should open up when it's safe. Have the Doctor check Naomi as quickly as possible — she may still be suffering from antichroniton poisoning, we aren't really sure what will happen. We only know this was they only way. The only way to save you and all of Voyager. Kathryn, I love you, and I'll love you forever. You and Katrina."

With that the message ended and Janeway was frozen in place. It was too much to take in. That and her raging hormones caused her to overload and black out. If Harry Kim hadn't been standing next to her, she would have hit her head too.

-------------------------------------

Janeway opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling of Sickbay. With all the time she'd been spending in Sickbay recently, she didn't think she would ever get the smell of the place out of her mind.

Only, she didn't know why she was there. She tried to remember what she had been doing before she arrived there, but she couldn't. She was drawing a blank. She tried to focus her thoughts, when it suddenly all came flooding back to her. Chakotay's message and all. He'd told her how he felt and that he was doing this for her, for them all. He had died so to get them home, to save them from the Kazon.

She started crying. How could this be happening to her? How could Chakotay have died, not even knowing about their child? She wanted to cry until she had no more tears. This wasn't real — it couldn't be. It just couldn't. She wouldn't believe he died.

And then she heard it. His voice. He was calling her name, calling out to her.

"Kathryn, Kathryn, are you awake?" he asked and Janeway tried to blink the tears from her eyes to see his face. She felt him take her hand and hold it close, but she could only make out a blurry image of his face.

But that was enough. She sat up quickly, needing to hug him. She needed to feel that he was really there, more than holding hands would allow.

Tears fell again, but this time from joy rather than distress.

"Oh, Chakotay, I thought I'd lost you," she said. "How did you survive?"

"Survive the shuttle ride? Tuvok and Tom aren't that bad of company."

"No, I meant, in your message, you said . . . you said it would kill every living thing. How did you survive?"

"That wasn't me," he said. Before she could object, he added, "I saw the message, and it was from me, but a different me. One from the future. A future that won't ever exist because of what he did."

At least part of it will still exist, she thought, thinking of her unborn child. Then she remembered something. In the message, he'd said he loved her and Katrina. She didn't know anyone named Katrina, except for maybe one little child yet to be born.

Thinking of their child caused Janeway to cry again.

"Hey, shhh, shhh," Chakotay said, attempting to calm her. "Everything will be alright."

"That's not it. Chakotay, before you left, before I sent you away, I was trying to tell you something, something important." Chakotay sat patiently waiting and Janeway tried not to lose her momentum. She needed to tell him now, before she chickened out. "I'm pregnant."

Chakotay heard the words but did not respond. Janeway waited for something, any sort of sign to tell her how Chakotay felt. After a few minutes of silence, she had to speak up. She needed to know what he was thinking.

"Chakotay?" she asked.

"A baby?" he managed. The whole incident with Seska and the Kazon rattled him. "A baby . . . That's wonderful."

"Really?" Janeway asked, feeling very insecure.

"Really," Chakotay answered.

"I love you, Chakotay."

Then she kissed him, letting him know that wasn't going to hide anymore. She loved him and their unborn baby and she was never going to hide that love, not ever again.

Almost the end. Just a short epilogue to follow. Please review!