Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

Way The Wind Blows

Chapter Ten

When Kathryn left, Mark wandered over to the nearest window and looked out. Chakotay studied him carefully. So, this was Mark. This was the man Kathryn would have married had Voyager not been stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He wasn't exactly what Chakotay had imagined, even though Kathryn had shown him a couple of photographs. With his untidy hair and shabby long coat, he didn't look like the distinguished and accomplished scholar Kathryn had described.

"Great view," Mark said. He then turned back to Chakotay. "Nice place here, isn't it?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied. "It's a very beautiful part of the world."

Mark sat on a stone windowseat. "I don't believe I've told you my name. I'm Mark, Mark Johnson."

"Pleased to meet you."

Mark studied Chakotay as closely as Chakotay was studying him. Could this be the man Kathryn had been talking about earlier? Was this the man she had found "captivating"? He was certainly very handsome, even if he was Kathryn's senior by at least fifteen years.

"I take it you're a Starfleet officer?"

"Yes," Chakotay answered. "What about you? What's your profession?" He thought it was better to pretend he didn't know.

"I'm a philosopher. I'm part of a symposium in south America, the Questor Group."

"Very impressive," Chakotay replied. "The Questor Group is famous throughout the Federation for producing thought provoking theories that are scientifically sound."

"Yes. I'm privileged to work with some great philosophers. I'm not really involved in the scientific side of things, though, but I am active in debates over the origin of our existence. The Group works so well because we have people from all different kinds of backgrounds and religions, so there is never any bias towards one. I'm a theist, for example, so I always present things from a theist perspective, whereas others will present things from an atheist or polytheist perspective. I don't think the Group would work as well without our diversity."

There was a moment of silence, then Mark spoke again.

"For you to be here, this mission you're on must involve this area somehow. I know you can't tell me much, if anything, but Kathryn's my friend and I care about her. Is this area under any threat? Is she safe here?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied. "She's safe. There's no threat to this area."

"Kathryn clearly knows something about what is going on, but I don't believe she's involved in this mission. If she was, it wouldn't have been left to her dog to find you." He paused, his tone not exactly friendly. "And I think it should stay that way. Don't endanger her life just to save your own."

"I'd never do that," Chakotay replied. "I care for her too. She's not in any danger."

Mark hesitated with his next words. "I don't know if Kathryn's told you, but if she hasn't, then I think you should know. She's been through a difficult time over the past couple of years. Her father and fiancé were killed in a terrible accident which she herself was in. Aswell as having to deal with their loss, she's had to deal with survivor guilt. She tries to make out that she's a real tough cookie, but she has a tender heart, and right now it's very fragile." He looked Chakotay direct in the eye. "Don't break it."

Chakotay flinched at his words and Mark responded.

"I wasn't born yesterday. I can see that something is going on between you and Kathryn...or at least that it might. And if does, be good to her. She deserves to be happy."

Chakotay made no reply. Mark was clearly a very caring, moral, intelligent and well-educated man; exactly the kind of man Kathryn deserved. It wasn't hard to see why she had fallen in love with him. And Chakotay couldn't help feel a sense of inferiority in his company. For almost seven years he had loved Kathryn deeply, but always, in the back of his mind, was the feeling that he wasn't good enough for her.

Mark got to his feet. "I'd better tell my friend that all is well. He'll only be worrying. Do you mind if I go outside?"

"Not at all," Chakotay replied. "Go ahead."

"I won't be long."

With that, he left the room, leaving Chakotay alone.

As soon as she arrived back at the cabin, Kathryn hurried to the back yard and over to the added transporter room. It was quite a large extension, but could only be accessed from the yard. Kathryn quickly keyed in the access code. She was breathless and sweaty, as she had run up the mountain, wanting to reach her destination as quickly as she could. Never had she made it from the castle to the cabin in such a short time before, and she doubted she ever would again. It usually took over an hour to make the journey, she had made it in twenty minutes.

Unlike the rest of the cabin, the transporter room had an automatic door, and it slid open. Kathryn stepped inside, and Petunia faithfully followed. The room was dark as it only had a small window that gave poor light.

"Computer," Kathryn said. "Lights."

Lights instantly came on, giving Kathryn much better vision. To her left, a large cobweb hung from a transporter pad, and Kathryn brushed it away with her hand, thankful there was no spider attached to it. She hated bugs. Then she went over to a long console at her right and switched it on. As soon as it illuminated, she scanned the castle area for lifesigns. There were only two, both male. One was moving, the other was still. They had to belong to Mark and Chakotay. She locked on to their lifesigns, energized, and then turned around to watch them materialize on the pad.

When they appeared, Kathryn smiled. "Looks like I got you both safe and sound." Still sweating, she wiped her brow and made her way over to a small replicator in a corner of the room. "Excuse my poor hospitality, but I need a drink." She replicated a glass of water and gulped it down as soon as it materialized. When she was finished, she turned back to her guests.

"Would you gentlemen like a drink?"

"No, thank you," Mark and Chakotay answered, almost in unison.

Then Mark spoke again. "I think I'd better get back to the complex, Kath. Bob says some impromptu lectures are taking place. I'd better attend them."

Kathryn suspected this was more of a gesture than a genuine desire to leave, but she wasn't going to argue as his presence was unnecessarily complicating things.

"Sure. Would you like me to transport you there?"

"No, it's okay. I can request a beam out."

As he reached into his pocket for his communication device, Kathryn stepped forward. "I'm really glad you came today, Mark. I've enjoyed your company. Are we still on for tennis next week?"

Mark smiled. "You bet."

Kathryn smiled in return. "I'll see you then, then."

Mark turned to Chakotay. "It's been good to meet you, Jack. I wish you all the best with your mission."

"Thank you," Chakotay replied.

Mark then activated his communication device. "Johnson 05 to Platonian 03. Return transportation request."

A woman's voice responded. "Request received. Stand by for transport."

Mark smiled at Kathryn again. "Goodbye, Kath."

"Goodbye, Mark."

A blue transporter beam then engulfed him, and he dematerialized.

When he was gone, Kathryn looked down at Chakotay. "You didn't tell him, did you? I mean, about staying here?"

"No," Chakotay answered. "I didn't tell him anything."

Kathryn relaxed at that and then returned to the transporter console. "I'll transport you to the living room. It's more comfortable there to treat you. I would have transported you there directly, but this transporter has limited functions. All transports must either begin or end here." She worked the console. "Initializing transport."

Seconds later, Chakotay disappeared.

When Chakotay rematerialized in the living room, he found himself sitting on the soft rug before the fireplace. There was no fire in the hearth now, but the room was still warm and inviting. He couldn't believe that of all the people who could have found him, it had to be Kathryn. But perhaps it was for the best. Perhaps her finding him was the reason he had not yet been transported back to Voyager. Perhaps his role in the history of her life was not yet over.

An exterior door in the kitchenette opened, and Kathryn appeared, followed by Petunia. As she passed through the kitchenette, she replicated a bowl of water and gave it to her dog. Petunia eagerly began to drank it. Kathryn then washed her hands, picked up her med-kit, and made her way into the living room.

"Welcome back," she said, making her way over to Chakotay.

"Thank you," he replied. "And thank you for all you did just now... for not revealing my identity."

Kathryn took off her mack and threw it to the sofa. "Far be it from me to ruin this "mission" that you're on," she smiled. She knelt beside him. "If you fell on the rocks, how on earth did you manage to make it up to the castle?"

"Sheer determination. I knew I had to make it there if I wanted to be found. I also needed a place to shelter in the meantime. It could have been days before someone found me."

"It could have indeed. And whoever found you would most likely have sent you to a doctor, if not to a hospital."

"I know. I was just hoping I could talk them into treating me themselves."

Kathryn opened her med-kit.. "What were you doing going to the castle, anyway? Do you have a cloaked ship there or something? I mean, you weren't likely to find anything there that would help you return to your own time-frame."

"I was just going there to take shelter. The weather had turned pretty bad so I thought I'd go there until it improved." He paused. "I should never have wandered away from the path, though. I should have stayed where I was. I broke the golden rule of mountain survival...stay where you are in a fog."

Kathryn looked down at Chakotay's legs. "Which leg do you think you've broken?"

"My right."

Kathryn gently pulled up his trouser leg so she could look at his injury, and saw that it was painfully red and swollen.

"Sure looks broken. Let's just see how broken." She picked up a medical tricorder and scanned his leg. "Not too bad. A clean break in the tibia." She then began to scan the rest of his body. "Multiple bruises... three cracked rear ribs... cuts to the hands... head trauma...mild concussion..." She looked up at him. "Quite a fall. You must be in considerable pain."

Chakotay smiled. "Let's just say I've felt better."

Kathryn put away her tricorder, picked up a hypospray, fiddled with it, and then put it to Chakotay's neck. "This will anaesthetize your lower leg."

The drug worked immediately. As the terrible pain eased, so did the grimace on Chakotay's face. "Thank you..."

"It shouldn't be hard to set your leg," Kathryn continued. She looked up at him, half in seriousness, half in jest. "That is if I am so inclined. If I fix your leg, how do I know you won't try to run away again and get yourself into worse trouble?"

"I think I learnt my lesson," Chakotay replied.

"I hope so. You can't wander around the countryside, just hoping you'll get where you want to be. You're going to need help to get back to your own time-frame."

Chakotay smiled. "Are you volunteering?"

"Of course," she smiled in return. "But I think we should wait a few days before doing anything. Your people might yet come for you, it hasn't been that long, and you're going to need to rest for a couple of days."

"That's fine with me."

Kathryn then averted her eyes and was distinctively uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm sorry about what happened last night. You tried to do something nice for me and I...It won't happen again."

"It's alright, Kathryn."

Kathryn continued to look at her hands. "I don't make a habit of it, you know...offering myself to men I don't know."

"I hope not," Chakotay said kindly. "Because it won't do you any good. It might offer a brief respite from the pain, but in the end it will only hurt you more."

"It just felt right," she went on, "even though I know it was wrong. You don't feel like a stranger to me. I feel like I know you. And when I'm with you, I feel loved."

"That's because you are," Chakotay said gently.

At that, Kathryn looked up at him and looked deep into his eyes. "Yesterday, when I looked into the well, I saw your face. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now I'm thinking..." She paused. "In the future, are you my husband?"

Now it was Chakotay's turn to avert his eyes. "I've told you, Kathryn. I'm not married."

"I know, but I thought that perhaps you were just saying that."

"No, it's the truth." He looked up at her. "But I do love you, Kathryn. Very much."

Kathryn frowned, perplexed. "Then why aren't we together? Don't I love you?"

She asked that question as though it seemed impossible she could not. "I can't speak for your heart, Kathryn."

"But how could I not love you? Am I insane in the future?"

Tears unexpectedly welled in Chakotay's eyes at that. This Kathryn was so sure that she could love him, was so sure that he was worth loving.

"I'm not the man you think I am," he said quietly. "Between now and when you know me, a lot is going to happen to me. I'm not the great Starfleet Officer you think I am."

Kathryn considered a moment, and then questioned again. "If we're not married in the future, are we lovers?"

"We're colleagues and we're friends," Chakotay replied. "That's all you need to know."

His words were unsettling and Kathryn uncomfortably got to her feet. "I'd better get started on your injuries. I'll treat your back first and then set your leg. I think it would be better to put you to sleep. It could take a while."

"Alright."

"Let's get your mack and sweater off."

Kathryn helped Chakotay to remove his mack and sweater, and then helped him to lie on his front. His back was covered in bruises, but Kathryn couldn't help observe how well-toned his body was and what soft and smooth skin he had. Goose bumps appeared on his flesh and Kathryn spoke.

"You're cold." She addressed the computer. "Computer, increase room temperature by five degrees."

The room instantly warmed up.

"Better?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied. "Thank you."

Kathryn then picked up a hypospray, adjusted the setting, and put it to his neck. In moments, Chakotay was asleep.

END OF CHAPTER TEN