Chakotay shared a worried look with Tuvok but stayed where he was. The Captain would not appreciate him running after her. He would give her ten more minutes and then find an excuse to make sure she was okay.

"Casualty report is coming in, Commander."

He swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Go ahead, Ensign."

"23 injured, mostly bumps and bruises, the worst are concussions, a few broken bones and Crewman Higgs suffered plasma burns. The Doctor asks for Lieutenant Paris' help."

Tom had already swiveled around in his chair as he listened to the report. They exchanged one glance, Chakotay nodded and Tom was on his way to the turbolift.

Chakotay closed his eyes for a moment in relief. Their crew would be alright. His thoughts strayed back to his captain. She had scared him this morning! He recalled the horror of seeing her being flung onto the deck and hearing Harry's frantic call. With a few strides he had been at her side, with a blink of an eye back at that forsaken planet, only her and him and a broken shuttle. He had forgotten all about transporters and a smug EMH just waiting to be praised for pulling off yet another miracle.

To his immense relief, Kathryn hadn't been as badly injured as he had feared and they had resumed to work side by side as they always had to get rid of their newest enemy.

He called up the latest reports on his terminal and tried to decide which of them to take to the captain. He was aware that she could easily read all of them on her own terminal in her ready room. He just didn't want to come empty handed. She already got the engineering report, maybe…

Everyone heard her strangled cry. The activity on the bridge came to a sudden stop. The very air tingled with trepidation.

He hurried to the ready room door and typed in his override code, doubting that she could answer a polite chime.

"Kathryn, no!", he breathed as he rushed to her crumpled form. This time he didn't hesitate and promptly called for an emergency beam out. Numbly, he watched her disappear.

The whole bridge seemed to hold its breath when he came back. What should he tell them, that he didn't even know whether she was still alive?

"Captain Janeway has been beamed to sickbay and is currently treated for her injuries. I am sure she will be alright," he said with a conviction he didn't feel. It must have been enough as everybody went back to their tasks if slightly subdued.

Purposefully, he made his way to the turbolift.

"Lieutenant Tuvok, you have the bridge."

The Vulcan looked at him intently and inclined his head.

"Please tell the Captain that we wish her a speedy recovery."

Chakotay still felt oddly numb and let his feet carry him automatically. He was surprised to end up in his quarters instead of sickbay. He shrugged. At least he could be useful this way and read some reports.

The minutes ticked by. Commander Chakotay sighed as he put down the report he had been trying to read. After ten minutes of staring at the same sentence he finally admitted defeat. He just couldn't concentrate right now. It would have been easy to simply call sickbay and ask after Kathryn's condition. It should have been. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. So why didn't he?

But surely the doctor would have called him by now, if… No news was good news, right?

He sighed again and loosened his tight grip on the armrests of his chair. That is why he had yet to check up on her. It felt a bit like Schrodinger's cat dilemma: as long as he didn't check, Kathryn was still alive.

He started pacing while he berated himself for being a coward. Even Tuvok expected him to be at her side.

The vision came unbidden to his mind. There lay Kathryn on the center biobed with a bustling activity around her, alarms going off, Paris' and Kes' pale faces while they were offering medical equipment to a frantic EMH. What if she had been bleeding internally this whole time, what if she had rebroken one of her ribs and it had punctured her lung or… What if they were too late?

He took the glass of tea that he had absentmindedly requested of his replicator in his trembling hands.

"Sickbay to Commander Chakotay".

The glass fell, spilling hot tea over his hands and uniform. He hardly felt it, he only heard and felt the thrum of his heartbeat in his ears, his throat, even his finger tips.

"Chakotay here," he acknowledged the call.

"Commander, you better get down here. The Captain-"

"I'll be right there!", he cut across the doctor's voice and left his quarters on a run, though he slowed down to a brisk stride once he arrived at deck 5.

Chakotay panted slightly when he reached sickbay and took three deep breaths before entering it with dread.

It was not the atmosphere he envisioned, on the contrary. Everything seemed quite serene. A few patients were situated on the various biobeds and chairs, but no one seemed to be in immediate danger, as far as he could tell. Most were alert and chatting. Tom Paris was administering a hypospray to Ensign Wildman and the Doctor leaned over Crewman Higgs while Kes handed him the tools he needed.

His gaze was drawn to the surgical bay, but the biobed was empty.

"Where is the Captain?"

The Doctor looked up to meet his gaze. "She is gone, Commander!"

Chakotay felt lightheaded and needed to lean on the nearest biobed for support. His worst fears were confirmed! But where was she? Had they already put her in a stasis tube? But why, to spare the crew?

A small, warm hand on his arm made him look up into Kes' smiling face, understanding, comfort and a tiny bit of mirth dancing in her eyes.

Something shifted in his perspective. "What do you mean, she is gone?"

The Doctor huffed in annoyance. "The Captain left sickbay without my consent. I wasn't nearly done treating her injuries. She may be the Captain, but she can't override my authority like this." They heard a snicker from the corner. "You have something to say, Mr. Paris?"

"Yes, sir! She woke up, saw your face and bolted right out the door." There was unmistakable adoration in his voice.

"You sound as if you admire such behavior," came the Doctor's acerbic reply.

"I am not sure whether it was the best move on her part considering her injuries," Tom admitted. "But I do admire her. She has great reaction time!"

The EMH turned back to Chakotay. "So you see, Commander, I need my patient back as soon as possible. Could you please return her to my care? That would be all, thank you." He turned back to Crewman Higgs. Kes smiled apologetically at Chakotay as she approached her next patient. Tom Paris grinned and shrugged. "I am sure you will find her, Chakotay."

Of course. Dumbfounded, he turned and left sickbay.