By:AW

Published in Unicorn Press. Editor: Nancy Border & Pat
Hayden.

You can buy it from Unicorn Press @
http://members.aol.com/UnicrnPrs/press.htm

Disclaimer: You know it, I know it, I don’t own idea
of Star Trek: Voyager. I just own the story.

Date With Destiny II

of Star Trek: Voyager. I just own the story.

15. An Answer and an Ending

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you go someone to blame

You say
One love
One life
When it’s one need
In the night
It’s one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don’t care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want to go without

Well it’s too late
Tonight
To drag the past out
Into the light
We’re one
But we’re not the same
We get to carry each other
One

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it’s all I got
We’re one
But we’re not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
And then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should

One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers

One life
But we’re not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

One (17)

One

We were one. Then we were separated, and then we were none. Finally we have re-established the bond that bound us through thick and thin on Voyager. The savior of life and love; our connection to one another. I only with I’d seen it sooner, and hadn’t missed out…

But as it always does, life continues. As we always do, we go on.

Kathryn read the poem she recognized as her own choice from those months ago when she had left Kearstin with B’Elanna and Tom. Then she read on and
saw the words, which were Chakotay’s and that, described everything she felt as well as what he believed. That was when she knew that it was now right. That life was as it should be. That they needed to explain and to tell.

“Chakotay…” She wasn’t sure how to say it, or what to say…she just knew they needed to open the lines of communication. Kathryn remembered her words of years ago. Her words when she was still on Voyager. Her words when she was in control, and now it was time to take control once more. “Do you know when we made our mistake? It was the moment we turned away from each other.” There was a pause, a hesitation on Kathryn’s part. She looked at Chakotay and saw the recognition.

“Kathryn…”

“We have to resolve this Chakotay. We have to get back on track, but before we can do that there are things we have to discuss. Issues we have to resolve.”

Chakotay grinned. This was the Kathryn he had fallen in love with the day he had first seen her on the viewscreen of his small Maquis vessel. This was the
Kathryn that Kearstin would learn to live from. This was his Kathryn, the one, no matter how hard he tried he could not live without. “I know, Kathryn, I know. Welcome back.”

Kathryn led the way back to her humble home. She put Kearstin to sleep. Then they sat on her couch and waited. Each waited for the other to make the first move. This is ridiculous. Kathryn took charge, she felt alive for the first time in a long time. “So Chakotay, what happened to you after we got home?”

“Lot’s of things happened. Starfleet lied to both of us I think. I was given a captaincy. I was given all the things you should have been offered. Then cam the ordeal with Section 31. They took me ‘under their wing’ so to speak. Although, I could have done without that particular chapter in my life. They took me from you, they took Justin from you, they took your father, Kearstin. Kathryn, do you realize that I admire and respect you so much for just enduring what you have…”

Kathryn heard the words but didn’t understand. What did events of years ago have to do with today? “Chakotay? What does Justin, and my father…what do they have to do with any of this?”

Chakotay looked down at the floor. “They caused you so much pain. Let’s no rehash things.”

Kathryn stood up and approached him. “Chakotay…I need to know.”

“Kathryn it’s not…”

“Chakotay, listen to me. I have to know. Tell me…please.”

Chakotay considered it. He began with the accident at Tau Ceti. “Kathryn, Justin was part of Section 31, but just like me, I doubt if he had much choice in the matter.” Chakotay looked up to see tears forming in Kathryn’s eyes. This was going to be hard on her, but she had to know. “He was the reason the shuttle was blown up Kathryn. None of you were supposed to survive.”

Kathryn was shocked. All her life she had believed in Starfleet. Believed it was for the good of everyone. Believed it was for the good of a nation so to speak, and here she was being told it had all been a lie. She had lived a lie. But there were good points. This lie had resulted in her meeting Chakotay. It had ended with her giving birth to a beautiful daughter. It had led to her being completely in love and happy. And no matter what, she would always have those things…no matter what was thrown her way. They could not take her life from her, not again.

“Chakotay…it doesn’t matter…what matters is now. The fact that I am with you. That I love you…”

“Kathryn, I’m not done. There is more you need to know.” Chakotay recounted all he knew and had ever known of Section 31. This weighed heavily on him and on Kathryn. He finished and knew that it had lifted a great weight from him, and to a certain extent it had set him free.

“Kathryn there is one more thing I have to tell you. One last thing you have to know.”

“What is it Chakotay?”

“It’s about Christopher.”

Kathryn paled noticeably. Christopher. I haven’t heard his name in a long time. Ioved him too. “What about him?” Her lips were quivering.

Time to close another chapter Kathryn. “He died Kathryn. They told me…”

He hated to see her in pain like this. He felt the tears coursing down his cheeks now too. He knew she believed him but was just lashing out at him.
“Kathryn, they showed me his death certificate. They told me of…”

Chakotay, it can’t be. They can’t take everything from me. It’s not fair. Everyone I have ever loved has suffered because of me. Anyone I have ever been close to has left me, in one way or another…”

Chakotay saw her tormented soul. “Kathryn. I’m still here. Kearstin’s still here. It’s not your fault.” He caught her before she fell. He let her cry out years of pain and anguish. He let her release all the demons of her many years. He let her let go of all the pain and the suffering. He held her and comforted her, and knew that everything would be okay; for she now had
the answers she had needed for much of her life. “Shh…Kathryn, I’ll always be here for you. You will never need another to catch you when you fall. I will always be here for you.”

She seemed to have been comforted by that and slowly let the tears subside.

He lifted her chin up so that she was facing him, and looking straight into his eyes. “Thank you, Chakotay. Without you, I would die…from the inside out.”

Chakotay smiled. “Now are you going to tell me what happened to you during that year? I mean aside from getting kicked out of Starfleet, leaving Earth and
having a baby.” Chakotay grinned. He meant it in a kind way, trying to free them both from the shackles of life. He looked over to see a smile appear on
Kathryn’s face.

“Chakotay, I tried to find you. I loved you so much…I wanted to find you so badly. I thought I couldn’t survive without you.”

Chakotay held onto her tighter. She was like his lifeline and he needed to hold on tight and never let her go. “Kathryn, slow down. What happened to you
during that year?”

Kathryn drew in a deep breath and started her story. She told of how she had been afraid when he had left. About how she didn’t know what happened to any of her crew. She told of the fact that she had been the scapegoat for all the so-called tragedies that had happened in the Delta Quadrant. She recounted how unfair it had felt, but how glad she was that most of her crew had been unharmed, and had been given their proper, must deserved ranks aboard other ships. Most of all she was glad when none of them ended up
suffering for her misdeeds and wrongdoings.

“Then I found out I was pregnant, Chakotay. I knew right away who the father was. I knew it was you, I never betrayed you, and since you left me, I have never known another.”

Chakotay strengthened his hold on her. “I know Kathryn, I know and I love you. That will never change.”

“I know, but…” Kathryn drew in a deep breath. Steadying herself for the discussion about everything she had known in the past year. “I was lost. I didn’t know what to do. I was about five months pregnant when I made my way to see my sister. I hadn’t seen her in so long. I had gone to visit my mother, she had been glad to see me, then I went to see Phoebe. Instead I met her husband.” Kathryn started crying all over again. “He wouldn’t let me see her. He acted as if I was a criminal. He threw me out of her house. He told me if I ever came near her again…” Kathryn couldn’t finish her sentence. It was too hard. “I…”

“Kathryn, it’s over there’s nothing you can do. Your sister is fine I’m sure. I am also sure if he had told her that you visited she would want to see you.”

“Chakotay, I caused them so much pain. I caused everyone so much pain.” She looked down at her feet. “Anyway, then I went to see Tom and B’Elanna, and I told them what I had planned, and that’s when my life changed forever. Four months later I handed my child over and never expected to see her again.”

Chakotay quieted the woman in front of him. “Kathryn, everything is going to be alright now. We’re back together, your…no our daughter is here. I say we make our way back to Earth and to our lives.”

Kathryn nodded. She picked up her daughter and they made their way back to the shuttle. She left behind all the stuff she had acquired and taken with her to
Santos VI. She was off to make a new life with her love.

Yet another chapter forever closed.

/\/\

Chakotay still had connections, his departure from Starfleet not yet general knowledge. He called for transport and took himself, Kathryn and his daughter back home to Earth. They decided they would settle in what was formerly England for a while. Kathryn loved the culture there, and she wanted to expose Kearstin to everything she possibly could.

/\/\

One day three months later, when Kearstin was six months old, Chakotay told Kathryn he needed to go out for a few hours, he had some business that he had to take care of. He boarded a hovercraft, and he made his way to the transport site. He appeared some time later in Indiana, close to where Kathryn had grown up.

He proceeded to Kathryn’s mother’s house where Phoebe and her husband now lived. He rang the bell and waited. A woman answered the door; she looked so much like Kathryn, only younger. Same auburn hair, same deep blue eyes, same structure. This must be Phoebe.

“Hi. You must be Phoebe. My name is Chakotay. I worked with Kathryn when she was aboard Voyager. Could I speak with your husband please?”

Phoebe had a strange almost haunted look on her face. “Jasper? Why do you need to speak to him?”

Phoebe just stepped inside the house, not sure what she should do. “Jasper! There’s someone at the door who wants to talk to you.” She returned to the spot where Chakotay stood. “Is Kathryn alive? Is she well?”

Chakotay realized that her sister was very much in the dark. “Yes, she is fine. She is alive and well and I’m sure some day she will come back to talk to you.
She’s just going through some emotional times right now.”

Phoebe turned to leave as Jasper approached. She turned around. “Chakotay, if you see her…tell her I love her, I always will…and I miss her terribly. Give
her my best wishes.” With that, Phoebe stepped away from her last lifeline to her sister.

“Hello can I help you with something? I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Chakotay took a deep breath trying to calm himself. “No we haven’t met, but you have met Kathryn Janeway. You hurt her, and for that I will never forgive you. I just wanted you to know that. Phoebe wants to see her,
and I won’t stop her, and if you do, god help you.”

The man laughed. “What are you going to do? Kill me? I know who you are. I know what you’ve done. You were a Maquis; you hurt and killed countless people. All I have to say is you don’t scare me, and I won’t let Kathryn Janeway anywhere near this house.”

“You know…Phoebe knows she’s alive, and she’s going to want to see her. So next time she drops by, you’d better have a better welcoming for her.” Chakotay turned to leave.

“Was that a threat Commander? I don’t respond well to terrorists, or men without a shred of honor or dignity.”

Chakotay couldn’t take it anymore. He turned and grabbed the man’s shirt and slammed him into the wall. He got very close and said the words, almost in a whisper. “You listen to me. If you ever hurt Kathryn again, if you ever hurt either of them again, I will hunt you down and make you pay for what you’ve done.”

He dropped the stunned man to the floor and left, hoping never to see the vile son of a bitch ever again.

/\/\

Kathryn had taken the time while Chakotay was out of town to take a visit to the doctor. If her suspicions were right, and she had every reason to believe they were, there would be an addition to their family. She needed to talk to Chakotay about something more permanent for a family situation. It would happen, of that she was sure. She had never been more positive of anything, except the fact that she loved Chakotay and needed him in her life.

/\/\

Chakotay stopped by Mrs. Janeway’s house on the way into town to the transport site. He had spoken with her many weeks ago; he had asked if she would approve his marriage to her eldest daughter. She had said yes, and she had offered him the engagement ring which had bene in the family for years and which was always passed on to the oldest daughter. So he went to the Janeway house.

“Mrs. Janeway, how are you?”

She looked at him in stunned silence. She had begun to wonder if it were a dream. The dashing man coming to her daughter’s rescue. A wedding proposal. “Chakotay?”

He grinned and showed off his dimples and nodded. She knew why her daughter had fallen head over heels for this man. He was beautiful, and kind and generous.

“I have to get back to our home. I left Kathryn with Kearstin and told her I’d be back in a little while.”

“I have the ring.” She handed him the box containing the engagement ring. “Do come by with my grand-daughter. I’d love to meet her.”

Chakotay smiled. “I promise, we will. I just dropped by because I had some things I had to take care of here in Indiana.”

Mrs. Janeway was pretty sure she knew what these things were. “Alright, well you’d better be going. My daughter doesn’t like to be left waiting.”

“I know, I know.” So he left to meet Kathryn and tell her of all the things which had happened.

/\/\

Kathryn waited. The doctor scanned her. “Well Kathryn. I found the problem. The reason why you’ve been so tired is that you’re pregnant.”

Kathryn smiled. “Thank you, that’s wonderful.”

“Anytime dear.”

Kathryn picked Kearstin up and practically ran home. She wanted to be home before Chakotay arrived.

/\/\

Chakotay walked in the door to find Kathryn on the floor in the living room waiting for him, playing with his daughter. He ran into the room and swept Kathryn off her feet. “Kathryn I need to ask you something.” He put her down on the couch. He reached into his pocket and procured the ring. “Kathryn…will you marry me?”

Kathryn had tears of joy running down her face. “Of course I will, silly. Would I give you another child if I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with you?”

Chakotay’s eyes widened with shock. “You’re pregnant?”

She nodded and he swept her into large bear hug. “When? How?”

He laughed and picked up Kearstin.”You’re going to have a baby brother or sister honey. How does that sound?” The baby gurgled and smiled at her father. “Kathryn, I think she approves.”

“Well I hope so, t here really isn’t much we can do about it now is there?” The family sat and basked in the knowledge that there would soon be an addition to the family.

/\/\

Three months later Kathryn was waiting in the church. It was her day. It was her wedding day. She had been engaged two times prior, but this was the only time she had truly ever been in love.

B’Elanna had arrived and was serving as her matron of honor. Kathryn missed her days on board Voyager. She missed a lot of things, but she would not trade what was now her life for anything. She felt the child inside her stir. “Shh, it’s alright little one. Everything will be fine.” She rubbed her belly through the white satin dress she wore. She had had it made with an empire waist to be sure to accommodate her expanding figure.

B’Elanna watched Kathryn from the doorway. I’m glad they’re finally happy. “Come on Kathryn, it’s time.”

Kathryn grinned and walked into her new life.

/\/\

She was lying in bed. The child had been restless all day. Now here she was in bed, trying to sleep. Tomorrow would be interesting she was most sure of it. Now, at almost nine months pregnant, Kathryn was anxious to get the child out and into it’s own habitat.

Chakotay lay beside her, and realized she was not asleep as she should be, but rather watching him sleep. He felt her watching. “Kathryn, you should really be sleeping and not watching me sleep.”

“I know, but you’re such a lovely sight for my eyes, Chakotay.”

He laughed and reached out to wrap his arms around her. He felt a wetness beside him and looked up to see the fear in Kathryn’s eyes. “Well Chakotay, looks like our time’s up.”

Twelve hours later Kathryn lay in the hospital with their new son in her arms. Chakotay walked in to see the baby. “Chakotay, I want to name him after three people who have made such a difference in my life.”

Chakotay looked at his wife. She looked tired, but happy. “All right Kathryn, you’re choice.”

She looked at him. I hope you like the name I picked Chakotay. “Chakotay, I want you to meet your son. Christopher Thomas Justin Janeway.”

/\/\

Two months later, they traveled to Indiana. It was time to present their children to the family. Kathryn had lost most of the baby weight, and she was wearing an emerald green dress that showed off her figure. It had easy access so she had no problems breast-feeding the little boy. They knocked on the door. Chakotay held Kearstin who was nearly 17 months old.

The woman opened the door to see Kathryn holding an infant in a blue sleeper.

“Kathryn?”

“Hi mom.” Both women had tears running down their cheeks. “It’s been too long.” She handed the child to her mother. “Meet Christopher. And this,” she pointed to the child in Chakotay’s arms, “is Kearstin.”

“Kathryn, they’re beautiful.” The little girl looked like her mother save the dark eyes of her father. The little boy was the spitting image of her father,
except for the light hair and piercing blue eyes. “When did all this happen?”

“It’s been an interesting journey mom, but I’m finally where I want to be.”

She hugged her mother and reached for Christopher. Her mother wouldn’t let Kathryn have him back. “Kathryn, I want to spoil him as much as I can, and
Kearstin too. Let me hold him a while longer.”

Kathryn smiled, life was good and everything was finally perfect.

See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait…without you

With or without you
With or without you

Through the storm we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I’m waiting for you
I’m waiting

With or without you
With or without you
I can’t live
With or without you

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away

My hands are tied
My body bruised, she’s got me with
Nothing left to win
And nothing else to lose

With or without you
With or without you
I can’t live
With or without you (18)

*~*~*~*~*
THE END
*~*~*~*~*

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