Kids POV
Naomi loved spending time with Captain Janeway's kids, but could tell they weren't as 'happy' as they usually were. She knew that it was because the Captain was leaving on a long away mission tomorrow morning, and it was the first time that she would be away from the ship and them for that long. Little Bella is much more worried than Kol is, but that is only because she has noticed a pattern emanating from her mother. Bella noticed that her mother was all in all a...klutz, which she thought was a bit awkward for a captain of a starship. Together they all went towards the mess hall to find their uncle Neelix. They needed his help to put together a party for the away team.
When they got to the mess hall they found Neelix was just about to leave the kitchen, but stopped short when he saw the children. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with ensign Wildman? Naomi, does your mother know that you guys are here?" He asked them. Naomi brought them both closer to him before saying "Bella and Kol are worried about Captain Janeway, and were wondering if we could do something special for the away team?" He was skeptical to say yes, but that changed when all three of them gave him the puppy-dog eyes and said "please Uncle Neelix?" He couldn't say no to them, EVER! He managed to contact Samantha Wildman, and Lieutenant Paris to help plan a last minute party.
Bridge POV
The day had been going by at an excruciatingly slow pace, but the Alpha shift was able to make the time go by bearibly. Of course Lieutenant Paris suggested a little game called two truths and a lie to take their minds off the nothingness. Everyone agreed to play, except the captain. She was feeling tired and had a bit of a headache. Commander Chakotay lovingly asked "Come on Kathryn! Please play?.." He paused to lean closer to her and whispered "I have a bet going with Tom that I won't win this game, but if you play I will know a lot about you...My beautiful wife." She let out a quiet laugh, and reluctantly agreed knowing full well that anything he won could go towards coffee. Ensign Kim spoke first, and suggested "We should go in order of rank, so Captain that puts you first." She sent him a death glare, which left Tom to add "This first round will be practice, so Captain you can make it easy if you want?" Everyone was stunned quiet, and waited for the Captain to begin the game that seeks to make the time go by.
She started by stating "I have two children..." Chakotay grins at Paris as she continues "I was a rebellious teenager..." When she said that she watches everyone's posture change, and they knew the game was on. Finally she knew that she had to come up with a good lie, and added "and I have broken more bones in my body than I haven't" The whole bridge kept silent and began to think about her answers. The crew mainly knew that she was always getting injured, but only the doctor knew how many bones she had actually broken, and she knew she truely hasn't broken more than 20 different bones. When she turned to look at her husband, she was stunned to see him confused. She laughed at him, and leaned towards him to tease "I thought since you're my husband, you are supposed to know everything about me.." Tom brought her back to the whole bridge by saying "Well we all know that she has two children!" Chakotay was still staring at the captain thinking about her answers, and unconsciously asked "what?," a little bit too loudly. Everyone burst out laughing at how he was acting. Tom playfully told him "Umm...the two children that you have with the Captain are the ones she's referring to." She decided to have fun with this and teasingly questioned "I hope you didn't forget the two children that you helped father! I seem to remember you being a willing participant those many, many times." He snapped back into reality and told her "Of course I remember that I have two kids with my amazing wife!" They shared a brief kiss, before they continued trying to figure out which one is the captain's lie. Harry was the first to make a guess, and said "No offense captain, but I think the lie is that you were a rebel teenager." They all wait to see if he is right or wrong.
Kids POV
Back in the mess hall Neelix and the kids were putting the final touches on the last minute party. The room was all decorated with drawings that the kids did, streamers, and more varieties of food than they've seen in a long time. "Where's mommy? Isn't she coming to the party?" Little Bella asked Neelix who told her, "We're waiting for a little bit before calling them, so they can be close to the end of their shift. We don't want to disrupt them on the bridge...now do we?" All the kids shook their heads and continued to make sure everything was perfect for the away team's party.
Bridge POV
"Harry, that's not right...is it?" Tom asked the Captain, and watched as she shook her head. They were all shocked that the lie was how many bones she had broken. Commander Chakotay laughed and called out "I knew that was a lie!! Because I have seen the reports from the doctor!!!" She gawked and teasingly asked him "Oh so you only know how many times I've been injured from the doctors reports? And not from being at my side the whole time? Wow!" He quickly fixed his statement; taking her hand and telling her "I will always be at your side...including when you are lying in sick bay." Tom interrupted their moment and asked "May I ask how rebellious a teen you were captain?" She shot him a grin, before in her best command tone responded, "I'm sorry lieutenant you don't have high enough clearance to know.." Chakotay asked "does a Commander have proper clearance to know about this?" She tilted her head to think about it, and replied "Fine, but only because you are also married to me."
They continued the game by having the Commander go, but he chose to make it easy yet hard, and told them "I'm married to my soulmate...um I like dogs...and I am on good terms with the senior staff.." Captain Janeway burst out laughing at how easy he made this one, but only Tuvok knew the correct answer. Tom spoke up and said "Well I know that he is married to the captain, and I hope she's his soulmate otherwise this is going to get very awkward." Harry added "I know that he is on good terms with most of us, but Paris I don't know about..." Janeway was trying so hard not to answer, because she knew the right answer. Eventually she couldn't stand it anymore and blurted out "The Commander tricked you, because all three of his statements are true...He's married to his soulmate I hope...He likes dogs, because I like dogs, and I happen to know that ever since Paris saved me from the alien identity thief and saved our son that he is in good standing with Chakotay..." She cut off and again turned to him asking "Why would you trick them like that honey?" It was his turn to burst out laughing, before responding "Actually there is a lie in their honey..." She shot him a confused glare, so he continued "Well it is true that you are my soulmate Kathryn...and I do like dogs because I know that you love dogs...but I am not on good terms with the bridge crew." Harry asked "Well if it's not Tom or me, then who is it?" Tuvok spoke up in his usual tone, responding with "I do not believe that I am the one at odd terms with the Commander, so it must be the captain." She gasped in shock, and waited for him to clarify his answer. He told them "well I know the captain is leaving on an away mission tomorrow, and is leaving me home alone with two little children that love their mom more than me." She sweetly said "oh honey, the kids love you too...You will be just fine with them while I'm gone...I will also be fine because I'll have Tuvok and Tom with me...Now the hardest part will be getting up with Kol two or three times during the night..." She cut off to try and stifle a yawn, before continuing "Now you'll finally be the one to know how it feels to not sleep at all. Have fun darling!.." again she yawned, and everyone heard it.
"Kathryn, maybe you should go home early and get some sleep? It might help your headache too." Chakotay suggested, but she briskly waved him off. They still had about 4 hours left on their shifts...or so they thought. Neelix's voice rang out through the bridge excitedly saying "I'm sorry to interrupt things on the bridge, but I have two little kids who are requesting their parents and the away team to come to the mess hall...They have been waiting patiently for 3 hours, and I don't know how much longer I can hold them off." Tom and Harry had already turned their stations over to the beta shift crew, and when Chakotay and Janeway turned around they saw Tuvok switching out his station. "Well Kathryn! We better not disappoint Bella, so let's go." Chakotay said while standing and offering his hand to her. She looked to see that Ayala was ready to take control of the bridge, so she accepted her husband's hand and hauled herself stiffly out of the chair. Everyone took notice that she was more tired than she let on, but didn't say anything about it. They knew the past few weeks have been brutal for the captain. "Alright Ayala...the bridge is yours." Captain Janeway said before following Chakotay into the turbolift.
Kids POV
Isabella, Naomi, and Neelix, who was holding Kol, stood in the center of the room waiting for the guests of honor to arrive. A couple more crew members arrived, including Naomi's mother and Lieutenant Torres. Finally the rest of the senior staff arrived, followed by the Captain and Commander. As soon as Isabella saw her mother she ran towards her yelling out "MOMMY!!!" Kathryn quickly bent over to gather her daughter into her arms, and gave her a nice big hug before settling her on her hip. "Hi sweety...Are you being good for uncle Neelix?" Isabella smiled, and told her mom "we wanted to plan a party for you and the away team...Do you have to go with them mommy?" Chakotay leaned forward and told her, "Yes she does my little one, but with mommy gone we can have whatever we want...won't that be fun?" Bella turned her head to the side to think, so he added "Hmm I wonder where she gets that look from?...Kathryn." She smiled, and finally noticed that her daughter is turning out just like herself. Bella negotiated "If mom has to go on the away mission, then can Kol and I sleep in mommy's bed with you Daddy? And can we have coffee ice cream?" Everyone that was close to them started laughing, until the Commander answered "Why aren't you the little negotiator...You certainly don't get that from me...I guess we can have a slumber party in mommy and I's bed...but we can have any flavor ice cream that's not coffee, because I already spend a lot of time keeping mommy with her coffee and you guys don't need any coffee." She whined a bit by saying "But daddy...Mommy lets us have coffee ice cream..." He looked up to see Kathryn as pale as a sheet, but couldn't tell if it was because he just learned a secret that she was hiding, or if it was from her headache getting worse.
Neelix cleared his throat to get the command team's attention, because the baby wanted some special attention. Chakotay took Bella from Kathryn, leaving her to reach for her little baby boy. She kissed him on the forehead, and turned to Chakotay saying "Kol loves his daddy the most...*Yawn*" He knew she was exhausted, but knew that she wouldn't admit it. "I don't think he does, seeing as though he is always snuggled up comfortably in your arms." He told her, and watched as she tried to hide yawn after yawn. Everyone took notice that she was tired including Bella, who said "Mommy...are you sleepy?" The captain let out another yawn, before telling her little girl "Mommy is just fine." Chakotay added "Bella..Mommy is very sleepy, she just won't admit it...What should we do for mommy?" The little girl smiled and sneakily asked "Mommy, can we snuggle on the couch?" Kathryn let out a long sigh, but agreed. Chakotay led his family to the nearest couch. He helped Kathryn sit down first, and watched as Bella scrambled out of his arms to snuggle close to her mother. She moved Kol to her other arm and wrapped her free hand around Bella. Chakotay quickly sat down, and shifted Kathryn so her feet were up on the couch. Bella fit perfectly behind her knees. He took Kol from her arms, so that he could hold her hand. Unknowing to the captain, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
After a while, Chakotay looked down to see his whole family asleep, so he quietly signaled Neelix and told him "I think we should call it a night Neelix!" At first he was confused, but when he saw the Captain asleep, he knew that it was time for the party to end. Once everyone cleared out, Chakotay managed to transport his family to their quarters, and got everyone comfortable on Kathryn and his bed. Before joining his wife and daughter, he put Kol into his crib and rolled it to his side of the bed. At this point Kathryn would be able to get a full night's sleep for the first time in a long time.
The next morning Kathryn woke up confused at how she got to her bed. The last thing she remembered was being at the party, but now she was snuggled up between Chakotay and Bella. She quietly managed to get out of the bed without waking up everyone, and saw her baby boy sleeping peacefully in his crib. She only had an hour to get ready before she had to meet the away team in the shuttle bay, so she quickly got dressed and gave one final kiss to her family. Chakotay stirred awake when she kissed him, and whispered "Kathryn? What time is it?" She smiled and leaned further on his chest, before telling him "It's 0530" He groaned a bit, but sat up and said "Oh you have to go soon..I'll miss you! Please stay safe!" One final hug and kiss, and she was headed to the shuttle bay.
Shuttle POV
Tuvok, Paris, and Janeway had just surveyed their last planetoid when a bad ion storm hit. They had already been gone from Voyager for three days, but the flyer was badly damaged and the repairs were taking longer than anticipated. Janeway had just finished video chatting with her family, when another Ion storm hit harder than the last one. Tom yelled out "CAPTAIN I NEED A PLACE TO SET DOWN!!" Tuvok was trying to reinforce the shields, but nothing was working. The captain found a planet, but it was covered in volcanoes and craters. She told Paris that they couldn't set down here, and would need to find another planet. Tom had no other choice but to set down. The flyer crashed through a crater, and skidded to a stop. The last thing Tom saw was the console next to him.
When he opened his eyes he found that he wasn't injured at all, and turned and said "The Flyer has landed" He saw the Captain leaning against a console unconscious, and Tuvok was kneeling next to her. All he said was "The captain requires medical attention!" Tom immediately jumped into action and grabbed the emergency medical kit from under his console. Tuvok got to work on sending out distress calls, hoping that Voyager would hear them.
Kids POV
Bella had just gotten off the phone with her mother after she told her that the mission was going to take longer than they originally anticipated. Right away she knew something was wrong with the mission. Kol was still a baby, so he didn't understand what was actually going on, but she knew that their parents were keeping something from them. Uncle Neelix was spending a lot more time with them than we would in the past, but wouldn't tell them anything.
Bridge POV
Chakotay was worried about the ion storm that was approaching the flyers position, so he continued to try and get to them as fast as possible. Voyager was still about 4 hours away, and had no luck in increasing their speed. Ensign Kim and himself were the only ones that remained on the bridge 36 hours straight. Commander Chakotay would go home to his kids with so many plans, so that they wouldn't have time to ask him questions about why Kathryn wasn't back yet. Hopefully they would hear something from the away team soon.
Shuttle POV
Tom had done all he could for the captain, when she woke up. "What happened?" She weakly asked. Tom was quick to scan her again, while telling her "we made it!" She tried to laugh and say "The flyers first landing!" but that just sent pain through her body. Tuvok spoke up, informing her "I was able to send a distress signal out, but am unaware if anyone recieved it. I have been working on the repairs, but most of the systems are beyond the ability to be repaired." She knew that they needed help, so she tried to pull herself up off the floor, but Tom interrupted her efforts. "Captain! You need to stay down and rest. Tuvok and I can handle the ship.." She cut him off by saying "I'm the captain...I'm fine...I can help with the repairs...now help me up..." He shook his head, and told her "No captain! You have a minor concussion, some fractures...Nothing I can't handle, but you need to stay as still as possible." He looked up to see her just staring at him, and knew she didn't believe him. Eventually she said "You're a great nurse Paris, but you're a lousy liar...ohh!" He stopped her from moving and told her "You've got a punctured kidney and you're bleeding internally..You need surgery!"
Bridge POV
Everyone was on the bridge and had just learned that the flyer had crash landed on a planet, and were talking about the possibility of the team being alive. Neelix and Commander Chakotay didn't hear anyone coming onto the bridge, until it was too late. They were coordinating a team to go down to the surface and scan deeper under the crater to try and find them, but the odds didn't look good. Bella let out a little whimper at the thought that her mom was gone. Chakotay and Neelix whirled around to see Naomi and Bella standing on the upper part of the bridge. Naomi told them "I'm sorry commander, but she wanted to see you...Said she couldn't get to sleep." Chakotay walked to his daughter, and gathered her up in his arms. The little girl sniffled and asked "Daddy is mommy okay?" He hugged her tighter and said "The shuttle crashed, but aunty B,B'elanna, and daddy are going to take a team down and find them...Don't worry my sweetheart! Daddy will bring mommy home!" She smiled and teasingly asked "What about uncle Tom and uncle Tuvok?" Neelix broke out laughing! Chakotay smirked and said "You know you are more and more like your mother everyday...you know that?" Little Bella just nodded her head, before snuggling closer and falling asleep in her father's arms. Once he knew she was asleep, he passed her to Neelix and headed out to bring his wife back to the ship.
Shuttle POV
After hours and hours of trying to work on the repairs, they found nothing was working. Suddenly a warning klaxon called out "OXYGEN SUPPLY LOW!! Only an hour left of oxygen supply!" Tom had recorded his farewell message for B'elanna, when he said "Captain! Would you like to go next?" She sat up as much as she could and said "No...Tuvok, you should go!" He held up a padd and told her "I prefer to keep my message in writing, so captain you should go while you still have the ability." She agreed, and let Tom help her up into the chair. She left the message to Chakotay, and added her kids to it. She told them how much she loved them, and how much she would miss them. The warning again came through the cabin saying "WARNING! OXYGEN SUPPLY EXTREMELY LOW! Oxygen supply at 20 minutes!" Everyone was trying to stay awake so she quickly finished her recording, before slumping down in the chair. Tom kept near the captain, but knew she was in a lot of pain and felt bad that she was here and not on the ship with her family.
Rescue Team POV
B'elanna had found the shuttle, and everyone started trying to pry open the hatch. When it was finally opened up, Oxygen flew into the cabin, and they realized what must have happened. Commander Chakotay couldn't wait another second and rushed into the shuttle; heading straight for the bridge. B'elanna followed close behind, and saw Tom slumped on the ground. She noticed he was still awake, but all he was mumbling about was helping the Captain. She turned to see the captain in the chair. Chakotay followed her gaze and found his wife leaning back in the chair. B'elanna and the rest of the team helped Tom and Tuvok out of the shuttle, but the commander insisted on bringing the captain out himself.
He lightly stroked her cheeks and whispered "Honey can you hear me?" She tried to sit up, but pain greeted her. She managed to croak out "..Chakotay.." He told her "I'm here Kathryn! Just wrap your arms around me, and we'll be on our way back to our ship." She smiled and whispered "...okay..." He watched as she slowly reached her arms up and around his neck, as he moved to wrap one arm around her back and one under her knees. When he made a move to pull her closer, she moaned in pain. He realized she must have gotten hurt in the crash, so he sweetly said "I'm sorry honey, but we need to get you out of here." She rolled her head onto his shoulder and told him "...i'll be fine Chakotay..." With that said, he moved to stand up with her in his arms; and away they went.
Ship POV
The doctor was able to repair the captain's injuries very fast, but told her she would still be stiff for a couple of days. Chakotay managed to sneak away for a second to contact Neelix to see if he could bring the kids to see Kathryn. Ten minutes later the sickbay doors burst open, and Bella ran into the room. Kathryn slid off the biobed and went straight down to her knees, so she could hug her little girl. "MOMMY!!! You're home!!!!" Bella squealed, and held on tighter to her mother. "Oh my sweety...mommy's just fine..ohh" Kathryn said to her daughter. Chakotay noticed that Kathryn had stifled a cry of pain. "Hey Bella sweetheart, let's let mommy say hi to Kol and sit down okay?" He said and lifted Bella up into his arms, so that Kathryn could pull herself back onto the biobed. Neelix walked over towards the captain, so he could hand her baby Kol. Chakotay watched as Kathryn tickled their son's feet, and he was laughing. Chakotay spoke up and said "You know Kathryn while you were gone, I noticed that our children are turning out more like you than me." She looked up to see her daughter glaring at Chakotay exactly the way she was right now. "You know honey...I think you're right!" The doctor tried to tell the captain to stay in sick bay for the night, but received both Janeway women sending the 'death glare' to him. He reluctantly transported the family back to their quarters with the one rule that the captain stays in bed for the rest of the night. From the moment Chakotay got his family settled on the bed, they immediately fell fast asleep. All Chakotay could do was snuggle up close to his wife and daughter, and keep them safe.
The End