Silence
Explosions rocked the ground that she lay on. Pain. The first thing she noticed was the acrid smell of smoke and dust. It clogged her throat and left a metallic sting on her tongue. Silence. Ordering her lungs to drag in oxygen; she was rewarded with a deep barking cough. Or, what felt like a barking cough. She didn’t hear its dry report leave her lips. Blinding. Pain.
Come to think of it, she couldn’t hear anything. Feeling the bustling action around her; she found the absence of sound to be quite unsettling. Air! I need air! Opening her eyes; they were assaulted by the scorched atmosphere. She blinked against it and tried to focus. Stay focused, Kathryn. A large flashing bar of red light was all she could make out. Red Alert. Did she remember that?
What in the hell was going on? Can’t hear! She moved to get up and found herself firmly pinned to the Starfleet issue carpet from the shoulders down. Am I even moving? She cried out in pain, yet failed to hear it. More explosions of light and vibrations surrounded her. Searing. Pain.
A sob of frustration brought on a new wave of coughing. God, it was painful. Her chest ached and drawing breath was becoming difficult. My ears. I’m deaf. Examining the scene before her, she calculated that she must be on the floor, right next to her command chair, facing the underside of the deck. Damn! Why couldn’t she have been facing the view screen? Something! Anything!
She cleared her throat and called out:
“Report” she heard nothing. I can’t breathe! Neither from her mouth or anyone else’s. Brilliant. Excruciating. Pain. What was she expecting? Another bought of coughing. She was bringing up something thick and wet. It tasted horrible. The iron tang of blood. She’d recognize that taste anywhere. I’m dying.
She moved again and a stabbing pain radiated through her chest and abdomen. Her vision tunneled and she assumed she gave another yelp of discomfort. Oh, God. Her lungs were rebelling and the blood was starting to dribble down her chin. Make it stop! Just before unconsciousness claimed her once more, the last thing Janeway registered was the tingle of a transport. Help. Me.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
“Damage report,” Chakotay roared. He was knelt beside a fallen support beam, working in earnest to move it. Tuvok lay unconscious over his conn. Harry swiftly limped across the Bridge, worked around Tuvok, and assessed the damage.
“Shields are offline. Warp engines are down. Hull integrity has fallen to fifty-six percent. There are breaches on decks twelve, fifteen, and seven. All energy is being diverted to life support and secondary shields,” he leaned heavily on the conn, bringing a hand up to examine a large gash on his temple.
“Chakotay! Where’s the Captain,” Tom called out as he pulled himself over the beam. Tom’s panic grew as he saw the look on Chakotay’s face.
“She’s buried under this end of the beam! I can’t get it to budge! Chakotay to the Doctor! Lock on to the Captain and beam her directly to Sickbay,” Paris bounded over the debris to reinforce Chakotay’s efforts.
“Acknowledged,” his comm badge chirped. The sparkle of a transport shone from under the beam.
“Chakotay to the Doctor, do you have her,” the shuddering of a damaged ship was all that could be heard.
“DOCTOR,” Chakotay bellowed. A short burst of static and a reply:
“Affirmative, Commander! I’m working as fast as I possibly can! It doesn’t look promising,” his heart dropped through his stomach. The memory played over and over in his mind. He called her name and reached for her as the beam slammed into her body.
“That beam collapsed right on top of her and pinned her down,” Chakotay murmured considering Tom’s wide eyes.
“I’ve got to go and help the Doc,” Tom scrambled to his feet and raced toward the ‘lift.
“Both of you go, Commander. Get Tuvok to Sickbay and we’ll try and organize things up here. We’re out of danger. Sensors show that the attacking ships went to warp and left the area,” Tom knelt beside Harry to help support Tuvok’s unconscious body.
“Alright, let’s go,” Chakotay crossed to them and practically threw Tuvok over his shoulder. He took the lead and the three of them rushed to Sickbay.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
The doors opened and they could hear the sickening staccato of wet gurgling coughs. Kathryn was openly crying out in pain and terror between gasps for breath. Her uniform was barely recognizable with the scorching and tearing and the blood. Her blood soaked through several patches of the fabric and stained the bed beneath her. It was everywhere.
“Mr. Paris! She needs more sedation! I need to save her airway! Commander, help me immobilize her. Her leg and arm are broken and she keeps insisting on moving,” the EMH scrambled about, grabbing instruments and barking orders.
Chakotay lay Tuvok down on his own bed and they rushed to aid the Doctor, moving around to opposite sides of the Biobed. Chakotay had to force himself to hold her down. He had never heard her make the noises that were now ripping from her traumatized throat. Tears rolled down his cheeks while he watched the tragedy unfold.
“She’s in so much pain,” he ground out. He finally gathered the courage to examine her face. Her left eye was swollen shut and hidden under the dark bruising of a surely broken socket. The other eye searched his face wildly. Her beautiful cheeks were smeared with soot and blood; it darkened the hair caked to her head with another unseen wound.
“We’re using all of the resources we have, Commander. Where is that sedation, Lieutenant,” the Doctor was frenzied, assessing the damage the best he could.
“Pain means that she’s still with us, Chakotay. She’s holding on,” Tom soothed, pressing hyposprays into her neck.
Chakotay’s chest tightened as Kathryn’s shaking hand reached out to grasp at his arm. He covered her small hand with his own and brought it to his lips. Ignoring the grime, he kissed each pad of each finger and pressed her palm to his cheek. The precious moment was impervious to what was going on around them.
“Commander, I need to begin the repairs on her lungs if we are to be successful,” the EMH dropped his voice and clasped Chakotay’s shoulder in his hand.
Chakotay nodded as he watched her eyes flutter closed and felt her grip on his hand release. He stepped back and watched as the bed closed over her. Numbly he walked into the Doctor’s office and sat behind the desk. He dropped his head into his hands and wept.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
TWO WEEKS LATER
The pain was dull and far away. She drew in a long breath of fresh air. Oh, it felt amazing. No burning or coughing, yet. A small irritation grew in the back of her throat and caused her to cough. Once or twice. It wasn’t harsh or painful, like before. She could live with it. What she couldn’t live with was the fact that she was still bathed in silence.
She opened her eyes to see the top of Chakotay’s head resting on the bed next to her. She flexed her fingers to find them clutched between his. His head shot up and his eyes immediately scanned her face and body. His mouth moved and he stood leaning over her.
“Kathryn,” she could recognize her name cross his lips. She gave him a small smile and he rewarded her with a huge dimpled grin. His eyes looked up across the bed and she turned her head to see the Doctor running the tricorder sensor across her body.
He was talking to her, but his lips were moving too fast. Her brow furrowed in confusion and she looked back to Chakotay.
“Captain, can you squeeze my hand,” the EMH repeated. Kathryn’s eyes stayed on Chakotay.
“Captain,” the Doctor gave Chakotay a questioning glance. Both of their faces fell as realization dawned on them.
“Kathryn? Can you hear us,” Chakotay made his speech slow and deliberate. Tears filled her eyes and she solemnly shook her head ‘no’.
Chakotay’s hand moved up her body and brushed a gentle hand across the unmarred part of her forehead. The EMH ran some more tests before nodding in affirmation.
“It seems that she’s had a deeper injury that was not detected before, stemming from the concussive blow to her head. It’s referred to as ‘barotrauma’. The change of pressure in her aural cavity paralyzed the small bones in her ears. I expect her hearing to return. It will simply take some time to recover,” the Doctor returned to scanning the rest of her body.
“So, she can’t hear anything? At all,” Chakotay looked from the Doctor to Kathryn’s concerned face.
“Not likely, no. Aside from the temporary hearing loss, she’s going to make a full recovery. It will be a long process and, knowing our Captain, she will no doubt push herself to the limit,” this was going to be difficult. Kathryn had trouble taking care of herself when she was well.
He felt her hand batting at his forearm. He looked down at her bruised face and cupped her cheek with his hand. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Clearing her throat, she attempted to speak.
“HOW LONG WILL MY HEARING BE EFFECTED,” her louder than normal voice shattered the serious air of Sickbay. He nearly burst into laughter, glad that it sounded like her lungs were on the mend.
Chakotay smiled brighter as he watched a grin spread across her face. The EMH walked across the room and retrieved and empty padd for Chakotay to use. He typed for a moment before passing it to Kathryn. She read it over and frowned. She tossed it back at Chakotay and crossed her good arm over her chest.
“She’ll be off-duty for a while. Her leg and arm should heal quite nicely in a week or two. Barring any overuse or failure to complete physical therapy. I feel confident monitoring her from her quarters, as I know she prefers, if she designates someone to physically tend to her needs,” the Doctor rolled his eyes dramatically as he waved his hands in Chakotay’s direction.
“I’d be happy to brief you, Commander. But, let it be known, that this will be a ‘round the clock’ assignment,” Kathryn’s head fell back against the pillow and she let out a loud sigh. They could do this, couldn’t they?
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
THREE WEEKS LATER
Kathryn limped around her quarters, trying to gather all the work she could possibly do before Chakotay returned from his shower. She was still under rest order and was not to get up other than to go to the restroom and complete her physical therapy. But, damn it! She needed status reports, logs to be submitted and approved, anything that kept her privy to the ships’ condition.
She was going stir crazy with Chakotay hovering over her every movement. The one problem with her recent attempts at sneaking around: she’d often forget that she could no longer detect when he walked into the room until it was too late. She caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and swiftly attempted to hobble back to the couch. Catching her bum leg against the desk, Kathryn pitched forward and prepared to hit the floor.
Two large, very warm, arms closed around her midsection and both of her hands came to grasp them at the forearm. She knew that if she turned her head he would be lecturing her about trying to walk and falling and what else have you.
The arms lifted her straight into the air and deposited her on the couch. She complained the whole way and turned to glare at him when her heart jumped into her throat. He was only wearing his briefs. A large blush bloomed across Kathryn’s chest and face as she shyly appraised her first officer’s body.
She laughed when she made it to his head. He was smiling at her, yet still apparently lecturing her about her safety. The sonic shower had softened his hair, allowing it the gentle wave it naturally held. It was beautiful.
She laughed at his dimpled smirk and turned her attention to the stolen padds littering the floor. Chakotay simply rolled his eyes and gathered the clutter from the floor and stacked them next to her. As long as she was sitting down.
He moved to gently adjust her casted leg, placing a pillow under it. She nodded in thanks and began to read.
She felt his presence once again and smelled the glorious aroma of a coffee being placed on the table next to her. Kathryn couldn’t help but chuckle at the domesticity of it all. Only Chakotay could come and take care of her and not make her feel as if she were a caged animal under constant observation.
“—and you’re lucky I am madly in love with you, Kathryn Janeway,” his cloudy distorted voice floated over to her from across the room. Her head shot up and she carefully tracked his movements across her living area. On his second pass to the replicator, he glanced back at her and gasped at her shocked expression.
He rushed to her side and crouched in front of the couch.
“Are you alright,” he yelled and over enunciated. She scrunched her face at the offending volume and placed her hands over her ears.
“You can hear me,” he yelled again, this time elated. He pulled her into a fierce hug and kissed her temple as he released her.
“We need to inform the Doctor! This is a cause to celebrate! Let’s--,” Kathryn placed her hands on his shoulders to still his movements.
“I’m lucky you’re ‘madly in love with me’,” she arched a quizzical eyebrow at him and started to smirk at the look of sheer terror on his face.
“You, uh, you heard that, did you,” he tugged at his ear and suddenly became interested in her soft sweater. She brought his chin up so that he looked in her eyes.
“Yes. In fact, it was the first thing I’ve heard in nearly a month. And it was…wonderful,” Kathryn’s whole face was lit with a contagious smile that transferred to his face.
“’Wonderful’, was it,” his dimples emerged and he chuckled at her admission.
“Oh, Chakotay. One of us shouldn’t have to nearly die for me to finally realize that--,” Chakotay cut her off by bringing her face to his for a slow and tender kiss. After a moment, he released her to gauge her reaction.
“You’re lucky I’m madly in love with you, Chakotay,” tears rolled down her face and she kissed him again. And again. She could get used to this.
Huntress Kathryn Community Member 
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