Voyager: Fight For Family

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by Orion's Belt 27, Sep 8, 2016.

  1. Orion's Belt 27

    Orion's Belt 27 Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2016
    Posted on FF.net.

    Summary & Notes:

    A few months after Voyager's return to the Federation, Kathryn Janeway and her husband find themselves facing the threat of a madman who has vowed to destroy both their families. AU.

    I'm aware a particular plot element here would likely be considered void with the advances of 24th century medicine, but the idea wouldn't let go. I am not a doctor, so there are likely plenty of medical mistakes here. Constructive concrit on correcting these mistakes is welcome, but flames are not.

    This will be a non-linear tale, with chapters jumping back and forth in the timeline, including flashbacks on Voyager, but I promise it will all make sense in the end. The next chapter will retell this scene from Janeway's POV.

    OC/Canon pairing may be strange to many of you, but I hope you'll give the story a chance.

    Fight For Family

    Chapter One


    I lie awake, staring at the ceiling. The steady beep of the heart monitor and the sound of Kathryn's soft breathing are the only sounds to be heard in the room. I know I should try to roll over in bed and press the call button to summon a nurse, but doing so would waken Kathryn, and I would rather not have her see my humiliation.

    I grit my teeth in frustration. Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I have let her stay with me tonight? Perhaps I should have insisted she go back to our quarters to stay with Eddie and Caleb, but we had been forced to sleep apart for so long during the journey back to Earth and the first few weeks here at Starfleet Medical that I wanted her close to me, even if it was only in the same room. I had thought it would be all right, that I would make it through the night, but I was wrong.

    A bitter snort escapes my lips. Fortunately, Kathryn does not wake.

    After we came home in December, I thought our troubles were over. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand light years from Federation space, making the journey home in seven years - surely we should have a few months, if not a year, of peace before the next crisis. Alas, it was not to be.

    A cold knot of anger twists my insides as I think again of the attack in February. What was supposed to be a night of reunion and triumph for Voyager and her crew instead turned into a night of terror, leading to a desperate month long manhunt. Tears burn my eyes at the thought. Why couldn't things have turned out differently? I had been looking forward to settling down on Earth with Kathryn and our sons, preparing for the new future that awaited -

    Now, both my sons have been left physiologically scarred and I - I am an incontinent, incompetent cripple. I slap my thigh in frustration, but of course, I feel nothing - just as I felt nothing the day I woke up in Enterprise's sickbay and realized I couldn't move or feel my legs. The tears are running down my cheeks now, but I don't bother to wipe them away. It shouldn't have been like this.

    It brings me no comfort to know that the man responsible for my current condition is in prison awaiting trial - which is set to begin next month, once I am able to attend. Not only will he be tried for the recent events, but for the deaths of several Starfleet officers, stretching back to 2355, and the assault on Aetan II, the home planet of my closest friend, Alex Rullafawn, sixteen years ago. The Admiralty is also charging Damien Rangas with treason, as he is a Federation citizen. I can't help but think of how events have come full circle; Damien's father Brynden, a Starfleet officer, was found guilty of collaborating with the Cardassians in 2344 and died in prison the following year. Now his son blames the Federation for his father's death and tried to destroy us.

    I roll my head to the right to look at Kathryn, asleep in the oversize chair near the bed. Her hair is unbound and spills across to half cover her face. She looks relaxed and at peace, more than she has been in recent weeks. A stab of pain twists my heart as I look at her swelling belly. Our third child, and our last. After we found out, just days before our travel through the Borg transwarp conduit, that she was pregnant, we had mutually decided that this child would be our last. We were both still perfectly healthy, of course - Kathryn was still only forty-two and I thirty-three - but we felt that raising three children would be enough. Despite that, the news that I would no longer be able to have normal relations with her due to my spinal injury was still a hard shock for both of us.

    She stirs and opens her eyes before sitting up. A frown crosses her face and I know she has realized what happened. She stands and comes quickly to the bed; I immediately turn my head away, not wanting to see the look I know must be on her face.

    "Paul! How long have you -"

    I don't say anything to her; I can't. Instead, I push myself up, bracing my hands against the mattress, and try to roll over to reach for the call button. It is a struggle; just twisting my upper back isn't enough. I slide my hand under my left leg to lift it across so I can turn on my side, biting back a groan of pain as my shoulders protest, but Kathryn's gentle hand on my arm stops me. "Paul, don't. You'll only hurt yourself." She pushes me back into the mattress.

    "Kathryn," I snap, breathless and frustrated, "call a nurse."

    "No," she says calmly. "There's no reason to disturb them. Computer, raise the lighting three levels." The lights brighten and I hiss, throwing my arm over my eyes, as the light stabs at my still sensitive pupils. There is a snick as one of the side railings is lowered, then the bed dips slightly and she leans over to look me in the face.

    "Kathryn," I insist again, "you shouldn't do this. You're five months pregnant."

    She gives me a flat stare; my excuse is a bald faced lie and we both know it. "Don't try to make such feeble excuses, Paul. I know why you're trying to push me away, and it won't work." She stands and heads toward the bathroom; I sigh in frustration and let my head flop back onto the pillow.

    She comes back a minute later with a basin of warm water, a stack of towels, disinfectant, and a fresh diaper. She sets the supplies down on a low table beside the bed before pulling on a pair of gloves. I push myself up on my elbows and watch as she pulls the blanket and sheet down to the foot of the bed before tugging lightly at the waistband of my pants. "Lift for me?" I brace myself against the mattress with my hands and elbows and barely mange to lift myself enough that she can pull the pants down over my hips. She leaves them at the ankle, held in place by the catheter line taped down my left leg. "Your pants aren't soiled. That's good."

    I look fixedly at the ceiling when she opens my diaper, not wanting to see the look of revulsion I am sure must be on her face. I hear the soft swish of a towel but feel nothing. I am surprised when she leans over a second later and her expression is calm. "We need to turn you over." Her voice is so matter-of-fact that I almost cringe in embarrassment, but with a sigh I again grasp my left leg and twist my body to the side as she lifts my shoulders. Together, we manage to settle me in the new position. It is damned uncomfortable, lying on my right side like this, but at least the other railing ensures I won't fall off the bed. She lays one hand just above my left hip, where I can still feel. The warmth radiating from her skin is oddly soothing. I lie there for what feels like hours, listening to the rustle of cloth and the drip of water from both the basin and the bathroom, before she gently tugs at my skin. "Roll back." I roll back on my back, keeping my hand under my leg so it won't flop onto the mattress.

    "Catheter line is fine," she says. "We're almost done." I hear the distinctive rasp of tape and know she has pulled the clean diaper up between my legs and fastened both ends around my hips.

    I ask the question that has been burning on my lips for the last few minutes. "Why did you not want anyone else to do this, Kathryn?"

    She sighs and leans over to look into my face. "Paul, doing this for you is no different than changing Eddie's or Caleb's diapers."

    I blink in surprise. "Are you serious, Katie? There's a whole level of difference between that and this."

    "Perhaps," she admitted, "perhaps not. It doesn't matter to me. I love you, Paul Crusher, and I'll do anything for you." I blink back tears as she starts to pull my pants back up my legs. When she reaches my hips, she prompts, "Lift again?" and I mange to do so. Once she is satisfied, I drop back to the mattress again. She returns to the bathroom to clean her hands again and I lie thinking until she comes back and sits down on the bed beside me. I reach over and take her hand in mine, running my thumb over her wedding ring.

    "Thank you." I reach up and pull her face down to mine to kiss her on the lips. It is a sweet kiss, full of longing and desire that we have been forced to suppress for weeks.

    Whatever comes, we will face it together. I know that with all my heart.

    She sighs softly and lays her head down on my chest. I lay one hand on her belly, where our child sleeps, and drift off with a smile on my face.