Dedication:  To my wonderful, wacky JetC group, for all the good times 
we’ve had (lottery lists, ‘Four’s a Crowd’), and many more to come!  And 
to Kae and Kate, co-conspirators and partners in crime.

The Chute (J/C version)
by Cheile


        The cries of "New prisoner!" penetrated the fog of pain in her head.  
Kathryn forced her eyes open.  She was surrounded by a group of 
rough-looking men.  Pushing herself to her feet, she tried to escape, 
but they had surrounded her.  Then when the crowd separated for a brief 
moment, she saw Chakotay.  She could see the concern in his eyes and it 
was apparent he was trying to get to her.  "Chakotay!" she cried, her 
voice ragged.
        Chakotay was silent, but when she reached his side, he punched her hard 
in the stomach.  With a cry of pain, Kathryn collapsed to the ground, 
tears welling up in her eyes as Chakotay began to talk, his voice harsh.
        "She’s mine.  No one else goes near her."
        "Is that so?" one of the other prisoners sneered.  "And what claim do 
you have to her?"
        "She was my partner in the bombing.  Everything was perfect--and then 
she confessed!  This worthless bitch was my friend and has now ruined my 
life."  Chakotay looked the other man straight in the eye.  "She’s 
mine."  With that, he hauled Kathryn away.

*

        Kathryn awoke some time later in a small room.  Chakotay’s face hovered 
above her, full of concern.
        "How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
        "What is the matter with you?" she demanded.
        "Kathryn, I didn’t mean what I said.  But a person can’t be soft here.  
I’ve been here for the past two days."  He helped her sit up, gently 
tucking stray wisps of her hair behind her ear.  Then he reached a hand 
back and began to scratch the back of his head.
        "Are you all right?"
        "It’s the clamp."
        "The what?" Kathryn repeated, confused.
        Chakotay turned around to show her what looked like a small computer 
chip attached to the back of his head.  "I think it controls the nervous 
system, because I’ve been agitated ever since I got it."  A rueful grin 
crossed his face.  "And besides that, it itches like hell."
        "Why don’t you remove it?"  Kathryn immediately reached back to hers.  
Chakotay quickly grabbed her wrist.  "Don’t."
        When she gave him a puzzled look, he told her, "I saw someone try and 
take theirs off.  It killed him."
        "Food!" someone hollered.
        "Dinner time, I guess."  He rose to his feet, then reached out a hand 
to her.  She took it.  He helped her to her feet and they walked out 
together.

*

        Some time later, Kathryn lay in their room, shuddering as she 
remembered what she had witnessed.  One man, starting to eat, and 
another coming up from behind and killing him.  She was beginning to 
believe the worst, that her life would end here.  Chakotay had gone 
looking for something to eat, and he had been gone a while.  However, 
Kathryn’s judgement of time had completely disappeared and she started 
to panic.
        Chakotay finally showed up.  "Sorry, no luck."
        "What took you so long?" she demanded.
        "It’s starting to affect you, Kathryn.  It’ll get worse.  Think of 
something positive," he encouraged.
        "Coffee," she sighed.  "Real coffee."
        "That’s it, Kathryn."  He gently put an arm around her.  Unconsciously, 
she leaned against him, letting her weariness take over.  Being held by 
Chakotay suddenly seemed--right.
        *No, Kathryn, you can’t fall in love with him.  He’s your first officer 
and your friend.*  But as she slipped into sleep, she realized that she 
was too late in telling herself that.

*

        A couple of days later, Kathryn had found a piece of pipe and some wire 
and began to work on something that might be able to disable the force 
field so that she and Chakotay could make their escape.  But the clamp 
kept distracting her from her concentration.
        "Ignore it, Kathryn, and just keep working," he told her.
        Some of the rough men showed up suddenly.  Kathryn quickly hid the 
pipe, as Chakotay moved in front of her, shielding her.
        "What are you doing?" one asked.
        "Nothing.  Leave us alone," Chakotay said.
        A second one eyed Kathryn.  "What are you hiding?"
        "Go away!" Chakotay snapped, pushing him away.  The two got into a 
scuffle and then the prisoner pulled a knife, stabbing Chakotay in the 
stomach.  Kathryn screamed at them, waving the pipe threateningly.  The 
others left quickly and Kathryn dashed to Chakotay’s side.  Wrapping his 
arm around her shoulder, she somehow managed to support most of his body 
weight as they headed back to their room.

        "I’ll let you two stay here if you take me with you when you find a way 
out," Zio said.
        Kathryn glared at him, but she had no choice.  Some other inmates had 
taken their room and Chakotay had to have a place to lay down.  She 
nodded.
        Carefully, she lay Chakotay down on a pile of blankets, and then sat 
beside him, trying to catch her breath.  He opened his eyes and managed 
a faint grin.  Pushing back her fear, she smiled back.
        His expression suddenly turned serious.  "Kathryn, if you find a way 
out, leave me here.  I’ll only slow you down."
        "The clamp’s affecting you," she told him.
        "I’m serious, Kathryn.  Leave me here."
        "Chakotay, I’m not leaving unless you go with me."  She touched his 
cheek.  "I’m going to work on getting us out of here.  You rest."

*

        Kathryn didn’t realize how difficult the clamp could be.  She couldn’t 
think straight.  It was driving her crazy.  Zio had come with her, 
though he was meditating.  He told her to let the clamp help her, but 
Kathryn knew that was impossible.  Finally, she succeeded in breaking 
down the energy field and she told Zio.  He boosted her up, since the 
chute was steep.  They crawled to the top, where there was a small 
window.  She rubbed the dust off until she could see--stars.  The 
prison was supposed to be underground, not floating in space.  Now, she 
knew, they were trapped.

*

        Slowly, Kathryn walked back to their room.  Chakotay was awake and his 
eyes lit up when he saw her.
        "Did you find a way out?"
        Kathryn didn’t want to disappoint him.  "I’m close.  A couple more 
days," she lied.    Picking up a new bandage, she sat by his side and 
began to unwrap the old one.  He looked anxiously at the wound.
        "What happened?"
        "You were stabbed, remember?"
        "Who?"
        "One of the other prisoners.  Don’t you remember?"
        "It wasn’t one of them."  Chakotay’s eyes darkened with rage.  "It was 
you!"  He lunged at Kathryn, his hands going for her throat.
        Furious, Kathryn slammed him against the wall.  He cried out in pain.  
Snatching up the pipe, she raised it above her head.  She looked down at 
him and saw the fear in his eyes.  Fear that she would kill him.  
Dropping the pipe, Kathryn dashed out before she lost her self-control.

*

        Chakotay grew steadily worse, until finally he lost consciousness and 
was near death.  The other prisoners were waiting for him to die.  But 
Kathryn wasn’t about to let that happen.
        The other prisoners had gathered, asking for Chakotay’s boots and 
everything else.  Kathryn tried to keep them away, but there was only 
one of her and too many of them.  One of them, the one who had 
challenged Chakotay for her, stepped closer to Chakotay, who, in his 
comatose state, was totally unaware of what was happening.
        "Back off!" she snapped, jumping in front of him.
        "You going to make me, little girl?" he sneered.
        "This is the man I love," Kathryn said fiercely.  "No one touches him.  
*Ever.*"
        The cry of "new prisoner" rang out and the others began backing away, 
heading toward it.  Kathryn was relieved.  Finally, she could relax.  
She went to sit down next to Chakotay, when she heard phaser fire.  She 
ran to the center room.  And there, holding off the other prisoners, 
were Tuvok and Paris.

*

        Once Neelix’s ship had gotten back to Voyager, both were beamed to 
sickbay.  The Doctor looked Kathryn over and after telling her to eat 
and rest, sent her on her way as he started treating Chakotay.
        Several hours later, she was in her ready room when the door chime 
sounded.
        "Come in," she called, turning from the window.
        Chakotay came in and smiled at her.  "How are you feeling?"
        "I should be asking you that."
        "I’m all right now."
        She nodded and turned away from his gaze.
        He came to her side.  "Kathryn, is something wrong?"
        "Chakotay, I almost killed you."
        "What do you mean?"
        "Don’t you remember?  I almost hit you with that pipe."
        He tilted her chin up so she had to look into his eyes.  "What I 
remember is someone saying ‘This is the man I love.  No one touches 
him--ever.’  I’ll never forget that."  He leaned down and touched his 
lips to hers in a tender kiss.

Legal B.S.  Paramount owns "The Chute" and J et C, I own the story.  
Copyright 1997, by Cheile.  Comments - cheile@hotmail.com