I Thought I Had Lost(Beki) Her shoulder length, chestnut brown hair glistened in the dull light produced by the shuttle, it fell in front of her face as she stared intently at the console in front of her. Her sleek figure was slumped over as her elegant fingers danced over the controls of the ship as she hummed quietly to herself. The pronounced ridges on her forehead gave a dangerous feature to her otherwise human appearance. Suddenly their eyes met and Kathryn was forced to pull her gaze away from the younger woman. She smiled to herself, whenever B'elanna looked at her she felt a warm feeling overtake her stomach and her heart started to beat so loud she wondered if B'elanna could hear it!

B'elanna also smiled to herself, her Captain had been looking at her; again! For a while B'elanna would let her Captains eyes rake over her body and then glance up just to see the blush of surprise and embarrassment on the older woman’s face. She admitted, she was equally as guilty for gawping at her Captain. Her blue eyes usually donned the ‘cold as ice’ look, but could quite as easily liquefy into warm, welcoming pools of emotion. Her auburn hair was pulled, as always, into a neat bun on the top of her head and her uniform impeccable, as should every Captains be. B'elanna knew as a fact that Captain Janeway was the smallest adult on the ship, but saying this she was also the most feared and could give one the feeling of being as insignificant as a grain of sand. B'elanna chuckled quietly to herself, she knew that her Captain never intended to be scary but leadership was a strong quality of hers and it was just natural that everyone would silence themselves as she entered a room.

Unexpectedly the shuttle began to shake. Both women were pulled from their daydreaming and they quickly managed to assess the situation.
“Captain, I can report there is a serious ion storm heading our way…” B'elanna didn’t get to finish as another quake hit the ship and sent B'elanna flying through the air. Her head made harsh contact with the desk in front of her. She fought the feeling of nausea that threatened to overtake her head, she put as shaky hand up to the wound as she withdrew it she winced at the amount of blood that had spread onto her hand. She picked herself up and placed herself back onto her chair in front of her console, but her head was spinning and she couldn't concentrate. Kathryn managed to steady the ship enough to lend some help to her injured Lieutenant. She gently ran her fingers around the edge of the wound. They both knew they should be concentrating their energies to the unfolding predicament, however neither of them wanted to break the contact.
SMASH!

The shuttle collided with the ground of a nearby planet. The sudden connection sent the two women hurtling through the air toward the glass window which extended along the front end of the shuttle. They both hit the glass and were engulfed into the dark world of unconsciousness.

B’elanna awoke to a musty, bleak room, which donned the smell of burnt flesh and dried blood. B'elanna had to breathe through her mouth to stop her from retching from the repulsive smell. The walls were decorated with malevolent looking tools of pain infliction. The windows were festoon with jail bars and metal spikes, which made B’elanna give up the idea of escaping through the window. As she became more aware of her situation she could feel cold, metal circles encasing her wrists and ankles. She was dressed in nothing but her underwear, all other garments of clothing had been discarded across the floor of her prison. Her olive coloured skin was plastered with scares, shining with sweat and glistening with un-dried blood.

Out of the dark a light started to flicker and an image appeared slowly on the shadowy wall. She cried out as the image became clear, she tried to cover her eyes but her hands wouldn’t obey her, she tried to cower backwards but her legs didn’t comply. She just sat their gawping at the picture displayed on the wall, a picture of her Captain. Her Captain bloodied, mutilated and dead! A pool of crimson blood flowed gracefully from her punctured chest, the redness of the blood contrasted with the milky skin of her Captain. Her eyes wide open, once so filled with emotion now a void of meaning of life itself. B'elanna was finding it hard to breath, she choked and was once again enveloped into a domain of blackness.

When she awoke, she could feel the itchiness of a medical issue gown on her body. All her scars had gone? Where were they she searched her body but couldn’t find any evidence of one but a large gash on her head. She suddenly remembered what had happened, she felt tears spring to her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. She glanced around quickly to check no-one was near to witness her total breakdown. There was only one figure in the room. Her blue eyes usually donned the ‘cold as ice’ look, but could quite as easily liquefy into warm, welcoming pools of emotion. Her auburn hair was pulled, as always, into a neat bun on the top of her head and her uniform impeccable, as should every Captains be. Wait what, she sat up straight in the bed and rubbed her eyes, she must be dreaming. The older woman also had tears in her eyes as she ambled over to B'elanna's bed. But B'elanna shuffled backwards. Her Captain looked taken back and stopped where she was.

“Kathryn you're dead! I saw you dead!” Kathryn whimpered and tears flowed from her eyes, she didn’t know what to say.

“B'elanna I'm here I promise, I'm not dead!” B'elanna didn’t look convinced so Kathryn walked over and infolded her friend into her arms, it took a minute but eventually B'elanna relaxed enough to return the hug.

“Kathryn I had a nightmare, you were dead and I was trapped in a dark cell and it was so horrible and I felt like I was going to throw up and…” Kathryn held her tighter and rocked her gently.

“Shh… Lana its ok, you just bumped your head, we both did. But I woke up, you were in a coma, I thought I’d lost you! I thought you were never gonna wake up!” both girls were in tears holding each other close, not wanting to end the contact.

“I was so scared when I thought I had lost you Kathryn, my whole world shattered I couldn’t breathe, I thought you were dead!. I love you!” Kathryn pulled back from B'elanna to look into her eyes. She saw only sincerity in her eyes so spoke freely.

“I love you too Lana. Please stay with me, forever?” B’elanna just nodded and Kathryn held her in her arms. Holding her close.

THE END…

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