Disclaimer: TPTB will never let this happen. However, the characters belong to them. I own the story!

The memorial service had been extremely hard for the entire crew. Almost everyone had some memory they wanted to share about their Captain. It made Chakotay feel good to hear the stories. He knew that Kathryn would always be remembered.

Later, Chakotay awoke with a start. At first, he didn’t realize where he was. Then he felt Samantha stir next to him. She had crawled into bed with him every night since he told her of her mother’s death. Somehow, it made her feel more safe and peaceful.

He wondered if she had been dreaming about her mother as much as he was. Moving calmly enough so as not to wake her, Chakotay smoothed back some of her hair from her face. As he did, she began to mumble.

"Got to...get out...get home..."

Strange, he thought. She continued for a minute, then quieted down. Chakotay began to roll over to try and gain a little more sleep, when Samantha suddenly murmured something else. "Sentakians...Segan...kidnapped...help me!" She seemed to become agitated, and began to cry. Chakotay, worried, gently shook her awake. Samantha’s eye fluttered open, and looked up at him, confused.

"What’s wrong, Daddy?"

"You were having a nightmare. What were you dreaming about?"

She rubbed her eyes, collecting her thoughts. "I only saw Mommy. She was talking to me. That’s all I remember."

Chakotay pulled her into a hug, thinking that it was just her way of coping with her mother’s loss. But then another thought struck him. His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sweetie, would you like to go to the bridge with Daddy?"

Samantha nodded, and he lifted her up, and they headed for the bridge.

Ensign Kim sat on the lonely bridge, lost in thought. He was pondering over the past few days events, the loss of the Captain, mostly. He heard the turbolift doors open behind him, and turned to find Chakotay and Samantha entering the bridge.

"Commander!" he said, standing at attention. "Is there something wrong?"

"It’s OK, Harry. I just had a theory. But we’ll have to turn around and set a course for the Sentakian homeworld."

"I would not advise that, Commander." Tuvok stated as he entered the bridge, followed by two security officers.

"What are you doing here? Were you monitoring me?" Chakotay asked.

"It seemed the most logical thing to do. You are a husband in mourning. You are capable of doing anything. I had to take the necessary security precautions."

Chakotay was furious. "Damn it, Tuvok, I am not doing this out of mourning! I think she’s still alive, and that the Sentakians have kidnapped her. We have to rescue her!"

"You are delirious, Commander. I am confining you to your quarters." He motioned for the security officers to assist him. Samantha ran over to Harry as the officers grabbed her father’s arms. Chakotay quickly threw them off.

"No! Tuvok, I know what I’m doing! Samantha was talking to her. I think she was trying to communicate through Samantha!"

Tuvok raised his left eyebrow, a sign that he was finally listening. "Intriguing. Please continue."

The security officers stepped back, and Chakotay continued. "If she has the akoonah, then it is possible to communicate telepathically with a family member, or rather, communicate through a family member. My grandfather once told me about it."

"How are you so sure that Samantha was actually talking to the Captain?"

"Samantha didn’t even know the name of the aliens we were trading with. She mentioned their names, and said that they have kidnapped her. I know it was Kathryn!"

They stared at each other for a long time. Chakotay was not backing down. If there was any way possible that his wife was still alive, he was not giving up. He continued.

"You are her oldest friend. Surely, if you believed that she was still out there, you would do the same."

Tuvok slowly nodded, and motioned for the security officers to back away. He gave the order to the helmsman on duty to lay in the course as Chakotay commanded.

"For your daughter’s sake, I hope you are right."

Chakotay nodded his thanks, then took his seat next to the Captain’s chair, setting Samantha in his lap.

Several hours later, they finally were within transporter range of the planet. Chakotay had sent Samantha off to assist Neelix in the mess hall, with the promise that he would let her know the instant they found something.

Chakotay asked Harry to begin scanning for lifesigns, human lifesigns. But suddenly, they were hailed by Ambassador Segan.

"May I ask what you are doing here, Commander?"

"We’re just looking for something you have of ours. You probably just misplaced it."

"And what would you be looking for, Commander?"

"As if you didn't know!" Chakotay had decided that being civil was useless.

"I'm sure I don't know what you would be referring to, Commander! If you would be so kind as to leave..."

Just then, Harry yelled, "I found her!"

"Beam her directly to sick bay! Tom, get us the hell out of here!" The ambassador looked stunned, as Chakotay cut him off.

"Neelix, take Samantha to sickbay," he said into his comm badge. With a big smile, he looked at Tuvok. "You have the bridge."

Chakotay walked into sickbay, and was instantly relieved at the sight he saw. Kathryn was holding Samantha in her arms, hugging her tightly, as the Doctor tried to scan her for any injuries. She looked over in Chakotay’s direction, and smiled.

He walked over and pulled them both into his arms, and knew that everything was perfect again.

Later that night, Chakotay and Kathryn sat in each other’s arms, holding each other tightly. Kathryn sat between his knees, feeling his chest rise and fall against her back, and his sweet breath tickling her neck. She wished they could stay that way forever.

Chakotay brought his face down to nuzzle her neck, and began planting small, delicate kisses behind her ear.

"I thought I would never be able to do this again," he whispered, hugging her tighter.

"Me, too. There were a lot of things I thought I would never do again." She leaned her head against his, and closed her eyes.

"I can’t believe that the trick with the akoonah worked! You said that I actually talked through Samantha?"

"You did. While she was sleeping. It was very strange. Lucky for you, she was sleeping in our bedroom and I heard her."

"Lucky for me," she replied, turning her head to kiss the tip of his nose.

"How did you learn about it?" he asked.

"I went on my own vision quest while I was locked up. Kolopak appeared to me. He told me how, in one way or another."

Chakotay’s ears couldn’t believe what they were hearing. "You saw my...father?"

She nodded. He started to chuckle. "What’s so funny?"

He held her closer, rocking her gently. "You. Me. Us. We are truly soul mates, Kathryn."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because my father appeared to you. It means we are connected on the spiritual level."

She turned around to face him, a devilish grin on her face. "How would you like to connect with me on another level?"

"I think I can handle that!" he responded, tipping his head to kiss her.