"Virus!"
by GillyH
August 1998

Notes: This isn't a story as such, just a very tongue-in-cheek scene addition for ... um..."Unforgettable" - that ep every J/Cer immediately disregarded or decided to label 'AU' - even if RB did wonders with the stupid plot, dialogue and techno-babble fix *AND* look good enough to slap between to slices of bread and chomp on *grin*. If you could remember it, this would slot-in right after Neelix says goodnight to Chakotay at the end. No artistic merit is intended - just me, musing on consequences. Many thanks to Christina Wilson for sparking the original discussion that set me off.

Rated: PG13 (A little human biology, but nothing too bad)

Disclaimer: Paramount and the Viaborg own all of the characters taking part. I'm not making any money out of this, just having some fun. If you'd like to reproduce this anywhere else, please contact me first. Many thanks.

NB: Words between ** ** denote thought.

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Janeway hurried into sickbay. "What is it Doctor... what's wrong with Commander Chakotay?"

Just at that moment the Doctor moved to one side, allowing her to look past him to Chakotay - lying unconscious and naked on the main quarantine bio-bed - his modesty preserved by a sterile sheet.

She gasped and her hand shot to her mouth. "Oh, my God. He's.... he's green!"

The Doctor smiled and gave a smug little cough. "Only to the layman, Captain. To the trained eye, he's yellow with tiny mustard spots."

"But how....I mean why... when? He hasn't left the ship in weeks, nobody has. We've had no visitors either."

"One at a time, Captain....

. 'How'? - I've run a battery of tests and my diagnosis is that the Commander is suffering from a virulant, unknown sexually transmitted disease.
. 'Why'? - Clearly self-explanitory.
. 'When'? - Sometime in the last 24 hours.

"As I said, this STD is particulary virulant and the Commander had a clean, routine physical 24 hours ago. I should tell you, Captain... if Mr. Neelix hadn't found him slumped over a table in the mess hall when he arrived to start breakfast this morning, I'd be performing an autopsy now."

With her heart breaking and her mind reeling, Janeway turned away to grasp the edge of the drugs trolley and steady herself. **He wouldn't... he couldn't. I don't believe it... Not my Chakotay!**

Swallowing the huge lump that threatened to seal her throat, she took a few ragged breaths and managed, "Are you positive it's STD, Doctor? I mean... could there be another source of infection?"

The hologram sighed and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Captain. There can be no other explanation. The more damning evidence is hidden under the sheet... would you like me to show you?"

"No!" She turned to face him and held up her right hand. "No, thank you Doctor... that won't be necessary. Just tell me."

"Very Well. His genitals have swollen to three times their normal size and I've also noted a marked colour change sequence. Basically, they've been through every colour of the rainbow, but seem to have settled on electric pink. My tests show that the virus entered his body through the urethra - typical of the modus operandi for such a virus, when no protective barrier methods are used during intercourse."

Janeway swallowed hard, holding up her hand again to silence him before he really warmed to his subject. "Thank you, Doctor. Case proven. So, can you cure it?"

"I don't know, Captain. The usual treatments are having little or no effect. I've stabilised him and shot him full of every STD antidote I can think of, but they're only slowing the virus down, not eradicating it. I've got some cultures to work on and test, but there's nothing in the Starfleet database about this infection."

"Can you wake him? I'd like to ask him some questions."

**Like her name for instance!**

The Doctor nodded, filled a hypo and pressed it to Chakotay's neck. As he started to come round, Janeway dismissed the EMH with a curt nod.

"Chakotay....? Chakotay, can you hear me?"

He blinked a few times, opened his eyes and croaked, "Captain...Kathryn? What happened? He slowly scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned, "And why do I ache all over... like I got kicked by a horse?" Catching sight of his forearm, he groaned, "Oh spirits, I'm green... why am I green?"

**You think that's bad, Mister? Wait 'til you need the head. You two-timing-son-of-a-bitch... I thought you loved me!**

Taking a deep breath she let it out very, very slowly. "You've contracted a very bad infection. A sexually transmitted disease."

"A what?!" He tried to sit up, but didn't have the strength. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me. You've had sex with someone on this ship within the last 24 hours and I want her name, Chakotay. I want her quarantined before she infects anymore of my crew."

"Kathryn, I don't know what you're talking about! I haven't so much as kissed a woman in years -- not since the Borg... not since Riley Frasier manipulated me."

She laughed, mirthlessly. "Ha! That's a good one. I think we both know that she 'seduced' you, Chakotay. You were more than willing. Besides, Riley's out of the frame - way out. Tell me who it was. That's an order."

"I'm telling you I haven't made love to anyone since Riley! You have to believe me. Kathryn, I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Their eyes locked as years of deeply repressed feelings, hopes and needs found voice on their faces.

When Chakotay spoke again, his voice was a dry whisper. "I promise you, on my life, I haven't... I wouldn't."

His face was so open, so earnest and he was hurt -- deeply hurt that she'd believe him capable of betraying her... her what? Her hopes? Her trust? Her vision blurred as she took his hand in hers and tried to smile.

"I believe you, but how? The Doctor is adamant that it's a STD. It's unknown, but it conforms to all known criteria for that sort of virus."

"I don't know. I'm as much in the dark^___"

He was interrupted by the chirrup of her Commbadge.

"Torres to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here. Can this wait B'Elanna?"

"No, Captain. We've got Gel-packs failing right across the ship."

As if to illustrate her words, the lights in sick-bay began to flicker.

"I'm fighting to stay ahead of whatever's causing it, but I'm losing the battle. They seem to be infected with a foreign body again -- remember Neelix's Cheese? If that idiot's been breeding bacterial cultures again, I'm gonna rip off his whiskers one by one!"

Janeway's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as her quicksilver mind made the connection. "B'Elanna! How is the infection presenting... what physical characteristics does it have?"

"Well, I have several Gel-packs here, all in different stages of infection. Some are swollen to the point of bursting and there are several colour changes in progress, from a yellowy-green through to a shocking hot pink."

Chakotay groaned and clapped both hands over his eyes. "Oh, great! Hot pink is definitely *not* my colour."

Janeway grimaced as she glanced at the sheet covering him from the waist down. **That's not what I've heard, Big Boy.**

"B'Elanna, bring those Gel-packs to sick bay immediately. I want you and the Doctor to work together on this. He has some data that should prove useful. Janeway out."

Relieved that there seemed to be another explanation for Chakotay's condition, she couldn't resist teasing him. Grinning broadly, she placed a hand on his bare chest and leaned in close to whisper, "What have you been doing to my ship, you pervert!"

Before he could answer, the doors to sick-bay swished open and Neelix entered.

Quickly removing her hand, Janeway turned to face him with a welcoming smile. "Good morning, Neelix. What brings you to sickbay?"

"Good morning, Captain... Commander," the little Talaxian beamed. "I came to see the Commander, actually. When I got back to the Mess hall to finally start breakfast, I found these on the floor -- right by the table the Commander... uh... collapsed over." He handed Chakotay several sheets of writing paper and an old-fashioned ink pen. "The sheets seem to be covered in some sort of writing, but I can't understand it."

With Janeway's help, Chakotay sat up and skimmed through the sheets of paper. "I don't understand it either.... it's my handwriting, but I don't remember writing any of this and I certainly don't know anyone called 'Kellin'."

The more he read, the more confused and upset he looked. To give him a few moments, Janeway quietly motioned Neelix away from the bio-bed. "Thank you for everything, Neelix. The Doctor tells me that if you hadn't found Chakotay when you did, he might have died."

"Oh, my goodness... really?! I just couldn't sleep, so I decided to get up and start the day early. Oh, Poor Commander Chakotay. Will he always be that yucky colour?"

Janeway grinned in spite of herself. "I hope not, Neelix. I sincerely hope not."

Suddenly, Chakotay called out, "Kathryn... come here, look at this!"

She patted Neelix on the shoulder. "I'll keep you informed, Neelix. Thank you, again." The little Talaxian waved to Chakotay then turned and left as she crossed back to the bio-bed. "Look at what?"

"This... look! We were boarded by aliens... Ramorans. I... I fell in love with a woman called Kellin and we became intimate, but she was being 'traced' by her own people... xenophobics." He thrust the pen and the sheets of paper into her hand and fell back on the bio-bed. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. What was I thinking?!"

Janeway stood beside him and read through the sheets of paper. When she'd finished the last one, she calmly tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to Tuvok. Please run a level one diagnostic on the computer and all ships systems. Concentrate on finding evidence of a foreign virus designed to wipe system logs. I want a report as soon as anything is found. Janeway out."

"I don't know what to say, Kathryn. How could I?! How could I do that to you? How could I have been so stupid with... with someone I hardly knew, from a species we've never met before. She could have been carrying the Delta quadrant Black Death for all I knew -- for all the Doc knew, too. It's written right there.... No tri-corder would work on her!"

When she replied, her voice was surprisingly steady. "Right now, the important thing is finding a cure for you and the Gel-packs and discovering how a cross infection occurred." Exasperated, she rubbed at her forehead as she thought her way through the problem. "The Gel-packs are organic, but how the hell did they pick up a Sexually transmitted disease? Wait a minute... that's it! It's a disease -- a Ramoran disease that attacks organic tissue, but it can be spread in many ways - you just happened to get it through sex with this Kellin. If the Ramorans introduced a computer virus into the ships systems to hide their existance and they used similar organic Gel-pack technology ... then they also passed the infection directly to our Gel-packs."

B'Elanna suddenly crashed through the doors of sick-bay, her arms full of swollen, multi-coloured Gel-packs.

"Captain, I was thinking on my way down here. What if we tried heat-treating them, like we did last time?"

"It's got to be worth a try, B'Elanna. Get the Doctor. Maybe a combination of high heat and anti-viral treatments will work"

Turning back to Chakotay she murmured, "I'd better go and relieve Tuvok so that he can concentrate on the diagnostics. Try and get some rest and I'll see you later."

"Kathryn, I wish..."

She took his hand and shushed him. "We live not as we wish to, but as we can, Chakotay. You must have had your reasons at the time... and when all's said and done, you're only human. We have a lot to talk about... about us, but you have to beat this infection first."

With a watery smile, she left sickbay - several sheets of paper and an old-fashioned ink pen clutched tightly in her hand.

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The End.