---

8 Days of J/C Valentines - Day 2

By Sun and Candlelight

by Anne Rose

---

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: none
Summary: J/C, It's shore leave time again. Kathryn manages to get some time to herself. (12k)
Archive: I would be honored if you want to link to my stories. Please let me know where so I can visit. I prefer to keep the copies on my site since I tend to update, modify, and make corrections without warning.
Author's Note: Thanks to Hubby, Jade, Squirrelly, and Dawn for beta reading this. Written for 8 Days of J/C Valentines © February 14, 2004.
Disclaimer: Voyager and its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended.

---

~*~*~
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
~*~*~

Kathryn sat in a comfy chair in her suite and read her book, a popular romance novel from the planet they were on. She mused that if you changed the names and some of the flora and fauna, it would be a setting where Lord Burleigh wouldn't feel out of place.

The hero and heroine kissed and rode off into the sunset in their anti-grav carriage. She set the book aside and stood, stretching idle muscles and feeling the blood flow back into them.

Kathryn got up and walked to the windows. She opened the double doors that led out onto the wide balcony. The sun would be setting in a little over an hour, but it was still quite bright outside. Her rooms overlooked part of the valley and out to the mountains on both sides, a spectacular and peaceful view. The balcony was almost like another room with a low table and couch to the right of the door, facing the valley. There were other amenities in case guests wanted to enjoy the temperate weather without leaving their suite.

She'd been holed up in her rooms all day, preferring not to join the rest of the crew out and about in the city.

For the past five days she'd been a good sport. The first day felt more like a diplomatic mission than shore leave, with a reception and banquet in Voyager's honor. The next day she, Chakotay, and Neelix were honored with a tour of the city and outlying areas. They were honored for five long hours followed by another banquet that lasted well into the evening. Kathryn felt she'd been adequately honored enough to last for quite some time when she finally fell into bed.

In the morning the three of them had launched the trade negotiations. The locals were very accommodating, but not in any particular hurry, and seemed to enjoy the process as well as the novelty of visitors. Neelix and Chakotay matched the native pace effortlessly while Kathryn chafed and worked to keep a polite smile firmly in place.

Kathryn kept reminding herself how many times in the midst of a battle she'd wished for a nice, boring, pretty planet or a long dull meeting where no one was shooting at her. Now she had it and she really meant to enjoy it... really.

The next two days had been spent on organized group outings. First she and Chakotay enjoyed a trek up into the mountains and had a picnic by a secluded, clear mountain lake - along with 18 other members of the crew. Then they were scheduled to travel down into the valley for a similar picnic on the grassy river bank. But that outing was different -- it included swimming.

Tom had provided them with Voyager's cultural database. Apparently what their hosts had gleaned from it was all about water and eating food on the ground.

Kathryn hadn't been disappointed when she looked at her schedule for today and found nothing on it. She was sure it was an oversight but she wasn't going out of her way to correct anyone.

Today had been just for her. In fact, she hadn't been disturbed once by her combadge. She'd expected to be interrupted at some point by a status report or some member of the crew, like Tom, B'Elanna, or Chakotay inviting her to go do something with them. But none of them had.

It bothered her for a moment until the realization dawned on her. It must have been Chakotay's doing.

She had no doubt he'd sensed her increasing restlessness during their group activities. Kathryn preferred not to spend her shore leave or her R&R time with the rest of the crew. Not because she was anti-social or didn't enjoy the goings-on, but because she was the captain. As such, she felt the obligation to remain apart, to always maintain her facade of calm, cool authority. It was a strain for her, and, she suspected, for others.

Chakotay often told her it wasn't as wide a gulf as she imagined, but then, since she was busy keeping him at arms' length too, his argument was doomed to failure.

Kathryn's mind wandered to her first officer and she wondered what he had been doing today while she enjoyed her solitude. She hoped he'd found a quiet place to spend the day and found something relaxing to occupy himself with, since the negotiations were wrapped up and the goods already exchanged.

She wished he had been there with her. But, spending shore leave together one-on-one wasn't where they were in their...whatever it was. There was always a chaperone, either the bridge crew or 18 other people enjoying a picnic.

Her attention came back to the beautiful vista. It would have been perfect if she'd had someone to share it with.

She sighed and wandered back inside. There was a commpanel tastefully hidden in a cabinet and a menu for room service. Their guests had warp drives but no replicators. Kathryn scanned the menu and tapped in her order.

She didn't feel like reading any more before dinner, and there was enough time to have an unhurried soak in the bath. She walked into the bedroom, stripped off her clothes, and headed for the tub in the adjoining bathroom.

Half an hour later she had just gotten out of the bath when she heard a knock at the door. "I'll be out in a minute. Just set it up anywhere," she called from the bathroom.

The door opened and she heard a familiar voice answer her. "Okay, Kathryn."

Her head came up and she stopped drying her hair. It sounded like Chakotay. She pulled her robe closed and poked her head out the bedroom door.

Kathryn saw him sitting at the table, his back to her, drinking a glass of wine and looking out at the valley while the waiter arranged the food.

She quietly pulled the door closed and changed her plans. Instead of a robe and a towel on her head for dinner, she went to her closet and pulled out a comfortable dress and shoes. She fixed her hair and makeup simply and surveyed her work in the mirror. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at her image. Not too casual, definitely not formal, just right.

She found Chakotay still sitting at the table when she emerged. He didn't turn around.

"Have a nice soak?" he asked.

"Yes, I did."

He turned and looked at her.

Kathryn looked at the extra food and Chakotay. "I don't remember ordering you for dinner." She smiled at him and sat in the chair across from him.

"You know the hotel's motto: 'We anticipate your needs before you know you have them.' You must have needed me." He grinned at her but there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"I thought that was Neelix's motto." She took a roll from the basket and buttered it. "But, it is nice to have company for dinner."

Chakotay relaxed at her comment and grabbed a roll for himself. "Did you enjoy your day?"

Kathryn was in the middle of a bite and swallowed to answer. "Yes, it was the strangest thing. No calls all day." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Almost as if someone told everyone to leave me alone."

He chuckled. "I'm sure they just realized they could manage on their own for one day. It's not like we've had the Borg or Hirogen stalking us lately. Our big excitement this month was the family of rodents Neelix accidentally imported on his last trade mission."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at the memory. "Those rats multiplied like tribbles. We were lucky to get rid of them."

"Who would have thought they would eat the carpeting."

The shared a laugh as they ate their dinner and discussed other trading mishaps where Neelix had kept the crew fed and amused.

As they finished dinner, Chakotay poured coffee for Kathryn and tea for himself. He carried their cups out onto the balcony and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch. The sun was setting and he lit the candles on the table.

Kathryn followed and took in the scene. She could just see the valley and mountains in the remaining light. Chakotay sat on the couch and looked at her expectantly, holding out his hand. She took it and he pulled her down next to him.

They sat in silence, leaning against each other, watching the end of the sunset and sipping their drinks.

After the light died, Kathryn turned to Chakotay. "I wanted to thank you for giving me a day to myself. I needed it."

"What are friends for?" He grinned at her, but then his smile faded when she didn't return it. "Is something wrong?"

She shifted in her seat, easing slightly away from him, and avoided his eyes. "Everything's fine," she sighed. "I had a lovely day to relax."

Chakotay noticed her pulling away and tried to figure out what he had done to ruin the mood. "Kathryn." He reached around her and gently pulled her close again. "We've got another day before going back to the ship. Why don't we plan what we want to do tomorrow?"

Kathryn tensed as the conflicting emotions warred in her. She felt she ought to pull away, but she didn't want to. She knew Chakotay didn't mean it that way, but 'friends' felt like a slap in the face.

She set her cup on the table and took a deep breath before turning to look at him. "What is this, Chakotay?"

Now Chakotay looked uncomfortable. "What do you mean?" He had a bad feeling that protocol or parameters were going to be the next words out of her mouth.

Kathryn decided she'd come this far, she might as well say what she was thinking. "This thing with us, what is it?"

Chakotay looked out at the view and noticed how the stars had started to come out. It was such a lovely night and he really wanted it to end well. He let out a breath and looked at Kathryn. "I thought we both had the same understanding. You've always been okay with us...with spending time together and being close, as long as we don't talk about it. So I stopped trying to talk about it." He watched her expression, searching for a hint of what she was thinking.

Kathryn relaxed a bit, leaning back against the couch and his arm. "You know, I never really thought about it like that."

He brushed back a stray hair from her face. "I know."

"But I think you're right. You always seem to know what I need."

He tugged gently on her shoulder and she leaned forward into his embrace, resting the side of her face against his chest. He wrapped his other arm around her and held her as they watched the stars and listened to the nighttime sounds.

Chakotay leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "You know, you smell wonderful tonight." He felt her smile against his chest.

"Wildflowers," she murmured. "It's the shampoo and bath oil they provided."

Chakotay took the opportunity to slide her closer and breathe in her scent. "What sort of wildflowers?"

Kathryn shrugged. "Local ones."

He chuckled. "I guess that makes sense. You'll have to find out where they get it and bring some back to the ship."

Kathryn laughed softly. "Let's not let Neelix do it."

"No, I'll handle it personally," he replied.

"You always know what I need." She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing and the beating of his heart as he caressed her back.

"Always."

~*~*~ THE END ~*~*~

---

Return to 8 Days Index
8 Days of J/C Valentines - A writing project from JCFicHaven and Jadie's Nexus.