Rating: PG
Captain Janeway eased her way into Cargo Bay 2 holding a tricorder in front of her. Her head jerked up in surprise as she discovered Chakotay was there ahead of her. He too was sweeping the bay with a tricorder.
His eyes darted back and forth between the captain and his tricorder. "I picked up a power surge coming from the cargo bay."
"I detected the same thing. You think it's the enhanced alcove?"
"Could be." He slid back a couple steps, his free hand instinctively brushing against the phaser at his hip.
Janeway caught the movement. "Let's take a look." She brushed past him, keeping her side with her free hand farthest from him. "Are phasers standard equipment on board now?"
Chakotay tipped his head to get a better look at her as she stepped up onto the alcove's platform. "Must be."
Janeway moved quickly but smoothly to scan the alcove. "The data buffer's been activated."
"I wanted to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning."
Janeway raised an eyebrow at the comment, but schooled her features before turning back to Chakotay. She rested her hands on the sides of the alcove in a seemingly nonchalant yet completely territorial manner. "Well, you should be careful. Somebody might think you were trying to delete a few files." Her voice was silky but her hands gripped the metal turning her knuckles white.
"Why would they think that?" Chakotay's voice was almost calm; it almost didn't shake.
"Some of those files could contain sensitive information…"
"If that's true, somebody might think you were trying to do the same thing…"
Janeway nodded and tilted her head. "That catapult out there--it's a powerful piece of technology. If the Maquis ever had access to something like it they might have been successful."
Chakotay frowned now and took a half step back, turning his body away from her. "And if we had, your mission to the Delta Quadrant never would have gotten off the drawing board."
Janeway lunged at him just as he was reaching down for his phaser. One hand grabbed for the weapon as the other jerked free her own phaser.
There was a terrific flash.
The two stared at each other for a moment and then ever so slowly crumpled, away from each other, landing with a thump on the cargo bay decking.
There was absolute silence in the room.
Moments later the doors to the cargo bay slid open again. Tom Paris entered flanked by B'Elanna, Seven of Nine, Harry, and the Doctor. Tom gasped at what he saw. "What's going on here?" There was smoke still rising from the large charred patches on the command team's uniforms. "That was not in the script!"
"It's a stupid script, Helmboy," B'Elanna said as she elbowed her way past Tom to kneel between the captain and commander.
"Captain, what do you think?" Tom asked.
Janeway opened one eye and immediately closed it again. "I'm dead, ask Chakotay."
Chakotay kept both eyes closed. "I wish I could help, but I'm dead too."
"You weren't supposed to shoot each other," Tom grumbled as he looked at the two. "Computer, repair Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay's uniforms and 'revive' them."
The holes in their uniforms disappeared along with the lingering smoke in the room. Tom reached out a hand to Janeway and helped her up off the floor. Harry did the same for Chakotay.
"Now that you're back among the living, would you care to tell me what's so awful about my script?"
Janeway shook her head and held up a hand. "I don't like to discourage my crews' creative efforts." She linked arms with Chakotay and they started towards the door.
"The script needs work Tom," Chakotay said over his shoulder. The two of them left, but not before Tom heard the captain's laughter floating down the corridor outside the Holodeck.
Tom sighed. "Computer end program." The cargo bay dissolved into the Holodeck's default grid. He looked around at the remaining group. "I supposed you'd like to criticize it too."
B'Elanna smirked and slid up beside him. She slipped an arm around him and ruffled his hair with the other hand. "It's not so bad, Flyboy."
They all turned and walked out into the corridor.
"Do you wish to receive that data alphabetically or chronologically?" Seven asked.
Tom rolled his eyes. "Et tu, Seven?"
"It is not possible to burn food in a replicator, there are safeguards," Seven began.
"I know, but I wanted to add sort of a 'slice of life' to the scene. Make the captain seem more approachable," Tom explained.
"Is that also why you chose to make me insane? Borg alcoves also contain safeguards to prevent exactly the type of psychosis you described," Seven continued.
B'Elanna squeezed his shoulder. "Face it, Tom, you're no Tuvok."
"It's not my fault the resident Vulcan has a more devious criminal mind than I do," Tom whined.
Meanwhile back in Kathryn's quarters...
"I thought we were eating in the mess hall?" Chakotay asked.
"No, Tom's holo-novel made me hungry."
"And the mess hall is no place to go when you're hungry?"
"Exactly, but don't let Neelix hear you say that." Kathryn tossed her jacket onto the couch. "If you'll take care of the table, I'll get the food."
Chakotay nodded.
A few minutes later Kathryn was finished programming the replicator as Chakotay finished setting the table. She reached in and pulled out a perfectly cooked roast.
"Careful, you don't want to burn yourself," Chakotay said.
They shared a laugh as she took the other dishes from the replicator when they appeared and handed them to Chakotay.
"I think Tom's been spending too much time in the 20th century databases."
Kathryn nodded. "But it's harmless and it keeps him out of trouble."
They both sat and began to eat. Chakotay was studying his plate, cutting up his vegetables. "You know, we were supposed to get stuck in the Delta Flyer at the end of his novel. No doubt we'd be having dinner there if you hadn't shot me."
"Are you implying I had ulterior motives?"
"It is rather convenient that the program ended abruptly, just in time for dinner." Chakotay looked up at her and smirked. "Too convenient. Almost as if you didn't want to be stuck with me."
Kathryn smiled and waved a hand around the room. "We're having dinner, aren't we?" Then she looked down again and chased a loose pea around her plate with her fork. "Maybe I just prefer to spend my time with you without Tom Paris looking over our shoulders."
Chakotay became very interested in a stray vegetable on his plate. "Tom can be a nuisance, always pushing and plotting."
"Yes, but his heart's in the right place, even if his schemes are a bit embarrassing at times."
"He could learn a thing or two about tactics. He's about as subtle as a Kazon." Chakotay grumbled as he stabbed the errant bit of food.
Kathryn nodded. "Of course, there is such a thing as being too subtle. I mean, one person's subtlety is another person's disinterest. It can be hard to tell them apart." Kathryn took a sip of her coffee as Chakotay stared at his plate.
He was still looking at it when she got up to clear the dishes.
"Do you want dessert here or should we have it at the coffee table?" she asked.
"Uh, that would be fine."
She smiled at his non-answer and picked up a couple dishes.
Chakotay looked up when saw Kathryn was clearing things away. "Here, let me help with that." He cleared away the rest of dinner while she set bowls of ice cream on the coffee table along with coffee for herself and tea for him.
She sat down on the couch and he sat next to her. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. "Am I?"
"Are you what?"
"Too subtle."
"Since I don't know what you mean, I'd have to say yes." She smiled into her cup, taking a sip to cover it.
Chakotay sighed. "Now you're just teasing me."
Kathryn chuckled. "I guess I wasn't very subtle."
Chakotay set his cup down on the coffee table. He took her cup out of her hands and set it next to his. Then he took her hands in his.
Kathryn took in a breath as he touched her, but she didn't flinch or pull away.
"Kathryn, is there a point to this? I opened my heart to you four years ago, and though I've respected your wishes and your parameters, my feelings haven't changed. Normally I'm...," he looked away and then back to her, "subtle about it, but that doesn't mean I've ever been indifferent. But if you still feel the way as you did on New Earth then I won't bring it up again."
Kathryn released the breath she'd been holding. "I don't know what to say."
"I see." He looked away and started to pull back, but she gripped his hands firmly and held him there.
"I never said how I felt when we were on New Earth, only that I needed certain parameters. I needed them because I was afraid... of us. And after we were rescued I felt grateful that I'd spared us both the embarrassment and heartache of starting a relationship there that we couldn't continue on the ship."
Chakotay sat very quietly listening to her, knowing his life and happiness were hanging on her next words and not having the slightest idea what she was going to say. He wanted to hope, but years of rejection had taught him to be cautious. He'd walked very far out on a limb tonight and hoped he wasn't going to come crashing down to earth.
"After the letter from Mark, I began to wonder if I'd made the right decision. I wanted to talk to you about it, but you said there's still 'plenty of time'."
Chakotay cringed as she quoted his own words.
Kathryn paused. "What?"
"Nothing. I just wish I'd never said that. I was trying to give you space, not swoop in like a vulture. I never meant for you to take it the way you did."
"That you weren't interested anymore? Not like that, anyway," she said.
He nodded and squeezed her hands. "What do we do now?"
"We could stop being subtle and take a chance. Be honest with each other and see what happens."
Chakotay shifted in his seat. "We could, but what if we don't want the same thing?"
The real fear in his eyes was heartbreaking to Kathryn because she knew she had put it there. She leaned forward and pulled one of her hands free to stroke his cheek. "I think we both want the same thing."
He reached up and slowly took her hand, moving it away from his face. "All right. But I think it's your turn to go first." He looked into her eyes. "What do you want, Kathryn?"
She blushed as she tried to think what to say. It was incredibly hard being on the other side of the fence. Always it had been Chakotay declaring his love, or at least his devotion, and her calmly deflecting him. Now the shoe was on the other foot. She took a steadying breath. "I want to see if we can make a relationship work, here on Voyager."
Her heart raced as she waited for a reply, but he remained silent. He just stared at her almost as if he hadn't heard what she said. Finally, he whispered, "Why?"
"Why?" Kathryn wasn't expecting that. She ducked her head but Chakotay gently reached up and lifted her chin until she met his eyes. She swallowed and looked at him. "I thought that was obvious, Chakotay."
He shook his head slowly, never taking his eyes off her.
In the years they'd been on Voyager, Kathryn had always felt they shared the burden of their non-relationship equally. It had been difficult, sometimes painful, to ignore and put off Chakotay's romantic overtures, but now she was realizing that being the one to open their heart and risking rejection was much harder. Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself, and then she opened them. "I love you, Chakotay."
A smile spread across Chakotay's face as he breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled Kathryn forward and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you too, Kathryn." He rubbed her back gently. "I love you too."
THE END
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