by Dakota

If it had been Earth, Tom would have said a storm was brewing, a massive, violent tempest. It was quiet on the bridge, like the calm before the storm. There was no idle chitchat, no comments about the few star systems they had passed that morning, just silence. Tense, oppressive silence. Waiting, but waiting for what? Tom had no idea. It was the fifth day the bridge had been like this. Nothing had happened to start it. No aliens were hounding their heels, no systems were down, and they had enough supplies and fuel to last at least six months. They were cruising at warp 7 and had been for ten days. Tom felt something building, something coming – an explosion, a storm, an eruption, something. The tension was so high you could almost see it. He ran a finger nervously along his collar and tried to stay focused on his job. Maybe the storm would come; maybe it would clear the air. Anything was better than this interminable, tedious waiting.

Harry watched Tom run a finger around his collar and unconsciously checked the temperature and humidity. It hadn't changed since the last time he had checked it four minutes earlier. He was nervous and his fingers fumbled as he called up the status of various ship's systems. The bridge felt warm, almost hot, and humid. It was hard to breathe. He read the status of the environmental systems – temperature, humidity, airflow – all normal. He took a deep breath but couldn't convince himself that the temperature was normal. He looked at the readouts again – normal… again. He needed to move. He felt like a caged tiger. The urge to pace left him shifting from foot to foot to foot. Harry checked the time – he'd only been back from lunch for fifteen minutes. It would be a long afternoon.

It might not have been logical, but to Tuvok the bridge seemed hot. Not the arid heat of Vulcan, but the oppressive, humid heat of a jungle on Earth. Tuvok watched Ensign Kim shifting his feet and was reminded of the Terrestrial expression 'cat on a hot tin roof'. His board told him that the young Ops officer had checked the environmental controls five times since he had returned from lunch. Lieutenant Paris was fidgeting at the helm as if he wanted to get up and run away. Gibson at the science station was just as tense and poor Harrison at engineering had resembled a sacrificial lamb when she crossed the upper deck to her station a few minutes earlier. It was curious that the only person who seemed unaffected by the tension was Commander Chakotay. Or perhaps it was not so curious.

Chakotay was all too aware of the tension on the bridge. Tom's fingers were drumming on the helm while Harry all but paced the area near his station. The constant beeps from the science station told him that Gibson was nervous and was making mistakes. Harrison hadn't moved in ten minutes so at least her station wasn't beeping every ten seconds. Then there were Tuvok's eyes staring at the back of his neck. He could feel the tension that radiated from the Ready Room behind Tuvok, but doubted any of the others knew the source. He knew they didn't know the reason for it.

He turned back to his work and tried to concentrate. Fifteen minutes later, he closed the file and checked the time. 14:05. Beta shift started in just under two hours. Maybe, just maybe, he could get this resolved before the shift changed.

"You have the bridge, Commander." Chakotay nodded to Tuvok as he headed for the turbolift. He waited for the door to close before giving his destination – the hallway behind the Ready Room.

Chakotay reached the door and simply entered his authorization code. He had no desire to debate the timeliness of the coming discussion over a com channel.

As the door slid open, Chakotay faced a furious captain.

"Dismissed, Commander."

"I'm not leaving. We have to resolve this one way or another."

"It is resolved. Dismissed."

"It's not and you know it. The entire bridge crew can feel the tension. It's like a powder keg out there – which you would know if you had been there more than five seconds in the last five days."

"They'll have to learn to live with it."

"Then they'll need to know what it is they are living with."

"It's none of their business."

"It is if you expect them to deal with it." Chakotay pulled out all the stops. "This is affecting your command, Captain, and the safety of this ship."

Chakotay paused and let the captain consider his words. "Now, do we work it out privately or do I tell the crew what the problem is and that you expect them to 'live with it'?"

Even though she didn't move and her expression didn't change, Chakotay watched as the captain disappeared and Kathryn gave in.

"Fine. Talk." Kathryn may have given in about having the conversation but Chakotay could tell from her voice she was still resisting.

"I'm not the one who's bothered by what happened."

"You should be."

"Why? I should be upset because for a few minutes you finally admitted your feelings to yourself?" Chakotay shook his head. "No, I'm not upset by that. And neither are you, are you?"

Kathryn refused to meet his gaze.

"You're not upset because of what happened. You're upset because I'm the one who called the halt." Chakotay waited for Kathryn to respond but she remained silent. "Admit it, Kathryn. Who are you really angry with? Yourself for being human or me for not letting us get carried too far?"

"Both!" Kathryn turned angry eyes at Chakotay. "I'm angry at both of us, all right? Is that what you wanted to hear? Now, would you please leave?"

"Not yet. We're not finished yet." Chakotay paused a moment. "If you could change what I did, would you?"

Kathryn remained silent and turned her eyes back to her desk. Chakotay moved forward and held out his hand.

"Come, walk with me."

Kathryn stared at the hand for a full minute before looking up. "Where?"

"Nowhere we haven't been before."

Kathryn finally put her hand in his expecting him to lead her over to the couch. Instead, he led her out the door to the turbolift. A minute later, they were in her quarters. Chakotay led her to the table and stepped in front of her. Slowly he removed her rank pips and placed them on the table before putting his rank bar next to them.

"This is about you and me, not the commanding officers of Voyager."

Chakotay took her hand again and led her to the view port. He could feel the tension in her body grow. He knew she must have figured out what he had in mind. His voice was low and confident as he spoke.

"This time you're in control." Chakotay tugged Kathryn's hand moving her closer. "All you have to do is let yourself go again, just like before. Only this time, you'll be the one to slow us down."

"I don't think I can."

"I know you can." Chakotay watched Kathryn as she remembered the first time they had played out this scene.

Tentatively, Kathryn reached out to touch his shoulder, fingering the seam across his chest before moving around to the back of his neck. As her first hand pulled his head down to her level, she moved the other around his neck. When their lips met, Chakotay engulfed her in an embrace. As the kiss deepened, his hands wandered over her body and she pressed herself closer to him. Chakotay could feel the tension drain from her body as passion took its place.

All too soon, he felt a change in Kathryn as she tightened her hold on him slightly and pulled her lips from his. He was glad she didn't step back immediately and surprised when she leaned closer before lifting her lips to his again. This time the kiss was light and quick. She looked up at him and smiled an invitation that he was happy to accept. This time his target was her neck and she responded with her hands as they moved over his back. He felt her sigh in contentment and then her hands stilled as she slowly relaxed in his arms. He followed her lead and forced himself to slowly calm down but it took him several minutes before he was able to loosen his hold on her. When he had, Kathryn placed her hands on his face and pulled him down for one final kiss.

"You were right. I am in control." Kathryn smiled, tentatively at first, and then more broadly when he returned the smile. "Thank you."

Despite his best intentions, Chakotay could not hide his disappointment that the encounter was over. Then he saw her smile falter and knew Kathryn had seen that disappointment hidden behind his smile and in his eyes. Then her smile changed again but he wasn't sure what she was thinking as she gently pulled out of his embrace and walked deliberately over to the table.

Deliberately she replaced her pips one at a time, never once looking at him, before picking his rank bar and crossing the room to him. She carefully attached his rank bar on his collar and smoothed the fabric in place. "We still have an hour or so left on our shift, Commander. Let's see if the bridge crew can relax now."

"Yes, Captain." Chakotay struggled to accept her decision and to keep his voice level as he followed her toward the door.

Chakotay almost walked into her when Kathryn stopped just before she triggered the door. She turned and stared into his eyes for a moment then pulled his lips down to hers again. This kiss was almost platonic but held the promise of other things to come. As Kathryn stepped back, she met his eyes. The sparkle in her eyes was like the sun breaking through storm clouds.

"From now on, Chakotay, when we're alone, it's always 'Kathryn'."