by Dakota

Chakotay roused as Kathryn crawled into bed. He eagerly turned his head to meet her lips.

"I was beginning to wonder how long you and B'Elanna were going to talk to those engineers."

"I'm sorry. Miss me?"

"You know I have. Is it really necessary for you to be involved with all these details?"

"Yes. B'Elanna can't do this alone and I need to approve the transaction anyway. You know how much we need this technology to extend the useful life of our dilithium crystals."

"I still wish it wasn't taking up so much of your time."

"Well, I'm here now."

"Mmmm, yes you are." Chakotay started nibbling on Kathryn's neck and was rewarded by a small sigh of pleasure.  He allowed his hands to start roaming over her body as his lips moved lower on her throat before returning to her lips. Kathryn didn't move. A deep sigh told him she was sound asleep.

Chakotay sighed and turned onto his back. He knew Kathryn was exhausted. She had been involved in negotiations for more than a week for at last eighteen hours a day. They had barely seen each other during that time. They were finally both off duty and alone and she had fallen asleep. He tried with minimal success to tell himself and his body that having her next to him was enough. It was a long hour before he eventually fell asleep.

Two nights later, Kathryn managed to slip into bed without waking Chakotay, or so she thought. She slid close to him, kissed his shoulder gently and was asleep in a matter of seconds. Once her breathing was even, Chakotay turned and pulled her closer. She snuggled against him without rousing leaving Chakotay to stare into the dark feeling quite alone.

Tom had half finished his lunch the next day when he saw Chakotay enter the mess hall. Excusing himself from Harry and a few others, he carried his tray over to the table normally shared by the captain and first officer.

"Mind if I join you?"

Chakotay looked up surprised. It had been a long time since anyone other than Kathryn had eaten lunch with him at this table. The only reason he had chosen to eat alone today instead of joining some of the others was that he felt he was not very good company.

"Sure, why not?"

Tom sat down and the two men ate in silence. Finally Tom spoke.

"Have you seen as little of the captain as I have of B'Elanna this last week or so?"

"Probably. Maybe even less. She has a tendency to send the others back to the ship while staying longer to do 'one more thing'."

"I'm not so sure, but I think B'Elanna goes to check on engineering when she gets sent back to the ship early. She hasn't been getting back to our quarters until long after I'm asleep."

"Sounds like Kathryn's schedule. She is getting very good at slipping into bed silently."

"I know the technique." Tom hesitated before asking his next question. "Do you miss the captain?"

Chakotay looked at him with a puzzled expression? "Do I miss Kathryn?"

"Yes. Do you miss her?" His emphasis made it clear he was asking something a bit more than just a general question. Light dawned on Chakotay's face.

"If you're asking what I think you're asking, it's none of your business, Paris."

"I'll take that as a yes." Chakotay's angry look didn't deter Tom. "Look, I miss B'Elanna, too. I thought maybe together we could do something to get them to take a day off or something."

"This is an important project. You know neither of them is going to take a break until they know it's going to work and there are a lot of technical problems to resolve. Neither of them trusts anyone else enough to let them work on this without constant monitoring."

"I know that, but aren't they going just a little too far?"

"I'm not going to discuss this with you, Paris."

"Fine, then listen. I miss B'Elanna. I even miss fighting with her. She and the captain have done this before, but never for an extended period like this. I've had more personal conversations with the computer in the last week than I have with B'Elanna."

"What's your point, Paris? They aren't doing this because they want to. They have responsibilities. It's part of being a senior officer."

"Are you telling me you wouldn't like the captain to take an evening off so you two could spend some time together when you're both awake?"

Chakotay sighed. Tom had a point.

"Ok. I won't try to lie to you. I would like to spend an evening with her. But I'm not going to do or suggest any changes to make it happen. If you can get B'Elanna to request an evening off, I'll make sure you aren't on duty. That good enough?"

"That's not what I was thinking."

"I don’t want to hear it, Paris. I don’t care what it is, I don't want to hear it."

"Just hear me out." When Chakotay didn't stand and leave the table, Tom continued before he could change his mind. "Remember Lysistrata in ancient Athens, the one who convinced the women to withhold their favors from their husbands until they ended the war? Well, eventually they are going to have a break from all this work and notice us again. If we're just as busy with the ship and other projects when they finally take a break, maybe they'll realize how much their total involvement affects us when they're working on projects like this one."

"You're proposing we keep up this crazy schedule and not be affectionate even when we can relax a bit?"

"Yes."

"What exactly is that supposed to accomplish?"

"Just to let them know how we feel."

"So trying to work 'round the clock and not taking time to be with Kathryn is going to show her how I feel about her? Don't think so, Paris."

"No, it's supposed to show her how you feel when she's not around."

"I won't do it."

"How about just the first night they take a break?"

Chakotay still looked stubbornly skeptical but didn't say anything.

"One of them will probably plan a nice quiet dinner for two. Whoever hears about dinner first can invite the others to join them. Sooner or later, one of them will ask what's going on. Then we explain."

Chakotay was quiet for at least three minutes.

"Paris, if this backfires, you will spend the next six months in isolation unless you are on duty."

"Don't worry, it will work out fine. There isn't anything to worry about." Tom stood and made good his escape before Chakotay could change his mind. As Tom left the mess hall, Chakotay's only thought was that Tom's confidence was more than enough reason to change his mind. He knew he was going to regret having even listened to Tom.

During a brief lunch break that same day Kathryn and B'Elanna sat conferring about the project when Kathryn realized they had both stopped eating as they went through the specifications for a component.

"B'Elanna, stop. We're supposed to be eating lunch. No more about this project until we've finished."

B'Elanna punched in two more numbers then slid the padd away. Both women ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Captain, do you feel a bit guilty about all the hours we've been working?"

"Guilty?" Kathryn was thoughtful. "No, it's my responsibility to make sure we acquire this technology and can actually use it safely. Why would I feel guilty?"

"I didn't mean about doing all the negotiating and working on the incorporation of the technology into our systems. I meant about being off the ship so much."

"You're not making sense, B'Elanna. You obviously are feeling guilty about something, so just tell me what it is."

"I've barely seen Tom in the last two weeks. When I am in our quarters, I'm usually asleep."

"Has he been complaining?"

"No, nothing like that. He hasn't said a word, not in anger or criticism, but he seems disappointed or sad when we do have a chance to talk. I actually fell asleep right in the middle of a conversation a couple nights ago."

"Oh." Kathryn's solitary word and tone of voice conveyed a lot more than she would have liked.

"Is Chakotay a better actor than Tom?"

"I think so. In fact, I'm certain of it." Kathryn grabbed a padd and downloaded some files from the main computer. She scanned through them quickly. "Have you noticed the duty roster lately?"

B'Elanna shook her head as she tried to recall any problems getting enough help for their project.

"Neither had I." Kathryn pushed the padd toward B'Elanna. "Look at it. He's scheduled almost every person who could possibly help to the shifts when we'd be likely to need them. He's shifted as many people as he can to routine posts and all those with training that might be helpful are assigned to engineering. He's got Tom and Tuvok standing double shifts with him on a daily basis to cover the necessary posts on the bridge. I hadn't even noticed that no matter what we needed or when there was always a qualified person on duty and available to help immediately."

"He's a good first officer, Captain."

"I know that, but I should at least have noticed some of this in the last week or so. I think I've been taking him for granted. I'll have to make it up to him somehow." Kathryn shook her head slightly as if to clear it.

Kathryn pulled up the file with all her notes from the project and studied it. She made a few changes and passed it to B'Elanna. "If we really push the rest of today and tomorrow morning, do you think we can let Joe and Harry cover the adjustments tomorrow night? We could try to get away about 17:00. Tuvok is on duty and I can get Tom relieved easily enough."

B'Elanna studied the changes carefully. "I think we might just be able to do that. We might have to work a bit later tonight, but it's worth a try. At the very least, we'll be able to get away a few hours early. That's better than nothing."

"Let's do it then." The two women cleared the remains of their lunches and returned to their work intent on accomplishing two goals in the next thirty-six hours."

By the time he went to bed, Chakotay had decided to tell Tom that he would have no part of Tom's plan.  He awakened from a sound sleep at 02:30 when Kathryn crawled into bed to curl up next to him. She looked exhausted. He brushed her hair from her face knowing that she had to take a break. He also knew she would never do it for her own health; his only hope was that she would take a break for him. He would talk to Tom about a slight revision in the plan that didn't require waiting until Kathryn and B'Elanna decided to take a break.

Chakotay missed Tom at lunch because of a minor problem in hydroponics. He planned to talk to him at dinner. He had just checked the time until the end of his shift when Kathryn walked onto the bridge. He stood and started to speak, but she just headed to her ready room.

"In my ready room, Commander."

Chakotay followed Kathryn trying to figure out what was going on. She had been gone when he woke up and he hadn't had time to figure out how she had managed that. Now she was on the bridge about half way through what had become her normal working day wanting to talk to him. He followed her into the ready room.

"You wanted to see me, Captain." Formality was always the best policy on duty when he had no idea what was on Kathryn's mind.

"No, Kathryn wanted to see you." She walked over to him and pulled his head down for a gentle kiss.  "I've missed you."

Chakotay returned the kiss ever so briefly before standing tall again. "I'm still on duty, Kathryn, even if you're not. I have another half hour on my shift and only a skeleton crew out there on the bridge."

"I know. I'm not planning on staying. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to prepare a special dinner to celebrate our progress on acquiring the technology and getting it adapted to Voyager's systems."

Chakotay realized that Kathryn had set up the exact situation that Tom had described. Hoping he wouldn't regret it, he spoke. "That sounds wonderful, Kathryn. I'll ask Tom and B'Elanna to join us at 18:30. She's worked just as long and hard on this as you have. Now, I'd better get back to the bridge."

Chakotay kissed the tip of Kathryn's nose and was gone before she could say anything. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door slid closed behind him. A few minutes after he had taken his chair, Kathryn exited the ready room with a slightly perplexed look on her face but she said nothing as she made her way to the turbolift. Chakotay quickly sent Tom a private message that he and B'Elanna should join them for dinner at 18:30.

Kathryn was confused and more than a little disappointed that Chakotay had invited Tom and B'Elanna to join them for their first meal together in more than two weeks. As soon as she reached their quarters, she contacted B'Elanna to try to keep them from accepting the invitation but B'Elanna said that Tom had accepted for them before telling her about it. They both agreed they would do everything they could to cut the evening short.

Kathryn quickly showered and dressed. It wasn’t quite what she would have worn if they had not been expecting dinner guests, but it would let Chakotay know she had more than taco salads and margueritas on her mind.

Chakotay rushed in the door at 18:25 and barely said 'hi' before he was in the shower. Tom and B'Elanna arrived before he emerged. B'Elanna helped Kathryn get them all drinks while Tom picked up the salads and carried them to the table. Chakotay came out only after he heard the three talking. He walked over to Kathryn, kissed her on the cheek, and moved to get a drink from B'Elanna before she realized he was next to her.

Tom somehow managed to maneuver the seating arrangements so Chakotay was seated across Kathryn and Tom was across from B'Elanna at the square table. This allowed them to look at each other but made conversation between the couples a bit difficult. Tom raised a question about something they had dealt with earlier in the week, but Chakotay followed his lead and they managed to keep the conversation going for most of the meal.

As they finished eating, Chakotay didn't give B'Elanna or Kathryn a chance to end the evening. He stood and picked up Tom's dish and his own, dropping them at the recycler before requesting a bottle of wine from the replicator. Kathryn had no choice but to pick up her dish and B'Elanna's and help Chakotay carry glasses over to the couch. B'Elanna had stood hoping to make their excuses and leave, but Chakotay stopped her.

"How about a drink to celebrate our progress so far? I think you two ladies have earned it."

Tom led B'Elanna over to the couch. Chakotay made a fuss over opening the wine then poured them all a glass. He glanced at Tom, but Tom clearly had no intention of making the toast.

"To the two most beautiful and intelligent woman on Voyager."

Kathryn countered the toast with one of her own. "To the two most understanding men on Voyager."

Chakotay paled as he drank his wine but managed not to choke. Tom did choke but didn't spill any of the wine. The four sat down and Chakotay immediately started to ask about the changes they were making to Voyager's systems to accommodate the new technology for the dilithium crystals. They talked for fifteen minutes before B'Elanna finally spoke up.

"All right, you two. What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Tom tried to play dumb and look innocent but all he succeeded in doing was looking and sounding guilty.

"Why did you invite us over tonight, Chakotay? This was your first chance to spend a few hours with the captain and you invite us over." B'Elanna's tone turned a bit more annoyed. "And you, Helmboy, why did you accept an invitation on the first night in two weeks we could actually have spent together?"

"I'd be very interested in the answer to both those questions." Kathryn's voice was patient and curious for which Chakotay was extremely grateful. He turned his eyes to Tom. Tom knew he had no choice but to explain.

"Well, it all began with the Peloponnesian War when…"

"I don't require a history lesson, Lieutenant. Please skip the next two millennium."

"Yes, ma'am." Tom blanched when he realized that the captain thought it was crunch time. "Well, I've missed B'Elanna, if you know what I mean. I figured Chakotay would be missing you, too, so I thought if we made you miss us for a few hours, you might be more willing to make time for us on the next big project."

"My compliments, Lieutenant, that actually sounded reasonable. Was it your intention to make us feel guilty about doing our jobs?"

"No, ma'am." B'Elanna just stared at Tom. "Well, not exactly. I missed B'Elanna and felt like I was taking back seat to this project. I wanted her to know how I felt. But that wasn't what Chakotay was thinking. At least I don't think it was."

Kathryn turned her eyes to Chakotay. "And your reasons?"

"Nothing you haven't heard before. You work too hard, Kathryn. I thought maybe you'd take some more time off if it were for me. I know all too well you won't do it for yourself." Kathryn's eyes softened a bit but there was still a question in them. "And I missed you, too.  But that's something else you already know."

"Do you believe them, B'Elanna?"

"You mean do I think this was all payback and some sort of childish prank?"  B'Elanna looked Tom in the eye. "Well, speaking only for Tom, no doubt about it."

"Do you mind if I impose some appropriate discipline?"

"Not at all, Captain."

"Lieutenant Paris, 'ten-hup!" Tom jumped to his feet at Kathryn's command. Kathryn stood and walked around him staring at him from all angles. "I don't know what you see in him, Lieutenant."

"He has his good points, Captain."

"I'll take your word for it, Lieutenant. Now, I believe you would like an opportunity to let him know how much you missed him, is that accurate?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Then please kiss him. Lieutenant Paris, I remind you that you are at attention."

B'Elanna smiled wickedly as she understood what the captain had in mind. "Permission to improvise and expand on that order, Captain?"

"Permission granted, Lieutenant."

B'Elanna started moving around Tom letting her hand run over his arms and shoulders before stopping in front of him and stretching up on her toes to kiss him. Kathryn turned away to face Chakotay.

"Now, Commander. What shall I do with you?"

Chakotay was on his feet as soon as he heard her address him by rank. "Why not let me make it up to you?"

"And just how do you propose to do that?"

Chakotay leaned closer and whispered in her ear. His warm breath was distraction enough, but his words convinced Kathryn that his suggestion was a good one. She turned her head to meet his lips.

"Dismissed, you two." Kathryn's words were mumbled and barely intelligible but were still audible causing Tom to raise his head.

"What did you say, Captain?"

"She said 'dismissed,' Paris." Chakotay's tone brooked no argument. "That’s a Starfleet expression for 'get out'!"
 

Return to Voyager Index
Return to my Home Page         Words of Encouragement are Welcome