by Dakota

He dressed with care, picking a shirt and tie that he knew she liked. He had been tempted to ask her to have dinner at his place, but had decided that a properly chosen restaurant would set the mood just as well, perhaps better than his own living area. As he pulled on his suit jacket, he checked the bottle of wine he had chilled for later in the evening. All was ready here.

He headed down the hall to her door and signaled when he arrived. She opened the door, looking as beautiful as ever. Her dress was a deep blue, her hair piled high on her head with loose strands feathered around her face and neck; and her eyes shone with joy at seeing him. He bent his head to kiss her on the cheek thinking how lucky he was to have her in his life and his work.

Over dinner and the small talk about the weather, mutual acquaintances and the bad food available on location, he thought over his plans for the coming year. Yes, she would indeed make an excellent captain. A female captain was acceptable now, so no groundbreaking would be necessary on that point.  Blonde hair might be a bit of problem, but they could just ignore the negative stereotypes and stay away from Barbie doll hairstyles. Now, he just had to come up with a really exciting way to get rid of the current captain and probably that pesky first officer, too. Maybe he could leave her with the Borg and have him die trying to rescue her, or....

Kathryn woke with a scream, trembling violently.  Chakotay was awake almost immediately and took her in his arms to calm her. Kathryn looked around the quarters they had shared for nearly five years, at the crib in the corner with their 6-month-old son and knew that in the next bedroom was a bed holding their 3-year-old daughter. “Oh, Chakotay, it was horrible! Some man hated me and despised you. He was going to make Seven the captain of Voyager. He wanted me assimilated by the Borg. I shudder to even think what he had planned for you.”

“It’s OK, Kathryn. Calm down. You’re safe. Voyager is fine. You’re still the captain; that will never change. Seven? You mean that drone you tried to save who committed suicide rather than separate from the collective? Well, she’s not here anymore. She can’t hurt you or Voyager. It was just a dream.” He pulled her tight in his arms, renewing his promise to always be there for her.

“Chakotay, it was my worst nightmare ever!” She held him tight, glad once again for having had the courage to accept what the Angry Warrior had offered that night on New Earth. In each other’s arms, they had found the peace to sleep dreamlessly, secure in their love.

BB woke with a scream. For a minute there, he thought J/C had actually won. He couldn’t hear Kathryn and Chakotay talking as they watched the monitor of the holodeck as it played out his psychotic fantasies.

“It won’t be much longer before the doctor is ready to force him back to reality.”

“That’s good. I still can’t understand why he hated us so much he had to create this false universe where he could control and manipulate us like characters in a holonovel.”

“I know, love. We should just feel sorry for the man and hope the doctor can cure him.”

“You’re right, Chakotay. We’d better get back to the kids now.” They left the monitor and the man to the tender mercies of the doctor.