Title: Hangover
Author: Singing Violin
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Rating: K+
Summary: Kathryn wakes up and doesn't remember what happened. Luckily Chakotay's there to tell her.
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Apologies to the folks they do belong to, as I'm sure they didn't have this in mind.
Author's Note: Thank you to Aunt Kathy for your inspiration (your own morning-after fic) and your encouragement on this one.
When Kathryn Janeway opened her eyes to the assaulting light, the first thing of which she became aware was the heavy pounding in her head. She groaned as she squinted against the glare.
"Computer, lower illumination fifty percent," said a calm, low, soothing voice.
It was then that Kathryn became aware that the owner of the voice had a hand on her back and was gently helping her to sit up. But as she rose, a wave of intense nausea rolled over her.
Luckily, the voice's other hand was holding a basin that he brought into position just in time.
"I was going to ask you how you feel," the voice continued after she settled, "but I think you've already answered the question."
In response, she mumbled his name. "Chakotay."
He frowned and gently lowered her back onto the couch, fluffing the pillow behind her head as he did so. Then, he took her hand in his and waited, gently rubbing circles with his thumb on her skin.
She raised a hand to her forehead, palm up, fingers slightly curved. "What happened?"
Chakotay sighed. "What do you remember?"
She lowered her hand and shook her head slightly, then thought better of it, eyeing the basin on the table where it had been replaced. "Not much. Fixing the weather grid, and then, a celebration on the planet. Lots of punch." Then something occurred to her. "Oh God, Chakotay, how much did I drink?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Not as much as you might think. Turns out, the punch contained some pretty powerful stuff. Neelix passed out directly after less than a cup. When the Doctor examined him, he said he had no antidote, and that we just needed to keep an eye on anyone who had imbibed some until they'd sobered up. I," he grinned, "volunteered to watch you, and it was lucky that I hadn't had any yet. I certainly wouldn't have after I saw what happened to you."
Kathryn closed her eyes in pain, willing her stomach under control. "What, exactly, happened to me?" she forced out through clenched teeth.
Chakotay coughed and tugged at his ear. "Umm, well, you were pretty inebriated. You got a little, er, rambunctious. Honestly, it was kind of fun seeing you like that, so carefree."
She wasn't having it. She forced herself to sit up again, and raised a hand to her mouth to suppress her rising gorge. She saw her first officer, out of the corner of her eye, reaching for the basin, but she used her other hand to motion him away, and was slightly relieved when the nausea subsided without incident. Finally, she lowered her hand from her mouth and spoke again. "Tell me exactly what happened."
He tilted his head. "Are you sure you want to know?"
She nodded slightly. "Well, not really, but I have a feeling I'm going to hear about it sooner or later, and something tells me it'd be best to hear it first from you."
He nodded in response. "Very well. You and the Prime Minister were flirting all evening...he took quite a fancy to you. And once you were intoxicated, you kind of, er, sat on his lap."
She took a deep breath, then let it out. "All right. That doesn't sound so bad. A little un-captainlike, but I'll deal. Is there more?"
"Umm," he continued, "well, then you kind of peed on him."
Her face instantly went bright red, and then she reached for the basin herself. "Oh God," she got out before she threw up again. When she was done, she set the basin once more on the table and rested her face in her hands. "The phaser's in the cabinet," she told her companion.
"What?" he asked dubiously.
"Kill me now, Chakotay," she elaborated, not raising her head to look at him. "Make it quick and painless."
"It's not as bad as you think," he told her. "If anything horrible had happened, do you think I'd be here with you, rather than on the bridge waging battle?"
Now she looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Okay, Chakotay. How did you get me out of this one?"
He grinned at her. "I told the Prime Minister that it was a sacred human ritual. Celebrating the rain."
She shook her head in disbelief. "You didn't. He bought it?!"
Chakotay nodded. "He did. Even seemed to be enjoying himself." He tugged at his ear, then added, "It was a little harder to get the rest of the crew to participate, but as they'd all had the punch too..."
"No! You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."
"All right. I'm joking. The rest of the crew didn't need to join in. But they would have, if necessary. They'd do anything for you. The Prime Minister actually said that they have something similar, in their culture, but that it's usually done in private, between a bonded pair. He was honored that you'd chosen him." Now there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Chakotay, I am so sorry," was all she could say. "For what it's worth, I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and if I were to choose someone with whom to be a 'bonded pair,' it wouldn't be some random official on a planet I'd never visit again. Though I suppose if I were going to pee on someone, it's good it's someone I'll never have to look in the eye again." Then something occurred to her. "I didn't pee on you too, did I?"
He chuckled. "No. You just threw up on me. Twice. Once after I extracted you from the Prime Minister's lap - just in time, it seems - and once while I was carrying you out. I cleaned myself up while you were sleeping."
Suddenly she looked down at what she was wearing, realizing that he must have cleaned her up too. Undressed her, dressed her, possibly even bathed her...all without her knowledge, or at least, without her memory. This was not the way she'd pictured her first officer seeing her naked for the first time.
He answered her unspoken thought, though his voice was even sadder than before. "Just doing my job. You'd do the same for me."
She sighed and smiled slightly. "I would. Though something tells me I would have competition from several other members of the crew for that duty." She allowed herself to eye him appreciatively for a moment.
Her attention was not lost on him, and he cleared his throat before answering. "But you're the captain. You could pull rank. And would..." I hope.
"Is that how you got assigned to me?" she asked teasingly.
He answered immediately, "I didn't need to." At that, her face fell, and he realized the implications of what he'd said, and not wanting her to feel particularly unattractive, but also not wanting to imply any lustful thoughts, despite what he'd seen in her eyes a moment ago - she was still somewhat affected by the punch, after all, and was still his captain - he added an explanation. "First come, first served. I told you, I volunteered before anyone else had the opportunity. I also told you that the crew would do anything for you, so if I'd let them, any one of them would have helped you out. You know that's true."
She sank back against the couch cushions. "But at what price?" she whispered. "What they saw..."
"Was not their captain," Chakotay interjected. "You were under the influence of a drug you had no idea the effect of before you politely imbibed for diplomatic purposes. It might as well have been a virus or mind control or anything else you had no choice about. Nobody will judge you. I promise. And if one person makes a tasteless joke about it at any point in the future, I will personally throw them in the brig."
Now she couldn't contain her tears. "Thank you, Chakotay, for everything."
He knelt down in front of her and took her into his arms. "Anytime."