I don't own any of the characters, although I have met a few of the actors :D

Counterpoint is my favourite episode so I thought I would play with it a little bit. I'm not sure if I will continue this story, I will if you review and ask for more but other than that I'll leave the rest to your imaginations.

Enjoy 3

The senior staff had gathered in the meeting room to discuss what to do about Kasheyk. Janeway was just listening to the group as they argued about how exactly they were going to double-cross the double-crosser. She already knew what had to be done, but stayed listening just in case someone came up with a better plan, or even a plan other than the one she knew they would have to enact. The Devore inspector was devious, she knew it, but she also knew that he had a superiority complex. He would fall for her deception just as easily as she had almost fallen for his. She also knew that he held her in fascination, women in his world were simple not like Janeway, but then no one is like Janeway. Her plan would work, and she knew it would. She only hesitated because of the cost, not the cost to her crew and her ship or for that matter even its captain. She hesitated because of what it would cost to Kathryn Janeway, the woman not the captain. As she listened she could hear their plans getting more and more ludicrous she knew that she would have to stop them eventually.

"Quiet." She stated standing up from her chair, "I've heard enough."

The crew fell silent as their captain started to pace at the head of the table. They thought she was struggling with the decision, but only two people in the room knew that what she was really struggling with was her insecurities to make her only plan work.

"What is your plan Captain?" asked Chakotay, he stared at her face and held contact with her eyes for only a micro second, all he could see was pain before she schooled her features into the familiar Captain mask. She stopped pacing and placed her hands on the table.

"Me, I'm the plan." She stated simply not looking at her crew, her friends.

Everyone except Chakotay started volleying off more and more suggestions and statements asking her not to do what she was thinking of doing. Some of them, B'ellana and Nelix, even stood up to make their points clearer.

"Captain, you have no idea what that man is capable of, this is insane!" yelled B'ellana over the multitude of voice in the room.

"B'ellana is right Captain you can't do this." Called out Nelix. Janeway's head rolled forward to face the floor, with a sigh she called for silence again.

"Be quiet, all of you!" her voice bellowed to be heard above the raucous, "this is our only option. He knew about the telepaths before he came back to ask for 'asylum', we all know this is some sort of elaborate trick to find the worm hole, we are all going to die if I don't do this."

B'ellana and Nelix sat down and Janeway continued,

"We need his help to find the worm hole, he has already given us the necessary information to evade their ships, but this can't be done without him. He needs to think that I don't suspect a thing and if that means I have to…" she paused for a moment and Chakotay filled the silence,

"Pretend to fall in love with him." She pulled her face from the ground and stared into his eyes, seeing nothing but blank space she continued once more,

"Yes, those would be the words. Well you all know what you need to do. Dismissed." The room seemed to pause for half a second before they all got up and went back to duty. When she heard the doors finally swish shut she let her face finally show Kathryn rather than the immovable Captain. Janeway moved over to the window and lent against the railing pushing her head on the cool glass. With a deep sigh she prepared herself to face the next few weeks, they would be more then even she could handle.

"Permission to speak freely?" came a voice from the other side of the room, of course he hadn't left, she thought to herself, he never leaves.

"Always." She replied not moving from her position by the window.

"You don't have to do this Kathryn, we can have someone else take your place." He knew this statement was in vein but he tried nether the less.

"Oh Chakotay, you and I both know that that would never work. He would see through it so easily and plus he already has a crush on me and I'm pretty good at emotional manipulation." As you already know, she added in her head. Though her voice held a slight inflection trying to make light of the situation he saw through that. Chakotay moved to stand behind her, barely a foot away from her.

"No Kathryn, it might work. You don't have to…" he paused,

"its alright you can say it, I don't have to prostitute myself to get this ship and its passengers home. But I do, did you know that the first time Q showed up I faced the same decision, except this time there is no other way." Her voice caught at the end and he could see her reflection start to tear up.

"Computer, lock the meeting room doors level nine clearance and above only, authorisation Chakotay beta epsilon 32."

"Confirmed." Called the sing song computers voice.

Chakotay wrapped his arms around Kathryn's waist and pulled her back towards him, she went willingly. He held her as she let the weight of her decision really sink in, the tears flowing freely down her face were mirrored in his eyes. She felt his tears dropping on the back of her neck and spun around in his arms. Her palm went to his face and wiped the tears from his left cheek, leaving her hand on his face.

"Chakotay," she said in a breathy voice, "Don't cry, please don't cry. It makes all of this so much harder." He desperately wanted to stop crying just because of the pain he was causing her, I mean he had promised that her needs would always come first.

"I can't, I'm sorry Kathryn. I would if I could, but when you know the woman you love is going to…" he let his sentence hang in the air, not even able to finish the thought.

Her eyes went wide and he felt her stiffen in his eyes. Her hand dropped from his cheek and flew to her own. He dropped his arms from her waist when he realised that he had said that aloud rather than just in his head as he had thought.

"I'm sorry Kathryn I didn't mean to…"

"To what? Love me or tell me that you love me?" she asked calmly.

"Tell you." He replied. And then she did something so surprising that he didn't register it till it was almost over. Both of her hands shot forwards and she laced her fingers behind his neck pulling him forward to meet her lips.

R&R