Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount, none of the them belong to me because if they did I would have treated them better when they were on air.
This story was inspired by the picture shown here.
Thanks to Katlady for her opinions and beta. She is the one who told me that this story begs for a sequel but I had so many ideas I couldn't decide where to go next. So if you want to let me know what direction the story should go in please e-mail me your ideas at Piano and the Rose
March 2005
Voyager emerged from the cube and was greeted by a surprised Starfleet. After a period of chaotic communications, the powers that be made it clear that the entire crew of Voyager would be welcomed home with open arms upon their arrival in San Francisco. The president's aide advised the Captain to spend the next two weeks of travel time preparing her ship for its homecoming. That is exactly what she was doing when Chakotay asked her to come to the holodeck.
Captain Janeway sat at her desk surrounded by PADDS. The ship was four days from home. Sometimes she couldn't believe that they were actually approaching earth but every time she looked out her viewport the stars confirmed that fact. She debated getting another cup of coffee to support her seemingly endless task of finalizing the crew evaluations. Before she could make the decision, she heard her first officer's voice through her comm badge.
"Janeway here."
"Captain, could you come to the holodeck and meet me?"
She did not answer immediately. She couldn't. She was stunned by his request. Although they continued to work in synch as captain and first officer, they had not had any social interaction in months. Three months ago, this call would have been routine but now it seemed out of place. She hated herself for it, but despite all that had happened, the sound of his voice still had power over her. She could feel the increased pounding of her heart as she considered his request. She had to say no. If she was honest with herself she would admit that she was tempted to go but in her head she knew it was a bad idea. He was Seven's now. She had no rights where he was concerned. At one time she had dreams of what their return would mean for them but they died in a dark hallway on Voyager during a conversation with a certain admiral. She just wasn't strong enough to do this. "Chakotay, I'm swamped. I am trying to finish the crew evaluations. I don't have time to go to the holodeck."
"Captain, Vorik found something that you need to see…now."
"I'm on my way."
As she went to the holodeck a million thoughts ran through her mind as to what she was about to encounter but this had not been one of them. When she entered she immediately grabbed onto the first solid thing she saw. She needed to steady herself because her knees had almost given out when she saw the piano.
Chakotay stood on the far side of the room just beyond the black shiny instrument. The small stumble betrayed her. He knew that she knew. "Come in, Kathryn. Make yourself at home. I'm sure you know the way." He waved his hand, motioning her towards him. "Don't be shy. I saved the seat at the piano just for you."
Kathryn slowly moved past the chair, the couch and the end table. A walk through the gauntlet would have been quicker and probably less painful. The decision she was so certain about last month now seemed very wrong. She stopped just as she reached the bench he pointed to earlier. "Chakotay, I …"
Chakotay spun and waved his hand through the air. "NO! You had your chance to talk but that time is long past. All you need to do is sit down at that piano right there and answer my questions."
Kathryn stepped around the bench with the intention of going to him and trying to explain. Before she took a second step he shouted. "SIT DOWN!" On impulse her body obeyed the command. He paced back and forth in front of the other side of the piano. She could almost see the anger in each of his movements. It had been many years since she had seen this side of him. It was to her great misfortune that that anger was directed at her. It was also her great misfortune that this seething anger only added to the sexual magnetism that he exuded. Seeing him this way, tense, emotional, predatory brought back all the feelings she had neatly hidden away, even from herself. She ached to go to him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him. He was hurt and she burned with the need to comfort him, to heal, to love him. But she couldn't so she remained seated, in the exact spot that he ordered her to, with her spine straight, anxiously waiting for him. Finally he stopped pacing and stood at the far side of the piano. When he turned and faced her, the pain in his eyes shot across the room and knocked the breath from her lungs. When he spoke to her, her heart broke right along with his voice as he whispered, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Kathryn couldn't hold back the tears as she watched him lay his arms and forehead down on the top of the lid. Not for the first time, she second guessed her decision not to tell Chakotay about what she had found last month. In a moments time she relived all those sleepless nights when she agonized over what to do. Each night she pictured what his reaction would be when she told him. Each one started differently but they all ended the same. He got hurt.
The pounding sound made her jump. She looked up to see Chakotay banging his fist on the shiny black cover. "WHY, KATHRYN? WHY?" Chakotay slowly walked around the piano. He continued to question her as he moved closer to her position on the bench. "What gave you the right to keep this from me? Didn't it cross your mind that I would want to know? DIDN'T IT?"
Kathryn couldn't answer. There was nothing she could say that would end his emotional torture. Only he had the power to do that, for both of them, but he wouldn't, not now. She felt him brush across the back of her shoulder as he leaned over her and ran his fingers across the final ten keys at the end of the piano. The sound startled her but the contact made her jump. He continued to circle the instrument as his interrogation persisted. "You are in the exact seat she was in when she played for me. Tell me, did you listen as she serenaded me?" He had once again reached the far side of the piano. Kathryn could feel his eyes on her. "Did you enjoy listening? Did you like the dreamy look she had in her eyes when she looked at me? Did you, Kathryn, or were you laughing?"
She watched through the corner of her eye as he quickly moved toward to kitchen area. "Or maybe you liked it better when she cooked for me." Chakotay moved deeper into the eating area until he stood before the wooden counter where he had watched her chop vegetables. "I thought her hair looked pretty laying loosely on her shoulders." He was deliberately trying to provoke her. He wanted to make her feel guilty for what she had done. He wanted her to hurt like he did, so he planned on describing in great detail the action that he had watched just an hour ago. The scene played in slow motion in his mind. He was stirring the sauce as they flirted with each other. She really wasn't very good t it. It briefly crossed his mind that flirting with Kathryn was much easier and much more fun. He saw himself lift his sauce covered finger and pop it into her mouth. "Did you like it when she licked my finger clean? Did you enjoy watching her trying to flirt with me? Tell me, Kathryn. Did you enjoy watching us?"
Kathryn shifted in her seat. She too could see the events in her mind. Even though she knew it wasn't real, the pain she felt when she saw Seven flirting with Chakotay was still fresh. What made it worse was that eventually it had become real. They were dating. They were flirting and probably so much more. No she didn't like watching, especially not Chakotay and another woman even if he was a hologram.
Chakotay started to walk towards her. "What's the matter Kathryn? Not much to say? You didn't have much to say last month after you found the program? Did you? Or maybe you just didn't talk to me. I bet even Tuvok laughed when you told him what you found. I can almost hear the two of you discussing how ridiculous I looked in the program. But not nearly as foolish as I must have looked to you when you found out I was dating her. Tell me Kathryn, did that news give you a good laugh? Seven creates an entire relationship in the holodeck and then attempts to recreate it in real life. Good old Chakotay duped again by a woman."
He had crossed the room until he stood directly behind her. "I may have been stupid in the past but not any more, not today." She felt his hard body lean against her back as he reached around her and picked up the rose that had been resting on the piano keys. She watched his fingers as he twirled it in front of her. He bent over until his mouth was next to her ear. "What about the last scenario? Did you enjoy that, Kathryn?" He slid the rose across her cheek as he straightened up? "You remember that don't you?" Her body stiffened as he ran the rose down her jacket. "You know, the one in the bedroom?" He heard her sharp intake of breath as the petals of the rose brushed across her lips. "Was it fun watching me with her?" She saw him stroke the rose up and down his bare arm. His head turned from her face to the bedroom and back again. He moved around her and whispered into her other ear. "Was it exciting? Did you like her vision of what sex would be like with me? Was it the same way you used to picture it?" He gently placed the bud of the rose under her chin. He used the head of it to push her chin up until they were eye to eye. "Since I saw it I've been wondering something. Whose imagination is better, yours or Seven's?"
When she didn't answer Chakotay grabbed Kathryn's hand and pulled her to her feet. He yanked on her arm directing her toward the bedroom. When they reached the threshold he pushed her ahead of him just inside the room. He remained behind her creating a barrier between the bedroom and the outer room. Chakotay reached up and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. He tugged, pulling her back until she was flush with his chest. She could feel his breath on her hair. "Tell me, Kathryn what do you see?"
What she saw was a standard Starfleet issue blanket covering a queen size bed. In an instant the scene morphed into a tangle of sheets and blankets covered with two naked bodies. She quickly remembered the nausea she felt as she watched the holographic Chakotay climb onto Seven. It was at that moment that she ended the program and fled to the sanctuary of her quarters. That night was the only time that she was thankful that she and Chakotay had drifted apart. She didn't know what she would have done if he had stopped by like he used to do. What she saw now made her just as sick as it had before.
Chakotay stood just outside the door of the bedroom with his body pressed firmly against her. He too saw himself and Seven on the bed. He was inflamed again as he thought of the created sexual encounter. He was angry at Seven for doing it but he was angrier at Kathryn for not telling him. If he had known what she had done he never would have consented to her request for a date. He never would have found himself in the ludicrous position of dating someone who expected him to act like the hologram she had created. He closed his eyes to erase the scene from his mind. When he did he suddenly became aware of his body and its reaction to his captain. Now he was mad at himself. He was mad at himself for once again making a fool of himself in front of the crew; mad at himself for allowing the loneliness to override his good sense. Most importantly, he was mad at himself for the insane desire he had to grab the woman in front of him and throw her down on the bed and create his own sexual scene.
Overwhelmed with that anger he squeezed her upper arms and spun her around. Kathryn couldn't help but look at him when he turned her to face him. She was so close she could feel his heart beating in his chest. His eyes grew wide and wild as he shouted his questions louder and louder. "Did you like it, Kathryn? Did, you? Did it excite you to watch me fuck her? Did, it?" He punctuated each question by shaking her. "Did it turn you on? Did it, Kathryn?" He screamed at her through his clenched teeth. "DID IT?" With tremendous speed he reversed their positions until he had her back pressed against the door jam. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. He felt every curve of her body as he pressed into her. When he finally opened his eyes he saw that her head was titled back resting on the frame.
She felt Chakotay lean even closer until his lips were millimeters from hers. Before she heard his words in her ears she felt them on her lips. "Tell me Kathryn, I need to know. Did you think I was a fool? Did you laugh at me?"
When Kathryn finally answered she couldn't stop the tear that rolled down her check. "I didn't laugh, Chakotay. I cried."