PRIMROSE ACRES 4

by Heartwings

Another installment in the continuing post Endgame saga, more angsty than that last, as Janeway & Chakotay reach a turning point in their relationship. Reading the first three parts is not necessary, but is advised.

-1PRIMROSE ACRES 4

"Hi, Kathryn!" Chakotay greeted as he opened his back door, "I just got home from work. Come on in and I'll make us some coffee.

Are you all recovered from your niece and nephew yet?"

Kathryn sat at the table and sighed. "Yes, pretty much. I slept late, you had already left for work by time I got up. The house wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I cleaned up, rounded up all the things the kids left behind, put back the breakable things we'd put in the garage and moved the dog crate into one of the spare bed rooms and finally got all the purple and pink streaks out of my hair. I was done by lunchtime and spent the rest of the day being lazy and it felt great." Kathryn took her coffee as Chakotay handed it to her, leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on another chair. "You know, I could really get used to idle civilian life, I think it suits me."

Chakotay put the fruit bowl on the table and took an orange before he joined her at the table. "Help yourself, if you want something else, just let me know. Kathryn, you're not serious about civilian life, are you?"

"Well, I have been giving it some thought, I do have to admit. I hadn't really realized, but I could retire with a thirty years of service pension next fall."

He handed her a section of the orange he'd just peeled. "Gosh, I guess you're right, you could. Kathryn, you're not seriously thinking about leaving Starfleet, are you?"

"Well, no, not really I guess, but if they want to send me back into deep space for a couple years I would have to think about it. I couldn't afford to retire anyhow, I'd have to get a full time job just to keep up with my mortgage payments." She laughed, "I have a thirty year mortgage, I'll be 77 by time I pay it off! It would make a lot more sense to retire with forty years and a full admiral's pension and benefits, or better, and I'm hoping I have enough seniority and clout now to chose my assignments from here on out. Starfleet has always been my life and I guess I just never really gave any serious thought to what would come after it until today. Have you ever given it any thought, I mean about leaving or retiring some day?"

Chakotay got up from the table and spoke as he got the coffee pot and poured them more coffee. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have. When my sister was here we had a long talk about it. She didn't come right out and say it, but I know she would be very happy if I never set foot on a starship again and had a job where I came home every night and the worst thing that could happen to me would be a proverbial paper cut."

Kathryn laughed as Chakotay rejoined her at the table. "Funny, my sister and I had that same talk, she thinks it's time for me to settle down too and Mom hasn't said it, but I know that's what she's thinking. We can't really blame them, after what happened to us, can we?"

"No, we can't," Chakotay agreed. "I have to admit, what my sister was saying made sense. I showed her some of the job offers I've gotten and she said I'd be a fool not to accept one."

"That good?" Kathryn asked.

"Well, I'm not trying to brag or anything, but yes, I've had offers for three or four times what Starfleet's paying me to start. Haven't you had any civilian job offers?"

"Yes, lots, but I haven't really paid attention to them. I did get a really insanely generous offer to write a book, but Starfleet said no to any books or civilian publications of any sort concerning Voyager because everything's still classified. Too bad, I think I would really enjoy being a writer."

"So would I, I'm working an a paper on the Tlak Kriri in my spare time and, if it goes over well, I'd like to expand it into a book."

"Tlak Kriri?" Kathryn asked?

"They're an obscure but significant, in my opinion, non indigenous civilization from ancient Krimiri VI. Not much work has been done on them, but people are starting to realize how important they are now and they bear what I think is a more than coincidental number of parallels to the pre Shikarian tribes on Vulcan. I also think they could be related to the ancient Romulan Thononian civilizations, but of course there's precious little data available on them and I…" Chakotay took a sip of coffee and grinned, "Sorry, didn't mean to talk shop!"

Kathryn reached across the table and placed her hand on his. "It's OK, I love to see you when you're so passionate about something."

He took her hand and kissed the palm. "The Tlak Kriri aren't the only thing I'm passionate about you know! Kathryn, how about you let me take you out to dinner tonight and then maybe we could go down to Fisherman's Warf or something?"

"No thanks," she sighed as she got up from the table. "I have all those leftovers from the weekend and it would be a sin to waste them. Mom gets back from her trip tonight and she said she'd call me when she got home, so I'd best stay home this evening. You're welcome to come over for dinner if you don't mind leftovers."

"Not at all, thanks. Need anything? Feel free to raid my kitchen or use the replicator. How are you on laundry?"

"Fine," she replied as she got up and checked out Chakotay's replicator. "Say, does your replicator make shoes?"

He put their coffee mugs in the sink and joined her. "No, it's just a basic no frills kitchen replicator, Mrs. Westerman was apparently pretty low tech." He looked down at her bare feet and grinned. "Oh, I forgot, after the dog chewed up all your shoes, you only have that one pair I got you, don't you?"

"Yes, and they didn't exactly go with this T shirt and shorts!"

"Well, that settles it then," Chakotay replied as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "Come on, let's go get you some shoes! It's still early and we have time to get back and have dinner before your mom calls, don't we?"

"No," Kathryn replied as she started washing out their coffee mugs.

"Sure we do, you said your mom went to Bajor and the Bajor-Earth shuttle gets in at eight and it isn't even five yet. Come on, Kathryn, for heaven's sake, you have to have some shoes! At least get a pair of sandals or athletic shoes or something so you don't have to run around outside barefoot and maybe step on something sharp and hurt yourself."

Kathryn put the coffee mugs into the cupboard and slammed the door. "Dammit, Chakotay, I can't afford to buy any shoes right now, OK?" She tried to rush out the back door, but he put his hands on her shoulders and stopped her. "Chakotay, just let me go and forget about the shoes and, before you say it, thanks, but you're not buying me any more shoes or anything else for that matter." Kathryn relaxed and leaned into him as his arms encircled her. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I'm kind of sensitive about my situation right now, OK? Thursday is the first of the month, so I'll go shoe shopping then. Come on, let's go over to my house and have some dinner."

/\

The next morning Kathryn awoke early to a beautiful sunny day and finally felt completely recovered from her three day weekend from hell with her sister's kids. She made coffee and toast, grabbed her com link and headed out to sit beside the pool and enjoy the morning sun while she caught up on her messages and had breakfast. As she stepped out the door, she saw a small bundle wrapped in cloth sitting on her back step, so she grabbed it and carried it to the table with her breakfast.

When she opened it she stormed over to Chakotay's back door and barged in. "Here!" she said as she tossed the bundle on the breakfast table, "Take them back, I told you not to buy me any shoes and I meant it! I know I can't give you orders anymore, but I really wish you'd at least respect my wishes and don't do things when I asked you not to. I appreciate your generosity, but I'm not a charity case, Chakotay, and I can't accept the shoes!"

With that she took off across Chakotay's back yard, with him running behind her. "Kathryn, wait, I can explain if you'd give me a chance. Please, listen to me and let me explain, it's not what you think, I didn't buy them! You needed shoes, please don't be mad at me, I'll explain!" He finally caught up to her in the middle of the driveway and gently grabbed her arm to stop her. "Kathryn, please, just listen to me for a second, will you? I didn't buy the sandals, I made them last night. Honey, you need to have some shoes and, OK, I admit I'm being literal, but you said I couldn't buy you any, not that I couldn't make you any." He held out the bundle and smiled, "Please, they didn't cost me anything, so won't you take them?"

She opened the cloth and looked at them. "You made these?"

"Yes, my grandfather taught me, they're the traditional sandals my people wear, they're very easy to make."

Kathryn examined the sandals carefully. "They're beautiful, but where did you get the leather?"

"From my old Maquis uniform. I still had it and it doesn't fit anymore and where would I wear it anyhow, so I cut it up to make the sandals. Please, Kathryn, don't be mad at me, you really did need something to wear until you can go shopping and you can't very well work in your yard or take a walk in those high heeled shoes." He gave her a little smile as he brushed away a wisp of hair that had blown into her face, took the sandals from her and put them on the ground. "Why don't you try them on and see if they fit?"

Kathryn slipped her feet into them and took a few steps. "Wow, they fit perfectly and they're very comfortable."

"You left some footprints in the mud when you hosed off the dog the other day and I measured them so I could make the sandals the right size. You're not mad at me anymore, are you?"

"Well, no, I suppose not, but only on a technicality. Thank you, Chakotay, that was very sweet of you, but I really wish you'd…." Kathryn stopped in mid sentence as she looked to the side and saw Mrs. Wentworth, accompanied by her Poodle, staring at them from the street.

"Geez, can't two people have a conversation around here? What's that biddy staring at now?" Chakotay asked as he turned and looked the other way.

Kathryn giggled. "Maybe she's staring because you're standing out in your driveway in nothing but your boxer shorts?"

"What?" Chakotay gasped. "Spirits, I am! Uh, maybe I should go and get dressed, I'll be right back!" he said as he made a hasty retreat for his back door.

When he returned Kathryn had a cup of coffee and some toast waiting for him out by the pool. She looked up and smiled, "You really didn't realize you were standing out in the driveway in your underwear?"

He sat, took a sip of coffee and grinned. "Well, no, I didn't. I was so upset you were upset with me I didn't really think about what I was wearing."

"Or what you weren't!" Kathryn gave him a pat on the hand. "Well, after what Lizzie said to Wentworth, I don't guess she should be surprised. Chakotay, I didn't really realize it either until I saw her staring and I guess I also owe you an apology for barging into your house without knocking when you weren't dressed."

"That's OK, you know me, I'm not shy, but I'm sorry if I embarrassed you and, for the record, I don't usually go running around outside in just my underwear. Well, what are your plans for today?"

"I thought I'd cut the grass, round up the rest of the cargo containers and arrange for them to get picked up so I can finally put my car in the garage and see if I can get the crayon marks off the wall in the dining room. What about you?"

"Well, I have some exams to grade and I need to plan out my classes for the rest of the week and I have a departmental meeting this afternoon at four and I thought I'd go to the library after that and do a bit of research for my article. Let me finish my coffee and I'll have time to cut your grass for you."

Kathryn poured him more coffee. "No, no, I can do it, but thanks."

"Are you sure? Kathryn, you haven't cut the grass or done any heavy work since your accident, so maybe I should do it?"

She laughed. "My sister's three banshees certainly qualified as heavy work. I'm fine now, really, and you sound like you have a lot to do today."

"OK, you have a point, but let me know if you need help or you can always do half the yard today and half tomorrow, you know. Well, I forgot I also need to read a research proposal and thesis outline for that meeting this afternoon, so I had best get home and get to work, but call if you need anything. Thanks for the coffee, it was good, I'll see you later." Chakotay walked a few steps, turned and gave Kathryn a smile. "Are you still mad at me, or do you think we could kiss and make up?"

Kathryn stood and gave him a hug and a kiss. "I'm a little bit pissed, but I'll get over it, your heart was in the right place. Chakotay, do you think you could help me push those huge cargo pods right up to the garage door so it'll be easier for them when they come to pick them up and I can get to the shelves to put some things away?"

"Sure, come on, I'll do it right now."

/\

That evening it was almost dark before Chakotay got home and he saw that Kathryn was mowing the grass. "Hi, little late for that, isn't it?" He tried to take the mower from her. "Here, you look tired and it's too dark to see, why don't you just leave it 'til morning?"

She muscled him away and kept pushing the mower. "No, no, I'm almost done, this part here is all I have left, I want to finish up." She continued mowing and shouted over her shoulder, "Oh, they delivered a package for you to my house by accident and it had to be signed for, so I did and it's on my kitchen table. I'll be right in as soon as I finish and put the mower away."

Kathryn finished her mowing, put the mower away, washed up and joined Chakotay in her kitchen. He handed her a glass. "Here, have some iced tea and sit down and rest a few minutes. I'm sorry I got home so late, the faculty meeting went on for more than an hour and then I grabbed a sandwich, got wrapped up in my research at the library and lost track of time."

Kathryn laughed. "Chakotay, I'm not your keeper anymore, you don't have to explain your whereabouts to me!"

"Sorry, force of habit I guess. Thanks for signing for the package, it's some tools I ordered. For some reason my house number sign keeps falling off and ending up in the bushes, so that's probably why they brought the package to the wrong house. I'll fix it tomorrow."

Kathryn giggled. "Uh, I might just have had something to do with that." It was obvious Chakotay was clueless, so she went on. "You remember that day, right after I moved in, where you sent all those religious recruiters to my house? Well, after the first bunch left, I ran over and switched our house numbers so they would bother you instead of me and I think I messed up your sign. I'm sorry, I'll fix it tomorrow."

He laughed as the horrendous events of that day came back to him. "So that's how you did it? Clever, Kathryn, I'll give you credit. I know you admitted you put the bubble bath in my hot tub, but just how did you get away with it? I mean, the cop said he used a verifier and you swore you didn't do it and were telling the truth. How did you beat a lie detector?"

She sat back as her expression got even more mischievous. "Well, that was pretty easy too. Phoebe answered the door and swore that her name was Ms. Janeway and she didn't do it." Kathryn could see that Chakotay's face had a serious expression, so she added, "I really am sorry about all that, you're not still mad at me, are you?"

He straightened up in his chair, pulled closer to the table and placed his clasped hands on it. "No, Kathryn, of course not, that's not it. I got a call from Mrs. Westerman today and it seems I have a problem."

"Mrs. Westerman, your landlady? Did Wentworth complain to her? I thought she had a terrible accident and was in a coma in a nursing home or something. That's what you told me, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's what the rental agent told me, she was bad off, in the hospital, then moved in with her daughter in San Diego and wasn't expected to live much longer. Anyhow, she called me and it seems she's much better now, is pissed her daughter rented her house without her permission, she and her daughter weren't getting along at all and she wants to move back into her house."

"Oh my! You have a lease, don't you?"

"Yes, a one year lease with option to buy at the end of the lease. The problem is her daughter did all that through the rental agent and wasn't legally authorized to do it as she never filed whatever documents were necessary when her mother was incapacitated. Anyhow, that's a big mess between them, but the problem is Mrs. Westerman wants her house back. I talked to my lawyer and she says that's their problem and the rental agency's and they would have to fight it out in court and my lease gives me the right to stay in the house until they do and it would probably take way more than a year."

"Oh, gosh, Chakotay, what a mess! So, what are you going to do? They can't evict you, can they?"

"Well, my lawyer said she could try, but it wouldn't hold up because I have a valid lease and the problem is between Westerman's daughter and the rental agency. The real problem is Mrs. Westerman is an incredibly sweet old lady, none of this is her fault and she loves that house and really really wants to move back into it and spend the rest of her life there. Kathryn, the poor old lady was crying and I think I was too by the end of the conversation. I really like my house, but it would mean so much to her and I don't have any sort of emotional attachment to it like she does. That's was her parents' house and she grew up there and her late husband did all that beautiful woodwork, built the deck and even did all that incredible tile work around the fireplace. Anyhow, the woman is over a hundred years old and I really think the right thing to do would be to give her the house back as who knows how much time she has left to spend there."

"Well, I tend to agree with you, that would be the right thing to do. I did meet her the first time the realtor brought me to look at my house and we chatted for a while and she was a dear old lady and I couldn't help but think what a joy it would be to have her for a neighbor. What did you tell her?"

"Nothing, she told me to think about it and call her back when I'd decided. I think she knows she can't evict me, but she's in a hotel in San Francisco now, her dog is in a boarding kennel, and she obviously wants to come back as soon as possible. Kathryn, I really think the right thing to do would be to give her the house back. She even offered to refund all the rent I've paid and cover my moving expenses; the offer she made was more than fair."

"Well, I agree, but where are you going to move to?"

"I'd have to figure that one out. I checked and there's nothing for sale or rent in Primrose Acres. I thought maybe I could get faculty housing at the university, but it's already full and it's unlikely anything would open up until the end of the semester and I'll be out of my contract by then and back at Starfleet."

"What about Starfleet housing? You could get something there short term, while you look for another place."

"Yeah, I'll go check tomorrow, but Harry moved in there and had to move right back out because he said reporters were hanging around hassling him, pounding on his door at all hours and making life miserable. He also said they aren't keeping the buildings up like they used to and there's a waiting list for the two good buildings and I'm only a commander, so my chances probably aren't great. You know how celebrity is, a blessing and a curse. You can get a good table at any restaurant in town, but you almost never get to eat your meal in peace and quiet."

"I know! That's what really sold me on this house, the guaranteed peace and quiet and, most of all, the privacy. Primrose Acres security certainly is efficient, maybe Starfleet should look into it?"

"Agreed. Anyhow, once I go back to just Starfleet pay, I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford a house in Primrose Acres or someplace like it."

"No offense, Chakotay, but you're probably right. The only way I got a loan for this one was because my name is on the promotions list, they knew I'd be making a lot more money in a couple months, Paris pulled strings… and we both know what a financial mess I'm in right now and it'll probably take me a year to get my head above water. I guess you know, because of your involvement with the Maquis, you won't come up for promotion for at least another year."

"Yeah, I know, Admiral Paris told me," he replied as he rested his chin on his fists. "Well, I guess I'll be moving, so I had better go home and start packing. I don't have a whole lot of stuff and almost all the furniture is Mrs. Westerman's, but I put a bunch of her stuff I didn't like away in the attic and I'll have to bring it all back and see if I can remember where it was."

Kathryn grabbed his hands and held them. "I'm so sorry, Chakotay, I know you loved the house and I really liked having you for a neighbor. Would you like me to come over and help you pack?"

"No, I saw you mowed your whole yard today, so I know you must be tired. I'm tired too and I have an early class tomorrow, so I'll probably only do a little tonight and get to most of it Thursday as I can stay home all day." He got up and grabbed his package. "Thanks again for signing for this, I'll see you after work tomorrow."

Kathryn took the package from him, put it on the table and gave him a hug. "Chakotay, I really am sorry about your house, but I agree, giving it up is the decent and compassionate thing to do. I know, they picked up the cargo containers today, but they wouldn't take the pods and boxes I'd gotten myself, so there's a whole stack of them in the garage and you're welcome to them. Come on, I'll help you carry them over."

/\

The next day Kathryn decided to fix a nice dinner to surprise Chakotay when he got home from work and try to cheer him up. She also needed some cheering up herself as she knew his moving would mean they probably wouldn't be spending so much time together. She was grateful for his companionship, for none of the other people in Primrose Acres seemed to be very friendly towards her. Kathryn was probably the most recognizable and sought after person in the San Francisco area right now and she could seldom go any where without being bothered by fans or, worse yet, mobbed by the press if they found out where she was. When she had made vegetable biryani for Chakotay back on Voyager she recalled he also said he was fond of vegetable korma, so she looked up a recipe and made a list of what she'd need to prepare it. Realizing a trip to the grocery store was out of the question as she was only a few credits shy of flat broke, Kathryn went over to Chakotay's to take him up on his offer to use his replicator.

She found his kitchen table piled with boxes half full of various things and a stack of books in the corner awaiting a box. The other rooms downstairs were much the same, piles of his things he had started to gather here and there, cargo pods and boxes. Kathryn had never been upstairs in Chakotay's house, so she ventured up the stairs and looked around until she found his room. His luggage was in the corner and a stack of clothing on a chair, but it didn't look as though he had actually packed anything yet. The bed was unmade, which was so unlike the usually meticulous Chakotay that she knew he probably stayed up late packing, overslept and had rushed to get to work on time. His nightstand was piled with PADDs and some old books, an empty mug and a sketch pad. Kathryn sat on the bed, leafed through the sketch pad and found what were obviously sketches of artifacts, probably from that ancient civilization he had been going on about. He had scribbled through the last sketch of some sort of knife or dagger he had drawn, no doubt unhappy with it, and added some fanciful little doodles at the bottom of the page. She giggled as she realized the doodles were actually stylized scripts of her name, adorned with little flowers and hearts. Carefully placing the pad back exactly as she found it, Kathryn glanced at his clock and remembered she had better get going if she wanted to have dinner ready on time as she knew every recipe she had ever tried took twice as long to do as the directions said it would.

As the korma bubbled away on the stove, Kathryn rushed to set the table in the dining room, taking out her good china and silverware that she seldom used. She rooted around for some candles, but couldn't find any, and lamented that she didn't have any fresh flowers for the table either. As she turned to leave, she realized her attempts to remove her nephew's scribbles off the wall had totally ruined the old wall paper and made it look even worse than before, so she moved a small chest she stored her table linens in over in front of the worst of the spot to try to cover it. Moving the chest made the other end of the room look unbalanced, so Kathryn started shoving the sideboard over until she remembered the korma on the stove and dashed back to the kitchen.

The korma was fine, so she set about preparing the rest of the meal and gasped when she realized it was almost six, she had forgotten to leave Chakotay a note or message about dinner and he might have already started making it. Kathryn ran to his back door and knocked, but got no answer, so she looked through his garage window and saw that his car wasn't there. When she returned to her house she called him, but only got his message system. She left a message, put the food in stasis, went upstairs and changed into a dress and the fancy shoes he'd bought her and sat down on the sofa in the den to put her feet up for a few minutes until he arrived.

Kathryn awoke to darkness, not even realizing she had fallen asleep as she had no intentions of taking a nap. She went to the window and saw that the lights were on next door, so she went over and knocked.

Chakotay opened it and smiled. "Wow, you sure look nice! Come on in, I just got home. I would have stopped by, but your lights were out, so I figured you were out or had gone to bed early."

"No, I fixed dinner for you, didn't you get my message? I tried to call you, but couldn't reach you."

He moved some boxes off the chair, sat at the table and scratched his head. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't checked my messages since my last class. When I got done I rushed off to look at apartments and forgot to take my com with me. I'm really sorry, Kathryn."

She rested against the kitchen counter and let out a sigh. "That's OK, my fault for not checking with you first. I should have known you'd go out apartment hunting. So, did you find one?"

He cleared off another chair for her. "Here, sit down. Yes, I ran all over town and I finally found one. It's a sub lease and it's furnished, but, I swear, it's hardly bigger than my quarters on Voyager and costs almost as much as this place. I told Mrs. Westerman I'd be out of here by Friday night and she's moving back Saturday morning, so I really had to find something today so I could pack tomorrow and move my stuff in after work on Friday."

"Well, I'd be glad to help you, my car holds a lot of stuff. So, where's the apartment, in town here?"

"No, in San Francisco, only a couple blocks from campus, so at least I can walk to work. It's just temporary, the owner is a professor from the linguistics department on sabbatical this semester. I'll find a better place because I want a house in the suburbs, not an apartment or condo in the city. Kathryn, I really am sorry about dinner. If I'd known I would have been home. Can you put it in stasis and we can have it tomorrow night?"

"Sure, that would be fine. Well, let me go home and change and I'll come back and help you pack."

/\

Chakotay opened the door to his new apartment and followed Kathryn in with an anti grav cart loaded with his belongings. "Thanks again for helping me move. Well, what do you think?"

She walked around a bit and sat on the sofa. "Well, you're right, it is small and it looks like a Ferengi decorated it, but the view is nice and it is close to the campus."

He joined her. "Yeah, can't say anything in here suits my taste, but at least it's furnished and clean. Come on, let's get everything unloaded and then I'll take you out to dinner.

When they had everything carried in, they walked a few blocks down the street to a nice little bistro, had a delicious dinner and split a bottle of wine. The dessert was so good they bought a box of them to take home and headed out to the street, where an army of paparazzi was waiting for them and began taking pictures and peppering them with questions about their newly discovered relationship.

"Oh gods, how did they find us?" Kathryn asked as she tried to shield her face from the cameras as she and Chakotay started running down the street.

Chakotay grabbed her hand and tried to put his jacket over their heads. "I don't know, those maggots always seem to be lurking in the bushes somewhere. Come on, let's get a cab and lose them."

When they were in the cab and free from the press, Chakotay instructed the driver to drive around for ten or fifteen minutes before he took them back to his apartment, to make sure they weren't being followed. He put his arm around Kathryn and said, "I'm so sorry about all that, what a way to ruin a nice evening!"

"It's OK, it certainly wasn't your fault and the only casualty seems to be the cream puffs, I dropped the box somewhere between the restaurant and the cab. I wonder how the hell they found us?"

"I don't know, they seem to be everywhere. B'Elanna said she heard that stores and restaurants tip them off because it's good publicity for them when people find out celebrities go there and they stay outside the businesses and wait for their targets to come out so they don't disrupt business and the places will keep giving them tips. Apparently they pay well for tips too, classic symbiotic relationship."

"More like parasitic!"

"I know! They've snuck onto campus a couple times now and I've had to call security to run them off. One of my students showed me a tabloid article, complete with phony pictures, that said I was dating some actress I've never even heard of much less met and then asked me if I could get her autograph for him. Who reads that trash anyhow?"

Kathryn giggled, "My sister does! She says she knows it's all fake, but she likes it anyhow. That actress you're dating makes porno vids and I guess you know I was running around naked on the beaches of Risa about a week ago, have a drug problem and I'm carrying Brad Borat's love child?"

"Brad Borat, who's that?"

"I don't know, we didn't talk much, we just had wild kinky sex on the beach on Risa and then I went back into rehab for my ketrocel white addiction… or was it my alcohol problem?" Kathryn laughed. "If you want to know who you're having sex with, just ask my sister."

They had a good laugh, returned to Chakotay's apartment and Kathryn helped him to rearrange the expensive avant garde but tacky furniture and put his things away. He had left a lot of his belongings packed away in Kathryn's garage as he didn't have room for all of them in the tiny apartment. Chakotay handed Kathryn her purse and sweater as he said, "Thanks so much for helping me and I'm sorry about the paparazzi. It's late, come on and I'll walk you to you car."

As they left the turbolift in the parking garage and headed for Kathryn's car, a group of paparazzi appeared out of nowhere and start running towards them. "Come on!" Chakotay shouted as he herded Kathryn back into the turbolift and shut the door. "Don't worry, they can't follow us, you need a security pass to get into the building. Let's go to the lobby and I'll let the concierge know and he can run them off." Chakotay spoke to the concierge and returned to Kathryn. "He sent security droids down to kick them out, just wait a few minutes and then it'll be safe. Oh, here's a security pass for you so you can get in the building and you know the code for my door. I'm so sorry about all this."

"Relax, it's certainly not your fault. Chakotay, they can throw them out of the building, but they'll just wait on the street and then they may try to follow me home and find out where I live. I'm afraid to drive home, is there a beaming station here?"

"Yes, right down here, and you're right, that's probably a better idea. You can beam home and I'll bring your car back tomorrow, would that be OK?"

"Fine, or better yet, why don't you just drive it out for dinner and then beam back?"

"OK, I'll bring the wine," he said as he took her into his arms. "Anything else you need?"

"Just this!" she replied as she jumped up and kissed him. Thanks again for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

/\

The next morning Phoebe was on the com link about Kathryn and Chakotay's pictures in all the tabloids before Kathryn had even finished her first cup of coffee. They had a good laugh over them, wondering how the two of them coming out from a restaurant had been contorted and contrived into so much rubbish and perversion. "Is any of it true?" Phoebe asked.

Kathryn laughed, "Well, we did eat dinner there, that much is true."

"And what about the part about you two going back to your high rise love nest and spending the night? Did you two finally do it, Katie, did you? They said they never saw you leave! Tell me you two finally did it, was it good? Is he as good in bed as he looks and why are you home and not still there?"

"Sorry, Phoebe, nothing happened and I was home by ten. There were paparazzi in the parking garage, so I beamed home because I was afraid they might try to follow me. The press hasn't figured out where I live yet and I want to keep it that way. The only truth to all that smut is we had dinner together in a crowded restaurant where we couldn't possibly have done any of that stuff it says we did and, for the record, I had prime rib and not a flaming whatever it was and Chakotay had pasta primavera. Oh, neither of us uses drugs, is in rehab for anything, has a gambling problem, dates a porn star, has been to Risa or had sex with a Nagus in the toilet at the space port either."

"Chakotay did that, not you." Phoebe sat back and sighed. "Oh well, I wish some of the smutty parts about last night had been true, so quit dragging and start shagging! I gotta go, Katie, I guess you can hear who's up and, by the way, it seems he learned a new word at your house."

"No shit!" Kathryn exclaimed as she waved goodbye and cut the link.

After Kathryn had enough coffee to get going she got dressed, went next door to say hello to Mrs. Westerman and brought back some things she'd found in a closet that Chakotay had forgotten. Realizing she no longer had use of a replicator and still needed to get some shoes, Kathryn beamed to San Francisco to drop in on Chakotay and surprise him, return his things and get her car so she could go shopping.

She rang his chime repeatedly, but there was no answer, so she let herself in to leave his things and a note. The sight that met her as she rushed in was one that hit her in the gut like the ultimate sucker punch. There was Chakotay on the sofa with a gorgeous half naked woman who was easily young enough to be his daughter, two glasses of wine on the coffee table and a box full of pastries that spilled onto the floor as he bolted up and said, "Kathryn what are you doing here?"

"Funny, I could ask you the same thing, Chakotay. Here, you left some things at your old house," she said as she threw them on a chair."

"Your ex?" the woman asked as she poured herself more wine and leaned back into the sofa.

"No, this is my girlfriend Kathryn that I told you about!" He grabbed the woman by the arm and pulled her up off the sofa. "Look, it was real nice to meet you and I don't want to be rude, but I told you I was busy, that I have a girlfriend and I've asked you to leave three times now and I think it's about time you did!"

The woman grabbed a pastry from her napkin on the table, took a bite and sensuously sucked the crème filling out of it as she glared at Kathryn and then looked to Chakotay and said, "You can do better than that, Chakotay, so much better! See you soon, Chakky!" She picked up her jacket and brushed by a stunned Kathryn as she slithered out of the apartment.

Kathryn turned to leave, but Chakotay grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Kathryn, it's not what it looks like, please let me explain! I've been trying to get that skank out of here for the last half hour! She lives down the hall and stopped by to say welcome to the building and it seemed fine at first, but she started coming on to me and I couldn't get her to leave. That's the truth, I swear!"

Kathryn looked down at the coffee table. "Wine and pastries aren't usually a good way to get someone to leave and isn't it a bit early to be drinking?"

He gestured to the table, "I didn't have anything to drink, see, my glass is still full. She brought the wine and opened it and she brought the pastries. I thought it was all innocent and she was just a nice neighbor until she took her jacket off, was just wearing nothing but that little sports bra under it and then she started making suggestive comments and shoving her big fat fake boobs at me."

"How do you know they're fake, did they feel fake?"

"No! Kathryn, I didn't touch them or any other part of her. It's just an expression, boobs that big and round are always fake."

"Nice of you to notice." Kathryn tried to smirk, but it didn't work because she was trying so hard to keep her lips from quivering. "Well, you always have been a sucker for blondes and big boobs, haven't you? Sorry mine weren't big enough to turn you on!"

"Gods, don't say that, don't ever think that!" He grabbed her hands and made her face him. "Kathryn Janeway, you turn me on more than any woman ever has or ever could and I'll take you in that bedroom and show you right now if you'd let me!" He paused and drew in a long breath. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out right. Kathryn, the only reason I haven't made love to you is because you said no, that you wanted to wait a while, and that's just fine with me because I'd wait for you until hell freezes over. I love you, Kathryn, you and only you. You have to believe me, I really was trying to get her out of here." Kathryn was apparently still in shock and just stood there. He led her to the sofa and kicked the fallen pastries out of the way. "Sit down, Kathryn. Please, Sweetheart, you have to believe me."

"Chakotay, I would like to believe you, but I know what I saw. How come you didn't answer the door? I rang three times before I let myself in. Were you so busy with her you didn't hear it?"

"No! Kathryn, the door chime doesn't work, go check it yourself if you don't believe me. Be reasonable, you know I love you, don't you?"

"I thought you did."

"I do, oh gods but I do. As soon as she took the jacket off I knew what was up, but, short of grabbing her and physically throwing her out the door, I didn't know how to get her out of here. I even thought of doing that but I was afraid she'd scream rape or something. All I did was tell her about you, hoping she'd get the message that I had a girlfriend and wasn't the least bit interested and she'd leave. Kathryn, you're a bigger celebrity than I am, haven't you had people come on to you and suck up to you just because you're a celebrity?"

"Well, yes, I have, that's why I just stay at home most of the time; I can't stand it."

"Neither can I and I don't know how to deal with it very well. Sometimes it's very hard to be polite and to get rid of them nicely, but you know as well as I do lots of people want to have celebrities for friends or fuck one and that's all that slut wanted, I'm sure. Sorry, I didn't mean to be crude, but I think you know what I'm saying."

"Yes, I do." She softened and sat back. "I've had guys send me everything from sincere tear jerker love letters and marriage proposals to naked pictures of themselves and the most vile filth I've ever read about what they want to do to me. It got so bad I finally asked Owen to assign someone to screen it and only send me the decent things, the letters from kids, crewmen's families and stuff like that. I never wanted to be a celebrity and you're right and it is hard."

"Neither did I and I don't know how to deal with it sometimes either. I've even gotten death threats from Cardassian sympathizers who think I'm a traitor, I had to turn it over to Starfleet Security. Kathryn, I have never lied to you, so I hope you will believe me that what I told you about that woman was the truth. If I had any idea I would have never let her in here, but she followed me back from the trash room when I dumped some boxes in the recycler and she just came on in with the wine and donuts like she owned the place and I couldn't get her out of here and, to be honest, I'm damn glad you showed up. Kathryn, women do come on to me when they recognize me sometimes and I tell them all the same thing: I'm very flattered, but I have a girlfriend and I'm spoken for. Now, would it be alright if I gave my girlfriend a hug and a kiss?"

"Yes, of course. Chakotay, I'm sorry, but you have to realize what I saw and how it looked. I've seen the way women stare at you and I have to admit it does make me feel insecure sometimes. Come here, I love you and I'm sorry I doubted you."

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her soundly. "I'm sorry I gave you a reason to doubt me. I love you, Kathryn, gods but I love you! I was almost foolish enough to lose you once, but I swear I will never ever make that mistake again. I would die without you…" He kissed her again until she gasped for breath. Chakotay held Kathryn, brushed her hair back and smiled at her. "You are one gorgeous hot sexy woman and don't you ever forget it! Kathryn, are you OK?"

"Yes," she smiled, "you literally made me breathless… and it was a wonderful feeling!"

He gave her a mischievous dimpled grin and stared into her eyes. "Kathryn, if you'd like to go in the bedroom with me, I could do a lot more than that. Make love with me, Kathryn, please."

She returned his smile as she wiped away a tear. "Will you still love me if I say no?"

"Of course I will. I told you I'd wait until you're ready and I meant it. I'm sorry, but you're stuck with me. I wasn't trying to pressure you, I just thought maybe it was the right time."

"I know you weren't and I love you."

He pulled her up and asked, "Did you beam in here just to bring me that stuff and please thank Mrs. Westerman for me."

"I will, she said to say hello. No, I actually came to get my car," she replied as she grabbed her brush from her purse and fixed her hair.

"I told you I'd bring it back tonight. If you needed it you should have called and I would have brought it right back and beamed home."

"No, I realized I needed to go grocery shopping and I figured I'd get a pair or two of shoes as long as I was here. There's a big discount shoe outlet over by Golden Gate Mall and the groceries are much cheaper at the PX than the supermarket back home and I bet I can finagle a new pair of athletic shoes out of the quartermaster."

Chakotay jumped up. "OK, give me a minute to change and I'll go with you."

Kathryn put her things back in her purse and laughed, "You'd actually go shoe shopping with me and sit there while I try on forty eleven pairs of shoes to find one that fits?"

"Well sure!"

She got up off the couch and gave him a hug. "Gods, now I know you really love me! No, you stay here, I can see you still have a lot to do. I'll see you for dinner at six." She checked her watch. "No, you'd better make that closer to seven."

"OK, should I bring anything other than wine? Oh, what kind, what are you serving?"

"I don't know yet."

"What kind of wine goes with that?"

She gave him a quick kiss and headed for the door. "I don't know, Château Je Ne Sais Quois perhaps?" she giggled. "Surprise me!"

/\

Kathryn met Chakotay at the university's faculty club for dinner on Friday evening and apologized as she rushed in and they were seated. "I'm sorry I'm late, I forgot how bad traffic can be. My, you were right, this is very nice, so elegant!"

"Thank you, no problem, I was a few minutes late myself." The waiter arrived, brought their menus and took their order for drinks. "I was late because my building manager was bending my ear and I just couldn't get away. You look very nice, Kathryn."

"Thank you. Building manager, are you still having problems with your apartment, didn't they fix your door chime yet?"

"Yes," he huffed as he put his menu aside, "and I wish they hadn't! Some paparazzo rang it at three this morning, snapped a picture of me in my bathrobe and ran. I called security, but he was gone by time they responded."

"Oh my gosh! How did he get in, I thought you said it took a security pass?"

"It does, I don't know how he got in, but a bunch of them have. They probably just wait and slip in when a tenant does or pretend to be delivery people, get forged passes, I don't know how they do it. The manager is pissed about it and said several of the tenants have complained about that bunch of them that's usually hanging around on the street in front of the building because sometimes they stop them and ask questions about me or try to get them to sneak them in. The trash in one of those tabloids from Monday gave the name of my building, so paparazzi, reporters and people who just want to meet me or gawk at me show up all the time and wait around. It's so bad I have to beam to work now, I can't even walk four blocks in peace and I'm afraid, if they find out which car is mine, they'll put a tracking device on it and follow me everywhere, so I can't even drive my car."

"Oh, Chakotay, I'm so sorry. Can't they beef up security or something? That's a pretty fancy building, with what people pay to live there they should."

"That's what I said too, but the manager said she wasn't about to pay for more security droids to placate just one tenant. She was really pissed, said she'd had a lot of complaints, which I don't doubt judging by some of the looks the other tenants have given me, and my presence was disrupting the building and I'd better do something about it or move out."

"They can't evict you, can they?"

"I don't know, I'll ask my lawyer. I did talk to her on Wednesday, but she said there's not a damn thing anyone can do about them lurking in wait for you or taking pictures in a public place. All those tabloids are published off world, so they're not subject to the laws here and can essentially put out whatever smut and lies they want. My only option would be to get restraining orders, but for that I'd have to figure out who each one of them is, go to court…" He paused as their drinks were served. "Anyhow, she told me to just put up with it as it should eventually blow over. On a positive note, I ran into that sports bra skank in the hallway last night and she took one look at me and ran."

Kathryn took a sip of her water as her face took on an evil grin that would have scared the shit right out of a Borg. "When I left that day she and her breasts were in the lobby waiting for the turbo lift and I had a little chat with her and told her to keep her hands off you because I had three things she didn't: Starfleet hand to hand combat training, a really really bad temper and a phaser in my purse."

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

"Well, it must have worked, thanks."

"No problem. So, are you going to move or just try to ride it out?"

"I don't want any more trouble, so I guess I'll look around for a new place this weekend, someplace with better security. My apartment is too small anyhow and that awful furniture makes me nauseous. I'll have everything beamed to the new apartment, have someone else go pick up my car and I'll beam to and from everywhere and be more careful so, hopefully, they can't find out where I live. You're still going to spend the weekend at your Mom's house in Bloomington, right?"

"Yeah, my grandma is coming, it's her birthday tomorrow. Mom talked me into beaming out tonight instead of tomorrow, so I'm sorry, but I can't stay out too late tonight."

Chakotay picked up his menu and started looking. "Neither can I, I was so upset after that jerk banged on my door at three in the morning that I never really did get back to sleep, so let's go ahead and order. Oh, look, Kathryn, they have broiled fresh lobster tails! You love lobster, don't you?"

"Oh yes, but it's awfully expensive! The lemon thyme chicken sounds good, maybe I'll try that?"

"No, Kathryn, this evening is my treat and I know you love lobster, so please let me order it for you? In fact, I think I know you so well I could order exactly what you'd like, so may I please order for you?" She smiled and nodded, so Chakotay summoned the waiter. "The lady will have a salade Niçoise, with the dressing on the side, the soupe a l'ongion, broiled lobster with oven roasted garlic herb potatoes and the orange glazed baby carrots. I'll have an avocado walnut salad, the cream of asparagus soup, four cheese lasagna and I believe I'd like to try the braised Trigallian squash as well. We'll have espresso after dinner and decide on the desserts then. Oh, and can you please bring us a bottle of Château Chantelle extra dry champagne with the meal?"

"Excellent choices, Sir!" The waiter pronounced as he collected their menus and bowed politely. "Are we celebrating a special occasion this evening, Sir?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied, "I'm having dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Indeed you are, Sir," the waiter complimented as he left them.

/\

On Sunday evening after she got back from spending the weekend at her mother's house, Kathryn grabbed her com link off the desk and settled on the sofa in her den. "Hi, Chakotay, I'm home!" She looked at the background behind him on the screen. "I see you moved?"

"Yeah, twice! I found a new apartment on Saturday morning in that odd looking building with the round windows that's near the new court house. I had all my stuff beamed to the apartment that afternoon and then went out and rented a bunch of furniture because it wasn't furnished. I stayed up half the night putting everything away and getting it organized and then they come banging on my door Sunday morning and told me I had to move out."

"What? Why? You signed a lease didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that's the catch, it was pending my references, but they let me move in not anticipating any problems because my credit was good and they said Starfleet officers are always OK. When they checked, which I didn't think they'd really do, the manager at my old building said I was nothing but trouble and they called the rental agent I got my house in Primrose Acres from and she referred them to the civic association and they spoke with Mrs. Wentworth and, well, I guess you know the rest."

Kathryn sank back on the sofa and sighed, "Oh my! So, where are you now, did you find another place?"

"I tried, but I gave up as they're all going to ask for references unless it's some by the week dump and, as soon as they hear the good news, I'm sure nobody will rent to me because I've been dubbed a problem tenant. I'm in the Guest Suites Hotel a couple blocks from the campus for now." He panned around the room to show her. "And, as you can see, so's all my stuff. Kathryn, I can hardly walk around in here, would it be OK if I stored most of my stuff in your garage until I can regroup and find another place?"

"Sure, that would be fine, you can beam it over right now if you want. I took a nap this afternoon and I'm not tired, so I'll be up for a good while. Chakotay, what are you going to do?"

He raked his fingers through his hair and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I guess I'll have to buy a house sooner than I'd planned, but I have a really busy schedule next week and I'm going to that conference I told you about for three days, so I don't know when I'd have time to go look at houses. One thing's for sure, this place is way to expensive to stay in any longer than I have to. They took back the furniture I rented, but I still had to pay a month's rent on it plus the beaming fees and I'm a little financially stretched right now because I lost my deposit and rent I paid at the first place because they claim I violated the lease by causing all that commotion. Well, my lawyer says I can get it back, but I have to sue and it could take months!"

"Oh, Chakotay, what a mess!"

"Yeah, I know! Hold on, there's someone at my door." Kathryn could hear some yelling and then some talking and kept shouting for Chakotay to return to the com link. He sat and obviously slammed something down on the desk as the image bounced. "Dammit all to hell!" he shouted as he buried his face in his hands. "Sorry. That was a reporter, I don't know how, but they found me! He was saying he was room service and trying to get in, but I hadn't ordered anything and, when he whipped out his camera, I grabbed it and threw it down the hall, called him a few choice words and slammed the door. Kathryn, I haven't even been here for four hours and they found me! Gods, Kathryn, what am I going to do? You know that one will tell the others, I bet someone at the hotel tipped them off for a price. I'm sure of it, I went down to the coffee shop to get something to eat for dinner and one of the kids behind the counter was staring at me and probably recognized me."

"That's awful, you should say something to them."

"I did, I called security, but it's a hotel and anyone can walk in the front door. They suggested I move to one of the restricted access penthouse suites if I wanted privacy. Yeah, right, they cost like ten times more than this room!"

Kathryn took a sip of coffee and thought for a moment. "Chakotay, why don't you and your stuff just come here? You can put everything in the garage and stay in the guest room until you can find a new place, stay as long as you need to."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled into the screen. "Of course I'm sure, there's plenty of room and reporters can't bother you in Primrose Acres. Be careful though, they don't know where I live and I want to keep it that way, so have your stuff beamed from your room to here, check out from your room and not the front desk and then make sure there's nobody around and go to the parking garage and drive on up here and take the long way and drive around some so you're sure nobody is following you." She giggled, "You know, standard Starfleet celebrity evasive maneuvers!"

"Well, OK, that sounds like it'll work. I'll give you a call when I'm on my way and don't worry, I'll be careful and thanks again."

"OK, see you soon!"

Kathryn got the guest room ready and, by time she did, Chakotay called to say he was on his way and he was pretty sure he wasn't being followed, but he was going to get on and off the expressway a couple times to be sure. Chakotay's belongings had materialized on the front sidewalk at her beaming coordinates, so she started carrying them into the garage and was almost finished by time he arrived.

He parked his car on the side of Kathryn's driveway and hurried to her to give her a hug and a kiss. "Oh, it's good to see you and thank you so much, you saved my life! Here, let me finish up, I need to sort through and find what I need right away. Go on in, I'll be right there."

"OK, it's good to see you too and Mom and Phoebe said to say hello and so did the kids. Did you have dinner, are you hungry?"

"I just had a sandwich, but don't go to any trouble, I'll get something later."

"No trouble, Mom sent me home with all sorts of goodies."

Chakotay carried the rest into the garage, sorted through everything, took what he needed up to the guest room, washed up and joined Kathryn in the kitchen.

She pointed to the counter. "There, I put out a buffet of care package à la Gretchen, help yourself. You want iced tea, lemonade or a soda?"

"Lemonade please," he said as he filled his plate and joined Kathryn at the kitchen table. "Wow, this looks great!"

"It should be, I didn't cook a bit of it! Oh, Mom invited us next Sunday if you're free and would like to go. I was thinking, if we put all your extra stuff upstairs in the empty bedroom, there would be room in the garage to park your car too. That other pile of junk by the door is getting picked up tomorrow."

"Kathryn, this is some of the best food I have ever eaten! Oh, I agree with you, I'll carry my stuff upstairs and don't you try to do it! I have that conference I have to go to, so I'll be gone Tuesday morning until probably about eight or so Thursday night. That's OK, right?"

She patted his hand. "Of course it's OK. I told you, I'm not your keeper! You can come and go as you please, just make yourself at home and I mean it and you can stay as long as you need to. Help yourself to seconds, as you can see, there's plenty."

Chakotay rose and started filling his plate again. "Thanks, I didn't realize how hungry I was, but I haven't eaten much since our dinner Friday night. All the hassles over the weekend and moving really got to me I guess." He returned to the table and smiled. "So, what are the house rules?"

"House rules?" Kathryn giggled, "Do we really need any rules? Chakotay, that's silly! Just clean up after yourself and be quiet in the morning if I'm still asleep. Now that I don't have to get up early, I don't most of the time. If a door is shut, knock before you go in, put the toilet seat down…. Well, that's just common courtesy."

"OK, well if I bother you, please let me know. What else?"

"What do you mean what else? Chakotay, just make yourself at home, that's all."

"Would you let me pay you rent?"

"No, of course not!" she said as she got up to get them more lemonade. "You're welcome to the guest room for as long as you need it and you can store your stuff here as long as you want to. Don't worry about it, I'm sure things will be fine." She rummaged though a kitchen drawer. "Here's a sensor key for the garage, the doors stick sometimes and you have to get out of the car and wiggle it before it'll open all the way. I called and they're going to send someone out to look at it. I'm going to go call my mother, I told her I would and it's getting late and I want to talk to my grandmother before she goes to bed. You're OK with going next Sunday?"

"Yes, of course, thank you. Go on, I'll put the food away and clean up in here. I need to go over my notes for my classes tomorrow and carry my stuff upstairs and I'm pretty tired, so I think I'll turn in early. Is it OK if I keep my stuff in the hall bathroom?"

"Sure, I don't use it, so feel free to spread out and you know where the extra towels and all are. I put clean sheets on your bed and the closet and dresser in there are empty, so you can put your clothes away if you want to. I'll be in the den."

When Kathryn finished chatting with her family she went upstairs and found Chakotay sitting on the floor of his room with his work spread out around him. She looked down, smiled and tousled his hair. "You can use the desk in the den, you know."

"Thanks, but I like to sit on the floor and spread out to work sometimes and I didn't want to disturb you. Kathryn, if you won't let me pay rent, at least let me handle some of the chores. I can do the yard work and, if you give me that list you have of things that need fixing, I can probably do most of them for you. What else can I do to help?"

She joined him on the floor. "I don't know, don't worry about it. You work and I don't, so I have a lot more free time than you do. Did you find everything OK? Need anything?"

"No, I'm fine." He pulled her onto his lap. "On second thought, I think I could use a little of this."

/\

The next morning Kathryn got up late and knew Chakotay had already left for work. The door to his room was open and she went in to find the bed neatly made and that he had spread out his belongings. He had placed several pictures on the dresser, one she recognized as his sister and the others she wasn't too sure about, but figured they must be family, and surely the one of two pretty young women and a horse must be his nieces he'd spoken of. Some boxes of books and PADDs were neatly arranged along the far wall as the room lacked any furnishings beyond the bed, night table and a dresser. Kathryn tried to think of what piece of furniture she had around the house that she could put in Chakotay's room to hold those things, but there really wasn't any, so she decided the best solution would be to move some things around on the shelves and rearrange the desk drawers in the den to make some room. She didn't have all that much in the cavernous den and had spread it out to make the room look less empty. A quick check of the closet revealed everything neatly hung and organized to specifications that would have passed the most exacting of Starfleet Academy cadet quarters inspections. Kathryn laughed as she remembered how many times she'd received demerits because her closet was messy and, if anyone inspected the closet in her bedroom right now, she'd be scrubbing bathroom floors with her toothbrush until the end of time.

Kathryn yawned and ruffled her hair as the need for caffeine hit her and she turned to head downstairs for coffee, but the contents of the nightstand stopped her and she sat on the bed to examine them. There was a picture of her that Chakotay had taken on New Earth, one that she'd always hated because her hair was a mess and there was dirt all over her dress, but for some reason he loved it. In front of it was a PADD. Kathryn was nosy and clicked it on, found it to contain a series of articles on the religious rituals of some ancient civilization she had never heard of, so she shut it off before it bored her back to sleep. Her knowledge of anthropology was rudimentary at best and she had often feigned interest when Chakotay went on at length about something or other that she honestly had no interest in. She picked up a small clay pot and remembered she had seen it back in his quarters on Voyager, but she had never thought to ask him about it. It was obviously old, had been broken and repaired and looked like it had a handle of some sort at one time, but the rest was a mystery to her. It had a small stopper type lid, but it was so encrusted with age that it wouldn't come off and looked to be too fragile to withstand any prying. The designs carved into the pot were unusual and complex. She couldn't decide if they were just decorative or some sort of glyphs, but surely this was some sort of ancient artifact Chakotay had unearthed somewhere. As she turned it over to see if there were any markings on the bottom, the lid fell out and the jar spilled sand into the carpet.

"Oh shit!" Kathryn said to herself as she bent down and tried to scoop it up. Her efforts were useless as the thick carpet just swallowed up the sand, so she used her foot to grind it in since the carpet was so old and already had so many stains that another one wouldn't be noticeable. Fortunately the lid hadn't broken when it fell, so she replaced it and put the pot back on the nightstand. The lid seemed secure once again, so she wondered if it had some sort of magnetic mechanism, although that seemed unlikely for something so old. Kathryn smoothed out the dent she had made in the bedspread and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast.

She had never returned to the kitchen after their snack last night and found it to be immaculately clean, even the floor was spotless, something it had never been since she'd moved in. Chakotay had made her breakfast and left it in stasis, so she poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip as she grabbed her plate and turned to go to the table. Kathryn grimaced, the coffee didn't taste right and lacked that acidic bite that most people hated, but she so loved. Inspecting the coffeemaker, she found that it had been meticulously disassembled and cleaned, no probably sterilized she thought, as the components gleamed more intensely than they had the day she bought it. "Damn!" she swore as she shoved the carafe back in, "Doesn't he know you have to let the grunge build up to make really good coffee?"

Kathryn took her plate to the table and found it neatly set with a placemat, linen napkin and silverware. She grabbed the fork and pushed the rest aside as she didn't bother with placemats and linen napkins for everyday meals because they had to be washed and it was much easier just to wipe up the table. She had never seen the placemat and napkin before, so Chakotay must have unpacked them from his things.

There was a PADD on the kitchen table, so Kathryn clicked it on and read as she ate. "Good morning! Sorry the toast is dry, but I couldn't find any butter and we seem to be out of some other things as well and I used up all the floor cleaner, so I'll stop and get groceries on my way home. I hope you don't mind, but I put away the food I had packed and some of my cooking utensils, so I had to rearrange the cabinets a little. Please let me know if you can't find anything. I should be home by 1645 and I'll make dinner, so don't worry about it. Here is my schedule today, call if you need anything. Love, Chakotay." She gave the schedule a quick glance and tossed the PADD aside, satisfied that he had meticulously and uselessly accounted for every single second in the day.

When Chakotay got home he had trouble with the garage door as Kathryn said he might. He took a quick look and thought he knew what the problem was, so he decided to fix it as soon as he'd put the groceries away and changed. He came into the house through the garage door and called for Kathryn, but got no answer, so he quietly put the groceries away, assuming she was napping as she sometimes did. When he finished he went upstairs to change and found Kathryn's bedroom door open and the bed in disarray, but his calls went unanswered. He changed and looked for her outside, but she was nowhere to be found and her purse wasn't missing, so he assumed maybe she'd gone for a walk and went to fix the garage door.

Kathryn still hadn't returned when he was finished, so he tried to com her, without success, and then started making dinner, still wondering where she was. As he was rooting around in a lower cupboard, Kathryn came in, bent down and gave him a kiss as they said hello.

She went to the refrigerator, grabbed a soda, the bowl of leftover potato salad a fork and a sat at the table. Chakotay grabbed his recipe PADD off the kitchen counter and joined her at the table as well. "Where were you? I looked everywhere and couldn't find you and was starting to get worried."

Kathryn swallowed a glob of potato salad and replied, "I was next door at Mrs. Westerman's. Oh, she said to say hi and could you please stop by when you have a moment as she can't find some of her things. She has a companion living with her now to help take care of her, her name is Maneep."

"OK, I will in a minute. I put some of her frilly stuff away in the attic and I guess I forgot to put it all back." Chakotay got a plate and serving spoon for the potato salad and tried to take it to dish some out, but Kathryn snatched it away and took another bite. "I don't need a plate, thanks."

He finally wrestled it from her and spooned some onto the plate for her. "Kathryn, you can't eat out of the bowl, it's unsanitary. Anyhow, it's almost six, you'll ruin your dinner, I'm making my special soufflé."

"Yes, Mom!" she replied as she tossed her fork on the table and gave him a dirty look that crept into a wicked grin. "What do you mean not sanitary? As I recall you were quite happy to share saliva with me a minute ago!"

"You know that's not the same thing!" he retorted. "Kathryn, I tired to com you and didn't get any answer. You didn't leave a note or anything, I was worried!"

"I was out working in the yard and Mrs. Westerman called out through the kitchen window and invited me over for tea."

"Oh, OK. I was worried where you were, I wish you'd left me a note or something."

"Chakotay, I'm not going to leave you a note every time I leave the house, for heaven sakes! My car is here and my purse is on the counter over there, so you knew I couldn't have gone far. Chakotay, where's my purse? I left the house unlocked while I was gone, I hope no one came in and took it."

"No, I put it away in the closet in the foyer."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because it doesn't belong on the kitchen counter, your purse was dirty and we need the space for cooking and…" He stopped as Kathryn went and got her purse and dumped it back on the counter beside the refrigerator.

"I keep it there so I can find it and so I remember to take it when I leave. Please don't move it again." She pointed to the mass of pots and pans he had taken out of the lower cabinet. "What's all that?"

He went back and started putting them away. "I was looking for a soufflé dish and couldn't find one. The cupboards were a mess, one of your sister's kids must have gotten into them, so I decided to straighten them up and prioritize."

"Prioritize?" Kathryn giggled.

"Well, yes, that's the efficient way to set up a kitchen. You put the most frequently used things at the front of the cupboard and the least used things at the back." He held up a big Santa bowl. "See, you're not going to need this for months, so it goes at the back and then the…"

Kathryn grabbed the bowl from him and threw it in. "I use that all the time, that's my popcorn bowl. Chakotay, I had everything the way I wanted it, it was fine!" She opened several more cabinets and surveyed his handiwork. "See, now I won't be able to find a damn thing! Oh, geez, you even alphabetized the cereal, didn't you?" She began pulling the things off the lower shelf in the cupboard and tossing them on the counter.

Chakotay got up from the floor and tried to stop her. "Don't be ridiculous, Kathryn, it's arranged according to package height, not the alphabet! The cereal was on the bottom shelf before and laying on its side because there wasn't room for it there. See look, this is much neater and easier…"

She stuck her hand up inside the cupboard. "The reason I had it down there like that is because I can't reach the top shelf! I only put stuff I hardly ever need on the top shelves. See here, like this package of yarmok sauce, I don't know what you use it for and it tastes awful anyhow, so I'll never use it and it goes on the top shelf."

He took the package of sauce from her and headed for the trash recycler. "Well if you don't like it and it's been opened, you should just throw it away."

She snatched it back and threw it in a drawer. "No, I might need it some day!"

Chakotay took it out and put it in the cupboard to the left of the stove. "Well then, I put all the spices and condiments here, so it should go here."

"Are they alphabetized?" she smirked behind his back.

"Just the spices. See, it's easy to find things now and…."

Kathryn threw her hands in the air. "Chakotay, I had my kitchen the way I like it!"

"Yes, but…"

"Don't but me, this is my kitchen and I'll thank you not to go around changing things. The kids didn't mess up that cabinet, that's the way I had it. I knew what was in there and, as long as it didn't all fall out when I opened the door, I was happy. Put everything back the way I had it quit being such a neat freak!"

He started replacing the pots and pans. "I'm not a neat freak! Kathryn, I'm sorry, you're right and I didn't realize you can't reach the top shelves. If you want I could lower all the kitchen cabinets to a good height for you or build a little step stool so your could easily reach them. I'm sorry, I just figured I'd be doing most of the cooking and…"

She threw the last of the pans in and kicked the door shut. "Oh, so I can't cook?"

"Noooo! I never said that. I know you don't like to cook and I do, so I thought I'd do most of the cooking, that's all." He led her to the table, sat her down and handed her the PADD he had earlier. "Here, take a look. See, I planned out the menus. I got groceries today, I was going to make a spinach and feta soufflé tonight. I was looking for your soufflé dish when you came in."

"I don't have one." She looked the PADD over and smiled incredulously. "You planned the meals for an entire month?"

He pointed. "No, just two weeks, see. Don't you plan out your meals ahead of time?"

"No, of course not. How would I know today what I want for dinner next Tuesday? I come into the kitchen when I get hungry and start planning then."

"Kathryn , there's no replicator, you need to plan ahead so you can grocery shop. What if you're hungry for spaghetti and don't have any tomato sauce?"

"Then I have some corned beef hash, tuna fish or whatever I do have. Chakotay, I'm not a domestic planner, I save my organizational skills for Starfleet. I only plan ahead if I'm having company. I usually make a big pot of something and eat it until it runs out or I get tired of it because I don't like to cook. When I go to the grocery store I get what I always need and then whatever's on sale or I feel like eating; that's the way I do things."

"Well, OK. How about we compromise and I just plan and prepare the dinners? Would that be OK?"

"I suppose. Oh what did you do to the coffee maker? Don't mess with it, now it doesn't make good coffee."

He went and checked it out. "What's wrong, is it broken? It was working fine this morning, I left you coffee."

"I know, it tasted terrible. You washed it or sterilized it or alphabetized it or something."

He scratched his head. "It seems to be fine. It was dirty, so of course I cleaned it. Was the coffee too weak?"

She grabbed the coffee carafe from him and dumped it down the drain. "It wasn't dirty, it was broken in! You need to let a layer of oils build up, it makes the coffee better. All you need to do is rinse it out in cold water. Chakotay, we're not getting off to a good start here, so maybe we do need some house rules after all."

He sat at the kitchen table and handed her the PADD. "OK, like what?"

She tossed it on the table. "For heaven's sake, I'm not going to write them down! Just don't go moving all my stuff around, I have it the way I like it, I'm organized in my own way. I have a headache, so I'm going to go lie down for a few minutes. Don't forget about going over to speak to Mrs. Westerman, I told her you would."

Chakotay got up and started rubbing Kathryn's neck, but she jumped up as she obviously wasn't in the mood for any affection. "OK, I'll put the soufflé in and then go right over there. Dinner should be ready in an hour… or whenever you want to eat it."

Chakotay heard Kathryn grumble to herself as she went up the stairs and shut the door to her room. Not a minute later she bounded back down and stomped into the kitchen. "You made my bed?"

He smiled, knowing that dimples went a long way with her and so did big brown puppy dog eyes. "Yes, Sweetheart, I was looking for you when I got home and noticed it wasn't made… and knew you'd probably been so busy you didn't have time to do it, so I…"

She put her hands on her hips and loudly announced, "New house rule, you stay out of my room!" before she thundered back up the stairs and slammed her door.

When Chakotay had dinner ready he still hadn't heard a peep out of Kathryn, so he shoved everything into stasis knowing that would be the death of his soufflé. He started to try to put the kitchen cupboards back the way she had them, but couldn't remember and they would have to be rearranged somewhat anyhow to accommodate his things or else he'd have to put them away. With nothing else to do, Chakotay went to the den to read the materials he had about the conference he would be attending. He was startled to find Kathryn there at her desk. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here."

"I couldn't sleep so I came down to rearrange things to give you some space on the shelves and in the desk drawers. Dinner smells good, I'm starving, when will it be ready?"

"Oh, it's ready now, I thought you were still asleep so I put it in stasis."

She slammed a drawer shut, got up and headed for the kitchen. "There, you can have the left side of the desk. If dinner was ready, why didn't you call me?"

"Like I said, I thought you were asleep."

"Oh well, sorry," she said as she started setting the table.

"Uh, Kathryn, I set the table in the dining room. I thought maybe we could eat in there. Honey, I'm sorry about the kitchen, I was hoping we could have a nice dinner and I could make amends, I really am sorry." Kathryn nodded and smiled halfheartedly as she starting carrying the food to the table, but Chakotay wasn't sure if she were still angry with him, still had a headache or both. "Do you think maybe we could work together to arrange the kitchen the way you want after dinner? Well, I have to run out to get some things to replace Mrs. Westerman's, but it shouldn't take me long."

"What?"

"Remember when the dog chewed up your pillows? I brought some over from her house to replace them and forgot about it and she missed them. She also said there's some towels missing, she had a set of twelve and now there's only eight."

"Oh my, that's right, you did lend me some towels. Those blue ones in the linen closet are hers, I forgot about it. I'll go get them after dinner and make sure everything in there is mine. So much went back and forth between your house and mine with borrowing and doing my laundry at your place and all that there may very well be more of her things here."

"OK, thanks. If you don't mind, I thought it would be better if you kept the pillows and I bought her a set on new ones. Speaking of laundry, Kathryn, how are we going to handle that? Obviously we'll either have to send it out or go to the laundromat in town. Should we each take care of our own or do it together? Oh, I'm sorry about the soufflé, they don't do well in stasis and it fell."

"That's OK, I'm sure it'll taste just as good. I suppose it makes more sense to do our laundry together. Just throw your stuff in the hamper."

"OK, where is it?"

"In my room, beside my bathroom door."

He passed her the salad and grinned. "You told me your room was off limits."

"OK, I'll put it out in the hall."

They ate their dinner largely in silence, only chatting about Mrs. Westerman and the conference Chakotay would be attending for three days. After dinner Kathryn's sister called and she talked with her in the den while Chakotay did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. He stuck his head in to tell her he was leaving to go shopping. She looked up long enough to say goodbye, then returned to her conversation.

Chakotay had to go to three different stores to find old fashioned real feather pillows like the ones he'd borrowed, so it took him more than an hour to get back. When he returned he went in the den and surprised Kathryn with a bouquet of flowers. "Here, I just want to say how sorry I am that I messed up your kitchen. Obviously me staying here has caused you problems already, but I want to apologize and tell you that I'll do my best to be a good housemate. We got along OK when we lived together on New Earth, so I'm sure we'll be able to work things out here."

She admired the flowers and smiled. "Thank you, they're lovely." Kathryn thought for a moment. "You know, you're right, we got along fine on New Earth for the most part, but our first day here wasn't too good, was it?"

He sat next her and grinned. "No, I guess it wasn't. New Earth was more than five years ago and we were both different people then. That was also our house, neither yours nor mine before, we started from scratch. This is me moving into your house and that's different."

"Agreed. I owe you an apology , I suppose, because I did tell you to make yourself at home and I haven't been very good at letting you. You know me, I'm pretty set in my ways about some things and those four pips I was carrying around on my collar for the last seven years usually let me get my way. I'll try to be more understanding. I know you're used to the more neat, organized and systematic side of me, but I'm not really that way at home you know."

"I know!" he grinned as he gave her arm a pat. "Don't worry, I'll do a better job and please don't take anything I do differently than you as criticism. I think it's like I said a while back, in some ways we don't really know each other very well yet and I'm glad we didn't rush into anything."

"Me too," Kathryn replied as she got up off the sofa. "Well, let me get these in some water and then I had better sort through the linen closet and find Mrs. Westerman's towels.

"OK, but no rush, her lights were out when I got home. I put the new pillows on the living room sofa, would you mind taking them and the towels back to her tomorrow? I have to leave real early for the conference and I doubt she'll be up that early." Chakotay got the vase off the top shelf in the utility room. "Here you go. After we round up the towels, let's come back to the kitchen and I'll reorganize everything the way you want it."

Kathryn put the vase of flowers on the kitchen table and arranged them as she spoke. "That's OK, I'm tired, so I think I'll take a hot bath and go to bed early. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it tomorrow." She ordered the computer to secure the house and put out the lights.

Chakotay rubbed her back as she started up the stairs ahead of him. "OK, I need to need to go over my notes and get to bed early too."

She sorted through the linen closet, found all of Mrs. Westerman's towels and sat them at the top of the steps. Chakotay kissed Kathryn goodnight and she went in her room and ran a bath as she changed into her robe. As she put her clothes in the hamper she remember what she said about putting it in the hall and opened her door to carry it out. As she sat it in the hall Chakotay came out of his room, heading for the bathroom. Kathryn stared at him, turned around and said, "Chakotay, please!"

"What?" he replied, not knowing what she was talking about.

"For heaven sakes, don't go running around the house in just your shorts, have the decency to put your robe on."

"Kathryn, I wasn't running around the house, I was just going from my room to the bathroom, and you've seen me in my shorts before anyhow."

"Not intentionally. Chakotay, we're just housemates, we're not living together. If that's all you're wearing, please put a robe on." She went in her room and shut the door louder than necessary.

"I'm sorry, Kathryn, it won't happen again, goodnight."

/\

When Chakotay got home from the conference on Thursday night, he stormed into the den to send a message to the shuttle company to complain that his return flight was more than two hours late and they had managed to lose his suitcase as well. Kathryn was asleep on the sofa and the noise of him throwing down his carry on bag startled her. "Oh, you're home."

"Yeah" he replied as he flopped down at the desk, "I'm home and my suitcase isn't! I'm sorry I'm so late and that I woke you. The university booked my flights and they used one of those cut rate Ferengi transports and it left almost an hour late, then the stop at Alpha Centauri took fifty-two minutes, not ten."

"Fifty-two, are you sure?"

"Yes, I kept track and wrote it down."

"Of course you did."

He reached into his pocket and tossed her a little packet. "Here, the only food on the shuttle was tube grubs, good luck getting it open. I got you something, but it's in my suitcase and heaven knows which planet that's on right now."

Kathryn sat up and tossed the packet on the table. "Thanks so much, I'll just save them for later. There's leftovers in the kitchen, you want me to fix you a plate?"

He looked up from the computer. "No thanks, I'll get something as soon as I finish this letter. How was your week?"

"Pretty busy, I spent most of it next door."

"Oh, are you and Mrs. Westerman getting to be friends?"

"Yes, but that's not why. It seems Maneep, the companion she hired, wasn't working out, so she dismissed her. The agency she used sent over an android to replace her on short notice, but Mrs. Westerman wasn't about to have a 'bucket of bolts,' as she put it, taking care of her, so I volunteered to help her out until they sent someone who met her standards, which are impossibly high I might add. The new one is a French lady named Minou, I'll bet you a beer she doesn't last more than a week."

"Really, is Westerman that bad?"

"No, not really, she's just having a hard time adjusting to the fact that she needs help with things now that she never did before and she's used to living alone and being self sufficient. She is very happy to be back in her house though, you did the right thing."

Chakotay hit the button to send his message and sat back. "Well, at least I can do something right."

Kathryn leaned forward. "Speaking of which, did you mess with the garage doors?"

"Yeah, I had trouble getting it to open like you said and I fixed it. Why, is it acting up again?"

"Yes, neither of them works now. Chakotay, I told you I'd called to have it fixed and…"

"I know, but I figured…"

"I told you I'd called," she interrupted. "Chakotay, they were new, the sellers put them in, and they were under warranty. When they came to fix them the man said the seal on the unit had been broken and that voided the warranty, so he wouldn't fix them unless I paid for it. The tractor beam generator is defective and needs to be replaced. Whatever you did messed it up and it burnt out and now the only way to open the garage doors is to get out and do it manually and they weigh a ton."

He stood in front of her and hung his head. "Kathryn, I'm so sorry, I'll pay to have them repaired."

She stood and glared up at him. "Yes, I'd appreciate that, and please don't mess with anything else around here unless you ask me first. I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Chakotay followed her from the room and pled, "Kathryn, please, I'm sorry, can't we talk?"

"We just did!" she quipped as she went up the stairs.

Chakotay called again about his missing suitcase and was assured they were looking for it and would send it as soon as they found it. He just shook his head, knowing that a guarantee from a Ferengi was about as good as a shiny red apple full of tube grubs. He went to the kitchen and got something to eat, noting that Kathryn had rearranged the kitchen cabinets and they were more of a mess now than they had been before. Neatness and order suited Chakotay and he always thought Kathryn would be that way too, but apparently she was right when she said that Captain Janeway ran a much tighter ship than civilian Kathryn did.

He went upstairs and was glad he hadn't packed his computer in his suitcase, as that was something he could ill afford to lose. Realizing how tired he was, he decided it would be better to go to bed early, get up early and plan out his Friday classes in the morning. Chakotay suddenly realized he had another dilemma as his only pair of pajamas and bathrobe were in the missing suitcase, along with his shaving kit, toothbrush and toothpaste. He went to Kathryn's door and could hear her talking to her sister, so he knew she hadn't gone to bed yet and gently knocked.

"What is it?" came from behind the closed door.

"May I come in?"

"No."

"OK, sorry to bother you, but my toothbrush and toothpaste and all were in my missing suitcase and I don't have another, so do you have one I could borrow?"

She yelled back, "Check in the linen closet, there's a bag of extra things in there somewhere, I think."

"Alright, thank you, sorry I bothered you." She went back to her conversation, so he opened the linen closet and a set of sheets sprang out onto the floor, followed by a towel and a wadded up blanket. Kathryn had torn everything out of the closet to look for Mrs. Westerman's towels and had obviously just shoved it back in any which way, without bothering to fold it. He searched for the bag of supplies she'd mentioned, but didn't find them and ended up taking everything out of the closet. He started to shove it all back in like it had been before, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it and ended up neatly folding and replacing the contents of the closet. As he turned to go back to his room, he came face to face with two very angry blue eyes and a small woman attached to an empty coffee mug.

"I see you didn't approve of the linen closet either?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean… When I opened the door stuff fell out and I had to take everything out looking for that bag of stuff, which I couldn't find. Kathryn, I'm not making editorial comments, I just put it back the only way I know how."

"Uh huh," she replied as she shook her head and went down the stairs.

Chakotay waited in his room until he heard her come back up the stairs and run a bath before he went to take his shower. Knowing that she was safely ensconced in her bathtub and would undoubtedly be for the better part of an hour, he took a quick shower and headed back to his room.

Kathryn's door flew open and she screamed, "Chakotay, for heavens sakes, I told you not to run around the house in your underwear!"

"I thought you were in the tub?"

"Obviously not."

"Look, I'm sorry, but my bathrobe and the only pair of pajamas I own were in my suitcase; I usually just sleep in my shorts. What did you expect me to do, dress after my shower to walk ten paces to my room and then undress again to go to bed? I'm sorry, if my suitcase doesn't turn up tomorrow I'll go get a new robe."

"Fine. Here, I found an extra toothbrush and toothpaste."

"Thank you, Kathryn. Goodnight, I hope you sleep well."

She huffed and returned to her room.

"Dammit, I can't do anything right!" Chakotay grumbled as he shuffled off to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He got up early the next morning and dressed quietly, so he was sure not to wake Kathryn. She was most decidedly not a morning person and that was the time of day it was easiest to tick her off by breathing wrong. As Chakotay combed his hair he thought how much better he looked now that it was longer and lamented that Starfleet would make him cut it off. He rubbed at the stubble on his face and realized he'd have to leave early, buy a razor on the way to work and shave in the bathroom there.

He gathered his things, crept down to the kitchen and was surprised to find Kathryn there. She looked up through half open eyes and smirked, "I see you put some pants on."

Ignoring her remark, he opened the refrigerator, took out some eggs and the bread and started preparing breakfast. "You're up early, would you like some eggs? How would you like them fixed?"

Kathryn gave him a dirty look and mumbled. "I would still be asleep if you weren't here."

He stopped and turned to face her. "Kathryn, I was as quiet as the proverbial church mouse this morning, I couldn't possibly have awakened you."

She dragged herself up from the table and poured herself a cup of coffee. "I'm up because the guard at the gate called and woke me, from a very sound sleep I might add, to tell me some Ferengi moron was there with your suitcase and was it alright to escort him up to the house because it had to be signed for."

"Oh, great! I mean, I'm sorry they woke you, just great that they found it My two best suits were in there and the present I got for you."

"Yeah, right, I love getting up before dawn and having some Ferengi ogle me in my bathrobe and bunny slippers while I try to sign a PADD I can't even see. I left it in the foyer."

Chakotay got the suitcase, sat it on a kitchen chair and forced a smile. "Uh, Kathryn, this obviously isn't my suitcase."

"What?" she said as she forced her eyes to open a little more than halfway. She looked at the ID tag, "It's yours, see."

He looked. "Kathryn, that's my ID tag, but this obviously isn't my suitcase, it's pink and has flowers all over it. Those idiots must have somehow switched the tags." He opened it and started pulling out what was obviously a teenage girl's clothing.

Kathryn grabbed her coffee and started for the stairs. "Wear the blue and green polka dots, you look good in blue. I'm going back to bed."

/\

When Chakotay got home he hadn't had a very good day. Neither had Kathryn as she and her sister had had an argument when Kathryn refused to take the kids and the dog so Phoebe and her husband could go to the beach for the weekend. He looked for Kathryn downstairs and didn't see her in the yard, so he quietly went upstairs to change. Her bedroom door was closed, so he figured she was probably taking a nap as her sleep had been interrupted the night before.

He went to the kitchen and started preparations for dinner, however he couldn't find the big pot he needed to make chili nor the pan to bake the corn muffins in. He sat on the floor and quietly took out all the pots and pans from the cupboard beside the stove, as the muffin pan was all the way at the back, leaning against the wall.

"I see you're rearranging again?" Kathryn said as she entered and grabbed a soda from the refrigerator.

He looked up from the sea of pots and pans spread around him. "No, I wasn't, I just needed the muffin pan and it's at the back, so I had to take all this out to reach it. I'll put everything back exactly the way you had it. Do you know where the big soup pot is?"

"I haven't seen it, so it's probably wherever you put it. Did you file it under S for soup or P for pot?"

"Kathryn, that was uncalled for, I was just looking for the soup pot so I could make dinner."

"Sorry if I'm a little bit cranky, I get that way when I get woken up at the crack of dawn and can't get back to sleep."

"It wasn't my fault! Anyhow, you obviously knew that thing wasn't my suitcase, so you shouldn't have signed for it. When you did, you released them from any liability, so now they won't reimburse me for two very expensive brand new suits, my good dress shoes, all the rest of my stuff and the gift I got for you. Worse yet, I didn't discover until this morning that I'd put the PADD with all the research for my book in the suitcase, so that's lost too!"

"How in the hell can you expect me to know one suitcase from another at 0 dark thirty? I'm sure it'll eventually turn up, Malibu Barbie will probably want her clothes back."

"I doubt it when she finds the expensive necklace I bought for you in there. Dammit, I wish I'd thought to put that in my carry on bag, but it was in the pocket of my brown suit jacket."

"Chakotay, don't yell at me because you were stupid!"

"Me? Any sane person would know a pink suitcase with flowers on it wasn't mine!" He started shoving the pots and pans back into the cabinet, making more noise than was necessary. "Anyhow, it seems anything I do around here only ends up bringing the wrath of Kath down upon me!"

"Wrath of Kath?" she snickered.

He grinned, "I didn't invent that, Tom Paris did, but I'm sure as hell the one that experiences it the most. Kathryn, why can't we get along? We got along just fine on New Earth most of the time."

"You weren't as annoying there."

"And you weren't as bitchy!" he shouted as he slammed the muffin pan onto the counter.

"Oh, so now I'm a bitch?"

"No, I didn't say that!" Chakotay turned and took a few deep breaths to compose himself before he joined Kathryn at the table. "OK, I did say it, but I didn't mean it, I was just angry, I had a bad day too. Kathryn, I'm sorry, I love you and I want to work this out. How about we have a nice long talk after dinner?"

"I agree, we need to talk, but I had a bad day, my head is pounding and I'm really tired and not in the right frame of mind to talk. I'm going to my mother's tomorrow and I'm going to spend the weekend there." Kathryn cracked a faint smile. "I think I need some time alone to sort things out, get some rest and cool off."

Chakotay gave her hand a pat. "Well, OK, I guess that would be good. I'm going to start dinner now, it should be ready by seven. How about I make some brownies for dessert?"

She got up from the table. "No thanks, my stomach is all tied up in knots and I'm not really in the mood for a heavy meal. I think I'll just have a bowl of cereal out on the porch, go for a swim and then go up to my room."

Chakotay found that his appetite was gone, so he just had some soup and a sandwich for dinner and went for a walk. The park was crowded with people enjoying the warm evening, so he didn't stay long. When he returned he saw that the pool deck was wet and the light in Kathryn's room was on, so she had obviously already had her swim and retired for the evening. He thought a swim sounded good, so he changed and swam a few laps before he showered and got ready for bed.

Kathryn found that she didn't feel as tired after her swim, so she decided to sit up in bed and read until she got sleepy. The book was one of those silly Gothic romances that she loved, and she soon became engrossed in it as she rapidly scrolled through the pages. A loud knock on the door interrupted her.

"Kathryn, where is my grandfather?"

She scratched her head. "I thought he was dead?"

"He is and he's missing!"

"What?" she said as she got up to put on her robe. "You told me he died a long time ago." He continued pounding, so she opened her door.

Chakotay was standing there with tears on his face. "He did and he's missing!" He turned and went back to his room, so she followed him and stood in the doorway as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Chakotay, I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Have you been drinking or something?"

"No!" he shouted. "Of course not." He picked up the clay pot from his bedside table. "My grandfather's ashes were in here and now they're gone." Chakotay wiped off his tears. "Today is the anniversary of his death and I opened the jar to say a prayer to him and it was empty and I know he was in here when I unpacked because I opened it to welcome him to his new home."

Kathryn felt her eyes start to water as she walked over to the bed, moved his medicine bundle aside and sat beside him. "Chakotay, I don't know how to tell you this, but I accidentally spilled them."

He caressed the jar as he sobbed, "What? Why? How? Those ashes were sacred, they were special to me, all I had left of him!"

"I know and I'm sorry. I picked up the jar to admire it and turned it over and somehow the lid came off and they spilled. I'm so sorry, Chakotay. I didn't know it was ashes, I thought it was sand."

Chakotay stared down at the jar and was silent for a moment before he looked up at Kathryn and spoke as his voice faltered. "And you didn't think to tell me? You thought that I wouldn't notice, that you could deceive me?"

Kathryn just sat there and gently shook as she was at a loss for words. Chakotay was right, she chose not to mention it and to intentionally deceive him.

His anger brewed as he rubbed the jar gently. "I see. So, you forbade me to go in your room, but you thought it was perfectly alright to snoop around in mine and dump out my grandfather?"

"I wasn't snooping," she lied, "the door was open and I just came in to see how you'd fixed your room up and I picked up the urn to admire it. I didn't do it on purpose. I'm so sorry, Chakotay, I didn't know what it was and I wish there were some way to undo what I did and it was wrong of me, but it was an accident."

He put the urn back on the table and asked through gritted teeth. "Where did the ashes fall?"

She got up and touched the spot with her palm. "Right here, I tried to clean them up and put them back, but they sank down into the carpet. Maybe if I get the vacuum cleaner I can…"

He stood and shouted, "You want to vacuum my grandfather up? Gods, Kathryn, have you no decency and respect for the spirits? Get out of here!"

Kathryn stood as tears trailed down her face and she reached out to hug Chakotay, but he caught her arms and shoved her across the room into the dresser as he shouted, "Get out of here, Kathryn, I mean it!"

She started replacing the pictures she'd knocked over when she hit the dresser. "Chakotay, please, I'm sorry, oh gods but I'm so sorry!"

Chakotay roared, "Get out, you bitch, I never want to see you again and may the spirits forever damn you to hell!" as he threw the urn at Kathryn and it smashed into the door jamb as she ran from the room.

/\

Gretchen opened her front door and gave Kathryn a warm hug. "Oh, Katie, it's so good to see you! Come on in the kitchen, I baked caramel brownies and I just made a fresh pot of coffee!"

"Thanks, Mom, sorry I'm late," she replied as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

"No problem, I got a late start this morning myself," Gretchen said as she put the brownies on the table, a mug of coffee in front of Kathryn and joined her. "I thought you said Chakotay was coming too?"

"No, Mom, he's not coming."

Gretchen jumped up to get some napkins. "Oh, did he have to work today or something?" She brought back the coffee pot and put it on the table between them as she sat back down.

"No, we had a fight last night."

Gretchen gave her hands a pat. "Don't worry, Katie, you'll patch things up, there's always a few problems when people move in together." She smiled reassuringly. "You two love each other, you'll work things out."

Kathryn clenched her mother's hands as tears fell into her coffee. "I don't think so, Mom. When I got up all his stuff was gone, he moved out. Oh, Momma!" Kathryn sobbed as her mother took her into her arms.

TO BE CONTINUED

09/15/08