Title: Method Acting
Rating: K+
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Author: Singing Violin
Summary: My version of the "what if" in which Janeway shows up on the bridge in a towel in "Scientific Method."
Author's Note: This is based upon the premise from Aunt Kathy's adult fic "Method of Moments." Mine is the PG-rated, angsty version.
Disclaimer: The characters and universe belong to Paramount. The premise belongs to Aunt Kathy. The first three paragraphs are straight from her fic, and I diverge from there.
"Captain!" The Doctor looked on askance as Janeway slid from the massage table and headed for the exit to her quarters.
She didn't even stop as she responded curtly, "I know what you're going to say, Doctor, but I can't neglect my responsibilities."
His jaw grew slack at the idea of what he was going to be held responsible for if he didn't say something. "Actually…" he began, but it was already too late. Janeway had rounded the corner to a corridor that would hold at least three other crew members. "… I was going to suggest a change of outfit," he murmured to himself. Well, I tried to warn her…
Captain Janeway was still in excruciating pain, despite the Doctor's supposed "treatment," when she strode out onto the bridge, attempting to appear as professional as possible despite the sensation of hot needles driving into her skull. As she approached Commander Chakotay, his eyes went wide and she wondered for a moment if her distress were particularly obvious to him, and potentially anyone else who observed her. Quickly, she glanced around, but all the other bridge officers seemed particularly intent upon their duty stations.
"Captain," he offered quietly, "it's not an emergency. You didn't need to rush here immediately."
Still not realizing the cause of his strange behavior towards her, she responded honestly, "Oh yes I did. The Doctor was…" She trailed off, trying to figure out how to put it in a way that wouldn't make her discomfort completely transparent, deciding instead to change the subject. "Never mind, just…what did you need to show me?"
He coughed slightly, causing her to raise an eyebrow. He attempted to describe what they were observing, but her brain refused to cooperate, and she raised a hand to her head to massage it.
He stopped abruptly as he noticed her lack of attention, and attempted to lighten the mood, "Am I boring you, Captain?"
She shook her head slightly, all the while massaging her forehead. "I guess I'm just too tired to focus on stellar phenomena right now."
She was about to continue when he interrupted her, leaning in and whispering into her ear. "Too tired to get dressed, too?"
Only then did she look down and realize the cause of his concern. Her cheeks reddened as she contemplated how to make a graceful exit.
"I'll, uh…leave this project in your capable hands, hmm?" she told him, trying desperately not to let the tears that were rapidly collecting behind her eyelids fall. Luckily, the rest of the bridge crew wouldn't see, since none of them were looking at her; she realized now why they all seemed so focused upon their work at the moment. However, even Chakotay witnessing her unease would be too much.
Not wanting to traipse about the corridors any more than she already had in her undressed state, she retreated quickly to the ready room, where she intended to replicate a new uniform, hastily dress, and put the nightmarish incident behind her, hopelessly imagining that the bridge crew would be courteous enough not to start any rumors.
As soon as the doors closed, she ordered the new uniform, only to be dismayed when her voice cracked and her eyes began to overflow. As a result of her squeaky timbre, the computer asked her to repeat her request, and she found herself breaking down, her face crumpling as she brought her hands up to cover it, allowing the towel she'd been so firmly clasping to fall to the floor. She sank down into it, then, curling into fetal position while she fruitlessly attempted to regain her composure.
Trying desperately to stifle her sobs, she didn't notice the door chime, nor was she aware when the one who had attempted idly to attain admission overrode the door and entered. She didn't see him approach her side, and she didn't hear him order the computer to lock the door.
She did feel his hand upon her shoulder, and jumped back, a startled yelp escaping her lips. Looking up, she saw the kind eyes of her first officer, and curled into herself further as she felt her cheeks grow hot once again as she took a few deep breaths with renewed determination to calm herself.
He knelt so that he was at eye-level with her, picked up the towel, and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Kathryn, you're not well," he stated, as if she were unaware of the obvious. "I'd suggest you see the Doctor but as you were so eager to get away from him, I can only imagine that whatever's wrong, he wasn't helping."
She shook her head. That's for sure. "No, he wasn't. I just…this headache. I'm not myself."
"I gathered that," he agreed worriedly. "If the Doctor can't help, maybe I can."
"How?" she asked, curious but also desperate for anything that might alleviate her agony, now psychological as well as physical. "Can you erase what just happened from the minds of the entire bridge crew? And…oh God…did they see me…naked…when you opened the door?" Once again, she covered her face with her hands, but made no motion to get up.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "But if they did, they'll understand. Something's obviously going on with you, and we're going to get to the bottom of it."
She looked up again and nodded.
Then he continued, ripping her heart from her chest. "I have to relieve you of duty now," he admitted reluctantly. "You're obviously not in any shape to be commanding this ship. But I promise you we will find out what's going on and fix it. And in the meantime, I hope you can get some rest."
Part of her wanted to argue with him, part of her knew he was right, and the rest of her was too busy being mortified to do much of anything else. Unbidden, her tears began anew.
He moved to embrace her now, his heart constricting in his chest as he observed her pain and reaffirmed his decision, even as he hated himself for enforcing protocol. Even in this state, she's still the best captain I've ever known. But she needs to take care of herself…or let me take care of her. I need to relieve her so that she can do that.
As he wrapped his arms around her, he realized the constriction in his chest was getting worse, and suddenly he felt himself falling to the floor, his hand clutching the area just between his pecs.
That was enough to snap Janeway out of it. Instinctively, she slapped her chest where her communicator should be, realizing her mistake almost immediately. She then tapped Chakotay's communicator and ordered him transported directly to Sickbay. Then she stood up, took a deep breath, wiped away the remnants of her tears, replicated herself new clothes, and headed down to join him. One thing's for sure, we are going to get to the bottom of this, even if my head explodes in the process.