Rating: R
Summary: A trading mission gives Janeway and Chakotay more than they bargained for.
Credits: The title only is 'borrowed' from the song of the same name by Beth Neilsen Chapman.
From her CD Sand and Water
Copyright 2000 Cassatt
Captain Kathryn Janeway and her first officer, Commander Chakotay, had been on the planet Slerata for only a few hours but already their patience was wearing thin. It wasn't that the Slerati ambassador was difficult, necessarily, it was just that she didn't appear to be interested in quick progress. And quick progress was what Voyager needed. The ship's warp drive was in serious need of repair, a task that would take a few days at least and the sooner Engineering could get started the faster they all could resume their journey home. Janeway and Chakotay were trying to obtain trilithium - not their first choice but the best they could do in this part of the Delta Quadrant. The Slerati had also offered some much needed anti-matter injector coils that might be compatible or at least convertible.
And here they were wasting what they saw as valuable time taking yet another tour of the extensive gardens on the imperial estate. If that weren't bad enough, they had been joined by more people from the ambassador's office which meant even more negotiators. As the walk continued, Chakotay took a closer look around letting an unintentional sigh escape his lips. Kathryn looked at him sharply.
"Well, what are you finding so intriguing, or shouldn't I ask?" she muttered with annoyance. Really, she thought, he is always so willing to go along with whatever situation he finds himself in!
Chakotay, somewhat taken aback by her attitude, nonetheless chuckled softly. "Merely giving myself a moment to absorb the beauty around us, Kathryn. This is a lovely planet, prettiest one we've seen in quite awhile." He looked down at her with a small grin which only annoyed her further.
Before she could make a snappy retort they were suddenly confronted by a fairly large animal, growling deeply. Chakotay immediately stepped in front of Kathryn, pulling out his phaser, which caused her to stumble and fall to her knees. The ambassador ran forward, apologizing, taking the animal by its scruff and calling for someone to retrieve it. Kathryn was now beyond annoyed and as Chakotay turned and reached for her she shook off his hand with a vengeance.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much, Commander." And please don't look at me with that hurt expression either...
Chakotay, after the initial sting of her remark, felt his anger begin to surface. "I apologize, Captain, for trying to protect you when you obviously need neither my protection or assistance." Honestly, Kathryn, would it kill you to give in just once and admit you're not completely self-sufficient?! Spirits, you are one rigid woman! No matter what you say I should just take you in my arms and...
Kathryn gathered her dignity once more and, after sending Chakotay a glare of warning, attempted to smooth over the situation with the aliens. They appeared to be non-plussed about it all, leading Kathryn and Chakotay back to the residence to continue the negotiations. The Slerati left them alone in a room upon arriving. They did not speak to each other but sat looking anywhere but into blue or brown eyes.
"Aren't they fascinating? Hu-mans. We've never done anything with this kind before. I think this experiment could be quite enlightening!"
"And obviously, with the way they feel about each other, the changes we'd make would only be interpreted as a gift. After all, they clearly aren't happy with the apparent personalities. And after searching their memories we should be able to make very positive adjustments."
"Get the growth chambers and the retrieval buffers ready. I'll go back in and give them the sleeping inducement. We'll put them under for two quindos?"
"That should be long enough. This will be tricky, but I think we can protect the experiment sufficiently. How exciting..."
Kathryn suddenly woke up, looking around her in alarm, calmed by the sight of Chakotay a few meters away. His eyes were closed, however. What the hell happened to them? As if on cue, he lifted his lids and met her gaze.
"Captain, do you wish me to get the ambassador? We can continue with the negotiations and return to the ship without much more delay, I'm sure."
She had to admit, it had been a few weeks since he had surprised her. Not that his reaction was a good surprise, she would have appreciated him being a bit more disconcerted.
"Chakotay, do you remember how we fell asleep? Because I confess, I am at a loss to explain what just happened to us."
"I don't remember either. But the important thing is to get this trade completed. The ship should take priority, Captain."
She stared at him for a minute more then agreed. After he left she tried to put her finger on what was off about the conversation. While she failed to figure it out, she did come to the conclusion that perhaps she was being too critical of Chakotay. He was, at least, putting Voyager ahead of his own desire to be on a pretty planet.
Chakotay woke up completely disoriented. Focusing slowly he saw he was no longer in the imperial residence. Sun was streaming through the windows of a room with comfortable furniture, rugs on the floor and a small fireplace. He was relieved to see Kathryn curled up on the couch, though surprised that she was no longer wearing her uniform but a blue dress. A disturbingly familiar blue dress he realized with a lurch to his heart. He looked down at his own attire, seeing with alarm a casual shirt and pants tucked into boots. His comm badge was on but his phaser and tricorder were missing.
He stood slowly but found he felt fine. He tapped his chest.
"Chakotay to Voyager." No response. He tried again and got the same result. Thinking that perhaps the room was somehow causing interference, he walked out the door and found himself in a lovely garden. Beyond the flowers was grass and beyond that was a wooded area. He recognized the hills and mountains in the distance as ones he had seen from the imperial residence. He turned around to see a small single story house, almost a cottage.
He tried to hail the ship one more time and still got nothing. Walking further away from the building he was suddenly jolted by the energy of a forcefield. After finding a long stick he traced the forcefield, eventually completing a very large circle. The house was surrounded approximately 60 meters out, almost to the edge of the wooded area. His anxiety had increased during this exploration as he realized they were essentially being held in confinement. He wasn't looking forward to telling Kathryn, envisioning an angry Captain taking out her frustrations on her First Officer. He prepared by reminding himself how much he loved her, vowing to let every angry word she spoke roll off his back.
"Kathryn, wake up..." Chakotay gently pushed her shoulder. She opened her eyes and stretched until her hands were behind her head and her back was arched looking, if Chakotay didn't know better, almost seductively at him.
"Hi." she said in a deep voice. "That was a nice nap..."
That was a nice nap? "I'm ... I'm glad you enjoyed it. But now are you ready for the bad news?"
"If you must." Chakotay looked closely at Kathryn, laying stretched out before him with a grin playing on her mouth. She certainly was throwing him for a loop but perhaps she was merely trying to get back at him, mocking him and his laid back attitude of earlier. This he hadn't prepared for and his anger surfaced again.
"Well, Captain, I'm sorry to put a damper on your obvious fun but it appears that we are being held here, in this house, against our will. There's a forcefield surrounding us and my comm badge doesn't work. We have no tricorders and no phasers." Deal with it.
Kathryn had a momentary look of confusion on her face, quickly replaced by a small frown. "That doesn't sound very good. Maybe I should try and contact Voyager?"
In a voice sounding more sarcastic than he meant he replied. "Yes, perhaps that might be a good idea."
Kathryn's frown deepened. She tapped her chest.
"Janeway to Voyager." No response. "Well, that didn't work. What do you think we should try next? Lunch?"
Chakotay's anger now consumed him. "Kathryn, stop playing games with me, okay? I get your point. I shouldn't have noticed the beauty surrounding us earlier, I should have had my complete and total attention focused. Just like the almighty CAPTAIN!" He turned and stormed out of the house.
Janeway felt nothing but relief as the negotiations finally came to completion with the serious assistance of Chakotay. The ambassador and her entourage had returned to the room seemingly anxious to give Voyager whatever it needed for very little in return. Although this made Kathryn suspicious Chakotay had convinced her to put the needs of the ship ahead of her own feelings. Thus, they were now on their way back to the shuttle where they would beam up not only trilithium but 3 coils as well.
Suddenly, once more out of nowhere, the large animal from earlier blocked their path, growling menacingly. Kathryn glanced quickly at Chakotay who was standing impassively with his hands behind his back. She pulled out her phaser and pointed it at the beast who moved neither forward nor back. She didn't want to shoot it so she tried some voice commands since it obviously belonged to someone in the imperial residence. This had no effect.
"Chakotay, could I have a little help here?" she said in annoyance.
"Of course, Captain, what can I do to assist you?" he said midly. The animal growled again.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. You're the one who's supposed to be in touch with animal spirits, what the hell do you suggest we do to get this thing to back off without shooting it?"
"You appear to have the situation under control. The animal is no longer advancing."
Kathryn was, again, fully annoyed at him. "Fine. I see you are trying to get back at me for my comments earlier about protecting me. Now is not the time to prove your point, Chakotay." The animal growled in response.
"There is no point I am trying to prove, but I'll be happy to move him if you wish." Chakotay looked around him until he found a fairly large stick and began moving forward with the stick pointing towards the beast, speaking in quiet, soothing tones. The animal stopped growling, studying the man approaching, his head cocked. Suddenly Chakotay turned the branch sideways and flung it as far as he could into the distance. The animal went trotting in that direction.
"Captain, run." and Chakotay took off for the shuttle.
Kathryn stared at his retreating form for a few seconds then followed as fast as she could, making it to the shuttle just as she saw the animal returning the stick, bounding toward the small craft. The door closed almost on its nose.
As she climbed into her seat at the helm she looked at her first officer, already strapping himself into the co-pilot's seat readying the shuttle for launch and transport, reciting the launch sequence commands for the ship's logs.
"Chakotay, can we call a truce?"
He stopped tapping console pads and turned to her. "A truce from what?"
She sighed. "You know, you trying to prove to me that I need you to protect me by waiting for that vicious animal to attack me, doing nothing to stop it." She stared at him defiantly.
"I apologize, Captain. It didn't appear to me that the animal was vicious. In my opinion, you had the situation under control. You've made your feelings known quite clearly. You can take care of yourself. I agree completely with that statement." He looked at her with an impassive face. Kathryn, looking into his eyes, was seriously disconcerted. Something was missing in the depth of brown.
Chakotay paced around the house, following the grassy area in a circular path completing the circuit twice before he noticed Kathryn sitting on the small step outside the door. Her arms were around her knees and she was smiling at him, waving him over. He approached a little reluctantly.
"Come here, Chakotay, sit with me. The sun feels so good..."
He sat next to her, though there wasn't much room on the step for two. She leaned into his shoulder and sighed. Chakotay was feeling completely confused by now.
"Kathryn, can we call a truce? I get your point that this is no time to enjoy where we are. We need to get in touch with Voyager. As soon as possible!" He turned his head and found her gazing at him. Looking deeply into her eyes, he felt a little chill, as though someone had just walked across his grave.
"Well, how do you think we should do that?" She reached in and wrapped her hands around his forearm resting on his knees. He had the sudden urge to move, which he did. He stood quickly after pulling her hands away.
"You're the Captain, why don't you tell me?" Staring down at her with his hands on his hips he prayed the next thing out of her mouth would make sense. "And don't make fun of me again..."
"I'm sorry, Chakotay, I wasn't trying to make fun of you. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" She patted the step next to her with a smile on her face. He sat again, reluctantly, this time facing her.
"Getting in touch with Voyager?" he reminded her.
Kathryn's response was to frown slightly, brow furrowed in concentration. "Well... if our comm badges don't work and there's a forcefield around us, it seems as though there is nothing we can do but wait for someone to rescue us." She finished as though very proud of herself, waiting for an instructor to grade her response, a huge smile on her face.
Chakotay stared at her unable to comprehend what was wrong with her. Why wasn't she worried about the ship? The trading mission? The crew? The warp core? Had she been drugged somehow while they were asleep? Why don't I feel any different?
"And Chakotay, if we have to wait to be rescued, we might as well enjoy ourselves while we're here. The kitchen is well stocked. There's wood for the fireplace and even a nice cozy bed, too..."
At that, he merely stared harder at her. A nice cozy bed? What the hell do you mean by that? "That's not even close to being funny Kathryn." He looked for some emotional response and was disappointed. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the bed after your quarters. Let me know how it is if we're still here in the morning. And I'll let you know how the couch sleeps." He stood again and headed into the kitchen to make them some lunch, not waiting this time to see her reaction. He thought maybe a splash of reality might shake her out of whatever state she was in.
The shuttle launched without problems, heading out to the Slerati supply depot where the trilithium and coils were brought aboard. Finally Captain Janeway and her first officer were flying into Voyager's shuttle bay and none too soon for her. Kathryn called B'Elanna to tell her the supplies were ready for the crew to begin repairs, happy to hear relief in the Chief Engineer's voice.
As Kathryn and Chakotay walked through the shuttle bay she watched him out of the corner of her eye. None of the crew who acknowledged them appeared to notice anything odd about the Commander, at least not that she could see. In the turbolift she asked him what he was going to be doing for the next hour or two.
"Captain, I'll be in my office completing my report on the trading mission, unless you need me for anything else?" Again, nothing he said was untoward, but all the same he was beginning to unnerve her.
"Chakotay, what about eating some lunch? When do you think you might do that?"
"I'll go to the messhall after I finish. I'm sure Neelix will be happy to save some food for me." The turbolift reached its first destination. Chakotay, after bowing to his Captain, exited the lift heading for his office. Kathryn watched his retreating back again, almost grateful he wouldn't be on the bridge just yet.
Sitting in her ready room working on her own report, Kathryn mulled over the morning's events. Two things were apparent to her upon reflection. One, Chakotay had not used her first name since they woke up in the imperial residence, though that could be attributed to their fight. Two, his eyes were missing something. A spark, an emotion that she had always been certain was meant for her alone. To contemplate the last item meant certain pain and fear so Kathryn simply refused to accept it without further proof. She gave the bridge to Tuvok and went to visit Chakotay.
Intent on preparing something for them to eat, Chakotay didn't notice Kathryn coming into the kitchen until she had already wrapped her arms around his waist. His heart stopped then began to pound against his chest. She nuzzled his back with soft kisses.
"Kathryn, what the hell are you doing?" He didn't try to contain his frustration.
"I thought this is what you wanted." She sounded hurt.
"You don't have to keep rubbing it in. You were quite clear with me what boundaries would be set. Are you trying to trick me? Want to relieve me of duty again?" He could feel his anger surfacing, yet one more time. Spirits, get this woman away from me...
"What are you talking about? I've never relieved you of duty! I wouldn't do that to you."
Chakotay pulled her hands roughly off him and spun around. He was a little surprised to see a look of confusion on Kathryn's face but too angry for it to make a difference. "You know what, Kathryn? Why don't you make your own damned lunch, if you even can. I would really really appreciate it if you would stop mocking me and my feelings for you and just plain leave me alone. I'm going to eat, then I'm going to start exploring the rooms here and see if there is something we can use to try and contact the ship. Just in case you still care about Voyager." He turned back to his task, gathering some cut vegetables, fruit, and bread onto a plate.
"Why are you angry with me? I never relieved you of duty! I didn't! You tell me, now! When did I do that?!"
Chakotay looked at her hard. She really appeared quite confused. He just couldn't tell if it was real or feigned. "Does the name Captain Ransom mean anything to you?"
"No, why? Should it?!"
Again he had that chill run up his spine. And seeing tears beginning to roll down her cheeks he himself started to feel even more seriously perplexed.
The door to the Commander's office opened within seconds of Kathryn tapping the access pad. Chakotay looked up from his console to greet her with a small but formal smile.
"Captain, is there something you needed from me?"
"I was just wondering how you're doing. You seem a bit angry with me still." Kathryn had been wondering if his anger at her over their mini-fight was what drove the love out of his eyes. She kept trying to come up with a logical reason why it wasn't there, hoping in her way that finding a reason would mean she could bring it back with the right words. Even with all they had been through in the past month, she had come to the conclusion that she really didn't want Chakotay to be out of love with her.
"Angry? How so?" He looked confused.
"I think maybe we need to talk again. Would you sit with me?" She walked to his couch and perched herself with hands in her lap. He joined her without hesitation.
"Chakotay, I ... I know that you told me a few weeks ago that you understood why we couldn't pursue an intimate relationship but I also know that I hurt you deeply..." she was interrupted by a strangled noise coming from the man next to her.
"Captain! I would never push myself on you. What are you talking about?! Did I do something to give you the impression that I wanted a romantic relationship? I sincerely apologize..." Chakotay looked stricken.
Kathryn's heart stopped. She tried to think but could only form questions in her mind. "Chakotay, don't you remember what we did three weeks ago? In my quarters?"
"Three weeks ago? Crew evaluation time? We stayed up late doing reviews..."
"And after that?"
"I went to sleep."
"Before you went to sleep?"
"What are you saying, Captain?" Now he looked almost horrified.
"Chakotay, we made love." Passionate, intense love for hours and hours... Kathryn blushed at the memory and tried to ignore her body's response. She studied the man who was fidgeting so much he had to stand and pace, unable to meet her gaze. What the hell had happened to him while they were asleep on the planet that he now had no memory of this? Of any of it? "Please, sit down here again, with me." She pleaded with him. He sat reluctantly this time.
"Captain, I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. I did nothing against my will, quite the contrary." She reached out and touched his cheek. "I am wondering though why you don't remember it. What do you think would happen if I kissed you?"
"But you're my commanding officer, that would be inappropriate."
She laughed out loud, struck by the bizarreness of the situation. "Then consider it a request from a friend and not your Captain." She put her hand behind his head and pulled his face to hers. Their lips met and though Chakotay was giving her a tender kiss Kathryn felt a chill run up and down her spine. She felt absolutely nothing from the experience. She might as well be kissing her own hand. This man whose lips were on hers was not the same man who had made love to her all night just three weeks prior, she was very very certain of that.
Chakotay hated to see Kathryn cry, no matter how angry he was with her. He had no idea what in the world was wrong with his Captain. He wanted to understand why she had memory lapses and was acting not at all like herself. But at that moment, she was simply the woman he was in love with and she was upset and confused. He took her into his arms and held her close, allowing her to take comfort from his embrace.
"I'm sorry Chakotay. I didn't mean to make you feel mocked, or made fun of. I would never do anything to hurt you, I wouldn't."
He didn't know what to say to her. Just three weeks ago she had wrenched his heart right out of his chest leaving him to put it back and carry on. He was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable holding her, however. He would have preferred she keep her distance so that he could continue to heal and find some firm ground.
"Chakotay, can't we just go to bed?"
He felt like screaming, instead he spoke quietly to her. "Why are you doing this to me? You're the one who decided we wouldn't have an intimate relationship. You. Not me."
"No I didn't. We've been lovers for weeks now. Why are you always confusing me?"
Chakotay's heart stopped. As his brain was spinning almost out of control he felt a hand behind his head. She was pulling him down for a kiss. He couldn't decide how to avoid it, for some reason averse to hurting her. So he let it happen. As the kiss began he was instantly sorry. He had never felt less from a kiss, much less one from her. His chest turned icy as his heart began pounding in fear. This woman was not the woman he made love with for hours, three weeks before. Of this he was absolutely sure.
Luckily no one other than the Doctor was in sick bay. Kathryn did her best to explain the situation and though the Doctor was mostly quiet, he clearly did not believe her. The Commander not the Commander? Perhaps the Captain was working too hard again, he surmised. He humored her, however, giving her a hypospray to sedate Chakotay and agreeing he would run a DNA analysis as quickly as possible.
Kathryn felt only a modicum of guilt pushing the spray against Chakotay's neck from behind and even less as she beamed him to sick bay. She knew the Doctor didn't believe her but she didn't care. She knew the truth. She just needed to understand the reality behind it. Pacing the bridge back and forth she almost asked Harry to run some scans of the planet to see if he could find a familiar bio-signature, desperate to know where 'her' Chakotay was and whether or not he was still alive. That possibility she could hardly contemplate.
Finally the Doctor called her down and she practically jogged off the bridge, willing the turbolift to hurry, out of breath as the sickbay doors closed behind her.
"Well, Captain, I apologize for doubting you."
"Apologize later. What did you find?"
"What we have here" he pointed to the unconscious man behind him " is an amazing example of bio-technology. And if I do say so myself, I did an excellent job in detecting just how this feat was accomplished. He is a clone. An extraodinary clone. Our Commander's DNA is present at a rate of 99.95%. The remaining .05% is alien of a type not in our database. It is this alien mitochondrial DNA that appears to perform the task of keeping the clone alive, keeping the cloned cells from degenerating at a rapid pace. Captain? Perhaps you'd like to sit down?" He gently took her arm, leading her to one of the stools.
Kathryn could only feel shock. And a little sick to her stomach as she remembered kissing this 'man' who was not the man she loved.
"Thank you Doctor. Please keep him sedated. I'll inform you when I know what the next step will be."
"Actually Captain, the next step may take care of itself. Though the alien DNA is doing it's job, the life span of this clone is only 2 days."
"I'm fairly certain who did this, but if I were to need proof would there be any way to test DNA from something as small as skin cells off a injector coil, for example?"
"I could test the DNA in dried persperation if necessary."
"I'll notify Engineering to bring you one of the coils, I believe there's a final one that hasn't been installed yet."
"Very good" he said to her back as she walked quickly out the door, tapping her comm badge as she went.
Chakotay pushed the woman who looked like his Kathryn away from him quickly and none too gently. "Who are you?!" he demanded.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she bolted into the bedroom slamming the door behind her.
Smooth, Chakotay, very smooth. Could you have been any more insensitive? Remember, she's not the one who broke your heart... He knew that he was mostly scared out of his mind, for where was Kathryn? What had happened to her? Was she alive? Spirits, please.
He also knew that the woman in the bedroom was his only hope for getting answers, so he took his plate of uneaten food out to the step, sat, ate and thought about options.
"Captain, I think I've found Commander Chakotay on the planet." Harry informed her with a hint of excitement in his voice. "He's five hundred kilometers from the imperial residence, behind a forcefield. I'm unable to open a comm link. There is one other life sign with him. Captain, the computer is telling me it's you."
After her initial elation, Kathryn realized with a sinking heart this was a possibility she hadn't considered. This was followed immediately by an almost irrational stab of jealousy. What would Chakotay be doing with 'her' down there? Would he know just who he was with? She took some comfort in the knowledge that if the two of them did anything even slightly romantic Chakotay would know the woman wasn't her. Of course he would, she assured herself. How could he not? Memories of their one night together resurfaced and she had to suffer through the blush there on the bridge, with the crew awaiting her instructions.
The Doctor had, indeed, proven the alien DNA was Slerati so she asked Harry to try and open communications with the ambassador. The response to Voyager's hails surprised her.
"Captain! We've been expecting your communication for at least an hour. We assume you have many questions for us?"
"Yes, I do. And I assume you will have an apology ready as well?"
"Apology? Perhaps you should wait until we talk then see if you want one. We shall notify the Commander at his residence for you."
"No! I'll notify him, thankyou. You just beam your clone out of our sick bay for now and take down the forcefield around Commander Chakotay. The two of us will come to the imperial residence as soon as we can."
"Very good. We will await your arrival."
Kathryn motioned for Harry to cut the feed as she wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. After notifying the Doctor his patient would very soon be leaving and speaking with Tuvok she and Harry found a landing site for the shuttle nearby Chakotay. She headed for the shuttle bay with an addendum to the plan known only to her. She justified it quite cleverly in her mind, though in reality spying was still spying.
Walking through the woods Kathryn wondered if Chakotay had seen the shuttle land. As the clearing came into view she saw her fears were unfounded. She was looking at the back of the house and could see no one around. She quietly approached the building and made her way to the other side, hugging the structure. She was finally rewarded by the sight of Chakotay sitting on the front step. Her heart did a flip-flop and stayed in a fluttering mode as she gazed at him. She stayed hidden, peeking around the corner.
His head was resting in his hands which were propped on his knees. He was rubbing his temples with his thumbs, a movement Kathryn recognized. He was stressed. Highly stressed. She had the urge to go to him which only with great effort she squelched. Suddenly his head popped up and turned. He stood and backed away from the step, eyes on the now opening door.
Chakotay was not really prepared to see Kathryn yet. Or whomever she was. "Her". He had only formulated a partial plan, longing for a tricorder so he could at least find out if she was an alien or a cyborg. He thought that by poking holes in her memories she might, of her own accord, break down and be willing to tell him the truth. Blow her cover, so to speak.
"Chakotay, can we please talk? Why are you telling me these lies and pushing me away so harshly?" Her eyes were puffy and red and still threatening tears. And she was moving directly toward him, closing the gap between them at an alarming rate.
Chakotay put his palms up to stop her advancement. "We can talk if you sit down on the step here. I promise, okay?" He gently maneuvered her to sit which she did, somewhat reluctantly. "I'll just sit in front of you. No, not on the step. Here." And he sat on the path facing her, trying to formulate his first question.
She beat him to it. "I still don't understand why you're angry with me. I thought you wanted me to be close to you."
"Let's get back to that in a minute. First I have a few questions for you. Do you know anything about Species 8472 or the Borg?"
Her eyes became hooded. "I've heard of the Borg, of course. They're everywhere here in the Delta Quadrant. Species 8472?"
"So you don't remember us fighting over the alliance you wanted to form with the Borg last year?"
"No-o. We don't fight."
"And you don't remember the argument we had three weeks ago either, right? You don't remember anything that happened the morning after we made love?"
"We got dressed and went to the bridge, just like always."
"That's not true. And we do fight. As intensely as we make love. We fought over the situation with the Equinox and Captain Ransom. But you don't remember that either, do you?"
"NO. And I don't want to talk about this anymore. You're just making this up, to waste time. To avoid going to bed with me. Well I can take the hint." She stood up and went quickly back inside, letting the door slam behind her.
"Well, that got me far." Chakotay stood slowly brushing off his pants. He looked out over the trees to the mountains. "Kathryn, where the hell are you? Are you alive?" His voice cracked and he took some deep breaths.
"I'm right here behind you." Spirits, leave me alone, whoever you are... He turned reluctantly but this time what he saw simply made his heart stop. Without thinking twice he picked up this Kathryn in full uniform and gave her a bear hug which she returned willingly, laughing and crying with him. Reality came crashing into his mind and he quickly put her down, apologizing, wiping his face, waiting for the glare and angry words.
Instead the woman in front of him smiled and put her hand behind his head, pulling him down with the clear intention, he knew, of kissing him. His heart turned to ice. He pulled her hand away quickly and stared intently into her eyes.
Kathryn met his gaze directly and deeply. And joyfully. She saw in his eyes what she hadn't for hours. Chakotay. His love, his soul, his firey passion. Him. "It's really me, Chakotay. Honestly. Ask me anything. Then please kiss me."
Chakotay looked into the depths of grey-blue and felt relief wash over him. He saw his Kathryn. Her steely determination, her passion, her soul and something he hadn't seen in three weeks. Her love. "Do you love me?" he asked breathlessly.
"Yes." She answered without hesitation.
He felt sure his smile was going to break his face, a smile he saw reflected in hers. Their lips met with tenderness that turned to intensity, both hearts pounding as waves of desire moved back and forth between them. Yes, this was how it was supposed to feel.
"Who are you!?" Kathryn's voice shouted at them from the direction of the house. They broke apart unwillingly, their eyes locking together for too brief a time before the Captain turned, pulling out her phaser.
"I know this is confusing for you, but please, return to the house and wait there. Someone will talk to you very soon, I promise." she pointed the weapon at the clone who, after assessing the situation, backed into the house. Kathryn took Chakotay's hand, promising him an explanation in the shuttle and led him through the woods.
"So Captain, Commander, we must say this experiment was highly educational for us. You humans are intriguing!"
Kathryn had to restrain her first impulse which was not listed in the Starfleet manual for dealing with alien species. "Maybe you could enlighten us as to the purpose of this experiment as you call it?"
"Well, we could tell that the two of you were very unhappy with each other and your present personality incarnations. After evaluation, we determined that we might be able to help you, give you a gift even if only for a couple of days. We gave you what you wanted. The body of the person you desired with a mind that was more compatible to each of your wishes and wants."
Chakotay didn't quite understand why the Kathryn clone was supposed to be what he wanted. "How did you make the determination of our wishes?"
"We read your minds and studied your memories."
"That feels, to put it midly, highly invasive of our privacy. Besides, the clone of the Captain wasn't anything close to what I would want."
"Yes, yes! That's what made it so educational for us. As we watched the experiment playing out we could see you getting more and more angry and frustrated with the clone. And she was doing nothing but being affectionate, loving, desirous of you and wanting to stay in that lovely house on a lovely planet. Clearly, we misread your desires."
"Clearly." The note of sarcasm wasn't lost on Kathryn who hid a smile. She could see they had alot to talk about with each other.
"And how did you determine the clone of the Commander was somehow what I wanted?"
"Well, he was no longer solicitous or loving to you. He was dedicated to your Starfleet above everything. And clearly horrified by the mention of intimacy between you two. He was the perfect officer. Don't you agree?"
Chakotay chuckled to himself. He could hardly wait to talk about this. Enlightening indeed.
"I suppose in any other situation he would have been a perfect officer. However, he wasn't the Commander, therefore he wasn't what I wished or desired." Kathryn felt warmth spread throughout her body which showed itself in a blush.
"Yes, we saw, when the clone interrupted your reunion a short time ago. Well, I suppose that we do owe you an apology after all. How can we make it up to you?"
Kathryn thought for a minute looking at Chakotay looking at her. "You can give us the use of the house until tomorrow when, hopefully, Voyager will be ready to resume it's journey." Chakotay couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"And I'd like my uniform, phaser and tricorder returned."
"Actually, Commander, they are in a drawer in the bedroom. You would have found them had you given in to the clone's wishes and desires." The alien ambassador actually had a smile on her face.
Kathryn spoke up again. "And no spying on us as another one of your experiments. Complete privacy."
"I think all of this can be arranged without delay. Enjoy your stay."
A fire was burning in the fireplace. Dinner had been another of Chakotay's excellent creations, with some Slerati wine, for lack of a better description. It was a welcome form of relaxation either way. The crew up on Voyager was busy, Tuvok was in charge, nobody seemed to mind the command team taking shore leave together, overnight. Tuvok had even promised them as much privacy and quiet as possible. And which ever member of the crew won the current betting pool neither the Captain nor the Commander cared in the least.
Their attention was focused solely on each other as they lay together on a very thick rug in front of the fire. They enjoyed soft kisses, deep kisses, gentle and urgent caresses. Pillows were added as clothing was removed. Memories were made and reinforced by pleasure given and received.
As the night wore on and the lovers moved from floor to bed they laughed and talked about the very weird day just passed. About the Slerati's interpretations of their strongest wishes and desires, agreeing that there could be uses for this information on both their parts. Future emotional blackmail of the most loving kind, they joked. And as the talk moved to serious subjects, Kathryn promised Chakotay over and over she wouldn't back away this time. He had no choice but to believe her as he was now completely and totally in love.
When morning broke he found her in the bath with him where they continued what had been started three weeks earlier. Kathryn attempted to make breakfast which was mostly awful without a replicator and was demoted to sous-chef permanently. She fell in love with the head chef all over again as he kissed her with abandon on the kitchen table.
Voyager left orbit later that day. That's when Chakotay knew Kathryn had been telling him the truth. She announced to the senior staff that from now on all betting pools were finished, at least as far as the two of them were concerned. Unless anyone wanted to guess the marriage date, all the while hoping no one would want to bet on a sure thing.
The end.