Turning nightmares into dreams
Rated: K
Summary: A J/C shared dream.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek and its characters. Story all mine! BDC 2010
"Captain on the bridge." Harry announced as Janeway stepped out of the turbo lift. They all stood at attention.
"At ease. Good morning. Care to fill me in." She walked to Harry's side and placed her hand on his shoulder.
She watched him bring up some data on the console and studied it for a moment.
"There is a nebula worth exploring about 3.2 light years ahead of us. We would only have to do a minor course alteration." he explained.
"That sure looks interesting." She smiled and winked at him.
"Mr. Paris, set a course for those coordinates."
"Aye, Captain."
"Tuvok, how are the repairs of the shuttle bay coming along?" she asked as she moved towards him.
"The shuttle bay is fully repaired. Our maintenance team is finishing up as we speak."
"That's good." She walked down the three steps and sat down in her chair.
"Can anyone tell me why Commander Chakotay isn't here yet?" she asked no one in particular.
It wasn't custom for him to be late for his shift, but maybe he was already on his rounds.
Tom turned around in his chair and looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. He then glanced at Tuvok and Harry, slightly shaking his head.
Janeway noticed the awkwardness filling the room. She raised an eyebrow, sensing there was something wrong.
"Tom? What's wrong?"
"Captain?" was all he could manage.
Tuvok cleared his throat and came from behind his console. Janeway turned and looked up at him.
"Captain, are you feeling alright?" he asked concerned.
"I'm fine. Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Where is Commander Chakotay?" She was getting frustrated.
They all kept staring at her. She turned to look at Tom again, but he was just staring at the floor.
"Tom, what's wrong?" He looked up and swallowed hard.
"Tom!"
"I'm sorry, Captain, but Commander Chakotay died, three weeks ago on an away mission. You and Seven were with him when it happened."
Tom's words hit Janeway like a ton of bricks. Her eyes grew wide and she suddenly felt light-headed.
She tried to stand up, but swayed and Tom had to think quickly to catch her before she fell to the floor.
Chakotay left his quarters and walked down the corridor to the turbo lift. He stepped in and was greeted by Lieutenant Baxter.
He looked exhausted and had to hold back a yawn.
"Excuse me, Captain, long night." he apologized.
"Seems that way. Bridge!" he ordered. "You just called me Captain."
Baxter looked confused, but dismissed it. He was really too tired.
The turbo lift halted on deck 2 and Baxter got off.
"Have a nice day, Captain." he said and stepped out of the lift.
"Commander!" Chakotay shouted before the doors closed again. Baxter turned around and frowned.
'I need a coffee! Badly!' he thought to himself.
Chakotay stepped out onto the bridge.
"Good morning." he announced his presence.
"Captain on the bridge." Harry said and everyone stood at attention. Chakotay looked around, but he didn't see her anywhere.
"Had a long night, Ensign?" he chuckled.
"Sir?" Harry asked, not knowing what he meant.
"You just said 'Captain on the bridge', but she's not."
Tom turned in his chair and Tuvok looked at Chakotay, his eyebrow raised. Chakotay looked at the three men and shrugged. There was an awkward silence.
"Can someone please explain why you are all staring at me like that?" he drew them back to attention.
"Chakotay, could it be YOU who had a long night?" Tom asked.
"Captain," Tuvok started. Chakotay turned to him and noticed he was addressing him with that title.
"Tuvok, why are you calling me Captain. Where is Kathryn?" He sensed something was definitely wrong.
"Chakotay, Captain Janeway died, three weeks ago on an away mission. You and Seven were with her when it happened." Tom said.
Chakotay felt like the world was crashing down on him.
Kathryn Janeway sat up in her bed, panic-stricken.
'Chakotay...dead?' She had to take in deep breaths and wiped away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks.
She jumped out of bed, grabbed her robe and ran into her living area, where she stopped dead in her tracks.
She covered her mouth with her hands and gasped. Tears welled up in her eyes, but that couldn't spoil the wonderful sight of her First Officer standing there.
"Oh my God, Chakotay." she whispered. "You're alive!"
"So are you!"
He took a few steps closer and she saw the hurt look in his eyes.
"I need to feel you." he said and held out his arms. She didn't hesitate for a second and flung hers around his neck.
"I had this awful dream. You were dead, killed on an away mission." Her voice cracked as she spoke them. He pulled back a little to look her in the eyes.
"I had the same one." He hugged her again, grateful it had all just been a bad dream.
"Chakotay, I..." she started, but the words got stuck. He let go of her again and took her hands in his. He kissed her knuckles and made a decision.
"This was a massive wake-up call for me, Kathryn. There is something I need to tell you, something I have wanted to tell you for a long time."
He paused a moment, trying to get control again.
"Kathryn, I love you! I need you! What I dreamt, is my worst nightmare and I would regret it for the rest of my life if you would die, not knowing that."
She reached up to touch his face, tracing his tattoo with her finger.
"I have known for a long time. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I couldn't. But now I know that none of that Starfleet Protocol matters. Chakotay, I love you too!"
The brightest smile lit up his face. A huge weight had just lifted from their shoulders.
Kathryn rose up on her toes and placed her lips on his. They shared their first kiss and it felt wonderful. It felt right.
From that moment, all of their nightmares were in danger, because of the dreams they were going to chase along together.
The end! BDC 2010