Matchmaker of the Universe

Kathryn felt shattered when she heard the news about Chakotay and Seven, perhaps more so as she had heard it from the rumor mill and not from Chakotay. She was deeply hurt that he hadn't had the courage to tell her about them. What did he think she was going to do?

What she wanted to do and what she would have done were two very different things. She wanted to grab him in her arms and tell him how much she loved him after she had pushed Seven out an airlock. but, she knew she would never really do that no matter how much it hurt. No, instead, she would have put on her Captain's mask very securely and wished them all the luck and happiness in the world. Only after she was alone would she have broken down and cried. He would never know how she felt.

Chakotay deserved happiness. Kathryn knew that at one time he had loved her, but she had kept pushing him away. She couldn't blame him for finding someone else. Still, it hurt that of all the women he had to pick from, he chose Seven. Kathryn felt

that she could never begin to compete with Seven.

A number of the crew had gathered in Sandrines. Kathryn had been playing pool with Tom, Harry and B'Elanna. She and B'Elanna had beaten the guys five games to three. They were sitting at a table having drinks when Chakotay walked in with his arm around Seven.

Kathryn looked at him with longing in her eyes briefly before she looked away. Chakotay saw the look and wanted to immediately leave Seven's side and go to Kathryn. Then he shook his head, Kathryn had turned him away one too many times. He needed to get on with his life, and Seven had made him an offer that he couldn't refuse. Perhaps someday, he would learn to love Seven; he knew he would

never love her the way he loved Kathryn, but he would try. Seven saw them looking at each other with such love and longing.

Having finished the glass of wine she had been drinking when the new couple came in, Kathryn made her excuses and left for her quarters. Once arriving there, she went straight to bed. However, sleep took a long time in coming as her thoughts were of him.

The next day she spent much of her time in the ready room going over reports and trying to come to grips with her feelings toward her friend and first officer. She wondered how a person could move on from something that was never there to begin with. She decided that what she needed was a complete makeover- hair, makeup, after duty clothes, attitude, everything. She would spend the evening

browsing the data base for suggestions after taking a nice warm bath.

As soon as her shift ended, she headed for her quarters. Barely inside, she had begun shedding her uniform on the way to the bathroom where she began running water into the tub. Finally adding bath bubbles, she eased her tired body into the warm water. As it gently lapped around her, she imagined it was Chakotay's hands caressing her. She began to get aroused but would not allow her body the

release that it so badly needed. Instead, she would wait for another time.

Once the water had gotten too cool for her, she climbed out and dried off with a big soft towel that she loved. She grabbed her robe which was hanging behind the door and made her way into the living area of her quarters. Getting a cup of coffee from the replicator, she sat at her desk and began scrolling through data looking for information on makeovers.

She was engrossed in reading when finally she heard the door chime ring. She realized that it had been ringing for some time. Standing and wrapping the robe more tightly around her, she called for entrance.

As the door slid open, she saw Chakotay standing there with a bottle of wine and two goblets in his hand. When he saw her, his smile became an even bigger one showing her his deep dimples. He walked up to her and put the items on her desk.

"Kathryn, you look lovely tonight." Taking her hand he kissed it. "I wanted to talk with you about Seven."

Seeing the frown which showed briefly on her face, he continued, "I thought that I could be with Seven, perhaps learn to love her someday, but Seven made me realize last night that I could never do that as long as I loved someone else. I know now I could never quit loving you as you're the other half of my soul. Seven and I parted ways. I came here tonight to tell you how much I love you and hope you will give me a chance. What do you say?"

"Oh, Chakotay! I do love you so very much. I know that I tried pushing you away, but I never stopped loving you either. I do want us to be together if that's what you want." She stepped into his arms which encircled her completely. They kissed passionately for some minutes before finally pulling away from one another.

As they stared into each others eyes, he smiled, "How about a toast to our love? I brought champagne."

She nodded her head in approval and watched him pull a corkscrew from his pocket. It took only moments for him to open the bottle and pour the champagne. Handing her a glass, he proceeded to hook arms with her.

"To us and a wonderful future together."

"Yes, Chakotay, to us!" As they began to drink, Kathryn spilled her champagne all down the front of his shirt.

"You certainly know how to spoil a romantic moment!" he yelled as he jumped back. Suddenly it was no longer Chakotay standing before her, but …

"Q! What are you doing here? What is this all about?"

"I am trying to get you to go seduce Chuckles."

"What?"

"I said that I…."

"I heard that already, why?"

"Because, although I can't figure out why, you love him!"

"How is this going to help?"

"It will make you feel better. You are as horny as everything."

"Get out, Q! Get out now!" She was screaming at him. "Leave, and don't come back! You don't even know what you are talking about!"

Suddenly, her door opened and Chakotay charged in after hearing her scream. He came to a halt as they turned to look at him dressed in a tee shirt and boxers.

"What's going on here?" He choked as he was out of breath.

"Chuckles, just the man I want to see…"

"No you don't, Q. You were just leaving. Now get out of my quarters!"

"Hey, I was only trying to help." Looking at Chakotay he smiled. "I was pretending to be you. I figured if I let her know how much you really loved her, she would admit her love for you, which by the way she did. Then, I figured she would realize that the two of you were meant for each other, and she would fight for you."

"Good plan, Q, but how were you going to get out of here, so she could come to me?"

"Uh….well….you see….I …..well….I hadn't thought that far. But, it was working until she spilled champagne down the front of your shirt….I mean, my shirt..uh….the shirt. Oh, what the heck, you're both here now. Just tell her you love her, so she can tell you the same. Then you can get to bed. Looks like you're both ready for it , and Chakotay, she's horny as she can be!" He winked at Chakotay as he said this.

"Q! Out of here now!"

"Okay, okay I'm going. And, you both can tell everyone it was me the great Q who got you two together. Why , you could even name your first born after me. Q Janeway. I… I like it a lot. Yes… Q Janeway!" he gradually faded away.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay for our disturbing you."

"That's ok. So, do you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"Do you love me?" They both stood silently. "Do you love me the way I love you?"

She looked into his eyes. "Yes, I love you. I have from almost the first day I laid eyes on you, but I will not stand in the way of your happiness

with Seven."

"I have no happiness with Seven. I have nothing with Seven. We just had a couple of dates. I thought we could perhaps have more, but I figured out last night that I could never love anyone the way I love you. We parted ways last night. She saw the way I looked at you and knew that I would never be able to look at her that way."

He took Kathryn gently into his arms and kissed her soft lips passionately. Finally pulling away, he held her close. "I love you so much, I want to be with you always."

"I love you too, and I want us to have a relationship now. I don't want to wait any longer. And, like Q said, we're dressed for it!" They laughed together.

He picked her up in his strong arms and carried her into the bedroom. He stood her beside the bed. As he again kissed her, his hands moved to the inside of her robe.

"That's not the way to do it!"

Looking up startled, they both said in unison, "Get out of here, Q!"

"He was supposed to sling you over his shoulder and carry you to the bedroom. Throwing you on the bed, he was supposed to ravish you. Don't you two read romance novels?"

"Q, out! If you don't leave now, I am going to get Mrs. Q after you!"

"I'm leaving! I'm leaving! Good luck, Chuckles! You'll need it with Miss Bossy here."

As they leaned together kissing, the last thing they heard from Q was, "Humans…don't know anything about love…have to teach them

everything…..surprising they manage to have little ones…"

Much, much later as the new lovers lay sleeping wrapped in each others arms, Q popped in again careful not to awaken them.

"Ah! Another successful mating! Yep! Q has done it again! Matchmaker of the Universe. Hmmmm…maybe I should get business cards made!"

Snapping his fingers a business card appeared in his hand. Scratching his chin, "Who shall I work on next? Maybe the little guy who runs OPS. Looks like he could use some help big time!"

He watched as Kathryn snuggled even closer to Chakotay and mumbled something against his ear. "Yes, my work here is done. Now on to the little guy!" He blinked out of sight.