Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

In Unknown Hands

Chapter 1

Kathryn loved this man that much she knew for certain and she indulged a lot from him. She would let him get away with things that would have made her snap at anyone else. He however was always willing to go further than the others, even the Doctor only put up a token fight. They would always get him to talk to her, he wasn't so afraid of the death glare anymore, Kathryn was sure he had built up an immunity to it.

That was exactly how she had found herself sitting in sickbay having her annual physical, almost on time. When she hadn't turned up on time the Doctor had sent him to find her. He had done as he was asked and after what could have turned into a very heated debate with neither side backing down she had relented. He had come down to sickbay with her since his physical was right after hers.

"You're in perfect health" The doctor told her.

"I could have told you that"

"Your turn commander, I'll be back in moment" the Doctor said as he turned to his accomplice and smiled before going into his office.

"Alright Doctor" Chakotay said as he watched the Doctor go.

Kathryn jumped down from her position next to Chakotay on the biobed and moved to stand in front of him. She knew he hated annual physicals almost as much as she did.

"He's got to do it sooner or later, you might as well get it over with now" she said mimicking his words from earlier.

"Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it" he answered her as he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her passionately and she found herself responding despite where they were. They were both so caught up in the kiss that neither of them noticed the Doctor walk in, he was about to say something but saw them and stopped himself before turning and walking back into his office.

When they finally pulled apart Kathryn rested her forehead on Chakotay's as they both caught there breaths.

"I'll see you on the bridge" he said and she turned to walk away but only got two steps before she turned back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and hold your hand" she said smiling.

"Get out of here" he said laughing.

Chakotay watched her leave before sighing, he had been surprised when he had managed to get her to come down here as easily as he did. He'd half expected yelling and throwing things as well as the death glare the entire crew feared. He was no exception to that, despite the fact that being in a relationship with her had forced him to put on a good front when she used it, the truth was it scared him as much as anyone else.

"Ready Commander?" the Doctor asked as he walked back into sickbay.

Chakotay sighed and resigned himself to his fate "Let's just get this over with"

"I'm surprised you managed to get the come here as quickly as you did. I was expecting to have to wait at least a few hours"

"Yeah, well next time you can chase her down. Despite what she may think that glare of hers has the same effect on me as it does everyone else"

"Well maybe next time we won't have to chase her down" the Doctor said and Chakotay gave him an incredulous look "Wishful thinking Commander"

Kathryn sat on the bridge next to Chakotay, the senior staff had all been declared healthy by the Doctor. She wouldn't have to worry about annual physicals for another year now. Tom was sitting at his station still complaining about losing his pool game last night in Sandrine's. He should have learnt by now that no one beats the Captain, pool games or otherwise.

"I still demand a rematch"

"Tom don't you think you've lost enough replicator rations this week" Kathryn teased.

"Last night was just a warm up, I was planning my new strategy to beat you"

"That only works if you're better than the Captain or at least almost equal" Chakotay said smiling "Right now you can do all the strategising you want but it's not going to help you"

"I've got to go with the Commander on this one Tom" came Harry's voice from the Ops console behind them "You don't stand a chance"

"You guys really know how to destroy a guys self confidence don't you?"

"Mr Paris I do not believe it is possible to destroy your self confidence, you do seem to have an abundance" Tuvok said from his position at Tactical.

"Tuvok was that a joke?"

"Not at all Mr Paris, merely an observation"

Kathryn couldn't help but smile at the exchange between her officers. Bridge banter had become a regular part of working on the bridge, especially when all the senior bridge officers were present. Even Tuvok couldn't help but get involved, it always made their duty shifts that much more entertaining. Unfortunately for Tom though, he often found himself on the receiving end. Kathryn would feel sorry for him if he didn't bring it on himself.

"Tom why don't I let you get some practise in and then I'll give you a rematch, it would only be fair"

Tom was about to reply when the entire bridge shook violently almost knocking Kathryn out of her chair.

"Warp engines are offline" Tom said from his console as the ship dropped out of warp.

"Captain I'm detecting two alien vessels…we're being hailed"

"Red Alert, on screen"

An alien man appeared on the screen, his skin was a dark blue and he had short, black hair. The worst part was his eyes, in the middle of the dark skin, they were blood red. The mere sight of him forced Kathryn to repress a shiver.

"I am Bassan of the Kanesh, you are entering our space, turn around and leave immediately or you will be destroyed"

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Feder"

"Who you are and what you want means nothing to us, you will leave immediately"

The image from the screen disappeared and Kathryn could feel the tension on the bridge rise. They all knew she did not like to be cut off when she was speaking.

"Captain they're charging weapons"

"Evasive manoeuvres, Tuvok target their weapons and fire"

TBC

Authors Note: So what did you think? Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome and reviews always inspire me to write faster.