"Janeway to Voyager. Four to beam up."
"Standby Captain, I'm having some difficulty getting a lock. There's some kind of atmospheric interference."
"Whenever you're ready, Ensign."
"Energizing."
The familiar tingle of the transporter spread over the away team consisting of Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, Liutenant Tom Paris and Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres as Ensign Harry Kim frantically worked the controls in transporter room one. Two of the four patterns stabilized and Tom and B'Elanna stepped off the pad. Torres immediately went over to help Harry boost power to the buffers in order to cut through some of the interference. That did the trick and Voyager's commanding officers rematerialized.
"Tuvok to Transporter Room One. Do you have them ?"
"Well... Yes. Kind of. I think you'd better meet us in Sickbay, Sir."
Harry, Tom and B'Elanna stared in disbelief at the captain and commander, who were in turn staring at each other. Harry initiated another transport, this time directly to Sickbay.
"Well, Captain, Commander, you are both in perfect health, mental and physical. Mentally, you are unchanged; brain wave patterns including memories, learned knowledge and the like are all exactly as they should be. Physically, you are both extremely healthy pre-adolescents; I'd say around 12 years old. I don't pretend to understand how this happened, but I can rule out any medical reason for this transformation. I see no reason why you can't return to duty at this time."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Janeway looked around at her senior staff which had gathered in Sickbay to discuss this latest surprise the Delta Quadrant had sprung on them. She knew her people wouldn't have a problem with her retaining command, after all, she was still Captain Kathryn Janeway. All her memories were intact, she was just in the body of a 12 yr. old. But what if they encountered any aliens? Hostile or friendly, she didn't think they would accept that a child was in command of a star ship. Things could get ugly fast. With the safety of her crew at stake, the decision to step down until the effects of the transporter accident could be reversed was an easy one. And she didn't doubt for a minute that her people would be able to fix this.
"Tuvok, you will be in command until we figure this out, effective immediately. B'Elanna, you and Harry go over the transporter logs and see if you can find out what went wrong. Tom, I want to know more about the atmospheric interference when we were beaming up. Commander Chakotay and I will lie low and work on this from our quarters. I don't think the crew needs to know about this until we actually know something. Neelix, that's your department. Try to keep this quiet and morale up if at all possible. Any questions? Dismissed."
The senior staff headed to complete their assignments, still shocked by this turn of events. It hadn't really sunk in yet that their commanding officers were now children. The question no one asked, but everyone had thought was, "What if this is permanent?"
The captain called for a site to site transport for herself and the commander. As soon as they materialized in her quarters, she walked over to the replicator.
"Coffee, black. Can I get you anything, Commander?"
"No thanks."
They settled into their normal spots on her couch and chair; sitting for a few moments without speaking, trying to process what had happened. Both took the opportunity to study the other.
Chakotay looked very different at 12 than he did as a grown man. He was tall for his age but skinnier, with the typical gangly arms and legs of youth. His skin was darker than normal, as if he spent a lot of time outside. His hair was long, brushing his shoulders and slightly wavy. The biggest difference was the absence of the tattoo above his left eyebrow. The eyes and smile were exactly the same.
Janeway, on the other hand was basically a miniature version of her adult self. Her hair was a brassier version of red-orange and waist length, but the piercing blue-grey eyes, stubborn chin, and petite body with lean muscle tone were all the same. One difference were the freckles that had mostly faded in adulthood, but were full force in childhood.
Finishing their inspections of each other at the same time they locked eyes. Chakotay grinned, flashing his dimples at her.
"You know, I figured on the carrot top hair, but the freckles are a nice surprise I must say."
He continued to smile as she dropped her face into her hands, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Damn freckles." Then she looked up and smirked a little herself.
"Well, I never pictured you with long hair, but that's not the biggest shock. You almost don't look like you without your tattoo."
He rubbed at his forehead, grimacing a little.
"I forgot I wouldn't have my tattoo yet. Feels weird. This whole thing is weird."
"Tell me about it. What if we can't fix this? Obviously we can't command Voyager like this. We'll have to grow up again. In the Delta Quadrant. As if it wasn't hard enough growing up at home."
"Slow down. It's barely been more than an hour since the accident. Give B'Elanna, Harry and Tom a chance to work on this. There's no need to worry yet. I have an idea. I think we need to take the night off of work and just have some fun."
"Fun? We're children, Chakotay! Kids! Barely older than Naomi! We need - "
"Exactly. We're 12 yrs. old; we're supposed to be having fun and getting into trouble. There's not much we can do except wait, and let's face it, that would drive us insane pretty quickly. So... let me check on something."
Janeway finished her coffee while Chakotay looked through files on the computer. He muttered to himself occasionally until he found what he was searching for.
"Got it! Change into some casual clothes, I'll be back in 15 min."
He left without waiting for a reply and Janeway stared after him wondering what had gotten into her first officer. Mentally shrugging she realized that she was wasting time, so she went to change, only to find her clothes were too big. 15 minutes later when Chakotay came back she had replicated and changed into some loose pants and a short sleeve top that fit her child sized body. He was dressed similarly and didn't waste anytime requesting a site to site transport to Holodeck One, where the program was already running.
"Oh, Chakotay. It's a Fall Festival. We used to have these every October when I was a kid. I used to love going on the hay ride. Actually, I had my first kiss on the hay ride the year I turned 13."
"Really? I also had my first kiss at an event very much like this. We called them Harvest Gatherings. There were no hay rides though. I sneaked off with a girl to the edge of the woods for my first kiss. I think I was about the same age."
"This is perfect. Look! A bonfire! I wonder if they have marshmallows?"
"If they don't, I'll program some in for you."
"Deal. Race ya!"
Janeway took off without waiting for a reply, knowing she'd need a head start since Chakotay's legs were so much longer. They did indeed have marshmallows at the bonfire. Graham crackers and chocolate too. The next few hours were filled with s'mores, hayrides, games with prizes, and a lot of laughter. By the time the stars were shining in the simulated sky, they ended back up by the bonfire, gazing into the crackling flames.
"Now, wasn't this more fun than looking over PADDs, locked up in your quaters?"
"Mmm. Yes, it certainly was. Thank you, Chakotay, I needed to get my mind off my worries for awhile. I even forgot about the accident a couple of times! Well, I guess it's time to call it a night. Are you ready to go?"
"Sure. Do you think we can get away with walking through the corridors since its so late?"
"I don't know, I'd hate to run into someone who hasn't heard about the accident yet. What would they think?"
"Do you really think there's anyone on board who doesn't know? There are no secrets on a ship this size."
"You're right, but I'd feel better with a transport. Would you like to come to my quarters for some coffee, or tea?"
"That sounds fine. I don't know that I'm going to be able to sleep anyway."
Chakotay's prediction was correct, both the captain and commander were too restless for sleep. So they settled into her quarters as they had many times before; working, talking, drinking coffee and tea, and flirting mildly. As the night drew on, Chakotay slid down onto the floor, leaning back against the couch to get more comfortable. Janeway immediately took advantage of the extra room and stretched out her legs that had been tucked under her. Pillowing her head on her arm she lay on her side so she could see him more easily. They talked until they were so punch drunk from lack of sleep that everything became funny and they were laughing so hard they were crying. Finally wearing themselves out, they drifted to sleep.
A few hours later when it was still early morning, Chakotay shifted in his sleep, rolling to his side when a sharp tug of pain woke him. He lay still clearing his mind, trying to remember where he was and what was pulling his hair. His long hair. It came back to him in a rush. Reaching up blindly to extract whatever he'd gotten tangled in, he came into contact with a warm, soft hand. He let his vision adjust to the dimness and looked up to see pale skin and fire bright hair draped over the side of the couch. He sat up slightly, propping himself up on his elbow. As he moved the hand clenched into a fist not wanting to let go of his hair. Gently he removed it and brushed a kiss across the palm. The fingers curled tightly once more and Chakotay looked up into sleepy blue eyes.
Kathryn blinked a few times at the handsome kid holding her hand, sleep confusing her brain and concealing his identity from her momentarily until the memory of the day before kicked in. She smiled at him, still more asleep than awake and spoke in a husky whisper.
"Good morning, Chakotay."
"Good morning, Kathryn. Did you sleep well?"
He smiled a little at the thought of her touching him in her sleep, wondering if she dreamed of him as he did of her. The glint in his eyes piqued her curiosity but she just answered him evenly.
"Pretty good, how about you? The floor can't be too comfortable."
He grinned fully now, flashing his dimples.
"Yeah, but as least I'm not old anymore or my back would be killing me."
They chuckled but both were worried that B'Elanna hadn't contacted them yet. As if their thoughts summoned the chief engineer, her voice broke into the quiet.
"Torres to the Captain."
"Janeway here."
There was a slight pause as B'Elanna registered the higher pitched voice.
"Captain, we think we can recreate the conditions of the transporter accident which should reverse the effect."
"That's good news B'Elanna, adolescence was bad enough the first time around."
The captain's dry remark caused a few chuckles in the transporter room.
"We're ready in Transporter Room One whenever you are Captain."
"Give us 15 min. and we'll be there. Janeway out."
Janeway started to rise but Chakotay stopped her by recapturing her hand. He pulled her to a seated position, kneeling in front of her. She shifted a little at his proximity. She may be in a 12 yr. old's body but this was still Chakotay and he always had this effect on her. He didn't let her move away.
"Kathryn, I wanted to ask you something."
He was hesitant, but knew he would probably never get such a unique opportunity again; one that negated all of her usual arguments.
"Do you remember last night when I told you I had my first kiss when I was 13?"
She nodded, confused about where he could possibly be going with this.
"The Doctor said we are 12 yrs. old," a pause, "so I was wondering... will you be my first kiss?"
He waited for the expected response.
"Chakotay, you know we can't. It wouldn't be appropriate because I'm the captain."
There it was. But this time the situation was different.
"Kathryn, we're 12 yrs. old. You wouldn't even be allowed into the academy, much less be given a star ship. Right now we're not the captain and commander, we're just us. I'm not asking for a relationship or for anything later. I just want you to be my first kiss."
He wasn't begging, but his hearts desire was clear. The last sentence was a whisper that went straight to Kathryn's heart. The idea of Chakotay being her first kiss was sweet and romantic. And very tempting. Like him. She looked into his unfamiliar face searching for her friend. She found him in his eyes, they were looking at her as they always did: with patience, longing, and some frustration. Reaching up to trace where the lines of his tattoo would be she leaned forward slightly.
Chakotay had seen in her eyes when the decision was made and was leaning in to meet her. Eyes open their lips softly touched. He brushed across her lips until just the corners of their mouths were pressed together. Cheek to cheek now, they let their eyes drift shut as they reveled in the closeness. He inhaled her scent; she let her hand slip from his forehead into his silky hair. She felt him smile against her face. He shifted across again to bring their lips into alignment. For those few moments the kiss was everything a 12 yr. old's first kiss should be.
It changed suddenly and without warning. Later, neither could say who deepened the kiss, whose lips parted first, which one of them moaned in the back of their throat, or exactly when it changed from sweet innocence and friendship to passion. Hands clenched, tightening their grips, pulling bodies closer as desire exploded over them.
"Torres to the Captain."
The voice of the chief engineer was loud in the silence. They jumped apart, startled at the intrusion and each others appearance. They had forgotten for a moment that they looked like kids. Janeway took a deep breath and let it out before answering.
"Go ahead, Liutenant."
"Captain, we're ready in the transporter room. Are you and the commander coming?"
"On our way."
Chakotay touched her lips briefly with his fingertips, then stood without speaking and held out his hand. Kathryn took it and let him pull her up. They stood close for a moment holding hands, looking at each other, but neither had any idea what to say. Finally, she dropped his hand and walked out of her quarters, not saying a word. He silently fell into step beside her. As the transporter beam rearranged their molecules, both wondered if that would be their first, last and only kiss.