Standard disclaimers. This was written in the 90s, archiving here.

Following Procedure

Kathryn Janeway glanced up as Chakotay entered the Ready Room. He looked exhausted. Even so, she'd been expecting him. It was 0200 and they still hadn't had an opportunity to discuss the plans.

She got up, gestured him towards the couch and moved to the replicator to get them something to drink. "The usual?" His barely perceptible "yeah" drifted across the room, as he brushed his hands across his face and neck, then leaned back against the couch, and put his feet up on the table.

She got the drinks, handed him his, and sat down next to him. "How's the party?"

"Thanks." He took a drink and then explained.

"Same as when you left four hours ago. Uhmm... correction. It's a little wilder. It took so long to get back here because I had to keep sending Security in to find people."

He grimaced, thinking about the night. "There was a collective loss of memory about keeping appointments with me. I finally gave up two hours ago and moved the whole operation into Sandrine's. And of course, every change has to be signed, sealed and delivered in triplicate." He sighed, and she could see him try to mentally shrug away his annoyance. He finally smiled and said, "I'd forgotten how bad the bureaucracy and protocol is -"

"-in the Alpha quadrant." They finished the sentence together.

She didn't know how long they sat there, grinning like idiots at each other, after that.

Finally, he cleared his throat, looked away from her, and returned to the conversation at hand. "Anyway, we've got it all now - all the crew's tentative plans once we reach DS9."

He shook his head in mock exasperation. "Of course, the details of 90 per cent of what the crew told me tonight are probably going to change tomorrow. The good news is that the quarters' assignments on DS9 are complete. We can accommodate any last minute changes during the week of restocking and debriefing there before we head on."

He gestured towards the terminal on her desk. "It's all in the DS9 personnel file. If you can take a look at it tonight, I'll transmit it on so that we can get on top of the problems before we get there."

She shook her head, walked back to her desk and sat down. "No rest for the wicked, I suppose. I might as well do this now."

He started to get up, but she gestured him back down. "Sit. You might as well wait here as anywhere else. Besides, I might have some questions."

He collapsed back into the couch, closed his eyes, put his feet back up and waited.

When she glanced up an hour later, he looked like he was asleep. She said his name quietly, but he stirred immediately.

"Chakotay, this has got to be wrong."

"What?"

"It says here that nearly all of the Maquis intend to accept Starfleet's offer to stay in service after the scheduled two-month leave."

He sat up and looked at her, concerned, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. "I thought we straightened that out a month ago, after HQ regurgitated all the logs we sent on ahead of us. Do you think HQ intends to renege on the offer? "

She stared back at him. "No. Of course not. I'm just surprised. I - well, I didn't think the Maquis were permanently converted to protocol and procedure, that's all. And they certainly can't love the Federation."

"Kathryn, they hate the Cardassians more. The Federation's in a war with them and the Dominion. The Maquis have lost even more friends while we've been gone. They want to help, and they'll follow through. Anyway, the procedures are automatic now, after five years."

"I see. But all of them... well, it's amazing."

He leaned back into the couch again and closed his eyes.

"No. What's amazing is that HQ made the offer, and that without months of review panels and boards. We were lucky to get home right now. Starfleet needs trained personnel to fight this war. And at least we're trained. HQ must be strapped not to care about where the help's coming from."

He shook his head. "Although I suspect there's some behind-the-scenes kicking and screaming going on in the Admiralty. You haven't seen the latest bit of bureaucratic silliness they just sent. Hendrickson, Maquis-lover that he is, wants independent psych profiles done on all the Voyager Maquis, even though the Doc sent complete evaluations. Still, all in all, it's a pretty small price considering what could have happened if we'd gotten back before or even after this war."

She got up and sat down next to him on the couch, put her feet up, and took a sip of coffee. "There's nothing in there about you. They offered you a Captaincy, for heaven sakes. Aren't you going to take it?"

He raised one eye, closed it again, and adjusted his hands over his abdomen. "Yeah, well, it's pretty hard to interview yourself. Gets boring. Besides, there's one other crew member missing, and I wanted to finish up all the formal interviews first before I added mine. It might change my response."

"Who's missing?"

"The Captain."

She smiled and stared at her coffee. "That's easy enough. Ask your questions, Commander."

He kept his eyes closed and put his head back, looking perfectly at ease. "Actually, I only have one. Will you marry me?"

She nearly dropped the cup, and sat up choking on her last sip. "Excuse me?"

He kept his eyes closed, still lounging into the couch. He looked relaxed enough to stay there all night. "It's a simple question, Kathryn. It only requires a yes or no answer. I'll try it again. Will you marry me?"

She stared at him in shock. She'd never even kissed him, and yet here he was in her Ready Room asking her to marry him. No protestations of love, no passionate declarations of "staying by her side, and making her burden easier." Nothing, just a simple pragmatic question delivered in the same tone he used when he asked her if she wanted to have the warp nacelles readjusted.

Unnerved, she avoided the question. "I hardly think this is the time to discuss anything of a personal nature."

He kept his eyes closed, and said mildly, "It's exactly the time. HQ wants to know the future plans, personal and professional, of all of Voyager's crew. You included. It's by the regs, Kathryn. It's part of the procedure. You have to answer the question. You have to decide on the future."

She stared at him, startled into silence by the incongruity between his words and his movements. He was perfectly calm, informal, yet professional. But his words...his words jerked her into the reality that they were finally going home.

He was right. Voyager's journey would be over soon; she did need to consider her future. And yet, all that kept filtering through her mind were lightening fast images of the last five years. And all of those included Chakotay.

He was always there; laughing with her, and sometimes at her, yelling at her, backing her, supporting her, advising her, always waiting patiently. She wondered at his silence now, but then realized that there was nothing left for him to say, nothing that he hadn't already proven on a daily basis for years. But that was in the past. He'd asked about the future. When she considered it, she couldn't imagine one without him.

She sat back on the couch and took a drink of coffee. The hell with protocol. Just this once, she'd follow procedure. She answered the question.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. He reached out and ran his right hand through her hair briefly, withdrew it, and put both of his hands back on his stomach.

"Good. Then I'll turn down the promotion. It'll be easier to negotiate a joint assignment if I stay an XO. If you send me the specs on what you'd like for a wedding, I can arrange it for DS9, unless you'd prefer to wait until we get back to Earth."

She couldn't take it in. She'd just agreed to marry him, and he was... damn it, he was *teasing* her. He was treating her answer like any other command decision, implementing the regs and following procedure. She considered killing him, but restrained herself. It'd be too hard to explain to the Board of Inquiry, although she was certain that any sane panel of trained personnel would vindicate her in the end.

Finally, she decided to play along and see how long he could keep it up. She said, in her best captain's voice, "Arrange it for DS9. I think the crew would want to participate. It might even help morale."

He responded evenly, "Good enough. You can send me a list of parameters tomorrow morning. I'm not going to be able to contact Facilities again until then anyway. There's plenty of time."

He closed his eyes again. If she didn't know better, she'd swear he'd gone to sleep. She waited through five minutes of silence, before she decided enough was enough. The conversation was beginning to boarder on surreal. She'd let him win this one, this time.

"Damn it, Chakotay, I think we can forgo protocol and command structure this once."

He smiled, still not moving. "Sorry, Captain, but I can't agree. I've put up with protocol and command structure for five years. I'm not going to break down when there's six hours left to DS9. You're going to have to wait."

She stared at him, dumbfounded. Finally, she put her cup of coffee down, put her head in her hands, and looked over at him, exasperated.

"Just how long have you been plotting this little discussion? Since we hit the wormhole?"

He laughed. "Kathryn, you underestimate me. I'd say it's been four and a half years."

"Four years?" She could barely get out the words.

He opened his eyes, and what she saw there took her breath away. "Four and a HALF years. I'd say five, but I spent the first six months figuring out just what the implications of following protocol ... required. I've told you before, Kathryn. I'm a very patient man."

She shook her head, trying to sort through all the emotions that came rushing at her; elation, anticipation, exasperation... she looked up at him, and realized he was waiting to hear her response.

"What you are is insane."

He laughed at that and then continued, "That too. As for right now, it occurs to me that you might be able to find a way to make it worth my while to stretch the regs a bit. But it's going to have to be a damn good offer. I have my standards."

She smiled, got up from the couch, and tugged on his hands.

"Get up, Commander."

He obliged, waiting.

She continued, "According to the roster, we were both officially off duty eight point five hours ago. It would only be bending the regs a bit to continue this... official discussion in a more comfortable location. I'd suggest my quarters."

She shuffled him towards the door and shook her head, smiling. "You always have been an easy mark for bending the regs. It's your biggest failing. I see no reason we can't come to terms now."

He smiled at her, put his hand on her lower back, and ushered her out the door. " I always have been willing to oblige the Captain."

End.