From the Heart
Summary: Janeway receives an interesting gift for her birthday.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, bla bla bla…
Genre: Fluffy Romance
A/N: -edit- Thanks to mistress amethyst une for the title! (: This has been a little idea I've had hidden in my Miffy notebook that I haven't had the chance to type out until now. Why? Because of my stupid position paper that still hasn't been finished…
Moving along, the scene is set a couple of months after Resolutions. (:
"Please Captain," Neelix pleaded. Kathryn Janeway set a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, sighing wearily as he attempted to persuade her into scurrying down to the holodeck. Apparently, he ran away from the mess hall and hid himself in Sandrine's when the crew finally decided to start a mutiny against his… exotic cooking. Or at least that's what it sounded like, based on the earnest tone of his voice over the combadge. She smiled to herself at the thought, and realized she had no idea what his actual excuse was this time. Oh, she already knew his inner motive – she felt it in her bones the moment she woke up this morning, a year older. But for some reason, she secretly enjoyed the Talaxian's creative adlibbing and sometimes encouraged it whenever she pretended she was too busy to leave her ready room. "The crew's morale is at stake!" he begged once again.
But of course, she laughed. Removing her hand from her forehead and relaxing into her chair, she responded. "I'll be there right away, Mister Neelix - Janeway out."
However, as her gaze dropped to the piles of PADDs sitting atop the desk across from her, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt and began debating whether she should reconsider her decision…
She massaged the bridge between her eyes, then stood up defiantly. The consequences of procrastination will just have to do, she thought wearily to herself, and headed out the door.
Her feet went no further than that.
Kathryn stared, dumbfounded at the object sitting in the captain's chair.
It can't be.
Her eyes widened with a sudden gleam and a blush crept up her cheeks. If it weren't for the fact that they were docked safely on a friendly planet, she would have reprimanded Chakotay for forgetting to assign bridge duty. But once she recovered from her initial shock, she felt relieved that no one else was there to witness her subtle, childish glee. She walked timidly towards the object and saw up close what she had suspected it was all along…
A doll.
She knew at that moment that the last thing she wanted to do to him was scold him.
It was somewhat crude-looking with loose threads at its ends and small, oddly arranged patches of black and brown fabric atop its torso and feet. And yet she marveled at his attention to detail. She picked up the plush toy and was greeted by the fibers of its white silky fur which nearly covered its entire body. It felt as soft as a cloud clutched in her hands. She tenderly grazed its adorable button-nose face with her thumb as her lips formed an ear to ear smile.
He hand made it just for her – he must have.
After all, there's only one planet in the Delta Quadrant that this little monkey was native to.
A/N: Yes, I know the actual monkey wasn't that cute… but hey, everyone loves stuffed animals! –giggles- (: I hope you enjoyed this, even though it was pretty short.
Please review! I feed on praise and constructive criticism. ;)