AN: This is just a quick Christmas fic with my two favorites characters. I procrastinated so much that this is fairly short. I just gave it a quick read through so apologies in advance for any errors.

Winter Dream

"So, are you ready, Chakotay?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Janeway sneakily smiled at her First Officer as she tapped a couple of commands onto the Holodeck console. "I think you'll enjoy this program."

"I'm sure I will." Chakotay replied, zipping up his jacket then adjusting the scarf around his neck "I just wish you weren't so secretive about it all. At least I have an idea what the climate will be like."

"Can't handle a mystery, Commander?" She questioned, raising her eyebrow slightly.

Chakotay couldn't help but scoff. "As I recall there was a certain person asking endless questions when I was trying to build that bathtub.

Janeway laughed as she entered the last few codes. "I was curious. That's all. Anyway, ready?"

"Ready."

The Holodeck doors opened and they both entered into a land of whiteness.

"Where are we?" Chakotay quickly asked, as the Holodeck doors closed behind them.

"Indiana," Janeway sighed, faintly smiling and taking in the view.

"This is beautiful," Chakotay said, glancing around his surroundings. As he looked around he couldn't help but observe his commanding officer. He had known her for several years now, but he was still intrigued but her childlike wonder for certain aspects of the universe. He also couldn't help but notice her beauty. She was always beautiful to him, but when she was in a setting that allowed her to relax and let go, she became an even more enticing creature.

He had been staring at her for some time that when he refocused his mind, he noticed she was curiously watching him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

"Ugh…just wondering if this is where you grew up." It was the quickest, most believable lie Chakotay could muster.

"Mmhmm. Bloomington, Indiana."

"Do you come here often?"

"No. Actually, this is the first time running the program. I created it a while back but never ended up using it." She paused briefly, looking away into the white distance. "I think part of me didn't want to remember what I was missing."

"Kathryn, if this is going to be difficult for you, maybe we should try another program. We are here to have a good time and I don't want to see miserable."

"No. No, this is fine. I think I just never wanted to enjoy it alone. I'm glad you're here with me, though." She held out her hand and he gently took it in his.

"Thank you for inviting me." Chakotay couldn't help but smile. Her hand always felt so fragile in his, but he knew she was anything but. He felt a shudder of disappointment when she let go.

He observed her again, not as obvious this time, as she looked around the landscape. He was aware that she missed her family terribly, as many of the crew did too. But since they were only couple days away from the old Earth tradition known as Christmas, he knew she was feeling especially nostalgic.

"Well, I say we get going. I don't want to spend our entire time just standing in the snow. I want ample time to-" She stopped herself before she said anything further.

"To what, Kathryn?" Chakotay deviously asked, cocking his eyebrow and smiling slightly.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Just follow me."

They both trudged through the somewhat thick layer of snow in silence. Chakotay could feel the crisp air against his cheeks and noticed Kathryn shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat. He wondered what Kathryn had planned. There wasn't much that he could see in the distance: scattered trees, a couple of houses, and just a bunch of snow.

They continued walking and made their way over a small slope when Kathryn stopped and smiled. "There it is."

Chakotay followed her gazed and noticed a nicely sized frozen lake. Right by the frozen water stood a lonely wood bench with what appeared to be ice skates on it. And at that moment he remembered a conversation the both of them had about a year ago and everything fell into place.

"What do you mean you've never been ice skating?" Kathryn's jaw practically hit the deck as she held onto her second cup of coffee. They had both attended Neelix's Christmas party in the mess hall and were now enjoying a nightcap in her quarters.

"I think you forget I grew up on Trebus. Not exactly the coldest place in the Alpha Quadrant."

"But still. You attended Starfleet Academy. There was a skating rink in Union Square in the wintertime! A tradition in San Francisco for centuries!"

Chakotay couldn't help his amusement at Kathryn's utter disbelief. "I guess I never found the time."

"Well, one day we shall fix that."

"Oh, really? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

She flashed him one of her infamous smirks and simply responded with, "You'll see," as she took a sip of her drink.

"You are sneaky, Kathryn. Very sneaky."

Her infectious laugh echoed in the vast space. "I'm not sneaky. Just tactical. And as a former tactical instructor I think you should be proud."

Chakotay flashed her a dimpled smile. "Very much so."

By now they had made their way to the solitary bench. Kathryn picked up the larger pair of ice skates and handed them to Chakotay. "I took the liberty to check your shoe size in the database. I think they should be all right."

Chakotay took the skates and sat down on the bench. He began to remove his shoes but stopped mid-way and looked at Kathryn, who was inspecting her own skates. "So how long have you been planning this?"

"About one minute after you left my quarters that night."

Chakotay let out a low chuckle. "Why did you wait all this time?"

Kathryn pursed her lips as she sat next to him to switch shoes. "Several reasons really. One, I needed ample time to pass so you would forget. Which I see you did." She meekly smiled as she glanced over at him. "And two…" she let out a sigh, her voice getting lower, "I really wanted to come here for Christmas, but not by myself. I know you don't celebrate this holiday but I figured you wouldn't mind."

Chakotay heard the sadness in her tone. He gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze, pressing her petite body into his. "Of course I don't mind, Kathryn. I always enjoy spending time with you." He slowly removed his arm and continued to fiddle with the laces of his skates.

When they both had their skates on they made their way clumsily to the edge of the lake. Kathryn was the first to step on the ice and elegantly slid toward the center. Chakotay watched her as she twirled around the ice, her scarf flowing as graceful as she in the air.

After a couple of spins around the lake did she notice she was alone. She looked over at Chakotay who stood in the same spot as before. "Problem?" She asked as she skated toward him.

"Not really. Just enjoying the lovely view."

"It is gorgeous out here, isn't it?"

Chakotay hadn't been referring to the landscape. He didn't feel like elaborating so he simply nodded.

"Join me," she said, stretching her hand out toward him.

"Kathryn, I've been skiing before. I've gone through various difficult trainings in Starfleet, I'm sure this isn't as difficult," he retorted, taking her hand, stepping onto the ice.

As soon as he had both feet on the ice he began to wobble and made every effort to keep himself upright. "Well, at least now I know how a fawn feels like when it's learning to walk." Kathryn's sudden uproarious laughter almost caused him to lose his balance and fall. Once he regained his posture he muttered, "I'm glad I amuse you."

She let go of his hand to wipe away the tears that had streamed down her cheeks from laughter. "I'm sorry. I just got an image of you as a baby deer in my head and it was just quite bizarre." She took his hand again. "I promise it will get easier."

They slowly skated around the lake together, hand in hand, while Kathryn provided him with tips along the way. Within no time Chakotay had let go of Kathryn's hand and was skating swiftly alongside her as if he had been skating for years.

"Did you skate in this very lake when you were younger?"

"Not quite this one. I had the computer add this for now."

"Oh. Where did you skate then?" Chakotay glanced over at Kathryn but quickly returned his focus to his skating when he felt himself falter a little.

"We didn't have a lake close to our house. Phoebe and I had to go out of our way to go skating. There was an indoor rink in town. I actually learned there. After a while Phoebe no longer wanted to go skating with because she said I made everything into a competition."

"Did you?"

Kathryn chuckled. "Of course."

Chakotay laughed along with Kathryn while he looked over at her. He loved to see her laugh and enjoy herself. He couldn't help but notice her cheeks and nose turning a very vibrant shade of pink from the cold air. But before he could say anything else he felt himself lose his balance. His only reaction was to stretch out his arms and try to grab ahold of something. That something was Kathryn.

Within seconds he landed on his back onto the hard ice with a loud thump. Before he could even react, Kathryn forcefully landed on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Once he was able to compose himself somewhat, he became immediately concerned about her safety, since it was his fault she was where she was.

"Kathryn…are you…okay?" He managed to barely say.

"I am. Are you?"

From all the commotion he hadn't realized they were face to face. Just about an inch apart from one another. Her nose made sudden contact with his nose while her lips briefly grazed his as she moved around. He could feel her warm breath caressing his cheek. That's when he noticed that her body was sprawled out on top of his. He was no longer aware of the pain he felt on his back or the coldness of the ice all over his body. He was solely aware of the warm body on top of his.

"Chakotay, are you okay?"

He had forgotten she had asked him a question and didn't want her to think he was injured by not answering. "I'll live," he finally managed. He felt the pressure lesson on his chest as she rolled off of him and slowly stood up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to grab onto you like that."

"Was that your subtle way of getting out of competing with me?"

Chakotay laughed. "Possibly."

"But seriously, Chakotay, are you hurt? You seemed to have hit the ice fairly hard." She stretched out her hands to help him to his feet.

"I fine. I'm pretty sure B'Elanna has hit me harder than that when she's upset after losing a game of Velocity." He wiped some of the frost away from his jacket and returned his gaze toward Kathryn. "And you should count yourself lucky?"

"Why is that?" She quizzically looked at him.

"Just be happy I didn't land on you." He had noticed her hair had fallen out of place. He carefully reached over and slowly moved the loose strands into place.

She smiled at his sweet gesture. "Maybe we should call it quits before either one gets seriously injured."

Chakotay nodded and they made their way back to the bench to remove their skates. They both untied their laces and changed shoes. Once they were ready to leave they placed the skates back on the bench like they had found them.

They walked quietly in the snow, side by side, until they reached the holodeck arch. Before the doors opened, Chakotay placed his hand on Kathryn's shoulder to stop her.

"I really appreciate what you did today. I had a wonderful time with you."

"I did too, Chakotay. But I have to thank you, too. You allowed me to revisit my hometown without it becoming a somber moment. I know it wouldn't have been the same if I had come alone or with someone else from the crew."

"Well, for one thing, you probably wouldn't have been flung onto the ice by some klutz."

Kathryn laughed. "True. But it made the experience fun."

They stood before the arch sharing a quiet, tender moment together before either one spoke.

"Merry Christmas, Kathryn."

She smiled and gently placed her hand on his chest. "Merry Christmas, Chakotay."

The doors of the holodeck opened. They stepped into the corridor and both went their separate ways.

The End