Chapter 3. What Happens in the Cargo Bay, Stays in the Cargo Bay.
Chakotay exited the turbolift on deck 3 and walked to his quarters. His hand paused before keying in the command, and he glanced at the next door down the corridor. He could give her the jacket right now. It was way past midnight but he was somehow sure that she wasn't asleep yet. However, the circumstances of his last visit to the Captain's quarters made him think twice before dropping in like this.
- Earlier that evening -
When Chakotay saw the Captain's bun amid the containers with the samples from the last away mission, he was sure he finally found the right cargo bay. She was engrossed in her work so he could approach her unnoticed.
"Getting your hands dirty in your downtime?"
Janeway turned around and Chakotay realized that she was wearing level 3 protection gloves that reached up to her shoulder.
"Figuratively," he added hastily.
"Helps me think, Commander. Besides, it's fun."
"Cataloguing alien goo is fun? Ewww… Anyhow, I was looking for you."
"Ah, and I thought you lost your way."
"No, or actually, yes, but not more than usually." Chakotay smiled and perched on one of the containers, carefully checking the cover first. "It's hard to get used to 'Fleet dimensions, you know, after years of flying ships that consist of one deck that is bridge, cargo bay, crew's quarters and mess hall in one."
"You'd be the first one to complain about Voyager." Janeway pulled off one glove and brushed a stray strand from her forehead with a smile.
"On the bright side, I love the food."
Janeway followed Chakotay's eyes to the Baxial that stood in the dark corner of the cargo bay and burst into laughter.
"You can't blame me for that, Neelix isn't really with Starfleet."
"What about the 'Fleet uniform you gave me several weeks ago? It scratches around the neck and it's too narrow in places so that it sends such parts of me to sleep that I wasn't even aware of."
"Then see that you don't fall down from this container if you are talking about your… legs."
She was so beautiful when laughing. Her eyes brightened and her cheeks blushed a little. Such a sincere reaction was like a wave of fresh air after all the tension that surrounded him on Voyager since day one.
Chakotay pulled a bundle that he was hiding behind his back.
"Here, for you. I hope this will make us even."
Janeway shot him a lopsided smile.
"I don't have to get a security officer to open it for me, right?"
"Only if you want the poor man to have indecent fantasies for the next seventy years."
Janeway weighted the bundle in her hand. It seemed to be a carefully folded garment. The leather surface was smooth and warm and very pleasant to touch. She found a brim and shook up the bundle with one sudden movement. It unfolded to a tan Maquis jacket that seemed to be handcrafted, with its irregular pattern of perfect seams.
"It's beautiful, Chakotay, thank you. But I can't take it."
"Because it's Maquis?"
No, because then you'd be the one to have those fantasies for the next seventy years.
Chakotay continued without noticing Janeway's grin. "See it as, well, as a cultural exchange."
"You realize I won't be able to wear it."
"Even off-duty?"
"Especially not off-duty."
"Come on, Captain. You can't even start imagining how long this jacket took me."
"You didn't sew it by hand, did you?"
"No, but I programmed every single stitch. I wish after the fact that I did it manually. Would spare me a lot of time let alone my replicator rations."
Janeway tried not to imagine Chakotay with a needle, failed and grinned again. "I appreciate your determination, but it was really not necessary."
Chakotay came closer to her. "See? All red." He showed her the side of his neck, pulling the collar of his turtleneck down a little. "I tell you, Starfleet uniforms will be my undoing. It's not really much when I ask you to try this one on. You'll find it surprisingly comfortable – after your uniform anyway."
Janeway didn't see that anything was wrong with Chakotay's neck but she felt compelled to find a diplomatic answer soon, before her newly-fledged first officer showed more skin to get his point across.
"Maybe in my free time… on an alien planet… in a place where Starfleet regulations don't apply." She patted herself on her shoulder mentally. No shore leave was planned for the next several months.
"On an alien planet, where Starfleet regulations don't apply, I could easily ask you out for a date," supplied Chakotay, flashing his dimples.
Janeway frowned. This man enjoyed pushing the line. She'd make it stop immediately if she thought there was anything serious behind it. However, something told her that he was doing it merely for her sake. He was charming, eloquent and entertaining in his downtime and professional and respectful on duty. No, this man was not going to cross the line.
He was still looking at her, mischief flashing in his eyes. She was supposed to say something.
"Don't make me leave you without shore leave for the rest of the journey, Commander. It would be most unfortunate."
Suddenly her smug smile faded out and she fetched a tricorder from her tool box. She pushed the jacket in Chakotay's hand and made several steps towards the Baxial. Then she shook her head and came back to the containers.
"I thought I saw something, but there's nothing on the tricorder."
Then from the corner of his eye, Chakotay, too, saw a blurred movement in darkness that surrounded the old freighter. It was something small, but it was definitely there.
-
Back in the corridor on deck 3, Chakotay snapped out of his reverie. If they called security right away, they wouldn't have to deal with the chain of awkward events that had followed. He wouldn't be standing there with his gift in his hands, and even more important, the fragile understanding between the crews wouldn't be endangered.
He entered his quarters and put the jacket on a coat hanger. It would have to wait until next day, until the events of the evening faded out after a round of sound sleep. He could only hope that the rest of his shift would be uneventful.
Janeway was tossing in her bed, unsure if she'd be able to fall asleep at all. The evening had been going so well until Chakotay had showed up in the cargo bay. She had been sensing an impending disaster coming closer with every cheeky comment he had made. If they only had called for security instead of following the tiny creature by themselves… Janeway sighed and tossed her pillow.
- Earlier that evening -
Chakotay snapped out of his playful mood immediately. He covered the distance to the Baxial at a trot but still wasn't able to follow the dark furry ball. He entered the ship and felt his way to the next control panel from which he could turn the light on.
"Everything looks pretty normal… for the Baxial," supplied Janeway, running in a second later.
The bridge was full with metal garbage… useful garbage, most definitely. The clear surface of the main control panel peeked through it here and there – probably around the keys of vital functions. There was absolutely no chance of pursuing the creature in this mess of disassembled devices and wiring.
Fortunately, it came out by itself. Its large frilled ears appeared first, followed by the tiny body. It stood on the edge of something that could be a torpedo housing, its eyes locked on Janeway, its pointed nose sniffing the air. Fuzzy fur on the tips of its ears and on its back made the creature look like Neelix's distant relative.
Chakotay made a step towards it but Janeway grabbed his arm, pulling him back. She approached the creature slowly, one hand stretched out, with her tricorder in the other hand. Suddenly the tricorder made a loud beeping sound, and the furred ball disappeared behind the heaps of the garbage. Janeway turned to Chakotay.
"You know what's interesting, Commander? Our tricorders don't detect the Fluffy Ear."
"It looks Talaxian. Maybe the sensors of this ship can detect it," told Chakotay, clearing the main control panel off the metal garbage at one stroke.
Janeway tried to remember how the keys of the inner sensors looked like on the Baxial. The movements of her fingers were uncertain, but she gained confidence as the screen began showing the right data.
"Look, Chakotay. They are like gnats. Annoying, but apparently not dangerous. No wonder Neelix forgot to report them."
"Gnats? I'd call them rats. Are there many of them here?"
"It's hard to tell. Here, see? It's either a single creature or one family… the readings are not clear." Janeway pointed at the blurred triangle that marked the position on the ship's schematics.
"So, a job for the de-contamination team?"
"We have to catch them unharmed. I think we could greatly improve our sensors if we get to understand why these creatures can't be detected."
Chakotay could tell how excited Janeway was by the look at her face. He sensed it was the right moment…
"Err… Captain? I assume you remember what you promised a few minutes ago… regarding the jacket, you know." He showed her the Maquis jacket that he was still holding in his hand. "These creatures don't pose any threat, so I figure we could allow ourselves to take advantage from being in Talaxian territory. Where the Starfleet regulations don't apply, you know."
Janeway gulped in surprise. She didn't expect she'd had to deal with that issue so soon. Factually, Chakotay was right. If she refused now it would be obvious that she chickened out. She sighed. What harm could a jacket possibly do?
She shed her uniform jacket reluctantly and put it on the console. The leather jacket was not designed to be worn over a Starfleet issue turtleneck but she'd be damned if she stripped down to her tank top.
The leather hugged her breasts as she tried to button up the jacket. She looked at Chakotay. He appeared triumphant.
"You know how it goes, Captain." Chakotay shrugged smugly. "I input your physical parameters into the computer and it suggested Female Earth Size 6 for you. But I decided you'd look better in a 5." His grin was entirely too suggestive.
If you weren't my first officer, I'd slap you for that. Janeway momentarily considered the validity of using Chakotay's own idea of their being in Talaxian territory as a loophole in the Starfleet regulations that prevented a captain from assaulting a subordinate.
Chakotay nodded towards her reflection in the Baxial's now-blank viewscreen. "Well, what do you think?"
Janeway turned her head to appraise her profile image. The jacket felt good. Hell, the jacket looked good. She smoothed a hand across her stomach. Perhaps it showed off a little bit more of her figure than a captain normally should, but it's not as if she was going to make a habit of wearing it.
She pivoted slowly to face the viewscreen head on. Her own eyes, muted to a grey color by the dull reflection, stared back at the outfit with increasing self-consciousness. Stiffly pressed black pants didn't exactly go with rugged leather. Her captain's pips peeked out above the leather collar and twinkled just slightly in the dim light. Everything about the jacket was rebellious. Everything about the woman underneath it was not.
A groove formed between her eyebrows at the thought. Her frown was slight, but it did not escape Chakotay's notice. "What's wrong?"
"I…" She stalled for time, "I just don't know that I'm the type of person that can look good in this kind of garment." She made a move to unbutton the top button.
"Wait…" His voice was soft but urgent. It froze her in place. "I think I know what's wrong." His hand moved toward her temple. "May I?" Her gaze was questioning. His gaze appealed to her to trust him. Her fingertips pinched the button at her bosom tightly, but she made no further move to undo it. He took her lack of objection as permission.
He reached behind her head and quickly found the comb that secured her bun. It slid out smoothly and an auburn cascade spilled down her back. Chakotay gently finger-combed her hair into two sections and teased it around her shoulders.
Janeway gaped at their reflection. Chakotay behind her, his eyelids lowered, clearly drinking in the scent of her now wild hair. He looked positively enraptured and she looked positively indecent.
Had she not been faced with the stark reality of their reflected appearance, she might have enjoyed the moment a second longer; but as it was, the thought of knowing that if anyone walked in on them, this is what they'd see was simply too much.
Janeway had to break the spell. She turned around to face him. "Chakotay." She tried to sound commanding as she took off the jacket.
At this very moment something cracked above their heads, and several screaming furry balls fell on Chakotay. He whirled and jumped to the side trying to throw them down, hit Janeway with the full weight of his body and they both fell on the main control panel. She managed to tap her comm badge that appeared right before her nose and demand an emergency transport to her quarters.
A few minutes later Chakotay was sitting on her sofa, his hair ruffled, his uniform slightly out of order. Janeway perched on the table in front of him, looking down at her first officer. He lost the lion share of his charm from before, but that was not the reason he couldn't look her in the eye. She was yet to start speaking.
She went to the replicator and came back with two mugs, putting one of them in front of him.
"Look, Chakotay. This isn't going to work like that."
She took a sip from her mug and went around the table to sit by his side.
"Our relationship may not be complicated by… complications." She looked down at her hands. "Frankly, I enjoy your lightness and your charm as well as your complete professionalism on duty. I wouldn't guess we'd go that long a way in such a short time."
Chakotay sucked in the air as though he was about to say something. Janeway stopped him with her eyes.
"Please. Let me finish.
"I sense the beginning of a beautiful friendship here that can be the key to the survival of our crew. I know you are aware of that, and I know you meant no disrespect down in the cargo bay. I can even say that I enjoy flirting with you – within certain boundaries. It's not only your fault. We both must tone down a little – that little that we can sustain the status quo as long as we are supposed to."
Janeway stood up and pulled her hair together in a pony tail. Chakotay made his way to the door but stopped midway and gave Janeway his best dimpled smile.
"How come that such a wise, such an attentive captain forgets that her first officer doesn't drink coffee?"
Janeway smiled back. "Maybe because she never knew? We'll have to get to know each other better, in an informal atmosphere. Maybe tomorrow at Sandrine's?"
-
Janeway didn't notice how she fell asleep. The last thing she put mentally on her to-do list was to fetch her Maquis jacket from the Baxial before informing Neelix and Tuvok about their tiny Fluffy Ear problem. Little did she know that it was already taken care of.