Authors notes: So here we are. Finally. I'm almost sad to be posting this. Ive loved writing this story and I have loved receiving your comments, encouragements, suggestions and reviews. I hope you like this chapter and I hope you've enjoyed the story.
Chapter 7
"You cannot be serious."
"Deadly."
"I don't believe it."
"Neither did I, but it's true."
"But...why?"
"Apparently they both share a love for Chinese opera."
"The Doctor."
"Yes."
"And Nechayev."
"Yep."
"Having dinner?"
"Indeed."
"Together?"
"No word of a lie."
B'Elanna shook her head in disbelief, "I can't work that one out. Nor can I work out how you are always the first to know any scuttlebutt."
Kathryn smirked at B'Elanna over the rim of her champagne glass, "It's a curse, particularly when I am sworn to secrecy. I can't tell you how relieved I was when Chakotay told me he knew all about Sekaya and Mike."
B'Elanna snorted in derision, "Oh please. Chakotay did not have clue about Sekaya and Mike."
Kathryn looked up at her former chief engineer in confusion, "He did, he was the one who brought it up." Kathryn crinkled her nose as she tried to remember the exact conversation, she was sure –
Kathryn's musings were interrupted by the subject of her conversation, who ambled back to their table groaning with pain as he sat down.
"I thought you said cricket was a nice afternoon gentle sport." Chakotay said to Tom accusingly.
"Maybe I got it confused with something else, like jousting."
Kathryn laughed at them both, "I did try to tell you. Captain Picard is nothing if not competitive."
"I think he threw that ball to me at warp 10!" Tom said indignantly.
"Be that as it may, I don't think the aim of the game is to run away from the ball." Kathryn pointed out much to B'Elanna's amusement.
"Oh it's very easy for you to say that, he didn't throw the ball half as hard at you."
Kathryn gave Tom a wicked grin, "He bowled that ball just as hard at me as he did you. It's not my fault that cricket is yet another sport which you have difficulty mastering."
Kathryn arched her eyebrow as B'Elanna snorted into her champagne glass, amused that the non-synthehol Chateau Picard appeared to have gone to normally fearsome half Klingon's head.
"Attractive dear," Tom said with some sarcasm, which Kathryn thought was brave. B'Elanna may be tipsy but, well, it was still B'Elanna.
"How many runs did you get flyboy?" B'Elanna retorted, recovering her equilibrium with impressive speed.
"He threw a missile at me B'Elanna. Not a cricket ball, a MISSILE." Tom replied sulkily. "I think I've pulled something too."
"There, there honey. How about we go back to the hotel, ease the muscles in the sonic shower before getting ready for tonight." Kathryn looked up at B'Elanna, the alcohol must have definitely gone to her head, she almost seemed sympathetic to Tom's sportsman's woes.
"...and then the Admiral can kick your ass at pool when we get to Sandrines."
Kathryn laughed at Tom's pathetic face as B'Elanna hauled him to his feet.
"We'll see you in Marseille about 9?"
Kathryn, still laughing, could only nod as she watched them out the door.
"Is it me or have you and Torres been partaking of Chateau Picard while the rest of the crew have been dodging Picard missiles for the past two hours?" Chakotay asked as Kathryn smirked at him.
"It was all for good cause." Kathryn defended although she could tell Chakotay wasn't buying it.
"It was strange really, how after a 70 odd run partnership, you and B'Elanna both got out within two balls of each other."
"Fate, Captain Chakotay. You cannot argue with the sporting gods."
"Anyone would think the legendarily competitive Kathryn Janeway had thrown her innings?" Kathryn didn't like the know-all grin on her former XO's face. "I'm starting to wonder if you've been taken over by some alien influence."
"B'Elanna needed rescuing," Kathryn confessed, "It's the first time she and Tom have left Miral overnight and I knew if I didn't get her to loosen up, Owen was probably going murder her. She called them every five minutes before the match."
Chakotay grimaced at her, they both knew that B'Elanna was a notoriously protective first-time mother, which was probably why Owen had sent Kathryn a message to do everything in her power to get her to relax. Alcohol was the only option she could think of (and cricket had bored her to tears anyway) so she had whispered 'champagne' to her former chief engineer and indicated the roof-top balcony, overlooking the ancient Lords ground where the game was being played. Apparently it was a historical marvel according to Tom. B'Elanna had readily agreed, so they took a couple of wild swings at the ball which had missed terribly, pilfered a couple of bottles and made their way to the rooftop.
"And anyway," Kathryn continued, "I thought the Enterprise crew could do with a win."
"It's been a long few months for them." Chakotay agreed
Kathryn nodded, it had been a rollercoaster of emotions for Picard and his crew recently and Kathryn had felt deeply for them. The high of Will and Deanna's wedding had been followed swiftly by the Romulan crisis and Data's death. The Rikers' departure for the Titan and Romulus had coincided with Crusher's posting to Starfleet medical, leaving Picard bereft of the majority of his senior staff for the first time in nearly 15 years.
"It's remarkable really," Kathryn began after a few minutes of silence, "To keep a senior staff intact for such a long time. I don't think anyone else has managed to do that since Kirk's time." Kathryn mused.
"We didn't do too badly." Chakotay replied.
"We didn't have much choice really, stranded 75,000 light years from home."
"Yes I suppose our only option would have been to swap Voyager for the Kazon."
"Or the Vidians." Chakotay shuddered at that and Kathryn laughed at him.
"We did meet some nice people along the way." Chakotay offered.
"Oh yes, I do seem to remember you getting up close and personal with a member of species 8472."
Chakotay looked offended, "They were big grasshoppers. I like to think that I only got up close and personal with a hologram and anyway," Chakotay gave her a look that she couldn't define, "I wasn't the only one to do that."
"Touché, Captain."
"Anyway, getting back to our original conversation," Kathryn laughed at Chakotay's redirection, "I heard rumours that a certain Head of Starfleet Medical is thinking of requesting re-assignment."
Kathryn raised her eyebrow, she'd only just received the request from Beverley Crusher that morning and had been sworn to secrecy. Crusher had wanted to surprise Jean Luc and from the looks they had been giving each other all day, her re-assignment wasn't the only thing she wanted to surprise him with.
"How did you know that?" Kathryn asked in amazement as Chakotay rolled his eyes.
"You're not the only one to know all the gossip."
"Seriously Chakotay, how?"
"I didn't until just now."
"What?"
"The Doctor had heard rumours that a vacancy was coming up, you've just confirmed it."
She threw a napkin at him, annoyed with herself for being so easy and annoyed at Chakotay for his self satisfied grin. He offered her a top-up of champagne in a gesture of peace that Kathryn was only too ready to accept before filling a glass for himself.
"So Sandrines this evening?" Chakotay asked, settling back in his chair and gazing out over the expansive grounds of Lords, a beat of sweat at his temple an indication of his cricket endeavours, which Kathryn knew better than to comment on. Neither of them were getting any younger after all.
"Yes, I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate Prixin and the Enterprise crew were looking for an excuse to all get together before shipping out next week." Kathryn replied.
"I spoke to Will earlier. He and Deanna were a little bit jealous of our plans." Chakotay said.
"I know," Kathryn sighed, "I had hoped we could have called the Titan back by now but the negotiations are at such a critical stage. I didn't dare suggest to Hayes that we haul the Titan back just so they could take part in a cricket match."
"I don't know," Chakotay laughed, "Bill Hayes is enjoying himself umpiring out there. Seems to be the type of man that would throw off a quadrant-wide peace process for the sake of a sports match."
Kathryn chuckled with him, Chakotay probably more close to the truth than he realised. All her life she had looked up to Admirals, believing them to be all wise, committed and decent. Many were, but it had shocked her to learn just how many had made Admiral without any obvious human skills whatsoever.
Kathryn had been reluctant to take the promotion initially. She had only just begun to acclimatise to being back in the alpha quadrant, her counselling sessions with Deanna had helped her to shake off the shackles of guilt she had worn for decades. To then be asked to take on the huge responsibility of the Admiralty seemed a step too far, too soon. Her mother had worried that given Kathryn's predisposition for guilt, the promotion could be a step back in her 'recovery'. Admirals had ultimate responsibility but none of the opportunity to take action. There would be no self sacrifice to the borg or a void.
So when she found herself issuing orders to Picard, which had nearly resulted in an alpha quadrant-wide disaster, she waited for the guilt to arrive. She waited for the dark cloud of depression. She waited. But it never came.
Of course she had felt bad about Data's death, she mourned the loss of such an inspirational and unique Starfleet officer and she took the responsibility for her decision as an Admiral should. But she didn't take the guilt. When she discussed this epiphany with Deanna, the counsellor, despite suffering her own grief and regrets, had smiled. She didn't have to say anything. Kathryn knew that she was not miraculously cured, but she could begin to see her command, and command decisions in a more rational light again. It had been a long time since she had been able to do that.
Kathryn looked over at her friend who was sipping champagne and watching the closing moments of the match. It looked like the Enterprise was winning. Damn thought Kathryn, I hate to lose.
Chakotay had been part of the task force at HQ when the Enterprise had met with Shinzon. He had impressed at Starfleet, leaving Owen Paris to guess at how long it would be until they offered the newly promoted Captain a further promotion. Kathryn had contacted him often, needed a sounding board after a day of heavy negotiations, which Chakotay – the master tactician – was able to provide.
Once the roadmap to peace had been signed, Kathryn had left the final negotiations in the capable hands of Captain Riker and the diplomatic team, chaired by Ambassador Spock. The Romulans had appreciated her involvement, she was largely un-tainted by the Dominion War and recent Federation scandals. Her delta quadrant heroics had not gone unnoticed by the empire and were a key component to getting them to agree to sit round the table.
"I don't know about Paris, I think you're going to have to kick Picard's ass at pool." Chakotay said, bringing Kathryn out of her reverie.
Kathryn looked down to where the Enterprise team were celebrating, Picard waving a make-shift trophy made by the Voyager and Enterprise kids up to the balcony.
"Damn right I will. I'm all for building morale but we wouldn't want them to get too cocky, would we?" Kathryn replied as she graciously waved back with her trademark half grin.
Chakotay laughed, "Right as ever Admiral."
Kathryn looked up at the chronometer, "OK, we have four hours until we are due at Sandrines. You feel like dinner before we go?"
She rolled her eyes at Chakotay's face, "Don't look so worried. You can replicate, I'll make the coffee."
After saying their goodbyes to Picard and the rest of the two crews, Kathryn and Chakotay exited the Lords ground and beamed to the Marseille transporter station a few minutes from their hotel.
"How was Will when you spoke to him?" Kathryn asked as she slipped her arm through Chakotay's.
"Pretty good. He's hoping that they will be able to wrap things up in the next few weeks. We spoke about drawing Tarek into the discussions more."
"Good idea."
"You still thinking of accompanying President Bacco out there?"
"I think Owen should go, he and Ambassador Spock have done a lot of the leg work. Tarek respects him."
"He respects you too."
Kathryn shrugged, she wasn't interested in claiming the glory for a historic pact with the Romulan Empire, she just wanted it done. The Titan had been out there long enough, she was looking forward to giving the order to bring her home.
As they entered Kathryn's hotel suite, she almost sighed in relief. The champagne had gone to her head. She headed straight to the replicator for her coffee, arching an eyebrow at Chakotay's look as she took her first sip.
"What?"
He smirked at her, "I'd love a cup. Thank you for offering."
Kathryn blushed slightly before rolling her eyes at him, "You know where the replicator is. Anyway your cream and sugar concoction might make me gag."
Chakotay laughed as he brushed past her to start replicating his own coffee and a plate of food for them both.
Minutes later, Kathryn almost inhaled her plate, hungrier than she had been expecting and looked up to see Chakotay barely containing a chuckle at her.
"That's what you get for having liquid lunch."
"It was all in a good cause."
"Looked like an excuse to drink and gossip to me," Chakotay quipped.
"I didn't say that the good cause didn't have a silver lining..."
"So what were you gossiping about anyway?"
"The Doctor." Kathryn said smugly as she took a sip of her coffee and could have sworn that Chakotay almost leaned eagerly towards her.
"The Doctor and...?" Chakotay pressed.
"Nechayev."
"No way."
"Yes."
"I don't believe you."
"Neither did B'Elanna." Kathryn chuckled at Chakotay's perplexed face.
"How do you-" Chakotay started before Kathryn interrupted.
"Its a curse Chakotay, I tell you. Which reminds me," Kathryn began before mirroring Chakotay's pose, leaning across the table. "You caught me out over Dr Crusher earlier, did you catch me out over Mike and Sekaya too?"
Kathryn was immediately suspicious when Chakotay appeared suddenly awkward.
"What do you mean?"
"At the barbecue, you said that you knew about Sekaya and Mike. But B'Elanna said earlier that you didn't have a clue."
Chakotay's tell, the awkward pulling of his earlobe, was in full force, but Kathryn's amusement at finding she had been caught out was mixed with confusion.
"I had guessed that Mike was seeing someone, but I may not have known that it was Sekaya." Chakotay admitted.
"And you accuse me of 'wheedling'?! That was sneaky Chakotay." Chakotay shrugged and Kathryn was further confused at how awkward he seemed. She replayed the conversation over in her head.
"You said you couldn't be happier for them. That for the two people closest to you or something to find each other. Who did you think Mike was dating?"
Kathryn leaned even closer to him over the table and caught his blush.. Chakotay coughed awkwardly, resolutely looking anywhere than at Kathryn.
"You didn't think it was Harry did you?" she asked, attempting to get some kind of response out of him.
It did the trick and he laughed out loud before finally looking her in the eye.
Kathryn watched as he took a deep breath.
"In my defence," he began, "You had been spending a lot of time with him."
Kathryn blinked at him.
"Me?" she asked incredulously.
=/\=
Chakotay had never felt so embarrassed and found himself wishing for a planet wide emergency so that he could escape. Kathryn was still looking at him with her eyes wide. Her mind obviously playing back the discussion, but with a whole new context to it.
He waited.
He watched as she leaned back in her chair never taking her eyes off him. He catalogued that look a long time ago. She was weighing up her options, trying to figure out how best to negotiate these murky waters.
She opened her mouth to speak but quickly changed her mind. This intrigued him, surely he should be the one that was embarrassed, but Kathryn almost seemed nervous.
"You gave your blessing." Kathryn said suddenly.
"Excuse me?" Chakotay responded, unsure of where she was going.
"Before I let slip that it was Sekaya and Mike, you gave the relationship your blessing."
Chakotay nodded, "Of course I did. Whatever makes you happy. You did the same for me."
Kathryn nodded back, again he sensed the hesitation in her, "What is it?" he pressed.
"At the barbecue, you seemed so down, so unlike how you'd been earlier in the day. I was worried that something had upset you."
Chakotay shifted in his seat, he could wave it away, say it was just memories coming to the fore brought on by being back on Trebus.
"Something had." Chakotay said simply and Kathryn nodded in apparent understanding.
"I can imagine how you felt." Kathryn said, without fanfare and their gazes locked. She was obviously talking about Seven, but they seemed to be saying a lot without saying the words. How often had their relationship been like that, how often had he resorted to ancient legends to explain his feelings?
Maybe it was time to stop.
"As much as I wanted you to be happy. I hated the fact that you had started a new relationship without telling me." Chakotay said.
"Me too." Kathryn replied, never taking her eyes off him.
"You never said anything."
"Neither did you." Kathryn countered.
"So. Can we promise to tell each other whenever we have a significant other?" Chakotay asked with a smile.
"We can," Kathryn said, "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Chakotay asked.
"Unless we don't have to."
Chakotay would have been annoyed at the way they slipped back into cryptic remarks, if he didn't immediately understand what Kathryn was saying.
"Deal." Chakotay replied and watched as Kathryn rose to go to the replicator.
"Two glasses of Chateau Picard champagne." Kathryn requested before offering a glass to Chakotay and indicating the hotel balcony. He followed, as he always did and stopped beside her mimicking her stance with two arms resting on the balcony wall, his glass dangling over the edge from his finger tips.
"Do you remember the last time we stood on a balcony like this?"
"I think I had just been dumped by a girl half my age." Chakotay said to a snort of laughter from Kathryn.
"And I felt like I had the weight of the entire galaxy on my shoulders."
"How do you feel now?" Chakotay asked softly.
"Relieved."
"Relieved about what?"
"Relieved that I've managed to breathe freely for the first time in a long time. Relieved that I no longer have the responsibility of leading a crew through the delta quadrant. Relieved we made it home. Relieved that so far everyone is happy and safe and building their lives. And I'm also relieved that you got dumped by a girl half your age."
Chakotay turned to look at her to see her smiling back at him.
"Well, I'm also relieved at all of the above too. I'm also relieved that Mike Ayala's new wife is my sister and not my Captain."
Kathryn laughed and took a sip of her champagne as she gazed at the lights of Marseille, "I'm not your Captain anymore Chakotay."
"No. No you're not." He said as he too turned to gaze at the horizon. He felt a strange weight lift off him. Almost like he had been holding his breath for the past seven years. Finally vocalising emotions he had never been able to do as honestly as he wanted to before.
He turned back to look at her, a small smile resting on her face. She looked as happy and relaxed as he had ever seen her. She turned to look at him and without fanfare leaned in to kiss him softly. He pulled back to look in her eyes and gently took the champagne glass out of her hand and placed it next to his on the wall. Her eyes followed his hands as he then turned her fully towards him to show her just how relieved he was that she was no longer his Captain.
=/\=
Although they had been to Sandrines on many occasions since their return to the alpha quadrant, Kathryn never failed to be amazed at just how completely Tom's holo programme had managed to capture the atmosphere of the quirky French bar.
If it wasn't for the Enterprise crew mingling with the local patrons and her former crew she could almost believe that she was back on Voyager.
Almost.
The fully alcoholic drink in her hand, her rather inebriated colleagues and her former first officer resting his hand surreptitiously on her thigh beneath the table made it impossible to believe that she was back on Voyager.
She and Chakotay had not discussed how they were going to start letting people know of their change in relationship, but judging by the wink that B'Elanna had given her when they had entered the bar together she had somehow already given it away. At least to those that knew her best.
"It was merely dinner Mr Paris. I fail to see the importance."
"Come on Doc! You had dinner with the ice queen, was it your protons that melted that cold exterior?"
"I think you'll find that Alynna is a most intelligent and cultured individual who wanted to discuss the merits of opera with someone on her intellectual level."
"Alynna eh?"
Kathryn laughed at the conversation between her two former crew members. It had worried her that after their return the camaraderie, the friendship and the family that they had built together over seven years, would wither away. It seemed though that in fact their return had only strengthened their bond. They were, after all, the only ones to truly appreciate what they had been through out there. And the families and friends that had been left behind had merely been added and accepted into the Voyager fold.
The new bonds that had been created, such as Mike and Sekaya and the little of bundle of joy that was coming their way in a few months, were ones to cherish. She watched Jean Luc laugh with B'Elanna and Geordi. Harry was deep in discussion with Worf and Sam Wildman's husband. She wondered briefly if letting her sister befriend Seven was a good idea, but was more than happy to watch her mother try to explain the benefits of traditional baking to Tuvok, who was listening with his reverent Vulcan patience.
As for her, it wasn't so much as a new bond being created between her and Chakotay but a deepening of one that was already there. One she was ready to fully embrace and enjoy. It would have been a mistake to enter into a relationship with Chakotay any sooner. She had needed to get her ship home, she had needed the professional support of Deanna to combat her demons. She was now able to enter into a relationship with a freedom she had never felt before.
It was liberating.
The friendships she had with people like Tom and B'Elanna had been a revelation too. On Voyager there was a deep connection, but that connection had grown significantly since their return. Kathryn supposed that no longer being solely responsible for their lives on a daily basis was a key component to that.
She had had a rather enlightening conversation with B'Elanna earlier that day. The newly minted commander had loosed her tongue as she imbibed the champagne. Giving her opinion on the 'ridiculous' relationship between Seven and the 'p'taq'. She hazarded a guess but assumed that she was talking about Chakotay.
B'Elanna admitted that she had worried about her reaction to the relationship and Kathryn realised that the rather confusing relationship she had with Chakotay on board Voyager was actually understood by the rest of the crew. She also realised that B'Elanna in particular was very perceptive and surprisingly very protective of her, particularly given her friendship with Chakotay.
She felt Chakotay squeeze her thigh and turned to see him looking at her, a grin on his face.
"You looked like you were miles away."
"Just thinking." Kathryn replied and put her hand on top of his.
"About what?" He turned his heated gaze on her and she struggled to remember anything other than the couple of hours they had spent together before getting ready to head down to Sandrines.
"Everything."
Chakotay seemed to understand, as he always did. He moved closer to her, so close that she thought that informing the crew about their relationship was not going to be a problem.
"Admiral." A voice said, and Kathryn nearly groaned, annoyed at whoever had interrupted her moment.
She looked up to see Picard, waiting patiently with a smile and nodding his head towards the pool table.
"I hear that you are supposed to, 'kick my ass' at this event?"
Kathryn grinned and stood up and looked back to Chakotay, who smiled back at her and nodded.
"Rack them up Captain. I feel I am hitting my winning streak today."
"Right you are Admiral."
Picard and the rest of Sandrines turned towards the pool table, anticipating the competition between the two famed commanding officers.
She held out her hand to Chakotay to pull him up out of his chair.
"Any suggestions Captain? A game plan?"
"An incentive maybe?"
"Go ahead."
"Tom put credits on Picard to win."
Kathryn looked at him in surprise.
"Did he now? Thank you Captain."
"My pleasure Admiral."
She took a few steps towards the pool table and looked back to see Chakotay was still standing at the table, a goofy grin on his face.
"Are you with me Chakotay?"
His grin got wider and he looked around towards the pool table before looking back and grasping her hand.
"Always."
=/\=