Chapter 13

Kathryn awoke a little after noon. The first sensation she was aware of, other than Chakotay's body warm against hers, was the unfamiliar pressure around her left ring finger. She smiled and studied the ring, so much a part of him that was now part of her, too. She lay in his arms and tilted her hand as she watched the stones sparkle in the sunlight through the windows. She felt him stir, and he opened his eyes and saw her looking at her hand. "Good morning, love," he said.

She kissed the muscles of his chest. "Good morning. Rather, afternoon. Did you sleep well?"

He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Very."

She sat up, slid off the bed and groaned. "Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

She laughed. "It seems my body is reminding me I'm too old to spend a night of passion on the ground."

He grinned at her, sat up, and groaned himself. "I think coffee and a long, hot shower are in order," he said as he rubbed his back. "I'll go make the coffee."

She went into the bathroom and started the shower, letting the warm water soothe sore muscles. She soaped the front of her body and as she was rinsing off, he stepped into the shower behind her. He let the spray fall over him for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. He picked up the soap and lathered her back, massaging his hands over her shoulders and down her spine. "Oh, that feels good," she sighed. He worked his fingertips over her back, down her buttocks, and over the muscles of her legs. When he finished his massage and helped rinse the soap off of her, she turned around and did the same for him. She stood back up, and he poured shampoo in his hand and worked it through her hair, massaging her scalp and gently freeing the tangles with his fingers. When her hair was soft and smooth in his hands, she tilted her head back under the water and he washed the suds out. He leaned into her in a long, deep kiss, then washed his own short hair as her hands roamed over his body and the tingles finished waking up his sore muscles. He turned off the water, kissed her again, and asked, "Better?"

"Mmm, much better." They dried each other off, then dressed and went to the kitchen for coffee. "We should call my mother," Kathryn said.

Chakotay grinned. "Tell her she can come back home. We aren't going to keep her away from her own house."

Kathryn laughed softly. "We should call my sister and yours, too."

He nodded as he took another long drink of his coffee. He took her hand in his and said, "We can spend all day calling whomever you want."

She gazed into his eyes. "I love you, Chakotay."

"I love you, too, hon. Now, shall we go contact your mother?"

"Chakotay, I know it would be a rush to do, but I would like to get married before our leave is up. More of the crew would be able to attend."

"Kathryn, I will gladly marry you today if you want."

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "We can work out the details over the next couple of days, but I really do want as many of the crew as possible to attend. They are our family, too."

He kissed her fingers then tugged her up from the chair and led her to the office to the computer. "Call your mother," he told her. "She has probably been waiting all night."

Kathryn grinned at him, then sat down and entered the contact for Margaret's house. When Margaret's face appeared on the screen, she yelled behind her, "Gretchen, it's them! Get in here!" They saw Gretchen's face appear a moment later, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling.

"Well?" she asked.

"I said yes," Kathryn beamed.

Gretchen and Margaret both squealed. "I'm so happy for you, honey," Gretchen said. "You two have sacrificed so much of yourselves over these last years. You deserve to be happy."

Chakotay said, "You can come home whenever you are ready, Gretchen."

She winked at him and said, "I can stay here another night."

He and Kathryn both laughed. "It's okay, Mom. Thank you for everything. I want you to come home and have a celebratory dinner with us."

"In that case, I will be there in about an hour," she said.

Kathryn ended the link then entered the contact for her sister at work. Phoebe screeched, cried, and assured them she, John, and the kids would be there the day after tomorrow. Chakotay contacted his sister and there were more tears. When it was over, he sat back in his chair with a wide grin. "Who else would you like to call?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and said, "We can send a message to all of the crew. However, we do need to let someone at Starfleet know. Why don't we call the Paris' home? Chakotay nodded to her and she put in the call. Tom's face appeared on the screen. "Captain, Commander. How is Indiana?"

"It's fine, Tom," she said. "It is nice to see my mother again. We are trying to contact your father, although you and B'Elanna and Mrs. Paris should be a part of the conversation, too."

Tom looked a bit confused but said, "Sure, I'll get them."

Soon, Admiral and Mrs. Paris sat down in front of the screen with Tom and B'Elanna behind them. "Kathryn, Chakotay, what a pleasant surprise," Owen said. "I hope all is well."

Kathryn smiled and said, "We are very well, Owen. Hello, Mrs. Paris. We will be sending a general message to all of the crew, but I felt we owed you a call professionally and personally." She glanced sideways at Chakotay and said, "We are getting married."

All four of them tried to talk over each other as they gave their congratulations. Mrs. Paris asked, "Have you set a date yet?"

"Not yet," Kathryn answered, "but we want it to be before our leave is up. We would like as many of the crew as possible to be able to attend."

"So, Old Man," B'Elanna smirked at Chakotay. "You are finally taking the plunge, huh?"

He laughed and said, "My heart took the plunge a long time ago, B'Elanna. The only difference is that now, she wouldn't throw me in the brig for asking."

"Did he at least give you a ring, Captain?" Tom asked. Kathryn held her hand up so they could see it. B'Elanna and Mrs. Paris gasped, and Tom and Owen smiled. "It's perfect!" B'Elanna said.

Admiral Paris spoke up then. "Kathryn, there was something I was going to discuss with you as it grew closer to time for you to return to duty. In light of this happy news, though, I think now may be the time. Can you switch to a secure channel?"

"Of course, Admiral," she said. Chakotay saw the squaring of her shoulders, the straightening of her spine, and marveled again at how easily she transitioned from Kathryn to Captain Janeway. He said his goodbyes and excused himself from the room as Tom, B'Elanna, and Mrs. Paris disappeared from the view screen. He waited in the den for her, curious about the conversation but knowing he couldn't ask her about it.

She emerged from the office about five minutes later looking pensive and sat beside him on the sofa. "Admiral Paris gave me permission to talk to you about our conversation, but no one else for the time being." He waited for her to continue, worry clouding his face. "It seems that the talk at Headquarters is that I will be offered a vice admiralty when my leave is over."

"Kathryn, that's great!" he said, taking her hand in his. He paused then said, "Isn't it? I mean, it is a promotion. Is that what you want?"

"I haven't thought about it. Voyager was my first command, after all, no matter how unique it was. I just assumed I had many more years to serve as a captain. Headquarters seems to feel that I have more than proven my abilities and that my experiences would be of better service from an Admiral's chair."

"What do you think? Are you ready to give up the Captain's seat?" he asked.

"I might be," she said with a nod. "After all, my command was the longest three-week mission in Starfleet history." He chuckled and squeezed her hand. "It would mean I would be on Earth much more, other than occasional diplomatic missions," she continued. "I might even be able to do some of the research experiments with the data from Delta Quadrant phenomena that I didn't have time to do before."

She looked him in the eye and said, "Admiral Paris also told me that you will probably be offered the Captain's chair." His brows furrowed and he studied her for a moment. "Have you thought about what you want to do?" she asked.

"I have a little. I'll be honest with you, I'm not thrilled with the prospect."

"Why?" she asked. "You would make a wonderful captain."

"I was a captain, in the Maquis, remember? I also had command experience during my first Starfleet enlistment before that. I don't think I want it anymore."

"What do you want?"

"I thought about trying to get a position at the Academy, or maybe pursuing archaeology." He leaned over and kissed her. "Especially if you are going to take the admiralty. I don't want to be away from you that long. I want to make a home with you, Kathryn. I know you could be sent on missions as an Admiral, and I think that's great for you. You would go stir crazy if you were stuck at Headquarters every day for the rest of your career. I just don't feel like it is for me anymore. I've spent most of my life trying to get away. Away from my heritage, away from my father and my home world, then away from Starfleet, and then came Voyager. I finally feel like I am ready to settle down."

She rested her hand on his jaw and said, "I will support you no matter what you decide. I'm sure the Academy would be thrilled to have you, and would even create a position for you if one was not available. I just want you to be sure, that's all."

He pressed her hand to his cheek and said, "Well, we don't have to decide today, right? We have time." He grabbed her, pushed her down on the cushion, and pinned her under him as she screeched. "Today, I want to concentrate on the fact that you agreed to be my wife." He muffled her protest with a long, slow kiss before raising his head and grinning at her. "Hmm," he teased. "It might be fun bedding an admiral." She laughed and tried to push him off of her, then wrapped her arms around him and darted her tongue into his mouth. They were both breathless when he finally let her up after hearing her mother's vehicle in the driveway.

Chakotay went outside to help Gretchen. He kissed her on the cheek and reached for her overnight bag. "Ooh," Gretchen said. "I'm going to like having you for a son-in-law." She kept the bag in her hand. "Thank you, Chakotay, but I've got it." He walked her up the steps and opened the door for her.

Kathryn had managed to straighten her clothes and smooth her hair before her mother came in, and she met them at the door with a grin. "Hi, Mom."

Gretchen dropped her bag and hugged Kathryn tightly. "I'm so happy for you, honey."

"Thank you," Kathryn said. "We called Phoebe, Sekaya, and Admiral Paris. We will send a message to the rest of Voyager's crew in a bit."

"That's good," Gretchen said. "How is Owen?"

Kathryn's voice had an edge to it. "He and the rest of the family are fine. They were glad to hear from us."

"I know that tone," Gretchen said. "It means he had something else up his Federation sleeve, too. I won't ask, but I hope it was good."

Kathryn just smiled softly. She knew her mother was used to not being privy to a lot of information, but even after all these years, she still hated to keep her out of the loop. Gretchen said, "Well, let me see the ring on you."

Kathryn held out her hand. "That doctor knew what he was talking about. It's a perfect fit," Gretchen said to Chakotay.

Kathryn looked at him. He smiled sheepishly and said, "I contacted Doc to get your ring size from your last medical scans."

She quirked her eyebrow and said, "Oh you did, did you?"

"Doc said if you had a problem with it, you could deal with him."

She laughed and said, "I guess we owe him a call then, too. Are things going any better for him with Medical?"

"We didn't talk about it," Chakotay said. "I contacted him from the jewelry store."

"What's wrong with the Doctor?" Gretchen asked.

Kathryn said, "Starfleet Medical can't seem to decide what to do with him because he is a Mark I hologram. Right now, he has been allowed a research lab, and he can use his mobile emitter to come and go, but Chakotay and I had to intervene to let him treat Miral when she got sick."

Gretchen's eyes hardened as she said, "Hologram or not, he kept my baby alive. If Starfleet thinks one Janeway is a force, just wait until they have to deal with two of us."

Kathryn said, "He wants to try to deal with it himself right now, but he promised to let us know if he needs us." Chakotay started to laugh at Gretchen's words, but then realized she was probably right on the mark. He knew Kathryn was fierce when protecting those she cared about, and he had a feeling Gretchen could be, too. He saw the same steeled blue eyes in her and thanked his Spirits they were not directed at him. The Janeway stare was apparently a family trait.

Kathryn and Chakotay called the Doctor and then sent out their message informing the rest of the crew of the impending wedding. By that evening, congratulations were coming in from everywhere as the news spread among Voyager's crewmen and throughout Starfleet personnel. Chakotay and Gretchen prepared a celebratory meal together and Kathryn set the table. They had been hearing the message alerts all day from the computer, but this time the tone changed to alert them to an incoming personal contact. Kathryn went to the office and activated the screen. "Captain Picard, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm well, Captain Janeway, thank you. It seems congratulations are in order to you and Commander Chakotay."

Kathryn smiled. "Thank you, Jean Luc. I see the Federation grapevine is still operating at peak efficiency."

He laughed and said, "Yes, well, I spoke with Admiral Paris earlier. I understand that you are planning the wedding for before you officially return to duty?"

"That's right. We would like to allow as many of Voyager's crew as possible to attend before everyone scatters to new assignments and duties."

"The Enterprise will be returning to earth in approximately five weeks. Kathryn, I would be honored to host a dinner for your family and your senior officers if you will allow."

Kathryn's eyes widened. "Thank you, Jean Luc. It would be a pleasure."

"Excellent. I will contact you with further details on exactly when we will arrive and the arrangements. Please give Chakotay and your mother my regards."

"I will. I look forward to hearing from you."

Kathryn ended the link and went to tell Chakotay about the dinner.

"You see," he said, kissing her. "I am not the only one who wants to make Captain Kathryn Janeway happy."

She smiled and pulled him into a hug, then sat down to celebrate with the two people she most loved in the galaxy.