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ONE MAN'S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER MAN'S FREEDOM FIGHTER.

Chapter 25

Will you come berry picking with me commander?

Chakotay stepped inside the captain's ready room and stood to attention saying, "You asked to see me captain?" it had been many weeks since the incident with Tom, when the captain and first officer had shared time on the holographic beach. Chakotay had been there for her over the weeks and had been particularly steadfast and supportive of the difficult choice she had made the week before, he had made it clear he stood by her no matter what choice she made and that alone gave her the strength to do what she did to Tuvix. Chakotay had even openly supported her on the bridge in front of everyone and that had made her realise how much she missed him and how much she needed him. That had helped her make the decision that she would invite him to join her personally on this simple and yet possibly freeing away mission. Kathryn realised she her self hadn't got off Voyager into the fresh air of a plant since nearly eight months ago when the Kazon had captured Chakotay and a young Kazon boy had held him on a Kazon training moon, she had insisted to be part of the rescue team to beam down to rescue him. As she had been full of dread and worry for her first officer and the feeling of deep guilt for letting him go alone on the shuttle craft she had not had chance to enjoy her surroundings.

"Yes, commander" Kathryn said with a smile as she looked up but her smile quickly faded when she saw him stood too attention looking at the bulkhead above her head, Moving round to stand in front of him she said, "I was wondering if you would join me on an away mission." With her words she placed her gentle hand on his arm causing him to look down into her eyes.

For Chakotay it had been too long since he had looked deeply into those gorgeous blue eyes and he missed them just as much as he missed the woman they belonged to, "join you captain?" he asked in a slightly cracked and higher than usual voice.

"Yes Chakotay," she said still staring up at him and then with a sigh she said lovingly begging, "please, I feel like I have hardly seen you and so I was wondering if you would join myself and Ensigns Price and flemming on an away mission?"

"Are you asking?" he said mischievously as he watched her walk towards the replicator, "or making it an order?" he asked, making a slightly unfair reference the last time they were alone many weeks ago when she had gone as low as to order him not to pursue a friendship with her.

With a sigh as she had her back to him she said sadly, "I was asking." Then stood in front to the replicator she asked "tea?" as she stood still with her back to him.

"No." he said with a twinkle in his own eyes, "thank you" he was watching her back where she stood, "it wouldn't be proper for the commander to accept tea from the captain," He then went in for the kill to make his point, "it would be too much like friendship."

Hurt Kathryn turned to face him and asked, "do you want to come berry picking with me or not?"

"Berry picking?" he asked her taken aback, in his culture if a woman asks a man to came berry picking with her it was a ritual used to show the man she is looking to marry him, "captain?" he asked her sure that there was no way she could know what she had just asked.

"Yes" she told him, "Ensigns Price and flemming and I are going down onto the planet to collect some vegetation for food."

This made him smile with his dimples flashing, "hummm I don't know." He said thinking of how different cultures being so different could cause so much confusion. He wanted to laugh, his captain had no idea she had just proposed to him, one day he would tell her but now he saw her getting angry and impatient, 'just like all white people' he thought to himself with a laugh. "Of course" he said and he watched her smile broaden as she looked at him, "I would love to join you." He told her as he thought to himself, 'she might not have meant to propose to me but any away mission with her is better than being stuck minding her bridge. Besides I could look after her when I am down there.' He did worry for her greatly on away missions.

"Great we leave at 14:00 hours." She told him with a huge smile.

"Aye Captain." He said nodding and leaving her ready room feeling much more joyful than he had been before.

At 14:00 hours Chakotay walked into the trasporter room where he saw Kathryn and ensigns price and flemming stood on the trasporter station waiting for him to arrive. As he moved to take his place next to Kathryn she smiled and winked at him and said, "Energise." Before he could say or do anything and the transported beam took him.

As soon as they materialised on the beautiful scenic planet she was shouting orders, "Right I suggest we fan out," she told them looking around the green forest like planet. They were in a clearing of rich green grass surrounded by woodland all the way around. Kathryn continued her orders pointing to one section on the woodland to her right, "the commander and I will take that side, and ensigns you take that one." She finished pointing to the woodland at her left, as she began to walk off to her right with Chakotay following close behind she called out to Price and Flemming, "Keep within a fifty mile radius. Collect as much vegetation as you can find but don't eat any until we get back to voyager and are sure it's not harmful."

The captain and commander had been walking silently round the forest for nearly ten minutes, Chakotay was keeping his distance and simply enjoying watching his captain almost skip around the fresh air like a little girl. She was stopping to smell the flowers and Chakotay didn't want to stop her. For Kathryn she was content. She was walking through a forest and enjoying the company of her first officer; 'even if he is saying very little and just following me around with that silly grin on his face!' she thought to her self, 'I love being here with his this way.' It was freeing for her. Happily she wondered around the forest minding her own business and deep in thought.

"Feeling happy captain?" Chakotay's deep yet happy voice brought her from her thoughts.

With a slight startled jump she asked, "hum?"

"You were singing." He said with a smile, his dimples flashing as he climbed up the stand on the fallen log where she stood above him.

"No I wasn't" she told him with her hands on her hips and looking slightly too stern Chakotay thought for a woman who was skipping around a forest singing and now had flowers in her hair.

"Yes you were under your breath." He said as he reached up and took one of the flowers from her hair, one that she had put there absentmindedly, he gently kissed it and handed it to her.

"Maybe I like to sing commander." She told him through pursed lips snitching the flower from him hand and turning her now pink face from him. She was embarrassed, it wasn't often the ships captain get out on any missions and she had already worked out it had been eight months since she had been off voyager and they were less than happy circumstances. She wished she could spend more time in the fresh air like this. Chakotay was the only person she allowed herself to be this free with but even she hadn't meant to be this free with him.

Chakotay jumped down from the Log in front of her and looked up at her radiant beauty where she stood looking down at him, "don't stop on my account captain it was nice to hear you." He told her with a happy smile.

Sliding down and sitting on the log she looked down at the floor and then slowly she said, "commander." Chakotay could say she wanted to say more but was struggling.

"Captain?" He asked her joining her sitting on the log, where she sat still looking at the floor. Chakotay was trying to show his support and patience.

"I wanted to say I am sorry." She told him turning to face away from him.

"For what?" he asked gently resting his hand on her shoulder, and watching her waiting for her to talk.

"The last time we talked," she said with a great sigh "all that business with Tom." She could feel the tears flowing back now.

"It's forgotten my dear captain." He told her truthfully wrapping his arm around her and gently guiding her head to rest on his shoulder. "Please don't worry."

"I do worry." She whispered, "I worry about you."

"Ahh well I worry about you." He told her with a smile.

"Look at us." She said with a mixture of crying tears and laughter as she looked to where he sat at her right on the log in an unnamed forest.

"Your plan not working?" he asked looking at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"My plan?" she asked confused with tears still threatening to fall as a lump got caught in her thought, she wondered if he was referring to her plan with Tom and Tuvok all those weeks ago, the one he had just said was forgotten.

With his twinkle still in his eye he wiped the tears from her eyes and told her, "Well now you are just going to have to throw me in the brig."

"For what?" she asked almost shocked.

"This." And with that he leaned in and gently planted a kiss on her tear stained right cheek, "and this." He said as he did the same to her left cheek "oh and this." She said with a smile as he lowered his mouth to her neck.

She hadn't pulled away and for a split second had even tilted her head backwards to allow him easier access to her neck. "Commander." She mumbled seductively in that husky voice of hers as the commander buried his face in her neck.

"I am sorry ma'am." He mumbled into her neck causing her to shiver as his warm breath seductively touched her skin, "I try to follow your orders" with that she wrapped her arms around him and drew her body closer to his, "really I do" he told her as he lifted himself to move his head around the side and to the back of her neck, gently he nuzzled his lips into the back of her neck that had been exposed by her hair being held so tightly up, "but this neck of yours is just so delicious with that bun of yours." He told her as his warm breath touched the back of her neck and his lips softly touched her skin causing the ships captain to moan in desire as she tilted her head forward.

Suddenly Kathryn realised where she was and whom she was with, this was not good, she thought. She was falling for him again, she wanted him, she needed him in everyway but she was an engaged woman and a ships captain, Chakotay served under her, and not really in the way she wanted him too, this could just not be, Standing abruptly and almost running from him she said sternly, "vegetation commander." And started yanking up all kinds of plant life from all sorts of parts of the thick forest.

"Wait captain." Chakotay said as he went after her feeling suddenly dumped when he was about to go in for the kill and clam her for his own.

As Chakotay caught up with his captain and wrapped his arms seductively around her from behind and pulling her desiring needing body into his he went to slowly raise his hands up from her tiny waist to explore her tiny and yet so inviting chest held in the confines of her uniform when she quickly pulled away and said sternly, "no really vegetation commander."

Watching her closely he saw he was serious and so nodding he said "ok fine vegetation." And began to help her turf mounds of grass-like vegetation from the ground.

Later that evening Chakotay lay alone on his bed feeling a great need and desire to be with his captain, it was then that he saw his desire was not purely a physical attraction as he had thought it was. Yes she was a beautiful woman and he longed to know what she looked like underneath that uniform, he wanted to see the chest he had very nearly held tightly in his hands that afternoon. But he had come to see he loved her, for who she was, he wanted her for the person she was on the inside and not just her beauty of her outside. It was then Chakotay finally admitted to himself that he was in love with his captain, in was in love with the great Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway. Smiling deep in thought about his captain he was quickly pulled from his thoughts when his comm badge sounded.

"Sickbay to commander Chakotay." Came the doctors annoying voice.

'What the hell does he want now?' Chakotay thought to himself, annoyed the doctor had interrupted him while he was thinking of Kathryn, "Chakotay here." He growled sitting upright.

"You might want to come down here, the captain has taken ill." The doctor's voice came coolly through the comm.

"Ill?" exclaimed Chakotay standing and running towards the door, his voice was a little less cool.

"Yes commander." The doctor said coolly.

"On my way." Shouted Chakotay as he practically ran into the turbolift. Worry and dread for his Kathryn washing over him as he entered the turbolift.

As the doors shut behind him he felt an unusual dizziness over come him and he had to grab on to the rail to keep himself upright. He put it down the shock and worry for his captain as he stumbled swaying as the doors of the turbolift opened and he staggered towards sickbay.

End of chapter 25…. Chapter 26 NOW UP!…. Comments and reviews welcome…