"No peeking!" Chakotay told her sternly as he led Kathryn by the hand.
"How much further?" Kathryn asked, holding a hand tightly over her eyes.
"Just a little further. A little more. Watch out for that branch. And… we're here!"
Kathryn opened her eyes and looked around. Before her, she saw, sitting in the glade outside their shelter, a wooden bathtub. "Oh my gods."
"You said you missed your bathtub."
"So you built a whole bathtub? Just for me?"
"Just for you."
Kathryn tore her gaze away from the tub and saw Chakotay's brilliant smile. Oh my gods, he has dimples, she realized. How did I miss that?
"Thank you. So much!" On impulse, she flung her arms around him and pulled him close. Oh gods, he smells good.
"I'm glad you like it." His arms came up to hold her, but he felt tense. Is that my heart pounding or his?
She stepped back and Chakotay's hand came up to tug on his ear. "Well, uh…"
"I was, uh…" Chakotay cleared his throat and began again. "I was thinking of making a rope-and-pulley system for you to get water here from the river, but I'm not confident enough in my engineering abilities for that."
"Oh, I'm sure I can take care of that."
"In the meantime I can help you haul buckets."
"Thanks. And… thank you. For this. It's… amazing."
"Like I said, I'm glad you like it." His hand came up to touch her shoulder. "And for the record, you're worth it."
He walked away, leaves crunching underfoot, leaving Kathryn alone with her gift. She ran her hands over the smooth wooden surface. Her heart fluttered with joy and she broke into a smile again at the unexpected kindness he had shown her. If she had to trapped on an isolated planet with anyone, she was glad it was with him.
Later that evening, after a lot of water-hauling, Kathryn stood in the woods near the house and disrobed in front of the tub. The water warmed her skin as she sank down into its depths. She leaned back against the side of the tub and closed her eyes in bliss.
To think that such a simple off-hand comment had led Chakotay to spend all that time building by hand such a wonderful gift for her. He was such a thoughtful man, always doing nice things for her. In the two weeks they had been living here on New Earth, she had begun to notice him going out of his way to help her.
Like the time she had tried to cook them dinner and he had come in to find her frantically poking a long stick at the beeping smoke detector on the ceiling. He had calmly turned off the alarm, recycled the charred food, and set about cleaning while cheering her up with a tale of his first less-than-successful forays into cooking. Ever since then, he had insisted on cooking their meals, leaving her to simply wash the dishes afterwards. It was the little things like that she loved about the man.
Her eyes snapped open.
Not love, love, she tried to reason. Just like, love. I mean, he's nice and kind and caring and a damn good cook and he did build this whole bathtub and all but… Dammit, I am an engaged woman! And I can't give up hope of ever seeing Mark again. I just can't. But still…
Who spends two weeks building a bathtub by hand? A person with lots of dedication, that's who. And why would he do that just for me? Unless… it's his way of showing affection. A lot of affection.
She slapped the water and winced as some of it splashed up into her eye.
Did he think of her… that way? Did she think of him that way?
She paused, unable to immediately produce an answer to her question. Her cheeks flamed with a heat hotter than the warmth of the water.
Oh.
Oh no.
