Author's Note: There's implied off-screen sex in the middle of this chapter, so be warned if that's not your thing.
Kathryn woke slowly and stretched lazily. In the weeks since their romantic declarations, they had rearranged the internal layout of the house, moving the two beds together to make one double bed and unpacking the last of the boxes to make the place less like a shelter and more like a home.
"Sleep well?" Chakotay asked, entering the room with a steaming cup of coffee.
"How do you always get up so early?" Kathryn grumbled, wiping sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Why do you always get up so late?" Chakotay retorted with a smile.
"I get up on a normal people schedule. You get up with the roosters." Kathryn accepted the coffee and began sipping it while Chakotay sat down on the edge of the bed.
"So what are your plans for the day?" he asked.
"I just woke up. It's too early to plan."
"I was thinking we should start a garden."
"A garden?"
"Yes, grow our own fruits and vegetables. My cooking will be even better with fresh produce."
"Ooh, I'm all for that." She sat up straighter. "What shall we grow?"
"Well, I found a whole bunch of seeds in one of the boxes. Let's put them in the ground and see what comes up, huh?"
While Kathryn showered and dressed, Chakotay found the seeds and replicated the necessary tools for the task ahead of them.
"I've marked out where the garden will go, so why don't you grab that shovel and help me dig up the grass?"
"Aye aye!" Kathryn laughed, setting her a coffee cup and flask down on the ground.
The hours passed quickly as they set to work clearing the grass in their new garden bed and marking the rows and sorting the seeds. Chakotay poked holes in the soil with his fingers and Kathryn dropped several seeds into each hole and covered them up.
"There!" she said finally. "Last one done!"
"Now we wait."
"How long?"
"However long it takes."
"I hate waiting," Kathryn grumbled. "Fortunately, I don't have to."
While Chakotay watched curiously, she stuck her fingers into the soil and closed her eyes. Her hands began to glow bright golden and something under the soil shifted.
Slowly, ever so slowly, tiny seedlings began to sprout around her fingers.
"Holy shit," Chakotay whispered.
Kathryn chuckled, delighted with her work. "Not holy," she said. "Just me." She picked up the watering can and began watering the newly-sprouted plants. "I can't give them much, but I can give them just a little bit of energy at a time to help them grow."
She looked up to see Chakotay gazing at her with love and adoration in his eyes. She looked away and felt the heat rising to her cheeks.
"You have a little bit of dirt on your cheek," she heard Chakotay say.
She brushed at it then laughed. "I'm probably just making it worse."
"Yep," he chuckled. "You've also got a little bit… there." He patted her on the nose with a dirty finger, leaving a dark smudge behind.
"Hey!" They laughed together. "Well you've got some there!" She smeared her hand on his cheek. "And there!" She grabbed his shoulder. "And there! And there!"
She began to tackle him with her dirty hands, and he grabbed at her wrists, trying to stop her. They lost their balance and fell to the ground, laughing.
Suddenly, Chakotay wound his hand into Kathryn's hair and pulled her down for a kiss. She leaned into it, kissing him back passionately. She pressed her body firmly against his and felt the growing evidence of his desire.
Before she knew what was happening, she was tearing at his shirt while he pulled at her dress, both trying desperately to decrease the barriers between them.
Kathryn hit the ground as Chakotay rolled them over. She felt tugging at her panties and heard the fabric tear. She fumbled at the button on his pants. But then his hands wrapped around hers, stilling her movements.
"Kathryn, wait. Are you sure about this?" he looked concerned. "I always thought our first time would be slow and sensual, not frantic fucking in the garden."
She raised a finger and pressed it against his lips. "I'm more sure than I've ever been," she said.
His smile returned and he leaned down to kiss her once again.
Later that afternoon, Chakotay found Kathryn still by the garden, playing with the seedlings. They had grown considerably since they had been planted mere hours before, probably helped on by a few of Kathryn's energy transfers.
"How are they coming?" he asked, sitting down beside her.
"Very nicely. We should have vine-ripened Talaxian tomatoes in a couple of months, unless this planet has the equivalent of tomato bugs. Oh, they're awful."
"I would never have thought of you as a gardener."
"I grew up around farmers. My parents insisted we learn some basic gardening skills."
"Did you hate that as much as camping?"
"Of course. Who wanted to muck around in the dirt when you could be studying quantum mechanics?" she laughed. "But I find it very satisfying now, watching the seeds sprout and grow."
"They seem to be growing very quickly, considering we only planted them this morning." They laughed together. "If your tomatoes could spare you for a minute, I'd like your opinion on something in the house."
"Well, you've come to the right person," Kathryn said. "I always have an opinion."
Chakotay led her inside and activated the computer, showing her a schematic on the screen.
"What do you think?"
"A boat!" she gasped, delighted.
"You said you wanted to explore the river. I think I could build this."
"We could go on a camping trip!" she was beginning to get into the idea now.
"I'm not sure we could fit the bathtub in the boat," Chakotay pointed out.
"Well, that's all right. I'll have the river," she laughed.
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of static.
"Do you hear that?" she asked.
"Yes." He moved towards the source of the noise and picked up their comm badges off a shelf. Kathryn sank onto a chair, a sense of dread welling up inside her.
"…to Captain Janeway, do you read me?" a voice was heard calling through the comm line. "This is Tuvok calling Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay. Please respond."
Kathryn tapped the badge. "This is Janeway."
"Captain, it's good to hear your voice." Tuvok said. "We have news."
"What is it?" she asked hesitantly.
"We have medicine which we believe will effectively treat your condition. We plan to be in orbit within thirty hours."
Kathryn's eyes met Chakotay's as a myriad of emotions swirled up inside her. Sadness, hope, frustration, fear, and joy as intertwined as she and Chakotay had been mere hours ago, back when they thought they had their whole lives to be together. Together in paradise.
"Understood," she said, fighting to keep her tone level. "We'll be expecting you. Janeway out." She dropped the comm badge to the table as quickly as if it had burned her and stood up from the chair.
"Kathryn…" Chakotay began, but Kathryn cut him off.
"We have a lot of packing to do, Commander, and not a lot of time to do it in. I suggest we get started."
And she pushed past him into the bedroom.
