*Coffee*
Sleep was good, decided Kathryn Janeway, as she lay buried in her soft warm covers. Not at all the energy consuming, time wasting villain she thought it was. She'd have to apologize to the doctor, a captain should realize that a physician really does know what's best. That comment about his holographic head being "hollow" was quite uncalled for. But at the current time, Kathryn was too busy basking in his prescribed remedy to move.
And then the chime rang. The red headed captain sighed and raised herself from her place of slumber, wandering lazily into the outer region of her quarters.
"Come in," she called, not bothering to ask who it was. She already knew. There was only one person on the ship who would come to her quarters at this time.
"Good morning commander." She called to him from where she leaned over the replicator.
"Feeling psychic, are we?" He answered, noting that she had yet to see who had entered her room.
"No," laughed Kathryn, pulling away from the machine with a cup of coffee. "You're just the only one who would have the gall to interupt my beauty sleep."
The XO raised an eyebrow. "Kathryn? Sleeping? Now there's something I thought I'd never hear. What brought about this sudden change in habit?"
"Hmm." She sat on her couch and took a sip. "It's hard to tell. I think it was probably...the doctor's order."
"I thought he was just advising you to rest."
"You left our little meeting too early, Commander. He pulled rank on me." The commander winced at that thought.
"I think I'm glad I did leave. I'm sure there were some comments that my virgin ears couldn't handle." They both chuckled.
"Well, he won and now I owe him an apology. I haven't felt this rested since..." She let her words stop, knowing they both knew exactly when the last time she had felt that rested. That particular subject was taboo.
"So why the drug?" He asked, trying to lighten up the conversation again.
A grin crept across her face. "You don't expect me to give up such a long, lasting, committed relationship because of a one night stand do you?"
"I don't know...sometimes it's best to risk it all on what feels right." The deeper meaning in his words were not lost on her and they both averted their eyes. He was mentally kicking himself for letting the words slip out and she was trying to find the words to respond.
Damn, she thought. Their conversation had traveled toward that forbidden path
too many times for a typical morning conversation. Finally she took a breathe and spoke.
"Maybe I just need a little more time to make absolutely sure I can make this whole sleeping thing work before I give up the stability that coffee gives."
He nodded and the subject of *coffee* was closed. They sat in silence for a moment before the commander remembered why he was there.
"Oh...Kathryn. Before I forget again, I came to invite you to lunch."
"Sounds good. Your place, mine, or the mess hall?"
"None of the above." Kathryn narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not eating in a jefferies tube."
The commander laughed loudly, his dimples in full force. "Actually I was thinking along the lines of a small M-class planet, one that the ship happens to be hovering above." Of course. Today was her day for shoreleave on the little planet they'd been collecting fruit from.
"In that case, I'll see you in a few hours, Commander."
"I can't wait," he said, rising and heading towards the door. They slid open and he started to walk through but paused halfway. "Oh, and Kathryn?"
"Yes Commander?"
"Today at lunch, I'm just Chakotay." They shared a smile before he left.
*************************************
"Doctor?" Captain Janeway called, poking her head to see if he was in his office. He wasn't. She sighed.
"Computer, locate EMH."
"The EMH is not currently running." So the doctor practices what he preaches, she thought, slightly amused.
"Computer start EMH." Seconds later, the balding man stood in front of her.
"Please state the nature of the medic...Oh, it's you." He turned and picked up a tricorder. "Have you found some loophole to avoid following my orders or are you just here to practice using your colorful vocabulary?" Janeway bowed her head.
"I came to apologize. I was way out of line, yesterday."
"Yes you were."
"And I am so thankful that I have such wonderful doctor. You know not only is he the most brilliant, talented man I know, he's also the most forgiving." Their eyes met and it was his turn to sigh, admitting defeat.
"I am equally thankful for you and this crew, Captain." He waited for her to go but she didn't move. "Was there something else?" She still didn't look at him but after a moment, her voice was heard.
"Yes there was. Do you really think that giving up coffee would be good for me?"
"I'm certain of it. Especially since you insist on drinking it filled with
caffine."
Her voice was softer. "But I've become so reliable on it. What if I can't adjust to the change? What if it affects my ability to lead this crew."
The doctor suspected that she was talking about something other than coffee. "Change is always a challenge Captain. But challenges also strengthen our character. Maybe it is time you became dependent on something other than a beverage."
"Thank you Doctor."
*******************************************
She was in the transporter room, ready to beam down to the site the commander (no, Chakotay, she told herself) had left. Bottle of wine in hand, she signaled the ensign on duty to transport her. There was a familar tingle and the scenery changed.
She gasped at the site before her. It was a lush jungle, with tall green trees covered in moss. The ground before her was green and filled with plants. Somewhere above her head, a bird chiped loudly.
"Chakotay, where are you?"
"Right here." She jumped at the sound of his voice, closer than she thought. He was behind her, holding a basket and a blanket. "Come on," he called, leading her through the trees.
"Where are we going?" He looked at her, mischief in his eyes.
"It's a secret." Suddenly he stopped in front of a very, very big tree. "Here we are,"
"Wow. That's a big tree."
"Follow me." Together, they made their way inside of the bark, revealing a large cavern within the truck. Chakotay set down the blanket and began unpacking the contents of his basket.
"So what's for lunch?"
"Your choice. Cataline Pasta or Dediug Salad."
"I'll take the pasta." He set it before her and the gentle aroma filled the air around her.
"This smells so good." Chakotay just grinned. "Oooh and it tastes wonderful. I knew there was a reason you were my first officer."
"And here I thought it was just because of my good looks." She studied him for a minute.
"No, that was just a bonus."
"How about my irresistable charm?"
"Just another perk for me." They laughed together, completely comfortable with one another.
Half an hour later, they sat, leaning against the tree. It was a wonderful lunch but Kathryn was just a little bit dissapointed. When she finally had something new to say about that old taboo, it never came up!
Oh well, she thought, as long as she was planning on throwing protocol to the wind, she might as well do it right. Picking up the bottle of wine, she turned to her friend.
"Would you like some wine?" She asked, smiling innocently. Too innocently for Chakotay to not notice something was going on.
"I'd love some." After they were both holding a glass (well, okay, it was a very sturdy cup shaped leaf since she had forgotten the glasses), he asked if there was an occasion. Holding up her glass, Kathryn offered a toast.
"To considerably cutting back on my coffee intake." He looked at her sharply, trying to anaylze her meaning.
"You're giving up coffee?" She smiled a little bigger.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm cutting back."
"How much," he prayed he wasn't reading too much into her words because his voice already sounded huskier than normal.
She leaned forward as if to tell him a secret. "This much." And she closed the gap bewteen them, covering his lips with her own. He responded immediately, pulling her closer as one hand went around her waist and the other into her auburn hair. When he finally was forced to pull away or suffer brain damage from the lack of oxygen, he whispered in her ear.
"First you're sleeping now this. What is happeningto you?" She shrugged.
"Someone once told me I should risk it all on something that felt right."
"I could kiss that man." She giggled.
"Here, I'll do it for you." They shared another heartfelt kiss. Then, he said, "It's a good thing you gave up coffe. Otherwise you'd probably have used all of my rations."
"Chakotay?" She said sweetly.
"Yes?"
"I'm sure you've grasped the metaphor by now, but you don't think I'm going to give up coffee, literaly, do you? Can you imagine what would happen if I did?"
"Heaven forbid we get attacked by the brog while you're waking up to your morning tea."
"Exactly."
Fin