Chapter Five
Kathryn decided to wear a blue dress. It was about five in the evening when she heard the doorbell. She came flying down the stairs. Her mother had already approached the door but she stopped and waited for her daughter. When she opened it he was standing there with flowers in his hands. Both women ushered him in.
Kathryn put her hands out and said thank you.
Chakotay pulled them back. "They are not for you." He leaned sideways and presented them to Gretchen. "They are for your mother."
"Thank you Chakotay. They are beautiful and very unique."
"They originate in Ireland. Anyone, who has had to deal with her stubborn Irish temper," he inclined his head in Kathryn's direction, "for four months deserves them." Then he reached down into his bag and pulled something out. "This is for you." He handed Kathryn a box. She opened it and inside she found a leather bound copy of a book by Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice."
She took it out slowly. "I love this story."
"I know."
"What's it about?" Gretchen asked.
"A woman who speaks her mind at all costs. One who is beautiful yet strong and who against all convention holds out and marries for love."
Kathryn looks at him in surprise. "You read it!"
"Three years ago when you first told me how much you admired the character of Elizabeth Bennett."
Kathryn was moved beyond words. She needed to do something quickly or she would cry right on the spot. She suggested that they get him settled in his room. So she led the way to Phoebe's old bedroom. Chakotay followed with Gretchen behind him. 'I believe that I am going to like this man,' Gretchen thought. With that she decided to add a little fuel to the fire. "And you're right Katie it does not do him justice."
As Kathryn turned around to glare at her mother Chakotay raised a single eyebrow and caught her gaze. While they approached Phoebe's room Gretchen left them alone on the pretense of getting towels.
Together they put down his bags. Kathryn showed him where the closest and dressers were and then explained how to get to the bathroom. "I hope you can be comfortable here. It's Phoebe's old room." She looked around a little and realized it looked pretty much the same as it had when they were teen-agers. "I'm sorry if it is a little 'young'"
He turned around from the bed where he had begun to layout his things. In a quick glance he understood her perfectly. "I have slept in much worse." An awkward silence permeated the air. In the hallway Gretchen had been observing them. Her heart went out to her daughter. She was struggling with herself to keep calm and Gretchen knew Chakotay was doing the same. You could feel the raw emotion in the air. She walked into the room and announced that dinner would be in a half-hour. Chakotay looked at her without missing a beat. "Who is cooking?" Gretchen was surprised by his question but told him that she would be cooking. "In that case I'll be there." Immediately Gretchen understood and laughed a hearty laugh. Kathryn just punched him in the arm.
Her mother went down to the kitchen leaving them alone. For years they had been comfortable in their silence but now it was awkward. Bridging the physical distance between them Chakotay stood facing her and placed both of his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. They both had so much to say to each other but neither was ready to speak. He leaned down and brushed his lips across her far head. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. For that second she felt like all was right with the world. They both stood enjoying the sensation that they both feared they had lost forever. Kathryn broke the contact first by stepping away from him. She wanted to say all the things she had never said before. She was tempted to let all the emotions flow out of her but she knew she had to wait. They had five days before the wedding and she wanted to get it right. She had done things all wrong for years! This time she had five days to make it right. "Why don't you clean up. I'll meet you in the kitchen."
Kathryn took a few moments to compose herself. Feeling his arms around her had affected her more than she expected. Although he had held her before it never felt like this did. That was because she had always spend that time in arms thinking about why she should push him away, now she was only thinking about holding on, forever. When she entered the kitchen. Her mother was diligently stirring something so she took to setting the table. "Katie you are correct. He is simply gorgeous. You never told me about the tattoo. It kind of makes him look exotic."
Kathryn just smiled as she set the glasses down. As if on cue Chakotay entered on the tale end of her mother's comment.
In an attempt to cover for herself Gretchen spoke quickly fumbling over her words. "Kathryn told me that you are a vegetarian. I made pasta primavera. I hope that will be okay. The vegetables were originally from my garden and the sauce is homemade."
He walked over to the table in the center of the room and began to help Kathryn with the table. "As long as one of the vegetables is not leola root I am sure it will be great."
"Leola root? I don't know what that is."
"Trust me mom you don't want to know." She and Chakotay shared a smiled.
"You two sit down. I'll serve the dinner. Chakotay you pour the wine. Katie you… well, Katie you just sit there."
Chakotay laughed out loud. As they settled down to eat Gretchen spoke up. "Chakotay I don't think you were a very good first officer."
Kathryn gaped at her mother.
Chakotay was used to dealing with one Janeway woman so he decided to play along. He knew this conversation was going somewhere. He just wasn't sure where. "And why is that Gretchen?"
"Isn't it a first officer supposed to look after the captain."
"Yes."
Afraid of where her mother was leading Kathryn broke in. "Mother, Chakotay is not to blame for any thing that happened to me in the Delta Quadrant. In fact he saved me from harm more times than I can count!"
Gretchen simply ignored her daughter. "Tell me, did she every eat when you were out there?"
A grin spread slowing across his face. Gretchen would be lying if she said she wasn't dazzled by it. "She ate when I forced her. If I didn't bring her food or take her to the mess hall she would not have eaten. There were many times when I took my life in my hands just suggesting that she eat. You know her 'I'll just have coffee'. So the way I see it, I was a great first officer. Without me she would have withered away to nothing!"
"Well, I guess I owe you one then."
"You probably owe me more than one! I'll think of some way for you to repay me." With that he gave her a quick little wink.
Gretchen could easily understand how this man scared Katie so. He was an incredible flirt and handsome as the devil. "So tell me how was it working for Kathryn?" She had already heard many stories from Katie. Now she wanted to get his point of view.
That question caught her off guard and Chakotay choked a little on his wine and started to cough. After regaining his composure he thought of all the stories he could tell Gretchen. Some would make her laugh but many would make her cry. How would a mother feel knowing the details of some of the incidents her daughter had been involved in? He decided that humor was the best medicine for situation. "That is a loaded question! If I tell the truth Kathryn may kill me and if I lie you may kill me!"
"You are a very perceptive man, Chakotay."
Kathryn looked at him and smiled the sweetest phony smile she could muster. "If I didn't kill you in seven years I think you are safe."
He immediately read the message in her eyes. She was telling him to be careful what he said to her mother. As much as the crew had been through on Voyager the people back home suffered worse. Just as she had always protected her crew now she was protecting her mother. "It was interesting working for Kathryn to say the least. I guess she told you how we came to work together."
Gretchen nodded her head. He continued to sip his wine and eat. Between bites he told her a lot of stories. Many of them were the same ones her daughter had already told her. It was interesting to hear his point of view. It was obvious that he and Katie clashed a lot. It was also evident that she brought out very strong feelings in him. Gretchen began to form her own opinion of Chakotay. She saw him as a man of strong principles with a fierce love of family. It was not lost on her that that devotion probably saved her daughter's life more than once. As he spoke Gretchen watched her daughter. She seemed to be reliving some of the events through his words. She also noticed something else that she found very interesting. They seemed to be having an entirely different conversation with their eyes, each understanding the other. All of sudden Chakotay began to laugh.
"You should have been there the first time Kathryn joined us in Sandrines."
Now Kathryn was laughing also.
"What, may I ask is Sandrines?"
"It was a program on the holodeck created by Tom Paris. It was a replica of a bar that Tom knew in Marseilles."
Gretchen's face light up. "I knew it sounded familiar."
Kathryn was astonished. "How do you know Sandrines mother?"
"Your father and I went there frequently when he made trips to the academy in France. If I remember correctly they have a very nice pool table."
Chakotay looked at Kathryn. "I thought you said that you took after your father."
"I do"
"She does." They both answered.
"I don't know. From where I sit you seem pretty much alike."
They both made a sound similar to a snort. "Go on with your story."
"This was very early in our journey. For a few weeks most of the crew had been going to have a few drinks and play pool after their shifts ended but the Captain never joined us."
"You make it sound like s crime! You know very well that I was trying to allow the crew a place of their own where they would not have to be intimidated by me."
"You certainly were intimidating that night!" He turned to face Gretchen. His dimples showing as he spoke. "She walked in with Harry. I had been playing Tom and beating him easily. Looking back I think he was trying to set me up for the big hustle. Anyway, Kathryn approached the table and asked if it was billiards or pool."
Her mother was grinning from ear to ear and shaking her head in disgust. "You all fell for that?"
"Oh, it gets better. She asked if she could play and Tom's eyes lit up. Then she looked at me and said and I quote, Commander Chakotay your stick."
"Katie you didn't?" They both were laughing now.
Kathryn tried to speak in her own defense but Chakotay cut her off. "Yes, she did! Then I naively said it is called a cue. Needless to say I was deceived. She took the cue, broke, and promptly sank four balls. She looked at me in all innocence and said solids!" Everyone at the table was laughing even Kathryn. "I don't think she lost a match the entire trip."
"You forget. I lost one." Kathryn was telling him something Gretchen knew it. She just didn't know what.
"I'll never forget." His eyes locked with hers as they shared an embrace without touching.
Deciding that they needed time alone Gretchen stood up and began to clear the table. When Chakotay picked up some dishes she stopped him. "No, I'll clean up. I insist! Why don't you and Katie go for a walk? It is a beautiful night. When you get back we'll have some desert." They both looked a little reluctant. Neither comfortable with each other yet. "Go, go!" Gretchen shooed them out of the kitchen leaving them no choice. They both grabbed a jacket and headed out into the Indiana night air.
