Disclaimer: The characters and the Star Trek world belong to Paramount. The story is mine. Enjoy it!
The next morning, on the bridge, Commander Chakotay immediately noticed the change in the Captain. She was almost floating on air. He wondered if she had gone back to the Fair Haven program, with her Michael character. After deciding that was the most logical scenario, he went back to his work. It made him jealous to think she was spending time with someone else, even if it was just a holocharacter.
Chakotay was upset that, once again, she had not come to him. He had hoped that she would change her mind after they had left New Earth. It didn't occur to him that she would be able to last so long being away from him. It upset him, daily, to see her survive so well when he was hurting inside. He made due with enjoying their dinners together, and the occasional contact. He loved the way she put her hand on his shoulder as they solved problems together.
Her lips were curved in a silly grin all day, but she didn't notice. She found herself counting down the time until her shift was over, so that she could go back to the holodeck. Just before her shift was finally over, she got up from her command chair, saying "Commander, you have the conn". This effectively kept him from following her into her ready room today. She walked with an air of authority towards her ready room, looking to all like she was going to do some work, she hoped. When the door opened, she went through and waited to hear the door whoosh closed. She paced the room for a scant few minutes, listening for the shift to change, before she exited out the door to the hallway.
When Commander Chakotay had finally been relieved by the next shift, he walked towards the ready room. He pushed the button on the control panel to announce his presence. When there was no answer, he pushed the button on the control panel to open the door, entered the room and discovered it empty. "I wonder where she went?" he said aloud as the door whooshed closed behind him. "Computer, locate Captain Janeway" he directed.
"The Captain is in Holodeck 2", was the reply. He was curious. 'What program had she been running that she was so eager to get back to? Was she visiting Michael in Fair Haven again?' he thought. He decided to go there and see for himself.
As she entered the holodeck, she stopped rushing. She was home now. "Hello beautiful" greeted her as she entered the clearing. Her holographic Chakotay met her with a warm hug.
"I wish our cure was never found" she sighed. "I love being here with you, my love, and I never want to leave!" She kissed him, hoping that it would feel a little more like the way he really kissed. She decided to try resetting a few parameters for his contact, but didn't know just how to do it. She had been able to change Michael's physical parameters to make him more attractive, but didn't quite know how to change the Chakotay character to act like her Chakotay did on New Earth. "Computer, make the Chakotay character more loving, more attentive, and more… warm." She stated.
"Kathryn," he said grinning mischievously. "I am going to go work for a while. I'm making a surprise for you, I'll show it to you as soon as it's done." he said, winking at her. He kissed her before leaving, calling behind him "I'll see you later" as he walked out of the clearing. She knew that once he got started with a project, he lost track of all time. She figured that she had several hours to herself until she saw him again, and would miss him the whole time. But, she picked up her book and read, grateful to be truly relaxed for a change.
Meanwhile, Commander Chakotay left the ready room and headed for the holodeck. He went to his quarters first, to change into some more comfortable clothes. After seeing Kathryn's outfit the night before, Chakotay grabbed his most comfortable clothes, which were subconsciously the ones he had worn most often on New Earth. He walked as fast as he could, nervously, to the holodeck and read the name of the program she was running. 'Eden' he read. 'Could it be?' he wondered.
When the doors opened up to the familiar surroundings of New Earth, he at once realized why Kathryn was so relaxed. This place had been the most beautiful place he had ever seen, and the happiest he had ever been his life. Chakotay wondered how long she had been visiting this program, and why she had never told him about it. He walked around, gazing in wonder at the accuracy of the program.
He set out to find her and followed the path through the vegetation to the place he instinctively knew she would be, Breakfast Rock. This had been her favorite spot, and he always knew he could find her there.
After she had read a few chapters of her book, Chakotay walked back into the clearing from the well-worn path. Kathryn looked up, smiled and lovingly watched him walk towards her. She thought, 'That didn't take long. I thought he would be working all day. He must have missed me.' She had been laying on the rock, sunning herself and reading a book.
"Hello, Chakotay, I've missed you." She said. As he walked towards her, she stood up, put her book down on the rock and walked up to hug him. 'I wish I could do this with the real Chakotay' she thought, 'but there are regulations against that. For now, I'll just have to be content with a holographic one.' she sighed. The tall man folded her into his arms. His touch felt so real. 'These changes I made in his program worked out well' she noted, gladly.
Kathryn's greeting surprised Chakotay. He was confused at first and he hesitated, but quickly held her tightly to him, the way they had held each other in the past. He was surprised that she had hugged him, but decided not to spoil the mood. He kissed the top of her head, noting the fruity smell of her favorite shampoo. "You smell wonderful!" he said.
He had missed holding her like this, and was glad to see she missed him too. He had been praying to the spirits about this ever since they had been 'rescued'. 'Thank you, spirits, for bringing her back to me!' he prayed. Even his spirit guide had been telling him "Good things come to those who wait." He held her tightly, not wanting to let go of her; for fear that she would change her mind. He looked down at her face and, carefully and slowly, traced her lips with his fingers. His other arm held her tightly.
When she felt the difference in the way her holocharacter had held her, she thought he might have been her Chakotay. She soon dismissed that idea, knowing that he did not have any idea that she had been running this program. 'This is more like it' she said to herself. This improved character was behaving much more like her Chakotay. She melted into his embrace, not realizing how much she had missed his touch. His fingers, tracing her lips, had sent electrical shocks through her system.
"You smell wonderful. I've missed you so much, Kathryn!" he said. He kissed her lips, then moved to kiss her neck. While nuzzling her neck, he found that he was losing himself in her. It had been so long! He hungered for her touch, her smell, and her taste. His hands ran up and down her back, reacquainting himself with every inch of her.
"I've missed you too, Chakotay." answering truthfully, she thought. She could have sworn the hologram looked at her with the same longing in his eyes that Chakotay always had. The way he looked at her melted her, and it always had.
She half pulled him down and half melted down onto the ground, never letting go of him. She was glad that this was just a hologram, knowing she could not have done this with the real Chakotay without losing herself. She knew that if he ever found out about her program, she would have to delete it. They could not go back, Starfleet regulations wouldn't allow it. She just had to imagine this was he, and enjoy it for what it was. And with these new changes, it was wonderful!
She realized how tired she was when she woke up in his arms, and the moon was much higher above them. She quietly disentangled herself from his arms, stood up and headed for the holodeck door. Since she was so tired, she left the program running.
Chakotay had felt her getting up, and realized that they had fallen asleep together on the holodeck. He almost called after her, but she had left too quickly. He stood up and stretched, not believing how lucky he was. She still loved him, and they had just spent a night on the holodeck together! He couldn't wait until tomorrow to talk to her.
"End Program" he said, as he left the holodeck.
*Please review!