The next day, Chakotay looked for an opportunity to talk to Kathryn about the previous night, but had no luck. He had to see her, alone, and hoped she would go in the holodeck again with him. At the end of their shift, he tried to motion her into the ready room, but she rushed off of the bridge again today and headed for the turbolift. He took a chance and rushed onto the turbolift with her, knowing his replacement for the next shift was already on the bridge. Several other members of the Alpha shift joined them in the turbolift, so they were not able to speak in private about the previous night.
During their turbolift ride, Kathryn told Chakotay, "I can't go over the bridge reports today, Commander, I have a headache and need to see the doctor. It's not bad, but annoying enough that I just can't concentrate. I was hoping for some relief." She said, and laughed a little, "It might be caffeine withdrawal. I've been trying to cut down on the amount of my caffeine lately, doctor's orders. I am beginning to think he is doing this just to torture me!" This conversation was loud enough that some of the other occupants of the turbolift were able to hear what was said and snorted a little to think that the Captain was trying to give up her precious coffee.
She started to rub her temples. She really did have a headache, but not from lack of caffeine. On the contrary, she had been drinking entirely too much lately due to lack of sleep. She recently had been staying in the holodeck very late at night, and was drinking coffee to compensate. The doctor had found out about the extra caffeine and was troubled, he told her, but did not know why she was drinking so much. The doctor was the one to suggest she go to the holodeck more often, she wasn't about to admit to him that she was addic… hmm, no enjoying the program so much.
When the turbolift opened on the 2nd floor, Chakotay hesitated. He had no reason stay on it any longer since it had come to the officer's deck, but he wanted to talk to the Captain. When the door opened, he walked out of the lift, and wandered to his quarters. He seemed to be deep in thought. 'With Kathryn in sickbay, I can get to the holodeck before her and surprise her when she gets there!' he thought. He went into his rooms, changed into his New Earth outfit again, this time purposely, and set out for the holodeck.
When the doors opened on the 5th floor, Captain Janeway got out of the turbolift and quickly headed towards the medical bay. Listening for the doors to close; she stopped and headed back to call the turbolift again. She waited for it to take her to back to deck 2, so she could change. She then intended to go back to deck 6, where the holodeck was located. The headache, she knew, would be gone as soon as she got back to New Earth. 'The headache is probably withdrawal from New Earth!' she chuckled.
Chakotay had indeed gotten to the holodeck before Kathryn did. "Computer, begin Eden program" he directed. When the holodeck doors opened on New Earth again, he sighed happily. He decided to tour the program more, starting with their house. As he walked slowly along the familiar path, it brought back many wonderful memories with its familiar sights, sounds and smells. He soon found himself at the clearing where they had made their home, and realized that he had a grin on his face. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, and the chimney was smoking. That smell had always made him hungry.
When he entered the house, he looked around and saw that it was exactly like he remembered it. There was not a thing out of place. She had remembered well what the place looked like! 'Good, so she hasn't forgotten anything! I was afraid she had put our past totally behind her. I see she missed it as much as I did!' he thought, glad to see she remembered every detail, like he did.
He walked through the kitchen, looking at the table and chair set he had carved with his own hands, to the living room and finally to the bedroom. Taking in the familiar sights that he thought would only give him pain to remember; he found pleasant feelings and vivid memories. He picked up the dishes and inspected them, as well as a holo of the two of them together at the pond. He ran his fingers along the sheets of their bed as if to call back the memories: he noticed that the sheets even felt the same. He decided that he had to leave that room quickly. It brought back too many memories that he wasn't quite ready for, yet. He wasn't sure where Kathryn was allowing their relationship to go this time, and he didn't want to open himself up too much. He didn't want to be hurt again, but was grateful for whatever she was going to allow herself to open up to. Taking one last look around their cabin, he set out to make her a surprise.
He heard hammering from the direction of his work area as he was walking down the path towards Breakfast Rock. He decided to change his course, to see what the noise was. He wondered if Kathryn had come onto the holodeck while he was in the house. He followed the path towards the growing sounds of the hammer. He slowed down as he got near the work area, not wanting to scare Kathryn.
He was surprised to see himself standing over a log, hammering it to a bent piece of wood. It looked like he was building the boat he had promised to make Kathryn. She had wanted to sail a boat on the nearby river, to see what the rest of their home planet looked like. They were rescued before he could make it. But, here before him, he was making it; or at least a hologram of him was making it.
He couldn't believe that Kathryn had gone through all of the work of creating this place, and not have him share it with her. Why had she made a hologram of him? A hologram couldn't love her the way he did. She was fooling herself thinking that she could recreate his love for her. He was again upset that she wouldn't come to him and share this wonderful re-creation of their home, for that is always what he would call this place.
Chakotay decided to take action. "Computer, delete Chakotay character." He commanded.
As he watched his likeness shimmer away, he decided to show Kathryn just what she was missing. No hologram could possibly love her, and he couldn't stand the thought of her loving, mentally or physically, any one but him. He walked through the woods, collecting flowers and brought them to Breakfast Rock, and covered the rock with the petals. He had often done that on the planet, saying that she deserved only the best. He then went back to his workshop area and started on his work.
Kathryn had finally gotten onto the turbolift, up to her quarters and changed her clothes. She had no intention of going to sick bay, but had to say something so that Chakotay wouldn't follow her. She was beginning to think that he was suspecting something, especially the way he jumped forward to get on the turbolift with her. As she walked down the hallway towards the holodeck, she let her hair down and ran her fingers through her hair. He had always liked this hairstyle, down and flowing, and she loved the way it felt when he ran his fingers through her hair. When she got to the holodeck control panel, she was startled to see that the program was already running.
"I must have left it running last night, I was half-asleep when I left." she said to herself as the door opened. She kicked her shoes off just inside the door, and carried them. She had her book in one hand, and her shoes in the other. She smelled the smoke from the chimney, and walked to their home. As she walked into the kitchen, she knew Chakotay had been there earlier because the house smelled of him once again.
'These modifications are great. Its almost like I was really there!' she mused. She put the teakettle over the flames in the fireplace, and waited for it to scream. She then grabbed a mug; some tea leaves, and poured the boiling water to make her favorite tea. She preferred coffee most of the time, but occasionally she needed chamomile tea to relax her.
She took her mug and walked from the house towards Breakfast Rock. When she heard the hammering noise coming from his work area, she crept over to peek at Chakotay at work. She loved how he was always making her things, and loved watching him work. He had removed his shirt and was sweating with the effort of cutting more pieces of wood. 'He must be making the boat' she thought, 'I always did want to ride in it!' She tread softly back on her original course towards the pond. She felt like taking a swim since it was such a nice day.
When she entered the clearing, she noticed that there were flower petals covering the rock. 'Oh, how sweet! I must have mentioned this in a log somewhere, I did tell the program to search the database and logs for references to New Earth, so it could be more authentic, but I don't remember putting this in my logs!' She walked up to the rock and picked up a few of the petals. "They smell so real!" she observed.
"Computer, privacy lock." Kathryn jumped on the rock and removed her clothes, preparing for her swim. The flower petals on the rock kept her from getting scratched, and felt so soft against her skin. She walked towards the pond and waded in until she could swim. She swam several laps to get some exercise; it felt good to be in her pond again!
Chakotay was getting hot and sweaty working with the wood. His hands were also beginning to blister from using the saw, he noted, but it felt good to build again, especially for Kathryn. He looked down and noticed that he was covered in sweat, so headed for the pond to cool off. He knew of a path that went straight from his work area to the opposite end of the pond from Breakfast Rock that he used for occasions like this. He followed this path, and slid out of his sweaty pants and rinsed them out in the water, hanging them on a nearby tree to dry. When he got into the edge of the pond, he noticed Kathryn swimming, and decided to join her. He slid noiselessly into the water, and silently swam the breaststroke towards her. He snuck up behind her, gratified to see he could still do so in the water, and put his hands over her eyes.
"Guess who?" he teased; now knowing that she thought he was her holocharacter.
"Hmm, " she said, "I wonder who this could be? Since the privacy lock is on, it must be…" she teased. She turned around quickly in the water, so that his hands were behind her head now, and she was in his arms. "The only person who belongs with me here!" she answered, and kissed him to punctuate the end of the sentence. "Hello there!" she said, after they kissed.
He studied her, noticing that she was also swimming naked. He smiled and teased, "Wow, what a greeting! I see you knew I was coming and dressed for the occasion!"
"Yes, love." She answered. "But I honestly didn't think you'd come and swim today. You looked so hard at work when I peeked in at you at your workshop, I thought I'd take a quick swim and then read my book for awhile, before going back to the house." Her eyes twinkled at him as she spoke, reflecting the sunlight on the water behind him. "I would have stopped to say hello, but you looked quite engrossed in you're… project."
"Well, you should have said something! I would have stopped working for you!"
She knew this, but also knew she needed some time alone, to relax. This swim was just what her body required; swimming the laps had tired her out, and floating had recuperated her spirits and her strength. She was feeling wonderful at the moment, especially with Chakotay with her. She watched him study her body, surprised that she didn't feel self-conscious. It just felt right. She swam closer, brushing up against him, pleased to note that his eyes were riveted on her. He was caressing her with his eyes, but she wanted more…
Kathryn took Chakotay's hands and placed them on her breasts, while wrapping her arms around him. She was aching for his touch, and was pleased to see he was perfectly willing to help her.
He was subconsciously interested in seeing how she was acting with her hologram: for she still thought him part of her program. Consciously, though, he was aroused, lost in the passion.
They re-familiarized themselves with each other's bodies, and memories quickly returned for which areas to concentrate on to provide the most pleasure. They bobbed in the water, entwined, until both were sated.
Once they had lost their urgent need, they floated together in the water, still interlocked. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Kathryn, you are so beautiful."
"You're gorgeous yourself!" she said with a grin, and kissed the tip of his nose.
"I don't know why we denied ourselves for so long." He whispered to her.
"You know well, though, Starfleet regulations on that issue." And started to stiffen up, captain style. This hologram certainly was sounding authentic. They had arguments about this topic often.
"Whoa, at ease, Captain!" he laughed, and began to massage her neck, then other areas, again starting to feel playful.
"Chakotay, I can't spend all night here again. I've not been myself on the bridge, and I think others are beginning to notice. I need sleep!" she said, laughing, through his kisses.
"So, let's go to bed!" he answered, pulling her back towards shore.
She dove underneath the surface of the water, and came back up next to him, hands trailing all the way up the inside of his leg. "I'd love to, Chakotay, but I really need sleep, not just being in bed!" and laughed at the response his body had to her fleeting touch. "I certainly would rather be in bed though!" and laughed. "I'll come back tomorrow after my shift, and we can spend all afternoon together, as long as you will put away your tools and spend time with me!"
"Of course, Captain." He smiled with dimples in his cheeks. "I'll be here when you come back." He said, sincerely.
"I really hate to leave, but I have to…"She kissed him again, pulling her clothes back on, watching him dress as well. She finished and walked towards the holodeck door, calling back over her shoulder "Goodnight my love!"
"Computer, end program." She said, and left the holodeck without looking back.
Had she looked behind her, she would have seen Commander Chakotay putting his shirt on with a smile on his face. 'Well, I had a wonderful afternoon and evening, but how am I going to tell Kathryn that she was actually with me tonight, and not her hologram!' he wondered, but not worried about the answer. I'll just make sure to get to the holodeck tomorrow, and set things up…