AN: In all honesty, I have to say that I enjoyed writing this chapter. This time it wasn't a burden or something that needed to be done... no this time it was fun... like throwing stones at a cop car or taking a dollar under the table from a friend and not counting it as revenue just to screw the government out of a buck... this was fun. The coolest part was this chapter took a while but turned out well, because I'm a movie kind of girl. I'm the lazy type LOL, yet I still keep posting chapters, but that's only because I really don't know the end of the story. It's like I keep pausing the DVD lol. I get an idea from the chapter selection but haven't gotten far enough to really comprehend. Just for the record I wanted everyone to know that I was in between lazy, busy, and tired the past however days. So i apologize lol.

AN2: to all those people with story ideas... WRITE... I'm sick and tired of coming on to the site and not finding anything there man, its like this... STV use to have 4 or more new stories and chapter updates a day. Now its slow as hell... so get out there and stop being lazy like me and write LOL

alright with out further ado...

She stood on the dock looking out over the horizon. In her hand she held the empty mug of coffee in her hands. Freeing one of her hands she ran it through her hair and sighed. She would be ready to talk to him when he woke up. At least that was what she told herself two hours ago, and she still wasn't ready. Not to mention the fact that she didn't even believe what she had said to herself in the first place.

"He's going to wake up sometime." She whispered aloud. Hopefully she could buy some time, he had to shower and at least grab something to eat or drink. She shook her head. She knew Chakotay better than that. It didn't take him long to shower and he would come look for her before he ate. So until then it would be the sailboat, her thoughts, and the waves. Already it was way too crowded. She caught a glimpse of the sailboat. When she had first came out, she readied it for sailing. It reminded her of her father and their sailing trips. When she was old enough he use to tell her to 'prepare the ship for take off' by herself. It seemed as childish then as it does now, but it still made he feel special. After awhile she was perfect at rigging the sail and everything else she attempted to master. As she got older daddy didn't have to correct her anymore. Equal playing fields he called it, she knew as much as he did. To this day she didn't believe it. She would never know as much as her father and she fathomed that was the way she would like it. She gripped the travelers' mug tighter. He had always called her his special little girl... Kathryn smiled at the thought. He always knew how to make her smile, even after death. She took a deep breath, she had always wanted to make a child feel the same way she felt about her father. She wanted to be someone's hero, someone's necessity all the while feeling the same about him or her. To sum it up she wanted a child of her own. She shook her head at the thought, it was too late in more ways that one. The funny part was she wanted one now, not before voyager, tethered to someone she didn't love, and as sure as hell not on voyager, when she wouldn't be able to share her heart with anyone but the ship.

"All the wrong times…" she whispered,

"All the wrong places, but never the wrong people," She finished. Her attention was stolen from her focus on the mug and her whitening knuckles and given to a sound in the distance. It was Chakotay making his way up the dock wearing a red button down shirt and a pair of jeans. Kathryn smirked, at least he wore shoes this time, the deck they were on wasn't as short as the other one and the fog wasn't always happy to see you. Besides the deck was real wood, real wood molds and gets slippery. Kathryn managed to release her death grip on the mug and waved at him. With all the fog around she could barely see him smile, but she saw it.

"Never the wrong people…" she repeated softly. Laughing she felt Chakotay make his way behind her. When he reached his arms around his waist she smiled contently and rested her head on his chest as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Good morning Kathryn, or should I say good afternoon." Staring straight up at him, she replied.

"Good afternoon would suffice." Chakotay laughed.

"Good afternoon then." He whispered into her shoulder. She shivered as she felt the vibration running through her body. His voice was deep rich and booming even when it was soft. It was just another wonderful quality to fall in love with.

"Good afternoon to you too." She whispered back, relaxing deeper into his hold and sighing.

"Are we ever going to go sailing?" She asked playfully. Kathryn felt a soft rumble in his chest.

"I don't know. I'm actually quiet content right here." Kathryn laughed.

"Really?" she asked softly. Chakotay tightened his grip.

"Really…." Chakotay whispered. There was a silent pause as they both enjoyed the lost feeling of being in someone's arms. After a few minutes Chakotay spoke.

"You know, we really do have to go sailing eventually." Kathryn nodded.

"Eventually, which means sooner or later. We can always pick the later…" Chakotay brought his lips behind her ears.

"I must say, you make an appealing case, but I do believe I've been waiting to go sailing on lake George for a very long time now." Kathryn quivered; his breath tickled her skin. She took the time to get in a steady breath.

"Alright then… let's go sailing." Chakotay reluctantly let go and Kathryn stood with the same feeling. Chakotay didn't walk behind her, but beside her. He took her hand in his with a tight grip and walked with her to the end of the misty deck. Due to usual habit Chakotay offered Kathryn a hand into the boat. Strangely enough Kathryn accepted and sat down in the boat. Chakotay smiled and stepped off the dock into the sailboat. Instinctively Chakotay reached for the rope and untied it. Subsequently he sat beside her and got situated. Watching with interest, he saw Kathryn pull her longer hair back into a ponytail. Noticing she smiled.

"Can't have my hair in my face, now can I?" Chakotay shook his head and grinned.

"No, you can't." Still smiling Kathryn untangled the sail and pushed off the dock. After urging it forward, the boat caught a current in the water and skimmed across it with the extra help of the wind. For a while the two stared at each other silently. The first one to break the silence was Chakotay. Chuckling he began to speak.

"You would have thought that after all these years and technological advancements, there would be a sail boat with some kind of power source besides the wind." Kathryn grinned.

"I assure you, there are plenty, but lets just say my mother is an environmentalist. She always told me if you're going to use Mother Nature use it in its entirety and leave it like you were never there." Chakotay laughed.

"Are you sure your mother isn't from my tribe? She sure sounds like someone I'd like to speak with." Kathryn smiled.

"Well one day you'll meet her, that is, face to face. I don't think the vid's count. There's always more than meets the eye." Chakotay nodded in agreement.

"There sure is Kathryn… there sure is." Resting her chin on her knees Kathryn spoke again.

"So, tell me Chakotay. What do you think of it here? I mean compared to the holodeck and all." Chakotay ran a free hand through his hair before leaning against the inside of the boat.

"It looks exactly the same, yet it feels a lot different. I find myself paying more attention to the scenery. Things like the birds, and the flowers…you…" Being caught off guard, Kathryn's head snapped up. She saw excitement and playfulness dancing like a strange kind of fire in his eyes. She also saw something else… was it content? Scared to move she continued to watch and wait for him to say something. After a few seconds Chakotay shifted uneasily. What Kathryn named as content soon disappeared and turned into fear, and doubt as he began to speak.

"I've found myself paying a lot more attention to you…" he said softly.

"And I was just wondering if, if you. I don't know, have found yourself doing the same thing…" Kathryn smiled slightly.

"What are you asking me Chakotay?" She said innocently even if she already knew what he was getting at.

"I don't think I'm really asking anymore Kathryn, I've been asking for a long time. Now I think its time to tell. What if Chakotay told Kathryn he was in love with her? What do you think she would say?" Kathryn tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I do believe that Kathryn would say she loved Chakotay back, that is if he would say so." Chakotay grinned at her. Always willing to play along. Slowly Chakotay went for Kathryn's hand. When he had it secured in his he laughed.

"I'm in love with you Kathryn Janeway, always have been and always will be." The weight was lifted from his shoulders. All that was important was said and done. Chakotay felt the long forgotten grip around her hand tighten around his own.

"I love you too." Kathryn responded. Chakotay laughed. He hadn't felt that good in a long time. There was so much he wanted to still say and do, but this was enough. He could have nothing but this ever again, nothing but this moment and he would live and die happy. Love was enough, for any kind of hunger or need, even the need to breathe. Chakotay put his arm around her shoulder and grinned as she leaned into his embrace.

"Feels a lot better doesn't it?" Chakotay asked. Part of her response was the slight movement of her head and a few words on her behalf.

"More than better," she whispered.

"So much more than better." Chakotay smiled and looked up at the sky. It was a blazing orange like red, with an almost pink sun. Amazingly the sky looked like an empty desert. The clouds seemed to look like sand with curvy lines all around it. The sand like clouds looked set afire.

"It's going to be hot tomorrow." Chakotay whispered. Kathryn followed his stare and gazed above at the beautiful sky.

"Its almost sundown." She added.

"We've been out here longer than it seemed." Chakotay nodded at her comment.

"When do you want to head back? I remember you have somewhere to go tomorrow." Kathryn sighed.

"I wanted to ask you about it but I sort of forgot…" Chakotay raised an eyebrow at the guilty smile on her face.

"What is it?" Kathryn laughed.

"Some big Starfleet party." Chakotay grinned.

"You don't seem interested." Kathryn nodded in agreement.

"I have to go though, this is one that I can't back out of." Chakotay took a deep breath.

"I'm getting this strange feeling that there is a catch." Kathryn grinned.

"A big catch really. " Chakotay smiled.

"So who's the party for?" Kathryn took a deep breath.

"They're promoting me to full Admiral. Only a few people knew I was half an Admiral to begin with what ever a half admiral is to begin with. Now everyone is invited to the party. Really its not a Starfleet party, this part of it is actually thrown by Owen. A gala to be more exact." Chakotay smiled playfully.

"Really, seems someone here has a secret admirer." Kathryn looked at him and laughed.

"Its no secret. Just like Owen says. "Always the best for my daughters." He's not one to hold back." Chakotay grinned.

"A full fledged Paris daughter Kathryn? I'm amazed at you." Kathryn rolled her eyes.

"If you must know, I'm not Owen's daughter. He just treats me like I am." Chakotay smiled as Kathryn continued.

"I'm lucky, after my father got mixed up in the whole Cardassian thing when I was younger, I had basically lost my major male influence. Well, my uncle wouldn't have it. He said that all girls needed a male influence and he'd be dammed if it weren't him. So phoebe and I spent a lot of extra time at the house with our cousins and all. I even baby-sat Tom occasionally. Though he'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone." Chakotay willed the shocked look on his face away but it wasn't ready to leave.

"Well I'll be! Perfect Kathryn related to our troubled Tom." Kathryn laughed.

"Where do you think he got his sense of adventure and humor from? It sure wasn't from his father." Chakotay laughed and rested his head on Kathryn's.

"Well you learn something different everyday huh?" Kathryn nodded. After another deep breath, Kathryn brushed a piece of hair that had escaped the rubber band's hold.

"So, I was wondering… would you mind being my date to the party?" Chakotay shook his head.

"I'd love to, just say when." Kathryn smiled.

"The party starts tomorrow at seven thirty, that's only because Owen knows people so well. Everyone will show up at eight or so." Chakotay rested his lips in her hair.

"What time do we get there?" he mumbled softly. Taking a second to think Kathryn nestled up against Chakotay.

"Five thirty. He wants to make sure everything is to my liking. Frankly I could care less as long as the people I care about are there." Chakotay chuckled.

"So the decorations are just a plus." Kathryn grinned.

"You could say so." Chakotay looked up at the sky again.

"Remember how earlier you said the sun was going down. I just felt like correcting you. Right now, its gone… not a trace left." Kathryn laughed into Chakotay's chest.

"So are you hinting that we should sail for home?" Chakotay laughed softly.

"We haven't been steering the ship at all. There's no way we could get back in less than a few hours." Kathryn looked up at him and grinned mischievously.

"Oh really? I'd day that this would be our dock coming up wouldn't you?" Chakotay took his attention from Kathryn's smiling face and looked to the other side. There before him was the ancient wooden deck just as they left it. Chakotay shook his head.

"You've got more than a few tricks up your sleeve. One day you're going to have to tell me how you do it." He turned back to Kathryn and Watched as she pulled something out of her pocket.

"Technology Chakotay, technology." Kathryn passed the device over to him.

"I just enter a time limit or a destination and off it goes and back it comes." Chakotay looked at her questionably.

"But you said…" Kathryn interrupted him.

"I said I would leave Mother Nature as I found it. I never said anything about the boat." Chakotay smirked.

"Smart, very smart." Kathryn mocked a superior look.

"Why thank you." Kathryn climbed on to the deck and watched as Chakotay picked up the rope. She smirked. What would he say if she had another trick up her sleeve? Grinning madly she swiped the control from the deck where Chakotay had put it down. After entering a few buttons Kathryn stepped back and waited.

"Chakotay!" she called out. Abidingly Chakotay turned around but ended up loosing his balance. When he went for the rope to keep him from falling, it wasn't there.

"Oops…" Kathryn whispered as the rope dematerialized, Chakotay fell into the water, and the rope rematerialized around the pole. Stunned Kathryn watched wordlessly for a few moments. Then Chakotay rose to the surface.

"KATHRYN!" He exclaimed.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU…." She would have heard more but she was half way down the dock.

"I'm so dead." She said to herself as she speedily approached the house.

LOL

this chapter had been a little more playful than usual

I like it...

btw don't ask me where the Paris thing came from...

if you really want to know, I can make up some stuff and call it a chapter or a passage LOL...

and about the virus

I'm trying people

but tattoo boy needs to go before i can get into that...

always steeling the spotlight... that's only because that dammed tattoo absorbs light *just did sci homework*

LOL

REMEMBER FOLKS...

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okay no more caps

keep on reading lol

~~~ Raven... SAGE

ahah trICKEd YOU!!! MORE CAPS

MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH... okay I'm done

bye

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