Anymore
Written by: Sher of Sherkay
Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay…
Summery: They're together, but how to things go from there… we peek into their relationship (I know it isn't very nice of us, but what the heck!)
Disclaimer: As usual, we'll put them back when we're done with them… memories wiped and everything
A/N : Boy did Kayln's bril Chapter leave me in an awkward situation, but I did what I could… to let me know what you thought, just hit that little button which says 'submit review' – thanks!
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Chapter 6 SeTara VI
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Kathryn Janeway took a deep breath as she pressed the door bell. She shuddered as she released it. The great Kathryn Janeway who had faced the Kazon, Hydrogen and even the Borg was afraid of coming face to face with the man she loved – the man she had finally allowed herself to love. It would be their first 'date' – though how many dates they'd had before, she didn't know. What she did know, was that she wholeheartedly wanted to be here today and despite the klaxons going off in her head telling her to turn around before it was too late, she was too stubborn even to give in to herself.
She stood there thinking for so long, that only when Chakotay's neighbour walked past giving her a weird look, did she realise he hadn't answered the door.
"Chakotay," she called and rang the doorbell again. Panic rose in her heart, hadn't Chakotay waited as long as she had for this, maybe even longer. He had always silently pushed for a relationship on board – maybe… maybe this was some sort of payback.
"Chakotay's not like that," she whispered to herself. Maybe something happened to him.
"Chakotay." Without thinking, her hand moved over the keypad, entering an access code, she knew all too well. How many times had she let herself in for dinner, how many times had she stopped by to borrow a book when he wasn't there – she was only surprised he hadn't changed it!
Moonlight streamed into the living room, lighting it up so she could just about weave her way through the furniture, "Chakotay?" she called again, senses heightened, in case someone was waiting to ambush her. Training told her to search the house, but pictures on the mantelpiece distracted her. There lined up neatly, were many pictures of the Voyager crew: the crew at parties, the senior staff in the mess-hall, the small after-party they'd had after the Paris-Torres wedding. But the one that stuck out the most was one of the two of them together, at some formal engagement on SeTara VI, one of the many planets they'd visited. She didn't remember what the event was, or even the species name, were they SeTarians? She didn't think so, but she did remember taking the picture.
The species, she remembered, had really known how to throw a party. The whole crew wanted to attend, but she had wanted to stay on board, saying that if the ship was going to run on a skeleton crew, the Captain should be there in case of an emergency. She was the only one of maybe two crewmembers who could issue commands, help in engineering and pilot the ship, but Chakotay had made her go. "No one's going to attack Voyager, we're safe here. We can programme the ship to beam us up at the first sign of danger." Reluctantly, she had agreed and had ended up having a wonderful time. So wonderful, she had openly flirted with him, she remembered admonishing herself furiously when he'd left her in her quarters later that night. But at that party, when the Doctor had taken the picture, the only thing she'd seen, was him. And the picture clearly showed that. She was leaning into him, one arm firmly grasping the one he held around her waist and was looking up into his eyes, sharing some joke. And he… he was looking down at her, straight into her eyes, as though she were the only one he could see in the crowded room. She was amazed at how perfect they looked together, how they seemed to fit against each other. She had never before seen such happiness in herself and could never remember having ever recalled such a memory with fondness.
Slowly she made her way through the living room, to the bedroom. Why would her leave her suddenly, had he been kidnapped? She knew there were some people who were against Starfleet for having let the Maquis free, but those people were minimalists, mainly made up of people who were angry at losing their loved ones, but most of them now realised that they were doing what they believed in and Starfleet had issued a statement saying the hadn't realised the seriousness of the case with the Cardassians. If anyone should be angry at anyone, it should be with the 'Fleet.
Her heart quickened with each pace she took. Why now, why when she and Chakotay were finally getting together? Why not someone else, like Admiral Hayes who deserved it? Why did these things always happen to her? Could no one allow her to be happy?
"Chakotay," she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the small rise and fall of a figure on his bed. "Chakotay," she ran over to him. "Oh, thank God you're alright."
"Kathryn?" he asked groggily. "Is that you, you're early… I was just laying here for five minutes, I've got everything ready."
She laughed; more of happiness at finding him safe that at his actual words. "Oh thank God you're alright," she repeated, tenderly touching his cheek. "I though… oh, I don't know what I thought…"
He seemed to get his bearings, "What's wrong?" he asked, noting her half agitated state.
"You didn't answer the door… I thought… well, I assumed… I don't know what I thought." She allowed him to scoop her up in his arms, while she rested her head on his chest.
"Well it's nice for a man to know he has someone to worry about him."
"Oh, I always worried about you; you don't know how much it hurt to send you on those away missions. When you got trapped in a shuttle, when you lay there in sickbay," her body racked with sobs as all those memories hit her. "When I thought you would die and you would never know I retuned those feelings for you."
"Shhh, Kathryn, it's okay… I don't want you to ever have to worry about a thing again, you've spent much too long of your life crying." He took her hands in his.
"I feel silly," she admitted as she brushed away a tear with the back of her hand. "I don't know how long its been since I last cried."
"Well, maybe I know what'll cheer you up."
"A surprise?" her eyes brightened up immediately, "You did say something about a surprise… Chakotay… what surprise… is it something I know about, something I want… where are you going? Where is it, is it big? Because if it's big, I haven't seen anything big anywhere... is it small. How small, so small you could keep it in your pocket… Chakotay," she called as she ran after him, trying to slip her hands into his pockets. He laughed as he pulled her towards him, slipping one hand around her waist. Instinctively, she covered it with hers, giggling as their eyes met… and for a moment that same image as the one taken on SeTara VI was recreated.
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A/N : See that little button's right there…. :points below:
