Chakotay awoke with a start, his breath ragged. He laid for a minute trying to figure out where he was. The knowledge flowed back to him. He was lying in his bed, in his quarters. He reached over to the unused side of his bed, and found no one there.

"Computer, lights."

He sat up in his bed, his mind trying to comprehend the implications of the dream that he just had. As he moved he became aware that something was not right.

"Oh my," he cried when he looked down. He was still aroused. Very aroused. He patted the bed and was relieved when he felt it was dry. He felt like a teenager, wasn't this supposed to stop the.

Damn he thought when he realized that he had alpha shift that day with……

"Bridge to Commander Chakotay"

Man he was in trouble, he was getting even more aroused than he was before. He took a deep calming breath before he answered.

"Yes Captain what is it?"

"Commander do you know what time it is?"

"Computer what is the time?"

"0805hrs"

Oh Hell!

"I assume you are on you are on the way to the Bridge."

Time, he had to buy time.

"Actually Captain, I'm not. I have to go to Sickbay to attend to something."

"Commander is there something wrong?" Kathryn's concern was heard in her voice.

"I don't think that it is anything serious, but I just wanted to make sure"

"I'll talk to you when you get to the Bridge. Janeway out"

Oh great, now I'm going to have to explain this. He was getting more exasperated by the minute.

"Chakotay to Sickbay"

"Sickbay here." The doctor's crisp voice came across on the Com.

"Doctor, I need for you to give me a medical excuse for being late for duty."

"Commander, I'm not going to do that unless I have proof that you are ill. And if you are indeed ill, you should be in sickbay. Are you having difficulties reaching here?"

"Doctor, I can't come to Sickbay"

"Well then I'm on my way. Sickbay out"

"Wait, Doctor." It was too late; the doctor was out of sickbay. Chakotay knew that he could have called on his combadge, but he also knew that the doctor was not going to issue a medical excuse unless he saw something wrong for himself. And something was wrong. He was still aroused. It shouldn't be. Normally once the stimulus was gone, the response faded in a couple of minutes. The doors to his quarters opened, and the doctor walked in. He stopped short when he observed Chakotay standing in his pajama bottoms, fully erect.

"I see. Did you spend last night with a lover, male or female?" He readied his medical tricorder to beginning scanning Chakotay.

Oh if he only knew!

"No, I did not" At least it was the truth.

"Hmmm, according to these readings, you are in a state of sexual arousal and there is a slight imbalance in you hypothalamus. Describe the sequence of events of the previous 12 hrs."

"I had dinner in the Messhall, read from a book and then sought out my animal guide before going to bed."

"Did you have an erotic dream last night?"

"Yes" And you better not ask me about it

"Well, I think that after entering a lucid dream state needed to contact your animal guide, your hypothalamus was rather stimulated. When you had the dream, you hypothalamus was still producing chemicals and in a hyperactive state, your body was not able to decompose the excess. With the erotic nature of the dream, this prolonged erection was the natural result. I'll give you a hypospray and that should speed up the decomposition process. Give it about ten minutes and you should be back to normal."He pressed the hypospray to Chakotay's neck.

"Doctor was the Acuna the reason I had that erotic dream?"

"No, that was all your doing, the chemicals in your body were just responding to your stimuli."

Great.

"Will this help suppress this reaction?"

"It should, but only for about two hours. After that, if your 'stimulus' is around you, you may have a repeat of the 'symptoms'

It was getting better by the moment.

"Commander did you have an erotic dream about a member of this crew, about someone on the Bridge, is that why you can't report to duty?"

"Yes, Harry Kim", he said sarcastically.

Since sarcasm was the doctor's native way of speaking, it was lost on him.

"Hmmm, Seska and then Harry Kim, two very different personality types. All right, I'll make a note in your medical file that you are..."

"Doctor I was only kidding. This fall under the jurisdiction of Patient/Doctor confidentiality understood?"

"Of course, but you know that means that if the Captain wants to know, you'll have to be the one to tell her."

"Yes I know."

"Well have a good day Commander"

And with that, he left. Chakotay wondered how he was going to do that given the start that he had had. Well he had two hours and his erection was indeed softening. Chakotay hurried to get dressed.


As the Turbolift doors closed behind him, Chakotay breathed a sigh of relief, '

She's not on the Bridge, now all I have to do is spend some time here and make a timely exit into my office, and I should be fine...for the rest of the shift.

"Chakotay, please report to my ready room"

Think, man think! You're going to have to say something.

Kathryn was at her desk as he walked in. He sat down in the chair opposite her. He could feel no reaction. He gave a sigh. Kathryn looked long and hard at him, he caught her look and turned his head blushing slightly.

"Chakotay what is it? Are you ill?"

"No, Kathryn. I'm fine, it's just a normal physical problem that occurs in males. To use an ancient 20th century quote, 'It's a guy thing'. You know that the Doctor would tell you if it were life threatening or if it would affect my ability to do my duties. But it isn't, so don't worry, it'll clear itself up in a few days."

Kathryn looked at him, a little hurt that he would confide in her. He wished that he could prevent that but there was no way that he could tell her the truth and he certainly wasn't going to lie to her. She would just have to accept his explanation.

She did. "Chakotay, you are not going to believe what long range sensors have picked up!" She was correct, he didn't believe it. They were going to be within range of a star going supernova within the next thirty hours. In the history of Starfleet, they would be the third of their vessels to witness the phenomena.


There were a lot of preparations to be made and Chakotay threw himself into them. He made it a point to visit the respective departments and go over the procedures that he wanted in place and the personnel who would be on duty. He spent some time in Engineering, Science and Astrometrics going over the calibrations and testing of various pieces of equipment to ensure that no malfunction was going to occur in the middle of the phenomena. In short, he avoided the Bridge and the Captain for the rest of his shift. He used the computer to transfer all reports to the Captain in her ready room, were she spent her entire shift making sure that the Bridge was ready to investigate the supernova.

When his shift was over, he went to the Holodeck to try out the new Holo-resort program that Neelix, Harry and Tom had designed. There he spent a couple hours on talking with various crewmembers and played a round of Volleyball. By the time he was walking back to his quarters it was 0100 hrs and he was exhausted. As he stood in the Turbolift waiting for his deck, there was a word that pricked the back of his head. It became louder and louder.

sublimate, sublimate, sublimate, sublimate...

He gave a loud chuckle. So that's what he was doing. And to think, he always believed that sublimation didn't work. But he had no choice. He wasn't even going to begin to think of the implications of propositioning the Captain. Not only to their working relationship, but also to their friendship, their connection. Back in his quarters, he grabbed a PADD with the latest up date on the information that the Beta-Shift had gathered and went to work. He fell asleep in his lounger at 0230 hrs.

Chakotay arose before his wake up call at 0530 am. He dressed quickly and headed to the Bridge. He was grateful that he did not have a repeat of the dream. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the Captain there.

"How long have you been on the Bridge?"

She looked at him sheepishly, "Oh, since 2100 hrs last night."

He grinned at her. No reaction, so far so good. "Ordinarily I would send you straight to bed, but today is too big a day for that, let's get to work"


The supernova was awesome, that was the only word for it. When it was over and the respective Bridge visitors went back to their workstations, Kathryn wanted to get started right away on analyzing the data that they had just collected. This time, he put his foot down and ordered her to bed. She didn't complain.

She wasn't gone for more than 10 min when she hailed the Bridge.

"Janeway to Bridge"

"Chakotay here captain, I thought you were going to get some sleep."

"I've just had a visit from Q. He's gone now, but I want to be notified if he re-appears again or something odd starts happening."

"Acknowledged. What did he want?"

"Let's just say he had a personal request to make."

Chakotay's blood ran cold and he could feel his heart hammering against his chest.

"Captain?"

"I'm not sure what he's really up to but I have a feeling he'll be back. Janeway out."

With that she closed the link. Chakotay sat down with the PADD in hand and began a set of logical arguments to quell his emotions. He was angry and jealous and most of all amazed at what he felt. All the Captain had said was that Q had a personal request to make of her and here he was acting as if Q wanted to run off with Kathryn. And even if he did, it was none of his business what the Captain did in her personal life outside of the effect that it would have on the crew, not him in particular. Kathryn was his commanding officer and at best a good friend, but she was not his lover. And then there was Mark, and she would never leave the ship and abandon her responsibility. With those thoughts Chakotay slowly began to calm down.

He had a troubled night, but again no repeat of the dream that had invaded his sleep two nights ago. He couldn't get what Kathryn said out of his mind. Just what was it that Q wanted? He knew he would have no peace until he asked.


At 0700 hrs, he handed the Captain the reports that he and Ensign Kim had prepared before the end of his last shift. She didn't look as if she had a better night than he did.

"Anything else?"

"Have you heard anything more from Q?"

She hadn't. Chakotay wasn't going to let it go

"I was wondering just what you meant when you said that he had a personal request"

There was a little silence before Kathryn answered, "He wants to mate with me"

There was no way to hide his reaction, it was all on his face for a moment. He pushed his hands on the desk as if to channel his anger to the floor. Chakotay recovered in time to realize that Kathryn was still speaking. His brain had processed the fact that she thought that Q had a hidden agenda, which had nothing to do with mating with her.

"Maybe" He said carefully.

He was surprised when Kathryn put her hand on his arm and said softly,

"Chakotay!"

With her utterance of his name, he felt a reaction.

Oh shit.

"I know that I don't have any right to feel this way but this bugs the hell out of me." It felt good to tell her about it. He hadn't forgotten why they were good friends.

Thankfully Q interrupted them. Unfortunately, he accurately described Chakotay's feelings. He was relieved when the Kathryn told him there was no one else in her life, and her answer was still no. As he followed her out of the Ready Room, his mind could help but wonder about her having no one else. Had she given up on Mark?


The next couple of days, with Q's sudden appearances and the events that ensued, keep Chakotay's mind off his feelings somewhat. He was gratified that there was indeed an ulterior motive for Q wanting to mate with Kathryn and that he had finally settled down and mated with his own kind.

At the end of it all, Q's charge came back to haunt him. He had been jealous and it did not help that for the two days prior, he was having a sexual reaction being near to Kathryn. Thankfully, he was on beta-shift this week so he had little interaction with Kathryn. At least the dream was a one-time occurrence. He hadn't contacted his sprit guide for more than a week because of what had happened. But he felt drawn to doing so. He needed to think.

He headed to the Holodeck from Engineering. He decided to run a program for a little while. He had just spoken to B'Elanna about a problem that she was having with the shield generators after their little excursion in the Continuum. She promised to have a report to him on the simulation that they had suggested within the hour. He had run into Lt. Kingston while he was leaving Engineering and spent another 45mins addressing her analysis of some of the data that they had collected during the first supernova. Somehow, his duties were crowding him. Since they weren't in Red Alert, he figured he escape for a while.

He selected the program that he wanted and entered the Holodeck. Immediately some sense of quiet came to him. He lost himself in Nature's paintbrush, which surrounded him. It was a beautiful sunset. He'd always loved the way the sun turned orange and rays of light scattered off the ocean. The warmth of the air caressed him as he made himself comfortable on one of the rocks on the cliff overlooking the beach. He observed the waves breaking on the shore and his mind began to wander.

"Excuse me Commander?"

"Yes Tom, what can I do for you?" Chakotay sighed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. B'Elanna said that you wanted these as soon as possible. I thought that you'd be on the Bridge or in your office. Since it was on my way, I told her that I would deliver them to you."

"Thanks"

Tom hesitated for a minute and Chakotay gave him a questioning look. Paris wasn't usually the type of person to think before he spoke.

"May I join you?"

Chakotay gestured to a rock next to him. Well there goes my quiet time he thought. Tom sat down and Chakotay turned his attention back to the sunset. Whenever Tom was ready to speak he would listen. His mind wandered.

Kathryn.

Where in the name of common sense had that dream come from and why did it precipitate this change of events. Was it because somehow or the other he sensed what Q was going to want of Kathryn. He hadn't thought of her as a potential lover since New Earth.

He shifted focus and began reflecting on the time that they spent together on and off duty. As the Captain and Commander they worked well together. After a rocky start, they seemed to have gotten the hang of each other's commanding styles and have found the right way of working with each other. The crew also manifested this. There was no division now, between Starfleet and Maquis. After leaving Kazon and Vidiian space they were encountering more friendly races ad seem not to be under constant attack. They engaged a lot of scientific study and because they were both scientists by nature there was never any conflict on how to proceed.

As Kathryn and Chakotay, their friendship had been cemented and was now blossoming. They were getting closer and closer. They supported each other through all the demands that this quadrant and command had placed on them, without undermining or compromising the position of each other. And in private they were a lot more touchy and affectionate with one another.

Chakotay suddenly had a feeling that some one had slapped him upside the head with a piece of bulkhead.

Of course he was beginning to be sexually attracted to her again. They were sharing their minds and their spirits. The body would be the one sharing which would cement and symbolize what was going on between them. Making love was the natural progression of what was going on between them. And even though the nature of their relationship was not sexual, Chakotay had a sense that if it ever went that way, it would be something that neither of them would be able to untangle themselves from easily, there would be no turning back. Just like in his dream.

Chakotay shifted thoughts again. He knew that she had made no motion for getting sexually involved with him. His mind came back to what she had told Q in her ready room. There was no one else. If she had moved on from Mark and there was no one else, then she obviously wasn't interested, so then he had to let it go. The one thing he was sure of throughout everything was that he wanted their friendship to deepen. He wasn't sure how far they could have before both would have to confront the development of the sexual feelings between them. But he would embark on that journey with her. He understood that without the development of sexual intimacy between them, he would be free to develop a relationship with anyone else. So would she. If his reaction to Q was any indication of what he was capable of, he prayed that he would be over Kathryn before she got involved with anyone else.

"The things I'd do for friendship" He muttered aloud in wonder.

"Funny Commander, I was just thinking the same thing." Chakotay jumped slightly. He had forgotten that Tom was there.

Tom was getting up and he did the same. The sun had set and the stars in the sky was the only light available to guide them out of the Holodeck.

"What was the name of that program?" Tom asked. Chakotay told him.

"Do you mind if I use it sometime?"

"No, help yourself"

The doors opened and they walked into the corridor. Tom turned to Chakotay and said very quietly.

"Thanks Chakotay, I needed that."

Without thinking, Chakotay responded,

"Anytime Tom." The younger man nodded and walked down the corridor.

Chakotay watched him go. He knew something important had just happened between he and the Lt., but he had no idea what. Sighing he made his way back to the office with B'Elanna's analysis in hand.


As Chakotay moved around in his vision, he heard the sound of laughter. Someone was trying unsuccessfully to stifle the giggles as he approached. He saw his animal guide wriggling with what seemed to be tears coming out of his eyes.

"What's so funny?" He charged. He had a nagging suspicion that she was laughing at him.

"You are"

"Oh?"

"You should have seen yourself Chakotay when you woke up from that dream and realized that you were in no state to go to the Bridge, and why. You were priceless."

"Well I'm glad someone else got a good laugh out of it because I didn't." Although he was trying hard to be serious, he was having trouble keeping a straight face.

"I think the part that almost made me pass out, was when the Doctor thought you were serious about being sexually attractive to Harry."

Chakotay gave in at that point. The idea was too ludicrous and he couldn't believe that the Doctor just didn't pick up on it. He sat on the floor and doubled over laughing.

"And there was the whole sublimation thing. I think you may want to change your mind about it. For the first time in your life you made it work."

Chakotay recovered somewhat, "I should hope so. I'm not 19 years old anymore. I'd like to think that as a mature adult male, I have some control over my actions even when my body is in heat."

She sobered up. "Kathryn, her friendship, what is developing between the two of you; is worth it you know."

"Yes I know." Chakotay gave a small smile. He did know.

"When First Father created, his sense of humor was part of the creation process. Laugh at yourself when need be Chakotay, believe me it feels much better than if someone else is laughing at you.

With that she was gone and Chakotay opened his eyes.

When he fell asleep, it was with an amused look on his face.