AN: Here's some more conversation for you...this is just what we do. Sanity is not guaranteed, either in us, or in you when you're finished reading this. Enjoy!

Beloved: Ahem. Now can we do one about butts?

Sunrise: OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!

Beloved: *shrinking away from Sunrise and swallowing hard* W-What?

Sunrise: Enough. With. The. Butts. No more. Got it?!

Beloved: *in small voice she thinks Sunrise can't hear* Butts.

Sunrise: AAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *tackles Beloved, who looks positively petrified, and slams pillow down on her face, muffling any further communication*

Beloved: HOoshfOhfohgfoH oHe i h eihrfeirh sahr eeeeeeeee *Sunrise lifts pillow for a second* p'taQ!!!!!

Sunrise: *places pillow back over Beloved's face* Hmm. I didn't know she spoke Klingon. Interesting.

Beloved: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! *Sunrise lifts pillow from Beloved's face, Beloved squirms out of Sunrise's grasp and skitters away, fully and properly scared* Jesus!!!!! What are you?!?! KLINGON?!?!?!?!?!

Sunrise: *shrugs* You never know.

Beloved: Yeah, yeah, and I'm Tom Paris.

*silence*

Sunrise: Seriously?

Beloved: HELL, NO!!!!!

Sunrise: *looking relieved* Oh. Good.

Beloved: I'm Queen of the World.

Sunrise: *exasperated* Yeah, right. Whatever. If you're Queen of the World, I'm Queen of the Universe.

Beloved: Oh. *pause* Can I have your autograph?

Sunrise: Beloved!! You know what I mean.

Beloved: *confused* No, I don't.

Sunrise: *slaps forehead with hand* Why do I bother?

THINGS GONE AWRY IN THE UNIVERSE--PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

CHAPTER 9 – PLAYING GAMES

The pool tournament at Sandrine's had started a short while ago, and already it was down to a half-dozen contestants. Among them were Kathryn, Tom, and Sara. As Sara leaned over the pool table to line up her next shot, Ian leaned back on his bar stool so that he could try to get a better view of her posterior. He grinned as she shifted slightly, giving him the perfect angle. He stared as she moved to the left a little to shoot again. He loved it when she wore leather pants. Chakotay saw the expression on his friend's face and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, Kathryn sauntered past him, her hips swaying gently from side to side. As she reached the pool table, she sent Sara a conspiratorial wink, tipping her head towards their drooling husbands. Sara nodded, smirking. The two women simultaneously leaned against the table, making sure that their "rear assets" were in direct view of their entranced spouses. Once Sara had finished her quick game, and Kathryn cleared the table for some poor ensign who had apparently thought he stood a chance, they both moved towards the husbands, who were still staring at the space where their wives had just been standing. Exchanging evil grins, both women pinched the firm butts before them, and the two men jumped, nearly toppling their stools.

Sara leaned over, her lips brushing Ian's ear as she whispered, "I saw you staring at my ass, so I thought I'd give yours a little attention."

Kathryn motioned to Sara, and they both hopped up onto bar stools. One hand settling on the gentle swell of her belly, Sara asked Sandrine for a glass of water. Her redheaded friend did the same. Several seats away, they could see their husbands watching them warily. The two women turned so that they were facing away from them, giving them once again a clear view of a certain part of their anatomy.

A few seats down, Chakotay leaned over towards his friend. "Is it just me, or are they trying to seduce us?" he asked quietly.

"It's been known to happen," Ian muttered wryly.

"Well…" Chakotay peered over Ian's shoulder as Kathryn shifted in her seat. Her leather pants, molded perfectly to her figure, made the view all the more enticing. "It's working."

Both women shrugged off their matching leather jackets at that moment, revealing skintight shirts that showed off every one of each of their luscious curves—including their growing bellies.

In a voice little more than a murmur, Ian replied, "I'll say."

********