Safety Protocols

Kathryn let out a content sigh and turned the page of her book. A quiet afternoon off was always something to be savored. She wasn't the only one who had the afternoon off but Chakotay was currently down on the Holodeck. Everyone might have assumed they were spending the time together but instead they were each taking some 'me' time. The two spent most of their days sitting next to each other on the Bridge. While this was work, they still did it together. Kathryn wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Chakotay was her rock as both her first office and significant other. But this meant they were together a lot.

It didn't take long for them to realize that spending all their time together both on and off duty was not the best idea. Sometimes they both needed time to do their own thing, on their own. Then after spending a few hours of 'me' time they would have an equally relaxing and enjoyable evening together. Quiet uneventful time was rare given the danger of their journey home. They both knew to take advantage of it when they could.

"Sickbay to Captain Janeway" the Doctor's voice broke unexpectedly through the silence of her quarters.

"Go ahead Doctor" she replied, tapping her comm badge.

"Please report to Sickbay, your presence is required." He all but ordered her and from his tone she could tell he was not happy.

"On my way" she responded with little choice. This time the sigh she let out was more of a huff.

True she could have questioned the Hologram as to why he needed to see her—especially when she was off-duty. Yet as Captain she knew she was never truly off-duty. Plus she had learned from experience, the fastest way to get an answer was simply to go and see him. She only hoped she would be back before Chakotay returned.

With a groan she replaced her book mark and stood up to stretch, then reluctantly she ventured out of her quarters. For half a moment she wondered if there wasn't someone else he could have called. Things were calm and there were plenty of others who would welcome a distraction—Harry Kim instantly came to mind. Yet she knew the Doctor could be very particular when it came to who he talked to and about what. It was usually best to simply humor him, not that she would ever tell him.

As she rode the turbolift the short distance down to deck 5, she felt mildly curious but not apprehensive. If it were truly something serious the Doctor would have been more emphatic and less terse. Her thoughts instantly changed the moment she walked into Sickbay to find Chakotay sitting on one of the biobeds. He had a huge black eye and from the remnants on his face and the stains on his clothes—his nose had been bleeding.

"What happened?" She asked with appropriate concern walking to stand next to him putting a hand on his back.

"Nothing, my opponent got a few lucky hits, that's all." Chakotay replied, downplaying his injuries as usual.

"This is hardly nothing." The Doctor growled.

"Will he be okay?" She asked, her concern more a reaction to the EMH's tone than what she saw.

"Yes of course he will be alright—this time." The Hologram barked back.

"Then I don't understand, what has you so upset, Doctor?" She inquired patiently. Though she had the feeling she was clearly missing something. It felt like she had walked into the middle of a standoff.

"The Doc thinks—" Chakotay began but the other man cut him off.

"Captain, I demand that you prevent Commander Chakotay from disabling the safeties on his boxing program." The Doctor practically exploded at her and she almost took a step back away from him.

"I see" she replied softly, rubbing her forehead instead.

"One day he is going to do serious damage." The EMH added.

"Kathryn—" Chakotay began to argue but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Doctor, I understand where you are coming from but I am not prepared to make such an order at this time." She informed him firmly and she tried to ignore the look of triumph on the face of the man she loved. On the other hand the fury growing in the Doctor's face was impossible to ignore.

"Captain, I must protest" he bellowed at her.

"Noted Doctor" she replied calmly. She was about to explain her rationale when he spoke first.

"I can only assume that your decision is based on your personal feelings for the Commander. But really Captain. I thought you of all people would want to stop him from getting the daylights punched out of himself over and over again." He huffed at her and at this, fury began to grow inside her as well. She fixed him with her worst glare.

"I will pretend you didn't say that Doctor." She snapped at him and from the look of horror on his face he realized he had crossed a line. But she wasn't done.

"It is not my inclination to order any of the members of this crew in regards to how they spend their personal time. I rely on them to use their own good judgement especially when the risks have been fully explained to them. I would only make such orders in the most extreme circumstances." She lectured him, her voice icy and thick with anger.

"Yes of course Captain" he quickly mumbled.

"And furthermore, unless you have specific concerns regarding my personal feelings for Chakotay or any other member of this crew. I would request that you not attempt to use my relationships as ammunition when you don't get your way."

"Yes Captain, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—It won't happen again." He promised apologizing profusely.

"See that it doesn't." She growled, staring down both men. Chakotay at least had the good sense to look appropriately contrite.

After that the three remained silent as the Doctor finished healing Chakotay's injuries. Kathryn kept her glare on both men, she didn't want the man she loved to think he had won anything. She wasn't happy that he turned the safeties off when he boxed, and he knew this. She had plenty to say to him she just didn't want to do it in front of the Doctor.

"You are all healed Commander." The Hologram declared when he put down his medical instruments. "Your head will hurt a little for the next day. If it gets worse or you feel dizzy or nauseated, please come back and see me. Also, I would recommend keeping the lights in your quarters at 50%, that should help."

"I will, thank you Doc." He agreed, sliding off the biobed.

"And if you would please consider leaving the safeties on next time I would greatly appreciate it." The EMH added through gritted teeth and avoided looking at her completely. She watched Chakotay glance at her and her glare that was still firmly in place.

"Okay Doc" he replied softly before walking towards the door and she turned to join him.

"Thank you, Doctor." She added tersely as she exited the room not waiting for a response.

The two silently rode the turbolift up to her quarters. He knew she was upset and wisely didn't want to make it worse. While she wasn't interested in addressing the subject where other people could hear them. And she hoped he knew that her anger was not solely directed at the Doctor. The silence continued until they reached her quarters. They hadn't officially moved in together but most of his clothes now resided in her closet. And they spend almost every night together in her bed. Effectively it was their quarters.

"Computer reduce lights to 50%." She ordered the moment they entered and the system dutifully complied darkening the room.

"Thank you. I'm going to get some tea. Would you like any?" He asked her calmly, once they were both inside and finally alone.

"Sure" she replied, her glare softening to a frown. She took a seat on the couch and waited. It only took him a few moments for him to join her, handing her the hot cup of hot tea. "Thank you" she said, accepting the warm mug. He sat next to her and blew on his tea waiting for her to talk.

"Chakotay, you need to stop turning the safeties off." She implored him as she would a friend. Working hard to keep all hints of authority from her voice. She wasn't looking to escalate the conversion to an argument but she needed to make a few points clear to him.

"I see" he replied tersely before taking a drink of her tea.

"Yes, forget that the Doctor is correct and that you could be seriously hurt. If you keep doing this he will simply bypass or override me in his capacity as Chief Medical Officer and order you. Which as you know is not simply a symbolic title. You will lose the ability to turn the safeties off. And there will be nothing I can do to stop him." She implored him emphatically.

"Not that you would want to" he grumbled.

"Excuse me?" she cried unwilling to believe what she heard.

"You don't want to stop him. I know how you feel about my program. You hate when I go boxing. So much for dealing with this as the Captain." He huffed at her and once again the fury sparked inside her.

Letting out a deep breath she counted to ten as she put the cup of tea down then fixed her glare on him once more. Despite her attempts he was clearly all too happy to escalate the situation.

"This is me as your Captain speaking Chakotay." She began harshly. "This is the same friendly conversation I would have if it were Tom or Harry doing something like this. I meant it when I said I rely on the good judgement of my crew when the risks and dangers are explained to them. Let's be clear if this were Kathryn—your significant other—talking it would be a very different conversation. There would be a lot more yelling and we would not be sharing a bed after we got done 'talking'. I will not have two people on the same day questioning my impartiality as Captain when it comes to you or anyone else." She seethed at him furious that he would accuse her of the same thing the Doctor just had.

"Okay I'm sorry" he replied, throwing up his hands in surrender quickly contrite once more. He knew better than anyone when not to push her. "I didn't mean to do that." But she wasn't ready to let him off that easily.

"Let me be very clear since there seems to be some confusion today. As your Captain I am warning you of the extent of the Doctor's power as CMO and I am requesting you re-access the risks you have been taking." There was a deadly calm to her voice indicating just how angry she was at the moment.

"Okay I—" he started but she didn't let him talk she wasn't finished.

"As for the woman who loves you—I am furious at you for doing this, far more upset than the Doctor is. I asked you not to box without the safeties, I told you how much it scared me when you do that. And still you keep doing it—"

"I know I'm sorry—" he tried but she still didn't let him continue.

"Don't ignore me, don't ignore my fears and concerns. Do not put yourself in danger that way. Do you understand me?" She demanded and he quickly nodded. "Good. Ignore me again you are in the dog house. You can sleep on the couch or go back to your quarters but you will not be sleeping in my bed, with me. I told you how I felt, I told you how worried it made me. And instead of being considerate you throw it back in my face." She yelled at him, this was all Kathryn, the woman who loved him now.

"Kathryn you're right I'm sorry." he agreed and she finally let him talk. She had gotten out all her frustration and was ready to listen to him. Gently he reached for her hand and she let him take it. She nodded curtly and sat slightly back letting him know that he could continue.

"Please forgive me, I am so sorry." He said pleading with his eyes. "You are right, I was being inconsiderate. It was wrong. I should have respected your feelings, especially after I asked that you express them to me. Please, please, please, forgive me." He begged in his soft voice and then kissed her hand.

"Fine" she sighed, relaxing her shoulders. "I will—this time—understand?" She said, stressing the words 'this time'. Yet she didn't want to fight, she just wanted him to be safe. It was their afternoon off, they were meant to be relaxing not fighting.

"Thank you" he exhaled in relief, pulling her closer to him.

"I mean it, the Doctor will stop you himself before I ever get a chance." She added just to make sure he understood the situation. Even though she was forgiving him the Hologram was unlikely to go as easy on him.

"Don't worry I'll stop, I promise. Maybe I will find something else, a new program." He assured her and she believed him, he wasn't one to lie to her that way.

"That might be a good idea." She agreed and then she turned slightly to face him fully and gave the area around his eye that had been bruised a kiss. She followed by giving his nose a kiss as well.

"Thank you" he whispered softly.

"You are too important to get hurt like that. We both get hurt too much while on duty as it is." She reminded him as she curled up into his side and he put his arm around her.

"You are absolutely correct, we do." He agreed. Together they sat there snuggled in a comfortable silence. It was nice until…

"Ah Chakotay, I love you very much" she began.

"I sense a but coming" he chuckled.

"But you need to finish your tea and get in the shower because you are smelling very ripe." She informed him squishing up her nose at the smell.

"That is true I am" he agreed with a hearty laugh. He drank the rest of his tea in one gulp before standing up. She missed the feel of him next to her but she certainly didn't miss the smell.

"Maybe I should take up a water sport that won't leave me smelling so bad." He suggested thinking aloud.

"That is a good thought, go with that idea." She eagerly agreed with a nod. It would also solve so many of the day's problems, she thought with a smile.

"I have another good thought. Why don't you drink your tea and join me in the shower." He suggested with a twinkle in his eye.

"You go on, I'll join you in a few minutes. I'll give you time to wash away the smell and everything else like the blood. That shade of red is not romantic." She replied, referring to the remaining evidence of his bloody nose. She had ignored it during their argument but it was hard to not look at it now as he stood in front of her.

"That's fair, see you in a few." He agreed, heading to the bathroom.

With a content sigh Kathryn picked up her tea and sat back on the couch. She would give him five minutes to wash away the remains of his boxing program. Then, he was all hers, 'me time' was officially over.

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a/n Thank you for reading I hope it was enjoyable. A BIG HUGE thank you to every one who has been reading the fics in the series and those for have left very nice and wonderful comments. I appreciate you all so much!