Title: Remembering New Earth
Author: GeekyDollie
Date: 1998
Rating: G
Summary: Just a short scene with Janeway and Chakotay… and something that reminds them of a time and place called New Earth.
Spoilers: Resolutions, Season 2
Author's Notes: This scene was written years ago, but just recently fixed up!
Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager and the characters belong to TPTB of the Star Trek franchise.
"Kipling requested that she be transferred to Alpha shift, but then Engineering will be short handed in Gamma shift…" Kathryn Janeway put down one PADD and picked up another.
PADDs containing crew assignments were strewn about on the couch and on the low table in front of Kathryn. Several others lay in a stack on the floor. Chakotay's quarters, usually sparse of any clutter, was now taken over by a hurricane of reports. Kathryn sat on the floor with half a dozen PADDs surrounding her. Chakotay sat slightly to her left on the couch. He reached over her petite body and picked up another PADD from the table. His dimly lit quarters mocked their late-night work.
"We could assign Hedard to Gamma shift," Chakotay suggested, and then paused. "Wait, he requested Beta shift last month."
Kathryn let out an exhausted sigh.
"This is impossible. We've been at this for hours!" she ran her hand through her shoulder length hair, turning to face Chakotay at the same time. Seeing Chakotay's equally wearied expression, she turned back around to scroll through the roster.
Chakotay watched her quietly, a smile playing on his lips. Her usual demeanor was marred by the late-night stress, her forehead was creased in concentration, and her hair was in mild disarray. Her hands played gracefully across the screen as she keyed in command after command. Her years in Starfleet had given her an air of professionalism even when reading endless reports at ridiculously late hours to get the seemingly infinite amount of work done.
He forced his attention away from her and once again tried to focus on the task at hand. Characters, words, numbers, they all flowed together on the screen. They seemed a blur. Hardly a sentence registered in his mind as he dismissed a petty complaint. He glanced at the chronometric display on the screen and took a deep breath. 01:43.
It had been the Kathryn's idea to go through the paperwork together. She had given him the responsibility of overseeing the crew while she handled department reports. That was four years ago, since she asked him to join her in the journey back to the Alpha Quadrant.
About two years ago, she had suggested that they do the paperwork together. She had said that it was more efficient to work together with direct access to all the reports, but Chakotay knew better. He always thought that she felt the need to become closer to the crew, but the crew found it difficult to approach her. With this arrangement, she could better understand them through him. Her crew was far from Starfleet's finest, but they were indeed a fine crew: diverse and full of many talents.
Doing paperwork was certainly less dull now, although it took noticeably longer to go through everything. Not that Chakotay was complaining, of course. He had vowed to help her in any way he could to make her burden lighter, and he wasn't going to back down on his promise. He once thought that he loved her, and that the feeling was mutual. Now, two years later, he wasn't so sure that she felt the same anymore. She had made it clear that her work came first, and so far, work had always come first.
He felt Kathryn lean back against the couch and rest her head on the soft cushions behind her. He watched her close her eyes a moment and take a deep breath. Her hand gripped the PADD and raised it to a level where she could read it. He forced his attention back to the crew report as he stared at the screen with determination to finish this chore.
Chakotay saw the PADD slip out of her fingers and onto the floor from the corner of his peripheral vision. He turned to look at her once again and saw with amusement that Kathryn had fallen asleep. He watched her for a few moments, taking in the serene beauty of her. Her face was content, as if in a far off dreamland. Her creamy complexion now rosy with the deep night.
Chakotay quietly gathered all the PADDs and stacked them neatly on the table. Carefully, he tiptoed around his quarters hoping not to wake Kathryn. He retreated into his bedroom and emerged with a blanket. He didn't have the heart to wake her.
Bending low, he took her in his arms and stood up. Her body was relaxed and warm. Her plain brown hair brushed softly against his arm. Gently, he laid her down on the couch and covered her body with the blanket. The rich colours of the blanket surrounding her petite body made her look young and fragile. He smiled at the thought. One who knew the steel of her determination and strength would hardly call the captain fragile.
His hand reached out and brushed away the wisp of hair from her face. Chakotay stared at her for a long time. It had been years since he had seen Kathryn asleep. New Earth was a distant memory though sometimes it seemed like yesterday. Still, her silent elegance amazed him. Being the daughter of a Starfleet Admiral had certainly molded her into a sophisticated beauty; yet, he couldn't help but wonder at her childlike inquisitiveness.
He tucked the strand of hair behind her ear and stood to leave. For a minute, he envisioned them on New Earth again. Quietly, he whispered goodnight and turned to go into his room.
oOoOo
Kathryn awoke with a start in unfamiliar surroundings. Her eyes darted around the darkened room, and she found herself in strange quarters. The far wall displayed wildly peculiar decorations, and the desk chair was covered in an exotic printed tapestry.
Her hands let go of the soft blanket she was holding as she slowly sat up. Her eyes fell on the stack of PADDs on the low table. Chakotay's table… in Chakotay's quarters. Kathryn stared at the crew reports and rosters quizzically, wondering how she ended up asleep on his couch.
"I must have fallen asleep while finishing those damned reports," she whispered to no one in particular. Her hand reached out to take one of the PADDs. The screen blinked on instantly, the characters brilliant in the dim room. She immediately looked down to the chronometric display. 05:36. A touch of her fingers turned the screen back to its usual blackness.
Kathryn stood up slowly and cautiously walked towards Chakotay's bedroom. She peered in through the doorway and found him still asleep. His chest rose and fell with each contented breath. The dim light cast faint shadows across his tanned face. Kathryn's breath caught in her throat, afraid to move in case he might catch her watching him.
Try as she might, she could not tear her gaze away from him. She was suddenly on New Earth again. It was like the morning she awoke in the early rays of dawn. She had tiptoed to the other side of the shelter and peeked around the partition to find Chakotay still asleep. When he awoke, moments later, he smiled with amusement that he had caught her watching him; and she started giggling, like a child, knowing that she had been caught.
Things seemed so simple back on that planet. There was no "ship's protocol" or "higher responsibilities" to come between them. No worries about what the crew may think or how it will affect their professional relationship. They had been free of the things that kept them apart for months. They had no one to look out for but each other, no one to spend the endless days with but each other. They had no one to trust but each other. Were they lovers? No. But just good friends… it was definitely more than that.
Kathryn shook her head free of her reverie. She always felt that their feelings never died when they left New Earth, but she had always denied those thoughts. There was Voyager to think about, the crew, and the responsibility of getting them home.
She forced herself to turn away. There was nothing she could do about their situation. Kathryn picked up her PADDs from the table and turned to go. She ran her hand through her hair in a futile attempt to tame it. Kathryn left the room quietly. The only sound was the finality of the hissing doors.
FIN