AN: Here we are, another chapter here. If you haven't read the previous one (because I posted it earlier today), please don't miss it.
I'm so excited that some of you are still enjoying it! We have lots of fun things to come. (After all, we have two couples to wrangle together in this one. LOL)
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
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"You must be our new guests from the Alpha Quadrant!"
Carol was startled by the enthusiasm of the thing that ran toward them. She stepped back in her surprise, immediately stepped onto Chakotay's foot, and then, in trying to get off his foot and apologize for accidentally treading on him, she bumped fully into his body. He stopped her from doing any more damage to either one of them by simply catching her by both her arms to steady her.
Daryl's response, Carol felt, was more to seeing her startled than to actually being rushed by the thing that had approached them. He stepped in between her and the thing and, without any sort of weapon to draw in warning, raised his hands like he fully intended to square off with the alien in a fist-fight.
The alien stopped, surprised, and then retreated a few steps backward with a nervous chittering ramble of words.
"Daryl!" Chakotay called, catching Daryl's attention. He patted Carol's arms, and stepped around her to put himself somewhat between Daryl and the alien. "I can see that I may have made a mistake in not preparing everyone prior to the meeting. Carol. Daryl. This is Neelix. He's Talaxian. He's our—chef."
"And morale officer," Neelix offered, stepping a little more confidently from behind the counter where he'd taken refuge. He smoothed down the garishly colored jacket that he was wearing and smiled broadly at Carol and Daryl.
Daryl had lowered his hands, but his stance said he was less sure about Talaxians than he had been about the Ocampan woman they'd met earlier. Carol was rather amused by the Talaxian, though, now that she recognized he was simply, maybe, a little too enthusiastic, but not at all harmful.
She stepped forward and offered her hand.
"I don't know how—Talaxians—say hello," she offered.
Neelix closed her hand in both of his, affectionately.
"Any way you want to say it, really, will be fine," he said. "Uh...um…Carol?"
Carol nodded her head.
"Neelix?" She asked. He nodded.
"At your service," he said with a smile. "I prepare the meals on Voyager. Snacks, too. In addition, I can prepare most anything you request. I'm always looking for new recipes. The captain told me that you're from the past. Our Lieutenant Tom Paris is a very big aficionado of Earth's past. I'm sure you could offer some very interesting recipes that I could share with him and the crew."
"I'd like that," Carol assured him. "I like to cook. And I enjoy baking. I wouldn't mind learning a few of your Talaxian recipes."
"Talax is certainly home to some culinary delights," Neelix offered, "but I've collected recipes from all over the galaxy. Do you like chocolate?"
Carol smiled at him.
"Of course, I like chocolate," she said.
"Then, you'll have to try my Jiballian fudge cake," Neelix said. "It's a complicated recipe, and I only make for special occasions, but I think that welcoming you both to Voyager could be celebrated as a special occasion." He looked to Chakotay like he wanted confirmation. "It would be good for morale," he offered, as though that might somehow seal the deal.
"I think welcoming Carol and Daryl aboard would definitely be a special occasion," Chakotay said. "And I believe that the captain will want to do something in their honor as soon as they're a bit more settled in, so why don't you hold onto that cake for now?"
"Certainly, Commander," Neelix responded.
Daryl had visibly relaxed, now, and Carol moved closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder as a show of comfort. He looked at her, brow furrowed, but she immediately knew the expression wasn't meant for her as much as it was simply a reaction to the situation.
"Neelix," Neelix offered, holding his hand out to Daryl the same way that Carol had held hers out to him earlier.
Daryl took his hand and shook it, but the line between his brows never entirely faded.
"Daryl," he did manage to say after a second of hesitation. "You cook the food?"
"Every meal," Neelix said. "And snacks. Can I—get you something to eat? I have a wonderful stir fry dish prepared from a recipe that Ensign Meriwether found. It's using vegetables from our airponics bay and a delightful sauce."
"Let's have a seat," Chakotay said, waving toward some tables. "Neelix—maybe just two small plates? We'll be having dinner with the captain later."
"None for you?" Neelix asked.
"Just for our guests," Chakotay confirmed.
Carol and Daryl followed Chakotay's leading to a table and they sat down, side-by-side while he sat across from them after producing something from his pocket. He placed the items he held on the table. The walkie talkie devices that he'd gone to get earlier laid in front of them.
"These are your combadges," Chakotay said. "Do you need help to get them fastened?"
Carol picked hers up and studied it at the same time that Daryl did. They appeared to simply pin on. She shook her head and fastened hers quickly and easily to the comfortable shirt she'd been provided. Daryl fumbled with his a bit more, but he got it fastened into place.
"How's it work?" Daryl asked.
Chakotay smiled at him.
"You simply—touch your combadge," Chakotay said, "and request to speak to someone."
He touched his combadge.
"Chakotay to Captain Janeway," he said.
"Go ahead, Commander," Kathryn's voice responded.
"Permission to test the combadges of Carol and Daryl?" He asked.
"I'm looking forward to it," Kathryn said. "Janeway out."
"Touch yours," Chakotay said. "Carol—you first. And ask for Captain Janeway. She'll be waiting."
Carol touched her combadge and it chirped in the same way that Chakotay's had.
"Carol to Kathryn," Carol said. "I mean—to Captain Janeway."
"I'm here, Carol," Kathryn said, her voice coming through the little badge. "And the computer will recognize me through either command, though it works better with Captain Janeway. I'm happy you have your combadges."
Carol couldn't help but smile. She'd had no idea where the woman might be located on the ship, but she was speaking to her as clearly as if she were across the table.
"We're looking forward to dinner," Carol said.
"I look forward to it, too," Kathryn assured her. "Janeway out."
"Your turn," Carol said, tapping Daryl's arm. He touched his badge. "Daryl to Janeway."
Chakotay laughed quietly across the table, but he swallowed it down quickly and simply sat there looking somewhat amused. Carol could see Daryl's cheeks run pink with color. She felt her own cheeks grow warm as well. It was embarrassing not to be sure if you were doing something that was so very basic correctly, but there was a learning curve for everything.
"It's good to hear from you, Daryl," Kathryn's voice announced, some humor coming through. "I trust that you're finding everything to your liking?"
"It's fine," Daryl offered.
"I look forward to seeing you both at dinner," Kathryn assured him.
"Yeah—we're…glad about it. Ten four." Daryl looked at Chakotay. "Did it hang up now?"
"Try—Daryl out," Janeway offered.
Daryl cleared his throat. He'd clearly not expected her to still be there.
"Daryl out," he announced.
"You'll understand everything in no time," Chakotay offered.
"Here you are," Neelix said, coming over and placing plates of food in front of them. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Water," Daryl said.
"Water, please," Carol agreed, even though she'd really like another cup of the coffee she had earlier.
"How is it?" Chakotay asked.
"It's hot, fresh, and there's more of it," Daryl offered. "It's already better'n most of what we've been eating."
Carol laughed to herself at Daryl's description, but he was telling the truth.
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Carol had been smiling long enough that Daryl thought her face might ache. He caught himself, as well, smiling. He couldn't help it. He realized that he didn't want to help it.
She was close enough to him that their shoulders kept bumping each other if either of them swayed even slightly in their steps. She looked at him and smiled every time they chose another turn in the hallways around them.
The challenge was simple. They were going to meet Chakotay back at their quarters. Their request was that he simply take another path to get there or wait some time to allow them to have a head start. They would find their way back—including navigating the elevator that worked by voice command like everything else on the ship—using what they could remember from their trip down to the mess hall.
At every junction, twist, and turn, they made a decision together—left or right? Did they turn back? Had they gone too far in one direction or missed something entirely? Were they even on the right level? Carol remembered clearly the level announced for the mess hall, but she couldn't remember where they'd started the journey. Daryl couldn't even remember if they'd ever known.
They nearly bumped into a door.
"Dead end," Carol said. She laughed to herself. "I think it's official. We're lost."
She was slightly out of breath. Daryl realized that he, too, was a little out of breath. They'd been covering ground quickly as they moved in one direction and then another around the hallways—dodging people in uniforms that eyed them like they were as odd in appearance as Neelix had been.
"I think we doubled back too many times," Daryl said. "Confused ourselves."
"I thought you were supposed to be a wonderful tracker," Carol teased.
Daryl rolled his eyes at her.
"To track you gotta have shit to track in," Daryl said. "Dirt. Grass. Trees. Shit that don't all look the same all the time. One glowin' trail of lights looks like another, and these hallways get damn near dizzying after a while."
Carol laughed to herself.
"I guess we call him," Carol said, reaching for her combadge.
Daryl reached and caught her hand, stopping her from touching the badge. She looked surprised as he held her hand in his. He was surprised, too. He'd made the movement out of instinct, almost, rather than out of a planned decision to keep her from calling Chakotay to come and rescue them.
Slowly, his stomach tightened as he realized that he did it because he didn't want to have Chakotay there just yet. He didn't want to give up this moment, just yet.
It was so perfect—in the strangest way ever—and Daryl wanted to hold onto it.
He couldn't recall a time in his life when he'd ever felt so light. Their biggest worry was finding their way down safe, secure hallways where they could be rescued at any moment. They had nothing to fear. Carol was smiling and laughing until her chest was rising and falling quickly from the lack of breath.
And Daryl couldn't remember feeling as happy as he felt, at that moment, standing at a dead end in a hallway—just in front of a door that led somewhere he couldn't even imagine.
His heart pounded in his chest as he realized why he'd stopped her. Why he was holding her hand. He wanted this to last. He didn't want anything to take it away.
He meant to say something. He had to say something. She was looking at him—wide-eyed and expectant of something.
When he spoke, he was almost surprised to hear the words that his mouth formed.
"I don't wanna wake up from this," he said.
"What?" Carol asked.
"If it's a dream," Daryl said.
"It can't be a dream," Carol said. She didn't look at him like he was insane. She didn't look at him like she disagreed. The corner of her mouth curled upward in a half-smile and the expression around her eyes softened. "We'd have woken up by now if it were a dream. Maybe—we couldn't even talk about a dream if we were dreaming."
"Maybe we're dead," Daryl offered with a laugh.
"Then, if this is what being dead is," Carol said after a second, "I don't think I mind that either."
Daryl smiled to himself. His heart fluttered a little in his chest and his stomach tightened. There was something behind the words—unless he was just imagining it.
"Me neither," he said. He brushed his finger across her wrist as he dropped her hand—suddenly becoming aware that he was still holding it. "You ain't wearin' your bracelet no more."
Carol frowned.
"It was gone when I woke up," she said. She held up both hands and looked at her wrists like she was checking to see if the bracelet might have simply moved.
"Maybe that Kes woman has it," Daryl offered.
"If she did," Carol said, "she would have given it back. They probably threw it out. Didn't know what it was. It was just string to them."
Daryl nodded his head. The friendship bracelet had been something he'd made for her quickly. It was made from twine and was really nothing special to anyone's eye. She'd worn it, though, since he'd given it to her. He liked to see it on her wrist. He liked to see her touching it sometimes when she was sitting quietly or thinking something over. He liked that she'd kept it all this time.
And, now, he kind of liked that she was clearly sad that it was gone.
"Hey," he offered, "you get to spend your life on a boat now. A ship, at least."
She smiled a little and nodded her head. She gave him the expression she always did just before she decided to bust his balls for her entertainment.
"At least I have my best friend with me," she teased.
Daryl felt his face run warm.
"You do," he said.
He looked at her a moment. He studied her face. He felt the fluttering inside of him. He considered all the things that he could say. He wondered how she might react to any of them.
In the end, though, he simply reached his hand up and touched the metal communicator pinned to his shirt.
"Daryl to Chakotay," Daryl said.
"What can I help you with, Daryl?" Chakotay asked.
"We got turned around," Daryl said.
"Where are you located?" Chakotay asked.
"If I knew that," Daryl said, "then I reckon we could get back."
Chakotay laughed.
"Don't worry, there's a tracking device in your combadge. I'm on my way. Chakotay out."
"We'll be here," Daryl offered, but he was sure the man was already gone.
Carol was studying something on the wall she probably had not business toying with. The moment, too, from earlier was gone.
Daryl could at least dream, though, that it might be back.
