Rounding a bend in the path, they skidded to a halt. An overweight Benzite in a heavily adorned suit was sprawled on the muddy ground, with a young Kelvari woman in civilian clothing leaning over his prone form and shaking him frantically in-between shouting for help.
"What happened?" Kathryn asked as she knelt on the other side of the Benzite and quickly assessed his condition. His face was a dull grey, partially obscured by the respiration device customary among Benzites who lived away from their homeworld.
"He just collapsed," the Kelvari cried, her luminous purple eyes swimming with tears. "One moment he was talking, and then..."
Kathryn felt for a pulse, but there was none. Behind her, she heard Chakotay slap his communicator, but there was only a dull answering sound that indicated a broken connection. Kelvaris' comm system was notoriously unreliable and had apparently chosen this most inopportune moment to break down.
"He's not breathing," Kathryn observed, more to herself than the Kelvari, but the woman at once started pulling on the Benzite's respiration device. "Don't!" Kathryn snapped, slapping her hands away.
Round purple eyes looked at her in confusion.
"Breathing unfiltered air will kill him more quickly than anything else," she explained while she started unfastening the Benzite's clothes, trying to find the apparatus' controlling unit. "Chakotay," she called without slowing her efforts, "run back to the hotel and tell them to get a med team out here. He'll probably need an infusion of mercury, and the hospital should prepare a room filled with chlorine gas."
She looked up, expecting Chakotay to argue or ask questions, but he simply turned on his heel and sprinted away in the direction of the conference hotel.
Kathryn returned her attention to the Benzite and his companion. "We need to keep his heart going," she said, but the woman just stared down at her own hands, not listening. Kathryn grabbed her arm and shook her hard. The purple eyes opened wide and refocused on her. "We can save him, but you have to help me," Kathryn stated forcefully. "Can you do that?"
It took another moment, but then the Kelvari nodded. "Yes. Yes. What do you need me to do?"
Over the next couple of minutes, they worked in tandem, with Kathryn instructing the woman on how to perform a special form of CPR which would stimulate the Benzite's lungs in addition to his heart. Kathryn herself finally located the control unit for his breathing apparatus and adjusted several settings. She wasn't sure what mixture of gases would work best, so she just increased the overall flow of vapor and positioned the device directly over his nose and mouth.
"I'll take over now," she told the Kelvari and began compressing the Benzite's chest in a fast rhythm as soon as the other woman withdrew her hands.
When the Kelvari looked up and around them, Kathryn noticed for the first time that a small crowd had gathered. Half a dozen people stood at a respectful distance, staring open-mouthed at the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
Kathryn turned her attention back to the Benzite and redoubled her efforts. "Who is he?" she forced out between gritted teeth.
"His name is Malderk, and he's Second Secretary to the Ambassador of Benzar," the woman replied, rubbing her wrists which were no doubt hurting from her recent exertion.
"And who are you?"
"His... tour-guide."
Kathryn had her doubts about that but refrained from commenting. Then the vapors covering the Benzite's face stirred and she paused, bending down to his face. A second later, it happened again, and she heard a rasping sound. He was definitely breathing. When she checked again for a pulse, it was there, faint but steady.
Kathryn sat back and breathed deeply. Only then did she notice the sound of an approaching hovercraft. Ten seconds later, a Kelvari ambulance touched down next to them and three people carrying medical gear jumped onto the lawn. Kathryn quickly filled them in on what she knew. Then she stepped back to let the medics do their work and watched them load the Benzite into their vehicle. Another hovercar appeared, carrying members of the local authorities. Chakotay was with them, but he remained in the background while Kathryn once more retold what she had seen and done. The ambulance soon lifted off, carrying not only the hapless Benzite but his Kelvari companion as well.
Everyone praised her for her efforts and thanked Chakotay for alerting them as quickly as he had. Promises were made to keep the Starfleet officers updated on the Benzite's condition, and then they were told that they were free go. By this time the small crowd had dispersed, and when the last hovercar left, Kathryn and Chakotay found themselves alone in the now deserted park.
"You're shaking," Chakotay observed, and Kathryn realized only now that she was trembling from head to foot.
He hesitated, but then tentatively reached out and tugged her to his side. When she swayed against him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, smoothing one hand down her back. "It's okay," he soothed while continuing the slow strokes. "You did what you could, and now the medics will take care of him. He'll be fine."
"I know," Kathryn whispered and burrowed into his embrace. She'd never have asked for it, but the contact was just what she needed. The steady beat of Chakotay's heart under her ear helped calm her frazzled nerves, and his warm hand on her back eased away the tension in her muscles.
"Maybe you should really switch to command."
The words had been spoken softly, but they still startled her. She drew back far enough to look into his eyes. "What?"
"I said, maybe you should really switch to command," Chakotay repeated.
Kathryn frowned. "What makes you say that?"
"The way you took charge of the situation and told everyone what to do."
Kathryn shook her head. "I wasn't even thinking, I just did what had to be done – what anyone would have done."
"Not anyone." Chakotay released her from his embrace and took her hand instead. Somehow the gesture seemed completely natural, and Kathryn didn't mind at all. Slowly, they started walking back to the hotel. "That Benzite owes you his life. The woman obviously didn't know what to do and just panicked. You, on the other hand, not only remembered your xenobiological first-aid, you also managed to calm her and sent me running for help before I thought of it myself. You displayed true leadership qualities back there."
Kathryn gave him a doubtful look. While she had been busy saving the Benzite's life, there hadn't been time to think and she had acted on instinct, performing one step after the other and directing all available resources to aid her in achieving her goal. In her opinion, following common sense hardly constituted leadership abilities. She was just about to voice those doubts when Chakotay went on.
"When faced with a crisis like that, most people will either freeze or look the other way; at best, you can expect them to call for help. Only a very small percentage will step up and, as you said, do what needs to be done without wasting time. Your decisions were quick, your instructions precise and to the point. Those are the qualities of a starship captain."
"You outrank me," Kathryn pointed out, having spotted what she perceived as a flaw in Chakotay's reasoning. "I should have listened to what you were saying instead of ordering you around. You could even report me for insubordination."
Chakotay swung her around to grab her shoulders and stared at her, incredulous. "Why would I do that? We're off-duty and outside a command situation, and your quick thinking saved that man's life!"
"What if I'd been wrong?"
"Then you would at least have tried. I would have been mad not to listen to you. I know basic first-aid and can do CPR, but I swear that he was much better off with you."
"But how can you be so sure that given similar circumstances, I'd act the same way again?" Kathryn insisted. "You hardly know me."
He shrugged. "Of course I can't be sure, but I have a feeling that you would. And as for not knowing you..." He lowered his face to hers, whispering, "I'd like to get to know you a whole lot better."
Chakotay hovered close for a moment or two, giving her the chance to pull back. Instead, Kathryn closed her eyes and waited. When his lips touched her cheek, surprisingly warm against her skin, she turned her head, and their mouths met.
The kiss was as gentle as the man himself, and Kathryn felt the rest of her anxiety subside. She leaned into him and he responded by increasing the pressure of his lips and cradling her closer against himself, with one of his hands sliding up into her hair while the other moved to her hip.
Kathryn wrapped her arms around Chakotay's back. When his lips left hers and drifted along the line of her jaw, she tilted her head back and he licked the spot below her ear, eliciting a small gasp from her. He continued down her neck, tugging down the collar of her dress uniform to reach more skin.
Kathryn's heart was beating rapidly, and for one brief, delicious second, she had a vision of stripping him naked and running her hands and lips all over his body. The thought was almost too much. With difficulty she suppressed a moan, but he must have sensed her conflicting emotions because he abandoned his exploration and just held her close, giving her the chance to catch her breath and decide on her next move. Kathryn slid her arms down his sides and loosely draped them around his waist, reveling in the thrill of his close proximity.
Darkness was falling now, and small lights winked on along the graveled path. The conference hotel at the edge of the park was brightly illuminated, but they were still too far away for the lights and noise of the ongoing diplomatic reception to reach them.
Chakotay rubbed his hands across Kathryn's back. "I won't be at the conference tomorrow, but I'll be back by evening. Will you have dinner with me?"
"Yes," she breathed before slipping one hand around his neck and dragging his mouth back to hers for another kiss. Her whole body was tingling, and she wanted to prolong the feeling as much as possible. She ran the tip of her tongue along Chakotay's lips and he captured it, sucking lightly before sweeping his own tongue into her mouth. Her hands roamed over his chest and shoulders, gripping harder when he trailed the fingertips of one hand down her neck and lightly skimmed over her breast. The kiss deepened, both of them delighting in the other's reaction to every hesitant caress.
Kathryn had never been this much attracted to a man she'd just met, and her subconscious mind was screaming at her to slow down, yet her body wanted something else entirely. She molded herself against him and felt his body respond, and if they hadn't been in a public park, less than three hundred meters from a hotel packed with alien dignitaries and Starfleet brass, some of whom had known her father, she wasn't sure what might have happened next.
After several minutes they eased out of the kiss, ending with soft brushes of lips across cheeks.
Kathryn leaned her head against Chakotay's shoulder and sighed. "I should go."
"Yes, you should." Despite his words, he made no move to release her from his tight embrace.
She traced circles along his upper arm. "What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I applied for a post at Starfleet Academy. Since I couldn't make it back to Earth in time for the test and interview, they arranged for a simulator session here in on Kelvaris, followed by a subspace conference."
Kathryn looked up. "You want to quit active duty?"
Chakotay smiled. "Not permanently. I just want to try something different for a while, and teaching was always something I could see myself doing."
"What would you be teaching?"
"Advanced strategy and tactics. Probably piloting, too."
"Have you ever crashed a shuttle?"
"No, why?" he asked in surprise.
She grinned mischievously. "A close friend of my father used to say that a good pilot only becomes a great pilot after surviving his second shuttle crash."
Chakotay laughed. "My captain would have my hide if I so much as scratched the paint on one of our precious shuttles. So far, I've always brought them back in one piece."
Kathryn coyly batted her eyelashes. "Could I come and take a class or two?"
"I'm sure I could arrange private lessons for you," he whispered, bending down to kiss her again.
The sound of approaching footsteps forced them apart several moments later. Breathless and flushed, they were grateful to note that only a local Kelvari was walking along the path, leading a furry, six-legged creature on a leash.
Chakotay took Kathryn's hand again, and together they walked toward the hotel. By now the reception had spilled from the balcony down the steps leading to the park, and when Kathryn became aware of the cluster of people gathered there, she stopped and gently tugged her fingers from Chakotay's grasp.
"I'll go in the other way," she said, indicating a small side path that led around to the front of the building.
He was obviously reluctant to let her go but nodded. When she started turning away, he gripped her hand again. "Dinner tomorrow. Don't forget."
Kathryn smiled widely. "You've got yourself a date, Commander." She squeezed his hand and he released her. "Sleep well."
"You too," Chakotay replied, returning her smile.
At the corner of the building she turned back to look for him and found that he had rejoined the party, talking to an elderly Vulcan in flowing ceremonial robes and a white-haired Starfleet officer who looked vaguely familiar. Since she'd had enough excitement for one day, and also didn't feel like explaining her mud-stained clothes, Kathryn quickly moved on before anyone could spot and recognize her. She reached her room without incident and soon fell into bed, dreaming of sunny beaches on alien shores and warm hands which gently peeled her bikini from her body.
-==/\==-