NOTE: Please see Chapter 1 for a general disclaimer and some background info about this story.

Tangled Lives
by Hester (hester4418)

- Part 2: Earth (October 2364) -

Chakotay walked down the streets of San Francisco with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. He hadn't felt this happy in weeks and apparently it showed, for after this morning's class one of his students had remarked that he seemed particularly cheerful. Several others had nodded in agreement, probably hoping for a piece of gossip to share with their friends, but Chakotay had simply smiled and wished them a good day. Then he'd left a message with his superior's secretary that he'd been called away on urgent family business and wouldn't be able to attend the afternoon departmental meeting. Chakotay usually didn't play hooky, but just this once he'd decided to make an exception.

This was the day Chakotay had been looking forward to for three long months – when he'd finally see Kathryn Janeway again. Ever since leaving Kelvaris, the planet where they'd met and spent five blissfully happy days together, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her – not that he'd really tried. Never before had he met a woman who had captivated him so completely, body and soul. And he couldn't wait for the moment when he'd finally hold her in his arms again.

They'd tried to keep in regular contact, but their communications had been hampered by away missions and technical difficulties. During the first couple of weeks following their separation, they'd managed to exchange a handful of typed messages. Then he'd tried to call her on subspace twice, but missed her both times. The first time, he'd been told she was unavailable and that he should try again later. But he'd been on his way to Earth by then, and the particulars of his travel arrangements had prevented another attempt. Unfortunately, he'd also missed her return call, but she had written again instead. Upon his arrival at the Academy, he'd been so exceedingly busy completing all sorts of formalities that it had taken a few days until he'd gotten a chance to reply to her latest message. He'd tried calling her again just after settling into his new apartment, but hadn't had any better luck than before. A sour-looking officer had informed him that Kathryn was on an extended away mission and not expected back anytime soon. This hadn't particularly worried Chakotay as away missions were a regular occurrence in every Starfleet officer's life. However, when more than two weeks had gone by without a word from her, he'd started to feel uneasy. Another week later, he had just decided to try reaching her again when he finally received a brief note sent from a public comm terminal on Starbase 62:

Will arrive SF HQ Thursday ~1100. K.

That had been four days ago, and Chakotay had been wondering what to expect ever since.

Of course he didn't really know Kathryn very well, but compared to her earlier letters, this note was dreadfully short and impersonal. Had she changed her mind about them, he wondered. But why would she then be coming to visit him at all? Surely not just to tell him it was over. The night before her scheduled arrival, Chakotay had finally decided to quit second-guessing the note and just look forward to seeing her again. But no matter how hard he tried to keep his expectations in check, his heart still tripped every time he thought of her.

It had been love at first sight. From the moment he'd looked into Kathryn Janeway's eyes, before he even knew her name, he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. And once he'd held her trembling body in his arms that first night, he realized that he hadn't felt so complete since leaving Dorvan V and his family. He'd known that he was in love with her even then, and the three-months separation had not diminished his feelings in the slightest.

So when he entered the Starfleet Headquarters transport station at 1045 hours on that beautiful Thursday morning, he did so with conflicting emotions of anticipation and apprehension. He'd considered greeting her with flowers but decided against it, wanting to avoid attracting any undue attention in case things did not go the way he hoped.

The station was terribly busy, with people moving in every direction and continuous loudspeaker announcements in Federation standard and several other languages. This was Starfleet's main transportation hub for Earth, and the number of people passing through every day numbered in the thousands. There were designated areas for ship-to-Earth and Earth-to-ship transfers, as well as a separate section for Terran destinations.

Chakotay scanned the list of vessels currently in orbit, but since Kathryn hadn't told him which one she'd be traveling on and had only given an estimate of her arrival time, it was no help. He turned to survey the crowd, but there were half a dozen transporters just for the incoming personnel and he couldn't keep them all in sight at the same time. Resigning himself to the fact that she most likely would have to find him instead of the other way round, he stood off to the side and let his eyes travel over the sea of unfamiliar faces.

Ten minutes went by, then twenty, and still there was no sign of Kathryn. After half an hour of waiting, he'd just checked the time again when he finally heard a familiar husky voice behind him.

"Hello, Chakotay."

His throat tight with sudden excitement, he turned. And there she was, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, one hand formally extended for him to shake. Chakotay's heart dropped. He'd been ready to sweep her into a hug, maybe even kiss her if she wouldn't object to the public display of affection, and her cool formal greeting unsettled him. As he took Kathryn's hand, fighting to keep his disappointment in check, he quickly catalogued a number of changes in her appearance.

First off, there was the uniform. Instead of the science blue he was used to seeing on her, she was wearing command red. Since one of her letters had hinted at a possible change in her career, he wasn't too surprised by this. Harder to understand was the change to her hair. When they met, her preferred hairstyle had been a French braid that fell down her back. Now, however, Kathryn's long auburn tresses had been pulled up into a bun so tight that he wondered if it caused her headaches. Worse, it gave her an older, severe look that was at odds with the warm-hearted, passionate young woman he remembered. And was she taller than before? It had been so long, his memory was probably off on that detail.

Lastly, there was a new pip on her collar. Seizing on this, Chakotay finally found his voice. "Welcome to San Francisco, Lieutenant Commander Janeway," he said, stressing her new rank on purpose.

Kathryn smiled, but it was strained. "Thank you." Even discounting the new hair style, there was no denying that she looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes which starkly stood out against her pale complexion.

"And congratulations on your promotion," he added, his previously exuberant mood fading fast. This was not the reunion he had imagined, and a nagging voice at the back of his mind whispered that maybe her impersonal note had a deeper meaning after all.

"Thank you," she repeated and then looked around, clearly uneasy in the large, bustling crowd. "Could we please get out of here?"

"Of course." He threaded his way through the masses of people, Kathryn following close on his heels. Soon they were standing on the sidewalk outside the building, an uncomfortable silence between them.

"So." Chakotay awkwardly cleared his throat. "Where are you staying?"

She'd been staring out at the blue waters of San Francisco Bay, but now her head whipped around and he thought he detected a sliver of uncertainty in her eyes. "I was hoping to stay with you," she said slowly, and then added hastily, "but if it's inconvenient, I can call a friend and –"

"No, no, I'd love for you to stay with me," Chakotay was quick to reassure here, relief making its way to his face in a tentative smile. "I just... I didn't want to assume anything."

She smiled back. "Then let's go." She turned left.

Chakotay grasped her arm. "This way," he said, cocking his head to the right.

Kathryn raised her eyebrows. "Are you not staying on campus?"

"No." They started walking, but since she kept looking at him, he felt compelled to explain further. "After all these years of living in Starfleet environments, I thought it would be nice to get away from that for a while. I have an office on campus and I do spend a lot of my time around the Academy, but when I get home, I can just be... myself. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does," she replied in a low voice, turning her head so he couldn't see her face anymore. "And there have been times recently when I've felt the same."

There was a strange vibration in her tone, and Chakotay got the distinct impression that she was on the verge of tears. Unsure of what to say, he belatedly realized that he'd stopped walking while Kathryn was moving on ahead. He caught up with her in several long strides and grasped her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Her only acknowledgement was a slight squeeze of his hand, but he took it as a positive sign that she didn't shy away from the contact.

They'd been moving uphill, the bay at their backs, and were now entering an area of town with medium-rise buildings that were popular with singles due to the wide variety of small and affordable lodgings. Chakotay led Kathryn up a side street to a dark green apartment house which was set slightly apart from its neighbors. They took the elevator up to the sixth floor and finally entered his place, where a short hallway greeted them.

"Living room," Chakotay said, gesturing toward an open archway through which the hall was flooded with light. Then he pointed to three doors in turn. "Bedroom. Bathroom. Kitchen." He spread his arms wide and grinned. "That's all there is to it. Come in and make yourself at home. Anything you need, just ask."

"Thank you," she murmured, advancing a few steps into the living room and dropping her duffel bag onto a chair. Then she turned to him. "If you don't mind, I'd really, really like to take a shower. I've had to change transports six times in the past three days, and most of them were overcrowded, so I couldn't get a cabin and just had a seat in the communal passengers' area. I feel like I've been wearing this same uniform for weeks."

The offer to help her take her uniform off was on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. With a travel experience like that, it was no wonder she looked exhausted. "The bathroom is all yours," he said, once more pointing out the respective door. "Take as much time as you need."

With a grateful smile, she crossed the hall and disappeared behind the door. Chakotay watched it close behind her and then went to open the living room windows to let in some fresh air. As he stood looking out over a row of buildings and the water visible beyond, he reflected on how the morning had turned out completely different than he'd imagined. His giddy anticipation had evaporated, leaving a desperate yearning in its place. The Kathryn who had greeted him at the transport station was so different from the one he remembered that he was tempted to suspect that she'd been replaced by a doppelganger. He immediately chided himself for the ridiculous thought. Hopefully once she'd had the chance to clean up and get some rest, she'd act more like herself again.

After a last look outside, Chakotay went to his bedroom to change. When he passed the bathroom and heard the shower running, he remembered that there were no fresh towels in there since he'd not had time yet to install shelves or cabinets. He grabbed a towel from his closet and approached the bathroom door, raising his hand to knock. "Kathryn, I've got a –"

The door slid aside before he could touch it, and he stumbled in surprise since he'd assumed it to be locked. Catching himself against the frame, he looked up and straight at the shower cubicle.

Behind a transparent force field, Kathryn stood with her head bowed and eyes closed, steaming hot water cascading over her head and shoulders. Chakotay couldn't help staring, following the trails of water down her nude body. She was thinner than he remembered, but he greedily drank in the image which had fueled his dreams for the past three months. The towel in his hand was all but forgotten.

As if sensing his gaze, Kathryn lifted her head and opened her eyes. Chakotay half expected her to be angry at his intrusion, but her lips curved into a smile and she slowly ran her hands over her stomach and hips, brushing off soap bubbles and watching him from under a curtain of wet hair. Then she reached out and deactivated the force field.

The spray from the shower hitting his face awoke him from his stupor. He dropped the towel and discarded his boots, adding them to the pile on the floor that was her uniform and Starfleet-issue underwear. When he started lowering the zipper to his jumpsuit, she lifted a hand and beckoned him forward, whispering, "Come here."

Grinning, he stepped up to her, instantly getting drenched. This was the playful Kathryn he remembered, the one who could turn his insides to jelly with a single, smoldering look. When she started peeling the wet fabric from his body and her lips touched his bare chest, he shuddered in anticipation and skimmed his fingertips up her sides.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," Kathryn sighed when they finally discarded the last bit of Chakotay's clothing and skin touched skin in a tight embrace.

He reached around her for the shower controls and the stream slowed to a fine drizzle, like a warm summer rain. "I think I do," he murmured just before claiming her mouth with his own and proceeding to show her just how much he had missed her.

-==/\==-