Betrayal and Turkey.
Chapter Three.
By Hopping Hamster.
Paramount own Star Trek and its characters, I give them the fun they need to be real.
"I can carry my own case B'Elanna!" Chakotay insisted as he snatched this one rather light bag from the hands of the pregnant woman who had just taken it to begin walking up the large steps towards the beautiful old manor house before them.
"Okay old man" she laughed as he snatched the bag from her and gestured for to lead the way.
Chakotay stepped inside and looked around the large ornate entrance which was surprisingly modern inside "you have a beautiful house" he smiled at B'Elanna proud she had done so well for herself.
"All the land and farm goes with it" she turned and nodded far out across the courtyard, it was a ranch, a beautiful farming ranch. The far side of a mountain loomed in the distance with an orchard and planted gardens to the left.
"Almost as beautiful as Trebus" his dimples beamed at her.
B'Elanna gave him awkward glance before turning off towards the large stairs and muttering "come on"
"commander!" a very angry looking EMH almost barged into him as he came charging down the stairs angrily.
"Doctor?" Chakotay asked slightly taken aback that the doctor would just be barging around B'Elanna's house like that.
The doctor looked equally as surprised to see the Native American. "We weren't expecting you" the doctor blurted out hurriedly.
"He's here for the five year celebration tomorrow" B'Elanna pointed out by way of explanation.
"of course" the EMH seemed to recover his surprise quickly as he nodded at him smugly saying "good to see you again commander" then ever so quickly he raised his med kit in his hand saying "excuse me duty calls"
as the holographic doctor sped off annoyed B'Elanna called out after him "doc we weren't expecting you today is everything ok?"
Chakotay watched both his for crew members closely. B'Elanna looked full of concern, the doctor just looked annoyed "oh yes, just fine, she knows best of course" the doctor snapped back as B'Elanna let out a breath and the doctor told them "just make sure you keep her blood pressure down" then with a pointed glare right at Chakotay he hissed "no arguing"
Chakotay looked confused and taken aback but the doctor was already gone and B'Elanna was trying to steer him into the house as he demanded "what did he mean no arguing?"
"Chakotay a lot has happened these last years" B'Elanna turned to him taking a deep breath, how could she tell him? How could she tell what he walked away from in search of his happiness those years ago? With a heavy sigh she hung her head and muttered "let's just get you in and settled"
as the half Klingon began marching up the stairs he knew there was something she wasn't telling him, something bad. "Wow B'Elanna it's a beautiful home" he said turning from her knowing now wasn't the time to bring it up.
"Yes it is" B'Elanna agreed, even she couldn't argue on that "come on let's get your luggage to your room" she said quickly guiding him further up the stairs.
Chakotay looked around, nothing reminded him of the Tom Paris he knew, the 20th century lover nor did it remind him of B'Elanna and her Klingon heritage "I like the art" he whispered looking at all the pencil sketches that were hung up along the wall of the stairs. They were clearly hand drawn by a skilled artist "I had no idea you were able to do such work"
"I'm not" was all B'Elanna stated. Chakotay looked at her confused and then back at the art hung on the wall and was surprised to see him staring back at him from the delicate pencil lines of the picture.
"Then?..." he asked slowly but his voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the delicate hand of a signature. K.E.J. Chakotay didn't have to ask any more. He even let his mouth curl into a smile as he looked at the pencil drawing his ex-fiancé had made of him. Distant memories he had long tried to squash down of his redhead captain insisting he stand still so she could draw him filled his mind. Though it made him wonder how after all this time B'Elanna had ended up with many of her drawings on her hallway wall. Suddenly the familiar sound of a turbo lift door brought him back and he jumped to see B'Elanna stood in the doorway of a modern turbo lift hidden in the wall "a turbo lift" he gasped in surprise.
"Surely you've seen one before" B'Elanna almost laughed at him playing on his stunned expression.
"Yea just not in an old house like this" he snapped suddenly feeling very stupid but also very happy to be back with B'Elanna, if truth be told he was really quite lonely on Trebus. Stepping into the turbo lift he joined B'Elanna who ordered the 9th floor. Chakotay didn't know how many floors this place had but he reckoned it would have some more after that.
As the doors opened a tall gangly man shoved his way past them and into the turbo lift "sorry excuse me" he muttered as he caught Chakotay off guard and so nearly knocking him over. As B'Elanna and Chakotay stepped out of the lift the man called "the den" just as the doors shut on him.
Chakotay who was now staring at the closed turbo lift doors demanded "who was that?"
"George" B'Elanna replied as though this was supposed to mean something to him "I suppose you could call him care taker, handy man, gardener" she offered in explanation shrugging "you name it he does it"
Chakotay didn't think much of George if this was how he talked to his boss when passing but decided it wasn't his place and so asked "you have staff working for you?" that in itself surprised him. Five years may have been a long time but not time enough for them to get a house such as this with a ranch, land and servants.
"B'Elanna held his gaze for a long second, there it was again the awkward silence, the one where he knew there was something she wasn't saying awkward for both of them, and they both felt it. "Come on here is your room" B'Elanna broke the spell swinging wide the door to the large living area with the bedroom off it.
Whatever Chakotay had been expecting it was not this, what was before him took his breath away. "Wow" he let out a low whistle "that view"
"one of the best rooms in the house" B'Elanna beamed at her more rugged looking friend. He looked free but something made her question if he was really happy, like really deep down happy.
"Thank you Lanna" he smiled his dimpled smile as he looked down out the window at the orchard and flower garden below. Somebody here cared for the land very much.
"Let's have a drink and a catch up hear old friend" B'Elanna gave his shoulder a squeeze and calmly made for the exit of his room. Leaving him silently staring out of the window at the vast land beyond.
(+)(+)(+)
"Kathryn Janeway sat at her desk in her den watching her old friend Tom Paris shift awkwardly on his feet before her. The way he did it told her she should be wary of the news he came baring but something told her the worst was yet to come and Chakotay was going to be part of that. she waited patiently in silence for a while longer to see what he would do but when he didn't leave he just got more restless then she knew she had to ask. "Why do I get the feeling there is something else you want to ask me tom?" she said slowly in her deep husky voice.
Toms blue eyes net her. He couldn't read her. Ten minutes ago he would have been sure she would never allow what he was about to ask. Now he couldn't be sure of anything. Her usual dead pan yet somehow reassuring expression met him and it gave him to courage to blurt out "the lunch for the senior staff tomorrow..." there he'd said it, there was no going back now, that was it.
"I see" she said softly, her eyes burning into him, daring him to say it, daring him to voice the suggestion lacing his words.
"He was the first officer" tom met the challenge slowly.
"Yes he was" she nodded. Still tom had not said it, still he had not vocalized his request for her to allow Chakotay into her private sanctuary, her den to join her for a semi private lunch.
"Then?" he gulped. Tom somehow couldn't say it.
Her eyebrow shot up as she stared at him. Tom braced himself for the onslaught that was to come for his unspoken question when her lips curled into a crooked smile and she snapped at him "for god sake tom he's travelled star systems to get here on the civilian transport I assume"
"yes" tom nodded. Though Chakotay still held the Starfleet rank of commander and the rebuild efforts in the Devron system were 'backed by the federation' everyone knew it was a civilian mission.
"then am I to turn him away from a lunch for the senior staff?" she asked softly, somehow her brain still hadn't filtered through what it really meant for Chakotay to be there on Earth but either way he was there and Kathryn knew he deserved to be there as Voyagers first officer, should he want to. Their past and her embarrassment aside.
"Thank you Kathryn" Tom smiled husky goofy grin "it will mean a lot to B'Elanna." he told her "she misses him so much" without another word he was gone leaving Kathryn alone with her memories.
It was some thirty minutes later that Kathryn whispered "don't we all tom?" into the empty room.
(+)(+)(+)
later that evening Chakotay and B'Elanna had shared a drink and for Chakotay a chance to unwind after the long transport from Trebus. He watched the heavily pregnant B'Elanna laugh and cry with memories of Voyager and his heart pained to remember the deep laugh of his red headed captain from those years. Even though they had been careful not to mention the woman who plagued his dreams she was still there tempting his mind like the sirens of old myth. "well thank you Chakotay" B'Elanna finally said as she stood "I'm so happy to hear life on Trebus is going so well for you!" turning she asked "see you in the morning?"
"Yes" he smiled trying to hide the lonely emptiness he felt.
just as she reached the door to leave B'Elanna finally turned and told him slowly "errm Chakotay tomorrow lunch time the senior staff are meeting for lunch"
"the senior staff?" he stood tall knowing what was coming.
"As in tom and I, the doc, harry, Seven and..." she stopped at met her old friend's dark eyes daring him to say it.
"Admiral Janeway" he finished stiffly like poison was coming from the name.
"She has a name you know!" B'Elanna snapped annoyed that he still wouldn't call her Kathryn.
Chakotay was angry and had suppressed his anger for the tiny redheaded woman for too long that what scared him the most was that when he finally had to face her he wouldn't be able to hold it in. calling her by name made her just a little too real and with that his pain just a little too real. "Not one I will ever use again so freely" was all he could muster to blurt out before the anger for the woman in question lashed out any more.
B'Elanna gave her disapproving scowl before telling her "well yes Kathryn will be there"
"and you want me to be there?" he asked with deep breaths trying to stay calm.
"can't you just let it go for one day?" the begging in B'Elanna's eyes took him aback as she asked "do the rest of us have to suffer because she turned down your proposal" Chakotay gulped hard, that wasn't exactly how it happened nor was that the true story but maybe it was best he let it lie. "we miss you" B'Elanna told him "I miss you"
"ok" he nodded firmly "for you I'll be there and I'll play nice"
"thank you" B'Elanna sighed with relief and left him to dread the coming day.
(+)(+)(+)
the next morning Chakotay dressed and found his way down the stairs to what he hoped was the kitchen. Morning sun was shining in as well as the smell of roses and fresh brewed coffee... fresh brewed coffee in the morning. That took him back once again to her... if he was truly honest this whole house did in a strange way. Shrugging off the idea he moved towards the open door of the kitchen when smoke assaulted his nose and the sound of a woman coughing filled the room.
"B'Elanna!" he called quickening the pace towards the kitchen "what the hell are you cooking it's burning!" he shouted entering the smoke filled room as he ran to the charred food in the replicator "Lanna your replicator..." he growled pulling the plug and flinging open the back door allowing the smoke to escape into the gardens beyond.
"Shit!" came a half groan half husky outburst from the woman sat at the kitchen table.
"Spirit's admiral" Chakotay stopped dead in his tracks and stared "I thought..." but his voice tailed off at the sight of her after all this time. She had coffee mug in one hand, book resting open on the table before her. Her magnificently bright blue eyes trained on him. Unwavering as she stared at him as she wrapped her night gown tight around herself.
