Betrayal and Turkey.
Chapter Four.
By Hopping Hamster.
Paramount own Star Trek and its characters, I give them the fun they need to be real.
"I'm sorry admiral" Chakotay found himself blundering, not quite sure what to do next as his eyes stayed locked with her.
he found himself tugging awkwardly on his ear lobe as she broke into a confident smile and whispered "don't be" as she raised her left palm as though to silence him. "I would offer you a drink but my replicator is down" he voice was calm, her eyes where steady but as he stared at her
Chakotay noticed her face was fuller yet not so full of expression as she once would have been. She looked tired and a lot older and more set than he remembered. His heart involuntary beat faster as he realised the past five years hadn't been kind to the woman he found he still had feelings for though somehow he couldn't place the problem.
"hum" he grumbled wanting so very much to be angry at her but suddenly unable to get the words out
"yea" he hissed in a deep voice "on fire"
"I always was a poor cook" she joked but her joked fell flat somewhere between them as he stared at her without a word "anyway now we have crossed paths I may as well welcome you to Earth" she tried to offer as she shifted slightly uncomfortable in her chair.
Once the silence lingered to almost an unbearable situation he nodded curtly and muttered "well excuse me" before turning to go.
"Chakotay..." Kathryn called softly but her voice trailed off when he turned with venom in his eyes.
"B'Elanna never warned me you were staying" he spat at her as though this was her fault.
"Staying?" she questioned with her brow drawn together. She didn't understand what he was saying but the more he stared at her the more he realised. Slowly she sank back in her chair saying softly "oh..." just then she saw B'Elanna come charging up the path and into the kitchen behind Chakotay. "Well I am sure she would have mentioned it" Kathryn said smugly turning pointedly to B'Elanna and adding "isn't that right B'Elanna?"
"Oh crap" B'Elanna hissed, her heart sank as she stood looking at Chakotay who was giving Kathryn such a hated look where she sat calmly looking back at him.
"She burnt your replicator" he said to the stunned half Klingon sarcastically. "I came to her rescue" B'Elanna look worried as she glanced at the older woman who was the picture of calm.
"Thanks for that" Kathryn smiled softly at the rugged looking native American "I was grateful"
"you were?" he scoffed feeling unsure if she was being serious or not "I find that hard to believe"
"Chakotay!" B'Elanna snapped horrified he would say such a thing.
"I'm sorry B'Elanna but I didn't expect to find a half dressed admiral floundering around in your kitchen" she snapped in a less than kind way giving Kathryn a disgusted look.
"Hardly floundering!" she retorted back softly "and I had no idea you were staying here" she pointed out giving B'Elanna a look to show she wasn't impressed about that.
"Excuse me admiral" he spat suddenly realising what a fool he had been "B'Elanna" and then with that he marched out of the house and down the garden path towards the planted gardens.
The two women watched him go in silence. Once he was far gone from their eye line Kathryn turned to B'Elanna and waited for her to turn to her. Slowly the half Klingon turned to face her waiting friend and sighed "I'm so sorry Kathryn" as she came to join her at her own home.
"you wanted him here for the reunion, fine I can understand that" Kathryn met her eyes with loving sincerity "but I won't be accused of floundering around in my own home"
"I'm sorry" B'Elanna told her truthfully "we had no room at ours with Liz and Harry with us"
Kathryn arched an eyebrow and closed the book in front of her and smiled saying "so you told him this was your home?"
"I didn't exactly tell him that" B'Elanna blurted out in her defence but when Kathryn held her eyes softly she admitted "I just didn't correct him when he assumed that"
"and you didn't think it necessary to ask my permission to have him stay here?" Kathryn almost hissed in her famous husky voice "let alone warn me?" she added as she managed to make her point calmly.
"Sorry" B'Elanna muttered looking away. This whole mess was not how she had dreamed the home coming would be and she knew deep down Kathryn for all her calmness felt the same.
Kathryn smiled softly as she reached out with one hand and whispered "inviting him to the reunion or not is nothing to do with me, he deserves to be invited" to this B'Elanna shot her a surprised look as Kathryn smiled more and admitted "even to the senior staff lunch" then she said more seriously "but don't ever invite somebody to stay in my home without asking me first" then with a heavy sigh she added "and without even telling them whose home it is" they both knew this might have caused more of a problem than they would first think. Both knew that Chakotay would never by choice stay in Kathryn Janeway's home.
"I'm sorry" B'Elanna told her and Kathryn nodded and let go of her dear friend's hand leaning back in her chair.
"it's ok" Kathryn said wistfully as she glanced out the window towards the gardens the way Chakotay had headed "I just hope he doesn't give you fall out over this"
"so he can stay?" B'Elanna gasped. They both knew the nearest hotel was so far out and not a workable option.
"my door is always open to any of my former crew, should they want to come" Kathryn said softly without meeting B'Elanna's gaze "you know that" then she smiled honestly and whispered in a sad kind of voice "and yes that includes former fiancé"
"thank you Kathryn" B'Elanna watched her closely seeing emotions they had all thought were long forgotten wash across her old friends face unnerved the half Klingon slightly.
"You have to tell him B'Elanna" Kathryn said turning her tear stained face towards her old friend "and before he comes to the den for lunch"
"what?" B'Elanna gasped and was taken aback "tell him what happened?" she sure hoped that wasn't what she was asking her to do "I can't Kathryn, I wanted to last night but I didn't know where to start" B'Elanna whispered looking down at her friend's body.
"I was referring to telling him this is my house" Kathryn told her as she looked up and their eyes locked
"if he want to know anything else" then she paused and stressed "and that's if" taking a breath she said honestly "then he's welcome to ask me"
B'Elanna had been walking through the walled gardens looking for him for at least twenty minutes. She had wanted to stay with Kathryn but she had insisted she go, and anyway Sam would be arriving shortly to help her with her morning routine.
it was just then her eyes fell on the native American sat on a wooden bench staring at a whole row of vine ripe talaxian tomatoes growing around a carved statue of a small monkey "there you are" B'Elanna hissed joining him staring at the tomatoes. She didn't understand what had him in such a trance.
"Your garden is beautiful" was all he gulped out as tears fell waiting to see how she would respond to that.
Taking a deep breath she began "Chakotay..."
"Its ok B'Elanna I realised" he cut her off still staring at the monkey "this is her house?"
"yes" B'Elanna sighed offering him the truth "tom and I live just a little down the hill"
"she looked frightened half to death when I walked in" he almost snorted with laughter at the thought of it "you didn't tell her you invited me to stay?"
"Not exactly" B'Elanna admitted fearing that she may have made everything ten times worse now when she only wanted to do the right thing.
"Not exactly?" he questioned, B'Elanna should have known he wouldn't let her get off that lightly.
With a sigh ahead admitted "Tom told her last night that I invited you and that I was getting you last night"
"I bet she loved that!" he spat sarcastically.
"She's being more mature than you are" B'Elanna snapped at him. she was so angry with his attitude
"she just told me she thinks you deserve to be invited to the reunion" he stared at B'Elanna saying that as she told him softly "and she's happy for you to stay here as long as you are" at the uncomfortable expression on his face she added gruffly "she won't be in your way" then it was almost sad as she said "she rarely leaves the den"
"seeing her made me remember why I fell in love with her" he admitted softly which surprised B'Elanna. He didn't even want to get into the fact his heart had felt a pang when he saw how she pale and almost ill she looked.
The two friends held the silence for a long time before B'Elanna asked gently "what happened between you two old man?"
"she had her dreams I had mine" he admitted "we couldn't do both"
"so you left her?" B'Elanna had never dared ask Kathryn, none of them had. And certainly not since the accident.
"she asked me to leave" Chakotay told her in his defence, adamant he was following her wishes "she gave her ring back" to him you couldn't get more final than that. They were already disagreeing; there was already too much pain between them.
"And so you left?" B'Elanna asked when Chakotay turned back to the monkey "the one thing I could never understand Chakotay was why you let her go, why did you leave just after she lost the baby? Did you ever think she might actually need you?"
"The only person she ever needed was herself" he spat his anger at his lost unborn child being mentioned flared "her admirals mask to hide behind"
"well she sure as hell is learning how to need people now." B'Elanna growled angry at his response, surely he had seen before when he looked at her? And yet he was so cold.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chakotay demanded confused where his friend's anger was coming from.
"nothing" she shook her head annoyed with the situation and unsure how to tell him "why don't you come back to ours and see tom and Mirral" she breathed a calming few words "harry and Liz are staying at ours but I think they are in China to meet his grandmother this morning"
Chakotay nodded and followed away down to path towards her house before asking "if this is admiral Janeway's house why do you have access to come and go as you please?"
"Open door policy to any of the Voyager crew" B'Elanna called over her shoulder. Him still refusing to use her name greeting on him "Kathryn says only the den is really hers, the rest of the ranch she gives to anyone of her Voyager family who has a need"
"like a bed for a few nights?" he questioned meeting her gaze.
"Like that" the half Klingon sighed "or a patch of land to grow their own food" then she decided she might as well tell him "tom and I live on her land. As does seven"
"that must be nice" he whispered looking out over Kathryn's vast land.
