Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

THE REAL YOU

CHAPTER 4

Chakotay was just putting the finishing touches to a lavish picnic by the lake when a little black dog ran up to him.

"Hello there," Chakotay said, petting the friendly creature. "Where did you come from?"

"He's with us," Kathryn's voice said. "I couldn't get a sitter. I hope you don't mind."

Chakotay got to his feet and turned to her. "Not at all. The more the merrier."

Standing beside Kathryn, in pink jeans and a yellow t-shirt, was a cute little girl with blue eyes, red bunches, and a face full of freckles.

"Hi," Chakotay said to her. "You must be Justine."

"I am," she smiled. "And you must be Chakotay."

"That's right. Welcome to my home."

Justine looked in anticipation at the wonderful picnic before them. "Is that picnic for us?"

"It certainly is. But I don't think there'll be much of it left if your dog gets his way."

The mutt was helping himself to a plate of egg sandwiches.

"Oh, Rolo!" Kathryn cried. "Get away from there!"

The dog ignored her.

"Rolo! Here!"

At that not-to-be-argued-with command, Rolo reluctantly left the sandwiches and slumped at her feet. As he did, Justine scooped him up.

"You naughty greedy boy," she said. "You know you're not supposed to eat our food!"

"I'm so sorry," Kathryn said to Chakotay as he tipped the sandwiches into a waste bag. "I hope your replicator made those."

"It did," he smiled. "It's been working hard."

"So I can see. You've made us a banquet."

There were all kinds of sandwiches, a selection of cakes, some cookies, a bowl of nachos, and plates of different fruit.

"Can we eat now, Chakotay?" Justine asked as she put Rolo down. "I'm starving."

"You sure can," he smiled.

Justine cheered, sat on the picnic blanket, and went straight for a strawberry star cake.

"Sandwiches first," Kathryn said. "Cake after."

"Oh, but if I eat them first," Justine argued, "and they fill me up, I won't have room for the cake. Not without making myself sick."

"Good point," Chakotay laughed.

"Ok then," Kathryn conceded. "But just the one cake!"

Justine smiled happily and then got stuck into her treat.

When the picnic was over, Chakotay took Kathryn and Justine for a boat ride on the lake, and then to the ruins of a 22nd century castle. They explored the ruins for a while, Justine in her element, and then they returned to the lodge for dinner. This was a rice dish, courtesy of the replicator, and they ate it on the balcony. Little Justine was so exhausted after the day's adventures that she fell asleep as soon as she curled up in a sofa chair, and Rolo, whose tiny feet had never done so much walking in his life, was already out for the count.

"I can't believe it's evening," Kathryn said, looking out at a dusk sky. "The day has flown by. Thank you for a wonderful time."

"Thank you," Chakotay smiled.

"I really enjoyed the boat ride and the castle was definitely a treat. I love castles, all kinds. Some day I'd like to take a trip to Europe and see some of their ancient ones."

"Why don't we?" Chakotay said.

Kathryn laughed. "Take a trip to Europe to see castles?"

"Yes. I love ancient history, that's why I'm an archaeologist, and I'm very interested in ancient architecture."

"But how could we? When?"

"Well, Justine's told me a hundred times today that's she's going to summer camp next month. Why don't we go then? School's out so I can easily take a couple of weeks off. I'm sure you can too."

"I can," Kathryn smiled, excitement growing. "Let's do it! We can make a list of all the castles we want to see and book ourselves a hotel somewhere. Where would you like? Germany, France? Ireland?"

"I don't mind. You choose."

"Then Ireland. I have Irish roots and it would be so nice to spend some time there."

"One of your ancestors wouldn't happen to be Katie O'Clare, would it?" he teased.

"No," Kathryn laughed. "And there was no Shannon O'Donnell either. Tom made both up. Michael Sullivan too, thank heaven."

"Your holo-character liked him."

"Well, yours liked Seven-of-Nine! Tom's romantic judgment leaves much to be desired."

"Oh, I don't know," Chakotay smiled. "I think he was onto something with the Captain and First Officer arc."

Kathryn smiled and they gazed at each other for a moment. Then Kathrynn spoke. "Shall we start making a list of castles? Or have you had enough of my company for one day?"

"Never. And let's. In fact, why don't you, Justine and Rolo stay for the night? I've got plenty of room."

"Why not? Thank you."

"Then you start listing castles and I'll go make up the spare room. A queen bed between you ok?"

"Absolutely fine," Kathryn smiled.

Two hours later, the list was drawn up, the hotel booked, and Justine tucked up in bed. As Kathryn took a quick shower, Chakotay made them a hot chocolate and then waited for her in the main lounge. It was dark outside, so lamps lit up the room, and in their cozy glow Rolo slept on a rug before the fire.

"Next time I stay," Kathryn said as she entered the room in a silky blue nightrobe she'd just replicated, "I'm going to have to take a bath. Your tub looks heavenly!"

"I hope there is a next time," he answered. "I hope there's many times."

"Me too," she smiled.

Chakotay then gestured to the hot chocolates. "Real, not replicated, and ready to drink."

Kathryn sat on the couch opposite him and took one eagerly. "If there's any drink in the universe that comes close to coffee for me, then it's hot chocolate. Especially when topped with cream and marshmallows. How did you know this is how I like it?"

"Courtesy of Tom's masterpiece."

"Of course," Kathryn laughed. "But tell me, honestly, what did you think of my holo-character?"

"Interesting enough to have hot chocolate with," he teased.

"You didn't find her infuriatingly stubborn and self-willed?"

"Totally. But I like a woman who knows her own mind."

Kathryn smiled and sank back into the couch to enjoy her creamy drink.

"I'm curious, though," Chakotay went on, "about this Mark guy. Is he real?"

"Only in Tom's imagination," she replied. "What about Riley and Kellin?"

"Born there too," Chakotay smiled. "Or the offspring of a plot suggestor program."

"Most likely," Kathryn laughed.

"But now I know what you meant about Unity, Unforgettable and Endgame."

"And?"

"I have to agree. Terrible from a certain perspective. As terrible as Fair Haven and Counterpoint."

Kathryn smiled. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"But tell me. If you really were out there, stranded a lifetime from Earth, would you behave the same?"

"You mean, would I sacrifice true love to adhere to protocol?"

"Yes."

"I honestly don't know," she said, putting her hand to her neck and rubbing a sore spot. "It would be the easiest thing in the world to sit here and say I wouldn't, but it would be a totally different kettle of fish if I was out there and a crew was depending on me to get them home. I'm just glad I'm not in that situation."

"Me too." He noticed the way she was rubbing her neck and questioned her. "Your neck tense?"

"A little. Tennis, skiing and hiking all in one week has taken its toll on my poor body."

"My offer of a massage still stands."

Kathryn hesitated, but her neck really was sore and she felt now that she was ready to move their relationship up a notch.

"Then I'll take you up on it," she said. "Thank you. The water helped some but I'm still sore."

Chakotay got to his feet and pointed towards the dining area. "Then take a seat, ma'am."

Kathryn went over to the table, sat down, and closed her eyes as Chakotay began to massage her shoulders.

"My mother used to get sore necks all the time," he said. "I was the only one she trusted to make it better."

Kathryn felt her tension ebb as his fingers worked their magic and soon she was drifting blissfully. Then his fingers stopped working and she became all too aware of a current between them, a powerful force that was stirring her inside. Hardly knowing what she was doing, she got to her feet and slowly turned towards him. There was a fire in his eyes, just as there was in her soul, and the next thing she knew she was in his arms and they were kissing passionately. The world seemed to stand still, the very universe, and all that existed was them. Chakotay's lips moved to her neck, showering her with passionate kisses, and Kathryn gasped as his hands sensually caressed her body. His lips then reclaimed hers and kissed her with bruising force. Kathryn couldn't breathe, couldn't think, just drank him in to the core.

Then reality came crashing back down on her when a little girl came bursting into the room.

"Mommy, Mommy, there's a..." At the sight of her mother and Chakotay kissing, Justine stopped in her tracks.

Breathless and dizzy, Kathryn drew away from Chakotay and turned to her daughter. "What is it, darling?"

"There's a spider in our room. I saw it when I went to the bathroom."

"A spider?" Chakotay said, also recovering his breath. "We can't have that. I'll catch it and put it outside. You ladies wait here."

He quickly left the room and Justine wandered over to Kathryn. "Mommy, is Chakotay your boyfriend?"

For a moment Kathryn didn't answer, as she didn't quite know how too, but finally she did. "Yes, darling."

Justine's little face lit up at this. "Really? Cool! I like him!"

"Me too," Kathryn smiled. "Me too."

Ten minutes later, the spider was back in the wild where it belonged and Chakotay was back in the lounge.

"I'm happy to say," he said, "that our unwelcome guest has gone. The room is all yours again, Miss Justine."

"Thank you, Chakotay," she smiled. "I so hate spiders. I'll sleep so much better now that he's gone. I don't think I'd have slept at all if he was still there. A big black one crawled into my bed once and I've hated them every since. I hate all other bugs too."

"Well, I'm not a big fan of them myself," Chakotay said.

"If no one likes them, because no one I know does, why do you think God made them?"

Kathryn put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now's not the time to discuss a bug's place in our eco-system. Back to bed, young lady."

"But I really want to know!"

"Tomorrow."

"But...."

"No buts," Kathryn said, kissing her cheek. "Bed."

"Ok," Justine sighed. "Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, darling."

"Goodnight, Chakotay."

"Goodnight," he smiled. "Sweet dreams."

Justine made her way to the door, but as she reached it, she turned around. "Chakotay..."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're my Mommy's boyfriend."

She smiled warmly at him and then went on her way.

"A logical conclusion, I suppose," Chakotay said as he walked over to Kathryn.

"Yes," she replied. "But I kind of let her have the notion. I don't want her to think I kiss strange men and...well, I'm kind of hoping you are my boyfriend."

Chakotay smiled. "So am I."

"But I'd like us to take things slowly. Not only because I've got Justine to consider, but because I think we could have something really special and I don't want us to mess things up."

"Neither do I. Taking things slowly is a good idea." He smiled, dimples showing. "Just not too slowly. That was some kiss."

"It was, wasn't it? But you know what they say. Good things come to those who wait." She walked away with a smile, stopped at an antique chess board, and picked up a white queen. "Want to play chess?"

"Yes," Chakotay smiled. "Let's play."

END OF CHAPTER 4