Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor the universe, nor the musical form I am emulating.
VARIATION THREE: VELOCITY
Chapter Rating: K+
As she stared at the ceiling of her quarters, Captain Janeway wondered idly how she used to rest so easily, even as piles of paperwork and other matters kept her away from bed. Often now, she lay awake the whole night, and when she did fall asleep, it was so soon before her alarm that she'd be more tired when she woke up than when she went to bed.
Increasingly, Chakotay began to notice the captain's visible exhaustion and, if he were to be completely honest with himself, her slightly increasing waistline. It was when he took note of the latter that he began to understand the former.
"What is it, Chakotay?" asked the captain tiredly as she sat next to him on the bridge. She worried his answer would contribute to her sleeplessness, but at least it would give her something to think about other than the idle fantasy of sticking glow-in-the-dark stars above her bed.
Gulping, the commander decided to be honest, but offered to meet with her in the Ready Room for some measure of privacy. As they walked towards the door, he second-guessed his first instinct to tell her exactly what he'd observed, and opted to be a bit craftier.
"How about a game of Velocity?" he asked her, and was relieved to see her expression of confusion: at least she hadn't noticed his eying of her belly. He hoped she'd agree without question, but wasn't quite gratified on that point.
"Now?" she asked incredulously. She couldn't imagine why her first officer had taken her off the bridge to challenge her to a game.
"At the end of our shift," he answered, "and I promise we'll talk then." He hoped she'd buy the excuse.
Six hours later, Kathryn was so exhausted she'd forgotten that they were supposed to talk business. Too tired even to jump into the sonic shower to wash the sweat off of her body, she collapsed fully-clothed into bed and was unconscious almost before she hit the sheets.
Six weeks later, after a daily regimen of post-shift Velocity games, she noticed three things: first, she was far more alert during the day, second, her uniforms fit better around the waist, and third, she was growing awfully fond of her first officer, especially now that she was able to beat him about half the time. For the moment, her competitive nature overruled her gratitude, but she vowed silently that in a month or so, when she was sure she'd win consistently, she would thank him properly.