They had been crossing the void for a little over two months when Tuvok actually found something to report - increased readings of theta radiation - so, they changed course to investigate.
A few hours later at 23.30, the lights in Chakotay's quarters suddenly went out. The darkness was total. He stilled the movement of her hips with his hands.
"Power failure?" She was instantly on task. The new task. He could feel the new tension through her body.
"Odd, our reserves are fine." He ordered the computer to raise the lights. No response. "Damn. Looks like power is down."
"Better get to the bridge," she husked.
"Agree..ed," he groaned as he lifted her off him and sat up. He could hear her cursing, as she swept her hands across the bed and then the floor.
"Here." He reached out in the blackness and thrust the scrap of fabric he'd found towards her. "Wait a second," he said, as he slid off the bed and felt his way towards the place he kept his flashlight, switched it on and pointed the beam towards her.
She was on her hands and knees now, groping on the floor. Damn that power failure!
"I can't find the comm badges!" she cursed.
He angled the flashlight towards the nightstand. The stand itself was on its side and items of clothing were strewn around it. "Guess you must have knocked them off earlier," he chuckled.
"Me?!"
"No time to find them now; comm system'll be down anyway. We've obviously still got life-support, the temperature's not dropping, so environmental controls are still functioning. Maybe other independent sub-systems are still working too?"
"Let's go find out."
They were ready within minutes, wearing the pieces of their uniforms that had been easiest to locate (Chakotay didn't have time to find his turtle neck or jacket - tank top would have to do) and they immediately made their way out.
She was slightly ahead of him. He would have had to concede she was always a nanosecond ahead of him when it came to making the switch back to command. She led them to the nearest access hatch. "I'll take the Jeffries tube to engineering and get an emergency power cell to hook up down there."
"I'll meet you there, after I've checked in on the bridge. Good job I've got some energy to burn off here, this is going to be one long night." As he spoke, he angled the flashlight so he could see her better.
Her hair was a little messy and even in this minimal light he could tell she was still flushed. He could also tell that her mind was buzzing, fired up to take on this crisis and get it under control; she was absolutely magnificent.
He flicked off the flashlight and pulled her body flush against him and found her open mouth with his. He swallowed the small noise of surprise she made, and she pushed back against him a little, but without sufficient conviction to break the connection. He took full advantage and delved in to savour the taste of her until she finally pulled back and broke the kiss. Immediately, he switched the flashlight back on.
"Chakotay!" She hissed at him, "What…"
"It's pitch black, Kathryn, and there's no one here."
"That's not the point!"
"Go save the ship. You can chastise me later. As much as you like," he growled.
"Get out of here!"
The morning after they'd escaped from the void, Tom Paris strolled into the mess hall ready to take on whatever delight was in store for breakfast.
He was in a good mood, and had just been thinking about how to persuade the Captain to allow him to continue with some of the social activities he'd organised when they were still stuck in the void. That wasn't to say he missed being in there obviously. When they had been attacked by aliens native to that blank space, then introduced to an unsavoury Malon freighter captain dumping toxic waste there, it had become clear that the rest of their journey through the void would be much more eventful and much less relaxing.
He stood in front of the hatch and waited for Neelix who was bent over some large pan in the back of the galley.
The unmistakable sound of Janeway laughing floated over to him and he turned to see her sitting opposite Chakotay at their usual table. He wasn't surprised she was happy. Her risky, but inspired, plan to take the ship through the wormhole they'd found and then collapse it behind them had actually worked. They'd escaped the void and cut two years off their journey, and in doing so had deprived the Malon of their short cut to dump their toxic waste. Everyone's spirits were high.
"Tom! What can I get you today?"
"I'll have whatever they're having," he quipped, as he nodded his head towards the command team.
"I don't think you'll find that on the menu," chuckled the Talaxian conspiratorially, as he juggled the pan lids, the serving spoon and a plate for Tom.
"Oh?" Paris replied, raising his eyebrows.
Without looking up, Neelix prattled on. "But I do have a rather special omelette, I think it'll be right up your street," and he slid the wobbly, grey looking creation onto a plate and handed it to Tom before he could protest.
Tom was about to question Neelix further, when he saw Seven approaching him purposefully. Having so far avoided being conscripted for velocity he was keen to keep it that way, so he quickly put the plate down.
"Thanks, Neelix, but I've actually just remembered I've already eaten." And he fled.
A week later, just as their shift ended, Chakotay suggested to Kathryn they go for a drink in Sandrine's. There'd been a slight hesitation and then she'd agreed. Just a quick drink, she'd said.
For a while now he'd been wondering whether it would be easier to persuade her to consider revealing their relationship to the crew, if, first, they began to openly spend a little social time together. His reasoning was that if they were seen in social settings enjoying each other's company as friends now, when they decided the time was right to make their relationship public, it would elicit less of a reaction.
To date, they had successfully maintained the appearance of a considerable distance between them socially, so if the news of their involvement were to be made public now, the shock would mean that it would remain a topic of conversation for some time to come. Something he knew they would both want to avoid. Some time soon, he knew he wanted to have a conversation with her about this. He just hadn't seemed to actually initiate it yet.
They'd been sitting at the bar chatting for half an hour or so already when Chakotay looked up to see Tom Paris standing just inside the entrance, looking over towards them.
Chakotay suddenly became all too aware that his arm was draped across the back of Kathryn's chair. They weren't actually touching, but from where Tom was standing, Chakotay realised it would look as if his arm was around her shoulders. Immediately, he repositioned himself. As he did so, he also became aware of how close together they were sitting. He must have gravitated towards her without his being aware of it. He cursed his own complacency.
He looked away from Paris to Kathryn and saw that she'd already taken the pilot in, and that she was also well aware of his gaze. As Paris started to make his way towards them, they both shifted away from each other even more. She angled herself away from Tom as he approached and her eyes flickered back to find Chakotay's. The single glance that passed between them left Chakotay certain that she was as convinced as he was that they had just given themselves away.
Damn.
He wondered just how long Paris had been standing there. He realised that just watching them together, when they thought they were unobserved, would probably be enough to give them away to someone with Paris's sixth sense.
"Good evening Captain, Chakotay," Paris offered innocently, as he settled himself into the seat next to Kathryn and ordered a drink. He didn't say anything else, but he didn't bother suppress a tiny smirk and there was a flash of something akin to amusement in his eyes. Kathryn stood abruptly.
"I hope you're not leaving on my account, Captain," Paris turned to her in mock surprise. "If you two wanted a little privacy, you only had to say so. I know when I'm not wanted."
"I don't know what you mean, Tom," Kathryn began evenly, but unable to completely eradicate all trace of tension from her voice. "Chakotay and I were just discussing the events of the last few days, nothing confidential, I assure you."
"OK then," Tom replied, less cocky than he'd started out; perhaps he was picking up on the steel just beneath the surface of her oh-so-professional reply? "Can I get you another drink?"
"No, thank you, I was just leaving. Good night, Tom, Chakotay. See you in the morning." She left at a brisk pace.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Tom turned to Chakotay and said, "Well, someone's a little touchy this evening!"
"Watch it, Paris." Chakotay stiffened. "She's just tired and ready to turn in for the night, that's all."
"Well, you two looked pretty cosy when I walked in, and I didn't get the impression she was about to call it a night then. Not until I was part of the picture, that is..."
"I'm warning you, Tom, just drop it."
"OK, OK. Sorry. I just don't know why you're both suddenly so touchy!"
That was enough. Chakotay was through with this farce, if Paris used the word 'touchy' one more time, he swore he'd swing for him right there. He cursed himself again for being so careless. He decided he needed to get this under control immediately, so he stood, clamped his hand firmly on the helmsman's shoulder and leant in just a little too close.
His voice was smooth and low and just a little too calm. "If you breathe a word about what you think you know, Paris, I'll make you regret it."
Then he followed her out.
Tom was left in a state of complete shock, as their behaviour and Chakotay's parting threat confirmed something he hadn't actually suspected for years. The back end of a little light flirting was all he thought he'd interrupted. He had just wondered if he'd been witness to Chakotay finally making a little headway with her. He'd had no idea the man had made that much headway already!
As he watched Chakotay stalk out, he found himself remembering the flash of something almost like panic he'd seen cross the Captain's face when he'd first caught her eye. She'd moved abruptly away from her first officer, and he'd seen them do that telepathic communication thing they do sometimes, before they'd moved even further apart.
He replayed the conversation he'd just had with them in his head, and suddenly realised how they might have misunderstood his flippant comments. He really hadn't thought twice at the time, about how else his words might be taken.
Well I'll be….
Damn they're good!
He sat back and took a long pull on his drink as he joined the dots.
Neelix's comment at breakfast that morning a few days ago; the fact they both appeared the night of the power failure without their comm badges, which was unlike either of them - and very little of Chakotay's uniform, now that he came to think of it; and of course! Most obvious of all, now that he knew - their super-human ability to withstand those two months in the void! Who needs outside stimulus, when you're in the can't-get-enough-of-each-other phase?
And then, there was the time, two days after leaving the void, when he'd treated her hand in sickbay. It had been the morning after that away mission where Chakotay's team found some plum-like fruit that had caused a purple rash several hours after exposure to the irritant. She'd told him she'd handled Chakotay's fruit in the cargo bay, to inspect it... Tom smiled.
He sat back to consider what the picture he had just uncovered meant exactly.
Just how long had they been pulling this off?