A/N: This chapter deserves the M rating slightly more than the previous ones. Just saying.
Kathryn was just going over the reports her department heads had handed in. They were still only at impulse, but she was mostly pleased with everyone's work. The Doctor had given the all-clear about the increased radiation. He was positive that the shields and biofilters were enough to deal with it.
She was just reading up on the state of the inertial dampeners when the door chime went off.
"Come in." She took a sip of coffee. Of course it was cold by now.
"Captain Janeway?" It was Tom's voice, and he sounded more formal than usual. "Could I talk to you?"
She got up and walked over to the replicator. "What about?" she said gruffly. And to the replicator: "Coffee, black!"
Tom had stepped up to the handrail the purpose of which Kathryn still wasn't sure about. He kept his hands behind his back, standing at attention. She hadn't seen that in him in ages.
She suppressed a chuckle. "At ease." Tom's stance relaxed.
"I've come to apologise, captain. I was way out of line refusing to do what you asked of me. I'm not making excuses and I'm prepared to accept punishment."
Kathryn felt her heart go out to Tom, and to the rest of the crew. After all these years, they had really become a family, yet they had always managed to retain their command structure.
She looked at her helmsman sternly. She didn't want him to think he could do anything and get away with it. "Didn't Commander Chakotay already discipline you?"
Tom fidgeted slightly, clearly not wanting to get Chakotay into trouble. "Not exactly," he hedged. "But he did have me do some extra work."
Kathryn smirked. "Is that so? And if I asked you about the nature of that extra work, what would you tell me?"
Tom flushed pink. "That you're in for a great evening tomorrow."
She had expected something like that, so she was able to control her reaction. She nodded at him. "Well, in that case, apology accepted."
"Thank you, captain." Tom's face was still slightly pinker than usual when she dismissed him.
Kathryn allowed the renewed wave of anticipation to take hold of her. Never mind that she should still be slightly angry at Chakotay, right now all she wanted was to question him until he revealed his game plan.
She was still pondering this when she heard Chakotay's voice from her combadge. "Chakotay to Janeway."
"Janeway here," she replied, a giddy smile creeping onto her face.
Chakotay seemed to hesitate. "Is this a good time?"
"Quite good actually. What's up?"
"I'm off duty and I was wondering if you'd eaten anything today." Bless him, he was always looking out for her.
She smiled. "Does coffee count?"
Chakotay let one of his warm caramel chuckles ripple through the combadge, giving her butterflies and sending a jolt of pleasure through her body. What would that chuckle feel like against her ear, against her neck as the handsome Indian man kissed his way down her throat ...
She gave an involuntary gasp, cutting across whatever else Chakotay had said: "I'll be in the mess hall in five minutes."
Kathryn chugged down the coffee that was still slightly too warm and recycled her cup. She was having less and less qualms about letting herself feel what she did for her first officer. Excited as she was, she didn't think to compose her features, and earned a few questioning looks when she strode out of her ready room in such high spirits.
The turbolift seemed way too slow, but finally she reached Deck 2. She spotted Chakotay right away. He was standing at the counter, snacking on some of Neelix's appetizers. She walked over to him, intent on showing him she wasn't angry at him, so she put her hand on his shoulder when she greeted him. The alpha shift had just ended, so the mess hall was packed. In a way, she was glad about that fact, because it stopped her from kissing him. Chakotay hid his surprise at the touch exceedingly well ... or maybe he wasn't surprised at all. He turned and took her hand in his. The urge to kiss him grew stronger yet. He must have noticed, for he let go after only a few seconds.
Ignoring the fact that her stomach was already full of butterflies, Kathryn let Neelix fix her some dinner and led the way to one of the few empty tables. Chakotay regarded her attentively. "What's wrong?"
She smiled. "It's not the best thing to say in a room full of people." When Chakotay looked confused, she added: "Ask me about it later."
He seemed content for the moment. Then he turned serious. "Listen, Kathryn. I'd like to apologise for earlier. It wasn't fair to put Tom on the spot, or to try to keep you in the dark. Would you let me make it up to you?"
Kathryn had just taken a bite of whatever Neelix had cooked. It wasn't as good as their last dinner had been. She held up a hand while she finished chewing - quite a feat considering the texture of the meal - and then: "It's not me you should be apologising to. I was about to rip Tom a new one, as he would say."
He nodded. "I already told him I was sorry, and he accepted. It won't happen again," he assured her.
"Good," said Kathryn. "Then can we put this behind us she enjoy our dinner ... from a distance." She pushed her plate away when she was sure Neelix wasn't looking.
"I actually like it," he said, taking a huge bite to prove his point.
She must have looked disgusted, for he laughed. "You should see your face. It's exquisite. You could think I just told you I wanted a Borg for a pet."
They both chuckled at the image, before she leaned across the table and said in a low voice. "I think he's not looking. Let's make a dash for it."
Chakotay looked over his shoulder at the Talaxian cook. He appeared to be overseeing Naomi's efforts to reorganise his pantry. They both left their plates and stole out of the mess hall ... however well one could steal out of a room with dozens of Starfleet personnel watching. As soon as the turbolift door closed behind them, Kathryn burst out laughing. "That was so silly!" She turned to him in the confined space.
Chakotay joined in. "Still, it does get the blood pumping, doesn't it."
She nodded weakly, looking into his eyes. Their darkness seemed to radiate a heat that was almost impossible to look away from. She didn't notice how it happened, but suddenly they were kissing.
Chakotay felt immense joy and satisfaction at seeing Kathryn so unburdened and happy. She had been giddy and just the tiniest bit silly, making his heart quicken. When they had reached the turbolift, she had laughed like it had been the first time in ages. Seeing her like this robbed him of all restraint. He brushed a hand over her jawline, fingers tangling in her hair, and closed what little distance there had been between them. Her magnificent blue eyes that had been holding his fluttered shut almost instantly, while she threw herself into the kiss. Chakotay was dimly aware that the turbolift started moving, which was odd, since they hadn't given it any directions. He couldn't seem to care enough to stop kissing Kathryn, though. She was just zipping down his uniform jacket, taking him by surprise. She hadn't been so bold last time. Her cool hands were hesitant at first, but eventually started moving over his clothed chest.
Chakotay was reluctant to reciprocate, unsure how far she'd let him go in this decidedly public setting.
As if having read his mind, Kathryn unsealed her lips from his just long enough to pant: "Maybe we shouldn't do this here."
Chakotay gave a moan that was meant to signal agreement, but neither of them made any effort to stop. He was already very hard, wanting nothing more than to bury himself in her warmth, and he could tell by the way her hands ventured further down that she knew and approved. She leaned against him, pushing him into the turbolift wall, before she unzipped his pants and slipped her hand inside. Chakotay let his head fall back against the wall. Her touch on his heated flesh felt so unbelievably good!
Somewhere inside his lust-addled mind there was something that prompted him to gasp "Halt turbolift", before he was completely engulfed in ecstasy. He desperately wished for her uniform to have a skirt.
She seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but then her lips were back on his, one hand resting between his shoulder blades while the other one started moving in sure and steady strokes, wringing another moan from his busy lips.
Chakotay finally gave his own hands free rein, feeling them slide down Kathryn's shoulders, over her back ... She had just increased her speed, and he reacted instinctively by grabbing her buttocks and pulling her closer. She moaned softly against his lips, breaking their kiss. Chakotay used that moment to swoop in and nibble at her exposed neck, earning an exquisite sound somewhere between a moan and a purr.
His lips curled up in a mischievous grin. "Your place or mine?" he breathed into her ear, when the pressure building in him started to get almost painful. He knew he was taking a risk, but it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to spin her around and take her against the turbolift wall.
Kathryn chuckled throatily at the clichéd phrase, and withdrew her hand from his trousers. "Computer, Deck 3." She was very flushed, Chakotay noted, her lips slightly swollen and red. Her hair hung in perfect disarray around her shoulders, and her eyes were brighter than he'd ever seen them.
He raised his hand to her face once again. "You are so beautiful," he intoned reverently.
She didn't shy away from the compliment, but met his eyes squarely and smiled. Chakotay leaned in to kiss her again, but the turbolift was slowing, so he removed his uniform jacket and draped it over his arm in an attempt to hide his erection. Kathryn chuckled at that, but he was glad he'd done it, since the doors opened at that moment and revealed Harry Kim whose friendly grin changed to a look of confusion when he saw his commanding officers in such a dishevelled state. "Good evening, Harry," Kathryn said in her best effort at nonchalance. "If you'll excuse us."
With that, she put her hand on Chakotay's back and almost pushed him out. Chakotay cast a backward glance at Harry, who had frozen on the threshold.
They made their way to Kathryn's quarters without meeting anyone else. She had barely keyed in her code when Chakotay slid his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. They stumbled inside, Chakotay's jacket hitting the ground immediately. He unzipped her uniform and carefully pushed it down her arms. They regarded each other slightly sheepishly while they each removed their turtlenecks. These uniforms simply had too many layers. The shared laughter that followed gave them a second to breathe, and Kathryn bent down to pick up their clothes. "I bet it'll be all over the ship tomorrow," she smiled.
Chakotay grinned, using the break to get his breathing under control. "You don't think he'll keep it to himself?"
Kathryn shot him a disbelieving glance. "Would you?"
He had to admit that he would at least be tempted to talk about it, and inclined his head to the side to concede his point.
She chuckled, her eyes warm and fond as she referred to Harry. "I doubt there's been much in the way of gossip lately. This might keep them entertained for a while."
She went to her cabinet to pick up the stoppered cider bottle, and took a swig from it. Chakotay watched her curiously. She seemed so comfortable about living their budding relationship out in the open. It was refreshing, if a little scary.