Chapter Eleven

Alone in her quarters, Kathryn reread the message from Dawn. There was mention of almost everything that her officers had reported about the repair and upgrade of her beloved ship. There were also details of what she had done to the crew themselves. She had turned back their biological clocks, so to speak. Although they didn't look any younger, if any internal or genetic testing were run, it would show that every member of the crew, with the exception of the child, Naomi, had been reset to their physical peak for their various species. All injuries or illnesses, whether contracted or hereditary, had been completely cured. Even the Pon Farr for Vorik and Tuvok, and by extension, T'Pel, had been delayed for another seven years, at the latest. Even Seven's emotion inhibitor had been removed.

The boost to Voyager was done for several reasons. It was more than just a gift for what they had done. Dawn was trying to give them the best chance of surviving what was out there better than they had before, but the real reason was because The First had set traps and previously unencountered enemies on their path back home. Even worse, the First had somehow managed to rewrite the histories of several of the more vicious Delta Quadrant natives, and now they were directly in her path.

Son of a bitch. I didn't agree to that, she thought to herself as she moved over to the replicator and ordered a fresh cup of coffee. Now she knew how Buffy felt in regards to the mysterious Powers That Be. Moving over to the viewport, she watched the crew as they played and tried to relax. There had been some good news in the message. Apparently, they were completely safe where they were. According to Dawn, no one would venture in their direction and they were completely shielded from any random scans for the next two weeks. She turned slightly as the door chimed. "Come in."

Buffy walked in, fully dressed and wearing a long brown leather coat. "Why are you here and not out there? You haven't stepped one foot off of this ship since 'shore leave' began."

"I have to find out exactly what happened to my ship." Kathryn turned to face the young woman. "And how would you know?"

"I can track you anywhere. Your scent is not anywhere on the planet, so you've haven't been on it." Buffy informed her. "Your work can wait for a day. We talked about this, remember? You need time off as much as the next person. Being captain does not make you superhuman, and you can't do it all in one day. Is there somewhere important that you need to be?"

Kathryn looked at the padds cluttering her desk. "No, I suppose not."

"Good, then let's go. Faith and Willow are waiting for us outside." Buffy pushed Kathryn out of the door before she could protest. "We need to get you into some jeans again." She muttered to herself, her eyes involuntarily dropping to the captain's ass.

Faith and Willow saw the unconscious sway of Kathryn's hips as Buffy gently pushed her along. It reminded them of the Kathryn that they had known back in Sunnydale. Relaxed even as she taught a bunch of young girls to fight a war. Talking Buffy out of the depression that she had sunken into those last few harsh years. Teasing Buffy unmercifully after they became lovers and Kathryn realized just how fixated Buffy was with her ass.

"What are we going to do if she refuses to mate?" Willow whispered to Faith, knowing full well that Buffy completely focused on the hips swaying in front of her. She was following Kathryn down the corridor without paying any attention to her surroundings.

"No idea." Faith shrugged. "It'll be bad, though. I doubt B would even stay on the ship if that happened."

Willow thought about that, and fervently hoped it didn't come to that. She shook her head and turned to her friend. Despite their past, they had become really close after Kathryn had finally forced them to talk through their issues. Faith understood the dark parts of her that Buffy couldn't, and she had really helped her when the guilt and depression settled in. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two had taken everyone by surprise.

"Hey, I noticed that a couple of our crew have started pairing up." Faith commented as they drew closer to the other two women.

"Hey, yeah, I saw Michael with Erin the other day, and Ororo had Tasha against a tree just a few hours ago." Buffy said. They had reached the turbolift and her attention had been broken when Kathryn turned around to face the doors. "Did you know that Ororo stashed one of her toys in her coat?"

"So do I." Faith shrugged. "Got a pair of cuffs too. Never knew when the witch would start feeling frisky during patrol."

"Yes, it's so good to know you're making full use of those dimensional pockets." Willow said dryly, even as she flushed at Faith's comment. Faith had loved those cuffs the moment she'd seen Willow in them when Willow had been kidnapped by a magic dealer with a bondage fetish. "I still can't believe you kept those damn things, Faith."

"If you're a good girl, I'll bring them out to play with." Faith whispered into Willow's ear, moving so that she was plastered to the red-head's back.

"Dimensional pockets?" Kathryn looked over at Willow, ignoring Faith's provocative movements. She was just as used to them as the other girls were. "That's just a theory."

Willow blushed again for a different reason. "Umm, well, it was a theory on our Earth, too. I kinda ran across it online and decided to take a look."

Buffy glanced at her best friend with amusement. "What Willow means, is that she hacked into the Research & Development Records of the NSA because we heard rumors that they were working on an experimental detection device that would detect anyone with mystical abilities. She destroyed all the files on it, but picked up a few things while she was in there."

"What else have you managed?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"Hey, B, you smell that?" Faith suddenly asked before Willow could respond. Buffy glanced at the brunette curiously before taking a deep breath. Her eyes popped open. "I smell fresh air."

Willow looked at them as if they'd lost their minds. "Umm, guys, we're on a planet."

"No, Will, this air is different. It smells like Earth." Buffy told her.

"Yeah, and there's someone else there." Faith added. "A new scent that I haven't picked up before."

"Janeway to Tuvok." Kathryn tapped her communicator, not questioning their senses. "We have an intruder on one of the new decks."

Willow opened her senses. "Wait, Kathryn. Whoever it is, they're unconscious, and the thought pattern is familiar. Can you simply have whoever it is transported to your brig?"

"Can you be a little more specific, Willow?"

"I recognize the thought patterns of the different species on the ship, but I haven't really met anyone, so I don't know what pattern belongs to what species. I just know that it's a thought pattern similar to one that already here."

Kathryn thought quickly. "Computer, lock on to the intruder and transport directly to Sickbay under Level 10 Security force field. Tuvok, take your team there. Doctor, report to Sickbay."

The three S'Terrans followed the captain quietly as they headed for Sickbay instead of the planet. Although they had wanted to take Kathryn out to relax for the day, they were well aware that the safety of the ship came first. They arrived at the same time as Tuvok and the security team, and Kathryn nodded for them to precede them. The doors slid open and Tuvok stepped through and, in a move completely out of character for the stoic Chief of Security, froze in his tracks. Kathryn stared at Tuvok's back for a moment, then stepped around him, her curiosity spiked. The person on the bed had her jaw dropping in complete and utter shock.

It was T'Pel. Tuvok's wife. Who was in the Alpha Quadrant.

"Oh. My. God."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Kathryn made the command decision to remain at the planet while they dealt with this new complication. The sudden appearance of Tuvok's wife was not an issue to be working through as they traveled under the constant danger of being attack.

A week after the discovery of T'Pel, Buffy, Willow and Faith finally managed to drag Kathryn off the ship for her own R&R, dragging Seven of Nine, Ro Laren and B'Elanna Torres out for the day as well. They had found a sheltered cove that was semi-private while still keeping them in view of the others. Laren and Buffy were sparring hand-to-hand. Willow and Seven were deep in conversation about something Kathryn was determined not to hear. The S'Terrans acceptance of the Borg, all of them, not just the three with them now, had done wonders for Seven of Nine. The patience that Buffy, Willow and Faith show when dealing with her had allowed Seven to relax enough to finally start to fit in with the rest of the crew, knowing that they did not see her as something to fear as most of the others did. Faith was showing B'Elanna what Kathryn had taught her with the bat'leth. The bright sunlight made their different hues in their hair more visible, and twinkled off of their new commbadges that had issued to every S'Terran when they decided that they wanted to go onto the planet as well.

Kathryn turned to watch Buffy. She could feel the same draw to the younger woman that she had felt when she'd first arrived at Sunnydale. Just as she hadn't been able to help herself from attempting to bring Seven back into humanity's fold after she had severed her from the Collective, Kathryn couldn't stop herself from trying to put the spark of life back into the sad, haunted eyes. She had done whatever it took. Been a listener during those late nights when her nightmares became too much. Been a moderator and forcing the group to talk through their problems instead of just pushing them aside because of this apocalypse. Kathryn remembered Dawn's comment about them freaking out and kicking Buffy of their houses, and when the panic began after so many of the girls had been killed because of one of Buffy's hunches, she had been forced to become the cooler head and make them realize just what they were saying and how they were about to do something that could never be forgiven. It was ultimately the attraction between them that had brought Buffy out of the isolated shell she'd retreated into.

Kathryn leaned back on her replicated beach chair and closed her eyes as she thought about her current situation. She loved Buffy, as much now as she did then. Just as she loved Seven. She admitted to herself that she was going to accept the mating with the S'Terran Prime, but she couldn't risk being out of commission for an undetermined length of time just yet. She thought about what that would be like. Buffy had been a new experience for Kathryn, even after B'Elanna. God, the things that girl could think of made her blood run hot and she just barely managed to stifle a moan. A sudden cry of pain broke through her thoughts and her eyes flew open to see Laren clutching her own arm just below the hand wrapped tightly around her wrist. Buffy stood frozen, holding Laren's arm immobile despite the Bajoran's struggling. Her eyes were focused on Kathryn with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine, and she realized with a start, that the woman had somehow sensed her arousal.

'We've gotta get her outta here, Red.' Faith said to her mate as everyone had looked over at the cry. It had been a few days since their last coming together, and it seemed that each time, the effect Kathryn was having on Buffy was getting stronger and harder to resist. 'It's happening too fast. She's about to claim KJ right now, whether she wants it or not.'

Between the arousal filling her senses and the struggles of the woman she was holding, Buffy's instincts were going nuts. She wanted to tell Laren to stop moving, but the only thing that came out was a subvocal growl that had everyone freezing. She would have released her hold long ago, but she knew that it was the only think keeping her from taking Kathryn right there in front of everyone. She was screaming for Faith and Willow in her head, but she wasn't sure if it was getting through the haze of lust and need that had settled over her. Her teeth hurt, she vaguely realized as she felt her lip curl up to bare sharp canines as her gaze settled on the bared throat as the captain was looking up at her.

"Seven, I need a favor." Willow leaned over and whispered to the tall blonde. "As soon as Buffy releases Laren, we need to be beamed directly to the holodeck. Kathryn can explain why after we're gone."

Seven gauged the serious tone of her voice before nodding curtly. She tapped her communicator. "Computer, lock onto three closest S'Terran biosignatures and beam directly to holodeck two on my mark."

The communicator chirped in acknowledgement just as Buffy finally lost her tenuous grasp on her control. She dropped Laren's hand and started for Kathryn, ignoring the others as insignificant, until Faith and Willow were suddenly standing between her and her mate. The look in her eyes was feral as she bared her teeth at them in a snarl. "Move."

"Can't do that, B." Faith shook her head. It took everything she had in her to stand her ground. "You don't want it to happen like this."

"Come on, Buffy, let's go back to the ship." Willow pleaded, also feeling the instinctive need to back down in the face of the imperious demand. "We'll take care of you."

"My mate." Buffy snarled, her eyes beginning to glow with an almost metallic golden color as her need mixed with her fury at the interference. "She's mine, and I will have her."

Buffy suddenly launched herself into the small space created between the other two when Willow took a step towards her, just as Seven finally gave the command that beamed them back on board Voyager. The three women looked at each other, then at the captain. The S'Terrans had switched to their own language in those last few minutes, and they hadn't been able to understand them, but they knew that the captain did.

"Okay, what just happened?" B'Elanna finally broke the silence.