Tegan Chronicles STV Style 3:

What's Left of the Flag 24

Tegan walked into Kathryn's quarters when the doors slid open. She was dressed in a pair of navy sweat pants and another heather gray t-shirt, this one with a small USAF insignia over the left breast. She held her hands behind her back half expecting Kathryn to give her a decent tongue lashing.

"Hello." Katheryn's voice was low with a hint of amusement. She gave her a twisted smirk and patted the couch.

"Hey." Tegan responded shyly and slipped her running shoes off, leaving them at the door, before she joined her.

"How was your day?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

If it weren't for the upturned corners of Kathryn's lips Tegan would have been certain the doctor had spoken with her and she was trying to get her to confess her sins. "Yeah."

"You don't sound convincing." Kathryn reached up and ran her fingers through the fringe hanging down on the back of Tegan's neck.

"I'm just tired." Tegan leaned into her adjusting her longer body into the space under Kathryn's arm extending it along her body. "How was your day?"

"Oh you know, typical day in the life of a captain." She hummed softly as Tegan flattened her hand over her abdomen.

"Nothing exciting then?" Tegan snuggled her head on Kathryn's shoulder.

"No."

Tegan dropped her voice a few octaves. "We could change that."

"No." Kathryn pressed her lips firmly to the top of Tegan's head.

"No?"

"No." She chuckled dryly. "You're tired."

"I'm not that tired." Tegan tilted her head up and captured her lips kissing her deeply as if her point could be conveyed through it.

Kathryn smiled lazily. "I'm happy just being with you."

Tegan rested her head back on her shoulder. "Is that your way of saying our relationship isn't just about the sex?"

She laughed, "I guess it is."

"But the sex is good, right?" Tegan unzipped Kathryn's jacket and slid her hand inside. "I mean, I personally think it's great."

"The sex is pretty mind blowing." She placed another kiss on Tegan's head.

"But that's not all a relationship should be based on."

"Exactly."

"Do you like dogs?"

"Do I like dogs?" She paused for a second. "No, I love dogs."

"Cats?"

"I like cats. You?"

"I like cats, some more than others. They have attitude. I really like dogs, but again some more than others. Some dogs are just dumb and some are too prissy."

"Mollie was my most recent dog."

"Please tell me she wasn't a Pomeranian." Tegan groaned even though she had seen pictures of the beautiful chestnut colored dog.

"No, she was an Irish Setter, a rescue actually. I saw her in a pound on Taurus Ceti IV and boy did she have spunk. She was the tiniest in the litter, a runt. I fell in love with her immediately." Just like you. Kathryn stroked her fingers through her hair repeatedly as she spoke. "We had this dog when we were kids…"

Tegan couldn't have been more content as she drifted off to sleep listening to the gravelly alto monologue.

When she awoke a few hours later she was alone on the couch with a soft gray blanket thrown over her and a pillow cradling her head. She stood up and folded the blanket placing it and the pillow on one end of the couch before she walked over to the bedroom entrance to look in on Kathryn before she left. When she stepped into the doorway she immediately noticed the bed was empty. She checked the bathroom before speaking. "Computer locate Captain Janeway."

"Captain Janeway is in her ready room."

When Kathryn returned to her quarters she searched for Tegan and came up empty. "Computer locate Dr. Kiser."

"Dr. Kiser is on holodeck one."

Kathryn sighed and picked up her book but she couldn't concentrate on reading and gave up in favor of wandering the halls to check on the status of Voyager.

She was waiting for the turbolift on deck six when the doors opened to reveal Captain Janeway leaning casually against the back of the rounded wall. She started to stand straight until she saw it was Tegan. Kathryn watched her step into the lift. "Up or down?"

"Down. I need to get a shower and straighten up my quarters."

"Level nine." She sighed to computer. She knew Tegan was a perfectionist and it was doubtful there was anything out of place in her living space. She let her eyes wander over her noting that while she didn't smell, she was covered in sweat and could use a shower. Her eyes stopped when she saw the way Tegan was holding her arm against her abdomen. She lifted her eyes to Tegan's and then dropped them back to her arm.

"It's nothing." Tegan answered the unspoken question even as Kathryn stepped toward her. She moved away, her back flattening against the lift's padded wall.

"Tegan." Her voice fluctuated on the word as her eyes locked with hers.

"It's a small cut." She watched her gaze fall as she felt thin fingers grasp her wrist to urge her to show her. She twisted her wrist free without any resistance and held it up for her to see.

"A small cut?" Kathryn frowned at the laceration that ran the length of Tegan's forearm. She glanced at the blood that had soaked into her shirt and then up at Tegan.

"It's not very deep."

"What happened?" Her nostrils flared as she inhaled. She was certain she had been injured on the holodeck which almost always meant one thing.

"I was playing Velocity against 'holo-Tim the ten man' and after I shot the disc my feet stopped but my body didn't. I think I threw my arm out to try and catch myself." She held her arm up to demonstrate. "It connected with one of the supports."

"Did you win?" Holo-Tim was the most aggressive holo velocity player they had in the system.

"Did I win? Of course I won. I beat you the last time we played didn't I?"

"Sheer luck." Kathryn mumbled as the doors to the lift opened.

Tegan pushed off the wall. "This is my stop."

"Why not report to sickbay?" She followed her off.

"I went to medical school. I can treat it just as easily as the doctor can."

"May I?" Kathryn asked when they reached her quarters.

"Certainly." Tegan entered before her and went immediately for her medical bag.

Kathryn looked around at the immaculate space before glancing over at Tegan who had twisted her arm awkwardly to try and get to the wound. She stepped up and slipped the dermal regenerator from her fingers. "Here, let me."

When she was done healing as much of the wound as Tegan's physiology would allow, Tegan encircled her fingers around Kathryn's wrist and pulled it gently down to her side as she leaned in and pressed their lips together. Kathryn parted her lips. She dropped the forgotten medical instrument on the floor when their tongues met in a frenzied dance.

Tegan slid the zipper to Kathryn's tunic down and pushed it off her shoulders. She pulled back and panted in her ear; "tell me to stop."

Kathryn brought her hand up and clutched the back of Tegan's neck as she kissed her again.

When they parted again, Tegan had pulled the hem of her gray shirt free and was working it up her torso. "I'll take that as a no."

Kathryn yanked at her cotton shirt tearing it as she jerked it off. She reached around and unhooked the clasp of Tegan's bra freeing her breasts quickly. Without waiting for her to make another move Kathryn finished stripping her own clothing before she slid Tegan's sweat pants and underwear to pool at her feet, leaving her in only her socks and dog tags.

"Hey." Tegan took her chin in her hand. "Slow down, we've got plenty of time."