turbolift
Janeway didn't know what to do, in a moment of weakness she had decided to take advantage of the situation and listen to Chakotay's horrible advice to try to have a relationship of some kind with another person to forget the first one and now she felt very guilty
"Hi Kathryn," B'Elanna said, stepping into the turbolift. "Where are you headed?"
"On the bridge... my shift is about to start"
"Well you're the captain, it seems obvious to me, anyway, thanks for the speech you gave… I always thought Owen convinced you to use Tom to look for us in the Badlands"
"He didn't believe his son could be useful, he was convinced it would be a waste of time"
"Instead he turned out to be a hero…"
"Yes…Owen finally recognized that he was a good man"
"Changing the subject, why was Naomi looking for you? She came to your quarters to ask about you"
"Don't tell anyone about it, is that clear?"
"Yes…"
"I have a date with Sam"
"A DATE!?" B'Elanna yelled, as the doors swung open to reveal the bridge
"What date are you talking about?" Harry asked curiously
"Lieutenant, unless you want to be an ensign again I suggest you go back to your job," said Janeway, with her death stare
"I'm sorry Captain..."
"Kathr… Captain," B'Elanna corrected herself. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?"
"Sure…" Janeway said, leading the way to the ready room
"What do you think they want to talk about?" Harry whispered to Chakotay
"I'm not sure, but I think it could be…"
"What?"
"Something that doesn't concern you, Lieutenant," Chakotay said, disintegrating Harry's enthusiasm
Ready Room
"What's wrong, B'Elanna?"
"What's wrong!? You can't be serious Kathryn! You can't have a date with Ensign Wildman! You won't get one! You'll tell her you were wrong."
"B'Elanna, I have the right to have a date! I don't understand what the problem could be!"
"Your beloved chain of command? Samantha is an Ensign! You are a captain!"
"You and Tom didn't break up when I demoted him to ensign! And if we want to be precise he was a lieutenant, you were a junior lieutenant!"
"That's not the point! You are the captain…"
"Then? If it was all about the rank I would have to have a Chakotay relationship, with whom I work every day! Sam sets foot on the bridge maybe once a year!"
"Yet, she is still under your command! Wouldn't you risk giving her special treatment?"
"She has a daughter, and she works in a laboratory, she is not in the main landing team! She hasn't left the ship on a mission in years!"
"But that doesn't change the fact that you might end up being biased and giving her…extra rations!"
"She already has extra rations! He has a daughter and therefore has more freedom than officers of the same rank! It even has a two-bedroom lodging! The only favoritism would be promoting her, but that's impossible on a ship like Voyager."
"Kathryn, call her and tell her you've changed your mind! You don't know how it's going to end"
"Lanna, can you tell me your problem with Sam?"
"Kathryn I just don't want her to use you for favors!"
"Lieutenant Torres, you are free to go, report to Lieutenant Vorik in the engine room for your last week back with reduced duties"
"Kathryn…"
"We're on duty lieutenant, don't call me by name" she said, using all her strength not to feel bad about how she was treating her
"I thought we were best friends Kate… evidently I was wrong…"
"You're not wrong Lanna… just, what I need now is not a friend…"
...
B'Elanna ran out of the captain's ready room, Chakotay quickly realized something was wrong with her and decided to follow her into the turbo lift.
"What is going on?"
"I think you already know that... isn't it true that you two tell each other everything?"
"B'Elanna, I don't have the slightest idea what's going on right now, that's why I'm here… What's going on?"
"What happens is Kathryn has a date…"
"What?"
"With a woman! With Sam Wildman, Naomi's mother"
"Here's who she meant..."
"What you mean?" she asked, surprised by Chakotay's response
"Kathryn told me that she had feelings for a woman on board… that she didn't want to ask her out because it wasn't the best thing right now… I know Naomi's father recently got married… I think that's what she was referring to"
"OMG! I accused Sam of using her only to have favoritism… and instead Kate loved her and that's why she came forward with her"
"Oh… maybe you were wrong"
"Chakotay, this whole situation seems strange to me… I don't feel comfortable with the idea of Kathryn having an affair with Sam…"
"What makes you say that?"
"I don't know... my instinct I believe... I've always trusted what I felt"
"Don't you think you're exaggerating? It's not so bad that she's happy too."
"But you? Didn't you love her?"
"I still love her, but there can never be anything between us, maybe before, but now we're too far apart to go back to that point ... then she loves a woman now"
"Bad thing to be dumped for a woman..."
"The first time she was called Voyager, and we agreed…"
"Oh... I'm still not convinced by this relationship with Sam!"
"Isn't it that maybe you've gotten used to the idea of having a friend all to yourself and now you don't want to lose her?"
"No"
"Then you're just jealous!" said Chakotay, bursting out laughing
"I don't have feelings for Sam!"
"Not Samantha… I was referring to..."
"I have no feelings for Kate"
"Kate? In 8 years she has never allowed me to call her that..." he thought
"You're definitely jealous B'Enna, and there's something between you two"
"What?!"
"Come on, you call each other pet names, sleep in the same bed and take care of a little girl together… you're practically a couple" teased Chakotay
"Listen stop it... it's nothing like that... then you know I love Tom..."
"I know you don't like doing this, but would you like to talk about it?"
"According to consoleur Troi I still can't understand what I'm feeling... it's quite normal... I would love to understand it but I can't"
"Hey hey Hold on! Counselor Troi? Since when do you see a counselor?"
"Kate arranged the first sessions for me in recent days ... I've been feeling better since I've been talking about it"
"Are you sure you're not in love with Janeway? Because I don't understand how you came to see a counselor"
"Look, stop teasing me! I have no feelings for her and I will prove it to you… by returning to my quarters… tonight!"
