The Lake George Chapter. I hope you all have been looking forward to this as much as I have.
Enjoy, and review if you have a moment. Your badgering gets my plot bunnies firing. ;)
The castle was amazing. Unfortunately for Chakotay, they weren't in the castle.
"Just a little further," called Kathryn from ahead.
"You said that twenty minutes ago!" Chakotay shouted back in frustration.
"I know," said Kathryn. "This seemed like a better idea before we put it into practice."
"You mean," Chakotay struggled. The tree was enormous. "Before you put it into practice and conned me into coming along for the ride, just like you always do."
Kathryn dropped the tree.
"Is that how you feel about us?" Kathryn said after she'd walked back to him. Her face glistened with sweat, and her cheeks and nose were red from the cold.
To be honest, Chakotay had been a little irritated when she said she specifically asked for the perfectly good Christmas tree the resort had provided to be removed before their arrival so they could go cut their own. She insisted that it was something she used to do every year, and that she just missed it. At first he found it endearing, but the tree she'd chosen had to be almost four meters tall and he'd been dragging it for almost an hour now.
But his heart swelled when she said 'us.'
"Of course not," he said. "I just get grumpy when I'm cold."
"Well if you're cold," she said quietly, bringing her face closer to his, "you must not be working hard enough!" She giggled and traipsed back up to the front of the tree, grabbing her (lighter) end.
Chakotay groaned.
The most frustrating part of the tree endeavor actually came after they got it inside. Chakotay wanted nothing more than to peel off every layer of clothing and collapse on one of the lavish loveseats in the 'family' room, but Kathryn wouldn't hear of it until the tree was up.
That took another hour. Chakotay had never put up a tree before, and Kathryn wouldn't accept anything less than a perfectly straight tree. Chakotay's muscles wanted to use their last ounce of energy to strangle her, but every chuckle that escaped her when he lost control of the tree was like magic. She never laughed enough on the ship. So he just complained light-heartedly until it was finally up.
But it took its toll, and the minute he was finished he begged off to go strip down and have a bath.
Each of the six bedrooms had their own whirlpool tub, and for that Chakotay was exceedingly grateful. He thought about the stories his grandmother told him about water pipes freezing during the winter and how difficult it was to get hot water to an old house and Chakotay shuddered.
He couldn't imagine how awful it would have been to have nothing to look forward to after the trial of the Christmas tree but a cold bath. He didn't think he could do it. He'd chop the stupid thing up and feed it to the fire if it kept him warm, Christmas spirit be damned.
He wanted to stay in the bath even longer, but with barely enough energy to actually use soap he was worried that if he stayed he'd fall asleep in the tub and drown himself.
He drew himself up and out of the bath, and, feeling truly decadent, used two towels to dry off and wrapped a fresh one around himself. He was a little too warm after scalding himself for the heavy bathrobe on the door.
He went down to the kitchen, thinking that he might pour himself a drink, then he remembered the exertion he'd put himself through at Kathryn's behest and thought better of it. His muscles would not thank him tomorrow if he indulged.
He made himself a cup of tea instead. He intended to take it back upstairs with him, but he figured Kathryn would be in her bath for another twenty minutes at least, so he sat gingerly on the sofa in front of the fireplace, enjoying the feeling of warmth on his naked toes and chest.
He must have been truly entranced by the firelight, because he didn't even realize that Kathryn had come into the room until he felt her comfortably cold hands on his shoulders.
He jumped a little.
"Sorry," she said quietly. She started rubbing his shoulders with her small fingers. "I know it's been a few years, but I know I owe you one and I always repay my debts."
Her heart leapt to her throat when he groaned in response.
He leaned his head back and relaxed. Her hands felt so good, and he was so incredibly sore.
She chuckled a little when he gasped as she reached a particularly sore spot and kneaded it with her thumb.
"For some reason," he said after a few minutes, his head lolling a little, "it never occurred to me that you'd be so good at that."
Kathryn's hands slowed behind him, and he suddenly knew that he'd said the wrong thing and that she was about to pull her hands away.
She didn't say anything, but he felt one hand leave his shoulder. He reached up and snatched the other before it could make its escape. He didn't look up at her, but wouldn't let go either.
"I didn't mean it like that," he said quietly. He found, to his surprise, that he wasn't tired anymore.
"I know," she said, and he could hear the vulnerability in her voice.
It might not have been a credit to his chivalry, but his heart zeroed in on that waver. Before thinking it through, he pulled her down to him, gently but firmly, and kissed her.
He felt her heart, beating madly, when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, right over the sofa. He wouldn't allow the kiss to be broken, and it was more perfect than he could have imagined. Her whole body felt refreshing, like a cool drink of water, and kissing her felt incredibly new and incredibly familiar all at once. It was like he'd kissed her a thousand times, and never.
It was slow and deliberate passion, but passion nonetheless. Chakotay struggled not to be too rough or forceful after having waited so long, and chose to save admiring glances at her whole body for later. He refused to stop touching her even for an instant. To give her even a moment's pause was to invite her version of rational thought, and he didn't think he could bear to stop touching her.
And so he eagerly made sure she was… occupied, until she moaned his name and he knew that she wouldn't make him stop.
After, he allowed himself to feel absurd joy as she wrapped her body around his and dozed. When he was sure she'd fallen asleep, he let his head fall back and surrendered to his quickly returning fatigue.
When he woke, it was dark outside, and Kathryn was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace with her robe wrapped around her.
"Kathryn?" He sat up a little.
"I can't believe we did this to Seven," she said sorrowfully, staring at the flames.
"Aaargh," Chakotay groaned, and leaned back down. "Kathryn, Seven and I aren't together anymore."
"What?" Kathryn looked at him this time, shock all over her face.
"She came to my office and broke it off the day before you came to see me that first time," he said. "We haven't done anything wrong." He was attempting to look reassuring. She did not look reassured.
"When were you going to tell me this?" she stood up, angry now.
"I don't know," said Chakotay. "You didn't ask."
"I can't believe you would do this with me," she gestured to the sofa, "without telling me that you weren't together anymore."
"You're not serious." Chakotay stood up now, wrapping his forgotten towel back around himself.
"It's kind of a big detail to leave out, isn't it?" Kathryn crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Hey," Chakotay was suddenly regretting not pouring himself that drink. "Don't get angry at me for doing exactly what you wanted me to."
"What are you talking about?"
"This," Chakotay gestured to the interior of the house. "Lake George, the castle… all of it. It's pretty obvious how all of this fits into a perfect romance for you isn't it? The only thing that isn't obvious is why you would have chosen me to come here with you."
"We're friends Chakotay," she said helplessly.
"Then why aren't Tom and B'Elanna here with us?" he fired back. "This is a six bedroom house Kathryn. I have a hard time believing you don't have enough friends to fill it with."
Kathryn looked away.
"I can't believe that you would set me up like this, and then act like I'm the worst person in the world for loving you," he said.
"I did not set you up," she said, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "It's not like that with us."
"Then what Kathryn," Chakotay felt helpless now. "Mark just not available for getaways anymore?"
It was a low blow, and he regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth.
"I never came here with Mark," she said quietly, "and clearly it was a mistake to ask you."
She made a beeline for the stairs.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Away from you," she called down from the stairs, refusing to turn around.
Chakotay watched her walk up the stairs, and then walked resolutely to the kitchen to get that drink.
Chakotay waited all night in the family room for her to come back downstairs, but she didn't.
Finally, at around 10 AM, he went up to her room. He knew Kathryn had planned to go home to Indiana for Christmas Dinner at around noon. After two minutes of him knocking and her not answering he got worried and opened the door.
The room was empty. Completely empty. Her things were gone, the bed was made, and he saw her tracks leading out of the entrance to the deck and off the property.
"You're a coward Kathryn Janeway," he muttered to himself.