Chapter three
They crawled back into their enormous, comfortable bed, exhausted.
"I can't believe it still takes both of us to get her to go back to sleep. It's like a tactical training scenario."
"I know what you mean. I just hope she's going to decide she's a daddy's girl some time soon, so Mommy can take an extended break."
"Aren't I doing enough to give you a break already? I seem to remember I was the one who did all the cooking tonight."
"And it was delicious, Tom. I take back everything I said about your tastes being limited to junkie food, or whatever you called it. You outdid yourself, I'm actually proud of you."
"Well, thank you. I think..."
"No really, we all enjoyed it, it was a triumph. I've never seen Kathryn eat that much. You can make it again whenever you want. How does Sunday sound?"
"I think we could've fed them pretty much anything actually, as long as they were allowed to play footsie under the table all night. Honestly! You were the one who said they're grown ups – could've fooled me. It was like listening to a couple of hormone-driven teenagers all evening. That was some serious flirting."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything will change. You know what they're like."
"Don't be so sure. A moonlight swim and a bottle of champagne might just be enough."
"You're serious, aren't you? You really don't know them at all. Even after all this time. OK, Let me spell it out for you. Firstly, it's freezing out there even though the pool's heated, and Chakotay hates the cold almost as much as I do; secondly he hardly ever drinks more than about a teaspoon full of any sort of alcohol. So, once they get out there and realise how cold it is, she'll be sloping off inside to the comfort of the guest room, and he'll probably end up tucked up in that little daybed reading some dull anthropology tome he's brought with him - all before we've even got Miral back down after her late-night feed."
"So, I guess you think it'd take some major crisis involving near death and the destruction of the multiverse for them to act on their feelings for each other?"
"Well, I don't know. It'd have to be something pretty big."
"You know what? I just don't buy it. They've been there, done that, got the damned t-shirts, haven't they? And what happened? Zip! That's what. No, what they need is a whole lot of nothing going on... for just long enough."
"Nice theory, but I still think you're way off course on this one, flyboy."
"Just because it took asphyxiation for you to admit you loved me doesn't mean that's what works for everyone else you know."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you really aren't going to get much interest in starting up the betting pool again from me or Miral."
"Hmm. Well, I guess we'll see who's right in the morning, won't we?"
"I guess so."