Chapter four

"Are you sure about this?"

"Noooo, so let's do it quick before I change my mind!"

"You're on," he said, as he quickly took off the thick, fleecy robe he'd been wearing and tossed it onto one of the recliners. He felt the cold air hit him immediately and goose bumps come up on his arms and legs. He grinned at her, quickly took the few steps up to the edge of the pool and dove straight in.

He'd hit the water before she'd even had time to appreciate the toned muscles and the bronze skin that flashed past her. Burnt orange swim shorts, nice, she thought.

"It's wonderful once you're in. Go for it!" he called.

"Some fortification may be called for – give me a minute."

She opened the champagne with ease, and poured a little into each of the two glasses. One she drained immediately, long before it'd even settled, enjoying the fizz of the bubbles as they went down. The other she allowed to settle, topped up and placed on the poolside for him. Then she refilled her glass and placed it along side his.

He swam up to the poolside where she was, stood up, the water reaching about half way up his chest, and took a sip from the other glass, eyes on her all the time.

"Now I'm ready," she announced, removing her thick towelling robe with an uncharacteristic coyness and inhaling abruptly as the night air washed over her body.

"You look beautiful, Kathryn," he said as he took in her classic black one-piece swimsuit.

"You're in rather good shape yourself, if you don't mind me saying so." She had already noticed the change in his appearance earlier.

"Mind? Why would I mind?" He set his glass back down and looked up at her questioningly, his face open.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just not the sort of…" she faltered.

"I see. Not the sort of thing you usually think about where I'm concerned?" he offered, as a resigned expression began to form on his face.

"That's not what I was going to say at all," she replied quickly, earning a real smile in exchange.

"Good."

"Oh? Why's that?"

She didn't get an answer as he'd already pushed off from the side and started swimming freestyle down the length of the pool. As he surfaced at the other end he called, "I need to keep moving – to keep warm. Come on, join me!"

She was already starting to freeze, so, not one to do things by halves, she followed his example and dove straight in as he watched. "Ah! That's SO much better."

"That was some dive. You're clearly quite a swimmer."

"Thank you, I do love to swim, especially if it's warm, like this."

"Me too. Come on, let's keep moving."

He submerged and swam underwater to come up next to her. Towering over her when he stood, he found himself surprised once again by how much smaller she was without the trademark heels. Not that it was really of any significance. Kathryn Janeway would always be a force to be reckoned with. He smiled down at her. "Show me your best stroke."

"OK, here goes. Breast stroke is my stroke of choice without goggles."

"Would you like some?" he asked immediately. "I can replicate you some if you'd like. Give me a chance to try the replicator in there. B'Elanna fitted it herself."

"No! Don't you dare get out of this wonderful, warm water. It's really not necessary, I'm fine without."

She pushed off and reached the other side with strong, graceful strokes.

"Not bad, Admiral."

"Why thank you, Coach. But I wasn't expecting to be graded – this isn't a lesson you know!"

He followed her, doing the whole length underwater, to emerge close to her position, flicking his head briskly to get the water out of his eyes and splashing her inadvertently. "You're right of course, forgive me."

"Always."

"Really? For anything?" he quipped, swimming closer to almost encircle her with his body. The ripples of water he was creating breaking over her.

She rolled her eyes at him in response and then motioned towards the poolside. "Better not offend our gracious hosts by letting that wonderful champagne go to waste. It was sweet of Tom to insist we bring it with us." She set off to where they'd left their glasses.

They swam across side-by-side - her sticking mostly to the surface, him swimming just beneath - bodies bumping gently a couple of times. She reached the side and stood up, the water reaching her collarbone. She picked up her glass and sipped. He came up behind her and reached around her for his glass. When she turned, she found herself pretty much within his arms as he rested one hand on the edge of pool, his warm skin brushing her shoulder.

"Well, this is nice!" she said, looking up at him with a flicker of a challenge in her night blue eyes.

"Yes, it certainly is," came the low reply.

He took a sip of his champagne and then carefully placed the glass down behind her, making no attempt to put any more distance between them, but rather enclosing her momentarily between his arms.

Since returning from the Delta Quadrant, he'd actually had free time enough to exercise and succeed in losing the middle-aged spread that he hadn't had the focus to work off in their last few years on Voyager. His body felt like his own again. The vague sense of physical unease that had been his constant companion in recent years was long gone; he felt all the better for it and it showed.

It was certainly more than nice, she thought, water being such an excellent conductor. She could feel warmth as well what seemed to her almost like electricity radiating from his body. She twisted behind her to put her glass down, and turned back to reconnect with his gaze. Pushing the few stray hairs that refused to stay in the braid out of her face, she studied the angles of his face close up, a question and a smile forming in her features. She watched as several droplets of water travelled down from his hairline, across his inked brow and down his cheek.

This was different for them; it was like nothing they'd ever done before. The warm water lapped gently between them. She felt a wonderful sense of freedom she was quite unaccustomed to. It was as if she was being introduced to this man, all of this man in close up, for the first time.

She wondered – certainly not for the first time – what went on behind those dark eyes.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" She laughed. "You looked like you had something on your mind…."

A tiny flicker of hesitation seemed to cross his face, and then his eyes crinkled and his face broke into a shy smile. "Well now that you come to mention it…."

The hand that had been resting on the poolside beside her shoulder entered the water and then she felt both his hands find her hips and rest lightly on either side of her body.

"There was something on my mind..."

"Oh?"

The crooked smile and the delicate fingers that came up to trace lines across his chest were all the encouragement he needed.

The light touch on her hips transitioned seamlessly into the movement of two strong arms that lifted her up to bring her flush against him. His warm hands slid down to fit perfectly around her beautiful backside as her legs wrapped themselves around his waist. Her fingers threaded up into his hair as his mouth closed over the 'Oh' still on her lips.

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AN:The re-launch books told us that "Since their return to the Alpha Quadrant they had both continued to sit in seeming contentedness by the side of the pool, occasionally dipping a flirtatious toe, but steering well clear of anything resembling a swim." I couldn't help wondering what would've happened if someone had let them get in.