Chapter five

She woke next morning to find herself precariously close to the edge of the impossibly narrow bed. In fact probably the only thing stopping her from having fallen out and onto the floor at some point in the night was the arm draped over her waist; an arm which anchored her to the wonderful, warm, firm body spooning her. That, and the fact that they were both wrapped up together enchilada-like in the sheet. She looked down and saw her swimsuit and his dark orange shorts entwined in a heap on the floor.

It almost defied the laws of physics that the two of them could possibly have spent the entire night in this bed, let alone have discovered the number of intensely pleasurable positions they had, within and around its tiny borders. On their exit from the pool they had also comprehensively christened the brand new shower cubicle. She hadn't known it was possible to give and receive so much love. They had exchanged those words for the first time; offered and confirmed them over and over.

She stretched, as much as was possible, and turned slowly within his embrace to rest her cheek again his chest. With her free hand she caressed his skin with her fingertips, smiling to herself as she registered the lingering sense of surprise in the back of her mind. It seemed comical now that it had never actually occurred to her that things between them could ever be anything other than complicated.

He stirred and shifted slightly, pulling her closer, eyes still closed. "Good morning, Kathryn."

"Good morning." She reached up and pressed a kiss to his beautiful lips. He gradually came to life, and with one smooth motion the arm her head had been resting on moved to assist his other arm in lifting her on top of him as he turned onto his back, deepening the gentle kiss she'd started.

The morning soon became a continuation of the exploration of the night before.

An hour or so later they stirred again.

"Do we need to talk about this, Chakotay? About what's going on here?"

His hand stoked her hair, fingers running through it, getting caught where it had become tangled, and starting to carefully work out the knot. She wondered briefly what on earth her hair must look like, after the previous evening's activities, and then there was this morning's... Given he'd seen her after having been assimilated, experimented on by aliens, bloodied and in cardiac arrest, she dismissed that thought and turned her attention back to him as he spoke.

"I guess so. Where shall we start?"

"Well, I suppose I was just wondering, what made you decide now was the time for…. for this?" She looked up at him to see if she could gauge his reaction.

"I don't think this was me deciding anything. It's about the two of us, Kathryn."

She would never tire of hearing him say her name, and it sounded even better, in a lazy, sated morning voice, still laced with sleep. "But still, why now?" she continued, as it was always satisfying to analyse and understand.

"We both know why it couldn't be this way out there - it was about survival. But now it isn't. It's about living. I know I needed time to work out what being back here means for me...so I guess the rest was just a matter of when we were both ready."

"That's it? You mean you think all this ... all this was really just about... timing?"

"That's one way of looking at it. Yes."

"It doesn't seem like enough of an explanation..."

He kissed the top of her head and his fingers lovingly caressed her back, reintroducing her to the wonderful sensations her nerves were capable of producing when given half a chance. Clearly it was enough for him. She fell silent and pressed further into his warmth. After several years of professional, emotional and inter-stella complications and angst, how could it be that they had just slotted together as easily as two of the large pieces in the beautiful wooden puzzle he was making for Miral?

Finally she continued, "And the first time you were ready, that was on New Earth?"

A chuckle and a wide, dimpled smile through still closed lashes were all she got in response. Guess she hadn't really needed to ask.

"Well, Mister Chakotay, no longer my first officer, I'm ready now."

He half-opened his eyes and looked down at her. "And you're sure you're happy with that explanation, Kathryn? I mean if it's an anticlimax and you were wanting a bit more drama... some alien intervention... a fanfare... an audience... or maybe just some fireworks, I could go wake Tom and see what's left over from that party they threw for Admiral Paris' birthday last month..."

"Actually, some more of those indoor fireworks might be in or-"

He rolled her underneath him as she spoke and delved into her open mouth with all the confidence of a man who was finally in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

[The End]