Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

Way The Wind Blows

Chapter Fourteen

"Hell," Kathryn said, looking at her sun kissed face in a hand mirror, "I'm more freckled than a Karantu egg."

Chakotay laughed softly and put the cups of coffee he was holding down on the dining table.

"I'm going to need a ton of make-up to cover these up." She zoomed in on one particularly offending freckle. "Damn, this one's the size of an orange."

As she studied herself, Chakotay reached into a pocket of his shirt and pulled out a small envelope. "If your vanity can spare you a moment, this is for you."

At the presentment of a gift, Kathryn forgot her freckles, put down the mirror and reached for the envelope. "For me?"

Chakotay nodded. Eagerly, Kathryn opened the envelope, and her face lit up when she pulled out a card from Victoriana, the Victorian restaurant in town.

"You got us a table," she smiled, reading the text. "19:00 hours tomorrow. But how? They said they were fully booked until next week."

"There was a cancellation. They called when you were in the shower. I booked us in and they tele-mailed this."

"Fantastic," Kathryn said. "I can't wait." She then gestured to her freckles. "Just too bad my face is at red alert. Urgent cosmetic treatment required."

Chakotay laughed softly. "I love your freckles," he said, gazing into her eyes. "Every one of them."

Kathryn edged seductively closer. "Really? Every one?"

"Every one," he smiled.

Kathryn pointed to the most offending one. "Even this one?"

Chakotay gently removed her hand and kissed her cheek. "Especially that one."

He then sat back in his chair and took up his cup of coffee. Kathryn watched him for a moment, her eyes sparking with love and anticipation. "You know," she said, somewhat tentatively, "that was a pretty awesome kiss earlier."

Chakotay looked up at her. "It was."

"I'd kind of like another."

Chakotay smiled. "What about your coffee?"

"It can wait."

"I never thought I'd see the day," he teased, "when Kathryn Janeway has coffee beat."

Kathryn laughed. "It was a close call. But you nailed it by a whisker."

Chakotay put down his coffee and got to his feet. "Care to show me which one."

Kathryn stood up too, closed the small gap between them, and gently lay her finger on his mustache. "That one."

"I see," he smiled. He then took her hand in his, kissed it, and then slipped his arms around her as she locked her arms around his neck.

"I'll make you happy," Kathryn said. "I promise I will."

"You already do," he replied. "All I want is for you to be happy."

"And I am," she said. "Happier than I've ever been in my whole life."

She smiled warmly and then slowly, gently, raised her lips to his. As their lips touched, Chakotay kissed her in return, and soon they were kissing in blissful rhythm.

A rainbow of brocade and taffeta garments cluttered Kathryn's bed. Standing before a long mirror, wearing only a large petticoat with a bustle, Kathryn held up an elegantly embroidered pale yellow bodice of brocade against her chest. Petunia sat close by, watching her mistress avidly.

"What do you think, honey?" Kathryn asked her dog. "This one or the green taffeta?"

The dog, of course, made no reply, but Kathryn continued to talk.

"This one compliments my hair, but the green suits my complexion." She put down the yellow bodice and picked up the green. As she did so, her eyes fell on a dark blue taffeta bodice trimmed with lace.

"But I like the blue too," she said, picking up the bodice. "It highlights my eyes." She sighed. "I really don't know, honey. There's only one thing for it..." She took a breath. "Computer, activate internal communication."

"Internal communication activated."

"Kathryn to Chakotay."

In seconds, Chakotay's voice responded. "Chakotay here."

"Which color do you prefer? Green, blue or yellow?"

"Blue," Chakotay replied.

Kathryn smiled. "Thank you, Kathryn out."

The connection terminated and Kathryn happily looked at her dog. "Then blue it is."

An hour later, Chakotay waited in the living room for Kathryn to appear. He was dressed in a black tailcoat suit with a white waistcoat and a white shirt. Around his neck he had a high collar that parted just above a white bow tie, and white gloves adorned his hands. On his feet were shiny black shoes, and a gold pocket watch and gold studs and cufflinks completed his appearance.

At last, Kathryn appeared, and Chakotay caught his breath at the sight of her. She was wearing a stunning gown of dark blue taffeta that had a revealing diamond cut neckline trimmed with lace, short puff sleeves, and a front fastening pointed bodice that fell over a ruffled and puffed skirt that was also trimmed with lace. Around her neck was a gold and sapphire pendant, and sapphire drops fell from her ears. Her hair was decorated with lace and blue ribbon and was swept back elegantly from her face, but with perfect ringlets falling behind. On her feet were delicate blue heeled shoes that matched her gown, and long elbow-length lace gloves graced her hands and arms.

"Wow," Chakotay said. "You look amazing."

Kathryn smiled, gazing at him with the same admiration. "So do you."

She then walked towards him and held up a little bunch of blue flowers that he hadn't noticed she was holding in her hand.

"Victorian gentlemen were allowed to wear flowers with their evening suit," she said. "These are Forget-me-nots. To the Victorians, they represented true love." She fixed the bunch of flowers to his coat through a buttonhole, and then looked up at him, her eyes shining in adoration.

Chakotay gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, and then kissed her softly.

The restaurant was much larger and much more luxurious than Kathryn had thought it would be and she looked around in delight. A band was playing and there was a dance floor in the distance where happy couples were waltzing. All the women were wearing sumptuous gowns like hers in all kinds of colors, and all the men were wearing suits like Chakotay's. A waiter in costume attended to them as soon as they arrived, and guided them to a table that was beautifully set and adorned with red roses and candles.

"I had no idea there was dancing," Kathryn said when he was gone. "We'll have to dance before we leave." She paused. "I mean...if you would like too and if you know how."

"Both," Chakotay smiled.

Kathryn smiled in return. "Then I can't wait."

The meal over, Kathryn and Chakotay danced together on the dance floor. They moved gracefully together in perfect harmony. The happiness on Kathryn's face brought a lump to Chakotay's throat. He truly had never seen her look so happy.

As the music stopped, applause filled the air and Kathryn turned around. She blushed slightly when she realized the crowd were applauding her and Chakotay, but then smiled at the genuine warmth emanating from the onlookers. Chakotay gave a teasing bow and Kathryn curtsied. Then the band began to play again and she and Chakotay continued to dance.

After dancing for a while, Kathryn and Chakotay decided it was time to leave. Not only was it getting late, but quite a queue was forming for the only transporter on the premises. As it could contaminate the timeline if Chakotay's biosignature was recorded, only Kathryn was going to be transported back to the cabin. When she got there, she would transport him.

"I think you should wait outside," Kathryn said. "I suspect this place has quite high security. People might not be allowed to be transported in and out as they like."

"Quite possibly. I'll wait outside."

Kathryn gripped his shirt with her right hand. "Just don't think of running away again," she teased. "I have your biosignature recorded."

"I won't," he smiled. "I promise."

Kathryn kissed his lips softly, and then left him to wait in line for transport.

The queue was very slow moving. Kathryn suspected it was because some of the people didn't know the coordinates of transport, so their desired destination had to be manually found. As she was waiting in line, a thin young man in a tail coat suit approached her. He had a ginger mustache, a beard, and very friendly gray eyes.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said kindly. "I took a photograph of you and your partner on the dance floor earlier. I thought you might like it."

He held out a black and white photograph that had a creamy hue, just like old Victorian photographs. It had clearly been taken while she and Chakotay were looking at the applauding crowd, as both their faces were in the picture. Kathryn hadn't noticed him taking the picture, but there had been a lot of people about and this man clearly had a modern camera that simply created old-style pictures.

"Thank you," Kathryn replied, gratefully taking the picture. "That's very kind of you."

It then occurred to her that perhaps he had taken more pictures and that they could fall into the wrong hands.

"Did you take any more?"

"No," he replied. "Just this one."

Kathryn felt a sense of relief of that. He probably had a camera that produced pictures instantly and did not record the image, but even if he did have this picture on record, it would be hard to identify her and Chakotay in it as they looked so different in their Victorian attire.

The man smiled warmly. "Goodnight, Ma'am."

Kathryn looked back up at him. "Goodnight...And thank you again."

"You're welcome."

The man then disappeared into the crowd.

At last, it was Kathryn's turn to be transported. She gave her destination co-ordinates, stepped onto the grid, and in seconds found herself outside her cabin. A cold wind was blowing across the mountain and Kathryn hurried to the rear of the cabin and into the transporter room.

When she got inside, she put down the photograph in her hand on a shelf, and went over to the transporter console. She did a search for Chakotay's biosignature, and found that he was standing outside the restaurant, just as he had said he would be. After locking on to him, she energized, and turned around to greet him.

Moments later, Chakotay materialized before her. Kathryn smiled happily.

"Mission accomplished."

She then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. "I had such a wonderful time tonight, thank you so much."

Chakotay held her in return. "So did I."

Kathryn drew away from him and gazed deep into his eyes. "There's just one thing that would make this night even more special."

"And what would that be?"

"Spending the rest of it together."

Chakotay put his hand to her cheek, not quite sure if she was really ready. "Are you sure, Kathryn? There's no rush. We can take things as slowly as you want."

Kathryn put her hand over his. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling, and all Chakotay could do was hold her.

When Kathryn emerged from her bathroom after a quick shower, dressed in a white bathrobe, she found the bedroom bathed in candlelight and the bed adorned with white satin pillows and sheets. Chakotay was standing beside the bed in a gold Victorian style dressing gown, and was holding a single red rose in his hands. There was a silver tray on her bedside table, and on the tray was a bottle of champagne, two beautiful crystal glasses, a silver bowl full of strawberries and a matching bowl full of cream.

"Oh Chakotay," Kathryn said, looking around in awe. "This is more than I ever imagined..."

Chakotay smiled, stepped forward, and handed her the rose. "For you."

Kathryn took the rose and looked up at him with happy tears in her eyes. "Thank you..."

Chakotay then gathered her body against his. "I love you, Kathryn Janeway."

Kathryn smiled. "I love you too. I really do."

They gazed deep into each others eyes and then slowly, gently, Chakotay lowered his lips to her and kissed her softly. Kathryn deepened the kiss and let the rose in her hand fall to the floor as she slipped her arms around his neck.

Kathryn lay in a sweet haze of bliss after she and Chakotay had finally become one. Chakotay lay over her and tenderly stroked her damp forehead. Her eyes were glazed and she hadn't yet spoken a word.

"Overwhelmed?"

Kathryn gave a little nod. "That was...it was just...too amazing for words." She looked up at him and smiled softly. "Thank you."

Chakotay took her hand in his and kissed it, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Kathryn."

"For years I've been scared of yielding myself to someone that way," she said, tears in her own eyes, "but I wasn't scared for a single moment with you."

Chakotay squeezed her hand and kissed it again. "I love you so much, Kathryn. And I've loved you so long. What we've just shared...what we are sharing...it means more than..." A tear ran down his cheek. "It means everything."

Kathryn reached up and traced the course of his tear. "To me too."

Chakotay lowered his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly.

When they drew away, Kathryn gazed deep into his eyes. "Want to do it again?"

Chakotay had to smile at that. "Now?"

Kathryn nodded.

Chakotay's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Unfortunately, a man needs some time to recover. But, that's one reason I replicated champagne and strawberries... I had a feeling we'd be having a long night."

Kathryn laughed softly and Chakotay kissed her forehead again before drawing away from her.

"I'll pour us a glass of champagne."

As he sat up, Kathryn did too. He reached for the bottle of champagne and opened it. As he did so, a ribbon of white froth shot into the air and rained down upon them.

Kathryn laughed happily and then hugged Chakotay from behind as he poured the champagne into glasses.

When he had finished, Kathryn drew away from him and he turned to her, a glass of bubbly in each hand. Kathryn took one and held it up to him.

"To us."

Chakotay knocked his glass against hers.

"To us."

They both took a sip, and then sealed their toast with a kiss.

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN