Betwixt and Between

by Bratling

Rating: PG-13 for language.

Disclaimer: If you think these characters belong to me, you're sadly mistaken. I borrowed them, hugged them, squeezed them, called them George, and then gave them back like a good girl. Star Trek and all it's permutations belong to the estate of Gene Roddenberry, Paramount, and CBS.

Author's Note: Consider this a J/C outtake from Season 3's The Q and the Grey. I admit that I've always loved the capricious Q, he's only peripherally in this one. This begins right after the scene where Chakotay says. "I know I have no right, but this bothers the hell out of me!" My challenge to myself was to insert some J/C goodness without effectively changing the canon timeline. Because I'm evil. And I wrote JAG fanfiction long enough to know exactly what kinds of regs they'd be breaking and the penalties for doing so. My thanks to Miacooper, Daena, and TnJAGAz for looking at this little piece of fluffy goodness. I'm considering doing a series of these J/C outtakes...

We're all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness and call it love true love.
― Robert Fulghum, True Love

Kathryn entered the turbolift with Chakotay following behind her. "Bridge." The lift started but after a few seconds, she stopped it an turned to him. "Chakotay, you do realize that I lied to him, don't you?"

"Kathryn, I-" he hesitated.

"You have every right to be bothered by this; hell, it bothers me, too!" She reached out and took his hand. He simply looked at her, and she could see both pain and longing in his eyes. His poker face was good, but they'd been friends for too long for her not to be able to read him. "There's only one man in the universe I'd want to have a child with, and Q isn't it."

"Mark?" his voice was soft and hesitant.

Kathryn shook her head. "Mark never wanted children, and I know he's probably moved on," her answer was equally quiet. "So have I... If we had met earlier, I expect you and I would be married with teenage children by now."

"You think so?" he asked with a little smile on his face.

"Damn straight," she said decisively. "We both know why we can't here-"

"Undue command influence, fraternization..." he trailed off. "I put in my twenty, Kathryn, believe me, I know."

Kathryn stretched up and gave him a soft kiss. "When we get home, Chakotay," she promised as she laid her hand on his chest.

Chakotay wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "When we get home; I'll hold you to that."

She stepped out of his arms and gave him a crooked smile. "You'd better! Computer, resume lift."

"Now all we have to do is get rid of Q," Chakotay said with a frown.

"We'll manage. We always do." The doors opened and the two of them walked out. In some ways, Q's arrival had been fortuitous, but she still had to figure out a way to...dissuade him. Because there was no way in hell she'd be having his child. He simply wasn't Chakotay.

End.