Chapter 5

Kathryn slid her fingers under his shoulder and hugged him tightly. At the same time, they both said, "I love you!" She giggled and then released her hold on him. "Computer," she sighed, "what time is it?"

"The time is 0430 hours," came the reply.

"We have an hour and a half before I start taking bridge communications again," she said. "I think it would be prudent for us to return to our quarters for a shower and change of clothes." She smiled lazily at him. "Have breakfast with me before our shifts start?"

He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his legs. "I think I can skip my workout today." He grinned back at her. "I will eat breakfast with you every day for the rest of my life."

Kathryn stood up and began to dress, this time putting all of her clothing back on. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, returning in a few moments with a hair brush. "This is impossible," she laughed as sat on the bed and tried to work the bristles through the tangles in her long hair.

Chakotay finished slipping on his shoes then came up behind her. "Here, let me help," he said as he took the brush from her. He gently worked out the knots, starting at the bottom and moving his way up her auburn waves until he had them mostly tamed. He chuckled suddenly. "Do you have any idea how many times I have wanted to do this?" he asked her.

"What? To brush my hair?" she asked with amusement.

"To brush it, to touch it, to feel it tickle across my skin. I love when you wear it down, but you so rarely do so."

"Chakotay!" she admonished mockingly. "Have you been harboring impure thoughts about your captain?"

He bent down and smelled her hair, letting his hands drift down the front of her shoulders and under the neck of her blouse. "Oh, yes," he sighed. "Impure, impertinent, and completely impish."

She laughed again, the music of it tugging at his heart. "Right now, my dear, we have duties to return to," she told him. She slid herself out of his grasp and straightened her clothing, deciding to put her barrette in her pocket. "Meet me in my quarters in 0600," she told him as she started for the door. "I'll have your breakfast ready. I really am hungry, this time."

She left the cabin, and Chakotay gathered up the blanket and their picnic items. He couldn't stop grinning to himself as he checked the rooms for anything left behind. He stepped out onto the stone walkway toward the exit arch and took one last look across the water, the holo-moon still shining softly. We never did take that swim, he thought to himself. I guess we will just have to come back.

They both managed to make it to their respective quarters without being seen in the early morning hour. Kathryn longed for a bath but knew she did not have the time for it. She stepped into the sonic shower instead, taking particular care with her hair. She was sore and probably would be for a couple of days, but the minor pain only brought a smile to her face at the memory of why she hurt. She was pretty sure she had a bruise on the back of her left thigh where he had gripped her particularly hard. She remembered begging him, "Harder!" In the throes of passion, she had forgotten how strong he truly was. She rubbed the spot gingerly and wondered if she had left any marks on him.

Her door chimed at exactly 0600, and she called him in. They were both back in uniform and already half-slipping into their professional personas. Chakotay waited for the door to swish shut behind him, then crossed the room to her, grabbed her left buttock, and pulled her into a kiss. When he let her go, he caught the briefest wince on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"It's nothing," she assured him with a smile. "Just a small bruise."

"I did hurt you!"

"No, my dear, you most certainly did not," she told him as she trailed her fingers down his cheek. "It will be gone in a day or two. I think my delicate constitution can handle it."

He smiled sheepishly at her. It was a bit ridiculous for him to try to coddle her over a contusion when she risked life and limb so frequently and without fear. He moved his hand to the small of her back and kissed her again. He never wanted to stop kissing her, or telling her how much he loved her, or making her smile. He was happier than he had ever been in his life, and the knowledge that she felt the same way thrilled him.

"We should eat," Kathryn mumbled into his neck. "We don't have much time."

They moved to the table and she retrieved bowls of oatmeal from the replicator, then black coffee for her and hot tea for Chakotay. Chakotay had brought the leftover fruit and bread from the basket. They were both ravenous and soon finished their meal. Kathryn leaned back in her chair, wrapped her hands around her coffee cup, and simply stared at him. She traced the lines of his face with her eyes, the strong jaw, those high cheekbones, the tribal mark above his eyebrow, and the dark pool of his eyes drawing her into a realm of peace and comfort. She knew they needed to talk about things, about how their personal relationship would work in tandem with their professional one, and how and when to tell the crew. There would be time for that later. For now, she simply rested in his presence.

Chakotay saw her lingering gaze and knew she was thinking, as he had been, of all they had to work out. It would work out because he refused to lose her. Is it too soon to ask her to marry me, he wondered.

Kathryn broke the silence. "Bridge time," she sighed. They cleared away their dishes, brushing against each other at every chance, her fingers trailing across his shoulders as she went past him, his hand resting on her back as he leaned across her to pick up his cup. The duty shift would be torture today!

They stopped side-by-side at her door, glanced at each other, then allowed their years of training and experience to take over and transform them back into Captain and Commander. They stepped into the hallway, made their way to the turbolift and exited on the bridge, maintaining a respectful distance from each other. Chakotay walked to his chair and sat down. Kathryn greeted the officers with a "Good morning," and then, "Report."

"All systems are functioning normally, Captain," Tuvok answered.

She nodded. "Good," she said. "Maintain present course and speed." She walked to her command chair and sat down, not daring to look at Chakotay yet. She picked up the PADDs waiting for her and glanced over the reports of inventories, operations, and one from engineering on the repairs made to the gel pack the evening before.

Chakotay's mind was reeling. He tried to steel himself to force his concentration on his duties and push away the images of Kathryn's naked body. Each time he relaxed in his chair, the sting of the scratches she had left on his back recalled the heat of being inside her and their shared climax. He wanted to stand up and shout to everyone that he was in love with Kathryn Janeway, that she loved him, that he wanted her to be his wife and she was his Katie now and always. He was euphoric and he longed to yell it to the whole crew. Instead, he stared at the screen in front of him as if his life depended on the data display. Oh, it was going to be long day!

Kathryn could barely contain herself with him sitting so close to her, within arm's reach. She wanted to lean over and brush her fingers down his arm, hold his hand, gaze into the deep space of his eyes. They still had not so much as glanced at each other. Attempting to appear to be engrossed in the engineering report, she stood and turned away from him. "I will be in my ready room. You have the bridge, Commander."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

She caught the slight husk in his voice and knew he was having as much difficulty as she was. As she walked to the doorway of her ready room, a yellow light appeared on Chakotay's screen alerting him to the scheduled senior staff meeting in one hour. He had been staring so intently at the display for distraction that the alert startled him. Without thinking, he called out, "Oh, Katie!"

Kathryn froze in her tracks. Oh Gods, he did it! she thought to herself. She turned slowly, noting that every eye of the other bridge officers was staring at her, awaiting her reaction. She placed her empty hand on her hip, steadied her voice, and asked, "What did you call me, Commander?"

Chakotay looked up at her as he replayed the words in his head. His eyes went wide, his hand flew over his mouth, and he stuttered, "I'm sorry, Kathryn! I mean, Captain! Um, ma'am."

He looked so mortified that it took every microgram of her iron will not to dissolve in a fit of laughter. She raised her eyebrow, gave him a half-smirk, and responded, "Kathryn Captain ma'am is a bit unwieldy, Commander. I believe a simple 'Captain' will suffice."

"Yes, Captain!" he clipped sharply.

Kathryn executed a precision turn on her heels, but as she did so she flashed him a perfectly-timed wink that only he could see. Well, he and Mr. Paris, who was at the helm. She had decided she didn't care if Tom saw it, though. The crew would find out about their relationship soon enough, anyway.

Kathryn entered her ready room and waited for the doors to close. She clapped a hand over her mouth just as Chakotay had done, trying to stifle her laughter so no one would hear. When she had her girlish giggles under control, she walked to the replicator, ordered coffee, and reclined sideways on the sofa. She was still grinning as she gazed out the window, watching the millions of stars flying past. Somehow, stranded in the Delta Quadrant thousands of light-years from home, she had found her soul mate. She was in love and unbelievably happy. "Oh, yes, Chakotay" she said softly to herself. "This is going to be fun!"