Chakotay pulled the last of the ingredients from the pantry and arranged them on the counter in the order that he would need them even as his thoughts continued in a more disorganized pattern. He grinned again as he recalled Kathryn's words from the night before: I'm just the baby-sitter. She'd been wise not to break up that party in Engineering. Though the crew sometimes had trouble allowing her to have a good time with them, she did everything in her power to facilitate a friendly relationship with as many of the them as she could. He guessed that at least half the crew occasionally forgot that she was their commanding officer. That wasn't saying much, though, especially after all the time that had elapsed. Still, as the night before illustrated, a little bit of wisdom went a long way with the crew of Voyager.
Her wisdom was only one of the things he loved about Kathryn Janeway. He had to admire her unflagging desire to make everybody feel as comfortable and at home on board Voyager as she possibly could. She had always understood the necessity to have discipline and a single mission to unite the crew of her ship, but she also realized the need for continuity and a sense of family, of belonging to the larger group and having a part in that other aspect of life aboard a floating community. He knew she wanted to share in the social spheres of the ship, and he as well as others of the senior staff helped her when they could, but.... There were times when Captain was tattooed across her forehead and nobody was able to ignore it.
And so when Kathryn suddenly appeared on the other side of the
kitchen's serving partition in the mess hall, interrupting his
meditation and his cooking, he blurted, Hi, Captain!
Her gaze slowly washed over him, taking in his casual attire and
the food spread out before him, settling at last on his face. His
face was alight with undisguised joy. Despite the formal
greeting, I think it's safe to say that you're as glad to see me as
I am to see you.
She grinned at him and leaned against the
counter.
Sorry. I was thinking.
About what?
About starting a subversive movement to overthrow Starfleet
hierarchy on board Voyager and remove all ranks for the sake
of social - um - bonding.
Oh? Sounds intriguing. Who are you thinking of bonding
with?
I thought I'd start at the top and see how it goes from
there. Any objections?
None at all. That's the first rule of the felicity principle,
after all; keep the captain happy and the party may go on
forever.
Chakotay chuckled. Party till infinity. I like that.
Especially if I can party with the right person. Are you
available?
I certainly hope so!
They laughed together in comfortable companionship, enjoying their flirting, enjoying being together, and finally at ease with each other in public areas.
What are you doing?
she asked next, gesturing to the
array of cooking utensils cluttering Neelix's kitchen.
He looked around, as if he'd forgotten all about his
surroundings. Making rosk hachunta and hair pasta. Maybe an
omelet if I'm still hungry.
Mind if I help?
He grinned. I thought you didn't like to cook.
She shrugged. Well, I just never knew that doing it with
somebody makes it a lot more fun.
Chakotay's grin turned sly. I don't mind if you help, but are
you sure you're able to?
If you're referring to my past disasters in this kitchen,
I'll have you know that my cooking abilities have improved
tremendously.
An eyebrow rose in unmasked misgiving. They would have to
before Neelix will let you back here again.
Very funny, Chakotay. I think I can handle breaking a few
eggs this evening... if you'll just remind me how to do it one more
time.
He hesitated. Though he admired many things about Kathryn, her
cooking skills weren't among them. He usually ended their times in
the mess hall kitchen with a major cleanup detail to hide the
latest mistake from Neelix. He looked at her carefully, but saw
only the sincerest of expressions on her face. Do you really
want to help?
he asked.
Kathryn wavered a bit now that the offer was in the open. She
drummed her fingers on the countertop, glancing once more over the
ingredients. Hair pasta?
she questioned in hesitation.
Yes. And omelets.
Sounds difficult. I don't want to ruin it....
He smiled slowly at her across the counter, lending her
encouragement and a little affection. Come on back, Kathryn - I
won't let you ruin it.
Her own smile answered his invitation. She left the counter and worked her way around the partition and through the kitchen door.
I hope I don't regret this, Chakotay thought to himself.
What do I do first?
she asked. She stood in the center of
the kitchen, her hands propped on her hips, and surveyed the
layout.
Ah, she's the captain even in the kitchen, was his next thought when he caught her indulging in her favorite Bridge pose. Kathryn Janeway only put her hands on her hips when she refused to be threatened by some unknown and possibly dangerous entity. It was an amusing posture to take in a kitchen.
First, why don't you put some water on to boil, then you can
help me chop the vegetables for the rosk hachunta.
They worked silently for a few moments, the only sound the chopping of their knives through the organically grown vegetables collected from aeroponics. Occasionally there was a poof from Neelix's capricious heating elements to accent their work.
As she sliced, Kathryn snuck glances at him from the corners of her eyes. He looked good. Casual clothes had always suited Chakotay. Now they reminded her of those many months they'd spent on New Earth where the uniforms had been unnecessary and civilian clothes more comfortable attire. Her thoughts surprised her a little. She hadn't thought of those three months away from Voyager for a long time. In fact, now that she thought of it -
I like your vest. It's from New Earth, isn't it?
Chakotay had to look down to remind himself what he was wearing
before he could answer her. Yes. I'm surprised you remember it.
I decided to keep it since I liked it so much.
I thought I recognized it. I didn't think to keep any of my
replicated clothes at the time. I guess my thoughts were on other
things than stuffing my closet!
He shook his head and heaved a regretful sigh. That's too
bad. I liked some of those dresses.
So did I.
Kathryn paused in her chopping to thoughtfully
scratch her chin. It's interesting what we thought was important
at the time, but now, looking back, our concerns seem so
inconsequential.
Yes. We did tend to get psychologically stuck on a few
things. Our attitudes are what come to my mind right away.
She eyed him dubiously and continued her chopping. We were
pretty stiff for awhile,
she admitted after a moment.
Stiff? Is that what you call it?
All right, maybe that's not the right word....
Terrified. That's the right word.
He glanced down at her
and chuckled quietly. We were both so scared we couldn't even be
in the same room together because we didn't know how to act
anymore. After two days Torres told me it was driving her crazy and
she was going to report ridiculous rumors about us over the ship's
intercom if we didn't cut it out.
Kathryn tried to hold back a smile. Torres would do something
like that,
she agreed in amusement. B'Elanna has her own
personal style of solving problems.
She doesn't like to mess around - she'd rather say it how it
is and get it over with. You might call it her command
style.
Kathryn paused again, the knife resting directly over a fresh yellow-root carrot. He had heard, she thought. Her entire conversation with Cat in that empty corridor the day before, what was meant to be something of a psychological release for her and not for the ears of anybody who could speak coherently, had obviously been overheard. She tried to remember if she'd said anything too personal to Cat, or too revealing considering who she was talking with now. She wasn't sure she remembered everything.
By the way,
Chakotay continued, apparently unaware of her
sudden dilemma, I thought you handled things well in Engineering
last night.
He'd taken the discussion back into safer territory. With a sigh
of relief, she lowered the knife to the vegetable again. I
didn't want to be the cause of breaking up the party. And it was
true - I was off duty, and just the baby-sitter. Unfortunately, my
baby-sitting skills are about as good as my cooking skills. It was
pure luck that Cat stayed out of the warp core.
A toddler can certainly keep anybody busy. Particularly a
Katarian. Did you know she has almost twice as much energy as a
fully human child?
Kathryn's eyes opened in wide surprise. No, I've never heard
that.
The doctor told me all about it. It has something to do with
her DNA structure. He gave me a complete lecture on the subject,
but I didn't understand very much of it.
I don't know how Samantha does it. By the time the tournament
was over last night and she came back, I was exhausted. She was
exhausted because of the hoverball games. The only one with any
energy was Cat... the little squint.
Did you have fun baby-sitting, except for the part in
Engineering?
Kathryn grinned then. I have to admit that I did. Cat may be
energetic, but she's such a cheerful girl. You can't help having a
good time when she's around. Take B'Elanna for example - I never
thought I'd see her getting cozy with a baby. And here she gave Cat
her nickname.
That is pretty impressive.
Chakotay dumped the chopped
food into the pan of boiling water, then dumped hers in as well.
You know, I don't even remember what Cat's real name is. Isn't
it some unpronounceable Katarian traditional name?
I think so. But it can't be any harder for you to pronounce
than 'Chakotay' is for her.
Kathryn tugged playfully at the
edge of his vest.
At least she knows my real name. I'm not Mantha Jane. Can I
call you that on the Bridge?
If that ever happens, I know a certain first officer who's
going to be spending a lot of his free time depolarizing the waste
receptacle unit. By hand.
Chakotay hesitated, a playful grin on his face. He looked at
her, glanced at the boiling water, then looked at her again. You
wouldn't really do that, would you?
Would you like to try me?
His grin widened and he rubbed his chin, a gesture that she knew
meant trouble. It might be worth it, just to see your
expression. And Tom's. And Harry's. And Tuvok's.
Kathryn laughed and gave him an affectionate shove with her hip.
Chakotay, you're terrible, but I love your sense of
humor!
His wry grin grew calculatedly softer and he leaned in to
flirtatiously say, I have other attributes that are just as easy
to love.
Kathryn took in his inviting smile, the alluring look in his
eyes, his posture, and her brows rose in response. Even with a
carrot in hand, Commander Chakotay could still look unarguably
seductive. She knew he was playing with her, having fun making her
a little uncomfortable, and perhaps a bit out of control. He was
being outrageous... and she loved every minute of it. I already
do,
she answered in deep, husky tones, determined not to be
outdone by him even in a kitchen. When he set the carrot on the
counter, reached to pull her close, willing to kiss her right there
in the mess hall kitchen, she was ready. Of course, it's your
nose rubs and your bathtubs that I find the... most...
appealing.
She was pleased to note that she sounded just like
Sandrine.
He lost it. His face only inches from hers, his eyes locked in her gaze, he started giggling and couldn't stop. All seduction gone now from his manner, he wrapped his arms around her in a familiar embrace, and she hugged him back, her chuckles joining his. Their giggles fed off each other and quickly mutated into genuine laughter. Soon they were both laughing so hard that they had to lean against the counters for support. They were completely oblivious to the boiling pot of vegetables, the food waiting on the tables, and any crewmembers who might be finding solitude in the mess hall.
Harry Kim and Tom Paris glanced up from their game of Delta Quadrant checkers when the laughter attracted their attention. They could just make out the two figures through the kitchen partitions.
Commander Chakotay and Captain Janeway,
Harry stated, and
a tiny satisfied smile played at the corners of his lips.
Tom groaned softly and pushed the checker pieces around the
board with his index finger. His nose wrinkled ever so slightly at
the scene he and his friend were witnessing. Those two are so
much in love it's nauseating just to watch.
Yeah,
Kim responded with a sigh. Great, isn't
it.