TEN REASONS WHY

by Boz

Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters........and most of the universe....I’m just giving them some of the fun they seem to be missing out on so badly these days.

Rating: PG

~*~

Part One

It was the third time in the last two weeks that they’d had dinner together in her quarters. It was mostly work, but she was starting to relax and they’d even shared a few laughs. For a long time there’d only been the captain and Chakotay had wondered if Kathryn was ever going to come back. He’d tried to move on, but always he felt a tide pulling him back. He kept trying to convince himself that being her best friend was enough. It never could be, but it was all he had to go on, for now.

The PADD they were working on slipped from his fingers onto the desk. They both reached for it together, their heads almost touching, and then they caught each other’s eyes. It was a moment suspended in time, hanging between them as their breath mingled. His hand rose and cupped the side of her face and suddenly she wrenched herself away and put as much space between them as she could in the small room.

"Why?" One word. It floated across the distance, spiraling into her ears as she stood stiffly arms folded around herself, back towards him.

"You know why, protocol, my integrity as captain........." It floated back to him and he recognised vulnerability in the tone, rather than her usual stubbornness.

"Kathryn", he used her name deliberately. "You know that you don’t really believe that. It’s just a barrier you’ve put up to give you an easy excuse. Give me ten good reasons why this wouldn’t work and for every one of those reasons, I’ll give you ten why it will."

She took a breath to speak, but kept her face turned to the viewport.

"Well, what if....." her voice trailed off as she tried to think. For a moment all she could think of was how her name sounded when he rolled it off his tongue like that. It was such a long time since he had used it. How had that come about?

"Tell you what," he offered. "I don’t actually think you can come up with ten good reasons. When you do, I will finally accept that it isn’t going to work, but while you’re thinking, I’m going to prove to you that it will." He walked over, dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head and strode out the door before she had time to react. This was one battle he was going to enjoy.

Kathryn stood for a long time looking out into the field of stars trying hard to be angry at his audacity and only partially succeeding. ‘Face it Kathryn,’ she thought, ‘that felt pretty darn good. NO. Where did that thought come from? Concentrate, control, ten good reasons why it wouldn’t work.........’ She couldn’t get past number three. She’d just have to sleep on it, but that was easier said than done. It was well into the small hours before she fell asleep, still mulling over the reasons she was going to give him.

She awoke to a sharp aroma. It couldn’t be, could it? A plate of crisp waffles piled with strawberries and fresh cream lay in the centre of her dining table with a small, handwritten card propped alongside.

~~~You could wake up to this every morning - C.~~~

Damn the man, how had he got in without her hearing? She contemplated dumping the lot into the replicator, but just couldn’t resist the temptation. Heavens know how many replicator rations he’d sacrificed for her.

She was a little apprehensive as she headed for the bridge, wondering if he’d decided to carry on his little game in public, and was relieved when he arrived with his usual professional face in place. She had to admit, though, she was a little miffed when he got down to business as usual with no reference to anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t want to admit that she had enjoyed her breakfast; no, she had to spend some time working on that list before he got too persistent.

----------------------------------------

It had been a busy day as usual, and she had hardly seen Chakotay let alone had time to think about the list. She was about to take herself off for a long bath and a steamy novel, when a private message beeped up on her screen.

~~~~I bet you’ve forgotten - its Neelix’s birthday party for Sam tonight.

Ten reasons why you should attend:

10 - The crew love your company.
9 - Best friends always enjoy each other’s company.
8 - I love your company.
7 - Neelix and Sam will be devastated if you don’t go.
6 - There’s Leola Root Ice-cream on the menu.
5 - You’ll have a chance to wear that sexy red off-the-shoulder number.
4 - You’ve still got time for a looong soak in the bath - want some company?
3 - You wont have any time to work on that list (got past #3 yet?).
2 - There will be some long, slow, sensuous dances.
1 - You will have a devastatingly handsome, witty escort who will collect you at 2000 hours.~~~~

She tried not to grin; she really should show him and find an excuse not to go, but it would be discourteous to Sam. Well, some tactics were called for here.

At 1959 hours, Chakotay presented himself at her door, clutching one long-stemmed yellow rose. He’d contemplated a red one, but it wasn’t time to turn the heat up too far yet. There was no reply to the doorchime so he finally entered the override code and strode in to find no sign of his captain. One light was on, shining onto on a PADD on her desk. He picked it up and thumbed his private security code.

~~~~Sorry, my devastatingly handsome, witty escort arrived early - almost caught me in the bath tub - K~~~~

He grinned, carefully placed the rose on her pillow and headed for the party. It took all of his control not to laugh out loud when he saw her arm in arm with Tuvok, who looked as uncomfortable as a Vulcan possibly could, and she was wearing the midnight blue dress with the spaghetti straps that he absolutely adored. Score one each!

Sam cut her birthday cake amongst much frivolity and fun as Tom set himself up as a DJ, yet another of his 20th Century historical pursuits. B’Elanna, though, was having trouble coping with the fluorescent pink hair and row of silver earrings that he sported.

After a couple of fast and furious numbers, the music became slow and sultry. Chakotay approached Kathryn for the first time all evening, although he’d been totally aware of every movement she made. He offered her his arm and was about to swing her onto the dance floor when a long brown arm gently disentangled her.

"This lady is with me, I believe."

Chakotay smirked at the obviously rehearsed statement and shot Kathryn an exasperated look as she danced stiffly off with Tuvok. They looked like a pair of those plastic figurines he’d seen in a store in 1996 Los Angeles. Well, two could play at this game. He spent the rest of the night flirting outrageously with the female crew, dancing with as many as he could, holding them close and studiously ignoring the only one he really wanted to be spending his time with. He left soon after she and Tuvok left, leaving a hotbed of gossip behind.......

........so it was true that he and the captain only had a professional relationship left. They certainly didn't seem to be spending any leisure time together these days and they didn’t even stand close to each other on the bridge. Yes and who had noticed that they rarely whispered to each other when things were getting boring on duty? Most of the crew were crestfallen, but they acknowledged that maybe it was time for Chakotay to move on. He had made his feelings pretty obvious but the Captain always seemed to keep a barrier between them. Surely, though, she wasn't going to get together with Tuvok? Well, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about not showing her feelings around him. Maybe they would make a good pair after all.

Tuvok walked Kathryn back to her quarters and she caught his arm as he turned to leave. "Thanks, old friend."

He looked down at her. "Think carefully, Captain - maybe the path of logic is not always the right one if you’re not Vulcan."

He left her looking puzzled and she walked into her quarters more determined than ever to start on her list, until she saw the rose on her pillow. No, let it go for just one more night. It was a long time since she’d been treated like this by a man and it was starting too feel good.

In the morning she had to admit to a little disappointment that there was no sign of anyone having been in her quarters. She dressed quickly. Oh well, maybe he’d had his fun, maybe she’d upset him last night by patently ignoring him. When she arrived on the bridge she felt even worse when she discovered that he had deliberately rearranged his schedule for the day so that they were never going to be in the same place at the same time. Okay, there wasn’t much happening, maybe now was a good time to start on her list; she was starting to get her resolve back.

"Harry, you have the bridge." She stalked into her ready room leaving Tom staring after her. Maybe the gossip from last night was true, and just maybe she didn’t like the fact that Chakotay seemed to be moving on....hmmm ....this required some careful contemplation if he was to scoop the betting pool.

Kathryn threw herself into her chair and swung her screen around, determined to start on the list, then noticed a small, carefully wrapped box, sitting on top of a PADD with the privacy code flashing. She reached for the box, but hesitated to open it. Surely he wouldn’t? No, she didn’t want to have to cope with this just yet. Sure, she was starting to enjoy this. Darn it he was even starting to get under her skin, but she still wasn’t ready to concede defeat. There were an awful lot of reasons why this was a very bad idea, and the sooner she started on the list the sooner it’d be all sorted....or would it? No she didn’t want to go down that path.

‘Focus, Kathryn, control, you can't afford to get involved with him. Remember what has gone before......Justin, Mark’. No she had to nip this in the bud, for both of them.

As she lost herself in thoughts of the past, her hands idly untied the bow around the small parcel. She was almost too scared to lift the lid. Would she have the heart to turn him down if it was what she thought it might be? The smell warned her first, and she looked into the box to find....a tiny leola root cookie and a tightly wrapped note.

~~~~Gotcha - C~~~~

She chortled and picked up the PADD:

~~~~Ten reasons to have lunch with me in the messhall today:

10 - It’s always a creative adventure.
9 - Leola root’s off today.
8 - The crew are getting awfully confused. Lets confuse them even more.
7 - I’m not confused at all, but I hope you’re starting to be.
6 - I can’t cope with another lunchdate with Seven. Eating and interrogation don’t go together.
5 - There must be some ship’s business we need to discuss.
4 - I’ve heard some new jokes. Okay, that’s a bit difficult after five years, but you know, what goes around comes around. Maybe we can remember some old ones to laugh at.
3 - I hear that the pecan pie’s pretty good.
2 - I can’t stand a whole day without your company.
1 - Because I can’t account for my actions if we have lunch in the ready room, or your quarters.~~~~

She contemplated not turning up, but only for a few moments. Her thoughts were becoming more and more confused as it seemed to be harder to tie down her list of ten good reasons. She knew they were there somewhere, lurking in the back of her brain; she just had to find some quiet, contemplative time to sort them into an order that would convince him....and her. Ah, what the heck, it was only lunch, and they had that together all the time.

Part Two

She walked into the messhall to find Chakotay already ensconced at a table with a Delaney sister on each side and Chapman and Reedy leaning across the table, all concentrating on every word. By the laughter going on, it had obviously been a good joke. No one even noticed her. She grabbed a tray without even acknowledging Neelix, slopped an indescribable yellow stringy-like object onto it and slammed it down on a table on the far side of the room.

"Is this chair taken?" She looked up into the full power of his dimpled smile and knew that she couldn’t stay mad with him for long. Trying not to smile, she concentrated on trying to imagine that she could in fact eat the object that was inhabiting her plate. She picked up her fork.

"Methinks someone was somewhat distracted and not concentrating on today’s menu," he laughed.

"Now what makes you think that?"

"Well, I don’t think Naomi will be too pleased if you eat her favourite tribbletoy which she’d left for Neelix to repair."

She prodded her fork into the mess and was rewarded with an anguished squeak which sent them both into gales of laughter, and the crew who were covertly watching them into even more confusion.

"Here, share mine; I’ve got two forks," he offered, passing her his plate of pecan pie. She speared a piece and went to put it in her mouth.

"Oh no you don’t." He held his fork out to her and indicated that she should do the same for him.

"Chakotay," she hissed, hoping that no-one had noticed as she felt the blush rising on her cheeks.

"Scared, Kathryn? I don’t believe it. A woman who can face down the Borg won’t share lunch with her best friend?"

She sent him a lopsided smile, still not totally willing to admit defeat, then decided it was time to have some fun. She subtly moved her chair so that her back was to the rest of the messhall, then as he raised his fork to her mouth again, she slowly opened her mouth and just let the tip of her tongue show. Slowly, sensuously, she slid the tip of her tongue around and around her open lips, then delicately extended it until it was touching the pecan pie and licked the edge, up and down, up and down until it glistened with her saliva. She watched his eyes watching her tongue as she slowly slid it back between her teeth.

"Just imagine it, Chakotay," she purred, then opened her mouth and took a large, emphatic bite of the pie.

"Aaargh!" Chakotay almost reared out of his seat and she grinned broadly, knowing exactly what she had done to him.

Before he had a chance to respond, she slid from her seat, leant down and whispered "Be grateful it wasn’t a frankfurter", then left him sitting there open-mouthed. It was several minutes before he was able to leave the protection of the table and by then he had several ideas for revenge circulating in his mind.

Kathryn spent the evening in her quarters. She desperately needed to think and it was easier without his distracting influence, but she found herself looking out of the viewport, not thinking about much at all. Somehow those ten reasons were becoming more and more elusive, drifting off in the outer reaches of her mind and she didn’t seem to want to try to grab them anymore. It was a long time since she’d had so much fun, since she’d felt so alive. Maybe that was it, she didn’t need to think any more, just go with the flow.

It was the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long while. She found herself humming as she got ready for work, for once anticipating eagerly what the day might bring.

She didn’t have long to wait. She walked around the bridge, with her usual morning encouragements to the staff, hearing from their reports that all systems were functioning normally and there was nothing on long-range sensors. Settling into her seat she pulled up her viewscreen to confirm the overnight sensor readings. A private message kept flashing for her, but she managed to restrain herself until the morning’s business was dealt with. She was well aware that Chakotay was on duty but since he wasn’t needed on the bridge, he was being particularly elusive and she really had no reason to try to track him down. The rest of the crew would notice immediately and she didn’t want to admit to anyone but herself that she was well aware that it was eighteen and a half hours since she had seen him and she was missing his presence.

At last all reports were dealt with and she had time to deal with her message. She keyed in the privacy code, knowing that Tuvok would be aware that she had received a message and was now clearing it. She shot him a quick glance and received one raised eyebrow in return then began to read the message. Uh oh! The heat was being turned up and she guessed she only had herself to blame.

~~~~Ten places where a First Officer can kiss a Captain

10 - In her quarters. Been there, done that. Was that really a kiss?
9 - In a Jeffries tube junction.
8 - In the Ready Room. Be damned to protocols.
7 - In a turbo lift. Let’s be cadets again.
6 - On the Holodeck.
5 - On New Earth. Why didn’t we?
4 - In a shuttle. I’ll even promise not to crash it.
3 - On shore leave. Please find us a nice M-class planet, soon.
2 - In astrometrics. Seven’s ready to further her education ;-)
1 - In his quarters. Now, there’s a challenge.~~~~

Kathryn read the list, hoping that no-one was watching her as her face grew red, and not only totally from embarrassment. There was a definite tingle in her stomach. Maybe she really was ready to let those shields down.

A few minutes later, Chakotay arrived on the bridge. As he walked across to the ‘big chair’, the captain stood up, shot a glare at him and left the bridge, without telling anyone where she was going.

‘Intriguing,’ thought Tuvok, ‘there’s certainly something on her mind.’ Chakotay hesitated, wondering if he’d gone too far and really upset her this time, then, as he went to follow her, he noticed a PADD on his chair. Sitting down, he quickly keyed in his code.

~~~~The captain will be in Jeffries tube 19 should the commander wish to carry out his threat.~~~~

‘Oh yes!’ Chakotay struggled to contain the grin that threatened to burst out. He thought quickly, keyed a cryptic message to B’Elanna hoping she’d get it and left the bridge.

"You have the bridge, Mr. Tuvok."

Tom swept around in his chair. He certainly hadn’t been impervious to the heightened tensions on the bridge over the last couple of days, but it was darned hard to get any evidence from what he’d seen. By the look of Tuvok’s eyebrows, almost disappearing over the top of his head, he was also fully aware that something was up.

Five minutes later, Chakotay quietly crept around the bend in Jeffries Tube 19. Sometimes his old, silent hunting skills were still useful. There she was, with her back to him, bending over pretending to fiddle with a panel. He paused for a moment, scarcely breathing, admiring the view, then soundlessly slid up behind her and put his hands on either side of her, leaning in so that he trapped her body against the wall. She let out a small scream and turned around to look into the full force of his grin - those dimples were the most devastating sight she had ever seen.

Suddenly her eyes became two deep pools of desire as she leaned her face towards him.

‘At last,’ he thought. ‘Spirits, give me strength to carry this out - I just want to throw her to the floor and......’

She saw the change come over his face and knew that she had never really seen the depths of the desire and love he felt for her. Slowly their lips met, softly at first then as the fire began to ignite and she moaned into his mouth.............. "Torres to Captain Janeway."

"Oh, hell." She tapped her commbadge "Janeway here." She tried hard to control her breathing hoping that B’Elanna would think she was rushing down a corridor somewhere.

"Captain, sorry if I’ve caught you at an awkward moment."

They grinned at each other trying not to give away Chakotay’s presence by outright laughter.

"Could you come to engineering immediately, there are some plasma emissions anomalies you need to see."

"I’m on my way."

‘Well done, B’Elanna,’ he thought. ‘Great timing. It’s so close, just have to keep her dangling a little bit longer and then I’ll reel her in.’ It’d been almost impossible to break that kiss, but he just knew it’d be worth it in the end.

She gave him a crooked smile and slid her fingers across his tattoo - ‘Later,’ she whispered. Just before she rounded the corner of the Jeffries tube, she shot him a last look and was surprised by the expression on his face.

"You devil!" she shot at him with a wry grin and disappeared.

She couldn’t let him think he’d won just yet. That night she made sure she was at Sandrine’s as usual. Every time he made his way to talk to her, she managed to avoid him, very subtly, so that no-one else would notice what was happening, but she knew darned well that he was well aware of just what she was doing. Then, when he was fully concentrating on losing yet another game of pool to Tom, she slipped out and made her way back to her quarters, hoping that he wouldn’t follow. She had work to do.

He was aware that she’d gone, but decided not to follow. Let her wonder why he hadn’t. Just a little more pressure and she’d be his forever. He was sure of it now and it made the last of the waiting not so bad.

----------------------------

Chakotay was a little late for the morning staff briefing but was surprised that the Captain wasn’t there. Just as he greeted everyone, she came through the door, as though she’d been waiting for him. As soon as everyone was seated and ready to begin, she reached across to him and handed him a PADD.

"Since you’re a little late this morning, Commander, there’s a last report here you’ll need to review before we start the formal business." She sat down with her best command face in place and proceeded to stare at him in a totally unsettling way.

‘No,’ he thought. ‘She wouldn’t, not here and now, surely.’

He thumbed the code button and began to read the message. She had so much trouble keeping her ‘face’ on as she watched the expressions flit across his, knowing what an effort it was for him to try to remain impassive.

The rest of the crew were totally fascinated. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. The Captain continued to stare fixedly at the Commander whilst his face turned several shades of red and he obviously fought to control his expression.

~~~~Ten reasons why you should meet the Captain for dinner - her quarters -1930 hours tonight

10 - So we don’t have to eat Neelix’s (or my) cooking - I’ve got plenty of replicator rations.
9 - So we can share a bowl of coffee ice-cream.....one spoon.
8 - So I can feed you strawberries dipped in cream.....slowly, one at a time.
7 -Because I have a bottle of Chateau Picard ‘45 - on ice and waiting.
6 -Because right now my fingers are itching to trace your tattoo, and trail down your face................
5 - Because I can’t bear another day without kissing you.
4 - So I can hear my name on your lips again......and again.
3 - So I can ask for your forgiveness for making you wait so long.
2 - So I can tell you that I should have done this years ago.
1 - So I can rip all your clothes off and make wild, passionate love to you all night.

My Love

You win, all of my shields are down. I don’t need ten reasons why this wouldn’t work. I have to admit that you are the most important thing in my universe. I love you Chakotay, with all my heart and soul and I want you beside me all the days of my life. We can do this. I know we’ll work it out. Tonight I’ll show you just how much we can work it out!

All my love, your Kathryn.~~~~

All eyes were on the Captain and Chakotay as he finished reading and lifted his eyes to hers. Suddenly she leant over, put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a stunning smile and a huge, ostentatious wink, then turned in her chair, leaving a spluttering commander beside her and an open-mouthed senior staff...........

"Now, on to this morning’s business ..................."

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