The BLTS Archive - A Special Gift 
by Mickey (ohmickeym@gmail.com)

---

DISCLAIMER:  Paramount owns everything, but once again, I'm
going to play with their toys.  This contains some fairly
graphic sex, both m/f and  m/m, and therefore is DEFINITELY
NC-17.  DON'T read it if you're underage, or if you can't
stand the thought of more than two people having sex at the
same time (or sex and Star Trek in general).

Copyright 1996, Kim Gasper.  Please don't publish or reproduce
for profit.  DO feel free to share it with friends, etc., and
feel free to archive.  Just keep the headers on it.  Thanks.

---

Kathryn Janeway sat back in her chair, rubbing at her
temples. She had a headache. A bad one. And it had started
with the staff meeting this morning, just a few hours
before...

"I think we've covered everything then. Commander?" Kathryn
turned to Chakotay, her raised eyebrow asking if he had
anything else to add to the meeting. He shook his head in
the negative, and she opened her mouth to dismiss everyone.
That was when Neelix signaled her.

"Captain, I have something to add."

"Go ahead, Mr. Neelix."

"I've been doing some additional reading on the customs and
celebrations of humans, and have come across a lovely
sounding holiday that I believe is almost upon us."

Janeway cocked an eyebrow at the little Talaxian. "And that
would be...?"

"Christmas, of course." Neelix beamed at her.

"Of course," she echoed faintly. "How do you know--?"

"The date? I asked the computer to figure it for me."

"I see." She glanced around the table at her other officers:
A Vulcan; a Native American; and a half-human/half-Klingon.
There were also herself, Tom Paris and Harry Kim.

Tuvok stared back stoically at her, Chakotay was fighting a
smile (and losing), Tom wasn't even trying to fight it.
Harry and B'Elanna just looked a little wistful. "What did
you want to do with this information?"

"Why, have a Christmas party! We could trim a tree, sing
carols, exchange gifts--"

"Neelix, at least half this crew isn't from a cultural
background that celebrates Christmas; many of the crew
members are different species..."

Paris broke in then, grinning from ear to ear. "Any excuse
to have a party is a good thing, Captain. We just make sure
everyone has a good time. No one will mind the other stuff."

Neelix took this as definite support in his favor. "Captain,
as Morale Officer, I feel a party would be good for the
crew. We've all been working so hard lately, with hardly any
relaxation."

Janeway frowned slightly. "I don't know that we can afford a
party, Mr. Neelix. We haven't had a planet to restock from
in quite a while, and even you aren't that familiar with
this part of the quadrant. We shouldn't use up supplies like
that, not knowing when we'll be able to restock again."

Chakotay looked at Janeway. "With all due respect, Captain,
I think Neelix is right. A party--even a *small* one--would
help the crew. And if Neelix thinks it should be a Christmas
party, why not?"

Janeway looked at him in disbelief. "*You're* in favor of a
Christmas party, Commander?"

He shrugged. "Why not? Christmas has come to mean different
things to different people over the centuries. I don't
necessarily attach any spiritual meaning to it--although I
don't discount that either--but I do like trimming the
tree." His brown eyes twinkled at her, making her wonder if
he was pulling her leg. She looked around the table again,
wondering if she was making a mistake. Everyone *looked*
interested in the idea, except Tuvok, who just looked
neutral, as always.

"Alright, Mr. Neelix. You and Commander Chakotay work out
the details, and we'll see what we can do. Dismissed."

---

So here she sat, several hours later, wondering what they
were getting themselves into. According to Chakotay, who'd
been by a little while ago to drop off some data padds,
Neelix had been quizzing the crew--and everyone seemed okay
with the idea.

"Computer, compare current stardate with Earth calendar and
give me the current date."

"Working. Current date according to Earth calendar is
December 23."

December 23rd. Her parents would have the house decorated by
now, and her mother would have cookies baked and presents
wrapped. Tomorrow night friends and family from all over
would be coming to the house, in preparation for the big
Christmas dinner that her mother prepared every year on
Christmas day.

Kathryn closed her eyes, remembering the smells and sounds
that filled her parents' home during the Christmas season.
Like Chakotay, the day didn't have a lot of spiritual
meaning for her, rather it represented warmth and love,
friendship and well-being. She missed that, missed those
things terribly. Out here, light-years from everything
familiar, she suddenly ached to be home, watching her father
light the Christmas tree, to smell the turkey her mother
would be cooking. Kathryn Janeway sat at her desk, tears in
her eyes, wishing for home.

---

After a lot of planning, whispering and general chaos,
Neelix and Chakotay got the Christmas party planned. Or
rather, parties. After careful consideration they'd decided
that one party wouldn't be able to meet the needs of what
they wanted to do, so they planned one for the crew and one
for the bridge officers and department heads. The crew's
party would be first and anyone could attend. The officer's
party would be on Christmas eve and only bridge and
department officers would be able to attend; Neelix and Kes
would be the exception, since Neelix would be overseeing the
catering for both.

Chakotay debated asking Kathryn if he could escort her to
the party; in the end he decided not to. She'd been rather
distant since their return from New Earth--no, that wasn't
the right word. Just...maintaining her space. Now, as he
stood in the cabin that he and Tom had designed and
programmed for the party, he wondered if she'd actually show
or not. She'd been acting strange since the whole party
thing came up. Clearly she was upset about something, but
she refused to discuss it with him. He looked up and saw Tom
watching him from across the room. The younger man gave a
cocky grin when he saw he was being observed, then turned
back to his conversation with B'Elanna and Harry. Tuvok had
declined attendance at all claiming he didn't need the
"morale booster" as Neelix called it, and stating no desire
to experience the Earth custom "Christmas". Janeway hadn't
pushed the issue, rather she'd seemed happy that he'd be
available to do Bridge duty.

Chakotay had understood that to mean she'd be
attending...but where was she? Just as he'd turned around to
discreetly call her on his comm badge the door to the cabin
opened, and Janeway blew in along with a cold wind and a lot
of snow.

"Wow! I didn't know I needed to dress for a blizzard!" she
exclaimed, knocking snow off of her shoes.

Tom walked up to her and handed her a steaming cup. "Cider,"
he said at her questioning glance. "Welcome to the party,
Captain. We've been waiting for you, so we could go get the
tree."

"*Get* the tree? You don't have one all ready?" Her eyes
danced merrily at him."

"Nope. Been waiting just for you." He turned to the room and
addressed them all. "All right everyone. Let's get winter
gear on, and go get that tree! Neelix, you got the popcorn
and stuff ready?"

"Everything's ready, Tom," Neelix said as he struggled into
his parka. Around the room, everyone was putting on the
heavy coats and boots that Tom had provided for them. When
everyone was suitably dressed, they headed out the door and
into the cold.

Chakotay dropped back and waited for Kathryn. "Having fun,
Captain?" He grinned at her, dimples showing.

"As a matter of fact, Commander, I used to do this every
year I was growing up." Her eyes sparkled at him. He thought
how beautiful she was, eyes glowing and face rosy from the
cold. It took all the control and reserve he had not to take
her by the shoulders then and kiss her.

"Well, I've never done it. Maybe you can help me along." He
looked at her for a long moment, willing her to understand
what he was trying to tell her. She stared back for a
minute, then smiled and held her hand out.

"Maybe I can. Come on."

---

An hour later they were all back at the cabin with a tree
that had been deemed perfect to decorate. Everyone took
turns putting the decorations on and the result was a
beautiful tree. Neelix had consulted with Tom and Harry and
come up with a traditional Christmas-type dinner: Turkey,
dressing, cranberry sauce, along with a few
not-so-traditional things that everyone liked. The dinner
was set up buffet-style, and everyone was invited to eat as
much as he or she desired. All the while there were carols
playing in the background, and people were congregating in
small groups to talk and joke. Janeway was amazed at how
much fun this was turning out to be. She hadn't realized how
much she missed this part of her life. She'd been amazed to
hear the singing voices that Chakotay, Tom and Kes had;
they'd led the rounds of carols while the tree was being
decorated. Apparently Kes had been doing some studying of
her own; Kathryn was surprised to hear the Delta Quadrant
native singing "Adeste Fideles". *She* didn't even know all
the words to the Latin version!

After dinner Tom dimmed the lights a bit and built up the
fire; he then announced that there would be dancing for
anyone who was interested. They moved the furniture against
the walls where it would be out of the way, then people
began pairing off. During one of the slower numbers Tom
approached Janeway and asked her to dance.

"I'm not very good at the slower numbers, Tom," she told
him.

"You don't have to be. All you have to do is hang on, and
kind of move in time to the music. What? You can do an Irish
jig, and not a slow dance?"

"All right, Mister." She advanced on him, smiling. "Lead
on."

He led her out onto the dance floor and turned her around to
face him, then put his arms around her waist. She wrapped
her arms around his neck and leaned into him slightly,
enjoying the contact. His body was hard and warm, and he
smelled good. All too soon the song came to an end, and she
let go reluctantly, smiling at him. As she walked over to
where Harry was getting some punch, Tom looked up to see
Chakotay glowering at him. Oh, like that, is it Commander?
He smiled at Chakotay, and wiggled his eyebrows. Chakotay
frowned, then moved off to find Kathryn.

She met his suggestion to dance even more flirtatiously than
she had Tom's; she'd had several cups of rum-splashed egg
nog by then, and they moved out on to the dance floor.
Kathryn could feel Chakotay pressing against her, and she
wiggled slightly against him, glad the room was almost dark.
She rested her head against his chest--he was just a bit
taller than Tom was--and circled his neck with her arms. As
they relaxed into the music together, Kathryn could feel
Chakotay nuzzling her hair slightly. Dimly she wondered
about the appropriateness of that; there were quite a few
people in this room, after all, but her alcohol-fogged brain
couldn't quite remember why she should care.

Chakotay could feel himself growing hard against her, and
wished desperately for the room to empty out, save for him
and Kathryn. He wanted to make love to her so bad he
ached...if only she'd let him. As the music ended and she
moved out of his arms, he thanked the spirits for loose,
baggy clothing and for dim lights. He watched her move away
from him with smoldering eyes, and caught Tom's gaze once
again. Tom, for his part, felt if he'd been a piece of
tinder that he would've caught fire from Chakotay's look. He
could almost feel the heat from across the room. He
shrugged. It wasn't his problem; he had enough of his own.

---

The party began breaking up around midnight. Most everyone
had dispensed with the synthehol early on and had been
drinking the bootleg that B'Elanna brought. Chakotay didn't
drink, and was probably the only sober one left in the room.
He noticed that Tom had disappeared--probably to sleep it
off; he'd been pretty drunk earlier. Everyone was moving
toward the door, the late hour and the alcohol had caught up
with them. Chakotay caught Kathryn's eye and wandered over
to her. They were the only ones left in the cabin. "Can I
walk you back to your quarters, Captain?"

"No, I think I'll stay here for a little while. I've always
liked watching the fire--it's very peaceful."

"Okay." He looked at her with concern. "Captain--Kathryn.
Are you all right?"

She looked up at him. "I'm fine, Chakotay. Just a little
down right now. It was a wonderful party. You, Neelix and
Tom did a remarkable job. I just miss...home." She smiled
slightly at him. "My parents always do a bang-up celebration
at Christmas time. I'm missing that right now."

He didn't know what to say. Perhaps nothing would be best,
so he simply nodded. "Goodnight, Kathryn. Merry Christmas."

"Goodnight, Chakotay. Merry Christmas to you, too."

He nodded again, then headed for door. Now was not the time
to talk to her about what was uppermost on his mind, and in
his heart.

---

Kathryn moved closer to the fire, holding her hands out to
warm them. The party had ended hours ago, but she was still
wound up...and a little drunk. Since synthahol had been
served, you could keep the buzz until you wanted to be
sober--and she chose not to be sober yet. It had been very
pleasant to celebrate Christmas, even out here, thousands of
light years away from anything that represented her
childhood memories of Christmas. She shivered a little,
feeling chilled from more than just the cold of the
holographic snow falling outside the cabin. While she'd
enjoyed the party, it also made her very much
aware--again--of just how alone she really was.

Pensively she gazed at the little Christmas tree standing in
the corner of the cabin, its lights blinking at her. It was
a reminder of the fun she'd had tonight decorating the tree;
laughing as her officers told jokes and sang carols. And
later, of the dances she'd shared with Chakotay (and one
with Tom, her mind whispered); and the smoldering look in
his eyes when he released her. She wanted someone to hold,
and kiss, and make love to. She wanted someone she could
talk to, while lying spooned up beside them. She wanted
someone to love. A single tear slid down her cheek, and she
dashed it away impatiently. Maybe she'd stay here for the
night. She could be reached at any time by any member of the
crew if there was an emergency. She sighed and headed toward
the back of the cabin, where there was a bedroom, and a
large, soft bed just waiting for her.

As she stripped off her sweater and pants Kathryn remembered
that she didn't have any sleepwear here. She shrugged then,
deciding to forgo that. She could sleep in her camisole and
panties. In the dark of the room she navigated the shadows
and moved toward the bed. Pushing back the comforter she
crawled in and shivered once, then pulled the covers over
her.

As she turned over her arm made contact with a warm, solid
mass, and she froze. As though in response to her light
touch the person already in the bed snorted, then rolled
over. Kathryn's mouth dropped open in shock to find Tom
Paris in bed next to her. She made a tentative move
backward, to get out of the bed, when he snorted again, then
shifted and draped an arm over her. Slowly she willed
herself to relax, figuring she could slide out from under
his arm. She was just about to try when Tom mumbled
something in his sleep and gathered her closer. Kathryn
allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace, her body and
soul craving this sensation. Ignoring the voices of sanity
and reason that were screaming that she'd regret this in the
morning, she moved her face slightly closer to his, and
leaned over to kiss him.

He moaned slightly in his sleep as she ran her tongue
lightly around his lips, tracing the outline of them. He
tasted faintly of the whiskey he'd been drinking earlier,
and she knew without asking that it was some of the bootleg
stuff the engineering staff made. She licked his lips again,
enjoying the smokey flavor, then moved her mouth directly
onto his. Even in his sleep Tom Paris was not unskilled. He
parted her lips with his tongue, then began exploring the
contours of her mouth. As he deepened the kiss his hands
came up and began caressing her shoulders and breasts
through her camisole. Kathryn whimpered low in her throat,
and Tom's eyes flew open.

"C..Captain! What--?" He pulled back from her at warp speed,
and Kathryn giggled slightly at the look on his face.

"At ease, Lieutenant...Tom. Just a case of mistaken
identity." Her voice broke slightly on the last word,
revealing her loneliness.

Tom considered her for a moment, then reached out a hand to
tip her chin up. "Not necessarily," he began, then stopped.
What was he doing, propositioning the Captain?

"Tom?" Was he suggesting what she thought he was?

"Do you want it to be mistaken?" He held his breath, anxious
yet afraid of what the answer would be, memories of a slow
dance earlier that night racing through his head.

"...No." She almost sighed the word. "Every instinct in me
is screaming not to do this, but..."

"You need this." His voice revealed his loneliness too.

"I need this. I need *you*." Kathryn raised her face to his
and repeated, "I need you, Tom. Please."

He sucked his breath in, feeling as though someone had
kicked him in the stomach. "Yes...Kathryn?" He ended with a
question, asking permission to address her familiarly. She
nodded, and he murmured, "Kathryn..." once more before
tilting his head down to capture her mouth with his.

---

Chakotay called himself ten kinds of fool as he walked
around the corner to the holodeck. He'd checked a few
minutes ago, and the Captain was still on the holodeck.
After just a minute of debate he'd decided to go over there,
pretending to have left something at the party. This was
such an obvious thing that any lovesick teenager would be
able to see through it. Then again, he reflected, that's
what he was behaving like: a lovesick teenager. Usually he
was able to keep his feelings under control, bottled up
tightly. Tonight though, feeling her pressed against him,
moving slowly with him and the music, he'd felt something
give inside him. He had to try again. They'd come so close
on New Earth...

Which was why he was wandering the ship at 0130am, dressed
in loosely fastened clothing, on an imaginary errand to the
holodeck.

The door to the holodeck opened obediently for him when he
stepped in front of it. He walked in, then ordered a privacy
lock; if nothing else he and Kathryn could talk in private.
Chakotay moved quickly down the short snow-covered path.
He'd forgotten that they'd programmed snow into it; it was
very cold here. But if he remembered correctly, there was a
fire burning in the cabin. Hopefully he'd be able to count
on other ways to keep warm, too.

He entered the cabin, and shook the snow from his sandals.
Everything looked pretty much the way it looked when he left
a couple of hours ago, except darker and quieter. The fire
had burned down quite a bit, and there were no sounds. Yet
the computer had told him just a few minutes ago that
Kathryn was in here. Surely he'd have passed her if she
were on her way back to her cabin? Just as he was about to
turn and exit a small sound caught his attention. It was a
low, breathy sound--almost like a moan. Against his better
judgement he followed the sounds to the back of the cabin to
a bedroom. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom, and
looked in wonder and disbelief at the sight before him,
bathed in moonlight.

Kathryn was on her back on the bed, totally naked, her head
flung back in abandon, hands clutching at the fabric of the
comforter. Straddled on her midsection was Tom Paris who was
alternately kissing her breasts and neck. As Chakotay
watched, Tom moved down slightly, allowing himself better
access to Kathryn's breasts. He watched in fascination as
Tom licked at her nipples, then blew on them; watched as the
delicate peaks hardened and Kathryn writhed with the
sensations. She reached down and stroked Tom's erection with
one hand while caressing herself with the other. Chakotay
felt himself growing hard watching them; he wasn't certain
who he wanted more. Both were beautiful, there in the
moonlight.

At last, feeling as though he might explode if he didn't do
something, Chakotay began stripping off his clothing. Later
he would wonder what came over him; he didn't remember
consciously deciding to join them, it just seemed like he
had to, or die with wanting.

After what seemed like an eternity to get his clothes off,
he was at last naked. Silently he approached the bed. Tom
had begun kissing Kathryn, mating their tongues together,
showing her his intentions without words. They were both
startled when Chakotay pulled Tom back, but before any words
could be spoken he grabbed the younger man's head and bent
his own to kiss him.

After a long moment of kissing Tom, Chakotay broke away and
repeated the gesture with Kathryn. All three were breathing
hard by the time he finished. He stepped back slightly,
cocking an eyebrow at them. Tom and Kathryn gazed up at
him--large bronzed body glowing in the moonlight, eyes dark
and dilated with need; erection straining toward them. Tom
reached out a finger and stroked it down the hard length of
him, and Chakotay shuddered. As Tom wrapped his hand around
him he looked up. "Want to come and play, Commander?" He
asked impishly as his hand began moving up and down the
erection.

"Oh, Gods," Chakotay groaned. "Yesss..." He hissed slightly
as Tom stroked his shaft, then cupped his balls.

Deciding that he'd had enough of standing through the
exquisite torture, Chakotay gently pushed Tom and Kathryn to
the side a bit, and knelt down on the mattress. Tom began to
stroke the erection in earnest, and Kathryn moved to kiss
Chakotay. They explored each other's mouths with their lips
and tongues; she caressed both him and Tom with her hands,
and he began gently pulling at her nipples with his
fingertips. Kathryn moaned against his mouth and pressed
closer to him.

Tom pushed himself back for a minute. "Wait, I have an
idea." Kathryn and Chakotay looked at him, their eyes
luminous in the shadowy light. "Let's go into the front
room, in front of the fire."

Kathryn nodded, and Chakotay mumbled an affirmative reply
and the three of them got off the bed and moved in to the
front room.

While Tom poked up the fire and Chakotay gathered up the
blankets from the bed, Kathryn issued a command to the
computer, "Computer, engage privacy lock."

"Privacy lock already engaged."

Chakotay looked up from where he was spreading the blankets.
"I did that when I came in here."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why would that be?"

He grinned. "You just never can tell what will happen at
Christmas time, Kathryn." He gestured to her. "Come over
here and get warm." Tom had built the fire into a roaring
blaze and was kneeling next to it, watching Chakotay and
Kathryn with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Kathryn moved onto the blankets between the two men. She
reached out to both of them and drew them into her embrace.
Hugging fiercely, she was surprised to feel both of them
trembling--and was more surprised to feel herself trembling
as well. Tom pulled back slightly and kissed her, a gentle
kiss that left her trembling this time with anticipation. He
moved away from her and leaned into Chakotay's embrace,
repeating the kiss with him. Chakotay surprised them all by
grasping Tom's shoulders and pulling him tighter to him.
Kathryn felt herself becoming aroused all over again
watching the two of them kissing.

After a moment she began spreading little nipping kisses
over both their shoulders and necks, nibbling gently on
whatever part she could reach. Chakotay broke off the
embrace with Tom and turned to her. "We're not ignoring you,
Kathryn. Come here." He pulled her into a fierce embrace,
exploring her mouth with an intensity that left her
breathless.

The two men pushed her back against the blankets, then sat
back on their heels to look at her. Against the firelight
her body glowed with a luminescence. She took the
opportunity to look at them: Chakotay; smooth bronzed chest,
strong looking arms, erection straining toward her. Tom; as
tall as Chakotay but a more wiry build. Athletic looking.
His chest was well- muscled, sprinkled with fine golden hair
that glinted in the firelight. He too was fully erect. She
sighed. Both men took that as a cue and moved toward her,
each taking a breast in his mouth. She moaned as two mouths
began licking and sucking at her nipples. They began
caressing her body, alternating with licks and kisses,
working their way up and down her body. She stroked both of
them, enjoying the feel of their hardness in her hands.

They stopped periodically to kiss each other, and stroke the
hardness of the other's body. Kathryn enjoyed these short
interludes; watching two such beautiful men pleasuring each
other was almost as arousing as them pleasuring her. She was
brought back to the present sharply when she felt a questing
finger moving toward her molten center. Briefly she wondered
at what point would she simply burst into flame...As the
finger penetrated her, another finger began gently rubbing
the swollen knot of flesh that was hidden within her folds.
She gasped with the sensations, knowing that each finger
belonged to a different man. Which was which? She was beyond
caring. They began moving in careful synchronicity, then
began alternating rhythms.

Kathryn opened her eyes long enough to see them also
caressing each other's shafts, and that was enough to drive
her over the edge into climax. She gasped and shuddered for
what seemed like forever before coming down from that peak.
When she'd returned to herself she wasn't really surprised
to see Chakotay on his knees, taking Tom's erection into his
mouth. Tom gasped with surprise as the moist heat of
Chakotay's mouth engulfed him, then he grasped his head and
began pumping into him. Kathryn quickly scrambled over to
Chakotay and lay next to him, taking him into her mouth. He
gave a strangled moan and sucked Tom even further into his
mouth. Tom moaned, then gave a strangled cry as he felt his
own peak beginning.

"No...no, too soon..." He pulled back abruptly, not wanting
to finish right then. He moved over Kathryn and nudged her
legs apart, moving between them. She gasped as he entered
her in one strong motion, then settled into a quick rhythm.
Chakotay began stroking himself, watching Tom make love to
her. Kathryn watched Chakotay, her eyes dilated from
passion. He knelt next to her, still stroking himself, and
kissed her, then kissed Tom. Kathryn began crying out,
mewling little cries accompanied with breathy gasps.

"Tom...oh, yes...now..oh *GOD*!" She came hard, her body
feeling like it had melted. The strength of her contracting
around him brought Tom to his peak, and he came into her
with a shout.

They lay together for a moment, then Tom moved off Kathryn
and knelt in front of Chakotay, a questioning look on his
face. Chakotay nodded once, and Tom called for a replicator,
requesting a tube of lubrication. He got on his hands and
knees next to Kathryn, and kissed her, caressing her gently.
He could feel Chakotay moving behind him, felt his fingers
beginning a gentle exploration. With a start Tom felt the
first finger penetrate him, and jerked in surprise.

"That hurt?" Chakotay asked with concern.

"No...don't stop," Tom replied hoarsely. "Just...don't
stop." He could feel himself getting hard again, as Chakotay
entered him with another finger, and began to gently stretch
him open. Then Chakotay was pushing into him, stretching
him, filling him. Hoarsely he cried out, "Oh, Gods,
Chakotay...!", and felt the big man begin to move. Kathryn
kissed him, and moved back a bit, wanting to see the
expressions on both their faces. Tom's was rapturous. His
eyes were closed, his head flung back, exposing the
vulnerable line of his throat.

Chakotay's eyes were also closed, and he almost looked like
he was in pain. Tom whimpered voicelessly, and Chakotay
moved one hand around to wrap it around Tom's erection.
Kathryn moved back over to them and also began to stroke
Tom. Chakotay stopped suddenly, then pulled back and plunged
in forcefully, yelling out loud as he came. Tom came right
after him, the force of Chakotay's climax triggering his.
The three of them collapsed together into a tangle of arms
and legs in front of the fire, and went to sleep.

---

The increasingly chilly temperature in the cabin as the fire
died down woke Kathryn up a couple of hours later. She
shivered and sat up to stoke up the fire again. Tom and
Chakotay were still asleep, Tom's head resting on Chakotay's
chest. She sat there for several minutes, replaying the
events of the evening in her mind. What had happened here
tonight? Besides throwing all her principles out the window.
Comfort given, comfort received. Obviously she wasn't the
only one who was lonely. Was it such a bad thing, giving and
taking comfort from her officers? The Tom and Chakotay who'd
pleasured her and each other were vastly different from the
cocky pilot and calm, confident First Officer that she
worked with on the bridge. Could they keep this relationship
separate from their working relationship? Did she want a
relationship? Did they? She shook her head. All these
questions could wait until later to be answered. She didn't
need to answer them right now.

She moved back to the warmth of the two men, and snuggled
down between them, pulling a blanket over all three of them.
As she was getting settled two different hands reached for
her, twining themselves with her hands, and two different
voices said together, "Merry Christmas, Kathryn."

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The End