The BLTS Archive - Almost Perfect
by Andra Marie Mueller (AndraMarie@aol.com)

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DISCLAIMER: Paramount and Viacom are the legal owners of all
things Trek; I just let the characters out to play.

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Seated at a table in the center of the Mess Hall, Chakotay
ignored the chatter around him as he reviewed the latest duty
rosters. The ship was in orbit around a small, uninhabited
tropical planetoid where an Away Team led by B'Elanna was
collecting neutronium and dilithium ore from the southern
continent while the remainder of the crew enjoyed some much
needed Shore Leave.

Things aboard ship had been status quo for several days; the
lack of activity making the crew rather restless. The XO had
spent the better part of his morning switching duty shifts
and relinquishing allotted off time so everyone would get at
least a couple of hours planetside.

//We either need fewer crewmembers or more hours in the day//,
he thought wryly. //Trying to arrange time off for over 140
people is giving me a migraine//.

Engrossed in his work, Chakotay did not hear the approach of
another person and started slightly when a familiar voice
broke into his train of thought.

"I apologize for startling you, Commander," Neelix replied.
"I just came over to see if you wanted a refill on your
coffee."

"No thanks, Neelix," Chakotay declined. "I'm due on the
Bridge in a few minutes."

"Aren't you taking any Shore Leave?"

"Not this time. I'd rather mind the ship and let the Captain
take a few hours off."

As if to speak of the devil, Chakotay's combadge beeped and
Kathryn's voice filtered out. "Janeway to Chakotay."

"Chakotay here."

"I'd like to see you in my Ready Room, Commander."

"Aye, Captain. I'm on my way."

Bidding Neelix farewell, Chakotay headed out of the Mess
Hall.

All was quiet on the Bridge. The Captain was sequestered in
her Ready Room, and Harry was on watch while the rest of the
Bridge crew enjoyed their down time on the planet. The
ensign glanced up expectantly at the swoosh of the turbolift
doors, and Chakotay flashed him a small smile.

"Everything under control, Mister Kim?"

"Yes, sir. As Tom would say, 'It's as quiet as a mouse in
church on Sunday'."

The commander smiled at that. "Well, in that case why don't
you change into some casual wear and transport down to the
surface for some R&R? I'm sure //Voyager// can manage without
you for a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Commander."

Harry disappeared into the turbolift as Chakotay wandered
into Janeway's Ready Room. She was seated behind her desk
when he entered, focused on her computer terminal, and he
smiled at the sight. A glass vase bearing a single red rose
graced the edge of her desk, and he recognized it as the one
he had left for her here when he had been forced to cancel
their early morning date. Crossing the room, he settled
himself on the edge of her desk.

"Reporting as ordered, Captain," he said with mock
familiarity.

Kathryn glanced up and graced him with a warm smile. "Good
morning. I missed you at breakfast."

"Sorry." He leaned over to give her a brief kiss. "I was
knee deep in crew rotations trying to give everyone at least
a couple of hours of off time. I didn't realize it was going
to take so long."

"I hope you managed to squeeze in a few hours for yourself."

"Actually, I'm going to defer my Shore Leave to you. I'll
stay here and baby-sit the ship while you take your own
Shore Leave."

Her smile widened. "That's very thoughtful of you, but it's
already covered. I spoke with Tuvok last night and he's
going to cover the Gamma shift so you and I can take Shore
Leave."

Chakotay's eyes widened in surprise, as the development of
their personal relationship was not yet public knowledge.
"Really, you told him we were taking it together?"

"No, but he did agree that you and I are both entitled to a
few hours off ourselves. What we do and who we spend it with
is our own business."

He smiled. "How very crafty of you, Kathryn," he teased. "I
may make a Maquis out of you yet."

"Very funny. I've got some final reports to sign off on and
then I need to change. Why don't we meet in the transporter
room in an hour?"

"I'll see you in an hour. Are we bringing lunch?"

"That's covered, too. But you can bring dessert."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Exactly one hour later, Kathryn stood in the transporter
room awaiting Chakotay's arrival. A large picnic basket sat
on the ground at her feet and she was conversing casually
with Jenny Delaney, who was manning the transporter
controls.

"Looks like you've got quite a feast packed in there,
Captain," she observed. "Are you expecting company?"

"Yes, I am, Jenny, and he should be arriving just about...
now."

On cue the doors opened to admit Chakotay and he entered the
room brandishing a small basket of his own. He wore a pair
of khaki slacks and matching vest over a light blue shirt
with the sleeves rolled up and open at the neck.
Acknowledging Delaney with a brief glance, he took a moment
to peruse the Captain's appearance. She was dressed in a
knee length, sea green sundress, with a pair of matching
sandals adorning her feet. Returning his gaze to her face,
he flashed her an appreciative smile. "You look lovely,
Kathryn," he said softly.

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Chakotay. You
look very nice yourself."

The two stepped onto the transporter pad as Delaney
addressed. "Enjoy yourselves, Captain, Commander. Don't do
anything I wouldn't do."

"Jenny, there isn't anything you wouldn't do," Chakotay
countered.

"My point exactly," Delaney responded. "Have fun."

"We intend to," Chakotay assured her, earning him a curious
look from Kathryn as they disappeared in a shimmer of
transporter particles.

Some time later, the couple were strolling hand in hand along
a deserted beach, enjoying the feel of the water against
their bare feet as they basked in one another's company.
Lunch had consisted of pasta and fruit salads, a loaf of
French bread with raspberry jam and a bottle of red wine.
For dessert Chakotay had brought two extra large pieces of
German chocolate cake, much to Kathryn's delight.

"I adore German chocolate cake," she had declared. "How did
you know?"

"You mentioned once that the only thing you missed more than
your mother's caramel brownies was her German chocolate
cake," was Chakotay's reply. "I doubt the replicated version
can compare to the real thing, but it's the best I could
do."

"Your best has always been good enough for me, Commander."

"With all due respect, Captain, you haven't seen anything
yet."

The innuendo and light flirting had continued through their
meal, along with casual conversation, after which they had
decided to talk a walk along the shore. They strolled in
companionable silence for close to half an hour before
Kathryn spoke.

"You've been awfully quiet since we finished lunch," she
remarked. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's perfect," Chakotay assured her. "In fact, this
may just be the most perfect day of my life."

Kathryn smiled. "Well if you've already achieved perfection,
that certainly doesn't give you much to look forward to."

Chakotay chuckled. "Okay; the day is almost perfect. You and
I together like this... up until two weeks ago I was
convinced it would never happen."

Ouch. "I'm sorry for that," Kathryn said quietly. "I should
have been honest with you about my feelings a long time
ago."

He squeezed her hand. "We're together now; that's what
matters."

"You know, aside from admitting that we love one another, we
haven't really discussed this."

"'This' being our personal relationship?"

"Yes."

Chakotay stopped and turned to face her. "What do you want
to discuss? Protocol? Crew reaction? Where we're going to be
forty years from now?"

"Yes, to all of the above."

"Alright, we'll start with protocol. I love you, Kathryn.
Putting on my uniform doesn't change that. But I promise you
now that I will do everything in my power to ensure that our
personal relationship never interferes with our professional
one. While we're on duty I am your First Officer and will
abide by whatever orders you give."

Blue met brown. "Even if it means sending you on a mission
you may not come back from?" Kathryn pressed. "Or allowing
me to sacrifice myself to save our crew?"

He held her gaze. "Even if."

"Just like that?"

"Losing you in any way would destroy everything that I am,"
Chakotay allowed, "but I made you a promise and I will keep
it, no matter what the cost."

She managed a small smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now...concern number two...crew reaction.
Tom and B'Elanna already know and are delighted for us.
Jenny's comment before we transported down seems to indicate
that she at least suspects we're involved and she obviously
approves. Regardless of how the rest of the crew eventually
finds out, I think it's a safe assumption that most if not
all of them will give us their blessing as well."

"Well, I know Ensign Brooks from life sciences will be
vastly disappointed that you're no longer at the top of
Voyager's 'Most Eligible' list. She's had a crush on you
from the start."

"It isn't any worse than the perpetual case of puppy love
Lieutenant Hastings from Engineering has for you."

"Fred Hastings? You're kidding. I thought he was interested
in Megan Delaney."

"Actually, he's dating Jenny, but only because it's taken
him six years to realize that adoring you from afar isn't
good for his well-being."

Something in his tone struck Kathryn as odd, and she shot
him an inquiring glance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Chakotay shrugged. "Let's just say that a little bird
whispered in his ear that continuing to harbor fantasies
about his commanding officer could prove detrimental to his
health," he evaded.

//Oh, Lord//. "Tell me you didn't threaten him, Chakotay."

"I didn't threaten him, Kathryn."

"Thank God for that."

"I had the Doc talk to him."

"You did what?!"

"It was for his own good, Kathryn. He was so busy mooning
over you it was affecting his work, and given the Doctor's
own experience a couple of years back with the trouble his
own fantasies caused, I thought he would be the perfect
person to talk to him."

Kathryn shook her head. "You might as well have posted a
sign on my back that says 'Property of Commander Chakotay',"
she muttered.

He smiled, dimples flashing. "There's an idea."

"Not funny. What am I going to do with you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question or would you like an
alphabetized list of suggestions?"

Kathryn smiled and slid her arms around his neck. "I've
always felt that actions speak louder than words," she
replied pointedly.

Chakotay's smile widened and he pulled her to him before
lowering his head to kiss her.

---

That evening, the crew was milling about their usual duties
as a fully stocked //Voyager// warped toward home. In their
respective quarters, Kathryn and Chakotay were preparing for
bed, blissfully weary from their day together. Taking a
final sip of coffee, Kathryn deposited her mug into the
recycler and wandered into her bedroom, sliding off her robe
and tossing it onto the edge of her bed.

"Computer, lights off."

Releasing a contented sigh, Kathryn crawled under the covers
just as her intercom beeped and Chakotay's voice filtered
out. "Chakotay to Janeway."

"Yes, Chakotay?"

"Did I wake you?"

"No, I just got into bed."

A pause. "Do you want me to come over and tuck you in?"

Kathryn smiled to herself in the darkness. Despite their
overwhelming attraction to one another, they had agreed to
take things slow and allow the intimate phase of their
relationship to develop naturally.

"I haven't needed anyone to tuck me in since I was six,
Commander, but thank you for the offer."

"Consider it an open invitation."

"I'll do that. I had a wonderful time today. It truly was a
perfect day."

"Almost perfect," Chakotay amended.

"I stand corrected. Thank you for an almost perfect day."

"My pleasure. Are you okay with what we discussed today?"

"About us? Yes, I am. We can't keep rehashing the same
issues, so I suppose time will tell if we can truly stick to
our promises."

"Speaking of time, it occurs to me that I never responded to
your third concern."

"Which was?"

"Where we'll be forty years from now."

"Ah. Well, then, where will we be forty years from now?"

"Sitting on our front porch enjoying the sunset and watching
our grandchildren as they play in our yard."

The quiet conviction in his tone and the visual image his
words presented brought tears to Kathryn's eyes. "I love
you," she whispered.

"I love you, too. Good night, Kathryn."

"Good night, Chakotay."

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The End