The BLTS Archive-Just Like Riding a Bicycle by monkee (wiecek@earthlink.net) --- Author's note: This was written as penance for my sordid Kashyk story. I earnestly repent of my sin and beg forgiveness. Well, no I don't. Not really. SAP ALERT! Disclaimers: Paramount doesn't own THIS Janeway! --- Chakotay smiled and pondered the recent transformation of the woman lounging across the table from him. The change in her attitude had occurred rather suddenly, shortly after the eighth anniversary of Voyager's journey. The timing was a little unusual – most people wouldn't consider an eighth anniversary to be a significant milestone – but he found that he didn't really care why it had happened. He was just glad that it had. For several months now, she'd been relaxed. Happy. He didn't know if it was the fact that they were having an uneventful year, or if it was just her gentle acceptance, finally, that the journey was as important as the goal. At the moment, she was sitting across from him in the messhall with her foot propped up on the chair next to her. They were discussing what they were going to do on shoreleave. He hadn't even had to prompt her to take any, or ask her to join him. They had both just assumed that they would spend the time together. "I heard," she was saying, "that they have an outstanding park system here,and that there are paved pathways running through them with incredible views. Maybe we could take a walk on one of them." He didn't get a chance to reply, as B'Elanna piped in from a nearby table, "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but why don't you go biking? You'd be able to cover more ground that way." "Biking? I haven't been biking in ages," Kathryn replied, smiling. "But replicating bicycles would take an awful lot of replicator power…" "You could borrow ours," B'Elanna said. She rolled her eyes. "It was one of Tom's big obsessions last year. We spent months eating messhall food to save enough rations, then we went cycling exactly once. Now the bikes are just sitting in cargo bay two. It would be good if SOMEONE got some use out of them…" Kathryn loved the idea – he could tell by the glint in her eye. "What do you think, Chakotay? Want to do some cycling?" He smiled. --- Six hours later, she'd lost a great deal of her enthusiasm. He watched her with mild amusement. She wasn't used to struggling with anything, but she certainly was having some trouble with this. She'd commented that bicycle seats were higher than she remembered, and indeed, she did seem to be balancing rather precariously on top of the thing. And she kept getting the gears mixed up. "Leave it to Paris," she griped good-naturedly, "to replicate ANTIQUE bicycles. Manual gears? Hand brakes? I can't believe this! Give me a bicycle with a sensor and automatic speed compensation…" "It's more of a challenge to do it the old-fashioned way, Kathryn," he smiled. "Automatic gearing is for lightweights." "Are you calling me a WIMP, Chakotay?" she asked, with mock outrage. At that point they hit a long downhill stretch and she careened nearly out-of-control down the hill, riding her brakes while she attempted, without success, to up-shift. With her concentration elsewhere, she missed a sharp curve and veered off the road and into some underbrush. She just managed to get her hands out in front of her before she toppled over unceremoniously. She lay on the ground with her arm draped over her eyes. He dismounted and hurried to her side. "Kathryn? Are you all right?" he asked with real concern. She was shaking and he thought for an instant that she might be crying. She wasn't crying. In fact, she was chuckling. Shaking her head in amused self-deprecation, she moaned, "I can't believe it, Chakotay! I've forgotten how to ride a bike!" Laughing and reaching for her hand, he pulled her to her feet. "That's not supposed to be possible, Kathryn," he told her. He pulled a couple of twigs out of her hair. Still smiling, she righted her bicycle. He held it steady for her as she plucked some leaves out of the spokes. "You need to shift into a higher gear at the top…" he began. "I know, I know," she said, good-naturedly. "I'll get this – let's go!" He grinned as he saw her familiar determination surfacing. She wheeled her bike back to the pavement, climbed back on, and they were off. --- Before too long, he could see that she was growing more confident. The tension and stiffness in her riding stance disappeared, and she looked more natural on the seat. On a flat stretch of the path, she practiced with the gears until she was shifting smoothly. Once she'd adapted to the riding, she began to look around at the scenery with appreciation. They were travelling through the woods, over gently rolling hills. Dappled sunlight patterned the path, which wound up and down, and curved frequently. It was pleasantly cool in the shade. He had to pay attention to where he was going, so he could only turn to check on her sporadically. When they came to a straight section, he was able to turn back for a longer look. She had her eyes closed and her head tilted back, enjoying the rush of air on her face. Her contentment pleased him, both professionally and personally. She caught him smiling at her and grinned in return, no doubt amused by his protectiveness and his affectionate expression. Then he noticed her focus shifting over his shoulder. Her smile changed, subtly. She looked almost…devious. He knew that a curve was coming up, so he turned back. Around the bend, he discovered what she'd already spotted between the trees while he was gawking at her – a long, steep hill. "On your right!" she crowed triumphantly, as she slipped effortlessly into first gear. She sped past him as he swore under his breath and gracelessly clanked his gears. "You know," she called back over her shoulder, "it's all coming back to me now!" All he could do was laugh. Eventually he was able to downshift and gain some ground on her. As soon as he was within range, he retorted, "That's all right, Kathryn. The view is better for me back here anyway!" It was an outrageous comment, but he knew he'd get away with it, and he did. Her laughter rang out up ahead of him, and she turned quickly and grinned before turning her concentration and energy back to the challenging hill. As they approached the crest, it was all they could do to keep their bicycles in motion. They both had to stand to peddle up the last fifty meters, and he was barely able to expend the energy to look up. But he managed once or twice, and remembered to be grateful for aerodynamically designed bicycle shorts. He was on shore leave, and could admire her if he wanted to. When they reached the top, Kathryn swung off her bike and flopped down in the grass. "I can't ride another minute," she gasped. Breathing too hard to respond, he just nodded and sat down next to her. They'd ridden out of the woods and were sitting on a grassy plateau. A pleasant view of the valley – small hills, streams, farmhouses and barns – stretched out below them. Tacitly agreeing to rest for a while, they both removed their protective headgear. She shook out her hair, which was damp with sweat. She'd never looked better to him. There was color in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eye. He plucked a wildflower that he happened to be sitting right next to and handed it to her. She accepted it with a smile and tucked it behind her ear. He stood up, a bit unsteadily, and lurched over to their bikes. His thighs were burning, but it was a good feeling. Working out in the confines of the ship, even on the holodeck, just wasn't the same. He retrieved their packs and water bottles, then returned to Kathryn. They snacked on nuts and raisins and split a candy bar, as they conversed easily. Comfortably. Eventually, Kathryn lay back on the grass, looking up at the sky. He joined her. "Must be something about all this fresh air," she commented. "I'm still starved." "Would you like another candy bar?" he asked. "I don't think so," she mused. "I'm thinking about dinner, Chakotay. I'm thinking maybe we need to have a really exceptional dinner. Pool our rations and just go crazy. What do you think?" "Hmmm…" he smiled. "I like the sound of that. Eating at the messhall tonight would be a bit…anticlimactic. You're right. I have a great pasta recipe on file. Mushrooms. Sun-dried tomatoes. And I think there's even some fresh basil in hydroponics." "And we could have some Italian bread," she said, dreamily. "And salad. And I still have a bottle of that wine from the negotiations with the Charmadians. And something decadent for dessert, too. And coffee, of course. We could make a night of it!" "Your place or mine?" he asked, happily. They were having such a wonderful time together today – he wanted it to continue. She stood up and reached a hand down to help him to his feet. " Yours, I think. And we'd better get started," she said. "I don't even think we're halfway around the path." He groaned. "Well, I hope there aren't any more hills like that one, or I won't even be able to walk." "Ha!" she said. "NOW who's a wimp?" Laughing, they packed up their bikes, re-mounted, and headed off across the plateau, side by side. --- Chakotay sat pondering the woman across from him. He recognized what he was feeling from the countless times over the years that he'd felt it before. That familiar sense of rightness about the two of them – and the feeling that she was able to sense it too. He'd been wrong before, though, and he hated getting his hopes up time and time again. Still, if she really was beginning to come to terms with the idea that they may not get home for decades…Perhaps she WAS starting to see other possibilities. After they'd returned to the ship, they'd gone their separate ways to shower and change. Then she'd shown up at his door wearing a green dress and brandishing a bottle of wine and some fresh basil. She had seemed blithely unconcerned about the crewmembers who passed by in the corridors and smiled their way. Dinner had been wonderful. With the help of the replicator, they had prepared the food together. Because they were talking and joking around, it had taken them nearly two hours to eat. Now they were lingering over their second cups of coffee. At some point during the conversation, she'd reached over and taken his hand. Neither of them had let go. It felt so natural. The sense of familiarity and ease continued as they rose to clear the table. She groaned dramatically as she walked over to the recycler. "My thighs feel like solid neutronium," she complained. "Muscles that I didn't even know I HAD are sore!" He bit back an offer for a thigh massage, but couldn't resist just a little bit of innuendo. "You really need to exercise those muscles regularly," he said solemnly, "so they don't stagnate with disuse." She chuckled, then said, with mock seriousness, "I'm afraid that I have all KINDS of muscles that are stagnating." He took a deep breath, then grinned and let it out in a sharp laugh. Shaking his head, he put the dishes down and turned to her. "Is it me, or is this conversation getting way out of hand?" She looked down at the floor, smiling, then back up at him. Her expression became more serious and her eyes darkened as she stepped up to him. She put her hand on his chest and looked directly into his eyes. "Chakotay," she said, quietly, "I just think it's time." Oh. God. This was happening. He felt his eyes tear and lowered his forehead to touch hers. "Well, you aren't going to get any argument from me…" he replied, struggling to keep his voice steady. He pulled her closer to him, nuzzling her face and stroking her arms with his hands. He brushed light kisses on her lips and her face as her hand moved up from his chest to touch his neck and face tenderly. Her other hand wound behind his head and he felt her fingers push into his hair. There was no need to hurry. He was going to make love to this woman tonight - show her the depth of his feelings – and he wanted to take his time. He felt her smile into his neck, and heard her voice, muffled, say, "I'm not sure I remember how to do this." He chuckled. "There's nothing to it. It's just like riding a…" She put a finger to his lip, then pushed her hips gently into him, moaning a little when she felt that he was already aroused. "Never mind," she whispered, as she began to slowly unbutton his shirt and steer him toward the bedroom. "It's all coming back to me now." --- The End