*4 weeks earlier*

The room was filled with bright sunlight.  Something that would annoy the hell out of Kathryn if she’d been trying to sleep late, but this morning she just smiled sleepily and turned her head towards the other side of her bed. Chakotay had a closed eyed grin as well and she turned completely onto her side so she could face him.

“Are you still asleep?” she asked quietly.

“Only if you are.”

Kathryn slipped a hand out from beneath the covers and touched his tattoo, following it over his ear and running her fingers through his hair.  He opened his eyes and watched her.  “Are you going to do that every morning?”

“Do I do this every morning?” she asked playfully, her fingers still running through his hair.

“Mm-hmm, you have so far,” he said sleepily.

“For years, I thought about doing it a lot. Now that there’s nothing to stop me from actually doing it…” She grinned and traced the pattern again. 

He trapped her hand with his own and kissed the back of it.  “It’s a great way to start the day.”

“It is,” she admitted, “especially when I’m in no real hurry to face the rest of the day.”

He frowned.  “I thought you liked Picard.”

“I do,” she said easily. “It’s not him; it’s the rest of this mission I don’t like.”

He propped himself up on one elbow so he could see her better.  “Since when don’t you like spreading good will towards new Starfleet prospects?”

“Good will?” She flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.  “It’s a brownnosing farce.”

He almost managed not to laugh and only a choked sound escaped his throat, earning him a raised eyebrow. “It’s only a few days.”

“It’s ridiculous and not something we should have to do.”

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You know why you have to do it.”

“Because it came directly from the President of the Federation’s office,” she grumbled.

“Mmm-hmmm, and you know why you have to be nice to the president,” he said, nibbling on her ear lobe.

She turned her head so he’d have better access. “Because she’s the only one that knows about us.”

“And?” he prompted.

“And because she kept that bit of information to herself throughout the entire review process.” She pushed him over and swung herself on top of him.  “When she said I’d owe her a favor, I just thought she’d want me to come to her kid’s birthday party or something.”

He laughed. “That’s not exactly the kind of political favor someone in her position needs.”

She leaned down and kissed him, her hair curtaining his face. “Maybe she should learn not to barge into rooms unannounced.”

“She’s the president of the free universe, Kathryn.  I’m pretty sure she could barge into this room unannounced if she wanted to.”

Kathryn lifted her head and looked around the sunlit bedroom with private patio access straight to the beach.  She was really going to hate leaving this place. “I don’t think the president comes to Casperia Prime.”

“Everyone comes to Casperia Prime.” He grabbed her by the hips and flipped her so she was underneath him again.  “Including the Enterprise which will be arriving in just under three hours to pick you up.  What do you say we stop worrying about the president and the Federation and the general state of affairs for the universe and make the most of our last three hours?”

She grinned up at him and hooked a leg around his hips.  “What did you have in mind?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome aboard, Admiral,” Picard said, offering to take her travel bag as she stepped down from the Enterprise’s transporter. 

“Thanks for picking me up,” she replied with a quirk of a smile.

“My crew was all too happy to make the trip. They’re very appreciative that you chose to depart from Casperia Prime.”

She shrugged.  “Someone may as well have some fun while we’re away.” She followed him into the corridor.  “Will we be departing immediately?”

“The shuttle pilot is finishing his final checks as we speak.”

“Eight hour trip at warp six, two days of meetings followed by two days of sightseeing, finished off with a night of dancing and festivities.” She gave him a side-eye. “I’m tired already.”

“Don’t forget the eight hour return trip,” he reminded helpfully. “I have to admit that with all the communiqués I’ve received from Chief Marcek, I feel very informed regarding the Stuuryen culture but-”

“Too informed,” Janeway grumbled, cutting him off. “If I receive one more message from Marcek, I will officially submit him as a stalker.”

Picard swallowed his grin at the admiral’s criticism.  “The man is thorough, I’ll admit, but I’m sure that’s why the president enjoys having him as her chief aide.”

Kathryn sighed and completed Picard’s earlier thought.  “But you wonder why we’re going on this mission.”

“The thought has crossed my mind, Admiral,” he admitted.

She shook her head.  “My best guess is that this falls under presidential prerogative.  The planet Stuuryen is her personal project to get admitted to the Federation.”

“Well then,” he said cheerily, “I live to serve the Federation.”

They entered the shuttle bay. “As do we all, Captain. As do we all.”

Picard entered the dining area of the shuttle to see the admiral sitting at the table, reading a PADD.  “More communiqués?”

“Yes, but he’s changed subjects.” She shut the PADD down and leaned back in her chair.  “I guess if he’s harassing me about a new subject I can’t report him for stalking.”

“Can I get you anything?” he asked, gesturing towards the replicator. 

“Coffee, black.  Please.”

He ordered a drink for each of them.  “Are those the instructions for the awards ceremony?”

“Yes, which is apparently just as detailed as any first contact situation I’ve ever encountered.  Thank you,” she said, accepting the coffee.  “You’re being honored at it as well, aren’t you?”

He straightened his tunic as he sat. “Yes. The events that happened on the Ba’ku homeworld have finally become public knowledge. Starfleet as well as the Federation want to draw attention away from the more regrettable actions taken by a few officers.”

“And what better way to do that then to highlight the actions taken by Starfleet that were favorable?” she offered.  “Namely yours.”

“Something like that,” he admitted. 

“I haven’t been able to read up on all the events of recent history,” she said.  “Would you tell me about it?”

An hour later as Picard was explaining the Son’a relationship to the Ba’ku, they felt a shudder run through the shuttle.  Picard immediately hit his comm. badge.  “Ensign, is there a problem?”

The answer they received was the shuttle bucking hard enough to toss both officers to the deck. Picard grasped the edge of the table. “Ensign, report!”

Janeway pulled herself up to the science console and tried to access the external sensors.  She slammed one fist against it as she held on for dear life with her other hand.  “Nothing is working!”

Picard reached the door leading to the pilot’s area when the shuttle bucked again and threw them both sideways.  Janeway landed on her shoulder, an immediate burn of pain erupting in the joint as it took the brunt of her impact.  Sparks erupted from paneling above her head and she flinched away from them, unable to lift her arm to shield herself. It didn’t matter much as the shuttle twisted again, sending her head over heels back across the deck.  Her head struck the aft bulkhead and the lights seemed to dim in the shuttle as she passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dim lights were a pleasant surprise.  Usually when she woke up in a sickbay the lights were ungodly bright.  And she had to be in a sickbay.  At least, she truly hoped, for once, that she was in one.  She had that horrible sedative-wearing-off headache that she immediately associated to time spent with the Doctor and her mouth felt as if it was full of sawdust.  If she wasn’t in a sickbay, she was in serious trouble. 

She blinked a few times to try and focus on the unfamiliar ceiling. It was unremarkable.  If she wanted answers, she was going to have to commit to more movement – not a thrilling idea.  Trying to produce some sort of moisture in her mouth, she rolled her head to the side and saw an opaque divider spanning from floor to ceiling.  It was mildly encouraging that she seemed to be in some sort of semi-private area but not helpful in determining where specifically. She tried looking to the other side. 

Chakotay was sleeping in a chair next to the bed. 

Relief flooded through her and it no longer mattered where she was exactly. She was so tired, but as long as Chakotay was there with her, she knew it would be all right. He’d wake up and explain everything to her.  Probably chastise her for making him wait on her in a hospital chair again. 

“Hey,” he said quietly, “are you awake?”

He’d surprised her by opening his eyes. She didn’t think she’d taken her eyes off him or made any noise. He moved closer to the bed and took hold of her hand.  “Kathryn?”

“Hi,” she managed, trying again to moisten her lips. 

A relieved chuckle escaped him.  “Hi.”

He leaned away from her for a moment but came back with a small cup of water in his hand that had a straw poking out of it.  “Try to take a small sip of this.”

She did and it was better than the first sip of coffee in the morning.  She closed her eyes and smiled happily as she swallowed the cool liquid.  “Thank you.”

He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers. “I love you.”

“Oh.” She felt her eyes widen a bit at his overt declaration. “Did I die again?”

“Did you-?” he shook his head. “No, you didn’t die.”

“Oh good,” she said, her words slurring slightly. “In that case, I love you, too.”

“How do you feel?” He asked, gently moving her hair away from her face.

She loved the way his fingers felt as they tucked her hair behind her ear. “Tired.”

“Any pain?”

“No.” She let her head rest against his hand, closing her eyes. “What happened?”

He kissed her forehead.  “Go back to sleep, Kathryn.”

She thought she mumbled “okay”, but she couldn’t be sure. 

When she awoke again, she was in a different room.  It was much brighter than she cared for it to be. And even for someone who was coming out of what she assumed was anesthesia, she could tell it was larger.  Much larger.  It was easily larger than the size of her officer’s quarters when she’d been an ensign.

“Hey there,” Chakotay said, rising from a chair near the windows. “Welcome back.”

He immediately offered her a sip of water from the nearby nightstand and she accepted it gratefully before asking, “Where are we?”

“Starfleet Medical,” he said, putting the cup back.  He lowered his voice, “The Presidential Suite.”

Her eyes widened as she glanced around again at their surroundings. “How long was I out?”

“Six days.”

“Six days!”

“Well, nine total,” he said, grimacing.  “We think.”

 “You think?” She started to push herself up and he offered her the bed controls to help her sit up. “What happened?”

The chime sounded for the door and it opened before either of them said anything. A slender woman wearing medical blue entered and nodded at Chakotay before giving her complete attention to her patient.  “Good morning, Admiral. My name is Doctor Beverly Crusher.” She tapped in a command on the controls at the foot of the bed.  “The bio monitors alerted me that you were awake.  How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she said dismissively barely acknowledging the doctor’s presence. “I just need to know what the hell happened.”

Kathryn was glaring at Chakotay, but caught Crusher’s wince out of the corner of her eye.  Chakotay was having none of it and crossed his arms over his chest.  He pointedly looked from Kathryn to Doctor Crusher. Janeway silently promised retribution before taking a deep breath and giving the doctor her attention. “I’m sorry, Doctor.  I did not mean to snap at you like that. I’m just a bit…concerned.”

“Perfectly understandable, Admiral,” Crusher said easily. “We’ll get you sorted out as quickly as possible. But first, are you in any pain?”

Janeway considered the question then shrugged. “No, I don’t seem to be.”

“Good,” Crusher said. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

She thought about it.  She’d been on a shuttle.  She’d been talking to Captain – “Picard!”

Chakotay put his hand on her shoulder. “Captain Picard is fine,” he said, understanding and reassuring her immediately. “He was discharged from medical observation two days ago.”

“Officially anyway,” Crusher added, “but I’ve been keeping my eye on him.” At Kathryn’s look, she explained, “I’m the Chief Medical Officer for the Enterprise. Since your care started there and the Enterprise is not currently assigned a mission, I’ve kept my status as your attending physician.”

“She used to be the head of Starfleet Medical,” Chakotay added. 

“I know who she is, Chakotay,” Kathryn interrupted him. “Captain Picard speaks highly of all of his senior staff, but in her case, her career speaks for itself.”  She smiled at Beverly.  “Even our Doctor must have found you satisfactory or I can’t imagine you would’ve been able to keep him out of here.”

“I’ve been sending him daily updates and usually more than once a day,” she admitted. “As for Captain Picard, he’s been more concerned about you than anything else.” She paused, her smile fading away.  “Do you remember anything else?”

Janeway shook her head.  “We were on a shuttle going to Stuuryen. Something went wrong, inertial dampners failed, the pilot wasn’t responding.” She frowned, trying to think.  “We were tumbling; I remember hitting my shoulder. I saw Captain Picard land beside me…”

Chakotay and Crusher exchanged a look when she trailed off.  He asked, “Anything else?”

She tried to think back but she had to shake her head.  “No, that’s it. That’s all I can remember.”  She looked up at them.  “What happened?”

“The best we’ve been able to determine is that your shuttle encountered unexpected spatial turbulence and crashed on one of the many moons in the Horvian Cluster.  You and Captain Picard both had serious injuries that had become life threatening by the time we found you.”

“The Stuuryens reported to Starfleet when you didn’t arrive and the Enterprise immediately began a search, but the moon was one of many uninhabited areas in the Cluster,” Crusher explained.  “It took us three days to find your crash site.”

“We were missing for three days,” Kathryn breathed, knowing full well how difficult that would have been for the crew.

“There were gravimetric forces involved that obscured sensor readings,” Crusher added. “Believe me, our chief engineer is conducting a level one diagnostic on the Enterprise’s systems to determine if there’s a problem. There are many people unhappy about how long it took to find you.”

Chakotay nodded.  “When we found you, you and Captain Picard were both trapped in the wreckage, pinned beneath the shuttle’s debris; life support was barely functioning.” 

She stretched her hand out to him and he took it, grasping her fingers. 

“The oxygen levels in the remains of the shuttle were well below standard, and based on what little memory both you and Jean-Luc have, you were likely unconscious the entire time.”

Missing memory was not something she usually found comforting, but the idea of having been awake but unable to move for three days sent Kathryn’s heart racing.  “What about the pilot?”

Crusher shook her head.  “I’m afraid he died on impact.”

“Damn it,” Kathryn cursed under her breath, shifting her gaze to look out the window instead. “It was supposed to be a simple mission.”

“There’s no such thing,” Chakotay said quietly. 

Kathryn rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “Well, what’s my condition? How much longer do I have to stay here, Doctor?”

The corner of Beverly’s mouth crooked upwards and she raised an eyebrow at Chakotay.  He shrugged.  “I tried to warn you.”

Janeway pulled her hand free of his in mock outrage. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing your EMH hadn’t already mentioned in your file,” Crusher answered smoothly. “You broke a few ribs, Admiral, and sprained your right wrist. You suffered a separated shoulder and a severe concussion. Everything you’d expect from being tumbled around inside a shuttle with no inertial dampeners.”

Kathryn massaged her right wrist, feeling the stiffness of regenerated tissues.  “None of those injuries explain why I’ve been here for so long.”

“When the Enterprise found you, you were trapped under debris,” Crusher explained.  “When that debris landed on you, it crushed the left side of your pelvis.”

“We were incredibly lucky you didn’t bleed to death before we found you,” Chakotay said.

“We had you stabilized on the Enterprise, but we conducted a complete reconstruction of the affected area once we reached Earth.” She dropped her hands into the pockets of her blue jacket. “You’ll have to attend a few physical therapy sessions to test your balance and motor skills, but as long as you agree to take it easy, I see no reason you can’t go home tonight.” Crusher glanced at Chaktoay. “Provided, of course, that someone will be staying with you in case you need assistance.”

Kathryn glanced sideways at Chakotay.  He grinned down at her.  “Your mother went home about an hour ago to make sure the house was ready for your arrival.”

“Oh,” she tried not to sound disappointed as she looked back at Crusher. “There you go, Doctor. I’ll be well looked after.”

Crusher swallowed a smile of her own. “Unless you have any other questions, Admiral?”

“Just one,” Janeway said.  “Why am I in the Presidential Suite?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janeway took a few ginger steps and sank into the overstuffed recliner in her mother’s den.  There was definite soreness in several muscle groups and the short trip from the hospital had exhausted her. She pushed herself deeper into the cushions of the chair and exhaled.

“All right?” Chakotay asked, standing beside the chair, their bags still slung over his shoulder.

She nodded.  “Just tired.”

“Sit there and rest.  I’ll go put our things in your room and then help your mother finish up dinner.”

“Chakotay?” She opened one eye. “Why are we at my mother’s?”

“Because you are still being unreasonably silly about your relationship,” Gretchen said, bustling in from the direction of the kitchen. “What was he supposed to say? He was taking you back to his place?”

Kathryn eyed the steaming mug her mother set down on the coffee table beside her.  “Is that coffee for me?”

“No, it’s warm milk,” Gretchen said with a glare at her daughter, “and don’t make that face. It will help you relax.”

Kathryn leaned away from it while still scrunching up her face in disgust.  “It’ll help me be sick.”

Gretchen took a seat on the couch. “Did I mention it has chocolate in it?”

Chakotay snorted.  “So, it’s hot chocolate?”

Gretchen nodded, sipping at her own mug.

Kathryn reached for the mug.  “Why can I have this but not coffee?”

“Significantly less caffeine,” Gretchen said, ignoring the glare she received.  “Now, do you want to tell me why you are still hiding your relationship with this man?”

“We aren’t hiding,” Kathryn hedged. “We just aren’t flaunting it until after his promotion.”

“It’s kind of an open secret,” Chakotay said, shifting the bag to his other shoulder. “We don’t deny it when people ask, but we don’t offer the information either.”

Gretchen frowned. “But I’ve seen countless interviews with you and the press asking if the two of you are dating. You always deny it.”

“Watch them again,” Kathryn suggested over the rim of her mug. 

“Kathryn is an artist at the evasive answer,” Chakotay said, grinning.  “She denies the false rumors, evades the direct questions, and redirects the interviewer to other topics.”

Kathryn cradled the mug in her lap. “Which leads me back to my question of why we are here and not in our home?  Surely, the medical staff noticed you staying in my room the entire time.”

“They noticed but they didn’t question it.” He shrugged.  “You have me listed as your person to notify in case of emergency.”

Understanding finally dawned on her. “I never changed it from our days on Voyager when the Doctor was being such a stickler for rules and protocol.”

“Yes,” Gretchen sniffed angrily, “and they referred all questions concerning your medical treatment to him as a result.  It was as if I’d never birthed you at all.”

“Mom-”

“Not that I’m complaining,” Gretchen continued, undeterred.  “I’m glad you found someone you could trust so unconditionally that you deferred the next-of-kin title to him despite not being married to him yet. I’m just glad he had the good sense to contact me. If it had been up to you, I’m sure I would’ve eventually gotten a note letting me know you’d needed another band-aid from medical.”

“I was unconscious!” Kathryn argued, sitting up in the chair, no longer relaxed. “And I was in the Delta Quadrant when I changed that information.”

“Well, you aren’t in the Delta Quadrant anymore,” Gretchen sniffed. “And unless you intend to marry this man…oh.” She looked around. “He’s run off.”

Kathryn glimpsed Chakotay’s back as he hurried up the stairs towards the bedrooms. She looked at her mother and they both burst out laughing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chakotay knew before he opened his eyes that he was alone.  He wasn’t sure what time it was but it felt too early for Kathryn to be up and yet, he opened his eyes and confirmed that her side of the bed was empty.  He sat up and yawned, stretching out the kinks in his back as he checked the time.  The alarm wasn’t set to go off for another two hours.

Shuffling out of the bedroom, he followed the scent of coffee and found Kathryn curled up on the couch in the den, reading a PADD.  She looked up and glancing towards the chronometer on the wall frowned when she saw him. “What are you doing up so early?”

Chakotay paused at the hypocritical question, and then shook his head before dropping onto the cushions near her feet. “What are you reading?”

“Oh, just some incoming mission reports,” she said, lowering the PADD.  “Trying to get caught up.”

Pulling her feet into his lap, he said, “Guess the vacation is officially over.” 

Kathryn watched him lay his head back against the cushions. “All good things…”

“Mmmm.” He rolled his head sideways so that he could look at her. “How’d you sleep?”

She shrugged.  “Fine.”

Chakotay lifted his head so he could frown at her properly. 

“What?”

“Kathryn,” he said, exasperated, “you were tossing and turning all night.”

“I was?” she asked. He nodded. “I don’t remember. I just woke up before the alarm and thought I’d get some work done before my morning torture session.”

“Physical therapy again?” 

“Technically, but it’s mostly just mandated exercises at this point.”

He yawned. “Since when do you wake up before the alarm?”

“I used to never even need an alarm,” Kathryn admitted.  “As long as I wasn’t exhausted, I’d always wake up before it went off. But on Voyager…”

“You were always exhausted,” he finished for her.  He thought about it for a minute, laying his head back against the cushions. “You never woke up before the alarm during our vacation.”

“Well, I was usually a different kind of exhausted then.” Even in the low light of the room, she could see his dimples appear as he grinned. “Why don’t you go back to bed? You could still get another hour of sleep before you have to get up.”

“Nah,” he said, sleepily, “I’m already awake now.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She settled back against the arm of the couch, her feet still in his lap. She sipped her coffee and watched as his breathing evened out. His hands grew heavy, resting on her ankles, and after another minute his head settled completely against the cushions. Picking up her PADD, she resumed reading.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to start the day.

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