The Meaning of Colour
By Crusher
Kathryn Janeway stared out the window enjoying the view. The view was all she had to enjoy these days since returning to the Alpha Quadrant
They had returned to Earth with much fanfare. Fleet dealt with the junior crew quickly with the senior staff next. They took a little longer but after six days they were sent on their way.
The command team was last and Fleet kept them separated. Kathryn never knew what happened with Chakotay at that time. The Captain’s briefing dragged on for two weeks until the Admirals decided that they had tortured her long enough.
It was decided that some of her choices had been questionable but Voyager had been a long way from Fleet. Kathryn was promoted to Admiral and given a desk when all she wanted was a ship.
But of course after seven years with no one to answer to but herself, she was considered a maverick and would be hard to control. They felt that giving her a ship would lead to problems when she would not follow their direction.
After three weeks, she was going crazy with the quietness of life. Kathryn had to admit that she missed the excitement of the Delta Quadrant as crazy as that sounded. The day-to-day adventures of finding food and fuel while avoiding the enemy had been exhilarating. It had also been hard on her, being the one responsible for her entire crew’s well being.
‘Excuse me, Admiral,’ the voice broke Kathryn’s musings.
‘Yes, Lieutenant,’ she said without turning from her inspection of the outside world.
‘I have a delivery for you, Admiral,’ she said nervously.
‘A delivery?’ Kathryn asked as she finally turned to face her.
The young woman stood in the doorway holding a vase containing roses.
‘For me?’ She questioned again.
‘Yes ma’am,’ she answered as she placed the vase on the corner of her desk. The moment the word left her mouth she regretted it.
The older woman moved around her desk to stand by the young woman. ‘Don’t worry about it, Laura,’ the Admiral said, as she placed a comforting hand on the young woman’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry this is must be the worst assignment you have had. It must be boring to work for me.’
‘No Admiral, this isn’t the most exciting job but it’s the one I wanted,’ Laura said truthfully. ‘When the spot came up I jumped on it because I wanted to work with you.’
‘Thank you,’ Kathryn said, embarrassed by the younger woman’s admission.
‘Admiral, I had heard about you before your return,’ the young Lieutenant admitted. ‘’Professor Sulak said that I reminded him of a certain young cadet named Janeway. It seems I had the same determined focus for Quantum Mechanics that you had when you were in his class.’
Kathryn laughed at the comment as the memory of hours of calculations flashed in her mind.
‘I could think of better people to be compared to,’ she said apologetically to her aide.
‘I don’t think so,’ Laura countered. ‘I was very proud to be compared to you.’
Looking at the young woman standing beside her she noticed that they stood the same height and had the same build. She did remind Kathryn of herself at that age.
‘I’m glad someone is proud of what I have done,’ Kathryn said quietly then realized what she had said. ‘How about I take a look at these flowers? The Admiral suggested as she tried to divert the topic.
Looking at the arrangement Kathryn took in the crystal vase that held the roses. The container held six roses of an unusual colour. The colour consisted of a white blossom blending into red, each a perfect blossom.
‘Who are they from?’ Kathryn asked as she looked through the bouquet for a card. Tucked among the blooms was a small card that she picked out as she inhaled their fragrant scent.
Stepping back from the flowers she read the card, which wasn’t time consuming considering all that was there was ‘Kathryn’.
‘There was nothing else with this Laura?’ the older woman questioned.
‘No Admiral, just the flowers,’ her assistant answered.
‘Okay. Why don’t you leave early,’ Kathryn suggested as she moved back around her desk. ‘I’m going to be leaving shortly; there’s nothing holding us here today.’
‘Fine Admiral, the usual time tomorrow?’ Laura asked.
‘Yes. I’m supposed to be part of some meeting that I hope is a little more interesting then the last one,’ the Admiral grumbled as she straightened her desk.
‘I’ll say good day then Admiral,’ the Lieutenant said, as she left the room.
Kathryn stared at the flowers wondering who could have sent them and why they didn’t sign the note. If the roses had been the peace rose then she would have known who it was. But he was gone so the roses were still a mystery.
Deciding to leave the gift in her office she left for the day.
Returning to her apartment, she entered the lobby to be stopped by the man at the desk.
‘Good day, Admiral Janeway,’ the desk officer called.
‘Hello Stanley, how are you doing today?’ Kathryn asked as she stopped in front of his desk.
‘Fine Admiral,’ he answered as got up from the desk.
Stanley liked the Admiral; she was one of the few people who took the time every day to talk to him.
‘How’s Annie doing?’ Kathryn questioned as she moved toward the lift.
‘Doing much better? The Doctor friend of yours was a big help,’ Stanley told her as he moved over to a side table. ‘Thank you again.’
‘Not a problem,’ she dismissed his response. ‘She should have received better help then she did.’
Kathryn had introduced Voyager’s EMH to her doorman when she had heard about his wife’s illness. The doctor that had been looking after her was failing his patient as far as Voyager’s former Captain was concerned, and she was correct. The Doctor had diagnosed the problem and had her on the road to recovery in three days.
‘Annie sent you over dinner,’ he said as he pulled out a small stasis container.
Kathryn started to protest but was waved off since they had had this argument before. Annie had met the Admiral and quickly deduced that food was not a priority with this woman.
Taking the container she started to turn for the elevators when she was stopped again.
‘Admiral, I also have a delivery for you,’ he said as he turned toward her with six flowers in a crystal vase.
The flowers were yellow in the same container as the one delivered to her office.
‘Who delivered them?’ she asked as she looked for a card, and found another white square with her name written by hand.
'It wasn't by a delivery service -- I think it was someone paid to do it,' the doorman explained, adding that the man had no emblems on his jacket.
Nodding Kathryn went to take the flowers, but Stanley told her he would go up with her to her apartment so she wasn’t carrying too much.
The flowers were now sitting on her dining table and Kathryn contemplated them while she ate the chicken dinner that Annie made.
Who was sending her these beautiful blossoms and why?
As she looked at each flower she took in the perfect petals that looked like velvet.
Maybe her Mom she thought for a moment. No, that wasn’t a possibility why would she send flowers? Mark, no he was happily married. Admiral Davis she thought, but she was sure that she had made it understood that she wasn’t interested.
He was an interesting man though and Kathryn had to admit that she had enjoyed herself the two times they were out. He was very handsome, tall and dark. She had met him at a party after their return and found him very easy to talk to.
Kathryn wished her Mom were here so she could talk to her. She understood and encouraged her to go to Phoebe’s but she missed her. Gretchen had promised her younger daughter to go to her place to look after her grandchildren. Phoebe had an art exhibit on N’atan IV. The children were to young to drag them to the event so Gretchen had agreed to go to Deep Space Five where Kathryn’s sister and her family was based. Phoebe’s husband was an engineer with a private company that did contract work in that section of space.
The arrangements had been made before Kathryn made it home and her oldest daughter had insisted that her mother keep the promise.
Now she wished her mother was here to talk to about this mystery.
Cleaning up the dishes, Kathryn decided to run a bath. Maybe it would help her to relax and think this puzzle out.
Over the next few days, the puzzle grew as more bouquets of various colours appeared at her office and home.
The Admiral in charge of the meeting finally called it a day which Kathryn was happy about. Her mind had not been on the talks but wanting to get home to see what awaited her.
She arrived at her office this morning to find a bouquet of orange roses waiting for her and now she wanted. The deliveries were important to her day; they were something she looked forward to. She wondered who was sending them and part of her was worried but for some reason she knew the person meant no harm.
After the debriefings and parties a man had fixated on her. He had sent her letters and shown up at her office professing his love. Security had been called and he had been escorted away. Angered the man had showed up at Kathryn’s apartment building. He had told Stanley that he was the Admiral’s brother-in-law and that she was expecting him. Not knowing any different Stanley had let him pass.
Kathryn had returned home to be told that her brother-in –law was waiting for her. She gave a confused look at being told this and asked Stanley to describe the man. The Admiral asked the man to contact security while she headed for the elevators.
Security arrived quickly to find the man yelling at Kathryn. Relaxing as she saw them walk down the hall, she kicked into Admiral mode as she negotiated with him. Finally he agreed to leave with the Security detail after Kathryn promised to visit him. She definitely felt that the flowers were from someone that didn’t not mean her harm.
Leaving the meeting room, Kathryn made for her office. Checking with Laura to see if there was anything that needed her immediate attention, finding everything was in order she left for the day.
Entering her building, she saw Stanley waiting for her with the next bunch of flowers.
Six perfect roses, coral in colour with a card attached to the vase.
‘It seems your secret admirer is determined,’ the older man smiled as he handed Kathryn the gift.
‘Thank you Stanley,’ she said, as she inhaled the scent of the roses.
Entering her apartment, she laid her bag on the hall chair as she hung her coat up. Moving into the living room she placed the vase on the coffee table as she sat on the couch. Taking the card she read the message and smiled at the simple message.
Going to her bathroom she ran the water for a bath adding some bath crystals. Relaxing in the tub, she thought about what she wanted to do. Should she take this chance? After all, it had been a long time since she had a date. He was handsome and she enjoyed her time with him.
Coming to a decision she drained the water and moved to her bedroom. She would take a chance on the man in the note and have dinner with him. Looking through her closet she found what she wanted to wear.
Laying the dress on the bed she looked for something nice to wear under it. Picking out a matching set of black undergarments she moved to the closet for the pair of black shoes with the heels that made her feel sexy.
Taking the towel off her head, she squeezed the excess water out then picked up her brush to run it through it. Moving back to the bathroom Kathryn looked in the mirror trying to decide what to do with her hair. Thinking about it for a bit she decided to let her natural waves loose.
Pulling out some makeup she decided to put a little bit more then she usually wore but not too much. She applied mascara, eye shadow, then and lipstick.
Picking up her favourite scent she dabbed some behind her ears, between her breasts and behind her knees.
Returning to the bedroom Kathryn put her undergarments on with stockings then her dress. Zipping herself up she turned to the full-length mirror to take in her image.
The dress was one her mother had talked her into because it just looked perfect on her and every woman should have a dress that makes her feel feminine.
The perfect dress was midnight blue in colour. The v-neck showed some cleavage but just a hint. The sleeveless dress fit her showing off all her curves stopping just above her knee.
Opening her jewelry box, she pulled out a pair of pearl earrings that she had had since her sixteenth birthday. Her mother had given them to her saying they had been passed down from oldest daughter to oldest daughter for the past six generations.
Choosing a necklace with a gold chain with and, a gem of red was the final piece to her outfit. Kathryn had bought this at a market place on Taq’ba VII two years ago and had never worn it.
‘Well, Kathryn, this is as good as it gets,’ she told her reflection. God, she hoped this wasn’t a mistake.
Just as that thought popped into her mind, her doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath she headed for the door.
Opening it, she froze at who she saw standing there.
‘Hello Kathryn,’ came the calm voice.
‘Chakotay,’ she responded confused as to why he was at her door.
‘Are you going to invite me in?’ he asked with a smile.
‘Yes, sorry,’ Kathryn fumbled as she backed out of the way. ‘Come in, Chakotay.’
Walking in, he noticed the various bouquets sprinkled around the room.
‘So why are you here?’ Kathryn asked confused by his appearance at her door.
‘Well considering you’re dressed to go out, I guess you read my note,’ he said slowly.
‘Your note?’ she asked confused.
‘Yes, who did you think they were from?’ the big man asked, as his fear that she had moved on with her life started to enter his heart.
Kathryn thought of the note and what it said.
‘I would like to have dinner with the most beautiful woman in San Francisco. I have enjoyed spending time with you and would like to once again. I’ll pick you up at 7:00.’
‘I thought Admiral Davis had been sending them,’ Kathryn started, embarrassed by her mistake. ‘The note mentioned spending time with me and we had a few dates and I guess,’ she trailed off embarrassed.
‘I’m sorry should I leave?’ Chakotay faltered in his resolve.
‘No, please stay,’ the small woman said, as she turned to her living room.
Instructing Chakotay to sit, she moved to her bar and poured two glasses of wine.
Handing a glass to Chakotay, she sat on the couch with her glass.
‘To the return of Voyager, her crew, and the Captain, who led them home,’ the former Maquis Captain said in way of a toast.
‘To the best crew any Captain could ask for as well as the best First Officer she could have ever asked for.’ Kathryn countered with her toast.
Nodding at each other, they sipped the wine.
‘So how is Seven,’ Kathryn asked, looking down into her wine.
‘Fine I guess,’ Chakotay answered as he placed his glass on the coffee table. ‘She’s on Vulcan working at the Science Academy there with Tuvok.’
‘Doesn’t that make it hard?’ the small woman asked as she swirled the wine.
‘Make what hard?’ a confused man questioned as he looked at her.
‘A relationship,’ Kathryn commented, as she placed her glass on the table. ‘Especially a new relationship like yours.’
‘Kathryn, we aren’t in a relationship,’ he answered honestly. ‘Yes, we had a few dates but it didn’t go beyond that. Just before we returned to the Alpha Quadrant Seven told me my heart wasn’t in it. She knew I would give what I could to the relationship but that she would never have all of me.’
‘So why are you here?’ she asked with a shaky voice. ‘Why the flowers?’
‘Maybe I should tell you a legend, actually a continuation of the legend I told you a long time ago on New Earth,’ he supplied as he made himself comfortable.
‘Okay,’ was the only response he received.
‘The Woman Warrior did as she said and brought their tribe home,’ he said as he spun the tale. ‘But the Angry Warrior was confused and at odds, he had broken the one promise he had made her and that was to stay by her side. He had promised it because that was all he wanted was to be by her side. Ashamed that he had failed the Woman Warrior he left.’
‘He returned to his home to see what the enemy had done to it and to hopefully find peace again. But alas, he was unable to find that centre because his peace was waiting for him elsewhere. So he traveled back to the Woman Warrior hoping she would still accept him.’
‘Is that really a legend,’ she asked with her crooked smile in place.
‘It is now,’ he laughed as he brushed the tear from her cheek.
‘I had heard you left with Seven,’ Kathryn whispered.
‘She had told me of her wish to go to Vulcan,’ Chakotay explained. ‘The ship I was travelling on was taking a weaving pattern by Vulcan and my homeworld. She was feeling overwhelmed by all the scrutiny so I let her come with me.’
‘Oh,’ was all she could think of to say.
‘Who’s Admiral Davis?’ Chakotay asked afraid of the answer.
‘He was at one of the parties, he asked me out a few times,’ Kathryn explained.
Silence descended upon them until Chakotay decided to continue his explanation.
‘The flowers were to express my feelings about various things. The colours have different meanings that explain what you mean in my life. The rose that is red and white represents unity and I chose that one to represent our crew. You united a Starfleet crew and Maquis crew. The joining of two very different groups but joined by one woman into a working group.
The yellow rose is for friendship and that would be the friendship that I formed with you. This friendship means the world to me, a friendship not only between a Captain and Commander but a man and woman.
The rose that had a peach with pink is for the admiration that I feel for you and your determination to get the crew home as you promised. The dark pink is the thankfulness I have for meeting you for one and the fact that you took on a Maquis crew.
Let’s see there was a red flower with yellow in the petals that represents happy feelings and I was happy when I spent time with you in your quarters, on the holodeck or the bridge. The white one represents the secret I kept in my heart of the real Kathryn, the funny, teasing, sexy woman that only showed herself in private to me.
The pink rose is for your gentleness as well as sweetness. I was witness to those two characteristics of yours when you dealt with Naomi. But also when a crewmember was sad because they missed home or when they hurt on the ship or a mission. They would receive a visit from the Captain who would have them smiling by the time she left.
The light pink is for the grace with which you handle yourself everyday and the joy you showed in each new discovery we found. And it didn’t matter if the discovery was a black hole or chocolate chip cookies made by Neelix.
The peach is for the appreciation and gratitude that I have for you and what you taught me about being the best I can be. Orange is for the enthusiasm that you showed for each discovery and the fascination you showed in the smallest thing.
And the coral is for the desire you had for getting your crew home but also your desire to learn and explore.’
‘Oh Chakotay,’ she whispered as the emotions overwhelmed her.
‘Every morning I would get up looking forward to seeing some of the things I mentioned and every day I would leave the bridge happy because I had spent the day with you. That’s why I sent a bouquet in the morning and one at night to you. These are the things that made my life and these are the meaning of the colour that you brought into my life.’
‘And these are to say the one thing I wanted to say to you forever,’ he said as he pressed a comm badge.
Kathryn could hear a transport then a vase appeared on the coffee table filled with roses.
‘And these tell you how much I love you,’ he finished as Kathryn looked down at the red petals.
She took in the perfect blooms of each rose, which was more then the usual six.
‘Chakotay, they are beautiful,’ she quietly said as she breathed in their scent. ‘I don’t …’
She started but stopped as a sob took hold of her.
‘Kathryn, I’m sorry I hoped that you felt the same,’ he mumbled as he rose. ‘I’ll leave,’ Chakotay said as he headed for the door. He was kicking himself for thinking she would be here waiting for him.
‘I thought I had lost the chance to hear those words,’ came the quiet voice from behind him. ‘And lost the chance to tell you in return.’
Chakotay turned slowly to see Kathryn standing behind him.
‘I love you too,’ she told him as a smile broke across her face.
Stepping forward he enveloped her in his arms.
‘Kathryn,’ he exhaled with the breath he had been holding.
‘Chakotay,’ she countered as he stepped back so he could look at her.
Leaning forward he kissed her gently as he pulled her back into his embrace. The kiss continued until they had to break for air.
‘Chakotay, I think we should talk,’ she said and could see the pain this statement caused him. ‘Besides you promised me dinner and I did get dressed up.’
‘Yes,’ he responded, as he looked her up and down. ‘And you look beautiful.’
‘Thank you,’ Kathryn smiled, as she looked him up and down noticing the tux he wore for the first time. ‘You look pretty good yourself.’
‘Why thank you, I do have plans for a wonderful dinner,’ he said as he smiled down at her. ‘Do you have a coat,’ he asked as he moved toward the door.
Kathryn picked up her shawl as she followed him out the door.
The restaurant Chakotay had chosen was near the bay. The table they were led to was near the window giving them a breathtaking view to eat by.
‘So when did you return to Earth?’ Kathryn asked as she took a sip of the wine that the waiter had delivered moments ago.
‘A week ago,’ he answered as watched her.
‘Have you decided what you want to do?’ Kathryn asked, as she fiddled with her napkin.
‘Well Fleet has offered me a ship,’ Chakotay said and noticed the hands freeze on the napkin. ‘And I have also been offered a position at the Academy.’
‘Which one are you going to accept?’ Kathryn asked with dread.
‘I was thinking about the ship,’ and he saw her nod but she was still fiddling with the napkin. ‘It’s something I would love but I think I would rather teach. I enjoyed teaching when I did it before but this time it would be archeology with a tie into the Delta quadrant finds. Besides I have other reasons to stay,’ he said as he reached across the table capturing her fidgeting hand.
‘I don’t want you to give up the chance of a ship,’ Kathryn said.
‘I know you wouldn’t, Kathryn, but I want to explore options with you and teaching would allow that,’ Chakotay countered. ‘I don’t want to lose this chance with you.’
Kathryn looked up finally allowing Chakotay to see the emotions on display in her eyes.
‘I don’t want to lose this chance either but I don’t want you to chose something that you will regret later,’ she explained.
‘I won’t regret it, Kathryn, because I’ll have you and I will be teaching,’ he told her as he squeezed her hand. ‘My two favourite loves.’
‘So how are things at Fleet?’ he asked.
‘Okay,’ was her one word response.
‘That doesn’t sound very exciting,’ Chakotay said.
‘It’s not,’ she whispered. ‘They have me in stupid meetings about non important things or I sit in my office for hours on end.’
‘Kathryn, why do you let them do that to you,’ he asked as he squeezed her hand again.
But all she did was shrug her shoulders.
‘What would you rather be doing if you had a choice?’ He pushed as he tugged on her hand encouraging her to look at him. ‘Would you like a ship?’
‘When we first came back I did but now I’m kind of glad to be on Earth,’ she said honestly. ‘I just need,’ she tried to explain but stopped unable to put her feelings in words.
‘Kathryn, why don’t you do research? Let's face it we brought a lot of data from the Delta quadrant,’ he said excitedly. ‘I mean you are one of the few people that can make sense of what we brought back.’
‘Or you can teach,’ he continued. ‘After all you taught a bunch of Maquis to be the best Starfleet crew ever. And Naomi enjoyed the times she spent with you when you taught her. Think about it, Kathryn, we could teach at the Academy together,’ he offered.
‘It does sound interesting,’ she said thoughtfully.
They talked about various things while the waiter came and went with their food.
‘I think there is one area we need to talk about,’ Chakotay said hesitantly.
‘Seven,’ Kathryn asked.
‘Yes Seven, Kathryn, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it,’ he admitted as he looked down at the table. ‘But if I was honest with you, I never told you because I didn’t believe in the relationship enough. I was flattered and lonely and that’s why I agreed to go out with her but it was only a few dates. Who told you?’ He asked quietly.
‘The Admiral,’ she said as she squeezed his hand. ‘She wanted to save you the pain of losing Seven and that’s why she came back.’
‘No, Kathryn, she wanted to save me the loss of you,’ Chakotay explained. ‘The Admiral talked to me before she left after she had warned off Seven. She explained that her Chakotay was devastated by picking Seven and that he never deserved to be with her even though she had told him differently.
He lived his life with the guilt of marrying one woman that he didn’t really love and walking away from the one that held his heart.’ Chakotay finished as he finally looked at Kathryn. ‘I don’t want to see history repeat itself, I’m just sorry that I gave up on us,’ he confessed.
‘Chakotay, I didn’t give you any hope,’ she countered. ‘I wanted you to find someone so that you would be happy.’
‘I might have been happy but not complete,’ he told her. ‘I wish I had been able to convince you to have a relationship on Voyager.’
‘I know but I couldn’t because I would have lost myself in you,’ she explained. ‘Getting home would have been secondary and sending you on missions would have been difficult.’
‘No, Kathryn, you would have been focused on getting the ship home,’ Chakotay stated. ‘But we would have had fringe benefits. Let’s not look back,’ he said quietly. ‘The future is ours and we should enjoy it for all it’s worth.’
‘Yes, the future,’ she agreed.
Kathryn excused herself a short time later to use the ladies' room. Returning, she found dessert had been brought and wondered what it was, as she had not ordered any.
‘What’s this?’ She asked as she looked at the plate situated between them.
‘I took the liberty to order something to go with your coffee,’ he said with a smile. ‘I thought we could share.’
Picking up her fork she took a forkful of the offering. Closing her eyes she enjoyed the tastes that assaulted her mouth as she purred.
‘Like it,’ he asked, with a laugh in his voice.
Opening her eyes she blushed as she looked at him.
‘Yes, chocolate cheesecake is one of my favourite,’ she said as she took another forkful. But instead of taking it for herself she offered the morsel to Chakotay. Leaning forward he took the mouthful allowing the fork to slowly leave his mouth as he watched her.
‘Hmm,’ he murmured after he swallowed the morsel
Reaching across the table, Kathryn gently swiped at the corner of Chakotay’s mouth. Starting to pull back Chakotay stopped her by grabbing her wrist to bring her thumb to his mouth where he licked the chocolate off slowly.
His slow movements mesmerized Kathryn as he gently sucked her thumb into his mouth. Chakotay swirled his tongue around her thumb licking the treat. Removing her thumb from his mouth he kissed her hand before sitting back.
Kathryn shook herself out of her stupor.
‘I think I have had enough,’ she said with a shaky voice.
Chakotay nodded as he waved to the waiter for the bill. Settling the bill he directed Kathryn out of the restaurant and down the street to the transport station.
The walk to transport facility was quiet as the two were lost in their thoughts. Chakotay had slipped his arm around her as they left the restaurant with Kathryn moving in closer.
Leaving the transport building near Kathryn’s apartment they walked slowly to her building.
Stanley watched them walk across the lobby smiling at the fact that Kathryn didn’t say hello. He realized that she was lost in the man that walked beside her to even notice where she was. He liked the way the large man looked at his favourite resident. It reminded Stanley of the way he looked at Annie.
He wasn’t sure who this man was but for some reason he trusted him with the Admiral. It was probably the look on the man’s face as he looked down at Kathryn as if he was looking at his whole world.
Arriving on Kathryn’s floor they walked down the hall slowly not saying anything. Stopping at her door she turned to him.
‘Would you like to come in for a drink,’ she asked as she received a nod.
Taking his hand they walked in to her living room and as she started to head for the bar Chakotay did not release her hand. Turning she looked up at him as if to ask a question but he stopped her with a kiss. The kiss turned more heated as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Finally breaking for air they rested their foreheads against each other.
‘Kathryn,’ was whispered as she countered with ‘Chakotay’.
‘Stay,’ she asked.
‘Yes, and Kathryn, happy Valentine’s,’ he said before capturing her lips again.
Slowly they moved toward her bedroom leaving a trail of clothes.
One year down the road…
Kathryn woke slowly stretching as she went feeling a few aches and pains. Yes, a few muscles had been used last night that had not been used for a while. She smiled as she thought of last night’s activities.
Lying there she noticed a scent in the air and opened her eyes to find a single rose in a vase on the night table.
Rolling onto her back she smiled then noticed the door opening.
‘Good morning,’ she called.
‘Good morning yourself,’ he replied as he sat a tray on the dresser. ‘Finally decided to wake up sleepy head. I was coming in to see if I could rouse you, funny I don’t remember you sleeping like before.’
‘I didn’t have the activities of last night to totally relax me,’ she countered as he sat down beside her.
‘Are you hungry?’ he asked with the dimples in full bloom.
‘Yes,’ she purred; as she started pull him down.
‘Kathryn, I meant-’ he started as she kissed him.
Releasing him, she looked at the tray with an innocent grin. ‘Oh you meant for food,’ she teased as she sat up.
‘Yes I meant food but if you’d rather-’ he countered as he moved in on her.
‘No food sounds good,’ she encouraged as she pointed to the tray.
Laughing at her he went and retrieved the tray placing it over her legs as he sat down. Lifting the lid she found scrambled eggs and toast for two.
‘Hmm this looks good,’ she complimented as she scooped a mouthful up. ‘Where’s yours?’
‘Funny,’ he shot back as he grabbed a fork. ‘I actually should let you eat all this it looks like you have lost weight.’
‘Well thank you for the food and the flower,’ Kathryn said as she took a bite of toast.
‘Happy Valentine’s day, Kathryn,’ he said as he reached into the bedside table pulling out a small package.
‘Oh Chakotay you didn’t have to buy me anything,’ she said excitedly as she pulled the wrapping paper away. ‘Having you home finally was all I wanted.’
Opening the box she found a gold chain lying in the blue satin with a crystal heart of pink. ‘Oh Chakotay, it’s beautiful.’
Taking the necklace he put it on for her.
‘Perfect,’ Chakotay commented as he looked at the necklace.
‘But Chakotay I don’t have anything for you,’ Kathryn said with a secretive smile.
‘I don’t need anything as long as I have you,’ he promised as he hugged her. ‘I missed you while I was gone.’
‘I did too,’ she whispered as she kissed his jaw.
‘I promise not to be gone that long again,’ he said. ‘Six weeks was to long for me. Having you in my arms again is all I need.’
‘Well if you decide to go off on another dig you might miss the next discovery,’ she said confusing Chakotay with the strange answer.
Taking his hand she laid it on her belly.
‘In about another thirty weeks you will have a new find to investigate,’ she teased him.
Watching as he digested this information until it dawned on him.
‘Kathryn, are you telling me what I think?’ he asked.
‘Yes, husband, we are going to have a baby,’ Kathryn laughed as his face split into a huge grin.
‘That is the best Valentine’s present my beautiful wife, thank you,’ he said as he bent down to kiss her.
‘You’re welcome,’ she answered before he sealed their lips in a kiss.
The End