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Part 2
Kathryn paced the length of her assigned room measuring it in counted steps. It was eight from the door to the replicator, and three from the replicator to a small table that served as both a place to eat and a desk. She knew the exact number of steps to the window, and how many from her bunk to the door of a small bathroom. The room wasn’t unattractive, but there was a transitory feel to it that set her nerves on edge. The atmosphere seemed saturated with the anxious tension of hundreds of Starfleet captains waiting for their own debriefing.
Starfleet promised to get the debriefings over as quickly as possible, and she believed them. She just didn’t know how to get through the next few days without seeing Chakotay. After the declaration she made in the ready room, she hated to be separated from him. Finally she looked down at the golden object in her hand remembering the afternoon.
She had honored her ship by making a silent trip through it one last time, walking her decks as Voyager’s captain, with only a short side trip to sickbay to great her newest crewmember just before Tom and B’Elanna beamed down to Earth. Kathryn arrived at the shuttle bay all too quickly to find Chakotay waiting for her.
"Somehow I knew you would be here," she smiled.
He took her hand settling it into the crook of his arm. "After seven years where else would I be?"
Together they passed through the shuttle bay doors and took the last transport down to Earth.
Kathryn and Chakotay sat side by side watching Voyager through the view port as the transport pilot looped up over the ship and finally around her before entering a descent orbit to Earth.
They knew these few minutes were likely to be their only contact for the next few days, so they discreetly held hands and made plans in quite whispers. Kathryn gave Chakotay a handwritten note pledging her love and he pressed a small heart shaped locket into her hand.
When the doors of the transport opened on Earth, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay found their whole crew standing at attention, waiting for their commanding officers to lead them in the last few steps to home.
"At ease!" she ordered, and the crowd broke into applause. She had never felt more pride in her crew than she did at that moment. Hand in hand the couple walked to the front, and only when the doors slid open did they break contact.
Together, Voyager’s crew went out to meet the people waiting to welcome them home. A legion of news people called out questions, and dignitaries waited to shake someone’s hand. Nothing in the past seven years had prepared any of them for the incredible reception.
Soon however everyone was swept away from the crowds and placed in accommodations much like the one Kathryn occupied, awaiting the debriefings that would start tomorrow.
The opportunity to speak with loved ones had been extended to everyone. Kathryn had contacted her mother and sister and there were tears of relief shed on both sides of the link. Now she waited in the quiet of her assigned quarters ready for tomorrow and the first round. She wanted this over, she was ready to put the last seven years behind her and get on with her new life with Chakotay.
She picked up the locket opening it to see his picture inside, and activated the audio chip inside. "Kathryn, I love you. Only you, forever," his dark velvet voice whispered, comforting her. She could almost feel his touch in the words, so she slipped it under her pillow and lay down to sleep.
Chakotay was in the next room, his note from Kathryn in his hand and the items from his medicine bundle spread out before him. The expressions of love contained in that letter brought joy to his heart and peace to his soul.
He sat on the floor, his body quiet and his mind soaring in the freedom of the spirit quest. Everything he wanted within his grasp.
=^=
On the first day of debriefing the Federation was stunned by the sightings of Borg equipment and rubble. The wreckage spread across the Federation as many of the transwarp conduits simply opened up to spill out Borg debris. During the follow up reconnaissance Starfleet had even recovered two intact Cubes and a Sphere filled with deactivated drones. Officially the Federation expressed caution but a new hope for the demise of the Borg had arisen.
Niles Mustanen took great interest in the appearance of the Borg wreckage and the opportunity it represented. It was a chance that would be enhanced by the recruitment of Seven of Nine, so he pulled in several favors to get access to the debriefings. He scanned the recordings of all the interviews, and carefully watched everyone but especially the crewmember that fascinated him.
He quickly learned that his first impressions of the senior staff proved to be correct. They had been on their own in the Delta Quadrant to long. These people would not accept anything at face value nor would they trust blindly. That is, with the exception of Annika Hanson, the freed drone who held onto her Borg designation, Seven of Nine, with a fierce determination.
She was stubborn, opinionated and unsettlingly adolescent. He read the official logs and learned she relied on her Borg observations, and hadn’t discovered that ones own analysis could not be depended on to encompass all sides of any situation. Adding this knowledge to his discovery of her holoprogram he knew that her adolescence had manifested itself in a crush on Voyager’s first officer.
He was sure she was malleable, and a good recruitment prospect. Someone Section 31 could use, and with all that Borg knowledge at her fingertips she easily could have access to Borg data that hadn’t been tapped as yet. She was someone that would bring him prestige and he could her use to gain power by acquiring the secrets of the Borg for Section 31.
Finally, it didn’t hurt at all that she was young, beautiful and probably naive. She had no close friendships on board, except for the little girl and Voyager’s holographic Doctor. He was sure she could be easily dominated, everything he liked in a woman.
=^=
Debriefings went smoothly much to everyone’s relief. Voyager’s return was viewed as a triumph for the Federation, which was sorely in need of good news after the destruction of the Dominion war.
The news services clamored for interviews, especially the more unusual crewmembers, like the Doctor and Seven of Nine. Seven’s cool beauty attracted many admirers and soon she had accumulated an ever-changing following. Already it was rumored that she had left broken hearts behind her.
As soon as the interviews were completed, the debriefing commission released the crew, giving them leave while the committees met to complete their reports. The crew would reassemble in two weeks to hear the recommendations.
Starfleet did not sequester them from their families: instead they allowed each crewmember plenty of time to get reacquainted with loved ones.
Kathryn got to see her mom and sister and was surprised to find that her mother had a close friendly relationship with many of the other families, including Chakotay’s sister.
The Parises accepted B’Elanna and Miral with open arms, joyful that fate had returned the son they had lost even before he set foot on Voyager.
On the day of their release, the crew gathered for an informal midmorning brunch hosted by a group of federation diplomats and lead by Ambassador Mustanen. An official welcome home held just before they departed on leave. Addresses and link accesses were exchanged and most spirits were high.
Seven arrived on the arm of the commander that had acted as her counsel during the debriefings, and announced that she had elected to remain at Starfleet headquarters rather than visiting her aunt.
She was introduced to several of the dignitaries and spent the rest of the party in the company of an ever-changing group of admirers while Niles watched biding his time.
The doctor arrived alone and also quietly watched Seven. Only those who knew him intimately could see the pain he carried. He wanted to be with her. While his own plans included visits with Reg Barclay and even Dr. Zimmerman, he wanted more than anything to have included her in them.
Kathryn didn’t know what plans Chakotay had made for the next week, but afterward she was taking him to visit her family in Indiana.
After nearly a week apart, Kathryn was more than ready for some time with Chakotay, seven years was a very long time and enough was in fact enough. It was time for them to be together. Only she had no idea where he was taking her.
She tried trickery, wheedling and even direct questions, but Chakotay kept his own counsel.
"You can’t stand not knowing, can you?" he grinned at her.
"If you don’t tell me, how will I know what to pack?"
"I’ve already told you, pack for a warm climate and wear something you can get out of quickly," His coffee colored eyes flashed with desire.
"But Chakotay!"
"No buts, that’s all I am going to tell you. Now meet me at fourteen hundred hours in Starfleet’s main transporter station."
"What if I pouted?" She tried a sulky expression but only succeeded in a mini glare.
"No, that will not work." And laughing he turned to greet B’Elanna and Miral.
A couple of hours later Kathryn watched her luggage shimmer away to some undisclosed destination, then stepped on the transporter pad next to Chakotay. She felt the familiar hum of the transport beam then just as quickly as it started it was gone, and she found herself standing on white sand with a tropical rainforest spreading out in the background.
From the sun’s position in the sky she presumed it was midmorning here and seeing the ocean, she guessed she was somewhere in the Pacific.
"Do you like it?" He slipped behind her wrapping his arms around her waist, shifting her slightly so that she leaned against him.
"It’s beautiful, Chakotay! How did you find this?" she asked.
The white beach arced forming a cove, open enough to allow the waves to wash in on the sand. Coconut palm trees swayed and farther inland the damp tangle of forest began. Somewhere close by she could hear the sound of small waterfalls whispering their way down to the ocean.
"Does it matter?"
He drew her up on her toes, turning her to snag her lips with his, aggressively pressing her body into his and reveling in the feeling of her body in his arms. For long minutes they kissed each other, exploring and savoring the contact. Giving and taking pleasure as first one and then the other became the aggressor.
At last the need to breathe forced them apart so Chakotay took Kathryn’s arm leading her away from the beach and up toward the lush jungle.
She saw a cottage nestled on the hillside, a gleam of white clapboards half hidden in luxurious foliage. Wide steps led up to a deep veranda that shaded the front of the house in cool dimness, shadowing its open windows.
The comfortable loungers and a wide wicker settee tempted one to sit and relax. Vibrant colored cushions were scattered about in decadent splashes of scarlet, plum and gold. On a low table in front of the couch set two tall glasses and a familiar golden bottle.
"I thought, you had probably drunk all of that," the memories of happy times kindled a smile.
"Kathryn, this is the last bottle. I’ve never shared Antarian Cider with anyone but you."
She dropped down on the wicker couch and reaching out touched the bottle, thinking of how much she had almost lost.
"I love you," she whispered. "I should have reminded you of it every once in a while. I’m very sorry that I didn’t."
"Kathryn," he sat beside her, his arm settling across her shoulders. "This is not entirely your fault. I should have been telling you too, instead of trying to find you in other women."
"Chakotay!" Her mouth twitching as she tried to suppress her smile. "I’m not blonde."
"I see I’m not the only one who spent time with the counselors," he laughed.
She chuckled, "I was told that sacrificing my personal life was foolish, and that I should have trusted you more."
"I’ll agree with that," he sat the bottle back on the table and asked, "Do you want to swim?"
"No," she whispered. "Swimming is not what I want to do right now," snuggling in closer to him she pressed her lips to his.
Their previous kisses ached with longing, but this one brimmed with an effervescent joy that vibrated through them. It lifted and carried them in dazzling currents hurling them past even the need to breathe. Now was the time of fulfillment.
She delighted in his touch, and found joy in his arms. She wanted to fill all her senses with Chakotay’s essence until she breathed him, tasted him and could see only him. She moaned as the warm glow of arousal spread through her and she gave into the need to press against him.
His arms enclosed her. The light, almost magic, touch of her perfume surrounded him with the captivating scent of jasmine and Kathryn. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, running his tongue along her shoulder, pulling at her jacket so he could taste the sweetness of her skin.
She had wanted this for years, this heat that set her aflame but didn’t burn, this joy that threatened her with tears and laughter, this empty need that built and built but only he could fill. This, Oh God, how long she had wanted this!
Hot desire flashed through them, destroying the last barriers. Blazing passion undermined his strength, loosing his muscles so that the weight of his body bore down on her, pressing her into the bright cushions.
Kathryn delighted in his mass, a heaviness that covered her, protected her and yet didn’t smother. She kissed him until that burning passion triggered a deeper need and she twisted against him pushing at his body.
"Let’s go inside." Her whispered request strengthened him so he slid off of her and stood up.
"Yes" he helped her to her feet and handing her the bottle he lifted her up into his arms and carried her into the cool shade of the cottage.
There wasn’t a lot to see inside, just wonderful open spaces comfortably furnished. The open outsized windows allowed the cooling ocean breezes to flow through naturally.
The colors inside seemed subdued after the riot of jewel tones on the porch. The interior was a soothing mix of azure, aqua and ultramarine with touches of teal and lavender all colors of the sea.
Chakotay sat her on her feet and giving her the cider, turned her toward a sleeping area with a large white bed. He gently pushed her toward the bed and quickly returned to the porch for the glasses.
Kicking off her sandals she sat the bottle down on the nightstand and removed her linen jacket. She was hanging it over the back of a chair when he returned.
She opened the bottle and poured a little of the amber liquid into both glasses while Chakotay rid himself of his shoes. Turning to him she handed a glass to him then held up hers for a toast.
"Forever, Chakotay."
She touched his glass with hers, the movement causing her breasts to sway in the thin fabric of her halter-top. He could see the darker tint of her nipples through the soft thin fabric and their small, aroused points pressing against the material. Between those two soft mounds lay his locket. His groin tightened when he imagined that golden heart bouncing between her naked breasts while she rode him.
His slow grin lit up his face pushing his dimples deep into his cheeks as he regained a little control, "Yes Kathryn, forever," and he took a sip of the cider.
They sat on the bed sharing gentle caresses between sips. The sparkling cider’s effervescence matched their mood as blue eyes spoke silently to dark ones, offering, begging, and affirming.
Chakotay slipped Kathryn’s glass from her hand, setting it with his own on the nightstand. He took her into his arms and gently lowered both of them until they lay pressed together on the bed.
The gentle curves of her body fit against his hard planes, her breasts softly brushed against his chest. Once more sparkling joy danced through her, warming and chilling at the same time. The desire to kiss him surged over her so she brushed his lips with hers, and swirled her tongue inside when he opened his mouth for her.
Chakotay pulled her closer returning her kisses, pressing her body against his. He reached around her fumbling with the closure that held the halter, and growled with pleasure when it opened and he could pull the soft silk away from her body.
Kathryn in turn tugged at the fastening of his shirt, opening it and pushed it off his shoulders, deliberately brushing the softness of her body against him at the same time. Tossing the shirt on the floor, she ran her hands over his chest and around to his back with arousing strokes until he gasped with pleasure.
He rolled away from her, sitting up to hook his fingers into her trousers and dragged them down her body, until she lay before him, wearing only the locket. It rode her chest with the rise and fall of her breath, holding him mesmerized for a moment.
"I knew you would be this beautiful, I love you my darling," the sable tones in his voice fondling her just as his hands had, and his eyes softly caressing her, his arousal shadowing them.
He fondled her breasts, the hard points of her nipples scraping his palms. He kissed her mouth until her lips were swollen and finally pushed his fingers inside her rubbing his thumb over her clitoris and delighting in the silky feel of the wetness that pooled between her thighs. He watched the rise of her arousal, as her eyes grayed like barbed steel and rasped over him sending fire to his groin.
She pushed him back with a low moan jerking at the front of his trousers. The fumble of her fingers against his erection pushed him nearer the edge. He shifted away from her until he was standing at the side of the bed sucking in great gulps of air in an attempt to regain his control. Then he pushed his pants down, his heavy flesh springing free.
Taunted by this dream of Chakotay for so many years, Kathryn found it hard to believe in the reality before her, but here he was magnificently naked. She could not deny her body’s powerful demand, so she opened her arms and spread her legs exposing herself to him.
"Kathryn," he whispered as he joined her on the bed. "Kathryn, Kathryn." His voice caressed her name with each exclamation.
"Chakotay," she murmured her thoughts barely coherent, all her concentration focused on the feel of his hands brushing against her.
He moved down kissing her neck, then the hollow of her throat, torturing, teasing until he blew air across her breast and took the velvety nipple into his mouth.
She moaned, lifting her hips, becoming a gaping hollow of need that only he could fill. She tugged at him, trying to pull him over her and he accommodated her, moving between her thighs, needing to feel his erection against her.
If either of them had thought this first time would be a slow sweet seduction, they soon realized the mistake. The years of denial and desire had taken a huge toll. There was love and joy and happiness, but there was also a desperate need demanding release now.
Bright throbbing jolts of passion thundered through them, flashing like lightening along nerve endings increasing the heat where skin touched skin. Desire moved like adrenalin, speeding heartbeats and respiration until they inhaled deep breaths of air that pressed breast against chest in an eager rhythm.
"Now!" she demanded, "Oh God, Chakotay, now!"
He pushed his hard flesh into her moist heated channel until she embraced all of him. He held himself still wanting to savor the feeling of her body holding his, but the intense desire insisted upon release and he began to move stroking in and out, steadily deeper until she was crying out with each inward stroke.
Twisting beneath him, her body demanded an ending that seemed just out of reach.
"Let go Kathryn," he lured her, watching as her expression turned inward. His soft voice pushing until that barrier released flooding her with bright pulsing pleasure and her body clinched around his.
"Spirits," he sobbed as her orgasm throbbed around him drawing him into a vortex of joy. He reared up draping her legs over his shoulders opening her completely, and began to pound unto her.
She reached up over her head clasping the rungs of the headboard, pushing down in a counter stroke, and her passion heaved upward again incredibly fast, building with his until again the blinding pleasure swept over her, this time forcing his climax with hers, their voices combining in a harmonic shriek of release.
Chakotay slumped down, turning so he didn’t smother her, but keeping her close in his arms, and struggled to regain his breath.
She reached up caressing his tattoo, "I didn’t know it could be like that. I love you darling."
He reached out for her hand, kissing each of her fingertips, "I love you so much, Kathryn," and he closed his eyes giving in to the quiet drowsiness that over took him.
Kathryn sighed with pleasure. It was lust and it wasn’t. The feeling between them was carnal, hot and heavy but every movement felt so right it took her breath.
What had taken place in that room was joy, harmony, and dancing delight all rolled up with a soul easing peace. It was sex but it was also a pure expression of love so deep neither would be able to deny it any longer, and their lives were now entwined forever.
"I love you too," she whispered delighting in the safe wanted feeling that came in his arms, skin touching skin. She snuggled into his body and then joined him in slumber.
They slept sated and at peace.
The rest of the week was a joyous passage; they relaxed, talked, made plans and loved each other, truly becoming one.
For that one week nothing existed past the curved stretch of beach, the house by the waterfall, and the tropical forest that surrounded them. They were free, maybe for the first time since childhood, Kathryn and Chakotay were truly free. The bonds of their love surrounded them and when it was time to rejoin the rest of the world they were completely one, and both knew their lonely past was at an end.