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This explains the real reason Chakotay built Kathryn that bathtub on New Earth!

~*~

He told her he always slept soundly, but he didn't. And tonight was like most others. He lay motionless on his bed in the darkness of the shelter, listening to her tossing and turning, her voice mumbling incoherently. Frequently, he heard her roughly toss off the bed covers, sometimes uttering what almost sounded like quick bursts of profanity, an action that was quite unlike her. Sometimes she moved about restlessly, sometimes sitting on the edge of the bed for several minutes, sometimes pacing around her area or sometimes going out into the living area. Something was bothering her, but he didn't know how to approach her about it. Was she awake or were the words and motions part of restless dreams or sleepwalking? Every night, he vowed to ask her in the morning, but each day, with the beginning of their daily activities, his courage failed him.

Several weeks passed, with the same nightly scenario. There had been two or three nights when he had not awakened, but he didn't know if that was because she had slept peacefully or if he was so exhausted from the constant physical demands of their life that he didn't notice. But now he was beginning to see certain signs in her face and body-her eyes were losing their usual sparkle and the early morning circles and puffiness lingered through late afternoon. Her outward spirits remained positive, but he sensed that her stamina wasn't what it should be. Still he was silent. He suggested frequent breaks when they were working, making her cool drinks to replenish the fluids lost in the heat of the warm sun of their new home, covering his actions with the fact that he had grown up on a hot planet and knew how to keep fit in warm weather.

It was late afternoon of another warm, work intensive day. She wearily sat down on the makeshift bench in front of their geodesic shelter. He heard her sigh and came out from the shelter, offering her a tall glass of cool liquid. "Thank you," she said, accepting the third glass of iced herbal tea of the day from him. Her body sagged with its lack of rest. "You really know how to take care of me, Chakotay," she smiled up at him.

He sat down next to her, sipping his own glass of tea. His eyes looked down briefly; he hoped that she wouldn't see any sympathy in them. "Just trying to keep us going," he smiled back. "We're working hard around here just to survive and then you insist on your daily junkets to look for your insects." He shook his head, thinking about how stubbornly she kept going. "When you disappear out there in the forested area, I worry about you."

"Oh, come on; it's not as if we never had any survival training, Chakotay-and this isn't so bad… really!"

He nodded with a good humor. "Yes, but if you remember, Kathryn-with our survival training, we always knew when it would end! This time, we have no idea when-or if-it will ever be over."

She reached out, touching his large hand with hers, her slender fingers rosy and chilled by the glass she held. "We'll make it, Chakotay; I just know we will." She patted him paternalistically; but as her fingers slowly withdrew from his hand, they left an icy warmth in their path. The chill rapidly spread from the surface of his hand throughout his body.

"I wish I had your confidence," he sighed, trying to decipher the sensations he suddenly felt.

She slowly got up, taking his empty glass in her free hand and heading back into the shelter. "You do, my friend; you really do." She looked back at him with a smile that made him wonder about what she was really thinking.

Now it was night, probably about 2 AM, and she was at it again. He heard her get up and pace around the large living area, heard the door open and realized that she had gone outside. The night air was balmy and warm; the nocturnal sounds and smells of the green lushness of the area around them rushed inside through the opened door like a swollen tide, overwhelming him with their dissonance of the senses. He lay back, drinking in the richness of the air. Its soothing comfort had begun to lull him back into sleep when he heard her, quietly crying.

He became alert, his mind racing with concern; what was her problem? Should he pry? Had he done something to upset her? His heart began pounding, and his breathing began the same rapid rhythm. He sat up on the edge of his narrow bed, tense and uneasy with worry. He caught his breath, hoping that she wouldn't hear that he was awake. Okay, he thought to himself, We've had enough of this nonsense. Even though you're no longer her first officer, you're very much still her friend, and friends don't let friends hurt. You've got to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

He got up and with silent determination walked to the door. He stopped within its opening, looking out into the nocturnal scene. She was standing with her back to the shelter, the partially full moon high in the sky, casting a short dark shadow of her towards him. With the light in front of her, all he saw was a darkened silhouette of her body. Her small form appeared even more delicate in the moonlight. It looked like the only thing she had on was her nightgown, as the material closely glided along the soft feminine outline of her body. The short and broad shadow, with its distortions of the adult form of Kathryn Janeway, reminded him of a young child. Her gentle sobs sent ripples down her torso; her trembling shoulders quaked in the shadow, too, as if the child had been hurt and needed consoling.

His trained footsteps remained silent. When he was behind her, he reached around her, gently enfolding her small body within the bear hug of his arms.

"Chakotay!" she yelled out in surprise, turning within the enclosure of his arms and looking him in the face. "Why… why are you out here?"

He smiled down at her. "I was going to ask you the same thing," he responded. Suddenly, he dropped his arms, holding them out and away from both of them as a realization jolted his thoughts. "Kathryn!" he said with shock in his voice and on his face, "You're soaking wet!" He pulled back and saw that her silken nightgown, more than just damp, was clinging to every surface and curve of her body, "Are you all right?" he quickly asked, feeling her forehead and the back of her neck for any indication of fever.

"I… I'm fine," she said weakly, taking his hand between hers.

"No, you're not," he answered firmly, extracting his hands and once more pulling her towards him. "I know that it's warm here, but not uncomfortably so. And inside the shelter, we do have climate control. In fact, I've felt that it's been set a bit on the cool side lately. But, Kathryn-you seem to be burning up!"

She leaned her head against the soft cloth of his shirt, letting it absorb some of the thin layer of perspiration that coated her face. The material felt cool against her cheek but she could detect his body heat underneath. She sighed within the comfort of his concern; her mouth finally curved into a little smile before she pulled back and looked up at him. "Chakotay, what I'm about to tell you must not shock you."

He pulled back, his eyes questioning at her statement. "All right; I won't," he stated seriously.

She looked down at the rumpled appearance of her damp nightclothes, trying to smooth the material. "Oh, my; I really am a disgrace! Here we are outside of our private areas and I don't even have the decency to have a robe on!" She looked up at him. "Not that I could even bear to think about another layer of clothes right now…"

"Oh, come on; we've seen each other in worse situations." His dark eyes filled with a mixture of fear and concern. "Just tell me-what is it, Kathryn? What's wrong?" Chakotay spat out impatiently.

She walked over to the bench and sat down. "It's really quite personal," she said softly, her voice uncharacteristically low and modest. "I… I don't even think it's a proper thing for me to discuss with you."

Chakotay's patience snapped. "Well, you better tell me; there's no one else you can talk to, you know!" He ran his fingers through his disheveled thick hair as he heavily paced in front of her. "Heaven knows that until we can solve whatever is the problem neither of us is going to get much sleep!"

Her face took on a look of horror, as she uttered a sharp gasp. "Oh, no! Please don't tell me that I've been keeping you awake, too! I hoped that you hadn't heard me."

"Of course I've heard you! It's a small confine, Kathryn, and those partial walls aren't too soundproof, you know. Yes, I know that you've had a difficult time sleeping; I've heard up tossing around and getting up and walking. Frankly, I don't see how you're able to function much at all anymore." He sat down on the bench beside her. "You work as hard as I do, maybe even more. I would think that you'd be bone tired after putting in an eighteen or twenty hour day."

"And that's where we differ," she said, looking straight ahead into the moonlit open area. "It's a sexual thing, Chakotay."

"A what?" he sputtered, turning to her, aghast. "It's a what?"

She laughed, realizing how her words must of sounded. Even in the diminished light, he saw a deep blush flood her face. "What I mean is-oh, this is going to sound so old-fashioned-this is a female-type problem, Chakotay." She took a deep breath before proceeding, steeling herself for a very uncomfortable, personal confession. "I know that I'm fairly young for this to be happening, but I think I'm entering the pre-menopausal stage in my life. What I'm experiencing is something women have referred to for centuries as 'hot flashes'. They're particularly annoying at night for some reason, and there are times when I feel that anything covering me is suffocating me-covers, clothing, you name it! It's like an oven, and perspiration comes suddenly and like a downpour. That's when I have to move and get up-stir up the air somehow, trying to cool off.

I know that my mother began all of this in her early forties; I should have expected it, too. I started experiencing some symptoms a few months ago, but never considered them serious enough to ask the doctor for the usual hormone implant that is used to alleviate them. And now-well, I don't think I even have the formula included in the database here to synthesize the implant. I could spend some time on it, but I really think my time is better spent on trying to find a cure for our illness."

He let out a short sigh. "Oh. Well, that's a relief!"

"It is? Well, it might be a relief for you, but I can assure you that it's not too pleasant for me!" she answered, crossing her arms across her chest.

Her reached over towards her, pushing back a damp strand of hair from her face. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I… well, I thought there, for a moment, that you might have meant…" He sat back again, continuing but trying to change the direction of the conversation. "I'm just glad that it isn't anything more serious."

She glared at him. "Do you want to try living with it, mister?" He started to respond to her biting comment, but she interrupted him before he could say anything, trying to calm her-and himself-somewhat. "I'm sorry; that was uncalled for. It's just that I'm not resting well at all; it's interfering with me physically and mentally." She looked at him, his eyes full of concern. "And this hasn't been fair to you, either, now that I know you've lost sleep, too." She leaned forward, holding her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Chakotay. I really don't mean to be like this and cause any additional problems."

He reached up, gently grasping her shoulders. "Kathryn-I don't mean to belittle your problem; I can see that it's wearing you out. And it's been so unlike you not to immediately try to find an answer to alleviate the situation. You mentioned the hormone implant-are there any other remedies that you can use?" He chuckled, somewhat embarrassed. "I… I'll be quite honest with you; I'm afraid I haven't been around too many women at this… this particular stage in their lives."

"And it's usually something that's kept within our own kind," she responded with an uncomfortable twitter. "Men just… don't get it!"

He laughed softly. "You can say that again!" His hold on her shoulders had migrated into one arm wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. He rested his chin on top of her head, surprised at how damp her hair was, too. They were both silent for a couple of minutes; her breathing became more regular and at ease. "Feeling better now?" he asked.

"Mmm," she murmured, turning her face into his broad chest. "I think that they're over for now. It just takes a while for me to get my body back to a relaxed state and well, cool down." She picked up a handful of the material of her nightgown. "And just look at this! I'm going to have to change, this is still so damp." Dropping the material, she sighed deeply. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a bathtub! Baths always seem to relax me, and, after all of this, I could feel clean again, and maybe even sleep a little bit better."

"Really?" he said. "Do you think that might help?"

"I'm sure," she laughed, the motion of her lips tickling him through his shirt, starting some bodily heat of his own. "But, I guess that wasn't on the list of survival gear for Starfleet."

He gently kissed the top of her head and raised his own, gazing out into the open area in front of them, his eyes bright with thought. "Maybe not; but they did supply us with tools for construction of almost anything to meet our needs. I'll bet I could make you a bathtub, Kathryn," he exclaimed with sudden inspiration. "There are plenty of trees around here, and I've carved canoes out of trees-a bathtub shouldn't be much different. Yes-that's it; I'll make you the grandest bathtub you've ever seen… well, at least on this planet!"

She turned to him, her face lit up with the biggest smile he had seen since they had beamed down to this planet. "Oh, Chakotay, really? You really think you could? Would you have the time?"

He nodded, his own smile wide and deep and dimpled. "For you, I will make the time; anything to make things better for you."

Kathryn let out a small whoop, grabbing his shocked face between her hands. "What a wonderful idea!" she shouted. Pulling his grinning face down until it met hers, she gave him a quick and totally unexpected kiss. "Oh, Chakotay, I love you!" she continued, bubbling in her happy state.

The shock of her actions silenced both of them momentarily. Her surprise seemed the greater of the two, allowing him to break the quiet, his eyes mirroring his smile. "Well, if I'd known that was the reaction I'd be getting, I would have volunteered long ago!"

"You know what I mean," she said, returning his grin with a good-natured light thump on his chest. Her hands quickly returned to rest on his firm shoulders, her eyes glistening with unspoken delight and thanks.

His hands ventured to circle her waist, holding her lightly. "No, Kathryn, I don't know what you mean," he said with a lilt in his voice. "Want to elaborate on that?"

She could feel the return of a hormonal surge, its heat welling up in her body and rushing from her chest up to her neck and finally flooding her face. Her eyes burned from embarrassment, her throat contracted with dreaded anticipation. She let out a groan as its waves overtook her, and, in an involuntary gush, anointed her body, further dampening the clinging gown. In spite of the heat she felt, Kathryn shuddered. "Oh, no!" she moaned softly.

The sudden release of heat radiated away from her, its energy spilling into the still space between them, reaching towards the surface of his body. As the emitted warmth hit him, Chakotay to held her away from him a bit. "Whew, that is quite a little furnace you have going within you, my dear captain!"

"I told you," she sighed, blotting her lips and under-chin with her hand. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for that bathtub right now!"

He smiled at her, torn between sympathy and smiling. Her distress was so obvious, yet the dampness of her clinging gown and the glow of her body gave her a seductiveness he had never seen before. His voice cracked, laden with everything he suppressed within himself. "Give me two weeks, Kathryn, and you will have your wish."

"If I live that long," she smiled back at him, her hand beckoning some cooling movement onto her face.

~*~