The Voyager Exchange-Part 6

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She almost blew her cover when she came close to sitting in the captain’s chair.  She caught herself just in time.  She sat second in command, observing the bridge crew.  They were all familiar faces, but there were some distinct differences.  Paris could only be described as having a scruffier look.  His tousled hair and a five-day beard was lighter in color, but his personality matched his appearance.  He definitely had a rougher edge to him.  After a quick look at his file she understood why.  Tom’s father was an Admiral in Starfleet, so he had been disowned when he chose to be part of the Maquis movement.  And in the eyes of the Maquis, he was guilty of Starfleet’s crimes through association of his father.  He focused all his efforts into his piloting skills and had become the best around.  The demand for those skills was high and his loyalty went to the highest bidder.  Until he was stranded in the Delta Quadrant that is.  Now gambling made his fortune.  No mention of his marriage in the files sparked her interest in checking B’Elanna’s records. 

 

The picture displayed on the screen made her chuckle.  The B’Elanna she knew would rather die than have blonde highlights in her hair.  But she had to admit it was very becoming.  She skimmed the file.  One thing that hadn’t changed was her Klingon temper.  The number of reprimands for violent behavior seemed endless.  In fact, it was enough to prevent her from being the chief of engineering, but Chakotay had overridden that ruling.  His comments indicated that there was something else involved but he hid it from the official logs.  A mysterious bond between the two of them caused a wave of jealousy to float across her.

 

“Captain” She snapped out of her reading only to realize she wasn’t the one being addressed.  She still looked towards Tuvok as he spoke.  “The storms have ceased.”  At least Tuvok hadn’t changed, except for some specks of gray in his hair.

 

“Tom, take us into orbit.  Tuvok, you’re in charge of the next mining team.”

 

Just then an Orion slave girl entered the bridge.  Now that’s something you didn’t see on Voyager everyday.  Or was it?  Apparently it wasn’t an everyday occurrence on this ship either by the look on Chakotay’s face when she handed him a PADD.

 

“Poker, Seven?” He asked in amusement.  Seven?!  Upon a closer look, he was indeed correct, under the raven black hair and green skin it was Seven and she wasn’t pleased.

 

“Pool.”  She answered unhappily.  That famous Cheshire cat grin fell across Tom’s face.  Seven glared at him, almost daring him to make a comment.  He stayed silent, but his grin infuriated her even more than any words could, and she stomped off the bridge.

 

“I guess it’s not easy being green.” Tom could hold back no longer.  Most of the crew joined him in his laughter, including Janeway.  When the laughter died down, Harry asked the question which was on everyone’s mind.

 

“How long is she going to stay like that?”

 

“Twenty four hours from the minute she stepped on the bridge.”  Tom answered.  Excitement flashed on Harry’s face at that bit of news.  He was the most drastic contrast Janeway had seen of her crew so far.  His hair was cropped shorter and spiked, with the very top having the slightest hint of purple color to it.  But the hair wasn’t what stood out to Janeway; it was the look in his eyes.  They had the look of a wild animal in them.  He had a savage intensity about him.  It must be very attractive to the women on this ship, as even she felt a small tinge of arousal.

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

 

She awoke in his arms, causing her to smile happily.  She knew he would stay.  She placed gentle kisses all over his face.  Pure joy reflected on his face until his eyes opened and he realized his wasn’t dreaming.  He retreated out of the bed.

 

“I’m sorry.”  She said quietly.  “I know you’re not the Chakotay of my world.  It’s weird - the two of you are the same, yet there are subtle differences.  And even though you aren’t my Chakotay, I can’t deny who I am.”  He nodded his head in understanding and went to the shower.  When he came back out of the bathroom, he was greeted by the smell of breakfast.  She looked uncomfortable in her uniform, but she sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee.

 

“You cook?  Now I know you’re not the right Kathryn.” He teased her.

 

“Old Maquis trick you taught me.  I just pulled your replicator log from yesterday morning and duplicated them.”

 

“What else did I teach you?” He wondered aloud.

 

“I’d love to show you but that would make us very late to the bridge.”  He blushed at the thought.  He was thankful his Kathryn was never this erotic, otherwise he would have been spending the rest of his days in the brig for breaking protocols.  Then again, he corrected himself, if she were like this those parameters wouldn’t even exist. 

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

 

They stopped by sickbay before going to the bridge.  She sat on the biobed as the Doctor scanned her.  She had an amused look on her face, which got to the Doctor.

 

“What?”  He asked abruptly.

 

“This look becomes you.  Isn’t it your original matrix?”

 

“Yes” He said cautiously not knowing where it would lead.

 

“On you, bald looks sexy.”  She leaned forward and caressed the top of his head.

 

The Doctor was indignant as he huffed at Chakotay. “I’d say she’s not delirious just intoxicated.”

 

Chakotay thought that clearly the Doctor missed the humor in this.  “Doctor, I doubt she’s the Janeway we are accustomed to.”  After finishing his scans, he agreed with Chakotay’s conclusions.

 

“DNA proves this is Kathryn Janeway, but additional scans indicate she belongs to another dimension.  For example, she’s had a recent surgery in her abdomen that was clearly done by me, but I don’t remember performing it nor does her medical files show it happening. ”

 

“Three months ago, I had to have my gallbladder removed.”

 

“Thank you, Doctor.  You’ve confirmed our theory.  Please send all your findings to Tuvok.”

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

 

 She felt ill at ease sitting at the head of the table in the meeting room, but once seated it felt almost comforting.  Of course having Chakotay sitting by her side made things easier.  She looked around her senior staff.  Common faces but different all the same.  She sensed the devotion they had for their captain.  They had already begun researching a way to send her home and retrieve their captain.  As the Doctor briefed everyone on his findings, she looked at all the faces of Chakotay’s crew. 

 

It seemed odd to see a clean-shaven Tom who was the perfect model of an expectant father and loving husband.  A husband… to B’Elanna, now that was difficult to digest. The B’Elanna she knew refused to let anyone tie her down.  Tom had literally won a night in her bed from a game of darts.  From that evening on, B’Elanna’s relationship with Tom was on and off so many times, no one could keep track anymore.  It had become somewhat of a joke around the ship.  When her pregnancy was discovered, she had actually tried to kill Tom, accusing him of trapping her into a relationship.  Chakotay talked her out of her rage, thus saving Tom’s life.  Recently she began to accept Tom’s persistent offers of help, but it seemed to be a very rocky road for both of them.

 

Other than looking younger, Tuvok was the same, and she imaged he would be a constant in any universe or time.  Her attention was brought back to the Doctor. 

 

“Her cell structure is stable so I don’t believe the switch has any damaging side effects, except maybe for psychological problems.”

 

This Doctor chose to keep his original physical parameters.  Hers changed his appearance every few weeks.  After seven years it seemed to be routine.  It was ironic that her Doctor had chosen Bob for his name within a month of arriving in the Delta Quadrant, but had never settled on his physical appearance, whereas the Doctor here stuck to his original appearance but remained undecided on a name.      

 

He gazed turned to Harry.  This version was timid and tame compared to his duplicate.  She wondered if that was why this Kim was still an ensign.  What a disappointment to all the women on board this ship.  He seemed too naďve to be the womanizer she knew Lieutenant Kim to be. 

 

Seven’s reserve and composure impressed Kathryn.  On her own ship, Chakotay had made it perfectly clear Kathryn was responsible for the ex-borg. Kathryn constantly watchful over her, struggled with Seven’s rebellious behavior on a daily basis.  After gaining her freedom from the Borg, the drone had roamed the ship undergoing every “human” experience she could find.  Her appetite for food, drink and sex were insatiable.  An endless thrill seeker, she always seemed to be on the very edge of losing total control.

 

Seeing Neelix here was a pleasant surprise.  Neelix left the ship shortly after Kes transformed to a higher form of life.  Kathryn had missed them both dearly.  She hoped she could spend some time with him before she made her way back to her own ship.  She speculated if she should tell him about Bren.  It wouldn’t be violating a temporal directive would it?  How could it be when she was still in the same time, just a parallel universe?

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

 

“May I join you for lunch, Commander?”

 

“Kes,” Janeway whispered in disbelief.

 

“I know, I know.  I look more and more like my mother every day.  I hear that from everyone.  Can I sit or is the Captain joining you for lunch?”

 

“Please have a seat.  Chak .. the Captain is working through lunch.”  Now that is a switch, she thought as soon as she had spoken the words.  She stared at the young woman before her.  Kes’ daughter.  She wondered who the father was until she noticed the faint spots on her skin.  Her guess was confirmed when the woman spoke again.

 

“It’s my father’s favorite recipe, but I can hardly stand it.”  Janeway saw the leeola root casserole and knew without a doubt the woman’s lineage.

 

“Neelix has always been the butt of leeola root jokes.” 

 

“I still miss him.”  Neelix was gone?  How?  Janeway couldn’t image Voyager without him.

 

“We all do.” 

 

“B’Elanna to Bren.”

 

“Bren here.”

 

“Can I see you today.”  The anger in B’Elanna’s voice was clear.

 

“I’m on my way to your office now.”  She smiled apologetically at Janeway.

 

“How’d I let you talk me into being the ship’s counselor?”  Before Janeway could answer, Bren was almost to the door of the mess hall heading towards the engineering.

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

 

Janeway paced her quarters, fighting the urge to get a mug of coffee.  She couldn’t sleep, as it was, coffee would only compound the problem.  She was restless thinking about what was happening on her own Voyager.  Were they safe?  Was there a stranded woman pacing the captain’s quarters that was hoping to get home too?  For over a week Janeway had reviewed all of the scans done of the planet and ion storm.  She knew that the key to her way back to the Voyager she belonged to was in that data, she just had to find it.  She placed standing orders for continuous scans of the planet in case the storms arose again.  Something told her the storms would be her ticket home and she was right.  Her studies proved that if she transported back to the planet at the right coordinates when the storm was at the right intensity she would make it back to her universe.  She had calculated and re-calibrated all the data to determine what those coordinates were and the level the storm needed to be.  She secretly programmed the transporter with the information, now all she could do is wait for another storm.  She hoped it would come soon as it became more and more difficult to avoid Chakotay.  Right now, he just took her avoidance as her being stubborn, but she knew the longer she stayed the greater the chance of him discovering she wasn’t his first officer.

 

Chakotay.  She wondered what he was doing at this exact moment.  He was ever present in her mind.  It was disturbing being on this ship with this Chakotay.  Unlike the other members of the crew, he was exactly like the Chakotay from her ship, except for two things. This man was the captain and he refused to adhere to protocols when it came to her.  Although he was in total control in every aspect of their relationship, both professionally and personally, he did not dominate her in any way.  She realized one of her biggest fears, of losing control, was unjustified with him.  His love for her could not be hidden.  Although their personal relationship was common knowledge to the entire crew, he maintained professionalism while on duty.  Off hours were less rigid, he would hold her hand or give her a kiss on the check, but still there was a reserved air to him whenever they were within the eyeshot of the crew.  When they were alone, she could see the smoldering passion rise quickly.  What astounded Janeway the most was the love that radiated from him.  Wherever they were, it made no matter whether on the bridge or in his quarters, she always saw his love for her.  Back on board her own ship, she always sensed Chakotay’s love, but here it was out in the open, where she couldn’t deny it.  It was then that the thought came to her.  The Chakotay of this Voyager was the Chakotay who she meets in her dreams.  She startled at the chirp from her comm badge.

 

“Commander Janeway, I’m detecting the conditions on the planet are indicative of those required for an ion storm.”

 

“Thank you, Seven.  How long before the storms form?”

 

“Within the next twelve to fourteen hours.”       

  

“Contact me when they begin.”  A smile fell across her face, she’d be home soon.  Back to the crew she knew and loved.  Back to Chakotay as her first officer.  Her smile fell.  Although she had taken great lengths to keep her distance from him, it still saddened her to know she would be losing him.  Now knowing that her fantasy Chakotay truly existed would make it that much harder to face him on her ship.

 

She began to entertain the idea of having a more intimate relationship with Chakotay once she got back, but she soon dismissed it.  Not in her world, there were too many protocols to follow.  Not in my world, but what about this world?  Would I be breaking protocols here?  In a place where my Starfleet doesn’t even exist?  Temporal Directive?  That couldn’t apply – I’m in the same timeline, just a different universe.  Besides it’s practically expected of my counterpart.  Her mind made up she rushed next door, before she lost her nerve.  She held her breath as she rang the chime.

 

 It felt like hours had passed as she waited for the door to open.  Her mind torments her the entire time. Does this make me disloyal?  How could it?  It’s Chakotay – he’s the same man.  Am I really going to do this?  I’ll regret it if I don’t.  Will I be able to face the other Chakotay if I do?  Yes, of course, I will.  In fact, it will be easier.  I’ll never have to wonder what it would be like.  But what if that only makes it harder on me?   Fear strikes her, and she turns to flee back to her quarters but it is too late.  Chakotay opened the door.

 

His robe hung loosely around him, exposing silk boxers, which looked as if they had just been pulled on.  His eyes barely cracked open.  She realized he had been sleeping.

 

“I’m sorry. I woke you.”

 

Her voice woke him fully and his eyes opened taking in the image of her in a long nightgown, minus the robe, barefoot.  He moved to the side, allowing her to enter.  The light fell across her as she moved; she looked like a beautiful vision.  When she turned to face him, she looked a bit nervous.  But then again he knew she always hated admitting she was wrong.  She found it hard to even say the words. 

 

Oh yes, it pays to be a patient man, he thought to himself as a cocky smile fell over his face.

 

“So.  Am I forgiven?”  He held his arms open.  She ran into his embrace.  From that first hug, she forgot she was the captain, for tonight, she was just Kathryn. 

 

“I’ve been too stubborn.” She admitted to herself more than to him.

 

“Two weeks has been a long time.”  He agreed.  “It must be a record for us.”  He gently took her chin in his hands and lifted it to force her eyes to meet his.  “Let’s do something about that, shall we?” 

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

 

The crew discovered the solution to Kathryn’s problem before the shift had ended.  The storms were the key.  They had determined the correct coordinates to beam her to and the level the storm needed to be.  Now all she could do is wait for another storm.

 

And wait she did.  For a week now she had waited.  She paced her quarters, fighting the urge to get a mug of coffee.  She couldn’t sleep, as it was, coffee would only compound the problem.  She was restless thinking about what was happening on her own Voyager.  Were they safe?  Was there a stranded woman pacing the first officer’s quarters that was hoping to get home too?  What bothered her the most was how lonely she felt.  This crew had all treated her as if she was their captain, but she missed Chakotay.  The Chakotay of this world was just like the one of her ship except he refused to let her into his heart.  She had no doubt that he loved her, that much she sensed, but he refused to let it show.  He had built up a barrier between them to hide his love.  She hurt at the thought that she was the cause of that barrier.  She knew that logically she shouldn’t feel responsible for what the other Janeway did.  Still somehow the two Janeways were connected – a part of each other.  That Janeway may not feel guilty by overlooking his love, but she most certainly did.

 

The door chimed.  She opened the door to find Chakotay standing before her, looking somewhat nervous.  He caught his breath when the door opened before him exposing his captain once again wearing one of his shirts.  He wondered if he would ever be able to put on a shirt again within thinking of her.

 

“I… uh… I hope I didn’t wake you.”  He fought to talk coherently.

 

“No, not at all.  I actually would like some company.  Please come in.”  He followed her lead into the room and sat next to her on the couch. 

 

“I came to bring you some good news.  Seven is predicting storms to begin within the next fourteen hours.”  He told her as he tried to slide to the opposite side of the couch without her noticing.  She was aware of the space he put between them.

 

“Why haven’t you ever told her?”

 

“Who? What?” He knew what she meant, but he hoped by playing dumb that she would drop the subject.

 

“Your Captain Janeway.  Why haven’t you told her you loved her?”

 

He let out a deep sigh.  “I tried to once, but she didn’t want to hear it.”  He thought back to that night on New Earth.  Hell, I hadn’t even come out and said the words.  Ancient legend.  Angry Warrior.

 

“She loves you, but for whatever reason she can’t admit it.”  He looked at her, with doubt in his eyes.  “We’re the same – I know she does.”  She told him more firmly.  He nodded his acceptance.  “So, why do you continue to hold back?”

 

“It would only make things harder on her.  The burden of responsibility is very heavy on those tiny shoulders.  My confession of love would only multiply it.  Make it that much harder to follow protocols.”

 

“So you put her needs before your own.”  Now even more than before she saw how closely this man was a reflection of her own.

 

“Of course.”  He admitted without hesitation or regret.

 

“What about your needs?”  He thought that he had made himself clear - her needs came first.  She continued.  “You need to tell her as much as she doesn’t need to hear it.  If you don’t, you’ll eventually fall apart and she’ll never forgive herself if that happens.”  She knew he believed her, possibly had been on the edge recently.

 

“Tell her.  Tell me!”  She was suddenly pleading with him.  She moved next to him, their bodies pressed tightly together as she wrapped her arm around him and stared into his eyes.  “I love you, Chakotay.”

 

“Kathryn, I love you.”  He told her and meant it. 

 

She felt his body relax in her arms, the burden on his shoulders finally lifted.  The stare lingered.  She had started out with the intentions of just making a peace with him and herself, but now she felt she had to do more. She wanted him to know what it was like to love her, and to be loved by her. She kissed him gently. 

 

“Let me be your captain tonight.  Your Kathryn.”

 

He knew at that moment that she was the same woman he fell in love with.  No one else would give of herself so selflessly.  He returned the kiss forgetting who he was, losing himself to Kathryn.

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

 

She lay in his arms feeling peace for the first time in years.  After several hours of love making, both of them had fallen still and silent.  Chakotay’s breathing had slowed and she assumed he was asleep.

 

“You’re not Kathryn, are you?”  Her eyes flew open to see him looking down at her.  She knew her face had already answered him.

 

“How did you know?”   

 

“I had my suspicions for several days, but I couldn’t be positive.  Until tonight.  You responded to me as if it was the first time we had ever made love.  I had almost forgotten what that had been like.  Thank you.”  He kissed her benevolently.  The touch of his lips made her want to experience him all over again, but the spell was broken.  She felt Captain Janeway taking over once more.

 

“You’re leaving when the ion storms become turbulent on the planet’s surface?”  It was more of a statement than a question.

 

“Yes.”  She confirmed.  He understood everything, without her telling him a word.  He smiled down at her again, love shining in his dark eyes.

 

“Promise me you’ll never forget tonight.”

 

“No, never.” She whispered her agreement.  His lips were on hers as soon as the words were spoken, and the Captain in her disappeared.

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

 

He had never felt such joy in his life.  He was so grateful to be given such a priceless gift.  He listened to her breathing, thinking it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.  Even in her sleep she was incredible.  She stirred and he realized she hadn’t been sleeping.  The closeness of her body made him burn with desire once more.  He knew his time with her was short. That he should make the most of it.

 

“I have to leave soon.”  She knew his unspoken thoughts.  She kissed him tenderly.  She fell onto her back pulling him on top on her.  “Love me.” She whispered into his ear.

 

“I’ll never stop loving you.” He said before pressing his lips to hers once more.

 

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

 

They walked down the corridor hand in hand.  Janeway had mixed emotions running through her.  She was anxious to get back to her own ship, but reluctant to leave a place where she could love Chakotay freely.  They reached the transporter room and there was no turning back.  They were the only ones there.  She stepped onto the transporter pad, yet she refused to let go of Chakotay’s hand.  He grabbed her face with both hands and pulled her lips to his.  After the night they had just experienced it was remarkable that he had so much passion still to give.

 

“Remember your promise,” he whispered, then kissed her on the forehead and walked to the console.  Tears were beginning to form in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.  Just as the transporter beam began to surround her, she spoke her last words to him.

 

“I love you, Chakotay.”

 

“I know.” She barely heard the words over the hum as her particles began to dematerialize.

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

 

They walked in silence to the transporter room.  They stood alone on the transporter pad, his hands entwined in hers, not wanting her to go, yet knowing she couldn’t stay.  A single tear slid down his face.  She kissed the tear away, then moved to his lips.  She still had so much more to give him, despite the night of passion they had shared.

 

He stepped back, a pained look on his face.  She knew he would torture himself once his captain returned, unless she could make him see she gave of herself willingly because the other Janeway could not.  The transporter started to swirl around her.

 

“Remember, you did not betray me.”  He understood her last words and nodded.

 

“Thank you.”

   

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

 

The transporter pad flickered with light, then a form materialized.  Kathryn stood before him wearing a Starfleet uniform.  They stared at each in silence for a few moments.  His smile appeared, the dimples welcoming her.  She returned the grin and rushed into his arms.  He spun her around in a circle.

 

“Spirits, I’ve missed you!”

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

 

The transporter pad flickered with light, then a form materialized.  Janeway stood before him wearing a brown leather skirt and a white silk blouse.

 

He smiled.  “Welcome back, Captain.”

 

She looked up and suddenly their eyes meet and locked.  They both knew instinctively what had happened between them, or actually between themselves and their counterparts.  With the night of expressed love still fresh on both of their minds, they had forgotten to hide their feelings.  Now, in this moment, both were exposed.  The love indisputable reflected between them.  She stepped down off the transporter pad.  She attempted to smile at him.  It was half hearted, as the sorrow on her face was evident.  He gave her a weak smile in return.

 

She was back where she belonged and regardless of all the responsibility and protocols, she wouldn’t have it any other way.  The Captain Janeway in her took over when she saw Chakotay’s nod of understanding.

 

“It’s good to be back, Commander.” 

 

He watched her leave the transporter room, and quickly followed behind her, shaking his head with a sigh.  His captain was back.

 

~~~~~~~~~   The End   ~~~~~~~~~~

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