Looks Aren't Everything Author: Cait N. Series: VOY Pairing: J/V, J/C Rating: PG Beta: Janet and Mariel Archive: CaFF Feedback: please! Alicat@netdot.com Website: http://www.asstr.org/~CaitN/ Author's Note: Written for the first round of the CaFF. Sak was niceenough to draw Vorik for me. Summary: Just as Chakotay has decided it's time to tell his Captain exactly how he feels about her, he catches her in a very compromising position. Disclaimer: TPTB were too busy staring at Jeri Ryan's cleavage to do anything meaningful with the show, so I borrowed their characters for a bit. Unfortunately Paramount still owns everything but this story. * * * "Looks Aren't Everything" by Cait N. Copyright March 2002 Chakotay whistled as he put the finishing touches on dinner. A late night repast in his quarters was going to be the perfect ending to what he hoped would be a perfect evening. He left his room and headed down the corridor, a wildcat on the prowl for its mate. He smiled at the fanciful image; he was acting like a lovesick fool, which, in fact, he was. Well, the fool part definitely. It'd taken him over five years to realize that he was in love with his Captain, and no matter how many times he encountered the icy, cold- shouldering, protocol-spouting side of her, his love wasn't going to fade away. Every time he butted up against her stubborn nature, every time he saw the fiery indignation or fierce determination in her eyes, it only made him want her more. Now, he was finally going to do something about it. His fingers sought the small leather pouch in his left trouser pocket. It had taken him countless hours to fashion the piece of jewellery (nothing replicated for his Kathryn!) and he was filled with nervousness over how it would be received. He reached Kathryn's quarters, but before he could ring the chime the door opened. Wearing a puzzled frown, he stepped forward calling out, "Captain?" The doors started to slide shut on him, and he jumped back quickly to avoid being smushed. He stood in confusion as the doors opened and closed, opened and closed, completely at random. Chakotay tapped his combadge. "Chakotay to Engineering." [Torres here.] The commander was taken a bit by surprise; according to his shift logs her shift should have ended four hours ago. "There seems to be a problem with the doors to the Captain's quarters." [Tell me something I don't know,] she replied testily. [There's a malfunction with the gel packs controlling the doors on decks three, six and eight. We're working on the problem now.] "Why don't you take the doors offline until you get the problem fixed." [If we do that, then the doors will stay either permanently open or permanently closed.] "Permanently open, then, we don't want to have to pull engineering or security crews to continually open doors for people." [Then I'll field all the complaints about privacy to you,] she replied, a hint of laughter in her voice. "I'm off-duty; Tuvok can handle the complaints." [We'll have the problem fixed as soon as possible. Torres out.] Chakotay tapped his combadge to close the link. Kathryn's door was now wide open. During the exchange with the chief engineer, there had been no sign of the captain. Chakotay stepped slowly inside her quarters. "Kathryn?" His query was met with silence. The cabin was dim and empty. Chakotay walked around a little, trying to think of where she could be. He was about to ask the computer for her location when a padd on the corner of her desk caught his eye. He walked closer so he could make out the words on the display. *I'll meet you in Holodeck 2 at twenty-one-hundred* Chakotay frowned, wondering whom she could be meeting in a holodeck, especially considering the lateness of the hour. His mind quickly made up, he strode out of her quarters and to the nearest turbolift. If he just happened to be on that deck. . . and just happened to be walking by. . . and with the gel pack malfunctions, the holodeck doors just happened to be stuck open. . . The lift deposited him on deck six. He started down the corridor, his feet moving slower and slower as he approached his destination. He didn't slow down enough to draw attention to himself, but it was slow enough that he wouldn't go flying past the door and not be able to see a thing. The doors loomed ahead on his left. He casually stuck his hands in his trouser pockets and walked slowly by. His head turned to the left, looking through the stuck-open doors into the holodeck. . . His feet froze, his eyes unable for a split second to comprehend what he was seeing. There was Kathryn. . . his captain. . . his love. . . kissing Vorik. Not a chaste kiss on the cheek, as one might give a close friend, or a valued crewmember; this kiss was on the lips and looked like it had no signs of stopping. He must have made a noise, though afterward he couldn't remember doing anything other than standing and staring. The couple broke apart, both turning to look in Chakotay's direction. "Chakotay?" Janeway said, approaching him. Chakotay turned on his heel and walked back to the turbolift, not looking back, even when he heard her footsteps running to catch up with him. "Chakotay!" she called out, but he kept on walking. "Commander!" came next. There was no mistaking her "I'm in command and not going to let you forget it" voice. He stopped, not even bothering to turn around to face her. If she wanted to talk to him, let her go the extra yard. She stalked around him, her hands on her hips. "What is your problem, Commander?" "You don't know?" he asked incredulously. He had a hard time believing she was that dense. "No, I don't," her smile was tight and not very friendly, "so why don't you enlighten me?" "Here's really not the place." "Your quarters then, now." Janeway turned and gestured to the turbolift down the corridor. Chakotay, his face an unreadable mask, proceeded to walk with her to the turbolift. He remained silent throughout the ride in the turbolift, and she did the same. 'How could she pick him over me?' he thought. Being honest with himself, he admitted that he and Vorik were about equal in the looks department; there were some that found the Vulcan's pointed ears a turn on, and he'd been told on more than one occasion that his tattoo was erotic. They were of the same height, though he was a bit broader through the shoulders. Chakotay sighed inwardly as they exited the turbolift and turned towards his quarters. He knew exactly what the attraction was - Vorik was intelligent, dedicated to his work as well as the ideals of Starfleet, hardworking - all the same qualities that Chakotay admired in the captain. To Chakotay's way of thinking, it was only logical that she chose someone who exhibited the same qualities that she did. It did nothing to lessen the sharp ache that filled his heart. The door to Chakotay's quarters was closed when they got there, but opened up for him. He walked through hesitantly, half expecting them to close on him before he got all the way through. To his surprise, they were functioning perfectly; B'Elanna must have worked her crew like ants to get the repairs done. "Computer, lights," he ordered. Janeway followed him through the door, stopping when she caught sight of the now-cold dinner for two on the table. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked. "It doesn't matter now," he answered taking a defensive position on the other side of the room. Fire flashed in her eyes. "Okay, Commander, just come right out and say it - what is your problem?" "I went by your quarters to see if you wanted to join me in a late night dinner." He folded his arms across his chest. "I saw the padd on the corner of your desk." "The padd?" she asked in momentary confusion, then realization dawned on her face and she continued, "Oh, the padd about being in the holodeck tonight." "Yes, that one." "And so you went to find me and saw me kissing Vorik." "Yes," he said through tight lips. "I still don't see your problem." He sighed, resigned to the fact that her synapses weren't working right and he'd have to literally spell it out for her. "You - and Vorik. . ." He let the sentence trail off so she could infer what she wanted. Realization dawned again. "What? You think that Vorik and I are involved?" "Don't tell me you aren't," Chakotay said, trying to keep the hurt from his voice. "I saw you kissing with my own eyes." "Of course we were kissing, we were rehearsing a scene for play." "A play?" he parroted. "Yes, Neelix has been bugging Samantha for months to help him stage a play. She is admittedly very unorganized so she asked Tuvok for help. He suggested Tysanius's 'Scientist, Officer, Ambassador, Statesman'. It's based on the life of Ambassador Spock; Vorik is playing his father, Sarek, and I'm playing the part of his mother, Amanda." "But that kiss!" He gestured with his hands. "Vulcan's don't kiss like that!" "Not in public, maybe, but that doesn't mean we can say for sure what goes on behind closed doors." Janeway put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. "The script calls for one kiss between 'Sarek' and 'Amanda'. Vorik expressed concern that he wouldn't be able to. . . perform. . . the kiss in front of an audience. I offered to help him practice the scene. End of story." Chakotay snorted. "That was some performance I saw." Her eyes darkened. "Just what are you so upset about, anyway? That you thought I was involved with Vorik, or that I was involved with someone period?" It was Chakotay's turn to look uncomfortable. Now that the moment was upon him, he found himself reluctant to put his heart on his sleeve. She'd explained the kiss and he believed her; the captain had always been brutally honest with him. "Chakotay?" she asked in a quieter voice. She walked up to him and put her hand lightly on his sleeve. He reached into his pocket and took out the soft leather drawstring pouch. "I made this for you. I really came by your quarters earlier to give it to you." He placed the pouch in her palm. Janeway looked into his eyes for what seemed to him for like forever, then ducked her head and slowly opened the leather ties on the pouch. She upturned it into her palm, and gasped, as the silver caught the light. It was a necklace, the links tiny and slightly uneven, attesting to the fact that it was handmade. On the end dangled a small triangle to which three silver charms were attached. "The coffee is, because I hope that your 'cup always runneth over'," Chakotay started to explain in a low voice. "The bathtub is to remind you of the time on New Earth, and to remind you that I'll always be here to pamper you, when you've had a stressful day and want to unwind. And the handcuffs are, because I never want to let you go," he finished. He held his breath, waiting for her reaction. Janeway held the necklace out to him, looking into his eyes again. "Please?" she asked. Chakotay let out the breath he'd been holding and smiled. He took the necklace and unfastened it while Kathryn turned and presented her back to him. He gently placed the necklace around her neck and fastened it back. Unable to resist, he dipped his head to nuzzle in the corner of her neck and breathe in the fresh, flowery scent of her hair. He'd dreamed about doing that again, ever since they'd left New Earth. "Does this mean what I think it means?" Her voice was low and laced with desire. "I tried, Kathryn, I honestly tried, but I can't do it," he admitted. "I can't just pretend this attraction doesn't exist. I can't do it, and to hell with protocol and Starfleet regs." He turned her around to face him, his eyes caressing her face. "We're out here, light years from home. I don't think there's anyone on this ship who wouldn't understand." "I. . ." She hesitated, and he steeled himself for her rejection. He would not cry in front of her, he wouldn't! "I think we should take things slow, actually go on a couple of dates and spend more time together, off duty." Chakotay felt his knees threaten to buckle. "Does this -" "Yes," Janeway answered, cutting him off. Her soft fingertips caressed his lips. "I think we should start seeing each other romantically." He smiled, closing the short distance between them, intent on doing for real what Vorik had been acting at earlier. "Kathryn, my love," he whispered as his lips touched hers, "you've made me the happiest man in the Delta Quadrant." "Because I said 'yes'?" "Because Tom owes me twenty credits now for winning the pool," he answered, laughing. "You ass!" Janeway said, pushing ineffectually against his chest. "I'm only kidding," Chakotay said, pulling her closer and nibbling at the corner of her lips. "Um-hmm," she said, kissing him back. "Just remember I deserve half of those credits." "I can't fool you for a minute, can I?" His lips traveled down the smooth expanse of her neck. "Chakotay, I know you by heart." Her words trailed off on a moan as his mouth caressed the hollow of her throat. "Oh really?" he teased. "So what am I thinking right now?" "That you want to kiss me again." Janeway pulled his head back up for another kiss. "Yes, ma'am." Chakotay was only too happy to comply. THE END