Disclaimer: No infringement on Paramount's copyright intended. 'Night', 'Counterpoint', and Star Trek and it’s characters are not mine, but Ana Vor and R’mor are my creation and so is the rest of the story. The story revolves around a relationship between women beyond friendship. If this bothers you, please look elsewhere for your fan fiction.

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 © 1999 by Saffron

Ana lay still in her bed. All of the elements required to bring about sleep were there: lights out, perfect temperature, soft music, but Ana knew sleep would allude her. She had been on a date with Kathryn Janeway.

The events of the evening played over & over in her mind…especially the kiss. Ana smiled. She knew how Kathryn felt at that moment. When Kathryn let down her guard, her emotions seemed to find their way to Ana. That’s was made the kiss all the more powerful.

Ana sighed. She needed to quiet her mind so she could sleep so she employed a technique she had developed as a child. She closed her eyes and let her imagination wander. Almost always, a story developed in her head, usually involving characters who lived in her mind. Tonight, Kathryn was there. It was rare for reality to invade these waking dreams, but Ana just smiled, rolled onto her side and fell asleep.

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The next morning, Ana met R’mor in the mess hall for breakfast. Ensign R’mor was one of the few people Ana felt she could call a friend, despite that fact that he thought she was nuts for pursuing the captain. They sat down at a remote table, placing Neelix’s newest concoction in from of them

Ana was all smiles. R’mor smirked at her. "What’s with you?" he asked.

Ana leaned in and lowered her voice. "I had a date last night."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Oh, yeah. I forgot." He feigned disinterest.

"Hey! Don’t you want to know what happened?"

"I don’t know why you…" R'mor stopped when he saw the pout on Ana’s face. "All right. Tell me. I’m all ears."

"I took her to Beta Falls."

"You’ve never taken me to Beta Falls," R'mor muttered.

Ana ignored him and continued. "I added a café so we could have dinner."

R’mor nodded approvingly, his curiosity increasing. "Nice touch. Go on."

"Well, mostly we talked. Cleared up some things, I told her about Ara."

R’mor raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You told her about your sister on your first date? Wow."

"Well, it just seemed appropriate to tell her that from the beginning… besides it was our birthday that started it all. She wanted to know why I was upset so I told her."

R’mor fell silent, waiting for her to continue.

Ana’s eyes became wistful. "But you know what was the best part?"

R’mor shook his head.

"I kissed her," she beamed.

R’mor's mouth gaped open. "What? You slipped her the tongue on the first date?"

Ana frowned at his crude reference. "Don’t say it like that. I didn’t even open my mouth. It was like the most beautiful and innocent kiss that could happen. I connected with her."

"What do you mean ‘connected’?

Ana’s voice lowered to a whisper. "Empathically."

R’mor’s surprise was evident on his face. "Wow. Did you tell her?"

"No." Ana gasped. "Do you think I should have? Oh, Mori, did I screw up already?" As punishment, she shoveled some of pink stuff on her plate into her mouth. "Hmm… this isn’t as bad as you’d think."

"Don’t change the subject. I don’t think you have to tell her this one detail yet. I think you’ll know when is the right time. You had a nice time. Don’t ruin it by beating yourself up."

Ana knew he was right. "Yeah, you’re right, you’re right. I know you’re right."

They ate in silence for a moment then Ana put down her fork and spoke up again. "You know, I could really fall hard for her."

R’mor looked at her and spoke gently. "I know. I just don’t want to see you get hurt."

Ana picked up her fork again and stabbed angrily at her food. "Don’t start this again, ok? I appreciate your concern. I know how you feel about this. I really do but you can’t keep saying stuff like that. I want this more that I’ve wanted anything in a long time and I have to try. And even if I get hurt or worse, it doesn’t work out, I will have been fortunate to fall in love with one of the most extraordinary humans in the galaxy. Don’t ruin it for me!"

"Ok, ok. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t say anything."

Ana’s voice softened, "I know and I appreciate it. You’re my closest friend, but this decision is mine. Please… support me, whether or not you agree with me."

"I do. You know I do."

Their eyes met and an silent agreement was formed.

Ana sighed again. "I should go. I’d like to go back to my quarters before I go on duty."

R’mor nodded. They stood up and Ana placed her hand on R’mor’s broad shoulder. "Thanks for listening."

R’mor smiled.

They deposited their trays in the recycling bin and parted ways upon exiting the room.

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Kathryn spent all morning in her ready room. Surprisingly, she was able to concentrate and yet, Ana kept creeping into her thoughts… and that kiss. Kathryn normally worked through her 8 hours shift, but today she varied from her routine. She went to the mess hall for lunch.

Neelix was conversing with a crewmember at a table, but when he saw the Captain, he excused himself and went to greet her. "Captain!"

Kathryn smiled. "Hello, Neelix." She followed him to the counter, he moving behind it and she, in front. "What have you made us for lunch today?"

"Well, you’ve picked the perfect day to join us, Captain." He picked up a large platter. "We have a lovely spread of some vegetables…" Kathryn stared at the odd shaped, but colorful vegetables as Neelix continued, "There’s some lovely Talaxian tomatoes, stuffed with something called ‘chicken salad’. I don’t know what chicken is, but the crew seems to like it."’

Kathryn tried to hide her smile, as Neelix rattled off the dessert selections. She interrupted him before he finished. "I think I’ll skip dessert for now. Just give me some vegetables and a stuffed tomato."

Kathryn took the tray of food from Neelix and went in search of a place to sit. The room wasn’t very crowded so she settled at a remote table facing the viewports.

Just as she was taking her first bite, she sensed someone staring at her. She put her fork down and turned her head to the left. A young sandy-haired ensign quickly turned his attention to the half-empty plate in front of him.

It took a second for his identity to register. Ensign R’mor. Kathryn stared at him another moment and returned her attention to her food.

This happened a couple of times during her meal. Finally, when she was done, she picked up her tray and walked over to R’mor. He cautiously looked up at her. "Captain."

"Ensign. Is there a problem?"

R’mor didn’t look at her, "Uh. No. Um…no, Ma’am, I mean, No, Captain." R’mor sputtered.

"You were staring me. "

"I…" R’mor was looking positively distraught.

Kathryn’s toned softened. "Is there something you wish to speak to me about, Ensign?"

R’mor didn’t move or speak for a moment.

Kathryn sat down across from him, waiting patiently.

R’mor finally spoke, his eyes darting every but at the Captain’s face. "I… do have a concern, Captain." He paused. "It’s personal."

She nodded. He continued, his voice very soft. "I have a concern about…you and Ana Vor." His eyes finally met with hers.

Kathryn’s face darkened, her voice resonating at it’s deepest range. "I don’t think that’s any of your business, Ensign." She started to get up.

Defensive and suddenly finding some courage, R’mor spoke up again. "She’s my friend."

Kathryn couldn’t believe how instantly furious she had become, but she kept her voice calm as she spoke. "I will not discuss this with you, Ensign. Your concern is noted. Do not bring this up again."

R’mor watch the captain walk away. He knew that he had crossed a line and he knew why. He made a resolve right then to do something about it.

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Kathryn was distracted the rest of the day. Plain and obvious. She knew she had to talk to Ana, but she needed to calm down first. So many questions whirled around her head. The date had only happened the night before. How many people had Ana told? And what did she tell them? Kathryn grew increasingly uncomfortable with the prospect crewmembers knowing private details of her life. She had to talk to Ana.

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When Kathryn asked to see her, Ana’s stomach tightened. If this was ship related, she had no idea what she had done and if it was personal, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Her mind went through infinite possibilities as she made her way to Deck 1. She was shaking by the time she entered the Ready Room.

Kathryn was facing away from her.

"Captain?"

Kathryn closed her eyes at the sound of Ana’s voice. A snapshot of the kiss flitted across her mind. She turned around, smiled and gestured for Ana to join her on the couch.

Ana knew immediately from Kathryn’s demeanor that this had nothing to do with ship’s business. She waited patiently for Kathryn to speak..

Ever the candid captain, Kathryn made her point with her first sentence. "I was wondering how visible you want our relationship to be?" she asked. Noticing the puzzled look on Ana’s face, Kathryn continued, trying to clarify her point. "I’m talking about discretion. This…what we have is so new, I’d prefer not to do it under the watchful and inquisitive eyes of the crew."

Ana closed her eyes as the realization of what Kathryn was asking and why she was asking it. The only person she had told was R’mor. She opened her eyes again and was startled by how intently Kathryn eyes regarded her. "I actually hadn’t given it much thought. But I would never say or do anything to jeopardize…this." Ana hesitated before she asked her next question. She looked down at her hands. "Did something happen to make you concerned about this?"

The look on Kathryn’s face told Ana more than enough. She shook her head and spoke regrettably, "You don’t have to answer that. I think I know." Ana pursed her lips in annoyance.

Kathryn placed her hand on Ana’s shoulder, her thumb moving back and forth in a small caress. " Don’t be too hard on him."

Ana nodded. "Yeah," she smiled. "I should get back to work. My break is almost over." Despite her statement, she made no move to get up. Kathryn kept her hand on Ana’s shoulder., last night’s kiss once again flashing in her mind, that command ‘wall’ disappearing for a moment.

Kathryn cleared her throat and stood up. "Yes, well, I supposed I should let you get back to work. I wouldn’t look good for the Captain to keep crewmembers for getting to their duty shifts on time."

Ana watched as Kathryn easily return to command mode then stood up as well. As she look at Kathryn ,she felt affection swell up inside her. Uncomfortable, she looked away. "Yes, well, I guess I’ll see you later," and turned to leave.

"Ana."

Ana looked back at the captain.

"I…really enjoyed last night. We’ll have to do it again."

Kathryn felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Ana’s eyes light up at the comment. Ana smiled, nodded and left the room. Kathryn stared at the doors Ana had just walked through and knew this was something she wanted. She returned her attention to the work at hand, occasionally interrupted by thoughts of what she and Ana could do on their next date.