| |
He shifted on the steps, trying to stretch the kinks out of his back, then
finished the sentence, "...so she's out there somewhere, catting around, having the time of her life
being a fem fatale."
|
| |
Kathryn stretched beside him, giving a little shiver, "Who would have thought she
could be so...wanton? And she's really happy? Well, what do you know."
|
| |
He gave a matching shiver and stood, "She really is. Have we discussed all those issues we said we'd
save until later? I'm frozen and my ass is numb. I believe an offer of a bed was made a bit earlier. Is
that offer still open?"
|
| |
"Indeed it is! Forever it is!" she said, accepting his offered hand and pulling
herself into his arms.
|
| |
Chakotay returned her caress and murmured, "Forever is good. I like forever. But,
at the moment, 'now' is even better."
|
| |
They continued on up the stairs to a set of French doors. She opened the doors and
he followed her inside. He surveyed the room. It looked like somewhere Kathryn could live, but with the
edges softened slightly and the color intensified. Where her quarters on Voyager had been greys and blues,
and the lighting muted, giving an air of cool elegance, this room was cream, gold, with touches of red, warm
and inviting, yet no less elegant. It had a lived in feel to it. A pair of shoes had been kicked off next
to a chair, a plate of half eaten cookies sat on the counter, and a spanner had been left on top of some
antique techno furniture in the corner. He never remembered seeing a thing out of place in her quarters before.
This place was comfortable. He liked it. He snagged one of the cookies off the tray, nibbling as he followed
her to the bedroom.
|
| |
"Mmmmm. These are good. Where did you get them?"
|
| |
She looked back over her shoulder at him, "You'd never guess in a million years. Finish that out there. I
don't want crumbs in bed."
|
| |
"Yes, ma'am," he said as he walked around to the kitchen area.
|
| |
"I heard that!" she called from the other room.
|
| |
He chuckled, calling back, dusting the last of the cookie crumbs into the sink, "Well, it's crunch time,
isn't it? Nice kitchen, but where's your replicator?"
|
| |
She stood leaning against the bedroom door, "I don't have one. If you've finished taking the 'tour', perhaps
you'd like to come to bed."
|
| |
"I'd like that." He took another look at the kitchen, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to go out to dinner."
|
| |
"Chakotay, I am literally turning into the ice maiden everyone thinks I am. Would you please come to bed.
We'll worry about dinner later. Tell you what, I'll surprise you." She turned and went back into the bedroom.
|
| |
He followed her. The bedroom was even cozier than the rest of the apartment. At least forty candles were
sitting on top of the only other piece of furniture in the room, a long bureau of wood with wrought iron
hinges and drawer pulls. She'd lit one candle. It filled the room with the soft scent of flowers.
He went over to the bureau with the idea of teasing her about all the candles. The cloth underneath the candles was
embroidered. He leaned closer to study the design. The cloth was filled with names...Bandera...Hogan...Carey..
Now he knew precisely how many candles sat there. He lowered his head, overcome for a moment. She waited.
|
| |
He finally spoke, "Every one of them is here, even Seska."
|
| |
"Yes, even Seska. They were ours, all of them. Between the two of us,
we've cared about each one." She paused for a moment. "I light a different one each day.
At first I lit them all, but I found I couldn't bear it. It's too overwhelming."
|
| |
"It is, isn't it. Even after all this time. I don't
think even Tuvok quite understands what it was to try to take care of our crew out there what it felt like
each time we lost one." He turned to her, "We belong together, Kathryn. So much weaves us together,
all of these people, all of trials we've been through together."
|
| |
She stood for awhile, still lost in memories, then straightened her shoulders and,
looking resolute said, "Yes, we do. It is time, Chakotay. Come to bed."
|
| |
He turned again to the candles, ran a finger the length of the cloth and turned
back to her and the bed, "Yes, it's finally time."
|
| |
He finally looked at the bed. A wrought iron hoop was
suspended from the ceiling above it, with silken drapes in shades of red, saffron and gold looped over the
hoop and tucked through matching rings mounted on the wall on either side of the bed. The bed itself was
heaped with silken pillows echoing the colors of the drapes. Sheets and duvet were in a tangled, colorful
heap at the bottom of the bed. She hadn't made the bed. She'd invited him to climb into her unmade bed.
That idea was so sensual that he rose to the occasion.
Embarrassed, he quickly sat on one side of the bed and pulled a sheet over his lap.
|
| |
She smiled in amusement, suddenly shy herself. She sat on the other side of the bed. "Nervous all of a
sudden?"
|
| |
He gave a little laugh, "Terrified. You?"
|
| |
She snuggled against the pillows, pulling the sheet up to cover her also, patting
the pillows next to her in invitation. "Uh huh, me too. Silly, isn't it, after all this time?"
|
| |
He slid over to lean against the pillows, straightening his side of the sheet, and
turned toward her, "That's just it. There has been so much time. It would be ironic if, after all this time,
it isn't any good between us."
|
| |
She shifted her body to turn toward him, "Oh, it won't be. It couldn't be. We've
have years of fantasies to try to measure up to. It's an impossibility. So, we'd best not worry about it.
Can't you feel it? It is time. I know it is. With luck, we'll have years more to fine tune our loving to
each other. For now, let's just love." She leaned toward him and ran her fingers through his hair,
cupping her hand behind his neck. "I've always wanted to do that."
|
| |
He mirrored her motion, pulling her head forward to rest against his, "Me too." He buried his nose in her
hair, breathing deeply and murmuring, "I've always loved fair hair."
|
| |
She stiffened slightly, "No surprise there."
|
| |
He pulled back a bit and tensed, waiting to see if they would be having another
discussion regarding their 'issues'. She gazed at him intently. He held her gaze, waiting, accepting. She
made up her mind, relaxed and pulled him in to give him a small kiss. He gave a shuddering sigh of relief and
folded her into a tight hug.
|
| |
"Kathryn, I do love you. I've always loved you. It's just..."
|
| |
"I know. I know. Let's not talk. If we talk, we'll get sidetracked again and I want to do this. Make love
with me Chakotay, please, please, please...just make love with me. If we don't make love now I have this
horrible feeling we'll never have another chance. Just love. All of that baggage will take care of itself
later. Now, let's just love." |
| |
He complied, planting small kisses on her throat, nibbling an ear lobe, tracing her jaw line with his tongue
and finally catching her lips with his, gently at first, then deeper, deeper. Coherent thought left. All the
rest was instinct.
|
| |
Slowly, they traced each others' bodies with tongue, and fingertip, learning, loving,
molding each to the other body. Whispering, murmuring, discovering. Languid, gentle, floating...timeless.
Flowing, slipping, spinning, weaving until they were one. The earth moved. Then a quiet holding, a bonding,
setting the pattern in place. Content.
|
| |
*******************
|
| |
She awoke smiling from a dream. The dream coalesced into a memory. He was still there, back to her, snoring
softly. She gently touched the velvet of his back with her fingertips, snuggling forward to fit her body
to his, then sliding her arm around to gently rest her hand against his chest. He wiggled back, tucking his
fanny more firmly against her belly, lacing his fingers through hers, raising her hand up to his lips for a
small, nibbling kiss before placing it back against his chest and drifting back to sleep. She gave a
contented sigh and drifted with him. Time gave an almost infinitesimal little twitch.
|
| |
*********
|
| |
Within a bubble of time, within the sleek, trim ship, two woman watched as the time tapestry
gave a tiny flicker.
|
| |
"There! Did you see it?" asked Queenie.
|
| |
The brunette leaned forward to study the tapestry twinkling in front of her. She traced her hand along one
strand. "Was that it? Here? These shifts can't last any longer than a kurtzochronin! How do you see them?"
|
| |
"Practice, my dear. Eons and eons of practice. Yes, that was it. That must be the tenth shift since we
tuned in. Looks as if 'Extrapolation 5 Beta 3' is confirmed to me." She straightened and turned to her
companion, "And now, newly promoted 'Spinner First Class Tesseract Ormond', it's finally time to rock
and roll." She settled herself into her cradle, eyes sparkling and voice strong, "Engage!"
|
| |
***************
"Chakotay."
|
| |
"Hmm?"
|
| |
"Did you feel something funny when we made love?"
|
| |
"Funny? You sure know how to flatter a guy," he chuckled. |
| |
She laughed back, "Not like that funny, but a kind of a shift of some kind, as if the earth moved."
|
| |
"Now that's more like it. I make the earth move for you, eh?"" He pulled her into an embrace and started
making muted triumphant male noises.
|
| |
She shook her head at his antics and settled into the embrace,
"Well, I never felt this before. I'm not sure I quite understand it. It's a strange phenomena. Ahh!"
|
| |
He had slid down her body to nuzzle at her breasts. "Phenomena?" he mumbled, his mouth otherwise occupied, "That
sounds very scientific. You're a scientist. You should have the opportunity to study this in more depth."
He drifted south.
|
| |
She caught her breath as his teeth gently nipped at her. "More study, good idea," she gasped. She studied.
|
| |
******************
|
| |
He held her in his arms until her shuddering eased and her breath stopped coming
in gasps. Her skin still glowed and her nipples were still taunt with the lovemaking.
|
| |
She looked up at him, "Did you feel it?"
|
| |
He answered with a certain amount of wonder, "Yes."
|
| |
"Have you ever felt anything like it?"
|
| |
"No."
|
| |
"What do you think?"
|
| |
He kissed her forehead and ran a hand down her body, tracing the curves of breast and
hip, gazing at her face, her hair, her body, lost in her. "I think we need to study this some more." He
chuckled at her look of surprise, "But I don't think I'm up to it just now. Just now, I think I'd like to
sleep on it."
|
| |
*************
|
| |
He awoke with the feel of her tongue tracing the inner curves of his ear. It was a wonderful way to awaken.
It got more wonderful.
|
| |
She flicked her half smile at him, the one that had always made him want to grab her
throw her over the nearest horizontal surface and make love to her until she screamed.
It occurred to him that he could do that now.
He did.
|
| |
*************************
They lay nestled together in the bathtub, languidly dribbling water over each other, soaking away the last traces
of their lovemaking.
|
| |
"I tell you, there is something more to it than just expertise. You are very good,
thankfully. I don't think we'll have to worry about living up to our fantasies after all. But it's more
than that. It's kind of like the opposite of a headache." She looked up at him, "Does that make any sense?
What do you think."
|
| |
He grinned, "I think this is going to need more studying." He grabbed her hand as it
drifted down his abdomen and lifted it to his lips to kiss her palm, "But I'm afraid I'm not capable of any
more studies in the near future."
|
| |
She chuckled, "I should think not. I've been very impressed with the amount of studying
you have been capable of."
|
| |
He laughed back, "Don't get used to it. It's not the norm."
|
| |
She became very still in his arms. "The future...," she whispered.
|
| |
"Hmmm?"
|
| |
"Chakotay, has it occurred to you that an enormous amount of coincidences have
brought us together again?" |
| |
"Do you think there is a set of coincidences that might bring me a bit closer to
that food you said you'd surprise me with?" |
| |
******************************
They sat in companionable silence at the table, sipping wine and finishing the last of their dinner. Chakotay
leaned back in his chair and sighed in contentment. "Why, after all this time, did you finally decide you
could cook?"
|
| |
"I wanted a challenge and it was getting embarrassing. I could do Qualliasian
Inverted Equations in my head but couldn't prepare an omelet that wasn't toxic? It was silly. Besides, as you
noticed, there is no replicator. I got hungry. Actually, I bake much better than I cook. I love baking.
What do you want for desert, cookies or banana bread?"
|
| |
"I've had dessert already, thank you," he grinned at her lasciviously, "Perhaps
another helping a bit later."
|
| |
********************
Chakotay put the spanner back on the cabinet, "So those two clowns downstairs and your aide de camp got this
thing working?"
|
| |
"Don't let their act fool you. Those are two savvy gentlemen. There isn't a thing
they can't fix and they are fantastic in a bar fight."
|
| |
Chakotay looked at her in surprise, waiting for her to explain the last part of that comment. She didn't but
continued to look through a pile of music and deflected his interest with a question of her own, "I'm glad you
are doing them again, but what does a
stasis field have to do with your sand paintings?"
|
| |
He was deflected. "Kathryn, it's the weirdest thing! There is something going on, but
I haven't quite figured out what it is. When I do the sand paintings, many times I enter into a dream state and
the paintings seem to form a pattern on their own. It works for me somewhat like the state induced by the Akoonah.
Anyway, the same pattern, or close variations kept forming, but they were so complex I couldn't seem to
unravel their meaning. It occurred to me that if I put the variations in a rotating stasis field then I could
manipulate the progression of the work without loosing any definition. But when I did, I was getting temporal
permutations that I never projected in the sequence. I've got the formulas back at the Center. I'll show you
when we get there. Maybe you can make something of them. There is something I'm missing, I know it."
|
| |
Kathryn inserted the disc and fiddled with a few controls on the side of the cabinet,
"How odd. I'd love to take a look at the formulas. You did keep the full progression of your notes?"
|
| |
"Of course. I haven't forgotten those endless hours of math lessons onboard the Voyager.
He smiled ruefully, "Who would have thought you could take a math phobic and teach him quantitative
transformational warp spectography? So just what kind of dance lessons did you take anyway? Ballet?"
|
| |
"Oh no. Ballet is too much like real work. I told you I took the last year off to do things just for fun.
When it became apparent that I do have limitations...and singing is one of them...I switched to dance..this
kind of dance."
|
| |
Kathryn activated the music she had chosen and the insistent thrumming of a tabla
pulsed throughout the room. The whining of shanai joined the drums. Kathryn grabbed a beaded scarf from off a
chair and began to dance, her hips punctuating each drum beat, swirling and swaying, her woman's body matching
the music, free and strong. The scarf she'd tied around her hips caught the light and threw a mesmerizing
pattern upon the walls. Chakotay was mesmerized.
|
| |
**************************
|
| |
She settled herself more firmly atop him, arching her back and wriggling a bit, saying,
"Now pay attention this time! There is a little glitch, a jump or shift or something."
|
| |
He growled softly at her wriggling, "Attention is getting harder and harder to achieve, Honey, but I'll do my
best." He did his best.
|
| |
******************
|
| |
He sat on the couch, his legs on either side of the woman sitting on the floor in
front of him. Kathryn leaned back, enjoying the feeling of the brush through her hair. He stopped brushing.
"You know, there was something there. Now what do we do?" He resumed brushing.
|
| |
"Study some more?"
|
| |
****************************
|
| |
Chakotay got up from the bed and stretching, glanced over at the candles. He walked
over for a closer look. "Kathryn."
|
| |
She tightened the sash of her robe and turned to answer him, "What?"
|
| |
"Which candle did you light today?"
|
| |
"Bandera's. Why?"
|
| |
"Carey's is lit."
|
| |
"What?"
|
| |
"It is. Come look for yourself."
|
| |
They stood side by side, staring at the candle.
|
| |
"Kathryn, all those coincidences...you don't
suppose.....?"
|
| |
They looked at each other in astonishment.
|
| |
"Nah, couldn't be....could it?"
|
| |
They looked back at the candle. Carey. Definitely Carey.
|
| |
She whispered, "You think? Could the time line really have shifted?"
|
| |
"Maybe...but how?"
|
| |
****************************
|
| |
The couple cuddled on the sofa, she in a soft, silken robe and he in his shirt and underwear, both swaddled
in the quilt that Raoul had made for Kathryn, and discussed coincidences, candles and rotating stasis fields.
|
| |
"Well, that's it then, Chakotay. We need to set up a series of experiments and study the results before
we can conclude anything, but whatever this is...it's so... right. Can you feel it? It's like the whole
world has suddenly come into focus. It feels wonderful."
|
| |
He groaned, "I hope you don't plan on studying anything in the near future. The
spirit is willing but the body will be incapable of giving this the proper attention for some time yet to come.
I hope you have a back up plan."
|
| |
She looked at him smugly, "I always have a back up plan."
|
| |
"And it would be?"
|
| |
She activated the music again, "We can dance"
|
| |
They danced. They whirled to the music, her piercing, haunting ululation's and his wild
hiyees were punctuated by their laughter, filling the apartment and echoing down through the workshop below.
Her smile was radiant and his matched hers. She grabbed a pitcher from off the counter and held it high above
her head as she spun, the rays of the sun catching in the glass and spinning off in dancing flickers upon the
walls.
|
| |
"What are you doing with that?" he asked.
|
| |
"I'm catching the overflow."
|
| |
"Here, let me help."
|
| |
He picked her up in his arms, holding her higher in the light as around and around
they whirled in abandoned joy, spinning an unconscious pattern, weaving themselves more firmly together
in the golden light of the setting sun.
|
| |
.........The Beginning....again
|
| |
|
