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The Bet
“Which one?”

B’Elanna turned to her see two shirts that her husband held out in horror.  “Tom, it’s a formal event, not a holodeck luau.”

Tom circled around the bed so he stood behind his wife and whispered in her ear, “But you looked amazing that night.”

B’Elanna enjoyed the nuzzle from her husband and laughed back, “And you looked like a dork.  But it doesn’t matter because we have to dress formally.  We’re sitting at the head table.”

“I’ll have you know that I was dressed entirely appropriately.  I did research.  If we were actually –“

“Tom,” his wife cut him off and gave a face that let him know she had no intention of being late.  “Everyone else will be in uniform, can’t you put on your formal wear without complaining?”  Since Voyager landed, Tom has taught at Starfleet Academy.  With some help from the captain, B’Elanna and the rest of the former Maquis retained their ranks from Voyager, contingent on their getting credits to graduate from the Academy.  Most did this by taking a series of tests.  This arrangement allowed B’Elanna to work as an Engineer at Utopia Plantia. 

“Alright, alright.  But what about wearing this?”  Tom held up a Talaxian style garment with the Federation insignia all over it.  “Think of it as a tribute to Neelix.”

“Does that mean you want to sit by Tuvok?”

“Okay, okay.”  Tom finally got out his formal Starfleet Academy uniform and began getting dressed. 

“So do you think everyone will be there?”B’Elanna called from the bathroom.

“The Captain said that Tuvok found the idea of celebrating a one year anniversary illogical.  And Seven thought it was inefficient.”

“But let me guess, she strong-armed them, maybe even pulled rank and got them to agree to come.”

“You’re so smart,” Tom said as he walked past her and gave her a peck on the cheek.  “She also made sure the senior staff knew that they are expected tomorrow at Miral’s birthday party.”  Tom started going through his closet again and pulled out another shirt.
 

“No, you may not wear that at your daughter’s party, unless you intend to put on face makeup to complete the clown outfit.”  He was about to pout, but B’Elanna cut him off, “So is there a pool yet about who’s going to come together and more importantly whose leaving together?”

“No one would take me up on the bet.   The captain and commander have always gone to these things together, and then they leave together, and go their separate ways.”

“Well, that was when they had protocols and before Seven entered the picture.  I don’t think this weekend will end up the same as it always has.  Chakotay says he hasn’t seen the captain since the trial.  He also hasn’t seen Seven since the breakup.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he left with one of them.”

“The smart money is on the captain.”

“Is that a bet I hear?”  B’Elanna gave a playful look to her husband who wasn’t sure what to make of his wife.  “You know what would make this interesting?”  Tom looked at her expectantly.  “Who do you think Seven will go home with?  I can think of three men in the running.”

“Who are those?  Chakotay, Doc, and who else?  Harry?”  B’Elanna shook her head yes.  “You think Harry and Seven?  Didn’t that crush end a long time ago?”

“Well, Libby got married years ago and he hasn’t stopped working since being back, so he’s available.  And Seven is, well, Seven.  They were close friends.  I think they even still keep in touch.”

“So your betting on Harry and Seven?  What about Chakotay?”

“Like you said, the smart money is on Janeway.  Who do you like?”

“Well, since you got the good picks, lets make things interesting.  Seven and Chakotay and uh, Janeway and the Doctor.  We are betting about who will leave together after tonight’s party.  Loser has a week of diaper duty.”  Tom held out his hand, which B’Elanna grabbed and shook. 

“You’re on.”

***
 

“Come on man.  She’s one of your closest friends.  You shouldn’t be nervous to see her.  It’s illogical to feel this way.  Great, now I’m starting to sound like Tuvok.”  Chakotay sat in the transport with flowers in one hand trying to get over this nervousness he felt.  He couldn’t believe it had been almost 8 months since he saw Kathryn.  Seven decided to end their “romantic affiliation” soon after reaching Earth.  He never did quite understand the reason, but he never did quite understand much about Seven.  Kathryn apparently heard about their, whatever it was, and pulled away from him.  Around the time of the Maquis trial, they had to work closely together and he thought he sensed a spark, but then one day she said that she got a transfer across the continent from him and left without letting him know how to reach her.  She called him a couple weeks ago and asked if he was taking anyone to this anniversary celebration and suggested that they may want to attend together since they were the command team.  So now, here he was, picking her up in her temporary quarters, quoting a Vulcan, and nervous as a green ensign meeting a new captain.  “I sure hope she’s this nervous too.”

The driver of the transport heard him mumble and laughed before announcing that they made it to the destination.  As Chakotay got out of the transport, the driver said, “good luck.” 

Chakotay found her temporary quarters easily enough.  He pressed the button to let her know he arrived and within a couple seconds he heard her say, “Just a moment.”  He stood waiting for less than a minute, but when the door opened he knew it was worth the wait.  She looked better than he had remembered.  Her hair was cut so it laid just over her shoulders.  She looked like an auburn angel in a Starfleet uniform. 

“Come in.  Make yourself comfortable.  I’ll be ready in just a minute.”

Chakotay laughed.  She was the same Kathryn who stayed so focused on the destination that she couldn’t stop to see the roses, let alone smell them.  Of course, he also remembered a time when she did stop to smell the roses and she showed him a part of herself that most never got to see.  The woman inside the captain. 

He didn’t have much of a chance to think about this.  She came back out as quickly as she left.  When he heard her, he straightened up again and extended the flowers to her.  She smiled at him and said, less hurried, “Chakotay, they’re beautiful.”  Chakotay smiled as she went to find a vase to put them in.  When she walked back to him, Chakotay extended his arm and asked if she was ready to go.  She put her arm around his and said yes. 

***

Seven, Tuvok and T’Pel sat alone at the head table.  The invitation said that the celebration would begin at 1800 hours and it was now 1806 and none of the rest of the senior staff had arrived.  Seven was annoyed at this inefficient use of time, while the two Vulcans debated the logic of such a celebration at all.  T’Pel saw Harry come in.  She suggested that her husband introduce them.  Tuvok reminded his wife that he did introduce them after the senior staff was relieved of duty.  T’Pel reminded him that unlike Vulcans, humans don’t remember each person they have met.  Seven couldn’t stand anymore of this dry argument, so she offered to introduce T’Pel to Harry.  Tuvok said that since he is T’Pel’s husband, it would only be logical for him to make the introduction, if an introduction is necessary.   However, if Seven would like to join them, the Lieutenant would likely want to see her more than either of the two Vulcans.  Seven agreed. 
 

Harry saw the trio coming towards him and excused himself fromVorkis and Jenny Delaney, who were now dating.  He extended he hand to Tuvok and received a standard greeting.  Tuvok then introduced his wife.  “Right, we met after the Senior Staff Reception about a year ago, didn’t we?”  Tuvok faced his wife and raised an eyebrow.  T’Pel said yes, they had met.  Harry saw Seven and immediately ignored the Vulcans.  “I never thought I would see the day.  Seven of Nine is wearing a Starfleet uniform and even has a pip.”  Harry smiled warmly at her.  Seven smiled back.

“And I didn’t think I would see the day you would add any pips to your collar.”  Harry laughed and Naomi and Samantha Wildmen came up to them and started talking. 

Tom and B’Elanna came in next.  B’Elanna saw Harry and Seven before Tom did and said, “hmmmm, looks like you are going to have to get used to some diaper duty.”

Tom looked over, “the party hasn’t even begun.  Just wait.”  B’Elanna laughed and they joined their friends. 

“Hey Harry,” said Tom.  “Oh look at this Ensign Eager has apparently been promoted again.  Lieutenant Commander.”  Tom looked at his friend with pride and B’Elanna gave Harry a hug.  The former Ensign beamed at the comments from his friends. 

The Doctor came telling Reg Barclay about the breakthrough he just made.  He finally did research on the mating rituals of several species and figured out a way to control the Vulcan Pon Farr.  Reg reminded him that in order to test it out, he would have to find a Vulcan willing to admit to facing the “chemical imbalance”.  Doc was too excited about his breakthrough to care about little details like that.  Reg started looking around and noticed the only people missing were the Captain and Commander.  B’Elanna heard this and snickered at Tom.  “Do you suppose they are coming together?  That would mean that they will likely leave together.”

“The party hasn’t started.”

Doc found the married couple and approached them asking, “How is my little goddaughter?”

“Perfect as ever, Doc.  How are you?”

Reg heard this question and immediately tried to find someone else to talk to.  Doc decided to answer the question giving every detail of his research method and findings.  At one point, Tom saw Reg talking with Tuvok.  Well, he wasn’t sure if talking was the right verb.  It was more like Tuvok was staring at him and Reg was staring back trying to think of something to say. 
 

Reg was relieved when he saw the doors open the final time and in walked Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay.  Upon seeing the captain, the assembled crowd began applauding.  With Chakotay by her side, she shook hands and greeted as many people as she could while walking up to the head table.  The rest of the senior staff, admirals, and Reg followed. 

The Starfleet Admirals, and master of ceremonies Reg Barclay, sat on one side of the podium, on the other sat, Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, T’Pel, Paris, Torres, Kim, Seven, and The Doctor.  Reg began the event by welcoming everyone and introducing the admirals in attendance.  “So that those of us ahhhh, um, who didn’t spend ahhhh, 7 years on a star ship can truly un-un-un-understand what these brave people had to ummm endure, we asked Crewman Chell of Voyager to prepare a typical D-D-D-Delta Quadrant meal.”

Tom turned to his wife and said, “I thought we would never have to eat leola root again.”

“Wishful thinking, flyboy.” 

“How how however for our guests of honor, Chell has prepared something he calls Glad to be Back Goulash and Stay Home Souffles.”  At this announcement, the crew began to applaud. 

After dinner and the program that Starfleet arranged, the attendees had a dance.  This was the highlight of the evening.  Reg asked the Command team to take the dance floor first.  Kathryn and Chakotay obliged and when they took the dance floor, they heard a beautiful Vulcan ballad written by Tuvok and T’Pel’s son.  Chakotay resisted the urge to hold Kathryn as close as he wanted to, instead he kept a professional distance from her as they danced in a ballroom pose.  Before long, Tuvok and T’Pel joined them followed by Tom and B’Elanna.  The Doctor and Harry both teased Seven about her reluctance to get onto the dance floor.  The Doctor ended up dragging her to dance with him, just in time for an upbeat Bolian number, but Harry made her promise to save a dance for him.  Seeing the drama unfolding at the head table, Tom said to his wife, “I think making it home has really had a good effect on Harry.  He’s more confident now than I have ever seen him.”  Just then he saw Harry go up to Naomi Wildman and invite her to dance.  She looked like someone had just made her queen.  Beside himself, Tom asked,  “When exactly did Harry become a stud?”  B’Elanna hit her husband. 

Chakotay managed to keep Kathryn dancing with him for three songs, but she finally insisted on taking a break.  Chakotay knew that she really wanted to get away from the crowd.  She was an introvert.  As much as she liked people, they taxed on her nerves.  He suggested that they go outside for a few minutes and just talk “Like we used to”.  She agreed. 

B’Elanna saw them walk out the back door and said to Tom, “If they don’t come back, I won.”

“We bet on two couples and they will be back.  That reminds me of something.  Excuse me.”  With that Tom walked off. 

Out on the patio, Kathryn and Chakotay sat down on some marble furniture across from each other.  Chakotay broke the silence, “Have I told you yet how great you look tonight?” 

Kathryn smiled and blushed just a little before saying, “You don’t look so bad yourself.  I haven’t had much of a chance to keep up with anyone from the crew.  What have you been up to?” 

“I don’t know how much I can say because it is top secret, but I am with the counterintelligence department in Starfleet.  With my Maquis background, they thought I could find potential weaknesses in their defense and help to combat them.”

“My first officer, the spy.”

Chakotay looked at her, slid his chair closer to her and whispered, “I am no longer your first officer.”  Never breaking eye contact, he put his hand over hers and was relieved when she didn’t move hers away. 

“No, I guess you’re not.”  She wasn’t sure what else to say.  She thought that in the 8 months since she accepted her new assignment she had gotten over him.  He was supposed to marry Seven, that’s what her future self said.  But here he sat, with her, single, available, and apparently interested in her.  Despite what her head told her, feeling the warmth of his hand on hers was comforting.  It just felt right.

Chakotay looked at her with a different kind of seriousness.  Finally he said, “I just have to know.  Why did you leave like that?”

Kathryn moved her hand back to her lap and said, “Chakotay, not here, not now.  Its such a lovely evening.  Can we talk about this some other time?”

“How about tomorrow, before Miral’s party?”

“Meet me at my quarters at 1030?”

Chakotay nodded in agreement.  Kathryn got up and went back inside.  Chakotay stayed on the patio.  Tom saw the captain returning, so he turned to the Doctor and said, “There she is.  You know what to do, right?”  Doc rolled his eyes and said, “yes Mr.  Paris.”  The Doctor went up to the captain and started talking to her, while Tom sat with Chakotay.  B’Elanna who had been talking to Harry and the Delaney sisters, saw all this motion and immediately excused herself so that she could talk to Seven, who was now talking to Naomi and Icheb.  When she joined them, Icheb told the women, “the song playing was an ancient Earth tune known as “the Chicken Dance.” It was used quite a bit at parties and dances.”  B’Elanna remembered how much information like that she learned at the academy.  She suggested that Icheb demonstrate for the crowd how to do this dance of chickens and take Naomi with him. 
 

Tom sat down by Chakotay.  “Something about seeing all these people really makes you miss being on the good ship, doesn’t it?” 

Chakotay nodded his head.  Tom could sense the disappointment Chakotay felt.  Tom knew that he came here to make sure that Chakotay left with Seven so that he would win his bet, but somehow that didn’t seem important now.  “You want to talk about it?  We’re not in the command structure and since you are so close with my wife, we are practically brothers-in-law.  And I even know a little about you and Seven.”

Chakotay looked at the man sitting next to him and shook his head.  He and Kathryn talked after the breakup about the fact that her future self said he would marry Seven.  He couldn’t believe it then and he still had a hard time believing it.  “I didn’t love her Tom.  It started out innocently.  She wanted to learn more about her humanity.  I helped her.  I tried to say all the good boyfriend things.  That’s all I wanted to do, say the good boyfriend things.  We had some fun, I guess.  I wasn’t thinking about marriage.  We hadn’t dated a week before we made it back to Earth and then we were caught up in debriefings, and trials, and celebrations, and everything else.  If I think about it, maybe I can see why staying in the Delta Quadrant would have brought us closer.  But that isn’t the time line we have anymore.”

Tom, no longer thinking about his bet, but instead about his friend, turned to Chakotay and said, “The captain is in there talking to the Doctor.  Don’t leave here tonight without her.”  He then stood up and patted Chakotay on the shoulder and walked back in. 

By this time, almost everyone was enjoying the Chicken Dance.  B’Elanna arranged it so that Harry would teach Seven.  B’Elanna thought she actually saw the Borg woman smile.  Tuvok and T’Pel however stood in a corner discussing the illogic of the motions.  Tom went in and saw his wife staring at Harry and Seven.  He rolled his eyes and said, “I have to hand it to you.  You called this evening right.  I think I will end up with a week of diaper duty.  But if it gets our friends to be happy, it will be worth every second of it.”

“Mighty philosophical of you Tom, but playing the humble card will not get you a break.   And the bragging rights will be awful.”  The couple smiled at each other and joined the rest of the group.  The song had changed to something called “The Locomotion”.  As the ancient Earth afficionado, Tom led the train.  Doc, Kathryn, Chakotay and the Vulcans were not the only ones that didn’t join, but there weren’t many others.  Chakotay tapped Kathryn on the shoulder and asked to speak to her alone.  Kathryn excused herself and told Doc they would dance the next dance.  He had uploaded some more dancing subroutines and wanted to show them off.  Just as Chakotay and Kathryn began to move to a quiet part of the room, Harry invited Doc to join the end of the line. 
 

With a look of determination, Chakotay said to Kathryn, “I don’t care if this is inappropriate or that there are other things that we need to work out.  Kathryn, I love you, and I always have.”  With that he held her face with his hands and kissed her passionately.  Just then Tom led the train in front of them and abruptly stopped.  Once Tom recovered from his shock, he moved the train into the center of the floor hoping that not too many others saw that private moment.  Thankfully, the song ended. 

Chakotay and Janeway didn’t know that they had been caught.  They were aware that the song ended and that the DJ said, “This next song is lady’s choice.”  The change in music made Chakotay break the kiss.  Chakotay knew that she had responded to his kiss, now he wanted to move bak onto the dance floor.  She began to reach for his hand, when she saw the Doctor, who was unaware of what just happened, walking towards them.  Doc reached out his hand to Janeway and said, “Just wait til you see this new subroutine.” 

Janeway looked at the EMH and said, “oh, right, of course.”  They began dancing to a beautiful Bajoran piece.  Chakotay slipped out the front door and went back to his quarters.  B’Elanna, who was dancing with Tom, saw this and said, “You may still have a shot.”  Her playfulness gone.  Part 2