SUMMARY: Why is Janeway having trouble deciding what to wear?

CODES: VOY, J/C, P/T

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: The characters are Paramount's, I only own the story.

NOTES: none

"Prêt-à-Porter"
by Liz VanZandt

"Come in," Kathryn Janeway called as her doorchime rang.

"Captain?" From the other room came the voice of her security officer.

"I'm in here, Tuvok," she replied.

A moment later, Tuvok appeared in the doorway and surveyed the room. The Captain was standing on the other side of the room amid scattered shirts, pants, and dresses littering every surface in the room. He frowned at her apparent distraction. "Is something wrong, Captain?" he asked.

Janeway, who was currently bent over next to the bed straightened up, blowing a stray hair from her face. "Wrong?" she echoed. "No. What makes you say that?"

"You are nervous and extremely agitated, and the contents of your wardrobe are spread out all over the room. This is highly unlike you, Captain," Tuvok explained. "I was simply inquiring as to the reason for your unusual behavior."

"Oh," she said, looking around her bedroom at the mess. "I suppose you're right. I'm just a bit preoccupied at the moment." She picked up a dark blue, knee length dress off the bed and held it up in front of her. "Let me get your opinion while you're here, Tuvok. Which do you like better, this one," she looked around the room before picking up a floor length wine colored dress, "or this one?"

"Captain?" He looked at her with a questioning frown.

"You're right, neither one," she continued on, barely noticing his confusion. "The problem is I don't know where we're going, so I don't know what's appropriate."

"Going, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"Oh, Tuvok, I'm sorry. I forgot you don't know what I'm babbling about here." She paused and nervously began wringing her hands. "I have a date tonight," she finally said. "And I can't decide what to wear."

"Indeed," he observed. "That much I was able to discern."

"You knew I had a date?"

"It was the logical conclusion given the facts," he replied. "Am I correct in assuming that your date is with Commander Chakotay?"

She sighed and pushed some clothes out of the way, clearing a place to sit down on the bed. "And if it is?" she said carefully, studying her friend's reaction. "Would that bother you?"

Tuvok carefully made his way across the room and seated himself next to her on the bed. "Captain, what you do with your personal life is no concern of mine. But should any relationship of yours begin to affect your duties as Captain of this ship, then it becomes my concern. However, you have proven in the past that you can keep the two separate, and I have no doubts that you will be able to now."

"Thank you," Janeway replied with a sincere smile. She patted her friend on the knee as she rose.

"It is curious, though," Tuvok began.

"What is?" Janeway prompted, looking through the clothes piled on her bed.

"Though you would never allow a personal relationship to interfere with duty, you are so preoccupied that you have yet to inquire as to my presence here."

Janeway's head snapped up and her brow creased in thought. "That's an excellent point, Tuvok. Why are you here?"

"There was a minor altercation in Mr. Paris' Sandrine's program this afternoon. The two crewmen have been dealt with, however I deemed it serious enough to inform you at once."

"Exactly how serious was it, Tuvok?" she asked.

"Neither crewman was injured beyond a few bruises and a bloody nose. I confined both offenders to their quarters and restricted their holodeck privileges for the rest of the week. My report is on your desk at the moment."

"Thank you," she said, waving her hand in response as she once again surveyed the clothes laying around the room. "I'll defer to your decisions in the matter."

Tuvok stood and again looked at the clothes piled around him. "May I suggest, Captain, that you ask one of the female crewmembers for advice on your clothes for this evening. They will be able to give you much more assistance in choosing an appropriate outfit."

Janeway looked up at him, her finger wagging in agreement. "You know, Tuvok, that's a good idea. Thank you."

"You are welcome, Captain. And now if you will excuse me, I must go relieve Commander Chakotay so he may join you."

She groaned. "Oh, don't tell me it's that late already." Her head fell down to her chest in dejection. "I'm never going to be ready on time."

"Would you like me to inform the Commander that your date is postponed until you can find a suitable outfit?" Tuvok suggested.

Janeway's head snapped up. "No," she said sharply, and then her voice softened. "No, I just need to calm down and think straight. And then find some clothes."

-/\- -/\- -/\-

B'Elanna could hardly conceal her surprise at seeing the Captain standing at her door. She racked her brains for a reason Janeway would be visiting her, but she hadn't done anything wrong in months. And the casual tunic and pants Janeway had on confused B'Elanna even more.

"Captain," she greeted the older woman. "Come in."

"B'Elanna, I need your help," Janeway began as she stepped into B'Elanna's quarters.

"Help?" B'Elanna echoed. "With what?"

Janeway stood in the middle of the room, refusing to make eye contact with B'Elanna. "I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong," B'Elanna said.

Finally Janeway looked up and a bit of the Captain peeked through in her voice. "Not a word of this leaves the room," she said. "Especially to Tom. I don't want it around the ship just yet."

B'Elanna nodded vigorously, leading her over to a chair and then seating herself in another. "I can keep a secret, Captain. Don't worry about that. Now please, what's wrong?"

Sighing, Janeway brought her hand up and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I have a date tonight," she began.

B'Elanna gaped. "Did you just say you have a date tonight, Captain?" At Janeway's nod, her mind began racing. Tom would kill her for keeping something like this a secret, but she'd promised. She had a good idea who the date was with, but she needed to be sure. "If you don't mind me asking, with whom, Captain?"

Janeway muttered a name so low that B'Elanna could barely tell she'd said anything. "Who?" she coaxed.

Janeway looked up at B'Elanna and the engineer could see the fear in her eyes. She swallowed hard and the Captain began to surface again. "I have a date with Chakotay tonight," she said quietly.

B'Elanna knew she had to bolster the captain's courage. She was amazed that someone who could stare down aliens in the middle of a battle could be so scared by something as simple as one date. But it's not just a date, she reminded herself. It's a date with a man she's been dancing around for nearly five years, and very possibly the beginning of the rest of her life.

"Captain, that's great," B'Elanna said sincerely. "You do know how long we've been waiting for this to happen?"

"I know how long the rumors have been circulating, if that's what you mean."

"Well then what's the problem?" B'Elanna asked. "If you're worried about Chakotay, let me just tell you he's the sweetest guy I've ever met. He'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose."

"I know that, B'Elanna," Janeway smiled for the first time since entering the room. "That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

"I don't know what to wear," she confessed.

B'Elanna's face became a cross between amazement, amusement, and a frown. "Let me get this straight," she said. "You have a date with Chakotay tonight, and you don't know what to wear."

Janeway shrugged. "In short, yes."

B'Elanna sat back in her chair and began twirling a lock of hair in her fingers. "I have just two questions for you. First of all, you do realize that you're an attractive woman."

"Well ..."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "And secondly, you do know that Chakotay doesn't care what you wear. You could show up in a brown paper sack and he'd think you'd never looked better."

"B'Elanna, I do realize that," Janeway said. "It's just that I don't want to give him the wrong impression. I mean, if I show up wearing something short and sexy, he starts thinking I want him to spend the night."

"Do you?" B'Elanna asked.

"Do I what? Want him to spend the night?" At the answering nod, Janeway sighed. "That's the problem, I don't know. I do, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea this early in a relationship."

B'Elanna's eyebrow rose at the word 'early.' "Basically, you miss sex but you don't want to kill the relationship before it can start." She smiled. "Personally, I think the long term is more important to both of you. And," she shrugged, "the sex will undoubtedly come in time."

Janeway nodded thoughtfully. "You're right -- conservative is much better."

"I didn't say that," B'Elanna objected with a sigh. "Listen, Captain, I'm really not good at fashion. You really should ask someone else for their opinion."

"Like who, B'Elanna?" Janeway asked. "The Doctor, our self-proclaimed fashion consultant? You'll have to excuse me if I don't want to look like Seven tonight."

B'Elanna laughed and hung her head. "Good point. I guess you're stuck with me." She stood and motioned for the door. "All right, let's get this over with. I'm supposed to have dinner with Tom tonight as well."

-/\- -/\- -/\-

Chakotay surveyed his appearance in the mirror one last time. No stray hairs, nothing between the teeth, no lint on the clothes ... Reminding himself to stay calm, he picked up the single peace rose off the table and left his quarters, walking the short distance down the hall to Kathryn's quarters.

Ringing the chime, he was surprised to see B'Elanna standing there when the door opened. He frowned and peered inside. "Where's Kathryn?"

"She's finishing getting dressed," she replied, stepping aside to let him in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a frown. "I thought Kathryn wanted to keep this quiet."

"She does," B'Elanna replied. "But she was having a slight crisis and asked me for some advice. And I could hardly pass up the opportunity to see your face."

"My face?"

"You'll understand," she said mysteriously. "I'll go see if the Captain's ready yet."

Chakotay frowned at her back, trying to figure out what kind of crisis would have necessitated B'Elanna's help. He had gone through half a dozen wild possibilities before he heard the door open behind him. Turning he saw Kathryn enter the room and his jaw dropped to the floor.

Behind them, B'Elanna leaned against the doorjamb, smiling widely. Yes, this was definitely worth canceling dinner with Tom for ...

The End

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