SUMMARY: What if ...
CODES: VOY, J/C, P/T
RATING: PG13
DISCLAIMER: Characters, as always, belong to Paramount, but the story's mine.
NOTES: This one jumps around a bit, both in point of view and time. Starts out immediately after "Caretaker." I was talking to my parents this weekend and discovered many interesting things about them I never knew. Then, as I was trying to think of a plot device for another story, it struck me how interesting it would be to take that and twist it to fit these two...
"The Promise of a Coming Day"
by Liz VanZandt
January 17, 2371, Stardate 48317.6
Chakotay bent down and picked up some of the rubble that was laying in the middle of the floor. Pulling aside a piece of bulkhead, he discovered a picture frame with cracked glass laying there. The smiling visage of the late Commander Cavit and what Chakotay could only assume was his wife and two sons. Sighing heavily, Chakotay picked up the picture, being careful not to cut himself on the shards of broken glass, and tossed it in the recycler, listening to the sick sound that the device made as it did its job. But Chakotay was used to barely working machinery and barely paid it any heed.
From somewhere behind him came the sound of what, under better circumstances, used to be a door chime. Or at least that's what Chakotay assumed it was. He only spared a brief moment of contemplation as to who could possibly be visiting him this late at night, let alone at all, before barking out, "It's open."
He didn't bother turning around at the sound of the door opening and someone stepping hesitantly inside, but rather bent back down to sift through another pile of debris.
Kathryn Janeway stood quietly just inside the doorway, her eyes taking in the destruction throughout the room. It was the same all over the ship, and it broke her heart to see such destruction on her brand new ship. "I'm sorry I can't offer you cleaner quarters," she began when it became clear he wasn't going to turn around.
She saw his back stiffen briefly at her voice before standing and turning to face her, at the same time swiping futilely at the dirt on his pants. He was still in his dirty old Maquis clothes and smelled faintly of burnt wires and leather. "I'm sorry, Captain," he responded, almost as if by instinct. If nothing else, his days with Starfleet had taught him a deep respect for those in positions of authority. "I didn't realize it was you." He looked around quickly, eyes lighting on the overturned sofa and he immediately headed toward it. "I would offer you something to drink, but the last I heard the replicators are still offline."
"That's all right," she chuckled, stepping over some rubble to help him right the sofa. "Actually ... this is going to sound a bit strange but, well ..." She reached up with one hand, rubbing the back of her neck nervously before she seemed to find the courage to admit her problem. "I actually came by to see if you might have something that could act as a screwdriver. The sonic shower in my quarters is malfunctioning, and I think I know what's wrong, but I need a good old-fashioned screwdriver to fix it."
Chakotay slowly smiled, finding the innocent, yet bedraggled, expression on her face completely endearing. "I'm sure I can find something around here," he said, using the toe of his boot to turn aside yet another piece of bulkhead that had worked its way loose during the earlier battle.
* * *
Less than an hour later, Chakotay gave the knife one last turn, tightening the screw. "There you go," he said, straightening up. "That should hold for a few days at least, and by then I'm sure you'll be able to get someone from Engineering up here to fix it for good."
"I really appreciate your help, Chakotay," Kathryn replied, leading him back out into the main room. "Both tonight and this afternoon on the bridge."
He shrugged, seating himself next to her on the sofa. Her quarters had fared much better than the ones he'd been assigned just across the hall, but he figured the ship was designed that way. "I was simply reacting to the situation. And B'Elanna has a tendency to get emotional sometimes, it's just something you learn to live with."
"I imagine that's just one of the things I'll get to know about you and your people over the coming months," Kathryn smiled wanly, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. She reached up and ran a weary hand over her face. "I was going to save this discussion for tomorrow, but I might as well get it over with now. Uniting these two crews will not be easy, but I think you and I both understand the necessity of doing so. There will certainly be resistance on both sides, but I think that working together, you and I can make this alliance work."
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Chakotay, I want this to be a Starfleet crew, working under Starfleet rules and regulations. I know your people will have some problems adjusting to this at first, but I have confidence that they will be able to adapt before long."
"They aren't going to like this," Chakotay observed, careful to keep his tone neutral and his eyes guarded, letting little show.
Kathryn was impressed by how well he was able to keep his emotions hidden at her bold statement. "I'm aware of that, and to facilitate the transition, and because I feel you are best suited to the job, I'd like you to be my first officer."
Pursing his lips in thought, Chakotay stood and walked over to the large window. He stood there motionless for several long minutes, thinking over the offer. Kathryn could tell he was trying very hard to keep his warring emotions from showing on his face, and she again marveled at his ability to keep them hidden from view.
Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, Kathryn continued on. "Please don't think I'm doing this just because I want your crew to fall in line behind you. I've studied your record carefully -- not only are you a graduate of the Academy, but you have command experience as well. Normally I would be expected to promote Tuvok over you, however I think his talents are better served as head of security right now."
"So he can continue to spy on my people?" Chakotay's words bit painfully.
She took a deep breath before replying. "This crew is no longer 'your people' and 'my people,' Chakotay. And no matter how you slice it, the Maquis are an unknown quantity. I am willing to trust them and give them a place aboard Voyager outside of the brig, but they must prove to me that they deserve that trust, just as any member of this crew, Starfleet, Maquis or otherwise, must prove that they are deserving of my trust and respect. And I ask no less of you as well."
"And if I accept your offer? How can I know that my -- pardon, the Maquis -- will be given a fair shake?"
"That's up to them," she replied. "If they work hard and can prove that they deserve the recognition for a job well done, than I'm willing to give it."
He looked down at the ground, running her words through his head. The fact that she hadn't thrown them all in the brig yet was encouraging and lent some credence to her words. Finally he looked back up at her, slowly extending his hand. "All right, you have yourself a first officer."
"Excellent," she smiled in return, giving his hand a hearty shake.
-/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\-
June 28, 2380, Stardate 57942.2
"Tom, get in here now!"
I knew by the tone of B'Elanna's voice that whatever she wanted was urgent. By now I've learned that when she gets that low pitched quality to her voice, almost like a growl, that it's best to listen and do exactly what she says.
Wiping my hands on a towel, I walked out into the living room to see what had caught her attention now. "What's up?"
"Look," she pointed at the vid screen, grabbing my hand.
By this point, we'd been back on Earth for just over seven months, and the press had finally stopped camping out on our front lawn. Not that they'd cared all that much about some pilot and engineer; they were far more interested in Captain Janeway. That's why I was quite surprised that my lovely wife was watching the news vids. I'd thought she'd had more than enough of the press with all the attention surrounding our return and the trials.
"I'm looking, I'm looking," I replied, trying to figure out what had caught her eye. "What am I looking at exactly?" They were showing some tape of the Captain making a speech somewhere. Since our return we'd all been flooded with offers to speak at all sorts of functions. We were celebrities, after all.
B'Elanna growled in frustration. "Look at that," she pointed toward the Captain's left hand, which was waving through the air. "Is that a ring?"
I frowned, and then felt my face go pale as I finally saw what she was talking about. Sure enough, there was a flash of gold glinting in the sun, and from what I could tell, it was on the ring finger of her left hand.
Before I had a chance to say anything, B'Elanna gave another growl, striding across the room to the vid phone. "Those p'tahks, I'll give both of them a piece of my mind."
I knew right then that the coming conversation was not going to be pretty.
* * *
Kathryn was out shopping with her mother and sister when the call came in. With all the publicity, we'd had to put a security filter on all incoming messages to keep all the press from bothering us. That first week had not been pretty, let me tell you.
As soon as I saw B'Elanna's face on the screen, I should have known I was going to regret answering her call. Before I could even say hello, she was off and running. I've served in Starfleet as well as the Maquis, and in all that time, heard some pretty harsh language. But in all my forty-seven years I have never heard some of what came out of B'Elanna's mouth. In fact, I think I caught at least four different languages in there.
It was almost a full three minutes before she finally wore herself out. "Nice to see you, too, B'Ela," I said wryly, finally able to speak.
B'Elanna's eyes grew wide in anger, but her outburst was stilled by Tom's hand on her arm. "I think what B'Elanna means is that you've known each other for a lot of years now, and she expected to find out about your engagement personally, and not over the evening news."
The part about the news was a bit of a shock, but I managed to school my features. It was actually kind of fun playing with B'Elanna a bit. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't give me that old man," B'Elanna's eyes narrowed, her voice dangerously low. "I saw the ring on Janeway's hand, and you're the only person she's close enough to that she'd marry."
"And how do you know that's an engagement ring and not a marriage ring?"
"You may be stupid, Chakotay, but not stupid enough to get married without inviting me. And don't try to tell me it's not you she's engaged to because this is the number I have for her."
This time I couldn't control the grin. "All right, you've caught me, B'Elanna. Yes, Kathryn and I are getting married, but we wanted to keep it on the q.t. for awhile."
B'Elanna gave an exasperated sigh. "It is like pulling teeth with you, Chakotay. So ... how did you propose? And when?"
"How do you know I was the one who proposed?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. I knew she could tell I was enjoying this. "Fine, who proposed, where, when and how? Is that clear enough for you? And please, can you give me a straight answer this time?"
I smiled. This part was really going to be fun. Little did she know the truth. "First of all, if Kathryn ever finds out I told you two this, I will personally come over there and rip your hearts out through your nostrils. Understood?" At their nods I let my smile grow a little bigger. "Well, I was indeed the one who proposed, and it was ... um, over nine years ago now."
-/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\-
April 29, 2371, Stardate 48722.5
"Oh, Chakotay, I can't accept this." Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Kathryn fumbled with the small box in her hands, trying to push it back across the table and into his hands.
"Kathryn," Chakotay replied quietly, calmly reaching over to lay one hand over hers. "I don't expect you to wear this. I understand that we can't really get married right now; I don't really want to. All I'm asking is for your promise that one day, once we get back home again and our situation is back on stable ground, that you'll agree to stay with me and love me forever."
"Chakotay," she shook her head slightly, trying to formulate a response. "I -- I want to, but ..."
As she trailed off, Chakotay followed her gaze across the room, noticing for the first time in several weeks the picture sitting on her desk. "Mark," he said quietly.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Chakotay, you have to realize that Mark and I have been together for a long time now. I can't just forget that, no matter how much I may love you."
All of a sudden, his demeanor changed abruptly. Plucking the ring box from her hand and shoving it back in his pocket. "You're right, I'm sorry, Kathryn. I should never have asked. Forget I said anything."
He was halfway to the door by the time she could find her voice. "Chakotay." He turned back only to find her standing in front of the sofa, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm scared, Chakotay," she admitted, barely above a whisper. "This is ... the third time someone has proposed to me. I lost the first to a shuttle crash; and the second because of the Caretaker. By saying yes I feel as though I'm sentencing you to the same fate. I love you, Chakotay, and I don't want to lose you."
Chakotay was across the room and back at her side in two strides, pulling her into a crushing embrace. "You won't lose me, Kathryn. I promise."
-/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\-
For the first time in the many years I have known Chakotay, he had left me speechless. And I know that Tom was just as stunned. I think we all must have just sat there staring at each other for a full two minutes. And Chakotay just had this ... this cheeky grin on his face the whole time. I just wanted to reach out through the screen and slap it off him.
"You're lying," Tom finally said. "Do you really expect us to believe that you and Janeway have been engaged since three months after the Caretaker stranded us out there?"
"I don't really care what you believe, Paris," Chakotay returned. And I knew he was serious. While Chakotay may have learned to tolerate Tom, they've never been particularly close.
"Tom's right," I nodded. "There is no way you of all people could keep something like that a secret. I'd have been able to tell within days."
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think, B'Elanna."
But before I could retort, another voice came into range. "Chakotay, darling, where are you? I think mother and I finally found the perfect dress." I only saw the back of Janeway's head as she bent over in front of the screen to give Chakotay a long kiss, much more passionate than I would ever have expected out of either of them given the audience.
And for the second time in five minutes, Tom and I were struck speechless.
* * *
The smile on his face gave him away. You don't spend nine years with someone and not know their idiosyncrasies. Chakotay's biggest one is that he cannot lie to me. Deception and subterfuge, yes, but not straight out lying. He stopped trying years ago.
So when I came in, I knew immediately that he was talking with someone from Voyager. But that certainly didn't stop me from saying hello with a lingering kiss. It had been several hours since I'd last seen him, after all.
When we finally pulled apart, I turned around to see exactly who had just discovered our wonderful secret. I should have guessed that Tom and B'Elanna would be the first.
Hitching one hip up onto the arm of Chakotay's chair, I greeted my former officers. "Tom, B'Elanna, how are you?"
They both seemed to flounder like fish for a brief moment before B'Elanna got her feet under her. I have to admit, she took far less time than I expected. "We'd be much better if someone had bothered to call us when you two decided to make this official."
I let one corner of my mouth tip up in a smile. "But it's so much more fun seeing people's reactions when they don't know."
Tom gave a snort that he tried to cover with a cough. "Looked to me like you were too busy to see our reaction."
"I'd watch your mouth, Mr. Paris," I playfully warned, reaching behind to slap at Chakotay's wandering hand. "Or your invitation might just conveniently get lost in the mail."
* * *
"How about this one?" B'Elanna offered, holding up a white dress off the rack. It was very short, with only thin straps holding it on the hanger. "Chakotay would like it."
Kathryn just raised one eyebrow skeptically. "I already have a dress, B'Elanna. We're shopping for you, remember?" She looked down and pulled out similar dress in red. "I think this one is in your size even."
"Do you want me to actually be at this wedding, or do you want Tom to stop me before I make it out the door?"
She shrugged, hanging the dress back on the rack. "He's a good man, B'Elanna, don't let him go."
"I could say the same thing about Chakotay," B'Elanna retorted.
"You could," Kathryn agreed. "But your entreaties, no matter how well meaning they may be, would fall on deaf ears." She leaned in close and whispered, "I already know that. He'd have to be something special to still love me after nine years and everything we've been through."
"I guess they're right, true love will conquer all."
"Hmm," Kathryn didn't reply, but just kept sifting through the rack of dresses.
"Of course, personally, I never doubted that you would come to your senses and let him in," B'Elanna continued on.
"Really?" Kathryn glanced up at her through lowered lashes, unconvinced.
"Well ... OK, so maybe even I had my doubts a couple times. But I never once doubted your feelings for each other. Anyone with half a brain could see that."
The older woman paused in her search, leaning her elbow on the rack of clothes and resting her chin in her palm. "Would you please stop dancing around the topic and just come out and say it."
"Say what?" the engineer asked innocently, but knew that she failed miserably.
"B'Elanna, I know that you know perfectly well how long Chakotay and I have been engaged. So would you please stop acting like you don't."
"You know?" B'Elanna hissed.
"B'Elanna, I knew the minute I stepped into the room that Chakotay had told you and Tom. And it only took another five minutes to get him to admit to it." Kathryn smiled slightly. "I don't mind, really. In fact, I'm almost surprised he never told you before."
"Really?" B'Elanna frowned. "I thought you wanted to keep it a secret."
"That's not what I mean," she shook her head. "You're Chakotay's best friend, besides myself, of course, and you've known him longer than just about anyone. I guess I just assumed that he would tell you."
B'Elanna shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know that when he gives you his word, he'll do everything in his power to keep it."
* * *
"So, what about that hologram ..." B'Elanna waved her hands through the air, trying to remember the name of the Irishman from several years ago. She and Kathryn were taking a break from shopping to have lunch at a small cafe.
"Michael Sullivan?" Kathryn laughed, her eyes twinkling merrily. "He was all Chakotay's idea."
"Huh?" B'Elanna frowned.
Kathryn struggled to keep a straight face long enough to tell the tale. "When Tom came out with his Fair Haven program, Chakotay thought it might be fun to play with the crew's minds a little, make them think I was actually dating Michael, when in fact it was all a big ruse."
"But all those hours you spent on the holodeck, running his program?"
"I was actually spending all that time with Chakotay," Kathryn was now laughing even harder.
"But ..."
"...Who had left his comm badge in his quarters and snuck into the holodeck to have dinner with me," she finished. "We were masters at sneaking around behind everyone's backs. By that point, we'd perfected the art of deceiving everyone but Tuvok."
By the time the waitress appeared with their meal a minute later, B'Elanna had a shocked look on her face. "What about that Borg woman in the Necrid Expanse ... Carly or Lily or--"
"Riley?" At B'Elanna's nod, Kathryn nodded. "That's a subject we don't talk about much. Chakotay swears it was a remnant of the link he was subjected to, but I'm of the opinion that he wasn't totally innocent in the affair. However, I have forgiven him, and we've put it behind us."
"So I suppose that Devore Inspector about a year and a half later didn't have anything to do with retribution at all?" B'Elanna grinned.
"How do you seem to know more about our love life than Chakotay and I do?"
B'Elanna tried to look innocent, looking everywhere but at her friend. "Because I married the king of gossip aboard Voyager?"
-/\- -/\- -/\- -/\- -/\-
October 15, 2380, Stardate 58245.6
The myth of Voyager continues to grow as today the now legendary Admiral Kathryn Janeway wed her former first officer, Captain Chakotay, in a small ceremony at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco.
The ceremony itself was restricted to roughly twenty close members of the couple's family and friends, and was officiated by family friend Admiral Owen Paris. The reception, held immediately afterward, resulted in a much larger attendance, including an estimated ninety-five percent of the former crew of Voyager and many of the upper echelon of Starfleet.
According to many at the party, this union has been several years in coming. "I could tell they were meant for each other almost from the start," Ambassador Neelix, Voyager's lone Talaxian, claimed. "You would have had to be blind not to notice it."
This marks the thirteenth set of nuptials between members of Voyager's crew, the eighth since their return to the Alpha Quadrant almost a year earlier. It also marks the ninth between a member of Voyager's original Starfleet crew and one of the Maquis they were sent to capture.
"Of all of the couples on Voyager, there are none that come even close to the amount of love and devotion between the Captain and Chakotay, including my own," B'Elanna Torres, chief engineer, explained. A close friend of both Janeway and Chakotay, Torres and her husband, pilot Tom Paris, represent yet another of the couples that were spawned by their travels in the Delta Quadrant.
"For a lot of years, we had only each other to depend on," Torres went on to explain. "Even more so for the Captain and Chakotay. But no matter what, the ship always came first, we all knew that. I'm just glad they finally got a chance to be together. They've earned it, many times over."
The bride and groom will be leaving on a three week honeymoon at an undisclosed location before taking over their new positions as head of Starfleet Sciences and instructor at Starfleet Academy.
This is Tala Ombeck reporting from San Francisco. Back to you in the studio, Bob.
Finis
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