SUMMARY: Chakotay gets some advice from Mark.

CODES: VOY, J/C

RATING: PG13

DISCLAIMER: They ain't mine.

NOTES: This has been rattling around in my head for months now and I finally got around to writing it down.

"Take Good Care of my Baby"
by Liz VanZandt

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Chakotay replied absently without thinking, his eyes busy following Kathryn as she flitted around the room, stopping to talk with various admirals and other Starfleet brass. A second later, the other man's words registered in his brain and he turned to see a tall, dark haired man standing next to him. The vaguely chubby, yet handsome face was somehow familiar, but Chakotay couldn't place it. "How did you ...?"

The man smiled slightly. "Know? Because I used to be in your shoes, Commander. I don't need some news story or press conference to tell me something like that."

Suddenly Chakotay realized where he'd seen the man before -- in an old picture sitting on Kathryn's desk in her ready room. The picture that had disappeared several years ago, shortly after getting their first news from home. It was Mark. "That obvious?" Chakotay said, grabbing a glass from a passing waiter.

Mark's smile deepened a little. "I don't think there's a man in the room that hasn't been watching her all evening, but there's only one man that she's been looking at." He snatched a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter. "I've known Kathryn for a long time now, Commander, through good times and bad. There was a time I wished she would give me that look, but ..." he shook his head a little. "For good or for bad, it never seemed to work out for us like I always hoped it might. But I never once stopped loving Kathryn."

"If it's worth anything, I don't think she ever stopped loving you, either," Chakotay replied. "Maybe not the way she once did, but there will always be a special place in her heart for you."

Mark nodded. "I know. And I'm ... I'm glad it was you she was stuck out there with. It takes a lot of patience to put up with Kathryn on a daily basis, and that seems to be a quality you have in abundance."

Chakotay gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

The older man took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as his eyes followed Kathryn around the room. "Take good care of her, Chakotay. She deserves the best in life."

Across the room, Kathryn looked up and her eyes locked briefly with her first officer's. Instinctively, his lips curled up in a smile. "I promise."

The End

Back to my homepage
Back to Voyager stories