After the ready room incident, Kathryn felt more anxious, and like she had angered Chakotay. She knew it was nearly impossible for her to anger him, but she was afraid. Being afraid bugged the living hell out of her. She was a Janeway, and Janeways weren’t cowards. She was so deep in thought that she h uad missed Tom’s question, and now the entire bridge was quiet, and waiting for her to answer. Damn it.
After sorting out that class A cluster fuck, Kathryn pinched the bridge of her nose, and leaned forward in her chair. She had been stealing glances over at Chakotay over the last few days, but saying and doing nothing. It was hard for her to accept love. Ever since… before she could finish her thought, he had caught her staring at him. She felt like he could see right through her. To her soul. To the core of her being. She quickly looked away but not before seeing that great smile crawl across Chakotay’s face. Those lips had kissed hers, and she wanted to kiss them again. She sat back in her chair and listened to the din of the bridge around her.
She didn’t see Chakotay get up and leave, so when she turned to look at him, it startled her when she saw he was gone. It irked her that he said nothing. Where the hell did he go?
Chakotay double checked that no one had followed him to the Brig. He laughed as he realized if anyone caught him doing this, he’d be IN the brig. With no one around he opened a floor subpanel and pulled out the digital read out monitor he had swiped from Kathryn’s desk. Some rules were meant to be broken. He wanted to know more about her. About the woman who had stolen his heart from almost the day he met her.
Kathryn’s hand held monitor could access any record he wanted for the ship. The only one he was interested in was hers. When he opened it he realized he needed a passcode. He only had 5 tries. He entered her birthday, no luck. Her Starfleet Academy Graduation date, no access, he tried the date she was assigned to Voyager, nothing. The date they had met.. BINGO! After getting into the interface, he checked again to be sure no one was around. He pulled up the personnel files and scrolled to the J’s.
On the bridge, Kathryn was up and pacing the floor like a caged lioness. Chakotay had been gone for at least half an hour, and it was driving her crazy. Finally, she tapped her communicator. “Janeway to Chakotay” no answer. She tapped again, “Captain Janeway to Commander Chakotay, do you copy?” Still nothing. Kathryn felt her face flush, and her skin grow hot. Out of desperation and trying to sound calm, “Computer, where is Commander Chakotay?” She waited for the mere seconds it took for the Computer to respond. “Commander Chakotay is in the Brig.” Kathryn furrowed her brow. The Brig? What the hell was he Doing? Fearing Chakotay was in trouble because he didn’t answer his communicator, she turned over her right shoulder. Lieutenant Tuvok, take a security team and go to the Brig, find Chakotay. Tuvok in true Vulcan fashion, nodded and left the Bridge.
Meanwhile in the Brig, Chakotay was neck deep in Kathryn’s file. He wondered how and when she had recovered from all this in her record. It explained her fears, and made him sick to his stomach. Tuvok’s voice hit Chakotay like lightning and Chakotay scrambled to put the monitor back in the floor. He was standing up as Tuvok rounded the corner.
“Commander, are you alright?” Tuvok asked as the security team fanned out into the brig. “I’M fine, what’s going on?” Chakotay asked as he nervously stood on top of the loose floor panel. “Captain Janeway was worried since you have been absent for nearly an hour” Chakotay nodded, “I’m sorry, I got lost in thought.” Tuvok stepped aside as Chakotay stepped towards him. “SO you came to the brig?” He asked following Chakotay down the corridor to the lift. “What can I say, when my mind wanders, apparently so do I.”
Kathryn turned as she heard the doors open onto the bridge. She almost smiled when she saw Chakotay, but the look in his eye cautioned her that his mood had changed. He wasn’t sour, but..p>Maybe thoughtful. It made her wonder what he was up to, but with past experiences, she knew she could trust whatever he was doing. She looked back at him and caught his gaze. “Everything alright Commander?” She asked. She didn’t ask simply out of curiosity, but also out of wanting to hear his voice.
“Everything is fine Captain, just needed to clear my head.” Chakotay responded as he sat in his chair. Kathryn nodded, but thought to herself that he had looked more relaxed when he left the bridge.
Inside Chakotay, his entire being was sighing in relief. He had almost been caught, and almost was too close. He was pushing boundaries, and his luck by doing this. But he wanted to know. Needed to know. He wanted to help Kathryn, and he knew she wouldn’t talk about it. He was going to have to get back down there and find a way to get that monitor to his quarters so he could search more. He hated doing this, but at times, Rules are meant to be broken.
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Also, @secretvixen83 I could give you a few constructive criticisms if you wanted that… message me if so??
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