"Detente"
Voyager Story III

by 

Emily Friedman
(Emmy Odd @ aol.com)

************************************************************

Love, the itch, and a cough cannot be hid

				- - Italian Proverb

Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.

				- - W. B. Yeats

Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the 
heart's sanctuary.

				- - Augusta Jane Evans

************************************************************

	In a smoky ill-lit tavern in Marsielle, a tall, uniformed 
man, bronzed and muscular, stepped into the room.  Ignoring the 
click of cue balls, and dodging the seductive advances of the 
middle-aged waitress, past her prime, he strode over to where a 
brunette woman lined up a shot.  He slipped behind her as she 
pulled back her cue, and touched her cheek lightly.  Her cue 
skidded across the table, and her shot bounced crazily over the 
table.  She turned around, a smile illuminating her face, a soft 
shine of recognition in her startlingly blue eyes.  He kissed her 
softly, and she dropped her cue to entwine her arms around his 
neck.  The holograms that surrounded them were programmed so 
worldly that none save the jealous seductress paid any attention 
to their embrace.  The woman opened her eyes once more, and 
smiled as their lips parted.  "Hello, Chakotay."  she smiled.

	He stroked the fly-way locks of hairs he had knocked out of 
place.  "I'm sorry I ruined your shot, Kathryn,"  he grinned, "Is 
there anyway I can make it up to you?"

	She lowered her eyelids, smiling seductively.  "I don't 
know, Commander... any suggestions?"

	"Just one." he grinned, pulling her chin up to kiss her 
again.  After a long interlude, he said in a throaty whisper, "We 
have to get on the Bridge in a few minutes."

	She traced an intricate pattern on his chest. "Well, I 
suppose we should get going then."

	He smiled duskily down at her.  "Everytime I find you, we 
have to report to the Bridge.  Computer, end program."  They 
stepped out of the gridded room, and as they passed Harry Kim and 
Tom Paris, Chakotay turned to Janeway again.  "Captain, the 
inspections you ordered on the warp necells are finished."

	Janeway nodded professionally.  "Good.  Let's head to the 
Bridge."

	After they had passed, Paris turned to Harry.  He looked 
into his sober face, and laughed like a madman.  He sank to his 
knees, he laughed so hard.  Harry dropped beside him, and shook 
him savagely.  "Should I get Kes?  Are you alright?  What's with 
you, Tom?"  

	Tom stopped laughing abruptly.  "That was hilarious, Harry!  
And you're standing there like a sucker, beliving that the 
Commander and the Captain..." he doubled over, laughing, once 
again.

	Harry stared at Paris.  "What do you mean, Tom??"

	Paris shook his head.  "You are so na‹ve, Harry!  Don't you 
see?"  He pulled himself up, and began walking toward the 
turbolift.  

	Harry ran behind him, and pulled him around.  "I don't see, 
Tom.  What are you blabbing about?"

	Tom put his hands on Harry's shoulders, and whispered 
conspiritorially.  "The Captain and the Commander have fallen in 
love!"

************************************************************

	Harry pulled Paris into the Mess Hall.  "Are you crazy, 
Paris?" he whispered savagely.  

	Paris shrugged off Harry's grip.  "I see what I see, Harry.  
Did you actually belive that banter about inspections??  B'Elanna 
finished those inspections hours ago!"

	"That doesn't prove that they're in love, Tom."  Harry 
countered as he slid into a seat.

	A harsh voice jarred Harry's nerves.  "Who's in love?" said 
B'Elanna as she sat down beside Harry.

	"No one, B'Elanna." Harry said, glaring at Paris.  "But 
according to Tom, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay are."

	B'Elanna swallowed hard.  "Cha...ko...tay??" she said, 
forcing the syllables out, "What makes you think...that?" 

	Tom leaned over the table.  "Hussshh... here they come..."  
he nodded toward where Neelix was offering steaming bowls of 
unidentifiable mush to two crimson-uniformed officers, one's head 
close-cropped, the other's in a reserved chignon.  

	"Good afternoon, Captain, Commander!" Neelix's grating 
voice could be overheard.

	The Captain smiled at the Talaxian amiably.  "What are you 
serving today, Mr. Neelix?"

	"I have an exquisite puree of Angarekian bezel root.  
Simply marvalous!" he said with a smack of his thick lips.

	He held out two bowls of the concoction.  The arcid fumes 
nearly knocked Janeway over.  She looked dizzily at Chakotay.  
Chakotay deftly pushed Janeway towards a table, calling over his 
shoulder, "Umm... No lunch today...there's alot of work we need 
to finish, Mr. Neelix."

	As they sat at an empty table, Tom turned back to Harry and 
B'Elanna.  "See?!?"

	Harry shook his head.  "So they didn't want root stew.  Me 
and B'Elanna didn't, either.  Does that mean we're in love?"

	Tom looked at them and grinned.  "Who knows?"  he said 
mysteriously.

	"Get serious, Paris!  Me and Starfleet?" said B'Elanna 
defensively, crossing her arms.  "I thought we were talking about 
the Captain and Chakotay.  If that's all the proof you have, then 
I don't belive it.  Get real.  Doesn't she have some boyfriend at 
home?"

	Harry stared at his PADD, and squirmed uncomfortably in his 
seat.  "I had a girlfriend, too, B'Elanna.  I think you realize 
eventually that you'll never see them again, and if you do, they 
won't understand.  I won't fit in Libby's life anymore, even if I 
do see her again."  He brightened artifically.  "But why brood 
when you're with friends?  This speculation is quite 
interesting."

	Janeway looked toward where Paris and the others were now 
laughing and joking, and had the uncomfortable sensation that it 
was about her.  She was beginning to have serious doubts as to 
the whole idea of having a... relationship while being Captain.  
Chakotay touched her hand tenatively.  She turned to him, staring 
at her PADD.  "Yes, Commander?" she said cooly.

	"Is there a problem, Captain?"  Chakotay asked.

	"I'm not comfortable... with the perameters of our... food 
supply." Janeway recovered.

	"I see... is there anything I... the crew can do to make 
you more... comfortable with the... food supply?"  Chakotay said.

	"I'd like more breathing room... for Kes' garden."

	"I don't understand, Captain."

	"I... think the plants are being... suffocated.  The amount 
of... care and attention is fine... but there's a great chance 
for... interference with the ship's functionality." said Janeway.

	"Perhaps we should discuss this in your Ready Room, 
Captain... we can better... discuss this issue there."  At the 
end of this double-conversation, they stood up from their table, 
and walked stiffly from the room.

	As they passed Harry and the other's table, B'Elanna 
hissed, "See?  Nothing but plants!" 

	Tom smiled at the Klingon and the Ensign, and shook his 
head.

************************************************************

	After she had put a privacy lock on the Ready Room,  
Janeway turned to Chakotay and said, "That was the most absurd 
conversation I've ever had, Commander!"

	Chakotay sat on the top of her desk and grinned like a 
Cheshire cat.  "It was clever, though.  But I didn't understand 
what you were uncomfortable with, Kathryn."

	"This!" Janeway gestured wildly.  "The looks, the rumors, 
the secrets, the double-conversations!   I'm so... confused!"  
She said, collapsing into her chair.  "I'm sure Paris and the 
others know... and I feel so guilty..."

	Chakotay sidled up behind her, laying a protective arm 
across her shoulders.  "Don't worry, Kathryn."

	She shrugged his arm off and disarmed the privacy lock.  "I 
don't think you should call me that anymore, Commander."  
Chakotay stood up in disbelief.  "And I think you should go."  He 
tried to touch her cheek, but she turned her head.  "Now, 
Commander."  He strode toward the doorway.  As he stood in it, he 
turned to look at Janeway, but her chair faced the wall.

************************************************************

	The Doctor noted the rift forming between Chakotay and 
Janeway a few minutes later.  "Kes, come over here, you have to 
see this."

	"What, Doctor?" asked Kes.

	The Doctor gleefully played back the conversation he had 
just heard.  "Listen."

	"Don't worry, Kathryn," "I don't think you should call me 
that anymore," "I think you should go, Commander,"  and "Now, 
Commander" flooded the room.  Kes looked at the Doctor with 
shock.  "I thought the Captain said you shouldn't eavesdrop on 
conversations, Doctor."

	The Doctor looked at Kes.  "It's... in the best intrest of 
my patients' mental health.  Besides, I'll never have my own love 
life, even one as fleeting as our Maquis swain Commander 
Chakotay." 

	Kes smiled oddly at the Doctor.  "Who says you'll never 
have a love life, Doctor?"

	The Doctor sighed. "I'm a doctor, not a cavalier, Kes."

	"Well, it's still rude.  And you know that it will get all 
over the ship."  Kes argued.

	"Thanks to your good friend Mr. Paris, it already has." he 
said pointedly.  "Besides, that little interlude implies that the 
Captain has decided to sacrifice herself for her crew."  he said 
added sarcdonically.

	Kes looked quizzically at the Doctor.  "What do you mean, 
sacrifice?"

	The Doctor glanced at his PADD.  "Well, I think that the 
Captain decided not to see Commander Chakotay anymore for fear it 
interfere with the crew."

	Kes' eyes widened.  "But that's insane!  Doesn't she...?"

	"...Love him?  Her biorhythms indicate a physical 
attraction, but she is being inordinately noble.  A human flaw." 

	"Well, it's an Ocampa flaw then, too.  I'm going to tell 
Captain Janeway to ..."

	The Doctor stood up from his chair.  "But you can't do 
that, Kes!" he yelled.

	Kes eyed the Doctor.  "Why not?"

	The Doctor fumbled, "Because then she'll wonder how you 
knew... and..."

	"I'll tell her I used my empathic abilities.  Tuvok has 
been trying to teach me."

	The Doctor sighed.  "Very well."

************************************************************

	Tom Paris caught Kes on her way to find Captain Janeway.  
"Hey, Kes, what's your rush?"  he asked smoothly.

	Kes sighed.  "Do you really want to know?"

	Paris grinned.  "Look who you're asking, Kes.  What do you 
think?"

	Kes smiled wanly at Tom.  "If you really want to know... 
the Doctor and I overheard Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay 
... fighting!"

	Paris raised his eyebrows, and gave a low whistle.  "The 
Captain?!?  Are you sure?"

	Kes nodded mutely.  "We had a comm link to her Ready Room.  
She..."

	"And...?" Tom urged her on with a wicked gleam in his eye.

	"She said something about him leaving... and he called her 
Kathryn."

	Paris whistled again.  "HELlo...  I've gotta go tell Harry 
and B'Elanna..."

	Kes pulled on his sleeve.  "No... then we'll get the Doctor 
in trouble.  I was going to counsel the Captain."

	Paris looked at her patronizingly.  "And how are you going 
to do that, Kes?"

	"I'll tell her I used my empathic abilities to sense her 
pain."  Kes crossed her arms na‹vely.

	"Well, I won't tell anyone, Kes.  Trust me."

	Kes smiled warmly at Tom as he left, and in a nearby 
doorway, a gnome-like figure dropped the bowl of Ybarbian 
cauliflower he held in his hands.

************************************************************

	A beep roused Janeway from a melancoly reverie.  "Come," 
said a froggy, distant voice.  The slight Ocampa stepped timidly 
into the room.  

	"Captain... I..." 

	With a wave of her hand, Janeway cut her off.  " I know, 
Kes.  I thought I told you and the Doctor not to eavesdrop." she 
smiled tiredly.  Kes's mouth dropped, and Janeway laughed 
faintly.  "Don't worry, Kes.  You don't seem to think I ever 
glance at my PADD when I'm rejecting a person."

	Kas stared again, and sputtered, "But... why, Captain?"

	Janeway sighed, and ran her finger across her mouth.  "To 
tell the truth, Kes, I don't know myself.  I'm not sure of 
anything right now."

	Kes smiled sweetly at Janeway.  "There's one thing you can 
be sure of, no matter what, you'll always have your crew's 
respect."

	"Thank you, Kes.  I'll remember that."  But after Kes left, 
a bronzed face flooded her memory, and Kes' words were a faint 
echo in the distance.

************************************************************

	Tom ran up to B'Elanna in Engineering.  "B'Elanna, you're 
never going to belive this..."

************************************************************

	Chakotay tossed and turned in his quarters, fitfully trying 
to sleep.  Finally finding a comfortable position, he sighed 
blissfully, when his door beeped, causing him to jump out of his 
bed.  "Just a second," he called, frantically finding his 
uniform.  B'Elanna stormed in, ignoring his plea, and stood 
frozen before a half-naked Chakotay.  Crossing his arms over his 
bare chest, Chakotay dead-panned, "Yes, B'Elanna?"

	"Cha...kotay..." she bleated, until Chakotay finally found 
his shirt.  Then B'Elanna roared, "Chakotay, have you no 
scruples!"

	Chakotay just looked at B'Elanna blankly.  "What are you 
talking about?"

	B'Elanna glared at him.  "Don't you know?  It's all over 
the ship... How Janeway kicked you out of her Ready Room."

	Chakotay sat down at the nearest table, and sputtered, 
"Whaaat...!?!"

	B'Elanna sat down opposite him.  "The Doctor and Kes 
overheard the end of a conversation between the two of you, where 
Janeway was ordering you out of the Ready Room, saying something 
about not calling her something.  Tell me it's been blown out of 
proportion by Paris, or, even better, it's all a horrible 
practical joke." she cried desprately.

	Chakotay looked at Torres' anxious face, and murmured, "For 
the crew and Kathryn's sake... or yours, B'Elanna?"

	B'Elanna started.  "What do you mean?"

	"I heard about your hallucination, B'Elanna.  It was a 
hallucination, right?"

	"Yes, Chakotay.  A hallucination."  B'Elanna abruptly 
changed the subject.  "Kathryn???"

	Chakotay looked away.  "It's long story, B'Elanna."

	B'Elanna leaned back in her chair.  "I have all the time in 
the world, Chakotay."

	Chakotay shook his head.  "I'm sorry, B'Elanna... I... 
can't..."

	Enraged, B'Elanna stormed out of the room.

************************************************************

	Janeway could feel the stares on her back as she stepped 
onto the Bridge.  She sank into her seat, keenly aware of the 
unheard voices mocking her.  She sat in ennui for quite some time 
as the crew milled busily around her.  She sat there, lost in 
technobabble and reflection, until a warm gust of breath alerted 
her to Chakotay's presence.  She turned instinctively, and met 
Chakotay's worried gaze.  "We need to talk, Kathryn." he 
whispered hoarsely.

	Janeway stared at Chakotay.  "I thought I asked you not to 
call me that."

	He grasped her hand savagely.  "I'm sorry, Captain, but we 
really need to talk."

	"Very well, Commander." she sighed.

************************************************************

	Janeway stared out the window as she spoke.  "What is 
happening to me?"  she moaned.  "I've never let my personal life 
interfere with my captainship before... how could I do it when 
it's most essential for me not to?"

	"The same reason it's important to be larger than life, is 
why you can't possibly be so, Captain.  We're all together 24 
hours a day, with little or no hope of ever getting off this 
ship.  Of course you need your crew's respect to run this ship, 
perhaps a little amount of godliness as well.  But don't you see?  
The distance has crumbled, little by little." he stroked her 
shoulder tenderly. "You don't need to use your rank as an excuse 
anymore.  Things change when you're 75 light-years from home, 
Captain.  People change.  Feelings change."  

	He tilted her face up to his, but a look of a new fear 
crossed her face.  "But... what if we do get home...?" she 
whispered fearfully.

	Chakotay grinned to mask the fear in his own thoughts.  "I 
hope the good word from the Captain will assuage the Federation.  
Besides, by the time we get home, everyone will have forgotten 
all about the Maquis."

	"You make it sound so simple, Chakotay..." sighed Janeway.

	"In my opinion, it is.  All I know is that I love you, 
Kathryn, and I think you love me, and there isn't anyone in our 
lives to interfere..."

	"...except the crew."  Janeway finished, ignoring his 
intonement of her name.

	"Too late to worry about that, Kathryn." countered 
Chakotay, emboldened by his use of her first name.  "No matter 
what, they're going to gossip about us, no thanks to the 
Doctor..." he muttered gruffly.

	Janeway smiled, stroking his tawny cheek.  "You make an 
interesting case, Chakotay."

	Chakotay became uncharacteristically impatient.  "So...?"

	She kissed his flushed cheek, and said in her wonderfully 
resonant voice, "We be at least somewhat professional about this.  
We shouldn't give the Doctor and the crew any more to gossip 
about than absolutely necessary."

	He smiled at her again with his deep velvety smile, and 
kissed her deeply.

************************************************************

	A few days later, at the beginning of their new-found 
relationship, Chakotay and Janeway were eating lunch together, 
totally engrossed in each other, barely glancing at their PADDs 
or their food.  There was little idle gossip now, and the two 
were spending most of their free time together, inviting wild 
speculation nonetheless.  Tom Paris, one such spectator, was 
guestulating wildly to Harry as he observed the two of them a few 
meters away.  "There they go again, like a couple of kids!  
Honestly, I don't think I'd ever act like that, do you Harry?  
Harry...?  Harry...?"  Tom Paris turned around, to find Harry 
totally engrossed in B'Elanna Torres...

************************************************************


Fin