Good Morning Voyager: The Jeffries Tube Incident

by ALM_Voyager

"Remind me again, why they asked *us* to do this?" Kathryn Janeway's voice was exasperated as she crawled forward on her hands and knees towards Jeffries tube junction thirteen.

"Because we are the only ones with the access codes to correct the malfunction," Chakotay was right behind her, crawling along as best he could.

"Couldn't we have . . ." Kathryn started to ask but Chakotay cut her off at the chase.

"Transferred authorization to someone else? Nope, not with this particular one. Against protocol," he laughed.

"And remind me again why I didn't break protocol this time," she winced as she hit her head on the side panel as she tried to look back at Chakotay.

"Because you wanted to spend some extra time with me?" Chakotay teasingly suggested.

"Very funny, Commander," Kathryn glared at the empty space ahead. "This is not how I would choose to spend time with you."

"How would you choose to spend time with me?" Chakotay's neck was tired from being cocked to one side. He just couldn't look straight ahead . . . not with Kathryn's er uh right there.

"Are we there yet?" Kathryn muttered.

"You have the lead, you tell me," Chakotay sighed and tried to wipe the perspiration from his forehead.

"Torres to Janeway," Kathryn's combadge announced.

"Janeway here. Left or right," Kathryn asked sharply.

"Left," Torres replied. "Are you two having fun yet?"

"Torres," Janeway stopped crawling suddenly and Chakotay sighed from somewhere behind her.

"Yes, Captain?" B'Elanna's voice was struggling not to laugh.

"Do you feel like cleaning the filt-- . . ." Janeway was dead serious but never had a chance to finish.

"Torres out!" the voice ended communications.

"That's better," Kathryn said, satisfied. They both crawled left.

"Are we there yet?" Chakotay was practically whining -- a side of him Kathryn had never seen before.

"Actually, yes, Commander," Kathryn coughed as smoke slowly seeped into the crawling space as she opened the connecting hatch.

"This is getting better by the minute," Chakotay mumbled and coughed.

"Hand me . . .the tricorder . . ." Kathryn was going to go insane. "Why hasn't B'Elanna increased ventilation yet?! B'Elanna," Kathryn hit her combadge and waited.

"Sorry Captain, I almost forgot," the engineer said reading her Captain's mind. Chakotay and Kathryn watched for a few moments as the smoke disappeared.

"Tricorder?" Kathryn asked and waved her hand blindly behind her. The junction left no room for her to turn around.

"Here," Chakotay waved it in front of him, trying to connect it with Kathryn's hand.

"WHERE?!" Kathryn practically yelled and then sighed giving up, "this isn't going to work."

"How about since *I* have the tricorder and the repair kit *I* make the readings and repairs," he stated as though he was annoyed she hadn't suggested it herself.

If only she could turn around . . . to strangle him, "And *how* are you going to get up here, in front of me, to do so?" She asked and was met with dead silence. "Mm-hmm, exactly."

"It is possible though," Chakotay said a little louder than he had intended to.

"Commander, with you," she had a smug smile he couldn't see, "everything is possible."

"Why thank you, Captain," he said pleasantly. "Wait a minute, was that a compliment or a sarcastic remark?"

"Chakotay, shut up," Kathryn was exasperated.

"I beg your pardon," he was offended.

"Just shut up and let's do it," she was shaking her head.

"Why Kathryn, I thought you'd *never* ask," he knew she knew what he was implying.

"CHAKOTAY!" she yelled.

"Coming, coming," he said and started to move his body up to as close to where hers was. "Kathryn, you're going to have to turn on your side . . . no your left side so that you're facing me."

"Yeah yeah yeah," she muttered and tried to move her body inch by inch past Chakotay's.

"How are you coming along, Commander?" Her chin was at the top of his head.

"Oh I'm coming," he said and winced at his words realizing the double meaning that could be interpreted. "You know what I mean . . . I'm almost there . . .oh hell, nevermind, Kathryn."

"Chakotay, I don't think this is going to work."

"Kathryn, Just keep moving. We're almost there" he was having a hard time breathing.

A few more wiggles and they had managed to line their bodies up face to face. Kathryn took one look into Chakotay's eyes and started laughing.

"What's so funny," he asked and he was so close to her she could feel the breath of each word on the side of her face.

"This . . . is too . . . ridiculous," she said in between laughing.

"Okay, Kathryn, you have to stop laughing," he could see the tears forming in her eyes from the amount of laughter she was suffering, "or else I'm gonna start too!"

"Kes, do you know where the Captain said she left those new hyposprays we received in trade last week?" The doctor looked around while Ensign Carter waited.

"No, doctor. Perhaps you should ask her," Kes suggested and smiled at Ensign Carter before heading into the doctor's office to work on a report.

"Good idea," the Doctor said to himself, and tapped his communicator. "Doctor to the Captain." Static filled his combadge and Voyager suddenly rocked violently. "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful," he said annoyed, to Ensign Carter who just offered a small smile up. Suddenly the doctor's combadge came alive with the Captain and Commander's voice in between a lot of static. "It seems as though we can hear them," the doctor's eyes widened, "but they can't hear us!"

Continued In Part Two

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