TIMEOUT [Part 23]!

by ALM_Voyager

Chakotay woke up to the darkened sickbay. He felt disoriented, lost and was sure something out of the ordinary had made him . . .

"Cha. . kotay . . ?" the small female voice barely carried to his ears.

"Kathryn!" his heart thundered. She had finally awakened.

"Wh-where am I, Chakotay?" she asked, dazed.

"Sickbay. You're back on Voyager," he kissed her forehead.

"I was run over by a Malon-freighter, wasn't I," she joked quietly and surprised him.

"Well . . ." he started.

"Don't I wish" she said quietly and he felt the anger flood through him again. "I want to be in my quarters Chakotay. I don't want to be here . . ."

"Kathryn . . ." he started but her voice bit out into the cold refiltered air.

"I WANT TO BE IN MY QUARTERS! Damnit, don't I have ANY choice in what happens to me . . . it's my life . . . mine . . ." she yelled.

"Then I'll take you there," he stated calmly and went to pick her up. He felt his gut twist as she moved away from him angrily. He offered his empty hands up in front of her sight and tried again. This time she didn't move away.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled into his neck, "just a reaction. Are the corridors empty?"

"On a starship, Kathryn?" He felt bad that he had said that and instead addressed the system, "Computer . . . are the corridors from sickbay to turbolift three and up to the Captain's quarters clear of lifeforms?"

"Sickbay deck, clear. Turbolift, occupied. Captain's quarter's deck, clear" it replied.

"Erect privacy forcefeilds around all areas free of lifesigns on this designated path. When the turbolift is free of lifesigns, allow access only to me - access code three-five-beta" Chakotay gave the instructions.

"Affirmative. Forcefields in place" it stated.

He looked down at Kathryn who was blinking sleepily, from the medical drugs, up at him, "Your clear corridors await, Milady."

By the time he arrived at Kathryn's quarters she was in a deep sleep again. He hit the override codes and walked in. The room, disturbingly enough, felt as though she had been gone from it longer than she actually had. Chakotay sighed with that thought and walked towards the bedroom. Pulling back the covers cleverly with one hand he gently put Kathryn to bed. It was going to be a long night on the couch for him. And it was only the beginning. What would happen to their newly found love now?

'Three days,' Chakotay thought, 'three days and she still doesn't want to go outside her doors.' He passed Kathryn the popcorn as she watched what Tom had called a sleeper film from the 20th Century.

"Why do you think they called it 'Pretty Woman' of all things," Kathryn asked and popped a kernel into Chakotay's mouth as he picked up his jacket from the sofa by her. They had been watching movies, playing board games, and doing odds and ends in Kathryn's quarters for three days. Chakotay had to return to bridge duty for the late-shift. It had been Tuvok, not Kathryn, who suggested he return to his duties. This disturbed him greatly. She didn't seem to care one way or another what was going on outside of her doors.

"B'Elanna's going to be here until I get back," Chakotay kissed her on the cheek and then stood up to continue putting on his uniform.

"I don't need a babysitter, Chakotay. I'm perfectly fine," she growled.

"Then why don't you join me for breakfast tomorrow in the mess hall. The crew needs to see you Kathryn," he stated. "They miss you. And I know, more importantly, you miss them."

"No," she stated.

The entry bell sounded and Kathryn thanked the intrusion by yelling, "Enter." B'Elanna walked in and smiled at the two of them. The smile quickly diminished as she picked up on the animosity that was circulating between the two of them.

"Uh, am I early?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, you're not," Chakotay stated crisply and exited without another word.

B'Elanna looked from the door to Kathryn and back to the door again. "Don't mind him," Kathryn said sarcastically, "he just misses the Captain."

"That isn't fair, Kathryn," B'Elanna stated and surprised the other woman.

"I beg your pardon," Kathryn stated.

"He's trying Kathryn. But he's only a man," she explained.

"God forbid he'd have to be immortal in the eyes of the crew," she hinted at her own position.

"You are the only one who sees yourself that way," B'Elanna stomped over to the viewscreen and shut off the movie. "He feels like he's losing you, Kathryn! We all do!"

"You don't understand," Kathryn's voice grew shakey. "I let my guard down . . . on the hub . . . I let it down and look where it got me."

"That's not true! You can't blame yourself for the violence of the Raylexians or others. And you can't use that as an excuse to end what you found with Chakotay while on shoreleave. There will *always be chances . . . we can never fully protect ourselves . . . not even you . . . a Starfleet Captain. I've had to fight to understand this in my *own life, but don't lose yourself to this . . . Captain."

"I'm so afraid . . ." Kathryn whispered as B'Elanna joined her on the sofa.

"So am I . . . about many things," she stopped and went on, "and I'm a Klingon."

Kathryn gave a little laugh, "What do I do?"

"You take it a day at a time, like you are. But you have to go easy on yourself in other ways and push yourself in different ways."

"Like .. . ." Kathryn asked.

"Like . . . get out of those pajamas and come with me to the holodeck. And tomorrow, *you wake up Chakotay and *demand Leola root for breakfast."

Where in the JC UNIVERSE do you want to go next?

Part 24 of TIMEOUT
JC NOVELLAS by ALM_Voyager

Email: ALMcKenzie@aol.com