Coffee Fiend

By janezy. Send Feedback to janezy@yahoo.com

Rated: PG

Written: March 17, 2002

VOY -- J/C

Pure drivel. I've been writing a lot of angsty, dark stuff and couldn't help but write a fluff piece, just this once. Chakotay tries to talk Kathryn out of drinking so much coffee. 

"What's for dessert?" asked Commander Chakotay. The dinner actually left him quite sated, but he would eat another five-course meal if it meant he could stay in her quarters another couple of hours.

The captain's dining table was littered with used dishes, once full of salad and pasta. Captain Janeway began to clear them away.

"Mocha mousse," she said. "And coffee, of course."

"Coffee dessert with coffee on the side? Kathryn, it's nearly 2200 hours and you're going to have more coffee? No wonder you never get any sleep. You're truly addicted."

"I am not," she replied, giving a scoffing laugh.

"You are," he insisted. "Define the word 'addiction' for me."

"It's when you need something so much you can't stop. I can stop whenever I want."

"Really? Stop, then. Right now."

"Chakotay," she said, a frown crossing her face, "this is silly. I *can* stop whenever I want. I just don't want to."

"Okay, tell me something. Why do you drink coffee?"

"I like the taste of it."

"Drink decaf."

"I like that it makes me more alert. More aware."

"For a little while, sure. But then you go crashing down even lower than you were before."

"What is this? Some kind of intervention?"

"Just go with me here. Come here," he said, motioning to the couch. "Sit."

"This had better be good."

He ignored the glares she was giving him and soldiered on. "Close your eyes." After one last glare, she complied. "Tell me your first memory about coffee."

She smiled. "When I was young, I used to spend hours under my father's desk while he worked. He would give me assignments to think about and I would do that while he designed starships. Every few hours, he would pour himself another cup of coffee from the carafe he kept on his desk. It smelled so good. I would close my eyes and pretend Daddy and I had walked down to the market, where he bought the coffee beans and we watched the clerk grind them for us."

She sat in silence for a while, then opened her eyes to look at Chakotay. "Happy now?"

"Not yet. Keep 'em closed," he said, smiling as she once again lowered her eyelids. "Tell me about the first time you drank coffee."

"I was a little older. Daddy bought me a puzzle for my fifth birthday. It looked so large to me. So hard. So many pieces. But, he told me that if I finished in two hours or less, I could have any prize I wanted. So I dug right in and was done in an hour and a half. Daddy looked a little surprised, but asked me right off what I wanted as my prize. I told him I wanted a cup of coffee. He laughed and said it was an adult drink and I was certain not to like it. That fact he said it was for adults made me want it all the more. I insisted that coffee would be my prize. He handed me his cup and I drank. The first sip was bitter and I almost said I didn't want anymore. But I had to be a big girl for Daddy. This was a grown-up drink and I was going to be grown-up about it. So I kept drinking until it was gone and when Daddy asked me how it was, I lied and told him I liked it.

"After that, I got to drink coffee with Daddy and Mama every Sunday, although Mama was very liberal with the milk. They even let Phoebe try some, but she just spit it out. That just proved to me that I was an adult and she was still a child."

Chakotay was amazed. He never dreamed when he started this that he'd stumble into so many reasons for an actual psychological addiction to the caffeinated beverage. Her desire to be like her father as well as her need to please him. Her fear of inadequacy. Her sense of sibling rivalry. This was a gold mine. But, he doubted he could make her see any of those things. She was too emotionally tied to coffee. The sludge actually made her happy. He had to go about it in a more logical way.

"Okay," he said. "You say you drink coffee for the energy boost it gives you. Do you think that's why most people drink it?"

"Of course."

"And how do you feel if you don't drink it?"

"I feel fine," she said, aggravation once again coloring her tone. She sat up and turned to face Chakotay. She was having fun talking about her father. Why did he have to bring all this up again?

"Really? Tell me how you feel first thing in the morning."

"Tired. Isn't everybody?"

"And what's your morning routine like?"

"I go to the bathroom and take a shower. Pervert." She couldn't help but smile a little at that.

Neither could he prevent a smile from crossing his lips, dimples appearing in his cheeks. "And then?" he continued.

"I replicate myself some coffee and get dressed."

"When you drink the coffee, how do you feel?"

"Awake."

"So, I'm going to repeat back what you said and you tell me if I've got it right. Most people drink coffee to give them a boost of energy. You, however, have to have it to feel normal."

"That's *not* what I said!"

"How many mornings do you wake up with a headache? How many afternoons drag along so slowly, you almost wish for an attacking ship? How many nights do you lie in bed, staring at the ceiling and cursing your insomnia?"

"That has nothing to do with coffee," she said, although her subconscious was telling her he was making some valid points.

"Kathryn, you are clearly addicted. I define an addiction as doing something you know is wrong and probably unhealthy, but not caring. There's a long list of things you could do that are bad for you, many of which," he leaned in closer to speak softly into her ear, "are much more pleasurable, I promise you."

She smiled as his hot breath tickled her ear. "Are you offering me something other than mocha mousse for dessert?"

"I'm offering a replacement for coffee any time, day or night. And I can give you that boost of energy, too." With that, he nipped her earlobe and she gave a squeal of surprise.

"I really don't know how my body will react to the loss of caffeine. Are you willing to help with the detox?"

"Of course," he nodded solemnly. "I'll be by your side the entire time."

"I might need someone to hold me down," she said with a new lilt to her voice.

"I think that can be arranged."

With that his mouth descended on hers and she forgot entirely about coffee, at least for a little while.