Rating:  R

Summary:  Returning to earth changes more than geography.

Alpha Quadrant Jitters

by BonnieH44@go.com
 
    There was shear joy and exhilaration on the bridge and, Janeway suspected, utter pandemonium on the lower decks following her announcement that Voyager had safely arrived and was now traveling through the Alpha quadrant.
    The stars, though still unfamiliar this far from the Starfleet’s outermost station, were surely the stars of home. Harry had confirmed it with his sensors, Tuvok had confirmed it with his sensors... in fact every shipboard diagnostic that could be brought to bear on the subject confirmed that Voyager and her crew had surely arrived at their destination.
     With a wide grin, the captain surveyed the jubilation on the bridge around her. After seven long years, the possibility of traversing the wormhole to the Alpha quadrant had consumed the crew for several weeks during the refit of the ship to make the attempt to return home. She reveled in the joy of the others, knowing that she had surmounted almost impossible odds and successfully brought most of the crew home.
    As she glanced around the bridge, her eyes finally caught sight of her first officer. Unlike the others, he was standing almost transfixed by the starfield on the viewscreen. Slowly he realized the captain was watching him. He looked at her, a broad smile forming. He was glad they were all home, all safe. The smile started to fade. It was replaced by an expression Janeway hoped never to see again but would not have missed for all the worlds she had known. For a moment she thought she saw the feirce Maquis captain glare from those obsidian eyes. A look that said he would take on all the Federation could throw at him. Then reality set in. If he was to continue to lead the life he lived now, and he wanted that desperately, there was only one person he would trust to make that a reality. He looked to her now. The precariousness of their positions was all too apparent to both of them. Janeway realized at that moment that she was probably the only thing standing between Chakotay and prison.
    He was, to say the least, a little unsure about his future. Here he was not the gallant and brave first officer on whom she had come to depend. Chakotay had come to pride himself on his position and deportment as a trusted first officer. He was shocked to realize that a threatened loss of esteem could so effect him. Here he was considered an anarchist, a rebel whose mission often put him at odds with the Federation. The old Maquis captain would have laughed disdainfully at the idea and thought it ludicrous to care how he was perceived by Starfleet.
    But the expression Janeway experienced had little to do with the loss of esteem. Chakotay’s fear of loss went much deeper than that. Day after day, he worked and socialized with Katheryn Janeway, keeping a professional distance, suppressing any feelings he had for her that fell outside the purview of friendship. To say that their meeting seven years ago had affected him was an understatement. Even though he had been deeply hurt by betrayal from all sides and knew Janeway was responsible for at least some of those feelings, he was immediately, surprisingly attracted to Janeway.
    When she approached him to accept the first officer position, aside from being flattered and surprised, he was also immediately conflicted. Her ship and crew were in a serious situation. Undermanned, in an undoubtedly hostile environment, he saw the logic of joining the two crews and taking on a leadership position. It opened up numerous possibilities for him and the Maquis crew, but knowing Starfleet protocols, Chakotay realized that any romantic notions he may harbor for the formidable captain of Voyager  would have to be set aside. Starfleet was very clear on these directives and in the Delta quadrant, Janeway was Starfleet.
     Still, he did not hesitate for a minute. He would be at her side, responsible even for her safety. It would have to do. No first officer was more committed to his task.
    These were the thoughts Janeway saw reflected as they played themselves out on Chakotay’s face. An odd mixture of truculance and forlorness which she interpreted as an expression of his trepidation at being thrust back into the political reality of this quadrant of the galaxy.
    She reluctantly turned her attention from her first officer to concentrate on ship’s business. She knew her first priority was to contact Starfleet command. She turned to Tom Paris and proffered the command they had all waited seven years to hear. “Tom...” she said, with more enthusiasm than she actually felt, “best speed to Starfleet Command!”
    Chakotay sighed. Headed for earth and an uncertain future, he looked resolutely at the viewscreen. He had no fear of Starfleet prisons. From Tom Paris’s description, it was a lot like summer camp. The real fear was separation from the crew and friends he had come to love. Hardest to bear was the thought of not seeing Janeway everyday. He was surprised to acknowledge just how intertwined their lives had become. It was easier to set aside his feelings during the voyage, when he knew she worked and lived within the confines of the ship and he could see her whenever he wished. He was finding it harder to disguise his dread at their impending separation which he knew would probably come, irrespective of his legal standing.
    Janeway was lost in her own thoughts. The Maquis members of the crew were probably in serious legal trouble. It seemed to be dawning on the rest of the crew that there may be problems for the former rebels. The two crews had become so integrated that thoughts of the political implications were never really an issue. Surely, it was a proximity problem. And the entire crew realized they were now in close proximity to Starfleet.
     Their jubilation upon returning to the Alpha quadrant was slowly and surely being supplanted by trepidation and uncertainty.
    Janeway knew she must contact Starfleet. She looked at Chakotay. He could read the conflict in her eyes. She really had no choice. Starfleet would be informed and the legal wheels at headquarters would start grinding away at his freedom. It was an open question as to whether she would be ordered to place the entire Maquis contingent in detention. Janeway swore to herself that would not happen on her ship. Starfleet be damned. She knew how to follow orders, but that was one order she would not carry out. Janeway got up to go to her ready room. Both she and Chakotay knew the consequences of her next actions. She would contact Starfleet and would receive her orders from them after a five day delay. She started for her ready room. “Commander, you have the bridge.”
    Chakotay nodded, “Yes Mame” he said.
    She could hear the emotion behind the words. She turned back to him, lifting her chin as he had seen her do so often in the face of adversity. He knew Starfleet would have a fight on their hands if their treatment of her crew was anything but what Janeway wanted. Her defiant look brought a smile to his face as she had intended. Starfleet had a tiger by the tail. Chakotay almost felt a tinge of sympathy for those involved in the negotiations.
     Sitting alone in her ready room, Janeway sent what she thought was a carefully worded and perhaps guarded message to her colleagues at Starfleet. She included all the pertinent information and added an impassioned plea for the Maquis members of the crew. As an afterthought, she also included a very thinly veiled threat which indicated Starfleet may have major problems if the decision about her crew was contrary to her recommendations. Her hand hovered above the ‘send’ panel for a long moment. She was imagining the impact of the message she had composed on the Starfleet hirarchy. “What the hell,” she thought to herself. She had essentially been operating on her own for seven years. There was nothing Starfleet could throw at her that would even vaguely compare to what she had triumphed over in the Delta Quadrant. She slammed her hand down on the panel and sighed. All she could do now was wait. She had ordered Harry to try to find out the status of the Federation and the Maquis. They were still so far out that subspace communications with even the closest outpost was days away.
******
    The crew fell into a routine that did little to alleviate their fears. Ship’s business was carried out with the crew’s usual efficiency, but little enthusiasm. Morale was at an all time low. Janeway could not help but ponder the irony of it. Here they were, safe in Federation space, wondering whether they were not better off in the Delta Quadrant, away from the political intrigues towards which they were hurtling at warp speed.
    She was in her quarters deep in thought when the buzzer sounded. “Come” she said with her back to the door.
   Chakotay stepped just inside the door, hesitating ever so slightly. When the door did not close, Janeway turned to see her first officer standing, backlit from the bright light in the hall. She could not see the expression on his face. Chakotay stood, unsure whether to enter and chance being alone with the captain in her quarters.
     This is ridiculous, he thought to himself. I can’t let all these feelings keep me from performing my duties as first officer. He put on his best first officer’s face and approached his captain.
    Janeway had expected him  “We have to talk about this.” she said immediately.
    Chakotay raised both eyebrows. Had she inadvertently used the same phrase she had used on New Earth? Chakotay was pretty sure Janeway had never done anything inadvertent, at least not as long as he had known her. He put down the tablet containing the crew and status reports.
     It was then that Chakotay saw it. The emotion she had so successfully masked on the bridge was giving way to a look of impending doom. It was the uncertainty of the situation that was driving her crazy.
    “I’m not sure I can protect you from them.” she said. “You know... I will do everything in my power to protect you and the rest of the Maquis, but there is no limitation on acts of terrorism. It’s hard to predict,” she hesitated, wondering how she could word her fears so as to not alarm him. “I just don’t know which side of the fence Starfleet will land on this. There’s just no precedent!”
     Janeway was afraid for him. Chakotay could hear it in her voice and read it in her expression. She turned to the viewport to hide her concern. Only now was Janeway willing to admit to herself that she might have reacted the same way if Starfleet had negotiated her home planet away to an oppressive and brutal race. She saw his resistance as almost noble. But she was Starfleet, but so was he now, wasn’t he? It was all too confusing. It was starting to give her a massive headache.
    Chakotay was thinking back to another time when Voyager was faced with two years traversing a void they had encountered. Janeway had stood in front of her viewport as she was doing now and yearned for a distraction from the oppressive monotony. Her gloom and guilt had caused him to worry so. How Chakotay would have loved to have gathered her up in his arms and offered himself as a distraction. He let the moment pass and it almost cost him her life. If he had not engaged the entire bridge crew to thwart her suicidal plan, he might have lost her forever.
     “Wouldn’t it be ironic?” she said, barely above a whisper. “Starfleet might be able to accomplish what seven years in the Delta quadrant failed to do.” After a long pause she sighed, “If Starfleet takes you away from me” she continued, “and they may...”
    Slowly she turned to him. She saw his wariness mixed with hope and it ripped at her heart. In his eyes she saw the passion he held at bay, primal, under his control, but he let her see it. He waited, not patiently, to unleash it. She knew it would take very little to spark the fire whose embers she had set aglow. She saw before her the primitive male, his eyes blazing with desire, his stance proclaiming himself the force in this room; his demeanor having little to do with the reality of starships, protocol, commanders and captains, and who really held the power in this room. She was still in control of the situation.
    Chakotay watched the raging battle playing across her features as that analytical mind struggled with the untidy and overwhelming emotions his captain was contemplating unleashing. His eyes bored into hers as he finally broached the subject they had so carefully managed to avoid for seven long years. His heart was pounding wildly. His throat felt constricted.
    “Of course,” he grated out, “in addition to the political, there is also the personal.” Chakotay paused, swallowing hard. “We never slept together, never even came close to professing our love... that does not negate the fact that we are lovers.”
     Janeway looked away, unsuccessfully blinking away the tears welling up in her eyes. “You feel that too,” she said. It was not a question. When she looked back to Chakotay, she could see the warm brown eyes glistening with tears.
    “Kathryn” Chakotay said, almost reverently. Janeway heard the sound of forever in his voice.
   She took one tentative step toward him.
   His movement was lightning quick. He was on her in a instant. He knew he would have to possess her, quickly, thoroughly, before she could reconsider her actions. His hungry, almost brutal kiss distracted her while he divested her and himself of the fleet issue pants and underware. There would be time, a life time of tenderness, if he was successfull. He pulled her to the floor. She was swollen, moist, ready for him as he knew she would be. Janeway was realing. Even though she knew he loved her and wanted her desperately, Janeway had not  been prepared for the intensity of his emotions. With a moan between a sigh and a sob, he slammed himself into her and imobilized them both. She could feel him inside, involuntarily twitching; the rest of his body was still and taught. In that one swift and opportune moment, he had made her his. There would be no turning back, no recriminations; he would never permit it. If he thought that Janeway was able or willing to stop, he had misjudged his Captain. She had already made the decision to commit herself to him forever. The only question was how she would broach the subject. Chakotay rendered that problem mute.
    Tenderness was not a factor in this frenzied joining. The act itself was too long in coming, the denial of their needs much too excruciating to allow time for gentle exploration. The lovers lurched and spasmed themselves to orgasm so quickly that they found themselves disoriented and gasping for air.
    Janeway sighed, her breathing finally under control. She was still trapped under her first officer, who gave no indication he was going to release her anytime soon. Chakotay lifted his head, still breathing heavily. He looked into her eyes. Half expecting her to order him off of her, he was surprised to see her unguarded, radiant smile. He kissed her tenderly, reveling in the leisurelyness of their embrace after the furious lovemaking they had just experienced.
     Rising up, he pulled her up with him. Crushing her to him, he  kissed her eagerly. Janeway felt her knees buckle and was glad he had a firm grip on her. He could feel her smiling under his kiss. He drew back questioningly.
      Janeway looked into his obsidian eyes and chuckled. “Well, Commander, it’s been a long time since your captain’s had her legs knocked out from under her.”
     The smile that spread across his face slowly dissolved to reveal his rising passion. Gods, he thought to himself, will I ever be able to be in the same room with her and not feel this compulsive need to possess her. It frightened and excited him at the same time. For now, he was content to give his emotions and body free reign.
      He carried her to the bedroom and placed her down tenderly on the bed. He lay down beside her and held her tightly. Her need for him was overwhelming. The remains of her uniform was peeled >from her as if he were opening a ripe fruit. Chakotay was kissing her breast, exploring every inch of her, taking in the smell of her.
     Chakotay kissed her with an abandon that made his chest ache. “I’ve wanted to make love to you from the moment we first met,” he said breathlessly.
     “I know,” admitted Janeway.
     She reveled in the touch of his skin to hers, hot and dry, like the mesa’s of his youth. He smelled of spice and cinamon. All her senses combined to drive her need for him. She was moved to realize his love for her was so intense that his entire body was trembling in anticipation of their impending lovemaking. Janeway waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to enter her. He hovered for a long moment, then slid into her with a groan that caused Janeway to open her eyes. She had never experienced a love like this. She realized that her earlier tepid affairs were just a weak imitation of the joy and exhilaration she was now experiencing. She was suddenly appalled to realize she had almost let this man, this opportunity for love slip away. His eyes bore into hers with a combination of longing and bliss that she found both disturbing and compelling. The thought of losing him now made her shudder. Chakotay felt it as it drove him to even greater heights of passion. He wasn’t certain if he was hurting her. She seemed so small, but powerful inviting muscles again closed around him with each thrust, urging him on toward a release and consequent sense of peace and well being he had never known and now vowed he would never relinquish.
     Chakotay rolled off her and wrapped his arms and legs around her, listening to her ragged breathing. When he could finally speak, Chakotay would make the first of many missteps in this new and overwhelmingly complicated relationship.
     “I have served under you for seven years,” he said slowly and deliberately, “now I want to stand beside you.”
     “You want to be a captain?” said Janeway, perplexed.
     Chakotay knitted his brows, as if not understanding the question. Slowly it dawned on him what she meant. “No,” he said almost reverently, “I want to be a husband.”
     As soon as the words left his mouth, Chakotay regretted them. He had just exponentially increased her problems with Starfleet. There were, after all, only two alternatives before. He would either be stripped of his field commission and sent to prison or Starfleet would honor his seven year tenure as an exemplary officer and maintain the status quo.  The problem now was that the status quo had just drastically changed.
     Janeway was speechless. He had caught her so off guard that all she could do was stare at him in disbelief. Her headache returned with a vengeance.
    With no response, Chakotay felt there was no more to say and got up out of the bed. He looked for his hastily discarded uniform, walking to the other side of the bed. He saw Janeway accessing his naked body appreciatively. She looked him up and down in such a seductive manner, he suddenly climbed back into the bed, in a tacit understanding that called for a moratorium on the outcome of their current predicament. He kissed her deeply, exploring the soft insides of her mouth with his tongue. Slowly his passion grew and he abandoned all conscious thought, concentrating on the mingling of his body with hers, losing himself in her and with her, if only for a night.
     Chakotay was gone when she awoke. The room was shockingly normal... her underwear and uniform were straightened away. The only evidence of the previous night was a dull ache between her legs >from years of celibacy and a general feeling of well being that was fading quickly now that she was fully awake.
    Sitting up in the bed, all she could do was shake her head in disbelief. A smile spread unbidden on her lips. If he was here at this moment, she would have him again. There it was, looming before her like an addiction. How would she ever get enough of him to satisfy this incredible hunger he had managed to evoke in her. Well there was sex, and there was SEX,  no... there was sex and there was work. And the work was what she must concentrate on now to assure the other in the future.
      Bolting out of the bed, she realized she was naked. She hadn’t slept naked in years. Not with Mark, not with her fiancé. She padded her way to the bathroom and immersed herself in an H2O shower. Somehow the sonic shower just didn’t seem inviting after a night of such sensuous pleasure. Drying quickly and slipping into her bathrobe, she crossed the room to the replicator and ordered a large cup of coffee. She returned to bedroom to dress for work.
     The night watch report was uneventful.  Chakotay had relieved the beta crew and settled into a day that was destined to be interesting if awkward. He busied himself reviewing  the sensor logs from the night before. All reports confirmed that Voyager was inexorably on course to the homeworld and Starfleet Command. Janeway emerged from the turbolift, nodded to Chakotay as nonchalantly as she could muster and sat down in her seat next to him. He handed her the reports and watched her as she quickly scanned them.
     It was difficult not to touch her. He felt a growing knot in his abdomen but suppressed the sensation with years of practice. He glanced at her and caught her eye. His breath caught as she stared deeply into his eyes. This was going to be more difficult than either had imagined. She rose from her chair and started for the ready room. Chakotay was thinking, feeling really, how fortunate it was that she could leave the bridge any time she wished. Only he noticed the flush in her cheeks as she glanced back to the bridge.
     Chakotay scanned the afternoon sensor log and crew reports. Janeway had still not emerged from the ready room. The correct procedure was now for the first officer to report to the captain and surrender the logs for her perusal. Chakotay gathered up his materials, and all the strength he could muster to face his captain and his lover.
    Janeway heard the buzzer. She knew it would be Chakotay with the afternoon reports.
   “Come,” she said, a bit too quickly.
    Chakotay entered the room and stood facing her as she remained seated at her desk concentrating on a video screen in front of her. “Ship’s sensor logs and crew reports,” he said emotionlessly.
    She raised her eyes at the tone of his voice. She could see he was schooling his reactions to purposely keep the raging emotions they were both experiencing under check. Maybe he was being a little too careful. “At ease, Commander,” she said finally “you’re going to bust something if you don’t loosen up a little.”
    Chakotay just shook his head at her boldness. A look that said “this is easier for you than it is for me!”
    Little did the first officer know that Janeway came perilously close to demanding a fix for her own personal little addiction right there in the ready room.
    In the end, they exchanged tired smiles as Chakotay turned to leave for the last two hours of bridge duty. They both knew that First Officer and Captain had ship’s business that would bring them together later in a much more private setting. He had waited seven years. Chakotay was nothing if not patient.
     Concentrating on ship’s business was almost impossible. Chakotay watched as the chronometer seemed suspended in time. Finally, his duty shift was over. Janeway was still ensconced in the ready room. He glanced at the door then turned to the turbolift. He wondered what she could be doing that would require all her time and energy, keeping her from interacting with the crew for an entire shift.
    Janeway was making no progress. Even with the entire Federation legal database at her fingertips, she could find no case law to support their position. There seemed no legal way to resolve the crew’s status in this quadrant. She even considered offering discharges to those Maquis crewmembers who wished to leave. That tactic would stand up in no court whatsoever, and could lead to charges against her. Still an option, she thought. Hadn’t different members of the crew saved her life time and again! Wasn’t that worth a career? In her experience, there was always a way out of the box. The trouble was, the crew of Voyager seemed to be outside any box completely.

    *****

    She was pacing in her cabin, too excited to sit, when the door buzzed. Standing against the far wall in the semi-darkness, she admitted Chakotay. He carried the reports in his hand. The door slid shut. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Janeway realized she was hardly breathing. When he finally saw her, Chakotay threw the tablets on the nearest seat and crossed the room to her.
     Without hesitation he crushed her against the wall, grinding himself into her abdomen and kissing her hungrily. His hands were all over her. He knelt down in front of her and pulled off the Starfleet issue boots and removed her uniform . She stood almost naked in front of him, a bit of lace the only thing between them. He ripped at the lace, which gave way in his grasp. Still kneeling, he kissed and caressed her breast, working his way down to taste the soft folds of flesh between her legs. A sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan escaped Janeway’s lips, surprising her. Getting up suddenly, Chakotay kissed her lustily. Chakotay was removing his own uniform with one hand as he held her lips to his with a hand on the back of her head. Suddenly she was being lifted into the air. Slowly Chakotay lowered her. He was so deep inside, he touched places in her body and her soul that had never been touched.  Slowly at first, he started thrusting into her, allowing the ships artificial gravity to propel him even deeper. Janeway could feel the tension building. He was deep inside her.  “Be still” she whispered. It was then he felt it, her soft, strong muscles contracting and pulsing in orgasm that hit him from all directions. A tear dropped from the corner of Janeway’s eye. He remained still till her trembling muscles relaxed. Then, he started thrusting again, each one more powerful than the last, till finally he could take no more. With a moan he came, the involuntary contractions pleasuring Janeway whose body again spazimed in response.
    Chakotay slowly lowered her to her feet, still crushing her to the wall. He pressed his head against the coolness of the bulkhead. “What are we going to do?” he sighed when he finally caught his breath.
   Janeway was so caught in the moment, for once she was not worried about the ship, the crew or Starfleet. Her focus had narrowed down to him and her. She pulled his lips to hers and the universe faded away.
 
   Janeway woke with a start. Her First Officer stirred and pulled her to him. They were both due on the bridge in fifteen minutes. “Up...” she commanded. Chakotay bolted out of the bed. Coming fully awake... he glanced down at Janeway who could not suppress a giggle at his response. Looking to the chronometer, he realized why her voice sounded so urgent.
    Janeway realized he must have been up through the night; he had already reappropriated his starfleet issue scivvies. That meant he had made a conscious decison to spend the night. Janeway would have to deal with the implications of that later. He was struggling into his uniform as she watched appreciatively. Starting for the door, he turned and flashed her the most heartstopping grin she had ever seen. She couldn’t help herself. He was rewarded with the most uncharacteristic, unabashedly happy expression he had ever witnessed on her face.

*****
    Chakotay entered the bridge as if shot from the turbolift. He was eight minutes late, almost unheard of behavior from the first officer of the Voyager. The day crew all turned to him expectantly. He walked to his seat and was immediately inundated with sensor, fuel consumption and crew reports.
   One look at the Vulcan and Chakotay realized that the efficient security officer had undoubtedly checked on his whereabouts from the security console. A stroke of a key and he almost assuredly knew where the Commander had spent the night. The Vulcan raised one eyebrow as he realized Chakotay was studying him. Well... the Vulcan was the last to intrude on the Captain’s privacy, or any other member of the crew for that matter. Chakotay was almost relieved that the chief security officer was Tuvok, a member of a species as tight lipped as an Aldeberan Shellmouth. Tuvok raised the other eyebrow as if in question. Neither man said a thing but the look that passed between them spoke volumns. Chakotay got the clear impression that the Vulkan’s concern was almost paternal. He almost expected Tuvok to approach him and ask him if his intentions were honorable.
    The Captain emerged from the turbolift interupting this silent exchange. Both men looked at her. Janeway went right to her seat as Chakotay handed her the reports. Chakotay barely looked in her direction. She wondered, not for the first time, how he had managed to hold his emotions in check for such a long time. Of course, as Captain she gave him very little choice. It wasn’t until this very moment that she realized the power she held over him. As his commanding officer, not only his career, but also their relationship was completely under her control. She realized in just what a precarious position Chakotay had placed himself by declaring his feelings for her. His life was literally now in her hands. She held all the power in this relationship. She could discontinue it on a whim and Chakotay would be powerless to challenge any decision she may make. She saw that knowledge in his eyes now. He trusted her, but he was so vulnerable to her desires. If she decided that she should terminate the relationship for the good of the ship, he would have to respect that decision. She decided she would have to make clear her position. She would have to yield some control in the relationship in order to make him feel secure. The only way to do that was to go public with the affair, declare her love openly. In that way, Chakotay would have more control over just where the relationship was heading. There was only one drawback to that course of action. Starfleet and its damned protocals.
    Ensign Kim interrupted her train of thought. “Captain... we are receiving a coded message from Starfleet Command.”
    It was much too soon. Of course, she realized, Starfleet had probably expaned their sphere of influenc in the senen years since they were abducted into the Delta Quadrant. No doubt they had boosted transmission with buoys even this far out. Nothing stays the same. That’s it, she thought. What a collossal gamble... but she might just pull it off. “Ensign Kim...have we registered interception of the transmission yet?”
   “No Mame,” the ensign answered quizically. “It’s encoded, for your eyes only.”
   “You mean for the captains’s eyes only, don’t you Mr. Kim?”
   “Aye, Captain.”
   “Computer, this is Kathryn Janeway, Captain, UFS Voyager. Please confirm.”
   “Confirmed, Captain Kathryn Janeway, UFS Voyager.” the computer droned.
   Computer, I tender my resignation from Starfleet as of this moment. “Computer,” Janeway queried looking at Chakotay’s shocked face, “who is now in command of Voyager?”
    “Voyager is now under the Command of Captain Chakotay,” the computer voiced emotionlessly.
   “Alright, Captain Chakotay,” Janeway said triumphantly, “let’s see them throw the Captain of Voyager into the brig.”
    Chakotay was stunned. Leave it to Janeway to shock the hell out of him. He swore softly to himself. Life with the former captain of Voyager would be anything but dull. This scenario was not even vaguely discussed. Chakotay was not even certain his ascension to captaincy was legal.
    Janeway was watching him, trying to guage his reaction, waiting for him to absorb the impact of her actions.
    “Well, Captain! What are your orders?”
    Chakotay was speechless. His first impulse was to drop to his knee and ask Kathryn, now a civilian, to marry him. Not particularly given to impulse, Chakotay nevertheless dropped to one knee and grasped her hands in his. The former Starfleet captain’s eyes grew wide.
    “Kathryn Janeway, will you marry me?” Chakotay said softly, never taking his eyes from hers.
    It was Janeway’s turn to be shocked. The surprise on her face gave way to a radiant smile. “Yes,” she barely managed to croak out.
    Chakotay stood and took her into his arms. A stunned bridge crew watched as the former command team kissed passionately.
   Whatever political ramifications their return to the Alfa Quadrant wrought, their personal matters were now resolved. Chakotay knew >from that moment on, Starfleet’s reaction could not alter the fact that his future lay with Janeway, they would triumph or fail together. His sense of gratitude for this overwhelming gesture on her part filled him till he thought his heart would burst.
   Tom and B’Lana  were the first among the bridge crew to recover. Clapping and laughing, they drew near the the newly engaged couple, hugging and congratulating them as the rest of the crew did the same. The happiness was contagious, smiles and laughter rippled through the ship replacing the sense of doom that had permeated the crew since their return. Suddenly, all things seemed possible. No matter the outcome, at least the relationship of the former command team, which had been a source of constant worry and concern for the entire crew, seemed destined for a happy ending. It was difficult to worry about their homecoming with Janeway and Chakotay so optimistic and so obviously in love.
 
End Part 1