fic: (VOY) Borrowed Time, 3/3
Borrowed Time -- Part 3
RATED NC-17
Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
It was already late evening when the couple awoke again. Having to leave for the bathroom, Janeway slipped out of the bed and vanished from Chakotay sight into the main area; when she came back, her face looked somewhat contorted by discomfort, if not pain.
"Ow... the thing with muscles you haven't used in a long time...," she laughed and rubbed her thighs. Chakotay smirked.
"You want me to kiss them better? Or massage them?" She rose an eyebrow at him.
"Somehow I doubt that will make it better."
"I'm hurt. You underestimate me. I may just help you train them." The suggestive smile on his face made her roll her eyes.
"That I have no doubts about..." She grinned and approached the bed, but when she reached it, he suddenly jumped up and snagged her around her waist and pulled her onto him. She yelped in surprise and reflexively brought up her hands, landing her lower arms on his chest, what he commented with an "oof".
"That's gonna give me some bruises..." he joked lightly and leaned up to plant a kiss on her smiling lips.
"Talking about kissing it better," she purred, and he felt a stirring in his groin. But first, he had a purpose to fulfill. Turning them around quickly so that she came to lie beneath him, he kissed his way down her body and then sat back on his legs, kneeing between her parted ones. But contrary to what she was hoping and longing for, he didn't touch her sex - he put his hands on her thighs and actually started kneading and massaging her muscles. And her arousal grew with every passing second.
Unerringly Chakotay found the right muscular strings to apply pressure to, and to sooth any stretch that was - all the while Kathryn came closer and closer to losing her mind, because his hands never once touched her center, only grazed the outer lines of her glistening folds, while she was sure that her fluids had to be dripping from her by now.
"Cha-Chakotay..." she gave a strangled moan, all she could manage in her state. Her eyes were closed and her consciousness clouded - she never saw his wicked grin and that his hands and mouth closed their distance to her pleasure center. Kathryn shrieked when, without any warning, his thumb brushed her clitoris and his tongue delved into her wet heat, and only his in forethought placed arms kept her from closing her legs when the sensations rolled over her; overpowered her. "Oh... God," she rasped, and her hands grabbed the sheets.
As suddenly as he had changed from an innocent rub to sexual teasing, he was gone again - at least for the shortest time. Then she felt his lips on hers, tasted herself on him, and realized that he was hovering above her. Kathryn opened her eyes to find his dark orbs looking at her in astonished silence, mesmerized by what he saw - the woman he'd once gotten to know as the always correct and by-the-book Starfleet captain lying beneath him, her face full of unmasked desire.
He moved and brought his hardness to her opening, supporting himself with one arm while using the hand of his other to stroke with his member between her folds, wetting himself. The moment her arms came up to wrap around his neck and pull him into a kiss, he thrust into her with one sure move, and they gasped into each other's mouths.
Chakotay remained buried inside her while his mouth sought out hers again, devouring it with a breathtakingly passionate kiss that, added to their joining, was almost enough to make them both come.
And before either of them knew what was happening, Chakotay, ending the kiss, whispered against her lips, "I love you, Kathryn." He didn't just shock her with his not-so-surprising confession, but himself as well; but then, he also didn't leave them the chance to give his words any further thought; the moment they entered her mind, they were vaporized, as he chose then to begin to drive in and out of her with long strokes, his pelvis meeting hers every time he imbedded himself inside her completely and stimulating her clit even more.
Kathryn arched her back up, offering him her chest, and he closed his lips around one of her breast's rosy peaks, sucking and twirling it with his tongue while his hips bucked into her with forcefully. She brought up her legs around his waist to let him find a better angle for his thrusting - which he did, gliding even deeper and meeting her lower body and her sex' nerve endings even harder.
Little, short cries escaped her throat every time he filled her to the hilt; the sounds begging him to let her climax, end this pleasurable torture he was putting her through by keeping her at the brink of orgasm. He, however, planned on keeping this up a little longer. Catching her hands when they aimed for where their bodies were joined, he intertwined them with his above her head so that she wouldn't be able to touch herself, all the while his thrusting became harder yet, forcing the air from her lungs.
"Please... too much..." Kathryn pleaded, trying to loosen his hold on her hands, but to no avail. Her head squeezing the pillow under her to an almost flat line, she panted and gasped helplessly when his thrusts became shallower. He pounded into her hot depths with all his might - and finally, finally slid one hand down between their bodies. One precisely aimed touch with just the right amount of pressure on the swollen bud that was nestled between her folds, and she was sent to frantic heights moaning and whimpering. She writhed and bucked uncontrollably beneath him, and her walls clamping down on his hardness triggered his release only seconds later.
With one last thrust he emptied himself into her and pressed his body to hers; not even a sheet of paper would have fitted between them at that moment. Her climax lasted longer than it should have been possible, and her womanhood continued gripping his still pulsating shaft, giving him no chance to calm down either.
Only after endless minutes they were able to fight their way back to reality. With his last remaining strength, Chakotay rolled them to the side and cradled Kathryn in his arms, gently kissing her forehead while she was still trying to bring her heartbeat and breathing rhythm back to normal.
He held her for a while; until after some time, he wrapped a blanket around her and left the sleeping area. She heard him rummaging outside, and was sure she made out the distinctive noises of water running. Curiosity almost defeated the weakness she still felt in her legs, her whole body; but before she could get up, he came back - only to pick her up and carry her outside the house. Within seconds she realized where he was headed, and sure enough, he brought her to her bathtub.
Climbing in with her still in his arms, he arranged them so that she was leaning with her back against his chest, and then gently washed her with her sponge. Kathryn let her head fall back and rest on his shoulder while he caressed and cleaned her body, and they both savored the feeling of the hot water surrounding them, revitalizing them. They didn't speak a word, and they also didn't allow the situation turn into a sexual encounter; instead, they relished in the moment, in sharing it with each other, the love and affection between them unspoken, but tangible.
Too soon the water grew cold, and Chakotay got up and lifted his female companion into his arms again, carrying her inside where he wrapped her in a towel and then brought her back to his bed. Being exhausted and relaxed equally, Kathryn was already drifting off to sleep when he laid her down and, after pulling on his pajama pants, he joined her on the bed, spooning up behind her by then sleeping form. With one last tender kiss to her neck he pulled the covers around them, securely wrapped his arms around her, and let sleep claim him as well.
=^=
Time passed by, and Janeway and Chakotay, now happily living and exploring their mutual attraction and whatever else feelings there were between them, slowly began to forget their fate. They had made a wonderful home of their little Starfleet standard cabin, by rearranging the interior, even building a bigger bed and, as Chakotay had originally intended, adding two rooms. They had a whole world to themselves, a paradisiacal landscape of forest-greens and water-blues.
And, most importantly, they had each other. They made love time and again, got to know each other completely anew, learned the other one's body, their likes and dislikes. They talked, sometimes for hours, lying in bed together or sitting outside on a blanket, the topics of their conversations knowing no limits. They even shared some secrets with each other, and revealed where their weaknesses lay. They enjoyed how they never tired of talking to each other; how much they were alike despite entirely different roots.
Sometimes they'd lie in the soft grass close to the river, listen to the soft sounds of the water rushing by, or to their companion's voice when they read to each other. Kathryn loved listening to Chakotay's soothing timbre as much as she delighted in discussing fictional texts and scientific disquisitions with him.
There was just one thing, in those endless hours of conversation, they never talked about: his love confession during their first night of love-making. There was no doubt, to either of them, what they felt for each other, even though they couldn't yet fathom how deep this went; but voicing it again, outside the bedroom where they hadn't the chance to back off and blame passion-clouded minds before fragile feelings could be hurt, didn't seem to be an option yet.
It wasn't that he hadn't revealed his feelings for her before - after all, one could easily consider his 'ancient legend' as a love confession. And still, it hadn't been the same back then, not even three months into their stay. With everything that had developed between them over the following weeks taken into consideration, it suddenly was so different - even to Chakotay, who only now realized that at the time it had been more some kind of admiration he felt, and that the true love had only grown afterwards. So they carefully avoided, if not ignored, even touching the topic.
Aside from that, the way they acted around each other was carefree and light-hearted; they had fallen into the continuous easy banter and teasing between two persons of the same intelligence and humor, and Chakotay discovered a Kathryn Janeway he had never thought could exist beneath coat and mask of a strong, unrelenting woman who walked the ways life presented, life challenged her with without batting an eye. Sure, he had known from almost the beginning of their collaboration that what everyone got to see was a mere façade; still, finally being allowed to look behind it, behind this wall she had erected around her, Kathryn, protecting the woman with the captain, gave him a completely different insight.
Now she was sitting on the ground in front of the plant bed with her Talaxian tomatoes, pulling out weed, talking to the vegetables, and looking so content with the world he couldn't bring himself to disturb her; he just stood there, a few steps away to her side, and watched her, once again realizing how much he really loved her.
He was so entranced by her and lost in his thoughts that he at first didn't notice her turning around and looking at him.
"Chakotay?" Her voice brought him back to the present. He smiled at her when he started to walk towards her and then crouched down next to her.
"How are they coming?"
"One more day, and we'll have another tomato salad dinner." Letting himself fall down, he sat behind her, sneaked an arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, to which responded with a sigh. Then he stood up and gently nudged her to do so as well, pulling her into his arms when she complied and rose herself.
"I've been thinking-"
"Oh?" He looked at her incredulously.
"Kathryn Janeway, you are a cheeky woman," he commented and shook his head at her innocent grin.
"Mh, one of my best traits," she said and leaned in to kiss him - but found him avoiding her lips by turning his head away. A loop-sided smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh yes, indeed." With that, he poked her side. She jumped at this touch, and his smirk turned into a wide grin that made those dimples she adored so much more prominent than ever before. Right then, however, she was too distracted to admire them, as it dawned on her what he was about to do. Desperately she tried to free herself from his grip - but he was too strong. Unmercifully he began to tickle her, and she squealed very unlady- and uncaptain-like while bowing and twitching in his arms; she did her best to wound away from his attacks and laughed so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks, and he laughed mirthfully himself, enjoying seeing her like this.
That was until she tested how ticklish he was.
Poking and pinching his sides close to his armpits, he was quick to end his own assault on her and defend himself by doing his best to grab her and hold her fast, which was not as easy as he thought. Somehow, he managed to back her up against the cabin's outer wall, and finally caught her arms, keeping her wrists in a vice grip above her head.
They were both breathing heavily, and Janeway pressed her body flat against the wall behind her, while Chakotay was leaning against her, their bodies not yet touching, although they could feel each other's heat consuming them. She felt his hot breath on her face, her lips; felt it mingling with hers, a first connection between their mouths that she hoped promised more.
"Chakotay...," she groaned, "kiss me..." And he did. Just not in the way she wanted him to. He pressed his lips against her cheek, let them linger for what felt like minutes, reveling the feel of her skin, before he let her go and walked back into the house without looking back, leaving her to huff in frustration.
Two could play this game.
She heard him chuckle even from outside the cabin, and attempted to rush inside, when another idea occurred to her. Approaching the door quickly, she stumbled just before the entryway and fell to the ground.
"Ouch," she commented, her voice making it clear that whatever pain there was could have been much worse. Still, Chakotay was immediately at her side.
"What happened?"
"I twisted my ankle," she complained and held her leg, scratching together everything she had learned in her - what was it? Two, three? - acting lessons back in school. Chakotay kneeled down next to her and reached out to her foot, but before he had the chance to examine the supposedly hurt limp, Kathryn suddenly lounged forward and tackled him so that he came to lie beneath her in the soft grass. "Gotcha," she laughed and sealed his lips that were standing open in shock with hers. His hand that came up after his surprise had subsided held her to him when he deepened the kiss, and for a moment, they indulged in the sweet caresses their mouths were exchanging. When they parted again, a smirk appeared on his face.
"You're not playing very fair, you know." She smiled at him.
"All is fair in love and war, isn't it?"
"So this is war?" he asked and winked at her, then gave the tip of her nose a playful kiss. She grew serious.
"No, Chakotay. This is love." They looked at each other for a long moment, both breathing heavily again, but this time because they were overwhelmed by their feelings - Chakotay by the expectation of what else she might say now, might add and finally voice, and she for what she was now so sure she needed to tell him. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, before opening them again and locking on to his, and said what he'd longed to hear almost since they'd come here: "I love you."
His hand tenderly brushed back a strand of her hair, before he buried his fingers in the thick wool of this silky auburn-colored mass. Then he pulled her to him once again, and claimed her lips in a lasting, passionate and yet incredibly gentle kiss he poured all his love for her into.
"I love you," he answered after the kiss had ended, and enfolded her in his arms, hugging her close to him.
=^=
Everyone close to a window or view screen was incredibly grateful that they were still able to at least move their eyelids and shut them close when the light globe suddenly seemed to burst in a flash of even brighter light, something that should have been physically impossible, as far as the opinions of the ship's scientists were concerned. It glowed, it burned, it almost blinded everyone, and then...
And then it was gone.
And so was the paralysis that had held them.
All over the ship, people where stumbling and falling, their bodies weakened from the long period of remaining in their quasi-frozen state. The doctor, finally activated again after spending the whole time imprisoned in the ships sleeping systems, soon identified this curious state as some kind of stasis - minus the usually necessary chambers. Every person's bodily functions had been slowed down to an absolute minimum, while their minds had still been fully intact; purposeful, but nevertheless tormenting. Spending hours, days, weeks, or however long, in an undefined condition with one's mind fully aware of it was disturbing enough to cause some people seek counsel.
What was worse - depending on one's viewpoint anyway - was that the ship obviously had been in stasis as well. No one knew how long; there were no recordings, no data. Just a timeless void.
Those who weren't in need of medical care got to work without losing any more time; scanning, analyzing, evaluating. And came up empty. It was as though whatever had held them, whatever had just stolen them an undefined period of time, was nothing more than a figment of their imagination; at least that was what sensors told them with their lack of any result. Frustration grew among the crew; they used every trick they knew, and still got no answers. All they knew was that they were somewhere they had never been before.
The bridge crew was doing their best to get everything back in order; to leave the chaos this episode had caused them behind and find back into daily business. If only it would have been that easy. Hours into their work, their attempts to clean the mess the encounter with this unknown phenomenon had left them with, new tremors rocked the ship - though they were distinctively lighter this time, and only led to minor damages. Nevertheless, it had the crew's frustration grow; it was as though they were running in circles.
Until one announcement - and one activated main view screen - changed everything.
"Sir, we're back in normal space," Harry Kim raised his voice, out of the blue, "at exactly the same coordinates we were when the disturbance pulled us in." The OPS officer didn't need to add that the planet was back as well - that everyone could see on the screen.
"Do you get any life signs from the planet, Mr. Kim?" Forehead in a deep frown, Harry tapped his console a few times, reading and checking the proposed data - and then smiled.
"Affirmative, sir. Two humanoid life forms, just where we have left them."
And for once, Tuvok could almost empathize with the relieved sigh and the following clapping that could be heard all over the bridge.
=^=
For weeks, New Earth's two human occupants had meticulously ignored that there was still a boat that waited to be built. Too busy they had been with other building work and explorations, busying themselves with turning their cabin into something that really deserved the name 'house', and starting a small agriculture to see which food they could grow here when they ran out of supplies.
But after a while, and with an almost guilty conscience, they remembered their original plans to explore the river. Reworking the plans Chakotay had drafted, they chose a temperate morning to resume their work on the water vessel.
However, just as they were about to leave for the building site, a faint crackling noise sounded in the main room.
"Do you hear that?" Janeway asked, her hand on his arm.
"What is that?" They both looked around and followed the sound until they arrived in front of a shelf with some instruments - instruments that by now had gathered a fine layer of dust atop of them. Chakotay pushed away some of the things and revealed to communicators behind them. It was them the sounds came from.
"Someone's calling us?" Janeway wondered aloud, taking one of the devices. Just in that moment a familiar voice rang from them.
"This ... To-" The transmission stopped momentarily, only to go on much clearer after a few seconds. "This is Tom Paris. Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, do you read me?"
For the fraction of a second, they both hesitated. In the past months, they had built themselves a life on New Earth; and while there barely anything could have been more appealing than resuming their journey home, by now they also felt a pierce in their hearts at the thought of leaving. Because the only reason Voyager was back could be that they had found an antidote to cure their commanding duo.
With a carefully guarded voice Chakotay, knowing her well enough, still heard a weak note in, Kathryn activated the communicator.
"This is Janeway," she answered, her eyes holding her lover's.
"Captain! It's good to hear your voice," Paris said, "and I think you will be happy to hear that we have an antidote for you. We'll beam you back aboard in approximately six hours; we had some problems and B'Elanna needs to adjust the transporter's first."
The captain breathed in deeply. "Thank you, Mr. Paris, we will be ready by then. Janeway out."
Chakotay gaze was lowered to the ground when he murmured, "So, this is it?"; only then he looked up again and at her, and in his eyes showed the fear and anxiety of yet another rejection by her; that she would end what had grown between them now that they would be back to being commanding and first officer. One of her hands cupped his cheek, and she gave him a gentle kiss. Hope grew within him when she shook her head.
"I won't allow what we've found here to be left behind," she started and smothered this line of thought his mind was about to take. "I want us to fight for it. It won't be easy, and I will need you to have patience with me, and to remind me from time to time that I'm more than just the captain." She took a shuddering breath. "I want this, Chakotay. I want you in my life, and not just as my first officer. I love you. I meant what I said, and trust me, I don't say this easily. But I love you. I don't promise an even road, and I don't promise we'll always walk it together, because there will come a time, one day or another, when our professional life as captain and commander will interfere with our private life as Chakotay and Kathryn." Her thumb gently stroked his cheek, and he leaned into her touch, his arms winding around her body."But I'm ready to face every difficulty and argument, to overcome every difference, and do everything to keep our love alive - if you are as well."
He didn't even need to think about it. "I am. Believe me, now that I have you, I won't let you go again. I love you too much to survive without you. You're in my heart, Kathryn. You are my heart." He caressed his lips with hers, and she deepened the kiss, passion claiming them. When they parted again, Chakotay added in a low voice, "My warrior princess." They both smiled at this; all too well remembering this evening that had marked the beginning of a change in their relationship.
"Come on, we still have to pack." Janeway unwillingly broke the moment and slipped from his embrace - not without stealing another kiss from him he gave with much pleasure - and they got to work. Sometime during their sorting and packing, their dismantling and stowing away, they became aware of a sound that was well-known, but hadn't been heard in a long time.
"Someone obviously wants to say goodbye," Chakotay commented when he saw the small ape standing next to the tomato plant bed.
"Hello, friend," Janeway greeted the animal, and held out her hand to him, curiously watched by the man standing behind her. To their surprise, the primate closed the distance to them and almost touched the woman's hand, but then thought the better of it and flew into the woods, climbing the closest tree he could reach. Still, he rose on his legs and stood to full height, lifting one arm high, as though he was waving at the two humans still watching him.
Janeway mimicked the movement, raising her hand and waving as well.
"Goodbye to you, too, little one."
=^=
The transporter room still looked a bit scrambled, like so many other parts of the ship; but right now the only important thing anyway was that it was possible to beam up the two they had left behind.
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway," the Vulcan man spoke after tapping his communicator. It took the captain several seconds to answer the call, something that didn't go unnoticed - to no one in the room.
"Janeway here."
"We are ready to beam you aboard."
"Acknowledged. Two to beam up on my command." Another good two minutes passed, before the comm. system sounded again. "Janeway to Voyager. Energize."
Shortly before Kathryn had given the order to transport them to the ship, she and Chakotay had shared a last intimate moment in their personal solitude that had become their paradise; sharing another kiss and an encouraging touch of hand. Only then they straightened and did their best to give a professional picture.
Nevertheless, a sickening feeling went through both of them when the by now so familiar view vanished from sight and was replaced by the ship's transporter room. It didn't seem right to be there; it didn't seem right to leave what they had created on New Earth, despite their promise to hold on to their relationship and feelings.
At least Janeway had a bit of a distraction the moment she noticed the tired, disheveled appearance of their welcome committee. Putting her personal feelings aside, she immediately asked what had happened, her voice showing deep concern.
"It's a very long story, captain... though I'm sure yours will be considerably more interesting," Tom Paris, who had accompanied Tuvok in the transporter room to welcome back their commanding duo, answered, even managing a weak but honest smile.
Janeway looked curiously from one to another, before finally focusing on Chakotay, who only shrugged. There was the hint of a smile in his eyes, and she knew that he thought exactly the same as her. A long story?
It certainly was.
END
RATED NC-17
Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
It was already late evening when the couple awoke again. Having to leave for the bathroom, Janeway slipped out of the bed and vanished from Chakotay sight into the main area; when she came back, her face looked somewhat contorted by discomfort, if not pain.
"Ow... the thing with muscles you haven't used in a long time...," she laughed and rubbed her thighs. Chakotay smirked.
"You want me to kiss them better? Or massage them?" She rose an eyebrow at him.
"Somehow I doubt that will make it better."
"I'm hurt. You underestimate me. I may just help you train them." The suggestive smile on his face made her roll her eyes.
"That I have no doubts about..." She grinned and approached the bed, but when she reached it, he suddenly jumped up and snagged her around her waist and pulled her onto him. She yelped in surprise and reflexively brought up her hands, landing her lower arms on his chest, what he commented with an "oof".
"That's gonna give me some bruises..." he joked lightly and leaned up to plant a kiss on her smiling lips.
"Talking about kissing it better," she purred, and he felt a stirring in his groin. But first, he had a purpose to fulfill. Turning them around quickly so that she came to lie beneath him, he kissed his way down her body and then sat back on his legs, kneeing between her parted ones. But contrary to what she was hoping and longing for, he didn't touch her sex - he put his hands on her thighs and actually started kneading and massaging her muscles. And her arousal grew with every passing second.
Unerringly Chakotay found the right muscular strings to apply pressure to, and to sooth any stretch that was - all the while Kathryn came closer and closer to losing her mind, because his hands never once touched her center, only grazed the outer lines of her glistening folds, while she was sure that her fluids had to be dripping from her by now.
"Cha-Chakotay..." she gave a strangled moan, all she could manage in her state. Her eyes were closed and her consciousness clouded - she never saw his wicked grin and that his hands and mouth closed their distance to her pleasure center. Kathryn shrieked when, without any warning, his thumb brushed her clitoris and his tongue delved into her wet heat, and only his in forethought placed arms kept her from closing her legs when the sensations rolled over her; overpowered her. "Oh... God," she rasped, and her hands grabbed the sheets.
As suddenly as he had changed from an innocent rub to sexual teasing, he was gone again - at least for the shortest time. Then she felt his lips on hers, tasted herself on him, and realized that he was hovering above her. Kathryn opened her eyes to find his dark orbs looking at her in astonished silence, mesmerized by what he saw - the woman he'd once gotten to know as the always correct and by-the-book Starfleet captain lying beneath him, her face full of unmasked desire.
He moved and brought his hardness to her opening, supporting himself with one arm while using the hand of his other to stroke with his member between her folds, wetting himself. The moment her arms came up to wrap around his neck and pull him into a kiss, he thrust into her with one sure move, and they gasped into each other's mouths.
Chakotay remained buried inside her while his mouth sought out hers again, devouring it with a breathtakingly passionate kiss that, added to their joining, was almost enough to make them both come.
And before either of them knew what was happening, Chakotay, ending the kiss, whispered against her lips, "I love you, Kathryn." He didn't just shock her with his not-so-surprising confession, but himself as well; but then, he also didn't leave them the chance to give his words any further thought; the moment they entered her mind, they were vaporized, as he chose then to begin to drive in and out of her with long strokes, his pelvis meeting hers every time he imbedded himself inside her completely and stimulating her clit even more.
Kathryn arched her back up, offering him her chest, and he closed his lips around one of her breast's rosy peaks, sucking and twirling it with his tongue while his hips bucked into her with forcefully. She brought up her legs around his waist to let him find a better angle for his thrusting - which he did, gliding even deeper and meeting her lower body and her sex' nerve endings even harder.
Little, short cries escaped her throat every time he filled her to the hilt; the sounds begging him to let her climax, end this pleasurable torture he was putting her through by keeping her at the brink of orgasm. He, however, planned on keeping this up a little longer. Catching her hands when they aimed for where their bodies were joined, he intertwined them with his above her head so that she wouldn't be able to touch herself, all the while his thrusting became harder yet, forcing the air from her lungs.
"Please... too much..." Kathryn pleaded, trying to loosen his hold on her hands, but to no avail. Her head squeezing the pillow under her to an almost flat line, she panted and gasped helplessly when his thrusts became shallower. He pounded into her hot depths with all his might - and finally, finally slid one hand down between their bodies. One precisely aimed touch with just the right amount of pressure on the swollen bud that was nestled between her folds, and she was sent to frantic heights moaning and whimpering. She writhed and bucked uncontrollably beneath him, and her walls clamping down on his hardness triggered his release only seconds later.
With one last thrust he emptied himself into her and pressed his body to hers; not even a sheet of paper would have fitted between them at that moment. Her climax lasted longer than it should have been possible, and her womanhood continued gripping his still pulsating shaft, giving him no chance to calm down either.
Only after endless minutes they were able to fight their way back to reality. With his last remaining strength, Chakotay rolled them to the side and cradled Kathryn in his arms, gently kissing her forehead while she was still trying to bring her heartbeat and breathing rhythm back to normal.
He held her for a while; until after some time, he wrapped a blanket around her and left the sleeping area. She heard him rummaging outside, and was sure she made out the distinctive noises of water running. Curiosity almost defeated the weakness she still felt in her legs, her whole body; but before she could get up, he came back - only to pick her up and carry her outside the house. Within seconds she realized where he was headed, and sure enough, he brought her to her bathtub.
Climbing in with her still in his arms, he arranged them so that she was leaning with her back against his chest, and then gently washed her with her sponge. Kathryn let her head fall back and rest on his shoulder while he caressed and cleaned her body, and they both savored the feeling of the hot water surrounding them, revitalizing them. They didn't speak a word, and they also didn't allow the situation turn into a sexual encounter; instead, they relished in the moment, in sharing it with each other, the love and affection between them unspoken, but tangible.
Too soon the water grew cold, and Chakotay got up and lifted his female companion into his arms again, carrying her inside where he wrapped her in a towel and then brought her back to his bed. Being exhausted and relaxed equally, Kathryn was already drifting off to sleep when he laid her down and, after pulling on his pajama pants, he joined her on the bed, spooning up behind her by then sleeping form. With one last tender kiss to her neck he pulled the covers around them, securely wrapped his arms around her, and let sleep claim him as well.
=^=
Time passed by, and Janeway and Chakotay, now happily living and exploring their mutual attraction and whatever else feelings there were between them, slowly began to forget their fate. They had made a wonderful home of their little Starfleet standard cabin, by rearranging the interior, even building a bigger bed and, as Chakotay had originally intended, adding two rooms. They had a whole world to themselves, a paradisiacal landscape of forest-greens and water-blues.
And, most importantly, they had each other. They made love time and again, got to know each other completely anew, learned the other one's body, their likes and dislikes. They talked, sometimes for hours, lying in bed together or sitting outside on a blanket, the topics of their conversations knowing no limits. They even shared some secrets with each other, and revealed where their weaknesses lay. They enjoyed how they never tired of talking to each other; how much they were alike despite entirely different roots.
Sometimes they'd lie in the soft grass close to the river, listen to the soft sounds of the water rushing by, or to their companion's voice when they read to each other. Kathryn loved listening to Chakotay's soothing timbre as much as she delighted in discussing fictional texts and scientific disquisitions with him.
There was just one thing, in those endless hours of conversation, they never talked about: his love confession during their first night of love-making. There was no doubt, to either of them, what they felt for each other, even though they couldn't yet fathom how deep this went; but voicing it again, outside the bedroom where they hadn't the chance to back off and blame passion-clouded minds before fragile feelings could be hurt, didn't seem to be an option yet.
It wasn't that he hadn't revealed his feelings for her before - after all, one could easily consider his 'ancient legend' as a love confession. And still, it hadn't been the same back then, not even three months into their stay. With everything that had developed between them over the following weeks taken into consideration, it suddenly was so different - even to Chakotay, who only now realized that at the time it had been more some kind of admiration he felt, and that the true love had only grown afterwards. So they carefully avoided, if not ignored, even touching the topic.
Aside from that, the way they acted around each other was carefree and light-hearted; they had fallen into the continuous easy banter and teasing between two persons of the same intelligence and humor, and Chakotay discovered a Kathryn Janeway he had never thought could exist beneath coat and mask of a strong, unrelenting woman who walked the ways life presented, life challenged her with without batting an eye. Sure, he had known from almost the beginning of their collaboration that what everyone got to see was a mere façade; still, finally being allowed to look behind it, behind this wall she had erected around her, Kathryn, protecting the woman with the captain, gave him a completely different insight.
Now she was sitting on the ground in front of the plant bed with her Talaxian tomatoes, pulling out weed, talking to the vegetables, and looking so content with the world he couldn't bring himself to disturb her; he just stood there, a few steps away to her side, and watched her, once again realizing how much he really loved her.
He was so entranced by her and lost in his thoughts that he at first didn't notice her turning around and looking at him.
"Chakotay?" Her voice brought him back to the present. He smiled at her when he started to walk towards her and then crouched down next to her.
"How are they coming?"
"One more day, and we'll have another tomato salad dinner." Letting himself fall down, he sat behind her, sneaked an arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, to which responded with a sigh. Then he stood up and gently nudged her to do so as well, pulling her into his arms when she complied and rose herself.
"I've been thinking-"
"Oh?" He looked at her incredulously.
"Kathryn Janeway, you are a cheeky woman," he commented and shook his head at her innocent grin.
"Mh, one of my best traits," she said and leaned in to kiss him - but found him avoiding her lips by turning his head away. A loop-sided smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh yes, indeed." With that, he poked her side. She jumped at this touch, and his smirk turned into a wide grin that made those dimples she adored so much more prominent than ever before. Right then, however, she was too distracted to admire them, as it dawned on her what he was about to do. Desperately she tried to free herself from his grip - but he was too strong. Unmercifully he began to tickle her, and she squealed very unlady- and uncaptain-like while bowing and twitching in his arms; she did her best to wound away from his attacks and laughed so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks, and he laughed mirthfully himself, enjoying seeing her like this.
That was until she tested how ticklish he was.
Poking and pinching his sides close to his armpits, he was quick to end his own assault on her and defend himself by doing his best to grab her and hold her fast, which was not as easy as he thought. Somehow, he managed to back her up against the cabin's outer wall, and finally caught her arms, keeping her wrists in a vice grip above her head.
They were both breathing heavily, and Janeway pressed her body flat against the wall behind her, while Chakotay was leaning against her, their bodies not yet touching, although they could feel each other's heat consuming them. She felt his hot breath on her face, her lips; felt it mingling with hers, a first connection between their mouths that she hoped promised more.
"Chakotay...," she groaned, "kiss me..." And he did. Just not in the way she wanted him to. He pressed his lips against her cheek, let them linger for what felt like minutes, reveling the feel of her skin, before he let her go and walked back into the house without looking back, leaving her to huff in frustration.
Two could play this game.
She heard him chuckle even from outside the cabin, and attempted to rush inside, when another idea occurred to her. Approaching the door quickly, she stumbled just before the entryway and fell to the ground.
"Ouch," she commented, her voice making it clear that whatever pain there was could have been much worse. Still, Chakotay was immediately at her side.
"What happened?"
"I twisted my ankle," she complained and held her leg, scratching together everything she had learned in her - what was it? Two, three? - acting lessons back in school. Chakotay kneeled down next to her and reached out to her foot, but before he had the chance to examine the supposedly hurt limp, Kathryn suddenly lounged forward and tackled him so that he came to lie beneath her in the soft grass. "Gotcha," she laughed and sealed his lips that were standing open in shock with hers. His hand that came up after his surprise had subsided held her to him when he deepened the kiss, and for a moment, they indulged in the sweet caresses their mouths were exchanging. When they parted again, a smirk appeared on his face.
"You're not playing very fair, you know." She smiled at him.
"All is fair in love and war, isn't it?"
"So this is war?" he asked and winked at her, then gave the tip of her nose a playful kiss. She grew serious.
"No, Chakotay. This is love." They looked at each other for a long moment, both breathing heavily again, but this time because they were overwhelmed by their feelings - Chakotay by the expectation of what else she might say now, might add and finally voice, and she for what she was now so sure she needed to tell him. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, before opening them again and locking on to his, and said what he'd longed to hear almost since they'd come here: "I love you."
His hand tenderly brushed back a strand of her hair, before he buried his fingers in the thick wool of this silky auburn-colored mass. Then he pulled her to him once again, and claimed her lips in a lasting, passionate and yet incredibly gentle kiss he poured all his love for her into.
"I love you," he answered after the kiss had ended, and enfolded her in his arms, hugging her close to him.
=^=
Everyone close to a window or view screen was incredibly grateful that they were still able to at least move their eyelids and shut them close when the light globe suddenly seemed to burst in a flash of even brighter light, something that should have been physically impossible, as far as the opinions of the ship's scientists were concerned. It glowed, it burned, it almost blinded everyone, and then...
And then it was gone.
And so was the paralysis that had held them.
All over the ship, people where stumbling and falling, their bodies weakened from the long period of remaining in their quasi-frozen state. The doctor, finally activated again after spending the whole time imprisoned in the ships sleeping systems, soon identified this curious state as some kind of stasis - minus the usually necessary chambers. Every person's bodily functions had been slowed down to an absolute minimum, while their minds had still been fully intact; purposeful, but nevertheless tormenting. Spending hours, days, weeks, or however long, in an undefined condition with one's mind fully aware of it was disturbing enough to cause some people seek counsel.
What was worse - depending on one's viewpoint anyway - was that the ship obviously had been in stasis as well. No one knew how long; there were no recordings, no data. Just a timeless void.
Those who weren't in need of medical care got to work without losing any more time; scanning, analyzing, evaluating. And came up empty. It was as though whatever had held them, whatever had just stolen them an undefined period of time, was nothing more than a figment of their imagination; at least that was what sensors told them with their lack of any result. Frustration grew among the crew; they used every trick they knew, and still got no answers. All they knew was that they were somewhere they had never been before.
The bridge crew was doing their best to get everything back in order; to leave the chaos this episode had caused them behind and find back into daily business. If only it would have been that easy. Hours into their work, their attempts to clean the mess the encounter with this unknown phenomenon had left them with, new tremors rocked the ship - though they were distinctively lighter this time, and only led to minor damages. Nevertheless, it had the crew's frustration grow; it was as though they were running in circles.
Until one announcement - and one activated main view screen - changed everything.
"Sir, we're back in normal space," Harry Kim raised his voice, out of the blue, "at exactly the same coordinates we were when the disturbance pulled us in." The OPS officer didn't need to add that the planet was back as well - that everyone could see on the screen.
"Do you get any life signs from the planet, Mr. Kim?" Forehead in a deep frown, Harry tapped his console a few times, reading and checking the proposed data - and then smiled.
"Affirmative, sir. Two humanoid life forms, just where we have left them."
And for once, Tuvok could almost empathize with the relieved sigh and the following clapping that could be heard all over the bridge.
=^=
For weeks, New Earth's two human occupants had meticulously ignored that there was still a boat that waited to be built. Too busy they had been with other building work and explorations, busying themselves with turning their cabin into something that really deserved the name 'house', and starting a small agriculture to see which food they could grow here when they ran out of supplies.
But after a while, and with an almost guilty conscience, they remembered their original plans to explore the river. Reworking the plans Chakotay had drafted, they chose a temperate morning to resume their work on the water vessel.
However, just as they were about to leave for the building site, a faint crackling noise sounded in the main room.
"Do you hear that?" Janeway asked, her hand on his arm.
"What is that?" They both looked around and followed the sound until they arrived in front of a shelf with some instruments - instruments that by now had gathered a fine layer of dust atop of them. Chakotay pushed away some of the things and revealed to communicators behind them. It was them the sounds came from.
"Someone's calling us?" Janeway wondered aloud, taking one of the devices. Just in that moment a familiar voice rang from them.
"This ... To-" The transmission stopped momentarily, only to go on much clearer after a few seconds. "This is Tom Paris. Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, do you read me?"
For the fraction of a second, they both hesitated. In the past months, they had built themselves a life on New Earth; and while there barely anything could have been more appealing than resuming their journey home, by now they also felt a pierce in their hearts at the thought of leaving. Because the only reason Voyager was back could be that they had found an antidote to cure their commanding duo.
With a carefully guarded voice Chakotay, knowing her well enough, still heard a weak note in, Kathryn activated the communicator.
"This is Janeway," she answered, her eyes holding her lover's.
"Captain! It's good to hear your voice," Paris said, "and I think you will be happy to hear that we have an antidote for you. We'll beam you back aboard in approximately six hours; we had some problems and B'Elanna needs to adjust the transporter's first."
The captain breathed in deeply. "Thank you, Mr. Paris, we will be ready by then. Janeway out."
Chakotay gaze was lowered to the ground when he murmured, "So, this is it?"; only then he looked up again and at her, and in his eyes showed the fear and anxiety of yet another rejection by her; that she would end what had grown between them now that they would be back to being commanding and first officer. One of her hands cupped his cheek, and she gave him a gentle kiss. Hope grew within him when she shook her head.
"I won't allow what we've found here to be left behind," she started and smothered this line of thought his mind was about to take. "I want us to fight for it. It won't be easy, and I will need you to have patience with me, and to remind me from time to time that I'm more than just the captain." She took a shuddering breath. "I want this, Chakotay. I want you in my life, and not just as my first officer. I love you. I meant what I said, and trust me, I don't say this easily. But I love you. I don't promise an even road, and I don't promise we'll always walk it together, because there will come a time, one day or another, when our professional life as captain and commander will interfere with our private life as Chakotay and Kathryn." Her thumb gently stroked his cheek, and he leaned into her touch, his arms winding around her body."But I'm ready to face every difficulty and argument, to overcome every difference, and do everything to keep our love alive - if you are as well."
He didn't even need to think about it. "I am. Believe me, now that I have you, I won't let you go again. I love you too much to survive without you. You're in my heart, Kathryn. You are my heart." He caressed his lips with hers, and she deepened the kiss, passion claiming them. When they parted again, Chakotay added in a low voice, "My warrior princess." They both smiled at this; all too well remembering this evening that had marked the beginning of a change in their relationship.
"Come on, we still have to pack." Janeway unwillingly broke the moment and slipped from his embrace - not without stealing another kiss from him he gave with much pleasure - and they got to work. Sometime during their sorting and packing, their dismantling and stowing away, they became aware of a sound that was well-known, but hadn't been heard in a long time.
"Someone obviously wants to say goodbye," Chakotay commented when he saw the small ape standing next to the tomato plant bed.
"Hello, friend," Janeway greeted the animal, and held out her hand to him, curiously watched by the man standing behind her. To their surprise, the primate closed the distance to them and almost touched the woman's hand, but then thought the better of it and flew into the woods, climbing the closest tree he could reach. Still, he rose on his legs and stood to full height, lifting one arm high, as though he was waving at the two humans still watching him.
Janeway mimicked the movement, raising her hand and waving as well.
"Goodbye to you, too, little one."
=^=
The transporter room still looked a bit scrambled, like so many other parts of the ship; but right now the only important thing anyway was that it was possible to beam up the two they had left behind.
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway," the Vulcan man spoke after tapping his communicator. It took the captain several seconds to answer the call, something that didn't go unnoticed - to no one in the room.
"Janeway here."
"We are ready to beam you aboard."
"Acknowledged. Two to beam up on my command." Another good two minutes passed, before the comm. system sounded again. "Janeway to Voyager. Energize."
Shortly before Kathryn had given the order to transport them to the ship, she and Chakotay had shared a last intimate moment in their personal solitude that had become their paradise; sharing another kiss and an encouraging touch of hand. Only then they straightened and did their best to give a professional picture.
Nevertheless, a sickening feeling went through both of them when the by now so familiar view vanished from sight and was replaced by the ship's transporter room. It didn't seem right to be there; it didn't seem right to leave what they had created on New Earth, despite their promise to hold on to their relationship and feelings.
At least Janeway had a bit of a distraction the moment she noticed the tired, disheveled appearance of their welcome committee. Putting her personal feelings aside, she immediately asked what had happened, her voice showing deep concern.
"It's a very long story, captain... though I'm sure yours will be considerably more interesting," Tom Paris, who had accompanied Tuvok in the transporter room to welcome back their commanding duo, answered, even managing a weak but honest smile.
Janeway looked curiously from one to another, before finally focusing on Chakotay, who only shrugged. There was the hint of a smile in his eyes, and she knew that he thought exactly the same as her. A long story?
It certainly was.
END