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The captain sat comfortably in the mess hall reading over a padd, coffee in hand. Neelix had mentioned to her the other day that she’d been spending quite a bit of time alone and that perhaps if she would make an appearance every once in a while it would serve to boost the ship's morale. She complied with a slight eye roll and a gentle smile but agreed that he may have had a point. She actually found it quite enjoyable, the occasional smile or small talk, it served to brighten her mood as well as others.
Her eyes drifted from her padd to the bright-eyed little girl who had just run through the doors smiling like the cat that got the cream. Kathryn couldn’t help but to match the girl’s bright and cheery attitude. Her eyes softened in sadness, for a moment as she realized how big the girl was getting, and how it seemed only yesterday she was able to cradle her in her arms.
“Captain!” Naomi shouted as she halted, just in time as not to crash into the captain.
Next through the doors was Sam Wildman, a bit embarrassed thinking her daughter was interrupting the captain during her break. She gave the mother a reassuring smile and shifted her attention back to her Naomi who was wriggling with excitement.
“What is it you have to tell me?” she smiled.
“Well, I don’t have to tell you anything, but I have to show you something,” she replied.
It was then that Kathryn noticed a piece of paper hidden behind the girl’s back.
“What do you have to show me?” she chuckled.
“I drew you a picture,” she held out the paper proudly.
Kathryn smiled brightly and accepted the drawing to take a closer look.
“I drew you, the ship and--”
It was then that Kathryn let out a burst of laughter.
“And my boyfriend huh?” Kathryn said.
“Yeah! My mommy told me boyfriends and girlfriends hold hands, and make each other smile and laugh, and that they sometimes even kiss. I’ve never seen you kiss him but I’ve seen you do all the other things!”
“Mmmhmmm” Kathryn stifled another laugh and shook her head.
“Plus I… didn’t know how to spell Chakotay.”
“It's a beautiful drawing Naomi. You’re quite the artist! I think I’ll hang this in my ready room!”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes widening in delight.
“Of course! Artwork of this quality deserves to be hung in a place of honor. I’ll hang it somewhere where everyone who comes in can see it.”
Kathryn was caught slightly off guard as Naomi pounced on her for a hug. After a moment of hesitation, she hugged her back.
“Naomi! Come on we have to go back to our quarters, it’s getting late,” Sam called.
Naomi let out a huff and stomped her foot.
“You’d better listen to your mother. Don’t make me make that an order, young lady!” she joked.
Naomi giggled as she waved goodbye and ran to her mother's side.
The next day, just as her shift was starting, she proudly hung the drawing on the wall behind her desk. Tom stopped in just a few moments later to discuss new obstacles in the charted path and to attempt to come up with an alternative.
After they finished their business talk he squinted his eyes and looked at Naomi’s drawing.
“What does that say?” he muttered.
“It’s a drawing of Voyager, the commander, and myself. Naomi gave it to me. It says ‘Captain Janeway’, ‘Voyager’ and… ‘Chakotay.’”
“That doesn’t look like it says Chakotay.”
She huffed.
“It says ‘The captain’s boyfriend’,” she said with an embarrassed smirk.
He immediately busted out laughing.
“That’s great! Her and half of this ship are in agreement. You two getting together anytime soon?”
“Mr. Paris, Commander Chakotay and I have a professional relationship and friendship, nothing more. I suggest we change the subject considering its entirely inappropriate for a captain to be discussing her love life.”
“Or lack thereof,” he muttered.
“I suggest you get back on the bridge before I assign you to clean every inch of this ship with a toothbrush for that comment, and the ones you’ve thought of but haven’t said...yet.”
“Yes ma’am.”
He turned to leave but stopped at the door. Turning back he approached her once more.
“Permission to speak freely?” He asked.
“I’d say no, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t matter.”
“I speak on behalf of the crew when I tell you that we would support you if you ever chose to start a relationship with Chakotay.”
“Thank you for your support, but I don't plan on making any changes to my personal life at the moment. That's the end of this conversation. Dismissed."
He nodded in disappointment, most likely over a lost betting pool, and walked back to the bridge.
After her shift was over she went back to her quarters and sat with a cup of coffee and a book off her shelf. A short while later she heard a chime and called for the doors to open.
“I just finished my shift. I thought maybe you’d like to join me for dinner,” Chakotay smirked.
“That sounds lovely.” She smiled back and placed her coffee cup and book on the table.
He sat next to her and took off his jacket.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“It was...interesting. Naomi gave me a little gift yesterday. It caused a bit of trouble this morning,” she smirked, trying to keep her laughter concealed.
He looked at her, on the verge of laughter himself.
“Really? She gave me one today,” he said with a chuckle.
“What did she give you?” she asked.
“A drawing, of me and you...on a date.”
After he said that, there was no holding back her laughter.
“You’re kidding!” she said, shaking her head.
“She gave me a drawing of Voyager, the captain, and the captain's boyfriend! I hung it in my ready room, got a few questionable looks, and some comments from Tom Paris.”
He joined in on her contagious laughter.
After both of them had calmed down, and Kathryn had wiped the tears that streamed down her cheeks, he looked at her with amusement and said: “I can only imagine what Tom had to say.”
She looked down at her hands in her lap and then back at him.
“Just that...if I ever decided to start a relationship with a member of the crew, I would have everyone's support.”
He smiled even brighter and she couldn’t help but return it.
“That’s good to know,” he said, sliding closer to her.
“Yes, it is,” she whispered before closing the rest of the space between their lips for a tender kiss.
She pulled back, as a thought had popped into her head.
“Do you think Naomi knows?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Well I mean, we have been getting worse at hiding this. You with your loving stares on the bridge and your little touches. You think nobody can see, but you’re wrong! Besides, I’ve been told I spend too much time alone hiding in my quarters. Neelix even felt the need to lecture me.”
He laughed and kissed her on the cheek before pulling her back to lay in his arms.
“He lectured me too. Maybe if we tell him what we’re really up to, that we’re alone together… he’d let us be.”
“Let us be? If he found out we’re in a relationship he’d throw a party!”
“You’re probably right,” he said.
“But, what Tom said did get me thinking,” her tone suddenly grew quieter.
“It did?” he asked.
“It did,” she repeated.
She sat up and looked at him, taking his hands in her own.
“We’ve been together for nearly six months. No catastrophic mishaps, no impact on our working relationship, and now...no worries about the crew's reaction,”
“What are you saying Kathryn?” she could practically see the excitement and hope dancing wild in his eyes.
She took a deep breath.
“I’m saying that I love you, and all these important reasons that I had for keeping what we have a secret...they don’t seem so important anymore,”
He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead.
“I love you too,” he said.
“So maybe we could have dinner together in the mess hall. We’ll get to laugh at the shocked faces of the crew when we walk in holding hands,”
“Do you think Harry would faint if I kissed your cheek?” he joked.
“We won’t know until we try!”
She leaped off the couch and they both put their jackets on, leaving her quarters hand-in-hand.
“Thanks so much for offering to babysit Naomi, Tom. I haven’t gotten to use the holodecks in weeks. It’ll be nice to do something relaxing for once.”
“Of course! Any time. Have fun, Sam,” he said.
She walked out the door and immediately Tom felt something tugging on his jacket. He turned around to see Naomi with an annoyed look on her face, arms crossed, and tapping one foot impatiently. He’d seen this look on the captain a few times before.
“Did it work?” she asked.
“It worked!” he shouted, lifting her up and twirling her around. She giggled as he tossed her onto the couch cushions and tickled her feet.
He sat next to her as she got up and fixed her now messy hair. She was still giggling and shouting that she was dizzy.
“Kid, you just got me so many replicator rations I won’t have to eat Neelix’s cooking for 30 years,” he said.
“What about my present?” she asked with an innocent smile.
“Oh, I didn’t forget.”
He reached into his pocket and took out a bag of candy.
“There’s more where that came from,” he promised.
“Do you need me to make any more drawings?” she asked as she dug around in the bag and took out some chocolate to eat.
“Well, actually I was thinking you could draw one of me...on a date with B’Elanna,”
She huffed and put the candy down.
“Get my crayons, please,” she commanded.
“Yes, ma’am.”