“Aye, Captain.  We'll see you in about 15 minutes.  Delta Flyer out!”  Chakotay terminated the communications link with Voyager and sighed with relief.  It had been a long away mission—a three-day trip that had stretched into a very long three weeks—an endless three weeks with Neelix on an unpopulated planet restocking food supplies.  It was midmorning by the chronometer but Chakotay was tired; the journey had take nearly 18 hours and he had not slept in more than 24 hours.

Voyager had found a planet rich in mineral resources, many of them desperately needed by engineering so the Captain had decided to land the ship and give the crew an opportunity to rest while they collected the materials they needed.  The second day on the planet Neelix had approached the Captain about information on a neighboring planet that had showed up as a one sentence statement on one of the reports from astrometrics.  Neelix had been insistent that they check the planet for possible food plants.  After Neelix had tirelessly hounded her for three days, Kathryn had finally turned to Chakotay for his input.  Reading the desperation in her eyes and knowing she would get no rest until Neelix got what he wanted, Chakotay had volunteered to take Neelix to the planet on the Delta Flyer.  A day to get there, a day to find nothing, and a day to get back was his plan.

Neither of the Command Team had expected the away team to find anything useful.  They had been mistaken, not about the readings from astrometrics—that had turned out to be useless sea vegetation laden with sulfur.  But a plant that had not registered on the scans did prove to be edible and highly nutritious according to scans.  It was so nutritious that Neelix was singing its praises even more loudly than he had leola root.  That one detail made Chakotay a little leery of the new vegetable that Neelix had dubbed agarbreep.  The name didn't make it sound any better.  Neelix had insisted on harvesting every vegetable they could, putting as many as possible in stasis and storing the rest in every imaginable nook and cranny.  Chakotay had not even tried to count how many plants and seed pods Neelix had managed to cram into the storage bays of the Flyer.  Chakotay had drawn the line at the main cabin; he didn't want flying agarbreep hitting any controls if they encountered turbulence, at least that was the reason he gave Neelix.  The truth was he wanted one place on the Flyer where he didn't have to look at the ugly brownish vegetable with a sickly yellow-green cast and those ridiculous blue spots.  It had been late in the day when they had finished loading the flyer but Chakotay had decided they should leave right away rather than delay their departure until the next day.  Neelix was a cheerful companion but after three weeks of cheer Chakotay was ready for a little peace and quiet.

Chakotay shifted his thought to more pleasant memories—like those of his last night on Voyager with Kathryn and his expectations about his welcome home once they were alone.  Although well established between the two of them, their relationship was still unknown to the crew.  After three weeks with Neelix's enthusiasm about an ugly vegetable, Chakotay was looking forward to enthusiasm about something a lot more pleasurable and personal.  He checked the readings again – right on course for Voyager and home.  He sighed again, this time in pleasant anticipation before reaching for the switch to open a channel and requesting clearance for the docking bay.  It was good to be home.
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Neelix had made sure the people assigned to unloading the agarbreep understood exactly how to store the harvested crop and that the hydroponics department was taking responsibility for the live plants.  Once he was satisfied about the remaining supply, he gathered enough to serve as the main course at dinner and headed for the galley, stopping only at sickbay to get the final safety check from the doctor.  Once he made it back to the galley with the doctor's approval on a pad in his hand, Neelix happily busied himself creating a culinary delight for the crew's evening meal.  The plant had more vitamins and trace minerals than leola root and promised to be as easy to fit into recipes as leola root.  (Of course, for Neelix, 'fitting' it into a recipe meant getting it physically into the same cooking pot.)  He wanted to show off his discovery to the captain as soon as possible.  He thought he would see how it gelled before making agarbreep lasagna.  He might even add some of the more boring vegetables like potatoes and carrots and onions and try for a vegetarian stew of sorts.  Yes, that would make a nice evening meal for the crew tonight.  Neelix selected his knives and pots with care before settling to work humming contentedly.
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Chakotay had gladly accepted Neelix's offer to supervise the unloading of their cargo in exchange for writing up the report of the away mission.  He would have written the report anyway.  He gathered his carrier of personal items and left the shuttle expecting to find B'Elanna on the shuttle deck to check out the Flyer, Tom there to check out the Flyer's paint job, and the Captain there to check out her away team.  He was not disappointed.  After he and Neelix had made very cursory reports, Neelix turned his attention back to the agarbreep and Chakotay followed the Captain out of the docking bay.  She made small talk about the crew until they entered a turbo lift.  She directed it to the bridge; he directed it to drop him near his quarters.

“Captain, I'll meet you on the bridge in about 20 minutes if that is acceptable.”

“Make it 30 minutes, Commander.  There's no hurry.  You can give me a preliminary verbal and turn in a detailed written report later tomorrow.”  Chakotay paused for a moment at the extended time for his written report before relaxing.  Kathryn must have some plans for him that they had not yet discussed.  He smiled as he exited the turbolift leaving Kathryn to continue the trip to the bridge.  Kathryn saw his smile and knew they understood each other perfectly.  Once on the bridge she waved Tuvok back into the command chair and went straight to her ready room.

“When Chakotay arrives, tell him I'm waiting for him in my ready room, Commander.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Once in her sanctuary, Kathryn spent most of the half hour until Chakotay arrived staring out at the stars.  It was good to have him home.
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Chakotay hurried through his shower while mentally running through the main points of the away mission.  Its high and low points were the agarbreep.  All their scans indicated that it was the perfect vegetable; Chakotay thought it was the ugliest thing he had ever considered eating.  Although he and Neelix both thought of it as a vegetable, the plant itself had more in common with fungus than most Terran vegetable plants.  The plant seemed to multiply by sending off underground runners then sprouting shoots that produced the edible stem and leaves that contained spores.  It did not appear to use photosynthesis to produce nutrients so it was not going to contribute to the fresh oxygen supply on Voyager.  Agarbreep's only redeeming feature was its vitamin content.  Normally, Chakotay would not have considered bringing such a large single purpose plant on board Voyager but any chance that it would eliminate leola root as Neelix's vegetable of the day (every day) had to be investigated.  Chakotay finished dressing and sighed; if agarbreep got rid of leola root, it might be worth it to raise a plant for food purposes only.

When he saw Chakotay entered the bridge Tuvok stood up from the captains chair.

“The Captain is waiting for you in her ready room, Commander.”

“Thank you, Tuvok.  As you were.”

“Aye, sir.”  Tuvok returned his body to the chair and his attention to the screen next to it where he was monitoring Tom's latest betting pool.  He knew that the Captain didn't mind the diversion it offered the crew, but he also knew that Tom could get carried away.  Whenever that seemed to be happening, a judicious word to the Captain usually led to a much less judicious comment to Tom that kept things nicely in control and left the Captain with the reputation of being omniscient yet again.

Chakotay entered the ready room without signaling to find the Captain staring out the view port at the stars.  She didn't turn around as he approached her and put his hands on her hips and pulled her against his body.

“The stars look a lot friendlier when you're on board Voyager instead of wandering among them, Commander.”  Kathryn turned in place and put her arms around Chakotay's neck to pull him down to share a low leisurely kiss.

“And you're a lot more fun than Neelix, Captain.  Chakotay smiled and pulled Kathryn closer.  “I'm pretty sure I missed you a lot more than you missed me.”   Kathryn's smile quickly turned to a chuckle breaking the mood.

“This time I will let you win an argument, Commander, because I think there is a slight possibility that you could be correct  — but that does not mean I didn't miss you.”  Kathryn moved away from Chakotay toward her desk with its stack of pads.

“We were making some minor adjustments on half our systems while we waited for you two to get back.   As soon as you and I can confirm they are completed I want to see if we can't run at better than warp 7.5 for the next few weeks.  Systems should be optimal so Voyager should be able to handle that for a while.  Give me your summary briefing of the away mission on the way to engineering, then you check these systems while I check this group.”  Kathryn handed half the stack to Chakotay before heading for the door to the bridge.  She paused just outside range of the sensor.

“Once we're finished and Voyager is on course, we're both off duty until Beta shift tomorrow afternoon.  I have some plans for that free time, Commander, if you're interested in joining me.”

“Thank you, Captain.  I am definitely interested.  Shall we get to our system checks?”  Smiling the command team exited the ready room and crossed the bridge discussing the high points of the away mission, which took until they were out of the ready room.  They were both thoroughly engrossed in the system checks by the time they entered the turbo lift.  Neither noticed Tuvok as he rose and fell in the Captain's chair unable to get in a polite status report as they passed through the bridge.
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Chakotay met Kathryn in engineering about 14:00 hours.  They had parted company in engineering after leaving the bridge.  Chakotay had been in most of the departments on the ship while Kathryn had been going through engineering's numerous systems.

“Captain, I've finished going over the systems you asked me to check.  Everything looks fine.  I have detailed notes and status reports at the end of each of the reports you gave me.”  He indicated the stack of pads in hand.

“We're finished here, too.  Is Voyager ready for warp 7.5, B'Elanna?”

“Yes, Captain.  We should be able to maintain that and possibly as high as warp 8 for at least a few weeks.”

“I think we'll settle with warp 7.5 for today, B'Elanna.”  Kathryn tapped her com badge.

“Captain to the bridge.”

“Bridge here, Captain,” came Tuvok's voice.

“Bring our speed up to warp 7.5, Commander.  Work with Lieutenant Torres solve any problems.  Janeway out.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Kathryn turned to Chakotay and B'Elanna returned to her engines to monitor their status as they went to warp 7.5.

“Have you eaten since you got back from the away mission?”

“No, ma'am.  My captain is a bit of a slave driver today and hasn't given me time for lunch.”  Checking to see that they weren't being overheard as they headed for the turbolift, Chakotay continued conspiratorially,  “I think she wants to get off duty for personal reasons.”

“I think you're right, Commander.  Join me for lunch in the mess hall before we both go off duty?  I want to save my replicator rations for dinner.”  Laughing, the two entered the turbolift, Kathryn forgetting that Neelix was back in the kitchen and Chakotay forgetting about the agarbreep that was now on the menu.
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Kathryn and Chakotay looked distrustfully at their plates piled high with Neelix's latest concoction.  Neelix was standing next to the table positively bubbling with enthusiasm.

“I assure you it's the most marvelous vegetable, Captain.  It has even more vitamins and minerals than leola root and appears to be even more versatile.  I even left the leola root out of this stew so everyone could appreciate the agarbreep in its purest form.  Go ahead, Captain, try it.  You too, Commander.  I'm sure you'll find it a wonderful addition to our menu.”

Kathryn and Chakotay exchanged glances.  The ugly brown of the agarbreep was hidden by the other stew ingredients but the bright blue glared through the gravy with a glow approaching fluorescence.  Kathryn was surprised to see that the blue extended so deeply into the vegetable and had not faded with cooking.  Reluctantly the pair picked up their forks to taste the current pride of Neelix's kitchen.  They warily stabbed at a chunk of the vegetable and tasted it cautiously.  Finding it less than completely offensive, they ate cautiously at the stew.  It seemed to pick up the flavor of the other ingredients and foods they were eating.

“Not bad, Neelix, not bad.”  Kathryn's mild acceptance was taken as high praise by Neelix who beamed from ear to ear before turning joyfully back to the kitchen to prepare more stew for the evening meal.  Kathryn and Chakotay exchanged glances each reminding the other that they had other plans for the afternoon before finishing their meals and leaving the mess hall.

“Care to update your summary report of the agarbreep, Commander?”  Kathryn asked Chakotay as they headed for her quarters.  Kathryn noticed a not very pleasant taste in her mouth that grew slowly but steadily as they walked.

“It might take a while, Captain.”  Chakotay was smiling as they entered her quarters.

“Forget it then, Commander. I don't feel like listening to long reports about ugly vegetables.  I can think of better things for you to do this afternoon.”  Kathryn met Chakotay's eyes and decided that a taste of him might be just the thing to get rid of the aftertaste of the agarbreep.  She pulled him through her living area and into to the sleeping area before she turned to him and pulled his head down for a long kiss that quickly grew into much more than a simple kiss.  Neither noticed that for the first few minutes the other tasted of agarbreep.
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Neelix watched with joy as many of the crew came back for seconds of the agarbreep stew.  He didn't realize that many were eating not because it tasted good but because it didn't taste of leola root.  Neelix was disappointed not to see Tom and B'Elanna during the main dinner hour.  He hadn't been back on Voyager long enough to know they were on Beta shift instead of Alpha and would be in with the later group.  He had seen Tuvok who had eaten his portion of stew without comment although he had raised an eyebrow when he saw the color of the agarbreep.  Only a few of the crew rushed through their meals; they were taking part in a hover ball tournament and had drawn the slots during the dinner hour for their rounds.
______________

Kathryn returned to her bed from the bathroom with a distinctly unsettled feeling in her stomach.  Then Chakotay turned over and smiled at her and all thoughts of her stomach were driven from her mind when she joined him on the bed and he proceeded to demonstrate once again how much he had missed her while on the away mission.
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The doctor looked up as another person entered sick bay moaning.  This was the eleventh case to walk in during the last half hour.

“Don't tell me.  You have a really bad taste in your mouth reminiscent of hydrogen sulfide, acid reflux is killing you and you are constantly burping.  The good news is that it's not fatal.  The bad news is that I don't have a treatment yet.  Take a seat and I'll be with you in a minute.”  The suffering individual nodded his head as the doctor spoke then moved to sit on one of the biobeds.  The doctor had just finished his litany when the twelfth case entered the room.  He shook his head and motioned that person to join the others.  The doctor shook his head; of all evenings to have Mr. Paris on bridge duty as the senior officer this was possibly the worst.  The doctor returned to his cataloging of symptoms and patient history and activity trying to track down a common link.
______________

Chakotay had awakened feeling slightly nauseous when he felt Kathryn move along his side.  At first he thought she was only shifting in her sleep but them he became aware that her movements were deliberate — very deliberate.  Her hands were exploring his body and bringing new life where minutes earlier there was only lethargy.
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The facts and circumstances finally forced the doctor to revisit the advisability of agarbreep as a suitable food for Voyager's crew.  What he discovered unsettled him and would probably anger the Captain.  Although nothing in agarbreep was harmful and it did in fact contain an inordinate number of vitamins and trace minerals, it had unpleasant side effects as it was digested.  His cursory analysis of those effects led him to conclude that they were unavoidable.  He was now trying to determine why Neelix and a few of the crew who had eaten dinner had not exhibited those supposedly unavoidable side effects.  The doctor was hoping that would help him find a cure that would be easier on the sufferers than simply waiting for the agarbreep to pass through their systems, a process that seemed to be taking much longer than normal.
______________

Chakotay awoke with one arm and leg pinning Kathryn to the bed.  She had wiggled away from him two times already this afternoon and evening and his subconscious apparently wasn't going to allow her to escape a third time.  He slipped from the bed to use the bathroom.  He paused on his way back to the bed as his stomach churned and a burning sensation made its way up his throat to leave a burning taste in his mouth.  He was distracted by the sight of Kathryn sprawled on the bed and moved to join her despite the unpleasant taste.  Once back at her side he decided a subtle approach was the best way to wake his Captain just in case she had designs on getting some work done this evening.  Not only did he not feel like working, he did feel like playing.  He turned on his side and began to nibble Kathryn's neck and gently rub her lower back.  By the time he had her awake, she wouldn't even remember she was the captain of a star ship.
______________

The doctor had finally figured out a treatment for his victims of agarbreep stew.  While he was stopping short of calling it poisoning, those suffering from its effects ahd not such qualms.  The few crew members that had eaten early during the dinner hour and then played in the hover ball tournament had provided the clue.  The lactic acid, which builds up in muscle tissue after extended periods of over-exertion, was an effective counteragent to effects of agarbreep.  Neelix offered a clue to an alternative treatment:  leola root.  Unlike the others, he had added leola root to his agarbreep stew because he enjoyed the combination of flavors.  When offered the choice between the two treatments, the crew unanimously chose to run until they were exhausted rather than eat creamed leola root.  A few of the worst cases swallowed just enough leola root to stumble to their feet before following the others out the door of sick bay and down the corridor.  The doctor turned to Neelix who had been scanning a pad listing the patients the doctor had treated and those who had participated in the hover ball tournament.

“Is there anyone missing that you know ate some of the stew?  They could be too ill to come to sick bay.”

“No. No, I believe that is everyone who came to dinner.”  Neelix handed the pad back to the doctor and turned to leave.  Half way to the door, he stopped.

“Wait!  The Captain and Commander Chakotay ate some of the agarbreep stew much earlier in the afternoon – around 14:00, I believe it was.  They aren't on the list.”  Panicked, the doctor reacted immediately.
______________

“Sick bay to the Captain.”

Kathryn and Chakotay groaned in unison.  They were resting contentedly in each other's arms.  Kathryn reluctantly reached for her com badge.

“Janeway here, doctor.  I hope for your program's sake this is important.”  The doctor hurriedly explained that most of the crew had gotten sick from the agarbreep stew and that he wanted to examine both the Captain and the Commander immediately.  Kathryn sighed.  At least they had had a few uninterrupted hours alone together.

“All right, doctor.  I'll be there in half an hour and I'll bring the Commander with me.  Janeway out.”  Kathryn gave the doctor no time to protest her delayed arrival time.

“Care to join me in the shower, Commander?”

“Better not, Captain.  If I do we'll both be late for our appointment with the doctor.”

“You're probably right, Chakotay.  Why don't you go and change and meet me back here in 20 minutes.  Casual dress.  I'm off duty and not about to let the doctor forget he interrupted some of that leisure time he always tells me I don't get enough of.”

“Yes, ma'am.  I'll be back in 20 minutes — with my toothbrush and a clean uniform.  Then I won't have to rush out in the morning.”

“Good thinking, Commander.  Wouldn't want you to be late to work tomorrow.  Now get out of here so I can get ready!”
______________

Kathryn and Chakotay stood in sickbay as the doctor finished his detailed summary of the agarbreep stew incident.  He was still shaking his head over the readings he was getting from both the Captain and First Officer.  Neither showed any signs of the symptoms displayed by the others individuals who had eaten the agarbreep stew.

“I don't understand.  Neither of you ate any leola root or participated in any competitive sports after you ate the agarbreep, yet you display none of the symptoms.  It appears you have benefited from the accumulation of lactic acid without engaging in competitive sports.  There must be a third way to counter the effects of argabreep.”  The doctor's comment about lactic acid was the clue the command team needed to figure out what had prevented them from feeling the effects of agarbreep.  They both knew lactic acid was the result of any type of vigorous physical activity, not just competitive sports.  Neelix rushed in the door before the doctor had a chance to question them further.

“Doctor, I forgot, Lieutenants Paris and Torres had just finished eating some of the agarbreep stew before they went off duty this evening and they weren't on your list of patients either!”  The command team exchanged knowing looks.  Theory confirmed.

“I don't think you have to worry about Tom and B'Elanna, doctor.  I think they'll be just fine.”  Laughing, they left sickbay.