CULTURAL EXCHANGE

The first indication the crew had that anything was amiss was the momentary slight shimmer in space, a scant second before the anomaly appeared on the viewscreen. Moments prior, the bridge crew had been joking and bantering, but now total silence reigned at the ominous sight before them.

It was not immediately clear whether what they were seeing was a space station, a vessel, or even a creature, but whatever it was, the thing was massive, filling the viewscreen. Voyager was dwarfed in comparison, appearing no bigger than an escape pod next to a Galaxy class ship. To add to the sense of unease, it was unrelenting black, with no windows or apparent entrances. Extensions resembling tentacles radiated from all sides.

"I feel like a fly next to a giant spider," Paris commented from the conn. His words broke the paralysis that had seized the bridge, and a soft murmur of agreement rustled through the crew.

Tuvok rose from the command seat. "Such comments are unproductive at this point, Lieutenant. Ensign Kim, what do your scans indicate?"

Harry tapped into his console. "Frankly, I'm not sure, Commander. I can tell you it isn't a living entity, but I can't even say for sure if this is a space station or a ship. There must be a powerful forcefield radiating from the..." He struggled to find an appropriate word. "The...thing. Yet there's no evidence of a power source, engines, or weapons as we know them. No life signs, no nothing. Other than seeing it visually, it almost may as well not be there."

Tom spoke up again. "Something that big probably doesn't need standard weaponry, but they've obviously got pretty advanced technology to have a cloak that extensive."

As he stepped to the upper level to return to his station, Tuvok hailed the command team. "Captain to the bridge."

In the ready room, at the sound of the call, Janeway looked at her first officer and sighed. "So much for a leisurely lunch."

Chakotay took one more bite of his sandwich before tossing the PADD he'd been reading onto her desk. "No rest for the wicked," he murmured after a quick swallow.

Janeway leveled a mild glare at him. "And just who are you calling wicked, mister?" The intensity of the glare doubled when he simply grinned at her and snatched the last bit of her sandwich from her plate.

As she walked around her desk, Janeway pointed at the PADD. "That proposal sounds good, Chakotay. You can tell B'Elanna to proceed."

The command team exited the ready room and strode onto the bridge. After a glance at the viewscreen, Janeway exchanged a questioning look with her first officer. "Report," she ordered.

Once Tuvok and Kim filled her in, she faced the viewscreen, her stance resolute. "Hail them."

"Actually, Captain," Harry commented, "they're hailing us."

No sooner had the words left Kim's mouth than the screen transformed to show three individuals standing in a straight line, each being possessing two pairs of arms folded carefully in front. They were clothed entirely in black, save for a single glowing red light on their bulbous heads. The sight didn't do anything to ease the tension on the bridge.

Janeway cleared her throat and began the standard greeting. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. We're on a peaceful mission and a long way from ho..."

"What species are you?" It was impossible to tell which of the three figures had spoken, but the metallic voice was chilling.

Although the commander remained seated, Janeway was aware of his slight movement behind her. She resisted the temptation to glance in his direction, and informed the alien, "I'm Human. And you are?"

There was no immediate response, but the three figures turned to each other momentarily then back to the screen. Six pairs of appendages reached to the black round heads and simultaneously lifted off what appeared to be helmets.

After the extreme tension, the relief was overwhelming. Instead of being faced with a gruesome or fearsome visage, the three aliens resembled a cross between a poodle and a basset hound. They appeared identical except for differently colored ears. It was a testament to the professionalism of the bridge crew that no one burst out laughing.

The figure in the center spoke. "We are - " The word came through the universal translator as a loud screech, causing Voyager's bridge crew to cover its ears. "My name is - " An equally deafening sound assaulted them.

"Do you have a gender?" The question came from the individual on the left.

Janeway glanced at Chakotay as he came to stand at her shoulder. She hoped they weren't dealing with a race that didn't accept women in authority. "Yes, I'm female," she replied.

"Who are you?" The alien on the right abruptly indicated Chakotay with two of its arms.

"I'm Commander Chakotay, first officer of Voyager," he replied.

"You are not..."

"...the same. Are you also..."

"...Human?" The conversation ping-ponged between the three, making it hard to track which person was talking.

He looked briefly at Janeway, unable to fathom the line of questioning any better than she. "Yes, I am."

The aliens began their bouncing discourse again. "But you are bigger and..."

"...your voice is much deeper. Your coloring is different and there are..."

"...markings on your head different from the female."

Janeway spoke again. "Humans have many different shades of skin tones. Commander Chakotay is male, and Human males are often bigger than females."

"The marking on my forehead is a tattoo, a symbol of my tribal heritage," Chakotay explained.

"Both Humans? There are males and.."

"...females required in your species?"

"Both Humans?" the third alien repeated.

It was a first contact situation, and so far the beings were not showing any sign of hostility, so there was no reason to not respond. Janeway and Chakotay looked at each other once more, then both nodded.

The three aliens became very animated. Scraps of conversation could be heard as they turned to each other and began chattering, appendages waving excitedly. "...two genders make up their species." "Humans. We've never seen Humans before." "...fine specimens. Our database will be augmented."

As one, they turned back to the viewscreen and without a sound, the air shimmered around the captain and the commander, and they vanished from the bridge.

It was a lengthy, rough transport, and both officers found themselves landing hard in a heap on a smooth black floor, breathing heavily like they'd undergone old-fashioned space travel and been squeezed by G-forces.

"We apologize for the inconvenience of our transport. It is always difficult to initially establish the necessary life support bubble for each specimen."

The crash landing had disheveled Janeway's hair, and she shook it back out of her eyes to see one of the aliens standing over her. She hit her comm badge. "Janeway to Voyager." Static.

Still shaken, she rose unsteadily to her feet in the solid black room, which was lit overhead by an unseen source. There appeared to be no entrance, nor was it even possible to tell the size of the room, as she could not discern where the floor ended and the walls began. Turning, she reached a hand to assist Chakotay and asked, "You all right?"

"I'm okay. You?" He looked her over quickly while rubbing his left elbow.

Nodding briefly, she faced the aliens with her best glare. "Why have you kidnapped us? What do you want?"

"What did you mean by it being difficult to establish a bubble of life support for each specimen?" Chakotay added. "You've done this before? And exactly what did you mean by 'specimen'?"

Another of the figures held up its four arms against the peppering of questions. "Please, please. Let us explain. We, the - "

Again, the high-pitched sound had the two officers cringing.

" - maintain this facility of knowledge and as yet, our records have been completely complete. We must not fail to fulfill our mandate to the fullest."

"A facility of knowledge?" the captain questioned with a frown. "You mean a library? What sort of a library?"

The third being spoke up. "Our mandate in this facility is to record the methods of procreation of each new species that reaches our location. Our records have always been completely complete. We must not fail to…"

Although Janeway's eyebrows lifted at the revelation of the nature of the aliens' collection, she regrouped enough to interrupt the already familiar mantra. "…fulfill your mandate to the fullest. Yes, I gathered that. However, it really was unnecessary to kidnap us, and your actions could be interpreted as hostile. At this moment, our crew will be using all available methods to retrieve us. If you had talked with us first, we would have been willing to share that information with you."

"We are sorry, but information imparted is inadequate. We must record an actual record…"

"…of the mating procedure of each species. From the beginning of our maintenance of this facility we have not…"

"…missed a single record. We have never encountered Humans before. You indicated that both males and females are required in your species, therefore you will be perfect specimens to ensure our records are completely complete."

The aliens all folded their double sets of arms and seemed to wait expectantly with cheerful, eager expressions on their furry faces. The command team stared at the trio, then glanced incredulously at each other as the situation slowly became clear to them.

The commander was the first to respond. "You expect us to mate here and now while you record the act?"

The three smiled pleasantly, and nodded together.

"That's, that's…!" Shock and outrage choked the captain's words. "That's totally out of the question! You must understand that for humans, the mating procedure generally indicates that a certain intense relationship exists between partners, and furthermore, it is a very private act! Definitely not something done under observation."

The group still appeared friendly but implacable. "We can give you privacy, but our records must be…"

"Yes, we understand," Chakotay stated. "Your records must be completely complete. Are you saying that you've never had anyone refuse to comply?"

The first alien spoke up. "Once specimens have entered the facility, the transporter cannot function with their body signatures until the record as been set, so yes, each species has assisted us to maintain our perfect status. The lifeform bubble will naturally begin to deteriorate after a period of time if mating is not commenced, unless we utilize the manually augmented time codes."

The ears of all three drooped and their expressions were so genuinely mournful, that had the situation been different, the command team would have been tempted to laugh.

"What do you mean by 'augmented time codes'?" Janeway queried.

"If the species' mating period is cyclical, we are able to input a time code with specific parameters as specified by the…"

"…specimens. We currently have several such cases awaiting the onset of their…"

"…special mating cycles."

Although the captain was somewhat amused by the repetitive speech pattern, the information caused a trickle of alarm to course up her spine. This revelation held serious implications for the multiple varied species onboard Voyager. She and Chakotay exchanged a concerned look.

Their hesitation had been noted. "Will you require us to implement the augmented time codes for you? Is this what disturbs you?" the lead alien inquired.

"No, it's not. Just how many records does this facility hold?" Janeway quickly changed the subject, hoping to divert their attention from the issue.

"Since we received our mandate, we have collected over sixty trillion records. We would be happy share some of these in exchange for your cooperation. Many are quite fascinating. However, we realize that no ship's database would be able to contain them all."

Voyager's senior officers stared in amazement. "Sixty trillion?" Janeway echoed. "How long has this library been functioning?"

"We received our mandate…" There was a slight delay as the universal translator worked the conversion. "…almost thirty thousand years ago."

The magnitude of history left the Voyagers speechless for a moment. Chakotay recovered first to ask, "How many of your species does it take to maintain this station?"

The question seemed to confuse the aliens. "We hold the mandate for this facility."

Janeway expression was openly astonished. "Just the three of you maintain this entire huge collection yourselves? Are you inorganic, or is yours a long-lived species?"

The trio took up the reply. "We are organic, but we each spend a quarter of an era rejuvenating. The alternate in our quad is almost finished rejuvenating, and when that unit returns, it will be this unit's turn." The alien touched an ear, which was white.

"And then this unit's turn." The second one touched an ear that was tan in color.

"And then this unit's." The last being also touched one of its ears, which was dark brown.

Always interested in different cultures, as well as in an effort to stall for time, the commander asked, "You mentioned an era; how long is that?"

The universal translator once more struggled to make the conversion. "An era is nine thousand five hundred and twenty-four years."

The figure was staggering, and the command team was momentarily stunned into silence again.

Janeway's mind began scrambling for ways to delay, trusting that onboard Voyager, her crew was working to rescue them. "Is rejuvenating similar to the Borg who regenerate?"

The trio's fur instantly bristled and a sound similar to a growl emanated from their throats. The first one stiffened as he spoke. "We, the -"

The command team wasn't quite quick enough, and they winced at the shrill sound.

" - were the victims of thievery. In ancient days, when the Borg were unable to assimilate us, they stole the process of rejuvenation, then perverted the purity of the process to perpetuate their own purposes. Unlike those inferior creatures, we the…"

This time the captain and commander managed to get their ears covered just before the shrieking noise commenced.

"…are entirely organic."

Chakotay began to piece things together. "Does that mean that your species doesn't procreate?"

One after the other, the three nodded. "Many eons of eons ago, legend states that in a time of deep deprivation, many of us were fading away…"

"…too early. We were in danger of totally disappearing. Our leaders…"

"…perfected the process at that time."

The commander nodded slowly. "So that explains why you study the procreation of other species.

The three smiled beatifically and six sets of hands clapped happily together. "Now…"

"…you…"

"…understand!"

The white-eared alien, who appeared to the senior, spoke. "You mentioned you are on a long journey. We have many facilities across the galaxy, each with a mandate to record single topics. Perhaps some maps from one of our other facilities would appeal to you in exchange for the record?"

"Yes, we would love to trade for some maps," Janeway began, "but as for the record, I regret that it's simply out of the question. It…" She stumbled for an explanation that would work. "It violates our principles of conduct."

Each alien appeared genuinely sorrowful.

"If you do not cooperate, the lifeform bubble will begin to deteriorate. We are truly sorry, but…" commented the white-eared one.

"…our records must be completely…"

"…complete."

Janeway's expression was frustrated and she waved her hand. "Yes, I know all that, but surely we can come to some other arrang…"

"Captain," Chakotay interrupted her decisively. "As your first officer, I cannot allow you to be harmed in any way. I really think we have to comply."

Janeway turned startled eyes to him. "Commander?"

"Do you trust me?"

Her answer was without hesitation. "Of course."

Chakotay smiled at how quickly she responded. "Then trust me now. If you'll allow me, let me take care of this."

She regarded him warily, then nodded slowly.

Receiving her permission, he immediately turned to the three aliens. "If we complete the record for you, do you agree to download to our ship's computer all the maps you have acquired between here and the Alpha quadrant?"

The trio consulted each other, chattering too rapidly for the translator to pick up, before turning back. "Half only," they negotiated. Their eyes glittered at the prospect of receiving the much desired record.

"Two-thirds," Chakotay countered. "After all, it is highly irregular for us to share our mating procedure with observers, particularly other species."

After a moment, the white-eared alien slowly nodded, followed by the tan-eared, then brown-eared being.

Chakotay copied their gesture by clapping his hands together. "Good, that's settled then. Now," he looked briskly around the stark black room, "we need a change of setting. Captain Janeway is correct; as humans, we require privacy, and also a much more romantic atmosphere that would be conducive to mating."

The captain watched in bemusement as Chakotay took charge and rattled off rapid instructions to the aliens. A small cozy room, a fireplace, a window covered by soft curtains, a matching rug on the floor, dim lighting, a table with an arrangement of flowers - all of which appeared out of nowhere. The commander fussed with the design of each item, insisting that they be exactly to his specifications. The group seemed particularly challenged by the flowers, and it took some time to achieve the precise color and shape he requested.

Chakotay finally turned in the middle of the room and nodded slowly. "It'll do. And lastly…" He made shooing motions with his hands toward the aliens. "Time for you to leave."

The trio looked at each other, their reluctance evident. Chakotay shrugged. "Anybody else onboard our vessel would insist on the same condition, so you may as well comply now. You do want your records to be completely complete, don't you?"

Three heads bobbed simultaneously, then the air slightly shimmered, and the aliens disappeared as though they had never been.

Looking over the room once more, Chakotay then regarded the captain standing uneasily near the fireplace. Tension was evident from her rigid stance and the clenched fist at her side. He smiled reassuringly and walked over to stand before her. Taking her fist between his two large hands, he smoothed open the tight fingers. He leaned forward slightly, and spoke quietly. "Try to relax, Kathryn. It'll be all right, I promise."

Suddenly, their illusion of privacy was shattered when a disembodied voice sounded. "Do you not require something on which to recline?" came the polite suggestion.

Startled, Janeway blurted out, "No!"

Chakotay gave her hand a squeeze before adding his confirmation. "No, that won't be necessary. But thank you."

Quiet reigned once more, then Chakotay drew her by the hand into the center of the room. "You know, this isn't exactly how I imagined our first time together," he commented. He squeezed her hand again.

"Uh, no, I would never have dreamed of anything like this either. Although the fireplace is very nice." Her voice gained strength as she talked.

"But, I have to confess…" He turned to face her and raised his hand slowly. "I've always thought you have the most beautiful ears." His hand gently tucked her hair back behind her ear. "Pearly white and pale pink. The swirls, the soft-looking lobes. I've had so many thoughts about these ears of yours, always wondered what it would be like to…" The back of his fingers brushed her neck and she gasped as his fingertips lightly stroked her earlobe.

"Are you all right?" His words were quiet, but clearly spoken.

"I'm fine," she breathed.

"So delicate, just as I thought." He began to trace the edge of her ear. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to control myself. Captain, touch me please. I've dreamed of doing this with you for so long." Then he led her hand up to his own ear. At her first tentative stroke along his ear, he moaned. "Yes, like that. You have a wonderful touch."

Chakotay tucked her hair behind her other ear and commenced touching and fondling that ear as well. Janeway let out a small squeak when he lightly squeezed her earlobes.

"Too much? I know it's been a while for you, and I don't want to hurt you."

"No, no, it's okay. It's just very…different with you. Do you like that?" She lightly rolled the edge of his ear between her thumb and forefinger.

He closed his eyes and swayed slightly. "Oh yes. Wonderful. If I'd known it could be like this with you, I might not have been able to wait this long."

When Janeway brought her other hand up and began to stroke Chakotay's other ear, he growled, "You are too good at this. I knew we could be magic together, but I never dreamed it could be like this."

"Neither did I," she gasped.

They continued in this manner for a few minutes, the only sounds in the room their increased breathing and occasional gasps or moans.

Their solitude was abruptly shattered by the reappearance of the aliens, all three wearing identical frowns. "We do not understand. You indicated that you did not require anything to recline upon. Therefore…"

"…what is it that you…"

"…require in order to proceed?"

Chakotay turned around with a surprised expression in his face. "Proceed? Proceed? That's what we're doing!"

The aliens turned to each other in obvious confusion. "But what about…?" One alien gestured vaguely toward the commander's groin area.

"Oh, that." Chakotay frowned disdainfully, wrinkling his nose as though something smelled nasty. "We have evolved beyond that lowly method of mating. So base, so distasteful. That," he pointed back generally in direction of the alien's middle area, "is now solely for elimination purposes."

"Oh," all three replied at once, still looking uncertain. One of them spoke up. "But why do you.."

The second one took over. "…expose your…"

The third pointed at the commander's ears with two of its arms.

Chakotay shrugged. "How else would someone be able to determine whether a person might be a good mate or not? Now," he continued decisively, "if we are to be able to go through with this, I must insist that we not be interrupted again. It is difficult enough to complete this act under these stressful circumstances. This totally violates our human need for privacy during mating."

The trio looked at each other, then back at the command team. "We apologize. Please…"

"…accept our apology, and continue to continue, with all…"

"…due haste."

The air trembled again, and the aliens vanished once more, this time without the commander's prompting.

"Now," he murmured as he turned back to Janeway, "where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"I think, right about here." Janeway took both his hands and placed them back on her ears. Then she reached for his ears and recommenced touching and stroking.

"Ah yes," he sighed.

Soon the pair was groaning loudly, eyes half shut, bodies swaying. Finally Chakotay panted through parted lips, "I can't wait any more! Are you ready? Please say you're ready!"

"Yes, yes," she moaned. "I'm ready."

With that encouragement, Chakotay quickly bent toward her and began rubbing his ear against hers. "Oh, Captain, my Captain!" he exclaimed. Janeway gave a small cry and clutched his arms as though to stay upright. After a few more moments, their heads fell back, mouths open as satisfied sighs emanated from them.

Once more the trio appeared, each head cocked to the side. "Most unusual. Don't know how their species has survived."

"Agreed. Highly unusual. Wonder how their young are birthed? At least our records are still completely complete. They have assisted us to continue to fulfill our mandate to the…"

"…fullest. Extremely unusual, yes. Still, we must also fulfill our part of the agreement. Let us now send them back."

With that, Voyager's command team found themselves dumped unceremoniously back on the floor of the bridge of their ship.

"Captain! Commander!"

"Are you all right?"

"Were you harmed at all?"

Chakotay was first to stand and reached down to pull the captain to her feet. She held her hands up against the bombardment of questions. "You people sound like the aliens. Yes, we're fine. Computer, is everyone onboard?"

"All crewmembers are accounted for."

Janeway turned to the helm. "Tom, get us out of here. Warp six."

Tuvok spoke up. "What was the purpose of the abduction? Were you interrogated?"

"No, we weren't questioned," Janeway responded. "You could call it a…" She paused.

"A cultural exchange," Chakotay supplied.

"Yes, exactly. A cultural exchange," she quickly agreed, then turned to ops. "We should find maps of the upcoming regions in our database now."

Harry confirmed the new data, then asked, "What did we give them in return, Captain?"

The command team exchanged glances, then Chakotay replied, "They were curious about Humans since they'd never encountered our species before, so we supplied them with…information."

"And now," Janeway interjected quickly before any more questions came, "since our shift is almost over, I think we'd better head directly to sickbay for the standard check up. Right, Commander?"

"Right, Captain." He gestured toward the lift. "After you."

Just before the lift doors closed, the senior officers turned to see their entire bridge crew standing as though frozen, staring after them, a bewildered expression on every face. Even Tuvok's eyebrow was raised in query.

After the doors slid shut, Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. "Oh now that went really well."

"Didn't it, though?"

When the doctor completed his treatment for a few bruises and a chipped elbow on Chakotay's part, the command team left sickbay and walked the corridor, nodding occasionally to passing crewmen. Once inside the lift, Janeway commented, "I see I was right, all those years ago, when I said if I ever needed advice on mating behavior, I'd know where to go."

"So, was it as good for you as it was for me?"

Janeway burst out laughing. "I don't have a clue how I'm going to record this in my logs. Can you imagine some of the admirals back at Starfleet reading about this little escapade?"

"Tuvok's eyebrow would have nothing on them," he replied with a grin. "I wonder whether the Ferengi would be pleased or insulted." The lift doors opened on the floor of their quarters and they headed down the hallway.

"That would depend on which prospect exhibited the greatest lucrative potential." Janeway took a stance in the hallway, arms akimbo. Her voice rose half an octave. "We, the Ferengi, are insulted by that abysmal farce that besmirches our good name. Pay us five bars of latinum…"

"…no, ten," he interrupted.

"Ten bars of latinum," Janeway picked up, "and we will be appeased."

"You did that quite well, Captain," Chakotay commented.

Her eyes followed the two crewmembers who went scurrying quickly down the hallway, before commenting dryly, "Maybe a little too well. Anyway, I don't think those aliens were particularly impressed with their first encounter with human procreation, but personally, I think we both deserve acting awards for this afternoon's performance." Wagging her finger under his nose, she remonstrated with him. "Although I nearly lost it with your 'Oh, Captain, my Captain' nonsense." She swatted at his arm.

"Watch it. That's my sore elbow." He took a step away from her. "Sorry about that. I guess it would have spoiled the performance somewhat if you'd suddenly burst into gales of laughter."

"I'd loved to hear Her Majesty's comments at hearing the Borg referred to as inferior creatures." They had reached the entrance to her quarters.

"From a distance, I hope. Every time you run into the Borg, I lose a few years off my life worrying about you," the commander retorted. "Too bad we couldn't have stayed around long enough to find out what made them impossible to assimilate."

Janeway nodded. "Now that would be a little tidbit I'd certainly be willing trade for. I wonder why Seven has never mentioned this species or the origin of regeneration?

Chakotay shrugged. "I know the Borg have occasionally considered a species too inferior for assimilation, but to actually be unable to assimilate a species would have been a real blow to 'Resistance is futile.' Do you really think the Borg would ever acknowledge failure?"

"True." She turned to him, leaning against the wall by her door and folded her arms. "What made you think of that idea with the ears?"

"I don't know really. Maybe the way they touched their ears when they spoke of rejuvenating. Besides," he bent toward her with a rakish grin and tucked back her hair, "they do say that the best lie is one that stays close to the truth, and I have to admit, having sat beside you on the bridge for so long, I've always thought you have very beautiful ears."

They exchanged a laugh, and Chakotay turned to walk to his own quarters. When he reached his door, he was stopped by a hand on his arm. Looking around, he found Janeway by his side again. Her expression was sober.

"Seriously, Chakotay, I have to thank you for your quick thinking today. Your creativity saved this crew from what would have been an untenable situation. I hate to think what would have happened had they discovered all the different species on this ship."

"Agreed," he replied. "Think of the complications if they'd wanted to wait until Tuvok or Vorik reached pon farr. We should check those maps they gave us to see if any of their other locations are listed and make sure we steer clear of them."

Janeway nodded, then glanced away. "Chakotay, I need to personally thank you as well, since your quick thinking saved me from a potentially very embarrassing situation. I'd like to give you a commendation, but again," she looked up with a crooked smile, "I'm not sure how I would record it in the logs."

In an attempt to lighten things, Chakotay straightened up and said in an officious sounding voice, "Commander Chakotay, commended for saving his captain from a fate worse than death." At her laugh, he teased, "Really, Kathryn, would it have been so bad? A passionate interlude with your tall, strong - "

"…not to mention handsome."

He acknowledged her comment with a nod, then added, "…and debonair first officer?"

"And don't forget, humble as well."

"Of course."

She smirked at him. "Under normal circumstances, no, it wouldn't be so bad. I don't know about you though, but I've never been into exhibitionism." She started back for her door and tossed over her shoulder, "Although, I have to tell you, Chakotay, you really had me wondering for a while just where you were headed with all the meticulous decorating you were doing."

It was Chakotay's turn to follow her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he turned her to face him. His expression was somber. "Kathryn…" He paused while a crewman walked by. "Kathryn, I hope you know that I would never allow anyone to hurt you. I would die before that would happen. And not…" Looking away for a moment, he added quietly, "Not only because I'm your first officer."

Her expression softened, eyes glistening. She covered his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "And I would die for you too, and not only as your captain, either."

A dark light shone in his eyes and their gazes held for a long moment. Chakotay raised his other hand to lightly touch her ear lobe. "Why don't we live for each other instead?" he murmured.

Turning their clasped hands slightly, she briefly brushed her cheek against his hand. "Sounds good to me."

Suddenly he began to chuckle.

"What?" she demanded, and dropped her hand from his.

"I was picturing B'Elanna's reaction in that situation with the…" He shook his head, at a loss as to what to call the aliens.

"The 'eeks'?" Janeway smiled. "I would fear for their lives."

He laughed again, then headed back to his door only be stopped by the sound of his name.

Janeway approached him once more. "Chakotay, do you have plans for this evening? Could we have dinner?"

"No." He smiled at her startled blink. "No, I don't have plans for this evening, and yes, I'd love to have dinner with you. But on one condition."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"No shop talk."

"Agreed." She held out her hand and they formally shook on it.

"My place. Half an hour."

"One hour," she countered, rubbing her shoulder. "I ache from getting dropped on the floor like that, so I need to soak in the tub."

"Forty-five minutes, and I'll throw in a neck rub."

They both stilled as they recalled the last time he had given her a neck massage. Her voice sounded a little breathless as she replied. "Forty-five minutes then." Their eyes locked for a long moment before Janeway appeared to shake herself and turn away.

After two steps, she looked back once more. Tapping a finger against her lips, she mused. "I have a condition of my own."

Chakotay's hand hovered over his keypad and he regarded her warily. "Which is?"

"No uniforms."

Once again, his eyes flashed with something dark and dangerous. "Be careful what you ask for, Kathryn."

"You behave," she chastised him.

His voice was a velvet stroke. "Are you making that one of the conditions too?"

Her eyes flicked to his grinning mouth then back to his eyes and she moistened her lips with her tongue. The air between them became heated and charged with electricity. As she pivoted on her heel, the classic crooked Janeway smile formed. "I'll see you in three-quarters of an hour, Chakotay."

Standing before their own doors, the command team regarded each other once more. Eyes connected again for a suspended moment, then each entered their quarters.

The End

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© Brianna Thomas, November 2003 Please email me to post/distribute elsewhere.