Disclaimer: Paramount owns everything except the hot springs and they are working on that.
Rated NC-17 for fairly general sexual description. There's consensual sex, but it's not as bump and grind as some. Kids, go away now.
I like to think that Kathryn Janeway would be comfortable with this scenario. She seems comfortable enough with her own body to be relaxed and naked around good friends. This is dedicated to hot spring aficionados everywhere. The springs that Kathryn, Chakotay and Tom describe are based upon actual hot springs in the south west of the United States although the names are changed. The planetary one is pure fiction, more's the pity. If you want to know where the actual springs are (in New Mexico, California and Colorado) email me and I will tell you how to get there for real. This story makes the totally unrealistic assumption that the hot springs I know and love in the twentieth century are undeveloped and unchanged in the twenty fourth!
Chakotay beamed down with Tom, the two of them laden with the essentials the women had deemed necessary for this excursion. Food for a couple of days, rugs, towels, a few bottles of wine pilfered from Tom's private stash. Coffee for the morning. Shore leave was a rare enough treat lately - there had been so few suitable planets in this region of the Delta Quadrant that offered a safe place for the crew to relax. Raheen had been a pleasant surprise, with a friendly population with whom they had traded, obtaining food and dilithium. During the course of the negotiations Kathryn had heard about this place and had returned to the ship, eager to spend some time here. Tom and B'Elanna expressed interest as well, and of course she took it for granted that he would come too. Not that he had any objection, of course.
"Hot springs, Kathryn?" he queried. "That doesn't sound like your normal idea of relaxation!"
"It's a big natural bathtub with endless hot water," she replied with a wide smile. "Where else would I want to be?"
"You'd normally let Tom, B'Elanna, and me into your bath?" he'd teased.
"Chakotay, don't tell me you've never enjoyed hot springs before? These are in the mountains, on a hillside above a river - the view is supposed to be stunning. And we've been given permission to use the lodge so we don't have to camp."
So here they were. Tom and B'Elanna were spending the day with them, but had plans to take the remainder of their shore leave in one of the cosmopolitan cities, spending the night in one of the luxury hotels. One with a bed the size of deck twelve, Tom had said. Chakotay and Kathryn had two days and two nights.
Once, years ago, the thought of two nights alone with Kathryn in an undeniably romantic situation would have had him sweaty and sleepless with the imagination of what might happen. But although opportunities had come and gone, and a couple of times the self control of both of them had been tested, nothing had happened. Nothing much, amended Chakotay honestly to himself. Years of friendship had tempered the fine tension that had stretched between them, refining it to a contented, undemanding love. Now they were comfortable with each other, still spending most of their off-duty time together; dinner in his quarters when he cooked, or hers when she replicated. Shore leave and holodeck time together. They hugged freely, kissed chastely, goodnight pecks on the lips, nothing more. They had admitted they loved each other, accepted they could do nothing about it, realized that neither could move on and settled for the closeness they had. As Kathryn once joked, "We've come to the old sweater part of a relationship without having had the silk camisoles first."
He had tried other relationships. He was a man who honestly loved women for themselves, not just for what they could give him. He was a sensual man, given to touching, open and accepting of sex for its own sake, the earthiness of it, the giving and receiving of pleasure and the moment of total connection with another person, however fleeting that may be. His partners were often shaken by the emotion they saw in his face at the instant of release, misinterpreting it as emotion for them, rather than for the moment itself, the connection, the abstract.
His relationships were, by necessity, fleeting. Only once had he had a ship-board romance on Voyager. In the days before he came to accept the way that he and Kathryn loved each other, he had pursued an ensign in security. She was nothing like Kathryn -- tall, statuesque, open with her feelings and outgoing -- and made no secret of the fact that she wanted him in her bed. They had had a very physical relationship for a few weeks, before he ended it, realizing that he would never feel more for her. Realizing that behind the fun-loving exterior she cared for him and could get hurt, and coming to realize, painfully once again, that as it had been with Seska, an on-board relationship would not work for him. Realizing too, that his friendship with Kathryn meant more to him than a physical relationship.
What Kathryn really thought of this relationship he never knew. On the surface she seemed comfortable enough with the idea, even teasing him about his girlfriend, and their own touches and friendship had not changed, either when he was seeing the ensign or when he ended it.
Since then he had stuck to his holographic lovers for physical release, and channeled his sensual, tactile side into his friendship with Kathryn. She responded, and they were comfortable with each other in a way they never had been when the tension was strung between them.
He thought the crew understood the situation. Certainly, their close friends, which included Tom and B'Elanna did, and the betting pool had faded away, as had all the ham-fisted attempts to throw them together.
After a ten minute hike from the beam down point, Chakotay and Tom reached the spring. The setting was magical and he instantly realized why Kathryn was so insistent they spend time here. A narrow valley, orientated just right, so that it had sunlight for most of the day. A river, with the cloudy blue tinge of glacier water tumbled its way over granite boulders, racing fast in mid-stream, but splaying out on the edges to give quiet eddies of less turbulent water. The vegetation was reminiscent of high altitude forest on Earth, dark green trees mingled with lower shrubs. Chakotay caught a glimpse of small, secluded meadows, studded with wildflowers, further on up the valley.
On one side of the river was an open area containing a large lodge, built of the native timbers. It had a covered verandah on three sides, with swing seats and outdoor eating areas. The wide double doors were open, allowing him to see the large light-filled interior, sparsely furnished with soft looking floor coverings and floor to ceiling windows.
A short distance above the cabin on the side of the hill, he heard murmuring voices interspersed with soft laughter. Chakotay looked in the direction of the voices and saw a chain of natural pools stretching up the hillside. The top ones steamed slightly in the warm air. In one of the lower pools B'Elanna's dark head and Kathryn's auburn one could be seen on opposite sides as they stretched out in the warm water, taking in the view across the valley.
"What are we waiting for?" grinned Tom, and the two of them started to climb up the path to the springs.
The younger man, who was also the least burdened, Chakotay noticed with an inward grin, reached the spring first, and was already half undressed when he arrived, busy pulling his turtleneck over his head and quickly dropping his pants.
Chakotay turned to grin at Kathryn and compliment her on her choice of settings, when he realized with a slight start that she was naked. His eyes moved to B'Elanna - so was she. Both of them were lounging in the warm water, up to their necks, breasts bobbing upwards towards the surface.
"Glad you got here," said Kathryn, mouth curling up slightly as she noted his momentary discomfort at the sight of them. "Come in, the water's lovely."
Chakotay had been in his share of hot springs before, both on Dorvan and on Earth, and he of course realized that in the majority of them, unselfconscious nudity with no sexual overtones was the norm. A natural state for a natural place. He just hadn't expected Kathryn to think the same way, but he was pleased that she was comfortable enough around her friends to enjoy the experience. Tom had no such qualms he noted. The pilot was already naked and stepping into the spring next to B'Elanna.
Chakotay undressed quickly, conscious of Kathryn's eyes on him. then he slipped in next to her.
"Aaaaahhhhhh," he sighed, as the warm water caressed his body, the slight eddy from the spring that filled the pool stirring the hairs on his legs and slipping over his body. The temperature was barely more than tepid, which in the sunlit day was comfortable.
He smiled at his friends. "Isn't this the life?"
B'Elanna grinned back at him. "Kathryn and I were in the higher pools earlier. They are much hotter, being closer to the source. Too hot for now, but they will be magical later this evening when it's cooler. I wish we could stay." She looked regretful for a moment.
Tom gave her a kiss, "but think of the biiiiigggg bed waiting for us in civilization, " he growled in her ear, deliberately loud enough for the others to hear.
B'Elanna turned. "Who has the wine?" she demanded.
"Over there," said Tom, "In my rucksack."
B'Elanna pulled herself out of the pool and unselfconsciously went over to Tom's bag and rummaged around until she produced a bottle of white wine.
"Nicely chilled," she proclaimed.
Chakotay watched her, seeing the tight body, high small breasts and muscled legs. He appreciated her form, and felt himself engorge slightly, as much from the sensual setting as seeing his friend naked. B'Elanna turned, giving him a brief full frontal before sliding back in the water, holding the opened bottle of wine and four glasses.
He saw Tom studying him, smiling slightly as acknowledged Chakotay looking. The day was one for sensual rather than sexual pleasure and Tom obviously knew that Chakotay hadn't been leering at B'Elanna, just as he realized that Tom, was appreciating but not ogling the captain.
Kathryn reached for her glass, her breasts clearing the water, as she raised herself up slightly to propose a toast.
"To good friends!" she said.
They clinked glasses and settled down to sip wine and chat.
"When were you last in a hot spring, Chakotay?" asked Tom. "I've heard there are good ones on Dorvan, are they like this?"
"There are, many, and they are different to this, but just as lovely. As to the when, more years than I care to remember."
"Describe it for us," said Kathryn.
"Well, the springs on the River Dree are hotter than this one. There are three pools, the highest only twenty feet above the river - which is ice cold most of the year as it receives the snow melt from the mountains. My people have built up the stones so that the natural depressions are enlarged - they are smaller than this, maybe hold only four people, six if they are very good friends. The valley is tighter than this one, so there is not as much sunlight. The river is cold but fast flowing. The lower pools siphon in river water so they can be too cold when the water level is high. I used to go there at night by myself and watch the stars and wonder if I would ever fly among them."
Tom shifted in the water to lift himself out and sit on the side of the tub, legs stirring the water. Water ran in rivulets through the blond hairs on his chest.
"You might find this hard to believe," he began, "but when I was little, my father took me to a hot springs on Earth,."
Kathryn's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Admiral Paris went to a hot springs!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe it! Did he, er .. did he take his clothes off?"
Tom grinned down at his naked commanding officer. "He sure did .. and I don't know if this situation is covered in the Starfleet Manuals either do I have to stand to attention and salute my captain?" He gave a mock leer and wiggled his eyebrows.
B'Elanna splashed him in pretend annoyance and he continued.
"We went once to a spring in the desert. There were two bath houses built, one for men and one for women. They were old and tumble down, but many people still used them, often coming to stay for the winter. Clothing wasn't permitted, so Father didn't have much choice in the matter. He wanted to try the waters, which were very hot. People used to sit in them for hours and just chat. It was fun!"
"I don't know about anyone else," said B'Elanna, "but I wouldn't mind trying one of the hotter springs now. The sun has dropped and this is a bit cool."
They all agreed and pulled themselves out of the pool, wrapping themselves in the towels on the side. Chakotay couldn't help himself, he watched Kathryn rise gracefully out of the water, which streamed down over her firm flanks and lean legs. She turned to pick up a towel, her breasts falling forward giving an illusion that they were fuller than they were, and affording him a quick glimpse of dark red pubic hair. He quickly wrapped his own towel around his waist before he could think more about what he had seen. He didn't want to embarrass himself, here amongst friends.
Quickly they moved their belongings to one of the upper pools and discarding the towels sank again into the steaming water. The pool was smaller than the other, and they had to sit closer together, Kathryn's legs brushed his own as she half-floated, half-sat in the water.
They finished the bottle and started a second, chatting about places they had been. Kathryn had them in stitches, relating a story about meeting one of her tutors from Starfleet Academy in a hot spring in Colorado - both of them naked, both embarrassed.
"I always wondered if he was buying my silence when he gave me such a good grade," she finished, "but the spring wasn't known of to many of the students so I guess he didn't think he'd meet anyone there. That was a magical place, the deer used to come down and drink at the pool and it was often surrounded by snow, it was best in winter."
She sighed and laid her head back, connecting with Chakotay's shoulder, and shifted her position slightly so that she was leaning back on him, head on his shoulder.
He found he didn't know where to put his hands. Normally when they sat like this, they were both clothed and he would have put his arm around her shoulder, her waist, or her hip, but in this setting it seemed more intimate and he didn't like to assume she would be comfortable, so he left his arm along the edge of the tub. Gradually the four of them fell silent as the dusk rolled around them.
They left the tub, and went back to the lodge to share a picnic on the verandah, before Tom and B'Elanna left to meet their prearranged transport to the city for the night.
By themselves, they sat and chatted, watching the stars come out. Chakotay watched her, the starlight catching hidden gleams in her hair, watched her bare arms and the outline of her body under the thin cotton dress she had donned. Remembering her in the pool, he felt his groin stirring slightly and enlarge. Spirits! He thought he was past feeling this reaction to her closeness, but then, he mused, he had never seen her naked before. He wondered if she would want to go back to the pools now that it was just the two of them.
© Shayenne, August 2000 Please email me to post/distribute elsewhere.