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Cookies and Conversationby Anne Rose, Holly, Alicia, Aly, Jamie, Naaz, AlmVoyager, and Carissa
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Voyager and its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended.
Spoilers: none
Summary: In which Kathryn and Chakotay find that cookies, small children can produce interesting side effects. (17k)
Author's Note: #JetCPG Chatroom silliness. If you would like to join in the craziness, find out how at The Official Webpage of JetC. © April 20, 2001
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<ALMVoyagr> Once Upon A Time . . . Kathryn Janeway waited anxiously behind her quarter doors. She was supposed to baby-sit little Naomi Wildman for the first time. Chakotay was manning the bridge while Kathryn paced -- waiting for the child to be delivered into her authoritative hands.
<Anne3> A child... The thought gave her pause. She wondered if spending time with Naomi was wise.
<AliciaE> But then again she had promised Ensign Wildman that she would baby-sit. She will definitely have her hands full with such and active child.
<Aly> The door chimed and Kathryn dismissed all her thoughts. The young bundle of energy bounded though the door into Kathryn's outstretched grasp.
<ALMVoyagr> "Hi Captain!" Naomi chirped sweetly as she hugged the woman. Kathryn sighed happily as she hugged Naomi; if this was the start of the day -- how hard could baby-sitting be? Every woman had to have that maternal instinct . . . right?
<Anne3> 'Maternal instinct,' the words echoed in her mind. Children and a family were some of the many things in her life that she had put on hold. They were up on a shelf, neatly put away, next to Chakotay, and the rest of her life as a human being. The 'Captain' would not tolerate any rivals.
<AliciaE> Samantha Wildman walked over to her daughter and gave her a tight hug. "Now you be on your best behavior for the Captain." Naomi squealed with delight. She was so excited about the Captain baby-sitting her. "Captain, thank you so much for this. I better go or I'll be late for my shift."
<Aly> "It's my pleasure Sam." Kathryn waited till Samantha had left Naomi and herself . . . alone. Slowly, Kathryn turned to face young Naomi, "So what do you want to do sweetie?" Naomi grinned devilishly and Kathryn got an extremely worried look on her face. 'And I thought Naomi was gonna be easy to watch . . .'
<ALMVoyagr> "First, I want to go see the Commander on the bridge," Naomi stated sweetly. Kathryn stopped to ponder how blunt that was to some degree. No -- not blunt -- that would mean that this child -- Kathryn smiled, "He has work to do perhaps later--"
"No now!" Naomi smiled and folded her arms.<Anne3> Kathryn considered her options. "Naomi, you know Tuvok is too busy to play Kaltoh with you now. We might join him for dinner later."
<AliciaE> Naomi started stomping her feet and screaming. Kathryn started to panic. "Ok, how about this, the Commander's shift ends in a little bit, why don't I ask him to stop by here when he gets off?"
<Aly> Naomi grinned and stopped her screaming suddenly, "Of course, that would be a very good choice!" Kathryn closed her eyes and sighed. 'And I got myself into this because . . .?'
<Anne3> Naomi watched the doors swish closed and frowned. This was not going at all the way Tom had said it was supposed to. Now what was she supposed to do? Her very first away mission was going to be a complete failure. She'd never become a Captain's Assistant this way.
<AliciaE> Kathryn returned with some cookies and a smile. "Captain... I," she looked down at her hands. "What is it sweetie," Kathryn asked.
<Aly> Naomi looked up at the cookies and her eyes light up delight. "I can have one . . . right?"
"Yes, as long as you tell me what's bugging you, because you normally don't go this quiet on me . . ."<Anne3> Janeway didn't know it, but Naomi had called Tom for assistance while she was fetching the cookies. "But Captain, I wanted to share a cookie with the Commander," she said in a quiet and sad voice. He's been so sad lately, I wanted to cheer him up."
<Anne3> "Tuvok, sad?" Janeway asked.
<Anne3> Naomi pouted and stamped her foot, "No Captain, I mean the Commander, Chakotay!"
<Aly> Kathryn stepped back in shock at Naomi's forcefulness. "What do you want with the Commander? Do you two have a date that I don't know about??' Naomi blushed a little then she looked at a loss for words.
<Jamie> (awe), <ALMVoyagr> (ahee)
<Anne3> She remembered Tom's instructions, look sad. She sighed dramatically, "He wouldn't want to go on a date with me. I'm not his girlfriend."
<Aly> (lol), <Jamie> (double awe)
<NaazWrite> "And who is?" Kathryn asked, humoring the little girl. Naomi looked at her solemnly.
"You are," she stated.<Aly> Kathryn closed her eyes and blinked once really slowly, her mouth open in amusement and shock. "And how did you come to this conclusion Naomi?"
<Aly> "I um, asked him, no wait, I um - I just did."
<Aly> Naomi turned a beet red color. "He um, he told me not to say. Um he told me not to tell anyone, he told me to - to umm . . ." she managed to stammer out.
<Ho11y> "Well I'm the Captain Naomi," Kathryn said as she leaned down, thus being at the same level as Naomi. "And I demand you tell me. Now again, what did he say to you?"
<Jamie> Naomi looked down at her feet. Should she expose Tom's plan.. or lie
<Anne3> She was young, but she saw Janeway and Chakotay as her parents, almost as much as Sam Wildman, and like all children, she wanted mommy and daddy together.
<Anne3> "I asked him one day if he was having lunch with his girlfriend, and he said yes. Then he said it was our secret, and I promised not to tell anyone," she said with a sniffle.
<Aly> "And am I correct in assuming, that when you asked about girlfriend, you were questioning about me?"
<Aly> "Well yes, I guess I was." Kathryn looked bemused, then she sat down on the edge of her desk, trying to restrain herself from falling on the floor laughing.
<Aly> "Um, Captain, what's so funny?"
<Ho11y> "Dear, Chakotay and I aren't..." she was saying but stopped in mid-sentence. She had really never thought about it before. Chakotay and her did have quite a lot of dinners together...well actually they had dinner every Thursday at 2000 hours.
<Aly> (*gls*)
<Ho11y> So in a way they were "dating" and people who dated were girlfriend and boyfriends... So maybe her and Chakotay were...
<Jamie> She looked at Naomi.... and here she thought she'd be playing Kotis Kot all day. She wondered when Naomi had stopped playing that and started playing matchmaker.
<Anne3> "Naomi, do you still want to take Chakotay a cookie? If you do we'd better go now, because it's your bedtime just after the shift ends."
<Anne3> She nodded and grinned with excitement. Tom would be so pleased with her when she "reported in". She grabbed Janeway's hand, and they walked out into the corridor.
<Ho11y> As they exited the turbolift everyone on the bridge turned to look at them. "Captain," Chakotay said. "Did we already have this discussion..."
<Ho11y> "I know, I know Chakotay," Kathryn said. "It's just that Naomi insisted on coming."
<Jamie> Naomi looked over and winked at Tom, who quickly glanced away hoping no one would know he was connected to all of this.
<Anne3> (ROFL), <Ho11y> (:)), <Aly> (*gls*)
<Anne3> "Captain, I'm surprised at you. Blaming a child," he tisked at her.
<Anne3> He reached down and scooped up Naomi and carried her back to the command chair. "So, why don't you tell me why the Captain is back on the bridge after she promised to get some rest."
<Anne3> Naomi leaned over and whispered in Chakotay's ear.
<Aly> "I told you I'd get her up here to see you . . ." Chakotay just smiled and grinned, "That you did sweetie." "Are you gonna ask her now?" asked Naomi whom was practically jumping out of her skin with anticipation and excitement.
<Ho11y> "Ask me what?" Kathryn inquired. "Umm..." Chakotay said, realizing that now maybe wasn't the right time for this.
<Ho11y> "Ask you...why you gave her cookies right before her bedtime," he said lamely. That was smooth, he thought to himself. Why didn't he just asked her?! Oh well, better late than never. Today was Thursday, and they would be having dinner soon...
<Anne3> Tom continued to look forward, but his shoulders shook slightly and Chakotay heard him choke back a snicker. "Mr. Paris, do you have something to say?"
<Anne3> Tom turned around. "Not at all, Commander. I was just wondering if you visitor brought enough treats for everyone."
<Ho11y> (lol), <Aly> (lol)
<Anne3> 'No,' Chakotay thought. 'B'Elanna is still in engineering,' but he answered, "Attend to your station then, Mr. Paris."
<Ho11y> "Anyway, Naomi you should be in bed already," Chakotay chided. "And Kath...Captain you shouldn't have let her stay up this late."
<Ho11y> "Well I'm sorry Mother," Kathryn said sarcastically.
<Ho11y> "Both of you, back to your quarters," Chakotay ordered. They both pouted as they walked back to the turbolift.
<Anne3> Just as they were getting on the turbolift Naomi broke away from Janeway and ran back to Chakotay. "I forgot to give you your cookie." She gave him a big hug, and then stood in front of him and shook her finger at him, "And don't be late for your date tonight. You know the Captain doesn't like to be kept waiting." With that she spun and skipped back to the turbolift. The doors closed across Janeway's stunned face. Chakotay shrugged, and tried to look interested in his console.
<Carissa> Janeway went and took Naomi to her quarters so she could go to bed. She then went and got ready for this 'date' as Naomi had put it.
<Anne3> The door opened, and Chakotay stood, framed in the doorway, for a moment. She stared at him. He had also changed and was wearing brown loose fitting slacks and a beige shirt. He carried a bottle of wine with him. Janeway recovered finally and said, "What, no cookies? Didn't you save any for me?"
<Ho11y> He gave a slight laugh and replied "Sorry, maybe next time." They stood there a moment, both wondering why they were acting like this.
<Ho11y> "Here's the wine," Chakotay stated the obvious as he handed it to Kathryn. He then pulled out her chair and she sat. He walked around the table and did the same. "So, what's the menu for tonight?" he asked.
<Anne3> "Naomi and I had a very interesting conversation earlier," Janeway said as they were starting to eat their dinner.
<Anne3> "Oh really," Chakotay replied. He looked up and met her gaze. "What exactly did you two talk about?"
<Ho11y> "Well," Kathryn started. "She told me of a conversation the two of you had."
<Ho11y> "Really?" Chakotay asked. "And what conversation would that be?" They caught each other's gaze and held it.
<Ho11y> "the one in where you told her that I was your girlfriend," Kathryn stated matter-of-factly.
<Anne3> "Ah, that conversation," he said, never taking his eyes off of her. "And how did that happen to come up in conversation with a small child?"
<Anne3> "She said you were sad, and she wanted to cheer you up. So we talked about you for a minute. She's really quite concerned about you," Janeway said. "But the real question is, why did you say it to her in the first place?" She asked, reaching over to cover his hand with hers.
<Ho11y> "It's not like I planned it that way Kathryn," he told her. "I was babysitting her last week and she brought up the subject of the crew talking about us. She asked me about 'us' and so I was trying to explain to her that we were just friends. But then she pointed out the whole thing about our dinners and..." he paused.
<Ho11y> "And well I guess before I knew it she has gotten me to admit to her that I lov..." he didn't finish his sentence. He wasn't sure what would happen if he would. He didn't want this to ruin their friendship if he found out that she wasn't interesting in 'them.'
<Anne3> "That you love taking care of small children?" She chuckled.
<Anne3> His face warmed as a smile filled it, and his shoulders relaxed as he let out the breath he had been holding. "I do love children, but I wouldn't want to take care of them by myself. Would you?"
<Ho11y> "No, I wouldn't," she replied as she looked into his eyes. "You know the position is still open."
<Ho11y> "The person who gets it is one lucky guy," Chakotay commented with a slight laugh.
<Ho11y> "You know I don't discriminate," she told him. "The job is open to crewmen, ensigns, aliens and..." she pause. "And First Officers."
<Anne3> Chakotay stared at her. His calm exterior was stripped away and with it all his bravado and carefully crafted façade. "Don't tease me about something like this Kathryn," he breathed.
<Anne3> His expression told her everything she needed to know. Leaning forward, she closed the distance between them, and reached out to touch his face.
<Ho11y> As this happened they heard a giggle coming from under the table. They both looked at each other quizzically before they realized what was going on. In unison they pushed back there chair and looked under the table, to revel Naomi.
<Ho11y> "What's happening now?" Tom's voice came out in a whisper over Naomi's comm. badge. "Naomi, what's going on?" he asked again.
<Anne3> Janeway reached down and retrieved the communicator from the small child. "Mr. Paris," she barked at him.
<Anne3> "Yes, ma'am," he answered crisply. There was a thud and she could tell that something had fallen on his end of the commline. She had to cover her mouth to bite back the laughter that threatened to explode.
<Anne3> "Mr. Paris, since you seem to have some free time on your hands, you will report to my cabin immediately and collect young miss Wildman. You can watch her until Sam returns."
<Anne3> "Yes, ma'am," Tom said again. "I'll be right there."
<Anne3> Chakotay stared at her with concern etched in his face, but then she dissolved into giggles and he relaxed.
<Ho11y> "Well that was certainly fast," Kathryn commented as Tom materialized in her quarters. "Um...yeah...sorry Captain. I was just...I mean we were..."
<Ho11y> "Mr. Paris, quit while you're ahead," she instructed him. He nodded as he escorted Naomi out of Kathryn's quarters.
<Ho11y> "Shall we finish our dinner?" Chakotay asked with a smile.
<Ho11y> "Why of course," Kathryn replied.
<Anne3> "But I think Naomi has rubbed off on me," she said with a wink.
<Anne3> "How so," he grinned.
<Anne3> Kathryn leaned back across the table and took his face in her hand, "I want to have my dessert before I finish my dinner." She said as she kissed him.
<Ho11y> "You know Kathryn," he said, ending their kiss. "I lied to you on the bridge, you know, when you asked me what question I wanted to ask you."
<Ho11y> He looked her in the eyes. "What I wanted to ask had nothing to do with cookies," he said with a laugh.
<Ho11y> "Really?" she asked.
<Anne3> "Are you really going to make me do this?" he asked.
<Anne3> "Yes, I am," she smiled.
<Anne3> "But, since I already offered you the job, and you accepted it, I think you can be fairly certain of the response," she said as she winked again.
<Ho11y> "Fine, have it your way," he said as he got up out of his chair and walked over to her. HE then turned her chair so she was facing him. He reached him his pocket and pulled out a ring and he lowered himself to one knee.
<Ho11y> He took her hands in his left hand. "Kathryn Janeway," he started. "I love loved you for the longest time. You are my soul mate, the only person I can ever imagine myself having children with and growing old with. Kathryn, will you marry me?"
<Ho11y> She had held his glaze the whole time and had no doubt what so ever in her mind that he truly was the one for her.
<Ho11y> "Yes," she answered, tears streaming down her face. "I'll marry you."
<Ho11y> He slipped the ring on her finger and then pulled her to him. They sat there, just holding each other. "I could stay like this forever," she commented.
<Anne3> The End
~*~*~ THE END ~*~*~
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