Sickbay was dark and quiet, save for the almost imperceptible hum of the ventilation system, the occasional computer beep, and the gentle breathing that comes with sleep.
Chakotay's eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness, and he nodded to the Doctor and waved him off when the hologram noticed his presence and made to leave his office.
Coffee.
He smelled coffee.
That woman, he thought with a fond smile. She's just been de-Borged and she's already drinking coffee. Amazing.
He found Kathryn Janeway lounging against some pillows, coffee mug in one hand and padd in the other. The soft glow of a reading light illuminated her restored, healthy complexion and tousled chestnut hair.
"I'm surprised you didn't ask the Doctor to leave some implants in. I'm sure he could have modified them so you could plug yourself into the replicator and download coffee directly into your bloodstream."
The captain bobbled the padd in surprise, but maintained a death grip on the mug. "Chakotay!" She set the padd down and took a generous swallow of coffee. "What are you doing here so late?"
He smiled and leaned against the side of her bed. "Just seeing how you're doing. I figured you'd still be awake." He kept his voice low, mindful of his sleeping friends meters away. "Did Doc have to bribe you with coffee to keep you here?"
She scowled at him. "I'm not that bad, Chakotay."
He crossed his arms and merely stared at her. She shifted, grimacing slightly. Then she sighed. "Okay, okay. He promised me two cups a day if I behaved and didn't argue. Happy?"
He grinned. "I'd worry if you'd made it easy on him. Sometimes I wonder if it's a bizarre, twisted little game the two of you enjoy playing."
She considered sticking her tongue out at him, then decided the indignities of the past few days had done enough damage. She settled for sipping her coffee and fixing him with the Death Glare. Much to her satisfaction, he shifted slightly away from her.
She picked the padd back up and scrolled through it. "Commander?"
He glanced at the padd and caught a glimpse of damage repair schematics. He had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy this conversation, and decided to play it low-key. "Kathryn?"
She tapped the padd against her knee. "There's a hole in my ship, Commander. A big one. It wasn't there when I left."
He reached up and tugged an earlobe. "Well... Ah... You did tell me to surprise you, Kathryn. I thought you'd like a new skylight."
Her eyes went wide. The man had gotten a three-deck hole blown into her ship, and he was joking about it?
Oh, now damn, there he goes. The dimples. Damn him. He knows what they do to me... How am I supposed to rip him to shreds when he's smiling at me like that with the dimples and the dark eyes I can drown in?
"Commander." She was trying very hard for a firm, brook-no-arguments tone. "Between repairing the hull breaches, the rest of the battle damage, and rebuilding the Delta Flyer, I estimate at least a month of repairs. This is not a laughing matter."
He was suddenly all seriousness. "Yes ma'am," he responded solemnly. "I take full responsibility for the battle damage. But I refuse, absolutely refuse, to take responsibility for the destruction of the Delta Flyer. I wasn't anywhere near it. I wasn't flying it, I wasn't aboard it. I didn't touch it prior to launch, I didn't breathe on it, I didn't even think about it. This is one lost shuttle I'm not taking the heat for. So there. Captain."
She barely heard the end of his stern proclamation. Her head was buried in a pillow, and she was shaking with laughter. "Damn it, Chakotay, laughing hurts!" came her muffled reply.
The dimples had returned. "You had that coming, Kathryn. Trying to get all command-like on me. Honestly."
Her face emerged from the pillow, bright with mirth. "Come on, Chakotay. Stroke my ego a little here. At least tell me you were quaking in your boots, if only for a moment."
He clasped his hands over his heart. "I was terrified. Didn't you hear my knees knocking together?"
She smiled and pushed the pillow behind her back, then looked longingly at the empty, abandoned coffee mug and yawned. "There's something about wrangling with the Borg that just makes me want to bury my head under the covers and sleep for a week."
Chakotay reached up and rubbed tiredly at his face. "I know I haven't been sleeping lately." He fixed her with a dark, penetrating stare. "The next time you decide to play Defender of the Cosmos, I'm just going to toss you in the brig. Or have you sedated. Or handcuff you to me so you can't take off anywhere. You drive me nuts, Kathryn Janeway."
She quickly chastised herself for dwelling on being handcuffed to the commander. She tried to glare at him again, but was overtaken by another yawn. "Well, I guess if you like boredom, Chakotay..."
They stared at each other for a moment, and then he chuckled. "You are outrageous."
He pulled her blanket up and smoothed it over her shoulder. "Go to sleep, troublemaker," he said with a soft smile. "I'll stop by in the morning before I go on duty. I'll let you know how the skylight installation is going."
She offered him a sleepy smile. "Troublemaker? Pot calling the kettle black, Chakotay."
He surprised both of them when he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, Kathryn. I'm glad you're home."
She reached up and patted his cheek. "So am I, Chakotay. So am I."
When she was released to her quarters a few days later, the captain was greeted by the faint smell of cleaning solution and a like-new carpet. She glanced around and found the small coffee stain by her desk chair was now gone.
On the desk was a padd with a note. It read:
"Cleaned the carpets in here. Will do Ready Room this afternoon. Be more careful with your coffee. Dinner tonight? You can thank me then.
Miss you.
C."
For the first time in a very long time, Kathryn Janeway felt human once again.
And yes, she would definitely thank her first officer when she saw him.