Title: Bush Talking
Author: Ky (venom69)
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager
Rating: Janeway/Chakotay
Summary: "You're asking me on a date?"
Character/Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay
Spoilers: None… the show’s ended!
Warnings: None, really.
Prompt Number for fic101: 28 - Shelter
Author’s Notes: Song belongs to Meat Loaf.
Disclaimer: Usual guff. Not mine, promise to put them back where I found them.
Date: 19/01/07

***

Don’t say a word
Silence is gold
Don’t say a word…

***

"Whose idea was it to go bushwalking?"

Chakotay sighed.

He had already admitted to being responsible for the idea, several times in fact.

And that was just in the last hour alone.

"Mine."

"And whose idea was it for us to not bring any kind of communication device?"

Finally, a new question. "I think that was yours, actually."

He was pretty sure that he could still hear her voice in his head, telling him that they are safe now, back on Earth and they wouldn’t need their comm. badges. He was pretty sure he could still see her shy blush at his answering smile as well.

They'd been spending a lot of time together of late. Not dating, nothing in the range of dating.

Just... two friends who liked to spend time together.

If one of those friends happened to be in love with the other, Chakotay thought that was just part of life.

"I'm pretty sure I would never make such a ludicrous suggestion." Kathryn rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "It's hot."

Chakotay nodded.

Sweat was trickling down his back, underneath the pack that he carried. The air was thick and humid, every breath taking just a little bit more effort than the last and he knew that night was beginning to fall, despite the still warm temperature. "We should find shelter. Looks like we'll be spending a night under the stars."

"And we will sleep on what, exactly?"

For all of her complaints, Kathryn knew as well as he did that they had the ability to get out of there relatively easily. There was a town just an hour's walk east of their position, but he hadn't brought that up and he knew that she hadn't forgotten it.

A chance to spend an evening with his best friend under the starts was certainly not one that Chakotay planned to pass up.

They had emergency blankets and rations in the packs that he had filled for them prior to leaving. They would neither starve nor freeze. "We'll make do, Kathryn. We've slept in worse places before."

He could see the images flutter across her face at his words - caves, dirt floors, sickbay, his couch... she'd even slept in her own brig before. "You're right. Besides, a little fresh air can't hurt."

After having spent almost 6 months in a tiny little room being debriefed by Starfleet, Chakotay could wholeheartedly agree with her.

They had returned home in a flourish of light - and exploding Borg Spheres - and then been granted a month off, during which everyone was free to return to their families.

Chakotay had watched as some of his closest friends had scattered across the Galaxy to be reunited with loved ones.

He himself had been left with an empty feeling as he realized that virtually everyone he had known in the last decade was either reuniting with their family now, in jail or dead.

In the end, he had wandered from planet to planet, spending a night or two on each, checking up on the old crew and ensuring that they had returned to a welcome home.

Some were happy and his visits were brief.

A lot - particularly the former Maquis - had found their lives on Voyager and weren't quite so glad that they'd reached Terra Firma. Those were the ones he spent the longest with.

Working with them as they rebuilt their lives, drinking with them as they told their stories and vented their frustrations, commiserating with them as they spoke of loss.

He never left until he was sure that they would be able to reintegrate themselves into their chosen society.

That month had gone by quickly for everyone.

It was nowhere near enough, not after seven years apart and it was certainly not long enough for Chakotay to see everyone.

Included on his list of people yet to see was his former Captain or their resident Borg Drone.

But their orders had all come through that they were to return to Headquarters to be properly debriefed.

Each crew member had been assigned on-base accommodation, with rooms big enough for them to bring their spouse and children if they desired and they had set about the task of reliving the previous seven years. One person from Starfleet R&D had been assigned to each crewman, taking down their accounts and asking questions.

Some of his session had left Chakotay smiling as the memories washed over him in waves of contentment. Some had left him with the desire to put his fist through a wall as he had the distasteful pleasure of experiencing the pain and sorrow of particular events all over again.

"Hey, you OK?"

Chakotay turned to face his companion once more. She was standing with her hands on her hips - how many times had he seen her do that, he wondered - with a concerned look on her face.

He smiled in, what he hoped, was a reassuring way. "Fine, just lost in thought."

"Don't get too lost, cave man, I believe that you promised me shelter."

While he had been lost in his thoughts, the sun had been loosing its battle to stay in the sky.

It was beginning to dip low behind the horizon and Kathryn was right, they needed to sort their shelter now. They had wrist beacons, but he had no urge to walk an hour in the dark to the nearby town.

"We passed some large rocks about twenty feet back that looked like they had some good coverage... we should be able to find some shelter there."

While it wasn't likely to rain while they were out, but in the event that it did, Chakotay wanted them to be close enough to be protected before they got soaked and caught colds.

Kathryn waved her hand in the direction they'd come from. "Lead on."

***

He'd been right about the rocks - thankfully! - and they'd been able to find a section that would reasonably cover them should the elements decide to turn sour.

"Chez Chakotay?" Kathryn asked as he laid one of their blankets on the ground.

"Best I can do."

"It looks fine." Kathryn shrugged her own pack off. "Certainly a much better shelter than I could build."

"I seem to remember you being quite good at building shelters." It was out of his mouth before he could think about it and Chakotay waited, nervously holding his breath, for her response.

Kathryn didn't miss a beat in responding as she bent down to empty the supply's from her pack. "And I seem to recall that you did most of the building. I just helped move the fallen trees."

New Earth was something that they had spoken of perhaps twice since their return from the lush green planet.

It seemed that, upon returning to Voyager, all memories had been deemed off-limits and too painful to mention, despite the fact that they had lived in paradise for three months. Chakotay thought that those months were probably the happiest and most peaceful of his life.

"A blanket, a spare shirt, some rations and oh!" Kathryn continued, "A thermos of hot coffee. You packed well."

He thought she'd appreciate it. "If I could have brought some coffee ice cream for you, I would have packed that too."

Kathryn laughed, unscrewing the lid of the thermos and pouring herself a cup of the black liquid. "This is perfect. Would you like some?"

"There's only one cup."

"We can share. I promise not to give you any germs." She raised her eyebrow and handed him the cup.

"Thank you." He took a sip and grimaced at the bitter taste, handing it back to her. "I have water here too."

"Weakling."

Kathryn in a playful mood was a rare thing, though he'd seen it more in the last month than he had in the last seven years.

Since all of their debriefings had finished over three weeks ago, they'd been spending more and more time together.

At first, it had been a simple case of going through their crew's records and making recommendations for their next posting, but then that had escalated to lunch, which in turn had escalated to dinner.

They also had the occasional breakfast thrown in to boot.

Chakotay had finally suggested that they get together at some point to do something other than sit down for a meal and talk about work.

When Kathryn had asked what he'd like to do, a plethora of images - most of them involving her naked - had flashed through his mind.

Bushwalking had been the only non-naked activity that he had thought of and it'd been out of his mouth before he could really consider it.

She had agreed and they'd decided that, one Saturday when neither had to work and neither had other commitments - he was still visiting the crewmembers he hadn't been able to see during their break and Kathryn had mentioned that every distant relative she had wanted a piece of her now that she was back - they would set off through one of the more remote locations left on Earth.

Eventually, he had found some time to do a little research and decided that the Australian Tropics seemed like a good idea. At this time of year, it wasn't the sweltering heat that the continent was known for, but they'd still be able to enjoy the local flora and fauna without it being dark too early in the evening.

When he'd presented her with the plans and some holoimages of the area that they'd be walking through, the excited look on her face had been well worth all of the research.

She'd asked if they could do it immediately and, after an apologetic comm. call to Mike Ayala, Chakotay freed up his Saturday and dedicated it to her.

A poke in his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts and Chakotay realized that he was holding an open bottle of water.

Quickly, he took a sip.

"Hey, you keep zoning out on me. Is my company that bad?"

"Never, Kathryn. Just thinking."

"About?"

"The area around us is lovely, don't you think?"

"I do," She smiled and lay back on the blanket, staring up at the stars just beginning to shine, visible through the canopy of the treetops. "So who did you cancel to come with me today?"

"Pardon?"

"I hear that you've been making the rounds. I assume someone was scheduled for today?"

"Ayala." Chakotay admitted, replacing the lid on his water and lying back beside her, their shoulders lightly touching. "He understood when I told him why."

Silence reigned again, punctuated by the sounds of the forest around them. He could hear a few of the native birds singing in the trees

"Why didn't you visit me?"

Her voice was quiet.

If it hadn't been so peaceful around them, Chakotay thought that he may have missed it. "I wasn't sure you'd want a reminder of the last seven years. I thought you might enjoy your time with your mother and sister."

'And Mark' he wanted to add, but he didn't know enough about that situation to comment. He knew that Mark had divorced not long before they returned home, but he didn't know if anything had reignited between them when Kathryn returned to Indiana.

He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

"We're friends, Chakotay, of course you would have been welcomed to visit. Mother is insisting that I bring you home for a meal and some brownies."

He smiled. "I'm privileged enough to be allowed a brownie, am I?"

"She seems to think so." Kathryn laughed. "Seriously, you are welcome anytime."

"Be careful, I might take you up on that."

Kathryn's laugh faded and she turned to look at him, her expression serious. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it."

"I know." He sighed and decided that a change of subject was in order. "Do you want something to eat?"

She appeared to ignore his offer. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I thought you'd enjoy it."

"It's lovely, but why did you come here with me? Why not Seven?"

And the penny dropped, to coin a phrase of Tom's. "Do you think Seven and I are together, Kathryn?"

"Well... aren't you?" She looked uncomfortable and he couldn't blame her. "I mean, you were dating as far as I knew. And the Admiral said..."

"The Admiral said what, exactly?"

"That you two got... closer, as the years went on."

It might have been wishful thinking on his part, but she looked almost jealous. "Kathryn, Seven and I aren't dating. Yes, we did have a few dates on Voyager, but that was it. Nothing ever came of it and I don't think either of us really expected it to. I haven't seen her since we said Goodbye to all of the crew before our leave."

"You didn't visit her either?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, that's... good to know."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you and Mark back together? I know you said that he and his wife had divorced, but you never elaborated." If she could ask about Seven, he could find the nerve to ask about her former - and perhaps current - fiancé.

"Mark and I?" She gave a little laugh. "No, absolutely not."

He didn't need details. 'No' was enough for him. "So why did you agree to come out here with me?"

"Because I miss my best friend." She admitted.

"He never went anywhere, you know."

Kathryn glanced from side to side and he could tell that she was debating her response. "It felt like he did."

"I know that feeling."

She held a hand outstretched. "Can I have my friend back, then?"

He took her small hand in his, shaking it slowly. "If I can have mine back."

"Deal." Kathryn smiled, the first real smile he'd seen from her since they'd been working together again.

Releasing her hand, Chakotay laced his fingers together and laid them on his stomach. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sounds of them breathing, coupled with the environment that surrounded them.

"Chakotay?"

"Mmm?"

"Will you go on a date with me?"

His eyes shot open at that and he turned to look at her as she continued to stare upwards. "You're asking me on a date?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd do it. One of us had to."

Chakotay laughed. "Point taken."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, Kathryn."

She turned to look at him again, smiling. "Good."

***

End