The Ivory Tower [NC-17] (J/C Q)
Christina Wilson
CWilson980@aol.com
May 1997
Yes, I borrowed freely from a great many places...Especially the 
TNG episode with Picard and his merry crew.
There is a bit of consentual sex at the end. Nothing graphic, but 
I'll still give this a NC-17 rating.
All the usual disclaimers apply. The characters belong to 
Paramount (Viacom and whomever else), but what they do 
between episodes, between scenes, and in my rather dangerous 
mind are my concern (no matter what anybody says). This is, after 
all, my alternate universe.
Positive feedback is always welcome, as are useful suggestions. 
Feel free to send this story--unchanged--to friends, just please 
keep my name, disclaimer, and any notes attached. OK to archive 
in the ASC, not anywhere else.

THE IVORY TOWER:

     He leaned across her desk and stared hard in her eyes. "When 
is the Captain of this ship going to leave her ivory tower..."
     She sputtered something, "What are you talking about. I'm not 
in some tower, the crew can come to me anytime. My door..."
     "That is not what I'm talking about, *Captain.* You may talk 
to the crew, discuss their problems and needs. But you have still 
cut yourself off from us. Dammit Captain, this ship has become 
our home and family--and you have cut yourself off from those who 
love you..."
     "Captains do not become emotionally involved with their 
crew..."
     "And seventy year missions in the middle of nowhere are the 
norm," he said sarcastically. "Stop pretending this is the normal, 
average StarFleet mission. It hasn't been since we destroyed the 
array." He looked at her and spoke more quietly. "I can't decide if 
you truly believe that tomorrow we'll find a way home, or that if 
you believe you must for the crew."
     "Crew morale is important..."
     "And is fine. Yes we have our dark days. But everybody on this 
ship has realized that we won't get home tomorrow. And I suspect 
many if not all realize that this adventure will eventually end on a 
planet that we will claim as our home. Almost all. Kathryn the 
crew has accepted this, why can't you?" He looked in her eyes and 
for the first time noticed she was close to tears. Instinctively he 
reached up to touch her cheek. She pulled back, but not before 
she'd revealed and hidden her love and desire. He smiled. "Why do 
you continuously fight this."
     "Commander..." Her mind was racing. He was right, but she 
wouldn't or couldn't admit to it. It was admitting defeat. Wasn't 
it?
     His voice softened. "Life out here isn't so bad. We've seen places 
no one has even dreamed of. *We* could find happiness, if you'd 
only let us..." His voice faded away.
     "Admit that we won't get home..."
     "No, admit that we love each other. Gods know I love you." Her 
eyes closed, when they opened they were still a hint of anger. He 
straightened up and cut off her retort with, "Home is where the 
heart is..." He looked at her, trying to decide if he should stay or 
go. Finally he decided to leave.
     He just nodded to Tuvok and went to his office. Sitting down he 
looked at the desk surface and ran his hands through his hair. He 
wondered if he had just secured permanent passage in the brig or 
if she would ever speak to him again.

     Janeway stood leaning on her desk, trying to bring her swirling 
emotions back under control. Didn't he realize that they had to 
work together. It wasn't as she liked maintaining the status quo. 
She closed her eyes and sat down.
     Oomph.
     She stood quickly and faced the sole inhabitant of her chair. "Q, 
what are you doing here?"
     "My, my Kathy lass, in a bit of an Irish temper aren't ye," he 
said in an ersatz Irish accent. "Are ye going to let him get away 
with that...Throw him in the brig. And Kathy lass, I think you 
should throw away the key."
     "Go away," she didn't feel like arguing with anybody.
     He smiled, "You puny humans, so wrapped up in their 
emotions. You do love him, admit it Kathy..."
     She glared at him, "I do not. Anyway its none of your business." 
She tapped her comm-badge. "Intruder alert..."
     She looked around. "Q return me to my ship. Q! Where the hell 
are you?" She looked at her new surroundings--Q was no where to 
be seen. A small room with only two pieces of furniture--a bed and 
a chair. She moved to walk toward the small window in the wall 
and became aware that she wasn't in uniform. She was wearing a 
long red dress, belted around her waist and to make movement 
harder, the damn dress had a train. She reached down and angrily 
grabbed the train and carried it as she walked toward the 
window.
     The view was definitely not Voyager. "Computer, end 
program?" She wasn't surprised when nothing happened. "Q?"

     Chakotay almost threw the PADD on the floor. What was it 
about her: she had it in her power to make him so angry. Yet she 
was the one who'd shown him how to find peace.
     "If it makes you feel better, she's angry too..." Q's voice trailed 
off into laughter as Chakotay whirled about to face him. 
"Greetings Chuckles."
     "Go away, and leave us in peace..."
     Q smiled. "An interesting choice of words, considering." He 
moved to sit on the Commander's desk, ignoring the vicious looks 
the Indian was giving him. "Now about the fair Kathryn. I can 
understand you're admiration of her. She is a remarkable woman. 
But she does need your assistance, so time's a wasting--Chuckles 
you have a damsel in distress to rescue." He snapped his fingers 
and both disappeared in a flash of light.

     "Torres to bridge."
     "Tuvok here, Lieutenant?"
     "Is the Captain there, I've been trying to contact her for the 
past five minutes."
     "No. Tuvok to Janeway." No answer. The bridge became silent, 
then Tom broke the silence.
     "Maybe she and the Commander are..." The crew laughed.
     "It is highly unlikely that Captain Janeway and Commander 
Chakotay would choose to..." The Vulcan paused and continued 
skipping that thought. "The Commander left her ready-room ten 
minutes ago. Computer, locate Captain Janeway."
     "Captain Janeway is not on the ship." The crew was very silent 
now. Tom instinctively cut the engines and brought the ship to a 
halt.
     "Tuvok to Commander Chakotay." Again no response. 
"Computer locate Commander Chakotay."
     "Commander Chakotay is not on the ship."
     Tuvok looked at the data he'd been pulling up. "Mr. Kim, have 
the senior staff report to the briefing room in five minutes. And 
ask Lieutenant Rogers to report to the bridge. She will be in 
command of the bridge."
     "Yes sir."

     Chakotay looked around. A few hundred curses running 
through his head. "Computer, end program..." Well it had been a 
chance. "Q, where the Hell am I. And where's the Captain?" A few 
twittering birds responded. He reached to tap his commbadge--it 
wasn't there. He realized he was wasn't in his uniform. He was 
wearing a dark coarsely woven tunic that reached to his knees and 
some sort of leggings and boots.
     He looked around as StarFleet training kicked in. Assess the 
situation, figure out where he was. Terrible and no clue were the 
answers to that question. He looked at the big tree he was under. 
He looked closer. "Oak?" He ran his hand over the trunk. Then he 
picked a leaf. Most definitely some sort of oak. He heard a noise 
and ducked. There it was again.
     He quickly climbed the tree, not knowing who or what was 
approaching. Silently he watched as three horsemen road out of 
the woods and stopped under the tree.
     Chakotay watched, becoming more puzzled as the three riders 
proved to be humans and the animals were definitely horses. It 
was some sort of game. Q liked playing games, he remembered 
reading about them. He'd done a lot of reading about Q during the 
SOB's most recent visit.
     "His Lordship will not be happy that we return empty handed," 
the taller rider said.
     "He keeps the Lady Kathryn locked in a tower until they can 
find a cure for her malaise."
     The third rider just laughed. "Her malaise, is that his Lordship 
is planning to marry her off to a man she does not love."
     The threesome laughed, then the taller one spoke again. "We 
still have a day's travel before us."
     "Aye, and with unpleasant welcomes. We mustn't be late."
     Chakotay waited until he could no longer hear them, before 
climbing out of the tree. "Q!" There was no response.
     He scanned the ground, noting the horses were shod, and one 
was missing a nail. He had no idea where he was heading--but the 
horsemen did. That was assuming Lady Kathryn was his 
Kathryn.

     Kathryn Janeway leaned out the window. She too was 
assessing her situation, and without rope she wasn't getting out 
that way. She turned to look around her room. A single door to her 
left. "Q, where am I? What sort of games are you playing." No 
response. "What a surprise," she added. "Is this some sort of 
revenge for not procreating with you?" She moved to the door, 
balancing the train on her arm. "People used to move in these sort 
of things." She grabbed the handle, nothing. "Locked. Now why am 
I not surprised." She kneeled down and looked out--some sort of 
staircase spiraled out of sight.
     "A phaser," she muttered, not bothering to hide her frustration. 
"A phaser would be real useful about now."
     There was a laugh behind her. She didn't bother to turn. 
"Well?" She asked, trying very hard to keep her temper under 
control.
     "Aye Kathy lass?" Q said.
     "Are...My name is Kathryn, not Kathy lass or other such..." She 
closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Are you planning to tell me 
what is going on?"
     "You're a scientist, figure it out. But I will tell you, help is on 
the way."
     "Voyager. I knew I could count on them to find me..." She 
turned to look at him, he was laughing hard.
     "Not Voyager, just one, another puny human, but one a little 
more honest in his feelings than a certain lass..." He snapped his 
fingers and vanished.
     She still had no idea what was going on--except that Chakotay 
had also been dragged into this fantasy of Qs.

     The senior staff sat around the table for twenty minutes: they'd 
been discussing what had happened. They were in the process of 
conducting a complete sweep of the area and Harry had gone over 
the logs for the thirty minutes before the two commanding officers 
had vanished.
     "There's nothing. No temporal displacements, nothing 
anomalous at all. No one else is missing, no one saw anything..." 
Harry shook his head. "The scans are 75 percent complete, there 
are no M-class planets in this sector, no signs of another ship..."
     "They just vanished," B'Elanna said pointedly.
     "I've detected no signs of foul-play..." Tuvok started to say, but 
Tom cut him off.
     "Murder! The Commander's in love...He'd...I mean..." Tom 
flushed and stopped speaking.
     "Illogical as it seems, it was an option that needed to be 
examined. The Commander had appeared very angry when he'd 
left her ready-room..."
     "Vulcans," Tom murmured. Tuvok just lifted his eyebrow.
     Kes stood, "I was wondering if there was some way they could 
be taken from this ship?"
     B'Elanna shook her head, "There would be a signature left 
behind, molecular disturbance, an energy reading. That kind of 
mechanical transfer..."
     Kes interrupted. "Not mechanical--I'm not even sure if it's 
biological..." She looked at Tuvok, then the Doctor. "Q."
     "It would explain the lack of data," Tuvok said.
     "And why we can't find them," Harry added.

     Kathryn sat down. She'd been over her small room several 
times. There was no way she was getting out of there, without 
help. She looked down at the sampler who-ever-she-was had been 
working on. The delicate stitches were very pretty. "Q this isn't 
even funny. Couldn't you bring the monthly energy consumption 
reports. Hell, I'd settle for the Talaxian recipe book, Neelix is 
putting together." She looked at the embroidery again. "Or again, 
I could try to figure out how one does this without going blind." 
She picked up the needle and pushed it through the fabric, 
straight into her finger. "Damn!"
     There was a feminine shriek, "Lady Kathryn, what would your 
father say..."
     "My father died 15 years ago..." Startled, she turned and looked 
at the older woman...
     "Aye Mi Lady, he did, but his Lordship has been like your 
father for most of your life..." She placed the tray she was carrying 
down. "Dinner." The woman backed out the door, and Kathryn 
heard the sound of the key turning. Whatever was for dinner, it 
didn't smell like an improvement over Neelix's grundle bean 
casserole. 

     Chakotay had set up camp with the setting sun, complete with 
a small fire, he smiled as he looked at the flames--it had only 
taken him an hour to start it. "Well, here I am. In the middle of 
who knows where, hungry...Q I hope you are enjoying this. I'm 
definitely not." He tossed another branch in angrily and watched 
the sparks shoot up.
     "Nice fire," a voice said behind him. "Mind if we join you?"
     "No, come ahead." Chakotay said warily. Two men stepped out 
of the night.
     "You should be more careful, stranger," one said. "The woods 
are not a safe place."
     "I have nothing. I'm..." What, he thought. "I'm not from these 
parts."
     There was a snort. "As if we couldn't tell. No one around here 
wears such a mark on them."
     Chakotay almost laughed. The tattoo--it would be a dead give 
away that he didn't belong where ever here was. "It's a symbol of 
my people."
     "You must be a long way from home."
     Chakotay noticed the second one kept his face wrapped and 
didn't speak. "Very. Can you tell me how to reach the place where 
Lady Kathryn lives..."
     "Another one. Ever since his lordship offered a reward to 
whomever could cure his daughter, they've been crawling out of 
the woodwork." The speaker laughed. "In exchange for the sharing 
your fire?"
     Chakotay shrugged. "Of course. I don't have..."
     The man laughed. "We know." The other man handed him a 
skinned rabbit. "Cook this, there's plenty for the three of us 
stranger."

     Kathryn looked out her window, the waxing moon was almost 
full. She yawned. "Q, couldn't you have at least booked a room 
with the basic amenities." There was no bath, and no toilet. Just a 
chamber pot. That had been embarrassing and uncomfortable to 
use. And, for a lack of a better term, *gross.*
     Yawning, she looked at the heavy wooden bed. Somewhere 
she'd seen pictures of beds like that. It looked more uncomfortable 
and unsanitary than she remembered. However, the floor looked 
even more uncomfortable. She slipped off all the layers of clothing 
until she was wearing only her cotton shift. She looked at the bed, 
and closed her eyes as she crawled into it.

     Chakotay woke before the sun, damp and cold. During the 
night the fire had gone out. He grumbled something about a warm 
bed and environmental controls, before remembering his two still 
slumbering guests. In the half light of the predawn, he could see 
them just starting to stir. Gods, he hoped Q was enjoying this. It 
really would be a shame for all his misery (and Kathryn's too, he 
was sure) to be wasted. "Good morning," he said to the first 
stranger.
     "Yes, don't bother with a fire. We should get out of here, before 
his Lordship's men happen upon us." He kicked his partner, who 
grunted.
     Chakotay just nodded, again wondering who they were. And 
where he was...
     "It's along walk to his Lordship's castle. It will take you almost 
two days. It just happens were going that way--at least to the 
village of Amesbury-on-Lavon." The two had gathered their few 
belongings and were ready to go. Chakotay just nodded and 
followed them.

     By mid morning, Kathryn Janeway was really bored. Breakfast 
had been a rather indescribable gruel. She found herself missing 
Neelix's leola roots. Bored, and frustrated. She'd spent a hour 
examining the outside wall of her prison tower. She'd even 
examined the blankets and filthy linens to see if they could be 
ripped to make a rope. The servant had returned and brought a 
small instrument for her to play--her only comment had been that 
Lady Kathryn used to enjoy playing it...
     She'd tried playing it. Anything to keep from becoming overly 
bored. The recorder wasn't too difficult--she found that she could 
actually play a recognizable tune...She stopped when she 
recognized it. It was a song that she'd heard many times on new 
Earth and in his office. *An old love song of his people.*
     "Q?" She whispered. "Why are you doing this?"
     There was a flash, and her tormentor appeared. "Mi Lady. Not 
enjoying yourself." He flashed a smile at her, "Does that tune you 
were playing have a special meaning for you?" She didn't answer 
that. "I'm having fun, why aren't you? He reached over, took her 
hand and gave a courtly bow before disappearing.
     She raised her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

     Harry kicked the table leg as he sat down for lunch. "Good 
afternoon Tom," he said grouchily.
     Tom just grunted.
     "We've conducted every known scan of the sector...Nothing. 
What's going on???"
     "Harry, getting angry is not going to help."
     "I don't know how you can sit there, calm?"
     "Trust me, I don't like this any better than you do. But there is 
only so much you can do against a Q..."
     "Bloody Bastard, why the Captain and the Commander..."
     Tom almost laughed. "Because she turned him down, jealousy, 
curiosity. He feels inclined to play matchmaker..."
     Harry almost smiled.
     Amesbury wasn't much of a village. The first thing Chakotay 
noticed was the smell. His two traveling companions didn't seem 
to mind. They walked straight up to the small tavern. Chakotay 
quickly distanced himself from them, when he noticed the quiet-
one slip out a hand and cut the purse of a drunk lying across the 
table. As he was about to leave, he noticed a knife lying by the 
door. Bending down he picked it up and slipped out the door. He 
made his way to the end of the village. He'd been told the way to 
his Lordship's castle. Looking at the sun in the western sky, he 
calculated the he had about three hours before the sunset.

     Kathryn lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what 
was beyond. She looked at the food tray. "Coffee, strawberries and 
cream. That is the first thing I'm going to eat when I get back. 
Then I think I'll read the sanitation system reports while eating 
caramel brownies with vanilla ice cream." She stopped when she 
heard a knock. "Enter," she called out, then stood. Two men 
entered her chamber. The first was only a little taller than herself 
and dressed in high quality robes. The second was taller still and 
wearing a dark brown woolen robe.
     "Lady Kathryn," the shorter man said.
     She looked at him. "Who the hell are you?"
     The taller one crossed himself and began muttering something 
in a language she did not understand--but she realized her 
mistake.
     "Excuse me, my Lord." She was improvising--having no idea to 
whom she was talking. "You startled me."
     The shorter one looked at her. "See brother, she is under some 
sickness. But she is improving. She no longer rants. And her maid 
says she is eating again."
     "I understand why you keep her locked up. But people are 
beginning to talk. Perhaps she should make an appearance at the 
banquet for your nephew." The tall man held up a hand to silence 
the protest. "A short one. Lady Kathryn can control herself for a 
short time?"
     Kathryn calmly replied, "Yes, my lord." She looked at both 
men. Whatever was happening, she wanted no part.
     "Good night, Lady Kathryn." She watched them leave.
     "Q, where are you? Q!?" She didn't dare raise her voice.

     Chakotay lay down by his fire. He felt a little guilty about the 
petty crimes he'd committed. Stealing..."Oh hell," he muttered. "It 
isn't like this is real..." But at least he'd eaten and found 
something a little warmer to wear. He'd be at the castle late 
tomorrow late. He stared up a the stars: he needed a plan. And 
some idea what Q's intentions were. He rolled himself up in the 
robe he'd *found,* and fell asleep.

     Chakotay looked around the castle grounds. The place was 
teeming with activity. He spent the day helping here, asking some 
questions there. Nobody asked who he was. The servants and 
workers were willing to gossip as they worked. Apparently his 
lordship was preparing for a banquet to celebrate the betrothal of 
his nephew to a daughter of nearby baron.
     He frowned as his thoughts trailed off to the Captain and 
Voyager. He did learn that she was living in the north tower. The 
rumors that she was very sick caused him to almost panic--but 
then he heard she was to attend the banquet. Apparently her 
health was improving.

     The maid held up an exquisite blue silk dress. "Mi Lady, his 
Lordship would like you to wear this tonight."
     Kathryn fingered it and smiled. "Its lovely."
     The maid smiled as Kathryn slipped into the dress and then 
helped her secure the fastenings. "You must be happy to finally be 
allowed out of this room."
     *If you only knew...* Janeway thought. "Yes. It will be a 
pleasant change."

     Kathryn felt everybody's eyes on her as she entered the large 
room. She felt extremely uncomfortable as her servant carefully 
guided her to where she should sit. There was food laid out on the 
tables, most of it looking unappetizing and unsanitary. She closed 
her eyes and prayed that the doctor could cure any type of food 
poisoning she might contract. She heard the guests whisper about 
her, but tried to ignore them. Kathryn watched the others around 
her grab the food off the trays, eat some and toss the remains to 
ground; where a number of dogs were busy cleaning up. She 
almost laughed. The woman sitting next to her asked something. 
Kathryn nodded and was handed some sort of meat. No forks--she 
was expected to eat with fingers? Again she looked around, 
obviously yes she was.
     She'd finished eating and was hoping she could leave when she 
became aware of someone watching her. A comfortable feeling 
settled on her. She looked around slowly and saw him. With a lot 
of effort she didn't smile or acknowledge his presence. She just 
knew that he knew she'd seen him. He was wearing a long robe 
with a hood. Hiding that tattoo, (she smiled) that familiar, 
sensuous tattoo didn't fit into this place.
     Chakotay was relieved to see her. This evening was the first 
time he'd seen her and confirmed it really was the Captain. He'd 
been unable to take his eyes off her, until she'd noticed him. He 
looked away quickly then. Hoping no one else noticed. A quick 
glance told him that everybody was too busy to have noticed. He 
smiled. They probably wouldn't have noticed if he'd been a 
Klingon warrior complete with Bat'leth. There was also a good 
chance that many would soon be drunk. He slipped out, the only 
person who noticed was Kathryn.
     She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Lady Kathryn," her servant 
whispered. "You have done well today." Janeway nodded, the 
servant continued. "You should not overdo your first day. Perhaps 
you are ready to leave. Mi Lady?"
     Janeway stood and looked around. Silently she followed her 
servant back to her tower chambers.
     She stepped into her quarters, followed by her maid. "Mi Lady." 
The servant unfastened the blue dress.
     "I'd like to keep the dress," Kathryn said.
     "I know it was exciting, Lady Kathryn. But you need your 
sleep. You have improved in the last couple of days." Reluctantly 
Kathryn allowed the dress to be removed. Anything else would 
cause suspicion. The maid curtsied and stepped out of the room. 
Kathryn listened as the door was locked. She moved to the window 
and looked out. The moon had yet to rise. He was probably hiding 
in the shadows. She looked down at the white shift she was 
wearing. It would be an awkward dress to wear on an escape. She 
should probably try to sleep and looked at the bed. Her stomach 
fluttered, she knew she would not be able to sleep. She leaned out 
the window and looked around again. Then she looked up at the 
stars. "It seems so strange," she muttered to herself. "The Big 
Dipper, Cassiopeia...The constellations of home, and yet they're 
not." She turned to look at her room. "Q, is this strictly for your 
amusement?" Of course there was no response. She picked up her 
recorder and started to play. Quietly she played the same melody 
that she'd been playing for two days. Hoping he would hear it and 
come to her.

     Chakotay stood in the shadows. There was no one about. He'd 
hidden the robe with the other supplies he had stolen. All he 
carried was a knife and the rope. Then he heard it. A lonely sound, 
but a familiar one. He started to hum along as he moved closer to 
the tower. He stopped and looked around one last time before he 
crossed the last open space. No one.
     At the base of the tower, he debated on how to signal her. Then 
decided silence was better. Stepping away he tossed the rope and 
grinned as it perfectly arced its way into the window.
     Kathryn heard the thump of the landing rope and turned 
quickly. She grabbed it and looked around for a secure place to tie 
it. The only thing was the bed. She checked the knot and went to 
the window and whistled quietly. She was rewarded with a gentle 
tug at the rope. Her smile grew bigger as she watched her first 
officer climb the rope. Suddenly feeling skittish she moved away 
from the window. She moved the candle as she watched him stuff 
his broad shoulders through the window. Neither spoke as they 
stared at each other.
     "Captain." "Commander." They said simultaneously. Their 
uncomfortableness with the situation didn't dissipate.
     Chakotay watched her and smiled: she smiled at him. "The 
moon will be up soon." She just nodded, then turned away.
     "I don't think escaping this place is the answer. Q is in control 
of this *game.*" She shuddered when he put his hands on her 
shoulders.
     "We don't have much choice," he whispered, then started to 
hum the melody that she'd been playing earlier.
     She froze at the sound, it seemed so seductive coming from his 
lips. "You recognized that song." His fingers were stroking her 
neck, she could barely think. Her whole body was responding to 
his presence, his touch, the desire that so obviously filled his 
being.
     "How could I not." She could feel his breath on her neck, hear 
his hunger in the raspiness of his voice. "Its a song about two 
lovers who finally realize they belong to each other." His lips 
grazed her cheek. His hands slid down her arms and wrapped 
around her waist. "Kathryn?" He kissed her cheek again and felt 
her start to tremble, his hands continued to caress her up over her 
breasts, to her neck and down again. He pulled her close and 
turned her to face him. His fingers now running through her hair, 
down her back setting her skin on fire. Their eyes lit with their 
passion as she reached up to touch his face. He leaned down to 
kiss her lips. The contact was shattering, electrifying. The kiss 
became hungrier as their tongues entwined. She pulled back and 
gasped for air. Her eyes never left his as she reached up to undo 
the ties of her underdress. He watched her finger untie the first 
two, before moving her hands aside and finishing the job himself. 
He slid the dress off her shoulders and watched it fall to the 
ground, revealing her to him completely. She blushed under his 
intense scrutiny, but moved her hands to the ties on his shirt. 
Slowly she pulled it off as he undid the rest of his clothing.
     When they were both undressed he pulled her to him and they 
embraced reveling in the contact of skin on skin. Their hands 
roamed over each other as they collapsed on the bed.

     Kathryn woke first, her mind vaguely aware of the familiarness 
of her surroundings. She felt his arms still around her and 
snuggled in closer. He tightened his hold. "We should..." She 
stopped. "Chakotay?"
     "Hmmm."
     "I don't think we're in the castle anymore," she said as she sat 
up, pulling the clean sheet up to cover herself.
     He sat up. "Voyager." He laughed, "Good, I wasn't looking 
forward to climbing down that rope. It would have been hard with 
you in that dress..."
     She nipped his cheek, "Thinking I couldn't have done it?"
     "No, of course not Captain, it's just would have been awkward 
with you in those clothes. And even more so if you'd had to remove 
them." As he spoke he pulled the sheet down from around her and 
leaned down to take her left breast into his mouth. She moaned 
softly and bent down to kiss the top of his head.

     "Captain, welcome back. How was...What did you..." Tom gave 
up and sat down at his station.
     Janeway looked around the bridge, she almost laughed at the 
combination of curiosity and knowing smiles. "Well, let's just say it 
was interesting..."
     It was all the First Officer could do not to smile. "I don't know if 
interesting completely describes what happened..." He did smile 
when she threw him a look. "But it will have to do," he added 
hastily.
     "So, was it Q?" Harry asked.
     "Who else," Chakotay answered. "He put us into some sort of 
fairy tale."
     Tom laughed. "Well, was it *interesting*?"
     Janeway controlled the urge to glare at the young pilot. But 
anything she was going to say was cut off by a flash of light.
     "Q," both commanding officers said.
     "I just thought I'd stop by and say good-bye, for the moment, 
Kathy-lass. And to tell you, *wow.* Even Jean Luc didn't have as 
much fun" Q smiled wickedly. "But that time I ran off with *girl.* 
I don't suppose..." He didn't stop smiling when Janeway 
emphatically shook her head. "Well, I've done my good deed for the 
century. Commander, take good care of her. Kathy lass, until we 
meet again. Soraidh leat."
     Tom ignored the flash of light and stared at the Captain. She 
was blushing. A funny little smile danced upon his lips when he 
noticed the Commander was also a bit uncomfortable. As he 
turned to look at his console, he muttered just loud enough for 
everyone to here, "Wow?"
     Tuvok looked at the pilot. "Lieutenant rather than speculating, 
I would recommend that you pay attention to your duties."
     Janeway shook her head, *Thanks a lot Q.* Then caught her 
first officer looking at her. She smiled at him. He mouthed 
'dinner.' She nodded. Then again, maybe thanks were in order. 
"Mr. Paris, set a course back to the alpha quadrant. Warp seven 
point one."
     "Yes, ma'am."
*****
end