Disclaimer: What can I say…we all know who owns the characters, and its not me. Except of course for Emily, and I doubt anyone else would want her!!
Summary: B'Elanna helps to put things back on course.
Note: I finally finished one of my longer stories. There are more, but I'm stuck on some of them. Comments are appreciated, and if anyone would like to offer their assistance for my continuing works, e-mail me and I'll be in touch. I hate leaving stories unfinished, but sometimes fresh inspiration is hard to come by! Also, any suggestions about how to improve the ending of this piece would be appreciated. It seems to finish a bit too quickly to me, but I couldn't do anything about it.
For A Happy Captain
Kathryn Janeway was sitting in her quarters feeling sorry for herself. How did things get like this? How did she let them get this far? What in Hell's name possessed her to fall in love with him, and when did it happen? Anyway, it didn't matter any more. It was too late. He was happily in a relationship with her, and didn't she know it. They seemed to be everywhere. She managed to put on a brave face for her crew. In fact, the looks of pity she had received at first had disappeared. As far as the crew were concerned she was over him, and life was back to something resembling normal. What did they know?
Tonight, Chakotay had come to tell her that he and Emily had gotten engaged, and he had asked her if she would marry them. He'd said he would understand if she didn't want to, and he could ask Tuvok to do it. She'd told him congratulations, that she meant it, and that of course she would perform the ceremony for them.
How could she not? I mean, Tuvok performing the marriage ceremony for Voyager's First Officer and his bride. What better way to announce to the whole world that she, Captain Kathryn Janeway, was still in love with a man who was marrying someone else!
She needed to talk to someone, and soon. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to sit on the bridge all day with him tomorrow, or the day after that, or ever again. An engagement made it all seem so real. Without another thought, Janeway left her quarters and headed for B'Elanna's.
*****
B'Elanna was awoken by her door chime. Who the hell was that at this time of night? There were only two reasons anyone ever called her during the night - Tom had a habit of calling at odd times, and of course she was the ONLY engineer on aboard who could cope with even the smallest overnight problem in engineering. Since Tom had already been and gone tonight, she was betting that it was another engineering crisis and her sleep for the night was now over.
B'Elanna was just getting to the door when the chime rang again. Opening it, she was surprised to see the Captain standing there.
"Captain! What are you doing here, is there a problem in Engineering? I can be there in five minutes, just give me time to…"
"B'Elanna, I'm sorry, I didn't think, I didn't realise it was this late. I just wanted to talk. I'll come back in the morning."
Janeway turned to leave, but not before B'Elanna had changed gears and noticed that the Captain looked as though she had been crying.
"Captain, wait, come in. I'm up now, and you ought to come in before anyone sees you. Not meaning to be offensive, but you're not looking at your best right now."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, get in here!"
"Thank you."
Janeway gave B'Elanna a grateful smile and entered her quarters.
"Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?"
"Coffee would be nice."
"At this time of night?"
"I won't be getting any sleep tonight anyway, and I need something to cheer me up."
"Coffee it is then."
B'Elanna got the drinks, and joined her Captain on the couch.
"So, Captain, what's wrong?"
"First off, call me Kathryn. There's only one other person who ever does, and let's face it, that doesn't happen very often anymore does it?"
"That's what the problem's about, isn't it, or should I say who?"
"It obviously doesn't take much to see through me, does it. Have you spoken to him recently?"
"No, I've been busy in engineering and I've hardly had enough time to see Tom, let alone anyone else. Why?"
"He came to see me tonight. Wanted to ask me something…"
"Wanted to ask you what?"
By now, Kathryn was starting to well up with tears, and was finding it increasingly difficult to talk.
"Kathryn come on, it can't be that bad."
"It can. B'Elanna, he asked if I would officiate at his wedding."
"HE WHAT? He can't be marrying Emily! He…they've only been seeing each other for two months, and there's no way he's in love with her!"
"I think it's my fault."
"What do you mean by that, how can it be your fault?"
"I told him that WE were never going to happen, and to find some way to get used to the idea. I think he got used to it a bit more easily than I did. Now I look back, I didn't mean it. I said it because I was angry with him. I've never told anyone before, but I do love him. I just thought, well…this wasn't the way I imagined him asking me to marry him, and believe me, I imagined it often enough. But with me being the Captain, and our jobs and everything, I didn't think it could happen until we made it home."
"Kathryn, were you really willing to wait until we got home. I mean, realistically we may not reach the alpha quadrant for another forty years. If you were going to make him wait that long, he probably would have moved on without your telling him to before long."
"B'Elanna, I really don't think he would have. Think about it. You know him at least as well as I do, probably better. You know how loyal he is, and I know that he loved me. He told me once that he would be by my side for as long as I wanted him there. But you're right, I probably couldn't have kept pushing him away for much longer. I doubt I'd have had the staying power to last another year. But none of that matters anymore does it. I told him I didn't want him to wait, so he isn't. AND I HAVE TO PERFORM HIS WEDDING CEREMONY!"
At this point they were interrupted by B'Elanna's door chime. B'Elanna glanced at Kathryn, who was trying her best not to look like she had been crying. When Kathryn indicated she was ready, B'Elanna admitted her newest visitors.
"Chakotay! Emily!"
Kathryn's face paled considerably, and she turned away from the couple in an attempt to hide this fact from them. Unfortunately for her, Chakotay knew her too well.
"Kathryn, we didn't expect to see you here! Are you okay?"
B'Elanna noticed he seemed to have completely forgotten about Emily, and by the look on her face she was thinking along the same lines.
"Chakotay, I'm fine. I just wanted to discuss an engineering problem with B'Elanna."
"At this time of night?" The concern in Chakotay's voice was obvious to anyone, regardless of how well they knew him.
"The computer told me she was awake, and there was no way I was getting any sleep 'til I had sorted the problem out, but we're done now so she's all yours. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Captain." B'Elanna thought she had better try and corroborate Kathryn's story by replying by rank. Once the Captain had left, she turned to Chakotay and Emily, deciding she had better act surprised at what she was sure they were just about to tell her. After all, she was supposed to have been talking about engineering matters with the Captain so would have known nothing of the engagement.
"So Chakotay, what brings you here at such a late hour?"
"Well, we have some news and like the Captain, the computer told us you were awake."
"Well, spill it!"
"Um, well, I asked Emily to marry me!"
"Kahless…congratulations!" B'Elanna put on her best 'surprised' face and hoped for the best. They didn't seem to notice. "When did this happen?"
"Earlier this evening. We've already informed the Captain, and wanted to tell as many people as possible tonight. Neither of us is very tired."
"I can understand that. We'll have to do something to celebrate."
"Sure. Let me know if you have any ideas."
B'Elanna noticed that Emily didn't seem quite as excited as she should, and decided to find out why.
"Actually, I do have a couple of ideas, but I need to discuss them with Emily rather than you. Could you spare her for a while?"
"Now?"
"Yes, now, if that's alright with you Emily?"
"Sure, fine. I'll see you tomorrow Chakotay?"
"Okay, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
After a quick goodnight kiss, Chakotay left leaving the girls alone. B'Elanna decided to get straight to the problem.
"You look like you need to talk."
"What makes you say that?"
"Call it female intuition, or the fact that I saw the look on your face when Chakotay was talking to the Captain and it was not the look of a woman secure in the love of the man she is going to marry."
"Am I imagining things, or is he still in love with her?"
"I don't think it's my business to tell you. What do you think?"
"You know the party in the mess hall the other night?"
"Yes."
"Did you see Chakotay and the Captain just before Neelix made his speech?"
"No. Why?"
"I left them alone because they were talking about some work related issue that I had absolutely no knowledge of, but I was watching them from the other side of the room. They seemed to gravitate towards each other as the conversation went on. I don't know when the conversation strayed away from work, but when I returned to them they were laughing about something one or the other had said. That didn't bother me too much - I know they're good friends and I don't ever want to get in the way of that. It was the look in the Captain's eyes when I returned that bothered me. I've never seen her try so hard to cover her emotions and fail. She was obviously disappointed when I returned to them, and there was a hint of a real sadness there as well. The worst bit was that I could see the same feeling reflected in Chakotay's eyes. Everyone says that she never loved him, and that he's over her now, but I know differently. I don't know what to do."
"Tell me one thing. Do you believe that Chakotay loves you?"
"Yes, but not in the same way as he loves the Captain. He could never love me that way, even though I do him. His concern for her tonight was another illustration of that. He forgot I even existed. Tell me, B'Elanna. Captain Janeway wasn't really here to talk to you about anything in engineering tonight, was she?"
"Before I answer that, tell me one thing. I know that you love Chakotay, and therefore want him to be happy. Would you still want that if it meant doing something that would have the opposite effect on you?"
Emily's reply came back in a whisper.
"Yes."
"Okay, then I'll tell you what you want to know. Captain Janeway came here tonight upset after Chakotay went to see her about your engagement. You're right, she did love Chakotay, and still does. However, she believes that he no longer loves her, and to be honest I was finding it hard to deal with the amount of pain that misconception was causing her."
"Am I to assume that you think I should break off the engagement?"
"Yes, but not straight away. If it's not too much to ask, I think there's something else we could do to make sure that your sacrifice isn't all for nothing…"
*****
Two days later…
"Chakotay, wait!"
"Emily, what is it? Haven't we got a date in two hours? If I don't get on with this report for the Captain I'll have to cancel so this needs to be quick."
"She wouldn't make you carry on working when your off-duty and you know it."
"No, but you also know that I wouldn't feel right enjoying myself when I knew I hadn't finished what she'd asked me to do."
"All I wanted to do was ask if you minded us changing the location of our date. Could you meet me outside holodeck 2 instead of in my quarters? I have something planned and I need to be there before you for it to work properly."
"OK, but same time as before?"
"Yep, I'll see you later."
*****
Elsewhere…
B'Elanna was standing impatiently outside holodeck 2. Emily shouldn't have been taking this long with Chakotay. Maybe she'd backed out, after all, this had to be hard for her. She was sending her fiancé straight into the arms of another woman. Her fears were allayed as Emily came rushing around the corner.
"I'm sorry I'm late, it took a while to catch up with him. He's running around like a headless chicken to get his work done before tonight. I'm sure he worries about letting the Captain down far too much. Just another sign of how he feels I suppose."
"Are you sure you're still OK with this? If you don't want to carry it through I'll understand."
"No, I want to do this. They both deserve to be happy."
"Let's get started then."
With that the pair entered the holodeck. They had their work cut out for them, and less than two hours before their plan was to be put into action.
*****
Two days. She couldn't believe it was only two days since Chakotay and Emily had come to see her about the wedding. It wasn't public knowledge yet, and to Janeway that was probably a blessing. At least everyone didn't know the reason for her bad mood. Except for B'Elanna that was. She had been brilliant - coming round to see her in the evening, making sure she wasn't wallowing in self-pity. Not that Starfleet Captains ever wallowed, but still…
And Chakotay. If he had noticed anything was the matter, he wasn't pressing it. Whether that was because he had an idea what the problem was, or because he was just too involved with his own life at the moment, Janeway didn't know. All she knew was that she was extremely grateful that for once he wasn't forcing her to give an explanation.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear her comm badge the first time. When the sound finally registered in her consciousness and she answered the hail, she wasn't surprised to find that it was B'Elanna.
"Hi B'Elanna, what can I do for you?"
"You can do me a favour actually. Tom's latest programming escapade has resulted in a real problem with the holodeck controls. I need a second pair of hands and everyone else is busy on more vital maintenance. I was wondering if you could come and help me."
"Sure, why not? But I can't guarantee that I'm going to be wonderful company. Where are you?"
"Just inside holodeck 2. It seemed best to tackle the problem from where it originated."
"OK, I'll see you there. Janeway out."
*****
Emily and B'Elanna made a last survey of the room before the evening began. The computer had let them know just before B'Elanna had hailed the Captain that Chakotay was waiting outside for Emily, so all they had to do now was bring him inside to begin to put their plan into action.
When Emily exited the holodeck she found Chakotay sitting down, obviously exhausted from a long and hard day. She simply held her hand out to him to invite him in, and the two walked into the holodeck together.
B'Elanna had hidden herself behind a conveniently placed partition in the holographic restaurant, which had been created especially for the occasion. As soon as Chakotay and Emily disappeared from view she stepped back out into the open. No sooner had she done this than the doors slid open to admit Captain Janeway.
"Hi, B'Elanna. What exactly can I do for you? Is this program new? I don't remember seeing it before."
"One question at a time! Yes, the program is new, and it's part of the reason you're here, which isn't why you thought it was. The same goes for Chakotay, actually."
"B'Elanna, what's going on?"
At that moment Emily came back into view and approached her two senior officers. Janeway's command mask didn't quite slip into place fast enough to cover the deluge of emotions she felt at seeing Emily, and B'Elanna didn't miss a thing.
"Kathryn, don’t even think of leaving. You can't anyway - as soon as the doors closed they were programmed to open on my command only."
"I think you've got some explaining to do lieutenant!"
"Okay, we're getting to that part, but I think this is going to be better coming from Emily."
"Yes, Captain. I know I'm the last person you want to see at the moment, and that's why we're all here…"
"Emily!" Chakotay's voice rang throughout the holodeck as he came in search of his fiancée.
"Emily, where…Kathryn! What are you doing here? And B'Elanna…can somebody tell me what's going on here?"
"They were just getting to that, weren't you. Now, this had better be good for both of your sakes. Are you going to carry on or am I going to have to make it an order?"
"Well, as I was saying, this all started from something I've suspected for quite a while now, but I didn't know for certain until I talked to B'Elanna the other night. I knew what Chakotay had been to see you about earlier in the evening (at this point something on the floor suddenly became fascinating to Janeway), and I couldn't help but notice you looked like you had been crying. I mean, Chakotay, you noticed something as well because you asked about it. I cornered B'Elanna to ask what was going on once you left us alone."
"I swear, Kathryn, I wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't already known."
"Known what?"
At this all three women turned their attention to Chakotay.
"You really have no idea what they're talking about do you." Kathryn was amazed that he hadn't realised what was behind Emily and B'Elanna's actions.
"I'm really not sure how to explain the rest of this. I think it would be best if we leave the Captain to fill you in on what we're talking about, and I think you'll both realise what the aim of tonight was, so B'Elanna and I are going to leave now. But Chakotay, I just want to say one more thing to you before I go. I love you, and I want you to be happy, which is why…I can't marry you. Goodbye, Chakotay."
With that B'Elanna and Emily left their Captain and First Officer alone.
*****
It took a while for either of the two remaining occupants of the holodeck to say anything, but eventually the silence was broken.
"Kathryn, what was that all about?"
"Oh God, I didn't want this to happen! It's all my fault, and now she broke off the engagement! Why the hell did I have to go running off to B'Elanna like that?"
"Whoa, slow down, and tell me what happened."
"Well, the other night when you found me in B'Elanna's quarters, it had nothing to do with Engineering like I said. Actually, your first instinct was nearer the mark, asking me if there was anything wrong. There was. I was upset and the only person I could think of to talk to was B'Elanna. She was brilliant. Her ability to drop rank and just accept me as another person is really quite amazing, considering the amount of warning she got. Anyway, I told her everything, why I was upset…that I didn't want you to marry Emily because…I love you."
"Why didn't you come and talk to me?"
"You know I couldn't do that! I'd only have made you feel guilty for being happy, and in all likelihood I would have ruined your wedding! Well, it seems like I've managed to do that anyway, but I promise you I didn’t mean to."
"Kathryn, wait. You're right, if you'd have talked to me it probably would have affected my marriage, but for one simple reason. I still love you. It seems Emily realised it before I did. Maybe that's a good thing. I thought I was over you but I was wrong. It's better for her in the long run that we realised that before the marriage took place."
"How can you forgive me so easily, for everything I've put you through?"
"It's easy, because you're you. Now can I make a suggestion - can we eat? That is after all what I was expecting to do when I got here, and I'm starving."
"Just one question, Chakotay. Where does all of this leave us?"
"I don't know. You know what I've always wanted, it's always been your call, so you make it."
"I'd like to give US a go, if it's not too late."
"No Kathryn, it's never too late."
*****
B'Elanna and Emily each awoke the next morning to find a message flashing on their respective computer terminals. Both simply read:
"Thanks. K."
THE END
| To receive notification when I post a new story, enter your email address below, then click the 'Join' button: |
