Fan Fiction
TITLE: Santa Claus, Favorite Uncle, Guardian, Most Trusted Friend
AUTHOR: Kate
RATING: PG
CODES: T, C
DISCLAIMER: I don�t own anything. I am making no profit from this story.
SUMMARY: An hour or two after the events of �Santa Claus, Favorite Uncle, Guardian, Most Trusted Friend,� B�Elanna and Chakotay continue their discussion.
They looked vacantly at the brown wooden box with the blank screen. He sat on the couch properly, with his feet resting on one of the chairs. She was resting her back on his side, with her knees thrown over the arm of the sofa. Chakotay�s arm rested on the back of the couch. He looked at her in moderate disbelief. �You mean to tell me that this is how people in the twentieth century entertained themselves?�
She drowsily explained. �There were pictures that moved on the screen.�
�And Paris enjoys this thing?� Chakotay asked.
B�Elanna smiled. �At first. The novelty has worn off some.�
Chakotay shook his head. �Then why keep it?�
�It�s a nice excuse to sit together and relax at the end of long shifts.� B�Elanna bit her tongue. �Not that we need an excuse to spend time together --�
�Hush.� Chakotay told her. �You don�t have to explain it to me.�
B�Elanna sighed, shook off some of the pleasant lassitude. �But I want to.�
Chakotay shifted, but offered no further protest.
�So often, we�re running, running, running. He�s bouncing between the conn and sickbay and the holodeck and staff meetings and emergencies and shuttles while I�m in Engineering or sickbay or a staff meeting or stranded somewhere because of an emergency� It wears you down. It�s nice to just sit together, not to make love or neck or even talk. To just be.�
Chakotay mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like �Allelujah.�
�What was that?� B�Elanna sat up and tried to scowl.
�Oh, relax.� He said. She leaned back again, and he looked at the top of her dark head. �I just meant that I�ve been trying to tell you for years that you don�t always have to move and act. That sometimes it�s enough just to be.�
�Be what?� She teased drowsily.
�Be B�Elanna.�
�You mean a couch potato who can�t keep her eyes open after a standard shift?� She mumbled self-deprecatingly.
�If your work load�s too much I can talk to the guy who handles the duty roster and get him to ease up on you.� Chakotay played with a piece of her hair.
Wounded, B�Elanna did sit up. �Chakotay, if you ever say something like that again --� She left the words hanging, stood abruptly and grabbed the plates and bowl off the table.
�Stop overreacting.� Chakotay said. �Your physical needs are changing, B�Elanna. Acknowledge it. Grow with it.�
�I don�t want to.� She said, dropping the dishes in the replicator. �Kahless. I sound like a whiny child. I hate that.� She dropped into a chair, bowed her head and supported her face with her hands.
Chakotay stood, crossed the room, and laid a hand on her neck. She touched his hand with her own without raising her head or turning to look at him. �I didn�t plan for it to happen this soon.� She mumbled. �I love my baby already. I haven�t met her, but I love her. And I don�t know what to do with her. I�m scared, Chakotay.� She looked up. �Tom and I are both screwed up because of our parents. And our own choices too, of course. But Owen�s at the root of most of Tom�s issues. And you know how much the Klingon thing bugs me.�
Chakotay simply listened.
�What if I screw her up? What if the Klingon in me scares her away? What if she hates me? What if Tom starts to hate me?� She whispered.
Chakotay sighed. �You need to talk to him, B�Elanna. I can make you a hundred promises that he won�t, that I�ve seen him looking at you, that you�ll be a good mother.� Chakotay looked at her, and decided everyone was being far too serious. B�Elanna needed to laugh, and soon. �After all, you haven�t killed the Voyager engines and you�ve held them together with spit and bubblegum for seven years. Not to mention Fides. If you can nurse along a truculent warp core you can handle a two year old. Not to mention your staff.�
Torres sniffed. �You can hit a truculent conduit to make it do what you want.� She said, bleak humor showing through. �And you can hit engineers too, occasionally.�
Chakotay smirked. �No abuse allowed. That�s straight from her Klingon guardian. Speaking of abuse, what are you going to name her?�
B�Elanna stared. �Since when is a name abuse?� Chakotay stared back, and she crumpled. �I am NOT going to call her Kathryn, Annika, Delaney, Kes or any version of my own name. She will have a name, not a number. She is not going to go through life with the name Chakotaya or Neela or any other permutation thereof. I will ignore every baby name the doctor sends me. If he can�t name himself, he�s not going to name my daughter.�
Chakotay chuckled. �You didn�t rule out having a little Harrietta skipping around the ship.�
B�Elanna snickered. �We�ve been talking about using Kim as a middle name. He�s one of our best friends and we thought it would be a good tribute. Plus we have to give the man something other than baby-sitting duty.�
Chakotay arched an eyebrow. �There�ll be no pacifying the captain. She�ll want to know why your little one isn�t Jane W. Paris.�
B�Elanna rolled her eyes. �I don�t really want to name her after anyone, but Tom keeps suggesting naming her after our mothers and Harry. Somehow Mary Miral Kim Paris doesn�t sound quite right to me.�
�That�s for you to work out.� Chakotay grinned. �But my replicator rations are on you, when the inevitable pool starts. You hungry?�
�Yes.� She admitted. �But I used up all my rations for the week and Tom�s probably already gambled his away in Sandrine�s. And the smell of Chez Neelix turns my stomach these days. You don�t want to see a pregnant nauseated Klingon.�
�Point taken.� Chakotay admitted. �What do you want?�
�Torres alpha twenty eight.� She said.
Chakotay ordered it, wrinkling his nose. �What is this?�
�Fried tomato slices soaked in olive oil and sprinkled with cheese.� She said, lifting a piece of tomato and nibbling on it. �This baby loves tomatoes.�
Chakotay nodded, amused. �I�ll make a note of that next time I talk to the ensign who�s managing the hydroponics bay.�
�Mention it to my husband and engineering staff too. They deserve to know that when I get cranky a bouquet of tomatoes will placate me in ways nothing else will.�
�Why, B�Elanna, it sounds as though you�re exploiting your reputation and rank for personal gain.�
�If it gets Janeway fresh hot coffee by the gallon, I don�t see why it can�t get my child and I tomatoes.�
�When those plants take over the ship I�m holding you accountable.� Chakotay warned, eating a slice of the tomato while she leaned back. �You�ve changed, you know. Come a long way from the urchin who was ready to beat that Cardassian with a table leg.�
�I know. Being that angry all the time was exhausting.� She agreed. �I�m learning to be comfortable in my own skin.�
�I�m glad.� He covered her hand with his. �I�m glad I came over tonight. It�s been too long since we just talked to each other, not about ship�s business or the latest crisis of the week, but talked about each other and something that matters.�
�I love you too.� She said. �You are my dearest oldest and best friend. I can�t imagine Voyager or my life without you.� She blinked back tears. �I just wanted to say that without you I�d probably still be that angry urchin, or I wouldn�t be at all. I�d be lost in my own pain or floating somewhere in space. So thank you. You�ve made the difference in my life Chakotay. Your faith saved me from myself more times than I can count.� She sniffed. �I hate hormones.�
Chakotay caught her tear on his thumb. �You made the difference in my life too, B�Elanna.� He told her.
�No need for invention.� She parroted him at himself.
�I mean it, B�Elanna. Your fire inspires me every day. You never gave up in the Maquis, even when there was no rational reason to keep going. You literally held that ship together with duct tape and spit.�
�Don�t forget swearing and glaring.� She gave a watery laugh.
�That too.� Chakotay agreed. �You�ve jumped hurdles that would cripple weaker people, including Klingon genes, being split into two people and a stint on a Borg cube. And when you did get caught up in despair, you allowed me to lead you back. You taught me what it means to fight, my friend. You taught me courage and determination. And now you teach me hope, that even fierce warriors can find love and peace and family. Every day, I learn from you.�
They linked hands, needing some form of physical contact. �You taught me hope first.� She said. �And patience, and discipline, and self-control. And humor, even if it is twisted.�
Chakotay made a face at her. �You only call my humor twisted when you don�t agree.�
�Okay, so I�m a work in progress.� B�Elanna admitted. �I accept that about myself. The point is, I learn from you and your example every day.�
They finished the tomatoes in companionable silence. Then, they parted, B�Elanna to bed and Chakotay to the holodeck, to discuss B�Elanna�s work shifts and eating habits with her husband. Someone had to take care of her, and Chakotay knew his place. He was her child�s Santa Claus, favorite uncle, wise one and guardian. He was B�Elanna�s most trusted friend. But he was not her lover or her husband. Unfortunately.
