A Real Hot Coffee Night
by Jennifer Ferris
Comments and crit to kevas@aol.com.

Author's Note:The third story in my J/C alternate universe. This one is kind of a mishmosh...call it a "slice of life" story, maybe? Cause it just kind of kept going...

Disclaimer: the characters belong to Paramount. Damn. But we'll give them back. Please archive, keeping my disclaimer (such as it is) and name attached.

Rating:NC-17

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"Want to change jobs?"

"What?"

"Do you want to change jobs? You could do mine. I could do yours." Commander Chakotay lay stretched out on the couch in his quarters. It was nearly midnight. It had been a very long day. His head lay in Captain Janeway's lap.

"Interesting idea," she said dryly. "What brought that on?"

He closed his eyes. "It's got to be more fun to deal with alien ambassadors, life-and-death decisions, or just crew mutinies hanging over your head. Better than dealing with the damned penny-ante bickering I've been listening to lately."

It was very unlike him to complain. Janeway nodded seriously. "You're right. It is more fun. Why do you think I wanted to be the captain?"

Chakotay opened one eye and stared at her. "So you want to trade?"

"Nope."

"Spoilsport."

"Yep."

"Okay."

Janeway ran her fingernails across Chakotay's neck and slipped her hand inside the collar of the open-necked shirt he wore. "Headache?"

He stirred lightly, rubbing his cheek across her thigh. "It's going away."

"Good." Her hand drifted up to his temples, through his hair. "I won't trade jobs, but maybe we can think of something else to make you feel better." She started to unbutton his shirt.

"Possibly." Chakotay opened both eyes this time, a faint smile crinkling his eyelids. Janeway felt a flutter deep in her stomach.

She bent her head to kiss him, but couldn't quite reach, straightening up with a soundless sigh. "You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"That butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth-I-can-get-away-with-anything-look. That look."

He grinned self-consciously. "Oh. That one."

"Slide over. Let me up for a minute," she said, nudging at Chakotay with her hip.

He obligingly sat upright on the couch, catching Janeway's wrist as she stood up. "Kathryn..."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Just-" Chakotay reached up to pull her face near his. "I hated to waste the opportunity." He lifted himself up the little bit needed to touch her lips with his own. Without thinking, Janeway opened her mouth, loving his taste.

Chakotay fell back into the cushions, pulling her across his lap. His arms circled her, tongue plundered her. When he finally released her, they were both breathing a little harder. "God, you're sexy," he murmured.

She raised an eyebrow. "Funny, that's what I was going to...Except that I was going to get up. You going to let me?"

"Hmm. I guess so. You sure you want to?" Chakotay ran his hand down Janeway's back, stroking her hip.

"Mmmm... I thought of something that'll help your headache."

He shook his head. "What headache?"

"Just keep your pants on, Commander," she pushed him back. "Or on second thought, don't. Why don't you take all that stuff off."

Chakotay grinned again. "I like the way your mind works, Captain." Obediently he stripped off his civvies. He was already barefoot. He never wore shoes when he didn't have to. He stretched out on the couch again, arms folded behind his head, waiting. "What are you getting, anyway?"

Janeway was murmuring quietly into the replicator controls. "You want something while I'm here?"

"No. Thanks."

"--Some coffee."

"This time of night? You'll never get to sleep."

She carried her mug back to the sofa. "We'll think of something. Besides, you should know by now, you could inject this stuff directly into my veins. I'm immune. Even if it was real coffee, which it isn't."

"If you say so."

"I say so."

"Okay."

Janeway perched on the edge of the sofa, staring speculatively down at Chakotay. "Nice view."

"Thanks."

She took a sip of the coffee. "Hmm. It's hot. You sure you don't want some?"

"Uh huh." Chakotay traced a line down Janeway's back. "You're wearing too many clothes."

"That can be fixed." She kicked her boots off, stood up, and slid the uniform down over her hips. Tugged off the turtleneck. Making a small show out of it for his benefit.

Chakotay watched Kathryn, enraptured. Not just by her body, though she was beautiful and he loved to see her. But she was here, in his quarters, tolerating his silliness and his moods, and playing. Playing. What a gift that was. For him. It made him want to smile with sheer delight.

Kathryn shoved her clothes out of the way and knelt beside him. "Now we'll see about that headache."

Chakotay scooted over, as much as he could, tugging at her hand. "Come here then."

Smiling, she shook her head. "Mmm. Not yet. I thought maybe a massage."

"You don't need to..." At her raised eyebrow he reversed himself. "That would be nice."

"I thought so. Turn over." She moved away and Chakotay rolled onto his stomach, resting his cheek on his folded hands.

"Huh uh," Kathryn tugged at his arm. "Flat down. Relax."

He let her pull his arms down to his sides. "The couch is too small. There's no room for you," he said, voice muffled by the cushion.

"We'll manage." Kathryn climbed on top, bending her knees and sitting back on Chakotay's legs. "Just relax."

"'Relax', she says..."

She bent over and kissed the back of his neck. "Yes. Now shut up."

He laughed softly. "Yes ma'am."

Smiling, she ran her hands over his shoulders. "I'm not as good at this as you are. But I'm not bad." She slid back a bit, tucking her feet under his calves, sitting on his thighs, and reached forward. Stroking gently at first, she dug the heels of her hands into the knotted muscles at the tops of his shoulders, and applied more pressure with her fingers when that didn't work.

After a few minutes he stirred. "'S nice."

"Good. There's more."

"Umm. Don't you-"

"Shhh. It's my turn." She swept her hands up his arms, urging the blood from his fingertips to his heart, following the pattern on his back, then lifting herself for leverage to apply more pressure. Her knuckles walked down his spine, pressing in. She was stronger than she looked and Chakotay groaned. She leaned closer. "All right?"

"Um hmm. Wonderful." A muscle in Chakotay's back twitched as her hair tickled him. "You're hired."

Kathryn laughed softly. "Good." She worked for a few minutes more, sliding further down his legs to dig from the curve of his spine down his buttocks. Her hands were getting tired, but she wasn't finished yet. She slowed, smoothing, and whispered, "Turn over," lifting herself off the couch.

Chakotay rolled over, watching her, the expression on his face half-sleepy, half excited. "You done?"

"No. Stretch out, now."

A smile played around his lips. "All right." He raised his arms and stretched, joints cracking, then let his arms fall limply to his sides. As Janeway stood up, walking back to the replicator, he squinted at her. "That stuff's going to kill you."

"Shh. I just wanted to heat it up, it was getting cold. You relaxed?"

"Sure."

"Good. Now close your eyes, I'm not finished."

"Yes, Captain." The smile was wider now, but Chakotay shut his eyes. As Janeway returned to the couch, straddling him again, he reached out to stroke her thigh. "Kathryn..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm really...very relaxed now.'

"Humor me."

He grinned. "Okay." She settled herself on his thighs again, contemplating the man under her. For a moment, she just stroked his skin in appreciation, and then reached out to knead his shoulders. He was less tense than before, but there was still resistance, and she applied a little more body english, using her thumbs and her knuckles to dig into the muscle. Chakotay groaned softly, but his hips also lifted involuntarily and his penis bobbed, half-hard, against his stomach. Kathryn smiled to herself.

She moved lower, smoothing her hands over his pectoral muscles, not using so much force now, and brushing her fingers against his nipples in passing. They stiffened obediently under her fingers, a miniature of her own. Chakotay's breathing deepened a bit, but he kept his eyes closed.

Changing tactics, Kathryn worked on the muscles of his arms, one at a time, using her nails for contrast when she couldn't completely soften his resistance. When she reached his hands she had the advantage. Remembering attention he'd shown her in the past, she massaged his hands carefully, the knuckles, the fingers, the palm.

Chakotay's fingers tingled under her touch, his entire torso felt filled with blood, soothed and paradoxically both rested and alert. He made a small sound of protest as Kathryn lifted herself off his legs.

"Shh," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. Just a minute." Kathryn put a hand on his hip, pulling gently. "Slide this way just a little." As he neared the edge of the couch, her hand patted him to stop. "Good. Keep your eyes closed, that's right." She took a generous sip from her mug. "Mmm hmm."

"Kath..." Chakotay was very relaxed, nowhere near sleep, but feeling warm, muscles loose, as she knelt beside him.

"Okay?" Her voice was deep, maybe amused.

"Yes."

"Good. Don't move." She took another swallow of coffee, put the mug down safely, and leaned over him.

He gasped in shock as her mouth, her wonderful mouth, hot as hell from the coffee, engulfed his penis. Which had gone from half-hard to fully erect as she slid down the shaft, sucking.

"God!" and without evening meaning to, Chakotay's head pushed back into the pillow and his hips lifted, thrusting into her. "Kathryn-"

Her mouth was, well, full, but she managed to murmur, "Umm?" He felt the heat and vibration all the way to his balls.

"Good sweet god, how did you-" How do you ask your lover what had made her think of that little trick? *Do* you ask? No you don't, his rational mind answered. Just lay back and -

Kathryn was looking up at him now, her eyes peeking, her mouth busy. Chakotay groaned. "If you knew how that feels..."

Lips ovaled over her teeth, she worked her way up to the top of his shaft and lifted her mouth. "You mind?"

"Hell no," he shook his head. "As long as you know what you're doing to me-"

"Um hmm," she grinned, and reached for her coffee. She took a long swallow, watching Chakotay over the rim of the cup. When she set the mug back down she wiped her mouth with the back of one hand and laughed deep in her throat.

Then she bent back down to his cock. This time her tongue circled the tip before she plunged, sucking, as far down as she could. Chakotay groaned again, squirming. "This isn't going to take very long," he warned.

Kathryn closed her eyes, breathing hard through her nose as she sucked on him. Chakotay shook his head, watching her. When she moved to caress her own breast, squeezing, he groaned and reached for her, awkwardly. She grasped his hand and pressed it to her nipple, letting him stroke her, but shrugged away when he made a move to get up. "Aa ere," she said incomprehensively, but he understood. Stay there. She wanted to do this her way.

He fell back on the cushions, fire centering on his cock, struggling not to clutch Kathryn's head and thrust uncontrollably into her mouth. She was murmuring, little deep sounds, and her hands were cupping his ass and stroking his balls and he didn't think he was going to be able to stand this much longer-

After a few uncounted minutes he groaned aloud, "You're going to make me come-dammit, stop," but his heart obviously wasn't in it and she didn't move, wouldn't stop, her mouth sucking him and he couldn't hold off. "Aah KATH--" and he did come, shooting in her mouth, the cry torn from him as she swallowed every drop, still sucking, bringing spasms and small gasps from him for a full minute after.

His hands were clenched on the sofa cushions. "Gods. God." His breath was raw, uneven, as he fought to slow down his heart. Finally, Kathryn snuggled up against him, wiggling to make room on the edge of the sofa, one leg thrown over his.

She propped herself up and stared down at Chakotay. One hand wiped her mouth and she licked her own fingers, experimentally. "You taste good too," she said smugly, breathing hard. Her face was flushed.

Chakotay was still trying to catch his breath. "Good god. How did you ...where did you ever learn to... you've got a devious, sneaky mind."

Janeway raised her head, staring impassively. "You got a problem with that?" But her eyes were twinkling.

He started to laugh. "God, you're a smart-ass. You're...you're..." he swept her under him and gazed down at her. "You're incredible. You're the sexiest, smartest, most devious woman in the quadrant."

"Thank you."

"I think you've got that backwards. That was, that was incredible."

"I could tell you liked it." Janeway's eyes were very bright.

"Liked it. You could say that. Whatever made you think of the coffee?"

"A little bird told me? Maybe just that I'm a scientist. I know about these things. Cause and effect. You know."

"Uh huh. I'm not asking for specifics, Captain," his eyes flashed merrily at her. "No deep dark secrets. I'll just say that...your application of applied science was very appreciated."

"Or my teacher?" Janeway's eyes mocked Chakotay, challenging.

He refused to be baited. "Or your teacher." Suddenly more serious, he bent and kissed her. Almost shy. "I didn't mean that, prying. That was just the most wonderful, surprising-" he couldn't think of the right words.

"Good."

"And if you don't let me return the favor I'm going to feel terribly guilty," he added, sliding one hand down between them to stroke her.

"Wouldn't want that," Kathryn said.

"Come on. Let's go to bed. I don't have the element of surprise, I'm going to have to get a little bit creative."

Kathryn's eyes widened. "Oh good." Laughing, Chakotay picked her up and carried her to his bed.

- - -

"So, you going to tell me about the 'penny-ante bickering' you've been listening to lately?" Kathryn asked him over breakfast in the mess hall the next morning.

Chakotay shook his head. "No. I was just being cranky."

"I know, but-"

"There's no need for you to be bothered."

She eyed him doubtfully. "Okay."

"You heading for the bridge, or do you want me to take it?"

"What do you have scheduled?" Janeway swallowed the last bit of roll from her plate, frowning at the taste.

"I've got an appointment with B'Elanna first thing. She wants to change the shift roster, she thinks Carey's getting shorted."

Janeway smiled. A year or two ago, Torres would no more have stopped to consider Joe Carey's feelings than she would, well, Janeway's. "And?"

"And then I've got to go over those personnel reqs with Bailey. Life Sciences is getting more than...uh. Well. Why?"

She ignored the question for a minute. "And?"

Chakotay leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, staring at Janeway. "And, let's see. There's half a dozen people asking to see me. I think they want to change roommate assignments. Maybe people are...getting ideas."

"Sounds like your morning's pretty full already. I'll take the bridge."

"Okay. But I thought you wanted to spend some time down in Astrometrics. Go over the new array with Seven."

"It can wait."

As Janeway rose from her chair, her chief engineer walked over, breakfast tray in hand. "Captain."

"Morning, B'Elanna." She turned back to Chakotay. "Looks like you're open for business."

One corner of his mouth turned up. "I offered to trade." He eyed Janeway meaningfully.

Torres looked from Janeway to Chakotay. "If I'm butting in, this can wait."

Janeway shook her head. "Commander, I will be on the bridge. I'm sure you'll find something to do."

"I'll manage. Relieve you at mid-watch?"

"Fine. B'Elanna, this seat's open." As Torres put her tray down, pulling the chair out, Janeway turned back. "Don't want to forget this." She looked expressionlessly at Chakotay, grabbed her coffee cup, deliberately took a leisurely swallow, and marched out of the mess hall. Torres sat down, started eating, and stared at Chakotay with an amused expression on her face.

After a moment he looked over at her. "What?"

"I don't even want to guess what's going through your mind, but I'd bet a week's rations it isn't Joe Carey."

Chakotay covered his grin with one hand. "Mind your own business, Lieutenant."

Torres laughed. "Pretty full of ourselves, aren't we?"

He tried a diversionary tactic. "And speaking of betting..."

She frowned. "Don't say it."

"What?"

"I don't want to hear it, old man."

"Okay. But-" Chakotay tugged on one ear and looked at B'Elanna thoughtfully.

She glowered this time. "Don't."

"What makes you think I was going to-"

"Because you've got that 'this is for your own good' look on your face all of a sudden, that's why."

Chakotay leaned back in his seat. He shook his head. "Here we are, B'Ela. You and me." His gaze wandered around the room, stopping finally on the door where Kathryn had just left. "Who would've thought."

She smiled at him. "Yeah. Who would've."

He shook himself mentally. Time to get to work. "Finish your breakfast. You want to do something about giving Joe more lead time, we're going to have to look at your schedule."

Torres picked up a biscuit from her tray and frowned at the rest. "I've had enough. Let's go."

When they entered the turbolift, B'Elanna looked at Chakotay out of the corner of her eye. She didn't say anything. By the time they entered main engineering, Chakotay had had enough. "What is it?"

She shrugged. Chakotay was beginning to worry. Torres was always up front with him. "You've got something on your mind."

"Yeah, well, maybe a couple things. But..."

"B'Elanna?"

She flashed him a smile. "Nothing bad. Just...um. Let's take care of this schedule thing first."

"All right."

"Look." Torres punched up a copy of the departmental schedule. "Joe's covering beta shift two weeks on, one off, two on. The schedule's a bitch. You just get used to sleeping one way, you have to change around. I had to do that when we first got here, I was so tired I was always in a rotten mood."

Chakotay grinned. "But you're always..." Perhaps wisely, he refrained from the obvious comment. "All right. What do you propose we do about it?"

"Well ...Joe's good. And as chief engineer, I shouldn't be doing all the day to day stuff anyway."

"And?"

"I think he should be crew chief down here on alpha shift. I'd pull my shift, same as always, but he'd be my, well, my second."

He folded his arms and leaned against the console. "You don't think you'd lock heads all the time?"

She flared up. "Why do you always assume I'm going to--All right, all right, stop laughing. No, I don't. I think it'll work fine. And it'll give me some time to do the research that we need, or at least head it."

"I think it's a great idea," Chakotay said softly. "I've been wondering when you'd suggest it."

She flushed. "If you already thought of it, why didn't you say something?"

"B'Ela... it's your department."

Her color deepened at the implied compliment. "Oh."

"So." Chakotay studied the readout she'd suggested, thumbprinted it, and turned back to the chief engineer. "That makes it official.. It's up to you now."

"That's it? No discussion, no argument?"

He shook his head. "Your problem, not mine."

Torres smiled warmly. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "About that other thing. .."

He straightened imperceptibly. "Yeah."

"Um... can we go into my office?"

"Sure." Chakotay followed Torres into the cramped cubicle that comprised the engineering office. B'Elanna swept a pile of printouts to one side as Chakotay perched on the corner of her desk. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, um," her eyes darted nervously around for a minute before she folded her arms and frowned at him. "Seven, for one thing."

"Oh." Chakotay shook his head, hiding his reaction. "Is she giving you a problem?"

"Chakotay..." B'Elanna practically hissed, her voice low, "she is a problem. Don't tell me you don't know it."

He was silent for a moment. "She's...one we have to live with, B'Elanna."

"It's.." Torres pressed her lips together, cutting off the words she really wanted to say. "Okay. I know. We have this situation. We've got her, whether we want her or not. But... you've assigned her to engineering. You made it pretty damn clear I was getting her whether I wanted her or not...Commander."

"Yes. I did." Chakotay met her gaze. "No choice."

Torres sagged back in her chair. "Yeah...I guess. I'm trying. Really, I am."

"I know." His voice was softer now.

"But Chakotay... I don't trust her. I'm really trying to give her a fair chance. But it's hard, it's very hard, not to go behind her and check everything she does. Not because I think she'll screw things up by accident. But because I really don't know what her goals are. What she might try to do. And she's good. She's smart."

"I know," he repeated. "But we...we deal with what we've got, B'Elanna. Whether you like it or not...whether I like it or not. I know you understand that."

"Yeah. Yeah." She glared up at him. "But you should know how I feel. I haven't put anything in my log. But I want you to know. I'm watching her."

"Okay." He didn't say 'good', but B'Elanna thought she could hear it anyway. So. She was right. Chakotay didn't trust the Borg either. No matter what official policy he was willing to carry out.

She nodded to herself, satisfied. She'd wanted Chakotay to know how worried she was. Apparently he was too. But there was a lot more going on with him right now than just worry. "And then there's this other thing..."

Chakotay tilted his head, curious at the change in tone. Torres leaned back in her chair, studying him, her expression a little softer. "I've...been hearing some interesting rumors."

"Oh." A tiny smile, instantly banished, played around Chakotay's eyes.

She frowned at him, working hard to not to get up and give him a hug and tell him how glad she was for him. "It's nothing much. Just that maybe the policy upstairs on fraternization may have...mellowed. It certainly looks that way to me."

"B'Elanna..."

She cut him off. "And a very good friend of mine," her voice tightened up a bit, "who I've been watching be pretty miserable for I don't know how long, this very good friend didn't have the balls to mention this to me himself. Like he thought maybe I didn't even care."

Chakotay eased himself into the chair beside her desk. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were really pissed at me."

"Maybe you shouldn't know better. So...uh...you going to tell me about it?"

"...I...I can't. It's... " He studied his hands for a moment. "Not without, well, breaking a confidence." But his face betrayed him and he smiled helplessly, gaze still averted.

"Chakotay..." Torres leaned forward and touched his sleeve, forcing him to look at her. "I'm not asking for anything on the record. I just see my friend sitting here and...he looks happy. And that's good."

Unconsciously, Chakotay touched his chest with one hand. He shook his head, unwilling to lie. "I...it's...B'Ela, there are no words. My heart is so full I can't keep it all in."

Torres looked down for a moment, blinking. "I'm glad. For a long time...well, I was worried about you. It seemed very hard on you."

Chakotay grinned without thinking. Torres snorted. "For god's sake, now you're acting like a kid."

"I know. It's ridiculous." Chakotay stood up, suddenly unable to contain himself. He smiled down at B'Elanna. "You mean you hadn't noticed? I'm ten years younger. And taller." He laughed suddenly, mostly at himself. "A couple inches taller. I'm sure of it."

His good mood was infectious. Torres stood up, grinning back at him. "So you want to tell me what that was about, the other day on the bridge? When you came back from Diminis. Tom and Harry were full of stories that day."

"Yeah. I bet they were."

"That was the first I'd even heard of it, you pig," she said, cuffing him soundly on the arm.

"Ouch, hey, watch it."

"You watch it," she growled at him. "You should have heard what they said!"

"Oh," Chakotay said, his tone changing. "Which was what."

Torres rolled her eyes. "Oh, stick it out sideways. If the captain's going to call you into her ready room, supposedly to read you the riot act, and she comes out of there covered with whatever it was you got yourself into down on Diminis...what the hell do you think people are going to say?"

He sat back down. "So they noticed, huh?"

"Noticed? You should have seen the payoffs that night."

Chakotay grinned. "I did." Then he did a classic double take, laughing at her. "Oh, you mean the betting pools. Those payoffs."

"Oh, god. You're going to be insufferable for a while, aren't you."

"Probably."

"Shit. I don't think I want to-"

Chakotay was serious for a moment. "Listen. Do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Ask Tom not to talk this around too much, would you?"

"Chakotay...it's kind of late for that."

"I know. But just until Kathryn...until she settles a few things in her own mind. She won't lie. She wouldn't ask me to lie. But..."

"But she'd like to see if she can really stand to have you around, listen to you snore, learn all your bad habits. Before she says anything to the crew."

"Yeah."

Torres shrugged. "I'll ask him. I'll tell him. He'll keep quiet."

"Thanks."

She grinned. "As if that'll do any good."

On to Part Two


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