Disclaimer on first part of story.
By Orion
July 1998
The next day Kathryn entered sickbay to find the Doctor pouring over a microscope. He looked up as the doors closed. "Ah, Captain, you're here."
"Yes, Doctor. So tell me. What is this experiment you're working on?" she asked, walking across the room.
"I've been working with some of Seven's nanoprobes and found something quite interesting. I modified some of them to the point where, if injected into humans, they should almost instantly neutralize any disease or toxin which has entered the body."
"A super antibody," Kathryn said, intrigued by the concept.
"Since the thought of Borg nanoprobes roaming one's body isn't very appealing, I've altered them to be viable for only six to eight hours. That's plenty of time to destroy the antigen or toxin. After that, they self-destruct, causing no harm to the body and leaving no trace of ever having existed. Take a look," he said, moving away from the microscope.
As soon as Kathryn placed her eyes near the viewscreen, the Doctor, who had been hiding a medical scanner in his hand, quickly held it over her head and began taking readings.
"What am I looking at, Doctor?" she said, bringing her head up to look at him. She thought she saw him jerk slightly, but couldn't be sure.
"That is a human blood sample I infected with a neurotoxin. Watch as I place some of the modified nanoprobes on the slide." When he was finished he instructed her to look again.
"That's amazing," she said, watching the probes engulf the toxin. What she didn't see was the Doctor run another scanner along her head and back. Suddenly she heard a beep from somewhere behind her and looked up to find the Doctor grinning at her.
"What was that?" she asked.
He hid the scanner behind his back. "Oh, nothing. I'm just running some other tests."
"Well, this has all been fascinating, Doctor, but I'm in dire need of a cup of coffee," Kathryn said, heading toward the door, the Doctor following closely with his scanner.
"Oh, and Doctor..." she started to say while turning around and found herself within inches of him. Startled at his nearness, she took a step backward. "Please keep me informed on your research. This could be a valuable asset on away missions."
"Will do, Captain," he said, as she walked out of the door.
*****
Kathryn made her way to sickbay for the second time that day. The Doctor had said it was important he speak with her. She hoped it would be quick. She had been in the middle of rearranging the furniture in her quarters.
Upon entering, she was surprised to see Chakotay standing with the Doctor. "Commander, Doctor," she said.
"Captain," the Doctor said. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Will this take long? I have to get back to finish something."
"That depends on you, Captain," the Doctor said.
"What is this about?" she asked, looking from Chakotay to the Doctor.
"When you were here earlier today, I took the liberty of taking a few surreptitious scans of you."
"You what!?" she said, then looked at Chakotay. "You put him up to this, didn't you?"
"Don't be angry with the Commander, Captain. You should be grateful he was concerned about you, and rightfully so," the Doctor said.
Kathryn was about to argue when the Doctor's last words hit her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," said the Doctor, "that your body is in a highly addicted state."
"Addicted to what?" she asked, not understanding.
"The coffee you've been gulping down," Chakotay answered, and she threw him a reproachful look.
"Or, more precisely, the brella bark in the coffee," the Doctor supplied.
"How can I be addicted? There's not a thing wrong with me," Kathryn argued.
"On the contrary," the Doctor said. "After examining your brain patterns and chemistry from the data I collected this morning, I found you to be under the effects of a very strong stimulant. I also found foreign molecules lurking in the part of your brain which governs behavior and inhabitions. I then studied a sample of brella bark Mr. Neelix had been so kind as to supply. It has very interesting properties. The first being the very addictive and powerful stimulant it contains, which explains your increased need for the coffee and your lack of sleep. On the molecular level, I watched as it mutated slightly over the course of an hour. And recently it began to change again. Simulated projections of the bark's degradation lead me to believe the mutations are a never-ending process. That's why Mr. Neelix was unable to replicate it. The constant changes won't allow for it.
In conclusion, it is my belief when these molecules mutate, their subtle change in form presses on the sensitive area of your brain in which they reside, thereby causing your unusual behavior." The Doctor finished, looking quite pleased with himself.
Kathryn stared at the two men, dumbfounded. What had gotten into them? "This is absurd!" she said. "I am not addicted to anything. And I have done nothing 'unusual' since I've started drinking the coffee."
"You don't consider cleaning all of Neelix's pots and pans unusual?" Chakotay asked. "He told me to say 'Thank you' by the way. He said his pots never shined so much."
"I did a favor for a friend. What's wrong with that?" she asked.
"Captain," the Doctor said, as if she hadn't spoken, "you need to stop drinking the coffee with the brella bark in it. Once you do, the molecules in your brain will slowly degrade into nothing, and you'll be back to normal in no time. Of course, you may need some medical intervention to help you through the withdrawal you will most likely experience from the stimulant."
"Look. I'm telling you again. I am not addicted to the coffee."
"If you're not addicted, then it should be easy to stop drinking it," Chakotay said.
"Fine! I'll stop. I'll only drink 'regular' coffee now. Will that satisfy you?" she asked both of them.
"For now," the Doctor said.
"Good," Kathryn said, and began to leave.
"Captain," the Doctor called, while taking an object from his medical tray. "You might want to take this hypospray with you on the remote chance you do experience withdrawal."
His sarcasm wasn't missed by her. "Thank you, Doctor, but only addicts experience withdrawal," she said , and walked out of sickbay.
Chakotay looked at the Doctor. "Do you believe she can give it up?"
"Oh, yes," said the Doctor, rolling his eyes. "And the Borg have just invited us for tea."
*****
The next morning Kathryn and Chakotay were back in her ready room reading reports. Kathryn was trying hard to appear outwardly calm, but inside she was screaming for a cup of coffee. Not any coffee. Coffee containing brella bark. As she walked around the room, padd in hand, she didn't notice the furtive glances Chakotay was directing her way.
After almost an hour of silence, Chakotay stood up and said, "I told B'Elanna I'd check in with her this morning to see if the problem with the anti-matter injectors has been resolved. They were giving her some trouble yesterday."
"Fine, Commander. Keep me posted."
As soon as the doors swished closed, Kathryn rushed behind her desk and pulled a thermos and a cup from the bottom drawer. No sense wasting perfectly good coffee,she reasoned.
The moment she started pouring the liquid into her cup her door chimed, startling her, and she spilled some of the coffee on her desk and floor. "Damn," she muttered under her breath. She quickly fumbled with the thermos and lid, not noticing her cup fall to the floor and land partially under her desk. She shoved the thermos back in the drawer and closed it. When she stood up and saw the spilled coffee on her desk, her eyes rapidly scanned the room for something absorbant.
"Captain?" she heard Chakotay call from outside the room.
"Just a minute, Chakotay," Kathryn said. She quickly wiped her forearm over the spill, glad her uniform sleeve was black. Satisfied her desk was clean, she sat down in her chair and picked up the padd she had set on her desk. "Come in," she called.
Chakotay entered and looked at her. "Was there a problem?" he asked.
"No. I was ...concentrating, that's all. I thought you were heading to engineering."
"I was, but Harry just came back from there and said everything was in working order again."
"Good."
Chakotay walked over to the replicator. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?" he asked.
"No, thank you."
"No coffee? Not even replicated?" he asked, turning around after taking his own cup from the replicator. He walked to the sofa and set the cup on the table.
"I'm trying to cut down," Kathryn said. She began tapping her fingernails on her desk as she continued reading her padd. She was unaware Chakotay had come down from the upper level until he was aside of her. Kathryn looked up at him. "Commander?" she asked.
Chakotay bent down at the corner of her desk, and when he straightened she saw he had her cup in his hand. "Trying to cut down?" he asked.
"That must be from yesterday," she said casually.
"Then why is it wet inside? And from the look of the residue, I'd say this wasn't regular coffee you were drinking." When she didn't say anything Chakotay prompted, "Kathryn?" as if expecting an explanation.
She sighed. "Neelix had already gone to the trouble of making it for me this morning. I hadn't told him I wouldn't be drinking it anymore. One more day isn't really going to matter," she said, watching Chakotay study her.
"O.K," he said. "But no more after this."
"You have my word," she said, holding her hand up as if in a pledge.
By the time another hour had gone by, Chakotay had gone to lunch and returned to find Kathryn pacing yet again. As the afternoon progressed, so did her nervous marching, until she refused to sit down at all. After dropping her padd for the third time in twenty minutes, Chakotay set his own padd on the table and looked up at her. When she straightened from retrieving her padd, he noticed the sheen of perspiration on her forehead.
"Kathryn," he said gently. "I'll go with you if you would like to see the Doctor now."
"Thanks, Chakotay, but I think all I need is a good night's sleep," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose as if in pain.
"O.K. Why don't we call it a night. It is 19:30 hours."
"Sounds like a good idea, Commander," she said, throwing the padd on her desk.
They exited her ready room and entered the turbolift. "Join me for dinner?" Chakotay asked.
"No, thank you. I'm going to try and have an early night."
"All right," he said, as the lift stopped at deck two. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night, Captain."
"Good night, Chakotay," he heard her say, as the doors closed behind him.
*****
Between the time Kathryn arrived at her quarters and 21:00 hours, she had downed three cups of replicated coffee. None of them had the effect she wanted. The effect she needed. Her heart raced as her feet carried her from one end of her quarters to the other. When her trembling hands weren't clenched at her sides, they were raking through her hair in frustration. She stopped in the center of her living room. "Janeway to Neelix," she called out.
"Neelix here, Captain. What can I do for you?" his voice came through her comm badge.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I was wondering if there was any of my coffee left in the mess hall from today?" she asked, her voice somewhat agitated.
"No, I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't get a chance to make any more before Commander Chakotay came for the rest of the brella bark."
"He what?"
"He took all of the remaining bark. Apparently, the Doctor needed it to continue researching it's properties." Kathryn was silent, and Neelix spoke again. "Captain, have I done something wrong?"
"Not at all, Mr. Neelix. Thank you. Janeway out."
Well Chakotay certainly blocked that escape hatch, she thought. Kathryn walked to the replicator and ordered another cup of coffee. Her whole body was shaking as it cried out for the one thing it was being denied. She drank half of the amber liquid, then looked down at the cup in her clammy hands. "This is not helping," she muttered between clenched teeth, and threw the cup against the door to her quarters, watching it's contents fly out in all directions.
Kathryn moved to the sofa and sat down, trying to regulate her rapid breathing. Perspiration trickled down the back of her neck as she rested her elbows on her knees, her fingers rubbing her aching temples. "I will not lose control," she said, in a voice she barely recognized. Ten minutes passed by as she slowly rocked back and forth on her sofa. Suddenly her door chimed.
Kathryn sat, debating whether to answer it or not when it chimed again. "Who is it?" she called.
"Chakotay," she heard his voice drift through the door.
"Come in." She glanced up briefly as he entered her quarters. "What do you want, Commander?" she asked, not too pleasantly.
"Actually, I wanted to see how you were doing," he said, walking over to her. "I stopped by sickbay earlier." He stood for a few seconds looking down at her. "It looks like you could use this." He held out his hand and showed her the hypospray he had brought.
Kathryn let out an audible sigh and gazed up at him. Giving him a small smile, she said, "I think you're right, Commander."
Chakotay administered the medication above the collar of her turtleneck, and she leaned back against the cushions of the sofa allowing the injected chemicals to soothe her abused body. "There's another dose in there in case you need it tonight," he said, setting the hypospray on the coffee table in front of her. "Will you be all right?"
"Yes, I think so."
Chakotay nodded his understanding. "Let me know if you need anything," he said, and turned to leave.
"Chakotay," Kathryn called, stopping his exit.
"Yes?"
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"You're welcome," he said, and she closed her eyes as the door to her quarters closed.
*****
As Kathryn entered the mess hall for breakfast the next morning, Chakotay waved her over to his table. "Captain," Chakotay said when she sat down, "how are you feeling this morning?"
"Much better, thank you. I actually had seven hours of sleep last night."
"It shows," he said softly, and she smiled at him.
"Captain," Neelix said, coming over to their table carrying a tray. "Would you like to be the first to sample what I'm serving for lunch today? I'm trying another new ingredient I aquired from the Knoctarians. I know you enjoyed the brella bark, I thought you'd like this, too."
"Thank you, Neelix," Kathryn said, looking at what resembled doughballs with yellow grass sticking out of them, "but I'm...not hungry at the moment." At least it wasn't a lie, because she had suddenly lost her appetite.
"O.K," Neelix said. "How about you , Commander?" he asked, turning toward Chakotay.
"No thanks, Neelix," Chakotay said, pointing to his empty plate. "I couldn't eat another bite."
"Well, I guess you'll have to be surprised at lunchtime then," Neelix said.
"Yes. We'll look forward to it," Chakotay said, and looked at Kathryn.
"Yes," Kathryn agreed, getting up from the table. "Have a good day Mr. Neelix."
"You too, Captain, Commander," Neelix said, walking away.
The Command team exited the mess hall together. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking," Chakotay asked when they entered the corridor.
"Yes," Kathryn said. "Replicated lunch in my ready room."
"Exactly," he said, and they both started laughing.
The End