For The Love of Coffee

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Disclaimer: Paramount owns them and I do this just for fun. No infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this. Darn.

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“God Kathryn, slow down, you’re making me dizzy,” Commander Chakotay demanded of his Captain as she paced around the ready room of the Federation Starship Voyager. “Can’t you just sit and relax for a few minutes while I go over these reports with you?”

“I can’t seem to sit still. My nerves are on edge and I really, really, really need a cup of coffee,” she responded as she continued to pace with her arms crossed over her chest “How long before we have replicators again?” she asked as she threw her arms in the air.

“Kathryn, I’ve told you at least a hundred times today, so you already know replicators aren’t a priority right now,” Chakotay patiently replied with a grin on his face. “We have to get the warp engines back on line and communications up and running. There are dozens of systems we need to repair before we can even think of replicators. Besides, shouldn’t you be thinking of food before coffee? You probably haven’t eaten anything for days, especially since emergency rations are all we have right now and I know how much you love emergency rations.”

“What! Eat before coffee? Never…….well almost never. I had a ration bar sometime yesterday, right after I woke up in sickbay after passing out in engineering. The Doctor insisted and wouldn’t release me if I didn’t eat something. If he really wanted me to feel better he would have figured a way to conjure up a cup of coffee for me,” she pouted as she turned to look at him and stuck out her lower lip.

Chakotay smiled. God he loved her when she pouted.

“Kathryn, it’s been over a week since we were attacked by the Keltans and took such heavy damage. You haven’t really rested since then and have worked ungodly hours alongside the engineering staff. At least they only work one shift at a time. Voyager isn’t dead in space anymore, we are moving along even if it’s only at impulse. You can take a few hours to rest and grab something to eat. This ship needs its Captain rested and alert, not ready to drop over from exhaustion. By the way, where are you getting all that energy since you’re not drinking any coffee?”

“Can it Chakotay! I know that you know I already did drop over from exhaustion and the Doctor made me rest for FIVE hours – five WHOLE hours – before he’d let me leave. Do you know how hard it is to rest on a biobed in sickbay with the Doctor lifting your eyelid every ten minutes and telling you that you’re faking it? Of course I couldn’t sleep. I was dreading the next time he’d lift my eyelid and I’d see that smirking, know-it-all face discovering that I really wasn’t asleep like I pretended to be. Ohhh, I wanted to smack his hands. If our systems were working I’d have deleted his program, or at least shut him down. Fortunately for him the systems weren’t working and there was nothing I could do. But I’ll get even – just wait and see.”

Chakotay couldn’t help himself, he really had to smile at Kathryn’s diatribe. She loved the Doctor and he loved her and everyone knew it. Nobody stood up for him like Kathryn Janeway no matter how many times the Doctor got himself into trouble, and nobody was there for him more than she was whenever he needed a shoulder to cry on. By the same token, every time she was carried into sickbay half dead or dying, the Doctor worked tirelessly until she was fully healed and back on her feet. On one occasion Chakotay had actually seen him cry like a baby when they all thought her injuries were too severe and they would lose her. He performed miracles to save her, which only proved to them all just how much she meant to him. And her coffee addiction was their favorite game of all. It supplied the crew with endless hours of amusement anticipating how their Captain and the Doctor would deal with that subject..

But right now there were other things more important, like the status of Voyager’s systems and their critical food shortage. Chakotay finally stood and grabbed the pacing Kathryn by the shoulders as she passed close by his chair, gently guiding her to her own chair and pressing her into it. Lack of caffeine was making her soooooooo hyper, but then shouldn’t it be the other way around? Leave it to Kathryn to be different.

God he loved her when she was different.

“OK, right now we talk, then you can pace. After that you get some rest and eat before you report back to engineering to assist B’Elanna. She’s resting right now so you’re not missing anything. Vorik has things well in hand and will notify you if he needs help,” Chakotay started to report. “There’s nothing I can do about getting you a cup of coffee. I’ve polled the entire crew to see if anyone had any stashed away, but they’ve already donated every grain of coffee they had to the ‘keep our Captain sane’ cause, and Neelix has run out of everything decent to make coffee substitutes. You wouldn’t want to consider coffee substitutes made out of anything he has on hand, believe me, unless you like lard or leola root coffee. So let’s talk about food supplies, or lack thereof,” Chakotay continued as they discussed each report in turn.

Two hours later he finally finished reading the last report to Kathryn and looked up to see her reaction to Seven of Nine’s lengthy request to make Astrometrics the top priority for repairs. The report had been fifteen full pages of text and he hadn’t looked up for the last seven pages. He had to keep his eye on the list of 247 reasons why Astrometrics was a priority or he’d have lost his place. The sight that greeted him forced a smile to his lips. Kathryn’s head was resting on her empty coffee cup, her hand was curled around it and she was fast asleep.

“Finally,” he mumbled. “Leave it to Seven to bore our Captain to sleep. If I hadn’t been reading the report I most likely would have joined her long before reason eighty-two, which in itself was one-half page long.”

Knowing that if she slept like this for very long she would have the imprint of her coffee cup imbedded into her cheek for all to see, not to mention the neck ache to beat all neck aches, Chakotay gently eased her from her chair into his arms and carried her to the couch under the window. He was amazed that her hand did not let go of the cup nor did it tilt. Exhaustion was etched onto every curve of her face so he gently laid her on the couch and rummaged in her closet for the blanket he knew she kept there. He tried to ease the cup out of her hand, but she wasn’t letting go and he didn’t want to risk waking her. ‘Most people use teddy bears, Kathryn, not coffee cups,’ he smiled.

After easing off her boots and covering her and her cup with the blanket he left the ready room to get some sleep himself. There was no need to dim the lights because Voyager’s systems weren’t yet able to fully illuminate the interior of the ship.

As he stepped onto the dimmed and still-damaged bridge Chakotay handed the reports to Tuvok, who had just come on duty. “The Captain is in her ready room and is not to be disturbed, but we’ve already reviewed these reports and you can implement the approved recommendations. I’m going to get some rest. I’ll be in my quarters if you need me.”

“Aye Sir,” Tuvok responded as he took the Captain’s chair.

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By late the following afternoon sensors and shields were again working and Kathryn Janeway was one of several crewmembers crawling through the Jeffries tubes fixing the relays that would allow life support to return to normal levels. B’Elanna Torres, Voyager’s Chief Engineer, was working on the warp core and Chakotay was in Astrometrics trying to pacify Seven because her department was sixth on the priority list.

B’Elanna assigned Kathryn to the Jeffires tubes to get her away from hovering over the replicator controls trying to fix the system. They all knew the replicator system couldn’t be fixed without beryllium, but Kathryn kept trying. Other than herself, Kathryn Janeway was one of the finest and most creative engineers B’Elanna had ever met. B’Elanna respected her Captain for her knowledge and was making full use of her Captain’s expertise.

Progress was being made, but Voyager was still desperate and her Captain even more desperate. The attack was unexpected, vicious and caught them unaware thus the heavy damage. They had no idea they were in a hostile area of space, and when the attack came they were already seriously low on food supplies and raw materials for normal maintenance. Scans showed the region had a few planets capable of supplying what they needed, and they were on course for the closest one. They were still six light years from the planet and without warp drive that was a journey of months, maybe years. Voyager didn’t have months to survive without supplies and they all knew it. They all also knew their Captain wouldn’t survive months without her coffee.

Kathryn’s hand was not as steady as she would have liked as she worked on repairing the relay in front of her. If the truth were told she was shaking and her vision wasn’t as clear as it should have been. Exhaustion or lack of coffee – she couldn’t tell which - was causing the trouble as the spanner slipped from her fingers for the third time.

“Damn,” she cried as the crewman working further down the tube quickly looked up. “Coffee…..I need coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee,” she chanted. He only smiled as he went back to working on his own relay. He could have used some too, but he knew if there was only one coffee bean still surviving aboard Voyager it would have gladly gone to their Captain. Nobody worked harder than she did.

Another four hours passed and life support was finally restored. Lighting was back to normal and for the first time in over a week they had clean air to breathe. ‘Now if only we had coffee,’ Kathryn thought. ‘Soon……real soon……..I hope.’

“Torres to Janeway,” startled Kathryn out of her reverie as she leaned against the side of the Jeffries tube trying to talk herself into crawling to the nearest exit to begin working on the next system that needed repairs. She was so exhausted and wondered if anyone would miss her if she took a nap right here in the tube. She felt like her body was starting to shut down and demand she rest.

“Janeway here,” Kathryn replied as she started to move her exhausted body down the tube. If anyone but B’Elanna had paged she might have ignored the hail, but she knew B’Elanna would come looking for her if she didn’t respond immediately. The four hours sleep she had in her ready room the previous evening helped, but she hadn’t had any real sleep since the attack and she was feeling the effect. She was also suffering coffee withdrawal and she knew it even though she would never admit it. “She probably has guards stationed around the replicator controls,” Kathryn grumbled to herself as she crawled.

“We have the warp drive back online but we can only do warp 1 until we get more dilithium,” B’Elanna stated. “We’ll have to keep an eye on the drive, but it should hold up for a little while at least.”

“Wonderful! Good job B’Elanna. I’ll join you shortly.” Kathryn almost smiled as she kept crawling toward the nearest opening. “Hand, knee, hand, knee,” she kept repeating to herself as she crawled. Good God, she knew she was tired when she had to remind herself how to crawl!

“Janeway to the bridge.” When Tuvok responded she ordered him to set a course for their targeted planet and engage warp drive. She could feel Voyager respond as Tom Paris urged her into warp and set a course. Since she was already on her knees she prayed this planet had coffee, or at least beryllium for the replicators so she could replicate herself a cup.

When she reached the nearest exit from the Jeffries tube and dragged herself through the opening and into the hallway of Deck 3, Chakotay was waiting for her, smirk on his face, ration bars in one hand and 2 bottles of water in the other.

“Good job, life support is back online and you’ll be happy to know that our air is clearing quickly. Now it’s time for dinner since I know you didn’t eat all day, so come with me to the mess hall and we’ll take a little rest before you start on your next project,” Chakotay ordered as he used his body to guide her toward the mess hall that was just down the hallway. He also used his larger bulk to prevent her from escaping while his hands were full.

“Chakotay, I really have too much work to do and I’m sorry but that dinner doesn’t look very appetizing,” Kathryn responded with a lift to her eyebrow and a scowl on her face as she tried to maneuver around him and make her escape.

“Well it’s the best I can offer right now so off we go,” he smiled as he forced her in the right direction. Kathryn considered standing her ground and absolutely refusing to go to the mess hall, but judging by the look on Chakotay’s face when she started to balk she knew he would just gleefully pick her up and carry her there. Trapped….. she was trapped and could just imagine the looks on the crew’s face if they witnessed her entry into the mess hall slung over his shoulder like a sack of coffee beans, so she grudgingly turned on her heel and stalked down the hall toward their goal with Chakotay hurrying to catch up.

Chakotay smiled as he walked. God he loved her when she was stubborn.

When they entered the mess hall there were several other tired looking crewmembers sitting at the tables with their water and ration bars. Chakotay chose a table in a corner with a view of the stars passing by and settled them there. Neelix came bustling over trying to spread cheer and raise the morale that was obviously at rock bottom.

“Captain, Commander, it’s good to see you,” he cheerfully greeted them. “I’m sorry I don’t have any coffee Captain, but I can get you more water.”

“Thanks Neelix, but this will do,” Kathryn sighed as she turned her attention to the unappetizing ration bar Chakotay was gleefully holding out to her. Repressing her urge to grab the bar and toss it into the next dimension, she forced her hand to close around it. It took great effort to raise it to her mouth. By closing her eyes she figured it wouldn’t taste so bad, but she was wrong. It was awful. It was dry, crunchy and tasted like cardboard. The dehydrated raisins throughout the bar looked like dead bugs, but she forced herself to chew…..and chew…..and chew. Oh what she wouldn’t have given for a cup of coffee to wash this down!

“You’re supposed to swallow it Kathryn,” Chakotay smiled as he took another bite of his bar, chewed a couple of times then swallowed. “Believe it or not, it’s good for you. Come on swallow, I know you can do it,” he cajoled.

With a sigh and a large gulp Kathryn finally swallowed the bite of bar, coughed twice and went to put the rest of it back onto the table. When she noticed Chakotay’s stern if you lay that down you’re in big trouble look, she quickly raised the bar to her lips and took another bite. After chewing this bite she took a sip of water, and in this manner was finally able to choke the whole bar down. God she hated these things – always had and always would. She’d rather try to chew the cushion on her seat instead of a ration bar, but then she thought Neelix might object and the other crewmembers might think she’d gone off the deep end. Of course, if she didn’t get some coffee soon she just might.

“Satisfied?” she finally inquired of Chakotay as he continued to smile his amused smile at her. “I have to get back to work.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like another bar?” he teased. His reward was the famous death glare in full force. There was no need for her to give him a verbal answer.

“I’ll walk you to engineering. B’Elanna has something she needs to talk to me about so we’re going in the same direction,” Chakotay said as they left the mess hall to get back to work. At least the death glare was gone.

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Five days later Voyager limped into orbit of the planet they thought offered their best chance to find food and the raw materials they needed to fix the ship’s systems. The major systems were now working in some capacity, some better than others. Shields, propulsion, weapons and sensors being the priority, were functional, life support, turbolifts and communications were mostly functional, but replicators and most other non-critical systems were still offline much to the Captain’s dismay. All available energy was needed to keep the ship moving and people breathing, and the constant effort to keep the priority systems working left little time to work on anything else. The crew was tired, hungry and more than a little frustrated. They had great hopes of finding at least some of what they needed on the planet.

Most crewmembers were not-so-secretly praying the planet supported coffee beans for their Captain, and the Doctor was considering having services so the crew could pray for coffee together. If he could gather the courage, he might even invite the Captain to attend, but then again…….maybe not.

Kathryn was sitting in her chair on the bridge dreaming of soaking in her bathtub with cups of steaming coffee lined up along the rim. She would splash a little then sip at a cup of coffee, immerse herself, then drink some more coffee. The fantasy went on and brought a small smile to her lips. Of course the bridge crew thought she was studying the scans and the data displayed on the panel between her chair and Chakotay’s because every now and then she would make a small ‘hummmmm’ noise. Little did they know that sound was her sound of satisfaction as the coffee slipped down her throat in her fantasy.

‘Seven to the Captain,” came through Janeway’s combadge and rudely interrupted her pleasant daydream.

“Janeway here,” she replied as she waited for what she was sure was Seven’s bad news. Leave it to Seven to throw cold water on her party. At least it wasn’t cold water she was throwing into her daydream bath.

“I have detected a primitive society on the surface of the planet,” Seven announced in her usual clipped manner. They appear to have extensive settlements throughout the entire area of the northern continent and widely scattered settlements on the southern continent. There is little evidence of industrialization and no evidence of space travel. If the Astrometrics sensors had been properly repaired my report would be more thorough, but since Astrometrics was sixth on the list and we’ve only completed four priorities, I cannot be more precise.”

“The southern continent has more of the items we need than the northern continent, so please just keep scanning and let me know the best area for us to visit. Try to keep us away from any natives,” Janeway ordered as she mourned the loss of her daydream.

“I’ll do my best with our unrepaired systems,” Seven replied as she cut the communication and started her scans.

“Damn, always has to have the last word,” Janeway whispered to Chakotay as he leaned toward her so they could study the scans together.

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At 0800 hours the following morning Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay and three away teams were standing on the surface of the planet. One team was to search for food, and Janeway put herself in charge of that team. Chakotay was sure she chose that team so she would be sure that no bean was left unscanned in her quest for coffee. He was in charge of the raw materials team looking for minerals and metals they needed to repair Voyager. The third team was for security, and they were divided between the other two teams. Tuvok remained on board Voyager to oversee the operation.

The planet was lovely in an unusual kind of way. The vegetation was predominantly variations of red and yellow in color and the sky was a pale shade of green. The plants they encountered bore little resemblance to the plants of Earth, but they were lovely in their own right.

As soon as they got their bearings and did a few scans Kathryn set off with her team in search of food. The scans looked promising and they hoped to gather a large supply before moving on. Kathryn was diligently on the lookout for anything resembling a coffee bean, and unbeknownst to her so was the rest of her team.

“Be careful and look out for those coffee beans,” Chakotay admonished as he led his team in the direction that showed the largest deposits of minerals and metals. Kathryn only smiled at him as she marched away, her team following behind like ducklings behind their mother.

At the end of the day some very tired crewmembers beamed back to Voyager with supplies of many of the items they needed. Neelix was happily checking the food supplies to be sure they were safe and B’Elanna was processing the minerals and metals to be used for the ship’s systems. The only bad news was there was no beryllium to be found and beryllium was needed to get the replicators up and running. They were also unable to find anything resembling coffee nor anything that would make a drink resembling coffee.

Chakotay waited for Kathryn in the transporter room. His team finished first and they all returned to the ship with their supplies. The food was already in cargo bay 1 and Neelix was preparing what he promised would be a colorful meal with some of these supplies. Kathryn’s team was now beaming up, and as soon as Kathryn materialized Chakotay stepped forward to give his report.

“Good job Commander,” Kathryn stated as she scanned his report. They left the transporter room and headed for the bridge. “At least we got some of what we needed, but Chakotay – there was no sign of anything resembling coffee.” She looked so disappointed that Chakotay just wanted to take her into his arms to comfort her.

Chakotay smiled. God he loved her when she looked like a disappointed child.

“There’s always tomorrow,” he replied, “and I’ll personally join the food team and search with you. If there’s a coffee bean anywhere on this planet, we’ll find it.”

“Thanks, and I’ll search too,” Kathryn firmly stated.

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The following morning Kathryn and Chakotay led their team into an area they hadn’t investigated yesterday. Things were looking promising in this area and they all had high hopes for finding different types of food. After the red, yellow and chartreuse mush Neelix served for supper last night that tasted like hot peppers mixed with oatmeal and grapefruit and smelled like foot odor, they were being very diligent in their search. The Captain’s order that nothing chartreuse was to be harvested was being carefully and happily followed. Nobody wanted anymore of the chartreuse mush.

B’Elanna was leading the raw materials team with certain goals in mind, particularly beryllium so they could get replicators up and running. She also was looking forward to spending some time away from engineering walking on the surface of the planet with her husband, Tom Paris, who was also a member of her team.

“If we don’t find some beryllium soon the Captain is going to go crazy,” B’Elanna stated as they followed the tricorder’s coordinates to a possible source of dilithium. “She usually keeps herself going on coffee and determination, but without her coffee her determination is all that’s keeping her on her feet. She has to be more exhausted than we are since she works longer hours and then sits and does reports. I really, really want to present her with a cup of coffee.”

“We’ll keep looking,” Tom replied as he smiled at his wife. He too wanted to do this for their Captain who gave them all much more than she even realized. “The Doctor and I considered trying to come up with a caffeine substitute we could inject directly into her bloodstream, but abandoned that idea because it would do more harm than good. We’ve tried to concoct some kind of a drink with caffeine, but without replicators there was no way to come up with the ingredients. We then considered sedating her until her body adjusted to being without caffeine, but that would take months and she’d never forgive us. Plus we didn’t have enough sedatives on hand and couldn’t replicate anymore. Her daily intake of coffee has been so high for so many years that her body needs it to function at peak efficiency.”

“We’ll find something, just keep looking,” B’Elanna smiled as they finally reached the dilithium coordinates. “Bingo, there’s dilithium here,” she happily cried after scanning for only a few moments. The raw materials team immediately started mining the much-needed crystals.

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Several hours later Kathryn’s team gathered around the containers filled with vegetables, plants intended to grow more vegetables, and raw plant material needed by the replicators for their molecules. “Now if only B’Elanna finds some beryllium we’ll be in business,” Kathryn hopefully stated to Chakotay as the containers disappeared into the transporter beam.

Most of the other members of the team disappeared in the next transport leaving only Kathryn, Chakotay and two security team members standing in the clearing.

“We could always keep searching for coffee beans,” Chakotay teased as they waited for transport. He had to admire Kathryn’s tenacity – she was still hopefully scanning. All of a sudden he spied something curious and had to take a closer look at her tricorder. Pasted to the surface of the tricorder, just below the keypad, was a picture of a coffee bean and beside that a small picture of a steaming cup of coffee. He smiled.

“Chakotay – over there,” Kathryn cried with excitement as she pointed to an isolated stand of trees and plants about one quarter mile away in a direction they hadn’t yet investigated. “It’s like an oasis in the middle of nowhere and the plants growing there are different from anything we’ve seen so far. I’m getting readings that indicate something like coffee beans among those plants.” She was already hurrying toward the foliage tapping her combadge as she went. Chakotay and the guards quickly followed not wanting to let her out of their sight.

Chakotay smiled. God he loved her when she was excited!

Now if only he could replace coffee as the object of her excitement.

“Janeway to Voyager, please delay beaming us up. We’re following a lead and will keep you informed.” They continued to hurry toward the coordinates indicated on her tricorder as Chakotay wondered whether or not Tuvok caught the excitement in her voice. Chakotay had to hurry because for a slightly built person with short legs, Kathryn sure could walk fast when she was excited.

Kathryn homed in on the plants like a bee to honey. Chakotay marveled how she instinctively knew just where to go and which plant to look at first. ‘Her metabolism must be fine tuned to coffee beans,’ he thought, ‘or else they emitted a magnetic pull that attracted her.’

“Ah ha! Coffee,” she happily exclaimed as she pointed to the plants that sported some bright red and yellow beans. Chakotay looked closely at the colorful beans and wondered just how red beans with yellow polka dots could produce coffee, but then he realized who he was with and knew – just knew – that they would. If not, Kathryn Janeway would be a force to be reckoned with and she wouldn’t rest until they did.

“Chakotay it’s coffee!” Kathryn cried as she started to carefully work the soil around the base of one plant. She didn’t want to damage a single root as she continued to free the plant from the greenish dirt. There are lots of these plants here, so start digging Commander. Be careful of the roots,” she ordered as the guards also started to search out the desired plants.

Kathryn finally freed the plant and held it reverently in her hands. Chakotay had to chuckle as she inhaled the scent of the plant, which he had to admit did smell vaguely like coffee. The look of pure bliss on her face made the whole trip worthwhile. Her stance was one of pure reverence and she held the plant like it was the most precious thing in the universe.

The sound of rustling bushes alerted them to danger, but when they looked up it was already too late. A group of 15 natives stood pointing weapons at them and staring in awe at Kathryn who was still blissfully inhaling the coffee fragrance of the plant she held so reverently.

“Kathryn!” Chakotay exclaimed as he drew her attention to their immediate danger and immediately stepped to her side in case there was trouble. The guards dropped what they were doing and also stepped forward to protect their Captain.

The natives moved forward circling the Voyager crew and began to chat among themselves. They were short of stature, the tallest being only about five feet tall, and their skin and hair were almost pure white. Their deep green eyes seemed to almost glow in their faces and they had cords of cartilage running from their foreheads around to the back of their necks. Since they wore high-necked robes, Chakotay couldn’t tell whether the cartilage ran down their backs or ended at the base of their skulls.

They seemed fascinated by Kathryn and the reverent way she stood holding the plant. It took only a few minutes for the universal translators to decipher their language, so when one of the natives stepped forward they knew immediately what he was saying. He appeared to be their leader and whereas the others had mostly white hair, his had some pink mixed in with the white. He started to address Chakotay.

“Who are you and why are you taking our sacred plants? I know you’re not of this world and have come here on a space-faring ship, so who are you?” he demanded as he approached closer. Chakotay could tell that the other natives were on alert in case any of the Voyager crew started trouble, so he signaled the guards to back off and stepped forward to answer when he heard Kathryn mutter behind him.

“Damn…….sacred plants?” Kathryn whispered as she clutched her plant even tighter. “These are sacred plants? Figures,” she whispered as she stepped in front of Chakotay and faced the alien with her captain persona firmly in place. “I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager and this is my First Officer Commander Chakotay. I assure you we had no idea these were sacred plants. Our ship is lost in this area of space and we have a long way to go to get home. We come in peace and are only trying to find food and mineral supplies for our ship. We’re just trying to get home and we would be willing to trade with you for food and some of these plants.”

“Captain Kathryn Janeway and First Officer Commander Chakotay, I am Haar of the Fathers of the Mishibi, spiritual leader of my people, and you have come to Mxwlhse, our most sacred shrine. He then proceeded to introduce Mathu, Mar, Luc and Jon, his spiritual disciples. We have met offworlders before and can arrange to supply you with food and whatever else you need, but first please come with me so we can relax and discuss your situation. My disciples and I must consult the spirits of this shrine to guide us.

Still clutching her plant like her life depended on it Kathryn followed Haar down a path they did not see until now. The path wound through the sheltered glade and ended at the door of a magnificent shrine that blended perfectly with the oasis around it. At the door to the shrine all of the aliens except Haar and his disciples fell to their knees and then moved toward a doorway at the side of the building. They indicated that the two guards accompany them and Kathryn indicated that the guards should play along for now. The aliens hadn’t tried to disarm them so she felt sure if there were trouble at least they could defend themselves.

Haar led Kathryn, Chakotay and his disciples through the softly lit entrance and into a room whose shape did not fit into any category Kathryn could identify. It wasn’t square, round, rectangular or anything else she could name, and the walls did not go straight up or circle around. Rather they went up, then went sideways and bent around. All in all it was a disconcerting feeling and Kathryn and Chakotay did their best to adjust, but they both felt a little sick as their eyes tried to adjust.

“Please sit and we will meditate,” Haar said as he indicated pillows placed against a portion of one of the walls. “This building was designed to encourage meditation.”

“Or nausea,” Kathryn softly whispered to Chakotay as they seated themselves on the pillows. Chakotay had to smile as he watched Kathryn seat herself, being very careful not to damage the plant in her hands. In fact, he was sure that if she could get away with it the plant would now be residing inside her uniform jacket right beside her heart, but everyone saw her holding it in the clearing so that was now impossible without damaging their new relationship.

Once everyone was seated soft music began playing in the background, music that was soothing to the soul and reflective in its melody. Chakotay felt himself relaxing and entering a meditative state, and as he glanced toward Kathryn he noticed she was relaxing too all except for her hands that were still clutching the plant.

As the meditative state progressed Chakotay could feel Haar and his disciples probing their minds and searching for their true intentions. Nothing could be hidden from them and he even could feel Kathryn’s desire to claim the coffee plant. Her desire for coffee was foremost in her mind, right along with her desire to protect him and her crew and provide for their needs. Strong feelings for him were also there and he wondered if he was feeling what she couldn’t say out loud. SHE LOVED HIM! OH…….MY……GOD – SHE LOVED HIM just as much as she loved her coffee…..maybe more!! He almost jumped up in delight to grab her and hug her close.

He could also feel Haar’s delight in her desire for the coffee, but then he detected a trace of regret and he didn’t know what the regret was for.

After what seemed like an hour, but in reality was more like fifteen minutes, Chakotay could feel the trance weaken and before long he felt quite normal, except he now had a very strong burning desire for a cup of coffee. Kathryn – the feelings were Kathryn’s. The music stopped and his mind was now clear. As he looked at Kathryn, who slumped against him when she entered her trance, he could tell that she was quickly returning to normal too.

“The spirits have determined that your intentions are honorable and your hearts pure. They demand that we help you by supplying you with food and materials for your ship,” Haar stated as he spoke to both of them. He then named what they wished in return, and that was only some medical supplies and some star charts, things Kathryn could easily provide. “The spirits wish you a safe and speedy return home.”

Haar then turned to Kathryn with regret etched on his face. “I have felt your desire for some of our sacred plants, but our customs forbid us from allowing the plants to leave our world. They are sacred to us so we must protect them at all costs because not everyone would consider them sacred. I believe you would be true to our beliefs, but I know not where you will travel and who you will encounter. The spirits are not willing to risk the sacred plants to such an unknown journey.”

Chakotay could feel Kathryn’s desire to clutch her plant and run, but he put his hand gently on her shoulder to offer comfort and to prevent her from running with the plant. “I see,” she whispered as she hesitantly handed her precious plant to Chakotay who gently laid the plant by the wall they had been leaning against. She looked like she was about to cry, but she called upon her inner Captain’s strength and straightened to face Haar.

Chakotay watched her pull the Captain’s demeanor around her like a cloak and he smiled. God he loved her when she was being strong.

“The spirits have given me permission to share our sacred drink with you,” Haar continued as he started to smile realizing Kathryn’s feelings. “I’m truly sorry I can do no more.” He snapped his fingers and a door opened in a portion of one of the walls that appeared to contain no door. A small man appeared carrying a large steaming bowl, which he promptly handed to Haar.

‘Coffee, coffee, coffee, at last!’ Kathryn thought.

“Come, sit with us,” Haar offered as he, Mathu, Mar, Luc and Jon sat in a circle on the floor. Kathryn and Chakotay quickly joined them as Haar began the small ceremony commemorating their trade deal and new friendship. He then took a swallow of the sacred liquid and passed the bowl to the disciple sitting next to him.

As the bowl made its round of the celebrants the scent of fresh coffee permeated the air and was driving Kathryn crazy. ‘Why am I last?’ she wondered as she felt her mouth water. As the bowl reached the third disciple all she wanted to do was grab the bowl from his hands and empty it by herself. Her hands started trembling in anticipation of her turn with the coffee, and it was all she could do to sit still and maintain her Captain’s demeanor. She glanced sideways at Chakotay who was seated at her side and could tell he knew how she was feeling.

‘Damn, it must show,’ she thought as she was sure he was snickering under that First Officer façade he had pasted on his face. ‘He knows how much I want a drink of that coffee and all he can do is smile. It’s good his turn is before mine or I would drink it all and he wouldn’t get any,’ she thought with relish as the bowl finally reached the last disciple. Haar and his disciples had all taken only a sip each, and Chakotay wondered whether this sacred beverage was more potent than regular coffee. He wanted to ask Haar before either he or Kathryn took their drink from the sacred bowl, but he didn’t want to offend their customs so he kept silent and waited his turn. His desire for coffee was now very strong – a result of touching Kathryn’s feelings in the trance he was sure as his drink of preference was always tea.

Finally the bowl reached Chakotay and he glanced at Kathryn as he raised the bowl to his lips. Her eyes spoke volumes and it was all Chakotay could do to keep a straight face as he went to take his sip from the bowl that was still almost full. The warm smell wafting up from the beverage was inviting and he slowly took a large sip of the beverage intending to savor the experience. It smelled and tasted so much like coffee that he had a hard time imagining this beverage was made from the yellow and red polka dotted beans. As it slid down his throat he could feel the warmth spread throughout his body bringing a certain warm fuzzy feeling to his very being. It felt good.

Reluctantly he lowered the bowl from his mouth and slowly extended it to Kathryn, who almost grabbed it from him. Her desperation was beginning to show and he could see an expression of pure bliss spread across her face as the warm bowl was nestled in her hands. She took a moment to inhale the warm coffee smell that was rising from the steaming bowl, but that only lasted a brief moment before the bowl was at her lips. She drank long and deeply from the bowl and the expression on her face was one of sheer ecstasy. Chakotay noted with amusement and some degree of alarm that when she finally lowered the bowl from her lips and handed it back to Haar it was completely empty.

He was amazed that Kathryn could drink all the hot beverage so quickly, but then again this was Kathryn Janeway, coffee addict of the Delta Quadrant, advocate of the coffee Dark Side. Haar look pleasantly amazed as he took the sacred bowl and handed it to the attendant who quickly disappeared through the door in the wall.

After a few more chants Haar and his disciples started to rise, indicating the end of the ceremony. As Chakotay started to stand he felt suddenly a little tipsy and wondered if he had been sitting to long. Haar quickly stepped to his side to steady him and whispered in his ear. “This is a very potent drink we just shared. I hope your Captain is alright since she had a very large sip of the sacred beverage.” That was putting it mildly, she had almost the whole bowl all by herself. Chakotay could tell that Haar was worried about Kathryn.

Instant concern for Kathryn forced Chakotay’s mind to clear, but he noticed that she had no trouble standing. “Thank you Haar, that was wonderful,” Kathryn enthused as she looked around. “Are you absolutely sure there isn’t anything we can offer you for some of those plants, or even just a few of the beans? I assure you I would treat your sacred beverage with reverence.”

Chakotay started to worry because he knew Kathryn was almost desperate enough to offer even Voyager herself for some of these plants, but Haar could not be swayed even by Kathryn’s batting eyelashes and crooked sexy smile. ‘Good God, how could she stand after drinking all of that drink. He was still tipsy and he only had a sip and she was so small compared to him,’ Chakotay worried to himself.

“If there were any way I could offer you some without angering the spirits I would do so, but unfortunately I cannot,” Haar regretfully replied. “I can see that you treat our beverage with reverence, but not everyone feels as you do. My disciples are gathering the other supplies you need and we can meet many of your ship’s requirements. Unfortunately we have no beryllium or dutanium to offer and there are a few plant groupings we do not have, but all your other requirements can be met.”

“Thank you Haar, you are most gracious,” Kathryn spoke as she started to walk to the door where they entered the room. Once outside she kept glancing longingly around to the coffee plants that were growing all around them. Chakotay was really starting to worry about her. He wouldn’t put it past Kathryn to leap onto a few of the plants, pull them out by the roots and order an instant beam out.

Kathryn took a few minutes to thank Haar for everything, so Chakotay moved aside to speak with two of Haar’s disciples. He had an idea that he needed to discuss.

As their security guards finally joined them and Chakotay turned again to thank Haar, he saw Kathryn start to sway on her feet and he quickly moved to her side. Only a minute later she smiled that sexy crooked smile at him as she collapsed into his arms.

“Kathryn!” he cried as he caught her before she hit the ground. He gently lowered her to the ground as the guards and Haar gathered around with worry etched on their faces.

“Captain Janeway?” Haar cried as he leaned toward her. “It’s the sacred drink. It’s very potent,” he whispered to Chakotay.

“Kathryn, are you alright?” Chakotay asked as he noticed she was still conscious but she now had a silly grin on her face. “Kathryn, you’re scaring me. Talk to me,” he demanded.

“Oh Chakotay, I feel so wonderful and you’re so handsome. I do love you so,” she cried as she reached to wrap her arms around his neck. “Can I please have some more of that coffee?” she asked as she looked to Haar with her crooked grin in place..

“You’ve had enough. It’s time to get you back to Voyager so the Doctor can have a look at you,” Chakotay said as he picked her up in his arms and signaled the guards to step close to him. Kathryn was clinging to his neck as if her life depended on it and he was sure that was because her head was spinning like a top.

“Thank you Haar, I’ll take it from here,” Chakotay smiled as he ordered Voyager to beam them directly to sickbay.

Haar only smiled and said, “She’s a remarkable woman, not many could drink the sacred drink as she did and I have never seen anyone have so much reverence for our sacred plants. Take care of her.”

“Oh Chakotay, we didn’t get any coffee plants,” Kathryn muttered into his ear. She sounded like she was going to cry.

“You’ll be alright Kathryn. We’ll get you coffee again someday.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“She’s sleeping it off,” the Doctor announced to Chakotay as they both watched Kathryn sleeping on the biobed in sickbay. She looked so peaceful that Chakotay just wanted to reach out and brush his fingers across her cheek, but he was afraid of waking her.

Chakotay smiled at the serene expression on her face. God he loved her when she was sleeping.

“It was almost like she was intoxicated, but on caffeine,” the Doctor continued. “I’d have to call it caffeine shock because her system had been deprived of caffeine, then all of a sudden she ingested something ten times more potent than strong coffee. It took a few minutes for it to really affect her system, but when it did – WOW!” I’m surprised you weren’t more affected even if you did only take a sip,” he continued.

“Oh I was affected all right, but then something more pressing demanded my attention so I didn’t give into it. Will she be OK?” Chakotay inquired.

“In about six hours it will all be gone from her system, but until then we’re better off keeping her asleep so she doesn’t try to sneak back to the planet to steal some of those beans. They’d be OK if they were diluted, but she had them full strength,” the Doctor continued. “I know Kathryn Janeway and her coffee fixation. It’s too bad you weren’t able to get some of the plants so we could grow it here on Voyager, or some beryllium so she could replicate herself a cup. She’s going to be so disappointed when she wakes up,” the Doctor sadly stated as he turned back toward his office, “and I haven’t been able to come up with a substitute for her with any of the supplies we’ve already gotten. Except for those coffee plants there’s no caffeine to be found anywhere on that planet.”

Chakotay only pondered what the Doctor said as he looked at the woman he loved lying there so peacefully. If only there was something he could do.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“Oh, my head,” Kathryn moaned as she finally woke up from her sleep in sickbay. Chakotay and the Doctor were standing beside her, both looking carefully to be sure she was alright. The Doctor had been lifting her eyelid every half hour to see if she was coming around, and she finally was fighting to wake up.

“How do you feel?” Chakotay asked as he reached for her hand. The Doctor’s scanner was taking its own reading and relaying the information to the Doctor.

“I feel awful and the Doctor won’t let my eyelids alone. They feel like they’ve been doing push-ups for hours. I’m going to delete his hands from his program and we’ll see how well he does with stumps instead of fingers. What happened and how long have I been asleep?” Kathryn asked as she struggled to sit up. Both men were there instantly to help her into a sitting position although the Doctor looked a bit affronted at her mention of his hands.

“Seven hours, and take it slowly Captain. You’re suffering from effects almost like a hangover, although yours are from caffeine rather than alcohol. And just remember – without my hands I wouldn’t be able to treat you properly and you’d be suffering a lot more than you are now.”

“Hangover? All I had was some coffee.” Kathryn ignored the remark about his hands.

“Yes, but it was the most potent coffee you’ve ever ingested and it threw your body for a loop,” the Doctor continued. “If you had sipped the coffee rather than gulped the whole bowl down all at once you’d have been better off. But leave it to Kathryn Janeway, coffee addict of the Delta Quadrant, who never does things halfway. Where were your manners?”

“But it was so good,” Kathryn whined as she rubbed her forehead to help alleviate her headache. “And they wouldn’t let us take any of the plants or beans so it was the only coffee I was likely to get. And I do have manners, Doctor. I patiently waited my turn. I didn’t want to offend our hosts by leaving any behind or they might have thought we didn’t appreciate their hospitality or their sacred drink.” The sound of Chakotay snorting got him an instant death glare.

“Good, I’m glad you minded your manners.! That stuff was potent enough to grow hair on your chest,” the Doctor admonished and Kathryn quickly pulled the sickbay gown away from her neck to glance down at her chest.

“No hair,” she replied as relief tinged her voice.

The Doctor sighed, threw up his hands, turned and headed for his office as Chakotay moved to her side. “Do you want me to be sure there’s no hair?” he smiled. Kathryn managed half of a death glare as she reached for his hand.

“Thanks for getting me back to the ship. I hope I didn’t embarrass myself or you, but I don’t remember much after drinking the coffee,” she admitted.

“Haar was worried about you, but the Doctor reassured him that you would be OK. He was very impressed with your ability to deal with the sacred drink. He said that he never saw anybody who could drink as much as you did,” Chakotay smiled.

“A dubious honor,” Kathryn frowned. “But then again Starfleet trains its captains well. We learn that at command school,” she lied and instantly noticed that Chakotay saw through the lie, but he ignored it.

“We’ve loaded all the supplies Haar provided for us, and B’Elanna and the engineering staff have been working on repairs so we’ll be ready to leave orbit within the next 12 hours. You can rest until your headache goes away and you’ll still be able to say goodbye to Haar,” Chakotay stated

Kathryn lay slowly back onto the biobed and pulled the cover over her legs. The Doctor approached with a steaming mug in his hand and Chakotay could see her eyes light up like a Christmas tree. Her smile was genuine and hopeful. “Coffee?” she hopefully asked as she reached for the steaming mug and carefully wrapped her hands around it savoring the warmth of the mug.

Without taking time to sniff at the aroma, she took a long blissful sip of the beverage. As she swallowed the hot drink her eyes grew large, her smile formed into a frown and she rolled her eyes accusingly at the Doctor. “This isn’t coffee.”

“I never said it was,” the Doctor smugly stated. “It’s a herbal tea that Commander Chakotay provided for you and I’ve added a sedative to help you relax and rest.”

“What? I don’t need to relax and rest. I’ve been doing that for hours. I need to figure a way to get some of those coffee plants.”

“Rest for now. We’ll worry about coffee plants later,” the Doctor admonished. Kathryn ignored him.

“Chakotay, what do you think about a stealth raid to get some of those plants? You and I could dress in black and go during the night. We could be in ……and…………….outtttt….…..”

Chakotay caught her as her eyelids closed and lowered her to the biobed. “Yes Kathryn, you’ll be out for a few hours thanks to the Doctor. Sleep well,” he ordered as he turned to leave sickbay. “Time for the coffee brigade to go to work.”

“Watch her Doctor,” Chakotay admonished as the Doctor pulled a blanket over her sleeping form. “We’ll be back soon.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

This time when Kathryn woke up in sickbay her headache was completely gone. The lights were dimmed, nobody was hovering over her and as far as she knew nobody was exercising her eyelids.

It took a few moments for the fuzziness in her head to clear, but once it had she slowly sat up just to test her balance. All seemed fine, so she slipped off the biobed, wrapped the blanket around the light sickbay gown she was wearing, double checked her chest to be sure no hair had grown there while she was sleeping, then marched out of sickbay.

In a few moments she entered her quarters having only encountered a few crewmembers along the way, much to her relief. Still no sign of the Doctor or Chakotay so she quickly showered, changed into a fresh uniform and began to plan her raid.

‘It appears I’m going to have to do this all by myself,’ she thought as she replicated herself a plant container, small spade and a pair of gloves. ‘Kathryn the gardener,’ she smiled as she thought back to New Earth and Talaxian tomatoes. ‘My mother would be proud of me.’

Tucking the container and its contents under her arm, she set off for the transporter room still wondering where Chakotay and the Doctor were. She was so focused on her plan she never thought to ask the computer to state their locations. ‘I must have woke up much quicker than they figured,’ she thought as she reached the door to the transporter room.

On the way her conscience warred with her common sense about the nature of her actions. The Prime Directive forbade her from going after the sacred plants, but where else in this damn quadrant was she going to find a cup of coffee. ‘You’re crossing over to the Dark Side, Kathryn,’ she chided herself. If only they had found beryllium this wouldn’t be a problem, but without beryllium the replicators wouldn’t work, and without the replicators there was no other way to obtain coffee.

Not knowing who had transporter duty for this shift, Kathryn entered the transporter room ready to just order the unlucky duty person to transport her to the surface. She had a plausible story ready about needing to finalize one last detail of the trade agreement while preparing to intimidate the crewman with her glare. She figured she would apologize to the crewman later once they were safely underway.

As the doors opened she marched into the room, but stopped immediately as she saw who was standing there, smug looks on their faces and arms crossed over their chests. “Chakotay, Tuvok, Doctor?” she stammered as she realized she had well and truly been caught.

“Going somewhere, Kathryn,” Chakotay asked while fighting to keep a smile off his face, “and what is that equipment for? Are you being driven by the forces of the Dark Side?”

“Captain, you’re supposed to be sleeping in sickbay,” the Doctor deadpanned while thoroughly enjoying the situation which Chakotay had anticipated 100% accurately. “I haven’t released you yet to return to duty.”

“Captain, were you planning to go somewhere?” Tuvok asked. “You know the regulations about a Captain beaming to the surface of a planet alone without a security detail. Did you forget to notify me or did I just not receive the notification?”

‘Damn,…..Tuvok the traitor. I thought I could count on him to back me up, but it looks like he’s joined the enemy,’ Kathryn thought to herself as she continued to stare at the men before her and tried desperately to come up with some explanation, which she already knew they wouldn’t accept. Her mouth just couldn’t form any intelligent words and her brain stopped functioning when she entered the room.

“Chakotay, Tuvok, Doctor…..” she stammered then realized she’d been there before. “I was just taking a stroll to make sure the effects of the coffee had worn off,” she continued building momentum as she went. “Since the Doctor didn’t answer when I woke up in sickbay I thought there might be some emergency on the ship, so I decided to see if I could help. Since this transporter room is on the same deck as sickbay I though I’d start here.”

“I see you replicated some emergency equipment,” Chakotay stated as he tried his best to keep from breaking up. “Let me see,” he continued as he took the container from her unresisting hands and opened it up. If his life depended on it he just couldn’t look her in the eye. “Hmmmmmm, a plant container, a spade and a pair of gloves. Just what kind of emergency were you preparing for Kathryn?”

“You never know what you might encounter,” she continued as she grabbed the container from Chakotay and replaced its contents. “Since I see you three conspirators have things well under control I think I’ll just retire to my quarters to rest until tomorrow’s duty shift.” The Captain’s mask was trying to fall into place as she turned quickly and left the transporter room, but it failed.

Chakotay and the Doctor had to hold their hands over their mouths to keep from cracking up before she left the room, and when they looked at Tuvok it appeared that he was almost smiling. This was belly bursting laughter from a Vulcan. Chakotay counted to 10 and then removed his hands from his mouth. The laughter bubbled forth immediately and the Doctor soon followed.

“I suppose that’s one way to get her to rest,” the Doctor said as another wave of laughter took hold of his sense of humor.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The following morning Kathryn reported early for her duty shift, and before the rest of Alpha shift appeared she was already ensconced in her ready room going over reports and the logs of the items they acquired from the planet. She knew she was hiding, but still hadn’t figured out a plausible explanation for being in the transporter room last night. Better to hope everything blew over and nobody mentioned it because she sure wasn’t about to.

Her headache was gone and her mind clear, but to save her soul all of her considerable intelligence just couldn’t come up with an plausible explanation for her foray into the transporter room, at least not an explanation that any of those three traitors would believe.

She knew Tuvok wouldn’t bring the subject up – he already made his point with the remark about the security team – but Chakotay might and she just wasn’t ready to deal with him. Not without a large cup of coffee and there just wasn’t any. The Doctor she could avoid by just not going to sickbay, and she had absolutely no plans to go there. She considered hiding under her desk and ignoring anyone requesting entry. Maybe they’d think she took the day off? Hmmmmm……….

……No, that tattle-tale computer would tell anyone who inquired that she was in her ready room, so there went that idea. She then considered leaving her communicator on her chair and having herself transported to her quarters, but sooner or later someone would find out and then she would have to have an explanation. Nooooo, …..too obvious.

The Doctor finally contacted her to check on how she felt, and once she assured him she felt fine he broke the connection without even mentioning last night. She was lucky there, at least for now. Whew!!

Another hour passed when her chime alerted her that someone wanted entry into her ready room. She already knew who it was. Nobody but Chakotay would dare to request entry until she’d had a cup of coffee, and since there wasn’t any she hoped she was safe for the whole day. Oh well, so much for that theory.

She hesitated hoping that maybe he’d just go away, but the repeat of the chime assured her that wasn’t a possibility. “Come,” opened the doors and allowed him to enter. After repressing the urge to jump under the desk, she tried very hard to look extremely busy and quickly started shuffling pads around.

Chakotay flashed his devastating smile as he approached her desk, one hand behind his back and the other reaching to rest himself against the top of her desk.

“Kathryn, how are you feeling today?” he inquired as he looked into her flushed face. She didn’t raise her lovely blue-gray eyes to look at him and didn’t appear ready to speak. She just shuffled her pads faster. He gently moved his hand to her chin and raised her face until she was forced to look into his eyes. She saw only love and humor reflected there, much to her relief, but it was the humor that had her worried.

Chakotay smiled. God he loved her when she looked guilty.

“What can I do for you Chakotay?” she asked hoping to get to the point before his smile melted her into a puddle or her guilt forced her to hide under her desk anyway. “I assume you had a point when you rang the chime,” she tried to sound businesslike but knew her cheeks were turning red.

“I was just checking to make sure you were fully recovered from yesterday. We haven’t seen you on the bridge and it’s been very quiet in here, so I’m just making sure. You are OK, aren’t you?” he asked knowing fully well she was alright. The Doctor had checked with her earlier and Chakotay just came from sickbay and had seen the scans the Doctor took while he had Kathryn distracted by his call.

“I’m fine Chakotay, just a little busy. So if you’ll excuse me I’ll get back to work.” Kathryn was trying very hard to keep her blush to a minimum and to appear as if she were really busy. “Was there anything important you needed to discuss?” she asked trying to keep the conversation short and to the point.

“I was just wondering if you would like to have lunch with me. It’s soon lunchtime and Neelix has been experimenting with some of the new food we got on the planet. I’ve even heard that some of it is good, so what do you say?” Chakotay asked as his smile widened.

“Chakotay, you’re up to something. I can tell by the look on your face. Unless Neelix fixed the replicators or managed to steal some of that sacred coffee, I’m not really interested in lunch,” Kathryn lied. There was nothing she’d like more than to have lunch with him, but her guilt made her feel uncomfortable and she knew…..just knew…..the subject would come up if they had lunch.

“Well we didn’t get any beryllium so the replicators aren’t working, and Neelix didn’t steal any sacred coffee from the sanctuary, but that doesn’t mean you won’t like what he has to drink,” Chakotay cajoled. “I know you Kathryn, and I know you’ll like the drink so come with me.”

Chakotay straightened and reached for Kathryn’s hand as it reached to move another padd around on her desk. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet and guided her around the desk until she was standing in front of him.

“I have a gift for you Kathryn,” Chakotay said as he brought his hand around from behind his back. Clutched in his hand were a bunch of the sacred coffee plants, all sporting the red and yellow polka dotted beans and all with their roots intact. He held the plants in front of her unbelieving eyes and closely watched her face.

Kathryn quickly grabbed the plants and hugged them to her chest ignoring the particles of dirt still clinging to the roots. Her eyes widened like saucers and her expression turned from disbelief into pure bliss. “Oh Chakotay!” she cried, “however did you persuade Haar to part with the sacred plants? Did you steal these?” she asked suddenly realizing that he might have done exactly what she was planning to do yesterday. And she was still feeling really guilty for getting caught. That Dark Side rearing its ugly head.

“No, these aren’t stolen but they did come from Haar. We had a little chat and I persuaded him that anyone who honored the sacred drink as much as you did would never violate the beliefs of his people. Haar could see how important the plants and the sacred drink were to you, and he was very impressed that you could drink as much of the coffee as you did without falling over. They’ve never encountered anyone who could drink as much of the coffee as you did and still be able to stand up. They were actually considering asking you to stay and becoming one of Haar’s disciples.”

“Tuvok, the Doctor and I negotiated for enough of the plants to keep us in coffee for years and enough beans to keep you in coffee until the plants grow more beans. The Doctor genetically altered the plants so the beans would be more in line with the type of coffee we’re all used to and that our bodies can handle without the side effects. Now you don’t have to worry about becoming intoxicated on your coffee. Unfortunately he couldn’t do anything about the polka dots, but you can’t have everything. Now, will you have lunch with me?”

“Oh Chakotay!” Kathryn cried as she threw herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely all the while being very careful of her precious plants. “Of course I’ll have lunch with you, but could we have the coffee first?”

“First, in the middle and after the meal. Whatever you want,” Chakotay smiled as he offered her his arm and they left the ready room arm in arm.

God he loved her.

The End

January 2002

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~