Part Three:
"Captain, may I speak to you for a moment?" Torres' voice was pitched fairly low, and Janeway almost didn't hear her question over the din of the dining room during the morning rush.
"Of course, B'Elanna. Please join me." The captain paused while her chief engineer took a seat across the table from her. "Is there some problem?"
"Oh, no, Captain. I don't know if you were aware of it, but today is Commander Chakotay's birthday. His forty-fifth. Some of us are planning a surprise party for him tonight at Sandrine's."
"What a wonderful idea! How can I help?"
"Well actually, we were hoping that you could keep him occupied all day so that he won't have time to notice all the activity for the party preparations."
"Is that all? I can certainly do that without any difficulty." A smile Torres would later describe to Paris as evil crossed Janeway's face. "Perhaps it's time for me to revive the revered Starfleet custom of having the first officer handle all the quarterly crew evaluations. I'm sure he needs the practice. What time shall I deliver him to Sandrine's?"
"19:30. If that would be convenient."
"19:30 will be fine. Feel free to contact me in my ready room if you need anything else during the day."
"Thank you, Captain."
"My pleasure, B'Elanna."
Fortunately for all involved in the preparations, the other species they had encountered in the Delta Quadrant seemed particularly uninterested in the sector Voyager was currently traveling through. It had been a very quiet couple of weeks, and it appeared that today was going to continue that trend. The day passed quickly for Janeway, who spent most of it in her ready room catching up on her paperwork, keeping tabs on the preparations for that night's party, and trying to decide on an appropriate birthday gift for her first officer.
Chakotay was not quite so lucky. Sequestered in his office, he tried but ultimately failed to suppress his confusion and irritation at the Captain's seemingly bizarre decision to resurrect a task which he considered one of Starfleet's most onerous. And then to insist that he have complete summaries on all crew members, with recommendations for promotions and/or job reassignments, ready to discuss with her by 19:00. Sighing, he looked at the chronometer. 15:00. He'd make her deadline, of course, but only if he worked through dinner the way he had worked through lunch. As he worked, one small tendril of self-pity managed to work its way through his defenses. //Hell of a birthday this is turning out to be.//
Something about that thought triggered another. Just what were the odds that the captain would randomly select his birthday, of all days, to stick him with a job that would keep him locked up in his office, away from the normal functioning of the ship? Of course, he might be jumping to conclusions. The captain might not even know it was his birthday. But he used to be a Maquis; he should be able to find out easily enough. Less than five minutes and a few indirect questions to an unsuspecting Neelix later, he was leaning back in his chair smiling. So the captain had breakfast with B'Elanna this morning. //I just hope Neelix makes that fudge layer cake he made for Kes' party again.// Whistling quietly, he returned to his task.
At 18:59, Chakotay stepped onto a bridge which seemed to be staffed solely with very junior officers. Offering a silent prayer that the evening remain quiet, he waited for the chronometer to indicate 19:00 before ringing the door chime to the captain's ready room.
"Come in."
Chakotay hoped he looked sufficiently worn out. "Good evening, Captain. I hope your day was pleasant."
The captain looked up at him with a slight smile and he noted that she looked genuinely tired. "Tolerable, Commander. I did paperwork all day. We'd better get this ship back to Earth, or I'm going to be very annoyed with myself about all the time I've spent complying with Starfleet records protocols. Do you have the crew evaluations?"
He slid the padd across the desk toward her. "Right here, Captain. Would you like to look at my recommendations before we discuss them?"
"Yes, thank you." She waved her hand toward the replicator. "Please, help yourself to something."
He returned to the desk behind which she had uncharacteristically remained seated and placed a mug of her favorite Vulcan spice tea in front of her before taking his own seat. He waited a few minutes before speaking. "Do you have any questions, Captain?"
She sipped her tea. "Not yet, Commander. But then I'm only part of the way through the list. Give me another minute." Almost immediately a frown appeared and she looked up at him in surprise. "You're recommending Tom Paris for promotion to full lieutenant?"
"Yes, I am. His work at conn has been exemplary. He's also shown adaptability and a readiness to learn new things when asked to assist in other areas of the ship. And of course, he has willingly put his own life in serious jeopardy on several occasions to protect this crew. I think that sort of performance ought to be recognized and rewarded. Will there be some sort of problem with Starfleet about promoting him?"
"No, my field decisions will be upheld. I'm just a bit surprised, that's all."
"At my ability to see past our mutual antagonism?"
"No, of course not. Well, maybe. I don't know." She sighed. "I hate paperwork. It fries the brain." She put the padd down on the desk and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. "I trust your judgement completely, Chakotay, and I know that you're above allowing personality differences to cloud your judgement. I think I just need shore leave."
"Or perhaps some time with a holonovel."
"Perhaps. But I think I'll try a new one." She laughed softly. "Those hoop skirts . . .!"
He joined her laughter. "I can only imagine. I would have liked to see you in them, though."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'll just bet you would." She reached up as if to massage her neck, but quickly dropped her hand when her eyes met his. "I'm so tired I can barely think straight. Computer, what time is it?"
"19:22 hours."
"Ugh. You know, Commander, I think we need a break before we finish this. And I've got a sudden urge to play a game of pool. What if we go to Sandrine's for a while?" She grinned at him as if the idea had just occurred to her. Chakotay made a mental note to congratulate her on her acting ability at a later date.
He smiled broadly back at her. "Why not? I'll beat you, you know."
She paused for just a second on her way to the door. "Oh, really? You and what army?" If the junior bridge crew was surprised to see the captain and the first officer laughing together as they came out of her ready room, they didn't show it.
Chakotay stopped for a moment as they came out of the elevator and smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from the front of his uniform. "I just hope," he said off-handedly, "that I can manage to look surprised. I'm afraid I've never been much of an actor."
Janeway spun around to face him. "Chakotay! How did you know?"
He grinned at her in a way she hadn't seen since they left New Earth. "Evaluations and promotion recommendations for an entire crew required in less than 24 hours? Hardly your usual style, Captain."
"It was the best I could do on short notice. I hoped you wouldn't have time to think about it too much."
"I have to admit I wasn't certain until Neelix let it slip that you had been with B'Elanna in the mess hall this morning."
"Just don't let her know you figured it out. She'd be so disappointed."
"Well, we can't have that." He gestured toward the doors to Holodeck Three. "Shall we?"
The party was a roaring success, and was still in progress when Kathryn left in the early morning hours to return to her ready room. She had just settled in on the couch with a mug of spice tea when the door chime rang and Chakotay walked in. Janeway grinned up at him. "So did you enjoy your party?"
"Absolutely. Thank you."
"Actually, B'Elanna and Neelix did all the work. All I did was keep you busy all day." She started to laugh. "I never knew you were such a good dancer."
"Just one of those things that an ambitious cadet will learn. Why wouldn't you dance with me?"
She cleared her throat. "I never learned." Embarrassed by the lie, she dropped her eyes and noticed the object on the table. "I almost forgot." She picked up the wrapped package and handed it to him. "Happy birthday, Chakotay."
His gaze held hers for a moment longer than usual. "Thank you . . . Kathryn." He tore the paper off and stared in surprise at the book. "The Lor'Ash?"
"You did tell me once that you had never read it and that you wanted to."
"You remember that?"
She stared into her mug of tea and spoke softly. "I remember everything you said when we were on New Earth."
He was silent for a long minute. "Is that wise?"
"Perhaps not." She smiled at him, a bit sadly, he thought. "But I can't seem to help myself."
Unable to think of an adequate reply to that, he looked down at the book she had given him. It fit perfectly in his hand. "This is a beautiful volume, Kathryn. Thank you."
"I'm afraid it's not an antique or anything. It's just a copy I picked up the last time I was on Vulcan. But I'm glad I had it here."
At her words, he leafed through the book. "Umm . . . Kathryn, I don't read Vulcan."
"Perhaps Tuvok will teach you." She chuckled at the look of horror on his face. "On second thought, maybe I should just download the translation into your personal directory in the morning."
He stood and looked down at her, his eyes dancing with laughter. "I think that might be best. Good night, Captain."
"Good night, Commander."
He glanced back into the ready room as he went through the door to the bridge. His last glimpse was of her standing by the window, looking out at the stars.