Retrieved

Kathryn Janeway pushed her chair back from her desk in exasperation. Somehow she had imagined that being back in the Alpha Quadrant, on Earth, would put an end to all the speculation about her realtionship with her First officer. Unfortunately this was clearly not the case.

First it had been Starfleet Command, wary of his allegiance, challenging her defence of him, her fierce defence of him; hinting that she had personal reasons for wanting him to be released without charge. She had spelt it out, plainly, for the Board of Enquiry, even though her remark had been stricken from the official record. 'Commander Chakotay is not my lover.' No one had thought to ask her if he ever had been, which was just as well.

It was so long ago. Two nights, that was all it had ever been. She could categorise it as a mistake, a moment of weakness, but she couldn't forget that it had felt right. She'd never wanted to make such a mess of things, to so damage their friendship, but it had happened. She wasn't sure if he had ever really forgiven her for walking out on him that morning.

Oh they'd recovered, given their circumstances they'd had little choice. But it had been months before she'd started to feel even slightly relaxed in his company, months before she didn't feel guilty every time she looked at him. Their command relationship had become slightly more formal, a tension between them that only a small group of people knew the real reason for.

But time was a great healer and time was the one thing they'd had plenty of. Over a year later she'd found herself having dinner with him in his quarters, talking quietly together, laughing even, the same people and yet worlds apart.

Now that they were home, picking up the pieces of their lives, it was the press who were so curious about their relationship, almost as thogh they'd been tipped off. It was certainly going to be awkward, she scanned the story again, it was dripping with innuendo, speculation, 'what enabled them to forge this unique command relationship?' She wasn't sure she knew the answer to that herself.

It wasn't even as if Chakotay was single, that would have made it understandable at least, their curiousity about the involvment between Captain and First Officer. But she supposed Chakotay's relationship with Susan Nicoletti wasn't such a good story . Not that it hadn't rocked boats, caused problems.

She still didn't understand what Chakotay saw in Susan, but no doubt there was a very good reason for that lack of understanding. Susan had threatened the equanimity of their carefully maintained friendship on more than one occasion. While her behaviour on duty had been scrupulously correct, off duty she had seemed to take pleasure in reminding her Captain of the fact that she was the one Chakotay went home to. It wasn't an easy situation for any of them and she'd tried to be tolerant, but Susan hadn't helped.

For the most part the crew had stayed out of this, pretended not to notice. Although Tuvok had made it his business to put himself at her elbow whenever she was faced with Chakotay and Susan together in a social situation. They'd never discussed why it was necessary for him to do this, they'd never discussed her feelings for Chakotay, but his presence and his concern for her had proved a comfort of sorts.

It was ludicrous really, that in this day and age, despite Voyager's trip to an unexplored part of the Galaxy, all the public were getting to hear about was whether or not she was sleeping with her First Officer.

Former First Officer she reminded herself, the Voyager family was being broken up, scattered to the four winds. It was strange, thinking about going out on a mission without the group of people she'd spent the last seven years with. She liked to think that the ties would hold, that the people who had been to the Delta Quadrant and back with her would always be close. Only time would tell whether she was right or not.

Which reminded her, she would be late. She left her office at Starfleet Command and crossed the gardens, heading for the shuttle terminal. People recognised her, she saw their heads turn as she passed, felt their eyes on her. She wasn't comfortable with her celebrity status, was toying with the idea of asking for another deep space mission just to get away from it.

It was a sobering thought, one that cast her obsession with getting home in a different light. If she had known what she would be coming home to, would she have sacrificed so much to get here? It was a question she couldn't begin to answer, the situation was too finely balanced, she might not have had the home-coming she'd wanted, but others had and she couldn't in all conscience have taken that away from them.

She couldn't help thinking that things would have been different if her mother were here. But Gretchen Janeway had died six months before her daughter had returned to Earth. She was still,in her sleepless nights, calculating which decisions she could have made to have got them here six months earlier. At least her mother had known she was alive, that was a small consolation, a very small consolation.

There was Pheboe of course, her sister was still on Earth and she did feel close to her. But Pheboe was grieving as well, wrapped up in her work and her family she couldn't push it all aside to deal exclusively with her long lost sister. It was awful, feeling this alone and it made her wish she had unfamiliar stars for company all over again. At least on Voyager there had been no time to think, here she seemed to do nothing but think.

Crossing the terminal she pushed the melancholy thoughts aside and called out to the person she was here to see.

'Seven!' She turned at the sound of her name and Kathryn saw her smile.

'Captain,'

'For a moment I thought I might have missed you.'

'No.' She had never lost a certain economy in her language but she had gained other things, friends, a family, a unique personality. 'It is for the best Captain, I will be all right.' She was better at reading those around her as well. Kathryn wasn't even aware she'd been letting any of her concern show.

'Are you sure you won't reconsider? There has to be something I can do, what's the point in being Starfleet's blue eyed girl if I can't do anything with my influence.'

'I am sure. I will be safe on Vulcan.' Of course she would be, Tuvok and his family would take care of her, make sure her knowledge of the Borg wasn't exploited, treat her like the remarkable person she had become, not a research tool.

'I hope you realise how much I'm going to miss you Seven.'

'We will see each other again. You will visit me?' She sounded, for a brief moment, like a young child trying desperately to hold onto her veneer of sophistication.

'Seven, you will always be in my thoughts and I will come and visit you.'

Suddenly there was a sound of running footsteps and a figure she knew too well sprinted over to them. 'You're still here, that's good.' Chakotay came to a halt beside them.

'The shuttle will be leaving soon,' Seven observed, just before she was thoroughly discomposed by Chakotay putting his arms around her and giving her a huge hug.

'Take care of yourself Seven.'

'I will,' she still looked a little stunned, 'and the same to you Commander.'

Kathryn walked Seven to the shuttle, handing her a padd with a message on it for Tuvok and T'Pel, wishing her well for the future, conscious this was an end of an era. When she returned Chakotay was waiting, 'she'll be all right,' he observed.

'I know, I just wish there was some other way. This wasn't at all what I intended to happen when we got back.' She glanced at her companion, expecting him to make some remark but instead he frowned. 'I know, I'll have to adjust to not being the ultimate authority, but I at least thought I'd be able to keep the crew together.

'Things never work out the way you expect them to Kathryn.'

'I'm beginning to realise that.' This time his gaze softened.

'I was sorry to hear about your mother, I would have liked to meet her.' That was more than she could stand, the scene he summoned was too comfortable, her mother, sceptical at first, gradually warming to him until she decided he was wonderful. Damn. Why did he have to say that? Her eyes filled with tears and she spun away from him only to have him pull her back into his arms.

'It's all right,' he murmered, 'let it out.' She wanted to, she wanted to howl, he was so comforting, his hands were softly stroking her back and he was making soft noises of understanding. But they were in public and she was acutely conscious of the media scrutiny they were both experiencing.

'I'm OK.' She pulled herself away from him and brushed away stray tears. 'Thanks.' The frown was back she noted, probably he was thinking about all the times she had pulled away from him, all the times she had blocked off her feelings.

She started to walk, with no particular destination in mind. Her office and assistant were a mere courtesy, Starfleet seemed in no hurry to give her something to do and she had no reason to hurry back. She was a little surprised when Chakotay fell into step beside her, searching for somthing to talk about she returned to their earlier conversation.

'It feels strange, not seeing everyone from Voyager on a daily basis; knowing that we've all gone separate ways.'

'Look at it this way Kathyrn, there are Captain's throughout Starfleet being treated to daily renditions of 'Captain Janeway did it this way,' or 'Captain Janeway always said..'' That thought at least made her smile.

'I do hope not, I'll be public enemy number one, now that I actually have some peers I'd prefer it if they talked to me.'

They weren't really talking about themselves she recognised. How long had they been having conversations like this? Years probably. How long had they been friends and occasional confidantes and why did it all suddenly feel unsatisfactory?

At least on Voyager she had known what was going on. Now she didn't really know what the Admiralty were planning for her and worse still she didn't know what was happening to Chakotay. She didn't know where he had been for the last month, what his plans for the future were. Was this the way it was going to be now? Drifting further and further apart, until they eventually lost touch completely. She didn't want to bump into Chakotay one day twenty years from now and find they had nothing to say to each other.

She glanced up to find Chakotay looking expectantly at her and she realised she must have been so deep in thought that she'd missed whatever he had said. 'Sorry, I was miles away, what were you saying?'

'I was telling you I didn't just come to say goodbye to Seven. I wanted to say goodbye to you.'

'You're leaving?' Her throat had tightened and she swallowed reflexively to no avail.

'I'm going to Dorvan, I've been asked to head a team supervising the re-building. Starfleet don't seem to mind too much, I suspect they're glad to have the problem of what to do with me solved. It's something I need to do, it's for the best.'

'I've been hearing that a lot recently,' she responded, trying to hold her feelings in check. 'Is Susan pleased?'

'Susan isn't going.' For the first time she noticed he seemed uncomfortable. 'We had a long talk a few weeks ago and decided to call it a day. We both felt that whatever we had on Voyager wouldn't really survive being back in the Alpha Quadrant.'

'Is Susan all right?'

'She will be, I think. It wasn't an easy decision, she made me happy - but it was a fairly superficial happiness, a superficial relationship I suppose and you can't live like that indefinitely.'

'I suppose not.' They'd stopped walking, Starfleet's gardens spread out before them like a map of possibilities. Kathryn's head was spinning, she couldn't tell what he wanted of her. A shoulder to cry on? A friend? Someything more? It was too late, wasn't it? That was what she'd spent years telling herself.

'Kathryn I've been thinking about this a lot, I want you to come to Dorvan with me.'

'What!' Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't this.

'Listen, it makes sense. Come to Dorvan with me, let's try to make things work.' She took a step back from him, after all this time it wasn't possible that he could still feel the same. She was very aware that she had created the distance between them, that at the time she had needed to do so and at the same time she knew there was no reason for it now.

'Kathryn,' he said her name again, this time his voice was rough, uneven with emotion. 'I've lived by your rules for seven years, I can't do that anymore, not when it isn't necessary. We both know there's still something there between us, let's please try and find out if we can be together without killing each other.'

'You could stay here,' she retorted, trying to restore her control of the situation. He reached out for her, pulling her to him, hands on her arms, gazing down at her with an intensity she scarcely recognised.

'No, I can't. I have a job to do on Dorvan, an obligation to see it through. Come with me, we need you, I need you.'

'You're asking me to give up my Starfleet career Chakotay, I don't know if I can do that.'

'I'm asking you to take a chance, Starfleet will give you a leave of absence for a year. If it doesn't work out you can come back. But at least give us a year.'

It was a tantalising prospect, one she didn't now how to respond to. On one hand she had very little here, certainly other than her sister there was nothing that meant as much to her as Chakotay did. On the other hand she couldn't forget that she had once hurt him very badly, would perhaps do so again and that this time their friendship would in all likelihood not survive.

'I thought you'd never forgiven me for leaving you that morning,' she said shakily.

'I forgave you a long time ago, didn't you realise?' She shook her head, 'I did understand, eventually, that it was about finding a way to be strong in that situation, that it had a lot to do with you and very little to do with me. But now I'm asking this of you, because I think what we feel for each other is too important to squander. I've been patient, and this is the only time I'll ask, come with me.'

'I don't know, I need to think it over. Do I have to decide now?' She could see he was disappointed, that he'd hoped she would leap at the possibility, but it wasn't that simple.

'No, you don't have to decide now. I'm leaving for Dorvan in a few days, you can contact me there with your decision. If I haven't heard from you in a month I'll assume your answer's no. So, if that's what you decide you don't have to say anything at all.'

*****

Visitng officers quarters at Starfleet Command - hardly the most salubrious of locations, but Kathryn Janeway wasn't complaining, not when she didn't have anywhere else to go. She'd done her best with what was on offer, lowered the lights, scattered a few scented candles around, covered the dull grey furniture with brightly coloured throws. It wasn't exactly home, but it would do for now.

The soft music helped create a relaxed atmosphere, it also helped with the soundproofing. She'd already discovered to her cost that the walls were paper thin. The very last thing you wanted to hear when you were on your own and feeling a little depressed was someone else having noisy, enthusiastic sex. At least none of her neighbours stayed for long, there was a constant turn over of occupants, except for her, she was beginning to feel like a permanent resident, a decision about her future lingering tantalisingly before her.

Two weeks had passed since her encounter with Chakotay and although she liked to think she'd used the time constructively, what she'd really been doing was darting from one emotion to another - all without any sense of resolution, all without any prospect of a decision. Once her initial shock had worn off she'd started to get angry, angry at him for just flinging allof this at her with no warning. Her anger had burnt quickly but without his presence to fuel it the fire had been brief but intense.

It had been arrogant, of course to assume she knew what was going on in Chakotay's head without discussing matters with him. But in the beginning neither of them had been in any state to talk sensibly - and later, when things had calmed down she had chosen not to discuss their relationship; just been grateful that they were still functioing as a command team.

And she had got used to not thinking about all her secret, forbidden feelings, as perhaps he had. His proposition certainly cast his relationship with Susan in a new light. He's called it superficial, it was a description she recognised, her emotional life had been superficial for years. He was offering her something different, something deeper, but they both know enough about her to realise that her acceptance was by no means assured.

They couldn't go back, that much she knew. They could never again be those two people overcome by the surprise of their attraction to one another. She wasn't the woman who'd fallen in love with him all those years ago and had given him up so she could become consumed by her desire to get her crew home.

But they could go forward, perhaps, if it wasn't too late. Perhaps it was too late, it would be a safe assumption after so much time, it should be too late. But, even sitting here, admitting as much to herself she knew that it wasn't. If it had been too late she'd have had no problems telling Chakotay that two weeks ago.

The possibility was there, terrifying, intriguing, that they could actually make a relationship work, build a life together. But at what cost? Could she take the risk? Walk away from Starfleet? From all that she believed in, all that she had clung to? She had kept faith with Starfleet when it was less than a distant speck on her horizon , what would she find to replace it?

She hadn't trusted her judgement on this one, so she had canvassed those she trusted most for their opinions. Pheboe thought she should go, hell, Pheboe had practically packed her bags for her. She had told her sister in no uncertain terms that she'd be a fool to turn her back on a second chance.

Admiral Paris in effect told her to grow up and stop being a romantic fool. He actually felt that Chakotay was being unreasonable in trying to drag her away. His case was that they couldn't afford to loose her, that the Admirlaty had great things in store for her and wouldn't take kindly to her requesting a long leave on absence. He made it sound as though her entire career was at stake here, everything she had worked for, everything she had always wanted. Seven years ago it was an argument which would have convinced her. Now the situation was less clear cut.

Her terminal chimed and she asked the computer to reduce the volume of the music so she could talk to her third advisor. Smiling as she activated the screen she looked into Tuvok's eyes and actually felt calmed simply by the contact.

'Tuvok, it's good to talk to you. I trust you and your family are well?'

'We are in good health, Seven is settling in well. She seems, content here.'

'I'm glad to hear that.'

'I hope you are in good health?'

'I'm fine, thank you. But I do need to talk to you, I need your advice.' There was a flicker of curiousity there, she'd known Tuvok too well for too long not to be able to read him, sometimes.

'I will endeavour to be of assistance,' that was classic Tuvok, his sarcasm all unspoken. He had no need to remind her that she had not always taken his advice in the past.

Interesting that she didn't question her decision to turn to Tuvok. Other people would perhaps consider it strange, confiding in a Vulcan about emotions, asking for guidance about a personal matter. And yet, who better? Tuvok knew both she and Chakotay well, he knew almost everything that had transpired between them. She always found talking to him easy. Often it had been comforting. Not simply because he tended to agree with her, but because when he did not agree he almost always managed to couch his objections in a language she could relate to easily, logic not emotion. There were notable exceptions of course, but in retrospect they were occasions when logic failed, when emotion took too great a hold of both of them.

Disagreeing with Chakotay was far more difficult, always involving big battalions - trust, loyalty, faith; arguments which if not directly emotional did seem to involve powerful feelings between them both.

True to form she didn't exactly pour her heart out to Tuvok, he wouldn't have expected it. She did, however, give him a pretty coherent picture of what was going on, complete with the views of her sister and Admiral Paris.

When she finished talking he was silent for a long moment and when he did speak his first word was one he seldomused, her name.

'Kathryn...it's been a long and difficult journey, but I think now, after everything you can allow yourself to make choices based on what you want to do rather than on what is expected of you.'

*****

He'd been most amused when she told him she was travelling to join a science team on the planet. With absolutely no clue who she was, he'd take her for a second rate, jobbing scientist. No doubt if she cared about being recognised she'd have been most affronted. But Starfleet had already discovered how little she cared about her status as their most famous Captain.

She lifted her bag onto her shoulder and looked around her. Her first task was going to be to find Chakotay. She hadn't been able to contact him to let him know of her arrival. She was perilously close to the deadline he'd set and she had been fighting against the fear that she was going to be too late for every minute of her journey from Earth. She wasn't prepared to concede that the time it had taken her to make up her mind might have cost her this relationship.

A few steps on she stopped dead, catching sight of a familiar back. How had he found out that she was arriving today? He turned slowly, almost as though he realised he was being watched and as they came face to face she could read every one of the torrent of emotions he experienced - surprise, excitement, joy.

'Kathryn?'

'How did you know?' She demanded, amused, excited and completely terrified at having to face him with no time to prepare.

'I didn't know. I've met every transport from Earth for the last three weeks. I was hoping there would be someone I knew on one of them.' She believed him, it was exactly the type of thing he would do and she was sorry that she hadn't tried harder to contact him.

'I tried to let you know but...'

'We're having problems with our ommunications. I know.' He still looked dazed, reaching out to touch her as though he was trying to convince himself she was real. 'I don't suppose you know anyone who could help us with that?'

'Maybe.' She smiled up at him and gave into temptation and stepped into his welcoming arms.

'Kathyn, I don't believe you're really here.' He whispered, squeezing her tightly.

'I don't quite believe it myself. Keep holding onto me and we'll try and convince each other.'

'Sounds like a good plan.'

She laughed softly, burrowing into his chest, all the troubles of the last, difficult days fading away. The meetings with Admirals who professed astonishment at her decision and left her feeling as though she were behaving like a love-sick adolescent, became much less important.

They stayed wrapped around each other, breathing each other in, until she shivered and Chakotay pulled back from her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms to try to warm her up a bit. 'We're having problems with the climate as well. The Cardassians seem to have been experimenting with it. Let's get you home. Is there anymore luggage, or are you travelling light?'

'There's more luggage, I hope the transporters are working?'

She was in luck, or at least the transporters were working, although according to Chakotay that was about all that was. The Planet was getting ready for a cold, hard winter. But that prospect seemed much less important when he showed her where he had been living. Starfleet issue, beige or grey walls.

'Still no polka dots?' she asked, squeezing his hand as they stepped into a shelter that bore an uncanny resemblamnce to one they'd spent a few months in, a life time or two ago. Inside the illusion diminished, it wasn't exactly the same. The partitioning that had separated their sleeping areas was nowhere to be seen, instead through doorway she glimpsed a small bedroom with a double bed as it's centre piece. It looked inviting, with a wooden headboard and covered by bright blankets and quilts.

'The couch is very comfortable.' Chakotay pointed out, almost as though he had read the confused direction her thoughts had taken.

'Is that comfortable for me, or for you?'

'For me, I wouldn't make you sleep on the couch on your first night on Dorvan. Tomorrow though, that's a different matter.'

The awkward moment passed, but she was kicking herself. They were going to have to deal with the fact that they had got used to not thinking about being lovers. She could leave it, find a better, easier time to dicuss it. But the woman who couldn't confront the feelings that dominated their relationship was someone she was glad to have left behind.

'Chakotay, I'm here. I don't think you need to doubt my intentions.' His expression, so careful, so controlled helped the final piece of the jigsaw fall into place, 'and I promise I won't leave you tomorrow. I'm here for keeps this time.'

'Don't you want to wait until you've unpacked at least before we discuss this?'

'I don't want to discuss it at all. I don't think we need to, if you believe me, if you'll give me another chance. What I'd like to do is skip straight to the part where we take each others clothes off and roll around on the bed.'

His smile was familiar, embarrassed, aroused - he tugged his ear as well, as though he were wondering what he'd got himself into. 'Kathryn, you're impossible, you do know that, don't you?'

'But you love me anyway.'

'May the Gods help me, I think I do.'

She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't... Damn! His fingers were suddenly soft on her face, wiping away tears that had tumbled down her cheeks. He tilted her face up to him, looked her intently in the eyes for a long second and then kissed her softly on the lips.

They moved easily into the bedroom, shedding clothes along the the way, absorbed by this act of reacquaintance. They fell back onto the bed among the soft covers, still entwined, still kissing, exploring, whispering softly to one another.

Her body arched beneath his as he caressed her, his fingers trailing lightly over her heated skin as she climbed closer to climax. He kept her there, tantalisingly close but never pushing her over until her body was screaming for release. When he slid slowly into her she felt herself tighten around him and at his second thrust she was coming noisily, voice hoarsely shouting his name, bells and sirens going off in her head.

Before she had caught her breath his lips were on hers and his body was moving, slowly at first; then gaining in momentum as she let herself become overwhelmed by the feel of him surging inside her. He clutched at her suddenly and she cradled him with her arms and her body as he rode out his own climaax and the air around them vibrated with the sound of her name.

She woke, hours later, to find that morning had become afternoon. Pushing away the blanket of drowsiness she concentrated instead on her companion, making love to him with her mouth and hands until he was on the brink and then sliding back up his body to sink slowly onto him. She had plans of teasing him some more, of gentle, sensual love making amongst the lengthening shadows. But he dispelled all of that when he started pumping into her - hard, fast, frantic, bruising; both of them grunting and panting their way to an explosive climax that said a great deal about what had been held in check all these years.

Stretched out on top of him, almost nose to nose, feeling deliciously alive and wonderfully sated, for the first time in far too long, she smiled suddenly and observed,

'Isn't this about the time when we normally get caught?' It took him a moment, but then she saw that he had remembered.

'You didn't bring Harry with you, did you?' She shook her head, 'then I think we're safe.' Deftly he rolled her under him and bent to tease one of her nipples with his mouth.

'Chakotay,'

'Ssh, I'm busy.' His mouth was wonderful, she was practically clawing at the sheets with impatience and he'd hardly touched her. His fingers slid over her thigh.

'Don't tease!' She gasped.

But before he could go any further there was the unmistakeable sound of someone banging at the door. 'Damn!' He flopped back beside her as the banging continued.

'Someone's keen to speak to you,' she pointed out.

'That's probably because I was due at a meeting several hours ago.'

'Why didn't you say something?'

'Because I forgot - you're quite a distraction.' He silenced whatever retort she might have given, by kissing her swiftly and then getting out of bed, grabbing his robe along the way. 'Don't go away, this won't take long.'

He pulled the door closed behind him so she couldn't see what was happening although she could hear the low murmer of voices. Propelled by curiousity she got up and wrapped a sheet around her. Opening the door she thought for a moment she was seeing double. But she wasn't of course, despite the striking resemblance Chakotay's companion was clearly much younger. They were engaged in an animated discussion, which her arrival abruptly ended.

'Hello.' The newcomers eyes widened at her presence and his expression was one of amusement when he turned back to Chakotay.

'You could have just explained,' he pointed out.

'I could, but I was trying to preserve a few shreds of my dignity. This is Milo, my assistant and my second cousin; Milo, meet Kathryn Janeway.'

'You're Kathryn Janeway? Wow, I don't believe it! This is incredible, I have to tell all my friends, they'll never believe you're actually here. Uncle Chakotay, this is so cool!'

'I think so,' Chakotay smiled tolerantly, 'goodbye Milo,' he gave him a gently shove towards the door, 'come back and visit some time next week.' As he closed the door behind him he leant heavily against it.

'Milo's your biggest fan, he wants to join Starfleet, of course.'

'He looks like you.'

'I know, scarey isn't it?'

'I don't know, there are worse fates.'

She watched as his gaze slid from her eyes to her mouth, then down her neck and over her shoulders, across the area covered by the sheet and then back to her lips again, desire flickered through her, could it really be this easy?

'You look beautiful like that,' he whispered, stepping towards her, burying his hands in her hair, stroking his thumbs across her cheeks. 'I can't believe that you're here; that we're together.'

'Chakotay,' she replied with equal seriousness, 'nothing will keep us apart now.'

Epilogue

The first snow of winter had come to Dorvan that morning. The Planet's inhabitants waking to find a pristine layer of white carpeting the landscape. In a small, Starfleet issue shelter, a man and a woman wrapped in blankets, huddled in front of a blazing fire. Their clothes were scattered around them, looking as though they'd been lain out to dry. Just in front of the door there were puddles where snow had melted. It looked very much as though there had been a snowball fight.

Kathryn Janeway, former Captain of Voyager, currently seconded to the Dorvan Institute of Science and Technology, victor of a vicious snowball fight held out her hands to the fire. At present her extremities were hot and cold and tingling all at the same time. She sighed contentedly, leaned back into the arms of her companion and reflected that there really wasn't anything like playing in the snow - except perhaps making love in the snow. She smiled.

The End