A really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard
A really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard
By C.
Summary: “The eagle has landed? What...”
Disclaimer:Paramount owns all, I’m just merely using their yata yata yata, (You’ve hear it all so, on with the show...)
ps-Not some of my greatest but hey, we all have our off days...
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“I heard a rumor”
She murmured, her head pressed against her table, watching the steam rise up from her cup of coffee and her fingers which drummed against his open palm.
It was a late night, far later than they had stayed awake and talked in quite a while. After dinner it seemed that neither one of them wanted to stack away the dishes, snuff out the candles and say good-bye, good night. So what they were left with was Kathryn with her head down cheek smushed against the cool table, her hair splayed out around, picking up candlelight and avoiding the melted ice cream that dripped from the bowls. Chakotay actually was picking up a stand or two out of the puddled ice cream. He lowered his head onto his flattened hand on the table, eyes deep, dark, sleepy and drooping, watching him trace invisible lines on the table top.
“I heard a rumor”
She murmured, her head pressed against her table, watching the steam rise up from her cup of coffee and her fingers which drummed against his open palm.
“About what Kathryn?”
His eyes shifted from their hands to her eyes, abruptly focused on him, (Not that he was surprised, he could always feel them)
“About you.”
“About me? Well I haven’t head anything about it yet. Yet.”
He smiled.
“Well, it’s actually a new one. Only I know.”
“A rumor about me that only you know?”
“Yes. Well, it’s not just about you.”
“It’s not?”
“No”
“Then who else?”
“Who else? Well, let’s see,” She smiled and slowly shut her eyes, truly tiered. “Me.”
Chakotay’s fingers tickled Kathryn's hand, trying to wake her up.
“Don’t fall asleep on me now Kathryn, you have really got my attention.”
“I’m tiered Chakotay, let me sleep...”
She smiled, tickling his hand in return.
“Stop it Kathryn” .
She didn’t need to see the smile spread across his face.
“So, the secret is...”
“Stop it!” She opened her eyes and grinned,
“Stop what?”
“Stop smiling at me!”
“And you stop changing the topic!”
“Am not!”
“Are Too, Kathryn what is it? You know you’re dying to tell me!”
“All right, it’s not really a rumor, I just wanted, oh,” she took a deep breath, “This is going to be odd. Ok, Chakotay, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve opened my eyes.”
Despite the cryptic message, her eyes were in fact downcast awaiting Chakotay’s interpretation.
“The eagle has landed.”
“WHAT?!?”
“The eagle has landed”
“I know, I heard you the first time. What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, I’ve heard Tom use it. What does, ‘I’ve opened my eyes mean?’”
“Never mind”
She stood up, rather abruptly, and began to collect the dishes off the table and deposited them in the recycler. Now, it may have been the speed at which she stood up, the flash of something in her eyes, the tenseness in her shoulders or maybe, just maybe it was the way she threw the dishes into the recycler that told him she was mad! Not at him, not at herself, or maybe at herself, he just didn’t know. He leaned back in his chair wondering what Kathryn’s cryptic code meant. Oh, oh, she had, Kathryn? No , she wasn’t hinting at, at THAT, not here, not now, over melted ice cream bowls and all would she? His eyes darted to her, standing in the corner, her arms wrapped around her waist, her head turned away from him. Oh, oh Kathryn. She unwrapped her arms from herself and quickly wiped her eyes and sniffed, the sound echoing in the quite room. “You know what Chakotay, I’m, I’m a little tired, I’m going to turn in, you should get some sleep too.” She walked away towards her bed room and the door opened, awaiting her as she awaited something from him, a sign, a word, anything, but nothing. “Good night” she said, just as the door was closing. And now he was left alone in her room, the candles flickering and the stars whizzing by. “Oh Kathryn” he finally murmured.
He stood, finally, absorbing her message fully, and made his way to her bedroom door, walking in unannounced and unsure of what he would find.
What he found was darkness and whizzing stars and Kathryn sitting on the edge of her bed, her shoulders still slumped forward, her head still turned away. It was odd, disenchanting even, to see his Captain like this, but it was so,so beautiful almost, to see this scene, this moment of time of Kathryn, this one single frame that he would remember always. She turned her head towards him, he was surprised to not see tears, he had always pictured her to be the kind who cried in private. As if reading his thoughts she muttered something about keeping what was left of her dignity and asked if he would leave and turned her head back to it’s former position.
“Kathryn?”
“Um?”
“Stop picking lint off your blanket and look at me.”
She would not, she smiled, he knew that, but she would not look at him.
“Kathryn?”
He walked towards her and stretched out a hand to touch her shoulder and pulled back. That was her move, something that only she did, it’s underlying significance was one of friendship, not of, whatever this night was starting. So he walked around and knelt before her, brushing her hair out of her face, caught on the outreaching lashes and moist lips.
“Kathryn, look at me, I don’t know what you want.”
Leaving an open space in the conversation for her to jump in, it was returned unanswered.
“Kathryn, do you want a relationship? I mean, I’m no good at 20 questions so you’re going to have to help me out here, is that what you want?”
“What do you want?”
“What I’ve wanted all along.”
“Which is what?”
“Which is a really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard, but that’s besides the point Kathr-”
“Why don’t you replicate one?”
“It’s not real. But I’ll tell you what I want even more than a really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard.”
“And that’s?”
“You.”
“So you’d rather have me over a really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard?”
“Well, yes. Put in a more perfect world, I could have both. But You are more than enough. Which leaves me back to my original question, what is it you want?”
“What do I want? Let’s see, I want lots of things.”
“Really? Well, let’s narrow it down to the top 3”
“The top 3? Well, I’ll try, ok, number one, I want you in my life, as well as in um, shall I say, various other places, locales-”
“Really?”
“Yes really. Now, wow, I guess I only want two things...”
“Me and?”
“You and a really great Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sweet honey dijon mustard...”
-fini
