FROM THE BEGINNING :::hiccup::
"Mr. Paris," Kathryn Janeway was sitting at her desk and the pilot was standing at attention, his arms behind his back, with a fixed expression. If relaxation were the goal of this meeting with the Captain he would have failed.
"Aye, Captain?" he asked but already knew what was coming.
"As you well know, Mr. Neelix is planning the celebration for our," she blanched slightly, "fourth year in the Delta Quadrant."
"Some celebration," Tom muttered.
Kathryn continued, "And I do not feel a need for a repetition of what happened last year at the Third Year Celebration."
"The third year?" Tom feigned innocence. "OH! The Third year," he exclaimed smartly.
LAST YEAR [THE THIRD YEAR]:
"Why do we agree to these celebrations," Kathryn was walking with Chakotay, arm in arm, toward the messhall. "It isn't a celebration to be stuck in the Delta Quadrant."
"It keeps the crew morale up," Chakotay gave a casual shrug, "and allows most of the crew who have opposite shifts to visit with one another."
"I suppose so," Kathryn sighed as they approached the doors that began to open. "Show time," she stated.
ONE HOUR INTO THE PARTY:
"Captain," a young Ensign approached Kathryn, who was having a hard time focusing on the Doctor's conversation of how wonderful the human liver was. "I'm sorry to interrupt--"
"Not at all!" Kathryn rushed, interrupting the Ensign herself too.
"There seems to be something wrong with the Commander," she stated and shifted nervously, her fingers clutching the Captain's arm to turn her in the direction of where Chakotay was standing . . . or rather . . . dancing.
"Oh my," Kathryn stated and couldn't move. Chakotay was on the makeshift dance floor . . . dancing . . . with the Delaney sisters.
"I think someone spiked the punch," the Ensign whispered so lightly that Kathryn had to lean in her direction.
She looked down at the cup she held, her first and last, and sniffed it . . . "How in the world did I miss that," she asked the Ensign and rolled her eyes. "How did *any* of us miss that?"
"There aren't any lessons on first contact with spiked punch," the Doctor said wittily.
"Thank you Doctor," Kathryn glared and pushed the cup at him. She had to save Chakotay from himself.
"Kath-thryn," he hiccuped, "Im justta fiiiiinnnee," he stated. "Honest-tly, I could fights the borgs now."
"Commander," Kathryn bit out as he shifted more of his weight onto her shoulder. She was practically dragging him to bed, "you are as drunk as my Irish Aunt Margaret."
"Doeshe have eyez like yourz?" he asked and tripped.
"Now isn't the time to talk about my eyes," she pushed his body up against the wall outside his door and punched in an override code, "we need to get you into bed."
"I thought youdnever," he hiccuped and leaned forward in her direction, "ask."
"Chakotay . . ." she saw his body slowly leaning forward towards her but it didn't stop when it should have "Chakotay!" she was able to explain before he fell on her and they both landed on the floor with a loud thud.
. . . . .
"Captain, Commander," a passing Ensign stated but Kathryn couldn't see the person from under Chakotay. She just hoped the gossip wouldn't be as bad as she knew it would be in the morning.
"Sorry, Ka-thar-ryn," he stated. "Maybe I *am* dr-unk, dr-unked, drunkened err...." he said at last.
"Chakotay," there was an ultimate sense of staccato to his name when she said it, "is that your phaser or are you just happy to have landed your Captain?"
ARE WE THERE YET? GETTING THE COMMANDER HOME:
