Disclaimer: Paramount clearly owns all the characters. Copyright:Paramount

Certain chapters contain references to Isabo's Shirt, by Kirsten Beyer, in Distant Shores, and later chapters contain spoilers for the Voyager relaunch novels by Christie Golden and Kirsten Beyer.

Copyright: Paramount/Kirsten Beyer/Christie Golden

AN: Thank you to northernexposure for her beta reading skills. Any mistakes are me messing with it afterwards. And thank you to HalfjeFijnVolkoren for her wonderful story 'Present Bearings' which partly inspired this story. It's in my favourites list, I really recommend it.

Set During 'Fair Haven', Season 6; Probably been done before…but here goes…

xxx

First Officer's quarters: 00.15 hrs

Chapter 1

Something had woken him up.

A noise probably. His night-owl captain dropping something next door? His alarm malfunctioning? He wasn't sure but whatever the sound was, it had stopped, so he shifted and took a deep breath to settle back to sleep.

Immediately he tensed. He could sense someone lying next to him in his bed. His eyes snapped open and he pulled himself up onto his elbows to peer through the darkness at the person sleeping peacefully next to him. Someone lying on their back, snoring lightly. A large someone.

He hadn't woken up next to anyone in almost six years - unless he were to believe his own handwritten account of three nights he'd spent with a woman called Kellin last year, none of which he could actually remember - so this was something of a shock.

Desperately, he searched his memory for answers. What the hell had he been doing last night? Nothing, as usual.

"Computer, lights!" he called and quickly slipped out of bed, keeping his eyes fixed on the sleeping figure.

The moment he spoke, the man, yes, it was a man, startled. In a split second the intruder was on his feet on the other side of the bed, stark naked and obviously disorientated, looking wildly around the room.

As an involuntary expletive issued from Chakotay's lips, his stalled brain registered exactly the same word coming from the mouth of the man standing opposite him.

Hardly surprising really.

xxx

Holodeck 00.32 hrs

"There's no point in waiting any longer, is there?" he asked.

"Oh, I think I've waited long enough," came her dusky response.

Her communicator chirped,

"Chakotay to Janeway"

"Computer, freeze programme…Damn."

The Captain stepped out of the holographic arms that were encircling her and sighed as she activated her communicator, trying her best to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"Janeway here, what is it Commander?"

"We've got a... situation. You're needed in sickbay immediately."

"Oh? What's happened? "

"You'd better see this one for yourself."

"You sound flustered; are you all right?"

"Yes, Captain; in fact I'd go as far as to say that I'm feeling twice the man I was earlier."

"Well… Glad to hear it. I'll need five minutes to change. I presume you can keep whatever it is under control for that long?"

"Yes, I think so. Chakotay out."

"No peace for the wicked it seems," she muttered into the silence of the holodeck.

Before she spoke again, she took one last look at the figure of Michael Sullivan, his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted, his face frozen in anticipation of their first kiss.

"Computer, end programme."