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BY DESIGN
(G)
When she rang the chime the door slid open immediately and she stepped inside. "I'm sorry to intrude on your free time, Chakotay, but I need to..." Her words trailed off when she saw him standing in the lounge, hands on hips, staring intently at one of the chairs. She went to stand beside him and studied the chair for a moment, trying to see what held his attention. "These are wrong," he said with his eyes still riveted to the chair. "What do you mean?" "The print is Native American, but not one used by my tribe." "Wait," Kathryn said with a shake of her head, turning to look up at him. "Didn't you choose these chairs?" His eyes finally slid down to hers. "Not exactly." She stared at him until it became clear no further explanation was forthcoming. "If you didn't pick them, then who did?" "B'Elanna." He turned his eyes toward the chair again. "Why would B'Elanna choose furniture for your quarters?" "Actually, she decorated my quarters." Again he volunteered no further explanation and Kathryn exhaled in frustration. She was in no mood for twenty questions. "Since I'm fairly certain interior design isn't one of B'Elanna's hidden talents, do you mind telling me why she decorated your quarters?" "I ordered her to," he answered and knelt by the chair to examine it. "I think this can be reupholstered." Kathryn's chin dropped to her chest and she closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath she looked at him and asked, "You ordered her to?""On her own time, of course." He looked up. "What do you think about a nice turquoise? It would add a splash of color in here, don't you think?" "Why?" Kathryn asked as calmly as she could. Her patience was thinning. "To liven up the room." "No!" she cried, then continued with forced calm. "Why did you order B'Elanna to decorate for you?" Chakotay turned the chair onto its side and continued his examination. "Remember in the beginning when we were integrating our crews and she was behaving so badly?" Kathryn stretched out her single word answer. "Yes." "Well, I gave her something to do." His tone made it sound perfectly logical. He ran his long fingers over the seams in the fabric then he turned the chair completely upside down to see how the seat was attached. With frustration gradually turning into concern Kathryn bent at the waist and braced her hands on her knees, bringing her face closer to his. She spoke softly. "Chakotay, you may confine someone to their quarters as punishment, but you are not allowed to force them to pick out drapes and furniture." He looked up with a hint of a smile. "It was almost seven years ago. I don't think she'll be lodging a complaint this late in the game." Kathryn straightened and threw her hands in the air then with a sudden determined look, dropped to the floor to sit beside him. "That brings me to my next question." She leaned closer and peered into his eyes. "Why has it taken you seven years to notice the fabric on these damn chairs?" He looked at her as if the question was ridiculous. "I noticed. I just never thought about changing them until now." Kathryn slowly pulled back and continued to stare at him. She pressed her lips together and tried very hard to suppress the laughter that bubbled up inside her but it soon escaped. She laughed harder than she had in years and was powerless to stop it until it left her lying on the floor gasping for breath. Using her sleeves she dried the tears trickling over her temples then sat up with a grunt. Chakotay watched her with a bemused grin as she straightened her jacket then smoothed her hair back into place. "I think turquoise would be very nice," she said with the threat of laughter still in her voice. "Then turquoise it is!" he chuckled and gave the chair a smack. Kathryn pointed a finger at him and tried to scowl. "You had me worried there for a while." Her hand dropped and gave his knee a playful shove. "I can't believe you made B'Elanna decorate for you!" "It kept her out of trouble," he shrugged. "At least for a few days." "You're lucky she didn't rip out your liver." Kathryn drew her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms on them. With a new interest she looked around the room and nodded. "Not bad at all." She grinned at him. "Maybe I'll speak to her about sprucing up the ready room. I'm sick of all that green..." "Uh, Kathryn," Chakotay interrupted as he tugged an earlobe. "I really don't think that would be a good idea." She smirked. "She's never forgiven you, has she?" "Let's just say I like my liver right where it is." He got up on all fours and moved to sit beside her then leaned in close. "I'm sorry I worried you." Kathryn smiled and shook her head. "I kept thinking...after all these years, we finally get together, and now he's gone off the deep end." Her eyes moved over his kind face and boyish smile and she wondered once again how she'd managed to resist this wonderful man for so long. She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Chairs, huh?" "You inspired me." "What?" "You made a big change in your life, so I thought it was time I made some changes too." "What? Our becoming lovers wasn't enough of a change for you?" she said with mock offense. "You thought of reupholstering furniture? Pardon me if I'm not terribly flattered." When she started to get up he gently pushed her down and covered her body with his. "My power to influence must need some work," she laughed. "Let me try this again," he said. "Since we've been together, I see all things around me in a whole new way." Kathryn's expression softened at his sweet words and she reached up to run a finger over his temple and down his jaw, stopping on his chin. She was truly touched, but not so much that it chased away her playful mood. "And with these new eyes, you saw... chairs?" Chakotay slipped an arm beneath her and rolled onto his back taking her with him. With her on top his hands were free to hold her face and he smiled up at her. "Being with you, Kathryn, has changed more than the way I look at the world around me. It's changed me...inside. I'm more at peace than I've ever been, happier than I ever thought possible. Some days I couldn't wipe the smile off my face with a phaser!" He grinned when she chuckled softly then slowly became serious again. "I've never had this before. I can't imagine how I lived so long without it." Kathryn leaned closer and kissed him very softly then drew back to look into the dark pools of his eyes. "I'm happy, too, Chakotay. Happier than I've ever been." "I'm glad." They shared another kiss then Kathryn stacked her fists on his chest and lowered her chin to rest on them. "On second thought, turquoise won't work." "Why not?" "It won't go with the other pieces...in my quarters." She grinned at the look of surprise on his face then yelped when he almost dumped her onto the floor in his haste to sit up. Speechless, he stared at her. "What do you think? Are we ready to shack up, Chakotay?" Confusion joined shock on his face and he barely managed to find his voice. "To what?" "Cohabitate. Live together. Share quarters." she answered, watching joy replace the bewildered look on his face. Suddenly he got to his feet and went quickly to his bedroom, leaving Kathryn staring after him. "What are you doing?" There was a smile in his voice, which drifted in from the other room. "Packing!"
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