Padds and Prejudice

Note: This story comes as a response to the inaugural JetC17 challenge: write a story involving Janeway, Chakotay and a book. As usual, Star Trek and its characters belong to Viacom, blah, blah blah, blah blah. Jane Austen deserves the credit for writing the one book that never travels far from my bedside stand.

"Captain, could you please return to the bridge?" Kathryn automatically rose from her comfortable position on the couch in her ready room where she and Commander Chakotay had been reviewing Neelix's latest and substantial inventories. Chakotay looked up from the PADD in his hand, quirking a questioning eyebrow.

"Could you finish this up, Commander? It sounds like I'm needed again for one last farewell." She gave her second-in-command a rueful smile before making sharply for the door. Chakotay swept up the other padds from the low table and followed the captain out of her private office. He made his way unobtrusively to the turbolift while below him on the command level, Captain Janeway exchanged genial platitudes with the factor of the Xinengi trade combine. Since the Xinengi had provisioned them generously in return for _Voyager_'s unneeded stocks of Caatellos popseed, the captain was happy to indulge the factor in its long-winded goodbyes.

Chakotay was more than happy to leave her to that duty. As first officer, he'd been on the planet for two days straight, fielding the ecstatic gratitude of the Xinengi plant breeders who'd lost their popseed gene stock to a freak power loss. Right now, he was hoping for a little peace and quiet, back in his quarters where he could finish his notes before making an early night of it.

The padds made a small heap on his desk as Chakotay exchanged his uniform for a loose linen shirt and brown pants. His bare toes curled in the carpet as he sat down to finish his reports and the crew roster for next week. But his eye was caught by uncharacteristic words on one of the padds he'd brought from the bridge.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Chakotay's eyebrows leapt in surprise and he leaned forward to read further.

Except for a brief interruption to order a bowl of lentil stew from the replicator, the next few hours passed quickly. The antiquated cadence soon became familiar and he found himself caught up in the trials of Elizabeth and her circle.

*Be-deep!* Chakotay's head snapped up in surprise at the hail. "Enter," he invited.

As he should have suspected, the captain stood there. Head ruefully tilted to one side, hands on her hips, she stepped into his quarters. "I might have known," she drawled.

Chakotay's dark eyes dropped to the padd in his hand. He looked up with a roguish smile. "Caught in the act," he laughed.

"Get your own damned books, mister," Kathryn ordered with a mock snarl. She strode over to sit down beside him on the couch. A slim hand reached over to tilt the padd where she could comfortably view the words. "Where are you, anyway? Oh, at Lady Catherine's!" "I know, Elizabeth has my sympathies; Lady Catherine is worse than any commodore."

Chakotay's brow wrinkled. "No, I meant Darcy. Everything he does and says shows he's deeply in love with her, yet she won't give him the time of day."

Her attention caught, Kathryn laid the padd down on the table beside the empty bowl and pivoted to meet Chakotay's eyes. "What do you mean, everything he does and says? Darcy doesn't show anything of real feelings or any empathy to Elizabeth!"

"Oh no, Kathryn, you're wrong."

She snorted inelegantly. "You haven't even finished the book yet, _Commander_. I suggest that you wait until you've read the whole thing before passing judgment on the characters."

"If you insist, but I still say I'm right."

Kathryn made to rise from the couch. She laid a hand on the small of her back, twisting against some muscle stiffness. "I'd better be going back to my quarters. Who'd've thought glad-handing could be so tiring."

"Anyone who'd spent two days on the Xinengi homeworld," Chakotay answered humorously. "You want your padd back, Kathryn?"

She eyed it longingly, then shook her head. "No, I plan to take a long bath and then go to sleep. We were up at 0400 hours to get the cargo bays cleared. Seven's going to find her regeneration alcove a little more cramped than usual."

"Good," Chakotay responded, "maybe then she'll finally spend some more time in her crew quarters."

Kathryn smiled tiredly, tucking a strand of red-gold hair behind her ear. Chakotay stood too. "Sleep well," he whispered to her retreating back.

After she'd left, he lowered himself comfortably onto the couch, picking up the padd to resume his reading. The story carried him along from Lady Catherine's back to the Bennett household, through Derbyshire and to the story's resolution. Chuckling slightly, he laid the padd down on the low table and crossed his hands behind his head. He'd been right. The challenge would be in convincing Kathryn.

The next morning, dressed again in his command uniform, Chakotay strode into the mess hall. Acknowledging Neelix's greeting, he served himself some spicebread and coffee and sat at his customary table. Within five minutes, Kathryn entered. She served herself breakfast and brought it to his table.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Please," he responded. While she picked at her meal, he reviewed the few personnel-related matters that had arisen overnight. After the captain had given her approval, Chakotay slipped a padd from his tray to hers. He stood to leave. "Oh, by the way, here's your book, captain. I enjoyed reading it, but I'd best be getting to the bridge now," he excused himself with all formality.

Her eyebrows arched questioningly. Something about the text before seemed different, but she couldn't pay attention to that and respond to Chakotay's leavetaking properly. Acknowledging his farewell, she finally was able to turn to the padd in question.

Her mouth quirked as she realized that he'd engaged the edit function on the padd to highlight selected portions of the story. She thumbed to the next file in the padd's memory; a note from Chakotay.

"Kathryn, I've taken the liberty of pointing out some passages that support my reading. --C"

A silly grin crossed her face, causing some muffled comment from the crew around her before Kathryn controlled her expression. Finishing a bit more of her breakfast, she perused Chakotay's annotations with some interest. Only her internal sense of time managed to get her up on the bridge in time for the morning's briefings, so intent had been her focus on the padd's contents.

She got through the briefing that morning with her usual aplomb. Some new information had to be tied in to Seven's Astronomics database. Ensign Kim was assigned to assist in the task. Commander Tuvok handed in his security evaluations on the away mission and the tradegoods brought on board. The bridge seemed unnaturally quiet after the hectic trade mission with the Xinengi. After a few hours of reviews and idle conversation, Kathryn gave into the urge. Handing the conn over to her first officer, she made her way to the readyroom, padd in hand. The next hour was spent in furious review.

As she re-entered the bridge, Commander Chakotay vacated her command chair. As they sat down, side by side, facing the streaming rush of stars, Kathryn slipped the padd over to him.

"You've been on the bridge a long time already this morning, Commander. Why don't you take your break now?," Kathryn suggested.

Padd in hand, Chakotay agreed to her request and exited the bridge. Standing in the lift, he could see another highlighting colour marking passages on the padd. Obviously, Kathryn'd been hard at work. Chakotay demurred at Neelix's offering of company for his early lunch, instead choosing a quiet corner of the messhall to review the text.

In an attached file he found a lengthy rebuttal to his reading. Kathryn's scientific mentality resulted in an organized, detailed statement with meticulous annotations. He laughed uproariously at her concluding words.

"Chakotay, I must point out to you that it is Mr. Darcy, who, at the novel's end, admits he was wrong. Perhaps you could borrow something of his grace for your inevitable apology. --K"

"Commander? Is there something wrong with the grilled nurkka leaves?" Neelix's anxious queries brought Chakotay back to himself.

"No, Neelix, there's no problem with the food. It was just something I was reading."

A puzzled expression crossed the Talaxian's face before enlightenment dawned. "Oh, you were laughing at your book. I love funny stories, could I borrow that?"

Chakotay protectively pulled the padd closer to his torso. "No, Neelix, this one's mine."

Offense caused the Talaxian to rear back. "Well, Commander!" His sniff was pronounced.

Chakotay sighed. "Look, Neelix, nothing personal but this isn't for public consumption."

Neelix relaxed and smiled. "Oh. Oh! I understand, Commander." He walked away, a pleased expression on his face. Chakotay suppresed the urge to bury his face in his hands and groan. Instead, he finished his lunch (stifling any expression at the grassy tang of the grilled leaves) and retired to his office. He wrote quietly for a few minutes, before returning to the bridge.

Assuming his seat beside the captain, Chakotay caught her enquiring eye. He followed her gaze down to the padd in his hand, then met her eyes squarely.

"Well?," she demanded in a quiet but commanding voice.

"In point of composition, your letter does not seem defective," Chakotay responded, sotto voce. He waited while her lightning sharp mind processed the reference to Mary's assessment of Mr. Collin's letter. The furrows that momentarily marred her brow assured him that his words had struck home.

Without another word being spoken, she held out her hand for the padd. Chakotay obediently placed it in her outstretched palm. "You have the conn, Commander," she directed as she exited for her readyroom. Tom Paris blew a theatrical sigh of relief as the doors closed behind her. Spinning in his pilot's chair, he asked, "So, what was that, Commander?"

A dark eyebrow arched. "What was what, Lieutenant?"

"That, Commander. The temperature dropped by about 50 Kelvins in here."

From his station at security, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok looked up repressively. "You are in error, Lieutenant Paris. Monitors indicate no thermal variance."

The pilot's eyes rolled at Tuvok's words. Chakotay hid a smile behind his hand. "You heard him, Tom. Maybe you're coming down with something. Is it time for another visit to sickbay?" Speedily, the fair-haired helmsman turned back to the pilot's console.

Schedules and duties kept the Captain and the Commander safely apart the rest of the day. Chakotay was thankful for that. He'd glimpsed murderous intent in her eyes before she'd mastered her emotions enough to rise and leave the bridge with her normal aplomb.

It was well into _Voyager_'s evening before he'd completed all the tasks and interviews on his agenda for the day. Chakotay was tired when he entered his quarters, so tired that he almost missed the quiet figure seated on his couch.

"Kathryn!"

"I've been waiting for you," she replied, in a voice that held a little pique and a great deal of laughter.

It was then that he noticed she was wearing an unfamiliar floor-length dress. High waisted, the sea-green dress nevertheless highlight her petite femininity. He found himself wishing that she hadn't cut her hair. How glorious that highswept hair would have complemented this antique fashion.

"I made some for you, too," Kathryn's voice cut through his musings. Chakotay looked down at the table to see a pile of soft, creamy linen, black wool and replicated leather. "Used up all my replicator credits and I'm into B'Elanna for two weeks more, mister, so they'd better fit." Chakotay gingerly picked up the garments. "I'm afraid to ask what these are supposed to be."

Chakotay gingerly picked up the garments. "I'm afraid to ask what these are supposed to be."

"Clothes, damn you. Now put them on. We've already missed forty minutes of our holodeck reservation," impatience edged Kathryn's voice so Chakotay retired to the bathroom and exchanged his uniform for the unfamiliar, formal clothing she'd provided.

The shirt, breeches, boots and jacket all fit well. Chakotay relaxed when he realized that Kathryn hadn't dressed him as Mr. Collins. He'd had his fears, looking at the somber cloth. He had one problem: the cravat. Exiting the bathroom with his shirt open, he found Kathryn standing, looking out at the starscape. "Good, you're almost ready."

He raised the slightly creased length of linen. "Except for this."

She tsked and strode towards him. Taking the cravat, she gently wrapped it once around his neck, twisted, folded and slipped the ends under. "There. Not a Waterfall, perhaps, but it will do."

With a stately air, he offered her his arm. Smilingly, she accepted. They exited his quarters and headed for the turbolift.

"Am I permitted to know what program you have waiting for us, Captain?" Chakotay asked, suppressing the smile that threatened his composure.

"It's a new one, Chakotay. My own version of "Pride and Prejudice." After running the program with me, I'm sure you'll come to agree that I'm right."

Inclining their heads genially to gape-mouthed crewmembers they passed in the halls, Chakotay and Kathryn made their way to the holodeck.

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn? -- Mr. Bennett, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57.

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