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"And above all, know your enem-" he cut himself off. "You know, it's too nice a day to waste inside." The professor stepped down from the lectern and headed for the door. Pausing, he turned back to us. "Coming?"
We grinned and looked at each other, then obediently stood and followed him out onto the academy grounds. Professor Chakotay led us unerringly towards the southern rose garden, and Menoui, my Betazoid friend whispered to me, "He really likes this place"
I briefly wondered why, but then those thoughts were chased from my head as the Professor called a halt and asked us all to sit on the lawn, and recommenced the lesson.
We all liked Professor Chakotay. He ran his lessons as a discussion, encouraging us to speak our minds, and ask to questions even if they might seem stupid ones.
He was midway through describing a Kazon battle, and a Marquis tactic he'd employed, much to the amusement of the rest of us, when his name was called from behind the group. We turned, the momentum of the story broken, to see a diminutive figure making her way towards us. As soon as we recognised her, the entire class jumped to their feet, standing rigidly at attention.
Admiral Janeway looked at us in surprise, as though she was unused to our reaction. She waved us down, "As you were, cadets".
"Admiral," Chakotay greeted her formally, but there was a twinkle in his eye none of us had seen before. Everyone knew he had been her first officer in the Delta Quadrant, and that the Starfleet brass were surprised at how unexpectedly effective this command team was. They were obviously very close, but there was still some shock when they had married only months after returning from the other side of the galaxy. The press had a fit, clamouring for the sex scandal that must have happened out there. Thing was, they hadn't been lovers before returning, or that was 'fleet's official stance. It annoyed me that Starfleet had to have an 'official stance' on the private lives of its officers.
"Captain," she answered, just as formally. She had this adorably crooked smile, and I instantly liked her.
She moved over to the professor, and said something softly in his ear. He gave her an inscrutable look for a moment, then asked the class to excuse them briefly. They moved several metres away, out of earshot, and I immediately turned to Menoui. She was taking Advanced Communication, and could lip-read, to an extent.
"Menoui!?"
She grinned, and started speaking, as Janeway was. The entire class tuned in, except T'Fan, who continued reading her padd.
"I have something to tell you" Menoui said softly, and we watched the Admiral's mouth form the words.
"Should I be worried?" Chakotay asked, smiling. Janeway slapped his arm lightly, letting her hand linger there.
"Funny" She said. "'And perhaps you should be worried. That's up to you'"
"Oh, now I'm intrigued"
They had been well into each other's personal space before, and now she moved even closer. "Chakotay", she looked down, taking his hand, and I was surprised. The infamous Admiral Janeway appeared somewhat… nervous. Chakotay suddenly had a very concerned expression on his face.
"Kathryn?" he tilted her head up with his fingertips. Her eyes were bright.
"I'm pregnant"
The change in the Captain's features was magical to watch. He went from shock to pleasant surprise to utter elation. Our reaction was something similar- we couldn't help it.
In one smooth movement, Chakotay had swept the Admiral off her feet and into his arms. Holding her close, we couldn't see his face, and Menoui growled in frustration. It didn't really matter, as whatever he said got the right reaction from his wife. She laughed, rather tearfully, and hugged him tighter. "I don't know, Chakotay, I don't know!"
He pulled back then, and tilting her head again, kissed her softly. Some of us looked away, a little embarrassed at watching such a private moment, while the rest of us, like myself, couldn't tare our eyes away. It was so sweet, and I couldn't help but feel privileged to witness it.
After a moment, the Captain seemed to remember he was in the middle of a class, and broke the embrace, keeping a hold of his wife's hand. She glanced at us, who all immediately became fascinated with our padds or the grass or perhaps a nearby rosebush- anything but the two officers. She blushed, probably realising we'd all witnessed the entire exchange, if not 'heard' it, and then smiled. I guessed she really didn't care that a bunch of cadets had seen her snog her husband, she was so happy. Janeway gave the Captain a quick kiss, and one last squeeze of his hand before heading back down the path towards the express transports to HQ. He watched her go, this adorable puppy-like expression on his features, making him look years younger.
He returned to our make-shift classroom, apologising for the interruption, still obviously preoccupied. "No need to be sorry, Sir," someone in the front row answered, being almost insubordinate.
The Captain just gave a grin that quite simply lit up the… well, I would say room, but there wasn't one. "No, I s'pose not," he laughed.
The lesson more or less continued, but I was quite sure our lecturer had absolutely no idea what was covered that lesson, with only one thing on his mind. He kept smiling to himself. These little 'I am so stoked right now' smiles that would appear mid sentence, or when we all were working in silence.
=/\=
"I wish we could see what he'd said," Menoui said as we walked back towards the buildings.
T'Fan looked up from that enthralling padd, and stated quietly, "The professor said 'Kathryn, love, after all these years, you still confound me. What made you think I could possibly be worried?'"
It was times like these I wished I was a Vulcan, just for their hearing.
Fini
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Advanced Tactics
