Okay guys this is what happens when the furball gets the full force of a beautiful spring day, several days in a row. Enjoy!

A Sense of Spring  

PG

Chakotay walked into the readyroom cautiously. He always entered the room like that when she called him with that tone to her voice. It was a difficult tone to read sometimes. It usually meant a change was going into affect. Most of the time he didn't care for the changes. Not seeing her through the dimness of the room, he started to call out, only to be stopped by a sudden movement by the viewport. She was standing there staring out at the planet that revolved under them. The hauntingly earthlike appearance had caused a round of nostalgia throughout the crew and Neelix was harried trying to comfort them. However the Nelians were amazingly Terran like in appearance, and very hospitable, thus shoreleave had been arranged, as well as the standard trade. He stepped further into the room, still a bit hesitant.

At his movement she sighed, her head dropping to the glass. "I went down to the planet today, as you and the doctor insisted."

He relaxed a little, coming to stand next to her.

"It was quite amazing. While I was waiting for the tours and other nonsense, the Nelians escorted me to a beautifully quite little park. I was provided with a picnic lunch and the opportunity to relax while I waited. Of course I was showered with apologies for the inconvience, but I assured them it wasn't a problem." Her hand came up and hovered over the image of the planet. "As I waited I took a moment to look around, taking in the textures of the air around me. The colors swirled together and I was reminded of the countryside in springtime. The chaotic bloom of flowers and trees. Bright energetic splashes of colors dominating one spot, while a consistent field of green sported a patch or two of subtle flowers. Of course the chaotic warmed the senses, and grabbed my attention with each new thing I saw. But my eyes kept drifting back to the subtle green field and its calming appeal." She sighed again and glanced up at him, giving him that shy smile that he hadn't seen in a while. Her gaze drifted back to the planet. "Finally I closed my eyes trying to absorb the feel of the place. I had forgotten what the caress of the wind, the real wind, felt like. It was amazing Chakotay."

She glanced up at him and the remembered awe held him spellbound. "I'd forgotten how much it felt like a human touch." She raised her hand and trailed it softly down his cheek, her eyes almost feverish as she watched its descent.

His breath caught in his throat at the intimate gesture. It had been a long time since she had touch him, much less with such familiarity. His heartbeat increased almost painfully. His whole being suddenly focused completely on her, sight, sound, and touch. His breath caught as she spoke again.

"As I absorbed the feel of it, the warmth, like breath, the delicate sensation sliding over my skin, the very essence of it called to me. It was intoxicating. Yet through it all that image in my head of that simple consistent green field, kept popping up and as I focused on it, I noticed the consistency of the breeze under the sudden flutters of warmth and smell."  She smiled at him, moving closer, her hand gliding along his cheek again. "Suddenly I noticed a plethora of smells, sweet perfumes like honeysuckles and roses, the sharp tangs of evergreens, the freshness of clear clean water."  She moved closer still, the woman scent of her overwhelming him and stopping his heart for a moment before causing it to jump start again. "And under it all, the constant steady smell of warm clean air."  She leaned forward again, cupping his face. "It made me wonder for a long moment Chakotay, how the appeal of all the new, fresh, almost tangible stimuli could be outclass, by the understated, the constant. Then it hit me... it all reminded me of you. Despite all the things that come and go in our lives, you are my constant." She smiled up at him shyly. "I don't mean to make you sound insignificant, only unique. Special in the very things we take for granted. Once the flash and flair are gone, you are there, just like the fields, and the wind, and the everyday smells of life. Something to be savor and appreciated in the flux of stimuli that life throws our. Soothing, yet infinitely appealing in its existence."

She leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. "I had forgotten how much I missed a beautiful spring day, and how much I missed you."

His arms closed around her and he kissed the top of her head. "What are you going to do about it?" His voice was a mixture of hope and mischief.

She leaned back a bit and met his eyes, smiling. "Do? Don't you mean doing?" She kissed his chins causing his head to jerk back a bit in surprise. She smiled again. "I'm savoring the textures and scents and smells of you, and maybe, just maybe we'll find a flair of sensation we have found before."

He smiled then realising what she was offering, and pulled her close into a deep kiss. It was a slow exploration stimulating all their senses.

Only Tuvok noticed as the readyroom doors were locked with the captain's security codes.

Finis~~~~

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