By monkee

Series: Voyager

Codes: J/C

Rated: G

Summary: A brief shore-leave interlude

Comments: This story was inspired by a) my own love of walking on the beach when there is a moonglade, and b) Edvard Munch’s Attraction/Separation series. Munch did much more than ‘The Scream’, go see at http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/munch/munch_ext.html .

Disclaimers: Paramount owns the characters and I will do them no harm.

I watch her from a distance – she hasn’t seen me yet and I am having second thoughts about this. Tuvok and I had to gang up on her to get her to leave the ship at all, and even at that, she waited until the very last minute. Voyager is scheduled to leave orbit in less than half an hour.

She’s chosen to beam down to a wide, sandy beach on the dark side of the planet. She is standing in the surf, her uniform rolled up to her knees, her boots abandoned in the sand. As I watch her in the moonlight, the sea breeze kicks up. She leans her head back and pulls her fingers through her hair as the wind blows it back off of her face. Even from here, I can see her exhale - the tension in her stance melting away. These moments of relaxation are so rare for her, and I am wrong to intrude. I start to turn away, meaning to get some distance between us before hailing the ship, but she must sense my movement somehow because she turns and I am caught.

"Chakotay? Are you checking up on me?" She’s folded her arms across her chest, but I hear the laughter in her tone.

"I just wanted to make sure that you hadn’t beamed down with half a dozen PADDs," I banter back in return. How else can I explain the impulse that drew me down her to her? It was a pull that I was unwilling and unable to resist, despite the fact that I she hadn’t asked me to join her, and despite Tuvok’s admonition that we shouldn’t be off the ship at the same time.

I walk towards her, but stop several feet away. "I’m sorry," I tell her, and I mean it, "Did you want to be alone?"

"I thought that I did," she says, quietly, "but I’m glad that you’re here." She nods her head to gesture down the shore, "Walk with me?"

I’m grinning like a kid, I know, when I sit down to take off my boots and roll up my pant legs. She returns my smile and offers her hand to help me to my feet. Neither of us lets go, and we begin to amble, hand in hand, slowly down the shore through the surf.

We walk in an easy silence. I stoop down occasionally to pick up a seashell – I put some of the nicer ones in my pocket. She stops once to watch a small crab burrow into the wet sand. The sea breeze is constant now and several times she has to toss her head back to keep her hair from blowing into her eyes. Something about the gesture touches me deeply.

The moon is still low over the horizon and it reflects a bright path of light across the water. The wet sand ahead of us glistens. She murmurs something softly, but the word is swallowed in the breeze and I ask her to repeat it.

"Moonglade," she says. "The path of light that the moon makes on the water is called a moonglade."

"I didn’t know that," I tell her – surprised and pleased that she knows something about the natural world that I don’t. "It’s a beautiful word."

She smiles in acknowledgement and we continue to walk, slowly, the sand feels smooth beneath my feet and water is pleasantly cool. Her hand is warm in mine. We fall back into a comfortable silence, but my mind is racing…

"My people have a story about the moonglade," I tell her. It is a lie, but she’ll never know. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Of course!" she says, and she sighs happily as she waits for me to gather my thoughts.

I almost panic – I’m going to have to make this one up as I go along, but it pieces itself together easily once I start.

"In the beginning, Earth and Moon were one. Their spirits were intertwined, and their union radiated joy and power. Coyote was jealous of that power, so one day he tricked the fire spirits into creating a great explosion. This cataclysm wrenched Earth and Moon apart, and sent Moon spinning into a black void. Even in her shock and anguish, Earth was able to pull Moon back to her side, but they could no longer come together – they were separate beings now."

"Try as he might, Moon was not strong enough to bridge the gap between them. He circled Earth as he pondered the problem. "This is what I will do," he told Earth, after some time. "I will shine my light across your waters and make a path. When I am full and bright and low in your skies, we will be connected once more…"

"Earth agreed, and now, when Moon is rising over the sea, he reaches for her with his path of light, and they are able to touch, if only for a short time. If you are there, and you stand still and silent, you will feel the power and joy of their reunion."

Her hand slips from mine and I turn back to see what is wrong – she is standing with her hands on her hips, a look of utter disbelief on her face, "You did it AGAIN," she says, accusingly, "You made that up!"

I glance down, smiling slightly – she’s caught me again. She steps right up to me until we are almost nose to nose – a tear is trickling slowly down her cheek, but she is smiling. "You don’t actually KNOW any of your people’s stories, do you?" she accuses, "Why don’t you just admit it?"

Before I can come up with a suitable retort, she closes the small distance between us and kisses me. It is a friendly kiss, at first, but the time for us to pull apart comes and goes and the kiss deepens. It is as though here, surrounded by the elements: earth, moon, sea, wind – we can no longer deny the attraction that has pulled us towards each other for so long.

Her lips move softly over mine and I close my eyes, overwhelmed by the feelings. She brings her hands to my chest and I reach up and wind my fingers into her hair, holding her head to mine.

The moment ends as abruptly as it began when simultaneously her commbadge chirps and an unseen wave rolls in and breaks behind us, drenching our uniforms from the waist down.

"Tuvok to Captain Janeway."

Dripping wet, we both burst into laughter. It is several seconds before she can regain enough composure to tap her commbadge and respond to the hail. As she does, she gives me a playful shove, but I stay on my feet.

"Janeway here," she says in her best Captain’s voice, but her eyes meet mine and I can still see the amusement there.

"We are scheduled to leave orbit in ten minutes," Tuvok informs her. "Are you and the Commander ready to beam up?"

"Yes, Tuvok," she says, then amends, "No, actually, give us a few minutes to find our shoes…"

After just a moment’s hesitation, Tuvok replies, evenly, "Very well, Captain." I smile again at his measured response.

Once the commline is closed, she taps my arm and says, "Race you to the shoes!" She’s off and running before I even know what’s happening, so I never quite catch up to her. She wins, easily.

She plops down in the sand, brushes the sand off of her feet, and pulls on her boots. I follow her lead, but glance at her peripherally; trying to ascertain if what has happened between us is making her uncomfortable. Apparently, it is not.

She rises and gazes at the sea – a last look at the moonglade. She does not seem surprised when I come up behind her and rest my hands on her shoulders. She leans into me slightly and we stand that way in silence. I am relieved beyond measure that she feels no need to discuss the kiss or ‘define parameters’. I do not know what will happen when we return to the ship and for once I don’t care. For now, the moment is enough. Gently, I kiss the back of her head. She half turns towards me and says, softly, "We have to go, now."

I nod, and say, without disappointment, "I know."

As she hails the ship, I reach into my pocket, fingering the seashells that I collected until I find the one that I am looking for. As we await transport, I press it into the palm of her hand. She glances down at it, then back up at me. It is this planet’s equivalent of a moon shell. Our eyes are locked as the transporter beam carries us back to our life on Voyager, but her wry smile shows me that she understands. It is a promise.

FIN.