I am the teller of tales, the spinner of stories **Version 6**.

Title Winter
Author Cassie Valentine
FandomVoyager
ParingKathryn/Chakotay
Feedback Feed me, please!
***

She sighed in utter contentment as the warmth from the coffee mug seeped into her hands as the smell filled her senses.

Happiness was a warm cup of coffee in a ceramic mug, as far as she was concerened.

She pulled the blanket a litte tighter around herself as she snuggled down into the old sofa and opened her book again, pausing to think aobut how quaint the whole log cabin with a roaring fire and family was before loosing herslef in some horribly cliched gothic novel. Just as Lord Byron was turning into a 'bodice ripper', she was startled out of her reading by a wet smack against the window. She jumped a little before glancing around to make sure no one had seen before looking out said window. She smiled a little as she watched Chakotay shrug and her niece snicker before they ran off into the snow again.

"Are they still out there?" Pheobe asked as she came into the living room, waiting for Kathryn to put her feet down and share the blanket, like they had when they were girls. Kathryn frowned, but gave in eventually.

"And loving every minute of it," Kathryn replied with a smile that was shared by her sister as they both saw the snow melting down the window pane. The two fell into silence for a while as they watched the little girl chase Chakotay around. It was quite an act, given that the snow came up to her thighs.

"What about you two?"

"What?"

"He seems to be a natural."

"Pheobe," Kathryn said, trying to end the conversation as she took a long drink of coffee. They weren't even a couple.

"I thought you wanted kids. Eventually." Pheobe tried again. Kathryn sighed and considered throwing a pillow at her sister, but resisted.

"We had some," she said finally. "150 of them," she replied before her sister could ask questions.

"Kathryn . . ."

"I'm very serious, Pheobe," she started. "Some more than others."

"The Maquis?"

"Some of them. A few were barely 20 when they came on the ship. They were all so angry and confused and scared. . . they needed parents more than they needed a Captain, so I gave them what they needed." They fell into silence again and watched the pair outside, a snow man was taking shape now, so were red cheeks.

"And the Starfleet officers?" Kathryn shook her head again.

"Same story, except they weren't as angry, in most cases. They tended to work things out for themselves more often, like older siblings. It was kind of nice."

"So the kids on Voyager. . . they were grandkids?" Pheobe asked with a small smile. Kathryn paused. She refused to admit to being a grandmother, she was far to young.

"They were the midlife crisis children," she finished. "More than a little unexpected but just a welcome and far more spoiled." Phoebe howled with laughter until their mother came in to see what they were up to. Pheobe explained the conversation and Kathryn frowned as her mother joined in the laughter. Fortunately for her, she was saved when the door burst open and two wet, cold and snowy figrues tromped in. Kathryn and Pheobe reluctantly left the warmth of the blanket to help them undress.

"He's lots of fun Aunt Kat, can you keep him?" Laura asked as she wrapped her wet snowy self around Kathryn's legs.

"He's not mine to keep, Laura," she said with a smile as Pheobe pulled her daughter off of her aunt to undress her.

"She's lots of fun Kathryn, can we keep her?" Chakotay asked with that little smile of his when she came to help him out of his wet things.

"You can have her," Pheobe said with a chuckle. Kathryn shook her head and took his coat and mits and hung them by the fire to dry.

***

"She can stay with us," Chakotay said later that night. Pheobe and her husband were being called back home, she had a gallery show opening in the next few days and there were problems. Kathryn looked at him like he had three heads. "What? She's supposed to spend the day with us tomorrow anyways, why not just start a little early?"

"We'll take it," Ethan said quickly before Kathryn could object. Laura stopped whinning about wanting to stay and wrapped herself around Chakotay's legs, all smiles now.

"We'll call tomorrow!" Pheobe called as they headed out into the dark, snowy night.

"I should go too," Gretchen said a she put on her coat.

"Mom," Kathryn started.

"Bye Gramma!" Laura said as she threw herself at her grandmother. Gretchen smiled and bid her good bye before slipping out the door. "Can we play a game?" Laura asked as soon as the door closed. Chakotay assured her they could and the two headed off to find a game while Kathyrn wondered how this had all happened so fast. It wasn't like she and Chakotay were even invovled! Her mother had insisted, no one should be left alone this time of year even if they didn't celebrate Christmas, so she had asked him, never expecting him to agree. But he had, and Laura had taken to him like Kathryn had to coffee so, here they were.

"Are ya commin' Aunt Kat?" Laura called as she helped set up the board game as best as she could.

"I'll be right there," Kathryn called as she gathered her now cold coffee and headed out to the kitchen.

***

"So, why Aunt Kat?" he asked after Laura was in bed. Kathryn shrugged.

"I remember Pheobe writing something about her having problems with the 'th' sound when she was a toddler. 'Kafryn' got shortened to 'Kat' after a while." He chuckled at the idea of anyone calling her 'Kafryn'. Kathryn watched him flop down on the sofa, pulling a book and a few toys out from under him. "You're enjoying this!" she said with a smile. He smiled.

"I am. She's such a character."

"Everything you'd want?"

"Almost," he said with a hint of regret. He still held a special place for Kathryn Janeway in his heart. He had tried to get over her with different women over the years, but he always felt a little guilty when he fling was over. She sat next to him and shared her blanket with him and they sat side by side, the snow falling outside the windows as they watched the fire. "I like you mother, and your sister. The two of you are really different, but similar at the same time." She looked at him a little funny for a moment.

"I guess we are," she agreed after a moment.

"I still like you better," he leaned over and whispered. Kathryn chuckled a little and played with the end of her braid absently. He watched for a moment before she caught him. "No comm badge?" he asked her. She chuckled again and shrugged, but didn't stop.

"You two seemed to be having fun out there today."

"She is fun. Great imagination, but very calculating too."

"Calculating?"

"In a good way," he assured her. She nodded as she stared into the fire. "Something wrong?" he asked after a minute or two of silence.

"No, I just let my mind wander, that's all," she assured him with a smile. The silence was suddenly broken by the clock her mother kept in the kichen, letting them know it was late. "I should, we should, head to bed. She gets up early," Kathryn said as she stood and gathered some of the dishes they had left in the living room. He nodded and made sure the fire would burn out safely before following her with the rest of hte dishes. "What?" she asked when she sa him staring at the door frame on his way out of the kitchen.

"You Janeway women are crafty," he said, staring at the mistletoe. "I'm sure that wasn't here when I got here." Kathryn looked up and cursed her mother. This had her handy work written all over it. "I would hate to break tradition though . . ." he hinted as he gently guided her into his arms.

"Oh, me too," she said as she looked up at him. He seized his moment before she could back out.

"You're fun," she said after they finally broke apart. "Can I keep you?" she asked with a smile as he led them up the stairs.

"I think that can be arranged," he said with a smile.

*****

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