Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [62]
“Not really. I mean, that’s Q for you, isn’t it? He’s not all that bad. He always means well, even if sometimes he doesn’t understand how things bother us humans.”
She stared at him, then shrugged. “I guess I have been away a long time, if the first officer of the Enterprise harbors warm and fuzzy feeling toward Q.”
Riker merely grinned.
Janeway had often lamented the fact that all other Starfleet vessels were equipped with sonic showers. The only bath that had been taken aboard Voyager had been indulged in by Neelix when he first came aboard her ship. He had been overwhelmed by the proliferation of water and had simply had to try the experience of actually immersing his entire body in the liquid.
She personally hadn’t had a real, hot water bath since she and Chakotay had been left on that planet together, when they had been infected by a disease the Doctor couldn’t cure and the only way to save both their lives was for them to remain on the planet where they’d been infected. He’d built her a bathtub, and my, how she had enjoyed it. There had been much about that time together she had enjoyed, and regretted leaving. Janeway was surprised to discover that Picard’s quarters had a tub. Well, she thought, the Enterprise is the flagship. I would imagine Starfleet would think it a minor luxury for their esteemed Picard if he asked for it.
There was even a bottle of bubble bath perched on the side. Janeway stifled a laugh at the thought of Picard in a bubble bath, but who was she to judge? She certainly had no compunction about using up a bit of his supply. She liberally poured the liquid into the hot water, shed her uniform, and stepped into the tub.
“Oh,” she breathed. The pleasure was keen, almost painful. She lay back and enjoyed the hot water penetrating to her bones, and played lazily with the mounts of white, frothy bubbles. Laying her head against the tub’s edge, she closed her eyes and drifted….
“Mustn’t stay in there too long,” came Picard’s booming voice.
“You’ll get all wrinkled.”
Gasping, Janeway started awake. To her utter shock, Captain Jean-Luc Picard stood in the doorway to the bathing room, a smile on his lips, holding two glasses of wine. He was clad in loose-fitting white pants and a matching shirt that revealed small curls of gray hair. Comfortable-looking slippers adorned his feet.
Intellectually, Janeway knew the mound of bubbles shielded her body from his gaze, but that didn’t matter.
“Captain, this is improper and inappropriate behavior. Please close the door.” Her voice was icy, summoning all the dignity and confidence she could muster. Which, at this terribly awkward moment, wasn’t a lot.
“All right,” he said affably, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. He stepped toward her, extending a wineglass. “This is a lovely merlot. I think you’ll enjoy it.”
Janeway snatched the nearest towel. Heedless of how wet it would get, she immediately wrapped it around her. “What the hell are you doing? I’m going to report this to Starfleet Command!”
“Oh, no, I don’t think so,” said Picard, leaning against the door and grinning.
“I do,” Janeway stated. Dignity in every movement, she rose, clutching the sopping towel around her, and stepped for the door.
“You’re late again, cadet.”
Janeway blinked. She was no longer standing, naked save for a dripping wet towel, in Captain Picard’s private bathroom, but in the doorway of a classroom. Standing at the desk was Professor Kerrigan, the woman who had become Janeway’s personal bęte noir. Janeway stared, first at Kerrigan, then at the sack full of padds she carried, then down at her own smaller, younger body.
“What’s happening?” she whispered.
Kerrigan cleared her throat. The young Janeway looked up at her. “I said, you’re late again, cadet. Do you want to add more homework?”
“S-sir, yes sir. I mean, no sir….”
“Which is it, Janeway? I’ve told you before, just because your father is a notable figure in Starfleet doesn’t mean you