NFS: A "Traditional" Delta Quadrant Christmas 1/1 G Title: A "Traditional" Delta Quadrant Christmas Author: Anne Rose Email: anne3rose@yahoo.com Rating: G Archive : I would be honored if you want to archive it. Please let me know where so I can visit it. Spoilers: none Summary: J/C, P/T, K/7, Neelix arranges a Christmas party for the crew with help from Charles Dickens and Tom Paris. Disclaimer: Voyager and its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended. Author's Note: This is my first completed, non-drabble, story. I hope you like it. Thanks to Clare, and Hubby for beta reading and finding lots of typos and helping me to clarify some vague stuff, and thanks to Yael and KateF for some last minute reading and comments. (c) 11/25/2000 This story won Best Overall in Jennica's 2000 Christmas Story Contest: http://voyagercontest.cjb.net/ A "Traditional" Delta Quadrant Christmas By Anne Rose It had taken Neelix a while to understand the correct nature of the holiday. He made a wrong turn in his analysis leading to the mistaken idea, since the holiday revolved around a newborn, that it must have been a fertility ritual. His next historic misstep involved the idea that "snow" men were some type of ritual sacrifice to ensure the departure of winter and a bountiful planting season. Tom had considered whether or not to disabuse Neelix of these misconceptions. He laughed when he imagined the crew's reaction to the snowmen ceremony Neelix had outlined, but in the end he set the Talaxian straight. That error corrected, Neelix began researching periods of history for the most picturesque and diverting version of the "traditional" Christmas celebration. Due to the scarcity of replicator rations, he decided against Mr. Paris' suggestion of a 20th century model. Although he was personally intrigued by the trade opportunities in that free wheeling century, its obsession with material goods would have put an enormous strain on the ship's replicators. No, he was right the first time. Looking farther back in history, he found the text of "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens, complete with period illustrations. Ah, this was perfect - atmosphere, costumes, quaint archaic customs - just the thing to distract the crew from their everyday duties and responsibilities. The holodeck could provide the costumes, scenery, everything except the food. Neelix made a note to himself to advise the crew to retain their underclothing while wearing their holo-costumes. He didn't want a repeat of that unfortunate incident last month. The holo-emitters had briefly gone off line just as he was demonstrating the concept to the Captain and Mr. Paris. He shuddered at the memory. Fortunately Mr. Paris had been carrying his uniform jacket over his arm instead of wearing it, and he was kind enough to loan it to Neelix until the emitters came back online. 'No doubt he was planning to try on a holo-costume himself later,' Neelix thought. A very fortuitous coincident indeed - given the Captain's obvious discomfort. That day he had missed the scene, outside the holodeck and further up the hall, where the Captain was dressing down a certain Lieutenant for subjecting her, even by proxy, to one of his pranks. "But Captain, I gave him my jacket, what else could I do?" "You could have not tampered with the holo-emitters in the first place," she said, effectively ending the conversation. Lost in thought for a moment, Neelix forgot his current destination. Well, no matter, he needed to attend to other details - distributing instructions to the crew, finding recipes, and designing the program for the party. Then there were the dance lessons to arrange, and the other cultural tidbits. He was going to be very busy, but he knew how much the ship depended on him. The job of the morale officer was never done. *** For weeks prior to the Christmas party, all over the ship, the crew was preparing. Some were reading up on Dickens and Victorian England, and others were deciding on costumes. When Tom wasn't using it, the holodeck was booked for 19th century dance lessons. Neelix enlisted Tom Paris' help to program the holodeck. They created a lovely snow covered country house with beautiful grounds. The house, or rather mansion, appeared to be made out of stone with ornate detailing on the doors and windows. There were fireplaces in the dining room and ballroom, long elegant staircases and crystal chandeliers. Horse drawn carriages were standing ready to transport the guests from the changing areas near the holodeck doors to the site of the party. *** Tom reveled in the fact that he had direct access to the Christmas party holo-program. Now he just needed to find a way to exploit it. With Harry and B'Elanna's help, he began researching the time period to find suitable, quaint customs. "Look at this," he said, grabbing B'Elanna's arm and pulling her over to look at the computer screen. "This is just the thing. Totally authentic and loaded with possibilities." "Cloved Oranges," B'Elanna read, with Harry looking on. "Cloves were stuck into the skins of oranges, covering them in decorative patterns. The oranges were then passed around the guests from man to woman to man. Each person would remove a clove and chew on it to freshen their breath, and then kiss the person who had given them the orange." "Interesting," Harry commented, "but how are you going to get the Commander to hand the orange to the Captain or vice versa?" Tom sighed, "Harry, you have a talent for ruining my plans!" B'Elanna smacked the back of his head, "The plan wasn't any good to begin with, Flyboy." "Alright," he said rubbing his head, "but it will still work for the rest of the crew. We just need a plan B for the Command Staff." A little while later, Harry found the answer. "Mistletoe!" he exclaimed. "What?" Tom and B'Elanna said in unison. "Mistletoe. A poisonous, parasitic growth found on certain species of trees," he explained. "Not following you, Harry," Tom snickered. Harry grinned, "It is also used at parties, particularly winter time events." Tom motioned for him to get to the point. With some drama, Harry continued, "It is hung from the ceiling, and any couple standing or walking under is required to...kiss." He finished with a flourish looking smugly at Tom. "Harry, you've done it!" he said, slapping Harry on the back. "Now all we need to do is make sure they're under it." He rubbed his hands together with glee, and tried to work out the next puzzle. "We could program it to follow them," B'Elanna offered. "It is the holodeck after all." "Yes, but that's not very subtle. We'd get busted for sure," Tom pointed out. "It wouldn't have to follow them all the time," Harry offered. "We could set it for a delay, until well into the evening." Tom's eyes gleamed; he saw a viable plan forming. "OK, but we would need to trap other people, not just them. We would need to establish plausible deniability." "What's that?" B'Elanna asked. "It's a term that dates back to old earth. It's a good cover story, more or less. Now don't derail my train of thought B." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, even after dating him for years, and marrying him, she still couldn't understand him when he got into one of his anachronistic moods. "Alright people, let's brainstorm, whose been dating whom lately, and who else wants to but hasn't?" After a few hours work brainstorming they had a list of potential couples covering every member of the crew. Where their own first hand knowledge ended, they relied on help from the ship's computer and internal sensor logs, to correlate the non-work-related proximity of crewmembers, in public areas. It was an impressive achievement, one that would have made any 19th century matchmaker green with envy. There were a couple of side benefits - the sensor data confirmed what the group had suspected. The Captain and Commander spent a 'statistically significant', as the computer put it, amount of free time together. Tom poured over this part of the analysis, unknowingly giving B'Elanna and Harry a chance to pursue their own separate agendas with the data. B'Elanna was busy decreasing the records of Vorik's frequent 'accidental' close proximity to her, before Tom could see them and decide he needed to 'have words' with the Vulcan. B'Elanna still felt sorry for Vorik, with his ongoing infatuation, but her main concern was Tom. She didn't want her husband picking a fight with someone twice his strength. Harry, too, was busy searching through the data. Only this time the records in question were Seven of Nine's associations. Not surprisingly, he was at the top of the list of people she spent time with, but there were a number of other crewmen with a significant number of entries. He took note of who they were, for future reference, and then began altering the data. Deleting crewman X here, and adding Tuvok there. In another case Chakotay was substituted, and then Tom. He smiled as he finished, 'That should do it,' he thought. "What are you up to, Harry," Tom asked, now that he had finished his part. "I'm just adjusting some of the numbers." Harry wasn't exactly lying. "We need to make sure to only steer certain people toward the Captain and Commander; since we don't want to create any, uh, unplanned circumstances, right?" They nodded. "Well I've added more hits to Chakotay and Seven or B'Elanna, and also the Captain and you, me, or Tuvok," he finished. "Good work, Harry. I'll make a prankster out of you yet." They spent another hour fine-tuning their plan, and then called it a night. ----------------------------------------- On the evening of the Christmas party, the crew began to arrive at the holodeck. Neelix greeted them and ushered them into the changing rooms, where they could dress in their pseudo-period costumes. The dresses and accessories included in the program were more opulent than the time period actually required, but Tom reasoned there were times when too much authenticity could be a hindrance to having fun. The dressing areas were quite spacious, and came complete with holographic lady's maids to help the women into their layers of clothing. For those who wanted a more authentic look, there were corsets, petticoats, hoopskirts and finally the gorgeous ball gowns themselves. Kathryn's dress was a rich emerald green. She felt the soft material. It appeared to be a rich silk taffeta. The dress had a full skirt and a fitted bodice that left her shoulders bare. She looked over the lace, ribbons and pearls sewn into the gown - it was a work of art. It was quite unlike any of the dresses she had worn in previous holo-programs. When she finished dressing, the maid guided her over to sit in front of a vanity and began to arrange her hair. Kathryn watched in the mirror, as the maid piled her hair up high onto her head, adding extensions here and there to achieve the desired effect. The styling was accented with ribbons, and with pearls set in combs and long pins. For the final touches, there were elbow length, white gloves and an assortment of jewelry. Kathryn's jewels looked like emeralds set in gold, to match her dress. She held out her wrists, and the maid attached bracelets to them, and then fastened a necklace around her throat. She put her hand to her throat and looked at the jewels in the mirror. They sparkled and shimmered, complementing her dress and her auburn hair. Kathryn found the experience strangely relaxing. Rarely had she been so pampered. As she looked around, she saw a number of the other women enjoying similar treatment. Seven in particular caught her interest. She seemed enthralled with the procedure and was taking note of every detail. Her dress was similar to Kathryn's in some ways. It had a higher neckline, to conceal Seven's protective clothing, and her remaining body armor had made a corset unnecessary. The dress itself was made of a deep royal blue silk, accented with gold beads sewn into the lace. The jewels at her throat and wrists were brilliant blue sapphires, also set in gold. Kathryn stood, and walked over to Seven. She looked up at the Captain, and then examined her own dress. "I am not certain I will be comfortable in this costume, Captain. I am not used to so much extra fabric. I am afraid I may not be able to walk properly in it." "You look wonderful, Seven. And as for walking, I'll let you in on a secret with these dresses. Bend your knees slightly more than normal and it will even out your walk. You want to give the impression of floating across the floor, like this." She said demonstrating. Kathryn glided across the room and back effortlessly. "Come on Seven, let's go see if the boys are ready to go." With that, Kathryn took Seven's arm and they walked out to the parlor where the men were waiting to collect their dates. Chakotay and Harry were standing looking out the window when the women entered. They were wearing black tailcoats and pants with white silk shirts and elaborate cravats. There was little decoration on their costumes aside from their gold cuff links, but their hats and ornate walking sticks accessorized their costumes adequately and added an air of gentility to their look. Harry noticed Kathryn and Seven's reflection in the window, and nudged Chakotay as he turned around. The two women grinned as they watched the men's expressions change to one of shock and admiration. Chakotay walked up to Kathryn and took her hand. Holding her at arms length, he studied her appreciatively from head to toe and back again. "You look stunning, Kathryn," he finally said. "May I escort you to the carriage?" She smiled and nodded. He helped her on with her wrap, and then took her arm in his as they walked out the doors to the waiting coach. Seven and Harry followed them out, and Kathryn had to hide her giggles behind her fan when she saw Harry's face. Seven was beautiful, and she couldn't have had a more appreciative audience than Mr. Kim. They all rode together in the open carriage. Kathryn and Chakotay on one side and Seven and Harry across from them. They enjoyed the scenic drive down the lane to the mansion where the party was being held. When they arrived the gentlemen got into character for the evening, assisting the ladies down from the coach with a flourish, and escorting them into the hall. The decorations inside were lovely. Tom had used fir swags, strings of popped corn and apples, along with poinsettias and seasonal flowers to accent the carved wood and marble of the ornate rooms. Tom waived at them to come share a table with him and B'Elanna, over by one of the large fireplaces. A maid appeared and took the ladies wraps and the gentlemen's hats and canes, as they made their way to the table. B'Elanna stood up as they approached and smiled at the group. Her bold, blood red silk, gown was accented with fiery rubies around her throat and wrists. It contrasted with her dark hair, which was curled, and arrange in an elaborate style. Dinner was served soon after their arrival and they enjoyed a lively discussion about Victorian novels and characterizations. Kathryn had always been fond of the period, but of course, Tom preferred the 20th century. They debated the merits of the two time periods until the dessert was served. During the dessert course, Neelix introduced a number of parlor games that he had gleaned from his reading - some amusing word games, 'forfeits', and 'blind man's bluff'. They ate their dessert, and joined in a number of the games. They were all having such a good time that they didn't notice the small orchestra assembling in the adjoining ballroom, until it began to tune up. Tom stood, and offered his arm to B'Elanna, "May I escort you to the ballroom, Milady?" he asked, with a sweeping bow. B'Elanna's sparkling laughter was contagious. The others laughed as they rose and followed them into the next room. *** From their vantage point, at a table by one of the fireplaces, Kathryn and Chakotay surveyed the festivities. She noticed the group over by another fireplace laughing and passing around one of Tom's cloved oranges. One crewman accepted the orange with some reluctance and shyly kissed the ensign who had offered it. He looked around with a desperate expression on his face when he realized he had to select a woman to pass it on to. Kathryn chuckled and motioned to Chakotay to observe the amusing scene. Agonizing over the decision for several long minutes, gave his friends ample time to tease him and offer various suggestions about whom he should select. Suddenly he turned back to the woman who had given him the orange. A broad smile replaced the anxious look of a moment earlier. He offered it to her, and they linked arms, wandering off to a quiet corner, with the orange. There was a cry of protest from the other crewmen, but they soon quieted when a replacement orange was found. "Hmm, I'm not sure if that's cricket," Chakotay chuckled, using some of Neelix's suggested vocabulary. "But you do have to admire his tactical abilities. That was quick, thinking on his feet, in a crisis," she smiled. Chakotay looked at her and smiled, "You admire that sort of thing, do you?" "Of course, why do you think I wanted you as my First Officer?" she said with a wink. He sat and considered what she had said, as he watched the crew enjoying themselves. The couples glided around the dance floor to the tune of an ancient waltz. The beautiful dresses were swirling pools of color, like flowers floating on a pond. He looked further around the room and saw more people gathered by the punch bowl. They were getting cups of punch or eggnog for themselves and their dates. "Kathryn, shall we go get some refreshments?" he asked. Suddenly, before she could answer, there was a commotion by the refreshment table. He couldn't tell what was going on at first, and then it became clear that mistletoe had been discovered above the heads of Ensigns Wildman and Carey. Kathryn and Chakotay watched Sam and Joe go through the motions of protesting the unfairness of it all. They insisted mistletoe had not been there earlier. But in the end, they had to share a kiss in order to quiet the crewmen gathered around. The smiles on Sam and Joe's faces when they stepped back apart, put to rest any doubts about their true feelings. Chakotay leaned over to Kathryn, "Did you see that mistletoe appear out of nowhere?" She nodded. "Maybe I'll go over and get something to drink for both of us?" "I think that would be wise, Chakotay," she whispered back to him. "I'll have an eggnog. Be careful." However, despite her warning, as he arrived at the table he practically bumped into B'Elanna. He was just about to offer to get her some punch when Ensign Ashmore began gesturing above their heads. His shoulders slumped, and he knew what he would see before he looked up. B'Elanna seized on his apprehension and immediately challenged him, "Chakotay, I'm about 10 seconds away from taking your lack of enthusiasm personally! I'll have you know Tom thinks I'm a pretty good kisser." Chakotay looked at her and smiled, "I suppose there are worse things that could happen to me. Care to kiss your old Captain?" "Sure," she laughed, "just nothing fancy. I wouldn't want to make...Tom jealous." Chakotay gave her a quick kiss. "See, that wasn't so bad." "No, it wasn't bad at all," he agreed. "Now, would you like me to pour you a cup of punch, or shall we wait for the mistletoe to cycle back here again?" "Let's get our drinks and get out," she laughed. They filled their cups, and walked back over to the table where Kathryn was waiting. As they approached, he saw her eyebrow go up. She had a mischievous grin on her face, "So, I wonder if Tom saw that little scene?" "What scene?" Tom asked, as he paused putting a hand on the back of Kathryn's chair. "The one you're about to replay," B'Elanna said with a laugh as she pointed above their heads. They looked up, and sure enough, a sprig of mistletre."ad appeared over Tom and the Captain's heads. "Someone is going to pay for this," she muttered, and then a thought occurred to her. "Didn't you write this program, Tom?" Tom did his best, 'caught in his own trap' look and shuffled his feet a bit. "I set it to be random. You know, as an icebreaker," he lied. "I'm sure we can let it go this time," he said in a pitiful voice. "Oh no," the Captain said, unwittingly playing into his hand - or so it seemed. "The mistletoe applies to everyone, no exceptions! And your Captain will take it as a personal insult if you try to wheedle your way out of this." Tom sighed, "Alright Captain, since you put it that way, I'd be delighted to kiss you." With that, he helped her up and placed a quick kiss on her lips. B'Elanna and Chakotay clapped, as did a number of crewmen who had gathered to see what was going on. Kathryn chuckled and fanned herself for effect, "After that I'll need something to drink. Chakotay, where's that eggnog?" Chakotay brought the cup over to her and they both sat back down. They enjoyed their eggnog and watched the crew's reaction as mistletoe sightings became more common. Seven and Harry had been trapped by the mistletoe several times already, as well as Tom and B'Elanna. She laughed hardest when she saw Tuvok and Seven discover the mistletoe over their heads. Tuvok declared a quick kiss to be the most efficient way of extricating themselves from the situation, and Seven agreed. It seemed the safest place in the room was on the dance floor. At least there the couples were in motion and the mistletoe was not programmed to be so obvious as to actually follow couples. After sharing this conclusion with the Captain, Chakotay asked her to dance. They had almost made it to the dance floor, but when they paused to allow another couple to cross in front of them, they heard a shout. "Look, above the Captain's head! Woo hoo!" She turned to look at the soon to be demoted crewman, and found that the attention of most of the room was on them. She rolled her eyes and sighed. To the crew she appeared unruffled by the thought of kissing her First Officer. Seven, with her finely tuned Borg senses, was the only one who guessed at the truth. Of course the others hoped and stared at them shamelessly, searching for the slightest hint of affection. He looked at her with a similar expression of disinterest, and said, loudly enough for the assembled crew to hear "They're not going to leave us alone until we give them a show." She sighed again and prepared herself to look unimpressed, whatever the outcome. This was not they way she had envisioned kissing him, but you have to play the hand you're dealt. He stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her waist. Spinning her slightly; he lowered her in to a deep dip, culminating with a chaste kiss. When they rose back up, he spun her away from him. They stood hand-in-hand and delivered a deep bow to the crew. They pointedly ignored the cries of encore as they dropped hands and went to retrieve their drinks from their table beside the fireplace. Sitting side-by-side, together at the table, Kathryn was the first to comment, "Miserable custom, forcing people together like that." "I agree, that's not at all how I imagined it would be." He delivered the line looking straight ahead, across the table at the fireplace, taking a deep sip of his drink. She just stared at him with her mouth open. After a moment spent digesting his comment, and wrestling with herself, she turned back to the fireplace. "Me neither," she said. She watched his reaction out of the corner of her eye. He hid it well, but she could tell he was surprised, and intrigued. She waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to say or do something. Finally, when they each had finished most of their drink, he reached over and took her hand. Helping her up from the chair, he led her out onto the dance floor. A waltz was playing and he took hold of her by her waist and guided her with his other hand. Around and around the floor they glided in time to the music. Her dress added to the illusion that she was floating as she danced. He held her close, but not so close that he couldn't watch her face as they danced. After studying her expressions for a few minutes he whispered in her ear, "Tell me Kathryn, how did you imagine it?" Color rose up in her cheeks as she tried to decide whether to answer him, and what to say if she did. She had almost decided to pretend not to understand, or to laugh it off, but the earnestness, and openness of his expression stopped her. "I imagined it more like this," she said softly, "but in a private spot, without the crew standing around gawking." He nodded and looked thoughtful as the dance continued. The music ended again, after their third waltz, and couples came and went from the dance floor. Chakotay wrapped Kathryn's arm around his as he led her back off the floor. He didn't stop when they reached the edge of the room; instead he asked her, "Kathryn, would you like some fresh air and a stroll in the gardens?" She smiled, of course the air was the same everywhere on the holodeck, but the company was not. "Yes, I'd love to see the gardens," she said, as they walked out the door. They found themselves on a balcony instead of the garden. "Hmm, looks like we made a wrong turn," he said as he surveyed the balcony, and looked back at Kathryn. "Not necessarily," she smiled. "Computer, seal the door we just exited." She enjoyed the momentary flash of surprise in his eyes as he understood the implications of what she had done. "Kathryn," he said as he pulled her close. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, as she watched him leaning closer, until she could feel his breath on her face, and she closed her eyes. She felt him press against her as he leaned down to touch his lips to hers. They stood, locked in each other's arms until the need for air caused them to separate. Looking into Kathryn's eyes, Chakotay asked, "Was that more like what you imagined?" "Yes," she replied, "but we haven't discussed what I imagined for the next kiss." They continued their discussion into the wee hours of the morning. ~*~*~*~ Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.