"First on the agenda," Captain Janeway began the briefing. She glanced up from the PADD that lay on the conference table and looked around at her senior officers. One chair was conspicuously empty. "Where's B'Elanna?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Chakotay responded. "There was a problem in Engineering."

"What kind of problem?"

The First Officer had anticipated her inquiry. A good Captain was always on top of her ship, it's facilities, and it's crew.

"A minor problem with the plasma injector. Nothing serious. But I thought it would be prudent for our Chief Engineer to deal with it immediately. I'll deliver a copy of the briefing to her later on in the day."

Janeway nodded her head and continued on with the briefing without further comment.

Chakotay expertly hid the smile that was begging to surface.

********************

B'Elanna woke slowly to the warmth of slept in sheets and the smell of sandalwood soap. A small smile came to her lips as the previous nights activities returned to her memory. She rolled to her side expecting Chakotay to still be beside her.

She moved onto empty mattress.

"Chakotay?"

Her voice traveled through an empty cabin.

She sat up in bed, clutching the covers to her bosom, and looked around the room. It was as she had left it with one small exception. A PADD was laying at the foot of the bed. She leaned haphazardly over and snatched up the device.

It was already activated...

"B'Elanna... Hope you slept well. Don't go anywhere. I'll be back. --Chakotay," it read.

The smile returned to her face.

"What time is it?"

The automated voice of the ship's computer returned, "The time is zero nine hundred thirty-four minutes."

B'Elanna's eyes flew open. "You turned off my alarm!" she yelled.

"Please restate your question," the computer answered.

"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!"

She shot up out of bed and ran toward the closet. The doors swooshed open upon command. The compartment was empty.

"What?!"

Her next stop was the dresser drawers. They too were empty. A quick search of her quarters revealed no clothes anywhere on it's premises.

"Computer, replicate one uniform. B'Elanna Torres," she ordered.

"Unable to comply."

"Why?!" she demanded.

"There are insufficient credits to replicate ---"

"Show me my account!"

The list of rations allocated to Lt. B'Elanna Torres, Chief Engineer of the Starship Voyager appeared on the screen directly above the replicator station. The total listed was five. There was enough for breakfast and a cup of coffee.

"I had hundreds in this account yesterday!"

Her eyes traveled aimlessly around the room in anger. They eventually fell on the abandoned PADD.

"Computer, has anyone accessed this account over the last twenty-four hours other then myself?" she huffed. "No. Let me guess..."

"Affirmative. Commander Chakotay."

She picked up the PADD and threw it across the room. It ricocheted off the closet doors and skidded to a halt on the bathroom floor. "P'tak", she breathed heavily. He'd left her trapped in her quarters with nothing but her underwear for company. Her feet began to take her on an endless pace around the room.

The sound of the front door opening caused her to turn sharply. She stopped her stalking just meters from the opening. Chakotay strode in, clad in a duty uniform and carrying another PADD.

"Will you promise to meet me at the door like this every time?" he asked lightheartedly.

She was instantly in his face. "I never liked your twisted sense of humor, Chakotay."

"And you never lied very well."

He took her chin gently in his hand and drew her the short distance to his lips. Under his heartfelt kiss, the half-Klingon began to relax. The anger deflated and she moved closer to touch him.

Goosebumps prickled under Chakotay's hands as he took hold of her upper arms. He pulled away from her with a mischievous smile.

"Don't the Klingons have a saying? 'Revenge is a dish best served cold.'"

B'Elanna took possession of him by the waist and started to move towards the bedroom. "Who says I'm going to be cold for long?"