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Rating: NC-17

She showed up at his door, soaking wet, bruised and covered in glitter.

He had left the party hours ago. When the clock had struck midnight and the fireworks had gone off, he had suddenly realized that as happy as he was having his friends all around him, the person he really wanted to see at that exact moment was nowhere in sight. Had had looked around and upon not being able to find her, he had decided that it was time to call it a night and retreat to his home. He had spent enough time at the New Year's party and surely no one would miss him. He had made it home just in time for the pouring rain.

A few hours later a loud hollering and pounding at his door woke him from his deep slumber.

There she stood, dripping wet, her long black dress covered in glitter, reminding him of the vastness of space. She held one of her high-heeled sandals in one hand and the hem of her dress in the other. Her arms and legs were covered in scrapes and bruises and her white feet were starting to turn an ugly shade of blue. He realized that she must be freezing and she looked as if she walked here barefoot in the cold rain. The shattering of her teeth and her violent shaking was the final proof that she was obviously freezing to death out here.

Chakotay quickly stepped aside and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her and pulling her through to his living room. He grabbed a blanket from his couch and pulled it around her before he held her by her shoulders and took in her appearance from head to toe. From the way she slightly swayed and had trouble standing upright, he guessed that she had a little more to drink than she ought to. He had to bite back a laugh at the glitter that was clinging to her wet skin and dress. It even covered her hair and face.

"Kathryn," he finally said, guiding her to the couch and making her sit down, "what happened?"

"I was reminiscing." She looked at him matter-of-factly, despite the fact that she had trouble keeping her eyes open and her head still.

"And that got you looking like this?"

She looked at her arms and her dress then and seemed surprised at her current state. Then shrugged and looked back at him.

"I threw myself a pity party." She simply said in her no-nonsense voice.

That got his attention. Chakotay looked at Kathryn, trying to gauge her mood. The only time he'd known her to wallow in self-pity was a long time ago and she didn't seem even close to the black hole she was in back then. If anything she seemed a little giddy and from the looks of it, he would say she had partied a little too hard. When he had lost sight of her at the New Year's party she had looked radiant, but sober and her hair, skin and clothes had definitely been intact and unscathed. No, this obviously wasn't another bout of depression rearing its ugly head.

"Kathryn, you're drunk," Chakotay stated unnecessarily. A blind person could see that she was drunk as a skunk.

"Don't be ridiculous." She waved him off with her hand and an eye roll that didn't look too comfortable, "I only had a few glasses of champagne."

Her speech wasn't generally impaired, but her words were slurred, as if her tongue had already fallen asleep on her. But the few steps she had taken since he opened the door had not been in a straight line, not even close to a straight line. And the hand that clutched the edge of the sofa as if she was trying to stop her body from spinning with the room, almost made Chakotay laugh out loud. He desperately bit his cheek, when she once again shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind.

"So, where's your copper bride?" Kathryn mumbled almost incoherently while standing up, letting the blanket slide off her shoulders, and starting to wander around his house on unsteady legs.

"Where's what?" Chakotay asked following Kathryn as she grabbed on to the walls and different furniture on her way, having shaken off his offered hand.

She lifted her hand from the kitchen counter she was holding on to, almost making her fall and stumble into it with her hip, and waved him off, "Never mind."

Her kept following her around his house and put a steadying hand on her lower back when she walked up the stairs, both of her hands in an iron grip of the railing. When she opened the door to his bedroom she looked around for a few second and obviously not finding what she was looking for, she swiftly turned around, went back downstairs and slumped down on the couch.

Chakotay decided to give her a few seconds and went into the kitchen to make her some tea. By the time he returned with the steaming cup, Kathryn was fast asleep in his couch, her head propped up on her right arm, her left arm protectively over her chest, her hand clutching her right upper arm. Although he knew her neck and back would probably be killing her in the morning, she looked so peaceful that Chakotay didn't want to disturb her. So he carefully took off the one sandal she was still wearing and spread the blanket over her. He placed a glass of water on the coffee table in case she woke up during the night and went to bed himself, leaving his bedroom door open so he would hear if anything was wrong.

Once during the night, he was awakened to the sound of her retching in the bathroom. By the time he got up and reached the stairs, he heard the water running and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He watched from the top of the stairs as she emerged and padded to the door. When her hand reached the door handle he started down the stairs but saw her hesitate and turn back to look around the room.

Something on the sideboard must have caught her attention. She let go of the door handle and walked to the sideboard and out of his vision. Chakotay heard her sigh heavily and then she reappeared in his line of vision, sat back on the couch and took a few sips of the water before lying back down and pulling the blanket around herself.

Pleased that Kathryn had obviously decided to stay, Chakotay went back to bed, hoping she would still be there when he woke in the morning.