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Rating: G

"Have you been down to see B'Elanna yet?" Chakotay asked knowing that Kathryn usually made it a priority to see recovering crewmen.

"No," Kathryn replied as she set down her wine glass, "I wasn't sure she would want to see me."

She leaned back on the couch and watched Chakotay as he walked over with their dessert. She couldn't help the smile when she saw that it was coffee ice cream and reached for her bowl as soon as Chakotay had set it down on the coffee table.

Kathryn watched him in silence as she slowly ate her ice cream. Chakotay seemed a million light years away, or maybe just a couple of decks. His brow furrowed slightly and she wondered what he was thinking that he wouldn't share, then chastised herself when she caught her emotions rise at the thought that there was something he wouldn't want to share with her.

They had so easily and readily settled into their friendship that she had already come to rely on it. It was never questioned, by either one of them. But it also made her realize that while Chakotay was here with her, questioning why she had not visited B'Elanna, he was not with his friend either.

"Why are you not with her?" Kathryn asked with a raised eyebrow before licking her spoon clean.

She was pretty certain that their chief engineer would much rather have a close friend at her side than her commanding officer. But then again, Chakotay was B'Elanna's commanding officer as well.

"I saw her earlier," he shrugged, "and she's still struggling to come to terms with everything that happened to her. There's not much I can offer in terms of support. This is something she has to resolve with herself. I was giving her time to herself before the Doctor began his treatment, but I'll go back to see her later."

Kathryn nodded pensively. It made sense. She knew B'Elanna was struggling with being half-Klingon and now that she had experienced being fully human and was being forced back into her old self, there was bound to be some fallout. The way Chakotay explained himself, made Kathryn wonder how deeply he understood his friend. He always seemed so at peace with himself and so proud of his heritage, and yet his words spoke of his own experiences with fighting that inner struggle.

"And believe it or not, Tom Paris is down there right now," Chakotay chuckled quietly, "and they seem to get along just fine."

Kathryn gave him a bright smile. She knew Chakotay didn't think too highly of their pilot, but it didn't actually surprise her to hear that Tom was with B'Elanna. Kathryn had read his report earlier and knew that he was the one who had been with B'Elanna most of the time. He had seen her at her most vulnerable, and knowing that Tom was actually pretty pure-hearted, Kathryn knew his caring nature would show up somehow. It wasn't obvious to most people, but she knew there was a good man in there. Tom would just need to let him out more.

"I'll go and see B'Elanna later as well," Kathryn promised, more to herself than Chakotay.

She would make sure to tell B'Elanna that she was glad to have her back - all of her. But at the moment, she could still enjoy the quiet time with her First Officer and friend. She was actually a little glad that he seemed so lost in thought. It meant that he wouldn't notice her staring at him. And she couldn't stop it, even if she tried. Which she didn't.

She had already had trouble keeping her eyes off him earlier in sickbay. While the Doctor made him look like a Vidiian, her eyes had been glued to his face. Despite his outward appearance, she had not been repulsed, and she had been unable shake the thought that she might never see him again. She had not wanted to send him down there. She hadn't wanted to send any of her crew down there, but she was the captain and it was part of her job to send people into the line of fire - no matter how she felt about it, or them.

But they were back now. B'Elanna was on her way back to herself and Kathryn enjoyed the freedom of getting her fill of looking at Chakotay.

He looked up when he heard her deep, throaty chuckle.

"You've been doing that at least a dozen times now," she explained at his surprised expression.

"Doing what?" He still didn't understand what had her so amused, though.

"You keep touching your temple and your hair." She gestured to his hand, which had, without his realization, snuck back into his hair again. He quickly lowered it and tugged his earlobe, causing Kathryn to grin widely.

"It's probably a bit vain," his face showed his slight uneasiness, "but I'm really glad it's back."

"So am I," Kathryn said and leaned forward on an impulse to brush her fingers over his tattoo and the grey streak in his hair, only to quickly pull back when she realized what she was doing.

Chakotay watched the crimson spread over her cheeks and down her neck and tried to lighten the mood and her embarrassment.

"See," he laughed, "it's like a magnet. It's not my fault my hair has developed it's own gravitational field."

Seeing that her bowl was empty, he stood up to give Kathryn a moment and carried their dishes to the replicator to be recycled.

"Do you want more wine?" He asked over his shoulder.

"I'm good." As much as she did not want to break this up and would rather stay in his company, her brief infraction had let her know that it was time to go before she embarrassed herself further and another glass of wine might make her do something she would regret later. "I think I'll go visit Miss Torres and then turn in for the night. Thanks to a certain individual, I have the early shift tomorrow."

"Thanks for the dinner," he said, although she had only brought the wine, but they both knew he wasn't really thanking her for the food.

He had been emotionally drained from worrying about B'Elanna and Kathryn, and he had developed an unspoken, mutual agreement that after days like this they would talk things through until they felt better. It had happened rather quickly. In the beginning he had sought her out and offered dinner, or coffee, and it hadn't taken long for her to just show up at his door to talk. From there, they had just quietly developed this habit of keeping tabs on each other's emotional well-being and by now it came as second nature to them.

He walked her to the door and before she slipped out, he touched her arm. "Tell B'Elanna I'll be down in the morning."

Kathryn smiled and nodded, understanding that it was his way of assuring her that B'Elanna would really appreciate her visit.