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"Commander, what are you doing?" Janeway began as he grabbed her wrist and led her towards his quarters. "Unhand me! That's an order Chakotay!"

He ignored her until they had made it to the privacy of his quarters. Chakotay spun her around and pressed her against the bulkhead. His eyes were dark and dangerous. "No uniform, no orders." He challenged quietly.

Kathryn sputtered, the fire in her eyes turning to fear. "We can't. Not here. You can't implement that here. Not now."

They had one rule on New Hope; no uniform, no orders. Any time Kathryn would slip in to captain mode, Chakotay would utter this phrase and she would laugh and concede. But, they couldn't do that on Voyager, it could get messy. She had to be the Captain at all times in and out of uniform.

Chakotay pressed his forehead to hers, lavishing the way her slender frame fit against him like the final piece to a puzzle, completing him. He knew that he was walking a dangerous path, one that could lead to her pushing him further away. He just needed to be near her, surrounded by her.

"I just need this moment, Kathryn." He pleaded, eyes closed, savoring the feel of her against him. Janeway hesitated. His proximity and his hands resting on her hips was clouding her judgment. She knew even a few seconds could be disastrous. Despite the protest screaming in her head she brought her hands to encircle his neck, relaxing against him. Chakotay shivered as her fingers tickled lightly at the base of his neck, emboldened he tilted his head and softly pressed his lips against hers.

Kathryn sighed against the warmth of his mouth as he drew her closer. Her heart fluttered and she began to forget the hum of the engines through the floorboards and the taste of recycled air. All she could sense was him. He snaked a hand under her tee-shirt trailing the length of her back setting her skin on fire and buried the other in her mass of hair.

"I've missed you." He murmured, kissing her again. "I've missed waking up to you."

"Chakotay, please." With great effort Kathryn placed her hand on his chest, creating space between them once more.

"I know, we can't. But, when you came around the corner- Kathryn, there won't ever be a time that I won't want to kiss you. I can't be expected to just turn off my feelings for you. This was nothing like New Earth, there wasn't a disease to cure or the hope of Voyager to think about. We had time on New Hope and we weren't just lovers-"

"Chakotay, don't please." She begged. Kathryn had maneuvered herself towards the entry. She knew he was just expressing the pain and frustration that mirrored her own, but she couldn't allow him to continue. He couldn't be allowed to remind her of the promises they had whispered to one another. Promises that were harder to keep aboard a starship. Promises they had no business making, knowing how twisted fate could be and the cruelty of the Delta Quadrant.

"The crew needs their Captain." She said her voice firm, but her eyes reflecting the turmoil she felt inside.

"And I need my wife."


There was something different about them. The entire crew speculated about what might have happened while the Command team had been stranded on the planet's surface, after all to them it had felt like nearly a year, not three days. Tom chuckled. Temporal anomalies, you just never knew what to expect from them.

The Captain had suffered a pretty severe head injury. She had regained a majority of her memory while planet side and her sessions with the Doc seemed to be speeding her recovery. She was still fit to be Captain.

Which was a relief. As much as Tom had come to respect Chakotay, it had been the Captain who had gotten him out of the Penal Colony and given him what he liked to call his final second chance. He had vowed to himself that he would serve her in any capacity that was needed and attuned himself to her moods to decipher her needs. Perhaps not to the level of Tuvok or Chakotay, but he would like to say knew her well enough to recognize that she definitely was different.

The freedom of the planet had changed her. Before she never would have walked around the ship with her hair loosened and her clothes casual. She had always been the Captain that was larger than life, just out of reach. On the planet she had become herself, still the scientist that craved discovery and exploration, but she also became a woman who was content to let her walls down and enjoy the moment.

Tom had encountered her a few times in the corridors after her shift had ended and had been shocked to find her out of uniform outside her quarters without one of Neelix's party's to attend.

"I'm still adjusting to being back in uniform. I never noticed how restricting it was." She had responded easily when he had commented on her appearance.

"Well, I am always saying they could have a little more give in certain areas." Tom had joked, awarding him another easy grin from the Captain. Despite her casual attire and easy smiles and claims to be glad to back on Voyager, Tom sensed a sadness in the Captain. He could also argue though Chakotay maintained a pretty good mask that he could sense it in him as well.

They were almost never on the bridge together and only spoke of ships business if they were. Where they use to converse on a myriad of topics and involve the entire bridge crew, it was now Tom or Harry that initiated and carried the conversations.

"Perhaps they just need some time apart…." Harry had argued one night when Tom brought up his observations and what he suspected may have occurred. "They did just spend nearly a year with only each other for company.- I think I would need some time away from you, if that had been us."

"Ha ha! Nice one Harry. Maybe you're right…. And maybe we do need some time apart. I am starting to sound like you.

Tom had been resolved to accept Harry's explanation of the Command Teams odd behavior and go on with his life until he observed the Captain rushing out of Chakotay's quarters clothes and hair disheveled with tears streaming down her face. Chakotay called after her. Tom ducked back around the corner, so they wouldn't be notice his presence. He peeked and watched as the Captain rushed in to her quarters and sealed the door before Chakotay had a chance to follow through. Chakotay stood in front of her quarters for a full minute fist pressed up against the door willing it to allow him entrance. Finally, releasing a deep heavy sigh Chakotay turned and went back to his quarters. Tom's heart ached when he saw Chakotay's face, it was that of a man whose whole world had been shattered.

"Well there you have it Tommy-boy, the one time you were right, you wish you had been wrong."