Author's Note: This is not a sequel to the previous chapter. It is the same story, minus the song lyrics and with a few added sentences to make up for the transitions they facilitated. Enjoy!

He remembers his time on New Earth. It was the most peaceful he's ever been. Being alone, with her, was in some ways a dream come true.

He remembers the day when she finally stopped hunting for a way out, and began to accept their situation. It might have been the happiest day of his life. When they'd discussed their camping trip, a plan had begun to form in his mind. On the last night before their return, he'd ask her to marry him.

He sighs at the memory. He'd never gotten that chance. The discovery of a cure had stopped his plan cold. Once he was back on Voyager, he'd never felt comfortable enough to do it. He wishes now that he had. Why had he waited until it was too late?

When the news came that Voyager was missing, presumed destroyed, it had nearly killed him. The thought that she had finally accomplished the one thing she'd wanted for the past five years, only to die before she saw the fruits of her labor, was unbearable. The only thing that could come close to that level of pain was when Starfleet gave up the search.

He can still hear her voice, her laughter, the way she said his name, the sharp edge that came into her voice when she was angry, the quiet, determined way she spoke when she'd made up her mind. Not a day goes by he doesn't miss her. Not a night goes by that he doesn't dream of her.

He remembers the day she got the letter telling her her fiance had married someone else. He'd felt sympathy, as a friend should. But underlying that had been joy. Pure, unadulterated joy that he couldn't suppress. She was no longer bound to another man.

He'd waited, trying to give her time to get over Mark. He'd told himself it was the right thing to do. But now he realizes he again waited too long. He'd had another chance, and he blew that one too. That chance had been his last.

It shouldn't have been. We should have had more chances. So many more. I ruined it with my carelessness, my recklessness. I killed her. I killed them all.

Why had she trusted him? Why had she put so much faith in their plan? If she'd just realized the danger, if she'd just called the whole thing off, they would've been fine. They would have remained trapped in the Delta Quadrant, but that no longer seemed half as bad as it had when it had been the case. He'd take a life in the Delta Quadrant with her over a life in the Alpha Quadrant without her any day.

He'd made a mistake. And over a hundred people had paid with their lives. But it's one in particular that won't leave his mind. The face of a woman with auburn hair and gray eyes haunts his every moment.

When he sees that face as is now, covered in ice that preserved her as she was in the moment of her death, he can no longer hold back the pain. He kneels beside the frozen body, tears streaming down his face. She's so still, so quiet, so cold. In this moment, he's forced to accept that she's really gone. And it's no easier than it would have been fifteen years ago.

The garbled recording of her last message almost breaks him. For a moment he wants to die with her. It would be so simple just to put his phaser to his head, to lie down next to her and die in the arms of the woman he's loved from the first moment he laid eyes on her.

The only thing that makes him keep going is the knowledge that if his and Harry's plan succeeds, some version of him will have her back. He bends over and, as best he can through his protective gear, kisses the cold, still lips.

"I love you, Kathryn Janeway," he whispers.

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He doesn't listen as the Challenger's captain pleads with him. Nothing the man is saying matters. What La Forge can't understand is that his life means nothing to him. It ended the day Voyager crashed and killed her captain. Every breath he takes now is pointless. His only purpose in life is to erase the last fifteen years.

It's close. It's too close. If they make it, it will only be by seconds; if not, his death will be for nothing. But he no longer cares. He wanted to save them, but even if he can't, he'd rather die than live without her for even one more day.

The computer makes it clear they've sealed their fate. "Warp core breach in fifteen seconds."

Tessa grabs at his hand and he lets her. For a moment, he can't help but feel guilty for getting her into this, for getting involved with her at all when his heart still belonged to another woman. He never lied to her, never pretended to give her more than he was able, but it's still the one thing he's done in the past fifteen years that he regrets.

"Seven, six, five, four, three, two -"

"YES!" Harry Kim's voice drowns out the countdown. For the first time in fifteen years, Chakotay feels truly alive. Even as the warp core breaches, as the explosion rips through his body, his heart sings. They've done it. They've turned back the clock. Voyager will survive.

As he dies, he has only one thought.

I love you, Kathryn Janeway.

So...yeah. I haven't touched this fic in years, but it occurred to me that some people might prefer to read without the interspersed lyrics, so I decided to tack on this second version. Other than adding a few transitions, it's exactly the same as the original.

Please review (if you haven't already).