She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. Wasn't sure when watching Tom take care of Chakotay became watching Tom take care of her - the gentle movements and shadows as he pulled off her coat, pushed a pillow behind her head, draped a blanket over her lap. Taking care of each other. That's what they did. What they'd all done for seven years in the Delta Quadrant.

It was definitely coffee that pulled her from the depths of a sound sleep. Coffee and voices, but mainly the coffee.

"Move it closer to her. She'll open her eyes." The voice held both laughter and knowledge, for the aroma of fresh coffee wafted closer and she did indeed open her eyes. "Good morning." And although the voice came from behind her, it was his gaze that she saw first - dark brown eyes staring at her from under half-closed lids, sleepy and soft, but still she saw that familiar playfulness, that glint that always managed to entertain and reassure her even in the most serious of situations.

"For you, Kathryn." Tom held the cup in front of her and she wrapped her hands around it, inhaling deeply, watching Chakotay enjoying her reaction. And that's what he was doing. She could tell. There was definitely a lopsided grin pulling at his lips.

Tom noticed their locked gazes. "He's been content to watch you sleep for the last half hour."

"Oh, Tom, you should have woken me up." She noticed B'Elanna sit down in the chair that had been pulled up next to hers. "When did you get here?"

"About a half hour ago."

"Yeah, right at the beginning," Tom continued with his earlier observance. "Watching people sleep. Not one of my favorite pastimes, but the big guy here is a man of few pleasures, so I'll give him this one."

Kathryn handed her cup to B'Elanna and went over to stand by the bed. Chakotay's eyes followed her, and then closed for a few moments as she touched her hand to his forehead, her fingers smoothing over the lines of his tattoo. She leaned down and kissed his cheek, whispered into his ear. "Hey, you." And she stayed there for a few moments, cheek to cheek, breathing him in, her hand slipping down to hold the back of his head, fingers feeling the familiar bristle of hair along his neck. When she straightened, his eyes were open again. She smiled softly. "I'm glad you're awake, but you look tired. Maybe I should watch you sleep for a while."

He swallowed convulsively, the muscles of his throat tightening as he struggled to talk. "Kath…" he breathed hoarsely, swallowing again, his tongue pushing against his lower lip. "K-Kath…ryn."

"Shh." She touched her fingers to his lips. "You don't have to talk. I know. You're going to be all right."

He moved his head. "Nuh…" he groaned, his right hand reaching up and grabbing hold of her hand. "No…" He pushed her hand away.

She noticed that saliva had drooled onto his chin, and without thinking, she gently wiped it away with her fingertips.

He pushed at her hand again, clearly uncomfortable with the intimacy of her gesture.

She bent closer to him, pressing another kiss to his cheek, another whisper in his ear. "I'm here, Chakotay."

That's all she knew to say, but it was enough. With a heavy sigh, he seemed to relax, the tension on the right side of his face easing slightly as he stopped the awkward shaking of his head and weak movement of his hand on hers. He allowed her to wrap her fingers around his right hand, and he held on to her.

Tom stepped over with the small cloth, and he gently reached in and used it to wipe at Chakotay's cheeks and chin. Reaching out with her other hand, Kathryn took the cloth from him and took over.

Again, Chakotay tried to resist, turning his head on the pillow. "No… K-Kathryn."

She shook her head, a slight smile lifting the corners of her lips. "I'm staying right here." And she sat down on the edge of his bed. "You can't get rid of me that easily." She rubbed the cloth over his cheeks and forehead, gentle stroking that softly eased him back to sleep.

Long minutes passed, and she was just as content watching him sleep, his chest rising and falling with each deep breath, his hand still held in her grasp, fingers laced together.

"Well, I think it's a tie." Tom's voice came from the chair behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. He was sitting next to B'Elanna now. "I'm not sure who the better sleeper is. I do know it's a very uneventful sport."

Kathryn reached back and slapped him on the knee. "Move. I'm going to sit there, drink my coffee, and indulge in my new favorite pastime."

B'Elanna shot an exasperated glance in Tom's direction. "Don't listen to him, Kathryn. You did exactly what needs to be done. He needs to sleep a little longer this morning. They want to start some therapy later today, and he's going to need all the rest he can get."

Kathryn eased her hand from Chakotay's fingers and was relieved when he continued sleeping. She moved back to the chair Tom had just vacated and gladly took her cup of coffee from B'Elanna. Thankfully, it was still warm.

"All right," Tom announced, "my mom has Miral." He pointed at B'Elanna. "You're here," he pointed at Kathryn, "and you're here, and I'm going home to take a shower and a nice long nap." He leaned over and kissed his wife. "Feel free to come home and watch me sleep whenever you want."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Tempting offer, but I think I'll keep Kathryn company for a while."

"Your loss," Tom grinned, but then grew serious for a moment. "You'll keep me updated."

B'Elanna reached out and squeezed his hand. "I always do, Helmboy. Now go. I have some serious Chakotay watching to do."

Tom left and the two women sat in silence for a long time. Finally, when she took the last sip of her coffee, Kathryn looked over at B'Elanna. "That husband of yours gave me some very good advice last night."

B'Elanna raised her eyebrows. "My husband?!"

Kathryn smiled. "He's a very smart man, B'Elanna. I don't think I always give him enough credit."

B'Elanna reached over and placed a hand on her arm. "Oh, yes, you do. You always have. You give us more credit than any of us deserve. You have a unique ability to make us more than what we think we can be just because you believe in us." She sighed. "That's really deep for me this early in the morning, Kathryn. What exactly did my husband tell you?"

"He told me that I was in love with Chakotay, and that I needed to tell him."

B'Elanna gave a short, quick laugh. "That's Tom for you. Always stating the obvious."

Kathryn studied her friend's expression. "Has it always been that obvious?"

A look of disbelief crossed B'Elanna's face. "Kathryn, the whole crew knew how you and Chakotay felt about each other. It wasn't some big secret. Those of us who were closer to you knew that you were just good friends. Although we wished that you could have been more for each other, we understood the protocols that were involved. We knew you didn't want to jeopardize your command structure. But, according to some betting pools, over a third of the crew thought you were going at it like bunnies."

"Bunnies?"

"It was a long seven years!"

"Bunnies?!" Her voice grew louder.

"Shh, you'll wake up Peter Rabbit," B'Elanna grinned.

Kathryn rubbed a hand down over her face and sighed. She could only imagine the rumors that had spread through the ship. She hadn't been totally unaware of them even then. She had just made a conscious decision not to think about it.

She gazed over at the man sleeping on the bed before her. "I do love him," she whispered.

And she felt B'Elanna's hand close more firmly around her arm. "I know."

~vVv~

Tom stepped into the early morning sunshine and felt the tension in his shoulders start to recede, melting away as a cool breeze blew in from the bay and ruffled his hair.

It would be all right now. Kathryn was home. And she knew. And it would be all right.

It had to be.

Looking around, he decided to walk the six blocks to their apartment. He was tired, but the sky was high and blue and open, and after a long dark night, he needed the light, needed to feel it on his skin and in his eyes. He liked how it made him feel. Warm, protected…

He wished that B'Elanna were there, walking along beside him, holding his hand. But he knew she needed to be with Kathryn now.

Needed to be with Chakotay…

He made a left turn, and headed down toward the bay, could see a patch of water, blue and sparkling. The sun glinted off the waves, and he stopped and stared at the moving patterns of light. And remembered…

It was a little after 1400 hours and they were going to have a late lunch together – what had become a typical Tuesday – pizza at a little Italian restaurant just off campus. He would swing by Chakotay's office to pick him up, usually having to cajole him away from his notes and research with the promise of a pitcher of beer.

The man simply worked too hard and too long – he needed to loosen up, take more time to enjoy the world outside the four walls of his office and the Academy. But Tom understood the fascination with this new position – was guilty of enjoying it himself. All those eager cadets looking to them for guidance and wisdom – and, in his case, piloting skills. It was a bit of a rush.

And, of course, Chakotay loved his classes – Anthropology and Xeno-Paleontology – early humans and prehistoric creatures from across the galaxy – what not to love?!

Still, all work and no play made for a very dull commander. Sure, he'd mentioned Kathryn's name a few times recently, and Tom was beginning to think there might be a little more "play" going on than Chakotay admitted, but he was still far too mired in work. Maybe after lunch he could convince him to take the rest of the afternoon off – find a local pub with a table and spend the rest of the day shooting pool. It was worth a shot – maybe he could even get him to open up a little more about Kathryn.

He winked fruitlessly at Chakotay's young assistant as he sauntered into the outer office. She was all of twenty-one, but despite his efforts had so far been immune to the Paris charm. She was even duller than her boss – the most serious young officer he'd ever encountered – even more straight-laced than a young Harry Kim.

Today, she barely lifted an eyebrow in response, too busy working on her computer, and simply nodded for him to go on into the inner office, which he did. A much younger Tom Paris would have hitched his hip on the side of her desk, blinked his baby blues at her, and convinced her to join them for lunch. But, despite what Chakotay and B'Elanna might believe, he'd matured.

He stopped in the open doorway and looked around. Chakotay's office was a nice size – much larger than his office on Voyager – and much more "academic" – sofa and chairs next to a large window, a heavy oak desk flanked by another set of cushioned chairs, bookshelves lining the walls. He was surprised that his former first officer hadn't taken to wearing tweed jackets and smoking a pipe just to feel at home in his new environment.

He was also surprised that he wasn't seated behind the desk as he usually was, head bent studiously over a project. Tom started to back out and ask his assistant where he was when he heard it. A soft noise – a low moan.

He rounded the desk and felt his heart slam into his ribs. Chakotay was crumpled on the floor, on his side, legs drawn close to his stomach. His head was bent at an awkward angle, face turned up. And Tom knew immediately that he'd had a stroke. The left side of his face was loose and drooping, while the right side was tense, contracted. His eyes were closed, his right hand flailing, reaching out. And he smelled the acrid scent of urine.

He knelt down next to him, grabbing his hand with his fingers and holding on to him as his other hand hit his commbadge.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Tom Paris. I'm with Commander Chakotay. Lock on to our signals and transport us straight to Starfleet Medical Emergency. Now!"

"Acknowledged," a voice responded.

And a moment later, he felt the tingling of a transporter beam. In that instance, Chakotay's eyes snapped open and Tom saw the terror in their brown depths.

The medical team had taken over, pushed him back. And he'd gone to contact B'Elanna, and Harry. Held his wife when she'd arrived, draped an arm around his friend's shoulder. Waited in the hospital corridor until they'd settled Chakotay in a room.

And then stayed with him.

Last night hadn't been as bad, but the night before had been rough, watching him drift in and out of consciousness, listening to him cry, his voice harsh and halting.

It was difficult seeing him like that. Chakotay – the former Maquis, Voyager's First Officer – the man who had grudgingly given Tom Paris the benefit of the doubt and found a friend in the process.

He was scared… and hurt… and reaching out…

And when the nightmares came, Tom had pulled him up into his arms, cradled him to his chest, and rocked him like a baby.

~vVv~