Pocket Watch:

A dozen different emotions coursed through her body when she discovered the pocket watch amongst the rubble of his quarters. She remembers when he had presented it to her on their broken bridge for her birthday and she had refused it without hesitation. The hurt and disappointment that she did not spare more than a glance at it was evident in his voice as he tried to change her mind.

The fact that he had not forgotten her birthday when Voyager was literally falling apart around them had spoken volumes. The fact that he had gone and disobeyed her direct orders and kept it in secret, awaiting for this year of hell to be over so he could once again give it to her spoke even more than anything else.

She smiled a true bright smile that lit up her entire face that had her cheeks aching to the now foreign movement. Really he might as well have said he loved her because this simple act shouted it out and it almost brought tears to her eyes because he was no longer with her. It felt like yesterday when he and Tom had been beamed aboard the Krenim ship and sometimes it felt like a lifetime.

She tied it securely to her waist; she never wanted to lose sight of it nor the comfort it brought to her. It was like having a part of him tied to her, to signify the unexplainable and unbreakable bond between them. It reignited her determination to fight all the odds and find a way to bring him back to her and when she succeeded she would show him just how much she appreciated his thoughtfulness and lead them into a happier future, together.

When all was said and done, she had nothing but that pocket watch to comfort her as Voyager sailed the final distance into the Krenim ship. She gripped it tightly and as she melted into oblivion she could only hope that the timeline would be set right.

So when the time came round for Chakotay to present her with the pocket watch for her birthday she would not waste this second chance to be together.