A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I loved them and they mean a lot to me. :)


Kathryn was a little proud of herself, and of her former first officer. Even though Voyager had been stripped of its futuristic shielding and picked apart as if by vultures, its crew scattered, its databases downloaded and analysed, the two of them still managed to find the time for their weekly dinners.

It didn't matter that Kathryn was an admiral now and Chakotay was set to embark on his first mission as captain. The only thing that had really changed about their dinners was the fact that they didn't have the confines of either of their quarters to contend with anymore.

Instead, they could just go out to eat like a regular couple. Kathryn caught herself. She'd begun to think of the two of them as an item, and she was almost scared by how easy it was to slip into that habit. They weren't really dating, after all.

She wasn't entirely sure what was stopping them – on most nights – from going out to grab dinner, but somehow, the familiar setting of just the two of them seemed more appealing by far than heading out into the crowded streets of San Francisco.

Kathryn was counting on that tonight. She had no desire whatsoever to venture out tonight. They had tried that last week, and it had been a fairly stressful evening. The restaurant had lost their reservation, and they'd had to settle for street food, which had been good, but running around town with food in her hand wasn't exactly her kind of dinner.

She was just putting the finishing touches on her table decoration, lighting the long white candle that stood at the centre of the round glass table, when her door chime sounded.

"Come in," she called, glancing over her shoulder at the newcomer.

Chakotay stood in the doorway, holding a steaming casserole.

"Good Evening, Admiral!" He stepped into her apartment, beaming.

Kathryn took the dish from him and walked over to her open kitchen.

"It smells absolutely delicious! What is it? And don't think that I'm just trying to gloss over the fact that you just called me Admiral."

Chakotay's chuckle was music to her ears. He grinned and rubbed his chin sheepishly. "I wouldn't dare to think that," he said in mock outrage. "Wouldn't want to make the Admiral angry!"

She aimed a playful punch at him and caught him in the ribs. He winced, but it probably hadn't been much more than a tickle. Kathryn loved how relaxed they had become around each other, now that they were back in the 'real world'.

She let out a laugh, then put on one of her best stern looks, and handed her friend a ladle and oven cloth.
"As soon as you're done mocking me, Captain, we can get started on our dinner." She picked up the dish again and carried it over to the table, accidentally bumping into him on the way. Okay, it might have been deliberate.

They made short work of Chakotay's hominy casserole and were soon enjoying dessert while lounging on Kathryn's sofa. Neither of them was wearing their shoes anymore, and Kathryn had actually put her legs across Chakotay's lap.
It felt so easy. Kathryn stretched to put her empty bowl on the couch table, then propped herself up on her elbow, watching him scrape the last spoonful of mousse au chocolat out of his own bowl.

"I really miss having the crew all in one place," she confessed. "I feel like I took it for granted that most of the people I consider my family were always within arm's reach."

Chakotay had finished his dessert. He put the bowl onto Kathryn's table and turned slightly in his seat to face her, just looking at her for a moment. She could tell that he was trying to find the right phrasing. He slowly shook his head. "I don't think that you took it for granted at all. As a matter of fact, I can recall numerous conversations we've had over the past years in which you told me all about Naomi's new plans or the most recent strides Seven was taking towards individuality."

Kathryn felt a rush of affection for the two crewmembers that had probably benefitted most from her guidance. Nostalgia followed suit. She smiled softly. "You always know what to say." She reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. "Still, I can't shake the feeling that I will never have this again."

Chakotay exhaled and settled more comfortably on the couch, trying and failing to suppress a grin. In response to her incredulous expression, he looked at her, his warm eyes full of some emotion she couldn't quite discern. "It's nothing."

Kathryn sat up, withdrawing her legs from his lap in the process. "Oh no, mister! You don't get to dangle something like this in front of me and then –"

He was laughing now, trying to placate her by holding up his hands. "Ok, I surrender. I almost forgot how curious you were."

She huffed, determined not to let him off easy.

It was Chakotay who took her hand this time. "I'm sorry, Kathryn. I shouldn't have laughed. I was just thinking that none of us are ever going to have anything like that again. The relationships we had the privilege of forming on Voyager ... our mission was unique. That's what makes it so special."

Mollified, Kathryn looked down at their intertwined hands. "Do you ever miss it? Voyager?"

Chakotay sought and held her gaze. His free hand came up to tuck a curl of auburn hair behind her ear. "More than I would admit to anyone else," he stated, his voice almost a whisper.

Kathryn's throat suddenly felt constricted, and she cast around for a change of topic.

"You know what I don't like about this place?" She gestured around the apartment.

Chakotay seemed to come out of a trance, removing his hand from her cheek.

"What?" he smiled, putting one arm on the backrest of the sofa and draping the other casually across her legs.

"It's too quiet. I couldn't sleep for a while, because I didn't have Voyager's engines to lull me to sleep."

He chuckled. "You must be the twentieth person to say that to me. One or two even admitted to having the computer play a recording."

She raised her eyebrows and pointed at him. "Now, that's a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

Chakotay was just about to respond when the doorbell sounded for the second time that evening.