I don't know about you guys, but I was very annoyed at how "Hunters" ended. Therefore, I changed it...Enjoy ;D

~Cissa

"How are you doing?" Chakotay asked Kathryn, staring at her intensely.

"Me? I'm fine," she said, brushing away his concern like she always did.

"You'd say that if you'd just had your legs torn off by a Trakan Beast," he countered, unwilling to let the matter drop. Someone had to care for Kathryn, even if she didn't care for herself. "Look what you've been through in the last few days. We finally make a connection with home and then it's ripped away from us. We manage to make another enemy who's going to try and hunt us down and destroy us, and on top of that…"he trailed off, unwilling to reawaken any painful memories.

"It's all right. You can say it," she said, heaving a sigh and giving him an exasperated look, "On top of all that, I got a Dear John letter." Pausing for several seconds, she continued. "It wasn't really a surprise. I guess I didn't really expect him to wait for me considering the circumstances. It made me realize that I was using him as a safety net, you know, as a way to avoid becoming involved with someone else," she finished, looking into his deep brown eyes, then blushing and looking away again.

"You don't have that safety net anymore," Chakotay said, grabbing her hand and stroking the back with his thumb.

"That's right," she replied, pulling her hand away from his. "Then again, my life is far from uneventful here in the Delta quadrant. It's not like I would have had a chance to pursue a relationship even if I had realised I was alone."

"You're hardly alone, and to my way of thinking, there's still plenty of time," he said, unwilling to lose this precious opportunity fate had given him.

"Plenty of time…"she murmured to herself as if she was considering the importance of his words.

Taking a deep breath, Chakotay leaned in and took her hand again. "Kathryn, I told you something two years ago, and I meant it. You are not alone. I will always be her for you to lift your burdens, to care for you…to love you." He watched her carefully for several moments, but he saw no reaction on her beautiful face. She still continued to look resolutely down at the floor, her auburn hair falling down loosely around her shoulders. Reaching out his other hand he gently tucked a wisp of her hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek as he did so. "I'm never going to leave you Kathryn," he whispered into her ear.

Finally she looked up at him, tears glistening in her beautiful eyes. "And I don't want you to," she whispered back, her voice shaking slightly with emotion.

His handsome smile spreading across his face, Chakotay took Kathryn in his arms and kissed her passionately. Responding to his kiss, Kathryn ran her hands through his hair as he held her close. They broke apart after several minutes. Not bearing to let her go, Chakotay still held her close, burying his face in her hair and drinking in her scent of spices and freshly ground coffee. She nestled against his chest leaning into his embrace.

"I love you Kathryn," he whispered, brushing his lips against her ear as he spoke.

"And I love you Chakotay," she responded, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a voice coming over the com system, "Neelix to the Ready room. The party's about to begin and there are only two people missing."

Rolling her eyes in a way that made Chakotay laugh she responded, "We're on our way."

Leaning in she kissed him one more time before taking his hand and pulling him off the couch, slipping her arm through his.

"Are you sure you want to walk into this party…together…like this?" he asked hesitantly as they walked through the corridors. He knew how sensitive she was with her reputation as ship's captain and he didn't want to ruin this wonderful moment with some rash action.

Releasing his arm she turned to him with a hand on a hip and an annoyed look on her face. "Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" she demanded.

"Not at all…"

"Well then, why ever not should I take you as my date to the party?"

"The crew…"

"To hell with the crew!" she cried walking over to him and running her hand down his cheek. "I love you Chakotay. And…I think…you love me."

"More than anything in the galaxy," he said, drawing her to him and brushing her lips with his.

"Well then, why shouldn't the crew know about our happiness? We've done nothing to be ashamed of."

"You're right of course," he said shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"I always am," she said, giving him another kiss before linking her arm back through his. "Now, let's get to this party before Nelix hunts us down."

…

Walking into the mess hall arm in arm the Captain and Commander drew many curious eyes to them. It wasn't the fact that they came together…that was normal…it was the fact that both of them were glowing. The Captain was radiant, hanging on Chakotay's arm as she whispered something in his ear causing the pair of them to laugh. Chakotay beamed his brightest smile at everyone, but never left the Captain's side for a second.

"What just happened?" Tom asked B'Lana as they sipped their punch together in a corner.

"I think the captain finally found true love," B'Lana said, a smile spreading across her face.