When you are the furthest from me

Only a photo keeps me company

And all I have's a shred of hope and thoughts til I see you again

All this time I'm waiting

Wondering when I will see you again

This is just the tip of the iceberg

No bone in my body tells me I deserve her

- J/C - post-Endgame -

It was hard, being stationed at different ends of the quadrant.

Yes, it was his choice to accept a posting at the Academy, and yes, he knew she couldn't stay planetside for too long without growing restless.

But still, it was hard.

Even though she was an admiral, she was one of the best diplomats Starfleet had seen since the Kirk era, other than Jean-Luc Picard, and good diplomats were exactly what the post-Borg Federation was in dire need for.

So, he was stuck on Earth, teaching seemingly-enthusiastic cadets about the Delta Quadrant and the archaeological and anthropological finds they made on their initial journey.

It was weird; they had been back for almost a decade now, and so much had changed, yet the Academy was still teaching a curriculum influenced by Voyager's original journey.

But what was even weirder for him was that Kathryn was at the other end of the quadrant, and all he had for company was a photo of her. She was too far away for instantaneous contact, so they each had to rely on recorded messages, and it was killing him.

What was worse, was that she had their three year old daughter with her. If he had a choice, Kimmie would be on Earth with him, spending her third year playing under the sun and creating mischief in fresh air, rather than the recycled atmosphere of the starship she and Kathryn were currently living on.

But, once again, Kathryn had won that argument, and Kimmie was with her mother, and he was all but alone, with only a picture to keep him company.

It was hard, being all but alone, waiting for the next transmission from his family, wondering when, if ever, they would return to him.

However, it was those moments when he saw her face, saw Kathryn's face, that he wondered how he ever deserved her love in the first place.

He was all but alone, there on Earth, in the house he had built for his family, but he was holding on to the hope that they would return home to him, alive, once and for all.