He dreamt of her that night - of her smiling at him, with her hair in messy disarray around her face and her cheeks flushed with the exertion of endless laughter.
It wasn't the first time Chakotay dreamed of her, but it was the first time that the dream had represented something of her that was so palpable. A few times on the ship, he used to close his eyes and see her like this.
Once it was in a vision quest, but even then it had been so different; then he hadn't yet seen this side of her. And so like a phantom, she had been only an imitation.
This time, though, she was real.
In the silence of sleep, he took time to notice the little things about her; the throatiness of her laugh, the blue of her eyes, the way her green dress showed off the copper in her hair…
"Chakotay," She said his name softly and he beamed. She could say his name forever and it would still be newly sweet and indulgent to his ears. "Chakotay," she said it again the spectre in from of him started to fade away, giving way to something infinitely more palpable. "Chakotay," he heard it again and opened his eyes to find her looking down at him.
"Kathryn."
"You kept saying my name," She blushed. "I thought you were having a nightmare."
"No," He looked down and sat up in the bed, hoping she wouldn't notice what was obvious. "What time is it?"
"Nine," she smiled crookedly. "We're becoming lay-abouts."
He chuckled, "To say the least. I don't think I even slept this late on weekends at the Academy."
"Neither did I," She replied, turning away with a deep rouge still on her cheeks. "Well, uh, I'll leave you to get dressed."
"I was thinking," He called out into the kitchen. "I'll start milling the wood today!"
"We have an extra phaser in the shuttle," She recalled. "I can help."
"That's fine!" He grinned at the mental image of her cutting wood. "We can start after breakfast."
"You're smiling because you think I can't do it," She challenged with her hands firmly on her hips at seeing that smile and knowing instantly the sentiment behind it.
His eyes widened and instantly his hands came out before him, "I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't have to," She squinted her suspicion and pointed a spoon at him for emphasis.
"Kathryn," He rolled his eyes. "I don't think there's anything you can't do."