Disclaimer: Star Trek and its characters don't belong to me. I just take them out to play and promise to have them home at a reasonable time.
Author's Note: This particular drabble's been sitting on my Google Drive for a long while and I finally decided to throw it up here for your enjoyment. This is unbeta'd so all mistakes are, as always, my own.
"It's a last letter home, just in case." - Raymond, The Deep
Her side of the bed is cold when he wakes up. Frowning as he climbs out of bed, he pulls on his robe and makes his way out to the living area and comes across a familiar scene; she's sitting at her desk with her computer console open, her voice a low murmur as she looks at the screen and speaks. He stops in the doorway and watches her, cataloguing her expressions as she speaks and the way her posture changes slightly with each passing moment. It takes her almost a minute to realize that she's not alone and she smiles up at him when she spots him.
"Computer pause log," she says, then holds her hand out to him. "I'm sorry I woke you."
He crosses over and takes her hand, leaning down to kiss her before he shakes his head and says, "I got cold and woke up when I realized you weren't in bed."
She smiles and taps a few buttons on the computer console. Standing, she wraps her arms around his waist and leans into him. He waits for a few seconds to see if she'll talk on her own but she doesn't so he finally lets his curiosity get the best of him.
"That seemed like a very serious conversation you were having," he says and she laughs quietly.
"A letter home to my mother," she replies. "Just in case."
"Just in case?" he asks and his confusing is evident in his voice.
"Just in case I don't make it home," she says, looking down to avoid his gaze. He frowns, shaking his head slightly but before he can speak, she looks back up. "I don't plan on dying out here, not when I have so much to live for. But I have to be realistic, Chakotay. Being captain reduces my chances of making it home drastically and there's so much I have to make sure my mom knows, just in case."
He wraps his arms around her and holds her close; she's right, as much as he wishes she isn't. It doesn't mean he has to like it, though.