"ok Chakotay you listened" Kathryn snapped waving her left hand at him and trying to finish eating her dinner with the other "I listened to you too, the least I could do was be happy for you, remember?" she hissed referring to his words he had shouted at her in his anger "so now what?"

"dam you Kathryn" he growled feeling more annoyed, she had this wonderful ability to turn around everything that was said to make everyone else in the wrong but her although he did also know that she did have a point about the harsh and unfair words he had said to her.

"What?" she asked feeling annoyed but coming across the full part of innocence.

Chakotay met her eyes with his, he knew really that fighting was pointless but he was hurt "you show up Here after all this time and expect to fit nicely in!"

"I'll go then" she said standing up though she had no idea where she was actually going to go to, she was now homeless though she had not fully made Chakotay aware of this.

"That's not what I want." he sighed as he stood to meet her level.

"Fine what are you asking for?" she asked almost deflated, she knew they both wanted the arguments to end.

"Kathryn I care for you" he whispered walking round the table to take her hands in his "don't you see?" he begged "it angers me and pains me to see you show up here the way you did"

"My angry warrior" she pointed out softly pulling from him, turning her back on him and then standing for a long silence looking out at the city night sky.

Chakotay stood watching where she stood in silence and he knew her well enough to know she tried to disguise fear "talk to me Kathryn, where is Jack?" he asked he resting a caring hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him? "Does he know your here?"

"No" she insisted. Then with a heavy sigh told him "and he's fine, but he won't be coming after me"

"How can you be so sure?" Chakotay asked feeling like he needed some reassuring.

"I let the doctor know he needed assistance." she told him slightly smugly which didn't reassure him at all. Upon realising this she rolled her eyes, placed her hand on his arm and told him with a smile "Voyagers own EMH is with him"

"And the doc didn't see to your wounds?" he asked pointing out a very valid reason why he shouldn't believe her.

"If you were me would you have hung around to let the doc see you in that state?" she asked with her famous death glare.

"No" he said hesitantly "I suppose not"

"There"

"But you didn't mind me seeing you that way?"

"No" she told him as though this was clear "Chakotay we travelled the delta quadrant side by side" then looking deep into his eyes she told him "you have seen me at my worst, and my very best"

"Thanks" he said with a dimpled smile "I think"

"That was supposed to be a compliment" she pointed out seriously.

"So Jack will be ok?" Chakotay asked not sure why he was so concerned for the man who had just attacked Kathryn.

"Of course" she told him staring at him "I didn't kill him" then as though trying hard to make sure he understood her point she said softly "Chakotay I don't agree with violence, I was only protecting myself"

"I should have followed my first instinct" he growled.

"Excuse me?" she asked confused and unsure where he was coming from.

"I never liked Jack" Chakotay said looking out of the window and moving from her "from the first time we met I knew he wasn't right for you but instead I let it be." then almost as though he wasn't sure he should say it he said "even after you stopped replying to any of my messages and even when he told me you married him I let it be."

"When did he tell you that?" she asked, her own anger rising and the confusion as she asked "and what messages I got no messages from you."

"About a month after the bbq. I had been trying to get in touch with you for weeks. Your new aid was being less than helpful."

"New aid?" she spat in confusion, shaking his head at her and telling him "what new aid? Last I looked Hannah Taylor is still my aid."

"Every time I comm. your office I get another young girl who simply tells me you are unavailable."

Kathryn looked at him cautiously and insisted "I haven't heard anything of you or seven since the bbq until seven showed up at my office earlier today. I was still waiting for the information on your wedding"

"I have been trying to get in touch with you for ages but am getting turned away all the time" he insisted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get any of your messages." Kathryn told him sadly, she knew he was right, she was beginning to feel like a bit of a fool. how could she have not seen this coming "Jack had a bit of an insecurity about my relationship with any of the Voyager crew, particularly you" she admitted sadly suddenly realising that Jack was likely to be to blame for having not seen Chakotay in all this time.

"I know" Chakotay told her which only surprised her further. Realizing her confusion he informed her "I introduced myself at the bbq and he threatened me"

"He what?" she yelled at him with her blue eyes wide and blazing.

"Threatened me, he told me if I came anywhere near you again he would make me wish I had never met you."

"In the words of B'Elanna what a P'Tack!" she snapped. Which in turn made Chakotay laugh a good hearty laugh with his dimpled smile "It's not funny!" she snapped feeling shocked and angry.

"I know it's not, I am sorry Kathryn, it's just that's exactly what she called me that day for suggesting I try to break you and Jack up." he told her trying to fight off a smile.

"Well she was right there!" Kathryn scowled at him with her best command voice, waving her finger at him as though telling him off though her crooked smile break through "you can't have both me and seven, you were about to be married to another woman, you can't just break me and Jack up just because you felt a little jealous."

"Jealous was I?" he asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"You tell me?" she asked him with a crooked coy smile "but I have already had one man beat me due to jealousy, please not another one."

"I would never lift a finger to hurt you." he told her running his hand through her long silky hair.

"Not physically no." she agreed without pulling away.

"Ok so I hurt you." he snapped instantly removing his hand from her "I was hurt too. Can we move past that?"

"Maybe" she admitted seriously looking at him feeling unsure what she wanted.

"That's it? Maybe?" he asked feeling hurt it didn't seem to matter to her.

"Nothing is ever as simple as you seem to want it to be." she sighed heavily sinking back into her seat.

"it can be, we can move past the hurt" he told her "we can go back to new earth, back to sailing on lake Georgia." with that he reached across the table and plucked a single rose from the vase and handed it to her "all you have to do is give us a chance."

She hesitated taking it from him and asked cautiously "and if it goes wrong?"

"Then at least we tried."

"Chakotay I care for you so very much, you know that" she told him taking the rose, a symbol of who they used to be together.

"But?"

"I don't think I am ready for us to be an 'us' just yet."

"Just yet?" he asked with hopefulness

"It's not a no." she told him staring deeply at the rose she held in her hand.

"It's not a yes"

"Don't ask me to give more than I can" she begged him.

"And yet you silently ask me to wait for you." he told her. "Just give it a go. I'm not asking you to move in, we can take it slow just give it a go."

She took a very long pause in which she played with the rose in her hand.