"And the woman warrior and her angry warrior, who wasn't as angry anymore, lived happily ever after." With her last words, Kathryn turned her face into him and pressed a soft kiss to his chest, lips and breath warm against the cotton fabric of his t-shirt. She felt him shudder slightly under her, releasing a long sigh.

"Tell it again," he murmured, running his hand down along her hip and pressing her closer against him, pleased when she lifted her leg and draped it over his.

She rubbed her hand up over his chest to his neck, fingers warm against his skin, and her lips followed, placing another gentle kiss under his ear.

And he bent his head, capturing her mouth with his, savoring the touch and taste of lips and tongue, both soft and hard, against his own.

Kathryn moaned softly and he sighed, pulling away, remembering where they were. And she opened her eyes, blinking up at him, remembering as well. "Tom's right. We gotta get you out of here, big guy."

And he chuckled, recalling the look on Tom's face when he realized that alcoholic beverages weren't allowed within the confines of Starfleet Medical. "No drinking beer, no making love – this place is much too restrictive."

"Oh, I agree." Kathryn nipped playfully at his chin.

"We need to find a more liberal rehab facility." And Chakotay nipped back. Two could play at this game.

"Like my place," she breathed, placing a kiss along the top of his ear – the flat part that she loved.

And she felt Chakotay grow still beneath her. And she realized what she'd said.

"Your place?"

She sat back a little so that she could see him better, but the expression on his face was hard to read – surprise perhaps, pleasure, but uncertainty in the brown depths of his eyes.

"Well, I know you probably won't be released until sometime next week, but I've been thinking…"

"I thought we determined that giving Kathryn Janeway too much time to think can be dangerous."

"Not always." She placed a hand back on his chest, rubbed gently against his t-shirt. "Sometimes I come up with brilliant ideas – like having you move in with me." And she hurried on with her reasoning, Chakotay realizing that she had indeed given herself a lot of time to think about this plan. "You'll still need someone to be there for you in case-"

"I fall in…"

She frowned at his interruption and continued. "In case you need something. And-"

"You just used the word need twice in once sentence. Let's not take this new legend too far."

She ignored him. "And you'll probably need some out-patient therapy-"

"Used it again."

"And my place is bigger than yours and much more…" And this time her voice trailed off naturally so that instead of interrupting her Chakotay simply finished her unspoken thought.

"Homey," he suggested. He knew how sterile his apartment was; it was never home, just a stopping off place between Voyager and what she was offering him now.

Kathryn exhaled a deep breath, her hand still caressing the firm muscles of his chest and stomach, as if relaxing him physically might relax his possible refusal of her offer.

Chakotay reached down and grabbed her hand as it slid closer to the waistband of his boxers. "First, you have to stop this – or Starfleet Medical's rehab facility is going to get really liberal really fast."

Kathryn pressed her lips together to keep from laughing and mumbled a soft apology. "Sorry – big guy."

Chakotay shifted his hips uncomfortably and pulled the blanket further up over his lap. "And we have to think carefully about this proposal."

"Oh, I've given it careful thought," she replied quickly, excited that he hadn't dismissed her offer altogether. "There are a few steps at the front door, and a few steps up to my bedroom…"

She saw his eyes narrow even as his eyebrows managed to creep up onto his forehead. "Your bedroom?"

And she slowed down, backtracked. "There's only one step up to the guestroom."

And Chakotay chuckled again, enjoying the slight look of contrition on her face before assuring her. "I think I can manage those few extra steps up to your bedroom."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, whispered in his ear. "Our bedroom."

"Sounds even better. I wasn't really looking forward to going back to my place."

"Then it's settled," Kathryn said with that familiar note of finality. She slid down beside him and placed her head back against his shoulder. "When you're released, I'm taking you home."

And Chakotay smiled. From trained seal to adopted pound puppy – not a bad promotion.

~vVv~

Twenty minutes later, his newly adopted master was falling asleep on his shoulder and Chakotay shook her gently. "Hey, you have to go home. You have work in the morning."

"Just a few more minutes," she murmured, snuggling closer.

He shook her again. "Uh-uh. The legend says nothing about sleeping over."

She opened one eye and glared up at him. "It's my legend; I can always change it."

Chakotay glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "It's almost 2300 hours. If you're not home by midnight, you'll turn into a pumpkin."

Kathryn laughed softly. "The carriage turned into a pumpkin, not Cinderella."

"You have your legend; I have mine." He shook her again. "Come on. Up."

Reluctantly, Kathryn pulled away from him and sat up. "You're going to miss me when I'm gone."

He reached out and brushed his fingers through her hair, tucking an auburn strand behind her ear. "I always do."

She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she pressed her cheek to his and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you."

She slid off the bed, gathered her coat and bag, and paused at the door, looked back at him. "Sleep well, Chakotay."

"You, too."

And then she was gone, the door sliding closed behind her.

Chakotay pressed a button on the side of the bed, lowered the lighting, and, with a smile, settled back into his pillows and imagined she was still there.

~vVv~

They fell into a pattern: work, therapy, dinners together – long evenings spent talking about their days, remembering their years in the Delta Quadrant, and planning their future. Chakotay grew stronger, graduating from the wheelchair, to the walker, and by the end of the week he met Kathryn at the door, supported by crutches that encircled his lower arms, his fingers wrapped tightly around the handgrips.

"Oh, Chakotay." She started to hug him, but stopped herself, worried that she might throw him off balance. She opted for a quick kiss to his cheek instead. "You're doing great."

He grinned, turned, and headed toward the table, each step strategically placed. "That's what they tell me." He reached a chair, and slowly sank into it, exhaling a long breath. Kathryn joined him, taking his crutches as he extricated his arms from the padded cuffs.

"How do you like them?" she asked, leaning the crutches against the wall, then reaching over and taking his hand in hers.

He shrugged. "They're all right. Hard work."

She smiled. "Well, that's never stopped you."

"No, it hasn't. But if we go to the cafeteria tonight, I think I'd still like to take the wheelchair." He sighed. "It's been a long day." He immediately noted a look of concern cross Kathryn's face – more so than normal. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head, seeing his worried expression, "but… I should have checked with you first."

"About what?"

"I've invited guests for dinner – Tom and B'Elanna."

"That's not too many," Chakotay assured her.

"And the Doctor."

"Still, not a lot."

"And Harry… and I think he's bringing Libby."

Chakotay was silent, and Kathryn was afraid that he was upset. She should have realized that he'd be too tired.

"I can call and cancel. They'll understand."

"No." He squeezed her hand. "I'm fine. It'll be good to see them. Besides, you and I were beginning to run out of things to talk about."

And Kathryn laughed, knowing that he was teasing. "Oh, that'll be the day."

~vVv~

They gathered in the cafeteria, commandeering the largest table near the windows, and Kathryn had arranged for a waiter to serve them. The Doctor had brought two bottles of chardonnay, which caused Tom to question the no alcohol rule.

"In patients' rooms," B'Elanna explained. "The emphasis being on patient. When you're sick or injured, it's just not a good idea to drink. Even synthehol," she added.

"Which this is not," the Doctor assured, filling wine glasses and passing them around the table. He caught Chakotay's questioning gaze. "And, under the circumstances, and in light of your positive progress, Commander, as your doctor, I'll allow you one glass of wine. Drink it slowly."

Chakotay grinned and happily accepted a glass, started to raise it to his lips.

"But not yet," Tom stopped him. He stood and looked around the table at the Doctor across from him, Harry and Libby at one end, Chakotay and Kathryn at the other, and B'Elanna at his side. He lifted his wine glass. "First, a toast." He turned toward Chakotay, hesitated, and then sighed. "Well, this was my idea, and now… I'm not sure what to say."

"Unbelievable," B'Elanna snorted beside him. "Tom Paris at a loss for words!" She pulled on his arm as she stood. "Sit down and let me say something." And she pushed him back into his seat.

Raising her own glass, she looked down the table at Chakotay. "Well, if this were ten years ago, I would never be standing and making a toast. Not for a lack of words, but… because ten years ago I didn't care enough about anyone or anything to actually give a damn… Then I met someone who changed that – someone who gave me a place to belong and a family to belong to… And when that family lost its home, and we were forced to make a new one, he was the one who never gave up on me, insisting that I could be something more than I could ever imagine, and convincing others of that as well." Her gaze shifted toward Kathryn for a moment and then back to Chakotay. "Without him, I don't think I could have ever accepted Voyager as my new home, never accepted that new family. You were that someone, Chakotay, that link, that bridge from one family to the next – you held us together." She pressed her lips into a hard line and blinked at the tears that were forming in her eyes, but she didn't look away. "You once told me…that losing people is inevitable, and that sometimes it happens sooner than we expect. Ten days ago, I was afraid of losing you. But I remembered something else you said about our family on Voyager, and I realized that…" She drew in a deep breath, smiling through the tears that were now trailing down her cheeks. "You're stuck with us, Chakotay, and I thank Kahless every day that you are." She felt Tom stand up beside her, his arm going around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I love you, old man," she whispered, one hand wiping at her face as the other lifted her wine glass higher. "To Chakotay."

And his name echoed around the table as glasses clinked together.

~vVv~