A/N: Here's the final chapter! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed! :)


When Kathryn had awoken in sickbay two weeks ago, she'd been profoundly confused. She had almost no memory of the accident in the Delta Flyer and had been extremely surprised and distressed to find her daughter lying next to her on a biobed. She'd had a mild heart attack for a moment before The Doctor hurried over to inform her of what had happened.

It had taken her a long time to get her head around it all, but Amelia had been delighted to tell her of how brave she'd been and how she'd saved her life. Kathryn couldn't do much more than hold her closely and thank whatever power there was in the universe that this wonderful child had been returned to her four years ago.

Tom and B'Elanna were regular visitors, almost never leaving sickbay to keep Amelia entertained while she remained under The Doctor's observation. Tom had approached Kathryn nervously, possibly worried about what she'd say about his decision, but Kathryn hadn't spoken about it with him, simply pulling him into one of their rare hugs in gratitude. She didn't envy the choice he'd had to make. She wasn't sure what decision she would have made if she'd been in his position.

Chakotay had been at her side when she'd awoken, and stayed with her almost the first full day, telling her everything that had happened. He sat close by her, and held her hand freely, and though Kathryn had been surprised, she welcomed it. Waking up to his face was definitely something she could get used to.

Unfortunately, in her absence, his presence was often required on the bridge, and after determining that she was no longer in danger, he restricted his visits to an hour a night after his shift. They talked for a long time, sometimes alone, sometimes with Amelia, often reading her a story or playing with her. Although their talk never strayed far from ship's business and general topics, she sensed a deeper purpose to these talks, almost as if he were working up to something.

After a week, she'd been ordered to rest in her quarters, where Chakotay had visited her and Amelia every night, joining them for dinner, bringing presents for Amelia and flowers for Kathryn. She was utterly amazed at the transformation in him. When he left every evening, he always made sure to hold her hand and wish her goodnight, staring so deeply into her eyes she felt she could lose herself in them entirely. After he left, she couldn't resist smiling. Amelia watched her after these encounters, her expression unnervingly knowing.

But now, two weeks on, Kathryn was finally ready to return to her duties, and her first one was to be a very special one indeed.

"Mommy! Look at me!" Amelia spun around her quarters, her pink dress flying out around her, a pink so bright it matched the flushing of her cheeks. As could have been predicted, she lost her balance and fell down into a heap but bounced up again quickly. "I've got flowers, look!"

"You did explain to her the concept of a flower girl, didn't you?" Chakotay asked Kathryn as they laughed. Kathryn just gave him a playful shove.

"Amelia, sweetie, don't keep spinning, all the flowers will lose their petals, see?" Kathryn told her, adjusting the flower crown in her hair and her bouquet. "You want to look extra special for Daddy's wedding, don't you?"

"Uh huh," she nodded, her eyes aglow with excitement.

"Good, then go and get your shoes," Kathryn said, giving her a gentle shove towards the bedroom. Amelia ran off happily and Kathryn turned back to Chakotay. She couldn't help but admire him in his dress uniform. Had he always been this handsome?

"When you left Deep Space Nine seven years ago, did you ever think you'd be having weddings and children on board?" Chakotay asked her as they took a seat in her living area.

"Not a chance." She shook her head. "I still can't believe what this six-week mission turned into. I set out trying to capture you, and now …"

"And now?" Chakotay leaned in, intense expression in his eyes, lips twitching.

Kathryn smiled. "Now I can't imagine a day without you."

Chakotay took her hand and raised it to his lips, not removing his eyes from hers. "Nor I without you."

Kathryn's heart was racing and she almost began to lean in, desperate to close the gap between this man and herself.

But just as she was about to give in, Amelia came storming in, announcing that she couldn't find her shoe.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, and went to help her look for it, trying not to feel irritated. Once Amelia was finally ready, with both shoes on the correct feet and all her flowers still reasonably covered with petals, it was time to leave. Chakotay was standing waiting at the exit to her quarters. He extended his arm to her.

"Give me some practice before I escort B'ELanna, will you?" he winked. Kathryn grinned and took his arm, and they walked like that all the way to the mess hall, Amelia running ahead of them in her dress. Almost like it was us getting married, she thought to herself with a smile.

Once they arrived outside the door to the mess hall, Chakotay took Amelia by the hand to go and stand with B'Elanna while Kathryn went inside. She gasped as she did so, amazed by how Neelix had managed to transform the place. It was astonishingly beautiful, with huge multitudes of flowers gathered on every surface. A great number of the crew were already there milling around in their dress uniform, excitement on everyone's face. Kathryn greeted a few people who welcomed her back and made her way to the head of the room where Tom was waiting next to Harry under a large canopy.

He grinned as she approached. "Glad to see you back, Captain," he said, as Harry also nodded.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the universe, Tom," she said, clasping his hands. "I'm so happy for the two of you."

She took her position and Tom stood close by her, his eyes flicking towards the door to the mess hall.

"You nervous?" she asked.

A warm smile broke out on his face. "You'd think I would be," he laughed. "Knowing B'Elanna and all. But I'm not, not in the slightest. Of all the decisions I've had to make in my life, this has been the easiest by far."

The next moment, music was piped in through the computer and the mess hall doors opened to reveal Amelia. She walked down the aisle with a massive grin on her face, holding her flowers proudly. Kathryn was so focused on her, she almost didn't see B'Elanna walking behind her, arm in arm with Chakotay. Although in her dress uniform, and not having done much in the way of adding to her usual style of hair and make-up, Kathryn had never seen her look as beautiful.

And when Tom and B'Elanna met at the front and looked at each other as they exchanged rings, Kathryn knew deep in her heart that this was true love, that nothing in the universe could separate these two. She caught Chakotay's eyes for a moment when the happy couple kissed as she pronounced them man and wife. The look he gave her then made her blush and turn away.

After the ceremony, the party was moved to the holodeck where Tom had constructed a wonderful Hawaiian beach programme, complete with a luau. Neelix had pulled out all the stops with the food, utilising both Human and Klingon recipes (the latter remaining mostly untouched), and as the holographic sun began to set on the beach revellers, Kathryn couldn't help but sigh and think about how she was the luckiest captain in Starfleet to have discovered such happiness in such circumstances.

She'd changed out of her dress uniform into a light summer dress, and as she moved between the happy wedding guests, she observed a great number of them beginning to look severely inebriated.

"I don't think Neelix has been using synthehol," Kathryn observed to B'Elanna with a laugh, pointing to two engineering crewmen as they laughed themselves silly looking at a pineapple.

B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "To be honest, Captain, they'd be like that anyway." She gestured to the bar which Neelix was standing at. "He traded for a whole bunch of ale at the last planet we visited. Guess we know why now."

"I guess so," Kathryn laughed. She put aside her own drink, already beginning to feel the heady effects of approaching intoxication. Party though it was, she did not think it was wise for the crew to see their captain drunk.

B'Elanna hesitated for a moment, before turning to the Kathryn, a crease on her brow.

"Captain, I just want to say …" she began, fumbling for the words. "I guess, I'm a little nervous about being Amelia's step-mom. Officially, I mean. I don't want you to ever think that I'll be stepping on your toes or anything—"

"B'Elanna, feel free to step on my toes any time you feel like it," Kathryn said, taking the other woman by the hand. "There is no one else in the universe who I'd be happier to have as my daughter's step-mother. You've already been a fantastic mother to her, and I just know you will be for your own children as well someday."

B'Elanna smiled, blinking away some tears. "If I am, Captain, it'll be thanks to you. My own mom wasn't much of a role model."

Kathryn pulled the other woman into a hug. She thought back to her words to Chakotay earlier. If her original mission had been successful, she would have captured this woman and handed her over to be imprisoned as a Maquis terrorist. Such a thing was unthinkable now.

B'Elanna pulled back and dabbed at her eyes. "Thanks, Captain, for everything," she said. "I don't think I'd ever have found happiness if it hadn't been for you welcoming us on board and treating us the way you did." She looked at a point somewhere behind Kathryn. "And with all due respect, Captain, I think you've found your happiness too."

Kathryn turned to see that Chakotay was standing a little way behind her. He smiled at her, eyes moving up and down her body. He looked irresistible in his open necked white shirt. He had a bottle of champagne in one hand and a couple of glasses in another.

"Care to join me on a walk?" He winked at her, and Kathryn knew she couldn't have resisted if she'd tried.

They walked for a while along the beach until they were mostly out of the sight and hearing of the other party guests. Chakotay sat down on the sand and patted a spot beside him. Kathryn settled herself down, conscious of just how close his warm body was to hers. He poured the champagne and they drank it, looking out over the ocean before them as the sun set over it, transforming it into a pool of orange and red.

"I thought this would be nicer," he said, tapping the bottle. "That ale Neelix has is getting everybody pretty rowdy. I didn't think the captain would like to be seen running around trying to wrestle a targ."

"Oh, that's what that noise is?" Kathryn laughed, glancing back at the party. "Amelia will like that. You know me too well."

"Yes, I do," Chakotay said, and they went back to looking out over the ocean. The crashing of the waves was both thrilling and relaxing, and after a while Kathryn closed her eyes in pleasure as she listened to the crying of the gulls and smelt the tang of the salty air. A slight breeze ruffled her hair.

She opened her eyes and saw that Chakotay was watching her intensely mouth slightly parted. Kathryn met his gaze fully, feeling her body react under his scrutiny. They were out of uniform. There were no more physical barriers marking them out now.

And even if there were, why was she about to let that stop her? Once, there had been an even bigger barrier between them. They had been enemies, Starfleet and Maquis. But she'd surmounted that one a long time ago. Why couldn't this one last barrier between them be surmounted too?

She wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere of the party, the look of love she'd seen on Tom and B'Elanna's faces, her recent brush with death, or the alcohol she'd just consumed, but she grew bold. She wanted no one in the universe but him. And she was determined to have him. There was only one decision left.

Kathryn seized her chance. She leaned in quickly and pressed her lips to his for a brief moment. He started in surprise, and she pulled back, suddenly afraid she had misread him. But a wide grin broke out on his face and the next moment he leaned back in and captured her mouth with his own, reaching out with both arms to pull her close to him.

It was utter bliss, Kathryn thought as their lips moved together and their bodies pressed closer to one another and their kiss grew more heated. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he had his hands in her hair. Their kiss deepened and a moan sounded in the back of Kathryn's throat as his hands roamed all over her, caressing her in a way which made her tingle all over. She was dizzy, light-headed, but none of that mattered because she was here in his arms.

She finally had him.

After a time, they broke apart, each panting heavily. Kathryn could not keep the smile from her face, and apparently, neither could he.

"Kathryn," he murmured, cupping her face with his hands. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"Likewise," she said. She knew she was grinning like a child, but she didn't care.

He gently leaned in and kissed her again, this time slower, more deliberately. He leaned his forehead against hers, their breath warm in each other's faces.

"I love you, Kathryn," he said, his voice husky and breathless. "I've loved you since the first moment you stood in front of me with your hands on your hips and ordered me around."

Kathryn laughed, even as her insides exploded with delight. She reached up and traced the outline of his tattoo on his face. "And I've loved you since the first time you brought me a cup of coffee."

"Coffee, huh? I thought that might have been it," he laughed, leaning in to kiss her again. "I'll have to remember that."

Their lips met in another kiss, and Kathryn thought she could quite happily stay here for the rest of their voyage to the Alpha Quadrant. That was, until they were interrupted by an excited squeal from somewhere behind them.

They broke apart hastily and turned to see Amelia behind them, jumping up and down clapping her hands together, a massive smile on her face.

"This means you're going to get married too!" She yelled in delight. "I'm going to have a step-daddy and a step-mommy!"

Kathryn and Chakotay laughed. "I think it's a little soon for that, Amelia," she said, but as she caught Chakotay's eye, she was no in doubt that that was exactly what he wanted too.

Amelia shook her head. "Nope. You're getting married. Do it now so I can wear my dress again. Please?"

"Amelia—"

"Alright, we are," Chakotay said, grinning as he looked between them. "But it's a secret, and you can't tell anyone yet."

"What if I do?" Amelia had stopped jumping and eyed him warily.

"I'll have to throw you in the brig," he shrugged.

Amelia watched him a for a moment, eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you."

"Well, I'll just have to show you," Chakotay growled, leaping up to grab her and Amelia squealed and began to run away along the beach towards the party, her feet making huge splashes as she crashed through the surf. Chakotay chased after her, and Kathryn laughed at the sight of them running through the water and getting themselves soaked before she herself abandoned her dignity and began to run after them both.

After a few moments, all three of them were dripping wet, and Chakotay had scooped Amelia up into his arms as she screamed with delight. Kathryn didn't care that most of the crew were watching, nor that they whooped and cheered as Chakotay pulled her in for another kiss. She was happier than she'd ever been.

On this seven-year unexpected journey, she knew she'd made the best decisions of her life.


A/N: Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

Please let me know what you think! This was my first attempt at writing in the Star Trek fandom so I'd appreciate any constructive criticism. Also my first time writing characters with an attempt at American dialogue, so if there were any glaring errors, please let me know!