Disclaimer: Yeah, Yeah, They're not mine and we all know it

My Love,

Today is Valentine's day, a day to celebrate the gift of love and let the special person in our life know how much we care. A card and gift seem so little to give to someone who means so much to me and so I'm writing this letter to try and express in words what I have never been able to say face to face. I know that by tradition a valentine is supposed to be anonymous but I have spent too long hiding my feelings, I want you to know now that I need you and how very much I love you.

We are so different, you and I. I was the model Starfleet Officer, you were a Maquis rebel. You are a deeply spiritual person, you live your life according to your faith and the traditions of your ancestors, I put my faith in science, needing to see before I can believe, technology has always been more important to me than tradition. Sometimes I wonder if we have even one thing in common, one thing we can hold onto to keep our differences from driving us apart but maybe all we need is to love each other.

I've fought against my feelings for you, struggled with my doubts and my reluctance to break away from the regulations and protocol that have shaped my life. I have tried to find someone else to love or at least to make love with and I have burned with jealousy as I watched you do the same. Occasionally I believe that it would be better for us if we could move on and move apart, but then I think of everything we have been through together, the memories and experiences that we share, and I realise that we can never find that bond with anyone else. What we have is unique and irreplaceable.

We have crossed thousands of lightyears side by side. We have fought off enemies and aggressors side by side. We have forged alliances and made new friends side by side. We have turned a ship into a home and a crew into a family side by side. We have worked together, played together, laughed together and cried together for seven years, in all that time I have never regretted having you beside me and I still believe that our only chance of getting home is if we get there side by side.

I would never have made it this far without you. When my vision becomes blinkered and I can't find my way you show me our world through your eyes and somehow you always manage to make it appear a better place. No matter how hard the day has been it never seems so bad after an evening spent with you. I have lost count of the number of times that a meal and conversation with my best friend has saved me from the demons of guilt and despair that haunt the night. And on those mornings when the journey seems too long and the road too rough, the thought of your support and strength gives me the courage to get up and face another day.

You help me to bring out my best, you protect me from my worst. You give me so much, in so many ways. I should be satisfied with your friendship but I'm greedy, I want more, I want your love. I take from you constantly and give so little back. I can't take your love and offer you nothing in return. So this is my gift to you, Chakotay. I'm giving you my love, I hope it's not too late.

Happy Valentine's Day,

Yours forever,

Kathryn