Sorry for the long delay in getting the next chapter up. Been busy and haven't had the time to write more. Enjoy and keep the reviews coming. I'm glad those of you who are reading this are enjoying it.

Kathryn returned to duty the day after her return from shore leave with permission from the Doctor. Chakotay was already on the bridge when he arrived and she greeted him with a smile. The crew noticed a difference between the command team immediately, although not sure as to why, they were just happy that their differences appeared to be put aside for now. After about an hour on the bridge, Kathryn decided to catch up on some reports in her ready room, "You have the bridge Commander."

"Yes Captain." Chakotay watched as Kathryn disappeared into her ready room.

As the morning wore on, Kathryn never reappeared from her ready room and Chakotay wondered if she would remember to eat something for lunch. Deciding to check on her, he handed the bridge over to Tuvok.

Fully engrossed in an engineering report, Kathryn didn't hear the chime until the second ring. "Come!" Chakotay entered and waited for her to acknowledge her. When she didn't look up, he moved forward and pulled the padd from her hand.

"Commander! Just what do you think your doing?"

"Kathryn, do you realize that it's lunch time. Have you eaten anything yet? Did you bother to eat anything for breakfast either?" When he received no response, he moved around her desk and held out his hand. Kathryn gave him a skeptical look, but then put her hand into his. Chakotay pulled her from her chair and had her take a seat on the couch. Walking over to the replicator, he asked for two sandwiches, a salad, and two glasses of water. He brought everything over to the table and took a seat in front of Kathryn. Taking one of the sandwiches and a glass of water, he left the rest of the food for Kathryn.

"You can't expect me to eat all of the that?"

"Of course I do, your eating for two, or have you forgotten already?" Chakotay knew that when it came to taking care of herself, Kathryn never did a very good job at it. She worried more about everyone else's needs and wants before her own. She had to learn that this time, her needs came first if she was to have a successful pregnancy.

"Chakotay, I appreciate your concern, but..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Chakotay stopped her, "no buts Kathryn. You are going to eat as much of this food as you can. You need to keep up your strength."

She looked at him with a bit of anger, but her face softened when he flashed her that dimpled smile. She knew he was only looking out for her best interests and had to admit to herself he that he was right...given her problems with lack of eating and insomnia. Kathryn grabbed the sandwich and slowly began to eat. Chakotay smiled again and also started eating. Both sat in silence while they ate. Kathryn managed to eat most of her sandwich, but Chakotay watched as she just picked at her salad.

"Kathryn, is something wrong with the salad? She didn't say anything so he lightly touched her arm. "Kathryn?" She looked at him, slightly startled, "I'm sorry Chakotay. Did you say something?"

"Nothing important, just wondered if something is wrong with the salad. You've barely ate any of it."

"No, it's just fine. I'm just not hungry anymore." Chakotay noticed a sadness in her eyes that wasn't there earlier. He grabbed the bowl from her hands and placed it on the table. "Kathryn, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you."

"There's nothing wrong Chakotay...really!" She tried to sound convincing. "I'm just a little tired and not hungry anymore. I really think I should get back to my reports. I have a lot to catch up on." She gathered up the plates and headed over to the recycler. Chakotay followed with the rest.

"Alright Kathryn. I probably should be getting back to the bridge. You never know, Paris may have decided to take command of the ship." Kathryn let out a laugh and Chakotay smiled. He moved in closer, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then left her ready room. She let out a deep sigh and returned to her desk, her mind although was somewhere else.