AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

I have written and posted two today (32 and 33), so please make sure that you go back and enjoy those chapters before you read this one!

I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

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"I don't want to talk about it later, Kathryn," Chakotay said as he packed the very few things that they had to actually take back the ship with them.

They would leave the shelter. They would beam up what they could gather together of the damaged electrical items so that B'Elanna could salvage parts of things. They would bring back only their personal belongings back with them, and all of them had brought relatively little from the ship.

Outside, Daryl and Carol were freeing the last of their captive hoppers, and they were simply saying goodbye to the place that they'd called home for all this time.

Also, they were giving Kathryn and Chakotay time.

Kathryn couldn't look any more like she was ready to melt into a puddle on the floor if she tried. She wasn't even doing a good job of pretending that she wasn't upset. She worked diligently at getting her hair into a bun—something she hadn't done in a while—and every now and again she growled audibly at her hair and started over like her hair was misbehaving. Chakotay knew, though, that her hair wasn't the reason for her bad mood.

"What do you want me to say, Chakotay?" Kathryn asked.

"I want you to say that you're not going to shut me out, Kathryn!" Chakotay barked, louder than he meant to. He didn't apologize for his feelings. "I want you to say that—this won't change things."

Kathryn stopped struggling with her hair. She turned to face him. The tears on her eyelashes were not caused by frustration with her hairstyle and Chakotay knew that.

"Of course, it'll change things," Kathryn said. "It changes everything. And it's the first time in my life that I've regretted becoming a Starfleet captain."

Chakotay crossed the room then and stopped keeping his own distance. For just a second, he scolded himself. Since the call had come through, some hours earlier, he'd heaped the weight of everything back on Kathryn's shoulders—after he'd promised her that, from now on, he'd help her carry everything.

Chakotay pulled Kathryn into him and she came readily. She rubbed her face against him, clearly seeking comfort.

"It doesn't have to be different," Chakotay said. "Nothing has to be different."

"I'll be your captain," Kathryn said.

"Couples are allowed to serve together," Chakotay said. "And I was a captain before. We're not crossing rank lines too dramatically. Besides—this happened off the ship and off-duty. We were relieved of our positions at the time."

"It would be a conflict of interest," Kathryn said.

"We're stuck in the Delta Quadrant for seventy years, Kathryn," Chakotay said, a little frustration rising in his chest. "Everything is a conflict of interest. We've already talked about Voyager growing to be multi-generational. On a ship that size, everything is going to be a conflict of interest and, therefore, nothing is. It's just going to be called 'life' on Voyager. To hell with what Starfleet would say. They're in the Alpha Quadrant. In a situation like this, we're on our own. We have to make the best decisions we can. That's true when it comes to relationships as well."

Chakotay pushed Kathryn away just enough to be able to see her face. It was damp with tears and he let them fall. She needed to cry them all out and he understood that. When Tuvok made the call that they were ready to start beaming up, Kathryn would have to morph back into Captain Janeway. She'd have to look like her normal, composed, strong, unbothered self again. She'd have to leave behind her tears for a cabin that never got built where she could spend her evenings sharing a meal with her friends—her family, at this point—before bed.

Chakotay kissed her forehead tenderly before he pulled her back to him.

"I will do whatever you think is best," Chakotay said. "I will do—whatever is going to make your life easiest, Kathryn. But—no matter what you say? My feelings for you aren't going to change. I promised you that I wasn't going anywhere. I meant that. And I promised you that—I would spend the rest of my life trying to make your life better. I meant that, too."

Kathryn pulled away from him and mopped at her face.

"How do we do this? How do we tell everyone? What will they say?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay felt relief flooding his chest as he realized she was clearly leaning toward the fact that this—whatever they chose to call their relationship—wasn't going anywhere. They were still going to love one another. And to love one another, every day, on the bridge—to know what they had experienced together and the happiness they were capable of having—without being able to love one another when they were off-duty, would be unbearable.

Chakotay squeezed her arms.

"I'm sure we'll find the right moment," Chakotay said. "In the scramble of everything—in the debriefing. It's bound to come up. We'll make it official knowledge. The relationship began and grew while we were off the ship. It grew on a world that we believed would be our home forever, when we believed we were civilians for the rest of our lives. Not even Starfleet can hold that against us. We'll just—make it part of the official logs. And then, we'll tell the crew. We'll announce it to them as soon as we're settled in. We don't have to make a big deal out of it, Kathryn. We'll tell them that, during all our months down here on New Earth, we found our love for one another. We sought companionship with one another. And now, we intend to continue that relationship—we hope with their blessing—now that we're returning to Voyager. It won't interfere with our duty. We'll still do our jobs, and we'll still serve the crew."

"Do you think the crew will understand?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"They gave up over six months of their lives, and risked their lives with the Vidiians, to get their captain back, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "They are going to be so thrilled to have her back that nothing else will matter. But—beyond that? They're going to be happy to see you happy. They're going to want your happiness, Kathryn, as much as any of them want their own."

Kathryn nodded her head at Chakotay. She came quickly toward him and he anticipated her desire. He gave her the kiss she wanted, and she nearly took his breath away with it.

"I love you," she breathed out as soon as the kiss broke.

"I love you," Chakotay assured her. He remembered that she'd voiced to him, several times, that, though she appeared to always be confident and self-assured, she needed reassurance that he wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going to lose him. He could give her that. He would always give her that. "And I always will. I promise."

"Do we have—time?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

Chakotay smiled at her.

"As long as we don't take too long, Captain," he assured her, pushing her back toward the bed.

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"I'll be honest," Daryl said, walking just behind Carol as she simply strolled around outside. Chakotay and Kathryn had a great deal to discuss, and it was clear that, perhaps, there was even more for them to discuss than what was on the surface. Carol and Daryl were giving them plenty of space, "I'm a little sad about goin' back to the ship."

Carol looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. She reached her hand back toward him and wiggled her fingers when he didn't immediately take them. He finally closed her hand in his. It felt nice to simply walk and hold her hand, so he quickened his steps so that he could walk beside her instead of just behind her.

Did she always look this beautiful in the sunlight? Daryl knew she was beautiful—and she always had been—but there was something particularly beautiful about her with the way the sun caught her at that moment.

"So fuckin' beautiful…I love you," Daryl said, before he could stop himself. The words had just come rolling out of his mouth and his heart pounded erratically as soon as he realized he'd said them with no context at all. "I'm sorry…"

Carol laughed to herself. Her brows furrowed with a flash of confusion.

"Are you sorry because—you love me?" She asked. "Or—are you sad because you love me and that makes you sorry?"

Daryl laughed to himself.

"I fucked it up all the way around," he said.

"I don't think you've fucked anything up," Carol assured him, squeezing his hand in hers.

"I just said I loved you because…it was there," Daryl said. "I'm sorry that—it was kinda weird."

Carol smiled dramatically at him and stopped her progress. She swung in front of him, blocking his forward progress so that he had to stop suddenly to keep from plowing into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and lazy. He stayed, right where he was, returning the kiss for as long as she wanted. He enjoyed every change of it. Every time she pulled out of it, just slightly, to come back again like she realized her thirst wasn't yet quenched.

He kissed her until his lips and face ached.

And he didn't try to hide the smile that it left behind when she smiled at him with pink lips and pink cheeks.

"I'ma call you beautiful more often," he offered.

"I wish you would," Carol said sincerely. Daryl committed to memory that she'd clearly liked it, and obviously wasn't bothered that it had come without warning. "But—Daryl? I wish you weren't sad. We're going back to Voyager. It was nice there. And you really liked working with B'Elanna in Engineering, and I liked cooking with Neelix and helping out in sickbay."

"You were happy on Voyager," Daryl said. "Happier than—I've seen you since I've known you."

Carol smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I was safe," she said. "Comfortable. Occupied. Not hungry. And—there was finally some distance between me and…everything that I want to let go of. I could breathe."

"But you been even happier since you been here," Daryl offered.

Carol hummed to herself.

"Because I've had more time with you here," Carol said. "I've had all those things and—I've had more time with you. More time to be close to you. Before we left Voyager, we didn't have that much time. It was still new. Here it's been—comfortable."

Daryl nodded. He hesitated a moment to continue.

"So, it's just—me?" He asked. "It's not the planet? When we get back up there on the ship, you're still gonna be as happy as you are here?"

Carol laughed to herself.

"I can't promise that I'm always going to be happy, Daryl," Carol said. "Not every day."

"I want you to be," Daryl said. His chest caught and he realized how much he actually meant the words. "When you're happy—I think I finally figured it out. That's what makes me happy, Carol. It ain't nothin' else. Not really. It's just—knowin' you're happy."

Carol smiled warmly. She reached her finger up and touched his lips affectionately. She trailed her finger down to touch his chin. Then she kissed him again. This time it was short, and less playful than before, but full of meaning.

"Just hearing you say that—makes me very happy," Carol said. "Here or there, Daryl—I'm human. And neither of us knows what the future holds. We both know that. I can't promise that I'm always going to be happy. But—I can promise that you're my greatest source of happiness. And knowing that you care about my happiness? That makes me happy."

"You're sure you want to go back?" Daryl asked.

"I love you more than—anything or anyone," Carol said. "And I know I'd be happy to live with you, alone, for the rest of our lives. But—I care for Kathryn and Chakotay, too. So—if we can spend our lives with other people, and still have each other? I think I'd like that."

They must have made their decision right on time, because just as Daryl nodded to Carol and sealed the deal with a kiss, he heard the sound of Kathryn and Chakotay calling them. Together, still holding hands, they ran back toward the house.

Their things—few though they were—had already been beamed up.

It was strange to see Kathryn and Chakotay in uniform again.

"We've already taken ours," Chakotay said, holding up two hyposprays. "We better hurry. They're going to give us a few minutes to wait. It shouldn't take longer than that for it to take effect. The Vidiians said the cure was instant."

"It'll be quick with our blood pumping," Daryl offered with a laugh. "We almost ran here. Didn't wanna get left behind."

"We'd never leave you behind," Kathryn offered sincerely.

Daryl accepted when Chakotay pressed the hypospray to his neck. He still hadn't become accustomed to the hiss, but he supposed that eventually it wouldn't make him jump. Carol didn't seem bothered at all by the sound being so close to her ear.

When they were done, Chakotay touched his combadge to announce that they'd all been dosed.

For a last few moments, they stood and looked at the place that had been their little home. And then, over the commlink came Tuvok's announcement that they were about to be beamed up. The four of them stood close to one another, not quite touching in any way, and waited for the strange sensation—like your foot waking from falling asleep, except it spread through your whole body—of the transporter.

Daryl wasn't used to the transporter sensation, yet, but he trusted it. It was safe, after all, and they assured him of that. Still, he naturally closed his eyes when he knew that it was about to happen.

He was pleased, then, to see the familiar interior of Voyager when he opened his eyes. He was pleased to see Kes waiting beside the man who worked the transporter. But he immediately decided that he didn't care for her expression, and he was uneasy when he found that he and Chakotay were the first to arrive—especially when a second passed, like an eternity, and nobody else appeared.