The next two days passed slowly for Chakotay.

Kathryn called him late on Tuesday night, cheerful after spending time with her mother but also tired from having talked all day about her life on the Al-Batani. She confessed to having skirted the details of her disastrous away mission, not wanting to upset her mother, and she made Chakotay promise that he wouldn't reveal any of what she'd told him, either. Then she excused herself saying that she needed to get some sleep in order to prepare for the coming day which would be filled with shopping and preparations for the party. She ended by blowing Chakotay a kiss and saying that she loved him.

He went to bed dreaming of her and counting the hours until he could join her in Indiana.

Kathryn called again in the late afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday to assure him that she continued to be okay and was busy with her extended family, who had started to arrive. Both times she was at her mother's house, and Chakotay could hear talking and laughter in the background.

Then, several hours after her last call, his comm terminal beeped. When he activated the screen, he was shocked to see a very pale-faced Kathryn with trembling lips. There was a haunted look in her dark blue eyes which made his heart ache.

Chakotay placed his fingertips to the screen, desperately wishing that he could reach through the connection and touch her. "Kathryn, love, what happened?"

She seemed to have difficulty drawing breath, and her voice hitched when she blurted out, "I couldn't stay. I tried to dodge her comments, make her talk about something else, but she wouldn't... I told Mom I wasn't feeling well, I just couldn't cope..."

"Please, calm down," Chakotay soothed, his thoughts racing. Something upsetting had happened to Kathryn, something which had made her quit her mother's house in distress. There was no way of telling what Mrs. Janeway would be thinking about her daughter's sudden departure, but that wasn't his problem right now. Chakotay came to a quick decision. Rather than try and make sense of what Kathryn was saying, he asked, "How far is your hotel from the transport station?"

She blinked, confused. "About ten minutes."

"Then I'll be with you in thirty. Will you be okay until then?"

"I..." She blinked again, processing his words. "You're coming here?"

"As soon as we sign off."

"But −"

"No arguments, Commander. In case you've forgotten, I still have seniority on my side."

She sat back, the corner of her mouth turning up the slightest fraction. "I'll be here. But you really don't need to −"

"Thirty minutes. I love you." Chakotay cut the connection before Kathryn could formulate another protest.

It only took him two minutes to grab a fresh uniform and a change of underwear and stuff them into a bag together with his toothbrush and his lecture notes for the following day. Then he hurried down the hill to the transport station and had the officer on duty beam him to Bloomington, Indiana. He arrived in front of Kathryn's hotel room exactly twenty-eight minutes after he'd turned off his comm terminal.

Kathryn greeted him, wide-eyed and still pale. "You didn't need to come all this way tonight. I never expected you to −"

"I wanted to come," he cut her off gently, dropping his bag and pulling her to him. The moment his arms closed around her, he felt a profound sense of belonging.

"What about your classes tomorrow?" Her words were muffled against his chest.

He shrugged. "By the time my first class starts, it'll be almost lunchtime here. I should be able to manage just fine." He waited for more objections but none were forthcoming so he just hugged her tighter and felt her clinging to him in response.

"I'm so glad you're here," she admitted when she finally stepped back.

Chakotay looked around for a place to sit. The room was tiny, with the bed taking up most of the space and a small desk and chair pushed back into a corner. He pulled her down on the bed and settled against the headboard, with Kathryn curled up against his side. "Tell me what happened. What was it that upset you so much − or should I rather ask who?"

Kathryn sighed, shifting closer. "My aunt Erica. She's insufferable."

"Tell me," Chakotay repeated while he loosened the band at the end of her hair and started undoing her tight braid.

"Erica is my dad's younger sister, and the biggest gossip in town," she finally began. "Before he met my mom, he always took Erica to the official Starfleet receptions and all that, and she loved it. I think her biggest regrets in life are that she couldn't secure a Fleet husband for herself and that her admiral brother died too young, cutting off her source of first-hand information."

Chakotay combed his hand through Kathryn's long hair, untangling the strands. "So now she's after you?" he guessed.

She sighed again and turned her head, closing her eyes as he gently massaged her scalp. "Yes. Every time I come home, Aunt Erica invites herself over and then starts grilling me. And this time she didn't even need an excuse, what with Mom's birthday party coming up. I thought that I was prepared for her and tried to deflect her questions. When she asked about my promotion..." She broke off to take a few deep breaths.

Chakotay waited patiently and continued to stroke her hair, giving her time to organize her thoughts.

"It was okay at first, when I told her that the promotion had come as part of my switch to command. But then Mom mentioned that I'd gotten a commendation as well, and suddenly there was no stopping Aunt Erica's inquisition. She wanted to know every last detail about where I'd been and what I'd done..."

"The other day you said that you haven't even told your mother what really happened," Chakotay remarked gently.

Kathryn shook her head. "I couldn't. She worries too much about me as it is. Every time I leave, she acts as if I might never come back."

"So what have you told her?"

"Only that there was some trouble on an away mission, that several team members, including myself, were captured and held hostage, and that we were rescued after a few days. I didn't give any details, and she knows better than to ask for them. Dad taught her that." Her voice turned bitter. "Unfortunately, he wasn't as successful teaching his sister to leave well enough alone."

The fact that Kathryn was annoyed now rather than upset made Chakotay think that the worst was behind her for the night, but he still had to know more about her evening. "And when Aunt Erica kept questioning you...?"

"I almost lost it," she confessed, her voice once again a whisper. "The more she kept pressing for details, the louder the Cardassians' weapons fire sounded in my head until I thought I had to scream. And when she asked who else had been on my team, all I could see was Alex' mangled body. I only just managed to tell Mom that I wasn't feeling well, and then I left as quickly as I could. As soon as I was out of sight of the house, I broke down."

He hugged her more tightly as he felt hot tears seeping into his shirt.

"I don't know if I can go to the party," Kathryn cried. "I don't want to worry Mom, but there'll be so many people there whom I haven't seen in years, and they're bound to ask what I've been up to recently. I just won't know what to say."

"I'll keep them at bay for you," Chakotay promised, rocking her back and forth. "You won't be wearing your uniform, so even those guests who are familiar with Starfleet won't notice your new department and rank unless someone tells them. I'll act as your shield to deflect any awkward questions. And who knows − maybe they'll be more interested in the unexpected boyfriend standing right in front of them than in your latest exploits on distant planets no one's ever heard of."

His joke had the desired effect when Kathryn chuckled through her tears and lifted her head to look up at him. "Aunt Erica will have a field day with you."

"I think I can handle her," he assured her.

"Promise?" she whispered.

His reply was to lean down and kiss her tenderly.

When they separated, Kathryn sighed and started unbuttoning his shirt. "Right now I just want to forget about Aunt Erica, and about the party and who else might be there." She ran her hands over his chest, caressing lightly. "Please, help me to forget," she pleaded.

Chakotay wasn't sure whether her intended form of 'therapy' was wise, and he realized that he had neglected to ask if she'd spoken to Commander Troi or another counselor again in the past three days. But when Kathryn kissed her way down his body and started fumbling with the catch on his pants, his qualms quickly evaporated. He caught her hands and slid down from his sitting position to lie beside her, looking deep into her liquid blue eyes. "I love you," he breathed, "and I want to help you in any way that I can."

Her smile was both courageous and vulnerable, and as usual it melted his heart. "Then love me," was all she said, and when she pulled her own shirt over her head, he didn't need to be told twice.

-==/\==-