By the end of that same week the command team had the required information. The two beamed down to the surface on a rest day for the crew. During the week they had made nameplates for each house with the last name of every crewmember etched into them.
"Alright," Janeway started. "The Paris-Torres brood," she gave putting up the Torres nameplate, Chakotay settled the Paris nameplate below it.
"Harry Kim," the captain said, "goes next to them," he put up Harry's nameplate to the left of the Paris-Torres home.
"You're on the other side," Janeway referred to her padd before putting up the 'Chakotay' sign.
Chakotay took the next plaque. "And you're beside me," he stated with a lopsided grin as he positioned the sign appropriately.
"Tuvok is on the other side of me, Seven in the house behind him," she gave. "Icheb to one side of Seven and the Doctor is to the left of her. Sam and Naomi on the Doc's other side, than Neelix, and Kes beside him," and so they continued for the next few hours as they finished the living arrangements of the crew. They managed to put everyone with neighbours they wanted, for the most part.
When they where finally finished they returned to the ship, looking darker than when they left, or at least Kathryn did. Though the Admiral looked more like she'd been burned than tanned.
"One step closer. Soon the crew will start moving their belongings down there. We'll leave the ship… ground her," she gave with a small sigh as the pair made their way to Kathryn's quarters.
Just as Chakotay had turned around and was about to walk away, Kathryn stopped him. The Admiral uttered words she had often said, but never with that particular tone.
"Are you coming in, Chakotay?" she questioned.
"As your first officers, Kath, or as your friend?" he enquired.
"As my friend, Chakotay, my closest friend," she stated, stepping out of the doorway so that Chakotay could enter, which he did.
"You're not ready for this, are you Katie?" he questioned, looking around her quarters, of which nothing had been packed to leave.
"It's not like we're abandoning the ship, Chakotay, she'll b there if we forget anything," Janeway noted unconvincingly as she replicated dinner, being the terrible cook she knows she is.
"You just don't want to leave space, Katie. None of us really do. We've been in space for seven years, calling Voyager home. We're making a new home, Kath. A new home with a diverse culture. Klingon's, Vulcan's, Humans, two former Borg, an Occampan, Talaxian and K'tarian. Imagine what the children will look like in a few generations. Pointed ears, head ridges and horns," he winked at Kathryn. "This is not the end, Kath, it's a whole new beginning. Not many people get to do this," Chakotay stated, wrapping his arm around Kathryn's shoulder, tugging her close, under the guise of reassuring her. He was, however, slightly startled when Janeway didn't pull away, instead she rested her head on his shoulder. Dinner was, at least temporarily, forgotten.
Dinner probably would have been forgotten for longer, if Kathryn's stomach hadn't started to grumble. Chakotay simply gave a chuckle on hearing, and feeling, this before leaning over and grabbing their plates. He handed Kathryn hers before digging into his meal. "You'll have to learn to cook, Kath, we won't have the replicators that much longer."
"No, I'll just visit you for dinner, Captain, we will be neighbours, remember," Janeway stated. "I'll learn how to make coffee from coffee beans."
To this Chaktotay laughed. "One day, Kath, no matter how many coffee beans you replicate, there won't be anymore coffee. What will you do then?"
"I'll make you suffer through my withdrawals with me, Chakotay," she noted stubbornly.
Chakotay chuckled and nodded his head. "I wouldn't expect anything else, Kath," he noted as he finished his dinner and leaned back in the couch.
Kathryn simply rolled her eyes. "You think you know me so well, Chakotay?" she questioned, setting her now empty dinner plate on the table in front of them, next to the captain's. "One day, Captain, I'll do something you're not expecting," Janeway pointed out in a somewhat smug manner.
"Promise?" he enquired, only to receive a swat on his arm from the Admiral.
"Chakotay!"
"Yes?" he enquired with the most innocent grin he could manage.
"I'm going to have to start calling you Paris, if you keep this up."
"Then you should make it official, Katie, because I'm having way too much fun with this."
"With what, Chakotay?" she questioned, only slightly curious, sure she knew the answer.
"With this, Kath. With us," he replied, stepping over the line he'd been toeing for years.
"With us, Chakotay? Is there an 'us' to have fun with?"
"I certainly hope so, Kath, if not now than later, in the future," he noted, looking down at his feet.
"You would be willing to wait for who knows ho long, Chakotay, for me to decide that there should be an 'us'?" the woman started. "Chakotay…"
"Kathryn, I've waited and I'll keep waiting. I'll wait until you let there be an 'us'," he answered, causing Janeway to offer a slight nod, sitting back into the couch.
"I'll let you know when you can stop waiting," the woman noted, linking her hand with his, resulting in a smile etching across Chakotay's features, a twinkle in his eyes.
All he could do was smile at Kathryn, knowing that there was a possibility of them being together. Silently, in the back of his head, he held a glimmer of hope that her voice held more than a possibility. Chakotay gently tugged Kathryn closer to him, expecting resistance, which he got. Feeling her tension pick up he stopped, he knew that he was testing boundaries today, a lot of boundaries.
Janeway looked at her first officer and friend. Seeing the twinkle in his dark eyes dim slightly she squeezed his hand and shifted so that she could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Chakotay," she whispered.
"For what?" he questioned, wrapping an arm about her, resisting the urge to pull her closer.
"For waiting, Chakotay. It's hard, getting used to not having Starfleet protocols to hide behind," Kathryn responded, nestled comfortably into his side.
"I promised your family that I'd look after you, Katie, and, if nothing else, I'm a man of my word," Chakotay noted, looking at the auburn hair of the woman in his arms.
"You're more than that. You're my best friend, first officer, and the person who's spent seven years helping me keep my sanity… I could go on, but I think you get the point."
Chakotay nodded against her head. "You don't need to carry on, Kath," he said, looking down in time to see her stifle a yawn. "Though you do need to go to bed," he tried to free himself, but the Admiral would not budge. "Kath, come on," he gave, half-heartedly, before he opted to carry her to her sleeping chambers.
Once he'd gotten Kathryn settled he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight… Beautiful," he said, presuming the Admiral was already asleep, but a mumbled 'Night, Chakotay' proved that thought to be, at least partially, wrong.
With a shake of his head he told the computer to turn the lights off and went to his own quarters.