Kathryn Janeway was not permitted to return to duty for three weeks. During that time, Chakotay served as acting Captain, he worked with Tuvok and Neelix to come up with ways to help the crew get through the void while Harry and Seven looked at possible technical solutions as well as searched for any signs of life.

Tuvok and Chakotay organized a daily meditation group, switching between Tuvok's Vulcan guidance and Chakotay teaching and helping groups of crewmen contact and communicate with their spirit guides. They started with only a small group of participants, but within a week they had expanded to two sessions a day to accommodate for all the crewmen on all shifts.

Kathryn went to counseling daily, they had programed the computer to create Kathryn's old Starfleet counselor on the holodeck, and so far she seemed to be responding well to the sessions as well as the medication prescribed by the Doctor.

When Chakotay wasn't leading the 'group therapy' or helping Be'lanna or Seven or Harry, he spent all his time with Kathryn. It took her a few days to accept that she was going to have to take some time off, but once she did she was grateful and accepting of Chakotay's help.

Kathryn went to counseling in the morning, then met Chakotay for lunch in the mess hall. They hadn't started going to the mess hall until about a week after Kathryn had begun her recovery process, the crew was worried and together they decided that daily interaction would be mutually beneficial. And every evening, they had dinner together in her quarters, with Chakotay cooking of course.

Chakotay stood by Kathryn, and hadn't pushed the subject of a relationship. He was happy to just be there for her, and he knew that when she was ready, she would talk to him. There was no going back to the way things were, or at least he hoped there wasn't, he knew he couldn't leave her alone anymore now that he had seen how badly she needed and wanted help. He just had to hope she would come to the same conclusion.

As the third week came to a close, The Doctor declared that the Captain was ready to return to VERY light duty. Mainly he knew that he couldn't keep her away any longer, she had cooperated with him very well, but he knew that getting back to her duties would help return a sense of normality to her life.

At first, Chakotay resisted her return to duty, fearing she would start her cycle over her again, but she agreed to continue the therapy sessions, continue the medications, and attend weekly appointments with the Doctor. Chakotay was still a bit reluctant, but Kathryn promised to attend a meditation session every other day, and he was satisfied.

Kathryn walked to her first meditation session accompanied by Be'lanna and Harry. Be'lanna had refused to go until Chakotay had cashed in a favor with her and made her go on the guise of helping the Captain get used to the idea. Harry had been one of the first crewman to accept the invite and had since become almost a second counselor aside from Chakotay. Harry was easy to talk to, and he was friendly to everyone that came to the sessions, even putting together events on the holodeck to de-stress, but keep the friendly and open atmosphere.

"I am excited to have you join us Captain. The crew has taken well to the meditations and a lot of them are developing new friendships."

Kathryn looked at Harry as he walked beside her, truly impressed with the way he had been handling the situation.

"That's wonderful Harry, and I hear that you are becoming quite the counselor yourself, Chakotay tells me you have done particularly well in all his sessions."

Harry smiled and blushed slightly. "Thank you Captain. I enjoy contacting my spirit guide, and I really enjoy spending time with fellow crewmen, I've gotten to know a lot of people I wouldn't have normally run into on my shifts."

Kathryn smiled and turned her head to Be'lanna who was walking slightly behind them. "How come you haven't attended any sessions yet Lieutenant?"

Be'lanna repressed a scowl and answered as kindly as she could, not wanting to give the wrong impression. "I have just been busy in engineering. Harry and Seven have suggested quite a few modifications to be made in order to conserve power."

"How are the modifications going?"

Be'lanna welcomed the change in subject. "They are going quite well, we have managed to increase efficiency by 45% using a combination of…. borrowed.. borg technology and a little Maquis tinkering." She smiled then, proud of her work, as she should be.

"45%! That's incredible. Are the modifications such that we can continue to use them when we exit the void?"

"Yes. In a way I am glad we have had a chance to develop these systems, they will greatly reduce our dylithium consumption and should even improve the resiliency of other systems on board."

Janeway nodded, genuinely pleased with the work that had been done in her… absence. Be'lanna's information had peaked her interest and she looked forward to reading more reports.

They entered the shuttle bay and Kathryn gasped at the changes that had been made. Holo-emitters had been installed and she was now standing in a completely unfamiliar room. The room was lit by soft glowing lanterns on the walls and various candles that were lit by each person.

Every individual had their own cushion and spot on the floor, and each had a medicine bundle in front of them, she quickly ascertained that today must be Chakotay's day to lead the sessions. She could sense his presence simply in the way the room was designed. The walls were deep, rich wooden logs, and the floor too was wood. Everything looked very comfortable and Kathryn soon realized that each cushion was specific to the individual, and every medicine bundle looked different. She couldn't help but admire how much work Chakotay had put into personalizing every one's space.

Kathryn was drawn from her observations when Chakotay approached them. He was wearing a loose green cotton tee and light brown slacks, his comfortable look was completed with moccasins, and Kathryn was momentarily jealous she didn't have a pair.

"Hello Harry, Be'lanna, Hi Kathryn, welcome."

"Chakotay this is amazing." Said Kathryn, her sentiments were reflected by Be'lanna's distracted nod as the other woman continued to gaze around the space. Both Harry and Chakotay looked a bit amused at the women's disorientation.

"Everything is personalized for the individual, and since you both haven't been here before, we will have to take you through the preparations! Harry will help you create your cushions and choose a candle, and I will assist you with your medicine bundle's. Be'lanna, you will come with me first and Kathryn you will go with Harry if that's okay, then we will switch."

"Sounds good to me!" Kathryn turned to Harry then and they walked over to a desk near the head of the room. Chakotay gave a slight laugh at Be'lanna's continued apprehension, then pulled her to the other end of the room.

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to post! I didn't have any clue where I wanted this story to go for a while, but I recently came up with a few ideas. I hope you are still enjoying the story!