Late that evening, Chakotay walked into the mess hall. It was very poorly lit, at roughly one-eighth illumination, he guessed. As the computer told him, Harry Kim was here, sitting on his own and staring out into space at the montage of stars racing past the ship. Beside him on the table were his clarinet and some curious folded pieces of paper. He walked up to the table, and said, "Are these supposed to be gliders?"

Harry looked up with a start. "Commander!" he exclaimed. "I didn't hear you come in. No, they're supposed to be swans."

"Ah. Origami."

"Yeah, Baytart suggested I try it. I'm not very good at it, though."

"I never was either," Chakotay responded. He sat down beside the young ensign. "Is something wrong, Harry? You've seemed troubled lately."

Harry turned to the First Officer with a worried look on his face. "Has it been affecting my performance on the bridge, Commander?"

Chakotay chuckled. "Far from it. You've been the model of professionalism. Tuvok was commenting on how focused you seemed. It not as fun working on the bridge, though, when you're unhappy. Care to talk about it?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really, Commander."

Chakotay looked intently as the young man, and said, "That's all right, you don't have to. But I've found that talking about problems often provides solutions to them, and I figured you might want to unload. I'm not here as your commanding officer, Harry, I'm just here as Chakotay, your colleague and friend."

Harry seemed touched by this. He enjoyed working with the Commander, but the former Maquis had not often reached out to him before this way. He didn't realize that it was because he usually didn't need it. But Chakotay was nothing if not a wise man, and so Harry, who had always respected his elders and superiors, heeded his advice in a way he would not for advice from others, even Tom or B'Elanna.

"All right, Commander - "

Chakotay shot him a mock stern look.

"I mean, Ch-Chakotay, if you think it's a good idea to talk about it..." He felt uncomfortable calling the Commander by his name.

"Is it about Seven of Nine?" the older man asked.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"You didn't seem as eager to work with her yesterday as you usually do. And this afternoon, she was eating lunch in the messhall alone, and I know you usually eat with her. You had lunch off, so I was wondering."

"Ah."

Chakotay tried to trod delicately over this next patch. "Are the rumours about you and her true, Harry?"

"You mean about me being in love with her?" Harry said with difficulty. Chakotay nodded. "Yes. They are."

"Is that why you've been upset lately?"

"Sort of. B'Elanna and Seven had a fight a few days ago, and I stuck my nose in the middle of it, and B'Elanna made fun of my... feelings for Seven in front of her, and told Seven I loved her."

"What did Seven say to that?"

Harry sighed. "Seven tried to tell B'Elanna that I didn't love her, and as proof used an incident in the messhall last year."

Chakotay couldn't help but grin. "Did this incident involve a 'Ktarian moonrise' holoprogram?"

Harry's eyes grew wide with trepidation. "You know about that, sir?"

"I'm not 'sir' tonight, Harry. And yes. Seven told me about it after it happened. She was worried you wouldn't want to work with her any more. Don't worry, I told her not to spread that story around, and I haven't mentioned it to anyone else. I must say, I was impressed you turned down her offer to 'copulate'." Chakotay unsuccessfully tried to stifle a chuckle. "Not many men would have refused to take advantage of her innocence. Were you in love with her even then, Harry?"

"I suppose I was. I just wanted to get to know her - "

"I know, Harry. So Seven told B'Elanna about this. What happened then?"

With a large amount of self-hatred in his voice, Harry said, "Then I got mad at both of them, and have tried to avoid them ever since. I know I shouldn't be doing that, but I can't help it. I'm going to have breakfast with B'Elanna in the morning, however."

"That's good. You don't want to avoid your friends forever - both of them."

Harry smiled. "You sound like Tom, Chakotay."

A few years previous, those would have been fighting words to Chakotay. He and Paris now had a respect for one another, although they would probably never be friends. Chakotay would probably never be trying to empathize with Tom Paris the way he was with Harry Kim, but he had gotten over his dislike of the cocky pilot. Tom Paris had proved to be an exemplary officer - something the old Chakotay of the Maquis never would have believed.

"He's trying to be a friend. Why are you avoiding Seven?"

Another sigh. "At first it was because I thought she would view me as an irrelevant annoyance."

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Harry."

"I know. Now it's because I don't want to hear her tell me she doesn't feel the same way."

Chakotay put his hand on Harry's arm to reassure him. "I don't think that's a good idea, Harry. If she's the friend I know she is to you, you shouldn't avoid her. And if you love her, she should know."

"Even if she doesn't feel the same way?"

Chakotay sighed at the parallels to his own situation. "Yes, I think that even if it seems she doesn't return you feelings, she should know. That way, she doesn't think you're hiding anything, and it might give her a new perspective on you. And after all, you never know if she'll return the feelings."

"You're right, Chakotay. You're right." Harry's eyes moistened. "It's just so damned hard! Seeing Seven almost every day, working so close with her, being with her, knowing that I can draw her out better than anyone else. It would be different if I didn't think something was there. But I don't know if she wants to admit it, of even if she could! I mean, I'm the only one she smiles at. She's more at ease with me than anyone else on the ship, it seems, with the possible exception of the Doctor. We work well together -"

"You two are one of the best teams on Voyager," Chakotay interrupted.

"Thanks. Sometimes I think it would be easier not to love her. I've tried to get over her. But I can't. Every so often, she'll say something, or smile at me, or just *look* in a way that makes my heart think there's a chance. It's hard to go on this way, though."

Chakotay listened intently to Harry's speech. The young man's feelings seemed eerily similar to his own. "I know it's hard, Harry. Believe me, I know. But I think it's worth it. I don't work with you and Seven much, but I know she likes working with you, and I don't think it's just your efficiency. You have a lot in common, and what you don't have in common, you could help each other with. There's been no one who's helped Seven along in the little, day-to-day things the way you have, and I have noticed a spring in your step over the past year that wasn't there before. "I think her presence has helped you deal with the possibility that we may not be home for decades. Her being here has shown you... possibilities that life on Voyager could be more than work and friends, Harry. It could be a *life*. A life well worth living."

Harry nodded at this. "You're right, Chakotay."

Chakotay grinned. "Of course I'm right. You should always listen to your elders. Don't avoid her any more, Harry. Tell her how you feel. You may be surprised at what you hear. At the very least, having your feelings out in the open will make it seem a weight has been lifted off your shoulders."

Harry smiled in return at the elder man. "Thanks, Chakotay. I think I will." He hesitated before continuing. "Is this what it's like between you and the Captain?"

Chakotay's first reaction was to not talk about his situation with Captain Janeway. However, he had no one to speak to about it on the ship. His closest companion was Kathryn Janeway herself, and he didn't really have any male friends to talk to about it. Harry was as good as anyone, and would keep his word not to talk about it. Plus, his situation was surprisingly similar.

"This doesn't go beyond this room, right?" Harry nodded in response. "Yeah, it's a lot like me and Kathryn. I take it there are plenty of rumours going around about this." Another nod from Harry. "She knows how I feel. I'm sure she feels the same way too, but she refuses to admit. It's like she doesn't want to be happy until she gets us home. The guilt of her decision when she destroyed the Caretaker array still weighs heavily on her mind. I don't think she realizes that we don't hold that decision against her."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I know. I worry about her, Chakotay. I think she's working herself to death."

"I'm glad to know it's not just that Doctor and I who think that. I hope she lets herself return my love some day. At times she seems willing to - like the night before we tried the slipstream drive. We had the nicest dinner in her quarters - it's like she was saying that back in the Alpha Quadrant, she would have no problem loving me. After the experiment failed, however, it was back to normal." He sighed at that.

"Sometimes it does seem too much, though, I'll admit that," Chakotay continued. "That's why that short time with Valerie Archer was so nice. She had no problem caring - even if she was an 8472."

Harry grinned. "I could never date an 8472, myself."

Chakotay smiled back. "And I could never be interested in a Borg. Again." He pushed the thought of Riley Frazier out of his mind. "Chacun son gout, though," he said, raising an imaginary toast.

Harry looked at his Commander. "I know what you mean about the Captain and her decision with the Caretaker. I want to be with my family more than anything, but I've always known the Captain made the right decision, even if I have to be away from my family because of it. She shouldn't beat herself up over it.

"I mean, for some people," Harry went on, "being in the Delta Quadrant has been the best thing in their lives. Tom and B'Elanna, for example."

Chakotay laughed. "I know. And if I were back in the Alpha Quadrant, I probably would have been killed along with the rest of the Maquis. B'Elanna too."

Eager to provide another example why his Captain was right, Harry leapt in, "And if we weren't in the Delta Quadrant, Seven never would have been freed from the Borg. And I never would have met her. I can't imagine live without her."

Chakotay beamed at that. "There's the spirit, Harry!"

The young man smiled larger than he had all evening. "Yeah, I will talk with her tomorrow." Then his expression darkened. "What's going to happen to Seven if we get back to the Alpha Quadrant? What's going to happen to you, for that matter?"

Chakotay frowned. The lightened mood they had been experiencing darkened considerably. "I suspect the outstanding charges against the Maquis will be dropped. With this war the Federation is fighting, our actions against the Cardassians will probably let us be seen in a whole new light. About Seven, I hope that Starfleet will see her as a person instead of just a Borg resource and treat her accordingly." He shook his head. "I've been wrong about Starfleet before, however. That's why I became Maquis."

Harry looked downcast again. "I don't want to let her go to be used or dissected by Starfleet security. If I lose because of her decision, that's one thing. I won't let her be used, however."

Chakotay smiled. "You remind me of a younger version of myself when you say that. That's what I like about you, Harry. You believe in the ideals of Starfleet through and through, but you've never forgotten it's about people. I know that got you in trouble with Tuvok when Kathryn and I were stranded on New Earth because you didn't want us left behind when there was a chance we could be cured. Tuvok's a good man, but sometimes he can't see the trees for the forest."

Chakotay then looked very seriously at Harry. "I hope it doesn't come to this, but you do realize you may have to go 'Maquis' or sorts when we hit the Alpha Quadrant to protect Seven, don't you?"

Harry nodded sombrely. "It's something I've thought about. I don't want to, but if I have to to protect her, I will. I would for any of you."

Chakotay smiled at that. "I know. And you should know that if we might lose someone - anyone - we care about to the machinations of Federation or Starfleet politics, you won't be alone."

"Thanks. Besides," Harry continued, "I must have been a 'Maquis' of sorts in one possible future. I mean, that future me erased ten or twenty years of what was the past when he sent that message to Seven during the slipstream flight. Starfleet doesn't take kindly to changes in the timeline, does it?"

"Braxton certainly didn't. Some things never change." Chakotay grinned. "This has been a good talk, Harry, but it's late and we both have to be up early tomorrow."

"I know. I want to thank you, Chakotay, you've really been a help."

"No problem, Harry. Just remember it's back to 'Commander', tomorrow." Harry chuckled at that. "One more thing. If you ever want to talk about anything, you know my door is open."

"The same think goes for you, Commander. If you want to talk about you and the Captain, I'm here for you as well."

Chakotay smiled at Harry for that. "I may take you up on that. I don't really have anyone else to talk to about it, you know."

Harry smiled back. "Anytime. Oh, one more thing, Chakotay?"

"Yes?"

As they walked to the mess hall door, Harry put his hand on Chakotay's shoulder. "You know how much I respect the Captain. She's not just my commanding officer, she's like a mother of sorts to me. I just want you to know that I can't think of anyone who would make her happier than you."

"I'm touched, Harry. Thank you."

As they left the mess hall, and began to walk in opposite directions, Chakotay turned around one last time. "Harry?"

"Yes?"

In his best commanding voice, Chakotay said, "Remember, talk with her tomorrow. That's an order. Understood, Ensign?" His smile belied his tone.

Harry stood as straight as could be, saluted sharply, and responded, "Aye aye, sir!"

They both walked away smiling.