"Wait Chakotay" Kathryn managed in between kisses that Chakotay was placing on her as he carried her into the bedroom, cradled gently in his strong arms. "We have to stop."

"What, why?" he stopped abruptly at her words. It would be hard to stop now, as he held her gently in his arms, but if she was not ready then he would wait. He had waited this long and he was willing to wait as long as it took.

Kathryn could sense the confusion, fear and finally acceptance at her words. Again, he would do as she requested even though, she knew at this point, it was taking all of his emotional control to do so. He gently set her on her feet and stepped away to give them both some distance. Before he could turn around and gather himself she grabbed onto his hands keeping him close to her.

"I want you so much right now Chaktoay, and I would like nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and just ignore who we are and what we are but that is not fair to our crew, our families or each other." She paused needing to regroup and make sure that he understood what she was saying. "I want our life together to start with no secrets, obstacles or shame. I don't want to hide." she stated. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him breathing in the spicy, manly smell that was uniquely Chakotay. She felt his arms wound themselves tightly around her. "I love you, I have loved you for so long, but you were suppose to be married to Seven in a couple of hours." she looked down for a second to gather herself "We have to go down there and face our crew." she pressed her lips against his neck kissing him softly. "I would rather tell the crew now and get their reaction all at once then one by one."

Chakotay knew she was right. And he wanted the crew to know that he accepted responsibility for the mess that had been his and Seven's relationship. At least this way, he reasoned, Kathryn would avoid any unwelcomed comments or questions from the crew. He also wanted them to know that though Kathryn was the catalyst for the breakup there really had never been anything to break up.

He kissed her forehead lightly needing to touch her before he brought up another tough subject they would have to tackle. "What about Starfleet." he was apprehensive on what she would decide on the subject. She had been Starfleet the moment she was born. It would be difficult for her to give the organization up, if they demanded it, when they realized that they were now in a relationship. "They have been pushing Seven and my relationship pretty hard in the news cycles. They are not going to be happy to have to announce to the Federation that there will be no marriage, instead Voyager's top Fleeter and Maquis will be getting married" he chuckled lightly to cover his fear that this would weigh too heavily on her to ignore.

"Like I told you before Chakotay," she responded with the same strong conviction Chakotay had heard every time she threaten to destroy an alien ship that was intent on destroying her crew. "I have given all that I am willing to give to Starfleet. We became a family in the Delta Quadrant and I" she paused and looked up at him "We owed them an explanation but that is all, I will not give you" she paused to amend "us up"

At her reassuring words and determination Chakotay could no longer help himself he bent down and captured her sweet, soft lips in a searing kiss. He could feel the warmth from her body through the silk slip she was wearing. Chakotay knew he was on thin ice and that he needed to pull away if they were going to leave this room anytime soon. He pulled away and turned away from her, looking for her gown. His back still turned he handed it to her without looking at her.

"Sweetheart, if we are going to do this you need to get dressed and we need to leave right now, otherwise, I will not be able to control myself. " He could hear her shuffling into her gown and he had to fist his hands to prevent himself from turning around and taking her into his arms. "Sweetheart" he gulped when she felt her small arms wrap around him from behind. She planted a small kiss between his shoulder blades making him hiss with arousal. "You don't play fair do you" he said huskily

"Nonsense" she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice. "I need your help if we are going to go face our crew" she pulled away from his body "Chakotay I need you to zip me up"

"Wh...wh..at" he stuttered

"I need you to zip me up" she replied amused by his reaction. Sexy, was all her mind kept repeating. She was better equipped at hiding her emotions than he was but it was taking all of her self control to keep her hands off of him. "I can't leave this room half-dressed" he groaned as he remember how she looked in her slip "the crew will guess what we have been up to before we even utter a word" she finished reaching for his hand and turning him around to face her.

He lifted a hand and softly caressed her cheek, amazed that from now on he would always be free to touch her. "I love you" he said so softly and tenderly it made her legs feel like putty. He bent down and kissed her on her cheek and moved towards her neck. He reached his hands around her back to where the zipper was and pulled it up slowly as he continued to nuzzle her neck. Once the dress was properly secured he pulled back and smiled triumphantly at her. "Ready" he said reaching for her hand, smiling smugly at her as she pouted at the loss of his lips.

"As ready as anyone can ever be, when faced with 150 crewmembers who you have to confess that after 7 years and many failed attempts, by them, to get their stubborn commanding officers together; said commanding officer have finally gotten their heads out of the sand and realized what has been in front of them since the beginning." she smiled as she said this but Chakotay could see that she worried about what the crew would think.

They were at the door and before he open it he looked into her eyes and tried to alleviate her fears. "Kathryn, the crew will be happy that we are going to be happy." he couldn't help but voice some of his fears and prepare her for some uncomfortable moments "I expect them to be upset over my relationship with Seven and I will have to go into some very embarrassing details about our relationship. But in the end, they care for us and I don't think they will hold it against us." he paused "And if they do"

"Then we say, hell to them." she saw she had surprised him and hurriedly explained. "I love our crew Chakotay but as I said before, never again will I give you up for anything or anyone ever again." she returned the serene smile that crossed his lips at her words and opened the door ready to confront the crew and their reactions to their new relationship.

"Let's go"