"Come on, Chakotay, I cheated death! That's worth a celebration, don't you think? Bottle of champagne, moonlight sail on Lake George - how does that sound?"
She gestured to him, trying to paint the scene she was imagining so he could see them there too. His eyes danced; he was there with her already; she could feel it.
"Like something worth living for."
And that was all the encouragement she needed. She had suddenly felt desperate to get away from this room, the bridge, ship's business, and just be somewhere where she could try and remember something from the real life she had had before this interminable mission and last night's terrifying ordeal.
Lake George would do that, even if it was just the holodeck.
And she wanted to be with him.
Yesterday could have been her last and so was she really going to spend the first day of the rest of her life – a life she'd fought so hard to keep - sitting here, alone in this airless room, doing busy work, trying and failing not to think about it? Talking to him for just a few minutes had been enough to spur her to so something about it.
They crossed the bridge and headed straight to their deck to change.
She had five minutes to get ready. First thing she'd done was replicate the champagne. A good one of course. She chose a green dress that she'd never worn on Voyager. Never felt like it before. She had a moment of uncertainty when she caught her reflection in the mirror, as she hurried to brush out her hair.
"Did I just ask my first officer on a date?"
She quickly dismissed the voice and continued to get ready. She platted her hair into a simple braid and applied some fresh lipstick. She felt like she'd just woken up somehow, even though it must have been early evening by then.
Just as she walked out of the bathroom her chime sounded and she went swiftly to the door.
She was struck again by how different he always looked out of uniform somehow. This time it was his smile that seemed wider, his skin darker, against the cream casual shirt. She felt a wave of affection for him wash over her as he told her she looked stunning and offered her his arm.