The captain and crew of Voyager were preparing to leave the planet.  They had spent nearly six weeks on the ground gathering food, plants for airponics, and simply relaxing.  Kathryn had seriously considered asking the crew if they wanted to stay and settle on the planet.  They would probably never find a better location for a settlement.  She was ready to discuss the possibility with Chakotay when she noticed that many were starting to say things that indicated they were ready to continue their journey.  The closest anyone came to disagreeing was to say they wanted a few more days before giving up the fresh air.  She decided that maybe some day everyone would tire of the journey and be ready to accept a new planet as home, but that day was not today.  Instead Kathryn kept them on the ground a week longer than she had originally planned.

Once Tom heard that a departure date had been set, he immediately approached the captain for permission to hold a huge cookout for the entire crew the night before they were scheduled to leave.  She agreed to a cookout on the beach complete with a bonfire.  Everyone would have to cook his or her own food over the fire.  It sounded like fun.

The bonfire had been started several hours before dark to give it time to burn down and for the coals to get really hot.  There were lots of vegetables on the planet that would roast very nicely in those coals.  The crew started to assemble on the beach near the fire as the sun dipped toward the horizon.  This was the last sunset the crew would see for a long time.  Everyone had been laughing and talking.  As the sun touched the water, the voices grew softer.  You could almost hear the hiss of the sun as it touched the water for Voyager one last time.  When the sun was gone and the stars were beginning to appear, the voices regained their strength demanding to know what was for dinner.

Kathryn and Chakotay watched the festivities and joined in the fun while the food was being prepared and eaten.  By unspoken agreement, Chakotay took responsibility for their food preparation.  Their presence and participation did not put a damper on the mood as it so easily could have done.  This crew was comfortable with its command team, even before they had announced they were married.  Being married made the command team seem more approachable.  Kathryn and Chakotay on the other hand wanted some solitary time together this last night on the planet.  After they had eaten, Chakotay picked up bottles of water, a handful of fruit, and a couple of blankets from a stack Tom had near the supplies, put it all in a carrier and took Kathryn by the hand and led her away from the crowd down the beach.

They walked slowly along the beach in silence for about 15 minutes until they reached an area with large rocks spread along a gently rising sand dune. They climbed the dune then found a large rock to sit on.  From this vantage point they could watch the ocean and the activities around the bonfire.  Tom had evidently planned a number of activities for the evening.  There was a volleyball game just getting started and a number of people throwing plastic disks or balls back and forth.  The laughter echoed down the beach.

Chakotay spread the blanket before he settled on the rock and leaned against an adjacent rock.  He pulled Kathryn down on the blanket next to him so could so she could lean against him.  He handed her one of the bottles of water.

“Very romantic, sir.”  Kathryn couldn’t help teasing Chakotay.  She knew as well as he did that anything other than water was potentially lethal at one of Paris’s parties.  He chuckled.

“The romance is in the setting and the company, and the company is the most romantic I could ever imagine.”  Chakotay made an effort to bow as he spoke, but failed miserably.  They both laughed.

“Why did we come here, Chakotay?”

“To be alone; to be together.  Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but I know what you mean.  I dearly love my crew, but there are times I just want to get away from all of them.  But I never include you in the group to escape.  I escape to you.  If you aren’t there, I haven’t escaped.  I am so comfortable with you.  I can’t really remember what it felt like to command Voyager without you in the next chair.”

“It wasn’t always like that though, was it?”

“No.  It seems a lifetime ago, but it wasn’t that long.  I worried that we had rushed our personal relationship and put our future together at risk.  I worried that having such a close relationship with my first officer could put my command at risk and cloud my judgment and impartiality.  I worried the crew would find out.  I worried that you would think I was ashamed of our relationship because I hadn’t told the crew.  I worried about almost everything.  The only time I wasn’t worried was when you held me in your arms and made my universe just big enough to hold you and me.”

‘I remember.  My list of worries was different, but just as long.  Do you remember how we tried to handle things?  We were meticulous in following recommended procedures in our behavior on the bridge, in meetings, in the mess hall, even on the holodeck unless we had security locks turned on.  We must have seemed ridiculous.  You ran an informal ship and everyone else was much more relaxed around us.  You were relaxed around the others and so was I.  Only when we were dealing with each other did we get all stiff and formal.  The crew probably thought we were crazy, and I can’t say I blame them.”

“I remember one extremely long staff meeting.  Maybe you remember it, too.  The meeting dragged on and on.  Everyone else had dropped the ranks and had been using first names for an hour, including you and me but we hadn’t addressed each other directly for about half an hour.  Then all of a sudden you referred to me as “Captain”.  I almost choked trying not to laugh.  Here I was in a meeting with junior officers calling me “Kathryn”, and the man whose bed I share is calling me “Captain.”  I suddenly realized how ridiculous we were being.”

“I remember that meeting.  I tried for two hours to figure out what you were trying not to laugh at.  I finally gave up and forgot to ask you that night.”

“Thinking about it later that night, I finally realized that we were doing exactly what Starfleet wanted officers to avoid doing.  We were treating each other differently than we were treating the rest of the crew.  I decided that if I tried to relax more in your presence, you would relax more in my presence and we would both be better off.  I struggled with it for a few days, but it gradually got easier.  Eventually we got it balanced.  I’m pretty sure the senior officers became more relaxed as we did, too.”

“I remember that transition and was glad it happened.  I didn’t realize you had made a conscious effort, though.  I know I tried to relax after the night I nearly called you Captain while we were making love.  That shook me up, believe me.”

“It would have shaken me up if you had.  You never mentioned this before. Why?”

“Probably for the same reasons you never told be about your decision.  Plus the time never seemed right, until now.”

“Chakotay, I couldn’t.  I was afraid.  I was still very concerned that we had rushed our personal relationship.  I actually considered putting you in your own quarters and expecting you to use them after you were officially part of my crew, but I wasn’t sure you would understand.  I’m glad now I didn’t.  Why didn’t you say something to me?”

“I was afraid to bring up the subject, too.  I was getting used to being in Starfleet again.  I was still adjusting to being free of the Cardassians.  Heck!  For a while I was getting used to having food to eat every day.  Most of all I was learning to trust again.  I trusted a few people, like B’Elanna, but was wary of trusting anyone else.  I had made a conscious choice to trust you about us.  I was not going to question anything you thought was best for us.  If you had told me to go to my own quarters, I would have gone without an argument or protest.  I wouldn’t have liked it, but I would have accepted your decision.  If you had let me down or let us down, I don’t know whether I would ever have trusted my own judgment again.  Thank you for letting me learn to trust again.”

“I never realized how much was riding on us.  I’m glad I didn’t know.  I would've been even more worried about rushing us.  I’m glad we finally got past those old worries.  How long was it before you could use “love” to describe our relationship without a question?”

“I knew I loved you within a few weeks, but I wasn’t confident in your feelings for at least a month.  What about you?”

“That’s strange.  I knew you loved me in three or four weeks, but I didn’t really feel comfortable using “love” to describe what I felt for another couple of weeks.  It amazes me now that I could ever have doubted what I felt was love.  It is so much a part of our life.  You know what scares me now?”

“What?  You know you don’t have to worry about losing me even if you wanted to.”

“It scares me what might have happened if we hadn’t rushed our relationship.  I acted on impulse, on my instinct.  If I had resisted, I might never have allowed myself to act on what you made me feel.”

“I know.  I don’t usually act that impulsively.  It’s no wonder we were both so concerned about rushing our relationship, but I’m glad now we did rush.  I don’t know if I would have pushed you to get more involved later.  If you were reluctant, we might've struggled to hide our feelings for years.  Can you imagine how hard it would be for us to be stuck out here so far from the Federation fighting our feelings and yet afraid to act on them?   We’d have probably ended up fighting all the time and barely being friends.  Kathryn, I love you so much, I can’t imagine how I could have gone very long without you in my arms.  If I’m lucky, I will never have to find out.”

“I know.  I can’t remember what it’s like to be alone either, and I don’t want to remember.”

They sat and watched their crew enjoy this last night on the beach.  The fire burned a little less brightly than it had earlier.  Chakotay brought out the fruit and they shared a piece of something similar to a peach but with the water content of a watermelon.  Both had juice running down their chins making them both laugh.

“Have you heard what the crew is calling this planet, Kathryn?”

“I take it you mean other than the designation we use in the logs?  No.”

“Remember the fruit at the doors when they were relocating to new quarters?  Well, the phrase ‘upset the fruit basket’ stuck to both the relocation and the planet.  This is Fruit Basket.  Considering all the food we gathered and the number of plants that seem to be thriving in hydroponics already, that name seems appropriate.  Those plants will be bearing fruit for a long time to remind all of us of this planet.”

“Chakotay?”  Kathryn’s voice changed; it grew softer.

“Yes.”  Kathryn had aroused his curiosity with her soft voice.

“We’re going to have something else to remind us of Fruit Basket for a long time.”

“What?”  Now Chakotay’s curiosity was really aroused.

“Well, it seems as if you’re a pretty good gardener.  You get quick results when you try.  You’ve planted a seed and I’ll be bearing the fruit – in about eight months.”  Realization dawned on Chakotay.  Kathryn was pregnant; they were going to have a baby!  He was speechless and motionless.  Never had he expected they would manage to conceive a baby so quickly.

“Chakotay?  I thought this would be good news.”  Kathryn’s voice was a little hesitant about pursuing the subject.

“Good?  It’s great news, Kathryn!  I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.  Have you had the doctor check you and the baby?  Is everything all right?  What . . . .”  Kathryn cut him off by placing a finger over his mouth.  Once he started talking, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“Yes, Chakotay, everything is fine.  I’m fine.  The baby is fine.  You, daddy dearest, on the other hand are babbling.  Relax.”  Chakotay took a deep breath then hugged Kathryn close for a very long minute.

“And I thought I was the luckiest man alive before you told me.  I didn’t think I could be happier but I was wrong, I am.  Kathryn, thank you.  You have just given me the best gift ever.”  Kathryn pulled away slightly.

“I need to breathe, Chakotay.  That’s better.  I don’t want to tell the crew yet.  Are you OK with that?”

“I’ll manage, but it won’t be easy.  I want to tell everyone.  A few like B’Elanna are going to notice that I’m much happier than before.  It’s going to be hard to convince them it’s because we’re back in space.  Promise me one thing?”  When she nodded her promise, he continued.  “Promise me you won’t hold me responsible if Tom or B’Elanna figures it out because I’m so happy?”

“I promise.  Just don’t grin too much in public.  Another thing, you can be the concerned father to me as much as you want when we’re alone, but if you start getting solicitous when others are around, especially when I’m on duty, I will make sure you and I stand different watches until this baby is born.  Do I make myself clear?”

“I understand, Kathryn.  I’ll do my best, that I will promise, but I will not stop caring or worrying, so I make no other promises.”

They snuggled close together under the second blanket and watched as the bonfire continued to die and the crew slowly drifted back to Voyager.  The fire eventually died as the sun rose again to find only two of Voyager’s crew still outside the ship, sleeping soundly in each other’s arms.