Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay walked through engineering discussing the challenge ahead for the crew of Voyager, having just checked up on their new Chief Engineer.

“Tell me, Captain.  If our situations were reversed, would you have served under me?”

Kathryn looked at her new First Officer.  She liked what she saw and she liked what she had learned of this man so far.  Voyager was a long way from home.  She made her decision.

“That would be telling and the Captain isn’t talking.”  She paused and watched his expression as she continued, “But if you’re interested, you are welcome to join me for dinner tonight and Kathryn and Chakotay could discuss that question in more depth.”

“17:00 hours?”

“I’ll expect you then."

"I'll bring some wine.”

They parted at the corridor as they exited engineering, both smiling as they continued their duties on Voyager.

"Kathryn, come over here.  I need your opinion."

"Well, you've picked the right person.  I always have an opinion."

Kathryn made her way around the stack of supplies lying on the ground next to where Chakotay was working.  He shifted aside so she could look at the display he was studying.

"There are nine different configurations for this shelter.  Which do you prefer?"

Kathryn studied the configurations and finally selected the one with a small room, a medium room and larger living area.  Chakotay was disappointed but he didn't let it show.

"I like this one."

"I suppose I get the small room?"

"No, I do."  Kathryn was puzzled by his expression.  "It should provide enough room for all my equipment so we don't have to trip over it in the main living area."  Only as she finished speaking did Kathryn realize that Chakotay's question implied separate bedrooms.

"That is unless you want your own room.  Do you?"

"No!  We've maintained our own quarters for so long that I guess I thought you would want to continue to do so here."

"There would be no point.  The only time either of us has slept alone for nearly two years is when the other has been on duty or in sickbay."

Chakotay hugged her for a minute before getting back to his project.

"Good.  Do you want the gray on the inside or the beige?"

"Let's do the beige.  I look good in beige."  Laughing they continued setting up their new home.

Months later, after their first contact with Tuvok, they looked at each other, knowing their time in paradise had ended.  Chakotay sat up late that night thinking.  Everything he knew about Kathryn told him she would want to go back to their old separate quarters.

"Hi. I guess we need to talk."  Kathryn took his hand and pulled him out of the chair and over to the couch where she sat down next to him, snuggling close.  Chakotay spoke before she had a chance.

"I know what you're going to say.  We go back to the set up we had before we came here."

"I probably would want to do that in other circumstances, but not now.  You never asked, so I never told you why I wanted that setup."  Chakotay remained silent but his eyes urged her to continue.  "Well, so many of our crew left husbands, wives, and children behind that I didn't want to flaunt my own happiness.  I also didn't want to encourage them to rush into relationships of their own.  Those reasons have long since ceased to exist, but I never made a move to change our situation.  It worked; we were both happy.  I think the only reason I didn't suggest changing our living arrangement over a year ago was to keep Tom from cleaning up in those betting pools."

"That doesn't exactly explain the circumstances that are different, Kathryn."

"I know, but I wanted you to know I'm glad they're different."  Kathryn pulled away far enough to look Chakotay in the eyes.  "I'm pregnant."

"How could you . . .?"  She put her fingers over his lips to stop the question.

"I missed taking my boosters when we first got here; the time in stasis threw me off on dates and I never got around to sorting them out.  I thought yours would be enough, but I guess I was wrong.  I didn't know for sure until the day before the storm that destroyed all my equipment.  When that happened I finally understood why you were reluctant to have a family here.  We would probably die years before our child and he or she would have been left alone for many decades.  I've been trying to get up the courage to tell you for weeks now."

Kathryn looked so unhappy that Chakotay had no choice but to pull her close and comfort her.

"It's ok.  Our baby isn't going to live alone.  Everything is going to be just fine."

"I'm so sorry.  I should have been more careful.  Instead I took a chance.  Can you forgive me?"

"Of course. There's nothing to forgive.  Come on; let's get some sleep.  We have a lot of packing to do tomorrow."

Kathryn glared at Chakotay.  The hot sun blazed down on them and the sand along the boardwalk.  "How can you be so calm?"

"What?"

"We're stuck in the 20th century and may never get back home and you're just working calmly away!"

"What else should I be doing?"

"Worrying?"

"Why?" Chakotay's calm question was accompanied by a slight smile.

"What if we're stuck here in the 20th century?"

"What if we are?  Voyager and the crew are safe.  We could build good lives here."

"I don't want this life for our baby."

Chakotay reached out to rub Kathryn's belly gently trying to calm her down.  Kathryn relaxed slightly under his familiar touch.  At eight months she felt awkward and clumsy and not quite in control.

"So that's the problem.  Do you want to go back to the ship?"

"No. I need to be here." Kathryn's voice carried less tension that a few moments earlier.

"Don't you trust the rest of us?"

"It's not a question of trust. This is my responsibility."

"You mean you can't stand not being in the middle of things."

Kathryn had the grace to blush even as she shook her head to deny his statement. Chakotay chuckled.

"Will you stop worrying if I start?"

"Probably not."

"So two of us worrying is a duplication of effort. You worry and I'll keep working. Let's go over under those trees where we can both do our jobs a little more comfortably.  Ok?"

"Ok."  Hand in hand, they walked toward some tables and benches under a tree. "Thanks. You always make me feel better."

Kathryn flopped down next to Chakotay and picked up her cup from the table to take a sip.

"Chad asleep?" Chakotay asked even though he knew the answer.

"Like a baby, literally." Kathryn scooted closer to Chakotay and put her feet next to his on their coffee table. "I'm so glad this mess with Bahrat was sorted out. When he arrested you and Tom for smuggling illegal drugs, I wasn't sure what to do. Then when Neelix came up with that hair-brained plan, I thought we might have a chance – until right in the middle of convincing Bahrat I realized that he might turn the idea down if he knew that I had a very personal stake in clearing one of you. I stopped breathing every time Neelix started talking."

"Bahrat struck me as having a pragmatic mind but you're right. That could have been enough to make him decide to turn down that plan. I’m glad it's over, too."  Chakotay and Kathryn sat companionably for a while before he spoke again. "You too tired to do more than sit?"

"Nooooo." Kathryn smiled as Chakotay got up and crossed the room. Her smile faded when he returned with a stack of reports. "That's not what I thought you meant."

"It isn't? What did you think I meant?" His eyes twinkled but his expression remained serious. Kathryn stood up, took the reports and tossed them on the table before pulling his hips into contact with her own.

"Let's just say I didn't think I was talking to my first officer."

Kathryn sat on the biobed calculating her chances of just quietly walking out of sickbay. With Chakotay and the Doctor standing next to her talking, the chances weren't good. Their conversation disrupted her tactical planning.

"She's fine, Commander. Just make sure she doesn't overdo things tonight." The Doctor's eyes carried an additional message that Chakotay unhappily understood.

"Could that alien really have convinced her to go with him?"

"I don't know. It is clear he needed her to agree to go with him. From what she has told us, he was very convincing and strong-willed, but she was stronger."

Kathryn interrupted them.

"He could have – very easily, but he made a mistake. He picked a person from the most traumatic event in my life, not the person I trust the most and who is my life." She looked at Chakotay. "If he had taken your image and told me you had died in that same crash, I would have gone with him."

Kathryn and Chakotay were still uneasy with each other. Their fight after their encounter with the Borg and the failure of the pact had affected more than just the Command relationship but neither had gone so far yet as to sleep elsewhere.

"I don't like this." Kathryn's words startled Chakotay into complete wakefulness.

"I don't either."

"I'm still upset you disobeyed my direct orders even if I understand why."

"I know." Chakotay's voice was unemotional.

"Don't you have anything more to say than to agree with me?"

"I love you and I wouldn't change what I did if I could."

"I know."

Talk about tension; they couldn't string two decent sentences together between them. Kathryn tried again. "I'm glad about one thing though. I'm glad that last Borg died while the Doctor was removing her implants. I really wouldn't want Chad growing up around drones."

"I don't want him growing up viewing the Borg as friends either. I'd also be much happier if you avoided them in the future."

"I'll think about it." Kathryn turned to face Chakotay. "And I love you, too."

She shifted in his direction; he moved his arm around her shoulders. They fell asleep having taken the first step in restoring their personal relationship knowing the command relationship would follow.

The Void. Kathryn stared out the viewport at nothing. The only thing good about this part of their journey had been the extra downtime for the crew and some new music from Harry. She turned to the group around the conference table waiting for her to continue.

"Here's my plan. We're going to collapse the wormhole behind Voyager. There's going to be one hell of a shock wave on our tail so, B'Elanna, you'll have to reinforce the aft shields. Tuvok, that Malon freighter isn't going to let us enter that wormhole without a fight, so make sure we are as ready for them as we can be. Any questions? Ok, that's it people. Let's do it!"

"Captain, long distance scans are picking up readings that could be a Borg Cube. If it is a Cube, it's heavily damaged but not completely inactive."

Chakotay looked at Kathryn as Harry finished his report. Would she remember his request? She spoke without returning his gaze.

"Tom, set a course away from that Cube."

That evening Chakotay settled on the couch next to Kathryn and draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For avoiding the Cube. I don't want to risk you or Chad and the further from that Cube we are, the safer you are, and the happier I am."

"You forgot someone." Chakotay's puzzled look was all that Kathryn had hoped it would be. She smiled as she moved his hand to her belly. "You forgot our daughter."

Voyager and her crew had traveled far on the journey homeward, but the journey ahead of them was longer still and would be fraught with mysteries and wonders and dangers with no hope of miracles or short cuts, but her Command Team had found their home.