by Dakota

Chakotay entered the bridge and made his way to his chair.  He ignored the looks of several of the crew who seemed to think he should be elsewhere. They would get over it and the more he simply stayed on the bridge during his duty shift, the sooner the entire crew would be back to normal. He knew Kathryn was in her ready room dealing with her feelings about recent events just as he was coming to terms with his own. Chakotay tried to remember how many times circumstances or events had torn at their relationship but had lost count. The only thing he knew for sure was that they had to find away past this most recent clash. Unlike many things in life, repetition did not make this any easier for either of them.  After an hour, Chakotay rose from his chair, turned the bridge over to Harry and made his way to the captain’s ready room. He was given permission to enter as soon as he rang for admission.

Kathryn was standing near the viewport staring at the passing stars. She didn’t even turn when Chakotay entered the room and walked to stand next to her shoulder. Kathryn allowed herself to lean into him ever so slightly. They both needed that small contact right now. Together they stared at the stars for untold minutes. Finally Kathryn broke the silence.

“How many times, Chakotay? How many times can we be torn apart like this and still find our way back to each other?” She turned to him wrapping her arms around his waist and sobbed ever so softly on his chest while he held her safely and securely in his arms. He tilted his head forward to kiss her hair relieved that once again they had found their way back to each other.

“As many times as we have to, Kathryn. As many times as we have to.”