Chakotay was tired as he entered his office. It had been ten hours since they left the Void behind and escaped through the vortex from the Malon freighter. Ten long hours of tracking down minor problems and making repairs. Voyager had sustained major damage to her propulsion systems and shields which had tied up most of the engineering department, but she had also sustained minor damage to most of her other systems and he had been working with repair crews who were unfamiliar with those systems.

Chakotay glanced at the replicator and considered getting something to drink but decided he'd rather just sit down. When he approached his desk, he noticed the message light was flashing on his monitor. Just as he sat down and was reaching for the controls, the door from the corridor opened and the captain walked in. He was on his feet before he spoke. "Kathryn, I wasn't expecting to see you until Alpha shift."

Kathryn stopped in midstride and flushed. "I… thought you were working with the repair crews."

"I was. Is there something you needed to see me about?"

Her hands were moving rapidly and she tried to look like she wasn't watching the flashing light on his monitor. "I left… a padd somewhere. I thought it might be in here."

"No. There's nothing here except the duty roster and a few now out-dated reports from Torres about the warp core."

"How about we get something to eat in the mess hall. I don't think I can sleep yet." Kathryn accepted his response and changed the subject.

If her entry hadn't aroused his curiosity, her offer was sufficient to arouse Chakotay's suspicions. "Give me a few minutes to check my messages and I'll meet you up there."

"No!" Kathryn's response was immediate and emphatic.

"Why not?" Chakotay reached out and touched a control before he scanned the screen. "There's only one. It won't take me long."

"No. Please." Kathryn finally looked at him. "It's from me. I sent it before I came to the bridge when I was still planning to take a runabout and collapse the wormhole behind Voyager."

"And now you don't want me to read it?" Chakotay asked softly.

"I'd rather you didn't."

"Why not?"

"I… said some things because I thought you'd all be leaving me behind."

"Personal things?"

"Yes." Kathryn glanced at the monitor then back at Chakotay. "Please, delete it."

Chakotay studied her a moment then hit the delete key for the message. "It's gone."

"Thank you." Kathryn turned to leave.

"What about getting something to eat?" Chakotay reminded her.

"I think I can sleep now."

"I don’t think I can." Chakotay motioned toward his couch. "Let's talk a few minutes. I think you should tell me what was in that message, don't you?"

"It wasn't important."

"It was important enough for you to come in here and delete it. It was important enough for you to take a few minutes during a crisis to send in the first place. It seems to me that it's important enough to tell me now."

Kathryn turned to face him rather than sit down. "We're both tired. This isn't a good time to talk."

"On the contrary, it's the perfect time to talk." Chakotay's voice was soft and firm. "Tell me what you didn't want me to read."

Kathryn paced along the edge of the couch and finally stopped near Chakotay.

"I told you I've found you to be an excellent first officer despite a tendency to be over-protective. I told you that I knew you'd get the crew and ship safely home to the Alpha Quadrant." Kathryn had been looking at Chakotay when she started but her eyes had dropped until she was talking to the carpet between them. "I told you that I had very few regrets from the last four years and that the biggest was that I never let us get close to each other."

Her last sentence was practically a whisper. "I told you I loved you."

Chakotay stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you." They stood holding each other for a few minutes then he stepped back. "Now, I'm going to walk you to your quarters and then go to mine. We're both going to get some sleep. Tomorrow evening, when we're both off duty and have had some time to think, we're going to discuss how to eliminate that biggest regret."

"You're not going to rush me into anything?" Kathryn seemed surprised.

"It took us more than four years to get this far. I don't think a few days is going to make much difference." Chakotay wrapped his arm over her shoulders as he led her to the door. "If it makes you feel better, you can send me another message before you go to sleep."

Chakotay waited until the door closed behind Kathryn before heading for his quarters. He went directly to the replicator for a cup of hot herbal tea then moved toward his desk. He watched the light that indicated he had messages waiting and after a few minutes, it lit up, just as he had hoped. The message was short. "I really do love you."