by Dakota

"Oh, I didn't realize how much I had missed it." Kathryn smiled gleefully as she tossed her uniform jacket on the ground and pulled her turtleneck over her head.

"Missed what?" Chakotay asked as he tossed his jacket and turtleneck next to hers.

"The sunshine." Kathryn sat on a nearby rock and stretched her head back to let the sun warm her face and neck. She sighed in contentment. "Doesn't it feel wonderful?"

Chakotay watched her for a moment before he sat down next to her on the rock. "Somehow I don't think I appreciate it quite as much as you do. What brought this on anyway? You've been on shore leave in the sunshine before and I never saw you react quite this way."

Kathryn sat up straight and looked at him. "I'm not sure. I just know that today it feels wonderful. Maybe I have cabin fever or something."

"I always thought I'd get cabin fever before you would."

"Don't you ever miss the feel of the sun on your skin?"

"Sometimes but an hour or so on the holodeck usually helps."

"It's not the same. I love the sunshine."

Chakotay studied Kathryn. Something in her voice made him think she was acting or at least exaggerating. "What's going on, Kathryn?"

"What do you mean?" She didn't quite make eye contact.

"You didn't just drag me down here on this rocky beach to enjoy the sunshine. What's going on?"

"I just wanted to spend some time in the sun."

"And?" Chakotay wasn't about to let her evade the question.

"I wanted to spend some time with you."

"And?"

"That's it."

"Come on. I know you better. I've had to drag you off Voyager for a few hours leave too many times to believe that a few hours in the sun is all that's going on."

"I wanted to spend some time in the sun with you… alone." The last word was barely a whisper.

Kathryn reached over to their uniforms and pulled their combadges off. She handed Chakotay his as she stood up. She held out her hand to pull him to his feet. "Let's walk along the water. I want to make a few changes in the way we… do things. I thought an isolated beach on a sunny day would be a good setting to find out if you...."

As her voice trailed off, Chakotay stared into Kathryn's eyes for a moment before he looked down at their clasped hands. She squeezed his hand but didn't release it and he raised his eyes back to hers and smiled. The look on her face when she saw his smile could only be compared to the sun come from behind a cloud. Sunshine would never be the same for him again.