By Erin_Cale
Disclaimer: See first part.
***
When Chakotay arrived, he found that the others were splitting off so they could explore the ship. He moved up close to Kathryn and whispered, “May I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure.” She raised her voice so that the others could hear her. “I’ll be along in a minute. If you get lost, just ask the ship.” The others nodded and departed. Meanwhile, Kathryn returned her gaze to her former first officer.
“What did you want to talk about?”
“Do you love him?” Chakotay asked.
“What? Love who?”
“Dylan Hunt.”
Kathryn looked down at her feet. “In a way, yes.”
“Do you want to stay here?”
“I suppose. There’s nothing for me back home, nobody waiting at the house worrying for me.”
“How can you say that? I worry for you every second of my life.” Chakotay took a steadying breath. “How can’t I? I love you.”
Kathryn made a little sound and put her hand to her mouth. It took Chakotay a minute to realize that she was crying. Inside his chest, his heart felt like someone had shot it with a phaser set to kill.
“Kathryn?”
She sniffled and looked up at him with puffy red eyes that still somehow managed to sparkle and shine. “I love you too.” She threw her arms around him, holding him tightly for a moment before pulling back to look in his eyes. “What about Seven?”
“She kicked me out because I spent too much time thinking about you.”
Kathryn gave him a little smile and he wrapped his arms around her. Her voice slightly muffled by his arm, she said, “I think I should tell Dylan and Q that I want to go back home.”
Chakotay smiled and just continued to hold her, unable to believe his luck.
***