Catching Up

Two weeks had gone by since their crash on the planet they had supposed to have explored. Since their reunion, Kathryn still hadn't told Chakotay that she had seen him hovering above her lifeless body with his cheeks wet from tears. She had no clue as to how to approach the subject with him, or if she should tell him at all. During those two weeks, they had gained so much. They became reacquainted with themselves and had actually managed to solve most of the problems that had caused their divorce.

Kathryn had been right; love had never been the problem with them, but their inability to handle both their professional *and* personal relationship had caused them to slowly drift away from each other.

Although, if Kathryn was honest, she had been unwilling or unable to take some time for Chakotay and her love life, whereas Chakotay had tried to get her to do that several times. There had always been some mission or project more important than spending time with her husband. Naturally, Kathryn had assumed he would always be there. That might have been the case in the Delta Quadrant, but back home things had been different causing Chakotay to become frustrated. He had even gone so far to complain about her absence. They had never come around after that, finally deciding that they couldn't live together anymore.

In the transporter room of the U.S.S. Prometheus, however, Kathryn had decided that had to change. Ever since that fateful day, she had dodged contact with Starfleet or people connected to Starfleet. She and Chakotay had come to the conclusion that they were in need of a vacation, having retreated to an old cabin in the mountains that Kathryn had bought shortly after their divorce.

In the early hours of morning, both Kathryn and Chakotay were lying in bed, sheets being wrapped around their bodies to keep the cold at bay. Kathryn was watching her seemingly sleeping ex-husband closely; a small smile was tugging at her lips as she remembered why Chakotay was that tired.

Well, Kathryn had had the nicety to wear him out last night, she had never gotten satisfied until two hours previous. Now she was taking her time to study his appearance. Chakotay's expression was one of utter peace in which no lines of worry appeared on his face; each and every muscle in it relaxed. Kathryn then realized with a start how much she had missed this expression. As she continued to watch him, she couldn't help tracing the lines of his tattoo with her fingertips; another thing she had missed a great deal. These actions, however, awakened Chakotay who sleepingly opened first one eye then the other. Although he wanted to do nothing else but go back to sleep, Chakotay was mystified by the beautiful smile on Kathryn's face that reached her eyes too, letting them shine brightly.

"Good morning, my love," Kathryn greeted him then placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Disappointed with the short touch, Chakotay pulled her to him once more, showing Kathryn what a real kiss should be like, kissing her very passionately. As he finally drew back, rather out of necessarity than wanting, a grin was gracing his lips and eventually he replied.

"Good morning to you, too. How did you sleep?"

"Not at all. I've been watching you the whole time, which hasn't been that long I may add. It was only two or so hours." Then, deciding it was about time to tell Chakotay of the events on the Indraani's home world, Kathryn added, "I've been thinking . . . about the Indraani and what they showed me."

"Yes." A simple invitation for her to continue.

"Well, I never told you, but I saw you crying when I didn't respond to artificial respiration. They showed me the whole scene from my drowning to my comeback to life."

For a moment, Chakotay's face mirrored his confusion because he was not sure what Kathryn was getting at. Suddenly, comprehension began to dawn; his mouth formed a silent 'O'.

"That was around the time you had that disbelieving look on your face," he eventually replied.

"Yes. I was quite shocked. I've been asked whether or not I'd accept a parting gift, as they had put it, but I've never expected that sort of thing. It scared me a lot, you know, but it also opened my eyes. I really don't know whether or not I'd have come to the transporter room - even after that message of yours - if it hadn't been for the Indraani letting me see that."

"And what do you want me to say?"

"Nothing, I suppose. I debated with myself over whether I should tell you, but now I'm actually glad I got it out of my system. I guess what I wanted to say was I love you, and because I don't want to repeat former mistakes, I thought I'd tell you about it."

Chakotay shifted position till he was somewhat comfortably resting on his back with Kathryn lying all over his chest. He tightened his hold on her a little right before he eventually started speaking.

"I actually considered telling you about those events. I'm afraid that one day I might crush under the pressure of those memories. It wasn't the first time that you have had a near death experience, you know. Hell, of course you do! Anyway, I'm talking about my feelings of helplessness whenever such a situation arises.

You've always scared the hell of me when it happens, but the last time was the worst. Maybe it was due to the fact that I *knew* I still loved you and needed to tell you. Maybe the reason was another. I can't tell. I do know that I love you. And as for repeating former mistakes, I don't think we have to worry about that. I'd say we're pretty good at avoiding them. What do you think?"

"I think that I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you, my dear. You have that wonderful ability to chase my fears and worries away. If only I would have noticed earlier."

"What about we stop thinking for now and go back to sleep. I don't know about you, but I'm still exhausted, thanks to you. We can continue to talk later."

"Sounds good to me," Kathryn agreed as snuggled a little closer.

The gentle heart beat in Chakotay's chest quickly lulled her to sleep. Chakotay followed her to the land of dreams only moments later, but not before he had thanked the spirits for giving him his soul mate back . . .

THE END

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