by Starbuck
BlueRoses@sweetdreams.freeserve.co.ukX

It was dark at the Starfleet headquarters' shuttle bay when Kathryn arrived, maintenance planetside - unlike in space - actually halted at night unless it was essential, so there were no lights on and no workers bustling around the complex. Captain's authority gained her access fairly easily, that and a little hacking she'd picked up from her Maquis friends. She hadn't counted on company though. In fact, she had specifically counted on no company. Her fear of being discovered and prevented from completing her mission was so great that she hadn't even contacted her mother or Phoebe. There could be no risk of being found out and so her bones turned to marshmallows when she heard a voice from behind her saying, "She specifically said she saw someone fitting the Captain's description entering the building. Logic dictates that she is inside this complex and hiding to avoid detection." Then the response came.

"Tuvok, I don't give a damn what your Vulcan logic dictates. How do we find her if she doesn't want to be found? We can hang around here all night if you like but Kathryn will not be found if she wants to stay hidden. Kathryn? Come on, are you in here?"

Kathryn held her breath and crouched low behind the shuttle that was concealing her. Harry. What was Harry doing there? Whatever it was, he was getting in the way of her plans. The thought went through her head that perhaps she should just come out and tell him what she was planning. Harry wouldn't rat on her, he idolized her. Hell, for half of the trip people had been saying he had a crush on her. Tuvok, however, was another matter. The likelihood was great that he would feel such a great devotion to duty that he would call the admiralty 'for her own safety'. Damn that Vulcan, he was an important friend to Kathryn but his logic could be so irritating at times.

Hiding was becoming tedious and Kathryn wanted very much to come out of her haven and just confess what she was going to do, she couldn't make her limbs respond though. Her fear of being prevented from her goal was too great to allow any mistakes. It reminded her of the old holopic, The Bridges Of Madison County, when the heroine is sitting in the truck wondering whether to go after her lover or stay with her husband. She clearly wants to leave but is unable to make her hand open the door in time. However, the decision was swiftly taken out of Kathryn's hands - her combadge fell off and tinkled gently against the concrete floor. Her habit of fiddling with it when she was nervous had finally had consequences after all Chakotay's jokes about her opening a comm channel at a rather inopportune moment.

Tuvok's superior hearing had immediately detected the sound and moved towards it, discovering his friend and former Captain crouched behind the shuttle 'Georgetown'.

"Captain," he intoned with a slight inflection of his eyebrow. "You are situated in a somewhat unusual position, is there a problem?"

"Not at all Tuvok." oh dammit!? She had always known that Tuvok wasn't a fool and this was a ridiculous time to begin to pretend he was. "I'm sure you know why I'm here, don't you?"

Tuvok's response was quick and accurate but the shocked look on the face of Lieutenant Kim was enough to show that he had not been informed of Tuvok's opinion on the reasons for Kathryn's presence in the shuttle bay.

"It would be logical to assume, as you are not assigned to work in or near to this area, that you have the intention of commandeering a shuttle and attempting to return to Commander Chakotay."

Kathryn looked at the ground, picked up her combadge and turned it over in her hands. "This is important to me Tuvok, Harry, please? Don't try to stop me."

Harry appeared amazed at her suggestion. "I don't want to stop you, Kathryn. I only want to ask you one thing?" his voice faltered and Kathryn took a step towards him, encouraging him to continue. "I want to go with you."

For a long moment Kathryn was speechless with shock as she absorbed Harry's words. Finally she managed to choke out some of the questions that were power walking through her mind. "Harry? Why? What about Libby, your family? What about your career in Starfleet? You've wanted to be home for so long?" She was shocked by his request but strangely tempted to take him up on it. It was comforting to know that she wasn't alone in missing the Maquis so badly that she wanted to run away. She felt more comfortable knowing that others, at least one other, felt as she did. Harry responded to her questions.

"Kathryn, Libby's in a relationship; she has kids. Starfleet's ostracized my best friends and forced them to stay in the Delta Quadrant; I don't want a Starfleet career anymore. As for my parents, I'll miss them but I'll get the chance to build a new life on a new planet with people who mean a lot to me. Voyager and her crew are my family now. My 'collective', to quote Seven." He grinned at her and continued, "It wouldn't be bad to see her again either, even to hear Tom say 'eyes up, Harry'."

By the time Harry's speech was finished Kathryn could feel the tears running down her cheeks despite the smile on her face. She suddenly closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around her Lieutenant, friend and adopted 'special case'. Smiling and crying simultaneously into his shoulder she whispered to him and Harry heard her say, "Let's do it."

They were going home. Home to a planet they had never even visited but home nonetheless. There was a saying to describe their situation, something along the lines of 'Home is where the heart is'. It may have been a cliché but thing because clichés for a reason, usually because they're true, and the hearts of Kathryn Janeway and Harry Kim were on a small planet in the Delta Quadrant.

Kathryn then turned to Tuvok, her oldest friend. "You're not going to tell Starfleet where we've gone are you, old friend?"

Tuvok's response was immediate and surprising. "Starfleet is not my first loyalty Captain. I have served under you for many years and my loyalty is to my Captain. However, I must question one aspect of your venture. Are you certain of the safety in traveling in a ship with no security officer?"

"Tuvok, what are you really saying?"

"I believe my presence would advantageous on this mission, I intend to accompany you to the Delta Quadrant."

It took little time to prepare for the trip, it turned out that Tuvok and Harry had been staying in Starfleet accommodation for the duration of the debriefings and their belongings were quick to fetch and pack. The shuttle was swiftly loaded and prepared for take off without incident. Soon the trio were flying among the stars that had been their home for so long and heading for their futures. They chatted easily as they flew, discussing reunions with various friends on Earth and reunions they anticipated on arrival in the Delta Quadrant.

"-and Phoebe asked me if I was still as addicted to coffee as I used to be. I almost expected Chakotay to appear with a PADD to tell her exactly how many cups I'd drunk throughout the journey."

"I know what you mean, Kathryn. Meeting my parents again was wonderful but seeing my friends was strange. I met up with my best friend from before I left, he's a wonderful guy and I still consider him a friend but it was strange to think of him as my best friend. I don't know him nearly as well as I know Tom. It was like being disloyal to both of them - by allowing Danny to think that our friendship hadn't changed, and by not telling him about Tom, almost as though I had left our friendship in the Delta Quadrant with him. I don't know- I'm probably just being stupid but it was weird anyway."

Kathryn understood exactly what Harry was talking about though. It had been difficult on Earth trying to decide how much she could integrate her new life into her old life and how often she could mention her crew and her friends. Was it wise, for example, to tell Mark about Chakotay? Was it necessary to make him feel replaced when nothing was going to happen between them anyway, but at the same time was it disloyal to Chakotay if she didn't tell Mark that they had been more than friends? Striking that balance had been difficult even in the few weeks that she had been on her home planet, she couldn't have managed it indefinitely.

After a few hours they began to take turns to sleep, resting in preparation for the trip through the wormhole, which would be rough in a vessel as small as the shuttle they flew in. Tuvok, who was on watch when they arrived at the coordinates for the wormhole, woke the other two in time for them to see the anomaly which they were trusting to get them back to their loved ones. Tuvok interrupted their awed staring with calm and measured tones.

"We must enter the wormhole immediately, I am detecting component particles in the atmosphere at a level which indicates imminent breakdown of the structure," and with those words the shuttle flew into the passage and began to traverse the space between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants, shaking violently but holding together as only Starfleet issue can - uncomfortable but always sturdy.

The planet they were aiming for was a mere light year from the opening of the wormhole and was reached in little time. Before attempting to hail the surface or make any sort of contact at all they maintained orbit for five minutes, watching the planet silently and contemplatively. It was at that time that Kathryn decided to surprise the Maquis. They wouldn't send any hails; they would simply land the shuttle and approach the first people they saw. The thought of the expressions on their faces was enough to make Kathryn chuckle as the shuttle began its descent into the planet's atmosphere.

Trees and grassland covered the land at their landing site and Kathryn and Harry gasped at the beauty of it, noting Tuvok's nod of approval as they did. It was certainly an attractive planet, so reminiscent of New Earth, Chakotay must have been loving being there - or was it merely a painful reminder of her? That didn't matter anymore; she was there to be with him.

A group of people suddenly appeared from out of the trees, laughing and teasing each other. One of them was soaking wet and was obviously the butt of most of the jokes. It was Joe Carey, wet and laughing but it was him. Along with him were Susan Nicoletti, Samantha and Naomi Wildman, Ayala, Jake Mansefield and one other woman. Harry and Kathryn's eyes remained fixed on that last woman until Harry couldn't keep quiet any longer. Cutting through the laughter and ending the silent observation, he leapt out from the shuttle doorway and yelled as loudly as he could.

"B'Elanna! Oh my God, B'Elanna, it's me!" Running towards her he continued to yell until B'Elanna turned around and registered with utter shock who it was that was calling to her. Harry reached his friend and swept her, literally, off her feet and spun her in a wide circle before setting her down and hugging her fiercely. B'Elanna hugged him back with just as much emotion and when they pulled apart Harry was amazed to see that she was crying. At this point Kathryn and Tuvok arrived and Kathryn and B'Elanna embraced for a long time, both of them crying with happiness.

"Oh Kathryn, Harry, Tuvok, I can't believe... I don't know what to say. I can't believe you're here!" It was the first time Kathryn remembered seeing B'Elanna lost for words. Then something seemed to occur to her.  "Does Chakotay know you're here?"

Kathryn explained that they'd literally just landed when B'Elanna and her group had appeared and B'Elanna insisted that they go to see Chakotay immediately, not that Kathryn required much persuasion. They walked the short distance to the shelters that had been built in the rough formation of a village. It was easy to see that a community was already beginning to develop in the short time that the planet had been inhabited. Kathryn was taken in by the sights surrounding her until B'Elanna broke through her revere.

"That's Chakotay's place, I think he's in there just now. Why don't you just go on in and surprise him? Okay?" But at that moment the plans were changes as Chakotay walked out of his hut, looked around but didn't look in their direction. He was about to walk in the other direction when B'Elanna intervened.

"Chakotay. Hey Chakotay," she hollered in her best Klingon yell and he turned to face her, not noting from the distance who had joined the little group that had been to the river. It wasn't until he began to walk towards them that he froze and stared at Kathryn as if she was a mirage and might disappear if he broke his gaze.

His mouth moved as he formed her name but Kathryn was too far away to hear what he said. She was unable to move as she watched him approach slowly once again, then she suddenly found the ability to walk and to run. She raced towards Chakotay and he did the same, meeting in the middle of the large grassy area surrounded by crewmembers and the wildlife. They flew into each other's arms and held each other tightly, anchoring each to the other in the fear that the reunion wasn't real and would be taken away. Kathryn could feel Chakotay's hands on her back and neck, stroking her hair and pulling her firmly against his chest as she clung to him with her arms around his neck and shoulders. His tears fell into her hair while hers were absorbed by his shirt, all of this observed by the couple's friends who were happy to see a reunion between their favorite couple. It was as if Mum and Dad had got back together after a trial separation, except this separation was involuntary.

Kathryn pulled back slightly from Chakotay's embrace enough to look at his face and gaze into his obsidian eyes deeply before bringing their lips together in an explosive kiss; the culmination, until they could be alone and culminate in another way, of the desires they had restrained while they were apart. When their lips broke apart they also stepped back a little and Chakotay took Kathryn's hand and whispered to her gently. "Come on, Kate. Let's go? somewhere else. Anywhere other than be the star attraction in this little show." But he grinned as he spoke so she knew that he didn't really mind the audience for their reunion. However, they walked away back to Chakotay's hut and stepped inside, sitting on the bed. They had a lot of talking, among other things, to catch up on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day it rained. Kathryn was almost glad it did, it made the paradise seem more real and less like a dream she might wake up from. In all honesty she had never minded the rain and actually enjoyed walking in it at times. After waking up with Chakotay that morning and sliding out of bed carefully without waking him she decided that today was one of those times. She was drinking her first cup of coffee when Chakotay ambled sleepily out of the bedroom and joined her at the table.

"What are you doing up so early? I thought you would want to sleep in today."

"I was just looking out and I thought it would be really nice to go for a walk in the rain. Why don't you come with me? You could show me around." Her smile convinced him that it would be a good idea for him to take her up on the offer and so they both dressed quickly and, not bothering with any sort of proper rainwear, left the hut and stepped into the rain.

As they walked past the river and round a small grove of trees into a clearing Chakotay suddenly remembered to ask the question that he had been wanting to ask the night before but hadn't gotten round to. "When did you get the rose tattoo Kathryn? It wasn't there before you got home."

That was true, and as Kathryn explained the significance of the peach colored rose tattooed on the small of her back Chakotay's eyes misted over with emotion. "I got it done in a small tattoo parlor in San Francisco a few days after I got home. I was thinking about the peach rose you gave me after the shuttle crash, you know, the one when we went sailing on Lake George?"

"Oh yes, although there are so many shuttle crashes to choose from," he smiled.

"Anyway, I was thinking about the rose and about how you always used to walk with your hand on the small of my back and I thought that I could always have a reminder of you there, not that I could ever forget. I got it done on impulse but I'm glad that I did."

With that Chakotay pulled Kathryn into his arms and they stood together in the pouring rain in a small clearing in the woods of their new home. It felt so comfortable and Kathryn knew she had done the right thing by coming back to this man. He completed her and, as much as she hated to admit to weakness, she needed him. His arms tightened around her and she stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "Dance with me, Chakotay."

And so they swayed slowly to the music of a holoprogram that played only in their heads and each knew that the other would always be here, in that moment, forever.

Finis.

What do you think, peeps. Possible beginning of a series? I don't know, why don't you let me know.