It was summer, and his leg had to ache. On the morning he had to see Dr Paris, his leg had to ache. What was it about injuries that the body seemed to remember them although they happened months ago? He had been just fine the last month, and his work at the Academy had gone better than expected. There was no pain then, and Kathryn had seen to it that he kept to his therapy of massaging and exercising. His bones had knitted well, and he hoped that Dr Paris didn't need to break his leg like Sergei has had to do on several occasions, and reset the hardy fragments that still did not align well. He had not needed his walking stick for a few weeks and Kathryn had been glad that he was able to get about without stumbling or limping.

The humid weather didn't help either, and he was already sweating, his uniform clinging to him. He fidgeted a little, sticking his finger at the top of his collar and pulling it down. His neck itched and the little scratching relieved it somewhat. It was just after breakfast - he could only manage toast and some juice. Kathryn had looked at him accusingly, but he wasn't going to budge. He didn't feel hungry and the pending visit to Starfleet Medical was looming too large on his mind. Kathryn had relented after her unsuccessful attempt at fattening him up. He couldn't quite understand how she could exist some mornings on coffee alone and in the same breath insist he should keep a healthy diet. In the first week...they hardly ate…

They were just discovering one another and their first morning together he had woken up with Kathryn staring down at him. She braced herself on her elbow, her eyes damnably teasing when she said: "you snore."

Now a month has passed and Kathryn remained worried about his leg, especially after this morning early.

"I'm fine, Kathryn. I'm not hungry." He had leaned over to touch her hand. "Really. Don't worry..."

"Then at least, drink some juice...coffee..."

He could have gone to the hospital on his empty stomach and get the visit over and done with. But Kathryn, dear, sweet, loving Kathryn was not finished.

"So you're going to teach the rest of the day and be miserable because you're hungry."

He had given a sigh. Kathryn's eyes had held a spark in them that meant he wasn't going to get anything past her. He had taken half a glass of juice and one slice of toast and practically forced it down without Kathryn noting how he disliked doing it. When he finished, he looked at her.

"Are you going to Paris this afternoon?" She had put off going to her own apartment which she was in the process of selling. They had spent one weekend in Paris and visited Marseilles at the same time. She had wanted to be with him and it was convenient being based near Starfleet Headquarters and the Academy. Before, it hadn't mattered to her where she was based.

"But my priorities are changing, Chakotay," she said one afternoon when he returned home from morning classes. He hadn't put any pressure on her and was glad that she had made that decision herself. Besides, she could always use her parents' apartment.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Chakotay," she smiled, her concern that he hadn't eaten sufficiently supplanted by having to be away from him.

"I'll be waiting," he replied, his eyes warm as they rested on her. She was dressed in a maroon tunic and pants, and the past few weeks he had seen her only once in uniform when she had to attend a meeting with her commanding officer and the Admirals of their division. Her hair hanged loose about her face, and for a moment he had the urge to run his fingers through it. He couldn't get enough of the feel of her glorious hair, especially when they made love, or in those quiet moments when they lay in bed and just held one another close.

They had been together only a month, but it felt to him he still couldn't get used to being without her. He experienced a sense of panic when she left to visit her friend Dalene, or met with Admiral Paris or, travelled to Paris to air her own apartment. After that first day when they made love endlessly, she had been everything, a perfect partner, lover, friend and companion. Their nights were heady as they groped at each other, their appetite sharpened because they were apart for one whole day. Chakotay felt the heat spread through him, delicious curls of desire at the thought of how passionate their nights were.

The day following their arrival home he had gone to the debriefing with Roger Petranoff and Sergei Karkoff, and it was only when he returned to his apartment that Kathryn informed him of her conversation with Admirals Paris and Ponsonby.

"They want me to take a new commission, Kathryn?"

"Yes, you know there's war looming and Cardassia is committing atrocities on homeworlds that they subjugate - "

He had known about the Crimond's mission to Bajor, and Kathryn had told him some of the details of their mission. He hadn't wanted to know too much, considering the nature of their relationship now. He realised that knowledge of it could be used as weapons against the Federation. It had happened before; it's not unlikely that it would never happen again. Still, he valued what he and Kathryn shared. Yes, about Cardassia he had known, didn't like them - or more specifically their methods of persuasion - to begin with. He too, had heard stories that had filtered to them even while they were stationed in the Gamma Quadrant for six months.

"I know. But I'm not accepting, Kathryn. There are others suitable to go undercover for them. They already have a group like that - "

Kathryn had given him a brilliant smile.

"I told them you wouldn't accept, Chakotay"

"They were using you to get to me, to soften me up, Kathryn."

"Am I the villain in the piece?"

"Oh, no, you're the love of my life."

"We've been together only two days and already I am the love of - "

"Kathryn, honey, I've known you six months! I know what I feel."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad you're going to turn it down. I know it sounds selfish, but I can have you to myself for six weeks, at least. You would have been gone a year, you know..." she said the last words slowly, so that the implication of it was not lost on Chakotay.

"I would not have been responsible for my actions after twelve more months of starvation," he had said firmly, remembering how he had taken her so roughly on the floor of the lounge. He proceeded to kiss her. She melted instantly into him and he had given a groan as his arousal pressed against stomach.

They had tumbled on the bed and for the next hour had made passionate love until, spent, he said quietly:

"I need you, Kathryn..."

Chakotay had been staring out the window that overlooked the Bay. He had gone to see Admirals Paris and Ponsonby the day after his debriefing and had been resolute when he turned down the commission. He wanted to be home, he wanted to heal and he wanted Kathryn. After their tempestuous lovemaking, now, more than ever, he needed Kathryn and she needed him. His intention to be based at here had been two-fold. He enjoyed working with the senior cadets and young command track officers. Kathryn had been home for a month of her six-week stay. They would be going to Indiana next weekend so that he could meet her mother. "Amongst other things..." Kathryn had whispered seductively against his ear; a gesture so erotic he had gotten hard just at the thought of the other things they would do. The weekend following that, his promised visit to Grey Eagle. Kathryn hadn't asked him yet about his father…

When he felt a pair of arms encircling his waist, he sighed and pulled Kathryn round so that she could stand in his embrace with her fingers laced behind his back. He dropped a light kiss on her hair before she looked up at him. Her blue-grey eyes looked a little darker, a sign either of pending passionate kisses or her concern. Right now, it was concern. And, he knew exactly what she was going to say.

"You're tense, Chakotay," she murmured, "and your leg is aching."

He kissed her, marvelling again at how her lips became soft and alive under his.

"You know."

"I know you, my love. It's been like that since the early hours of this morning."

He had gotten out of bed at 0400 to sit in the lounge. He hadn't wanted to take any of the painkillers Sergei had given him, and allowed the pain to eat into him. He nodded his assent, unable to hide the truth from her. She had sensed it anyway. She hadn't joined him in the lounge then, knowing that he wanted to be alone. When he returned to bed, she had simply crawled back into his arms and held him close to her. She didn't say anything and made no reference to his injury. He sighed and before he knew it, had fallen into a restless slumber in which he dreamed she was leaving him.

Now, when he looked into her expressive eyes, he saw the worry in them, also the determination. Kathryn Janeway didn't have to pout her way into his heart. All that was needed was the look of determination in her eyes. That always got him.

"I'm going with you, Chakotay."

He bristled. He hadn't wanted her to be with. He didn't need...

"I know you're going to say you don't need a watchdog, honey, but I do want reassurances."

She read his mind. She'd been doing that since the first time they made love, attuned to his needs, his emotions. He frowned as a wave of pain hit his lower leg. Kathryn, instantly on the alert, walked with him slowly to the couch and he sat down heavily. His upper lip showed fine beads of perspiration.

"I'm sorry, Kathryn.. Of course I want you to hold my hand - "

"And see that you get there."

"Yeah, that too," he sighed.

"Come, our transport has arrived. Ready?" she asked as he heaved up from the couch. He took the walking stick that had been perched against the armrest and walked gingerly after Kathryn. When they were seated in the flitter, he breathed a sigh of relief that he could get his weight off his leg. Kathryn squeezed his arm reassuringly and he managed a smile as he looked at her.

****

Commander Chakotay conformed. That's what Doctor Elizabeth Paris thought as he lay on the biobed. His entire body was tense as if he were fighting against her. If it hadn't been for Kathryn Janeway who stood next to the biobed with her hands on her hips, Chakotay would probably have walked out of the surgery before she could do any work on him. Kathryn's whole stance challenged him to get up from the bed before she had completed the surgical procedure. Earlier Elizabeth had to sedate him and she wondered idly how he would take to taking a course of painkillers for at least the next two days. Elizabeth had been studying his medical file and Sergei Karkoff had not been complimentary about the way Commander Chakotay shied away from medication.

She smiled inwardly. If it hadn't been for Kathryn Janeway... More than six months ago she, Elizabeth, predicted that the Commander would eat happily out of Kathryn's hands and lo and behold: the man conformed. He was no different than her dear Owen, or Adam Ponsonby who couldn't keep his eyes off Gretchen Janeway. But Dr Paris was concerned. Commander Chakotay was retarding his own progress by being bull-headed about his recovery.

At the first instant she had seen that he hadn't liked anyone helping him. The way he had dropped Kathryn's hand under his elbow as they entered the surgery, spoke volumes. His injury was no more serious than the most serious cases than she had worked with, but the problem lay in the healing process, and that it was taking longer than Sergei Karkoff anticipated. It was fortuitous perhaps that Commander Chakotay would be based at Headquarters for at least another five months without the risk of shipboard accidents or injuries incurred on away missions. Being here, and with Kathryn keeping an eye on him, a better climate would be created for him to get super fit again.

Dr. Paris studied the information on the computer screen, then looked at the patient on the bed.

"Commander Chakotay, I see no reason why you cannot have a complete recovery by December."

"He'll have something to celebrate on his birthday then, Dr. Paris," Kathryn offered, raising an eyebrow when Chakotay glowered at her. He heaved himself to a sitting position.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"That must have been some accident, Commander," she said as she walked to the bed again and removed the scanner from the medical tricorder and scanned his leg again.

"I fell down an old mine shaft. It was nothing - "

"Chakotay!" Kathryn's consternation was clear in her voice. "A boulder fell on you..."

"As I said, Doctor, it was nothing." Chakotay pursed his lips as he got off the bed and put his weight down on his foot.

"I studied Dr Karkoff's reports, Commander. I'll not repeat what he said when I contacted him yesterday."

"He could take my bone fragments and make a good soup?"

"That's about it." Doctor Paris smiled, her light brown eyes sparkling. Chakotay had a sense of humour. She was going to like him. She already liked him. But Kathryn Janeway had not stood hands on her hips for nothing. Those same hands were at her sides, hanging a little loosely.

"Chakotay..." Kathryn chided gently, not wanting to ire him more than he already sounded. Chakotay hated being dependant, hated being helped when he thought he didn't need any and when everyone else thought he could use a supporting hand.

"When do I report again, Doctor?" he asked curtly. Elizabeth Paris was unfazed by Chakotay's behaviour. She refused to be offended when she could see this was not the manner in which the ever courteous Commander behaved normally. Her frame of reference was the extremely gentlemanly manner in which he had treated Kathryn the night of the concert. When Kathryn gave Chakotay a pained look, he relented, relaxed even. "I need to rearrange my teaching schedule," he said in a more placid tone.

"In a month, Commander." Elizabeth Paris replied. Commander Chakotay reminded her of her husband, the stubborn Admiral. Kathryn did manage to keep Chakotay in check. "But I must warn you not to overextend yourself on that leg. Give it time, and time will heal it. All the bones have knitted well. The rest depends on you now, Commander."

"Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate what you've done. My behaviour was boorish. I apologise - "

"No need to, Commander. You're certainly not the first patient who doesn't want to be doctored, nor will you be the last."

"Doctor Paris," Kathryn said, "we'll be back."

"Oh, I'm quite sure Kathryn will see that I get here, Doctor," Chakotay added a little acidly, but took the sting out of his words with a smile that showed his deep dimples. "I'll not be using this anymore," he said as he touched the walking stick. The women both sighed with relief. Kathryn gave him a quick hug.

Elizabeth Paris tidied her workplace, put away instruments and then held a phial of painkillers to Chakotay. She knew he was going to refuse, but it was better that he had the option of taking them in the privacy of his home.. She had to cut some of the bone fragments again and regenerate new tissue to fuse them properly into place. While Chakotay experienced no pain currently, when he had come in, leaning heavily on Kathryn, his face had been creased from the pain, although he tried desperately to control it.

"I suggest you take this, Commander - "

"Please, Doctor Paris. Call me Chakotay."

"Fine, Chakotay. These are painkillers..." Elizabeth paused as she saw the flash of displeasure on his face. "It's only to tide you over the next two days."

She breathed a sigh of relief when Chakotay capitulated and took the small phial from her. Kathryn had given his arm a reassuring squeeze. Elizabeth was amazed at how close Kathryn and Chakotay were. She and Owen - as indeed did Gretchen and others close to the two lovers - had conjectured mostly at how close they had become. Now, the evidence was before her. It was clear that Chakotay loved his Kathryn to distraction. The way his eyes lit up every time he looked at her, or how he would touch Kathryn as if he needed to feel her constantly close to him, was enough to tell her that Chakotay and Kathryn had become inseparable.

Chakotay had taken his attention very briefly from Kathryn to look at Elizabeth. When he smiled, Elizabeth wondered whether Kathryn Janeway would ever tire of the onslaught on her heart. If it hadn't been for her own dear Owen…

"Doctor, thank you. I'll keep this."

"You're welcome."

Elizabeth Paris stared thoughtfully at the doors of the surgery long after Chakotay and Kathryn left.

***

Indiana at this time of the year always held the most appeal for Phoebe Janeway. It was fall, or the beginnings of it, signalling the end of the long summer and prospect of winter nights that she could sit on the deep piled rug in front of the fireplace and create images for new paintings. Or, she'd just go through a creative surge like she was doing now. Her studio was on the upper level of their home - when she was home - and overlooked a small copse of oaks. She always marvelled at they way the leaves could create a palette of colours: various shades of green, yellows, golden browns. Strange, she found not the green leaves full of life, but the golden leaves, just before they lost their grip on the boughs and floated to the ground; some looked like they were suspended in the air, unwilling to make the journey down. There they joined the other golden leaves that had formed a carpet under the tree. Phoebe imagined them crackling as she stepped on them.

Just before they died, they looked their most beautiful.

Yes, this was the time she liked, and her canvas invariably expressed the mood and always, she filled in the picture with human movement. Her painting held two figures walking in the distance, silhouettes against the sun. They held hands, and although they were mere impressions in harmony with their surroundings, it was clear that there was a deep bond between them.

Phoebe smiled. Even if she had to succumb to a lack of modesty, it was a good painting. She had caught Kathryn and Chakotay exactly as she hoped. Their heads were close; they were whispering words of love. Their hands did not touch, although the appearance of touch was there. They had been standing under a large oak, and as if on cue, they moved away from the shade into the sun.

They were gone now, but she had been overjoyed at Kathryn's obvious happiness, so palpable that she felt a stab of pain, a certain resentment that Phoebe knew instinctively, she has never experienced quite with the same intensity, and one she desired to have. That was the effect Chakotay and Kathryn's visit to Indiana had on her and on their mother.

Phoebe remembered how ten years ago she had pulled Kathryn back from the brink of devastation and depression after Justin died. Kathryn had, months later, been strong enough to tell Phoebe:

"You did the right thing. I was slowly wasting away..."

"Because we cared, Kathryn. For no other reason. You could not go on mourning in the way you did forever..."

Kathryn had nodded and given Phoebe a warm hug.

Now Phoebe's thoughts were with them again, remembered them as they were sitting under the tree.

"It's good to see them like that, isn't it?" Gretchen had told Phoebe as they watched Kathryn and Chakotay sitting under a tree about fifty metres away from the house.

"I thought I'd never see Kathryn happy again, Mother. It's so beautiful to see, it's downright scary!"

"Don't think of it that way. Chakotay is the medicine Kathryn need - "

"Mother! You make Chakotay sound like an elixir!"

"Well, she needed to be made whole again, Phoebe. Kathryn..." Gretchen Janeway sighed. Phoebe looked at her mother, noted the faraway look in her mother's eyes. "Kathryn was never the same again after Justin, you know. There was always something that was missing - an elusive element that Kathryn required to come to life again. Men have tried, Phoebe. Mark has tired. It's always in the eyes. Kathryn's love emanates from her, from her eyes especially. It's impossible to run away from it, or to hide it, except to acknowledge it. Chakotay has done what I dreamed would happen for Kathryn the last number of years...."

"Besides, Chakotay is a handsome devil," Phoebe said, looking wistfully at the two lovers.

"He certainly is. But Kathryn loves him for more than that, Phoebe..."

Phoebe ignored the slight censure in her mother's voice, the dig at her second daughter's own refusal to commit to a man.

"I know. He is very intense at times, but when he smiles, his face relaxes. Then I can see how Kathryn's eyes also light up, although she tries to hide it."

"That man will want to give Kathryn the earth; he'll walk by her side even if she's going to be headstrong that she doesn't need his protection. He's just going to give it."

"Yes, Mother..."

Gretchen Janeway had looked at her younger daughter, her eyes narrowing in a long, penetrating gaze.

"What?" Phoebe asked, a frown on her face.

"When am I going to meet her, Phoebe?"

Phoebe sighed. Since their childhood days, she and Kathryn could never hide anything from their mother. Once, Kathryn told her: "With Mom, resistance is futile. She knows us too well, Phoebe." So Phoebe matched her mother's gaze and nodded. Perhaps in a few months' time, she'd bring Rodea home. Not now...Not now that she wanted her mother to enjoy the new found happiness of her eldest daughter. Kathryn needed and deserved their exclusive attention. When Phoebe was ready, Rodea would come…

"Maybe at Christmas, Mother..."

They had retired to their rooms and Phoebe had started on her painting, the painting standing on the easel now, complete. When they visited again, she'd give it as a gift. Phoebe smiled again as she thought of her conversation with Chakotay Sunday morning. He had been sitting on the porch enjoying the early morning sun that warmed the floor boards. She sat down next to him on the swing seat, and waited a few minutes before she opened her mouth.

"If you hurt her, Chakotay, you're a dead man."

"If I should ever hurt Kathryn, I would not deserve to live, Phoebe."

***

As long as she lived, Kathryn would have a picture of Grey Eagle as he sat perched on a tree stump, carving away patiently at whatever shape his subject was going to take. They had arrived a few minutes ago and the first words the old Indian said was:

"You take away my sun, Cha-ko-tay."

She had glanced quickly at Chakotay and saw with relief that Chakotay was not offended. It was clear to her that there was a rare bond between Chakotay and Grey Eagle and for a fleeting instant she wondered how Chakotay had lost such a precious connection with his own father. He had been touchy on the subject of his father, though on one or two occasions she had seen how pensive Chakotay looked when his father had crept up inadvertently in conversation between them. She had a feeling that Chakotay missed his family and that whatever the reason for the breach between them, Chakotay was too proud to initiate a conciliation. The Federation database was sketchy, naming only a father and mother. His mother she could only presume, was still alive. Perhaps, when she sensed that he would be comfortable to talk, she could ask that they go to Dorvan V together. She wanted to meet his family, particularly his mother and father. But, she sighed, that eventuality was still a way off.

"She is beautiful, Cha-ko-tay." Grey Eagle did not look up from his work as he spoke the words.

Kathryn smiled as Chakotay squeezed her hand.

"She is, Grey Eagle."

"But that is not why you love Kathryn Janeway."

"No."

Kathryn did not feel any offence at being talked about in the third person, and before she could say something, Grey Eagle looked her straight in the eyes. It was such a sudden, piercing, direct look that she felt mildly uneasy, and her gaze fell before his.

"You love Cha-ko-tay."

There was the strange inflection again when he said Chakotay's name. She found it charming, so in keeping with his personality. How could she answer him, or even deny his words? Her hands were clasped together, clenching then relaxing again.

"Yes, Grey Eagle."

Only then she returned his gaze and Kathryn experienced that fleeting regret again that it wasn't Chakotay's father speaking these words. The words were so heartfelt and touching, expressed with such complete faith that her eyes welled up.

"You have been hurt much, Cha-ko-tay and Kathryn Janeway."

She looked quickly at Chakotay, then at the old man again. There was no asking or queries as to his knowledge of their hurt, just a simple acceptance that he sensed it with his great understanding, his wisdom that seemed to have been with him since the day he was born.

"We travel a new road together, Grey Eagle," Chakotay said.

Grey Eagle nodded gravely. "That may be so."

They watched in silence as Grey Eagle polished the little carving. They had been so drawn to his presence and the way in which his words drifted to them like pearls of wisdom that they hardly noticed that he had completed his sculpture. Kathryn gave a soft gasp and Chakotay's hand reached for hers. Grey Eagle looked at last up from his work, stared with piercing blue eyes at them.

"That may be so," he repeated. "Here…" He held the sculpture and both of them reached for it. The action elicited a grin from Grey Eagle. His eyes narrowed as he waited for their reaction.

Kathryn held the sculpture on the palm of her hand and gasped again. She looked at Chakotay whose eyes were deep pools of mystery as he too understood.

On Kathryn's palm lay the sculpture of two eagles with wings spread full out, and only the tips of their wings were joined. The way in which Kathryn balanced the eagles attested to its fragility, as if in a breath, a slight change in wind direction, the joining tips would break.

"You are to take great care of this gift, Chakotay and Kathryn Janeway. It will break if you do not care for it with love…"

****

They were back in Chakotay's apartment and Kathryn stirred lazily in his arms late Sunday evening. Sated after making love she lay in his arms, his even breathing vibrating as her face pressed into his chest. Her thumb grazed his chest hair idly and once, when she pulled a hair, he just moaned, and pressed her closer. She had given a little smile.

She was about to leave on her next mission and in two days she'd be on the Crimond in Sector 339, near the Obanite Star Cluster. Now, she enjoyed the precious time she had with Chakotay before her departure. Her body still tingled after their lovemaking, but he was tired, although his leg had not given him any trouble. She was relieved about that. Chakotay had been frustrated the first two days after his visit to Starfleet Medical. The pain got him in the middle of the night, when he moaned in his sleep. She had managed after great coaxing to get him to take the painkillers Elizabeth Paris prescribed.

She had been not a little disconcerted by Grey Eagle's gift to them. A chill entered her body when they had come home last night and she had put the eagles which she had already dubbed "Twin Eagles" on the mantelpiece where they joined "Grey Eagle" as a newcomer to their collection of memories. She had been ultra careful when she handled it, and Chakotay had been reassuring that the twins were tougher than she thought.

"They'll survive, Kathryn," he stated, his voice firm, bearing not a trace of hesitance.

"And if it breaks?" she asked.

"Well, then, Kathryn, we'll just walk through another baptism of fire, won't we?"

Their visit to Indiana had been better than expected. Phoebe happened to be home for once and it was great to see the interaction between Chakotay and her sister. Phoebe had repeated her promise to Chakotay, saying if he ever hurt her, Chakotay would be a dead man.

"He would never do anything to hurt me, Phoebe," she told her sister.

"I know. You're very sure of him, you trust him with your life. That more than counts for anything."

"Thanks, Phoebe. Don't worry so!"

"Hey, who said I'm worried? I'm only protecting my older sister - "

"Not you, too. I don't need protection."

"Katie..."

"I'm over that time in my life, Phoebe. Chakotay... he's everything..."

Phoebe had nodded and had given her a tight hug before they left in the shuttle for Headquarters.

Kathryn was glad to be back. Chakotay's apartment had become their home. All her personal effects were here now. She belonged here, with him. One day perhaps, she'd base herself at Headquarters and be with him all the time. That is, if he continued to teach at the Academy. He had already been approached to teach History and Anthropology.

"You should take it, Chakotay," she suggested.

Kathryn wriggled her hips closer to Chakotay and smiled inwardly when he responded by pressing her closer to him again. Chakotay had almost blown a fuse that day.

"Are you mad, Kathryn? There's a whole galaxy out there to be explored, the whole Delta Quadrant that no one knows what's there. It's where I want to be, Kathryn!"

"But Chakotay - "

"No debate, Kathryn. It's six months here, and then I'm on my own vessel, hopefully..."

She had known that he wanted to command his own ship, just as she had wanted to command her own vessel. But they still had to navigate a minefield of cross-communication, of settling into some kind of routine where one would be stationary while the other explored. Everything was still so new to them, but she knew that his home was now hers too.

That was as good as knowing home was here Chakotay was, where her heart was.

She woke from her reverie with a start when Chakotay stirred and opened his eyes.

"Maybe one day, Kathryn, I'll come back and teach again," he murmured, then kissed the top of her head.

"Were you reading my thoughts, Chakotay?" she asked, raising herself on her elbow, surprised that he was awake.

"I know you, Kathryn. I could feel your smile against my skin..."

He turned himself so that he could face her, drawing her into his embrace. He groaned, and she could feel his arousal. Her hands stole under the cover and she curled her fingers around his shaft.

"We'll sort things out, okay?" he said as her fingers rubbed him and he writhed beneath her touch.

She stopped her action suddenly as she noted how sober his eyes looked, like he was about to make a vow.

"Chakotay…?"

"I swear by God, I'll never hurt you, Kathryn..."

****

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