Kathryn walks towards Chakotay and then walks just past him and grabs his hand and pulls him to the sitting room. "What are your favourite things to do? What are the things you love in your life?" Kathryn asks as she Chakotay sit face to face on the blue grey couch.

"You mean things I love besides you? I didn't always, but I love my culture and the values that it has tried to instil in me. I only hope when my father looks down on me he's proud of me. I love my mother too. She is such a big influence in my life. She would love you. When we get home I'm going to introduce you to my mother. I love to read, meditate, exercise, travel, and play music. I attempt to draw and paint I'm not very good, but I do love to do it." Chakotay says thoughtfully. "You probably knew most of this already though."

"It doesn't matter if I knew all of this or some of this before. It's just nice to talk about something, anything other than ship's business. You never talk about your mother. It's nice to hear you talk about her so positively." Kathryn looks at the chronometer and smiles. It's Christmas Day now. "Happy Christmas, Chakotay."

Chakotay looks confused until he looks at the chronometer. He smiles. Kathryn is so observant. "Happy Christmas Kathryn. Would you like your Christmas present now or in the morning?" Chakotay asks teasing Kathryn.

"In the morning please. What I'd like to do is replicate a Christmas tree and some decorations and decorate the tree together." Kathryn whispers.

"That would be so romantic. Let's do it! That sounds like a wonderful idea." Chakotay's excited. "I never trusted enjoying Christmas when I was a child.

Kathryn goes to the replicator and gets a fake tree that can go up year after year and some beautiful decorations. She gets Chakotay to assemble the pre-lit tree. "Do you want an angel or a star on top of the tree?"

"I already have my angel, so let's make it a star." Chakotay teases, but he really means it.

"Computer, play Earth Christmas music." Kathryn requests. She and Chakotay carefully unwrap each ornament. She sings along with the songs floating through the air. Chakotay decorates the top portion of the tall tree that he can reach. She steps back from the tree to see how it's looking. "Oh Chakotay, it looks lovely. We can just do the tinsel and it will be perfect. Can you help me?"

"Of course I'll help you. How are we going to put all the tinsel on the tree?" Chakotay asks as he grabs the bag of tinsel garland.

"We're going to festoon the garland around the tree and go from the bottom to the top." Kathryn says as she grabs the end of one of the strands of garland.

"Let's do it." Chakotay says as he watches Kathryn begin to festoon the garland. She winds the garland up the seven foot tree as high as she can reach even on tiptoe. Chakotay gently takes the garland from Kathryn's hands and continues to wind the garland up the tree. The last thing to go on the tree is the star for the top. Kathryn carefully hands Chakotay the delicate star that lights up. Chakotay stretches up and carefully lowers the beautiful gold star onto the top of the tree. He then kneels down and plugs in the tree. Kathryn gasps as the tree lights up.

"Oh Chakotay, it looks lovely. We did a wonderful job." Kathryn says as she looks reverently at the tree. She goes to the replicator and orders two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream. She comes back to the sofa and passes Chakotay his hot chocolate. Chakotay puts his arm around Kathryn's shoulders. They sit and watch the Christmas tree lights blink and highlight the ornaments on the tree.

The silence fills the room in a comfortable way. Kathryn leans her head on Chakotay's shoulder. Suddenly Christmas seems a lot more real and a lot closer to home. She slips her shoes off and curls her feet under her. "Tell me about your favourite Christmas memory." Chakotay requests of his radiant girlfriend.

"I was six and it snowed lots that year. I'd asked Santa Claus for a big girl two wheel bicycle. My father had actually come home to Indiana for Christmas. My sister and I went out with my parents to the back forest to pick out our Christmas tree. It took all four of us to carry the tree to the truck. We spend two full days decorating the tree and playing Christmas music. My father doted on me and we got to spend a whole week together. My mother and I got to bake cookies and tarts. My grandmother came out from New York and brought homemade sausage rolls, butter tarts, and mincemeat tarts. We got snowed in. My sister and I couldn't sleep Christmas Eve. We went and jumped on my parents' bed at about 4:30 in the morning. I was so excited when we dragged my parents down to the Christmas tree and there was a bright, shiny, sparkly, purple two wheeled bicycle. My sister got an Easy Bake oven set. We had never had a happier Christmas. My father never came back to Indiana for Christmas in the last three years of his life. He sent gifts and holocards to us from San Francisco or his ship. I saw him so rarely after that." Kathryn says as she sips her cocoa. "What about you? What is your favourite Christmas memory?" Kathryn replicates a plate of Peppermint Brownies.

"I was ten. I'd asked for a hoverboard for Christmas, but I knew my mom couldn't afford to get one for me, so I told her I wanted something else for Christmas and I prayed really hard for that hoverboard. I wasn't expecting it at all. I just wanted to have one more Christmas with my grandmother, who wasn't well. I got up early having worn my customary Christmas Eve gift of pyjamas to bed the night before. My whole family was already up and I did a double take as I entered the room where we'd set up the Christmas tree. There under the tree sat the most beautiful, electric blue and chrome hoverboard I'd ever seen. That was my only gift that year, but I didn't even mind. My whole family had chipped in to get me that board and I appreciated it so much. I think I may even have cried that day. My parents tried so hard to make my life as positive as possible and that Christmas really showed me how much that was true." Chakotay says as he sips his hot cocoa. He watches Kathryn take a huge bite of a peppermint brownie and get crumbs and icing all over her face. Chakotay reaches out with one finger and swipes the peppermint icing for the corner of Kathryn's mouth. "You have got to be the only person that looks gorgeous with chocolate and peppermint all over her face."

"You are too sweet. This is my mama's peppermint brownie recipe. You have to try them. They are the best things in the world!" Kathryn gushes about her mother's cooking. She loved cooking with her mother at Christmas.

Chakotay picks up a big, chocolatey brownie with a thick layer of green icing. He bites into the moist, chewy brownie with a look of delight on his face. "These are phenomenal! I can't wait to meet your mother and go to her house so she can cook for us." Chakotay exclaims.

"Me either." Kathryn says wistfully.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how hard this would be without your mother around." Chakotay says sympathetically. He know how hard it has been to transition to being in the Delta Quadrant.

"I feel better now that have a strong, personal, intimate relationship on board Voyager." Kathryn says as she sets down her mug.