I do not own anything, never have never will, just enjoying borrowing paramount's characters.

The Truth

1

It had only been a few weeks since Kathryn and Chakotay had returned from "New Earth" and everything (and nothing) had changed. Those months on the fertile planet with her first officer had been something she had never experienced before, not even with Mark and she was continuously catching herself going back there in her mind, yearning for more. The crew had not noticed a change in their command team and the continued on with the work just happy to have them back. Chakotay was quiet and more reserved around Kathryn and she was not much different. It was hard for both of them to adjust back to the command structure relationship; the impersonal references of captain and commander were foreign and almost bitter on the tongue. They were professional of course and carried on their duties on Voyager with the same honor and enthusiasm as they had before.

Kathryn was heading towards her quarters after a long shift when she heard footsteps behind her. Without looking she slowed down, closed her eyes and sighed.

"I guess you want to talk?" She breathed out and turned around to face the handsome Native American.

"Don't you think we should?" He replied in a calm tone. And Kathryn could swear she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes.

She held her hand up to him and shook her head. "Cho….commander, please. Lets not make this harder than it has to be."

"Why? Why does it have to be hard, Kathryn?" His voice raised and her eyes darted to his face at the sound of her first name. He held his ground and looked down at her. "We need to talk and you know it, this is not something you can hide from or order to the brig. This is our lives, this is our future!"

She clenched her jaw and flexed her hands at her sides. "Why must we make this about us? We are back, Chakotay, our lives can go on, back to normal, the way they were". She pulled at her red jacket and pushed a stray hair out of her face, never taking her eyes off of her first officer.

"Things will never be back to normal, there is no more normal". His eyes turned cold and he swallowed hard before running a hard through his hair. "Have a good night, Captain". And with that, he turned away from her, leaving her there staring after him.

Kathryn walked slowly to her quarters and stopped before going inside, bracing a hand on the silver frame of the door. She bit her lip and went over the last few moments with Chakotay over and over. Unsatisfied, she slammed her palm on the wall and went inside. "Coffee. Black." She called to the replicator as she undid her jacket and pulled down her long hair. He was right, dammit he was always right. She sipped her coffee and sat down in her chair and rubbed her forehead out of habit. They needed to talk, she would talk and she would tell him the truth. She loved him.