I think this is it. I've been picturing this scene in my head since I started writing.

I hope you've enjoyed the ride. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chakotay waited till New Year's Day, still celebrated on Earth, to go approach Kathryn at her apartment in San Francisco.

It was a sentimental reflex on his part, but as he stood in the lift going up to her floor, he felt incredibly stupid. She was probably celebrating with her family in Indiana and wouldn't even be here.

He knocked, but there was no answer. On impulse, he tried the door, and was surprised when it was unlocked. Maybe she was here after all.

The floor creaked a little underfoot, and he smiled, thinking about how typical it was of her to pick the oldest apartment building she could find to live in.

The lights were off inside, but there was plenty of ambient light coming from the many wide windows, despite the gray of the overcast sky.

He'd been here before, but for some reason being in her apartment after the things that had happened between them recently felt different… His fingers were warm and jittery with anticipatory electricity and profound nervousness.

He stopped before entering the living area and looked up at the ceiling in momentary silent prayer.

Spirits don't let me mess this up.

She wasn't in the living area, and the lights were off there too. He peered around, not wanting to venture upstairs and upset her if he could help it.

Then he saw her, standing on her balcony outside in the same blue silk pantsuit she'd been wearing that day in his office when she'd come back for him.

Come back for him.

Chakotay smiled. Somehow, even though he knew it was blatant speculation, he also knew that he was right. She'd come back for him, like she had a million times before and would a million times more.

And now he was getting ready to come back for her, just as he'd done a million times before and would a million times more.

His heart swelled with new confidence. He was far too in love to fail.

Each step echoed on the floor as he walked toward the glass doors leading outside. He was a little shocked that she didn't hear him already, but he could see the breeze whipping her hair around and figured the wind noise was probably pretty substantial.

He took a deep breath as his hand closed on the door handle, and pushed.

Kathryn turned around.

"Kathryn," he began, hoping to get her to listen before she got angry again.

"Chakotay!" she was surprised at first, and then held up her hand before he could say anymore.

"No Chakotay," she said, and his heart stopped beating for a moment. "Don't apologize."

"But I," Chakotay pressed on.

"Chakotay," she said, sounding a little exasperated, "you have nothing to apologize for."

Chakotay stopped, surprised.

Kathryn sighed.

"I had no right to expect you to tell me anything at all about your relationship with Seven," she said. "I know that neither of us exactly planned what happened at the Lake, even if it seems silly now to not have expected it."

She took a deep breath, and met his eyes.

"The truth is that if I'd really wanted to know, I would have asked," she said. "I never asked. I never made it my business. I never let myself entertain the idea that we might be behaving differently than casual friends would behave."

She stopped and turned back around to face the view. He wasn't sure if he liked where this was going. He didn't know how to respond, so he just moved next to her and tried to take in the moment. He wasn't sure if he was going to get another one.

They just stood there, quietly. Chakotay felt the breeze on his face, and a curious sensation that he enjoyed; the warm feeling of his proximity to Kathryn fighting the chill in the air.

Kathryn smiled.

"I've got this wild idea," she said. "I've given it a lot of thought, and I think that you should move in here."

Chakotay's face was now slack with shock.

"Well think about it," she said. "It's incredibly inconvenient for us to keep having almost three meals a day together when we live almost a half a city away. It's such an incredible waste of time and commute. If I decide to go stay in Starfleet it's only going to get worse with the longer hours of the Admiralty they've offered."

He searched her gaze. She sounded like she might be joking, but he wasn't sure why a joke like that would be funny right now.

She looked away, suddenly serious. She clenched the railing on the balcony in her hands and leaned back, as if to ready herself for a great leap, and then she relaxed again and met his eyes.

"I don't think I'm going back Chakotay," she said. She seemed mildly distressed by the revelation. "I'm tired. I'm tired of saying goodbye. I'm tired of empty space. I'm tired of being the Captain."

Chakotay tried to keep up. He still couldn't think of anything to say.

"Most of all," she said. "I'm tired of calling the shots."

Kathryn shifted from one foot to the other, struggling to continue with her uncomfortable admission.

"I am," she responded like he'd expressed disbelief, even though he hadn't said anything. "For seven years, maybe longer, I've been making all the decisions; the life or death ones and the little ones alike. I decided to get us stranded in the Delta Quadrant. I decided that our principals were more important than how fast we got home. I decided that for the sake of my ship and crew that I would never tell you how I felt about you or let myself daydream about a future that might never come."

She paused, her voice breaking a little, and wiped a tear away.

"I'm just so tired Chakotay," she said. "I don't want to make the decisions anymore."

He opened his arms to her and she eagerly jumped into his embrace, clinging to him like she never had before.

"Well then," he said, trying not to be overcome with emotion himself, "I'll only ask you to make one more decision."

Kathryn released him, and took a step back, looking at him with puzzlement.

He reached into his pocket and brought out the box. He thought briefly about kneeling, but was sure he'd fall over and completely ruin the moment, so instead he just opened it for her wordlessly.

Her hands jumped to her heart.

"Oh my," she whispered. He watched the emotions play across her face, as she recognized the stone.

"This didn't have a band on it the last time I saw it," she said quietly.

"I know," he replied, taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger, "I told you I'd keep it for you, and even though you never asked for it I've never been able to even imagine giving it to anyone else."

"You waited so long," she started to sob, despite herself.

"No," he said, pulling her into his embrace again. "Don't cry. It was worth it Kathryn. It was all worth it."

She pressed her face into him, trying not to cry and found that she seemed to have lost her ability to put up a front.

"Oh," he said, distracting her from her overwhelming emotions. "You're right, by the way."

She sniffled, and looked up at him.

"We should definitely move in together," he smiled. "It's just impractical for us to start sleeping together and keep our possessions in two different homes."

Kathryn burst out laughing at the absurdity of his reasoning, and kissed him, feeling him lift her off her feet and carry her to the safety of home.

"So you're going to make all the decisions now?" she smiled in his arms.

"Well I don't know," said Chakotay. "I imagine there are a few decisions you'll still want to make."

"Like what?" She shifted as he set her down on the couch.

"Like how you're going to tell Starfleet that you've had a change in career plans, or what we're having for dinner tonight, what kind of house you want us to live in, how many children we're going to have and what their names will be…"

"I thought I just told you I didn't want to make all the decisions anymore!" she smacked his chest with the back of her hand.

"Ow," he said. "You be careful with that thing. That's quite a rock you've got there."

"I suppose you're right," she said. "There are a few things I'll still want to have priority over."

"Just a few?" he asked, smiling knowingly.

"Mmmhmm," she said. "Like how much of the day I'm going to spend in here with you without clothes."

"Oh," he said. "I think I might want some input on that one."

"I thought you might," she said, taking his face in her hands again.

"Finally!" he threw his head back in exasperation, and Kathryn laughed heartily in his arms before giving him something else to think about.