Chakotay never really falls asleep

He's tired as hell and would love nothing more than to rest but the figure on the couch behind him makes it an impossible option.

After a few minutes of remaining in his uncomfortable position he finally decides to move. He's wary as not to wake Kathryn and carefully let's go of her hand as he stands up. The loss of contact makes her brow knit and Chakotay worries for a second that she will wake. But she turns her head into the plush cushion and continues to sleep instead.

He releases a soft sigh, she needed to sleep away the alcohol that she'd consusumed. It worries him that this is the second night in a row he's had to take care of her because of drinking to much. At the party it seemed innocent enough, everyone had over indulged a little, but this was something else entirely. He makes a mental note to ask her about it when she's in a coherent state.

For a few moments all he can do is stand there and watch her sleep. He can't see her face because of the way she's pressed it into the cushion. But the rise and fall of her chest calms him. It reminds him of how sometimes he could hear her breathing near him in their makeshift home on New Earth.

Kathryn would always go to bed earlier, while he continued to work on something of clear up after dinner. Sometimes he'd even check in on her sleeping, it was the only time he didn't see the worry lines on her face, it made him happy.

The memory just makes him sad now. There was so much that had happaned between then and now, and not all of it good. In a way the innocence of their friendship had never been the same since New Earth. Subconsciously or perhaps consciously, Kathryn had built up that perimeter between them and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get close to her.

"Chakotay..." Hearing his name brings him back to the present, and he instantly kneels down beside the sofa, this time facing her rather than sat with his back to her.

"Kathryn?" He queastions, but it's clear that she'd spoken his name in her sleep.

He doesn't know what to make of that. Sometimes he thought he could hear her say his name through the bulkhead between their quarters on Voyager. Chakotay knew he'd woken up a few times with her name on his lips as well.

Smiling he brushes a stray tendril of auburn hair behind her ear. His hand momenterily remaining on her her head.

"What are we going to do with ourselves?" He asks her unconscious form, knowing he'd never receive an answer.

There's a dull thud that Kathryn feels behind her eyes before she opens them. A feeling of dejavu creeps up as her scences begin to wake her up. She has no idea when exactly she'd become so slow at waking up. Back on Voyager she survived on minimal sleep and excess coffee, now she hates waking up. Old age was taking it's toll on her she guessed bitterly, either that or it was the alcohol she uses to numb everything these days.

She frowns before finally opening her eyes. This time there's no glare of light coming from a window, the room is mercifully dark. Though her eyes have been spared she feels strangely disoriented both by the lack of light and her place in the room. How much had she drank to fall asleep on the sofa?

Her mouth feels dry, so after stretching her limbs she makes a beeline for the kitchen area of her suite. Her bare feet pad quietly on the floor but the stiff uniform she's passed out wearing feels hot and tight on her skin. As she reaches the kitchen she unzips the offending jacket and let's it fall haplessly from her shoulders to the ground.

Her confusion is only heightened when she finds a glass of water already waiting for her, and a note next to it. She picks up the glass first and greedily gulps down the contens then picks up the note with her free hand.

~Hope this helps, I'd of made you some coffee but I know you don't like it cold. When you feel better, maybe we can have that conversation? I don't know how much you remember of last night, but I want you to know that there's nothing stopping me now from being with you, there never was anyway really, you've always held my heart captive, Kathryn. I'll be at the park near headquarters at 11am tomorrow, if you don't come then I understand, all I want is you to be happy.

Love, always, Chakotay x ~

The glass shatters as it hits the ground. Kathryn re reads the note three times before the memories of the night suddenly return to her. The hand holding the note shakes, before she puts it back down on the table.

Her heart beats wildly in her chest as she quickly grabs the nearest padd she can find. The time glares back at her, it's only 3:45am, which means she has roughly around eight hours to decide if she can face Chakotay again.

Or if she can even face herself.