Disclaimer : Paramount own all, I'm just writing for my own amusement.

Authors Note : I had the "Friday Feeling," to quote a certain Crunchie advert. *G* No, seriously, I was in quite a good mood (TGIF!) and felt the need to write fic. Feedback would be welcomed, but isn't expected! ;)

Dedication : To Naaz, just because.

Kathryn sipped thoughtfully at the mug of hot coffee. The black liquid swirled in the cup, settling as she brought it back down from her lips to rest on her knee, one hand still holding the handle tightly.

Letting out a huge sigh, she pressed the "delete" button for what felt like the 47-millionth time that morning. Yet another draft was deleted from existence, leaving Kathryn with a blank PADD and no idea of what to fill it with.

Reluctantly, she began again. The opening had been pretty much the same on all of them… a general welcome to the event. But that was as far as she had got. Anything beyond that had just not sounded right at all.

She was saved from further thought by the door chime. Jerking her head upwards, she took a large gulp of the coffee, before stating "Enter." The doors to her ready room swished open, to reveal Chakotay.

"Have you even slept?" He asked her, accompanying his chiding tone with a knowing smile.

"Well 'Good Morning' to you too," Kathryn grinned, reasonably cheerful, due to an extraordinary amount of coffee. She'd lost count of the actual amount around 2am, when her daily coffee intake had gone into double figures.

Chakotay smiled, baring his infamous dimples. He walked towards the middle of the unusually empty ready room, and looked around. "All packed?" He enquired.

Kathryn nodded. "Everything." She placed the cup down on the window ledge, next to her own seat there, freeing a hand to gesture around the ready room, a look of sadness in her eyes. "Ornaments, pictures, holoimages… all in a box in my quarters, ready for transport."

Chakotay seated himself next to Kathryn as she removed the coffee, giving him the room to sit. "So did you get any further with your speech?"

"I did," Kathryn said, then sighed as she pushed the PADD towards him. "But it didn't sound right."

"Kathryn?"

She looked up from gazing into the depths of the coffee cup. "What?"

Chakotay turned to look at her, a hint of amusement playing in his eyes. "You've changed precisely one word of this since I last saw it yesterday evening."

"I don't know what to write," Kathryn said, her voice weary. "If I have a muse, it doesn't like me very much at the moment."

Chakotay chuckled. "Why are you so bothered about this speech anyway, Kathryn? I think the first four drafts were perfectly adequate… and I'm sure the others were just as good too."

"You don't understand," Kathryn said, sighing. "This is our 'Welcome Home' dinner, Chakotay. I got them home… We beat the odds, and we made it back to Earth. My speech has to be absolutely perfect."

Chakotay shook his head, grinning slightly. "And I was foolish enough to think that maybe when we arrived back home that you'd ease up on yourself a little."

"And I thought you knew me better than anyone else on board," Kathryn teased gently.

"Guess I was just being optimistic," Chakotay surmised with a grin. He handed her back the PADD. "The next one's the final draft," he told her firmly. "I'm not having you kill yourself over a speech, Kathryn. You need to rest."

"I can manage a few more hours," Kathryn informed him, taking the PADD from his hand.

"I've no doubt of that," Chakotay told her. "But you need rest, Kathryn. We need you conscious to actually recite this speech, you know."

"Just one more rough draft?" Kathryn asked hopefully.

"No," he said, grinning. "One more draft, and it's over and done with."

Kathryn thought it over for a moment. "I don't have to listen to you," she reminded him.

"I know you don't," Chakotay said, looking at the tired woman on his left. "I'm just hoping you will."

She sighed. "I suppose that's your way of telling me that I either listen to you, or I listen to you and the Doctor."

"Pretty much," Chakotay acknowledged.

She thought for a moment. "I could delete his program."

"Don't make me get the Vulcan in here."

Kathryn grinned. "Tuvok wouldn't agree with you. He's learnt that he never wins an argument over my caffeine consumption levels." She grinned evilly. "He's also learnt to fear my compression rifle."

Chakotay felt a pang of pity for the long-suffering Vulcan before continuing.

"Kathryn, I'm not going to call anyone else in here," he assured her. "But I'm asking you as a friend, please make this the last draft. You really need to sleep."

Kathryn sighed. "I'll consider it." She resumed tapping furiously at her PADD.

"Please?" Chakotay urged her.

"Maybe," Kathryn said absently, chewing her bottom lip as she concentrated intently on what she was typing.

He watched her for a few moments. She wasn't in too bad a condition, he decided, upon further observation for a few moments. He'd seen her looking worse… far worse. That was why he wasn't pushing further, and really wasn't dragging the Doctor in to threaten to relieve her temporarily of command.

"Think I should mention about each crewmember's achievements in the Delta Quadrant?" She asked, her tone thoughtful.

"Each crewmember?" Chakotay looked astounded. "Kathryn, there are roughly 150 people on board Voyager… and you want to mention all of their accomplishments?"

Kathryn laughed feebly at herself. "Maybe you have a point -- I think I really do need sleep…"

"That's more like i-"

"After I've finished this speech," she continued, looking up briefly at him, the back down to the PADD's screen.

He smiled at her typical stubbornness, then peered over her shoulder to see what she had written in addition to the beginning.

The smile faded gradually from his face as his eyes moved from left to right repeatedly as he read the lines of text. "That's a rather flattering paragraph about me," he managed, the astonishment showing in his face.

"It may be flattering," Kathryn admitted, looking at him. She paused, looking into his eyes as she continued. "But it's true."

A moment passed, both afraid to break their eye contact. Chakotay's heart rate accelerated as he slowly got up the courage to ask a question.

"I'm wondering," he began slowly. "If you didn't have to read this out in front of a roomful of people… if it wasn't a speech…" He swallowed, and forced himself to speak. "What would you have written about me?"

Kathryn's mouth went dry. "Well," she started, her voice uneasy. She swallowed, attempting to work out how to phrase her answer to the unexpected question. "I would have mentioned all that I wrote… your good qualities." She paused, as his eyes probed, urging her to elaborate. "I… suppose I would have talked about how trustworthy you are… How careful you are… Maybe about how, time and time again, you've gone out of your way, above and beyond the call of duty to help other crewmembers."

He was about to speak, but Kathryn cut him off.

"Not only that, but time and time again, you've given your stubborn Captain the benefit of the doubt. You've shown her far more tolerance than you should have, and supported her in every decision she has made, no matter how ridiculous it appeared," she said, finding it surprisingly easy to discuss herself in the third person.

Chakotay's eyes had a look of appreciation in them, and Kathryn almost stumbled over her words, in her eagerness to get them out.

"And in addition…" she trailed off, as she noticed he was moving closer to her's. Involuntarily, her eyes closed as she prepared to surrender herself.

"I love you, Kathryn."

His words sounded alarm bells, and she drew back hastily, just narrowly missing his kiss.

Chakotay suddenly looked hurt. "Kathryn?" His tone was sad, filled with slight reproach towards her. She realised she should never have allowed him to nearly kiss her. Kathryn knew she had given him the wrong impression… entirely the wrong idea… or had she?

"I'm sorry," she said. Her voice sounded distant, as though she were speaking automatically, and was really an observer in the room, listening in.

The look of sadness in his eyes made her want to break down and cry. Kathryn hated seeing anyone hurt, even more so when she had been the cause, and it could have been avoided easily.

"Why?" He asked simply. "Why, Kathryn? Why let me get so close and then draw back?"

"Protocol dict-" Kathryn began to say automatically, and then cut herself off. "No," she managed. "No… Now we're back in the Alpha Quadrant, that's no reason anymore." Chakotay silently agreed with her.

She sighed. "I just need some time to adjust to the situation. I'm sorry… I just need some time, Chakotay." Her heart lurched as he sadly stood up, and began to exit the room, his stride lacking the usual purposefulness that it possessed. He was clearly disheartened by Kathryn's reaction.

He strode towards the door. Part of him wanted to take deliberately slow steps, regretting every inch it took him away from this remarkable woman he so badly wanted to devote his life to. Yet, the other half wanted to get as far away from her as he could, she who teased him, who would never return his affections. Slowly, he approached the door.

Kathryn thought for a brief moment, then threw caution to the wind. Enough was enough. Leaping from her seat at the window, she covered the distance between them in quick time, darting in front of him, and gently pressing him against the wall.

The look of surprise on his face made it all worthwhile.

"Enough time," she breathed, pressing her mouth forcefully to his.