Peregrination--epilogue
by Melissa
**For disclaimers, see part one.
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"...water bottle, blanket..." Janeway fished through the knapsack she carried, taking inventory aloud. The doors hissed open and she looked up, meeting the eyes of B'Elanna and Tom.
"Taking some shore leave, Captain?" B'Elanna asked with a knowing smile.
"The Precept was so effusive with his request, I could hardly say no." The women grinned at each other. The Leriian Precept had beamed up to Voyager the previous evening and spent two hours showing holovids of the various features of his planet while extending invitation after invitation for the crew to take some extended shore leave.
"If you'd like some company, Captain, we're going to the market and then going on a hike through the hills." The expression on Paris' face was open, genuine. Welcoming.
"I don't think so, Lieutenant. I'm afraid the Captain has other plans."
They all turned towards the door to see Chakotay, standing just inside, a knapsack slung over his shoulder. Janeway met his eyes, smiling. They'd talked for hours, two nights ago. Again, last night, they'd talked into the wee hours and fallen asleep, hands clasped, on her sofa. And yet there was still so much to say. So much to learn, so much damage to undo. so much trust to rebuild. So much... time to spend together, finally. As it should be. There hardly seemed enough hours in the day for it all. But they would have years now.
"Thank you for your invitation, Tom. Perhaps we'll meet you for dinner, later?" Janeway said.
Paris nodded as Chakotay joined the Captain on the transporter pad. They made plans to meet at a restaurant the Precept had been particularly complimentary about. "Then we can make sure you have her home at a decent hour, Commander."
The two superior officers exchanged a look of amusement at Tom's words before Janeway gestured for Parsons to activate the controls.
"You know, they could infer a lot from that little encounter back there," Chakotay said half an hour later as they wandered along the fringes of the public market.
"After dinner tonight, I think all inferences will be obsolete," replied Janeway lightly, fingering a length of dusky fabric. When a long moment of silence greeted her remark, she turned her head to look at him. The look on his face was unreadable. "I told you--no more waiting. I know it's been a strange couple of days--"
"Yes. We've hardly seen each other, between my discussions with the Doctor and your conferences with the Leriians."
She nodded. "Yes. But I'm here, Chakotay. I told you I would be. We can't go back to the way it was. But we can go forward." Her eyes were very bright as she reached for his hand, and turned back towards the table. "What do you think of this fabric?"
"You look better in blue," he said, his voice rough with emotion.
"Not for me," she said quietly, smiling at the compliment. He liked her in blue. She would remember. "For B'Elanna. A dress, I thought. Her birthday is in a few weeks--and I'd like to thank her."
Chakotay smiled a little, nodding. "I think it suits her."
He turned away slightly, looking out over the hills that ringed the group of stalls. It was a truly beautiful day, bright and clear, and the market was nestled in the center of a deep, grassy valley. Over the set of hills before him lay a thriving, industrial city; to the hills behind him lay a thick forest with a river cutting it in two. Tom and B'Elanna were hiking amongst the trees right now. He took a deep breath, raising his face to the sun and closing his eyes, grasping tightly of the peace that had finally begun to settle over him. It centered, he knew, on the woman who stood so close. Who had stood so close through his entire ordeal, sifted through his faults, and had not found him wanting.
"It's lovely here," Janeway said softly, coming beside him on his right. "Are you sorry?"
"Sorry?" Chakotay asked, confused, and then he realized what she meant. "That I'm not staying."
She nodded, and he thought for a few moments. "No," he finally said. "I could have lived here, but it wouldn't have been home." He reached over, slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, rubbing his nose in her hair and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "Home is where you are, Kathryn."
Janeway stood within his half-embrace for several minutes, savoring the feel of him and the warmth that spread through her at his words. The fight wasn't over, but the wait was.
She looked up at him and brushed a tiny strand of hair away from his forehead, her fingers lingering on his skin for a moment. "Come on, Commander. If you're really nice to me, I'll let you buy me lunch."
Their laughter was swallowed up in the crowd.
FINIS
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