Star Trek: Voyager: Endgame

spirit she had. On impulse, Janeway rose and embraced her. Carla enthusiastically returned the hug.
    Mark returned with two steaming mugs of coffee and grinned at the sight.
    “You're a lucky man, Mark Johnson,” said Janeway, pulling apart a little way from Carla. The younger woman's eyes shone with pleasure.
    “Yes,” he said, looking from one of them to the other. “Yes, I certainly am.”
    * * *
    She hadn't wanted to leave, and it was clear that Mark and Carla didn't want her to, either. They even offered her the guest bedroom as the night grew late and threw in a tempting offer of homemade waffles for breakfast, but she declined. When she transported out, to rematerialize in the strange, unfamiliar room, Janeway wished she had accepted their generous invitation. She had been back on Earth for weeks now, and yet tonight, with Mark and her new, wonderful friend Carla, was the first time she felt really “at home.”
    As she puttered about, delaying getting into the strange bed, she realized what it was that made her so reluctant to claim this space as her own. She missed
Voyager.
She missed the sounds of the vessel, the feel of the chairs and the bed, the wide starfield that she would often gaze at for a long time before finally drifting off into a restless sleep.
    It was late, almost two in the morning. Yet, she sat down and tapped the small viewscreen on the table. The sound would be soft, she knew. If he didn't want to answer, he wouldn't have to. No insistent combadges, not anymore.
    His face appeared on the screen. Like her, he was fully dressed and seemed wide awake. “Hi,” he said, smiling.
    “Hi,” she said feeling her own lips stretch into a grin.
    “Couldn't sleep?” asked Chakotay.
    “Nope.”
    “Funny, me neither.”
    “Too quiet. No Borg attacks at all.”
    “Know what you mean. And no starfields to go to sleep by.”
    She shook her head.
    “Want to come over for some coffee?” he asked.
    “The real stuff?”
    “But of course. That's half the reason we came home, isn't it?” His smile faded slightly.
    “What is it?” Janeway asked. Over the last seven years, she had learned to recognize every expression that flitted over that dark, handsome face.
    “I'm planning on taking a trip shortly,” he said. “A very important one. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me.”
    * * *
    The ship that Chakotay jokingly called the “Alpha Flyer” zipped along with a smoothness that belied its rough exterior. Janeway relaxed and leaned back in the copilot's seat of the little craft.
    “Nice ship, Captain Chakotay,” she said. He threw her a quick grin.
    “Always told you I wanted a nice little ship of my own,” he said. “You know, as a first officer, you're not half bad.”
    “Coming from the best first officer it's been my pleasure to know, I'm flattered.” The stars streaked by as they sat in comfortable silence for a while. Finally, Janeway said, “I understand that all the former Maquis on
Voyager
were offered the opportunity to return to Starfleet, with all rank returned.”
    “It was a generous officer,” said Chakotay, reaching down and tapping the console.
    “Will it be one you accept?”
    “I don't know yet.” He turned to look at her, and his dark eyes were serious. “I hadn't expected our return to be without its difficulties, but I confess, I'm surprised at some of the emotions it's stirring up.”
    “I know exactly what you mean,” said Janeway, thinking of Mark, Carla, and little Kevin. “I don't think we realized just how sheltered we were on
Voyager.”
    “I had a chance to meet with Sveta and some of the other Maquis at the banquet. For them, it's all the past, but for me— well, not having been there, not having gone through it with them, it's still pretty raw.”
    Even at their most intimate over the last seven years, Chakotay had never spoken quite so freely. Janeway was touched by his confidence. She had thought they had grown close, and was certain that they had, but clearly, that barrier between captain and crewman had blocked off more than she had thought.
    She took a look at the coordinates of their destination. Somehow, it seemed familiar. Then Janeway realized where they were headed, and her stomach tightened. Chakotay was bringing her along with him to face some of the demons of his past.
    They did not speak the rest of the time, but sat, each lost in private thoughts. Finally, Chakotay dropped out of warp and into orbit around a