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Kathryn walks slowly down the corridor of deck five. The Doctor had released her to go "straight to your quarters, no stopping in the mess for coffee. Absolutely no stopping on the bridge," with that finger wag of his.She had rolled her eyes and gave him a brief hands-on-hips protest but eventually agreed.For once he was right.By the time Kathryn makes it to the turbolift, she is crossing her fingers no one will be inside when the doors slide open. It works; the lift is empty.Slumping against the rail, she takes several shaky breaths before requesting her deck. There is a chirp of acknowledgement and the car hums as it begins its ascent.Her body aches. Everywhere.Every inch of her skin. Every muscle. Deep into her bones.It isn't painful, per say, but tender, as if she'd pushed herself too hard working out. For a month straight.She could use a massage.Kathryn closes her eyes and imagines a set of warm, strong hands softly gripping her shoulders, thumbs pressing-The doors of the turbolift open. With a grunt, Voyager's captain pushes off the wall and steps onto deck three. She shuffles, very uncaptain-like, toward her quarters.There are several objects propped on either side of her door. Flowers, mostly. A teddy bear. A small tin, probably filled with candy. Coffee flavored chocolates, she hopes.Kathryn rolls her head in a circle and shrugs her shoulders up to her ears. Bending down doesn't seem like an appealing option at the moment. She'll come back out and gather the items later.Thumbing her code, she enters her quarters and sighs. "Finally," she whispers to her home, moving automatically to the bedroom.She doesn't bother taking off the comfy medical gown and sweatpants as she pulls back the covers and climbs into bed.This is so much better than the bright, noisy sickbay where the Doctor checks in on her and his other two patients every five minutes. Relishing the peaceful solitude, her eyelids drift closed. ~~~So itchy. Kathryn wakes, nails scraping through her newly regrown hair. Her treated scalp had been an annoyance in sickbay but now it was intolerable."Janeway to sickbay," she coughs, forgetting to take it easy on her vocal chords as she comms the doctor."Yes, Captain, what may I do for you," his jovial voice sounds through her room."I could use another dose of whatever you gave me to squelch this itchiness.""Ah yes. I thought perhaps that might wear off." Does he always sound this smug or is it just because she insisted on getting out of sickbay early?"Mmm hm," she raises an eyebrow even though he can't see her."Yes, well," the Doctor fumbles, hearing her annoyance loud and clear through the sound waves. "I'll be sure and get a hypospray to you right away, Captain.""Thank you, Doctor. Janeway out."Kathryn rests back on the pillows for only a moment. She doesn't want to be caught in bed when she receives her house call.Doing her best to ignore her prickling head, she stands and stretches. A quick trip to the fresher is followed by a change of clothes. She trades the medical garb for black leggings and a baggy pale blue sweatshirt.Just as she's pulling the hem down around her waist, her door chimes."Come in," she calls, stepping into the main living area as a tall, dark haired figure in command red enters her quarters, arms full of the trinkets from the corridor outside her door.Kathryn emits an "Oh" of surprise but recovers quickly and with a smile adds, "Chakotay, coming to check on me?"Her hand brushes a stray lock from her forehead, fingers lingering at her temple, the touch making her want to graze her nails through her hair. Kathryn huffs as she fights the urge to scratch.Chakotay chuckles at her struggle."I'm the delivery boy. Or perhaps field medic sounds better." Balancing the collection of offerings against his chest with one arm, he holds up a hypospray and wiggles it side to side. "I think you might need this?""Oh, yes! Please. I can't tell you how awful this is."She takes the device from him and indicates the table. "Pile everything there, thank you."The cool metal hits her neck and hisses, followed by immediate relief across her scalp. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."Chakotay laughs again. "You're welcome. Quite the spread you have here," he says, eyeing the table.Now that she's feeling a bit better, Kathryn moves closer to pick through the items."So many flowers," she comments with a lopsided grin, rubbing the silky petal of a pale peach rose she suspects is from him."Your crew wants you to get well soon," he responds quietly."And this?" Kathryn holds the fluffy bear up against her cheek, facing it toward Chakotay and waving a paw at him.He snorts. "That could be from anyone, but I'd guess Neelix, with Tom's influence. I heard Neelix was asking everyone at dinner last night what an appropriate get well gift would be. And he was particularly intent on pestering our chief helmsman.""Ah. Tom gave him a sarcastic answer and Neelix took it as literal." It wouldn't be the first time and won't be the last. Pointing to the tin, she asks, "What about this?" Ducking his head to hide his sheepish grin, he answers, "That went with the rose."Kathryn raises her eyebrows. "Did it? Chocolates you think? From…?""It appears to be a tin of chocolates, yes, but there doesn't seem to be a name." he evades the last question."Mm. Someone was very thoughtful. And generous."Chakotay doesn't answer; tugging on his ear, he turns to her replicator. "I've been ordered to make sure you're fed while I'm here. What would you like?"Knowing she's not going to worm her way out of it, Kathryn picks up the tin and moves to the sofa, sitting and crossing her legs."Something easy on the stomach, please. Toast. Maybe some soup," she adds as her stomach growls. "I thought I was the only one with the rank to give you orders."Chakotay smirks. "You know that and I know that. But let's not tell the Doctor. We wouldn't want to deflate his ego."He places the dinner order and, once the food materializes, brings the tray over to the coffee table, sitting on the couch beside her."Toast and vegetable broth with noodles for the lady."Kathryn eyes the meals on the tray and whines, "You got grilled cheese?"Chuckling, Chakotay picks up half of the gooey sandwich and sets it on her plate, swapping it with one of the two slices of buttered toast. "Better?""Better. Thanks," she adds softly, looking up at him with a smile.He stares back at her for much too long before clearing his throat. "Best not let it get cold."His hand reaches for his half of the sandwich but she covers it with her own, freezing him in place."Everything alright," she questions in a whisper.Chakotay licks his lips, then looks up at her, studying her face once more before meeting her gaze. "I'm glad to see you like this again. Back to yourself. It… It was hard. When you came back, when you were all…""Borgified?" She smiles, leaning closer."I was going to say Borgy." He grins back."I'm glad I'm back to myself, too," Kathryn admits.In the next moment she's swallowed up by his arms as Chakotay wraps her in a fierce bear hug, pressing her to his chest. His breath is raspy against her neck and she holds him, hands patting and rubbing his back while he works through his emotions."It's okay, I'm okay," she soothes when he pulls away, his eyes shining with unshed tears.He opens his mouth to speak, but only nods, blinking rapidly.Kathryn gives him another moment, then imitates him from a few minutes ago, "Better?"Chakotay grins. "Better. Thank you. And… I'm sorry.""No. No 'sorry.' That's not allowed tonight," she says sternly."Aye Captain.""Now, let's get to our dinner. Because then we can have dessert." She holds up the chocolate tin and gives it a little shake."You're going to share," he asks with a skeptical brow."To be determined," Kathryn laughs. "Depends on how good- I mean bad they are. Wouldn't want you to suffer if they're terrible."Chakotay snorts. "You're always looking out for me.""Just as you always look out for me," she says in a gentle tone. He reaches over and squeezes her shoulder. "Always."