Three Small Words
by Myu

Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager and everything associated with it is owned by CBS/Paramount
Notes: Short addition to Bliss (season 5), so there are spoilers.

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Seven of Nine stood in Captain Janeway's Ready Room, chin held up in a defiant posture.  Normally the Captain was open to all suggestions and opinions offered by her staff, but in this case she seemed to be completely closed to every doubt Seven attempted to raise about their current situation.  A wormhole leading directly to Earth's coordinates had been detected, yet no-one but Seven appeared to find the sudden discovery at all suspicious in any way.  She had come to Captain Janeway yet again to voice her concerns and was rebuked once more - everything was lost and the Captain began another tired speech about adapting to changes in circumstances.  Chakotay entered the Ready Room with a padd in hand and Janeway turned her attention to him. 
"You're getting to be quite popular - that's another letter for you." He offered the padd to her and smiled pleasantly.  She took it and began to read, a half-smile touching her lips as her eyes moved over the content.
"It's from Mark," Janeway noted, her eyes darting to Chakotay for a moment in a fashion that Seven couldn't interpret, "Apparently his engagement didn't work out."
The Captain and her First Officer chatted good-naturedly for a moment and Seven once again had the feeling that she was a complete outsider - they were off together in their own idyllic dream world while she stood there with her feet planted firmly on the ground. 
"If that was all, Seven?" Captain Janeway looked at her expectantly.
"Yes," Seven answered abruptly and left the room.

Kathryn watched Seven go, shook her head slightly and looked to Chakotay.  She spoke in a tone that exuded an air tinged with quiet enthusiasm.
"Well done about the Academy offer.  It's all you could have hoped for - I'm happy for you."
"Thanks.  The news about Mark - well, that's..." He paused.
Kathryn tapped a few commands into the padd and laid it face-down on the desk.
"I've drafted my response.  'Care to offer an opinion?"
"Of course."
"It's short, but I think it gets the message across.  Just three small words." Her lips were curved in a tiny smile, the likes of which Chakotay had rarely witnessed cross her face.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked, trying not to grimace at the sour taste in his mouth.
"Yes, why not?"
He could feel her eyes on him and wasn't sure he wanted to look. 
"Read it."
She slid the padd across the surface of the desk towards him.  He picked it up and hesitated before looking down at it.
"He said his engagement didn't work out.  And so you say..." Chakotay glanced at the display, where three small words appeared:
But mine did.
"I think it's perfect," He smiled finally and set the padd back down.
"It wasn't my first choice, but I think it'll do."
"What could you have been thinking of first?  Wait, let me guess," He said seriously, rubbing his chin and sitting on the edge of the desk, "Was it 'Go to hell'?"
Kathryn snorted with laughter. 
"No.  But I'd consider that."
"'Serves you right'?"
"No."
"'Kiss my -'"
"- enough," Kathryn cut in, putting her finger to his lips before resting her hand on his chest.
"Should we send him a wedding invitation?"
"Maybe.  Or I could just send him the first two of your suggestions," She considered, fingering the edge of his collar.
"Not the third?"
"No," Kathryn said firmly, pulling him toward her by the neck of his shirt, "Yes, it serves him right and he can go to hell, but you're the only one who can kiss me."
"I can kiss your -?"
"- not in the ready room, Commander."
"You're pulling rank?  Well, there's only one thing I can do," He said smoothly, moving to her side of the desk.
"Mm?" Kathryn murmured, nibbling on the edge of his bottom lip.
"I'll have to get you out of uniform," Chakotay replied, hoisting her neatly over his shoulder before she had time to react.
"Chakotay, don't you dare -!"
Kathryn's screech was lost in her laughter as Chakotay called for the Computer to seal the doors, closing them away into their own private bliss to exchange three small words over and over that, despite their simplicity, carried the weight of the world.

- End -

Additional notes: Achoo!  Sorry about all the fluff.  I decided that that scene in Bliss needed a little addition and this was the result - and since the lines in the episode make no sense anyway (someone didn't read the Hunters script - Kathryn said specifically that Mark married a woman from his work) I thought it couldn't hurt to add some nonsense of my own.  Comments, questions, requests for hankies etc. to miss_myu(at)hotmail(dot)com.