Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters, owning is irrelevant, resistance is futile.... opps! You get my drift.

Yet another epilogue to "Hunters"

The Party's over...

"It's all your fault!"

Kathryn Janeway put her hands over her ears as if she could block out the memory of Ensign Katero's pain filled voice. Slowly she moved her hands and let them drop listlessly at her side. Standing at her window, she stared out at the stars, was Katero right, she wondered, was it her fault, Starfleets fault? Vaguely she heard the door chime. She didn't move or respond, she knew who it was, did he blame her too?

Chakotay stood outside the Captain's quarters, worry etched on his face. Why wasn't she answering? He knew the events of the past few days had effected her more than she would ever admit. A sour smile twisted his lips, those events had touched the heart and soul of all of the crew. It would take some time to rebuild the bridges so carefully forged over the last 4 years. He leaned on the chime again and waited.

In her quarters Kathryn stood silently. Go away, she thought, just go away, I can't bear it if I see the same anger in your eyes. She dropped to the couch on her knees and buried her head in her arms. Please, she pleaded silently, just go away.

Chakotay wasn't about to go away. The scene in the holodeck was still fresh in his mind. It was something he'd likely never forget, the hurt in Kathryn's eye's when Katero had lashed out at her, the rage on Katero's face mirrored on the faces of some the other Maquis. He had to see her, he knew she was here, this is where she fled after Tuvok had subdued Katero. "Computer, security override Chakotay2alpha." After a moment the computer answered "Override successful, entrance allowed."

Kathryn heard the swish of the door and felt Chakotay's presence. She wanted to be angry with him for invading her privacy, but she didn't have the strength. Without lifting her head she spoke. "Where is Ensign Katero?"

"In the brig." Chakotay answered stopping a few feet away.

Janeway lifted a hand to her communicator. "Janeway to Tuvok."

"Tuvok here."

"Release Ensign Katero."

"Captain?"

"Do it!" Janeway rasped, dropping her hand and lowering her head.

Chakotay moved slowly toward her. "Kathryn?" He reached out a tentative hand. As she turned her face slowly toward him, he froze at the sight of her tears that streaked face, she so rarely showed any weakness, even to him. He longed to throw her precious protocol to the wind and take her in his arms.

"Do you blame me?" she whispered, her tear filled eyes searched his face afraid of what she might find there. As usual Chakotay's face was still, once again she envied him the mask he hid behind. She knew how deeply he felt this loss.

In an instant, Chakotay was beside her, gathering her in his arms. "No Kathryn, no," he reassured her.

Kathryn let her head fall on his chest, savoring the safety she felt there.

"Was it my fault?" She felt his hand beneath her chin, lifting her face, his brown eyes searching her blue ones.

"No." he answered simply, "How could you be to blame for events 70 light years away? For the actions of Cardassia?"

"But if I hadn't been chasing you, if I hadn't taken this mission, then you would have been there."

"Then I would be dead, " Chakotay said simply as he reached up and gently brushed her hair from her face. "My presence, the presence of my ship would not have changed the outcome."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You must have heard the rumors about the Gamma Quadrant, about the Jem Ha'Dar. Fighting machines, in the service of some unknown species. They must be the Cardies new allies."

She nodded, it was her habit to research each mission thoroughly, a habit she retained even in the Delta quadrant. "Do the others feel like Katero?"

Chakotay felt her relax slightly, but didn't remove his arm from her shoulder. "To be honest, I don't know, B'Elanna doesn't, Ayala and Ramses don't. Most of the others won't. There are two or three who I watch very closely. I'll speak to them personally."

"Damn!" she whispered, "I thought we were past the us versus them. Maybe these letters were a mistake."

"Kathryn, look at me." Chakotay spoke very softly, "Katero and the others were a worry to me long before the letters. They aligned themselves with Seska long before Voyager. She recruited them, I suspect, for her own purposes. They are three among thirty."

Kathryn Janeway searched her first officer's face for the longest time before answering him. "You never told me. Why?"

"I wanted to protect you," he held up a hand to stall the rush of words that bubbled to her lips. "it's my job to take care of the crew problems, remember? I know how desperately you wanted the crews to blend and work together and, Kathryn, with a few exceptions it's worked. B'Elanna, Tom, Vorick, Carey, so many of the others, they've learned to work together, to live together. Even Seven has even been accepted as part of the crew. Voyager is their home now. Letters from the Alpha Quadrant won't change that."

Kathryn sighed and leaned her head back against his shoulder, they sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. She broke the silence, "What about you Chakotay?"

Without hesitation he answered her, "It is not your fault, you are blameless in whatever occurred back home."

"Thank you, but that isn't what I meant. Is Voyager home for you?"

This time he hesitated, but only for a moment. "Voyager has been home for me since the first day I stepped aboard, Kathryn. I had been adrift for many years. After I joined Starfleet, my visits home were few and far between. I spent years aboard various ships, I taught for a semester at the Academy. I joined the Maquis barely a year before we met. Voyager has been the longest I have spent in one place since the Academy. My mother liked to say home is where your heart is, an old Earth saying. My heart is here."

Kathryn reached for his hand. "For a long time I thought my heart was in the Alpha Quadrant. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, all I wanted to do was go home." She smiled at the puzzled look on Chakotay's face. "An old Earth children's story, about a little girl who finds herself whisked to the land of Oz by a tornado. I'm sure we have a holonovel in the databanks."

"And now?" Chakotay searched her face for the answer.

"And now", she reached up and touched his face, "my home and my heart are here, aboard Voyager." Kathryn leaned over and gently kissed him.

The End