Debt 7

The Conclusion...

Dedicated to those who have waited a long time for this. I am sorry.

He looked down at her small frame now, amazed at how much he still loved her, even after all these years apart. He had loved her for years, he had loved her longer and deeper then any other women he had ever known.

Kathryn stood in his arms. Had he just kissed her, or had she only dreamed it in her mind? He was holding her tightly, but she was still trying to process everything that had happened. Her mind went blank as she smiled at him, she leaned up to kiss him again, and then everything crashed back into her brain. She took a step back, and looked him in the eyes. "Chakotay, I have to get back to work now, and you need to go back to Emily." He wanted to say something to her, but she had already left.

Chakotay sat at his table silently. He took one of the salt shakers and slowly pushed it in front of him, side to side. He sighed again and took a sip of his water. For once he really had no idea what he wanted. I mean he knew what he wanted, it was the same thing that he had wanted for years. He wanted her, but he had the feeling that she didn't want him. And that wounded his pride, or what was left of it.

"I'm tired of this," he said to himself. He was just about ready to get up and go back up to the hotel, when she appeared in front of him again. She sat in front of him, silently. He watched her for a moment, carefully. And then she spoke.

"Chakotay, we need to talk about this."

He shook his head and in the lowest voice he could muscle up, he said, "No.".

"What?"

He got angry. He had no idea where it came from but his anger overtook him. "I said no. I am tired of talking about us Kathryn, especially when there is not even an us. Honestly I have never talked so much about talking."

Kathryn was quiet. "I see."

And then he added something that she would never forget for the rest of her life.

"Kathryn, let me ask you this, Have you ever just wanted to fuck me? No talking, no thinking, no analyzing ever situation, nothing. Just you and I, making love all day and all night?"

She kept quiet. Perhaps it was the shock, or perhaps she was still trying to figure out, why he had asked her such a question. She didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet. For once, he was the one in charge, and she felt small.

Chakotay shook his head. " I see. Well Kathryn, I need to be leaving now, you have a good rest of the day, and I hope that everything works out for you in the future." And then he got up and left.

A few weeks later-

Phoebe was planting some pansies in the front yard. She had discovered that they grew best by the front of the house, by the side of the porch. She was so engrossed in making the rows that she didn't notice that Kathryn was walking up the path.

Kathryn turned to her sister, put her hands on her hips and gave her sister the captains stare.

"Your second row is off by 2 cm, please see that you fix it."

Phoebe looked at her sister, bit her bottom lip, and grabbed a dirt clod and threw it at Kathryn. "No thanks sis, I think I will keep this row exactly the same."

Kathryn grabbed her own weapon. The garden hose. "Haven't I told you many times Phoebe, that you should never mess with your older, wiser sister?"

Phoebe looked at her sister. "Who is that coming up the path?"

Kathryn was not going to fall for that. "Nice try sis."

"Kathryn, I am serious!"

Kathryn was just about ready to turn the hose on, when she heard a voice behind her. She dropped the hose, just as she was turning around, she noticed Phoebe's face. And then she saw why, Phoebe looked like she was going to cry.

In front of her stood Chakotay. Dressed like he was going to a wedding, in a full tuxedo. He looked stunning, he looked better then stunning. He took her breath, away. And then all he did was take 2 large steps and and he was at her side, he glanced at her eyes for one moment, and then his lips were on hers.

When the kiss finally ended, he looked at her one last time, he pulled something out of his pocket, and put it in her hand. She looked at the box, and then she looked back at him, but he was already kneeling in front of her.

"Marry me Kathryn. There is no one else but you."

Kathryn opened the box. Inside was a ring, that made her cry. And then she realized something, she turned to her sister and her sister smiled. "It's the same one Kathryn, its mom's ring. He came by the house a week ago and told me the whole story. I told him to ask you to marry him, with mom's ring. Kathryn, don't be an ass. He loves you, say yes, because if you don't I will."

Chakotay let a laugh roll out of him. But he continued to watch Kathryn.

She nodded her head.

"Was that a yes Kathryn?"

"Yes."

The two of them were married that weekend. In the same spot that her parents were married, under the large maple tree that grew in the backyard.

Phoebe noticed how happy and content her sister was. And she was glad. Because finally after many years, she had found some level of happiness. As the couple was saying their final I do's, Phoebe thought about her mom and her dad, and wished that they had been alive to see this. But she knew that a part of them was witnessing it first hand.

The love that her mother and father shared, was the same love that Kathryn and Chakotay shared.

The End.