Pairing: J/C
Rating: T
Summary: And so the ritual continued...
Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom own the series and the characters that are related to Star Trek: Voyager, but the story is mine.
Length: 943 words
Date: December 1998

It was just two weeks since they had been thrown into the Delta Quadrant.

Two weeks since they had been uprooted and pulled away from everyone they loved and cherished. Kathryn had been forced to meld two crews. Neither of them wanting to be anywhere near the other. She had a Maquis Commander, and mutiny was a constant threat... but it was Christmas Eve, and all she could think about was Mark. They had spent many an eve together, and had eventually become lovers. He was always there for her, and she feared that seventy years from now, when they sailed into space dock, all she would be to him was a memory of a life he had once lived, and a love he had once lost.

So on this Christmas Eve, she replicated a Christmas tree. One she could assemble each year, and she placed the present she would have given to him under the tree. The present that said 'I love you', the present that said 'I will always be there', the present which considering her present status and predicament was a lie.

And so the ritual began.

The next year, on their second anniversary in the Delta Quadrant she realized Christmas was just around the corner. She sat and stared out the view port at the endless stream of stars. She sat and dreamed. She stared at the picture on her desk, of her and Mark and her dog Bear: Of happier times and of more content days. They say that time heals all wounds, and it seemed as the months passed, the pain lessened. She still missed him though, and as she would have, had she been on earth, she placed a present under the tree. She hoped one day, he would receive the gifts. The tag read, to Mark love Kathryn always forever.
And so the ritual continued.

Halfway through her second year in the Delta Quadrant, something happened. She couldn't quite remember anymore what Mark looked like. She couldn't quite picture his face, or smell his cologne. The picture was turned over and his voice was forever silenced in her mind.
And so the ritual changed.

Christmas Eve the anniversary of their third year in the Delta Quadrant brought with it many changes: Many new bonds and many new friends. She brought out the Christmas tree, and placed a present underneath it. This time it was not for Mark. He would always hold a special place in her heart, but not the same place he once had. A new man filled that void, but she was still afraid, still unsure, and so the gift was laid, and the year passed. This gift was a locket: A locket for her would-be love. For the man she wanted to share her life with, but which fear and protocol prevented. The locket was a silver locket containing half of the Starfleet emblem, and half of that of his tribe. A locket which when opened would forever seal their fate.

And so the ritual lengthened and morphed.

May 20th, her birthday, she packed away another gift: One more for her than him. It was a pair of baby booties, a dream she wanted him to fulfill, but wasn’t sure if it would ever happen; A defeat in some ways, her dreaming of a life here, but a step in the right direction in others. Voyager was now home.

And so the ritual became something more.

Christmas Eve, the anniversary of their fourth year in the Delta Quadrant: A time of change for Kathryn Janeway. The present for Chakotay this year was a set of rings for the two of them; Wedding bands for each of them, a promise for a new year, and a new life - A dream of years, and days to come - A love which would conquer all, and which would last an eternity. She loved him. She had to tell him. She had to make him realize.

And so the ritual became their promise.

It was Christmas Morning, and the chime rang out on her door. "Come". It was Chakotay, the other half of her being, like the pendant all those years ago.

"Kathryn, Merry Christmas." She ran over and hugged him. They talked like they had never talked before, they became one. He opened all the presents he had unknowingly collected over the years. Then there was only one left. He had opened the pendent, and worn it. He swore to never part with it. The final one was opened. The wedding bands were presented and the answer was: Yes.

And so life started.

A year to that day: Christmas morning, the anniversary of their fifth year in the Delta Quadrant. They were happily married, and could ask for nothing else in life. Kathryn had placed only one present under the tree. Chakotay awoke and walked into the room where Kathryn eagerly awaited.

He saw the solitary present and walked up to her.

"Go on, open it."

He did so; he pulled out a pair of baby booties. There are times in one's life where words are not necessary and this was one of them.

And so life and the ritual continued, and was one of those things, which would be passed on from generation to generation: A promise for the next generation, and for the last. A promise which was not easily given, but which always occurred....

And so living the dreams began.

THE END