Disclaimer: Paramount; all mighty ruler of the universe.

Chakotay strode down the corridor towards the mess hall. He would rather have avoided Neelix this early in the morning, but he was starving and even the Talaxian’s cooking sounded tempting. As he rounded the corner he barley missed colliding with a young woman as she came scurrying towards him. He put his arms out to catch.

"Slow down there, what’s the rush?" He asked a friendly smile on his face. He recognised the girl as Justine O’Donnell, a former member of his crew, now working in engineering as an ensign. She looked up at him wide eyed, glancing over her shoulder quickly, almost fearfully.

"Noth…Nothing sir" She stuttered. He released her arms and looked quizzically at her. She bolted off without looking back.

He turned to stare at her quickly retreating back. She was a quiet girl while she was with the Maquis, but she was even quieter on Voyager. Now that he thought of is she never attended any of the get-togethers, or the talent nights. He recalled when he first met her, looking at him with those soulful brown eyes. She always seemed younger than her 18 years and he wouldn’t have taken her on his crew if he hadn’t sensed that she would have just asked a less scrupulous Captain. He’d figured that at least he could keep an eye on her. And he had, keeping her onboard and making sure she never went on the more dangerous missions. There was something familiar about her that he just couldn’t place. His stomach rumbled loudly breaking his reverie. Shaking his head he made a mental note to talk to the young ensign later.

Looking around the mess hall she spotted Kathryn eyeing the food on her plate suspiciously, poking it with her fork. His heart twinged. He ignored it. Quickly he grabbed a plate of what he hoped was fruit and sat down beside her.

"Good morning captain" She looked up briefly before returning to the investigation of her breakfast.

"Is it?" He grinned; one thing he had swiftly learned about the Captain was that she definitely wasn’t a morning person, especially if she hadn’t had her cup of coffee. He pushed her cup under her nose and watched as she absent-mindedly picked it up, taking a long gulp. She smiled. He started eating his fruit finding it surprisingly delicious. He pointed at her plate with his fork and said between mouthfuls.

"You should try it. I think Neelix is having an off day, it’s actually edible." Kathryn laughed softly and took the suggestion. Finishing it quickly she sat back and cradled her coffee.

"How are things Commander? The only time I ever get to see you is when you are handing me reports." He grinned at her.

"The downside of command." She nodded.

"Sometimes I yearn for my lowly ensign days." Chakotay grimaced.

"I don’t, my first Captain had to be the most obnoxious, condescending man in existence. I was ecstatic when I got transferred. But speaking of ensigns, have you ever talked to Justine O’Donnell?" Kathryn looked back at him blankly and shook her head.

"I’m sorry I don’t…"

"She’s an ensign in engineering, she was part of the Maquis crew." Kathryn frowned.

"I though I knew everyone on this ship. Unfortunately there aren’t that many to remember."
"The only reason I'm mentioning her is because she almost ran into me in the corridor. I mean she was quiet on my ship, but she seems to be even more withdrawn here. I don’t know how well she has integrated with the crew." She looked at him intently.

"How old is she?"

"She must be about 23 or 24 now."

"I didn’t realise you recruited children Chakotay." Her tone was slightly disapproving and he winced at it.

"18 is hardly a child Kathryn. Besides if I hadn’t taken her on, someone else would have and I thought that at least I could keep and eye on her, keep her out of danger." She took a sip of coffee.

"Is she Bajoran?" He shook his head.

"No human, from Earth." A look of surprise crossed her face. He looked rueful.

"I think she was having problems with her mother. She wanted her to join Starfleet. Justine didn’t want to." He missed the quick flash of pain that crossed Kathryn’s face. He continued

"I guess she reminded me of myself at that age, except I defied my father by joining Starfleet." She set the cup down on the table.

"So what do you plan to do about her?" Chakotay sighed deeply.

"That’s the problem. I’m not sure what to do. I’ll have to talk to her first." He glanced at the chronometer on the wall.

"I've got to go now. I’m having a meeting with Tuvok about security protocols." He stood up to leave.

"Tell me how it goes with Ensign O’Donnell won’t you." She laughed. He looked at her.

"What?" She covered her hand with her mouth and shook her head.

"Nothing I was just trying to picture as an ensign, it just doesn’t seem right." He smiled, slightly sadly back at her.

"I was once." He said quietly. He turned and left the mess hall. Sometimes it killed him that she didn’t remember.