The one constellation we didn t create a story for, though, was the Rose. Somehow we never got to it. The night after that, we sat outside after dark by unspoken agreement and we began to talk about ourselves. Not about Voyager, or even the Maquis, but inconsequential things at first things like being the oldest child, and parent s expectations, and little recollections from childhood. Each confidence led to another one, and another.
People speak too casually of baring their souls, as if it is done simply, or without risk.
We are private people, Chakotay and I, inclined to keep our innermost selves hidden. But in those warm, dark nights, we told each other things we had not shared with anyone else in a very long time, if we ever shared them at all. Shyly at first, the trust between us built night by night, a bit at a time. I began to feel as if I were two people, the nighttime Kathryn and the daytime Kathryn. In the daytime, I could deny the reality of our situation, including the physical attraction that was growing daily between us.