Even though they were on board a suitably sized vessel to receive guests, the Starfleet officers preferred to stay the night in the escape pod that had been brought into the cargo bay. Two empty mugs of tea sat on the small round table in the centre of their living quarters, along with a plate of half eaten biscuits. Long hours of constant problem solving and shipwide repairs had left them exhausted, so when their meeting with the Nihydron was complete they immediately turned in for the night, barely having the energy to finish their evening beverages.

The lights were low but still bright enough to see each other lying on the padded benches on opposite sides of the room. It was a mere two meter gap between them and after spending hours on a bigger ship, the escape pod suddenly felt incredibly claustrophobic.
Exhaling deeply, the security officer lay on his back and stared up at the steel grey ceiling, his arms raised above his head to rest his head on his hands.
"Can't sleep?" she muttered across to him quietly, and he rolled onto his side to face her.
"Not really," he raised his brow and tiredly rubbed his eye with his fore finger, "I'm just- concerned. They agreed to helping us so quickly and without even discussing it between themselves first."
"Maybe they agree with whatever Forhn says," she guessed, moving a stray hair behind her ear as she watched his worrisome features intensify. He seemed really anxious about the Nihydron's decision but she couldn't help but be glad. So why wasn't he?
"You're worried they're not going to make it.  Then you'll have their deaths on your conscience," she predicted his thoughts and he shot her a serious glance, making her chew the inside of her cheek nervously.
"Lee, they have agreed to help us on their own terms. As much as it may be a fifty-fifty chance of us surviving the attack on the Krenim, it will be worth the try."
He couldn't argue with that as he pushed himself up to rest on his elbow, his silk shirt tugging over his chest. "Do you believe it's possible?" he thought aloud, gazing past her shoulder into somewhere she couldn't follow.
"What's possible?" she asked, running her hand over her pillow to scrunch the fabric up into her palm. She already knew what he was asking but she didn't want to fall prey to her doubts.
"Is it possible to stop the Krenim Imperial? A ship that's five times the size as Voyager with the ability to erase whole civilisations?"

She bit her lip and breathed heavily through her nose, memories of its immense structure placing itself in her minds eye. Even though Voyager was small in comparison and being slowly torn to shreds, Captain Janeway still had a plan; make as many repairs as possible to then go back for Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris who had been beamed onto the Krenim ship many months ago. Whether they were still alive was another story, but she could only hope that they were faring somewhat better then they had done.

"The Captain won't give up so easily. I believe she'll go the ultimate mile to set things straight, maybe even figure out a way to change things back the way they were before all this went wrong," she replied hopeful. Lee scoffed almost angrily at her, slumping onto his back again and folding his arms over his chest. She stared at him wide eyed.
"What is it? Don’t you think it's feasible?" she asked in a gentle tone to prevent him snapping back. She watched him close his eyes and tense his jaw, the muscles on his arms also tensing as he folded them tighter over his chest. She expected him to argue, shout back, share his doubts of their unlikely success. But he just shook his head lightly, eyes blinking open as his lips parted to speak.
"Possibly," he replied simply and rolled over to face the wall, his back to her shielding him from her confused reaction.
What was that all about? she wondered, tossing over herself to face the wall on her right. Why had he reacted so bitterly to the Nihydron alliance? This was what they had both wanted from the first day they stepped into the escape pod; a chance to bring in allies to help defend Voyager. Maybe because he was a security officer he had certain views or feelings about going into battle with strangers they'd only met 24 hours ago? When she really thought about it, the realisation of going back, seeing the devastation of the ship's outer hull, facing the Krenim warship again... She wouldn't let herself focus on those things because that wasn't important. The important thing was to save Voyager, the Captain, Neelix and the others. The inevitable that might be them having to destroy the time weapon wasn't something she liked to dwell on, as she wasn't sure how her life would be after that occurred. Would she return to her normal life on an undamaged Voyager, working away down in Engineering with Lieutenant B'elanna giving her almost impossible schedules to accomplish? Or would the destruction of the weapon cause a rift so dangerous that it would wipe them all out with it, therefore finding herself never existing in the first place?

She shivered, sitting up in bed and bringing her knees up to her chest as she felt a well overdue panic attack building up inside. Of all days, she moaned internally and glanced sideward at Lee. He still had his back to her and she suddenly felt incredibly lonely. Please don't shut me out.
Quietly getting up, she tiptoed to the replicator to get a mug of hot water. Whispering to the computer, it materialised a mug and she carefully picked it up, blowing the surface of the water before taking a sip. It was still too hot but she didn't really care, all she wanted was to feel something, anything to take her mind off the inevitable. Instead, she found herself crying silently into the mug, tears mixing with the hot water as she shivered in her silk night dress. The need to cry hadn't occurred to her until now but she had been holding it in since their first encounter with the Nihydron just over a day ago. Clamping a hand over her mouth she let herself sob into her palm, trying hard to muffle the noises without waking-
"I'm sorry," his voice appeared over her shoulder and she turned startled to see him standing there, wearily running his fingers through his hair. Sniffling away her tears, she breathed in deeply as he continued quietly.
"There is something that has been troubling me and it's been troubling me every second of every day, and I cannot carry it any longer." He frowned sadly and looked down at his bare feet, her own small feet pointing inwards shyly as she stood before him.
"Have you considered," he began, his eyes glistening, "that if we go through with this, if we go back and help to stop the Krenim and potentially change time and all that has occurred in this year of hell... that we might be erasing what we have?"
What we have... She stared at him, the mug forgotten in her hands as she met his eyes. They were warm and so full of emotion that she didn't know how to respond. Her lips parted to let out a breath of shock, eyes still wide and confused at his words. Did he really mean..?
“Please (y/n), correct me if I’m wrong in assuming your feelings are the same as mine,” he stammered desperately, stepping forward so the gap between them were inches at most, "All this time I have been holding back, knowing that it would be less painful if I didn't allow myself to feel the way I do but— the truth is, I can't bare to lose you as it is and I haven't even told you how much I-" he stopped as his voice broke, his eyes flicking up to the ceiling to hold back his emotions.
"Oh Lee," she smiled through her sobs, quickly putting the mug back on the replicator pad before stepping closer. He grasped her hands gently, bringing them up to his chest as droplets fought their way at the corners of his eyes. She had never seen him so upset, in fact she had never seen Ensign Lee - security officer of the U.S.S. Starship Voyager - look so... human.
Bringing her hand up to his face, he let her palm smooth over his skin as a tear rolled down his cheek, eyes deep with longing.
"You mean so much to me," he whispered her name, watching her sparkling eyes intently as she realised his true intentions.
"I... I never even let myself dream that you felt this way," she stammered and he placed his large hand on the base of her skull, her hair intertwined in his fingers as he smiled down at her.
"But somehow, I always knew," she smiled back broadly, squeezing his hands gently as she let out a nervous sigh.

Suddenly, she felt reality stab her in the stomach and almost fainted at the thought that raced through her mind. Her knees felt weak and she held his hand tighter just in case she buckled down to the floor. Lee frowned in worry and searched her face for answers, his hold on her tightening too as if she’d fade away any moment. Something they both would begin to fear.
"If we destroy the time weapon, resetting time to before the Krenim attack, then... we would never have met," she muttered slowly and Lee nodded sadly in reply. Is this why he never let us get close all this time? For fear of being torn apart by another reality? Tears spilled from her cheeks as her mouth dropped open, finally understanding Lee's concerns as her own.
"No..." she uttered soundlessly and her small, shaking body was swiftly scooped up by the security officer, his strong arms hugging her fondly against his chest as her feet left the ground. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck, this feeling between them finally out in the open and overwhelmingly mutual. Words were no longer capable of being spoken, the pain of their ultimate separation the only thing on their minds making their hearts break into thousands of pieces.
Weary and impassioned, Lee carried her over to the bench and lowering her down, sitting nervously next to her. Then he placed his forefinger and thumb gently between her chin and tilted her face to meet his. Their eyes searched over each other’s features, remembering as much of each other as they could as they leaned closer.
Their lips joined in a kiss so tender that she felt she like she was going to melt on the spot. Taking her into his arms, Lee kissed her again and cradled her head in his hands as she cried quiet tears. It was too much. Such heavenly bliss she knew was going to be so harshly ripped away stung her deeply.

"I can't-" she gasped, pulling back so she could breathe in deeply as he tenderly wiped her wet cheeks with his thumbs, "I can't loose you."
Lee sighed through his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, chest heaving with the struggle to contain his own cries of sorrow. Stroking her hair soothingly, he pressed his forehead against hers and she ran her hands through his thick hair to comfort him. Their tears subsided for a moment and they could clearly hear the low humming of the Nihydron vessel's impulse engines mixing with the soft breaths escaping their lungs. Lee gulped and moved back a little so he could see her eyes shining back at him, and she couldn't help but smile.
"We could run away," she stroked his hair away from his forehead, wishing they could but knowing they could not, "But the needs of the many..."
"Out-way the needs of the few," he grinned sadly, confused and anxious at the pending doom that awaited them. Watching the heart breaking dysphoria deep within his gaze, she leaned forward and surprised him with a kiss of her own, kneeling up between his legs just so she could reach him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hummed happily into her lips. Their connection was sweet and sincere, a moment that was most likely to be forgotten by the time they defeat the Krenim. And they will. She felt it in her gut.

Both Lee and (y/n) knew that the fate of Voyager far outweighed their own feelings, but if there was a chance to bring back their family, their friends and home, then maybe, just maybe, there was a chance they might find each other again in another universe.