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“I really hate time travel. Have I ever told you that?”
“On more than one occasion”.
“Of course. I guess it’s only logical if we have lived through so many things as you claim.”
“Yes, I’m sorry to say that you will experience time travel in different situations throughout the years”.
“This encounter being just one of the first examples”.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that you will not remember this once I reset the timeline, so I guess this encounter would not count to your tally”.
“Not much of a consolation prize…”
“Don’t worry: every time you rise on top of any difficulty that time travel can throw at you”.
“You know, Chakotay, you are quite an interesting man. Mind if I ask you one last question?”
“Will I have to break the Temporal Prime Directive to answer it?”
“Maybe, just a little. For two people who started off as enemies, it seems we get to know each other pretty well. So I've been wondering. Just how close do we get?”
“We… get close enough”.
“What does that even mean?”
“If you are worried, I can tell you there are some lines we never cross.”
“But?”
“But that doesn't mean we don’t know they’re there. And, sometimes, the lines are blurry. And, others, they are painfully visible”.
“I think I understand”.
“You will. More than you know.”
“You know, it occurs to me that this timeline will be reset soon. I will never remember any of this… but you will”.
“Where are you getting at?”
“You are an attractive man, Chakotay, I won’t lie to you. And if you say we get so close… what’s the harm in, say, a kiss? It’s not like we have much time for anything else, but…”
“I don’t know, Kathryn.”
“Oh. I’m sorry I even suggested it”.
“No, no, no! It’s not that. It’s just that I am scared that if I kiss you now, I won’t be able to live knowing that I cannot kiss you anymore.”
“I understand”.
“I’m sorry”.
“No harm done. Come, let’s get that timeline restored. Who knows? Maybe your future still holds more than one kiss”.
“One can only hope”.