(By Penny A. Proctor.  Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and its characters.  This is a companion piece to season 7's "Workforce").

It was the time of day that Neelix enjoyed the most: the last meal rush was over, he had finished most of his clean-up, and could begin preparations for the next few days without feeling pressured. Although the mess hall was still open for business, only one or two people ever came in, giving him an opportunity for a good chat.

He learned more about crew morale during those chats that almost the entire rest of the day. Somehow, people felt more inclined to speak freely in the wee small hours (as Paris called this time of ship's night) than in the light of day. Whether they came looking for advice or just a sympathetic ear, he was happy to oblige. Those were the times when he felt he really belonged on Voyager.

The mess hall was empty that night, though. It was the end of the first full day since the crew had been recovered from Quarra and those that weren't working hard to compete repairs were sleeping. The treatments to restore their memories had been physically taxing, and almost everyone was exhausted. Of course, Neelix had been lucky enough that he had never been subjected to the memory tampering to begin with, so he felt fine.

Humming to himself – a bouncy little tune that had been popular on Talax when he was a teenager – he set about preparing the vegetables for tomorrow's stew. He began slicing in rhythm to the melody. It felt so good that he begin to sing as he chopped. "Da-DA-da-da-DA, da-da-da-DA. Diddle-da-diddle-DA-da-"

"That's catchy."

"Captain!" Neelix looked up, startled. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I didn't want to disturb you."

She was still in uniform, Neelix noted, and she looked as if she had been awake for a long time. "Coffee?"

"Believe it or not, I've probably had enough caffeine today." She looked over the basket of fruit and selected one of the green apples they had picked up on Nar Shada.

"I certainly didn't expect to see you up so late, not on your first day back."

She smiled ruefully, and leaned on the counter as if confiding in him. "Truth is, I can't sleep. I guess I'm too wound up."

"Well, that's not surprising, considering everything you've been through." He had an inspiration. "How about a nice cup of tarkellian tea? It's very soothing."

"Sounds good." She waited as he went to the replicator and returning with the steaming mug. "I've read the reports, Neelix. You performed admirably during this crisis."

He warmed at the praise. "Thank you, Captain. That means a lot to me." He hesitated, then asked, "How are you doing, if I may ask?"

"I'm fine," she said easily. "I suppose I should be angrier about it, but it all turned out all right and no permanent damage was done."

"I'm glad." Neelix suddenly felt shy. "I was afraid that, well, that you'd been hurt more than anyone else by the whole experience."

She looked at him in surprise, then cocked her head and smiled. "Were you afraid I was suffering from a broken heart?"

"Well, you were awfully close to that Jaffen…" Neelix let the thought trail off. It was none of his business, none at all. He braced himself for the icy blast that was sure to come.

But she surprised him by reaching out and patting his hand. "It's nice of you to worry, but there's no need. Leaving Jaffen wasn't all that hard. I wasn't in love with him, even when I didn't remember Voyager."

"You weren't?"

"Not any more than you were in love with Ch'Rega when the Klingons were on board."

He blushed to the roots of his hair. "I, uh, didn't realize you knew about that."

She laughed easily. "Neelix, there isn't much on this ship I don't hear about eventually. I was glad you found someone. You've been lonely since Kes left, I know."

There didn't seem to be much he could say to that, so he just nodded.

"I was lonely on Quarra," she went on. "Despite being programmed to love my job, it was hard to come home to an empty apartment where I was always cold. Jaffen was comfortable to be with."

"Ch'rega wasn't exactly comfortable." Neelix smiled slyly. "But it was good to be with someone again."

"But it's not the same as loving someone the way you loved Kes. That kind of love is unmistakable." She stared into her mug. "That kind of love is unforgettable, even when the specific memories are gone. Your heart remembers, and wants to find it again. So you go searching for it, hoping. The heart knows, Neelix."

The doors to the mess hall opened then, and Commander Chakotay walked in. Neelix saw the Captain turn, saw the expression on her face change to one of chagrin. The kind of embarrassed look you get, he thought, when you've been talking about someone behind their back and they unknowingly interrupt.

Did she realize how much she had revealed with that look, Neelix wondered.

Then she turned back to him with a rueful smile, and he caught his breath. She did know, and she had let him see it. In that single, silent moment she had confided more than in their entire conversation.

In that single moment, she had told him that she trusted him.

He was not about to let her down.

"You're up late, Commander," he said cheerfully.

Chakotay smiled as he stood beside the Captain. "I just wanted to make certain everyone is still here. This is a big ship when it's empty."

"Well, I have just the thing for both of you." He went to the replicator and returned with a large dish of ice cream drenched in hot fudge. "Guaranteed to help you sleep."

Captain Janeway laughed. "Oh, Neelix, it's too much –" The protest died on her lips and she turned to Chakotay. "It does look good, doesn't it?"

"It's a definite improvement over the leola custard at dinner. Sorry, Neelix."

"Unnecessary. The custard was an experiment that didn't quite work. Consider this my way of making up for it." He reached below the counter and proffered a spoon to each of them. When, after a moment of hesitation, they simultaneously took them, he smiled. "Enjoy."

He left them at the counter, sharing the sundae, while he went back to the butcher's block to chop the vegetables. As he watched the Captain take a napkin and wipe a bit of fudge from the corner of Chakotay's mouth, he decided that this really was his favorite time of day. This was the time when he felt like he truly belonged on Voyager.

-the end-