It's his phrasing that drives her to say it, the nail he's hit right on the head with that hammer of his whether he realizes it or not. It's that regardless of their temporal differences, this man is something that's been absent in her life for quite some time now — an equal. It's a void Chakotay tried desperately to fill that he was never quite able to do so, for no matter how far he much he managed to wedge open the cracks in her armor, the fact remained that he too was a subordinate and his experience with captaincy was a Maquis one and that didn't quite measure up to Starfleet standards.

Or her personal ones, for that matter.

"I could pull rank. I could cite regulations that may or may not exist in your own version of the timeline in order to gain superiority over you. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about doing just that, but frankly, I don't want to. I have been playing the role of acting Starfleet Command for the past three and a half years with Voyager's database standing in for a crude version of the Federation Council on more occasions than I care to admit. Honestly, it's a relief to know that I don't have to do that by myself anymore."

In truth, it's also the trust he's putting in her now. Not just as a professional, but as an individual — as Kathryn and not Captain Janeway. Oh so rarely do people put faith in her because of who she is beneath that set of pips pinned to her collar. She's been losing sight of who she is without them, but somehow he's playing a part in helping to remind her.