Disclaimer: I own these two even less than the snow in the Alps. The snow in my imagination, however, is all mine.
Thank you: to the ever-encouraging Mrs Singing Violin for betaing and to Oystercatcher1 for her persistent nudges.
Dedications: to Oystercatcher1. This was her Christmas present last year, with a few edits.
Author's Note: Hi, guys... *looks a bit ashamed* I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for so long, but my workload has been crazy since around September. Things look like they should pick up now that I'm used to my new situation and the course I'm doing, so I am hoping to get things posted more regularly from now on. I once said I wouldn't apologize for not posting, but it's been too long for me to not give a reason and a heartfelt 'sorry' to go with it.
Enjoy :)
Snow was something Seven of Nine had yet to get used to. She knew she had seen it once, a long time ago, as a young girl, but the memory of its existence had faded. Its cold touch stung her skin, and its brightness made her eyes ache as she stared at it for too long. But these unpleasant traits were far overruled by its simple beauty. Everything she could see, every part of the park she was in, had been subjected to its touch. Along the sides of the branches in the forest there was only a light dusting, but nothing, had been missed by the snow that had fallen the night before. Beyond the darkly-barked trees of the park towered the tall, majestic forms of the Alps. They loomed in the distance, but not in any imposing manner. They were observers, watching the goings-on below with interest, but never with any judgement.
Seven blinked in the brightness of the snow, more muted today than the day before, when it had snow swirls had filled in the air for hours and built up on the ground. She continued to walk down the hill, and in time came to the same bench she had found the day before. Before sitting, she brushed away the light layer of snow that had gathered since her last walk.
Seven watched a few late-coming flakes make their way lazily down from the clouds and looked out at the magnificent view in front of her, trying to ignore the pang of regret she felt at not having anyone in her life to share it with. She had discovered this place after a seminar at the Kostler Institute, a research facility that had recently branched out into the development of new technologies in faster-than-light travel. Seven had been one of the representatives of Starfleet's finest there, as she was working on a new method of travel that incorporated technology similar to the transwarp conduits that the Borg employed. This project had brought her back together with two old friends of hers that she had come to know on Voyager: B'Elanna Torres and Harry Kim. They had also attended the day before, but Seven had beamed back to take a moment to gather her thoughts. When she had found this particular spot, she had felt oddly at ease, far calmer than she had in a long time, most likely since before Voyager had returned to Earth.
They were making good progress with the Multiphasic Warp Drive, or MP Drive as it had been nicknamed, but it was not work that Seven was struggling to come to terms with: work was merely another aspect of her life. It had been a little over a year since they had returned to the Alpha Quadrant, and most of the crew had moved on. Tuvok, now a full commander, had taken a part-time teaching post on Vulcan. Lieutenant Commanders Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres had settled on Earth with Miral: both now worked in San Francisco on a range of projects, Tom mainly on experimental shuttles and B'Elanna on adapting transwarp technology for new ships. Lieutenant Harry Kim was stationed as Second Officer on the USS McClain as part of the Secondary Fleet, but had taken leave to see this project through. Chakotay had decided to leave Starfleet, despite being offered his own command, and returned to Trebus to assist in the re-building of his home. And Admiral Janeway-
Seven's mind stalled. Over the past twelve months she had conditioned herself not to think of her former CO. Out of all her previous acquaintances on Voyager, Seven had heard least from Janeway. Even Chakotay, from whom she had parted on good terms, was someone with whom she often exchanged a subspace message. According to rumor, Janeway was in the Bykarian system as part of a mission to bring peace to the region. Seven knew that she occasionally taught at the Academy, but the only reason that Seven knew this was because of the subjects that the admiral lectured in. Janeway's speciality was the Borg, and Seven had been invited on several occasions to talks held by Janeway. However, each time she had declined. Seven had no idea of how to approach her former friend given the way that the two of them had parted ways. She could remember Janeway's impassive face as her former captain had bid farewell to Chakotay and her before they headed to Trebus. Seven had been able to feel the older woman's disappointment in her, but had not understood the reason for it. Seven was still not exactly sure, but knew it had something to do with her involvement with Chakotay. Seven had once asked Chakotay about his relationship with Janeway. He had simply told her that, although there may have been a possibility of a deeper relationship during their early days on Voyager, they had both understood nothing more than a close friendship would ever be possible between them. They had settled on friendship instead, leaving their potential romance to fade eventually.
As it turned out, a similar dissipation had happened in her own relationship with the man. Seven had found herself incapable of giving him any type of commitment or intimacy, physical or emotional. Chakotay had never pushed her, but somehow they had both known it was a relationship not destined to last. So, merely a few weeks prior, they had parted ways, and had done so on reasonable terms.
But Seven still didn't know why Janeway had looked so sad and dispirited when they had last spoken. Yes, the captain's command mask was so intact that no other members of the crew could find a fault in it. But Seven saw the cracks behind the mask. She saw that the slight spark in the captain's- her captain's- eyes was not as bright as it had once been. That her stance was not as straight. Her smile not quite as warm. Over the past year, Seven's eidetic memory had replayed the last few moments she had spent with Captain Kathryn Janeway—more times than even she wanted to count—but still she found that the reason for the captain's demeanor remained elusive.
Suddenly, a deep sigh from her right caught her attention and Seven looked down into a pair of large golden-brown eyes. The two eyes in question belonged to a chocolate labrador who was sitting quietly at the end of the bench, watching Seven closely. It was only the second time she had been this close to a dog since before her assimilation. The first time, the dog in question had been rather too large and rather too jumpy for Seven, and she had found that she had not liked it at all. This dog, however, seemed different. It cocked its head to one side, as though it were deep in thought about something, and Seven shifted in her seat. Being regarded so closely was something that she had become accustomed to, but typically by humanoids. Their stares were always laced with quiet fear, and in some cases outright disdain or disgust. Sometimes their attitude towards her warmed with time, but those were rare occasions.
This dog simply regarded her with intense curiosity, and Seven couldn't help feel as if she were the subject of a scientific study. But, what surprised her the most was that, the longer the dog looked at her, and the longer she looked back at the dog, the less and less she minded it. Somehow it felt as if the dog knew her, as if the dog were there to protect her, to look out for her, rather than to condemn or to scorn her.
The warm, comforting, and disarming gaze of the labrador reminded Seven of the look she used to see in the another's eyes, although those had been a deep, stormy blue. And in that case, she had never been sure of exactly what it was she had been seeing. All she knew was that they were one of the first pairs, if not the first pair, to start looking at her as a human.
Seven leant forward slightly, trying to figure out just why this dog reminded her so much of-
"Annika!"
A sudden cry from behind her startled Seven, but the dog did not move. Instead, it remained where it was, sitting calmly by Seven's right leg, looking up at the ex-drone with the same raptured expression.
"Annika! Where are you?" came another shout, closer this time. The voice was familiar to Seven, a gravelly alto that sent shivers down her spine and made her heart clench.
"Oh, there you are, you great big fool." Annika wagged her tail eagerly, thumping it against the hard ground twice before leisurely getting up and walking around the bench to her owner. Seven swallowed at the sight she found as she got up from the bench and turned towards the dog's owner.
Yes, it had been three years, and yes, her appearance had changed slightly. Her hair was longer than Seven recalled, now reaching halfway down her back and streaked in places with a soft gray. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and she was breathing hard presumably after running over the hill. But there was no mistaking it, her stance was still as commanding in her winter boots, her lips still as enticing and her eyes still as bright. The woman in front of her was undoubtedly Kathryn Janeway.
The older woman had bent down to reattach a purple leash to the dog's collar, and Seven took advantage of this to regain some of her composure. She had kept her feelings for her former captain to herself for this long, mainly out of fear that they would not be reciprocated. These feelings had first surfaced while Seven was still a crewmember on Voyager, but, convinced that Janeway would not be interested, especially after the captain's relationships with both Michael and Jaffen, Seven had tried hard to bury them, an effort she had been successful in. Instead of pursuing Janeway she had embarked on the relationship with Chakotay, thinking that the close friendship and respect she felt for him had the potential to grow into something bigger. But they had not.
It had been years since Seven had seen Janeway, and this sudden encounter had thrown her off. She took a deep, steadying breath and willed the butterflies in her stomach to settle.
"I'm so sorry about that," said Janeway, her breathing evening out again as she straightened up, brushing a wayward strand of auburn and silver hair off her face as she did, "normally she comes straight away when I call…" her voice petered out and she stared open-mouthed at the woman in front of her. A moment later she regained the ability to speak and asked a question in a husky whisper: "Seven?"
It took a few seconds for the ex-drone to find the correct words to go with Janeway's statement. As it turned out, "yes" and "hello" were the only ones she seemed capable of.
"I… " began the older woman, looking at least as flustered as Seven felt, maybe even more so. It did not take long for the command mask to slip into place, however, and Janeway decided on the next thread to their conversation. "How are you?"
"I am well." Seven was relieved to see that Janeway's reaction mirrored her own. "Yourself?"
"Yes, I'm…" Kathryn briefly considered telling Seven the truth: how she was struggling to find a balance between work and home, that she had found many aspects of life adapting to life on Earth difficult, and that, most importantly, not a day had gone by in which she had not thought of Seven and wished that things had ended differently. "Well, I've definitely been worse."
"If you are referring to your numerous near-death experiences and life-threatening situations while serving on Voyager, I can imagine-" Seven cut herself short, realizing that being reminded of how many times she had nearly died might not be something that Janeway wanted to hear.
The older woman smiled. She had missed Seven's ability to cut straight to the heart of things. The ex-drone's honesty had been one of the more infuriating aspects of her character, particularly in an argument, but Janeway wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Sorry, Capt-Admiral," said Seven, nearly using the old title out of habit.
"That's all right Seven. I'm feeling better already," replied Kathryn, her smile spreading further. It had been far too long since she had seen her old friend. Far, far too long. "And I think it's about time you started calling me Kathryn. Now then, what are you doing these days?"
"I am working on the Multiphasic Warp Drive." Seven clasped her hands behind her back in a similar manner to the way she had done in the past in Janeway's ready room, although the movement was not as smooth due to the extra layers of winter coat restricting her. Her tone was smooth, even, and for a moment the former captain couldn't help but wonder if the younger woman even wanted to be disturbed.
"I've heard of that." It's not entirely untrue. You have heard of it, and then when you found out that Seven would be working on it, you followed it as closely as your circumstances would allow. "You're close to making a breakthrough, aren't you?"
"Indeed. All anticipated potentialities have been prepared for and we are now progressing to live tests."
"Really?" Janeway was impressed. The last time she had spoken to B'Elanna on the subject, they were still only at the theoretical stage, but then that had been several weeks ago. She fought the urge to frown as she silently reminded herself to stay in more frequent contact with the members of her old crew. She had managed to keep in touch with most of them, but even in the case of those she wasn't in direct contact with, she made sure to inquire regularly how they were doing. But not with Seven. Seven of Nine was someone that she had tried her hardest to forget, as the memories she had of her friend were ones that always made her heart squeeze. On Voyager she had wished there could be more than friendship between them, but she was always worried that Seven would not be interested. Ironically, it was these memories that still surfaced years later; she though of Seven on a daily basis.
"Yes, although several of my colleagues were convinced we could incorporate the drive to a shuttle earlier, I maintained that further tests needed to be carried out before we progressed."
Kathryn suppressed a grin as she imagined just how that news would have gone down with B'Elanna.
"The components had to be checked over again to make sure there were no faults. I was worried it would be… unwise to 'get ahead of ourselves'."
This time Kathryn couldn't suppress her amusement at the idiom and her lips stretched into a marvellous smile that made her eyes light up, considerably loosening the knots in Seven's stomach while simultaneously making the butterflies surge. See, Kathy? There's the diligent Seven you know and lo- she silenced the thought for a moment and took a deep breath- remember. The Seven you remember.
"Indeed." Kathryn felt something cold and wet nudge her hand and she looked down at Annika, who was gazing at her expectantly, as though demanding a formal introduction.
"I see you have found… companionship," stated Seven, who had of course noticed the subtle prod of the dog's nose.
"Yes. Seven, this is… Annika." Annika wagged her tail lazily and took a step towards Seven, as though she were expecting something. However, Seven had no idea what.
"You can stroke her, if you want. She doesn't bite." …much.
Seven remained somewhat unconvinced. "Does she jump?"
"Only on me if I don't feed her in time. But that's normally because I've been cooped away and working at my desk too long and she's trying to get my attention. She's one of the gentlest dogs I've ever known; to my knowledge she's only ever barked once."
Slowly and somewhat tentatively, Seven reached down and stroked the side of the dog's head. Annika pushed into the touch slightly, and Seven stroked her head again, this time using her whole hand. Annika took another small step towards Seven, as though she sensed the ex-drone's nervousness, but was determined to ease it. When her hand brushed over Annika's ear, the dog turned her head to the side, as though to present the ear in question to the woman in front of her. Seven ran her fingers over it gently, finding it to be one of the softest textures she had ever known, and let her hand wander a little behind it where it met the fur on the side of her head again. Annika tilted her chin upwards a little and Seven took the invitation to scratch under the dog's jaw.
Kathryn watched, utterly enraptured and with a slight smile on her face, as her former protégé crouched down in front of her dog and began to give her a good scratch behind the ears. "She loves it when someone does that. It's a sure way to worm your way into her affections."
"How long have you had her?" asked Seven, still slowly scratching while looking up at her former commanding officer.
"A little over four months," answered Kathryn, looking into Seven's bright blue eyes, her breath catching in her throat. She willed her heart rate to stay steady even as those eyes, eyes that always managed to read her perfectly, looked right back at her. She had decided to get a dog shortly after settling once again in San Francisco and concluding that remaining near Starfleet Headquarters and the Academy made more sense now that most of her projects were based on Earth. Initially she had thought about settling down, or at least trying to. She had even tried dating again, but all attempts had failed. She had found herself comparing anyone who approached her to the one person she wanted, the one person she could not bring herself to pursue: Seven. "Having her has been…" Vital. A life-saver. She has given me something other than work to focus on. Annika is only reason I managed to get out of bed sometimes. "… great. All those years on Voyager, I never realized just how much I missed having someone to come home to."
"I believe I know exactly what you mean," murmured Seven as she looked back at Annika. She was afraid that her eyes would give her emotions away.
"How is Chakotay?" asked Janeway tentatively, trying to remind herself with whom Seven was now involved, as much as she might have wanted that person to be her.
"Well," Seven's reply was curt, which the admiral found surprising, "in his last transmission, he informed me that he and Rayelka are settling in well and are making plans for the future."
Rayelka? Now Janeway was baffled. The name didn't mean anything to her. "Seven, who is Rayelka?"
"Chakotay's partner," replied the ex-drone, looking once more at her captain, her tone making it seem as though the answer was obvious.
"Partner?"
"Life mate, significant other, girlfriend, fu-"
"I get the picture, Seven," interrupted Kathryn, raising her hand, palm forward to stop Seven mid-explanation. It was a gesture she had used repeatedly during her discussions- arguments, more like- with the younger woman in previous years. But her demeanor softened again when she realized the implications. "What of your relationship with him?"
Seven stroked Annika on the head one last time before standing and looking Janeway directly in the eye. "We agreed that our… romantic affiliation was not meant to last."
The emotion conveyed through Seven's voice at the term 'romantic affiliation' made Janeway's chest tighten. She saw Seven's head duck slightly and her neck contract as she swallowed as if in shame or embarrassment and hoped that neither Seven or Chakotay had been hurt too much by their separation. But she couldn't help wanting to know more. Easy, Kathy. Be there for her if she needs you. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Seven looked away again before meeting Janeway's gaze. "There is little to tell. We were… incompatible."
"How do you mean?" Janeway knew she was pushing, but she couldn't help it. She needed to know what had happened.
"I found it difficult to express my emotions to him. It was new to me and I struggled to… get close."
"Do you mean emotionally or…" she swallowed before continuing "… physically?"
"Both." If Seven was uncomfortable or confused by Janeway's questions, she did not show it. "As much as I admired him, being emotionally open was hard. In the end, I realized that I was looking for something that I had been imagining. As to the physical aspects of our relationship, I-" imagined it was you touching me, holding me, but he was too different, too rough, never gentle as you were- "was never comfortable. It was decided mutually that we should stay friends. We communicate occasionally."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Seven."
"As am I. However, I find myself somewhat… relieved."
"Relieved?" That wasn't entirely what Janeway had been expecting, but it was far better than the alternative she had been imagining.
"Yes, I am… glad that the romantic component of our relationship came to an end. I found that he was… not what I was looking for."
"I see," murmured Janeway, although she only partially understood what Seven was saying. Her anger had subsided, and her overriding thought was now one of relief: Seven was no longer with Chakotay. "I wish that any harm you came to, no matter how small, could have been avoided."
"It has been. Chakotay is now happy with someone who can fulfil his needs in a way I was unable to."
"Seven, I know for a fact that there is indeed a deeper emotional side to you that is rarely expressed; maybe it would have just taken more time." The admiral could see that Seven was doubtful and decided to take a slightly different approach. "Or perhaps you were just…with the wrong person."
"Perhaps," conceded Seven quietly. "However, the human ritual of 'dating' is most… inefficient. I have tried it, and failed at it."
"Seven, this is not something that you can master in a couple of weeks. The whole point is that you look for someone with whom you are compatible, with whom you can share your whole life, not just aspects of it." Seven huffed slightly at this, and it occurred to Janeway that it was odd, yet at the same time wonderful, just how quickly they had both fallen into their habits when talking to each other. She wanted to smile at the thought that their relationship had not deteriorated over the past year as she had feared, but that it was still one that allowed each woman to voice her opinion openly rather than to be concerned about what the other would think of them. "Keep looking. You will find the right person for you. But the entire process takes time, Seven. You must be patient."
"I find it interesting that you use the term 'person'."
Kathryn was stunned. Where did that come from? "I beg your pardon?"
"You say 'person'. When the Doctor was introducing me to the idea of human sexuality, he mainly used the word 'man'."
"So?" Janeway still wasn't following, although by the raptured expression on her dog's face, Annika certainly was.
"He assumed that I would only seek out male partners, as I did during his lessons in romance. I thought at the time that pursuing a relationship with a human male was more desirable than with a female, as it would be more likely to lead to procreation. I realize that his encouragement towards my dating men may have been because of my belief that mating was more important than emotional intimacy; he assumed that I was heterosexual. It is nevertheless intriguing that, of the two people to give me advice about romance, you, do not make that assumption."
Janeway swallowed. Oh, you're on thin ice here, Kathy. Trust her to read between the lines like that. "Why…" she swallowed again, suddenly finding her throat oddly dry "… why would you find that intriguing?"
Seven's gaze narrowed slightly and she took a small step towards the older woman, scrutinizing her expression closely. "I once asked the Doctor about same-sex mating practices, as I had suspicions that they would hold more appeal to me. Since then, of all the advances made on me, I have only found one male to be worth pursuing. However, I have been tempted by far more advances made by females."
Oh, Kathy, this must be your lucky day. You find your long-lost love and find out that she's more likely to be interested in the fairer sex! "How many more?"
"Twenty-three. Eight of which occurred on Voyager, five during my relationship with Chakotay and the remaining ten in the weeks since."
My God. That's an awful lot of offers, even for a girl with such a predominant pai-personality. "I take it none of them fit the bill."
"No, they did not." Seven's tone was measured, and Janeway felt her mouth grow impossibly drier as a careful gaze watched her closely. "When asked, the Doctor explained that homosexual relationships, while now accepted equally in most Federation cultures, were still less common than heterosexual relationships. In my case, it was particularly pertinent because the woman I was interested in had no previous history of same-sex relationships. This, Kathryn," stated Seven in a quiet tone, a tone far softer than Janeway had ever heard her use before, as she took another, slow step towards her former commanding officer, "is why I find it intriguing that you have not made such an assumption about me."
Janeway took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself, but it only exasperated the situation. With Seven standing so close, Janeway could practically feel the heat radiating out from her, despite the extra layers of clothing they each wore. With that one breath she could smell the sweet, yet faintly metallic scent of Seven's skin, and feel the blonde's hot breath on her cheek, raising the skin on every part of Janeway's body into gooseflesh. She couldn't think straight; she could barely see straight.
"Are you interested in me romantically, Kathryn? And, of so, would it be agreeable to you to enter into a… formally romantic relationship?"
She did not know what made her do it. It might have been that she had not seen Seven in such a long time and that having her stand so close was making her head spin, that the woman she had loved for too long had just called her by her given name, or the encouraging nudge she received from a cold, wet and fond nose at her side. But, whatever the reason, Kathryn Janeway found the next word to fall from her lips in a quiet, yet resolute whisper to be: "Yes."
That was all it took. One small nudge and an even smaller word and the relationship between the two of them had changed forever. Both women felt it, that their lives somehow were somehow beginning to change course.
Sensing this, Seven was, for a split second, stunned. Part of her had been expecting a fight, an argument during which Kathryn would recite all the reasons the two of them could never be together, perhaps even the same ones she had told herself each day she had thought about her former captain. But there was a fundamental difference in this instance: this time, Seven wanted to share herself with Kathryn in a way she had never managed to with Chakotay.
"I… I…" Seven stopped, looking puzzled. Kathryn, having now recovered somewhat, decided to speak again.
"What is it?" she whispered, laying a hand gently on Seven's upper arm.
"I have no idea what to say…" her companion whispered into the cold air, her words caressing Janeway's cheek. She focused on the smaller woman in front of her and saw, much to her dismay, that Kathryn was fighting tears. However, the wide and crooked smile that accompanied the gathering of moisture along her lower lash line seemed to imply that she was happy.
A low chuckle sounded from Janeway. "Well, darling, there's a first time for everything."
"Indeed." There was a small pause, during which both of them felt at ease, any burdens accumulated over the past year lifting off their shoulders and melting into the light snow that was beginning to fall again from the heavy clouds above. Kathryn's right hand moved down Seven's arm, brushing slightly against the cold metal of the implant that adorned the hand that was attached to it. There was only one thing she wanted to do more in this moment than to take that hand in her own, more than she wanted warm the implant on Seven's wrist by tangling their fingers together; Kathryn wanted to kiss her. But, unsure if Seven was ready for either action to take place, she decided to drop her hand instead.
Seven, however, seemed to have a very different idea of what she was ready for. Grabbing the hand before it lost contact with her completely and intertwining the fingers surrounded by cool metal against with those of the older woman, Seven tugged slightly, bringing Kathryn off-balance and making her lurch forwards slightly, only to catch the gasp that came from soft, red lips at both the coolness of the metal and the stumble.
The kiss was short and sweet, Janeway dropping the leash in order to place her free hand on Seven's back, delighting in the feel of Seven's right on her neck, pulling her in closer.
Neither wanted the kiss to end. Both forgot everything around them: the cold, the dog, the past year spent apart. None of it mattered, because both all that either party was able to comprehend in that moment was just who they were kissing. Everything else seemed wholly… irrelevant.
However, a thought occurred to Seven, and she was compelled to present to her companion the concerns that accompanied this thought before they took this new dimension to their relationship any further.
"As much as I would like to become involved with you, Kathryn, I am worried that you might not find me a suitable companion. I do not want this relationship to fail, Kathryn," said Seven, the break in her voice unmistakable.
"Oh, Seven!" gasped Janeway as she pulled her love close and wrapped both her arms around her tall frame. "You can't see this as either a success or a failure. See it as… a journey. But one without a fixed destination. Just enjoy the ride. I promise I won't do anything you are uncomfortable with, that I'll only take this as far as you are happy with it. We'll take our time. We have as much as we need."
"But what if I am not what you… require? What if I cannot give you what you need from a relationship?"
The deep emotion in Seven's voice cut Janeway to the core, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek at the thought of the insecurity that the younger woman must be feeling. Pulling back slightly, she saw that Seven too was crying, tears running freely from her right eye. On the left of her face only one tear rolled down, its movement impaired by the presence of her ocular implant.
"I fear I care about you too much for this to be unsuccessful, or to drift apart from you again, Kathryn."
"Seven, look at me." Waiting until she saw the sharp, blue eyes focus on her, Kathryn sighed, fighting her own emotions. Right now, she needed to put her love's mind at rest. "Listen to me." Her voice was firm, despite the fact that her lips were trembling slightly. "I love you, Seven of Nine."
Seeing this register with the woman in front of her, Kathryn continued, her resolve firm. "You can give me exactly what I want out of any relationship I have with you, Seven. I don't want anything but you. Just you. Nothing more, nothing less." She leaned in slightly, cupping Seven's face in her left palm and running her thumb across Seven's cheek, wiping away the tears that were there before continuing in so quietly it was barely a whisper, "You are perfect to me, Seven. I wouldn't want to change you for anything."
Seven sobbed, bringing her hand to her mouth to muffle the sound.
"Please… please, don't ever doubt that," begged the admiral, her voice shaking as she felt herself being embraced tightly by the ex-drone's free arm.
"I love you too, Kathryn." Janeway felt her love breathe the heart-felt declaration against her neck. She couldn't remember ever hearing Seven say anything else with the same emotion with which she had spoken those five words. Part of her wondered how long the ex-drone had felt like this, but she knew that was unimportant. Right now, all that mattered to her, and all that would matter to her for the rest of her life, was that Seven loved her in return.
Standing there, surrounded by lazily swirling snowflakes, both of them forgot the rest of the world. They were more than content to stay here. However, a small nudge at their knotted fingers told them that there was someone present who had other plans.
Both Seven and Kathryn released each other and looked down at Annika, who was wagging her tail so vigorously that the entire back half of her body moved from side to side.
"I take it she approves."
"Yes, she does," chuckled Kathryn huskily. "I've told her stories of you."
Seven looked at Janeway, regarding the woman in her arms closely. "Why?"
The admiral swallowed before answering. "Because you mean so much to me. I wanted her to know about you."
"Is that why you named her 'Annika'?"
"Yes. She… chose me." Kathryn's voice was thick with emotion as she recalled how an eager puppy, still unsure of its footing, had lumbered in her direction, tail wind milling in circles as it tried to keep balance and advance towards her. "You both did." She could see Seven's smile widen to reveal a glimpse of pearly white teeth, pale pink lips stretching as snowflake upon snowflake became caught in her golden locks. "And I will do everything I can to hold on to both of you."
"As we will in return. Always." A soft nudge echoed Seven's sentiment, and the two women smiled down at the labrador whose tail was still wagging wildly.
Kathryn bent down to retrieve the fallen leash and, hand in hand, the two women walked up over the hill. As they reached its crest, all three of them knew that nothing would ever be quite the same again, but only one wanted to investigate a half-chewed sock that had been left under the sofa in a small apartment in San Francisco.
Thank you so much for reading. :)