To Sleep Perchance To Dream Of You
Usual Legal: Characters belong to Paramount, not me.
Kathryn/Seven, Season 6ish, PG.
Kathryn Janeway was sitting on the lounge in her quarters, her feet perched on the coffee table, reading a padd containing the daily reports of her senior staff. She sighed in boredom but reminded herself of the promise she had made that she would get through at least two more before a cup of coffee. Her jacket was lying on the chair beside her, so at least she was marginally more comfortable than she would be in full uniform. Still, it was midnight and she had so much more to go through.
She was interrupted by the door chime, for which she was irrationally thankful. Anything would be more interesting than the minutiae of starship business. She cleared her throat and stated, "Come." The door opened to reveal her astrometrics officer. Seven hesitantly entered the room and asked just as carefully, "Captain, is this a good time?" Kathryn was pleased by Seven's courtesy as she often ignored the social norms in any given conversation.
"The very best time actually. What brings you here so late? Shouldn't you be regenerating?" Kathryn stated with mock concern and a twinkle in her eye. She certainly was not the best to lecture anyone on working too hard.
Seven's lips upturned very slightly and she explained, "That is precisely why I am here in fact." Before she could further explain Kathryn gestured to the couch beside her. Seven did not even bother to give her customary, "I prefer to stand", but assented to the Captain's wishes.
"Trouble regenerating, Seven?" Kathryn asked, now growing genuinely concerned. Seven nodded, "And now I find I cannot achieve sleep either."
Kathryn raised an eyebrow, almost in an unintended parody of the person sitting beside her. "Sleep? Since when is that an option?"
Seven extrapolated, "Yesterday my regeneration was interrupted. I could not resume it. There was a problem with my cortical implants. I examined the cause then brought my problem to the Doctor. He was surprised as my implants seem to have been encroached on by my biological systems. He suggested that I may now be able to achieve sleep as humans do. I requested he simply fix the implants but he convinced me to try to adapt before simply returning to my more familiar state. Tonight I have spent 3.25 hours attempting to succeed at sleep. I have failed."
This brought more questions to Kathryn's mind. First she was surprised the Doctor had not informed her that Seven was having any difficulty with her conflict between her Borg past and growth in humanity. She ignored this for the time being and asked, "Where exactly are you sleeping now then?" Seven frowned and replied, "I have set up a cot in Cargo Bay 2, but as I explained Captain, am hardly sleeping there."
It was Kathryn's turn to frown. She exclaimed, "You can't sleep in the Cargo Bay, Seven! I'll assign you some quarters tomorrow." She realised this may not solve the problem of how to get Seven some sleep tonight. "Ok first things first. I'll get you a cup of a relaxing herbal tea. You can take my bed tonight and I'll take the couch. I suspect I'll be up for quite a while longer working anyway," she explained.
Seven blanched at the idea that she would take the Captain's bed and said as much, "Captain I cannot. You need sleep and your needs are of higher importance to the functioning of the ship!"
Kathryn smiled and responded, "I could make it an order, the joys of command. Just listen to me for once, Seven." With that she rose and got a steaming beverage from the replicator. She handed it to Seven who looked at the drink skeptically but conceded to the Captain's greater knowledge in this area. Once the cup was empty, Kathryn took it to the replicator for recycling and lead Seven to her bed in the other room. She explained the basics of human sleep, "Now you have to lie down and completely relax. The trick is to quiet your mind so you can fall off to sleep."
Seven lay down as requested but stated, "I hardly like the idea of falling, Captain. When I regenerate my mind is active, but separate from my senses. I do not know if I can quiet it." Kathryn smiled and said, "Just try for me, Seven. I'll be in the other room if you need me." With that she returned to her reports. She reflected that with any other crewmember she would never let them stay in her quarters over night but Seven was hardly any other member of the crew.
After half an hour she had finally finished two more reports and was rewarding herself with the cup of well earned coffee when Seven slowly made her way out of the bedroom. She explained, "I have again failed, Captain." Kathryn realised the primary problem then and commented, "Seven it's not about achieving a goal. Thinking like that will make it near impossible to relax. Back to bed." She followed the young woman back to her bed. Seven lay down compliantly. This time Kathryn sat on the edge of the bed and instructed, "Just close your eyes and think of the most calm and serene place you can. Can you do that?"
Seven nodded and responded, "The last planet we had shore leave on; where we sat on the water's edge. Is that all right?" Kathryn replied, "That's great. Now think of the sound of the water. You are safe and relaxed." With this she grabbed Seven's hand impulsively. Her thumb slowly stroked Seven's implant. She gave a final instruction, "Just let go." She listened quietly to Seven's breathing for five minutes before she heard it even out. She gently let the hand go and tiptoed out of the room.
She was inordinately pleased with herself as she returned to her coffee and her padds. The relief at Seven's slumber was short lived however. After an hour she heard muffled sounds from the other room. She investigated, trying to make no noise herself. Seven was clearly having a nightmare. Her hair was mussed in all directions and she was struggling against some phantom force. Kathryn gave up what little command mask she had left and lay beside Seven, stroking her hair into a semblance of order. She held Seven close to her and whispered, "I'm here." Seven calmed slowly. Kathryn could feel herself drifting. It was after all genuinely late by this time. She let herself do what she had told Seven to, let go.
When her alarm beeped three hours later, she fought her way out of a very deep sleep. She was momentarily surprised to have Seven in her arms, who was still deeply asleep. Apparently even the alarm was not enough to rouse her. She realised they both had to be on duty in an hour so in what she considered a crime against nature, she had to wake the beautiful sleeping blonde. Kathryn gently shook Seven's arm, still holding Seven with her other. Seven's blue eyes shot open in surprise. "Hey it's just me. It's ok," Kathryn comforted. Seven settled but still was wearing a frown. "I did not expect dreams to be so real," she stated. Kathryn was confused for a second, not sure to what she was referring then remembered Seven's earlier nightmare and indeed, just why she was sleeping by Seven's side in the first place. "What did you dream?" she asked. It seemed she should probably let go of Seven now she was awake, but she didn't make a move to until Seven sat up so they could talk more easily.
"The Borg queen was assimilating me again. She did not say a word but I knew she would use me to assimilate y...Voyager. I was more scared than the last time she attempted such a plan as it seemed I had no defences at all. Then you came for me," Seven described. Kathryn smiled and replied, "Don't I always?" Seven smiled back, surprising Kathryn for a second.
She regained her command mask at least to some degree and said, "Let's have pancakes! Then I'm afraid we have duty."
Kathryn sat in her ready room several hours later, reflecting that she had never seen Seven devour food with such relish as she had seen with pancakes and strawberries. She was having real trouble focusing on work today. It was no secret why. She had assigned Seven quarters so she had at least taken care of Seven's immediate needs. Anything unrelated to Seven seemed totally uninteresting but she forced herself to at least read B'Lanna's engineering report.
Somehow she made it through the day and retired to her quarters to read a book and have a quick dinner. It was 10pm when she heard a chime at the entrance to her quarters. She knew before she responded just who it would be. "Come in, Seven," she stated and was greeted with Seven standing in her doorway with a bemused expression.
Seven asked as she entered, "How did you know it was I at the door?" Kathryn laughed and explained, "You may not know this but no one else ever requests entry to my quarters after my duty shift. What's up?"
Seven amusingly gazed upwards and rose an eyebrow. Kathryn could tell she was playing for effect and laughed wholeheartedly, "Seven! Seriously how are your quarters?"
Seven sat on the couch without even being asked. Will wonders never cease? Kathryn thought. She replied, "They are acceptable."
"Glad to hear it," Kathryn said, how wondering why Seven was here again if she had her own quarters she should be in at the moment.
Seven knew the Captain was waiting for a real reason for her presence but did not give one, "How was your day?" Kathryn replied truthfully, "Boring, Seven. How was yours?"
The astrometrics officer began detailing her day and slowly the conversation turned to other crew members' problems and the ordinary concerns of the ship's functioning. Before Kathryn knew it they were sitting back trading stories of unusual events they had been witness to on board, both with mugs in hand, Kathryn's of coffee, Seven's of herbal tea. It seemed she had developed a taste for it. Eventually Kathryn realised it was getting late and that Seven had distracted her for over an hour. It suddenly occurred to her why Seven did not want to leave. "Are you reluctant to sleep in your own quarters, Seven?" she stated. Seven frowned and replied,
"Not at all." Kathryn rolled her eyes and got to her feet.
"That's it. Let's go," she said, extending her arm up to help Seven get up from the couch herself. Seven took it and innocently asked, "Where are we going?" Kathryn replied, "To your own quarters."
They were soon in Seven's new quarters, one deck below Kathryn's own. Kathryn nodded in approval. It was all up to standard and perfectly acceptable if a tad bland. Without a word Kathryn lead Seven to her own bed and watched her lie down. Seven's expression was questioning. Kathryn sighed and lay down beside her. She murmured as she held Seven and the two fell asleep, "Not a word to the crew about their Captain being so easy to manipulate, please." Seven smiled as she closed her eyes.
When Kathryn again woke up first she glanced at Seven's timepiece. It was still early. She lay there reflecting on just how she had ended up sleeping in the same bed as the most beautiful woman on board two nights in a row. Part of her knew this could not continue. Not only was it unprofessional, it was straining her heart to its limits. She watched Seven sleep until she drifted off again. She awoke again at 6am. She gently woke Seven with a kiss to the temple. If this wasn't crossing a line, she didn't know what was. Seven smiled and murmured, "Kathryn." Just as she was getting over her shock at hearing her name from Seven's lips for the first time, those lips were on hers. She kissed back. At hearing Seven moan contently she suddenly realised what the hell was happening. She pulled back, completely disconnecting herself from Seven.
"Why did you do that?" Kathryn asked, ignoring for the moment that she was a part in it as well. Seven looked shocked and replied, "I do not know Captain. I apologise." Kathryn stood up and straightened her uniform, "We were both still half asleep. It's fine. I better get back to my quarters." She saw Seven's eyes begin to look watery but she forced herself to leave as gracefully as possible.
Three days passed with Kathryn silently berating herself for her recent conduct and ignoring Seven outside starship business. Seven spent the time hard at work in astrometrics and engineering. She did not return to her quarters once. Somehow she could not bring herself to.
On her second day without sleep she had been back to sickbay to convince the Doctor to realign her implants so she could regenerate. He had gently asked her to give it another week before making a rash decision. Seven was angry but thought if she could survive a week perhaps she could prove to herself that she did not need Kathryn Janeway.
During a quiet shift, Kathryn wandered down to engineering and asked B'Lanna if she needed any help. B'Lanna smiled, thankful for the offer, "Actually Captain Seven's been helping all day; although I'm not actually sure if she's helping a great deal." Kathryn frowned and asked for clarification, "What do you mean? Are you two in disagreement again?"
B'Lanna replied, "It's not that. She's making mistakes. Usually she is the one to notice mine but today she's next to useless."
Kathryn sighed. Great, she thought, I really wanted to put off a confrontation with her as long as possible. "Where is she?" she asked the chief engineer. "Jefferies Tube 11-a," was the response. Kathryn set off in search of her Borg crewman. She found Seven exactly where B'Lanna had said. She was working on a panel but appeared distracted. "Hi Seven," she said in greeting. Seven looked at her with such a furious expression for a second, she was genuinely shocked. Then it melted into a tired almost blank stare. "Hello Captain," she stated, and then turned back to her work. Kathryn felt her heart break. She reflected that she could not prevent herself from loving Seven and that hurting her the way she had was cruel and pointless. Seven was clearly exhausted, upset and she could fix it. She threw caution to the wind and grabbed Seven's hand. "Come with me," she asked.
Seven resisted momentarily then gave up. She had never been able to resist the Captain and damn it her defences were so low. Kathryn held her hand and led them to the turbolift. They passed several crewmen but she did not release the hand. Next thing Seven knew they were back in Kathryn's quarters. Kathryn reached up and let Seven's hair down. She kissed her gently. Seven responded enthusiastically despite her exhaustion. Kathryn pulled back and Seven grew angry again. When would her Captain decide what she wanted? Kathryn knew what Seven was thinking and explained, "More of this later. I'm not letting you go but you need sleep now." As Seven felt Kathryn's arms wrapped around her she wept in relief. Within minutes she was safely asleep. Kathryn wept a few tears of her own at her stubbornness but was unendingly thankful for the woman in her arms.
When Seven awoke Kathryn was gone but there was a padd next to the bed. She sleepily reached for it, clearing her eyes. It read, "Seven, meet me back here tonight for dinner at 1900. Get some rest; I've logged you off duty for today. Love, Kathryn." She lay back down with a smile on her face. Maybe her Captain had decided after all.
Meanwhile Kathryn was on the bridge. After a quick review of the ships situation she retired to her ready room. Chakotay followed her. She offered him a drink which he turned down. She sat at her desk, coffee in hand. "What?" she asked. Chakotay had one of his cheeky grins which always meant teasing of some sort.
"You've been mopping for the last few days and now you suddenly have a smile for all the crew. I was just wondering what's changed to make our Captain so personable," he replied, sitting across from her desk.
"It's entirely personal. I would think you'd simply accept my good mood while it lasts, Commander," she stated, with another irrepressible grin.
Chakotay fixated on her reply, "Personal? Kathryn if I didn't know better I'd think you had a romance brewing." She smirked but tried to hide it hurriedly. "Oh my God you do!" he exclaimed.
Kathryn sighed and accented, "I may have a date tonight but it's really not something I want to be discussing." Chakotay struggled with both his jealousy and curiosity but eventually decided to keep his mouth shut. He nodded and said, "I'll be on the bridge," as he made his way out. Kathryn returned to work with one last smile.
As Seven pressed the chime outside Kathryn's quarters, she reflected on how a person could be so excited yet terrified at the same time. Seven was wearing a silky red dress, casual yet still eye catching. This was her first date since the one with Lieutenant Chapman so she had reason to be concerned. But, she noted, it was with Kathryn- the woman she had loved at least on some level since she was ripped, kicking and screaming from the Collective. Kathryn called, "Come!" from inside. She entered to see her Captain in a white dress of her own. She stifled a gasp. It was so rare to see Kathryn out of uniform.
Kathryn meantime was having her own trouble getting over Seven in that red dress. She cleared her head and smiled, gesturing at the table. There was pasta, wine and fruit for dessert. She tried to alleviate the tension, "I didn't cook it so you needn't sorry. It's 100% replicated by Neelix." Seven smiled. The Captain's reputation as a chief was definitely lacking.
Strangely they ate in companionable silence mostly, with comments pertaining to only the meal. It was almost like a spell that could easily be broken. Kathryn risked it first, saying, "You look beautiful, you know." Seven grinned, her eyes shining at the complement. She replied, "Not as beautiful as you." Kathryn reached for Seven's hand. She raised it to her lips so tenderly, Seven's heartbeat started to pound. The two forgot about the food. Kathryn, still holding the younger woman's hand in her own, stood and made her way around to Seven's side of the table. Seven rose and kissed Kathryn so slowly. Kathryn wrapped her arms around Seven, then ran her fingers though Seven's hair. They made their way to the bedroom where unlike previous nights, there was very little sleep.
The next morning B'Lanna and Tom were having breakfast in the mess hall when the Captain and Seven entered. The Captain made her way to their table while Seven grabbed their breakfasts, the Captain's consisting of a large coffee. "May we join you?" she asked. Tom nodded, his mouth full of bacon. B'Lanna responded, "Good morning, Captain. Of course."
Seven joined them, handing Kathryn her coffee and drinking her own nutritional supplements. "How's engineering?" Kathryn asked. The four began a pleasant conversation, mostly centred on ship business. After they had all finished breakfast Kathryn stated, "Guess it's time for our duty shifts." She stood. Tom asked, "I'm on my way to the bridge too, Captain. Care to join me?" Kathryn appreciated the offer but replied, "No thanks Tom. I'll be there soon. I'm going to walk Seven to astrometrics." He smiled and Seven and Kathryn left. B'Lanna quickly turned to Tom and asked in a hushed voice, "What's going on there do you think?"
Tom looked confused and said, "What do you mean, Lanna?" She explained, wondering how he could be so dense, "The Captain had one hand on Seven's knee the whole time. And Seven kept giving her these adoring looks. I guarantee there's more than meets the eye between those two."
"You're nuts B'Lanna. But I love you anyway," he said and she smacked time on his arm playfully.
In Astrometrics, Kathryn was having a very hard time saying goodbye. She had Seven pressed up against her console and was kissing her neck when Seven interrupted, "Kathryn."
"Yes, Seven?" she almost moaned, not ceasing her explorations. Seven gently pushed her back and explained, "We have been officially on duty for five minutes. I do not think this is captainly behaviour, even if it is pleasing." Kathryn pouted, kissed Seven quickly then bid farewell, "Fine, darling. But I'll see you tonight." Seven smiled, knowing Kathryn would think of nothing else for the rest of the day, and pleased by the thought.