A/n: This one-shot is set somewhere between the episodes 'Day of Honor' (S04xE04) and 'Revulsion' (S04xE05). Thus this fits into my Missing Scenes series of one-shots between 'Double Enmity' and 'True Love', but you don't need to read those to get this.

I do not own Star Trek Voyager.

Chakotay heaved a sigh as his head gave another pound to ram home his exhaustion. He shifted in his chair, although he'd claimed one of the Mess Hall's only upholstered chairs, his muscles were still twinging in constant complaint. He was getting unfit, and probably should've used this off-duty slot to tone up in his gym programme on the holodeck, or at least stretch, but his growling stomach had won out over good intentions. Caesar's Salad a la Neelix would never be a classic, but at least the vegetables were fresh from Hydroponics. Heartburn propelled up his throat and he grimaced, taking the last gulp of his mug of tea. On second thought, fresh vegetables would never compensate for that dressing. Next time he'd use up some replicator rations.

When was the last time he'd been able to take a proper break for lunch? Last week? Longer than that? And yet, it was now, during his break, that he felt all of his exhaustion, hunger and stress headaches arrive at once, not allowing him to really enjoy the rest. Did he thrive on the action? Or to put it more frankly, the threat of imminent disaster? More likely adrenaline and survival instinct made him bottle up his everyday needs until they exploded on him at the first opportunity. The warp drive had been retrieved and reinstated, the incident that had caused it had been proved to be an accident in which their ex-drone had not had a hand, the Caatati had been pacified and perhaps given the means to rebuild their lives, and B'Elanna was in the best mood he'd seen her…for years… In Voyager's distorted terms, everything had returned to 'normal', perhaps better than normal.

The easy chatter around him in the busy Mess Hall showed that better than anything, as ever, but he could also see that most of his crewmates, while for the most part eating and talking gregariously enough, all had enough black bags under their eyes to fill both Cargo Bays, and even more coffee and desserts were being replicated than usual. The phenomenon that was joking known below decks as the 'dead calm' had set in. A dangerous combination of exhaustion and excruciating boredom that every crewmember, no matter their rank, knew all too well. He'd already spend the morning rearranging duty shifts to cover those who'd called in sick, and no doubt there'd be more requests awaiting him when he returned to the Bridge or his office. Then there would be dealing with the Doctor when the inevitable holodeck programmes gone awry incidents started pouring into Sickbay. There were always some who got a little too ambitious with their fun after a near miss like they'd just had with the Caatati. And someone always took umbrage at the Doctor's lectures, calling him down to play mediator.

Still, for now, everyone looked happy enough, and he knew most were getting up to speed with the latest gossip. Spreading rumours was practically Voyager's anointed sport, as he'd realised to his peril more than once. Today he was certain who the latest subjects, or victims, would be. B'Elanna and Tom Paris. As much as he didn't want it to, that news, for he knew from B'Elanna's mouth that it was true, was probably contributing to his headache. It was irrational to worry, B'Elanna was a grown woman and had gained so much confidence on Voyager that she no longer needed his protection and brotherly counsel as she once had, in fact in recent months he'd relied more on her than the other way around, but it was hard to change his mind-set. Even if, when she'd told him, she'd looked happier than she had in a long time. He was clear-eyed enough to sense the shift, to recognise that she might finally be on the road to being at peace within her own skin. Beyond the hang-ups he'd watched her wrestle for years, the mutilation the Vidiians had put her through had knocked her for six. She hadn't admitted it to hi beyond that first confession in Sickbay in the immediate aftermath, but her attitude and even temperament had undergone such a drastic transformation in the months afterwards that anxiety for her mental health had been a constant weight to carry. Part of the reason she'd been so difficult about the Klingon Day of Honour celebrations, he suspected, was because she had been struggling with her Klingon half finally reasserting itself. Tom had come to him about that, the helmsman had quietly consulted him about his plans to create that Klingon holodeck programme for B'Elanna. Yes, Tom had changed for the better, had grown up, and Chakotay could concede that the couple may well be good for each other, though he never could've foreseen that. However, that knowledge didn't smother his ambivalent feelings about the match altogether. If it went wrong, it would really blow up, in all of their faces. Then there was the fact that Tom had been chasing Kes' skirt, a girl-woman who was, or had been, B'Elanna's polar opposite, until as recently as a few months ago. Paris was just…unreliable.

Chakotay sighed again, thoughts whirling. Hadn't Kathryn thrown the same accusation at him more than once? Hadn't she used Tom to get one over on Seska just because she trusted Paris more than him? Was that the root of his lingering dislike of Tom? It was answer enough that he shut this train of thought down, as he tended to when his mind began to skirt around issues that really lay at Janeway's door. If he continually ripped open the wounds that scarred his relationship with the Captain, he wouldn't be doing himself, her, or their crew justice as Voyager's First Officer. Sometimes it was better just to lick those wounds, rather than fight over them.

Chakotay leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes briefly as he forced his mind to empty. Soon he let his gaze drift from the people around him to the stars outside the viewport and back again, trying to breathe deeply and relax.

Then however, his attention was caught by a very harassed looking Samantha Wildman trudging wearily into Sickbay, lugging a large hold-all over her shoulder while leading a toddling Naomi along by the hand. Her blue-green eyes scanned the Mess Hall intently, a ragged sigh leaving pursed lips as she saw that the galley was conspicuously empty.

Chakotay rose to his feet as they started past his table. "You okay Sam?" he asked in concern as he took the hold-all for her and peered into her strained face.

She gave him a sheepishly grateful smile as she let him take the weight of the bag. "I'm fine Commander. We…" She glanced reassuringly down at her daughter, "…were just looking for Neelix."

"You just missed him I'm afraid." Chakotay told her, "He headed down to Hydroponics to get more fresh vegetables."

Sam spotted his half-eaten, dressing drenched salad, a gentle smirk pulling at her lips. "In order to give you the option of a second helping I suppose?"

Chakotay laughed, "Exactly!" He raised his hands in a jokingly defensive gesture. "Though I didn't quite get around to actually asking him!"

Sam's face softened, "You never need to ask with Neelix." She murmured fondly, "I guess that's what I was counting on." She ran a hand through her hair, "There was an error in the Computer and 40% of the Exobiology Lab's research was accidently deleted. I have to get down there to start work on the back-ups, and Annalie, Ensign Blackhorse, has already called in sick today…"

Chakotay grimaced, "I'll make sure to reassign some people to Exobiology, and I know B'Elanna and her team are already working on the Computer." He regarded her kindly, "I'm sure Neelix would come up to watch Naomi at once if you called him…"

"I don't like to take advantage." Sam replied firmly, "And he's got enough on his plate lately…"

"Neelix wouldn't see it as taking advantage." Chakotay pointed out, "Anyone can see how much he loves Naomi." Sam nodded easily in agreement but still appeared adamant, so he changed tact, understanding why Sam would want to be as independent as possible with Naomi, no matter what slack her crewmates might be willing to give her as a working mother. "But I can see why you want him to take it easy right now too. How is he coping without Kes?"

"Not too well." Sam confided sadly, "He bounced back from the break-up better than any of us were expecting I think, but losing her altogether like that is a different matter." She sighed heavily, "Their romantic relationship might not have been the best thing for either of them, but she was still his closest friend, it's a blow."

Chakotay nodded solemnly, he'd have to take Sam's analysis of Neelix and Kes' relationship as gospel, he'd always avoided that particular minefield. "And for you too?" he asked quietly.

Sam thought him kind to ask, few others had, but then Chakotay's astute kindness was one of his best qualities. "She was a good friend, and she adored Naomi." She studied him carefully, "We've all had a lot to get used to in the past few weeks."

"Indeed we have." Chakotay replied, his tone guarded even as he smiled wanly. He couldn't actually say much about Kes on his own behalf, he'd hardly known her, their conversations had hardly gone further than basic pleasantries. In fact pleasant was one of the few words that came to mind at the thought of her. He'd found her combination of naivety and incessant curiosity both worrisome and jarring from the get go, and had had his doubts about bringing her abroad from the start. It hadn't seemed right to him that they remove an adolescent girl who'd by all accounts been enslaved by the Kazon before she had a chance to reconnect with her own people, whether she happened to be more gifted than them or not. He hadn't fought Kathryn on the decision though, and given how little success he'd had resisting the inclusion of Seven of Nine, so much less benign than Kes, he wouldn't have been heeded if he had. Perhaps his judgement when it came to his Captain was deteriorating the longer he spent under her command? Or maybe he'd just wrongly thought he now had enough merit in her eyes to be listened to? Anyway, he'd always hold Kes in high esteem now just for propelling Voyager out of Borg Space. At the cost of her own life? He guessed they'd never know that for certain, whether she'd died in a final destructive show of power or truly had ascended to another plane of existence.

He breathed a short sigh, pushing those thoughts aside. "Hey, I'm perfectly willing to watch Naomi until Neelix comes back, if you'd be happy with that?" he suggested thoughtfully, crouching down to Naomi's height. "Would you like that?" he asked her softly.

Naomi hesitated only for a moment, her shyness receding. "Yes." She answered with surprising confidence before turning her head towards her mother questioningly.

"It would be too much trouble…" Sam began awkwardly.

"Samantha, I wouldn't have offered if it were any trouble." Chakotay reminded her lightly. "I'm off-duty for another hour."

"Well…" Sam conceded, "If you really wouldn't mind Chakotay, it would be a big help." She turned to Naomi, "Naomi honey, promise me you'll be good for the Commander until Neelix is ready?"

"I will be Mommy." Naomi answered seriously before regarding Chakotay, shy once more as she pushed her fluffy fringe out of her eyes, fully revealing the set of Ktarian horns on her forehead. "I promise Commander."

Chakotay had to blink at her in amazement. Naomi was only just over 18 months old chronologically, but looked closer to three rather than two. She also spoke more clearly than any three year old he'd met. He could dimly recall the Doctor explaining that the vast majority of Ktarian-Human hybrids, not that there were too many, inherited a Ktarian's accelerated development. In Naomi's case, he predicted that after six months old, she'd generally appear to be twice the age she was in human terms. So in simple terms, when she actually was three she'd be the equivalent of six, when she was six she'd seem twelve… God, he felt a new respect for Sam being able to get her head around that. Thankfully, unlike Kes, after she'd passed puberty in the Ktarian timescale her rate of maturing would apparently decrease to be a closer match to humans, and their lifespan was actually a couple of decades longer on average. Chakotay didn't think he'd want to take a few extra years at the end of his life in exchange for such a radically condensed childhood. "Come on then." He encouraged her, taking her small hand and leading her towards his chair, taking a moment to clear away his meal.

"Those are her things." Sam explained, indicating the hold-all as Chakotay dropped it on the floor with a grunt. She laughed apologetically, "I don't like to confine her to quarters, but she needs a lot, so the bag is necessary…"

"Don't worry about it." Chakotay assured her quickly, though really he was a little daunted.

Sam flashed him a grateful, but slightly knowing, smile as she bent to hug Naomi. "Be good sweetheart and I'll see you soon." She told her, "Thanks again Commander."

"No problem."

"Bye, bye!" Naomi called out to her mother as she headed for the doorway. Both mother and daughter waved enthusiastically in an obviously honed ritual.

"So, Naomi…" Chakotay began as he lowered himself back into his chair and reached for the bag. "What have you got in here to play with, huh?"

Naomi paused in thought for a moment before plunging almost head first into the bag, making Chakotay gasp, but she resurfaced almost at once with a blue plush toy, almost as big as she was. "Dis is Flotter." She said by way of introduction, thrusting the toy into his hands.

Chakotay squinted at it, at a loss at what it was supposed to be. Not a dog. An otter maybe? A dragon? He knew it wouldn't go down well if he guessed wrong. "And who's Flotter?" he eventually had to ask as Naomi watched him expectantly.

Naomi stared at him incredulously, "You don' know Flotter? He's on the holodeck."

Chakotay smiled at her apologetically, "I didn't have access to holodecks when I was your age, so I guess I've never met Flotter." He explained.

"Never?" Naomi echoed, shocked, pressing Flotter on him more insistently. She then launched into a babbling conversation that made Chakotay take back what he'd thought about her speaking clearly. When she was excited that obviously wasn't the case. He had no idea whether she was detailing Flotter's life history or admonishing him, but he did finally catch her asking, 'What did you play?'

"Well, I ran about outside a lot, played with my friends in the garden, going swimming…" Chakotay smiled to himself as he remembered his father's policy of keeping him and his sister outside on sunny days, not letting them in the house until dinner. Sadness welled inside him as he saw curiosity but little recognition in Naomi's eyes. This girl would spent her childhood with the holodeck as her only garden. My abuelo, my grandfather, he built my sister and I a tyre swing on our garden big tree…" Seeing Naomi's blank look, he explained, "Has Tom ever shown you his car programme?" She nodded vigorously, "Well, the rubber ring around the wheel, that's a tyre. It made an awesome swing."

"Awesome." Naomi repeated, savouring the word. "Fun, very fun."

"Yes, very fun." Chakotay confirmed nostalgically. Poor Abeuelito, he thought suddenly, his mind may have been going even then, but he'd still known how to make things fun for his grandchildren and the other kids of the pueblo. "You know what? He used to play another fun game with me, one we can play now?"

Naomi clutched at his legs, her chin resting on his knees as he gazed up at him, enthralled. "What?"

"Come on up." Chakotay told her, patting his knee then helping her scramble up. Immediately she got distracted by his comm. badge, tugging at it. "You want to hold it? Wait, wait until I turn it off…" He told her firmly, carefully switching off the comm. badge before putting it in her hands. "Keep it safe for me, okay?"

Naomi waved the badge around proudly, "I'm a big girl now!" she declared excitedly.

Chakotay smiled at her, Naomi was still too young yet for a comm. badge of her own, though it the time wouldn't be far off. The sensors that were built into comm. badges were, for the moment, built into her clothes. It was just too much to expect a toddler to be responsible with the comm. line, and no child was given access to a Universal Translator until they'd fully grasped their mother tongue. "Not too big I hope, or you're too big for this game." He warned with a chuckle.

"No!" Naomi retorted, "I'm not too big!"

Chakotay considered things for a second. His grandfather had always set the scene for this game as riding a tractor, going over a bumpy field and falling into a ditch, but he doubted Naomi could visualise that. "We're on a shuttle…" He began as he held her held her securely around the waist, "…and we're flying through an asteroid field! Hold on!" Naomi gave a cry of surprise, then began to giggle riotously, as Chakotay began to bounce her up and down on his knee, faster and faster. "Around the asteroid!" he warned, lurching her to the side mid bounce, "And through the wormhole!" He opened his knees and Naomi dropped between his legs, though with him holding her waist and hands securely to control the fall.

"Again, again!" Naomi shrieked exuberantly, laughing wildly as she climbed back up insistently.

"Are you sure?" Chakotay teased, but soon started the bouncing and commentary back from the beginning. Many of those still in the Mess Hall had turned to look and were smiling at the scene, though some seemed a little startled to see their First Officer playing. That alone made him give her a few more rounds of the game than he'd intended, but by the fifth go around his back was aching. He could remember making his grandfather and parents play this game with him for hours on and off. The last time he'd entertained any children as young as this must've been his cousin's youngest… His stomach dropped as he realised that toddler would be in high school by now. Finally, he lowered Naomi resolutely to the floor, "That's enough now." He told her, snatching the first thing out of the bag as her face began to crumple. "Look, building blocks! I'll play that with you."

Naomi's face cleared, she was after all, a fundamentally easy going child. "Okay." She agreed, eagerly beginning to set out the blocks on the floor.

"Do you want to build a house or…" Chakotay trailed off, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as he realised the Mess Hall had fallen silent. Glancing up from Naomi, he saw the reason. Seven of Nine was walking through the room, standing out like a sore thumb.

Her ice blue gaze swept over the room as evenly and impassively as the beam of a tricorder, though after a few more robotic strides both her body and her eyes stopped by him. "I have permission to be here." She stated, "The Doctor has advised me that I will be required to consume solid nutrients within 48 hours and suggested I peruse Mr Neelix's dietary selection."

As socially clanging as her explanation was, Chakotay had to concede that she'd judged them all well enough, most of the gawkers became embarrassed and looked away from her, trying to restart conversation with their friends, while the others studied her more subtly. His own tensed muscles hardly slackened as irritation and distrust competed with pity. The latter, he supposed nobler, feeling had won out when she'd requested duty shifts from him, her admission of loneliness had been just human enough that he'd couldn't ignore it. However, he had to wonder now if the voices talking around her, about her, both here and in Engineering, gave her any comfort at all. She was still utterly alone in almost every sense of the word.

"Mr Neelix is not here." She added mechanically.

Chakotay only now realised she'd been addressing him directly, and wondered if he'd appeared so much more hostile than the others that she'd felt it a necessity to justify her presence, rather than just ignore him as she did so much else. "No, he's not." He finally answered, unconsciously drawing little Naomi closer to him. "But he's due back anytime."

Seven gave the tiniest of acknowledging nods, watching him and the child once more. For a millisecond, she'd been confused, Commander Chakotay had no progeny listed, but when she noted the female child's Ktarian facial features she recalled the crew database. Naomi Wildman's paternal ancestry must originate from Ktaris' Vodelsk Peninsula, that was were horns were the dominant trait. Ktarians had so many variations in their facial skeletal structures that it made any racial differences between humans infinitesimally insignificant. The Captain would probably promote this as an example of the wonderful uniqueness of the individual, but to Seven it proved the opposite, the collective similarities outweighed the differences. Still, she studied the child intently. Child-rearing. That was another complex social structure, but at least she could grasp this one. It was the parents' role to direct their child's maturity. Apparently, this behavioural structure expanded on Voyager to include every adult. Efficient perhaps, but still markedly deficient, since there were no adult Ktarians aboard. An emotion flared briefly inside her, one her experience with the Caatati had taught her to recognise as regret. Soon enough the child would feel the deficiency, as she felt so many here. She rounded Commander Chakotay's table. "Ensign Wildman's progeny."

"Yes." Chakotay confirmed with difficulty, "This is Naomi."

"Naomi Wildman." Seven repeated, the moniker sounding odd, excessively formal, in her precise, inflection free voice.

"Yeah." Naomi confirmed in a whisper, craning her neck up as far as it would go to stare, wide eyed, at the drone.

Chakotay cringed. Samantha wouldn't thank him for introducing Naomi to the concept of the Borg, let alone a drone!

Seven surprised him however by murmuring quietly, "Understood." She then, her eyes on Naomi's sharply angled face, sat on the chair opposite Chakotay's.

Chakotay knew she'd done the action unconsciously, as for an instant she looked as disconcerted as he felt. Had she even availed herself of a chair before? The fact that she seemed to have done it to stop a toddler having to stare quite so high up at her made him relax a fraction, accept that she was there. "So…the Doctor wants you to start eating?"

"Yes." Seven confirmed simply, her face uneasy as she added, still shifting in the chair. "He was insistent."

Chakotay cleared his throat. "He has to be, for your health." He advised, fighting the way his heart sank in dread at the thought that this woman didn't even know how to eat and everyone expected her to fully integrate. Her stomach was so atrophied it had taken weeks to let her eat, would her humanity recover at all?

"I will follow his orders." Seven informed him neutrally.

"Of course." Chakotay answered briskly, leaning away from her into his chair as he debated what to say. He doubted she'd really want conversation, but he felt pressed into it by the fact that she was there, that in her own small way she was making an effort…of sorts. She could've walked past him, he wished that she had. "You did a good thing for the Caatati, I hope you can see that."

Seven had settled on the chair, seemingly content to perch. In her absolute, alert stillness she reminded him of a trained bird of prey. When she walked or stood he had continual flashbacks of a drone, ready to grab whoever passed, assimilate them and continue on without a hitch, but now there was something serene about her violent beauty. "I provided what they required, and ultimately what Voyager required." She said impassively, focused on him, she seemed to have already dismissed Naomi and the rest of the Mess Hall as irrelevant. "I…regret that I did not see the solution sooner, but as I said on the Bridge, I am unaccustomed to thinking in that way." It was only over feeling, the word 'regret' that she hesitated, Chakotay noticed.

He knew what the Captain would've wanted him to say, what a good First Officer would've say, 'You'll adapt to that way of thinking', or 'It'll become second nature' but he couldn't quite force the words out his mouth. As much as he realised how big a step forward this was for her, and he did, on the Bridge that day he'd been as disturbed by her lack of self-preservation as much as he recognised her new awareness of compassion. It wasn't right that she should offer to be handed over to the Caatati as unfeelingly as if they'd asked her to fix a replicator. This woman wasn't selfish in the usual sense, she had no sense of self. He changed tact entirely, "B'Elanna showed me your proposal for updating Stellar Cartography." He told her, not missing the flicker of surprise that passed over her rigid features. "You didn't think B'Elanna would consider it?"

"No." Seven answered bluntly, "But the Captain advised me that she should be my 'first port of call'. It is procedure."

"That it is." Chakotay confirmed, "And since she seems in particularly good mood at the moment…" His joke appeared to fall flat, though Seven's metal eyebrow did twitch. "She's passed it on to me for approval. All such projects are overseen by me as First Officer." He explained, Seven nodded in understanding. "From what I can understand of it, it's brilliant. It really could change how we find our way home, so I'm inclined to encourage you to go ahead."

"The lab's designation would be Astrometrics." Seven remarked, apparently not realising that he'd given her a compliment, several, which should be accepted gracefully. "The Borg components would expand on Stellar Cartography exponentially."

"Astrometrics it is then." Chakotay agreed stiffly, "You'll need someone to partner you on this project, do you have any suggestions?"

"No." Seven answered, "I do not require assistance, but I have familiarised myself sufficiently with Starfleet protocols to see that I will have to accept some."

"I'm glad you've familiarised yourself." Chakotay muttered, gripping the edges of his chair as he hurriedly considered who to suggest. He needed someone pliable to Seven of Nine's…eccentricities, but not afraid of her either, willing to work with her. B'Elanna's upswing in mood wasn't that good, Tom, the only one other than the Doctor and the Captain who seemed at ease around Seven, didn't have the expertise, Tuvok had too many other duties… "How about Ensign Harry Kim, our Ops Officer?" He chose to forget the fact that Seven had knocked Harry unconscious when they'd first met. B'Elanna had once broken Carey's nose and they got along fine now. There was also the fact he suspected Harry was more than a little dazzled by Seven and wouldn't be too averse to spending time with her. That and Harry was almost pathologically tolerant and optimistic. It might work.

"Combining Astrometrics systems with Operations would be efficient." Seven agreed, "Ensign Kim is also not averse to Borg technology, he perseveres with learning Borg numerical code." Chakotay thought he heard a note of his own dubiousness in her voice then, a little bemusement, or was it disdain, on her face, but as ever her expressions and inflections were far too subtle for him to confidently say she felt anything.

"Well then, I'll talk to the Captain first and then brief Kim this…"

"That structure is unstable." Seven suddenly interrupted. Chakotay gave a start before he realised she was addressing Naomi and her precarious stack of building blocks. "This method would be more effective." As the child gazed at her soundlessly, Seven took the bricks and built a small pyramid with remarkable speed. She seemed satisfied to let Naomi be as the child began trying to copy her with the rest of the bricks, catching on remarkably quickly.

Chakotay stared, dumbstruck. "You know what that is, Naomi?" he asked stutteringly, "It's a pyramid. They're very interesting, an ancient people, the Egyptians, built huge ones out of sand as monuments to their rulers and gods…"

"Commander." Seven interrupted again, meeting his lowered eyes levelly. "Ktarian hybrids do not develop the species' photographic memories until they reach two years old. There is little point in teaching her history right now."

Chakotay almost burst out into nervous laughter, remembering his sister jokingly reprimanding him for his habit of telling long-winded historical anecdotes when anxious. Looking at Seven's face however, he saw that she couldn't possibly be teasing him, she was in earnest. There was something endearing in that, even as he thought that, if she ever did learn to tease, she'd be good at it. "I'll keep that in mind." He finally managed to reply.

"Do so." Seven advised him solemnly, before looking down at Naomi as the girl placed a red brick at the top of her pyramid. "I liked red too." She murmured as she rose gracefully to her feet.

Chakotay swallowed hard, "Seven…"

Seven regarded him intently, then sighed softly. "Thank you for your…compassion Commander. I…appreciate being able to work."

"You're welcome." Chakotay murmured to her retreating back as she left the Mess Hall as abruptly as she'd arrived.

A/n: Please review! :) If you would like more Star Trek one-shots, check out The Cheshire Cheese's profile, she's on a role with writing those lately, all are well worth the read!