"And there is nobody like you, here on Earth."

It was a lot to take with no mental preparation, Seven thought to herself as she took a minute to sip her champagne in the empty hallway she had chosen to take a break from the crowd in. She had been questioned incessantly, hugged by people she didn't know, had her hand shaken so many times she'd lost count, and introduced to her aunt in the middle of a ballroom filled with cheering people.

There seemed to be no thoughts that it might take the crew some time to re-integrate, that they might need more than their injuries healed and a chance to clean up before being thrown into a party. She'd seen her own feelings mirrored on the faces of the Voyager crew, though most of them had looked more at home once their families showed up. No-one besides the Doctor had ever really enjoyed the spotlight, and it looked like the crew was to be the center of Earth's attention for quite a while to come. There were parties on the streets all over San Francisco celebrating their return, one man had told her. Everyone had been watching Voyager since they'd been back in touch. He felt like they were old friends. She shivered, disgusted, as she remembered his touch on her arm, the look in his eyes when he looked at her.

She'd thought they'd be scared of her, as the crew had been when she first came aboard. But no one was scared of her here. She was a star. A miracle of humanity.

"How are you holding up?"

Seven's head popped up at the sound of Janeway's voice, surprised. She had thought Chakotay would follow her out. "I'm..." fine had been her intended response, but they both knew it wasn't true. "It isn't what I expected." She admitted.

Janeway sunk down to the carpet beside her and smiled wryly. "Earth never did pass up a chance for a party."

It occurred to Seven as she examined the woman that Janeway had been just as comfortable as she had in their small Voyager family. "What will you do now?"

Janeway chuckled. "Go home. Try and figure out where I fit in again. Things have changed since we left." Her expression looked a little sad, and Seven remembered that her fiancée had married someone else. "There's a rumour going around that I'll be made an admiral."

"I've received several job offers," the blonde admitted "and an offer of acceptance to the Academy. But Voyager..."

"It was home." Janeway said softly, smiling softly. They sat in silence for a moment. "Come on. Let's get out of here." The Captain burst out suddenly, getting to her feet and offering Seven a hand. Seven took it in surprise.

"Where are we going?" The thought of finding her way to the hotel she'd been given a room in made Seven's stomach drop. "I..." She didn't want to admit that she was terrified. So much had changed lately, and her emotions were stronger than ever since she had started exploring a relationship with Chakotay.

"I'm taking you to my apartment. No hotel, and no argument." Janeway informed her, the smile on her face offsetting the false sternness in her voice.

Seven stared at her for a moment as a feeling of relief sunk in. "Thank you, Captain." She stated whole-heartedly.

They were making their way back through the ballroom when she paused. "I should say good-bye to Chakotay."

"Alright." Janeway agreed.

They found him surrounded by a large group, but his eyes lit up when he saw Seven and he wrapped an arm around her possessively as she came near. "I'm going home with the Captain." She informed him, kissing his cheek.

His look darkened slightly. "Oh, I'd hoped you'd stay with me."

Her eyes widened. Their relationship had not reached that stage in her opinion. "I'm ready to leave now."

"I'll take you back to the hotel. I'm tired, too." Chakotay smiled at her, raising an eyebrow.

"The Captain has been very kind in offering to let me stay with her. I don't want to refuse."

He nodded. "All right, Seven." His tone suggested he was humouring her. "Perhaps we can have lunch tomorrow."

She agreed, relieved. "Good night."

"Good night." He kissed her gently before raising his eyes to Janeway with a look that wasn't exactly friendly. "Take good care of her, Captain." He squeezed Seven's hand and let go.

Janeway nodded, her eyes holding his for a minute before turning and walking away through the crowd. Seven followed her, frowning, wondering at Chakotay's reaction. Did he see the Captain's care for her as a threat to their relationship? She certainly didn't. The Captain was protective of all of her crewmembers.

It wasn't far from Starfleet Command to Janeway's apartment, but they had to travel with an escort anyway, and Seven was glad of it as they moved through the streets of party-goers.

"Make yourself at home." Janeway invited her as the lights flickered on in the apartment and Seven moved with interest into the space, not even pausing to take off her coat as she examined the spacious living area, so different from their quarters on Voyager. Someone had put flowers in a vase on the living room table and Seven fingered one of the lilies hesitantly. "That would be my mother." Janeway explained, "She told me she was keeping the apartment fresh for me."

"She wasn't at Command." Seven observed, turning to face her Captain.

"No," Janeway chuckled "she doesn't like big social functions. Kind of like me." She smiled. "She'll probably appear tomorrow, and I'll go out to the farm as soon as I can get away."

"In Indiana." Seven stated.

Janeway nodded. "You'll have to come with me. My mother loves having people to pamper."

"Captain, you're being very kind...But I don't want to impose." Seven pointed out.

"Please call me Kathryn, Seven. And you aren't imposing, I'm inviting you." Janeway collapsed onto a couch. "It's an overwhelming time for all of us. Frankly, I'd be glad of your company, and, as your friend, I want you to have the time to figure out what you want. There's a whole world out there to explore."

Seven perched on the arm of a chair. "Are you suggesting I should not accept a position right away?" It was an option she had never considered. Both in the Collective and then as one of Voyager's crew, she had always been a useful member of the society of which she was part.

Janeway shrugged. "I'm just saying you don't have to. You have back pay from Voyager." She yawned, getting up and heading into the kitchen automatically to replicate herself a cup of coffee. "Would you like anything?" She asked, sipping the hot beverage.

Seven shook her head "No, thank you.", but followed Janeway into the kitchen, idly looking through the cupboards and assessing the tools available. "You don't cook." It wasn't a question.

Janeway grinned. "No, I'm a replicator woman. But we can get whatever you like. San Francisco has great shopping." She eyed the clock. "Want to see the rest of the apartment?"

"Yes."

They headed into a small room with pale blue furnishings.

"Do you like the colour?" Janeway questioned, her eyes flicked to Seven's dress, which was a similar shade.

"I do." It was actually one of her favourites because she thought it matched her iris colour, and she told the Captain so.

Strangely, Janeway didn't meet her eyes. "There's an ensuite bathroom and room for a regeneration unit in the closet if you'd like to stay a while."

"I..." Seven paused in surprise. "I'd like that. Thank you, Ca-Kathryn." Her voice sounded strangely strangled in her ears. In inviting her to stay, Janeway had yet again given her a place, a home, in a strange new environment. She had always heard the comments suggesting Captain Janeway treated her differently, and she wondered, not for the first time, if it was true. She thought back to the ballroom and wondered if that was why Chakotay seemed angry...Maybe he thought Janeway and Seven had a special relationship, as many of the crew had...Was he jealous?

"No problem." Janeway said softly, breaking into Seven's thoughts. "Shall we?" She showed Seven her own room before proclaiming it late and disappearing off into its depths, leaving the blonde at a bit of a loss in terms of what to do with herself.

Seven replicated herself some chamomile tea and started off the night by exploring her room. Unlike the Captain's, it seemed strangely empty, and she found herself wishing she had more belongings on Voyager to fill it with. She hung her coat in the closet, where it looked rather lonely. Fishing her padd out of her hand bag, she went back into the living room to create a list of cooking materials and things she wanted for her room. She noticed that the Captain's light was still on, and wondered vaguely why the other woman, who doubtless knew she was still up, seemed to be avoiding her company. Had she reacted poorly to the Captain's kindness? She pondered the issue for a while, but concluded that she had acted appropriately, if more awkwardly than usual.

Finished with her list, she started looking up information on San Francisco, and then Indiana, and then countries around the world.

She woke to the sharp smell of coffee, blinking as the living room floated into focus. Janeway was sitting in the chair across from her, grinning. "You're meant to sleep in your bed, you know." The older woman joked, her hair mussed from sleep. Seven ran her fingers through her own as she sat up.

"I don't usually sleep." She pointed out, tucking her feet under herself. The Captain seemed to be back to her usual self.

"Well, it was a busy day, what with coming back to the Alpha Quadrant and all." The red-head joked. "I got a message saying that we're expected to attend a press conference and yet another party. Fame has its price, I guess." She quipped.

Seven tried to suppress a grimace. "How long can we expect this to go on for?" She would much rather get used to life on Earth in peace.

"Who knows? Nothing like Voyager's mission has ever been done before." Janeway sighed. "I can get us out of anything that isn't a Starfleet event, but apart from that my hands are tied." She correctly interpreted Seven's expression. "A number of crew members will start leaving the city after we've debriefed, but we're going to be pretty popular for a while. I'll have to stick around the city longer than most." She didn't look pleased about it.

Seven spent some time researching what was in style in clothing on Earth before programming the computer to replicate her an outfit. Janeway smiled, a warm look in her eyes as the younger woman appeared in a soft grey sweater and dark jeans, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders. "You certainly have a knack for coming up with things that suit you."

Seven returned her smile, a happy feeling warming her at the Captain's complement. "Thank you. I'm meeting Chakotay for lunch."

"My mother and Phoebe will probably be here when you get back." Janeway warned.

Seven frowned. "Phoebe?"

Janeway grinned. "My younger sister. She's quite the character."

"I look forward to meeting your family."

"And they you." Janeway returned. "Have fun with Chakotay."

Seven was concerned by how Chakotay had acted the night before, and wasn't looking forward to bringing it up with him. "I will, thank you." She responded absently, moving towards the door, not noticing Janeway's eyes following her with a worried expression.

Outside, the thoughts were driven from her mind as she was pleased to see that she fit in with the people on the street, and consulted her padd to find her way to the nearby hotel.

She jumped a little when a strong arm hooked itself through hers and she looked up into Chakotay's smiling face. "There's a great place down the street, if I remember correctly."

"You startled me." She pulled on his arm to make them halt and kissed him.

"Sorry." He murmured, kissing her forehead. "I missed you last night." He informed her as they began moving again.

Seven sighed internally. She'd vaguely hoped that he'd just had too much to drink and said things he didn't mean. "About last night..." she ventured.

"Oh, good, it's still here!" Chakotay gestured to a sign a few doors down. "It used to be an extremely nice restaurant, and I'm hoping it still is. I thought you'd enjoy it."

She smiled and nodded, deciding to put away the conversation until they were seated.

While Seven couldn't deny that the food was impeccable, she certainly did not enjoy the attention they received from other patrons of the restaurant. Between Chakotay's facial tattoos and her Borg implants, they were instantly recognisable, and no-one hesitated to ask for autographs or even photographs with them. She was further irked that while she was inclined to be left alone during their date, Chakotay seemed to bask in the attention, evidently enjoying his change in status from outcast Maquis to second in command of a starship. He showily held her hand on top of the table, often moving it to stroke the back of her neck, oblivious to her tenseness as he chatted and even flirted with their fans.

When they left the restaurant and he suggested a walk to see the city, he seemed surprised when she turned him down. "I'm meeting the Captain's family." She informed him. "It's getting late and they're expecting me."

He smiled winningly. "I'm sure Kathryn will understand." He lifted her chin and kissed her. "I thought we might go back to my hotel room afterwards."

Seven pulled away, angry. "I realise this relationship has been moving quickly, but this is only our fourth date. Your suggestion is presumptuous and rude. Good-bye." She turned and stalked off, getting into a cab before he could catch up with her.

She took a moment to compose herself outside the apartment, not wanting to meet the Captain's family while she was upset. When the keycard granted her entry and the door rolled open, Seven was greeted by not one but three red-heads. Captain Janeway smiled a greeting at her, causing the other two to turn.

"You must be Seven of Nine." The woman Seven presumed was Janeway's mother stated. "Do come and sit down. We've heard ever so much about you."

"All of it good, I swear." Janeway put up her hands in a gesture of surrender, her characteristic half smile on her face. "They wouldn't stop badgering me." She rolled her eyes at the tall blonde. Somehow, the red-head's positive demeanor made Seven feel a little better as she took a seat on the couch. She liked it when Janeway was relaxed.

"Call me Gretchen." The elder Janeway offered a hand, which Seven took.

"I'm Phoebe." The younger woman smiled, her long red hair framing a face containing stunningly green eyes.

"Would you like tea?" the Captain questioned.

"Yes, please." Seven agreed.

"So I hear you were out with Commander Chakotay." Gretchen commented.

"Mother!" Janeway's head appeared from the kitchen. "Leave her alone."

"She'll get asked about their relationship tonight, anyway." Gretchen pointed out loudly.

"I got asked about it last night." Seven agreed.

Gretchen nodded. "Earth is not unlike a starship. Your personal business ends up public information and the subject of gossip, especially if you're a celebrity of sorts, which you are. I felt you should know that your relationship with the Commander is already the subject matter of several tabloid articles."

"So they'll ask about it at the press conference?"

The older woman shrugged. "I don't know how much freedom they're being given with regard to their questions."

Seven panicked internally. Given the way she'd stormed off, she wasn't even sure where things stood between herself and Chakotay. Gretchen patted her hand. "You get used to it, dear."

"Kate was telling us you might come out to the farm with her." Phoebe, tactfully changed the subject. "I hope you do. I spend a lot of my time there, painting."

"You're an artist?" Seven questioned.

Phoebe nodded. "I have a studio here in town, but Indiana is so beautiful, it's hard to stay away."

"From the pictures I've seen, it looks exquisite. I look forward to joining the Captain when she visits."

Janeway handed her a cup of tea. "Kathryn."

"Kathryn." Seven affirmed, finding that her tea was chamomile. "Thank you."

"Phoebe is coming to the party tonight." Janeway informed her.

Her younger sister grinned. "Newly returned, eligible Starfleet officers. Now how could I pass up that opportunity?" she joked.

"Harry Kim will be terrified." Janeway winked at Seven.

She studiously avoided Chakotay that evening, spending much of the party talking with Icheb and Naomi. Icheb had spent the day touring the Starfleet Academy, and was extremely excited to attend. He'd gone out with some of the other new recruits after the tour and had evidently made several friends. Seven was pleased with his seemingly easy transition. "There's a parents' evening before classes start, and I asked if I could bring you. Will you come?"

"Of course I'll come." She smiled, privately honoured that Icheb had considered her.

Naomi's father was arriving from Deep Space 9 the next day, and she was extremely excited to meet him in person. She and her mother had taken a bus tour of San Francisco, and she was full of random facts about the city.

Phoebe joined them for a while, wearing a green silk dress that left nothing about her amazing figure to the imagination. Icheb couldn't keep his eyes off her neckline until Seven finally kicked him in the leg. Naomi demanded to know why Phoebe hadn't joined Starfleet like her sister but became much more understanding when she found out Phoebe was an artist. She was a little stumped by Phoebe's question about her favourite artist, but surprised the woman by deciding upon Salvador Dalí because of his interest in science and its influence on his work.

"A lot of people thought he was crazy, but I think he was just ahead of his time." She sighed.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows at Seven.

"Naomi and Icheb were allowed to do quite a bit of self-directed learning so they could explore their interests. Naomi has quite an interest in Earth's artistic history." Seven explained.

"Well, Naomi, perhaps if you stay in San Francisco we can chat some more. I definitely have some books that you might like."

Naomi's face lit up. "Really?"

"Of course, I'll send them to Seven or Kate, okay?"

"Thank you!" Phoebe received a vigorous hug. "I'm gonna go tell Mom!" Naomi jumped down from the table.

"Naomi, your mother said to stay with me!" Icheb stood up.

"Guess you better come, then." Naomi grinned evilly and wove off through the crowd.

Icheb sighed. "Excuse me, I'm meant to be keeping an eye on her." He went off after the younger girl.

"Naomi is a bit precocious, but extremely advanced for her age." Seven informed the red-head.

"She reminds me of me when I was a kid. I was definitely precocious. So was Kate as a matter of fact." Phoebe grinned. "Icheb is going to the Academy?"

"Yes. He went on the tour today. I'm glad to see him fitting in, making friends and being happy."

"You were worried?"

Seven looked down. "I thought people would be afraid of us. They were on Voyager, at first. I didn't want that for Icheb."

Phoebe smiled. "We've been hearing about you for a long time, here. People have had a while to get used to the idea, and to read about all the contributions you made on Voyager." She stood up. "Come on, I want to meet your boyfriend. Introduce me?"

Seven swallowed. "Didn't Kathryn...?"

Phoebe grabbed two glasses of champagne off a passing tray and handed one to Seven. "Nope. Let's go." She led the way through the crowd.

"Chakotay?" Seven touched his arm gently and he turned from the group he was speaking to, surprised when he saw it was her.

"Seven." Relief tinged his voice and he squeezed her hand. "Where have you been? I've been wanting to talk with you."

"I've been with Icheb and Naomi."

"Good, good. Look, about today..." he started, running a hand through his hair.

"Chakotay, this is Phoebe Janeway." Seven cut him off, pulling Phoebe up beside her.

"Oh, um, hi, Phoebe." Chakotay fumbled, noticing her for the first time. "Kathryn has told me a lot about you."

Phoebe shook his outstretched hand. "You, too." She examined Seven out of the corner of her eye. "Why don't I just..."

Seven spotted Harry trying to get her attention from a neighbouring group. "No, Chakotay and I will speak later." She indicated in Harry's general direction. "I think Mr. Kim needs me for something, excuse me." She left Chakotay and Phoebe standing together awkwardly.

"So, um, you guys had a fight, huh?" she heard from behind her as Phoebe tried to diffuse the tension.

Chakotay chuckled. "Something like that, yeah."

"Mr. Kim?" She inquired as she joined Harry.

"Seven!" He greeted her. "Is that Captain Janeway's sister you left with Chakotay?"

"It is." She affirmed. "I take it from your wild gesturing that you would like an introduction?"

Harry grinned. "Yeah. That would be great."

"Come with me." She led him back over to where she'd left Phoebe and Chakotay.

"Phoebe? This is Harry Kim."

Phoebe grinned. "Harry. I've been wanting to meet you."

"You have?" Harry seemed genuinely surprised. "Um, great. So...uh, what exactly has the Captain said about me?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry. Kate speaks very highly of you. I understand you play the clarinet?"

Chakotay grabbed Seven's hand. "Can we talk, please?" He said in a low voice.

"All right, but not in here." She let him lead her out of the ballroom.

"Could you explain why you're so angry with me?" Chakotay sat on a desk at the front of the lecture hall with his feet on a chair.

"You've been different, since we got back." Seven started. "Suggesting we sleep together, flirting with other women, acting cocky...I wanted to talk to you yesterday at the restaurant, but you were too pre-occupied with your fans to even notice."

"You're a beautiful woman, Seven, are you so surprised I want to sleep with you?" He took her hand.

Seven pulled her hand away. "No, Chakotay, but I don't like your approach. I said I wanted things to continue if we got back to Earth, that I wanted to stay with you, be near you. But that isn't true if this is who you really are. You basically ignored me at lunch yesterday. It was meant to be a date, not a fan club meeting."

He looked contrite. "I'm sorry. I must have gotten carried away. I didn't mean to be...what was it... 'presumptuous and rude'." He smiled self-depricatingly. "It's just...last time I was here, I was an outcast. I wasn't really expecting the warm welcome in spite of my change of status on Voyager. Maybe I've been enjoying it a bit too much?"

She nodded. She could at least relate with part of what he was saying. "I can't say things have been what I expected, either."

"I'm sorry for my part in that." He looked up at her. "I guess I've been a bit of a jerk."

"I'm glad things have been better than you expected, but I would have liked to hear about it at lunch today instead of trying to be polite to strangers. I also wanted to discuss your hostility towards the Captain last night." She realised she was also angry because he hadn't asked how things had been on Earth for her so far.

"I just don't like the Captain interfering in our relationship. She's far too used to being the guiding force in your life and she obviously doesn't like to share."

Seven frowned. "Kathryn is my friend. She offered me a place to stay on a strange planet. How is that interfering in our relationship? Besides, as soon as you had me to yourself today, you ignored me!"

"I apologised for that!" Chakotay snapped.

"And that fixes everything?"

Chakotay looked frustrated but took a deep breath. "I'm not saying it does. I'm just trying to point out that I am sorry, and I've said that I'm sorry, for how I've behaved in the last twenty-four hours. I'd appreciate it if you didn't rub it in."

"Fine. I'm trying to understand why my relationship with the Captain upsets you so much. She cares about my well-being, gives me sensible advice, and has been a good friend, even if she has to be Captain first sometimes. You have a friendship with Kathryn. I thought you would be happy for me, not angry that I care about someone else as well as you. Do you dislike my relationships with Naomi and Icheb as well?"

Chakotay pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

"Well, you're going to have to accept my friendship with Captain Janeway if you want to continue this relationship." Seven uncrossed her arms. "But right now, I need to go. I need to regenerate."

"Alright." Chakotay stood. "Let's go back to the ballroom."

She let him keep her hand when he took it.

Standing in an open courtyard of Starfleet Command, Janeway opened her hand to reveal two of Voyager's comm badges. Seven picked one up.

"Janeway to Voyager. Two to beam up."

The buildings shimmered out of sight to be replaced by the familiar bulkheads of the ship.

"Captain Janeway, Seven of Nine." A young ensign nodded to them as they stepped off the transporter platform.

"Ensign." Seven nodded in return, as did Janeway.

They made their way down to the cargo bay.

"What will you do while I regenerate?" Seven questioned. She hadn't really thought about it when the Captain had said she would accompany her up to Voyager.

"I thought I'd get some of my things while we were here."

"I have some things that might make a good addition to your cooking equipment." Seven commented impishly, and Janeway chuckled.

"I daresay you do." She agreed as they surveyed the row of regeneration chambers. "And you can move it all into the apartment just as soon as you've completed a regeneration cycle."

"I look forward to it." Seven stepped into a chamber, set up the cycle, and closed her eyes.

"Sweet dreams." She heard the Captain murmur.