Author's Notes: Hello, and welcome to my fluffy goodness! This fanfic will be four chapters long, and takes place ten months from the end of season 7 as if EndGame never happened. No admiral, no nebula full of Borg conduits, no Alpha Quadrant. And before you ask, NO, I am not killing off Seven just because this is an alternate Endgame fic. KTHNXBAI!

Special thanks to Scifiromance and Starshine for letting me tell them a story! MUAH! Love ya both!

Obligatory Legalities: Don't own them, never will.

Read and Enjoy!

~LM

XXX

With a satisfied sigh, Seven placed the last clean dish on the plate rack before turning to hang the damp dishtowel on its hook to dry. She wasn't sure why Chakotay insisted upon handwashing the dishes after they ate dinner instead of just putting them back to be recycled into the replicator, but over the last few months, the simple chore had grown on her. A part of her felt it was his way of contributing since she was predominantly the cook between them, and this way he felt like he participated. Another part of her thought it was an excuse to tease her- a reason to not so innocently brush his arm up against her arm as they stood side by side at the little sink, to lean over and peck a kiss on her temple as she distractedly dried whichever dish was in her hands, to make her gasp or squeal as he playfully flicked cold water her way. Either way, she found she didn't mind.

"All finished." Chakotay announced softly in her ear, his arms winding around her stomach from behind and pulling her back flush to his front.

"Mm-hmm." she agreed with a small smile, lifting her arms up to run her fingers through his hair behind her head. She moved her fingers down to the scruff of his neck, enjoying the soft groan from his throat as she pressed her thumbs into the tensed muscles there.

After a few seconds, he leaned down and kissed her shoulder. "Not that I want you to stop, but let's go sit down, Querida."

"As you wish."

He smirked, gently pulling her by the hand, "I do wish." As they passed the table, he grabbed the half-empty bottle of white wine he had replicated with their dinner and the two wine glasses. When Seven settled down on the couch, he placed the glasses on the coffee table and began to fill them.

"You know I can't handle synthehol." Seven protested softly, watching him.

"You can't handle much." he gently corrected. He took one of the glasses and dumped half of it into the other, completely filling it to the brim. He handed her the half full glass. "But this much shouldn't hurt you." Taking a heavy sip of his own, he hummed his pleasure. "Try it, Seven. It's really good."

She continued to give him a skeptical look, one eyebrow daintily raised, but she brought the clear glass of wine to her lips. It was slightly sweet, barely tingling on her tongue, before it warmed its way down her throat and into her stomach.

"It's good, isn't it." said Chakotay, taking another large swallow of his as she nodded. "You should have tried it with the mushroom tortellini you made. It paired well."

"I thought it would." She took another little sip, enjoying the warm feeling that seemed to spread through her abdomen. "According to my research it was the best choice."

Draining the last of his glass, Chakotay paused only to peck a kiss on her lips for agreement before pouring the last of the wine. The empty bottle was set on the floor beside the coffee table as he leaned back into the soft cushions behind him. Raising his arm in invitation, a grin pulled across his face as Seven took the offer and curled in beside him. This time, she kissed him, her lips sweetened with wine. When she pulled back, he licked his lips. "Mmm.. Forget the tortellini.."

She chuckled. "You're adorable when you're tipsy."

"You're adorable all the time." he returned.

Seven smirked, finishing her glass. Already she could feel the mellowing effects of the synthehol settling over her, leaving her warm and content, staring into the burnt sienna eyes of her lover. It had been such a whirlwind ten months, moving from picnics in the cargo bay to outings on the holodeck and now to quiet, intimate, candlelit dinners in his quarters. Having the Doctor remove the failsafe from her donated cortical node had been the single best decision she had ever made. Ever since then, her emotions and humanity had grown in leaps and bounds. Suddenly, she had understood a lot of the subtle nuances of human nature that had always failed to gather her attention before. Of course, it helped to have a good teacher. She and Chakotay had had a.. rough start years ago, true, but she knew he meant it every time he told her-

"I love you." he murmured, their glasses finished and forgotten on the coffee table now, his cheek brushed against hers as he kissed his way down her throat.

An appreciative hum snuck past her lips, their edges tilting into a pleased smile. "I love you, too."

"Do you?" He nipped her pulsepoint, drawing a gasp out of her, as he moved his hands down to her hips and guided her to straddle his lap. His lips began their slow ascent back up her neck.

"Yes." she sighed, tilting her head back as he lifted one hand from her hip to pull her hair free of its twist.

"Prove it?" he mumbled against the starburst of silver by her ear.

An amused smirk crossed her face as she ground her hips down against his. "Prove it? Are you inebriated?" she asked with a soft giggle.

He grunted, his hands firmly back on her hips to hold her body close to his. "Maybe a little.. tipsy." he answered before laving his tongue over the sensitive implant beneath his lips. "Not much more than you."

"How do you know that-" Her breath whooshed out of her lungs as his hands moved up to cup her breasts over her blue biosuit. "..that I am.." She giggled at her own distraction. Chakotay was intentionally making it hard for her to concentrate- she could feel the smirk on his lips as he moved them back down against her throat. "..that I am inebriated..?"

A soft chuckle rumbled out of his chest, vibrating against her skin where his lips touched. "You're giggling." he answered. "Anyway." He punctuated his words with soft kisses. "You.. love.. me.. prove.. it.."

"..how?"

"..Marry me."

Seven's whole body jerked in surprise. That was definitely not what she had expected to come from his mouth. "Wh- what?"

He was gently easing her down onto the couch cushions, his body hovering over hers as he pulled back to meet her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, her lips and cheeks flushed pink, and her hair laid out around her like a curly golden halo. He smiled down at her before playfully kissing the tip of her nose. "Marry me?"

She giggled, moving her hands up to lay on either side of her head. "You are definitely inebriated, älskling."

"I'm not that drunk, Querida.."

"You're not serious."

Chakotay shifted his weight so that he was propped up by one arm. The other hand he brought up to cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb lightly over her full bottom lip. "Of course I am. Marry me, Seven."

The blonde beneath him giggled again. "Maybe someday.. not today.. Ask me again when you are sober, Querido.." When he opened his mouth to retort, she lifted her hips up, grinding against him. "Chakotay.. please?"

He groaned at the contact, his eyes shut, head falling foreward to rest his forehead against hers. "Please, what?"

She arched her back, bringing her chest into contact with his. "Please.. Kiss me.." She smirked against his lips as they quickly met her own even as her thoughts went racing. 'Besides.. You couldn't possibly want to marry a Borg drone.. Could you?'

XXX

Later, in the small hours of the night, Chakotay lay awake in his darkened bedroom, the only illumination the strip of safety lights above the sink in the attached bathroom. Beside him, Seven lay naked and asleep, her body curled against his side as she sought out his warmth. He watched the rise and fall of her ribcage as she breathed. Her skin was so pale that she looked paper-white against his tan colored chest. A half-frustrated sigh breezed through his lips as he lifted the hand not wrapped around Seven and looked at the little red velvet box he'd pulled from the nightstand as she slept. Tom had spent three hours with him last week coming up with the design for the little white gold and diamond ring inside it.

With care not to wake Seven, he reached over and dropped the ring box back into the nightstand drawer before turning his body towards her and stretching. The blonde sighed contentedly in her sleep as he shifted, her face finding the hollow of his neck. Despite his mood, he couldn't stop the amused grin that crossed his face, throwing his arm over his lover and pulling her body tight to his. It had taken him months to get her to attempt to sleep, and now that she had acheived it, sleeping next to him had becoming one of her favorite things. Honestly, it was one of his favorite things, too. He hoped to sleep beside her every night. 'But she thinks I'm joking..' Of course, thinking back, he did kind of bumble through it. Had he really needed a whole bottle of liquid courage? He probably would have doubted his sincerity, too. 'So how do I convince her I am serious?'

The ex-Maquis commander was just almost asleep when an idea hit him. After a second or two of deliberation, he slowly began to disentangle himself from Seven's arms, glad that the mixture of synthehol and exercise worked to keep her asleep. Free of the bed, he grabbed the ring box and a clean pair of boxers before he headed for the livingroom. He had work to do.

XXX

The bed was cool when Seven woke up the next morning, her eyes still stubbornly closed but her arm reaching back to Chakotay's side of the bed behind her. When she felt nothing but cold sheets, she turned over with a frown. "Chakotay?" she called out sleepily. Her enhanced auditory array could pick up the gentle hum of the warp core, the sound of people walking up and down the hall outside the doorway towards the messhall, but not the shower running or Chakotay moving around. Vaguely, she remembered that he had an earlier shift than her that morning, but he usually woke her before he left.

Not without a twinge of disappointment, Seven slowly kicked the covers back to her waist and brought her hands up to rub over her eyes. Quickly accessing her internal chronometer told her that it was still fifty-three minutes before she had to be in the briefing room for the morning meeting.

"Seven.. Querida.."

At the sound of his voice, her stomach flipped happily. "..Hmm?" Seven hummed, stretching like a cat before slitting open her blue eyes. In the darkened bedroom, Chakotay moved to her side of the bed and leaned down over her. He was freshly showered, shaved, and already dressed in his uniform for the day. She smiled sleepily up at him as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Faintly he smelled of the sweet herbal tea he drank in the morning and slightly spicy aftershave. "Buenos días." she murmured.

He moved his lips to the starburst by her ear. "Buenos días, mi amor." he whispered, settling one knee on the bed by her thigh to hold his weight and laying a warm hand across her bare stomach. He moved his lips to meet her own while his finger drew lazy, tickling circles across the bottom of her rib cage. "Did you sleep well?" he whispered against her lips. "You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you."

She turned her head, bringing one hand up to cover a yawn before she stretched again, arching her back to pop it. The air quickly left her lungs as his hand moved up to cup around one full breast. Her yawn turned into a pleased hum that hitched in her throat as his fingers began to massage. "..Chakotay.."

The commander smiled down at her, amused. He still found it quite adorable that the beautiful blonde laying in his bed, who was usually so totally in control, was relaxed enough to be comfortably half-asleep in his presence. He kissed her starburst again before nuzzling her ear and drawing a soft giggle from her throat. "Do you remember.. last night..? And what I asked you..?" he whispered. At her nod, he slowly ran his thumb over her nipple. He followed it with his tongue before whispering again against her skin, "I was serious." He pecked a quick kiss on her cheek as he leaned up. "I'll prove it."

"Wh-what?" By the time her senses returned to her, he was off the bed and out of the bedroom, slipping out the door before she had time to do more than sit up. A soft crinkle sound and the feeling of something stuck to her back quickly pulled her attention away from his swift retreat. She reached behind her and peeled whatever it was off of her back, and held it up for her still sleep-blurred eyes to see.

"A note?" she scowled, flipping the white paper over to read it.

'Buenos días, preciosa. Te quiero. ~Chakotay'

A pink blush crawled up her neck to inflame her cheeks despite the lack of an audience. Shaking her head, she reached out to the nightstand for her com badge before remembering that all of their clothes were likely still in the livingroom where they had shed them. Quickly slipping from the bed, she covered another yawn with her metal-laced hand as she slipped into the livingroom in search of her badge. Her biosuit was in a pile under the coffee table; her badge sat atop it, the emergency light strip above the door illuminating the room enough for her to easily see it. She snatched it up, clicking it on. "Seven of Nine to Chakotay."

The Computer's voice spoke pleasantly above her. *"Commander Chakotay is unavailable."*

Seven's brows drew together. "Seven of Nine to Chakotay."

*"Commander Chakotay is unavailable."*

"Computer, WHY is Commander Chakotay unavailable?"

*"Commander Chakotay has disabled all incoming communication."*

"Why?"

*"Unknown."*

Seven's frown deepened. "Seven of Nine to the Captain."

Kathryn's voice was soft and a little gravely from sleep. Seven guessed she hadn't had her first cup of coffee yet. *"Yes, Seven?"*

"..I was testing to make sure my badge was working properly."

*"You're coming through loud and clear in my ready room. Do you have reason to think it wasn't working?"*

"..No." answered the blonde, biting her lip. "Is Chakotay with you?"

*"I haven't seen him yet this morning. Have you tried to contact him?"*

"Yes, and it will not go through."

*"I see.. it might be a glitch in the comm system. I'll have Harry look into it."*

"Okay. Thank you, Captain."

*"You're welcome, Seven. See you in an hour. Janeway, out."*

Seven scowled, palming the badge and heading back into the bedroom to prepare for the day. 'Maybe it is just a glitch.'

XXX

Kathryn lifted her cup of coffee from the replicator and turned to look at Chakotay standing by her desk, a half-smirk on his face. "I hope you know what you're doing." she said with an amused smile.

"I do." he returned.

"Good." The Captain sat at her desk, taking a long sip from her cup before leaning back and looking up at her first officer. "She's like the daughter I never had, Chakotay.."

"I know." he said quickly.

"Don't leave her hanging too long, okay?"

"I won't." His half smirked bloomed across his face into a look of pure mirth. "So.. how do you feel about your son-in-law being your first officer?"

Kathryn chuckled. "I could always trade you out for Tuvok."

Chakotay feigned hurt, dramatically clutching at his chest over his heart, and staggering back a step. "After all these years? I'm insulted!"

"You're insulted?!" Kathryn set her cup down on the desk. "Whatever happened to asking the parents' permission before proposing?"

"That went out in the twenty-second century." Chakotay lifted his PADD from her desk and tucked it under his arm. He turned to head back out to the bridge, but paused before the doors swished open. "So in a couple of years, if we have kids, do you want to be Granny- or Abuela- or Mamaw- or-"

A bark of laughter left Kathryn's throat. "Get out of here before I throw something at you!"

The Commander laughed. "I'm going, I'm going!"

Just as the doors began to swish closed behind him, Kathryn called out. "They can call me Nana!"

XXX

Seven tried to let Kathryn's words reassure her as she headed into the en suite. It wouldn't be the first time that the comm system had malfunctioned. Still, a little thought niggled in the back of her brain. 'Why would he say that to me, and then run away?'

"Computer, lights, sixty-five percent brightness." The room was still humid from his shower, this deck being the only suites with actual water plumbing instead of just sonic. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she stepped up to the open shower to set the water temperature. In the dim lighting, something slowly twisting in the gentle breeze from the climate control vent was hanging from the showerhead. "Computer.. lights- eighty-five percent brightness."

Dangling from the silver pipe by a thin white ribbon was a red hanging tag like what would be used on a present, pointed at one end and straight at the other. The paper was blood-red and the size of her hand, slowly swaying back and forth. With a curious scowl, she gently pulled the tag down and flipped it over. On the back was Chakotay's distinct handwriting:

'Seven, I love you. Please marry me? Love, Chakotay.'

The light blush on her cheek flamed red as she choked on her next breath in surprise. "What?" she whispered to herself, eyes darting around the room like she half expected a holocamera to be attached to the ceiling watching her every move. 'He can't be serious.. can he?'

With a soft sigh, she stepped into the shower and turned on the sonic setting, the red gift tag loosely held in her human hand. The sonic setting did its magic in minutes, leaving her clean and dry and ready to go about her day. The red tag was tossed on the small counter, her eyes drawn to it, reading the words over and over as she blindly reached for her hairbrush on his shelf. Something tickled the inside of her wrist when she lifted her brush, pulling her attention from the red paper to her hand.. and the second red gift tag.

'Seven, I love you. Marry me? ~ C.'

"He's serious.." she whispered aloud, her stomach suddenly feeling like a hollow pit inside her skin. A little voice in the back of her head squeaked out a soft warning that this all may just be a dream or a trick. Still, a warm swooping feeling took over, flipping around inside her stomach. He had never lied to her. A smile bloomed across her face. "He's serious."

The tag was removed from the brush and placed with the other one on the counter before she pulled the brush through her hair to tame it back into its typical updo. Once she was pleased with the style, and then dressed in a freshly replicated blue biosuit, she made her way to the livingroom to grab her shoes. The first one went on just fine. The second one had something stuck in the toe.

Frowning, she pulled out a folded red tag, her eyes skimming over the black marker. 'Seven, I love you. Marry me? ~ C.' "Really?" She smiled again, amused. The tag was tossed on the coffee table before she slipped her shoe on and headed for the door. Pasted to the door was another red tag, identical to the one found in her shoe. She couldn't stop the laugh, or the roll of her eyes, as she stepped out into the hallway.

The floor at her feet was littered with red, pink, and white papers like giant rose petals, all with her name on them. 'Seven, I love you. Marry me? ~ C.'

"Omega." Looking both ways, she quickly ascertained that the coast was clear, then hurriedly bent down and gathered up all the papers before anyone could see them. Slowly, it dawned on her that she had only minutes before heard people walking to and from the mess hall in front of Chakotay's quarters.. and he had been gone for a good forty minutes so in all likelihood, the feline was no longer apprehended.. or however Tom puts it. Either way, her blush spread up her neck again at the realization even as she wondered why it made her feel that way. Perhaps because she and Chakotay were generally private people, and this was the exact opposite of private.

She heard footsteps behind her heading her way. She definitely did not want to be caught cleaning up the evidence, so she hugged the papers she had already picked up tight to her belly, and sprinted for the turbolift.

The turbolift doors swished open, blissfully empty of humanoids, but to her growing embarrassment, was littered with more papers- all signed by Chakotay, and all asking her to marry him. As the doors slid closed behind her, she quickly scooped up the twenty or so pages on the floor. "Deck One." Before the doors slid open again, she grabbed the last one plastered to them, adding it to the stack in her arms as she slipped out into the corridor. This floor, it seemed, was untouched, and she breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"Hey, Sister!" Tom's voice came from behind her as he walked towards her and the briefing room down the hall for the morning meeting. "Good morning."

She couldn't stop the jerk that traveled from her tailbone to her neck at the sound of his voice. She shoved the armload of papers into the recycler next to the turbolifts before turning to look at him. "Good morning, Mister Paris."

Tom watched one of the red pieces of paper slip from the pile as she shoved it into the recycler, and bent over to pick it up from the floor. Seven was there before him, snatching it up from the floor and shoving it with the others as they disappeared before he could even get his fingers on it. With an amused smile, he stood back up. "What'cha got there?"

"Merely bits of paper someone littered the hallway with. Nothing more." Damn her blush, and damn her lips for insisting to smile. Before he could retort, she turned and headed for the briefing room. The morning meeting would start in three point seven four minutes, and she didn't want to be late for it.

Harry, Tuvok, and B'Elanna were already in their usual seats when Seven walked into the briefing room, Harry and B'Elanna chatting back and forth over the latest bit of gossip from Deck fourteen, and Tuvok trying his hardest to read the PADD in front of him and not sigh audibly at the conversation he was being forced to overhear. Seven quickly rounded the table to take her seat. Sitting in the middle of her chair was another red gift tag. 'Omega..' The blonde didn't think she had ever sat down so fast, her chair rocking back for a few seconds before righting itself. While her blush deepened yet again, she sunk into the seat, ignoring the crinkling paper beneath her as she settled.

"Are you okay, Seven?" Tom asked as he took his seat next to her. "You look a bit.. flushed."

"I am fine, thank you." Seven returned, working hard at schooling her features into their typical Borg indifference.

"Was Miral okay when you dropped her off?" B'Elanna asked, turning her attention across the table to her husband. "She's been so cranky lately."

Tom smiled with a nod. "Sam was happy to take her, and Miral seemed happy to go. I'm sure Sam spoils her just as much as her tío."

"I'm not sure that's possible." Harry said with an amused snort. "Miral isn't even a year old yet and she has Chakotay wrapped around her little fingers."

"Miral isn't the only one with Chakotay wrapped around her fingers, is she, Seven?" teased Tom, reaching out and giving Seven's shoulder a playful pat. A corner of red paper stuck out from beneath Seven's thigh, catching his attention. He reached down and gave it a tug. "What'cha sittin' on, Seven?"

Seven snatched the paper from his hand as he pulled it free from her chair, quickly stuffing it under her other thigh and out of his reach. "It-"

"Good morning, everyone." The Captain said, breezing into the room, a PADD under her arm and a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Good morning, Captain." Tom said, absently fidgeting in his swivel chair.

"Good morning." said Harry and B'Elanna. Tuvok and Harry nodded.

"Anyone have any reports to hand in early?" asked the Captain. "We're so far away from anything else right now that I'm almost bored enough to read them like a burlesque novel."

"I'll remember that when I choose my wording later." B'Elanna joked with an amused snort.

"Seven's sitting on her report." said Tom, his attention on Harry across the table.

The blonde woman's head whipped around to look at him, unable to school the 'you-will-be-assimilated' glare off of her face for two point seven zero zero three seconds. The glare lightened to a scowl as she pictured herself having to ball up the piece of paper and swallow it to keep its message hidden. Briefly, she wondered what the ink would taste like before she tossed the idea out like old bathwater. "I have no report." she said cooly, turning her attention back to the wood grain inlaid into the tabletop.

B'Elanna smirked. "Then what is that piece of paper you're sitting on?"

"Oh, that reminds me," Kathryn cut in, turning towards Harry. "I need you to run a full diagnostic on the comm systems. There seems to be a glitch."

"I'll get right on it, Captain." said the young ensign.

"Well, if no one has anything to contribute.." Kathryn took a sip of her coffee.

"We are kind of in a dead zone, Captain." said Harry. "Nothing on sensors worth checking out, no higher forms of life on any of the planets near us, and no mineable resources for lightyears."

The Captain looked down at Seven. "See if you can't enhance the sensors a little- finesse them a bit- and maybe something interesting will pop up."

"Yes, Captain." said Seven with a nod.

"Good." said Kathryn, gesturing to the doors. "You're dismissed."

Seven was the first to stand up, practically shooting out of her chair, red paper crumpled in her hand and out of sight. She made it to the doors before Harry's voice stopped her.

"Hey, Seven," he began, quickly crossing the room to her. "Have you seen Chakotay this morning? I had an idea for the-"

"Chakotay is doing early rounds, Ensign." Tuvok answered as he slid past the two younger officers and onto the bridge.

"Oh." said Harry, his face falling a little. "Thanks." He looked back at Seven. "Well, if you see him before I do, will you tell him I need to talk to him, please?"

'You are not the only one.' Seven thought, but nodded her head once before heading for the turbolift on the bridge.

XXX

Well? How did you like it? Tell me in a review!

~LM