Soft Landings
As Voyager swept over the Golden Gate bridge, a spontaneous hush fell over the gathered bridge officers.
Commander Chakotay confidently piloted Voyager and landed her safely in the designated area outside Starfleet Headquarters. He had been on the receiving end of a lot of unfair banter from the crew for his so-called "infamous" piloting record, but he liked to think that this final, important act had drawn a line under that. As Chakotay shut down the thrusters and secured the docking clamps, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. This was it ... they were finally home ... he hadn't really expected it to really happen ... what would this mean ... for himself ... his liberty ... for Seven...
The corners of his mouth gently curled upwards into a timeless smile.
Seven.
It was almost too much to comprehend the amazing events of the last few weeks. He would tell others it all began on Ledosia. Only to himself and to her, would he admit that the subtle conversion of respect to affection had started a long time before. It had been so gradual and so natural that he had no idea how long he had felt like this.
He couldn't quite place what it was about Seven that had first attracted him. There was the obvious fact that she had a beauty that was apt to strike dumb a room full of strangers. She had been known to turn the most confident man into a jelly-legged, mute idiot. But that wasn't it, nor was her formidable intelligence the cause. Her intelligence was enough to dwarf any man's ego, but he had never been challenged by it, she never used it as a weapon against her friends, she was always eager to learn from others expertise and to share her own.
No, instead he realised it was her eyes. The Greeks who were the philosophers and thinkers of Earth's Ancient History dubbed them the window to the soul. This was very true in Seven's case, her blue eyes shone with an innocence and honesty which was refreshing to behold. Commander Chakotay had always admired her instinct to make clear her intentions and follow her beliefs. Often these instincts had been contrary to the orders of Captain Janeway, and he couldn't help but admire her all the more for standing up so unreservedly against her mentor.
Kathryn Janeway. At the start of their adventure he had felt the tug of attraction towards her. But time, as always had been his guide. Time showed him that they were not compatible as a couple, but their individual strengths made them a command team to be reckoned with! There had always been patronising undertones in the smiles and confidential whispers that Kathryn directed towards him. Despite their years of friendship (and he didn't hesitate to call it such), there had been a tiny piece of him who believed that to Kathryn, he would always be her Maquis pet or Native American curio, as well as first officer.
With Seven, Chakotay felt like a swallow rippling through the Summer breeze, he was free to accomplish anything. She had bewitched him, with the oldest and strongest of spells, love. From their first date he had wanted nothing more than the honour of sheltering her slender frame from the harsh winds of reality.
It had taken a long inner pep talk for Chakotay to gather together the courage to ask Seven out on a date. Eventually he decided it was better to risk utter humiliation than miss out on one of life's jackpots.
During the turmoil of Admiral Janeway's stay on Voyager, Chakotay had told Seven he would make sure they were in transporter range of one another. He had a suspicion that life was going to be a bit difficult for Seven and himself over the next few weeks, and he vowed to protect her as much as possible from being forced into the Starfleet Borg Freak Show, she most dreaded.
With the ship secure Commander Chakotay turned back to look at his love. Brown eyes met blue and the look of love was mirrored on each of their faces.
Fin