A/n: Thanks to NikkiB1973 for betaing for me and also to cojack for updating their brilliant C/7 Maquis focused story 'Les Exilés'. This chapter is set in the aftermath of the episode 'Renaissance Man' S07x24. I don't own Star Trek: Voyager.

Chakotay had grown familiar with Astrometrics over the years. He'd supervised its construction, and the Captain had pressed him to extend the role beyond that until he'd become the lab's semi-official liaison with the Bridge, or perhaps more accurately, Seven of Nine's daily liaison with the hierarchy of the ship. He knew Kathryn well enough to realise that she'd established this precedent of contact on purpose, to prove a point about Seven and her trustworthiness, and he had to admit that this time her tactics had some merit, though any resentment he'd had at the beginning of the process had long since faded into what Seven would term an 'irrelevance'. No matter how contrived the idea had begun, he was now as much at ease in the lab as he was in any other part of the ship. Still, every time he entered he allowed himself to be a little awe-struck by all that the room presented, not the green tainted consoles or lists of undecipherable codes that were built into the room's genome, but by the meticulous, even lavish, detail painted on the central screen. It was easy to forget, cosseted on the Bridge where the viewscreen compensated for warp to the point where space was a vague, star speckled backdrop, just how unknown and spectacular the Delta Quadrant could be. His mother, as much a lover of the stars as his father had venerated the living planets beneath them, would've loved this place.

In the dimmed lighting of Voyager's artificial night, the current image of the colourful, imploding ellipsis that was a Class 6 nebula seemed to have stretched to consume the entire wall. Only the gleam of Seven's golden helmet of hair, tinged pinkish by the nebula projection above her head, drew his eyes away. She gave a delayed jump of fright, having been too absorbed in her work to notice the door sweeping open behind her but apparently able to feel his eyes on the back of her neck. "Commander." The speed of her spin to face him seemed to snuff out the startled exclamation that was now only hinted at in her tone. A disconcerted frown however, did mar her face, "I apologise, I did not realise you were here." She said stiffly.

"That's okay." Chakotay assured her quickly, "It's quite late, you weren't expecting me." He glanced enquiringly up at the dominant screen, "What is it you're working on?"

Seven eyed him slightly dubiously, "A Class 6 nebula." She stated shortly, having the grace to look a little sheepish when he silently indicated that he knew that. "This one is unusual in that it contains particles rare in this Quadrant. I am currently running an analysis to judge the feasibility of sending out a probe."

Chakotay chuckled, "Another nebula with coffee in it?" he asked wryly, smiling apologetically when Seven stared at him blankly, "We had an…incident before you came on board, during our first few months here actually, where we were scanning nebulas for power sources."

Seven nodded, understanding lightening her blue eyes, "I am aware of the incident." She confirmed before a smirk played across her lips, "Do not worry, this nebula is not a living organism, I have already checked." She unconsciously drew closer to his laughter, coming out from the coloured veil of the screen and the shadow of the console, as she arched an eyebrow at him again, "I presume the coffee metaphor came from the Captain?"

"How'd you guess?" he asked by way of confirmation, trying to appear shocked.

"My powers of deduction." Seven replied drily, shifting uncomfortably as she realised he'd stepped further into the room, what she didn't recall is that she'd also edged closer to him during the conversation. "It is late Commander." She said, tossing his own observation back at him, "What do you require from me?"

Chakotay noted her unease, the sudden descent of chill over her manner, but stood his ground with her. He did however, let professionalism return, a comfort zone not just for her. "I've just left the Captain with the Doctor in Sickbay, she wants an update on our course after his little stint in her shoes."

"She's in Sickbay? I thought she wasn't injured during her period in captivity?" Seven asked in concern.

Chakotay briefly touched her arm, which was rapidly tensing up, "She's fine. I think she's just counselling him over his…near-death experience." He smiled wanly as he felt Seven stiffen, "He's also apparently concerned that he'll lose his Emergency Command privileges over these impersonations of his."

"Yes…" Seven muttered, her gaze dipped low as she pressed a PADD into his hand. "I already compiled my report Commander, I was intending to add it to tomorrow's morning report, as I already told the Captain." As his eyes widened at that, she met his gaze with a sigh, "She asked you to evaluate my reaction to the Doctor's…confession?"

Chakotay thought he'd learned to anticipate her perceptiveness but her forthrightness could still catch him out more often than not. "She was going to come and talk to you about it herself, but…"

"You convinced her otherwise." Seven finished softly, gratitude colouring her face, "That would have been…awkward." Her eyes flickered up to his face, "Of course, I'm sure you would've much rather not been given the task."

Chakotay sighed, "I didn't think it was something the Captain should pry about and I won't either Seven." He told her simply, "We're all just concerned that the Doctor might've blindsided you, and that's not fair." He started to turn to leave, "Thanks for the report."

Seven taking a deep breath in behind him made him pause, "Commander, you have surely concluded that I am naïve about certain things…" She trailed off as he turned back to face her again but quickly regained her thread, "…but I am not 'blind' or deaf for that matter. I have overheard enough jokes from the crew about the Doctor's tendency to…attach himself to his blonde students."

Chakotay winced, he'd heard some of those jokes himself, on a varying scale of crudeness depending on the teller. It wasn't uncommon for such comparisons between Kes and Seven to be made, with Seven getting the shorter end of the stick on most of them. "The Doctor did have a crush on Kes from what I saw Seven, although honestly I didn't know either of them well at that point, but that doesn't mean he wasn't being sincere when…"

"It is irrelevant Commander." Seven cut him off gently, "In fact it assuages my guilt because I do not love the Doctor. I am…fond of him, but I believe the feeling would be comparable to that for a relative."

Chakotay frowned at her, not because he was surprised by what she'd said, he always viewed Seven's relationship with the Doctor as one in much the same vein as her tolerant mentor/pupil one she maintained with the Captain, but because he suspected she was holding something back. "And there's nothing wrong with that, I'm sure he'll understand."

"I believe he does." Seven answered mutedly, thinking back to the Doctor's understanding stance when he'd discovered her with the Chakotay hologram, she'd thought that had extinguished any need for her to really convey what she felt, and who for. She closed her eyes briefly, not wanting to dwell on that in the Commander's presence. "But it perhaps would have been easier if I…" She hesitated, "I owe him a great deal and we will most likely be on Voyager for a long time to come…"

"Seven!" Chakotay interrupted sharply, sighing to steady his voice as he saw her flinch, "I know what your getting at and that kind of love just doesn't come from a sense of gratitude, it just can't. You would be missing out on something yourself if you entered a relationship on those grounds alone…"

"I know that Chakotay." Seven told him firmly, with a conviction in her eyes that brought a sharp halt to his sermon, going beyond the simple statement. The resignation and loneliness he glimpsed for a instant brought a familiar lump of those same feelings to his throat.

"As for Voyager being far from home, being one single crew, that's just how it is I guess…" He murmured. He found that he couldn't spin the usual comforting lie for her anymore than he could himself.

Seven seemed more content with that. "Voyager is all I know Commander." She said simply, using his rank again as he felt her intent gaze studying his face. "Are you alright after the Doctor temporarily relieved you of your post?"

Chakotay laughed at that turn of phrase, absently rubbing his temple where he'd banged his head on the morgue drawer upon regaining consciousness from the Doctor's sedative. "I won't say waking up in a morgue having lost a few hours wasn't disturbing…" He admitted, "But then again, that's Voyager for you." He added good-humouredly, eager to reaffirm that he was generally content on the ship.

"Yes." Seven agreed with a wry grimace of her own, "You forget that my body was inhabited and controlled by the Doctor for 36 hours, perhaps that puts your experience in perspective."

Chakotay wasn't sure if he should smile at that, after their conversation about the Doctor, but something in her face, an easing of her tight shoulders maybe, gave him permission. It seems as if having her own decision backed by him had settled her mind on that score. "It certainly does." He conceded as he moved forward, letting himself become captivated by the nebula as a break from this conversation, which had ended up delving deeper than he'd expected, honestly he'd expected her to maintain a dignified silence on the matter rather than confide in him. "What kind of probe were you thinking of deploying?"

Seven's attention had returned to the readings on her console as she tried to refocus on her work. "A Class 2 probe." She answered distractedly.

Chakotay risked peering over her shoulder to look at the scans. He couldn't pretend to understand all of them, since Astrometrics' consoles mixed Borg and standard Federation scans liberally, and Seven predictably relied on the former, but what he could make out was fascinating. "Surely a Class 3 at least, or maybe even a shuttle mission? How knows what we could learn from this nebula?"

"I'm quite certain a single Class 2 probe will suffice for now." Seven countered levelly, "That is more efficient than having to plan to build another replacement shuttle."

Now it was Chakotay's turn for his eyebrows to shoot up. "Is that some sort of comment on my flying Crewman?" he questioned in joking incredulity.

Seven stared him down gamely, "Yes." She replied succinctly, "I believe I am qualified to pass comment, since every away mission I have undertaken with you has gone awry in some fashion…" She faltered as he eyed her knowingly, "…although I will admit that some of those away missions have been improved by the departure from the initial plan." She amended.

Chakotay smiled widely at her, making the concession somewhat worth it. "Well, if that's the case in your opinion, why don't you humour this wannabe palaeontologist again?" he teased.

That didn't kind the kind of deadpan retort he expected. Instead Seven fell silent and still for a moment, her face thoughtful. "Why did you pursue your dream of becoming a palaeontologist?"

Chakotay gave a start, running a heavy hand through his thick hair as he blinked at her, trying to gather his thoughts. "God, that's a long story." He peered at her, intrigued, "Why do you ask?"

"I wondered why you changed you mind, pursued Starfleet, when you still obviously have a passion for it." Seven answered slowly, her head dropping; she'd actually regretted the impulsive question as soon as it had left her lips. "I find it a…challenge to change my mind, people do not expect me to do so." She murmured.

Chakotay found that somewhat cryptic, and gave her the only reply that came to him. "Everyone should have the right to change their mind, their path in life Seven; no one is trapped where they are, especially not by what other people say." He advised her before deciding to drop prying her open and open up a little himself. "When I was young, I was very close to my father, I would follow him everywhere, and he loved history and nature. Dorvan V was good for a lively, curious kid like I was, rural and open, at least near my home…"

"There are many misconceptions about your homeworld and people Commander." Seven broke in respectfully, "The consensus on board seems to be that you lived in traditional huts as one ancient tribe doing vision quests constantly. I tried to correct them by saying that Dorvan V was as advanced technologically as all of the other outlying Federation colonies of the time, such as the one I was born on for example, but it didn't seem like they believed me."

Chakotay frowned, he knew what she said about their crewmates rumour mongering was true, but despite his irritation at that he was both surprised and pleased that Seven had spoken up for the DMZ colonies as perfectly civilised. "I know, they make it out like I'm from one of Tom's 19th Century Wild West holonovels. Dorvan V was similar to tropical areas of Earth, we had every modern convenience, the old traditions were a cultural thing because so many different Native American tribes settled there. It was a melting pot. My father's ancestors were mostly descended from the Mayans, like Mopan and Yucatec from Belize, he also traced ancestors from the Xinca in Guatemala, but another branch were all Nahua people from Mexico and of course there's Hispanic interbreeding there too. On my mother's side there's Nahua and Mapuche but a lot of her relatives came from the south-western states of America or the Plains states. There's hardly anyone who is of one tribe these days, like I said I could claim kinship with nine or ten." He explained, "Anyway, as I was saying, my father's passion was researching all this, and though I branched off into palaeontology he respected that. Then…" His throat tightened, "…then my mother died. Father was away on one of his research trips, hardly made it back for the funeral…" He tried to restrain the bitterness in his voice as Seven suddenly gave his shaking hand a light squeeze before abruptly, guiltily, dropping it. "We were estranged after that, I wanted nothing to do with his idea of the past…" He laughed weakly, "…with his search for the Rubber Tree People, I wanted to leave that all behind, be the modern man he wasn't. I fought him to join Starfleet, I'm still glad that I did, but he was proven right too, when I joined the Maquis to fight them…"

"He said you were contrary, that you would never be one person if you left your people but would be divided between two worlds…"

Chakotay stared at Seven, not only shocked by her interruption but by the fact that she'd just quoted his father verbatim, in his native language, as if Kolopak was speaking through her. "Seven, how did you know that? How did you speak it like that?"

Seven's sky blue eyes were clouded with vagueness, but at the sound of his voice she began to blink rapidly, mortification quickly replacing confusion as she shrank back from him, ashen faced. "I am sorry…very sorry Commander…" She gulped hard when she risked looking up at him and saw that he wasn't enraged as she'd feared but merely bemused, "When we were joined in the neural-link to sever me from the Collective, that is one of the memories I witnessed, when you spoke of it I just…"

Chakotay had to grasp her elbows to stop her from retreating further. "That's okay, I know the link was intense, I'm not really surprised you saw that memory…" He tried to smile at her kindly as she remained stiff in his arms, "I saw some of your memories too, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised it was a two way street."

This revelation didn't comfort her, in fact she shuddered violently. "My memories are reprehensible!" she spat out, "You should not have to be burdened as I am with…"

"I didn't see you as a drone." He told her in a short tone that meant she didn't question his honesty, "I saw a little girl, that's all." He breathed a quiet sigh, "Remember I called you Annika then, not Seven?"

"I remember." Seven whispered thickly, turning her back on him to stare down at the console without really seeing it.

Chakotay debated whether to just leave, as she so obviously wanted him to, but he didn't want this haunting them like a ghost. "I also remember you had an accent back then, you must be good with languages, you just spoke my native language better than I do." He remarked as light-heartedly as he could.

Seven hesitated for a moment before regarding him over her shoulder with slightly narrowed eyes. "I still do have an accent Commander. My first language is Swedish and it's what I'm speaking now, the universal translators in our comm. badges are merely compensating for the language barrier." She shook her head, "It is rather ironic that that is the only part of my original identity left intact by the Collective, spoken language is irrelevant when you are linked mentally." She allowed herself a sad smile, "I believe my aunt was relieved when I didn't contact her speaking some sort of Borg language she imagined." She decided to make her point by reaching forward and deactivating his comm. badge before doing the same with her own, taking a deep breath. "Now I am speaking English, do you hear the difference?"

"I do." Chakotay conceded but with a smile. Of course her English was grammatically flawless, as would be expected from someone who'd helped to assimilate thousands of speakers, and was just as inflected with her Borg mannerisms as her usual, apparently translated, voice, but he could now detect the softening elements of a melodic, long vowel accent as well. "I like it."

Seven gave one of her bird like nods in acknowledgement, but her expression was doubtful as her shoulders rolled in a tiny shrug. "Does it make me sound more human?"

Chakotay flinched at the cynicism in the question, but held her gaze. "No, you just are human Seven." He replied, his face softening again as he saw her guarded mask slip away, or had it been pulled away by his words? "But your accent does suit you somehow."

"Thank you." Seven murmured, warmth injected back into her voice as she reactivated her comm. badge, "However, I believe it would be more efficient for me to continue to use this for the time being." Her fingers restarted their dance over her console, "Just as it would be most efficient to deploy a Class 2 probe into that nebula."

Chakotay smirked at her as he too leaned over the console, "You're not going to let that go are you?"

"Should I?" Seven answered him, characteristically with a question, eyes beginning to sparkle.

"If you ignore the 'problem' tonight, we'd have time to get a bite to eat in the Mess Hall." Chakotay suggested, his low tone wiping out any teasing note the words might've carried. "I know that with Neelix gone, the meal options aren't as creative as they once were, but I did go to that cooking class in the end…"

Seven pressed her lips together at the reminder of her earlier brush off to such an offer, but forced the thought away. "And how did Mr Neelix judge your efforts?" A laugh left her tight throat as she saw his handsome face become sheepish, "We will be fine, I already know how to cook."

"I should've guessed you would." Chakotay admitted as her held out an arm for her, "Come on."

Seven cautiously slipped her arm through his, returning his gentle smile as she put her console and the viewscreen into sleep mode with her free hand. "Let's go."

A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D All of the named Native American tribes mentioned here, while not brought up in canon, are real. A note on my thoughts on Universal Translators, in my mind it works by glossing over someone's 'real' voice and language with English, so without it, Seven would speak accented second-language English.