Title: "The Party"
Author: Annie.
Pairing: Chakotay/Seven of Nine, friendships all around.
Rating/Codes: PG, drabble
Summary: Some of the crewmember's thoughts during the reunion party from Endgame.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or these characters nor do I make money off this. I just borrow them for my own enjoyment.

Warnings: None

The Doctor arrived at the reunion with his date. She was blond, beautiful and intelligent. That much was obvious from the moment anyone set eyes on her.

Harry wouldn't have given her more than a cursory glance, except that she reminded him of someone.

Tom rushed up to say hello to the Doc and meet his partner. They chatted for a few minutes.

Harry sidled closer to the trio, just out of view. He was still waiting to talk to Naomi, but was curious about this mystery woman. Her identity nagged at him in a way he wouldn't have expected. He was only mildly surprised to hear the woman was in fact the Doctor's wife. Still, something pulled at his attention. Another partygoer and his companion bumped into him, but Harry paid them no mind.

Reg made his speech. It was eloquent, more so than it would have been years ago. It touched the surviving crew of Voyager to have such festivities to celebrate their return.

Perhaps over the years the significance was lost on a few of them or their less intimate family and friends. The years after their return drew on. People began to forget their friends from Voyager. They were drawn to their new lives and careers, yet never able to fully reintegrate with the society they had fought so long and hard to come back to. Too many years had passed. Too many lives had been given in the pursuit.

Limbo was a long, lonely and painful way to exist.

Janeway felt this more than most. She never questioned why, but had she thought about it, she may have come to the conclusion that it was because she felt her own isolation as well as the pains of her crew. Every death on her ship had felt like the death of a child. Every tear shed felt like it came from her own eye. When they returned, their exultation and relief was hers as well.

"And to those who aren't here to celebrate it with us." How many people had died since the beginning of the journey? Janeway hadn't lost count, but she pushed the numbers to the back of her mind and focused on the faces before her. There would be time to think of the dead later. Now was for the living.

A few hours into the party, Janeway and Harry crossed paths again. He was at the bar, watching the crew and their families laugh and joke. His gaze strode once again to the Doctor and his wife. The blond, beautiful woman had a gorgeous smile, a flawless body and wonderful posture. She was quiet too, speaking only when spoken to.

"Enjoying the party?" Janeway stood at Harry's elbow, an elegant brow raised as she watched him.

"Oh, yes, I am." Janeway's eyes flickered from him to the blond and back again. He knew that smile. "It's not what you think."

"Oh, enlighten me."

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?"

Janeway watched for a moment, her head cocked to the side. "You know," she licked her lips, "she does."

"From the back, she could be mistaken for Seven's doppelganger… with longer hair."

Janeway's gaze turned prickly and her posture went stiff. "I suppose she could."

Harry ignored the voice of caution in his head. "He seems to have found a replacement. I remember when the Doctor pined over Seven."

Janeway sighed. "Yes, but she's dead, Harry. It's normal for us to move on." It was what he needed to hear, what she had to say to show off her sanity and throw off concern. Harry was not so easy to fool.

"I wonder why Chakotay didn't remarry." He casually looked to his former captain. She was as motionless as stone, eyes on the blond and yet focused on nothing. "I remember more than a few women showing an interest in him. That one woman from Orellea certainly seemed his type."

The woman could have been a goddess of beauty and her mind had been just as extraordinary. Her human-like features had been perfectly shaped and finely coloured with natural rosy hues tinting her cheeks and lips. Her eyes had been the brightest and clearest of blue with long, dark lashes. She had spent her life studying stellar and temporal phenomena and was an expert in the field. Her name had been Roya and she had loved Chakotay. Something about him had driven her to follow him to the edges of her race's system. She would have followed further had he not been exceptionally firm and sent her home.

Though Seven had been dead well over two years by the time Roya came along, Chakotay hadn't shown any interest. They hit it off in the beginning, but Chakotay given only friendship.

Janeway thought about Roya and the dozen others who had tried to catch Chakotay's attention over the years. All their attempts had gone to waste. Others on Voyager paired off. Two of the crew had even found spouses from alien races. Chakotay was the only one who steadfastly refused to seek a new romance.

Chakotay had loved his wife with every bit of heart he had and Seven had shown just as much love for him. Over the short while they'd been together Seven had been a completely different person. Love had been the final key to regaining Seven's humanity and the means to Chakotay's happiness. A lover is difficult to forget at the worst of times. When a lover gives you the best times of your life, it is impossible to think of anyone else.

"I think he knew she could never be replaced."

Harry put a hand on Kathryn's arm, gently squeezing it. "It wasn't your fault, not her death and not his. None of us could have known what would happen on that mission. And he just didn't want to live anymore, not without her." Harry and Kathryn looked to the Doctor and his wife once more. "I guess that's one of the differences between us and holograms. When she's old and grey, he'll still be what he is today."

"And when she's been buried, he'll have all the time in the world to move on, to find someone new," Kathryn finished. It was tempting to tell Harry, sweet Ensign Harry Kim, that soon things would be different. But he wouldn't understand. She bit her tongue. In just a few days time, none of their worries would matter anymore. The ghosts that haunted her dreams would be put to rest and the two deaths that plagued her heart would be wiped clean from her conscience.

"Kind of makes you think," said Harry.

Janeway smiled. She didn't like the way Harry watched her. He knew something was wrong. "I'll be all right," she said. He smiled, his concerns eased. Janeway felt only the slightest prick of guilt at lying to him.