A/n: After stuffing my brain with as much Chinese history as it'll hold for the moment, I've decided to relax by writing for enjoyment instead. This is my take on 'Night', not exactly a vintage episode in my view, but this spin on it improves it for me. I hope you all enjoy. :)
The darkness really was inescapable, absolute. It was as if space itself had been drenched in ink by some contrary, omnipotent artist; the stars that had mapped out Voyager's path home, literally and figuratively, had been blotted out. Without that guide, that reassurance of something as constant in the far flung Delta Quadrant as in the home stretches of the Alpha Quadrant, the venerable ship's crew, who had arguably been through much worse than enforced inactivity, felt truly lost for the first time in almost five years.
Chakotay, sitting at the heart of the pressure cooker that was the Bridge, was perfectly aware of this potent fear; it had after all felled the previously indomitable Kathryn Janeway. Her demons had thrust the control, or the management, of this situation into his hands as they'd began to consume her from the inside out. The ripple effect of the Captain falling from the top of this pack of cards had been felt down to the lowliest crewman, her fear and despondency had infected them all since they'd entered this…void thirteen days ago.
Had it really been less than two weeks since they'd last glimpsed real, living space? Part of Chakotay didn't want to believe that time was deceiving them so cruelly, but he was pragmatic enough to realise that, at the moment, there was course but to continue and cope with it. A sigh rattled through his mind, he didn't see the point of actually expressing it, it would just make everyone nervier if he weakened too. Even Tuvok, standing stock still at Tactical, seemed to be feeling the effects of the strain. New lines pursed his silent mouth, his hands clenched ever so slightly at his sides. Chakotay turned his gaze away from the Vulcan, irrationally shaken by seeing a tiny fragment of his own feelings reflected in the 'emotionless' man. As he again stared out at the black cloak the viewsceen was projecting into the room, a flash of black humour, nurtured from his Maquis days, lit his mind; from a purely tactical point of view, this was probably the safest they'd been since the Caretaker's array had lassoed the Valjean and Voyager in the Badlands and dragged them across the galaxy. There was nothing; not a single threat or bright spot.
The terse silence of the Bridge was broken by the permissive hiss of the turbolift doors. Showing just how restive they all were, all necks in the room snapped around to witness this mundane event. It was Seven of Nine, whatever she was never mundane, who walked confidently out to join them on the Bridge, her steps as militarily concise as ever. Her eyes settled on the viewscreen, but Chakotay didn't see the ubiquitous flinch cross her striking features, she just observed that yes, they were still in the void, and then seemed to dismiss it as she stepped down towards Chakotay's chair, PADD loosely in hand. Harry's attention was fully on her, as eager for any stimulation as a chained up dog. "What have you been up to Seven?" he asked curiously, "You've been out of Astrometrics most of the day…"
There was little to do in Astrometrics and they all knew it, but it wasn't Seven's style to ignore a direct question. "Lieutenant Paris…prevailed upon me to assist him with his 'Captain Proton' holodeck programme."
Chakotay found himself fighting a smile, Seven's tone and tiny shrug verged, with her subtle variances, on appearing long-suffering. "What character did you play?"
Seven arched her eyebrows at him, she was used to Ensign Kim taking such an arbitrary interest in her, but not the esteemed First Officer. " He assigned me 'Constance Goodheart' Commander."
"Con…Constance Goodheart?" Harry forced out somewhat incredulously, and Chakotay knew he was having trouble equating Seven with the character.
"The screaming secretary?" Chakotay questioned, amusement trumping dubiousness as he couldn't help but smirk at her.
"I did not scream." Seven assured him firmly, before feeling a flicker of embarrassment as she realised she sounded too proud of the fact, it went without saying. "You are familiar with Captain Proton Commander?" she questioned, peering at him intently. Perhaps she'd wholly misjudged his interests in the year she'd known him.
Chakotay shrugged, "It's been a long couple of weeks." He pointed out good-humouredly.
"Yes." Seven conceded slowly, not sure, as her eyes swept over the strained faces around her, whether it was a pertinent statement to agree to. Technically time had not slowed down, but she knew that it felt that way to everyone, herself included in many ways, irrational or not.
"So, if you weren't screaming in the clutches of Chaotica, what exactly did you get up to on the holodeck?" Chakotay pressed her.
"I neutralised the robotic threat within 2.3 minutes of entering the programme and Lieutenant Paris allowed me to leave, since Captain Proton was no longer in danger." Seven answered.
Maybe it was the serious tone in which she reported this, or maybe it was because he'd seen the 1950's box on wheels that Tom insisted was Chaotica's most fearsome weapon, but the thought of their ex-Borg taking the trouble to 'neutralise' it brought bubbles of uncontrollable laughter bursting out of Chakotay's throat. "You…You neutralised it…" He tried to choke out in reply but ended up buckled over with laughter, practically gasping for air.
Seven, painfully aware of the Captain's deteriorating mental state, began to fear that Chakotay had lapsed into hysteria and tentatively touched his shaking shoulder. "Commander?" she questioned uncertainly.
Chakotay's sense of perspective returned as he was met with her openly concerned, even anxious, gaze and he straightened up again, flashing her a kind smile of reassurance. "I'm alright Seven, really. I just haven't laughed like that in a long time, that's all."
Seven visibly relaxed, and she paused thoughtfully for a moment before remarking, "I suppose I proved to Chaotica that resistance is futile."
Chakotay chuckled at her deadpan tone, surprised but pleased to see the bright glint of humour in her eyes "It certainly sounds like it." He replied easily, giving her a grateful grin. He'd forgotten what a tonic laughter could be, and right now he certainly needed the respite. Somehow the fact that the source of the relief was the most unexpected person made it all the more potent, he could feel his whole mood lifting.
"I do not think Lieutenant Paris will invite me back however, his enjoyment of the programme seems to come from the sheer ineffectiveness of the battles." Seven told him drily.
"I don't know, your take on it sounds more fun to me." Chakotay teased, glancing furtively down at the PADD in Seven's hand as the rest of the Bridge gradually lost interest in the novelty of them conversing, "Is that the latest status report?" he asked in a low, confidential tone.
Seven's frame again took on its habitual ramrod like stiff formality as she answered just as quietly, "Affirmative Commander."
Chakotay couldn't hold back a muted sigh, he saw the fact that the situation was unchanged in one glance at her face. "Right." He muttered, before suggesting a little louder, "I'm due to go to the Mess Hall, care to join me?"
Confusion clouded Seven's face for a long moment before she suppressed it with obedience. "As you wish." She murmured, turning back to the turbolift with one twist of her supple body.
Chakotay moved to follow her, "Harry, take your turn in command while I go for a bite to eat." He ordered smoothly.
"Yes sir." Harry replied swiftly, though with noticeably less eagerness than Chakotay would have expected if he'd made the same offer two weeks before. Being in command when it almost seemed as if the ship wasn't moving at all wasn't exactly emulating Captain Kirk.
Seven stepped further back into the turbolift as Chakotay slipped in to join her, her inexplicably damp hand tightening around the PADD as her heart gave a disconcerted flutter in her chest. She doubted he really wanted her to join him as he ate, he'd never pressed his company on her before and she'd always been content with that. In fact it reinforced her respect for him that he'd accepted her presence pragmatically enough to neither pointedly avoid her nor foist excessive friendliness on her in an awkward attempt to mould her humanity. When she saw him glance at the PADD again, she belatedly came to a conclusion about his reasoning, "I presume you did not wish the Bridge staff to overhear my report?" she asked him bluntly.
Chakotay nodded slightly, glad for her perceptiveness, it made things easier. "It would probably be better if they didn't, but then I don't know what's in it yet."
Seven allowed herself a sigh, "Nothing has altered enough to elicit either further stress in the crew, or fresh hope." She informed him honestly, "I found enough navigational markers to set us on a marginally more efficient course through this expanse, but I still estimate that it will take at least two years to return to normal space." His, up until then, strong stance slumped for a moment as he exhaled heavily and the sharp stab of helpless guilt she felt brought the urge to apologise, though, in logical terms, none of this was her fault, to her lips, "I am sorry Commander…"
"This isn't your fault." Chakotay told her quickly, echoing her own thoughts more firmly, "We're just going to have to learn to deal with it." Seven handed him the PADD and he gave it a cursory glance. He had no idea how she'd found any navigational markings in this place and, though she'd undoubtedly noted her methods meticulously, he knew it would mostly go over his head.
"Are you returning to the Bridge?" Seven questioned, her uncertainty evident as she shot him a sidelong glance. Neither of them had yet ordered the turbolift to move.
"I wasn't lying when I said I needed something to eat." Chakotay told her with a small smile, "And I guess, between writing this report and indulging Tom by playing with Captain Proton, that you haven't made time for a meal either?"
"No, I have not." Seven conceded slowly, studying his face for clues.
Chakotay could feel her gaze and smiled at her encouragingly. Had he really been so distant that she was so easily shaken by him reaching a hand out to her? He knew the answer to that, in the last few minutes they'd talked more in one conversation than they had over the entire previous year. "Then let's go." He urged her, issuing the order to the turbolift before she could back out, "Deck 2." As the turbolift started with a mild jolt, he turned to her sheepishly, "Maybe I'm hoping you can make me laugh again, I need more of that."
Seven wasn't sure how to respond to that, a resentful sadness prickling at her. Chakotay was coping well, but many of her crewmates were not helping him, or her, to do so. Finally, a wry reply came to her, "Well, it may or may not amuse you to hear that Ensign Kim will already be sitting in the 'big chair' for certain, I've witnessed him on a previous occasion."
Chakotay chuckled, "You think I didn't know about that? I've seen it myself, and to my mind he's not breaking any laws." Both of them grimaced for a moment, thinking involuntarily of the Captain's attachment to the vestiges of her office, the perks she got in exchange for all that responsibility. Responsibility she'd now buckled under…
Shaking the thought off, a small smile graced Seven's features. "I do not know of any such specific Starfleet regulation." She assured him.
As the Mess Hall doors opened to reveal a relatively large crowd inside for the small ship, Seven instinctively stepped back, feeling overwhelmed for a moment, but Chakotay held her steady with a light grip on her shoulder. "I guess the replicator restrictions must be holding up." He remarked, "Everyone's keeping Neelix busy in the galley." The crew's necessary duties were becoming so light that replicator usage, mostly to combat boredom, had shot up to the point where Chakotay had advised everyone to eat in the Mess Hall so they could keep their rations for distractions other than food.
"Perhaps I should assist him…" Seven began concernedly, glancing over at the Talaxian's flushed face as he manned the galley singlehandedly with several dishes being rotated over the cooking stations.
"Let him keep busy." Chakotay advised gently, "He's having a hard time, a fear of nothingness apparently."
"Understandable." Seven murmured, "Although 'nothingness' is probably equitable to death. Many crewmates say they feel lost, detached from life, here.
"What about you?" Chakotay asked, then backtracked a little as he realised how blunt that sounded, "I mean, you seem to be handling this better than most…"
Seven wasn't offended, "I admit that it is sometimes…disorientating." She said quietly, "But I never saw the stars outside when I was in a Borg vessel, there could be years between me seeing anything other than Borg technology and when I did leave anything beyond assimilation was irrelevant." She breathed a sigh as she saw him pale, "As for the emptiness, after the…trauma of being reduced to a one voice after a lifetime as part of the Collective, this expanse doesn't not disturb me excessively."
Chakotay had to swallow, looking at her not with pity but with empathy and respect. "I guess it's all a matter of perspective." He commented as they collected their respective dishes from the galley.
"Precisely." Seven answered as she headed determinedly towards the only empty table. Chakotay was glad to follow her, several crewmates had started to head towards him with purpose in their eyes but had backed off in stunned surprise when they saw him with Seven. As everyone did, they'd been waiting to ask about the Captain, but he was relieved that he could avoid that altogether for once. He needed an escape from that, just for today at least.
They sat down at the table and ate in silence for several minutes before Chakotay realised that, obviously, she'd leave it to him to start a new thread of conversation. "So, apart from Captain Proton, how have you been filling your days so far?" he asked pleasantly.
"With regeneration and studying the expanse." Seven responded robotically, before a mildly exotic blush tinged her features as she was met with his pointed 'that's not what I meant' look. "The Doctor has endeavoured to introduce me to music, it has interesting mathematical properties." She confided shyly, "Specifically he has introduced me to singing and playing the piano."
Chakotay smiled to himself, only Seven would focus on the math in music. "I remember hearing you sing in the World War II simulation, you definitely have a talent for it." He encouraged her warmly, "Frankly I'm surprised the Doctor hasn't cornered you as a duet partner before now."
A soft laugh that made him jump in surprise escaped Seven, "He is in the process of trying to, I assure you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from our good operatic Doctor." Chakotay replied, "Are you really learning the piano from scratch? That brings back memories, my mother was a wonderful piano player."
Seven's face lit with interest, "Did she teach you to play also?"
Chakotay shook his head regretfully, "Unfortunately I was a pretty impatient child and so a nightmare to teach, I never got past 'Chopsticks'."
Seven's brow crinkled, trying to picture Chakotay acting impatient. He was one of the more patient humans she'd interacted with in her opinion. "I have progressed past that point." She admitted with a modest shrug, "But then, I have had a lot of time to practice."
"And it seems you will for a while yet." Chakotay muttered darkly before forcing himself to smile at her again, "I'd really like to hear you sometime."
Seven nodded, "I believe your critique would be more…practical than the Doctor's."
Chakotay chuckled again, starting to realise that she was purposefully being more talkative and humorous, and that it was probably for his sake. He'd caught her occasional glances of pensive concern. "I'll hold you to the promise of a performance Seven, but I can't promise in return that my 'critique' will be practical, okay?"
Seven studied him for a split second before answering with her habitual bird like nod. "Understood Commander."
A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I think this could stand alone as a one-shot but now I'm really tempted to take it into a full 'romantic developments' AU, let me know what you think of that plan. ;) Also, I realise that the Doctor didn't start teaching Seven to sing until 'Someone to Watch Over Me' in canon, but I decided to speed that up a little.