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A/N-thank you to Scifiromance who kindly beta'd this chapter for me. This is set in the final season's episode 'Endgame.'
Chapter One
Chakotay strode purposefully into Astrometrics; he had a padd clutched tightly in his right hand, but this was merely a cover. There was nothing at all essential on there that he needed to pay a visit to Astrometrics for. Automatically he covertly glanced to the left of the corridor and then the right before entering. For some obscure reason he kept imagining Captain Janeway or her older alter ego, the Admiral, to loom suddenly in his line of vision. He had the odd feeling that both Janeway's past and present incarnations had begun to suspect there was something going on between her protégé and her first officer. So far Chakotay and Seven, both being of a private nature, had kept the fledging relationship under wraps, neither wanting to be in the spotlight and make themselves the subject of shipboard gossip. However with Chakotay's increasing visits to Astrometrics, on what even he had to agree were pretty flimsy pretexts, he worried that it was becoming obvious. Not because of any worries on his part about being found out, but he knew that Seven would find it hard to cope with any innuendoes or risqué jokes, that some of the more discerning of the crew would no doubt indulge in.
The double doors slid open to admit him and he walked smoothly inside. As always the first thing he saw was Seven herself standing rigidly in front of her console in the centre of the large room. The huge screen filled with data loomed large above her and he watched as her fingers flew over the padd which she had in front of her, already probably near the end of the project that the Captain had set for her about the nebula they had come across a few days before filled with Borg cubes, and the feasibility of finding the route home that the Admiral had travelled across time and space to propose to them. Right at this precise moment the Captain and her older self were locked in a heated argument over the fact that the Admiral had kept the transwarp corridor a secret and not told any of the crew a thing about it until they were deep inside Borg territory. Thankfully the new adaptive shielding that the Admiral had insisted they armour Voyager with before they made the attempt had held out, but for how long for no one could guess. The Borg were already adapting their own technology, the longer they delayed, the less chance they would have to get home.
Chakotay didn't know how he felt about the Captain's decision to make them backtrack and fly back out of the nebula. He knew that the crew was split down the middle about her decision. He was lingering on the fence. He understood her reasons for distrusting the Admiral but he was also chaffing at the bit to get home. The Admiral had given them a golden opportunity, now that slim chance may be snatched from them if the Captain delayed further, or tried her ambitious plan to use the future technology to destroy the transwarp network and deal the Borg a crippling blow.
All this ran through Chakotay's mind as he saw Seven turn her head to glance behind her. She arched an eyebrow and gave him a knowing smile. "My report is not yet ready."
Chakotay felt the tension leave his body at the sight of her. Her blonde hair glinted under the bright overhead lights and he found it reassuring the way she confidently walked around her little kingdom. He was following after her as she marched purposefully from one console to another, adding yet more data onto the padd she held in her hand.
"I confess I came here to check on you, not to collect your report. I heard about what happened." Chakotay's voice lowered as he enquired after her health. When he had first been told he had wanted to hurry to her side immediately, but he had been charged with keeping an eye on the Admiral. The Captain had gone in his stead to see Seven, and when she returned, had reported that she was fine and already back at her post. Chakotay had not been pleased with the dismissive way the Captain had spoke about what must have been a frightening experience for Seven, and the fact that she was back at work. He chided the Captain in front of her older self. This had not pleased Janeway at all. She flashed him an irritated glance, and when he looked at the Admiral, she seemed to have a smug smile on her face, as if she knew something her younger self did not. This gave Chakotay his first suspicion that she may know about his feelings for the former Borg.
Seven had no idea about his digression. Her own expression softened. Her blue eyes lost their customary cool exterior and she smiled at him gratefully. He loved seeing that smile. It softened her whole demeanour and showed him the vulnerable woman she was beneath her formality. "Honestly I am fine. You do not need to worry." She assured him.
"Let me be the judge of that." He teased her gently. He showed her the padd in his hand. "I am in charge of the duty rota after all, so if you wanted some extra time off..." he left the rest unsaid.
Seven arched her eyebrow again, her lips curling upward in an amused smile. "Wouldn't that be cheating to use our personal relationship to influence your decisions?"
Chakotay grinned. "You are right, crewman. Report?"
"Yes, Commander." Seven returned his grin with a languid smile of her own. She secretly adored the way he would gently tease her. He, more than anybody she knew, could get her to loosen her inhibitions and make her feel at ease. But that was perhaps just who Chakotay was. He wasn't just the first officer, he also doubled up as the crew's unofficial counsellor. He had a special skill at allowing others to talk about very private things and not come across as judgemental, something the Captain was never able to do. It had been a wise choice on Janeway's part to keep Chakotay close when he had first arrived on board as part of the Maquis. Now he and the Captain enjoyed a close, sometimes tense, but mostly cordial relationship. He was one of the few who could reign the Captain in when her plans became too ambitious.
They spoke briefly about what Seven had so far found and other inconsequential things that she had put in her report. Then their conversation turned to more personal matters. Chakotay took Seven's hand and pressed his warm fingers into her palm, tracing the webbed metal that encased her fingers. "What do you plan to do if we do get back to Earth?" He asked her.
Seven dipped her head and stared at the floor before raising her eyes back to his. "I suppose Star Fleet will want to debrief me then I hope to find a suitable position somewhere." She confessed. "And you?"
Chakotay nodded, his hold on her hand became stronger and she noticed his brown eyes were shining with an unusual measure of intensity. It took her breath away for a moment. The look lingered between them and when he finally spoke, his voice sounded loud in the silence. "I am not sure myself yet, but wherever I end up I hope, no, I know that it will be wherever you are."
Seven felt her throat close up with the intensity of her emotions. She couldn't even explain what she was feeling; a mixture of happiness and relief that he had been the first to express that this relationship was for the long term, and not just a brief dalliance, as she had feared in her more anxious moments. She gripped his hand just as tightly, her blue eyes moist with tears that she tried not to shed. Since her failsafe had been removed she found that her turbulent human emotions were harder to control. "I am glad." She managed to whisper.
Chakotay, who was beginning to know her intimate thoughts well, smiled at this muted reaction. He could tell by the look in her vivid blue eyes and the way she held onto his hand for dear life that his words had eased a fear that she had yet to confide in him. He had wanted to put their relationship on a firmer footing and he felt that his words had cemented something that had been hovering on the edges but had not been fully comprehended between them. Chakotay knew already in his own heart that one day Seven would be his wife.
Seven was in Cargo Bay 2 ready to regenerate. She had delivered her report to the Captain and was looking forward to some rest. She was to meet up with Chakotay in a few hours and she wanted to be well rested so she was looking her best. The doors to the bay opened and to Seven's surprise the Admiral stalked inside. Her shiny helmet of grey hair seemed cemented to her head as she walked over to Seven with a sharp glint in her eyes and a determined grimace on her lips. Seven wondered if she had some complaint about the report she had delivered to the Captain.
"Seven I need to speak to you." Was the Admiral's only greeting.
Her words made Seven stiffen slightly. She moulded her body into it's old formal pose; back ramrod straight and her hands clasped firmly behind her back. She would be as abrupt as the Admiral. "How can I be of assistance?" She asked formally.
"That is the Seven of Nine I know." The Admiral seemed pleased at seeing her former protégé acting as she always remembered her. Always ready to serve and perform her duties to perfection. It eased her troubled mind about what she was about to propose. "There is something I need to say."
"Please do, Admiral." Seven watched the Captain's older self begin to pace.
"This is not easy for me, Seven, so I will be blunt, I think we both prefer things this way." The Admiral stopped pacing and looked at Seven critically. "I need you to dissuade my rash younger self from what she is about to do. She listens to your advice and it would be detrimental to you if you didn't at least try."
"Detrimental to me?" Seven questioned, feeling apprehensive about what the Admiral was about to reveal.
"Yes. If you cannot persuade her to return to the nebula and go straight home without trying this insane plan she has devised against the Borg, then you would all still be stranded here and this would have terrible consequences for you and your relationship with the Commander." The Admiral admitted.
Seven felt like she had been dealt a huge body blow. One hand reached out to clutch onto one of the beams that held up the ceiling. Her heart began to race and she felt perspiration bead her brow. How did this woman know? She glanced up to see a sympathetic look cross the Admiral's face. "I cannot do what you ask." Seven managed to reply, her voice surprisingly steady considering the turmoil she felt inside.
"I am sorry to have been so blunt, Seven." The Admiral's voice was softer now. "But you have to see my side of things. If you do not stop the Captain's plans then you will die, and Chakotay..." she paused for a second. "Chakotay will soon follow."
A/N-thanks for reading and please review.