Disclaimer: I do not own Star: Trek Voyager. The friendship between Naomi and Seven is one of my favorite things in the show, so this is my own little attempt to write about it. Hope you enjoy!
Reassurance
Seven of Nine stood in the Astrometrics lab. Naomi Wildman hovered at her side, as the child had done so often during Voyager's journey. However this time was different. Very soon, Voyager would arrive at a destination that had always seemed so far off to Seven. Earth.
She glanced down at the child next to her. The little girl's face wore a troubled, anxious expression, almost fearful.
"What is troubling you?" Seven asked.
Naomi bit her lip for a moment, hesitating, then burst out, "What if he doesn't like me?"
Seven's eyebrows drew together, "What if who doesn't like you?"
"My father."
"Why do you believe that he would not like you?" Naomi shrugged, "I dunno…just… what if he doesn't?" The child's lower lip trembled.
Seven paused, choosing her next words carefully. She had come a long way, both figuratively and literally, since she first boarded Voyager, but she still found it difficult to find the right words in emotional situations. She bent down so she was on eye level with her young friend.
"Naomi Wildman, you have shown yourself to have intelligence, bravery, and compassion that are far beyond your age. You are a remarkable individual. For your father not to see that, he would have to be exceedingly foolish, and your mother does not seem the type to marry a fool. He will love you."
A little smile played on Naomi's lips, "Do you really think I'm a remarkable individual, Seven?"
"Of course," The former Borg drone's voice stated this as if it were simple fact. Naomi beamed at her, then she tilted her head, the perceptive look that was so familiar to Seven in her eyes.
"Seven, are you nervous about going to Earth?" Seven's initial instinct was to deny that she had any such feelings, but Naomi had always been adept at picking up on Seven's emotions, which were so hidden from most of the world.
"I am apprehensive," she admitted, "Voyager's crew found it difficult to adapt to my presence at first. I do not know how the people of Earth would welcome a former Borg drone." The Reginald Barclay hologram had told Seven that the people of Earth looked to her as some sort of beacon of hope, but as the same hologram had later tried to kidnap her and send her dead body to the Ferengi so they could harvest her nanoprobes, she wasn't particularly inclined to trust his judgement in the matter.
"But it isn't your fault you were assimilated." Seven felt a flicker of amusement at the indignation in Naomi's tone.
"You understand that, but the general public may be… less understanding."
Naomi crossed her arms, "Well then we'll just have to show them they're wrong. They'll see how brave and smart you are. We'll show them that you're a remarkable individual." She smiled as she repeated Seven's earlier words, then her face took on a fierce expression which caused Seven another flicker of amusement, "And if they're mean to you, just send them to me." Her voice held all the threat a young girl could muster.
Though she had initiated this conversation to ease Naomi's fears, Seven found that her own concern had lessened. Naomi's fierce defense served to remind her that no matter what happened when Voyager arrived at Earth, she had her own collective, her Voyager family, to support her.
Hope you enjoyed this little piece. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought.