Realisations

Star Trek Voyager

Pairing: B'Elanna/Seven

Rating: T

DISCLAIMER: Star Trek is the property of Paramount, no money is being earned from this piece of fan fiction.
NOTES: In response to the Episode Endgame when Seven and Chakotay kiss – I had to write how things should have been.

WARNING: The first scene contains pyschologically disturbing images - but it was necessary for the plot!!!!! This story indicates a relationship between women. If this offends, please do not read.

ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

At the familiar sound of the transporter, Commander Chakotay turned and watched the pattern of blue shimmering lights form the shapely figure of Seven of Nine. She was holding a large bouquet of flowers. The tall man smiled. "What, the door not good enough for you?" he asked wryly.

Seven arched an eyebrow before answering. "I did not think you would want anyone to see me enter your quarters."

Chakotay's smile widened. "Are those for me?" he enquired, looking at the flowers.

Seven nodded and handed the blooms over.

Chakotay smelt them appreciatively. "I'll put them in water," he decided and began to walk over to the kitchen area. As he passed Seven, he suddenly found himself spun round and grabbed by the shoulders. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as Seven leant in to kiss him and then his eyes closed as he savoured the experience.

When they finally broke he looked at the blonde woman again. "What was that?"

"My research indicated that the prelude to a first kiss can be awkward. I wanted to eliminate that feeling so pre-empted the moment," Seven replied.

Chakotay beamed, and still found himself amazed that this stunning woman wanted to have a relationship with him. "What about the second?" he asked rakishly as he closed the distance between them once more.

Seven held up a hand to stop the caress. "I am sorry Commander," she stated haltingly.

"What's wrong?" Chakotay had swung from ecstasy to confusion in seconds.

Seven hesitated, her brow creased in a disconcerted frown. "My research indicated that the first kiss would be special," she explained.

"Well wasn't it?"

"No." Seven's reply was curt and to the point. "I am sorry Commander, but this wasn't what I expected."

"You're not the only one," Chakotay was stunned. As Seven turned to leave his quarters, he caught her by the elbow. "Wait a minute, Seven. Are you telling me that you're throwing in the towel based on one kiss?"

"I do not understand your colloquialism," Seven replied calmly as she extracted her arm from his grip. "But if you are asking if I am breaking up this relationship after our brief interaction, then yes, I am."

Chakotay shook his head. "But that's mad."

"No, it is how I feel. Good night Commander," Seven insisted, leaving his quarters before he had further opportunity to try and dissuade her otherwise.

Chakotay watched open-mouthed as she left, but already knew that if she had made up her mind about the situation, there was no way he'd be able to change it. It would be up to her to come to her own conclusions.

B'Elanna Torres waddled into Astrometrics without even looking up from the data padd she held in front of her. At eight months pregnant, she had been told to reduce the amount of hours she worked by both the Captain and the EMH but they had been less vocal since her split with Tom. He had finally had enough of her mood swings and not knowing how she was going to react to even the simplest hello. An argument triggered by one of her snappy retorts had gone far further than their usual set-to's, and they were both horrified by what they said to each other. Tom solemnly promised to be the father their child needed, but they both knew that they could no longer live together.

Tom had requested his old quarters back again and the crew manifest had been adjusted to reflect the dissolution of their marriage.

Since that time, B'Elanna had buried herself in work, despite her burgeoning pregnancy, in order to reduce the time she had on her own to dwell on her single status. It didn't always help. She caught herself daydreaming and berating herself for letting her child down before she was even born. She dreaded being a parent and Chief Engineer at the same time. She didn't know if she would be able to cope with all the new demands on her on top of the heavy responsibility she already had. She wasn't sure how reliable Tom would be as a father, despite his reassurances, though she had to admit that her doubts had more to do with the behaviour of her own father.

B'Elanna tried to remedy her wandering mind by doing tasks she wouldn't normally take care of. Hence the trip to Astrometrics. Seven had requested another power hike, and the engineer had complied earlier in the day. However, two gel packs had failed and needed replacing as a result of the increase. The associated circuitry also needed adjusting to reduce the sensitivity of the gel packs so that they would not blow again. The half-Klingon took it upon herself to affect repairs as a change of scenery would distract her enough not to consider her short-comings.

It was late into the beta shift by the time B'Elanna stepped through the doors so she looked up in surprise when she heard Seven's voice.

"Lieutenant, can I be of assistance?"

"Seven! I didn't think you'd still be here," B'Elanna replied, looking round in confusion for the beta shift staff.

"My plans for the evening were..." Seven faltered, unwilling to explain what had happened with Chakotay.

B'Elanna narrowed her eyes. "What's up Seven?"

In the seconds it took the dark hybrid to form the question, Seven had already put her barriers up. "It is not relevant. You have obviously entered Astrometrics for a reason. Can I help?"

Normally, B'Elanna would have brushed Seven off, but there was something not quite right with her demeanour. Something was clearly bothering her but if she was not prepared to talk about it, then there was little B'Elanna could do about it. But she could at least be civil to the blonde woman. "Well if you run the diagnostics as I change these gel packs, this repair won't take quite so long," she offered, knowing that Seven would know exactly what she was referring to.

The ex-drone nodded acquiescence, appreciating the fact that B'Elanna did not push her. The two women worked quickly and efficiently, with just a few exchanges when they were checking calculations and confirming that the circuitry was sound.

B'Elanna couldn't keep the disappointment from her voice when she announced that they had completed the task.

Seven looked up and raised an enhanced eyebrow. "Have I not performed within your exacting standards?"

"Kahless, no. Just the opposite," B'Elanna admitted candidly.

"I do not understand," Seven replied, frowning.

B'Elanna sighed heavily. "I was kind of hoping that this might take longer than it did."

"That is not efficient," Seven protested.

"Yeah, but it would also mean me not thinking about my life," the Klingon revealed, rubbing her abdomen distractedly.

Instantly, Seven understood. She was also amazed that B'Elanna had opened up so much. The engineer hid her emotions behind angry outbursts and brusque remarks, but Seven had recently begun to see past them. She found B'Elanna fascinating and had been delighted when their relationship finally staggered past the confrontational stage to the grudgingly accepting stage. B'Elanna let Seven pretty much do her own thing on the proviso that anything that might affect other systems should be run past her first; not as a check up, but to save any unnecessary maintenance work. Seven had appreciated the freedom B'Elanna had given her and not abused the privilege, ensuring that the Chief had been given advance notice of all modifications.

Seven knew that B'Elanna had been working ridiculously long hours since her separation from Tom, and that after the first few enraged outbursts at crew staff who pointed that fact out to her, she had been left to her own devices. She decided to risk the woman's wrath. "You should use the additional time to rest. You have been expending too much energy recently."

"Not you as well, Seven," B'Elanna groaned. "I'm perfectly fine. I have regular check ups and will do nothing to harm my baby. I just need to keep busy," the raven-haired Klingon explained.

"You are ignoring your problems, Lieutenant," Seven pointed out.

"You're a fine one to talk. What the hell are you doing here at this time of night?" Immediately defensive, B'Elanna reacted the only way she knew how, by attack. She was surprised to see the tall blonde hesitate. "Well?"

Seven, realising that she had been cornered, decided that honesty was the best policy. "I had a date with Commander Chakotay, but it did not go as I had planned."

Initially, B'Elanna was amazed. She couldn't believe her old Maquis captain had managed to get anywhere near Seven, but more to the point was staggered that Seven had deigned to go out with the man. She couldn't think of two less compatible people, excepting her and Tom she admitted to herself. "What do you mean, it didn't go to plan?"

"We have shared several hours together so tonight I decided that we should initiate the first kiss. I did extensive research and then kissed the Commander in his quarters," Seven began to explain.

B'Elanna knew that the outcome would not be good as Seven had only referred to Chakotay as Commander; there was certainly nothing intimate about their relationship now. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Seven exclaimed in disgust.

B'Elanna shook her head slightly. "I'm not following this. You just said you kissed."

"Yes, we kissed. But my research indicated that the first kiss would be a sensational experience that would trigger a myriad of emotional responses."

"No spark, huh?" B'Elanna summed it up neatly and Seven couldn't help but turn the corners of her mouth up in the tiniest of smiles. "You are correct, Lieutenant. There was no spark'."

B'Elanna exhaled heavily and then rubbed her back. She could do one of two things here. She could tease Seven and walk away or she could spend some time with her and talk about the young woman's desire to explore her humanity. Knowing that if she walked away, she would only end up brooding on her own failures, the smaller woman decided on the latter approach. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I left the Commander's quarters before dinner commenced."

For once, B'Elanna was pleased not to hear the usual not requiring nutritional supplements answer that Seven was prone to give.

"Well I'm starved. Do you want to talk about this in the Mess Hall?"

Seven was stunned. She had not expected B'Elanna to offer any sort of assistance and had been mentally preparing herself to receive a sarcastic remark. "I am not sure there is much to talk about," she hedged finally.

"Sure there is. You just don't know it yet." B'Elanna replied with a grin. "Come on, with all those replicator rations you must have stashed, you can treat me to something edible." With that, B'Elanna hooked her arm round Seven and led her out of Astrometrics, blaming the uncharacteristic action of stepping closer to the taller woman on the fact that her pregnancy had sent her hormones haywire.