Chakotay walked faster than normal from Sickbay to the nearest set of unoccupied quarters, hoping to deposit his companion in there to brood and return to Seven. He felt his posture tense as she released a small sigh and then her deliberate paces halted behind him. At first he was strongly tempted to leave her but his strong sense of duty and an infernal curiosity made him turn his head back slightly to see her stopped in the middle of the hallway, appearing pale and tight lipped, her eyes fixed on him as she kept her head defiantly erect and her hands clasped behind her back. The resemblance between mother and daughter struck him hard then, unsettling him enough to force him to speak to her. "Ma'am?" he addressed her with stiff formality, his eyebrow rising questioningly when she didn't reply. "Are you alright?" It seemed a pointless question he could answer for her after what Seven had said.
Her lips twisted upwards bitterly at the inane question and her gaze was cold and biting as she looked at him. "No Commander, I'm not." She paused to think for a second before coming to stand closer, though her pose, like his, remained overtly hostile. "May I ask you a question?"
Once again he felt the fear of entrapment rise within him as he gave a slow, cautious nod. "Ask away." He said with more terse distrust than he had meant to convey, which made Erin stiffen even further.
"Tell me honestly, what are your intentions towards my daughter?" The question was blunt, harsh even but the anxious strain in it managed to restrain Chakotay from a sharp retort. She deserved decency and honesty, if nothing else in his opinion.
These thoughts kept his eyes and voice level as he answered. "I'm in love with Seven; I have been for a while now." He intended to leave it there, turning away from her but she grabbed his arm.
"I hope you're telling me the truth because…" Her voice rose. "I will not tolerate her heart being played with as some sort of novelty…"
"Novelty?" he echoed angrily, wrenching his arm away. "I have never treated any woman like that and certainly not Seven!" He had to take a deep breath to stop himself from shaking with anger; he was hearing this from a woman who had happily dragged her child along with her into an unknown area of space without considering the dangers. "Look, whatever you heard or saw concerning us…" Erin's wince confirmed his suspicion that she had been spying on Seven. "…obviously didn't give you a very clear picture of our feelings and as far as I'm concerned they're private anyway even if you are her mother." Her slightly lowered head gave him the courage to continue, "I can understand that you don't trust me but Seven does and her trust isn't an easy thing to gain…"
"That's your way of saying that you don't think her father and I are going to get it?" she snapped tearfully.
"Not the way you're acting at the moment!" he retorted hotly, stopping abruptly at the doors of the quarters he'd assigned her, he'd almost blanked out what he was supposed to be doing in the heat of the conversation.
Her eyes suddenly dulled as quickly as they'd flared up, her whole body slumped. To the objective part of his mind she looked frighteningly broken. "I just don't want her hurt anymore…" The words were so laden with grief that Chakotay was surprised to swallow a lump in his throat as he peered at her uneasily.
"I agree with you…" He began awkwardly, confused by the myriad of emotions which went through him, both in her persecution and defence. If that was what it was like for him, what must it be like for Seven and her parents? "That's the last thing I want." He ended softly but with a protective conviction of which Erin was very aware.
As he unlocked the doors to the quarters for her, his comm. badge broke the eerie silence. "Janeway to Chakotay, please report to the Bridge."
"On my way Captain." He replied in his standard tone before looking back at Erin. "I hope you feel better Dr Hansen, about everything." He murmured before setting off for the Bridge, feeling physically drained himself by the effort of the encounter.
"I hope so too." Whispered Erin thickly as she disappeared in the silent refuge of the empty quarters, her heart and mind reeling with confliction and confusion.
Seven was sitting in quiet conversation with T'Lena and Tuvok as she tried and failed to completely ignore the Doctor treating her father for over consumption of alcohol. Finally her reluctant ears heard him speaking to the Doctor and then she felt the Doctor putting his hand on her shoulder and saw Tuvok's averted eyes and T'Lena's curious ones as the Doctor said, "He wants to speak to you Seven." The larger part of her wanted to deny the request, not wanting a repeat of the last confrontation with her mother but as her logical mind knew to do so would only make him react worse, with only more pain and embarrassment for her, she rose from her place and walked within clear sight of her father's biobed, though she didn't approach him. "You wish to speak to me?" she asked detachedly.
He hurriedly sat up, putting his hand up to his head with a groan as he did so, being a drone for so long had faded his memories of how drastic a bad hangover could be. "Yes Annika, I do." He replied softly. His eyes scanned the room quickly. "Where's your mother?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "She…had a migraine and left to rest."
"Ahh, due in no small part to me I don't doubt. That's what she always says when she wants to avoid something." Annika's face gave nothing away and he sighed. "I'm sorry for what I did, I didn't realise alcohol would have that sort of effect…"
"Yes, I suppose your research didn't focus on that." She saw that her words had stung him but didn't care. "Alcohol is a depressant; I'm uncertain why any humanoid would drink it in such a situation."
"You're right of course, but sometimes human nature, especially mine, isn't that logical." He gave her a self deprecating smile but got only an icy look in return.
"I saw that."
"I know that Annika! If you're so angry, why did you help me?" He asked desperately but knew he should have phrased it better as hurt passed over her face for a millisecond.
"You wouldn't let the Doctor near you; I thought you may allow me…" She half heartedly explained as frustration built up within him, why can't you just say it was because I'm your father? That's all the explanation I need! He was starting to think that flash of his little girl he'd seen earlier was a dream. She continued, "The things you were saying in your intoxicated state, I've experienced them too…"
He winced painfully, hating the thought of her experiencing such raw separation. "I…hope you didn't drink to take the edge off." He muttered, unable to say any real response to her words other than make light of them.
"No, I tried to return to the Collective." She heard her father gasp and kept her head down without looking at him. "Excuse me, I have work to complete."
As she headed to the door she heard him ask almost in a whisper, "We're never going to be able to talk about it are we?" His voice cracked, "Why do you think that is?"
"Because…a large part of me doesn't believe you deserve that level of trust." With that she left, once again without looking at him, but he believed her words would haunt him forever as he watched the doors close.
A/n: This chapter was SO hard to write! The dialogue just wouldn't come into my head. I hope you still like the story though! Please review to make me feel better!