A.N. Right where the last chapter left off. I'm trying my best to get this out as quick as possible. I also tried to get this to flow the best I could, hopefully the time switches aren't too jarring.

Chapter 2

Heading up the steps with her coat slung over her arm, Seven caught the sight of snow-slushed footprints leading into the house as the wind rustled a few escaped cowlicks sticking out of her ponytail. 'Kathryn?'

At the door she slipped out of her dirty, hay-riddled boots and left them beside the doormat.

She stepped into a dark house and hung the coat on the rack, having memorized where it was to her left. Dusting off the lingering stable debris from her sweatshirt and pants, smelling of cedar and hay, she closed the door and took one step, her foot wobbling on the uneven surface beneath it. But having tripped over Kathryn's sprawled shoes multiple times, she gracefully caught her balance and pushed the shoes next to the coat rack with the tips of her toes.

"At least I know you're home." She said to an empty foyer, her eyes drawn to the orange glow touching the kitchen. She moved further into the room; the flickering glow painting the living room walls in its softness, furniture shadows cast about the floor. Rounding the marble countertop's corner, she moved across the hardwood with rolling steps, invading the golden amber radiance shining atop its polished surface.

"Kathryn?"

There was no response but as she passed the sofa, she smiled at why. Her Captain, now her Admiral laid on the rug in front of the fire, blanketed in its bright glow.

Now she was used to the sight of the stomach-sleeper spread out on the floor, but the first time she found Kathryn lying on the floor like that her heart almost stopped. Until that day, she never realized how afraid she was of losing the one person who truly meant the world to her.

But dozens of naps later, she learned to love the sight of her tired wife finally getting a moment to rest from the chaos of her stress-inducing job.

Sometimes she laid beside her, busying herself with data downloads or reading current events as the Admiral slept. Occasionally her own eyes grew heavy, and next she knew Kathryn was waking her up.

The fire's dance continued, some flames whipping the air at their tips, wanting to escape, to finally be free…to destroy. Why did humans allow themselves to cling to something so dangerous? For the prospect of warmth, she assumed, still struggling to understand the human need for comfort. Her implants regulated her body temperature and the sensitivity of her skin to outside stimuli. But Kathryn was fond of the fire, telling her watching it was calming. So, she readjusted the setting of her internal thermosensor to accommodate for hours in front of the suffocating fire.

In front of the coffee table she sat on the rug and took the Admiral's shoulder, pulling her towards her lap, the Admiral's back touching her knees.

On her side, Kathryn's eyes cracked open and closed again. Seven smiled, remembering the days where touching the Captain while she succumbed to her impromptu naps was enough to startle the woman awake, but not anymore.

The fire's crackling filled the room, bringing back old memories, and a fleeting sense of déjà vu.

When she first walked into the Janeway house, headed away from the family's reunion and into the living room, she found the setting strangely reminded her of the Captain's Da Vinci simulation, her eyes drawn to the fire. The holodeck's projections were typically well constructed, realistic representations, but it failed to capture the true, all-consuming nature of the fire's power. Its heat latched into the fabric of her biosuit as she neared the family photos on the mantle; the *clack* of her heels echoing against the hardwood.

The Captain's likeness was in each photo. A grey-haired woman with a softer face and cerulean eyes, a young woman with redder hair and cerulean eyes, and finally the face who resembled the Captain's the most, an older man with a steel jaw and grey eyes. "Family."

Long dead she never met Kathryn's father, but had one of her most memorable conversations with Gretchen, Kathryn's mother, on the sofa behind her, warmth surrounding them as they spoke separate from the sisters readying dinner in the kitchen.

"How well do you know Kathryn? How do you feel about Kathryn? Have you thought about marriage?"

She answered each question and must have looked uncomfortable because when Kathryn interrupted their conversation, which left off at Gretchen's warning of "She's not always an easy person to deal with", the Captain took her shoulders and told her to "relax" with a grin directed to her mother.

"Mom, stop interrogating Seven."

"What? I just want to make sure she'll take care of you."

Gretchen's concern touched her. "If that was all you should have asked your question directly, I assure you I am well-versed in many aspects of the Captain's life. I have her daily routine committed to memory."

The house silenced after she said that, but didn't stop Kathryn's sister from breaking the moment, shouting "Yup she's a keeper Katie" from across the room.

Despite the sisters' chuckling banter, she stared into Gretchen's piercing gaze, never forgetting the hopeful and slightly shocked look in the woman's shining eyes.

"And mom…Seven's memory never fails."

"Is that right?"

"The Captain is correct. I do not forget."

"Well Seven, welcome to the family…You've got a lot to learn." Gretchen's eyes saddened even though she smiled as she said that.

If only she knew then what she knew now. If only she knew why her eidetic memory was so valuable to Gretchen, why the woman often tore her away from Kathryn to teach her how to cook the Captain's favorite meals and how to care for the farm, amongst many other things.

"I'm starting to wonder if my mom is keeping you away from me. I hardly saw you today." Kathryn once commented with a grin as they lay in bed.

"I find her lessons interesting."

She remembered the Captain's chuckle. "As long as you don't go running off into the sunset with my mom…"

Her smile faded at those memories but brightened when she snapped out of the past, sliding her hand over the Admiral's stomach, her diamond ring capturing the fire's essence, glinting iridescent colors with the smallest shift of her finger. "Long day?"

The Admiral sighed her acknowledgement.

Locked into an updo, Kathryn's reddish hair had grown, and although she missed the bob, she didn't want her to cut it, not yet.

She pulled out the restricting pins containing the Admiral's hair and set them aside, letting her fingers lengthen and comb through the thick tresses. Kathryn didn't bother to ask what she was doing anymore.

The Admiral shifted below her and out of her collar a gold chain hooked around her neck slumped to the floor, sparkling in the fire's glow. Kathryn wasn't fond of gold, hence the silver wedding band. But this chain belonged to her mother. She put it on one day and never took it off.

Her thumb brushed over the Rear Admiral insignia on Janeway's neck. Pride swelled within her the day she pinned them on the Captain's collar two years ago, Starfleet having advanced her a whole rank.

What was supposed to be a small formal gathering, turned into quite the spectacle for Starfleet. All of Voyager's crew that could be there were—Starfleet even suspending all meetings and planned events. The senior officers of deployed ships hologrammed into the ceremony and soon hundreds crowded the ceremonial common grounds, some looking down from office balconies. And if they didn't already know the Captain's wife, they learned that day who she was when she kissed her cheek.

The Captain smiled, but none of them knew the crippling loss she had endured months before that promotion.

2 years and 2 months ago

"I can't get ahold of her. Tell her she needs to get home now."

With her hair rushed into a ponytail, Seven stormed into Starfleet headquarters after that worrying call from Kathryn's sister. If it weren't for her limited clearance, she would have marched right past the visitor's desk and to Kathryn's office.

"I need to see Captain Janeway."

The blue uniformed attendant looked at the shiny ring on her right hand —a wedding exception made for the Borg implants on her left. "Oh, you're the lucky wife huh?"

Seven's brow furrowed. "Now. The matter is urgent."

"Go ahead and check in." The attendant pressed a few buttons on his console, his earpiece glowing a gentle blue.

Seven placed her hand on the countertop, the embedded biometric scanner reading her fingerprints.

"I apologize Admiral…" The attendant started. "I have an urgent request to see Captain Janeway on the lobby floor." He paused. "Seven of Nine." Another pause. "Understood Admiral."

The glowing earpiece dimmed, and the attendant looked to Seven. "She'll be down in a moment."

Seven nodded, stepping away from the counter, her gaze catching the turbolifts moving up and down along their towering tracks in the far corner of the building; the headquarters ceiling seeming to stretch to space itself.

Shaky breaths coursed through her and her palms started to sweat, this level of anxiety a new feeling. Being the barer of bad news was a heavier burden than she thought. Her eyes darted from person to person, surveying but not focusing on anything as Starfleet personnel bustled around her.

"Seven?"

Her eyes snapped to the direction of the voice and she saw the Captain, emerging from the sea of people; the woman's smile slowly fading the longer they looked at each other.

"What is it?"

She wanted to take the woman into her arms, but the Captain had an image to maintain and Starfleet headquarters wasn't the place to be embracing in the lobby, too many prying eyes. "Your mother."

Kathryn searched her eyes, a troubled crease forming above her brow. With sudden urgency in her steps, she walked to the attendant. "Let Admiral Heins know I'm leaving for the day."

"You got it Captain."

"Come on Seven."