Dear Readers,

To say it's been along time would be… well redundant. I had a surgery - nothing serious of course - but it decommissioned me for a few weeks. I'm back now and I have a part. It's short but the cliffhanger adds drama to the next part that will come someday tomorrow or the next day.

Enjoy.

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Part 7

Her words were callused, hard and stifled in the normal coldness yet the woman behind them was quivering, grasping at breaths and wiping at tears. The contrast that was Seven of Nine would never ever cease to amaze him.

"Excuse me?" The question was more out of shock then confusion.

"Revenge: inflict punishment in return for physical harm," she droned off the text book definition.

"I know what it means..." He was getting frustrated, searching for the right words that would stray her from these thoughts. Running a hand through his hair softly he turned more fully on the floor, forcing her to do the same with the gentle grip he still exuded on her. Facing each other, Chakotay brushed at a lone tear, letting its warmth swarm across his thumb. "Revenge isn't the way Seven. It's never the way." He tried to be soothing and domineering with his voice, unsure of his success.

Like a cat she moved into his touch, reveling in the feel of it, but quickly snapped away at his words. "They have to pay for what they did..."

The validity she tried to maintain in her voice was lost in the sea of uncertainty Chakotay could see visibly in her pale blue eyes. "I know you feel that way but it won't change what happened and it most certainly won't ease the pain you're feeling."

Shifting back, she rose in one solid fluidic motion, coming to a staggering height above him, forcing him to strain his neck. "Your knowledge is limited, you can't know for sure."

Now he remembered how stubborn she could be. If even a spark of an idea flashed inside her mind it stuck and nothing could sway her. "I know that if you do 'exact' revenge it won't have the effect you want."

"Human superstition. Ignorant human ideals," she muttered sarcastically to herself, roaming around his small quarters.

"Do you remember what I was before I became a member of this crew? What I still am?" He spoke sternly, pushing off the coffee table but not advancing on her. He realized now she needed her space, needed to mull through the thoughts blinding her mind.

Ambivalent, she didn't have to search her memory banks to know the answer to his question. "You were a member of the Maqui."

"Exactly. Do you know what the purpose of the Maqui was?"

She knew he was getting to some kind of point but couldn't decipher it. Nodding her head she waited for him to continue.

"My home world was all but destroyed by the Cardassians, as were most of the home worlds of all those in the Maqui. Our whole purpose was to exact revenge against them. So don't tell me I don't know anything about revenge." Seven almost felt guilty at the resentment and sadness that lingered in his tone. "It took over my life, hell it became my life."

Striding across the room to her now defensively poised form, he stared intently into her eyes. "I don't want that for you Seven. You don't want that. To lose most of your life for something that in the end is pointless."

Her gaze adverted from his and he almost believed he'd gotten through to her. "And what if you'd never come to the Delta Quadrant? You would still be fighting for what you believed in, would you not."

He hesitated before answering, knowing it was exactly what she was digging for. "Yes but..."

"Then, until my 'Delta Quadrant' comes, I too will fight for what I believe in." It was as simple as that and he knew it.

"You HAVE your 'Delta Quadrant' right here! Voyager!"

Shaking her head softly, she turned from him and walked to the side port window. The stars stared back at her, mocking her with their freedom to just exist, not plagued by humanity. Ringing her hands forcefully, she felt like using them to break the barrier between her and the vast expanse of vacuous, airless space. Maybe then she could be as the stars were, solemn in their just being a part of the universe, not a part of a Collective with all its complexities.

Bowing her head, she shivered at the cold contact of the glass on her pained forehead. "Perhaps you're right... What do I do then? Allow them to walk free?"

"I... don't have all the answers Seven. I wish I did."

She sensed the sincerity in his voice, a sincerity that punctured the roller coaster she called control. Dropping her shoulders, she leaned more heavily on the window. Closing her eyes she tried to suppress her emotions once again. In the last two weeks, especially in the last 24 hours of it, it seemed all she did was fight against her own burgeoning benevolence.

Gathering the fallen pieces of herself before Chakotay felt the need to intersect her personal space again, she moved away from the stars and their cruelty. Coming face to face with the man who without recourse had taken care of her and been there for her, she felt the threat of even more tears. "I wish to thank you but the words themselves seem inadequate."

He smiled, a soft endearing smile, then waved her off. "There's no need for thank yous Seven."

"I feel as if I should. You've done so much for me that it seems immoral to leave you with nothing in return." She found it hard, once again, to express what she was thinking and feeling but he understood.

"The fact that I did help is more then enough."

Pausing for a moment, Seven bridged the space between them. Staring deep into his eyes, she rose on the tips on her toes, leaning in until her feverish breath wisped across his cheeks. Gently, she allowed her lips to brush along his rough skin in a small, barely there kiss. Before she pulled away, she whispered a husky 'thank-you' into his ear.

He shuddered at the feeling of her lips and breath tickling his ear. Lost in the feeling, he never noticed Seven leave his quarters until it was too late. In a breath of fresh air she was gone, any trace of her being there nonexistent.

TBC