"I don't mind." (Janeway/Jaffen)

Author's Note: This story is an alternate ending to the episode "Workforce: Part 2".

/

It was surreal for Jaffen to see Kathryn in command of her own starship. Her bobbed hair, her crisp uniform, and the elegant alien technology that surrounded her made her seem like a stranger, but the affection in her voice was still the same, even though it was soft with sadness.

"I'd offer you a position … there's always room for a skilled engineer … but as captain, it wouldn't really be appropriate for me to … "

"Fraternize with a member of the crew?"

She nodded.

He could have left then, dropped off his duffel bag full of her belongings and said goodbye, if only that word fraternize hadn't reminded him so much of when they'd first met. There had been such warmth and charisma about her, despite her embarrassment at making a mistake with the computer console. He'd been drawn to her as you were to a hot drink on a freezing Quarran winter night. Like back then, he couldn't walk away without reaching for her one last time.

"You know you said the same thing the first time I asked you out," he said. "You said your job didn't leave you time to socialize, and we still ended up at Umali's talking half the night. Tell me you mean it, and I'll go, but if you don't … "

"It's not that simple." She rubbed her forehead unhappily and took a few steps closer. "Life on Voyager is dangerous. It's one small ship sixty-five thousand lightyears from home, and if you knew how many times we've almost been destroyed … "

"I don't mind," Jaffen retorted. "Safety is never a guarantee. I came to Quarra searching for it, and look what happened. I'll take the risks as long as we're together."

"Even if I have to give an order that puts your life in danger?"

"Even then." He reached out to put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him with soft blue eyes, giving him hope that she might change her mind, but she still held herself a step apart.

"I believe you," she said. "I saw your courage when you fought the guards at the power plant. You're the same man I fell in love with, but Jaffen … I'm not the same woman, remember? My entire life was rewritten. We might not fit together the same way … if at all."

She didn't seem so different anymore, uniform, haircut and all. The longer they spoke, the more he recognized the same stubborn, selfless woman who would steal medical supplies to help a fugitive hiding in her apartment. Even this ready room of hers wasn't so alien after all. Instead of collecting spent plasma relays, she collected books and little sculptures and kept a vase of flowers on her desk, but she was a collector all the same. It even smelled like that roasted bean drink she liked so much, the one she'd spent ages on his replicator trying to get the code right. She was still his Kathryn, but she had a point. There was a lot about her he didn't know.

"I understand," he said. "You're a high-ranking military officer - "

"Starfleet's not exactly a military."

" - and I'm just a factory worker. It makes sense that you wouldn't look at me the same way."

"That's not true." Her eyes flashed. "I never saw you as 'just' anything. It's you I'm afraid won't look at me the same way. I'm not an easy person to live with."

"No offense, but I already had that figured out."

She swatted him on the arm and cracked a reluctant half smile.

"I'm not asking for anything permanent," he added. "Moving in together after three weeks would've been too fast, I understand that now. Think of me as a passenger if that helps. Drop me off on the nearest M-class planet."

"You don't want to stay on Quarra?"

"After what they did? Not on your life."

Even though his own memories were real, he could never trust his former employers again. Medical experimentation was a nightmare of his, as it was for every Norvalan. The reason they were known as people without parents was that genetic engineering gone wrong had left their entire species sterile and they reproduced by cloning. The closest thing Jaffen had to a father was his genetic template, a kind man who had raised him well, but had never understood his restless need to travel. Jaffen had never felt at home anywhere until he'd met Kathryn; another reason why he was determined not to lose her.

"I can always find somewhere to work, don't worry. Just give me a chance to get to know the real Kathryn Janeway first."

Kathryn smiled, the first real smile he'd seen from her since she came in. Her shoulders relaxed, showing for the first time how tense she must have been. There it was again, that warmth that drew him closer every time; literally now, as she took hold of his shirt collar and pulled him in for a sweet, welcoming kiss.

"Come to think of it," she said, still holding on to him, with a mock-thoughtful tilt of her head, "I don't recall any Starfleet regulation that specifically forbids a captain from being in a relationship."

"That's good to know," he said, smiling back. "Given how important regulations are to you."

"You'll have to talk to Commander Chakotay about getting you an assignment, quarters, uniform and so on. As First Officer, he's in charge of personnel."

"I think I owe him an apology first." He thought ruefully of how he had sent the police after the alleged criminal; in all fairness, the man's claims of a conspiracy really had sounded insane before Annika Hansen had contacted them with the evidence.

"He'll understand. You're far from the most controversial person to travel with us. And in the meantime," she looped her arm through his and led him toward the door, "Would you like to see some more of my ship?"

"It would be my honor … Captain."

She ducked her head and blushed. "Oof, still getting used to that."

"It suits you."

She positively glowed as they stepped through the doors, even as she let go of his arm and moved away to a respectable distance, so clearly glad of his company he could hardly believe how close they'd come to letting each other go. It was just his luck, he thought, to fall in love with a woman as stubborn as he was.

Now he'd found her, he would do everything he could to make it work.