"Sev?" Raffi called into the apartment.

"I'll be right out!" Seven answered.

Raffi walked into the kitchen area and set down her bag. Her eyes drifted out the large windows behind the small wooden table, Seven's place had a gorgeous view of the small lake, one of Montana's many hidden treasures.

She pulled out groceries that she'd picked up in preparation to make one of Seven's favorite meals, chicken marsala. She even had ingredients for homemade soup and a fresh loaf of bread. She was going the extra mile because she was gonna need Seven to be in a good mood when she brought up her least favorite topic of conversation. She pulled out a cutting board and a knife and got to work on some of the vegetables.

"What's all this?" Seven asked, walking over to Raffi.

She wrapped her hands around Raffi's waist from behind and kissed her on the cheek.

"I just thought I'd try to make something instead of replicating tonight," she said.

Seven looked down at the counter at all the food and spices laid out.

"Soup, chicken, freshly baked bread? You went all out."

Raffi reached in the bag for one more item to show her.

"And I didn't forget the strawberries for dessert."

"I had some other ideas about dessert," Seven said suggestively.

Raffi laughed but pushed her away gently.

"I'm sure you did, but let's eat first," she went back to prepping the food.

Seven huffed and shook her head with a wry chuckle.

"I see what this is. You're trying to soften me up."

Raffi continued to work on the food, not showing a reaction to Seven's accusation.

"Don't be ridiculous I'm not trying to-"

Seven cut her off.

"Yes, you are. You're doing something nice, without an obvious reason. Whenever you do that, there's always a not-so-obvious reason lurking behind it. Out with it."

Raffi sighed in amused frustration. She put down the knife she was using and turned to face her partner.

"I want you to meet my son."

"Raf, I already told you... what we have is great, but I don't want to mess it up by trying to make it something that it just isn't. Meeting families, moving in, trying to make this a serious thing, it's just not my style. I've tried that, and it didn't work."

"Seven, you were the one who helped me through my problems. He wanted nothing to do with me, and I was ready to keep my distance, but you kept me on the right path and encouraged me to reach out to Gabriel. I have a relationship with him now, a real one, and I get to see my granddaughter and be part of both their lives. He wants to meet you. I'm not trying to pressure you or to force a relationship on you, but we've been seeing each other for almost a year. At some point, we need to decide where this is going."

Seven refused to look her in the eye before uttering her next sentence.

"Well, if that's how you feel, then perhaps you should go," her tone became cold and devoid of emotion.

Raffi got closer to her, silently demanding her eye contact, which she gave.

"No, you don't get to do that. You don't get to shut me out, not after everything we've been through. You don't want this relationship to become serious? Fine, but at least give me the goddamn reason why!"

"I told you! I've tried serious relationships, they never work out."

"I'm gonna need more information than that," Raffi said.

Seven sat down at the table and waited for Raffi to sit across from her.

"When Voyager arrived on earth, all those years ago, I didn't leave the ship alone. I'd started seeing someone before we had gotten back. I had hoped that he and I would someday marry. At first, it seemed as though that's where it was headed, but then it all became clear. On the night of Voyager's grand return celebration, the whole time, he couldn't keep his eyes off of another woman."

Seven scoffed.

"Truth be told, neither could I. The woman he was staring at was my best friend, my mentor, someone I shared everything with. I called him out for staring, and I told him he needed to make a choice between her or me...Well, they've been married and living somewhere in Indiana ever since. Two kids, a dog, a white picket fence, the whole package."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Raffi said.

"I don't make it a habit of talking about my past failed relationships," she paused and took a deep breath.

"It wasn't so hard losing him. After that night, I was struck with a realization. The reason he and I had gotten together in the first place was because we were both in love with the same woman we could never have. Then suddenly he had her...and I was alone. I never forgave either of them. I swore I'd never fall into another relationship like that again. Jay was the next person to get close to me, and you and I both know how that turned out. I'm done trying."

Raffi slid her hand across the table to cover Sevens.

"Bjayzl is dead. And what happened with your friends was over twenty years ago. At some point, you have to move on. I'm here. I'm not someone who's using you, I'm not going to betray you, and I don't have any plans to leave you for someone else. You helped me with my problems and helped me make peace with my past. I'd like to help you do the same. Go visit these people. Indiana is just a quick transport away."

Seven's eyes grew wide.

"Absolutely not," she shook her head in protest.

Raffi stood up slowly.

"Well, then, I should probably go."

She grabbed her empty bag and made her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Seven asked.

"Back to my apartment. If you go see them, and make your peace, I'll agree to see you again. Otherwise... we're done."

Seven followed her unsure of what to say or do to get her to stay.

"What about dinner?" Seven said smugly.

Raffi opened the front door and paused. She turned around and pointed towards the kitchen.

"The recipe is on the counter. Figure it out!"

The front door closed, and Seven walked back to the table. With a defeated sigh, she plopped back down in her seat and called out:

"Computer, what's the weather like in Indiana?"