Nothing belongs to me.
The ending of ST: Voyager always fell short to me. My thoughts on what could have happened. I didn't keep the Seven and Chakotay romance.
They were home. They were finally home.
The second they saw Starfleet's ships, a silence fell on the Bridge. A restraint they all learned to live by. Too many desilusions, too much false hope during the seven years spent in the Delta Quadrant had rendered them overly cautious.
"We're being hailed, Captain."
Keeping her mask on, refusing to let anything out, she nodded,"Put them through."
The cries of joy ranged in her ears. Destabilizing. She looked behind her to Harry, his smile so big that she couldn't stop mimicking him. He seemed to take that as a sign because a second later he had taken her in his arms. A second later, he let her go, she sensed his embarassment, knew what was coming next.
"Don't you dare apologize Harry."
He smiled at her, eyes humid.
They had escaped the Delta Quadrant safely and brought the Borg Collective to their knees. Captain Janeway allowed herself a minute to take in the moment. She looked around, saw the smiles on her officers face and smiled in her turn.
She pushed her communicator, "To all crewmembers, prepare for docking at McKinley Station. Janeway out."
It had been two days now. Her crew was restless. They had not yet received authorization to physically be with their family. Starfleet was adamant, the Voyager crew had to pass every medical screens before setting foot on Federation territory. Captain Janeway understood, too many things had happened to her ship and her crew during the seven years in the Delta Quadrant after all. She still couldn't push away the apprehension she sensed coming from Starfleet's and the Federation.
"The majority of the logs were tranferred already."
"It's not the logs I'm worried about." Chakotay knew of her worries. How will they explain the modifications made to Voyager? She frowned thinking of the mess Admiral Janeway is putting her through.
"I'm sure they will be glad to have access to the technology brought by Admiral Janeway." Chakotay said to her calmly.
She didn't seem to hear him. "I had a talk with Admiral Paris." She said looking at him intensely. "The ex-Machis will have a full pardon in exchange for their extraordinary contribution to the crew of Voyager during our time in the Delta Quadrant."
"Thank you" He said to her kindly knowing full well she must have fought tooth and nails for their freedom.
She nodded.
"What about the Doctor?"
She let out a sigh. "They want to study him, if he agrees which I think he will. They assured me he will be treated as a member of my crew. Nonetheless I asked the Doctor to work on his statute as soon as we dock. I will sleep more peacefully if I know he's recognized as a citizen and not a hologram."
She heard a chuckle coming from her first officer. "What?"
"You still worry."
"Always." She stood up, walking to him. "We disappeared for seven years Chakotay. Going back to a life away from a ship, to a family that grew without you … it will be tough." She passed him to look outside to the ships following them toward Earth. They were a bit prepared thanks to the Pathfinder project. They had received informations about what had happened during their times in the Delta Quadrant. Still she knew it would be difficult for everyone to find their footing in society after seven years on Voyager.
"Samantha Wildman came to me worried about Naomi." The young girl spent all her life on Voyager, she wasn't happy to have to leave the relative safety of the ship. The Captain shared the Ensign worry when it came to Naomi, she had the same apprehension about Seven. "She refuses to talk to the counselors sent on the ship by Starfleet."
"Naomi will be alright, what she needs is time. As does Icheb. And Seven."
The Captain remained silent. The Doctor was already working with Starfleet sharing his knowledge of the Borg, making sure Seven and Icheb's situation was understood by the brass of the Federation. "They're not a threat." She can still hear herself say to Admiral Paris before insisting that she be present in any interactions between the two former drones and the Federation. She will not let them out of her sight, not until she was sure they were safe.
Her thoughts were cut short by a call from her security chief. "Tuvok to Captain Janeway."
Janeway pushed her combadge, "Janeway here."
"Captain, it appears we are missing two crewmembers."
The Captain turned to Chakotay who seemed as surprised as she was. "What do you mean missing?"
"Naomi Wildman was not seen since breakfast this morning. Seven's combadge was just found in Cargo bay two. I have dispatched search teams, however with the preparations for our docking there are not many crewmembers available."
"Where are you?"
"Cargo Bay two."
"I'll be right there. Janeway out."
Captain Janeway looked at the combadge in her hand and sighed.
"Seven of Nine did not report to her duties at 0800. I came here to see if she was alright and found her combadge. Naomi Wildman was not seen after her breakfast."
"You think they are together."
"That is most likely the case Captain." Tuvok conceded.
"We will find Naomi." The Captain said gently squeezing Samantha Wildman's arm.
"I know. I know Naomi is safe with Seven. It's just …" The woman sighed seemingly exhausted by the recent events. "Naomi doesn't want to get out of the ship Captain, she refuses to see her father. I don't know what to do."
"She will get there but she needs time. She needs to know that leaving Voyager doesn't mean we won't see each other anymore."
"What about Seven?"
The Captain tensed at the inquiry. She barely had any time the last two days, no time either to talk to Seven. They had talked about it in the past, of the possibility, Seven had been adamant that she would adapt. The Captain knew that in the end Seven would but they never talked about the specific of the journey she would have to take on to get there.
The Hansens had reached out to Seven, welcoming her back in their family. Seven seemed to hit it off with her aunt which pleased the Captain. Once, Seven had even insisted the Captain be there so they could meet each other. The exchange reassured the Captain, the Hansens were genuine, they would welcome Seven with open arms.
"Seven of Nine and Naomi share common circomstances." Tuvok said softly knowing the subject was difficult for the two women. "Both grew up on Voyager, both know nothing of life on Earth. Both experienced a unique family bond with the crew of Voyager. Although their experiences on Voyager may have been different, one can find the parallels in their journey here over the years. Their integration within a society outside of Voyager will be challenging. Nonetheless, I have no doubt Seven of Nine and Naomi will thrive in their lives."
Tuvok was right of course. His words seemed to have reassured Samantha Wildman. On the contrary, the Captain couldn't help but feel guilty for not having been there for Seven the last two days. She should have reached out to the young woman and find out how she was really feeling knowing full well Seven would not volonteer to express her feelings.
"Get the word out to the crew to be on the lookout for Seven and Naomi." The Captain ordered. "We spread out." Tuvok and Samantha nodded and went on their way.
Two hours later, Seven and Naomi were still nowhere to be found.
"Did you check Astromectrics' surrounding?" The Captain asked Tuvok over her combadge.
"The crew working in astrometrics didn't report anything."
"Nothing in hydroponics either" intervened Samantha Wildman.
"The holodecks?" asked the Captain loosing patience.
"None of the holodecks are running Captain."
Somehow this didn't convince her. "I will check the holodecks just to be sure. We rendez-vous on the Bridge in thirty minutes. Janeway out."
The corridors close to the holodecks were empty. Closing in, she stopped at the controls and realized one of the holodeck was indeed running. Seven must have disabled the sensors, she thought shaking her head. She took a deep breath trying to let go of the irritation she felt at the whole situation, she couldn't enter the holodeck angry.
"Janeway to Tuvok" she said after pushing her combadge. "Our two missing crewmembers are in holodeck 2."
"We will meet you there. Tuvok out."