Seven of Nine released a long sigh as she re-entered Cargo Bay 2. She was tired, but surprisingly relaxed, considering the events of the last 24 hours. A smile curved gracefully over her face as she made her way slowly through the cavernous room, her legs still a little shaky from the adrenaline the day's periodic red alerts had sent surging through her that had cracked even her controlled exterior at times. The remnants of the picnic lunch which were still present near her private corner crystallising the memories attached to that meal; she held those recollections in her mind like priceless, irreplaceable gems. No matter that the meeting, she supposed Chakotay would be amenable to it being called a date now, had been cut short by Voyager's arrival at the Talaxian colony, they'd given each other what they needed, forgiveness and reassurance, if not what they wanted, which was the time to revel in their new trust.

Duty had called, or more accurately their Captain had ordered, and they'd risen as one from the blanket, disposed of the food and corked the cider, without many words being spoken. In fact, Seven had been bracing herself to slip back into professionalism, to call him Commander as they ran for the Bridge, but as she'd turned for the door, he'd spun her back into him with one, almost frivolous, flick of his arm, coiling it around her waist and capturing her mouth with his, snatching a kiss before pulling back reluctantly, like a man dying of thirst who'd only been allowed one sip of water, as the red glow of the alarms cast an eerie pallor his handsome face. "We'll be fine." He'd murmured as he'd felt her tense up at the delay, then as soon as she'd nodded, tilting her face towards his, he'd let her go and they'd headed off like the good crewmembers they were.

Her smile turned rueful as she remembered that parting reassurance. They had been fine, after a fraught day of negotiations, first with the fearful Talaxians and then their enemies as they fought to let Neelix's new friends stay on the asteroid they'd claimed as home. It appeared now that they'd been successful, and that made her exhaustion, building on the trauma of her near miss with emotional failsafe, somewhat worth it, even if it meant that her contact with Chakotay since it had all started had been limited to a few concerned glances while on the Bridge. Part of her was glad of that, the same part of her that instinctively realised he hadn't entirely been talking of the danger of duty when he'd reassured her. The shift in their relationship, how it had changed her perspective on her life here and how it was bound to alter her role within the crew and their view of her, was overwhelming. As always when faced with 'developments in her humanity', as the Captain called the fits of uncertainty and change Seven herself was tempted to refer to as crises, the prospect was both terrifying and mildly thrilling. She knew herself well enough, and obviously Chakotay did too, to realise that a break from being confronted with all this, even in the form of a threat that a red alert always heralded, was what was required to stop her being consumed by the fear of excess emotion that the Collective had branded into her soul.

With a shake of her head to try to dismiss this introspection, she began to carefully tidy their makeshift picnic area. On her knees she swept away any hint of food crumbs still lingering, emptying the basket she'd so fretfully prepared the day before into the room's disposal system before tenderly folding the blanket onto her knee as she perched on the edge of one of the containers they'd hidden behind, suddenly regretting her compulsive desire to clean. Was this what a relationship on Voyager was going to be like? Clearing away their intimacy to make room for duty? Chakotay had tried to lightly laugh away the interruption, but how much time were they really going to have? Life on the sole Federation ship in the Delta Quadrant, an unprotected island in a sea of hostility, was highly dangerous to say the least. What if he risked too much for her? She had been Borg; few hate filled victims of the Collective cared about her status as a former drone when they were bent on revenge. What if Chakotay was injured or killed in the line of duty?

The painful sting of tears in her eyes brought her back out of her own dark imaginings. That's what they were, imaginings. She was speculating, conjuring up horrific scenarios just as Chakotay had told her not to. She loved him and could now trust that he loved her. As he'd said, they were happy right now, why was she worrying herself to tears?

The swoosh of the doors echoing behind her made her cringe guiltily, upset at the thought of Chakotay finding her like this. She was already too reliant on him for reassurance and didn't want him to think that she didn't believe in their relationship, that she was unstable. Spinning around, the blanket falling off her lap, she relaxed instantly when she saw Naomi standing just inside the threshold. "Naomi Wildman." She greeted her softly, hastily drawing her hand over her face before trying to smile at the young girl, surprised that she hadn't spoken immediately, Naomi tended to launch straight into conversation. "Is there something wrong?"

Naomi shook her head a little too hurriedly, her own smile fleeting even as she answered calmly, "No, I'm just a little bored, Mom's shift doesn't end for half an hour and Neelix is busy."

Seven's brow furrowed slightly as she stood up in one supple movement to approach her young friend. "Neelix too busy for you?" she asked carefully, watching Naomi's face intently, "That is highly unlikely."

Naomi smiled warmly, the tension in her small shoulders easing. "Yeah, but right now he's with Dexa and Brax, continuing to show them around the ship."

"You always like to help him with those tours." Seven reminded her, pausing before adding cautiously, "Don't you like Dexa and Brax?"

"Of course I do!" Naomi answered swiftly, "They're really nice, they're my friends too." She took a deep breath, "I just thought I'd better leave Neelix alone to have some time with them, since we'll be leaving soon…"

Seven subtly bent down to be closer to Naomi's height and eye level, "That's very considerate of you, although I firmly believe that they would not see your presence as an intrusion."

Naomi nodded gratefully, swiping her long strawberry blonde out of her eyes to look up at Seven, "I know that, it's just…" She blinked rapidly for a moment, "Neelix will be so sad when we leave them behind, he might never meet another Talaxian ever again…"

"The Talaxian people have been beset by tragedy." Seven admitted, "But Neelix, and all the people of that asteroid from what I've seen, have not allowed that to affect their happiness or optimism. The last thing Neelix would want is for you to be unhappy on his behalf, he's merely enjoying the presence of all of his friends while he can."

Naomi's smile came easier and stayed on her face. "Yeah, we're all together right now, that's good."

Seven could return the smile with genuine pleasure. She knew that Naomi, perhaps uniquely, shared her fear of returning to Earth, of the crew dispersing. Their lives were here, and Neelix was a large part of Naomi's. "Yes, it is good." She paused for a moment, wondering if she should confide an uncertain hope to the still little girl. "I believe I have found a way to keep Voyager and the asteroid in contact for many months, perhaps longer." She finally decided to reveal gently.

Naomi's face brightened, her relief vivid. "Really? Are you going to use the array we use to contact Earth?"

"Precisely." Seven confirmed, pleased by her correct deduction. "It is not guaranteed, but the Captain has given me permission to attempt to form a new comm. connection linking the asteroid to the array and thus to Voyager long range and the Federation." She gasped slightly as Naomi wrapped her in an impulsive, tight hug, but quickly relaxed, smiling down at her fondly as she tentatively returned the hug. "I need to report to Astrometrics and catalogue today's data from the Federation, arrange the comm. time, and then I will work on the link."

Naomi pulled back from her, "Can I help you do the cataloguing? You've let me before…"

Seven sighed wryly, "Yes I have, and I will now." She allowed, "But only until your mother comes off duty, you have your own homework to do remember."

Naomi laughed as she tugged Seven along by the hand, "You're the one who gives me most of the homework Seven, of course I'm going to do it!"

"Whose turn is it for comm. time today?" Naomi asked eagerly as they entered Astrometrics, standing right on the balls of her feet to be able to peer inquisitively at the console.

Seven cleared her throat awkwardly as she glanced down the comm. time allocation list while focusing most of her attention on activating the protocols she'd designed to decipher the encrypted information stream from Starfleet. "It appears to be my turn today."

Naomi's eyes widened a little, "Really? You're going to talk to your aunt?"

"She will be expecting me to contact her today, yes." Seven replied after a long pause, trying to ignore the nervous tightening in her chest.

Naomi, uncommonly perceptive after a lifetime surrounded by adults, patted Seven's metallic hand soothingly, "I'll go and wait for Mom then and you can talk to her." She said firmly, "You should have told me before Seven." She admonished her seriously, her young face earnest.

Seven shook her head, "No, my aunt would be upset to think that she is the reason you left." She countered before continuing thoughtfully, "I'm certain that she'd like to meet you, I talk about our activities, such as kadiskot, frequently in our conversations."

Naomi grinned at that, "You do?"

"You are my friend, why would I not talk about you?" Seven replied with an honesty that made Naomi's smile grow. She knew that all of the crew would help and protect her, but few would call her a friend as unaffectedly as Seven of Nine, who, as protective and maternal as she was, didn't seem to consider excluding her from things as most people did with a child. "The comm. link will be available in thirty seconds." Seven informed her companion calmly, focusing on the technical details in front of her rather than the looming conversation. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate her conversations with her aunt, they had always had a pleasant two minutes after Irene managed to allay the nerves and awkwardness that Seven still felt, although she resisted the feelings as irrational and unfair, towards the last living branch of her family.

"Okay." Naomi acknowledged, standing back from the console to gaze seriously up at the viewscreen, hands neatly by her side as her back straightened. Years of witnessing Voyager's diplomatic functions had sunk in to give the girl natural manners an ambassador would be proud to possess.

"Comm. link activated." Seven intoned, swallowing slightly as the viewscreen was covered with a layer of snowy static for a moment before her aunt's aged but familiar figure came into clear focus.

"Annika!" Irene always rendered her given name, which generally made Seven flinch, a pleasure to her ears. The joy and affection in her tone, twinned with her melodic Swedish accent, brought enough childhood memories flooding back to make Seven relax and return the older woman's eager, kindly smile. "I was hoping you'd be able to call today, how are you?"

"I am well Aunt Irene." Seven answered warmly. From her aunt's ears the 'how are you' seemed to stem from genuine concern rather than social convention. "I am sorry I was unable to contact you three weeks ago…" She began to apologise rapidly, her gaze dipping awkwardly.

"Don't worry Annika, you explained that in your letter and I understood." She regarded her niece affectionately, "It was very kind of you to let that poor Ensign who'd lost his brother have the extra comm. time with his family." She assured her softly.

Seven blushed a little, the compliment sitting uneasily with her under Naomi's curious glance. She'd broken regulations by giving Ensign Cho her comm. time, and she still felt a little guilty for putting Irene off, but her conscience had told her it was the right thing to do at the time. "This is Naomi Wildman." She introduced, changing the subject by indicating her companion in the room.

"Good afternoon Ms Hansen, it's very nice to meet you." Naomi said with solemn politeness, standing to attention.

"Please call me Irene dear, if I can call you Naomi?" When Naomi gave a giggling nod in reply to that, Irene's face softened further, leaning closer into her screen to address the little girl almost conspiratorially, "Annika has told me a lot about you, so you'll need to tell me a little something about her, when did she get the smart uniform?" She straightened up again to address her niece, "You really do look good in it my love, what brought on the change?"

Naomi's grin widened, although she tried to hide it from Seven with her hand, "I think Commander Chakotay got it for her, although everyone at the party a few nights ago says he likes her blue dress even more…"

"Oh?" Irene queried, unable to stop her eyebrows rising even as a smile pulled at her lips, "Does he now?"

"Naomi…" Seven intervened, stopping herself when she realised that her flustered tone was giving away more than the little girl ever could as Irene's smile grew.

"It's true Seven, you know it is." Naomi insisted, a teasing glint in her eye as if challenging her to deny it.

"Well…" Seven tried, quickly deciding not to make the hole being dug for her any bigger. At that moment the trill of Naomi's comm. badge seemed like a saving grace.

"Naomi, I'm finished in Engineering and I booked some holodeck time for us, come and meet me please." Samantha Wildman instructed her daughter through the line.

Seven allowed her lips to twitch in a brief smile as Naomi's face brightened further. Ensign Wildman must have had a similar idea to her, distract Naomi from fretting about Neelix. "I'm coming Mom." Naomi agreed swiftly, "Thank you for having me Seven." With Seven's simple nod of acknowledgement, she turned towards the door, remembering just in time to turn back to the viewscreen, "It was nice to meet you…Irene."

"You too dear." Irene replied warmly, a wistful, and somewhat saddened, smile passing over her face as Naomi bounded out.

"Aunt Irene?" Seven prompted her uncertainly as she saw the expression.

"Nothing min älskling…" Irene mumbled distractedly, her Swedish terms completely obvious to Seven's ears now that the comm. system no longer needed to translate for Naomi's sake, "She just reminds me of you, that's all."

"I will take that a compliment." Seven replied softly.

Irene just studied her for a moment thoughtfully before remembering how little time they had. "So…a man who particularly notes how you dress?" she questioned cautiously.

"Yes." Seven admitted, concluding that there was no need to hide from someone thousands of lightyears away, "I suppose you could say Chakotay does that."

Irene gave her a gentle smirk in reply, "Among other things I hope?"

"We are growing very close." Seven conceded, flushing when she became aware of how much she was smiling, "I am…I believe we are happy, despite any complications."

"Complications?" Irene echoed uneasily, her delighted expression gradually turning to one of concern, like a changing tide. Hoping to God she wasn't prying, she tried her best to soften the worry in her tone, "Käresta, what kind of complications?"

Seven took a deep breath, feeling all of her fears surge to the tip of tongue even as her throat seemed to close up almost entirely. "Chakotay is the First Officer." She finally answered, thinking that that summed it up.

Irene obviously didn't understand, her face blank. "Yes, I know he is." She answered slowly, remembering as she did so seeing a picture of the very man in one of the reports about Voyager, he was very handsome. "Why is that a problem Anni?"

"It is entirely against regulations!" Seven answered, her voice choked with frustration and doubt, "It is considered disruptive to the chain of command, dangerous, for crewmembers to fraternise…"

Irene's frown deepened, and she held her hands up to stop her, "Wait, I thought two of your friends were married, aren't they about to have a baby?"

"They are of the same rank." Seven responded, neglecting to tell her aunt that even that, which some thought more permissible, had taken a long time to be acknowledged and that many of her crewmates had doubted Tom and B'Elanna for longer than they realised. With her enhanced hearing she could hear every whisper.

She now heard an audible 'humph' from the older woman, who was practically huffing with indignation as she crossed her arms over her chest, "What do Starfleet expect? For the poor man to be celibate for the rest of his life? You're living on a ship, not a monastery or a convent…" Her flow of exasperated incredulity slowed as she saw Seven's face flood with crimson, "Honestly Annika…" She began in a gentler, more considered tone, "You don't really think that you're expected to stand by that sort of regulation in Voyager's situation do you? No one could expect that, no even the Starfleet top brass whom everyone would like to keep at arm's length…" She shook her head, her voice cracking with emotion, "The reality is Annika, that you may be on that ship for fifty years or more, all any of you have is each other, as much as the families here still love you…" She sighed heavily, trying to collect herself, "You don't deserve to be alone, and neither does the Commander does he?"

Seven shook her head fiercely, "No, no, of course he doesn't." She forced out, blinking hard, but a single tear escaped and fell onto the console anyway. How close had she come to her worst fear coming true? Being alone and isolated forever as her aunt similarly seemed to fear for her? If she hadn't reached out to him that night in Sickbay… "I love him." She said suddenly, more to herself than to Irene and with as much conviction as she'd admitted to him earlier.

"I know." Irene told her, smiling in relief, "That fear you're feeling, for him more than for yourself, that just means your taking this seriously, but don't let it distract you either."

Seven laughed weakly, the sound struggling to leave her tight throat. "He told me already not to worry, to just let things be."

"See?" Irene demanded with a chuckle, her piercing blue gaze, a family trait, pinning her niece's attention, "He seems like a sensible man, a good one. You'll have to let me speak to him sometime."

"I will." Seven replied, overwhelmed by the fact the one other vote of confidence, added to Chakotay's, could help her so much. "We only have 15 seconds left." She muttered despondently, in the rare position, for her, of wishing a conversation could continue. "Thank you for talking to me Aunt Irene." Her voice was thick with gratitude and relief.

"I'm glad I could help you, really Annika." Irene replied, her own voice failing her for a moment before she decided to lighten the tone, "If the Commander is afraid of meeting me, remind him that it's only a two minute conversation, he's got a leg up on most boyfriends meeting the family."

Seven found herself laughing at that, although she didn't entirely grasp the reference, and Irene's replying laughter was the last sound she heard from her before the comm. cut out.

Chakotay felt his whole body lighten, some of the more troubling cares in his mind falling away as he finally entered Astrometrics. He felt that, as he stood admiring the serene sculpture that was Seven at work, waiting for her to notice him, Astrometrics was rapidly becoming one of his favourite places on the ship. This was ironic, considering that he'd been wary of it being built in the first place, much as he'd feared the drone who it represented. Against his will, as guilt mingled with his joy at being proved so wrong, the scorpion parable resounded in his head. No doubt the Captain would remind him of those words in the days to come, but he now felt able to respond to them. Yes, his father had advised him, being proven right can be satisfying, but discovering something new for yourself, even if it proves you completely wrong, can be life affirming, in the end you'll remember that discovery more clearly than anything that proved you right.

Seven's voice, he vaguely recalled finding it robotic in the past but now found it effortlessly seductive, pulled him out of his mental wanderings. "If you are here for my report on the link for the Talaxian colony, I have not completed it yet."

"Actually, I'd forgotten about that." Chakotay replied lightly as he walked to her side.

"I thought you may have, since you've been standing here for five minutes." Seven replied, letting him catch a smirk curve her lips without actually lifting her head up from the console, although unbeknownst to him she'd stopped working as soon as he'd entered, enjoying the anticipation of feeling his eyes on her.

"Oh…" Chakotay chuckled sheepishly, "I must've had my mind on other things." He turned his face in, so close to hers that when her head rose from the console their lips almost brushed together, before settling on exchanging a private smile, "How about you tell me your conclusions anyway Crewman, that is if you have any?"

Seven arched her eyebrows, not even bothering to confirm to him that of course she had conclusions. "I believe the link could be set up relatively easily, it would merely require some modifications to the colony's long range communications system."

Chakotay grinned at her, "Neelix will be happy to hear that, the Captain too." He drew himself closer to her by tentatively placing his hand on the small of her back, relishing the acceptance of the touch as she leaned into his palm like a cat. "I guess that means you'll be going on a short away mission to do those modifications for them…" He speculated, "Do you want me to offer my services as part of the away team?"

"As long as Lieutenant Paris pilots the shuttlecraft." Seven tossed back at him, her shoulders quivering with laughter when he sucked in a breath in mock offence.

"My record with Voyager's shuttles is just bad luck you know…" He tried to defend himself before giving in with a laugh, "Okay, Tom would pilot, but I could still come in some capacity…"

Seriousness dawned on Seven's face, "Perhaps we should rule ourselves out as away team members of each other's missions, it would reduce the possibility of conflict if one of us were endangered."

Chakotay's jaw locked, "If you were injured on a planet somewhere I'd make it my business to help you…" He sighed as he saw her point, such emotional decisions could jeopardise the whole crew. "Okay, I see your point with the away missions, but you're not still bringing my rank into this are you?" The hand that wasn't cradled in her back clenched fearfully as his side.

"No." Seven assured him softly, "I know it will never be irrelevant in our lives here, but I will not forsake you for the sake of protocol." She felt him exhale in relief and sighed guiltily, deciding to confide her fears of earlier in the day, "I was allowing the…obstacles in our path to preoccupy me somewhat…" Chakotay knew this was an understatement, "But I spoke to my aunt today and she reassured me as you did…" She trailed off as she belatedly realised that he might not be happy with her 'blabbing' their private concerns to anyone. "I am sorry if I broke your confidence by talking to her, it is our concern alone…"

"Seven." Chakotay interrupted her, both hands moving to grip her waist and turn her fully towards him, "I wouldn't stop you from talking to your aunt, about anything. I'm glad you have her now, that you can open up to her. I'm happy that you have someone outside this ship to talk to."

"I am too." Seven admitted, recalling how lonely she often felt even on a ship full of people. "She just reiterated what you said, in more colourful terms perhaps, that relationships are allowable and that happiness is all that is relevant."

"She sounds like a great aunt to have." Chakotay told her warmly, "How often do you talk to her? Is she really the only relation you have?"

"Aunt Irene and her two sons, my cousins, are my closest blood relations." Seven confirmed, "Her husband died many years ago. I have been talking to her when my comm. time allows, although today I had not spoken to her for six weeks…"

"What happened three weeks ago?"

Seven blanched a little, she hadn't intended to reveal that. "Ensign Cho had just heard about his brother's accident, I allocated him extra time on the comm. link to allow him to seek comfort from his family."

"I remember, I counselled him over the death. He wondered who the anonymous person was who gave him their comm. time…" Chakotay murmured in wonder, "Why didn't you say anything? He would've liked to thank you for that…"

"Thanks are irrelevant." Seven responded crisply, beginning to feel awkward about what she had done, "It was reasonable to give someone in that situation such consideration, and I knew I would be least affected by the loss, Irene understood…"

"It wasn't just reasonable Seven, it was very kind." Chakotay murmured in awe, although he knew he should have no longer been surprised by her doing such a thing. He was also a bit taken aback by her need to justify it. "It would be nice to let him thank you too."

Seven shifted uneasily from foot to foot, her gaze dropping. "He may not have accepted the consideration from me." She reminded him stiffly.

"That's not true Seven." Chakotay argued, saddened and frustrated by her reasoning, but her nod in acknowledgement was so small he knew he'd have to press his point another time. "Anyway, I really should've thought of doing something like that myself…"

"Why?" Seven questioned, "Don't you use your comm. time?"

Chakotay shrugged, "Not always." He admitted, "Honestly, I don't have many people to call, most of my Maquis friends are here with us."

Seven's brow furrowed, "Don't you have a sister?" she asked cautiously.

"I do, Sekaya, she's two years younger than me. We don't have much in common anymore though; it's easier to just write letters…" He trailed off, feeling guilty about telling her this, who'd been denied family as close as parents, let alone siblings, for most of her life. He thought about repeating the excuses he'd been telling himself, that Sekaya lived on a remote colony so the comm. line was unreliable, that two minutes just wasn't long enough, but Seven's clear, concerned gaze drew the truth out from him. "Honestly, I'm not sure I want to talk to her, or her to me. We grew apart when I left for Starfleet and her for university, and then things got pretty…volatile between us after our father was killed. She never agreed with me joining the Maquis afterwards…"

"That is in the past." Seven intervened levelly, studying his face intently and trying her best to sort out in her mind what words she could say to counteract the conflicted, painful emotions scattered over his face. "I do not believe she would make any conversation tense at this point, not if she's anything like you." She breathed a smaller sigh that echoed his heavier one as she looked up at him, "You share a great deal of good memories that could make for a pleasant two minute conversation, I think today was the first time I really spoke to Irene about my life in the present, rather than the childhood she can recall for me."

Chakotay smiled at her affectionately, his fingers moving up to lightly trace the outline of her face, as if he were framing a mental portrait of her. "How did you end up so grounded?" he murmured.

Seven's mouth twisted doubtfully, "I think your data to draw that conclusion is erroneous Commander."

Chakotay gave his head a steady shake, "I don't think so somehow…" He argued with a chuckle.

For a moment Seven appeared confused, then exasperated by his incorrigibility, but she let a wry smile of acceptance tug at her lips as she leaned up and gave him a kiss, short and sweet.

Their lips broke and Seven was about to step back from him again, when his arms formed a looping barrier to stop her, holding her against him. "You know, at some point I'm going to kiss you first right?" he teased.

Seven's eyebrows shot up, this time almost reaching her hairline, as she pouted at him. "Nothing is stopping you now."

A laugh bubbled in Chakotay's chest but it was stifled by the soft moan as he did as she recommended and kissed her, with much more heat and depth than Seven had dared to risk at this moment. Still, the heat of it quickly made her melt into him, the hands that moved from her back to splay over her hips seeming to her as if that was the only thing holding her upright. Just as she was beginning to reciprocate fully however, curling her arms around his neck to bring him even closer, the blare of the ship wide comm. system, Captain Janeway's sombre voice hailing down on them like judgement from above, made them freeze and break it off. "Senior officers please report to the Briefing Room."

Chakotay's head dipped briefly onto Seven's shoulder as she reluctantly loosened her grip on him. "She really does have perfect timing doesn't she?" he muttered, the irritation he'd shaken off good-naturedly the day before now crystal clear.

Seven sighed as she let him go and headed with efficient steps towards the doors. "I now have one good reason to wish for Voyager's return to Earth." She remarked drily as he moved to follow her out.

A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I'm so sorry, again, for the lack of updates this week! This chapter has been a chore for me honestly, a lot of deletion and re-writing, which delayed me beyond my real life excuses, sigh. Don't worry, I have a clearer plan for the next chapter! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. I put some Swedish phrases in for Irene once again, 'min älskling' means my darling and 'käresta' means sweetheart.