A/n: Sorry for being AWOL since I posted 'Surviving' on Monday, I've been at home for the week and the internet had completely died by Tuesday, I only managed to get a dongle working on Thursday night. I'm travelling back to uni tomorrow, so after that my internet access will be reliable again, and hence, hopefully, I can update more! Thanks to cojack for starting a new C/7 story in their 'Alternatives' series, 'The Third Path'. It was great to find such a great new story to read when I got back online, and there are now two more chapters posted! :D
"I'm sure your engineers know what they're doing, you heard what a glowing report Seven of Nine gave the whole project, and Lieutenant Torres, my Chief Engineer, I'm sure she'll echo that…"
Phalix's already small eyes narrowed, making the rest of the features on his long face look even more out of proportion. "The pregnant woman?" he asked carefully, watching the face of Voyager's Captain intently.
Janeway had to swallow back the flash of ire his dubious tone sparked. She had been about to introduce him to B'Elanna, her knowledgeable confidence would perhaps be enough to ease his concerns, but after that barely veiled criticism she knew better than to risk a diplomatic incident by encouraging the hot tempered Klingon and this loud mouthed Talaxian. Of course he was being perfectly obsequious with her, trying to gain her support for a number of petty political manoeuvres of his, but thankfully Kathryn hadn't lost her knack of dealing with such oily, or in this case mostly tactless, characters. She hadn't known it at the time but she'd been glad of the three years she'd spent as an attaché in Starfleet Headquarters before being assigned a starship when Voyager had ended up in the Delta Quadrant and she'd become the Federation's Head Ambassador here by default. "That's her." She confirmed coolly, "But since she seems busy right now…" She glanced around and saw B'Elanna laughing with a group of her Engineering crewmates, "…how about I ask Lieutenant Tuvok to give you a personal debriefing on the communication system?"
A satisfied smile instantly spread across Phalix's face, his thin shoulders pushing back as his chest puffed out. "I would appreciate that Captain. A man of my standing has to stay well informed, for the sake of his constituents…"
"Of course." Janeway cut him off smoothly as she spotted Tuvok among the party's slowly dwindling crowds and smiled at the Vulcan apologetically as he obeyed her desperate expression and calmly approached them, "Mr Tuvok, could you please give Mr Phalix here…" She patted the Talaxian's arm familiarly and gained a moment of amusement when the man not too subtly attempted to smooth out the wrinkle she'd left behind in his elaborate gold outfit. "…a short debriefing on the comm. system? He's expressed some concerns."
Tuvok arched a single eyebrow, the one closer to his Captain, questioningly but soon neutralised the expression to regard Phalix with an impressive detachment. Even some of his own people, let alone the uninitiated Voyager crew, had recoiled from his obnoxious manner and appearance throughout the night. "If you believe that some assurance is necessary Captain I can give Mr Phalix a condensed version of our original proposal to the colony's leaders, since they have obviously been remiss in not publicising it to him?"
His Captain couldn't quite suppress a smirk as Phalix visibly deflated. "Yes, I think that would be appropriate, since the party will be wrapping up soon, don't you think so Mr Phalix?"
"Yes Captain." Phalix mumbled, a sound rumbling in the back of his throat as if he was trying not to choke on the slice of humble pie they'd just force fed him. "That would be…fine. I appreciate it."
Janeway sighed in relief as Phalix, suddenly looking downtrodden, trailed obediently after Tuvok. She tried to suppress a flicker of regret that she'd just handed off a diplomatic burden to her most loyal officer, but then reasoned that Tuvok rarely relished parties anyway. He was sure to give her a comprehensive, and drily witty in his own logical way, report of the encounter later.
"Captain?" The sound of Seven's distinctive cut-glass voice from behind her made Janeway jump slightly, but she recovered quickly enough to make a neat turn in her new heels to face her protégé, who surprisingly had Chakotay close at her side.
"Seven, the proud speechmaker returns!" she greeted her warmly, leaning in as she pointed out Tuvok and Phalix, now thankfully at the far end of the room. "I just gave the responsibility of defusing that blowhard to Tuvok, he's been making a fuss, but maybe you could take over, since you know enough about the system to make his eyes glaze over…"
Chakotay chuckled at that, but to Janeway's keen ears he was distracted, and Seven shifted uncomfortably before giving a characteristically brisk answer. "I have been assured that Mr Phalix's position among the colony's leaders is not as prominent as he would like to think, I'm certain Tuvok will be able to dismiss his concerns adequately without my assistance."
Janeway flashed a quick, knowing smile at her, "Is that your way of saying that you've withdrawn yourself from diplomatic duties for the night?" she quipped.
Seven fought the urge to glance at Chakotay for support, her nervously twisting stomach beginning to drop as she thought of the diplomacy, of a different or more intense kind, that the two of them were going to have to engage in with the Captain to make her understand their relationship. She managed to keep her gaze level with the Captain but allowed herself a small sigh. "I hope I can Captain."
Chakotay stepped in as he saw a bemused frown of concern begin to ripple across Kathryn's contented features as she absorbed that cryptic answer, so unusual from Seven, whose bluntness was both valued and decried by her mentor. "We need to speak to you Captain, in private."
Janeway's frown deepened as she saw that Chakotay's seriousness, his unreadable eyes and set, determined jaw, complemented Seven's pale faced stoicism. "What's wrong?" Her mouth fell open a fraction as her eyes swept skittishly over the party, "There isn't something wrong with the Talaxian comm. system is there?" she questioned in a harsh, anxious whisper.
Seven winced guiltily, "No Captain, it is perfectly functional, I would inform immediately if it were otherwise."
Chakotay tried not to feel irritated as Kathryn's face relaxed at that reassurance, it was as if the only thing Seven should ever concern herself with, the only thing he and Seven had in common, was work. Admittedly, that had been true up until only a few weeks ago, but he couldn't help his defensiveness now. "We just have something else to discuss with you, something important."
"Oh." Janeway muttered thoughtfully, picking up on the impatience in her First Officer's voice but drawing a blank on the reason for it. Maybe Seven had come up with another adaption for the ship and told Chakotay first, she seemed to have been confiding in him a lot lately. Thinking on that, that familiar tense knot began to form again in her stomach as she thought of the confidence she'd forced between the two of them, her orders concerning the holodeck. It still riled and upset her that Chakotay had so firmly refused to reveal anything about that. "Well, I should stay until the last of our Talaxian guests have left, but since that time is not in sight yet I'll take a break." She sighed heavily, unconsciously waving them off as she said her dismissal, "Go wait in my Ready Room, both of you if need be, and I'll be along in a few minutes."
Chakotay turned away wordlessly but Seven was as polite as the Doctor would've ever wished, though stiff. "Thank you Captain." Janeway smiled at her briefly in reply, pursing her lips in wonder when Chakotay laid a lingering touch on Seven's Borg arm and she immediately turned to follow him out of the Mess Hall, understanding the moment of silent communication that left her Captain dumbfounded.
Janeway ended up going to join them in her Ready Room quicker than she'd intended, giving only the slimmest of polite excuses to the most senior Talaxians for her short absence from the party before heading up in the turbolift. The Bridge was manned by a skeleton crew, dealing only in the essentials while the ship hung still and safe over the asteroid, but she took the time to pause for a minute, check how these crewmembers were holding up and make sure that they did have chance to go to the party at some point with her blessing; shifts could afford to be shorter than normal tonight. After that obligatory moment of leadership was over though, she turned her attention back to her Ready Room and entered at a marching pace.
Her deliberate, controlled stance abandoned her however when she sensed what awaited her. Chakotay and Seven were sitting together on the room's couch, Seven had never sat on that couch before in four years. Their bodies were angled towards each other, legs touching, as they had a murmured conversation back and forth. They stopped talking as they heard their Captain enter, but made no contrived effort to spring apart. In fact, as Seven's eyes turned up to study Janeway's face, Chakotay gently grasped one of the hands she had clenched in the lap of that short red dress, the Borg one.
"I take it that this discussion is of a personal nature?" Janeway queried tightly, suddenly wishing as she stepped further into the room, tempted as she was to go immediately behind the protective barrier of her desk, that she was in uniform rather than made up in this dress. Everything would be professional, normal, if she were in uniform right now; Chakotay and Seven wouldn't have dared to move the goalposts…
"Yes Captain." Seven replied stiltedly as Janeway's eyes bored into her, demanding that she elaborate, but her throat only constricted further.
Chakotay took a deep breath as he felt Seven shiver beside him, obviously chilled by Kathryn's gaze, but he himself found that when he locked eyes with her he felt almost eerily calm. Honesty was the best policy. "Seven and I are here to inform you of our relationship."
An odd, humourless laugh bubbled at the back of Janeway's throat, he's made that declaration as if he were merely giving her a basic status report! She managed to choke the sound down, although doing that made her next words sound rather breathless, "Well…I can't say I'm not…" 'Shocked' was on the tip of her tongue but it suddenly didn't seem to fit the awkwardly calm atmosphere, "…surprised." She admitted, putting a hand over her mouth to clear her throat, although really she just needed the respite from speech to gather her scattered thoughts together. "How long has this…relationship been in effect?" She grimaced at her own wording, it made it seem as if she were talking about some unknown physics phenomenon rather than the closeness between the two people sitting right in front of her.
Chakotay decided to answer, he knew Seven still wasn't entirely comfortable, and probably never would be, talking about how long and why their initial courtship had dragged out. Why in particular his own feelings had developed in the first place. "A few weeks." He responded, the statement itself vague but his tone implacably firm.
Janeway's whole posture relaxed upon hearing that, a flicker of a relieved smile curling her lips up wryly as she ran a hand through her hair and moved to a more dominant position in the centre of the room. "That isn't long, in the scheme of things." She commented with a small shake of her head, "I understand better than you think I do. Voyager can be a hot house for this sort of thing. With so many years having passed and with relatively few of us here, emotions can flare up unexpectedly, rashly…" She trailed off as she considered something, "And in the case of stressful away missions, just like what the two of you experienced on Ledosia, it's only reasonable that it can trigger…"
Chakotay knew where she was going with this and glanced at Seven for reassurance, and permission, before interrupting sharply, "There were feelings there before Ledosia."
"Before…" Janeway started in disbelief, her lips turning white as she pressed them together. Meeting the two steady gazes of confirmation, she changed tact. "I can't be the only one who sees problems with this." She remarked through gritted teeth, "This abrupt turnaround…it's irrational Seven." She addressed her protégé pleadingly, who flinched but didn't move from Chakotay's side. "Look at how different the two of you are, in your roles onboard, your upbringing, not to mention the age gap!" She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself, "I understand, I do…" She began softly, addressing Seven again since she could see that Chakotay was beginning to get angry, "It's so easy to get carried away, but it's even easier to get hurt, it won't work…"
"You can't judge on that Kathryn!" Chakotay snapped before trying to reason with her, "We're both adults and we know what we're getting into…"
"I don't think you do, or else you wouldn't be pursuing this!" Janeway retorted, "She may have developed a crush on you, but that doesn't mean that it's wise of you to encourage her…"
Seven shifted warily on the couch as Chakotay stood up to face the Captain, both of them irate and defensive. The Captain's words had pierced her own walls, though she doubted it was in the way the Captain desired. All of the doubts the Captain had raised had rolled even more virulently around in her head in the past, but Chakotay had eliminated them all. The thought of their 'age gap' made her want to laugh bitterly for an instant. She knew the Captain had always considered her immature, a violated six year old child in an adult drone's body, and had in the past been proven at least partially correct, but right now she felt older than both of them, in tune with the fickleness of life. She had the depth of billons of minds behind her, their knowledge and darkness, that had paradoxically both preserved and hardened her. She'd be thirty in less than two months, yet felt both half and three times that age at the same time. Making an oddly detached decision, she rose gracefully and stood like a wall between them. Chakotay and Janeway fell silent at her intervention, through she'd yet to speak. Despite no longer being a drone, she could still command the manner that allowed her to rule any room like a Queen.
She fell into her habitual position, hands held behind her back, as she watched the Captain intently, the words that had refused to form earlier now flowing easily. "Captain, do you remember what you said to…reassure me when I was first cut off from the Collective?"
Janeway shifted uneasily, actually exchanging a worried look with Chakotay, they'd both been caught off guard by Seven's abrupt change in manner. "I tried to tell you a lot of things back then Seven." She reminded her ruefully.
Seven nodded in acknowledgement of that, but continued anyway. "You told me that, eventually, the friendships I would form with the crew would replace the Hive mind, and you were correct. I will always be indebted to this crew for that, but it's not enough anymore…" Her voice cracked, but she pressed on, just above a whisper. "I've discovered that…a closer relationship is not impossible for me, that I can have what truly prevents a human from being alone." Her hands clenched at her sides as she paused, her voice strengthening into resolution, "I know that your concerns may be revealed in time as well founded, perfection is improbable even in love, but I want to take the risk, and Chakotay does too."
"Seven…" Janeway choked, but a suitable reply failed her. She was suddenly ashamed of her self-righteousness, the angry wind that had been filling her sails stilled by Seven's earnestness, using her own advice against her.
The younger woman's self-assurance faded as quickly as it come, she seemed to shrink into herself slightly, misreading the Captain's speechlessness, but she still maintained her dignity as she said, "I do not take your disapproval lightly Captain, but if I must I will ignore it."
This statement could've been bitter or sarcastic, but somehow Seven's genuinely resigned tone made it worse. Chakotay had seen Kathryn's face growing more and more stricken with every word Seven had said, but this last pronouncement had rendered her guilt-ridden and even tearful. "You…You don't have my disapproval Seven, not so fundamentally." She exclaimed hoarsely, grasping her arm, "I just…" She stopped herself, repeating her concerns about her actual choice of man seemed petty and redundant now. "I'm so glad you've grown to this point in your humanity, and you have my blessing to pursue it in whichever way you wish." She exhaled heavily as she gave her a wobbly smile before giving Chakotay a guarded glance. "Can you leave Chakotay and I alone for awhile please?" When a distrustful frown crossed Seven's tired features she hurriedly explained, "We have things to talk about, procedures to change, a relationship between senior officers changes things you know…"
Seven turned to Chakotay, who smiled at her reassuringly as he nodded cautiously at Janeway, "The Captain's right Seven, everything's fine but the two of us do have some things to clear up." He slipped his arm around her waist, aching to embrace her after what she'd said but forcing himself to hold back, for now. "I'll come and find you when I'm finished here, alright?" he murmured gently.
Seven searched his face for answers but saw nothing but affection and concern for her. "As you wish." She murmured in the same tone, "Goodnight Captain." She said mutedly before drifting through the door back onto the safety of the Bridge.
"That was good of you to back me up on that." Janeway remarked drily to Chakotay as soon as the doors closed behind Seven.
"I did it for her, she doesn't deserve to be in the middle." Chakotay responded bitterly, "Were you being truthful with her, do we have your blessing?"
Janeway regarded him stiffly, holding herself high. "I've never wanted to hold Seven back."
Chakotay bristled. "You think I'll hold her back?"
"Don't look at me like that Chakotay, you may be pulling her out of her shell right now, she changed to the uniform to please you didn't she, not for herself, but how far do you think she'll be knocked back when she gets hurt?"
"I'm not going to hurt Seven!" Chakotay shot back in exasperation, "You have no idea of what we've…"
"I know you wouldn't hurt her intentionally Chakotay, you're a better man than that, but that might be the result no matter how much you try." Janeway told him resignedly, "Your past with women, the fact that you're an…experienced older man, you're bound to expect more than she can give. And what about the fact that she was Borg and you were Maquis? Both of you would've had some problems being accepted in Federation society with pasts like that, but the two of you together…" She saw that that she was losing him with this argument and changed tact, "And what about children? Wouldn't you like a chance of fatherhood? It's probable that Seven will never be able to give you that, or would be risking her life in the process…"
A muscle jumped violently in Chakotay's face as he struggled to rein in his temper. "Kathryn…" He began finally, "I need you to understand something. There are certain things that Seven and I are going to figure out and decide together, without input from anyone else, and all those things fall into that category. I know Seven would like for you to accept us, and I'd prefer that too, but you're going to have to back off even if you don't."
"I'm willing to Chakotay, I really am. It would be better if you could make this work." Janeway said quietly as she sank down behind her desk, "Now that you've started this and you intend for it to continue I want it to work, for both of your sakes, but…" She gave a tiny smile, "…consider yourselves on probation. Seven is the closest thing I'll have to a daughter, and I can activate the airlocks too you know."
Chakotay grimaced at the jibe but decided to shrug it off with grace. "You don't need to worry about us Captain." He stated firmly as he turned and left.
A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D This story is nearing its conclusion, thank you for all the amazing support thus far!