Why did I agree to this? I know it comes from some strange form of pity, it means nothing, so why torment myself by going with him? These thoughts passed through Seven's head as she walked to the mess hall with Chakotay. As she glanced at his white tense face, she couldn't help from wondering if he had been somehow been coerced into this by the Doctor in some twisted plan to get her to consent to the operation on her cortical node. Impossible, there's no way the Doctor would do such a cruel thing to her. Irritated by her own confused thoughts, Seven decided to concentrate on how to get the meal ahead of her over with as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Seven had completely misread the meaning of Chakotay's expression; truly it meant he was sick with nerves. What had come over him to ask a woman he had known but barely interacted with for four years on a date? Wait. Who said this was a date? You just did, said another voice in his head. How could one away mission change everything he had known about himself in a matter of hours? If you really want to be her friend, his mind wouldn't let him go any further than friend, then don't call this a date because you know she doesn't cope well with forming relationships. To reassure himself that she was still there, he allowed himself to look at her, seeing that her eyes were fixed straight ahead of her, her face appearing calmly composed.
That all changed when they reached the doors of the mess hall. They both tried to step through the doorway at the same time, making their shoulders and arms touch. Seven felt herself begin to blush furiously at the physical contact, but they were both too stunned to move any further into the room, resulting in them blocking the doorway. Chakotay, totally transfixed by the blushing face before him, lost his voice for several seconds, before finally managing to stammer out "L..ladies..f..fir..st."
Seven, her head nearly disappearing into her shoulders, stepped into the room on auto pilot. Chakotay followed while mentally berating himself. I haven't stammered since I was in high school! Ladies first! How much more corny can I get? Get control of yourself!
"Chakotay! Seven!" boomed Neelix, if he was aware of their acute embarrassment he showed no sign of it. "Well don't just stand there! Come in! I have a new recipe, just made, Ledosian Bakla root pie! A closed minded people, but can they ever make a pie! You didn't happen to get any good recipes while you were down there did you?"
"No, nothing of great interest." Seven forced out, Neelix's cheery banter giving her enough time to recover the power of speech.
"Would you mind sitting together? It's very busy tonight."
"I think we'd actually prefer that, Neelix." Said Chakotay, glancing at Seven, who voicelessly nodded assent, much to his relief, even though he had asked here precisely for that purpose.
"Ok, then! Let's get you settled." Neelix said happily, leading them to the only empty table in the packed hall, thankfully in a quieter corner.
As they sat down across from each other, the awkward silence they were becoming accustomed to began to creep in again, only to be broken by Neelix. "Are you sure I can't interest you in that pie?"
"No! No, thank you Neelix, we'll choose our own." Said Chakotay, barely able to keep his voice level. As Neelix turned away from them, it occurred to him that it was very rude to turn something down on someone's behalf without even asking them.
"You didn't actually want that pie did you?" he asked, peering anxiously into her face.
Maybe it was his anxious tone, or the way he was looking at her, but by the time she knew what she was doing Seven had laughed. It wasn't an overly loud or strange laugh; other than it came from Seven, who even herself couldn't remember doing it before. The crewmembers on the surrounding tables turned to stare at her, making her feel immediately insecure and blush slightly, wondering if she had broken another unspoken rule of human etiquette. Her embarrassment mysteriously dissipated though when she realised that Chakotay was beaming from ear to ear at her and she slowly returned the smile, albeit unconsciously.
Totally thrown off by the laugh he had somehow managed to draw from her and the soft smile he had received in return for his mad grin, it took Chakotay several minutes, long after the curious crewmembers had turned away, to come up with anything else to say and when he did it was standard fare. "So…what would you like to eat?"
She couldn't think of anything despite her extensive knowledge of culinary matters and could only come up with her typical response. "I…I'm sure that whatever you choose will fulfil my nutritional requirements." She cringed inwardly as soon as the words were out of her mouth, could she have said anything else which made her sound more like a drone? He however seemed to ignore her mistake and rose to go to replicator.
Chakotay was in such a happy cloud as he gazed at her that he naturally interpreted her words as "Whatever you want." He was standing by the replicator before his senses returned enough to make him worry that he didn't know what she liked and his appetite was gone. Just pick something! Something plain! His mind raced, unable to think of anything. Mercifully his memory kicked in just in time to save him from embarrassment. Pasta! I saw her eat pasta with Naomi once! "Penne Arrabiata! Two portions." He ordered the replicator, incapable of keeping the relief out of his voice completely. As the plates materialised he remembered drinks. He ordered water, taking a swig from his in an attempt to calm his nerves.
Seven was still as stone in her chair, continuing to mull over her bad performance, when Chakotay returned to the table with pasta and water. Relief washed over her. Something she might be able to force herself to eat despite her twisting stomach.
They began to eat, the only sound, the sound of them swallowing food. Desperate to break the barrier which had formed between them, Chakotay grasped around for a neutral topic. Finally, "How's Icheb?"
"Fine." Chakotay couldn't stop his face from falling in disappointment at the one word response and upon seeing this Seven realised he wanted a more full fledged answer than that and remembered something she had been wanting to ask him. "Command…Chakotay" remembering just in time to use his given name. "May I make a request of you?"
"Anything." Said Chakotay, not fully comprehending that the answer was so open ended it could lead to complications.
Taken aback by the ease of his answer, she nonetheless decided to keep going. "As you are aware, Icheb is trying to apply to Starfleet Academy to train as a cadet. He is very gifted, but his attempts at memorising history can lead to somewhat" she paused searched for the right words "longwinded essays. I am severely under qualified in this area and I would appreciate your assistance."
"You want me to tutor him? Seven, I'd be honoured but I'm sure there's someone better qualified than me on this ship…"
"No, I assure you there is not." Said Seven with calm confidence, her back straightening as it always did when she stated a certainty.
Flattered by her confidence in him, he easily agreed. "Well, if you think so I'd be happy to teach him."
Although her happiness revealed itself instantly in her face, already making his agreement worth it for him, she still tried to reassure him as to its worth. "He is very hard working, but he can also be challenging."
"I like a challenge." Chakotay responded with an undeniable twinkle in his eye. Her cheeks flushed slightly and Chakotay realised too late the flirtatious suggestiveness in his comment.
A conversation began starting at Icheb's curriculum gradually developed into an in depth discussion about history which after the Ventu Seven had a developing interest in and which Chakotay fuelled. By the time they had finished the main meal and moved onto dessert, strawberry ice cream chosen by Seven at Chakotay's insistence, they were deep in a satisfying conversation about each other's interests and hobbies in which they found to their surprise many commonalities. During a break in the rapid flow of conversation, Seven broached a new topic. "Is Earth a scenic planet?"
"Oh yes, parts of it are stunning. Why do you ask?" Chakotay was intrigued; she hadn't shown much interest in natural beauty while they were trapped with the Ventu.
Seven looked sheepish, a new expression for her, she herself realised the self contradiction in her question. "You described Ledosia as beautiful and I realised while we were separated that you were correct. I wish to know how you would describe Earth's natural wonders."
Chakotay smiled at her. "There are so many, but by far the best I've sent was a sunset in Arizona…"
Seven interrupted him with a far away look on her face, finishing his description "over the Grand Canyon with light penetrating to the bottom, the sky a sea of colour and the ground reflecting it."
Chakotay stared at her in surprise, for that was exactly how he would have described his memory. Seven turned the deepest shade of red and tried to leave, but he seized her hand to stop her. "What happened? Explain it to me, I won't judge."
"I know." She murmured her eyes fixed on their interlocked hands. "It was a memory. Your memory." She stated simply. She glanced up at him and swallowed before continuing. "My mind is full of memories which are not my own. They belong to the Collective…the drones that form it. I remember them everyday and will for the rest of my life. Your memories are particularly…vivid because we were linked intensely for a period of time, separate from the others. You…have my sincerest of apologies for the breech of privacy. I will try not to recall them again."
Chakotay held her hand tightly in his own. "Seven…you can't help it, I know that. I don't consider it a breech of privacy, as you put it, I have some of yours, its only fair that you have some of mine."
"You…you have my memories?" Seven echoed in mortification. "I'm sorry! It must be highly unpleasant for you to have the memories of a drone…"
"Not a drone. Just you." Her head lowered again and she seemed ready to cry and shivered as Chakotay squeezed her hand.
Just then Tom Paris strode up to their table, making both of them sit up and let go of the other's hand as if an electric shock had gone through them. Tom noticed but went against his personality by not commenting after he saw the looks on their faces and began with what he had come over to the table to say. "Do either of you want to put on a bet?"
"On what?" said Chakotay irritably.
"Have you both been in a bubble for the last hour? I've been putting going round the tables getting bets on when B'Elanna's going to deliver."
Embarrassed by the fact that neither of them had been playing any attention to what had been going on around them, there was as pause before Seven adopted her trademark haughty look and said "Don't you think by gambling on your child's imminent arrival you might be putting undue pressure on your wife Lieutenant?"
Chakotay couldn't stop himself from laughing at that and Tom responded with a smirk. "Well you won't be winning anything then, Seven." He glanced at the still chortling Chakotay "and I suppose you agree with her?" Chakotay nodded through his laughter and Tom flung him and amused yet quizzical look as he observed the pair of them which Chakotay saw but pointedly ignored. As Tom left he couldn't stop from smiling. There's some unexpected new wood for the Voyager rumour mill, he thought wryly. B'Elanna's not going to believe me!
Back in the mess hall, Seven was starting to worry she had said something inappropriate, so she asked Chakotay "Was I offensive towards the Lieutenant?"
"No! I think B'Elanna would give you a pat on the back on the back for that one! What time is it Seven?"
"2300 hours." It was just then that they realised they had been there for more than four hours.
He waked her back to Cargo Bay 2 half an hour later and as she regenerated and he slept they each dreamt peacefully about the other.
A/n: I just want to thank you for the supportive reviews, this is only my second ever attempt at fanfiction and my first attempt at a Star Trek story. I never thought I'd like writing as much as reading but I've found that I do, hence the reason for the fast updates. The next chapter will be up by Saturday at the latest!