Seven walked to Astrometrics, trying to put the incident with the Doctor out of her mind. As she entered she found herself surrounded by Starfleet security officers who held their stony detached expressions in place even as Harry Kim shouted at them. "Look, I can tell you that there's no Borg technology in here that you need to worry about! I helped Seven build it myself!"

A lieutenant in red shot him a superior look. "We are not questioning your loyalty Ensign" he said, putting special emphasis on the rank inferior to his own, ignoring Harry's indignant "Now see here…" and sleekly approaching Seven, visibly eyeing her up like an animal at market as he did so

"Now, Miss Hansen, or do you prefer Annika? I was just saying to the Ensign here…"

Squirming under his undisguised lecherous gaze and angered by his sneering use of the human name which still made her flinch, Seven adopted her customary defensive cold and aloof air before putting him in his place. "I prefer Seven or Seven of Nine."

"Isn't that a Borg designation?" said the irritating lieutenant with a smirk.

"No. Seven is the name my friends use; a Borg designation includes an assigned adjunct and Unimatrix."

"I sincerely hope we can be friends in the future but right now I need your access codes for this…room."

I sincerely hope not and I didn't work on Astrometrics for four years just to have it referred to as a room. "I do not have permission to give them to you."

"You have whatever permission you need, the Starfleet Chief of Operations himself made my mission of highest priority."

"That is irrelevant. I must ask Captain Janeway, she is my commanding officer."

"Not for much longer, unfortunately for you. She has her own bosses to answer to now. Why don't you make things easier and more efficient for yourself and just hand them over?"

"I cannot. They're in my mind." Not strictly true, she had a copy in her files and so did Harry and the Captain, but there was no reason for him to know that.

"Well, would you care to inform us?" The lieutenant's voice was assuming a distinctly threatening tone.

Before Seven could reply a new voice intervened, it was Tuvok. "Carter? Didn't I teach you ethics at the Academy? I seem to remember that you failed, which would be logical when your current behaviour is taken into account."

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, sir! I was only following my orders."

"Yes, unfortunately I am aware of that." He turned to Seven, "The Captain has given orders saying that whatever the Starfleet assessment officers request is to be given to them without delay."

"Yes Sir." Seven replied with no complaint, satisfaction filling her as she saw Lieutenant Carter bristle as he saw how quickly she obeyed Tuvok.

"Come with me."

Seven gratefully followed Tuvok out of Astrometrics. "I am grateful for your assistance."

"Icheb informed me of the situation when they dismissed him. I fear you will both face similar discrimination on Earth for the time being."

"I am aware of that." Said Seven stiffly, the confrontation had caused the reality of her situation, obscured by personal happiness, to hit her hard.

"Yet, Icheb has informed me that he still wishes to enter Starfleet Academy as soon as possible and despite these difficulties it can be arranged, he got the highest score on the exam ever recorded, my former colleagues are desperate to have him settled in so he can begin in September, if you agree."

"I am in full agreement. I am certain he will be even happier than I am to hear it."

"Good. I will inform him. Seven you cannot enter the cargo bay at this time; the authorities are assessing your regeneration system."

Seven tried not to show how disheartened and afraid that statement made her but didn't entirely succeed. "Is that is necessary?"

"They appear to believe so. I must return to my duties."

"Of course."

When Tuvok departed, Seven stood for several seconds uncertain of what she should do. Feeling oppressed by the crowds of strangers milling around her, she disappeared into the nearest doorway, finding a mercifully empty observation lounge, where she sat on a couch and gazed pensively out at the planet below her, thoughts swirling in her head like the clouds in the atmosphere.

A sudden sound made her jump and turn sharply to the doorway, only to see Chakotay standing there. "I thought you were in Astrometrics but the computer told me you were here, what happened?"

"I have been banned from Astrometrics." Stated Seven stoically, without looking at him.

Chakotay gave her a blank stare before sitting next to her on the couch. "How's that possible? You invented the place!"

"I did not invent it, I assimilated the knowledge and put it to use. Starfleet do not seem to trust my motives."

"If it makes you feel any better you're not the only one. Before I came to see you in the cargo bay I was being questioned about the Maquis."

"Why? I thought the Maquis was disbanded and then pardoned after the war with the Dominion."

"It was disbanded and they did pardon us, but it seems they still believe us to have shall we say…traitorous instincts."

"That is unpardonable! Their actions against myself are justified but yourself and the rest of the Maquis have an unquestionable love of the Federation!"

Comforted by her unusually passionate speech in his defence, Chakotay kissed her, but he was still concerned about her. "Actions? What else have they done?"

She told him about her confrontation in Astrometrics and her ban from the cargo bay, but he picked up on something else. "You're really not comfortable with your original name are you?"

"No." She looked at her hands for a moment and then at the face of the man she trusted and loved so deeply before elaborating. "Whenever I hear my human designation I can see and hear my father screaming for me" she swallowed the lump which suddenly came to her throat, while Chakotay winced as her memory came into the front of his mind. Seven saw the wince and said with deep concern "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just know what you mean." He replied softly, letting her rest her head on his shoulder before she continued.

"Everyone here calls me Seven, I feel that is my name. I apologise in advance for any erratic behaviour I may exhibit when we return to Earth, just because I have adapted previously doesn't mean I am entirely happy to be doing it again."

"It's going to be a big adjustment for us all I think, seven years is a long time…"

"All members of the Voyager crew please report to the mess hall." Said the Captain over the comm. system.

"At least when we get back to Earth we'll have a chance of getting some peace." Muttered a disgruntled Chakotay as they rose to leave, Seven just smiled wryly in response.

They were some of the last to enter the packed mess hall, where the Captain stood on a chair get a clear view before speaking. "Now here's what's going to happen, everyone has to take an overnight bag only and go and stay with family for the night. Tomorrow we'll come back in and get our belongings and then start the celebrations. Keep it quiet for today, we don't want to be ambushed by media straight away, is that clear?"

A booming "Yes Captain!" filled the room and people began to file out to call their families. Seven stayed where she was, she had nowhere to go now that her cargo bay had been closed to her. Chakotay took her hand and squeezed it.

"I have an apartment in San Francisco, I've not been there for ten years it's probably been rented out, but if it's free you can stay there with me or we can take a hotel?"

"Don't you have family you wish to see?"

"A cousin in Ohio but I'd rather spend the day with you."

Seven blushed slightly. "Thank you. I think I'll wear something less conspicuous for going out in public."

"You won't get rid of that dress will you?"

"Not if you like it."

"I do."

They went to Chakotay's quarters where he changed out of uniform, while Seven chose pair of trousers and a long sleeved top so that only her facial implants and her hand were showing.

They were eventually beamed into a dark and cramped transporter room on the surface where they were quickly ushered out the back door.

"Now I called ahead and my old landlord says the apartment is empty and he gave me the code."

"Let's go."

They avoided the crowded main thoroughfares at Seven's request and after twenty minutes of searching they found the apartment.

"I'll just go and open the door." Said Chakotay, running ahead, leaving Seven's side for the first time since they left Voyager. It was then that Seven registered a voice behind her and saw out of her peripheral vision the two Starfleet security officers that had been following them since they left the ship. Should I tell him? He'll over react and just make things worse. So she decided just to ignore them and when Chakotay returned she smiled at him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"I can't ask you to stay in there."

Seven was hurt, he didn't want her. "Why not?" she asked shakily.

"It's dirty and there's hardly any furniture."

Seven tried to keep the relief from her voice. "I lived in cargo bay for four years, let me see it."

When they entered the dark cramped apartment, so dusty it made her cough, she couldn't help thinking that to say it was dirty was an understatement. "Do not worry. I will clean it."

"I can't let you do that, we can get a hotel."

Seven rolled up her sleeves in determination. "The more we procrastinate the worst the problem will become." Without another word she set to scrubbing the kitchen counter tops. Chakotay gave up without an argument and began to help her.

Within a relatively small amount of time they began to find this task less arduous, collapsing to the floor more than once in uncontrollable laughter while they were trying to repair the sonic shower. Chakotay couldn't believe he'd only heard her laugh for the first time three weeks before as he listened to her with love in his heart.

As afternoon turned to evening, Chakotay left the bedroom where he had been changing the bed linen and saw Seven kneeling on the now sparkling floor of the open plan living area. "I think this is the cleanest this apartment has ever been. Any luck with the replicator?"

"No."

"We can just go out to eat, if my memory serves me right there should be a little Italian place right round the corner from here."

"I will fix it."

"I know" he knelt down beside her on the floor, leaning over to whisper in her ear, "but I also know that this place has the best real ice cream outside of Italy."

Seven sat up abruptly, exasperated that he knew just how to tempt her. "I should be able to fix a replicator." Giving it one last tweak, she felt satisfaction wash over her as it lit up. "Now we can go." She said, turning around and kissing him.

A/n: I know even for a filler this isn't a very good chapter but please bear with me, the next one will be better. Anyway am I right about Chakotay only having a cousin? In some fanfics he has a sister but I don't remember one being mentioned. I decided to not change Seven's name firstly because it would confuse me a bit and secondly because to me it seems out of character for her to want to change her name. Please review! I'll update as soon as possible.