A/n: Thanks to xXBrightsideBumblebeeXx for starting a new story, "The Glamulet". It's focused on Miral Paris, but has some cute C/7 in it too! :D (and P/T of course!)

Seven shifted once more on the uncomfortable hospital bed, glancing anxiously at the stubbornly closed door to her room. Her internal clock told her it was precisely 1028 hours, making Chakotay almost a full half hour late in coming to take her and Taya back home, or more accurately back to the San Francisco apartment, she still considered the Flagstaff house home, even though the family hadn't lived there for over three months now. What had happened to him? Was something wrong? Sighing irritably at her own irrational fears, she tore her eyes away from the door and instead looked out of the window, pleased to see the first clear and sunny day since she'd been in here, the sunlight bouncing off the bright machinery that was just starting the process of the city's rebuild… "Annika? Annika, did you hear what I just said?"

The sound of her Aunt Irene's voice beside her jolted Seven from her thoughts and she hastily whipped her head around to face her aunt, who sat at her bedside with Taya asleep in her arms. "I'm sorry Aunt Irene, I was just…" Seven trailed off, blushing with embarrassment, "Can you repeat what you just said please?"

Aunt Irene studied her face quizzically for a moment before obliging her, "I asked what you were going to do when this little angel…" She smiled down at Taya as the baby sighed contently in her sleep, "…when you and Chakotay want your room to yourselves again, did you make a decision on extending the house?"

Seven lay back on the bed's lumpy pillows with a sigh, "We've decided to wait a while, until things settle down at least. When Taya can sleep through the night, we'll probably put her and Aylen in the room Aylen shares with Michael at the moment and redecorate the nursery, where Max is now, for the boys' room."

"Sounds like a good plan." Irene agreed with a nod, "When they're teenagers though, I suggest you give them each as much individual space as possible. Your father and I were at each other's throats at that age even with our own rooms…" She stopped as she saw Seven's raised eyebrow and laughed, "Not that your four will be like that for certain, and even if they are, it's several years away…"

Seven pursed her lips and sighed sadly, "It will pass soon enough, it doesn't feel like years since I was here with the twins and then Max, but yet…"

Irene leaned forward and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "I wouldn't worry about that, you've got so many things to look forward to Annika, so have I for that matter and I've lived a lot longer than you have remember." Seven gave a sincere nod of agreement, smiling at her aunt, but she still couldn't help looking to the door again, which Irene couldn't help but notice this time. "What else is wrong Annika? You've looked a million miles away for most of this visit."

Seven blanched in guilt, was her distraction that obvious? "It's nothing Aunt Irene, I apologise for my rudeness…" She paused and breathed an irritated sigh when she saw her aunt's disbelieving expression, and muttered, "I am only growing impatient for Chakotay's arrival, he is over half an hour late now and I wish to end my stay here as soon as possible!" She bit her lip in shame as amusement flashed across Irene's face and gave a small self-deprecating laugh, "I sound as petulant as any one of my toddlers don't I?" she admitted with a wry smile.

Irene laughed outright at that, "No, I was actually thinking you sound exactly like your mother."

Seven's brow instantly creased, though whether from curiosity or pain she wasn't sure. "My mother? When?"

Irene patted her arm fondly, "You didn't give your mama a particularly easy time of it when you were born either, but I remember that as soon as you had been given a clean bill of health she was itching to leave the hospital, didn't want to stay on the post natal a second longer than absolutely necessary. Poor Magnus, she must have given him at least five near heart attacks that week!" Her eyes glistened with both love and grief at the memory.

Seven looked at her aunt sympathetically, her own heart tightening. "I hope I haven't been that abusive of Chakotay's nerves." She mused, "All I want is to go home, to be with my husband and our children."

"I know." Irene acknowledged softly, though there was a painful edge to her voice Seven couldn't quite ignore. "I'm so relieved you consider Earth home Annika, I'll admit I was worried you'd find adjusting…painful…" She swallowed hard but then smiled, "But it turns out you've become quite the little home bird…"

Seven could hear the relief in her voice and winced as she realised what it meant. "You mean that my parents were not?" she asked shakily, "Settled on Earth I mean?"

"Oh no…" Irene mumbled brokenly, then caught herself and seized Seven's hand again, staring intensely up into her face, "Don't get the wrong idea sweetheart, they loved you, with all their hearts, but they were adventurous, driven…"

"I know that they did not wish for what happened to us Auntie…" Seven whispered thickly, lapsing into calling her "Auntie", just as she had as a child, "I do not mind being like them, I have just had enough adventure in my life, that's the difference."

Irene closed her eyes tiredly for a moment, "Yes, adventure. You've definitely had your fill of that my dear."

"Had your fill of what?" Chakotay asked as he finally made his long awaited entry into the room, "I thought you found the hospital replicators "deficient" Seven?"

Seven laughed, her face lighting up as he approached them. "They are. My Aunt Irene and I were just…remembering."

The last word had enough of a painful ring to it to Chakotay's perceptive ears that he dropped the topic immediately and wrapped a loving arm around her back as he kissed her, "Good morning honey, how are you?" he asked her softly as he pulled back.

"I am fine." She replied easily.

"Now." Irene added with a teasing laugh, "Five minutes ago she was worried she was never getting out of here!"

Chakotay shot his wife a look, "Really? I'm only late because I had some things to arrange at home, don't worry, the Doctor hasn't reneged on his word to release you today.

"Good." Seven answered with more relief than she had intended to convey, before looking at him anxiously again. "Where are the children? I thought you'd bring them with you."

Chakotay shook his head, "They're at home, until we get back there you and Taya are the centre of my attention."

Seven tried not to let her disappointment show, she'd been missing her three older children badly, and instead studied her husband's face, his dimpled grin was so wide it melted her heart, although the mischievous glint in his eyes made her thing there was something going on. "I will happily oblige you, as long as you can get me out of here." She replied in the same upbeat tone he'd used.

"One minute." He advised her before disappearing out of the door and returning with a wheelchair, wheeling it up to the edge of her bed.

Seven's hackles immediately rose. "I'll walk Chakotay! I'm not an invalid…" She began hotly but Chakotay held his hand up to stop her, almost as if they were a disagreeing First Officer and crewmember on Voyager again.

"The Doctor's condition on letting you go today was that you put your body under as little stress as possible for at least another two weeks, and that includes no unnecessary walking." He told her firmly.

"I'm fine!" Seven retorted, the fuse on her temper shortened by sleepless nights up with Taya, "As I've told you and the Doctor multiple times already…"

Irene intervened by stepping over to Chakotay, "I think this is my cue to leave." She told them both quietly, "Here's your lovely little daughter Chakotay." She said to him as she carefully placed Taya in his arms, whispering in his ear as she did so, with a glance back at the wheelchair, "Good luck."

Chakotay bit back a laugh. "Thanks." He replied as his arms closed protectively around the baby and watched the older woman leave. "Come on Seven, what harm will it do? The Doctor would've kept you here another month if I hadn't agreed to watch you like a hawk."

Seven arched an eyebrow at him. "Which you would have done anyway."

He chuckled, "Of course!"

Seven sighed in defeat, "All right…" Despite her wounded pride over her independence, Seven knew from experience that her body would be aching and slow for the foreseeable future.

Chakotay beamed at her, "Great!" He was about to free up his arms by laying Taya on the bed for a moment when the baby suddenly began to howl, making him pause fretfully.

Seven smiled at his expression, "She's hungry, we go when she's ready, not when we are."

Twenty or so minutes later, Chakotay wheeled Seven, with a now calm Taya in her arms, out of the hospital car park and down the street, although Seven noticed almost immediately that something was amiss. "Chakotay, the apartment's in the opposite direction, you said we were going straight there."

"I said we were going straight home." Chakotay replied cryptically, "I didn't specify the apartment."

Seven twisted her head around uncomfortably to look at him, "What do you mean?"

He gave her a boyish grin in response, "Look in front of you."

Seven gasped as she recognised the building they were standing in front of. "The transporter terminal? Where are we…" She laughed joyfully as she guessed, "We're going back to Flagstaff? What about your work?"

"I normally work there, remember?" he reminded her teasingly before explaining, "Starfleet have released me, for now. I went back to the house last night to open it up, which is why I didn't stay with you last night, and B'Elanna and Tom took the kids over there this morning for us."

Seven stared at him, mouth agape. "No more Starfleet?"

He smiled at her with warm reassurance. "No more Starfleet." He confirmed as she put her hands over his face and pulled his face down to kiss him in relief and love.

A/n: I hope you like this, PLEASE REVIEW! :D I hope none of you mind me using Irene so much in this story, I just enjoy writing her and Seven's conversations, hopefully they're not repetitive or cliché.