"'Cause she's the kind of book that you can't put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her"
- Taylor Swift, "When Emma Falls In Love"
/
Seven catches B'Elanna's bridal bouquet without even trying.
She looks so confused by her armful of scarlet Klingon fire-blossoms, so wide-eyed and young, that Kathryn's throat catches at the sight. She had already booked the florist for her own wedding to Mark when Voyager was stranded. Hers would have been yellow roses.
When Tom explains the superstition, Seven shoves back the flowers like an explosive, prompting laughter from almost everyone watching - but something tells Kathryn that for the younger woman, this is no laughing matter.
She finds Seven alone at the edge of the dance floor, hands locked behind her back, watching the couples like a security officer on guard.
"I wouldn't take the bouquet too seriously if I were you," Kathryn says. "It's just a fun tradition."
"I do not," Seven says stiffly. "Regardless of superstitions, I have no intention of ever getting married."
Ironically, this is moment that Kathryn spots the Doctor coming towards them. He has used his mobile emitter to switch his uniform for a tuxedo, and very elegant he looks too, with a white gardenia in one buttonhole and shoes polished to a mirror shine. The expression on his face as he overhears them reveals more than he would want anyone to know, but since Seven has her back to him, she cannot see it.
"Never?" Kathryn asks. "Rather absolute for your whole life, don't you think?"
"After Unimatrix Zero, I prefer not to repeat the experience." Seven's tight jaw and monotone voice are a warning sign to anyone who knows her. Kathryn remembers Seven sounding exactly the same after losing Axum.
"I understand that … " Oh, how she understands. "But it would be a pity to avoid the lows and miss out on the highs. Wouldn't you agree, Doctor?"
Seven jumps and spins around, noticing him there for the first time. He ducks his head as if to apologize for startling her, then looks down to adjust his cufflinks. It's gestures like this that made Kathryn remember how inexperienced their holographic shipmate actually is.
"As a matter of fact, I would," he says. "Also, Seven, if I may … ? Marriage may not be your choice, and fair enough, but I don't believe it's outside your capacity."
"Explain," says Seven, frowning.
"You wear your suits in a regular rotation." He smiles. "You eat or drink something strawberry-flavoured at least once a day. Your favourite song is still "You Are My Sunshine", even though most of the composers we've covered since then are technically far superior - "
"That is your opinion."
" - And you let nothing keep you from an appointment with Mr. Icheb. You could be at death's door and still making lesson plans." He keeps his tone light, but Kathryn cannot forget the sight of Seven's gaunt figure in Sickbay when her cortical node malfunctioned, and knowing the Doctor, neither can he.
"Are you implying that I am dull?" Seven retorts.
"I'm saying you never commit to anything - or anyone - halfway," he says. "If you ever do fall in love again, that person will be luckier than they deserve."
His whole heart is in his eyes. Can Seven really not see it? But no, her eyes are on her own hands, the cybernetic one balled into a fist and the organic one covering it, with a bitterness that leaves no room for observation.
"He's right, you know." Kathryn reaches over to pat both those hands. "I wouldn't worry too much about the future. You have so much time, and no matter what, you'll always be part of this crew. Try to enjoy yourself, okay? That's what all these silly traditions are there for."
She gives Seven the tiniest nudge in the Doctor's direction, catches his eye over the younger woman's shoulder, and tilts her head toward the dance floor, where the KimTones have just launched into a rumba.
"May I have this dance?" asks the Doctor, gallantly holding out his arm.
"You may," says Seven, taking it, and off they go.
Watching them dance, with their superhuman precision and all-too-human beauty, Kathryn wishes for a moment that she had her twenties back again.
But as Chakotay shoulders his slow, deliberate way through the crowd, laugh lines deepening around his eyes as he spots her, she cannot help feeling grateful to be exactly who she is today.