CHAINED TO YOU
Seven tapped the console in Astrometrics. She
was busy charting the next sector of the Delta Quadrant. Her fingers shook and
she paused trying to still them. Despite her normal ability to focus, her mind
stubbornly tried to return to the night before. It had been another social
gathering that the captain insisted on periodically for ‘the crew’s morale’.
Seven detested the gatherings. After three years on Voyager, she still had
trouble comprehending the more subtle nuances of social interaction. These
large gatherings only served to unsettle her. She could hardly see how her
presence benefited either her or any of the crew’s morale, but she did as the
captain requested. The party had started like the numerous others Seven had
attended.
The captain put her hand on Chakotay’s arm.
"Excuse me Commander, we’ll talk later."
Chakotay looked up and followed the captain’s gaze to Seven
standing alone in the alcove. He nodded, understanding the captain’s urge to
help the younger woman fit in to the social setting.
"Good luck, Captain," he said.
Captain Janeway made her way across the floor stopping to
talk briefly to various crewmembers. She was pleased to see they all seemed to
be in good spirits. Well almost all of them, she amended, her eyes flitting to
Seven who had stepped farther into the alcove.
Seven started when the captain appeared in front of her.
She had thought she had gone unnoticed. Apparently, she was wrong. She saw the
captain’s mouth moving but couldn’t hear her over the crowd and music. She
shook her head and leaned closer, pointing to her ear.
Janeway realized that Seven was having trouble hearing her
over the noise and leaned closer so she could yell in her ear. She did not
know who was more surprised, herself or Seven. She wasn’t even sure why it
happened. One moment she was leaning toward Seven to make a comment. She
wasn’t even sure what she had been going to say. All thought left her mind
except for one thing and the one thing on her mind was exactly what she did.
Halfway there she turned her head and met Seven’s lips with
a kiss. Not a soft kiss. Not a tentative kiss. It was a full-blown passionate,
make your knees buckle kind of kiss. Then it was over and she stepped back.
Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing. From Seven’s breathing, it had
affected her just as much. Then Janeway did the only thing she could do. She
ran.
"Captain, are you alright?"
Janeway jumped at Chakotay’s question. She had been
thinking about the night before she realized guiltily.
"Yes, just thinking Commander. Is there a problem," she
asked?
Chakotay shook his head. "I was just dropping off the
personnel reports. When you didn’t respond I got a little concerned," he said.
Janeway smiled what she hoped was a confidant smile. "Well,
no problem Commander. Thank you," she said taking the PADD from him.
Chakotay peered at her closely for a minute. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he nodded.
"Good day, Captain," he said and left the ready room.
Janeway let out a sigh of relief and collapsed back into
her chair. Her thoughts returned to the night before. What had she been
thinking? She felt a shiver run through her body as she replayed the night’s
events.
Seven shook herself and returned to the charts on the
screen. The captain had simply had too much to drink she told herself. Never
mind she had not tasted alcohol on the captain. Perhaps, Seven reasoned, she
misinterpreted the kiss. Perhaps the captain had simply meant it to be
reassuring. Seven replayed the kiss in her mind seeking possible
interpretations. She quickly grabbed hold of the rail as her legs threatened
to give way. No, she decided, there was no misinterpreting that kiss. Seven
marveled at her body’s reaction to mere thoughts of the night before. It was
confusing. Suddenly the Astrometrics lab seemed uncomfortably warm. Perhaps,
she decided, she should regenerate. She shut down the console and headed to
cargo bay two.
Janeway pushed away from her desk. There was just no way
she was going to get any work done today.
"Commander you have the bridge," she said as she stepped
out of her ready room and walked to the turbo lift.
Chakotay lifted an eyebrow in surprise but simply replied,
"Aye Captain".
In her quarters, Janeway paced trying to make sense of her
actions and desperately trying to decide what she should do about it. She
could talk to Seven but she immediately discarded that idea. She couldn’t
explain it to herself, how could she hope to explain it to Seven. She
considered talking to Tuvok or Chakotay, but the idea of baring her soul that
much to anyone was horrifying. Finally, she decided not to decide. She would
simply ignore it. Maybe it wouldn’t come up again. With that settled she went
to bed for a long restless night haunted by dreams of Seven.
"Regeneration cycle complete," the computer intoned.
Seven stepped out of her alcove. Her eyes clouded. Her
regeneration cycle had been filled with dreams of Kathryn. She had found
dreaming distasteful, however the Doctor had explained that it was a natural
process. These dreams had not been distasteful, simply disturbing. Perhaps if
she ignored the entire event these disturbing feelings would abate. With that
decided she headed for Astrometrics.
Captain Janeway sat in the conference room feeling
unaccountably nervous. It was time for the weekly staff meeting. She hadn’t
seen or heard anything from Seven since the ‘incident’. She was looking
forward to seeing her but she was also extraordinarily nervous. Her staff
trickled in and Janeway took a deep, and she hoped unobtrusive, breath.
Janeway had told herself she wouldn’t look at her. She had told herself she
would not remember how it felt to kiss the blonde woman. She had told herself
she would not think about it at all. All of her good intentions flew out the
airlock when Seven walked into the room. Janeway’s eyes immediately met
Seven’s. Locked in an inescapable gaze, Janeway relived that brief moment over
again and knew that Seven did the same. After what felt like an eternity
Janeway dragged her eyes away from Seven. Only a few seconds must have passed
as the rest of the command staff were still settling into their seats. Janeway
forced her mind to focus on the PADDs in front of her as each of her staff
reported.
Seven gave the Astrometrics report being careful not to
look up from her PADD as she did so. She felt a sense of relief as she
finished and Lt. Torres began the engineering report. She had read all the
reports earlier and knew there was little she would be expected to contribute
in the meeting. She allowed her mind to wander. She had planned to forget the
whole thing but her resolutions lost strength when she walked into the room
and saw the captain.
Janeway gave a sigh of relief as the meeting ended and her
staff filed out. Except, she noted with alarm, Seven. This is it, she thought,
Seven wants to talk about this. However, Janeway noted, the young woman seemed
a million miles away.
"Seven? Did you want to see me about something?" Janeway
felt unnaturally hesitant addressing the young ex-borg.
Seven’s head flew up. She looked around the room bewildered
as she realized they were alone. "No. I am sorry Captain. I was distracted,"
Seven said standing to leave then her eyes met Janeway’s and both women froze.
It was a guess who moved first. One minute they were on
opposite ends of the table then they were meeting halfway across the room.
They stopped a hair’s breadth from one another. Janeway felt as if she had
just run the hundred-yard dash. Seven’s breathing matched the captain’s.
Seven shuddered as Janeway’s hand slid up the back of her
neck. Then she was pulling Seven to her, kissing her hungrily. Seven returned
the kiss in kind. They parted as abruptly as they had come together. Janeway
backed away slowly never taking her eyes away from Seven. Seven stood still
for a moment, willing her body back under control. Finally, when she thought
it was safe to move, she backed slowly to the door then turned and fled.
I never noticed
, Janeway thought ruefully, how difficult it is to avoid someone on a small,
enclosed ship. She took a deep breath and walked into Astrometrics.
Disappointment and relief warred with one another when she saw Ensign Kim
working with Seven. Silently, not trusting herself to speak, she handed the
recently acquired star charts to Seven. Seven took them and nodded her thanks
hoping Janeway did not notice how her hand shook. Janeway noticed. She drew in
a deep breath and forced herself to leave. Harry Kim looked curiously at Seven
after the captain left. He started to say something, but the look in Seven’s
eyes as she watched the closing door stopped him.
Seven looked at the PADD Commander Chakotay handed her in
disbelief.
"Commander Chakotay. There has been a mistake," she said.
Chakotay raised an eyebrow. "What mistake, Seven?" he asked.
Seven indicated the PADD. "According to this I am assigned
to the ‘entertainment’ committee," she stated.
Chakotay nodded, "There’s no mistake. The command staff
takes turns serving on the committee. It’s your turn," he said.
"I am needed in Astrometrics," She replied firmly.
"The charts we got two months ago have us mapped for the
next six months, Seven."
Seven frowned. "This ‘entertainment’ is irrelevant." She
said more harshly than she intended.
Chakotay frowned. "You have your orders, Seven."
Seven nodded in defeat. "Very well, Commander."
As she reached the door Chakotay called out "And Seven,"
Seven stopped but did not turn.
"The crew’s morale is never irrelevant." Seven continued
out the door.
B’Elanna Torres gave a cry as she stepped off the ladder
missing the last step and twisting her ankle. Seven quickly moved to her side.
"Lt. Torres you are damaged," she said.
"Tell me something I don’t know," B’Elanna snarled.
Seven tapped her com-badge. "Seven to sickbay. Doctor, Lt.
Torres has damaged her ankle."
"On my way," the Doctor’s voice said over the com.
B’Elanna’s badge chirped. "Captain Janeway to Lt. Torres".
"Go ahead, Captain". B’Elanna gritted between her teeth.
"The sonic shower in my quarters won’t shut off."
"On it, Captain." B’Elanna raised her eyebrows
questioningly at Seven.
Seven recoiled. "I am needed here. I need to help..."she
looked around desperately, spying Neelix. "Neelix complete the food
preparations," she said.
"Oh, that’s ok Seven," Neelix said. "I have everything
under control. Go help the captain."
Seven looked around rather wildly. "The tables are not yet
decorated," she tried again.
Tom and Harry looked up. "We’ve got it Seven. You can go,"
Tom said.
Seven looked down at B’Elanna, "I should remain with you
until the Doctor arrives."
"Where is the medical emergency," the doctor called as he
entered the mess hall.
Seven sighed; there was no way out of it. She would have to
go to the captain’s quarters.
On the way she wished hopefully for a red alert. Too soon
she arrived, the red alert still absent. She took a deep breath and sounded
the admittance chime. "Come," she heard through the door. Then she was inside.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with it but I can’t get it to
shut off," Janeway called from the bedroom.
Seven said nothing, but moved to the ensuite where the
sonic shower was peeling. She looked over it for a few minutes then pulled the
panel off the wall and dove into the circuitry. Janeway walked into the
ensuite and froze as she saw a too familiar form working on her shower. She
opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Where’s B’Elanna?" she asked.
"She damaged her ankle," Seven said.
The shower shut off and Seven backed out of the panel. She
turned and looked at Janeway.
"It is repaired," she said needlessly.
Janeway nodded. Seven stood uncertainly, watching Janeway.
She knew what was coming. It happened every time they were alone together.
Janeway approached her slowly. When they met, it seemed inevitable. It had
reached the point that Seven could not imagine any other outcome. Eagerly she
met Janeway’s kiss. Several minutes passed before they came up for air.
"We can’t keep doing this," Janeway said between breaths.
"I agree," Seven said bending to capture Janeway’s lips
again.
"This is driving me crazy," Janeway said when Seven
released her.
"I agree," Seven said shivering as Janeway ran her fingers
up Seven’s spine.
"Perhaps we should stop," Janeway mumbled into Seven’s
neck.
"Perhaps," Seven said tangling her hand in her Captain’s
hair.
"Seven?"
"Yes, Kathryn."
"If we don’t stop now, I’m not sure we ever will."
"I agree," Seven said tugging Kathryn’s shirt up.
Kathryn moaned as she felt Seven’s hands on her bare skin.
She pulled back, grabbed Seven’s hand, and tugged her to the bedroom.
"I don’t know where she is," B’Elanna said to Chakotay.
"Her shower was broken and I sent Seven to fix it but that was nearly two
hours ago."
Chakotay tapped his com-badge. "Chakotay to the captain".
His com-badge gave a dull buzz for an answer. He frowned
and stepped into the hall. He looked up and down. When he saw no one was
nearby he queried the computer.
"Computer locate Captain Janeway," he said.
"The captain is in her quarters," the computer replied.
"What is the captain’s status?" he asked.
"The captain is unavailable," the computer replied.
Chakotay cocked his head to the side. "Computer locate
Seven of Nine," Chakotay said with a burst of inspiration.
"Seven of Nine is in the captain’s quarters."
Chakotay smiled and rejoined the party.
"I really should make an appearance at the party," Kathryn
said unconvincingly.
"Why?" asked Seven.
"Well it is for morale. It is usually accepted that the
captain will show up for these things," Kathryn said.
Seven turned, nibbling her way up Janeway’s back. "You are
helping morale,” she said.
"How do you figure that," Janeway asked looking over her
shoulder at Seven.
Seven paused her assent and raised an eyebrow. "I have
heard that a happy captain makes a happy crew. Does this not make you happy?"
she asked in a lazy drawl that no one on the ship would have recognized.
"Well since you put it that way..." Janeway growled. "Come
here and make your captain happy."
End