Killing Time
 

"Didn't we just try that?"

Seven moved back from the hatch she'd been trying to force open, lips tightening in frustration. "It should work, captain."

Kathryn shifted closer to her, shards of damaged panelling crunching beneath her hands and knees. "Relax, Seven. We just need to wait. The crew will get to us." It was awkward, given the cramped conditions, but she managed to move alongside the younger woman to get an arm around her shoulders. "Just be patient."

"It is difficult. I do not enjoy merely waiting passively. Especially not here." She looked with distaste at the burnt remains of the Jeffries tube around them.

Squeezing her shoulders gently, Kathryn placed a small kiss on her temple. "I don't think it will be too long. They would have detected the conduit rupture when it happened."

They brushed away enough debris to clear a space to sit comfortably. Seven wrapped her arms around her captain, both women drawing comfort from the easy contact. "So how do we be patient?" Seven asked.

"We could play twenty questions," Kathryn suggested flippantly, snuggling into Seven's shoulder. "Or I could tell you a story."

"I think I would like that," Seven answered seriously.

"Twenty questions?"

"A story."

"All right..." Kathryn thought for a moment. "When I was eight years old, my mother took us to San Francisco to see the Pride Parade."

"What's that?"

"Ah. The Pride Parade is a tradition dating back to the 20th century. Back then, people interested in same-sex relationships constituted an oppressed minority group." Seven's raised eyebrow took in the two of them, and their entwined bodies. Kathryn laughed quietly. "Times change, Seven. The Pride Parade was an annual event. At first it protested their oppression, but then, as they acquired more civil rights, it became a celebration of their freedom."

"I see. Go on."

"That year, Pride had a special carnival for children, as well as the usual parades and events. There were rides, a chocolate hunt, petting zoo. Phoebe and I ran wild."

Her next sentence was forestalled by the grinding, creaking sound of tearing metal. Before Kathryn even had time to react, Seven had the collapsing ceiling braced.

"Kathryn?" she asked, breathing carefully.

"Yes, Seven?" Janeway's eyes were locked on a metal shard inches from her nose.

"Do we still wait patiently for the crew to find us?"

"No, Seven." Kathryn took a deep breath. "We get the hell out of here." She crawled free of the collapsing ceiling, then helped Seven wriggle free before she let the collapsing structure go.

"That should not have happened," Seven observed. "The crew must be getting close to cutting us free. They are compromising the stability of this area." She shot Kathryn a wry grin. "Perhaps we should wait after all."

Kathryn smiled faintly. "There was one donkey in the petting zoo that kept chasing all the kids. Terrified us. Phoebe and I decided to teach it a lesson." She chuckled with remembrance. "So Phoebe opened the gate, and I ran out across the park with this donkey coming right after me, snorting and scaring me so badly my feet barely touched the ground. Around then I realised that I might have made a mistake. A big one."

There was dry amusement in Seven's voice as she asked her next question. "What happened?"

"I ran up onto the platform where people were going to be performing later. The donkey followed me, but then stopped at the stairs on the other side. So I got away, but it took four men to get the donkey off the platform." She laughed quietly, and felt Seven's smile as the younger woman nuzzled her cheek.

"A very amusing story, Kathryn."

"I thought so. Mother grounded me for a week, of course."

"Of course."

Kathryn turned her head to face her lover more fully. Their lips tangled in a slowly sensuous kiss, only moments before a sizzling crash heralded the arrival of the team from Engineering.

A young ensign cleared her throat.

"Uh... captain?" She paused. "Captain!"