Wish Upon A Star
 

chapter one: ex animo

Captain Janeway stood silhouetted on the ridge, framed against a sky on fire. The sunset painted the landed Voyager a blazing orange where it loomed over the glowing embers of a bonfire and the last scattered crewmembers still at the party. She seemed unaware of being watched by the figure who stood in the shadow of a landing jack with smoky, unreadable blue eyes.

As the sun dropped below the horizon, the sky darkened to a deep blue-grey. A chill fell across the landscape, and the stragglers from work crews and shore leave groups retreated to the warmth of the ship.

Janeway became aware of a presence behind her, approaching with steady, precise steps. She turned, and smiled warmly. "Seven," she greeted. The young woman's white-blonde hair and pale skin glowed in the red-tinted moonlight.

"Captain," Seven responded evenly. "The sky is very beautiful." A slight motion of her head served to indicate the clear expanse, in which the occasional star was beginning to appear.

"Yes, it is. A beautiful colour, too."

"It matches your eyes, captain."

Janeway looked surprised. "Why, thank you, Seven."

They stood silently for a long moment, regarding the sky, two people together but both alone. Finally Janeway looked towards Seven and regarded her profile. She was half in darkness, framed against Voyager's exterior lights. The shadows obscured her visible implants, and for a fleeting moment Janeway could imagine the Borg's cruelties had never left their scars.

The mood of introspection had not left her, and she found herself wondering where Seven would be, and what she would be like. Brilliant, still, most likely, but much more personable. The subtle, sardonic humour she was beginning to manifest would probably have been a decidedly wicked streak in the grown Annika Hansen. Janeway was sure she'd like her, for all the traits even now slowly breaking free of the years of Borg conditioning.

Seven's head turned, with characteristic economy of motion. "Captain?"

"Why didn't you return to the ship with the others?" Janeway heard herself ask. She wanted to tap into the depths she sensed behind Seven's cool demeanour, and eyes that seemed somehow out of place. A million lives and nightmares seemed to gaze back at her from an impossibly young and beautiful face.

The faintest impression of a smile tugged at Seven's lips, barely discernable in the darkness. "Because the sky is beautiful, captain. As a Borg, I saw many things a human would consider to be of great beauty, but they were irrelevant to me. As a human, I have existed almost exclusively aboard Voyager, in a confined and artificial environment. The experience of a living planet is new to me." She hesitated. "I did not wish it to end."

Janeway was taken aback, pleasurably surprised by the response. Seven rarely spoke at length on anything so personal, seeming reluctant to expose anything so intimate as her feelings or subjective responses. "I'm delighted you appreciate a good sunset, Seven," she said at last, and pointed at the emerging stars. "Did you make a wish?"

The implant above Seven's left eye twitched. "Captain?" Amusement faintly threaded her tone. Janeway blushed and didn't know why.

"It's a tradition, Seven. Or more a superstition. You make a wish on the first star you see each night. There's a rhyme that goes with it." In the deepening night, she could feel Seven's enquiring look, and cleared her throat. "I don't really remember it," she muttered unconvincingly.

White teeth flashed in starlight, one of Seven's rare smiles. Janeway's felt her breath catch slightly, and wondered if Seven noticed. She had the distinct impression she was being humoured as Seven looked up at the sky again. "I will wish..."

Janeway touched her sleeve, forestalling the rest of the sentence. "Silently, Seven. It won't come true if you say it out loud." If Seven was anyone else, Janeway knew, she'd be laughing at her.

"Indeed." Seven was silent for a moment. "I have made my wish." Janeway fought the urge to ask what she'd wished for.

A cold breeze sprang up. Janeway shivered slightly as it made her fingertips tingle where they still rested against Seven's sleeve, and folded her hands under her arms. The younger woman had turned her face into the rising wind, apparently absorbing the sensation.

Another voice broke the silence, and the mood. Janeway felt a flash of anger at the intrusion. "Chakotay to the captain."

She sighed. "Janeway here."

"The wind's picking up, captain. Sensors indicate the weather may turn bad pretty fast. You might want to get inside."

"Acknowledged. We're on our way in now. Janeway out." She closed the connection and looked up at her friend. "Come on, Seven. We can come back out in the morning."

Seven favoured her with another smile. "I'd like that."

*

When Janeway reached the bridge, she saw the trees outside beginning to get whipped about by the rising storm, and frowned. "It's getting rough out there, Chakotay," she said, crossing the deck to her chair. "What's the word from the mining crews?"

Chakotay stood and held out a padd. "All teams have reported in. All but group five found good deposits of ore; they've got a new site they want to try out in the morning. Two and six didn't get back to Voyager before the storm hit, so they've bunked down for the night. We lost contact six minutes ago. The storm is whipping up a lot of EM interference. Details are all in there." He smiled. "How was the day trip?"

"Not bad, Chakotay. If you like planets." She grinned at him as she settled comfortably into her command chair and skimmed through his report. She felt remarkably relaxed. Her crew (or almost all of them) were snugly aboard. On a secluded planet like this one, no enemy ship could find them, and they'd discovered rich deposits of several metal ores they needed. All in all, life was good this night for Kathryn Janeway. Voyager was safer than it had been for years.

In fact, she decided, she could afford a night off.

"Chakotay," she said, rising again, "you have the bridge."

She felt almost giddy, determined that just this once she could let herself feel secure in the knowledge that her people were safe. And with the weight of Voyager off her shoulders, she could spend the evening with... who? The habit of years told her that Chakotay was the obvious choice. They had a long-standing friendship, which was not something she could cultivate with many crewmembers on Voyager. But he was on the bridge, and besides...

"Deck six, Astrometrics," she ordered, as the turbolift doors closed.

... she wanted to continue that conversation with Seven. She felt a certain amount of anticipation as she walked the short distance from the turbolift to Astrometrics. As she entered, she paused to look at the vast viewscreen. It showed various diagrams of weather patterns and sensor readings from the planet's surface.

Seven looked up from her work and identified her. Janeway was gratified by the warming in her eyes as she identified her. "Are you in need of assistance, captain?"

"Yes, Seven. I require your assistance in certain recreational activities. Would you come with me to Holodeck Two?"

Seven nodded, and keyed some commands into the computer. "I will study the readings on the storm after I regenerate. Do you wish to play Velocity?"

Janeway laughed and shook her head. "It's a little late in the evening for that, I think. I was hoping for something less energetic." Again that not-quite-readable expression, and the hint of her smile. Seven was positively playful tonight. "Shall we?"

"We shall," her friend assured her.

*

Sandrine's was running tonight in Holodeck One, Janeway knew, but she was in the mood for something quieter. She was keenly aware that she spent far too little time with the young ex-Borg. Rather than a more public forum, Janeway selected her holoprogram of Da Vinci's studio. She deliberately left out the Master himself, however.

The peace of the dusty studio settled on them as soon as the doors closed. Janeway felt her breathing slow and her thoughts calm as the pressure of commanding her little lost starship was left in the corridor outside. In here it was late afternoon, and the sun was slanting golden through the studio windows. She felt a smile shape her lips unbidden, and hoped Seven could feel what she did here.

"What would you like to do tonight, Seven?" she asked. Seven looked around, and then focussed on Janeway with an unsettlingly direct gaze.

"Participate in any recreational activity you enjoy, captain. I rarely have the opportunity to spend time with you." She hesitated. "Often, I am... lonely. Of the crew of Voyager, only you and Naomi Wildman seek my companionship."

It was a startling admission, and Janeway felt her heart ache for her. Seven had been used to the constant presence of the Collective in her mind. She remembered the pain with which Seven had once confessed that she had at first found the silence of her own mind difficult to bear. How much more difficult was it for a young woman naturally averse to solitude to have only the friendship of a child and a too-busy captain to ease that silence?

Stung by the tentative vulnerability Seven showed, Janeway closed the distance between them and touched her hand. "You should have told me," she answered softly.

"I continue to function," Seven said. After a moment's silence, she looked around. "What will we do?"

Janeway squeezed Seven's hand as she thought. "How would you like to be a model?"

Seven frowned slightly. "A model what?"

Janeway chuckled, and led Seven by the hand to where a couch was placed. "An artist's model, Seven. Would you allow me to paint your portrait?"

Seven considered this. "Yes."

*

Janeway suppressed her yawn as she concentrated on trying to illuminate on canvas Seven's smile. She had already sketched a detailed portrait of Seven and begun to paint her, but a distinct weariness was overtaking her. The sun had long since set outside the studio, and candles now cast a soft glow over Seven's features.

"You are fatigued," Seven said. "You should rest."

Janeway smiled wryly, secretly flattered by the concern evident in her tone. "Yes, I probably should." In truth, she certainly should, but the complete rapport she had with Seven this night was something she was unwilling to break. Wearily she laid down her brush, flexing her wrist against the muscle cramp, and picked up the sketch she had completed. "I've enjoyed our evening together, Seven," she said.

"As have I," Seven replied. Her sincerity was beyond question. Together the two women exited the holodeck and walked towards Janeway's quarters, a comfortable silence between them.

Seven was an odd paradox, Janeway mused. Customarily she was quite uncommunicative, and yet on subjects that engaged her interest, she was a stimulating conversationalist. Janeway found she couldn't remember precisely what she had discussed that evening, only a sense of having greatly enjoyed the company. Probably, she decided, she was just very tired.

Her stomach rumbled. "Computer, what time is it?"

"The time is 0314 hours," the impassive voice replied. Janeway blinked, and took Seven's elbow to steer her in another direction.

"Care to join me for a midnight snack?" she suggested. Seven considered.

"Yes. I do require nutrition at this time."

They raided Neelix's kitchen (Janeway made a mental note to reassure him later that the depredations had had her full authorisation) and took their spoils back to the captain's quarters. Janeway told herself that it was because it would not be ideal for the captain of a starship to be discovered having an illicit snack at three o'clock in the morning, and that she was inviting Seven out of a professional concern that she not neglect her body's requirements for food. She did not, of course, wish simply to keep Seven around a little longer.

Seven ate with a streamlined intensity she found somehow both expected and endearing. Janeway was relieved that she had been persuaded to take a few days' shore leave on this planet, and could therefore feel relaxed about being unlikely to be up in time for her shift the following morning.

After their meal, Janeway excused herself briefly and disappeared into her bathroom. After using the facilities, she paused to fix up her hair a little and splash cool water on her face. Seven, after all, didn't look at all tired, and Janeway wanted to ask her to tell her more about what she perceived as the difference between Voyager and a "living planet". Seven seemed to have experienced something powerful and deeply moving on the planet, and Janeway wanted very much to delve into what it was. Unfortunately, Seven seemed to lack the vocabulary of emotion required to express it.

When she returned to her, Janeway found Seven asleep on her couch. Frowning, she first checked the computer from her terminal to see when Seven had last regenerated. The answer was far too long before, and Janeway's frown deepened. Was Seven supposed to sleep? With that urgent concern in mind, she sent a query to the Doctor, flagged with a high priority.

The response was a terse assurance that it was perfectly fine and would probably do her good. Calmed, Janeway fetched a blanket and went to spread it over Seven. The younger woman barely stirred.

Janeway took a long moment to study her sleeping friend, noting that Seven looked both much younger and much lovelier with her expression softened in slumber. The mask of superior assurance she maintained was just that, Janeway felt, a mask to hide her fears and the aching loneliness of a Borg with no 'voices'. The older woman felt a rush of fiercely tender protectiveness for her.

Almost without realising she was doing it, she reached up to loosen Seven's hair from the severe twist she kept it in. It fell to frame Seven's face, and Janeway reflected that like this, she looked barely eighteen, not even the mid-twenties she knew she was. Carefully she lowered Seven to a more comfortable reclining position than that she had had slumped against the chair back.

She stayed there, on the deck by the couch, watching her friend sleep for the first time in nineteen years. She didn't even notice herself when she, too, drifted off.

chapter two: ex post facto

B'Elanna Torres frowned at the recalcitrant plasma relay. It was malfunctioning, and she couldn't work out why. Much as she hated to admit it, she needed a hand. Maybe a fresh viewpoint would help, but most of her staff were on planet leave, or assigned to the mining crews.

She frowned. "Torres to Seven of Nine." No answer. "Seven, can you hear me?" B'Elanna began to worry. The last time Seven had ignored a hail, she'd been in the early stages of disintegrating consciousness. "Seven, respond." Still nothing. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

The computer answered. "Seven of Nine is in Captain Janeway's quarters."

B'Elanna raised an eyebrow, and tapped her communicator again. "Torres to Janeway." More silence. B'Elanna considered running a diagnostic on the comm systems - she was starting to get a complex about this. "Torres to the captain," she repeated.

"Janeway here," was the bleary response she finally got. B'Elanna realised she'd just woken her.

"Sorry to disturb you, captain. Seven of Nine isn't responding to hails. The computer says she's in your quarters." A pause.

"Yes, she's right here, B'Elanna. She's asleep. Is it urgent?"

"Ah... No, captain, I was just worried. Torres out."

The engineer drummed her fingers on the casing of the plasma relay. Seven had, it seemed, spent the night in the captain's quarters.

They'd both come back late from the party on the surface, too. And Harry had mentioned that they'd been going into Holodeck Two as he'd been leaving Sandrine's last night.

Interesting.

*

Tom was piloting a shuttle for one of the mining teams, but they had arranged to meet for a lateish breakfast before he had to fly out. When B'Elanna arrived at the mess hall, he had a look of smug satisfaction that told her he had found out something he considered to be desperately interesting.

"Have you heard?" was the first thing he said.

"Heard what?" She accepted a plate from Neelix with a nod of thanks.

"Seven of Nine wasn't in her alcove last night. Some folks from the mining crews were going in and out. She didn't go there at all." He paused significantly. "Guess where she was?"

"I don't see how it's anyone's business but Seven's," Neelix told him, unusually sharply, before he walked away. B'Elanna could see his point, really.

"Janeway's quarters," she answered Tom. He looked disappointed.

"How did you know?"

B'Elanna took a bite of her breakfast and winced slightly before she answered. "I tried to get in touch with her this morning - Janeway answered. Seven was asleep. What is this stuff?"

"Delta quadrant oatmeal. Seven was sleeping with the captain?"

"Not necessarily. But I agree with Neelix. It's no-one's business but theirs." She was growing irritated with her lover. At that moment, Janeway entered, and was met by Neelix. The level of conversation in the mess hall dropped momentarily before resuming louder than before. The captain didn't appear to notice.

"Breakfast, captain?" they heard the Talaxian ask.

"Just coffee, thanks, Mr Neelix. I had something in my quarters." She winced perceptibly as she took the cup of steaming liquid. Neelix frowned.

"Something wrong, captain?"

Janeway shook her head. "I seem to have thrown my back out, Mr Neelix. Nothing serious." She smiled, thanked him for the coffee, and left.

B'Elanna met Tom's eyes. "Don't even think it," she warned him. Sensing that he was skating on thin ice, Tom turned his attention to his breakfast.

*

While Seven of Nine regenerated in her alcove, Janeway went to the bridge. Tuvok was in command. He greeted her with his usual grave "Good morning, captain." She was relieved, having grown somewhat tired of the odd looks she'd been getting since she emerged from her quarters. The bridge was otherwise deserted, as they had been taking the opportunity afforded by landing the ship to power down a number of usually-necessary systems for maintenance. Nearly everyone not assigned leave was deeply involved in that work.

"Any word from the mining crews?" she asked him.

"Yes. They reported some hours ago that they weathered the storm with no difficulties. Communications has been fully restored. The crews that returned to Voyager shall be departing shortly."

"Thank you, Tuvok."

"The atmospheric conditions today are extremely clement," he told her, a trifle pointedly she thought.

"You mean, go out and play? Understood, Mr Tuvok. You have the bridge." Janeway looked around at the unmanned stations. "Such as it is."

*

The rumour had reached Naomi Wildman, although she was well aware it wasn't supposed to have. She had overheard two engineers talking about it as they walked past her. Curious as to what they had meant, she innocently repeated what they had said to Neelix and asked what it meant.

Her godfather turned a very odd colour. "Who said that in front of you?" he demanded.

"Two engineers. They didn't know I was there. What does it mean?"

Neelix cleared his throat awkwardly. "It isn't necessarily true, Naomi, but if it were true, it would mean that Seven and the captain loved each other very much and decided to become romantically involved. But that isn't a very polite way to phrase it."

Naomi considered this seriously. "Thank you, Neelix."

*

She was waiting as Seven of Nine emerged from regeneration.

"Naomi Wildman," Seven greeted her gravely. "Are you in need of assistance?"

"Are you in love with the captain?" Naomi asked bluntly. Seven considered the question, accepting it as an honest query from one forthright individual to another.

"I believe so, Naomi."

The child smiled. "Is it true you're romantically involved with her?"

"No."

Naomi's face fell. "Everyone's saying you are. I thought that it would be good for you." She was silent for a moment longer. "Do you want to play kadiskot?"

A slight smile graced Seven's lips. "Perhaps at another time. I am to go to the planet's surface again today."

"Okay." Naomi smiled brightly and went to tell Neelix that the engineers had been wrong.

*

It was hours later, and Tom Paris was expertly piloting a shuttle laden with metal ores towards Voyager. As he skimmed low over the ground, headed for the shuttle bay, he flew over two distinctive forms eating a picnic on the grass and imagined red and gold hair riffling in the breeze of his passage.

He was greeted by Jennifer Delaney, who was on cargo duty. "Evening, Tom. Heard the word?"

"About Seven and the captain being together?"

"About them not. Turns out that Wildman kid asked Seven herself, and our lady of Borg said no dice." She accepted his cargo manifest. "It was fun while it lasted."

The pilot grinned boyishly. "Don't let B'Elanna hear you say that. She took it personally for some reason."

*

B'Elanna was a woman rarely given to self-examination, more usually willing to rely on her sharp wit and temper to keep her on the outside of her psyche. However, the rumour - now known to be unfounded - about the captain and Seven of Nine had got her thinking, and even if it wasn't true, the thoughts wouldn't leave her.

She had been annoyed with Tom for his sophomoric attitude towards the possible couple. The truth was she felt the captain deserved happiness more than anyone.

Even if she admitted it to no-one but herself, she knew that she would have liked to bring her that happiness. But the captain had seemed attached to Chakotay (and therein B'Elanna was doubly damned), and then by the time she realised that would come to nothing - she had let herself get involved with Tom.

She'd had high hopes for Tom, but it had never been right. It was like a drug that never quite kicked in. And now again she was too late. No matter what had happened to cause Seven to spend the night in the captain's quarters, B'Elanna had no doubt Janeway's attachment to the woman was sincere, and she was unselfish enough to want to protect any joy she might find in her.

But she wanted that feeling for herself, too. And she just wasn't finding it with Tom.

Heart heavy, she went to meet him for dinner.

*

The light-skinned helmsman had turned corpse white. "B'Elanna, is this about this morning? What I said about the captain? God, B'Elanna, I didn't mean it like that..."

She shook her head. "No, Tom, it's not about that. I want you to know that I will always love you."

Tom still felt as if he'd been kicked in the stomach. Hard. "Love me?" he choked out. "B'Elanna..."

She stood. "I'm sorry, Tom."

He watched, gaping, as she left the mess hall. Neelix, passing, put a hand on his shoulder for a moment, but knew that nothing could be said.

*

Some distance from the pilot's grief, Kathryn Janeway was lying on thick soft grass with Seven of Nine. "Penny for your thoughts," she prodded gently.

Seven's lifted her head and brushed her cheek across the soft vegetation, catlike as she revelled in the sensation. "There are no words, Kathryn. It is the difference between death and life. Vacuum and atmosphere. It is... a contrast." She was silent for a moment. "Between being alive and being human, or a simulation and reality. Between sensing and experiencing."

She looked towards Janeway, and their eyes met. Janeway almost didn't dare speak for fear of severing the connection she could feel between them. Almost. "I think I understand," she said softly, letting herself absorb the strength of raw emotion it provoked. "It's the difference between how I felt, and how I feel when I look at you." An aching moment passed as Seven gazed at her, and then she smiled.

"I love you, Kathryn."

*

Neelix found himself at loose ends that evening. He was worried about Tom Paris, but preoccupied with the captain. He'd quickly disseminated Naomi's information that Seven and the captain weren't an item - but kept to himself that Seven was in love with her, and asked Naomi to as well. As far as he could see, it was really only a matter of time.

As he walked the corridors, he came across B'Elanna Torres. She, too, looked pensive, and not a little lost. "Good evening, B'Elanna," the Talaxian greeted her.

"What's good about it?" she rejoined, then sighed. "Sorry. What're you up to?"

Neelix looked around. "Oh, just... walking." They fell into step together.

"Neelix, tell me I'm not crazy," B'Elanna almost pleaded. Neelix was silent for a moment.

"Let's get something to eat," he suggested, diverting their course to the mess hall.

*

"You love her," he said. B'Elanna stabbed her fork into a stack of banana pancakes and sliced down across the soft batter.

"Yes. Don't you?"

"That's different," Neelix told her.

"How?" She looked up at him. "Face it, Neelix, she'll never feel the same about either of us." She regretted the blunt words as she saw him flinch.

"Captain Janeway is a great woman," he answered quietly. "She accepts my friendship in the spirit in which I offer it. I have never asked for more, and I never would."

B'Elanna laid her fork on the table. "I'm sorry, Neelix. I didn't understand." She reached across and squeezed his hand.

Neelix smiled. "But what about you, B'Elanna? Were you not happy with Tom?"

She shook her head with a sigh. "No. I thought I would be, but it had been so long... I was still waiting for the magic, you know? But it wasn't there."

"You'll always have your friends, B'Elanna," Neelix said warmly. B'Elanna met his eyes, and finally returned the smile.

"To friendship," she toasted, lifting her glass. Neelix raised his in answer.

"To friendship."

chapter three: omnia vincet amor

If she concentrated, Kathryn Janeway could feel the change creeping into her soul. This transition, she knew, had been almost inevitable from the moment she severed a drone from the Collective and found this woman, her Seven, half-adult-half-child hidden in the cool Borg shell. But Seven had grown up now, and finally the time had come. For once her hopes and dreams and instincts were all telling her the same thing.

They walked hand in hand through the long grass, no destination in mind but finding one in a place of soft greenery that smelled sweet beneath their feet. Kathryn turned there into Seven's willing embrace, and felt smooth fabric slip against her sleeve as her arms wrapped around the narrow, perfect body. A whisper of breeze caressed them like a benediction as lips touched and tangled in the moonlight.

Her universe narrowed to the touch and taste of Seven, Kathryn barely noticed the soft scent of the grass as it was crushed by their bodies. Warm metal and soft skin brushed her cheeks as Seven cupped her face. Lips parted for breath that mingled in the aromatic darkness.

"Kathryn," Seven said softly, as she nuzzled a path to Kathryn's neck. "Will we love each other now?"

Kathryn barely hesitated. "Yes, Seven," she answered, and felt Seven smile against her skin before the smile parted and the tip of her tongue traced the line of Kathryn's collar. She shivered. "Seven, you've never..."

Seven cut her off. "I will learn." Kathryn didn't want to argue with her, or the gentle touch even now slipping beneath her uniform to trail fire along her ribs. She relaxed into it as Seven explored her curiously, and willingly complied as Seven sought to undress her.

The touch was more knowing now, smoothing over her stomach to find her breasts, caressing her with an intensity that seemed to climb exponentially. Kathryn moaned, no longer entirely aware of exactly what Seven was doing - only the rapidly-building tension that soon detonated like a warp core.

After a short eternity, Kathryn caught her breath. "How did you do that?" she asked, awed. The moonlight illuminated Seven's smile.

"I paid attention, Kathryn." They kissed again, loving leisurely, and then Kathryn wanted to touch Seven, so together they undressed her. Even in the pale pink glow of the half-full moon, her skin was an almost translucent white.

Kathryn looked at her for a long moment, seeing the slender white curves as well as the dark shadows formed by implanted metal. Reaching out, she ran her fingertips across the bloodless, scarred flesh between the bands of her abdominal implants. Seven's breath caught. At Kathryn's inquiring look, she shook her head.

"It causes me no discomfort, Kathryn. The sensation is... intriguing." Smiling at the carefully calm response, Kathryn moved her hand over the sharp metal ridges to cup Seven's breast. She felt inexplicably shy. Why would Seven seem so in control while Kathryn felt utterly virginal? It made no sense, but as soft flesh contracted beneath her fingers, she could only be grateful.

"Don't be afraid, my Kathryn," she heard Seven murmur. "I love you."

*

Kathryn half-dozed, comfortably snuggled against Seven of Nine. Head pillowed on Seven's shoulder, she luxuriated in the wonderfully soft skin against hers and the scents of grass and sex and Seven. She had even found a position in which the hard metal lines of Seven's implants didn't jab her.

"Kathryn, look," Seven said, nudging her back to consciousness. "Space debris is ionising in the atmosphere."

She opened one eye and watched the shooting stars. "Beautiful," Kathryn commented, and planted a small kiss on the smooth ivory breast before her. "But not nearly so beautiful as you, Seven."

"Really?" Seven's voice was sweetly uncertain.

"Really." They kissed in the darkness that followed the moonset. "What did you wish for?" She still wanted to know, and felt Seven's smile against her lips as they met again.

"This, Kathryn."

It wasn't until the first light heralding the approach of the sun began to creep over the landscape that they reluctantly abandoned their absorption in one another to dress and walk back towards the ship. Kathryn could feel Captain Janeway approaching her psyche, and knew she didn't want her to. She wanted this chance to be, just for now, Seven's lover and nothing more - or less.

They showered in Kathryn's quarters and ate a quiet breakfast. Afterwards Kathryn walked her love to Astrometrics and kissed her sweetly goodbye. "I love you," they said, before Captain Janeway walked away, unwilling to leave her but knowing she had to.

Seven entered Astrometrics, and the doors slid shut between them. The pain was almost physical.

*

Harry Kim walked pensively towards his quarters. He'd just returned from the mining operations, and Tom had been nearly hysterical. Add to that, he'd just seen the woman of his dreams kissing the captain outside Astrometrics.

All in all, it had been a depressing morning for the young officer.

He glanced up. "Hi, Jennifer," he greeted Ensign Delaney. "How've you been?"

Jennifer gave a lopsided shrug. "You know how it is. You been talking to Tom?"

Harry nodded sadly. "He's really taking it hard." A thought struck him. "Did you know Seven and the captain are dating?"

Jennifer laughed and ruffled his hair. "Oh, Harry," she said fondly. "That's old news."

Epilogue

Voyager's engines purred to life. "Engineering to bridge," came B'Elanna Torres' voice. "All systems go, captain."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Janeway replied. B'Elanna seemed to be coping much better with breaking up with Tom - she even seemed happier, while her helmsman was on temporary medical leave at the doctor's heartfelt recommendation. "Ensign, take us off this dirtball."

"Aye, captain," the replacement pilot, an attractive, dark-haired Bajoran woman, replied easily. In the viewscreen, they could see the planet's surface dropping away, slowly at first, then with increasing speed.

A slight shiver ran through the ship as the landing gear retracted.

Kathryn Janeway watched the receding surface with a fond smile, fully aware that she would always remember this particular dirtball with a special and abiding fondness.

"We're clear of the atmosphere, captain," the ensign reported.

"Set course for the Alpha Quadrant," Janeway ordered, then glanced up at the turbolift as she heard its doors open. Seven of Nine entered. Janeway noticed the way Harry flushed red as he looked determinedly at his panel after identifying her. For her own part, she felt her breath quicken slightly as their eyes met.

"Seven," Chakotay greeted the Borg. "Is something wrong?"

Seven frowned at him. "No, Commander. I merely wished to speak with Captain Janeway."

The captain's spine prickled at an awareness of slight animosity between the two as the lover inside her sat up and begged at the slight, yet sexy smile tugging at Seven's lips. "In my Ready Room," she said quickly, and followed Seven there.

- finis -