A/n: Thanks again to NikkiB1973 for betaing for me and to The Cheshire Cheese for updating 'The Silver Bird'. I still don't own Star Trek: Voyager. Also, I appreciate Holta's help with the Swedish language.

Seven slowly shuffled out of the cocoon of the duvet until her shoulder blades hit the shallow headboard. Turning her neck sharp to the side, she had what many would consider a spectacular view out of the bedroom's panoramic viewport window. As it was, she was only glad that at this point in Voyager's orbital holding pattern, Earth could not be seen from this aspect. From here, to an uneducated eye, this view of the stars was no different from what had been studied from Voyager's windows during its seven years in the Delta Quadrant, but she of course knew different. Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Canopus, those were the star systems surrounding them now. Teasing her with apparent familiarity that was unknown to her.

A restful sigh beside her made her glance down to catch a questioning look in Chakotay's dark eyes. Automatically, her hands clenched around the edge of the duvet, ready to pull it up to protect her modesty, but she suppressed the urge as soon as it occurred to her. If her nudity bothered him, she wouldn't still be here, and she had no wish to be coy with him. However, she did cast her eyes back to the window and shifted restlessly. "We never did come to an agreement about how to study that nebula."

"Well…" Chakotay murmured thoughtfully, "We got a little distracted by each other as I remember, and then Harry discovered that transwarp conduit that Admiral Janeway decided we had to go through…"

Seven tilted her head back towards him, "Do you think we would have continued to argue over it?"

He winked at her, "Good-naturedly." He turned himself into her side, running a gentle hand over her flat stomach, "Are you okay?"

She gave him a quiet, reassuring smile, her already rosy cheeks flushing further. "Ja…sorry, yes I'm fine." She felt a flutter of relief when he grinned at her indulgently in response to the slip, right now even she was aware of her thick accent, their comm. badges had been deactivated long before, Chakotay had kept his promise of never letting them be interrupted again, and then discarded altogether along with their clothes long ago. Her cybernetic hand lingered on his left shoulder, the one capped with another tattoo, a round shield, that some shared memory told her had been a thoughtless stamp of initiation into Starfleet Academy for him and his friends. She rubbed the back of her human hand over the five o'clock shadow on his right cheek, gazing at him empathically. "You had grown accustomed to being alone, as I had." She murmured sorrowfully, "How long had it been?"

Chakotay carefully guided her down the bed a bit before rolling over her, his grip around her waist feather light. He didn't think he'd ever forgot his realisation of how much those implants hurt her, when he'd seen how the bruises bloomed over the skin left vulnerable if one implant moved even a few microns out of alignment. He'd had to take his time, not that he grudged either her or himself that, just to memorise what would please rather than hurt her. "Too long." He answered with a sigh, watching his warm breath smooth out the gooseflesh on her alabaster skin before kissing the valley of her breasts. He sensed that she was waiting for him to say more, he could've taken her question as a roundabout way of asking how many women he'd been with, but he wasn't sure that was what she was asking, not just because it wasn't Seven's style not to just bluntly ask that if she really wanted to know. "A few holograms on dark days…" He admitted, feeling her cuddle him a bit closer for that one. "And you remember that letter to myself I showed you?"

"Kellin." Seven recalled softly as she ran her fingers through his thick hair, not with the tight, impassioned, grip to his scalp as earlier, but more to reassure herself that he was really there. "I remember."

"Before that there was Riley, and everyone knows about Seska."

"No they don't, not from your point of view." Seven reminded him, frowning to herself as she kissed his forehead protectively, the gossip she'd heard echoing through her head, but with that single comment she dismissed the Cardassian spy. It was after that that Chakotay felt her tense fretfully beneath him, "Am I like her…Riley?"

Chakotay pulled himself up from her body to look at her sharply. "Not in any way that matters." He stated decisively, letting that sink in before adding with a sigh, "Similar circumstances, two completely different women." He caressed her face as he saw her lips quiver, "What is this about sweetheart, huh?"

"I…" Seven exhaled brokenly, "I just wanted to say, I understand that you've been lonely here. I know that the Admiral made certain predictions…for us, but you do not have to stay with me now…now that there are other options for you…"

Chakotay tensed as if she'd kicked him, "Seven! Haven't we been through this?" he demanded, "I don't think you'd be here if you really believed I would just leave…" His anger drained out of him as he realised that she was shaking, eyes glistening, with stubbornly unshed tears. "I know I've been lonely for a long time, God I know we've both been, and I know that this between us was unexpected in a lot of ways, but that doesn't mean it's any less real or worthwhile…" He paused for thought as well as breath, "Look, I know I've changed my mind before, I know you had to take a risk as well to come this far…" Her nod told him she knew he was referring to the emotional failsafe she'd told him about. "I may have changed my mind about things over the years Seven, but I've never settled when it comes to anything important in my life either. I chose you with my eyes open."

Seven just stared up at him for a moment before she spoke just as emphatically, "I love you…I want to make you happy…" She gasped against his open mouthed kiss before recovering herself and kissing him back, intent enough to whisper the words again in his ear, in English then in the language of his parents and ancestors for good measure, "I love you…I love you…"

Chakotay laughed joyously, "You've still got a better accent than me, that can't be fair!" He held her still, suddenly as serious as he'd ever been with her. "Jag älskar dig." He whispered.

Seven's eyes widened, startled, despite her own profession of love, by the meaning of what he'd said as well as the language he said it in. "Where did you learn…"

"The Computer's linguistic database." Chakotay answered with a satisfied, beaming smile, "Why? Does my Swedish accent need work?"

"Yes…it was terrible…" Seven advised him as she began to truly laugh freely, "But…" She kissed him deeply, "I find that I do not care in the least."

"Well, I'll just need to get some practise in, won't I?" Chakotay suggested breathlessly, though from that moment, as she laughed and whispered in his ear, he focused entirely on showing her that he loved her with no more words necessary.

A/n: If you haven't guessed yet, 'Jag älskar dig' is 'I love you' in Swedish. :) PLEASE REVIEW and remember to check out 'The Silver Bird', I need The Cheshire Cheese motivated to update, the new chapter was a bit of a cliffie! ;)