Chapter 3

A half hour later found the two little girls sitting off to one side of the huge rock chimney that split the view from the loft to the bottom floor in two as it continued on up through the lodge's roof. Both girls sat with their legs dangling off the loft platform, heads stuck between the ceder slats of the loft's railing. Their eyes were on the people milling about below- the crewman enjoying the holiday mingling. The boys were still off with Tom and Harry at the lake, setting up for a game of hockey later. Chakotay had talked Seven into going out onto the floor with him, and the two were currently standing in the same group as Kathryn and Tuvok, and now B'Elanna and the Doctor.

"Yeah, my mom says you're supposed to sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas." Naomi explained quietly, looking through the crowd for her mother. "And then it's over. It won't take long."

"Do they think we are five?" asked Mezoti, rolling her eyes.

"Mezoti... I am five..."

"Oh yeah... I forgot." Both girls giggled, never taking their eyes from the people below.

As Mezoti watched, someone said something funny, and the group laughed. Even Seven smiled mirthfully, letting Chakotay keep his hand on her lower back. The little Borgling turned to her best friend beside her. "Do you see my Mama? Isn't she pretty? Do you think the Commander loves her?" she whispered so as not to be overheard by the people mingling behind them.

"The Commander?.. She isn't your mama yet." Naomi said softly, looking through the crowd for her own mother. "You haven't asked her yet."

Mezoti scowled at her best friend. "I will!"

"Then do it already."

"I can't just do it already!" hissed the Borgling. "..What if she says no?"

"Why would she say no? She's already your guardian."

"...I don't know."

Naomi turned to give her friend and incredulous stare. "You really think she would say no?"

"...I don't know." Mezoti grumbled, pulling her legs back up. As she did, her silver sparkly ballet flat caught on the edge of the loft floor, and fell off. She quickly leaned forward in time to see it come crashing down on a coffee table with a sharp plop, startling the group of ensigns sitting there. The Borgling turned to her best friend. "Be right back." Mezoti hopped up to her feet, smoothing her dress back down in place, and rushed down the steps. She wove her way through the throng of people to the table where her shoe had fallen. One of the lower decks ensigns handed it to her with a chuckle. "I apologize." she said, doing a quick curtsy before turning back towards the staircase.

A sound stopped her- quiet, and that should have been lost in the crowd, but was intimately familiar to her. She turned back around, her eyes searching through the throng until she saw Seven and Chakotay standing together in Kathryn's large group. Chakotay was laughing out loud, but Seven had just barely chuckled behind her hand- a soft, delicate sound of mirth. The little girl couldn't resist the pull, bounding over to the group, breaking through between B'Elanna and Tal, and not stopping until her face was pressed against Seven and her arms tight around the soft white sweater the blonde wore.

"Mezoti." Seven said, her free hand running over the chestnut hair.

"Hello again." Chakotay said to the child, her head having turned his way when she hugged her guardian. "Are you running from another snowball fight?"

She smiled at him, shaking her head. "No, Commander." she said quietly.

"Is she alright, Seven?" the Captain asked, looking at the little girl firmly attached to her pseudo daughter, and her pseudo daughter who looked as though this sort of thing happened all the time. She had never seen Seven so... maternal.

Seven gently lifted Mezoti's chin to look her in the eyes. "Are you damaged?"

"No, M-... My shoe fell, and I came downstairs to retrieve it." she answered, barely holding in her slip. "I heard you laugh."

"Mister Paris said something funny." murmured the blonde, running her metal-meshed fingers through Mezoti's hair again, smoothing it down.

"Yeah, for once." commented Chakotay, chuckling at the blonde man that has recently come back inside.

"Hey!" Tom groused, crossing his arms. "I'm a laugh riot, and you know it."

"Yes- especially in that get-up." said Ayala, eliciting another round of laughter at the blonde man's expense.

"Getting a little grabby there, Mezoti." B'Elanna reached out and tousled the brunette hair Seven had just smoothed over. She smirked at the blonde woman. "Better watch out, Seven, or you'll never be rid of them." she teased.

At her words, Mezoti froze, her body tensing up. She knew Seven could feel her, and her blonde guardian put a comforting arm around her back, resting her hand between Mezoti's shoulderblades. Seven gave B'Elanna a neutral look, eyes cold. "Now why would I want to do a thing like that?" Mezoti relaxed, letting go of Seven enough to move under her free arm and cuddle into her side, standing between her guardian and Chakotay.

"You look very pretty today, Mezoti." said the Captain, looking down at the Borgling curiously. "Did you choose your dress?"

"No." answered the young girl. "Seven did."

"Well, it is just beautiful." Kathryn smiled at the young girl before meeting Seven's eyes. "You did a good job, Seven." The blonde woman only nodded once in acknowledgement.

Sam walked up behind the Commander, gently tapping his shoulder and holding out a big bag to him. "Special delivery." she said, giving him a pleasant smile as he took the bag from her. He thanked her, tucking it under his arm, and she turned her attention to the little girl under Seven's. "Hello, Mezoti." she said. "You look pretty in your dress tonight. Have you seen Naomi?"

"Thank you, Ensign." returned the Borgling. She pointed up to the loft. "Naomi is upstairs."

"If you will excuse me.." Chakotay said to the group, gesturing to his bag and then walking off towards the staircase.

B'Elanna laughed, turning to the Captain. "You got Chakotay to dress up as Santa? Did you hold his replicator rations over his head?"

Kathryn chuckled. "No, no, Sam asked him and he agreed."

Sam smiled before going after Naomi. "He said he'd do it for the children. Isn't that sweet?"

"You're doing Santa for the kids?" Jenny Delaney chuckled. "That's so cute! I remember waiting in line to sit on Santa's lap when I was a little girl."

"Me, too." smiled the Captain. She turned her eyes back to Mezoti. "Of course, the children know it's all a big story, but it should be funny seeing your Commander dressed up like a jolly old man, shouldn't it?" The little girl smiled, leaning in closer to Seven, and nodded. "We can all have a picture taken with him. Won't that be a riot?"

"You should stand Tuvok up next to him." said Tom, smirking at the security officer. "With that hat and those ears, he looks just like an elf!"

Seven smiled as the others laughed, and looked down at her foster daughter, giving her a little squeeze before disentangling herself. "Go and find your brothers before Chakotay gets back, please."

Mezoti already missed the warmth of Seven's arm over her, but nodded and smiled. "Yes, Seven."

XXX

"Hey, look!" Tom drew the whole crowd's attention with his loud exclamation, pointing up at the top of the staircase where Chakotay stood, decked out in a red velvet Santa suit, complete with a white beard and red stocking cap. "Who wants their picture taken with Santa?" Beside him, the Doctor lifted his holo-imager. The room exploded in laughter, applause, and other sounds of mirth at Chakotay walked down the stairs and took his place at the rocking chair by the Christmas tree.

"Merry Christmas!" Chakotay said loud enough to be heard over the din.

Tom poked his side. "You're supposed to say the thing.."

"What? Oh! Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" Chakotay laughed. "Y Feliz Navidad, también!" Again, the crowd laughed. A few ensigns in the back whistled.

"Alright, kiddies, the line starts right here!" said Tom, catching the older man in the rocker by surprise and sitting in his lap. He grinned with two thumbs up, and the Doctor snapped his picture. "That's one for the Captain's Ready Room." he said, hopping up and clapping Chakotay on the shoulder. The Commander only laughed, playfully shoving him away.

Sam and Seven had rounded up the youngest four and put them in line just behind the Delaney sisters and B'Elanna and Tal who were cackling at Tom's antics. Mezoti held tight to Seven's hand while her foster mother and Naomi's mother spoke. The twins stood ahead of her with an irritated looking Icheb, likely having a conversation in their heads with the way their hands and eyes moved. Naomi stood beside her, watching the grown-ups take turns posing with Chakotay for the Doctor's camera.

"It will be a cute memory, anyway." Sam was saying, rubbing Naomi's back.

"Yes." agreed Seven, watching the line move forward.

"Seven!" Kathryn called from across the room. When the blonde looked her way, she gestured for her to come over.

Seven looked down at Mezoti with a smile. "I am being summoned." she said, taking back her hand. "I will return." And she breezed on through the crowd.

With Seven gone, Sam turned all her attention on Naomi, the two of them talking quietly together while Sam hugged her daughter. Naomi smiled and hugged her mother back. Mezoti tried not to watch, instead turning her attention to Azan as he was next in line.

The twins went one at a time, then had their picture taken together, jokingly asking for engine parts as they played along. Naomi went next, turning and smiling at her mother before she stepped up to Chakotay Claus. "Love you." she said.

Sam smiled at her. "Love you, too, Baby."

And then it was her turn, whether she liked it or not. Stepping up towards Chakotay, Mezoti looked back at Naomi standing with her mother again, Sam's arm wrapped protectively around the little redhead's shoulders. The little girl was telling her mother something Mezoti couldn't quite hear, her face animated. Sam looked down at her, listening intently, her eyes only for her daughter. The pit in Mezoti's stomach deepened. To her horror, she could feel her eyes beginning to burn as though she may cry. Before she could turn and walk off, she was being lifted by a gentle pair of hands, and set in the fake Santa's lap. "No..."

"Hey, Mezotti." She easily recognized Chakotay's voice, and turned to meet his eyes. His expression changed to one of concern- visible even through the face beard- as he took in her shining eyes. "What's the matter, pequeña?" he asked quietly so the others couldn't hear them. "What's bothering you?"

She shook her head, pursing her lips as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her eyes again found Naomi and Sam through the crowd, and the little bubble of jealousy inside her flared. Flushing pink, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as another teardrop rolled down her face. "I.."

"Come on, Zotti." Chakotay said, gently turning the little girl's face back to him. "What's the matter?"

"I- I.."

"Don't you know what you want for Christmas, Mezoti?" Tom's voice came from behind them, jovial and light, and well-intended to help what he thought was a nervous child to speak. Instead, it drew across her chest like it had physically struck her.

"I want Seven!" Mezoti said, her voice quietened by her will to keep her tears reigned in. Despite her mental commands to her cortical node, they continued to fall with gaining speed. "I don't want the Captain to find my birth parents- I want Seven to be my mama!" Her little hands clutched into Chakotay's red Santa top as she lost control of the things coming out of her mouth, her voice desperate. "I want Seven to adopt me, and I want to live here with her on Voyager forever! I want to call her Mama like Naomi calls her's Mama! I want her to hug me and kiss me and tell me things the way Naomi's mama tells her!" She could see her best friend was now looking at her, her eyes questioning and expression concerned. "I want her to take care of me forever because I love her! I want her to tell the Captain that my birth parents are irrelevant and I can stay here with her! I don't remember my birth parents and I don't want them to ever find me because I don't belong to them anymore- I belong to Seven! Please don't send me away, Chakotay! Please!"

"Hey, pequeña, calm down." Chakotay said, his voice gentle. His words sobered the little girl, who realized what she had just admitted, and she was off his lap before he could tighten his hands on her. "Zotti, wait!" But the little girl was halfway up the stairs, running without looking back, Naomi hot on her tail.

Seven had been standing back with the twins once their turn was over when she heard Mezoti's voice grind out a "Chakotay, please!" Her head snapped over to see her foster daughter sprinting up the stairs. It didn't take her advanced eyesight to tell that the little girl was crying. "Mezoti!" she called out, worried, quickly weaving her way towards the stairs. The large number of crewmates, though not having heard what the child had said, had seen her upset, and parted for Seven to follow her.

Chakotay was already up, heading for the steps, his Santa shirt pulled over his head and tossed on the rocking chair. He grabbed Seven's arm as she slid past him, pulling her to his pace. "Wait for me." he said, quickly following her upstairs. Once alone, and away from prying eyes, he turned her around to look at him.

"Let me go." she said, gently trying to shake his hand off. "I have to go find Mezoti."

"I know- and we're going to." he answered, ripping the fake beard off and tossing it over the railing. He took both of her hands in his. "Look, when she was sitting on my lap, she told me-"

"Told you what?"

He could feel the tension rolling off the ex-drone in waves. "She was about to cry when she got to me, and I asked her what was wrong. She said she wants to stay with you, Seven. She said she doesn't want to leave you or Voyager- she wants you to adopt her."

Seven's eyes were wide with surprise. "She wants me to adopt her?" She shook her head in disbelief. "No- why would she want me to-"

"Because she loves you, Seven." Chakotay said quietly but seriously. "You said she's been clingy, and I thought it was just her growing, but now I wonder if she thinks she's going to be taken away."

Still in disbelief, Seven again shook her head. "The odds of us finding her biological parents is infinitesimal. She-"

"She wants stability." said the commander. "I know you love those kids, Seven, and you know they love you. Zotti, I think, just wants to make it permanent." He released one hand to tuck her hair back behind her ears. "I didn't want you to go in there empty-handed or for her to blind-side you."

"Thank you." Seven said, gently tugging him along behind her to the hallway of guest rooms at the far end of the loft. The last door on the right was the only one with a light shining from beneath it, giving the young ex-drone's location away. Seven knocked twice, two sharp raps, before turning the handle on the rustic wood door, and pushing it open.

Naomi and Mezoti were curled together on the four poster bed, Naomi letting Mezoti cry on her shoulder. The little Borgling was wrapped around Naomi, great sobs wracking her frame. The redhead pat her back comfortingly, but looked relieved to see Seven and Chakotay. "Seven, Commander." she said, her voice strained with how tightly Mezoti clung to her.

"Hey." Chakotay said, closing the door behind them and rounding the bed. Seven walked to the other side, and together they gently separated the two girls. Chakotay brushed Naomi's dress off, setting her on her feet by the bed. "You're a good friend, Naomi." he said to her with a proud smile. "Anyone would be lucky to be able to call you that." He gently scooted her towards the door. "How about you go and rejoin the party while Seven and I talk to Mezoti, okay?"

Naomi was torn between wanting to help, and wanting to let Seven help. After a second, she decided to let the grownups handle it, and nodded. "Yes, Commander. Mezoti?" She worried her lip for a second, watching the sobbing brunette, "I'll be downstairs when you feel better, okay?" She didn't wait for her friend to answer before she slipped out.

Alone, Seven opened her arms, and Mezoti launched herself into them, her arms around Seven's shoulders, legs around Seven's waist, and her face burrowed in the soft cornsilk blonde hair. Seven sat on the edge of the bed with the little girl, rubbing one hand up and down Mezoti's back and using the other to cradle the back of the little girl's head. She let her continue crying for a minute, watching Chakotay sit in the chair beside the bed, his presence calming in his own way. "Mezoti." she said softly. The little girl quietened, but her body still shook with every sob. "Tell me what is wrong."

"I.." The child coughed, "I.."

"Tell her what you told me, Zotti." Chakotay said, sitting forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

Mezoti sat up, moving her face back to meet Seven's azure blue eyes with her own. "I want to stay with you."

Seven half-smiled, "You are with me, Mezoti."

"I mean I want to stay with you.. forever." The little girl looked down, playing with the cowl neck of Seven's sweater. "I want the Captain to stop looking for my biological parents. I want you to be my mother."

"Mezoti-"

Mezoti met Seven's eyes again. "I love you, and I'd be a good daughter. I'm smart and I can paint very well, and I could learn how to work in Astrometrics to help you."

"You are a very good daughter." Seven said, watching the emotions flit across the eight year old's face. Fear, anxiety, love, hope, fear, anxiety, love, hope. She hoped they were better hidden on her own face. Just when she thought she had a handle on the precocious little girl in her lap, she would turn around and throw her for another loop. "And I am proud of you and all you have accomplished." She was rewarded with a teary smile. "You're unbelievably smart- even for a former drone, and you create brilliant masterpieces of art." She reached up and wiped the tears from the little girl's face. "The Cargo Bay is so much brighter with your art decorating it... Is this what has been bothering you these past weeks? Why you can't seem to be close enough to me? Is it because you think that I am going to discard you?"

Mezoti looked down, unable to meet Seven's eyes. After a few seconds she nodded. "You saved us.. On the cube.. And you brought us back here with you.." She paused to sniffle, reaching up and knotting her hands in the soft white cowl neck. "And I thought we were going to stay here.. With you.. Forever-"

"Mezoti-"

"And then we found the Brunali."

Seven held back her wince, her eyes flicking up to meet Chakotay's. His face was sobered, the lines a little tighter than normal around his mouth, but his eyes were open- soft and encouraging. "Zotti, just because Icheb's parents.." She had to pause- a brief flash of nausea at the thought of the Brunali and what they had done to the poor boy coursing through her. She had been within minutes of losing Icheb forever, and only because his biological parents had been bold enough to reattempt their heinous plan while she was still within range of them. Her stomach still rolled at the thought of what would have happened to him if they had only been another day away.

Three soft knocks came at the door, drawing their attention. Chakotay spoke, "Yeah?"

Neelix's voice rang through the holographic wood. "Is everything okay? Harry said that Mezoti was crying."

"We're fine, Mr. Neelix." Seven said loud enough to be heard.

"I just wanted to check on the little mite-"

"We've got her, Neelix." said Chakotay.

"As ship morale officer, I-"

Chakotay grinned briefly, rolling his eyes. "It's okay, Neelix. I think we have this handled. Thank you for your help."

"Oh, er, well, alright then."

At the sound of his retreating footsteps, the Commander turned his attention back on the little girl. "We aren't going to send you away with people who would not care for you." Chakotay said quietly. "We don't abandon little girls."

"Just little boys?" asked the Borgling.

"Mezoti," Seven began, "I would not let you go with anyone that would hurt you."

"But we didn't think that Icheb's parents would hurt him." the girl said somberly. "I don't want you to find my biological parents. Please? I don't remember them- I remember you."

"If you saw them, you might-" Chakotay began.

"I was just an infant when I was assimilated." Mezoti cut him off. "I don't have any memories before the maturation chamber. All I remember is the cube, and then Seven coming to save us."

Seven tucked Mezoti's hair behind her ears. "It is unlikely that we will have to face this issue. Your parents are-"

"I hope they are Borg." said the girl, drawing a sharp gasp from Seven. She looked up, unflinchingly meeting Seven's surprised eyes. "So that they can never find me and I can stay with you. I don't want them! I don't need them! I want you! I want you to keep me. Please, Seven? You could adopt me and I would be your's forever."

The blonde met Chakotay's eyes again, feeling more than a little baffled. "I wish I could have reassured you before it came to all this." she began, wiping away the fresh wave of tears spilling down Mezoti's pale cheeks, and trying to hold in the ones she could feel prickling behind her own eyes. "If it is this extra stability you require.. Then I will strive to be the mother that you need."

Mezoti's face lit up brighter than the Christmas tree in the greatroom. "So you will keep me? I will be your daughter? You will be my mother?"

Seven couldn't stop herself smiling back. "I will speak to the Captain. We will adapt."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Mezoti's eyes dropped shyly, her fingers twisting in the sweater material. "Can.. Can I call you Mama?"

"You may refer to me as Mama. In private. For the time being."

Chakotay smiled, watching them. "Until the Captain adapts."

Another sharp knock came at the door, and Kathryn stuck her head inside. "Is everything okay in here?" she asked, looking from her first officer to the two ex-drones on the bed. "Is Mezoti alright?"

"I'm heaps better now." Mezoti said, leaning into her Mama again and hugging her tightly and burrowing her face against Seven's neck. "Thank you for asking, Captain."

"We're all sorted?" Kathryn asked with a smile, opening the door all the way and stepping inside. "Naomi is worried about you." she continued, clasping her hands in front of her belly. She turned to Chakotay. "Chell has taken over your duties as Santa Claus." She smirked. "A blue Santa Claus."

"Only in the Delta Quadrant." said Chakotay. "We're just about finished up here, Captain. We should be downstairs soon."

"Alright, then." Kathryn began to pull the door shut again. "Tom and Harry have rounded up enough people to start that hockey game down by the pond. It should be interesting. If you hurry, you won't miss the face off." The door shut after her with a soft click.

"We don't want to miss the hockey game." Chakotay said, reaching out and patting Mezoti's back. "If B'Elanna and Tal are anything to go by, neither of those guys can skate, either."

The little girl twisted around to see him, a smirk playing at her lips. "If they can't ice skate, how are they expecting to participate in a sport held on ice?"

"Perhaps that is why the Captain is so eager to watch." commented Seven, smoothing her hand over the small girl's hair. She gently extracted her daughter from her lap, helping her to stand up straight, and brushing the wrinkles out of her dress. "Do you feel ready to rejoin the party?"

Mezoti nodded. "Yes... Mama." She watched Seven gracefully stand from the bed, and took the blonde's offered hand. "Can we watch Tom and Harry attempt to play their game?"

"Sure." answered the commander, standing and giving her a pat on the head. "Lead on."

The loft was empty when they emerged from the little guest room, but there were still quite a few people in the greatroom below. As the three walked down the staircase, they could see that Chell had indeed taken up Chakotay's role as Santa Claus, sitting festively in the rocking chair and taking pictures with the laughing crew. He saw them as they walked past, and waved at Mezoti.

"Well, you don't see that every day." snickered Chakotay, watching the Delaney sisters take up position on either side of the blue Santa for a picture.

"Come on." Mezoti pulled on her peacoat beside the french doors. "Before we miss it!"

"We're coming." said the Commander, holding the door for the girls and following them outside. His pace across the river rock patio must have been too slow for the little girl, and she took his hand to pull him along at her much swifter speed. When he quickened, following them down the arbor-lined pathway, she dropped her hold.

"Come on, Mezoti!" Azan and Rebi gestured for her to join them on the edge of the frozen lake. Icheb and Naomi stood with them, watching Lieutenant Ayala and two gamma shift engineering ensigns skate circles around Tom and Harry.

With a playful smile, Mezoti pulled Chakotay's hand back into her own as they came to the last arbor along the pathway. The little girl pulled Seven's hand over across her chest, and linked it with Chakotay's. Once they were securely linked, she ducked below them, and sprinted off to join her brothers and best friend.

Seven and Chakotay paused under the arbor, glancing down at their linked hands, and then meeting each other's eyes. Seven was the first to speak. "Thank you." she said softly, turning briefly to look after Mezoti. "For helping her. Us."

"Happy to help." he returned. "She's a good kid. I'm glad that she's happy." He took her other hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the metal mesh of her left hand. "I'm glad that her being happy makes you happy." He mentally cursed his sudden nervousness.

"Is this.." The blonde glanced out at the lake and people, "..hockey a Christmas tradition as well?"

"Not really." he answered. "You already know my favorite Christmas tradition."

The corners of her lips turned up, the demure expression coming over her face again. "I do." she said. "Computer, place one sprig of mistletoe on this arbor." When the small bit of greenery came into existence above their heads, she let him pull her body against his, and press his lips to her's.

Mezoti, watching over her shoulder, smiled.

XXX

The End

XXX

As much of a challenge as this was, it was really fun to write! I hope it was just as much fun to read! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Love it ? Hate it? Tell me in a review!

~LM