Endgame

2371 – New Timeline

The first Voyager Anniversary was a night of champagne, helium balloons, dancing, long speeches and even longer gossip sessions. There was an enormous slab of cake iced with a picture of the ship, soaring above Golden Gate Bridge in a shower of fireworks, which now that the Captain had made the first cut, was rapidly disappearing Laughter and cheerful voices resounded through the hall … except for one spot where two people stood opposite each other, enveloped in a bubble of silence as if they were the only ones in the room. They hardly even noticed when Tom and B'Elanna, who had carefully steered them into each other's conversation range, made themselves scarce.

"Doctor."

"Seven."

They exchanged nods, exactly as he had taught her, feeling like two strangers meeting for the very first time. The last time they had seen each other was at the debriefings, almost a year ago, where Chakotay had hovered behind her like a protective bear and they'd hardly exchanged a word.

"How are you? And how is Icheb?"

"Fine, thank you. He is progressing admirably in his studies." Seven glanced proudly over the Doctor's shoulder, watching the young Cadet talking happily with the Wildmans.

"I've heard you were offered a post as science officer on the Pioneer. Congratulations."

"I have not yet decided to accept. I have heard that you joined your creator and Lieutenant Barclay at the Daystrom Institute. How are you finding it?"

"Excellent," the Doctor declared lightly. "Never a dull moment. Sometimes the old man and I are at each other's throats, metaphorically speaking, and other times I feel like … like the luckiest hologram in the world." Even as he said it, however, all the things which made him less than that crowded back into his mind, and his smile faded away.

"Lieutenant Barclay offered me a position there as well. It seemed like a unique opportunity, but … " The implied prospect of the two of them working together, seeing each other every day, made her cut off the sentence unfinished.

At that moment, the old jukebox in the corner (identical to the one replicated by Tom Paris for every birthday, wedding, First Contact Day, Ancestor's Eve and Delta Quadrant Anniversary aboard Voyager) began to play an old, familiar song: Someone To Watch Over Me, by Frank Sinatra.

Seven was not wearing her dermoplastic suit. She had not done so since her first days on Earth, claiming that since her body had adapted to the absence of her Borg exoskeleton, she did not need it anymore. Instead she wore a silvery-purple top with long sleeves and a square neckline, flared black trousers, and silver ballet flats. Her hair was down, held together at the back with one wide silver hairclip. She looked softer this way, more more human, and simply too beautiful for words. The Doctor never knew what came over him.

"May I have this dance?"

"You may."

She placed one hand into his hand and the other on his shoulder as naturally as if they'd been dancing every day since their first dance. For a while, neither of them spoke; the memories were overwhelming. To touch again, to dance again … how long had it been? And why – why – had they allowed all this time to pass without being in each other's arms? Suppressed emotions came boiling up, strong enough to take them both by surprise – and not only good ones, either.

"You didn't come to my hearing." He did not mean to sound accusing, but he did. His sentience trial had been a long and difficult ordeal, and though his other shipmates had helped enormously, Seven's absence had taken all the joy out of his victory.

"You had the records of my testimony from your previous trial over your holonovel."

"That's not what I meant. I … I would have preferred to see you, Seven."

"You never asked." Seven's tone grew sharp to match his, even as they continued to dance as smoothly as two figurines in a music box.

"Since when do you and I need to ask about these things?"

"I thought you did not wish to see me again!"

The Doctor, taken aback, almost bumped her into another couple and steered them away just in time.

"What in the name of sanity made you think that?"

"Your – declaration. After Voyager's last encounter with the Hierarchy." When you told me you loved me. "I was trying to minimize emotional damage for both of us."

"Wait, wait, wait … " The Doctor's grip on her tightened. "Both of us? What damage? I thought you were happy – you're with Chakotay now. Aren't you?"

"I am not."

The Doctor's wide eyes and the sudden catch of his breath told her everything she needed to know.

"How?" he asked, in a barely audible hush.

She gestured to their left with her head. "Observe."

The couple dancing next to them were Chakotay and Kathryn Janeway, cheek to cheek, swaying dreamily together as she whispered something into his ear. Judging by the appearance of his dimples, it was something mischievous. In her cream-colored dress, she looked like an ice cream sundae melting into his arms.

"Oh, Seven … "

"I have had eight months to recover," she replied, turning away with calm resignation. "There is no need to pity me, Doctor. The Commander ended our relationship shortly after your sentience trial. Not only were we incompatible, but apparently he has been in love with the Captain since they first met. The only reason they did not pursue a relationship long ago was Starfleet's fraternization policy."

"Now that's just ridiculous."

"I agree."

The song changed. It was "You Are My Sunshine" – not their version, but a slower one, sung by a woman and accompanied by a single piano. The Doctor and Seven turned to take a suspicious look at the surroundings of the jukebux, but nobody they knew was close enough to have programmed it. They caught each other's eye and, as always, knew what the other was thinking.

"You've learned to smile," he observed softly. "It suits you."

"I have always known," she said. "I simply considered it irrelevant … until I met you."

The smile and the outfit weren't the only changes about her, he noted uneasily. The old Seven would not have spoken to him like that, in that tone of voice. It sounded positively like flirting, but it couldn't be … could it?

"Er … clarify?" he said.

She drew a little closer. "I gave you up once, and I have no intention of repeating that mistake. I know you still love me, Doctor, and I … " she flushed like a sunrise as her blue eyes met his. "I have loved you since we first danced together, but I did not dare to tell you until now."

The last lines of the song fell gently into the silence between them.

So won't you come back and make me happy?
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame.

"What about Chakotay?" the Doctor whispered, hardly daring to breathe in case of disturbing the moment. "He was … he was your dream."

"Reality is superior," she declared, pulling him in for a kiss in the middle of the dancefloor.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
you make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you -
please don't take my sunshine away.

When they broke apart, they were met with a storm of applause from their shipmates. Naomi Wildman bounced and squeaked. Chakotay and the Captain smiled, sincerely happy. Tuvok raised an approving eyebrow and shared a look with T'Pel. Icheb, standing between Paris and Torres, looked from one to the other with a face as proud and happy as an ex-Borg could manage.

"Nice work on the jukebox, kid," Paris whispered.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."