Work Text:
Mojave Desert, California, Earth, 1996
The desert was cool, dark and silent, only the vast expanse of the night sky above. The thousands of stars, twinkling, beckoning, spread out above her. Janeway looked up at that magical view, torn.
The beckoning of the stars, of space, of her ship, pulled on her very being. But the sense of home, of the solid warm ground of Earth, even if it was Earth from almost three centuries ago, was also intensely strong. She knew that once back on Voyager they would be flung back in time and space to the Delta Quadrant. Impossibly far away from Earth.
“Maybe I can’t come back.” Janeway said, surprising herself as she uttered the words aloud which was not her intention.
“Are you ok?” Scully asked, placing her hand briefly on Janeway’s forearm.
Janeway relished the touch. It had been so very long since she had had contact with another. The contrast in Scully, her sharp scientific intellect mixed with a caring and warm softness, had drawn Janeway to her.
“Yes, thank you. I was......distracted.” Janeway replied, turning to look at Scully.
They stood close in the darkness and Janeway could feel the tension growing between them. The headlights of a distant vehicle briefly illuminated Scully’s soft features and pale skin, and the delicate silver necklace around her neck. Janeway’s eyes met Scully’s.
“You’re intriguing.” Scully said after a long silence.
“No one has ever called me intriguing before.” Replied Janeway, her voice soft and full of warmth. “I find you very intriguing.....Dana.”