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You write to me. I hear the notification in the middle of the night. I smile into the darkness. We've been doing this for months now, and still I grin like an idiot every time I hear that soft beep. It doesn't matter how soon or how far apart each message comes. I'm grateful for the warm quilt and the soft mattress that keeps me in bed, however; away from the PADD until morning, even though I'm simultaneously grateful for the sound of your incoming message. Of course it's you. Who else would send me something at this time of night? And, of course, I can never be sure what the local time is wherever you are now. But it's late here. I'll sleep for now and read all about your current adventure when the smell of fresh coffee wakes me up again.
I see you've sent me another message while I was sleeping. Are you asleep, Kathryn? Not anymore, I'm not. I've still got sleep in my eyes and the lingering warmth of my bed all over my body, but now I'm right here. Oh, you're back on Earth again. Australia, I see. How wonderful. I'm sure you're soaking up as much data, and I hope sun, as you can. I tap out my quick response. Sorry for not replying earlier, Seven. I was, in fact, asleep. It's wonderful to hear that you're enjoying Australia and that your trip from Betazed was safe. How are the efforts going to rebuild the Great Barrier Reef? Have you offered them any of your brilliant Borg insights? Have you already planned the next leg of your trip?
The PADD beeps in my hands instantly. I apologise, Kathryn. I failed to take the time difference into account. I hope you were having…pleasant dreams. I would like to visit the home of my ancestral lineage, in fact. I would like to explore the entire Scandinavian region, but I may not have time. I will depart Sydney in 2.7 weeks. I am unsure when I will be able to communicate with you again before I arrive in Oslo. As you correctly guessed, aside from gathering data about this continent and its history, I have been approached by multiple individuals to assist them with their projects, one of which is the potential repopulation of the Reef. I am happy to assist, mostly for the opportunity to do something productive, although I cannot say much for getting wet on such a regular basis.
I snort in a most unladylike manner. I suppose I should accept that my little sister is not the only Janeway with her head in the gutter.
I hope you have taken your own opportunities to do something engaging, Kathryn, and are not limiting your activities to those routine on the farm – whatever they may be. I will message you again as soon as I am able. Best, Seven of Nine.
"Best what?" I murmur, smiling softly at your imprecise language. It's slowly becoming more…human, for lack of a better word. I put the PADD down and pull my bathrobe tighter, heading downstairs for some coffee and pancakes. Mom's made banana today. I grin when I think of my ex-Chief Engineer missing out on this breakfast. B'Elanna would die and go to heaven if she tasted these. Much better than that replicated crap. I eat with that same soft smile on my face, until Phoebe makes her appearance. Instantly I realise my mistake. She teases me as relentlessly as ever about my "secret Voyager lover". She thinks it's Tom. Tom Paris! Can you believe it? Even if I had the slightest interest, he's married to a Klingon! Well, half-Klingon. But that half is more than I'd be willing to trifle with, you understand. I haven’t told anyone about our little agreement, when I first sent you off to explore more, grow more. I keep my mouth shut despite Phoebe’s taunts, except to stick my tongue out at her before heading upstairs to get ready for my day. I have a lecture at Starfleet Academy later. That's all I do these days - recruitment advertisement, public talks, lectures, and endless amounts of pointless paperwork behind my desk. My new title doesn't come with very exciting work. At least they didn't slap me with a dishonourable discharge, as I'm sure Nechayev was gunning for throughout my entire debriefing and subsequent inquisition. At least I have the time to transport between here and San Francisco for work and I don't have to live in a lonely little apartment just to be closer to HQ. Lucky me, I get to be pestered by my “free-spirited” little sister every day. Sometimes I feel that your letters are all that keep me sane.
I’ll have you know, I write to you later when I’m curled up in my father’s armchair again, work on the farm is not as ‘routine’ as you say it is, especially when Phoebe’s around. And, my mother keeps us on our toes. Some of us don’t have the luxury of travelling the quadrant, absorbing information into cortical nodes for easy reference (although it is a very beautiful cortical node, I’m sure). I do sometimes find myself wishing for some excitement, some strange astral phenomenon to come view in your Astrometrics lab or even a red alert klaxon. At least my PADD sometimes beeps with your messages. I’m grateful for that excitement. Thank you, Seven.
Your short reply comes through when I’m sleeping.
I apologise if my messages are not exciting enough, Kathryn. Please do not hesitate to inform me how I can make them more invigorating.
I feel my face burning as I read it the next morning, a thousand ideas conjuring in my head, all of them inappropriate.
Don’t change a thing, Seven, I reply instead. Focus on your work, your exploration. I can wait to hear all about it. But please do keep me posted on your progress.
I will comply, Kathryn.
You’d better, I tease, grinning at the PADD. Oh, there is one thing you can change to spice up your messages – send pictures!
And so I’m flooded for the next several days with images not quite like what I meant: underwater pictures of the slowly regenerating marine life; the inside of your quarters, your meals – all of them real food and not those ridiculous nutritional supplements you used to drink. You show me photos of those you’re working with: smiling, tanned faces. I never see you, and I feel more frustrated with every image.
I'm sitting at my desk at HQ when my console beeps. Your message comes directly to me, bypassing my assistant. Borg encryption codes? It must be. My face twists involuntarily into that familiar smile, my heart beating just a little bit faster. You made it to Norway. You find the climate acceptable, unlike Australia. You’ve finally included an image of yourself, holding up some device that looks like a miniature probe. You’re dressed in a wetsuit. My breath catches, even though I’ve seen you in your equally figure-hugging biosuit thousands of times. It’s bittersweet to look at you again, heartache and happiness in the same fell swoop. I can't believe you're interested in seeing aurora borealis while you're up in the North, like you haven't seen hundreds of beautiful phenomena in space. You almost seem excited, and I brush the tips of my fingers on the screen in wonder of the surprises you're coming up with here in my home quadrant. They're far surpassing even the fantastic surprises you had up your sleeve on Voyager, I'll tell you that. Yes, I'm sure there's plenty to learn about the Vikings in Scandinavia, Seven. Please don't send me any surströmming, thank you. Although I'm sure mister Neelix would love it, if he were to try it. You'll message me again tomorrow? I'd love that! I type up a quick response, expressing my pride in you and how happy I am you are eager to explore Earth again. It's been a while since you were last planetside, exploring Indian culture and religion and traversing what's left of the Amazon with Chakotay. I can't wait to see you again and see how much you've grown since disembarking our ship. I send off the message, and get back to the mind numbing report I'm writing. As promised, I don't hear from you until the next day.
Kathryn, I wish you were with me to experience one particular aspect of this region: they are possibly lovers of coffee to a greater extent than you are! Since you do not require any fermented fish dishes, I will acquire some of their finest blends for you to percolate in Bloomington. While I have no interest in drinking the beverage myself, I must admit the smell of the coffee here is far superior to the coffee you replicated aboard Voyager. I cannot wait to serve you a cup. There are many things I am learning while here. My investigation into my lineage is going well, and I have discovered a long line of Hansens already. I still have much to see, however. Over the next several hours, I am heading further north aboard a sea-faring vessel, like a Viking. I don’t believe there is any reason to pillage any habitats, however. Not here, at any rate. Best, Seven of Nine.
Like a Viking indeed. I wonder what you would look like with an elaborate braid in your hair? I can't believe you want to bring me coffee beans, let alone make a cup for me. I could have used that aboard Voyager. Oh well, rather late than never, as they say. I've really come to enjoy tracking your adventures in the Alpha Quadrant. I'm discovering things anew through your eyes. I can't wait to try the coffee, Seven, thank you! I look forward to hearing more about your adventures in the Nordic region. Please try some pastries in Denmark for me – I'm fairly certain your research will lead you there eventually. Think of me when you’re eating them – I’m stuck here with only the replicated equivalent!
The PADD was silent. I was just putting it down, prepared to get back to my book, when it beeped again. I could somehow sense your hesitation.
Kathryn, please remind me why did you not join me for my travels when your debriefings ended? I would have liked your companionship, especially in this leg of my journey especially.
Why, indeed. Although you know why, of course, with your eidetic memory.
It wasn't my place, Seven. You've been under my shadow for long enough, and I didn't want to influence what you've learned. I thought you appreciated my distance, especially after your announcement of the change in your and Chakotay's relationship. I would have loved to be there, but I need to focus on salvaging my career at Starfleet, and spend time with my mother and sister. You needed to do this alone.
The next message came through faster. As I pick up the PADD my mouth quirks into a smile again.
My ‘announcement’ was not intended to create distance between you and myself.
Nor was my insistence you undertake these travels, I shoot back, smirking at the small screen. It was true, I feel closer to you than I had even in the last couple of months aboard the ship. I love the warmth, the excitement I can feel in your messages. The sincerity of some of your more emotional letters, especially those which came after you'd earned a little more of your humanity back.
I do not understand.
You will, I tell you. Take your time, Seven. You will be back in the North American sector when you're ready.
I know you. You won't do anything until your current project is complete.
You are a frustrating individual, Kathryn. But, as usual, you are probably correct. I will contact you soon. Seven of Nine.
What, no 'Best'? I smile.
Your letters and (rarer) voice messages update me quite regularly while you’re in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. You seem to be having fun learning about your ancestors. I’m pleased you’re still in regular contact with your aunt Irene, too, providing her with insights into your family tree that had probably been lost for many a generation.
“It is most exciting,” you say, your voice lacking that Borg coolness, wind whipping in the background of the recording, “I’m learning so much about my history before my parents. I have not had this much of a personal breakthrough since Vulcan when I… never mind. Please disregard that. Nevertheless, I am grateful for this journey, and although I do wish you had been with me, it is most enlightening. I…anticipate what is to come next."
Vulcan? What happened on Vulcan? It’s been months since Chakotay took you there. I immediately tap out a message.
You can’t do that to me, Seven! What breakthrough did you have on Vulcan?
I don’t get a reply until early the next morning.
I should have known you would not be able to ignore it. I believe it is, as they say, ‘none of your business’, Kathryn.
Ha! None of my business? I can practically see the smirk on the other side of the PADD.
I’m still your Captain, Seven, I teased, remembering your hesitance to use my name instead of my former title in your letters at first.
As you have repeatedly informed me, you are no longer my captain and I am not required to take orders from you. You’re ‘not the boss of me’.
I chuckle softly. No, I’m not, Seven.
Okay, I give up. I hope you’ll tell me one day.
Perhaps one day, ‘Boss’. To change the subject, I have been consuming many pastries in this region. Each one perhaps better than the last. I am simultaneously grateful and disconcerted that you have inflicted this delicacy upon me. I will gain adipose tissue in areas I do not wish to. Is that what you desire to happen to me? Chakotay once mentioned that sometimes ‘extra padding’ is beneficial. He failed to inform me for what purpose the padding is necessary, however.
I nearly spat out my coffee.
I think you’ll figure that out one day, Seven. Anyways, I didn’t intend to fatten you up. I’m just living vicariously through your burgeoning gastronomical refinement. Mom’s apple pie is good, but it’s no Danish pastry.
I will have to take your word for it, you reply.
When I next get a message from you, two days later, I sigh loudly with relief. The silence has been unbearable, even though it’s barely been 48 hours.
You have been surprisingly patient, Kathryn. I was not expecting you to be. Are you damaged?
Har har.
Nevertheless, I shall reward you. During our trip to Vulcan, Tuvok and I discussed things in great detail, as usual. One day, while T’Pel was gracious enough to distract Chakotay with some interesting archaeological phenomena; Tuvok informed me that he believed I was making a mistake. He believed I was aware I was making said mistake, which was true to some extent. Something was not…right. He asked me some questions which ultimately led to my questioning the nature of my relationship with the commander. As you know, it was not too long a period after my visit to Vulcan when I spoke to you of the change within the relationship. Tuvok’s encouragement led me to a great personal breakthrough, Kathryn, one I consider to be a huge achievement. It has made me realise where to strive towards, where I want to be.
And where is that, Seven? Is that where you’re going next?
I’m not sure what I’m expecting, but what you write back practically winds me.
Yes. I’m coming home, Kathryn, to Bloomington, Indiana. Home? My heart starts thumping in my chest. To you. It has been a sufficient amount of time since my break-up with Chakotay and I’ve spent enough time learning about myself. I wish to spend my time learning about you now. Is that acceptable?
Of course it’s acceptable. It’s wonderful!
See you soon, Seven. Love, Kathryn.