Rating: PG-13 (for sexual innuendo)
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters but they don’t know how to have any fun with them. (Or, in the case of "Human Error", they're letting the wrong ones have the fun!!!)
Spoiler alert: Contains spoilers for 7th season episode "Human Error."
Summary: Episode revision for "Human Error." What if Seven-of-Nine didn’t respond to Chakotay’s hails "the morning after" and he had to go looking for her?
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"Chakotay to Seven of Nine." No response. "Chakotay to Seven of Nine, please respond." Chakotay knit his brows and looked at Captain Janeway, who was looking back at him with a similar expression, mixed with some perturbation. "Computer, locate Seven-of-Nine."
"Seven-of-Nine is in Holodeck 2." The captain and commander regarded each other with raised eyebrows and puzzlement. It was rare for Seven-of-Nine to be late for a duty shift, to fail to respond to hails, or to be found in a holodeck at any time of day, much less early in the morning when she was expected to be diligently working on a problem that had the ship on a constant state of alert.
Voyager had inadvertently wandered into a weapons testing range. Having lost use of their warp drive, they were occupied with trying to detect and avoid the subspace missiles until the ship could vacate the area. Seven-of-Nine was supposed to be spearheading the detection effort, but instead of her usual Borg efficiency, her performance was uncharacteristically lackadaisical.
"I’ll go hunt her down, Captain, and get her back on track," Chakotay said as he rose from his seat.
"This is very unlike her. I hope she’s not ill," replied Janeway.
"I hadn’t considered that – computer, status of Seven-of-Nine."
"Seven-of-Nine is asleep."
Janeway, Chakotay, and anyone else on the bridge who was paying attention registered surprise and consternation. Seven-of-Nine did not sleep, she regenerated.
"I’m on my way," declared Chakotay as he hastened to the turbo lift.
Overriding the holodeck privacy lock made Chakotay somewhat uneasy, but what else could he do – Seven-of-Nine was not responding, they needed her, and she might be in trouble of some sort. Entering the holodeck, he found himself in a simulation of one of the decks on Voyager that housed crew quarters. He followed his tricorder to Seven-of-Nine’s communicator signal and arrived at a door. He felt a little silly, but pushed the chime anyway. No answer. He entered his override and was glad to find that it gained him admittance even to these holo-quarters; the door slid open and he stepped into a semi-darkened room.
"Seven?" he said quietly at first, then repeated louder. "Computer, lights at 50 percent." The lights revealed two figures apparently asleep in a bed, entangled with each other. One was obviously a woman with long blonde hair – Seven? – the other appeared to be a man with short dark hair, his face hidden behind the blonde. *Good grief,* Chakotay thought, *she created a Michael Sullivan for herself,* remembering Captain Janeway’s "fling" with a holographic boyfriend.
He moved to leave the room, not wanting to embarrass her, but it was too late. Seven opened her eyes and in only milliseconds she had jerked up to a sitting position, the sheet falling to reveal a very enticing red silk nightgown with spaghetti straps.
Wide awake but disoriented, her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, like a beached fish.
"I’m very sorry for the intrusion, Seven," started Chakotay, trying not to stammer lest he compound her discomfort, "but you weren’t answering your hails and you’re half an hour late for your duty shift. We were concerned that something had happened to you." He slowly backed toward the door.
"I…I…" Seven struggled to regain her composure.
The bare-chested man behind her also sat up and began speaking in a voice that Chakotay found oddly familiar. "Seven is still getting used to sleeping instead of regenerating. She forgot to set an alarm; I should have reminded her. It won’t happen again." He smiled and placed a hand protectively on her shoulder.
Chakotay was thunderstruck to be staring at himself in bed with Seven-of-Nine. After a moment with his mouth agape, he recovered his aplomb. "Yes…well, Seven, call me when you arrive at your station."
"Yes, C…Commander," she said hesitantly as her eyes darted back and forth between the real Chakotay and his holographic counterpart, a sick look on her face.
Chakotay flew from the room.
*Damn, was that strange,* he thought as he hurried from the holodeck. He was chagrined to feel himself beginning to harden – he’d never really been interested in Seven in that way, but she was undeniably attractive, and like most men, he often found that that part of him had a mind of its own. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be mortified at the whole situation. He was immensely relieved to find both the corridor and the turbo lift empty; he stepped on and ordered the lift to the bridge. *Think about leola root,* he told himself to diminish his arousal.
What in the world had just happened? What was Seven-of-Nine doing in bed with "him?" What did it mean? Did she have a crush on him, was she in love with him, or was she simply exploring the full range of human interactions? And how long had this been going on? He had noticed that she had been unusually jumpy around him for several days now. No wonder. It must be like the way he felt around Captain Janeway after having a particularly erotic dream about her.
He was embarrassed for Seven, rather than for himself, but the more he pondered the situation the more hilarious it struck him. He got a rather devilish grin as he began to realize how he might be able to use it to his advantage. Maybe a little jealousy would be just the thing to pull Janeway out of her protocol fog and give him a chance.
Chakotay didn’t try very hard to conceal his amusement as he stepped off the turbo lift; Janeway eyed him quizzically from her command chair as he sat down beside her.
"So did you find her?" Janeway questioned.
"Oh, yes. I found her." Chakotay fought to stifle a chuckle.
"And what was she doing?" Janeway pressed, a bit puzzled at his demeanor.
He leaned toward the captain, and motioned for her to do the same. He whispered in her ear, "Actually, she was in bed with me." His face broke into a full dimple alert.
Janeway jerked upright and she regarded him with bemused astonishment. She folded her arms and considered his statement for a moment. "OK, Commander, I’ll bite. My ready room, now," and she pushed up from her seat. Chakotay followed. "Tuvok, you have the bridge," she declared as she and Chakotay swept into her ready room. Paris and Kim exchanged puzzled glances.
"I can’t wait to hear the rest of THIS story," she remarked when the door was barely closed.
"There’s really not much to tell," said Chakotay, laboring to contain his mirth. "I found her on the holodeck, in some lovely holo-quarters she had apparently created for herself, in a holo-bed, with a holo-Chakotay. In flagrante delicto."
Janeway’s jaw dropped. "Do you mean they were…"
"Well, they were both in a state of semi-undress, and asleep when I arrived. We can’t necessarily assume what came before, but I know where the smart money would be."
"Holy cow." Janeway considered this revelation for a minute, then looked back at Chakotay. "And how did that make you feel?"
"Hard."
"Commander!" Janeway yelped.
"I’m sorry, Captain," his amusement still plainly evident. "I should have asked for permission to speak freely. But I was answering your question honestly. It’s not often I find myself in bed with a beautiful woman." He grinned mischievously. "To answer you more seriously, I guess I would say I was disconcerted, flattered, perplexed, embarrassed – more for her than myself. I don’t know what it means. Does it mean she’s interested in me, or does it mean I was less threatening to experiment with than the other possibilities?"
"It means I need to have a talk with her about the propriety of having physical relationships with holographic representations of crew members," Janeway responded. "When I gave her permission to create holograms of real crew members, I thought she was just working on her everyday social skills. I never dreamed she would take it this far."
"You can’t get any more social than that, Kathryn. Your little girl is growing up." He smiled gently. "Let me talk to her. I don’t want her to know I told you about this; she’s humiliated enough as it is. I’ll take care of it. Once I figure out what to say to her, that is." His devilish grin returned. "Who knows, if she is attracted to me, maybe I should think about reciprocating. What do you think, Kathryn, do you see a future for Seven and me?" He looked at her as if issuing a challenge. She glared at him, no doubt grasping for a snappy retort.
Chakotay’s comm badge chirped. "Seven-of-Nine to Chakotay."
"Speak of the devil…" said Janeway, under her breath.
"Go ahead," said Chakotay.
"Commander, you wanted to know when I arrived at my station. I am here." Her voice wavered more than usual.
"Very good. I’ll be there shortly. Chakotay out." He returned his attention to the captain. "Maybe we can continue this conversation later on."
"Certainly, Commander," said Janeway wryly. "Dismissed."
/*\
By the end of the shift, the ship was off alert status and safely on its way again. Chakotay leaned over to Janeway and said in a low voice, so as not to be overheard, "I’ve been thinking about this business with Seven. I told her I needed to discuss it with her tomorrow. I could use some advice from my best friend. Have dinner with me tonight?"
"I’d be glad to. Name the time and place and I’ll be there."
"My quarters, 1900 hours. Casual dress." There were those killer dimples again.
Janeway arrived promptly, dressed in a simple blue dress. To Chakotay, she was stunning as always, and he greeted her warmly and handed her a glass of wine.
"What’s on the menu tonight?" She asked, looking over his shoulder at the elegantly set table, romantically lit with several tapers.
"I stole your replicator recipe for your grandmother’s vegetable biryani. You haven’t made it for me in quite a while, and it’s one of my favorites."
"Oh, sorry. I guess I haven’t been taking very good care of you." She smiled flirtatiously. "And dessert?"
"Chocolate chip cookies."
"Oh, yum," she sighed. "I can’t wait."
"Well, life in the Delta Quadrant is uncertain. We could have dessert first," he laughed.
"I guess I can show some restraint."
Dinner proceeded with light small talk and laughter, and afterward they sat companionably on the couch under the view port, nibbling on cookies and drinking coffee.
"I believe we had something on the agenda tonight," Janeway started. "You wanted some advice on what to say to our Borg friend."
Chakotay grew serious, studying the floor in front of him as he collected his thoughts. Earlier in the day, he had meant to provoke Kathryn by making her think – but not too seriously – about him pairing off with Seven. But over the course of the day, he had started to realize that it was time to raise the stakes.
His tongue flicked out to moisten his lips, then he pressed them tightly together – a nervous habit he had that usually seemed to indicate that he was measuring his words very carefully.
"Yes, I…um…there are some things I need to clarify so that I know what approach to take with her." He glanced at Janeway briefly.
She seemed puzzled. "What kinds of things?" This conversation was starting out very differently from what she expected.
"Things about me. My future. I’ve been pondering this a lot today; my odd encounter this morning has made me look at some things in a new light. Things I had set aside, pushed below the surface."
Janeway was now clearly confused. "Go on."
Chakotay settled back in his seat and absently rubbed the rim of his coffee cup with his thumb. "We’ve been out here for over six years now. We’re still more than 30 light years from the Alpha Quadrant. We may get home tomorrow, or it may be decades. I’ve been putting my future on hold. I’ve made some assumptions that may be false. If they are, then maybe I should be giving some serious consideration to exploring a relationship with Seven." Janeway’s eyebrows arched abruptly. "Of course, I’m not certain she is really interested, but in light of my discovery I’d say there’s a very good chance she is. We do have some things in common. We’re both lost souls, with no one waiting for us in the Alpha Quadrant. I admire her intelligence, and I’m sure you wouldn’t fault any man on board for appreciating her physical attributes. And of all the eligible men on board, I’m probably the best match for her. I've gotten to know her well enough not to be put off by her brusque manner and lack of social graces; I have the patience to help her deal with her emerging humanity."
Janeway stared at him incredulously. He turned his head to meet her gaze. "But…do you have any feelings for her?" Her voice was strained. "You make it sound like it’s a good match because you can tolerate her. Can you really imagine falling in love with her?"
"Well, Kathryn," he said sadly, "that’s the difficult part." He paused, pensive. "You see, I’m already in love with someone else. I’ve been in love with her for years. I believe that she loves me too. But she told me a long time ago she didn’t have the luxury of pairing off with someone on this ship. I accepted that, and I’ve tried to remain beside her and be her friend, lightening her burden whenever I can. I’ve tried never to push her about what our relationship could be; I never want to jeopardize the special friendship we have. Just the hope that someday we will be together in every way has been enough to sustain me, because I would wait for her forever."
He sighed, glanced at her with a wan smile, and continued. "But what if my hopes are false? What if it’s all in my imagination, and she doesn’t feel the same way about me? What if we get home but nothing changes? What if I am sacrificing the present for a future that isn’t going to happen? How do I know whether to wait, or to try to make a new life for myself in the here and now? That’s the advice I need, my friend. What should I do?"
He turned to fully face her, smiling sadly, with his dark eyes filled with love and longing. It was no secret to her who he was talking about. Janeway’s eyes were bright with tears that threatened to spill over and down her face; her expression was exactly as it had been three years earlier on New Earth when he had told her the legend of the angry warrior – until today, the closest he had ever come to telling her he loved her. For several moments the room was completely silent save the steady humming of the ship’s systems.
At last she reached out and took his hand in hers. "I think," she said, drawing an unsteady breath, "that you should tell the woman you love exactly how you feel about her, and exactly what you would like to do about it, and then see what happens. Maybe she’ll surprise you." She smiled her lopsided smile and squeezed his hand tightly.
Chakotay slid off the couch and knelt before her, taking both of her hands in his. "Kathryn, I love you beyond measure and I always will. You are my captain and my best friend. Some day I want you to be my wife and my lover. I would like that day to be now, but I will wait until we get back to the Alpha Quadrant if that’s what it takes. And if that isn’t the kind of relationship you ever want to have with me, tell me now so I can try to move on. Whatever happens, I want to keep being the best friend and the best first officer you ever had." He leaned over and kissed her hands reverently.
She gazed at him, her face full of emotion. The tears were running down her cheeks now. "Chakotay. My sweet Chakotay," she breathed, her smile as bright as a million suns. For a while she seemed unable to speak. Finally she regained some of her composure. "Did I imagine it, or was there a marriage proposal buried in that speech?"
Chakotay grinned like a little boy, his dimples beaming. "Yes, I guess you could say there was." He gripped her hands tightly.
"Yes. The answer is yes. I will marry you, Chakotay, and I don’t think I can wait until we get back to the Alpha Quadrant."
He stared at her, speechless, his face lighting up with a joy he had not even thought possible. He finally choked out a husky whisper. "What happens now?"
She leaned into him, turning her face down to his. "You could kiss the bride."
Silently Chakotay thanked the spirits, and Seven for being
the catalyst that had brought him to this moment. His lips met Janeway's,
and their future together began.
The End
(Note: If you're a true J/C'er and you haven’t seen "Human Error" yet, it might make you feel better to know that what Chakotay found in the holodeck in my story was much "spicier" than the original version. In TPTB’s version, Seven and holo-Chak did wake up together, but they were fully clothed and on the couch -- it was much more ambiguous as to what had transpired between them.)