Star Trek Voyager: Bonds of Love, Ties of Family

Star Trek Voyager: Bonds of Love, Ties of Family (Chapter 7)

Seven tried to ignore the droplets of rainwater and condensation as they dripped steadily from the sodden leaves of the trees surrounding her and fell between the gaps in her clothing, trickling teasingly down her back. Really, such a minor discomfort shouldn’t have bothered her, but the chill of cold water down her neck only reminded her of the hot tears that again burned at her lids as she fought to stop them from also beginning to fall. Instead she scrunched her eyes up, struggling to see a path to follow through the clinging carpet of moss and storm damaged leaves at her feet. What had the planners of the nearby homes, including of course Sekaya’s, been thinking when they’d left this dense little patch of woodland alone? It was an inefficient use of land…

Suddenly she stumbled, her whole body jerking forward ungracefully as she caught herself on a tree trunk at the last possible moment to save herself. Panting hard as she struggled to overcome a startling wave of dizziness, she glared venomously at the culprit, the thick, gnarled root of an oak tree, and angrily tugged her foot free. Still, her gaze remained out of focus, her legs weak and unsupportive. She realised as she stared ahead into the permanently shadowed woods that she had nowhere to run to. Her need for regeneration which had now reasserted itself was an invisible but unbreakable tether to Voyager; she would need to go back. Despite this logic staring her in the face, she barely moved, certainly not in the direction of the nearest settlement with a transporter route to San Francisco; instead, despite her general preference for standing whatever the circumstances, she perched on a large rock, worn smooth by the generations of tired wanders who had sat here before her. Slowly, her spent body began to recover itself and her vision no longer swam, although whether it had been entirely down to exhaustion or whether some of it had been down to insidious tears she wasn’t sure. It was her own fault; all of this was her own fault. Well, perhaps  the lack of regeneration was not entirely her doing, since she’d been too busy having…fun in Chakotay’s quarters to hide away in the cargo bay during her last few days on Voyager to finish a complete cycle, not that Chakotay knew that, he wouldn’t compromise her health… Her stomach and heart clenched painfully in tandem, had it only been yesterday that she’d woken in his arms, warm, safe and loved? It struck her, and not for the first time, that her periods of happiness seemed to be tantalisingly short before some cataclysmic change happened. It was different this time though; she had brought this on herself. She fled from the fulfilment that as well as making her life worth living, frequently paralysed her with guilt. She swallowed hard as she remembered Chakotay’s words, “Why do you always push me away like this? It’s like you want me to give up on you!” Her body began to shake once more at the memory, although this time from grief and self-hatred rather than anger. He returned the love which was torturing her, she knew that, but she doubted her understood that it wasn’t him she wanted to reject, but herself. She was tainted, irredeemable even by him.

Sekaya continued to trudge tiredly through the woods. Chakotay had dismissed the idea of Seven fleeing here, so near to the house and so foreboding. Seven preferred open spaces apparently, didn’t like to be closed in. Sekaya supposed that was understandable enough if you’d spent most of your life in the crowd that was the Collective, but she disagreed with her brother on the subject of searching the woods. Kids had been hiding here for years, ever since a conservation order had prevented it being levelled when the first houses had been built in the area, and she had a weird feeling that the bleakness of the surroundings would suit Seven’s present mood…

She stopped dead as she heard a sound, heavy, choked breathing. At first she thought it was an injured animal, but then she saw her. Her blonde hair marked her out even from this distance and as hunched over as she was, seemingly staring at nothing, lost in thought. Sekaya was struck by how small and vulnerable the woman looked and wondered at her age. It had been very hard to judge with that impassive expression and frequently stilted tone, also Sekaya didn’t know if nanoprobes had anti-aging properties, but at that moment Seven of Nine looked painfully young. Real sympathy mixed with guilt as Sekaya cautiously approached her, preparing herself to call her brother, but she quickly forgot about that as a sob covered up the rustle of her approach. Sekaya froze again, knowing she’d need to say something in apology to the woman but unsure of what she could possibly say. Last night, with Hector asleep, she’d read all she could gain access to on liberated Borg, and she’d managed to glean enough from Chakotay to know the basics of what Seven had been though. She had to admit that only the Sprits knew how Seven could still be sane, let alone in love with Chakotay, after all she’d been through. Sekaya knew she’d had no right to judge the behaviour of someone who’d been assimilated at six years old, then freed against her will. According to what she’d read, of the dozen or so people who’d ever been liberated from the Collective by the Federation or their allies had, excepting Captain Picard and Seven and her Borg children, either “escaped” back to the Borg, were in mental institutions or had committed suicide. After reading that, Sekaya wasn’t sure whether it was a blessing or a curse to be freed. Exist as a drone or live with as an ostracized conscience laden with guilt, what a choice…

Sekaya could only assume she must’ve sighed, for suddenly Seven’s head snapped around to face her. “Reveal yourself!” Seven shouted hoarsely as she shot up from the rock and backed up against a tree.

Reluctantly, Sekaya stepped out from behind the trees, wincing when Seven flinched away, her tear filled blue eyes dimming to a lifeless grey at the sight of her. Sekaya swallowed, remembering her promise to Chakotay, and stepped firmly in front of the younger woman, smiling uncertainly in a way she hoped was kind rather than patronising. “Hi…” She trailed off when the greeting fell flat, “I think we need to talk.”

A/n: I’m sorry this is so short, I hope its okay for now though, I’ll try to update within the next couple of days. PLEASE REVIEW! :D