"When you said we were going to have a discussion of human vernacular dialects," Kathryn said with a smirk as she rolled over and stretched out across her bed, "this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"You would have preferred we sit passively and have an analytical conversation on the subject? As an explorer," Seven responded with a slight lilt of amused teasing in her voice, "I assumed you would enjoy a more hands on approach."

The older woman chuckled, shifting to more comfortably cuddle against the long, lithe frame of the young blonde. "I must admit that dirty talk doesn't have the same appeal when the physical elements are withdrawn from the scenario."

"Am I to assume that means you approved of me pinning you against the wall and explaining in great detail how I planned to bring you multiple orgasms?" Seven raised an eyebrow in mock challenge.

"Well," Kathryn faked a moment of consideration, "yes, I believe that is a safe assumption."

The Borg gave a satisfied nod. "Good."

"You know, I have to admit that you have a much broader base of knowledge in dirty…"

Janeway was cut off by the chirp of her comm badge and the baritone voice of her first officer. "Chakotay to Janeway."

The captain sighed. "I thought we'd have more time before he contacted me." With a grunt, she reached toward the floor to grab her discarded jacket and lightly tapped her badge. "Go ahead."

"Captain, if you're not busy, I thought we could start on the shift rosters."

His voice sounded a touch hopeful. She glanced back toward Seven who was intently watching her body language queues to determine how her own night would end.

Janeway's frown deepened. "You've already managed to create a mock up of potential shift rotations?" She hoped she sounded surprised and not irritated. At the moment, she wasn't sure she cared which direction her intonation went. Yes, she'd instructed the commander to work on the new shift rotations with her, and, yes, the sooner those were completed the better they'd be. However, the upcoming section of space was going to be trying, and all she wanted to do was spend some peaceful moments with Seven before they weren't able to do so for a while.

Catching the other woman's eye, she gave a shake of her head to stop her from leaving the bed. "I'm afraid I already have plans for tonight, Commander, but I'd like to work on it first thing tomorrow morning."

He paused a little too long before he responded with a hint of crestfallenness, "I understand, Captain. Have a good evening. Chakotay out."

"He still desires your company on an intimate level," Seven observed after a second of silence.

"He always did, and, for a time," Kathryn wistfully admitted while she resettled against the younger woman, "I wanted his company in the same way."

Seven tilted her head back to look down at the brunette. "New Earth?"

"Well, we were practically Adam and Eve there, but, honestly, it began before that." Janeway glanced toward the ceiling, letting her mind wander back to the first few years of Voyager's travels in the Delta Quadrant. "He's a handsome man, and a good man. Even from the beginning, there was something there. When our crews first joined together, he asked me about the likelihood of Voyager becoming a generational ship, and I said that people would eventual begin to pair off if we were out here for long enough." Her lips formed a weak smile. "He asked me if that included me."

Seven tilted her head in question. "It did not?"

"I felt very strongly at the time that, as captain, that was a luxury I couldn't have. Besides," Kathryn signed, rolling onto her back and pushing up to lean against the headboard, "I had Mark waiting for me. We were engaged, and I had no desire to cheat on him, even if it was with a dashing, intelligent, handsome rebel-come-hero like Chakotay."

Seven narrowed her eyes. "What changed?"

"You came along." Reaching out, Janeway pushed a few escaped strands of hair behind the other woman's ear. "He was so against the alliance with the Borg that he lost respect for me when I pushed through with it against his counsel on the matter, and, after I decided to keep you on board, what little faith he had in me as a person was gone, though he still followed my orders and enforced my command."

"That lack of trust has obviously passed." The blonde shifted settle against the headboard. "What brought that back?"

"Yes, it did, but it took a long time. You proving yourself and your loyalty to the crew helped immensely. However, even now he's not as apt to trust you as the rest of the crew. He has trouble believing your intentions are good even if the outcome isn't always the best, and that's one of the reasons I think he'll take the news of you and me in an intimate relationship poorly. I think," Kathryn tilted her head in consideration, "his trust in me as a person returned but his attraction to me never left, and the residual doubt and mistrust of you and that attraction will eventually cause waves."

The Borg seemed to think the notion over for a moment, flipping the new pieces of information around in her mind. "Are you still attracted to him?"

"On some level, yes," the older woman admitted as she reached out to take Seven's hand, "but it's for the memory of who we were before this journey began. Chakotay and I are very different people than we were when we were first dragged into the Delta Quadrant. I respect him, I trust him, and I do love him, but that love is familial. It's not romantic, at least not anymore."

Seven scowled. "Would it be emotionally insensitive of me to say I'm glad such is no longer the case?"

Kathryn laughed. "You're happy you no longer have any competition for my romantic affections? No, I think you're safe in saying you're happy about that, Nika."

Shifting to pull the smaller woman up, Seven laid a gentle but possessive kiss on Janeway's waiting lips. "Good."

"Computer," Chakotay set he PADD down on top of the pile already stacked on his desk. He had honestly thought Janeway would agree to start work tonight on the crew rosters, and now his plans were dashed. He'd gone as far as he could with everything until he had her approval, which meant he now had to find something else to occupy his night, "where is Lt. Torres?"

"Lt. Torres is in her quarters," came the pleasant but cool voice.

He glanced around his own quarters and frowned. He had already tried meditating, reading, working, and sleeping, but nothing was helping. He was agitated, and the worst part was he wasn't even sure why. With certainty, he could say the feeling starting bubbling up a couple of weeks ago, and it'd been getting steadily worse. At the moment, what he really need was a distraction until he could figure it out and, maybe, someone he trusted to talk to about it.

"Is she alone?"

"Affirmative."

Pushing up from his seat, he headed toward the door as he hit his comm badge one more time. "Chakotay to B'Elanna"