Dating Kathryn
By ralst
Chapter One
Seven looked across at her lover, a raised optical implant amply displaying her scepticism at B'Elanna's idea.
"What? It could work," B'Elanna replied defensively. "It's not as if she's some kind of social reject or anything."
"I never implied that the captain lacked social graces." Seven was having a hard time dealing with B'Elanna's proposal. It wasn't as if she didn't agree that Kathryn needed companionship, but she was loathed to act as matchmaker for the woman, and the mere thought of discussing who might or might not find the auburn haired woman attractive was making her shudder. "I just find it... difficult to think of her in a romantic light."
"I'm not asking you to." B'Elanna had thought it a simple enough idea. She and Seven were two of the brightest people on the ship, and if they couldn't find Kathryn a suitable date for the May Ball, then no one could. Of course, she hadn't counted on her girlfriend's oddly squeamish behaviour when it came to discussing the captain's possible sex life. "But you're observant, you must have noticed if someone was checking her out."
"She is the captain." Seven was getting even more flustered, a state she found truly distasteful.
"So?" Any lingering fears that Seven might at one time have had a crush on the captain were irrevocably dispelled, and for that B'Elanna was grateful, but it didn't stop her getting annoyed at Seven's refusal to help in her plan. "She's also a woman. And an attractive woman at that!"
"You find her attractive?" It wasn't jealousy that coloured Seven's voice, but incredulity. "She is the captain."
B'Elanna leant back in her chair, a hand massaging her brow ridges. "Okay, just for one second try and think of her as simply Kathryn and not the captain."
"But she is the captain."
"Just try Seven!" Six months of dating, B'Elanna thought, and she can still get under my skin like no one else.
Seven carefully took a seat on the couch, her mind desperately trying to disassociate the image of Kathryn from that of the captain. She was having little success. "Aesthetically she is not unattractive, I suppose," she finally conceded.
"Not unattractive? I don't know whether that is high praise or scorn, coming from you." B'Elanna knew that Seven found physical appearance unimportant, but at the same time she had often complimented B'Elanna on her looks. It was a puzzle, but then so much about Seven was.
"I find her appearance pleasing," Seven explained, "but my opinion is based on her character and the closeness of our relationship, more than some arbitrary physical characteristic. I see the captain and feel a certain amount of joy in her presence, therefore, I associate her appearance with pleasure. I am just unsure how to measure beauty as others would see it."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." At Seven's nod, B'Elanna tried to steer the conversation back to her original idea. "So all we have to do is find someone who looks on Kathryn with appreciation, and who she might be interested in. Do you get it now?"
Seven gave her a withering look. "I always 'got it'" she enunciated. "I just find it difficult to think of the captain as someone involved in a romantic relationship."
"What? So you'd rather have her shacking up with some holographic dullard?"
It took less than a second for Seven to change her entire outlook on the situation. "What do you need me to do?"
The messhall was fairly crowded and Seven found it somewhat of a challenge to negotiate the room without bumping into people. A year before she would have had no problem, as the crew would have simply moved to avoid the unpleasantness of coming into contact with the former borg, but now she was one of them, just another person looking to secure a table. It was so annoying it almost made Seven wish they still hated her.
"Hey, Seven, do you want to join us?" called Tal Celes, from the table she shard with Icheb, Jennifer Delany and Ensign Brickman.
"Thank you, but..." Seven was about to refuse, her intention having been to secure a seat on the captain's table and observe reactions to the woman, but on second thought she realised sitting further away would give her a more panoramic view of proceedings. "Thank you."
Having taken a seat, Seven greeted her table-mates before turning her attention to the far wall, where Kathryn was sharing a table with Commander Chakotay and Tuvok. Both men were paying the captain their utmost attention, but Seven immediately eliminated them from her search. One was married and the other too dull to be Kathryn's date.
"Is something wrong, Seven?" Icheb enquired.
Seven's eyes drifted back to her own table, only to witness four pairs of eyes staring at her. "Everything is within acceptable parameters," she assured him.
"Is something wrong with the captain?" Jennifer wanted to know.
"No."
"Commander Chakotay?" Celes piped up.
"No."
"Tuvok?" Brickman finished up.
"No." Seven once again thought back to the old days, when people barely looked at her and she could spy on someone to her heart's content without being spotted. She would have to ask B'Elanna for some tips on covert operations. "As far as I am aware, there is nothing wrong with any of the command staff."
"So why were you staring?" Celes probed.
"I was not staring." That was another change Seven was unhappy about, at least at that moment. Tal Celes used to be the quietest, most shy person on the ship, but after an eventful away mission with the captain and her own efforts to increase the woman's efficiency in Astrometrics, the young woman had practically burst out of her shell. Now not only did she not quake in her boots every time Seven came within a mile of her, she had chosen to become her friend and therefore thought it within her remit to question her actions. She blamed B'Elanna for all this.
"The definition of to stare," Icheb added helpfully, "is to look at someone or something fixedly, with your eyes open. Under that definition you were indeed staring at the captain's table."
Et tu Icheb.
"So why were you staring?" Jennifer pestered, hoping for some juicy gossip. "Oh, my God! You've broken up with B'Elanna and are looking to hook up with Janeway, aren't you!"
Jennifer's squeal garnered the attention of practically everyone in the messhall, including those at the captain's table. Seven was contemplating whether it would be considered murder to assimilate a Delany sister, when B'Elanna suddenly appeared at her side.
"Hey, honey." B'Elanna made a show of giving her girlfriend a big kiss, permanently dispelling any thoughts of their break-up. The last thing she wanted was to have to beat off a trail of eager suitors all desperate for a chance to date her girl.
"B'Elanna," Seven's voice was laced with warmth, "it would seem that Ensign Delany is under the impression that we have terminated our relationship."
"Really?" B'Elanna gave the young ensign a predatory smile.
"Erm, no, no. I never. I mean, I wouldn't. I..." As Jennifer went into a full blown panic attack, the others on the table couldn't help but laugh at her discomfort. Even Icheb managed a silent giggle. "Oh you!"
As everyone got back to their meal, B'Elanna let her own eyes wander towards the captain's table. She too had quickly ruled out both Chakotay and Tuvok, but she was interested to note that Lieutenant Blackmoore had stopped by the table to engage those present in conversation. She didn't really know the woman, but couldn't see how ship's business would bring her together with the senior staff. Which left personal reasons.
"You're doing it now," Celes accused B'Elanna. "Has something happened?" she demanded. "Has the captain been taken over by pod people or something?"
"Don't be stupid."
"Then why were you staring?" Celes sounded genuinely concerned.
"It. It's nothing." B'Elanna shrugged.
"The probability of both yourself and Seven of Nine becoming transfixed by the same object or objects in the space of eight minutes, and there being no connection, is highly improbable." Icheb informed them. "Therefore, we must assume that something is remiss, unless you can prove to us otherwise."
Seven and B'Elanna shared a conspiratorial glance, one contemplating pulling rank, the other sending her defacto child to bed without his supper. Yet at the same time they both realised that they could use some help, and although Jennifer could be a little flighty on occasion, they trusted the other four to keep their confidence.
B'Elanna nodded to the group "Shall we tell them?"
"I believe it would be prudent," Seven acquiesced
"Okay, it doesn't go beyond this table, not even to Megan, got it?" Four heads nodded in unison. "We're trying to find the captain a date for the May Ball."
The four were still for a moment, each trying to rationalise the thought of the chief engineer and former borg acting as matchmakers. It didn't really compute, for any of them, but then none of them had ever thought the two women would end up dating, so they no longer expected them to act in any given way.
"That shouldn't be hard," Celes finally volunteered, "the captain is rather... well, she's rather... her."
"That was as clear as mud," B'Elanna sighed, unsure whether she could tolerate another person who was unable to see past the pips to the woman Kathryn was beneath. "The captain is a woman, you know, she has..."
"Oh I know!" Celes interrupted, her face taking on a heightened colour as she did so.
Jennifer snorted. "Does she ever."
"I do not follow," said Seven.
"Oh, please, you must have noticed little miss shy's humungus crush on the captain. I mean, it's so obvious," Jennifer explained, much to Celes' mortification.
"Really?" Seven's look of confusion soon gave way to contemplation. "You do not meet the minimum age requirement I had anticipated for this endeavour, but we will nevertheless keep you in mind for the vacancy."
"She's not applying for a job," B'Elanna whispered. "Anyway," she announced to the group, "I think I've already found our candidate."
Tal Celes' face fell.
"Who?" Seven demanded, her eyes scanning the room as if looking for an intruder.
"Lieutenant Blackmoore."
Brickman almost choked on his orange juice. "You can't be serious."
"Why not?" B'Elanna did not like being laughed at, but unless she was very much mistaken, Jerry Brickman was only holding back his laughter by sheer force of will. "She's been circling the captain's table like a bee around a honey pot for the last ten minutes."
"I believe your analysis is flawed, Lieutenant," Icheb informed her, earning himself a scowl in the process.
"Icheb's right, Lieutenant, sorry." Brickman looked anything but sorry.
"I would have to agree with them, B'Elanna, Lieutenant Blackmoore is not interested in the captain." Seven looked over towards the woman in question. "If you will look closely you will see that although her eyes are fixed towards the captain's table, they are in fact looking straight at Commander Chakotay and not Captain Janeway."
"Huh?"
"Blackmoore and Chakotay have been dating for about two months now," Jennifer added helpfully, "I thought everyone knew that."
B'Elanna shot her a dirty look. "Well obviously not everybody."
After that the talk turned more general, as the six co-conspirators began to discuss the captain's likes and dislikes and how they might point the way to an appropriate date. No final decision was made, but they all agreed to keep a look out and meet again the next day to discuss options.
Kathryn was having a strange day. It had started off normally enough, but ever since lunch, when she'd overheard Jennifer Delany's rather farfetched assumption about Seven's interest in her, she'd felt as if she were being watched. What made the feeling all the more unsettling was that she was sure both Seven and B'Elanna had been two of the people watching her. Which led her to rethink Jennifer's statement and wonder if it was at all possible that Seven had developed a crush on her.
It wasn't unheard of for impressionable young women, or men for that matter, to develop a crush on their mentor, but she had just never seen Seven as falling into that category. She didn't doubt Seven's feelings for her, but she had always assumed they bordered on the familial rather than the romantic. And if that wasn't disturbing enough, she had to face the real possibility that B'Elanna would kill her if she thought she'd stolen her lover away from her.
God, she hoped she was wrong.
Meanwhile Seven had decided to approach the problem from a different angle. When she had first begun to experience romantic feelings for B'Elanna, it had been the captain who had helped her understand what she was going through, and had done so by equating some of her own experiences. Seven reasoned that by approaching Kathryn with another philosophical question on the meaning of romantic love, she would be able to uncover the captain's hidden feelings.
Unfortunately, she was at a loss about what type of question to pose. They had already covered the basics of attraction, including the physical and psychological indicators and appropriate responses. First dates, had also been covered, as too had the first kiss. By some unspoken agreement they had decided to bypass the more descriptive aspect of her first experience of making love, but they had talked at length about the emotional component of the act and how it affected a relationship. Which left Seven with zero ideas about how to get Kathryn to open up.
Making her way back towards the messhall, Seven hoped to gain a little advice, hopefully without divulging her motives this time.
"Seven, back so soon," came Neelix's cheerful voice, "I thought I detected a partiality towards my nutritional supplement seventy-three. Would you like another slice?"
"I do not... Yes, that would be acceptable." She wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but Seven had grown rather fond of Neelix's less spicy dishes. The fact he'd chosen to refer to them as supplements and imbue them with all the nutritional requirements her own bland offerings contained, had also further endeared the little man to her. Again not something she was apt to tell people about, less they thought she'd gone soft.
Neelix placed the piece of lemon meringue pie on the nearest table and gestured for them both to sit. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, you didn't just come here for some more pie... I mean supplement."
"You are correct." She took a quick bite of the pie, her eyes closing of their own volition as she savoured the flavour. "I wish to know the next step in human relationships."
"The next step?"
"Yes. You have the awakening of feelings, followed by a first date, then a first kiss, which is at some point followed by the first time you make love." Neelix nodded in agreement, his thoughts rather wistful. "What I wish to know is, what happens next?"
He gave the matter some thought. "Do I take it that you've already told B'Elanna of your feelings?"
"Yes," Seven looked puzzled. "I did not realise that was an official step, but had assumed it was connected to the physical aspect of making love. I would certainly never have contemplated making love with someone I did not love."
"I thought as much, but for some humans it is different," Neelix explained. "They find the physical much easier to commit to than the emotional, and see no reason to withhold one until the other comes along."
"I see, please continue."
"Right, well I guess the next stage would be marriage or alternatively living together. Either of which would be seen as a bigger commitment than dating and show that you thought the relationship would endure."
"Marriage?" Seven wasn't sure talking to Kathryn about marriage would in any way help them find her a date for the Ball.
"I know it's a big step, and if you don't think you and B'Elanna are ready you shouldn't rush it, but..." He let out a happy little sigh. "Weddings are so romantic."
An idea began forming in Seven's mind. "Thank you, Mr Neelix, you have been most helpful."
Unbeknown to Seven, Tom Paris had moments before entered the messhall and caught the end of her conversation. He had long ago learned to accept that his former girlfriend was now dating the borg, but the thought that B'Elanna might actually accept Seven's proposal, where she had turned his down, filled him with rage.
Tal Celes paced the corridor leading to the captain's quarters, her mind a whirl of conflicting thoughts. Earlier in the day she had agreed to help find the captain a suitable date for the ball, but at the same time she was hopelessly smitten by her superior and hated the idea of anyone else winning her affections.
Celes wasn't a fool, she knew the chances of the captain returning her feelings were close to non-existent, but that didn't stop the slither of hope that prevented her from truly giving up the idea. If only Seven hadn't dismissed her chances so easily, it might not have been so bad, but the former drone was probably the closest person to Kathryn on the ship, and if she thought it ridiculous, it probably was.
So wrapped up in her thoughts, Celes didn't see the compact figure of the captain round the corner and step straight into her path. "Oumph!"
"I'm so sorry, it was all my fault, I should have been looking where I was going, my mother always said I lived in a dream world half the time," Celes babbled, her mind having gone into freefall the moment Kathryn put her hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"No harm done," Kathryn assured her.
"Really? Are you sure?"
Kathryn watched as the colour seemed to drain from Celes' face, the exception being two bright spots of pink high on her cheeks. She wasn't certain, but she thought the girl might be in the early stages of a panic attack. "You don't look well." She put her arm around Celes' body, the younger woman's breathing appearing to become even more laboured as she did so. "Come with me."
Kathryn led Celes to her quarters, and made her take a seat on the couch while she brought her a medicinal brandy. "Drink this slowly, it should help."
Celes was positively mortified, but she did as she was told and began to sip the strong liquid.
"That's better," Kathryn began rubbing tiny circles on Celes' back, hoping to soothe the other woman and ease her anxiety.
Celes felt like she was on fire. Every touch of Kathryn's hand sent a tidal wave of excitement through her body. She was so close, so inviting, so...
Kathryn almost fell off the couch when she felt Celes' lips descend on her own. The move was so unexpected that she didn't react for a second, giving the younger woman time to deepen the kiss before Kathryn had even realised what was happening.
With a return to sanity, Kathryn pushed the younger woman away. "What are you doing?" Her voice was quivering, whether from anger or shock neither of them knew.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Celes stood, rapidly backing away from Kathryn and towards the door. "I thought. I'm sorry. Really, I am."
And before Kathryn could get another word out, Tal Celes had made her escape.
B'Elanna had just finished interrogating Vorik about any interest he might have in the captain, when she was almost bowled over by a fleeing Tal Celes. The young woman was moving at such a high speed that B'Elanna doubted she'd be able to stop without running headfirst into a bulkhead. Normally she would have tried to slow the girl down to find out what was wrong, but she was scheduled to meet Seven in her quarters for dinner and she didn't want to be late.
The dinner had ostensibly been arranged to go over their progress in finding a date for Kathryn, but B'Elanna knew it would soon give way to hours spent kissing and fooling around on her couch before they made their way to the bed to make love. Life was good.
"Hey, Lanna, rushing off to the little Misses?" Tom called out after her, his plan to catch her in engineering having backfired when he'd learnt she'd left on time. She'd never left on time when they were dating.
"Yes." Although they were now on friendly terms, she wasn't about to waste time talking with Tom when she could be sharing time with Seven.
"So, it's true then," he continued, "you and our little borg are getting hitched."
B'Elanna stopped. "What?"
"I overheard Seven and Neelix discussing the arrangements in the messhall," he gave a mock look of hurt. "I would have thought you might have told me. We are still friends, aren't we?"
She ignored his display of hurt feelings. "You overheard what exactly?"
"Neelix and Seven discussing the wedding," he gave her a moment to absorb the news. She might have thought herself in love with the borg, but he knew her pride would balk at the idea of Seven assuming she'd agree to a marriage without even being asked. The borg's days were numbered.
"Wedding?" Tom was forgotten in an instant, as B'Elanna's mind started going over the ramifications of what he had said.
Tal Celes' flight had ended at the door to Jennifer Delany's quarters. The two women had become good friends over the last year and although she still considered Billy her best friend, Jennifer had been the only one she'd told about her crush on the captain, and therefore the only one she could turn to at that precise moment.
As the door opened Celes practically threw herself into the other woman's arms, her head buried into her shoulder as she sobbed out her pain.
"You kissed the captain?" Came the incredulous question.
Celes was halfway through nodding her reply when she realised the voice she had just heard wasn't the one she'd been expecting. It was close, but definitely not the same voice. "Megan?"
"You were expecting someone else?" Megan chuckled, letting her fingers comb through the other woman's hair.
"I'm sorry," Celes said, for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
"No need to apologies." Unlike her sister, Megan didn't know Tal Celes very well, but she hated to see her so upset. "Come and tell me all about it."
Celes hesitated for a second, but soon succumbed to Megan's winning smile.
Seven was in the process of diagramming the possible outcomes of her conversation with the captain as she awaited B'Elanna's arrival for dinner. She hypothesised that by mentioning the prospect of a wedding, she could steer the conversation to who Kathryn might like to accompany her. Failing that, she'd try and backtrack to the beginning of her relationship with B'Elanna and possibly get the captain to relate any similar feelings to people on the ship. She rated her chances of acquiring any useful information at about 38% but she still thought it worth the effort.
At the sound of the doors opening, Seven discarded her data padd and smiled towards her approaching lover. Only B'Elanna wasn't approaching. "B'Elanna?" The chief engineer appeared transfixed by the entrance to her quarters. "Are your legs malfunctioning? Do you wish me to call the Doctor?" Seven asked, rather worried by the almost haunted expression on her lover's face.
"I'm fine." B'Elanna didn't move from her spot. "Just fine."
Standing, Seven made her way to B'Elanna's side. "I fail to see the appeal of the doorway," she eventually commented, having taken a moment to examine the architecture B'Elanna appeared to be staring at. "Are you sure you are not ill? I have seen old televisual documents where a person has injured their back and is left unable to move. Except with the help of a wheelbarrow or grappling hook."
"Grappling hook?" The strange image seemed to bring B'Elanna to her senses. "You've been watching Tom's video collection again, haven't you?"
"It was a choice between watching his television or listening to him talk." Taking B'Elanna's hand, Seven led her into the room. "I do not mean to interrupt your appreciation of the doorway, but I cannot stay long and we have a dinner to eat."
"Wha'?" Her mind still filled with images of weddings and a ball and chain around her neck, B'Elanna took a moment to understand Seven's meaning. "What do you mean you can't stay? We were going to have dinner and... and cuddle."
"Actually I believe the plan was to have dinner, discuss our attempts to procure a date for the captain and then engage in a multitude of sexual activities until we succumbed to exhaustion."
"That too."
Seven produced their replicated meal. "Unfortunately, I need to speak with the captain and will thus be unable to participate in certain aspects of our evening." Carefully chewing on her food, Seven took note of B'Elanna's downtrodden expression. "I will, however, return for the sexual part of the evening, once I have finished with the Captain."
B'Elanna's lips twitched as a smile fought to be let loose. "Why do you need to see Janeway?"
"I wish to discuss wedding arrangements and..."
"What!" B'Elanna stood, glaring down at the blonde. "I can't believe you! Didn't it occur to you to speak to me first? Or am I just incidental to your little plans? Huh?"
Seven thought B'Elanna's reaction irrational and possibly dangerous to the hybrid's life, if the steam coming out of her ears was any indication. It had been the engineer's idea to 'fix up' their captain, she was merely following that directive. "I presumed you would appreciate my ingenuity on the matter and..."
"Presumed is right!" B'Elanna stalked over towards the kitchen area, her temper somewhat diminishing as she began one of Tuvok's breathing exercises. She could be honest with herself and admit that the idea of marriage scared her a little bit, but she knew she loved Seven and wanted them to spend their lives together. But "Damn it to Grethor and back, Seven, a girl likes to be asked."
Seven was confused. "Asked what?"
"If they'll marry you." B'Elanna stopped Seven's comeback with a raised hand. "I'm not saying that I don't want to marry you or that I'm not honoured that you'd want to make that sort of commitment, but..."
"B'Elanna, what are you talking about?"
Ending her pacing, B'Elanna came to a halt in front of Seven's chair. Lowering herself to one knee, she took hold of Seven's hand. "I'm talking about us, getting married."
It didn't take an eidetic memory for Seven to realise the significance of B'Elanna's pose. "Are you asking me to marry you?"
"What?" It took B'Elanna a second to realise what she'd said and how, but in that second she'd been assailed with a feeling of happiness she'd never known before. It might not have been what she'd planned to say or how, but she knew it was what she wanted. "Yes, Seven, I am."
To Be Continued