Everything You Ever Wanted (Star Trek: Voyager, Seven of Nine, PG)
You walk Naomi back to her quarters after a game of kadis-kot (you let her win; the Doctor has advised you that this is a necessary practice when dealing with children). There is a delay at the door before Ensign Wildman appears.
“Hi, honey,” she says to her daughter, who scampers in for a hug immediately. It still unnerves you, this desire the young have for physical contact with their forebears. To you, she offers a “thank you, Seven.”
You tilt your head in acknowledgement. Then pause. There is something - off. Something not quite right. “Ensign Wildman. Is everything all right?”
Her face crumples. She begins to cry.
“Ensign -” You take a moment; adapt. “Samantha. Would you - like to talk about it?”
You have a strange feeling when invited inside, when you sit next to her on the couch and listen to her weep about the husband that has found a new mate. You tell yourself: this is for Naomi. This is why you tolerate it.
***
You resist calling her, after Chakotay leaves. You hold off for months, until you snap, and then suddenly you have everything you ever wanted.
In a tiny house on a slanted, uphill street in San Francisco, you have Sam, and Naomi, and Icheb. You and Sam walk to Starfleet HQ together; the kids enrol in the Academy. For a time, everything is perfect.
***
She hates how much you worry about Naomi, as though she hasn’t ever met Naomi - does she not understand how vulnerable this girl is, in the increasingly-cruel world of the Federation?
Naomi is her flesh and blood and you hate her for not fretting as much as you do, for being able to breathe when you struggle.
But all of this is nothing in comparison to Icheb.
***
She says: he’s fine. She dismisses: every concern you have. Until it’s too late. Until it’s all too clear that he has been taken - exploited - raped - by those who deserve to be punished.
That Sam disagrees on how they need to be punished is a sign that you will never work.
That doesn’t mean it is okay. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t stab you through the chest.
***
Leaving Sam is not easy. But harder is leaving Naomi. You leave a letter, reminding her that you are always here for her, no matter what.
You go to seek out justice.
And when you cannot find it, revenge will do. Must do.
You have not found peace. But what you have found will do, for now.