By Erin_Cale
Disclaimer: See first part.
***
Seven turned a corner, throwing a look behind her to see if Tyr had changed his mind and was following her again. However, she turned back too late and slammed full force into Dylan.
�I�m sorry,� he muttered as he helped her to her feet.
�No, it was my fault.� Suddenly Seven was struck with an idea. Here in front of her was the leader of this crew and he had been willing to let Captain Janeway stay on his ship so if she was a friend of Kathryn�s why wouldn�t she be able to? �Captain Hunt, may I ask you a question?�
�Of course.�
�I will understand if you say no, but there is nothing in my universe for me and I was wondering if you might allow me to join your crew?�
Seven could tell that, of all things that he had been expecting, her question came as a complete surprise. �Uh... I don�t know. I suppose. But you do realize that you will be under a probation period for security reasons?�
�Of course.�
�Then welcome aboard.� He reached it out and was a little surprised when she gripped it firmly, almost [I]too[/I] firmly.
�Thank you.� There was an awkward pause. �I believe I should go tell the others of my decision.�
Dylan nodded. As Seven walked out of his field of vision, he wondered if he was getting soft in his old age. However, he didn�t have long to ponder that question as Kathryn approached him from the opposite direction.
�Dylan?� The High Guard commander jumped. He hadn�t even heard her footsteps behind him. Spinning around, he was greeted with the site of Kathryn smiling.
�Kathryn. Hi.�
�Um, I don�t know how to put this but I- I...�
�What is it, Kathryn?�
�I�ve got a reason to go home now and I wanted to tell you goodbye,� she blurted out.
Dylan�s jaw dropped a little before he managed to regain control over it. �You want to leave?�
�I�m sorry.�
�No, you�re not doing anything wrong. It�s your decision if you want to leave. I will just miss you terribly when you�re gone. You�ve made quite an impression on me in the past two days.�
Kathryn threw her arms around him and hugged him as hard as she could. When she pulled back, her smile was barely there and it was easy to see that she was getting close to crying. �I�m not the one you love anyway. I would just be a substitute for her.�
Dylan smiled. �I know. I�ll still miss you. Come on, I�ll walk you back to the others.�
Kathryn took his arm and they walked back down the hallway together for the last time.
***
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