Chapter Text
Sometimes, when you write a story, you let your passions get the better of you. You misjudge your ability, underestimating the scope of what you set out to do. This is what I did when I began this story. I had so many plans for this work when I wrote that first chapter, so many ideas for how this story could play out. I was so invested. I always kept the ideas of how the story would end in my head, ready to come back and give it another shot.
The thing is though, as much as I've enjoyed writing this story, and I'm immensely proud of every word, I don't have the drive in me to finish it, at least not in the way it deserves. So, instead of throwing in the towel and leaving it there, I've made this.
This chapter is the step by step plan I intended to flesh out into the rest of the story, like a detailed summary of the rest of the text. It chronicles everything I wanted to do, everything I was going to write. And I'm posting it here so that if you want to have a somewhat complete picture, along with the ending I designed and always intended, you can have it. It might be to go back and see how I was beginning to set things up, how I hinted at certain twists early on.
Make no mistake, this is the rest of the story, just not as fleshed out as I'd hoped. Think of it as the Sparknotes, proof that I did think long and hard about this story, and I never just stopped caring about it. I did want to write this, but I know now I never will. And it wouldn't be fair on all of you who read the previous chapters only to up and leave you all without a resolution.
So, without further ado, this is the rest of Time of Delta (in summarised form.) Thank you to everyone who read and who left kind comments and expressed your interest in the series. Thank you. Now, on with the show.
- Once upon a time begins
- Neelix goes to Pedra, who Naomi has struck up a firm relationship with, and asks him to help distract Naomi
- Pedra doesn't like the idea of lying to Naomi and wants to tell her the truth, saying it will be easier in the long run for her if she feels she can trust them
- He and Neelix have an argument over whether or not to tell her, and Neelix uses his rank to force Pedra not to tell her
- Pedra reluctantly agrees, but only because he respects Neelix
- The two of them help to distract Naomi with games and activities until Pedra is called to assist Seven
- Neelix struggles to avert Naomi from the truth about her mother, and after one of Naomi's holodeck episodes goes awry, he pulls her out
- Pedra is sent to cover for Seven whilst she is on the planet, his first time on the bridge
- Unfortunately, Naomi, whilst looking for Neelix after a nightmare, follows him up to the bridge where she learns that her mother is stuck in the shuttle
- Naomi runs to the holodeck
- Pedra excuses himself from the bridge, with Janeway's permission
- He follows her into the holodeck, and she shouts at him for lying to her. He explains why they did it, and that he agreed because of Neelix
- She eventually manages to calm down, and he explains that he wanted to tell her everything from the start, but Neelix didn't want her to know
- She asks why, just as Neelix arrives on the scene
- Neelix explains how his sisters died in front of him, and he didn't want the same trauma to happen to her unnecessarily
- Naomi understands why he did it, but she still feels hurt that he lied to her
- With an ion storm closing in, Pedra is forced to return to the bridge
- The team manages to dig the shuttle out, but Ensign Wildman's internal bleeding and lack of oxygen was too severe for her to survive
- Pedra and Neelix meet her before she passes away and they promise to look after Naomi
- Naomi arrives in the medbay just in time to see her pass and say goodbye
- Pedra promises to see Naomi every day after his shifts and requests a temporary absence from his shifts to look after Naomi while she grieves
- Janeway agrees to Pedra's requests and gives him a week, after which he should return to work when he is ready
- Neelix reconciles with Naomi, and he and Pedra spend some time together to mourn ensign wildman
- Whilst mourning, Neelix asks Pedra how it felt when he mourned his friends and had to raise Lulu, Pedra remarks how one has to always carry on in the face of grief, implying that he has done it more than once before
- The crew hold a funeral for ensign wildman, which Naomi attends
- A week passes, and Pedra finds that Naomi is nowhere near ready to begin back on her normal schedule, so he decides to take her to his shift with him
- Whilst there she begins talking more with Seven of Nine and strike up a friendship
- Timeless begins
- Pedra is torn between giving them the corrections that will allow them to safely activate the hyperdrive, changing history, or condemning them to carry on in the Delta Quadrant
- He decides to conceal the information, hoping against hope that they find a way to make it work without his help
- After the ship has crashed, Harry and Chakotay find the ship and all of its inhabitants, dead at their stations, except for one: Pedra
- They search the ship, finding burnt handprints leading to Pedra's body
- They find that he managed to survive the initial impact, something no human should be able to do and crawl all the way to his cabin
- It turns out Pedra died just before he could open his wardrobe, so Harry takes a look inside and finds something that causes him to call Chakotay
- Chakotay finds Harry and the thing that Pedra had been hiding
- The two of them 'couldn't find a way in' so they are forced to continue with their original plan
- They execute the plan, sending a message back in time through Seven, and a specific message for Harry
- Future Harry tells his past self everything that happened and not to trust Pedra, as he is not who he says he is, but before he can say who, future Harry is forced to end the message
- Harry, now heeding future Harry's advice, decides to study Pedra more closely and starts to gather a distrust towards Pedra
- He shares his concerns with the others, who seem sceptical until Harry reveals what future Harry said
- They all agree to keep a close eye on Pedra for the future
- Infinite Regress begins
- Seven's switches personalities during a game of Kadis Kot with Naomi whilst Pedra is in Astrometrics
- During the mind meld, Tuvok allows Pedra to join in, discovering that he has mild telepathic abilities
- Pedra and Seven end the ordeal on good terms, although Tuvok is suspicious of Pedra's slight telepathic abilities
- The next week is Naome's birthday and, still missing her mother, she starts to feel depressed
- Deciding to take a risk, Pedra shows her what is in his wardrobe
- At first, she seems alarmed and frightened, but by the end of the day, she tells him that it was one of the best birthdays she has ever had
- Unfortunately, B'Elanna caught a small glimpse of their time in Pedra's room and immediately assumes suspicious activity
- She goes to captain Janeway, who tells her that until she gathers substantial evidence against Pedra, she cannot do anything
- B'Elanna goes to Seven of Nine to try and convince her to help spy on Pedra, and whilst she does not believe anything will come of it, Seven agrees
- Over the next few weeks, Seven studies Pedra's activities, agreeing to note down anything that 'intrigues her'
- She brings her findings to B'Elanna, who notes that Seven has included many insignificant details, such as the exact angle of his jawline, and how it was the most aesthetically pleasing out of the rest of the crew
- One day, Seven decides to follow Pedra from the astrometrics lab and finds that he arrives at the holodeck
- The next day she tries to access his holodeck files but finds that she has been locked out
- She brings along B'Elanna, who unlocks the simulation with her authority clearance
- The two access the deck, only to find that it is a hologram of a frozen sun
- On closer inspection, it turns out it's an image of a planet. An orange planet.
- They leave before Pedra can catch them, but he accesses his program's history and sees that Seven and B'Elanna accessed it before
- He goes to talk to Seven, suitably angry that she looked at his holodeck files without permission
- She apologises, stating that she wanted to know about him. He says that simply talking to him would suffice, but she counters his point by mentioning how he only speaks in cryptic answers
- He invites her to his quarters for a game of chess that night, promising to be honest with her
- That night, she arrives at his quarters, and sure enough, a game of chess is laid out for them
- When she admits that she does not know how to play, he teaches her
- He wins the first game
- She asks him about what the planet was in his files, he answers it was an experiment
- She asks why he is so secretive
- He answers that he simply doesn't think anyone would want to know, and that one doesn't usually bear their soul to strangers
- Seven points out that he has known them for a while now, he replies that they haven't made much of an effort to get to know him either
- Seven concludes that they are both at fault, just as she wins her first game
- Pedra congratulates her, saying that he'll try and be more sociable to the crew from now on
- Seven says that she'll put in a good word for him
- She leaves, and Pedra turns back to the game
- After a moment, he makes his move, taking himself out of check and placing seven into checkmate
- Nothing Human begins
- Whilst the others are slowly giving Pedra a chance, B'Elanna is still very hesitant to place any kind of trust in Pedra
- Pedra reveals that he knew exactly who Crell Moset was and what he had done, but chose not to reveal it to the crew in order to save B'Elanna's life
- After the hologram of Crell Moset is sent away, Pedra goes to apologise to B'Elanna
- She confronts him for not sharing what he knew about Crell Moset's past, saying that she didn't want to be healed by the same remedies that had lead to the torture and mutilation of so many
- Pedra counters her, saying that her survival meant that those deaths didn't happen in vain, that at least some good came of it
- Pedra also angrily states that her morals were nowhere near as valuable as her life and the lives of those around her, knowing from experience how pride can get in the way of what matters. "What about Tom? He doesn't deserve to be left behind. He loves you, he loves you so much that he was going to let you die. You were going to let him watch the woman he loves die. How could ever do that him? How could ever betray his trust like that? Did you even consider what he felt in all your talk of morals and the value of life? Look me in the eye and tell me you could handle it if the roles were reversed. Look at me!"
- B'Elanna couldn't. "And don’t you dare - don't you dare! - tell me that he would have been fine with it. Don't you dare dismiss his feelings for you like that. This didn't come from a crisis of ethics, this was all about pride. You wanted to protest the misery that man had caused so vehemently that you were willing to cause more. What was it? Some kind of one-up-manship?" "I wanted to decide how I die, on my terms, am I not even allowed that?"
- She yells that she wanted to die on her terms, to which Pedra states that she didn't have to die at all, and that he refuses to apologise for placing her life above her morals. He says that he's not here to judge life or how it's saved or preserved, only to protect it.
- In the end, B'Elanna admits that she hates him. "Maybe so," he said stiffly, "but that won't stop me the next time I get the chance to save your life."
- Bliss begins
- Pedra, along with Seven and Naomi are the only ones who aren't hooked by the illusion. Pedra says that he didn't see Earth when looked out of the window towards the anomaly. He is thrown in the brig, until Seven later frees him, engaging his telepathic abilities to wake him.
- The three band together to help pilot Voyager out of the anomaly
- After having to rely on each other in a dire situation, Pedra, Seven and Naomi form a strong unit, spending more and more time together
- Dark Frontier begins
- Pedra refuses to give up on Seven as she leaves for the cube, meaning that he is beamed aboard along with her
- Sensing Seven's connection to Pedra, and wanting to test her loyalty, the Borg queen commands Pedra be apprehended and readied to be converted. Seven panics, begging her to stop, satisfying the Borg Queen's curiosity. comparing Seven's attachment to love.
- Pedra is taken to be scanned, only for his results to come up in contradiction to the borg's records on human biology. Pedra is not human. In fact, he is something far more advanced, something that could provide the Borg with huge technological advancements, making them unstoppable
- The pair are saved when Janeway turns up, reminding Seven of her humanity and helping her to get Pedra out and back to Voyager
- Now, the Borg are dead-set on making sure they get their hands on Pedra, and secretly begin to seek out Voyager
- Seven and Pedra reconcile, and Pedra makes Seven promise to not tell the others about what she heard.
- Someone To Watch Over Me begins
- Seven, interested in exploring her newly-realised feelings for Pedra, consults the doctor about dating protocol
- The doctor suggests going on a few practice dates, to get the hang of things. During one of these dates, which goes disastrously, Pedra intervenes, instead taking Seven to the dance floor. The two dance, and Seven shares her worries about fitting in, and about being unable to fully comprehend human emotion. Pedra tells her about Beethoven, a deaf musician who made some of the best music ever composed. He reminds her that just because she is limited does not make her incapable, and given time she will master her emotions. The two share a heartfelt dance together.
- The next day, Seven thanks the Doctor for his advice on dating, telling him it will no longer be required, and that any lessons on human relationships beyond dating would be welcomed.
- Pedra and seven slowly become more and more in tune with each other, forming a strong working relationship as the only two crew members who can keep up with each other. Per Pedra's suggestion, the two bring Naomi along, in order to teach her the basics of Astrometrics. The three become a pseudo-family unit.
- Some time later, whilst in port, Pedra receives a letter from Earth. From a man named John Smith. Deciding to keep it from everyone else, he reads it in his quarters. Burning the letter once he's finished, he steps inside his wardrobe. A minute later, he steps back out. The others notice he's grown a few grey hairs recently. He notes it must be stress. Seven notices that they certainly weren't there earlier that day. She also notices the silver band he is wearing around his middle finger.
- One day, a local colony sends out a distress signal, saying that they are within the vicinity of a borg ship. Voyager arrives only to find that it's a triple fret, the borg are within wrapping range and closing in fast, a meteor shower is heading their way, and worst of all, a Dalek ship also closing in, having traced Voyager
- Janeway wants to evacuate the people immediately, but Pedra notes that they won't likely out-run the borg and the daleks. Instead they should wait for the meteor storm to arrive, destroying both the Daleks and the borg in one swoop. Since the rocks in the shower emit a special type of radiation that is immune to scanning, they won't notice until it’s too late. Then they can sneak out while the enemy are hit from all sides. It also means that they have to draw both armies in, meaning that they would have to place the civilians in danger.
- Without any other plan, Janeway agrees.
- The colony is loaded up on shuttles, stowed on Voyager. Pedra stalls bringing in his shuttle, because he knows the real season the daleks and the borg have converged one them is because of him. He plans to act as bait in one shuttle so that Voyager can get a head start. B'Elanna, hearing his plan, sneaks onto his shuttle and, mid-flight, tries to apprehend him, thinking that he's a double or triple agent wanting to make a getaway.
- The Daleks and the Borg arrive, confronting each other one who gets Pedra. A battle begins, which Pedra draws away from Voyager. B'Elanna incapacitates Pedra, calling Janeway to tell her what she learned from Pedra. Janeway tries to get closer, but the meteor shower arrives, forcing them to leave, quickly.
- B'Elanna goes full throttle, heading as fast she can away from the falling asteroids. Pedra awakes and ties helping her to guide them away. A stray rock hits their engine and they plummet, landing in a deserted patch of land. Their shuttle is pummelled with meteors and dust, but miraculously, it holds.
- The two awake much later.
“B’Elanna? B’Elanna are you alright?"
A moan from the other side of the shuttle told him she was at least alive.
"I’m fine, just bruised… oh!" A hand went to her side. "And maybe a little broken."
Pedra scrambled over to her, assessing the damage.
"A little? Your leg’s broken. You’re lucky it’s a clean break."
"Lucky?" she scoffed. Pedra ignored her.
"Minor fractures, internal bleeding, concussion," he listed gravely. "We need to get you back to Voyager quickly."
"What about you?"
"Well, it hurts everywhere, and I’m feeling hazy," he replied calmly, "but all my limbs are intact, which is more than can be said about you."
"Charming," B'Elanna grumbled. "Well, that settles it, we need to get moving. Urgh!" Her legs faltered as she tried to stand up, sending her straight back down to the floor in a heap.
"Sit still," Pedra commanded, readjusting her into a more comfortable position, "Just for a minute."
Pedra stood, balancing on wobbly legs. He inched precariously over to the main control panel. He carefully assessed the damage. All significant operations were down. All that was left was a few atmospheric detection systems. They all spoke of the same thing. Outside of the shuttle lay a toxic hellscape, fatal to all living things. He chanced a glimpse out of the windshield. Peeking between the tiniest of gaps in the surrounding rock, just creating the nearby valley, he spotted something that made his heart soar.
"Voyager is about 10 miles away," he explained, crunching back over to B'Elanna, "on the other side of this terrain. They can’t get any closer, not without risking the ship. Even for a shuttle, landing here would be... challenging."
"Couldn’t they beam us?"
"No." He shook his head. "I got the spectrometer working again. Nearly 800 Rems at least in the surrounding atmosphere. It’s creating too much noise for the transporter to pierce."
"Well we certainly can’t walk to Voyager, not through 800 Rems, we’d die before we even got there!"
"Unprotected, maybe. Do we have anything that can block the radiation?"
B'Elanna thought for a moment.
"Spacesuits!" she cried. "We can use the spacesuits to shield us from the atmosphere."
Pedra pointed to a cabinet in the corner.
"You mean those spacesuits?"
B'Elanna nodded. Pedra rushed over to the storage compartment, ripping open the door, only for the suits to come crashing to the floor, one of the helmets smashing on the way down.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed. "The fabric’s been pierced! Helmet's shot!"
"Can we still use them?" B'Elanna asked.
"Yes… No..." Pedra agonised, fisting the hair on the back of his neck. "I mean, they could protect us partially, but against ten miles at 800 rems?"
"It’s better than nothing," B'Elanna shrugged weakly.
"It practically is nothing! We go out there with only those to protect us, and we’re dead. And if we wait in here for the crew to find us, you’ll die anyway! If we don’t get you back to the ship in the next few hours, then your injuries will become fatal!"
"It’s the only choice we have! We can’t move! Not the ship, not ourselves, nothing!"
"No. No, no, no," Pedra growled, pacing up and down. "I refuse to believe that. There have to be some safeguards. There has to be! I need to think. Think!" His eyes widened as a lightbulb went off in his head. "Medicine! There has to be some radiation antidote on board."
"‘Radiation antidote’?" B'Elanna parroted sarcastically before a thought occurred to her. "Potassium Iodide! There’ll be some in the ship’s medical package! It’s over there!"
She attempted to point over her shoulder, only for a spark of pain through her leg to intervene.
"Stay put, I’ll get it," Pedra told her. He quickly made his way to the back of the shuttle. He began hurriedly sorting through medical supplies.
"Even if you find some, I doubt there’ll be enough to protect us," B'Elanna pointed out.
"There’ll be more once we get to Voyager."
"If we get to Voyager."
"Always the pessimist, even at rock bottom."
"I’m a realist, not a pessimist."
"Yeah, and I’m a Ferrengi."
"At least a Ferrengi might be able to sell us what we need."
"Sure, and we’d pay them with all the money we currently have lying around."
"I’d laugh, but I think I’ve broken a rib."
"Okay," Pedra sighed, locating the correct box, "here we are."
He opened it, staring inside. He went very, very quiet.
"What is it?" B'Elanna asked from across the room. "What’s wrong?"
Pedra shook his head.
"Nothing, that was relief," he explained, carrying the box over to where she was sitting.
"We have enough?"
"We might just," he said, beginning to lift her off the floor. "Get a suit on."
"You said they’re broken," she pointed out.
"It’s one more layer of protection that we both desperately need right now," he insisted. "We’re wearing them, even if they don’t work."
*
"Okay," Pedra said, wrapping the last of the gaps in sealing tape, "I’ve patched up the suits as best I can."
"Thanks," B'Elanna replied. "Now, the doses."
"Yep. Here’s your’s," he said, handing her a small silver tube. She placed it into the hypospray, injecting it into the curve of her neck.
"Thanks. Now you," she commanded. She sighed irritably as she watched him stare at the remaining dose. "Come on; we’re in a hurry, let’s go. Now you, Pedra!" Still, he didn't move. He continued to stare solemnly at the tube, twirling it in his fingers. B'elanna felt a cold brush of anxiety run along her spine. "Pedra? What’s wrong? What are you hiding?
"There’s only enough Potassium Iodide in these doses to protect two people," he replied.
"Yeah, and we’re two, let’s go!"
"No," he said sharply. "I think we both know that we’re three." B'Elanna's eyes widened as his gaze fell to her abdomen, and a small smile crept upon his face. "I knew. I worked it out a long time ago. It’s why I was so reluctant to let you stay. Congratulations to you both, by the way, I know you must be so happy. It’s a one in a million, that child. Which is why I can’t bring myself to kill it."
"Pedra," B'Elanna said in a small voice, "Is there enough?"
He gazed at her, his eyes penetrating her soul.
"No. One dose would feasibly be enough to protect you, but the fact that you’re pregnant means that the antidote is being shared between two organisms. The dose you just had isn’t big enough for the both of you, not at this stage. And we can’t share this one. This is all we've got. One shot. If I take this dose, I’d condemning you both. If I give you the dose, there’ll be nothing for me."
"And you’ll die."
He shrugged.
"Yeah…"
"Look, Pedra," B'Elanna offered, "let me go. I’ll make my way to Voyager—"
"On a broken leg, with a concussion?" he scoffed. "No. Without me, you wouldn’t make it five miles, let alone ten."
"Then leave me. Go by yourself; Voyager can rescue me later."
"It’ll take too long, that is if the internal bleeding doesn’t kill you. A rupture in the ship’s hull would. It’s a miracle that this shuttle has lasted as long as it has, you willing to chance another six hours? Even so, how the hell are we meant to find you again?"
"So I’m just supposed to let you die?" she said sharply, feeling her anger begin to rise. "Is that what you want me to do?"
"I’m saying that there’s a better chance that we all make it back to Voyager if you take the second dose."
"You seriously think you can survive hiking ten miles through a radioactive wasteland without protection?"
"Yeah…" he tried to argue, but even he looked unconvinced. "No, not really."
B'Elanna sighed wearily.
"Why does it have to me who survives, huh? Why do you have to sacrifice yourself?"
"I’m not the one who has a family to live for," he said pointedly.
"Aren’t you?" she challenged. "You seriously think that people could care less if you didn’t come back? Like no one on Voyager would miss you?"
"It’s certainly easier to believe than the alternative."
"And what’s that?"
"That I’m about to disappoint a lot of people very dear to me."
B'Elanna couldn't help the sardonic smirk that twisted her lips.
"And I thought I was the one who had trouble letting people in." She rested her hands on his shoulder, properly addressing him. "This isn’t a clear choice, Pedra; stop pretending like it is. I know that I have someone relying on me; I’m their last line of defence against the outside world. I feel that every day… and it’s terrifying. I know that I have someone waiting for me back on Voyager, maybe more people than you have, but that does not mean that my life is more valuable than yours."
"B’Elanna…" he tried to intervene, but she was having none of it.
"You’re asking me to sacrifice my crewmate. That’s not a choice I can make lightly."
He nodded.
"I know. It isn’t." The sound of a hypospray caught her ears. "But it was never your choice to make."
A slight sting erupted in the side of her neck as a hefty dose of sedative began coursing through her veins. Her eyes widened.
"Urgh! Pedra… no… don’t…"
"I’m sorry," he said. "I’m really, really sorry about this."
"Bastard…" she ground out, her legs beginning to fail her. "Why? I never…"
"You never asked for this, I know," he echoed, crouching down, so they were at eye level. "You didn’t want this. This wasn’t your fault. But you’ll understand why soon enough. Trust me; this was the only way we were both getting out of this."
"No… Pedra…" The light was slowly leaving her eyes as the sedative came crashing down on her.
"Tell them you tried to talk me out of this," he said. "Tell them that this was the only option left. Tell them the truth. I think this is it, B’Elanna. This might really be it. But this isn’t the end, I know it. This is not how it ends for us."
"How… y…"
"I made a promise, B’Elanna, to a good man, a long time ago. I can’t break it. Not now."
That was the last thing she heard as the drugs finally ripped her out of consciousness. The feeling of another dose of Potassium Iodide being injected into her was the last sensation B'Elanna felt for a while.
- Pedra gives the last of the radiation antidote to B'Elanna and the baby and helps carry her through the toxic rubble, towards Voyager
- Pedra gets to B'Elanna to Voyager - she is burned and bruised but physically healthy, and so is the child. Pedra is heavily burned and close to death from radiation poisoning
- The medical staff immediately begin surgery on Pedra and B'Elanna, including a distraught Seven
- Tom is eternally grateful to Pedra, for saving not only B'Elanna but his unborn son and decides to name it after him
- B'Elanna begrudgingly agrees
- During the operation, Pedra's heart stops completely, rendering him dead for a full minute.
- After many tries to resuscitate him, his heart begins beating again, twice as fast, and he begins healing
- Seven is overjoyed; the Doctor is both confused and relieved
- Pedra begins his recovery, comatose until one day...
A sharp intake of breath alerted the doctor to life. The Doctor looked up from his tablet, staring across the room to the source, and found what should have been an unconscious patient.
"Pedra?" the doctor asked.
Pedra shot up in bed, his breathing heavy and laboured. The Doctor ran to his side, a wet towel in one hand and a hypo-spray in the other.
"Pedra!" he called, trying to alleviate the ensign's panic. Pedra continued to fight him, a cold sweat permeating on his brow, his voice hoarse. The doctor placed the hypospray against his patient's neck and injected. "Pedra! Calm!"
The diluted sedative started to take effect, as Pedra began to calm from his frenzy slowly. He lay back down, trying to even his breath. Groggily, he opened his eyes and turned toward the doctor.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The excess radiation in your system had caused organ shutdown. You almost didn't make it," the doctor explained. "Very luckily for you, I managed to resuscitate you and keep you somewhat stable. Of course, it wasn't a perfect job. You'll still have some scar tissue from the burns, but that can be quickly remedied."
Pedra took a small mirror from his bedside table, angling it towards his face. The image presented to him depicted his face covered with severe burns. His unburnt skin was pale and shallow. He looked like hell. But he was alive. 'Only just,' he scoffed mentally. He sighed and thanked the doctor.
"Don't thank me," the doctor said, "thank your quite frankly miraculous healing capacities. You've recovered consciousness a full month before you're meant to. I'm surprised you're even responsive, let alone awake."
"I guess I'm more durable than I thought," Pedra chuckled, trying to get out of bed. He stumbled, his legs faltered, and his arms shook as he attempted heaving himself back onto the bed. The doctor patiently lifted him back onto the mattress.
"I shouldn't bother," the doctor said. "You're going to need your rest. You've still got a lot of recovering to do."
"But Seven--"
"I've called her," the Doctor reassured him. "She'll be here in a minute. She's been very anxious to see you recently, I can tell."
Sure enough, the doors to the medical bay opened, revealing the blonde officer. She looked toward Pedra's bed and, noticing that he was awake, strode over to him, a look of deep concern adorning her face. He straightened up and smiled weakly. She smiled back to him, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. The doctor chalked it down to tiredness, most likely. The days Pedra had spent in the medical bay under the doctor's supervision were some of the longest she had ever spent, literally and figuratively. After all of her work was done, instead of going to her bay for an early regeneration, she would sit by his bed and look upon his fragile form. A few times, the doctor had forced out of the sickbay, mandating her to get some regeneration time for the sake of her health. Sometimes she would talk to Pedra in his comatose state, about her day, or others, or about how Voyager was holding up without him. Other times she would simply sit and watch him breathe. Seven had missed a lot of things about him. Their conversations, their debates, their games of chess or Kadis Kot, but most importantly, Seven had missed him. The doctor didn't doubt it one bit. None of the crew did. Suffice to say her image as a cold, emotionless drone had been well and truly shattered in the eyes of her fellow officers.
Pedra faintly beckoned her into an embrace, holding his arm up for her. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug; he reciprocated, albeit weakly. He found himself leaning on her slightly, allowing himself to absorb the feeling of her body against his, and of her head resting below his chin. Both of them had their eyes closed, his for lack of energy, and her for lack of composure.
"I was not sure if you would survive," she admitted softly in a voice that was very unlike her.
"Me neither," he replied honestly. He squeezed her lightly. "I'm glad you're here."
"I came as quickly as I could," she explained. When she had received the doctor's call that he had finally awoken, she had been talking to B'Elanna about the EPS manifolds. B'Elanna had let her leave early. She had told her to go to him. The sentiment was not lost on Seven.
"Seven," Pedra croaked, "I just wanted you to know... how... how proud I am of you. And how much... how much I... how much I love you. Because I came very close to not being able to say, I almost missed my chance."
"Your feelings are reciprocated," she replied. Pedra nodded. From her lips, those four words meant the universe to him. She released Pedra from her embrace to look upon his complexion, and the face she had almost lost. It was marred, imperfect. Beautiful. The corner of her lips curled into a smile. "Naomi has been waiting for you to wake up."
"Has she now?" he chuckled.
"She has asked to see you every day," Seven explained. "Neelix didn't want to, just in case you..."
Pedra sighed. Neelix did always make a habit of trying to shield Naomi from the ugliness of life. He understood, of course. Having another parental figure die on her would have caused a lot of pain for the young girl.
"Well, now I can see her," Pedra smiled, "and we can finish that book."
"May I join you?" Seven asked.
"Don't tell me you're finally getting invested in the story, Seven."
"My investment has mostly been in you."
Pedra's face cracked into a wide grin, his eyes shining. He took her hand and gave it a small brush over his lips.
"Likewise, my dear."
She allowed her cheeks to flush at the compliment. It pleased her that they had once again fallen back into their rhythm of flirtation and affection so quickly. It was a small comfort and a precursor to recover. Perhaps, after all the chaos, this was a sign that things could indeed go back to normal.
Once again, the doors of the medical bay slid open, to reveal the Captain and Chakotay. Pedra tried to stand, but Janeway held her hand up.
"At ease, Ensign," she called. "You've done enough."
Pedra relaxed against the bed, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"We're simply here to congratulate you," Janeway explained, "for immense bravery in the face of adversity, and for saving the life of our chief engineer and her unborn son."
"And," Chakotay continued, "in honour of your efforts, we'll be holding a ceremony in the mess hall for your promotion."
Pedra smiled at the news before his eyes widened, and he sat up in surprise.
"Promotion?" he asked.
"Indeed," Janeway replied with a radiant smile. "After all you've done for us and the ship, we thought it was about time to give you the proper recognition."
Pedra let his feet touch the med bay floor as he stared at the couple in awe. For once, he had absolutely nothing to say. The two officers chuckled at his predicament, while the doctor smiled on with pride. Pedra turned toward Seven, who had a minute grin on her lips.
"Did you know?" he asked with a hint of mirth.
"I may have been privy to the information," Seven replied cryptically. Pedra laughed. A real, perfect laugh. The first in a long time.
"The idea had been in the works for some time," Janeway said, "However recent events have accelerated proceedings, somewhat. After what you did against the Daleks and the Borg, and your efforts in saving B'Elanna and her unborn son, your promotion was all but guaranteed."
"Oh, my," Pedra gasped, holding his head in his hands. The group gave a hearty chuckle at the man's predicament. "I can't believe it."
"Well, you should," Chakotay said. "You've more than earned it." He reached over and placed a fork hand on Pedra's shoulder. "You're more than crew now. You're family."
"Hear, hear!" Janeway cried. Pedra smiled, his hand going back up to his face.
"It's like I'm dreaming," he said.
- During his promotion, Pedra gives a long and emotional speech about his time on Voyager, and how he was happy to serve every single one of the people on board, even if they weren't always that enthused about doing the same.
The group chuckled once again as Pedra pulled his hand across his face, laughing heartily. He removed it to carry on speaking, and the laughter stopped. Confused as to why, Pedra looked up at the audience, to see everyone staring directly at him. Their faces were set in varying states of shock, awe and confusion. He frowned. His brow furrowed.
"What?" he asked, his eyes darting round to each person, looking for an answer.
The doctor seemed to find his voice first.
"Pedra," he trembled, "Your burns."
"Wh... what about them?" he asked.
"They're... gone," Janeway gasped.
Pedra stood stiff, unsure of how to respond. He glanced down at his hand. The scars that had accumulated through years of adventures had vanished. His hand was brand new. Younger, smoother. He quickly checked his other hand. It was the same; clean and healthy. And it was glowing. Only in the middle of the palm, a small but pertinent spark of fire, but it was enough. Pedra closed his fist slowly. He slowly looked back to the awaiting audience. He smiled solemnly.
"Of course," he finally whispered.
"Pardon?" the doctor asked. Pedra glanced to his side, where Seven was staring at his closed fist. She had seen it too. She looked into his eyes, almost as if begging, screaming, without uttering a sound. It was a look that cut Pedra to the bone.
"You said it was a miracle that I survived," Pedra asked the audience rhetorically. Janeway mainly seemed taken aback.
"Yes... the chances of you living were minimal at best," she elaborated.
"Yes, they were," the doctor continued, "But--"
"I didn't."
Confusion spread through the crowd.
"I'm sorry, what did--"
"I didn't survive," Pedra explained. "I died that day. You didn't save me."
Nobody knew what was going on, what to say, what to do but stare. The information they were being told made zero sense. How could he be dead? He was standing right there, speaking to them. His heart was beating; his lungs were breathing.
"But," Tom interjected, "I was there, I helped perform the surgery. You didn't die! You couldn't have! I helped restart your heart. "
"Hearts," Pedra corrected. "You helped restart my hearts."
"Hearts?" Janeway pondered.
And then it clicked. Her eyes widened. Her pulse trebled.
It's all in the initials. Pedra Horatio Dravik. PhD. A doctorate.
"You always wondered why the Doctor wasn't here," Pedra laughed morosely, "why he never bothered to show up." He glanced to B'Elanna, who was staring dumbly at him. "I think it's about time I came clean."
"No," Seven choked.
"What? What's going on?" Chakotay asked.
Pedra stood tall, readjusting his uniform. He detached his badge from his shirt with a firm tug. He examined it fondly, as the artificial light of the Mess Hall's lamps glinted on its metallic surface. The emblem on its face was strangely alluring to him, in a nostalgic sort of way. It beckoned good memories of a life that was coming to a close. He dropped it decisively onto the nearest table.
"I'm sad to announce my resignation from the position of Ensign on the StarShip Voyager due to unforeseen circumstances. It seems that a previous occupation has demanded my return."
He held his hand up for all to see. It began to glow. Tiny particles of light flowed from his flesh like sand caught in a stream. It gave off a deep orange luminescence, and an intense heat that the awe-stricken audience could feel even from several feet away, similar to if it were made of fire. A fire reminiscent to the one he was born in; a fire from which he would be born anew; a fire that marked an ending and a beginning.
Pedra spoke once more to his friends and family. All the years of his long, long life gave the sound purpose. Purpose befitting a healer.
“Don’t worry. The Doctor is on their way."
- Pedra resigns, saying his goodbyes to each of the crew. He gives Seven an old ring, the one that he had been wearing since he got back, telling her that it's her's, for when she gets back to Earth
- The two share one last kiss, allowing him to leave in the TARDIS
- When Seven arrives back on Earth, she is met by Pedra, a past Pedra from before the battle with the Daleks and the Brog, just after he received his letter. He said inside the letter were instructions, telling him about what was about to happen, and that, if he wanted a life with Seven, he was to travel to the future Earth and live with her there. Seven gives him the ring that future Pedra gave to her, and he wears it
- The two, along with Naomi, live a long life of marital bliss, raising Naomi. Eventually, when Seven finally passes away, she gives him her wedding ring, to give back to her, to give to him. Their two weddings rings are the same ring at different points in its timestream.
- Pedra leaves, going back to the past, having gained a few more grey hairs. This means that the Pedra that sacrificed himself was a version having lived a full life, so when he finally begins to regenerate, he's happy to go.
- Pedra departs and regenerates inside the TARDIS. His final words are "To boldly go where no one has gone before. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't join up sooner. We're all voyagers, in a way. Running down one long path, together. And when we get there... Isn’t that what we all try to do, in the end? To Boldly Go...?" Pedra fades away, replaced by another version of the Doctor, the Gallifreyan persona reinstated, refreshed and ready to continue on adventures.