All I Can Taste 02

by Diana Anderson
 

Seven swam in inky darkness again, vaguely aware of what was going on around her.   Finally, she felt like she was falling deeper, dissolving into another state.  She could feel a cool breeze touch her cheek and she could smell rain fresh air around her.  Warm sunlight touched her skin and she could feel the warmth soaking into her skin. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and saw a field of flowers around her.
She was on a high mountain and she could see the ocean below and smell the salt in the water.  She smiled broadly and looked up at the sky to watch the clouds float by.  It was perfection.  Laughter bubbled up inside her and she let it overtake her.

"I don't have a solution as of yet.  I have traced the problem to one of her implants which is in the spine at the base of her neck.  It's sending erroneous signals along the synapsis here, which is creating the pain she's experiencing.  I've tried an inhibitor but it can't track down the exact nerve endings that are being affected.  That's all I know right now."  the Doctor turned off the display and turned to look at Janeway and Chakotay.  He wasn't sure why the first officer was there, probably for moral support.  The captain was as visibly shaken as he had seen her in a long time.
 

"Is it...is it possible that she's rejecting the implant?"
 

"It is a possibility, but right now I'm leaning more towards a
malfunction of some type."               

"The fever?  Why does she have a fever?"

"I'm not sure."
 

"Why haven't you given her anything to bring it down?"
 

"Because it might be a good thing.  Fevers are the body's way of fighting infections, killing viruses....at this point I want to let the fever run  it's course, her body might need it for some reason.  If it gets too high I'll bring it down."  He turned back to the display which was monitoring Seven's every life sign from the captain's quarters, where she was now, tucked away in Janeway's bed.     Kathryn had been insistent on moving Seven to someplace comfortable, Seven's pleas had torn at her deeply.  She said she was perfectly willing to keep her in her quarters on long as necessary, she could sleep on the couch.


"She's no longer under sedation, she's just slipped into R.E.M. sleep."  The Doctor commented
.    

"Keep working on it, Doctor."  Janeway turned and marched out of the sick bay, Chakotay attempting to keep up with her quick strides.
 

"Kathryn...Kathryn!"  He grabbed her by the elbow.     She turned to look at him, the walls going up. "I'll take the bridge for the rest of the day if you need me to."
 

"I ...would appreciate that.  I need to talk to you later, though." She patted his hand and headed to her quarters.

Seven stood on the cliff overlooking the ocean.  Maybe she was dead. Nonsense.  Death meant no brain function, nothing.  She was dreaming. An urge overtook her.  She backed up a few steps and began to run as fast as she could.  She launched off the cliff and was suspended mid air, hovering like a kite, the breeze ruffling her hair.  She could see the waves crashing below and tried to move lower towards them when the air turned suddenly chilly.
 

She awoke with a start, her body shaking and drenched with sweat. Something cool was on her forehead. "Shhh...it's alright.  I'm just trying to cool you off a little." Janeway was wiping her face with a wet cloth.     Now only her lower extremities were in agony and she did her best not to move them.

"The doctor thinks one of your implants is malfunctioning but he doesn't know how to fix it just yet.  He's afraid pain killers may cause further damage and he tried an inhibitor but it didn't seem to work."
 

She swallowed.  "I'm low on electrolytes."    Kathryn got her a glass of juice.  Seven couldn't sit up in bed so she did her best to dink it through a straw.
 

"Does it still hurt?"
 

"Just waist down....I think I am becoming delirious.  I had a
dream I was in a field with flowers.  I think it was on Earth, but I've never been on Earth.  I know it's Starfleet protocol for crew members to have last will and testaments prepared, should I prepare one now?  I want to be in accordance, but I have no belongings to--"    

"Seven, you're not going to die."
 

"But eventually you will deactivate me, I am malfunctioning,
inefficient."

"This is not a Borg cube, you know I'd never do that.  Besides. I couldn't function properly without you," she smiled.
 

Seven seemed a little surprised by the comment, surprised
enough to forget about the pain she was in for a few seconds. Kathryn continued to gingerly run the cool rag over her skin until Seven drifted off to sleep again.
 

A few hours later Janeway sat in her ready room, looking
intently down at her view screen.  She was studying Seven of Nine's personnel record.  For a moment she wondered if Voyager would even still be making it's way home if it wasn't for Seven.  The young women had pulled their asses out of the fire on many occasions.  Janeway had always chalked it up to the Borg in her, functioning to capacity as a
member of a new collective, but that was inaccurate.  If Seven had wanted to she could have never become part of the crew and stayed locked away in cargo bay 2.  It was loyalty.              

When the Think Tank had tried to recruit Seven she was terrified she would actually leave, and had felt a certain thrill when the young woman had turned down their offer, perhaps seeing then with more clarity than any of the rest of the crew had at that point.
   

The chime on her door sounded and she looked up from her reading. "Come in."     Her dark haired first officer entered, giving her a gentle smile.
 

"I thought I told you to take the day off."
 

"I wanted to leave Seven to herself for a while.  She needs to sleep if she can, it's better than lying there in agony.  She keeps talking about dying and I...I don't know what to do.  I never realized how much she has done for this ship, I was just looking over her file."

"Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone."
 

"I can't imagine this ship being without her, I really can't.  I
know she can be difficult and rubs a lot of people the wrong way but I'm not ready to loose her."    

"Are you talking about the ship or yourself, Kathryn?"
 

She smiled ruefully.  "A little of both, I suppose.   She's a part of me somehow.  Anyway, I--"
  

"Hold on, you're changing the subject."
 

"Captain's prerogative."
 

Part 3