Part 05

The doctor had done nothing but stare at her for hours. She had given serious thought to de-activating him on more then one occasion. It would be so easy to say those words to the computer that would alleviate her of his bothersome presence.

But the Captain knew that she couldn't send him away. Seven needed him. And truthfully, so did she.

If he hadn't insisted on sedating her, she didn't know what would have happened. There had been these terrible moments when her breath had caught in her throat. Her heart had hammered away in her chest beating a rhythm that was far more spastic then melodic. And her mind had suffered for it.

All at once, the drab walls of sickbay had closed in all around her. The doctor's voice seemed to be riding off just somewhere in the distance. And then he loomed above her with gigantically distorted features.

But no matter what she did, Kathryn couldn't quite seem to clear her vision. Her hearing, well that was swiftly fading as well. And before the Captain knew it, she seemed to have locked herself away in a black world that only she could see.

And yet the Doctor, with his ever present hypo spray, had managed to rouse her from the darkness. Suddenly, the soft lights of sickbay returned. His voice sounded muted and somehow gently soothing. And she was once again fully aware of her surroundings.

"Captain?" The Doctor asked trying once again to garner his commanding officer's attention.

He knew that the woman needed her rest. She needed time to regroup. But unfortunately, Voyager had her demands as well. And the ship was avidly searching for her Captain.

"Commander Chakotay has asked for you now at least five different times. I told him that I wasn't about to release you unless it was an emergency situation. But he seems to think that you need to see this." The doctor said trying to use his softest voice.

It was rare, but on occasion one of his patients actually required him to be gentle and tender. Luckily his programming allowed for it, even if only on the most rare of occasions. He much preferred to use his quick sardonic wit to alleviate his patients of their troublesome worries.

But this was a desperate time. The Captain and Seven had been back from the planet's surface for a little over six hours. Everyone on board wanted to know what happened. Everyone wanted to gawk, point, and churn up gossip for Voyager's lightning fast rumor mill.

But he wouldn't allow it. The Captain and Seven were in no shape for visitors. And despite how he felt about the Captain's decision to act in accordance with Y'rian law, he couldn't deny that she was suffering greatly as well.

He sat behind his desk and watched as the Captain perused the data padd he had handed her. Her eyes scanned the small screen but he could easily tell that the information wasn't penetrating through to her mind. Her pupils were still quite unresponsive. He had even been forced to lower the lights of sickbay to make her more comfortable.

Although, given the amount of sedative he had been forced to use on her it was only natural that she should have such an ocular side effect. But it was more then just a biological problem. He could tell that her thoughts were distracted. When human's read their eyes follow a simple back and forth pattern that anyone could recognize.

But at the moment, his Captain was only giving the screen one long hard blank stare. And he knew why. With Seven still unconscious her thoughts were naturally filled with more important matters.

"See, I told you. It's nothing that can't wait. Just some requests for sensor time, an inventory notation from Neelix, and a few missing supplies in engineering? It's nothing that you need concern yourself with. I'll tell the Commander that you'll deal with it later." The EMH said, gently taking the padd from her loose and trembling hand.

Frankly, the doctor was more then a little annoyed with the first officer. His calls to sickbay had been incessant. He had dutifully informed the man that both the Captain and former Borg drone were healthy and suffering from only minor injuries. There was no need for concern.

But the doctor wasn't foolish. He knew more then enough about human behavior to recognize idle curiosity when he saw it. They all wanted to see Seven. They all wanted to know how she would react to being around Janeway. The crew had even placed bets on it.

And the doctor was doing everything in his power to keep that little nugget of information away from both the Captain and the drone. Neither could handle knowing that they were the subject of ship wide gossip and speculation. Although both could easily assume ramped gossip to be the case. They were no strangers to life aboard Voyager. They both knew how hard up the crew could become for entertainment in any form.

Truthfully, the doctor himself was more then a little curious for the details of the ceremony. Although, he did have the reports of a medical tricorder to give him all the latest information. From all of his diagnostic equipment, he had learned that the ceremony had in fact been carried out. Seven had a torn hymen and vaginal bruising to prove it.

Despite the harshness of what must have happened, he had to admit that the drone was doing surprisingly well otherwise. The Captain had told him that Seven had been restrained for quite some period of time. There was evidence of slight contusions around both wrists and ankles. But all evidence of injury had easily been repaired with a few swipes of his dermal regenerator.

But those injuries told him that Seven had fought her captors. And inwardly he couldn't be more proud of his Borg student. But he would never say that to the Captain. It was more then apparent that she was in no condition for verbal sparring.

The Captain, upon her immediate beam into sickbay, had in fact been in near perfect health. Her bottom lip was bruised, swollen, and split open. And after a quick glance at his tricorder, he knew that Seven had bit right through the older woman's tender flesh.

He had healed her injury without comment or question. He had set out to work on making both women comfortable. And everything had been going so well, that is until Seven woke up.

"What happened?" He had asked the Captain when Seven had arrived unconscious.

"I don't know?she just fainted." The Captain answered, trying to ignore the coppery taste of her own blood filling her mouth.

Seven had hurt her. The bite had been unexpected and brutal. But Kathryn couldn't blame her for one minute. She felt like she deserved it.

Truthfully, the stoic woman felt that she deserved far worse then a simple split lip. The things that she had done to Seven were unforgivable. The innocence that she had stolen could never be returned. But the worst part had to be the sheer fact that despite her moral outrage? Despite her emotional turmoil?Some dark part of her had actually taken pleasure from the conquer of Seven's naked flesh.

Part 06

"It appears that our drone had a panic attack. It's nothing serious. She'll wake soon." The doctor mumbled going about the task of repairing the drone's minor injuries.

There was really nothing of concern. Seven would be fine. Although the fact that she had suffered a panic attack led him to believe that some extended regeneration time may be in order. Nothing seemed to sooth and focus the drone like quality time in her alcove.

Silence had filled sickbay for many long moments as the doctor had finished with the drone and moved onto the Captain. Janeway had been suffering extreme anxiety. And the EHM had been most concerned with the obvious overt stress of his Captain.

"I'm going to give you a sedative. I want you to sleep. For at least eight hours." The doctor said in his sternest voice.

The Captain was quite conceivably his worst patient. She never listened to his advice or orders. And truthfully, she was the very last person that he wanted to be taking care of. Seven was his friend. His loyalty was to the drone. But all his medical subroutines wouldn't allow him to ignore the plight of any obviously distressed woman.

"No, I'm fine. I'm going back to my quarters. Inform me when Seven wakes." The Captain had uttered trying her best to flee sickbay as quickly as possible.

But she hadn't moved fast enough. The drone had awakened without either hologram or Captain being aware of it. She had lain there, prone and perfectly still. She had been waiting for her moment.

And when it arrived, only the doctor's holographic reflexes had been able to save the Captain. Seven had moved so fast that even the doctor had almost missed her. It happened just as the Captain stood to go back to her quarters. She had walked away from her biobed and neared the entrance to the medical bay.

That's when Seven had seized the moment. She had the perfect opportunity. Janeway was right in front of her and absolutely nothing stood in her path.

She had reared up off the bed with an angry scream. The doctor had been so surprised by her movement and her call of rage that he only stood frozen, rooted to the spot. The Captain had also remained stock still, keeping her back to the angry scream of the drone. But she had remained immobile out of fear. Her body suddenly seemed crippled with the gut-wrenching pangs of terror.

And that had been all the leeway that Seven needed. She jumped from the bed using both her Borg reflexes and strength. Quickly she had descended on the small red-haired woman that at one time she considered to be her most trusted friend.

Before Janeway could even utter a word, Seven had knocked her firmly to the ground. Easily, she had mounted the woman landing several well placed smacks before the doctor finally found his bearings. Luckily, he reached the women just in time. One second longer and Seven would have taken her steely Borg implant to the side of her Captain's skull.

Seven had screamed such ugly things in those moments. And Janeway had felt like she deserved each and every one. That's why the Captain hadn't even tried to defend herself. Oh, she knew that logically there was little she could do against Seven's superior physiology.

But that shouldn't have stopped her from trying. Instead, the Captain had just lain there more then willing to accept whatever punishment Seven doled out. And she couldn't help but admit that she was more then a little upset when the doctor had intervened. Just a few more moments and her outsides would have hurt just as bad as the aching torment welling within her heart.

But the EMH had dutifully risen to the occasion. Swiftly, he had administered a large dose of tranquilizers to the enraged Borg drone. And instantly, she had fallen unconscious into his arms. Carefully he had taken her back to the biobed and lowered a security force field to keep her in place. But he couldn't keep her unconscious forever.

And now, when he looked her over he wondered if she wasn't once again feigning rest. The sedative should have worn off by now. But she hadn't moved a single inch now in hours.

He wondered if she wasn't waiting for the Captain to leave or for Tuvok to arrive. Instantly, he tapped his comm badge to inform the Lieutenant of a security threat. But Janeway had immediately stopped him.

In the span of a few short nanoseconds the drone could have very nearly caused the smaller woman irreparable harm. Just one more perfectly aimed impossibly strong hit and the Captain would have been damaged, permanently. But the doctor had easily repaired her external bruising. It was her emotional state that had him the most worried.

It wasn't like the Captain to ignore such an obvious threat to her well being. But she had ordered him not to call security. She wanted no record of Seven's outburst. No actions were to be taken.

And the doctor had mutely agreed wondering if he wasn't witnessing some strange form of self-inflicted punishment. The Captain, though physically healed after only a few short moments, had completely broken down mentally. He had watched as she began to succumb to the familiar symptoms of a panic attack. And if the situation weren't so terribly strained and bleak, he might have noted with his razor sharp sardonic wit that Voyager seemed to be experiencing a panic outbreak.

But he held his tongue. Now wasn't the time for witticisms or sarcasm. Now was the time for gentle understanding. So he had kept the Captain within eyeshot for the better part of several hours. He wanted to monitor her vitals. He wanted to make sure that she didn't have another 'episode.'

And what he saw was far less then encouraging. The Captain had completely retreated into herself and nothing he did seemed to rouse her. Every question he asked she simply ignored. The only thing she did was stare, at the resting form of Seven of Nine.

"I'm going to go check on her. She should be awake by now." He said leaving the Captain in his office.

Easily, he slipped through the force field ready to encounter an angry drone. But Seven gave no notice to his presence. And his tricorder quickly told him why. Despite her Borg technology and perchance to regenerate, the drone had managed to fall asleep. And at the moment, the doctor had no intention of waking her. Sleep would certainly do her a world of good.

"How is she?" The Captain softly asked finally breaking her silence.

"She's fine. She's fast asleep." The doctor answered thinking that the Captain could use some rest herself.

"Captain?" He began wondering if she would even be able to talk about what happened on the planet's surface.

It was clear that both captain and drone had been deeply traumatized by the events. But the things that Seven had said. The words she had screamed at the Captain.

Well, the doctor just couldn't even imagine such things being true about Captain Janeway. It was certainly accurate that at times, they didn't see eye to eye. But he simply couldn't fathom the possibility that Janeway had done those things that Seven had accused her of.

"I don't want to talk about it Doctor." The Captain snapped easily hearing the tones of curiosity entering his voice.

"I understand. But all those things that Seven said? Those aren't true, are they?" He asked desperately hoping that somehow he could still find a way to respect his commanding officer.

If even a portion of what Seven said was true, he didn't know how he would ever maintain respect for Kathryn Janeway. If Janeway was capable of those things, he didn't know how Voyager would even continue to function.

"Doctor, I want to be notified the second that she wakes." The Captain said quickly disregarding everything that he had asked. She rushed to the doors of sickbay with the EMH following closely at her heels.

"And please inform Commander Chakotay that I'll be on medical leave for the next three days. I don't want to be disturbed for anything less then a full-out alien battle." The Captain warned and right then the doctor grew weary. His leader never asked for time off. And if she was willingly taking herself off the bridge, he knew that trouble was definitely looming somewhere in the horizon.

"Yes, of course." He muttered knowing that it would be pointless to ask her for any more information. He would just have to wait for Seven to awaken. Surely she would be more forthcoming. So, he stood there and watched as the doors to the medical bay swung open. She didn't walk through them though. She stood there, simply hovering somewhere between Voyager and her obvious pain.

"It's true. Everything she said is true." The Captain muttered before spinning on her heel to flee.

The doctor stood there shocked and horrified by her words. He couldn't help but rush to Seven's side and place a protective hand on her arm. Janeway had hurt the drone more then he had ever begun to imagine. He had no idea that his Captain was capable of such despicable actions.

And as he looked down at Seven's sleeping face, he just didn't know how she was going to survive something this traumatic. He certainly didn't have the necessary programming to aid her during her emotional recovery. And frankly, he doubted if Tuvok did either. He just didn't know how Seven was going to move past this.

Truthfully, he didn't know how Voyager would ever heal from this. Something this traumatic would surely rip through the crew with a vigorous hunger. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew. And it was only a matter of time before everyone blamed Janeway.

Part 07

"Has she gone?" Seven asked awakening to the dim lights of sickbay. She glanced around nervously expecting to see her tormentor appear at any given moment. But instead of the hard stare of Kathryn Janeway she only found the troubled eyes of the resident EMH.

"I assume you're referring to the captain? Well, yes she's gone. She went back to her quarters a little while ago." The doctor answered in the soft tones of one who was clearly uncomfortable and unsure.

And Seven couldn't help but find the tone a bit odd coming from the doctor. If anyone on Voyager was self-assured, confident, and perhaps even a bit egotistic it was the EMH. But now, he seemed reticent and unsure.

But the drone could clearly understand why. The circumstance was one that brought only discomfort and anguish to those involved. And briefly, Seven regretted her earlier outburst.

Attempting to physically assault the captain was foolish and certainly ill advised. But she didn't regret her actions. Truly she would have liked nothing better then to wrap her hands firmly around the tiny woman's throat.

But she regretted putting the doctor in the middle of it all. He had been forced to intervene. And it was an uncomfortable position that Seven would have chosen to spare her friend.

"I will be on my way then." Seven stated in a soft but firm manner.

She tried to push herself away from the biobed only to have the doctor gently push her back to its surface. She knew what was coming. She only wished that he would simply let her go. She didn't want to have to hear him explain the fine subtle nuances of her punishment. She already knew that the prudent course would be to head directly to the brig. And the drone had every intention of doing just that. In a way, she was actually looking forward to the uninterrupted time alone.

"Not so fast? You've been through a terrible ordeal." The doctor said trying his best to sound sympathetic and sincere. Seven was one of his only true friends. And he would have done nearly anything to save her such trauma and pain.

"Yes." Seven softly stated, swallowing down the invisible lump of her tears. She hated the human compunction to cry.

And she absolutely refused to indulge such an impulse in front of the doctor. It's not that she didn't think he would understand. He would probably even attempt to offer his support.

It was simply a manner of humanity. She knew that to him, tears would be seen as a giant leap forward in her quest to become more human. Her time, her torture, and her humiliation with the captain had unearthed a wide berth of humanity that the drone had thought long gone.

But now that it was back. Now that she had her emotions she was beginning to miss the white peace of numbness. This was agony and if this was humanity; Seven found herself sorely missing the personal obliteration of the hive mind.

"Can you tell me about it? Can you tell me what happened?" The doctor asked looking down at her with sincere earnest and a touch of shame. She knew that if anyone had voiced an objection to the captain's decision it would have been the doctor. He had no reason to feel ashamed.

But she did. She had every reason in the world to burn with the quickened flame of raw humiliation. Even now, as she lay in the safety of sickbay she couldn't quiet the memory of the captain's hands moving across her body. And in that instant, Seven wanted desperately to regenerate. She could still smell the captain's scent lingering on her form. She wanted the odor gone because now, it was simply intolerable.

"Seven, I'm sorry. It's too soon. I shouldn't have asked." The doctor quickly said watching the dire agony cross the drone's features.

He had never seen her quite so distraught. And during their acquaintance, Seven had been through so much. He hated the cruel irony that the captain was the cause of Seven's torment. Janeway had been everything from Seven's confidant, tutor to even a bit of a surrogate mother. He despised the cruel twist of fate that forced Janeway to betray Seven in the name of Starfleet. It was something that he found unbearable. But he suspected that to Seven, she found the situation nothing short of horrific.

"I must go. Is Lt. Tuvok waiting to escort me to the brig?" Seven asked wondering if the Vulcan had been put in charge of her security detail.

"What? No, no Seven? The captain ordered me not to contact security. There's to be no official record of what happened. It seems that the captain wants to see to the matter personally." The doctor said voicing the words that he knew would provide the drone little comfort.

"I see. And just how does the captain intend to punish me? What else could she possibly do?" Seven asked letting her trembling tone betray a cold fear.

"I don't know. She didn't say. I was supposed to let her know as soon as you started to wake. But I wanted to make sure you were all right first." The doctor answered explaining away his brief departure from explicit orders.

"Don't! Please don't call her? I need to regenerate." Seven said sounding like nothing more then a frightened little child.

"Why? Are you injured?" The doctor asked immediately flipping open his palmed tricorder.

But after a quick split second scan he could see nothing medically wrong with the drone. His abilities had remained perfect. He had dutifully and successfully healed all her injuries.

Yet, when he looked in her eyes he saw the truth. She needed the mental respite of a long uninterrupted regeneration. She needed quietness and some time alone. And as her doctor, he felt obligated to care for her mental health as well.

"Of course? But I'll still need to notify the captain that you've been discharged from sickbay." The doctor said thinking the matter closed as he walked back to his office to contact Janeway.

But a shaking hand on his shoulder stopped his motions. He turned to see Seven staring at him with something akin to terror. And in that moment he knew that he had never seen her so weak or so beautifully human?

"No, don't?Please! She watches me sometimes. She watches me in my alcove. I don't want her there. I don't want her to see me." Seven said in short bursts of gasped anguish. And in the long silence that followed, the doctor seemed to be searching through all the layers of his matrix for some sort of answer to this terrible situation.

"Please, let me go. I just need?I just need to get the smell of her off me." Seven said letting her voice squeak and break in all the wrong places. It was even worse when the doctor looked at her with nothing but abject pity.

"Go? I'll handle the captain." The doctor said knowing that he was about to set himself up for some stern punishment.

But at the moment, he couldn't care less. Someone had take care of Seven and the captain obviously wasn't going to do it. So, that left him. And in a way, he found it rather fitting that he should take up the role of Seven's protector. After all, he never once denied the bottomless depths of his feelings for the beautiful blonde drone.