AGAIN

CHAPTER ONE

Seven of Nine opened her eyes, turning to the com panel as the computer chimed and the melodic voice broke the silence of Cargo Bay Two.

*"Regeneration cycle complete."*

Seven took a deep breath and released it slowly, stepping out of her alcove and addressing the computer. "Computer state time and date."

*"Stardate 53702.1. 02:12 hours."*

Seven steadied herself and quickly headed toward the door, she had to change history, and she only had one hour and seventeen minutes to do it.

 

Kathryn Janeway was draped across her favorite chair reading an ancient Earth book, Dantes’ Inferno, doing her best to get back to sleep. She had been up most of the night thinking about a certain blonde Borg. Seven had started an argument with Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres the day before, the two almost coming to blows, the problem being that each of the two strong-willed women were brilliant engineers, and each of them was convinced she was right. If Seven was right, Voyager could be blown into a billion pieces the next time they went into high warp, but if B’Elanna was right, the ship was fine. Until Janeway had an absolute answer, she wasn’t letting the ship go to warp, which enraged the Chief Engineer beyond belief. Torres was quick to point out that Seven wasn’t even in the Engineering department, but Captain Janeway had been equally quick to point out that departments didn’t matter if the ship was in danger. Kathryn sighed, knowing that wasn’t the only reason Seven was on her mind. The Captain of the Starship Voyager had a world class crush on her Astrometrics Officer. That wasn’t exactly true, though Kathryn wished it were, she didn’t have a crush on Seven, she was in love with her, and that was not good. She could never tell anyone about her feelings for the beautiful Borg. Janeway was startled from her musings by the sound of her door chime, she swung her feet off the arm of the chair so she was sitting in a more ‘distinguished’ manner and put her book on the table.

"Come in," ordered the captain.

Seven of Nine, former Borg drone, came into the room, crossed directly to the captain and stood at attention in front of her. "Captain," Seven said, dipping her head slightly.

"Seven, it’s late. Are we about to have one of our late night philosophical discussions?" Kathryn asked, secretly enjoying the early morning talks with the sensuous Borg ever since Janeway had been forced to decide whether or not to let the Doctor regain his memories about a crewman’s death. From that time on, she and Seven would periodically drop in on each other, it was certainly more intimate than Kathryn was with any of her other officers, but then, she wasn’t in love with any of them.

"No," Seven stated. "It would be far preferable to my task at hand."

Janeway could hear a hint of tension in Seven’s voice, the former drone wasn’t one to display her feelings, so any emotion in her voice got the captain’s full attention. Janeway stood.

"What is it, Seven?" Kathryn moved in front of Seven trying to determine the extent of the problem. She let herself stand close enough to almost touch the former Borg, Kathryn was constantly invading the young blonde’s personal space, and the young blonde was constantly doing the same to the captain.

"You must call a meeting of the senior staff immediately," Seven said, moving back a half step and shifting her gaze around Kathryn’s quarters. The blonde seemed nervous, her eyes lingering on the Captain’s very empty double bed.

"Explain," Janeway demanded even as she went to her couch and pulled on her jacket, quickly putting her four golden pips onto her wrinkled tunic.

Seven looked away from Kathryn’s smoky azure eyes and tilted her head to one side. "Captain, I have been experiencing a temporal loop, and unless we take action, we will repeat this day... again, " she said and then released a sigh.

Janeway gave Seven a skeptical stare but tapped her com badge anyway. "Janeway to senior staff, report to conference room one immediately. Priority one. Janeway out." Kathryn turned back to Seven. "So, care to explain in a little more detail?"

Seven sighed again, this time crossing her arms over her ample chest for measure. "Voyager is in a time-loop. I am the only member of the crew with any memory of the temporal feedback." Seven raised an eyebrow and began answering the questions she had already heard each time she went through the loop. "No, I am not having a reoccurrence of my extra personalities. No, I am not having a reaction to lack of regeneration. The reason I can remember and no one else can is because of the Borg chronometric node that allowed intra-temporal messages to be sent back by Mr. Kim when Voyager was destroyed in the alternate future, and Yes, I am very aware that you ‘hate temporal mechanics.’" Seven uncrossed her arms and looked at Janeway.

Kathryn cracked a half grin. "I take it we’ve had this conversation before."

"Seventeen times."

"Oh," Kathryn said, pointing to the door and following Seven as they left for the conference room. Janeway shook her head trying to push down her lustful thoughts as she watched Seven’s curvaceous hips sway toward the door.

 

Captain Janeway sat at the head of the conference table waiting for the rest of her senior officers to arrive. Of those already present, the Doctor was the only one completely alert, Tuvok sat to Janeway’s left patiently awaiting explanation, next to him, Harry Kim struggled to keep his eyes open, and Chakotay yawned, setting off the same response in Tom Paris. Janeway shifted her attention to Seven. The Borg was pacing. Seven of Nine did not pace. The doors hissed open and B’Elanna Torres came in looking more asleep than awake, quickly slumping into a chair at the table, disgusted to see that there was no coffeepot anywhere in sight. Seven saw her come in and moved to the table, sitting at the end furthest from the captain.

Janeway cleared her throat. "Sorry to wake you up, but we have a situation. I’ll let Seven explain." Janeway leaned back and took a sip of her coffee, the only mug in the room.

Seven rolled her eyes and began. "We are experiencing a time loop." The former Borg held up her hand to stop the questions forming on her crewmates' lips as she had seen Kathryn do on many occasions. She looked from face to face as she spoke. "How and why I remember is not relevant at the moment. Each of you told me something in the alternate reality to prove to you I am telling the truth. Mr. Kim, Tara Swanson was the first girl you ever kissed. Mr. Paris, Candice Weller is the first girl you..."

"Okay," Paris said quickly. "I believe you..."

Seven turned to Tuvok. "Bal’ok nefar." He nodded and Seven turned to the Klingon hybrid.

"Lieutenant Torres..."

"Okay," Janeway said. "I think we get the picture. Anybody still have doubts?"

Torres snorted and rolled her eyes.

Seven turned to her. "No, Lieutenant. This is not an attempt to ‘get my way’ concerning the engine core."

Torres eyed Seven and then glanced down at the table in defeat.

Seven sighed, glad to have that part of the day over...again. "I have discovered what we must change to stop the feedback loop. We must send out one of the probes with the polymetric hulls and unimatrix shielding technology, altered to act as a torpedo. I will program it for the maximum yield so it will destroy a large satellite orbiting an extinct moon. The moon is uninhabited, and the satellite is damaged and is emitting tachion radiation that is causing the rift in the Time Space Continuum." As Seven spoke, she never once made eye contact with the captain, which was definitely not normal.

Chakotay leaned forward. "How do you know this is the cause?"

"We have already ruled out sixteen other possibilities, and the last time, we were able to discover the tachion pulse and trace it back to the moon. We must destroy the satellite in the next fifty minutes or it will emit a pulse that will initiate the feedback loop."

The room went silent as the staff considered her words. Janeway bit her lip and addressed her crew.

"Let’s do it," Janeway said.

The meeting quickly wrapped up as everyone went to handle the current crisis. Seven of Nine went to the Klingon Engineer before she left the room.

"Lieutenant Torres," Seven said as she stopped in front of the agitated Klingon.

"What is it?" Torres demanded.

"I, in the other realities, I had a chance to see the outcome of the warp engine problem."

"There is no warp engine problem," Torres said with a snarl.

"Indeed. Well, in one of the realities I have experienced, Voyager was destroyed in exactly the manner I predicted."

Torres stared at the former Borg drone and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you sure?"

Seven raised an eyebrow and took a padd out from under her arm and handed it to the Engineer. "I am certain. I witnessed the explosion as it decompressed the entire Engineering section immediately before my death."

"Death?"

"Yes, I must assume that since the explosion was my last memory before the day repeated, I was killed by the ensuing blast." Seven nodded toward the padd, and Torres looked at the data, wincing as she read the detailed account.

"You never mentioned any tachion disbursement in the warp core before," B’Elanna said in her own defense.

Seven looked slightly offended. "Until I experienced the other realities, I had no knowledge of the tachion damage. I only knew the warp field was unstable."

B’Elanna sighed. "Yeah, well, I guess I shoulda’ listened to you."

"It is ‘all right,’" Seven said. "The padd lists six other critical errors we made in the various realities. You may wish to examine them."

"Thanks," the Engineer said as she headed toward the doors.

"You are welcome," Seven said quietly, then called out, "Lieutenant Torres, I apologize for my behavior yesterday as well." Seven moved past B’Elanna and disappeared down the corridor.

B’Elanna’s eyes widened. She had never heard Seven apologize...ever. "Uh, don’t mention it." Torres exited wondering what else had happened in the other realities to cause such a shift in the former drone.

 

After the probe had been sent, and the satellite destroyed, Seven was forced to endure an obligatory examination. Seven of Nine sat in sick bay and grudgingly let the Doctor examine her, watching as the hologram scanned her one last time and then turned off his tricorder.

"You don’t seem to be much worse for your wear," he said. "I’ve confirmed that your DNA breakdown is off from your last scan by approximately two and a half weeks, so I guess you were right about the time-loop, but apparently you’ve already solved that problem. I want you to take the day off; you seem a little tired, and I don’t like the looks of your metabolic system. Whatever you did in the other realities, it certainly wasn’t very relaxing. I’ll let the Captain know you’re off the duty roster."

"Thank you," Seven said, not adding that over the last seventeen repeating days she had only completed approximately nine hours of regeneration.

"So," he asked with a gleeful tone, "What was it like knowing what everyone was going to say and do?"

"It was... predictable."

"Hmmp. I can’t tell if you’re joking or just being incredibly Borg," he said with a deep scowl.

Seven stood and headed for the door. "I do not joke."

The Doctor watched her leave, she was even more distant than usual, and he decided to keep a closer eye on his charge in the coming days.

Seven left sickbay and headed toward her cargo bay, tapping her com badge as she made her way through the corridor. "Seven of Nine to Chakotay..."

*"Chakotay here, what is it Seven?"*

"Commander, could you meet with me in my cargo bay at your earliest convenience?"

*"Certainly. What’s this about, Seven?"*

Seven rubbed her temple, exhausted, even for a drone. "I would rather not discuss it until you meet with me," she said cryptically.

*"All right, I’ll be down in about an hour,"* he responded, curiosity colored his tone.

"Acceptable," Seven said as she tapped her com badge closing the channel.

 

Chakotay moved quickly to the doors of cargo bay two, eager to find out what would make the resident Borg practically summon him. He watched the doors open and paused, realizing the cargo bay was actually Seven’s home. He cleared his throat and waited as Seven turned from her com station.

"Commander, thank you for coming," she said, walking toward the handsome officer.

"Sure. I was a little surprised. You and I don’t usually... Uh, interact." He rubbed the tribal tattoo over his eye, waiting for her to explain what he was doing there.

"You are correct, but you are in charge of personnel," she said in her typical bluntness.

"Uh, yeah. What’s this about?"

"I wish to resign my position as Head of Astrometrics. I would also like a posting off of the Alpha rotation," she stated, clasping her hands behind her back and waiting for his response.

"What?" He was shocked, Seven was an excellent officer and he had thought she was content in the position.

"I believe I have made my wishes clear."

"What’s going on, Seven?" he asked gently.

She averted her eyes from the Second in Command’s dark chocolate eyes. "It is... personal. I would rather not discuss it."

"I’m not sure that’s good enough," he said, trying to coax a more complete explanation from her. "You’re a valuable officer. I’m gonna’ need to explain to the captain why we’re losing you."

Seven stiffened at the mention of the captain. "You handle crew placement, do you not?"

"Yes, but she is the captain. She makes all the final decisions," he pointed out, silently thinking about the captain’s reaction and not looking forward to telling her. He knew she had more than professional feelings for the former Borg, though he would never bring it up. Still, he didn’t want to be the one to break the news about Seven quitting to her. "Is there some problem I should know about?" asked, genuinely concerned.

She considered that question, but knew she could never tell him what was wrong. "I would be willing to take a posting in another department. I am more than qualified, however, I do not wish to be on the bri... I do not wish to be in navigation or at the helm."

Chakotay was not a stupid man. He caught her words, the ones she cut off. Seven didn’t want to be posted on the bridge, and off of the Alpha rotation, which meant whatever problem she was having was with someone on the bridge on that shift. He could also tell that whatever it was, she wasn’t gonna’ tell him, not yet at least.

"Okay, Seven," he said. "I’ll see what’s available. I’m not sure I can get you off of the Alpha rotation though. Your skills are quite valuable, and we need you on the Alpha."

"The other rotations are equally important," she pointed out.

"Well, I’d like to keep you on the Alpha," he said, realizing he should have known she’d call his bluff about needing her on the Alpha. Seven turned and walked to her alcove and spun so she could back into the regeneration unit. Obviously, she considered the conversation over.

"Thank you, Commander. Please inform me as to my new posting." She backed into the alcove and the green lights began flickering over her head as her eyes snapped shut.

"You’re welcome," he said to the now unconscious Borg, quietly turning to leave the cargo bay, dreading the conversation he was going to have with his Captain.

As soon as the doors hissed shut, Seven opened her eyes and stepped out of the alcove, adjusting the controls, to turn off the test sequence she had initiated to give the appearance of actually regenerating. She went to the back of the cargo bay, behind a stack of crates and went to a well-hidden cot and laid down. She sighed and pulled an emergency blanket up around her shoulders and closed her eyes. A slow, steady trail of tears began to soak the rough fabric of the canvas cot. Seven didn’t bother to wipe them from her cheeks; she just let them flow; it was the only solace she had, the only solace she would ever have and her tears poured from her eyes as she realized it was true.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

Captain Kathryn Janeway leaned onto her desk giving her first officer a glare so cold he thought his fingers would get frostbite.

"What the hell are you saying?" she demanded.

"I’m saying that Seven wants to be transferred," he said for the third time, knowing she had heard him clearly the first two times.

"Why?" Janeway asked with a bit too much emotion in her voice.

"Kathryn, I don’t know. She’s upset about something... and that’s not all." He shifted in his chair, not adding that perhaps a transfer was the best thing.

"Explain," the captain ordered.

"She asked me to take her off of the alpha rotation too."

"I have to talk to her," Janeway said as she sat.

"I’m not sure that’s a good idea," he said gently.

"Oh?" Janeway prompted, giving him her famous glare, complete with quirked eyebrow.

"Uh, well, she let it slip that she didn’t want a posting on the bridge, and combine that with her wanting off the Alpha rotation, and it looks like she’s... trying to avoid you, Kathryn." He cringed expecting her to explode. He had watched his Captain and good friend become extremely unprofessionally attached to the young Borg, suspecting she was in love with the lanky young blonde, a fact that did not please him.

Janeway leaned back in her chair and stared at her first officer who was also her good friend. "Why?" she asked, pain showing at the edges of her dark eyes.

"It has to be something that happened in one of the alternate realities. Seventeen days is a long time."

"You’re forgetting, it was only one day of time for the rest of us. What could I have done in one day to make her react like this?" Janeway asked, rubbing temples with her left hand, trying to hide the moisture welling up at the corners of her eyes. She sighed, pulling herself back into full Captain mode, and looked impassively at her First Officer.

"That’s something you’ll have to ask yourself, Kathryn." He considered asking her about her feelings for Seven, but he suspected she’d already come up with that conclusion and wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

"Thank you, Commander. I’m not in the habit of just letting one of my officers suffer in silence, especially after what happened with B’Elanna. I’ll talk to Seven, but I want you to set up a transfer for her anyway. She’s not in Starfleet, so I can’t make her stay, but I don’t want her quitting as the Head of Astrometrics. She’s too good. Write it up as an interdepartmental training assignment. Put her in Engineering for the time being. Isn’t Ensign Devorak out for the next six weeks?"

"Yes, he is, but do you think that’s a good idea? Seven and B’Elanna don’t exactly mix too well."

"They’ll adapt. Seven’s a brilliant engineer, and B’Elanna could use some help." Janeway crossed her arms and smirked at her first officer. "Explain it to our Lieutenant Torres in way that she realizes this is not a request."

"Understood." He sighed, first he had to tell Kathryn about Seven’s problem, and now he was supposed to explain to the Klingon hybrid that she’d have to let the blonde Borg into her engine room. Some days he hated his job.

 

B’Elanna Torres launched the spanner that had been in her hand across her office, watching as it bounced off of the transparent aluminum wall. "No way in hell is that Borg working in my engine room," she yelled at the beleaguered First Officer.

"It’s only temporary," he tried. "You’ve got Ensign Devorak out... I’d think you’d be glad to have some help. You were just complaining to me last week."

"Why the hell is Janeway doing this?" Torres demanded, her eyes widening and she crossed her arms. "Is this about the fight Seven and I got into? Who is the captain punishing? Her ... or me?"

"It wasn’t the captain’s idea," Chakotay said as he looked into B’Elanna’s deep brown eyes.

"Then why?" B’Elanna asked in a slightly lowered voice.

"Seven wanted a transfer," he said quietly.

B’Elanna thought about her conversation earlier with Seven, that the former Borg actually apologized. Torres stepped closer to Chakotay and lowered her voice. "I noticed something odd about Seven this morning, before we sent the probe out to destroy that satellite."

"What?" he asked.

"Well, she apologized to me about yesterday."

"Seven of Nine?" he asked incredulously. "Resident Borg drone? Apologized?"

"Yeah, and she was pretty sincere."

"I wish I knew what was going on," the First Officer said as he rubbed his tattoo.

"Did you ask her?" Torres asked, leaning back against her desk.

Chakotay shook his head. "She’s not talking." He stepped closer to Torres and put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, B’Elanna, I know you two aren’t close..."

B’Elanna snorted. "Really?"

Chakotay looked B’Elanna directly in her eyes. "I need you to keep an eye on her. Something happened while she was in the other reality, and it’s got her pretty out of sorts."

B’Elanna hadn’t thought anything could shake the Borg, well, nothing short of a Borg queen, but other than that, she didn’t think Seven could be rattled. "Okay," she said. "But this is temporary, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"I can’t believe I’m doin’ this," B’Elanna said as she moved around the desk, flopping into her chair. "I must have a screw loose... several screws loose. You owe me big time, Chakotay."

"Thanks, B’Elanna." Chakotay now just had to explain to Seven that B’Elanna Torres was going to be her superior officer. He definitely hated his job today.

 

Kathryn Janeway walked into cargo bay two and looked at the empty Borg alcove, crossing her arms and walking through the cavernous room. Seven had been ordered to rest. Janeway went to Seven’s com station and leaned onto it. *"What’s going on with her? Why is she acting this way?"* she wondered, then heard a faint sound behind the crates and went to investigate. She made her way to the back of the room and around the stacked crates. Hers eyes widened when she saw Seven sleeping on an emergency cot from one of the survival packs.

She made her way closer, unable to stop. Seven was stunning, her face more relaxed than when she regenerated. Janeway wondered how long Seven had been sleeping, hidden behind the various stacks of cargo. Kathryn hadn’t known the former Borg was in the habit of sleeping at all. The captain realized she should arrange for Seven to have her own quarters, or at least to section off a private area in the cargo bay. Janeway stared at the young blonde and her heart ached. Voyager’s Captain had lost her heart to the outwardly cold Seven of Nine and she didn’t know what to do about it. She supposed she couldn’t do anything about it, the captain with a crewmember was not a good idea. Janeway stopped her musings when Seven stirred, sensing someone’s presence, and then opened her eyes. Seven saw Kathryn and sat straight up.

"Captain?" Seven said as she tried to get her bearings. "What are you doing here?" Seven swung her legs off the side of the cot to stand, but Janeway stopped her before she could get up.

"Sit," Kathryn said gently, kneeling down so she was looking into Seven’s face. The troubled exdrone wouldn’t make eye contact. Kathryn softened her voice. "Seven, I just talked to Chakotay, what’s going on?"

Seven still wouldn’t look at her Captain. "I do not wish to discuss it."

"Something’s going on with you," Kathryn whispered. "Talk to me. What happened?"

Seven looked down at the deck plating. "I... Please do not make me discuss it." Kathryn reached out her hand to lift Seven’s chin and the former Borg jerked back out of the captain’s reach.

Janeway drew in a startled breath. "Seven, did I do something? Please, tell me."

Seven continued staring at the decking. "I cannot. You ordered me not to."

"I did?" Kathryn asked. She suddenly realized what the delicate blonde meant. "In the other timeline?"

Seven merely nodded.

Kathryn took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Maybe I was wrong... then I mean. If this is upsetting you this much, you should talk about it."

"No," Seven said, her voice cracking. "You were not wrong. I was. My... difficulties are of my own causing."

"Please, Annika, tell me. I can’t stand to see you hurting like this," Kathryn admitted, to herself as well as the beautiful blonde.

"Captain, you and I discussed this in the other timeline. We agreed, several times, that I shouldn’t discuss people’s actions once I was in a different timeline. I experienced things that have not actually happened, to hold anyone else accountable for the actions they never actually took in this timeline is not...logical."

Janeway sat next to Seven, careful not to get too close, gripping the side of the cot with her hands on each side of her legs and leaning forward trying to catch Seven’s eyes. "Seven, if I did something in the other timeline that upset you, I want to know."

"You do not," Seven said.

"Damn it, Seven, don’t tell me what I want. Tell me what happened," the captain demanded.

"You didn’t do anything, Captain," Seven stated and stood. "I will not discuss it any further. I gave you my word then, and I will not break it now." Seven walked to her alcove with Janeway in tow and former drone began to fidget with the controls.

Janeway stood behind her. "Is that your final word on this?"

"Yes," Seven said without looking up.

Janeway knew she couldn’t force the young blonde to divulge her secrets, no matter how much she wanted to try, her biggest fear was that she had somehow let Seven know her feeling toward the gorgeous drone and that the young woman didn’t return them. If that was true, the last thing Seven needed was the captain pressuring her about it. *"Why would you tell her?"* Kathryn asked herself. She sighed and went to the door, not turning as she spoke, "I’ll leave you alone, but if you want to talk about this, anytime, don’t hesitate to call me."

Seven turned enough to watch the captain leave and then went back to her cot. She curled up on her side, taking in gulps of air as tears slid down her alabaster cheeks, her sobs echoing off of the walls of the vast, barren cargo bay reminding the exBorg exactly how alone she was.

 

After Seven had served the Doctor’s required rest period, the new personnel orders took effect. B’Elanna Torres sat at her desk going over the daily assignments, knowing it was Seven’s first day and the half Klingon Chief Engineer was not looking forward to dealing with the ice princess.

B’Elanna decided to put Seven to work recalibrating the main phaser coils, despite how much the Borg bothered Torres, the Klingon hybrid knew how intelligent Seven was, and she needed someone with above average skill to handle the job. Torres looked up to see Seven enter Engineering, Torres raised her eyebrows to her hairline when she saw that Seven wasn’t wearing one of her normal, skintight outfits. She was in a loose fitting black jumpsuit, and the outfit did nothing for the curvaceous blonde. Seven came into B’Elanna’s office and stood at attention with her hands linked behind her back.

Seven tilted her head to one side and spoke crisply. "Seven of Nine reporting for duty."

"You’re early," Torres noted. "Your shift doesn’t start for another two hours."

"I was unable to sleep and thought you might have some projects that needed attention."

Torres smiled. *"This might work out after all,"* she thought. She stood and handed Seven a padd from her desk. "This is the list of specs for the phaser coils. I’d like to see the energy output increased by at least five percent. You can work at com station four to do your calculations. When you’re done, let me know."

"Understood," Seven said, taking the padd and exiting without any further comment.

B’Elanna watched and sat back down, Seven was definitely not herself, so the Chief Engineer decide to keep a close eye on the former drone. Despite herself, she was beginning to feel a little protective of Seven. B’Elanna went to work on the next month’s schedule, and was surprised twenty minutes later when she looked up to see Seven standing at her desk.

"Seven, are you having trouble with the calculations?" Torres asked, glancing up from her padd.

"I am finished," Seven stated.

"Already?" Seven handed Torres the padd and B’Elanna scanned it, her eyes widening as she saw the intricacies of the calculations.

Seven stepped forward. "If we implement the corrections I have suggested, we can increase available phaser output by twelve percent. I can increase that by an additional .0023 percent if I manually clean and reset the main phaser coils."

Torres set the padd down. "That would take you six hours, and it’s a damn messy job."

"I can complete it in three hours forty-one minutes," Seven said.

"That’s still a lot of work for .0023 percent."

"You do not want the ship to function at peak efficiency?" Seven asked gently. There was none of her normal chilling tone of intolerance. In fact, she sounded almost timid.

"Yes," Torres said and rolled her eyes. "I just didn’t want to stick you with the grunt work, Seven."

"I have done far more demanding tasks as a Borg drone."

"Okay, knock yourself out," B’Elanna said, waving her hands in the air.

"Why would I wish to render myself unconscious?"

Torres’ nostrils flared. "It’s figure of speech, Seven. You might want to brush up on them."

Seven nodded. "I shall access the language database as soon as my shift is finished."

Torres sighed again. "Seven, try not to be so literal."

The former Borg twisted her head considering Torres’ request. She didn’t know how to be less literal.

"Never mind," B’Elanna said. "Seven?"

"Yes."

"You changed your outfit."

"You are correct," Seven said.

"Why? The other one certainly wasn’t restrictive. It wouldn’t have interfered with your duty." Torres didn’t add that she liked to steal an occasional glance at the Borg’s perfect figure.

Seven looked down at the deck. "My other outfit could be considered... provocative. I do not wish to invite unwanted attention."

*"Whoa,"* Torres thought. *"Whatever’s up with Seven is big."* B’Elanna stood and moved to the young blonde. "Seven, there wasn’t anything wrong with your old outfit. What you wear doesn’t ‘invite’ anything."

Seven still wouldn’t look at her. "I have... I... I have evidence to the contrary."

B’Elanna put her hand on Seven’s shoulder, the statuesque Seven flinched, so the engineer slowly pulled back. "Seven, what are you talking about?"

"I do not... I cannot discuss it," Seven said quietly, staring down at the deck plating.

"Why?" B’Elanna asked as she leaned in, trying to make eye contact.

"It deals with the altered timeline. I was ordered to not discuss things that happened in those realities."

Torres stepped back and sat against the edge of her desk. "If something happened to you, you have to tell someone."

Seven brought her face up and stared through B’Elanna. "I will adapt." Seven’s voiced had the clipped Borg phrasing but Torres thought she heard a hint of sorrow.

"I can’t make you talk about it, but keeping it bottled up isn’t a very good idea."

Seven eyed Torres. "Like you did when you improperly used the holodeck without the safety protocols?"

"Yes, just like that." The Klingon didn’t appreciate having that little irony pointed out.

"Curious that you would offer that advice," Seven observed.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"I just did."

"You’re being literal."

"Sorry. I will begin the phaser coil adjustments."

"Okay," B’Elanna said. "Let me know if you need anything." Torres watched the blonde go into the main section of Engineering and then climb into a Jeffrey’s tube with a toolbox. B’Elanna realized the young woman she thought was an iceberg was actually rather fragile. She also realized she needed to talk to the captain about Seven’s comments. B’Elanna suspected someone had sexually harassed Seven, or something worse, in one of the other timelines and she didn’t like that idea much at all. She couldn’t imagine anyone on board behaving so inappropriately and it made the Klingon nervous.

 

Kathryn Janeway spoke with B’Elanna about the Chief Engineer’s suspicions and she couldn’t have been more upset. She knew she would never harass Seven, but she might have admitted her feelings to the exBorg. *"Could that have been enough to make her this upset?"* B’Elanna had also mentioned that Seven flinched when the engineer had touched her, so Janeway considered the idea that she may not be responsible for Seven’s dilemma. Seven’s comment about her clothing was a mystery Janeway couldn’t figure out. Unfortunately, the captain’s gut said she was the cause of Seven’s troubles. *"Maybe I just have a guilty conscience. I shouldn’t have these feelings for one of my officers."* Janeway stood and refilled her coffee cup and took a long swallow and considered her options. She could go to Seven and ask her point blank if she had revealed her feelings to the exdrone. *"Then if she didn’t already know, she would now. And if she’s already dealing with something else, she really doesn’t need that, too."* She could talk to Seven and order her to tell her what happened. *"Like she’d listen. She already made it clear she can’t, no, won’t, defy my order from the other timeline."* She could leave Seven alone and let her talk about it when she was ready. *"Yeah, but she’d never talk about it, and it would just eat her alive."* Janeway put her cup down and sighed. She really was out of her league.

 

CHAPTER THREE

B’Elanna Torres was in her quarters looking over her efficiency reports. Seven had been in engineering for two weeks, and efficiency up by 24 percent, the Borg showed up for her duty shifts at least an hour early everyday, stayed late after her shift, and often came in during her off hours to finish projects. For two weeks, she was the model employee, and it was thoroughly pissing off Voyager’s Chief Engineer. She was used to Seven arguing with her about everything, and each time the young blonde obediently accepted a command, B’Elanna knew Seven was in trouble.

The captain had finally quit bugging Seven after the first week and was giving her a wide berth. The Doctor couldn’t get the former Borg to go to sickbay, so he called her several times a week to check on her, but no one could get through to the troubled Seven.

B’Elanna had noticed that Seven seemed to be losing weight, and that concerned her most of all, Seven got her energy from the ship, so theoretically, she should maintain a constant, optimal weight. B’Elanna had always thought the former drone was a little on the thin side, but now her cheeks were almost gaunt. Since no one else seemed to be getting through to Seven, B’Elanna had decided to solve the mystery herself.

She started by accessing Seven’s regeneration records. From what the Klingon hybrid could tell, Seven was regenerating like clockwork, but Torres decided that given Seven’s bizarre behavior, that was highly unlikely, so B’Elanna dug deeper. She discovered a subroutine that fabricated successful regeneration cycles at set intervals. Once B’Elanna filtered out the false records, she was stunned to discover that Seven hadn’t regenerated since the day she informed the crew about the time-loop, two weeks earlier. Everything Torres knew about Seven’s system’s suggested that without regeneration, her body’s organic components would be broken down to power her implants, making two weeks without regeneration like two months without eating for a normal human. No wonder the blonde was withering away. Torres checked the replicator and mess hall records and found that Seven had been ordering small meals. Unfortunately, those only added up to about three crackers a day, if that.

B’Elanna knew that Seven was spending most of her free time in her cargo bay or working, not too unusual, but the exdrone used to spend a lot of her off time with the captain. The only other thing Seven did do on her off time now was visit the holodeck, which completely surprised Torres. B’Elanna wondered if Seven was running dangerous programs like she herself had when she had been in crisis. It was worth a look. B’Elanna programmed the main computer to notify her the next time Seven activated a program. B’Elanna sighed, and thought to herself, *"God I miss fighting with Seven. I never thought I’d say that."*

 

 

All of the crew in Main Engineering watched as the tension between the Klingon and the Borg escalated. Seven of Nine checked her calculations again and then shoved the padd at Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres. "Check the results yourself. If you realign the nesel feed unit while we are within range of the nebula, it will cause a cascade failure," Seven said.

Torres shoved the padd away. "I know my ship. The nebula won’t have any effect on the nesels. Now, get the hell out of my engine room."

"You are mistaken. Your arrogance will destroy this ship." Seven’s voice was raising almost to a yell.

Torres yelled first. "You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. The problem will be solved as soon as you take your scrawny ass out of my engine room." The engineer grabbed the former Borg and tried to shove her toward the door, slamming into the lanky blonde when Seven stopped.

"You are illogical," Seven stated and went to the main computer, inputting a string of commands.

"What the hell are you doing?" Torres demanded. She tried to look at the com panel, but Seven straight-armed the engineer, sending her back two feet.

Seven didn’t look up as she answered B’Elanna. "I am locking out the nesel controls. I will release them once we are clear of the nebula."

Then things turned ugly. B’Elanna tried to forcibly remove the Borg. The Borg picked up the Klingon hybrid from behind and dangled her in the air. The engineering crew disappeared like Cardassian voles when the lights come on. B’Elanna was screaming every obscenity she knew, in Klingon and English, when Captain Janeway entered Main Engineering.

Janeway’s voice snapped both women out of their tirades. "What the hell is going on here?"

B’Elanna stopped squirming, and Seven turned, with the Klingon still trapped helplessly in her grasp with her feet flinging wildly a few inches off the decking. Seven raised an eyebrow and calmly answered. "I am convincing Lieutenant Torres to not destroy the ship."

Torres renewed her struggles. "Put me down you crazy Borg bitc–"

"Enough," Janeway said, her voice chilling the entire room. "Seven, put her down."

"I believe she will become violent, Captain," Seven calmly noted.

"You bet your ass I will," Torres yelled as she tried to kick backwards at Seven. Seven shifted her grip easily avoiding her prisoner.

Janeway lowered her tone, but didn’t raise her voice, a dangerous combination. "I said enough."

Seven released Torres and the Klingon yanked free and moved away from the six-foot tall blonde. "This isn’t over Borg."

"Lieutenant," Janeway said.

"Yes, ma’am," Torres managed through tightly clinched teeth.

Janeway crossed her arms over her chest and stepped in front of Seven. "Explain."

Seven raised an eyebrow. "There is an instability in the nesel feed. If we realign it next to the nebula, it will cause a violent feedback. I locked out the controls to stop Lieutenant Torres from destroying the engine room."

The captain stepped closer, trying to ignore the delicate curve of Seven’s jaw, which she was pushing defiantly out. "Did you see this in one of the other realities?"

Seven shifted her weight. "No, but I am certain."

Janeway pivoted. "B’Elanna?"

"She’s crazy. There’s nothing in that nebula that could damage the nesels."

The captain turned back to her favorite blonde. "Do you have any proof?" Seven extended the padd, which the captain took and looked over, and then finally Janeway spoke. "I don’t see anything."

Seven raised both eyebrows and exhaled. "There is a variance of .000020021 each time the nesels automatically reset."

"And?" Janeway asked. "That’s hardly reason to lock out my Chief Engineer. It’s not statistically significant. Release the controls."

Seven paused. She was certain, well, almost certain... she went to the com panel and released access.

Torres went to the com panel. "It’s about damn time." B’Elanna began the resequencing program while Janeway looked at Seven, not quite sure how to deal with her. She paced around the room staring at Seven the entire time.

"Seven," the captain said. "I know you are trying to keep the ship safe, but you can’t do it this way."

Seven looked at her captain, feeling a deep wrenching pain as she saw the disappointment in Janeway’s eyes. "I do not want to disappoint you. I only want to make you–"

The nesel feed exploded tossing Seven against the center com panel. She had a split second to turn toward Kathryn as the concussion hurled pieces of the nesel panel through the air. Seven’s Borg enhanced vision gave a digitally zoomed image of a large panel connecting with the side of Kathryn’s head. Seven watched as if in slow motion as the captain’s body flew through the air, limp, landing in a crumpled mass, her body sliding over to a stop against the far wall. Seven didn’t register the white-hot sting on her own forehead as shrapnel pierced her tender, pale skin. The emergency alarms blasted through the room, but Seven didn’t hear them, nor did she hear her own voice as she screamed.

"No..." Seven ran to the captain and slid next to her on her knees. She gently turned Kathryn and saw the captain’s beautiful blue gray eyes, empty, unfocused, never to focus on anything ever again.

Torres was tossed over her com panel. She made it to her feet with extreme effort. "Torres to the bridge, we’ve got a breach in the main nesel feed." B’Elanna turned to access the damage in time to see Seven pulling the captain into her lap. The auburn haired, exuberant captain was gone, B’Elanna had seen enough death in the Maquis to recognize it, still, she didn’t want to believe it. "Oh, god... Torres to sickbay, medical emergency in main engineering." Then B’Elanna began shutting down systems in danger of overloading. She kept glancing over at the two women across the room; the captain’s head dangled limply over Seven’s arm, Janeway’s neck obviously broken. That was hard enough to take, but Seven was completely devastated, she was beyond hysterical.

Seven pulled Kathryn to her and squeezed the pale captain’s body trying to will life back into it. "Kathryn... please, do not leave me... no no no no no..." the young Borg sobbed as she rocked on the decking. "You cannot die... I will not let you... Kathryn, no... Please..." Seven leaned down and lifted Kathryn’s flopping head and tried to see some flash of the woman she loved. "Kathryn, you cannot leave me. I cannot exist without you." Tears ran down Seven’s snowy cheeks as she stared into Kathryn’s empty eyes. "You cannot die... I never told you... I never told you... I never told you..." Seven’s words were barely more than strangled sobs.

The Engineering doors opened and the medical teams rushed in a few moments after the engineering repair teams. The Doctor stopped as soon as his eyes fell on Seven, one look and he knew the captain was gone, but he pulled his tricorder out and confirmed his nightmare. Seven looked up at him, still sobbing.

"Help her," the former Borg yelled, her eyes wild and painted red with grief.

"I’m sorry, Seven. She’s gone." He tried to move closer to check the gash on Seven’s forehead.

"Help her," Seven yelled again. "You must help her..."

The Doctor knew he couldn’t reason with Seven in her condition so he tried to get closer. "Seven, let me take the captain’s body–"

Seven’s eyes raged. "Get away from her! You think she is dead. Why won’t you help her?" Seven didn’t wait for an answer. A horrified Doctor watched as Seven took things into her own hands. "Kathryn..." Seven said, gently stroking the captain’s cold cheek. "I love you. I am sorry..." Seven extended her left hand and her Borg assimilation tubules plunged into Kathryn’s throat.

"Seven, no," the Doctor yelled. He needn’t have worried, Seven’s tubules dug into the captain’s flesh but several seconds later slowly dropped away. Even if Seven wouldn’t accept the captain’s loss, her Borg technology recognized a futile struggle. As soon as her tubules had entered Kathryn’s throat, the sensors in the tubules assessed the possible drone. It took only a few seconds for the sensors to realize most of Kathryn’s brainstem had been crushed, her cerebral cortex was a pulpy mess, and her was neck shattered at the base of her skull.

Seven stared down at her insubordinate tubules. Even her Borg technology deserted her in this hell. Kathryn was dead, and this time the time-loop would not repeat. She pulled Kathryn to her and rocked her, wishing she could die with her captain.

 

Seven’s eyes shot open and she gasped for air. She looked around the room and realized she was in her bed in the cargo bay in her newly sectioned off area of the vast room. She had tried to sleep and hoped she would not dream. Unfortunately, she had. Actually, it had been a memory of one of the other timelines. Seven looked around at her new living quarters. She had brought in emergency shelter walls to create her own living space within the cargo bay. She refused to get back into the regenerator, every time she went near it, she was bombarded with the images from the other realities, realities she had awakened to seventeen times in that alcove, and the Borg alcove didn’t allow her to wake up from her nightmares. She would relive them over and over until her cycle completed. The alcove was also an all too tangible reminder that she was not part of Voyager’s family, she was a crewmember, but that was all. The only person who could look beyond her Borgness would never be with Seven the way she desperately needed, and it was slowly destroying the lonely blonde woman.

Seven sighed and sat up, checking the time on her new bedside clock. The young Borg had only been asleep two hours, and she knew from experience she wouldn’t get back to sleep again. She stood and decided she would go to the holodeck. She didn’t feel like going to engineering to put in extra time on the warp core refit. She couldn’t handle seeing the nesel feed right now.

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

Torres stood in the corridor and scanned the holodeck with her tricorder and could see that Seven was alone inside. *"Big surprise."* She was in the far corner and it appeared the program was a small structure. B’Elanna didn’t want to let Seven hear her enter, so she beamed in to a spot where she was concealed by a wall. The first thing B’Elanna noticed was that it was obviously a bar. *"What the hell?"* Torres moved through the program toward Seven’s location, noticing the program included a piano player, and judging from her appearance, she was from the end of the twentieth century. B’Elanna didn’t get a clear look at the performer with blonde hair tossed wildly over her shoulder who was playing a piano with fevered intent, pounding the keys. B’Elanna could see that that the piano player was what used to be called heroine sheik. Torres couldn’t understand why anyone would consider starvation a turn on. Then B’Elanna noticed the singer’s left hand, it was wrapped in Borg technology.

B’Elanna made her way toward the stage, careful to stay in the shadows, when Seven began to sing, B’Elanna was shocked once again as she realized Seven had a tremendous voice. B’Elanna paused, caught up by Seven’s voice. She was singing something from the end of the twentieth century, from the era of the whining yuppie, if B’Elanna remembered correctly. As Seven sang the haunting lyrics, Torres could hear the raw emotion in the young blonde’s voice. Seven was angst ridden, singing of a broken, bleeding heart, of a love lost and the devastation that follows. *"Now I’m really confused,"* Torres thought.

Seven finished and then stood and grabbed the piano and flipped it over and sending it crashing onto the stage. It startled B’Elanna and she backed up into one of the tables. Seven heard the noise and spun, her eyes widened as she saw the Chief Engineer and anger flashed across the Borg’s tear stained features.

"What are you doing here?" Seven demanded. It was the first hint of anger B’Elanna had seen in weeks.

"I’m sorry," B’Elanna began. "I was worried about you."

"Your concern is misguided. Please leave." Seven's hair bounced on her shoulders as she took in deep breaths, trying desperately to regain her Borg composure, an impossible task. Seven’s secret singing was the only emotional release she allowed herself, and once she was this exposed, it was difficult to recover.

"I don’t think it is," B’Elanna said as she moved closer to the former Borg. "You haven’t been regenerating, and look at you, Seven. You’re falling apart."

"I am intact," Seven said with a shaking voice as she held out her arms.

"That’s not what I mean, and you know it." B’Elanna reached out and gently touched Seven’s side. Seven was wearing a skintight white tank top and jeans from the same era as the bar. You could count each rib showing through the thin white material. "Talk to me," B’Elanna pleaded.

Seven turned away. "I cannot," she whispered.

"Why?"

"I was ordered not to discuss it."

Torres placed her hand on Seven’s shoulder. The unstoppable Borg drone felt fragile under the Klingon’s hand. "So it is about one of the other timelines." Seven nodded, and B’Elanna continued. "You have to talk about... if you tell me, I won’t tell anyone else."

Seven turned and looked at B’Elanna, the young blonde was weary, her eyes not the cold unfeeling Borg orbs, but windows to the obvious agony the young woman was in. "If I tell you, I will be letting the captain down." Seven’s eyes tightened painfully as she mentioned Janeway.

"Talk," B’Elanna said firmly. "You can start by telling me why you haven’t argued with me once since you came to Engineering."

"You are my Commanding Officer," Seven hedged.

"Don’t lie to me, Seven. You don’t do it well. You used to argue with the capt... Oh, god, is that what happened? You disobeyed the captain and something horrible happened?"

"No," Seven said. "Many things happened, among them... I... lost my temper." Seven looked down at the hardwood floor of the holo-bar.

B’Elanna snorted. "Big deal. I do it all the time."

"It was a ‘big deal.’"

B’Elanna lifted Seven’s chin and looked into the troubled ice blue eyes. "Tell me."

Seven reached out and carefully traced B’Elanna’s jaw. The engineer was curious so she allowed it. Seven’s hand stopped and then her fingers trembled. "I... injured you... severely."

"Me?" Torres hadn’t expected that, she had been certain whatever happened was related to the captain. "So?... What?... We got in an argument and you smacked me?" Torres remembered the argument she had with Seven before the whole time-loop thing came up. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and she missed the fiery sparks she used to share with Seven.

Seven continued her examination of B’Elanna’s jaw, as if mesmerized, her eyes glazing over as she was carried back in time. "We argued over the alignment of the nesel feed unit. I told you it would blow out if we tried to reset it next to the nebula we were passing..."

"That’s crazy," Torres said. "It wouldn’t effect anything."

"That is what you said then," Seven said quietly. "I would not let you do it."

B’Elanna almost asked her how dare she tell her what to do in her own engine room, but realized she shouldn’t stop Seven. The troubled blonde might not open up again.

Seven wiped her eyes, which were beginning to tear up. "The captain came down and ordered me to let you proceed... I did."

B’Elanna saw a look of total devastation cross the blonde’s face. She reached out and grasped Seven’s arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "What happened next?"

"It blew out... one of the panels came loose and was thrown across main engineering. It... killed the captain." Seven’s eyes released a slow, steady trail of tears. They were hot, and the salt stung her porcelain skin. "It struck her in the side of her head, and she... I went to her, but her eyes were empty, like she wasn’t looking at anything... I begged her not to die... the Doctor came, and scanned her... he could do nothing..." Seven looked at B’Elanna with unbridled anger. "He wanted to put her in the morgue... I would not let him..." Seven looked back at the floor.

"And then?" B’Elanna said, realizing the young Borg was completely in love with Voyager’s Captain.

Seven’s voice shook as she looked at the Chief engineer. "You tried to make me let go of her... I told you it was your fault and I grabbed you, by the jaw. I only meant to keep you away from her... then I looked down at her." Seven's voice softened and sounded like a lost child. "She was so pale... her head shifted and I saw the damage the panel had caused. Her blood was covering my legs where I was cradling her..." Seven looked into B’Elanna’s eyes. "I did not mean to hurt you. I was not looking at you, and I... clenched my hand shut into a fist. I pulverized your jaw."

"It was an accident," Torres said comfortingly. B’Elanna would have belted herself in the face for killing the captain, and she wasn’t in love with Janeway, she certainly could understand Seven’s reaction.

"The Doctor spent three hours repairing your facial structure... then he came to take Kathryn’s... body." The young Borg’s lips trembled as she fought to continue, the images filling her mind as she said the words out loud for the first time. "He had to sedate me. I lost consciousness thinking we had corrected the time-loop, but lost the captain... Then I woke up and the day had restarted."

"And that was the day you fixed it, right?"

"No," Seven said, her face darkening. "If only it had been."

"What happened? What could be worse than that?" Torres’ curiosity was getting the best of her.

"I awoke in my alcove, checked the time index, and realized it was starting again. So, without thinking, I went to see the captain... to make sure she was alive... and I said things I should not have."

B’Elanna could imagine the kind of confession watching someone you love die would inspire. "You told her you loved her, didn’t you?"

Seven was stunned, her eyes opening wide, but she slowly nodded. "Yes, I did."

"And she didn’t feel the same way," B’Elanna said gently.

"It is worse than that, B’Elanna," Seven said.

B’Elanna was as shocked by Seven using her first name as she was about the unfolding story. "What then?"

"I lied to her," Seven said.

"I don’t understand."

"I had to know what she felt for me. I told her that we were experiencing a time-loop, but that I could not remember the details from the previous days. I... implied that anything we might do or say would be erased the next day. Then I told her that I loved her."

"What difference would that make?" Torres asked.

"I knew if Kathryn thought neither of us would remember, she would be more likely to be completely honest."

"Oh my god," B’Elanna said. The Klingon rubbed her forehead and shook her head. "She loves you too."

"Yes," Seven said quietly. "But she cannot, will not acknowledge it because I am part of her crew."

"You knew… You knew she wouldn’t admit it if she thought you’d remember it the next day." Seven nodded her head and Torres guided Seven to a chair at a nearby table, easing her down. B’Elanna’s tone was gentle as she whispered, "She wouldn’t admit it because she knew it would tear you up inside."

Seven nodded gravely. "She was right."

"Is there more?" B’Elanna asked. The Klingon hybrid’s gut told her Seven’s extreme reaction meant there was something else.

"Yes. I initiated a physical interaction. She was... receptive."

That was Seven, blunt and to the point, B’Elanna noted. She reached across the table and took Seven’s hand. "You have to tell her."

"No." Seven jerked back her hand. "I can never tell her. After we... were together... several times, I asked what would happen if I were to recovered some memory of our... interaction. She was... unsettled at the possibility. She said I couldn’t tell anyone. That it would destroy her ability to work with me."

Torres grabbed Seven’s hand. "First, you’ve already destroyed your working relationship with her. You can’t stand to be in the same room with her, and she knows it. Second, I think when she said that, she had panicked. You just fu– uh, slept with her, and you dropped that on her. I don’t think she’d really want you to keep it from her."

"If I tell her, I will betray her," Seven insisted.

"Damn it, Seven. She loves you. Don’t you realize that when you pulled away from her, it hurt her too? And, on top of that, she thinks the reason you pulled away is because she did something to hurt you." Torres tried to figure out how to phrase her next comment. There simply wasn’t an easy way to say it. "She thinks she made a pass at you and it freaked you out."

"She told you that?" Seven couldn’t believe Kathryn would admit to anyone that she had feelings for Seven.

"Not exactly. She and Chakotay think someone sexually harassed you, but the captain’s no fool. She figured out in a second that you’re avoiding her."

Seven looked at the table, sighing without looking up. "What should I do?"

"Tell her," B’Elanna said. Torres couldn’t fathom how the formerly unyielding Seven of Nine had somehow gotten to this state. "Seven, you used to have so much fight. Where did it go? Why aren’t you fighting the captain on this? You know she loves you. Damn it. Go to her and demand that she faces it... faces you… faces what she feels for you."

Seven looked into B’Elanna’s eyes and the tough Klingon felt the pain in the blonde’s stricken face. "She told me that I cannot hold people responsible for actions they never took in this reality."

"That doe not sound like Janeway. She’d want to know what she did in any reality."

"She told me I had to forgive you for destroying the ship... twice," Seven said quietly.

"That’s different. She wouldn’t want you to blame anyone for some stupid mistake they haven’t yet made… uh, concerning the ship, but this isn’t the same thing. Did she actually tell you to never tell her? After you slept together? Or did she just blurt out a panicked response?"

Seven looked down and her voice was quiet. "She reacted to my suggestion that I might remember something. Before we could thoroughly discuss it, or what action I should take, the time-loop restarted the day."

"And you’ve been basing everything on that?"

"Yes," Seven said.

"She would want to know that she, uh… slept with you." Torres stood and stalked around the table. "Kahless... Seven, she may not have slept with you in this reality, but she does love you. She’s got some stupid Starfleet ideal that tells her she can’t date a crewmember... Well, NEWS FLASH... you’re not in Starfleet."

Seven watched Torres pace like a panther, following her with her eyes as the Borg spoke. "I am still under her command."

"So?" the high strung Klingon yelled. "In case you haven’t noticed, we’re decades from home. Janeway better get used to being alone if she won’t date a crewmember."

Seven stood and stepped in front of B’Elanna. "Why are you so... adamant about this?" Seven asked.

Torres stopped dead in her tracks, the color drained for her dark features and her head bent slightly forward. "Because I let someone I love get away. Now she’s dead, killed by those Cardassian and Dominion bastards." Torres straightened and grabbed Seven’s shoulders. "You were upset when you thought the captain died without knowing you loved her..."

"Yes, but I did tell her."

"No," B’Elanna said gently, most on Voyager wouldn’t believe she was able to create such gentle tones with her Klingon vocal chords. "You didn’t. You experienced it, but she didn’t. If something happens to her, she’ll never know... And you’ll have to live with that forever."

Seven flinched at the thought. Logically she knew better than anyone else that it was true, but she hadn’t let herself face it. She remembered the terrible, wrenching ache when she held Kathryn’s body in her arms. She could not let that happen again.

Seven looked at B’Elanna; the spark was back in the former drone’s eyes. "Thank you, B’Elanna." Seven walked out leaving the stunned Engineer alone in the holo-bar.

Torres watched her leave and wondered if she was sending Seven into an even more treacherous encounter. Sure, the captain had admitted her feelings in the other realities, but that was when she thought it wouldn’t matter. What would Janeway’s reaction be to Seven’s deception that caused the admission? B’Elanna sighed. Whatever happened, at least Seven wouldn’t have to suffer in silence anymore.

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE

Torres came into Engineering a half an hour before her shift started and went to her small office and began checking the reports from the night before. The ship was at station keeping while the warp core was undergoing some routine maintenance, which also gave the crew the chance to work on the hull. She had left instructions for the night crew to begin to scan the hull for any damage. When the huge task was completed, she would then assign teams to go out and repair the microfractures that develop as a normal part of the ship’s going into and out of warp. The tiny imperfections were not dangerous unless ignored for long periods of time. Torres knew the hull wasn’t due for repairs for another three months, but she liked to keep ahead of things, and the warp core work was a good excuse. Torres scanned the night watch report and her eyes stopped on a completed analysis of the hull. She hadn’t expected the night shift to have time to finish the labor-intensive task. She called up the file, and the first thing she noticed was that the technician who performed the scan was Seven of Nine.

"Damn, what was she doing back on duty last night?" B’Elanna asked herself. Torres walked into main Engineering and went over to Lieutenant Nicolletti. "Nicolletti, how long did Seven work last night?"

Nicolletti stared at Torres for a brief moment. "Isn’t she pullin’ a double?"

"No," B’Elanna said slowly. "Why?"

"She’s been here most of the night," Nicolletti said. "I kinda’ figured since she always comes in to, you know, uh, freelance, that she did whatever the two of you thought needed to be done. The last time I saw her, she was heading toward airlock twelve, although I didn’t know there was anything there that needed maintenance."

"Thanks," Torres said, quickly heading toward airlock twelve. She had a queasy feeling in her gut that usually meant trouble. She validated that concern when she entered the airlock and noticed the blinking red lights that meant someone was outside... on the hull.

Torres growled before tapping her com badge. "Computer, identify who is on Voyager’s hull?" B’Elanna had pretty damn good idea who was foolish enough to be out there.

*"Seven of Nine is currently working on Voyager’s hull,"* the computer responded without emotion.

"Who else?" Torres asked. Two people had to always be together whenever a space walk was involved, otherwise, accidents could easily happen.

*"Seven of Nine is alone."*

"Son of a bitch," Torres yelled.

*"Please restate command,"* the computer said.

"Never mind," Torres said as she went to the nearest locker and yanked out an environmental suit. Torres tapped her com badge. "Torres to Seven of Nine."

Seven's voice came back with an echo from the inside of her helmet. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Seven, what the hell are you doing outside by yourself?"

"I am using the molecular bonding laser to mend the micro–"

"That’s not what I mean and you know it," Torres snapped as she stepped into her environmental suit.

"The task can be handled by one person and the rest of the Engineering crew was occupied."

"Damn it, get back in here," Torres ordered, wiggling her arms into the suit, guessing that Seven may not come right back in willingly.

"I am not finished," Seven stubbornly answered.

"Don’t argue with me," Torres said as she zipped her suit up.

"Last night you encouraged me to return to my rebellious behavior," Seven stated.

"Fine, I’ll just have to drag your ass back in here. Torres out." B’Elanna grabbed her helmet. "Torres to bridge..."

*"Bridge..."* Janeway’s voice echoed in the small airlock.

Torres rolled her eyes. It just had to be the captain. "I’m heading out to the hull, through airlock twelve. Log me as outside the of ship."

*"Lieutenant,"* Janeway said with irritation evident in her tone, *"You know better than to spacewalk alone."*

Torres cringed. "Actually, I’m joining a member of my staff..."

*"You have someone outside right now?"* Janeway’s tone had shifted to highly irritated. *"Why wasn’t the bridge informed? And since when do you let people out there alone?"*

Torres didn’t know what happened after Seven left the holo-deck the night before, but she knew the captain would not like her answer. "Captain, I did not give permission for anyone to leave the ship. Seven decided to get a jump on the hull repairs."

*"Seven’s out there alone?"* Janeway was now angry and concerned.

"That’s why I goin’ out, Captain."

*"Drag her back in here and then both of you report to my ready room, Janeway out."*

"Yes, ma’am." B’Elanna secured her helmet and then activated the airlock. She inhaled deeply and she felt the weightlessness overtake her and fought the urge to throw up. Klingons were not known for their spacewalking skills. She activated her magnetic boots and began her slow journey outside. She immediately saw Seven about sixty meters away.

"She couldn’t have been just outside the door. No, that would have been too easy, " Torres said under her breath.

 

Kathryn Janeway paced her ready room like a nervous schoolgirl waiting for her first date. She hadn’t seen Seven in over a week. She’d been giving the former Borg space, trying to let the young woman work through whatever she was dealing with. Which meant that Kathryn had been worried sick about the young blonde, and the captain had to admit, she missed Seven terribly. That was a fact she was not very happy to admit. Starfleet captains do not miss members of their crew... well, they do, but they shouldn’t for the reasons she missed Seven. Kathryn Janeway had used the past two weeks to realize exactly how much she loved Seven. Being away from the willowy blonde had been torture, a torture made worse by the fact that Kathryn had known that Seven was hurting. To be in love with someone and to not be able to help them was the captain’s worst nightmare.

She stopped her pacing and went to her desk. She didn’t want to be pacing when her two officers arrived. She leaned into her chair and sighed, the captain knew she was in very deep trouble, she’d only been away from Seven for a week, and it already hurt more than her separation from Mark. She had to admit, that despite the fact that she had loved the man, he never touched her soul the way Seven did. Janeway leaned onto her desk and rubbed her eyes. Could she have revealed her feelings to Seven? A lot could have happened to the young Borg. Seven had said that the ship had been destroyed twice. Janeway considered that. If she hadn’t known about the time-loop, and she thought she was about to die, she may have told Seven. Suddenly Kathryn felt her heart race. That could be what happened, but would Seven have been that upset by a mere admission of love? *"Apparently Seven has no interest in me,"* Kathryn thought. *"Not at all."*

The door chimed and Janeway steadied herself before speaking. "Come in."

Torres came through the door with Seven of Nine behind her. Seven was wearing her black, loose fitting coveralls. Seven came along side B’Elanna and the two stood at easy attention in front of Janeway’s desk. Janeway stared at Seven, deciding what to say, she was distracted by the fact that Seven still wouldn’t make eye contact, and the fact that Seven looked like she’d lost at least ten pounds in the last week. It was tough to tell with her new outfit, but the young blonde was definitely too thin.

"All right," Janeway said in deep, calm tone that translated to ‘you’re in deep trouble,’ "Who wants to explain?"

Torres started to speak but Seven cut her off. "I was repairing the ship’s hull." Seven’s eyes were locked on the wall behind the captain’s back. Seven knew better than to look into Kathryn’s eyes, she had seen the love in them in the other reality, and now she couldn’t stand seeing it denied.

"Alone?" The captain said quietly, "That is against every safety protocol on board. I will not have you endangering yourself like that."

Seven looked down at the captain’s desk. It was bad enough that Seven couldn’t be with Kathryn, but to be near her and feel the captain’s disappointment was almost too much for the young Borg. "Yes, Captain," Seven said quietly.

Torres stepped forward. "Captain, it’s not completely Seven’s fault, I should have made the regulation more–"

Janeway cut off the Engineer with a wickedly sharp tone. "You’re not off the hook, Lieutenant. You can be sure of that. You are responsible for the safety of your people. Why didn’t you have the automatic bridge notification in effect on that airlock?"

Seven spoke without looking up. "I deactivated it."

"What?" Janeway stood and leaned onto her desk "Seven, you’re relieved of duty. I won’t have you taking these kinds of risks."

Seven nodded.

Torres asked, "For how long?"

Janeway’s eyes never left Seven. B’Elanna thought she saw sorrow in them. "Until Seven agrees to talk to someone about what’s going on with her."

Seven’s head shot up and she looked at B’Elanna. Janeway noted the quick exchange between the women as they obviously acknowledged some private bit of information. Janeway also noted that Seven seemed nervous.

"Yes, Captain." Seven said.

The captain crossed her arms over her chest and softened her voice. "Seven, I want you to get some rest. You don’t look well; go regenerate." Kathryn noticed the young Borg shift uncomfortably. "You’re dismissed, Seven."

"Yes, Captain." Seven turned and walked toward the door. Torres began to turn.

"Not you, Lieutenant." Janeway’s voice was verbal liquid nitrogen. Torres stopped midturn and sighed, then slowly turned back and faced her captain. The door hissed shut behind Seven. "All right, what’s going on with her?"

Torres wasn’t sure how to proceed. On the one hand, this was the captain, on the other, she was a woman in love with Seven, a woman unwilling to admit those feelings. That made for a very delicate situation, and B’Elanna Torres was not known for her delicate handling of anything.

"I’m waiting," Janeway said. The captain noticed her Chief Engineer’s discomfort. "Sit down."

Torres sat and tried to get comfortable, not an easy task considering her situation. She was worried about Seven, but she also didn’t want to betray her promise to keep the Borg’s secret.

"It’s something from the other time-line," Torres finally said.

Kathryn nodded. "And from the looks you two just exchanged, I think you know exactly what that something is."

*"Well, I’m screwed,"* B’Elanna thought. "Captain, I can’t divulge something told to me in confidence–"

"I am the captain of this ship," Janeway said harshly. "She is my officer. If something’s effecting her to this extent, I need to know everything."

Torres gripped her temples with her hand and rubbed her eyes. She was not happy about her current fate. She never should have let Chakotay put Seven in her department. "I can’t..."

"That’s not an option," Janeway said calmly.

Torres sighed and looked up at the captain. "All I can tell you, is that you should look into your own heart."

She leaned back and stared at B’Elanna. Janeway didn’t like anyone telling her what to do, especially in such a cryptic manner. "I think you’d better explain that comment."

"I can’t. It’s not my place." Torres did not want to be in the middle of this anymore than she already was.

Janeway gave B’Elanna a glare that would shear through duranium deckplating. "It just became you your place."

"I talked to Seven about what’s, uh, bothering her. It’s not what you think, Captain," Torres said, shifting in her chair.

"And just what do I think it is?" Janeway demanded, leaning onto her desk.

Torres looked the captain in the eyes. "You think you made a pass at her."

Janeway’s eyes widened and she leaned back into her chair and took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to rein in her temper. "And just what brought you to that conclusion?"

"I’m not an idiot, Captain," Torres said. She could see the captain was extremely uncomfortable.

"What are you saying?"

"Talk to Seven. I will tell you that your feelings for her that are not the problem here," the Klingon added.

"I don’t have any feelings for her," Janeway lied. "No more than any other crew member."

Torres shook her head. "I don’t suggest using that strategy with Seven."

Janeway stood and walked around her desk and then sat on its edge directly in front of the caramel skinned Klingon. She softened her voice. "B’Elanna, please tell me what happened."

There was along pause as B’Elanna weighed her options. Finally she decided to put Seven first, above her own Klingon honor. "You and Seven feel the same way about each other."

There was another long pause as Janeway considered the implications of her statement. The captain rocked back on the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. She still wasn’t ready to admit her feelings for Seven. "And just what do I feel for Seven?"

Torres rolled her eyes and released a disgusted snort. "Permission to speak freely, Captain?"

"You mean you haven’t been?" Torres glared her response, so Janeway bit her lip. "Permission granted."

"You’re an idiot, ma’am."

"Excuse me?" Janeway had given her permission to speak freely, not insult her.

"This ship is decades from home, and if you’ve got a chance to find happiness... then for god sake don’t screw it up."

Janeway took a breath and counted to ten in her head. "If you’re referring to an action I took in some other reality–"

"No, Captain. I’m not. I’m talkin’ about the actions you’re NOT taking in this reality."

Janeway had all she could tolerate. "I brought you in here to find out what’s going on with Seven, not to give me a personality profile. If you don’t mind, Starfleet already has one on file."

"Fine," Torres said.

"Okay," Janeway said. "Let’s take a moment. I want to know what Seven told you about the other realities."

"Ma’am, can I go? Because I won’t be the one to have this conversation with you. This is between you and Seven."

"I’m the captain, and you’ll have any conversation I tell you to," Janeway said in her deadly deep, smoldering tone.

Torres actually laughed. "Like hell."

"You’re pushing the line of insubordination, Lieutenant."

"Then I guess you’d better put me on report."

Janeway gave B’Elanna the look that told the Klingon she was about to have a brand new asshole chewed, courtesy of Captain Kathryn Janeway. Janeway took a deep breath so she could get some steam behind her tirade.

*"Sickbay to Janeway..."* the doctor said over the com.

Janeway eyed Torres who let out a relived sigh. Janeway on the other hand squeezed her eyes slightly as she shifted her focus. "Janeway here..."

*"Captain, Seven of Nine was just brought in to sickbay. I thought you should know."*

Torres and the captain both stood. Janeway’s voice betrayed her feelings. "What do you mean, brought in?"

*"She collapsed in the corridor near her cargo bay."*

"On my way," Janeway said. "Is she okay?" Torres followed as they hurried through the bridge to the turbo lift.

*"She’s... well, I’d rather discuss it with you in sickbay."*

"Fine. Janeway out." Torres and the captain moved into the turbo-lift, the doors hissing shut, each woman caught up in her own thoughts.

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

B’Elanna and the captain rode quietly as the turbo-lift sped toward sickbay. After a few moments, the captain broke the silence. "She looked pale... and thin."

"It’s my fault. I should have sent her to sickbay last night," Torres said angrily.

"What do you mean?" Janeway demanded.

"I saw her last night, in the holo-deck. I saw how thin she was... you can’t tell in that new outfit of hers... she’s lost so much weight..."

"Why didn’t you take her to see the Doctor? There might be something wrong with her alcove." Janeway realized she should have had the same concern. She should have insisted Seven go to sickbay.

Torres sighed. "It’s not the alcove."

Janeway lunged toward Torres like a lioness protecting her cubs. "Explain."

B’Elanna looked into her captain’s eyes. "Seven hasn’t regenerated since this whole thing began. She has been eating, but not enough...obviously."

Captain Janeway lost her composure. Her voice cracked as her volume increased. "Why didn’t you tell someone? How dare you keep this to yourself? I should put you on report. It’s your job to notify –"

"I know!" B’Elanna yelled. Her voice was strained. "Don’t you think I know? She promised me she’d try to eat more. And she can’t regenerate because that god forsaken alcove doesn’t let her wake up from her nightmares."

Janeway’s eyes widened as the lights from the passing decks flickered slower, signifying they were almost at their destination. "Nightmares? I didn’t know."

"Why would you? You’re the last person she would tell... the nightmares are about you," B’Elanna blurted out.

"What?" Kathryn asked. Her voice was leaving her. "Me?"

"She saw you die. And every time she goes to sleep, she relives it."

"Is that what’s been bothering her?" Kathryn asked gently.

"Partly. But it’s what happened after that..."

The turbolift stopped and the doors opened. B’Elanna hurried out so she wouldn’t have to answer any more questions. She had already said too much. Janeway quickly fell into step with her as they entered sickbay and the captain shot Torres a look that let her know the conversation wasn’t over. The captain stopped, and Torres almost bumped into her as soon as they saw Seven. The ex Borg was in the back bio bed unconscious with the Doctor milling around the bed adjusting the settings and scanning the young woman.

"Doctor?" Janeway asked.

He looked up from Seven at the two new arrivals. "Captain..." He focused on the Klingon hybrid. " Lieutenant, I’m glad you’re here. How much do you know about Seven’s Borg technology?"

"Uh," Torres said as she moved closer. "Not much... some, a little more since One was on board, but you know more."

"I may understand her organic components, but I’m a doctor, not an engineer. Her abdominal implant is consuming her body."

"Doctor," Janeway said as she moved toward Seven’s bed. "How serious is this?"

"I don’t know, Captain. I don’t understand why it’s happening. I’ve checked her records and she’s been regenerating on schedule," he said solemnly.

"No," B’Elanna said. "She hasn’t. She falsified the records. She hasn’t regenerated since the time-loop."

The Doctor glared at the engineer. "Well, it would be nice if I was informed about this. That certainly explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" the captain asked.

"She’s lost twenty two pounds in the last two weeks."

Janeway’s eyes widened. "How can that be? She should be more resilient than the rest of us. After all, she’s still part Borg."

The Doctor said what B’Elanna already knew. "We’ve, or rather, I’ve changed all that. By removing her implants and trying to switch her back over to eating and sleeping, we’ve actually made her less resistant in those areas. As long as she regenerates, she can go without eating or sleeping. But, with the changes I made, if she does stop... well, as you can see... Her implants have been feeding off of her organic systems. I’ve got an IV giving her nutrients."

"Can you reverse the damage?" Kathryn asked.

"I think so," he said. "I’ve got her heavily sedated. She wouldn’t stay in sickbay once she woke up, and she needs to. Once I’ve got her stabilized, we should make sure she regenerates for at least eighteen hours."

Torres stepped closer. "Doctor, can you give her something to keep her from dreaming?"

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked.

"Can you?" Torres asked again.

He shook his head. "I wouldn’t suggest it. Her system is a mess. I’m not willing to upset her brain chemistry."

"Doctor," Janeway said quietly, "She’s been having nightmares. That’s why she hasn’t regenerated."

He stared at the captain. "She can’t dream in her alcove. The only thing she could possibly experience while regenerating would be a memory loop."

Janeway stepped closer. "What’s that?"

"From what I can tell," he said. "It is a series of actual memories that repeat throughout the process, an instant replay of sorts. I don’t see why that would upset her. It could only be something she’s already lived through."

The captain rubbed her eyes and walked over to the bed and looked down at Seven. For the moment, the delicate blonde was resting peacefully. Kathryn had an urge to brush her hand across the pale cheek. Her skin looked so soft.

"Captain," Torres said, breaking the spell the captain had been in.

Janeway turned slowly and faced B’Elanna. "What is it Lieutenant?"

"I should..." Torres was going to say she should go back to Engineering, but one look at the torment on the captain’s face changed her mind. "Captain, I think we should talk."

Janeway raised one eyebrow, she hadn’t expected the Klingon to change her stance, so Kathryn turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, do you mind if we use your office?" Normally the captain would have gone to her ready room, but she didn’t want to be that far from the young Borg.

"Of course... but if this is about Seven–"

"No," Janeway said, her tone making it clear that it was not up for debate. Janeway went to his office with B’Elanna on her heels, they entered and Janeway quickly accessed the com panel and instantly shaded the clear walls to dark black. She didn’t want any uninvited observers. The captain sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms over her chest and looked expectantly at Torres. "Well?"

Torres chose to lean against the now dark wall instead of taking the chair. She tried to think of a delicate way to say it, but at the moment it escaped her. "Captain, I told you that you and Seven feel the same way about each other..."

"Yes? And just exactly how is that?"

Torres crossed her arms over her chest mimicking the captain’s stance. "She’s in love with you, and before you try to deny it, even if I didn’t know what I do, that look on your face when you saw Seven just now would have proved you feel the same way."

Janeway looked down at the floor. She knew it was hopeless to deny it. "And Seven knows?"

"You could say that," Torres said delicately.

"Then why is she so upset?" Part of Kathryn was relieved, no overjoyed, that Seven felt the same way. She knew it would be complicated, but she had spent the last week in agony without seeing her. The captain realized she’d do anything, buck any regulation, face anyone to not have to go through that pain anymore.

"You told her that you two could never be together... again."

"Because I’m the captain..." Janeway said, then the rest of B’Elanna’s sentence processed. She leaned toward Torres. "Again? What exactly does that mean?"

Torres squirmed. If anyone should have to explain this, it was Seven, not her. "Uh, well... ma’am, you slept with her."

"Oh my god... what the hell was I thinking? Oh, I wasn’t thinking..." Janeway paced like a trapped cat. "How could I have been so stupid? ... and then, to tell her to keep it to herself? Why would I have–"

"It’s not that simple," Torres cut in.

"Oh?"

"Seven wasn’t exactly honest with you."

Janeway gave B’Elanna a vicious glared that demanded an explanation.

"She, well, after she saw you killed... when the day repeated again..." Torres did not want to have this conversation. "She wanted, no needed to know how you felt..."

Janeway cringed and inhaled deeply at the thought of Seven suffering through that. "I can’t believe I said anything. Up until a week ago I wasn’t ready to face it," Janeway said more to herself than Torres.

"Well, ma’am. After Seven watched you die..." Torres paused, waiting for the captain to stop pacing, it was very distracting. "She needed you to be honest... and she didn’t think you would be..."

"I didn’t think I would have either," Janeway admitted. "That must have been some other reality."

"Well," Torres said. "She told you when the day repeated everyone would forget what happened... even her."

Janeway eyes widened as she considered that. If she was given the chance to be honest, even before the time-loop, to tell Seven how much she meant to her, and have it not remembered... she would have. It would have been impossible to pass up the chance to express that love. She also knew it wouldn’t be a huge leap to think she would have just as easily made love to Seven under those conditions, to share one night of passion that would have had to make up for a lifetime of denial.

"Captain?" Torres asked, her concern evident, having never seen the captain looking this out of sorts.

"I think I understand... What I don’t understand is why I told her not to tell me about it. If I didn’t think she’d remember, why would I have told her that? I can’t imagine giving her that advice. I would never want her to hold this inside alone."

Torres sighed, relieved to hear the captain’s response. "I think she asked you about it right before the next time shift, and you… well, didn’t have much time to respond. I’m guessing she filled in the rest by using your advice about the other incidents that happened... like me destroying the ship."

"Oh?" Janeway asked.

"Twice, apparently..." Torres cracked a tiny grin. "I wish she’d kept that little gem to herself."

Janeway ran her hand through her hair. "I would have told her to leave that in the past, that it hadn’t actually happened in this timeline... and I can see how she may have confused it with... uh, the other situation with me."

"What are you gonna’ do?"

"I wish I knew," Kathryn said quietly.

B’Elanna’s eyes flashed. "Why won’t you let yourself love her?"

Kathryn released a sarcastic, strangled laugh. "I’m the captain."

"And?" Torres demanded.

Janeway stared at B’Elanna. "And it wouldn’t be proper."

"And breaking her heart is?"

The anguish that covered Janeway’s face shocked B’Elanna. She’d never seen the captain display so much emotion. "I don’t want to hurt her. I lo... The last thing I want to do is hurt her."

"You won’t even let yourself say it, will you? She’s not the only one you’re hurting. Look inside, Captain."

Janeway glanced at the wall blocking her view of Seven. "I can’t let myself. I have to be strong... for the ship, my crew..."

Torres gently put her hand on Kathryn’s shoulder. "You’d be a lot stronger if you weren’t so determined to stand alone. Captain, we all need to have love. The crew wants you to be happy, and if that means being with Seven, then, well, do it. Don’t throw it away... I, I’m speaking from experience."

Janeway drew in a breath, it was difficult, her chest was tight and her body stiff. "I don’t know how..."

Torres was stunned. She had never seen the captain this exposed, she didn’t know she could be. She always saw the captain as unshakable. And worst of all, Torres was no expert at this. Her own failures were proof of that, but she tried to offer what she could. "Go to her," B’Elanna said simply.

Janeway stared at the Klingon hybrid for a long moment, and then her sardonic half grin peeked out. "You make it sound easy."

Torres snorted her sarcastic laugh. "Oh, it won’t be easy... we’re talkin’ about Seven. The woman takes everything literally, she’s stubborn as a Targ, and has a temper to rival mine. She’s gonna’ drive you nuts."

A sorrowful, yet hopeful expression covered Kathryn’s face. "I do... ya’ know. I do love her."

B’Elanna snorted again. "Duh."

"Thank you, B’Elanna. Now, if you don’t mind... there’s someone out there who needs me."

Janeway tapped the access panel and returned the walls to normal and opened the door.

"It’s about damn time," Torres said as she stood.

Janeway came out and was surprised to see Seven awake, awake and arguing with the Doctor.

"I will not regenerate," the young Borg stated.

"Seven, your body is starting to shut down. You have to go back to your alcove." The Doctor tried to put his hand on Seven’s arm but she jerked away, it wasn’t his touched she craved.

"Seven," Kathryn said quietly.

Seven turned to face the captain, but she looked at her com badge, then the auburn hair with flecks of gold and red framing her face. The young Borg couldn’t look into the slate blue eyes.

"Captain, I was unaware of your presence," Seven managed to say.

"Doctor, leave us alone." Janeway said.

"What?" he asked. "First you kick me out of my own office, and now my sickbay?"

B’Elanna came out of the office, Seven saw her and the exdrone’s face drained of all remaining color. B’Elanna gave the blonde a weak smile.

"How you feelin’?" Torres asked as she came along side the bed.

"I will be fine as soon as I leave here," Seven said indignantly.

"Not yet," Kathryn said gently. Janeway raised her eyebrows at Torres and the engineer understood she was no longer needed.

"I’ll see ya’ later, Seven. I know you’ll feel better soon," Torres said, giving the captain a knowing look and leaving.

The Doctor sighed. "Fine, I’ll be in my office...unless you want to haul her in there for your little talk." Janeway froze him in his tracks with one glance. He cleared his throat and then quickly ducked out.

Seven sat up and then looked down at her legs. "Captain, I am sorry to inconvenience you."

Kathryn moved closer, careful not to crowd the young blonde. "You’re not inconveniencing me. I’m just worried about you." Janeway edged closer until she was almost touching Seven’s leg. She could feel the heat radiating off of her willowy, muscular leg. Voyager’s brave, fearless Captain was shaking in her Starfleet issue boots. Kathryn’s voice shook as she spoke. "Seven, please, look at me."

Seven looked into Kathryn’s face, the young Borg drew in a deep breath when she saw the same love she had only been seeing in her memory. "Captain?"

Kathryn smiled shyly but warmly. "Somehow I don’t think you called me ‘Captain’ in one of those other realities."

Seven’s eyes widened and she felt her face blush deep red. "Lieutenant Torres betrayed my confidence." It was a statement, not a question.

"I’m glad she did," Kathryn said quietly. "You never should have kept this from me."

Seven shifted her eyes back down to her legs. "You are disappointed."

Kathryn lifted Seven’s chin and looked into her eyes. "I’m not disappointed. I could never be disappointed in you. I just hate to think of you suffering all this time. Why didn’t you come to me?"

Seven drew in a deep breath through her nose and tears slowly formed at the edges of her eyes. "I should not have told B’Elanna... and, I lied to you..."

Kathryn reached up and wiped a tear from Seven’s cheek. "I’m glad you talked to B’Elanna... you didn’t have to keep this to yourself. As for the lying… I can understand what happened. You saw me killed and had to find out how I felt. It’s not the way I would have liked you to handle it, but, well, I wasn’t in your position." Seven sighed deeply and Kathryn edged as close as she could. "I’m willing to leave that in past…You could have come to me."

Confusion bathed Seven’s face. "I... I did not expect this reaction." The young Borg’s lip quivered.

"Seven, Annika, I... I realized that I can’t keep denying my feelings for you," Kathryn said as she caressed Seven's cheek, the softness making her fingers tingle and her heart flutter. Seven leaned toward the warmth of Kathryn’s hand, tears poured from Annika’s eyes. Kathryn brought her other hand up and gently stroked Seven’s silky burnt platinum hair. "What is it? I thought this would make you happy."

Seven smiled through her tears and nodded enthusiastically. "I am very happy. It is just… you touched me this way... before."

Janeway blushed as she realized what Seven meant. "Oh." The captain cleared her throat. "This may sound ... odd considering what’s already happened, but I... well, I’d like to take it slow."

Seven smiled and looked away, but quickly turned back. "I understand. I have experienced...us. You have not."

Janeway cleared her throat to silence a laugh. "You have quite a way of putting things." Kathryn brought her hand down and rested it on Seven’s leg and had to contain the surge of electricity that shot through her. Perhaps taking things slow wasn’t such a great idea. "Right now, Seven, you need to regenerate."

Seven rested her hand on top of the captain’s. Seven felt like she coming back to life again. "I am frighten, Kathryn. I have memories from..."

"Shhh," Kathryn said as she put her fingers to Seven’s lips. "I know, but I’ll be with you. I’ll wait right there while you regenerate. If you start to have one of those memories, if I see you the slightest bit upset, I’ll end the cycle."

Seven studied the woman in front of her, the young Borg had closed herself off over the last two weeks, so much so that she had become more like the drone she had originally been than the woman she had become. That didn’t mater anymore, all that mattered was that Kathryn was with her.

"You will not leave me?"

"No, I won’t," Kathryn promised.

"It will be eighteen hours," Seven pointed out.

"I know."

"If there is an emergency... and you have to leave..."

"Then I’ll end the cycle until I can come back or someone else can be with you. I won’t leave without telling you."

Seven reached out and let the tips of her finger tips brush across Kathryn’s cheek, the captain shuddered at the young woman’s touch. Seven smiled weakly. "I will comply."

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

Captain Janeway sat in a chair beside Seven of Nine’s alcove. She had been there for ten hours, and had awakened Seven from her painful memories six times. The captain kept vigil beside the woman she loved, hoping to heal some of the hurt the young exdrone had endured. She heard Seven murmur and stood, watching as Seven’s eyebrow furrowed together and her breathing increased. Kathryn recognized the expression even hidden behind closed eyes. She quickly accessed the controls to the alcove and stopped the cycle and Seven collapsed forward as soon as the green lights quit flickering over her head.

The computer announced its disapproval, "Regeneration cycle incomplete."

"Kathryn!" Seven yelled. "No...."

Janeway hugged the shaking Seven tightly to her chest. "Shhh, I’m here... it’s over, Seven. I’m right here."

"Kathryn," Seven whispered, clinging to the captain and sobbing. Janeway stroked her golden hair and pulled her protectively against her. After many long minutes, Kathryn eased Seven away from her chest. The former Borg stubbornly squeezed tighter, but finally allowed the separation.

The captain kissed the tears from Seven’s eyes. "I’m here." Kathryn ached seeing Seven go though the memories again and again, each time she tumbled out of the alcove she was caught up in the midst of her horrible ordeal, each time she had to be reassured that Kathryn was not dead. Kathryn shivered at the thought of her beloved going through this torment alone over the last two weeks, even if those had only been nightmares and not these torturous memory loops.

Seven’s breathing slowed and she pulled away, embarrassed by her display of emotion. "I am sorry," she said quietly.

"Stop apologizing. I’m here for you. Annika, I love you." Janeway felt tears fill her eyes as she said the words that she had thought she never could. "I love you with all I am."

Seven pulled Kathryn to her and would not let go. "I keep thinking this is a dream. If it is, I do not want to wake up."

"It’s real." Kathryn eased her sweet Borg back so she could look into her classical features. "Seven, how do you feel?" Kathryn asked.

Seven gave Kathryn one of her incredulous stares, complete with one raised eyebrow. "I have just experienced your death...again. I am not feeling well."

Janeway leaned forward and kissed Seven’s forehead. "That’s not what I mean. Physically? Do you still feel weak?"

"I will not lose consciousness again if that is what you mean."

"Faint, Seven. You fainted," Kathryn said, cracking a half smile.

"Borg do not faint," Seven said tenaciously, but there was a hint of a smirk.

"You’re not Borg anymore," Janeway said as she pulled Seven’s hair of its bun and raked her fingers through it. "I spoke with the Doctor. He said if you want to get some sleep for the rest of the night you can come back in the morning and finish your regeneration cycle...if you eat something."

"If you need to rest, Kathryn, you may go..."

"That’s not what I meant at all," Kathryn said, taking Seven’s face in her hands and looking into the young blonde’s piercing ice blue eyes. "I thought you might like to go back to my quarters and sleep... with me."

"I would like that," Seven said with a sensual grin.

"No, I mean sleep, Seven," Kathryn smiled and guided the former drone away from the alcove. "You need sleep."

Seven looked disappointed, but she allowed Kathryn to lead her toward the doors. "Very well... But I assure you I am very rested."

"I’ll bet." Kathryn took Seven’s hand as they entered the corridor. The captain didn’t let go when several crewmen passed by. Janeway looked over at Seven’s outfit. "Annika, why did you change your outfit?"

Seven blushed. "Because in the other timeline, you told me... that every time you saw me in it… you wanted to rip it off me and take me right there on the deck plating. I thought it prudent to not put you through that."

"I did?" Now Janeway blushed. "I can’t believe I admitted that."

 

Once they arrived at Kathryn’s quarters, the captain sat Seven on the couch and went to the replicator, then turned to her beautiful companion. "Seven, what do you feel like eating?"

Seven blushed, which surprised the captain. Janeway moved closer, wondering if the former drone was having some adverse reaction to stopping the regeneration.

"Seven?" Kathryn asked again.

Seven looked down at the floor, but not before Kathryn saw an absolutely undaunted smile. "I cannot have want I want most…"

Janeway suddenly realized that her young blonde Borg had apparently acquired an appetite for oral sex in the one night they shared. Kathryn felt her stomach ripple at the thought of Seven’s full lips wrapping her most intimate spot. "Uh, well… what else can I get you?" Kathryn managed to ask.

Seven looked up. "B’Elanna suggested the emergency ration bars. I find them palatable and I only have to ingest a small portion to get all of my daily requirements."

Kathryn made a face that showed her unspoken disapproval, but retrieved the item for the statuesque blonde. "We definitely have to work on your palate," Kathryn said as she handed Seven the bar.

Seven nibbled on the bar while Kathryn got herself a cup of coffee. The captain sat next to the Borg on the couch and studied her. Seven allowed it, glad to just be spending time with the woman she loved. Seven ate about an eighth of the bar and then put it onto the coffee table.

Janeway raised her eyebrow. "You’re not done are you?"

Seven raised her own eyebrow at the beautiful auburn haired captain. "I cannot tolerate large quantities of solid nutrition."

Sorrow covered Kathryn’s face. She had no idea the young Borg was this intolerant of something as human as eating. "It’s all right, Seven. Just eat what you can." Kathryn edged closer and placed her hand on Seven’s thigh. "We’ll have you good as new in no time."

"I find that… unlikely."

"Well, okay, then soon," Kathryn offered.

Seven smiled, she loved the feel of Kathryn’s hand on her skin, even through the fabric of her coveralls, then the young blonde released a huge yawn.

"I think it’s time you went to bed," Kathryn said with more than a hint of authority lacing her words.

"Agreed," Seven said as she fought off another yawn. She looked expectantly toward the captain’s bedroom and the double bed beneath the large window revealing the passing streaks of stars.

Janeway stood. "I’ll replicate something for you to sleep in. I’m sure nothing of mine will fit you." Though Kathryn liked the image that sprang into her mind, Seven’s breasts straining the seams on a short nightie made shorter by the blonde’s impressive height. The captain smiled as she approached the replicator.

"Kathryn," Seven said expectantly. "Why can I not wear what I wore the …last time I…slept over?"

Kathryn turned to her companion. "What did you wear?"

Seven looked directly into Kathryn’s eyes as casually as if she were describing the latest spacial anomaly. "Nothing."

Kathryn choked on her coffee. The image that the comment brought to mind was quite distracting. "I don’t think that would be appropriate."

"Very well," Seven said grumpily. She had hoped to at least experience the sensation of Kathryn’s naked body pressed against her throughout the night.

 

Kathryn managed to tuck in Seven of Nine, and with considerable effort, managed to keep the young drone on her own side of the bed that seemed to be shrinking as time passed. Kathryn was holding her own up until the point when she heard her young beloved whimpering in the near darkness. Janeway called for one-eighth lights and the room came into soft focus. Seven’s expression was troubled, but Kathryn wasn’t sure if she should wake her. If Seven’s dreams got bad enough, she would wake, but the young Annika was still new to dreaming. Kathryn’s heart took control of the moment and she reached over and gently caressed the willowy shoulder closest to her. Seven’s murmur changed pitch and the exBorg shifted toward the comforting hand. Kathryn guided the still sleeping Seven’s onto her shoulder and cradled her. Kathryn had to repress a startled gasp when she felt Seven’s exposed ribs, the young blonde’s sufferings were abundantly evident, each protruding rib a stark reminder. Kathryn’s body seemed to be enough to pull Seven out of the dark dream she had been having, so Kathryn relaxed into the softness of her warm body. The captain squeezed her eyes as she felt warm tears heat her cheeks and leave chilled marks once the warm liquid cooled and continued down her face. She squeezed the Borg beside her, wishing she could absorb the pain she as going through. Kathryn’s inability to be honest with her feelings had deeply wounded the woman she loved most in the vast universe. Kathryn promised herself that she would make it up to her.

 

Kathryn awoke with a pleasant feeling that had been absent from her life for far too long. There was a glorious, lanky, long leg draped across the good Captain’s pelvis. That leg was attached to a very warm body that was snuggled against the sleepy commander of the Starship Voyager. Kathryn ran her hand down and rested her fingers on Seven’s knee. The former Borg’s nightgown had ridden up during the night, and Kathryn smiled lazily as her hand edged high up the young blonde’s thigh. She stopped at the tender flesh just above that thigh, she wasn’t about to take advantage of her beloved exdrone, but a few seconds later Seven’s hand causally covered Kathryn’s and lightly gripped the captain’s fingers. The young Borg then began inching Kathryn’s hand further up her leg. Kathryn stopped her hand’s movement as she smiled.

"Good morning, Seven."

Seven snuggled into Kathryn’s shoulder. "Good morning, Kathryn… was that *your* hand I was moving?" The lanky blonde asked. Kathryn could hear the smile on her beloved’s lips.

"You couldn’t tell?" Kathryn asked through her own smile, wrapping her other arm around the relaxed Borg and pulling her even closer.

"Oh, I could tell… I just thought…" Seven let the sentence hang.

"Thought what?" Kathryn asked, although she had a pretty good idea what her sweet young Borg was going to say.

"I thought… you might enjoy where I was guiding your hand."

Kathryn laughed and squeezed Seven tightly. "Oh… I know I would have enjoyed that particular journey and destination, but we’re taking it slow, okay?"

"I will comply," Seven said grumpily, but the sound of the smile was still there.

"Hey," the captain said as she poked her beautiful bedmate in the ribs, "at least you’ve got memories of…us…to hold you over."

"Actually, I believe that makes my situation more difficult…You do not know what you are missing," the Borg stated flatly.

Janeway felt her cheeks warm as she blushed wildly, although she also felt rather smug. "I think we should get up now."

"Agreed, although I am aware that you are changing the subject," Seven said.

Kathryn eased away from the magnificent body she wanted to slide down and ravage.

"Somehow, I knew you would be," Kathryn said as she managed to climb out of the sheets and then looked back at the image of the glorious Annika Hansen lounging in her bed. It was a sight that tempted her to climb right back in… all the way in.

"Are you curious, Kathryn?" Seven asked as she tossed back the blankets revealing exactly how high the nightgown had ridden up in the night. Kathryn averted her eyes, but not before catching a brief glimpse of the platinum blonde triangle of soft curls between the legs, long shapely legs.

The captain busied herself with gathering her uniform from the top of the dresser where she had left it neatly folded the night before. She smiled when she saw her four pips already in place on the collar. She touched them as she felt her chest tighten, knowing that Seven must have seen the golden rank insignias and attached them. It was… domestic. Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct to unimatrix 01, was domestic.

"Are you avoiding my question?" Seven asked as she stood and approached the captain from behind.

"What?" Janeway asked. She was drifting off into a fantasy picturing Seven cooking stacks of pancakes and ironing the captain’s dress uniform, except it didn’t actually require ironing, but it was a fantasy after all. The image strangely excited the Starfleet officer.

"I asked if you were curious."

Kathryn turned and looked at Seven. "About?…" Suddenly she understood. In truth she was more than curious, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the details. "Oh… Yes, but, I think I’d rather wait and discover things for myself."

"I see," Seven said. In truth, she had hoped to entice the captain with the details of their lovemaking.

Kathryn put her hand on Seven’s shoulder. "You sound disappointed."

Seven tilted her head to the side and examined Kathryn’s elegant features. "I expected you to want…details. Considering your insistence that I tell you what happened in those other realities."

"Well, this is a little different. I want my first time with you to be just as mysterious this time as it was last time." Kathryn slowly ran her hand down Seven’s arm.

"Very well…" Seven said. She would comply. Actually she was glad to not have to reveal one detail from that night of passion. She hoped that bit of their interaction would not repeat again.

 

After Kathryn and Seven had each finished their separate showers, they went to cargo bay two. Kathryn sat and read the logs from the overnight shifts and then worked on personnel reviews as she sat patiently next to Seven. During six hours of regeneration, Kathryn only had to end the cycle once, but that was once too often for both women. Seven clung to her captain and sobbed for ten minutes before she finally calmed down enough to complete her cycle. As soon as Seven had restarted her regeneration, Kathryn allowed herself to weep. Seeing Seven in pain was almost more than the Starfleet officer could take, Kathryn sat on the decking and wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her face on her legs, letting the tears fall. She was glad that she had made the cargo bay off limits for the day, she wasn’t used to letting her feelings out and it wasn’t something she wanted to share with anyone.

When the willowy blonde finished regenerating for the day, Kathryn left Seven in the cargo bay and had to returned to the bridge. Seven used the time to work on her new quarters. She had already sectioned off a decent sized area and had her bed and a desk sitting off to one edge, she studied the space with her Borg enhanced eyepiece trying to determine the best way to make her quarters more… human. She wanted Kathryn to feel comfortable visiting her there, having spent several hours getting furniture from the ship's stores. Seven eyed her newly arranged living space and decided she was tired of being there alone. She sat on her new couch and stared at her very bare walls, the stark metal emergency habitat walls were not much better than the cargo bay walls. Seven found aesthetics generally irrelevant, but she knew Kathryn did not. She was pulled from her interior-decorating dilemma when her com badge chirped.

"Janeway to Seven of Nine…"

"Yes, Captain," Seven said as she stood. Part of the young blonde hoped there was some crisis that required her on the bridge. She was bored and wanted to see Kathryn.

"Seven…" Kathryn sounded… nervous. "I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a late lunch."

Seven smiled, letting it cover her whole face since she was alone. "I would… enjoy that, Captain."

"Great," Kathryn said. Seven could hear the smile on Kathryn’s face. Not many people on board could hear the distinction, but Annika Hansen could. "I’ll meet you in the mess hall in half an hour," Janeway said.

"The mess hall?" Seven’s surprise was evident to Kathryn on the other end of the com.

"Yes… Is that a problem?" the captain asked.

"No… May I speak freely?" Seven inquired.

"I’m in my ready room. Go ahead." Janeway settled back into her chair.

"Kathryn, I am… surprised that you would choose to… take me on… a date to such a public place. Am I misinterpreting your request?"

Kathryn smiled. "You’re not misreading me. I am indeed asking you out on date. Why wouldn’t I take you out in public?"

"Well, the crew…" Seven said slowly.

"The crew will have to get used to seeing us together," Kathryn said firmly. She could tell the young Borg needed reassurance. "We don’t have anything to hide, Annika. I am the captain, but, you’re not in Starfleet."

"I see," Seven said. She had thought the captain would be more reluctant to ‘date’ in public. Suddenly the young Borg couldn’t wait to have ‘lunch,’ even if it was just part of an emergency ration bar. "I will see you in one half hour."

"I’m looking forward to it, Annika. Janeway out." The com line went dead and the captain crossed her arms and let a huge grin cover her face. She had a date. A date with the most gorgeous woman on the ship, probably the most intelligent one, too. Kathryn rested her head against the back of her chair and sighed. She couldn’t wipe the silly grin off her face. She closed her eyes and pictured Seven and the grin took on a much more predatory quality. Kathryn decided she should leave a little early for lunch.

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

The captain went directly to the mess hall and after a quick conservation with Nelix ducked back out to get some supplies.

 

Seven of Nine arrived at the mess hall two point five minutes early. She scanned the room and quickly spotted the captain standing next to a table in the very back of the room. There were only a few other small groups of people having lunch at the moment and Seven went directly to her date.

Kathryn smiled warmly at the lanky blonde. "Miss Hansen, your table is ready."

Seven raised an eyebrow almost her hairline. "Thank you… Miss Janeway," Seven said mimicking her companion. She was unaware of the custom of altering one’s designation, but she would gladly follow the captain anywhere.

Kathryn covered her mouth, but not before a deep, warm laugh escaped. "I haven’t been called that in… Well, I can’t remember the last time."

Seven sat, studying the strange items on the table. "Have I used the designation incorrectly?"

"No, you’re perfect. I was having some fun with you. I’m glad you’re joining in."

Seven didn’t quite understand but was glad she had managed to react correctly. "These table arrangements are different."

"I wanted to make lunch fun for us. Just because we’re eating in the mess hall doesn’t mean it can’t be special." The captain guided her young companion to her chair and then sat across from her, she looked over and saw a radiant smile on Seven’s lips and she knew she had never seen the former Borg smile that brightly in public.

"Every time I am with you is special, but I am pleased you wanted to make this… fun." Seven continued studying the tableware. There was a silk tablecloth, fine white plates the color of bone, the utensils appeared to be made of silver, and the glasses were actually made of glass.

Kathryn allowed her own radiant smile. She was suddenly very glad that she had left early to make the few arrangements. "You’re right, it’s always special with you." Kathryn wished she had thought to say that first. "Annika, you are really very sweet."

Seven blushed. It was adorable. "Thank you."

"Are you hungry?" Kathryn asked.

"I have not ingested my nutrition today," Seven said. "Kathryn," Seven asked, suddenly mesmerized by the glassware. "These glasses are actually made of… glass. Is that how they got their original designation?"

"I think so…" Kathryn smiled and nodded. She loved the way everything was a new, precious discovery for her beloved Annika, and she loved how she could re-experience the wonders through Seven’s eyes. "But they’re called crystal."

Seven looked up abruptly at the captain. Her analytical expression was back. "Curious, these beverage containers made of glass are called crystal… and containers made of polymer are called glasses."

"Annika," Kathryn said as she reached over and took Seven’s hand. "You are a treasure."

Seven raised her eyebrow. "Are you teasing me?"

"No," Kathryn said. "I am totally serious. I love the way you look at things. You make me remember to enjoy the things around me."

Seven leaned back, but didn’t let go of Kathryn’s hand. Instead she brought it over in front of her and gently stroked it. "I enjoy you."

Kathryn hand held Seven’s for several moments and then she suddenly remembered where they were. She eased her hand back and cleared her throat, which was suddenly thick. "The feeling is mutual." Kathryn turned and signaled Nelix.

Nelix brought over a covered tray and stopped beside the table. "Ladies, I have your lunch." He lifted the covered off the tray and grandly presented their meal.

Seven’s eyed widened and her lips curled on the edges. There were two small plates. Each had one emergency ration bar surrounded by various pieces of colorful, decorative vegetation. The Talaxian set them down with great formality onto the slightly larger plates already on the table.

Nelix smiled and nodded at the captain. "Bon appetit." Then the normally talkative cook disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Thank you," Janeway said to his retreating back.

"Thank you," Seven said following Kathryn’s lead. Seven turned back to the captain. "You hate these," she stated.

"I just don’t prefer them," the captain said delicately. "The Doctor wants you to eat this… so this is what we’ll eat."

Seven eyed her meal and then stared at her companion. "I appreciate the… romantic gesture. However, I do not expect you to do this at every meal."

"Good," Kathryn said with a laugh. She reached over beside the table and pulled a dark green bottle from an odd metal stand and poured golden sparkling liquid into the two crystal glasses on the table.

Seven tilted her head to one side. "Kathryn… is that champagne? I did not think you would indulge in an alcoholic beverage while on duty."

Kathryn slid the bottle back into the ice filled stand and turned back to Seven. "You’re absolutely correct. I would never drink alcohol on duty. This is sparkling cider. It’s festive, without the alcohol… besides, I seem to remember that you don’t have a very high tolerance for alcohol." A tiny smirk appeared on Kathryn’s lips as she remembered the site of Seven, tipsy after half a glass of champagne, patting the Doctor’s chest telling him amiably, "We are as one."

Seven nodded solemnly. "Yes, I found that alcohol had a pronounced negative effect on my balance and coordination."

"This won’t," Kathryn said as she picked up her glass. "To new beginnings…"

Seven picked up her glass as she had seen crewmembers do the day of the ill fated slipstream test. She knew this was called a toast. She didn’t point out to her companion that, by definition, every beginning was new. "To new beginnings," Seven said. The former drone tasted the beverage and found it a huge improvement over the champagne. She allowed a tiny smile and took another larger swallow.

"Do you like it?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes, very much. It is far more pleasant than alcohol. It does not taste bitter. Why do humans not celebrate with this beverage instead?"

"Tradition… personal preference… many reasons," Kathryn said. She made a mental note to pick up several bottles of the cider to have on hand in her quarters for the beautiful Borg.

Seven set her glass down and looked around the room. The other crewmembers would occasionally glance over at the captain and her date, but the only reaction appeared to be amused acceptance, as if they were happy to see their captain with someone.

"Kathryn," Seven said, "I am surprised by the crew’s reaction."

"How so?"

"They seem… pleased to see us here… together."

Kathryn scanned the room. Several crewmembers made eye contact and smiled. The captain nodded back to them and then looked back at her companion. "I think you’re right." Kathryn realized that her crew probably wanted their Captain to be happy as much as she wanted each of them to be happy. "Voyager’s crew is the best I’ve ever had. I guess being so far from home makes us a little closer, too. They want me to be happy."

Seven leaned forward. "And they believe being with me will help you achieve happiness?"

"Having someone to love always makes you happy," Kathryn said before she realized the impact of her words.

Seven’s eyes lit up and her whole face shifted, suddenly more alive, but her smile was still subdued. "You love me… It is still difficult for me to accept."

"Why?" the captain reached out for Annika unconsciously and stroked the fingers of her hand resting on the table.

Seven stared the auburn hair captain in the eyes. "Because I was Borg… because I am still not…" Seven looked down at the table and tried to pull her hand away. Kathryn griped her elegant fingers gently, refusing to release them. Seven looked back up into Kathryn’s sincere features. The captain was waiting patiently for her to continue, but the older woman’s eyes were tinged with sorrow. Seven continued, "I am still not fully human."

Kathryn tilted her head to one side and sighed. "You are fully human, Annika. And as for being Borg at one time… that was not your doing. You had no control over it. You’ve come so far… and done it faster than anyone would have thought possible. You’re a beautiful woman."

The young blonde’s pale features blushed again. Her face was painted a delicate pink for most of their lunch interaction. To anyone watching, she probably looked like she had a mild sunburn.

"Thank you, Kathryn." Seven took her hand back and picked up her lunch and nibbled on her ration bar. She watched through her thick sable lashes as the captain sighed and took a tentative bite of her own bar. Seven smirked at Kathryn’s force expression of tolerance. It was obvious the compact Captain did not enjoy her meal. "Kathryn…"

"Yes?" the captain asked after washing down the dry bar with a large gulp of cider.

"I need to ask Nelix something. I will return shortly."

"I’ll be right here," Kathryn said with a smile. She realized she was enjoying herself more than she had in … years, actually. Seven stood and made her way to the kitchen. As soon as the Borg was out of Kathryn’s site, the captain made a disgusted scowl and put the bar back down. Her romantic gesture was going to prove difficult to pull off. The damn bars were disgusting.

Seven returned with a small covered plate. She reached over Kathryn’s shoulder and took the plate with the ration bar and set it on a nearby empty table and set the covered plate in its place and then sat back down. Kathryn eyed the plate curiously, but waited for her companion to settle into her chair before responding.

"What’s this?"

Seven smiled and removed the cover revealing a tossed Caesar salad with grilled chicken that she had noticed the captain chose to eat every time Nelix prepared it. "I appreciate the sentiment behind your selection of our meal… but I would rather that you enjoy your meal as well. Sharing the menu choice is not necessary for our meal to be romantic… is it?"

Kathryn smiled warmly. "Actually, you going in there to get me something I like is extremely romantic, my darling."

"Good," Seven said. She was thrilled to have mastered this ‘romance.’

Kathryn dug into her salad and Seven nibbled at her ration bar. They continued their lunch, discussing a wide variety of topics and all too soon it was time for Kathryn to return to the bridge.

"I really should be going," the captain said. Seven recognized an odd tone in the elegant Captain’s voice.

"Is everything all right, Kathryn? You’re voice sounds…odd."

"What do you mean?"

"It… sounds… not sad, but very similar to when you express sorrow." Seven’s eyebrow was slanting toward her forehead as she searched her companion’s face trying to discover the cause of the bizarre tone.

Kathryn reached across the table and took Seven’s hand, this time fully aware of the crewmembers filtering in and out but no longer self-conscious about their presence. "Annika, you know me so well. I doubt anyone else on board could pick up my tones the way you do. That emotion you’re trying to identify is disappointment. I’m enjoying your company and don’t feel like leaving you just yet."

"I too am experiencing this…disappointment… although I was unsure of its name. As for distinguishing your different tones… I do have enhanced hearing."

Kathryn smiled as she stood. "I think it’s more than that. Do you pick up on everyone else’s voice patterns this well?"

Seven stood and moved next the compact, svelte captain, careful to maintain a discrete distance. "I hear the differences, but I generally do not ascribe much meaning to them. While I am aware of what the tonal changes may mean, it does not matter as much to me as yours do. I find that I actually begin to feel what I perceive your emotion to be. Is this a form of telepathy?"

"No, Annika." Kathryn allowed a brief laugh. "You care about me, so you empathize with my feelings. I do the same thing when I see you going through an emotion."

"Really?" Seven found this new discovery fascinating. "Is this normal?"

"Yes," Kathryn said as she moved toward the door with Seven at her side. "When two people care about each other they become more in synch."

"We form a collective of sorts?" Seven offered.

"Not exactly," Kathryn said as they moved toward the turbo-lift. "We won’t share our thoughts, but we will develop strong reactions to each other’s feelings… especially when one of us is suffering."

Seven thought about that as they moved down the corridor. She linked her hands behind her back and considered the implications. "Kathryn? Did you experience this empathy while I was isolated from you?"

"Very much," Kathryn said, her face darkening, though most of the crew wouldn’t notice as well as Seven did. Once they were alone in the turbo-lift Kathryn continued. "I was miserable," the confident captain admitted. "I knew you were hurting and the more I tried to help, the worse I made things."

"I am sorry I ‘put you through it.’ It was never my intention." Seven looked away from her beloved Kathryn, suddenly ashamed that her actions had injured the woman she loved.

"Hey," Kathryn said as she took Seven’s arm and turned the willowy blonde toward her. "I know. I don’t want you to feel guilty about that. You thought you were protecting me. Just, from now on, talk to me when you’re upset."

"I shall," Seven said sincerely and then allowed a smirk. "Are you sure you do not have a telepathic link with me?"

"I’m sure."

The computer interrupted. "Please state destination…"

"Where are you going?" the captain asked her Borg.

"Holodeck two."

The captain cleared her throat. "Computer… holodeck two and then the bridge." The lift lurched to a start and the lights flickered behind the two women as the decks flew past. Kathryn looked at her companion. "The holo-deck? I’m surprised. What program are you running?"

Seven blushed. The young Borg’s capillaries were getting quite a workout this afternoon. "I… I am… It is, I am running a twentieth century bar."

"Oh?" Kathryn asked, completely thrown off guard.

"Yes, I enjoy the acoustics." Seven saw the confusion on Kathryn’s angular features so she elaborated, though she looked shyly down at her feet. "I find that I enjoy singing… and playing the piano."

Kathryn smiled and shook her head slowly. This woman never ceased to amaze her at every turn.

"I had no idea. Will you sing for me sometime?" The captain remembered Seven’s forced performance during the Hirogen incident, she knew the exdrone had a hauntingly beautiful voice but hadn’t known she had kept singing, and she had no idea Seven could play the piano.

Seven looked up through her thick lashes. "You will not…laugh?"

"Of course not."

"Then yes, Kathryn. I will sing for you. Would now be a good time?"

Kathryn took a deep breath and glanced at the computer display on the lift wall. She still had fifteen minutes before she had to be back. "Yes, I think I’d like that." The lift stopped and both women exited. The computer would register that the lift was now empty and would not go to the bridge. The two women went to the holo-deck and entered.

Seven glanced at the captain before speaking. "Computer run program Seven of Nine, alpha one gamma." The holo-grid was replaced by a dimly lit bar, devoid of any patrons. Seven took the captain’s hand and made her way toward the piano and then sat. She studied her beloved as she picked out a selection, then smiled warmly.

The formerly unemotional Borg drone touched the keys and the piano came to life, her delicate fingers dancing across the keys with grace and surprising intensity. The notes that Kathryn had expected to be precise mechanical recreations of perfect pitch, but lacking emotion, were instead perfectly played, but oozed emotion, then Seven began to sing. Kathryn had to lean against the piano, Seven’s voice making the good captain’s legs go weak. Janeway listened as her beloved Annika Hansen stared into her eyes and sang a slow version of ‘I only want to be with you’ with complete sincerity. Kathryn felt tears forming in her eyes as she realized how passionate Seven really was. She moved beside the former Borg and placed her hand on the young blonde’s shoulder, needing a physical connection with the woman she knew she loved completely. When Seven finished, she turned and looked up at the captain. There were tears staining Kathryn’s delicate cheeks.

Seven stood and put her hands on Kathryn’s shoulders and leaned down to looked directly into her eyes. "Have I performed the song incorrectly? I did not intend to upset you." Seven’s expression was almost panicked.

Kathryn smiled and shook her head. "No… You sang it perfectly. It was beautiful." Kathryn pulled the taller, lankier woman to her and wrapped her arms around her neck. She snuggled into the exdrone. Seven embraced the captain and slid her arms around her and gently rubbed her back, trying soothe her beloved.

"Then why are you crying?" the youthful Annika asked.

Kathryn laughed and squeezed the delicious woman closer. "Tears fall for many reasons, my darling. I’m crying because you moved me."

"Moved…you? You were stationary the entire time I was singing."

Kathryn laughed again, this time deep and resonating. She pulled back and gently stroked Seven’s cheek. "Emotionally. I was effected by your performance." She saw that the young Borg didn’t quite understand so she decided to convey her appreciation in a more direct manner. The Starfleet captain reached up and cupped Seven’s chin and guided her down so their lips could meet. Kathryn moaned as her lips touched Seven’s full, warm mouth.

‘This’ Seven understood.

Seven moved her hands down Kathryn’s back as she deepened the kiss. Her tongue caressed the Kathryn’s lips seeking entrance, which was immediately given. Their tongues met as each woman sought to explore the other’s mouth, effectively making both mouths suddenly quite crowded, in a most delicious manner. Annika echoed Kathryn’s moans, the captain reaching up and stoking the willowy blonde’s neck as her hands continued up and released her silky tresses. Seven tightened her grip around the captain’s waist and lifted the smaller woman, pivoting and placing Kathryn on top of the piano. She moved into her and was delighted when Kathryn wrapped her legs around the thin Borg’s waist. This was much more enjoyable than their lunch in the mess hall. Seven’s moans became more frantic as she felt her heart pounding out of control, her senses were overloading and yet she felt driven to continue. The sensations of her one night with Kathryn in the other reality came crashing down on her, she needed more, so she satisfied herself with exploring the sensuous muscles of Kathryn’s back. Suddenly a thought occurred to the young Borg, and given her inability to process rational thought as the moment, she went with the instinct. She moved one hand between them and placed her palm over Kathryn’s breast. Apparently it had been the correct action, because Kathryn response was… quite pleasant.

Kathryn pulled briefly away from Seven’s mouth and whispered, "Oh god, YES, Annika." Then she kissed Seven with renewed zeal. Kathryn then brought her own hand around and cupped Seven’s breast. The exdrone suddenly mirrored Kathryn’s response. Her legs almost crumpled under her and new, stronger sensations shot through her body. ‘YES’ indeed.

Their kisses became fevered and each woman’s hands explored the other. They were breathing in gulps of air sucked in between deep explorations of the other, then Kathryn moved away from Seven’s mouth. The young blonde felt suddenly empty, and wanted her beloved back, then the Kathryn began kissing and sucking on Seven’s classical, long neck. Seven leaned into the piano and reveled in the euphoria that overtook her. She suddenly needed to feel Kathryn’s body pressed to her, the way they had been when the shared the captain’s bed. Seven used her Borg ingenuity, easing Kathryn back and climbing onto the piano, then pressing her body over the captain’s.

Kathryn felt the wondrous press of Annika Hansen cover her and allowed the invasion. She reached down and played her hands across the blonde’s muscular behind. Kathryn moaned wishing she could take Seven right there, and it suddenly occurred to her that they had not sealed the holo-deck.

"Seven," the captain gasped as she broke her lips away form her beloved’s. "The doors…"

Seven’s eyes were hooded with passion, wanting to get back to Kathryn’s lips. "Computer… seal holo-deck using Borg encryption sequence Beta seven nine." Then the young Borg kissed the captain with a gentle, possessive passion that made Kathryn’s entire body go weak. One of the advantages of making love to her in the other reality was knowing exactly what the passionate captain liked.

*"Bridge to Janeway…"* Chakotay’s voice interrupted.

Kathryn squirmed, trying to move Seven off of her body, the Borg not cooperating in the slightest. "Janeway here… Yes, commander?" Years of training gave Kathryn the ability to instantly sound calm, cool, and collected, despite the fact that her insides were swimming in the passion the young blonde evoked.

"Captain?… Uh… Did you cancel our meeting?"

"Oh… No… I’m on my way… I got… held up. I’ll be there shortly. Janeway out." Kathryn pushed gently on the sensuous lump pinning her to the piano. Seven sighed and climbed off.

"We seem to have lost track of the time," Seven said contritely. "I apologized for distracting you."

Janeway climbed off the piano. "Don’t apologize for being passionate. I should not have let it get out of hand when I knew I’d have to be back on duty."

"Actually, " Seven said as she walked toward the doors beside Kathryn at a hurried pace, "I believe we had each other thoroughly ‘in hand.’"

Kathryn choked off her laugh. "Yes, we did. But I am late, and that is unacceptable. I’ll have to put myself on report."

"You can do that?" Seven asked incredulously.

"Well, maybe I’ll let myself off with a warning," the captain said with a crooked grin.

"Is this an ongoing problem?" Seven asked. "Because if it is, repeated warnings are counterproductive," the Borg offered.

"No," Kathryn said as they reached the door. "It’s a first offense." Kathryn almost collided with the doors when they failed to open. "Uh… Seven?"

"Yes, of course," she responded as she reached over and input an incredibly long string of digits into the com panel and the door opened. "I enjoyed our date."

"So did I," Kathryn said as she hurried down the corridor. She knew she would have to keep a tight rein on herself with the gorgeous blonde standing in the holo-deck doorway. It wasn’t acceptable to do anything to lose her crew’s respect, and showing up late was not something she would let happen again. As she enter the turbo-lift and gave the command to go to the bridge, she realized all she had to have done was tell Seven the exact time she needed to leave. Seven was constantly aware of the exact time and would have been able to let her know… if she had only made her need known to the young Borg. There were so many needs she had concerning the elegant exdrone. Captain Janeway’s life was suddenly becoming very interesting, complicated, but very interesting.

 

 

CHAPTER NINE

Kathryn Janeway entered her quarters after what had turned out to be a very long day. She had stopped by the ship’s stores on the way back to pick up something special, but she was glad to finally be home. The first thing she noticed as she came into the living room was the delicate aroma that tickled her senses, it was familiar scent, one of her favorites, roses. She scanned the room and smiled when she saw a dozen roses in a crystal vase on the countertop.

She went to the bouquet and inhaled the fragrance deeply as she took the tiny card. She opened it, knowing they were from Annika, and noticed that the inscription was in ink. Annika had chosen to hand print the card instead of using the more efficient replicated card. Most people chose to simply dictate their sentiment and have the replicator produce a perfect card. It amazed the captain that the former Borg drone would take this extra, very human, step. As Kathryn touched the delicate petals she noticed that the buds were not perfect. A closer examination revealed that these were not replicated. They must have come from the hydroponics bay. There were very few real flowers on board, and while the crew could purchase them, it was quite costly. A crewmember could trade ration slips for the flowers, but it was so out of proportion to the equivalent amount of replicated flowers, that most chose the later, or chose to only get one flower from the hydroponics bay. Kathryn leaned back and gently shook her head. She was looking at the equivalent of a month’s rations. The captain felt her heart fill, she had mentioned to Seven over lunch how much she enjoyed the single rose Boothby had given her each day and how much it had meant to her at the academy. Annika Hansen seemed to be a hopeless romantic, and it thrilled Voyager’s Captain beyond belief. She read the card.

Kathryn,

I enjoyed our first date immensely.

Enjoy these flowers, though I do not believe

their aesthetic appeal could ever eclipse yours.

I am eagerly anticipating our next romantic

encounter.

Annika.

Kathryn held the card to chest and smiled. She realized she was probably the first person to ever get a Borg love note. She looked down at the package under her arm, suddenly very happy she had went with her gut and spent her own precious ration slips to purchase it. She had been hesitant to move too quickly, afraid Annika may not understand the concept of receiving a romantic gift. The captain had obviously been mistaken.

Kathryn finished wrapping her gift for Seven a few seconds before she heard the chime of her door. She looked up and smiled, eager to see Annika. "Come in," she said as she stood. She had changed out of her uniform into a casually elegant dress, deep green with a plunging neckline.

The doors opened and commander Chakotay came in slowly. "Captain?"

"Commander," Janeway said, suddenly all business. "What can I do for you?" She moved toward the door, crossing her arms over her chest.

He cleared his throat and glanced around the room cautiously, noticing the flowers and the package on the desk behind the captain. "Can I speak with you… it’s uh, on a personal matter."

Janeway sighed and motioned toward the couch. She realized she was probably about to have ‘the talk’ with her Second in Command. Apparently he didn’t agree that she should be dating a crewmember.

"What’s this about?" she asked, a mere formality, as she sat in her chair opposite the couch.

He shifted uncomfortably and tried not to focus on his captain’s cleavage. "Captain… Kathryn, I… about you and Seven…"

"Do you have a problem with Seven and I dating?" Janeway wasn’t one to beat around the bush. She wanted any problems on the table.

"I assumed…" he said quietly, "that you had chosen to … uh… not pursue your feelings for her."

"That was my original decision," she said. She hadn’t known he was aware of her feelings for Annika, but she didn’t let her surprise show. "I realized that it was the wrong decision."

"Was it?" the handsome First Officer asked.

Kathryn’s features darkened and she took a deep breath. She knew it was his job to address this issue, but she didn’t like the direction the discussion was heading. "It’s the only acceptable decision." She decided to be completely honest with him, not only was he her Second in Command, he was a good friend. "I’m in love with her, Chakotay."

He flinched. "Kathryn, remember when we were on that planet together?"

"Yes..." She wasn’t sure what his point was.

"You and I… for a while, you felt something for me." He rubbed the tattoo over his eye, which meant he was nervous.

Kathryn leaned back into her chair. "Yes… I’ll admit, for a brief while that seemed like an option. I think I know where you’re going with this, Chakotay. You and I both realized that we weren’t suited for each other. We never would have been happy together. I’m glad we realized that before we ruined our friendship. That’s not gonna’ happen with Annika. I’m not going to change my mind."

Chakotay cleared his throat and looked at the floor. "Kathryn, I think you’re wrong," he said bluntly.

She nodded, acknowledging that it was his sincere opinion. "I hear that. But… what I feel for Annika is not the same thing. What you and I went through was a… matter of circumstance. We each thought the other was the ‘right’ one to be with. We let that assumption guide our feelings."

"No," he said forcefully.

She sighed. " I know you’re concerned for Seven, but I know my feelings for her are—"

"No, Kathryn. You don’t understand. You do not belong with her." He leaned his weith forward onto his knees and took her hand. She stiffened, surprised by his action. "Kathryn… Maybe you pulled away from me too soon…"

Janeway stared at her friend and his meaning became clear. He had never let go of the idea of being with her. "Chakotay… I, I didn’t know you still felt… well, anything for me beyond friendship."

"I had given up on us ever being more than friends, Kathryn. I didn’t think you’d ever be involved with a member of your crew. When you approached Seven, I guess I realized that I still have some lingering feelings… I know you feel it, too. The night before we tested the slipstream… you had a romantic dinner with me… NOT Seven. I know you’ve still got feelings for me." He looked at her, his dark eyes sincere and troubled.

She cared for him, loved him even, but as a friend, nothing more. "No. I’m sorry if that dinner mislead you. I wanted to make sure you were going to support my decision to test the slipstream drive. I didn’t intend for it to be romantic."

His dark features tinted deep red, but he wasn’t yet convinced about Seven being her match. "Kathryn, even if that is the case… I think you’ve let your concern for Seven confuse you. I saw you ‘falling in love’ with her, but I thought you’d realize that it couldn’t go anywhere, that it was just because of the closeness you share because you’ve been her mentor."

Janeway felt anger rising inside her. She didn’t want to hurt him anymore than she apparently already had. "What I feel for her is real. I’m sorry if this is difficult for you, but I don’t have any romantic feelings for you."

He sighed, the pain evident on his handsome features. He looked into his friend’s eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head gravely. "Yes. I never wanted to hurt you, Chakotay. That’s probably the reason I never let anything happen between us on that planet. Somewhere, deep inside, I knew the attraction we shared wasn’t real." She saw him flinch again and amended her comment. "Wasn’t real for me."

He looked down at the floor, his shoulders tight despite his attempt to look calm. "Why Seven?" he asked quietly.

Kathryn couldn’t tell him all the reasons she had fallen for Annika without making it even harder for him, so she decided to limit her response. "I can’t tell you exactly why, just that it is real, and that I can be happy with her."

"I want you to be happy, Kathryn," he said to the floor. "I really do… I just had to be sure."

"Chakotay, you are very dear to me—

"No," said as he stood. "Please don’t go there. I know speech." He smiled at the captain, but it was a sorrowful half grin. "I’ve given it myself a few times since we’ve been in the Delta quadrant. I know how it goes."

Kathryn stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "I wish I knew what to say to make this easier."

"Hey," he said, trying to sell his insincere smile, "I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine."

"I’m sorry," she said again. "I really am. Are you gonna’ be okay with this? Seven and me?"

He looked at the captain; his expression was troubled, but sincere. "Yeah. Seven is… a really good person. I think she loves you."

"I know she does," Kathryn corrected.

"Well, I hope she can make you happy."

"She can’t make me happy… no one can. She and I can be happy together, as equals. She accepts who I am, and ignores my rank."

He smiled sadly. "If I’d known that’s all it took I would have butted heads with you all along."

Kathryn allowed a smile, happy that her friend was trying to lighten the moment. "I think you know that’s not all it was."

"Yeah," he admitted, "I guess I needed to clear the air before I could accept it. I didn’t realize I still felt this way until you decided to pursue her, but your friendship means too much to me to let this get in the way. I am happy for you."

"Thank you, my friend. So…" she said as they moved toward the door. "How do you think the rest of the crew will react?"

He smiled, this time sincerely. "It’s the talk of the ship."

"Oh god," Kathryn said.

"Hey," he said, not bothering to hide his amusement. "What do you expect when you have a hot date in the mess hall? Kathryn, really… china and crystal?"

Kathryn raised an eyebrow at him. "I wanted to convey that we weren’t trying to hide anything." The composed captain felt her high cheekbones blush. "and I, well, I did want to make it nice for her." She led her friend closer to the door, aware that Seven was due any moment. "How’s the crew responding?"

He looked into her sincere blue gray eyes. "Actually… I think I’m the only one on board who had any problem with it… but I’m getting over it." His eyes sparkled with a hint of his normal fire. "Apparently there’s been a pool going for some time…"

"Really? And what exactly is the nature of this pool?"

The broad-shouldered commander gently rubbed his lower lip, which was curled into an evil grin. "Well… it involves who and when you’d… uh… you know."

"Oh my god," Kathryn said covering her face with her hand.

He continued his gentle torment of his friend. Despite her decision, he still cherished their friendship. "Seems about a two dozen people chose Seven… it came down to when it would finally happen…"

Kathryn moved her hand and stared at him. Her mouth didn’t want to produce sound. "Are you telling me that two dozen people on this ship were aware of my attraction to Seven?"

His grin was now covering his entire face. "Actually… probably more than that… those were just the ones who thought she’d accept."

"You’re enjoying this."

"Yep," he said.

"You know gambling is against Starfleet regulations," the captain pointed out.

"So… call Starfleet."

Kathryn tilted her head to one side and gave him a mock angry glare. She knew he would come to terms with her and Seven coming together. "So?" she asked. "Who won?"

"B’Elanna."

"Figures," Kathryn said. "Leave it to B’Elanna to use insider information."

"Kathryn," he said suddenly serious. "I want you to know. I will be okay with this."

Kathryn put her hand on his shoulder. "I’m glad."

He nodded and went to the door, and turned before he activated it. "Be happy, Kathryn. You deserve it, my friend."

"Thank you, Chakotay. That means a lot to me." She smiled sincerely at him and he disappeared through the door.

 

Kathryn was sitting at her desk studying the package she had wrapped for Seven, though her thoughts were troubled. She believed that the crew would accept her and Seven as a couple, hell, they apparently saw it before she did. What troubled her was that she hadn’t been aware of Chakotay’s feelings. She shouldn’t have missed it. She should have put a stop to it months, no, years ago. Now a man who was very dear to her was in pain. She sighed and put the package down, there wasn’t anything she could do about it now and she didn’t want to focus on him anymore. She had to think about Annika and how she was going to avoid ravaging the blonde as soon as she walked into the captain’s quarters, then she realized that Seven should have already arrived.

The auburn haired captain went to her desk and picked up her com badge and activated it. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

"Seven of Nine is in cargo bay two."

Kathryn realized her Borg was probably in her new living quarters. "Janeway to Seven of Nine…"

She waited, but there was no response.

"Janeway to Seven of Nine… Seven, respond."

The captain felt uneasy, she suddenly pictured Seven in her alcove, trapped in one of her memory loops. The captain gripped the com badge hard enough that the metal dug into her fingers as she bolted for the door. She opened her door and rushed into the corridor and promptly ran into Seven. Kathryn was knocked back and would have fallen except the Borg’s reflexes allowed her to catch the smaller framed captain.

"Seven…"

"Kathryn? Is there an emergency? You appear to be in a hurry."

Janeway slowed her breathing and tried not to strangle the young blonde for scaring her.

"You’re late," she said instead and then noticed that Seven was wearing a strapless blue summer dress. Seven had her hair down, styled minimally, brushed to one side, hanging down on the same side as her Borg eyepiece.

"I was replicating a garment…" Seven said uncertainly. "I wanted to look good for you."

Kathryn sighed and led the exdrone back into her quarters. "You look lovely, Annika." Kathryn relaxed, and realized Seven hadn’t meant to frighten her.

"I am glad you are pleased. It took me a great deal of time to decide," Seven said. "I had no idea that choosing a garment would be this complicated."

Kathryn smiled at her beautiful Borg. "Well, it was worth it. This dress is stunning." It really was. The fabric clung to Seven but was not as revealing as her normal outfit. The strapless design showed her porcelain skin, but did not reveal the abundant cleavage the captain knew must be there.

Seven’s face beamed. She had hope Kathryn would like her selection. "Thank you."

Kathryn paused at the counter once they were inside and traced one of the rose buds with her fingertip. "Thank you for the flowers. I love them."

"I am pleased you found them to your liking."

"I did, and I loved the card." Kathryn leaned up and gently kissed the former drone. The kiss deepened and Seven pulled the captain to her and moaned.

Kathryn pulled away. She knew if they got carried away here in her quarters, it would quickly escalate beyond the heavy petting they shared in the holo-deck. "I think we need to cool things down a bit."

Seven furrowed her brows, but nodded. "I will comply." Which in Seven speak meant, ‘I’ll do it but I’m not very happy about it.’ Seven eyed Kathryn’s outfit. "You look especially attractive tonight, Kathryn."

"Thank you," Kathryn said. "Seven, where’s your com badge?"

The former drone started to reach to her chest, but stopped. "I apparently left it in my quarters. I was excited about… staying over."

Kathryn smiled. "You realize, my dear, that we still need to take things slow."

Seven crinkled her brows together. "I will comply with your wishes… but given the kiss we shared this afternoon I find your decision… confusing."

"This afternoon we got carried away. I don’t want to rush into this, not while your still having so many nightmares. I don’t think it would be a good idea to escalate our physical intimacy until you’ve dealt with those nightmares." Kathryn smiled at Seven. The former Borg who had threatened to assimilate the entire crew of Voyager at one point had her arms across her chest and had her bottom lip sticking out. The Borg was pouting.

"I will comply… but I will not like it."

Kathryn laughed and pulled Seven into a crushing hug. "Darling, you are so adorable when you pout."

Seven wanted to point out that Borg do not pout, but decided on a different tactic. "Adorable enough to escalate our intimacy?"

Kathryn laughed harder and pulled back and placed a quick, light kiss on Seven’s lips. She then reached up and caressed Seven’s cheek. "No."

"I fail to see the humor in this situation," Seven said, but the smirk on her lips betrayed her feigned anger.

"Come here," Kathryn said as she dragged the statuesque woman to the couch. "Sit," she ordered.

Seven perched on the edge of the cushions and regarded the captain with one eyebrow raised to its peak as Kathryn turned and went to the desk. Seven’s voice was serious, but playful, "If you are attempting to distract me, it will be futile. You are far too attractive for me not to notice. "

Kathryn stopped and slowly turned back to her companion. "Why thank you, Annika." Then the captain picked up the package and returned to the couch and sat next to the exdrone.

Annika’s pale blue eyes widened as she gave the present a thorough visual examination. "What is that?"

"A present."

Seven stared at the captain. "What is the ‘occasion,’ Kathryn?"

"The ‘occasion’ is that I love you," the captain said as she set the package in her beautiful blonde’s lap.

"And this requires an exchange of gifts? I was not aware of this… I have nothing for you."

"It’s not required. I just wanted to give it to you." Kathryn glanced at the flowers. "And you did give me something. I love the flowers."

"But that was because I wanted you to have a reminder of our date and to let you know that I was thinking of you. That is why I beamed them into your quarters."

"It was very thoughtful and romantic." Kathryn reached over and kissed Seven on the cheek. "Now, open your present."

Seven smirked as she examined the colorful paper for the most efficient way to open the package. She held it up and twisted it noting the strategic placement of clear adhesive holding the edges of the decorative paper together.

"Open it," Kathryn ordered in a playful tone.

Seven raised her eyebrows and looked over at Kathryn, then turned back to the package and shredded the paper with her mesh-encased hand. The wrapping fell away revealing wooden box. "It is aesthetically pleasing," Seven said as she excitedly examined each side.

The captain crossed her arms over her chest and gave Seven one of her famous crooked half grins. "That’s just the container, Annika."

"Oh," Seven said happily. "There is more?" She turned the wooden box over and realized she had been holding it upside down. There was a tiny mechanism at the center of the top. She held the box carefully and pressed the button. The top popped up and Seven carefully lifted it as if she expected some strange animal to escape. Once she opened it she leaned back and studied it. She had no idea what the strange rolled object was.

Kathryn wrapped her arm around her beloved Borg and kissed her temple. "I take it you’ve never seen one of these?" She brushed Seven’s hair away from her face and tucked it behind her delicate pink ears.

"No," Seven said slowly. "What is it?"

"Here," Kathryn said as she removed her arm from behind Seven. "I’ll show you." Kathryn removed the rolled white object. It had a magnetic strap holding it coiled. The captain set the box on the floor and slid the coffee table closer. She then unhooked the strap and rolled out the mystery object across the table.

Seven leaned forward and studied the long, slender, flat object. "The markings are a precise representation of a keyboard."

"Not a representation," Kathryn said. She pushed a flat button on one end of the item and then ran her fingers across the keys, and deep, resonating sounds filled the room.

A huge smile cover Seven’s face. She leaned down and gently touched several keys, each note widening her smile. "It is my own piano." Seven turned and hugged Janeway. "Thank you, Kathryn. It is a wonderful gift." She eased back and played several chords and then turned back to the captain with a serious expression. "Although I would not suggest that we utilize it in the same manner as the holo-deck piano."

Kathryn laughed and pulled Seven back onto the couch where she could hold her in her arms. "No, darling, we won’t. I’m glad you like it."

"I love it," Seven corrected. "I… use music to…explore my emotions. It is a way for me to experience what I cannot express otherwise. You have given me the ability to do so whenever I choose to. I normally must schedule my emotional explorations around the available holo-deck time."

"That’s no way to have your feelings, Annika ... scheduling them," Kathryn said sadly. "I wish I had known about this. I would have given you a piano the first day you came on board."

Seven gently stroked the captain’s cheek. "I did not know how to play a piano then. I only learned to sing when the Hirogen took over Voyager. After that, I began singing, but I found the available pianists… irritating. So I learned to play myself."

Kathryn stared in amazement. "You taught yourself? How long ago did you learn? You play so well... I assumed it was something from someone who had been…" Kathryn’s voice trailed off when she saw sorrow cover Seven’s face.

"Someone that I assimilated?"

"Well, yes… I’m sorry," Kathryn said.

"Do not apologize. It was a logical assumption, except that the Borg would have deemed musical knowledge irrelevant and excised it."

"Well, you play beautifully. How long did it take you to learn?" The captain was glad that Seven didn’t seem to be too upset about her stupid assumption.

Seven blushed and shook her head. "I regret that it was a labor intensive endeavor. I do not believe I am a ‘natural.’ musician."

Kathryn put her hand on Seven’s leg and gently rubbed it. "It’s a difficult skill, darling. How long did it take you to master it?"

Seven released a disgusted sigh. "Two point six hours."

Kathryn fought to suppress the laughter that ached to get out. "Well, my darling, you can’t be perfect at everything," she said wryly.

Seven picked up the tone instantly. "You find humor in my incompetence?"

"Seven, it takes people years to play as well as you do."

"Indeed? Why? It is merely a matter of memorizing the location of the keys that produce each note and them applying the correct pressure… Why would that take years?"

"I guess we’re just… incompetent darling," Kathryn said as she played with Seven’s golden, silky hair.

"I believe you are having fun at my expense… but I will allow it if you continue to touch my hair in this manner. I find it soothing," the Borg said as she leaned into Kathryn.

"Darling, I could do this all night," Kathryn said as she guided the Borg onto her lap. Seven was hesitant at first, but quickly relaxed her head on Kathryn’s lap and closed her eyes and enjoyed her beloved Kathryn’s gentle caress.

"Acceptable," Seven said as she snuggled into the captain’s lap.

Janeway looked down at the woman sprawled out over her and thanked the universe for literally dropping the gorgeous blonde into her lap.

 

 

CHAPTER TEN

The next few days passed slowly. Seven was off active duty and seemed to be regaining her lost body mass, but she was still plagued by the dark dreams. She spent her days in her cargo bay, often playing her new piano, though she programmed the computer to notify her the instant anyone entered the cargo bay. She wasn’t willing to share her playing with the rest of the crew; it was too personal. She also spent time in the hydroponics bay, which surprised the captain. She wouldn’t have guessed that Seven would enjoy relaxing around the only real plants on board.

She and Kathryn were spending every night together, staying up late sitting on the couch cuddling and talking. When it came time to sleep, they clung to each other, reveling in the shared warmth, now not bothering to leave space between them when they would crawl into bed. Each night, Kathryn would lay on her back and sigh contentedly as Seven moved onto her shoulder. Kathryn realized she wanted more, a lot more, but she wasn’t going to escalate anything as long as Seven was still having the nightmares.

 

After Kathryn left for her duty shift, Seven of Nine went into the mess hall and immediately saw her target. It was time for breakfast and Nelix was behind his counter stirring some pungent concoction. Kathryn had only had time for coffee in her quarters with the young Annika before leaving for an early briefing. Seven approached Nelix and stood opposite the counter and linked her refined hands behind her back and tilted her head to one side and wondered how he came up with his bizarre culinary combinations. He looked up and a bright smile covered his yellow and orange features.

"Seven, what a delightful surprise. Can I get you some of my genbobi stew? It tastes a little like mushrooms in a cinnamon sauce. I think you’ll like it."

Seven arched one eyebrow. What little experience she had with solid nutrition told her that such a combination would not be to her liking. "No thank you," she said politely. "I have come to ask a …favor." She cringed at the last word.

"Well," the always friendly, if somewhat furry man said as he came out from behind the counter. "Certainly. Anything I can do, I’d be happy to."

Seven dipped her head to one side, her own trademark nod. "Thank you. I wish to arrange a… surprise for Kath… the captain, and I require your assistance."

"A little romance, huh?" He rubbed his short, stubby hands together. "I’m always happy to help two lovebirds."

Seven stared at him. "Love…birds?"

"You know…" he said as he tucked his arm through hers and led her toward an empty table. "a couple, you and the captain. I can tell you that there were quite a few jealous people when they saw you two in here having that lunch of yours. Who would have thought the captain was a romantic?" He shook his head slowly and smiled.

"Jealous?" Seven’s expression darkened and her eyebrows move toward each other. Her voice hardened. "Do other members of the crew have romantic designs on the captain? Who? Give me their names." The Borg’s tone suggested that any people’s names he might volunteer would get a very unpleasant visit from the resident Borg drone.

"No, Seven," he said as he helped Seven into a seat. "It’s just that not many people take the time to be romantic, and everyone gets a little envious when they see such a grand gesture."

"That is illogical," Seven stated. "If they wish to have romance, why do they not create it themselves? All it requires is research and ingenuity. It is counterproductive to wish for something that can be acquired on one’s own."

"Uh… well… I don’t know. Umm, Seven, what did you need?" he asked, glad to steer the obviously possessive Borg away from any possible rivals on board.

Seven straightened her back and regarded the Talaxian. He was correct, she should remain focused, but the thought of others pursuing her captain was most disturbing. "I require a self-contained, portable meal, for two. I would like it to be light, not a complete meal… a snack appropriate for a coffee break. Kathryn enjoys the small cinnamon pastries you prepare for breakfast."

He smiled showing his teeth, which, if called off white, would be a compliment indeed. "A picnic?"

The exdrone tilted her head to side as she accessed her language banks. "No… I will not require a checkered blanket, lemonade, or ants… but a basket would facilitate its transport."

"Of course," he said with a smile, wondering where her knowledge of picnics had been acquired. "I take it you’d like it now… so you can join the captain for her mid morning break?"

"Correct. Will you have ample time to accommodate my request?"

"Of course," he said as he stood and patted her hand. The Borg’s eyes widened at the invasive touch, but she allowed it. He looked back as he headed into the kitchen. "Anything to assist the course of true love." Then he was gone, leaving Seven sitting at the table alone. It pleased her immensely that he was able to ascertain the honest conviction of her feelings for Kathryn.

"Seven," B’Elanna Torres called out from across the mess hall.

The exdrone turned and saw Torres at a table with Tom Paris and Harry Kim. The Chief Engineer waved at Seven signaling her to come over. Since Seven could wait anywhere for her portable meal she stood and approached the trio then stood at the end of the table and addressed the Klingon hybrid.

"Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres…"

"Seven, have a seat." The engineer pointed toward an empty chair at the table, which the former drone obediently took. "How’s it goin’?"

"It is going… well," Seven said, actually struggling to keep from smiling.

Paris interrupted in his typical manner. "Hey, Seven, way to go. You and the captain… Wow."

The imposing blonde gave him a noncommittal glance. "‘Wow’… indeed."

Torres and Paris both laughed, though Seven did not exactly expect the reaction. Harry Kim, on the other hand, was avoiding eye contact. Seven knew it was considered socially appropriate to include all people present at a table in conversation. "Mr. Kim, good morning."

"Uh, hi, Seven… Congratulations," the handsome Ensign said. For some reason he was blushing, a condition Seven had recently become very familiar with.

"So," Paris said as he leaned toward Seven. "I hear you and the captain are living together…" he then repeatedly raised and lowered his eyebrows in unison. He stopped the action when B’Elanna’s elbow collided with his ribcage and he released a short burst of air.

"Incorrect, Mr. Paris," Seven said, for some reason she found his tone disturbing. "I am temporarily sleeping there. I am experiencing… disturbing dreams, and the captain is helping me process the experience."

B’Elanna gave Seven a sincere look of concern. "Are they getting any better?"

Seven nodded at her new friend. "They are decreasing in frequency, although they are still unsettling."

"Bad dreams…" Paris said with the same odd tone he used earlier. "I’ll have to write that one down. Come over and let me help you with your nightmares…that’s a new way to get a girl in the sack…"

This time when Torres’ elbow hit the helmsman he was actually moved several inches, and the feisty Klingon followed it up with a slap in the stomach with the back of her hand. "Shut up, Tom."

Seven’s reaction was a bit more, effective. She realized that he was implying that Kathryn was acting dishonorably, and that did not sit well with her. She stood abruptly and leaned down onto both hands on the table and moved across the table until her face was almost touching the startled helmsman.

"Mr. Paris, I am a logical individual…" Seven said coldly. Several people at other tables turned to watch the exchange, including Tuvok, who was at the next table. Curiously, he took no action when the former drone invaded the boyish, blonde, newly demoted helmsman’s personal space. Seven eyed him intently. "It is my scientific opinion that you are a… jerk," Seven stated. "Despite the fact that you are involved with the second most desirable woman on board, in rank, intelligence, and beauty, you sit here and imply that you wish to formulate new methods to seduce other individuals…"

"Seven, I…" Paris squeaked. He looked to B’Elanna for rescue, but his caramel skinned girlfriend had her arms crossed watching the exchange with a huge, toothy grin.

"And," Seven continued. "Your implication that the captain would have an ulterior motive for assisting me is unacceptable. If you persist in this behavior… I will put a stop to it." Seven slowly moved closer, and the strawberry blonde Ensign leaned back.

"And," Seven said ominously, "Given my experience with thousands of species, I assure you that I am capable of finding a suitably motivating technique." Seven then sat and turned back to B’Elanna who was squeezing her mouth closed with her hand to avoid bursting into laughter. "Lieutenant Torres," Seven said calmly. "I will be returning to Astrometrics at the end of the week, but I am willing to come to Engineering during my off hours to assist with any systems that need overhauling, since you will still be short handed."

It was too much for the Klingon, she looked over at Tom, he was as pale as she had ever seen him, and from the look on his face he was imagining dozens of unpleasant ways Seven could convince him to stop slandering the captain.

"Yeah,’ B’Elanna finally managed. "Sure, come by anytime."

Harry Kim was trying to ignore the entire exchange, and tried to sip his coffee, but he took one look at Tom and promptly spewed the hot beverage out his nose. He coughed and fought to catch his breath, which set off the Klingon. B’Elanna released a loud, long, howling Klingon laugh. Seven watched the entire exchange with a bored expression, though no one would have guessed the former drone was restraining her own laughter. Finally Harry managed to stop coughing, B’Elanna stopped laughing, and Tom stopped blushing.

"Uh, look, Seven," Tom finally said. "I was just kidding. I didn’t mean to insult you or the captain."

Seven looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I do not care if you choose to insult me. Your opinion is irrelevant to me. However, insulting the captain will not be tolerated. She is entitled to your respect by her rank, but she has additionally earned it on countless occasions. As for your insinuating that you intend to seduce other women… B’Elanna is my friend and will not tolerate that either."

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Tom said to the table. He felt like he just been dressed down by his Sunday school teacher.

"I require no apology. I was not the one disparaged." Seven then looked at B’Elanna.

Paris looked up and then over at B’Elanna. The Klingon was thoroughly enjoying having her honor defended by the lanky Borg. "Sorry, B’Elanna."

"Thank you," B’Elanna said to Seven.

At the next table Tuvok finished his simple meal and took his tray to the recycling unit. He was quite impressed by Seven’s logical handling of the helmsman who had a habit of carrying his useless jokes too far. Perhaps, he thought, the captain should put the Borg in charge of personnel conflicts. Tuvok thought she had acted quite logically, and the results could not be argued.

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kathryn came out of the bathroom with her hair still damp from her shower. She preferred a good old-fashioned hot shower to the more efficient sonic settings. She was surprised to see Seven already in the double bed. The former drone usually tried to get the captain to sit up half the night talking on the couch. Janeway found it comforting in a domesticated kind of way, and she was a little disappointed to see her beloved blonde retiring early. Suddenly her disappointment shifted to concern.

"Seven?" Kathryn asked softly as she approached the bed carefully in the dim lighting. "Are you awake?" The ex Borg had been sitting on the couch reading over Astrometrics reports when Kathryn went for her shower, eager to return to work at the end of the week. Perhaps Annika had over extended herself reading reports all day.

"I am awake," Seven said in the darkness. Her voice was odd, and had a tone Kathryn didn’t recognize.

"Are you feeling all right?" Janeway asked as she sat on the side of the bed and brushed Seven’s hair out of her face. Annika liked to keep her golden spun silk tresses down at night, which thrilled Janeway. She liked to comb her fingers through it as Seven drifted off to sleep.

"Will you come to bed, Kathryn?" Seven asked, her voice trembling.

Janeway twisted her head to the side and tried to see Seven in the lowered lighting. She stroked her forehead, but Seven didn’t have a fever. "You feelin’ a little under the weather?"

"Kathryn," Seven said in her familiar crisp tone, "Voyager’s environmental controls prohibit such an occurrence."

"Yes," Kathryn allowed. Seven didn’t sound ill. "I supposed getting a little extra sleep might be kind of nice," Kathryn said as she took her robe off revealing her silky, black, floor length gown. She chose it because it didn’t reveal anything, but it was still enticing. Just because they weren’t being intimate yet, didn’t mean she couldn’t be sexy. Kathryn slid into the sheets beside the blonde and settled onto her back, then reached out for Seven, wanting to feel her beloved’s softness. Seven moved slowly over and it only took Kathryn a nanosecond to realize the ex Borg was completely nude.

"I do not want to go to sleep just yet," Seven said as she crawled up Kathryn’s chest and began kissing Kathryn’s neck.

"Oh, my…" Kathryn was going to protest, by the heat from Seven’s breast transferred through the silky fabric covering her chest, silky fabric that suddenly seemed much too warm for her body. Seven sank her teeth gently into Kathryn’s throat and flicked her tongue across the captured skin. "Oh…yes." Janeway managed.

Seven’s hands firmly caressed Kathryn through the silky material, Seven loved the way the fabric afforded friction-free movement, but she wanted to feel her skin directly on Kathryn’s. She slid her hand down and tried to lift the gown up Kathryn’s body. Unfortunately, it was a difficult maneuver when Kathryn’s weight on top of the garment was factored into the equation.

"Kathryn, I want to feel your skin on mine." Seven’s voice held more command than request. The young Borg also wanted to see her captain. "Computer, lights… one half." The light increased and the dim illumination cast long shadows across the two lovers, the effect romantic and erotic.

Kathryn pulled Seven’s face down so she could let her lips meet Seven’s. She pulled the naked Borg’s tongue into her mouth and Seven moaned. The gown could definitely wait a moment… or two, that moment became a long luxurious eternity as the two souls came together, building a bond with their dancing tongues, pulling back occasionally to grab a deep breath or switch positions. Kathryn’s hands eased slowly around Seven’s back, learning each inch of skin for the first time. Seven’s hands lovingly explored Kathryn’s flesh, still wrapped in the silky gown, reacquainting herself with the compact frame for the second time. Kathryn felt her arousal pooling between her legs. It was definitely time to lose the gown. As for Seven’s nightmares… well, she wouldn’t be getting much sleep this night. Kathryn eased Seven back to the mattress and then sat up and wiggled the gown up her body, not a particularly graceful maneuver, but if Seven noticed, she didn’t comment. As Kathryn slid the black silk over her head she was unprepared for the set of full lips that took possession of her nipple.

"Annika," Kathryn yelled as she shot the gown across the room and her hands came down and found the soft blonde tresses she loved so much. She dug her hands into the softness and pinned the Borg to her chest. "Oh… oh… god yes."

Seven shifted and switched to the other breast and was rewarded with a whimper of approval from her beloved captain. Seven eased Kathryn back down into the pillows and straddled her lover. Kathryn gasped when she felt Seven’s fevered moisture paint her hips, Seven was dripping and the cooling wetness on Kathryn’s body sent chills down the captain’s spine. Seven arched her back and began grinding her wetness into Kathryn’s hips and the captain’s hands soon found Seven’s hips and gripped the young woman, pressing her harder.

"Oh, Kathryn." Seven shifted and fell onto the captain and kissed her savagely. The Borg’s tongue sought proof that she was once again swimming in the passion she had so briefly tasted in the other reality. Kathryn’s hand gripped Seven’s still too thin hips and ran her hands slowly down the curves to grab two handfuls of the Borg’s sensual derriere. The firm muscles only made her want Seven more, this was far more intense than their encounter on the piano had been, and this time they would not be interrupted by a call from Voyager’s Second in Command… not if he valued his life. Kathryn shifted and tossed Seven to the bed, the lanky blonde almost falling to the floor, but Kathryn’s reflexes stopped her an inch from the edge. The captain took command of the woman beneath her and guided her back to the center of the bed, then Kathryn lowered herself onto Annika.

"I love you, Annika," Kathryn said as her lips grazed Seven’s. "I can’t wait any longer to take you." Kathryn kissed the Borg with merciless patience, her lips gentle, undemanding, and frustrating the young blonde beyond belief.

Seven needed to feel Kathryn fill her. The sensation of her captain entering her was all too fresh in her Borg enhanced memory and she wanted to experience it again. NOW.

"Please Kathryn… take me. I cannot wait any longer." The Borg’s request was plaintive, beyond a pleading question. Seven of Nine, Borg drone, was begging.

Kathryn laughed into her lover’s mouth. "Darling, you don’t have to beg," Kathryn said.

Seven tried to guide Kathryn’s face down her body and Janeway allowed the desperate young woman to lead, for the moment. Once Kathryn reached Seven’s full, heavy breasts, Kathryn’s progress halted, even Seven’s enhance strength couldn’t budge her lover from the feast between her lips. Kathryn was insatiable, she moaned as she sucked as much of Seven’s succulent flesh into her mouth as she could while her hands dug into both breasts with almost painful intensity.

"Kathryn… oh yes… don’t stop," Seven’s words came in short bursts as she exhaled each desperately sucked in breath. "Please…"

"Not until I’m ready," Kathryn said with a wicked smile. The captain rather enjoy seeing the willful blonde at her mercy, and she wasn’t about to release her from the torment any time soon. Janeway’s smile widened as she switched and sucked in the other breast. Seven quivered under her and moaned louder.

"Please!" Seven screamed. Kathryn had never heard Seven’s voice that loud, loud and now colored by overwhelming passion. Seven arched up into Kathryn’s heat and fought to control her breathing. She didn’t want to pass out… like she had the first time… in the other reality. That would not do.

Kathryn eased her hands down Seven’s sides and she familiarized herself with her Borg. She let her fingers weave slow trails along Seven’s hips and then Kathryn released the incredible breast between her teeth and began moving down Seven’s chest.

"Yes yesyesyesyes…." Seven whispered, relieved that her urgency was about to be answered, a premature response. Kathryn moved back to Seven's nipple, which was hard enough to cut a diamond, and gripped it gently in her teeth and then proceeded to repeatedly rake the nipple from its base to its tip, a short, but satisfying journey. The young Borg was hyperventilating and heading toward unconsciousness at warp speed. Her willowy arms dropped from Kathryn’s hair and bounced on the mattress. She gasped for air trying to keep her world from fading into the fuzzy edges that were closing in on her.

Kathryn seemed to sense that the young Borg could not wait any longer. She moved down to Seven’s belly and nipped her way past Seven’s hips.

"Ohhh Kathryn… yes." Seven drew in several gasps pushing back the darkness. Kathryn paused over Seven’s wetness. The musky aroma made her lightheaded. She reached one hand up and began to rhythmically caress Seven’s right breast as the captain positioned herself over her beloved. Seven could feel Kathryn’s breath, hot against her flesh one moment, only to cool her wetness the next, as Kathryn would move closer to draw in the young woman’s scent only to then pull back to enjoy the sight of her engorged folds.

Then Janeway released the full breast and shifted her weight onto that elbow and reached down and teased Seven’s tightly curled blonde hairs away from her opening. Kathryn leaned down and blew softly across Seven’s wetness, the cool sensation blending with the heat of Annika’s surging blood. Kathryn made a slow pass up Seven’s thigh with her tongue and the used her thumb to part her beloved Annika Hansen. Kathryn’s tongue dipped into the silky wetness and she drew in a deep breath at the overpowering pleasure the contact brought her own body. Kathryn’s tongue on Seven’s engorged flesh fired off the captain’s nerve endings and she let her face press into her lover as her own head felt suddenly too heavy. Kathryn was overwhelmed by the orgasm she was having by merely tasting her darling Annika, but she couldn’t leave Seven hanging… she would never hear the end of that, and she sincerely wanted Seven to join her in the heaven she floated in. Kathryn let her fingers ease into Seven’s fevered opening and the young woman’s heat enveloped the captain’s fingers and Kathryn climaxed again. She dove deeper into her lover, slowly, knowing Annika was unaccustomed to being filled, then Kathryn’s mouth covered Annika’s folds and danced slowly up and down each side of Seven’s clit.

"Kathryn… deeper…" Seven yelled. The former Borg was once again gulping breaths of air, quickly hyperventilating. She used her hand to guide Kathryn’s mouth closer, though her arms were growing weak.

Kathryn lifted her head to take in several gasps of air. Seven was driving the good captain insane. "Oh Annika, I love how you sound…" the captain said as she returned her mouth to the delicious tangy saltiness.

That said, Seven quit holding back her vocalizations. Anyone within three decks of the captain’s quarters now had a damn good idea what Voyager’s leader was doing. Most of the young Borg’s encouragements were not actually words, and some crewmembers actually wondered what strange, fierce creature had been captured by Voyager’s life-science division… and why they were torturing it.

Kathryn’s rhythmic attention to Seven’s most well kept secret as not in vain. Each thrust of Kathryn’s finger inched the young blonde closer to oblivion. Seven’s slickened muscles contracted around her lover’s fingers, adding enough resistance to push Seven even higher. She felt something building within, something that demanded release, release only her beloved Kathryn could offer. Offer accepted.

"Kathryn, yes… oh yes Kathryn. Take me. I am yours… oh… yes… oh… oh…O-mega!"

Kathryn almost burst into laughter as her beloved ex Borg screamed out for her… Deity? The laughter was halted as Kathryn felt the rush of fluid around her fingers. She had heard of women coming in this manner but always considered it a myth. It was real, it was real, and it turned Kathryn on like she’d never known possible. Kathryn felt another orgasm shake her body as Seven’s torrent flowed down her wrist. Seven’s explosive orgasm shook both women with its intensity, and Kathryn’s lips held Annika’s clit steady while she fluttered her tongue across it and drove Seven beyond orgasm.

Seven arched up off the bed and leaned toward Kathryn as she shuddered forcefully toward her, and then Seven relaxed her entire body and fell back into the bed. Actually, she didn’t relax; she lost consciousness… just like the first time in the other reality. Seven should have told Kathryn that particular piece of information up front, because just like in the other reality, Voyager’s ever so unflappable Captain panicked.

Kathryn groaned into Seven’s folds as her beloved came, and Kathryn felt her young lover collapse. The captain’s smug smile couldn’t have been wiped off with a phaser blast. She realized she should give her sweet Borg a little time to recover so Kathryn eased out of Annika, reluctant to leave the liquid flame, and moved up Seven’s body. Kathryn knew Seven was exhausted because the exdrone didn’t respond at all when she kissed her way up to the Borg’s face. She had never seen her so relaxed.

"Annika, my darling, you are a force of nature," Kathryn said as she rested her face next to Seven’s.

No response.

"I came just from taking you, my sweet."

No response.

Kathryn rose up and looked down at her precious Borg. "Annika?"

Nothing… Nada…The beautiful Borg was out like the proverbial light.

"Seven?" Kathryn’s voice was strained. She scooted up and took Seven’s face between her hands. "Seven? Oh god, Seven?" Kathryn wondered if Seven’s physiology wasn’t designed for this. Certainly the Borg would consider pleasure… irrelevant. What if the orgasm had actually overloaded some Borg system?

"Seven, wake up…" Janeway lifted Seven’s wrist and dropped it to the bed. If Seven had a skeletal structure, it wasn’t there now. Kathryn felt for a pulse, it was strong by very fast, pounding out of control. Janeway jumped from the bed and leaned over Seven.

"Annika, wake up," Kathryn ordered in her most commanding tone.

Nothing. To Kathryn, it felt like Seven had been out for ten minutes, in reality… fifteen seconds.

Kathryn shot a terrified look around her quarters and pulled the covers up over Seven’s limp frame and then she grabbed her robe.

"Janeway to sickbay… medical emergency in my quarters…"

The Doctor’s voice echoed through the silent room as Kathryn stroked Seven’s brow. "Captain, I’m on my way."

"Now doctor." Janeway’s tone left no question. The words barely finished leaving her lips when she heard him beaming into the living room. Kathryn looked down at her fallen lover and saw Seven’s eyes flicker open and watched the most radiant, lazy grin spread across the former drone’s face.

"More…" Seven purred as she stretched lazily and fought to open her eyes.

"Captain?" the Doctor asked as he rushed into the bedroom. He took one look at Seven in the bed, Janeway at her side, and assumed the Borg was having another crisis. "What is it?" he asked, his voice full of genuine concern.

Janeway’s terror shifted to absolute, devastating embarrassment. "Uh… Doctor…"

Seven looked up at the Doctor, her eyes widened and she pulled the blanket over her head and a muffled, "Not again," came out from under the blanket.

"Captain?" He looked to his Commanding Office for explanation.

"Uh… false alarm," she said sheepishly.

"False alarm?" he said incredulously. "You demand my presence for a false alarm?" He stepped closer to the bed and ran his tricorder over the hiding Borg. "I should at least check her. Her heart rate is much too fast…" The Doctor looked over at the captain, noting that she was wearing only a robe and her hair was doing what Mr. Paris would refer to as a ‘wheelie,’ sticking straight up on one side. The scan revealed Seven was nude beneath the blanket, he was a hologram, but he was not stupid. He crossed his arms over his chest, dangling the tricorder in one hand and the med kit in the other. "Captain, really." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "If you insist on…pleasuring Seven to this extent… at least give her a rest."

Janeway wanted to put him in his place with several sharp words, but all the eloquent captain could manage was, "Uhhhh…" Seven was no help what so ever. She was still safely tucked away under her blankets stronghold.

"I see I’m not needed here," he said with a smirk Kathryn knew she would see in her nightmares forever. "Seven," he said to the pile of blankets, "do try to get some rest tonight." He tapped his mobile emitter and dematerialized.

Kathryn stood frozen beside the bed, mortified, staring at the extremely quiet lump on her bed.

"Is he gone?" Seven asked from her fabric sanctuary.

"Yes," Kathryn said as she went to the top of the bed. She tugged at the blanket, which did not budge. "Did I hear you say, ‘again?’"

"Yes," Seven said meekly.

"You couldn’t have warned me?" Kathryn’s tone was irritated, but patient. She dropped her robe to the floor and stared at the lump that was her lover. She never would have expected Seven to react so shyly in front of the Doctor. It just wasn’t her style. "Annika, the Doctor’s gone, you can quit hiding. Come out of there."

Seven eased the blanket down, revealing a decidedly non-Borg smile, it covered her face and showed most of her perfect white teeth. "I was not hiding… from the Doctor," she said dryly.

Janeway’s eyes widened. "Why you little…" Kathryn pounced on the gleeful young Borg.

Seven actually squealed as she tried half-heartedly to deflect the auburn haired woman. They ended up in a tangle of sheets and body parts. Kathryn managed to finally get under the same layer of blankets as her lover and pulled Seven to her.

"You scared the hell out of me," Kathryn said.

Annika caressed Kathryn’s cheek. "It was not my intention."

"Again… apparently," Kathryn said as she put her head on the prone Borg’s chest. "Couldn’t you have warned me? I mean, I’m glad you were so…satisfied."

"Oh, I was," Seven half moaned.

"But, you should have told me."

Seven ran her hand over Kathryn’s hair and then down her back. Seven kissed the top of her captain’s head. "I thought I could control my breathing…this time."

Kathryn sighed into her lover’s full breast. The soft flesh was pressing against her cheek. She suddenly wondered if Seven would be able to control her breathing now. "So… do you think this will…uh, happen every time?"

Seven lifted Kathryn up and the captain shifted to look into Annika’s eyes. "It was not a problem the other four times," Seven said with a sensual spark in her ice blue eyes.

"Oh… We, you, did that four times? In addition to…that?"

"Oh, yes… but I only lost consciousness the first time… and well… this time," Seven said as she eased Kathryn toward her lips. "But right now…" the Borg said as she pulled Kathryn into a searing kiss that didn’t break for several minutes and this time, Kathryn was breathless when Seven spoke. "Right now, Kathryn, it is your turn."

The shiver that ran up Kathryn’s body made her take in a deep breath. "I like the sound of that." Then the captain kissed her lover and allowed Seven to shift and roll her onto the mattress. Seven’s weight was delicious, and Janeway wondered if she would be able to control her own breathing.

Seven pulled back from Kathryn’s velvet lips. "I love you, Kathryn." Then the former Borg drone filled the captain’s mouth and they drifted into the abyss together. She let herself go, right now, Annika was in control and Kathryn had never felt safer.