Part 25 - 28

BLONDES/REDHEADS

"Dr. Weaver, you've got to stop feeding me like this or I'll never leave," Harry Nielsen said as he helped clear the table.

"Complimenting the cook will win you another invite anytime, Professor," Kerry replied, stacking the dishes in the stainless steel sink. "You gonna get on the road to Evanston?"

He nodded and gulped down the last of his coffee. "Figure I'd better teach those two morning classes they pay me to. I'll call you this afternoon after I talk to my friend. Maybe we can set up a meeting."

"We'll be waiting to hear from you," Janeway said, overhearing the conversation as she brought in the empty juice pitcher.

Weaver stared at the other redhead. **Talk about pushy broads.**

"I'll give you a buzz, Kerry." Nielsen wanted to get out of the way before the Battle of the Redheads Part 2 began.

"I think I'll walk out with you. I have to get to County myself and drop off those papers. You don't mind cleaning up, do you, Kathryn?"

The captain had been fully prepared to offer to do the dishes, but she didn't like having the task assigned to her as though she were a lowly ensign.

"Of course not," she replied with a smile as sweet as the one Kerry sent her.

Kerry crutched over to the closet and took out a jacket, just in case the weather got cool. That wasn't likely in July. But old habits were hard to break. Another old habit of hers was walking over with a question in her blue eyes.

"Ker?"

"I'll be right back, Kim. I just need to drop those stats off at the hospital."

Before Kim could say anything else, Seven loomed up next to her. Quite a send off, Kerry thought, glancing from blonde to blonde and feeling amused. In the background she could see the captain observing her astrometrics officer's every move.

"I wished to say goodbye, Kerry," the Borg announced.

"I'll be back before you know---" Kerry started to say then was abruptly silenced by two full pouty lips descending on hers. Seven seized the ER chief, lifted her up and began mashing her mouth against the smaller woman's. Weaver's legs dangled off the ground, her breasts were squashed against the firm bosom of the strong blonde, and she felt in danger of passing out because she had forgotten how to breathe.

"Hey, get away from her!" Kim yelled and pulled at the other blonde's arms. An impossible task. The Amazon was hard to move.

"Seven, let go of Dr. Weaver!" Janeway ordered, stalking over.

The Borg's eyelids fluttered open as she drew away. Was ten seconds long enough for a kiss, she wondered. Lazily she licked her lips to assess what had just passed, a gesture avidly noted by two redheads and one furious blonde. Seven gazed down at Weaver's ashen face. Why was Kerry looking so unsettled? Was the kiss not adequate?

"Kerry, are you all right?" Kim asked, slipping her arm around Kerry and holding her upright.

Glad for the support, Weaver felt her legs wobble more than usual, even the good one.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She just wasn't sure she had any skin left on her lips. Seven continued to gaze at her speculatively, her head angled to one side. "I'd better get going."

"Seven, what were you doing?" Janeway asked quietly.

The Borg turned to her commanding officer. "Is it not obvious, Captain? I was kissing Kerry goodbye." Her blue eyes held a challenge that Janeway was unwilling to take up right now. Seven turned to the other redhead. "I will await your return, Kerry. I will have the dishes done and the kitchen organized but not reorganized."

"Thank you, Seven," Kerry said, recognizing the young woman's attempt at a joke.

A bemused Harry Nielsen held the door open for Weaver. "You and I have got to talk some time, Doc. I could use some dating tips from you."

Chuckling, he went down the stairs with Kerry then he turned left, headed up the street lined with walnut trees toward his parked car.

"Ker, wait a sec, I'm going with you," Kim called, loping down the steps and sidewalk, narrowly avoiding two joggers in Loyola T-shirts out for a Saturday morning run.

"You **want** to go to County?" Kerry asked skeptically. The hospital had to hold nothing but bad memories for Kim.

"Sure. I want to say hello to people at the hospital."

"Really?" Kerry wasn't buying that story.

"Okay. After that liplock I just want out of here. I'd rather not spend the next hour playing referee between those two."

Kerry glanced back at her front door. "I see your point. You feel like driving?"

"Drive your new car? That's a no-brainer." Kim brightened as Kerry tossed her the key ring.

"It's not that new."

"It is to me," Kim said quietly.

"Yeah, well...You press that button to open the doors."

"Going high tech on me, I see." Kim smirked as the doors opened. "What's this button for?" she asked as her thumb inadvertently set off the alarm that blared loud enough for two squirrels to dash madly back up a walnut tree.

"Press it again, Kim. Same button," Kerry instructed patiently, the way she would a first year intern.

Mercifully the alarm clicked off.

"That's why it's red and there's a horn on it." Kim conked the side of her head with her fist. "Anything else I should know about this car?"

"You'll need to roll the driver's seat back since you're so tall and use that lever to bring the seat down or you'll hit your head." Kerry giggled as she got into the passenger's seat, putting her crutch down next to her door.

Kim spent a few minutes getting the seat set to her satisfaction. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, short stuff?"

Kerry grinned. "Who wouldn't enjoy being driven around town by a beautiful blonde."

"So now I'm your chauffeur? Can you afford my rates?"

"Name your price. I'll pay," Kerry said huskily.

"Oh, you'll be paying, Ker. Count on it," Kim answered, giving Kerry a look that made the redhead tingle.

In no time at all, the silver Saturn was rolling along the Chicago streets. It was Saturday and there was no real rush hour, but the streets had a lot of traffic. Still, it beat driving in San Francisco with all those crazy hills. Kerry seemed to be enjoying the ride, singing along to her raucous Best of Rock CD and pointing out the changes in the neighborhood. A new drive thru had gone up in place of Kim's favorite Mexican restaurant.

"Kerry, do we need to talk about that kiss Kathryn mentioned?" Kim asked when they were midway to the hospital, and she was finished mourning the loss of the best guacamole in Chicago.

"Not on my account."

Kim darted a quick look over at the redhead in the next seat. Kerry was singing along to Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone and appeared just as mellow as the legendary song writer.

"You're sure?"

"That happened in California and you and I were over and done with then."

And what are we now? The unspoken words lingered in the air. Kerry cleared her throat, and Kim waited as the Saturn idled at a red light. The redhead didn't say anything else.

"I just didn't want you thinking I went around guerilla kissing women everywhere."

Kerry gave her that sly Elvis half-smile. "I'd be crazy to think you hadn't kissed anyone in the past year, Kim. You're a passionate woman, and Janeway could possibly be considered attractive."

Startled, Kim gave that high-pitched cackle that sometimes embarrassed her. Talk about damning with faint praise. "She's a short, bossy redhead. My weakness." She laid her hand on Kerry's knee, her fingertips rubbing the green cotton fabric. "And I suppose yours could be considered tall blondes."

"You're the only tall blonde I've ever kissed," Kerry protested, enjoying the feel of Kim's hand on her leg.

"Oh yeah? What was that back at the house?"

"Kim, be serious. That wasn't a kiss...that was a mouth mashing. My lips were practically shredded."

The psychiatrist braked to let a purple Volkswagen in. "Seven's got a big time crush on you."

"And I have a teeny one on her," Weaver replied

At those light-hearted words, Kim slid her hand off Kerry's knee. Surprised, Kerry chased the hand to Kim's lap and held it fast.

"Hey, are you jealous?"

Kim blinked. "No."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah." Another blink and then a third. "It's just that she seems to like touching you, Ker. And you seem to let her."

"I didn't have much choice. Seven's pretty strong, and I couldn't get out of her grip."

"I couldn't make her release you either. That bugs me."

The blonde pulled the car to the side of the road next to a dry cleaner and photo shop.

"Kim, it didn't mean anything," Kerry said quietly. "It was just Seven's version of a goodbye kiss. Probably to get her captain riled up."

"It got me riled up," Kim confessed. She slumped in the seat, long arms draped over the steering wheel. "I don't know why I'm feeling this way." Maybe it was jet lag or too much food for breakfast or not enough Kerry.

Weaver stretched her arm out, her fingers massaging a tight knotted shoulder. "Seven doesn't want me. She's in love with the captain."

Kim felt one knot dissolve. "You think so? Did she tell you that?"

Kerry's fingers slid along the trapezius.

"It's easy enough to figure out. Seven and I have talked. I just hope Janeway has enough sense to handle her gently whatever her feelings for Seven might be."

Kim groaned as Kerry's thumb probed a particularly tender spot near her scapula. "Kathryn cares for Seven. A lot."

"Good. She should probably teach Seven how to kiss...cuz that young woman needs some lessons."

Kim quirked an eyebrow. "Not that good?"

"No way close to how good you kiss, babe," Kerry said, green eyes sparkling like emeralds. "No comparison. You know, you could give Seven some lessons."

"Yeah, right. I want my mouth mangled, the way yours was."

"That would surprise the hell out of Janeway."

Massage over, Kim started the car up again. "Kathryn's not exactly your favorite person, is she?"

"After that little scene at the breakfast table can you blame me?"

"She's really not that bad. She's smart and quick on her feet. I've seen her fight off two men in an alley. She's a real martial artist."

"Really?" Kerry said, her hand sliding down to touch the cool metal of her crutch.

"Why did you kiss Dr. Weaver?" Janeway asked when she was alone with Seven in the living room.

The blonde studied the perturbed expression on the redhead's face, feeling distinctly uneasy. The kiss had not accomplished what Seven had hoped for. She had been curious about kissing and since the captain declared that friends could kiss goodbye had done so. However with Borg dispassion she was forced to judge her action as inadequate since she had felt no arousal from the contact with Weaver who had seemed similarly unaroused.

Since the Borg strove for perfection in all she did, she felt the failure keenly and hoped the captain would not press for more details about the kiss.

"I was saying goodbye, Captain," she said, still annoyed that Janeway had boasted about kissing Kim. In all the time she had been on Voyager she had never seen the captain bestow such favors. "Did you not tell us at breakfast that friends kiss goodbye? Kerry is my friend."

Kathryn bit her lip, wishing that she had not brought up the topic.

"I shall begin cleaning up in the kitchen," Seven declared.

"I'll help." Kathryn walked back into the kitchen.

"There is no need for that. You are the captain," Seven said. "You shouldn't do such chores."

"Tell that to Dr. Weaver," came the dry retort.

"I would, but she is not here," Seven said, confused.

Janeway eyed the dishes piled up in the sink. There certainly were a lot of them plus glasses and tableware and a few pots and pans.

"They do not have a recycler," Seven pointed out.

"Yes. We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way."

Janeway handed her a small plastic square that Seven gazed at with some confusion. How exactly did one utilize this as a cleaning device?

"It's a sponge, to be used with water and detergent in the cleaning process."

The captain put a large green plastic tub in the sink and added detergent and hot water. Soap suds bubbled up almost immediately. She took another sponge and a dirty dish and began washing.

"Intriguing," Seven said. "You are rather adept at 21st century life, Captain."

Kathryn flashed her a smile. "Comes from having a Traditionalist mother. She would cook a meal at Thanksgiving and guess who got stuck doing the dishes." Just like now.

"You do not enjoy doing the task? I could do it now that you have demonstrated the procedure."

"It's okay, Seven. Actually I find washing dishes soothing," Janeway said.

She handed the plate to Seven to rinse off and put in the dish drainer.

"It's also fun to play with the soap bubbles," Kathryn said. "One time my sister Phoebe and I used to see who could grow the longest beard..." She scooped up some soap suds with a cupped hand and applied it to her chin, bringing it to a point at the bottom. "Now you try it."

"I find the making of soap beards inefficient to the cleaning of dishes."

Kathryn gurgled with laughter, causing some of the soap suds to drip off her chin. "It's for fun, Seven. Human beings do things to be playful."

"Fun is playing Kodiskot with Naomi Wildman or playing Velocity with you in the holodeck."

As Kathryn dunked another plate into the tub of dish water, more of her beard dripped off. Seven found it difficult to stay annoyed with the captain when she looked so ridiculous.

"Do you always play with soap bubbles?" she asked.

"Not always. But it can be relaxing and fun, like in a bath."

"Indeed," Seven said, intrigued by the idea of bubbles draped on strategic areas of the captain's anatomy. The mere thought of that set off some physical changes to her anatomy. Arousal again, she noted.

"Seven, that kiss between you and Kerry was not exactly in good taste."

"I am aware that the kiss was insufficient, Captain," Seven said stiffly. "It was the first I had ever attempted with a female."

Kathryn was alarmed. Seven was such a perfectionist and Janeway truly hadn't meant to criticize her kissing technique.

"I possess the assimilated memories of species who have kissed before," the Borg continued, "but I chose not to access them. I winged it, as Lt. Paris once said. I obviously need more hands on experience as he also advised."

Janeway nearly choked at the idea of Seven's hands experiencing anything.

"You shouldn't listen to everything that Lt. Paris says. He's not always right."

"Indeed? I hope he would be right about kissing becoming better the more you practice."

"Yes, that's true enough, but you shouldn't go around just practicing your technique on people. There could be repercussions. It would be unfair to those you kiss just on a whim."

"I did not kiss Kerry on a whim, Captain."

A soapy plate nearly slipped out of Kathryn's hands. Seven caught it before it could break against the sink.

**Not a whim. That meant on purpose. Seven had wanted to kiss Kerry Weaver. Well, why not? She had declared that she was in love with the woman.**

"Did you kiss Kim on a whim?" Seven asked, rinsing the plate then placing it on the drainer.

Kathryn frowned. Actually the kiss was an impulse, come to think of it. "It was a tactic."

"Explain."

"I didn't want Kim to notice something I was doing, so I kissed her to distract her."

"What were you doing?"

"That's not important. But the kiss was aimed at distracting Kim."

"Do you have emotional feelings for Kim, Captain?" Seven asked uncertainly.

Noticing the timbre in Seven's voice had changed, Kathryn turned to peer at the woman standing by her side. The pale azure eyes held an unfathomable expression.

"I like Kim. I enjoy her company."

Seven stiffened. "You enjoyed the kiss." Not a question, a statement and almost an accusation.

"I suppose I did," Kathryn admitted.

"Do you love her?" The Borg needed to know the answer. On Voyager she was quite sure that the captain did not love anyone. On Earth, however, it could be different.

"No. Kim's very nice and I like her. In another place and time who knows what might have developed between us. But she cares deeply for someone else."

"Kerry?"

"Yes," Kathryn said gently, knowing Seven's fondness for Weaver.

After drying her hands on a towel, Janeway placed a hand carefully on Seven's back, moving it in soothing circles. She empathized with the young woman. It was always difficult to find out that someone you loved had another one in her heart.

"Kim is aesthetically pleasing."

"Yes. She's beautiful."

Seven felt an unexpected ache deep in her own heart. Her body was far less perfect than Kim's. The captain would consider it much less beautiful. Kerry had told her that the captain would not be repulsed. But what if the ER doctor was wrong? Kerry and the captain had not agreed on anything since the captain's arrival. Would Janeway be attracted to a body marred with the metallic implants?

Kathryn squeezed the blonde's shoulder. "What time is it, now?" she asked, thinking that it best to change the topic from Weaver and Kim.

Seven consulted her internal chronometer. "By Voyager time it is nearly 0600 hours. Chicago time it is 9:00 a.m."

"Perfect...Let's see if the ship responds to a hail. I'll get my communicator."

"That is not necessary, Captain," Seven said. "I am wearing mine."

"Oh." Kathryn saw the shiny badge on Seven's generous chest. For a moment she fantasized about touching the badge, just a few inches away from Seven's left breast.

"Shall I hail them?" Seven asked.

"Yes."

Seven slapped her communicator badge. "Seven to Voyager, come in please."

No answer.

"Janeway to Voyager." Kathryn spoke up. "Come in please."

Silence. They tried again.

"Janeway to Voyager, come in."

There was a faint staticky whine that caused Kathryn and Seven to look at one another.

"Captain, there may be interference in this room. Perhaps if we go outside."

It was worth a try. Of course anyone in their right mind would think they were out of theirs to be talking to thin air. Kathryn hurried down the front steps with Seven, relieved to find no pedestrians in sight. She took up a position next to a tree and parked car. "Janeway to Voyager, come in please."

"Voyager to Janeway..." a very faint sound came through. Kathryn strained to hear, bending down near Seven's chest, a position that she found awkwardly ridiculous and somehow arousing.

"Chakotay, this is the captain. I have found Seven of Nine."

"Understood, Captain." Very faintly.

"Can you beam us out of here?"

There was a jumble of words. "Negative. Ion storms. Temporal rift dissipated." Janeway looked up at Seven who was glancing down at the woman hovering around her comm. Badge with an indulgent expression. Had the Borg with her enhanced hearing caught anything more.

"We need to find another way home," Seven said, succinct as usual.

"Chakotay?" More static, then silence.

"We have lost communication, Captain."

Kathryn straightened up. "Damn!"

"Hey, she swore!" a young boy pointed his finger at Kathryn while his struggled with a baby carriage a few feet away.

"Young children should not point their fingers at elders," Seven said, gazing down at him, her metallic eyepiece gleaming in the sun light.

Kathryn drew her aside as the boy went running back to his mother.

"You probably heard more of Chakotay's message than I did."

"The Ion storms have ceased, and no temporal rifts are forming," Seven explained.

"What could have caused that change in their pattern?"

"The Commander did not say. Shall I speculate?'

"No."

Damn and double damn. Kathryn balled her fist, feeling like punching someone or something. She had allowed herself to think that all would soon be well. Once they had contacted Voyager, they could ride the temporal rift home. But this was not just your average away mission.

And if they didn't find an answer Seven would de-stabilize again. Kathryn lifted her chin. She was not about to let that happen. She was not going to lose the woman she loved.

BLONDES/REDHEADS

The short brunette sped swiftly through the ambulance entrance, one hand steering the gurney. Seeing her, Abby Lockhart and Luka Kovac sprang into action.

"Thirty year old male. MVA, Toyota versus truck. Vitals are good. Possible neck injury," Doris Pickman finished giving the bullet as Malik swung the gurney into trauma room one.

Arms crossed on her chest, Kim leaned against the side of a wall, out of view. While Kerry had gone upstairs to Romano's office, she had elected to take a quickie tour of Weaver's world. From the look of things it was just another frantic day in the ER with patients lined up in chairs and the board filled with names. Pratt, Gallant, Carter. Kim frowned. At least she recognized out of the three.

Near an exam room, two African-American men were arguing over a case. The skinnier one was needling his companion.

"Gallant, leg lac in three. Pratt, fever and vomiting in two." Carter cut short the argument by handing out the charts.

"Leg lac. You see what arguing with me got you, Gallant?" Pratt brayed with laughter and went off down the hall.

Probably new med students or residents and Carter no doubt was Chief Resident by now. The tall, boyish looking man stood with his back to Kim. Kerry had always had a soft spot for him since he'd once been his tenant. Kim couldn't resist sneaking up from behind as he flipped through lab reports.

"You called for a psych consult, Dr. Carter?" she asked and picked up a clipboard.

"Yeah, about an hour ago. It's about time..." Carter turned around, his growl transformed to a grin as he recognized the tall blonde.

"Dr. Legaspi!"

"Sorry, Carter. I couldn't resist giving you a hard time."

"Don't apologize. Everyone else does. What are you doing here?"

"Just nosing around."

He scratched his head with a pen. "Ah, if you're looking for Dr. Weaver, she's not in today."

How did he get so diplomatic, she wondered then took pity on him. "I know. Kerry's gone upstairs."

"Oh...so you've seen her." He seemed relieved.

"Dr. Legaspi!" Randi rounded the corner of the admit desk. In her form-fitting purple T-shirt and low cut pants she was stylish as always. "Hey, are you here because of that Blonde Bombshell?"

"Blonde Bombshell?" Carter was lost.

"The missing persons fax?"

Kim nodded. "You should be a detective, Randi."

"Nah, I looked into it once, but with my record it was no go. Plus they have lousy hours. Even lousier than ours." She put down the charts and lab slips she was juggling. "I knew the fax came from you. I'd recognize your scrawl anywhere."

"For some reason that would make me extremely nervous," Carter said.

"So you square things with Dr. Weaver?" Randi asked, ignoring him and concentrating on the blonde.

The psychiatrist hugged the clipboard to her chest. How much did the ER staff know about her affair with Kerry? "I'm not sure if that's the right term," she said obliquely.

"Okay," the desk clerk said, undeterred. "You two back together?"

Even Carter had dropped his feigned interest in UTIs as he awaited her answer.

"You guys, give me a break. I just got in last night."

"Where are you staying?" Randi, the relentless.

"At Kerry's place."

The desk clerk grinned. "Yeah, you're squared away."

Kim couldn't help laughing with them. Kerry had mentioned being out at work. Apparently it was true.

"So, I guess Kerry's out of the closet now?"

"No doubt about that," Randi said.

Even Carter nodded.

"Wow. Must've taken a lot of guts for her to tell you all."

"She didn't exactly tell us," he replied.

"She didn't leave a note on the bulletin board? That would be tacky."

"Nope. Actions speak louder than words," the desk clerk said.

Kim was getting impatient. "So how did Kerry come out?"

"Sandy Lopez planted a wet one on her right over there." Randi waved toward the front of the admit desk.

"Sandy?"

"Her girlfriend. Well, former girlfriend."

"Really."

"Yep, outed her right in front of everyone in the ER."

Kerry dropped the documents off at Romano's office and then headed for the elevator. She didn't like sticking around Robert's command central any more than necessary. It made her think of how she craved that office for herself and how far she still had to climb to reach there.

She and Kim had agreed to meet on the third floor, Internal Medicine. That way Kerry wouldn't have to run down to the ER and risk being dragged back into work. What was that line Al Pacino had uttered as the Godfather?

"Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in." She was spouting the words in her best fake Sicilian accent when the doors opened.

Feeling silly, she got in after the passengers streamed out. By the time she finished studying the poster of an AIDS Charity Walk to be held next weekend the elevator dinged and she had reached the third floor. No Kim. She was early and took a quick walk around the floor. Carl DeRaad passed by, talking to a couple of nurses. Kerry hoped he wouldn't linger. No telling what Kim would say to him if she saw her ex-supervisor again. That might bring back all those old dark days of last year.

Carl got on the next elevator to Kerry's relief. Seeing the psychiatrist again made Kerry remember his interview yesterday with Seven. Fashion model, really! She wondered what Kim's take on Seven would be. Maybe during the ride home, she could convince Kim to assess Seven and find out if she really were delusional or not.

"Kerry?"

She startled and found Kim standing behind her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I took the stairs."

"No problem, and that was good timing," Kerry said as the elevator opened. It was empty for a change. "You ready to get going?" She held the doors open with her crutch since Kim didn't follow her in.

"Yeah. Right." Kim got into the elevator.

"Want to go anywhere else or just back home?" Kerry asked.

"You think you've still got a house left?" Kim asked, trying to joke, but her mind was filled with images of Kerry being clutched by a hot Latin firefighter.

Why the hell hadn't she mentioned Sandy to her. Of course, Kim had been in Chicago all of six hours. Long enough to discover Kerry had changed, no longer closeted and frightened.

That was a good thing, right? Except the change hadn't been due to Kim. It was probably because of Sandy Lopez. **Well, what did you expect?** Kerry had to move on and grow. **You just didn't want to wait around for her to do it.** Can't exactly blame her now that she did it on her own or with someone else's help.

"Hey, you all right?" Kerry asked, puzzled since Kim wasn't looking at her, just staring at the numbers above the elevator door.

"Yeah."

"Did you run into Romano?" Kerry pressed, sensing something was wrong. She never should have brought Kim with her to County.

"No, thank God." Suddenly Kim reached out and pulled the stop button. The elevator lurched to a halt. Off balance, Kerry grabbed the safety bar.

"For Pete's sake, Kim, what's going on?"

She turned Kerry's face softly toward her, brushing her thumb against the ER chief's lower lip. "Kiss me."

"What?" Was this some kind of joke?

"Please, Kerry. Kiss me."

She didn't have to ask her a third time. Kerry reached up and pulled the leonine head closer. Gently she nuzzled her nose against Kim's, inhaling the sweet scent of her. Softly she ran her tongue over Kim's lips, parting them and sliding it home. And home was where it was, this soft, wet place that claimed her like no other. She shivered, feeling her desire building. She didn't need to know why Kim wanted a kiss now and why here...just that whatever she needed Kerry would give whenever and wherever she wanted it. Kim groaned. The sound causing an answering shudder of desire. Kerry pressed herself against the long smooth soft body, her hand sliding between the buttons of the blue chambray shirt, to cup a soft round breast.

Her crutch fell to the floor of the elevator, and she didn't give it a second thought because Kim was here and would hold her up.

"You okay now?" Kerry asked, shakily as they finally drew apart. Their foreheads still pressed against one another.

"Yeah..." Kim held her close, hugging her hard for another long moment, savoring the feel and scent of Kerry Weaver.

Sandy was old news, and Kerry would tell her about Sandy in her own time.

"Very okay," she went on and noticed the camera in the corner of the ceiling. "Uh, Kerry...what's that?"

"Security camera," Kerry said, still nuzzling her head against Kim's shoulder.

"That's new."

"No, I think we've had them for a while."

"Is there film in the camera?"

"This is County. What do you think?"

Laughing, Kim pushed the button to start the elevator again.

Hand in hand they walked to the Saturn. Kerry automatically went to the driver's door, searching for her keys in her purse before a smirking Kim clicked the doors open.

"Do you want to drive?" she asked Kerry, dangling the key ring in front of her.

"You go ahead, since the seat is adjusted for you now."

"I know this is a ploy for you to be chauffeured around town like a VIP."

"I told you that before we headed out. So how was the ER?" she asked as they buckled up.

"Busy even for a Saturday morning."

"In psych you get the full mooners. In the ER we get the weekenders.
Some people can't come in during the week because they work."

"I saw Carter and Randi."

"Those two. They must've filled you in on all the hot gossip you missed."

"Sort of." Kim snuck a quick peek over at Kerry. The key was in the ignition but she didn't want to start driving yet. She wanted to concentrate on what Kerry might say.

"They fill you in on me?" The redhead met her eyes unflinchingly. "Getting outed by the admit desk?"

"They mentioned it. Another guerilla kiss."

"At least you had the sense to kiss me in the lounge." Kerry hesitated, not wanting to open up old wounds. "Sandy helped me a lot through some bad moments. Like Mark's death and other things."

"I heard about Mark." Kim brushed her bangs back from her eyes. "Uhm...so besides Mark, what other things did Sandy help you with?"

"Well, she helped me figure out the big question."

"Which was?"

"Whether I was a Legaspian or a lesbian."

Kim stared at her, dumbfounded. "What the **hell** does that mean?"

Kerry shrugged. "Whether it was just you I was attracted to or women in general."

"And what did you discover with Firefighter Sandy's help?" Kim drawled, an edge in her voice.

"That I'm both." Weaver reached out and placed her hand on Kim's knee. "And very heavy on the Legaspi side."

The blonde realized she been holding her breath. Slowly she exhaled and felt the tension ease from her body. She placed her hand on Kerry's smaller one, holding it tight against her. Good thing she wasn't driving.

"So what happened to this hot firefighter chick?" she asked after a moment.

The redhead tilted her head at her. "Did I say she was hot?"

"Please, she's a firefighter. Plus Randi gave me the run down. You met in the field."

"Oh yeah. Randi would know. Well, Sandy and I broke up by mutual agreement. What happened to your friend Lori, the jogger?"

"Lori?" Kim couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. She hadn't really thought of Lori in ages. "She's over. We broke up long before I left Chicago. She was never that important."

"Maybe not to you," Kerry said softly. She saw the question in the blonde's eyes then looked away. "You moved on from me to her. That made her important to me."

"I guess I never considered that. And you moved on from me to Sandy."

"Yeah..." Kerry looked through the window at the view of the Chicago River for a moment. Then her gaze returned to the woman next to her. "So where are we now?"

"Moving back to each other again, I hope," came the soft reply.

Feeling her heart in her throat, Kerry picked up Kim's hand and rubbed it against her cheek. "Me too."

"I'm glad you had someone to help you through the year, Ker. I don't want to think of you miserable and alone."

"Thanks."

"I'm gonna need that hand to turn on the ignition, Weaver."

Kerry grinned, letting Kim have custody of her hand again. The car wove its way down to the ground floor.

"You've turned into quite a babe magnet this past year," Kim said. "Must be the lab coat."

"A babe magnet, come on, Kim." Weaver giggled.

"Hey, there's Sandy and don't forget Seven back at your house."

Kerry looked at her with eyes filled with love. "There's only one woman I want to attract."

Kim felt a wave of relief and desire. She merged onto the traffic in the street. "You still see Sandy?"

"Now and then. We're friends."

"Friends with your ex. Weaver, you're a gay cliché."

"That's what Christy tells me."

Kathryn stomped up the steps to Kerry's residence and began pacing furiously on the blue Berber carpet in Kerry's living room. Someway, somehow she had to get Seven back to Voyager safely.

The blonde watched her for several minutes without saying a word.
"Captain, if you continue to pace in that manner you will wear a hole in Kerry's carpet in approximate three hours and forty two minutes," she said finally.

"We can't have that happen," Janeway said, sitting down on the couch and patting the chintz cushion. Seven knew what was required of her by now and seated herself at once. Kathryn predictably reached for her hand.

Once again the Borg thrilled to the contact of the redhead's soft yet strong hand in hers. This felt so pleasurable. Her whole body felt on fire, much more stimulating than her mortifying kiss with Kerry. Was it because it was the captain she was touching?

She wondered if she and Janeway would hold hands when they returned to Voyager. Somehow she doubted it. This seemed a habit peculiar to the 21st century.

"Captain, you are holding my hand."

"Yes, does it bother you?"

"No. I like it. Your touch sends pleasurable sensations down my arm. I find it invigorating."

"Well, invigorating's good, I hope." Kathryn felt her voice grow husky and feeling a little self-conscious now, she dropped Seven's hand.

The blonde was dismayed. She would not have brought up the matter if she had known the captain would break the contact.

"Was this another impulsive act?"

"Another?"

"Like your kissing Kim."

"No, it wasn't impulsive. And actually my kissing Kim wasn't exactly impulsive."

"You wished to distract her as you stated before."

"Yes and no."

The blonde had a baffled expression on her face. Janeway found it quite endearing.

"Explain," Seven asked. The captain was usually not so obtuse.

"Yes, it was impulsive because it really was just done without
premeditation, and no because the kiss had been six years in the making."

"I do not understand. You have not been acquainted with Kim for six years."

Searching for something to do with her hands, Kathryn, clasped them around her knee. "I don't get many opportunities to get close to people on Voyager, Seven. Not as close as I would really like to. On the ship I always have to be the captain."

Seven nodded, understanding the burden of command the captain bore. For six years the captain had been alone, stranded without Starfleet Command to rely on. Her only thought to get the ship back to the Alpha Quadrant.

"You could choose a mate."

Janeway let out a bark of laughter. "A mate? On Voyager. Who would have me?"

"Many would find you attractive, Captain. Commander Chakotay for one," Seven said, wondering why she had made this suggestion. She didn't want Commander Chakotay mating with the captain.

Fortunately Janeway laughed off her suggestion of the First Officer. "Chakotay is a good friend, but no, I don't believe I will be taking him for a mate. Anyway, it's impossible for me to fraternize with any of my crew."

"Just Michael Sullivan."

A pained expression crossed the captain's face. "Seven, could I ask you not to bring him up, please? It only reminds me of a foolish time in my life."

"I am sorry, Captain," Seven said contritely. "I did not mean to cause you pain."

"I know." Janeway patted her hand again. This time Seven caught it firmly in her Borg hand.

"Is there no one aboard Voyager that you can find love with, Captain?"

Oh God. That Borg way of cutting to the heart of the matter. There's you...Kathryn thought but bit her tongue.

"As long as I am captain I don't think that's possible."

Seven was Borg and there was no one and nothing she was afraid of, unless perhaps the emotions she felt for the woman seated next to her.

"You are not on board Voyager now, Captain."

"What?" Kathryn found herself unable to resist Seven's mesmerizing eyes.

"We are not on board Voyager. We are in the Alpha Quadrant on Earth in the 21st century. Voyager does not exist now." The Borg's hand tightened a fraction on Janeway's, enough to indicate the movement was deliberate but not enough to cause any pain.

"Seven, you just heard Chakotay a few minutes ago."

"You do not have to be captain here unless you desire it. Do you desire it?"

Kathryn looked away from the blue eyes, wondering if she were reading the Borg correctly. Or was it her own wishful thinking. There were things she desired that she dared not speak of, particularly to this woman.

"Sometimes I wish I weren't captain," she confessed, eyes fixed on the intricate stitches of Weaver's Berber carpet.

"Then you needn't be."

Kathryn lifted her lips in a half smile. "If only it were that easy."
"It is that easy. Here on this planet no one knows you as Voyager's captain. You could shed your rank easily."

"Those four pips were hard to earn, Seven," she joked, lifting her head to meet a gaze that seared her.

"You are not wearing the pips now."

"No, I'm not," Kathryn said huskily.

The low trill caused the Borg's respiration to increase by another 5%. She had to send a command to her cortical node to keep breathing.

"Captain, you allow Kim to call you Kathryn."

"Yes."

"It is a sign of familiarity and friendship."

"Yes." Janeway wondered where the Borg was going with this and when would she be allowed to regain her hand. Not that she minded having it rest securely in the young woman's fingers.

"You allow it after only a day of knowing Kim."

"The exchange of first name eases social relations."

"I have known you three years. May I call you Kathryn?"

"Seven, why?" Janeway knew that she should stop this line of conversation. It was getting too close to what she had fantasized about alone in her captain's quarters when she couldn't sleep.

"I know you as the captain. I wish to know you as Kathryn."

The redhead glanced down at her hand clasped in the blonde's much stronger one. It was out of the question. Entirely inappropriate. If she allowed such familiarities it would only lead to greater intimacies. And God knew what kind of intimacies she wanted with Seven. She must not cross the line.

Sensing the inevitable reply, Seven swallowed hard and abruptly released Janeway's hand. "You needn't answer, Captain. I withdraw my request."

On the verge of denying Seven's request, Kathryn felt like crying out as Seven dropped her hand. Talk about a hot potato.

"Seven, let's talk about this."

"It is all right, Captain. I understand. Kim is beautiful and you were drawn to her and could allow such familiarities. I am not her equal." The words came haltingly, clumsily.

"Seven, that is rubbish. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life," Janeway said. Her sincerity brought Seven's head up and the expression of relief on her innocent face made Kathryn's heart ache.

"Indeed?"

Janeway nodded. "And I would like very much for you to call me Kathryn," she said, recklessly taking the plunge.

"You would allow it?" Seven's heart was pounding in her chest.

"That would be acceptable."

Smiling at each other, Kathryn slowly got up from the couch.

"And now there's the matter of devising a means to get back to the 24th century."

"We can access data that Professor Nielsen showed me last night on Kerry's computer," Seven said, leading the way into the study.

"We'll need to do something before your implants de-stabilize again."

"We have four days, Kathryn," Seven said trying out the captain's name and finding that she liked it. "We shall find a way," she continued with Borg confidence. "Let me show you what the Professor and I have devised."

Quickly she led the captain, Kathryn, she amended mentally, through the data and the algorithms.

"Professor Nielsen's friend's polaric energy device may assist us. We will as you pointed out this morning need the power from a phaser. You have a phaser with you, do you not, Cap...I mean, Kathryn?"

Janeway looked at her. "Oh bloody hell, no." How could she have forgotten.

"You have a tricorder but no phaser?" Seven looked bewildered. "Tuvok would never have allowed you to depart without a weapon."

"I had a phaser."

"Where is it?"

"I left it back in Kim's house in California."
 

BLONDES/REDHEADS

"Why did you leave the phaser at Kim's domicile?" Seven inquired, still seated at the computer in Kerry's small study.

"Because I don't have a brain in my head," the auburn-haired woman with the blazing blue-gray eyes uttered in a tone of complete disgust.

Not a brain in her head? Kathryn's choice of words took Seven aback.

Janeway didn't notice. Unable to remain still, the redhead paced in front of the African weaving on the wall. Since arriving in the 21st century she had been behaving like a raw Starfleet cadet, not like someone with four pips in her collar. Well, that would have to stop, right now.

"We had to leave the phaser behind because of security procedures boarding the airplane," Janeway continued, gathering her thoughts. "Kim convinced me that we would attract less suspicion without it."

"We need the phaser to work with the polaric energy device and tricorder modification."

"I know." The captain paused, hands on her hips. This plan of Nielsen's friend was just a long shot, but it was the best thing they had to work with, given Voyager's inability to create a temporal rift from their end. She needed the phaser.

"Maybe I can convince Kim to get someone to send the phaser here," she mused aloud.

Seven's blue eyes beamed back at her. "I have full confidence in your powers of persuasion, Cap...Kathryn."

"Thank you, Seven." Janeway squeezed the blonde's shoulder lightly.

Once again Seven reveled in the contact, fleeting though it was. She found it difficult to remember what they were talking about. Kim...Yes, Kerry's blonde friend.

"Kim is an amenable creature, so convincing her should not be difficult," Seven observed.

"Kim, amenable? Don't underestimate her," the captain warned.

"I do not." The Borg had acutely observed the other blonde on several occasions since her arrival the night before.

"Despite her advantage of height, she lacks superior body strength. And her visual acuity must be poor since she blinks so rapidly and oddly."

"Kim Legaspi is intelligent and quite stubborn. If she doesn't want to cooperate she won't. I had to shoot her with the phaser because she wouldn't divulge Kerry's address."

Seven's optical implant arched in disbelief.

Kathryn nodded, answering the unspoken question. "It's true and definitely not my finest hour, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Dr. Weaver."

"I shall not. Kerry may find it provoking."

The captain let out a short laugh. "No doubt about that." Kim had mentioned that Weaver would rip her a new one if she discovered what Janeway had done.

"Why did Kim not wish to give you the address, Kathryn?"

"She believed I might hurt Kerry."

Seven stared, clearly baffled that anyone would think such a thing about her captain. Clearly the other blonde's intelligence was not as keen as she first deduced.

"Why would she think that?"

"I have no idea. Perhaps because I was a stranger and she'd seen me fight off two men in the alleyway."

"You do make a formidable opponent," Seven said.

Coming from the Borg this was high praise, and Kathryn savored the compliment.

"Kim demonstrated considerable courage then," Seven continued softly. Her estimation of the other blonde went up a notch.

"Yes. "

Seven cocked her ear. "They have returned," she said just as the front door opened, and Kim and Kerry came in holding hands.

"We're back. Things going okay with you two?" Kerry asked casually,
hoping the break had helped the other couple. Kim swung a plastic bag onto the kitchen counter. They had made a pit stop at a deli.

"The kitchen is cleaned," Seven announced, gesturing proudly to the spotless sink and counter.

Kerry smiled over at her affectionately. "Thank you. You're the perfect house guest, Seven."

"Kathryn showed me how to wash the dishes."

"Did she?" Weaver felt in a cheery mood so she smiled at the other redhead in the room. "Thanks, Captain."

"You're welcome." Not about to be drawn into a competition on house cleaning, Janeway touched Kim on the elbow.

"May I speak with you in private?"

"Sure. We can talk in the living room if you like."

After the two women left, Kerry walked over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. Chicago was experiencing a summer heat wave and she hadn't needed that jacket she'd brought with her at all. She took a long gulp of water, her thirst making it taste like nectar of the gods.

"You really did a great job on the kitchen, Seven."

"Thank you, Kerry. It was the least I could do after that inadequate goodbye kiss."

Weaver turned her head sharply, recognizing the two red spots of embarrassment on the blonde's cheeks. "Hey, it wasn't that bad. For a first attempt, I mean. It just takes practice, that's all."

"So we should practice?" Seven inquired.

Kerry choked, spluttering half the water down the front of her shirt. "No, not you and me. That wouldn't be a good idea."

Seven passed her a napkin. "Because you love Kim."

"Yes." Kerry dabbed at herself with the napkin.

"But you also love me a little."

Kerry paused, napkin poised between buttons on her shirt front. The Borg was peeking at her shyly from under her eyelids.

"What makes you think that?" Weaver asked, feeling nervous.

"You told me so last night when my implants were depolarizing. You said you thought you loved me a little and kissed my starburst implant."

**Yikes.** Kerry blew out a breath. "I didn't think you could hear me."

"I have an eidetic memory. Once the nanoprobes were injected in me I could access what had happened when I was faltering."

"Indeed."

"Were you speaking the truth, Kerry?" Seven asked softly.

Kerry gazed up into the azure eyes of the young woman, feeling the familiar tug of attraction and affection that covered the two of them like a flannel blanket on a cool night.

"Yes, Seven. I spoke the truth."

A brilliant smile transformed Seven's narrow features. Kerry felt captivated by the sight. Under different circumstances who could say what would have developed between her and this woman.

"Ever since we met the other night I have felt a bond with you," Kerry confessed. "I love you a little."

"As I do you."

"But you love Kathryn more?" Kerry asked gently.

Seven's head bobbed vigorously up and down. "So much more. Sometimes it feels as though I have an ache in my chest."

Seven had it bad. Kerry just hoped that Janeway would appreciate the young woman. She didn't seem to have done so in the past on that ship of hers, ogling Seven when she was asleep.

"Is it usual for people to love more than one person?" Seven asked.

"Sometimes. It's hard to say what is the norm nowadays."

"The Borg do not believe in monogamy."

"They don't?"

"No."

"Most humans do. I do."

"I understand. Kim is your primary love. But I am happy you love me a little, Kerry."

"Me too, Seven." Weaver reached out and covered Seven's left hand with hers.

Seven felt her nerves tingle slightly, enjoying the warmth of the contact but noticing that it was less than what she experienced when Kathryn touched her shoulder earlier.

"However you mustn't kiss me again the way you did this morning when I left here. Kim didn't like it."

"The captain too was displeased."

The two women smiled in perfect harmony.

"So we are friends," Seven said.

"Yes, good friends."

"You will kiss Kim, and I will practice my kissing with the captain, if she allows it."

Kerry grinned. "That sounds like a good plan. And now that we've cleared that up, you want to help me unload that grocery bag?"

"What is in it?"

"Pastrami, roast beef, corned beef...Thought we could have sandwiches for lunch."

In the living room Kim had settled on the chintz couch, wondering why Kathryn wanted a private moment. It wasn't because of that kiss Kerry and Seven had shared, was it?

Kathryn dropped into the chair next to the couch and leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "I need that phaser we left behind in California," she said, getting right to the point. Time was of the essence. Seven would only be functional for four days.

"What for?" Kim asked, her blue eyes fixed attentively on the redhead's face.

Janeway ignored her question and posed one of her own. "Can you dispatch someone to your house and find some way of bringing the phaser here."

Carol had the keys to Kim's house and could probably FedEx the phaser to Chicago. "I could," she conceded now. "My friend Carol has the keys to my place."

Relief flooded Kathryn's body. "Good. Do it," she ordered.

Kim's lips curled in a sardonic smile as she quirked an eyebrow at the familiar phrase.

Janeway swore silently. Kim was a civilian of course and not used to getting ordered around.

"Kim, please. It's quite important."

"First I want to know what you need the phaser for," Kim said gently.

"I'm sorry. That's classified."

The blonde nodded, half expecting that automatic reply from the other woman.

"Okay. But I'm not calling Carol until you explain to me exactly what type of military operation you and Seven are involved in."

"I told you it's classified," the captain said, keeping a tight rein on her growing impatience.

"It wouldn't be something known as the United Federation of Planets in the 24th century?"

Janeway stiffened. How in the world?

"Kerry told me a few things that Seven divulged to her."

"And I told you both before Seven is delusional," Kathryn declared, becoming aware that something had changed in Kim. She wasn't the same woman she had been back in San Francisco. No doubt due to Weaver's influence.

"I want to determine her mental status for myself." Kim had reluctantly agreed to Kerry's request in the car to assess Seven. Kathryn's reaction brought out the strong possibility that Seven wasn't delusional. But if she wasn't, then she and Kathryn were really 24th century time travelers. How weird was that?

"How would you assess her?" asked the captain, stalling for time.

"No medical procedures," Kim said quickly. "I am a psychiatrist. I just want to talk to Seven alone to determine if she is cooperating with you voluntarily."

Kathryn jumped out of her chair. "Kim! What are you suggesting? You know that I have strong feelings for Seven. I told you that on the plane You don't trust me?"

"I need to assess her and determine if she is truly delusional." Kim said, deflecting the last comment. There was no mistaking the redhead's anger and hurt feelings.

"That is out of the question." The captain was back in full command mode. Eyes now gray instead of blue.

"If you won't allow it, I won't call Carol and get the phaser thingie FedExed here."

"What is a phaser thingie?" Kerry asked, coming into the room with Seven. **And who the hell was Carol?**

"It's a weapon," Kim said.

"It emits energy bursts," Seven explained before she caught the quick shake of Janeway's head.

"It was part of Kathryn's military paraphenalia. We had to leave it behind. No way getting that through security on a plane nowadays," Kim said.

Kerry's eyes darted from Kim to Kathryn and then to Seven. There was something about this phaser that they weren't telling her. As always, she hated to be out of the loop.

"Why do you need this phaser?" Kerry asked Janeway.

"That is classified." The captain said grimly, her eyes steely gray.

"It packs quite a punch," Kim said.

"How do you know that?" Kerry asked. Had that scrawny redhead used the weapon on Kim?

"I saw Kathryn use it on a couple of guys in an alleyway," Kim said quickly and truthfully.

"Oh."

"We are wasting time..." the captain said, annoyed with these interruptions. "I need Kim to call her friend Carol."

"Not until I speak to Seven."

"I bet this is your idea." Janeway focused her Force Ten glare at Kerry who was still mulling over who Carol might be.

Weaver lifted her chin. "I thought Kim would be able to determine the extent of Seven's delusions,"

"Seven is not your responsibility. She is mine."

"I will speak to Kim," Seven announced, cutting short the hostilities between the two redheads.

Janeway's head swiveled in the direction of the Borg. "That is unnecessary."

"I would like to speak to her, Kathryn."

**Kathryn, not captain.** Well, she had granted Seven that privilege and the young woman was using it.

"Very well," she conceded graciously.

"We'll go into the study," Kim said, getting up from the couch.

The two redheads watched the two blondes disappear together down the hall.

"Dr. Weaver, I realize that you are fond of Seven, but she is really my concern not yours."

"Could have fooled me," Kerry shot over her shoulder as she crutched back to the kitchen. She began to unwrap the light rye bread from the deli.

Kathryn followed, not about to let her have the last word. "What did you mean by that?" she demanded. For someone who loathed the kitchen Janeway was spending considerable time there.

Kerry's green eyes glinted dangerously as she looked the other woman over.

"Do I have to spell it out for you, Captain?"

"Please, Doctor."

"In case you hadn't noticed lately Seven is a beautiful young woman."

"I know that. And I also know that you have taken upon yourself the role of her sexual advisor. You will cease doing so immediately."

Kerry slammed a slab of pastrami down on the counter. "Sexual **what**?"

"She told me about your discussions of human sexuality."

"Did she? Maybe she's not the one I should be advising. Maybe it's you."

Kerry reached into the refrigerator for the mayo and the mustard. Might as well bring both out and let people choose for themselves.

Kathryn stared at the other redhead. "You're being rather cryptic."

Kerry held up a hand. "Look, Kim likes you so I'm willing to grant you some slack, and I really don't want to fight with you."

"Good, because you'd lose."

Kerry flicked some bread crumbs off the counter with her fingers. "Just understand this. Seven is my friend. If she has questions, I'll answer them. Someone had to take that young woman under her wing and give her some advice."

"I hope you haven't been encouraging Seven in sexual experimentation."

Experimentation! Weaver clunked a spoon down against the mayonnaise jar.

"No, I haven't."

"That goodbye kiss this morning. You were an unwilling participant?"

"She kissed me. Practically shredded my lips."

"I am well aware that Seven initiated the kiss," Kathryn growled.

"I don't think it was really me she wished to be kissing."

"What are you implying?"

Kerry rolled her eyes. Janeway was too much. "Come on. A first year med student isn't this dense. Seven's in love with you."

Kathryn blinked. "What makes you say that?"

"Ever since she got to Chicago it's been Captain Janeway this, Captain Janeway that."

"I'm her commanding officer, it is normal for her to regard me with a little hero worship."

"Do all commanding officers watch their officers when they sleep?"

"What?"

"She says you like to look at her when she regenerates."

Kathryn's mouth dropped open. **Seven knew**? She felt utterly exposed.

"I assure you___"

"Hey, it's okay. I like looking too, at Kim."

"Your relationship to Kim is different than mine to Seven."

"Yeah, yours hasn't gotten off the ground yet. And it won't if you keep wasting time."

Janeway was stung. "I'm not going to start anything with a member of my crew."

"I think you did when you severed her from that Collective."

"I will not discuss this further."

"Suit yourself." Weaver reached for the lunch plates and started to distribute the meats. "Just for the record, that hero worship excuse? I don't buy it myself."

"You remind me of Phoebe," Kathryn said, getting more and more exasperated by the other redhead.

"Who's that?"

"My brat of a younger sister. She was a sarcastic know-it-all too."

"Sounds like my kind of person." Weaver pointed a butter knife at a Tupperware container. "Open that."

"What is it?" Janeway pried open the lid then looked over at her hostess in astonishment.

"Seven wanted to find a recipe for caramel brownies because they were your favorite."

Janeway was at a loss for words. She had no idea that Seven even knew how much she missed her mother's caramel brownies.

"Have one, if you like. Tell me what you think."

The captain picked up one of the brown squares. She took a bite, found the brownie soft and sweet and delicious and finished it up in a flash. As she indulged herself with another, Kerry began laying the meat on the bread slices.

The phone rang. Hoping it wasn't anyone from County, Kerry picked it up.

"Hello? Yeah, Harry...Okay, 3 p.m. Great Lakes Naval Training Center. We'll be there."

Janeway looked over at her expectantly.

"Harry's friend will see us this afternoon."
 

BLONDE/BLONDE

Kerry's study was small and cozy, boasting a laptop computer, desk and chair, along with a teak bookcase crammed with folders and medical journals. On the far wall hung a Christmas weaving from a Kenyan friend. In the corner stood a tan LA-Z Boy rocker, a good place to curl up with a book. More often than not, Kim knew, the ER chief had curled up with spreadsheets and budget reports, although once she had persuaded the good Doc Weaver to find another use for that chair. She grinned at the memory as she picked up a pair of gold reading glasses that had been tossed aside onto a large red binder labeled County General.

"Which chair do you want?" Kim asked Seven.

"Neither. I prefer to stand."

"Fine." Kim grabbed the rocker and pushed back so the footrest popped up.

Seven had expected to be coaxed into sitting. As a Borg, she did prefer to stand, but since being severed from the Collective she had become accustomed to humans wishing her to sit. Even Kathryn sometimes ordered her to sit because she didn't want to get a crick in her neck.

Of course Kim was tall enough so that she would not be bothered by this.

Standing in her brown biosuit with hands clasped behind her back, Seven looked as though she were reporting to a superior officer.

"Relax, Seven."

The Borg cocked her head to one side. "I am relaxed."

"Oh. Okay." Kim dug a small notebook and pen from her purse.

"What shall we speak about?"

"I just wanted to ask a few questions."

"Like a ship's counselor?"

"Yes."

"That would be acceptable, if I may I ask a few questions of you?"

"I suppose that would be only fair," Kim said, surprised by the other woman's request.

"You may proceed."

Kim uncapped the pen. Where to start? Childhood? Family? The usual starting points? Kerry had mentioned Seven's parents; self-centered scientists was Kerry's take on them. Could be too volatile a place to begin the interview. Maybe something simpler like Chicago.

"How do you like being in Chicago?"

Seven's brow wrinkled in a frown. "I do not understand the question. I do not like or dislike being here."

"I just wondered if you prefer being here or if you prefer where you and Kathryn live ordinarily."

"We have more room to move about here on the planet," Seven said, choosing her words carefully. "On the ship we are confined. I have heard Commander Tuvok refer to the crew as getting cabin fever."

"Your quarters are small?"

"I do not have quarters. Others in the crew do, but I do not."

No quarters? Kim scribbled that down. "Where do you go when you are not working?"

"Cargo Bay Two is where I regenerate."

"You mean sleep?"

Seven's lips lifted in a half smile. "Regeneration is a process that differs from human sleep, although sleep is probably the closest word in your vocabulary."

"Oh yes. I nearly forgot." Kim drummed the pen lightly against the Laz-E Boy arm rest. "You are something called a Borg?"

Seven gaze trailed leisurely across the other blonde woman dressed in a blue shirt and pants that Kerry called jeans. Kim's posture was attentive though relaxed, her long legs tucked under her in the chair. How easy it was to be in the 21st century when no one knew the Borg and their history. No one gazed at her with horror and dislike.

"I was part of the Borg Collective. Kathryn severed my link to them."

"How did that make you feel?" Kim asked the inevitable shrink question.

"I was furious. I screamed at her and demanded that she return me to the Borg ship. I begged her," Seven said, recalling being in the brig with the feisty Starfleet captain and promising to betray the ship at the first opportunity. "I feel differently now."

"About the ship or Kathryn?" Kim probed gently.

"About both. Kathryn in particular."

"What do you do on the ship?"

"I am the astrometrics officer," came the prompt reply. "I chart the star systems that we are passing through and take care of the sensor readings from the stars. Sometimes I am assigned to engineering where I help Lt. B'Elanna Torres, the chief engineer with any projects she may have."

"You are quite adaptable."

"I am Borg. We adapt."

"That's a good trait to have." Kim smiled and received a glower in return.

"Are you being facetious?"

"No."

Perhaps there was more to this woman than Seven had first thought. At least she recognized that adaptability was a good thing.

"Have you adapted to life on Voyager then?" Kim continued.

"I am getting adjusted to being on board the ship. I have work to do. However...."

Kim nodded her head encouragingly as the woman standing in front of her hesitated. "Yes?"

Seven tucked a wayward lock of blonde hair back over her ear. "Since I have been here I have discovered there is more to life than I experienced on Voyager. I have enjoyed being in this city. I have particularly enjoyed being with Kerry. I will be sad to leave her when I return to the ship."

"Kerry's pretty special," Kim agreed softly.

"If you believe that why did you leave her?" Seven asked sharply. She had answered enough questions and thought it time to ask a few.

"It's a bit complicated," Kim said, surprised to have the tables turned so swiftly.

"You were angry with her and didn't wish to be joined to her any more."

"I guess that about sums it up."

"If you get angry with her again will you leave her?" Seven demanded. She did not want the sad expression in Kerry's green eyes to reappear.

"No," Kim said without hesitation. "I will never leave her."

The force of the other woman's words rang true to Seven. "That is sufficient. Before you arrived, she was unhappy and lonely."

"I was pretty miserable without her."

"Do you wish to copulate with her now?"

Kim nearly swallowed her tongue. Whoa. How in the world did her love life suddenly occupy center stage in this session. Kerry and Kathryn had warned her that Seven was blunt and to the point.

"Make love," Seven amended, seeing the astonishment on Kim's face. "Don't you wish to make love with Kerry?"

"Yes," Kim admitted, thinking of the feisty redhead's arms wrapped around her. "Just not right now, this very minute. Later tonight, maybe." If she got lucky.

"That would be acceptable," Seven said.

Glad you approve, Kim thought wryly. "Tell me about your relationship with Kathryn," she said, trying to regain control of the conversation.

"Kathryn and I do not copulate," Seven declared.

"That's not what I meant..." Kim started to say.

"Although I think I may like to..." Seven added.

"Really?" Kim felt intrigued by the shy expression dawning in the pale blue eyes that slid quickly away from hers. "Does Kathryn know this?"

"I have not informed her. I find it difficult to speak about my feelings. I feel inadequate." Seven's voice rang with self-censure.

"That's common. Many human beings have trouble putting their feelings into words."

Seven's face showed plainly that this was news to her. "I am relieved to hear that."

"Is there anything in particular you wish to speak to Kathryn about?" Kim asked in her gentlest tone. She could see why Kerry had taken the young woman under her wing.

Seven's eyes focused for a moment on the wall behind the LA-Z Boy rocker. "My body."

"Your **body**?"

Seven bit her lower lip and nodded. "My Borg implants are harsh and metallic, marring my features. I am uncertain if Kathryn will be repulsed by them and by me. Kerry assures me that she will not."

Lord love Kerry Weaver. "I'm with her there," Kim said. "You are a beautiful woman."

"You have not seen my implants."

"No," the psychiatrist agreed. "However, in talking to you and from what Kerry says you are a beautiful person inside and out. I'm sure that Kathryn realizes this. She has lived with you for three years. She knows you better than most people."

"Yes, she does," Seven agreed.

There was a pause. "Why don't you tell me about your parents and childhood," Kim said.

"Irene and Magnus Hansen were my parents. They were exobiologists and interested in studying the Borg. We lived aboard the ship called the Raven until we were assimilated by the Borg."

"The Borg were another race?"

How to explain the Borg to someone in the 21st century?

"They were a composite of many species and civilizations. As a Borg I shared the Hive mind."

"Shared thoughts and communication?" Symptomatic of schizophrenia. Kim jotted down Hive Mind on her notepad under Borg.

"Yes. The Borg were technologically proficient and interested in perfecting all phases of their life. Work. Physical form."

"If you are an example, Borg are beautiful."

"Beauty is irrelevant to the Borg. Captain Janeway and the Doctor on Voyager restored my human features, stimulating the hair follicles on my scalp and removing some of my cybernetic implants, so I present a more pleasing appearance."

"Do you like your new appearance?"

"I am uncertain. I was more efficient as a drone. But I have adapted to my appearance, especially since beauty is not irrelevant to humans."

"Your cybernetic implants, the Borg were responsible for them?" Not Kathryn?

"Yes. Although Kathryn and the EMH must monitor the implants. I must always rely on Borg technology to keep me functioning since I was assimilated as a child."

"Assimilated how?"

"With these." Seven lifted her left hand and two thin tubules jutted out.

In her time as a shrink Kim had seen many incredible things. This was probably the most unique. Kim summoned up all her training to keep her expression nonchalant.

"Do you ever wish to return to the Borg?" she asked the young woman when the tubules retracted.

"No, although..."

"Yes?"

"There is comfort in sharing the Hive Mind. Our thoughts were one. I felt less lonely as a Borg."

"You are lonelier now?"

"On Voyager, I often feel alone. I believe Kathryn says I will get used to my individuality. I have work and responsibilities that occupy my time. When I am with Kathryn I do not feel lonely."

"You enjoy Kathryn's company."

"Yes," Seven said simply. "I function better in her company. I feel more complete." Her blue eyes sparkled. "Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense," Kim replied, smiling. She could not have heard a better definition of being in love.

"Kathryn is a unique person," Seven said softly.

"Yes, I've noticed that."

The Borg regarded the other woman steadily, recalling the goodbye kiss Kathryn had shared with Kim.

"You kissed Kathryn."

"Uh...Yes, I did. You kissed Kerry."

"Yes," Seven acknowledged that truth. "Is Kathryn a good kisser?"

"Yeah, she is."

"She would make a good teacher then for kissing?"

"Definitely. If you wanted to learn more about kissing, Kathryn would be your woman, all right."

"**My woman**," Seven repeated the two words. A warm glow bathed her from inside.

"Where did you live before arriving in Chicago?"

"With Kathryn in a military establishment," Seven said. She did not have a habit of dissembling so thought it best to stay as close to the truth as possible.

"A military base?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you and Kathryn just return to this base."

"We will. With Professor Nielsen's help."

Kim put down her pen and reviewed her scribbled notes. Hive Mind. Borg. No quarters. Kathryn. Despite Seven's best intentions Kim knew full well the woman wasn't delusional. And yet the time travel thing was preposterous. About as preposterous as that artificial hand of Seven's.

"Are we finished?" Seven asked.

"As far as the assessment goes, yes. I must tell you, I don't believe you're delusional."

The blue eyes narrowed. "Do not tell Kathryn that!"

"Why not?"

"Kathryn is a Federation Starfleet captain. They are pledged to uphold the Prime Directive. In temporal matters this means they cannot interfere with the time period they may find themselves in."

"You mean this time displacement has happened before?" Kim asked, incredulously.

"More than three hundred documented instances. The possibility of alternate realities occurs if the time line is polluted. Kathryn know that could occur because of our presence here. The future itself could be altered."

"Sounds serious."

"It is, to Kathryn."

"You don't take I seriously?"

A shrug. "I am Borg. Time lines are irrelevant. And yet I respect Kathryn's feelings on this matter. So I obey her commands on this point."

"I don't think the two of you are fooling anyone. Not Kerry, Harry or me."

"Perhaps not," Seven conceded. "And yet the ruse will allow Kathryn some comfort."

"I don't understand."

Seven struggled to find the words to make the other blonde understand.

"On board Voyager Kathryn shoulders the burden of command daily. The fate of the crew is in her hands. She has no support from Starfleet since we are stranded in the Delta Quadrant. If she thought her being here with me would alter the future lives of following generations she could not rest easy back on Voyager."

"Typical Type A redhead," Kim diagnosed.

"You will give me the proper assessment."

"Raving crazy? Kerry for one won't buy it."

"You may tell Kerry the truth in private. Neither of you must tell Kathryn."

"I'll explain things. You are very protective of Kathryn."

"I have strong feelings for her."

"She has strong feelings for you."

Slowly Seven lifted her head and fixed her ocular implant on Kim. The other blonde's respiration was normal, her eyes neither dilated nor narrowed. She was speaking the truth.

"How can you tell this?" she asked.

Kim wasn't about to divulge what Kathryn had told her in confidence so she tried another tack.

"Because of the way she looks at you. I know that look."

"Explain."

"Kerry looks at me that way."
 

"How much longer should we give them?" Kathryn asked impatiently, willing the study door to open.

In the hallway Kerry was digging through a closet. She unearthed a picnic hamper and dusted it off.

"What's that for?"

"I figured we could have a picnic on the way to the Training Center. Save us some time." She looked over at Janeway. "What's the matter, you don't like picnics?"

"On the contrary," the captain said, as she took the hamper from Kerry. "I adore them." She had often gone on picnics as a child and a young woman on earth. On board a starship they had been few and far between. Holodeck stimulations didn't quite count.

"Good. Does Seven like them too?"

"I don't know."

Back in the kitchen Kerry handed her a carton of plastic bags.

"Put the sandwiches in the Ziplocs."

She opened the refrigerator and took out the pitcher of iced tea while Janeway obeyed her instructions.

"Grab some napkins and cups. I'm going to get a couple of blankets."

As Kerry made her way to the linen closet, she passed the study door that was firmly closed. What was going on behind there, she wondered.

Soon the picnic hamper was all packed and ready to go. The only thing the redheads needed were the two blondes still in the study.

"They're taking a long time," Kathryn fretted.

"Kim is thorough," Kerry replied, glancing at her watch. How had it gotten to be noon already. "By the way, did you happen to meet her friend, Carol?"

Kathryn frowned. Was that the brunette with Kim at the bar? "I'm not sure."

"When the two of you met Kim was alone?"

"She was with a friend. But I didn't catch a name."

"I just wondered...if Kim was living with this Carol."

Janeway glanced over at the other woman, realizing that Kerry was feeling insecure about this unknown friend of Kim's in San Francisco. She felt a moment's empathy.

"Dr. Weaver, I'm pretty sure Kim was living alone. I saw her house and she didn't appear to have a roommate. Carol is probably just a co-worker or maybe neighbor who has the key to her house."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kerry said, feeling better. "And don't you think it's time you call me Kerry."

"If you'll call me Kathryn."

"Kathryn it is."

"And if we're going to enjoy this picnic and then meet Nielsen's friend at three we'll need to get them out of the study soon," Janeway pointed out.

Kerry nodded. "I concur. Why don't you rouse them?"

Delighted to provide the interruption, Janeway walked over to the study door and knocked.

"Come in," Kim called out.

Kathryn opened the door and found Seven standing at attention before Kim in the rocker.

"Sorry to interrupt," Kathryn said. "Kerry got a call from Professor Nielsen. We're meeting his friend at three. She has a picnic lunch ready to eat along the way."

"Okay. We're just about finished here," Kim said, getting up from the LA-Z Boy.

"What is a picnic lunch?" Seven inquired.

"We'll eat lunch outdoors," Kathryn explained. "It'll be fun."

"Fun is irrelevant," Seven nearly said aloud, but seeing the happy expression on Kathryn's face, she bit back her words.

"Seven, can you tell Kerry I'm going to make a phone call then I'll be right out?" Kim asked.

"Acceptable." The Borg nodded and left.

Phone call, that had to mean that she was going to call her friend Carol. Janeway turned toward the psychiatrist who was going through her wallet.

"I hope this phone card is still good," Kim said, squinting slightly and trying to punch in the numbers on the phone. "Here, read this to me would you..." She gave the card to Kathryn.

A few minutes later she reached Carol who agreed to FedEx the object in the desk drawer to Chicago.

"Kerry Weaver? Isn't that your ex."

"Yeah. Well, she's not an ex any more."

"Kim, didn't you bend my ear out of shape..."

"Carol, can you just FedEx the thing to me," Kim asked.

"I'm not sure I should. Is it for **her**?"

"No, it's for me. Just do it, would you?."

"All right. I'll go over and get it and FedEx it."

"Good, thanks."

She hung up, wishing that Carol weren't such an overprotective friend. "She'll FedEx it out to us. We'll get it tomorrow or Monday."

Kathryn let out a breath. "So I guess this means that you think Seven is delusional?"

"Oh yeah. Crazy as a loon," Kim murmured.

"What?"

Kim couldn't resist laughing like a loon herself. "Seven does have some tendencies toward obsessive-compulsive behavior, not to mention perfectionism. She could even be called borderline personality as well. And yes, mildly delusional."

"Really?" Kathryn didn't know what to say. Either Seven was a good actress or Kim was a terrible shrink.

"She'll be fine once you get her back under the proper care," Kim said.

"Yes, you're right."

"Come on, let's get going before Kerry has a cow," Kim continued as they walked down the hallway together.

"I heard that," Kerry said, handing Kim the blankets to carry. Standing by the door, Seven was toting the hamper. She wore a blue baseball cap on her head.

"You call your friend?" Weaver asked Kim as they went down the steps.

"Yeah. Phaser should get here tomorrow or Monday."

"Good. You got the keys. You're driving."