Eyes of a Child ~ Part Three

By Jaran Arrasmith

"She is going to need somewhere other than here or cargo bay two to stay, " The Doctor said, waving his hands about in exasperated gestures. Janeway,
and Chakotay were standing in the middle of what used to be sickbay, but now resembled a war zone. It had been three weeks since Annika Hansen regained conscious and the Doctor had had to take care of her. She seemed to grow emotionally more and more each day, and now she was in her 'puberty stage' as he liked to call it, literately turning sick bay into her space. The person in question was leaning back in a chair with her feet braced on the wall, her head hanging so low that her hair hung to the ground. She had oviously replicated herself some clothes, and Janeway frowned at her selection. A white T-shirt tucked into denim jeans. She was barefoot, and her toes were a hideous red color. "I can see your delimma, " Chakotay said as he followed his Captain's gaze. "If she is capable of taking care of herself Doctor, we can move her into quarters as soon as you need us to." "She is very capable of taking care of herself," The Doctor replied hastily.
Janeway totally missed that last exchange as she found herself mesmerized by
the flexing of Annika's knees as she pushed herself back and forth in the chair, almost if she was daring to see how far she could go without falling. 'Some things don't change' Janeway thought to herself, as her attention was once again dominated by the EMH. "I do expect to be accommodated for what I have done here, I am a Medical Doctor, not a babysitter." 'Nope, some things don't ever change. . .'

"This is where I live?" "Yes, It is." The Doctor replied hastily. He was more than ready to get rid
of his charge of the past three weeks. "Its kinda small. . . I have no memories of this place. I remember a large space, dark, with lights." "Yes, well, lets not try to over work our brain now, shall we? You memories will come back in time, you just have to learn to be patient." "Umm. . ." Was all Annika said, as she plopped down on a narrow couch in her quarters. "How come I don't have any stuff?" She asked as she looked around the spartan room. "You haven't had any time to require any yet." He said, knowing that he was fishing for answers. "Two years seems like plenty long time to me. . ." She replied, sadly. "Well," The Doctor said, interjecting a happy note to his tone. "I believe that I will be going now." "Suit yourself." Was all Annika said, and the Doctor showed himself to the door with a sad look on his face.

Kathryn was feeling very self-conscious. She really had no idea why, and it unnerved her. After the Doctor had called to report on Annika's mental
state, Kathryn took it upon herself to try to see what was upsetting the young woman so much. At the time, this sounded like an excellent idea, but now, as she stood in front of Annika's door, dinner didn't seem so good. She swallowed her self-doubt, and pressed the chime. There was no answer after a period of time, so she pressed again. It was at this time she heard a muffled "yeah, yeah. .. " from the inside. Kathryn stifled a gasp when Annika opened the door. "Captain. . ." She said, with a look of genuine surprise on her face. "I. . . I wasn't expecting anyone. . ." She looked down at her clothing. Janeway's eyes followed suit, and then her jaw dropped to the floor. The younger woman was wearing nothing but an oversize T-shirt, which was a little too short for her tall frame. "That's alright. I should have told you I was coming." Janeway managed to get out, without a trace of stuttering. "Come on in, and have a seat, I will change and be right back." Before Janeway was even in the door, Annika had all but disappeared into the back rooms to change. Kathryn looked around at the small and spartan quarters, noting the new flourishes that Annika must have added. There were two paintings that hung on the opposite side of the room, abstract, in bright colors, and two small statues on the low table in front of the couch. "Sorry to keep you waiting. . ." Annika said, coming out of the back, dressed in her custom jeans and the same shirt she had been in earlier. "That's fine." Janeway said, wiping her now sweaty palms on her pants. "What did you want to see me about?" "Well, before the accident, we were pretty good friends, and I thought that maybe you could need one." Janeway said, and if it was said a bit hesitantly, neither of them noticed it. "I remember that," Annika said, her brow furrowing as she thought. "You were a big part of my life, weren't you Kathryn." Annika looked up surprised. "Kathryn, that's your first name isn't it." "Yes it is," Janeway said with a shy smile. "I am flattered that you remember that." "For some reason," Annika began, "I remember certain things, but nothing of others. I remember working on star charts, and velocity, but I don't remember my parents, or being stranded on a planet, or any kind of accident that would require me to have these implants. I don't remember how I got on board Voyager, or why I am even here." She said with a rush, tears beginning to spill from her lids. Janeway placed her hand on Annika's knee and scooted closer to her. "I promise Annika, I will help you regain your memories." Annika looked down at her knee where the Captain's hand rested and a memory came to her unbidden. Without realizing it, the memory fell from her lips, "I love you, don't I. . ."

Kathryn Janeway was stunned like she had never been stunned before in her life.
"What did you say?" She replied from shaking lips. "Oh god," Annika said out loud, rising up from the couch and pacing around the room. "You didn't know that, I never told you before have Iâ?¦ But, it just seemed like that memory had been their forever. I am so sorry Captain." Janeway stared at her as she paced, finally coming to a stop right in front of her. Her heart was beating out of control. She looked up into Annika's eyes and saw the tears falling, and she knew that she had to speak. The captaincy be dammed, the woman she loved was hurting, and this was her once chance to make it better. But she had to be careful about it. "Sit down Annika." She said, gathering up her strength as the younger woman followed her orders. Kathryn Janeway took a breath, and began. "You have never told me before that you love me, but then again neither have I. I love you too, but things aren't good right now. You have a lot more to learn about yourself before anything like this can happen, I don't want things to move to fast, before either one of us is ready, so do you think that just for now, that we can just be friends?" Kathryn held her breath waiting for an answer. "I believe that would be acceptable, Kathryn." Was her answer. Then they both smiled.

"Captain. . ." "Yes Chakotay?" She replied, idly brushing off non-existent specks from her uniform. "You are humming again." He replied with a smile. "Ohâ?¦ Sorry." She replied. "Since there is nothing pressing out here on the bridge, I believe that I will go to my ready room and get a head start on this months personnel reports. You have the bridge, Chakotay." She said as she walked up the short flight of stairs to the ready room. She replicated herself a cup of coffee and sat down at her desk, fully expecting to get some work done, but after reading the same report five times, she finally gave up, and let her mind wonder. It had been two months since that night when Seven, or Annika had told her that she loved her, and since then, it seems that the Captain and the Borg were always together. Things were moving along quite nicely, and even though there hadn't been any type of physical intimacy, Janeway as satisfied in the way things were going. She knew that Seven/Annika was the woman that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. It was just a matter of time before she regained all of her memories, and then there was no stopping. Little did Janeway know that her wish was coming true as she thought it. At that moment, the door chimed, and Janeway bade the person at the door enter. It was Seven/Annika, and she didn't look happy. "Annika, what can I do for you." She said with a smile on her face, but that smile quickly faded as the woman of her affections slammed a padd down on her desk with enough force to break it, and quietly said. "I am Borg, and you are a liar." TBC