"You love her for yourself." I open my eyes and look around, confused. Standing a few feet away is a little girl, wearing what looks like a yellow porcelain dress, the paint peeling. Her blonde hair flutters in a breeze that I can't feel and she raises her eyebrow, very reminiscent of someone I know too well.

"Seven?" I ask her, wondering why she looks like a child. That dress must be heavy.

"Annika, miss 'Lanna. I don't really wanna, but for my iguana, I'll kiss you like fauna!" I don't understand exactly what she means, but when I turn around, there is Seven. She kisses me and my hearts begin slamming against my chest.

"Annika?" I ask, but Seven shakes her head.

"Annika is dead, Lieutenant. Just like Lanna." I see my younger self, glaring at Annika, stalking up to her, hostile and angry.

"Wanna play?" I demand. She looks at me and I see us standing there while watching for her reaction.

"Why would I want to play with you, ladder-head?" Annika pushes me and I push her back. She falls down, hard, and starts crying. I'm sorry, but I don't want to say it. She hurt my feelings. So I run away, right into Naomi Wildman.

"Hey, wanna play?" she asks. I smile and suddenly she screams.

I look at the little girl, Lanna and her teeth are jagged, hard, sharp. I look back at Naomi and she's bleeding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" I cry. All I did was smile and I hurt her. I ran away. I watch myself running away and I turn again. Seven grabs me by my hair and throws me to the deck.

"jiH dok..." Seven said, making my blood run hot. Blood. My blood. My Klingon was never rusty. She couldn't mean...

"maj dok..." I answered and she smiled. 'Our Blood.' Why are we reciting the Oath?

"jiSoch mung Hut."

"I know that you're Seven of Nine. Why are you speaking Klingon?"

"bIjatlhHa'chugh qaHoH!" Seven is threatening to kill me if I say the wrong thing. What is the wrong thing, I wonder? "Dabang'a'?" Do I love her? How can I answer that question?

"I don't know," I say, becoming frantic. There is an explosion off to the side and I see a pool of lava, Suddenly, Seven is carrying me towards it. I'm scared and I try to struggle, but she's stronger than steel. I see the molten pool and I flail wildly, trying to get away, fighting a grip that is impossibly gentle and impossible to break.

I'm suddenly flying through the air, searing heat rushing to meet me in a blast. I fall in and I can see. It's not as hot as I thought it would be and I can even breathe. I walk in the lava, red and gold swirling around me, bursts of flame forming swords. Bat'leths, swords of honor. I suddenly feel alone and tears fall from my eyes, becoming diamonds in the sand beneath my feet.

I look around and I'm in a desert. It's the middle of the night and a blood red moon hangs over the blue sand. I begin walking, not sure where I'm headed, but feel cold under the black sky. The silver stars don't provide enough heat for me and it begins to snow from the cloudless sky.

While I felt comfortable in the lava, the snow hisses against my skin, making me shiver. It melts and steams, my body is too hot for it to survive. I begin running again, trying not to kill the flakes, as I can hear them screaming. But they're everywhere and no matter how hard I try to shake them off, they keep dying.

Finally, I fall in the sand to cry, but I just can't. Instead, I start digging, hoping to free myself from this battlefield, running white with blood. Lightning splits the sky and I hear an old battle song begin, sung quietly by the stars. When I look up, Seven is standing over me, singing softly.

"I promise that we'll be... Perfect... Perfect strangers down the line, lovers all the time, memories unwind... strangers when we meet, strangers on the street... lovers when we sleep... Perfect..." The song is familiar, but I've never heard Seven sing it before. It has never been so beautiful. I know how to respond for once.

Makes you miss her more than home...

No, that's not how. The words won't come to my lips and she smiles sadly. She leans down to offer me her lips and I stand up. But she's gone and I'm in a classroom. The tables and floors are black, but the ceiling is white. I stare at the wooden legs of the table across from the one I share with Tuvok.

Seven sits there, her hands clasped in front of her, eyes rapt and fixed on our instructor, Captain Janeway. I glare at Tom, who is sitting between myself and Seven. Tom smiles at me and blocks my view of her. A bell rings somewhere in the halls and Captain Janeway smiles at the class and dismisses herself. We are to wait until she returns, but I can't.

I stand and walk to Seven's table, which seems to be moving farther away... Tom stands in front of me and offers me a ring. I push him away and move to meet Seven, once again. I'm on top of her suddenly, sitting in her chair. Our lips finally meet like long lost lovers.

I can't breathe without her air and I clutch at her body like a lifeline. My body is throbbing, wetness collecting between my legs. Seven smiles and leans in to whisper.

"jIlargh SoH." I blush furiously, then I realize that I can smell her, too. I bring the palm of her hand to my mouth and breathe deeply. The perfumed wrist drives me mad and hungrily, I taste her blood.

It's the lightest touch against my centre and I explode without thought, or sound, into Seven. For a moment, I can't distinguish myself from her, I am the hand I use to touch her, I use her hand to touch me. Then it's her turn and I watch as she comes beneath me, more beautiful than my mind has words.

B'Elanna awoke in a cold sweat, her body alive and throbbing. She looked next to her to find Tom, sleeping peacefully. The choice she had made. She didn't regret it, since Seven had never been an option for her, but she did wish that she knew what it felt like to touch Seven's lips, just once...