Part 5

Their living quarters were full of the sound of laughter. There was an impromptu party going on. The Captain and Tom and B’Elanna had dropped by as they did most nights to keep her company. She was feeling good tonight and was enjoying their company. She had successfully regenerated, and there had been no obvious complications. This grouping had become a regular event, since her walks around Voyager had been restricted. As she had told the Doctor, she felt she waddled more than she walked so she would waddle around their living quarters in private. But the truth was she did not have the strength to walk around Voyager. She did not want to worry him, but she was afraid that, if she walked too far, she would not be able to get back to her quarters. The Doctor had gotten her a device to walk on so she could get her exercise, and she used it every day although she had to be very careful about how much energy she expended.

B’Elanna had become a frequent companion and would visit with her while she walked. She appreciated the company and the conversation. She hated to admit it, but being by herself and mostly inactive was boring. Even the Captain had been a regular visitor. She would stop by with news to keep her up to date on everything that happened on Voyager. She especially appreciated the visits when the Captain asked her help in solving problems.

The Doctor had checked her that morning and everything was normal. He had told her he thought the baby would be delivered within the next two weeks and had encouraged her to allow him to induce labor. She knew he was worried about her, but she was reluctant to speed the delivery. She wanted the baby to come into the world in her own time. Still, she could hardly contain her excitement. Today’s regeneration cycle would probably be the last before the baby arrived. It had been difficult but, right now, it looked as if they were going to be successful.

She had her hands on her abdomen, feeling the baby move. Less than two weeks. She wanted to feel this child in her arms, to hold her close and to sing to her. She and the Doctor had spent many nights singing to the child already, but soon it would be different.

Still, she had this nagging thought that would not leave her. She looked around the room at the people who surrounded her. These were her friends. She could count on them. The thought in her head was driving her to speak.

"I want all of you to promise me something."

They turned to her. The Doctor had a frown on his face. He was alert to any sign of her energy levels dropping, as they had been doing a lot lately. He looked her over carefully, and she knew he was quietly monitoring her. She caught his eyes and held them with her own.

"If anything happens, and it comes down to a choice, I want you to first save the baby. Promise me that."

They stared at her. Then, the Captain, Tom and B’Elanna looked at the Doctor. He did not even notice them.

"Seven, are you all right?" He was looking intently at her, eyes searching for any sign of trouble.

"Promise me, Doctor. If it comes down to a choice, you will first save our baby."

"Seven, please…."

"Promise me, Doctor!" She was starting to get upset. "Promise me."

He sat back, alarmed. He could see her getting upset. Still, he did not answer.

"Doctor. I need you to promise me you will first save our child." She stood.

"Okay, Seven." He was starting to really worry, and he was anxious to calm her. "I promise."

She looked to the Captain, "I need for you also to promise that you will make certain the child is your first priority."

The Captain looked to the Doctor, eyes wide. He nodded to her and she said, "I promise, Seven. Your child is my first priority."

Then, she turned to Tom, "You also, promise me."

He glanced at B’Elanna, then looked to the Doctor for his approval. Receiving it, he said, "I promise."

Finally, she turned to B’Elanna but before she could speak, B’Elanna stood and said, "I have already given you my promise, Seven. I will live by that one."

The two women stood, staring at each other. Then, Seven gave her a tight-lipped smile, nodded and sat heavily down. B’Elanna said, "Well, as long as I am standing, why don’t I get us all something to drink?" She moved around Seven, patting her on the shoulder as she passed. "Why doesn’t someone get out a game, and let’s get back to the party.

They worked to resume their banter, but Seven could tell she had worried them. She felt badly about that, but extracting the promises had been important to her. The thought had really been nagging at her for a long time. She felt she would rest better now, and she needed all of the rest she could get.

* * *

"Good morning, Doctor."

"Hello, Captain. How are you doing this morning."

"I’m doing fine."

"Really? Then why are you in my sickbay?"

She laughed. "I’m not here because I am sick. I can assure you of that. I noticed your automatic response did not kick in."

"I was making myself nervous," he was looking at her sheepishly, "every time anything happened, I found I was spouting that off. So, I temporarily turned it off."

"A little anxious, are we?"

He knew she was joking with him so he chuckled, "No, Captain. Not a little anxious. A lot anxious." He saw the warmth in her face and felt comfortable confiding in her, "I will be so glad when the baby is here and everything is all right."

"I know you will be. Doctor, I need to ask you. Is Seven doing okay?"

He was quiet a moment before answering, "Are you asking because of last night?"

"Yes. What happened last night has me very concerned. Is she experiencing problems?"

"Actually, Captain, I am more comfortable with where things are right now than I have been before. Last night surprised me as much as it did you. I am not certain what to make of it myself. She is worried, but I think the worst is over. If she were to experience problems now, I could take the baby without any problems. It isn’t like it would have been a couple of months ago. She even regenerated yesterday without any problems. That is the first time since she got pregnant that regenerating didn’t cause her a problem."

"Really? I didn’t know that."

"Seven didn’t tell anyone how much trouble she has had. This pregnancy has been hard on her."

"She has seemed so happy."

"She has been happy. She keeps telling me she has never felt so fulfilled. But it has not been at all easy. I cannot tell you how many times I thought wondered if this pregnancy was a huge mistake."

"Did you ever tell her that?"

"I did once."

"What did she say?"

"She told me that, regardless of what happened, she would never think it had been a mistake. That she considered loving me and having this child to be the most important things she had ever done in her life."

The Captain heard the wonder in his voice and saw what the words meant to him. "Well, I am sure everything will turn out okay."

"I am just glad it is almost over."

* * *

The pain rolled through her body. She breathed through it in long, deep breaths until it passed. She leaned her head back against the headboard. The pain was…exquisite. That is how she thought about it. She was enjoying every second of this. The contractions were coming a little more than fifteen minutes apart. She would go to the sickbay soon, but she was delaying going there as long as she could.

She wanted this private time. She wanted to experience as much of this alone as she could. She knew that after she arrived in the sickbay, there would be no privacy. This thought made her smile. Everyone was so excited about this baby. The Doctor was so nervous he was almost driving her crazy. Captain Janeway and B’Elanna were constantly checking up on her. She could feel their eyes on her whenever they were around. Both were planning to be there for the delivery.

She was surprised at how pleased knowing this made her. They would be sharing this baby with everyone on Voyager. This child would not be just their child. She could not think of a single person on Voyager who had not wanted to feel the child move and, doing so, had looked at her with their eyes full of happiness and delight. She had never felt so much acceptance.

Yes. This was the right thing, and everything she had been through was worth the effort. She was tired, and she knew her body was worn down. The battle that had waged between her Borg systems and the baby had taken a lot out of her but soon, it would be over. She would be able to regenerate on a regular schedule, and she knew she would recover quickly. She had a wonderful reason to spur her on.

Another contraction started, and she lay there, breathing through it. They were intensifying and coming more frequently. She knew the Doctor would be upset with her for not coming to the sickbay immediately but he would not stay upset with her for long. Still, it was time for her to go. She got off the bed, put on her robe and started out of the room.

She was halfway to the doors to the corridor when she stopped. She looked around the room, confused. Where was she? She lifted her head and concentrated. They were gone. The voices were gone. Where was the collective? She was starting to panic. She looked down at herself. She was swollen. Why was she swollen? Where was her exoskeleton? What was wrong with her body?

She blinked and looked around the room again. Mamma? Poppa? Are the men coming? Are we going to be assimilated? Will it hurt? She had to hide. They would get her if she didn’t hide. She tried to move, but her body would not respond. It was as if she were frozen.

She blinked again. No. Please, no. Something was wrong. She opened her mouth to call for help but nothing came out. She knew she had to get to sickbay. She tried to move, but her body would not respond. She concentrated, finally managing to get one foot moving, then the other. It was taking all of her will to move her body. One foot. Then the other. Slowly, painfully.

She was almost at the doors when another contraction came. This one was the most intense yet. It took her by surprise and she tried to start her breathing routine but the pain was taking her breath. Suddenly, she felt herself going down, and she fell heavily to her knees. She knew she was pitching forward and, with an almost superhuman effort, she twisted her body so she fell on her right shoulder, her right arm behind her and her left falling in front of her face. She watched as it lay there, lifeless. She concentrated on it, trying to move it. Nothing happened. Ketaria’s words came back to her, ‘a perfect blend of form and function.’

Not any more. No function. Just form. She could only stare at it. Another contraction started to roll through her body. Too soon. Too soon. It was happening too soon.

Help me, her mind was screaming, please, somebody help me.

* * *

Ketaria Omarahn sat straight in the chair. Kahkar immediately reached out for her.

"What is wrong?"

"I don’t know." Her voice was panicked. "Something is wrong."

"Where? With whom?"

"I don’t know. Wait. Give me a minute. I have to think."

She concentrated, holding onto his hand for focus. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide. "No. It is Seven. I know it is Seven. Oh, Kahkar, something has happened." She turned to him, the fear wild in her eyes, "She needs help."

"Ketaria, Voyager is light years from here. You cannot possibly be picking up her emotions from this distance. It must be something else." He trusted his wife’s ability to read the emotions of others, but he did not believe she could pick up emotions over this distance.

She whirled to look at him, "It is Seven. I know it is. And I know that something is wrong. She needs help. We must do something." She concentrated, "Kahkar, she needs our help now!"

"But what can we do? We cannot communicate with them. If she needs help, we could never be able to find them quickly enough."

She knew what he was telling her, and she knew he was right. There had to be a way. They had to do something. "Can we open up a subspace communication with the ship?"

"We could, but it would take a little while."

She closed her eyes and replied, "I don’t think we have any time. She needs help now. Come."

He looked at her questioningly as she turned her chair to face him. She sat, her knees touching his and grabbed both his hands. "Concentrate with me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to try to reach out to touch someone on Voyager. Maybe whatever it is that is allowing me to feel Seven’s emotions will allow me to touch someone else."

"Ketaria, that is not possible."

"Kahkar, we have to try. Now, concentrate."

* * *

Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres was pacing around engineering like a tiger. Everyone was trying his or her best to stay out of her way. No one wanted to do anything to draw her attention. They knew that the person who got in her way was really going to catch it. She marched up to an ensign manning the control console who immediately paled when he realized the Lieutenant was at his side. She opened her mouth, and he prepared himself for her onslaught. But nothing came out. She closed her mouth, a look of confusion on her face. Then, she opened her mouth again, and she managed to get her words out, her voice sharp, "Ensign….I’ll be back."

She turned and marched out of engineering. Everyone behind her breathed a huge sigh of relief.

She was striding down the corridor with absolutely no idea of where she was going. This was making her very angry. Suddenly, she approached a turbolift and walked in. She stood there, still no idea of where she was going.

Finally, she spoke, "Deck nine."

Why was she going to deck nine? She was confused and getting angrier. Regardless, as soon as the turbolift stopped, she was charging the doors, slipping through them sideways and taking off at a dead run.

She was scared. The closer she got to Seven’s quarters, the more frightened she got. She was yelling her security override codes to the computer as she ran and the doors were sliding open. She ran for them. She burst into the room and immediately found herself sprawling onto the floor. She jerked around to see what she had tripped over.

"Oh, God." It came out as a low guttural groan. She scrambled back, crawling over Seven’s body and looked into her face. Seven’s eyes were open, but they did not look at her. B’Elanna lowered herself to look into her eyes. She saw the pain and the fear in them.

"Computer, emergency transport to Sickbay!"

* * *

The Doctor was working at his desk when they began to materialize in Sickbay. He was on his feet immediately. "B’Elanna, what happened?"

"I don’t know. I found her like this."

He was scanning her. "She’s in heavy labor. Let’s get her to the biobed."

They lifted her, and he was shocked by how lifeless she felt. He immediately activated the biobed and started a complete analysis. B’Elanna was watching his face and saw a desperate expression start to form.

"Doctor, what is it? What’s wrong?"

"Her Borg systems are failing. They have started shutting down." He looked at her in shock, and she could tell he was not quite certain what to do first. Then, he regained his composure, "Get the Captain down here and tell her to get Mr. Paris back as soon as she can. We are going to need all the help we can get."

She hit her combadge, "Torres to the Captain."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, I am in the Sickbay with Seven. You’d better get here." Even she could hear the panic in her voice. "And the Doctor wants you to get Tom here as fast as you can."

Kathryn Janeway felt every face on the bridge turn to her. They all heard Torres’ voice and everyone knew something was terribly wrong. She glanced at Tuvok, "Open a channel to the Delta flier."

"Channel open."

"Voyager to the Delta flier." Her voice was sharp, commanding.

Chakotay’s voice filled the bridge, "Delta flier. Come in Voyager."

"We need Ensign Paris. Return to Voyager as quickly as you can. As soon as you are in transporter range, beam Mr. Paris straight to the Sickbay."

Chakotay exchanged sidelong glances with Tom Paris. They and Harry Kim had taken the flier out for a routine run. Still, it would take them at least half an hour to get back to Voyager. "We are on our way. Captain, can you tell us what is happening."

"I don’t know, Chakotay. All I know is that Seven is in the sickbay, and they want Tom there as quickly as possible."

"Is everything all right?"

"I don’t think so. I am on my way there now. Janeway out."

She headed for the turbolift, "Tuvok, you’ve got the bridge. Get Mr. Paris to Sickbay as quickly as you can."

She did not even wait for a response. She entered the turbolift, "Sickbay." As soon as the doors opened for her again, she ran.

The Doctor was working on Seven when she arrived. B’Elanna was working at a console. "Report."

Without even looking up the Doctor replied, "She is experiencing a total failure of her Borg systems. She is also in heavy labor. Going into labor has apparently drained her Borg systems. They are barely providing any energy to her body at all. B’Elanna, what are you finding? Can you beam the baby out?"

"Beam the baby out?" Janeway was stunned.

"Negative, Doctor. The Borg implants are giving off erratic electrical impulses. They are interfering with the transport beam. It wouldn’t be safe. Can you take the baby."

The Doctor was preparing a hypospray. "I may have to. First, I am going to see if we can revive her. Our best option might be to delay the birth of the baby long enough to allow her to regenerate in her alcove a few hours." He placed the hypospray against her neck and administered the dose. She started to awaken immediately. As soon as she opened her eyes, he started talking to her.

"Seven. You are in labor, but your Borg systems are failing. We are going to try to delay the delivery to allow you to regenerate." He was preparing another hypospray.

She was trying to focus on him, struggling to understand what he was telling her. She felt weak, unable to think. She tried to move, but found doing so difficult. Suddenly, she felt another contraction starting. A groan escaped her before she could stop it.

The Doctor turned to her immediately, checking the biobed scans. He closed his eyes against what he saw and turned to the Captain and B’Elanna. "The baby is being stressed. If we don’t deliver her soon, we will lose her. We don’t have the time to allow Seven to regenerate. We’ll have to take the baby." He turned to prepare the equipment he needed.

Kathryn Janeway approached Seven, "It’s going to be okay. We are going to hurry your baby along a bit, and then get you to your alcove. You are going to be fine. Just hold on." She stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.

Seven spoke, her words coming out as a whisper, "Biobed. Energy source. Assimilate."

Janeway’s eyes shot to B’Elanna’s. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes. Is it possible? Can she link with the biobed for energy?"

"I don’t know. It’s worth trying." Janeway picked up Seven’s left hand, looking at it carefully, then tried to position it near a control panel. "Okay, Seven. Inject the panel."

She concentrated but nothing happened. "Can’t."

Janeway looked at B’Elanna, "Ideas?"

B’Elanna came over and started looking at the exoskeleton, running her fingers around the ports, "I don’t know. There might be something here. I feel a bump." She looked at her Captain. "Stand back and I’ll give it a try." She aimed the hand at the control panel and pushed at the bump.

Suddenly, Seven’s assimilation tubules ejected, connecting with the biobed panel. The Doctor turned just as the link was made, "What are you doing?"

B’Elanna answered, still holding Seven’s hand in place, "We’re trying to link her to the biobed to see if she can get energy from it."

"Do you think that’s wise? We don’t know what will happen to Seven with that kind of energy or what will happen to the biobed with her draining it."

"If it doesn’t work, we can disable the bed and you can go ahead with the surgery but if it works, we may have bought the time we need." She was concentrating, making certain Seven’s hand stayed in position and the tubules maintained the connection.

"It seems to be working, Doctor." Janeway was reading the scans. "Her Borg systems are responding."

He moved quickly to examine the scans himself. "You’re right." He looked up, grateful, "Good work." He prepared another hypospray and prepared to administer it, "Seven, this will help to speed up the delivery." He administered the medication and started to turn. She grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her.

She gave him a weak smile, "I love you."

His grim face relaxed into a smile and leaned down to kiss her lips. As he started to stand, she put her hand on his head to pull his ear to her mouth, "Remember your promise."

He closed his eyes and tried to keep his face from betraying the emotion he was feeling. He pressed his check to hers for a second and then stood, his eyes looking at her tenderly. "Let’s bring our daughter into the world."

* * *

Everyone was in position. B’Elanna stood, holding Seven’s left arm in place, making certain the link with the biobed was not broken. The Captain was behind Seven, helping with her breathing routine. The Doctor was at the end of the biobed, reading the scans and checking on the status of the baby. Janeway noticed a look of concern starting to appear on his face. She hoped Seven did not see the look she was seeing. She felt Seven’s body start to tense and knew another contraction was starting. She grabbed her and started to encourage her through her breathing. B’Elanna tightened her grip on Seven’s arm, fighting to keep it in place.

"Push, Seven," the Doctor commanded. "Push as hard as you can."

She was straining. Even as hard as she tried, she knew it wasn’t enough. Too soon, the contraction was over, and she fell back, exhausted. Everyone drew a breath.

The Doctor moved from the foot of the biobed and came to stand at her side, "You are doing a good job." He started stoking her hair, "But we are running out of time. If you can’t deliver with the next contraction, I am going to have to stop this and take her surgically. She is being too stressed by this, and so are you. Letting this go on any longer will put both of your at risk."

She nodded. She knew he was right, and she herself was not certain she would last much longer. The energy she was receiving from the biobed was not adequate. She could feel her muscle control fading and knew her thoughts were wandering. Kahkar’s words came back to her, "your body is now dependent on the implants… the implants serve as a power source for your muscular system…without them your muscular system would shut down …your thought processes rely on the energy of those implants to function." She closed her eyes to concentrate. She would put everything she had into this last contraction. She would deliver this child.

The Doctor was watching the scans. Finally he said, "Okay. Contraction is starting. Seven, when I tell you, I want you to push as hard as you can."

With B’Elanna holding onto her left hand, and the Captain supporting her from the back, she prepared. The Doctor said, "Push, Seven. Push as hard as you can." She pushed. He looked at the face of his wife, encouraging her. "Good, keep pushing. She’s coming. She’s coming, Seven. I have her. Okay, she’s here. You can stop."

Seven fell back. Janeway and B’Elanna froze in their positions. The Doctor was working on the infant in his arms.

There was a deathly silence in the room. The Doctor broke the silence, "Captain, I need your help."

Janeway quickly moved to his side. B’Elanna stayed where she was. She turned to look at Seven and felt her heart jump into her throat. She checked the scans, horrified. Seven was unconscious and her vital signs were weak and irregular. The link with the biobed had been terminated. Worse, the Borg systems were once again shutting down.

The Doctor and the Captain were working on the baby. They were keeping their promise to Seven. She had a promise to keep also.

She reached for Seven and pulled her off the biobed, "Computer, two to beam to Cargo Bay two."

Neither the Doctor nor the Captain realized they were gone

As soon as they materialized in the cargo bay, B’Elanna dragged Seven into the alcove, leaning her against the back. She moved to the console and set the regeneration mechanism to maximum, then returned and managed to lift Seven into position. She was standing behind her, arms clasped around her, straining to hold her up. She was waiting to feel Seven’s body start to stiffen on its own, to lock into position in the alcove. Nothing happened. "Computer, scan the regeneration cycle records and report."

"Regeneration mechanism is functioning properly."

"Computer, scan Seven of Nine and report."

"Borg systems are failing. Regeneration is not being accepted by failed systems."

She felt like screaming. She lowered Seven down and leaned her against the alcove again. She ran to the console and examined the results. She had to see what was happening.

Seven’s body was not responding. Her Borg systems had gone below a critical energy level and would not accept the energy from the alcove. She slammed her hand down on the console in frustration. Think. She had to think. She had a promise to keep, and she did not go back on her promises. With every ounce of control she had, she forced herself to stop and think. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide, and she starting punching commands into the computer.

Then, Captain Janeway materialized in front of her. She saw B’Elanna working frantically at the computer and then looked to see Seven on the floor of the Borg alcove. She moved to Seven’s side and was quickly joined by B’Elanna.

"Captain, I’m so glad you are here. I need your help."

"Tell me what to do."

"Help me lift her."

They stood Seven up as best they could, and B’Elanna moved behind her, again clasping her arms around her body to hold her up. Then, B’Elanna spoke, "I have programmed the computer to send a concentrated, high energy charge through the alcove. I am hoping that will reactivate her Borg circuitry. I need for you to initiate the charge while I hold her in place."

The Captain’s face went blank. "B’Elanna, I can’t do that. It could kill you."

"Captain, we don’t have a choice. It is the only thing I can think of to save her. You have to do it and you have to do it now. As soon as it is over, you can transport me to sickbay. The Doctor ca…." She stopped, alarmed, "The baby?"

"The baby is okay. Tom arrived and is helping the Doctor. I thought you could use help here."

"Okay. If the baby is okay, you can beam me to sickbay if I have any problems. But we don’t have time to discuss this. You have to do it now!"

Kathryn Janeway was used to making quick decisions and she made one now. She moved quickly to the console, her hands poised over the control. She looked at B’Elanna one last time.

"Do it. Now!" B’Elanna yelled and the Captain initiated the command.

The charge shot through the alcove. The Captain watched as B’Elanna’s head went back and her body locked with the energy charge. Seven stayed limp. Then, slowly, as the energy poured through her, her legs started to bear her weight and her body gradually straightened into its regeneration position. Janeway watched the scans and saw that the Borg circuitry was powering up and accepting the energy flow from the alcove. She reset the controls to maximum. As soon as the high-energy charge was terminated, B’Elanna fell back against the alcove and slumped to the floor. Kathryn Janeway rushed to pull her out of the alcove.

"Janeway to sickbay."

Tom Paris responded, "Sickbay, go ahead Captain."

"I am transporting Lieutenant Torres to you. She experienced a high-energy charge from the Borg alcove. She needs immediate attention." She stood away from B’Elanna, "Computer, transport Lieutenant Torres to sickbay."

She watched B’Elanna shimmer out of sight and waited to hear from the Sickbay.

"We have her, Captain."

Captain Janeway sat on the edge of the alcove, suddenly exhausted. She let her gaze linger on Seven. She got up and read the scans before she would let herself speak what she was thinking.

"You did it, Seven. And you have a beautiful daughter."

* * *

After three hours, the Doctor shut off the regeneration cycle. She would have to come back and complete the cycle, but he knew she would want to see her baby as soon as it was safe for her to do so.

Her eyes flew open immediately, and she felt herself falling. Then, she felt his arms catch her and lift her. She looked into his eyes, and he reassured her, "She’s fine, Seven. And so are you. We’re going to see her right now. Computer, two to transport to Sickbay."

As soon as they materialized, Seven started looking around. She saw the Captain sitting in a strange chair that moved back and forth with the child in her arms. Even as the Doctor carried her to a biobed and laid her down on it, she did not take her eyes off of her child.

The Captain stood and walked over, giving the child to the Doctor. He, then, turned to Seven. "Here is our daughter." And he laid the child in her arms.

Never had she felt anything like she felt at that moment. She looked into the face of her daughter, feeling totally fulfilled as the tears started to flow. She held the child close to her and felt the softness of the baby’s skin against her cheek

"Oh." It was all she could say. She looked up into the face of the Doctor, and he leaned down to her. She kissed him lovingly, then, pulled away and, leaning her head down to the baby, kissed her also. She looked at the Captain, her face glowing in amazement. She looked around the room and started when she saw B’Elanna on a nearby biobed. Captain Janeway quickly walked over and put a hand reassuringly on her arm.

"She’s all right. She just took a pretty significant shock when we sent a charge through your alcove to reactivate your Borg implants."

Seven looked into the Doctor’s face in surprise.

He took a breath and explained, "Your Borg systems were failing. After we delivered the baby, B’Elanna transported you to your alcove. When your systems failed to respond to the regeneration cycle, she sent a concentrated energy charge through the alcove to reactivate your Borg systems." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank goodness, it worked."

"But, what happened to her?" Her voice was weak and strained.

The Captain and the Doctor exchanged worried glances, but she responded, "Seven, B’Elanna was holding you in place in the alcove when I sent the charge through it."

Seven pulled her baby closer to her and stared at the prone body. She whispered, "She could have been killed."

"She said it was the only thing she could think of to save you," Janeway had tears in her eyes.

The Doctor put his arm around her, "B’Elanna is okay. I was able to treat her and she should not suffer any ill effects. She is just sleeping right now." Seven leaned against him heavily. Then, she looked up at him. He smiled, "Would you like for me to wake her?"

She nodded. She had to make certain B’Elanna was all right. The Doctor placed a hypospray against B’Elanna’s neck, administered a dose and she opened her eyes. The Doctor spoke to her immediately.

"Take it easy, B’Elanna. Everyone is okay, including you. Just don’t move too quickly."

She sat up slowly, her head spinning slightly, and tried to focus on the people in the room. She realized everyone was looking at her, and she was suddenly self-conscious. "I am fine, thank you very much. You can all quit staring at me now."

Laughter erupted in the room but Seven of Nine simply said, "Thank you."

B’Elanna gave her a weak smile and growled, "Don’t mention it. I told you, I keep my promises."

* * *

She was sitting in the mess hall, holding her sleeping child, watching everyone arrive. She was in the special chair the Captain had given them for the baby. It was called a rocking chair and she found she enjoyed the rocking motion as much as the baby did. This was the night they were going to welcome the baby to Voyager.

The Doctor was standing behind them. She looked back at him. She did not think he ever had looked more handsome. She motioned for him to lean over.

"Do you need something?"

"No," she replied, stroking his cheek, "I just wanted to touch your face."

He beamed. She pulled him softly to her and kissed him. "I love you."

He looked deeply into her eyes, "I love you, too. I love both of you very much." He kissed her, leaned down to kiss his child and then straightened. He watched the crowd for a few minutes and then said, "I think everyone is here." He nodded at the Captain and she stepped forward.

"Tonight, we welcome the newest member of the Voyager family. We have watched the Doctor and Seven get to know each other, become friends, join together as husband and wife, and tonight, we celebrate the birth of their daughter. Congratulations to a wonderful family." She raised her glass and the room resounded with cheers.

Once they lowered their glasses, Neelix stepped forward, his curiosity too much to bear any longer. "Have you two thought of a name for the baby? We would like to know what to call her."

The Doctor and Seven smiled at each other and he reached down to help her to her feet. He stood with his arm around her as she spoke.

"Yes, Mr. Neelix. We have thought of a name for the baby." She paused, an expectant hush falling over the room. "We would like to name her Kathryn B’Elanna Hansen." She looked in the direction of the Captain and B’Elanna and added, "With your permission of course."

Kathryn Janeway and B’Elanna Torres stood frozen in shock. Finally, the Captain came forward, the amazement etched in her face, "Are you sure?"

"Captain, I assure you, we have thought about this carefully," the Doctor said. "We would be honored if you allowed us to name her after you."

He thought the Captain was going to cry. As Seven handed her the baby, she looked down at her and said, "I would be thrilled."

Seven looked at B’Elanna, who was still frozen in place. She walked up to her and asked, "Would you mind?"

When B’Elanna still did not respond, Janeway walked over and put the baby into her arms. She stood there and looked at the small face looking back at her. "Kathryn B’Elanna Hansen," she said, pronouncing each name slowly, the wonder obvious in her voice. She raised her head up, "I think that is a wonderful name. It would make me very proud."

The Captain put her arm around B’Elanna and turned her to the crowd. "I want everyone to meet Kathryn B’Elanna Hansen."

B’Elanna looked down at the child in her arms, then up to the faces of the Doctor and Seven. Suddenly, she grinned and lowered her head down to speak to the baby. "Kathryn B’Elanna, you and I will be wonderful friends and I will be there for you, always." She glanced up and caught Seven of Nine’s eyes, a special look passing between them when she added, "I promise."