Chapter 9

The Morning After

B'Elanna languidly stretched her body out across the bed as the haze of sleep began to wear off. Yawning, Lanna took in the smell of.... pancakes? and bacon? Sitting halfway up in bed, the engineer noticed for the first time that she was alone in the queen sized bed. 'Seven, that's right, she slept over last night.' And as the memories from the previous night suddenly surfaced in her mind, B'Elanna couldn't help but smile. At least twice during the middle of the night Lanna had awoken from her sleep. Each time she noticed that she had been captured, caught in a tangle of arms and legs. Seven must have shifted in her sleep and as a result ended up spooning Lanna from behind. But this was one time when this half-Klingon didn't mind being captured. Her thoughts suddenly interrupted as the noise of dishes clanging together brought her back to the present. 'Seven must be setting the table, which means that breakfast must almost be done.'

Scrambling out of bed, Lanna quickly ran to her bedroom door. 'I may have missed Seven in her pj's last night but I'll be damned if I miss watching her cook.' Walking into the living room as quietly as possible, Torres managed to avoid being detected by Seven's super-Borg hearing. Perching herself on the arm of the sofa closest to the kitchen, Lanna watched Seven create. Cooking truly was an art form when Seven did it, not just cooking a meal but rather designing it. The last time Seven cooked in the messhall, B'Elanna had only the opportunity to taste the delicious food not getting the chance to actually see the ex-drone perform the task. She had always been quite intrigued with how a former drone would go about cooking and now Lanna knew. It was a work of art. Each cut a precision measurement, each ingredient well thought out, each movement a sensual dance timed along with the popping, sizzling music of cooking.

Looking around, the lieutenant noticed that the table had already been set and most of the food already placed. Seven, it seemed was just adding the finishing touches to what will prove to be a wonderful breakfast. Sneaking up ever so quietly to the turned back of the lanky blonde, Lanna wrapped her arms around the statuesque woman, fighting the temptation of placing a kiss on one exposed shoulder, thanks to the tank top Seven still wore.

"Morning," Lanna greeted as she instead rested her head on Seven's shoulder, watching the other woman finish her cooking.

"Good morning, Lanna. Did you have a nice sleep?" Seven tilted her head ever so slightly to see the woman standing behind her.

"Yes, I did. In fact one of the best night's sleep in a log while. How about you?"

"I too, enjoyed last night's sleep. It was a welcome change from regenerating. Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah, but Seven, you know you didn't have to cook it yourself. You are after all MY guest in MY quarters." Lanna chastised as she took her seat at the dinning room table.

"I understand that Torres but as a result from some advice Lt. Paris gave to me, I felt it prudent to cook breakfast myself." Seven also took her seat once she finished laying out the rest of the food onto the table.

"I'm going to kill Tom. I only burnt his peanut butter toast once. Once."

"Yes, but to be able to accomplish burning toast at all indicates that perhaps your skills lie somewhere else. Perhaps sewing?" And at that Lanna couldn't remain angry any more. It was too much just trying to control the out right hysterical laughter Seven's sewing comment caused.

"ME, the warrior Klingon sew? I can see it now. B'Elanna Torres, chief engineer of the Starship Voyager, when a quiet day comes along in the Delta quadrant she enjoys spending her free time sewing, sitting in her rocking chair with her bat'leth leaning next to her. Seven what have you been injecting and can I have some?"

"Indeed, but only if you beg for it."

As soon as the laughter died down a bit, both women began to eat the breakfast feast laid out in front of them.

"Oh myh gowd, Sewven, dis is wreawy gwood." Lanna's eyes had closed automatically as she tasted real homemade banana pancakes, even better than her grandmother made.

"Lieutenant, didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?"

"Um, yeawh, bwut dowsn't meawn dat Iw wearned iwt."

"Well, I am glad that you are enjoying it."

"Mmmm!!!!"

The meal progressed without much said between the two women as both were quite engrossed in enjoying the meal. But afterwards, once the plates had been pushed back, Lanna had decided to pick up on a question she had been dying to ask all throughout the meal.

"Seven, you mentioned before that you rather prefer sleeping as opposed to regenerating. Have you spoken with the Captain or at least Chakotay about reassigning you some quarters? Though any time you want to crash here for the night is fine by me."

"Uhuh, you just want me to cook for you more often."

"Well, that too, but seriously, have you?"

"Actually, the day before I had approached the commander about requesting some time off...."

"Wait a minute, YOU requested time off?"

"Yes, I have been experiencing uncomfortable after effects from my alcove accident.... Do not worry the Doctor has already examined me and has found nothing wrong. He had suggested that perhaps I just needed to relax and let my body return back to normal parameters and I should be fine. I thought it prudent to then take some personal time off."

"Sounds logical, but are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, B'Elanna, I am fine. And as to your question about quarters. As I was saying the Commander had suggested it to me that I may want to acquire personal quarters, as the cargo bay does not allow for the privacy I deserve. He shall talk with the Captain as she must authorize it and then since I agreed I will soon have my own quarters."

"Good. That cargo bay is too open for it to be your living space. Anybody can walk in on you while you regenerate and I don't like it. In fact when you do need to regenerate I want you to call me so that I can watch over you while you do so," Torres declared while she got up from her seat to clean up the dishes.

"That really is not necessary, Lanna."

"I know it's not necessary, Seven, but I worry about you sometimes. I do care about you, you know. A lot." Lanna had said that last part under breath but it was still loud enough for Seven to hear and that last thought not only brought a lump to Seven's throat but it also brought with it that damned buzzing noise again. All morning long she had been feeling happy and therefore a bit dizzy but now that discomfort grew exponentially. It served as a reminder that Seven had to get back to the holodeck to continue on with her experiment, no matter how much she had rather stay here with the lieutenant.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, for your concern and if need be then I shall take you up on your offer. But now I appear to be late for a meeting, so I must take my leave. Thank you, Lanna, for a wonderful night's sleep and for a good breakfast companion."

"You're welcome, Seven. Anytime, and I mean that." Torres called out to the retreating form of the tall blonde as she headed into the bathroom to change into her biosuit.

* * *

The messhall was boisterous and loud and Seven was having a good time. Standing off near the starports, Seven observed the party going on before her. All were still dressed in there uniforms but what seemed sorta out of place to all those who 'really' knew Seven was that she, too, was in uniform. The tall lanky blonde who no longer sported the tell tale signs of her assimilation, wore science blue along with one pip signifying her acceptance into Starfleet. Wearing her hair down and out of her usual austere bun, Seven looked quite the picture of the model Starfleet officer. Infact she even felt that way and was treated that way by all of her crew mates. No longer was she seen as different, an outsider, but rather now she had finally found her niche within this collective.

Janeway had noticed the blonde standing off to the side and had thought this a perfect time to approach her, to congratulate her on her acceptance into Starfleet, and to let her know how happy she was that Seven had finally acquired her own quarters.

Seven had accepted the congratulations with a gracious thank you and then turned the tables on the captain, her mentor. She thanked the captain for all that she had done for her, being a friend and mentor, accepting her when no one else did. If it wasn't for Janeway's guidance then Seven might not have turned out the way she had. And despite all that had happened between herself, Janeway, and Torres, Seven really did mean what she said. She did owe a lot to Janeway.

As the party continued on and Lt. Torres had finished opening up her gifts, Chakotay called to Seven bringing her attention back to where it was suppose to be. Raising up his glass, the Commander encouraged Seven to make the first toast to the guests of honor for the party. Seven took only a moment to think of an appropriate toast to make and then smiled before she began speaking directly from her heart.

"To the newest member of the crew, may all her desires be fulfilled. Except for one so she'll always have something to strive for. And may she inherit a sense of logic from her mother." That little joke at the expense of Tom Paris who was currently trying his best to figure out a game of logic brought the entire crowd into an uproar of laughter. Even Lanna gave Seven such a sweet smile both for her kind well wish for her baby and the joke to lighten the mood.

Little did Torres know that if it were Seven's child that the woman were carrying that would be exactly what she would wish for her child.

Seven closed her eyes at the onslaught of the dizziness, which really had not left her all morning long, just dissipated slightly. Even thought the baby shower Seven was now attending for both Tom and B'Elanna was completely fictional, a computer extrapolation, it still bothered her to witness her love with another man.

'There must be a connection between my feeling strong emotions and these uncomfortable side effects I seem to be experiencing. I have not stopped hearing the buzzing noise since this morning. But perhaps I still need data. I need to know that if I do not experience strong emotions then I will not feel these side effects.'

"Bridge to Seven of Nine." Seven was brought out of her thoughts by the hail of her captain, though she was looking directly at the captain only a few feet away.

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Report to the Astrometrics Lab."

"Acknowledged. Computer end program." And again the holodeck returned to it's normal grid format. Seven straightened herself up and headed out the door hoping that whatever the Captain wanted would not take long. Seven felt she was close to proving her theory and wanted to continue on with her experiments.

"Duty calls."

Chapter 10

Earlier that same day.......

While Seven began her first day off from duty busy on the holodeck after a nice breakfast with Lanna, her fellow senior crew members only managed to pass the time on duty by chatting. Unusual for a day in the Delta Quadrant, the bridge was quiet, save for those few murmuring whispers passing from person to person. Even the Captain and her second in command could not avoid engaging in some idle gossiping. And what else would the Captain be asking about?

"So. About Seven." The Captain started off, finally seeing the chance to confront Chakotay about what had happened at the party so many nights ago. 'And this time he can't run away.' Janeway's inner devil smirked evilly while rubbing it's grubby little paws together.

"You heard too?"

"Heard what?" 'Bingo, hook, line, and sinker.' Chakotay thought to himself as he was about to employ a very ancient tactic. He knew what Janey was about to ask but was not about to get into it now. Diversion.

"Seven requesting time off."

<cough cough> For the second time in as many weeks, Janeway had managed to spit out the sip of coffee she had just taken. Luck for her this time she managed to spit the coffee straight ahead instead of spilling it all over her lap like the last time. Unluckily for Tom Paris, Janeway managed to get good range on her spit coffee and drenched Tom who was sitting in the pilot seat.

"I, uh, um, Sorry." Janeway gave Tom one of her puppy dog looks but only got a sneer in return for her efforts. 'Guess my puppy dog looks aren't as great as his.' "Yes, yes of course you're excused Mr. Paris." Janeway managed to say before Tom even uttered the question. Turning back to Chakotay, who now looked like a bright red tomato from holding in his laughter, Janeway asked, "Could you repeat that?"

'My God, Tom was right. It is fun to unsettle the Captain.' "I said that Seven had requested time off. I'm guessing here, but due to your reaction I'd say that you had yet to hear."

"And you'd win that bet, Commander." The Captain answered in an icy tone letting her second know that she was not at all happy about this. Either from being kept out of the loop or from spitting out her precious coffee.

"Sorry, Captain. I just assumed that if Torres knew about it then the whole ship must know too. Guess she got first hand information rather then from the rumor mill." 'Uhoh, maybe I went a little too far with that last jibe.' Chakotay thought as he could have sworn he'd seen smoke coming from Janeway's nose.

"I guess that must have been the case then Commander. But why? Why would Seven request time off? Is she okay?" The anger ebbed a bit as Kathryn thought about possible reasons for Seven requesting time off. Now worry marred her features.

"Well, from what Seven told me when she requested the time off, it was personal. Nothing wrong medically as she recently had a checkup with the Doctor and came back with a clean bill of health. I just think she needed some time off to relax, especially after her alcove accident. But all she told me was that it was personal and that's all I needed to know. Due to the fact that she rarely requests time off I saw no problem in granting her request. Do you?"

"No, of course not. It's just strange that she of all people, asked for time off."

"Yeah well, I also think that she asked for this time off because she's coming more and more closer to becoming human, and humans need rest from time to time, even time to play. That's why I also suggested to her that maybe it's time to give her, her own quarters. She readily agreed Captain and I told her that I'd have to run it by you for your approval."

"Her own quarters?"

"Well, yeah. During her dream Seven did mention having to live in the captain's quarters so we know she can do it. Kathryn, it's only natural as a human to want your own space, a place to truly call your own. Besides, Seven needs her privacy and the cargo bay is not suitable for her any more."

"I agree, in fact I have been wanting to broach this subject with Seven for quite some time now but was worried about getting her hopes up, of having her own quarters, only to shatter them if we were to found out that she couldn't due to her regeneration needs."

"Well, if it happened in the dream perhaps Seven and B'Elanna could devise a device that would be like a mini-alcove which Seven could have in her quarters. But for now, Seven assured me that she doesn't need to regenerate as much any more as she has begun to eat normal meals as well as sleeping more. If she eats and sleeps then she can go for at least three days without regenerating at all."

"Well then I guess I'll have to break the happy news to her and assign her some quarters."

'Speaking of you and Seven, Captain, Kathryn, I wanted to ask you about......"

Suddenly the ship vibrated ever so slightly but it was enough to gain the attention of the subdued bridge crew.

"Report." Janeway barked once her crew went into a flurry of action.

"Sensors indicate some type of explosion coming from the region directly ahead of us. The minor rocking of the ship was due to the shock wave that just past us." Tuvok called out after he examined his data.

"The ship's sensors had a hard time detecting the explosions as well as the shock wave due to some unusual elements the computer is not familiar with." Harry added.

"What caused the explosion and what exploded?" Janeway asked getting one of those bad gut feelings again.

"I don't know Captain. We're too far away to make out anything. Perhaps astrometrics will have a better chance at analyzing the data and finding answers." Harry had suggested after coming up with an enormous lack of information regarding what had just happened.

"Bridge to Seven of Nine."

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Report to the Astrometrics Lab."

"Understood. Seven out."

"Guess, we'll be cutting Seven's 'vacation' short. I'll be down in astrometrics. Tuvok, Tom you're with me. Chakotay you have the bridge." Janeway called out that last bit even as the doors to the turbolift began to close.

* * *

"I don't think we need to change course yet." Janeway had suggested after bringing Seven up to speed on their little unidentifiable problem, which was now identifiable. Thanks to the astrometric scans done of the region on long range sensors, Seven was able to discover that the shock wave was indeed caused by an explosion. The explosion was then in turn caused by some sort of alien weaponry not unlike the federation's torpedo. As far as Seven could tell the act was not hostile in nature and did not destroy any ships nor did it impact anything other then what she determined was space debris. As far as Janeway was concerned it was a lost torpedo, one that may have been misfired or misguided. Nothing to cause them to alter course dramatically. Or give rise to unwarranted concerns. Instead, there were other concerns Janeway had on her mind as suggested as she spoke.

"Now onto more pressing matters. Does B'Elanna suspect anything?" The question was directed at Tom.

"Not a clue."

"Good. Messhall, 1400 hours. Be on time. I don't want to spoil the surprise." Again Janey's inner devil rubbed it's hands together in glee. After all the time she had spent in her ready room calculating a way to get Torres farther and farther away from Seven she had come up with this little party. It would do the trick of bringing Tom and B'Elanna closer together as they were the guests of honor not to mention kindly reminding the honorable Klingon of her failed marriage. 'It might not be much but it was a start.' "I expect both of you to show up." That last comment directed at Tuvok and Seven. It really didn't matter if Tuvok showed up but to have Seven there to see Tom and Torres together might be the wedge that Janey needed between Seven and Lanna.

"I'll be busy here." Seven retorted but everyone knew it was just an excuse. Tom and Tuvok thought that it was just because Seven hated parties, whereas Janeway thought that Seven just didn't want to be around Tom and Lanna when the party was going to be about them and their marriage, sort of. But the truth of the matter was that Seven really wanted to get back to her holoprogram. She needed to get back there.

"What's a matter, Seven? No divorce parties in the collective?" Tom smiled at his own little joke but what had caught everyone off guard was that Seven smiled back.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Paris no. There are no divorce parties in the collective." Seven almost sounded down right remise about that fact but truth be told what made the joke so amusing was that there was no such thing as a divorce party either in the collective or out. It was just another party that Neelix had invented to raise crew morale, have fun, and to end a marriage properly.

"I'm sure you can spare a few minutes." Janeway chimed in again. If Seven didn't go then all of her planning and suggesting and working with Neelix was a waste and torture for nothing.

Janeway and Tom then took their leave going over some last minute things for the party leaving Tuvok and Seven together.

"If it is any consolation, I share your discomfort with social gatherings." Tuvok tried to show his support for Seven in this situation. After all he did see her as sort of a grandchild, one which he really did care for a lot, though he would never show it.

"They seem to occur with alarming frequency." Seven uncharacteristically grumbled. But what didn't seem to click in her mind was that she was turning down this social situation for another one on the holodeck. For some odd reason, Seven seemed to be able to better enjoy herself on the holodeck rather then in reality.

"Mr. Neelix would argue that they improve crew morale."

"I've been looking for ways to improve my social skills. Perhaps I will attend." Seven just managed to give one of the nicest brush offs in history.

* * *

That day Seven never made it to the messhall. In fact she never made it past the holodeck.

"Computer, resume program seven alpha omega one."

"Maybe if we add some window curtains to cover the starports. Oh, maybe a nice shade of blue to match your eyes. Blue is your color." Neelix managed to ramble on about all the different ways in which Seven could liven up her quarters. Seven only half listened wondering if this would be what it would be like getting her new quarters in real life.

Suddenly brought out of her reverie by the sound of the door chime, Seven answered, "Come."

And in walked Commander Chakotay.

"Wow, um, I love what you've done to the place." Just a bit of sarcastic humor not lost on Seven as she too eyed the one couch and one table adorning her quarters.

"Mr. Neelix and I were just in the process of determining the proper course to take when designing my new quarters." Just being able to say that, 'her quarters', brought a smile to Seven's lips and in return a smile to Chakotay's.

"And so I see. Here, a house warming gift." Chakotay handed Seven this odd round looking thinga-ma-jig that had one too many colors.

"What is it?" Neelix asked before Seven even had a chance to open her mouth, which earned the Talaxian two stern glares.

"It's an ancient tribal artifact, well a reproduction of one, it is said to ward off evil spirits and to grant the owner peaceful sleep casting away all nightmares."

"Wow, we could hang that right above this window here.... Or maybe not." Neelix finally got the hint as he received a second set of glares aimed his way. "I think that I should be heading out now. I, uh, have things to do people to meet. Chakotay, Seven."

"Good bye, Neelix and thank you for all your help."

"My pleasure." And with that, Neelix was gone.

"As my first inaugural guest, I would be negligent as host to offer you something to drink. Perhaps a glass of water?" Seven asked as she crossed over into what would soon be the kitchen area.

"Well, that might be a bit difficult considering you don't have a replicator yet."

"Yes, that would be a problem." Seven again found herself smiling at the Commander. It was plain to see that the two officers were flirting with each other but what was really surprising was not only the ease at which Seven was doing it but also the fact that she was enjoying it. It made her feel wanted, desired, loved, cared for, a human. Things she rarely felt when on board Voyager. And the fact that it was with Chakotay really didn't disturb her that much. He was safe. Unlike the real Chakotay, Seven automatically clicked with this one. She found him to be funny, witty, charming, intelligent, and likable. But the clincher was that he liked her too, something she didn't think Lanna ever capable of. And if anything went wrong on the holodeck, she could always change it, erase it, make it better again. It was safe.

In the next few moments, Seven had found herself agreeing to call the Commander, Chakotay, accepting an offer of assistance to install her replicator, and offering to cook dinner for the Comma... Chakotay.

All the while there had been a slight buzzing noise hidden in the background. In fact it was so slight that Seven had managed to ignore and forget about it. She was too happy having the life she only dreamed about coming true. 'So what if B'Elanna is with Tom, she doesn't even like me let alone love me. This is the safe, happy, normal, stable life I have wanted since becoming an individual.'

Seven escorted Chakotay to the door and then subsequently ended the program. There was one question she was dying to ask someone and now was as good a time to go and ask it. Especially before her 'date'.

Chapter 11

'I have a date tonight,' Seven thought in utter shock. How in the world did that happen? Of course Seven knew exactly how it happened thanks to her eidetic memory but still that did little to alleviate the surprise of the situation. 'This would be a perfect way to test my theory. I do find myself semi-attracted to Chakotay. And that being the case I should hear the buzzing noise as well as feel dizzy. Then I can approach the Doctor with my findings and prove to him that I am malfunctioning.' The more Seven thought about her impending date the more she was glad that she had let the computer choose her respective partner. Had she chosen B'Elanna like she had wanted to, who knows how bad the buzzing and dizziness would have gotten. At least with the Commander, no Chakotay, it was only minimal. Seven had to make a distinction between the Commander and Chakotay as she was attracted to the hologram not the real life person. Chakotay was a holographic construct which she had altered slightly in a way that made him more appealing to her, a man who she could possibly love if she was not already in love with someone else. The real man was just starting to become friends with her and Seven did not feel close with that man at all. It was a working relationship and nothing more. Perhaps friendship, close friendship in the future but not now. Now she felt closer to the hologram then she ever did the real man. Though the Commander was proving to be a good man to her, a gentleman, a caring neighbor by what he was doing for her in regards to the Gavens situation they still lacked that closeness that you get with friends.

But now she had a date to prepare for with Chakotay, not the Commander. And that left Seven of Nine former Borg drone with a burning question she had to ask. How should she wear her hair? On the last and only date Seven had gone on the Doctor had helped guide her in what to wear and how to dress and how to act and what to say. But now on her own, Seven found that she may have been able to pick out a nice dress to wear thanks to the aid of the computer she was completely lost as to how to style and manage her hair. Seven had chalked up this curiosity to her experiment into humanity rather then just being nervous about having a date tonight but be that as it may, she still had this desire to know. So who to ask?

Walking into engineering, Seven spotted Lt. Torres along with Mr. Kim working together on a console in front of the warp core.

"Lieutenant Torres, may I have a moment of your time?"

"What do you want Seven?" Okay so Lanna was just a little pissed. For one thing she was extremely busy working and for another Seven had not shown up at the party last night. So being the angry and sometimes moody person that the half-Klingon was she kept her tone clipped and kept on working not giving Seven the satisfaction of getting her true attention.

"I wished to apologize for not attending the party last night. I had been busy with calculations and had 'lost track of time'." Seven knew she was in deep trouble here and was grateful that she had made a stop over before heading directly to engineering.

"That's fine Seven. I know how much you dislike social gatherings. You really didn't need to apologize and in person. Was there something else?" Torres asked as she noticed that Seven had yet to leave.

"I wished to give you this." Seven handed B'Elanna a box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. A color that Lanna couldn't help but notice matched the color of Seven's implants, a sparkling silver. Looking from the box to Seven then back to the box, the engineer stopped all her work.

"Um, thanks," Lanna was at a loss for words shocked to be getting a gift from the ex-drone.

"Open it." Torres seemed hesitant to open the box thinking that this was definitely not the right time or place to be doing this. But none the less she opened the gift pulling out a pair of baby booties. A really ugly pair of baby booties. They were rainbow colored and covered in sparkles, not to mention hard as a rock due to probably shellacking them.

"Gee, thanks Seven. They're, um, great. Thanks." Lanna again at a loss for words couldn't find anything else to say to the now flustered looking drone.

"They are what is known as baby booties. They are to keep the feet of your child warm. I made them myself." Seven thought that maybe the lack of response was due to the fact that the lieutenant could not identify her gift, so she explained.

"So I see. But why? Seven I'm not pregnant." By now Lanna had a smile growing on her face. The more she thought about it the more absurd the situation seemed to look. And that smile caused Seven to reflect a smile all her own.

"I am aware of that, Lieutenant. But as I tried to research the data base for the custom of a divorce party it revealed nothing. Therefore I widened my search to include all parties that usually occurred within one year of a marriage. One such party did show up as a result of my research therefore I based my knowledge on that. I then noticed that it was customary to give a gift at such a party hence the booties. Therefore I hope that I was not in error for linking a divorce party to a baby shower." The hint of mischief played in the those blue orbs letting everyone who cared to look know that Seven was pulling someone's leg. Even a Borg drone couldn't be that literal/logical.

Torres couldn't control the laughter any more. "Seven, you are so crazy."

"Perhaps. But I prefer to think of it as being logical." And that got even more roars of laughter from the now non-angered Klingon.

"You just did this cause you knew you were in hot water with me, didn't you?"

"It was the logical thing to do. I really am sorry for missing your party. I had more urgent matters to attend to. But I came here today in hopes to 'make things up' to you not only with a present but also a promise to really 'make things up' to you."

"Indeed!?" Lanna mirrored one of Seven's favorite words.

"Yes, indeed. But first I must ask something of you."

"Yeahhh????" Lanna stretched the word out semi-afraid of what the question might be.

"What is the method you use to care for your hair?"

"What?!?"

"Is there a certain procedure you follow in your hair care?"

"I, well, um, I guess I just wash it and then condition it. Nothing special. I let it dry naturally and then wear it down." Not only did the confusion show on B'Elanna's face but also it was heard in he voice.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, for your help and candor." And with that Seven took her leave of engineering.

Lanna turned to look at Harry who was standing close by.

"Was that Seven of Nine?" Harry asked, confusion seeming to now be a contagious ailment.

"We must have an intruder on board. Seven's never that down right amusing or mysterious for that matter. Though I wouldn't mind keeping this one. I wonder if we can," Lanna teased Harry at his utter surprise of the 'new' Seven of Nine. The more human Seven of Nine.

"No," came the rejoinder from Seven just before exiting engineering, again making Lanna break out in hysterics, shocking poor Harry even more. He was after all one of Lanna's best friends and even he didn't find it so easy to be able to make the engineer laugh, yet Seven was able to do it three times in less then 10 minutes. Suddenly, Harry began to wonder if more was going on than meets the eye.

'I guess I'll have to have a little talk with Tom and soon. He might know what's going on here better than anyone else.'

* * *

Later that evening, Seven found herself standing in front of her full length mirror admiring her body without the scars cause by her implants. Standing there in a full length sapphire silk gown with her hair down and in slight curls, Seven touched the spot which would have once held her ocular implant.

"You look beautiful," Chakotay said as he came up behind her, handing Seven a glass of wine when she had turned to face him.

"Thank you," Seven murmured, feeling all too uncomfortable at having her beauty being the topic of discussion. Chakotay seeing this decided that a change of subject was in order.

"So, what have you planned for dinner tonight."

Chakotay followed Seven into the kitchenette half listening as she listed all the courses the would be consuming tonight.

"Can I help with anything?"

"Yes, you can cut these in measurements of 1 1/4 inches thick." Seven smiled indulgently as she noticed Chakotay's offer for what it really was, a distraction from staring at her.

And so the commander tried his best to cut but seemingly not doing a satisfactory job. So Seven took it upon herself to direct the man. Taking his hand in hers she showed him the correct technique to 'slice and dice'.

"Like this." Once finished this very intimate, sensual act, Seven took the sliced vegetables and added it to a pot. Stirring it ever so lightly she took a spoon and scooped up a bit of the liquid simmering in that pot. Cupping her hand under the spoon to prevent a spill, Seven lifted the broth to the waiting lips of her companion.

"Is more salt necessary?"

"Not at all. It's delicious." Either the oven must have been on very high or environmental controls were failing because all of a sudden it got hot in the room.

"And this?" Seven asked as she dipped her pinkie in a gooey substance and brought the finger to the now dry lips of Chakotay. And again the commander licked at the coating, making sure to get every last drop.

"Nope, that's perfect too."

And so the rest of the dinner progressed. After dessert Chakotay even did the gentlemanly thing of helping Seven clean up. For the night's entertainment, Seven played the piano but something was off about it and Chakotay confronted Seven. The normally aloof woman was playing as if it were a mathematical equation. Following a precise pattern, timing herself using a pendulum, Seven was denying herself from feeling.

And so she and the Commander got into their first heated discussion. Chakotay was appealing to Seven's humanity, her feelings, emotions, trying to get her to feel the piece she was playing instead of just mechanically playing it. And so Seven did. She played the piano for the first time without the pendulum swinging to keep her time and it was perfect. Standing up, Chakotay congratulated Seven with a sweet kiss on the lips. But as soon as lips met lips desires were awakened for both. Chakotay because he was programmed to and Seven because it felt good to be wanted, loved, needed.

* * *

The following morning, Seven awoke to an incessant chirp.

"Chakotay to Seven of Nine." Seven looked over to the man she was currently laying in the arms of. Last night might have stirred some passions but as a testament made by the fact the their clothes were still on, nothing more then kissing had occurred. Leaning slightly off of the couch she had been laying on, Seven reached for her combadge nearby on the coffee table.

"Go ahead Commander." Seven looked back to see if 'her' Chakotay was still asleep, which he appeared to be.

"Seven where are those reports the captain asked you to compile? And why are you not at your post yet?"

"I apologize Commander but I had been busy running experiments on the holodeck." Seven gave no more explanation then that and the Commander knew he wasn't going to get any more then that.

"Fine Seven, but the captain wants those report asap."

"Understood Commander, Seven out." And so Seven slipped out of 'bed' and snuck away unaware that she was being watched by the thought to be sleeping Chakotay.

"Computer, end program."

Chapter 12

It wasn't until the following morning that Seven finally managed to catch up on her work in astrometrics and was able to compile the data on the 'testing grounds' Voyager was heading into. Going over her scans and available data, Seven was able to discover that the space Voyager was about to transverse through was a testing site for some alien weapons. The weapons would be shot from some distant star system and would travel virtually undetected through subspace until they reached this region of space. The weapons would then return to normal space a few seconds before they would reach their target. The problem given to Seven to solve was how to detect these weapons prior to their emergence from subspace, giving Voyager ample warning as to where the next explosion would be and where the next shock wave would be coming from.

Unfortunately thanks to Janeway's decision to maintain course, Voyager was now caught in this 'minefield' where as to go back out of this region would take just as long as to finish going through it. Normally that wouldn't really be a problem as Voyager was not being targeted by these weapons, but they would feel the after effects of that shock wave, causing shields to weaken and systems to blow. So now it was up to Seven to find a way to locate these torpedoes before they impacted their targets, giving Voyager a few extra seconds to maneuver out of the shock wave's path. And so finally after hours of research and testing, Seven had finally found a way to locate the weapons just as they emerged from subspace and configured the computer to do just that automatically each time it scanned the space surrounding Voyager.

Now, stepping off the turbolift and onto the bridge all Seven had to do was give her reports to the Captain, though she doubted it would be so easy.

"Come." Janeway called from her ready room desk. Looking up she saw one determined ex-drone stride into the room. Though Janeway wanted to smile at the arrogant demeanor Seven displayed even when she was in trouble, the captain knew that she had to restrain that urge. Right now she was suppose to be very angry at Seven.

Without much preamble, Seven handed Janeway the data pads, then linked her hands behind her back, and waited for Janeway's reaction.

"Nice work, Seven. Show these results to Harry and Tom and make sure they are able to get the scan data directly from astrometrics when it comes in. We'll need every second we can get." Seven nodded, relieved that, that was the end of the meeting. But when she turned to leave, Janeway's voice stopped her mid-motion. "What's going on Seven?"

"Captain?"

"Don't give me that raised eyebrow. You know exactly what I mean. These reports are a day late...."

"I explained to the Commander that I had been busy but got to work on those reports as soon as possible." Seven interrupted and for the second time in her life, lied.

"So I've been told. But that doesn't explain why you've spent more then 44 hours on the holodeck within a period of 4 days. Nor does that explain why you have regenerated for less then 6 hours in the past 4 days. Care to explain that?"

"As I said, Captain, I have been busy working on testing a theory which could only be done on the holodeck." It wasn't a lie, Seven reassured herself. She couldn't help it if the Captain were misled to believe that it was a project concerning ship's business.

"And exactly what project has you so preoccupied and is so important that you would miss several of your duty shifts and take you away from your post on several occasions leaving a mere child in charge of the astrometrics lab?"

"I would rather not say Captain. But as I recall, I was given time off by the Commander."

"Yes, you were Seven but that time off had to be canceled due to our little emergency. An emergency that your expertise would go a long way to helping us solve. And I don't care what you would rather say or not say. This, whatever it is has interfered in ship's business and therefore gives me the right to know what is going on."

"If you must know, Captain, I was working on.... a..... a way to help modify the slipstream. I have been working on calculations recently and believe that I may be close to a solution." Make that three times Seven has lied in her entire life. Though at first, Seven thought she was actually going to tell the captain, her mentor, and oddly enough still friend, of her woes, she just couldn't do it. So she brought up a half truth. She had, a while back, been working on calculations dealing with the slip stream technology and was actually close to some break through but that was not the real reason why she was currently running holodeck simulations.

"Seven, I appreciate the effort to getting this ship and crew home sooner but not at the expense of the current safety of this ship and it's crew." Janeway sighed as she felt the beginnings of another headache coming on. She didn't believe Seven for a second but she also knew that it would be futile for her to try and drag out the information from her resident ex-drone. So she settled for a stern lecture on not abandoning her post and completing duty shifts, not to mention regenerating regularly. And just as Seven was about to exit the ready room Janeway called out. "And Seven if you need someone to look over those calculations let me know. I'd be happy to help in any way I can." It was more then just a promise to help with calculations but rather a promise to help with anything that might be bothering Seven.

"Thank you, Captain." And then she was gone, leaving Janeway trying to figure out just what was wrong with her friend, her love. Something was definitely wrong here and it wasn't good. Kathryn needed to know what was wrong with Seven, what would cause the woman to do all of these uncharacteristic behaviors and then in turn lie about it.

"The holodeck. That has to be the key." And so that's where Kathryn would go, right now.

* * *

Seven arrived in astrometrics only to find Icheb right where she had last left him, pouring over gigaquads of data.

"Icheb."

"Seven."

"I am... sorry for the position that I have put you in. I heard that you were quite satisfactory in your work here. Well done." Seven gave out one of her more rare compliments as well as apologized. Something she would have only done if she felt extremely guilty. And that she did, for sticking poor Icheb with all of her work. Though the young man may have been capable of handling the work it was still not right.

"Thank you Seven." A smile beamed from the young man's face at the compliment.

"I have also heard that you did not consume your nutritional supplement for this day. I believe you are in need of a 'break'."

"Actually I am not... yes Seven. Good day." Icheb knew when he wasn't going to win an argument so he just left instead complying to Seven's wishes.

* * *

Meanwhile a few decks below, Captain Kathryn Janeway stood inside holodeck 1.

"Computer what program has Seven of Nine been running for the past 4 days?"

"Program seven alpha omega one."

"Hmph, title sure is fitting. Computer run program seven alpha omega one."

"Can not comply. Program is locked by security codes. Authorization is required."

"Damn, I didn't want to do this but you left me no choice Seven. I need to know if you're okay. Computer override security lock out Janeway alpha beta prime."

"Authorization not recognized."

"What do you mean my authorization is not authorized?"

"Please restate question."

"Oh shut up. I bet Seven used her damned borg codes to lock up this program, which means that she must be in some real trouble to go to these lengths to hide it. I have to find out what so that I can do everything in my power to help her."

And so Janeway went to work on trying to by pass those codes.

* * *

Meanwhile outside the holodeck stood a very fuming Klingon. 'Every time I get a moment to rest both holodecks are being used. I mean all I want is a nice soak in a hot tub to relieve some stress but nooooo. And everyone wonders why I'm always temperamental. So we have Sandrine's running in holodeck 2 but I thought that holodeck 1 was unscheduled.' B'Elanna's curiosity suddenly got the better of her and so she checked on who was running holodeck 1.

'The Captain? But this is the middle of the alpha shift. Shouldn't she be running the ship or something.' Suddenly Lanna had the idea that maybe the Captain was playing around with Sullivan again, that hologram. So checking the computer logs, the engineer noticed that no program was currently running in the holodeck. 'So what the heck is she doing in there?' Investigating further she found out exactly what the 'honorable' Captain Janeway was doing.

* * *

<swish>

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Roared one even more pissed off then before Klingon.

"Lieutenant?"

"Don't you dare pull rank on me lady. Your rank gets thrown right out the airlock when you go and try to illegally access private files. How dare you! Seven WAS suppose to be your friend yet you treat her like this!"

"That's enough, Lt. I was concerned over Seven's welfare and only came down here to find out what's going on. I do care." Janeway snarled.

"Then you should have gone to the Doctor to find out what's wrong instead of snooping and breaking privacy laws. After all that's what I did." Torres said in a superior tone which drove Kathryn over the edge. All of her unfulfilled desire for Seven, all of her worry over Seven, all of her anger and jealousy over Torres finally bubbled over. Janeway knew that Seven didn't love her, at least not the way she loved Seven. And Janeway also knew that Lanna was in love with Seven and could very well win over her heart. And there was not a damned thing she could do about that. She knew that she had already lost to her competition but that knowledge didn't stop the feelings of frustration and anger nor did it stop her competitive nature from rearing it's ugly head. So one could say that it really wasn't Kathryn's fault that she and Lanna began round 2.

Before she knew it, Torres suddenly had a bright red spot charging at her. Hit in the chest, Lanna had the wind knocked out of her, momentarily dazed as her back impacted the wall behind her. But this time Lanna was not going to hold back. Kathryn deserved all of what was about to come and then some. After all, Torres was only sticking up for Seven.

Taking both of her fists, Lanna slammed them into Kathryn's shoulder blades bringing the older woman to her knees in front of her. But this older woman was definitely not as fragile or weak as she may appear sometimes. Wrapping her arms around the engineer's compact legs, the Captain pulled them out from under the woman. Being as close to the wall as she was, on her way down, Lanna's head collided with the wall. Grunting from the pain and momentarily dazed, B'Elanna gave Janeway enough time to get up and move away waiting for the next move. This time is was Lanna's turn to charge and charge she did. Taking a flying leap, the engineer managed to collide with Janeway's compact body before she was able to dodge the incoming. Now both women wen sprawling to the floor, each trying to get the upper hand. Hair was pulled, skin bitten, and nails scratched.

Somehow Janeway managed to get on top an with a good hold in Lanna's hair she banged the Klingon's head repeatedly into the ground. But that didn't last long for soon Lanna had thrown Janey clear across the room. Momentarily dazed from her flight, Kathryn reflexively got up standing on two wobbly feet. Wrong move. She never did she the fist collide solidly with her face. B'Elanna took great satisfaction in hearing the audible crack of Janey's cheek bone as it shattered from impact. Slumping down to the floor several feet from where her 'captain' had landed, Lanna only meant to close her eyes for a minute.

Chapters 13 to 16