Parts 4 to 6 added on 17 Jun 2002
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
Part 4
Claudia led B'Elanna to a dimly lit changing area and gave her clothes she was told were hers - jeans, a plain shirt and a tight fitting leather jacket. Mindful of the other woman's idle eyes on her, she slipped out of her uniform.
'Where'd you get that?' Claudia asked, fingering the material as B'Elanna changed.
'I ...woke up in it. I'm not sure where it came from,' the white lie came easily from her lips as she tried to change as quickly as possible.
'Hmmm. By the way, how much do you remember?'
B'Elanna did up her new jeans and tried to look frustrated. It wasn't hard, and the words were nearly true. 'Not as much as I'd like.'
Claudia nodded, once. 'It's possible whatever accident gave you those ...scars muddled your memories somewhat.'
'Count on it,' B'Elanna muttered under her breath.
'What was that?'
'Oh ...I said yeah. It's all really messed up,' B'Elanna's eyes narrowed. 'I wish, I just fucking wish, I knew what was going on.'
'What do you mean? You know what's going on,' Claudia was eyeing her up and down with an unfathomable expression, and she did up her shirt quickly.
'I meant ...the time after the accident is a little unclear.'
'I think we'll make you an appointment with the Doc, and then ...Owen ...okay?' The way she said, B'Elanna knew she was not supposed to like it.
'Owen?'
'I think you need it, and if I have to I'll order you there.' Claudia spoke in a commanding tone, but it fell away after a second. 'Please?'
'Whatever,' B'Elanna sighed. It wasn't as if she even knew who Owen was.
~~~~~
She was led through the confusing maze of a building, and she started to repeat the words it's okay, soon you'll be out of here, just keep moving to herself, resisting the urge to run out of the building as fast as she could. It became her mantra, as it seemed at every turn there was something holding them up.
Uniforms were prevalent in the building, and B'Elanna was almost sure it was some sort of police station. They stopped by little rooms with desks behind wire mesh, and B'Elanna got lots of items she assumed were hers. She packed them all into a large black holdall she'd acquired somewhere along the line and continued to follow the other woman out of the building. She couldn't help but notice that Claudia kept glancing at her now covered forehead - covered since they'd found her a police style cap - and a black look would appear in her eyes. Then she would blink and it would be gone.
Men and women she didn't know stopped to talk to her, and she muddled through the conversations as best she could, trying hard not to snap at them. For all she knew, the her that they knew was a pushover. Fortunately, Claudia helped her out, explaining to everyone that she was just tired and in shock. Before B'Elanna knew it, they were outside, and she squinted at the overcast sky and then cast curios looks about her. The buildings around her were all at least three stories high, and the style rang a huge bell in her head, but she just couldn't put her finger on what was so familiar.
Claudia led her to an underground space, filled with vehicles ...B'Elanna looked around, eyes wide, as all of them appeared ancient to her eyes.
They reached one such vehicle, and B'Elanna looked at it, giving it the once over as her professional Engineer side came out. It was sleek and a deep midnight blue, low to the ground. Claudia smiled as she unlocked it, seeing the look on B'Elanna's face.
'I'm still not selling it to you,' she said, motioning B'Elanna inside.
So we've had this conversation before? B'Elanna thought, sliding into the seat and hearing a satisfying creak from the leather upholstery, cool against her warm skin.
'I'd love to get my hands on this,' She murmured, running her fingers along the dash. And the weird thing was, it was true. She wanted to get into the guts of the car and understand everything about it. B'Elanna suddenly understood Tom's obsession with his holo-programmes; the car radiated a feel of power and confidence.
'What did I just say?' Claudia chuckled. Then they were off.
After a few moments, the sensation of travelling so close to the ground, and so fast, became exhilarating despite B'Elanna's best efforts not to enjoy it. It felt like flying a shuttle close to a planets' surface with the inertial dampeners turned off, and she loved it.
She wondered if she - or rather, her other self - had one of these machines parked beside her quarte ...beside her home. B'Elanna was suddenly impatient to find out, wanting something to take her mind off her predicament. She'd already realised subconsciously that the level of technology here would make it almost impossibly difficult to contact Voyager - not that that had stopped her before - and the task made even worse by the fact she did not even know where the ship was in relation to herself. She wanted a distraction.
'We're here,' Claudia said, shutting off the engine. 'Do you want me to come in? I could-'
'No.' B'Elanna opened the passenger door and looked back. 'I'm sorry, I am, but I just ...I just need some time alone ...okay? Need to get settled in.'
Claudia smiled, 'You were always so independent ...even when we lived together, you were always off on your own.'
B'Elanna, who'd been just stepping out of the car, tripped over her own feet and landed face first on the concrete. ' ...!' She managed, picking up her spilled bag.
'Are you okay?' Claudia called.
'I'm fine!' B'Elanna snapped. This was just too much. Too much information.
As overwhelmed as she was, she didn't have the time or the patience to continue the charade. She just looked back and said. 'I'm fine.'
'I'll ring you later,' Claudia said.
B'Elanna nodded once and then headed toward the building she assumed she lived in. It must have been the right one, because a few moments later, she heard Claudia gun the engine and drive away.
Finally, for the first time, she was alone. She wandered up to the doors to the apartment building, which was surrounded by other similar looking buildings and trees on a slight hill. For a moment, she stood in front of them, wondering why they weren't opening, and then she realised where she was. Feeling foolish, and extremely frustrated, she pushed the heavy door open and it was then that she realised she didn't actually know where she lived.
I have no place here. The thought blind sided her and almost made her stumble as she strode toward the stairs, afraid she'd make another mistake if she tried to use the primitive lifts, and then forgot they weren't voice activated or something. I don't belong here.
She blocked the thoughts out, and then another struck. Emptying out the bag of her belongings on the stairs, she found a set of keys with a number on the key-chain. '312'.
She did have a place. And it was apartment 312. It was a start, and though it wasn't much, B'Elanna felt a little better. At least she had somewhere to go.
She found it without much difficulty, and after wrestling with the antiquated locking systems for a moment, she was in. The place was a mess, and for a moment she thought it had been ransacked, but then she realised the devastation was self-inflicted.
Old habits die hard, apparently, she mused as she picked her way across the floor of the living room. The decor was sparse yet tasteful, and B'Elanna found that she liked it. Comfortable, well-used furniture was carefully placed, and then covered with an assortment of clothes, books, magazines and ...just stuff.
She opened doors as she passed, and found a bedroom - surprisingly neat - a kitchenette, a bathroom and a study. The last room on her tour made her eyes widen, and she stepped in. Definitely not a pushover.
Weights, weapons, equipment and a punch bag were well spaced in a room that was almost nothing more than windows and unpolished floorboards. The only other items in the room were an old bookcase and a closet. A few pictures were hanging here and there, and she pulled one off the wall.
Her eyes went even wider as she stared back at herself, shocked brown eyes meeting confident ones. It was her, only without the ridges, in some sort of ceremonial blue uniform with nine other people. They were obviously posing, and the plaque at their feet read 'Unit Seven.' She saw Claudia at the front, sitting ramrod straight, and she sighed.
She picked up another picture and saw herself in full military riot gear, holding an old projectile weapon. She looked like she'd been snapped in mid-movement, running toward an unfocused disturbance further down the street, and the inscription on the frame read 'The Street Riots.'
As she went over and examined a third picture - a picture of the police station - her mind wandered back to the blonde woman, locked in that cell. Anna ...what's going to happen to you? What's going on here? And where do I fit in?
Her fists clenched, and before she knew it she'd dropped the picture and was taking out all her frustration on the punch-bag, making it swing violently from its chain. She kept going until her knuckles hurt and sweat beaded her forehead, her breath coming in short pants that were almost angry grunts. She slumped to the ground on her knees, her head in her hands.
It had been such a long, weird day, and she just didn't know how to deal with it. Give her thirty seconds to repair a core breach, fine; tell her to keep the ship from ripping itself apart for another minute, great. Those things she knew. What she didn't know was how to perform the same trick on herself. She wanted to go home.
No. A voice in her mind said, sudden and strong. I'm not going to give up. I've been through worse. I will NOT give up. I will find a way.
Buoyed by that thought, she regained her breath and stood, giving the 'bag one last tap as she headed for the door. Just then, her stomach reminded her that it had been god knows how long since she'd last eaten, and she headed for the kitchen.
As she reached it, a wave of dizziness swept over her, making her stumble into the doorframe. 'Wha ...?' She managed, before the pain came. It knocked her to her knees immediately, despite her high tolerance, and she opened her mouth in a silent scream as it felt like she was being ripped apart.
'B'E ...c ...ou ...r ...us?' The voice was like a whisper, and B'Elanna tried to answer but couldn't, the pain constricting her throat so badly she could not speak. Captain?!
'W..'r ...t ...ge ...u ...B ...!' Despite her best efforts to answer she couldn't. A few tears began to roll from her eyes, screwed tightly shut, as the pain increased. The last thing she heard before she blacked out was 'St..! Sh ...n ...in ...to ...ke ...it!'
~~~~~
When she came to, she was lying on the cold kitchen floor in darkness. Her body shook as she tried to stand and failed, slumping back to the ground. The voice ...could it really have been the captain? But how? Never mind. It didn't matter. What mattered was that they were searching for her, looking for her. Not even the pain mattered as long as they found her.
Groaning, she heaved herself upright using one of the kitchen cabinets ...
...and found herself looking down the barrel of a gun.
Following it along its length, she saw a man clad all in black, with a ski-mask over his face. 'Where's Anna?' He growled, and she realised with a start that she knew that voice.
I should be getting used to this by now, A cynical voice said in the back of her mind, but her jaw still fell open.
'Where is she?' He said, poking her with the gun. She pushed it away angrily and got a smack in the face from the cold steel. 'Where!'
'She's ...in the jail.' B'Elanna growled, wiping her lip where blood had started to flow.
Before he could respond, a shrill ringing sounded right next to them. Trying to hide the fact that she'd jumped out of her skin when it'd started, B'Elanna looked around for its source.
'Don't answer it,' The man said.
Resisting the urge to lunge forward, B'Elanna nodded once. Soon, the ringing gave way to a strange beeping, and then B'Elanna heard her own voice coming from somewhere.
'Hey, it's me. Leave a message.'
'Are you in?' Claudia's voice rang out across the dark kitchen, and B'Elanna heard the man breath in sharply. 'You're probably in the shower. I'll call back.'
Everything was silent for a second, and then a tone rang out. When that had finished, the man turned his attention back to B'Elanna.
'Anna's caught because of you,' He said harshly. 'Give me access to get her out, and I'll leave right now and let you live. All I want is your key-card.'
Things began to fall together in B'Elanna's mind. If Janeway was working to get her back, that meant the Captain knew where she was, and had some clue of how to do it, two things B'Elanna was sadly lacking. It looked like it was just a question of waiting.
'No.' She said.
He snarled and lifted the weapon to his shoulder, but she held up her hand.
'I'll help you.'
Part 5
The man paused, the gun not quite trained on her. 'I don't believe you,' he said bluntly, 'you're just trying to get yourself out of this. Just hand me the key-card and we'll be gone. We're not monsters you know, no matter what you've been trained to believe.'
'That's just it!' B'Elanna snapped. 'I haven't been trained to believe anything. I don't remember anything before I woke up in your cell!'
'You're lying,' he snarled, poking her with the gun. She nearly reacted on instinct, reaching forward to snatch the gun out of his grasp, but she stopped herself at the last minute. This was a game of trust, and she didn't know the rules. She wished she was better at stuff like this.
'I'm not lying,' she growled, gently pushing the barrel away from her. 'I don't want her in there any more than you do.'
'Why? Why would you risk your life to help her? To help us?' He asked.
'This isn't my life.' B'Elanna said. For a moment, she felt a stab of guilt for doing something that she was sure the owner of this life wouldn't do. It grew into a dull ache as she realised she was breaking so many Starfleet rules it didn't bear thinking about. She had no right to mess around with whatever was going on in this timeline ...these lives were not hers to help.
'You want to help us?' The man asked, his eyes searching out B'Elanna's in the dark of the room.
You never worried about Starfleet rules before, she thought. Are you turning into a model officer?
A sly grin stole across B'Elanna's face. 'I do.'
Didn't think so.
~~~~~
The man led her back to the workout room, where another person was rummaging through the cupboard. They were dressed the same as the first guy, and was of indeterminate sex. As they stepped back, B'Elanna saw that it was full of weaponry - big guns, small guns, knives, a machete ...it was a veritable arsenal right here in her home.
'If you want 'em, take 'em,' she said to the first man. He shot her look and then nodded to the other person.
'We were going to anyway.'
Suddenly, a fierce knocking interrupted them. B'Elanna shared a glance with the man. He didn't seem to know whether to shoot her and run or to trust her to open the door.
She made the choice for him as the knocking continued. 'Hide. I'll take care of it.'
He held her gaze for a second and then nodded. His gaze, however, said if you cross us ...
She ignored it and went to the door, wrenching it open with slightly excessive force, but hey, she wasn't in the best of moods.
Claudia stood on the doorstep, her hand raised to knock again.
'What's the problem?' B'Elanna asked as nicely as she could.
'I was worried about you. You didn't answer my call, so I thought I'd come over. I bought you a gift,' she added, holding out a bottle of red wine.
'I was in the shower when you called,' B'Elanna said, crossing her arms, 'and I'm a little ...exhausted. I really just want to sleep, Claudia. No offence.'
'None taken. I'll see you tomorrow, right?'
'Sure.' B'Elanna said. With one last exchange of goodbyes, Claudia backed away from the door. Suddenly, a crash resounded through B'Elanna's apartment.
'What was that?' Claudia asked, trying to see past the Klingon's compact form.
'Oh ...mice?'
'Mice?' The older woman sounded thoroughly disbelieving, and she tried to walk past B'Elanna into the apartment.
'Hey!' B'Elanna stood her ground.
'What's going on, Charlotte?' Claudia asked. 'You've been acting strangely ever since we picked you up!' he started eyeing her suspiciously.
B'Elanna bridled. 'Nothing! Nothing is going on! I'm tired!' She snapped. 'All I want to do is rest, okay?'
'I don't believe you! You've been gone so long, anything could have happened to you!'
'Will you let it go! Nothing is wrong.'
'I'm coming in. I want you to come down to the station, and I want you to let the Doc and Owen to look at you.'
'No.'
'Charlotte ...'
'No!'
'Hey ...what's goin' on?' A sleepy voice called out. 'C? Who are you talking to?'
A woman appeared from B'Elanna's bedroom, apparently only wearing one of her shirts. B'Elanna's eyes nearly popped out of her head, as the woman looked remarkably like Sam Wildman. "Sam" came right up to B'Elanna and wrapped her arms around her from behind. 'Hi,' she said, looking at Claudia. 'Are you one of C's work friends?'
'I ...Yes. I'm her superior,' Claudia shook herself out of her shock and straightened her stance. 'I just came by to say get well soon.' Without preamble, she shoved the wine into B'Elanna's shocked hands and strode away.
For a second, B'Elanna found herself wanting to go after the woman and make something up ...just say that she didn't want Claudia in because she had company, but the other woman pulled her back into the apartment and shut the door.
'So your names Charlotte huh?' She said, wandering back into the bedroom to retrieve her clothes.
'Apparently,' B'Elanna said. She tried it on for size ...and then decided she didn't really like it. 'What's yours?'
'Sarah,' she called. A few moments later she re-emerged, fully clothed in her black outfit. 'Sorry I had to do that, but that noise was me tripping over something. I thought I'd better do something before she pushed her way in.'
B'Elanna nodded at her as the guy came out from his hiding place.
'I'm Michael,' the man said, stepping out of the gym room and pulling off his ski mask. As she stared at him, Harry's youthful face stared back.
~~~~~
After picking up a few things, they left separately, meeting up a little way down the street. Sarah and Michael blindfolded B'Elanna, and despite her instincts screaming at her to rip off, she grit her teeth and it stayed on. They drove for what seemed to B'Elanna to be a stupidly long time, until finally the car ground to a halt.
Once she was out of the vehicle, she'd assumed the blindfold would be removed, but it wasn't. They each took one of her elbows and led her through passages that seemed to twist and turn a lot, and B'Elanna was soon convinced she would've been lost even without the blindfold. The way their feet echoed off the walls let her know they were underground, however.
Eventually, she was allowed to sit down, and they carefully undid the blindfold. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the light, and then looked around. She was in a room remarkably like the one she'd woken up in before, except this one was furnished. A few locked cabinets lined the walls, and she was sat on one side of a large, commanding desk.
Michael sat down on the other side and clasped his hands. 'Why do you want to help us?' He asked.
'I don't agree with the way the police treat their prisoners,' B'Elanna replied. It was true ...sort of.
'You are the police,' he replied.
'Not really. I don't belong there any more than Anna does,' B'Elanna said.
He nodded and waved a hand at Sarah. She walked over to him and bent and he whispered something in her ear. Nodding once, she left the room.
'I still don't trust you ...but ...' he sighed ...'the last attack depleted our forces. We need more able bodies. We've had to move to our secondary base, and we have too many people caught up in moving our things, so ...You're coming with us, tonight, to get her out. But ...if you deceive us in any way, I will hunt you down and shoot you myself, understood?'
The words almost didn't make sense to B'Elanna, as strong and harsh as they were, coming from her friends face. Michael, not Harry, she reminded herself, and she gave him a curt nod.
'Here's the plan ...'
~~~~~
'Get outta my way!' B'Elanna snapped at a clerk. He jumped like she'd set fire to his pants and flattened himself against the wall as she dragged her prisoner through the station.
'What's going on?' A uniformed policeman stuck his head out of an office. 'Oh, Sarge! It's you! I thought you were on sick leave?'
'I am, but I found this jerk trying to break into an apartment in my building, and I couldn't resist bringing him in myself. You know how it is.' She grinned toothily, and the uniform nodded.
'Well, hey, do you want me to take him the rest of the way?' He asked, but she shook her head.
'Feels good to get back, you know?'
The man grinned back and ducked back into his office, and B'Elanna breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up the pace, almost dragging the man in handcuffs behind her in her haste.
Soon, they were in front of the double doors that led to the cells, and she used her 'card to unlock the door. They were inside.
The man immediately stood straight and smiled at B'Elanna. 'Good job.'
B'Elanna didn't know his name; they'd sent someone not yet discovered as a supporter of their cause to be her warden, so that he didn't get recognised.
She strode up to Anna's cell and saw the woman sitting in a corner, apparently asleep. She looked back to where her 'prisoner' was striping off his clothes to reveal a uniform underneath. He looked back and smiled again.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile and opened the cell, slipping inside. 'Anna!' she hissed, but got no response. She prodded the woman lightly and got a small groan in answer. The blondes eyes fluttered open and slowly focused on B'Elanna.
'You!' She tried to lunge forward and latch her hands around B'Elanna's throat but something bought her up short. 'You ...' She gasped, clutching her belly tightly.
'Can you walk?' B'Elanna whispered, daring to move closer again. Anna gave her a look, and she continued: 'I'm here to get you out.'
'Yeah, right ...' Anna's breath turned into a wheeze, and she coughed violently for a second. B'Elanna was disturbed to see specks of blood on Anna's chin.
'We don't have time for this,' she muttered. Without warning, she put her hands under Anna's armpits, heaving her upright. Anna almost cried out in pain, but she coughed it down at the last minute. 'Now, are you ready to get out of here, or would you like to take another shot at me?'
Anna looked at her sidelong as B'Elanna positioned herself under one arm. 'Let's go.'
'That's what I thought you'd say.'
~~~~~
The plan was, dress Anna in the clothes that Tim - the other guy - had come in dressed in, including a hat that would cover her distinctive and eye-catching blonde hair. Then B'Elanna and Policeman Tim had to take Anna and escort her out of the building as if she was a petty criminal they were realising with a warning. Sounded good on paper, but ...
'Will you please look like you at least know how to use your legs?!' B'Elanna hissed in Anna's ear as they strode through the building, the Klingon on one elbow and Tim on the other. For a few moments at a time, they had to carry their charge between them whilst making it look like they weren't carrying her. It was certainly turning into a fun experience.
'Well ...I know who to kick next time they're down,' Anna gasped, trying to find her footing.
'Charlotte? Is that you?' The woman froze as she heard Claudia call out.
'Keep going!' She said, letting go of Anna's elbow and turning back to her superior. 'Claudia! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!'
'What's going on ...? She waved a hand at the two disappearing around a corner.
'That? Oh, just some officer helping some idiot back out to litter the streets. He swore at an officer or something. I said I'd help.'
'That's just like you,' Claudia agreed, 'you want to have your fingers in every pie.' She hocked an eyebrow at B'Elanna as she spoke, and the Klingon got the feeling they weren't just talking about work anymore. Taking a second to shake off an image of her fingers anywhere near the Captains pie, B'Elanna shuddered and then smiled at Claudia.
'Look, about that ...I'm sorry. I'm not quite sure how it happened ...'
Claudia held up her hand. 'It's me who should be apologising. I had no right to get so ...'
'Protective?' B'Elanna supplied, and Claudia smiled sheepishly.
'Yeah. I realised as I was leaving that you didn't want to invite me in because you didn't want to hurt my feelings. You always did have a sensitive side.'
B'Elanna gave Claudia her best charming, crooked smile and watched the poor woman almost melt into a puddle at her feet. 'Couldn't have said it better myself. Hey. I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm supposed to be on sick leave ...'
'Yeah, go on, get out before you get dragged into something else,' Claudia said. 'I'll see you in a few days.'
'You betcha,' B'Elanna winked, and grinned at herself as she hurried out. Making poor Claudia sweat was almost as fun as winding up Janeway.
Just as she was about to turn the corner, she heard someone cry out. 'Detective! Detective!' She turned in time to see Claudia's head pop back out of her office.
'What is it?'
'The prisoner! The one from the raid! She's gone!'
B'Elanna waited only to see what the Detective's reaction would be. Claudia's head came round as if in slow motion, her gaze hitting B'Elanna and stopping. Claudia's mouth fell open, and she glanced toward where Tim and Anna had disappeared.
Busted!
~~~~~
B'Elanna hit the doors running, bursting out onto the street and leaping down the stairs. She started sprinting down the street, aware that at any second Claudia would be out of the building and after her. She was suddenly very aware she didn't know how to get to her apartment, and she definitely didn't know how to get to the base of Anna's people. She was screwed.
She heard feet hit the pavement behind her and tried to speed up. Risking a glance behind her, she saw Claudia, surprisingly fast in her heels.
Well, it's what she does; she chases people. I stand around watching an engine. Not much of a contest, B'Elanna thought, trying yet again to increase her speed.
She scrambled round a corner and continued running, aware that it sounded like Claudia was catching her. Inch by inch the older woman gained on her, and not even B'Elanna's Klingon physicality was helping her out.
She glanced back again: Claudia was closer than she'd thought, and she could see two uniforms just coming round the corner. A few more metres and she was going to be caught. Fear of what they'd do to her if she went back spurred her on, and she changed direction suddenly, sliding across the bonnet of a parked car and sprinting across the road. Cars honked and skidded to a halt but she kept on regardless, weaving across the road. Once across, she dove into a nearby alley and ran all out, her breath coming in harsh pants. Halfway down she heard the harsh clicking of Claudia's smart shoes, amplified by the proximity of the walls.
She'd just reached the end of the alley when a bullet smacked into the brickwork by her head. 'Freeze! Do not move!' Claudia called.
Slowly, B'Elanna raised her hands over her head, lacing her fingers. She turned around and saw Claudia, chest heaving and hair free of its confines, pointing a pistol at her. She took a step backwards toward the end of the alley and freedom.
'Don't make me shoot you!' Claudia called, her voice cracking slightly.
B'Elanna kept eye contact with the other woman as she took another step back, and then another. Claudia shook her head in a silent plea and took two corresponding steps forward.
B'Elanna let her eyes flutter shut for just a second, taking a deep breath. Then they snapped open, and without warning, she turned and ran for the end. She bent over slightly, arms pumping at her sides. A bullet cracked the cement by her back foot, and she leapt sideways and kept going.
She heard another bullet fly past, and another, and then she was out.
The car stopped in front of her so fast she ran into it, bouncing off a door. The same door flew open. 'Get in!' Someone shouted.
She dove for the door just as Claudia came into view, still shooting. A window smashed, and bullets thudded into the car around B'Elanna's position. She bunched her legs underneath her and leapt into the back seat, colliding with someone else. The car skidded away from the alley so quickly that B'Elanna and the person she was lying on were thrown into the back of the back seat.
She heard groaning and looked up as the ride smoothed out. Anna was spread out underneath her, and B'Elanna suddenly realised that her head was level with Anna's not un-abundant cleavage. She got off the other woman as quickly as she could without being over-enthusiastic and throwing herself back out of the car. She helped the other woman to sit up. Anna groaned again.
'You just keep happening to me, don't you?' She said, rubbing her injury. She looked up and saw B'Elanna's apologetic expression when it was clear she'd been expecting a barb in return. For a moment, they stared at each other, blue eyes meeting brown. What Anna was trying to say was transparent in her gaze - the blonde hadn't trusted her, but B'Elanna had come through.
'I'm sorry,' they said simultaneously. Then they looked at each other again, and a smile started on Anna's full lips. B'Elanna found herself wondering why Seven didn't smile more often.
Just then, Anna's eyes skittered across to something on B'Elanna's body.
'Oh my god! You're hit!' She cried.
Part 6
B'Elanna's first thought was Why didn't I feel it? but as soon as she thought that, a firey, breath-taking pain blossemed in her shoulder.
Anna was frantically trying to apply pressure to the wound but that just seemed to make it worse, and B'Elanna shoved her off with an angry snarl. The pain increased and she closed her eyes for a second, taking deep breaths and trying to block it out. When she opened them, Anna's eyes found hers. She saw the fear in those wide blue eyes and she managed a weak grin.
'It's okay. Flesh wound,' She managed.
Anna actually smiled at her attempt at diffusing the situation. Then she paused, looking at the Half Klingon's wound, and then into her eyes. 'It better be,' she said, reaching out and grabbing B'Elanna's hand.
B'Elanna would have drawn her hand back, but something stopped her. The look in Anna's eyes was so sincere: the woman really was worried about her. She squeezed the delicate hand tightly and closed her eyes as a wave of dizzyness passed over her. It felt familiar, and she felt her hearts pumping faster as she realised where she'd felt it before. Before she could warn the others, she felt her body arch in pain ...worse than before.
She distantly heard Anna's voice as she bucked on the back seat, but mingled with the blonde's voice was another, very familiar.
'B'Ela ...an ...you ...ear ...s?' It was stronger than last time, and B'Elanna tried to focus on it; tried to move herself toward it using only her will. 'We're ...ying ...but ...we..n't ...get a ...ock ...'
'I'm here!' She gasped, the pain almost overriding her systems.
'Shush ...I know you're here ...everything's going to be fine ...shhhhh.' B'Elanna tried to focus on the voice, and she became aware of someone stroking her hair. Another wave of pain hit her and she was knocked unconscious by the force of it, descending into darkness.
~~~~~
B'Elanna rose to consciousness slowly, a large head-ache impeding her progress. As she became self aware, she realised that she was lying flat on her back, covered by a thin sheet. I'm in sickbay, she thought, they bought me back and I'm in sickbay.
But, as much as she wanted that to be true, doubts wormed their way into her sub-conscious; there was no humming of machinery so indicative of her starship, and the light on her eyes felt more natural than un. She hesistantly opened one eye a crack, and a plain painted ceiling swam into view.
Not Voyager, her brain supplied. I'm still here.
Stifling a groan, she hiked herself up onto her elbows and looked around. The room was long and narrow, beds spaced evenly and large windows supplying the natural light she'd felt. Soft music filled the room, apparently coming from an area at the end of the room, partitioned off from the rest. All the beds were empty apart from her own, and the one right next to hers ...
Anna was in the same position she herself had woken up in; flat on her back, arms and legs straight, blonde hair fanned out around her head. Carefully, B'Elanna swung her legs over the edge of the bed, stifling her moans of pain as her stiff body refused to work the way she wanted it to. Her hat was on the edge of the bed, and she put it on.
She discovered she was still wearing her jeans, but her top half had been stipped down to her starfleet vest. A white bandage poked out of the gray material, and she peered down the top, trying to see how far the bandage went.
'Enjoying the view? Or just checking you haven't lost one along the way?' Someone whispered.
B'Elanna jerked her gaze up and felt an embarressed flush colour her caramel coloured cheeks. 'I ...uh ...I mean ...'
Anna, her head tipped so that could see the half-Klingon, laughed lightly, 'calm down. I was just teasing.'
'I know that!' B'Elanna retorted, feeling her lips twitch into a half-smile. 'How are you doin?'
Anna grimaced. 'I'll be okay,' she said, starting to sit. B'Elanna jumped off her bed and helped her upright, only to find a bemused pair of blue eyes staring at her.
'Playing nursemaid?' The blonde asked.
B'Elanna shrugged, a little self-conscious. 'I guess I feel a little responsible.'
'Just a little?' Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.
B'Elanna opened her mouth to retort and then noticed a glimmer of humour in Anna's eyes. 'Yes, only a little. The rest you bought on yourself for being so damn infuriating.'
The other woman chuckled and was about to say something else when a crash resounded from the little partitioned area. B'Elanna looked around, placing herself defensively in front of the other woman, but a soft hand on her arm and a shake of Anna's head let her know it was okay.
Another crash sounded, and a figure fell out of the makeshift office. They tried to pick themselves up and tripped over their feet, falling over a nearby bed.
Anna was laughing under her breath and even B'Elanna was having to subdue chuckles as the person picked themselves up and smoothed down the very rumpled cothing they wore.
They looked up and smiled, and B'Elanna gasped. The gangs all here.
'Peter, B'Elanna; B'Elanna, this is Peter,' Anna said as the man came over.
'And how are my favourite patients?' Peter grinned, grabbing B'Elanna's hand and pumping it enthusiatically. Peter was tall, with slightly dark skin, a big smile permenantly on his face and thick black hair. All that was missing was the facial tattoo.
'You know, you were pretty when you were asleep, but you're an absolutely stunner when you're awake,' Peter said amiably. 'And B'Elanna: what a lovely name.Don't you agree Anna?'
For the first time B'Elanna could remember, Anna seemed lost for words. She opened her mouth to speak but seemed so flustered that all she managed was. 'I ...sorry, what?'
'Oh, never mind, never mind. You just rest,' Peter finally let go of the half-Klingon's hand and patted her shoulder before moving off. 'I'll go and get you some food,' he said, speaking over his shoulder. As he finished, his shin caught the edge of a bed and he went flat on his face.
'That's who stitched me up??' B'Elanna hissed.
Anna looked reprovingly at her. 'He may seem clumsy, but he's the best doctor we've ever had ...but ...'
B'Elanna watched him go, holding back a grin as he bounced off the doorframe waving to someone in the hall, and then sat crosslegged on her bed. 'My shoulder does feel better,' she murmurmed, trying to roll it.
'You were lucky; the bullet went straight through. All you needed were a few stitches.'
B'Elanna looked up. 'What about you?'
'I'm going to be fine. No damage to organs, just the ribs,' the blonde smiled.
B'Elanna found herself returning it, and it seemed to go on for a long time ...an unusually long time. B'Elanna was the first to look away, clearing her throat and scrunching her face up as she said, 'look ...thanks. For coming back for me with the car.'
'Well, you came back for me,' Anna said softly. 'Why'd you do that anyway?'
'I ...don't know. It didn't seem to be right for you to be in there,' B'Elanna's gaze brushed the other woman and then darted away again. 'I felt ...guilty,' she admitted.
'Why? Because you were on their side all along?' Anna's voice held only a hint of bitterness, but B'Elanna couldn't help reacting to it.
'You still don't trust me?' She asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.
'It's not that, it's just ...'
'Just what?' B'Elanna looked her in the eyes. 'You still think I'm not on your side?'
'I believed you!' Anna snapped, the emotion she suddenly presented taking B'Elanna by surprise. 'I believed you, and you were working for them the whole time!'
'No!' B'Elanna leapt off her bed with as much agility as her injury would allow and moved closer, placing balled fists on Anna's bed. 'I was never working for them. They just thought I was!' To a degree, it was the absolute truth. B'Elanna herself had never worked for them. But ...on another level ...whoever Anna thought she was had ...
'What did I tell you my name was when we first met?' She asked.
Anna, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject, replied slowly. 'B'Elanna.'
'And what did they call me in the police station?'
Anna's brow furrowed in thought. 'Catherine? No. Charlotte? That was it, wasn't it?'
'Uh huh,' B'Elanna nodded. 'I'm not who they think I am.'
'Oh, come on,' Anna said. 'B'Elanna was just your undercover name or something.'
'No! B'Elanna is my real name! If anything, Charlotte is my undercover name!' B'Elanna ran her hands through her hair in an overtly frustated gesture. 'Kah'less, you are so stubborn!' Just like Seven, she thought, biting her lip to stop more curses escaping.
'Car-what?' Anna asked.
For a long moment, B'Elanna looked at her, torn between laughing and shaking the woman until she stopped questioning the engineer. 'It's ...err, it's a curse. In another language.'
'What language?'
'One you wouldn't know!' B'Elanna exploded. 'If you think I'm stringing you along why do you keep on asking me pointless questions?'
It looked like Anna was going to argue, but just then Peter ambled back into the room with an armload of food. B'Elanna sat back on her own bed and watched as he made it to them without tripping or falling or dropping anything, that in itself a minor miracle.
'Here you go!' He said, still smiling. 'It's all we've got I'm afraid, but I'm sure you'll make do!' And with that, he tottered back to his little office, humming tunelessly under his breath.
They sat in silence for what seemed like a long time, quietly picking and choosing from the packets spread before them. B'Elanna was lost in her thoughts when she heard something she privately thought she'd never hear sincerely from Seven's lips.
'I'm sorry.'
Finishing her mouthful as quickly as she could, B'Elanna said, 'What made you change your mind?'
'You did,' Anna said, holding B'Elanna's gaze. 'I've never gotten the feeling that you were lying to me ...usually I can tell, but with you ...you always seemed so sincere.'
B'Elanna found they were smiling at each other again, and it wasn't unpleasant. 'So I guess we're even?' She asked, her smile growing.
It faltered as Anna shook her head. 'No way,' the blonde said, her own smile turning slightly sly. 'The fact remains, you still injured me.'
'So I owe you?' B'Elanna said.
'You're absolutely right. And I'm calling it in. You owe me dinner,' Anna grinned, and B'Elanna felt it mirrored on her own features.
'Okay,' she heard herself say.
Continued in next part ....