Part 10 added on 25 February 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
A data pad went sailing through the air, its acrobatics prematurely halted when it impacted the bulkhead on one side of B'Elanna Torres' quarters. The delicate circuitry and electronics that had allowed the instrument to function for over four years aboard the USS Voyager were now miss aligned and useless. The detailed report from engineering on the deflector manifold adjustments was now lost, thankfully the original copy was still in existence in the main computer, and if one rather nervous half Klingon Chief Engineer could keep from assaulting that as well, then the data should remain safe.
For the past hour and forty-eight minutes, ever since being escorted back from the Captain's ready room, B'Elanna had tried to get on with some work. Or at least that was what she tried to convince herself she was doing, in reality she was just waiting, waiting for a certain ex-Borg to contact her. When after all that time there was still no word from Seven, and the data pad had the temerity to take zero point five seconds too long to load a schematic, B'Elanna's temper began to fray, and the data pad to fly.
Cursing under her breath she went to retrieve the damaged pad, its muted black display screen a testimony to its demise. 'Great, another thing I've managed to ruin today,' she chastised herself, 'no wonder Seven doesn't want anything to do with me, I can't even control my temper around an inanimate piece of equipment.' Carefully placing the pad back on the small coffee table, B'Elanna began to pace around the confines of her room, or as she was beginning to think of it, 'her gaol'.
If it wasn't for this stupid restriction to quarters she could have gone out and found Seven, tried to explain or apologise for what she'd done to Paris, but now all she could do was wait. B'Elanna Torres was not good at waiting, at least not for important, life changing things like this. Several times she had contemplated contacting the Captain to ask for special permission to talk to Seven, she'd seen the sympathetic way Janeway had looked at her when she mentioned the fear that her budding relationship with the ex-Borg could be in jeopardy, but she knew that however much the Captain might privately sympathise with her she wouldn't curtail security protocols to help play matchmaker. So she was stuck in her room with no-way of contacting Seven.
As her pacing took her alongside the communications console B'Elanna contemplated, yet again, the idea of re-routing the security algorithms on the device to contact Seven that way. It wouldn't be a difficult thing to accomplish, working with the Maquis had taught her all she would ever need to know about evading security, but in doing so she'd be not only flouting Starfleet regulations but Janeway's direct orders and that was something she was loathed to do. Keeping to that high moral ground was made somewhat easier by the fact she was guaranteed to see Seven in engineering in less than nine hours anyway. Still nine hours was a long way away.
'Thud!'
Kicking the console had seemed like a good idea at the time, but then at the time B'Elanna hadn't recalled the pertinent fact that she'd removed her shoes already. "Oww!" Bringing up the damaged foot for inspection and a massage B'Elanna was forced to hop back towards her couch, all the while cursing under her breath in a very colourful manner. So when the door chimed her abrupt about turn almost had the effect of propelling her face down on the floor, fortunately she managed to steady herself just in time, and smoothing out her uniform gave the person permission to enter.
The door slid open to reveal the starched form of Seven of Nine, hands clasped behind her back, hair in its usual staid bun and an unreadable expression on her face. By Seven's side was the beefy security guard, his eyes wandering over her body once he was sure the blondes attention was diverted. Glaring at the man B'Elanna felt the urge to rip his eyes out, but it wouldn't do to succumb to another bout of possessive anger so soon after the last incident, so she made do with a small prayer his private parts would whither up and drop off. Turning to ignore the man she put on an inviting but businesslike smile, "Come in Seven, what can I do for you?"
Seven made her way into the Lieutenant's quarters, grateful when the door shut cutting off the annoying stare of the man posted outside. Bringing her hand from behind her back she displayed a data pad for the other woman's attention. "I wished to discuss the latest developments in the holo-simulations for the sensor output modifications." Once B'Elanna had taken the pad the young ex-Borg retook her regulation stance, hands clasped firmly behind her back and eyes front.
"I see." B'Elanna felt as if a hand had reached down and engulfed her twin hearts in a vice like grip. She had been so anxious for Seven to arrive but here she was all business, as if the relationship that had been growing between them was non-existent. It was as if she was giving a report infront of the senior staff, at attention, no look of recognition, no sign of the tiny smile B'Elanna had begun to associate with their meetings. 'She's put the walls back up' was the half Klingon's sombre realisation as she only half listened to Seven's recital.
"The system modifications could be more efficiently executed with a by-pass relay installed in main engineering. The image enhancing sub-processor could..." Seven gave her report from memory, seeming unconcerned by anything around her.
"Hold on." Raising a hand to stop the onslaught of more information B'Elanna took her first real glance at the data pad. The data stored on the pad was identical with the one she had smashed against the wall earlier, and had nothing to do with what Seven was now explaining. Not only that but she was sure they had already gone over the information Seven was reciting and come to satisfactory conclusions. So unless the blonde, ex-Borg with the eidetic memory had managed to forget a conversation they'd had only four or five hours ago, she wasn't here to discuss any modifications. B'Elanna allowed a small smile to grace her lips, if Seven wasn't there about work then she must be there about them, the smile slowly faded as she realised that could still be bad news. "Did you really come here to talk about this?" She waved the pad for emphasis.
"No." Admitting this Seven relaxed her stance somewhat and reached out to retrieve the data pad. "It was the only way to get passed the security guard, to pretend my visit was related to ships business."
"Okay, I can understand telling muscle bound outside that you wanted to see me to talk about engineering but why'd you carry on the act when you got inside?"
"I am unsure." The admission appeared to disturb Seven, she disliked the idea of being a puppet to her illogical emotions. "I did not know how you would react to my visiting you for personal reasons. I am also unused to doing so."
"I was hoping you'd come by." B'Elanna reassured her. She decided to leave off the part about her nearly going out of her mind waiting for the other woman to show, or the dread she'd felt and was still feeling about whether or not Seven would decide to end things between them.
"You were?" The younger woman seemed surprised and pleased by the news.
"Yes." Taking hold of Seven's free hand B'Elanna led her towards the couch. "As this is a personal visit I say we get comfortable, okay?"
"I will comply." Seven sat rather primly at the edge of the couch.
B'Elanna had 'forgotten' to let go of Seven's hand, her fingers beginning a slow and gentle caress of the pale skin, marvelling at the contrast between them. Looking up she saw Seven too was watching their hands, the slight smile she had been searching for earlier now present. "Are you angry with me?"
"Angry?" Seven's smile dissolved into a look of confusion.
"For loosing my temper like that and hitting Paris." B'Elanna's eyes once more became fascinated with their joined hands.
"I am not angry with you." The sentence was accompanied by a renewed smile when B'Elanna brought her eyes up to meet Seven's. "Although I am unsure why you struck Mr Paris."
"He was hitting on you."
"He is insignificant."
"True, but he had his hands all over you." B'Elanna pulled a face of disgust. "And he tried to kiss you. Again."
Seven's ocular implant rose at the tone of B'Elanna's voice. "You are sounding somewhat possessive Lieutenant."
"What?" The half Klingon tried desperately to order her cheeks not to blush, but they did anyway. "I'm sorry, I know I have no right to say who can or cannot touch you. I.."
"Are we seeing each other Lieutenant?" Seven interrupted, then after reanalysing the sentence added. "That is a decidedly redundant term, we are sitting beside each other so of course we are seeing one another. The Federation standard form of language can be most imprecise, two diverse uses for the same set of words is potentially confusing."
"Yes."
"I suppose a more accurate form of enquiry might be if we are dating, but then as we have yet to go out on a date together I would presume the answer would have to be no." Seven took a second to consider. "There is also 'going out together', but I am unsure where it is we are meant to be going out to, does it mean outside the ship or just out in public as a couple? Neither of which we have done, so again I presume the answer would have to be no."
"Seven." B'Elanna interrupted what she thought must be Borg babble mode.
"Yes Lieutenant."
"The answer to your question or questions is yes, we are seeing each other, dating and going out together, that is if its what you want to?"
"It is." The two shared a smile both glad that had been sorted out, even if Seven was still trying to unravel the intricacies of Federation language. "Lieutenant.."
"Seven don't you think its time you started calling me by my name? I mean we are dating now, right?" B'Elanna interrupted.
"Sorry B'Elanna." Seven smiled as she said the name, it wasn't the first time but it still felt extremely intimate to use the name rather than the more familiar Lieutenant.
"That's okay, I love the way you say my name." The half Klingon's words were met by a blush from the young blonde. "What were you gonna ask?"
"Is our relationship going to be monogamous?"
"Yes!" The reply cam with some force and without the need for thought. "I mean, well unless you have any objections, I know a lot of people think it's a bit outmoded and restraining. If you'd rather.." She let her sentence trail off.
"Logically monogamy is not the most ideal form of relationship for humans." Seven intoned, her words bringing an apparition of sleep deprived nights of jealousy for B'Elanna. "There have been studies that suggest polygamous relationships.." Seven stopped, logic or not she did not want to share B'Elanna with anyone. "Yes I want ours to be a monogamous relationship."
"Good."
"I believe in that case B'Elanna it was not overly presumptuous of you to say who could or could not touch me." Seven brought the conversation back to Paris and his wandering hands. "I do think striking the person was over protective though, as well as inefficient."
"Inefficient?" B'Elanna wasn't sure what efficiency had to do with it.
"You struck Mr Paris for touching me, but in so doing had your own freedom severely curtailed, which has resulted in a restriction on the time we can spend together." Seven's brows furrowed at this, not being able to spend as much time as she wanted with B'Elanna was not acceptable. "If you had simply ignored him, as I was doing, we could have seen each other freely."
"I guess." B'Elanna's acknowledgement was reluctant, she'd enjoyed thumping Tom. Hearing Seven talk about the restraint on their time together prompted the more tactile half Klingon to use their joint hands to pull the blonde more fully onto the couch, completing the manoeuvre by wrapping her arms around Seven's waist and encouraging the taller woman to lean back against her body. It was a move that brought the ex-Borg's neck into tantalising proximity with B'Elanna's lips, a closeness that she was unable to resist as she began planting tiny kisses on the pale skin.
"Hmm," The feel of the lips ghosting across her skin was extremely distracting, but there was just one other thing Seven wanted to know. "How is it that your punishment was so lenient?"
"How do you know what my punishment is?" A trail of kisses led to Seven's ear before the lips parted to suck on her earlobe.
"I.." The new sensations coursing through her body made it difficult for Seven to speak. "Looked.. in.. the...the... security... files."
B'Elanna broke off her kisses, "Those files are classified."
"I am aware of that." Seven didn't like the fact the kisses had stopped, and turned to look into the other woman's eyes to gauge if she was upset by her illegal activities. "The information was not heavily protected." She excused.
"But what if you'd been caught?"
"I wasn't." Seven was indignant at the very idea.
"Yeah but if you had we'd have even less time to spend with one another because you'd be in the brig." The scowl on B'Elanna's face displayed her feelings on that prospect.
"I am not the one who was caught breaking Federation regulations." Seven defended.
"Okay, but just be careful I don't want you getting into trouble."
"I promise." Seven sealed her promise by planting a delicate kiss on B'Elanna's lips, the unusually forthright manoeuvre infusing her cheeks with red. "You still did not say why your sentence was so lenient. For striking another officer you should have been sent to the brig."
"I know." Bring up her hand B'Elanna released Seven's hair from the severe bun, before brushing her fingers through the golden strands. Her mind totally captivated by the way the light shone off the free flowing mane she failed to answer the question.
"Are you trying to avoid my question?" The young ex-Borg tried to ask in a direct and inquisitive manner, but the feel of the fingers running through her hair made the words come out on a near sigh.
"What?" B'Elanna lowered her hand to massage the base of Seven's skull, her mind only slowly recalling what they had been discussing. "Oh that, no. I think once Janeway knew why I'd punched him she sort of sympathised, well that and she needs me for the engineering modifications, so she decided to go easy on me."
"Did you tell her about us?"
"Yeah." Stopping her gentle caress B'Elanna checked Seven's reaction. "Was it all right that I told her?"
"Yes." The slight frown that quickly graced the pale brow was enough to set B'Elanna's fingers back to work. "I would have told her myself soon, I just wanted more first."
"More?"
"Hmm."
"More what?" B'Elanna tried to clarify.
"More of you." Seven explained before reaching forward to capture B'Elanna's lips with her own. This time the kiss was not fleeting or light, but full of barely withheld passion. Shifting slightly on the couch they ended up lying beside one another, arms encircling each other as lips danced across skin. Finding the amount of skin available for her touch restricted Seven began pushing at the shoulders of B'Elanna's jacket, which had fortunately already been unfastened, managing to push the garment as far as her elbow before it refused to travel any further. Tugging at the material, while maintaining their kiss, she still couldn't get it to budge any further. The small growl that worked its way up from deep in her throat a testament to her frustration, a sign that wasn't missed by B'Elanna.
Breaking their kiss B'Elanna pushed herself up slightly, the movement being met with an unhappy frown from Seven before she saw the jacket being removed and thrown rather haphazardly over the back of the couch. "That's better." The half Klingon mumbled before descending to recapture full lips. Seven's moans of agreement were soon swallowed by the heated embrace.
Now that B'Elanna was laying more on top than next to her Seven estimated the removal of her tank top would be easier to accomplish. Dropping both hands to the base of the garment she grasped its hem and began to lift the top free of the engineers enticing body.
"Hold on." B'Elanna broke off, putting her hands over Seven's she lowered her top. "Lets take things slowly, okay?"
Without answering Seven resumed their kiss, the feel of B'Elanna's velvety tongue caressing her own was sending shock waves throughout her body. Heat and tension was settling into the pit of her stomach and radiating outwards, making her legs feeling weak. The urge to be touched or to touch was growing maddeningly strong, the fingers that grazed the contours of her back propelling her to arch into the contact, desperate for more. As the kisses progressed the two bodies shifted and began to move against one another, a leg slipping in-between Seven's own and bringing with it a gasp of pure pleasure. The need for contact too strong the pale fingers found their way under the material of the tank top, caressing the flat stomach and marvelling in the feel of the caramel skin, hands moved upwards to further explore the wonderful body.
Sitting up fully this time B'Elanna was left kneeling on either side of Seven's right leg, the edge of her top far from the enthusiastic blondes reach. In response the young ex-Borg displayed what could only be called a pout, an expression that brought a smile to the over heated Klingon's face. "I think we should wait before taking things too far."
"Why?" The pout was in full force before being subdued by a worrying thought. "Don't you want to be with me?"
"Yes of course I do, more than anything." B'Elanna reassured, reaching down to deposit a brief but definitely erotic kiss on Seven's lips. "But I want your first time to be special."
"It will be." Seven promised as her fingers began searching the waistband of B'Elanna's trousers for the fastening.
"Seven, don't." The seriousness of the order stopped the wandering hands immediately, the young blonde lowering her head afraid she'd done something to truly displease her love. "I want things to be perfect for you, for us our first time." Cupping Seven's chin B'Elanna lifted her head until their eyes met. "When we make love I don't want it to be some rushed event out here on my couch, a security guard on the door ready to walk in at any moment if he thinks you've outstayed the time necessary to work on, well whatever it is we're meant to be working on." Closing the gap between them B'Elanna placed another kiss on swollen lips. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." Seven traced B'Elanna's face with her fingers. "I did want to take things slowly, but that was before."
"Before what?" B'Elanna couldn't stop her lips from opening up to suck on the roaming finger.
"Huh?" Thought again left Seven's head until her finger was released. "Oh, erm, before you started kissing me and my body began to experience all these new sensations."
"Did you like these new feelings?"
"Yes."
B'Elanna laughed at the certainty of the reply that was mixed with a happy slightly glazed look. "Good, because we will be doing this again, only next time in a more appropriate setting."
"Acceptable." Seven wiggled slightly in the seat. "Could we resume kissing now? I will remember to take things slow."
B'Elanna's laugh came more forcefully this time as she witnessed the eagerness on Seven's face, an eagerness that she admitted to herself that she shared. Looking to the door she acknowledged the fear that they might be interrupted, and even though she had no reservations about the crew finding out about her relationship with Seven the idea that the Captain might prohibit Seven's further visits if she found out they were not work related was too much to risk. "I would love to resume kissing, but big and brawny might walk in at any minute and we don't want that."
"We have another 11.4 minutes until Ensign Acton checks up on us."
"How can you know that?"
"When illegally entering the security files I surveyed his work habits and work performance scores from Tuvok's simulated training sessions." Knowing from Seven's confident tone that hey had time B'Elanna lowered herself to once again lay partially on top of the blonde. "He consistently allows five minutes to elapse after the regulatory thirty minute contact time before disturbing a prisoner, if he happens to encounter and strike up a conversation with a pretty female while on duty the time that elapses before he checks increases to ten minutes."
Fluttering tiny kisses around Seven's starburst implant B'Elanna stopped to whisper a question in her ear. "So how can you be certain of the time? He might get to talking with a pretty girl?"
"I know he will." The ex-Borg replied confidently.
"How can you know that?"
"I spoke with Claire Mortimer before I arrived here, she volunteered to turn up and talk to Ensign Acton on her way to her date with Ensign Kim." Seven began kissing the ridges along B'Elanna's forehead. "She said she would be wearing her most alluring garment, and that Ensign Acton used to have a crush on her, so we could have as much as twenty minutes."
"Boy Scouts and ex-Borg." B'Elanna captured Seven's mouth with her own, letting her tongue dance within the smooth confines of the delicate mouth.
"Boy Scouts?" Seven queried in-between kisses.
"Hmm." Lips hungrily sought out one another in a need to make the most of the time the still had. "You're both prepared." Deciding that was enough talk for one night B'Elanna put her mouth to more pleasurable use.
Ensign Acton arrived, 23.6 minutes later. Seven decided to buy Claire some flowers. B'Elanna decided to cook Claire and Harry a special dinner, she even contemplated getting Tuvok a little something for keeping such good records, before her thoughts were taken over by where to take Seven next time for the perfect date, and she hoped, their first time.