Part IX added on 21 Dec 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: R
For a moment, Seven was mesmerised by the caress. She felt the gentlest touch on her lips and almost responded to the feather-light contact when her brain registered that it was the captain and not B'Elanna.
The effect was immediate. Seven leapt back and out of the Captain's embrace, springing off the couch to the centre of the room, her eyes blazing with fury.
"How dare you?" she demanded wrathfully, scarcely able to articulate. She clenched her fists untill she could feel her fingernails biting into her palms and asked again. "How dare you play with my emotions at this moment?" Her rage was making her whole body shake and her voice quivered with the ire that burned through her.
Janeway sat back in alarm at the reaction and realised how foolish she had been. "I'm sorry Seven, I.."
"Get out of here! NOW!" screamed the younger woman, her words laced with vitriol.
The Captain stood up and tried to placate the raging ex-drone. "Seven, truly I am sorry," she started, holding her hands up and splayed out, taking a tentative step towards the trembling woman.
Seven had managed to get a grip on her anger and now controlled herself with icy calm. "If you do not leave immediately, I will not be responsible for my actions," she told the Captain in a dangerously low voice.
Janeway reacted the only way she knew how, by going on the offensive. "Are you threatening me Seven?" she asked in a similar tone.
"No Captain, I am informing you. I do not make threats," the ex-drone's blue eyes had darkened considerably as she projected the barely contained wrath that was seeping through her every fibre.
Janeway considered her options in a fraction of a second. She could leave and try and sort out this mess once Seven had calmed down, or stay and risk an altercation that could well end up involving Security at the very least or her own death as the worst case scenario. She was in no mood to explain her actions to Tuvok or a member of his team. "I'll go Seven, but I must explain,"
Seven stepped toward the older woman. The movement was the only spur Janeway needed and she retreated hurriedly.
As they hissed together, Seven stared at the doors rigidly for a long moment before allowing her body to react. Her legs buckled and she collapsed onto the floor in the centre of the room, feeling her chest heave as she started to cry again. The hot tears burnt down her cheeks whilst she fumed at the Captain's treatment of her and her feelings. They continued to fall, as she understood that the only person she wanted to talk to about this was lying in Sick Bay, stymied from helping by her current condition.
Hugging her knees close, she rolled into a foetal position as her body continued to shudder. Her throat felt raw and she had difficulty controlling her breathing, at the mercy of her wracking sobs.
Eventually, the crying subsided and slowly, Seven managed to draw more even breaths, punctuated occasionally by sharp staccato intakes as her emotions stubbornly refused to calm completely. She felt physically exhausted and was reluctant to move from her spot in the centre of B'Elanna's quarters.
At last, the hard floor bothered her enough to encourage her to sit up. Seven pulled the thick black robe protectively around her and wiped her face on a sleeve before she struggled to her feet and retreated to B'Elanna's bedroom. Once there, the young woman wrapped herself into the sheets and curled in the middle of the bed, lying there unblinking for a short while the sensation of the Captain's lips played through her again and again. Finally her eyelids flickered shut and Seven succumbed to sleep, her last cognisant thought a hope for a dreamless slumber.
*
B'Elanna recognised the beeps and chirps she could hear as an integral part of Sick Bay. She opened one eye sleepily and then elongated her body, pulling her arms as high above her head as possible as she simultaneously pointed her toes, revelling in the sensations the stretch stimulated even as she registered mild discomfort from her aching body. Recoiling with a satisfied grunt, B'Elanna sat up and surveyed the area. A quick perusal informed her that she was alone in Sick Bay before her stomachs notified her that there was a pressing need to get food.
Scratching her head roughly, she swung her legs round and vaulted off the bed, wincing slightly as her joints protested at the sudden movement. Her whole body ached and felt heavy. 'Probably an after-effect from the seizure,' she surmised.
She padded over to the replicator and considered her options for breakfast. Settling on an old favourite, she picked up the plate of banana pancakes and steaming mug of tea and made her way over to one of the medical consoles. Making herself comfortable on one of the stools, B'Elanna idly flicked through the data displayed on the monitors as she tucked in deciding to finish her breakfast in peace before activating the EMH.
The engineer raised her eyes hopefully towards the doors as they hissed open. Hiding her disappointment well, she hailed her visitor. "Morning Captain."
The Captain turned and adjusted her trajectory to approach B'Elanna, smiling cautiously. "Good morning. I take it you slept well?" she asked, nervously wondering if Seven had contacted B'Elanna during the night. She had checked the computer for Seven's movements and breathed a sigh of relief to discover that she had remained in the Chief Engineer's quarters all night, but there was no guarantee that they hadn't used the comm system.
B'Elanna finished her mouthful before answering. "Dead to the world, but I ache today. I'm not convinced those bio-beds are the best place to get rest you know." She grinned as she stabbed another morsel of food.
"I know what you're angling at Lieutenant. It's down to the Doctor to relieve you from Sick Bay - I'm not going to overrule him," Janeway returned, relaxing as she realised that B'Elanna was unaware of last night's events.
As if on cue, the EMH materialised. "You're awake," he stated, staring at B'Elanna.
"I hope so Doc, otherwise this is the most vivid dream I've had since the Enarans were on board," the Klingon replied, her voice slightly muffled by her mouth's contents. She pulled a face as the EMH waved a tricorder around her but refrained from commenting.
"B'Elanna, I had to make a difficult decision once the Doctor told me about your condition," Janeway leaned into the console as she spoke to the engineer. "I have to relieve you of your position as Chief Engineer."
"Captain," B'Elanna protested, her voice more a growl.
Janeway held up a hand to stem the protest. "You know the reasons why. I can't allow you to continually endanger your life and the stress of being in charge during an emergency in Engineering could kill you."
"Captain, even if I'm not in charge, I'm going to feel those emotions," B'Elanna retorted. "Probably even more so as I won't have the authority to act," she continued reasonably.
"If that's the case then I may have to consider relieving you from duty altogether," rejoined the Captain.
"Unfortunately, I concur Captain," interjected the Doctor to the half-Klingon's horror. "Even on the side-lines, B'Elanna is likely to experience extreme stress should a situation arise."
B'Elanna stared at the Captain sullenly, wanting to voice the hundreds of objections she had to this course of action, yet realising that both Janeway and the Doctor were right. She discovered to her own surprise that it was not quite the shock it could have been, somewhere in her sub-conscious, she must have come to a similar conclusion.
"It's a moot point anyway," the EMH continued, uncomfortable with the silence that had lengthened. "I cannot return you to duty yet, in any position. Hopefully, I can find an answer to this problem before the Captain has to assign you a new role."
"You're owed more leave than any other crew member, including me," remarked Janeway dryly. "Consider your absence as time off and get some R and R," she suggested.
B'Elanna's face gave enough indication to how she felt about that idea. "Yeah, I've always wanted to take a vacation in Sick Bay."
The Doctor's eyebrows shot up in horror and then realised that the engineer thought that she was still confined. "I'm going to release you from Sick Bay today. The adjustments Seven made to the medical monitoring equipment seems to be adequate. I need to run a series of diagnostics this morning and then you're free to go. Just don't get the cortical monitor wet this time," he told her. B'Elanna nodded as she rubbed the back of her neck absently, a dread feeling creeping over her at what to do with all the free time that had just been dumped on her.
"Doctor, I'd like a private word with B'Elanna," Janeway told the EMH. He looked slightly affronted that he was not to be included in all communiqués but he retreated back to his office, grabbing some diagnostic tools on the way so he could continue his work.
Janeway sighed before looking at B'Elanna. Her action raised suspicion in the raven-haired hybrid. The Captain rarely hesitated before broaching subjects. "What's the problem Captain?" she prompted.
"I need you to consider your 'relationship' with Seven," Janeway began.
"That is none of your damned business," reacted B'Elanna instantly, bristling at the intrusion into her private life.
"It is when your life could be in danger," retorted the Captain coldly. "Now listen while I explain my interference," she continued before the smaller woman could interrupt again. "You both have feelings for each other, that much is obvious. I'm asking you to consider how those emotions could affect you and Seven."
Janeway sighed once more before carrying on. "It's well documented now what happens to you when your body has to deal with extreme emotional stress. Seven is new to her feelings. She has only just experienced the true intensity of them. Imagine what she'll go through if she feels responsible for harming you when you're together."
B'Elanna closed her eyes at the thought. She had only considered the situation from her own perspective. She was quite willing to continue to build their relationship, despite the personal risk, but it was quite another matter to hurt Seven by putting her in an untenable position. She opened her eyes again and watched as the Captain moved away from her, hands on hips, obviously contemplating something.
Janeway turned and brought one hand up to hold her chin, looking steadily at the engineer for a long moment, her face troubled.
"This is difficult to put into the right words," she began.
B'Elanna's breathing quickened and she felt her stomachs lurch. "Go on," she encouraged.
"I went to see Seven last night, to see how she was coping," Janeway started and then paused once more, her eyes darting around the room to focus on something other than the half-Klingon. "B'Elanna there is no easy way to say this," she hedged once more, stepping forward slightly and gesturing with the hand that had previously held her chin.
"Captain, if there's no easy way just tell it as it is," B'Elanna demanded, feeling an icy tingling rise up her back.
Janeway took a deep breath and halted in front of B'Elanna once more. "Seven kissed me last night," she told her gently.
"She did what?!" exploded the dark engineer.
The Captain backed away, holding up a hand placatingly. "We were talking about emotions and about how the procedure had affected her. She wanted to explore her feelings more thoroughly. I sat next to her on the couch and gave her a hug when she told me she felt so miserable about hurting you when the next thing I knew she…"
"Enough," interrupted B'Elanna, her voice low and almost too controlled. She looked at her hands, fascinated by the taut white skin over her knuckles. She noted that the fork she had been holding had been bent completely in half - she hadn't even realised that she had clenched her fists. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Captain, there aren't any couches in Cargo Bay Two."
Janeway blinked at the statement, the only indication of emotion to flit across her face. "I found Seven in your quarters," she answered honestly.
B'Elanna dropped the misshapen fork and held her head in her hands; confused by the information she had just been given. Something wasn't right about the whole situation and she wasn't about to make her usual mistake of jumping to assumptions and possibly ruin the most important relationship she had ever had without getting all the facts. She raised her head and looked at the Captain steadily. "I need to talk to Seven about this. I have to find out why she did what she did."
Janeway was taken aback. It was not the reaction she was hoping for. If B'Elanna went calmly in to see Seven, things might get a whole lot more complicated. "Are you sure approaching Seven now would be a good idea, given the current circumstances?"
B'Elanna narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"You could trigger another seizure if tempers flare," the Captain explained bluntly.
"Then lets hope we sort things out amicably then," returned the half-Klingon as she moved to leave Sick Bay.
"Not so fast, Lieutenant," the Doctor called from his office. "I haven't finished yet," he qualified as B'Elanna ground her teeth in frustration and headed towards him. "Besides," he continued, "I'm sure you'd rather leave Sick Bay in your uniform as opposed to an examination robe."
"Let the Doctor complete his tests and then do what you have to do," Janeway told the frustrated woman. "I'll leave you in peace, but please consider what I've said." Janeway put a hand on Torres' shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze before turning and exiting Sick Bay. If she was quick, she would have enough time to smooth things over with Seven and perhaps even turn the screw a bit further.
To be continued....