Chapters 4 to 6 added on 28 Aug 2000
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
Chapter 4
B'Elanna sat there stunned. She had expected anything but that. `Kahless, Seven loves me. She loves me' The thought filled her with a boundless joy as well as an unnamed fear. She had everything she had been thinking about for the last few days, right there in front of her and she didn't know what to do with it! She knew she was showing all her emotions on her face but she could not control herself.
Seven was looking down at the table, unable to meet B'Elanna's eyes as she continued " I first realized that I had feelings for you after the incident with the Borg Vinculum. I have tried to shut off these feelings as they cause inefficiency but I soon realized that they could also be a source of strength. I have used that strength for years. I joined Starfleet so I could receive news of you from time to time as well as stay as far away from Earth as possible. I knew you were with Tom Paris and I did not want to upset your life. I would have never told you, B'Elanna but you asked and I felt you needed to know. This does not mean I require that you reciprocate my feelings. After all they are my feelings and are irrelevant to you and your life."
On hearing the words that came tumbling out of Seven's mouth, all her doubts, all her fears, all her confusion flew straight out the window. She wanted this woman, wanted to hold her, protect her and cherish her but most of all B'Elanna wanted to love this woman who seemed so fragile at that very moment.
"Seven, please shut up! Do you know that when nervous, you talk too much. You are relevant to me, Seven Janeway. I want to get to know you. I need you, love. All I ask is that you be patient with me, bangwl if that is acceptable to you?"
"What.What did you call me?" asked a startled Seven even as the light of hope started shining in her ice blue eyes.
"Bangwl! You heard right. I want you in my life, Seven. I only regret that I never gave you a chance on Voyager. I never tried to know you on Voyager and for that I am truly sorry." B'Elanna looked straight into Seven's eyes as she made her confession. Honor demanded that she admit her mistakes and she knew that this was the biggest mistake of her life
"It would not have changed anything between us 14 years ago, B'Elanna. At that time you were in a romantic affiliation with Lieutenant Tom Paris." Seven was looking at B'Elanna as she dared her to challenge that statement.
B'Elanna reached out and gently touched Seven's hand as she replied to Seven's statement
"I thought I loved Tom for a long time, Seven. So when he asked me to marry him as soon as we returned home, I was overjoyed. But life on Voyager was very different from life back on Earth. For Tom, Starfleet came first He was on the command track and was away from home for long periods of time on missions. At first, it used to bother me, Seven but slowly I just didn't care anymore. I had my work and I was satisfied with my life professionally. The only thing that was missing was that sense of peace that comes with being with the love of your life. We realized we were having a problem five years ago and so decided to expand our family thinking it would kindle our love. I do not regret that decision because it gave me Katie but I knew then that I did not love Tom Paris. I cared for him as a friend. I know that for him I was the love of his life. I did not wish to hurt him, Seven. He was arrogant, confident and brash but at the same time he was also gentle, caring and decent and he absolutely adored Katie. Do you know the first thing I felt when I heard the news? I felt relief. Relief, Seven that my husband was dead. Only then did it sink in that Katie had lost her father and I felt ashamed at my thoughts. "
Hearing this Seven felt a stab of pain for the lost opportunities that her reticence and B'Elanna's distrust had cost them. 14 years that they would never get back. As if reading her thoughts B'Elanna said gently "I do not know if things would have been different then between us, Seven. All I know is that things are different now and I would not have it any other way. We can only learn from our past and move forward." B'Elanna slowly got up from her chair and walked over to kneel before Seven.
" You do know that this will complicate things, Captain" asked B'Elanna
Seven looked down at her love and smiled. " As long as I have you, I do not care. After all, what is the challenge in living a life without complications?"
"I love you, B'Elanna Torres. I admit that I have not always been single these ten years but my relationships were doomed from the start because none of my partners was you. You have filled my waking moments and haunted my dreams. The further I tried to run and hide, the more you disturbed me. Today, it is like I have finally come home. Please never take that away from me."
B'Elanna was stunned at the depth of emotion the ex-drone was displaying. Without thinking, she reached up, wound her arms around Seven's neck and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss meant to be comforting but she had not counted on Seven's reaction.
It was as if a dam had burst around Seven's heart and she returned the kiss with all the emotions and passion that she was feeling inside. This was a moment that Seven had waited for all her life. She explored the soft lips that were being offered with that Borg concentration that she brought to every task. Needless to say, the effect on B'Elanna was quite earth shattering. Seven plundered her mouth, her tongue danced to a sweet tune that only the two of them seemed to hear. What had started out to be a gentle comforting gesture was turning into the kiss of a lifetime.
As they parted for air, a breathless B'Elanna looked up into the eyes of her bangwl, seeing her passion and desire being returned tenfold.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" asked B'Elanna as she stood drawing Seven up with her and hugging her tight.
Chapter 5
Seven took a deep breath. She was being offered all that she had ever wanted but she knew that the time was not right yet. She knew the feelings and emotions that they both were experiencing were too new and that if they gave into their desire, they could harm their relationship. But knowing all that and acting on it were two different things and for the first time in her life, Seven did not have a clue how to proceed.
"B'Elanna, I want you more than you could ever imagine but bangwl, we have just found one another. If I stay here tonight, I will not be able to control myself and I want our first time to be something we would never forget. "said Seven in a voice that hid none of the passion she was feeling.
" But we love each other, Seven. Nothing could be more right between two people who love each other." B'Elanna knew she was pleading and didn't really care. She wanted this woman and her Klingon blood was as close to boiling as possible. Seven on the other hand had regained her control. Only her ice blue eye, which at the moment had darkened almost to color of a stormy sky, betrayed what she was feeling.
Seven gently disengaged herself from B'Elanna and bent down to kiss her softly. All too soon she broke the contact and looked B'Elanna in the eye. " Lanna, before I make love to you for the first time I want to show you what you mean to me. You are the light of my life and now that I have found you, please let me show you how much of a difference you make in my life. I have pined for you for 14 years. Don't you think you should long for me for just a little more time? After all you will not be alone. I know that the next few weeks are going to be heaven and hell combined for me too."
"Few weeks..!! Seven, please I don't think I will survive."
"Rest assured that you will not only survive but will look forward to it." Seven seemed to have a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. B'Elanna took one look at her and gulped. She knew she would be hitting the showers a lot over the next few weeks and that they would be cold! Very cold!!
"Oh peachy! I can hardly wait." grumbled B'Elanna good-naturedly resigned to the fact that for now Seven was in control over their relationship. Relationship!! She was in a relationship with Seven. As that fact slowly made its presence felt, she found that she was happy and actually looking forward to the future. Slowly a brilliant smile made its way across her features, which she found was mirrored by Seven. So she snuggled back into Seven's body resting her head on her shoulder just under Seven's chin.
Seven bent close to her ear and whispered "Perhaps, I should show you what to expect over the next few weeks" All the breath seemed to rush out of B'Elanna at the huskiness in the tone as Seven slowly traced the shape of her ear with her tongue. She seemed to be committing that shape to memory not that she ever forgot anything with her eidetic memory. B'Elanna shuddered and just gave in to the feelings Seven was arousing. She turned her head slightly and found herself looking at Seven's slender neck. Payback can be such a bitch, she thought as she started kissing and nipping at Seven's throat.
" Will you and Katie join me for lunch tomorrow?"
Surprised at the question that was whispered softly into her ear, B'Elanna forgot what she was doing and looked up at Seven. All she said was "When and where?"
" How about 1300 hours? I would like to show you my quarters."
"Quarters? Here on Earth"
"Yes, love. I do have a place of residence when I am not on Voyager-A. So would you join me there?"
" Sure. Just give me the address."
" Here is the address" said Seven as she picked up one of the data Pads and entered in the address. " And now I must leave as I have to be on Voyager-A as she goes into dry dock tomorrow. I will see you at 1300 hours and we could spend the rest of the day doing whatever we want, if that is acceptable?"
"I look forward to it. After all I need to go to work from the day after tomorrow getting that ship of yours into shape. So a day with you would be just what I need."
" You are going to have many days with me. Now come here and let me give you a demonstration of `Lesson 36'." Seven tilted her head and arched her left eyebrow expectantly.
"Lesson 36?"
" The Doctor's lessons on social development. Lesson 36 was `The good night kiss'."
" Something tells me I am going to like `Lesson 36'."
"Believe me, you are going to love it. I know I will." Seven then proceeded to show B'Elanna just how much she loved it.
As Seven made her way back to her quarters she kept reliving the evening's happenings over and over in her head. She was elated and exhausted by the events of the evening. On reaching her quarters, she prepared to retire for the night. All her years in Starfleet and among individuals, and she still found sleeping something that was difficult at the best of times. However with all the emotions she was experiencing she found that she could not sleep. Thinking that perhaps it would be more efficient to regenerate, Seven stepped into the alcove that she maintained in her bedroom. Her need for regeneration had decreased but sometimes when she was exceptionally fatigued she preferred to regenerate. However she found that her regeneration was equally disturbed. She then decided to go through all the messages waiting for her. After going through the updates that had come in from Starfleet Command, she opened a message from Kathryn.
"Seven, was just wondering if you could join me for half an hour tomorrow morning at 0730 in my office before you go to Voyager-A? I want you to meet two new crewmembers. This will be their first mission and I thought you could put them at ease before they reported to Voyager-A. "
Seven was puzzled. Normally new crewmembers were inducted only on the approval of the Captain of the ship. The fact that Kathryn was just informing her was unusual, to say nothing of the fact that she had no clue who the two crewmembers were. She decided to talk to the Admiral tomorrow of the breach in regulations. After all it was not often she found a chance to quote Starfleet rules and regulations to Kathryn Janeway. She still remembered her year at the Academy when often she would feel frustrated by the regulations and complain about them to Kathryn as well as all the occasions she had to answer to Starfleet command as well as Kathryn for what they called breach of regulations. They conveniently overlooked the fact that she often did so only when her ship was threatened and she did not have any other choice. So she relished every opportunity to return the favor. With that thought she turned to the next message and gaped at the screen.
The next message was from B'Elanna. It was short and to the point.
"I love you"
Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Seven let her mind cherish the message and finally fell asleep.
Kathryn Janeway was a morning person, the kind that could sit up in bed at 0600 and by 0730 look like she could take on the world and win. The only thing she required in the morning was a good cup of coffee. Today was no different. As she sat in her office, she was thinking of her daughter. Although Seven was adopted to get by Starfleet, she had always seen her as her daughter from the day the adoption became final. She was as protective of Seven as a tigress with her cub. So she was worried at the loneliness Seven was feeling. She knew that in the past when she had pushed Seven to look for love, going as far as setting up the dates, the results had been just about disastrous. She knew Seven was in love with B'Elanna but couldn't stop worrying that she was wasting her life pining over someone who did not know you existed. So when Seven entered her office grinning at her, Kathryn was shocked. Seven grinning!! She still remembered being told `Borg do not grin.'
" And what put you in such a good mood? "
"I am looking forward to the day, Kathryn."
"Seven, what are you looking forward to in the day?"
"Lunch!"
Now Kathryn knew that Seven considered meals one more inefficient task performed by humans. So if she was looking forward to lunch, she had company that she enjoyed. Who could it be? Data? No, they just met yesterday. Could it be a date? As she was mulling over that thought, Seven in a clearly amused tone put in "Give it up, Kathryn. You will never guess. Now, what is this about two new crewmembers. Starfleet regulations state the Captain of the ship must approve all new crewmembers before assignment. I thought the Admiral would remember that."
Flustered by the fact that Seven could read her so well as well as the fact that Seven was relishing the idea that she could quote Starfleet regulations to her, Kathryn looked at Seven with a Level 10 glare. Result was a very definite smirk on the ex-drone's beautiful face.
" Captain Seven Janeway, you will be very pleased to take these two crewmembers with you."
"I will decide that after I see them." replied Seven.
"Ensign Naomi Wildman and Ensign Mizati Janeway reporting as ordered, Admiral" came a voice over Kathryn's comm badge.
"Come right in, Ensigns" replied Janeway.
"Naomi!! Mizati. But they just graduated. Why are they being sent on a deep space mission" Seven was stumped at the news that she would be commanding officer to both her friend and her daughter.
"Perhaps it has to do with the fact that they were first and second in their class and they had choice of assignment. They did ask that I not tell you immediately so that you would not try to change their minds." Kathryn was clearly enjoying Seven's apparent distress.
"Admiral, Captain." said Naomi as she stepped into the office along with Mizati who looked everywhere except at her mother.
" When were you planning on telling me you wanted a posting on my ship?" Seven as always cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"Mother, Naomi and I thought you would object to the posting and try to convince us to take another assignment. So when we spoke to the Admiral, she told us that she would inform you of the assignment as well as approve it." Mizati informed in that crisp tone she took whenever she faced up to Seven.
Seven whirled around to glare at Janeway who looked far too amused at her reaction.
"Ensigns, I think your Captain and I have matters to discuss. Dismissed." Janeway said as she prepared for another fight with Seven.
Seeing a chance to get out of there before Seven stopped them, Naomi and Mizati made their way to the door. As it swished open, a clear soft tone filled their ears. "Ensigns, you both have much to discuss with me. I will talk to you later regarding this matter." Mizati groaned inwardly. She knew that when Seven used that tone it meant only one thing. Trouble with a capital `T'. She glanced over at Naomi wondering if the young woman knew what they were getting into. One look at her face and all her questions were answered. Naomi had as much contact with Seven as Mizati. She too had learned to read Seven's voice. Sighing she followed Naomi out of the room.
"Now Seven, before you even start to rip into me let me explain."
"I do not rip into you, Admiral. I merely question your judgment on this issue. You should have informed me as soon as the request came through. I had a right to know as both Captain and Mother." Seven was furious at Kathryn and she wanted her to know it.
Kathryn winced at the `Admiral'. Only Seven could make a title an insult. And it told Janeway she was walking on thin ice with Seven at the moment.
"Seven, do you think it is easy for me to send Mizati on her first posting out on a deep space mission? She and Icheb are family to me as much as they are to you. But it is her choice and I must respect that."
"I do not object to her decision. Only that she and you did not inform me of it."
"If she had would you have accepted it or would you have tried to convince her to change her decision. At least this way you get to keep an eye on those two. I am sure that is why Samantha accepted the news so easily" said Janeway. Seven just looked at her ruefully, which basically proved her point. Seven would not have accepted the decision easily.
"Very well! I approve the assignments." All the fight going out of her. Who better to keep an eye on her daughter than herself?
"Now are you going to tell me, what put you in such a good mood this morning?" asked Janeway.
"I told you that I was looking forward to lunch."
"I know that. The question is with whom?"
"B'Elanna Torres" replied Seven grinning.
"What? How? When" Janeway asked as she struggled to digest the news.
Chapter 6
Seven looked at her with a very definite smirk on her face. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said as she exited the Admiral's office. Her enhanced hearing could pick up Kathryn saying `Seven, you get back here and that's an order'.
As soon as she left Starfleet HQ she tapped her commbadge. "Seven to Voyager. One to beam up." When she rematerialized on Voyager's transporter pad, her mind wandered to the conversation of the morning. She really needed to talk to Mizati and Naomi. It saddened her that her daughter did not think she would accept her decisions. She knew she was more protective of her family than most mothers but she still thought they could talk to each other. She still remembered years ago thinking that she would never be a mother when the Doctor informed her that the Borg had removed her reproductive systems to make way for her abdominal implant.
Icheb and Mizati and to a certain extent the twins were what saved her from depression. That and the love and support of Kathryn Janeway who was more of a parent to her than her own birth parents. The twins, thinking of them was always a bittersweet memory. In that final year in the Delta Quadrant they had found the twins' family. The boys had decided to stay with them and Seven had not objected since she knew that they would be loved and cherished, which was all she could ask for. She still remembered the absolute look of devastation on Mizati's face when they were transported from Voyager. Mizati had told her later on that she would never leave Seven and Icheb and that Seven should not try to find her family. Fortunately, they had never been able to find the little Norcadian's family for which both Seven and Mizati were eternally grateful. Now ten years later, her little girl was grown up and wanted Seven to be her Captain.
"Captain on the Bridge"
Seven made her way to the Captain's chair on the lower level of the bridge where her first officer, Commander James Scott, greeted her with his customary grin.
"Hello, Skipper. Nice to see you could make it. I was thinking I may need to put this boat into dry dock by myself."
"Now Mr. Scott have I ever let you run my ship into anything alone?" replied Seven in a very dry tone. Trust James to pick up on the fact that she had been late by nanoseconds for her duty shift. He was also the only one in Starfleet who called her `Skipper'. Their greeting on the bridge had become part of the routine since she had taken over as Captain of Voyager-A. Even after all these years she found it difficult to reconcile to the fact that they had named the ship `Voyager-A'. She felt that there could be only one Voyager and that ship belonged to a fiery auburn haired woman called Kathryn Janeway. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she turned to her helmsman, Lieutenant Nancy Bates.
"Lieutenant, what is our current position and status?"
"We are holding position at the outer marker to Starbase 131. Awaiting clearance from Ops for final approach to dry dock, Captain."
"Let me know as soon as you receive clearance. I'll be in the ready room. Commander, you have the bridge." Seven turned and walked to her ready room without waiting for his answer.
Once inside her private domain, Seven went to the replicator and ordered for a cup of Darjeeling tea. She had discovered this particular brand on their return to the Alpha Quadrant. It was grown in the remote northern reaches of the Indian subcontinent. She had never really liked coffee however found a cup of tea with cream and sugar to be very relaxing. Funny, she thought, I am becoming more and more like Kathryn was as Captain. I even have my own vice. Perhaps, it is the position that generates similar reactions.
`BEEEP'
The ringing of the door chime pulled her out of her musings. She looked up from her cup of tea to see the smiling face of her first officer as he stepped into her ready room.
"Is there a problem, Commander?"
"No, Skipper. Just thought you should read the personnel reports. We just had 3 new crewmembers added to our manifest. You should be interested in at least one of them. Ensign Mizati Janeway."
"I am well aware that my daughter and Ensign Wildman has been assigned to Voyager, Mr. Scott. I was just informed of that fact this morning by Admiral Janeway. As for the other change, I requested Commander Torres to take over as Chief Engineer and she agreed. She will be overseeing the installation of the transwarp coils as well as the new weapons package."
The commander winced as he heard her tone. Ouch he thought I would have hated to be in the Admiral's shoes. Years of service under Seven had made the Commander a good judge of his skipper's moods as well as her tone of voice. HE knew that when Seven was angry she did not rant or rave. Instead her voice took on the quality of a frostbitten wind, quite capable of freezing your blood. He had heard that tone very rarely and so recognized the reason behind it. Seven was as very passionate woman for all her control. The things she was most passionate about were her family and her ship in that order. To have both in one place was not a good thing.
"Well, at least this way you can keep an eye on her, Skipper"
"James, it is not that I don't see the advantages of this arrangement. It is just that I thought Mizati could tell me this herself." Seven refused to look up from her cup of tea, afraid that James might see the anguish in her eyes.
" Skipper, sometimes it is difficult for children to tell their parents their decisions for the fear that they might displease them. Mizati would not want you to be disappointed with her choices. Remember Icheb tried for two weeks to tell you that he would be going on a deep space mission on the Prometheus to the Gamma Quadrant. I remember your reaction to that news."
"I do tend to be overprotective, don't I?" said Seven ruefully.
"No more than any other parent. I am sure if I had kids, I would be as if not more protective."
"Thank you, Commander" That simple heartfelt statement meant more to the Commander than any gushing gratitude. Seven was very sparing with her thanks as well as her compliments but when she did compliment or thank someone it was with all her heart.
"That's what First Officer's are for, Skipper" He smiled at her as he rose to leave her ready room. She knew at one point in time he had found her attractive and had he been on another ship, he would have pursued her. However the chain of command was a very effective barrier here in the Alpha Quadrant. She was glad because he was a good friend and he often pointed out the subtle things that she found difficult to grasp with her far-limited understanding of individual behavior.
"Bridge to Seven. Captain, we just received clearance for final approach."
"On my way. Seven out"
As she stepped on to the Bridge she calmly asked for the status reports from all departments. Once assured that her ship was ready, she stepped down from the command chair and moved into her usual position just behind her helmsman.
"Ahead one quarter impulse, Lieutenant. Take her in nice and slow"
"Aye, Captain."
As the ship moved slowly past the markers towards the Starbase, she could see the hundreds of ships that were arriving at and leaving Starbase 131. It was really amazing to see that many ships together at a single Starbase, but she knew that since the Dominion war, Starfleet never took any chances of a repeat attack on Earth. That and the fact that ten years of rebuilding the fleet had left the Federation with the strongest fleet in the Alpha Quadrant. This worried her more than ever because she knew the Borg kept an eye on the Federation and right at this moment Starfleet and the Federation was a very inviting target to the Borg. This mission was very important to the future of the Federation.
As soon as they cleared the outer doors of the space station, Seven said calmly "All right, cut impulse engines. Switch to thrusters. You know what to do, Lieutenant"
" Yes, Captain"
Voyager passed the last marker and came to a complete halt perfectly lined up with the docking bays. As soon as the docking rings extended to clamp on to the ship, the crew began to initiate final shut down of the ship's systems.
The sequence had just been completed when repair crews started transporting over. Seven was approached by a Commander wearing the yellow turtleneck of Engineering.
"The ship is all yours, Commander." After having formally handed over command of her vessel to the engineering personnel, Seven made her way to Transporter room 3.
"Energize"
The crewman knew she preferred to transport home as opposed to traveling down by shuttlecraft. Being Captain did give some privileges. She rematerialized outside the door to her quarters. As she entered she could hear low voices coming from inside. She stepped in as soon as the computer recognized her bio-signature and opened the doors only to see Mizati and Naomi waiting for her in the living room.
"Mizati, Naomi, what are you doing here? I planned to speak to you later. I am expecting Commander Torres and her daughter for lunch and I need to prepare for their arrival."
"Naomi and I thought we should apologize for not informing you of our decision, mother. We did not know when we would get a chance to do so once we joined duty. We are really sorry. I did not want to disappoint you, mother"
On hearing these words from her daughter, her heart filled with pride over the beautiful woman who stood before her. "Mizati, Naomi you have never disappointed me. It is often difficult to tell parents our choices for the fear that we may offend them but remember they are our choices and we need to make them for our own well-being. I will respect all your decisions just as I have Icheb's. I just do not need to like them. Is that acceptable?"
"More than acceptable." Replied both girls grinning.
"Why is Commander Torres coming to lunch?" asked Naomi puzzled that the two women were meeting socially when they could not stand each other on Voyager. Mizati took one look at her mother's flushed and pink face and knew things were going to be different around here. She jabbed Naomi with her elbow warning her friend to stop with her questions. Either Naomi did not get the message or chose to ignore it.
"Why is she bringing her daughter?"
Seven decided to be honest with the girls. "B'Elanna and I have sorted out our differences and have come to an agreement. We are trying to build a romantic relationship. Also Commander Torres is Voyager's Chief Engineer. So she and I will be working together. As for her daughter, Katie is a friend of mine very much like a little girl who taught me how to play Kadis-Kot."
Naomi was blushing a bright pink. Too much information. Not an unusual occurrence when dealing with Seven, Mizati or Icheb.
"Well then we need to get going. Come on, Mizati." Said Naomi as she hurried to the door.
"Indeed. I will see you later, mother. Hope you have a pleasant lunch." Mizati then followed Naomi out the door.
Seven looked at both with a very wicked glint in her eye. "Perhaps Naomi can stay and introduce Katie to Kadis-Kot while I discuss things with her mother. Mizati, knowing how much you like to cook, I could use the help in the kitchen"
Damn! Stuck baby-sitting a little girl. I guess Seven letting us of the hook that easily was a fond dream. The good side is I get to eat some of Mizati's cooking. Can that girl cook or what!
Continued in next part ....