Galaxy Reunion (Part One)
 

Sixth in the Galaxies series. If you haven’t read the previous stories things will be very confusing. The setting for this story is one week after the last, after Nemo leaves Ikonin space.

Chapter 1

 

Seven of Nine’s eyes opened suddenly in the darkness of the quarters she shared with Captain Janeway. Confusion swam in the blue depths as she looked around wondering what had disturbed her slumber. Starlight streamed in from the viewport to illuminate the room and she realized they’d been so overcome with passion the night before that they forgot to close the blast shield. Seven decided that had turned out to be convenient since it now allowed her to see every corner of their bedroom. Nothing looked out of place. Their clothing was scattered about where they’d hurriedly stripped in preparation of lovemaking and Kathryn still lay peacefully sleeping on her chest. Soft exhalations tickled the skin of Seven’s left breast but she ignored the sensation as she listened intently for anything out of place. Finally she decided she had imagined the noise and settled back down.

 

Kathryn took a deep breath and shifted before she raised her head to look at Seven. "Can’t sleep?" she mumbled in a drowsy voice.

 

"I’m sorry I woke you, Kathryn." She encouraged the other woman to lie back down until her head was resting on Seven’s chest again. She pressed a kiss to Janeway’s forehead before she said, "I thought I heard something."

 

"Maybe you were dreaming."

 

Kathryn yawned and Seven smiled at the flash of tenderness she felt. She ran her fingers through thick auburn locks and felt a surge of something else. "Or perhaps I awakened for another purpose."

 

For a second there was no response and then Kathryn drew her knee up along Seven’s body until it was resting on her hip, silent communication that she was interested. Talented fingers trailed up her side, skimming over sensitive flesh and implants until the small hand rested possessively over her breast.

 

"What did you have in mind?" Kathryn whispered provocatively in her ear.

 

Seven shivered and turned her head to claim soft lips in a gentle kiss. Kathryn’s lips were like butter as they parted and Seven rolled over until Kathryn was beneath her. No matter how many times they made love the sweet sensation of their bodies pressing together always took her breath away. Often Seven thought loving Janeway was the single most wonderful reason for regaining her humanity.

 

She left Kathryn’s mouth and nibbled along the cords of her neck. Janeway arched under her and groaned when she bit down slightly. The feeling of sinking her teeth into soft skin was an erotic one, but she was careful not to break the skin. Seven released the flesh and moved up to Kathryn’s ear, swirling her tongue around the sensitive shell. Kathryn was driven to distraction, clawing the length of the strong back as she clung to her lover.

 

The sharp sensations caused Seven to inhale sharply as her passion was stoked higher by the other woman’s responses. Softly and tenderly she made love to Kathryn, taking the time to show through actions what was in her heart. When it was over Kathryn clung to her, chest heaving as she gasped for breath before finally quieting and sliding into sleep.

 

***

The viewscreen in the newly constructed Astrometrics lab took up one entire wall. It wasn’t as large as the one on Voyager had been but Seven was still quite satisfied. The original design for the Nautilus hadn’t included such a lab because they didn’t think it was needed, but that changed when an accident left the saucer section stranded on its own in the delta quadrant. Yet even though they had the need after the accident Nemo was too small for an Astrometrics lab.

 

In a way Seven thought crash landing on the small planet dubbed ‘Safe Haven’ had been fortunate. Nemo had landed so hard that many bulkheads had ruptured or collapsed. The quantum fusion matrix that allowed the modified slipstream engines to function had been destroyed and much of the small vessel had to be rebuilt. Slipstream was no longer viable on Nemo, but by moving certain bulkheads around on deck five they now had a fully operational, if extremely compact, Astrometrics lab.

 

The pneumatic doors opened unexpectedly and the chief engineer, Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres, strode into the room. While aboard Voyager Torres had been a provisional junior lieutenant but once they reached Earth Starfleet had happily embraced the former Maquis. Now she was a full-fledged member of the organization and a Senior Lieutenant. Seven smiled in welcome at her friend and it struck her how incongruous the scene was. There had been a time when the sight of the half-Klingon would have annoyed her, though she never would have allowed the emotion to show on her face.

 

"B’Elanna," Seven greeted politely, curious why her friend would be away from engineering during the middle of a duty shift.

"Save it. I have a question."

 

Torres rested her hands against Seven’s console and from the tight fists the former drone was able to discern that the volatile young woman was agitated. "You’ve been involved with the captain for a while now, right?"

 

"Yes. Is that the question?"

 

"Huh?" B’Elanna sputtered for a moment before she saw the glint in the blue eyes that meant she was being teased. "Funny. You’re getting good at that. No, that’s not the question and you know it."

 

Seven relented and turned her attention away from the console and toward the lieutenant. "I’m sorry, B’Elanna. How may I assist you?"

"I have a date with Karri tonight and I need some…advice."

 

The optical implant over Seven’s left eyebrow rose and she replied, "Concerning romantic affiliations…from me? B’Elanna forgive me, but you have been involved in relationships before and in fact you are still married. Why do you require assistance from me?"

 

"Let’s not talk about that rodent, Paris. That’ll be over once we get home. As for the rest of it, I’ll admit it’s true. But I’ve never been involved with another woman before and tonight’s sort of special. Karri and I only started officially dating about a week ago, but I want to do something really romantic to show her how I feel."

 

"Is that any different from how you have been with her during the last week?"

 

"No, you know you’re really not trying here. It just seems like things are going a little fast and yet not really since we did date for a while on Voyager. Yet on the other hand this is like starting all over again since that was three years ago."

 

Seven was starting to get confused. "B’Elanna stop. I believe you are causing yourself unnecessary anxiety. My advice is to relax and be honest with her about how you feel. The actual amount of time you have dated is irrelevant."

 

B’Elanna took a huge breath and let it all out in a rush, blowing the hair up on her forehead. "You’re right. I just have to relax."

 

"Why are you so agitated? You have been dating Lieutenant Jameson for several days."

 

"Yeah, but I haven’t said those three little words to her ever! Now I’m at the stage where I’m ready to, but I’m nervous."

"What three little words?" Seven asked with a confused shake of her head.

 

"You know! I love you?"

 

"Oh."

 

"Yeah. Now you know why I’m nervous."

 

"Actually I do not. I am not anxious about telling Kathryn that I love her."

 

"That’s different."

 

"How?"

 

"It just is, okay? Sheesh!"

 

Sometimes Seven thought B’Elanna’s reasoning was perverse at best, but she had been through a lot recently so she decided to make allowances for her. Before the engineer’s capture by the Chthonian forces B’Elanna had denied any chance of becoming involved with the undercover Starfleet operative. Then she had been forced to endure a very real hallucination induced by her captors in which she had not only been involved with Lieutenant Jameson, but was also married to her. Once Nemo’s crew had rescued her, with the help of the super-powered Ikonians, Torres had begun to revisit her excuses for denying her feelings and she had agreed to have dinner with Jameson. The two had started seeing each other exclusively and now it seemed B’Elanna was ready to escalate the relationship.

 

Seven tried a different tactic. "B’Elanna, Karri loves you. You love her. That is all that is important."

 

B’Elanna stopped pacing and looked up at the other woman, stunned for a moment. "You know, for a former Borg drone you really are pretty wise sometimes."

 

"If I am it is because of you. I have learned much from our friendship." Seven’s console beeped and interrupted their conversation. She looked down and tapped a few buttons before bringing a star chart up on the large viewscreen.

 

"What is it?" Torres asked.

 

"The computer has finished extrapolating a new course for our journey toward the alpha quadrant. According to my estimates this should eliminate four years from our previous course."

 

"That’s great!"

 

"Indeed. I must get this information to Captain…." Her voice trailed off as she frowned and began to look around the room in confusion.

"Seven? Something wrong?"

 

"Do you hear something?"

 

B’Elanna listened intently for a second before she shrugged and asked, "Like what?"

 

"It resembles a low hum." She shook her head and met the other woman’s gaze. "I cannot be more specific than that."

 

"Well, I don’t hear anything. I better get back to work and you need to get this information to the captain."

 

The sound began to dissipate and Seven was able to focus on the moment at hand. She would pursue the mystery at a later time. "You are correct."

 

***

Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in her command chair on the bridge of Nemo. Her legs were casually crossed and her hands rested easily on the arms of her chair. Beside her Tuvok tapped away on his console performing the mundane chore of scheduling duty shifts. The Vulcan’s talents were suited for more demanding work but Janeway was pleased to have her old friend serve as her first officer. She trusted him implicitly as second in command even if he would rather be behind the tactical controls.

 

So far the shift had been uneventful and Kathryn was in a good mood, but starting her day by making love with Seven always put her in a pleasant mood. Personnel reports had been completed at the beginning of her shift and the only real item requiring her attention had been an official request from Lieutenant Paris to relocate quarters. He’d been sleeping on the sofa in Lieutenant Kim’s cabin since the break-up with B’Elanna and Kathryn knew Harry would be happy to have a little more privacy.

 

Since Tarinia stayed on Ikonia with the delta quadrant superheroes they actually had an opening. The changeling hadn’t been on board long but her presence made an impression on all of them and Janeway owed the young woman her life. If not for Tarinia the saboteur, Sakonna, might have succeeded in killing the captain. Still things happened for a reason. The relocation hadn’t been difficult. With Tarinia gone Tom could be moved into her old quarters with a minimum of fuss. She had authorized the move and expected the helmsman to take her up on it at the end of his shift.

 

Kathryn noticed Tuvok shifting slightly in his chair. He’d seemed pensive all day and she wondered what would have an unflappable Vulcan on edge. It wasn’t time for his pon farr. She knew he’d already gone through that when they returned to Earth three years ago and it wasn’t due again for another four.

 

Leaning over toward the older man she whispered so that only he could hear. "Is something wrong?"

 

Tuvok looked at her quickly and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. She only smiled and he easily understood why she was asking. "I am unsure. I sense that something is amiss, but I can find no evidence to support that."

"A hunch, Tuvok?"

 

"Really, Captain. There is no need to be insulting me."

 

"Sorry, I couldn’t resist." She smiled unrepentantly and asked in a louder voice, "Harry, anything on sensors?"

 

"Nothing, Captain. I’m reading calm space ahead."

 

"Perhaps I simply need to meditate." Tuvok said quietly.

 

"I’m sure that’s it. You haven’t had a lot of time for that what with crash landing on an alien planet and rescuing Lieutenant Torres from the Chthonians. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? It’s only a few hours to end of alpha shift anyway."

 

"Thank you, Captain. I believe I will accept your offer."

 

Tuvok stood and quietly left the bridge leaving Kathryn to contemplate other more pleasant things. Nemo was in good shape thanks to the Ikonians and they had a large store of pristine dilithium crystals in the cargo bay. They no longer had faster than warp capability and they were facing another twenty years to the alpha quadrant, yet in spite of that she was happier than she’d ever been. Kathryn knew she felt that way because she had Seven of Nine to help shoulder the load with her and wondered why she had ever hesitated to let her feelings be known to the other woman.

 

Her thoughts naturally circled around to the forced landing on Safe Haven and she remembered how badly injured Seven had been. She had almost died breaking open the plasma containment pods manually in an attempt to save Kathryn and the crew. If B’Elanna hadn’t disobeyed orders and used their emergency power to get Seven’s alcove up and running she probably would have. Kathryn still felt a lot of guilt from that, she wished she’d been the one to disregard everything in an effort to save the woman she loved but that was part of the burden of being captain. She could never put any one person above the safety of her ship and crew, even if that person meant more to her than anything else in her life ever had.

 

Kathryn sighed and kept her expression neutral as her stomach churned from the unpleasant memories. It suddenly occurred to her that Seven had almost died without knowing how much she truly meant to her. Kathryn had told Seven she loved her on many occasions, but she didn’t think the young woman really understood the soul-deep yearning Kathryn had when they were apart. She couldn’t understand how much Janeway longed to have a more formal union.

 

How can she when you propose to her and then don't bring the subject up again?

 

For the last two months Kathryn had concealed a diamond engagement ring in the bottom of her underwear drawer. She kept thinking she was waiting for the right moment to ask Seven to marry her, and finally had while they were on Ikonia. Seven had said yes, but since then things had been too busy to even discuss an engagement party. No that wasn't quite true. Kathryn was hesitating and she knew it.

Kathryn knew why she hesitated; it was a vulnerability thing. Starship captains didn’t like to appear vulnerable and Kathryn was no exception. Actually setting a wedding date would open her up to another individual in a way that she never had before. Then again, this wasn't just any individual. It was Seven, and Kathryn loved her more than she every had anyone else.

 

She thought again of Seven’s recent near-death experience and decided it was time. She just couldn’t let something like that happen again without taking the chance to show Seven how much she was loved. Janeway leaned over to her console and pulled up Seven’s service record. There was the date she’d been assigned to Nautilus as part of the Theoretical Propulsion Group and the more recent entry when Janeway had awarded her the Medal of Valor for saving all of their lives, but at the top was what she was looking for. Seven’s date of birth was stardate 25479. Through a little meticulous calculation Janeway was able to convert the date to Earth standard. June 24th was a little more than two weeks away. It would be the perfect time to hold an engagement party that Seven would never forget.

 

Now another problem arose. How and where to hold it? Should they have a public birthday party for Seven and should Janeway propose again in front of the entire crew? They were all family in a way and Seven was more comfortable with social gatherings than she had been at first. Maybe she should have a public party for the crew and then just discuss a wedding date with Seven in the privacy of their quarters.

 

Damn, why did this have to be so hard? She was proposing marriage to a former Borg drone, not reinventing the basic laws of physics!

Finally she had to acknowledge that there was really only one choice. There would be no public party for Seven’s birthday since there was no place on the ship large enough for such a gathering. She would have to hold a small celebration for a few close friends in their quarters and discuss the event itself with Seven after they left.

 

B’Elanna would want to be there and so would Tuvok. Of course Harry and Tom would also want to come, but how would she keep Tom and B’Elanna from coming to blows? Damn. Oh well, she had two weeks to work out the details. Besides, the two seemed to have come to some sort of understanding while on Ikonia.

 

The doors to the turbolift opened unexpectedly and Seven stepped off. As usual Janeway noticed how beautiful the younger woman looked in her modified Starfleet uniform. The gray of her turtleneck complimented the silver facial implants and the black trousers hugged the lean form. Kathryn took a moment to enjoy the sight of Seven walking toward her until she met the amused expression in her blue eyes.

 

"Seven, what brings you to the bridge?" Janeway managed to ask in a professional voice.

 

"I have a report I wished to deliver personally."

 

"Ah! Our first official Astrometrics report."

 

Kathryn ignored the little jolt she felt when their fingers brushed as she accepted the padd. Then she read what was on it and forgot all about how aroused she could become in the span of a heartbeat. She had to read the data twice more before she finally looked up to meet the other woman’s gaze.

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yes, Captain."

 

"This is great news. Seventeen years instead of twenty-one. I can live with that."

 

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly from the communications station. "That’s terrific! Of course we could always run into a wormhole or another spatial anomaly that would get us home faster."

 

"Always the optimist, eh Harry?" The captain smiled and looked around at the other happy faces on the bridge. Only Tom Paris kept his back to her and his gaze firmly fixed on his navigational board. Kathryn thought he was thinking about Miral. His daughter would be a young adult by the time they returned home.

 

There wasn’t really anything she could say to him so she decided to concentrate on helping her crew feeling energized by the news. "I agree! Look what we did last time. It only took us seven years when it should have taken seventy."

 

Seven looked at her with a mildly amused expression before she pointed out, "Voyager returned to Earth because your future self altered history, stole a temporal transponder, destroyed the Borg Queen and used the transwarp hub to return to the alpha quadrant."

 

"That’s all right, Seven," Harry interrupted. "This time it’ll probably be you that comes back from the future to rescue us."

 

Light-hearted banter broke out among the bridge crew for a few minutes until things finally settled back down. Kathryn handed the padd back to Seven and said, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

 

Seven took the device and spared her another warm look before she turned and left the bridge. Kathryn smiled and watched until the turbolift doors closed. She really was going to have to start showing Seven how much she loved her starting with a romantic dinner as soon as her shift ended. With their advanced replicator technology even Kathryn could come up with something edible.

 

Chapter 2

 

Alpha shift finally came to a quiet, uneventful conclusion heralded by the parting of the turbolift doors. Lieutenant Morales shared a few whispered comments with Paris before the blonde helmsman cast Janeway a grin and headed for the lift. No doubt he was looking forward to moving into his own cabin. Harry Kim joined him immediately, almost eagerly. Even Commander A’zal raised a silent eyebrow in her direction before relinquishing her controls to Lieutenant Quist. The beta shift conn officer slid quietly into the seat next to Captain Janeway and that easily command and control was transferred to the oncoming shift.

 

Janeway grinned thinking about how many times her senior staff had to practically be forced off the bridge. But unlike a crisis situation where they didn’t want to miss a moment of the action, boredom was another thing altogether. Endless days of undisturbed quiet could get to the crew faster than anything. Personally, she relished it and if she ever found herself longing for the excitement of a heated space battle she would try to remember Seven of Nine.

 

Hopefully the thought of almost losing the woman she loved would remind her how nice it was to have only the routine of undisturbed passage day in and day out. Thinking of Seven reminded her of the plans she had to surprise the other woman and if shift change was anything to go by she didn’t have much time. Captain Janeway uncrossed her legs and stood to take a casual look around the bridge. Everything was as it should be and no one even looked up from their stations.

 

"Lieutenant Jarok, you have the conn. Steady as she goes." They would implement Seven’s streamlined course corrections at beginning of alpha shift in the morning.

 

"Aye, Captain," the Bajoran said. "Have a good night."

 

His response was appropriate and respectful but she didn’t miss the warmth of honest affection in his brown eyes. As she stepped into the turbolift and directed it to deck three she realized that letting her hair down a little with the crew on Safe Haven apparently hadn’t hurt her command persona. During such a difficult time the crew had needed to know she was with in it with them, not above them. Now that they were back in space and protocols had been reestablished things were back to Starfleet norm.

 

No, she thought, not exactly. Some things had changed. Before the crash onto Safe Haven she had a fine crew that would have done anything she commanded as long as her orders were lawful. Now she had an exceptional crew that would follow her into hell itself if they even suspected that’s where she wanted to go. That knowledge made Kathryn feel tall and powerful, proud. It was also extremely humbling to be trusted so much.

 

The doors to the lift opened silently on deck three and Kathryn automatically stepped off before she realized she wasn’t alone. For the first time since getting back into space onboard Nautilus she wished for the old pneumatic doors that would have hissed loudly and interrupted the scene she’d just stumbled into. Halfway down the corridor two women were engaged in a passionate kiss. At least now there was no doubt that the two were dating.

 

Kathryn grinned and thought; they’re not in uniform so I guess they can do what they want in their time off. I just wish there was someplace a little more private for them to do it in.

 

Janeway walked down the hall toward her quarters and her quirky brand of humor kicked in just as she reached the couple. Instead of quietly passing them by she said in her driest tone, "Ladies."

 

B’Elanna jerked backward out of Karri’s arms like she’d been scalded, her face flaming red. Karri on the other hand was quite calm, her green eyes dancing in amusement. Somehow Janeway got the feeling the engineer-cum-Starfleet Intelligence officer had known she was there all along. Jameson turned to engage the captain in easy conversation.

 

"Any plans tonight, Captain?"

 

"Same as every other night," she bantered back. "A quiet night with a good book, a good night’s sleep and more of the same tomorrow."

 

"I know what you mean." Suddenly there was a bit of a wistful look in the redhead’s eyes. "I wish we had a couple of holodecks on board."

 

She didn’t finish saying what else she wished, but she didn’t have to. Kathryn already knew what she was thinking. Twenty years together on a ship with no diversions was going to be very difficult.

 

"Things could be worse. At least we have each other."

 

Karri’s eyes brightened and she glanced quickly in Torres’ direction. "I get your point."

 

"Uh," the Klingon said, speaking for the first time since Janeway caught them kissing. "What if I told you I might be able to get the quantum fusion matrix working again?"

 

Janeway froze, rooted to the spot. She felt like someone had suddenly vented all the oxygen into space. On one hand she realized the engineer had brought the subject up to distract her from the scene she’d just witnessed, but on the other the ramifications were staggering enough that she allowed it. The quantum fusion matrix was a unique piece of technology designed by Seven of Nine. Seven, Torres and the Theoretical Propulsion Group had actually constructed the device and it was crucial in making slipstream work.

 

"I thought you said that was impossible. Even if we could rebuild the slipstream engines one more jump would rip the ship apart."

 

"Technically that’s true. Nemo has so many micro-fractures throughout the hull from all the previous jumps that if we tried that again they’d see the explosion all the way back to Earth, even with the repairs we’ve made."

 

"Then what are you talking about?"

 

"It’s an idea I just had and it might not even work…"

 

The expression on the half Klingon’s face told Kathryn her mind was moving in many directions at once. It also told her a little caution was in order. "Lieutenant, you are not to make any modifications without my express permission. Is that clear?"

 

"As a bell. Don’t worry, Captain. This is too important to rush and if I’m right the refit alone would take months. We’d need a team on the hull almost constantly to repair the micro-fractures before we even tried it."

 

Kathryn stemmed her excitement with difficulty. B’Elanna had matured a lot in the time they’d known each other. She’d gone from an angry outcast to a devoted Starfleet engineer, but the one thing that never changed was her brilliance. She had a way of just looking at a device, even something completely alien, and knowing how it worked as well as a few ways to make it function better.

 

"Fine. Draw up a proposal and show it to me once you’ve got all the kinks worked out."

 

"Yes ma’am."

 

The captain turned away but couldn’t resist casting back over her shoulder, "Oh, and you might want to find somewhere a little more private to make out. Anyone could walk in."

 

She could tell from Karri’s delighted laughter that B’Elanna was sporting another fiery blush. Kathryn smiled as the doors to her quarters closed behind her. "Computer, what is Seven of Nine’s location?"

 

"Seven of Nine is in the Astrometrics lab."

 

Good. She still had a little time. Seven tended to work another hour in the lab after alpha shift ended. She said it was to make sure the crewman relieving her understood any projections she was running and what she wanted accomplished during the next shift. Kathryn just thought she enjoyed having a new lab so much she couldn’t stand to leave.

 

She stripped off her uniform and tossed it into the recycler before taking a quick shower. She dressed in cream-colored trousers, a white silk blouse and light brown sandals. A couple of dabs of perfume behind her ears and she was finished. While dressing she’d been thinking about what to serve for dinner. With the new design of the replicators even she couldn’t mess things up. Kathryn decided to go Moroccan, sans the spice since Seven didn’t really like it. Soon the table was loaded with a platter of small meat and vegetable filled pastries and another of couscous. Both were covered with stasis lids to keep the food fresh and warm until Seven arrived. A bottle of white wine sat chilling in the center of the table and Kathryn had just taken two of their best wine glasses from the cupboard when Seven walked into their quarters.

 

The young woman looked over at the preparations Kathryn had made and stopped a few feet away with a confused look on her face.

Kathryn felt her heart flutter in its familiar way when their eyes met and she thought for the thousandth time how wonderful her partner looked in the blue and black of her modified uniform.

 

Seven’s cortical implant lifted and she asked, "Are we celebrating?"

 

Kathryn set the glasses on the table before she walked over to wrap her arms around Seven’s neck. She pulled her into a brief kiss before she leaned away to reply. "Yes. We’re celebrating the fact that it was another quiet day and that I love you completely."

 

For a moment there was silence. Then Seven said, "You are premenstrual."

 

Kathryn felt instantly irritated. "No I’m not. I don’t menstruate. Remember? Medication while in space prohibits that particular bodily function and you know it."

 

"Nevertheless, every twenty-eight point six days you are extremely amorous."

 

Finally in a huff, Kathryn stepped out of Seven’s arms and walked over to the table. She grabbed the neck of the wine bottle, ignoring the water that dripped onto the table, while she struggled with the cork.

 

"Why is it when you do something like this it’s all sweet and romantic, but when I do it I’m premenstrual?" Kathryn realized she was being a little emotional and it did nothing for her mood to acknowledge that Seven was probably right. With anyone else she probably would have gotten angry, but when she was feeling emotional Seven could prompt quite an opposite reaction, which only irritated her more.

 

She continued to fight with the cork until a strong hand covered in Borg mesh gently slid over her trembling fingers. Seven took the bottle from her and put it back in the ice bucket before she pulled Kathryn against her. Kathryn slid her arms around Seven’s waist and she allowed herself to be comforted by the only person who could and at the same time was embarrassed that she even needed it. Soft kisses covered her forehead, eyes and cheeks; so many she couldn’t count them until Seven held her close and said; "I’m sorry, Kathryn. You are right and your gesture is very romantic. It wasn’t my intention to belittle your preparations."

 

There was a time when Seven would have continued to argue until the other woman finally admitted she was right, but that was before she fell in love with Kathryn. Now she would do anything to keep from hurting her and it seemed she still had a long way to go to figure out humor. Her thoughtless remark had been meant to make her partner chuckle, not hurt her feelings.

 

"Will you forgive me?"

 

Kathryn leaned away far enough to look into Seven’s azure gaze. She sniffled a little and asked, "Does that mean you like it?"

 

"I love it and I love you. It means a great deal to me when you create a romantic atmosphere. I should not have casually disregarded all of the efforts you have gone to for my sake."

 

Seven surprised her by kissing her very thoroughly. For the next few minutes there was only the feel, touch and taste of Seven of Nine in her mouth. When the kiss finally ended Kathryn was a little dizzy.

 

"In that case apology accepted."

 

Seven released her and Kathryn sat down to eat. It was a moment before she realized Seven had stopped with her hand on top of the chair back and she was frowning as she looked around their quarters. At first Kathryn thought something was out of place, but she didn’t see anything.

 

"What?"

 

Seven looked back at her and asked, "Do you hear something?"

 

Kathryn frowned and listened intently. "No. What are you talking about?"

 

"Never mind. I’m sure it is nothing."

 

Seven shook her head slightly and sat down. Kathryn was delighted by the way her partner devoured the meal, proclaiming how much she enjoyed it. She made Kathryn tell her where the food originated on Earth and when she demanded to know why Janeway had never served Moroccan food before she earned a hearty laugh.

 

Kathryn forgot about her bruised feelings as she enjoyed time with her lover and it was only after she was pouring their second glass of wine that she brought up the subject of the engineers.

 

"I caught Torres and Jameson kissing in the corridor when I came home today."

 

"They care for one another very much," Seven returned casually, stuffing another pastry into her mouth.

 

Kathryn smiled and asked, "Did you notice how B’Elanna seems to have this perpetually confused look on her face whenever she’s with Karri?"

 

Seven nodded and picked up her napkin. "She has loved Lieutenant Jameson for a very long time, but repressed her emotions for several years. I believe that she is feeling overwhelmed now that she is no longer required to hide how she feels."

 

Kathryn sighed. "I guess I was hoping she and Tom would be able to make things work, if only for Miral’s sake. Still, I have to admit they do make a cute couple."

 

Instead of responding Seven looked up sharply and frowned again. She looked around briefly and then pinned Janeway’s eyes with an almost desperate look. "You truly do not hear that?"

 

"Hear what?"

 

Seven stood abruptly and her napkin landed on the floor, definitely unusual behavior for the normally fastidious former drone. She began to move around the room touching things: a wall here, a knick-knack there as she tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. Kathryn also stood and followed her, concerned with what was happening.

 

"Annika, what are you doing?"

 

She knew Seven hated being called by her human name but Kathryn couldn’t seem to refrain when she was worried, like now. Instead of correcting her Seven continued to look around, frightening Kathryn more.

 

"I have heard the sound on four separate occasions. It awakened me last night and I heard it twice again throughout my duty shift, but B’Elanna was present during one of those occasions and said she did not hear it."

 

Seven’s fingertips rested briefly on the glass surface of the coffee table and then she moved on. "The sound was present again when I entered our quarters but disappeared quickly."

 

"And now you’re hearing it again?"

 

"Yes. Are you sure you do not?"

 

When Seven’s troubled eyes met hers Kathryn felt like she was falling down a long, deep well. What was going on here? Was Seven hallucinating like she had when a sabotaged Borg vinculum caused the equivalent of a multiple personality disorder? Or had the doctor missed something when Seven had been recently injured? There had been some serious head trauma after all. The very idea of something seriously wrong with her lover made Kathryn’s mouth go dry.

 

Kathryn swallowed and asked, "What does it sound like?"

 

"It is…" Seven closed her eyes. "It can only be described as a low hum, almost a whine."

 

"Could you be hearing the warp engines? Maybe one of the power converters is slightly out of phase."

 

"No!" Seven opened her eyes. "It is not the warp engines."

 

"Seven, there’s nothing here!"

 

The young woman’s already pale complexion turned ashen. "You are not teasing me? You know the Borg have no sense of humor."

 

The weak attempt at levity didn’t make Kathryn feel any better. "I think it’s time to see the doctor."

 

Suddenly Seven relaxed and stood a little straighter. "It is all right, Kathryn. The sound has stopped."

 

"Uh huh. Maybe it has, but we’re still going to see Doctor Martin."

 

Kathryn took Seven by the arm and led the young woman toward the exit. She was glad she’d forgone the candles and didn’t have to waste time by blowing them out before leaving.

 

"Is that an order?"

 

Long ago the two had established this was a partnership of equals, but Seven understood the difference when Janeway was acting as captain. She could balk if this was a relationship issue, but not if it was something that concerned the safety of the ship and crew and Janeway knew how much Seven hated needing a checkup. Kathryn honestly didn’t know which category this situation fell into or if it fit into both. Right now she only knew she was frightened for her lover.

 

"Yes," she stated in a firm voice. "It is."

 

***

 

Seven of Nine quietly prepared a hearty breakfast for Kathryn while the other woman was in the shower. Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, crisp bacon and copious amounts of black coffee were Janeway’s breakfast of choice, when she ate breakfast, and Seven enjoyed preparing it for her. The shower shut off just as she realized she’d forgotten to turn on some light jazz music and she hastily corrected the error. Since the incident last night she was slightly distracted and hoped Kathryn wouldn’t notice.

 

The EMH hadn’t been able to find anything wrong with Seven after numerous pointless tests and even after she insisted the sound had stopped Kathryn kept shooting worried looks in her direction. A ship-wide diagnostic had also been initiated and yielded the same results as her medical exams, nothing. Seven felt guilty for scaring her partner and felt she had failed to fulfill part of her responsibilities in their relationship. When they’d returned to their cabin Kathryn had cleaned up the remains of their dinner. Seven thought she’d let Kathryn down. Their arrangement was that whoever made the meal was excused from what Kathryn called ‘clean up detail’. Of course Kathryn didn’t seem to think anything of it, but Seven was new to romantic relationships and wanted everything to be perfect. Since Seven had been unable to fulfill her obligations she hoped to make up for it by preparing Kathryn’s favorite breakfast.

 

A moment later Janeway walked into the living area wearing only a white terry cloth robe. She was rubbing her wet hair with a towel and looked up to smile at Seven. "Good morning, darling. You got up early."

 

"I wished to make breakfast for you." Seven didn’t miss the dark circles under her partner’s eyes and felt guilty once again. She knew the lack of sleep was caused by worry.

 

Kathryn stood on tiptoes and kissed Seven quickly on the lips before she looked over at the table. She draped the towel around her neck and said, "This looks wonderful."

 

They sat down and Kathryn picked up her coffee cup. She took a healthy swallow of the dark liquid while Seven picked at her oatmeal.

 

"Do you intend to change course this morning?" Seven asked curiously, referring to the new heading she’d charted for the alpha quadrant the previous day.

 

"Just as soon as I get to the bridge. I know it sounds silly, but I want to be there when we change headings."

 

Seven barely heard Kathryn’s response. The humming noise from the previous day was back. In fact it had been resonating throughout her ears since she’d awakened, but had just gone up another octave. Seven gritted her teeth and endured the annoying buzz that threatened to split her skull. She refused to bring it up because Kathryn would insist they return to sickbay so the doctor could perform more worthless tests. It didn’t occur to her that Kathryn was talking far too much and too quickly.

 

"Tuvok seemed a little unsettled yesterday. I hope he’s better today, he said he was going to meditate for a little while…and what the hell is that noise?"

 

Seven’s eyes widened with shock and she dropped her spoon. Her head came up sharply and she met Janeway’s questioning gaze. "You hear it?"

 

"I’d have to be deaf not to hear that. It sounds like a really loud vibration and it’s starting to give me a headache. Is that the noise you’ve been hearing?"

 

"Yes, only much louder this morning."

 

Kathryn raised her face toward the ceiling and said, "Janeway to the bridge, all stop."

 

"All stop. Aye, Captain." The voice was Tuvok’s and she realized he’d reported for duty early. With a possible crisis on their hands she found a measure of relief in that.

 

Kathryn reached across the table and grasped Seven’s hand tightly. "I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you."

 

"You thought I was imaging it," Seven said in a slightly hurt tone.

 

"Yes, I did. And for that I’m very sorry. I should have known better, I should have realized that your Borg senses allow you to hear things no one else can. But right now we need to find out where it’s coming from."

 

A hail from the bridge interrupted them. "Captain, do you require assistance?"

 

"Stand by, Tuvok." Janeway closed the channel and stood up. "I guess I need to get dressed so we can get to the bridge and find out what’s going on."

 

"Kathryn, the noise is coming from inside our quarters." She was surprised Kathryn couldn’t detect the direction of the resonance frequency from how loud it was.

 

"What? Where?"

 

Seven watched Kathryn look around their quarters much as she had the night before. Last night the sound had been so faint that Seven couldn’t track it down, but today it was so loud she felt like her teeth were vibrating. She let go of Kathryn and stood up heading for the living area. For a second she stood and looked around curiously and then her eyes centered directly over the object that had been causing so much consternation in the last few days…the golden bow.

 

When Kathryn saw where her eyes stopped she walked over until she was only a few feet away from the bow. She frowned and looked over her shoulder at Seven. "You’re kidding. How can this be causing the noise? It doesn’t have any moving parts, other than the string."

 

"Perhaps the bow has come loose from the bulkhead."

 

"Maybe." From the sound of her voice Janeway didn’t buy Seven’s reasoning.

 

"You disagree?"

 

Janeway looked at her pointedly. "If it came loose from the bulkhead why did you hear it in the Astrometrics lab? Two decks down?"

 

Instead of responding Seven stepped up to the bulkhead and unfastened the clips holding the bow. They had been tightly fastened and it was obvious that they had not come loose and caused the annoying vibration. Even held securely in her Borg enhanced grasp the weapon continued to resonate. She looked up and met her partner’s fascinated gaze.

 

"Maybe it’s time to talk to Lieutenant Kim," Janeway said.

 

"Indeed."