Copyright 2001, Susan S. McCrackin  Reprinted with permission of the author.

Seven of Nine and the Borg queen stared at each other. They were in the cargo bay. 

"I have given control of Voyager back to Captain Janeway."

"I know."

"We will assure your safe passage to fluidic space. Species eight-four-seven-two is waiting for you. You will be safe there."

Seven just looked at her.

The queen walked up to her and carefully reached out to touch the scar on the side of her face, "You have been damaged."

"The Doctor will talk care of it."

The queen almost smiled, "I know he will. He will take good care of you. He has from the beginning."

Seven did not respond.

"Seven of Nine, the child was not supposed to be in danger. The human lied."

Seven stared at her.

The queen sighed, "Seven of Nine, I would like to see the child."

She narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth to say no when she heard the doors of the cargo bay open behind her. Turning, she saw her child walk in. "Kathryn B’Elanna, no." She moved to get between her child and the queen.

"No, Mama." Her child gave her a look that stopped her and continued to walk toward the queen. Seven watched as she walked up close, then stopped, looking up. "Down."

This time, the queen did smile, and Seven watched in amazement as she slowly lowered herself to the deck in front of the child. She saw her child walk up to the queen and reach up, taking her face in her hands, locking eyes with her. She held her breath as they stayed in their positions – the queen sitting on her heels, her hands resting on her knees and her child standing in front of this person she considered a monster, holding the plastic face in her hands. She thought she saw emotions play across the queen’s face. It was something she could not believe she was seeing. 

Finally, Kathryn B’Elanna dropped her hands and walked to her mother, "Up, Mama."

Seven reached down and picked her up. She saw the queen stand, her head lowered. Then, she saw her take a deep breath, "She is perfection."

"What?"

The queen just looked at her.

Seven tried again, "You said she was imperfect."

The queen smiled at her, "She was imperfect for what we wanted her for."

"I do not understand."

"She was to bring humanity to us. She was to be the beginning of a controllable species of humanity. We would have been able to take control with many like her. But her genetic makeup makes her too strong. She could control us. I cannot allow that. She is a threat to us."

"Then why did you save her?" There was no response, only a look that told Seven what she wanted to know. "I understand." She dropped her eyes, uncertain whether or not to ask her question. Finally, she tried, "What will happen if…." She could not get her question out.

"I can only hope she will not." She gave Seven a long look, "I can only ask you to raise her so that she will not try." Her eyes went to the child, "There are forces in the universe that balance each other. That is often a good thing."

"I understand." And she did. For the first time, she thought she understood everything.

"Seven of Nine, it was our plan to use your children from the time we assimilated you. We knew you were unique. As you grew…." She looked around the cargo bay as her words failed her. Then, she added softly, "I tried to protect you."

Seven shifted her child in her arms, taking a long time to respond, "I know."

The queen seemed to nod her head, "It is time for me to leave."

Seven hesitated, then moved to stand close to the queen, "Thank you."

The look softened and the eyes closed. When she opened them, she responded, "You are welcome." She backed away, "May you and your family be safe."

Seven turned her head to her slightly.

"Seven?"

"Yes?"

"I hope you will change your eyes back. Their blackness does not become you."

Seven gave her a small smile, "I will."

The queen hesitated, "Thank you."

She raised an eyebrow, "You are welcome."

The queen moved her eyes slowly toward the child, "Goodbye, Kathryn B’Elanna."

Kathryn B’Elanna extended her hand at her, waving it, "Bye bye."

She raised her eyes and immediately dematerialized. Seven took a deep breath and looked around the cargo bay, still not quite believing what had just happened.

The turbolift halted, and Janeway started walking out before looking up. Suddenly, she realized she was about to run into someone, and she stopped.

"I’m sorry. I…." She swallowed hard as she saw the person in front of her. Taking a deep breath and allowing a smile to spread across her face, she said, "Hello B’Elanna. I was just coming to see you."

B’Elanna stared at her feet, not quite able to look Janeway in the eyes, "I was on my way to the bridge to see you." She slowly raised her eyes, "I was coming to apologize."

Janeway reached out to put her hand on the teary-eyed younger woman’s shoulder, "There is nothing for you to apologize for, B’Elanna."

"What I said…."

"No, B’Elanna. You did not say anything inappropriate. You said what needed to be said. Besides," she tightened her grip, "I understand."

B’Elanna put her hands on her hips and fought for control, "What I said was horrible. I was just trying to get you to leave."

Janeway slid her hand down B’Elanna’s arm to wrap hers around B’Elanna’s and started walking with her back toward her quarters, "I know, B’Elanna. I knew that the minute I saw Otoro. But what you said was true. I know it and you know it. And I needed to hear it. What you said took courage, and I want you to know how proud I am of you for saying it."

They walked slowly, arm in arm and B’Elanna realized she had tears streaming down her face. Struggling, she spoke, her voice shaking, "That wasn’t courage, Captain. That was fear. I was afraid for you and Kathryn B’Elanna."

"It was courage, B’Elanna. You knew exactly what was a stake. You knew that Kathryn B’Elanna’s life and my life could have been at risk had you not done that." She stopped and forced B’Elanna to look at her, "I won’t tell you that what you said didn’t hurt, but I want you to know that I was never prouder of you." Her face broke as she started to cry.

B’Elanna tentatively reached out to wrap her arms around Janeway. The Captain responded with a fierce hug, pulling B’Elanna tightly to her. Finally, B’Elanna pulled away, wiping at the tears on her face, "Captain, I want you to know, even though my mother is with us, you will always be an important part of my life, and my mother will never be able to change that."

Janeway put her hand up to cup B’Elanna’s cheek and smiled at her through her own tears, "Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me. I hope you know, I feel the same about you."

B’Elanna nodded, "To’mas should be awake. Would you like to see him?"

Janeway nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, I would love to see him."

"Good." B’Elanna grabbed her hand and started walking with her again, "By the way, Captain, To’mas could use someone to volunteer to be his godmother. Do you think you might be interested in the job?"

Janeway gave her a huge smile, "I would love it, B’Elanna. I would dearly love it."

Seven walked into the sickbay, Kathryn B’Elanna holding tightly to her neck. The child had been talking to her ever since they left the cargo bay, mostly about seeing Dada again. She found the constant banter had lifted the heaviness she felt she had been carrying. As soon as they entered, she heard her child yelling for her father.

"Dada! Dada!" 

He crossed quickly to take her in his arms, kissing his wife on the cheek as he did. His eyes focused on the scar on her face. He forced a smile on his face and took her hand. He would fix the scar, but he knew there were deeper scars that would take more than what he could do to heal. He pulled her toward the center biobed.

Supala was sitting up, one hand on her head, the other tightly held by Harry. Janeway was standing close to Harry, her face etched with concern as she looked at Supala. Ketaria was standing close to the biobed, her hand resting on the young woman’s leg. Kahkar was checking the back of her head, a frown on his face. He moved around so he could look at her.

"Supala, I am sorry. I had no idea it would do that to you."

"Don’t worry, Kahkar. Everything turned out fine."

His face tightened, "I am so proud of you."

"Really?" She looked up at him. "I was afraid you would be mad at me."

"Mad at you? Why?"

"Because I couldn’t get a message through."

He could not speak. He just reached out and wrapped his arms around her, tears starting to fall. Ketaria reached for him, placing her hand on his back, trying to give them both comfort.

Janeway stepped forward, her look confused, "Wait. What are you talking about?"

Kahkar looked up at her, his hand resting gently on top of the red hair, "Kathryn, Supala did not stow away on Voyager. We hid her there." He dropped his hand to rest on the back of her head, "The queen had given me communication devices, attached to the transwarp coil. It took us a while to figure out what they were. I implanted one in Supala. It was to help us communicate with each other in case things went bad for you when you reached Earth. I…." His voice choked off, and he had to fight to continue, "I just never realized it would prove so difficult or painful. Or, so potentially dangerous."

Janeway looked at Supala in surprise, "You were a plant?"

She nodded at her, answering in a small voice, "Yes, ma’am."

Janeway was silent for a moment, then started to laugh, "Well, you certainly were convincing. I really thought you were ready to kill her, Kahkar."

"I hope you are not mad at us for doing that, Kathryn."

"Well, I probably should be," she shook her head at the two of them, "but I don’t think there is any way I can be after what you both have done."

Seven stepped forward, "That is how you communicated with me."

Supala nodded at her, "Yes. I just wasn’t able to maintain a connection with you for very long." She gave her an apologetic look, "It hurt too much."

Seven could not respond to her. She looked at the people in the room, for the first time realizing the sacrifices they had all made for her. She dropped her head, her emotions starting to overwhelm her. 

Before anyone could say anything, the Doctor spoke up, his voice firm and commanding, "Okay, everyone, it is time for Supala to rest, so I must ask you to leave. Kahkar, Ketaria, will you please take Kathryn B’Elanna to our quarters? She needs a nap. Seven, you need to regenerate. Captain, I am certain you and Harry are needed on the bridge. I will stay and take care of Supala." When Janeway opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off, "Doctor’s orders, Captain." She shut her mouth.

He took his wife’s hand and led everyone to the sickbay doors. He watched as they all left his sickbay, then he turned to look at his wife, "You regenerate for at least eight hours. I will be waiting on you when your cycle is complete."

She smiled at him, hearing the strength in his voice, "Yes, sir."

He laughed, then reached up to run his finger gently along the scar on her face, "I’ll take care of that later. Don’t worry about it."

She looked into his eyes, "I am not worried about it."

He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on her lips. She wrapped her arms around him, returning his kiss. Then, she moved her head so the implant over her eye rested against his lips. Finally, he took her by the shoulders and pushed her away. "We should know better than to do that in public by now."

She laughed at him. He pushed on her shoulders, turning her around, "Go. Regenerate. By the time you finish your cycle, I’ll make certain B’Elanna has installed holo-emitters in there so I can be there with you." Then, he pushed her out of the open doors, seeing his hand disappear as he reached through them. He quickly pulled back his arm so she would not notice. She turned to wave to him. He smiled at her and watched her as she left.

Being without his mobile emitter was going to take some getting use to.

Seven sat in the mess hall, holding To’mas in her arms. It felt good to be holding him. From time to time, she would close her eyes, trying to remember if this was what it had felt like to hold Kathryn B’Elanna when she had been his age. B’Elanna smiled at her, knowing what she was thinking. She shrugged, returning her smile. Looking up, she shook her head, still not believing what she was seeing. 

Everyone was together in the mess hall – the crew of Kahkar’s ship and the small crew of Voyager. Gone were the Starfleet uniforms. They were in exile from the Federation and Starfleet. She looked over at Janeway and Chakotay. Janeway was in a comfortable pants outfit, her face more relaxed than she could ever remember seeing it. Chakotay sat close to her, dressed in a simple shirt and pants. He was not even wearing his old Maquis uniform. From time to time, she watched as their hands brushed, and she smiled to herself, wondering if that meant anything significant. They were talking with two people. Actually, they weren’t really people. They were Species eight-four-seven-two visitors who had chosen to take on human form for the comfort of the crew. Not all of the visitors had chosen to do that. There were a number of visitors in their natural form. She was pleased that their appearance no longer unsettled her. 

Glancing over at her child, she watched as she played with a child of one of the visitors, excited that this was a telepathic species, making communication with them extremely easy for her. As soon as they had entered fluidic space, she had been in communication with the new species, whom she had immediately named ‘Eightfour.’ Before long, the entire crew was calling them Eightfour. They had started referring to themselves in that manner.

Kahkar and Ketaria had found friends from the beginning, Ketaria because of her telepathic ability and Kahkar because of his openness. There had already been a significant exchange of scientific knowledge. Seven could tell they were both happy in this place.

She watched as Tuvok and his family sat visiting with a similar family of Eightfours. She had been surprised to learn that Vulcans and Eightfours had many similar beliefs and practices. There were patterns to be found everywhere in life.

Dr. Zimmerman was working with another Eightfour, both hunched over a small holographic device. They were working to minimize a device to give the Doctor back some of his freedom, although B’Elanna had been working to install holo-emitters in most of the places on Voyager. Still, she knew Dr. Zimmerman was enjoying his work, adding to his knowledge base with the help of the Eightfours.

Eloca and Rowin had found friends almost as competitive as they were, and their games kept the four of them involved for hours. It was a relief to everyone.

She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Otoro and Meloka sitting by themselves, talking. She recognized the looks in their eyes. Laughing to herself, she realized it was about time.

Her attention was drawn to Neelix and Supala as they prepared a tray, their excitement obvious. They were always cooking up something new and the crew found themselves having to increase their daily exercise in defense. She watched as Supala took the tray and approached the table where Harry was sitting. She put it down in front of him and took a seat. As she did so, her hand slipped, pushing the tray and knocking his drink in his lap. She saw Supala’s face redden in horror and saw her mouthing ‘I’m sorry.’ Then, she saw Harry look at the young woman, pick up her drink, lean over and dump it over her head. When Supala reacted in shock at his actions, Seven saw him stand, lean over the table and plant a kiss on her nose before sitting back down to laugh at her.

She turned her head away to give them privacy and noticed Tom and B’Elanna watching the new couple, laughing. They had become very comfortable with the Eightfours and had developed many friends with new babies. Even Miral seemed to be enjoying herself, happy that she had found many capable sparring partners amongst the Eightfours. They had managed to create a number of team events that provided hours of entertainment and exercise for all of them.

She glanced up at the Doctor and gave him a smile, leaning back so she could rest against him. He leaned forward to kiss her head, looking at the side of her face carefully.

The scar was almost gone. If you didn’t know where to look for it, you would not even see it. She had not let her hair grow out yet, but at least she was allowing it to return to its natural color. She had immediately forgone the blackness of her eyes. He had been grateful for that, but she would not yet remove the leg brace. There was a part of her not yet ready to let go of that, and he did not push her on it. He knew it would come off when she was ready. She had quit wearing the outfit she had gotten from Motalli’s people, but she was experimenting with different outfits. Some days, she would wear one of her old suits and other days, she would wear something totally different. It was almost as if she was still trying to discover exactly who she was.

He remembered the night she had told him what had happened to her after the transport ship exploded. She had told him all about Motalli. Then, she had turned to him, telling him there was something that she had to be honest with him about.

He remembered his fear and what he had said.

"No, Seven. You don’t have to tell me. It is all right."

"I need to tell you. I have to be honest with you about what happened between us."

He had looked into her eyes and waited.

"I…I fell in love with him."

He nodded at her, waiting for her to continue.

She looked at him, her eyes narrowing.

Suddenly, he realized she wasn’t going to say any more.

"You fell in love with him?"

"Yes." Her look was fearful.

He hesitated, "Was there…more?"

Her look was confused, "More?" Then, her eyes widened, "No. There was not a…physical relationship."

Suddenly, he had understood. For her, the emotional betrayal was her burden. He had quickly taken her in his arms, "Seven, you had no reason to know I was alive. What happened to you was completely natural. And completely understandable." He had pulled away, "Are you still in love with him?"

She had carefully thought about his question, "I do still feel love for him. I think I always will." She had reached to take his hand in her left one, "But I never felt the love for him I feel for you." She had tightened her grip on his hand, and he had seen the gleaming gold that circled her ring finger, "I will never love anyone the way I love you."

He reached for her left hand now and lifted it to his lips, kissing the band of gold circling her finger. They both looked at the ring that now encircled his own ring finger. Thank you, B’Elanna, my dear friend, he thought, remembering how it had felt when she had added it to his program and Seven had activated the command. 

Suddenly, his attention was drawn to Kathryn, who had risen to stand in the center of the room. That is how they addressed her now. There was no more captain or commander or ensign. While they still followed what had become a normal hierarchy for them, they were now, more than ever, a team, lead by a very capable leader. He listened as she spoke.

"You will be pleased to know that, thanks to our friends and hosts, we have managed to make contact with Leader Orvis and Admiral Paris. They want us to know they are working hard to make things right in the Alpha Quadrant. Darrian Green is also working with them. We cannot return there yet, but they are hopeful that one-day soon, that will be an option for us. We will be able to stay in touch with them without endangering them, so we will know if and when it is safe to return.

"We have been considered lost to the Borg so the chances of us being hunted are slim. And, thanks to our new friends, we have a safe place to call home. At least for the time being."

She raised her glass, inviting everyone to drink with her, "To new beginnings, to new friendships and to new families."

Everyone stood, lifting their drinks with her. As they drank, Kathryn B’Elanna ran up to her parents, grabbing each of them by a leg, looking up at them. The Doctor reached down to lift her up and she grabbed their necks pulling them close, laughing as she did.

Yes, thought Seven, we are definitely one.

He was lying in the bed with each of them snuggled closely to him. If he had been human, it would have been a miserable night. Since he wasn’t, he could not remember a more pleasurable experience.

They had been playing what Kathryn B’Elanna called a ‘Dada sammich,’ with her on one side and Seven on the other. It had not taken long for each of them to fall asleep, and they had stayed like that all night long.

He felt Seven stir beside him and watched as she slowly woke up, her eyes focusing sleepily on him as she did. Raising her head, she looked over him to see if Kathryn B’Elanna was still there.

He whispered to her, "She’s still asleep."

"Have we been like this all night?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"I have never been better."

She raised on her elbow and looked lovingly at her child. "She looks content."

He smiled at her, "You both looked content."

She snuggled closer to him, "I think we were."

He felt her go still beside him, "What?"

"Nothing."

"Seven."

She sighed, "I was just thinking about…her."

"Again?"

She nodded.

He stayed quiet, waiting to see if she would say anything else. Most of the time, she didn’t. She still kept those thoughts to herself. He knew she was working to sort out that part of her life. Still, there seemed to be a peacefulness about her now. It was as if she had finally reconciled the Seven she had been with the Seven she was today. She did not seemed as burdened with her past. Suddenly, she raised herself on her elbow again so she could look at the face of her sleeping child, "Love certainly makes one act in unexpected ways."

He gave her a puzzled frown. Before he could ask her what she meant, he felt his daughter stir beside him, and his wife reach out to put her hand on her daughter’s stomach.

"Good morning, Kathryn B’Elanna."

Her smile lit up her face before she even had her eyes open. She pulled herself up on his stomach to give the two of them a hug. Then, she pulled back, yawning, but still managing to hold on to her smile.

He lifted her and got off the bed, placing her down beside his wife, "You two wait right here." He turned and left the room.

Kathryn B’Elanna and Seven cuddled, waiting on the Doctor to return. In a few minutes, he walked in, a tray in each hand, "I have breakfast in bed for my two girls!"

Laughing, Seven pushed herself up in the bed and then pulled her daughter into a sitting position, watching the excitement on her face as her father put the tray down over her lap. Then, she accepted her own tray from him. As the Doctor helped Kathryn B’Elanna with her breakfast, she started to eat her own.

"So, what shall we do today?" Her eyes sparkled at him.

"Well, I happened to know that Grandpa has been working on a certain holodeck program." He grinned at his daughter, "How would you like to go play with Flotter this afternoon."

She banged her spoon on the tray, splashing milk everywhere, "See Flotter! Go see Flotter!"

The Doctor grabbed her hand to stop her from banging her spoon and to steady her tray. Then, he reached over to wipe milk from his laughing wife’s face, "I think she likes the idea."

"So do I."

Her blue eyes sparkled at him, and he could feel her love pour through him. He gave his daughter a laughing look, "Maybe Grandpa will let Kathryn B’Elanna spend the night with him tonight. Would you like that, Kathryn B’Elanna?"

"Stay with Gwanpaw!"

He gave his wife a knowing grin, "I think she would like that."

Seven looked at him, "I think we both would."

He watched as his wife and his daughter ate their breakfasts and shared their own with each other. Kathryn B’Elanna looked up at him and smiled, tight lipped, milk dripping down her chin. As he wiped her chin, he looked into his wife’s shinning eyes, knowing that she was enjoying this as much as was he. He realized he never wanted to take what he had for granted. This life was too precious. They had all fought to return to Earth, never truly appreciating the good they had while they had it. It was never bad to chase a dream. Chasing a dream had given him the life he had now. But it was important to learn that not every dream was worth the price that you sometimes had to pay to have it. 

He had longed for Earth only to find that his happiness now was in fluidic space. His happiness was wherever these two people were. He remembered what Seven had said to him a long time ago. Thinking about them now, he realized he had never heard truer words.

When I am with you, it is home.

 
The End.