Copyright 2000, Susan S. McCrackin  Reprinted with permission of the author.

"Daddy’s home."

"Dadadadadada!" Kathryn B’Elanna came running from her room, naked, arms waiving, rushing for her daddy.

Ketaria emerged laughing from the bedroom, a diaper in hand. "I’m sorry, Doctor. I was changing her and she slipped away from me as soon as she heard you."

He broke his bear hug with his daughter and took the diaper from Ketaria, "Why don’t I finish this?"

"Okay, you finish the diaper job and I will fix some lunch." She turned to the replicator, laughing as she heard the Doctor talking to Kathryn B’Elanna in her bedroom.

"My goodness, little girl. What in the world were you doing running around without any clothes on. Do you not have any shame?"

She heard the child squealing and could feel how happy Kathryn B’Elanna was now that her daddy was home. She understood. She, herself, would be as happy when Kahkar returned home. She stopped, realizing that they should be close to the Duktar Sector by now. If Kahkar’s calculations were correct, within the next twenty-four hours, they would be observing the event. Or the Millennium Event, as Seven called it. She was thrilled for both of them. And she was thrilled for Kahkar that he would be able to share the experience with Seven. She knew how much that would mean to him.

"Well, we are clean, dry and dressed!" The Doctor walked up to her, Kathryn B’Elanna’s head resting on his shoulder, a big smile on her face.

"You are happy because your daddy is home, aren’t you little girl?" Ketaria pulled out a chair for the Doctor, "I have her lunch ready."

The Doctor put Kathryn B’Elanna in her chair and sat down beside her, picking up the plate of food Ketaria had prepared for her. He started feeding her, "So, did you two have a good morning together."

"We had a very interesting time."

"Oh?"

"Yes. We ended up looking for Seven."

"What?" He paused, the spoon, halfway to Kathryn B’Elanna’s mouth, and looked at Ketaria.

"Yes, she went on an excursion through Voyager trying to find her mother." Ketaria picked up a piece of food from her plate and bit into it, "We ended up in Transporter Room One."

"She remembered?"

"Oh, she remembered. I told her that is where her mother left to go see the stars and that is where she would return to when she comes home." She took another bite, chewed slowly, then said, "She is a remarkable child."

"I don’t know much about such things, but is this unusual?"

Ketaria thought about his question, "From my perspective, I would say yes. But I don’t understand where her abilities came from. Seven seems to have some mild telepathic abilities, but nothing compared to Kathryn B’Elanna’s." She paused, "Do you know anything about your side of the family, Doctor?"

"No, and I have actually looked. I checked into the Starfleet database after the experience on the Ikora. I can’t find anything to indicate that there are any…special abilites on my side of the family."

"Do you know much about Seven’s side of the family?"

"Only what I know from the logs her parents made. There wasn’t anything in them to indicate that her family had telepathic abilities." He put down the spoon, wiped Kathryn B’Elanna’s face with a wet cloth and lifted her out of the chair to sit her in his lap. She reached for her cup and he lifted it to her lips, helping her drink out of it. She finished, the liquid dripping from her mouth and he quickly put down the cup and grabbed the cloth to try to catch the drips but not before they landed on his pants leg.

"Oh, dear, Doctor, let me get a clean cloth for that."

"Don’t worry. It isn’t the first time that has happened and it won’t be the last." He grinned at Ketaria, "And I am grateful for that." 

Kathryn B’Elanna grabbed his hands and stood up in his lap, hugging her father and bouncing on his legs. He laughed and patted her bottom.

"Well, I think it is time for you to go see your Aunt B’Elanna."

"Bala!" She increased her bouncing.

He looked over at Ketaria, "I think that is a definite yes, don’t you?"

"I do believe it is."

He stood, shifting Kathryn B’Elanna into his right arm, "I am going to pack a bag for her and take her to engineering."

He left for her bedroom and came out in a few minutes with the bag in hand. "Bye, Ketaria." He waived the bag at her.

"Bye, bye." Kathryn B’Elanna waived in her loose handed waive.

"Bye, sweetheart," Ketaria waived goodbye to them, laughing as she watched them go, hearing Kathryn B’Elanna’s voice as it came back through the door at her.

"Bala?"

B’Elanna walked into the Sickbay, carrying a sleepy Kathryn B’Elanna. "I think I wore her out, Doctor."

He looked up from his work, seeing the big yawn and droopy eyes. "It certainly looks like you did. What did you two get into this afternoon?"

"We just had a good time playing. We went to Flotter’s Forest."

"Did you play follow the leader?"

"Actually, we did." She paused, a grin on her face, "But I refused to follow him into the water. He tried to tell me that you had followed him, but I assured him you would never do anything like that."

"Well…" he cleared his throat.

"You did do it!" She threw back her head and laughed. "Good for you, Doctor." She looked at him appreciatively, "You are more adventuresome than I thought."

He just shrugged his shoulders, laughing with her. "I guess I’d better get her back home and get her to bed."

"Yes, I think she is definitely ready for bed. I did manage to get some dinner in her before I brought her, so you don’t have to worry about feeding her."

"Thank you, B’Elanna. I appreciate that. She looks too sleepy to eat right now." He picked up his mobile emitter, placed it on his arm and joined her as she carried Kathryn B’Elanna out of the Sickbay.

"Oh, dear."

"What?"

"I forgot her bag. It’s in engineering."

"Let’s just go by there and pick it up."

"You sure you don’t want me to let you take her and bring it to you"

"No, B’Elanna. I will enjoy the walk with you and Kathryn B’Elanna looks comfortable right now. Unless you want me to take her?"

"No. I love this. I’m more than happy to carry her and to have your company."

They walked to engineering, B’Elanna telling the Doctor about the experience the two of them had enjoyed during the afternoon. Almost before either was ready, they were at the doors of engineering. They walked in, and B’Elanna went over and picked up Kathryn B’Elanna’s bag. She turned and did a double-take when she looked at the Doctor.

"Doctor?"

His program was starting to sputter.

"B’Elanna, what is happening?"

She grabbed a tricorder and scanned him. "Your mobile emitter appears to have something wrong with it."

"Can you fix it?" He sputtered again and she quickly said, "Doctor, I think I’d better transfer your program back to Sickbay. I’ll put your mobile emitter on the diagnostic’s pad and get a reading on it tomorrow."

He nodded and quickly kissed his daughter, "Will you ask Ketaria to stay with Kathryn B’Elanna tonight?"

"Yes, and if she can’t stay with her, I will. Don’t worry. I’ll let you know what we find in the morning."

He nodded and she fingered the controls on his emitter and he dematerialized. She put the mobile emitter on the computer console and keyed in a series of commands with her free hand. She watched to make certain the Doctor had been successfully transferred back to the Sickbay and that the diagnostic was running on his emitter. Finally, satisfied, she patted Kathryn B’Elanna’s back and said, "Okay, sweetheart, I guess I’ll get you home and put you to bed tonight."

She did not notice the look on Kathryn B’Elanna’s face as the child looked at the mobile emitter. Kathryn B’Elanna kept her eyes locked on it until the doors closed behind them as they left engineering. 

She was sitting up in her crib, hands on down in front of her on the mattress, feeling for everyone around her. She could feel Ketaria in the room next to her. She reached out farther and could feel B’Elanna. She could still not feel Mama and Dada.

"Dada gone."

She sighed, trying to reach out even further.

"Mama gone." She concentrated and felt nothing. "Mama see stars."

She lay back down, pulling her blanket close to her, "Dada?" Then she closed her eyes.

She left her living quarters, moving through Voyager. It did not take her long to enter into engineering. The Doctor’s mobile emitter was on the computer console where she had seen it last. She concentrated on it but could not feel anything. Dada was not here. 

She moved to Sickbay. That is were Dada always was. She entered but he was not there. 

"Dada?"

Back in her crib, in the physical world, she went deeper. She felt around the Sickbay and could still not feel Dada. She went deeper still.

"Please state the nature of the emergency medical emergency."

He came online, his announcement as he did so automatic. Then, he stopped and looked around, his face clouded in confusion. He was not in Sickbay. He didn’t know where he was. This was not like any place he had ever seen before. Then, he heard her laughter as she called his name.

"Dada!"

He looked at his daughter in shock, noticing how fuzzy the world was around him, suddenly realizing he was not truly online in his sickbay. Somehow, she had managed to reach him in one of her special places. He looked at her beaming face, seeing her clap her hands in her excitement, watching the world around him sharpen, his own surprise deepening as he watched the place they were in come into focus. He saw they were surrounded by computer code and algorithms and computer circuits. 

She had entered into his program and had brought him online inside it.

"Oh, dear."

Ketaria’s body did not move, but her mind was aware. She reached out around her. Something was wrong. There was no one in the room with her, so she knew she was not in immediate danger. She reached out further, relieved when she did not feel any presence around her. Then, it hit her. 

No presence.

She felt for Kathryn B’Elanna and knew she was gone. Quickly, she got out of the bed and raced into the child’s room. Kathryn B’Elanna was sleeping in her bed but she could feel that she had left. Ketaria closed her eyes, reaching out to see if she could determine where the child had gone. She followed the path the child had taken, feeling her presence as she as she moved into engineering. She saw the mobile emitter on the computer console, the diagnostic program still running. Then, she followed the trail into the Sickbay. She could not find the child, but something told her the child was here. She reached to touch Kathryn B’Elanna in the physical world in an effort to connect more closely with her and allowed herself to sink deeper, working to connect to the place where Kathryn B’Elanna had gone. 

She felt herself going deep. She started to enter a place where she was not comfortable. She could tell this was the direction Kathryn B’Elanna had gone but she could not bring this place into focus. Suddenly, she pulled herself away, recognizing where Kathryn B’Elanna had gone. She could not go there. That world was too alien for her.

She fought her way back to awareness as quickly as she could, looking down in shock at the child who seemed to be peacefully sleeping in her crib.

"Oh, dear."

She was pacing back and forth in the living quarters, trying not to panic when the doors opened and B’Elanna came running in, Tom right behind her.

"What’s wrong?" B’Elanna demanded, her fear full in her face, pulling her robe tightly around her.

Ketaria did not have a chance to answer before the doors opened again and Kathryn Janeway ran in.

"What’s going on?"

Ketaria immediately sent out a calming influence into the room. Then, she spoke, "I know you are going to find this difficult to believe, but I think Kathryn B’Elanna has gone to a special place with her father."

The three people in the room stopped still, then looked at each other, their faces registering shock and disbelief.

Kathryn Janeway looked back to Ketaria, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, looked back at B’Elanna and Tom, put her hands on her hips and finally said, "I think you’d better explain that comment."

"I woke up and felt that she had left her room. I followed her." She saw the look on the Captain’s face and explained, "With my mind."

Janeway looked at her, disbelief still etched on her face, but trying to follow, "Of course. Go ahead."

"I followed her trail to engineering, where her father’s mobile emitter is." She paused, seeing the look of awareness start to come into B’Elanna’s face, "Then, I followed her to Sickbay. I could not find her at first, but I knew she was there so I allowed myself to go deeper." She stopped and they watched her, "I could not go as deep as she was."

"Ketaria," B’Elanna glanced past Ketaria to Kathryn B’Elanna’s bedroom door, "how deep did she go?"

Ketaria swallowed, "I am not certain but I think she has managed to enter into the Doctor’s program."

Kathryn Janeway reached for the nearest chair and sat down, hard. "His….program? She is in his program?" She shook her head, both trying to clear it and to give herself time to absorb what she was hearing. "How is that possible?"

"I don’t know, Captain. I knew she had special abilities but I never expected this."

"Okay," B’Elanna started pacing, "the question is how do we get her back?"

"Ketaria," said Tom, "is she in danger?"

"She cannot be physically hurt there, but she could be lost."

"What can we do?" He reached out to pull B’Elanna close to him and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I need to try to go where she is to help her find her way out but that is an alien world to me. I need…help in finding my way around." She looked at B’Elanna, a question in her eyes.

The words came out of her mouth, slowly and strangely, her eyes growing large at the thought. "Oh. You are kidding."

"No, B’Elanna. I’m afraid I am not. I need help to go where I have to go to bring Kathryn B’Elanna back and you are the obvious one to help me. You know more about the Doctor’s program than anyone. Also, you share a special bond with her. That might be important in encouraging her to come back." Ketaria put her hand to her forehead, her desperation clear in her face, "I don’t know what in the world made her do something so extreme."

B’Elanna cleared her throat, "Well, I might have an idea." They looked at her, waiting and she continued, "When the Doctor’s mobile emitter malfunctioned, I deactivated him. She was there and saw it. I didn’t even think about it at the time but…."

"The Ikora." Ketaria finished her thought for her. "Of course. Her mother is gone and her father once again dematerializes in front of her. Bad memories." Ketaria ran her hand up her forehead and over the top of her hair, "Poor child."

"Oh, great. I should have realized." She hugged Tom closely and he could feel her distress. He kissed the top of her head, returning her hug, then felt her pull away from him, "Okay. Tell me what I have to do."

"His program is active," B’Elanna looked up from the Sickbay console to Janeway. "Except for the fact he is not in front of us, he is online."

"Can you tell if….she is there with him?"

"No, Captain," she glanced up with worried eyes, "I can’t." She looked around the Sickbay, "I can’t believe it is possible she is here," she focused on Janeway, "but I can feel it. I know she is here."

"How?"

"I don’t know. I just do."

"Is there any damage to his program?"

B’Elanna frowned as she read the screens in front of her, "I can’t identify any anomalies. Everything looks fine." She laughed ironically, "Except for the obvious."

"Then, let’s get back to the Doctor’s quarters. Ketaria and Tom should be ready for us." They turned and left the Sickbay together. After a few steps, Janeway asked, "B’Elanna, can you do anything to explain this for me? Exactly what is this special ability Ketaria was talking about?"

B’Elanna took a deep breath, "KB appears to have unique telepathic abilities. I think they are pretty powerful. Ketaria has been working with her to help her. She has also been working with Seven to help her deal with KB."

"Well, I knew she was telepathic. Seven has talked to me about her. But I was not aware it was that strong."

B’Elanna stopped, forcing the Captain to stop and turn back to face her. She hesitated, took a deep breath and spoke, "Captain, Seven doesn’t know everything."

"What?"

"We haven’t told her everything that happened on the Ikora."

"Perhaps you’d better tell me."

B’Elanna crossed her arms in front her and looked down for a moment before continuing, "You know KB managed to communicate with Ketaria while she was on the Ikora?" When the Captain nodded, she continued, "Well, what you don’t know is that she also apparently exercised some kind of control over Barrat. She told Ketaria she hurt him with her mind."

Janeway’s eyes went wide, then narrowed as she thought about what B’Elanna just said. "Did Ketaria believe her?"

"Yes, she did." When Janeway did not respond, B’Elanna continued, "Captain, I saw it. I saw her do something. I don’t know what it was, but whatever she did scared Barrat. When she would look at him, he would almost flee the room. When we knocked him out in the treatment room, I think KB actually held him in place with her mind to allow us to do it."

Janeway stood there, not certain whether or not to believe what she was hearing. "You haven’t told Seven about this?"

"No. Ketaria didn’t think she was ready to deal with it yet." B’Elanna glanced away then looked back at Janeway, "She was pretty…fragile when we all got back."

Kathryn Janeway nodded, remembering the weeks that followed the return of B’Elanna, the Doctor and KB. It had been a difficult time for all of the crew but Seven was the slowest to recover. B’Elanna’s description of her during that time was accurate. With her physical injuries and her emotional ones, she had been fragile. "I understand, but you should have told me."

"I agree but both the Doctor and Ketaria felt it was important that no one be told until Seven was ready to deal with it."

Janeway gave herself a full minute to think about what B’Elanna had just told her. Finally, she said, "I am not happy about it, but I understand and agree with you not telling me." She turned and started her walk back toward the turbolift. B’Elanna quickly moved to join her and they entered the turbolift without speaking.

"Deck nine." Janeway gave the order, then fell silent. 

B’Elanna knew she was not happy, and she could not disagree with her.

"B’Elanna?"

"Yes, Captain."

"It’s all right." She gave her a small smile, "Let’s just worry about getting KB and the Doctor back, safe and sound."

The doors opened and they walked out, toward the Doctor’s quarter. As they walked into the living quarters, Tom came out of KB’s bedroom to greet them.

"Well?"

"His program is active. I’d say it is a safe bet that they are in a special place together."

"Did you try to activate him?"

"He is activated, Tom," B’Elanna explained, "but inside his own program." 

Tom stopped to think a moment, "That would really be strange."

"Yes," agreed B’Elanna, "it would be a lot like waking up inside your own body." 

Ketaria came out and joined them, "I think we are ready." At the looks she got from the Captain and B’Elanna, she continued, "I have set the room up for us, B’Elanna. Kathryn B’Elanna is still sleeping and shows no sign of coming back to awareness. On the contrary, she appears to be very happy and content." She gave them a meaningful look, "We might find it quite challenging to get her to come back."

"Ketaria," Janeway hesitated, but asked anyway, "should we call Seven back?"

"I thought about that, Captain, but I think we should know what we are up against before we do that. If we have any trouble, we might have to. But, it will take them a couple of days to return, even at transwarp speed. I hope we can bring Kathryn B’Elanna back to awareness before that."

Janeway nodded in agreement and Ketaria turned her attention to B’Elanna.

"Are you ready?"

"I have no idea."

Ketaria chuckled, "You will do fine, B’Elanna. Just trust me." She turned to Janeway and Tom, "We will go into the room for a few minutes to prepare. I will tell you before we leave this place."

With that, she led B’Elanna into Kathryn B’Elanna’s room, shutting the door behind them. B’Elanna walked up to look at the child asleep in her crib. She took a few minutes before turning to Ketaria, who indicated she should join her on the floor. B’Elanna sat cross-legged, as did Ketaria and Ketaria reached and grabbed her hands, allowing them to rest on their knees.

"B’Elanna, you will have to trust me completely. You will follow my lead. When we enter into the place where they are, you must remember this is not a physical world, it is a world of thought and emotion, regardless of what you see or think you see. You must move slowly. You must remain calm, and detached as much as you can. I will do as much as possible to keep you calm but you must help me. I will need you to guide me through Kathryn B’Elanna’s special place." She hesitated, "While you cannot touch in this world, what you think may be able to impact this place. You must be very careful in your thoughts and in your actions."

B’Elanna nodded, listening carefully to Ketaria’s words.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am."

"Sit here and do as much as you can to quiet your thoughts. I will go speak to the Captain and Tom. When I come back, we will begin. Quiet your thoughts."

She closed her eyes, trying hard to calm herself and her thoughts. She barely heard Ketaria leave the room. She barely was aware when Ketaria returned to the room. She only knew when Ketaria touched her hands, then felt her entering her mind.

Ketaria did not move, conscious of the need to give B’Elanna time to adapt to the place they had entered. She felt how unsettling the experience was for her. She reached out to her with her mind, calming her.

"Wow."

"I know. It is an amazing place to be, is it not?"

"It’s…different." She looked around her. "It’s so fuzzy. I can’t make anything out."

"As you get accustomed to being in this place, that will improve. You must be patient. The more you relax, the easier it will become to see things more clearly." Ketaria began to move out of the bedroom. B’Elanna followed her. "We are not very deep yet. We will move deeper slowly, as you get more comfortable. In the meantime, we will go to the Sickbay."

They moved through the living room and B’Elanna was aware of figures. Even knowing it was Tom and the Captain, she could not see them. Suddenly, she was aware of a strong feeling, "Oh!" She looked at Ketaria in amazement.

"That is his love for you."

"How…absolutely…pure." Her voice was almost reverent. "I had no idea."

"That is what true love feels like. It is pure. His feelings for you are very strong. They have been, ever since I have known him."

B’Elanna looked at her and Ketaria knew what she wanted to know. She laughed lightly, aware that without realizing it, B’Elanna was relaxing into this place and moving easily with her through the corridors of Voyager. "When I first met you, your feelings were also pure, but…more guarded. I knew you loved him deeply, but that love frightened you. It has been a wonderful experience, watching you grow into your feelings for him. I think Kathryn B’Elanna helped you with that."

"KB?" B’Elanna was surprised, "Do you mean she made me feel love for him?"

"Not exactly. As you learned to love her in a free and unguarded way, it helped open you up to your love for Tom." She turned to look at the woman moving beside her, "You had never known innocent love before, B’Elanna. It was a gift she gave you."

B’Elanna thought about Ketaria’s words, feeling their strength and knowing that what she said was right. "I do not think I will ever forget that feeling." She gave Ketaria a smile, "And I think I will always look at Tom differently."

Ketaria just nodded her head. After a moment, she said, "We are here."

They stopped and Ketaria gave B’Elanna some time to look around at the place where they were. 

"I can’t make out anything."

"You will. This is not the place where the Doctor and Kathryn B’Elanna are. We are outside of their place, but we are close. If you stay still and open yourself, you will be able to feel Kathryn B’Elanna. I will help you do so. I would like for you to call to her. Maybe she will come to you and we will not have to enter any deeper."

"How do I do that?"

"Just stay where you are and open your mind. I will help you. When I tell you, call to her. Ready?"

B’Elanna went still and worked to free her mind, opening it to the place where she was. She felt Ketaria touch her mind, softly at first. She allowed herself to relax into the feeling and then felt herself descend deeper into this place. Then, she heard Ketaria speak to her.

"Call to her now, B’Elanna."

"KB." She lifted her voice in her mind, "KB. Come see your Aunt B’Elanna. KB."

They waited. Then, B’Elanna felt something. She looked at Ketaria who nodded. She called again.

"KB. Where are you sweetheart?"

The feeling grew stronger but she would not come to them. Ketaria looked to B’Elanna, "She wants us to come there."

"How can you tell?"

"She is telling me."

"I didn’t hear anything."

"No, she was speaking to me. I am afraid we will have to go deeper." She looked at B’Elanna carefully. B’Elanna was comfortable in this place. It was a little surprising. B’Elanna was such a physical presence that she thought she would have more difficulty with this non-physical world. "Ready?"

"Yes." She looked around and saw that the world around her was starting to sharpen, then, it fuzzed again as she moved deeper into it with Ketaria.

They stopped and she could tell Ketaria was growing increasingly uncomfortable. B’Elanna, on the other hand, was starting to feel connected. She stood still, watching as the cottony haze that swirled around her sharpened into focus. She could make out forms and objects, then…code? Code, computer language, algorithms, mathematic formulas—they were all taking shape around her. She turned in place and watched binary numbers move in a linear sequence as they executed their commands. 

She spoke to Ketaria, unable to keep the excitement out of her communication, "That is the command to activate the Doctor." She laughed, "His emotional subroutines are looping, there." She pointed. "I wonder why?" Her mind chuckled with the thought.

Ketarai was feeding off of B’Elanna’s delight. Instead of having to calm her, B’Elanna was calming Ketaria. She held her position, feeling the need to ground B’Elanna until B’Elanna could settle down and adapt to this place. She would not let her move deeper, even though she could feel B’Elanna’s desire to do so. 

Suddenly, B’Elanna said, "Oh." It was an exclamation, but almost a question.

"What?"

B’Elanna stood, watching a particular string of code as it moved, meeting another string of code, interacting, bouncing and moving away. She turned to Ketaria, "I’ve been trying to fix that problem. I just saw what was wrong."

Ketaria watched as B’Elanna concentrated, then she saw the code change, reverse, moving toward the code it had just bounced away from and this time, interact with the other string of code, executing the command it was designed to execute. She reached for B’Elanna with her mind.

"What did you do?"

B’Elanna turned to her, "I don’t know. I thought about how to fix that problem and, suddenly, it was fixed. Did I really do that?"

"Yes, B’Elanna, you did. You must be careful. You are connected to this place and you can change this place with your mind."

B’Elanna nodded, suddenly somber. "I’m sorry."

"No, you should not be sorry. Your connection will help us. You just should realize what impact you might have here."

Ketaria watched as B’Elanna worked to calm and center herself. Then, she followed as B’Elanna moved deeper. Instinctively, she knew that, while this place was fuzzy for her, it was gaining in clarity for B’Elanna. She stayed close, trusting in B’Elanna on this journey. Suddenly, she felt her stop. Then, she felt another presence and knew they were close to Kathryn B’Elanna.

"Kathryn B’Elanna." She still could not see the child but she heard her respond.

"Keta!" The child’s voice was musical. Then, she heard it again. "Bala!"

"Hello, KB." Ketaria heard B’Elanna call to the child. Then, she turned and saw the Doctor, standing nearby.

"Oh, it is so good to see you!" The Doctor was relieved, "Can you get her out of here?"

"Doctor," Ketaria responded, "It is good to see you also. But, no, we cannot get Kathryn B’Elanna out of here. She will have to follow us, herself. Do you think you can get her to do so?"

"I have been trying but," he looked around, "I don’t have any idea of how to do so."

"I understand. Can you see B’Elanna?"

He turned, "Yes. I can. Hello, B’Elanna."

"Hi, Doctor. You live in an…interesting place."

"I’m glad you like it. I, myself, have never been awake in my own program before." He grimace at her, "I am not certain I find it as interesting as you do." He turned back to Ketaria, "I have lost my sense of time. It is time for Seven to return?"

"No."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. I hope we will be able to get Kathryn B’Elanna out of here before she returns. This will not make her happy."

"No, I do not imagine it will." Ketaria reached out to feel for Kathryn B’Elanna, "She is quite happy here. Getting her to leave is going to be difficult." She was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

"No, I don’t."

Ketaria turned her thoughts to B’Elanna. She could feel her trying to reach for the child, to pull Kathryn B’Elanna closer to her. Suddenly, she felt the child turn and move quickly away from them. Before she could stop her, she felt B’Elanna move just as quickly.

"No, B’Elanna. Don’t."

But it was too late. As had happed with Seven during the time of the kidnapping, the quick movement caused the connection between them to break and Ketaria felt herself again falling, as if from a great height. She let go of B’Elanna’s mind and concentrated on holding her senses together. She knew B’Elanna would need her more when they both came into awareness.

She heard B’Elanna screaming as she entered into awareness. She was aware of movement around her and knew the Captain and Tom had rushed into the room. She felt them grab B’Elanna, trying to help her, but she knew they could not. She worked to pull herself back so she could administer to her. She forced herself to her knees, aware that Tom and the Captain were on either side of B’Elanna, whose hands her were clasping her head, her knees pulled up in front of her, almost in a sitting fetal position. Her screams reverberated off the walls of the small bedroom. Ketaria reached her hands for B’Elanna’s face, grabbing it, even as she concentrated, reaching out to calm her.

Finally, B’Elanna fell silent, then still. Ketaria continued to hold B’Elanna’s face between her hands, then slowly pulled them away and looked up at Tom’s worried face, "She has fainted. We should get her to the Sickbay."

He picked her up, cradling her in his arms and moved quickly out of the bedroom. Captain Janeway reached to help Ketaria to her feet and they moved as fast as Ketaria could.