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

The Doctor jumped when B’Elanna touched his shoulder. 

"B’Elanna, I didn’t hear you come in."

She nodded, "I’m sorry I startled you, Doctor." She looked over at Seven’s sleeping figure and then at KB sitting quietly next to her mother before continuing, "The Captain wants to see you."

"Tell her I’m sorry." He looked down at his wife’s face, "I can’t leave her right now."

"Doctor, it’s important."

He looked up at her, grief etched on his face, "I don’t want to risk not being here at the end. Let someone else handle the medical emergency."

B’Elanna kneeled down beside him, "Doctor, it isn’t a medical emergency, and the Captain would not ask you to leave Seven’s side right now if it wasn’t really important. Please. You need to go talk to her. I’ll stay here with her. If anything changes, I will call you immediately." She squeezed his arm, "Please, Doctor. You have to go talk to her."

The earnestness of her voice made him pause. He looked over at Seven. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. He took her pulse, then, reluctantly stood and walked to the door, looking at his wife for a long moment before he walked out into the living room.

As soon as he saw her, his anger exploded, "What is so important that you would pull me away from my dying wife?"

"Doctor, I’m sorry," Janeway walked up to him, and he was startled at the look on her face, "I…." She hesitated, now not exactly certain how to continue. They had talked among themselves and agreed he needed to be told but finding the words to do so was going to be difficult. She took a deep breath, "Doctor, I am sorry to take you away from Seven, but something has happened, and you need to know." She took another breath, "There is just no easy way to say this, Doctor." She put her hands on her hips and squared off to face him, "The Borg queen has offered to replace Seven’s implants."

He pulled in his chin, his eyes searching the Captain’s face. Finally, he said, "What?"

"I know what I am saying is hard to believe…I am not certain I believe it myself…but the offer has been made."

"The Borg queen?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, she is in cargo bay two right now."

His eyes widened and he drew himself up, looking quickly around at the faces in the room, "They want to re-assimilate her?"

"No, Doctor, she says they only want to replace her implants. It is not her…their intention to assimilate her. The Borg queen said she would be returned."

"And you believe her?"

Both his words and his expressions challenged her and they stood, face to face, locked in a fierce stare. She searched deep inside herself, looking for the most honest answer to his question that she could find in herself. Finally, she responded, "Yes. I do."

"Captain!" The word came out in a rush of air, "You can’t be serious. Seven would never want that."

"Doctor, she would be alive."

"But she would be Borg again."

"No. She would not be part of the collective. Her implants would be replaced, but that is all."

He raised his head to look over her, trying to think about what she said and what it might mean. A chance to save Seven, but at what cost? He was trying to figure out what he should say when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to see Ketaria looking up at him.

"Doctor, perhaps you should talk to her yourself. I will go with you."

He blinked a few times, then cut his eyes back to the Captain. She nodded. He glanced back at the bedroom door, then said to the Captain, "Let’s go."

Janeway quickly turned, leading them out of the room and toward the turbolift. They were silent on the ride and as they walked up to the doors of the cargo bay. Before they entered, Janeway turned back to the Doctor, "There are a couple of things you should know. First, she knows that you and Seven are married." The Doctor’s eyebrows raised, but she went on without giving him a chance to say anything, "And second, she has asked to see Kathryn B’Elanna."

His mouth dropped open. He looked over at Ketaria, then asked the Captain, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her no."

He straightened himself, "Good answer." Anger crossed his face again, "She will not see our child."

Janeway nodded, then turned to lead them into the cargo bay.

The queen was standing in the center of the cargo bay, in almost the same spot as she had been when Janeway left. Her eyes locked on them as they approached. Janeway noticed she was looking over the Doctor carefully. They came to a stop in front of her.

The Borg queen did not move, but addressed the Doctor, "You are the husband."

"Yes."

"A hologram."

"Yes."

She turned to Ketaria, "And you?"

"I am Ketaria Omarahn."

"Eutarian. Species four-eight-five-three. Scientists and explorers. An intelligent species."

"Thank you."

The queen offered a hint of a smile. She turned back to the Doctor, "I assume Captain Janeway has told you of our offer."

"Yes. She has. I wanted to hear it from you."

She glanced over at the Captain, with almost a look of humor. "Of course. We will replace Seven’s implants. We will not assimilate her. She will not be connected to the collective. She will be an individual, although, in replacing her implants, most of her memories will be severely repressed. As I told the Captain, we will give her back her life. It will be up to you to help her find her humanity again. I will take her with me but she will be returned. And she will be alive."

The Doctor was listening intently, watching the face of the queen. When she finished speaking, he hesitated, then turned to look at Ketaria.

Ketaria felt the Doctor look at her, but her eyes were still locked on the face of the queen, carefully reaching out to touch her mind. After a moment, she turned to the Doctor and nodded. He turned to the Captain, and she just looked back at him. He could see in her eyes that she believed the queen, more now than before. He closed his eyes, giving himself a chance to think. To save Seven. Did he believe what he was hearing or did he just want to believe it? What would Seven want? What would be the best thing for Kathryn B’Elanna? 

Kathryn B’Elanna. If this worked, she would not lose her mother. If this worked, he would not lose his wife. It was a chance for Seven and for their family. And it was the only chance they had. But what if it did not work? Could he live with himself if she were re-assimilated? Seven would rather die than rejoin the collective. She was going to die without it. 

Seven, he thought, forgive me. I have to take this chance. 

He opened his eyes and caught his Captain’s. Slowly, he nodded his head at her.

Janeway stepped forward and addressed the Borg queen, "Okay. How do we do this?"

The queen leveled her gaze at Janeway, "Bring Seven here. You will then transport us…and anyone else of your choosing to my vessel. We will leave. Your people will be returned to you within forty-eight hours." She gave Janeway the sick smile, "And Seven of Nine will, also."

Janeway’s expression hardened, but she took a deep breath, "We will decide who will go and will return with Seven."

"Have you decided about my request to see the child?"

Janeway glanced back at the Doctor who stepped forward, "I cannot allow that."

The queen looked him up and down, her face unreadable. Then, she slightly nodded, the smile never leaving her face.

They turned to walk out. Before they could exit the doors, the queen called out to her, "Captain Janeway."

They stopped and turned back. Janeway said, "Yes?"

"Hurry."

Janeway just looked at her, then turned and left with the Doctor and Ketaria following her.

**

The silence in the room was almost overwhelming. No one could quite believe what was happening. Then, Kathryn Janeway spoke, "Do we send her alone or does someone go with her?"

The Doctor immediately spoke, "I will go with her."

"No," Janeway’s response was as immediate.

"Captain," he stepped toward her, "she is my wife. I have to go." Suddenly, his face turned angry, "Or are you not going to send me because I am only a holographic computer program" 

Her look softened, and she put her hand on his arm, calming him, "Doctor, I will not let you go because of Kathryn B’Elanna. I will not risk making her an orphan."

He started at her words, then blinked quickly and nodded his head, giving her an appreciative look. A movement from his left caused him to turn his head.

"I will accompany her, Captain," Ketaria moved to stand next to the Doctor.

"Ketaria, I can’t allow you to put your life in danger."

"But, Captain, I have less to fear than anyone else on your ship." When Janeway gave her a questioning look she continued, "I am half Batair, remember? The Borg do not want to assimilate me. I will go with her. If this works and she survives, I can do the most to provide her comfort. Captain, I am an obvious choice."

Janeway stared at her for a long moment, then her eyes cut to Kahkar as he came up to stand behind his wife, a look of support on his face. Janeway nodded, "Thank you, Ketaria."

"Captain."

She turned.

"I will go."

She felt the Doctor stiffen behind her, and she turned quickly to look at his reaction. Then, Harry came up behind her and walked past her to face the Doctor, "I will take care of her. If anything goes wrong or they try to reconnect her to the collective," he hesitated, but did not take his eyes from the Doctor’s, "I will kill her."

The two men stood, eyes locked, the tension thick between them. Finally, the Doctor spoke, "Thank you, Harry." 

The Captain immediately stepped up, "Let’s get her to the cargo bay."

**

Ketaria and Harry walked behind the drones carrying Seven on a litter between them. They entered a semi-circular room and lifted the litter up on a table. Harry walked up to the foot of the table and placed his hand on Seven’s left ankle. One of the drones moved to back him away from her but he held his ground and refused to move. The second drone moved to help force Harry back when the Borg queen walked in.

"Leave him."

The drones immediately stopped, turned and left the room. Harry and the queen looked at each other, Harry’s face firm and the queen’s face unreadable. After a moment, she turned to the drone standing with its back to the wall, one arm raised with some kind of medical attachment on it. She barely nodded and the drone stepped forward to stand in front of her.

"Replace her implants only. Be efficient."

The drone turned and began.

Harry watched every move the drone made, his one hand remaining on her ankle, his other on his phaser. Ketaria knew that the phaser was set to kill and his intent was to use it only once if something went wrong. He knew he would not have time for a second shot. By maintaining physical contact with her, he knew he could not be kept away from her by a force field. Ketaria had never seen his eyes look so resolved. 

She, herself, found that the procedure involved in replacing the implants was more than she could watch. It was a brutal process. Finally, she had to turn her head. She reached out to Harry to see if he needed help, but all she could feel from him was his determination. It was blocking everything else out. Suddenly, she was aware that the queen had moved close to her. She turned and saw that the black eyes were staring intently at her.

"You are more than Eutarian."

Ketaria allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "Yes." The queen lifted an eyebrow, in an invitation for her to continue. She hesitated only a moment, then added, "I am half Eutarian. My father was Eutarian. My mother was Batair."

"Batair. Species one-four-five."

"Yes."

The queen looked over at Seven, then turned her gaze back to Ketaria, "You have more in common with Seven of Nine than you realize."

Ketaria watched her carefully, not certain what to make of the comment. Then, she sensed a change in the queen and she reached out cautiously with her mind. She was surprised to find it was open to her probing. The queen slightly lowered her head and Ketaria knew she was being invited to enter into her thoughts. Suddenly, she looked at the queen, her eyes wide in amazement.

The queen smiled and walked away.

**

They were alone in a small room with a bank of alcoves. Seven was regenerating in the center alcove. Harry was standing guard. She walked up to him, putting her hand on his arm.

"Are you all right?"

He gave her a shaky nod of his head, "Yes. I’m doing fine."

She could feel that he wasn’t, but she did not push him. She could feel that he could not afford to give into any feelings or any emotions. To do so could upset the tentative balance he had managed to find for himself.

"Did you hear what they said about her regeneration cycle?"

He nodded, "She will have to regenerate for at least twenty-four hours. Then, they will take her back for adjustments to her new implants. After that, she will regenerate for another eight hours." He turned to look at the figure in the alcove, "Once that cycle is done, we take her home."

"You will take her from her home." They turned to see the queen standing in the door. She walked into the room, followed by two drones.

Ketaria felt Harry tense beside her, his hand immediately going to the phaser. The queen walked up to him while the drones approached the alcove. Harry moved to place himself between the drones and Seven.

"There is no need to do that. The drones are simply here to monitor her regeneration cycle. It is necessary with…new implants. She will not be harmed."

Harry’s eyes went back and forth from the queen to Seven, then moved to allow the drones to approach the alcove, watching every move they made. After a few adjustments, they stepped back and stood out of the way.

"They will remain close by. It is necessary to make regular adjustments." She turned her full attention to the two of them, "When Seven of Nine leaves her home to return to Voyager, it will be necessary for someone to monitor her regeneration cycle for approximately two weeks. This is normal. It would be better for her to remain with us during that time…." She stopped when she felt Harry brittle beside her, then continued, "but that was not the agreement we made with Captain Janeway. Therefore, we will give you the information you need to care for her." She walked over to a console and pulled a data node from one of the inserts on it, "This will provide you with the information you need."

"If I may," Ketaria ventured a question, "what can we expect when Seven wakes up?"

"Physically, she will be stronger than she has been since she got pregnant." When Ketaria reacted to the comment, the queen explained, "Yes. We were aware that Seven of Nine was weakened by her pregnancy." She moved around the console, and faced the two of them again, "She will not be connected to the collective but she will have most of her memories of her time with the Borg intact. Her memories of her time on Voyager, however, will be repressed." She noticed the look on Harry’s face, "Yes, Ensign Kim, she will not remember her marriage, her husband or her child." She turned to look at Ketaria, "It will be important that she…have time to adjust to her new situation. You should reintroduce her to her life on Voyager slowly. It will be in her best interest…and in the best interest of everyone involved." She walked closer to the alcove and looked into Seven’s face, "We have taken the liberty of giving her what she will need to represent us to the Federation. It will still be her decision as to whether or not to use it." She turned and looked at Ketaria, pointedly, "We believe she will chose to use it."

The two women exchanged intense looks, and the queen moved toward the door. Before leaving, she turned, "You are free to move around as you wish. You will not be harmed. You will find us…quite hospitable during your stay. If you need anything, simply ask." She left.

Harry moved closer to Ketaria, "What was that all about?"

Ketaria breathed deeply, "I am not sure I really know, Harry."

He let his eyes look around the room, finally settling on the sight of Seven regenerating in his alcove. He wondered who she would be when she woke up.

**

Kathryn Janeway was standing still, staring out of the windows in her ready room, deep in thought. She heard the doors open behind her, but she did not turn. She knew who it was.

"Chakotay."

"Captain." He walked up to stand beside her. They stayed silent for a long time, looking out the window, each deep in thought.

"I am not certain that letting the Borg queen take Seven was the right thing to do."

He did not try to hide his shock at her words. They often did not agree, but he had seldom known her to second-guess herself.

"Do you not think she will return them?"

"Oh, no. She will return them. I am certain of that. Seven’s implants will be replaced and neither Ketaria nor Harry will be harmed." She put one hand on her hip and the other to her forehead, "But something about this is not right. The more I think about it, the more I am certain there is something significant going on that we don’t know anything about."

"Does that surprise you?"

"No, Chakotay, it doesn’t surprise me. I never thought the Borg would replace Seven’s implants out of the goodness of their hearts." She walked away from him, then turned to face them, "But I have to wonder if the conflict with the Federation has anything to do with the reaction of the Federation toward Seven. It could explain why they are so adamant about incarcerating her when we do get back to earth. If she goes in there representing the Borg to the Federation, will that put her at greater risk? How can we protect her if she is more closely tied to the Borg than she was before?" 

She stopped for a moment and he could see she was following a train of thought. He stayed quiet, waiting on her to continue, "The Borg queen told me that Seven was still ‘of the Borg.’ They have been able to maintain a minimal contact with her."

"Are you saying Seven is still tied to the collective?"

"No, Chakotay," she slowly shook her head, "but the collective is still tied to Seven." He let out a breath and her eyes cut to his in a knowing look. "They have allowed us to continue our journey home, knowing all the time where we were. Probably knowing when we were vulnerable, and they have not assimilated us. They have wanted us to return to earth."

He held his breath, suddenly realizing where this was going.

"And they have wanted us to return to earth with Seven on board."

**

The Doctor was rocking Kathryn B’Elanna. The child would not sleep. B’Elanna walked over and kneeled next to them, touching the child on her arm.

"Would you like to go lie down in the bed with me? I’ll read you a Flotter story." Kathryn B’Elanna pulled her arm away and moved herself even closer to her father. B’Elanna smiled at her and patted her leg, then stood and went back to sit next to Tom on the sofa. 

"Doctor," Kahkar’s normally booming voice was soft, "perhaps you should take her to your bed. She needs to rest…and so do you. It will be at least six hours before they are likely to return. If anything happens, we will wake you immediately." When the Doctor just looked at him, he gently added, "Doctor’s orders."

The Doctor slowly gave him a wry grin, stood and walked into his bedroom with his daughter held closely to him. As soon as the bedroom door closed, the three people in the living room visibly relaxed.

"Six hours, huh?" B’Elanna’s eyes were on the bedroom door.

"Six hours," Kahkar replied. "I have my people monitoring for any sign of a transwarp signature. They will alert Captain Janeway as soon as they identify one."

"How are you holding up, Kahkar?" Tom gave him a concerned look.

"I am doing fine, Tom. I have faith in Ketaria’s ability to handle herself in this situation. The Borg will not harm her."

"I hope Harry is okay," B’Elanna’s face was etched with deep concern. She turned to look at her husband, "I hope things will be okay between the Doctor and Harry when they get back."

Tom nodded but did not respond. It was going to be a long six hours.

**

Kathryn Janeway watched the three figures materialize in the cargo bay. Harry was holding an unconscious Seven in his arms. Janeway looked her over carefully. Nothing was visibly different. Nothing was different about any of them.

As soon as they solidified, Harry carried Seven toward her alcove and Ketaria took the Borg data node she carried to the console, inserting it into the data bay. Once Harry had Seven situated in the alcove, he nodded to Ketaria and she activated the node. The alcove immediately powered up to maximum. Harry stood next to Seven, supporting her until he was certain she was stabilized in the alcove. Then, he stepped back and turned to face the Captain.

"She is supposed to regenerate for another forty-eight hours before we wake her."

Janeway nodded her head, noticing the strained look around his eyes, "How…."

She was stopped by Ketaria’s hand on her arm, "Captain, the Borg did what they promised. Her implants have been replaced."

She saw the look in Ketaria’s eyes as she spoke and did not pursue further questioning of Harry. Instead, she asked, "Now what do we do?"

Ketaria waited to see if Harry was going to speak. When he didn’t, she answered, "She will need to be monitored while she regenerates. According to the Borg, she will have to be monitored for the next two weeks. But, she should be okay. We will just have to give her time to recover."

"It will be good to have her back."

At that, Harry turned and gave her a strange look. Janeway frowned and opened her mouth to speak when Ketaria interrupted, "Captain, Harry will stay here with Seven for the first watch. I will go with you and speak with the Doctor." She hesitated, "They do know we have returned, don’t they?"

"Actually, no. Kahkar’s people identified the transwarp conduit and contacted us but I did not pass the word along. I wanted to…assess the situation before alerting the Doctor."

Ketaria thought for a moment, "That was probably wise." She gave herself a few minutes to look at Seven, then at Harry before turning her attention back to Captain Janeway, "Come. We will go to her living quarters."

Janeway noted that Harry did not even notice that they had left. 

As soon as the cargo bay doors closed behind them, she asked, "Just how bad was it."

Ketaria stopped and turned to face her. She watched as Ketaria took at breath and started to speak, then raised her hand quickly to cover her mouth, closing her eyes. Janeway was surprised to see tears start to trickle down her cheeks. She reached out to touch her arm and saw Ketaria slowly bow her head and her shoulders start to shake. Janeway pulled the smaller woman into her embrace, holding her tightly, allowing her to cry.

After a while, the sobbing subsided and Ketaria pulled away, hiding her face from the Captain. Her voice was choked when she finally spoke, "I am..sorry, Captain." She looked at Janeway, her face still full of pain, "I thought I had managed better than that."

"It is all right, Ketaria. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to."

"No, Captain Janeway…."

"Don’t you think you could call me Kathryn by now?" Janeway was smiling at her.

Ketaria laughed lightly, "Okay, Kathryn." She pulled in a deep, shaky breath, "It was…terrible. I have never experienced anything like that before. And I hope I never do again." She finished in a rush of words, fighting back for control. She put her hand to her forehead and lowered her head, tears falling freely. Finally, she looked up, "Captain, I have come to think of Seven as my own daughter. It was like seeing your child torn apart and not being able to do anything about it." She lowered her head again, "I must admit, I could not watch."

Janeway stood there and gave her time to cry. Finally, she asked, "Ketaria, how did Harry handle it?"

"Captain," the pain in Ketaria’s eyes grew, "he watched everything. I cannot imagine what he was thinking. I could not feel through his will to protect her and take care of her. I worry about him." She let her eyes travel back toward the cargo bay doors, "We should keep a close watch on him, Captain. He may need our help."

Janeway nodded, not certain what to say to the woman in front of her. After a moment, Ketaria started walking toward the turbolift and Janeway fell into step with her. They stayed quiet during the ride on the turbolift with Janeway giving Ketaria time to recover her composure. They were almost at the doors to the Doctor’s living quarters before Ketaria stopped.

"Captain."

"Yes?"

"Before we go in there, you should know, I think there is more to all of this that what we were told."

"I know."

"How?"

"I can’t believe there isn’t more."

"You are right, Captain."

"Do you know what it is?"

"No. I do not."

Janeway nodded, her disappointment obvious. Then, she used her head to indicate the door, "Shall we?"

Ketaria nodded and they entered into the living quarters of the Doctor and Seven.

**

As soon as he stood, she broke into tears again and rushed into his arms. Kahkar stood there, comforting her, tears starting to trickle down his own face. B’Elanna looked to the Captain, eyes wide and questioning. When Janeway gave her a reassuring nod, she leaned against Tom. 

Finally, Ketaria pulled away, wiping her face, "I am sorry."

"Do not be sorry," Kahkar pulled her back to him. "Do not be sorry." His own voice was thick with emotion. She had allowed him to feel her emotions and he had an idea of what she had experienced. 

"Where is the Doctor?" She looked up at him.

"He is in the bedroom with Kathryn B’Elanna." Kahkar looked to the closed door, "We should wake him."

"Yes. I will go."

"Ketaria," B’Elanna ventured hesitantly, "is…?" She did not know exactly what to ask and her words trailed off.

"Seven is regenerating in her alcove below. Her implants have been replaced. Physically, she will be fully recovered, even though she will have to be carefully monitored while she regenerates for the next few weeks." She drew a deep breath before continuing, "However, she will probably not have any memory of her time on Voyager. She will only remember her time with the collective."

"What?" B’Elanna was incredulous, "They took her memories?"

"No. Her memories of her time on Voyager were repressed. It will take her some time for them to reawaken."

Tom spoke up reassuringly, "Being around the Doctor and KB will help."

"No. The queen warned us that we should reintroduce her to her life on Voyager very slowly. Until she can be reconciled to being separated from the collective and to being a part of this ship, she should not be told of her relationship with the Doctor and of their child."

"Ketaria," B’Elanna moved toward her, "her family will help her. We can’t keep them away from her."

"No, B’Elanna. It is for the best." She walked up to B’Elanna and put her hand on her arm, "Seven’s memories of Voyager have been repressed, but they are still there. I believe this will cause her great conflict. It will take her time for her to regain those memories and reconcile them." She hesitated and looked at the people in the room, "For the sake of her relationship with the Doctor, she should be allowed to reconcile those memories slowly."

"What are you saying, Ketaria?" Janeway put her hands on her hips, working to follow the line of the conversation.

"I am saying that until Seven is allowed to rediscover the feelings she developed for the Doctor naturally, I do not think she will find…her marriage acceptable."

Janeway’s face cleared with her understanding, "He is only a computer program and, is therefore, inferior. She will not see him as an acceptable partner."

"Correct."

"And, we cannot reintroduce her to her child without explaining who the father is."

"Yes, Captain."

Janeway took a deep breath, nodding her head. "Okay. That is what we will have to do. I will call the crew together and explain the situation. Ketaria, I would appreciate you being there to explain what it is we will need to do to help Seven through this. In the meantime," she looked meaningfully at the people around the room, "does anyone have any idea exactly how we are going to break this to the Doctor?" 

Ketaria looked to the bedroom door, "I will tell him." She turned and walked toward the bedroom door.