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

Janeway stood in front of Seven, with Ketaria, the Doctor and Harry beside her. She was aware of the tension between the Doctor and Harry. They had made the decision that Harry would work closely with Seven over the next few weeks. She could tell the Doctor was not happy about the arrangement, but even he had recognized that it would be the best arrangement for Seven. Still, she knew he was worried, and she knew why. So was she. It would have been better for B’Elanna to be the person who worked closely with her for the next few weeks, but they had all agreed that B’Elanna needed to be the primary caretaker for KB. It would be important to keep the child away from Seven.

It had been Ketaria who had finally convinced everyone that Harry was the obvious choice to work with her. It made sense, since he had worked with her when she first came on board. Ketaria told them she thought it would be an important step in helping to reawaken her memories.

The Captain looked over to Harry and he keyed in a command on the alcove and stepped back. They watched as Seven’s eyes slowly opened. Then, she stepped forward and looked slowly around the bay, her eyes searching around her.

"Where am I?"

"You are on the starship Voyager. My name is Captain Janeway. You are…."

"I am Borg."

"Yes…."

"I am Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One." Her eyes started to dart, fear and uncertainty starting to come into her face, "The others." She turned her head as if listening, "I cannot hear the others." Then, a look of loss came crossed her face, "You will return this drone to the collective." 

"No. You have been separated from the collective. You are an individual now. And you are a part of Voyager." Even as she spoke, her skin prickled with the memories of similar conversations she had had with Seven. 

"Unacceptable." Seven stepped down from the alcove, "you will return us to the collective."

"We cannot do that. You are an individual. You are now a member of this collective. I am the head of this collective, and you will follow my orders." She watched Seven’s face, noting that she was responding to her authority. "You must comply."

Seven stepped back a half a step and cocked her head, almost waiting for another instruction. The Captain immediately started talking, "This is Ensign Kim. You will work with him."

Seven gave Harry a blank stare but she did not argue. The Captain continued, "This is Ketaria Omarahn. She will assist you…in becoming acclimated to being on Voyager. If you need anything, you should tell her."

Seven also gave her a blank stare.

"And this is the Doctor. You are to visit him in the sickbay each day. He will need to check your implants and make adjustments, if necessary. You will allow him to take care of you."

At that, Seven turned to face the Doctor. He gave her a smile, "Hello, Seven."

"My designation is Seven of Nine." Her voice was cold. So were her eyes.

"Of course." He blinked back his disappointment and tried again, "Hello, Seven of Nine."

She just turned her head, then slowly looked down at her body, "Where is my exoskeleton? What have you done to me?" She looked up in anger.

Janeway allowed her voice to carry its full authority, "You have the implants you need. You do not need anything else. You are acceptable as you are."

Seven’s eyes flashed, but she did not respond further. Instead, she stood, waiting.

Janeway took a deep breath, "Let’s start with a check up. Doctor, will you and Ketaria take Seven of Nine to the sickbay and give her a good check up?" She turned her attention to Seven, "After you are finished in the sickbay, Ketaria will take you to Astrometrics. You will work there with Ensign Kim. That," she pointed to the combadge on Seven’s uniform, "is our communicator. If you need to contact me, simply tap it and speak my name. The computer will connect us." She made certain her voice was firm, "You will address me as Captain Janeway, and you will accept my position as leader. You will follow my orders. Voyager is your collective now. You will serve this collective."

Seven’s eyes worked back and forth, and Janeway knew she was listening for other instructions.

"You must comply." She made her voice as forceful as she could. She saw the familiar rise of the eyebrow, and she knew her instructions would be obeyed. She nodded to Ketaria and the Doctor, and they led Seven out of the cargo bay.

**

Seven stood next to the biobed. The Doctor approached her with his medical tricorder and raised his hand to start his scan. She jerked back, defensively. He quickly pulled back.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you." He held the tricorder up in front of her, "This is a medical tricorder. It allows me to scan you, and it tells me important things about you. It will not harm you." He gave her a questioning look, and she raised her head and stood straight and still to allow him to scan her. He did so carefully, a look of relief coming over his face as he did so, "Perfect." He could not help giving Ketaria a big grin.

"I am Borg."

The grin disappeared. His eyes sought hers, and he looked deep inside of them for a moment. "Of course." He put his tricorder down and indicated the biobed, "Would you please lie down there?"

Uncertainty crossed her face, and Ketaria moved toward her, "Seven of Nine, this is a biobed. It will allow the Doctor to examine you more carefully." Seven turned to look at the biobed, and Ketaria continued, "You will not be harmed."

Seven turned to the biobed, not quite certain how to go about lying down. Ketaria slowly reached out help her. At first, she felt resistance, but that quickly passed, and Ketaria soon had Seven stretched out on the biobed.

The Doctor leaned over her, "I am going to activate the biobed so I can run some diagnostics on you. Extensions will come up over you," he mimicked the action of the diagnostics on the bed. "Do not be frightened." He gave her a calming smile.

"I will not be frightened. I am Borg."

His eyes showed his sadness, but as he activated the biobed, he saw the fear come into hers. He started talking to her to distract her, "Very good, Seven of Nine. This will not take long. And I can already tell everything is going to look fine. I will get a good baseline, and this will give us something to compare with when I check you each day." He continued talking, explaining everything he was doing, keeping his voice calm and friendly. He noticed, after a few minutes, that she seemed to relax. He also noticed her eyes followed his every movement. Finally, he deactivated the biobed and reached a hand to help her off the bed. Almost without thinking, she reached for it. Once she was on her feet, she looked their clasped hands, her eyes narrowing. He stood, hoping, but she soon pulled her hand away and stood with her hands behind her back. He lowered his head toward the diagnostics screens to hide his disappointment. Suddenly, he was aware she was looking at him.

He turned to her, "Is there anything you would like to ask me?"

"State your designation."

"I am called the Doctor." She looked at him uncertainly and he knew what she wanted to know. He cleared his throat and continued, "I am the Emergency Medical Hologram on Voyager. I serve as the Chief Medical Officer."

"A hologram."

He cocked his head slightly to the right and nodded.

She looked at him, her eyes assessing him. He watched them carefully, looking for anything that indicated recognition. Instead, he saw them dismiss him and watched as she turned to Ketaria. He closed his eyes and tightened his lips in pain, dropping his head.

Ketaria thought her heart would break. She reached out and was able to feel the pain he felt. She sent him a feeling of comfort, but he had turned from them, and she knew nothing she could do would provide him with any comfort. She reached for Seven and took her by the elbow.

"Come. We will go to Astrometrics."

Seven went with her without an argument. The Doctor did not watch them as they left the sickbay.

**

Harry worked with Seven in Astrometrics. It turned out to be an awkward day in many aspects. There was a coldness about her that had unsettled him. She was definitely more like the old Seven.

He turned when he heard the doors slide open behind them and was almost relieved when he saw Captain Janeway walk through.

"How are the two of you doing?" Her voice was friendly but still authoritative.

"We are doing fine, Captain," he responded, "Seven of Nine is a quick learner."

"I am Borg."

He forced himself to grin at her, "Yes. She keeps reminding me of that."

Janeway just nodded, then said, "Ensign, I would like to visit with Seven of Nine."

"Of course, Captain." He turned to Seven, "I will see you here tomorrow."

She only looked at him, and he nodded goodbye to the Captain and left. Janeway waited until the doors closed behind him, then looked to Seven, "Did you have a good day?"

She seemed surprised at the question and stumbled for a response, "It was…adequate."

"Did you and Ensign Kim get along okay?"

"I was told to work with him. I did so."

Janeway smiled at her, "Seven of Nine, I know this is unsettling for you. We will do as much as we can to help you through this transition. You will adapt. You will…you already are a valuable member of this crew." When she did not receive a response, she continued, "How did your work go today?"

She saw something in Seven’s eyes and she waited, holding her breath, "Work…was adequate."

She waited.

"It…seemed…familiar."

"Good." She wanted to say more but she and Ketaria had talked and both had agreed Seven needed a couple more days onboard before they tried to tell her she was not new to Voyager. Ketaria thought it more important that she gradually remember. Her programming did not make her inquisitive and forcing her memories on her might have the opposite effect. "That will help you get more comfortable with your work and with the people here on Voyager. Is there anything I can do to help you? Do you have any questions about anything that happened today?"

"No."

She noticed a strange look cross Seven’s face and thought she heard a small sound. She had to work to keep from laughing. Instead, she asked, "Are you all right?"

Seven lifted a hand to her stomach and looked down at it, "My body is making strange sounds." She gave the Captain a worried look, "I feel…empty."

Janeway walked up to her, "I think your body is telling you it is hungry. You should eat." When Seven gave her a blank stare, she said, "Come. I will take you to the mess hall. We will get you something to eat, and you will have the opportunity to meet other members of the crew."

She started walking toward the doors, then stopped when Seven did not move. The former drone was still standing with her hand on her stomach, listening to the rumbling sounds it was making. Smiling, she came back and reached to gently take Seven’s arm and led her out of Astrometrics.

**

The mess hall was full when they entered. As soon as they entered, the room went silent for a moment, then conversation continued, but at a much softer volume. The Captain noticed Seven was aware that many eyes were on her. She could feel the growing discomfort of her companion.

"Come. We will sit over here, and I will have Neelix bring us something to eat." She made certain Seven was seated at a table and called Neelix to them. "This is Neelix. He is our cook."

He greeted her, "Hello, Seven of Nine."

She just looked at him. The Captain spoke up, "Seven of Nine is hungry. Do you think you can fix her something to eat?"

"Of course. I think maybe your favorite would be…I mean, do you have a favorite food?" He stumbled to a stop, looking anxiously at the Captain.

She gave him a quick smile and responded for Seven, "Why don’t you just get her whatever you think is appropriate."

"Of course, Captain." He quickly left to get their food.

She noticed the look on Seven’s face, "What is it?"

"This feels…familiar."

She was starting to like that word. She hoped she would get to hear it again and again. "Good. It will help you adapt more quickly." She became aware of a people approaching and turned, "Hello. Come meet Seven of Nine."

Tom and B’Elanna walked up to the table, "Seven of Nine, this is Lieutenant Tom Paris, our pilot, and this is Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres Paris, our Chief Engineer."

"Hello, Seven of Nine," B’Elanna spoke, her eyes watching the woman in front of her carefully.

"Hi," said Tom, "it is good to see you."

Seven looked at them for a moment, "You are both designated Paris. Are you an adjunct of Voyager?"

They all smiled and the Captain responded, "You might say that. Tom and B’Elanna are married."

"Married."

"Yes," B’Elanna took Tom’s hand and Seven watched the action intently, her eyes focusing briefly on the ring on B’Elanna’s hand. She closed her eyes momentarily, a frown crossing her forehead. B’Elanna glanced quickly to the Captain and they were almost relieved when Neelix arrived with the food.

"Here we go," he put the trays down in on the table with a flourish, putting a napkin on Seven’s lap and a flower on the table. Then he arranged utensils and stood back.

"Thank you, Neelix," said the Captain. She nodded to him and gave him a look.

"Of course. You are welcome." He started backing away, "Let me know if you need anything else. I hope you enjoy your meal." With a quick smile, he turned and left.

Seven stared at the tray of food in front of her. B’Elanna slightly pulled on Tom’s hand, "We will look forward to seeing you later, Seven of Nine." She gave the Captain a sad look, "Captain."

Janeway gave her an understanding look and they walked away. She turned her attention to Seven. "Use that," she pointed to a fork, picking up her own napkin, "and do what I do." She then started to eat in slow and almost exaggerated motions. Seven followed suit. After the first bite, Janeway asked, "How is it?"

"It is…interesting."

"It isn’t familiar?" Her voice was humorous.

Seven gave her another blank stare and took another bite of her food. They continued to eat in silence. After a little while, Seven said, "Yes. This, too, is familiar."

Progress, thought Janeway.

**

Ketaria walked into her husband’s lab and found him studying the results of his work. Even though he did not look up from his work, she knew he was aware she had entered the room. She approached the console and stood, waiting for him to finish.

When he finally did, his face was grim, "I found it."

She exhaled slowly, putting her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. After a moment, she spoke, "I was hoping you would find nothing."

"Me, too."

"Can you tell exactly what they did?"

"I think so. Look." He keyed in a few commands and a screen on the wall in front of him flickered into life. On the screen, the familiar double helix was displayed. "There," he zoomed in on a section of the strand in the center of the screen, isolating the view he wanted, "see that particular section?" He used a pointer to draw her attention to an innocuous section of the strand.

"Yes, I see it."

"Watch as I magnify it."

She watched carefully and saw the subtle change that occurred. "What was that?"

"They managed to insert a foreign strand of DNA into Seven’s DNA."

"And it is Batair DNA."

"Yes. It is Batair DNA."

"Oh my goodness." She gave him an ironic look, "Well, what explains Seven’s mild telepathic ability." She laughed strangely, "I guess the fact that I felt she was my child was more factual than just a feeling. She is truly part of my family. We are genetically connected." She stood in thought a moment. Then, feeling something coming from her husband, she turned, her eyes leading her head. She asked him, her voice somewhat fearful, "What?"

"Look again."

Reluctantly, she turned her attention back to the screen and she saw the picture focus into a smaller section of the DNA strand. Suddenly, she caught her breath. There on the screen was not only DNA, but also segments of what was obviously Borg technology. She turned her head quickly to her husband. 

"They manipulated her DNA. They inserted Batair DNA into her DNA and, somehow, they managed to insert Borg technology at the same level."

She turned her attention back to the screen and walked toward it, studying it carefully. Kahkar gave her time to think through what this meant. He watched as she stared at it, then watched as her body stiffened and turned to him with disbelief in her eyes. He looked back down at his console and she turned her attention back to the screen, watching it split into two views with two strands of DNA displayed side by side. The left was the original strand, the right was a similar strand, but the human and Batair DNA and the Borg technology more fully incorporated, blending together seamlessly.

She slowly spun around and stood facing her husband. "Kathryn B’Elanna."

He nodded, his voice breaking as he spoke, "The first genetic Borg."

**

The doors opened and B’Elanna walked into the Doctor’s living quarters carrying KB.

"Dada. Dada." Her face broke into a smile as soon as she saw him. He took her from B’Elanna and hugged her tightly, momentarily burying his face in her hair. B’Elanna watched him, a sad expression on her face.

"Bad day, huh, Doc.?"

"Yes. Bad day." He crossed and sat down in the rocking chair, putting his daughter on his lap facing him, looking into the face that looked so much like her mother’s. "It is a miracle Seven is alive, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that she is, but looking at her is painful. It’s like my Seven is gone, and there is only a shell of her standing in front of me." He pulled his child close to him and hugged her again, "This is going to be harder than I imagined."

"You just have to give it time, Doctor." 

"I know. I know." He cast his eyes down to his child again, then cut them back to B’Elanna, "It is harder knowing they will be together every day."

She didn’t respond immediately. She had been thinking the same thoughts and she shared his concern. Finally, she said, "Doctor, Ketaria thinks she will start to regain her memories sooner rather than later. When that happens, she will remember how much she loves you."

"Will she? Or will she realize that she really loves him?"

"Doctor," she reached out to put her hand on his knee, "Seven loves you. She doesn’t love Harry. She cares for him. But she loves you."

"She truly loves a hologram."

B’Elanna’s voice was emphatic, her words coming out, slowly, one at a time, "She loves you. And anyone with half an eye can see it when the two of your are together."

He looked at her, "Could. Not can."

"Will!"

He was silent a moment, then stood, "I’d better get Kathryn B’Elanna something to eat." He moved to the replicator and ordered her dinner, then carried it and her to the table. He put the tray of food on the table and put his daughter in her chair. He sat down and started feeding her. B’Elanna joined him at the table. "So, how did the two of you do today. Did she pick up on the fact that Seven is back on Voyager?"

"I don’t think so. She didn’t act any differently." She paused, "Then again, Kahkar did something to her dampener so that it is more powerful."

"He said he was going to maximize it, just in case." He gave B’Elanna a grateful look, "I’m glad you are able to take care her. It helps a lot." He cleared his throat, "It means a lot knowing she is with you."

"I wouldn’t want her with anyone else." B’Elanna smiled at him, "You know I could not love her anymore if she were my own."

"I know." He finished feeding his daughter, then picked her up out of her chair. "Now, it is time for me to start putting her to bed. And," he looked over at B’Elanna, "it is time for you to go home to your husband." He reached out for her hand and led her to the door. He held her hand to his chest, pulling her closer to him and kissed her on the top of her head, "I want you to go home, hug your husband and tell him how much you love him. Okay?"

"Okay, Doctor." She stood up on her toes and kissed him on the check, then patted KB’s knees, "Sleep well, tonight. Both of you."

She walked out of the doors. He stood staring at them a long time after they closed.

** 
Ketaria slowly approached Astrometrics. It had been almost four days since Seven had returned to Voyager. She and Captain Janeway had talked and decided it was time to tell Seven she had been on the ship for over four years.It had been obvious that Seven was starting to recognize more and more things about the ship and its crew, and thatshe was finding this recognition troublesome. Seven had not said anything, but both Ketaria and the Captain had noticed she was growing more and more unsettled. She looked up to see the Captain coming to join her from a side corridor. 

"Are you ready?" Janeway’s face was marked by concern.

"Yes, Kathryn. I am ready."

They approached the doors, which opened to admit them. Harry turned immediately, but they noticed Seven did not look up from her work.

"Captain," he greeted them.

"Hello, Ensign." Janeway returned his greeting. She turned to Seven, calling to her, "Hello, Seven of Nine."

Seven looked up at the sound of her name, "Captain." Then, she lowered her head and returned to work.

Harry grinned, "She’s working on a project. She’s a little…focused." 

"So I see. Ensign, we would like to talk with Seven of Nine."

"Of course, Captain." He put down the PADD he was holding, "With your permission, I will take a coffee break."

"Very good, Ensign. I will contact you once we are finished."

He gave her a nod and left.

Janeway and Ketaria walked up to stand near Seven. They waited, but Seven did not look up from her work. Finally, Janeway spoke, "Seven of Nine, we would like to talk with you." When she got no response, she said, "Seven of Nine, look at me." At that, Seven stopped and raised her head to look at the Janeway. When Seven did not say anything, the Captain asked, "Did you not hear me speaking to you?"

"I heard you."

"You did not respond."

"You did not ask me a question. You said you wanted to talk to me. You could have talked while I worked."

"Oh." She looked over at Ketaria, "I had forgotten how…simplistic this stage of the process could be." She pulled her eyes back to Seven, "Ketaria and I would like to talk to you." Seven’s eyes stayed on her face, waiting. "You have been on Voyager for four days now. Right?"

"Four days, twenty minutes and thirty-two seconds."

"Right." She rubbed her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. "Have you noticed that things seem…more familiar to you?"

Seven frowned, her eyes casting from side to side. Then, she raised her head slightly and replied, her voice somewhat uncertain, "Yes."

"Well, there is a reason for that." She watched Seven’s face, trying to judge her reaction. "Four day ago was not the first time you were on Voyager." She waited, then continued, "Seven, you have been on Voyager for a number of years. You are, and have been, a valuable member of this crew for over four years."

Seven’s eyes looked at her in disbelief and then in relief. She jutted her chin up but took a moment to speak, "I…have been wondering." She suddenly looked down, taking a deep, shaky breath. "There were…too many things that seemed familiar." She looked up at the Captain, "Why do I not remember?" Ketaria slowly walked up to Seven and reached out to touch her, trying to carefully project a calming influence over her, but Seven shied away from her, her eyes fearful. "Who am I? What am I doing here?"

Janeway quickly moved closer to her, "Seven, you don’t have to be afraid. We are all your friends here. You are Seven of Nine. You were Borg, but you were separated from the collective. You accepted Voyager as your home a long time ago. You have a family here on Voyager." She saw Seven’s eyes locked on her face, almost willing her to continue, "You have lived on Voyager as an individual. You have been very happy here but, recently, you got sick. Your Borg implants were failing. You almost died. As a matter of fact, you would have died, but the Borg replaced your implants. It saved your life. But, in the process, some of your memories were…damaged. Your memories have been…displaced, but you should get them back. It will just take you a little while."

She stopped, allowing what she had said to sink in. Ketaria could feel Seven’s confusion. Once again, she tried to reach out to Seven. She moved slowly and carefully reached to touch the younger woman’s arm. This time, Seven did not shy away. When Ketaria touched her, Seven looked down at the hand on her arm, then closed her eyes before opening them to look at Ketaria, "I know you. But I do not know you." She started shaking her head, then dropped her head into her hand and started to pitch slowly forward.

"Seven?" The Captain moved quickly to her, helping Ketaria grab her as she fell. "Seven!" They lowered her to the floor and Janeway reached to touch her combadge, "Janeway to the Doctor. Medical emergency in Astrometrics."

**

The Doctor was scanning her when her eyes opened. He stopped scanning and started talking to her, "You are okay, Seven of Nine. You are in the sickbay." She started to try to sit up and he gently stopped her, "No. You need to continue to lie there." She looked at him, and he smiled at her, "You must comply."

She hesitated a moment, then relaxed and allowed him to continue his scans. Finally he stood up straight and nodded to Captain Janeway and Ketaria, indicating that they could join him near the biobed, "She seemed to have experienced a high level of stress. Her implants were not prepared to deal with it properly. I have made some minor adjustments." He looked down at Seven, his eyes tender, "I think that she should stay here tonight. I would like to monitor her implants on a regular basis throughout the night. Just to make certain, Captain."

"Of course, Doctor. Now, if you will allow, Ketaria and I would like to talk with her a few minutes."

He nodded, "I will be in my office." With that, he left them.

Seven sat up, facing the two women in front of her, waiting for one of them to speak. Finally, Janeway stepped forward, "Seven, I think we have talked enough tonight. We will continue our conversations when you feel you are ready to discover more. In the meantime, try not to worry. Just know we are all here for you."

Ketaria touched her arm, "Seven, we will spend some time together tomorrow. Maybe I can help you in discovering more of yourself."

Seven did not respond but dropped her eyes. The Captain put her hand on her shoulder, "Lie back down, Seven, and rest. I will come get you for breakfast. In the meantime, the Doctor will take care of you." She called to him, "Doctor."

He quickly came out of his office, "Yes, Captain."

"We will leave Seven to your care."

"Yes, Captain," he gave her a quick look, "will you tell B’Elanna…." His voice trailed off, but his eyes asked the question.

"Of course, Doctor. Don’t worry about…anything."

He smiled at her gratefully and watched as they left. Then, he turned his attention to his patient.

"So, Seven of…may I just call you Seven?" When she nodded, he continued, "Seven, I would like to run a complete diagnostic on you. Will that be all right with you?" She nodded again and he activated the biobed. Even while his scans were running, he watched her eyes. They were unsettled, and he could tell she was having problems lying still for the examination. As soon as he could, he deactivated the bed and watched the relief come into your eyes. "You don’t like having the extensions activated on the biobed."

It took a moment for her to answer and she did so reluctantly, "No." 

He took a chance, "You did not used to mind it that much."

She cut her eyes to him but did not respond.

He busied himself with some of his medical equipment, making minor adjustments, trying to figure out what to say to her next. But she was the one who broke the silence.

"May I ask you a question?"

He answered quickly, "Of course."

"Did we know each other…before?"

He forced himself to respond to her calmly, "Yes. We did."

"You do seem familiar."

"I would hope that I would. We…were friends."

She looked at him, somewhat surprised, "But you are a hologram."

He quickly looked down and fumbled with his medical tricorder. Finally, he was able to force a smile on his face, "Yes, I am a hologram but I have been allowed to expand beyond my original programming. I am…more than just a computer program."

"Explain."

"Well," he slowly started to walk around the biobed, "I have interests. I enjoy holo-photography and opera." He cut his eyes to her, "I sing."

"Sing?"

"Yes. Would you like for me to demonstrate?"

She gave him a slight nod and he sang a line from a song. After he finished, she said, "That was pleasant."

"I am glad you liked it." He took another chance, "We used to sing together quite often." She seemed surprised but did not say anything so he continued, "It was something we both enjoyed doing. Maybe," he took a quick breath, "you would enjoy doing so soon. I would be glad to take you to the holodeck. We used to spend a lot of time there."

He stood, almost afraid of her response. After a moment, she gave him a slight nod of her head, and he responded with a big smile, "I shall look forward to it, Seven." Once again, he busied himself around her, hoping for their conversation to be continued.

"Do I have other friends on Voyager?"

"Yes. You have many friends. There is the Captain and B’Elanna and Tom."

"B’Elanna and Tom. They are married."

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you were matron of honor at their wedding."

"Matron of honor? Explain."

"It means you stood beside B’Elanna when she married Tom."

"I…do not remember." She raised her eyes upward and he could see the frustration on her face. He gave her time to recover. Suddenly, she asked, "Am I friends with Ensign Kim?"

He clinched his jaws and slowly looked at her, "Yes. You and Ensign Kim are friends."

"What is the…nature of our relationship?"

It took everything he had not to react to her question. "You are simply friends."

She looked relieved.

"Why do you ask?"

"I am not certain." She hunted for words, "I just had the feeling he…wanted something from me." She put her hand to her forehead, a look of pain coming over her face."

He quickly moved to scan her, frowning. He picked up a hypospray and reached to administer the medication. She jerked away from him.

"It is okay, Seven. This is simply medication to help you relax. It will help you sleep." His voice was calm and soothing. She stayed tense, but turned her head and allowed him to medicate her. He put the hypospray down and placed his hand on her arm. She looked down at his hand on her arm, a look of confusion coming over her face. She looked into his eyes, then dropped her eyes back down to his hand. He watched her eyelids close and her breathing start to deepen. He stood with his hand on her arm, grateful for even this small amount of contact. But he could not stop the anger that was starting to build inside him.

**

Kahkar was standing in front of the observation windows, his hands clasped behind his back. Ketaria saw how still he was. She reached out to touch his emotions, then pulled back. He did not want her help or her comfort. She moved toward the center of the room and stood behind the semi-circular sofa, waiting on him to speak.

"How did she handle the news?"

"It was a little more than she could take. She ended up in sickbay."

He turned to face her, "She is all right, is she not?"

"The Doctor says she will be. Her new implants did not react fast enough to the stress the news put her under. The Doctor made some adjustments and said he would watch her through the night."

He nodded at this. She watched as his mouth twitched, and she waited for him to speak. It did not take long.

"Ketaria. What have I done?"

"What have you done? You have done nothing. You helped two people who wanted very much to have a child. If there is someone to blame in this, it is the Borg. Not you."

"Kathryn B’Elanna," he spoke the name in a whisper, "a being capable of manipulating minds and machines with the power of her mind."

"You don’t know that."

"Don’t I? She has already been inside the Doctor’s program. The changes he is going through – his ability to have and to project emotions – how else would that happen to him? She can go inside your mind. You have told me she can hold you off. She is a telepath. A telepath of your people, enhanced by Borg technology. Outwardly, fully human. Inwardly, genetically Borg.

"What I don’t understand is why the Borg would let her get away? They know she exists. Why haven’t they tried to take her?" 

"I don’t know, Kahkar. I did not get anything from the Borg queen but that which she wanted me to know. She allowed me to know that Seven’s DNA had been manipulated to include the DNA of my people. But there was nothing of the Borg technology in what she allowed me to see."

"And the fact that they had placed Seven on Voyager, hoping she would mate and produce a child."

She nodded, reluctantly, "Yes."

"So, why have they allowed her to stay? And Kathryn B’Elanna." He walked around the room, "Not only have the Borg allowed Seven to stay on Voyager, but saved her life by replacing her implants. Took her from Voyager and then, returned her. Why? It doesn’t make any sense." He walked around, his hands clasped behind his back, "Do you know the worse?"

She shook her head at him and he continued, "Had she had a child in a…more normal way, the child would not have been as powerful. Since Kathryn B’Elanna was made possible by using only Seven’s DNA, she is more powerful than the Borg could ever have imagined."

He bowed his head, then turned back to look out of the view screen, "Kathryn B’Elanna, the child we have come to think of as our own grandchild, is the perfect Borg."

**

Kathryn B’Elanna was sitting in her bed, her hands placed on the mattress in front of her. Mama was near. She could feel her, but she could not find her. She reached out, searching, but Mama escaped her. She would find Dada. She lay down and closed her eyes.

Immediately, she was going through Voyager. She knew where to find Dada. Dada was in sickbay. She moved quickly into the sickbay to find Dada. She saw him but did not call to him. Dada was with Mama.

But Mama was not really there. She could see her body but she could not feel her mind. She went deeper, reaching out to Mama’s mind. Finally, she entered but it was not like Mama’s mind. This place had monsters. 

She woke up, screaming. B’Elanna came running into the room and grabbed KB, holding the child, trying to comfort her. It took her almost an hour to quiet the sobs and still the shaking. B’Elanna spent the rest of the night rocking her in the chair.