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

She was desperate to find a place to go where she could be alone. She did not know enough about Voyager to know where that was. She only knew the cargo bay, astrometrics, sickbay and the mess hall. None of which were places where she could be alone.

No. She knew another place. She headed there.

She walked into the place, not even noticing at first it was not like it had been the last time she had been there. She just felt an overwhelming sense of relief when the doors closed behind her, and she was alone.

Alone. She was not used to being alone. Why did the idea of being alone comfort her? There were so many things she did not understand. So many things she felt conflicted about. Her head was hurting. It hurt to breathe. She sat on something nearby, not even noticing what it was.

Suddenly, she was aware of a sound. For the first time, she looked around and realized she was in a forest. She frowned. This had been Sandrines the other night. She did not recognize this place. Then, she heard the sound again and she moved toward it. As she walked around a cropping of rocks, she came face to face with B’Elanna Torres.

B’Elanna’s eyes went wide with surprise as soon as she saw her, "Seven. What are you doing here?"

The Lieutenant’ demeanor took her by surprise, "I…do not know. I thought I was going to Sandrines."

"No. I have the holodeck now." 

"Oh. I did not realize." She stood, uncertain of what to do. Then, she realized the Lieutenant seemed nervous, "I hope I have not interrupted something."

"No. It’s just…uh…well…you see…" B’Elanna was desperately trying to find get Seven to leave, "holodeck time is…personal time. People usually don’t interrupt someone’s holodeck time."

"I did not realize."

Suddenly, B’Elanna realized something was wrong, "Seven, are you okay?"

"Yes…" she put her hand to her head and took a quick breath, ending with a soft groan. B’Elanna moved quickly toward her, reaching out to touch her arm but Seven moved away, "Thank you for your concern, but I will be okay."

"Seven, you don’t look very good. I think we should get you to sickbay…."

"No!" It was almost a scream, and B’Elanna jerked back.

"Seven, I know something is wrong. Please, let me help…"

They were interrupted by a voice coming from behind B’Elanna.

"Mama Seven!" Flotter came up with Kathryn B’Elanna in his arms.

Seven looked at him in shock.

The holodeck character started chattering at her immediately, "It is good to see you, Mama Seven. Are you feeling better? I am sorry you were so sick. Did the Doctor help you? I know Kahkar did. He is a doctor also. He says he is not a monster, but he is big. Look, I am the same color as KB’s dress."

Without thinking, Seven said, "Her name is Kathryn B’Elanna."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she froze. B’Elanna grabbed Flotter’s arm, and he immediately was silenced. Kathryn B’Elanna was looking at her mother, her body pressed against Flotter, almost afraid of the person standing in front of her.

B’Elanna watched Seven’s face as it went blank and the eyes went wide. Then, she saw Seven’s body start to shake and the eyes turn to look at her, helpless and lost.

"No." It was a whimper, but B’Elanna could hear the desperation in it. 

"Seven," she moved toward the woman slowly, her voice soft, "it is all right. Here, let me help you." She reached out, putting her hand on Seven’s arm. Seven looked at her hand, then raised her head slowly to look into B’Elanna’s eyes. B’Elanna could see how confused she was. Then, she watched as Seven turned her head slowly to look at the child in Flotter’s arms, the look on her face turning into to uncertainty.

Kathryn B’Elanna was curled tightly against Flotter, her head almost tucked into the side of his neck. Still, as her mother looked at her, Kathryn B’Elanna said, "Mama."

B’Elanna watched the disbelief that filled her look and felt her pull away, "Seven, please sit down over here. You need to give yourself a minute. Please, come over here." She tried to lead Seven to a nearby stump. She almost had her there when Flotter tried to help.

"It will be okay, Mama Seven…."

Seven’s head jerked back, "No. I am not Mama Seven. I am not Mama." She whirled to look at B’Elanna, "I am not married to a hologram. I do not love a hologram." She pulled herself up straight, "I am Borg. I do not belong here. I will return to the collective. I…."

She reached with both hands to grab her head and bent over, gasping for air as she did. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

**

Kahkar came out of his lab, looking at the anxious faces around him.

"Physically, she will be all right." He walked up to the Doctor, "I have to admit, I cannot say the same about her mental or her emotional state. That still remains to be seen." He took a deep breath, "I am keeping her here, and I will not allow anyone to see her." He looked slowly at the faces intently watching him, "No one."

The Doctor nodded his head, lowering it as he did. B’Elanna moved to stand closer to him, putting her arm around him and glaring at Harry who was leaning disconsolately against the wall. 

"I have her heavily medicated and do not expect her to wake up tonight, so I suggest all of you return to Voyager. Doctor, I will give you a report in a couple of hours. If anything changes, I will call you immediately."

"Thank you, Kahkar. I will be in our quarters." 

Kahkar clasped him by the shoulder, "Doctor, I will take good care of her."

"I know you will."

"Come on, Doctor," B’Elanna took him by the arm, "let’s get back to Tom and KB." She gently led him down the hall toward the transporter room. 

Harry watched them go. Janeway walked up to him, "Ensign, let’s return to Voyager."

He pushed himself off the wall and fell into step with her.

Kahkar watched them all go, then turned and walked back into his lab. Ketaria was sitting in a chair, next to Seven, holding her hand. She had her eyes closed and Kahkar knew she was trying to touch Seven’s mind. He moved to a distant chair and waited.

Eventually, she took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. After a moment, she looked around the lab, her eyes searching for her husband. As soon as he saw her looking for him, he got up and pulled a chair close to her.

"Anything?"

"Nothing cohesive. Everything is so confused." She shuddered, "It is frightening inside her mind. It is full of Borg drones. And her own assimilation."

"I was hoping she would not remember that."

She paused, "The Borg queen told us she should remain on the cube for at least two weeks after her implants had been replaced in order for them to monitor her regeneration. I wonder if there were other reasons."

"I had already thought about that. But, unless Seven can tell us herself, I don’t know if we will ever know the answer to that."

They sat quietly, both watching Seven sleep. Ketaria finally glanced over to her husband, "This is the first time you have seen her since she returned." He did not say anything and she allowed the silence to grow long between them. Then, she asked, "Is there any reason for that?" When he did not respond, she stood and walked around him, wrapping her arms around him from behind, pressing her head against his, "Talk to me."

She felt him go still in her arms. He still did not speak and she spoke softly in his ear, "You could not stand to see her more Borg than human, could you?" She tightened her arms around him, "Kahkar, I understand." She sighed, "It was hard to see. As hard to see as it was to look at the Doctor’s face tonight."

He reached up to grab his wife’s arms and held them tightly to his chest, "I cannot imagine the Seven we know saying that."

"She is not the Seven we know right now."

"Ketaria?"

"What?"

"Is our Seven still there?"

She hesitated, not quite willing to answer. Finally, she said, "I don’t know, Kahkar."

He patted her arms, "Why don’t you go to bed. I will sit here with Seven."

She knew he wanted to be alone with her. She turned her head, kissed him on the cheek and bid him good night.

He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs in front of him. There wasn’t much to do here but wait. And think.

He was almost surprised when he felt her stir. A quick glance at the clock told him almost four hours had passed since Ketaria left them. He waited to see if she would fall back to sleep, but her eyes opened and she worked to focus them. He saw her frown and knew she was trying to figure out where she was.

"Seven." She turned her head toward him, "Hello. How do you feel?"

"I do not know. What is wrong with me?"

"I have you pretty heavily medicated right now. You were experiencing some pain."

She was frowning as she looked at him, "Do I know you?"

"I am Kahkar Omarahn. I am Ketaria’s husband."

She sighed, "It seems that everyone I meet is married." She paused, adding ironically, "Including me."

"Yes." He chuckled. "Well, I understand that came as a surprise to you."

She cut her eyes toward him and spoke, her voice angry, "He is a hologram."

"I know, but that never mattered to you before." He leaned toward her, "Seven, I have known you and the Doctor since before you were married, and I can tell you that the two of you love each other very much."

"I do not understand how that is possible."

"Well," he smiled at her, "it is possible and it is your reality."

She put her hand to her forehead and Kahkar stood over her immediately, "Are you in pain, Seven?" She nodded and he picked up his scanner to check her. "Is it manageable or do you want something for it?"

"I will adapt."

"Good. I would like to hold off on more medication right now."

She watched him. There was something comforting about his manner and the way he was with her. He ran his scanning device over her, stopping at her lower right ribcage, frowning slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

"This implant seems to be out of alignment."

"Can you adjust it?"

"No. I don’t know how."

"I can download instructions into your device." She indicated the scanner in his hand, "If you would allow." He lowered the scanner, and she injected her assimilation tubules to attach to it. It only took a few seconds for the tubules to detach, "You should have the information you need."

He looked at his scanning device and noted the information showing on the diagnostic screen, then went to work. It took almost a half-hour for him to complete the procedure. "Interesting. Do you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Good." He put his scanning device on the console pad, "I am going to download this into my systems. I might need it again." He heard her sigh behind him and turned, knowing she wanted to ask him a question. He waited.

"Dr. Omarahn…"

"Kahkar."

She blinked a couple of time, "Kahkar, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

Her eyes bored into his, "Will you be honest with me?"

He sat down and took her hand, "Yes."

She stared at her hand in his, took a breath and said, "The child."

He responded, "The answer is yes, Seven. She is your child."

She closed her eyes tightly, then asked, "And the father?"

He gripped her hand and ran his tongue across his top lip before he answered her, "The Doctor."

"I do not understand. How is that possible?"

"You have me to thank for that, Seven."

"Explain."

"I found a genetic pattern embedded in the Doctor’s program. I took some of your DNA and restructured it to the Doctor’s genetic pattern. That is how you and the Doctor had Kathryn B’Elanna." 

"Kathryn B’Elanna."

"Kathryn for the Captain and B’Elanna for the Lieutenant."

"Kahkar?" She was hesitant to ask her question, but she had to know, "Did I…want the child?"

"Seven, you wanted her so much you almost died to have her." When her eyebrow went up at his words, he said, "Why don’t I tell you the story of how Kathryn B’Elanna came into this world? Would you like that?"

She thought a moment, "Yes. I think I would like to hear that."

"Okay. I am going to get us something to eat and drink and I will tell you all about your daughter and as much about your life with the Doctor as I know." He turned to his replicator.

She watched his back, feeling that this was a person she could have complete trust in. She shifted to make herself more comfortable on the bed. He brought back a tray and served her.

"Okay, Seven, you eat this and I will tell you a story."

**

The Doctor was stretched out on the sofa with Kathryn B’Elanna lying on his chest. The child was quiet, but she was not asleep. B’Elanna was in the rocking chair and Tom was sitting across from her. B’Elanna could see the look on KB’s face and knew she was trying to comfort her father. B’Elanna did not think even KB could provide him comfort right now. She lifted her eyes toward her husband and gave him a helpless look. He gave her a grim look, then turned his attention to the Doctor.

"Doc, why don’t you and KB just go to bed. You have been up all night. We’ll sit here in case Kahkar calls again."

"Thanks, Tom, but I don’t think I could sleep right now."

Tom was quiet a moment before leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees, clasping his fist in his hand, "Doctor, you know Seven was not herself when she said that. Seven would never say that. She loves you, Doctor, and everyone knows that.

"It seems she doesn’t."

"Not right now. But she will remember. You just have to give her time."

"Give her time. All the time she needs to fall in love with someone else." He glanced down at the child on his chest, "This should make Harry very happy."

"Doctor," B’Elanna slid out of the rocking chair and sat on the floor next to the sofa, "You heard what Harry told you. Seven doesn’t love him. He knows that. He is truly sorry for what happened. You have to remember, Harry is still struggling over watching her implant replacement. He is still not quite himself, either." She watched the pain in his eyes, "Doctor, this situation is difficult for everyone. You just have to give it time. And you have to trust in the love that you and Seven have for each other. It is stronger than all of this."

He sighed and sat up, holding his daughter close to him. She reached up and put one arm around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head, then stood. "Maybe I will try to get her to sleep." He walked into her bedroom.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, the doors to the living quarters opened and Kahkar walked in with Seven leaning heavily against him. Tom and B’Elanna stood immediately, both surprised at seeing them and not quite knowing how to react.

Kahkar led Seven to the sofa and helped her settle on it. He pulled the blanket from the back and covered her with it. Her eyes were looking around the living quarters and it was obvious she was looking to see if anything about it was familiar.

B’Elanna was the first to find her voice, "Hello, Seven. How are you feeling?"

When Seven did not respond, Kahkar answered for her, "She is still in some discomfort, and I have her on medication. This has all been…difficult for her to deal with."

B’Elanna moved to sit on the sofa next to her. Seven watched her, somewhat surprised. B’Elanna reached out and put her hand on her arm, "We know this has been hard on you, but you need to know we are here for you."

Seven blinked but did not respond. Instead, she looked up at Kahkar, who turned to Tom, "Where is the Doctor."

"He is in the bedroom with KB..Kathryn B’Elanna." He glanced quickly at Seven, worried about her response and was relieved when there was not one.

Kahkar nodded his head, then looked at Seven, "I will go get them." She watched as he turned toward the bedroom door.

B’Elanna saw the apprehension in her eyes and felt her breath quicken. She watched as Seven’s hand went up to her forehead, and her eyes shut tightly against the pain. B’Elanna glanced back at Tom, worried about what would happen next.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened again, and the Doctor came out with Kathryn B’Elanna in his arms. He stopped as soon as he cleared the door and stood staring at her. Kahkar came out right behind him and placed his hand on his back.

Tom reached for B’Elanna’s hand, "I think we should go. Doctor, we will check in with you later. Seven, I hope you feel better." 

B’Elanna just looked back and forth between them, smiled and went with Tom.

Kahkar used his hand to guide the Doctor toward the sofa, and the Doctor allowed himself to be seated at the end of it, at Seven’s feet. She pulled her legs up to give him room, not quite able to look him in the face. She pulled the blanket closer to her, tucking it under her arms.

"I am going to leave the two of you alone. I think you need to talk." He put his hand on Seven’s shoulder, "Seven, if you need me, simply call." She nodded and he turned and left.

They sat, not quite looking at each other but not looking anywhere else. Kathryn B’Elanna sat in her father’s lap, pressed against him, looking intently at her mother.

Finally, Seven spoke, "She is a beautiful child."

He smiled, "Yes. She looks like her mother."

She blushed slightly and bit her top lip, not certain what to say next.

He spoke, instead, "How are you feeling?"

"I am better."

"Good. I was worried about you." He ventured a smile and was pleased that she tried to return it.

She took a breath, "I still…do not remember." It was almost apologetic.

He shrugged, "That’s okay. It’s not really important that you remember anything right now. What is important is that you are okay. You being all right is more important to me than anything."

She blinked quickly and turned her head slightly, breathing quickly. After a moment, she said, "Kahkar told me the story about Kathryn B’Elanna."

"It is quite a story, isn’t it?"

She nodded, her eyes now on the child. He watched as they narrowed and he knew she was trying hard to remember. Suddenly, he felt Kathryn B’Elanna push herself away from him and start to crawl toward her mother. He let her go, but watched Seven’s face, trying to gauge her reaction. He saw the uncertainty come into her face as their daughter moved toward her mother and settled herself in her mother’s arm. Seven’s eyes watched her, confusion in them, but she did not try to stop the child. He watched as Kathryn B’Elanna pressed herself even closer to her mother, then looked up into her mother’s face.

"Mama."

He watched for a negative reaction, but saw Seven close her eyes and slowly shake her head. "I cannot remember my own child. Why can I not remember her?"

He wanted to reach out to her but knew he should not. He could not find any words of comfort for her. She dropped her head to look at her daughter, and he sat on the end of the sofa and watched.

**

Ketaria walked onto the observation deck to see her husband seated in the center of the semi-circular sofa. She walked over to join him.

"I seem to find you here a lot these days."

"Yes. You do, don’t you."

"How is Seven?"

"Physically, I think she will be fine. Actually, better than ever." He sighed, "She downloaded information for me last night that helped me align one of her implants. I have been studying that information and have developed a maintenance plan for the next few weeks. She felt remarkably better after I aligned the implant inside her ribs." He leaned forward, "I am pretty certain she should have gone through intense regeneration once she returned to Voyager. I think that would have allowed her new implants and her body to adapt to each other."

"The queen did say she should be monitored carefully during her regeneration."

"Yes. But I think there should have been more. After studying the information Seven gave me last night, I am convinced she should have stayed in a regeneration cycle for the entire two weeks. What I don’t understand is why we were not told."

"Maybe the Borg did not realize. Regeneration is just a natural part of their existence. Maybe they did not think about how different Seven’s life was on Voyager."

He looked back at her, "Maybe. But I wonder."

Ketaria thought for a moment, then asked, "You said she would be fine physically. What about her memories?"

"That has me very concerned."

"Has she remembered anything?"

"No. She has not and I am beginning to wonder if she will."

"What?"

"I do not know, Ketaria. I just have questions. It seems as if she would have started remembering some things if she were going to remember anything."

"She remembered Kathryn B’Elanna’s name in the holodeck."

"Yes. But she did not remember anything about her when I told her about how her child was conceived. She did not remember anything when I told her about the child’s birth. She did not remember anything at all."

"But you told me she wanted to go to the Doctor after you told her the story last night."

"She wanted to go to the child. She said that, even if she did not remember her, she accepted that the child was hers and she would not abandon her. The child was her responsibility."

Ketaria closed her eyes, partially in surprise, "That does not sound good." She paused, almost afraid to ask, "And her relationship with the Doctor?"

He shook his head, "She cannot accept that. But she did say that, if the Doctor really was Kathryn B’Elanna’s father, she would respect their relationship, that the child had the right to have her father in her life."

"That really does not sound good."

"No, it does not. We can only hope that Seven recovers her memories, but that may take some time. I suspect the Doctor and Seven have some rocky times ahead of them." He rubbed his jaw, "Maybe Kathryn B’Elanna will be able to help."

"Maybe. But she is afraid to go near her mother’s mind."

"But she still loves her. So does the Doctor. We have to believe that love will win in the end."

She nodded, but did not speak. They sat, and she knew he was thinking about something. After a moment, he spoke, "I cannot help but think there is much more going on here than we know. I keep asking myself why the Borg queen would save Seven’s life? Why would she give you information that caused us to examine Seven’s DNA, knowing what we would find? Why did she not tell you that Seven needed to regenerate for at least two weeks once she returned to Voyager? I don’t think these are simply the result of Borg arrogance or naivete. I truly believe there is more and that these things are all pieces of the same puzzle. I cannot put them together enough to get a picture." 

He fell silent again and Ketaria allowed him to think without interruption. Finally, he spoke again, "I will be leaving today. I will take the crew back to Eutaria and return as quickly as possible. We must do everything within our power to return Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant."

**

He was walking toward astrometrics with his daughter in her arm.

"We are going to get Mama and have a wonderful family night at home. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect way to spend the evening?" He beamed at his daughter and she gave him a laughing smile in return

The doors opened for them and he saw her, standing at the console, engrossed in her work. She stood straight and tall, her movements sure. He could see such a difference in her. She was strong again. 

"Doctor." She greeted him without turning around, her voice cold and emotionless.

He sighed. And she was more Borg than she had been in a long time.

She had been regenerating for longer periods and he had been following Kahkar’s maintenance plan for aligning her implants. As a result, she was physically recovered, but the process had seemed to suppress her humanity. They were backing off of the regeneration schedule, and he was hoping it would help.

Kahkar had been gone for almost two weeks. The Doctor thought it had been the longest two weeks of his life. Seven visited him everyday in the sickbay for her check up, but he could tell she was not comfortable with him taking care of her. She shied away from his touch. It was all he could do to keep a smile on his face.

She did spend time with Kathryn B’Elanna, but their relationship was strained also. The child was often confused after their time together. Ketaria worked with both of them as much as she could, but she found Seven’s mind closed to her attempts to provide her with comfort. 

It was not a happy time.

Tonight, though, Seven had suggested a "family night." He knew it was more the result of Ketaria suggesting it, but he did not turn down the opportunity for the three of them to spend any time together. He put on a smile and walked up to her.

"Hello, Seven. Are you looking forward to our evening together?"

She turned to him, her expression blank. After a beat, she said, "Yes."

He swallowed, "Good. Are you ready?"

She turned and keyed in a few commands on her console before turning to him and nodding her head. He put his hand out to her, but she moved away slightly. He quickly pulled back, covering his disappointment and said, "Let’s go."

They walked in silence until they arrived at their living quarters. At the door, he waived his hand in front of her and said, "After you, Seven." She walked in and stood uncomfortably in the center of the room. He walked over to the table and put Kathryn B’Elanna in her highchair and pulled a chair out from the table for Seven, "If you will sit here, I will serve you."

"I do not require nutritional supplements at this time."

His face reflected his disappointment, "Oh, I fixed a favorite of yours."

"I do not have favorites."

"Right." He forced a smile, "Well, would you at least like to join us while Kathryn B’Elanna has her dinner?"

She slowly walked over and sat in the chair he had pulled out. He was aware that her eyes were on him as he prepared the meal for their child. Kathryn B’Elanna was excitedly banging on the tray of her chair and singing a song Flotter had taught her. As soon as the Doctor sat down with her supper, she stopped singing and watched him, intent on following the eating utensil.

The Doctor smiled, "I would say you are hungry tonight, little girl." He offered her a bite of her dinner and she hungrily ate it. He laughed at her as she grabbed a piece of bread and worked to get it into her mouth. He could not help but look over at Seven with a look of enjoyment on his face, "She has always had a healthy appetite."

She looked at his face and then at the face of the child who was her daughter. This was her family and yet they were strangers to her. If the child did not look so much like her, it would be easy for her to deny her. But she could see the child was hers. She could also see the child was his. She quickly looked away.

He caught the expression on her face, but he did not allow himself to react to it. Instead, he concentrated on feeding Kathryn B’Elanna her dinner and then cleaning up. Once he was finished, he lifted his daughter from her chair and said to Seven, "Why don’t we go sit down and she can play. She always enjoys having our complete attention."

Seven stood and followed him to the living area. He pointed to the rocker, "You usually like to sit there." She nodded and seated herself while he put Kathryn B’Elanna down on the floor. She immediately ran to her toy box and started pulling out her favorite toys, carrying them so she could play between her parents. As she played, the Doctor tried to unsuccessfully to engage Seven in small talk. Finally, he settled for playing with Kathryn B’Elanna while Seven looked on. After a while, he noticed that Kathryn B’Elanna’s interactions were totally with him and that she did not even approach her mother to show her toys or ask her to play. It was turning out to be a depressing evening.

As the time for Kathryn B’Elanna’s bedtime approached, he said, "Seven, you have reached a point where you don’t have to undergo such intense regeneration. I was wondering if you have thought about," he gave himself a beat before continuing, "moving back in here." He saw the look on her face and quickly added, "So you can spend more time with Kathryn B’Elanna. You could move into the bedroom," he looked at her, "and I would move into Kathryn B’Elanna’s room. I think it would be good for your daughter."

Her mouth twitched. He sat, trying not to show how afraid he was of her response. Seven looked at the child, playing at her father’s feet, then she cut her eyes away from both of them, fighting with herself. Finally, she looked back at him and gave him a slight nod of her head, "Yes. I will do that."

He had to work desperately not to let his relief show. He just nodded and went back to watching their child play. After a few more minutes, Kathryn B’Elanna yawned and the Doctor stood and picked her up, "I think it is your bedtime." He carried her into the bedroom, painfully aware that Seven had not followed. He got her into her pajamas and put her down to sleep, watching over her as he eyes closed.

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart. Dada loves you very much." He paused, then added, "And so does Mama." Then, he turned, prepared himself and walked back into the living area. She was still there.

I guess that is good, he thought.

"So, Seven, if you would like, I will show you to your room."

She took a few moments before she stood and indicated she would follow him. He walked into their bedroom, "Computer, lights on." As soon as she was in, he started showing her where everything was, "And this is a regeneration headboard. Kahkar made it for you. Ketaria designed it. She said it was a perfect blend of form and function." He smiled at her, but his smile quickly faded when she did not return it. "Your gowns and your robe are there." He pointed to a small closet.

"What I have is adequate."

"Right." He clasped his hands and looked around, "Well, I will leave you. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right next door." He gave her a friendly grin, then dropped his head a little, "I hope you sleep well. Good night, Seven."

"Good night, Doctor."

He smiled again and left her, closing the door behind him. As he walked toward Kathryn B’Elanna’s room, his eyes fell on the picture that Neelix had taken at Tom and B’Elanna’s wedding of the three of them standing with Kathryn B’Elanna between them and Seven’s hand on his chest. It was still his favorite picture. He walked over and picked it up, looking at it for a long time. Finally, he hugged it to his chest and turned to look at the closed door to their bedroom.

"Never," he whispered, "never will I give up on you, Seven." Then, he walked into Kathryn B’Elanna’s bedroom.

Seven was gingerly sitting on the side of the bed, her eyes staring at the wall. This was all so strange. This was her bedroom, but she could not remember it. She could not remember their time in here together. She could not remember their lives together. And she could not remember their child. 

It would be so easy to walk away from this life. It wasn’t hers. This life belonged to someone else. But she could not walk away from the child. Kathryn B’Elanna was her child. The child was her responsibility, and she would honor that responsibility.

And the Doctor. Her mouth twitched as she thought about him.

He was kind and caring. He loved his daughter. That was easy to see. She thought about his face, remembering the lines in it, thinking about the deep brown eyes that looked at her with love. She moved to lie on the bed and straightened into her regeneration position. Lying in this bed was strange. Everything about this was strange.

As she closed her eyes, she saw his face again. It was a face one could love.

Except, she thought, he is a hologram.

The End