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

 She was lying on a bed, connected to machines around her with tubes. She was totally immobilized. Kahkar and Ketaria were there with her. She watched as different people approached her, speaking their support and concern for her. She watched as the eyes of the people who looked down at her shown with friendship or care or concern. She felt her child lie on her chest, marveling in the feeling of the bond that was building between them.

Then, he walked in. She had seen him on Voyager, but she did not know him. His eyes gazed at her with incredible intensity, and she knew immediately he loved her.

"I am Harry."

She blinked.

"I will love you, always."

Her eyes widened as he backed away from her and dissolved. Then, the Doctor was standing next to her, holding her Borg hand in his. She moved her eyes to their hands and heard Flotter speak beside her.

"Come on, Mama Seven." His voice was excited, "We have to go. You must keep walking." He was pulling on her arm, insistently.

She wrapped her free arm around her child and rose from the bed, the connections falling from her as she did. 

She could not stop. She had to walk through this journey. But she did not want to go through what was coming next. She did not look at the Doctor or to Flotter walking beside her. She did not look down at her child in her arm. She kept her eyes straight in front of her, focused on moving through this adventure of her life.

Then, she felt his hand tighten around hers and she heard his voice in her head, "Always remember our time in the dance."

The turbolift stopped and the doors opened onto deck four. Chakotay led the way out, not even looking back at Kathryn Janeway. He did not have to look at her to know what she was thinking. He started talking, telling their "visitors" about the private quarters. They came to the first one, and he asked for permission to enter. The Ensign opened the door and stood aside to allow the group to walk in. DaMar scanned carefully, shaking his head at Follar as he did so. Nomar scanned the Ensign, then dropped his hand beside his body and just gave Follar a look. Follar turned and led the way out of the quarters, moving to the next door. 

They were going through every private living quarters, slowly making their way down the corridor, inching closer to Ketaria and Kathryn B’Elanna. Janeway was working hard not to look in the direction of the Doctor’s and Seven’s living quarters. A thousand different scenarios were working themselves through her mind as she desperately searched for a way to stop this search. They were two doors away and her heart was starting to pound in her chest. She was running out of time.

She almost jumped when the voice hailed her. 

"The bridge to Captain Janeway."

She slapped her combadge, "Go ahead, Mr. Paris."

"Captain," she heard the tension in his voice, "we have identified a transwarp conduit opening off the port bow. It is the Borg."

Her eyes widened and she looked up Chakotay, "How much time do we have?"

"Estimated time of arrival is twenty minutes."

She looked up at the men in front of her, "Gentlemen, we have a problem."

She was watching as Kathryn B’Elanna grew. She watched her crawl for the first time; then laughed as she tried to take her first step. She heard her say her first word – of course it was Dada. But, she saw that she had worked weeks to get her to say that. Then, she felt the magic of the first time her child said Mama.

Through it all, she fought the weariness. She felt her body giving up under the effort. Finally, she felt a moment of strength, and the world brightened around her.

She took a breath and turned to the Doctor in relief. Then the pain hit.

"Our best chance for escape is for us to scatter. If we all go in different directions, maybe we can confuse the Borg long enough for us all to escape."

Follar looked at her in indecision, but she could see the fear in his eyes. Finally, he nodded his head.

"Come, we’ll get you to the transporter room immediately."

They hurried to the turbolift, and she gave the command as soon as they entered. 

"Captain," Follar spoke to her without looking at her, "why did your Borg leave?"

She gave herself a moment to respond, "To protect us."

He nodded. Then, he asked, "Do you know where she went?"

She shook her head, "No."

He smiled at her, "Would you tell me if you knew?"

She smiled back at him, "No."

He laughed silently and turned his attention back to the opening turbolift doors. Chakotay quickly led the group to the transporter room, and the visitors stepped on the platform.

"Safe travels, gentlemen," said Kathryn Janeway, "and may we all escape safely. Begin transport."

As soon as they dematerialized, she turned toward the doors, leading Chakotay and Tuvok back to the turbolift.

"Bridge," she commanded, waiting impatiently for the doors to open again. As soon as they did, she walked out giving her command, "Move us away from this nebula. Prepare for maximum warp."

She watched as the ships on the view screen scattered and then saw the stars move as Voyager started accelerating. She gave her command, "Mr. Paris, maximum warp."

She saw the stars flash into straight lines as the ship jumped. Then, she watched as her pilot turned to her, grinning broadly. She smiled back at him, "Kahkar Omarahn?"

"Yes, ma’am!" He replied. "And I have already sent a subspace message to him with coordinates for a position five light years from here. We should rendezvous with him in about twenty-four hours."

"Good job, Mr. Paris." She walked up to put her hand on his shoulder.

"Captain," he looked up at her, "how did you know?"

"Easy, Mr. Paris," she patted his shoulder and walked back to his chair, taking her seat, "you didn’t sound scared enough."

She was dying. She could feel her life slipping away from her. Her body was racked with pain. Even breathing was difficult. She looked to her child and knew that Kathryn B’Elanna knew. It was clear from the look in her baby’s eyes. It was evident in the way her child touched her. But the child only gave her strength and love.

The child was so much like herself. 

The Doctor appeared in front of her, taking her Borg hand in his, "I love you, Seven."

"I love you, too," she replied. And she knew she did. Her words came from inside. She looked into his eyes, feeling the warmth fill her being, "You touch my soul."

Kathryn B’Elanna reached out to touch her face, then wrapped one arm around her mother’s neck and the other around her father’s. She pulled them close, connecting them.

We are three, thought Seven, but we are one.

Then, her world painfully passed into darkness.

Kahkar Omarahn materialized in the transporter room. He stepped down to greet her immediately.

"Kathryn," he reached for her hands, "it is so good to see you. How is everyone?" He looked at the faces in the room, "Where is Ketaria?"

She frowned slightly, "She and Kathryn B’Elanna are hiding."

He gave her a curious expression, "What?"

"I will explain, but first, our ships should move from this sector of space as soon as possible."

"Of course, Kathryn," he reached up to touch his own combadge, "Kahkar to Eloca."

The voice came back, "Yes, Kahkar."

"Eloca, we are leaving immediately. Please take your coordinates from…" he looked at Kathryn questioningly.

"Commander Chakotay."

"Take your coordinates from Commander Chakotay."

"Yes, sir." 

He looked back at her, "I would like to…find my wife, Kathryn." He paused, "And Seven."

She heard the hesitancy in his voice, "We will go to Ketaria first. At least we know for certain where she is." She turned to walk out of the transporter room.

He fell into step beside her, "What?"

"We had a problem with our hologram programming. Both the Doctor and Meloka are off line, and the holodeck program is malfunctioning. We think Seven is on the holodeck."

His concern was immediate, "Is she okay?"

"We don’t know," she answered him honestly, "B’Elanna and Harry are rebuilding the program right now. We should be able to access it in about an hour or two, depending on how the project goes."

"Can you get inside?"

"No. The door was sealed in an electrical charge we received while in the nebula."

She felt his concern and could almost mouth the question she knew was coming, "How is…Seven?"

She stopped and turned to face him, her face grim, "Most of her memories are gone. She remembers very little…personal information."

He raised his head and looked high above hers, then closed his eyes and turned from her. She watch as his head lowered and his shoulders bowed, and she reached out gently to touch his back.

"She has found a love for the Doctor and Kathryn B’Elanna. She is…adapting." She finished lamely, knowing that her words would not give him any comfort. "But she is not the Seven you knew. And she will not know you when you see her."

Finally, he turned, "My wife, Kathryn."

She nodded, and they moved to the Doctor’s and Seven’s living quarter.

They entered into a silent room, and he walked to Kathryn B’Elanna’s bedroom, slowly opening the door and looking inside. He could not help but smile at the sight of his wife lying on the bed, holding Kathryn B’Elanna in her arms. He walked to the bed and sat down on it, beside his wife. He gently reached out, and placed his hand on her arm, closing his eyes in concentration. He had never tried to reach her in her special place, but he had accompanied her there before. He knew that physical contact was important in maintaining communication. He was hoping that physical contact could be used to create a means of communication.

After a few minutes, he could feel her. He concentrated harder and knew she was returning to awareness. Soon, he opened his eyes and watched as his wife returned to him in the physical world. 

As soon as her eyes opened, she smiled at him, and he felt as if the sun has risen on his world. As much as he wanted to hold her, he held his place and allowed her to bring Kathryn B’Elanna back from the place they had been hiding.

The child opened her eyes, blinked and looked at him. With her face breaking into a smile, she reached for him, "Kaykay."

He lifted her into his arms, and his wife leaned forward to wrap her arms around him, "Oh, Kahkar. You are back." The rest of her words were choked off by her emotions.

He held them both for a long time. Then, he pulled back slightly, smiling at his wife and the child in his arms, "The Doctor and Seven need us."

They were standing in the forest, alone. She concentrated on her body and was relieved that the pain was gone. Frowning, she looked over at Flotter and could see that he was looking around, an uncertain expression on his face.

"Now what, Flotter?"

"I am not sure, Mama Seven. Maybe the adventure is over."

It did not feel right. Something inside her told her it was not over yet. She took a breath, trying to think through everything that she had experienced. It was all still so jumbled in her mind, but she knew that there was a piece missing.

Suddenly, they heard a growling sound, and Flotter grabbed her arm in panic.

"It’s the Grobdab! Quick. We have to run." He started to pull her with him.

She stopped and pulled out of his grasp, "No."

"But, Mama Seven…."

"No, Flotter. I am not running anymore." With that, she turned and walked in the direction of the growling sound.

"Oh, dear," moaned Flotter, not certain of what to do. Finally, he ran to catch up with her, grabbing her around the waist and trying to duck behind her as they walked.

The sound got louder, and she stopped, waiting. Then, she saw a figure moving toward them, slowly coming out of the darkness of the woods. Her eyes widened as the creature came into view, walked up to her and spoke, the voice cold and venomous.

"I am the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

It was herself, as she had been as a Borg.

Of course, she thought to herself. Grobdab. Badborg. A child’s word game.

She watched as the left hand of the Borg raised and extended toward her neck. She heard the assimilation tubules eject and felt as they pierced her neck. She waited.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, she raised her right hand and wrapped her human fingers firmly around the metal hand of the hologram of her former self. "No. You are wrong. Resistance is not futile." She pulled the hand away from her neck and forced it down to the side of the Borg. "Go. You must comply."

She watched as the image of her former self backed away and mindlessly moved on through the forest, the cybernetics of her body growling as she moved.

That is who I was, she thought to herself as she watched the creature move away. But it is no longer who I am.

"Ready?" Harry looked over at B’Elanna who was standing next to him.

"Yes." Her answer was terse.

The people in engineering waited, bodies tense, watching as the two people worked to bring the hologram program back online. Kathryn Janeway realized she was holding her breath.

After what seemed like a lifetime, but was actually only a manner of seconds, the Doctor and Meloka materialized in front of them. A collective sigh of relief went up from the crowd.

"Dada! Dada!" Kathryn B’Elanna started waving her arms at him. 

Laughing, Ketaria walked up to the Doctor and handed his daughter to him.

"Kathryn B’Elanna!" He hugged her to him, "Oh, sweetheart, it is so good to hold you again." He looked around at the people in the room, "Kahkar!" He reached a free hand out to his friend, "You are back! It is good to see you!"

"And you, Doctor. It has been too long." Kahkar was standing with an arm wrapped around his wife, holding her close to him. He could not let go of her.

Janeway stepped forward, "We are really glad to have you back with us." She gave Meloka a smile, "We are glad to have both of you back with us."

The Doctor looked over to B’Elanna and Harry, "I assume we have you two to thank for fixing the hologram program?"

They both nodded and B’Elanna started, "Yes, it went off line when Voyager got hit by an electrical charge. We…." Suddenly she stopped and looked with him in shock, "Fixing the hologram program? How did you know….?"

But he cut her off, looking at the Captain, an urgency in his eyes, "Is the door to the holodeck still stuck?"

"Yes, we haven’t gotten the door…." She stopped, giving him a stunned look, "What?" She exchanged wide-eyed looks with B’Elanna. "I don’t understand. How did you know that?"

They turned as the console beeped, and B’Elanna turned to look at the screen, "We should have control of the holodeck program again. The program has finished synchronizing."

"We have to go to Seven." The Doctor’s voice was urgent. He started to move toward the engineering doors, then stopped, "My mobile emitter! Does anyone have it?"

"Yes, Doctor," Ketaria moved forward to place it on his arm. "Kathryn B’Elanna was holding on to it when I got to her."

He smiled at his daughter, and she reached out to wrap her arms around his neck. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the experience and to revel in the feeling of their love for each other. Then, he led the way out engineering.

Flotter was sitting on the rock, fishing. Periodically, he would take the tip of his pole and push the bobbin down into the water, then jerk the pole up, look at the empty hook and return it to the water. Seven sat beside him, watching.

She breathed deeply, then looked up at nothing and spoke, "That was my life."

"Of course it was, Mama Seven," replied Flotter, "it was your adventure."

She closed her eyes, thinking, "My adventure."

He nodded, solemn, watching the bobbin in the water, but he stayed silent.

"Those were the memories I lost."

He looked at her, a funny look on his face, "You lost your once upon a time?"

"Yes, Flotter," she gave him a soft laugh with her answer.

He went back to fishing. After a few minutes, he turned to her and said, "But you still have the most important part."

"What is that, Flotter?"

"You have your happily ever after."

She looked with surprise into the blue face, seeing the innocence of the eyes. Then, she nodded slowly, "Yes, Flotter." She smiled at him, "I do have my happily ever after."

He gave her a big grin and went back to fishing. She pulled her knees up close to her body and wrapped her arms around them. There was a peace inside her that she had not known. She finally felt complete. She turned inside herself, searching for her lost memories. They were still lost to her, but she had their essence. 

She looked around at Flotter’s world. This was a place she would return to, but she would also carry it inside. She knew it would be a place she would be able to turn to to find comfort.

She turned to her blue companion, "Flotter."

He turned his head to her, his eyes bright, "Yes, Mama Seven?"

"Thank you."

"For what, Mama Seven."

"For accompanying me on my…adventure."

"You are welcome, Mama Seven. But you don’t really need to thank me," he shrugged lightly, "it’s what I do."

Before she could respond to him, both he and his forest dissolved around her. 

They finally forced the doors open, and the Doctor slipped through with Kathryn B’Elanna still in his arms. He saw her immediately, her back to the door, sitting on the floor of the holodeck, her arms wrapped around her knees, drawing them up close to her body. He walked up to her slowly, then circled around to face her, kneeling down toward her.

Her eyes were focused off into the distance. Frowning, he spoke to her softly, "Seven?"

Her eyes drifted slowly in his direction and focused on his face. He watched as they brightened, and she unwrapped her arms from her legs, pushing herself to her knees and embracing him. "Doctor. Kathryn B’Elanna." She hugged them both tightly, then pulled her head back to look at him, taking his face in her hands, "I love you, Doctor." She kissed him softly on the lips, then turned to kiss her child, "And I love you, Kathryn B’Elanna."

The Doctor wrapped his free arm around his wife and held her for a moment before taking her hand and helping her rise to her feet. Their eyes met, and he squinted his, seeing the look in hers. He gave her a small smile, then said, "There are some people here to see you." He nodded with his head, indicating she should turn around.

She turned to see Captain Janeway, Tom and B’Elanna, Tuvok, the man she now knew was Harry, Ketaria and a tall, broad shouldered man she did not know, but recognized immediately.

She walked up to him and said, "You are Kahkar."

"Yes, I am." His voice was full with emotion.

She paused, "You gave us Kathryn B’Elanna."

A shadow briefly crossed his face, but then he smiled at her, nodding, "Yes, I did."

She reached her arms out to him, and he took her into his arms, holding her close to his body and bent down to kiss the top of her head. Then, he looked to his wife who was watching them in shock. Finally, Seven pulled back from their embrace to look at the rest of the people in the holodeck.

"Captain, it is good to see you. I will be interested in hearing what happened while I was…trapped in here."

Kathryn Janeway was watching everything, trying to figure out what was going on. She looked at the peace in the eyes of the young woman standing in front of her and heard the gentle tone of her voice. She took a breath, "And we will be very interested to hear what happened in here with you."

Seven reached to take the Doctor’s hand, then turned her attention back to the Captain, "I went on an adventure with Flotter."

Everyone had gathered in the Doctor’s and Seven’s quarters, and each was talking about the experience in the nebula and with the alien visitors, although the details of why the aliens had boarded Voyager were not discussed. Shared looks had told everyone it was not time to discuss that yet. Seven was characteristically quiet about her time in the holodeck. She would only say that she and Flotter had been going through one of his adventures and admitted that she had enjoyed the experience. She had smiled when B’Elanna gave her grin and nodded her head, indicating she understood the fun of going through a Flotter adventure.

After an hour, Kahkar had found an excuse to pull his wife and the Captain away. Now, Kathryn Janeway found herself transporting to their ship with them. She knew there was something he wanted to talk to her about, and she was anxious to find out what it was. She knew he would tell her in his own time and in his own way. In the meantime, she was trying to be patient.

They rounded a corner, and a rushing figure ran into Kahkar, bounced off of him, and fell to the floor at his feet.

"Supala!" His booming voice filled the corridor, "Are you hurt?"

"No, Kahkar," she was scrambling to regain her feet, "I’m okay. Did I hurt you?"

He chuckled, "Hardly, my child." He helped her stand, then introduced her, "Captain, this is Supala. Supala, this is Captain Janeway of Voyager."

Supala’s eyes widened as she looked at the woman standing in front of her. The Captain was smaller than she had thought. She had only seen her from a distance. She never expected to actually meet her.

"Hello, Supala. It is nice to meet you."

"Cap..cap..Captain Jjjanway," she stuttered her greeting, "it..it..it is good to meet you." She ended her greeting in a rush, feeling her cheeks flushing a deep red.

"Ketaria has told me all about you. I am glad to learn you returned with Kahkar. I hope I will have the chance to get to know you better."

Supala’s eyes grew wide at her words. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Kahkar stepped forward to save her, "Supala, we need to go to my lab. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and fix something that we can eat later. Ketaria would probably enjoy finding out about your new talent."

She nodded, her eyes still locked on Captain Janeway as she started moving away from them. Kahkar turned and continued walking toward his lab. Captain Janeway and Ketaria followed him. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kahkar spoke, "Kathryn, please forgive Supala. She has a bit of hero worship where you are concerned."

"Me?" She was surprised.

"Yes. You were the first female starship captain she has ever met. Most females did not ascend to such heights on Eutaria."

"I am flattered."

Ketaria had been listening, "Supala is a wonderful being. I know she would appreciated it if you could spend a little time with her."

"I will make certain to do that."

She noticed that Kahkar had gone silent, and she saw that they had reached his lab. The doors opened for him, and he walked into a darkened lab. Janeway and Ketaria followed, both curious about the darkness of the room. He turned to face them.

"Kathryn, I have been asked to deliver a gift to you."

She could barely see his face in the darkness of the room, "Oh?"

"Computer, lights on."

As the lights came on, she gasped at the object in the center of the lab. She stood, speechless.

He talked around so that the transwarp coil was between them, "It has been fully customized to work efficiently with Voyager’s systems. Once it is installed, you will be home in a few months."

She reached out to touch it, expecting it to disappear in front of her. Finally, she found her voice, "How? Who?"

"How did I get it? It was given to me." He paused, "Who gave it to me?" He waited. She looked up at him and nodded, and he continued, "The Borg queen."

Her look was one of total disbelief. Even Ketaria looked at him as if he had lost his mind. He gave them both a moment, "I assure you. I am not joking. She asked me to bring it to you."

Janeway jerked her hand from the coil. "It is a trap of some kind."

"I have analyzed it carefully. I can find nothing wrong with it. It will work with Voyager’s systems." He looked at the coil between them, "It will be better than my own."

Janeway looked at him, her eyes growing cold, "Why?"

He grimaced, "I do not know the answer to that. I can tell you I promised her to get Seven and Kathryn B’Elanna out of the Delta Quadrant as quickly and as safely as possible."

"Safely?" The word exploded from her mouth.

He nodded at her, "Yes."

He knew she was having trouble accepting what he was telling her. He could not blame her. Even after all of this time, he was still having trouble believing his conversation with the queen. He watched as she reached back to put her hand on the coil, her face still a mask of shock. 

"It is really real." 

He crossed his arms in front of him, "Yes. It is really real."

She stood silent, her hand on the coil. Finally, she spoke, "Kahkar, do me a favor."

"Of course, Kathryn. What is it?"

She looked up at him, "If this is a dream, please don’t wake me up."

The Doctor walked Tom and B’Elanna to the door and bid them goodnight. Then, he turned to look at his wife. She was standing, staring at him. He gave her a small, sheepish smile.

Kathryn B’Elanna pushed herself up from the floor where she had been playing and walked up to her mother, patting her on the leg, "Up, Mama." She raised her arms toward her mother.

Seven leaned over, picked her up and tucked her into her arm. Then, she walked to meet the Doctor as he crossed the room toward them.

They stopped, a foot apart, and she looked deeply into his eyes, feeling the warmth that came from them. She raised her head, jutting out her chin, "It was you."

He cocked one eyebrow and allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up slightly, "Well, not me all by myself. I had a little help."

"Meloka."

He nodded, "And our daughter."

"I know. I could feel her there, but not at first." 

"No, not in the beginning," he reached up to hold his daughter’s hand, "but she was the one who made it possible. I knew she was connecting us somehow, but I did not know how. When I went off line, Ketaria said she was holding my mobile emitter. That must have been what did it." He looked into his wife’s eyes, "How did you know?"

"I am not certain. But I could…feel you. Even when you were in the holographic Janeway or Kahkar..."

"Meloka was B’Elanna and Ketaria."

She nodded, "That makes sense. I did not feel them in the same way. But, I felt you. I felt your love. Every time you took my hand," she raised her left hand, "I could feel you."

"I was connecting through your cybernetic circuits." He hesitated, almost afraid to ask, "Did it work?"

"I have not recovered my memories, but I…know more about my life from my experiences in my adventure." She glanced at her child, "I know I love you, and I love our daughter." She closed her eyes, "I know what it felt like to love you the first time, to carry our child," she laughed lightly, "to have morning sickness, to give birth to her." She opened her eyes and stared into his, "I do not know everything, but I know what I need to know." Her eyes asked her question before she spoke the words, "How did you do that?"

"I shared my program with you. My memories. My experiences. Even though I was off line, I was aware inside my program. I took advantage of the adventure that was running in Flotter’s program to download my experiences with you into your circuits." He smiled at his daughter, "I think Kathryn B’Elanna was making a lot of it possible. At least, later. In the beginning, I was only able to reach you through the contact. Then, it got easier. It had to have been her."

She looked into her daughter’s eyes and felt the calming comfort flowing from them. "I do not understand how you did that, Kathryn B’Elanna." Her eyes moved back to the Doctor’s, "She is a special child."

"Yes, she is." He leaned his head forward, touching hers with his, taking her cybernetic hand in his. Kathryn B’Elanna pressed herself between both of them. Finally, Seven pulled away from him and looked up, "Computer, play music, file EMH Seven of Nine Alpha."

He laughed as "Someone To Watch Over Me" started to play. She looked into his eyes and shifted Kathryn B’Elanna so she was positioned directly between them.

"Doctor."

"Yes, Seven."

"Dance with us."

He put his arms around them and moved his head so that it touched both of theirs. Then slowly, they started to dance.