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

The Doctor turned the corner and saw B’Elanna walking down the corridor in front of him. She had both hands on the small of her back and was walking with a slight limp.

"B’Elanna." He rushed to catch up with her, "Are you okay?"

She grinned, "I’m fine." She stretched her back a little, "I just spent the better part of the last three hours on my back in engineering, trying to get that transwarp coil properly installed."

He was scanning her with his medical tricorder, "Are you having problems with it?"

"No, not really," she stood still, allowing him to finish checking her. She knew better than to argue with him. He had become very protective of her since he had gotten into the fight with Harry and Otoro, and she had been hit with a stray fist. "I am just trying to make certain that it is installed…perfectly."

He started to laugh, "You are turning out to be more Borg than Seven." He closed his tricorder, "Other than just having stressed your back muscles, I think you and the baby are fine. But," he looked at her sternly, "you need to be careful not to over do it. It won’t be good for either one of you."

She nodded and started walking again, "Doctor, you worry too much. I am just fine."

"I know, but you have to allow me to worry about you. It is part of my programming." He fell into step with her, "I’m surprised you were able to break away to take care of Kathryn B’Elanna this afternoon."

"Well, I’ve worked a lot of hours lately, and the Captain decided I needed a break." She gave him a humorous look, "I didn’t argue when she asked if I would watch KB." 

He was silent a moment, "She didn’t tell you why she arranged all of this, did she?"

"No, she didn’t." She picked up on his concern, "But she didn’t seem to be too worried about it." She hesitated, "Do you think something is up?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "No, not really. I just think that it is odd that the Captain wants Seven and me to join her on Kahkar’s ship."

B’Elanna thought about it and slowly nodded her head. "Now that you mention it, you’re right." Then, she shook her head, "I don’t know if I would worry about it. The Captain was in such a good mood, I cannot imagine it is anything bad." 

"She has been in a good mood lately, hasn’t she?"

"She has been on cloud nine ever since Kahkar brought that transwarp coil."

"Did Captain Janeway tell you how Kahkar got the transwarp coil?"

"No, she didn’t," she was shaking her head, "she has been really closed mouth about that. All she has said is that, once we know it works, she will tell us all about it."

"And?"

She smiled broadly, "And it works. It works great!" She took a deep breath, "It is like it was built to work with Voyager’s systems."

For some reason, her words worried him more than they encouraged him. B’Elanna noticed the look on his face, "What is it, Doctor?"

"Nothing, B’Elanna." He forced the frown from his face, "Just me being a natural worrier."

She turned her head forward, "So, how are things with you and Seven these days?"

He laughed, "Interesting."

"Really?" Her voice was concerned.

He looked at her, "No, I didn’t mean bad interesting."

"Then it is good interesting?"

"It is…just interesting."

She stopped and turned to face him, "Would you like to explain?"

He stood, trying to decide what to say to her. Finally, he took a breath, "She is different."

"Oh?"

He looked away from her to gather his thoughts. "She is not like the old Seven."

She heard his struggle, "Let me try."

His look invited her to continue.

"She is more relaxed. She is more open to life. Everything is a wonderful experience for her."

He nodded, a look of relief coming to his face, "So, you’ve seen it, also."

"Everyone has seen it." She started walking down the corridor again, "I caught her eating ice cream with KB in the mess hall the other day. I have never known her to eat ice cream."

He laughed, "I heard about that."

"Seven told you?"

"No, Kathryn B’Elanna did."

"She told on her mother." B’Elanna was laughing.

"It was such a treat for her. Being with Seven lately has been a treat for her."

B’Elanna cut her eyes at him, "And for you."

His face broke into a broad smile, "Yes, especially for me. These last few days have been incredible." He looked down at her, his expressions meaningful, "I have fallen in love all over again."

"That’s great, Doctor." She reached out to take his arm, "I am happy for both of you."

They approached the doors of the holodeck, and B’Elanna keyed in the command to allow them access. As soon as they entered, they heard Kathryn B’Elanna’s laughter coming from inside the forest. B’Elanna indicated he should follow her, and she led the way into the woods. For some reason, they were silent as they approached, listening to Kathryn B’Elanna’s voice as they did. After a while, B’Elanna gave the Doctor a small frown and whispered to him, "Can you make out what she is saying?"

He shook his head, and they quietly moved a little closer. Then, they heard her call out and shriek with laughter again.

B’Elanna gave the Doctor a frown and whispered, "Do bug?"

He scrunched his shoulders, and they tiptoed silently closer to the sound of the voices. They could now make out distinct sounds, and the Doctor could hear Flotter and Naomi laughing. Then, he was certain he could hear Seven laughing also. Periodically, Kathryn B’Elanna would yell out her exclamation and follow it with excited laughter.

Suddenly, B’Elanna grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her, putting her finger to her lips, then pointed to a spot on the ground in front of her. He craned his neck until he could see what she saw. When he did, his mouth fell open, and he looked at B’Elanna in surprise for a minute before looking back at what she had pointed out to him.

There, on the ground coming out from behind a rock cropping, he could see Seven’s shoes, one foot crossing the other at the ankle, with the toes pointed down. As he watched, he heard Kathryn B’Elanna yell and then laugh, and Seven’s shoes wiggle. They moved quietly so they could see what was happening. The Doctor put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Finally, he looked at B’Elanna and mouthed, "I wish I had my holo-imager."

She nodded, laughter threatening to overtake her.

Seven, Flotter and Naomi were on their stomachs on the ground, bodies propped up on elbows and heads close together, focused on something on the ground between them. Kathryn B’Elanna was straddling her mother’s back, feet planted on the ground on either side of Seven’s body, leaning over her mother’s shoulder, looking at the ground. Flotter had something in his hand and would periodically jerk his hand up, and all four of them would squeal in excitement, with Kathryn B’Elanna yelling something that sounded like ‘do bug,’ then jumping up and down, bouncing on her mother’s back and laughing.

The next time Kathryn B’Elanna yelled and bounced on Seven, B’Elanna finally had to let go of her laughter. Four faces turned to her in surprise."

"Doctor." Seven started to try to rise without knocking off Kathryn B’Elanna. The Doctor quickly moved to lift his bouncing daughter from her mother’s back and offered his flustered wife a hand. She stood, brushing dirt and leaves from the front of her body. "We did not hear you come in."

"You four were pretty engrossed in what you were doing, and we didn’t want to interrupt you." B’Elanna looked down at the spot in the ground where they had been focused, "What had all of you so…involved?"

"We were hunting for Doodle Bugs," said Flotter, waving a string in front of them.

"Doodle Bugs?" The Doctor gave his wife a questioning look.

She cleared her throat, "They are insects that live in the soil."

"Yes," offered Flotter, "if you wiggle a string in their homes, they will grab it and then," he jerked his string up in the air, "you can jerk them out of their homes."

B’Elanna covered her mouth with her hand and looked down at the ground, her body shaking with laughter. The Doctor looked at his wife in amazement, noticing that she had started to blush a bright pink.

"It was an educational experience for Kathryn B’Elanna." She had drawn herself up and was standing with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I am certain it was," he was grinning at her. Then, he looked at his daughter, "So tell me, Kathryn B’Elanna, what have you learned today?"

"Do bugs!" She acted as if she had a string in her hand, then jerked her hand high, "Go up!"

"Very good," he nodded at her, then turned his attention to his wife, "I would say today has been an educational experience for her."

Seven looked down at Naomi and then to Flotter before giving her husband a slightly embarrassed smile. He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek, "Was it…fun for you?"

She looked into his eyes, then gave him a laughing nod, "Yes, it was fun."

"Good," he laughed. "I hate to break this up, but we need to get over to Kahkar’s ship. And," he glanced down at his wife’s suit, noticing the leaves, twigs and dirt still clinging to it, "I think you probably need a few minutes to change."

Seven glanced down, "Yes, you are correct."

He handed his daughter to a still laughing B’Elanna and took his wife’s arm, "We’ll be back later."

"We’ll probably be in your quarters when you return," B’Elanna called after them. "I imagine Doodle Bug hunting can be exhausting." At that, she turned in laughter from the Doctor and Seven and moved to join Flotter and Naomi. 

The Doctor and Seven started walking out of the holodeck. When she gave him a shy look, he grinned at her and squeezed her hand tightly.

She walked out of their bedroom, and he saw that she was wearing her blue suit. He knew she liked the red one, but he liked her in blue. He thought that one set off her eyes. Right now, those eyes were locked on him, searching for his approval.

He nodded, "Beautiful." He watched as she walked up to him and slid her arms around his waist, giving him a soft kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him for a moment. 

She really was different. And they were different. There was a connection between them that had never been there before. It had been like that since she had had her adventure in Flotter’s Forest. Actually, since they had had their adventure in Flotter’s Forest. For the first time since he had known her, she seemed to be comfortable with herself. It had only been a few weeks, but he thought they had lived an entirely new lifetime in that time. Each minute with her was a discovery of a new person and a new relationship.

Finally, he broke and took her hand, "We really do need to go."

She nodded, somewhat reluctantly and walked with him to the door.

"Doodle Bugs?"

She quickly looked to the floor, "It was Naomi’s ideas. She had read about them in one of her books and thought it would be fun to hunt for them."

"And it was." He was grinning at her.

She cut her eyes up to him, the hint of a smile in them, "Yes, it was."

"So, what else did you do?"

"We played something called race."

He gave her a humorous frown, "What is race?"

"Race is where you run to a certain location, and the person who gets there first wins."

"Run?"

She nodded, and he could see that she was starting to blush again. 

"So," he was trying to keep the laughter out of her voice, "who won?"

"Mostly Kathryn B’Elanna."

"Of course," he looked down at his wife’s long legs, "that would make sense. I don’t imagine any of you could keep up with her."

She gave him a mischievous look, "Are you suggesting I am slow?"

"No, of course not." He shrugged, "I just wasn’t sure how fast you were."

"Are you challenging me?"

"What?" Her comment surprised him.

She stopped and turned to him, glancing down the corridor toward the turbolift, "Are you challenging me to a race?"

"A race!?"

"Yes," she lifted her head, "to the turbolift."

He looked at her in absolute shock. Then, he allowed his concern for her to show in his face, "Seven, are you feeling all right?"

His question took her by surprise, "Of course."

He reached down to her hand to take her pulse, "I think I’d better check you out. I need to make certain there isn’t anything wrong with you." He lifted her arm, his fingers on the vein in her wrist. As her face took on a troubled look, he lifted his head to concentrate on taking her pulse, "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three…" he gave her a quick look in the face and exclaimed, "GO." He turned and sprinted for the turbolift.

It took her a second to realize what he had done. Then, she took off after him.

Kathryn Janeway placed her cup of coffee down on the table in front of her and looked at the two people facing her. "I should be more nervous about this but, right now, it is hard for me to get too upset about anything."

Kahkar laughed at her, "You haven’t been upset about anything since I showed you the transwarp coil."

"Can you blame her, Kahkar?" Ketaria looked at her husband, warmly. "She is months from home, now." She reached out to put her hand on Kathryn Janeway’s arm, "You must be counting the seconds."

"I am trying not to, but it is hard." She shook her head, "I still cannot believe the Borg queen just gave you that coil. I know you don’t think she had an ulterior motive, but I have to wonder."

Kahkar did not respond, and Ketaria glanced at her husband. He had told her about his conversation with the queen and about his suspicions. They had decided not to share their concerns with Kathryn right now. Regardless of what waited for them when Voyager returned to Earth, they both thought it more important for the ship and its crew to make their way out of the Delta Quadrant. This was not a safe place for Seven or for Kathryn B’Elanna.

Suddenly, Ketaria looked up, a curious expression on her face. She glanced at her husband and then at Kathryn, saying, "They are here."

They saw the look on her face and heard the laughter coming from outside the doors to their quarter. Then, the doors opened and the Doctor and Seven walked in, hands held and laughing. Seven had strands of hair hanging loose, and her face was flushed.

The three of the people in the room exchanged questioning glances. The Doctor noticed the looks and quickly offered an explanation, "We were late, so we…ran for the turbolift."

Seven gave Ketaria a triumphant look, "And I got there first."

The Doctor rolled his eyes in mock frustration, "Okay. Yes, you won. I admit defeat." 

Ketaria and Janeway started laughing and Seven beamed at them in pleasure. Kahkar crossed his arms in front of him, enjoying the look on Seven’s face, but feeling a sadness start in the bottom of his stomach, knowing that what he was about to tell her could shatter the happiness she was now feeling. 

He was getting to know her all over again. And, he was finding her a delightful person. There was an openness to her that had not been there before. She had spent a lot of time with him in his lab during the last few weeks. She had brought Kathryn B’Elanna with her once her duty shift was over, and they had spent hours talking and working side by side. He had checked her carefully when he had returned and had been relieved to find her in excellent health. Except for the loss of her memories, she was in better health than she had been since she had gotten pregnant. 

Since she had gotten pregnant. The thought physically hurt him. Since he had helped her get pregnant. Since his skills had made it possible for the Doctor and Seven to conceive their child. He could not imagine life without Kathryn B’Elanna but, not for the first time, he wondered if there had not been something else he could have done to avoid what happened in the aftermath.

Ketaria put her hand on her husband’s arm, bringing his attention back to the people in the room, and he had to give himself a moment to become part of the conversation. He listened to what the Doctor was telling them.

"…so, Kathryn B’Elanna spent the rest of the afternoon getting a lesson on Doodle Bugs…"

Kahkar saw that Seven’s cheeks were starting to turn pink, and that she had cut her eyes toward her husband. He turned to listen to the Doctor.

"…it was quite an educational experience for her."

Kathryn Janeway was standing with her hand on her mouth, trying not to laugh. She was looking at Seven, trying to reconcile the person in front of her with the person she had known. This was a new person to her, but it was a person she was enjoying getting to know. And, she realized, she felt more protective of this person than she had of the old Seven. This person was, in many ways, more vulnerable. Maybe it was because the defensive barriers of the old Seven were gone. 

Ketaria glanced around at everyone, "Why don’t we sit down. Can I get you anything? Tea? Water? Coffee? Anything else?"

Kathryn lifted her cup, "I will take some more coffee."

"Nothing for me. Thank you," said Seven.

The Doctor lifted his hand and shook his head.

"I will have a glass of toma," said Kahkar.

She looked at him, surprised, then nodded and left to get their drinks. Kahkar almost never drank toma. He always said he did not like the fact that it seemed to dull his feelings. The fact that he wanted one now was telling. By the time she returned with the drinks, the group was seated in the living room. She served everyone and sat down near her husband, allowing her knee to touch his leg, hoping that the contact would provide him comfort and support. She watched as he took a sip of his drink, then faced the Doctor and Seven.

"I imagine you have figured out by now that we have something to tell you."

The couple nodded, and he could see the concern starting to show in their faces. He took a deep breath and continued.

"There is something that both of you need to know, and it concerns Seven and Kathryn B’Elanna."

Ketaria watched as Seven’s hand sought her husband’s, and she felt the young woman steel herself. She felt her own husband lean forward slightly and heard the control in his voice as he continued.

"Seven, it seems that the Borg…" he had thought about this conversation so many times, and he knew telling her would be a struggle. He had thought about his words and had decided there was no option but to tell her as directly and as simply as he could, "…manipulated your DNA. They managed to insert strands of Batair DNA into yours." He watched as her eyes widened in surprise, "That explains your mild telepathy. That also explains Kathryn B’Elanna’s. And the fact that only your DNA was used in her conception explains why her telepathy is so much stronger than yours."

He watched as Seven and the Doctor exchanged looks, and he saw the concern in the Doctor’s eyes when he turned his head back to Kahkar.

Seven looked to Ketaria, "So, we are…genetically related?"

"It would seem so, Seven," Ketaria’s voice was warm. She was reaching out to feel Seven’s emotions. Right now, there was nothing to worry about. Seven was not reacting badly to the information she had received. But, she knew, the worse was to come. She prepared herself.

The Doctor looked back and forth from the faces of the three people in front of them and asked, "What else, Kahkar?"

Kahkar felt Seven’s eyes lock on him, and he lowered his head, taking another sip of his drink, "Yes, you are right Doctor. There is more." He looked up at Seven, the pain starting to show in his face, "Seven, somehow, the Borg also managed to insert Borg technology into your DNA." He waited.

The Doctor’s eyes started to widen, and he drew himself up straight. Seven looked from face to face, struggling with what she was hearing. Finally, she said, the fear obvious in the tone of her voice, "Kathryn B’Elanna?"

Kahkar nodded his head and reached down to touch a button on the PADD he was holding. The screen on the wall in front of her flickered into life, and she saw the two strands of DNA displayed, already zoomed in so that the sections of human and Batair DNA and Borg technology were magnified. She could see that the DNA of her child showed a smooth and complete integration. 

She sat staring at the screen. Finally, she said, "She is Borg."

"Yes, Seven," said Kahkar, his voice sad, "she is."

She was standing at the screen, staring at the display. Her eyes traveled slowly over each inch of the two pictures, comparing them. Finally, she reached out to touch one section of the picture of her daughter’s DNA, her finger covering a small part of the picture of the Borg technology. She rubbed the screen slowly, as if doing so would erase what she was seeing.

She turned, her eyes showing a pain that almost brought tears to Kahkar’s own, "What does this mean?"

He took a deep breath, "We don’t know what it means, Seven." He stood, walking away from the group, attempting to pull her attention away from the screen, but she turned her head to look at it so he continued, speaking to her back, "As I said, it explains Kathryn B’Elanna’s telepathy. We suspect it explains her ability to enter into the Doctor’s program. It probably explains how she was able to facilitate the adventure between you and the Doctor in the holodeck." 

He watched her, trying to read her reaction from the movement of her body. It was almost as if they were alone in the room. The Doctor was sitting quietly, his eyes locked on his wife, his body tense, and his eyes unbelieving. Janeway and Ketaria were watching the drama unfold, neither daring to speak, each moving their eyes from the Doctor to Seven to Kahkar. 

Finally, Seven turned, her voice so low he had to strain to hear her, "Does the collective know?"

"They know she is telepathic."

She was quiet a moment, and he could see her mind working quickly, "They will come after her."

"No, Seven, they will not."

Her eyes flashed in surprise at him, "Explain."

He bit his upper lip and squared his shoulders, "The collective considers her to be imperfect."

"What?"

"Because she was not conceived through a…" he cut his eyes toward the Doctor but then quickly looked back to her, "natural conception, they find her unacceptable."

"How do you know this?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, he swallowed hard, "The Borg queen told me." He watched her mouth drop open and saw the amazement in her face. He took a step forward and continued, "The collective does not know about Kathryn B’Elanna, but she does. She understands…how powerful your daughter is."

"Then she will order the collective to come after us."

"No, Seven, she will not."

"I do not understand."

He crossed the room to stand directly in front of her and took her hands in his, "Seven, I know you will find this difficult to believe, but she wants you and Kathryn B’Elanna safely out of the Delta Quadrant."

The Doctor, who had been quiet through the conversation finally stood, "Kahkar, that doesn’t make any sense. I can’t believe she would not send the collective after Seven and Kathryn B’Elanna." Kahkar saw the fear in the Doctor’s eyes. "How could you believe she would want them out of the Delta Quadrant?"

Kahkar turned away from the Doctor, looking into Seven’s face and squeezing her hand as he spoke, "Because, she gave me the transwarp coil."

He watched as the color drained from Seven’s face and felt the grip she had on his hand tighten as her knees seemed to buckle. He grabbed to support her and the Doctor quickly crossed to her side, wrapping his arms around her.

"Come, you need to sit down." He led her back to her seat and sat down beside her. Kahkar moved to sit in the empty space beside her on the sofa and took her hand again, speaking to her softly, "Seven, she has kept the knowledge of Kathryn B’Elanna’s unique abilities from the collective. She gave me the transwarp coil and asked me to bring it to Voyager. She wants you and Kathryn B’Elanna to leave the Delta Quadrant as quickly as possible. We are going to do that, Seven." He glanced over at Kathryn, "Captain Janeway and I are going to get you and your daughter out of this space as soon as we can."

Seven turned her head to the Captain, "You knew?"

Nodding, Janeway responded, "I have been aware of most what Kahkar has told you. That is why we have been pushing so hard toward the Alpha Quadrant."

Seven closed her eyes, working to process the information she had just received. She did not remember a lot about her time with the collective, but she knew what she had read in her personal logs. What she was hearing did not seem possible based on what she did know about the Borg queen. Finally, she just shook her head, lowering it as she did so.

The Doctor was rubbing his hand comfortingly on her back, he himself overwhelmed by what he was hearing. "Kahkar…." He looked up into the face of his friend and tried again, "Kahkar…." Finally, he stopped, unable to continue.

Kahkar reached out and placed his hand on the Doctor’s hand, still on Seven’s back. "Doctor, Seven, we will get you to Earth."

At that, Seven gave a short, almost angry laugh, "Earth." She looked at the Doctor, "Our daughter is Borg." She shook her head, "She will not find a home there. And neither will I."

"No, Seven," Kathryn Janeway spoke up, "you are wrong. There is a home waiting on you and your family on Earth." 

"No." She stood and strode angrily to stand in front of the screen, "Captain, look at this. This is me," she pointed to her strand of DNA, then to her daughter’s, "and this is my child’s. We are Borg. We are not connected to the hive by transceivers. We are genetically connected. We can never truly be separated. How can either of us find acceptance on Earth?" Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes widening, "Genetically." Her eyes moved slowly to Kahkar, the implication of it starting to hit her, "We are both genetically Borg."

He saw the panic starting to build, and he stepped toward her immediately, "Yes, Seven, you are both genetically Borg, but think. Think hard, Seven. You still managed to break away from the Borg. And Kathryn B’Elanna is a happy, well-adjusted child. The Borg technology is a part of your being, but it does not define you as an individual. The queen has tried to get you to willingly rejoin the collective in the past, but you have always resisted. You have successfully resisted. Seven, you are human and Batair and, yes, Borg. So is your daughter. And there is nothing you can do about that, but you can chose how you will go forward from here. You can give into being Borg, or you can continue to resist. You must be a model for your daughter to follow. She will look to you, Seven. You are the only one who can show her how to live."

She was standing with her feet spaced apart, her eyes flashing angrily, her body tense as if ready for a fight, the power of her uncertainty and horror filling the room. Captain Janeway approached her carefully, aware that this was an emotionally charged situation, knowing that the words she spoke to Seven would be very important. 

"Seven," Janeway’s voice was soft and gentle, "you will be safe on Earth." She took a deep breath, "I have heard from the Federation." She felt the eyes of the other three people in the room focus on her, but she only allowed herself to look at Seven. "Seven, I know you don’t remember this, but I have been talking to the Federation for the last few months, working to gain acceptance for your marriage and to protect your family." She reached out to put her hand on Seven’s arm, "They have agreed, Seven."

The Doctor stood up and walked quickly to his wife’s side, "What are you talking about, Captain?"

She did not even look at him. She kept her eyes focused on Seven’s, "Seven, the Federation has agreed to formally recognize your marriage and to provide you and your family protection. They would like to study you and Kathryn B’Elanna, as well as the Doctor’s program, but you have the right to refuse. They are recognizing you as a human being with all of your rights intact, and they are recognizing the Doctor as a sentient being. You will be safe on Earth, Seven. We just have to get you there."

Kahkar and Ketaria exchanged glances, and Ketaria knew immediately what her husband was thinking. She turned her attention back to Seven, reaching out to try to comfort her. She could feel the confusion and fear pouring out of her. Ketaria closed her eyes in concentration.

While Seven continued to stare at Janeway, the Doctor reached his arm around his wife’s shoulders, pulling her to him. He looked at the Captain, his eyes full of questions, "Captain, I..I don’t understand."

"Doctor, there were some questions regarding the acceptance of the Federation of your marriage. You know yourself that a marriage between a human and a hologram is not legal. We discussed that before your marriage. Well, I have been working with the Federation to get them to recognize your marriage and to guarantee that your family would not be separated…that you and your family would be respected." She gave him a meaningful look as she took a breath to finish, "And, they have agreed, Doctor. You and your family have nothing to fear when you return to Earth. Actually," she smiled, moving quickly back to her seat to pick up a PADD, "I think you have something to actually look forward to when you get home."

He took the PADD from her and activated it, taking a moment to read the message on it. Then, he looked at Seven in surprise, "It is from Dr. Zimmerman. It is an offer for us to join him on Utopia Planetia and for me to work with him. He says we will be like a father and son team." He continued to read, "He says there will be work for you there and…" he paused, reading silently a few seconds, "…he says he can’t wait to meet his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter." He looked up at his wife, "Seven, he says we have a home waiting on us when we get there. It is what we have hoped for."

She looked at her husband’s face, seeing the excitement in it. It was what they had talked about. She knew how much he had hoped for just what was being offered and she wanted it for him. But, for a reason she could not understand, something about it bothered her. She looked at Ketaria, her eyes asking for help. Everything she was hearing was starting to overwhelm her.

"Please, everyone," Ketaria stepped forward, "I think we should all sit back down." She took Seven’s arm and led her back to the sofa, sitting beside the young woman, putting her hands to her face, working to calm her. She could feel how conflicted Seven was. That was not hard to understand. She, herself, felt the same.

It was all too complete. On Eutaria, there was the story of the scientist who sought the Great Answer. The Great Answer was the answer to all questions. As the story went, when the scientist found the Great Answer, he paid for the gift with his sanity for no one could know all the answers. 

This felt like the Great Answer.

Her eyes wandered slowly to each person’s in the room. She saw the doubt in Kahkar’s eyes, fully understanding what he feared. The Captain’s eyes were full of confidence and excitement. She could feel both home and victory near. The Doctor’s eyes were full of hope. His dream was close to being realized. He would arrive at Earth with his wife and his child and the opportunity to work beside the man he considered his father. He would also have self-determination. 

Her eyes drifted back to Seven’s, and she had to fight not to react to what she saw. She sent out a strong feeling of comfort and tightened her hold on Seven’s face. Then, the Captain spoke behind her.

"Seven, you will be safe. Your family will be safe. You have the promise of the Federation. And you have mine. We will get you to your new home safely, Seven." She moved to sit beside the former drone and took her hand, "I have never lied to you, Seven, and I am not lying to you now. You will be safe when we get to Earth. You have my word."