Copyright 2001, Susan S. McCrackin  Reprinted with permission of the author.

Finally, she sighed, "Nothing new, Mr. Paris?"

"No, ma’am." He shook his head. "Same old empty space."

She sighed again, patting him lightly on the shoulder, "Guess it will be safe for both of us to call it a day."

He gave her a grin, "Yes, ma’am."

Janeway left her hand on his shoulder, "Of course, I guess you still have duties facing you tonight."

His grin widened, "Absolutely." He flexed his fingers, "Now, I go from chief pilot to chief masseuse."

She laughed, "Tell B’Elanna I’m jealous."

He stood as Ensign Montos approached to take his place at the helm, "I’ll give her your message." 

She gave him another pat on his shoulder, then watched as he quickly left the bridge. She allowed a small smile to come on her face, aware that the pride she felt for him shone in her eyes. Before she could move back to her seat, Harry Kim arrived on the bridge, greeting her.

"Evening, Captain." He moved hesitantly toward her chair, "Anything new I should know about?"

She glanced at the view screen again, then shook her head, "No, Mr. Kim. Same old empty space."

His face fell slightly, then he shrugged, "Guess it will be a quiet night."

She gave the view screen a wistful glance as she nodded her head, "I guess you’re right." She fell quiet for a few minutes, "Looks like it will be quiet for at least another week."

He hesitated, "Except for being boring, I guess that’s good news."

She raised her eyebrows, "You’re right, Mr. Kim. I should learn to be thankful for the quiet parts of our journey."

"Yes, ma’am." He gave her seat a glance.

She straightened, raising her voice, "Mr. Kim, you have the bridge. I’ll be in my quarters."

"Yes, ma’am." He watched as she entered the turbolift, holding his position until the doors closed. Then, he moved toward her seat, taking his place in the command position. He allowed his eyes to wander over the controls, reading the displays before he studied the view screen before him. After a few minutes, he let out a long breath and sat back. "Same old empty space."

As the turbolift doors opened, Tom looked up to see his wife starting to enter, head down, concentrating on the PADD she held in her hand.

"You just couldn’t wait for me to get home." He laughed at her startled expression and moved to kiss her on the cheek, "You had to meet me at the turbolift door."

She gave him a grin, "Right. I just knew you would be in here, and I rushed right out to meet you."

"So, where are you heading?" He took the PADD from her and studied it. "I thought you would be in our quarters getting ready for your favorite part of the day."

"I wish," she pulled the PADD away from him. "I forgot to drop this off for Seven. She was going to run a diagnostic on it tonight while she regenerated."

"Problem?"

She frowned, "Not really a problem. The warp core has responded a little slowly the last couple of days. Seven volunteered to examine the program to see if she can find anything."

"While she is regenerating?"

B’Elanna nodded absentmindedly, still studying the PADD.

"I remember the last time she downloaded information while she regenerated."

B’Elanna looked up at him, confused for a moment, then realized what he was talking about, "No, she won’t be downloading the data. She said she would set up a diagnostic program and have it interrupt her regeneration cycle if it found anything." She rolled her eyes at her husband, "She said it would be more ‘efficient’ that way."

Tom laughed, "Well, it’s nice of her to do it so you can rest." He leaned down to kiss her on the nose, "And I get to spend more time with you." She leaned her head against his, and he could feel her weariness. Raising his head, he reached for the PADD, "I’ll tell you what, you go back to our quarters and order up a light supper for us, and I’ll take this PADD to Seven."

"No, really, I should…."

"B’Elanna," he whispered her name, "let me do it." He hesitated, then added, "Please." He watched her eyes, knowing she did not want to admit to any weakness because of her pregnancy. Seeing her resolve weaken, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. "Thanks. Now, astrometrics or the cargo bay?"

"The cargo bay."

He kissed her on the top of her head, "By the way, a beer would be nice with supper."

"I’ll make certain it’s cold."

He turned her around and pushed her out of the turbolift. Smiling at her, he said, "Deck seven." He held her eyes until the doors closed between them. Chuckling, he shook his head. She was often a firebrand these days, vacillating between anger and tears, but most of the time, it did not seem to bother him. He was amazed at his capacity to accept whatever mood she seemed to be in and at how willing she often was to allow him to talk her out of whatever mood she was in. These were good times for them, and he was loving every minute of their pregnancy. 

When the doors opened, he stepped out, aware there was spring in his step and a lightness in his heart. For once, he was glad Seven was not a talker. He was anxious to deliver the PADD and return to his wife. He knew Seven would barely say two words to him, but would accept the PADD and immediately begin to work with it. He would be out of there in about two seconds.

Humming lightly, he stepped through the opening doors, frowning when he did not see Seven standing at the console. That is where she usually was – unless she was regenerating. There wasn’t much else to do in here. His eyes went to the empty alcove, not surprised that it was vacant. He would not expect her to be regenerating when she was waiting on B’Elanna to deliver the PADD to her.

It took him a second to see her, crumpled on the floor, immediately below the platform of her alcove.

"Seven!"

He rushed across the floor to reach her, turning her on her back as he squatted down beside her. He glanced around, looking for a tricorder. Not seeing one, he raised his head and spoke.

"Computer, medical emergency. Two to beam to sickbay."

Tom heard the Doctor’s automatic response end as they solidified in the sickbay, Seven on a biobed, and he beside her.

"Mr. Paris! What happened?" The Doctor was beginning to scan her even as he spoke.

"I don’t know, Doc," he stepped back to give the Doctor room to work, "I found her like this in the cargo bay." He watched as the Doctor scanned her, trying to read the look that appeared on the Doctor’s face, "What is it?"

The Doctor just gave him a questioning look and reached to shake Seven’s shoulder, "Seven, wake up." He shook harder, "Wake up, Seven."

Tom looked down at Seven’s face, noticing how peaceful it was. He saw the Doctor put his hand on the side of her face and pull it towards him. "What’s going on, Doctor?"

"She’s asleep, Mr. Paris."

"Asleep?"

The Doctor gave him a puzzled nod and reached for a hypospray. Pressing it against Seven’s neck, he activated it, and Tom heard the light swoosh as the medicine was delivered.

"What are you doing?"

The Doctor barely glanced at him, "I’m giving her a stimulant to wake her up."

The two men watched as she started to move in response to the medicine, surprised when she moaned slightly, rolled over on the biobed, curled into loose ball and sunk back into sleep. The Doctor looked at the hypospray in his hand, his face growing more confused. Finally, he stepped forward and activated the diagnostic arms of the biobed, reading the results carefully.

After a long period of silence, Tom asked, "Are you finding anything?"

The Doctor shook his head, "No, Mr. Paris. She appears to be…just…sleeping." He looked at the hypospray again, "And I don’t seem to be able to wake her up."

"So," Tom hesitated, not certain what to say. He stumbled to complete his sentence, "What…are…what are you going to do?"

The Doctor watched Seven’s face for a few minutes, then read the diagnostics for a few more. Finally, he said, "I guess I’m going to let her sleep."

Tom Paris walked along the corridor, tapping the PADD against his hand. He hated telling B’Elanna about Seven. He knew she would leave for Engineering to run the diagnostics herself. For a brief moment, he considered not telling her. As soon as he thought it, he realized he couldn’t. For one thing, she would know immediately that something was not right. For another, she would be furious when she found out he had not told her. 

He turned the corner to run into Vorik.

"Lieutenant Paris."

"Vorik." He noticed the direction Vorik was heading, "On your way to engineering?"

"Yes. I am unable to sleep, so I thought I would check on engineering."

"You’re starting to sound like my wife."

Vorik did not seem to catch the irony in Tom’s voice, but cleared his throat uncomfortably, "How is the Lieutenant?"

"She’s fine," Tom answered. "Why do you ask?"

"She just seemed tired today."

"Well, she is that." Tom tapped the PADD again, "But, I imagine you will be seeing her in a few minutes."

Vorik frowned, "Is there a problem?"

"No, not really." He hesitated, then continued, "Seven was going to run a diagnostic on the warp core for her, but…she is…she can’t. So," Tom shrugged his shoulders, "I imagine when I tell B’Elanna, she’ll head for engineering to run it herself."

Vorik paused, "Why don’t you let me run it? If I find anything, I will contact her immediately."

Tom brightened, "Hey, that’s a great idea. You sure you don’t mind?"

"No." Vorik straightened, "I will be glad to do it." He reached for the PADD, "She needs her rest."

"Great. Thanks." Tom moved past him, then turned and yelled down the corridor after Vorik, "And I’ll be sure NOT to tell her you said that."

When he entered his quarters, he found his dinner on the table, his beer cooling in a bucket of ice and his wife sound asleep in their bed. Chuckling, he stretched out beside her and gently pulled her to him. He waited to see if she would wake up, but she did not. He rested his cheek against her head and drifted off to sleep.

"Bridge to the Captain."

She pulled one eye open and frowned, hoping it had been a dream.

"Kim to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway h…." Her voice cracked with sleep. She cleared her voice and tried again, "Janeway here. Go ahead, Mr. Kim."

"Captain, we’re experiencing some slight problems. I thought you would want to know."

She struggled to sit up. She had been in a deep sleep and was finding it hard to pull herself back into the waking world. She took a deep breath, "I’m on my way."

It took her twice as long as normal to pull on her clothes and make her way to the bridge. As soon as she stepped out of the turbolift, she looked around, assessing the situation. It was strangely calm and quiet. Cocking her head in Kim’s direction, she said, "Well, I’m here. What’s going on?"

He seemed unsure of himself, "Captain, I don’t know if I should have woken you or not, but we’ve identified some strange…weird…things are…." Finally, he straightened, "Captain, we’re not sure what’s going on."

Giving the view screen a glance, she squared her shoulders, "Why don’t you start at the beginning."

"Well, Captain," she noticed he had moved to put her between himself and her chair, "we’ve had one or two strange readings from the sensor shields. Then, a couple of minutes ago, part of the view screen went black." As she glanced at it again, he continued, "it stayed black for only a second or two, flickered and came back on." He paused, his voice unsure, "I’ve never seen it do that before."

Before she could say anything, a voice came over the com.

"Engineering to the bridge."

Kim started to respond, then stopped himself, taking a further step back from the chair. He stood with his hands by his side, watching his Captain.

Fighting back a grin, she responded, "Go ahead."

Without reflecting any surprise to hear her voice, Vorik replied, "I have identified an anomaly with the warp core program. I think you should see this, Captain."

She nodded at the voice in the air, "Mr. Kim, you maintain watch here. I will keep you informed. Mr. Vorik," she raised her head, "I’m on my way."

A few minutes later, she was staring at the main engineering console, studying the results of the diagnostic. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"No, Captain. I have not."

"Neither have I." She stood back, her hands on her hips. She checked the time. It was almost five hundred hours. She tapped her combadge, "Mr. Kim, have senior staff assemble in the briefing room in twenty minutes." She looked at Vorik, "And I would appreciate your attendance, also."

"Of course, Captain."

Without speaking, she turned and left. With any luck, Neelix would already be up, and she could get a good cup of coffee for the meeting. She felt she would need it.

Everyone was studying the diagnostic. Finally, B’Elanna looked up at her Captain, "It’s gunk."

"That is a pretty apt description." She stood and walked over to the display, "Anybody have any idea of exactly what this ‘gunk’ is?" She looked around the room at blank expressions and took another sip of her coffee.

B’Elanna moved to stand next to her, "I’m surprised Seven didn’t find this in her diagnostic." Her eyes moved around the room, "And where is she this morning?"

"Uh," Tom twirled his chair around to face her, "Uh, Seven didn’t exactly do the diagnostic." 

"What!"

He winced. He could see the anger flash in his wife’s eyes, "It’s not what you think."

"And what do I think?"

Janeway stepped in between them, holding her hands out to them, "Wait!" Looking at Tom, she said, "Perhaps you had better explain."

"Well, when I got to the cargo bay, I found Seven on the floor and I…."

Janeway interrupted him, "On the floor!"

"Yes ma’am. I transported her to the sickbay, but the Doctor said she was just sleeping."

"She was sleeping!" Torres moved toward Tom, "She promised me she would do that diagnostic. Did you wake her up?"

Janeway turned to her immediately, "Lieutenant, please. Let him finish." Turning back to Tom, she asked, "Did you wake her up?"

Giving his wife an apologetic look, he said, "The Doctor tried, but he couldn’t get her to wake up."

"She wouldn’t wake…." Janeway tapped her combadge, "Janeway to the Doctor." 

"Go ahead, Captain,"

"What is Seven’s status?"

She heard the hesitancy in his response, "She’s asleep."

"Great!" Torres exploded.

Janeway gave her a warning glare, and she quieted. "Doctor, is Seven all right?"

"As far as I can tell. She simply appears to be…sleeping."

"Thank you. Janeway out." She frowned. The warp core seemed to be full of gunk, and Seven was sound asleep in the sickbay and could not be woken up. She suspected that one situation probably had something to do with the other.

"Lieutenant Torres, I want you and Vorik to work on identifying that…gunk, as you call it. Harry, you check other systems to see if anything else is compromised. Tuvok, I think we should go to a heightened security alert until we determine the nature of this event. Chakotay, you take the bridge. Mr. Paris, you are with me." She turned to leave, then stopped to address them, "If anyone finds anything, contact me immediately."

Tom saw from the look on B’Elanna’s face that she had something she wanted to say, but he knew she would not. At least she would not say anything at this moment. He gave her a weak grin and followed Janeway from the briefing room.

Entering the turbolift, Janeway commanded, "Deck five." She cast a look at Paris.

He saw it and knew what it was. Dropping his head, he said, "Thanks for the save."

"She’ll calm down soon. This will give her a little while to get over it."

He nodded, wishing he could be as certain as his captain sounded. He did not have time to reply before the doors opened, and she led the way to the sickbay. When they entered, the Doctor looked up, his face reflecting both his concern and his puzzlement. 

"What is it, Doctor?" Janeway moved to Seven’s side.

"I wish I knew. Scans indicate she is sleeping, but I cannot get her to wake up." He shrugged, "She’s sleeping like a baby."

Janeway looked down at the sleeping face, thinking she had never seen Seven so peaceful. She was lying curled up on her right side, her arms crossed loosely with her left hand tucked under her head and her right hand resting softly on her cheek. From time to time, a smile would flit across her face. Janeway looked up at the Doctor, her eyes asking her question.

"She appears to be dreaming." He gave Seven a wistful look, "From her reaction, it seems as if she is having a very pleasant dream."

"Doctor, have you examined her Borg implants?"

He nodded, "Most appear to be functioning normally, but I have not been able to get a clear scan on some of the ones in her cerebral cortex. I was just getting ready to do a more extensive scan."

She nodded, "We are experiencing some anomalies on the ship. I suspect there is a connection between those and Seven’s sudden deep sleep."

The Doctor’s face immediately became more concerned, "What’s going on?"

"I’m not certain, Doctor. Perhaps it would be good if you worked with Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Vorik to see if what is causing the anomaly in the warp core is also causing Seven to sleep like this."

"But who will stay with Seven?"

"Mr. Paris will attend her."

The Doctor gave Tom a glance, "Of course."

"Torres and Vorik are in engineering."

"I will go there now." He moved to pick up his mobile emitter, "Mr. Paris, if there’s a change in her condition, please contact me immediately."

"I will, Doctor."

He moved to the biobed console and keyed in a command, "I have initiated that diagnostic. Once it’s finished, the computer will feed me the results." He looked up at the Captain, "I will let you know what I find immediately."

"Thank you." Janeway’s attention was still focused on the sleeping figure in front of her. The Doctor left, and Tom stood quietly, waiting for her to speak. Finally, she looked at Tom, "I’ll be on the bridge if you need me."

"Yes, ma’am." 

"Captain," Harry looked up from his console, "I’ve found something."

"What did you find?" She moved to Harry’s console immediately, grateful for the break in the silence. Everyone had been concentrating so hard on diagnosing the problem that the bridge had been almost silent for the better part of an hour.

He reported, "We’ve identified that ‘gunk’ in a number of the ship’s systems, but none as significantly as the warp core, the shields and the sensor systems. The other systems seem to be contaminated, but not nearly as badly."

"The system’s that are affected require a higher level processing." She spoke more to herself than to the people around her. "I wonder if that’s significant?"

Before anyone could say anything, she heard Torres’ voice, "Engineering to the Captain."

"Go ahead."

"Captain, I think we’ve discovered the problem."

"Report to briefing room."

"Yes, ma’am. Torres out."

Five minutes later, the Lieutenant was speaking with a display of Voyager behind her, "It seems the systems contain a high level of micronic non-organic particles. The particles don’t seem to be doing any real…damage. They are simply gunking up critical systems. The particles are almost…" she looked around the room, trying to think of a way to describe what they had found, "dust-like."

"Space dust?" Harry’s voice was incredulous.

"Not exactly," B’Elanna replied, "well…no…well…yes. Space dust." 

"Is there anything we can do to clear the systems?" Janeway was staring at the red spots indicated on the screen on the wall behind her Lieutenant.

"Well, Vorik and I think we can develop a filter to purge most of the…space dust from the systems, but Voyager’s own filters should be able to handle it over the next few days."

"Lieutenant," Tuvok addressed her, "if Voyager’s filters can handle this problem, why is there a problem?"

"It seems that this area of space has a very high concentration of the dust. Voyager’s filters have been handling the particles and purging them from the system, but this area was too highly concentrated for them to handle it. Vorik and I have determined that we will fly out of the problem area within the next seventy-two hours."

"Any chance of going to warp and getting out sooner?" Janeway knew the answer to her question before she asked it, but she asked it anyway.

"No, ma’am. With the problem in the warp core, I don’t think we could obtain warp speed. Plus, we can’t maintain a stable warp field. Also," she hesitated, and Janeway moved from looking at the visual of Voyager to her Lieutenant’s face, "If we increase speed, we actually end up forcing more particles into Voyager’s systems faster. We don’t think the ship could handle any more than it is already handling."

Janeway closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed. "Doctor, have you been able to determine if this…space dust has anything to do with Seven?"

He cleared his throat, "Actually, yes, it does. It seems Seven worked in Jeffries tube, section c, forty-two, which is near the main filtering system for engineering. She was taking over a maintenance job for Lieutenant Torres."

Janeway glanced over at the Lieutenant, seeing the slight wince as the Doctor spoke. She forced her attention back to his face as he continued to speak.

"She probably inhaled a significant amount of the space dust. For most humans, there would not have been a discernable response. However, for Seven, because of her Borg implants, I suspect these particles were absorbed by her body and have become lodged in the her cortical node."

"Her cortical node?" Janeway looked at him, a fear starting to come into her expression.

"She is not at risk," he hastened to assure her, "but it does mean that some of her higher brain functions are probably impaired."

"Impaired?" Janeway’s eyes bored into his.

"Yes." He hesitated, then added, "When I said that she is…sleeping like a baby, I was more accurate than I realized."

"What?"

"My scans indicate that her brain is functioning at a greatly reduced level. It is functioning, but…." His voice trailed off, and he fell silent.

"Is there a treatment?"

He glanced around the room, "Time, Captain. Just like we need to give Voyager time to deal with the…gunk in its system, we need to give Seven time to deal with hers."

"What does that mean?"

"That we simply let her sleep it off."

"This will not harm her?"

"It does not appear to have done so yet," he shrugged, "so, I do not think it will."

"Time, huh?"

Before he could respond, Tom hailed him, his voice panicked, "Doctor, medical emergency. Report to sickbay immediately."

The Doctor materialized in an empty sickbay. Looking around, he yelled, "Mr. Paris!" When there was no response, he commanded, "Computer, where are Mr. Paris and Seven of Nine?"

"Mr. Paris and Seven of Nine are in the corridor outside of sickbay."

He quickly left the sickbay and saw them walking toward the turbolift. He called after them, "Mr. Paris!"

Tom continued to walk with Seven, scanning her as he did, but turned back to yell back to the Doctor, "I can’t get her to stop!" As the Doctor ran to join them, he said, "Scans indicate she is still asleep." He looked back at the Doctor in surprise.

"Let me see." The Doctor reached for the medical tricorder, reading the scans as he did. "You’re right, Mr. Paris." He joined the pair as they continued to walk toward the turbolift, "It looks like she’s sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking?"

Before he could reply, the turbolift doors opened, and Janeway walked out, with Tuvok, Torres and Vorik behind her.

"Seven!" Janeway’s face broke into a smile, "You’re awake."

Seven walked past her and into the turbolift, not saying anything. When Janeway looked at the Doctor in surprise, he explained, "She’s sleepwalking. Don’t try to wake her." He gave Seven an ironic look, "I don’t think you could, anyway." 

They joined Seven in the turbolift, watching as she hit the control on the side of the turbolift and stood patiently as the doors closed. They exchanged glances as they rode, no one saying anything. When the turbolift stopped, Seven walked out and they followed her into the mess hall.

"Seven! It’s good to see you." Neelix greeted her, the delight on his face turning to surprise when she did not seem to notice him. "Seven?"

Janeway walked up and put her hand on his arm, "She’s sleeping, Mr. Neelix. Don’t try to wake her."

"What?"

"I’ll explain everything, but right now, I want to see what she does."

Janeway watched as Seven walked into the galley and looked around. Seeing a plate of cookies on the counter, she walked over and picked it up. 

"I just baked those cookies." Neelix looked to the Captain, "I overheard Crewman Harris say she wanted some chocolate chip cookies, so I baked her some."

Seven took the cookies, sat down cross-legged on the floor of the galley and started eating. Janeway and crew leaned over the counter and watched as she ate all of the cookies on the plate, wetting her finger to pick every last crumb off of the plate. Neelix moved around the counter and poured her a glass of milk. Walking toward her, he handed it to her. She took it without speaking and drank it. As they continued to watch, she handed the glass back to him, curled up on the floor and closed her eyes. 

The Doctor walked up to her slowly and scanned her, "She’s in a deep sleep pattern again."

Janeway’s eyes focused on the milk mustache still on Seven’s upper lip, "Should we…do anything?"

He shrugged, "I guess we let her sleep."

"Will she be in your way, Mr. Neelix?"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before answering, "I think I can work around her, Captain."

She patted him on the shoulder, "Let us know if you need any help." She took a breath, "If you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate a cup of coffee." 

Neelix scrambled to get her a cup of coffee, noticing that she had never stopped looking at the figure curled up on the floor of his galley.

"So, is she going to be like…this for the next three days?" Janeway’s hands were wrapped around her coffee.

"I’m not certain," the Doctor replied. He took a breath, "It could be a little longer."

Her head came up, "What?"

"Captain, I don’t have any idea of how long it will take for Seven’s system to deal with this. It could be quicker than three days or it could be longer." He gave her a helpless look. "She’ll wake up when she wakes up."

"If she wakes up."

It was not a question, and he did not have a response for her. She looked over to watch Neelix as he moved around his galley, often stepping over Seven as she slept beneath his feet. "So, what do we do?"

When he did not answer, she looked down into her coffee cup, thinking. After a long moment, she said, "Doctor, do you think she’ll continue to sleepwalk?"

"She could. I don’t really know."

"I don’t guess sedating her would be an answer?" When he shook his head, she asked, "What about confining her behind a force field?"

"We could try, but she might hurt herself trying to get out of a force field."

"The same with the restraints?"

He nodded.

"So, I guess we just make certain someone is watching her all the time."

He glanced around the room before reluctantly nodding his head.

"Okay," Janeway’s voice was resigned, "Doctor, you take first watch. Let us know how we should handle her, based on what you observe. We’ll especially need to know if there are any dangers we should be aware of. Let me know if anything about her condition changes."

"Aye, Captain."

"Torres, you and Vorik see what you can do about clearing Voyager’s filters out faster. If you learn anything about this space dust that would help with Seven’s situation, I want to know about it immediately."

"Yes, Captain," Torres nodded at her, then gave Tom a look. He knew immediately that, while she was still unhappy about what had happened, he was forgiven. He stifled his sigh of relief. When he heard his name spoken, he turned to the Captain immediately.

"Mr. Paris, you back up the Doctor with Seven. If he gets called away on a medical emergency, you take over of watch of Seven."

"Yes, ma’am."

She sighed and called over her shoulder, "Mr. Neelix?"

"Yes, Captain." He stepped over Seven to approach the counter. 

"I don’t imagine you have any more of those cookies, do you?"

He gave her an apologetic look, "No, Captain, I’m sorry, but I don’t."

"Pity." She stood and picked up her coffee, "Let’s get to it."

The Doctor moved around the sickbay, straightening his instruments, continuously glancing at his sleeping patient. He walked over to stand next to her, and smiled down at her. Glancing at the scans, he sighed. Her system was slowly eliminating the "gunk" from her cortical node, but it was going to take longer than he had originally thought. Still, she did not seem to be experiencing any ill effects, and he could not discern any physical damage as a result. She continued to sleep, and to take her sleeping walks around Voyager.

He checked the time and moved to prepare her meal, knowing she would be hungry when she woke. Usually, she would wake after a two-hour nap and require ‘nutritional supplements.’ If he did not have something ready for her to eat, she would start to wander and would end up in Neelix’s mess hall, eating every dessert she could find. 

He laughed when he thought about that. She had quite a sweet tooth. Awake, she would declare she sweets an indulgence. Asleep, she would devour anything sweet she found. Taking the food from the replicator, he walked back to her biobed, noticing that her eyes were starting to open.

"Hello, sleepyhead." He smiled down at her.

Her eyes came open and she yawned, her face broadening into a smile as she looked up at him. He loved this time the best. She was so happy to see him. Of course, she really did not know it was him. She only knew he was someone who provided her with food and care. Even though she continued to sleepwalk around Voyager, her higher brain function was barely that of a six-month-old. Still, she was a delight to him, and he loved caring for her. 

He helped her into a sitting position, and she pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms under her knees and watched the plate of food in his hands. He picked up the spoon, filled it and lifted it.

"Hungry?" Her eyes followed the spoon as he moved it toward her mouth and she leaned her head forward, opening her mouth as she did. "Good girl," he pulled the spoon back, noting how her eyes widened at the flavor of the food. He laughed, enjoying her as she enjoyed her meal. Her meal was over quicker than he was ready for it to be, and he reached back to grab a web cloth and gently wiped her face. She moved her head slightly, trying to escape the cloth. "Hold still, Seven," he reached with his other hand to steady her head, "this will only take a moment. You don’t want to walk around with a dirty face, do you?"

She still tried to dodge his efforts to clean her face, pushing his hand away. Getting her cleaned up after her meal was always a bit of a challenge. As soon as he was finished, he backed away and held the cloth up so she could see it, "We’re all finished, Seven. Your face is clean."

She scrunched up her face, then turned her head to look around sickbay. He waited, knowing what would happen next. She slid off the biobed and started walking toward the door. Sighing, he tossed the cloth onto the biobed and joined her. As they left the sickbay, he reached and took her hand. She tightened her grip on him and pulled him down the corridor.

Janeway’s eyes were riveted on the explosion on the view screen as soon as she walked onto the bridge.

"Report!"

Harry whirled toward her, "It’s nothing, Captain." He raised his hands to her, "Don’t worry."

"What’s going on?"

Harry gave her a sheepish look, "We’re entertaining Seven."

"What?" For the first time, she noticed Harry was not in the command chair, but in the second chair. Then, she saw the back of the blond head in the captain’s chair. Walking down the steps, she saw that Seven was curled up in her chair, staring intently at the splashing color images.

"She wandered on the bridge about the middle of the night. I thought she might enjoy seeing pretty pictures, so we have been running archived celestial events on the view screen." He looked down at her, "It’s kept her still for hours. I told the Doctor to leave her, and we would watch her for him."

Janeway walked up to her chair, seeing how Seven had folded herself into the chair, "That cannot be comfortable."

"She seems to have made herself very comfortable," Harry chuckled.

Janeway shook her head, "Well, Ensign, if you don’t mind holding the bridge for a few more minutes, I have a few things I need to take care of in my ready room."

"No problem, Captain."

She walked into her ready room and moved to her desk. As she sat down, she looked up, surprised to see Seven standing at her desk, looking down at her. Or, at least she thought Seven was looking at her.

"Good morning, Seven." She watched her eyes, hoping to see some inkling of awareness behind them, but there was none. Sighing, she waited. After a few minutes, Seven turned around and walked out. Janeway stood up and followed, watching as Seven made her way towards the turbolift. 

"Mr. Tuvok."

"Yes, Captain."

"I think Seven is getting ready to take another walk. Do you think you could assist her in finding her way back to sickbay?"

"Yes, Captain." He moved quickly to join Seven in the turbolift. He noticed that Seven was staring at him, a questioning look coming into her eyes, and that she had backed away from him in the turbolift. He stood, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the intensity of her stare, "I need to stop by my quarters on the way to sickbay." He quickly looked away, wondering why he had said that to her. He knew she would not comprehend what he said. Still, it was like talking to a child. One often discussed issues with children beyond their comprehension. One did not always expect a response. 

When the doors opened, he walked through and turned to wait on her, almost relieved when she followed him, still uncertain about the way she was looking at him and shying away from him. He walked toward his quarters, and she followed, her eyes still locked on his face. Once inside, his eyes went to the table in the center of the room, and he moved to pick up the PADD he had left on his table. It contained detailed information of an analysis he had done on the space dust. The Doctor had hoped the information would help him understand what was happening to Seven. As he stood, his eyes focused on the second PADD on the table. He had received it before leaving to report to duty. It was a letter from his wife. He had left it on the table, waiting for his shift to end. He looked to Seven, seeing that she had settled into a chair, her eyes focused on his window. He sighed, recognizing her posture and realized she was totally involved in whatever it was she was looking at. He decided he had time to read his letter before taking her to sickbay. Sitting down on his sofa, he started to read.

He was so engrossed in his message, he did not realize that Seven was near until she sat on the sofa. He looked into her face, seeing that her eyes were focused on him. He watched as she slowly reached out and touched the tip of his ear. She pulled her hand back, her eyes giving him a worried look. Then, she reached down and took his hand and raised it to her check, softly rubbing the back of his hand against her cheek. Finally, she looked back at his face, moved her eyes back to his ears, then gave him a big smile as if she had decided he was acceptable. Suddenly, she moved to sit next to him and put her head on his shoulder. In only a few breaths, he knew she was sleep.

He sat uncertain of what to do. Keeping his body still, he raised the PADD, looking at the words of his wife. His eyes moved down to look at the person now snuggling closer to him and settling into an innocent sleep. Sighing, he started to read, soon losing himself in his wife’s words of her life and the lives of their children. As he did, his arm slipped across Seven’s shoulders, and his hand slid down her arm to rest lightly on her forearm. Unconsciously, he relaxed into his sofa and pulled her to him slightly, his thoughts on his family.

B’Elanna Torres and Vorik were pressed together in the small confines of the Jeffries tube, examining the filters they had installed. B’Elanna shifted uncomfortably, and Vorik pulled himself into a tighter ball, trying to give her a bit more room. As she reached forward to adjust the control on the filter, a groan escaped her lips.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Vorik worked to keep his voice professional and not to let his concern for her be known.

"Yes." She moved stiffly, pushing herself away from the filter to sit on the floor of the tube, leaning back against the wall, "She’s just being very active today." She reached to rub her back and tried to stretch it as much as her surrounding would allow.

Vorik took a breath, "You have been working too many hours." He did not look at her while he spoke, but busied himself making the adjustments on the filter, "The filters are functioning as designed, and Voyager’s situation is improving. You should feel free to rest. I am capable of overseeing the maintenance of the filters for the next few days."

She looked at his back in shock, trying to decide how to respond to his words. Finally, she laughed, "Are you trying to take care of me, Vorik?"

"No, I…." He started to stammer his response.

She laughed again, interrupting him, "Don’t worry." She paused, "I appreciate your concern, but I’m doing fine. I might be pregnant, but I’m still capable of doing my job."

"I was not implying you are not."

"I know. I understand." She gave him an ironic smile, "Tom does the same thing." She rolled her eyes, "So does everyone else." Relaxing against the wall, she continued, "It does get the best of me, sometimes."

"The intent is not to upset you."

She nodded her head, "I know. And, I guess I do appreciate it. It’s nice to know that people care, but," her voice fell softer, and she flicked her hand weakly, "I do wish people could…ignore that I am pregnant."

His eyes went to her stomach, "Lieutenant, that fact is difficult to ignore."

She burst out laughing, "I guess it is, isn’t it?" Pushing herself away from the wall, she started crawling down the Jeffries tube, "Okay, you win, Vorik. You keep working, and I am going to take an early lunch break and put my feet up for a few extra minutes. But," she turned back to face him, "I’ll be back in engineering soon after that."

"Yes, ma’am."

She chuckled as she left the Jeffries tube. She should be upset, but she found Vorik’s concern for her touching. Even she recognized that he worked hard to keep their relationship professional, but she appreciated that he did watch out for her.

Emerging from the tube, she stretched her back. These little excursions were getting more and more difficult. Reluctantly, she admitted to herself that she would be glad when Seven was functional again. She found a certain comfort that she could rely on Seven’s skills in engineering when there were things she could no longer do herself. Vorik had excellent skills, but Seven had a unique understanding of the function of many of the systems on Voyager, and B’Elanna had relied on those skills more and more lately. Grimacing, she shook her head as she thought that relying on those skills had, in part, caused Seven’s current situation. She shook herself, pushing back the guilty feelings she had over that. No one could have known that would happen. It was not anyone’s fault, but she was still struggling with feelings of responsibility.

When she walked into her quarters, she was surprised to see Tom sleeping in his chair. Cocking her head, she suddenly noticed that his arm was resting on the arm of the chair and that a string was running from his wrist to something on the sofa. Moving around the sofa, she saw Seven asleep, on her side, scrunched down, with her face pressed into the back of the sofa. The string ran from Tom’s wrist to Seven’s ankle.

Shaking her head, she reached down, jerking the string. Tom woke up immediately.

"Okay, Seven, I’m up." He blinked his eyes, then focused on his wife.

"She’s still sleeping." She wiggled the string, "What is this for?"

"Oh," he looked at her sheepishly, still blinking his eyes awake, "that’s so she would wake me up. She was really active this morning, and I was afraid she would slip away from me." He leaned back in his chair, "This babysitting is exhausting."

She bit back her response and looked down at the sleeping figure, "So, how is Sleeping Borgy?"

Tom laughed, "You never miss a chance, do you?"

She gave him a grin, "I can’t afford to. I’m not getting as many chances these days."

He stood up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "How are you doing today?" Reaching around her, he rubbed her lower back, "How’s your back."

She allowed him to take her in his arms and relaxed as he massaged the muscles in her back, "It’s been better, but that’s helping."

"I’m glad."

She turned her head so she could look at Seven on the sofa. After a minute, she leaned her head down, looking closer, "Tom, is that Flotter?"

He kept rubbing her back, "Yep."

She looked up at his face, incredulous, "She’s sleeping with a stuffed animal?"

"Yep. Naomi gave her that this morning, and she’s carried it around with her ever since."

"Oh, please tell me someone got a holo-image of that."

"I think a couple of people did." He rubbed her back a few more seconds, "Including me."

"Oh, thank you!" She hugged him. "I’m going to love having that picture." He laughed at her, but did not say anything. After a couple of minutes, she continued, "That is so funny. Seven of Nine walking around, carrying a stuffed Flotter."

"Take my advice, just don’t try to take it away from her."

"Really?"

"Really."

She shook her head and moved to sit on the chair, putting her feet up on the table, "Oh, it feels good to relax." After a moment, she looked up at her husband and said, "You didn’t answer my question."

Tom sat on the table, slipped her shoe off and started massaging her foot, "What question?"

"About how Seven’s doing."

"Oh, that question. I didn’t realize you were serious." B’Elanna’s eyes moved toward the sleeping figure, and Tom could see the guilt in their look. Before she could say anything, he leaned toward her, "But then, I guess you’d be a little concerned about any other woman you found sleeping in your quarters."

She cut her eyes at him, grateful for his misdirection. She growled her reply, "Exactly."

He laughed, pulling her foot higher on his lap, "Actually, the Doc says she’s improving. That’s why her activity level has increased. It’s so strange," his eyes narrowed as he looked over at Seven, "she walks around, her eyes are open; she looks at people. She smiles and laughs. She’s able to interact with people even thought she can’t communicate, but her mind is asleep. The Doctor says it’s her higher brain functions that are affected. She can eat on her own, but she lets the Doctor feed her. Heck," he grinned at his wife, "she acts like she expects him to feed her. It’s almost like she…."

She waited, then asked, "She what, Tom?"

"It’s almost like she knows what people need from her and she…gives it to them."

"I don’t’ understand what you are saying."

He picked up her other foot, slipped the shoe off and started rubbing it, "I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just that, I’ve watched her with people and…it’s the way she is with them. It’s like she…just knows how to make them feel better." Finally, he shook his head, "Don’t ask me to explain it. I can’t. I guess it’s something you just have to see to understand."

B’Elanna stayed quiet a moment, then asked, "Does the Doctor have any idea how long it will be before she…snaps out of this?"

Tom shook his head, "No, but he doesn’t seem worried about it. He says she is physically fine, and he can’t identify any long term problem." He gave his wife a strange look "Why? Are you missing her?"

She wrinkled her nose at him, "It’s hard to miss her when she’s sleeping on my sofa." She leaned back into the chair. "It has been a…little boring, though."

"Boring?"

"Yeah, boring." She gave him a disgusted look, "There isn’t anyone else much to argue with – except you."

He spoke softly to Seven’s sleeping back, "I hope you wake up real soon." He gave B’Elanna a quick smile before adding, "Sleeping Borgy."

B’Elanna just laughed.

Six hours after she left her quarters, B’Elanna limped back towards them. It had been an exhausting afternoon. If it could have gone wrong in engineering, it had found a way to do so. She had planned to leave early and ended up staying late, barely managing to be civil to Vorik or anyone else who happened to be on duty. Her feet hurt; her back hurt; her body was heavy; and she had a splitting headache. For all the world, she just wanted to crawl in her bed, pull the covers over her head and escape the world.

It got worse as soon as she entered her quarters.

"What the hell?!"

The quarters were trashed. The sofa pillows were on the floor and toys were everywhere. She took a step and felt something crunch under her foot. Looking down, she saw popcorn scattered all over the floor. Tom popped up from behind the couch, looking frazzled and exhausted.

"B’Elanna, I’m so glad you’re home!"

Before she could move toward the couch, Seven popped up, a grin on her face and moved toward the table, grabbing for the remote control of the television. As soon as she picked it up, Tom was trying to get it from her.

"No, Seven. Bad girl. Give that to me." 

She pulled it back from him and whimpered. He pulled something from his pocket and offered it to her, "No, you take this, and give Uncle Tom the remote control."

She looked at the object in his hand and surrendered the remote, accepting his trade. Turning, she put whatever Tom had traded her in her mouth and headed across the room. Before he could follow her, B’Elanna grabbed his arm.

What is going on here?"

"The Doctor got tied up in the sickbay, and I had to keep Seven. She’s been…." His eyes had been following his charge and he suddenly started. "NO! Seven!" He pushed off B’Elanna’s grip and ran to grab the bat’leth from Seven, almost having to fight her for it. "No, this will hurt you. Bad girl, Seven. Bad girl."

Shaking herself to fight off the shock, B’Elanna moved to get between Tom and Seven, putting her hand on Seven’s arm, "Hi, Seven." She worked to calm her voice, aware of the tension between her husband and Seven. Pulling the tricorder from her belt, she quickly activated it and held it up to catch Seven’s eyes, "Wouldn’t you rather play with this?"

Seven’s eyes went to the twinkling lights of the tricorder, and she reached for it. B’Elanna spoke to Tom over her shoulder, "Hide that thing while she’s distracted." Pulling gently on Seven’s arm, she managed to lead her back to the sofa and pushed her gently down on it. While Seven started pushing at the pad of the tricorder, B’Elanna took a minute to look at her. "What is all of this stuff on her face and her suit?" She kneeled down and pulled on the object in Seven’s mouth.

"B’Elanna don’t!"

"What is it?"

"It’s a sucker."

"A what?"

"A sucker. It’s candy. And she really doesn’t like it when you try to take it away."

"Candy." She looked around the room, seeing sticks like the one that was sticking out of Seven’s mouth littering the floor. "How many of these things has she had?" She reached out and scraped a smear of something off of Seven’s cheek and sniffed it, "Chocolate!" She pointed to a huge spot on Seven’s suit, looking at her husband, "And this?"

Tom answered reluctantly, "Ice cream."

B’Elanna was turning her head, "Tom, I’m counting at least twenty of theses…sucker sticks. And ice cream? And chocolate? How much of this stuff have you given her?"

"Not that much, B’Elanna." He saw the look on her face, "Well, maybe more than that." She glared, and he said, "I guess quite a bit." Before he could say anything else, Seven stood and took off for the other end of the room again.

B’Elanna gave him a disgusted look, "She is on a major sugar high."

"What?"

"Tom, Seven doesn’t eat sweets. She is on total overload. You’ve given her too much sugar."

"But," he looked up and ran for Seven, fighting to get a glass ornament from her. "No, no, no, Seven. You can’t have that." He finally managed to pull it from her grasp, and she sat on the floor and started crying. Tom gave his wife a helpless look.

She dropped her head in her hand, working to pull herself together. After a minute, she stood and walked over to Seven, picking up the stuffed Flotter on the way. Kneeling down, she put the Flotter in Seven’s arms, "Here. Flotter will make you feel better." When Seven grabbed the Flotter, B’Elanna activated a nearby toy with flashing lights and moving parts. Seven immediately stopped crying and started to crawl toward the toy. B’Elanna looked up at her husband, giving him a silent stare.

He stumbled for an explanation, "She got more and more uncontrollable. The candy seemed to help distract her. Then, she would get really active again, so I would give her more…." His voice trailed off when he realized what he was saying. He dropped his head to his chest, "I really messed up, didn’t I?" He shook his head, "I never even thought about what I was doing." He looked at Seven who was now dismantling the toy, "Poor, Seven."

B’Elanna looked around the quarters, "Yeah, Tom. Poor, Seven."

Suddenly, he groaned, "Oh, man. The Doctor’s going to kill me."

As soon as he spoke the words, the Doctor’s voice came over the com, "Doctor to Lieutenant Paris. Are you ready for me to come get Seven?"

Tom’s eyes widened in horror, and B’Elanna looked at him with a growing pity. Before Tom could respond, she reluctantly tapped her combadge, "Doctor, Tom and Seven are…involved in a game. If you don’t mind, we’ll keep her." She gave her husband a look, "As a matter of fact, why don’t you just let her spend the night." She closed her eyes as she finished speaking, "Tom is really enjoying having her around."

"Oh." They could hear the disappointment in his voice. "If you’re sure."

"We’re sure, Doctor. Thanks."

"If Seven needs me…."

"We’ll call you immediately, Doctor. We really appreciate this."

"Okay, B’Elanna. Have fun. Doctor out."

She glared at her husband, "Oh, you owe me big."

Four hours later, they were both collapsed on the sofa, and Seven was sitting on the floor in front of the chair, legs splayed out, her head finally starting to droop.

"Tom?"

"Yes?"

"When you are tempted to give our daughter too many sweets in order to get her to behave, I want you to remember this day."

"I don’t think this day is anything I will ever forget."

B’Elanna’s eyes moved to roam around the room, "And I don’t think I will ever get this place cleaned up."

Tom sighed, "You don’t have to. I’ll clean it up. Every single inch of it." He gave her a grateful sigh, "It’s the least I can do to thank you."

She started to laugh in spite of herself, "It has been quite an experience, hasn’t it?"

"You can say that again." Tom watched as his wife’s eyes settled on Seven, and he noticed the softness that suddenly came into them. Narrowing his eyes, he waited.

"You know, Tom, it won’t be long before many of our nights are spent like this. Sitting, waiting on our daughter to get sleepy enough to go to sleep." He stayed quiet, and she took a breath, "We’ll be spending a lot of days doing what we did with Seven this evening. Our lives are really going to change."

He stayed still a moment, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, "I know, and I can hardly wait."

He felt her body shake lightly with laughter, "Me, too."

"So, I guess today hasn’t been all that awful."

She jerked her head up to look at him, "It hasn’t been wonderful." Looking back at Seven, she added, "But you’re right. It hasn’t been all that awful." They stayed quiet, enjoying the feeling of being together in a moment of solitude after a busy day of caretaking. Finally, B’Elanna pushed herself off the sofa, "And now, I think I need to get Seven ready for bed."

Tom stood, "I’ll get the sofa ready for her."

B’Elanna kneeled down next to Seven and lifted her face, "Seven, let’s go get ready for bed." She reached down and pulled at her hand, grateful when Seven stood without resisting. She pulled her toward the bathroom, stopping at the replicator and entering a command. When she felt Tom’s eyes on her, she turned toward him, "She can’t sleep in this filthy suit."

He nodded and continued to make up the sofa. Then, he started picking up around the quarters. Really cleaning it would take hours, but there was no way he was going to complain about having to do it. B’Elanna had saved him from the Doctor’s wrath, and he would gladly clean up their quarters. When B’Elanna and Seven walked back into the living area, he stopped and started laughing.

"Pajamas?"

"Well, she had to have something to sleep in."

"Yes, but pajamas with Flotters on them?"

B’Elanna shrugged, "I thought it would help get her into them easier."

"Good idea." He stifled more laughter.

"What?"

"I’m surprised you didn’t replicate her bunny pajamas."

She gave him a wicked grin, "I thought about it, but I thought the footsies might be a problem."

He pulled her into an embrace, "I love you." Bending his head, he gave her a tender kiss. When they broke, he said, "Okay, let’s get her to bed." He looked over B’Elanna’s head, "Where’d she go?"

B’Elanna whirled, and they each saw Seven at the same time, "Oh. No."

Seven was in their bed, curled up and already asleep.

After a moment, Tom said, "I guess I’m sleeping on the couch."

B’Elanna glared at him, "Well, you certainly aren’t sleeping in the bed with her."

Tom did not reply. He knew there was nothing he could or should say.

B’Elanna sighed and shifted in the bed. She was exhausted, but could not sleep. The events of the day had unsettled her. It was not uncommon for her to ask herself if she was ready for this major change in her life. Was she ready to be a mother? Could she handle this responsibility? Would she be the mother her mother was to her or could she be the mother she wanted to be to her daughter.

The day with Seven had brought all of these doubts back to her in a very real way. She had heard her mother’s words coming out of her mouth all evening, had felt her mother’s hands in her own hands as she had helped, cleaned and cared for Seven. It was all so disconcerting.

But, she had also felt a calm inside that she had not thought possible. There was an instinct that had kicked in as she had worked to find ways to calm Seven, to distract her and entertain her as the evening wore on and the sugar high wore itself out. She had been more patient than she had ever thought she could be – especially with Seven. And, almost more importantly, she had known instinctively how to deal with this wild, grown-up child, who had very little sense of self and almost no control over her actions and emotions. 

B’Elanna turned her head to look at the figure clutched in a tight ball beside her, a small smile coming over her face as she watched Seven sleep. The innocence of this person sleeping, with a smile often flitting across her face and her mouth working slightly in her sleep – probably because of dreaming about eating some kind of treat – touched her, and B’Elanna rolled over on her side to face Seven. As soon as she moved, Seven stirred, raising her head and opening her eyes. B’Elanna watched as the eyes gave her a questioning look before the face settled into a contented smile. Smiling back, B’Elanna reached up, brushing hair out of Seven’s face and turning down the collar of her pajamas.

"It’s the middle of the night, Seven. You need to go back to sleep." The gentleness of the tone of her own voice surprised B’Elanna. 

The look on Seven’s face told B’Elanna she had heard the patient affection in the voice. A soft look came into Seven’s eyes, and she shifted to lie closer to B’Elanna. After a moment, she tentatively reached her hand out and placed it on B’Elanna’s bulging stomach.

Hesitating a moment, B’Elanna placed her hand over Seven’s, "There is a baby in there." She looked down at her stomach, "And, it won’t be long before she’s born. Soon, she’ll be here with me, sleeping with me, just like you’re doing." Her voice had taken on a soft lilting quality, and Seven’s eyes focused on her face, listening intently to her words. B’Elanna kept talking. It was almost as if she could not stop herself. "I can’t wait for her to be here, Seven. I’m so excited about having her in my life." She shifted onto her back, and continued, "Sometimes I wonder, though, will I be a good mother to her? Can I be a good mother? I already love her, but can I love her enough? I wonder if I’m capable of loving her completely, of accepting her for who she is. I’m worried, Seven," B’Elanna whispered, "that I won’t be able to love her the way I should because it isn’t in me."

B’Elanna fell silent, stunned by the words she had just spoken, knowing that they had been the unspoken fears she had carried deep in her heart since the day she had learned she was pregnant. Now, the words had been spoken, and they were hers to deal with. She felt a fear growing inside her.

Suddenly, she felt Seven shift and turned her head as Seven moved to lie closer to her, cuddling herself near B’Elanna’s body, her hand still on B’Elanna’s stomach. She nestled her head into B’Elanna’s neck, sighed and went back to sleep.

B’Elanna lay there, not moving. She realized she had automatically draped her arm over Seven’s shoulder and had wrapped her into a protective embrace. She tightened her hold on Seven’s hand, still on her stomach and laid her head back into her pillow. Finally, she smiled and closed her eyes. She knew, at that moment, she was capable of greater love than she had ever thought possible.

She took a deep breath and fell sound asleep.

Kathryn Janeway turned the corner and saw the two figures walking hand in hand down the corridor in front of her. She stopped and stared in shock.

B’Elanna and Seven were walking hand in hand, B’Elanna walking slowly, with a somewhat straddled stride, her free hand pressed against the small of her back. Seven was matching B’Elanna’s step, her free hand holding something blue that bumped against her leg with every step she took. The blonde head was looking down on B’Elanna’s face, obviously intent of whatever was being said. It took Janeway a second to realize that Seven was dressed differently than she had ever seen her before.

"Lieutenant."

B’Elanna turned, her checks already turning a bright pink, "Oh, Captain. Good morning." She glanced up at Seven, "I was just taking her back to sickbay to return her to the Doctor’s care."

Janeway could not help but stare at Seven. Finally, she turned her head to Torres, "Flotter pajamas?"

B’Elanna shook her head, "It’s a long story, Captain."

"I imagine it is." She worked to keep a straight face, "I’m afraid the Doctor is tied up right now. I asked him to check the crew over now that we are out of the space dust region. He has people lined up outside of his sickbay waiting on him."

"Oh. Well, I guess I could keep Seven a little while longer."

"What about Tom?"

"Well," B’Elanna stumbled in her response, "he’s still sleeping. He was really exhausted, and I decided he needed to sleep in this morning." She straightened, "It is his day off."

"Right, it is." Janeway allowed the hint of a smile to come over her face. Looking at Seven, she said, "Good morning, Seven. How are you doing today?" Seven stared at her face, but Janeway could not see any recognition or awareness in her eyes. Janeway kept her eyes on Seven’s face, "She’s still mentally asleep."

"Unfortunately," B’Elanna nodded her head, "but Tom says the Doctor doesn’t seem to be worried about her. He thinks she’s improving."

Janeway looked past B’Elanna, "Good. Well, I guess I’d better go. I’ve got a meeting with Tuvok and Chakotay."

Before B’Elanna could reply, they heard Vorik’s voice over the com, "Engineering to Lieutenant Torres."

B’Elanna tapped her combadge, "Torres here. Go ahead, Vorik."

"Lieutenant, you are needed in engineering as soon as possible." She could tell there was not an emergency, but she knew Vorik would not call her to engineering if it was not important. She quickly gave Seven a worried glance.

Janeway saw the look, "Go ahead, Lieutenant. I’ll make certain someone watches Seven."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

She nodded and started moving off. As she did, Seven started to follow her. B’Elanna stopped, "No, Seven, you stay with Captain Janeway." She started moving again and once again, Seven tried to follow her. B’Elanna stopped again, took Seven’s hand and put it in Captain Janeway’s, "Seven, you stay with Captain Janeway." B’Elanna made her voice firm and tightened the Captain’s hand around Seven’s. "Goodbye." This time, when she moved away, Seven stayed still. Before B’Elanna turned the next corner of the corridor, she yelled back over her shoulder to the Captain, "Oh, Captain."

"Yes, B’Elanna?"

"Don’t try to get her to change out of those pajamas and don’t try to take her Flotter from her." She disappeared around the corner, then her head popped into view again, "And be sure not to give her anything sweet to eat."

Janeway gave her a puzzled look, "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely, Captain. Trust me on that."

As B’Elanna disappeared, Janeway stood laughing and wondering what to do with Seven. She would be tied up for the next two hours and needed to find someone who could play babysitter until she would be free. She reached to touch her combadge.

"Janeway to Kim."

Seven sat on the astrometrics platform while Harry worked at the console. She watched as the pictures on the view screen changed, her attention riveted on the display. Laughing to himself, Harry continued his work, concentrating on the program he was running. After a few minutes, he felt her eyes on him, and he looked up. She was staring at him.

"Is something wrong, Seven?" When she continued to stare at him, he moved around the console and joined her on the platform. She watched as he approached and knelt in front of her. "Is there something you want? Are you hungry?"

She continued to focus on his face. When he did not say anything else, she reached up and touched his lips, looking at his mouth.

"I don’t understand, Seven." As soon as he spoke, her eyes brightened and moved up to his. His forehead furrowed as he tried to figure out what her actions meant. When he stayed silent, her eyes moved back to his lips, and she reached to put her finger against them again. "What?" His spoken word brought her eyes up to his again, and she brightened. Suddenly, he understood, "You want me to talk to you. You don’t like that I’m silent." She smiled, and he chuckled to himself, "Okay, Seven. I’ll talk to you."

He sat down, cross-legged in front of her, "So what do you want me to talk about? This is so strange. Most of the time before, you just wanted me to quit talking to you." As he spoke, her face softened, and she cocked her head to the left. He could tell she was listening intently to his words. Settling himself, he started to talk. At first, he talked about his family, his parents, his life growing up. Then, he told her about his first date, the first time he fell in love and about the first time he made love. 

He talked to her about his dreams and ambitions; he told her where he wanted to go when he got home, what he wanted to do and the first thing he wanted to eat. He talked about how much he missed his family. He told her everything about himself, things he had never told anyone else, and she sat and listened to his every word. Finally, he reached out and wrapped his hands around hers and started patting them together lightly. 

"This is a game called paddy-cake, Seven. I used to play this game with my cousins’ children. I loved playing with the little children. I have really missed that, Seven. I have missed children. I wanted children of my own. " He snorted, "That dream has been a little hard to pursue in the Delta Quadrant." He took a deep breath, "Can I tell you a secret, Seven?" He continued to pat her hands together, "I want to go home more than anything in this world. I want to see my family, to hug my parents, to play with the children again, to have my own children. But," he hesitated and fell silent. Seven leaned forward, her eyes taking on a worried look. Harry took another breath, "But sometimes I do think about that, Seven. Sometimes, I think about the fact that getting home and getting back to my family means losing this home, losing this family." His head dropped lower, and his voice became a whisper, ‘I wonder, Seven, will getting back to Earth be worth that?"

He fell silent, lost in the pain of his words. He felt a gentle bump against his forehead and realized that Seven’s forehead was resting against his. Without raising his head, he looked up into calm blue eyes. He knew she could not comprehend what he had said, but he looked into her eyes and knew she understood what he was feeling.

They continued to sit, foreheads together, with him holding her hands between his, playing paddy-cake.

Janeway led Seven into her quarters and settled her into a chair at the table.

"Well, I imagine you are hungry. I know I am." She thought for a moment, "I don’t have a clue as to what you eat." Moving to the replicator, she tried to remember the foods she loved eating as a child, finally ordering chicken bits and vegetables for Seven and a salad for herself. Placing the plate down in front of Seven, she took her own chair and started eating. Seven sat and looked at the food on the plate.

"Eat, Seven." Janeway took a forkful of her salad, hoping that Seven would mimic her actions. When Seven continued to stare at the plate, Janeway put down her fork, reached down to Seven’s plate and picked up a piece of chicken, offering it to her. Seven leaned forward, opening her mouth. "Oh, I see. You expect to be fed." Pulling her chair closer to Seven’s, she picked up a spoon, "I think the Doctor has spoiled you." She started feeding Seven, laughing as she watched Seven enjoy her meal. "I have to tell you, I would never had believed this if I hadn’t seen it. I hope you won’t be upset when you wake up and realize what has happened to you." She filled the spoon again, "Something tells me there are a lot of holo-images around of you in those Flotter pajamas with your stuffed Flotter."

She concentrated on feeding Seven her meal, realizing she was finding this a wonderful experience. Once Seven had finished, Janeway grabbed a cloth and started to wipe her face clean, struggling to hold Seven’s head still. "I’ll bet you don’t fight the Doctor like this, do you?" Finally getting her cleaned up, she took her hand and led her to the sofa, "Now, you lie here. The Doctor said you should take a nap after you eat." Pushing Seven back so she was lying back on the sofa, Janeway pulled the throw from the back of the sofa and covered her with it. Tucking the stuffed Flotter under Seven’s arm, she patted her shoulder, "Take a nap, now. I’ll be sitting over here, working while you sleep." 

Janeway sat back in her chair, activated a PADD and started to study it. She caught a movement out of the corner of her eyes and saw Seven sit up and look around. Keeping silent, she watched as Seven stood and started to walk toward the window. She kept her eyes on Seven as she stood looking out of the window. After a full minute, Janeway stood and moved to her side.

"What are you looking at, Seven? What do you see out there?" She reached out and took her hand, "Come on. I think you need to take that nap." She led her back to the sofa and made her lie down, covering her again. This time, she sat on the edge of the sofa and continued to hold her hand. "Are you not sleepy? The Doctor said you usually go sound asleep after you have lunch. Or are you going to be stubborn for me and not take your nap?" She laughed, "That would be just like you, wouldn’t it? You always find a way to buck me."

Janeway leaned her head down at Seven, "I’ve never told you, but there is something very satisfying about it when you do question my authority. Oh, I won’t deny you can make me very angry at times, but every time you stand up to me, and I get angry with you, I think about what you looked like the very first time I saw you. I am proud of you Seven. I know I don’t tell you enough." She looked toward the streaking stars outside her window, "I don’t tell any of you enough. I should, you know. I should tell Tuvok that I consider him the dearest friend I have. I should tell Chakotay how much I value him. I should tell Tom and B’Elanna how proud I am of each of them and that I think they will be wonderful parents. And I should tell Harry that he reminds me of me.

"But I can’t, Seven." She looked down into the blue eyes focused on her face, "I can’t let down my guard that much. I’m your captain. I can’t…." She tightened her grip on Seven’s hand, "I hope you know. I hope all of you know how I feel about you. Understand that I can’t tell you….." She stopped talking and took a deep breath, pulling herself back together, "Look at what you almost made me do." She reached out to place her free hand against Seven’s face, "That’s enough talking for me. You need to go to sleep. Now, do your captain a big favor and take your nap. I have a lot of work I need to do."

Almost as if she understood what the Captain had said, Seven sighed, rolled into the couch and closed her eyes. Janeway watched her for a few minutes before placing Seven’s hand down and patting it slightly. She stood and walked toward her chair, picked up the PADD and started to sit back down. She stopped herself, then looked back at the sleeping figure on the sofa. Straightening, she walked across the room to stand in front of the window, holding the PADD in both hands

Turning, she spoke to the now sleeping figure, "I’m proud of all of you. I’m proud to be your Captain. And I fear every day that I will not be able to get all of you home. I would give up my life if I thought it would mean that all of you could be back in the Alpha Quadrant." She pulled the PADD close to her stomach, "And one day, I hope I will have the chance to tell each of you how much you mean to me."

Falling silent, she stood still for a long time, the faces of her crew running through her mind. Finally, she forced herself forward, took her place in her chair and started to work.

The Doctor watched Seven as she regenerated, his eyes moving from time to time to read the diagnostics. This was the first complete regeneration cycle for her since she had gone into her deep sleep. He had tried a number of times, but the cycle would always terminate prematurely. He had not been able to determine why she could not regenerate for a complete cycle, but he knew it had something to do with the ‘gunk’ in her cortical node. 

She was definitely getting better. And, if he was completely honest about it, he did not know how that made him feel. He wanted her to be awake and well again, but he had certainly enjoyed the past few days with her.

And, so had everyone else on Voyager.

It was funny. While no one would say anything specific about what had happened while they had "babysat" Seven, everyone seemed happier and more content after their time with her. He could certainly understand that. It was the way he always felt after spending time with her, but it still surprised him. He noticed the regeneration cycle was almost over, and he waited for the last few seconds to tick off.

"Regeneration cycle complete."

As the computer intoned its announcement, Seven’s eyes opened. She blinked a few times, and he stepped up to scan her. Suddenly, he noticed her eyes focusing on him.

"Doctor?"

"Seven!" He smiled broadly at her. "You’re awake."

She blinked, her eyes not quite able to focus. She moved forward, stumbling slightly as she did. He reached and caught her, helping to stabilize her. She leaned heavily against him.

"Seven," he held her arms, trying to look into her face. "I think we’d better get you to a biobed in sickbay. Computer, two to beam to sickbay."

As soon as they materialized in the sickbay, he helped her to the biobed.

"What is wrong with me?"

"You’ve had a little problem with your cortical node, Seven, but you are going to be all right. Don’t worry about it." He helped situate her on the biobed, activating the diagnostic arms and worked the console to bring up the analysis program he had developed to monitor her progress.

"Am I damaged?"

"No," he quickly assured her. "You’ve had some problems, but I don’t think you’ve suffered any permanent damage."

"I am…unable to think clearly."

He heard the tremor in her voice. She was scared. Quickly reaching for a hypospray, he said, "Don’t be concerned, Seven. I have been watching you very carefully." He pressed the hypospray against her neck and administered the medication, "This will keep you calm. There is nothing for you to worry about." He placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, "I’ve been taking very good care of you, and you are going to be fine. You just need to give yourself time. Don’t worry about anything."

Her eyes started to droop, but he could see the fear in her look. He understood. For her, independent thought and independent self were more important to her than anything else. He watched as the medicine took effect, and her body relaxed. Leaning over her, he said, "I promise, Seven. There isn’t anything for you to be worried about. Now, you take a nap while I run the diagnostics. When you wake up, I’ll give you a full report." 

She focused on his eyes as long as she could, but finally drifted into a worried sleep. He reached up to tap his combadge.

Three hours later, she opened her eyes and looked around her. The faces of the Doctor and the Captain came into focus. Groaning slightly, she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Be careful, Seven." The Doctor was holding her, helping her balance, "Give yourself time to adapt."

"How long have I been asleep?"

The Doctor gave Janeway a quick glance before responding, "Well, you’ve only been asleep for about three hours since I gave you the tranquilizer."

She struggled to think about what he had said, "I…have been unwell." She looked into their faces and saw she was correct. "How long?"

The Doctor sighed, "Well, you’ve had a problem, and you haven’t been yourself for a little while?"

"How long?" Her voice was growing insistent. They could hear the fear behind it.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "About ten days."

"Ten days?" His answer shocked her. "What was wrong with me?"

Janeway moved closer to her, reaching out to take her arm reassuringly, "We went through a region of space that was contaminated with dust. When you were in the Jeffries tube near engineering, you apparently breathed in a lot of it, and it somehow contaminated your cortical node, causing it to shut down your higher brain function."

When her eyes showed her growing concern, the Doctor explained, "Your cortical node is fine now, Seven. Your body has flushed most of the space dust out of your system. All of your diagnostics are showing normal, and I think you are going to be fine. You only need to give yourself a couple more days to recover."

She pulled the object she was holding closer to her, hugging it to her body. Suddenly, she became aware of it and looked down at what she had wrapped in her arms. She looked at it in amazement, "What is this?"

Janeway and the Doctor exchanged looks, and he took a breath, "Well, that is a stuffed Flotter."

"What am I doing with this?"

"Actually, you’ve been quite attached to it."

She looked down at it, then noticed what she was wearing, "What is this garment I am wearing?"

"Seven," Janeway softened her voice, "you really have not been yourself for the last ten days."

"Explain." 

The Doctor stepped closer to her, and started to tell her everything.

Seven of Nine worked at the astrometrics console. Glancing up at the numbers flashing on the screen in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken her a full week to complete the work that had piled up while she had been unwell. Ensign Kim had continued her work while she was indisposed, but she had felt the need to recheck his work. She could not stand that it might be less than perfect.

She realized she was hungry. Checking the time, she noted with relief that it was late enough that the mess hall would be empty. That suited her. She had limited her contact with the crew since she had woken up. She had heard enough about her situation to know she did not want to talk to any of them about what had happened.

What the Captain and the Doctor had told her about the time that she had been unwell had been unnerving and embarrassing. Then, she had seen some of the holo-images of herself, wearing the pajamas and clutching the stuffed animal. All of the people in the images had been laughing. Both the Captain and the Doctor had tried to assure her that the people who had cared for her had been respectful of her situation, but the pictures told a different story. Then, she had heard stories of things she had done, and she had been horrified. She had moved around Voyager, a mindless…drone. No, even less than a drone. She had been a burden to the people around her. They had had to care for her, even feed her. 

Sighing, she left astrometrics, grateful when she was able to walk down the corridor without meeting anyone. When the doors of the turbolift opened, she was relieved it was empty. She entered and said, "Deck two."

No one was in the corridor when the doors opened, and she moved toward the mess hall, pleased to see that the windows of the mess hall door were dark. As she approached, they opened, and she walked through without slowing down. She was halfway to the replicator before she saw them.

"Hello, Seven."

She stopped and took a deep breath, "Captain." Her eyes moved across the faces at the table, and she nodded a greeting to them as the lights in the room brightened.

We are enjoying a late dinner together." Janeway waved her hand at the group assembled at the table, "Won’t you join us?"

Neelix approached her, "I actually have a plate left for you. Sit down, and I’ll serve you?"

Her eyes cut back and forth. Reluctantly, she nodded and moved toward the empty seat. The Doctor stood and pulled out the chair, inviting her to sit.

"It’s good so see you, Seven." He leaned toward her slightly, smiling at her to calm her.

She glanced at him, but sat without comment.

"It’s good to see you up and around." Janeway gave her a big smile. "You have been pretty involved in your work since you recovered."

She did not look at anyone, "I have been busy."

"We understand," Janeway’s voice was soothing, "but we missed you." When Seven’s looked at her in surprise, Janeway continued, "That’s why we’re having this late night dinner. We thought it was the only way we would catch you." She sat down and gave her a warm look, "We hope you don’t mind."

Seven blew lightly, "No, it is acceptable."

Neelix put a plate in front of her, "I made this special for you, Seven. I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you, Mr. Neelix."

"Save room for dessert," he clapped his hands together, "I made you some chocolate chip cookies."

"I will not require them."

"But you enjoy them."

"They have no nutritional qualities. Sweets are an indulgence." 

"I wish." It was a whisper, but she heard it. When she gave him a sharp look, Tom Paris said, "Nothing." He cleared his throat, "Sorry."

Seven stared at her plate, her hands in her lap. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, while the people gathered around her exchanged glances. Janeway could see that everyone was thinking this had been a bad idea. Seven was obviously not ready to be around them. Janeway started to stand to suggest they disburse and allow Seven to eat her meal in peace, when Seven started to speak, her voice so low that everyone had to strain to hear her.

"I…understand that all of you…were required to assist me while I was unwell. I appreciate that you cared for me." She glanced quickly at Tom, then as quickly lowered her head, "I hope I did not…inconvenience you too much."

She fell silent, her distress obvious to everyone in the room. Before anyone could say anything, Tuvok spoke.

"I do not consider the time I spent with you an inconvenience, Seven. On the contrary, I consider myself privileged to have had that time with you." As she looked at him in shock, he continued, his eyes on her, ignoring the people around them, "I may have been responsible for caring for you, but it was you who cared for me. You provided me with comfort at a time I found myself missing my family. For that, I wish to thank you."

Before she could say anything, Harry spoke, "I agree with Tuvok, Seven. I would not have given up my time with you for anything." He gave her a warm, appreciative smile.

Tom grinned at her, "Me, too." Giving B’Elanna a glance, he added, "You taught me a few valuable lessons that will help me be a better father. I thank you," he paused and looked down at B’Elanna’s stomach, "and our daughter thanks you!"

Nervous giggles sounded in the room, while B’Elanna sighed, "Tom’s right, Seven. Our time with you was special. I wouldn’t give it up for anything."

Janeway’s face gave itself over to a smile as she listened to the people around the table. With relief, she saw that Seven’s look had softened as she heard the words spoken to her. Nodding to Neelix, she stood, gaining everyone’s attention. She noticed that Seven looked relieved to have the attention drawn away from her.

"Seven, we have something we think you would like to have." She turned to take the box that Neelix had brought to the table. Putting it down, she lifted one of the PADDs in the box, "These are all of the holo-images that the crew collected while you were asle….unwell. Everyone has agreed that, perhaps, you would prefer to have these." She picked up the box, walked around to Seven and placed the box on the table beside her. 

Seven sat and stared at the box on the table. Everyone around her sat, almost holding her breath, waiting for her reaction. After a long moment, Seven reached to pick up one of the PADDs and activated it. The first picture that appeared was one of her in the Flotter pajamas, holding a stuffed Flotter in one hand and a large cookie in the other. She could see something was smeared on her face. Her eyes narrowed, and the people around the table could see the pain in them.

Neelix said from behind her, "I had baked you some chocolate chip cookies. You came in here looking for them. I had to hide the plate from you to keep you from eating all of them." He chuckled at the memory, but stopped immediately as soon as she looked at him. "Sorry." Smiling nervously he said, "That one’s mine. I imagine you’ll want to delete the memory file." With his hands clasped in front of him, he added, "Those are all the copies I have, Seven. I downloaded all of them to that PADD."

She scrolled through the pictures, forcing herself to look at all of the pictures of herself. Most of them had her in the Flotter pajamas, with the stuffed Flotter in her grasp. There were pictures of her eating, of holding hands with different crew members, of walking around Voyager. As she continued to look, she suddenly noticed the faces of the people in the pictures with her. It took her a minute to realize what she was seeing.

The people were not looking at her and laughing; they were looking at her with a warm affection. She scrolled back through the pictures and saw herself with the people around her in the room and with others on the crew with heads together and smiling faces. She was not apart from them in these pictures. 

She stopped on a picture of her with Neelix, standing in his galley, both covered in a white dust, with something dark smeared on their faces. In the image, she was looking down on his face with a softness she did not know was in her, and he was grinning broadly at her, holding up something for her to eat. She was dressed in the Flotter pajamas and the stuffed Flotter was on the counter behind her. The white stuff was everywhere and the counter littered. She turned to look at him, the question in her eyes.

He hesitantly explained, "Uh, I was baking you some more cookies, Seven. You came in and…helped. We sort of…made a mess. But," he looked at her, and she saw the same expression in his face that she had seen in the image, "we had a wonderful time together that afternoon. We had flour everywhere and were covered in chocolate, but it was great."

She swallowed and looked at the box of PADDs in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she deactivated the PADD she was holding and handed it to Neelix.

"Seven?" He looked at her in amazement.

"You should keep that." She glanced down before continuing, "Perhaps you would make me a copy of the images." Looking around at the people at the table, she pushed the box of PADDs toward the center of the table, "Perhaps you would all make me copies of your images. If nothing else, they will remind me…of my humanity."

They heard the ironic humor in her voice immediately. The Doctor looked at her proudly, and she tried to acknowledge his look without drawing more attention to herself. Janeway saved her by speaking, drawing everyone’s attention away from her.

"Well, I think this calls for a toast." She raised her glass, looking at the people around the table, "Seven, it is good to have you well again and completely back with us. I think we have all come to appreciate what it means to have each other these last few days. So, to our family." She tipped her glass and took a drink.

"Hear, hear!" The room echoed with their voices and the glasses tinkled as they were touched over the table.

Seven raised her head and looked around the room. The Doctor saw the look in her eyes and inwardly smiled to himself. He saw Neelix approach and ask if anyone would like anything. He watched as Seven turned to him. 

"Yes, Mr. Neelix. There is something I would like."

"Wonderful! What can I get you, Seven?"

"I think I would appreciate…a cookie."