"Fan-Fiction"
Fan-Fic by Asuka Jenius
All characters belong to Star Trek/Paramount
Author's Note : This story was written on a whim and thus is full of whimsy.Harry and Seven are so cute together, I hope you enjoy it! *Asuka
Once upon a time....
I do not remember Earth. I only remember the Delta Quadrant. I hold memories of Earth as a Borg, but I was not there. Earth is nothing but a fairy tale to me. It exists as a dream...Somewhere Out There....Over the Rainbow...far away, farther than the eye can see. Farther even, than a memory.
"Why?" The Doctor is helping me adapt to my life as an individual. His lessons are often very informative. However, on occassion they are not.
"Seven, you have given me the task of helping you regain your humanity and we have agreed that I know best. Correct?" He is using his Father Knows Best Voice. I sometimes regret allowing this relationship.
"Doctor, I do not see the relevance in these holoadventures. How will visiting Earth help me? It is a planet among billions of planets. It is not unique." A very Borg answer.But I am Borg.
"Seven, I'm surprised at you! How can you live among these peoples and not understand the relevance of visiting Earth? If it were merely one planet among billions Voyager would not be expending all her resources every day to return. That was a very Borg answer and I hope you are ashamed."
"I am not." He is disappointed. I sigh, "I will, however, engage in the activity. You are correct that Earth represents something to Voyager's crew."
"Of course I am. Now, I've chosen a guide for you, one that will be able to tell you all the stories in a more interesting way than the computer. I regret that I cannot accompany you myself, but I must attend to my other duties." He is evading, he does not think I will be happy with his choice of guide....that can mean only one thing.
"It is Ensign Kim."
"Seven! My lessons on intuitive thinking have paid off!" The Doctor is very pleased with himself.
"His inclusion is the only thing that will make the experience less enjoyable than it was to begin with."
"Seven, that's a little harsh..." He is right. It is also untrue. I enjoy Ensign Kim's company. Why am I afraid?
"Ensign Kim....likes me." And it frightens me. I do not understand.
"That's a good thing, Seven. You could certainly do worse. It could be Tom Paris....That was a joke, Seven."
"It was not funny." Why does the Doctor enjoy teasing me? He looks hurt again. I am trying...
"Well, Ensign Kim will be expecting you in the mess hall." Oh, this is a trap!
"The mess hall?"
"I thought the two of you could discuss your adventure over lunch." He smiled. "Now GO!" I sigh again.
"I will comply."
***
We are awkward over lunch. I am still not accustomed to eating or social situations. The concept of small talk eludes me; what is the point of discussing that which is by definition irrelevant. The only meals I enjoy are those I share with Tuvok or eat alone. With others, especially with Ensign Kim...I feel inadequate. I do not like this feeling.
"The Doctor gave me a list of 'Places of Great Historical Significance'...but I thought I'd show you one of my own favorite places first. I can tell you don't really want to be doing this...I thought maybe a place of personal significance would be more...well, fun." He looks so hopeful. He wants me to enjoy this.
"That is very...thoughtful of you, Ensign. What is the place?" I will try, Doctor. I will try, Harry.
"It's a mountain in Japan. I've only been there twice, but I go to the holodeck version anytime I need to think." We are at the holodeck. He keys in the program. A mountain? "Here you go, Seven. After you." I nod at him and enter. He follows behind and the door closes and disappears. We are surrounded. It is fitting that my first visit to Earth is on the holodeck. Earth is unreal to me.
"I came here with my parents when I was young, ten or eleven. My mother was giving a lecture at a music symposium, I think. Anyway, we were in Japan a week. I hadn't wanted to come at all, but my father insisted. I wanted to go to Mars or Vulcan or somewhere even farther and more alien. Japan was next door and I thouhgt exactly the same. And I was right, Tokyo was like any other city on Earth - suspended somewhere between history and technological advancement. But then two days before we left my father brought me here. We walked, it's something of a unspoken law that you can't transport onto the mountain, they want you to experience the sight as the ancestors did. And it really was like we were walking into the past; the higher up we climbed the further from the present we seemed to get. We stopped at this little summit near the top. There was a lotus tree,just like this one, my father seemed to be looking for it. I think maybe his father had brought him to the same spot and...well, anyway, it was beautiful, the most beautiful place I'd ever seen." He stopped for a moment and turned to me. He'd been looking out while he spoke but now he turned to me directly. He held out his hand. "Come here, I want to show you something." He was waiting, his hand stretched out , offering me his special place, his childhood. I took his hand. He led me a little ways from the tree. We were at the edge of the mountain. There were mists all around, obscuring most of the view. What did he want to show me, there was nothing to see...?
"My father told me a story, a legend. When the first peoples of the Old World came to the mountain in ancient times they were seeking answers, truth, awareness. They would climb as high as they dared and they would look out across the Old World. It was legend that if the mists cleared they would see into the Other World and they would find their answers. My father and I stayed here all day, but the mists didn't clear. I don't know what we would have seen. We left and I didn't come back for years." He paused again and looked hesitant, scared almost, or...ashamed...?
"When? When did you go back, Harry?" He looked at me and smiled a little. He was still holding my hand.
"The first time I applied to Starfleet Academy I didn't make it. I was cocky and I didn't really know why I was applying. I though I did, but I didn't. I was upset for a while, I didn't know what to do or what I wanted. I got a lot of advice and one person in particular showed me where my problems lay...I knew I wanted to go to the Academy, I knew I wanted to be a part of Starfleet. But I didn't know why. So I came here. I remembered what my father had told me about finding your answers and yourself. I spent the whole day looking for this same spot. When I finally found it the sun was setting. I sat down here in this spot and I watched the end of the sun set. The mists were still swirling, but as I watched they began to fade. They were almost gone by the time it was dark. And there before me was the Other World. A thousand twinkling lights that filled the sky above and the world across the ocean. From where I sat I could see into San Francisco, where Starfleet Headquarters and the Academy are. The lights were so bright they shone all the way across the Pacific. I knew that's where I had to go because that was my Other World. That's where I belonged, it was a part of me."
"I do not think that is possible, Ensign."
"Nobody else did either, Seven. My father said no matter how brightly lit up San Francisco was it would be extremely unlikely I could see it from his spot on the mountain. But that's part of the magic, Seven, part of the legend. When the sky is clear you can see what you need to see, you can see forever." He is watching me. He wants me to understand. He wants me to believe in his magic. "I come here, Seven, when I need to think. I've programmed the holodeck so the movement of the mists is random. Sometimes they clear and..it helps me. I know it's not magic, just programming, but it still helps. Sometimes all it takes for a fairy tale to be true is to believe in it. And you know what, Seven? To my ancestors who first climbed that mountain San Francisco was as far away from them as the Alpha Quadrant is to us. The Other World was just an idea, a legend."
An idea. A legend. A fairy tale. Sometimes all it takes far a fairy tale to be true is to believe in it.
"Thank you, Harry. It is beautiful." And it is. It is magic. He's blushing and he pulls his hand away.
"I...I just wanted you to see Earth as special, Seven. I'm sorry you can't remember it and I wanted. I wanted to give you some memories, human memories, even if they are not yours." I close my eyes as he speaks. I try to remember.
I am walking up a mountain, up a path many have walked before. I come to a quiet summit, alone on the mountain, a tree grows here, a tree older than my grandparents, still blooming every year...delicate pink blossoms...they float in the air....they surround me. I watch as the sun sets on the quiet world. I can hear the flowers in the wind and nothing else. As I watch the mists begin to fade, they part before me. I look for the Other World...for the twinkling lights...I see....
Earth. I remember Earth.
I open my eyes. Harry is watching me. The mists have parted here too. I don't look for the lights. I do not need to. I look at Harry. Harry who gave me his most treasured place, Harry who made my fairy tale real, Harry who gave me himself. And I am not afraid.
"Will you show me Earth, Harry? Will you show me everything?"
"Of course! Anywhere you want to see I'll make here -"
"No. When we return. I understand Harry, I know why Earth is unique, why it is more than one planet among billions. It is my home. It is your home. I want to see your home, Harry, I want to see San Francisco. I want to see your mountain. Will you show me, when we are home? "
"Seven, we're still far away..."
"It doesn't matter. We will return. I saw it. I belong there. We must return. And you will show me Harry. You will because you belong, too. I belong with you." It is what I have been avoiding. It is the truth. It is a fairy tale but I believe. I believe, Harry. He is staring at me, he doesn't know what to do. I will do it for him. "Kiss me, Harry, all fairy tales end with a kiss." He is smiling, he is laughing. He is holding me, he is kissing me. The pink flowers are falling. The lights are tinkling. The sky is clear and I can see forever. I will go home. I will go home with Harry.
...and they lived Happily Ever After.
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