Title: Memory loss blues 2/4
Author: quew
Please see part one for disclaimers, archiving, rating and warnings.
#
A few hours later, B’Elanna was nervously smoothing down her outfit in front of her full-length mirror (which she’d had to divest of its covering of old clothes first) and wondering why she was so nervous anyway. She’d only been left in charge of the ships most eligible bachelor-ess for an entire evening. Ah, yes. That would be it.
She wondered about her motives for inviting Naomi along…had she done it for the child’s benefit, Sevens' or her own? With Naomi no doubt taking charge of Sevens' entertainment for the evening, her responsibilities would be less…
She shook her head and stared in the mirror once more. The dress uniform she wore, she had to admit, looked pretty good. At first, she’d been a little unsure about the tighter cut of the garment, but after her initial trepidation she was happy to admire the rather dashing figure she cut in the mirror.
She couldn’t help but smile at the thought that Seven was going to get a bit of a shock when she turned up instead of the nice ‘he’ that the blonde was expecting. The smile didn’t leave her face even as Naomi rang her door chime, and they started toward sick-bay together.
‘Lieutenant Torres, you look very beautiful,’ Naomi said seriously, and B’Elanna couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Thank you, Naomi, you look very beautiful yourself,’ she replied, pointing at the blue summer dress that the young child wore. At that, Naomi beamed and slipped her hand into the lieutenants, and B’Elanna smiled. Her grumpiness about having to be the one to chaperone the new Seven still remained, however, and she felt it weigh down on her slightly as they approached sickbay.
‘Are you ready?’ She murmured to the child as they walked up to the double doors.
‘Yes, lieutenant,’ Naomi replied, although her grip on B’Elanna’s hand tightened slightly, and the engineer could almost feel the young girls nervousness, could almost hear the question that Naomi was almost certainly asking herself: Would this new Seven still want to be her friend?
‘Don’t worry,’ she whispered as the doors whooshed open. ‘I’m sure she’ll be…’
She didn’t get to finish that thought, as when the doors opened they revealed a very nervous looking Seven smoothing the wrinkles out of a simply stunning backless black gown.
For a moment they just stared at each other, and then Naomi took her hand out of B’Elanna’s grasp and took a hesitant step forward.
‘Seven?’ She asked, her voice breaking a little.
The blonde woman looked down to see the young girl and a smile immediately graced her lips. In that moment B’Elanna was struck by the differences in the two Sevens’; with one movement, one expression, this woman had separated herself utterly from the stiff, formal woman in B’Elanna’s memory.
‘You must be Naomi,’ Seven said, crouching down and smiling broadly at the child.
‘You remember me?’ Naomi squeaked, and B’Elanna was sure she saw a momentary flash of discomfort pass over Seven’s features.
‘No,’ the woman said, her smile back in place. ‘But I’ve heard a lot about you. People around here think very highly of you, and I’m sure I shall also.’ The last part was said with absolute determination, and B’Elanna couldn’t help but smile at the tableau of Naomi grinning like someone had bought her a whole damn starship and Seven grinning right back, holding out a hand for the girl to take as she straightened.
‘I’m Lieutenant Torres,’ B’Elanna said quickly. ‘I know I’m not what you were expecting…’ She shrugged and looked away, a little embarrassed that she had wanted to shock the woman with her entrance.
‘No,’ Seven agreed. ‘You’re not what I expected, but who said that had to be a bad thing?’
‘Uh…’ B’Elanna managed, feeling thoroughly off-balance. She kept quiet as the beautiful blonde took her arm and they started off through the ship, Seven and Naomi chatting happily as they approached the mess-hall. Along the way, B’Elanna couldn’t help but notice the extremely jealous looks she was getting from some of the crewmembers they passed, and she didn’t know whether to puff out her chest or hang her head. She was incredibly aware of Seven’s arm linked through hers as they paused outside the mess-hall so that Naomi and Seven could check their dresses for the last time.
‘You look beautiful, Seven,’ Naomi said, her voice filled with awe. To B’Elanna’s surprise, Seven blushed. ‘Thank you, Naomi. You look wonderful too; I’m sure you’ll be the belle of the ball.’
‘Why would I want to be a bell?’ Naomi asked, and B’Elanna had to turn away as a snort of laughter escaped her nose.
When she turned back, both of her companions were looking at her, and she felt Seven’s gaze keenly as the ex-drone said. ‘Lieutenant Torres, do you think we look beautiful?’
‘Yes,’ B’Elanna said eventually, smiling at Naomi and avoiding Seven’s gaze. ‘Very beautiful.’
‘I already told B’Elanna she looks very pretty in her uniform,’ Naomi said to Seven, and the blonde nodded.
‘A very astute observation, Naomi,’ she agreed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a Lieutenant that looked better in their uniform…not that I can remember meeting many, of course.’
The joke sent Naomi into fits of giggles which almost masked B’Elanna’s mumbled thanks.
‘You’re welcome, B’Elanna’ Seven whispered back, taking her arm once more as they headed for the doors.