Title: Words mean nothing 6/?

Author: quew

Disclaimer: Paramount owns them, and I will wash their mouths out and hit the reset button before I return then to their stables ;)

Rating: R

Notes: I was up till 5am this morning, so please be on the lookout for any major slip ups :) I'm being doubly careful, but a few might slip through *g*

#

B'Elanna's first thought was /Why didn't I feel it?/ but as soon as she thought that, a fiery, breath-taking pain blossomed in her shoulder.

Anna was franticly trying to apply pressure to the wound but that just seemed to make it worse, and B'Elanna shoved her off with an angry snarl. The pain increased and she closed her eyes for a second, taking deep breaths and trying to block it out. When she opened them, Anna's eyes found hers. She saw the fear in those wide blue eyes and she managed a weak grin.

'It's okay. Flesh wound,' She managed.

Anna actually smiled at her attempt at diffusing the situation. Then she paused, looking at the Half Klingon's wound, and then into her eyes. 'It better be,' she said, reaching out and grabbing B'Elanna's hand.

B'Elanna would have drawn her hand back, but something stopped her. The look in Anna's eyes was so sincere: the woman really /was/ worried about her. She squeezed the delicate hand tightly and closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness passed over her. It felt familiar, and she felt her hearts pumping faster as she realise where she'd felt it before. Before she could warn the others, she felt her body arch in pain…worse than before.

She distantly heard Anna's voice as she bucked on the back seat, but mingled with the blonde's voice was another, very familiar.

'B'Ela…an…you…ear…s?' It was stronger than last time, and B'Elanna tried to focus on it; tried to move herself toward it using only her will. 'We're…ying…but…we..n't…get a…ock…'

'I'm here!' She gasped, the pain almost overriding her systems.

'Shush…I know you're here…everything's going to be fine…shhhhh.' B'Elanna tried to focus on the voice, and she became aware of someone stroking her hair. Another wave of pain hit her and she was knocked unconscious by the force of it, descending into darkness.

#

B'Elanna rose to consciousness slowly, a large head-ache impeding her progress. As she became self aware, she realised that she was lying flat on her back, covered by a thin sheet. /I'm in sickbay,/ she thought, /they bought me back and I'm in sickbay./

But, as much as she wanted that to be true, doubts wormed their way into her sub-conscious; there was no humming of machinery so indicative of her starship, and the light on her eyes felt more natural than un. She hesitantly opened one a crack, and a plain painted ceiling swam into view.

/Not Voyager,/ her brain supplied. /I'm still here./

Stifling a groan, she hiked herself up onto her elbows and looked around. The room was long and narrow, beds spaced evenly and large windows supplying the natural light she'd felt. Soft music filled the room, apparently coming from an area at the end of the room, partitioned off from the rest. All the beds were empty apart from her own, and the one right next to hers…

Anna was in the same position she'd woken up in; flat on her back, arms and legs straight, blonde hair fanned out around her head. Carefully, B'Elanna swung her legs over the edge of the bed, stifling her moans of pain as her stiff body refused to work the way she wanted it to. Her hat was on the edge of the bed, and she put it on.

She discovered she was still wearing her jeans, but her top half had been stripped down to her starfleet vest. A white bandage poked out of the gray material, and she peered down the top, trying to see how far the bandage went.

'Enjoying the view? Or just checking you have lost one along the way?' Someone whispered.

B'Elanna jerked her gaze up and felt an embarrassed flush colour her caramel coloured cheeks. 'I…uh…I mean…'

Anna, her head tipped so that could see the half-Klingon, laughed lightly, 'calm down. I was just teasing.'

'I know that!' B'Elanna retorted, feeling her lips twitch into a half-smile. 'How are you doin?'

Anna grimaced. 'I'll be okay,' she said, starting to sit. B'Elanna jumped off her bed and help her upright, only to find a bemused pair of blue eyes staring at her.

'Playing nursemaid?' The blonde asked.

B'Elanna shrugged, a little self-conscious. 'I guess I feel a little responsible.'

'Just a little?' Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.

B'Elanna opened her mouth to retort and then noticed a glimmer of humour in Anna's eyes. 'Yes, only a little. The rest you bought on yourself for being so damn infuriating.'

The other woman chuckled and was about to say something else when a crash resounded from the little partitioned area. B'Elanna looked around, placing herself defensively in front of the other woman, but a soft hand on her arm and a shake of Anna's head let her know it was okay.

Another crash sounded, and a figure fell out of the makeshift office. They tried to pick themselves up and tripped over their feet, falling over a nearby bed.

Anna was laughing under her breath and even B'Elanna was having to subdue chuckles as the person picked themselves up and smoothed down the very rumpled clothing they wore.

They looked up and smiled, and B'Elanna gasped. /The gangs all here./

'Peter, B'Elanna; B'Elanna this Peter,' Anna said as the man came over.

'And how are my favourite patients?' Peter grinned, grabbing B'Elanna's hand and pumping it enthusiastically. Peter was tall, with slightly dark skin, a big smile permanently on his face and thick black hair. All that was missing was the facial tattoo.

'You know, you were pretty when you were asleep, but you're an absolutely stunner when you're awake,' Peter said amiably. 'And B'Elanna: what a lovely name. Don't you agree Anna?'

For the first time B'Elanna could remember, Anna seemed lost for words. She opened her mouth to speak but seemed so flustered that all she managed was. 'I…sorry, what?'

'Oh, never mind, never mind. You just rest,' Peter finally let go of the half-Klingon's hand and patted her shoulder before moving off. 'I'll go and get you some food,' he said, speaking over his shoulder. As he finished, his shin caught the edge of a bed and he went flat on his face.

'That's who stitched me up??' B'Elanna hissed.

Anna looked reprovingly at her. 'He may seem clumsy, but he's the best doctor we've ever had…Although I completely understand you thinking that if you've never met him before.'

B'Elanna watched him go, holding back a grin as he bounced off the doorframe waving to someone in the hall, and then sat cross-legged on her bed. 'My shoulder does feel better,' she murmured, trying to roll it.

'You were lucky; the bullet went straight through. All you needed were a few stitches.'

B'Elanna looked up. 'What about you?'

'I'm going to be fine. No damage to organs, just the ribs,' the blonde smiled.

B'Elanna found herself returning it, and it seemed to go on for a long time…and unusually long time. B'Elanna was the first to look away, clearing her throat and scrunching her face up as she said, 'look…thanks. For coming back for me with the car.'

'Well, you came back for me,' Anna said softly. 'Why'd you do that anyway?'

'I…don't know. It didn't seem to be right for you to be in there,' B'Elanna's gaze brushed the other woman and then darted away again. 'I felt…guilty,' she admitted.

'Why? Because you were on their side all along?' Anna's voice held only a hint of bitterness, but B'Elanna couldn't help reacting to it.

'You still don't trust me?' She asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.

'It's not that, it's just…'

'Just what?' B'Elanna looked her in the eyes. 'You still think I'm not on your side?'

'I believed you!' Anna snapped, the emotion she suddenly presented taking B'Elanna by surprise. 'I believed you, and you were working for them the whole time!'

'No!' B'Elanna leapt off her bed with as much agility as her injury would allow and moved closer, placing balled fists on Anna's bed. 'I was /never/ working for them. They just thought I was!' To a degree, it was the absolute truth. B'Elanna herself had never worked for them. But…on another level…whoever Anna thought she was had…

'What did I tell you my name was when we first met?' She asked.

Anna, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject, replied slowly. 'B'Elanna.'

'And what did they call me in the police station?'

Anna's brow furrowed in thought. 'Catherine? No. Charlotte? That was it, wasn't it?'

'Uh huh,' B'Elanna nodded. 'I'm not who they think I am.'

'Oh, come on,' Anna said. 'B'Elanna was just your undercover name or something.'

'No! B'Elanna is my real name! If anything, Charlotte is my undercover name!' B'Elanna ran her hands through her hair in an overtly frustrated gesture. 'Kah'less, you are so /stubborn!/' /Just like Seven,/ she thought, biting her lip to stop more curses escaping.

'Car-what?' Anna asked.

For a long moment, B'Elanna looked at her, torn between laughing and shaking the woman until she stopped questioning the engineer. 'It's…err, it's a curse. In another language.'

'What language?'

'One you wouldn't know!' B'Elanna exploded. 'If you think I'm stringing you along why do you keep on asking me pointless questions?'

it looked like Anna was going to argue, but just then Peter ambled back into the room with an armload of food. B'Elanna sat back on her own bed and watched as he miraculously made it to them without tripping or falling or dropping anything.

'Here you go!' He said, still smiling. 'It's all we've got, I'm afraid, but I'm sure you'll make do!' And with that, he tottered back to his little office, humming tunelessly under his breath.

They sat in silence for what seemed like a long time, quietly picking and choosing from the packets spread before them. B'Elanna was lost in her thoughts when she heard something she privately thought she'd never hear sincerely from Seven's lips.

'I'm sorry.'

Finishing her mouthful as quickly as she could, B'Elanna said, 'What made you change your mind.'

'You did,' Anna said, holding B'Elanna's gaze. 'I've never gotten the feeling that you were lying to me…usually I can tell, but with you…you always seemed so sincere.'

B'Elanna found they were smiling at each other again, and it wasn't unpleasant. 'So I guess we're even?' She asked, her smile growing.

It faltered as Anna shook her head. 'No way,' the blonde said, her own smile turning slightly sly. 'The fact remains, you still injured me.'

'So I owe you?' B'Elanna said.

'You're absolutely right. And I'm calling it in. You owe me dinner,' Anna grinned, and B'Elanna felt it mirrored on her own features.

'Okay,' she heard herself say.

#

end part 6