Title: Words Mean Nothing 7/?

Author: quew

Disclaimer: Paramount owns them, I am just playing and not making any money off of this. If you sue me the only thing I can afford to give you is my star trek captains clock. Please don't take it.

Rating: Probably an R overall, but this section only PG-13.

Notes: This, for some unknown reason, has been the hardest chapter to write. I sit down, look over the first bit and then come up blank.

#

'So it's settled then? Dinner?' Anna asked, looking at B'Elanna.

The half-Klingon realised she'd been staring and shook herself out of it. 'Dinner, but…' She paused, thinking of the words, and Anna took the opportunity to gently lever herself out of bed. When B'Elanna realised what the other woman was doing, she leapt upright and took her elbow, carefully leading her to her own bed, where Anna sat down with an undignified groan.

B'Elanna settled herself once more and looked up. She caught the other woman studying her face and returned the look until Anna gave her a bemused smile. 'You were saying something?'

/I was?/ 'Oh…yeah. I was just wondering…where would we go for dinner? I mean it's not like they're just going to let us out of your base to go to a restaurant with a pat on the back and a 'don't let the police see you.' We're probably pretty high on the police's shit list right now!'

Anna chuckled. 'You can cook, can't you?'

The chuckles turn to laughs as B'Elanna's face fell. 'I…uh…'

'How about a picnic? Then you wouldn’t really have to cook at all,' Anna suggested.

'I can probably…do that,' B'Elanna managed, still not quite able to get the look of horror of her face. She was an engineer, not a chef!

A wide smile parted Anna's full lips and B'Elanna's eyes were drawn to them before she could stop herself. She glanced upwards and found blue eyes staring into hers. She had the irrational urge to apologise for staring but smothered it quickly, feeling like she needed to re-gain at least the semblance of control over herself.

She grinned with a confidence only half there and nodded once. 'Yes, I can do that. But, going to back to the "where" problem. Like I said, I hardly think your lot are going to let us roam the streets.'

Anna tapped the side of her nose. 'I think I have just the spot in mind.'

Slightly intrigued, B'Elanna stood and said, 'I'd better get started.' She'd already turned and was a half-step away before Anna's hand locked around her wrist.

'I didn't mean right now - you're in here for a reason, remember?' She nodded to B'Elanna's injury.

Trying to ignore the gentleness in Anna's touch, B'Elanna swallowed. 'It's fine. Besides, I'm making sandwiches, what could possibly happen?'

'Knowing you, just about anything,' Anna said, smirking. 'I'd feel better if you let Peter check you over before you left.'

B'Elanna finally gave in a was taken behind Peter's partition, where the likeable doctor gave her a thorough once over, checking the bandage and handing her a new plain white shirt. He tried to convince her to wear a sling but she refused flat out and it was clear he didn't have the heart to force her.

'No strain,' he said, trying to look stern but failing miserably. 'And no sudden movements.'

Smiling, the half Klingon nodded. When she went back into the main medical area, she saw a familiar looking person talking to Anna. The blonde Seven-look-a-like through her head back and laughed, and B'Elanna picked up her pace, wanting to know what the joke was.

Sarah looked up when she approached. 'Hello again,' she said, smiling. 'I hear you're going for a picnic.'

The way she said the last word, not to mention the overly sexy wink delivered with it, made B'Elanna think that Sarah's idea of a nice picnic would probably involve foodstuffs that were designed to be eaten without using plates…shaking off the rest of that thought before she began to flush, she nodded.

'Would you like a hand?'

'Sorry?'

'Well, you hardly know you're way around, do you? I'd be happy to help you sort things out,' Sarah said, standing and grabbing hold of the hybrids elbows. Before she knew it, she'd been led out of the room and into an unfamiliar corridor.

Realising she hadn't said goodbye to Anna, B'Elanna tried to steer them back to the medical wing, but Sarah had already led them to her room.

'Sorry about the mess,' she said as B'Elanna eyed the quarters with a curios gaze. They were large but not particularly well furnished - the term 'Spartan' came to mind. A large bed was in the middle of one wall, with a few cupboards and other pieces of furniture scattered about. Clothes were draped across just about every spare area, including a good sized portion of the floor.

'SO she finally cornered you hey?' Sarah asked, catching B'Elanna off guard.

'What?'

Sarah grinned, 'she's been talking about you pretty much since you got here.'

'She has?' B'Elanna felt her jaw drop open.

'Don't tell me you haven't noticed,' Sarah said, looking disbelieving.

'I…no…I mean…I have a boyfriend,' B'Elanna managed, although a small part of her piped up and said she hadn't thought of Tom since she'd woken up there. A wave of guilt passed over her, and she shook it off. 'I have a boyfriend,' she said again, her voice stronger.

'Really?' Sarah winked. 'Could've fooled me.'

#

There was a knock at the door. 'Are you decent?' Sarah asked, already through the door and staring at her impromptu charge.

She'd lent B'Elanna some of her clothes, and the half-Klingon had to admit that they fitted in all the right places. It wasn't like she was unaware that she had curves, but somewhere along the line on Voyager the mental picture she'd had of herself had swapped the title of 'woman' with 'engineer.'

She smoothed down the cream coloured stop and asked, 'how do I look?'

Sarah eyed her up and down, 'I tell ya, if I swung that way, Anna would have serious competition.'

B'Elanna couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's cheeky expression. 'I told you, we're just getting to know each other better,' she said.

'Yeah, but how much better, hey?' Sarah nudged her in the ribs lightly and laughed.

'You've got it all wrong.' B'Elanna insisted, turning to look at herself in the slightly grimy full-length mirror once again. She was wearing a pair of charcoal trousers, quite tight, the form fitting cream shirt and a green silk scarf was tied around her head.

'Okay, okay, you're just "getting to know each other better".' The other woman made air quotes, and B'Elanna chuckled.

Sarah handed her the wicker basket full of food they'd prepared and B'Elanna took a deep breath as Sarah led her through the base. She hadn't dared to ask herself exactly why she was so nervous about this, and she didn't intend to start now. /We're just…getting to know each other./ She thought.

Sarah opened a pair of big double doors and B'Elanna followed her out, gasping at the area laid out before them. A huge area, surrounded by buildings, was dominated by large, healthy trees. Small ponds were laid out in strategically, the reflections of tree branches seeming to dance across their ever moving surfaces. B'Elanna looked down into one as they passed and saw a flash of silver scales.

'Michael made sure this area wasn't harmed when we took over the buildings,' Sarah said, smiling at the surroundings. 'He said it was important for us to have somewhere to relax and feel safe outside.'

'So he's a good leader?' B'Elanna asked.

'The best,' Sarah agreed. 'We'd be nothing without him.'

Despite knowing that this Michael was about as far as you could get from her Harry Kim, she had sudden sense of pride toward the man who shared her friends face. At least this man had had a chance to prove himself - to prove himself worthy of more than the title of ensign, as it were - and it sounded like he was doing well.

'Well, here we are,' Sarah bought them to a stop and B'Elanna shook herself out of her thoughts. Opening her mouth to greet Anna, but then she looked down…

The words froze in her throat as she saw Anna sitting on a red and white checked blanket, wearing a tightly fitting light blue summer dress with thin straps. The blonde unleashed a dazzling smile on the stricken engineer, and B'Elanna didn't even notice when Sarah slipped back the way they had come.

'Aren't you going to sit down?' Anna asked. 'I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better.'

B'Elanna choked and dropped the picnic basket on her foot.