“Seven, you had a call from the MIT-Daystrom Institute. They would like you to visit them the day after tomorrow. You’ll need to contact the director there this afternoon to confirm your visit.”

Seven’s eyes lit up at the news. She didn’t fully understand the way things worked on Earth and generally thought humans most inefficient. After all, she had sent her materials to MIT-Daystrom several days before. It would be a simple matter to confirm the facts of her submission with Starfleet. She didn’t understand why it had taken almost four days for her to be asked in for an interview and said so. The resulting laughter also confused her.

“Darling,” Janeway began, wiping her eyes, “normally it would take between four and six weeks for someone to be fully vetted and invited for an interview at an institute as prestigious as MIT-Daystrom. The fact that it’s only taken four days to invite you is amazing and shows just how eager they are to have you on their staff. They’ve been remarkably efficient.”

Seven silently considered this new information as she felt her anxiety drain away. She had been fearful that the delay in asking her for an interview meant that she was considered insufficient to hold a position at the institute. Now it seemed that the opposite was true. Seven resigned herself to never truly understanding her fellow humans and was thankful that she would have Kathryn by her side to help her.

“Kathryn, will you accompany me on the trip? I would feel more secure if you were with me.”

“Of course I will, darling. And if I have anything to say about it, we’ll have company on the trip. I think I’ll ask Lieutenant Martin to come along.”

“Kathryn, do you still think it is necessary for –“

“Absolutely! I will not allow you to be at risk unnecessarily. If that means Lieutenant Martin and his men are always around, then they’ll always be around. I won’t risk losing you again.”

Seven’s soft smile was an acknowledgment of the love in that statement. “Yes, Kathryn,” she said as she rose and headed for the COMM unit in the study. “I will call the director and make the arrangements.”

The arrangements were straightforward. They had arrived home in Indiana Saturday morning and were expected at MIT-Daystrom's Cambridge complex at 0900 hours Monday morning. After Seven of Nine had set up the visit Janeway called Admiral Patterson and arranged security for the trip. She and Seven would be touring the complex with Seven's cousin Mattias Hansen from Stockholm.

When they stepped off the transport pads in Boston they were greeted by a familiar face. Lieutenant Martin looked different dressed in his civilian clothes, but janeway knew he was armed to the teeth and capable of defending Seven against several aggressors.  Since Seven herself was feeling so much stronger, Janeway was fairly certain that unless they were attacked by a hostile force of over ten men they were fairly safe. The three of them walked down the corridor to the local transport area and moments later were standing in the reception area of the Institute's Administration building.

The Director of the Institute greeted them cordially and arranged coffee and tea for everyone. She then outlined the mission of MIT-Daystrom and gave a brief history of the illustrious University and Research Institute. Seven’s questions were incisive and demonstrated a knowledge of the Institute and current research being conducted there far beyond the norm. The Director explained her plans for their tour and the group rose and headed for the central quadrangle of the campus. As they walked out the main doors the administrative assistant hailed them, announcing an urgent call for Captain Janeway from Starfleet Headquarters. Kathryn told the others to go on ahead and that she would try to catch up.

Janeway cursed under her breath as she activated the COMM screen in the empty office the admin had showed her into. Her displeasure changed into a vague feeling of unease as Admirals Paris and Patterson appeared on her screen.

“Kathryn, sorry for bothering you but we needed to talk with you about a couple of things.”

“What do you need to talk with me about?”

“First off,” began Admiral Paris, “congratulations on your engagement. May I assume that invitations to the wedding will be arriving shortly?”

Chuckling, Janeway replied, “Yes, Admiral, you may. Seven and I were all for eloping but my mother pitched a fit. It seems that as my father’s daughter I have social obligations which can’t be shirked. I’m sure you’ll both be receiving your invitations shortly.”

“Excellent, Kathryn. And that kind of brings us to the second thing we wanted to talk to you about. Why isn’t Seven of Nine applying to work for Starfleet? Why is she at MIT-Daystrom?”

“Can you blame her? Starfleet hasn’t been exactly welcoming to her since we docked at McKinley. Even before Section 31 pulled their stunt she was being badgered and harassed in her debriefings. Hell, you know as well as I do that half the flag staff at Headquarters would be happy to throw her in a penal colony for the rest of her life. Despite what Picard’s told you countless times, Starfleet still seems to think that drones have a will of their own. That they are capable of independent action. I heard some of the talk about Seven. People think she ought to be imprisoned because she was at Wolf 359. They conveniently forget that she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Why would she willingly work for an organization that hates her like that?”

“Kathryn, Starfleet needs her. After the Dominion War we’ve realized that we’re vulnerable in areas that we’d thought secure. Seven can help us immensely.”

“Well, gentlemen, all I can tell you is that she’s applied to the TPG and to MIT-Daystrom and so far only MIT-Daystrom has responded. That’s why we’re here today. If Starfleet wants her, then Starfleet had better make her a heartfelt apology and a hell of an offer. Likewise if you want her with Dr. Brahms’ TPG.”

The conversation continued in this vein for a while longer. Just before signing off Admiral Paris informed Janeway that he had received a complaint about Lieutenant Torres from the Supply group on Utopia Planetia and suggested that she contact her office ASAP.

Soundly cursing Commander Nixon and his bureaucratic soul, she punched in the codes for her office and waited for Radcliffe to answer. When his face appeared she smiled and asked him how things were going.

“Well, I suppose I could lie to you and say everything was great, but Lieutenant Torres got into a shouting match with one of Nixon’s minions yesterday and threw him off Voyager. Then Commander Nixon stormed into our offices demanding to speak with you and I informed him that you were on leave for another few weeks and that if he had a complaint he needed to address the issue with someone at Headquarters. I’m sorry, Captain. I tried to keep you out of the fray.”

Janeway laughed and replied, “And you would have succeeded if Starfleet didn’t want Seven of Nine so badly. They took advantage of our visit to MIT-Daystrom to hijack me into a conference call. I was informed of Nixon’s complaints as an afterthought. So is he still giving you grief?”

“No, apparently he’s content to bitch and moan to somebody at HQ. He hasn’t been back here or tried to get on Voyager. Either he’s decided that HQ will have more influence on you or he’s scared of Lieutenant Torres.”

“Probably a combination of both. How are you coming with our requisition problems? Did you figure anything out?”

“Yes, Captain, I did. But I’d rather see if things stabilize before I tell you about what I did. I may have only complicated matters.”

“I’ll rely on your judgment, Ensign. Keep tabs on the situation and keep me informed if anything changes. Is there anything else we need to talk about?”

Radcliffe brought her up to date on what had happened since they left Mars and then talk turned to the refit itself. About the time Janeway was going to end the call B’Elanna walked into Radcliffe’s office and sat down.

“Hey, Captain. How’s it going?”

“Fine, B’Elanna. We’re at MIT-Daystrom and Seven’s getting the VIP tour. I got dragged away by a call from Headquarters and they told me there was a bit of a problem with Commander Nixon that I needed to attend to.”

Her Chief Engineer flushed darkly. “Honestly, Captain, I don’t know how anything gets done around here! Those idiots from Logistics and Supply don’t have a clue about what’s involved in getting a ship space-ready and they could care less. The only thing they care about is if their forms are filled out correctly or not!”

“Is that what precipitated your fight?”

“No, Captain. He came down to Engineering with a handful of requisitions that had already been approved and tried to tell me that the supplies I requisitioned were ‘not fiscally viable’. When I asked him what that meant exactly he said that they cost too much! That they weren’t in the budget! I checked before I requisitioned the items and they are within our budget. In fact, they’re the required quality and strength. This p’taq just decided that they cost too much all on his own!”

“What was he complaining about?”

As Torres elaborated on the confrontation Seven and her ‘cousin Mattias’ were being shown through the most secure of the research laboratories in the Institute. At each of the labs they visited Seven was introduced to the lead scientist or researcher and given a general overview of the project. The Director was amazed at her ability to grasp even the most esoteric of the research and ask cogent, probing questions about each project. In two instances, when the project leaders described some difficulty the team was encountering, she had been able to offer suggestions and a possible solution to the problem.

For Seven, the visit was a revelation. Some of the projects she visited had no practical application; they were pure research solely for the sake of learning something previously unknown. Seven had never encountered this concept before. As a drone in the Collective each task she performed had a specific purpose and on Voyager, everything they did was focused on getting the starship back to the Alpha quadrant. The idea of doing research simply to expand the limits of human knowledge thrilled her. By the end of their tour her head was spinning.

As they walked back to the Director’s office Seven and the Director chatted about various facets of the Institute and its history. As they walked, no one seemed to notice that ‘Cousin Mattias’ rarely if ever looked at his ‘cousin’. His eyes were always on the surrounding area and people. And because they were, he had noted the respect and occasionally awed expressions of the scientists Seven had talked with. Damping down his internal grin so that it didn’t spread to his face, he felt fairly confident that his ‘cousin’ was going to be spending a great deal of her time at the Institute unless someone came up with a much better offer. It was evident that Seven had wowed them. He made a mental note to have Starfleet Security download the security profiles and clearances of the entire MIT-Daystrom staff to review. If Seven was going to work here they needed to double check the staff vetting.

They met back up with Janeway outside the Director’s office and went to the private dining room for lunch. There they were met by several of the senior researchers and lunch was a lively affair sparked by discussion of some of the unique stellar phenomena Voyager had recorded during its time in the Delta quadrant. Seven’s eidetic memory was nearly pumped dry as the researchers tried to glean as much first-hand information as Seven and Janeway were able to give. When the group finally broke up three hours later, the Director escorted them to the transport area and thanked them warmly for coming.

“I imagine I’ll be talking with you again very soon, Seven,” she said.

“Thank you for seeing me, Dr. Pedersen. I will look forward to speaking with you again.”

Janeway and Lieutenant Martin bid the Director goodbye and the three of them beamed back to the Boston Transport Center. From there Janeway and Seven were back at the farm within half an hour.

At dinner that night they discussed the day with Gretchen and Phoebe who was of the opinion that Seven ‘was a lock’ to get a position at the Institute. Once Phoebe had explained what the expression meant Seven relaxed visibly. Gretchen seemed almost reluctant to express an opinion and Seven finally asked her why.

Smiling, Gretchen said, “Seven, dear, my doctorate is in mathematics; more specifically, in anti-derivatives and substitution theory. And I got my degrees from MIT-Daystrom. I didn’t want there to be any hint of favoritism so I never said anything. That way you get the position entirely on your own merit, just as it should be. Not because I used any influence I might have to help you out. I’m sorry I didn’t speak up sooner, I just thought you’d want to do this on your own.”

“You are correct, Gretchen. I would not want any influence used on my behalf. Thank you for not doing so. Kathryn, do you really believe they were impressed with my work?”

“Darling, Lieutenant Martin spent the entire tour watching everybody around you and he said that you blew them away. I have no doubt that Dr. Pedersen is in deep consultation with her Board of Regents trying to determine how much they can offer you to come work there.”

“I hope you are correct, Kathryn.”

“I am, sweetheart. Just try to be patient. Sometimes these things take time.”

Janeway was proved wrong two days later when a hovercraft pulled into the drive and Dr. Pedersen and an older man got out and walked to the house. Janeway and Seven met them on the porch and invited them in. When Gretchen came out of the kitchen to greet the visitors and offer coffee she pulled up abruptly when she caught sight of them. The older man who had accompanied Dr. Pedersen did the same.

“Gretchen?” he stammered. “Gretchen Janeway…my God, I never made the connection.”

Gretchen’s full laugh warmed the room. “Hello, Padraig. What brings you to my home?”

“Your home? This is your home?”

“Yes, Padraig, this is my home. Kathryn is my eldest daughter. She and Seven are to be married in a little more than four weeks. They’ve been staying here since Voyager returned.”

Dr. Pedersen broke in. “Dr. MacSharry? Do you know Mrs. Janeway?”

“Doctor Janeway, Director. Gretchen and I were doctoral candidates together.”

“Padraig, why are you here now?” asked Gretchen.

“I’m chairman of the Board of Regents of MIT-Daystrom, Gretchen. I’ve come with Dr. Pedersen here to speak with Seven of Nine.”

“Well then, I suppose you’d best speak with her. Please, use the dining room. Can I get anyone coffee or tea?”

Once Seven and the two scientists were settled Gretchen took a very nervous Kathryn for a walk down to Phoebe’s studio.

“Kathryn, calm down. The Chairman of the Board doesn’t come along to turn somebody down. The Chairman of the Board comes to make a really big job offer. They sent in the heavy hitters to make sure Seven accepted.”

“You haven’t a clue how much I want you to be right, Mom. I want her to have everything she wants. She’s missed so much in life; I just want to make up for all the time she lost to the Borg.”

“Kathryn, you will. Just relax. You have the rest of your lives to make everything as right as you can for Seven. Just know that there will be some things you can’t make happen and be content with those things you can influence.”

“So how long do you think we should give them?”

“I’m sure they’ll have some particulars to iron out about start date and staffing her labs and such. I think another fifteen minutes or so should do it. We can drop in on Phoebe and then all three of us can head back to the house together. It’s coming up on lunch time.”

It was closer to half an hour when the three Janeways returned to the house to find Seven and the two Daystrom scientists deep in a discussion of plasma dynamics. Seven turned her head sharply and stood up at the sound of the door shutting behind them.

"Gretchen, Phoebe...Kathryn, would the three of you be able to make a short trip to Boston next Monday?"

“I’m sure we can arrange to do so, Seven. Is it important?”

The beautiful young woman smiled shyly, “Dr. Pedersen and Dr. MacSharry will be conferring three PhD degrees on me next Monday.”

“Only three? Damn Seven, you must be slipping. I’d figured five at least,” cracked Phoebe.

Dr. Pedersen smiled as she rose and began gathering her things. “The MIT-Daystrom Institute will be proud to confer doctoral degrees in Astrophysics, Particle Physics and Plasma Dynamics to Annika Hansen on Monday next. You will be our honored guests at the ceremony.”

“Dr. Pedersen, Dr. MacSharry, we will be delighted to attend,” responded Gretchen as she showed her guests to the door.

After the visitors from MIT-Daystrom had departed Kathryn joined Seven on the porch swing. “Lunch will be ready in just a few minutes,” she said as she took hold of Seven’s hand. “Is there something wrong, darling?”

“No, Kathryn, I am just relieved. Not that I have the qualifications to work at the Institute, but that I have not let you down. I did not want you to be disappointed in me.”

“Disappointed in you? Love, how could I ever be disappointed in you? Well, except for a couple of times when you were first on Voyager. But we got past those. Darling, you continually amaze me. Disappointed is the last thing I’d ever feel about you. I’m so proud of you I could just bust. In fact, I have a confession to make.”

“A confession? What did you do, Kathryn?”

“I was so proud of you that I hailed Radcliffe at the office and had him order a nameplate for the office you’re using that says ‘Dr. Annika Hansen’. He was whooping with joy when he heard they’d given you three doctorates.”

“You told Ensign Radcliffe?”

“I had to tell somebody! I was bursting with the news, and Mom and Phoebe already knew. Besides, I knew he’d be as happy for you as I am.”

“It will take some adaptation to get used to the idea. And I am not accustomed to using my human designation.”

“Think of it this way, love, Dr. Hansen sounds better than Dr. Seven or Dr. Nine, doesn’t it? Besides, it’s not going to change what your friends and family call you; you’ll still be our Seven. Dr. Hansen will just be a formal designation.”

“A formal designation?”

“Yes. A formal designation. Now my darling, I think I would very much like to be kissed by the holder of several PhDs. Know anybody in the area who might fit the bill?”

Seven of Nine did, in fact, know someone who fit the bill. Gretchen had to call them three times before they made it in to lunch.