CHAPTER 9

The wager turned out to be the result of a disagreement between Gretchen and Phoebe. When the two had been discussing how to get Kathryn and Seven together Phoebe had laughingly stated that Kathryn’s natural reticence would carry over into her choice of engagement rings for Seven, and that she would choose a small, conservative ring. Gretchen had disagreed, maintaining that Seven was the love of Kathryn’s life and that her choice of engagement rings would reflect that. Phoebe was gracious in her loss, loudly declaring Seven’s new ring ‘a real gasper’.  Seven wasn’t sure that the ring would make people gasp out loud as Phoebe claimed, but she still thought it the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Over the next three days Gretchen lost track of the number of times she smiled watching the auburn and blonde heads huddled together over PADDs at her kitchen table. Janeway was dealing with daily briefs, reports and requisitions sent by Radcliffe and Seven was lending her assistance when needed as well as completing formal applications for the MIT-Daystrom and Theoretical Propulsion Group research labs. She had decided not to pursue her research at the institutes on Vulcan and Bajor since she had no desire to be separated from Kathryn. Janeway helped her complete the complicated forms and documents involved, making sure that the security clearances involved were referred directly to Admirals Paris and Patterson instead of Starfleet Security in general.

On the second day B’Elanna hailed Janeway to officially accept the position with Janeway’s refit team. The three women discussed priorities and strategies for nearly an hour with Janeway finishing the call by reiterating her concerns that the Borg alcoves not be disassembled. Before they rang off Janeway gave Torres the office suite numbers, access codes and told her to check in with Radcliffe when she arrived at Utopia Planetia and let him know if she needed anything.

On the fourth day Janeway and Seven ate a light breakfast then took Janeway's hovercraft to the transport center in Bloomington. There were no lines that early in the morning and moments after arriving at the center they were stepping off transporter pads at the large Starfleet Medical facility in Atlanta. They sought Admiral Pulaski's offices and when they walked into them were immediately shown into an exam room for Seven's follow-up examination.

“Don’t be nervous, sweetheart. This is just a routine exam, like you’ve had so many times before. Just think of it as your weekly implant maintenance. That was never a frightening experience was it?”

“Only when the Doctor felt the need to perform opera excerpts.”

Janeway laughed heartily. “Well, there you go. I know for a fact that Admiral Pulaski can’t carry a tune in a bushel basket.”

“Who can’t carry a tune?” demanded Pulaski as she entered, smiling. She consulted the PADD she carried and then looked Seven over carefully.

“Well, you certainly look better than the last time I saw you. Life on the Janeway farm must agree with you, Seven.”

“I am very happy there, Admiral. Gretchen, Phoebe and Kathryn are taking very good care of me.”

“So it would seem. I just want to…whoa!” Pulaski’s eyes had finally spied the ring on Seven’s left hand and nearly popped out of her head. She took hold of Seven’s hand to examine it more closely. “It appears I’m a little behind on current events. So who’s the lucky person, Seven?”

The former Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 01 smiled shyly and replied, “Kathryn and I will be married on the 22^nd of next month.”

Admiral Pulaski smiled her approval. “I couldn’t be happier for you both. Congratulations! I can expect an invitation to the wedding, can’t I?”

“Of course, Admiral. Gretchen is taking care of the guest lists and I am sure you are to be included.” Janeway nodded in agreement.

“Well, that’s good. It never looks good when Admirals have to crash the party.”

The door opened to admit Voyager’s EMH. “Crash what party? Hello Captain, Seven.”

“Kathryn and Seven’s wedding.” In the seven years his program had run on Voyager, Janeway had never seen the EMH look more at a loss for words. His jaw literally hung open.

“Wedding? Wedding? Why am I always the last to know these things?” He grabbed Seven’s hand to get a good look at the ring. “Well, at least you got her an acceptable ring, Captain,” he said tartly.

“Why thank you, Doctor,” replied Janeway dryly, “I’m so glad you approve. You’re actually the second person to hear the news. We just now told the Admiral, and she was the first outside the family. Besides, I think Seven wants to ask you something.”

“Doctor, Gretchen and Phoebe will walk Kathryn down the aisle. It would make me very happy if you would consent to do the same for me,” asked Seven shyly.

The EMH straightened to attention and smiled at the beautiful young woman. “It would be my honor to walk you down the aisle, Seven.”

“There now. Now that all the formalities are taken care of, can we get stared with this exam?” inquired Pulaski grinning.

The two physicians ran several scans and diagnostic procedures and declared themselves delighted with the results.

“Seven, your recuperative powers are amazing. When you came out of surgery three weeks ago I never would have thought you would be doing this well so soon. I would have bet cold hard cash that you’d still be an invalid,” commented Pulaski. “You’re sure you haven’t ramped up your nanoprobes to help out? We talked about minimal tasking for your cortical node for a while.”

“No, Admiral, I have not tried to force my nanoprobes to do more. Gretchen is feeding me well and Kathryn makes very sure I get enough rest.”

“I wish you could get a couple of full regeneration cycles in an alcove,” said the Doctor after examining the results of the last scan. “I think it would strengthen your Borg systems and increase nanoprobe activity. And, I suspect, it would bring your cortical node back up to full strength.”

“You don’t think it’s too early for that?” asked Pulaski.

“No, her systems are functioning at sixty percent above the baseline we’d figured on. All the regenerated implants are functioning at full capacity and her optical implant is currently reading out at 106%. Two full regeneration cycles in an alcove should take care of everything. But, just to be safe, I want you to rest for another couple of weeks. If we let you regenerate in your alcove will you agree to light duty for the next two weeks? And I don’t mean light duty for a Borg drone; I mean light duty for a human.”

“Yes, Doctor. I will not push myself. I am discovering the benefits of being…inefficient.” Seven’s warm smile at Janeway made the captain’s blood pressure spike.

“So she needs access to the alcoves on Voyager for two nights?” asked Janeway. The EMH nodded. “Admiral, may I use the COMM system in your office for a few moments?” When Pulaski agreed Janeway excused herself to make the arrangements. When she’d left the exam room, the EMH leaned close to Seven.

“Okay, now give me the dirt. I want to know how the Captain proposed and what happened to make her do it and why nobody knew that you two were involved. Nobody could keep that kind of a secret on Voyager!”

“No one knew we were involved because we were not involved.  You know that Kathryn would never become romantically involved with a member of her crew. Even though I loved her, I knew we could never be together on Voyager so I buried those feelings. I began to research romantic attachments and research led me to Commander Chakotay. My relationship with him was a mistake.”

“You can say that again! The bastard,” interjected Pulaski.

“My heart has always belonged to Kathryn. Once we were in Indiana, her mother and sister sat down and discussed the situation with me and assured me that Kathryn loved me as well, but that she ‘just needed a push’ to get her moving. So, when she came home from Utopia Planetia one afternoon, I attempted to show her how I felt. She began to stammer and when she finally asked me what I was doing I told her I was trying to love her. She responded by asking me to marry her. Actually, she merely blurted it out, but I accepted immediately before she could change her mind. So far, she has shown no indication of regret over that decision.”

“Well, given the size of this rock on your hand I don’t think she’s going to,” laughed Pulaski. “I’ve been married three times and if you combined all the diamonds in all my engagement rings they wouldn’t be as big as that one. It’s stunning.”

Kathryn returned just then, smiling. “We’re all set. I let Mom know we’d be at Utopia Planetia for the next two nights and B’Elanna is going to make sure that your alcove is powered up. She’s headed there now to run a full diagnostic on it.  I told Radcliffe you prefer earl grey tea to coffee and I have no doubts that he is combing the quadrant in search of the best tea to be found and researching the precise methods for brewing the perfect cup. My aide is somewhat vain where the issue of his barista skills is concerned; besides that, I think he has a little crush on my fiancée.”

Admiral Pulaski and the EMH chatted with them for another couple of minutes about the wedding and the family before setting a follow-up appointment in two weeks. If the result of Seven's full regeneration cycles was what the EMH believed it would be, she could be bedically cleared at that time. Pulaski noted that they should probably do the exam in San Francisco because it fell on the day before the starfleet ball officially celebrating the return of Voyager. Janeway expressed surprise that she had not been notified and Pulaski explained that it had just been decided that morning.

“I’m sure you’ll have your notification as soon as you get on your comm link. Let’s lock that exam date in now; otherwise it will get bumped to Friday. This way nobody is going to be rushing around trying to get ready for an official ball the same night.”

Seven and Janeway made their goodbyes and left a few minutes later. They beamed to the Transport Center at Starfleet Headquarters and caught a shuttle to Utopia Planetia from there. Janeway was assigned the same guest quarters she'd had the week before and the two women went directly to the office.

As they entered the suite Radcliffe leapt to his feet and came into the waiting room. Janeway had a hard time keeping a smile off her face when she saw the look of stark adoration on her aide’s face when he laid eyes on her fiancée. For her part, Seven regarded the young man with an impassive gaze.

“Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 01, may I present my aide Ensign Ethan Radcliffe. Ensign, my fiancée, Seven of Nine.

Seven extended her hand almost regally. “You may call me Seven, Ensign.”

Radcliffe could not summon speech as he shook the outstretched hand. Finally he got his vocal chords working. “F-fiancée? You and the Captain?  When did this happen?”

Janeway chuckled, “Right after I got home last week. Now, Ensign, I take it you’ve got those requests I made all sorted out. Is Lieutenant Torres in the office?”

"No, Captain. She checked in earlier this morning, but as soon as she heard that Seven was going to need an alcove she beamed up to the ship to run diagnostics and get the power couplings made. She asked if you would be willing to meet her in Cargo bay two when you arrived."

“That sounds like a good idea. Just as soon as I get a cup of coffee.”

“Would you care for a cup of tea, Seven?”

“Yes, thank you, Ensign. I would like a cup of tea.”

“I’ve had an office made ready for your use, ma’am. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you the way.”

Radcliffe led the way down the hall to the end office of the suite. It was comfortably furnished with a small seating area and a large desk and terminal.

“Lieutenant Torres is in the office at the other end of the hallway and the Captain is between you. My office is off the waiting area. If you need anything, anything at all, just hail me and I’ll get it for you.”

“Thank you, Ensign. This will suffice for the time being.” Seven turned on her heel and strode behind the desk. Radcliffe stood rooted to the deck, staring at her. She sat and looked at him with her optical implant cocked nearly to her hairline.

“Are you functioning within normal parameters, Ensign?”

“I…I…no, yes, ma’am. Forgive me. I’ll bring that tea right in.” Radcliffe scurried from the office like a rabid targ was chasing him.

Janeway walked into the office Seven was using a couple of minutes later with her coffee mug and a mug of tea for Seven. “Did you threaten to assimilate my aide? He brought the tea into me to bring to you and I swear now he’s hiding in his office.” She passed Seven the cup of tea and a COMM badge and hiked one hip onto the edge of the desk. “Please tell me he didn’t do something extremely stupid.”

“No, Kathryn, I did not threaten to assimilate Ensign Radcliffe. He appeared to be having difficulty getting his feet to work and I inquired if he was functioning normally. That appeared to work as he fled into the hallway immediately.” Seven attached the badge to her sweater, picked up the mug, sipped the contents and passed judgment. “Acceptable.”

Janeway laughed out loud. “Darling, you need to be nice to the boy. He can’t help it if he’s got a crush on you. Remember how Harry followed you like a puppy dog? Ethan may do the same until he gets used to having you around.”

Seven regarded her intended with a smile. “And do you anticipate having me around, Captain?”

Janeway leaned down toward her partner with an evil grin, “I certainly do. How else am I supposed to keep you out of trouble if I don’t keep you close to me?”

The optical implant arched and one corner of Seven’s mouth rose. “Really, Captain? And here I thought you kept me close to you because you liked me close to you.”

Seven’s getting really good at flirting, thought Janeway. How did I ever think I could spend the rest of my life without her? My God, she’s amazing!

“You see through me as always, love. But right now we need to go up to Voyager, meet B’Elanna and make sure your alcove is functioning like it ought to. Come on, we’ll bring Ethan along. Maybe spending some time around you will cure him of his crush.”

Seven gave a rather unbecoming snort as she rose. “It did not cure you.”

Really, really good at flirting.

* * * * *

Voyager’s environmental controls were being monitored from the control center of Utopia Planetia and all power supplied from spaceport umbilicals linked to the ship. Seven of Nine immediately noticed that the air smelled differently on the familiar ship when they stepped off the pads in Transporter Room one.

The women strode out of the room and automatically turned left, heading for Cargo Bay two with Radcliffe in hot pursuit. When they entered the cavernous bay B'Elanna could be clearly heard shouting orders at the refit teams.

“NO! I said to check the power flow regulators on the ‘B’ side circuits! If we don’t balance the circuits independently the alcove won’t cycle up properly. Remember, the Borg think in a linear manner. Each circuit is independent of the others; each circuit with it’s own backup. They get a built in redundancy that way and their technology is less vulnerable to weapons damage. Is that clear?”

“Problems, Lieutenant?” barked Janeway as much to announce their presence as to inquire on the state of the diagnostic.

B’Elanna straightened up and grinned at the new arrivals. “Captain,” she nodded in greeting as she trotted up to Seven, threw her arms around the taller woman’s waist, lifted her off her feet and spun her around before setting the stunned former drone back on the deck. “I am so happy for you! Congratulations! Lemme see, lemme see, lemme see!”

Seven’s rather bemused smile belied her happiness at B’Elanna’s greeting. “See what, Lieutenant Torres?”

“The ring, Seven, the ring! The Doctor just hailed me and told me the big news. He said your engagement ring is a whopper! Lemme see!” Janeway mentally rolled her eyes wondering if there was any member of the senior staff who didn’t know by now.

Seven held out her left hand and her smile broadened as B’Elanna’s eyes popped. “Kahless! It’s a damned good thing you’ve got a duranium reinforced skeleton and Borg-enhanced musculature. No ordinary human could hold her hand up with a rock this big on it!” She looked up at Janeway and grinned again. “Congratulations, Captain. So when’s the wedding?”

“Captain Janeway and I will be married in 5.3 weeks. Invitations will go out within the next week to all members of the crew and the other guests.”

“That’s great! Right before everybody’s leave is over. The whole crew will be able to make it. Where’s it going to be?”

"In Indiana. There is a non-denominational church there that the Janeways have been married in for several generations. We will be married there. And B'Elanna? I have a favor to ask of you."

"Whats that, Seven?"

“Would you stand up with me? Commander Tuvok is standing with Kathryn, with the Captain, and I would like you to stand with me.”

Torres let out a whoop and hugged Seven again. “You bet I will!”

Janeway smiled at her Engineering Chief. “Well then, now that we’ve got the social obligations out of the way, how are we coming with the alcove diagnostics?”

“We’re getting power fluctuations between the alpha and beta relays, Captain. It’s not serious, and I think all it needs is a minor adjustment, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“And I don’t want you to. How long before you’ll know if you’ve got it under control?”

“Fifteen minutes, tops, Captain. Why don’t you and Seven head down to Astrometrics? There’s a group from the Science Institute down there trying to figure out how it works. I’m sure Seven could save them a lot of time.”

“All right, Lieutenant. Let me know when the diagnostics are complete here. There are a couple of things in Engineering that we probably need to go over this morning too.”

“I’ll let you know when we finish here, Captain. Catch you later, Seven!”

“I will see you in Engineering, Lieutenant.” The women turned away from each other and Janeway and Seven left Torres to finish her work on the Borg alcoves. As they headed for the doors, Seven called out over her shoulder, “Come with us, Ensign Radcliffe. There is much you can learn in the Astrometrics Lab.” The young officer wasted no time complying.

The doors to the lab on deck eight were open when Janeway, Seven and Radcliffe rounded the corner and came to it. A group of engineers and scientists huddled over the control interfaces, and were talking quietly among themselves; their voices oddly grating in the silence of the room.

“Good morning, gentlemen!” Again, Janeway’s voice seemed to command rather than greet. It had the intended affect causing the group to snap almost to attention at their arrival. “Are you having problems with the Astrometrics arrays?”

“Not problems, exactly, Captain,” said one man, apparently the lead researcher. “The power protocols appear to be compromised and the control interfaces are non-responsive. We’re attempting to interface our tricorders to analyze the blockage and then we plan to utilize an encryption algorithm to bypass the compromised interface modules.”

“Do you understand what he’s trying to say, Ensign Radcliffe?” asked Janeway with a hint of asperity in her voice. She had little patience with those who used verbal obfuscation to hide their inadequacies.

“Not a clue, Captain,” replied Radcliffe.

“They cannot turn it on,” answered Seven with disdain, “And they are planning on destroying the control consoles and interfaces to try and bypass them.”

“Is that about the size of it, gentlemen?” queried Janeway.

“I wouldn’t say that, no, Captain,” answered the head scientist, “We were planning on asking the control center at the shipyards to see it they could override the command codes – “

“They cannot. If you have compromised the control interfaces, then the Borg encryption codes built into the backup modules will safeguard the command codes. Utopia Planetia will not be able to break them,” snapped Seven. She had built the Astrometrics Lab virtually by herself and had certainly run it by herself for nearly four years; she was a bit possessive of it. The fact that a group of scientists who didn’t know what they were doing were in the process of tearing it apart angered her greatly.

“And how do you know that?” demanded the scientist, showing a bit of temper himself.

“Because she is Seven of Nine and she built this lab,” barked Janeway, quashing his display of ire most effectively. “You can do one of two things at this point, gentlemen. You can ask for her assistance and learn how the lab works, or you can get thrown off this ship in favor of a team that’s willing to acknowledge when it’s in over its head. Which will it be?”

“You can’t do that! You don’t have the authority!” sputtered the red-faced scientist.

“You’re relieved, Dr. - ?”

“Hendricks,” supplied another member of the team helpfully.

“You’re relieved, Dr. Hendricks,” Janeway nodded her thanks to the team member supplying the information and slapped her COMM badge. “Security to Astrometrics, deck eight.” A security detail arrived in moments and Janeway issued her orders. “Escort Dr. Hendricks off the ship and out of the shipyards. His access is revoked immediately. My authorization.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the security officers politely grasped Hendricks’ arms and hustled him out of the lab.

“Now who’s in charge of this detail?” asked Janeway a bit more calmly.

“I guess that would be me, Captain,” said a sandy-haired man stepping forward. “I’m Jason Boatwright from Quantum Array Development. Hendricks didn’t appreciate the safeguards built into the system; he just tried to break in past them.”

“He would not succeed. Why did he not just utilize the instructions we left for the lab when we stood down?” asked Seven in frustration.

“I don’t know, ma’am. He just seemed like he didn’t think it would be any big deal. Apparently he was wrong, because he brought the whole system down.”

“Seven, do you think you can find the problem and fix it?” asked Janeway.

“I can try, Captain.” Seven strode to the control console and tapped several keys with no results. She spun on her heel and moved to a wall interface with the central computer core and tapped in her control codes and encryption overrides, her fingers moving so fast as to be nearly invisible. The group of scientists trailing in her wake reminded Janeway of a flock of ducklings following its mother on the pond back home.

“Captain, Dr. Hendricks has caused considerable corruption in the online interfaces between the central processor and control console. I will have to access the system at the processor level to correct the data corruptions.”

“Go ahead, Seven,” authorized Janeway, crossing her arms on her chest and leaning back slightly towards Radcliffe. “Watch this,” she whispered to her awe-struck aide.

Seven took a half step back from the computer interface, made a fist of her left hand and extended it toward the console. Her assimilation tubules shot out and imbedded themselves in the control surface, linking her cortical node directly with the ship’s computer core. The console leapt to life, controls flashing and cycling. The group of scientists gave a collective gasp and took a step backwards.

“How…how are you doing that?” whispered Boatwright.

“I am Borg,” declared Seven arrogantly.

“Hot damn!” muttered Ethan in amazement.

“Isn’t she something?” said Janeway with a wry smile. “I’m gonna marry that girl, Ensign.”

Radcliffe just grinned at her.

After several moments, Seven withdrew her tubules from the console and turned to an access panel adjacent to the computer interface. “Ensign, assist me!”

Radcliffe sprang to her side and helped her shift the panel. Seven pulled out the array of isolinear chips and began to shift them in their slots, bypassing the damaged data sectors. “By utilizing the existing isolinear array and rerouting the power and control pathways around the damaged sectors, we can still activate the arrays and the repairs will be minor. We need only reprogram some isolinear chips and replace those that I have deactivated and the original control interfaces will again function. If you are ever in a situation where a fast repair is necessary always think to reroute your power and control pathways through existing interfaces rather than install new ones. The time you save may save your life and your ship, Ensign.”

"Yes, ma'am, I understand." And the amazing thing to Radcliffe was that he did understand. Seven's demonstration and explanation had made more sense to himthan half the lectures he had endured in his four years at Starfleet Academy. It was practical,useful and tactically sound advice.

She finished setting the chips in their new slots and stood. Returning to the main control console, her fingers danced over the controls like a virtuoso pianist. The effect was like a musical score building toward a thunderous finale:  screen by screen, display by display, console by console the lab came to life. In a final crescendo of programming she brought the massive view screen online with the entire sector displayed in full color.

“There you are, gentlemen. The array will need to be recalibrated as soon as I affect repairs, but in the meanwhile a mere sector display will have to suffice.”

Boatwright finally found his voice. “Do you mean to tell me that this array can display more than the sector?”

“Of course, Dr. Boatwright. It can display the entire quadrant if need be.”

“Are you telling me you’ve extended the sensor arrays so that they can scan the entire quadrant?”

“Yes, Dr. Boatwright. It is a simple matter of power mechanics utilized in a controlled harmonics cascade. However, optimal resolution is reduced if you extend the array beyond six sectors.”

The scientists gathered around her all talking at once. Apparently, Seven’s designs were indeed the breakthrough they had been billed to be.

“Ah, gentlemen? Seven needs to break for lunch right now, but I promise I’ll have her back to you soon. Do you think you can keep from further damaging the lab until she returns?”

“Of course, Captain Janeway,” replied Boatwright. “Now that we’ve got the system online, the instructions we’ve got will let us experiment with the array.”

“Do not attempt to extend the array further than this sector until I have reprogrammed the isolinear chips or you will overload the system and initiate another cascade failure.”

“No, ma’am. We won’t. I promise you.”

“See that you do not.” Seven turned and strode over to the beaming Janeway. “Where shall we consume lunch?”

“How about the Commissary? Ethan, why don’t you join us?”

“Yes, Captain!”

* * *

Janeway and Radcliffe spent the afternoon in the office going over requisitions while Seven worked in the Astrometrics lab first repairing the damage and then demonstrating its capabilities to the scientists. B’Elanna finished the alcove diagnostics and when she was finally satisfied that Seven’s alcove was fully functional again, moved to main Engineering and worked with two of the crews there on the transwarp coils. The women met in their office suite early in the evening to do a recap of the day and plan what needed to be done the next day.

“So, are you headed back Earth side?” Janeway asked her engineer when they had finished.

“Yeah, I’m going to try and catch the shuttle that leaves at 1830 hours. Tom and his father were going to take Miral out on a class two shuttle this afternoon; apparently, you’re never too young to do aerobatics according to my husband and father-in-law. I need to make sure they don’t have her too worked up to sleep. What are your plans?”

“Dinner at the O club, some time alone together and then Seven needs to regenerate. It’s going to be a pretty quiet evening for us.”

“Nothing wrong with that, Captain. Everybody needs quiet evenings. They keep you sane.”

“We’ll see you in the morning, B’Elanna. Do you want to try to grab breakfast with us at the Commissary or eat at home?”

“I’m really enjoying letting Tom handle the feeding chores with Miral. I think I’ll meet you for breakfast. 0730 hours?”

“We’ll be there. Have a safe trip home.”

The group broke up and went their separate ways. Seven of Nine enjoyed the Officers’ Club, although she maintained that Gretchen’s food and Radcliffe’s tea were better, and she seemed pleased at the guest quarters Janeway had been assigned.

“It is appropriate that they treat you with respect, Kathryn. They should make quarters like these available to you; after all, it is your ship everyone is working on.”

“Come over here and sit with me. You need to understand it stopped being my ship the moment I surrendered the command codes and we stood down. It’s very unlikely that I will be given command of Voyager again. Most likely, I’ll get a completely different ship. That is, if I don’t opt for a desk job and Admirals bars.”

“What will you choose to do, Kathryn?”

"Darling, we've got a year to figure that out together. We don't need to discuss it right now. The only thing I'm concerned about this minute is making sure you're safe while you regenerate. Well, that and spending a little quality time snuggling with you before you have to leave for the Cargo Bay."

Seven wrapped the smaller woman in her arms and drew her close. “Kathryn, you are incorrigible.” She leaned down and kissed Janeway firmly, her tongue lightly brushing across Kathryn’s lower lip.

They snuggled together exchanging soft kisses. Without any conscious thought they wound up lying together on the couch, legs entwined, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms. Seven was never sure where she stopped and Kathryn began when they lay like this. What she did know for certain was that she had never experienced anything like the feelings that surged through her when she kissed Kathryn. If she needed any further proof that her relationship with Chakotay was not meant to be she had it now. To hold Kathryn and be held by her caused her heart to beat irregularly and made it difficult to breathe. Her hands trembled when she touched Kathryn and often she could not seem to burrow close enough to her love.

Seven had never known peace like she did when she lay in Kathryn’s arms. It was as if the two of them were floating alone on a peaceful sea. All the cares and worries and fears of life were left behind when they were together like this. The thought of having this kind of peace for the rest of her life left Seven weak in the knees.

“Kathryn?”

“Hmmm? What love?”

“Are you disturbed that we have not yet copulated?”

Seven could feel the soft chuckle rumble through Janeway’s chest. “No, darling, I’m not disturbed that we haven’t made love yet. I’ve told you why. I know you think you’re strong enough, but I don’t want to take any chances. Once the doctors release you then we can make love all the time if you want. Plus, and I’m almost ashamed to admit this, I’m not entirely comfortable making love in my mother’s house – don’t ask why. It’s a parent-child thing.”

"But Kathryn, if you don't wish to make love in your mother's house, where we we be able to make love?"

"You do know that I have a home in San Francisco, right? I haven't moved back in there yet because I've been worried about you, and I know that Mom and Phoebe wanted me to stay with them for a while. But I think that once we, us, take that next step, we should seriously think about moving back to the city for some privacy."

“So we will have a home of our own?” Seven’s hand drifted lazily over Kathryn’s back.

“That’s right; we’ll have a home of our own. It has a back yard with trees surrounding it, and a deck with a hot tub and the living room has a big fireplace. I never used the fireplace that much, but since I’ve been home all I can think of is spending those long, chilly winter nights in front of it with you.” The feel of Seven’s hands caressing her back made Kathryn want to purr.

“Does your house have a kitchen?”

“It has a wonderful kitchen. I’ve never used it you understand, but it has a wonderful kitchen. Even Mom said so.”

“So I will be able to cook in our home?”

“Yes you will, darling. Whenever you wish.”

“I think I will like having our own home, Kathryn.”

“I think I will too, darling. Just as long as you’re in it with me, I think I will love having our own home. Now, be quiet and kiss me some more. We’ve only got an hour until you need to go regenerate and I need to confirm the security arrangements. Let’s not waste it.”

Seven saw to it that they didn’t.

* * * * *

Seven took a sonic shower while Kathryn called Base Operations to check on the security arrangements for the evening. she had discussed the extra security needs for Voyager and Cargo Bay two with the Ops staff earlier and wished to confirm that her requests had been seen to. To her concern she discovered that Base Ops had noted the requests and final dispositions read only "Check in with security personnel on site." Janeway couldn't get any further information from Ops as to what that meant.

She decided not to take any chances. She hailed Radcliffe and asked him to report to her quarters with a couple of type 2 phasers. When he got there, Janeway took one of the phasers and sat him down unceremoniously.

“Ensign Radcliffe, I am about to stretch Starfleet security protocols and relate information to you that is classified ‘Top Secret’. If you ever reveal your knowledge of this information I will see you prosecuted to the fullest extent of military law. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Ethan, shortly after Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant Seven of Nine was kidnapped by Section 31. She was nearly killed in their attempt to secure her internal Borg technologies. My senior staff and I were able to locate the operatives and take them into custody before they succeeded. While we arrested most of Section 31, there are some operatives that slipped the net and are still out there. I requested additional security while she was regenerating on Voyager, but the update I just got from Base Ops isn’t clear if it’s in place. It may be up to you and me to protect her while she regenerates. Are you willing to do that?”

The young man stood up, pulled the phaser off his tunic and reset its power relay to ‘heavy stun’.

“Absolutely, Captain!”

Janeway nodded and stood. Turning to Seven she asked, “Do you have a problem if Radcliffe and I are your security tonight?”

“I cannot imagine being in better hands.”

“Then let’s get going.”

They left the guest quarters and headed for the transporter rooms. Radcliffe moved easily, looking relaxed, but his eyes never stopped sweeping the area. Janeway was impressed with his natural tactical instincts. Tuvok would have made him into a fine Tactical Officer. When they beamed onto Voyager both Janeway and Radcliffe pulled their phasers and the trio moved more cautiously toward Cargo Bay two. As they turned the final corner to the bay Janeway stopped suddenly when she saw who was standing in front of the open bay doors.

“Good evening, Captain Janeway,” said a grinning Fleet Marine in full BDUs. His belt held a personal sidearm and he carried a disruptor rifle slung on his shoulder.

“Lieutenant Martin! I never expected to see you here.”

“Admiral Patterson got a report that Seven of Nine was going to need to regenerate on Voyager for the next two nights and gave my C.O. a call. He seemed to think that a little extra security would be a good idea.”

“Well, I’m certainly delighted to see you. Are you alone or did you bring some of your friends?”

“Funny you should mention that. I happen to have nine of my closest friends with me.”

Janeway turned to Seven and Radcliffe. “Lieutenant Martin and his men helped rescue you on Mars, Seven. And then protected you in the hospital after we got you back to Earth.” She made the introductions. Martin held out his hand to Seven and shook hers firmly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. You’re certainly looking better than the last time I saw you. Are you fully recovered from your injuries?”

“I still require some additional time and regeneration, Lieutenant, but I am feeling much, much better than I was. Thank you for helping Captain Janeway and our crew to rescue me.”

“No need, ma’am. It was our pleasure. And I understand congratulations are in order for both of you. Now, let me show you what I’ve arranged for your security for the next couple of nights.”