Arthur: Samurai Sushi
Rating: PG
Part: 1/3
Code: K/7 (angst on both parts)
Summary:
Harry wants to tell Seven how he feels, but doesn't get the chance. A small warning, someone dies. But it all turns out right in the end.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all characters, ships, and even Neelix's food. The story is mine, and so are the Bitaine. I'm just having fun, no theft of any of their property is intended.
Thanks: Thanks to my beta-readers, who picked apart my mistakes and let me know what they were. Thanks guys (and girls).
A darkness, a deep longing darkness was all that Harry Kim knew in his dreams. And his awakened state was just as bad. Oh, sure, he got up everyday and went to his position at Ops, but after his shift he'd go to the messhall. And not even Tom or B'Elanna's friendly banter could shine any light into that hole.
"Harry….Harry…..HARRY!" The call, repeated many times, woke him form his stupor. He looked up to see Tom and B'Elanna standing by his table. He had been looking out the window at the stars and hadn't heard her call him.
"Hey Buddy, what's up?" Tom asked as he and B'Elanna set their trays on the table, and sat down.
"Oh, nothing. I was just watching the stars go by." Harry, still not entirely there, answered.
"Uh-huh" was all that B'Elanna said. "C'mon Harry. Tell your old buddy Tom what's wrong." Tom said in his most sincere and motherly voice.
"I can't, Tom, you wouldn't understand." Harry said rather sullenly.
"Oh, I wouldn't understand? Ok, I understand you don't feel up to talking yet." Tom said with a slight emphasis on yet. This wasn't lost on Harry, who managed to return a weak smile.
"There" said Tom, "There's our old Harry, back to himself again."
Harry just smiled at his two friends, not feeling back to himself, despite what Tom said.
Harry looked at the chronometer in the messhall. 5 minutes till his shift.
"I have to go, I've got bridge duty in 5 min. I'll see you two later." Harry said as he got up from the table and took his tray and half-eaten lunch to the kitchen and the waiting Neelix.
On the bridge, he waited for his shift to end. When it came he was glad for another dull day at Ops In fact the only thing that put any life into the bridge crew today was the discovery of a nebula that contained elements Voyager could use.
He met Tom and B'Elanna in the messhall for dinner, they had the day off. As they sat watching to see if Neelix's latest 'creation' would move on its own, they discussed the days events.
"So! Anything happen on the bridge today?"
"Nope" Said Harry, "nothing more than a nebula that has some of the elements that Voyager needs, within 5 light years and us on a course straight to it. Aside from that, nothing happened on the bridge at all." Harry said with a hidden smile "How about you guys. Anything happen at all?" Harry grinned conspiratorially at his friends, somewhat back to his old self, but not totally.
"Oh, nothing much." Tom said blandly, too blandly. "Went to the holodeck for awhile. Then spent some time in our quarters." Harry chuckled at this revelation.
He then noticed that he was done eating, and making his good-byes he let the messhall.
He left, not going anywhere in particular, but he ended up in hydroponics nonetheless. He took this time to sit and reflect on his relationship with Seven. Seven, Seven, beautiful Seven. She was the cause of his troubles. He knew he could never tell her he loved her. How would she take it? Laugh at him? Pity him? Accept him? There were just too many responses to think of. After sitting for half an hour among the flowers and other plants, he made up his mind to tell Seven how he felt. He would just have to accept her answer as final. If she rejected him, he had hopes of remaining her friend. He hoped.
After he made these ruminations, he set off to find Seven and tell her the truth. As he passed by a viewport, he noticed that they had passed into the nebula and that B'Elanna and her team would now be in the process of gathering the vital elements needed by Voyager. At this thought he remembered a reading form the nebula earlier, when they had first detected it. The readings had said that there were tachyon particles where they shouldn't be. Captain Janeway decided that the particles were a negligible risk and so took the ship into the nebula.
After that brief memory about stray tachyon particles, he continued on to Cargo Bay 2. Cargo Bay 2 was where Seven on Nine 'lived' and where the computer told Harry that Seven was. As he entered the Bay, he got a strange feeling of anxiety or butterflies in his belly, but he ignored it as fear and anxiety.
When he was past the doors they slid shut with a whoosh that alerted Seven to his presence. She turned around and faced him, waiting for him to speak first.
"Hi Seven!" Harry said with a voice that was shaky at best. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Ensign Kim, I am rather busy. Can this conversation wait?" Seven asked with a hint of impatience at what she considered an irrelevant use of time.
"Actually Seven, this can't wait. Its very important, to me anyway."
"Very well." She said with a resigned sigh. "I will listen to what you have to say."
"Thank you, Seven, you don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that."
Seven was startled, as startled as a former Borg can be, at this coming from Harry Kim.
She didn't have time to think about why she was startled, because he had started talking.
"Seven" he said, "How long have we known each other?"
"We have known each other for 3 years 11 months and 23 days."
Harry was a little surprised at the exact count he got from Seven. She had it right to the day.
"That's right." He said, "and we have been through a lot together. And I just wanted to tell you something that has been haunting me ever since we met, these 3 years 11 months and 23 days."
He paused to see how this affected her. At the same time she was wondering what could be bothering him for 3 years 11 months and 23 days. After a minute of silence while each gathered their thoughts, Harry continued.
"Seven, I need to tell you this now before it eats me up inside. I want you to understand that what ever you decide, I'll accept that's as your final decision." Here Harry took a long pause while he took a deep breath. "Seven…….I love you. I've loved you ever since you came on board. Even when you were still a drone, I loved you."
At that he stopped. He sat waiting for her answer. Seven couldn't have answered him even if she wanted to, she was too dumbstruck. Finally she stammered out "You … love…me?"
"Yes, Seven I do." Harry said with a huge smile on his face. Seven could only sit there and look at the man who had just professed his love for a Borg drone.
"Harry I….",
As she was about to answer him a call came over the Comm as the lights flashed to red. "Red Alert ….. All hands to battle stations….. Senior Officers to the bridge." Tuvok's voice rang through the now empty Cargo Bay, the only sound was that of the doors closing on a hurrying Harry Kim and Seven of Nine.
As they raced to the bridge, Seven had time to think about what Harry had said to her. How would she respond to that? How could she respond? She'd think about that after this crisis was over.
When they reached the bridge, Harry went to his station at Ops and Seven went to the science station to help Tuvok. The scene on the bridge could be describe as one of pure chaos and pure stress. Every Senior officer was tense, each expecting an attack, each hoping it won't come. The attack, when it did come, came from a warlike species called the Bitaine. They claimed the nebula as theirs and didn't take kindly to anyone using it or taking the elements from it.
The attack, when it came was with accuracy and destruction. Even though Voyager had shields raised and all weapons armed, they still couldn't avoid the full force of the Bitaine's advanced energy weapons. Voyager was shaken and scarred. As the attack continued, the bridge started to feel the effect. Consoles exploded into sparks and showered their users. All except for one Ensign Harry Kim, his console exploded into a fireball that shot him into the bulkhead behind him. As he crumpled to the floor, his last conscious thought was of Seven running towards him with a look of panic on her face.
When Seven saw Harry fly into the bulkhead, she had thoughts of losing him. She ran to his side to give what ever aid she could. When she saw that he was unconscious, she looked at Captain Janeway and got the nod that would send her and Harry to sickbay.
When they arrived at sickbay the doctor was tending the other wounded, but quickly decided that Harry was the worst case. He quickly started to prep him for immediate surgery. As the surgery progressed, he realized that Harry was a hopeless case and would soon die from his injuries. After the surgery he went up to Seven, who stayed in sickbay the whole time. "Seven, I'm sorry but Harry won't live much longer. Say your good-byes now. I'll inform the Captain." And with that he moved off to his console to inform the Captain.
Seven walked over to Harry's bedside. She quietly picked up his hand and held it in hers. "Harry, I hope you can hear me. I know you're going to die soon. So I thought that I would answer your question from earlier. Harry I …. I….love…..you…." At this his eyes opened briefly and he smiled at her, a small smile. Then he closed his eyes, and giving a small sigh, died.
When the monitor above his head started its high pitch keen that signaled that the patient had died, Seven broke down into tears and cried over the loss of the one man that had ever loved her for her.
Behind her, in the shadows stood a silently weeping Kathryn Janeway. Seven turned to her in the shadows, and they embraced, each comforting the other over the loss of one the kindest and gentlest men to ever have served in Starfleet.
They stayed like that for some 5 minutes. Then they left the sickbay to the Doctor so that he could ready Harry's body for burial and prepare the death certificate.
When they left, they each went their separate ways, Janeway to the bridge to continue fighting the Bitaine, and Seven to Cargo Bay 2 to cry once more.
…….. To Be Continued in Part 2.
Feedback: me know what you think. Remember, this is my first fan fic.)