Olivia's Personal log stardate 53625.6: Last week was full of surprises. It all started the first night of that week when a noise woke me up, it sounded as if it were far away, but then I noticed it was my name…
Chapter 1
"Olivia!" a voice from my commbadge woke me, "Olivia, wake up, I need your help!" my eyes opened recognizing Naomi Wildman's voice. I fumbled around searching for it on my nightstand, I tapped it.
"What?" I asked quietly, rubbing my eyes noticing it had only been an hour since I fell asleep. I groaned.
"I need help with my science project; please you have to help me!" Naomi said urgently.
"Alright, get dressed and meet me in the Mess Hall, I'm not doing this over commbadge," I stated hushed as I got out of bed quietly so as not to wake my parents, and started getting dressed.
"Aw, but I don't want to get dressed," Naomi whined, I shushed her.
"Hey, you didn't have to wake me up, you can come in your pajamas for all I care, but I don't want to wake my parents, so just meet me there," I whispered as I fastened my commbadge on and tiptoed out the door.
"Oh alright, I'll bring my stuff," Naomi agreed reluctantly. I made my way to the Mess Hall and found a pot of coffee, for some reason, and a cup, then sat down on the small couch near the door. I jumped when Naomi walked in the door with a pile of padds that were about to fall out of her arms; she dumped them on the side table and plopped down next to me. She started searching through the pile she had just brought in and found the padd she was working on before.
"Now, what seems to be the problem?" I asked her telepathically.
"I'm trying to build a stable, portable tractor beam, but it keeps cutting out every time I move it, which takes out the portable idea," she said a little frustrated. We started working on a solution.
"The Captain is coming," I said to Naomi, who was entirely immersed in her work. Finally the pot of coffee made sense. Captain Janeway walked through the Mess Hall doors.
"Can't sleep huh Captain?" I asked startling her.
"Oh… I guess so, but what are you two young ladies doing up this late, it's after 0100," she said walking over to the gallery.
Naomi is having trouble with her science project, I'm helping her," I stated, glancing at Naomi's padd. I held the pot of coffee in the air.
"Do you girls know where... ah, there it is," the Captain said noticing it; she came and sat across from us in one of the chairs.
"You aren't talking, how are you helping her?" the Captain asked, one eyebrow raised, a half smile playing across her face. I smiled back at her.
"Of course we're talking Captain, just not in the traditional sense," I said chuckling. The Captain let out a short burst of laughter, which surprised Naomi, she jumped.
"Oh hello Captain," Naomi said shaking the intense focus out of her mind.
"Oh I'm so sorry Naomi, I didn't mean to break your concentration," the Captain apologized.
"Can't sleep huh Captain?" Naomi inquired trying to add levity. The Captain outright laughed.
"What's so funny?" Naomi asked her cheeks slightly blushing.
"Oh it's just, that's exactly what Olivia said when I came in," the Captain said her laugh dying slowly.
"Oh, umm, I guess great minds think alike," Naomi said her face turning back to its original color. I chuckled.
A massive ship crossed the windows of the Mess Hall. My face paled. I recognized it… my father. The Captain twisted in her chair to see it.
My brain instantly flashed to the stark white room, my prison. I wondered if he still had it, or was it scrapped like everything else in his life. Everyday someone would do something to upset my father, and I would be the one to get punished, even if I had done nothing wrong. I felt like I was going to throw-up, my stomach was twisting into knots. The white room was now streaked with my blood, the red looking out of place on the white. At least I wasn't alone in my fear, I knew Seven of Nine would know how I felt; after all the Borg and my father weren't on the best of terms when I left. My father destroyed hundreds of their cubes, even some of thir spheres, and I knew that each drone was given one emotion, and that was towards my father, Fear. The Borg Queen made sure that programmed into every drone was to stay away from my father at all costs, no matter if it meant killing themselves in the process. I felt every single blow that he landed on me while I was there in the nanoseconds it took me to come back to reality.
The Captain tapped her commbadge.
"Harry, what's happening?" she queried, a touch of urgency colored her words.
"I don't know Captain, it just appeared out of nowhere," Harry said confused. The Captain got up, looked at us and immediately knew we understood. I stood to leave with her, but Naomi grabbed my arm.
"Where are you going?" she asked her face full of concern.
"To the Bridge, with the Captain," I said my seriousness taking over, but on a softer note, "go back to your quarters, I'll check in with you later." I removed Naomi's hand from my arm.
I ran to catch up with the Captain. She turned to me, I nodded and tapped my commbadge.
"All senior officers report to the Bridge."
We got off the turbolift and headed for the middle of the room. A few minutes later the rest of the obviously tired Bridge crew got off the same turbolift. The first officer, Commander Chakotay, was the first to get off. When he looked at the view screen his eyes immediately widened.
"My God," he said awestruck looking at a ship at least twice our size, and bright purple. My parents followed suit, but stopped to give me a puzzled look. Even Tuvok's eyes widen, slightly. They all took their stations ready for anything. A couple of minutes later Seven of Nine walked onto the Bridge, she only glanced at the view screen but it was enough. She remembered the ship and she looked toward me apologetically. The Captain looked to her but found her concerned gaze set on me. She turned towards me and gave me a quizzical look. I knew I had to give an explanation. I more than obviously gulped, preparing myself.
"It's him… my real father," I looked toward my mother regretfully, "he's detected me on your ship… I'm so sorry you will have to see this, but please, I know how strong the pull is, but you cannot interfere, he can do a lot more damage to you than you could ever wish to do to him…" when I got no response I pleaded with them, "Please!" That at least got some nods. I was on the verge of crying and all of the concerned faces didn't help.
My father materialized three feet from me. I gasped preparing for the worst, and everyone noticeably tensed. I could hear Seven's thoughts behind me and could tell it took considerable effort to keep her impulses reigned in. The pull to save me was visibly straining on everyone. My father turned toward me and I put a hand in front of the Captain, who was moving forward.
"What are you doing here Olivia?!" his angry voice reverberated off the metallic bulkheads. I flinched, and fists clenched. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. I could feel his hand slowly tightening, threatening to break my wrist.
"I asked you a question," he said in a voice so intimidating it made me want to crawl into a hole. An unwelcome cry of pain left my lips as he snapped my wrist like a twig.
"It's safe," was all I could manage. Tears welled up in everyone's eyes (except Tuvok's). The Captain moved closer to us.
"No! Please… Don't!" I yelled at her. My father's head whipped towards the Captain. He turned back towards me and threw me against one of the farthest walls as if he were tossing a piece of trash behind him. I could feel my bones breaking... I don't know how I got in front of the Captain so quickly, but I did. I winced when I noticed I was leaning on my broken wrist, so I quickly shifted my weight and looked up at my father.
"You will not hurt her," I said in a voice alien to my own ears. I was surprised to see my father take a step back. I straightened, slowly.
"You dare interfere!" my father said his face flushing with embarrassment.
"You will not hurt them," I said managing to keep the authority in my voice, so far.
"Why do you protect these…? People?" he said disgust dripping off every word.
"Because… they're my family, and I have to protect them from danger, and especially from you!" I said pushing my luck too far. He slapped me so hard my eye socket shattered, I screamed and one of my legs twisted at a dangerous angle. I hit the wall, some crewmen helped me up. I nodded graciously at them and they gave a wan smile. I limped towards my father, showing him that he wasn't going to bring me down that easily. I glanced quickly at my mother, she was on her feet, tears were streaming silently down her cheeks, but she was ready for battle. When I got back to my father he raised his hand to hit me again, I shut my eyes tightly, but the smack didn't come. I opened my eyes to see Seven's hand holding back my father's.
"That is enough," she said in her most threatening voice. He slowly put his hand down.
"Well I guess that's enough…For today," he said with a menacing smile on his face when he saw the shocked looks.
"I will leave you here for now, just to let you know how unsafe this place really is," he boomed with laughter before he dematerialized. I crumpled to the floor, my body felt weak, I felt sick to my stomach. My body was racked with sobs by the time the Captain reached me.
"Hey… Hey… are you going to be alright?" she asked lightly, already knowing the answer.
"No," was all I could manage before I passed out. But that was not even an escape, I had nightmares of my experience with the Cardassians, and there was no escaping them this time.
Chapter 2
"Is she going to be o.k. Captain?" B'Elanna said running over to her broken daughter. Tom pushed his way through the circle that was now forming around them.
"The Doctor will be able to rectify her injuries, but he can provide no help for her emotionally. She might take a while to recover," Captain Janeway said to her Chief Engineer. Her pilot looked up from where he was kneeling, tears threatening the corners of his eyes.
"Why? Why would any father wish to hurt his child like that?" Tom said his voice breaking on every word. Janeway's face softened. She felt bad for the couple; no parents should have to see their children go through that, even though they aren't her biological parents, they are as close to parents as any girl could want. B'Elanna looked up at her, tears staining her face.
"I can't," was all she had to say. The Captain picked up the little girl, but Tom straightened opposite her.
"I should take her Captain," Tom stated, barely able to keep his emotion contained. But Captain Janeway put her hand up to stop him.
"Your wife needs you," she said pointing towards his crying wife. Tom looked at her incredulously.
"My daughter needs me!" he all but screamed at her. She couldn't blame him, she was taking over the role of the parent, but B'Elanna was a wreck and Olivia would be unconscious for possibly hours. So she reluctantly used his love against him.
"B'Elanna needs you more right now, and you know you don't want to hear what the Doctor is going to say," she said wincing at the thought of hearing the extensive report of injuries done to the little girl. Janeway could see Tom about to retort, but stopped himself, he knew that B'Elanna would be avoiding Sick Bay, until it was safe and her daughter was awake and well. So he slightly dipped his head, giving the Captain permission to take his place in Sick Bay. She put a hand on Tom's shoulder.
"Take her home Tom," He nodded and directed his wife towards the turbolift. The Captain followed them; she turned to her distraught crew.
"Get me a defense against that BASTARD, I don't want this to happen again," she commanded, and then she stepped onto the lift.
B'Elanna was standing as close to her daughter as space permitted. She brushed a couple of hairs off her temple and kissed it.
"My brave little girl," she said wiping the tears off that landed on Olivia's forehead. They reached deck five before the couple had to get off. B'Elanna held the little girl's hand for as long as she could before having to let go, and she turned and composed herself, she had to be strong, it was the only way, the Klingon way.
The Captain made her way to Sick Bay. As the doors swished open, the Captain had to resist the urge to cover her ears; overly loud opera music was playing over the speakers, and the Doctor was sitting contentedly in his office doing god knows what.
"Computer, music off!" the Captain yelled. The abrupt change in noise level made the Doctor turn toward the door.
"Please state the nature… Oh my, what happened?" he asked as he guided the Captain to a biobed to set the little girl down.
"Her father decided to drop in," the Captain couldn't keep the contempt out of her voice.
"Tom Paris did this?!" the Doctor asked incredulous. The Captain almost laughed.
"No I'm sorry Doctor, her biological father," she said to clear things up. He looked decidedly relieved.
"What parent could ever do this to a child?" the Doctor ran his tricorder over the little girl's broken body. The next words that came out of his holographic mouth were too much for Janeway.
"A broken wrist, a severe concussion, a broken tibia, a shattered eye socket, and several fractured vertebra." Unwanted tears rolled down the Captain's cheeks, all she could see was the little girl that appeared on her Bridge only two years ago.
Chapter 3
The bright gold light was still etched in her brain, and seeing Olivia materialize behind the Conn, her terrified face was so innocent. When Olivia had finally realized what had happened, she frantically looked around for a friendly face, and settled on the surprised B'Elanna. She ran to her and hid behind her legs. Phasers were trained on her and she was still figuring out where she was. Captain Janeway immediately put her hand up to signal them stand down. She knew a little girl when she saw one. Janeway walked gingerly towards the little girl, she noticed the spots around her face like a Trill. The little girl pressed her face deeper into the completely taken aback Chief Engineer.
"Hello," Captain Janeway said smiling at the little girl. She peeked out a little. The little girl had a shy look on her face, as if she didn't know whether to trust the Captain or not. Captain Janeway thought that the little girl should not be so distrusting at her age, but dismissed it.
"Hello," the girl said in a voice that was almost melodic. Janeway's smile softened. The little girl gave no sign of moving from the safe haven she had just found.
"Do you know how you got here?" Janeway asked leaning over to see her. She shook her head still looking scared. B'Elanna was now getting tired of being in between the conversation.
"How bout we deal with getting her back to where she came from," she said petulantly. The little girl had expected the comment, and her sense of security seemed strengthen with that statement. She was now holding on tighter to B'Elanna and you could see she was about to lose her balance. B'Elanna tried to loosen the little girl's grip, but only found the astonishing strength the girl possessed holding steadfast to her legs.
"I need to move, I'm going to fall over," B'Elanna said holding on to the girl's hands around her legs. As soon as she felt the pressure release slightly on her legs she pulled the girl's hands from one of her legs, she didn't have the strength for both of them.
"We have to get her to Sickbay, to get the Doctor to check her out," the Captain said mainly to B'Elanna.
"What are you talking to me for, you need to talk to her," she said pointing at the little girl in exasperation. Janeway had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
"No, she seems to trust you, and she is clearly scared and I will not make this experience any more traumatizing than it already has been," she commanded. B'Elanna reluctantly seemed to accept that.
"Do you know what a Sick Bay is?" Janeway said in an annoyingly sweet voice. The girl cocked head and looked at her with incredulity.
"Sorry," Janeway said shamefully. The girl gave a quick nod.
"Is Doctor Crusher there?" she said clearly confused. It took only a couple seconds to figure out what she was talking about.
"The Enterprise," Janeway whispered. Apparently she said it loud enough for B'Elanna to hear.
"She is from the Alpha Quadrant!" B'Elanna almost screamed. She turned around and picked the surprised girl up.
"What's your name?" B'Elanna asked abruptly. The question seemed to take her by surprise.
"Umm… Olivia, what's yours?" She asked with a smile on her face.
"B'Elanna," she said smiling back. Janeway regretted having to break up the happy moment, but it was necessary.
"Sickbay?" Janeway said pointing towards the turbolift. B'Elanna put Olivia down embarrassed. Olivia put her hand inside B'Elanna's. She saw Olivia's face tighten in fear.
"I am not going to leave you," B'Elanna reassured her. She smiled contentedly. They made their way to deck five.
The minute they walked into Sick Bay Olivia had to cover her ears, it sounded like Data's quarters when he was composing information on his Operas.
"Computer, turn the music down!" The Captain screamed. The abrupt drop in noise level made the Doctor turn toward the door.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the Doctor said his programming taking over.
"An EMH, running Sick Bay, highly unusual Captain," Olivia said scrutinizing him. Janeway had to admire Olivia's professionalism, and her almost Starfleet way of scrutinizing the Doctor's program.
"I am now needed as the long term Chief Medical Officer, since our own Medical Officer died five years ago," the Doctor explained. Olivia's eyes widened.
"Five years, you are only a temporary supplement, your programming is not meant to run for five years, and it will have degraded in that time," Olivia's vocabulary surprised everyone in the room.
"How old are you?" B'Elanna asked her voice almost an octave higher. Olivia chuckled, and everyone else gasped. It was the most beautiful sound any of them had heard before, it sounded between wind chimes and bells.
"I'm five, but my species has a rather large brain capacity and I use it to my advantage on the Enterprise. Particularly in Engineering," she said proud of herself. B'Elanna stood in awe of Olivia.
"You work in Engineering?" B'Elanna asked moving closer to Olivia. She nodded smiling. Janeway had to redirect, they could talk later.
"There is no emergency Doctor, but our new guest is in need of a medical scan. She just appeared on our Bridge without warning; I want to know how that happened." She said and started to walk out of Sickbay, but turned around.
"You said 'my species', what did you mean, aren't you Trill?" she asked truly curious. Olivia chuckled again.
"That was a common misconception while I was on the Enterprise, well not exactly my father is part Trill, and my species are actually called Metamorphs," she said squeezing B'Elanna's hand.
"Metamorphs, never heard of them, are they indigenous to the Alpha Quadrant?" The Captain asked moving back towards Olivia.
"No, actually believe it or not I'm indigenous to the Delta Quadrant, some seventy thousand light years from the Alpha," Everyone's eyes in the room widened.
"Well you're not as far from home as you think," The Captain said a half smile creeping onto her face. Olivia's face went ashen.
"I'm in the Delta Quadrant," she asked in almost a whisper.
"Yes quite, you're on Voyager," Janeway said worried about Olivia, who had started hyperventilating. The Doctor had to step in.
"You need to calm down," he said putting a friendly hand on her shoulder, only to feel her jerk away. B'Elanna and Captain Janeway took a step towards her, the Doctor was curious. He looked between the ladies several times. He opened his tricorder and started scanning the three of them.
"Hmm, elevated nor-epinephrine levels, interesting," the Doctor said to the air. B'Elanna jerked her head towards the holographic being like he was her mortal enemy.
"What do you mean," she said clearly mad at him. Olivia in one swift movement stood up and move about three meters away from the hostile women. That seemed to clear their heads. They were confused, and the shook their heads.
"Doctor?" the Captain was still confused. He looked towards Olivia.
"I'm sorry," she wiped her eyes, "I'm used to having my mother balance out the crew's emotions, I'll try and keep them under control." She still looked sad, and B'Elanna felt an unusual pull to make her feel better. Olivia noticed the change and moved farther away.
"Maybe it would be best if your Vulcan could come in and supervise this visit," she said not looking at Janeway.
"Are you sure?" she asked taking a step forward, but Olivia mirrored her by taking a step back. You could see both Janeway and B'Elanna flinch at the rejection.
"I'm sorry, but it's for your own safety as well as those of your crew," she said looking at her shoes.
"I think that is best Captain," the Doctor said cutting in on Olivia's behalf. She nodded graciously at him. Once the Sick Bay doors shut behind the two women the Doctor set his penetrating gaze on Olivia.
"What the hell was that, how did you do that?" he asked running his tricorder too close to her head. She shied away from it.
"It's something tied to my emotions, when I feel vulnerable so do the others around me, they also tend to feel a strong pull to protect me. It's not something I can control Doctor, it just comes and goes," Olivia jumped when she heard the Sick Bay door open behind her. The Doctor couldn't help but think that she had been through something horrible. Tuvok, the ship's Vulcan Chief of Security, walked intently through the doors and straight toward Olivia. She flinched at his directness, but quickly hid it by jumping off the bio-bed.
"You wished to see me?" he said in his ever emotionless voice. She gave him a jerky nod.
"You were the only one I could be almost sure wouldn't be affected by my abilities." She said to him in a voice almost as devoid of emotion as his was. He gave a faint nod, and then stood at attention. The medical examination felt like it took hours, instead of the ten minutes it actually took. As soon as the Doctor released her from Sickbay Tuvok finally had something to say. The silence that had consumed Olivia was now to be broken.
"I am to take you to the briefing room," was all he said.
"You don't like to speak telepathically?" she asked, which caught Tuvok off guard.
"Not when everyone else does not, you have mental abilities?" He asked in return.
"Many, some of which I have yet to discover," Olivia said absentmindedly. Tuvok regarded her with the same faint admiration that he had felt with another like Olivia, an Ocampan named Kes; she also had powerful mental abilities. But from what little contact Tuvok had with Olivia's mental capabilities, he could tell she had much more power than she was letting on. That much to his surprise, worried him. They walked in silence for the rest of their trip to the briefing room.
The briefing room was… efficient, but otherwise, it was hideous. The walls were the ugliest shade of gray you could make it, and the chairs looked horribly uncomfortable.
The room was already filled with the senior officers, most of which Olivia had already seen before, on the Bridge. The only one she hadn't met was the first officer. Her eyes immediately set on B'Elanna, and smile spread across her face as she crossed the room greet her. B'Elanna was the third chair from the top on the left side. Tom sat directly across from her. Harry sat next to B'Elanna. An empty set was next to Tom's, which was reserved for Tuvok. Chakotay's seat was next to Tuvok's. Neelix sat across from him, and the Captain was at the top. Seven of Nine stood nearby, but not necessarily comfortable being in the room. As soon as Olivia set eyes on Seven, she immediately relaxed. She didn't know why, but she felt very comfortable around the Borg. She recognized this one for some reason. She cautiously walked up to her.
"State your designation," Olivia said forcefully.
"Seven of Nine tertiary adjunct of unimatrix zero one, but you may call me Seven of Nine," she said practiced. Olivia smiled widely at the familiar designation.
"Seven? Is that you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"State your designation," Seven said inclining her head towards her.
"I can understand why you don't remember me, I was a lot younger and I looked more like my mother, but it is still me." When she didn't get a response she gave up trying to get her to remember.
"Olivia Prentiss, subunit of Jona Prentiss," she stated a little annoyed. Seven froze, a few seconds passed, and then a wide smile crossed her face much to everyone's surprise.
"I'm glad to see the Queen did not erase that program when I left," Olivia said genuinely happy. She sat down on the floor next to her. The room had an air of confusion around it. The Captain was particularly confused, having been with the former Borg more than anyone else.
"What program?" Janeway asked directly of Olivia. She chuckled at the memory. The sound still took everyone's breath away.
"Sorry, did I say that, it's not actually a program per se, it is actually a set of directions given to Seven by the Queen. When she and my father were still in negotiations, I was only one at the time but walking; Seven was essentially my babysitter for the duration. She was given the directions because the Queen was deathly afraid of my father. The Metamorphs cannot be assimilated, we are also very hard to kill, we have certain regenerative abilities that can keep us from dying for an extended period of time, and my father also destroyed hundreds of their cubes. So she thought if she got on my good side it would put her on my father's good side, but all it did was provide entertainment for my father. He didn't really care much for me, which I'm sure the Doctor will attest to," she replied. When she took her eyes off the Captain she looked around the room to see all eyes set intently on her. She turned around satisfied with her speech. Seven was sitting on the floor looking at her with obvious admiration. Olivia sat down in her lap and leaned back into her. It took a couple minutes for her information to sink in. Tom Paris was the first one to talk.
"So the Queen gave Seven emotions just for you?" he asked. Everyone's head turned towards the sound.
"Essentially," she confirmed. Eyebrows shot up.
"I've never heard of this happening with the Borg," Janeway said shaking her head. Olivia looked at her as if she were a child unwilling to believe something right in front of her.
"You also hadn't heard of something being immune to assimilation, until you met species 8472 either." Janeway couldn't argue with that, but she also couldn't believe that the Borg would negotiate with any species. She looked over to Olivia and Seven and noticed their easy comfort in each other; she couldn't deny that Seven seemed happier with Olivia. Seven put her hands in the air in front of Olivia, and Olivia started fingering out a song as if she were playing a piano. Janeway smiled at the sight, and so did most of the room. Olivia looked like the little girl she was for the first time since they saw her. Her eyelids started getting heavier and she leaned back harder into Seven. She smiled.
"I think someone needs to go to bed," Seven whispered in her ear. Olivia's eyes shot open.
"nu uh," she said sleepily. Seven chuckled, which also caught the breath of the room.
"You are still a little girl and you still need sleep, no matter how smart you are," her half smile warming the hearts in the room. Olivia nodded and was asleep in a matter of seconds. Seven looked up at the Captain.
"Where is she allowed to sleep Captain," she asked smiling down at the little girl's sleeping face.
"We were going to give her quarters," Janeway said still intoxicated by the moment.
"By herself Captain," Seven said incredulously. Captain Janeway jumped at the outburst.
"Unless you have a better idea," she said giving Seven the benefit of the doubt.
"Actually I do Captain, would you mind if I put a cot in Cargo Bay 2, she is more comfortable around Borg equipment anyway, and I'll be there when she wakes up in an unfamiliar place," she almost pleaded.
"Alright Seven, you can set up the cot, but you need to calm down, you are hyperventilating," Janeway said genuinely concerned. Seven put a hand on her chest to slow her breathing.
"Your crew requires sleep Captain," Seven indicated a couple of people in the room, which Janeway identified as people who have been awake, since 0500. They looked about to fall over from exhaustion.
"That's true," Janeway conceded, "I being one of them." A couple of people chuckled in surprise; the Captain was usually the one you had to drag to her quarters after a long day. Seven gently lifted Olivia off the ground and headed towards the door, but stopped short and turned around.
"Does someone want to help me with the cot, I would need another set of arms to carry both," a laugh filled the room, until B'Elanna stood up.
"I'll help," she said definitely. Seven nodded in her direction and they headed out the door. Janeway looked fondly after them, B'Elanna had more than once expressed her dislike towards the former drone, but that little girl managed to put their sparring on hold.
As they walked down the hallway in silence B'Elanna felt jealous of Seven for the first time. She wanted to be the one holding Olivia so badly that she thought she might just rip her from Seven. She had no idea why she felt this way about Olivia, but she did and there was no way around it. When Olivia had kicked them out of Sick Bay, B'Elanna felt hurt on a level she hadn't felt before, and she didn't want to feel like that again… ever. As they turned into one of the science labs, with a big enough transporter they began working on the specifications for the computer to make a bed for her. Seven never let go of Olivia, just moved her to the other side occasionally. After they finished they made their way to Cargo Bay 2. Olivia didn't wake up once during the whole ordeal, and only stirred a couple of times. Once they were done Seven gently set her down, which made her reach out but ultimately she sank into the pillow and fell back into her deep sleep.
"You feel very protective of her don't you?" B'Elanna whispered. Seven whipped her head around towards B'Elanna like she forgot she was there.
"Yes," she replied, "I am not immune to her emotions, nor is the rest of the crew." While B'Elanna was chewing on that piece of news, Seven set up her alcove for regeneration.
"If you don't have more questions, I will get little time to regenerate while she is here," Seven said. She bobbed her head and Seven stepped into her alcove. As soon as B'Elanna was sure Seven wasn't going to "wake-up" any time soon, she knelt beside Olivia and started stroking her hair.
Olivia started to stir and B'Elanna immediately pulled her hand away. Olivia reached out towards her.
"Mama?" she said her eyes still shut. B'Elanna almost started crying, Olivia sounded so hurt, and that hurt her. She began to stroke her hair again, and her face relaxed back into sleep. B'Elanna felt like an outsider in the Cargo Bay, although she had been there before, and many times because it made Seven annoyed. She knew she had to leave, so she slowly stopped petting Olivia and got up.
"Mommy, where are you?" Olivia said in her sleep. B'Elanna had to go back, when Olivia started whimpering.
"I'm here baby, go back to sleep, I'll be here in the morning," B'Elanna whispered in her ear. Olivia sank back into the cot and fell asleep, again. B'Elanna almost sprinted out of the Cargo Bay and back to her quarters.
When she got to them a sigh of relief left her lips. She wanted desperately to go back to the Cargo Bay, but knew that when she got into her room she wouldn't leave.
Tom was surprised to see his wife run into their quarters out of breath with tears streaming down her cheeks. He rushed over to her and hugged her tightly.
"What, what's wrong, what happened?" Tom asked frantically, not exactly sure what to do.
"She― she sounded so scared, she has no idea what's happening, and she has to deal with it by herself, she has no one here that could possibly relate," she sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her arms trying to soothe her.
"You're wrong," Tom whispered into her ear. She pulled back.
"How so?" she said wiping her eyes.
"We all know what she has gone through, granted we got here a little bit differently, but we have all been ripped away from our families and friends, so she is not alone we can all relate," Tom explained holding her face in his hands. She pressed her head into his chest and he started swaying from side to side. They stayed that way for hours.
"Seven?" Olivia said in her sleep, "Seven?" she said a little more frantically. Seven's eyes opened, and she stepped out of her alcove.
"Regeneration cycle incomplete," the computer stated. She rushed over to the now screaming Olivia, and started shaking her awake.
"You're ok Olivia, you're ok, wake up," she said desperately. Olivia's eyes shot open, and immediately turned into Seven.
"You're going to be ok, it's ok," she said rocking her softly, hoping her futile efforts could calm the small child. She was shaking uncontrollably and Seven was helpless to stop it. It took a few minutes for Olivia to calm down enough that Seven could loosen her grip, and move to face her.
"Where were you?" Seven probed.
"I was back with my father, on the ship, back in that room," Olivia didn't have to finish her sentence, Seven understood.
"Are you alright now?" Seven asked simply. Olivia nodded.
"Computer what time is it?" She queried.
"O'430 hours," it replied. Olivia gasped and Seven loosen her grip even more.
"I'm almost late for my shift," she started getting up. Seven chuckled at her, and Olivia jerked around incredulously.
"What are you laughing at," she said chuckling herself.
"You don't have a shift, remember, this isn't your ship," Seven said thumbing her nose. Olivia laughed.
"I guess you're right, but now I'm awake, and hungry," she said walking back over to the cot and into Seven's lap.