DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Trek. Y'all know that.Chapter 1 Chapter Text
Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager sat in her ready room, sipping from a cup of strong, black coffee. It had been a trying last few days. Her crew had run across a damaged Borg Cube containing a few neonatal Borg drones – children, who had been abandoned by the Collective. She had almost been forced to release a virus onto the Cube to save her crew members who had been captured, but finally the children had agreed to come aboard Voyager.
The Doctor had managed to remove most of the children's Borg implants and they were now under the care of Seven of Nine, a former drone herself.
Janeway sipped her coffee again and sighed. She had been reviewing reports and logging them all day and she was tired. Suddenly, her combadge chirped.
"Doctor to Captain Janeway."
"Go ahead, Doctor," she replied.
"If you're not too busy you may want to go check on Seven."
"Why? What's wrong with her?" she asked, immediately setting down her cup.
"The Borg baby we rescued from the cube died, unfortunately. Seven seemed to be taking it rather hard."
"I'll check on her. Janeway out."
The Captain stood to go.
"Computer, located Seven of Nine," she said.
"Seven of Nine is in the Astrometrics Lab," came the automated reply.
"Well she can't be too bad if she's working," she said to herself. Still her instincts told her to go check on her friend so she left her ready room and headed down to Astrometrics.
She found Harry Kim outside the door, looking frustrated.
"Captain," he greeted as she approached. "I'm due for a shift in Astrometrics but Seven's locked me out. She's used a Borg encryption code on the door and won't respond to me. Usually she at least tells me she's working on something."
"I'll handle it, Harry. Why don't you go get some dinner, take a break."
"Aye, Captain," he said and quickly left. Janeway knocked on the door of the lab.
"Seven, it's me," she said softly but firmly. "Let me in."
A moment passed before she heard a beep. She tried the door and it opened. She stepped into the Lab. She didn't see Seven right away but saw a numbers of Padds and star charts strewn about the room in a very un-Seven-like messy manner. Then a sound reached her ears. Frowning, she stepped to the other side of the console to see Seven sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her arms were around her legs and she was shaking. It took Janeway a minute to realize that Seven was crying!
"I am sorry, Captain," Seven said between sobs. "I am not operating at peak efficiency. I cannot complete my duty shift."
"Oh hush," Kathryn said, sitting down on the floor next to her. "I'm not concerned about your duty shift."
She put her arms around the blonde who began to sob harder.
"Oh Seven," she murmured. "What happened? I thought the baby was stable?"
"She...was," Seven gasped through her tears. "The Doctor said...her lungs...failed abruptly."
"I'm so sorry, Seven," she said, squeezing her tightly. Suddenly Seven turned and put her arms around her, pressing her face into the Captain's shoulder as she sobbed. Kathryn stroked her blonde hair gently, pulling it loose from the tight twist. It was softer than she had ever imagined and if it weren't for the situation, she may have enjoyed running her fingers through it. Instead she focused on soothing Seven, making soft calming noises until her sobs gave way to silent tears.
"Come on," Kathryn said, getting up and then helping Seven up as well. "Let's go to my quarters to talk. Computer, initiate site-to-site transport, 2 to the Captain's quarters. Authorization code Janeway 3-6-Alpha-1."
They were both immersed in a beam of light. They rematerialized in her living room. In the brighter lights, Kathryn could see the redness of Seven's eyes and the tears still on her cheeks.
"Sit down, Seven. I'll make us some tea."
For once, Seven did not protest but sat on the couch, seeming numb. The Captain quickly replicated two cups of chamomile tea. She walked over to the couch.
"Drink this," she said, pressing the cup into the younger woman's hands. "You'll feel better."
"How will tea make me feel better?" she responded bitterly, but took a sip.
"It will," she said, sitting beside her and placing a hand on Seven's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, Seven. I didn't realize how attached you had gotten to the baby."
"Neither did I," Seven admitted, taking another sip of tea. "I just thought...I imagined raising her myself...adopting her... I named her Anna...It was foolish."
Silent tears began to fall again and this time Kathryn felt tears threaten her own eyes. She blinked them away and swallowed the lump in her throat. She had come to care for Seven deeply since rescuing her from the Borg a few years prior. She didn't like seeing her in pain.
"It wasn't foolish, Seven. I understand," she said quietly, taking her hand.
"I don't," she said harshly. "I do no not understand these emotions or...or the way I am reacting. I am...sad...and angry."
"Sadness is like that sometimes," Kathryn said sadly.
"I should have been able to do something!" she said, frustrated. "I should have been able to save
her!"
"There was nothing you could do, Seven. Without the maturation chamber, the implants were too much for her body."
"She was so small," Seven said quietly, setting aside her teacup.
"I know. I held her once, when the Doctor first stabilized her," Kathryn replied. Seven crossed her arms, hugging herself, as she wept silently. The Captain set aside her own cup and took the younger woman in her arms again.
Before long, Seven was laying with her head in the Captain's lap. Kathryn stroked her hair again until she realized Seven was no longer crying. She looked down to see the Borg had fallen asleep. Unwilling to wake her, the Captain continued stroking her soft blonde hair, and quietly ordered the computer to dim the lights.
